All Saint Day/ Reformation Sunday

Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, and a senior editor of Christianity Today, writes on Reformation Day over at FIRST THINGS.  He concludes his article by reflecting on the 1999 Lutheran / Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), where he writes:

"..convergence on justification does not equal consensus on all aspects of the doctrine of salvation. The framers of the Joint Declaration itself were forced to add an annex to the document delineating unresolved differences on simul iustus et peccator, Luther’s idea that justified believers are at one and the same time sinful and righteous before God. How justification and sanctification are related in the life of the Christian still continues to be debated. On these and many other issues related to authority and ecclesiology, the way forward is not to smudge over deep differences that remain between the two traditions but to acknowledge them openly and to continue to struggle over them together in prayer and in fresh engagement with the Scriptures. The way forward is an ecumenism of conviction, not an ecumenism of accommodation.

Several years ago I was asked to endorse a book by my friend Mark Noll called Is the Reformation Over? I responded by saying that the Reformation is over only to the extent that it succeeded. In fact, in some measure, the Reformation has succeeded, and more within the Catholic Church than in certain sectors of the Protestant world. The triumph of grace in the theology of Luther was—and still is—in the service of the whole Body of Christ. Luther was not without his warts, and we can hardly imagine him canonized as a saint. (Remember: simul iustus et peccator!) But the question Karl Barth asked about him in 1933 is still worth pondering this Reformation Day: “What else was Luther than a teacher of the Christian church whom one can hardly celebrate in any other way but to listen to him?”

As a former Lutheran who has individually healed the Reformation breach as the late Father Neuhaus reflected on long before the JDDJ, I pray that we may grow in true and visible Christian unity and see reconciliation in our lifetimes. As Catholics, we celebrate and remember all the Saints in heaven today.   One of the most meaningful parts of the Mass for me is in Eucharistic Prayer II:

Look with favour on your Church's offering, 
and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself. 
Grant that we who are nourished by his body and blood, 
may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ. 
May he make us an everlasting gift to you and 
enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints, with 
Mary the virgin Mother of God; with the apostles, the martyrs, 
and all your saints on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
Lord, may this sacrifice which has made our peace with you, 
advance the peace and salvation of all the world. 
Strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth; 
your servant, Benedict, our Pope, John our Bishop, and all the 
bishops with the clergy and the entire people your Son has gained for you.
Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered
here before you. In mercy and love unite all your children wherever they may be. 
Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters, 
and all who have left this world in your friendship. 
We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory, 
through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come. 
Through him, with him, in him, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, 
for ever and ever. 
Amen.

Litany of Saints

Holy Mary Mother of God, Pray for us
St. Joseph, Pray for us
St. Michael, pray for us
St. John the Apostle, pray for us
Ss. Peter and Paul, Pray for us
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Pray for us
St. Louis de Montfort, Pray for us
St. Francis of Assisi, Pray for us
St. John the Baptist, pray for us
St. Francis de Sales, Pray for us
St. Juan Diego, Pray for us
St. Augustine, Pray for us
St. John Vianney, Pray for us
St. Pius X, Pray for us
St. Anthony of Padua, Pray for us
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pray for us
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Pray for us
Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Pray for us
Bl. Miguel Pro, Pray for us
Bl. Theresa of Calcutta, Pray for us

PICTURE: Torsten Schleese (public domain)

John Paul and Mother Teresa, Champions for Life

The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World, n.38, Pope John Paul II

"... In effect the acknowledgment of the personal dignity of every human being demands the respect, the defence and the promotion of the rights of the human person. It is a question of inherent, universal and inviolable rights. No one, no individual, no group, no authority, no State, can change-let alone eliminate-them because such rights find their source in God himself.

The inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God, fínds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights-for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.

The Church has never yielded in the face of all the violations that the right to life of every human being has received, and continues to receive, both from individuals and from those in authority. The human being is entitled to such rights, in every phase of development, from conception until natural death; and in every condition, whether healthy or sick, whole or handicapped, rich or poor. The Second Vatican Council openly proclaimed: "All offences against life itself, such as every kind of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and willful suicide; all violations of the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture, undue psychological pressures; all offences against human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, degrading working conditions where men are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons; all these and the like are certainly criminal: they poison human society; and they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonour to the Creator""

(Image from blessedcatholicsaints.blogspot.com)

St. Gianna Beretta Molla

When I first saw this image at one of the side altars in the beautiful Shrine Church at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse Wisconsin, I thought it looked somewhat out of place.  It is beautiful, but the central woman is dressed in a modern doctor's uniform.  After a few moments of standing before the painting, there was something vaguely familiar about the story if was portraying.  Then the tour guide began to explain the painting, and of course it is a picture of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who died only in 1962 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004.  You can read about the life of St. Gianna here.  A truly heroic modern Saint.  Saint Gianna, Pray for us!

Agnus Dei

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit your death brought life to the world. By your holy body and blood free me from all my sins and from every evil. Keep me faithful to you teaching and never let me be parted from you. 

(priest's prayer before communion)

The image above was taken in July 2009 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  The Shrine was conceived by Bishop Raymod L. Burke in 1995.  The beautiful Shrine Church was completed in 2008.  Besides the Church, the Shrine includes a monument to the Unborn, Rosary meditation path, Our Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel, and special Grotto for Saint Joseph the Workman, Saint Francis of Assisi, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, The Seven Blessed Martyrs of Thailand, and Saints Isidore and Maria. The guide at the Shrine Church claimed that the vision for the Shrine's future includes adding community of contemplative nuns and a retreat center.

God Bless you Archbishop Burke for this beautiful gift to the Church!