In the United States, the Optional Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, found in the Prayers section of the iBreviary.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.
So I swore in my anger, *
They shall not enter into my rest.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Christ the Lord is risn today;
Christians, haste your vows to pay;
Offer you your praises meet
At the Paschal Victims feet.
For the sheep the Lamb has bled,
Sinless in the sinners stead;
Christ, the Lord, is risn on high,
Now he lives no more to die!
Christ, the Victim undefiled,
Man to God has reconciled;
When in strange and awful strife
Met together death and life;
Christians, on this happy day
Haste with joy your vows to pay.
Christ, the Lord, is risn on high,
Now he lives no more to die!
Christ, who once for sinners bled,
Now the firstborn from the dead,
Throned in endless might and power,
Lives and reigns forevermore.
Hail, eternal Hope on high!
Hail, our King of Victory!
Hail, our Prince of life adored!
Help and save us, gracious Lord.
Tune: Victimae Paschali Laudes 77.77 D
Music: Traditional, alt.
Text: Victimae Paschali Laudes, Wipo, eleventh century
Or:
The day of resurrection!
Earth spread the news abroad;
The Paschal feast of gladness,
The Paschal feast of God.
From death to life eternal,
From earth to heavens height
Our Savior Christ has brought us,
The glorious Lord of Light.
Our hearts be free from evil
That we may see aright
The Savior resurrected
In his eternal light;
And hear his message plainly,
Delivered calm and clear:
Rejoice with me in triumph,
Be glad and do not fear.
Now let the heavns be joyful,
And earth her song begin,
The whole world keep high triumph
And all that is therein;
Let all things in creation
Their notes of gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord has risen,
Our joy that has no end.
Tune: Ellacombe or Aurelia 76.76 D
Music: (Ellacombe) Wurtemburg Gesangbuch, 1784, adapted in the Mainz Gesangbuch, 1833, and further adapted in the St. Gall Gesangbuch, 1863; (Aurelia) S. S. Wesley, 1810-1876
Text: John Mason Neale, 1818-1866, adapted by Anthony G. Petti
Let us pray.
Father,
in your love you have brought us
from evil to good and from misery to happiness.
Through your blessings
give the courage of perseverance
to those you have called and justified in faith.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us bless the Lord.
And give him thanks.
For the Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster:
Let us pray.
Father of mercy,
who gave us in Saint Damien
a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned,
grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us bless the Lord.
And give him thanks.
In the United States, the Optional Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, found in the Prayers section of the iBreviary.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.
So I swore in my anger, *
They shall not enter into my rest.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The Lord is risen, alleluia.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Ant. 1 Be exalted, O God, high above the heavens, alleluia.
Psalm 57
Morning prayer in affliction
This psalm tells of our Lords passion (Saint Augustine).
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy *
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge *
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I call to God the Most High, *
to God who has always been my help.
May he send from heaven and save me *
and shame those who assail me.
May God send his truth and his love.
My soul lies down among lions, *
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows, *
their tongue a sharpened sword.
O God, arise above the heavens; *
may your glory shine on earth!
They laid a snare for my steps, *
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path *
but fell in it themselves.
My heart is ready, O God, *
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise. *
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp, *
I will awake the dawn.
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples, *
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens *
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens; *
may your glory shine on earth!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, send your mercy and your truth to rescue us from the snares of the devil, and we will praise you among the peoples and proclaim you to the nations, happy to be known as companions of your Son.
Ant. Be exalted, O God, high above the heavens, alleluia.
Ant. 2 The Lord has ransomed his people, alleluia.
Canticle: Jeremiah 31:10-14
The happiness of a people who have been redeemed
Jesus was to die . . . to gather Gods scattered children into one fold (John 11:51, 52).
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, *
proclaim it on distant coasts and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, *
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
The Lord shall ransom Jacob, *
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, *
they shall come streaming to the Lords blessings:
the grain, the wine, and the oil, *
the sheep and the oxen;
they themselves shall be like watered gardens, *
never again shall they languish.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance, *
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy, *
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
I will lavish choice portions upon the priests, *
and my people shall be filled with my blessings, says the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The Lord has ransomed his people, alleluia.
Ant. 3 Such is our God, he will be our guide for ever, alleluia.
Psalm 48
Thanksgiving for the peoples deliverance
He took me up a high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, Gods holy city (Revelation 21:10).
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised *
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty, *
the joy of all the earth.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth, *
the Great Kings city!
God, in the midst of its citadels, *
has shown himself its stronghold.
For the kings assembled together, *
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded; *
dismayed, they fled in fear.
A trembling seized them there, *
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed *
the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so we have seen *
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts *
which God upholds for ever.
O God, we ponder your love *
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name *
reaches the ends of the earth.
With justice your right hand is filled. *
Mount Zion rejoices;
the people of Judah rejoice *
at the sight of your judgments.
Walk through Zion, walk all round it; *
count the number of its towers.
Review all its ramparts, *
examine its castles,
that you may tell the next generation *
that such is our God,
our God for ever and always. *
It is he who leads us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Father, the body of your risen Son is the temple not made by human hands and the defending wall of the new Jerusalem. May this holy city, built of living stones, shine with spiritual radiance and witness to your greatness in the sight of all nations.
Ant. Such is our God, he will be our guide for ever, alleluia.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. If you keep my commandments, you will live in my love, alleluia.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
For the Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster:
Let us pray.
Father of mercy,
who gave us in Saint Damien
a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned,
grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
His the scepter, his the throne;
Alleluia! his the triumph,
His the victory alone:
Hark! the songs of peaceful Sion
Thunder like a mighty flood;
Jesus, out of evry nation,
Has redeemed us by his Blood.
Alleluia! not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us,
Faith believes nor questions how:
Though the cloud from sight received him,
When the forty days were oer
Shall our hearts forget his promise,
I am with you evermore?
Alleluia! Bread of angels,
Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful
Flee to thee from day to day:
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
Earths Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless
Sweep across the crystal sea.
Alleluia! King eternal,
Thee, the Lord of lords we own;
Alleluia! born of Mary,
Earth thy footstool, heavn thy throne:
Thou within the veil has entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest;
Thou on earth both Priest and Victim
In the Eucharistic feast.
Melody: Hyfrydol 87.87 D
Music: R. H. Prichard, 1811-1887
Text: William Chatterton Dix, 1837-1898
Psalm 119:17-24
III (Ghimel)
A meditation on Gods law
Loving God means keeping his commandments (1 John 5:3).
Bless your servant and I shall live *
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see *
the wonders of your law.
I am a pilgrim on the earth; *
show me your commands.
My soul is ever consumed *
as I long for your decrees.
You threaten the proud, the accursed, *
who turn from your commands.
Relieve me from scorn and contempt *
for I do your will.
Though princes sit plotting against me *
I ponder on your rulings.
Your will is my delight; *
your statutes are my counselors.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Father, giver of all good gifts, do not let us go astray from your commands but help us to seek you with all our hearts.
Psalm 25
Prayer for Gods favor and protection
Our hope will never be disappointed (Romans 5:5).
I
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. *
I trust you, let me not be disappointed;
do not let my enemies triumph.
Those who hope in you shall not be disappointed, *
but only those who wantonly break faith.
Lord, make me know your ways. *
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: *
for you are God my savior.
In you I hope all day long *
because of your goodness, O Lord.
Remember your mercy, Lord, *
and the love you have shown from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth. *
In your love remember me.
The Lord is good and upright. *
He shows the path to those who stray,
he guides the humble in the right path; *
he teaches his way to the poor.
His ways are faithfulness and love *
for those who keep his covenant and law.
Lord, for the sake of your name *
forgive my guilt, for it is great
Glory to the Father, and to the Son *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
To you, Lord, we lift up our souls; rescue us, do not let us be put to shame for calling out to you. Do not remember the sins of our youth and stupidity, but remember us with your love.
II
If anyone fears the Lord *
he will show him the path he should choose.
His soul shall live in happiness *
and his children shall possess the land.
The Lords friendship is for those who revere him; *
to them he reveals his covenant.
My eyes are always on the Lord; *
for he rescues my feet from the snare.
Turn to me and have mercy *
for I am lonely and poor.
Relieve the anguish of my heart *
and set me free from my distress.
See my affliction and my toil *
and take all my sins away.
See how many are my foes; *
how violent their hatred for me.
Preserve my life and rescue me. *
Do not disappoint me, you are my refuge.
May innocence and uprightness protect me: *
for my hope is in you, O Lord.
Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Through your Son, Lord, you spared sinners to show us your mercy and love. Do not remember our sins, but show us your ways; relieve our distress, and satisfy the longing of your people, so that all our hopes for eternal peace may reach fulfillment.
Ant. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
At the other hours, the complementary psalmody is used.
READING
1 Corinthians 12:13
It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit.
The Lord is risen, alleluia.
He has appeared to Simon, alleluia.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
in your love you have brought us
from evil to good and from misery to happiness.
Through your blessings
give the courage of perseverance
to those you have called and justified in faith.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us bless the Lord.
And give him thanks.
READING
Titus 3:5b-7
God saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs, in hope, of eternal life.
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
in your love you have brought us
from evil to good and from misery to happiness.
Through your blessings
give the courage of perseverance
to those you have called and justified in faith.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us bless the Lord.
And give him thanks.
READING
We give thanks to God the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Through him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
Stay with us, Lord, alleluia.
For evening draws near, alleluia.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
in your love you have brought us
from evil to good and from misery to happiness.
Through your blessings
give the courage of perseverance
to those you have called and justified in faith.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us bless the Lord.
And give him thanks.
At the Lambs high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from his wounded side;
Praise the Lord, whose love divine
Gives his sacred blood for wine,
Gives his body for the feast,
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
Where the Paschal blood is poured,
Deaths dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israels host in triumph go
Through the waves that drown the foe.
Christ the Lamb whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, Paschal bread;
Let us with a fervent love
Taste the manna from above.
Mighty Victim from on high,
Powrs of hell now vanquished lie;
Sin is conquered in the fight:
You have brought us life and light;
Your resplendent banners wave,
You have risen from the grave;
Christ has opened Paradise,
And in him all men shall rise.
Easter triumph, Easter joy,
Sin alone can this destroy;
Souls form sin and death set free
Glory in their liberty.
Hymns of glory, hymns of praise
Father unto you we raise;
Risen Lord, for joy we sing;
Let our hymns through heaven ring.
Tune: Salzburg 77.77 D
Music: Jacob Hintze, 1622-1702
Text: Ad regias Agni dapes
Translation: Robert Campbell, 1814-1868, adapted by Geoffrey Laycock
Or:
We praise you, Father, for your gifts
Of dusk and nightfall over earth,
Foreshadowing the mystery
Of death that leads to endless day.
Within your hands we rest secure;
In quiet sleep our strength renew;
Yet give your people hearts that wake
In love to you, unsleeping Lord.
Your glory may we ever seek
In rest, as in activity,
Until its fullness is revealed,
O source of life, O Trinity.
Melody: Te lucis ante terminum (plainchant) L.M.
Music: Anonymous, Gregorian
Text: West Malling Abbey
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia!
Or:
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia,
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia;
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Or:
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
Or:
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you!
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Or:
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve,
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes occulos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.
Or:
Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriels joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.
In the United States, the Optional Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, found in the Prayers section of the iBreviary.
INTERCESSIONS
Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits of those who sleep. In our joy let us praise him, and say:
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus, remember your holy Church, built on the apostles and reaching to the ends of the earth,
and let your blessing rest on all who believe in you.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
You are the healer of soul and body,
come to our aid, and save us in your love.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Raise up the sick and give them strength,
free them from their infirmities.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Help those in distress of mind or body,
and in your compassion lift up those in need.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Through your cross and resurrection you opened for all the way to immortality,
grant to our deceased brothers and sisters the joys of your kingdom.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
For the Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster:
Let us pray.
Father of mercy,
who gave us in Saint Damien
a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned,
grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
John | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
John 15 |
|||
9. | As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. | Sicut dilexit me Pater, et ego dilexi vos. Manete in dilectione mea. | καθως ηγαπησεν με ο πατηρ καγω ηγαπησα υμας μεινατε εν τη αγαπη τη εμη |
10. | If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love. | Si præcepta mea servaveritis, manebitis in dilectione mea, sicut et ego Patris mei præcepta servavi, et maneo in ejus dilectione. | εαν τας εντολας μου τηρησητε μενειτε εν τη αγαπη μου καθως εγω τας εντολας του πατρος μου τετηρηκα και μενω αυτου εν τη αγαπη |
11. | These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled. | Hæc locutus sum vobis : ut gaudium meum in vobis sit, et gaudium vestrum impleatur. | ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα η χαρα η εμη εν υμιν μεινη και η χαρα υμων πληρωθη |
The Presidents disclosure that he now accepts so-called Gay marriage has received a good bit of political analysis. I am no political prognosticator and this is not a political blog. But when the President invokes Christ and the golden rule, to justify his decision, now I think we have something to discuss on a blog like this.
We have discussed at great length the problem with homosexual marriage before HERE, HERE HERE, and HERE) there is no reason restate it all again. Just click through to read those sorts of articles. Further I make reference in this post to Scriptures consistent teaching forbidding Homosexual acts. I do not set forth all the Scriptures here but you can read what I have set forth more fully here: Biblical Teaching on Homosexual Activity
In this post however lets consider the problematic appeal of the President to Jesus to affirm Gay marriage. Specifically Mr Obama said to ABC News:
In the end the values that I care most deeply about and she [Michele] cares most deeply about is how we treat other people and, you know, I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but its also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think thats what we try to impart to our kids and thats what motivates me .[1]
It is a common problem today that people often present simplistic portraits of Jesus Christ to support a variety of agendas. And the portraits of Jesus are not only simplistic, they are incomplete (usually intentionally so), and fail to accept that Jesus cannot be reduced to a simple sentence or two.
I would argue this is what the President is doing here. As if to say, Jesus, was basically a nice and affirming person, who spoke of Love, and so beautifully and taught us to do unto to others as we would have them do to us. Surely, the thinking goes, this Jesus would affirm and rejoice over two Gay people getting married." It is as if this were all Jesus was or said, Love Do unto others. Never mind that he had some pretty high standards when it came to sexuality (Matt 5:27-30; Matt 15:19; Mk 10:11; Rev 22:15; Rev 21:8) Never mind that he told his apostles he had other things to teach them and would send his Holy Spirit, and never mind that His Holy Spirit inspired the Epistles writers like Paul to speak clearly in the ancient Biblical tradition about the sinfulness of homosexual activity, fornication, and adultery [2] Never mind all that, says the modern world, and our President, I chose the Jesus who said only, God is love, and be kind to one another.
And this is the textbook definition of heresy, to pick or choose. The English word derives from the Greek word hairesis, meaning to chose.
The essence of orthodoxy is in the balance [3, 4] and maintaining the tensions inherent in Jesus and the Christian message. The essence of heresy is to pick and choose. And, as author Ross Douthat has ably demonstrated in his book Bad Religion How we became a nation of heretics, there is a lot of heresy being peddled today. Heresy picks one, or perhaps several teachings, and emphasizes them in exclusion to other teachings which balance and complete them. And to be fair, as Douthat points out, heresy is not just a problem on the left side of the political or theological aisle. The right does it as well (e.g. prosperity gospel, easy justification for war etc).
The modern tendency on the left, from which the President speaks has been to reduce Jesus to a rather harmless hippie who went about talking about love and inclusion and healed people. Gone from this harmless and politically correct Jesus are volumes of verses that help complete the picture: a Messiah who claimed authority in our lives, who spoke quite clearly of sin, yes even sexual sin, and who warned repeatedly of the coming judgment, and the reality not only heaven, but of hell.
But Jesus is not either of these descriptions alone, he is both. Orthodoxy is in the balance, not choosing one or the other or tipping in one direction.
In a masterful description, Ross Douthot shows the paradoxes and the necessary balances about Jesus and the faith with which true orthodoxy must wrestle and hold in tension:
Christianity is a paradoxical religion because the Jew of Nazareth is a paradoxical character. No figure in history or fiction contains as many multitudes as the New Testaments Jesus. Hes a celibate ascetic who enjoys dining with publicans and changing water into wine at weddings. Hes an apocalyptic prophet one moment, a wise ethicist the next. Hes a fierce critic of Jewish religious law who insists that hes actually fulfilling rather than subverting it. He preaches a reversal of every social hierarchy while deliberately avoiding explicitly political claims. He promises to set parents against children and then disallows divorce; he consorts with prostitutes while denouncing even lustful thoughts. He makes wild claims about his own relationship to God, and perhaps his own divinity, without displaying any of the usual signs of megalomania or madness. He can be egalitarian and hierarchical, gentle and impatient, extraordinarily charitable and extraordinarily judgmental. He sets impossible standards and then forgives the worst of sinners. He blesses the peacemakers and then promises that hes brought not peace but the sword. Hes superhuman one moment; the next hes weeping. And of course the accounts of his resurrection only heighten these paradoxes, by introducing a post-crucifixion Jesus who is somehow neither a resuscitated body nor a flitting ghost but something even stranger stilla being at once fleshly and supernatural, recognizable and transfigured, bearing the wounds of the crucifixion even as he passes easily through walls. (Kindle Edition Loc. 3005-16)
Douthat goes on to conclude:
The boast of Christian orthodoxy, as codified by the councils of the early Church and expounded in the Creeds, has always been its fidelity to the whole of Jesus ..[Where heresy says which one] Both, says orthodoxy .The goal of the great heresies, on the other hand, has often been to extract from the tensions of the gospel narratives a more consistent, streamlined, and noncontradictory Jesus. (Ibid).
Indeed a remarkable passage, even if I might quibble with a few words (e.g. the standards of Jesus moral vision are not impossible with grace). I would highly recommend the book and will be commenting on it some more in days ahead.
Disclaimer! - In saying the President is exemplifying heresy (i.e. pick and chose Christianity), I am alleging material heresy, but I am not call him a heretic. It is not my role or in my competency to to declare someone a formal heretic.
But the President is clearly proclaiming a very partial and thus reconstructed Christ. The real Christ is, as Douthat ably notes, far more complicated and far less vague than the President would have us think. And there is far more to his teaching than the Golden Rule.
Another form of heresy common today is to pick and chose Scripture. The usual approach, especially in terms of homosexuality and sexual matters in general, is to reduce the entire New Testament to the verbal utterances of Jesus alone, a kind of red letter reductionism. This of course, denies the inspiration of the entire New Testament and, in effect, says that Acts, all the Epistles, and Revelation are not the Word of God, are not inspired, and may safely be ignored.
But this is heresy since we cannot pick and choose the books of the Bible, we cannot tear out pages, or cross out lines. Orthodoxy is to accept the whole of the Sacred Text, and to consider its claims with reference to the whole of Scripture and in keeping with its trajectory. For a Catholic, of course this is done in union with the Magisterium and Sacred Tradition.
Many supporters of homosexual behavior adopt this heresy by saying, Jesus never said a word about or against Homosexuality. True, but he also never said a word about a lot of things: drinking to excess, beating ones wife, he never forbade ethnic humor, or said people should wear clothes, He never declared how big and how much money should be spent on the military etc, whether Government should provide welfare etc. Since Jesus did not say out of his own mouth we cannot beat our wives then it must be okay to beat them? Of course not. An argument from silence is very poor and unhelpful.
Further it is heresy to say divine revelation closed with the ascension of Jesus. Rather it continues unto the death of the last apostle. The Epistles are every bit the Word of the Lord, and authored by the Same Holy Spirit as are the Gospels. We cannot pick and choose what we like.
To be clear, the reading of Scripture is not a purely mechanistic endeavor. For example, merely pulling proof texts out of thin air, and out of context is wrong, for that too is often heresy picking one thing, forgetting the rest.
Rather, Scripture is to be read in a way which respects the overall trajectory of the Scriptures as God leads his people through stages to Christ. Therefore certain things are operative early in Scripture (e.g. certain feasts, dietary laws and punitive measures) that later fall away or are fulfilled. Thus Passover is fulfilled and subsumed into the Eucharist, Jesus cancels dietary laws by declaring all foods clean, the application of stoning and other severe punishments are curtailed etc. But all these organic developments take place in Scripture itself, and can be observed there.
However, there ARE teachings (notably the Divine Moral Law) that remain unchanged and are continuously articulated at every stage of Biblical revelation. They do not undergo change or fall away.
Regarding sexuality, at no stage in the Old Testament all the way through to the end of the New Testament, is fornication or adultery affirmed. The same is true for homosexual acts. At no stage, anywhere in Sacred Scripture are homosexual acts or fornication, or adultery ever affirmed, nor are these acts described as anything but sinful (e.g. Leviticus 18: 22; Lev 20:13; Gen 19; 1 Corinthians 6-9; 1 Tim 1:8-11; Rom 1:19ff, inter al).
Thus orthodoxy, which holds to the whole and does not pick and choose Scripture, must in every way accept and announce that these are sinful acts, sinful enough to exclude one from the Kingdom if they are not repented of (e.g. 1 Cor 6:9).
Simply ushering in a Jesus is love argument cannot override texts like these. For the same Scripture which says, God is love, also contains these teachings forbidding extra-marital sex and a host of other moral teachings. The Biblical record sees no essential conflict in saying both God is love and Fornication, Adultery, and Homosexual acts are sinfully wrong. Thus neither should we have a problem. Orthodoxy says both. Heresy says, there is tension here and I am going to resolve it by picking the concept I like and excluding the other.
The orthodox approach accepts the tension and sees a Christ who loves sinners (us) and holds them close, but who also summons us to repentance and a life that is increasingly free from sin and conformed to the truth by his grace .
I dont know how the President will fare politically, but he has flunked theology and is, if you ask me (and even if you dont) refashioned Jesus for his own purpose.
As for comments, I would rather not debate the whole Gay Marriage issue and/or the sinfulness of homosexuality. Weve done that here before and the Church teaching is clear and is not going to change. I am most interested in comments that zero in on the problem of heresy pick and choose Christianity and how it relates not only to this issue but others as well. But you decide.