Prayer

Aparecida, May 17, 2007 (CNA).- The archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, said Wednesday that although the bishops have not excommunicated lawmakers who voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City, they “are impeded from receiving Communion.”

While fielding questions from reporters, the Mexican cardinal explained that while “nobody has sent a declaration to any politician or lawmaker,” it must be stated that “we also have to repeat what the traditional doctrine of the Church is: Voting for those kinds of laws is not compatible with the reception of Communion, which is not the same as excommunication.”

“We are saying that this way of thinking is not compatible with Eucharistic Communion, we are not going to deny them the Eucharist. Every human being can have the forgiveness of the Church and of God when there is repentance,” the cardinal explained.

Unfortunately this seems to be the exact same mixed message so frequently given out. All of the responsibility is placed on the person receiving Communion. While this is necessarily true for the large majority of Communicants, it becomes a different story when the person is a public sinner where the one giving Communion knows that his reception is not only scandalous, but dangerous for his immortal soul. I just can not understand this reasoning. It is like saying no I am not my brother’s keeper. If he chooses to receive well I would rather he does not, but I will wash my hands of it if he does.
If a doctor told a patient that he should not take a certain type of medicine because for him it would have severe side effects and then told him that if the patient asks for it then he would write them a prescription you might think the doctor didn’t really care about the patients health.

This type of response I think only tells the public sinner that their sin is really not all that serious after all. How exactly this type of lame response causes somebody to repent is beyond me. Denial of Communion in these cases is an act of charity that hopefully leads to repentance.

WASHINGTON — The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit who – over the objections of his superiors – was the only Roman Catholic priest elected as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday.

Drinan, 86, had suffered from pneumonia and congestive heart failure during the previous 10 days, according to a statement by Georgetown University which said he died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.

Former Massachusetts Rep. Father Robert Drinan holds up a copy of the 1974 impeachment report of President Nixon while testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing in this Dec. 8, 1998 file photo. Drinan, a Jesuit who – over the objections of his superiors – became the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday. . (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Former Massachusetts Rep. Father Robert Drinan holds up a copy of the 1974 impeachment report of President Nixon while testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing in this Dec. 8, 1998 file photo. Drinan, a Jesuit who – over the objections of his superiors – became the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday.

"His death was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his family," said the Rev. John Langan, rector of the Georgetown University Jesuit Community where Drinan lived.

I can’t say my immediate reaction was to pray for him, but I will pray for him.

Here is an interesting new blog devoted towards those in Purgatory.

The main purpose of this blog is to have Masses said and multitudes of people praying for the repose of those souls who have gone before us. Also
there will be related topics as well, such as prayer, spirituality, meditations on life and death, and the Mass (particularly the Requiem Mass),etc.

Please feel free to contact me at mortuum_mundo@mac.com if you have someone that you would like me to add to this site. (When sending me the person’s
info, please include a picture and a little bit about the person as well, especially their dates of entering and leaving this life.)

I pray that the prayers said for the souls who will be listed on this site be a source of great and necessary grace for them at the most important time of their lives – the hour of their death.

Recently in the news has been the story of the blasphemy challenge where atheists post a video of themselves denying the Holy Spirit thus by their perspective invoking the unforgivable sin. Rational Responders suggest:

* Don’t simply "deny the holy spirit." Give it your own personal touches. Possibly add extra blasphemy or maybe even a background story as to why you feel the way you do.
* Record your video in a Church or outside of a Church.
* Walk up to people on the streets exclaiming your joy that you deny the holy spirit, and how good it makes you feel inside!
* Mention "My name is ______ and I’m from the Rational Response Squad."
* Plug your own atheist website or project!

As with most atheists the thrust is mainly "that the Christian God doesn’t exist" and if you have "the cojones to show the world." Of course they don’t post videos of themselves denying that Mohammed was a prophet which might take a bit more cojones. No diatribes against Hindus or those of other religions.

Most of this is just dumb on so many levels and a total lack of even the basic understanding of what the sin against the Holy Spirit actually is – that it is final impenitence, perseverance till death in mortal sin. Something that can’t exactly be uploaded to YouTube. If you deny what you conscience has already accepted as not true you are not exactly sinning in the first place. As a former atheist, atheist challenges like this don’t really upset me – other than a touch of sadness of what they do not yet know.

I suggest a prayer project for these persons involved in this project. Simply pick one of the people who have posted a video for the Blasphemy challenge and pray for them and perhaps start a lovingly ironic Novena to the Holy Spirit for them. No need of posting a video to YouTube for this just pray and offer up any sacrifice you can for that person. I usually pick St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross as my choice for intercession for the conversion of atheists. She also passed through atheism on her journey into the Catholic Church who after the examples of some Christians she new and upon reading St. Teresa of Avila’s biography exclaimed "This is the truth!" We can pray that they find who is the way, the truth, and the life.

I am trying to develop the habit of rash prayer. My theory is that if I could pray as fast as I might judge someone that I would be stepping in the right direction on the road to holiness. I might observe someone’s actions or read a news story and instantly I have framed the motives for the action of the person or persons involved, sometimes I then remember to pray. I don’t mean rash in the sense of ill-considered haste but in it’s meaning as boldness. Usually I have what I call the “binocular effect”; if I look through the binoculars at someone else’s sins they are magnified but if I look through the front of the binoculars towards my own sins they are reduced and minimized. This is exactly backwards and the Saints demonstrated the correct view over and over in again in regards to themselves and others. Sometimes I feel like such a hypocrite when I do remember to pray for others. When I think about the lumberyard in my own eyes it makes it difficult to do what all of us are called to. To pray for others you must do it based on a foundation of personal prayer and openness to grace. Lord give me the grace to put down the stone and walk away.