Can Bishops, Priests participate with non-Christians’ religious celebration?

Dear friends, these days, there are several criticisms and comments about some photos of priests and religious nuns’ participation in the Hindu - festival of “Vinayka Sathurthi”. Several Christians are surprised and stunned to see the photos of Catholic priests and religious nuns’ participation, and one step further; some are scandalized by the offering rituals and veneration of priests before the statues of Vinayka.

Obviously, such kind of incidents will give negative opinion among Christians.

Let me allow to give the “Teaching of the Catholic Church” regarding Christians’ participation with non-Christians’ religious ceremonies and rituals.

Before stating from the “Church Magisterium – Official Teaching of the Church”, let us remember the participation of various religious people, their religious heads and Leaders of various countries, for example the participation of Indian External Minister Mrs. Shusmasuraj and Mr. Advani who is one of the former Senior leaders from RSS, during the Canonization Ceremony of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in Vatican City. Participation out of respect and to show unity and solidarity is always welcomed and it is needed in the modern days especially where Christians live among the pluralistic religious contexts.

The Catholic Magisterium, teaching of the Church exhorts in the following way, using two key words: “PRUDENCE AND LOVE” 

“The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men”. (see. DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS NOSTRA AETATE no 2).

Christian’s Participation with our Hindu brethren is the need of the hour as the Church teaches as “prudent and love” for expressing our solidarity and maintaining unity. At the same time, giving reverence and active participation in their rituals may not be a prudent act.  

Again the Church exhorts, that “Christians should respect other religions with respect (see. Dialogue and Proclamation, no 35). Therefore, giving respect is different and taking active part in the rituals is different.

And let us all be prudent and love towards all. – Fr. John Buckthese.ocd. 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Vision of Jesus

It wasn't until after her death, for the vast majority of people, that this part of Mother Teresa's spiritual life was uncovered. “It was a big discovery,” Missionary of Charity priest, Fr. Vazhakala told CNA.  

When Mother Teresa's cause for canonization was opened, just two years after her death in 1997, documents were found in the archives of the Jesuits in Calcutta, with the spiritual director and another of Mother Teresa's close priest friends, and in the office of the bishop, containing her accounts of the communications.

Fr. Vazhakala, who co-founded the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity alongside Mother Teresa, said he has a document handwritten by Mother Teresa where she discusses what Jesus spoke to her directly during the time of the locutions and visions.

During a period lasting from Sept. 10, 1946 to Dec. 3, 1947, Mother Teresa had ongoing communication with Jesus through words and visions, Fr. Vazhakala said. This all happened while she was a missionary sister in the Irish order of the Sisters of Loreto, teaching at St. Mary's school in Calcutta.

Mother Teresa wrote that one day at Holy Communion, she heard Jesus say, “I want Indian nuns, victims of my love, who would be Mary and Martha, who would be so united to me as to radiate my love on souls.”

It was through these communications of the Eucharistic Jesus that Mother Teresa received her directions for forming her congregation of the Missionaries of Charity.

“She was so united with Jesus,” Fr. Vazhakala explained, “that she was able to radiate not her love, but Jesus’ love through her, and with a human expression.”

Jesus told her what sort of nuns he wanted her order to be filled with: “'I want free nuns covered with the poverty of the Cross. I want obedient nuns covered with the obedience of the Cross. I want full-of-love nuns covered with the charity of the Cross,'” Fr. Vazhakala related.

According to the Missionary, Jesus asked her, “Would you refuse to do this for me?” “In fact, Jesus told her in 1947,” Fr. Vazhakala explained, “'I cannot go alone to the poor people, you carry me with you into them.'”

After this period of joy and consolation, around 1949, Mother Teresa started to experience a “terrible darkness and dryness” in her spiritual life, said Fr. Vazhakala. “And in the beginning she thought it was because of her own sinfulness, unworthiness, her own weakness.”

Mother Teresa's spiritual director at the time helped her to understand that this spiritual dryness was just another way that Jesus wanted her to share in the poverty of the poor of Calcutta.

This period lasted nearly 50 years, until her death, and she found it very painful. But, Fr. Vazhakala shared that she said, “If my darkness and dryness can be a light to some soul let me be the first one to do that. If my life, if my suffering, is going to help souls to be saved, then I will prefer from the creation of the world to the end of time to suffer and die.”

"Stella Maris" - Carmelite Monastery in Israel

Our Lady of Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel

“Scapular”

It is a gift to you from your Heavenly Mother. 

“WHOSOEVER DIES IN THIS GARMENT SHALL NOT SUFFER ETERNAL FIRE

- promise of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251

Carmelites’ Monastery “Stella Maris”

A Carmelite monastery was founded at the site shortly after the Order itself was created, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of “Star of the Sea” (“stella maris” in Latin). 

           During the Crusades the monastery often changed hands, frequently being converted into a mosque under Islamic control the location came to be known as “El-Maharrakah”, meaning “place of burning”, in reference to the account of Elijah's challenge to the priests of Hadad.

In 1799 the building was finally converted into a hospital by Napoleon but in 1821 the surviving structure was destroyed by the pasha of Damascus. A new monastery was later constructed directly over a nearby cave, after funds were collected by the Carmelite Order for restoration of the monastery. The cave, which now forms the crypt of the monastic church, is termed “Elijah’s grotto” by the Discalced Carmelite friars who have custody of the monastery.

Entrence of Carmel Monastery

The Cave of Prophet Elijah & Chapel

Cave of Prophet Elijah

According to Carmelite tradition, the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel  was first given to Simon Stock an English Carmelite, by the Blesssed Virgin Mary in July 16, 1251. The Carmelites refer to her under the title “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” in honour of the legend, and celebrate 16 July as her feast day.

I had the privilege of visiting the Holy Land and the place of where Prophet Elijah stayed and encountered the Lord. And also as a Carmelite in the group of priests and sisters, gave the holy scapular to all as a sign of consecration to our Lord. 

Blessing of Scapular and distribution to priests and nuns

Bird's eye view from the Mt. Carmel

Need a “Revolution of Mercy in 2016”

“We need a “Tenderness Revolution”

Religion without mercy is like man without heart. The word “mercy” refers the real love, and compassion towards others. The Pope Francis has started his pontiff as a person of compassion towards the marginalized and the poor. According to him the humanity needs “mercy” to survive in this world of competition for power and possession.

Pope Francis opened the special jubilee Year of Mercy, calling the whole world to be compassion towards all. Without doubt all his words in recent Synod of Bishops on the family, on the subject of ‘communion’ to the divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, even though there was no consensus within the participants but his call of mercy continue to sound everywhere in the world. 

Several Cardinals, bishops and clerics resist Pope’s initiatives but the word “Mercy” overcomes all the resistances; for an example, when Pope made a visit to the Continent - Africa on November, there appeared a controversial essay by an editor for a web-site operated by the largely progressive German bishops’ conference, suggesting that Pope Francis may have an overly romanticized vision of the global South and an overly negative approach to Europe. Latter when Francis landed in Africa, he called the international community to look the reality of people, their miseries, poverty and constant influence of powerful countries in the continent to achieve their objectives by making the people in misery. Later when Pope Francis extolled the wisdom of poor communities, some Catholic commentators wondered aloud when he might also acknowledge the virtues and generosity of believers from the middle class and above. 

A Year of Mercy intended to launch a ‘Revolution of Tenderness’

Pope Francis wants to create a special corps of priest volunteers from around the world, called “Missionaries of Mercy” who will be personally commissioned to preach mercy and to forgive sins, including whose forgiving is usually reserved to the Vatican. The inauguration ceremony of the Opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica is a symbolic expression of the mission of mercy that the Church and its members do every day in their life. December 13, the holy doors in all Catholic Cathedrals in the world are opened as a sign of Church’ mercy towards all people. 

The Year of Mercy” is not a spiritual initiative of the Church; it is the real expectation of every person who suffer by various reasons. Pope’s Encyclical “Laudato Si”- On Care for Our Common Home” is inviting the whole world to have mercy on the nature by respecting our ‘Common home’ which is the Earth: “Fiat Lux – Illuminating our Common Home”. The urgency of environmental protection is highly important for the well-being of humanity. His voice is reached today up to the COP21 “Climate Change Summit” that held in Paris in 2015. 

The whole nature and humanity must be looked with mercy because the both humanity and nature suffer massively by human selfish motives. The inauguration of “Year of Mercy” is also continuation of Pope’s encyclical. On Friday Dec 18^th 2015, Pope Francis visited a Charity centre in Rome and opened what is being called a “Door of Mercy” as a symbolic expression of mercy. By this gesture Pope intends to teach the entire Church, so that her members must take care of the weak by visiting and feeding the hungry as Jesus said in his public ministry.

It’s worth asking, why Pope Francis believes “the need

 of Mercy” in the present time?

To begin, mercy is the cornerstone of Francis’ own spirituality. His motto as Pope, the same as when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, is miserando atque eligendo — loosely, “choosing through mercy”.

As Francis recalled in an interview released in the month of Dec 2015, he spoke about mercy during both his first Sunday Angelus as pope and his first Sunday homily.

“It wasn’t a strategy,” he said. “It came from inside me … the Holy Spirit wants something. It’s obvious that the world of today needs mercy; it needs compassion.”

“We’re used to bad news, to cruelty and ever-greater atrocities that offend the name and the life of God,” he said. “The world must discover that God is a father, that there’s mercy and that cruelty isn’t the way.”

“Even the Church itself sometimes takes a hard line, falling into the temptation of underlining only its moral norms,” he said. “But how many people are left out?”

Pope Francis then told a story about the 1994 Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life, in which he participated. At one stage, he said, he suggested in a small group meeting that what the Church needs is a “revolution of tenderness.” Another prelate in the group, he said, was dubious, warning that such language could be dangerous.

Francis said the bishop’s objections were “reasonable” and “intelligent,” but ultimately, he didn’t buy it.

“I continue to say that today the revolution [needed] is that of tenderness, because justice and all the rest comes from it,” Francis said. “We have to cultivate the revolution of tenderness today as a fruit of this Year of Mercy, the tenderness of God toward each one of us.”

As the reference to justice suggests, Pope seems convinced that the social change he’s after stronger measures on climate change, for instance, or an end to unjust trading relationships, a halt to illegal arms trafficking, greater investment in anti-poverty efforts, and so on; is dependent on something more fundamental.

In a word, that “something” is mercy. As the “Pope of Mercy” sees it, in other words, this jubilee year isn’t just a series of celebrations and events intended to foster deeper piety, however desirable that may be. The far more audacious aim is to launch a revolution; spiritual at its core, but with imminently social and even political consequences.

!Let us make a year of being mercy!

I wish you with all my heart…

Joyful JANUARY

Fabulous FEBRUARY

Marvelous MARCH

Awesome APRIL

Meaningful MAY

Jovial JUNE

Jubilant JULY

Amazing AUGUST

Successful SEPTEMBER

Optimistic OCTOBER

Nurturing NOVEMBER

                                  Divine DECEMBER       

With love and prayer…John Buckthese.ocd

The Jubilee Year of Mercy 

The Holy Year will open on 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Highlights of Pope’s Francis message

1.     The Mercy of God (Indulgence) to all faithful: It is my wish that all believers need to encounter with all people with the mercy of God, so that the faith of every believer may be strengthened. Faithful are called to forgive and forget completely the sins that committed by others as the Father forgives all. For this the faithful are called to make a brief pilgrimage to the Holy Door (the Church) as sign of true conversion. Precisely with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and participation in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and praying for the entire world.

2.     Indulgence to people who are unable to come to the Church: The sick, elderly and lonely people can relate their suffering with the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Living with faith and joyful hope in their moment of trial is the way of obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence.

3.     Indulgence to people whose freedom is limited: The Jubilee Year has always constituted an opportunity for great amnesty for people who are conscious of their injustice and wants to return to the society with good deeds. They may obtain the Indulgence in their situation by their sincere efforts of conversion.

4.     Indulgence to people who witness Spiritual and Corporal works of Mercy: Concrete signs of spiritual and charitable works witness the loving works of Jesus. The faithful who performs mercy to others shall obtain the jubilee Indulgence. 

5.     Indulgence to the Deceased: The Jubilee Indulgence can also be obtained for the deceased, thus as we remember them in the Eucharistic celebration.

6.     Indulgence to people who approaches the Sacrament of Confession:  The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who repented, especially to those who approach the sacrament of confession with sincere heart.

7.     The Jubilee year of Mercy excludes no One. 

“Who are we to rectify the words of Jesus Christ?”

The End of Synod and the Real face of few powerful...

The Synod for the Family concluded on 25^th October 2015 giving a green sign to the Pope to take further step regarding “Holy communion” to the divorced and married again by “Civil Marriage”.

The expectation of Europeans, Americans both north and south from the Synod for the Family was something notable, because they expected some immediate solutions from the Synod. En reality, the Synod did not give a disappointment, as a bishop from Brazil commented that after the Conference in Aparecida in Brazil; “the great achievement of the Aparecida was that there has been no setback”

Pope Francis, who is trying to look the world from the eyes of Jesus, first of all, called the Cardinals, bishops and participants of the Synod to have mercy towards the world and people. The Synod was nothing but Pope Francis’ one of the “authentic transformative efforts” in the Church despite the Church’s Tradition, Infallibility, its dogmatism and ideological stand. He understood well that before the love and mercy of God, the ideological teaching of the Church is secondary.

As usual the pyramidal church especially few sectors within the church especially from Europe for whom the synod was convoked do not like to leave it domain and many local ordinaries resisted the transformative efforts of the Pope, but Pope is strong in his conviction that any formula, doctrine that become weapon or exclusive and damning element they cease to be Catholic. 

It is normal that there are diverse of opinions and views within the participants of the Synod and most often the conservatives are powerful than others. At the same time, this is the time to be open to the situation of the society. Most of the Church members wanted to defend the doctrines and norms but very few are interested in finding the Spirit of God in today’s society and defend the human person by applying the unconditional gift of love and forgiveness that comes from God. Hence, Pope said, when the formulas and the doctrine become weapon or exclusive and damning element they cease to be Catholic. And it is not a time of condemnation and rejection.

If the Church wants to excommunicate the divorced who have married with another partner through Civil marriage, it does not actually excommunicate them from the Christian community, the Church itself exclude from those people. Hence, it is time to rethink the motherly character of the Holy Church in the world, because the Church is for people and it is not established to condemn anyone but it made to convey the mercy of God. As Pope often said, the Church wants to cure the wounds of the World with the medicine of God’s mercy.

After all these reflections, some of the Bishops resist to understand the mercy of God, for example a bishop from Spain (Bishop of San Sebastian José Ignacio Munilla made a comment; “Who are we to rectify the words of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to give Holy Communion to remarried divorced people” His comment seems logical but it is an intellectual manipulation of God’s words and it is against the teaching of the Gospel.

Because, the bishop commented further that, it is impossible to give Holy Communion to divorced and remarried. The reason, according to him was, it contradicts the faith of the Church; union between the husband and wife which is God’s grace and divorce and new marriage is adultery. Therefore the Spanish bishop commented in one of the public media; Who are we to rectify the words of Jesus Christ? He added, “It is impossible, the Synod may say it and that the Pope can say but we do not have authority over the word of God”.

This is the real mind and heart of the several Church authorities. Whatever may be their resistance against the transformative efforts of Pope Francis based on Jesus’ mission let us try to find the meaning of the words from the prayer that Jesus gave: “...forgive us our sins and as we forgive others...”. (John Buckthese.ocd)