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Sunday, April 24, 2005

Mass for New Pope Tomorrow

As the Diocese of Oakland gives thanks
for the election of Pope Benedict XVI
The Most Reverend Allen Vigneron,
Bishop of Oakland,
will preside at the following service:

Monday, April 25, 2005 7:30 p.m.
Mass of Thanksgiving
St Augustine Church
400 Alcatraz Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609

John Paul I

Before the coverage of the Inauguration Mass began, MSNBC showed some archive footage of newscasts covering the election, inauguration, and sudden death of Pope John Paul I. He left his mark on the Papacy despite his tragically short tenure, in particular by refusing the traditional Papal Coronation and crowning with the Triple Tiara, preferring instead to receive the more modest symbols of authority, the Pallium and the Ring. He also dropped the use of the royal "we". In short, he transformed the ethos of the Papacy from royalty to humble servant, a precedent that both his successors have followed.

What a Great Preacher!

I’m watching the Inauguration Mass of Benedict XVI right now on MSNBC, and was moved and inspired by the Holy Father’s homily. In a few short words he managed to pay tribute to his predecessor and lay out his vision of ecclesiology, of the Church as the communion of Saints and all of the baptized, a Church very much alive, even young, today. He touched on the meaning of life, which is Christ Jesus, to know and follow His will is a joy rather than a burden, the source of our authentic freedom. He shared an infectious enthusiasm for spreading the Good News to the whole world, and for reuniting all believers under one shepherd. Truly this is a man who loves God and rejoices in the Gospel!

At one point he touched on the dignity of each and every human being as a unique creation of God:

"We’re not some casual and meaningless product of evolution, each of us is the result of a thought of God, each of us is willed. Each of us is loved, each of us is necessary."

What a beautiful thought! Let me guess, the headlines in tomorrow’s papers will be: New Pope Denounces Evolution.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Dictatorship of Relativism

The pope's idea of freedom is in conflict with modern secular thinking, which is relativistic, with no absolute truths. He will have a considerable challenge promoting his concept of human freedom, particularly in the West, where that view conflicts with current political and social thinking.

This quote from an editorial in today's Contra Costa Times took me aback somewhat, it makes it sound as though relativism is already the established mainstream view in "the West" today. The drift toward relativism is undeniable, and it has clearly attained the status of orthodoxy at most major universities (despite the apparent oxymoron of an orthodoxy of relativism). It may well be the dominant belief system in newsrooms and TV studios across the country.

But are most Americans today actually professed, practicing relativists? Have we really abandoned belief in any and all absolute truths? Somehow I doubt that Red State America, the slight majority of the country who voted for Bush last November, would agree with the statement that there are "no absolute truths."

And what about Blue State America? As a resident of the Very Dark Blue Bay Area I can attest that claims of absolute truth do make most folks around here mighty uncomfortable, but what then motivates their passionate beliefs? Why are they so strongly against the war in Iraq, oil drilling in the ANWR, and genetically modified foods, and so strongly in favor of stem cell research, gay marriage, and affirmative action? They generally claim that such beliefs derive from their deeply-held commitment to values like equality, diversity, civil rights, and environmentalism, and in most cases I take them at their word and believe they are fully sincere even when (as in the above examples) I disagree with the conclusions they reach.

Yet aren’t these values at some level absolute truths as well? If someone were to contradict these core values and say "the Earth is my trash can and I have a right to pollute it as much as I want to" or "people of my racial group are superior", precious few liberals that I know would respond with "everything is relative, you’re entitled to your view and I’m entitled to mine." No, most would say "you’re wrong" or "how dare you!" and possibly get very angry, because when it comes right down to it nearly all Americans still cling to certain absolute truths, whether they are fully cognizant of that fact or not.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Old Habits Die Hard

Seems I’m not the only one still adjusting to the idea of a new Pope. At a special Mass today in honor of the new Holy Father, after delivering a homily about him, rote memory took over and my priest said "make us grow in love, together with John Paul our... Benedict the Sixteenth our Pope."

Vatican II

I've been meaning to post my thoughts on Pope Benedict and Vatican II, but Amy beat me to it. Go read this right now.

I couldn't have put it half so well myself.

Incidentally, I could almost be the "20-something web designer in San Francisco in 2005" she mentions, though technically I'm not a web designer, but I do write web software in San Francisco. My blog layout would be a bit more original if I actually knew something about web design. :-)

Benedictum XVI

HABEMUS PAPAM. Almighty God be praised!

Wow. What a day. I went to work but I didn’t get much work done, I spent most of the day reading news and blogs and watching bits of streaming video.

My only disappointment is that I missed the live announcement. I was up very late last night waiting for what turned out to be black smoke from the morning vote, then went to bed figuring the afternoon vote wouldn’t happen until nearly lunch time, so I’d have to watch it from the office. I woke up around 8:30 and should have turned the TV on then, but instead I showered, dressed, and went through my whole morning routine before I finally switched on the TV for a quick check before heading out the door and there was the headline: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Elected New Pope.

My initial reaction was surprise, quite frankly I was stunned. I was almost certain he would not be chosen for two basic reasons:

He was clearly the favorite according to the media, and as the old saying goes, “he who enters the conclave as Pope leaves as a Cardinal.”

I thought he had too much baggage, and that the Cardinals would prefer a less controversial, less polarizing figure.

But once I picked my jaw up off the floor and pinched myself a few times to make sure I really was awake, I broke out into a huge grin. Though this whole idea of a new Pope will still take some getting used to, already I love our new Holy Father. What struck me most about his Urbi et Orbi blessing (I saw the replay on the Fox News website) was how humble he seemed, joyful yet almost overwhelmed by the great task ahead. He said he would rely on our prayers and I intend to do my part. My local parish announced last Sunday that it would have three Masses to celebrate the day after the selection of a new Pope, so I need to get to bed soon so I can make the morning service. More thoughts to come.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Joannes Paulus II

I must confess I’m completely addicted to all the conclave coverage and to speculating on who will be (and who should be) the next Pope. This is all so unprecedented for me, as I was only 2 years old the last time around. For me and for my generation John Paul II was not just a great Pope, he was quite simply the Pope. While my mind realizes that the papacy is an office that has been held by 264 different men, to my heart the Pope is a single man who has now gone to his rest in the hope of rising again. Though I will welcome his successor with gladness, it will take some time to adjust to the idea that another man could in any sense replace him.

For not only was he the only Pope I knew, but in this polarized landscape of “liberal” and “conservative” American Catholics I have come in the past few years to label myself a “JP II Catholic.” For just as I have no memory of Bl. John XXIII or Paul VI, so too I have no memory of Vatican II or the publication of Humane Vitae, the two seminal events in the life of many American Baby Boomer Catholics. For me the Novus Ordo is the traditional Mass of the Church, I don’t perceive endless “liturgical innovations” because the liturgy hasn’t changed all that much in my lifetime. The parish I grew up in still had altar rails, but I never once saw them used, and I used to sit sometimes at Mass and wonder what they were for; why they would put a row of kneelers where no one ever used them. This mystery remained unsolved until just a few years ago when I first encountered the endless liturgical debates here in the blogosphere.

In my encounters with the more extreme Trads (especially those of the SSPX persuasion) I cannot help but think of that wonderful phrase “more Catholic than the Pope.” How exquisitely ironic that a group claiming to be the true heirs of the pure and undefiled doctrine of the Council of Trent would fall into schism with Rome. Yet before you label me “Progressive”, let me first say that I’m quite happy with Church doctrine as it stands, thank you very much. The Church has no authority to ordain women as priests, and John Paul’s wonderful Theology of the Body has put to rest any lingering doubts about the truth of Humane Vitae. And while I prefer the Mass in my native tongue and find the Sign of Peace a rather touching gesture of congregational reconciliation and unity (who can deny that all those diverse world political and spiritual leaders making this Sign during his funeral was a fitting tribute to his legacy?), I never did think the acoustic guitar a suitable sacred instrument. Folk hymnody, besides banal and uninspiring, isn’t even relevant anymore. Here’s a hint: you won’t attract the youth by playing a style of music that's gathering dust in their parents' old LP collections. Try offering them something timeless and transcendent instead.

I may have strayed a bit from my central point there, namely: somewhere between the Scylla of “Vatican II is the greatest disaster in the history of the Church” and the Charybdis of “we must follow the spirit of Vatican II and modernize the Church” lies a third path through the wilderness blazed by John Paul II, a path that embraces VII as a source of great renewal and untapped treasures while interpreting it in the light of all the Councils and dogmas that came before it. This is the Church of JPII, the Church I was baptized and raised in, and the Church I have embraced as an adult revert. May he rest in peace, and may the Holy Spirit send us a worthy successor to pick up where he left off.

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