Fr Peter's newsletter notes - February 2006

5th Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 5th February 2006

To compromise with truth will always have a personal cost.

I can still remember watching on Swiss TV, while on a family holiday as a teenager, the tragic events in the summer of 1972 when eleven Israeli athletes participating in the Munich Olympics were massacred by Palestinian gunmen after a siege and botched rescue attempt. The games had been billed as the 'friendly games', to contrast with those held in Mexico in 1968. Those games had been marred by mass student demonstrations, with attendant police violence outside the stadium and within by the black power salutes from Tommy Smith, the American winner of the 400 metres. The Munich Games were to be devoid of politics, and without a visible police presence. Fatefully, however, the cold hand of Middle Eastern terror was to demonstrate that no international event of such a scale could ever again be devoid of politics, whether civilised or not.

Steven Spielberg's new film, 'Munich', charts the events subsequent to the massacre of the Israeli athletes, and the formation of a hit squad to kill those responsible. Near the beginning of the film, Golda Meir, the then Israeli Prime Minister, states to her advisors, that 'every civilisation finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values'. This may be real-politique, but the cost of such a policy is always personal as the gradual self-destruction of the agents charged with the task makes clear. As the body count increases one agent questions whether the Jews are losing their claim to be righteous, and unable to bear the contradictions blows himself up.

The cost of the conflict is being passed on through the generations. Through a series of bizarre consequences, Avner, the head of the Israeli mission, and a new father, meets a Palestinian gunman. He tells Avner that Palestinians are all having large families, and that eventually they will just take over Israel through force of numbers. It is almost as if the cycle of reproduction has become involved with the cycle of violence, a fact later borne out by the transformation of Palestinian gunmen from the first generation of secularists to the current generation of Islamic fundamentalists. There is probably no better example of the Catholic doctrine on original sin than this and, without a change of heart, it is a cycle that will continue for ever. This policy of targeted assassinations has not achieved its aim of eradicating the random violence of the terrorist, but instead brought an ever coarsening of the methods used to contain violence. In this respect the film could be considered as a critique of Israel, but that would be to miss the message of the film.

The film is really about conscience, and about the legitimate methods to combat a terrorism that unites a simplistic vision of God's will with a complete lack of accountability as to method. It would be difficult to see anyone other than from a Judaic background making such a film. The arguments of the film rehearse so much that is found in the Old Testament, especially in the prophets. They called rulers and leaders to account for their actions, and acted as the vocal conscience of God. The prophetic role is a necessary one, and it is a role that every Jew and Christian must adopt lest the compromises made with our own civilisation end up making us lose what we hold so precious, the very things these methods were designed to protect. The murderous conflicts within the Middle East bring this out into the open, but no-one has to travel that far because similar conflicts between political compromise and conscience can be found much nearer home.

6th Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 12th February 2006

Only the encounter with God can show the true meaning of love

This Friday, while waiting at the flower stall in Leather Lane, selecting flowers for the Church, I was able to see how the market forces of manufactured love affect the price of roses - which more than double in price in the days running up to St Valentine's Day. Along with the explosion of displays of pink champagne and chocolates, the commercial world is drowning in a sea of artificial sentiment. Is this the modern price of love or the price of modern love? What was once a harmless and spontaneous gesture of generosity has now been turned into a moral necessity, thus destroying the graciousness of the original gift. This speaks volumes about the insecurity of the contemporary view of love that requires constant affirmation and recognition. Nowadays failure to give something is seen as a black mark on one's character, especially if you are male, and failure to receive something is like being turned into some social outcast, especially if you are female. This is all a long way from the clandestine meetings of young Christians organised by the original Valentine, an Italian priest during the time of persecution, to help nurture Christian families, and to keep the faith alive.

The new Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est' by Pope Benedict XVI begins with an examination of the differences and connections between 'eros' and 'agape'. The first is that intoxicating spontaneous desire that wants to seek the beloved, whether God as in pagan religions, or in the other, as in human life. This searching for the other is inherent in the person. Adam leaves home to find the other Eve. This thrust of eros is not rejected by the Church in order to be replaced by something more staid and dull. The Church recognises the essential goodness of this orientation towards the other, but recognises that it must be purified lest it become a merely selfish search, and all about oneself. In the latter case, it becomes unstable and therefore, like the unbelieving crowds in front of Jesus, demands a sign. It is this instability that becomes a magnet for every salesman and therapist.

This purification is really only possible in relation to God, who shows through His Son, Jesus, that eros can be transformed into agape, a love that both gives and receives, or what Pope Benedict describes as an ascending and descending love. The love of God does not remain invisible but is seen definitively in the mission of Jesus, who extends God's mercy to the sinner and outcast. It is the love that searches out a common future for God and man and, by necessity, includes a certain spirit of detachment that neither demands signs of love, nor fails to give them, whether spontaneous or planned.

7th Week of Ordinary Time - Sunday 19th February 2006

The Church is the place of re-union for the whole of humanity

It will forever remain the perennial question for humanity, does God exist? The question, though, whether asked in an undergraduate essay, on the High tables of Oxbridge Colleges, or in the pub, is often asked in such a way that the potential answer will have little or no relevance to life. Does the question change anything? The answer must be everything and nothing. On the surface nothing much changes as there is a certain autonomy to God's creation that follows its own laws. These laws are open to both conjecture and discovery by the human mind. Belief in God, as creator of the world, demythologises so much of creation that previously was thought to be subject to the forces of the capricious pagan deities. Belief in the one God implies that the different emotions ascribed to God in the Old Testament are used to express the will of God as revealed in diverse circumstances. The mystery of God's will is its constancy that seems to embrace the full range of human emotions, from profound love to outright hatred.

What does change with belief in the one God is the understanding of the human person. The ones of God implies the unity of humanity, and for the Christian there is one Son, Jesus Christ, whose mission is to restore the unity that was lost at the fall. Jesus Christ is the new Adam who establishes this new unity where the first Adam had caused fragmentation and disunity through his disobedience. This place of unity between God and believer in Jesus Christ is the Church and, because the Church is the place of re-union for the whole man, it is by definition Catholic.

The Church then is our rightful spiritual home and, though similar to every human home, we might fail to appreciate its true value. We might even find aspects of home life rather irksome but, deep down, we know this is where we truly belong. This is a sentiment that every adult who seeks baptism or reception into the Church, or Catholic seeking Confirmation, has grasped, even if only in an inchoate way. There is always a sense of home-coming within faith that underpins all Church teaching. The Church takes as seriously the fragmentation caused by Adam's first sin as the personal culpability attendant on being one of Adam's descendants. The three sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, bring out this double dimension - the washing away of original sin in Baptism; the giving of the Holy Spirit of unity in Confirmation; and the partaking of the Eucharist at Holy Communion as the expression of this divine unity.

Please pray those for who have reached this stage and will be entering their true spiritual home this Sunday, 19th February: for those being baptised - Matthew and Dinty Batstone, Gemma Prince, and Joanne Wakem; for being received into the Church - Martin Smith; and for those being confirmed - Blanche Girouard, Claudia Gaspari, Karen Rogas, and Kirsty Ann Oliver.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary - CCC 484-511

After the section that explains how Jesus Christ is both true God and true man, the Catechism now explains the role of the Virgin Mary in the conception and birth of Jesus Christ. There is a two-way relationship: the Church's beliefs about Mary are drawn out from faith in Christ, but the teaching on Mary also illuminates the Church's faith in Jesus Christ. The Annunciation, the visit of the angel to Mary, begins a new phase in human history. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, as the angel said, emphasises the unity of the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is thus conceived as Christ from the beginning, though this silent act of the Holy Spirit is only made known later, such as to the shepherds and the Magi.

The salutation of the angel, 'Hail Mary full of grace' has made the Church gradually understand that Mary must have been conceived without sin, in order for her both to be full of grace, and to be able to offer an unrestricted yes to the angel. Though the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was not defined till 1864, the Church has always believed that Mary was enriched with the gifts appropriate for her role.

The teaching on the divine initiative behind the conception of Jesus, and the co-operation of Mary, has always included a corporeal aspect that surpasses all human understanding. Jesus Christ was conceived without 'human seed', to emphasise that it was the Son of God becoming man, and that in His humanity Jesus never became estranged from His Father. This spiritual birth of Jesus as the 'new Adam' results later in the birth of children who will be adopted by the Holy Spirit. There is a 'virginal' aspect to this action, of being consciously receptive, and recognising that this incorporation into divine life is entirely the gift of the Holy Spirit to man. This gives a 'spousal' character to our human vocation, whatever it may be. By accepting the Holy Spirit in this unique way, the Virgin Mary becomes Mother of the Church, i.e. all those who are likewise conceived by the Holy Spirit through baptism.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Mysteries of Christ's life (no: 512-534)

The Creed only speaks about the conception/birth and the Paschal mystery of Jesus, and nothing about His life. However, both events reveal the inner meaning of His life and are the key to interpret them correctly. The Gospels are not exhaustive accounts of His life but only contain those events necessary for belief. The humanity of Christ, as written about in the Gospels, is 'the sacrament' of His divinity and so the words and actions of Jesus are the sign and instrument of His invisible divinity.

The life of Jesus reveals some common characteristics that inform every word or action. Everything about Jesus reveals the Father. At a few points this becomes obvious, such as at the Baptism and the Transfiguration; 'This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him'. Every action concerns our redemption. The shedding of blood on the Cross is the final act in a life for others, that begins with the voluntary poverty of the birth in the stable at Bethlehem. Finally Jesus recapitulates everything in Himself so that mankind may be restored to its original vocation.

Every believer shares in the mystery of Jesus. Christ lived for us, and continues to do so in heaven and, as the Church teaches, 'By the Incarnation the Son of God has in a certain way united Himself with each man' (GS 22). This enables the believer to live in Him, and thus Jesus becomes our model in humility, prayer and poverty. Every believer therefore should identify with Jesus' biography.

The coming of Christ was being prepared throughout the Old Testament, and all the symbols of the first covenant converge and reveal their full meaning with Him. The simplicity of the birth should be mirrored in our own child-like trust in Jesus so that we can to enter into God's kingdom. The Epiphany demonstrates that the pagans now have the mystery of God, but they must find their way through Israel. The Magi recognise Jesus as the King of the nations. Jesus is the answer to the wait by all Israel for its Messiah, as represented by Simeon and Anna. The prediction about the sword of sorrow will find its fulfilment in the Cross. (To be continued)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Mysteries of Christ's life (535-70)

The public life of Jesus falls into four parts, an initial preaching by John the Baptist, the Galilee mission, the road to Jerusalem and His final days in that city.

The Baptism by John demonstrates that Jesus is the suffering servant who lives in solidarity with fallen humanity, and in doing so submits to the Father's will: 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'. The descent of the Holy Spirit is the prelude to the new creation. Jesus is the new Adam who, in contrast to the first, does not succumb to the temptations of the devil, who wishes to entice Jesus away from His filial duty to His Father. Jesus' rejection of the devil overturns Adam's disobedience and fulfils the vocation of the chosen people perfectly, who had originally rebelled against Moses during the forty years in the wilderness.

The first public words of Jesus concern the inauguration of the kingdom of God, the place of reconciliation between God and man. Jesus gathers all those who listen and accept Him. This community forms the Church and is 'catholic' from the very beginning because it is the place to share the fullness of divine life. This life is offered first to the poor because what is given, true life, is hidden from the rich, and from those who trust in themselves. The poor can include the sinner whom Jesus invites to conversion, and to whom He shows the depths of God's mercy.

The invitation to enter the kingdom comes in the form of parables, a way of speaking that elicits a response from the incipient believer, but whose meaning remains opaque to the outsider, and those who reject Christ's words. The believer has to enter the kingdom, or Church, in order to know its secrets. This is why the miracles can simultaneously strengthen the faith of some, while causing offence to others, and which, in the case of the religious authorities, leads to violence and death. Jesus has not come to abolish all human evil and suffering, but these signs and exorcisms show that the kingdom has definitely begun. Through the Cross, the greatest of evils - death owing to sin - no longer has a total stranglehold on the human person. (To be concluded next week).