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"This book is the fulfilment of my vow"

"This book is the fulfilment of my vow" | Franz Werfel | The preface to The Song of Bernadette

In the last days of June 1940, in flight from our mortal enemies after the collapse of France, we reached the city of Lourdes. The two of us, my wife and I, had hoped to be able to elude them in time to cross the Spanish frontier to Portugal. But since the consuls unanimously refused the requisite visas, we had no alternative but to flee back with great difficulty to the interior of France on the very night on which the National Socialist troops occupied the border town of Hendaye. The Pyrenean départements had turned into a phantasmagoria--a very   camp of chaos.

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Ratzinger on ecumenism: a reading list

A while back I was asked by an Orthodox priest if I could provide him some references for Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's writings about ecumenism. In light of the Holy Father's current trip to Turkey, here is the list I came up with. It is undoubtedly incomplete, but may be helpful for those interested in reading more in this area:

1). Principles of Catholic Theology (Ignatius, 1987. Orig. German, 1982) contains a major section (pages 193-314) on ecumenism, including:

    I. General Orientation with Regard to the Ecumenical Dispute about the Formal Principle of Faith. A large part of this directly addresses Catholic-Orthodox relations. This was originally a lecture delivered in 1976.
    II. The Key Question in the Catholic-Protestant Dispute: Tradition and Successio Apostolica
    III. Catholicity as the Formal Structure of Christianity

2). The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood (Ignatius , 1993. Orig. German edition, 1960). This is an early synthesis of Ratzinger's ecumenical thought, with a strong emphasis on biblical exegesis.

3). Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today (Ignatius, 1996. Orig. German, 1991). Ratzinger's ecclesiological vision, with a major section on the "Primacy of Peter" and Petrine office.

4). Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church as Communion (Ignatius, 2005. Orig. German, 2002). A lot of great material on ecumenism here. Includes an exchange of letters between Metropolitan Damaskinos and Ratzinger (pp 217-241), as well as "On the Ecumenical Situation" (pp 253-269). Recommended!

Two books that address inter-religious dialogue and relationships:

1). Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church, and the World (Ignatius, 1999. Orig. German, 1998). Focus on Judaism and shared heritage.

2). Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions (Ignatius, 2004. Orig. German, 2003). A nuanced critique of relativism, religious indifferentism, and pluralism.

The Homily by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew...

...given today, is available on the www.patriarchate.org website. The site contains information about breaking news, official statements, and much more, including a bio of Pope Benedict XVI.

Mary in the Movies

Christianity Today has a piece titled "Mary Goes to the Movies," about various cinematic portrayals of the Blessed Mother:

Making a movie about Jesus is difficult enough. Anyone who would dramatize the life of Christ must strike a fine balance between his full humanity and his full divinity, and many filmmakers have erred on one side or the other. But at least the Scriptures give us ample data to work with, and at least there is broad agreement across church boundaries that Jesus was, and is, both divine and human.

But making a movie about Mary poses even thornier challenges. The Bible says little about her life, so dramatists who focus on her life—such as the writer and director of The Nativity Story, which opens Friday, Dec. 1—must invent whole aspects of her story from scratch. Even more daunting, for filmmakers who want to reach as broad an audience as possible, is the fact that different churches have strongly different views on Mary.

Was she as fallible as any other human being? Or was she free from the stain of sin? Did she bear any other children? Or did she remain a virgin throughout her life? Should Jesus ever be shown correcting her, possibly even offending her? Or, as the mother of Jesus, should she offer him any guidance and possibly correct him?

The earliest Bible movies didn't have to wrestle with these questions so much, partly because the silent era relied heavily on traditional religious iconography—which is to say, Catholic iconography—for its visuals.

Although the article is respectful of the Catholic perspective and is not trying to make any theological points, it's worth noting that the series of questions are a bit misleading. For instance, this contrast — "Was she as fallible as any other human being? Or was she free from the stain of sin?" — skews the Catholic (and Orthodox) teaching about Mary, which is that Mary could have sinned, but she did not. Mary was conceived free of original sin (the Immaculate Conception), and by God's grace and her free will, remained free of personal sin throughout her life on earth. The Catechism, for instance, states:

Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life. (CCC 411; cf. CCC 493-94; 503

The next set of questions — "Did she bear any other children? Or did she remain a virgin throughout her life?" — refers, of course, to biological children, but from a Catholic (and, again, Orthodox) perspective, overlooks the spiritual motherhood of Mary, which is rooted in her virginity and her fiat. This is also beautifully articulated in the Catechism:

By his virginal conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith. "How can this be?" Participation in the divine life arises "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God". The acceptance of this life is virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to man. The spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God is fulfilled perfectly in Mary's virginal motherhood. (CCC 505; cf. CCC 2675).

Finally — "Should Jesus ever be shown correcting her, possibly even offending her? Or, as the mother of Jesus, should she offer him any guidance and possibly correct him?" Again, both are possible (and, I think, quite reasonable) and would not be contrary to a proper understanding of Mary and her Son. The temptation is to think that because Jesus is God and is sinless, that He came into the world without need of parenting, correction, and guidance. But, of course, Jesus was human, He did indeed grow and mature (cf. Lk 2:40; Heb 3:17-18; 4:14-5:3), which would have involved parental correction, something that can certainly happen outside of the context of a sinful action.

None of this to say that portraying Mary in a movie is easy; far from it. But it would be erroneous to think that because Mary and Jesus were sinless, they are somehow not fully human as we are. On the contrary, because they are free from sin, they are fully human, as we are called to be.  As Pope John Paul II liked to emphasize we are called to become who we are: sons of the Father by grace, through the work and person of Jesus Christ, and by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit:

The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":  "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." (CCC 460).

Finally, although not a fictional narrative, Steve Ray's "Mary, the Mother of God" video, part of the "Footprints of God" series, provides a wealth of material about Mary, all of it filmed in and around the Holy Land. And I'll never tire of recommending Cardinal Ratzinger's short but indispensable book about Mary, Daughter Zion.

TIME vs. Newsweek

The two large news magazines have taken very different approaches to covering Benedict XVI's trip to Turkey. Terry Mattingly (who is Orthodox) discusses over at GetReligion.org:

Wow. Reader Janette Kok dropped us a note noting the radical difference taken in the Time’s article on the papal trip to Turkey, in comparison to that in Newsweek, which, in fairness, was written by a ringer — Catholic scholar George Weigel.

The Newsweek piece is about the important ecumenical trip the pope planned long ago that has been changed, radically, by the tempest over his remarks about Christianity, Islam and human reason.

The Time piece by Jeff Israely focuses totally on Islam and politics, with little or no content on the original papal goal of pushing for human rights and religious liberty in Turkey (with a special emphasis on the plight of Orthodox Christians). Everything starts with the headline, which is “The Pope Tones Down His Act in Turkey — Long known for his rigid thinking, Benedict XVI shows new flexibility in trying to mend fences in the wake of his controversial speech about Islam.”

No, I didn’t make that up. Read the article for yourself.

Read the entire post.

B16 prays inside "Blue Mosque"

From the Associated Press:

Pope Benedict XVI prayed alongside an Islamic cleric in Turkey's most famous mosque Thursday in a dramatic gesture of outreach to Muslims after outrage from the pontiff's remarks linking violence and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

The pope bowed his head and closed his eyes for nearly a minute inside the Blue Mosque after Mustafa Cagrici, the head cleric of Istanbul, said: "Now I'm going to pray."

As the pope left the famous 17th century mosque, the pope turned to Cagrici and thanked him "for this moment of prayer," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

On a related note, I was mildly amused by this head and subhead in today's Chicago Tribune (registration required):

Pope reaches out to Orthodox flock
But Al Qaeda message demonstrates tensions over his trip to Turkey

I suppose that any time a particular group (Al Qaeda) makes it clear in numerous ways (bombing, beheading, killing innocent people, statements) that they exist for the sole purpose of killing non-Muslims and destroying the West, there is bound to be a bit of tension.  The subhead is a small matter, of course, but the "But..." suggests that some folks are having difficulty with the fact that as as long as there are radical Muslims seeking to kill us, there will be tension—no matter what we do.

B16, the Blessed Mother, and Mass at Ephesus

Here is the homily given today by our Holy Father while saying Mass at Ephesus. It is a beautiful reflection on Mary, the Mother of God:

Mary’s motherhood, which began with her fiat in Nazareth, is fulfilled at the foot of the Cross. Although it is true – as Saint Anselm says – that “from the moment of her fiat Mary began to carry all of us in her womb”, the maternal vocation and mission of the Virgin towards those who believe in Christ actually began when Jesus said to her: “Woman, behold your son!” (Jn 19:26). Looking down from the Cross at his Mother and the beloved disciple by her side, the dying Christ recognized the firstfruits of the family which he had come to form in the world, the beginning of the Church and the new humanity. For this reason, he addressed Mary as “Woman”, not as “Mother”, the term which he was to use in entrusting her to his disciple: “Behold your Mother!” (Jn 19:27). The Son of God thus fulfilled his mission: born of the Virgin in order to share our human condition in everything but sin, at his return to the Father he left behind in the world the sacrament of the unity of the human race (cf. Lumen Gentium, 1): the family “brought into unity from the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Saint Cyprian, De Orat. Dom., 23: PL 4, 536), at whose heart is this new bond between the Mother and the disciple. Mary’s divine motherhood and her ecclesial motherhood are thus inseparably united.

Do you live in or near Williamstown, MA?

If so, do you know of a good parish and/or good priest in that area? I've been in correspondence with an Evangelical Protestant, a professor at Williams College, who is seriously considering becoming Catholic and who like to meet with a Catholic priest. If you have any ideas or info, please drop me a note or leave a comment. Thanks!

B16: Defender of Freedom

Sandra Magister reports on Benedict XVI's first day in Turkey:

On his first day in Turkey, Benedict XVI did not again quote sura 2:256 of the Qur’an, which he had taken as the launching point for his lecture in Regensburg: “There is no compulsion in religion.”

But it was as if he had referred to it again. In speaking in Ankara, first to the “Diyanet” for religious affairs, and then to the diplomatic corps, pope Joseph Ratzinger placed the question of freedom at the center of both addresses.

In the first of the two addresses, Benedict XVI had before him, among others, the head of religious affairs in Turkey, Ali Bardakoglu, who is one of the harshest critics of his lecture in Regensburg, but also the grand mufti of Istanbul, Mustafa Cagrici, who was one of the signatories of the open letter commenting upon that same lecture, written in mid-October by 38 illustrious Muslims from various countries, and very respectful toward the pope and his reasoning.

In speaking to them, Benedict XVI urged “an authentic respect for the responsible choices that each person makes, especially those pertaining to fundamental values and to personal religious convictions.”

The Vatican Radio has more news, as well as transcripts of the Holy Father's speeches.

CNS reports on how smoothly and safely the trip has gone so far:

The important thing, the Vatican spokesman said, was that his Turkish audience responded positively to the pope's argument that religions need to inspire modern cultures with values, reflecting a harmony between reason and faith.

Other Vatican officials beamed with satisfaction.

"We felt strongly how the Turkish government did everything to warm up the atmosphere. This was a very positive day, especially because the meeting with (Bardakoglu) was very cordial," said retired French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who accompanied the pope as a kind of "wise man" of Vatican diplomacy.

Added Cardinal Walter Kasper: "The dialogues were very positive, and it was a day that expressed peace and reconciliation."

MonstersandCritics.com has pictures (see upper right hand section of the page) of the trip so far.

Meanwhile, the AP reports that "Al-Qaida denounces pope visit to Turkey." Surprise, surprise!

Michael O'Brien: "Are Christians Intolerant?"

Are Christians Intolerant? | Michael O'Brien | An excerpt from A Landscape with Dragons: The Battle for Your Child's Mind

Christmas is approaching as I write the final passages of this book. The stores are full of the very merchandise that these lines have examined. The malls are packed with shoppers. They are, like me, trying to beat the Christmas rush or tap into the pre-Christmas sales, or maybe just get into the spirit of things early. You may have noticed that life in the twentieth century is somewhat tense, and who can be blamed for rushing the season of peace just a little. There's a holiday feeling in the air: the potted pines and the shop windows are all decked out; the robot Santas and the synthetic jingle on the loudspeakers are jolly in about equal portions. As is usual at this time of year, people are more patient with one another, will allow complete strangers to enter elevators before them, will overlook the irritating behavior of the occasional aggressive bargain hunter, and will smile more easily at mothers with small, noisy children. It is the season of tolerance.

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