Articles by Jason Godin
A joyful companion
Oct 15, 2012 / 00:00 amThroughout history the Catholic Church has proclaimed particular men and women as saints, professing this certain company of faithful departed as “models and intercessors” who “practiced heroic virtue” and “fidelity to God’s grace” in life. (CCC, 828) St. Luke, the author of one of the four Gospels as well as recognized artist of a nationally-beloved Marian icon, reminds us about the important places of historical narratives and iconic images in the Catholic faith.
For the Year (of Faith) Ahead
Oct 1, 2012 / 00:00 amOctober brings days ripe with modern history for the Church. In this month we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Its days also mark the start of the Year of Faith. It seems appropriate, therefore, that a column for Catholic men should present thoughts, past and present, for all men to consider for the year ahead.
Called by five names
Sep 17, 2012 / 00:00 amSin is the true root of our sorrows. It hurts because it weakens or possibly destroys the new life in Christ we received at Baptism. To restore this most important relationship, Christ has “willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation” through a sacrament called by five names in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 1421). Conversion
Labor Day lessons
Sep 3, 2012 / 00:00 amLabor Day gives many Americans a chance to extend their weekend away from work.
From fear to eternity
Aug 6, 2012 / 00:00 amTo transfigure means to change the form or outward appearance in order to exalt or glorify. Where can a person fully discover such an extraordinary activity? Beauty found in nature, such as caterpillars escaping their cocoons as butterflies, falls short because it isn’t worthy of worship. Ultimately Christians can only find transfiguration in its deepest, most illuminating sense in prayer informed by the mysteries of their faith. A Mystery of LightThe Transfiguration, which we celebrate on August 6th, was a specific mystery that happened during the public ministry of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recall it although each account varies in length (cf. Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). The Transfiguration began with Jesus and the Apostles Peter, John, and James all climbing a mountain near Jerusalem to pray. Within short order of arriving, the three disciples see the face of Christ shine “like the sun” and his clothes turn “white as light” (Matthew 17:2).Moses and Elijah appeared next and spoke with Jesus about his coming death, Resurrection and Ascension (cf. Luke 9:31). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Transfiguration “gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming” (CCC, 556). One could easily lose sight of such splendor, however, amid the fear that constantly gripped the Apostles. Peter, John, and James slept until waking up to offer tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus (cf. Luke 9:32-33). The Gospel of Mark recounted at that offering how Peter “hardly knew what to say” given all three disciples “were so terrified” seeing the two Old Testament figures with Jesus (Mark 9:6).The Transfiguration concludes with an overshadowing cloud, from which the Father announced: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9:7). Peter, James, and John, by this point fully awake, entered and fell down with more fear. Moses, Elijah, and the cloud eventually all disappeared. As they began to descend back down the mountain, Jesus instructed the three disciples not to tell anyone what they experienced until after the Resurrection.A Light for the WorldToday it is so easy for us to make excuses not to pray. Demands on our time may make us think that there isn’t enough time to pray. News headlines may leave us afraid and feeling it pointless to pray. Perhaps we act a lot like Peter, James and John, falling asleep as we try to pray. Making excuses contributes to a dark world which rejects faith, surrenders hope, and abandons love. But if we accept the Transfiguration fully as a mystery of faith, and internalize the true nature of its extraordinary sights and sounds, we become a beacon to the world. We move away not only from our excuses for not praying, but we find the Holy Spirit takes our seemingly shallow prayers and turns them into concrete actions radiating with the deepest love. We can begin to “live as we pray” as we start to “pray as we live” (CCC, 2725).Before descending the mountain, the Gospel of Matthew relates that Jesus touched the three disciples, saying: “Rise, and do not be afraid” (Matthew 17:7). Those words were stated often by Blessed John Paul II. They can also help us today, in prayer informed by the Transfiguration, to begin moving from fear to eternity.
Hearts of Eucharistic Adoration
Jul 16, 2012 / 00:00 amToday numerous Catholic parishes expose the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass for short or prolonged periods of adoration. Some Catholics may even have a chapel in their area devoted specifically to this traditional form of worship. But whether for just a brief moment or all day, every day, the focus of our visit should not be on ourselves, but on the One who is present in the monstrance. He welcomes us as we come and seeks to change our hearts before we leave.
Thomas: beyond all doubt
Jul 2, 2012 / 00:00 amThe Church celebrates the feast day of St. Thomas on July 3. Most people today know this Apostle only for the doubt he expressed about the Resurrection of Jesus, and perhaps they relate this to a healthy, “modern” skepticism (John 20:24-29). Reading the Gospel of John, however, shows that the disciple nicknamed Didymus lived a life defined not by a single moment of disbelief but by admirable traits of faith. Ready and Steady
For Fourteen Days
Jun 18, 2012 / 00:00 amFrom June 21 to July 4, many Catholics across the United States will observe a “Fortnight for Freedom” in defense of religious liberty. They will conduct a two-week campaign inspired and guided by prayer, supplied by study, and informed by catechesis. They will act in peaceful solidarity with friends from other faiths. For fourteen days they will seek also to fortify the true character and heritage of freedom in the United States against false notions of freedom clearly and presently endangering it.The True Character and Heritage of FreedomThe Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions” (1730). True freedom flows from the God-given grace of free will, emerging as “the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility.” In action, it becomes “a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness” that “attains its perfection when directed toward God” (CCC, 1731). The Founding Fathers of the United States recognized this true character of freedom, its strengths and, more importantly, its earthly limits. The governing documents that they drafted express freedom as responsible, human interactions within a known natural order. The Declaration of Independence asserted as “self-evident” truth that liberty is among the “certain unalienable Rights” endowed by a “Creator”. The Bill of Rights later enshrined the true character of freedom as protected rights for all Americans. The First Amendment provided safeguards against any official, established state religion. It also prohibited legal obstacles to the free exercise of faith.False Notions of Freedom and Its Clear and Present Dangers But false notions of freedom today endanger the true character and heritage of freedom. An aggressive secularism – realized, for example, in the state mandating abortion, contraception, and sterilization as “preventative” health services as well as attempting to redefine church governance and structures – seeks to reduce freedom to mere license. The realities of false freedom run risks for us all. They abandon responsibility and equate consent with imposing the will of a numerical minority upon a majority. Pledged to no single political party, they define faith simply as private worship that never deserves a place or influence in the public square. They construct a culture – and inform a type of politics – that elevates feeling good ahead of the commonwealth, expects and accepts progress whatever the cost to life, liberty, and happiness, and regresses toward a primitive absence of restraint. St. Teresa of Avila talked about interior castles of the soul. The “Fortnight for Freedom” presents Catholics an opportunity to fortify true freedom in the soul of the United States. True freedom is never a flight from responsibility but recognition of it. Totalitarianism disguised as toleration is never an acceptable accommodation. True freedom challenges the individual, as it challenged our forefathers and will challenge future generations, to serve as guardian stewards to the point of martyrdom.For fourteen days, as faithful Catholics and patriotic Americans, protect the character and heritage of true freedom before they’re replaced with false notions of freedom.
Following to lead
Jun 4, 2012 / 00:00 amThis week Catholics prepare for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It is a feast day that first appeared on the liturgical calendar in 1264 when Pope Urban IV established its universal celebration on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. For over seven centuries, even as many dioceses transferred its celebration to the following Sunday, the faithful have found the Solemnity of Corpus Christi a time to express their reverence for the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ through public processions.
'Friendly Fire'
May 21, 2012 / 00:00 amHow often are we tempted to render judgment on whether someone we know is a “good” Catholic, based on how that person’s outward deeds appear to us? How often do we look at our own lives and wonder how God sees us, not only according to our deeds, but according to our inner dispositions? The command of Jesus to “judge not lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1) should guide us in addressing these questions. After all, Christian charity demands that we “remove the beam from your eye first” before tending to the “splinter” in another’s eye (Matthew 7:5).
Hazards of fairy godparents
May 7, 2012 / 00:00 amWhy choose specific individuals as godparents for an infant or adult catechumen? Why accept the role of godparent? The process by which most of us select godmothers and godfathers illustrates how we usually answer such questions. But the result over time – decreasing numbers of men and women witnessing a life of faith after Baptism – challenges one to reconsider how we should answer those questions.
Divine Mercy conversations
Apr 16, 2012 / 00:00 amThe “Apostle of Divine Mercy” – St. Maria Faustina Kowalska – died on Oct. 5, 1938, in Cracow, Poland. Her Diary provides the Divine Mercy Chaplet, a devotional prayer recited daily by many Catholics. Its pages also recount Jesus conversing with souls which are in states of despair, suffering, striving toward perfection, and perfect grace. It is within such a conversational spectrum that individual men of faith can come, however hopeful or hopeless they may consider their own condition, to establish and deepen a loving relationship with Christ in his Divine Mercy.
The Paschal Cross
Apr 3, 2012 / 00:00 amThe Paschal Mystery – the Passion, Crucifixion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – stands at the center of the Christian faith. Every liturgical year, from Palm Sunday through the Easter Triduum, Christians discover and rediscover the historical origins and salvific message of the Church. The extraordinary days of Holy Week nourish deep faith, true hope, and real love. They have in the past, they do so this week, and they will continue to do so until the end of time.
The Carpenter’s Heritage
Mar 19, 2012 / 00:00 amThe Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19. Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, foster father of Jesus, silent in word but not in action, Joseph produced a model legacy of masculine faith. The carpenter displayed prudence in judgment and action as well as presence for his spouse, his child, and his community.
Desert victories
Mar 5, 2012 / 00:00 amDuring the 40 days of Lent, we wield prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in our personal battles against temptation. Thankfully we never fight alone. The Church celebrates Lent as a season each liturgical year when she unites herself with Christ during his own 40 days in the desert. (CCC 540)
The Symphony of Silence
Feb 20, 2012 / 00:00 amRecently Pope Benedict XVI delivered a message for the 46th World Communications Day. “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization” explored the nature, methods, consequences as well as opportunities of modern communications. Like most people, I was too busy to pay attention when it came out.
The twin aggressions of mandated contraception
Feb 6, 2012 / 00:00 amLast month, U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a mandate requiring employers to purchase “preventive services” such as contraception for their employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The mandate additionally stipulated that any non-profit employers previously exempted “based on religious beliefs” now had one year to comply.
Lessons of a King
Jan 16, 2012 / 00:00 amMost Americans have come to see Martin Luther King Jr. Day as simply part of a long weekend, with public institutions and many businesses closed for its observance. But the national holiday can take on greater importance if viewed through eyes of faith. We who reflect on Rev. King’s words can deepen our appreciation of how our faith can dynamically combat injustice in the public square.
Mary’s motherhood and its meaning for men
Jan 2, 2012 / 00:00 amAs we turn our calendars to a new year, the Church turns its attention to celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on Jan. 1. Historically, Catholics have given many titles to Mary. “Our Lady” and “Blessed Virgin” remain the most popular bestowed on her in prayer and devotions. But Jan. 1 reminds the faithful to recognize that “Mother of God” is and always will be Mary’s highest title. Without her divine motherhood all the other titles wouldn’t exist.