No, Saint Francis didn't say it!

An unfortunate anti-proverb - for lack of a better word - is frequently attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times; use words when necessary" (or something along those lines; the exact wording changes from time to time), as we frequently see on internet memes.

Many people are quite of fond of these words because - let's be honest - they mean they do not have to really do anything to preach the Gospel; all they have to do is be a good person, which they generally already think they are. But if, as Saint Paul says, "faith comes from what is heard," these words attributed to the Poverello ring false (Romans 10:17).

It's curious that so many people like these supposed words of Francis, but also love so very much his preaching to the birds:

It's as if we are not supposed to preach the Gospel to human beings, but we are to preach it to animals. This, of course, is ludicrous.

Let us ask a simple question: How can one preach the Gospel without words? By holding the door for someone? Can an atheist not do that? By contributing to a food collection? Can a Buddhist not do that? There must be more to it than simple actions. This is why Saint Paul says, "If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it (I Corinthians 9:16)! The same obligation has been imposed on every member of the baptized!

That Saint Francis never uttered the horrible words attributed to him has been repeatedly demonstrated (here is a post refuting it from 21 May 2009); nevertheless, it is frequently repeated even by those in Sacred Orders.

Writing today in The National Catholic Register, Glenn Stanton seeks to set the record straight yet again by reminding us of what Tomaso de Celano, the first biographer of Saint Francis, records about the holy man of God:

His first biographer, Thomas of Celano, writing just three years after Francis' death, quotes him instructing his co-workers in the Gospel thusly:

The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons; he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold.

Our man clearly spent a great deal of time using his words when he preached, “sometimes preaching in up to five villages a day, often outdoors. In the country, Francis often spoke from a bale of straw or a granary doorway. In town, he would climb on a box or up steps in a public building. He preached to . . . any who gathered to hear the strange but fiery little preacher from Assisi.” He was sometimes so animated and passionate in his delivery that “his feet moved as if he were dancing.”

We must know that it's simply impossible to proclaim the Gospel without words and of course our good Francis knew this as well as any. The Gospel is inherently verbal, and preaching the Gospel is inherently verbal behavior [more].

If Saint Francis normally preached using words, why we would he tell others to preach - even if it were possible - without them?

What are you saying to break the arrogant tyranny encouraged by silence? A lesson from Cardinal Zen

As the struggle in favor of religious liberty over the attempts to redefine marriage continue in the United States of America, there are many - even within the Church - who suggest that the faithful, both clergy and lay, should simply be quiet and accept the inevitable.  This betrays two presumptions.

It betrays first the presumption that so-called same-sex "marriage" is inevitable, which in fact it is not.  If the legislators will listen to the voices of those they claim to represent - and that is a very large if, I know - they will vote against these attempts to refine marriage.

At the same time, though, such a mentality also betrays the presumption that faith - especially Christian faith - has no place in the public square.  It is especially deplorable when such a mentality takes root among Catholics because they fail to recognize the great dignity to which they have been called by Christ and that mission that comes from his call, which the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council summarized thus:

But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer (Lumen Gentium, 31).

It is for the laity, then, to speak up, boldly and with great conviction.  The faithful must make their voices heard and even hold public office because the salvation of souls is at stake, not just in the arena of the redefinition of marriage, but wherever an intrinsic moral evil is being promoted and even enshrined as something morally good.

This vocation to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs is succinctly stated in the Code of Canon Law:

Can. 225 §1. Since, like all the Christian faithful, lay persons are designated by God for the apostolate through baptism and confirmation, they are bound by the general obligation and possess the right as individuals, or joined in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation is made known and accepted by all persons everywhere in the world. This obligation is even more compelling in those circumstances in which only through them can people hear the gospel and know Christ.

§2. According to each one’s own condition, they are also bound by a particular duty to imbue and perfect the order of temporal affairs with the spirit of the gospel and thus to give witness to Christ, especially in carrying out these same affairs and in exercising secular functions.

The words of the Savior must resound clearly and emphatically in the modern world; they must be echoed on the lips of the laity: "You are those who justify yourselves before me, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).

The Christ whom the laity must make known in the public square welcomes all people to himself, yes, but he also demands a conversion of heart and mind.  The Christ they must make known called people "whitewashed tombs" (Matthew 23:27), a "brood of vipers" (Matthew 23:33), and cried out cities, "Woe to you" (Luke 10:13); he overturned tables and drove unrepentant sinners out of the Temple with a whip (John 2:15); and he said "it would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin" (Luke 17:2).

The Christ that must be made known in the public square - within homes and business, in parks at the beach and even in churches - is not the "nice guy" Jesus we have fashioned after our own image, but the Jesus who is loving, yes, but also demanding.  It is he who says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:21); it is he who says, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23); it is he who says, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you" (Luke 6:26); and it is he who says, "whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:33).

As might be expected, I've been pondering all of this for some time and stumbled upon an intervention given to Zenit by His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun, Bishop-Emeritus of Hong Kong.  In discussing the plight of the Church in China, Cardinal Zen said:

There is absolute control, contempt for the Church, the humiliation of our Bishops. Some of them have been in prison for ten years! We, who in Hong Kong still have freedom of speech, must make our voice heard and say what we think, because harmony is lacking in China. There are those who are content at least with an apparent harmony, precisely to avoid any clash. But this is mistaken! -- because arrogance is encouraged by silence. Instead, it is a duty to continue to talk and to protest, especially for religious liberty.

We are not far from a time of contempt for the Church and the humiliation of Bishops; if you don't believe me, simply take a look at the comments posted on news articles.  Some of the criticisms are justified, but the vast majority are not and are clearly formed by both bigotry and ignorance.

If the laity in the United States of America do not speak up now with great force of conviction, repeatedly and continuously, in defense of religious liberty and a demand for its protection and restoration, their silence will only encourage the arrogance of tyranny.

It is time now to speak boldly.  What did you say yesterday?  What are you saying now?  What will you say tomorrow?  Let your voice be heard and live out faithfully the calling you received in Baptism!

If a high school student can do it, so can you

Last week one of the young women I know back in my hometown of Quincy posted a prayer request to the Great River TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) Facebook page:

I've got a friend who is undecided about what religion he wants to be and tomorrow I'm bringing him his FIRST EVER Catholic mass [sic]. I hope this inspires him to love and come to know Christ!

As you might expect, many of us were only to happy to join our prayers to hers.  Why did he accept her invitation?  Because she loves the Catholic faith, has embraced it, and is not afraid to share it with others.

Today she posted a brief message following his experience with the Catholic faith:

Remember my post about the new kid at mass [sic]? Well today I got a text that read: "Hey, so Church was super cool... Catholicism... I wanna know more."

The Holy Father Pope Francis keeps calling us out to the peripheries to bring the love of Jesus Christ to others; sometimes the periphery isn't so far away.

This particular Christian, a high school student, reached out to her friend and her invitation was accepted.  Who will you invite to accompany you to the Holy Mass?  Who will you speak to of the love of Jesus Christ?  Who will you help learn more about the Faith?

The proclamation of the Gospel is a duty incumbent on every member of the baptized, not just for priests, deacons, and nuns.

Pope: Nonbelieves challenge believers to live in a way consistent with their faith

A new dialogue has recently opened up in Paris between believers and non-believers called The Courtyard of the Gentiles. At the beginning of the meetings, Pope Benedict XVI sent the following message by video to the participants (with my emphases):

Dear young people, dear friends!

I know that at the invitation of Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, and of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, you are gathered in great numbers in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I greet all of you, together with our brothers and friends from the Taizé Community. I am grateful to the Pontifical Council for having taken up and extended my invitation to open a number of "Courts of the Gentiles" within the Church. This image refers to the vast open space near the Temple of Jerusalem where all those who did not share the faith of Israel could approach the Temple and ask questions about religion. There they could meet the scribes, speak of faith and even pray to the unknown God. The Court was then an area of separation, since Gentiles did not have the right to enter the consecrated area, yet Jesus Christ came to "break down the dividing wall" between Jews and Gentiles, and to "reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility in himself". In the words of Saint Paul, "He came and proclaimed peace..." (cf. Eph 2:14-17).

At the heart of the "City of Light", in front of the magnificent masterwork of French religious culture which is Notre Dame, a great court has been created in order to give fresh impetus to respectful and friendly encounter between people of differing convictions. You young people, believers and nonbelievers alike, have chosen to come together this evening, as you do in your daily lives, in order to meet one another and to discuss the great questions of human existence.

Nowadays many people acknowledge that they are not part of any religion, yet they long for a new world, a world that is freer, more just and united, more peaceful and happy. In speaking to you tonight, I think of all the things you have to say to each other. Those of you who are nonbelievers challenge believers in a particular way to live in a way consistent with the faith they profess and by your rejection of any distortion of religion which would make it unworthy of man.

Those of you who are believers long to tell your friends that the treasure dwelling within you is meant to be shared, it raises questions, it calls for reflection. The question of God is not a menace to society, it does not threaten a truly human life! The question of God must not be absent from the other great questions of our time.

Dear friends, you are challenged to build bridges between one another. Take advantage of this opportunity to discover, deep within your hearts and with serious arguments, the ways which lead to profound dialogue. You have so much to say to one another! Do not turn away from the challenges and issues before you!

I believe deeply that the encounter of faith and reason enables us to find ourselves. But all too often reason falters in the face of self-interest and the lure of profit, and is forced to regard the latter as the ultimate criterion. Striving for truth is not easy. But each of us is called to make a courageous decision to seek the truth, precisely because there can be no shortcut to the happiness and beauty of a life of genuine fulfillment. Jesus says as much in the Gospel: "The truth will make you free".

Dear young people, it is up to you, in your own countries and in Europe as a whole, to help believers and nonbelievers to rediscover the path of dialogue. Religions have nothing to hear from a just secularity, one that is open and allows individuals to live in accordance with what they believe in their own consciences.

If we are to build a world of liberty, equality and fraternity, then believers and nonbelievers must feel free to be just that, equal in their right to live as individuals and in community in accord with their convictions; and fraternal in their relations with one another. One of the reasons for this Court of the Gentiles is to encourage such feelings of fraternity, over and above our individual convictions yet not denying our differences. And on an even deeper level, to recognize that God alone, in Christ, grants us inner freedom and the possibility of truly encountering one another as brothers and sisters.

Our first step, the first thing we can do together, is to respect, help and love each and every human being, because he or she is a creature of God and in some way the road that leads to God. As you carry on the experience of this evening, work to break down the barriers of fear of others, of strangers, of those who are different; this fear is often born of mutual ignorance, skepticism or indifference. Work to create bonds with other young people, without distinction and keeping in mind those who are poor or lonely, unemployed, ill or on the margins of society.

Dear young people, what you can share is not only your experience of life, but also your approach to prayer. Believers and nonbelievers, as you stand in this court of the Unknown, you are also invited to approach the sacred space, to pass through the magnificent portal of Notre Dame and to enter the cathedral for a moment of prayer. For some of you this will be a prayer to a God you already know by faith, but for others it may be a prayer to the Unknown God. Dear young friends who are nonbelievers, as you join those who pray in Notre Dame on this day of the Annunciation of the Lord, open your hearts to the sacred texts, let yourselves be challenged by the beauty of the music and, if you truly desire it, let your deepest feelings rise towards the Unknown God.

I am happy to have been able to speak to you this evening for the inauguration of the Court of the Gentiles. I hope you will be able to join me for the other events to which I have invited you, especially the World Youth Day to be held in Madrid this coming summer. The God whom believers learn to know invites you to discover him and to find ever greater life in him. Do not be afraid! As you walk together towards a new world, seek the Absolute, seek God, even if for you he is the Unknown God. And may this God, who loves each and every one of you, bless you and keep you. He is counting on you to be concerned for others and for the future, and you can always count on him!

Translation via Zenit.

Pope Benedict on Evangelization

When the Holy Father met with the Clergy of the Diocese of Rome on 26 February 2009, Father Fabio Rosini posed the second question to His Holiness, but before doing so Father Rosini offered the following observation:

We have realized how important the transformation of ordinary pastoral activity is, no longer content with caring only for that portion of believers who persevere in Christian life but, more decisively and more systematically, caring also for the many sheep who are lost or bewildered.

This is a most astute and important observation, and a difficult one. How can the Church and her ministers best do so? And so we come to his question: "What, in your view, are the elements that guarantee that one does not rush in vain into the pastoral demands of proclaiming Christ to our generation?"

Anyone who would offer concrete examples in this arena straightaway should be heard with a bit of skepticism. "Little can be said in theory," Pope Benedict said, "but practical experience will show us the paths to follow"

While noting "that I can give no recipes for this practical work because the paths to follow differ according to the people, their professions, and the particular situation," Pope Benedict did propose "two elements: the Word and witness."

This proclamation of the Word as experienced in the here and now validates, as it were, the experiences of the past. This union of Word and witness in proclamation, says the Holy Father, "is absolutely indispensable, fundamental, to give credibility to this word through witness so that it does not only appear as a lofty philosophy or a fine utopia, but as reality, a reality with which it is possible to live, but this is not all: a reality that is life-giving."

"The need to associate the word with the witness of a just life, being for others, opening oneself to the poor, to the needy, and also to the rich who need to have their hearts opened, to feel someone knocking at their hearts" is very important, he said. "So, it is a question of different avenues, according to the situation."

News Flash: "We are not living on the moon!"

So said the Pope Benedict to Father Gianpiero Palmieri during his annual question and answer session with the clergy of the Diocese of Rome. Father Palmieri's posed this question to His Holiness:

In our Christian communities so many people are wounded. Where and how can we help others to come to know Jesus? And also, how can we priests build within us a beautiful and fruitful humanity?

Pope Benedict said that it is "essential" to preach with the "precious knowledge acquired in the study of theology" but that it must also be "assimiliated: from academic knowledge, which we have learned and upon which we have reflected, within a personal vision of life, in order then to reach out to other people."

This, I hope, is what began to happen with me in the first years after ordination. So far as I can tell, the first year after ordination was spent trying to figure out just what a priest did, day in and day out, and how to do it. It is one thing to study the priesthood and another thing to live it.

The second year was then spent trying to assimilate this into my own life, to answer the question, "Now that I know what a priest does, how am I a priest? How can I best be a priest with my gifts and weaknesses? How is the priesthood embodied in my life?"

After learning what a priest did and how the priesthood could be personalized in my life, I could then look about in the third year after ordination and ask, "Who are all of you?"

Naturally, in one way or another, each of these questions will need to answered each day of my life.

It may not have been the best of orders but it seems to have happened with me naturally enough in that way.

In doing so, priests must "make the great word of faith concrete, by our personal experience of faith, in time spent with parishioners," but "it is also important not to lose its simplicity." But back to the quote at hand: "We don't live on the moon!" The Holy Father continued in these words:

I am a man of this time if I live my faith sincerely in the culture of today with the mass media of today, with dialogue, with the realities of the economy, etc if I myself take my own experience seriously, and seek to adapt to this reality. In this way we are on the way to making ourselves understood by others.

In short, he says that we construct a beautiful and fruitful humanity, that we bring the Gospel to others, simply by living the faith in ever aspect of our lives. Priests do not live in some far off world but in the same world inhabited by every other person. Our lives are different, yes, but not distantly removed.

Too often, I think, some priests ignore sharing their own experiences of the faith and water down the Gospel in an attempt to reach people where they are. In doing so, the fact that the life of a priest is different from the lives of others is neglected and the proclamation of the Gospel would seem to be hindered.

To illustrate this point, Pope Benedict quoted Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: "Contemplate drinking from your own well, that is, from your own humanity."

"If you are sincere with yourself," said the Holy Father, "and begin to realize what faith is for yourself, from your human experience now, drinking from your own well as St Bernard put it, then you will also be able to say to others what needs to be said. And in this regard I think it is important to be truly attentive to today's world but also to the Lord within: to be a man of this time and at the same time a believer of Christ, who in himself transforms the eternal message into a current message for today."

Many people today claim that priests are so removed everyday life that they do not adequately know the circumstances of the day or the struggles people face today. Pope Benedict could not disagree more strongly with this claim, and convincingly argues against it:

Who knows the men and women of today better than the parish priest? The rectory is not in the world; rather it is in the parish. And people often come here to the parish priest, usually openly, with no pretext other than suffering, sickness, death or family matters. And they come to the confessional stripped of any veneer, with their very being. No other "profession", it seems to me, gives this possibility of knowing the person as he is, in his humanity, rather than in the role he plays in society. In this sense, we can truly study the person in his core, beyond roles, and learn ourselves what it is to be human, what it is to be in the school of Christ.