I'm going to repeat what I've said before, and I will continue to say this every time that I am asked.
I believe that anyone who mishandled sexual abuse within the Church, sexual abuse being both a devastating crime and a sin, should resign their office, whether as a cardinal, bishop or parish priest. I don't really care about the circumstances of whether it was a "minor" or "major" involvement in the mishandling because all of that corrodes faith, whether by small bits of rust and tarnish or large egregious lack of good sense and/or integrity. If it was mishandling and not actual participation in the abuse, I believe that upon resigning the office that these cardinals, bishops and priests should dedicate themselves within religious orders that are contemplative and filled with prayer.
There is supposed to be no "ego" in serving the Lord God, and thus any cardinal, bishop or priest should be gratified to relinquish their offices and in turn become one hundred percent dedicated to the life of prayer, particularly addressing prayer for both the victims of the abuse and for renewal of the priesthood.
People, listen to me carefully, whatever your faith (or not) or beliefs. For decades humanity has teetered on the brink of a total meltdown into depravity. These priest sex abuse cases are, in the sense of showing the incurable addiction of lust and depravity, no different from what we are seeing in society as a whole. I know you want to say, "Hold on, how can that be? Priests are supposed to be different!" Yes, in an ideal world they are supposed to be different, but look at the world today. Are not mothers "supposed to be different?" Yet every week we read about mothers who sell and trade the sexual innocence of even their infants for money, car payments, access to drugs, or some other trivial transaction. Are not teachers supposed to be "different?" Yet every week we read about teachers with child pornography and those who seduce and/or molest children they have access to, in that position of "trust." Are not "those who have been abused themselves" supposed to be "making sure what happened to them never happens to other children?" Yet we know that many of the most violent criminals use the excuse of their own, often horrifying, suffering of child abuse, and far from being protective, they enact their rage on other innocent adults and children. Are not police supposed to be "better than that?" Yet pressuring sex trade workers is a long going problem among police, so long that it has even been the stuff of jokes.
EVERYONE is supposed to be "better than that" but NO ONE IS anymore.
Catholic priests are just as subject to falling into the pit of depravity and vice as anyone else. I know that it seems out of proportion, but hear me now and believe me later. If you start looking at how many children have been molested by their own parents, or baby mama's "boyfriend," and by purveyors of porn, soon we will have a population that has more saying "yes" they've been abused than "no." Abuse has become the "new normal."
You'd have to be living under a rock to not realize that this society has fallen further and further into filth and depravity, and no "group" is "should be better at being pure" than anyone. I've seen some think that married priests or "more women" in the "church hierarchy" will "help." I'd laugh if this was not such a dire, world and soul killing problem. Yeah, women, such pillars of virtue, as they teach their kids to pole dance, wear thongs, offer them for sex to get themselves money or drugs, seduce their male students, etc. So please do not trivialize a worldwide soul destroying crisis of monumental proportion by suggesting this is a "celibate male" problem.
I marvel that God has not burned down this filthy depraved world already. Then I guess you would not have to worry about those priests, huh?
Victims, I know what you have been through as I've been abused, but not by priests, but by those who mettle with sorcery. But victims, I urge you to not be victimized twice. Do not let the outrageous scandal of the Catholic priest sex abuse problem cause you to also lose faith in the Church and in God. If you do, you will be victimized twice and God will not, I repeat, not understand your abandonment of God and his church.
I am not being harsh but realistic. What do you think was done to the early Christians of the Church? Do you think they were not abused and tormented in every way possible, including children? Yet they hung on to their faith to the end. God and the Church remain, no matter what individuals do, both within and outside of the Church. Running away does not make God go away, nor does it invalidate the Church. You can deny all you want but remember, human beings put to death the only pure and sinless man, Jesus Christ, and he proclaimed God with his last breath on the cross.
I will give you an analogy to help. Suppose you read in the paper that someone drowned while swimming in the ocean. Bad ocean, bad water. We no longer believe in water because it drowned someone. Stop bathing and showering. Stop drinking water. Tell everyone you know that water is "bad" and you "no longer believe in water." What will happen? You die of thirst in a matter of days.
No matter what the pain of life it is simply insane and not at all "understandable" that someone "lose their faith in God or the church." It's an unhealthy coping mechanism to think that because one is a victim of bad human behavior that suddenly the overall truth of the world (God and the Church) "no longer mean anything to you." That, my children, is being victimized twice. God will not nod his head in your meeting with him at personal judgment when you perish and say, "Hey, I know, a really bad thing happened to you, so it's A-OK with me that you 'lost your faith' and 'stopped believing in Me' or 'decided my Church was invalid.' Sure, I know that I, God, and my Church are not worth staying and fighting for, even through the pain."
Children, God is pure Truth. If you get only one thing about God in this particular message, understand that God is pure and total truth. God cannot be anything but the sum total of all that is true, that ever will be true, and ever could be true. When you grasp that you realize that God never changes and that while he cares very much for each person, when a person denies God no matter what the reason, they are in danger of not entering heaven at all, because being God's dwelling place, heaven is also pure truth.
The way to healing and to sanity is by embracing more truth, not less.
I hope that you find this helpful.
Showing posts with label priest sex abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label priest sex abuse. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Saturday, December 26, 2009
My opinion regarding bishops attached to abuse charges
I am writing this to give my opinion about bishops who are, with good reason (not witch hunt false charges), attached to the sexual abuse charges of either covering up or, equally as bad, being negligent in overseeing the purity of spiritual subordinates.
I believe every one of you who covered up or who looked the other way, or who should have investigated but did not, should offer your resignations. This is why.
Being a bishop does not, no matter how much the verbiage and process sound like it, confer higher status or spirituality. I'm saying this in comfort, not in criticism. You must not become so attached to the responsibilities, authority and prestige of being a bishop so much that you view stepping away from it as a diminishing. The highest genuine honors of serving God, and one's flock, is to be a parish priest or priest to a community, or even the contemplative life.
If any of you bishops (including ones who are not in some sort of hot water) cannot follow the imagery I am going to offer you, you have to do some prayer and soul searching.
Imagine that you are no longer serving a bishop's capacity, but you are back to being a parish priest, or one attached to a seminary in a formation capacity, or even entering contemplative service in a monastery. How much of this image makes you feel diminished? Compare this to the feeling of release and of being freed of burdens that separate you from first hand contemplation of God through celebrating the Mass, hearing confessions, prayer, etc.
It is not just humility that caused many saints, when priests, to literally flee when the role of bishop was thrust upon them. Most saints genuinely preferred being parish priests, or members of a community, or contemplatives than they did seeking that princely office. Some of them feigned madness or stupidity to avoid it ha.
If you are really in service to God and his flock, most of you should feel that if your bishop responsibilities were taken from you, that it would be a relief and that once again you are getting down to the brass tacks (American slang for back to the basics, the fundamentals). The more a person seeks being a bishop (or outside the Catholic church, giving themselves that title) the more I wonder why they are seeking it so very much. Usually the answer is that it is viewed as a promotion.
Friends, brothers, though, remember one thing. A promotion upward in human circles is usually a lateral promotion or a downward promotion away from God. Layers of artificial concerns intrude upon even the most well meaning bishop's office. If you stop thinking of a bishop's chair as being a promotion or "increased authority," you will move closer, again, to God. This is why I think this is a valuable mental imagery exercise of visualization for even well functioning bishops who are serene and capable in their calling. Once in a while remember that it's not really a promotion and, further, the most humble duties of a priest is usually that which is closest to God's heart.
I hope that you have found this helpful.
Honoring always JMJ.
I believe every one of you who covered up or who looked the other way, or who should have investigated but did not, should offer your resignations. This is why.
Being a bishop does not, no matter how much the verbiage and process sound like it, confer higher status or spirituality. I'm saying this in comfort, not in criticism. You must not become so attached to the responsibilities, authority and prestige of being a bishop so much that you view stepping away from it as a diminishing. The highest genuine honors of serving God, and one's flock, is to be a parish priest or priest to a community, or even the contemplative life.
If any of you bishops (including ones who are not in some sort of hot water) cannot follow the imagery I am going to offer you, you have to do some prayer and soul searching.
Imagine that you are no longer serving a bishop's capacity, but you are back to being a parish priest, or one attached to a seminary in a formation capacity, or even entering contemplative service in a monastery. How much of this image makes you feel diminished? Compare this to the feeling of release and of being freed of burdens that separate you from first hand contemplation of God through celebrating the Mass, hearing confessions, prayer, etc.
It is not just humility that caused many saints, when priests, to literally flee when the role of bishop was thrust upon them. Most saints genuinely preferred being parish priests, or members of a community, or contemplatives than they did seeking that princely office. Some of them feigned madness or stupidity to avoid it ha.
If you are really in service to God and his flock, most of you should feel that if your bishop responsibilities were taken from you, that it would be a relief and that once again you are getting down to the brass tacks (American slang for back to the basics, the fundamentals). The more a person seeks being a bishop (or outside the Catholic church, giving themselves that title) the more I wonder why they are seeking it so very much. Usually the answer is that it is viewed as a promotion.
Friends, brothers, though, remember one thing. A promotion upward in human circles is usually a lateral promotion or a downward promotion away from God. Layers of artificial concerns intrude upon even the most well meaning bishop's office. If you stop thinking of a bishop's chair as being a promotion or "increased authority," you will move closer, again, to God. This is why I think this is a valuable mental imagery exercise of visualization for even well functioning bishops who are serene and capable in their calling. Once in a while remember that it's not really a promotion and, further, the most humble duties of a priest is usually that which is closest to God's heart.
I hope that you have found this helpful.
Honoring always JMJ.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Go ahead and hate the Catholic Church
Honestly, it does not bother me at all. I'm posting this just to save some time and energy for those who go further and further in their hatred of the Church, trying to get some additional pain or reaction from me, or others. No lie, I could not care less if a billion people hated the Catholic Church as badly as the worst of them (check comments section of any article about religion to see what I mean.) God's truth: I could not care less if one billion people or more hated the Catholic Church just as much as the most despising individuals we see today. Why is that?
You can hate the Catholic Church to pieces, but it doesn't change the fact that there is a God, one to whom everyone, both people who are guilty of abuse in the Church AND haters in general, must be accountable to.
People keep confusing the institution with the reality of God. You know what that is? Darwin at work.
To hate a religious institution because of the abuse of some or even "many" is in opposition to one's own survival traits (terminology I've used before) and thus is "Darwin at work" for two reasons:
1. By hating the Catholic Church you diminish your own faith in God in general, regardless of your denomination and woe especially to you if you are atheist, as it's blinders on top of blinders.
2. By hating priest sex abusers you channel all your presumed "righteous indignation" toward the Church and away from, oh, I don't know, maybe parents who rape their own babies' behinds and mouths, give them drugs, sell (or trade them) for sex, or who have incest with their older children, or pose infants to teenagers for porn. I'm not a statistician but I could make a smart bet that there's much more of that, which ruins generations and destroys intimacy (and murders) many more individuals than all the abuse in the Church, and that's assuming a lot.
By doing any of the above you are diminishing your own survival traits and just fulfilling Darwin, like the clown who says "watch this" while handing a beer to his friend.
So pour on the hate: I am serious. Let's see how much we have to deal with and then the peanut gallery of good natured but uninvolved people on the sidelines will eventually say, just as I explained above, "Hmm. As outrageous as the abuse was, and how grievous, is the Catholic Church really the source of all perversion in the world?" *Glances at the newspaper and sees another "boyfriend" stuck his **** into his girlfriend's infant before beating it to death.*
Sooner or later if people are going to survive at all, they are going to have to get proportional and sane again. If on the way to that road (which may result in the Second Coming, by the way, where there are more disappointed people than joyful ones) you have to reach spittle flying total hatred for the Catholic Church, go ahead, it does not raise my blood pressure, nor make me boo hoo hoo into my hanky. I just think, with a small amount of chortling, how surprised YOU all will be when you discover that you can hate abusing doctors, but that does not mean that medicine is invalid. Get ready for God to pin that medal on your chest (or Satan to pin it on your backside).
And, just for a little theology, let's come up with an awful scenario. Let's suppose that millions of people rose up in hatred against the Church and individual Catholics, oppressing, attacking and even murdering them. Theologically that's an awesome thing, because even those lukewarm cafeteria Catholics would become martyrs, and we all know (if we actually read the Bible) how all martyrs are glorified by God for eternity.
Have a nice day!
You can hate the Catholic Church to pieces, but it doesn't change the fact that there is a God, one to whom everyone, both people who are guilty of abuse in the Church AND haters in general, must be accountable to.
People keep confusing the institution with the reality of God. You know what that is? Darwin at work.
To hate a religious institution because of the abuse of some or even "many" is in opposition to one's own survival traits (terminology I've used before) and thus is "Darwin at work" for two reasons:
1. By hating the Catholic Church you diminish your own faith in God in general, regardless of your denomination and woe especially to you if you are atheist, as it's blinders on top of blinders.
2. By hating priest sex abusers you channel all your presumed "righteous indignation" toward the Church and away from, oh, I don't know, maybe parents who rape their own babies' behinds and mouths, give them drugs, sell (or trade them) for sex, or who have incest with their older children, or pose infants to teenagers for porn. I'm not a statistician but I could make a smart bet that there's much more of that, which ruins generations and destroys intimacy (and murders) many more individuals than all the abuse in the Church, and that's assuming a lot.
By doing any of the above you are diminishing your own survival traits and just fulfilling Darwin, like the clown who says "watch this" while handing a beer to his friend.
So pour on the hate: I am serious. Let's see how much we have to deal with and then the peanut gallery of good natured but uninvolved people on the sidelines will eventually say, just as I explained above, "Hmm. As outrageous as the abuse was, and how grievous, is the Catholic Church really the source of all perversion in the world?" *Glances at the newspaper and sees another "boyfriend" stuck his **** into his girlfriend's infant before beating it to death.*
Sooner or later if people are going to survive at all, they are going to have to get proportional and sane again. If on the way to that road (which may result in the Second Coming, by the way, where there are more disappointed people than joyful ones) you have to reach spittle flying total hatred for the Catholic Church, go ahead, it does not raise my blood pressure, nor make me boo hoo hoo into my hanky. I just think, with a small amount of chortling, how surprised YOU all will be when you discover that you can hate abusing doctors, but that does not mean that medicine is invalid. Get ready for God to pin that medal on your chest (or Satan to pin it on your backside).
And, just for a little theology, let's come up with an awful scenario. Let's suppose that millions of people rose up in hatred against the Church and individual Catholics, oppressing, attacking and even murdering them. Theologically that's an awesome thing, because even those lukewarm cafeteria Catholics would become martyrs, and we all know (if we actually read the Bible) how all martyrs are glorified by God for eternity.
Have a nice day!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
For church sex abuse survivors who avoid church
I've blogged about this subject before, about this terrible blight of priest or other religious sex abuse in the Catholic Church. I understand the trauma (and have discussed my credentials for why I understand on all levels) and have given counsel, both secular and spiritual, about how to heal and recover one's balance in life, even though the past can never be erased.
Having said that, I need to have an urgent word with those of you who avoid your Catholic devotions, such as going to church and the sacraments, and who may even have stopped believing in God.
There is no reincarnation, and there is no guarantee of "later" in anyone's life. All one needs to do is watch the news and see how suddenly there can be no "tomorrow" for someone. One must be in a constant state of being "alright with God."
If you think that deciding whether to believe in God again or to observe the sacraments and worship him is something that "can wait until you are ready, after you have healed," that is an attitude that is incorrect, and not the attitude that believers of all faiths have had throughout history as they have endured abuse, slavery and even genocide in their lives. It is a survival trait of humans and a reality that they separate belief in God from human induced horror and abuse in their lives, whether the abuse is by a religious or by a secular. If humans abandoned belief in God whenever they were traumatized there would be no religions at all today, and no human society either.
No matter how broken you may feel, refusing to believe in God is simply not a rational option.
As regular readers know, I am not being unfeeling on this subject. It is because I care that I will always be honest with you for your own good, just as I've had to be brutally honest about the physical reality of hell with many who have refused to believe and who have acted accordingly.
It is essential that no matter how one has been abused or harmed that one continue to believe in God and find a relationship with him because you have no guarantee of "tomorrow," because that is the reality of life, where death is unpredictable and certain for all.
Children, those of you who can no longer enter a Catholic church and worship God because you have been sexually abused, I have to wonder if perhaps Christianity is not for you.
(Yes, I hear the thump of good priests fainting or perhaps screaming as they reach this part of my message...)
But I am serious. If you have been sexually abused and can no longer enter a Catholic Church and have lost your faith in God, then I am not sure that you ever really believed, or perhaps were robbed of the chance, to understand Jesus Christ, who was tormented and crucified despite being of total perfection, sent by God, to heal and save, and who committed no crime or fault of his own.
When Jesus resurrected and returned, did he say, "I no longer believe in humanity because they unjustly tormented and killed me? And therefore I will no longer save you?"
Therefore, when humans abuse other humans, why would they then turn to God and say, "I no longer believe in you."
If you in your pain and focus on your own counsel and healing cannot understand that Jesus Christ resurrected and returned for forty days, undaunted, to save humanity and provide the path to God, then I wonder if perhaps Christianity in general just does not resonate with you.
This is a very serious problem, then, because whether you believe or not, God is still there, and will be faced at some point when your life ends, and of course, God wishes to be with you throughout your life.
I therefore wonder if perhaps those of you who can no longer "stand to be in a Church," and question your faith should consider studying Islam.
I would rather see someone who is so wounded and lacking in structured belief in God as a result of their trauma of sexual abuse consider converting to Islam than live a godless life. A godless life is a lie because there is a God, whether you believe or not, whether you are too wounded to believe or not.
Think about it. If you cannot see the truth of what I say, that the entire premise of Christianity is that Jesus loved and saved despite how he was scorned, tormented and killed most unfairly, worse because of his existence only being for the benefit of humanity, then I wonder if Christianity just is not for you.
I am certainly not turning you away. I am talking to those who are keeping themselves away.
Rather than stay in the lie of no longer believing, serving and worshipping the one God who continues to most assuredly exist, even if no human exists at all, perhaps you should consider Islam.
I hope that you have found this something that you will give careful thought to. God cares about each individual and desires their return. But God also continues on in eternity for all time, regardless of what one human believes or not. It is more important that you re-establish your relationship with God than continue to try to make a point about your woundedness. There is nothing that a human can teach Jesus Christ about being unfairly wronged. If that is not your understanding of Christianity, then you need to connect to God nonetheless, and perhaps Islam will be your way.
And who knows, if you realize that you have exiled yourself from the Church in your woundedness, and spend some time looking at Islam, you might miss home after all. But that is not my objective, for you to comparison shop. I am addressing those of you who have unwisely severed your understanding of God due to the trauma of your abuse. I think that you most certainly can reconnect with God through Islam, if you remain immovable regarding your home Church.
Having said that, I need to have an urgent word with those of you who avoid your Catholic devotions, such as going to church and the sacraments, and who may even have stopped believing in God.
There is no reincarnation, and there is no guarantee of "later" in anyone's life. All one needs to do is watch the news and see how suddenly there can be no "tomorrow" for someone. One must be in a constant state of being "alright with God."
If you think that deciding whether to believe in God again or to observe the sacraments and worship him is something that "can wait until you are ready, after you have healed," that is an attitude that is incorrect, and not the attitude that believers of all faiths have had throughout history as they have endured abuse, slavery and even genocide in their lives. It is a survival trait of humans and a reality that they separate belief in God from human induced horror and abuse in their lives, whether the abuse is by a religious or by a secular. If humans abandoned belief in God whenever they were traumatized there would be no religions at all today, and no human society either.
No matter how broken you may feel, refusing to believe in God is simply not a rational option.
As regular readers know, I am not being unfeeling on this subject. It is because I care that I will always be honest with you for your own good, just as I've had to be brutally honest about the physical reality of hell with many who have refused to believe and who have acted accordingly.
It is essential that no matter how one has been abused or harmed that one continue to believe in God and find a relationship with him because you have no guarantee of "tomorrow," because that is the reality of life, where death is unpredictable and certain for all.
Children, those of you who can no longer enter a Catholic church and worship God because you have been sexually abused, I have to wonder if perhaps Christianity is not for you.
(Yes, I hear the thump of good priests fainting or perhaps screaming as they reach this part of my message...)
But I am serious. If you have been sexually abused and can no longer enter a Catholic Church and have lost your faith in God, then I am not sure that you ever really believed, or perhaps were robbed of the chance, to understand Jesus Christ, who was tormented and crucified despite being of total perfection, sent by God, to heal and save, and who committed no crime or fault of his own.
When Jesus resurrected and returned, did he say, "I no longer believe in humanity because they unjustly tormented and killed me? And therefore I will no longer save you?"
Therefore, when humans abuse other humans, why would they then turn to God and say, "I no longer believe in you."
If you in your pain and focus on your own counsel and healing cannot understand that Jesus Christ resurrected and returned for forty days, undaunted, to save humanity and provide the path to God, then I wonder if perhaps Christianity in general just does not resonate with you.
This is a very serious problem, then, because whether you believe or not, God is still there, and will be faced at some point when your life ends, and of course, God wishes to be with you throughout your life.
I therefore wonder if perhaps those of you who can no longer "stand to be in a Church," and question your faith should consider studying Islam.
I would rather see someone who is so wounded and lacking in structured belief in God as a result of their trauma of sexual abuse consider converting to Islam than live a godless life. A godless life is a lie because there is a God, whether you believe or not, whether you are too wounded to believe or not.
Think about it. If you cannot see the truth of what I say, that the entire premise of Christianity is that Jesus loved and saved despite how he was scorned, tormented and killed most unfairly, worse because of his existence only being for the benefit of humanity, then I wonder if Christianity just is not for you.
I am certainly not turning you away. I am talking to those who are keeping themselves away.
Rather than stay in the lie of no longer believing, serving and worshipping the one God who continues to most assuredly exist, even if no human exists at all, perhaps you should consider Islam.
I hope that you have found this something that you will give careful thought to. God cares about each individual and desires their return. But God also continues on in eternity for all time, regardless of what one human believes or not. It is more important that you re-establish your relationship with God than continue to try to make a point about your woundedness. There is nothing that a human can teach Jesus Christ about being unfairly wronged. If that is not your understanding of Christianity, then you need to connect to God nonetheless, and perhaps Islam will be your way.
And who knows, if you realize that you have exiled yourself from the Church in your woundedness, and spend some time looking at Islam, you might miss home after all. But that is not my objective, for you to comparison shop. I am addressing those of you who have unwisely severed your understanding of God due to the trauma of your abuse. I think that you most certainly can reconnect with God through Islam, if you remain immovable regarding your home Church.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Understanding faith in God via Catholic topics (4)
While thinking about how to structure the next segment of my topic regarding priests and the priesthood, I realize that everyone will better understand and benefit if I make an aside and introduce a topic that is foundational, which is to understand the Holy Spirit. This is because I realize that as impressed as readers are by my pointing out the apostolic succession of the laying on of hands and their ability to consecrate through the Holy Spirit, it is easy to misunderstand what exactly is meant by the Holy Spirit, the nature of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the problems many have with understanding not only Catholic doctrine, but their own Christian denomination’s doctrine, whatever that may be. Therefore, here are some easy to understand discussions of the Holy Spirit just to provide a basic and sound foundation.
The Spirit is mentioned everywhere in the Bible. Thus the idea of the Holy Spirit is not something that Christians imagined or made up in order to explain the unseen, but rather, God specifically states on some occasions that he is going to do this, or he is going to do that, while at other times God specifically refers to the Spirit. You need go no further than the very first three lines of the Bible to observe this distinction.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;
The earth was waste and void;
Darkness covered the abyss, and the spirit of God was stirring above the waters.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good.
Remember, the information in Genesis was provided by God to Moses. Thus Moses (and the scribes after him who copied and passed down what Moses received from God) was very careful to be as precise as humanly possible (and God would have guided them in that). Thus, the use of the word “spirit” in Genesis 1:2 is the deliberate phrasing of God, and not just an artistic or ignorant manner of human speech. So why would God express himself as God in certain circumstances in the Bible, yet as the Spirit at other times? Why would God “be” God sometimes, and “be” the Holy Spirit other times? And, for that matter, how can Christians believe that Jesus Christ is Son of God, and thus is part of the Almighty, yet pray to God and clearly state that God is the Father and is still in heaven while Jesus was on earth? Let us look at an analogy (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)
This is an analogy that is absolutely theologically incorrect and inadequate, but it is absolutely valuable and valid for humans to better understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in proper context, so use this analogy with confidence. We all know, or at least can imagine, a fine, righteous and upstanding man, one who has a living father, who has a son of his own, and who has a job. This same man will have a certain relationship between himself and his son. Yet, when that man is with his own father, he is the same man but the relationship is different when one speaks to the father who raised you, than when you are with one’s own son. Then, imagine that this good man also has a job that requires him to be inspirational to his employees and to his colleagues, to customers, and indeed, all around him. For the analogy remember this could be any form of job; I am not speaking of a religious vocation kind of job. He might be a construction manager, a military man, in the government, a teacher, the director of a not for profit agency, or in charge of purchasing for a grocery store chain. Whatever this man’s job, he must inspire and exhort those around him to trust in him, to trust each other, and to do the very best that they can at all times.
You can see, then, that this is the same man, but one whom with goodness and precision unfailingly meets the needs of the situation. When he is the father he provides love, guidance and structure. When he is the son he transmits the values he obtained from his father, and treats his father in turn with love and respect, obeying the wishes of his father. When he is the inspirational leader with his words and example he transmits to the many shared goodness of objective, and thus he “gets things done” through many hands other than his own. Likewise, as a first step of understanding, you can think of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the same way. Obviously God is God, and only God. But God as all knowing and being of everything that ever was or ever could be, is filled with goodness and precision in how he uses his almighty powers, his will, in specific situations. He does this in order to accomplish two things:
1) Provide for a richness and diversity of dialogue with humans, so that there are many ways to experience God’s love, his touch and his dialogue in one’s life,
2) To make the influence of God easier to understand and to relate to by humans.
This is, obviously, one reason that Jesus Christ was born of a woman, born as a human, and not, let’s say, a big talking multi-colored rock. It would be more difficult for humans to love and have confidence in God-to say nothing of understanding him-if God had sent a multiple light pulsing hunk of unidentifiable rock with supernatural powers that voiced its love for humans, but did not walk with them, teach them, go fishing with them, argue with the scribes and Pharisees with them, be hungry with them, comfort them when they have sinned, and ultimately, proved with his own body that there is life after death when God resurrected him. How could one better understand God than through Jesus? Through Jesus, God is not only providing salvation and helping humans to better understand, love and serve God, but God is also helping humans to better understand the reality and nature of life, both earthly and eternal, and also to better understand their own human nature. Thus, Jesus Christ is also a role model, which is why he is often called “The New Adam,” as Jesus demonstrated how humans should behave, rather than how they do and did.
In the same way, God is the Holy Spirit and works through the Holy Spirit in order to individualize his internal dialogue with each and every person on earth (believer or not). Again, the Holy Spirit is a companion to all, no matter what their state in life, rather than, to use the example above, a mighty rock dropped in the midst that provides “answers” and demonstrates power. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God, moving like the air, or like water, among all humans all the time, working on each heart and soul in a totally individual way, one human being at a time. I’ve just posted the series of posts on the topic of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Well, you can also think of the Holy Spirit as the first gift of God to humans: the gift of God himself in the perpetual presence of his inspiration among humans and indeed within each human, no matter what is their station in life.
So this should help you understand that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the constancy of God himself but comprises the way that God himself has chosen to interact with and love humans for their own ease of understanding and their own betterment.
Second, this should help you to understand that the Holy Spirit is not at all the same as “magic,” or “spirituality.” Humans cannot control the Holy Spirit or use the “power” of the Holy Spirit to perform arcane or extrasensory actions. Further, one cannot “summon” or “accumulate” the Holy Spirit, the way that the false prophets, the New Agers and the magicians, feel that they can “manipulate” natural and spiritual “forces.” How to make this even clearer to you? First of all, think of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. None of them grant power and control over either natural forces or human behavior or “spirituality.” All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are attributes received through grace that elevate the goodness of the human who receives them and enhances their dialogue with God, not their dialogue or control of fellow human beings, or any part of God’s creation. The second way to make the difference clearer is to think of the analogy of the good boss: he transmits the role model and the inspiration through his own words and deeds, not by giving the employees a larger “tool” or tangible object. Likewise the Holy Spirit’s gifts are all about dialogue with God; they are not about nor can they be used for manipulating physical or spiritual phenomena.
You can better understand this by studying the greatest example of the Holy Spirit’s interaction with humans, which is Pentecost. Read this:
Acts 2:1-13
And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak.
Now there were staying at Jerusalem devout Jews from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude gathered and were bewildered in mind, because each heard them speaking in his own language. But they were all amazed and marveled, saying, “Behold, are not all these that are speaking Galileans? And how have we heard each is own language in which he was born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and visitors from Rome. Jews also and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we have heard them speaking in our own languages of the wonderful works of God.”
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said in mockery, “They are full of new wine.”
Now, the first thing to notice is the sound coming from heaven, like a violent wind that filled the entire house. God does not need to have touches of “drama,” so why is the Holy Spirit expressed first as this great wind? This is so humans would be able to observe and understand that they are receiving a gift. God made it clear as a matter of both faith and reason that he is giving them a gift, and that their sudden abilities would not be perceived as being the result of one’s own talents, or other “explanations.” So the characteristic wind of the Holy Spirit is the knock on the door so that people can perceive they are about to receive a gift from God.
Second, the Holy Spirit appears as a flickering flame (that is what the parted tongues means, to show that the flame is alive), one flame for each of the faithful who were gathered there. Again, why is this? So that it is not misunderstood as “magic”; only each of the faithful received their own parted flame. So it is not like the room became “enchanted” or that this “power” descended upon everyone in the vicinity. If, for example, a scribe who persecuted Jesus Christ happened to be walking by that house, it’s not like he would suddenly be walloped by the Holy Spirit and “converted” or “enlightened.” Each gift of the Holy Spirit is targeted to the recipients who were waiting for what Jesus Christ had promised to send them from God. So this is to help you better understand that this was not some group “enlightenment”; it was highly targeted and individual.
Further proof that it was individual is that each person now heard the other speak “the wonderful works of God” (in other words, they spontaneously started to preach) in their native languages. Here is how to better understand what happened. Think of a big urban area such as Los Angeles, New York or London, where there are many immigrants who have many different native languages, yet they all speak English in order to get along in everyday life. These disciples were like that, born of many different places, yet understanding Aramaic and Hebrew in order to have daily converse in Jerusalem. Suddenly, instead of hearing each other speak in Aramaic or Hebrew, or even Greek, they hear each other speaking in their own native language. Each person is not speaking in his or her own language; they are hearing the other person speak to them in their own native language! They were not babbling in unknown tongues, far from it, and they did not receive “instant multi-lingual ability.” Here is what happened. Suppose you were the only Roman who was born speaking Latin in the room. You would have then heard the other disciples speak to you in your native Latin! In turn, they would have heard you speak to them in whatever was their own native language.
Many people have misunderstood this passage thinking that it means that people were either babbling in mysterious arcane language or suddenly gained ability to speak in multiple languages. It is neither and instead, a very precise visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit occurred. People listened to each other and heard the other person speak to them in their own “homeland” language.
We know that people were not actually speaking aloud with new language abilities because observers who were not disciples thought that the claims that people were hearing each other speak in their own native languages as being the result of drunkenness. If people were actually, for example, all suddenly proficient in Latin, to stick with our example, bystanders would have noticed that they were speaking in Latin. Instead, it’s like the Roman turned to an unbeliever and said, “That guy just preached to me in my home language of Latin!” and the bystander says, “I didn’t hear anything and he didn’t say anything other than his usual language; you must have imagined hearing him speak Latin to you because you are drunk.”
It is St. Peter, in his discourse, who understands what happened and explained it to those gathered. He correctly understood the language phenomenon as a SIGN of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, not an actual change in language. So like the wind and the individual flames, the one time experience of hearing each other speak in your own native tongue was a visible wrapper on the gift, so that the disciples understood that they have received an otherwise invisible gift. St. Peter (and I consider this discourse to be an example of the Pope explaining and interpreting what God has wrought) immediately cites scripture from the prophet Joel where St. Peter recognizes that as Joel explained that God will send signs of his works, now have the disciples received signs of the gift of the Holy Spirit, gifts to each one of them individually which must be unwrapped and revealed over time. You can read St. Peter’s discourse in Acts 2:14-36, and what he was quoting from Joel in Joel 2:28.
Now, read this carefully so you can now understand how the Holy Spirit is, and is not, “transmitted.” Here is what happened when those who had not believed, and had not therefore received the Holy Spirit, reacted after hearing St. Peter’s explanation.
Acts 2:37-41
Now on hearing this they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
But Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise and to your children and to all who are far off, even to all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
And with very many other words he bore witness, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation.”
Now they who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Be careful not to jump to the conclusion that those who converted and were baptized now received the Holy Spirit exactly as had the Apostles and disciples, for they had not. If the Holy Spirit was going to do so, the Holy Spirit would have appeared “again” to announce first with wind, and then with three thousand individual parted tongues of fire that each of the newly baptized had received the exact same gift of Holy Spirit as the Apostles and disciples (and the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was there too). But that is not what happened. You see, those who believed and were the companions of Jesus through his life, to his crucifixion and resurrection, received the Holy Spirit as it came only to them “one time only.” That can never be imitated. Why is that? The invisible gift of the Holy Spirit received by the disciples was the authority to give birth to the Church. Now their period of waiting was over, and they had received the authority, those who were the companions of Jesus, who were in the room waiting for the consoler that Jesus had promised. The gift of the Holy Spirit was authority, each Apostle and disciple expressing it as he or she undertook their individual vocation and calling.
This, then, demonstrates to you that the first act of authority was undertaken first by St. Peter, who interpreted what this sign from God meant, and second to baptize “in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” This is the moment that St. Peter was able to promise and assure that baptism is now a sacrament that is invoked in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles and disciples not a bunch of new languages and miracle working ability but authority.
Acts 2:42-3
And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; many wonders also and signs were done by means of the apostles in Jerusalem, and great fear came upon them all.
The Apostles now, through the virtue of the Holy Spirit, invest authority in that which they were already doing, which is baptism, the breaking of the bread (the Eucharist) and development of a liturgy (in the prayers, certain prayers said in common). Notice the emphasis on the great fear that came upon the soul; this is the first gift of the Holy Spirit, “Fear of the Lord.” It is one thing to see Jesus transfigured, or the Holy Spirit descend upon him when he was baptized by John the Baptist, or even to see with one’s own eyes Jesus ascend into heaven, because that’s all happening to Jesus, in whom you believe. It is quite another thing when one receives a direct infusion of the Holy Spirit as happened to the Apostles and disciples at Pentecost. Now that the received authority and the Holy Spirit directly, they suddenly felt the real Fear of the Lord, as the reality of his greatness and presence is felt by one’s self, not just by observing it in the Lord Jesus Christ. So far from ego gratifying magic or “increased spirituality,” the first and only infusion of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brought great authority, and with it, understanding and great Fear of God. It was signs of their authority, particularly St. Peter and later St. Paul, who received the Holy Spirit directly from the resurrected Christ, that they could work wonders and signs (miracles) and also reward for their humble acceptance of Fear of the Lord.
So when the Holy Spirit is transmitted by means such as baptism, or the laying on of hands in the sacraments of Confirmation, or for the priesthood in Holy Orders, the Holy Spirit is transmitted in different ways appropriate to what dialogue is taking place with God at that time. This is demonstrated as I pointed out, the first three thousand who were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but not in the exact form that the one and only time that the Apostles and disciples received it. Thus the “authority” form of the gift of the Holy Spirit is transmitted according to the calling of the person receiving.
Acts 3:1-11
Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried by, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful, that he might ask alms of those going into the temple. And he, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for an alms.
But Peter, gazing upon him with John, said, “Look at us.” And he looked at them earnestly, hoping to receive something from them. But Peter said, “Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk.”
And taking him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles became strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and went with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they recognized him as the man who used to sit for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Now as he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran to them in the portico called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Study and understand, therefore, how the gift of the Holy Spirit manifested in St. Peter. Peter and the other Apostles were able to perform miracles, such as cast out demons, when Jesus was alive, using his authority, even if Jesus was not right there next to them. In fact, you can read how chagrined they are when one of their attempts to expel a demon failed. But now Jesus was not there with them, having resurrected and ascended into heaven. With Pentecost the Apostles, especially St. Peter, received authority to perform mighty miracles, using the name of Jesus Christ. You can now understand and distinguish between how St. Peter, for example, in turn gives the gift of the Holy Spirit, and how he does not. St. Peter transmits authority, to perform baptism for the remission of sins, to conduct a liturgy that includes the Holy Eucharist and the authority of a call to the priesthood… but St. Peter cannot transmit the miracle performing gift of the Holy Spirit. St. Peter performs miracles through the authority given to him and the others who were there at Pentecost, but the gifts of the Holy Spirit are authority and fear, not arcane knowledge or “power” that can be taught or “passed on.”
Acts 4:5-14
Now it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and Scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas, the high priest, and Caiphas and John and Alexander and as many as belonged to the high-priestly family. And setting them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what authority or in what name have you done this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are on trial today about a good work done to a cripple, as to how this man has been cured, be it known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead, even in this name does he stand here before you, sound.
This is the authority by which Catholic doctrine states that Catholic priests represent the actual presence of Jesus Christ in the fullness of his authority. St. Peter states that Jesus, who was crucified by the very people in the room, does “stand here before you, sound.” St. Peter, speaking in his full authority, is stating to them that when they speak to him, they are speaking to Jesus Christ’s authority, for St. Peter only acts on the behest of the living and present Jesus Christ. This is the Biblical justification of the Catholic doctrine I cited in the previous post, sections 1548 and 1549. I repeat here 1548.
1548 In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis.
Back to the cited scripture:
This is “The stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the corner stone. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we may be saved.”
Now seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and finding that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they began to marvel, and to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been cured standing with them, they could say nothing in reply.
Many people think that the signs of the Holy Spirit are the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that is wrong. Signs are not the gifts; they are the “attention getters” to bolster faith. Speaking in tongues is not the gift of the Holy Spirit; it is a sign. The gift of the Holy Spirit at its most fundamental root and core is authority. Only the Apostles and disciples, and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the new authority by which to invoke the name of Jesus Christ and to transmit authority in turn. Remember, while the Apostles and disciples performed miracles in the name of Jesus when Jesus was still with them, they waited in the room for the authority before commencing this new stage, the birth of the Church. It is only after receiving the authority of the Holy Spirit that they stopped their period of waiting, of dormancy, and obtained the authority to stand in front of the questioners and state that Jesus Christ is there, sound, with them. And with the authority that they, particularly St. Peter and later St. Paul, received from the Holy Spirit, what was their first gift of the Holy Spirit? They received Fear of the Lord.
And of course, what was the first thing that the questioners had asked? Not “How did you do that miracle cure?” but “By whose authority?”
Everyone can call upon the name of Jesus Christ, but not everyone is given the authority of his name to work signs and miracles. That is what must be very plainly and humbly understood. No one can be “just like the Apostles.” Only the Apostles, the disciples and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the first, the initial conferring of the authority of the Holy Spirit. What St. Peter initiated, by this authority and by the direct words of Jesus when he was with him, was the means by which the sacramental gifts of the Holy Spirit are conferred, not the original authority itself by which he and his companions planted the Church.
The Holy Spirit-God’s gift
733 “God is Love” and love is his first gift, containing all others. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
734 Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.
735 He, then, gives us the “pledge” or “first fruits” of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love as “God [has] loved us.” This love (the “charity” of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received “power” from the Holy Spirit.
736 By this power of the Spirit, God’s children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear “the fruit of the Spirit:…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” “We live by the Spirit”; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we “walk by the Spirit.”
Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God “Father” and to share in Christ’s grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.
So you see that the Catechism of the Catholic Church does indeed refer to the Holy Spirit as giving “power,” putting that word in quotations to indicate that there is no better word to provide, but that power is a word that connotes to humans a force that is different than the actual power of the Holy Spirit, which is love and the ability to bind humans closer to God in affection and understanding. So just to make sure that you know the difference, let’s look at some specific examples of transmitting the Holy Spirit.
Priests transmit and confer the Holy Spirit when they perform a blessing. Let’s look at this example because it is an area that is rife with misunderstanding. Let us say that someone purchases a rosary and asks the priest to bless it. What is happening? First of all, it is not “magic” making the inanimate object of the rosary an idol or having numinous power within it. A blessing is an opportunity to enhance one’s receipt of the gift of the Holy Spirit of Piety. It is because you believe that you request the priest to bless. When the priest blesses your rosary you both receive infusion of the gift of Piety. Now, if it was “magic” you would think that having a hundred rosaries blessed, or a thousand, gives you a hundred or one thousand “doses” of “Holy Spirit.” That is not the case, obviously. That is because the gift of the Holy Spirit resides in your heart and soul, and not in the rosary object. A person who gets one rosary blessed and uses it through their whole life has the same “amount” of Piety as someone who gets ten rosaries and has each of them blessed, because it is the opening of your heart to God in Piety that is the gift and yields fruit (the fruits of the Holy Spirit are listed above in 736).
Notice that I mention that the priest also receives gift of the Holy Spirit when he blesses the rosary for you. This is because with every action that he takes in ministering to the flock, the Holy Spirit rewards him too with the gift of Piety. Now, how can you “cultivate” “more” “gifting from the Holy Spirit” if you so desired it? An example would be to purchase or create quantities of rosaries, take them to be blessed, and then distribute them to people in need of them. You are given the gift of Piety when you profess your belief in God by, for example, having a rosary blessed for yourself. You are cultivating the gift of Knowledge when you exercise charity, such as going out of your way at your own time and expense to provide blessed rosaries to others, because you are serving God. Remember that the gift of Knowledge from the Holy Spirit is to both worship and serve God. The fruits of, for example, this providing of blessed rosaries for the needy, or for those in the armed services, would be peace, kindness and goodness (and patience!) You are being charitable and assisting those in need in their faith, and those are considerable gifts from the Holy Spirit.
We often see priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals and the Pope blessing babies. Watch the next time that the Pope blesses a baby in the crowd. Yes, he is both transmitting the Holy Spirit and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit himself. A baby being blessed is not a magic charm of sorts to guarantee some sort of fortunate life, but it is something better, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When the Pope blesses a baby, for example, he is bolstering the faith of that baby, even though the baby of course is not yet aware of anything beyond the concerns of a baby. The Pope when he blesses is invoking from the Holy Spirit a gift of Piety to those around the baby, those who brought the baby to him. It is because they believe that they bring the baby to him, hope for a blessing and have great joy when they receive one. Likewise, the soul of the baby, no matter how young, feels the touch of the love of God when the baby receives a blessing from a servant of God. That touch can be receptive to greater faith and love as the baby grows. This is how the Holy Spirit is transmitted.
Then there is the means that we started out with discussing, which is the laying on of hands in the apostolic succession. Again, it is not magic that is transmitted, but the authority of God through Jesus Christ. When one is baptized the Holy Spirit is invoked and the gift is conferred that one has access to the forgiveness of sins and also one becomes part of the common priesthood, the baptismal priesthood. One receives the authority, through apostolic succession, to be of the common priesthood of God. When one receives Holy Orders one receives the authority, through apostolic succession, to be part of the ministerial priesthood. If one wants to really somewhat analyze the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is received at Holy Orders, they are Fear of the Lord, Piety and Knowledge, often with remarkable early infusions of Fortitude and Counsel. It is not “magic” but rather the power and authority by which St. Peter, standing in front of the very people who crucified Jesus, says to them, “in this name does he stand here before you, sound.”
When Holy Orders are conferred, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the deacon, priest or bishop is indeed following in the footsteps of St. Peter, able to state that Jesus Christ, too, stands there, sound. This does not mean that the priest, for example, has powers of miracles, or is even necessarily of even part of the purity and virtue of Jesus Christ. As we have seen in the horrible and sad scandals, very flawed and even criminal people have received Holy Orders. You must remember, though, that while human beings fail, the Holy Spirit never fails, and while human beings may be dirtied by sin or disgrace, this does not change one iota of the truth of God, or the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1550 This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so that even the minister’s sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always sign of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.
1551 This priesthood is ministerial. “That office…, which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service.” It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church. The sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a “sacred power” which is none other than that of Christ. The exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and servant of all. “The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him.”
What the Catechism of the Catholic Church is stating is that the “sacred power” of the priest does not come from the priest, who is by definition a flawed vessel, but directly from Christ. Thus a priest who falls into dire sin, as we have seen in the sex abuse tragedy, harms the “apostolic fruitfulness of the Church,” in that they harm and wound the innocent and their faith, but his sinfulness does not mean that Christ was not present in the fullness of the sacramental responsibilities of the priest. “The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way” means that the Holy Spirit only guarantees the real presence of Christ in the sacraments as administered by even a sinful priest, but the Holy Spirit cannot be understood as being some sort of guarantor of human, even priestly, behavior. If that were true, then all of human history would be different, because God would have then decided to force good behavior on all humans, and then they would be no longer his children, or even humans, but slaves, and God just is not like that.
So the transmission and invoking of the Holy Spirit is never stained and is never anything but the pure infusion of grace from God. After all, remember that the Holy Spirit moves constantly working among all humans, believers or not, good or evil, rich or poor, consecrated or laity. St. Peter denied Jesus Christ three times yet two months later he was standing in front of those who had crucified Jesus, speaking with the fullness of the authority of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ himself. Humans fail but the Holy Spirit never fails. It is a lot to think about, isn’t it?
I hope that you have found this helpful.
The Spirit is mentioned everywhere in the Bible. Thus the idea of the Holy Spirit is not something that Christians imagined or made up in order to explain the unseen, but rather, God specifically states on some occasions that he is going to do this, or he is going to do that, while at other times God specifically refers to the Spirit. You need go no further than the very first three lines of the Bible to observe this distinction.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;
The earth was waste and void;
Darkness covered the abyss, and the spirit of God was stirring above the waters.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good.
Remember, the information in Genesis was provided by God to Moses. Thus Moses (and the scribes after him who copied and passed down what Moses received from God) was very careful to be as precise as humanly possible (and God would have guided them in that). Thus, the use of the word “spirit” in Genesis 1:2 is the deliberate phrasing of God, and not just an artistic or ignorant manner of human speech. So why would God express himself as God in certain circumstances in the Bible, yet as the Spirit at other times? Why would God “be” God sometimes, and “be” the Holy Spirit other times? And, for that matter, how can Christians believe that Jesus Christ is Son of God, and thus is part of the Almighty, yet pray to God and clearly state that God is the Father and is still in heaven while Jesus was on earth? Let us look at an analogy (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)
This is an analogy that is absolutely theologically incorrect and inadequate, but it is absolutely valuable and valid for humans to better understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in proper context, so use this analogy with confidence. We all know, or at least can imagine, a fine, righteous and upstanding man, one who has a living father, who has a son of his own, and who has a job. This same man will have a certain relationship between himself and his son. Yet, when that man is with his own father, he is the same man but the relationship is different when one speaks to the father who raised you, than when you are with one’s own son. Then, imagine that this good man also has a job that requires him to be inspirational to his employees and to his colleagues, to customers, and indeed, all around him. For the analogy remember this could be any form of job; I am not speaking of a religious vocation kind of job. He might be a construction manager, a military man, in the government, a teacher, the director of a not for profit agency, or in charge of purchasing for a grocery store chain. Whatever this man’s job, he must inspire and exhort those around him to trust in him, to trust each other, and to do the very best that they can at all times.
You can see, then, that this is the same man, but one whom with goodness and precision unfailingly meets the needs of the situation. When he is the father he provides love, guidance and structure. When he is the son he transmits the values he obtained from his father, and treats his father in turn with love and respect, obeying the wishes of his father. When he is the inspirational leader with his words and example he transmits to the many shared goodness of objective, and thus he “gets things done” through many hands other than his own. Likewise, as a first step of understanding, you can think of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the same way. Obviously God is God, and only God. But God as all knowing and being of everything that ever was or ever could be, is filled with goodness and precision in how he uses his almighty powers, his will, in specific situations. He does this in order to accomplish two things:
1) Provide for a richness and diversity of dialogue with humans, so that there are many ways to experience God’s love, his touch and his dialogue in one’s life,
2) To make the influence of God easier to understand and to relate to by humans.
This is, obviously, one reason that Jesus Christ was born of a woman, born as a human, and not, let’s say, a big talking multi-colored rock. It would be more difficult for humans to love and have confidence in God-to say nothing of understanding him-if God had sent a multiple light pulsing hunk of unidentifiable rock with supernatural powers that voiced its love for humans, but did not walk with them, teach them, go fishing with them, argue with the scribes and Pharisees with them, be hungry with them, comfort them when they have sinned, and ultimately, proved with his own body that there is life after death when God resurrected him. How could one better understand God than through Jesus? Through Jesus, God is not only providing salvation and helping humans to better understand, love and serve God, but God is also helping humans to better understand the reality and nature of life, both earthly and eternal, and also to better understand their own human nature. Thus, Jesus Christ is also a role model, which is why he is often called “The New Adam,” as Jesus demonstrated how humans should behave, rather than how they do and did.
In the same way, God is the Holy Spirit and works through the Holy Spirit in order to individualize his internal dialogue with each and every person on earth (believer or not). Again, the Holy Spirit is a companion to all, no matter what their state in life, rather than, to use the example above, a mighty rock dropped in the midst that provides “answers” and demonstrates power. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God, moving like the air, or like water, among all humans all the time, working on each heart and soul in a totally individual way, one human being at a time. I’ve just posted the series of posts on the topic of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Well, you can also think of the Holy Spirit as the first gift of God to humans: the gift of God himself in the perpetual presence of his inspiration among humans and indeed within each human, no matter what is their station in life.
So this should help you understand that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the constancy of God himself but comprises the way that God himself has chosen to interact with and love humans for their own ease of understanding and their own betterment.
Second, this should help you to understand that the Holy Spirit is not at all the same as “magic,” or “spirituality.” Humans cannot control the Holy Spirit or use the “power” of the Holy Spirit to perform arcane or extrasensory actions. Further, one cannot “summon” or “accumulate” the Holy Spirit, the way that the false prophets, the New Agers and the magicians, feel that they can “manipulate” natural and spiritual “forces.” How to make this even clearer to you? First of all, think of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. None of them grant power and control over either natural forces or human behavior or “spirituality.” All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are attributes received through grace that elevate the goodness of the human who receives them and enhances their dialogue with God, not their dialogue or control of fellow human beings, or any part of God’s creation. The second way to make the difference clearer is to think of the analogy of the good boss: he transmits the role model and the inspiration through his own words and deeds, not by giving the employees a larger “tool” or tangible object. Likewise the Holy Spirit’s gifts are all about dialogue with God; they are not about nor can they be used for manipulating physical or spiritual phenomena.
You can better understand this by studying the greatest example of the Holy Spirit’s interaction with humans, which is Pentecost. Read this:
Acts 2:1-13
And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak.
Now there were staying at Jerusalem devout Jews from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude gathered and were bewildered in mind, because each heard them speaking in his own language. But they were all amazed and marveled, saying, “Behold, are not all these that are speaking Galileans? And how have we heard each is own language in which he was born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and visitors from Rome. Jews also and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we have heard them speaking in our own languages of the wonderful works of God.”
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said in mockery, “They are full of new wine.”
Now, the first thing to notice is the sound coming from heaven, like a violent wind that filled the entire house. God does not need to have touches of “drama,” so why is the Holy Spirit expressed first as this great wind? This is so humans would be able to observe and understand that they are receiving a gift. God made it clear as a matter of both faith and reason that he is giving them a gift, and that their sudden abilities would not be perceived as being the result of one’s own talents, or other “explanations.” So the characteristic wind of the Holy Spirit is the knock on the door so that people can perceive they are about to receive a gift from God.
Second, the Holy Spirit appears as a flickering flame (that is what the parted tongues means, to show that the flame is alive), one flame for each of the faithful who were gathered there. Again, why is this? So that it is not misunderstood as “magic”; only each of the faithful received their own parted flame. So it is not like the room became “enchanted” or that this “power” descended upon everyone in the vicinity. If, for example, a scribe who persecuted Jesus Christ happened to be walking by that house, it’s not like he would suddenly be walloped by the Holy Spirit and “converted” or “enlightened.” Each gift of the Holy Spirit is targeted to the recipients who were waiting for what Jesus Christ had promised to send them from God. So this is to help you better understand that this was not some group “enlightenment”; it was highly targeted and individual.
Further proof that it was individual is that each person now heard the other speak “the wonderful works of God” (in other words, they spontaneously started to preach) in their native languages. Here is how to better understand what happened. Think of a big urban area such as Los Angeles, New York or London, where there are many immigrants who have many different native languages, yet they all speak English in order to get along in everyday life. These disciples were like that, born of many different places, yet understanding Aramaic and Hebrew in order to have daily converse in Jerusalem. Suddenly, instead of hearing each other speak in Aramaic or Hebrew, or even Greek, they hear each other speaking in their own native language. Each person is not speaking in his or her own language; they are hearing the other person speak to them in their own native language! They were not babbling in unknown tongues, far from it, and they did not receive “instant multi-lingual ability.” Here is what happened. Suppose you were the only Roman who was born speaking Latin in the room. You would have then heard the other disciples speak to you in your native Latin! In turn, they would have heard you speak to them in whatever was their own native language.
Many people have misunderstood this passage thinking that it means that people were either babbling in mysterious arcane language or suddenly gained ability to speak in multiple languages. It is neither and instead, a very precise visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit occurred. People listened to each other and heard the other person speak to them in their own “homeland” language.
We know that people were not actually speaking aloud with new language abilities because observers who were not disciples thought that the claims that people were hearing each other speak in their own native languages as being the result of drunkenness. If people were actually, for example, all suddenly proficient in Latin, to stick with our example, bystanders would have noticed that they were speaking in Latin. Instead, it’s like the Roman turned to an unbeliever and said, “That guy just preached to me in my home language of Latin!” and the bystander says, “I didn’t hear anything and he didn’t say anything other than his usual language; you must have imagined hearing him speak Latin to you because you are drunk.”
It is St. Peter, in his discourse, who understands what happened and explained it to those gathered. He correctly understood the language phenomenon as a SIGN of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, not an actual change in language. So like the wind and the individual flames, the one time experience of hearing each other speak in your own native tongue was a visible wrapper on the gift, so that the disciples understood that they have received an otherwise invisible gift. St. Peter (and I consider this discourse to be an example of the Pope explaining and interpreting what God has wrought) immediately cites scripture from the prophet Joel where St. Peter recognizes that as Joel explained that God will send signs of his works, now have the disciples received signs of the gift of the Holy Spirit, gifts to each one of them individually which must be unwrapped and revealed over time. You can read St. Peter’s discourse in Acts 2:14-36, and what he was quoting from Joel in Joel 2:28.
Now, read this carefully so you can now understand how the Holy Spirit is, and is not, “transmitted.” Here is what happened when those who had not believed, and had not therefore received the Holy Spirit, reacted after hearing St. Peter’s explanation.
Acts 2:37-41
Now on hearing this they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
But Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise and to your children and to all who are far off, even to all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
And with very many other words he bore witness, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation.”
Now they who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Be careful not to jump to the conclusion that those who converted and were baptized now received the Holy Spirit exactly as had the Apostles and disciples, for they had not. If the Holy Spirit was going to do so, the Holy Spirit would have appeared “again” to announce first with wind, and then with three thousand individual parted tongues of fire that each of the newly baptized had received the exact same gift of Holy Spirit as the Apostles and disciples (and the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was there too). But that is not what happened. You see, those who believed and were the companions of Jesus through his life, to his crucifixion and resurrection, received the Holy Spirit as it came only to them “one time only.” That can never be imitated. Why is that? The invisible gift of the Holy Spirit received by the disciples was the authority to give birth to the Church. Now their period of waiting was over, and they had received the authority, those who were the companions of Jesus, who were in the room waiting for the consoler that Jesus had promised. The gift of the Holy Spirit was authority, each Apostle and disciple expressing it as he or she undertook their individual vocation and calling.
This, then, demonstrates to you that the first act of authority was undertaken first by St. Peter, who interpreted what this sign from God meant, and second to baptize “in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” This is the moment that St. Peter was able to promise and assure that baptism is now a sacrament that is invoked in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles and disciples not a bunch of new languages and miracle working ability but authority.
Acts 2:42-3
And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; many wonders also and signs were done by means of the apostles in Jerusalem, and great fear came upon them all.
The Apostles now, through the virtue of the Holy Spirit, invest authority in that which they were already doing, which is baptism, the breaking of the bread (the Eucharist) and development of a liturgy (in the prayers, certain prayers said in common). Notice the emphasis on the great fear that came upon the soul; this is the first gift of the Holy Spirit, “Fear of the Lord.” It is one thing to see Jesus transfigured, or the Holy Spirit descend upon him when he was baptized by John the Baptist, or even to see with one’s own eyes Jesus ascend into heaven, because that’s all happening to Jesus, in whom you believe. It is quite another thing when one receives a direct infusion of the Holy Spirit as happened to the Apostles and disciples at Pentecost. Now that the received authority and the Holy Spirit directly, they suddenly felt the real Fear of the Lord, as the reality of his greatness and presence is felt by one’s self, not just by observing it in the Lord Jesus Christ. So far from ego gratifying magic or “increased spirituality,” the first and only infusion of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brought great authority, and with it, understanding and great Fear of God. It was signs of their authority, particularly St. Peter and later St. Paul, who received the Holy Spirit directly from the resurrected Christ, that they could work wonders and signs (miracles) and also reward for their humble acceptance of Fear of the Lord.
So when the Holy Spirit is transmitted by means such as baptism, or the laying on of hands in the sacraments of Confirmation, or for the priesthood in Holy Orders, the Holy Spirit is transmitted in different ways appropriate to what dialogue is taking place with God at that time. This is demonstrated as I pointed out, the first three thousand who were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit, but not in the exact form that the one and only time that the Apostles and disciples received it. Thus the “authority” form of the gift of the Holy Spirit is transmitted according to the calling of the person receiving.
Acts 3:1-11
Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried by, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful, that he might ask alms of those going into the temple. And he, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for an alms.
But Peter, gazing upon him with John, said, “Look at us.” And he looked at them earnestly, hoping to receive something from them. But Peter said, “Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk.”
And taking him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles became strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and went with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they recognized him as the man who used to sit for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Now as he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran to them in the portico called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Study and understand, therefore, how the gift of the Holy Spirit manifested in St. Peter. Peter and the other Apostles were able to perform miracles, such as cast out demons, when Jesus was alive, using his authority, even if Jesus was not right there next to them. In fact, you can read how chagrined they are when one of their attempts to expel a demon failed. But now Jesus was not there with them, having resurrected and ascended into heaven. With Pentecost the Apostles, especially St. Peter, received authority to perform mighty miracles, using the name of Jesus Christ. You can now understand and distinguish between how St. Peter, for example, in turn gives the gift of the Holy Spirit, and how he does not. St. Peter transmits authority, to perform baptism for the remission of sins, to conduct a liturgy that includes the Holy Eucharist and the authority of a call to the priesthood… but St. Peter cannot transmit the miracle performing gift of the Holy Spirit. St. Peter performs miracles through the authority given to him and the others who were there at Pentecost, but the gifts of the Holy Spirit are authority and fear, not arcane knowledge or “power” that can be taught or “passed on.”
Acts 4:5-14
Now it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and Scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas, the high priest, and Caiphas and John and Alexander and as many as belonged to the high-priestly family. And setting them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what authority or in what name have you done this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are on trial today about a good work done to a cripple, as to how this man has been cured, be it known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead, even in this name does he stand here before you, sound.
This is the authority by which Catholic doctrine states that Catholic priests represent the actual presence of Jesus Christ in the fullness of his authority. St. Peter states that Jesus, who was crucified by the very people in the room, does “stand here before you, sound.” St. Peter, speaking in his full authority, is stating to them that when they speak to him, they are speaking to Jesus Christ’s authority, for St. Peter only acts on the behest of the living and present Jesus Christ. This is the Biblical justification of the Catholic doctrine I cited in the previous post, sections 1548 and 1549. I repeat here 1548.
1548 In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis.
Back to the cited scripture:
This is “The stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the corner stone. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we may be saved.”
Now seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and finding that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they began to marvel, and to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been cured standing with them, they could say nothing in reply.
Many people think that the signs of the Holy Spirit are the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that is wrong. Signs are not the gifts; they are the “attention getters” to bolster faith. Speaking in tongues is not the gift of the Holy Spirit; it is a sign. The gift of the Holy Spirit at its most fundamental root and core is authority. Only the Apostles and disciples, and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the new authority by which to invoke the name of Jesus Christ and to transmit authority in turn. Remember, while the Apostles and disciples performed miracles in the name of Jesus when Jesus was still with them, they waited in the room for the authority before commencing this new stage, the birth of the Church. It is only after receiving the authority of the Holy Spirit that they stopped their period of waiting, of dormancy, and obtained the authority to stand in front of the questioners and state that Jesus Christ is there, sound, with them. And with the authority that they, particularly St. Peter and later St. Paul, received from the Holy Spirit, what was their first gift of the Holy Spirit? They received Fear of the Lord.
And of course, what was the first thing that the questioners had asked? Not “How did you do that miracle cure?” but “By whose authority?”
Everyone can call upon the name of Jesus Christ, but not everyone is given the authority of his name to work signs and miracles. That is what must be very plainly and humbly understood. No one can be “just like the Apostles.” Only the Apostles, the disciples and the Blessed Virgin Mary received the first, the initial conferring of the authority of the Holy Spirit. What St. Peter initiated, by this authority and by the direct words of Jesus when he was with him, was the means by which the sacramental gifts of the Holy Spirit are conferred, not the original authority itself by which he and his companions planted the Church.
The Holy Spirit-God’s gift
733 “God is Love” and love is his first gift, containing all others. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
734 Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.
735 He, then, gives us the “pledge” or “first fruits” of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love as “God [has] loved us.” This love (the “charity” of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received “power” from the Holy Spirit.
736 By this power of the Spirit, God’s children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear “the fruit of the Spirit:…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” “We live by the Spirit”; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we “walk by the Spirit.”
Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God “Father” and to share in Christ’s grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.
So you see that the Catechism of the Catholic Church does indeed refer to the Holy Spirit as giving “power,” putting that word in quotations to indicate that there is no better word to provide, but that power is a word that connotes to humans a force that is different than the actual power of the Holy Spirit, which is love and the ability to bind humans closer to God in affection and understanding. So just to make sure that you know the difference, let’s look at some specific examples of transmitting the Holy Spirit.
Priests transmit and confer the Holy Spirit when they perform a blessing. Let’s look at this example because it is an area that is rife with misunderstanding. Let us say that someone purchases a rosary and asks the priest to bless it. What is happening? First of all, it is not “magic” making the inanimate object of the rosary an idol or having numinous power within it. A blessing is an opportunity to enhance one’s receipt of the gift of the Holy Spirit of Piety. It is because you believe that you request the priest to bless. When the priest blesses your rosary you both receive infusion of the gift of Piety. Now, if it was “magic” you would think that having a hundred rosaries blessed, or a thousand, gives you a hundred or one thousand “doses” of “Holy Spirit.” That is not the case, obviously. That is because the gift of the Holy Spirit resides in your heart and soul, and not in the rosary object. A person who gets one rosary blessed and uses it through their whole life has the same “amount” of Piety as someone who gets ten rosaries and has each of them blessed, because it is the opening of your heart to God in Piety that is the gift and yields fruit (the fruits of the Holy Spirit are listed above in 736).
Notice that I mention that the priest also receives gift of the Holy Spirit when he blesses the rosary for you. This is because with every action that he takes in ministering to the flock, the Holy Spirit rewards him too with the gift of Piety. Now, how can you “cultivate” “more” “gifting from the Holy Spirit” if you so desired it? An example would be to purchase or create quantities of rosaries, take them to be blessed, and then distribute them to people in need of them. You are given the gift of Piety when you profess your belief in God by, for example, having a rosary blessed for yourself. You are cultivating the gift of Knowledge when you exercise charity, such as going out of your way at your own time and expense to provide blessed rosaries to others, because you are serving God. Remember that the gift of Knowledge from the Holy Spirit is to both worship and serve God. The fruits of, for example, this providing of blessed rosaries for the needy, or for those in the armed services, would be peace, kindness and goodness (and patience!) You are being charitable and assisting those in need in their faith, and those are considerable gifts from the Holy Spirit.
We often see priests, deacons, bishops, cardinals and the Pope blessing babies. Watch the next time that the Pope blesses a baby in the crowd. Yes, he is both transmitting the Holy Spirit and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit himself. A baby being blessed is not a magic charm of sorts to guarantee some sort of fortunate life, but it is something better, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When the Pope blesses a baby, for example, he is bolstering the faith of that baby, even though the baby of course is not yet aware of anything beyond the concerns of a baby. The Pope when he blesses is invoking from the Holy Spirit a gift of Piety to those around the baby, those who brought the baby to him. It is because they believe that they bring the baby to him, hope for a blessing and have great joy when they receive one. Likewise, the soul of the baby, no matter how young, feels the touch of the love of God when the baby receives a blessing from a servant of God. That touch can be receptive to greater faith and love as the baby grows. This is how the Holy Spirit is transmitted.
Then there is the means that we started out with discussing, which is the laying on of hands in the apostolic succession. Again, it is not magic that is transmitted, but the authority of God through Jesus Christ. When one is baptized the Holy Spirit is invoked and the gift is conferred that one has access to the forgiveness of sins and also one becomes part of the common priesthood, the baptismal priesthood. One receives the authority, through apostolic succession, to be of the common priesthood of God. When one receives Holy Orders one receives the authority, through apostolic succession, to be part of the ministerial priesthood. If one wants to really somewhat analyze the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is received at Holy Orders, they are Fear of the Lord, Piety and Knowledge, often with remarkable early infusions of Fortitude and Counsel. It is not “magic” but rather the power and authority by which St. Peter, standing in front of the very people who crucified Jesus, says to them, “in this name does he stand here before you, sound.”
When Holy Orders are conferred, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the deacon, priest or bishop is indeed following in the footsteps of St. Peter, able to state that Jesus Christ, too, stands there, sound. This does not mean that the priest, for example, has powers of miracles, or is even necessarily of even part of the purity and virtue of Jesus Christ. As we have seen in the horrible and sad scandals, very flawed and even criminal people have received Holy Orders. You must remember, though, that while human beings fail, the Holy Spirit never fails, and while human beings may be dirtied by sin or disgrace, this does not change one iota of the truth of God, or the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1550 This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so that even the minister’s sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always sign of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.
1551 This priesthood is ministerial. “That office…, which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service.” It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church. The sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a “sacred power” which is none other than that of Christ. The exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and servant of all. “The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him.”
What the Catechism of the Catholic Church is stating is that the “sacred power” of the priest does not come from the priest, who is by definition a flawed vessel, but directly from Christ. Thus a priest who falls into dire sin, as we have seen in the sex abuse tragedy, harms the “apostolic fruitfulness of the Church,” in that they harm and wound the innocent and their faith, but his sinfulness does not mean that Christ was not present in the fullness of the sacramental responsibilities of the priest. “The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way” means that the Holy Spirit only guarantees the real presence of Christ in the sacraments as administered by even a sinful priest, but the Holy Spirit cannot be understood as being some sort of guarantor of human, even priestly, behavior. If that were true, then all of human history would be different, because God would have then decided to force good behavior on all humans, and then they would be no longer his children, or even humans, but slaves, and God just is not like that.
So the transmission and invoking of the Holy Spirit is never stained and is never anything but the pure infusion of grace from God. After all, remember that the Holy Spirit moves constantly working among all humans, believers or not, good or evil, rich or poor, consecrated or laity. St. Peter denied Jesus Christ three times yet two months later he was standing in front of those who had crucified Jesus, speaking with the fullness of the authority of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ himself. Humans fail but the Holy Spirit never fails. It is a lot to think about, isn’t it?
I hope that you have found this helpful.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Some priest abuse advocates miss the point
Here is a good Aussie article wrapping up the final day of the Pope's Australian visit. It includes news that the Pope met with and celebrated Mass with four priest abuse victims. It also has the surprise and excellent news that Mr. Rudd has appointed an Australian ambassador to the Vatican.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24057138-662,00.html
***
OK, some people are not going to want to hear it, but it is the truth and they can't ignore it.
Groups of priest abuse victims and their families are expressing very tasteless and frankly, erroneous, criticism of the Pontiff's meeting with four victims of priest sexual abuse, and not doing something "large scale" and more of a "venting and problem solving session."
While I have enormous sympathy for the abuse victims (and yes, I have my *street credibility card* of having been abused, though not by priests, so don't tell me I "don't understand"), and I have blogged spiritual direction and practical sympathy about this situation, I am astonished with disappointment by the mean spiritedness of certain very public advocates of the victims.
I can understand that the experience has derailed some people's ability to understand religion and faith in God itself. I do understand that. But I don't think THESE people realize themselves that they are derailed from understanding the continuation of normal faith in God and the religion. We can't cancel Masses all around the world because "people have been hurt." The Pope is not going to stop saying personal Mass each day because "people have been hurt." We are not going to "fire" every cardinal and bishop that made a mistake, even an awful mistake, because "people have been hurt;" this is a church and not a corporation.
The Pope says Mass every day. Every Pope celebrates their own personal Mass at the beginning of each day. There are moving pictures and descriptions of Pope John Paul II doing so, for example. They do it in their private chapels when at home and in the private chapels of Catholic residences when traveling. Some invite household members and special guests. Pope John Paul II, for example, "started his day," so to speak, with his celebration of his daily personal Mass with his household staff.
Pope Benedict XVI had his normal, first thing in the morning private Mass, in Australia, each morning, just as he always does. At the last Mass the morning of his departure he had four selected priest sex abuse victims attend the Mass with him.
I will be a DARNED SON OF A GUN if I sit here and listen to the mean mouthers (and you know who I mean, one person in particular) characterize the Papal private Mass each morning as a political and "media" event that "left out" people who wanted to have their rant and yes, obviously, fact finding and suggestions.
I WILL BE A DARNED SON OF A GUN if I don't point out how ungenerous these critics are at painting four invitees to this precious Mass (that most Catholics would do extreme things in order to be invited and attend... I myself would have loved to have been at one of Pope John Paul II's, but I never was) as some sort of "non complainers" who are now "OK with their sexual abuse problems" (WHAT?) and that this was a media show.
YOU OUGHT TO WASH YOUR MOUTHS OUT WITH SOAP.
To portray the morning daily Mass by the Pope and his inviting four abuse victims as guests as being cynical and manipulative is so outrageous that if this were still a time of dueling I'd slap your face with my glove and use a water pistol with vinegar (you know, a reminder of JESUS CHRIST, you know, JESUS, the guy the Pope serves each day, whether you have other plans for the Pope that day or NOT?????)
Show some class and honor the tragedy of what has happened to your family members and try to regain your dignity and remember that this is still worship of God that continues, not Church, Inc. or Church, Ltd.
You may feel ignored and you may have "great ideas" but if you forget for one second that this is a CHURCH who has the "business" of worshipping God, how good can your reform ideas be? I pray it's not just about the money for certain of you. You rob the people, the victims, who have been grievously harmed of their dignity by your showboating over the grace of invitees to the "regularly scheduled corporate activity of media manipulating"... oh wait, that's right, it's not a media event, it is the MORNING MASS, God's MASS performed by the Pontiff every morning right after he gets out of his jammies.
So I'm sorry, but we are not going to close down the Church because "something bad happened." Something bad happened in the Garden of Eden and God did not shut down humanity, though he had many very good reasons then and now to do so. So suck it up please. I know you are hurting but gosh, when I was abused I didn't expect every "person in that category" and "example of that institution" to shut down or to revolve around me forever and ever, even though I had really darn good ideas about how they need to reform too.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24057138-662,00.html
***
OK, some people are not going to want to hear it, but it is the truth and they can't ignore it.
Groups of priest abuse victims and their families are expressing very tasteless and frankly, erroneous, criticism of the Pontiff's meeting with four victims of priest sexual abuse, and not doing something "large scale" and more of a "venting and problem solving session."
While I have enormous sympathy for the abuse victims (and yes, I have my *street credibility card* of having been abused, though not by priests, so don't tell me I "don't understand"), and I have blogged spiritual direction and practical sympathy about this situation, I am astonished with disappointment by the mean spiritedness of certain very public advocates of the victims.
I can understand that the experience has derailed some people's ability to understand religion and faith in God itself. I do understand that. But I don't think THESE people realize themselves that they are derailed from understanding the continuation of normal faith in God and the religion. We can't cancel Masses all around the world because "people have been hurt." The Pope is not going to stop saying personal Mass each day because "people have been hurt." We are not going to "fire" every cardinal and bishop that made a mistake, even an awful mistake, because "people have been hurt;" this is a church and not a corporation.
The Pope says Mass every day. Every Pope celebrates their own personal Mass at the beginning of each day. There are moving pictures and descriptions of Pope John Paul II doing so, for example. They do it in their private chapels when at home and in the private chapels of Catholic residences when traveling. Some invite household members and special guests. Pope John Paul II, for example, "started his day," so to speak, with his celebration of his daily personal Mass with his household staff.
Pope Benedict XVI had his normal, first thing in the morning private Mass, in Australia, each morning, just as he always does. At the last Mass the morning of his departure he had four selected priest sex abuse victims attend the Mass with him.
I will be a DARNED SON OF A GUN if I sit here and listen to the mean mouthers (and you know who I mean, one person in particular) characterize the Papal private Mass each morning as a political and "media" event that "left out" people who wanted to have their rant and yes, obviously, fact finding and suggestions.
I WILL BE A DARNED SON OF A GUN if I don't point out how ungenerous these critics are at painting four invitees to this precious Mass (that most Catholics would do extreme things in order to be invited and attend... I myself would have loved to have been at one of Pope John Paul II's, but I never was) as some sort of "non complainers" who are now "OK with their sexual abuse problems" (WHAT?) and that this was a media show.
YOU OUGHT TO WASH YOUR MOUTHS OUT WITH SOAP.
To portray the morning daily Mass by the Pope and his inviting four abuse victims as guests as being cynical and manipulative is so outrageous that if this were still a time of dueling I'd slap your face with my glove and use a water pistol with vinegar (you know, a reminder of JESUS CHRIST, you know, JESUS, the guy the Pope serves each day, whether you have other plans for the Pope that day or NOT?????)
Show some class and honor the tragedy of what has happened to your family members and try to regain your dignity and remember that this is still worship of God that continues, not Church, Inc. or Church, Ltd.
You may feel ignored and you may have "great ideas" but if you forget for one second that this is a CHURCH who has the "business" of worshipping God, how good can your reform ideas be? I pray it's not just about the money for certain of you. You rob the people, the victims, who have been grievously harmed of their dignity by your showboating over the grace of invitees to the "regularly scheduled corporate activity of media manipulating"... oh wait, that's right, it's not a media event, it is the MORNING MASS, God's MASS performed by the Pontiff every morning right after he gets out of his jammies.
So I'm sorry, but we are not going to close down the Church because "something bad happened." Something bad happened in the Garden of Eden and God did not shut down humanity, though he had many very good reasons then and now to do so. So suck it up please. I know you are hurting but gosh, when I was abused I didn't expect every "person in that category" and "example of that institution" to shut down or to revolve around me forever and ever, even though I had really darn good ideas about how they need to reform too.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Quick story about my Catholic marriage
Those of you who enjoy schadenfreund (you are inspired by a malicious satisfaction in the misfortunes of others) will enjoy this story. While still in university in the mid-1970's I married in haste a man who was Protestant by birth but totally non-observant. When I say I married him in haste I mean that I did so for reasons other than love (my life was actually in danger at the time from the cultists I've spoken of who have stalked me). I basically married a body guard.
Here's the part of the story I want to share in this particular post. Being Catholic we married in the university chapel, even going to the pre-marital counseling with the priest. The counseling was unbelievably weak, and in fact, consisted only of being asked a few times if we were "sure" we wanted to marry, LOL. Well, shortly after we married we learned that the priest was discovered to be living with a nun and they had a baby together.
So don't think that the priest (or any man or woman in any faith) sexual abuse problem was a surprise to me. Only a drunk or drugged idiot could not see that everyone was being dragged down the drain together, pious or not.
Here's the part of the story I want to share in this particular post. Being Catholic we married in the university chapel, even going to the pre-marital counseling with the priest. The counseling was unbelievably weak, and in fact, consisted only of being asked a few times if we were "sure" we wanted to marry, LOL. Well, shortly after we married we learned that the priest was discovered to be living with a nun and they had a baby together.
So don't think that the priest (or any man or woman in any faith) sexual abuse problem was a surprise to me. Only a drunk or drugged idiot could not see that everyone was being dragged down the drain together, pious or not.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Addendum
Of all the people alive on earth today, the Holy Father Pope Benedict 16 is the only one I would say is the closest to having that purity of vision of a person that I have just described regarding God. This is a natural effect of his continual closeness to the Holy Spirit.
This is one reason that people need to be more discerning about his reaction to the sight of someone who has suffered in the sexual abuse cases, for example. When he hears your story and sees your tears, of course he does deeply understand and comprehend what you have told him, and of your pain. But in his eyes he does not see a damaged soul, he sees the purity of soul that remains innocent and undaunted, even as the mind, body and spirit have been darkened and wounded. When he says that he prays for the victims, he is telling the truth and that is not inaction. In his prayer he is working with the Holy Spirit to magnify and strengthen the recognition of the innocent and pure soul that remains and shines, underneath the bodily and spiritual hurt. When the Holy Father, who is so close to the Holy Spirit, prays, he is providing spiritual healing nurishment to the sexual abuse victims so that they may increasingly come to see the beauty of their souls that remain untouched, just as God sees them.
I hope this helps in understanding and full restoration.
This is one reason that people need to be more discerning about his reaction to the sight of someone who has suffered in the sexual abuse cases, for example. When he hears your story and sees your tears, of course he does deeply understand and comprehend what you have told him, and of your pain. But in his eyes he does not see a damaged soul, he sees the purity of soul that remains innocent and undaunted, even as the mind, body and spirit have been darkened and wounded. When he says that he prays for the victims, he is telling the truth and that is not inaction. In his prayer he is working with the Holy Spirit to magnify and strengthen the recognition of the innocent and pure soul that remains and shines, underneath the bodily and spiritual hurt. When the Holy Father, who is so close to the Holy Spirit, prays, he is providing spiritual healing nurishment to the sexual abuse victims so that they may increasingly come to see the beauty of their souls that remain untouched, just as God sees them.
I hope this helps in understanding and full restoration.
Spiritual direction: recovering from sexual abuse
I'd like to share a perspective with those of you who are still struggling to recover from sexual abuse, particularly those who were abused by priests or other religious figures. Catholics in particular will relate to what I am saying, but I think anyone can understand this observation.
Believers who died for the faith are designated as martyrs. Those in the early Church automatically became members of the communion of saints. Some we know nothing about but their names. But by being a martyr we know that they were put to death for holding tight to the Christian faith during persecution to the very end of their lives, usually under extreme torture. There are categories of saints and one of them is virgins. St Agnes is an example of a saint, martyr, virgin, for example. It is important for you to know that virgin martyrs retained the title of virgin, even if they were in fact raped before being executed. In the eyes of the Church, their virginity is not compromised, even if they were repeatedly and obviously raped.
This is reflection of not only how the Church views the blessed who gave their lives as martyrs, but also of God's perception of them. When God "looks" at the soul of a virgin martyr, even if she (or he) had been raped, God sees only their virginity and chastity. If they could look at themselves in the mirror that reflects how God sees them, they would see the glory of their innocence and chastity, regardless of the pain and abuse that they had physically endured.
I mention this because I've commented that recovery from all great afflictions, but especially sexual and spiritual affliction, is not only benefited by turning to God in acknowledgement of his help, but for most people of faith it is a necessity for healing and recovery. Most victims of abuse look in the mirror and see the broken person, even on a good day. When you turn to God, though, and accept and listen to his comfort, when you look in the mirror you increasingly see the unsullied and unabused person that is the accurate reflection of God's view of you. While your mind cannot, and should not, deny or erase traumatic memories, God controls the overall picture. His view of you is still perfect, still virginal, and still innocent. It goes beyond God saying that what happened to you is not your fault. It is showing you that there is a part of you that can never be touched by even the most dreadful abuse and pain. That is the soul. Your spirit may have been darkened and broken, but your soul is as virginal and pure as it was before the abuse. This is true even if, as some of the wounded abused have done, you suffered from resulting addictions, behavior issues, or moments of acting out as a result of childhood trauma. None of those actions "stick" to the innocence of your soul, because the Lord sees the purity before and separate from the painful results of the bodily and spiritual abuse. God truly does not see, when he looks at you, the trail of damage from the moment of the abuse onward. He of course knows all that you do and have done and endured, but as he knows he is gazing at you and seeing the same pure innocent person from before all this happened. So you can talk to him and believe in him about what has happened, but his reply to you is to help you see yourself how he sees you, which is still pure and innocent.
If you can nurture your relationship with God, directly with God, with time and prayer you will start to look in the mirror and see more and more of the purity with which God sees you. This is the road to recovery and full restoration.
I hope this helps and God bless you all.
Believers who died for the faith are designated as martyrs. Those in the early Church automatically became members of the communion of saints. Some we know nothing about but their names. But by being a martyr we know that they were put to death for holding tight to the Christian faith during persecution to the very end of their lives, usually under extreme torture. There are categories of saints and one of them is virgins. St Agnes is an example of a saint, martyr, virgin, for example. It is important for you to know that virgin martyrs retained the title of virgin, even if they were in fact raped before being executed. In the eyes of the Church, their virginity is not compromised, even if they were repeatedly and obviously raped.
This is reflection of not only how the Church views the blessed who gave their lives as martyrs, but also of God's perception of them. When God "looks" at the soul of a virgin martyr, even if she (or he) had been raped, God sees only their virginity and chastity. If they could look at themselves in the mirror that reflects how God sees them, they would see the glory of their innocence and chastity, regardless of the pain and abuse that they had physically endured.
I mention this because I've commented that recovery from all great afflictions, but especially sexual and spiritual affliction, is not only benefited by turning to God in acknowledgement of his help, but for most people of faith it is a necessity for healing and recovery. Most victims of abuse look in the mirror and see the broken person, even on a good day. When you turn to God, though, and accept and listen to his comfort, when you look in the mirror you increasingly see the unsullied and unabused person that is the accurate reflection of God's view of you. While your mind cannot, and should not, deny or erase traumatic memories, God controls the overall picture. His view of you is still perfect, still virginal, and still innocent. It goes beyond God saying that what happened to you is not your fault. It is showing you that there is a part of you that can never be touched by even the most dreadful abuse and pain. That is the soul. Your spirit may have been darkened and broken, but your soul is as virginal and pure as it was before the abuse. This is true even if, as some of the wounded abused have done, you suffered from resulting addictions, behavior issues, or moments of acting out as a result of childhood trauma. None of those actions "stick" to the innocence of your soul, because the Lord sees the purity before and separate from the painful results of the bodily and spiritual abuse. God truly does not see, when he looks at you, the trail of damage from the moment of the abuse onward. He of course knows all that you do and have done and endured, but as he knows he is gazing at you and seeing the same pure innocent person from before all this happened. So you can talk to him and believe in him about what has happened, but his reply to you is to help you see yourself how he sees you, which is still pure and innocent.
If you can nurture your relationship with God, directly with God, with time and prayer you will start to look in the mirror and see more and more of the purity with which God sees you. This is the road to recovery and full restoration.
I hope this helps and God bless you all.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
To SNAP and other priest abuse victims
Reading an article in the LA Times I see the question about what Jesus would have done about priests who abuse.
Answer: Jesus would have defrocked each one instantly on the first allegation of abuse. He would have encouraged the victims to pursue criminal remedies and he would have financed the victim's legal and health/emotional costs through the Church.
Answer: Jesus would have defrocked each one instantly on the first allegation of abuse. He would have encouraged the victims to pursue criminal remedies and he would have financed the victim's legal and health/emotional costs through the Church.
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