Godzdogz

Diaconate Ordinations, 2 July 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

On Thursday 2 July, two Dominican Brothers, Thomas Skeats and Robert Gay, were ordained deacons by Bishop William Kenny, titular bishop of Midica and administrator of the diocese of Birmingham. Below are some photographs from the ordination.

The brothers prostrate during the Litany of the Saints

Bros Robert and Thomas vested as deacons

Assisting the Bishop during the Ordination Mass

During the summer months Brother Robert will work in parishes in Leicester and Wales, while Brother Thomas will minister at St Dominic's Parish, London. In October they will return to Oxford and Rome to complete their studies for the priesthood. Please keep them in your prayers, that God will bless their ministry of preaching and service.

The Life of Virtue - Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Gay O.P.) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:01:00 +0000

The virtue of justice is one of the cardinal virtues, one of the aircraft carriers in the fleet of virtues mentioned in our opening post. If we look at the scriptures, we tend to see justice portrayed as a kind of uprightness or holiness. The just man is the one who is blameless before the Lord. However, within Christian ethics, there tends to be a more precisely defined meaning of the word. It is a virtue which has to do with the way that we interact with the other - whether that is the other with a small 'o', other people, or the Other, meaning God. According to Aquinas, justice is primarily concerned with giving others what is due to them (see ST IIa IIae qu. 57 art. 1). In our daily life, that means fulfilling our obligations, such as undertaking our work in such a way that we fulfil our contract. Or if, for example, I have decided to buy a car and I sign a contract agreeing to pay the dealer a sum of money each month, I am not giving him what I owe him in justice if I default on my payments. Similarly, if I enter a marriage contract and then decide to have a mistress, then I am not acting justly towards my wife, with whom I have formed a contract, promising to love only her with the love that is proper to marriage.

In a more general sense, justice involves living lives that are respectful and fair to others, acting towards them in such a way that we acknowledge their equal dignity as human beings made in the image of God. It means acting according to moral absolutes, which seek to protect the dignity of the individual. So we can see how many of the Ten Commandments concern justice, precisely because they involve keeping us in a right relationship with God and with others. So we are to love God and love others, and to recognise this as being a right way of acting. Developing this virtue will always make demands on us, and requires us to ask constantly how we stand in relation to God and to others, and if necessary, to adjust our ways of acting.

The Life of Virtue - Prudence

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:01:00 +0000

In common parlance, prudence is not a word that is well liked. It is used to refer to activity characterised by cautiousness, sometimes describing behaviour that is more akin to the vice of cowardice, the failure to act properly. However, when we speak of prudence as a virtue we consider something that is much more complex.

The word is derived from the Latin prudentia which has the sense of foresight or sagacity. Its chief association is with knowledge, wisdom, or insight in the sense that it provides both general and practical knowledge about how to act, allowing the person to distinguish between virtuous and vicious acts both in their nature, location and timing. Thus, an action performed in prudence will be courageous, for example, as opposed to the extremes of recklessness or cowardice.

Prudence is considered to be an intellectual virtue, and so of itself it does not take part in the performing of acts. Rather it provides knowledge for acting and as such is a cardinal virtue (one that is pivotal in the life of virtue), and itself acts as the 'queen of the virtues'. It regulates the other virtues through its yielding of practical wisdom for action as each of the virtues seeks to perform its act.

Prudence, painted by Piero del Pollaiuolo

New Series - Cardinal Virtues and their Allies

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Once the academic year comes to an end the Dominican students begin their summer placements. Already one student is in Spain attending a language course and another is doing a hospital placement in London. Two students are attending a course at the Dominican centre for Islamic studies in Cairo. Eventually students will be on placement also in Leicester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Brussels. They will take part in pilgrimages to Ely and Lourdes, as well as in Spode Music Week and in a Dominican study week in Dubrovnik.

Although the Godzdogz team is scattering we hope to sustain a new series of reflections during the summer months. This will be on the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and the secondary virtues that accompany them. The tradition of four cardinal or principal virtues goes back to the ancient world but was taken up by Christian teachers - Ambrose of Milan, for example - to become a standard part of Christian moral teaching. The good human being is one who is growing in these principal virtues and their allies. (One of the allied virtues is the ability to relax well, a good 'summer virtue' to cultivate.) Grace does not replace this level of natural virtue but perfects it. The good Christian, then, is the person whose life is orientated immediately towards God and who is sustained in that orientation by the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.

A good image for the structure of virtue as St Thomas Aquinas presents it is the naval fleet. At the centre is the aircraft carrier, the cardinal virtue itself, and sailing with it is a set of destroyers, frigates, supply ships, attack boats, support vessels, etc. So each virtue has parts and subsidiary virtues, as well as particular acts, gifts and commandments that go with it. We will offer reflections on the cardinal virtues themselves as well as on the main ancillary vessels. These virtues are the principal weapons for the 'spiritual warfare' in which we are engaged.

The Year of Paul, 29 June 2008-2009

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Godzdogz celebrated the Year of Saint Paul in a number of ways. There was a post to introduce the year and reflections for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul in 2008 and for the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul in 2009.

Our first series was an 'A-Z of Paul', a dictionary of key terms from Paul's letters (from 'A for Apostleship' to 'Z for Zeal') with an explanation of the meaning of each term. Not surprisingly, there were 26 posts in this series.

The annual 'province day' of the English Dominicans held in December 2008 was devoted to Saint Paul and we published a report on the events of that day.

After Christmas we offered a series of 13 reflections called 'On the Areopagus', in which we tried to imitate Paul by bringing the preaching of the gospel to bear on aspects of contemporary society and culture.

Our final contribution was a series of 23 posts on ministries, charisms and fruits as another way of bringing out the rich spiritual and theological content of Paul's letters. These considered first the texts in which Paul lists the ministries required by the Church, then the texts in which he speaks about charismatic gifts of the Spirit, and finally the text of Galatians 5 in which he contrasts the fruits of the Spirit with the works of the flesh.

All told Godzdogz published 68 posts in honour of the year of Paul - 69 if you count this one! You will find them by clicking on either 'pauline year' or 'areopagus' in the list of labels on the right hand side of the blog. We hope our readers will visit them from time to time and, please God, continue to benefit from the compendium of Pauline theology that we have put together through the course of the year.

Corpus Christi Procession in Oxford

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

At the centre of the priest's life is the celebration of the Eucharist. It is fitting then that Godzdogz begins its observance of the Year of the Priest with this account of Oxford's annual Corpus Christi procession.

For the last ten years, the north Oxford deanery has held a Corpus Christi Procession that begins in the Oxford Oratory (St Aloysius) and makes its way through the centre of Oxford to the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy. En route, the procession stops in Blackfriars priory church, where the friars greet the Blessed Sacrament by singing the sequence 'Lauda Sion', written by St Thomas Aquinas. A sermon is then preached before the procession continues on its way.

This year's procession had a significant Dominican involvement. fr Richard Ounsworth OP preached the sermon, in which he likened the Eucharist to a mother breast-feeding, and thus giving her very life to her child. So it is when Mother Church gives us the Bread of Life. He also recalled Christ's Passion, which the Mass recalls, and said we should consider ourselves blessed, if, when we processed with the Lord through the city, we might even be mocked and so share in Christ's sufferings.

The procession walked past the Ashmolean Museum and down Cornmarket, one of Oxford's busiest shopping thoroughfares. On either side of the Blessed Sacrament were the deacon, fr David Rocks OP, and the acolyte, fr Robert Gay OP. The Blessed Sacrament was carried from the Oratory to Blackfriars by Fr Robert Byrne, Cong. Orat., Provost of the Oratory, and then from Blackfriars to the Chaplaincy by fr Benjamin Earl OP. fr Benjamin also gave Benediction at the close of the Procession which took place in the Chaplaincy's main hall.

Below are photos from the procession:

Fr Dominic Jacob, Cong. Orat., with some Dominicans who had gathered in the Oratory church for the start of the procession. Behind the friars is Sr Louise OP who made her final profession in March and who has recently joined the sisters' community in Oxford.

The Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar of St Aloysius' church

The priory church is packed for the Corpus Christi sermon

fr Richard Ounsworth OP preaching the sermon

fr Benjamin Earl OP incenses the Blessed Sacrament in Blackfriars priory church

The procession leaves the choir

The Procession goes past the Sackler Library on St John's Street

The canopy over the Blessed Sacrament is carried by four students of the University

The procession in Cornmarket, passing some of Oxford's oldest landmarks

fr Benjamin Earl OP, assisted by his Dominican brothers, incenses the Blessed Sacrament at its final station in the Chaplaincy

Fr Benjamin blesses the people with the Most Holy Eucharist

The procession ends in the Chaplaincy building with the singing of the 'Salve Regina'

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 22 Self-control

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory Pearson OP) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

People can often be put off Christianity by a perception that it makes moral demands on its followers which it is impossible to live up to: “there’s no way I could manage that,” they might say, “so why bother trying?”

When St Paul teaches us in Galatians 5: 22 that self-control is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, he reminds us that things don’t quite work like that. You don’t have to be perfect before you even think about becoming a Christian: rather, it is the participation as a Christian in the life of God which enables you to grow in the way of perfection. Yes, the moral life is a struggle (but then that’s true even if you’re not a Christian – there are always things you know you ought to do even if you don’t particularly feel like it); however, it is by allowing God to work in us through the Holy Spirit, given at baptism that we acquire the strength we need to engage in that struggle. Now, that doesn’t mean that, the moment you’re baptised, you’ll immediately be perfectly self-controlled: after all, the Christian life is about a process of growth in the love of God and neighbour which lies at the heart of choosing to do the right thing. What it does mean, though, is that, in a sense, the person who said “there’s no way I could manage that” was right – we can’t make ourselves perfect through our own effort, we need the grace of God.

This is a useful reminder, too, for those of us who are already Christians, and who find ourselves from time to time, perhaps often, subject to all kinds of temptations and feel too weak to resist. If self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit, then resisting temptation is not just a question of gritting our teeth and not giving in through sheer effort on our part: rather, we should seek to draw close to God in prayer, and especially in the Sacraments, in which he shares his life with us. In doing so, we allow the Holy Spirit we received at our baptism to work more fully in our lives, and thus our self-control grows as the fruit of his operation in us.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits -21-Gentleness

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength - St. Francis de Sales

Gentleness is not often associated with strength. An alternative translation of praotes, the Greek word used by Paul, is meekness. Neither of these translations suggests strength. Far too often the opposite is assumed: to be gentle is to be delicate, weak and even feeble. The concept of gentleness does not seem to fit into the dog-eat-dog world we live in. However, gentleness, properly understood, is far from these negative connotations. To be gentle is to be in control of oneself. It is to have a balanced and tranquil spirit. It is to be even-tempered, and to have hold over the passions. The gentle person is the master of their strength and power. The Latin Vulgate expresses this by using the compound mansuetudo - being accustomed to taming the hand. Gentleness is being appropriately restrained in our actions and words, especially in our interactions with other people. We all recognize how hard it is to practise this virtue. Sartre said “hell is other people” and all too often we might feel that he is right. But because it is difficult we need the Holy Spirit to aid us in being gentle.

Gentleness, however, does not turn us into punching-bags for the world. Whilst we must always be willing to pardon offences; we must also be able fraternally to correct faults gently and with love. Gentleness helps our actions to have a positive effect. To use an old saying, 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar'. It is a sign of real and true strength to be able to act with restraint and gentleness, and the Holy Spirit allows us to overcome all obstacles to this practice. Like the message to Elijah the Gospel will not be proclaimed by great winds, earthquakes, or fire but by the whistling of gentle air.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 20 Faithfulness

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hunt OP) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

The seventh fruit of the Holy Spirit that St Paul identifies is faithfulness. Faithfulness is at the very heart of the Christian vocation, of what it means to be a Christian. When we speak of faithfulness we often cite the qualities of trustworthiness, fidelity or reliability of an individual. However, as we are aware, all too often we fall short of these ideals, and as we are reminded in Proverbs 20:6, “most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?” We must therefore look not so much to others but to God as the true example of faithfulness.

Throughout the Old Testament we are constantly reminded of God’s promises to us, despite all our sinful folly, and He is shown to be faithful always, as we read for example in Deuteronomy 7:9, “therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments”.

The most striking example of this faithfulness was in God fulfilling his promises in the person of Jesus Christ. In the life of Christ and in His death for the sake of our redemption we can see clearly the true meaning of faithfulness. God does not falter. He will not break his covenant with us. He will not abandon us no matter how severe our failings. But for this faithfulness to be of real benefit we need to show our faithfulness to Him. God cannot break His word but we can and we need to cultivate carefully and with commitment our faithfulness to His teachings. We must grow in the virtues and not neglect our duties and responsibilities to our neighbour and ultimately to Him. So often these acts of faithfulness can be played out in the smallest ways and we cannot hope to grow in Christ unless we observe his law in small matters as well as great.

Most obviously our faithfulness can be shown in our commitment to the Church and in the ways in which we fulfil our duties to family and friends but we must also not neglect what it is to be faithful to ourselves. In being honest and true to ourselves we will be true to God and be able to look forward with hope to the coming of his Kingdom. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 19 Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Mary Jeffries OP) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

St. Paul puts goodness, or, as some translations have it, generosity, fifth in his lists of the fruits of the Spirit. That there should be such a close correspondence between Paul’s understanding of goodness and his understanding of generosity, such that it could be translated either way, is interesting because it demonstrates the importance of generosity for the Jewish view of God.

So many of the psalms extol the Lord as worthy of praise because of his generosity, praising him at length for all the great gifts that he gives to man and beast. Psalm 104 in particular, the psalm which is used in one of the prayers used as grace before meals, praises God as good because he is the giver of all that sustains every living thing. This overwhelming generosity of God is shown most profoundly in the saving death of his Son, Our Lord, on the cross, what is for St. Paul the most important moment in history, the most generous self-giving of the Son to the Father in love.

Thus for Christians, to be good is to give of ourselves so as to help others, not only when it suits us and is convenient, and not only to those who are good to us in return, but to all those who are in need. To do this we need the gift of the Spirit, for we cannot live such an extraordinary life, as the bearer of God’s life and love to others, through our own effort alone.

To be good does take effort, we must co-operate with the grace that God so freely bestows upon us and renews in us through prayer and the sacraments, but in our pursuit of the life of virtue we are not left to fend for ourselves, for we have an advocate, a lawyer for our defence, the Spirit, to fight our corner. The Spirit as our advocate pleads insistently on our behalf for the heavenly judge to declare our goodness against the merciless cross-examination of Satan, the great accuser, who seeks to make us despair on account of our sins, and so to flee from God’s mercy.

Let us always remember that to be good is to be humble, for the greatest sin is that of pride, pride that hardens our hearts and stops us from asking for forgiveness and mercy. The good person is the person who, by the light of the Holy Spirit, recognises their sinfulness and asks the Lord for forgiveness, confident in the mercy of the Lord who is love.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 18 Kindness

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Verrill OP) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Sometimes you’ll hear things said like “I don’t need to be a Christian to be a kind and decent person.” It has to be recognised that there are many kind and decent people in the world who never go near a church. On the other hand, in the letter to the Galatians we hear St Paul speak of kindness as being a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). This implies that kindness is deeply bound up with being a Christian.

Aristotle describes kindness as helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped. Of course, we have to be careful with such a definition. Just because we help someone without regard for any personal advantage, it doesn’t mean we have to be miserable as we help. It is more virtuous to delight in being helpful rather than finding it a burden, but it is essential that kindness springs from a love of others.

Careful consideration also has to be given to what it means to be helpful. Aquinas talks of kindness as something that helps to cure evils. In any kind of evil situation, there is something that is lacking, and so some form of help is needed to restore what is missing. In situations such as rivalry, hatred, jealousy and discord, our response should be kindness, an act of helping those in need. But the kind of help we provide is informed by our Christian faith. Christ died on the cross for our sins and He is conqueror over all evil. Therefore whenever we are confronted with evil, we need to bring Christ into the situation.

From time to time, we see people who are non-Christian, but yet still appear to be full of the Holy Spirit. We have to be prepared to recognise good whereever we see it, to recognise that the Holy Spirit can act in all kinds of different people. But as Christians we are at an advantage because we have the sacraments readily available, whereby the bond of union with Christ is continually strengthened. With this bond of union, we become capable of performing the greatest act of kindness possible, of helping people towards what they need most, that is life in the Holy Trinity.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 17 Patience

noreply@blogger.com (David Barrins O.P.) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Listed among the fruits of the Holy Spirit by St Paul in the letter to the Galatians is patience. Reflecting on what it means to be patient, I think that it is not often much in evidence today. We live a world that has been taught the value of the instantaneous. Information is now delivered from one part of the globe to another within seconds, travel gets ever faster as do, more and more. the types of food we eat. I heard a comedian once joke that the protest slogan of today’s generation would be: “What do we want? We don’t know! When do we want it? Now!”. Instant gratification without too much analysis can be all too tempting.

Yet St Paul speaks often of patience as being an important part of the Christian life. It is a sign of the life of the Holy Spirit within us. In Ephesians 4:1-3 he says: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and in 1 Corinthians 13:4 he says that love is always patient. God is ever patient with us. His patience is based in his total love for us and its purpose is our salvation. Made in the image and likeness of God, we are called to become like God in patience. It is a virtue that calls us to hesitate before making judgements of others.

We look at how patient Jesus was with the multiple mess ups of Peter and the other disciples. How often they just did not understand him. Patience is such an important virtue in so many situations. Patience in discussions and heated debate is important because it is a simple recognition of the fact that elements of truth may be found on all sides. Patience with the mistakes and gaffs of others is also a simple recognition that we are not perfect either and appreciate patience and forgiveness when we make mistakes. Patience in suffering comes from an understanding that God will ultimately work for our good and that the horizon of time for the Christian is not this life but eternity.

Patience also builds character, allowing us to stand back from situations, to see things more clearly from other angles and to take the longer view into account. St Thomas Aquinas sees patience as part of the sustaining side of the infused moral virtue of fortitude. It is patience that keeps an unconquered spirit in times of trial and can be expanded into perseverance. Ultimately patience is a fruit of the Spirit that is an act of love for our brothers and sisters because it gives others the loving space to change, to grow and to find understanding. And in the busy and noisy world of today, a little more patience makes life so much easier for everyone.

Dominicans 'Keep the Door Open' in Edinburgh

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:02:00 +0000

This year the celebration of Pentecost in the University Parish of St Albert the Great, Edinburgh, was a little different. Bringing the entire community together for a single weekend Mass, an unprecedented chapel project, ‘Keeping the Door Open’, was launched. The project is to build a new chapel for the growing community and so increase the capacity of the existing space. This is the largest community project in the history of Edinburgh University Catholic Chaplaincy.

Fr Bruno Clifton OP, Assistant Catholic Chaplain (and a former Godzdogz contributor, pictured left), writes that 'the parish filled the nearby Convent of Mercy, St Catharine’s, to mark the Feast together, acknowledging our unity in the Holy Spirit in preparation for the largest building project the Parish has ever undertaken. The Chaplaincy has been served by Dominicans since 1931, and the Provincial, Fr John Farrell OP, presided and preached at the Mass'.

The Prior and Parish Priest of St Albert the Great, Fr Tim Calvert OP, spoke of the task ahead as an opportunity to bring the growing community together. ‘There are many communities surrounding the Chaplaincy: students, alumni, staff and parishioners who feel at home with the Dominicans. At Pentecost we are called to recognise our deeper unity in the Spirit and this project is a tangible means of expressing this unity.’

In honour of the special event the Parish commissioned some new music. Fr Bruno composed a motet, Veni Sancte Spiritus, which received its premiere at the Mass. More information about the project can be found at http://keepingthedooropen.op.org/

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 16 Peace

lawrence.lew@english.op.org (Lawrence Lew OP) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

"Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit" (John 15:5), and one of those fruits, which we receive from Jesus if we dwell in him and draw our strength from him, is peace. In St Paul's Letter to the Galatians 'peace' translates the Greek, eirene. Peace is a result of a life animated by the Holy Spirit, but it comes from Christ who has brought peace and reconciliation to the world by his passion, death and resurrection. Thus we are reminded in the Mass of the words of the Risen Lord: "Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you" (see John 14:27; 20:19-23).

These words of the Lord teach us that the life which is conformed to the Cross of the Lord, which becomes more Christ-like, receives Christ's peace. And what is the peace Paul has in mind? In Philippians 2:2 he asks the Philippians to be "of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind", this being the one mind of Jesus Christ. It is thus that St Paul exhorts the Philippians to put aside their quarrels and pride, and to imitate the Lord's humility who emptied himself of his equality with God and became a slave and was obedient even to the point of accepting death on a Cross (see Philippians 2:1-18). Hence, peace is being ordered to the mind of Christ which "in humility [counts] others better than [ourselves]".

It is in view of this Christ-centred orientation that St Augustine says that "peace is the tranquility of order". Because peace is ordered towards Christ and the eternal Good it is unlike worldly peace which is more like "a break between wars". Christ's peace infinitely surpasses the fragility of our uneasy treaties and efforts at a truce. It is ordered towards lasting joy in heaven. It is true, never deceptive, and as St Thomas Aquinas notes, it assures peace within ourselves, and in our relationships and surroundings. Such peace, of course, is the peace that the saints enjoy in heaven, and which is ultimately the goal of all our human aspirations for peace. It is not mere coincidence that the universal symbol for peace is a dove, which is also a way of depicting the Holy Spirit, the giver of true peace.

For perfect peace - conformity with Christ - comes not by our efforts but because of Who has been given to us in baptism. The peace which the Risen Christ leaves us is a Person: it is the Holy Spirit, whose work is peace, for the Spirit orders all things according to the mind of Christ. As the Lord said, "he will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14). And so, the peace of Christ is ours, who are called to be saints (see Romans 1:7) and who have been given the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit is the fruit of the unity and love of the Father and the Son, and he is the one who makes us Christians of one heart and mind with Christ, who is perfectly ordered to the will of the Father. Thus, St Paul urges us to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3), for peace - with the unity, concord and harmony that it entails - is a sign of the Spirit at work in our lives and in our Christian communities. Therefore, Christ said: "you will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16), and one fruit St Paul desired for his churches, and which we pray for repeatedly, at every Mass, is peace.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 15 Joy

noreply@blogger.com (MG) — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Joy comes second in St Paul’s list of the ninefold fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). And, indeed, joy should be the prevailing mood of Christians. The whole Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of joy, for Christ announced and fulfilled what was promised in the Old Testament, the kingdom of God. In Rom 14:17 St Paul writes that the kingdom of God is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. Christians have therefore good reason to be joyful.

But we can ask whether every form of joy is really a fruit of the Spirit. Christ says “you will know them by their fruits”. Is joy therefore an unmistakable sign? The Book of Proverbs (14:13) states that laughter sometimes hides sadness; and we know also from our own experience that not every “joy” – as, for example, malicious joy (cf. Proverbs 24:17) – deserves this name.

For St Thomas Aquinas joy is something only human beings can experience. An animal can have delight but no joy, because “we do not speak of joy except when delight follows reason; and so we do not ascribe joy to irrational animals”. There is no joy in merely sensual matters. The object of joy, however, is an apprehended good. There is so much good around us and we are invited by God, the creator of all that is good, to enjoy it: the beauty of nature, art and music, but also science and our knowledge of it. All this can be grasped and enjoyed by a rational human mind and can impart to us a deep joy.

When St Paul writes about joy he has primarily another, even higher form in mind, namely a spiritual joy which comes from communion with God himself whose redeemed children we are. It brings about not only a delight but also peace in our hearts despite all difficulties and even sufferings in this world. St Paul writes to the Church in Corinth “I am overjoyed in all our affliction” (2 Cor 7:4). This is the kind of peace only God’s Spirit can give in the firm belief that there is another world of which this life is only a foretaste.

But we can assume that St Paul also had a natural human expression of joy in mind when he wrote “my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord” (Phil 3:1). As God’s beloved children we do not have to be afraid, because we know that we are redeemed through Christ’s death and resurrection. Therefore we should not feel gloomy but enjoy what God has given us and share this joy with others.

Pentecost Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 (alternative second reading and gospel reading: Galatians 5:16-24; John 15:26-27, 16:12-15)

The Holy Spirit is about speech. In the Creed we say of the Spirit that 'he has spoken through the prophets' and we read that the Spirit of the Lord 'fell on [Ezekiel, for example] saying ...'. Jesus taught his disciples that they were not to worry about what they should say when called to bear witness to their faith, for the Spirit would give them the words they needed. We read today in Acts 2 that the gift of speech was given to the disciples so that each person listening heard them in his own dialect telling about the mighty works of God. So the Holy Spirit is about speech.

But the Holy Spirit is also about depth. (So many of our words are superficial and glib.) St Paul says that the Spirit searches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. So the Spirit is radical. As one of the psalms puts it, 'the foundations of the world are laid bare at the blast of the breath of your nostrils'. The foundations of our lives are laid bare and so Jesus, in breathing the Holy Spirit on his disciples, says 'the sins you forgive are forgiven and the sins you retain are retained'. The Spirit reaches the place from which words come and in which they originate. He has to do with motivation, intention and the conception of words and deeds. He has to do with the thoughts that lie beneath words and deeds and omissions, and even with what lies beneath thoughts. We are given the Spirit to drink and so, just as we are immersed in the Spirit in baptism, the Spirit is immersed in us. Thus Paul says that 'the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God'.

The Holy Spirit is about speech and depth, and so He builds a new community. Communities are established on speech. In his commentary on Aristotle's Politics St Thomas Aquinas says communicatio facit civitatem, 'communication makes the city'. Political work and community building are largely about this: getting people to talk, finding words on which parties in dispute can agree, publishing communiques and agreed statements, articulating laws to structure society and the relationships that hold it together. (I once managed to find a form of words on which a very conservative friar and a very liberal one could agree: 'things have not been the same since Vatican II'!)

The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost reverses the disunity and fragmentation of Babel. We read in Genesis 11 about the Tower of Babel, a story to explain the multiplicity of languages. Trying to reach heaven on the strength of human pride, the races of the earth fall into disunity and the human race fragments. Pentecost reverses this and undoes the effects of human pride. The language of the Spirit is a language everybody understands because it expresses the goal to which everybody aspires, for the language of the Spirit is the language of love.

So the new community is centred on 'the Word that breathes Love', Verbum spirans Amorem. Love is the depth of this Word. The people of Israel saw in the law given to Moses the formula of words that would one day unite all the peoples of the earth so that they would live together according to the wisdom and holiness of God. The 'new law' foretold by Jeremiah and other prophets is given on Pentecost Sunday to the new Israel, the Christian Church, and so the prophetic promise finds its fulfillment. The community of those who believe in Christ is the community of those who have received the Spirit. They live (or at least ought to live) by this new law written not on stone or paper but on human hearts, a law that searches the depths of everything, reaching not just to external behaviour but to motivation and intention and conception, to what lies at the root of deeds and omissions, words and thoughts.

Christ is the Spirit-filled One, the Anointed from the Father, our Messiah, 'the breath of our life' (Lamentations 4:20). A word needs breath if it is to be a living word. Breath needs a word if it is to have form and meaning. So the wonderful works of God which the Church preaches tell of a Father who has embraced the world and taken it to His heart by sending the Son and the Spirit. The Word of God unites all who come into the light of truth. The Spirit of God heals and strengthens so that even our human words become means by which God strengthens the civilization of love. It is often hidden, even in the Church, but we believe that this 'City of God' is under construction and that even now there are people who breathe its language.

Black and White Armies

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:00:00 +0000

After the final round of English premiership games, the sports pages were dominated by picture of tear-soaked, black and white Newcastle United shirts mourning the relegation of the Tyneside giant from England’s elite. Whilst I was generally indifferent to the magpies before joining the Order, it did seem a shame that a club that wears the colours of St. Dominic has fallen so far in such a short time.

Newcastle United was formed from a merger of Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End. For the first two years the newly formed team wore the red and white of East End. In 1894 it was decided that new colours should be adopted, firstly to appease former West End members but also because many clubs, such as Liverpool and Woolwich Arsenal ( now known as Arsenal) wore red, and kit clashes were common. One of the local league teams represented St. Dominic’s Priory and wore black and white stripes. The team was organised by Dalmatius Houtmann, a Dutch Dominican Friar. Dalmatius was also a keen supporter of United. He was often seen, in full habit, cheering on the team. He became something of a "lucky charm" for the club and so they adopted the black and white stripes, which they still wear today.

Newcastle are not the only team to sport the distinctive black and white of the Order of Preachers: in the Scottish first division, glamorous Ayr United wear black and white because of traditional associations with the friars as do League of Ireland Division One side Dundalk FC. A signed picture of former Dundalk star, Irish national manager, and St. Dominic’s old boy Steve Staunton, graces the friars' common room in the Dundalk priory.

Europe has other examples of Dominican influence on sporting colours. An obvious example is A.C Siena. The city’s arms are in honour of the great St. Catherine and it is very fitting that the city’s Serie A club should adopt the colours of their patron. In Spain too UD Salamanca wear black and white in honour of the Order’s prominence in the city.

The colours are of course not limited to football. Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, one of Italy and Europe’s leading basketball teams, based in the city where St. Dominic is buried, wear black and white and have a the star of St. Dominic on their badge . It is worth noting that across the pond the athletic teams of Providence College, founded and run by friars of St Joseph (New York) Province, are nicknamed 'The Friars', wear black and white, and have a friar mascot. (Now who does he remind me of?)

The Church and the Order have been and still are great sponsors and organisers of sporting clubs, but alas in the age of "sport-products" many clubs have forgotten their Christian heritage. This has certainly been the case at Newcastle United, where greed and ego have dominated the boardroom for too long. Whilst not resorting to superstition, it is worth noting that the last major honour that Newcastle won, the FA Cup, was in 1955. Until the 1950’s a Dominican Friar was often present at St. James’ Park, (a stone’s throw from the medieval Blackfriars) as a guest of the board. As Newcastle embarks on life in the Championship, I urge all Newcastle fans to seek the intercession of St. Dominic (I am sure he helps Arsenal at times too though!) and to remember that the current superior of the local Dominican house is a life-long member of the Toon Army.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 14 Discernment

noreply@blogger.com (Students@EnglishOP) — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

In St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, in the course of a list of the gifts given believers by the Holy Spirit, he mentions the gift of the discernment of spirits. It is spoken of in the context of spiritual gifts. What exactly does he mean by discernment of spirits? The ability to discern is a very important ability. Every day we have to discern between various choices we are faced with: should I marry this person, should I support this person, what kind of life am I attracted to or feel called to, etc. There is a multiplicity of things we must discern every day, and as believers we often ask the Holy Spirit, that divine spirit of truth and wisdom, to help us. Indeed we pray that we are able to make wise choices.

But what exactly was St Paul speaking of in this particular passage when he refers to the gift of discernment of spirits? At the time Paul was writing to the Corinthians such charismatic gifts were very common in the church of Corinth, and indeed were seen as proof of God’s activity in the church. In the Hellenistic world at the time forms of ecstasy were highly esteemed. It seems that the faithful of Corinth were seeing such gifts as an end in themselves, rather than using them for the good of the church community, perhaps even regarding the possession of such a gift as something to boast about personally. Paul doesn’t dispute the divine origin of the gifts, but he does want the faithful to recognise that such gifts are supposed to work in harmony for the good of the entire church. The gift of discernment is a gift that enables us to see what is really from God, and for the good of the church, and what is not. As Christians we ought to put our gifts at the service of the church, and to work in harmony with other Christians and their gifts for the building up of the church.

Ministries, Charisms and Fruits - 13 Interpretation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Gay O.P.) — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Our last post spoke of the gift of tongues as a charismatic gift, which manifested itself in the early Church at the time of St. Paul, and was seen as an important way in which the Holy Spirit worked in the Church. Indeed, there are signs that this gift is still given in the Church today, especially amongst those who are part of the charismatic movements. It is a gift that is often regarded with much suspicion by onlookers. It expresses itself as people speaking a series of words that to our ears seem to make no sense. What possible use could this be?

This question is one which was very important also in the time of St Paul. The First Letter to the Corinthians, in speaking of the many gifts, names 'the interpretation of tongues' as an important part of the whole range of gifts (1 Cor 12:10). We see how the gift of tongues is of no use unless the words spoken can be interpreted. Words should never be empty and meaningless, because this is a misuse of language. After all, words are only of use as a way of communicating, and, as such, an individual who speaks in a way that cannot be understood is not communicating at all. The tongues must be interpreted, and this is a gift in itself. This is just one of many ways in which we see how firmly Paul believes that the Christian life is not simply about the individual, but individuals united in a common belief in Jesus Christ, and living a life shaped by that belief.

There are different opinions about the charismatic gifts in today's Church. Nevertheless, there is much that all of us can learn from Paul's writings on the subject. After naming the charismatic gifts, he goes on to show how important it is that, whatever our gifts are, they are used for the building up of the Church. All the members of the Church have a range of gifts, and no two individuals are the same. This reality shows both how important and valued each and every individual is to God and to the Church, yet also how the individual forms part of the whole, and is dependent on the others. As part of the whole which is the body of Christ, the Church, we find both our dignity as individuals and a way of self-transcendence which makes us capable of more than we could ever imagine.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 12 Tongues

noreply@blogger.com (DR) — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

The gift of tongues is a supernatural gift that was given for the aid of the further preaching of the Gospel following Ascension and Pentecost. St Luke relates the events of that first Pentecost, telling us that one hundred and twenty disciples of Galilean origin were heard to speak in a variety of diverse tongues according as the Holy Spirit had given them to speak. Approximately three thousand people were brought together at that time, representing two religious classes, Jews and proselytes, from fifteen different nations, seen to be symbolic of every nation under Heaven. Those present were confounded in mind, for each heard the wonderful things of God spoken in his own tongue. Many thought the disciples were grossly inebriated but St Peter justified this anomaly by explaining it in the light of prophecy as a sign of the last times (cf. Acts 2:1-15)

St Paul was a witness to the operation of the same, or a related, gift at Ephesus. He directs the Corinthians to employ nothing but articulate and plain speech in their use of the gift of tongues, and also to refrain from its use in Church unless what is said can be grasped by the unlearned (cf. 1 Cor 14). No tongue is genuine without the voice of interpretation and to use tongues in this way Paul considers to be the act of a barbarian. He considers that the impulse to praise God in one or more strange tongues should come from the Holy Spirit and counts it as an inferior gift, granting it a penultimate place in a list of eight charismata. In effect Paul teaches that it is a mere sign, meant not for believers but only for unbelievers.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 11 Miracles

noreply@blogger.com (Gregory Pearson OP) — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

St Paul’s inclusion of miracle-working among the gifts of the Holy Spirit which he lists in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12: 10) might seem rather strange: it certainly seems rather less common than those of wisdom, knowledge and faith which he mentions in the same chapter of that letter. Indeed, some people find talk of miracles to be one of the factors which puts them off Christianity: it’s all pious mumbo-jumbo, they say, and anyone who takes modern science seriously just can’t believe in that sort of thing.

Of course, as Christians we should not be afraid of scientific progress: the more scientific discoveries can explain, the more we can wonder at the amazing complexities of the natural order which we believe to be established by God the Creator of all that is. To ignore or disregard that (and so to explain everything in terms of immediate divine intervention) is not only to downplay the truly miraculous, but also to reject the glory of the natural order which is no less the work of God. And yet at the same time it seems clear that some occurrences completely defy a natural explanation, and it it is to these that we rightly ascribe the term ‘miracle’, a source of wonder: if we truly believe that God creates and sustains in being all that exists, then it makes sense that He can determine how it all works not only in general, but also in particular cases.

Thus for St Paul, miracles are not a disincentive to belief, but rather a sign of God’s power (cf. Gal 3: 5). But how does wonder-working as a gift of the Holy Spirit fit into all this? Just because God can work wonders, that doesn’t explain why he might allow human beings to exercise this power. In Galatians 3: 5 it is clear that, as with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of working miracles is a sign of a person’s living faith which allows God to work through them. This in turn reminds us of Our Lord’s teaching that faith the size of a mustard seed will move mountains (Matt 17: 20), and that whatever we ask of the Father in his name will be given us (John 16: 23): God wills that his power be exercised through human beings.

People might ask why, if this is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there isn’t much evidence of wonder-working in your average Catholic parish. To this we might respond first of all, as St Paul does, that not all are called to fulfil the same function in the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12: 28). At the same time we might note saints throughout the Church’s history who have borne during their lifetime the name of 'Thaumaturge' (or 'wonder-worker') because of this particular gift of the Holy Spirit which has been given to them. Examples are St Nicholas in the 4^th century, St Andrew Corsini in the 14^th, and, in the last century, St Pius of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio. Still, we should not all expect to be like them. St Paul teaches us in that same first letter to the Corinthians to appreciate the variety of gifts and ministries in the Church, not jealously seeking any of them, but gratefully receiving them as God’s gifts. What we should strive for most of all, as he reminds us, is that greatest gift of the Holy Spirit which surpasses even the gift of working miracles, namely the gift of love (1 Cor 12:31-13:13).

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits -10 Serving

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Service is central to the Christian life. We are called to follow our Lord in a life of service to God and our fellow man. The gift of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Romans 12:7 is a specific type of service, which may not be obvious from the English translation. St. Paul uses the Greek work diakonia. This word refers to administration within the Church. In the context of the early Church this would concern the distribution of alms and material aid. As the Church grew, the application of this gift grew and diversified. Today the Roman Curia, the central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church, coordinates and provides the necessary central organization for the correct functioning of the Church and the achievement of its goals. But it is only the tip of an administrative colossus which consists of the curiae of the individual dioceses and orders, the episcopal conferences, parish councils, group coordinators and many more sub-divisions. Of course the original need for administrators - the distribution of aid, material, educational and spiritual - still exists and has grown. The Catholic Church is the oldest and largest provider of aid in the world. Every branch of the Church has need of administration to ensure an effective and successful mission.

Administrators and bureaucrats do not have the best reputation. They are often caricatured as faceless, legalistic bean-counters or at worst scheming, calculating, powers-behind-the-throne. It is a sad fact but all too often these stereotypes are realised in individuals, such as wily cardinals and corrupt parish treasurers. Bureaucrats are necessary for the organisation of a community. They are not however a necessary evil we must tolerate. They should benefit the society that they serve and promote the common good. The Christian administrator does not only serve a human community but the Body of Christ. The Christian administrator, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, must follow Christ’s example of humble and selfless service. The Holy Spirit bestows not only the talent for organising, maintaining and administrating but also a sense of duty to the people of God.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 9 Administration

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hunt OP) — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Administration is an inescapable part of most of our lives and one that is often likely to raise a grimace at the mere mention of the word. The phone calls that have to be returned, the emails that have to be sent, the meetings we have to attend, rotas to organise and budgets to complete are all part of everyday life for many of us. This, of course, all takes time, patience and organisation. It is easy for us to lose sight of the ‘bigger picture’ and feel overwhelmed by administrative affairs and forget the true purpose behind it all. We may even hark back to a time when everything seemed so much simpler …

In religious life there is a particular temptation is to see these day-to-day affairs not as simply taxing but as an actual impediment to the spiritual dimension of our lives. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, however, we learn that this is far from the view we should hold and that the spiritual gift of administration is indeed vital in building, strengthening and maintaining the Church on earth:

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

It is clear from this passage that it is the Spirit that furnishes us with the ability to build up the Kingdom and that administration has been a vital component of the Church since its very inception. We must also recognise that there are those especially granted with the gift of being able to administer effectively. Whilst it is vital that we all play our part we must recognise those among us with special talents in this area, and ensure that they are encouraged and productively employed and supported, for without them the task of building the Body of Christ would suffer immeasurably. It is important, therefore, that we remember our duty to use our spiritual gifts to carry out Christ’s plans on earth.

Prudence, as a cardinal virtue, is essential for an effective administrator. As St Thomas makes clear in the Summa this virtue of the practical intellect is required to make the assessments that take us from the end desired through possible means of choice and thence to command or precept. In other words deliberation, judgement and command are vital in effective administration. If we can cultivate this virtue in particular we shall find, with God’s grace that we are ever more able to labour productively as Christ’s co-workers in helping to build the reality of his kingdom on earth.

Ministries, Charisms, Fruits - 8 Healing

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Mary Jeffries OP) — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Of all the charismatic gifts that St. Paul describes, the gift of healing is probably the one which might, at first, appear least relevant to our modern world. Even prophecy seems less obscure, since we can probably think of Christians who seem to have a certain wisdom for discerning what will be the end result of a particular situation. How many of us can say that we have witnessed someone being healed by another Christian? Well, it depends on what exactly we mean by healing.

While the most obvious form of the gift of healing is the ability to heal physical ailments, this need not be the only form that the gift of healing might take. There are those within the Church, most of us have met one of them, who have a great gift for healing the psychological and emotional wounds of others. Just getting one of these people to listen to our problems or hearing their advice can be like a balm to the soul, and we know then and there that the Holy Spirit is working through this graced individual. However, we should not completely exclude the power to heal physically from our consideration. Certainly in the Acts of the Apostles we read about an extraordinary outpouring of love personified, the Holy Spirit, where after Pentecost the disciples are able to heal the sick through the laying on of hands, the anointing with oil and perhaps most astonishingly, simply uttering the holy name of Our Lord and Saviour.

These miracles are recounted with a frequency that gives the impression that they became almost routine, an expected part of the life of the Church. This certainly seems to be the case in St. Paul, since he includes the gift of healing in his list of the gifts given by the Spirit. St. Paul had himself experienced the gift of healing when he was cured of his blindness by Ananias (Acts 9:12) when he laid his hands on him. Furthermore, those who have been given the gift of healing, while they may be rare, are not unknown in our time. There are many who claim to have been cured of various physical ailments through the prayers of healers at Catholic charismatic events, for example.

Thus while the reason why the gift of healing seems to occur much less frequently in our own day than in the time of the apostolic age may remain a mystery to us whilst we remain on this earth, we do know that prayer is an incredibly powerful force for good in this world. It is therefore our job as Christians to intercede to our heavenly Father, who never neglects to answer our prayers, on behalf of those who suffer in body and soul.

A Game of Two Halves ...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Davoren OP) — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

W/T to When Saturday Comes: The Half Decent Football Magazine, available at all good newsagents