"Mary, did you know?"

How to interpret "Mary, did you know?" --

Father Mullady in Homiletic & Pastoral Review responds to a readers query...

http://www.hprweb.com/2017/03/questions-answered-51/

I added a comment, below the column (if the moderator lets it be posted).

Regarding "Mary, did you know?" Almost from the first time I heard it sung I "heard" Our Lady say, "Yes," to each query., And, the song touches me each time the choir sings it "correctly" (according to my standard).

Is this a mystical experience? No, rather it is an interpretation, a kind of expansion of meaning, flowing logically from the Scriptures and the Church's doctrine regarding Mary's fiat and her pondering in her heart (Luke 2:19, 52) what to expect from her son. 

Written by an Evangelical, the song seems to me to be an unconscious bridge from the Evangelical Protestant to orthodox Catholicism. Is there any other contemporary Christian song that articulates so much of which the Church teaches about Mary?

Vigilant

Some years ago (actually quite a few) I served a few years with a very unusual pastor, Father Duffy. There were  six or seven deacons including me assigned to his parish. During one meeting with him in the rectory, he announced that the USCCB had published two new books, a revised Funeral Rites and a Book of Blessings. He told us that he was ordering copies of both for each of us deacons. He indicated that the text of the new Funeral Rites "is beautiful" and very pastoral. I remember him each time I'm asked to preside at the Vigil before the Funeral (usually including the Rosary). This is because within the Vigil text is a very striking assertion. I had reason to refer to it just recently as part of a a message to a co-worker in my parish:

I am greatly distressed for you and your family at the passing of your mother. While we trust in the mercy of the Father, mourning and sorrow are part of our human nature. Christ Jesus himself wept for Lazarus (his great friend) and the son of the widow at Nain (whom he did not know in their humanity).
 After the greeting at the beginning of the Vigil Rite the evening before the Funeral, the priest or deacon may read,

My brothers and sisters, we believe that all the ties of friendship and affection which knit us as one throughout our lives do not unravel with death. Confident that God always remembers the good we have done and forgives our sins, let us pray, asking God to gather  to himself…

Is there a better and more consoling assertion of our Catholic faith? Your love for your mother in this life has not been taken from you, but is changed into love and hope crossing into the life to come.
 If we can be of any service to you in these sad days, please let us know.

As deacon, I treasure the opportunity to minister to family and friend of the deceased in their time of grief. Sometimes, in the pain of their loss, it is necessary for there to be someone who represents the Church whose firm foundation of faith may support them and provide meaning and hope in the midst of loss, even desolation.

Every Man a (Catholic) Deacon?

Thanks to Mark Shea for:

Deacon Rex Pilger, Jr. writes

Are you, or is a man you know, called to be a Catholic deacon?
---
If you just might be called, read, Every Man a Deacon?

What happened fifty years ago?

2014 is an important anniversary for Catholic deacons as well as the larger Church.
Read here about just what is so important about this commemoration.

Every Man ... Please get the word out.

Thanks to DeaconDen for this note regarding my book: Every Man a Deacon?

How is my book doing?

This is the first time that I have had a book on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions. However, the motivation for the book was to prompt men who are already active in lay ministry to consider strengthening their calling by responding to the deeper calling of ordination to the permanent diaconate. Maybe even the marketing message (largely by word of mouth) whether it leads to men reading the book or not, it might lead to that first discussion with the man's wife, then with his pastor, and finally with the director of deacon formation in his diocese. Even after this, the book is still very much worth reading and thinking about. Are you really sure?

Marketing has deep roots

How am I attempting to reach men who are most likely to consider a call to become a deacon in the Church? Let me introduce a little story.
When I was in Junior High I decided that I wanted to be a geologist. I had become enamored with certain kinds of rocks which exhibited what I now would describe as rational beauty. I first saw it in the petrified wood which I could pick up in a certain dry stream bed, The beauty in the pattern in the rock is retained from the grain of a tree limb as the cellulose is replaced by crypto-crystalline silica, retaining the pattern and even color of the original wood.
Then I saw geodes. Layers of crystals of different colors wrap around openings in the native rock, growing from out to in. I still am enthralled by them, to the benefit of rock and mineral shops.
In High School I became intrigued by contemporary TV advertising; this was the classic period of clever Volkswagen ads and promotions of other products and services: We're number two, so we try harder.
I went to college with a plan to major in marketing; rocks had faded away, at least temporarily. After a summer session and first fall semester, including introduction to business, bookkeeping and intro journalism with advertising option (along with other conventional intro courses) I found an opening in my spring schedule. There was nothing I could take that would satisfy the freshman curriculum, so I signed up for intro geology, as an elective. It was perhaps three weeks into that semester that I changed my major.
Going back to Junior High: I went to a youth day at the county seat's Congregational Church; it was to include both Junior and Senior High students from all of the Congregational Churches in our part of the state. I was disappointed to see that very few of High School members came, especially one guy who was four years older than I; he was a hero to me. I wasn't the only one who was disappointed at the turnout of the older students, either. Over lunch I was approached by the ministers of my own church and of the church in which we were meeting. They told me that one of the high school students had been expected to lead worship at the end of the day. And, they wanted me to take his place. It was the very same guy whom I admired so much. I, an eighth-grader, was taking the place of a senior! So, there I was, leading worship. I thought about becoming a Congregational minister, but I didn't think I had what would be required; I guess I didn't feel a call.
I became a geologist/geophysicist, teaching and researching, and still continue to do some research and publish the results. I also became a minister... just not in the Congregational Church.
And, advertising? I am now promoting my Every Man a Deacon?, targeting priests and emailing deacons who might know men who could be called to the diaconate, and, if their contact information is available, the men themselves.
I guess that each of my teenage impulses have found expression in my adult life.  
Oh, one more thing: the crystal patterns in a geode are fractals; my last geophysical article utilized fractals as the fitting criterion for plate reconstructions.

Science and Faith

A search for me as author on Amazon will produce links to three books, two of which are simply different formats, Paperback and Kindle of the same text, focused on a new, yet old, specialized ministry of Roman Catholic men. The third book is an expensive plate tectonics monograph.

What is it like to write books on such divergent topics? Is there a common thread lacing through each texts? Yes, there is.

However, it's going to require another book, which I've been working on for more than twenty-five years. The problem for me, however, is that I'm in the middle of another manuscript for still another book which has apparently been bumped to the front of the line, at least for now.

The Story of Wanda

Some three decades ago, in a southern diocese where we lived, my wife and I had been invited to a program of evangelization leadership training by a traveling priest, a gifted layman, and their team. Part of the gift of that experience was getting to know other Catholics from other parishes in the diocese. Upon completion of the training, we were sent back to our own parishes to implement the program we had gone through.
Many experiences came out of that program, including re-gathering of the leaders several months later. So it was that Wanda shared an experience that she and her girlfriend had. They were in a grocery store in their home town when they saw a young mother with her sick baby. They approached the woman and Wanda offered to pray for the baby. The mother said yes. They offered a simple prayer for healing of the baby and concluded their prayer with the sign of the cross. Immediately upon seeing the gesture, the woman pulled her baby back, saying, “Why do you make that sign? Don’t you know that he was crucified on a tree?” Wanda told us that she said to herself, “’Oh no, we’re in trouble here.’ The woman was obviously a Jehovah’s Witness.” So, she prayed quietly, “Lord what can I say?” The answer came quickly, as Wanda said, “I make the sign of the cross because I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” With that they left. You see, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in the Holy Trinity. Rather than get in an argument with the young mother, Wanda and her girlfriend witnessed to a foundational belief of Catholics. What happened to the woman and baby, I don’t know. While we periodically saw Wanda and her friend, they had not seen the woman again, at least until after we moved from that diocese.
What I did not mention above is that Wanda and her friend were black. They belonged to a small church with black parishioners in their hometown.  Sadly, just a few years later, after their pastor died – he was a charismatic white man – their small parish was closed. At the last Mass in the little church, many of the white parishioners in the much larger church joined their new fellow-parishioners and escorted them to the larger church. A bittersweet experience was succeeded by a new journey of the clearly integrated new (for Wanda and her former parish family) parish. Similarly, the separate charismatic prayer groups were merged.
The story goes on...

Who is called to be a deacon?

In answer to this post's subject, I have published a book entitled:

Every Man a Deacon? Who is called to ordination as a Roman Catholic deacon.

It is available in both paperback and Kindle.

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Every-Man-Deacon-ordination-Catholic/dp/149539798X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410906488&sr=8-1&keywords=rex+pilger

Kindle: 

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Man-Deacon-ordination-Catholic-ebook/dp/B00MXEYTEY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410906488&sr=8-2&keywords=rex+pilger

You can preview the contents and in either format.

Robin Williams

Beneath it all, he had class...

May he rest in peace and may the Lord have mercy on his soul.

Added August 28, 2018:

Two years ago Robin Williams' widow revealed the horrible illness, Lewy body disease, he suffered and which may well have led him to take his own life. She called it "The terrorist inside my husband's brain." 

Eye has not seen...

As has become my practice in recent years, I take advantage of websites which provide the prayers and readings from the Liturgy of the Hours rather than the designated volume. An American site, DivineOffice.org is the preferred service as it uses the readings from the American version, although I assume, for copyright reasons, it does not always produce the indicated hymn in the published Liturgy of the Hours (or Christian Prayer -- the condensed version). Sometimes DivineOffice.org is apparently down for maintenance or there are traffic issues, so I access www.Universalis.com which, while it utilizes other translations of the Liturgy, it has a smaller footprint and loads faster.

Today, the Feast in honor of St. Dominic. Universalis includes a familiar text of St. Paul's, designated for Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary time:

The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:7-10; taken from the Jerusalem Bible©; quotation with italics and bold are from the Universalis website)

The original New American Bible translation of the same text, taken from another site, Liturgies.net, reads:

There is a certain wisdom which we express among those who are spiritually mature. It is not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him," this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:6-10a)

Meanwhile, DivineOffice.com provides the reading in honor of a priest-saint:  

To the elders among you I, a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and sharer in the glory that is to be revealed, make this appeal. God’s flock is in your midst; give it a shepherd’s care. Watch over it willingly as God would have you do, not under constraint; and not for shameful profit either, but generously. Be examples to the flock, not lording it over those assigned to you, so that when the chief Shepherd appears you will win for yourselves the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

Returning to the reading of St. Paul's, how often do we hear someone quoting "eye has not seen...," and then uses the citation as an encouragement of all the blessings we will have in heaven (God willing). But, notice how the verse above concludes: "These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (Jerusalem) or  "this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (New American). When Paul uses the plural second person, "we" or "us" he is not invoking a royal "we" but, rather, means all believers. God has revealed himself through Christ Jesus -- we already have an understanding; we already know so much. Or, is it too much? We have to avoid presumption, but hold to the truth: the way, the truth, and the life, and then God reveals himself to us that we become a dwelling place of the Spirit, indeed the Holy Trinity.

I just noticed this bas-relief plaque on the index page for the Documents of Vatican Council II.

The figure on the left is that of Giovanni (John) XXIII. On the right is that of Paolo (Paul) VI. The former convened the council in 1962 and presided over it until his death in 1963. His successor, Paul VI, reconvened the Council, presiding until its completion in 1965. 

In the middle of the plaque is a patriarch of the Eastern Church flanked by two other bishops; I assume that none of the three is identified.

I have no further rationale for this post other than finding the plaque to be very intriguing.

July message to our elderly parishioners

Dear Praise Ministers,

July is upon us, the month of high temperatures and, sometimes thunderstorms and monsoons, as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico streams north to meet cold fronts from the north and west.

The beginning of July is also the time of celebration by our country of one more year of freedom, as first proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. The second paragraph of the Declaration begins with:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As Catholic Christians and American citizens, we are grateful that these words of Thomas Jefferson were endorsed along with the rest of the Declaration in Philadelphia 237 years ago by those courageous men – including one extraordinary Catholic, Charles Carroll of Maryland.

In the subsequent years Catholics have prospered in this most unusual country. Despite periods of discrimination and even persecutions, the Faith of Our Fathers has blossomed.

However, we now appear to be entering a new period of persecution, as there are those in power in our country who wish to force Catholics and other Christians to undertake actions that are contrary to their faith and conscience. Prayer is needed. If you agree, offer your prayers to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Heavenly Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit for:

(1)    freedom of religion in our own country and around the world,
(2)    protection of the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled
(3)    conversion of political leaders to realize their obligation to protect all of their citizens, from conception to natural death
(4)    protection of our service men and women around the world
(5)    strength and courage for all Catholics and Christians to exercise all of their God-given rights.

Can you pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be for each of these intentions?

May the Lord bless you always.

Deacon Rex Pilger

Director of Business and Adult Formation.

First Papal Homily

I feel as though the Church has been loaded onto the passenger seat of a Harley and the cyclist has accelerated as soon as the bungee cords snapped all of us aboard.

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-1st-homily-full-text  

ConCon commentary: It's simply logical

The two reproduced letters in the immediately preceding posts (here and here with reference source texts inserted) deal in part with the question whether married deacons and their wives are obligated to sexual continence, according to canon 277 of the Code of Canon Law, and invite some commentary. (The letters, especially the second, also address related questions for which answers there is very little dispute.)

Perhaps the concise, definitive statement relative to the controversy is provided in the first letter of (now Cardinal) Archbishop Coccopalmario (with the Canon Law Society of America, CLSA, unofficial translation):

Permanent deacons who are married prior to ordination do not have the obligation of celibacy (and therefore of continence) during the marriage. 

In this statement there is more than a hint of logic: celibacy implies continence, which is inherent in Canon 277.

In the second letter, Cardinal Coccopalmerio, in the name of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts of which he is president, notes an additional subtle, but important logical consequence:

In can. 277, § 1 CIC, the requirement of perfect and perpetual continence is inseparably linked to the obligation of celibacy to which all clerics, in principle, are bound. 

I believe that the logical interpretation of the canon intuited by many after publication of the 1983 Code (including Rex Pilger, i.e., me, as a deacon candidate in the mid-1980s), and which I asserted years later in a letter to Homiletic and Pastoral Review (and expanded upon in subsequent blog posts, linked via this post), is affirmed by the simple statements of Cardinal Coccopalermio and the Pontifical Council.

Second Letter

As referred to in the previous post, below is the second letter from (now Cardinal) Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio with inclusion of sources, indented and in a smaller font; there was an apparent error in transcription of the original letter; another source was consulted for the missing text (delineated by curly brackets), which also references additional sources (included). The insertion of referenced sources in the text facilitates study of this letter.

Canon 277 §1

Married Permanent Deacons and Observance of Perfect and Perpetual Continence

The President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the request of the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations and the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, sought a clarification from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on the observance of diaconal continence by married deacons in the Latin Catholic Church. The observation of the President and Secretary of the Pontifical Council, which were formulated in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, clarify that married permanent deacons are not bound to observe perfect and perpetual continence, as long as their marriage lasts. The Pontifical Council’s response follows.

PONTIFICIUM CONSILIUM DE LEGUM TEXTIBUS

December 17, 2011

Proto 13095 / 2011

Your Excellency:

I refer to your letter of April 8, 2011 in which Your Excellency has requested this Pontifical Council to clarify whether married permanent deacons, so long as their marriage lasts, are bound to observe the perfect and perpetual continence indicated by can. 277, § 1 CIC. The question was raised because some have expressed the opinion that permanent deacons are also bound to the obligation which the said canon imposes on clerics in general.

Canon 277 §1. Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.

It should be noted that often the canonical discipline on a given topic is not inferred from the wording of a single legal precept, but rather from the whole set of existing regulation on the matter in the law of the Church, always in harmony with what has been stated by the Church’s Magisterium. This is what can. 17 CIC prescribes.

Canon 17 Ecclesiastical laws must be understood in accord with the proper meaning of the words considered in their text and context.  If the meaning remains doubtful and obscure, recourse must be made to parallel places, if there are such, to the purpose and circumstances of the law, and to the mind of the legislator.

With regard specifically to the question above, after consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and having made the necessary studies, this Pontifical Council offers the following observations.

1. In can. 277, § 1 CIC, the requirement of perfect and perpetual continence is inseparably linked to the obligation of celibacy to which all clerics, in principle, are bound.

Also, can. 1037 CIC requires that unmarried candidates for the permanent diaconate must assume the obligation of celibacy prior to ordination. Furthermore, can. 1087 CIC establishes an impediment to marriage for those in sacred orders. For this reason, permanent deacons who are widowers cannot marry, unless being dispensed, and therefore are bound to observe perfect and perpetual continence.

Canon 1037 An unmarried candidate for the permanent diaconate and a candidate for the presbyterate are not to be admitted to the order of diaconate unless they have assumed the obligation of celibacy in the prescribed rite publicly before God and the Church or have made perpetual vows in a religious institute. 
Canon 1087 Those in sacred orders invalidly attempt marriage.  
Canon 288 The prescripts of cann. 284, 285, §§3 and 4, 286, and 287, §2 do not bind permanent deacons unless particular law establishes otherwise.  
Canon 284 Clerics are to wear suitable ecclesiastical garb according to the norms issued by the conference of bishops and according to legitimate local customs.  
Canon 285 §3. Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power. §4. Without the permission of their ordinary, they are not to take on the management of goods belonging to lay persons or secular offices which entail an obligation of rendering accounts.  They are prohibited from giving surety even with their own goods without consultation with their proper ordinary.  They also are to refrain from signing promissory notes, namely, those through which they assume an obligation to make payment on demand.  
Canon 286 Clerics are prohibited from conducting business or trade personally or through others, for their own advantage or that of others, except with the permission of legitimate ecclesiastical authority.  
Canon 287 §2. They are not to have an active part in political parties and in governing labor unions unless, in the judgment of competent ecclesiastical authority, the protection of the rights of the Church or the promotion of the common good requires it.

The particular discipline of these two last canons, 1037 and 1087 CIC, applicable to certain situations of permanent deacons, explains on the one hand why can. 288 CIC did not exempt in a general way “all” permanent deacons from the obligation of continence established by the can. 277 § 1 CIC; and on the other hand how it is evident from all these norms that the canon wanted to exempt married permanent deacons from such obligation of continence so long as their marriage lasts. 
2. Indeed, can. 1031 § 2 CIC admits married men to the clerical state in the particular case of permanent deacons, but states nothing about a hypothetical obligation to observe perfect and perpetual continence, as the Legislator would indicate if such an obligation were to be established. 

Canon 1031 §2. A candidate for the permanent diaconate who is not married is not to be admitted to the diaconate until after completing at least the twenty-fifth year of age; one who is married, not until after completing at least the thirty-fifth year of age and with the consent of his wife.

Ultimately, the fact that in order for a married man to be admitted to the Order of the diaconate, the consent of his wife is required (cfr. Can. 1031, § 2 CIC) implies that an explicit consent would have been required for reasons of justice if the condition of permanent deacon had entailed the obligation of perfect and perpetual continence (cfr. Can. 1055 CIC).

Canon 1055 §1. The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized.

3. Naturally, this canonical discipline does not state anything apart from what the Church’s Magisterium has already affirmed in this regard. In fact, the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, n. 29 (§ 2), and other successive normative documents of the Holy See, appear to take for granted that married permanent deacons live their marriage in the ordinary way (cfr., above all, CONGREGATIO DE INSTITUTIONE CATHOLICA Ratio fundamentalis institutionis diaconorum permanentium, Instituto diaconorum of February 22, 1998 (nn. 36-38, 62-63, 68); 

BASIC NORMS FOR THE FORMATION OF PERMANENT DEACONS (BNFPD): 36. “On the basis of Church law, confirmed by the same Ecumenical Council, young men called to the diaconate are obliged to observe the law of celibacy”. (40: Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, II, 4: l.c., p. 699. Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 29.) This is a particularly appropriate law for the sacred ministry, to which those who have received the charism freely submit.

The permanent diaconate, lived in celibacy, gives to the ministry a certain unique emphasis. In fact, the sacramental identification with Christ is placed in the context of the undivided heart, that is within the context of a nuptial, exclusive, permanent and total choice of the unique and greatest Love; service of the Church can count on a total availability; the proclamation of the Kingdom is supported by the courageous witness of those who have left even those things most dear to them for the sake of the Kingdom. 

b) Married

BNFPD 37. “In the case of married men, care should be taken that only those are promoted to the diaconate who have lived as married men for a number of years and have shown themselves to be capable of running their own homes, and whose wives and children lead a truly Christian life and have good reputations”. (41: Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, III, 13: l.c., p. 700.)

Moreover. In addition to stability of family life, married candidates cannot be admitted unless “their wives not only consent, but also have the Christian moral character and attributes which will neither hinder their husbands' ministry nor be out of keeping with it”. (42: Ibidem, III, 11: l.c., p. 700. Cf C.I.C., cans. 1031, § 2; 1050, 3o.)

c) Widowers

BNFPD 38. “Those who have received the order of deacon, even those who are older, may not, in accordance with traditional Church discipline, enter into marriage”. (43: Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Christus Dominus, n. 15; Paul VI Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, 23; l.c., 702.) The same principle applies to deacons who have been widowed.(44: The Circular Letter, Prot. n. 26397 of 6 June 1997, of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments envisages that one only of the following conditions be sufficient for obtaining dispensation from the impediment found in can. 1087: the great and proven usefulness of the ministry of the deacon to the diocese to which he belongs; that he has children of such a tender age as to be in need of motherly care; that he has parents or parents in law who are elderly and in need of care.) They are called to give proof of human and spiritual soundness in their state of life.)

Moreover, a precondition for accepting widowed candidates is that they have already provided, or have shown that they are capable of providing adequately for, the human and Christian upbringing of their children.  

BNFPD 62. Having received the request of the ordinand, the Bishop (or competent Major Superior) will evaluate his suitability by means of a diligent scrutiny. First of all he will examine the certificate which the director of formation is obliged to present to him “concerning the qualities required in the candidate for the reception of the order, namely sound doctrine, genuine piety, good moral behaviour, fitness for the exercise of the ministry; likewise, after proper investigation, a certificate of the candidate's state of physical and psychological health”.(66: C.I.C., can. 1051, 1o.) “The diocesan Bishop or Major Superior may, in order properly to complete the investigation, use other means which, taking into account the circumstances of time and place, may seem useful, such as testimonial letters, public notices or other sources of information”.(67: C.I.C., can. 1051, 1o.)

After having verified the suitability of a candidate and having been assured that he is aware of the new obligations which he is assuming, (68: Cf  C.I.C.,  can. 1028. For the obligations which ordinands assume with the diaconate, see canons 273-289. In addition, for married deacons, there is the impediment to contracting new marriages (cf can. 1087).)  the Bishop or competent Major Superior will promote him to the order of the diaconate.

BNFPD 63. Before ordination, unmarried candidates must assume publicly, in the prescribed rite, the obligation of celibacy; (69: Cf  C.I.C., can. 1037; Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, VI: l.c., p. 539.) candidates belonging to an institute of consecrated life or a society of apostolic life who have taken perpetual vows or other form of definitive commitment in the institute or society are also obliged to this. (70: Cf Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et Diaconorum, n. 177: ed. cit., p. 101.) All candidates are bound personally, before ordination, to make a profession of faith and an oath of fidelity, according to the formulae approved by the Apostolic See, in the presence of the Ordinary of the place or his delegate.(71: Cf C.I.C., can. 833, 6o; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Professio fidei et Iusiurandum fidelitatis in suscipiendo officio nomine Ecclesiae exercendo: AAS 81 (1989), pp. 104-106; 1169.)

BNFPD 68. At the root of the capacity to relate to others is affective maturity, which must be attained with a wide margin of certainty in both celibate and married candidates. Such a maturity presupposes in both types of candidate the discovery of the centrality of love in their own lives and the victorious struggle against their own selfishness. In reality, as Pope John Paul II wrote in the Encyclical Redemptor hominis, “man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it”.(80: Idem, Encycl. Lett. Redemptor hominis (4 March 1979), 10: AAS 71 (1979), p. 274.) As the Pope explains in Pastores dabo vobis, this is a love which involves all the aspects of the person, physical, psychological and spiritual and which therefore demands full dominion over his sexuality, which must become truly and fully personal. (81: Cf Idem, Ap. Exhort. Familiaris consortio (22 November 1981): AAS 74 (1982), pp. 81-191)

For celibate candidates, to live love means offering the totality of one's being, of one's energies and readiness, to Christ and the Church. It is a demanding vocation, which must take into account the inclinations of affectivity and the pressures of instinct and which therefore requires renunciation, vigilance, prayer and fidelity to a precise rule of life. A decisive assistance can come from the presence of true friends, who represent a precious help and a providential support in living out one's own vocation.(82: Cf ibidem: l.c., pp. 734-735.) 

For married candidates, to live love means offering themselves to their spouses in a reciprocal belonging, in a total, faithful and indissoluble union, in the likeness of Christ's love for his Church; at the same time it means welcoming children, loving them, educating them and showing forth to the whole Church and society the communion of the family. Today, this vocation is being hard tested by the worrying degradation of certain fundamental values and the exaltation of hedonism and a false conception of liberty. To be lived out in all its fullness, the vocation to family must be nourished by prayer, the liturgy and a daily offering of self.(83: Cf Idem, Ap. Exhort. Familiaris consortio (22 November 1981): AAS 74 (1982), pp. 81-191.) 

{CONGREGATIO PRO CLERICIS, Directorium pro ministerio et vita diaconorum permanentium, Diaconatus originem of February 22, 1998 (nn. 7, 27, 33, 45, 50, 59-62, and particularly n. 61).} 

{DIRECTORY FOR THE MINISTRY AND LIFE OF PERMANENT DEACONS (DMLPD): 7. The Diaconate brings with it a series of rights and duties as foreseen by canons 273-283 of the Code of Canon Law with regard to clerics in general and deacons in particular. 

DMLPD 27. The deacon will be aware that the Church is missionary (103: Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad Gentes, 2a.) by her very nature, both because her origin is in the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the eternal plan of the Father and because she has received an explicit mandate from the risen Lord to preach the Gospel to all creation and to baptize those who believe (cf. Mk 16, 15-16; Mt 28:19). Deacons are ministers of the Church and thus, although incardinated into a particular Church, they are not exempt from the missionary obligation of the universal Church. Hence they should always remain open to the missio ad gentes to the extent that their professional or — if married — family obligations permit. (104: CIC, canons 784, 786)

The deacon's ministry of service is linked with the missionary dimension of the Church: the missionary efforts of the deacon will embrace the ministry of the word, the liturgy, and works of charity which, in their turn, are carried into daily life. Mission includes witness to Christ in a secular profession or occupation.

DMLPD 33. The pastoral care of families, for which the bishop is primarily responsible, may be entrusted to deacons. In supporting families in their difficulties and sufferings, (130: Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 73: AAS 74 (22 November, 1982), pp. 107-171.) this responsibility will extend from moral and liturgical questions to difficulties of a social and personal nature, and can be exercised at diocesan or, subject to the authority of the parish priest, local level in promoting the catechesis of Christian marriage, the personal preparation of future spouses, the fruitful celebration of marriage and help offered to couples after marriage. (131: Cf. CIC, canon 1063.)

Married deacons can be of much assistance in promoting the Gospel value of conjugal love, the virtues which protect it and the practice of parenthood which can truly be regarded as responsible, from a human and Christian point of view. 

Where deacons have been duly delegated by the parish priest or the local Ordinary, they may assist at the celebration of marriages extra Missam and pronounce the nuptial blessing in the name of the Church. (132:Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Lumen Gentium 29; CIC, canon 1108, §§ 1-2; Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonii, ed. typica altera 1991, 24.) They may also be given general delegation, in accordance with the prescribed conditions, (133: Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Lumen Gentium 29; CIC, canon 1108, §§ 1-2; Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonii, ed. typica altera 1991, 24.) which may only be subdelegated, however, in the manner specified by the Code of Canon Law. (134: Cf. ibidem, canon 137, §§ 3-4.)

DMLPD 45. Hence, the deacon should accept with gratitude the invitation to follow Christ the Servant and devote himself to it throughout the diverse circumstances of life. The character received in ordination conforms to Christ to whom the deacon should adhere ever more closely. 

Sanctification is a duty binding all the faithful. (181: CIC, canon 210) For the deacon it has a further basis in the special consecration received. (182: (cf. 1 Tit 3; 8-18 and 12-13): Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 41; Cf. also Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 25: l.c., 702.) It includes the practice of the Christian virtues and the various evangelical precepts and counsels according to one's own state of life. The deacon is called to live a holy life because he has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders and has been constituted by the same Spirit a minister of Christ's Church to serve and sanctify mankind. (183: CIC, canon 276, § 1)

For deacons the call to holiness means “following Jesus by an attitude of humble service which finds expression not only in works of charity but also in imbuing and forming thoughts and actions”. (184: John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 2: Insegnamenti, XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.) When “their ministry is consistent with this spirit (deacons) clearly highlight that quality which best shows the face of Christ: service (185: John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 1. Insegnamenti, XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.) which makes one not only 'servants of God' but also servants of God in our own brethren”. (186: John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 1: Insegnamenti, XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.)

DMLPD 50. The aforementioned points of reference emphasize the primacy of the spiritual life. The deacon, mindful that the diaconia of Christ surpasses all natural capacities, should continually commit himself in conscience and in freedom to His invitation: “Remain in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it remain in the vine, so also with you unless you remain in me” (John 15:4). 

Following Christ in the diaconate is an attractive but difficult undertaking. While it brings satisfaction and rewards, it can also be open to the difficulties and trials experienced by the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to live this ministry to the full, deacons must know Christ intimately so that He may shoulder the burdens of their ministry. They must give priority to the spiritual life and live their diaconia with generosity. They should organize their ministry and their professional and, when married, family obligations, so as to grow in their commitment to the person and mission of Christ the Servant.59. In contrast with the requirement for the priesthood, not only celibate men, in the first place and widowers, may be admitted to the permanent Diaconate but also men who live in the Sacrament of Matrimony. (217: Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29b. )

DMLPD 60. With gratitude, the Church recognises the gift of celibacy which God gives to some of her members and, in different ways, both in the East and West, she has linked it to the ordained ministry with which it is always particularly consonant. (218: Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16; cf. CIC, canon 247, § 1; canon 277, § 1, canon 1037.) The Church is conscious that this gift, accepted and lived for the sake of the Kingdom of God (cf. Mt 19:12), directs the whole person of the deacon towards Christ who devoted Himself in chastity to the service of the Father so as to bring man to the fullness of the Kingdom. Loving God and serving the brethren by this complete choice, so far from impeding the personal development of deacons, fosters man's true perfection which is found in charity. In celibate life, indeed, love becomes a sign of total and undivided consecration to Christ and of greater freedom to serve God and man. (219: Cf. CIC, canon 277, § 1; Second Vatican Council, Decree Optatam Totius, 10.) The choice of celibacy is not an expression of contempt for marriage nor of flight from reality but a special way of serving man and the world.

Contemporary man, very often submerged in the ephemeral, is particularly sensitive to those who are a living witness of the eternal. Hence, deacons should be especially careful to give witness to their brothers and sisters by their fidelity to the celibate life the better to move them to seek those values consonant with man's transcendent vocation. “Celibacy 'for the sake of the Kingdom' is not only an eschatological sign. It also has a great social significance in contemporary life for service to the People of God”. (220: John Paul II, Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday, 8 April 1979, 8: AAS 71 (1979), p. 408.) In order to conserve this special gift of God throughout life for the benefit of the entire Church, deacons should not depend excessively on their own resources, but should be faithful to the spiritual life and the duties of their ministry in a spirit of prudence and vigilance, remembering that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41).

They should be particularly careful in their relationships with others lest familiarity create difficulties for continence or give rise to scandal. (221: John Paul II, Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday, 8 April 1979, 8: AAS 71 (1979), p. 408.)

They must finally be aware that in contemporary society, it is necessary to exercise careful discernment when using the means of social communications. 

DMLPD 61. The Sacrament of Matrimony sanctifies conjugal love and constitutes it a sign of the love with which Christ gives himself to the Church (cf. Eph. 5:25). It is a gift from God and should be a source of nourishment for the spiritual life of those deacons who are married. Since family life and professional responsibilities must necessarily reduce the amount of time which married deacons can dedicate to the ministry, it will be necessary to integrate these various elements in a unitary fashion, especially by means of shared prayer. In marriage, love becomes an interpersonal giving of self, a mutual fidelity, a source of new life, a support in times of joy and sorrow: in short, love becomes service. When lived in faith, this family service is for the rest of the faithful an example of the love of Christ. The married deacon must use it as a stimulus of his diaconia in the Church.Married deacons should feel especially obliged to give clear witness to the sanctity of marriage and the family. The more they grow in mutual love, the greater their dedication to their children and the more significant their example for the Christian community. “The nurturing and deepening of mutual, sacrificial love between husband and wife constitutes perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon's wife in her husband's public ministry in the Church”. (222: John Paul II, Allocution to the permanent deacons of the U.S.A. in Detroit (19 September 1987), n. 5: Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), p. 658.) This love grows thanks to chastity which flourishes, even in the exercise of paternal responsibilities, by respect for spouses and the practice of a certain continence. This virtue fosters a mutual self-giving which soon becomes evident in ministry. It eschews possessive behaviour, undue pursuit of professional success and the incapacity to programme time. Instead, it promotes authentic interpersonal relationships, OIC, and the capacity to see everything in its proper perspective.

Special care should be taken to ensure that the families of deacons be made aware of the demands of the diaconal ministry. The spouses of married deacons, who must give their consent to their husband's decision to seek ordination to the diaconate, (223: Cf. CIC, canon 1031, § 2.) should be assisted to play their role with joy and discretion. They should esteem all that concerns the Church, especially the duties assigned to their husbands. For this reason it is opportune that they should be kept duly informed of their husbands' activities in order to arrive at an harmonious balance between family, professional and ecclesial responsibilities. In the children of married deacons, where such is possible, an appreciation of their father's ministry can also be fostered. They in turn should be involved in the apostolate and give coherent witness in their lives.

In conclusion, the families of married deacons, as with all Christian families, are called to participate actively and responsibly in the Church's mission in the contemporary world. “In particular the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world which is in dire need of such signs. By facing in a spirit of faith the challenges of married life and the demands of daily living, they strengthen the family life not only of the Church community but of the whole of society. They also show how the obligations of family life, work and ministry can be harmonized in the service of the Church's mission. Deacons and their wives and children can be a great encouragement to others who are working to promote family life”. (224: John Paul II, Allocution to the permanent deacons of the USA in Detroit, 19 September 1987, n. 5; Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), pp. 658-659.)

DMLPD 62. It is necessary to reflect on the situation of the deacon following the death of his wife. This is a particular moment in life which calls for faith and Christian hope. The loss of a spouse should not destroy dedication to the rearing of children nor lead to hopelessness. While this period of life is difficult, it is also an opportunity for interior purification and an impetus for growth in charity and service to one's children and to all the members of the Church. It is a call to grow in hope since faithful discharge of the ministry is a way of reaching Christ and those in the Father's glory who are dear to us.

It must be recognised, however, that the loss of a spouse gives rise to a new situation in a family which profoundly influences personal relationships and in many instances can give rise to economic difficulties. With great charity, therefore, widowed deacons should be helped to discern and accept their new personal circumstances and to persevere in providing for their children and the new needs of their families.In particular, the widowed deacon should be supported in living perfect and perpetual continence. (225: Cf. CIC, canon 277, § 1.) He should be helped to understand the profound ecclesial reasons which preclude his remarriage (cf. 1 Tim 3:12), in accordance with the constant discipline of the Church in the East and West. (226: Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, III, 16: l.c., 701: Apostolic Letter Ad Pascendum, VI: l.c., 539; CIC, canon 1087. Provision is made for possible exceptions to this discipline in the circular letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, N. 26397, of 6 June 1997, n. 8.) This can be achieved through an intensification of one's dedication to others for the love of God in the ministry. In such cases the fraternal assistance of other ministers, of the faithful and of the bishop can be most comforting to widowed deacons.

With regard to the widows of deacons, care should be taken, where possible, by the clergy and the faithful to ensure that they are never neglected and that their needs are provided for.}

2. Requirements related to the candidate's state of life

a) Unmarried

In conclusion, the current canonical discipline does not require married permanent deacons, as long as their marriage lasts, to observe the obligation of perfect and perpetual continence established by can. 277, § 1 CIC for clerics in general.

I hope that these clarifications, briefly presented in this letter, may be helpful to Your Excellency in indicating what the content of the canonical discipline is at this point.

While remaining at your disposal for any further clarifications, I take this opportunity to extend to you and the members of your Conference my sentiments of personal esteem and prayerful best wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a fruitful New Year.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

+ Francesco Coccopalmerio

President

+ Juan Ignacio Arrieta

Secretary

Most Reverend TIMOTHY M.DOLAN, D.D.

Archbishop of New York

President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

3211 Fourth Street NE Washington, DC 20017-1194

U.S.A.

The end of continence confusion?

One hopes that a particularly noisy controversy is finally coming to rest, courtesy of two brief letters of resolution from the President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, (now Cardinal) Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio.
The letters are reproduced in this post and the next, with permission, from the Canon Law Society's journal, Roman Replies and CLSA Advisory Opinions, 2011 and 2012. The text of each is supplemented with the text of cited canons and other sources, indented and in a smaller font. The insertion of referenced sources in the text facilitates study of this letter. 
A subsequent post will provide comments on these developments.

The first letter:
From Roman Replies and CLSA Advisory Opinions, 2011

CANON 227 [sic. 277]
OBLIGATION OF CELIBACY AND PERMANENT DEACONS

A dubium was proposed to the Pontifical Council of Legislative Texts regarding the obligation of "perfect and perpetual continence" in accord with canon 277 for a married permanent deacon. An unofficial English translation follows the original response of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

(Unofficial Translation)
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
(Città del Vaticano, 4 marzo 2011, N. 12959/2011)
Dear Sir,
We have received a fax of your kind letter of February 20th, 2011. In it you proposed a dubium with this reasoning: "However an issue has arisen where an aspirant to the Permanent Deaconate [sic.] who is a married man has declared he will not practice 'perfect and perpetual continence' in accordance with Canon 277. He says he has been told that men in the diocese have been given a general dispensation from this requirement."

Canon 277 §1. Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.

In regard to this matter I am happy to offer the following clarifications:
The obligation of celibacy applies to all clerics, including permanent deacons who are not married prior to ordination (cf. c. 1037).

Canon 1037 An unmarried candidate for the permanent diaconate and a candidate for the presbyterate are not to be admitted to the order of diaconate unless they have assumed the obligation of celibacy in the prescribed rite publicly before God and the Church or have made perpetual vows in a religious institute.

Permanent deacons who are married prior to ordination do not have the obligation of celibacy (and therefore of continence) during the marriage. They have the obligation of celibacy in case of widowhood (cf. c. 1037).
This is why canon 277 is not included in the list in canon 288.

Canon 288 The prescripts of cann. 284, 285, §§3 and 4, 286, and 287, §2 do not bind permanent deacons unless particular law establishes otherwise.
Canon 284 Clerics are to wear suitable ecclesiastical garb according to the norms issued by the conference of bishops and according to legitimate local customs.
Canon 285  §3. Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power. §4. Without the permission of their ordinary, they are not to take on the management of goods belonging to lay persons or secular offices which entail an obligation of rendering accounts.  They are prohibited from giving surety even with their own goods without consultation with their proper ordinary.  They also are to refrain from signing promissory notes, namely, those through which they assume an obligation to make payment on demand.
Canon 286 Clerics are prohibited from conducting business or trade personally or through others, for their own advantage or that of others, except with the permission of legitimate ecclesiastical authority.
Canon 287 §1. Most especially, clerics are always to foster the peace and harmony based on justice which are to be observed among people. §2. They are not to have an active part in political parties and in governing labor unions unless, in the judgment of competent ecclesiastical authority, the protection of the rights of the Church or the promotion of the common good requires it..

Finally, the dispensation from the impediment of canon 1087 does not apply to the diocesan bishop. He can, instead, given the case in question, transmit the request for a dispensation to the Holy See. The dispensation can be requested only of the Holy See by a permanent married deacon who has been widowed and will be eventually granted only if the petitioner admits one of three reasons:
the great and proven usefulness of the deacon's ministry to the diocese to which he is attached; the presence of children of a tender age requiring maternal care; the presence of elderly parents or in-laws requiring assistance (cf. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Circular Letter of June 6th, 1997).

Canon . 1087 Those in sacred orders invalidly attempt marriage.

From Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons, 1998, #44: The Circular Letter, Prot. n. 26397 of 6 June 1997, of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments envisages that one only of the following conditions be sufficient for obtaining dispensation from the impediment found in can. 1087: the great and proven usefulness of the ministry of the deacon to the diocese to which he belongs; that he has children of such a tender age as to be in need of motherly care; that he has parents or parents in law who are elderly and in need of care.

(Signed)
Francesco Coccopalmerio
President

Obamacare Wielded as Anti Religion “Cultural Bulldozer”

From National Review Online:

Wesley J. Smith: 

Some might dismiss these employers’ concerns because birth control is hardly controversial outside of orthodox religious circles. But these birth control cases are stalking horses for far more intrusive violations of religious liberty to come, e.g., requiring businesses to provide free abortions to their employees. Consider the Democratic party’s 2012 platform:

The Democratic party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. [Emphasis added.]

If Democrats regain the control of Congress and the presidency they enjoyed in 2009 and 2010, look for the Affordable Care Act to be amended consistent with their platform. After that, it won’t take long for HHS to promulgate a free abortion rule along lines similar to the free birth control mandate.

More thoughts on Election 2012

Included in the St. Joan of Arc Knights of Columbus (Arvada, Colorado), November 2012 Newsletter:

Vote Pro-life, Pro-family, Pro-Freedom of Religion

Four generations -- We're all for pro-life (Summer, 2010)

With the 2012 election only days away, we need to be reminding friends and family to vote, and vote pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Bill of Rights freedoms. Perhaps we ourselves need to be reminded often of the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, especially the First:

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Read those first two phrases of the First Amendment again. Not only is the government forbidden to recognize the priority of any religion, neither is it to inhibit its free exercise. Yet the Health and Human Services (HSS) Department of the Federal Government is requiring employers to provide contraception, sterilization, and hormonally induced abortions at no charge to employees. There is no religious exemption under the new rule, except for individual churches and their employees who are responsible only for religious services. Catholic schools, hospitals, and nursing homes are not exempt. Neither are faithful Catholic employers, from officers of insurance companies to plumbing company owners. This rule violates the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the conscience of faithful Catholics, whether employed by the Church or private employers. Even many other Christian churches are also threatened by this rule.

For much too long states have been allowing virtually all abortions and even financing some of them, as well as providing contraceptives and sterilization for Medicaid clients. Now the Federal government is compelling and expanding such “services” under the HHS mandate.

There is an increasing threat to natural marriage as well, which could become stronger in the next few years. Marriage is a faithful union of one man and one woman from the beginning of recorded history. To recognize same-sex unions is unnatural and inconsistent with God’s plan for human kind.

These anti-life, anti-family, anti-religion policies need to end. State and federal government agencies should be nurturing and protecting new life rather that ending it before birth. Pro-life health services from pre-conception through delivery and post natal are essential for low to middle income families.

The right to life is the first natural right which every newly conceived person acquires from God. This right supersedes political parties and union interests. The pro-death, anti-religion culture is attempting to expand its hold on American culture through the upcoming election. We cannot let this happen.

Deacon Rex Pilger

St. Joan of Arc Church

Arvada, Colorado