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Fr. Mark-David Janus If
you would like to see the archive for 2004,
which includes the thoughts of the and
homilies for that year click here Thought for the Day October 6, 2006 The murder of the Amish girls this past week is particularly hard for me to take.
It seems to me to a violation of a special innocence, a madness peculiarly evil, as is, the murder of any child. That children are victims of terrorism, be it in Pennsylvania, Baghdad, Beirut, Haifa or Darfur fills me not so much with disappointment as with rage. That is how I felt when I read a CNN report on the wake and funeral of these girls. In this report, the minister described a scene in which an elder of the group, the grandfather of one of the murdered girls called together a group of Amish boys to surround her casket.
Resting his hand on the casket of his granddaughter, he began to teach them: "We must not have hatred in our heart for this man." He explained that the man must have had a "sickness of the heart" and so they must pray for his forgiveness; they must forgive him and not fill their hearts with hate
We may think of the Amish as regressive, quaint, separatist. But there is no doubt that they are people of great faith, who in this moment witness to the world the love of God. One of my friends to whom I told this story said to me of the grandfather, "He went beyond his feelings to his core beliefs." I suppose he did. What he did for me is, that in our world, a world now filled with terrorist activities of every sort, he provided a model of how a Christian responds to terrorist activities. In his loss that grandfather was careful to instruct his grandsons on how they should respond. The Amish do not wage a war on terror, they exercise forgiveness in the midst of grief, and a faith that trusts their loved ones, their assailants, and themselves to the mercy of God. That grandfather may be backwards, but he is a better man than I am. September 30, 2006 "The Scorpion is dead" St. Augustine is reported to have said when he heard the news of the death of St. Jerome (345-420), the most famous biblical scholar in the history of the Church. Fluent in Hebrew and Greek, he produced the first Latin edition of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. he also wrote many commentaries on biblical texts, so he is very often portrayed in art as a scholar.
But do not be deceived, this as not a harmless little old man. he was a brutal and ruthless critic. In fact when his protector, Pope Damasus I died, Jerome was driven from the city to spend the rest of his life (and criticism) in exile in Bethlehem where his friends and enemies were not spared his poison pen and tongue. Consequently, artists also portray Jerome as a man doing penance for his sins.
I like Jerome because he is proof that even grumpy old men can become saints and get into heaven. Apparently, there is room for all temperaments in God's kingdom. One final picture, actually it is a sculpture of Jerome in grief. In Rome he had a benefactor who later became his best friend, a woman named Paula. She followed him to Bethlehem, and financed his monastery and three convents. When she died, crusty, cantankerous old Jerome was said to be inconsolable.
September 21, 2006 Today is the feats of St. Matthew, whom we most often see looking like this:
He is of course the author of the Gospel of Matthew, which some painters quaintly portray him as the recipient of helpful editorial angels:
However, Matthew needed no angels to feed him his story, he was there, as today's gospel tells us: Gospel
Mt
9:9-13 Tax collectors in Jesus' day were not representatives of the IRS, but agents of the occupying power of Rome, extortionists who forced the occupied to pay for their captors, and who collaborated with the Romans to oppress their own people for their own profit. Hence, the outrage of the Pharisees is understandable. That Jesus calls this man to himself implicates him in Matthew's crimes, it casts doubt and shadow on Jesus' character. The call of Matthew was captured by the Italian painter Caravaggio, who portrayed the scene with contemporary figures wearing the clothing of his day.
That Jesus is specifically pointing Matthew out is seen in this detail which curiously, reminds me of the hand of God the father reaching out to touch Adam on Michelangelo's ceiling. : The other people around the table are as astounded as the Pharisees at Jesus' call of Matthew. I can almost hear them saying around the table, "You mean him?"
Caravaggio's detail of Matthew explains their astonishment. If there was ever a portrait of a public sinner this is it: young, self absorbed; a face that is greedy and totally unkind.
Caravaggio paints St. Matthew many times, and I think for good reason. He himself was "rough trade" a murderer, a scoundrel, a drunk, a Catholic. In the call of St. Matthew, perhaps Caravaggio found hope for himself, that someone like him, like Matthew could be called by Jesus, perhaps there was hope that he Caravaggio, could be befriended by the Lord as well. That is course is precisely the point of Matthew's gospel, a story that Matthew tells himself. The last point I want to make is that of course, he not only answered the call, not only did he come to the table with Jesus, he also told the story, the good news of what Jesus did for him. There are then two lessons for us to learn from today: (1) Jesus apparently has few qualifications for those who calls. he calls us not because we deserve it, but because he loves them, not because we are virtuous, but because we need him. There is in fact nothing we have done that stops Jesus from reaching out to us. (2) Matthew not only followed Jesus, he told the story of how Jesus had touched him. Matthew was a writer, that was his medium, whatever our medium is, we have the same obligation, the same call, to tell others the difference Jesus makes in our life. We are called after all, not just to have dinner with Jesus, but to invite others to the table we share with him. The final picture I have to share with you is of this unfinished sculpture of Matthew. I like the rough unfinished nature of it because it reminds me of the Matthew in me, rough, unfinished, wrestling to escape the stone of my past, but not yet there, not yet polished, not yet free, struggling to answer the call to follow Jesus and tell his story.
September 17, 2006 The controversy continues, and today, during his Sunday noon blessing, the Pope again spoke about his feelings on this issue. The report that follows is from Reuters.
"The
Pastoral Visit which I recently made to
I
thank God for the interior joy which he
made possible, and I am also grateful to
all those who worked hard for the
success of this Pastoral Visit. As is
the custom, I will speak more of this
during next Wednesday's general
audience. At
this time, I wish also to add that I am
deeply sorry for the reactions in some
countries to a few passages of my
address at the These
in fact were a quotation from a medieval
text, which do not in any way express my
personal thought. Yesterday,
the Cardinal Secretary of State
published a statement in this regard in
which he explained the true meaning of
my words. I
hope that this serves to appease hearts
and to clarify the true meaning of my
address, which in its totality was and
is an invitation to frank and sincere
dialogue, with great mutual
respect." September 16, 2006 There has been a good deal of media coverage concerning the Pope Benedict XVI's statement about Islam. Below is the official text from the Vatican on this controversy:
Given
the reaction in Muslim quarters to
certain passages of the Holy
Father's address at the University of
Regensburg, and the clarifications and
explanations already presented through
the Director of the Holy See Press
Office, I would like to add the
following: The
position of the Pope concerning Islam is
unequivocally that expressed by the
conciliar document Nostra Aetate: "The
Church regards with esteem also the
Muslims. They adore the one God, living
and subsisting in Himself; merciful and
all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and
earth, Who has spoken to men; they take
pains to submit wholeheartedly to even
His inscrutable decrees, just as
Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam
takes pleasure in linking itself,
submitted to God. Though they do not
acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere
Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary,
His virgin Mother; at times they even
call on her with devotion. In addition,
they await the day of judgment when God
will render their deserts to all those
who have been raised up from the dead.
Finally, they value the moral life and
worship God especially through prayer,
almsgiving and fasting" (no.
3). The
Pope's option in favor of
inter-religious and inter-cultural
dialogue is equally unequivocal. In his
meeting with representatives of Muslim
communities in "cannot
be reduced to an optional extra,"
adding: "The lessons of the past
must help us to avoid repeating the same
mistakes. We must seek paths of
reconciliation and learn to live with
respect for each other's identity". As
for the opinion of the Byzantine emperor
Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted
during his On
this point, it is worth recalling what
Benedict XVI himself recently affirmed
in his commemorative Message for the
20th anniversary of the Inter-religious
Meeting of Prayer for Peace, initiated
by his predecessor John Paul II at "
... demonstrations of violence cannot be
attributed to religion as such but to
the cultural limitations with which it
is lived and develops in time. ... In
fact, attestations of the close bond
that exists between the relationship
with God and the ethics of love are
recorded in all great religious
traditions". The
Holy Father thus sincerely regrets that
certain passages of his address could
have sounded offensive to the
sensitivities of the Muslim faithful,
and should have been interpreted in a
manner that in no way corresponds to his
intentions. Indeed it was he who, before
the religious fervor of Muslim
believers, warned secularized Western
culture to guard against "the
contempt for God and the cynicism that
considers mockery of the sacred to be an
exercise of freedom". In reiterating his respect and esteem for those who profess Islam, he hopes they will be helped to understand the correct meaning of his words so that, quickly surmounting this present uneasy moment, witness to the "Creator of heaven and earth, Who has spoken to men" may be reinforced, and collaboration may intensify "to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom" (Nostra Aetate no. 3). -
STATEMENT OF HIS
EMINENCE, CARD. TARCISIO BERTONE,
SECRETARY OF STATE September 11, 2006 God of Mercy, we keep this anniversary of the death of our brothers and sisters. Give them light, happiness and peace. We ask this through Jesus your Son, our Lord and brother.
September 4, 2006 Today is the real labor Day, when we have the feeling that we are all going back to work, back to the classroom, back to life after summer. I just returned from my vacation at the Paulist retreat at Lake George, New York where I discovered I really like doing nothing.
But the Labor day holiday is over, and the real labor day starts today. So my thoughts turned to the condition of people who labor in our 21st century global economy. You cannot live here in Michigan without being always aware of the fragile nature of our state's economy and the profound impact it has on people. PBS had a labor day story featuring this book:
“Layoffs Provoke Self Esteem Problems and Decreased Productivity: With the increase in outsourcing jobs to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, Americans are facing more frequent layoffs at the workplace. This phenomenon is causing low self esteem and other psychological problems among people losing their jobs. One myth of layoffs is that they would stop. In fact, they haven't even slowed down. The equilibrium we have settled into is the equilibrium of the -- of the knee-jerk layoff, if you will. A second myth says in a changing economy there's plenty of good jobs out there, folks, and all you have to do is be in the right skills. If you're in the wrong skills and you lose your job, go, we will train you to be in the right skills. And it's turned out, there just aren't enough good jobs at good pay for all the qualified people who want them in this country. But the final myth was the most disturbing: that, in deciding whether and how to lay people off, the economics should be dictated by the costs and benefits to the company alone.: You can read or listen to the broadcast yourself here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec06/disposable_09-04.html. This got me thinking about what the Church might have to say about this issue, and three popes in particular have spoken extensively about this. What follows are some excerpts from Papal Encyclicals ranging from 1891 through 1991. Pope Leo XIII
The following duties bind the wealthy owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain, or to value them solely for their physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman. Again justice demands that, in dealing with the working man, religion and the good of his soul must be kept in mind. Hence, the employer is bound to see that the worker has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away to neglect his home and family, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless, before deciding whether wages axe fair, many things have to be considered; but wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven. "Behold, the hire of the laborers... which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Lastly, the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workmen's earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by usurious dealing; and with all the greater reason because the laboring man is, as a rule, weak and unprotected, and because his slender means should in proportion to their scantiness be accounted sacred. - Rerum Novarum 1891- 
Pope Pius XI This
concentration of power and might, the
characteristic mark, as it were, of
contemporary economic life, is the fruit
that the unlimited freedom of struggle
among competitors has of its own nature
produced, and which lets only the
strongest survive; and this is often the
same as saying, those who fight the most
violently, those who give least heed to
their conscience. This
accumulation of might and of power
generates in turn three kinds of
conflict. First, there is the struggle
for economic supremacy itself; then
there is the bitter fight to gain
supremacy over the State in order to use
in economic struggles its resources and
authority; finally there is conflict
between States themselves, not only
because countries employ their power and
shape their policies to promote every
economic advantage of their citizens,
but also because they seek to decide
political controversies that arise among
nations through the use of their
economic supremacy and strength. Thus
it came to pass that many, much more
than ever before, were solely concerned
with increasing their wealth by any
means whatsoever, and that in seeking
their own selfish interests before
everything else they had no conscience
about committing even the gravest of
crimes against others. Those first
entering upon this broad way that leads
to destruction easily found numerous
imitators of their iniquity by the
example of their manifest success, by
their insolent display of wealth, by
their ridiculing the conscience of
others, who, as they said, were troubled
by silly scruples, or lastly by crushing
more conscientious competitors. –Quadragesimo
Anno, 1931-
The
Church acknowledges the legitimate role
of profit as an indication that a
business is functioning well. When a
firm makes a profit, this means that
productive factors have been properly
employed and corresponding human needs
have been duly satisfied. But
profitability is not the only indicator
of a firm's condition. It is possible
for the financial accounts to be in
order, and yet for the people — who
make up the firm's most valuable asset
— to be humiliated and their dignity
offended. Besides being morally
inadmissible, this will eventually have
negative repercussions on the firm's
economic efficiency. In fact, the
purpose of a business firm is not simply
to make a profit, but is to be found in
its very existence as a community of
persons who in various ways are
endeavoring to satisfy their basic
needs, and who form a particular group
at the service of the whole of society.
Profit is a regulator of the life of a
business, but it is not the only one; other
human and moral factors must also be
considered which, in the long term, are
at least equally important for the life
of a business.
– Centesimus
Annus, 1991- July 12, 2006 "The Catholic World was begun by Paulist founder Isaac Thomas Hecker in April 1865 as “a magazine of general literature and science.” It sought in the words of Hecker’s biographer, David O’Brien, to awaken the growing number of American Catholics to the issues of their day. Hecker wanted to present an intelligent appreciation of the Catholic faith and to sustain morale at a time when the church was under attack from the larger culture. These initial goals, some one hundred forty years later, are still valid. Catholics today remain in dialogue with American culture; at times standing apart to champion values and policies that reverence the sacred in the midst of the secular. Some eleven years after it ceased publishing in print media, the Paulist Fathers will bring The Catholic World back to life in September 2006. It returns as an online journal in the brave new world of the internet, something that Hecker would have delighted in. It continues with the same goals but with a new look. From the intersection of faith and culture, this meeting place of clashing symbols, values and voices, The Catholic World will provide background and commentary, and in the spirit of Father Hecker try to awaken American Catholics to build a more Catholic America." Fr. Paul Robichaud, C.S.P., Ph.D. History buffs will want to read the very first article in the 1865 version of the Catholic World, which was an expose by a French catholic of the growth of the then missionary Church in North America. July 9, 2006 World Cup 2006
My Favorite team-Wait till 4 years from now!
May 3, 2006
Mary
of Magdala: What The Da Vinci Code
Misses New From Paulist Press: The controversial and bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, brought to life a spirited debate concerning Mary of Magdalene's true role in the life of Jesus. This book examines the gospel text, legends and devotion dealing with Mary in light of the fallacies concerning her put forth in the novel. While you are reading about this, you might also want to check out this new book on the Da Vinci Code from the Press
In a user-friendly question-and-answer format, this book not only refutes the errors in The Da Vinci Code, but also discusses the riches of the Catholic historical, cultural, and faith heritage that the novel ignores. April 25, 2006 Feast of St. Mark
For
reasons that should be apparent, I am
giving extra treatment to my patron
saint on this his feast day. The
first Gospel is attributed by tradition
to St. Mark. In the Acts of the Apostles
we learn that Mar, the son of Maria,
lived in This
is the same house where Peter met his
other brethren, after being miraculously
freed by the angel of God from jail, and
where he baptised Mark into the new
faith. Peter, in his first letter (A'
Epistle 5:13) refers to Mark as his
"son", although there is not
any apparent relationship between them.
In Colossians 4:10 it is shown that Mark
was the "nephew of Barnabas",
a Levite from The
first direct mentioning of Mark is in
the Acts 12:25. There, prior to the
description of the first apostolic
voyage of Paul and Barnabas, the two
return to Antioch after delivering
supplies sent by the Christian brethren
to the Christians of Jerusalem. There
with them was "John who is also
called Mark". Given that the
assistance had been sent at the time
when the Emperor was Claudius Caesar,
the trip of Mark to A
little later, directed by the Holy
Spirit, Paul and Barnabas, taking with
them Mark, arrive in
Mark
accompanied Paul and Barnabas in their
second missionary journey, and again
followed Barnabas when he visited Ten
or twelve years later, as we read in the
Epistle of Paul to the Colossians (4:10)
and again in Philemon (6:24) Mark is
with Peter in Orthodox
ecclesiastical tradition has it that St
Mark came to St
Mark died the death of a martyr while he
was being pulled through the streets of
In
the year 828 AD, Venetian merchants
transported his relics to
April 20, 2006
The angel gives us certainty and hope and courage. At last we hear, and can know with absolute certainty, "The Lord is Risen indeed." We are reminded how forgetful we an be of all we have already received: the past, all the clues it gives, the messages it offers, the evidence of graces poured out. All there is that we can contribute creatively to any situation in the present. We are challenged too: "We look for the living among the dead" How at times we cling to what is moribund, sterile and hopeless simply because it is safe, habitual or expected. But enough for now: can you really take it is, and let your mouth bloom, your heart sing? From Andrew Walker, Journey into Joy: Stations of the Resurrection, Paulist press. April 15, 2006
April 14, 2006 Good Friday
Good Friday Procession in Venezuela April13, 2006 Scenes of Holy Thursday
Washing of the Feet
Last Supper
Jesus is the Garden of Olives
Betrayal, Arrest and desertion of Jesus April 10, 2006 Palm Sunday throughout the world in 2006
April 9, 2006 Jesus did not come to seek God in men, he drew men to himself by dying for them on the cross, in order that He might become God in them. All charity comes to a focus in Christ, because charity is his life in us. He draws us to Himself, unites us to one another in his His Holy Spirit, and raises us up with Himself to union with the Father. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island April 8, 2006 We tend to identify ourselves with those we love. We try to enter into their own souls and become what they are, thinking as they think, feeling as they feel, and experiencing what they experience. But there is no true intimacy between souls who do not know how to respect one another's solitude. i cannot be united in love with a person whose very personality my love tends to obscure, to absorb, and to destroy. nor can I awaken true love in a person who is invited by my love, to be drowned in the act of drowning me with love. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island April 7, 2006 In the economy of divine charity we have only as much as we give. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island April 6, 2006 In order to be what we are meant to be, we must know Christ, and love him, and do what he did. Our destiny is in our own hands since God has placed it there, and has given us the grace to do the impossible. It remains for us to take up courageously and without hesitation the work he has given us, which is the task of living our own life as Christ would live it is us. It takes intrepid courage to live the truth, and there is something of martyrdom in every Christian life, if we take martyrdom in in its original sense as a testimony to the truth, sealed in our own sufferings, in our own blood. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island April 5, 2006 Every man has a vocation to be someone: but he must understand clearly that in order to fulfill his vocation he can only be one person: himself...What does this mean/ We must be ourselves by being Christ. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island April 4, 2006 Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in his life and in his kingdom. each one of us is called to a special place in his kingdom. if we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God's will, to be what God wants us to be. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island March 29, 2006 It is true that we make many mistakes. But the biggest of them all is to be surprised at them: as if we had any hope of never making any. Mistakes are part of our life, and not the least important part. If we are humble, and if we believe in the providence of God, we will see that our mistakes are nor merely a necessary evil, something we must lament and count as lost: they enter into the very structure of our existence. It is by making mistakes that we gain experience, not only for ourselves but for others. and although our experience prevents neither ourselves nor others from making the same mistake many times, the repeated experience still has positive value. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island
March 28, 2006 We do not live merely in order to "do something" no matter what...We do not live more fully merely by doing more, tasting more, and experiencing more than we ever have before. on the contrary, some of us need to discover that we will not begin to live more fully until we have the courage to do and see and taste and experience much less than usual...There are times, then, when in order to keep ourselves in existence at all we simply have to sit back for a while and do nothing. And for a man who has let himself be drawn completely out of himself by his activity, nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest, doing nothing at all. The very act of resting is the hardest and most courageous act he can perform: and often it is quite beyond his power. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island March 27, 2006 Gratitude shows reverence to God in the way it makes use of his gifts. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island March 26, 2006 My idea of what I am is falsified by my admiration for what I do. And my illusions about myself are bred by contagion from the illusions of other men. We all seek to imitate one another's imagined greatness....If I do not know who I am, it is because I think I am the sort of person everyone around me wants me to be. perhaps I have never asked myself whether I anted to become what everybody else seems to want to become. perhaps if I only realized that I do not admire what everyone seem to admire, I would really begin to live after all. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island
March 25, 2006 Our Christian destiny is in fact a great one: but we cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great. For our own idea of greatness is illusory, and if we pay too much attention to it we will be lured out of the peace and stability of the being God gave us, and seek to live in a myth we have created for ourselves. It is, therefore, a very great thing to be little, which is to say: to be ourselves. And when we are truly ourselves we lose most of the futile self consciousness that keep us constantly comparing ourselves with others in order to see how big we are. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island March 24, 2006 All nature is meant to make us think of paradise...All God's creatures invite us to forget our vain cares and enter into our own hearts, which God Himself has made to be His paradise, and our own. If we have God dwelling within us, making our souls His paradise, then the world around us can also become for us what it was meant to be for Adam-his paradise. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island
March 23, 2006 Good habits are only developed by repeated acts, and we cannot discipline ourselves to do the same things over again with any degree of intelligence unless we go about it systematically. it is necessary, above all in the the beginning of our spiritual life to do certain things at fixed times: fasting on certain days, prayer and meditation at certain hours of the day, regular examinations of conscience, regularity in frequenting the sacraments, systematic application to our duties of state, particular attention to virtues which are most necessary for us. To desire a spiritual life is, thus, to desire discipline. Otherwise our desire is an illusion. it is true that discipline is supposed to bring us, eventually, to spiritual liberty. therefore our asceticism should make us spiritually flexible, not rigid, for rigidity and liberty never agree. But discipline must, nevertheless, have a certain element of severity about it. Otherwise it will never set us free from our passions. If we are not strict with ourselves, our own flesh will soon deceive us. If we do not command ourselves severely to pray and do penance at certain definite times, and make up our mind to keep our resolutions in spite of notable inconveniences and difficulty, we will quickly be deluded by our own excuses and let ourselves be led away by weakness and caprice. -Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island March 21, 2006 The real purpose of asceticism is to disclose the difference between the evil use of created things, which is sin, and their good use, which is virtue. It is true that self denial teaches us to realize that sin, which appears to be good from a certain point of view, is really evil. but self denial should not make us forget the essential distinction between sin, which is a negation, and pleasure, which is a positive good. In fact, it should make that distinction clearly known. true asceticism shows us that there is no necessary connection between sin and pleasure: that there can be sins that seek no pleasure, and other sins that find none. |
elcome to my
homepage for 2005, where you will find my thoughts for the day, quotations from spiritual writers I like, sometimes my own reflections on those quotations, past homilies of mine, books I find interesting, news photographs and art that touches me, and links to other web pages I enjoy. I am very new at this technology, but I plan to update this weekly, eventually when I get the hang of it-a little more if I can find the time. Perhaps some part of this might be useful to you
in your spiritual journey. Thanks for visiting, and don’t forget to visit our CIC forum. God Love You, Fr.
Mark-David.
