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Home / 2019 / April / 24

Day: April 24 2019

That was the week (and more) that was.

April 24 2019 Blog

Seamus Ahearne offers some thoughts on recent events.

Read More That was the week (and more) that was.

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8 comments
Presider’s Page for 15 September (Ordinary Time 24)
September 10 2024
Paddy Ferry
“…and eventually the crucifixion was explained in terms of Jesus repaying a debt owed by us humans to the Father - a circular and fundamentally nonsensical theology that is still reflected in article 615 of the Catechism.” Seán, you hit the nail absolutely on the head. Thank you.
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5 comments
Tony Flannery writes: This is a true account of one priest’s experience with his superiors, and I think it is worth putting up here as an example of the type of attitude still being adopted by some Church superiors in dealing with their priests.
September 10 2024
sean walsh
What is it that changes a man - all too often – almost overnight – when elected, appointed? The tendency to “become someone”? Deep breathing... a swelling of the ego... I’ve made it, got there... promoted from the ranks... forgetting – all too easily – the words of St Paul: “love is... not puffed up...” His very stride on the corridor, the way he shuts a door, answers the phone, says ‘Come In’ - speaks louder than words: I am in charge... the boss... I am superior... And worst of all, degenerating betimes into downright bullying: swinging from a cold, intimidating silence to angry, red-faced, shouting - oh, a roar! Let’s hope you are never crushed by such a travesty, Peter. ‘Could well damage you, inflict wounds in your persona that might well stay with you for years to come... A rarity? I dare say... But in the context of the Franciscan family, once is once too often... A far cry indeed from St Francis – or the Upper Room, the Last Supper, the washing of feet...' - from my book, Signals from a Distant Planet, The Brother Peter Letters. amazon.com
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8 comments
Presider’s Page for 15 September (Ordinary Time 24)
September 10 2024
Sean O'Conaill
"Could anyone enlighten me, Why did God send his only son to die to save us when knowing the outcome?" Not quite sure what Edward means by 'the outcome' I wonder if that for him is the Crucifixion or the Resurrection. There is a whole universe of difference between thinking of the life of Jesus as ending in death or, on the contrary, in the promise of life after death. For the early church it was the Resurrection that gripped the Christian imagination - and made e.g. St Paul convinced that a New Creation was in process. In the Middle Ages that firm belief began to recede. Allied with the state the church had generally little interest in the coming of a different kingdom without violence - and eventually the crucifixion was explained in terms of Jesus repaying a debt owed by us humans to the Father - a circular and fundamentally nonsensical theology that is still reflected in article 615 of the Catechism. To recover a firm belief in the Resurrection of Jesus we need to go - or to be taken - to a place we tend to avoid at all costs: what Psalm 23 calls the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Only then do we truly pray as though our lives depend on the outcome - because they truly do. Only in that place can we truly bond with the person who stood alone before Pilate - and realise why he did that: to be spiritually with every one of us in our own terminal crisis. I would know nothing whatever of this if I hadn't had an experience of a cancer that could have been terminal in 2003. Otherwise I would never have discovered where persistent prayer can take us - to the complete lifting of our fear of death. The 'worse state of sin' that Edward sees nowadays has largely to do with a loss of belief in any possible life after death - and the sins of the churches have a lot to do with that. So has the 'satisfaction' theology of atonement summarised above, the bedrock of Christian fundamentalism. Paradoxically it is those in most current danger of death who are most likely to discover what can happen in that Dark Valley when we pray. The world crisis that is now gathering will intensify that experience - so those who carry with us a tenuous belief in the Resurrection will find then a greater readiness to listen than exists just now in Ireland - when unexpected wealth from the multinationals tell us we have 'never had it so good'. Jesus needs to be taken seriously when he tells us how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, and why it is the poor in spirit who are blessed. We need to run totally out of other resources to learn to pray seriously - and there is no other route to that kingdom of heaven. 'Sin' is another day's work. When in December 2021 Pope Francis said, correctly, that there are worse sins than the sins of the flesh he was challenging the fixation with sexuality that causes so many professed Christians to be indifferent to social injustice, the root of all violence. He was also challenging his most obdurate opponents in the church, those who tell us that we do not need synodality. Nothing is more needed nowadays than synodality - the human context in which Edward could ask his good questions in hope of a sensible answer. Don't stop Edward - you are 'doing theology' as it needs to be done.
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8 comments
Presider’s Page for 15 September (Ordinary Time 24)
September 10 2024
Margo Morin
Your statement that God "sent his son to die" is the window of possible new insight into your question. Did God send Their Son to die? Or did they send Him to live and invite all into the salvation that was, until then, only presumed to be for the Jewish people? And/or was Jesus' message of love over rules and His charismatic ability to challenge leadership and draw followers create such a conflict among the religious leaders of the time, that they partnered with the Romans to take away that threat to their power? "Sent His Son to Die" is St. Anselm's theory, and one that is most often taught these days, but it is not definitive. Check out Duns Scotus' atonement work, referred to here: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-nonviolent-atonement-2017-07-24/ I hope this helps!
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