Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Despite all of the joy of the holidays, they are a very painful time for many. Many people have profound wounds in their families that are reignited by the time together. Others are reminded of loved ones they have lost to anger, and sometimes to death. As many Christian traditions spend this time in “joyful anticipation,” many of our brothers and sisters just wish that the season would end.

Another class that I took this semester was entitled, “Reconciliation and Forgiveness” and it was taught by Prof. Bob Schreiter. In numerous books, Bob outlines the fundamental elements of a Christian understanding of reconciliation. These elements are:

1. Reconciliation is not a process that we initiate or achieve. We discover it already through God in Jesus Christ.
2. Reconciliation is more of a spirituality than a strategy- This spirituality involves waiting, listening, compassion and a post-exilic stance.
3. Reconciliation makes both the victim and the oppressor into new creations- Reconciliation does not wipe away the past. Many of us must live with the scars of our wounds. Even the Resurrected Christ still had his scars.
4. The new narrative that overcomes the narratives of the lie is the story of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ- We must unite our wounds with the narrative of Christ and the unfolding story of Salvation History.
5. Reconciliation is a multi-dimensional reality- It involves healing memories, coping with alienation, ending violence and opression, and the Grace of God.
6. The process of reconciliation will be fulfilled only with the complete consummation of the world by God in Christ- This is not an excuse to “sit back and let it happen” but should also serve as consolation for the times when any form of reconciliation seems “imperfect.”

If you would like to know more about this, please see Prof. Schreiter’s book:

Schreiter, Robert J. The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998.

Consistent Ethic of Life

Now that the semester is over, I will have some time to post some of what I have learned. Below is a summary of a project that I did on Cardinal Bernardin's Consistent Ethic of Life. I did it for a Medical Ethics class with Prof. Regina Wolfe. My apologies, everything was cited in Pages as footnotes, these have not copied. I have done my best to re-cite everything.

If you would like more information about any of it, send me an e-mail and I will refine my sources! The bibliography has been posted to the bottom of the page!

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The Catholic Church is very clear about our belief in the sacredness of human life. We believe that life is sacred because, from the beginning, it is created by and destined to return to God. Because God is the author and sustainer of life, no human being has the right to take an innocent life.

“Precisely because life is sacred, the taking of even one human life,” innocent or not, “is a momentous event (Cardinal Bernardin).” And although in our sinful world there are a small number of excpetions where a non-innocent life may have to be taken, there should always be a presumption AGAINST doing so. This means, that if there is any way to avoid taking a life, it should be fully explored and deeply considered.

Cardinal Bernardin’s legacy is known as “The Consistent Ethic of Life.” This is an ethic that connects all assaults on the sanctity of human life together in one framework. Some of these issues include (Gannon Lecture):

1. Abortion
2. Euthanasia
3. Capital Punishment
4. Nuclear Weapons
5. War

Now of course each of these individual issues are unique in their own way and can not be made into one uniform issue.

For example, abortion and euthanasia are always wrong. There is no circumstance where the direct taking of an innocent human life is morally acceptable.

War and capital punishment are different, however, because they don’t deal with the taking of INNOCENT human life. The Church teaches that societies have the right to protect themselves from aggression and victimization by engaging in war against violent adversaries and by killing those criminals too dangerous to confine to jail.

But abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and war are connected because they all involve the taking of human life... which is sacred. Cardinal Bernardin taught that the taking of a human life is always a momentous event; so the presumption should always be AGAINST the taking of a human life.

So, even if war and capital punishment are the right of the state, there are most likely situations where the state does not have the moral grounds to exercise those rights (JP2, Bernardin, Shannon). For example, the state cannot morally wage war without first exploring every possible avenue of diplomacy. Also, the state may not be able to morally execute a prisoner without first determining it absolutely beyond the state’s capacity to safely house the criminal away from others.

So even though different; abortion, war, capital punishment and euthanasia, all deal with the issue of the sanctity of life and thus should be seen as part of a larger problem in our society... a lack of respect for the sanctity of human life.

Thomas Shannon writes that, “the viability of a principle of the sacredness of life depends on consistency of application accross a broad range of diverse questions and problems, but questions and problems that are linked by their relation to the value of life.” A moral position that is inconsistent is not only incoherent, but also inauthentic. For example, when speaking about abortion, Bernardin asked, “What happens when protection of the right to life is selective, when the right to life is denied to inherently vulnerable and dependent unborn life?” A moral principle as important as the sanctity of life cannot be compromised, its integrity must remain intact.

At first, the Consistent Ethic of Life makes it sound like each of us must become an advocate for every life issue, but Cardinal Bernardin knew that this would be impossible. However, he did believe that all life advocates should know and be able to articulate the connections between their efforts on many different issues. In short, all life advocates, regardless of the individual issues they advocate, should preach a consistent ethic of life (Wade Lecture).

In addition to informing the efforts of pro-life advocates and clarifying Church teaching on Life, Cardinal Bernardin believed that the Consistent Ethic of Life could help individuals become responsibly involved in the political process. The Consistent Ethic of Life can serve as a standard to test public policy, party platforms and the suitability of candidates for political office.

In fact, a true Consistent Ethic of Life extends beyond direct assaults on human life and should incorporate quality of life considerations as well (Gannon Lecture). After all, if life is truly sacred, then not only can we not destroy it, but we also must make great efforts to care for it. Cardinal Bernardin said, “Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker.”

With this in mind, the Consistent Ethic of Life calls us to also work for social justice in the areas of:

1. Poverty
2. Health Care Access and Insurance Coverage
3. Protection of the Environment
4. School Reform
5. Immigration Reform
6. Housing and Urban Development
7. Employment Conditions and the Rights of Workers
8. Food Availability and Redistribution
9. Etc., Etc., Etc.!!!!

So in summary, the Consistent Ethic of Life provides us with a clear way to understand, communicate, and to implement the Church’s fundamental belief in the sanctity of human life. It shows that while the Church does have many opinions on many different life-related issues, there are fundamental beliefs that serve as undercurrents among all of these positions; like threads through a seamless garment.

To read some of Cardinal Bernardin’s own words on the Consistent Ethic of Life, I recommend The Seamless Garment: Writings on the Consistent Ethic of Life, edited by Thomas A. Nairn and published by Orbis Books.

SOURCES

Bernardin, Cardinal Joseph. “A Consistent Ethic of Life: An American Catholic Dialogue (Gannon Lecture, Fordham University, December 6, 1983).” In The Seamless Garment: Writings on the Consistent Ethic of Life, edited by Thomas A. Nairn, 7-14. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008.

Bernardin, Cardinal Joseph. “A Consistent Ethic of Life: Continuing the Dialogue (The William Wade Lecture Series, St. Louis University, March 11, 1984).” In The Seamless Garment: Writings on the Consistent Ethic of Life, edited by Thomas A. Nairn, 15-20. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008.

Shannon, Thomas A. “Introduction: An Overview of the Key Ideas of the Consistent Ethic of Life.” In The Seamless Garment: Writings on the Consistent Ethic of Life, edited by Thomas A. Nairn, 1-6. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008.

Walter, James J. “Horizon Analysis and Moral Stance: An Interpretation of Cardinal Bernardin’s ‘Consistent Ethic of Life.’” In Contemporary Issues in Bioethics: A Catholic Perspective, eds. James J. Walter and Thomas A. Shannon, 33-48. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: 2005.

Sankofa

This month, I had the privilege of participating in the Sankofa Sunday services at St. Sabina Catholic Community on the west side of Chicago. Sankofa is a Ghanaian tradition that roughly translates to, “we must look backward to move forward.” The Sankofa bird is known for being able to turn it’s head back 180 degrees to look where he or she is coming from.

Sankofa is a time when the whole community examines its history and begins to chart a course toward the future. For St. Sabina, an African American Church, this meant examining the impact of the Black Church in America and dreaming of the possible impacts that the Black Church can continue to have in this country.

The guest preacher, Pastor Clay Evans, spoke about his experience marching with Dr. King and fighting for civil rights in the 1960s. He encouraged us to look back and realize the incredible sacrifices that were made by Dr. King and other civil rights activists. Pastor Evans encouraged us never to forget these sacrifices and to allow this “remembering” to strengthen us in modern times when we are required to sacrifice for what we believe in.

Social justice requires sacrifice. People are starving, mothers feel abandoned, the sick are forgotten, the poor are imprisoned. Some of us who dream of a more just society will have to sacrifice of our time, talents and treasures to make these dreams a reality. Some of us, like Dr. King, may be called upon to give our lives.

So as we approach thanksgiving, lets not forget the saints and heros that have sacrificed to make our lives possible. But let us also not become blind to the role that we must play in building tomorrow.

Peace turtles!

All Saints Day

All Saints Day has been celebrated by the Christian church since at least the fourth century! The earliest recorded writing of the feast comes to us from Ephrain the Syrian in 373, but most historians believe that this feast is incredibly older, perhaps dating back to the Apostles themselves.

The early Christian community celebrated the dates on which members of their community had been martyred (kind of like a birthday celebration for those entering Heaven). Because martyrs (and all saints) were thought to share in the beatific vision in Heaven (the goal for all Christians), the community commemorated their deaths and re-told the story of their lives as inspiration for current believers.

This practice became a problem as more and more Christians were martyred because there were only a limited number of days in the year. So, lest anyone be forgotten, the majority of the feasts were lumped into one day and celebrated together. Only the feast days of the more famous saints were kept separate and sprinkled throughout the year to maintain their inspirational quality.

2,000 years after the founding of the Christian Church, we are lucky to have All Saints Day to remind ourselves of the many many (I like to think BILLIONS) of men and women who have joined Christ in Heaven. The only downside is that having all of the minor feasts on one day makes it easier to think that "Saints" are only the famous people who we celebrate separately... we forget that saints enter Heaven by the thousands every day, and just like the stories of St. Francis and St. Catherine, the stories of these common saints can, and do, inspire our faith.

In the Eastern Christian Churches the Feast of All Saints is commonly celebrated on the Suday after Pentecost. In Western Christianity this feast is most commonly celebrated on November 1 (hence celedrating Halloween the day before).

Take time this All Saints Day to remember all of the Saints in Heaven that you had the privledge of knowing while they were here on earth. Some of the saints that I will be honoring include: St. Dolores (my grandmother who passed in July), St. Tiffany (my neighbor, mother of four, who passed away from breast cancer), and St. Miro (the father of a close friend).

Peace be with all of you!

Don't worry, Heaven is immune to overcrowding.

Sacred Space

One of my favorite ways to pray is Lectio Divina, a meditative and thoughtful reading of Sacred Scripture and other inspired texts. I have been practicing a Jesuit form of Lectio, titled Sacred Space, for almost four years now. The amount of insight into my life and my relationship with God that this prayer form has given me is truly amazing.

I have also been able to use this form of prayer when praying one-on-one with friends and in small groups.

Sacred Space was started by a group of Jesuits in Ireland. Every year (and now also during Advent and Lent) the Jesuits publish a book of daily Lectio meditations. If you are interested in this form of prayer, I strongly reccomend these books (they are titled Sacred Space 2010, etc).

For those of you interested in learning more. The Jesuits post a guided Sacred Space meditation on their website each day. The prayers are very similar to those in the books and they are provided free of charge in case you cannot afford the book. You can experience Sacred Space here.

Take a few moments to explore this spiritual practice. I hope it touches you in the same way that it has touched me.

Peace turtles!

Peter and John

I realized that there has not been an image posted to the blog in quite some time. This image has been sent to me by Rev. James Doyle, a member of the staff here at Catholic Theological Union. It was painted by Eugene Burnand (1850-1921) and it depics the Apostles Peter and John running to the tomb after recieving word of Christ's Resurrection.




There are a million different ways to follow Christ. My earlier post from the Magnificat shows Mary's response to the Gospel. Here we see on the faces of Peter and John yet another response. This blog is one of the many ways that I attempt to respond to the Gospel. If you are looking for a way to respond, begin by meditating on this image. See where the Spirit takes you.

For more scriptural images, click here.

Peace turtles!

Faithfulness

This Sunday's Gospel reading contains the story of the prodigal son. This is a familiar story that reminds each of us about God's faithfulness despite our own selfish actions. This is a faithfulness that should not be taken lightly... it also should not be taken advantage of. God's faithfulness is not an excuse to fall down, but it also isn't an excuse to stay down when we have fallen. And getting up after a fall is exactly what we strive to do as turtles!

There are other stories wrapped into the Gospel along with the prodigal son story. The Gospel begins:

"Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So to them he addressed this parable.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?"

Note the irony here. Jesus says, "What man would not leave the 99 in the desert and go after the lost one?" Well... none of them would, that would be stupid. What would prevent the other 99 from wandering off in the shepherd's absence? But Jesus isn't implying that God is somehow a bad shepherd, he is making a radical statement about the depth of God's faithfulness to each of his loved ones. A radical statement that each of us should take to heart during services this weekend.

This is a big weekend for America. We commemorate the anniversary of September 11th. A despicable act of violence that has led to equally despicable wars, suffering and acts of intolerance and hate (one Church is planning to commemorate the event by burning Qur'ans). All of these events serve as a constant reminder that we so often stray from Jesus' teaching to Love. Let us reflect on, and thank God for, God's faithfulness!

Our God loves turtles! Peace!