Year III, Number 42

The new millennium opened with two contrasting scenarios: one, the sight of multitudes of pilgrims coming to Rome during the Great Jubilee to pass through the Holy Door which is Christ, our Savior and Redeemer; and the other, the terrible terrorist attack on New York, an image that is a sort of icon of a world in which hostility and hatred seem to prevail.

The question that arises is dramatic: on what foundations must we build the new historical era that is emerging from the great transformations of the twentieth century? Is it enough to rely on the technological revolution now taking place, which seems to respond only to criteria of productivity and efficiency, without reference to the individual's spiritual dimension or to any universally shared ethical values? Is it right to be content with provisional answers to the ultimate questions, and to abandon life to the impulses of instinct, to short-lived sensations or passing fads?

The question will not go away: on what foundations, on what certainties should we build our lives and the life of the community to which we belong?

Dear friends, spontaneously in your hearts, in the enthusiasm of your young years you know the answer, and you are saying it through your presence here this evening: Christ alone is the cornerstone on which it is possible solidly to build one's existence. Only Christ - known, contemplated and loved - is the faithful friend who never lets us down, who becomes our traveling companion, and whose words warm our hearts (cf. Lk 24:13-35).

The twentieth century often tried to do without that cornerstone, and attempted to build the city of man without reference to him. It ended by actually building that city against man! Christians know that it is not possible to reject or ignore God without demeaning man.

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

Father, I am 18 years old. I feel God is calling me, but I'm not sure what to do. I'm converting to Catholicism and haven't been received yet, but I'm sure this is what God wants. I've always believed in God ever since I was young. He was and is as real to me as my parents. I have talked to him very intimately every day. Then I lost my faith for a few years. Now I'm back with God. I've always wanted to do two things more than anything else - help others and serve God. I also have a knack for academics, and I've read lots of theology, from basics of world religions to Thomas Aquinas - all in my spare time. Father, the point is that I'm in my last year of voluntary schooling. I just can't motivate myself to keep working - I just want to be with God to serve him now. What should I do? Should I quit school, get a job, and spend my free evenings praying? Should I stay on and wait? Thank you in advance for your help.

- Marc

A. Dear Marc,

I think you should curb a little your impulse to quit school, get a job, and spend your free evenings praying. This is why: you are at the beginning of your discovery of where God is leading you, you want to deepen your relationship with him and live for him alone, you are in the process of being received into the Catholic Church, your basic education is not yet complete. So there is a lot of "construction underway" in your life right now, and your actions at this juncture will have a profound effect on your future, so you have to decide prudently.

Prudence says to stay on at school and finish that out. Prudence says to continue your study of the Catholic faith (the Catechism), so that your knowledge of the gift God is giving you will be as complete as possible when you receive it. Prudence says to continue to grow in your prayer life, but in a way that will integrate your ordinary duties and make them part of your response to your Christian vocation. The motivation to continue working at school is going to be that it is what Jesus wants of you right now, it is what he wants of an 18-year-old to whom he has given the gift of intelligence. So do it out of love for him, and remember that if you want to help others you need to continue to develop the talents God gave you until you discover your concrete call in life. You need to look around for some way to help others now - a way that is compatible with your present primary responsibilities.

I hope these points help you. It is great to hear of your enthusiasm for prayer but you have to keep in mind the other things God wants of you as well at this stage in your life. Get back to me if I can be of further assistance.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I have a dilemma. I have told my immediate family that I am returning to the Catholic Church. I have not shared with them that I think I may have a vocation. My mother, who is not a practicing Catholic, and my brother and sister-in-law, who are semi-practicing Catholics (sort of cafeteria style), all made the same comment when I told them; they said, “What? Are you going to be a priest now?” When they said this, they did it in a joking manner. This has made me feel very uncomfortable. How should I have handled it? At the time I just changed the subject. I do not want to talk about a possible vocation with them until I am sure.

A. Dear David,

I am not going to tell you how you should have handled it, because it is pointless now - it's all water under the bridge - and besides, I don't know! So, instead of Monday-morning quarterbacking for you, let me tell you that right now, I think you should concentrate on getting back into the knowledge and close personal relationship with Christ in the Eucharist that is the center of our faith. Establish a prayer life, get back into the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, back into the Gospels, explore the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and bring Mary into your life. As you do this, Christ will be able to speak to your soul, you will learn to listen to him, and you will gradually find your way to an answer as regards your vocation. The best time and way to tell your family about it is not, in my opinion, a crucial question at this point, and may perhaps be a little premature. Congratulations on your return, welcome home, and I will remember you at Mass. God bless.

- Fr Anthony

The first basic attitude with which we should live this sacrament is faith, a living faith that you renew every time you go to confession; faith in the invisible activity of grace that takes effect through the Church’s mediation, and faith in a man who is a sinner and has his limitations just as we do, but who represents God and at that moment takes Christ’s place - “I absolve you from your sins.” It is God who, knowing and loving us, listens to us and welcomes us through the priest.

With this attitude of faith and respecting your complete freedom to go to any priest to confess your sins, I recommend that you make sure to look for a confessor (a regular confessor if possible) who is experienced, solid and sound in his doctrine, deeply loyal to the faith and the Church’s magisterium, and capable of respecting and properly encouraging the charisms the Holy Spirit awakens in his Church. But above all else he should be a holy man, sincere and demanding in seeking God's will and the spiritual good of souls, over and above his own standards and personal interests.

And the second basic attitude that makes for a profitable confession is humility. You need a lot of humility to go on our knees before Christ, and there before him who knows and loves us, sincerely to ask for forgiveness. To admit your own sin means first of all to admit you are a sinner (see Reconciliation and Penance 13). It means to admit, as David did when the prophet Nathan reprimanded him, that you are the very man you judge deserving of death, and that the sin you abhor in others is also your own sin (see 2 Sm 12:1-5). “For I know my offense; my sin is always before me. Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight. … True, I was born guilty, a sinner even as my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:5-6, 7). A truly humble person is the man who sees the truth about himself as God does, accepts himself for what he is and, sure that he will succeed, struggles to improve with God’s help. The worst is not the falling, but not to admit you have fallen, and to stay there sprawled on the ground.

Gospel: Mt 25: 31-36

“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, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to see and serve you in others. Fill my heart with your boundless love so that I never calculate my surrender to the needs of souls. May my deeds overflow with true charity. Inflame the desires of my heart to center totally on you, O Lord, and the souls you so dearly love.

Petition: My Lord and God, make my heart burn with love for souls.

1. "Come, you whom my Father has blessed."

What a beautiful judgment to hear at the end of my life! Lord, how I long to be one of your blessed ones. And how do I achieve this lofty status? By my love. By the charity I practice to others. To reach heaven I do not need to build a fortune, acquire fame or amass great knowledge. I only have to love you, O Lord, and the souls you love.

There are only two things I take with me to heaven: what I did for God and what I did for souls. So many of us, however, live for the riches and empty dreams of the world. Teach me, Lord, to live for love. I want to serve you in the needs of those around me. I want to spend my life for you and souls. In this way, I will come to meet you at my judgment with my whole life testifying to charity.

2. "Lord, when did we see you?"

Jesus, you show me that holiness is within my grasp. To be a saint, I don’t have to give my body over to martyrdom or be a great doctor of the Church. I just have to give over my heart to the immediate needs of those around me. Giving a drink to the thirsty, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick. These are ordinary means that we can fulfill every day at home, school, work, and with my friends. Yet these seemingly trivial matters of charity are the means to sanctity and heaven. May I never consider it a waste to invest my time in any act of charity, no matter how insignificant. May I never calculate my generosity, but give without measure to the needs of souls. Whatever inspirations you move my heart to do, let me never be too busy to make time for charity.

3. "You did it to me."

“Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1822). Charity serves Christ who lives in our neighbor. How great it is that you find our hearts a fitting abode in which to dwell! Let me never forget that you also dwell within the hearts of those around me.

“My children, our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active; only by this can we be certain that we are children of the light” (1 John 3:18). Love must be real. Lord, your love was so real that you became man for me and died for my sins on the cross. This is what love really is: self-donation. I want my love to be real by dying each day to my own selfishness and living to serve you, O Lord. Real love follows under the shadow of the cross. This is hard. Charity is not for the comfortable or weak of heart. Yet sacrifice is the proof of my love, that my love is real. Whatever you ask of me Lord, whatever act of charity, whatever direction in my life, whatever cross you ask me to bear, is not enough. I want to spend my entire life for you so that I can spend eternity with you.

Questionnaire:

1. What are the greatest needs of souls that I see around me? What are the greatest needs of the world?

2. How am I answering those needs? What does Christ want me to do with my life to solve them?

3. How can my daily acts of charity increase, doing these as a means to serve Jesus?

Discovering that I was going away for a few weeks earlier this year, a man I know asked my destination. "Southern Sudan," I told him. "Oh, how lovely!" he exclaimed. This is a bright and well-educated man, but his response did not shock me greatly. Africa's largest country has been ravaged by civil war for the last 18 years, and nobody seems to know.

"In Yei, we are bombed almost every Sunday, so as to scatter the people at Mass," said Bishop Erkolano Lodu. "The government has chosen Sunday as the best day to bomb the churches because they are full." There is always a risk to life to attend Mass, he admitted - sometimes the only announcement at the end of Mass is, "The bombers are coming. Please go to your bunkers."

"We spend one hour in the trenches hiding from the plane, and then we come out to see the destruction - and sometimes death," he added. "We have been losing property for years, so we don't mind that; human life is more precious to us. We are being bombed and humiliated. We have no way to defend ourselves. They want to destroy and reduce the faith to nothing."

It was the 1983 introduction of Sharia, or Islamic law, which triggered rebellion in the animist and Christian South and led to the terrible fighting, which has already cost over two million lives - but the real reasons behind the war are manifold. It is cultural: the Arabs against the blacks - or "slaves", as they call them. It is about resources: the wealthy but arid North wanting the oil and water of the fertile South. And it is religious: the Muslims against the Christians.

"The Arab government says it's a holy war," one parishioner observed. "We're not against any religion, we're just fighting for our rights." As a result, their suffering is immense: thousands die every year, there is scarcely any medical aid, and education is minimal, often at the hands of dedicated but untrained teachers. So why is this desperate situation almost completely ignored by the West?

"We are surprised and disturbed and worried," Bishop Joseph Gasi of Tombura-Yambio told me. "Why is the international community not taking note? It looks as if we are not part of humanity.” This was a sentiment shared by many of the people in this war-torn country, bewildered as to why they are being ignored and abandoned by the rest of the world. "Do they not think we are human beings?" I was asked.

The Pope himself has spoken out, too. At the canonization of Sudan's first native saint, Josephine Bakhita, on the 1st of October in Rome last year, the Holy Father said, "My thoughts turn to the new saint's country, which has been torn by a cruel war for the past 17 years, with little sign of a solution in sight. In the name of suffering humanity, I appeal once more to those with responsibility: open your hearts to the cries of millions of innocent victims and embrace the path of negotiation. I plead with the international community: do not continue to ignore this immense human tragedy."

And yet there remains scant mention of Sudan in the secular press, and I found that this sense of abandonment is felt very deeply in the country. "The world does not seem to know the terrible human tragedy of Sudan," said Bishop Caesar Mazzolari of Rumbek. "The war is a deterrent for most people who'd like to come and help. In the media we don't exist: there is absolute silence. We have suffered too much from just being ignored - it is not the same for the Arabs in the North, who have created a feeling that all is well, that there is religious freedom, that there is no oppression, that slavery does not exist."

Upcoming Events & Retreats

(( Listed here are retreats directed by the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members. For a listing of diocesan activities and other events, click here to go to the vocation.com website ))

LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

Cheshire, CT, November 27 - December 1, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Branigan Sherman, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

Cheshire, CT, December 26-30, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Branigan Sherman, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

Youth Pilgrimage to Rome. Ages 11-15. Price: $1,495 (includes airfare). Contact Ray Arsenault, (902) 854-2808. arsenaultacres@pei.sympatico.ca

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Atlanta, GA, December 2. Young Women's Christmas Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Dori Donahue, (770) 417-1045. ddonahue@inteducators.org

Washington DC, December 3. Young Women's Advent Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Lucy Honnor, (301) 536-6913. lhonnor@inteducators.org

Rome, Italy, December 26, 2002 - January 4, 2003. Rome Pilgrimage. High school girls. Contact Fernanda Paez, (877) 866-7738. matere@ids.net

Rome, Italy, December 26, 2002 - January 4, 2003. Rome Pilgrimage. Ages 17-30. Contact Fernanda Paez, (877) 866-7738. matere@ids.net

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

Call Tony McDonnell for more information, (301) 365-3205. info@ytm.org

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