Historically, the way that the Catholic Church decides doctrinal debates and moral teaching is through dialogue among church authorities and officials--this is what is traditionally called a council or synod. The Catholic Church distinguishes between two types of councils, ecumenical councils and synods or provincial councils. Ecumenical councils are authoritative while synods or provincial councils are mere discussions that do not retain any authoritative status. In 1959 Pope John XXIII called for an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that would later be known as Vatican II. As a result of this council, the Catholic Church would dramatically change or reconsider its stance towards the world, it’s celebration of the liturgy, salvation, and the roles of clergy and the laity. Last week, the Catholic Church marked the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council by Pope Saint John XXIII on Oct. 11, 1962. Here are ten important ways that the council changed the Church. 1 Vatican II presented a renewed vision of what it means to be the church. The council document “Lumen Gentium” on the nature of the church called the church a light for the world and the source of salvation. The document “Gaudium et Spes” on the church in the modern world said the church shares the joys and sufferings of the world. In Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope in Latin), the Church spoke explicitly about the current state of the modern world, the growth of the secular sphere, and the withdrawal of people from religion. It specified and clarified that the Church as a collective institution is not opposed to science, philosophy, technology, or culture as many might perceive religion to be in opposition to these things. Instead, it reaffirmed that She saw these as goods, and these goods only become corrupted when they in themselves are upheld as man’s highest ends. The council strongly and unabashedly declared that because man was made for communion with God, the goods of science, philosophy, technology, and culture are empty--insufficient when sought as final ends in themselves. Both documents refer to the church as the “people of God,” reflecting a new appreciation of lay people that surfaced repeatedly at the council. 2 It called the Eucharist the source and summit of the faith. The council’s document on the liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” describes holy Communion as the main source of God’s grace for Catholics. In the Eucharist, Catholics encounter the person of Christ. In this way, it is truly the foundation of the church. 3 It reformed the liturgy. The changes to the Mass, perhaps the most well-known conciliar reform, promoted “full and active participation,” which led to the Mass being translated into the vernacular, or local language, and celebrated as a dialogue between the celebrant and the congregation. Other changes included affording women the ability to take a more active role in the liturgy, primarily in allowing girls to be altar servers (this was previously only an opportunity afforded to males). Further, the laity were given the chance to serve as eucharistic ministers, and lectors (roles formerly performed by members of the clergy only). 4 It said every Catholic is called to holiness and to be a missionary. Perhaps one of the greatest revivals of Vatican II was restoring what the council designated as “baptismal dignity.” The Church re-articulated that by virtue of the sacrament of baptism each member of the faithful incurred a priestly, prophetic, and kingly dignity. The priestly dignity is in reference to a call to holiness, the prophetic to a call to preach the word of the Gospel, and the kingly to be leaders in the Church. The document on missionary activity, “Ad Gentes,” expanded the view of how the church evangelizes. Missionaries were no longer sent just to remote areas of the world to spread the Good News; now all Catholics play a role in evangelizing through their lives. 5 It emphasized the importance of the family. According to “Lumen Gentium,” the family is the “Domestic Church.” While the faith of the church flourishes in parishes, dioceses and nations around the world, before all else is the family. It is the family that provides a strong foundation for each believer. 6 It reshaped the church’s relationship with other Christians and other religions. One other main theological evolution of the council was its consideration of salvation outside of the Catholic Church. Prior to Vatican II, it had long been the position of the Church that participation in the sacrament and belonging to the Catholic communion were essential for salvation. Though the Church still claims it is the medium through which God chose to extend salvation to mankind, it very explicitly suggested that salvation for those not belonging to the Catholic Church was certainly possible. At Vatican II, the church adopted a spirit of respect and dialogue toward other faith traditions. Ensuing dialogues have built bridges of understanding and strengthened relationships with Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and others. 7 It promoted collaboration. The document “Christus Dominus” encouraged “collegiality,” or collaboration within the church. Bishops, priests, religious and lay people all work together in a way they didn’t in the past. Bishops collaborate through episcopal conferences like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and state-level Catholic conferences. The council also encouraged “subsidiarity,” by which authority is divided up and decisions are made at the appropriate level. 8 It updated the church. . . . John XXIII saw Vatican II as a chance for renewal in the face of the “signs of the times” and said he called the council to open a window and let in fresh air. This resulted in reforms that made the church more accessible to the modern world, such as Mass in the vernacular and dialogue with other believers, and the openness of the council was reflected in the presence of men and women religious, lay people, and even non-Catholics among its official observers. 9. . . but it also returned the church to its roots. Vatican II also reformed the church through a back-to-basics approach. This meant renewed appreciation for Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the restoration of ancient traditions such as the permanent diaconate and the multi-step process for adults joining the church. 10 Then-Father Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) played a significant behind-the-scenes role. The bishops at Vatican II were assisted by brilliant theologians. These assistants, or “periti,” included Joseph Ratzinger, who assisted Cardinal Josef Frings of Cologne, Germany. Father Ratzinger was involved in drafting speeches, shaping documents, and defining the overall trajectory of the council.

Love is not merely a feeling but is rather the desire for the best possible good for those whom we love. Through our natural intelligence and through Divine Revelation, we become aware of the value of this most basic of all gifts, which is life. Mere reason leads us to comprehend that it is better to be alive than never have had been in existence. The knowledge of the value of life that comes through revelation leads us to understand better this gift and to appreciate it. As a result, we worship and love more and more the Giver of this gift. This love is what moves us to protect the life of the unborn or any who might be unjustly treated. We are also led to protect women that might feel tempted or forced to commit abortion, as we know the devastating consequences that abortion will have in their lives. Last but not least we have to love, even if most of them seem to be utterly unlovable, the many perpetrators of abortion: medical personnel, and pro-abortion activists and politicians. We have to do everything that we can to convince them of their errors so that they repent and change their ways, both for their own benefit and for the benefit of society. All human beings are created in the image and likeness of God who is the exemplary cause of every human being. In other words, He is the model on which all human beings are created. He looked upon himself and wished those other beings would share in His own happiness. So if we reflect upon ourselves, we can begin to understand our participation in the greatness of our Creator. This participation in His greatness leads us to comprehend that He has brought us out of nothing with a purpose because knowing His intelligence and His loving nature it is clear that all His actions are always guided by a magnificent purpose. The first intention for which He has created us is that we should enjoy for an eternity His loving company in Heaven. All human persons are called to this eternal and loving company, no one is excluded, save those who, through their own actions, exclude themselves. This manner of creation brings us to understand the unique essential dignity of every human being. A dignity that is not lost for any deprivation of the many external perfections that we might expect to find in a human person. A person might be born with a disability or may suffer disability through injury or disease, but these deprivations do not affect his basic dignity. A Christian also has the hope that one day when the doors of Paradise will be opened for those children, all their human imperfections will be healed and they will enjoy forever the beatific vision that we all long for. We are also created to be collaborators in the salvation of the World. The Lord normally does not intervene directly in the world; He does it through our free collaboration in his plans of salvation. He gives to us the saving truths through Holy Scripture, our natural reason and the mediation of the Church and we have to manifest them in our daily lives. If we love those truths we should be impelled to share them with all whom the Lord places in front of us. So when we speak with love and conviction of those truths we cannot be accused of carrying out exaggerated rhetoric when we defend human life from its biological beginning until natural death. Nobody in his right mind can call it "vitriolic rhetoric" when we denounce that millions upon millions of unborn babies have been killed in the womb in the U.S. and in the rest of the world. It is literally a question of life and death, for the victim, for the mother of the baby, and for the perpetrators of abortion, assisted suicide, or euthanasia. The victim will have his earthly life terminated; the mother will suffer greatly for her actions, and the perpetrator and the mother will live under the shadow of the unhappiness of having rejected the loving truths of their Creator and certainly, they will place their eternal salvation in jeopardy. Our main solidarity has to be always with the victim of the crime because if the conscience of the nation is not moved by this growing injustice, we know that a growing number will be victimized in the future. Our solidarity is also with the mothers of those babies because often they have been misled or forced into committing this terrible action. Last but not least we wish and pray that all abortionists will come to understand the terrible consequences of their actions and be converted.

It was 49 years ago that the United States Supreme Court made one of their most influential and controversial decisions to date, legalizing abortion in all fifty states. Roe v. Wade (1973). was a landmark decision in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. The decision struck down many U.S. federal and state abortion laws and fueled an ongoing abortion debate in the United States about whether or to what extent abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, and what the role of moral and religious views in the political sphere should be. It also shaped debate concerning which methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication. The debate still continues today: are you pro-life or pro-choice? As believers, we consider ourselves to be pro-life. To be content with the murder of lives forming inside the womb is unimaginable. But being pro-life is more than being anti-abortion… Being pro-life must be a way of life. The pro-life ethic doesn’t allow us to see the vulnerable as burdens, it requires that we see them as image bearers of a holy God. Being pro-life means championing, celebrating, and fighting for life. It means valuing all human life, particularly the lives of the vulnerable who need our protection. Being pro-life means welcoming refugees. It means opening our hearts and homes to orphans and children in foster care. It means caring for and celebrating those with special needs and genetic differences. It means protecting the lives of the unborn and promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion. It means fighting against human slavery and sex trafficking. Being pro-life is about so much more than just being against abortion. It means protecting, defending, caring for, and loving the vulnerable. It means living and loving like Christ. People are vulnerable for many different reasons including age, race, disease, disability, imprisonment, and poverty. Pro-lifers don’t see these people as burdens; we see them as bearers of God’s image and therefore valuable. We care for them while honoring their inherent dignity. We value the vulnerable not because of what they can do but because of whose they are. This Saturday, Christians around the world ­will mourn the innocent lives lost since Roe v. Wade was decided. It’s an opportunity for us to act on our beliefs in new and bold ways. Perhaps you’ve said you’re pro-life, but you’ve never really done much about it. Perhaps you’ve wondered how God really feels about the whole debate, and you have never really spent time in prayer about it. Perhaps you’ve considered pro-life to be simply an abortion issue, nothing more. Wherever you are in your faith journey today, you are invited to spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to show you his heart for his creation and show you how you can follow him faithfully in the midst of today’s culture.

Christ is the Meaning of Christmas Christmas is such a beautiful time of year. Family, friends, and neighbors are welcomed into our homes as we anticipate the birth of Christ. He is the reason for the season, and we need to be sure to celebrate his birth appropriately. Unfortunately, too many people are only concerned with the material side of Christmas. They get too caught up in the hustle and bustle of decorations, deadlines, and sales, and they forget why this month is so important. The children eagerly await Christmas morn, with all its glamour and glitter beneath the tree. Then comes the tearing open of presents along with squeals of delight. These memories are precious and few. But are we doing all we can to celebrate Jesus’s birth? Do we teach them that He is why we celebrate this glorious day? It is important to give children daily reminders all during the month of December about why Christmas is special, and what they should actually be focusing on besides their wish lists. Here are a few suggestions: Advent. Have an Advent wreath in the home, and take at least a few minutes each night to pray as a family around it. Teach them how important it is to put prayer and selflessness first. Read from an Advent reflection booklet during the lighting of the candle. Discuss how difficult Mary and Joseph’s trip must have been while they sought a place for Mary to safely give birth. Talk about how excited and perhaps nervous Mary may have been that night, and how brave she was to accept such a gift from God. Giving. Not only do children love to receive gifts, but they also really do enjoy the gift of giving. Teach them to offer charity in some way to those in need, and they will begin to think of others more often. Soon, they will think about helping others before we even mention it. This is a character trait that portrays the image of God, something that concerns everyone. Sing at a nursing home, make handmade ornaments for neighbors, or perhaps help to serve a meal to the needy. These are all ways to give back, and these activities do not require large sums of money. It also helps to think creatively. Christ is the reason for the season. Many times people are caught up in the materialistic side of Christmas. If you think about it, it is quite appalling that Christmas has become such a huge retail holiday. Think of Jesus driving the merchants out of the Temple. It overshadows the joy of Christmas by making people stress out about gifts, parties, and too much food. Some become so agitated that they actually dread Christmas day. The fear of disappointing someone, hurting someone’s feelings, or undercooking the turkey can take away from what God intended us to celebrate: the birth of His Son. If you do encounter one of these scenarios (and you probably will), remember to stop and think about what God wants from us during Christmas. Love, togetherness, and rejoicing are the things He really wants from us. Slow down and take in what is around you. Attend Mass and rediscover the glory of the season. Go to confession during Advent (tomorrow is Reconciliation Monday) and cleanse your soul from the burdens you carry. We cannot please everyone all the time, but we can surely try to please God. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And remember Fr. Mac's famous song: Happy Birthday Jesus.

October 24th is World Mission Sunday. In 1926, Pope Pius XI established an annual collection for the missionary work of the Church worldwide called "World Mission Sunday." World Mission Sunday, organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. The day is celebrated in all the local Churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world. Pope Francis’ message for World Mission Sunday this year reflects on the theme: “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). This quote is a reminder that we are called to "do and serve," and not keep the blessings from God to ourselves. We definitely want to remember to pray for and support the work of missionaries throughout the world, but also, we must remember that we are missionaries right here where we are to the people around us. I think this is a good opportunity to remember our parish mission and vision, to reflect on it, and to pray for God’s grace for each of us to fulfill it. Of course, our mission doesn’t really ever change since our mission is the Church’s mission which Jesus gave us, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20) Our Parish Mission Statement: To be a community of faith that invites, inspires, educates, and leads people to know and love Jesus Christ, to understand and live their Catholic faith, to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel through love and service to one another, and to celebrate the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ while being faithful to the tradition of the Catholic Church, our history, and the community it serves. Our Parish Vision Statement: To grow as a community of faith, creating disciples of Christ who spread the Gospel through sacrificial love and service. But you might also consider what your personal mission statement is? Listening to God, who are you, and what are you about? What is God calling you to do at this time and place? For me, one thought that has consistently come up in my prayer is a very simple one, “to strive”. This word appears in the Gospel of Luke, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Luke 13:24) Sometimes we have to strive or risk falling apart. If I do not have a difficult goal, one that makes me “strive”, I get lazy and slack off. All the more so in my faith! I find if I’m not really challenging myself and putting 110% effort in, I soon start rapidly to just fall apart. So my personal mission statement is pretty simple and easy: “Strive!” Consider doing something like this yourself. Pray and read the scriptures and see what God is giving you as a mission statement. A good mission statement comes from God and enflames something in our hearts. Perhaps we need to know our personal mission and then “strive” to live it out.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently sent a letter to Catholic New Yorkers urging that they return to Sunday Mass “now that vaccination rates are up, Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, and people are returning to a more normal way of living.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that “the Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life.” It adds that because “the Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice,” participation in Sunday Mass is a serious moral obligation. 

June 29 is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and on this day one can gain a Partial Indulgence by praying with a holy item that was blessed by a priest or a Plenary Indulgence by praying with an item that has been blessed by any bishop or pope. Why is this important? It’s all about power, power… that is, to do good and to drive away evil! That is Catholicism's most popular image and its most attractive appeal. Catholic stuff gets things done both spiritually and physically and is expressed in both body and soul, being both material and immaterial. Powerful holy signs are the mark of Catholicism. Crucifixes, holy water, church bells, exorcisms, miraculous images, habits, rosary beads, incense, blessed candles, palms, ashes, oils, gestures, kissing, touching, bowing, genuflecting, prostrating, kneeling, veiling, blessing, consecrating, processing: these are all part of a widespread consciousness of our religion both by us and also by those who do not believe along with us. But, you might say, such human signs are common in all religions from the Adventists to the Zoroastrians—and you would be right. What is it about our signs which make us trust that they are uniquely powerful for good and against evil? The first foundation of this confidence is the fact of human nature, which is a composite of body and soul made in God’s image and likeness and pronounced “very good” by the God who made us. The religion of human beings is about the powers of body and soul together in the service, the worship, of God in whose image and likeness they are made. And it is for him to show us how he is to be worshipped in this manner. We know from human nature that there is no such thing as a human religion that is purely spiritual. There is always a material component. Our bodily and spiritual powers were weakened by the fault of our first parents and our own subsequent imitation of their sinful disobedience. And so we were powerless to do good and avoid evil, to live actually in the image and likeness of God in which we were originally created, practicing the religion of the human race. So God himself supplied the power for this religion, by taking to himself our human nature, body and soul, in the mystery of the Incarnation: literally, the “enfleshment” of God. Possessing a human nature, God the Son made man uses it as the instrument of the divinity in powerfully bringing about effects—getting things done—for our good. Through his sacred manhood, he pours out his grace-filled gifts and overcomes defects and evils, sickness, sin, death, the devil, He did and does all this by living his own earthly life and so meriting for us in his teaching and suffering and healing. And then, in view of his departure and final return, he established the SACRAMENTS as instruments of his bodily and spiritual humanity so that we humans could receive his power individually, from his very body and blood, and the intentions of his heart, and the fullness of his divine life. The sacraments are thus the basic structure of our religion. Everything else leads to or from them; and the chief of the sacraments, which is the end and goal and also the source of them all, is the Most Holy Eucharist, our contact with the power of the Body and Blood of the Lord. “Power goes out from him” from this supreme source if we offer and receive it with faith and love. But as we have been pointing out, there are many other powerful bodily and spiritual signs that we use in our practice of our religion. These are called the “SACRAMENTALS” because they are like the sacraments established by Christ, and share in their power. Christ healed the woman with the issue of blood by sending out his power as she sensibly touched the hem of his garment, believing he would thus make her whole. He had power, and his garment had power from him, and her touching of it had power, and her faith in Christ had power. There is a movement of both body and spirit, of outer and inner together. She moves from having faith in Christ to touching a material object to bodily healing, and Christ moves from his spiritual will to heal her through his cloak and her touch to the healing of her body. All of these work together at once. That is power in the full, Christian, sacramental sense. Delight, rejoice, exult, believe in the power of sacraments and sacramentals! Encourage their use, give them away, explain them. Look at them, kiss them, wear them, hold them, light them, smell them, hear them, drink them, sprinkle them, pour them, carry them, ring them. They are not magic, they are infinitely more, they are signs and instruments of the very power of the Incarnate God, and they fulfill your redeemed nature’s craving to worship him with your own body and spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in paragraph 1607 that the sacraments and sacramentals sanctify every event of our lives with the grace that flows from the incarnation, the cross and the resurrection. We read “from this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power.” May this power be ours in every way we can obtain it!

Every parish in the Archdiocese will offer Sacramental Reconciliation on Monday, March 29 from 3-9PM. If you have been away from this Sacrament for a while, this would be a good opportunity to celebrate it. At St. Helena, we will hear Confession in English, Spanish, and French. We also hear Confession every Saturday from 4-5:30PM and by appointment. Confession is one of the least understood of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. In reconciling us to God, it is a great source of Sanctifying Grace, and Catholics are encouraged to take advantage of it often. But it is also the subject of many common misunderstandings, both among non-Catholics and among Catholics themselves. The Sacrament of Confession is one of the seven sacraments recognized by the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that all of the sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ himself to give us grace. In the case of Confession, that institution occurred on Easter Sunday, when Christ first appeared to the apostles after his Resurrection. He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). Catholics also believe that the sacraments are an outward sign of an inward grace. In this case, the outward sign is the absolution, or forgiveness of sins, that the priest grants to the penitent (the person confessing his sins); the inward grace is the reconciliation of the penitent to God. That is why the Sacrament of Confession is sometimes called the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Whereas Confession stresses the action of the believer in the sacrament, Reconciliation stresses the action of God, who uses the sacrament to reconcile us to Himself by restoring Sanctifying Grace in our souls. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the Sacrament of Confession as the Sacrament of Penance. Penance expresses the proper attitude with which we should approach the sacrament—with sorrow for our sins, a desire to atone for them, and a firm resolve not to commit them again. The purpose of Confession is to reconcile man to God. When we sin, we deprive ourselves of God’s grace, and by doing so, we make it even easier to sin again. The only way out of this downward cycle is to acknowledge our sins, to repent of them, and to ask for God’s forgiveness. Then, in the Sacrament of Penance, grace can be restored to our souls, and we can once again resist sin. Most non-Catholics, and even some Catholics, often ask whether they can simply confess their sins directly to God and whether God can forgive them without going through a priest. On the most basic level, of course, the answer is yes, and Catholics should make frequent acts of contrition, which are prayers in which we tell God that we are sorry for our sins and ask for His forgiveness. While Catholics are only required to confess mortal sins directly to a priest and not venial sins, the Church encourages the frequent confession of all sins because it is a good thing to do. While Penance is the only sacrament not celebrated within a Eucharistic framework and for which therefore no Ritual Mass is provided, the Confiteor, said within the Penitential Rite at the beginning of the Mass serves as a general confession of sins, both past, absolved mortal sins, and any venial sins one currently is guilty of but which don't merit damnation. It is in this sense that the general absolution given by a priest during Mass makes explicit the priestly intercession to God on behalf of the people (in concordance with the fact that he is about to offer the perfect Victim to the Father, "in persona Christi.”) But the question misses the point of the Sacrament of Confession. The sacrament, by its very nature, confers graces that help us to live a Christian life, which is why one of the Precepts of the Church requires Catholics to receive it at least once per year. Moreover, the Sacrament of Penance was instituted by Christ as the proper form for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, we should not only be willing to receive the sacrament but should embrace it as a gift from a loving God. Three things are required of a penitent in order to receive the sacrament worthily: One must be contrite—or, in other words, sorry for one’s sins. One must confess those sins fully, both in kind and in number. One must be willing to do penance and make amends for one’s sins. Again, while Catholics are only required to go to Confession when they are aware that they have committed a mortal sin, the Church urges the faithful to take advantage of the sacrament often. A good rule of thumb is to go once per month. The Church strongly recommends that, in preparation for fulfilling our Easter Duty to receive Holy Communion, we go to Confession even if we are aware of venial sin only. This is the reason why we celebrate Reconciliation Monday during Holy Week. Thus, the Church especially urges the faithful to receive the Sacrament of Confession frequently during Lent, to help them in their spiritual preparation for Easter.

The Baptism of the Christ is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist. Originally the baptism of Christ was celebrated on Epiphany, which commemorates the coming of the Magi, the baptism of Christ, and the wedding at Cana. In 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted a separate liturgical commemoration, and it became a distinct feast from Epiphany. However, the initial question that arises when pondering the Baptism of the Lord is “Why?” Why was Jesus even baptized in the first place? Baptism is for the washing away of sins, and Jesus of course never had any sins on His soul. So why did Jesus receive John’s baptism? One significant reason is to mark a beginning. In fact, the new beginning marked by Jesus’ Baptism is so significant that the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes a link between Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of Creation as described in the Book of Genesis. The Catechism states that “[t]he Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on [Jesus at the River Jordan] as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as His ‘beloved Son’” [CCC 1224, citing Mt 3:16-17]. In other words, the work that Jesus began on the day of His Baptism was the work of a “new creation”, also called the work of redemption and sanctification. Likewise, when each of us was baptized, there was also a new beginning in our life. What the day of our own baptism marks is the day when God adopted us and gifted us in many ways. He did this to set us on that path of an ever-increasing share in God’s life, leading ultimately into His very Presence in Heaven. The Baptism of the Lord didn’t make a lot of sense to the early followers of Jesus who worried about the fact that it seemed to suggest that Jesus was somehow subordinate to John the Baptist. Two thousand years later, the Church has developed a very substantial theology of the sacrament of baptism. Catholics believe that baptism imparts the grace of forgiveness of sins and marks our initiation into the Church. But Jesus didn’t need to be forgiven nor can we really say that by his baptism Jesus became part of the church. The gospel itself doesn’t give us very much to go on. The only explanation offered by Jesus regarding why he should be baptized by John is: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” But that explanation doesn’t get us very far. The final line of this Sunday’s reading from Mark’s gospel offers perhaps a better clue about the meaning of Jesus’s baptism. That line reads: “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” There we hear an unmistakable echo from the first reading: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased” (Isaiah 42:1). By making this connection, Mark is testifying to the fact that Christians had come to believe that the “Suffering Servant” in Isaiah ultimately refers to Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who will be the definitive “covenant of the people” and “light for all nations.” What can these readings tell us about the meaning of our own baptism? The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons [and daughters] of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission” (CCC #1213). The stain of Original Sin is washed away, and we receive Sanctifying Grace for the first time, and just as Mark’s gospel makes a connection between the Baptism of the Lord and the mission of the suffering servant, we too should make a connection between our own baptism and that same mission. Having been baptized into the Body of Christ, we too are called to his ministry of mercy. Finally, these readings also point to the importance of humility. Indeed, it seems that humility plays a part in the “righteousness” that Jesus refers to when he asks John to baptize him. We might conclude that we should not dwell on the fact that baptism makes us part of a holy people. Instead, our baptism might be understood primarily as a calling to embrace the mission of Christ and the suffering servant to go out into the world and “heal all those oppressed by the devil.” Baptism is an important sacrament. If you or your child is not yet baptized, come to the rectory and talk to a priest or schedule a time to come and take the Baptism Preparation Class that we offer every Thursday at 7PM.

November 8, 2020 Dear Parishioners, The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we know it. Many of us are staying home, avoiding people on the street and changing daily habits, like going to school or work, in ways we never imagined. While we are changing old behaviors, there are new routines we need to continue to maintain. First and foremost is the habit of wearing a mask or face covering whenever we are in a public space such as in church. Thanks to the tireless efforts of scientists everywhere, we have compressed years of research on the COVID-19 virus into months. This has led to a rapid evolution of policies and recommendations, and here are some of the things we’ve learned: Masks and face coverings can prevent the wearer from transmitting the COVID-19 virus to others and may provide some protection to the wearer. Multiple studies have shown that face coverings can contain droplets expelled from the wearer, which are responsible for the majority of transmission of the virus. This 'source control' approach reflects a shift in thinking from a 'medical' perspective (will it protect the wearer?) to a 'public health' perspective (will it help reduce community transmission and risk for everyone?). Many people with COVID-19 are unaware they are carrying the virus. It is estimated that 40 percent of those with COVID-19 are asymptomatic but potentially able to transmit the virus to others and we cannot identify many people who are silently transmitting the virus in their community except through frequent testing. We are currently in the process of establishing St. Helena as a self-testing site, and we will be giving you further information about that soon. Wearing a universal mask use can significantly reduce virus transmission in the community by preventing anyone, including those who are unwittingly carrying the virus, from transmitting it to others. Masks worn by significant portions of the population, coupled with other safety measures, do result in substantial reductions in case numbers and deaths. Covering your nose may be just as important as covering your mouth when it comes to protecting yourself from the novel coronavirus. Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill mapped locations in the respiratory tract to see where COVID-19 most likely infiltrates the body and found the cells that line the nose were significantly more likely to become infected and spread virus than the throat or lungs, and part of the reason you could be more likely to get infected through the nose is because COVID-19 infects cells with tiny hairs on them called cilia, which usually helps protect from pathogens. Last Monday, the Cleveland Clinic warned people about wearing gloves reporting that while wearing Gloves properly can give some protection, they do not give you immunity nor permission to touch everything within reach either. Any germs that might be on your gloves can be transferred to all other surfaces and items you touch," the physician cautioned. COVID is not a contact infection and "This is why it’s counterproductive to wear gloves, yet continue to rummage through your purse or text on your phone while in the store. ”Masks are not perfect barriers to transmission either, but they don’t need to be perfect if they aren’t used alone. Universal mask use should be accompanied by other public health measures such as physical distancing, testing, contact tracing and restrictions on large gatherings. We are currently still at a 50 person maximum with social distancing for meetings and social gatherings. These measures aren’t perfect either, but when many imperfect measures are combined at a community level, they can be very effective at slowing transmission and reducing infections. Wearing a mask isn’t a restriction of our freedom. Rather, it helps us to regain freedom by reducing virus transmission in a community and making every interaction safer. Freedom for people to go to church or to work, attend school, interact with others, and most importantly freedom from illness and fear. We very much appreciate your cooperation as we strive to make St. Helena a safe environment. As you may have heard, the diocese is now allowing us to celebrate Mass up to a church capacity of one-third while keeping social distancing. To accommodate this increased capacity, we have rearranged the seating restrictions so each side will allow for singles, couples, or families with up to seven people in a pew. Please remember to silence or mute your cell phones while you are in church and please remember that one of the changes that we have made is that we begin the line for Holy Communion from the back of the church, with the ushers guiding people to the line at the proper time. We highly encourage you to receive Holy Communion in the hand. We very much appreciate the work of the ushers and greeters, and we appreciate your cooperation with them. However, we are in dire need of more ushers and greeters and especially cleaners to cover all of the Masses. If you could volunteer in this ministry once or twice a month, it would be greatly appreciated. We also appreciate those who are helping us to live-stream our Masses and activities so that all parishioners will have an opportunity to share and engage in them. We are all concerned about the gradual increase in coronavirus being recorded in some sections of the city and in neighboring states, and we very much appreciate the sacrifices that everyone is making to help keep us all safe during these uncertain times. St. Helena contains members across the entire spectrum of vulnerability to this virus — people with compromised immune systems, older folks, youngsters, health care workers, and people frequenting hospitals, to name a few. In responding to COVID-19 specifically, we must ask ourselves who among us is the most vulnerable and how can we act in the best interest of those people? This is why we seek to inform you of current conditions and why we have instituted additional spiritual devotions and activities, live-streaming, and a food pantry, and soon a self-testing site. Thank you for all that you do for St. Helena, and together we shall continue to be an essential spiritual and community center during these difficult times. Peace. Fr. David Pastor

Many posts have stated that “Masses are canceled” due to coronavirus. Technically that is not true. While many Public Masses have been suspended, most priests are still saying Masses only without a congregation, and that is different from Mass being canceled. We have unfortunately seen this error even from dioceses. One diocese had in big letters, “Until further notice, All Masses will be canceled throughout the diocese of … ” This was odd as the next line was about how they would be live-streaming Masses from many parishes and the cathedral, thus indicating Masses were still being celebrated, only without a congregation. All that is suspended is the congregation, not Mass. In addition, “suspended” means a temporary lifting of one aspect, not a permanent removal of Mass, as “canceled” might imply. This distinction is important because it points to the value of the Mass in itself and not just for the community. Always remember that Mass has an infinite value in itself. One line of St. John Paul II stands out regarding Mass, especially when being celebrated without a congregation: “The Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 8) Every Mass has infinite value as it is Jesus’ sacrifice represented. Thus, a Mass celebrated without a congregation is still valuable for the whole Church. Just as every Mass is “celebrated on the altar of the world,” so every Mass has the entire Church present in some way. Thus, even if a person cannot be at Mass physically, as a baptized believer in union with the Pope, people are present in some way. When someone can’t attend Mass for whatever reason, the Church encourages people to participate virtually. The current documents on that subject are older documents, and they suggest that people should listen o the Mass on the radio or watch the Mass on TV, but online livestreams of Mass also apply; they just weren’t foreseen when the documents were first written decades ago. Here at St. Helena, we are live-streaming Mass daily from the church at 9 a.m. in English and from the chapel at 5 p.m. in Spanish, and, in addition, Sunday Mass is live-streamed at 8 p.m. on Saturday in French. To participate, visit www.facebook.com/St.HelenaBronx and click the word video on the left-hand column. Many priests celebrate Mass without a congregation with some frequency, and most priests try to say Mass daily, even while on vacation or on their day off each week. While the priest often does not have a congregation, it helps him spiritually to still celebrate Mass. The Church has long held the value of a Mass with little to no congregation. Mass is re-living or re-presenting the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We are called to live the whole Mass and not just treat it an extended introduction to Communion. In Mass, we go through the whole paschal mystery. In fact, the end of the Eucharistic prayer, also known as the doxology, reminds us of the purpose of the Mass: “Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever.” So. let us therefore unite ourselves spiritually to all the Masses being celebrated during this current coronavirus pandemic. Remember, Jesus is asking all of us to grow in faith and to make many spiritual Communions, as we hunger more for the Eucharist.

We have heard so much about how we should respond medically to the Coronavirus, but how should we respond spiritually? It is perhaps appropriate that concern for this virus is taking place during Lent, a time of prayer, penance, and sometimes suffering. Suffering, while never seen by the Church as a good in itself, nonetheless can lead to a supernaturally transformative quality that cannot be replaced by any other human experience. St. John Paul II put it this way: “It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls (Salvifici Doloris, 27).” Through the uniting of our present sufferings, including those related to Coronavirus, to the sufferings of Jesus on the Cross, we can cause a supernatural release of the graces merited infinitely by Jesus on Calvary to be applied for the salvation of our brothers and sisters today. So, how should we as Catholics respond to the suffering, fear and anxiety that has been caused by this virus in recent weeks? In some ways human fear of the virus may be worse than the virus itself, so we should be practical and prayerful. Thus, the FIRST thing that we must do is to TRUST GOD. Viral disease is a fact of biological existence and a part of creation. Keeping perspective and not panicking apply here, just as they do for all risks we face as creatures in a finite world. No matter how dire circumstances get, the Lord remains our refuge and strength, “an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). To trust in the Lord amid trouble is to experience and bear witness to the power of Christ. Second, as our Blessed Mother has always told us, we must constantly PRAY. We must pray for the sick and the scared, for public health officials, for doctors and nurses, for researchers, and for caregivers. As Catholics, we believe prayer has power. As we seek help from the Lord, now is the time for us to increase our prayer response, which remains the perennial Christian remedy for greater fear and anxiety. Our third response is a very practical one, to HEAL THE SICK. A core calling for Catholics is to care for the sick and dying (Matt. 10:8), sometimes at the risk of our own lives (John 15:13). This is the epitome of love. Even if a virus outbreak prevents us from gathering as congregations to worship, we still support one another in our caregiving. This can happen through prayer, through verbal encouragement, and through coming alongside others to provide help in a crisis. Our fourth response is to STAY INFORMED. We live in the Communications Revolution. The media is aflame with daily updates, but we cannot overdo it. Reading, watching, and listening to everything only increases anxiety. So, be selective in where you receive your information and utilize only reliable sources. Our fifth response is to RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST. It is not an oversimplification to say that all human challenges can find their ultimate answer and remedy in the Eucharist. Jesus is the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, and his Sacred and Eucharistic Heart possesses a more effective solution and consolation to every human trial. Receive Jesus more frequently in Holy Communion, attend daily Mass, take some time each day to sit with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, and tell Him each worry of your heart. These are heavenly balms for earthly hearts that feel overburdened, and when utilized, one can typically feel the fear and anxiety dissipate by the moment. Finally, we should TURN TO MARY. Early Christians knew well the powerful result of invoking Mary, the Mother of God and the spiritual Mother of all peoples during times of disaster. Along with the great and powerful prayer of the Rosary, we can pray the ancient Marian prayer, Sub Tuum Praesidium (“Under Your Protection”, c.250 A.D.), which called upon the Mother of God particularly during times of trial and persecution in the early Church in order to receive her unparalleled motherly intercession in their gravest of necessities. This is a powerful prayer said frequently by all Piarists around the world in every language. The “Corona” virus, which named after the series of crown-like spikes on its surface, is causing a worldwide escalation in fear and anxiety and has the potential of creating worldwide economic recessions, cessations of global travel, international supply stoppages, and most importantly, monumental significant human suffering and loss of life. However, history, time and time again, testifies to the truth that invoking the Mother of all peoples at times of potential disaster leads to both personal spiritual peace and historic global peace. The Piarist Fathers also have another special Marian prayer that we recite, “The Crown (Corona) of the 12 Stars.” Perhaps instead of becoming anxious and fearful, it is time that we plunge into spiritual combat and have one Corona go up against another.       

In his 2019 World Day of Migrants and Refugees message, the Holy Father reiterates the Gospel command to avoid despising “one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Mt 18:10). It is not just about migrants: it is a question of seeing that no one is excluded. A globalization of indifference has led to many of us to ignore the cries of the poor, turn our backs on the marginalized, and remain indifferent to those struggling to find a better life. We are called to help create the conditions that will lead to a better life for everyone on the planet. From January 5-11, 2020, the Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Migration Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Promoting a Church and a World for All,” which reflects the need for Catholics to be inclusive and welcoming to all our brothers and sisters. It is a call for unity to stand in solidarity with and care for those who are excluded and marginalized. Welcoming the newcomer and promoting a church for all counters what Pope Francis has referred to as “a globalization of indifference,” which has led to many of us to ignore the cries of the poor, turn our backs on the marginalized, and remain indifferent to those struggling to find a better life. We are called to be an active Church in support of all of God’s children, for “the Church which ‘goes forth’... can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast” (Evangelii Gaudium, 24). It is with this ideal in mind – that we call for a church that welcomes, protects, promotes, and integrates all, including immigrants and refugees. These four verbs have been used by Pope Francis to frame our obligations toward migrant populations. As he expressed in his message: Welcoming means, above all, “offering broader options for migrants and refugees to enter destination countries safely and legally.” We must nurture societies that aim as much as possible to include, rather exclude. A culture of encounter that emphasizes humanity and inherent human dignity best counters anti-immigrant sentiment and welcoming is a vital step in that journey. Protecting migrants “may be understood as a series of steps intended to defend the rights and dignity of migrants, independent of their legal status.” The Catholic Church has long emphasized the importance of protecting the human dignity of migrants, both through the implementation of humane policies and through their accompaniment. Promoting essentially means a “determined effort to ensure that all migrants and refugees – as well as the communities which welcome them – are empowered to achieve their potential as human beings, in all the dimensions which constitute their humanity.” Of importance here is our obligation to institute practices and policies that will promote and preserve the integrity of the family, reaffirm family reunification, and make allowances for family members to work following their arrival to new destination countries. Integrating emphasizes the “opportunities for intercultural enrichment brought about by the presence of migrants and refugees.” Although the initial act of welcoming migrants is an important step, it is imperative that we go further and take the necessary steps that will help them to become active, participating members of our communities. Let us take some time during the upcoming National Migration Week to reflect on how we can better welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants living in our midst. How can we counter the globalization of indifference that affects us all, to some degree or another? What policies can we promote that will affirm the dignity of migrants and better secure the common good? How do we work more fully to promote a Church for all?

Why do we have Christmas trees in our church sanctuary? Christmas trees are a central part of Christmas celebrations around the world. Families gather around them to exchange gifts, cities put them up in squares and town halls, you'll find them in nearly every hotel and shopping mall. While several non-Christian cultures brought evergreen plants indoors at the time of the winter solstice, legend holds that St. Boniface was the first to co-opt the Christmas tree tradition for Christianity in the 8th century. He was attempting to convert the Druids who worshipped oak trees as the symbol of their idol. After cutting down their “Thunder Oak” and noticing a small evergreen that was growing next to it, he instead offered to them the balsam fir tree, using its triangular shape to describe the Trinity and the fact that his evergreen boughs pointed to heaven, as a symbol of God. The first use of Christmas trees as they're known today dates back to either Germany or Latvia in the 1500s. Christmas trees, like most Christmas traditions other than Church services, were adopted late in America. The Puritans frowned on all such “pagan” traditions. In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts made any observance of Christmas other than a church service a penal offense. It wasn’t until an influx of German and Irish immigrants came in the 19th century that the Puritan legacy was undermined. In 1846, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (who was German) were pictured in the London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. As a result, the popularity of Christmas trees soared, both in England and America. By 1920, the custom was almost universal. Today we can firmly claim the symbol as a Christian one. Many families bless their Christmas trees and the symbol of a tree has deep roots in our faith. “We are reminded that our first parents were not allowed to eat from one tree and that Christ paid the great price for our redemption by hanging on a tree.” In addition, the evergreen boughs and the lights that decorate them do remind us that Christ is the light of the world and that His light is everlasting. He has come to bring joy and light into our dark world.

The Season of Advent Advent begins on the Sunday right after Thanksgiving. Applying the rule from the New General Roman Calendar: Advent begins with First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Sunday that falls on the closest to November 30, and it ends before First Vespers of Christmas. Advent starts the new Liturgical Year and can be seen as another opportunity to spiritually begin anew. Holy Mother Church knows how many times we need to start again! There are particular themes in the Liturgy throughout Advent: a spirit of waiting, of conversion and joyful hope. These liturgical themes inspire what we do with the family or Domestic Church during Advent. One major theme of Advent is coming. The word "advent" means the arrival or "coming" of a notable person, thing, or event. In Latin, the word "Advent" had an intriguing range of meanings. Adventus is a form of the verb advenio which is defined not only as arrive, come to, but also as develop, set in, and arise. Adventus itself also refers to an invasion, incursion, ripening, and appearance—all denotations that are rich with implications for the gospel accounts of Christ. The relationship between adventus and military comings is especially noteworthy. In ancient Rome, Adventus was a technical term for the ‘glorious entry’ of an emperor into his capital city. Often this happened after a military victory. In addition to celebrating conquest on the battlefield, the birthday of the royal leader was also commemorated in an Adventus. Now it makes sense why the liturgical color of Advent is royal purple. Another major theme of Advent is waiting. It is not idle waiting, but waiting in a spirit of preparation. There are three ways we are waiting for the coming of Christ: in history, in mystery, and in majesty. In History: We recall the Old Testament waiting for the Son of God to be born at Bethlehem. In Mystery: We await Christ’s coming at Mass in the Eucharist and prepare for our reception of Him at Communion. In Majesty: Our true preparation of Advent is preparing our hearts for Christ for our final judgment at Parousia, the end of time “when God will be all in all.” These are the three comings of Christ that we contemplate during Advent. So often the emphasis is placed on Christ at Bethlehem, but if we listen carefully to the Liturgy there are also many eschatological reminders, urging us to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. Our waiting involves preparedness, just like the Wise Bridesmaids in the parable. We must keep our eyes on the coming of Christ and not end up without extra lamp oil.

What is Purgatory? During this month of November, we will pray often for the poor souls in purgatory. For too many people purgatory is seen as a place located somewhere between heaven and hell. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship but are still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031). Such purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, “nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven” (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. When we die, we undergo what is called the particular, or individual, judgment. Scripture says that “it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We are judged instantly and receive our reward, for good or ill. We know at once what our final destiny will be. At the end of time, when Jesus returns, there will come the general judgment to which the Bible refers, for example, in Matthew 25:31-32: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” In this general judgment all our sins will be publicly revealed (Luke 12:2–5). St. Augustine said in The City of God that “temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment.” It is between the particular and general judgments, then, that the soul is purified of the remaining consequences of sin: “I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper” (Luke 12:59). Praying for the dead is an ancient Church practice. Graffiti in the catacombs, where Christians fled during the persecutions of the first three centuries, recorded prayers for the dead. Indeed, some of the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament, like the Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity (both written during the second century), refer to the Christian practice of praying for the dead. St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine asked her son, in the fourth century, to remember her soul in his Masses. Such prayers would have been offered only if Christians believed in purgatory, even if they did not use that name for it. A study of the history of doctrines indicates that Christians in the first centuries were up in arms  if anyone suggested the least change in beliefs. They were extremely conservative people who tested a doctrine’s truth by asking, Was this believed by our ancestors? Was it handed on from the apostles? Surely belief in purgatory would be considered a great change, if it had not been believed from the beginning. Some people claim that the Bible speaks only of heaven and hell, but they are wrong. Scripture speaks plainly of a third condition, commonly called the limbo of the Fathers, where the just who had died before the redemption were waiting for heaven to be opened to them. After his death and before his resurrection, Christ visited those experiencing the limbo of the Fathers and preached to them the good news that heaven would now be opened to them (1 Pet. 3:19). These people thus were not in heaven, but neither were they experiencing the torments of hell. Thus, Scripture teaches that purgatory exists, even if it doesn’t use that word. Christ refers to the sinner who “will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:32), suggesting that one can be freed after death of the consequences of one’s sins. Similarly, Paul tells us that, when we are judged, each man’s work will be tried. And what happens if a righteous man’s work fails the test? “He will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15). Now this loss, this penalty, can’t refer to consignment to hell, since no one is saved there; and heaven can’t be meant, since there is no suffering (“fire”) there. The Catholic doctrine of purgatory alone explains this passage. Then, of course, there is the Bible’s approval of prayers for the dead: “In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the dead to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin” (2 Macc. 12:43–45). Prayers are not needed by those in heaven, and no one can help those in hell. This verse so clearly illustrates the existence of purgatory that, at the time of the Reformation, Protestants had to cut the books of the Maccabees out of their Bibles in order to avoid accepting the doctrine. Prayers for the dead and the consequent doctrine of purgatory have been part of the true religion since before the time of Christ. Not only can we show it was practiced by the Jews of the time of the Maccabees, but it has even been retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified. It was not the Catholic Church that added the doctrine of purgatory. Rather, the Protestant churches rejected a doctrine that had always been believed by Jews and Christians. Catholic theology takes seriously the notion that “nothing unclean shall enter heaven.” From this it is inferred that a less than cleansed soul isn’t fit for heaven. It needs to be cleansed or “purged” of its remaining imperfections. Sanctification is thus not an option, something that may or may not happen before one gets into heaven. It is an absolute requirement, as Hebrews 12:14 states that we must strive “for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns to earth, he will physically raise all those who have died, giving them back the bodies they lost at death. These will be the same bodies people had in earthly life—but our resurrection bodies will not die and, for the righteous, they will be transformed into a glorified state, freed from suffering and pain, and enabled to do many of the amazing things Jesus could do with his glorified body (cf. 1 Cor. 15:35–44, 1 John 3:2). The resurrection of the body is an essential Christian doctrine, as the apostle Paul declares: “[I]f the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:13–18). Because, as Paul tells us, the Christian faith cannot exist without this doctrine, it has been infallibly defined by the Church. It is included in the three infallible professions of faith—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—and has been solemnly, infallibly taught by ecumenical councils. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215), infallibly defined that at the second coming Jesus “will judge the living and the dead, to render to every person according to his works, both to the reprobate and to the elect. All of them will rise with their own bodies, which they now wear, so as to receive according to their deserts, whether these be good or bad [Rom. 2:6–11]” (constitution 1). Most recently, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reiterated this long-defined teaching, stating, “‘We believe in the true resurrection of this flesh that we now possess’ (Council of Lyons II). We sow a corruptible body in the tomb, but he raises up an incorruptible body, a ‘spiritual body’ (cf. 1 Cor 15:42–44)” (CCC 1017).

The Liturgy of the Eucharist wasn’t an invention of the apostles or something Jesus created out of nowhere. A long tradition says it was a transformation of a Jewish liturgy: The Passover meal, or Seder, as it later became known, and any attentive Jew will hear a lot of references to the Passover at a Catholic Mass. In Egypt, God commanded his people to have a meal before freeing them from the land of Egypt. At the time of Jesus, the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed at the Jerusalem Temple because sacrifice became a right reserved to the Levite priests. Thus, the Passover had to be celebrated in Jerusalem. The Israelites had to eat the flesh of the sacrifice, whose blood was spread to saved them from the death of their first-born child. Having unleavened bread was a sign of the haste with which they left Egypt – they had no time to let it rise. God commanded the Israelites to remember this day generation after generation. It was seen not only as a remembrance but also a sharing in the very mystery of the Passover. The father of the family would explain to his children the story and the symbolism behind the bread and other foods. At the time of Jesus, a new theory had developed among many Jews, believing that the Messiah would deliver them on the night of the Passover and bring about a new covenant and new exodus, as God had delivered their ancestors from the land of Egypt. Around the time of Jesus, the Jewish Seder meal became divided into the blessing of four cups. This structure also called for the reading of the Hebrew Scriptures and closing hymns. John says the Last Supper took place on the Passover Preparation Day, while Matthew, Mark and Luke say that the Last Supper was a Passover meal: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you,” (Lk 22: 14-15). They also say that it was done in the evening and in Jerusalem, as was required. The Gospels also include an explanation of the meaning of the bread by Jesus and the conclusion with a hymn. Luke mentions that Jesus had more than one cup: “A cup” and then “the cup after supper” (Lk 22:14-20), and there are reasons to think that a form of the four-cup tradition was being used at that meal, especially because it helps explain other allusions to a “fourth cup” by Jesus. Based on clues from the Gospel narrative, the cups mentioned must have been the second and third out of the four. The first cup was for an introduction of the meal; the second was tied to the explanation of the bread and food symbols; the third people drank at the end of the supper; and the fourth was the closing cup after the final hymn. Jesus shifts the focus from the remembrance of the old covenant to the “New Covenant” to be brought about by the Messiah at the Last Supper: “This chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20). Thus, he establishes the new Passover in the following way: The Passover liturgy revolved around the body and blood of the lamb. Jesus now focuses on his own body and blood, placing himself as the sacrificial lamb. He takes the bread and explains it in a new light: “This is my body.” He then takes the wine and says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:27-28). Any Jew would have understood Jesus saying, “I am the new Passover lamb… This is the Passover of the Messiah, and I am the new sacrifice.” Instead of drinking what would’ve been the fourth cup of the Passover, Jesus says he will not drink wine again until he drinks it in the kingdom. In its place, after singing the final hymn, he goes straight to the Mount of Olives with his disciples (Mt 26:27-30). This action would have puzzled the apostles because it meant leaving the Passover meal unfinished. For Jesus, that fourth cup was his sacrifice. In Gethsemane he prayed to the Father three times about the cup of his death he must drink… “Let this cup pass from me” (Mt 26:36-46). It is not until he is about to die on the cross that he asks for the last cup, saying, “I thirst.” After he drinks from the sponge full of wine, he exclaims, “It is finished.” It was then that he finished the Last Supper – on the cross right before he died. Jesus interwove his own sacrifice into the Passover mystery, as the sacrificial lamb, to bring about the Passover of the Messiah for the salvation all. This New Passover is the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass. Jesus instituted a new Passover liturgy that was tied to his death, and at every Mass when we receive Holy Communion, we eat the flesh of the new Passover lamb, Jesus himself, and we drink his blood, the fourth cup. It’s the new covenant that brings about a new exodus, not from Egyptian slavery, but from the slavery of sin, and takes us to the Promised Land.

Protestants often claim that the Church that Jesus founded was the “Christian Church,” not the Catholic Church. The biblical evidence cited for this claim is found in the Acts of the Apostles: “So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year, they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch, the disciples were for the first time called Christians” (Acts 11:25-26). No doubt, disciples in the early Church became known as Christians. But does this mean that their Church was not called the Catholic Church? One of the things Peter did before he went to Rome was to found the church in Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman Empire at the time. He ordained a disciple there named Evodius to the episcopacy and appointed him the bishop of Antioch. Evodius is believed by many to have been one of the seventy disciples Jesus appointed to go ahead of him to the towns and places where he taught during his second missionary journey. It was during Evodius’s reign as bishop of Antioch that the “disciples” there were for the first time called Christians. But, while Paul was teaching the Christians in Antioch during Evodius’s reign, another young disciple was moving up through the ranks. His name was Ignatius, and he would later become known as Saint Ignatius of Antioch, an early Christian martyr. Ignatius was a disciple of John. Legend has it that, much earlier in his life, Ignatius was the child whom Jesus took in his arms in a passage recorded by Mark: [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” (Mark 11:35-37) This legend demonstrates the great esteem his memory has enjoyed since the early centuries of the Church. At Antioch, Ignatius was ordained by Paul, and then, at the end of the reign of Evodius, he was appointed the bishop of Antioch by Peter. He reigned there for many years before his martyrdom in Rome. On his way to Rome to be martyred, he wrote several letters to fellow Christians in various locations, expounding on Christian theology. He especially emphasized unity among Christians and became known as an Apostolic Father of the Church. In one of his letters (to Christians in Smyrna), he wrote, “Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.” This is the earliest known written record of the term “Catholic Church” (written around A.D. 107), but Ignatius seemingly used it with the presumption that the Christians of his day were quite familiar with it. In other words, even though his is the earliest known written record of the term, the term likely had been in use for quite some time by then, dating back to the time of the apostles. The term “Catholic Church” (Gk. katholike ekklesia) broadly means “universal assembly,” and Ignatius used it when writing to the Christians of Smyrna as a term of unity. He exhorted these Christians to follow their bishop just as the broader universal assembly of Christians follows Christ. He clearly uses the terms “Christian” and “Catholic Church” distinctly: disciples of Christ are Christians; the universal assembly of Christians is the Catholic Church. Thus, we see that the Christians of Antioch were part of the Catholic Church. They were indeed Christian disciples, but they were also Catholic. Given the unbroken chain of succession at Antioch—from Peter (sent by Christ) to Evodius to Ignatius—if any Christian today wishes to identify with the biblical Christians of the first century mentioned in Acts 11, it follows quite logically that he must also identify with those same Christians’ universal assembly: the Catholic Church.

A couple of Sundays ago Abraham told the wealthy many who had died, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead,” and today in the Year A Gospel, which is read at those Masses in which the third Scrutiny will be celebrated, Lazarus does rise from the dead. Now, some people find it hard to accept that God would love some people more than others. That wouldn’t be fair, they say. But God became man. If he did not love some more than others, Jesus wouldn’t be fully human. For human beings have family and friends. While we can do good and even risk our lives for a stranger, we have special bonds of intimacy and affection with a rather small circle. Out of twelve, Jesus had one who was especially beloved. In the Gospel of this beloved disciple, we learn that Jesus had one family who was particularly beloved in this way. The family was that of Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. So it was a surprise to all that Jesus did not come immediately when he heard that Lazarus was ill. Of course he was a busy man. But Jesus had dropped everything many times before to heal strangers. This, on the other hand, was one of his dearest friends. Do not worry, he explained to his disciples. This sickness would not end in death. So. imagine their surprise when he tells them a few days later that Lazarus is dead and that it’s time to visit his grave. Jesus knew what he was going to do. Yet, when he was met by a distraught Mary and her weeping companions, he did not rebuke them for crying. He did not say they should wear white and rejoice that their brother had finally gone home to heaven. No, he wept with them. Some people accept death as a natural part of human life. Others think death to be merely a portal to eternity. Jesus saw death as an enemy. His Father had never intended for us to experience it. In fact, he forbade Adam and Eve only one thing – to eat a fruit that would make them subject to it. Death came into the world through the envy of the devil, not through the plan of God. Death wrenches a soul from its body. It rips loved ones from the embrace of their families. So in the presence of those wounded by death’s sting, Jesus weeps. Jesus’ miracles in the gospels always spring from his compassion for the suffering. But he always has more in mind than helping just the victim lying before him. His miraculous works in John’s gospel are called signs because they point beyond themselves to something even greater he will do to gain a greater benefit for all. This is why Jesus allowed Lazarus to die in the first place. Because when he called him forth from the tomb, Jesus was making clear why he had come. His teaching was, of course, sublime. And his cures were life-changing. But wise and healthy people still face the horror of death. If Jesus were really the savior, he had to save us from the grave. And the salvation would have to be a permanent one. Lazarus’ resuscitation was only a stay of execution. A few years later, the mourners would have to assemble around his bedside once again. The raising of Lazarus was a sign of Christ’s power over death. He is “the life” who pulls down that wall that can seem so impenetrable to us: the wall of death. It shows us Christ’s lordship over death. Christ gives us a trustworthy hope of life beyond death. We need Martha’s faith in the midst of the doubts and fears we might encounter in the face of tragedies, especially in the face of death. So, in the presence of the great crowd assembled for the funeral, Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb. This demonstration of Jesus’ power over death was a sign of his own coming resurrection, and of Lazarus’s and ours as well. This is the seventh and last recorded miracle or “sign” in John’s gospel. Jesus knew it would be. You and I might expect that the news of this miracle, brought back to Jerusalem by numerous eye-witnesses, would lead to the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Messiah. But the Lord knew it would have the exact opposite effect. It demonstrated to his enemies just how great a threat he was. They had to act fast to stop this sort of thing from getting out of hand. But that was all part of his plan. For he was in total control. He planned to lay his life down willingly, to experience the horrible torture of crucifixion, the bitter wrenching of the body from a soul and one friend from another friend. He was willing to do this because, by means of it, he knew he would accomplish more for us than he had for Lazarus–a victory over death that would last forever. The raising of Lazarus from the dead points to our rising in faith to a new and eternal life through Baptism. Water, light, and life! Are YOU convinced?