Doubts and the Synod

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  One of the jobs of a shepherd is to make sure the flock stays in good pastures and is protected from the wolves.  Good pastures are those that feed the soul well, not with junk food that tastes good going down, but which doesn’t actually nourish the body.  The wolves need not be people, though they sometimes can be, but can also be ideas which are dangerous to the flock.  And, to be clear, I do not intend any of what I am about to say to be a personal attack.  Personal attacks, called ad hominem, are logical fallacies.  Plus, if we look at the ideas, rather than the person, our effect can be much longer lasting.
    Recently, five cardinals wrote a set of doubts, or dubia, to the Holy Father concerning the synod.  The five questions regard whether Divine Revelation can change based upon current cultural or anthropological ideas, whether so-called same-sex marriages can receive blessings, whether synodality is a constitutive dimension of the Church, whether sacramental ordination of women can be conferred, and whether repentance is a necessary aspect of sacramental absolution.
    To be clear, I don’t claim to be a Doctor of Theology.  I have a Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and a Master of Divinity degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.  I am nowhere close to as well-educated as the eminent cardinals who raised the doubts to the Holy Father.  But I do feel well-qualified enough to help guide you as your shepherd on what the faith is.  I don’t have time to expand on all these dubia, but wanted to respond to a few, namely so-called same-sex marriage, and the ordination of women.  I will also end by talking about the synod.  Some answers may seem more obvious than others, maybe all of them will seem obvious, but as your pastor I want to make sure that you know, to the best of my ability, what the Church teaches so that you are not confused and led astray by false ideas.
    First, blessings of same-sex unions.  From the beginning, as Pope Francis affirmed, marriage is between a man and a woman, for a life-long union, open to the procreation of children by natural means.  No government can change the definition of marriage, since government is not the creator of marriage.  The Church cannot change the definition of marriage because the Church is not the creator of marriage, either.  The Church is simply the steward of what God has revealed to us, especially through Christ.  And when it comes to blessings or prayers of blessings, those are times where God gives His approval or sets apart for sacred purpose persons, places, or objects.  To be specific, the Church says that blessings are types of “sacred signs that resemble the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual kind, which are obtained through the Church’s intercession [by which] men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions of life are sanctified.”  The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith explained in 2021 that the Church does not have the authority to give blessings to unions of persons of the same sex, affirming that any blessing has to conform to the design of God, which same-sex unions do not.  It even went so far as to say that we cannot bless sin, which may seem obvious, but affirmed that homosexual unions are sinful.
    That same response did rightly affirm that persons with homosexual attractions can receive blessings individually if they are living in accord with the Gospel.  And while that may seem uncaring, love cannot be true love if it is separated from the truth.  Love does not allow the other to do that which is destructive to one’s salvation.  It also does not meant that there is no room in the Catholic Church for those who have a homosexual attraction.  Catholic means welcoming to everyone, and we do welcome every person, and encourage them, even as we encourage ourselves, to follow Christ more closely in every aspect of our lives, including our sexuality.  But we cannot bless any situation which is in direct opposition to God’s design. 

    Secondly, on the sacramental ordination of women.  From the beginning, sacramental ordination has been reserved to men, not because men are better (the Church strongly affirms the equal dignity of men and women); not because men are holier (the holiest person in human history is a woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary); simply because it was the will of God according to His Divine plan.  This was affirmed in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis by Pope St. John Paul II in 1994.  The pontiff wrote: “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed…in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”  Sounds pretty settled, right?
    Of course, someone questioned it, and so the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith responded to that doubt and wrote, “[The teaching on the reservation of priestly ordination to men] requires definitive assent, since…it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium…[and since] the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office…has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be hold always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of faith.”  So, no room for doubt.  It belongs to the deposit of faith and cannot be changed.  Not by anybody at any time.
    So why these and other questions?  What is the point of the synod?  I know that there are some theories that there are people who want to try to change Church teaching.  I’m not so naïve to say that no one fits into this category.  I’m sure there are some who are attending the synod hoping to change things, things which cannot be changed.
    But I also want to hope, and I truly believe, that some of this is simply to engage in a conversation about issues which many consider closed issues.  There is a benefit to engaging in conversations with people who do not believe the same way we do, even on settled matters, like the Divinity of Christ.  Isn’t that the point of evangelization?  And yes, sometimes we’re evangelizing our fellow Catholics.  We don’t fail to engage the subject, as long as we stay in the truth and do not deny the doctrine that others are questioning.  So I’m not one to say that the synod has no point.  Perhaps this is a desire at the highest level to evangelize those who are baptized Catholics, but who do not know the fullness of the faith that has been taught.  Perhaps not.  But there is at least a way to see these questions being discussed at the synod in a positive light. 
    When we hear about these dubia, I encourage us not to immediately demonize those who question.  Rather, educate yourself about what the Church teaches: not from the media, not from hearsay, but from official teachings of the Church like the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  If we hold fast to the teachings of the Catholic Church, those things that cannot change, then while the waves break around us, while the storms batter us from without or within, we will be safe in the Ark of the Church which will bring us safely to the harbor of the saints in heaven, where we will worship our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Have No Anxiety

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
    “Have no anxiety at all.”  St. Paul, have you met me?  It seems like in 2023 all we have is anxiety.  Hamas just attacked Israel, who has declared war on them.  We have this new “synod on synodality” which, depending on whom you talk to, is either going to change all these doctrines of the Church (most of the ones that are mentioned are teachings that can’t be changed, not even by the pope, FYI), or is an exercise in heresy that will result in a schism, a breaking of unity in the Church.  The economy is still struggling, and everything seems like it costs twice as much as it used to.  People are leaving the Church in droves, which is causing challenges for parishes and dioceses.  And yet, the Apostle to the Gentiles tells us today, “Have no anxiety at all.”  
    How do we live without anxiety?  And this is coming from the man who, more times that I would like to admit, have tossed and turned in my bed over the world with which I deal.  I imagine you have each had times where anxiety kept you up: maybe about your household finances, maybe about the well-being of your children and/or grandchildren.  Anxiety can especially difficult when you’re really good at thinking.  Because that mind that is used to processing information tries to process all information, and there are many things that are outside of our control.  And when we can’t resolve those issues, we become anxious.  We worry.  

    But St. Paul doesn’t leave us hanging.  He gives us practical advice: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious…think about these things.”  That may still seem like a pie in the sky idea, but it actually is quite practical.  
    Because anxiety comes from focusing on things beyond our control, or beyond our immediate control.  We think about the things that trouble our heart.  We can so often want to take the place of God and try to control things, which are, all too often, beyond our control.  Notice that St. Paul doesn’t say, “whatever is beyond your control, whatever might happen, whatever those things about which you can do nothing, think about these things.”  
    So think about these things, instead.  Think about what is true.  First and foremost, think about God.  This is part of the importance of having a relationship with God.  Satan wants us to forget about God and who He is.  He is our loving Father who wants what is good for us.  He never sends us anything evil.  Do we sometimes have to endure bad things?  Yes.  But God is not sending us evil.  He is always there for us, as well.  He never leaves us, no matter how bad things get.  
    Also, what is true about us?  First and foremost we are children of God.  Again, Satan wants us to forget about reality.  That means who God is, but also who we are.  We are not the sum of our failures.  We are not our sins.  We are not the external circumstances that are impressed upon us.  We are beloved sons and daughters in the Son of God.  
    Think on what is gracious.  When we think about what is gracious, we think about what is kind, what is courteous, what is pleasant.  But it comes from Latin word gratia, which can mean grace, but can also mean thanksgiving.  In the preface I say, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” and in Latin it’s “Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.”  Do you want to rid anxiety from your life?  Start thinking about the things for which you are grateful: family, a job, friends, food, a house, or anything else.  It’s easier to focus on the things we think we lack, but it’s useless.  It just takes away from our joy that gives us pleasure in life.  It is harder to think about things for which we are grateful, but it provides much better effects.  And in those darkest moments of our life, where maybe it feels impossible to think about gracious things, have a good friend to help you out.  
    It can be so easy to be anxious because there are so many things outside of our control.  Our minds can go toward all the negative things because they seem to press in on us and demand our attention.  But we don’t have to focus on those things.  And it’s not spiritually helpful to focus on all the bad.  Instead, focus on what is true–both concerning God and us–and be grateful.  The world will always have evil, at least until Christ returns.  It will always scream for our attention.  But it doesn’t have to steal our joy and our hope, because those are in Christ, and Christ can never be taken away from us, not by war in the Middle East, not by Church politics, not by recession or inflation or anything else.  Have no anxiety. 

Christ Visiting Our Home

 Solemnity of the Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Matthew
    [In the name of the Father, and of the Son, of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.]. Bishop Boyea has a homily he wants read at every Mass this weekend about the upcoming Synod on Synodality.  But we have a special celebration as we celebrate the Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Matthew today.  So you get two homilies for the price of one today.  Still, I’ll try to keep mine brief.
    I want to focus in particular on the Gospel.  Zacchaeus might seem an odd choice for a Gospel on the Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church.  [In the Ordinary Form, there are other options like a pericope from the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, or I think the cleansing of the Temple].  But it really does make sense, if you think about it.  In this encounter with Zacchaeus, our Lord wants to visit his house.  Isn’t this precisely what our Lord does in a church building?  Doesn’t He ask to dwell with us, in the house of worship of our parish?  Of course, He doesn’t simply stay for dinner.  He remains here, which is why this space is dedicated, or set apart for sacred use.  

Zacchaeus' sycamore tree in Jericho

    We are, in this interpretation, Zacchaeus.  We are a tax collector, who is rich, that is to say, we probably have skimmed off the top.  That’s how tax collectors made reasonable money in the ancient days (hopefully not the present day): they would add money to the taxes owed, that they would then pocket.  But, whether we collect extra money literally or figuratively, we’re sinners.  Still, the Lord wants to dwell with us.  And once we encounter Him, it should lead us, like Zaccheus, to change our lives.  The whole point of Christ coming to dwell with us in this sacred temple is that we might be more configured to Christ, that Christ may more easily dwell within the temple of our hearts and souls.  If we are not drawn to change our lives, even if we feel like we’re making the same changes week by week, then we’re not truly encountering Christ.  This is not because He’s not here, but because we haven’t welcomed Him in.
    But Christ also wants to dwell in the hearts of other people.  And so this sacred space should also encourage us, through what we engage in here, to help others see the Lord.  We are the disciples who bring the Lord to other towns besides Jericho, so that Christ may dwell in the hearts of other sinners who need saving, just like we need saving.  In that way, Christ doesn’t just stop at the house of Zacchaeus; He goes to other houses, too.  
    So while we celebrate this beautiful church today, and the anniversary of when it was set aside for divine worship, we cannot rest on our laurels.  We are asked by Christ to take Him to others, so that He can draw them from their sin, and so feel comfortable living in them.  So, too, we work at continuing to make the temple of our hearts a place where Christ feels at home, so that our souls are the temples of the Holy Spirit, who with God the Father and God the Son, is one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.