Articles by Joe Tremblay
Tension: Catholic media and the Catholic-Dems
Oct 28, 2012 / 00:00 amAs the Democrat Party becomes more aggressive in its opposition to the Catholic Church, i.e. HHS mandate, the DNC positioning themselves to remove God from its party platform, the support for same-sex marriage and its unapologetic stand on abortion, the tension and contrast between the party and Catholicism naturally becomes more pronounced. With this, the hands of those in the Catholic media have been forced to talk about such things. In fulfilling their duty to report and comment on the news, they have no other choice but to draw attention to these pressing issues.
The Al Smith Dinner: The question of diplomacy and public perception
Oct 26, 2012 / 00:00 amI think most Catholics are still coming to grips with how people think and behave in response to what clergy and laity do or fail to do either in the public square or within the confines of the Church. It is becoming more evident that the average person does not make the same distinctions, acknowledge the same exceptions or discern the same nuances that a well-educated and spiritually formed Catholic does. Anticipating how our words and actions will be perceived always must be factored in our decision making. The bottom line: Good intentions are no substitute for faithfully following our ideas and actions to their logical conclusions.
Twelve years earlier
Oct 19, 2012 / 00:00 amKnowing the content of the Faith is only the beginning of catechesis and evangelization. This is why Our Lady of Good Help said to Adele,
Twelve years earlier
Oct 12, 2012 / 00:00 amNot just a lady and not just a mother, but a queen! Wisconsin has bragging rights it has never capitalized on. A real queen came to visit a young Wisconsin girl named Adele Brice in October of 1859. It was the Blessed Virgin Mary who appeared to her. But she referred to herself – not the queen of any particular nation – but the “Queen of Heaven.” And if she is queen of heaven, she has to be the queen of all of those who reside on the earth. Just as Our Lady of Guadalupe came to confirm the preaching of the Gospel by Franciscan missionaries in Mexico in 1531, Our Lady of Good Help came to fulfill a similar calling one hundred and fifty-five years after the Jesuit missionaries and explorers visited Wisconsin.
Catholic political tradition: endorsements and condemnations
Oct 5, 2012 / 00:00 amAs the presidential election heats up, Catholics in America are bound to weigh in and give their two cents worth.
Someone is coming …
Sep 28, 2012 / 00:00 amJust two months before his death in 1900 and 17 years before the Russian Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Soloviev, a convert to Catholicism, wrote the following to a friend; this, during a time when the general sentiment among the people was one of optimism and great expectation:
From tax collector to apostle
Sep 21, 2012 / 00:00 amThere are some people who are anxiously waiting to hear the undiluted version of the Gospel. They just want the straight truth about God no matter how unpopular certain doctrines are or how difficult being a follower of Christ may seem.
The Revolution of the Cross: how it changed the world
Sep 14, 2012 / 00:00 am“It is an eternal law of history that, in order to pass effectively into deeds, all revolution has need of three fundamental and simultaneously present attributes: a revolutionary situation, a revolutionary doctrine and a revolutionary personnel,” said Catholic historian Henri Daniel-Rops.
Feminism and Women’s Benefactress
Sep 7, 2012 / 00:00 amModern day feminism is not so much a war against men as it is against motherhood. After all, motherhood prevents women from being identical to men. Feminism, in a nutshell, is an attempt to take back from men what is believed to be rightfully women’s; namely, the liberty to be childless.
No divine life without a social life
Aug 31, 2012 / 00:00 amOne day, as I was listening to the radio, a mother called in to a Catholic talk show with a concern. She said that although her family prays the rosary on a regular basis, her high school daughter was being “lost” to some very important issues such as same-sex marriage. In other words, her daughter had begun to drift to a more secular understanding of marriage. Her little girl just could not bring herself to accept the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. It also happened that the high school the caller’s daughter attended was a public school. Moreover, by the sound of the call, it seemed as though the family did not have the support of a Catholic social life. Like many Catholics, the caller’s family was without that much-needed social reinforcement.
Spiritual Combat Revisited
Aug 24, 2012 / 00:00 am“Spiritual Combat Revisited” is a summary of the classic book “The Spiritual Combat” by Lorenzo Scupoli (1530-1610). The original, “The Spiritual Combat”, is an uncompromising account of the ascetical life. The book presupposes a moral and theological outlook that has largely faded into the background. This is why Fr. Jonathan Robinson has taken up the task of writing “Spiritual Combat Revisited”. It is an attempt to communicate spiritual wisdom and put it into contemporary language while retaining the substance and integrity of what Scupoli sought to advance.Both books, “The Spiritual Combat” and “Spiritual Combat Revisited,” presuppose a basic spiritual law that has been largely forgotten: That our union with Christ and our road to heaven involves real combat – a real tension – a real conflict.“Spiritual Combat Revisited” reintroduces forgotten spiritual truths. Among these truths is what is known as “first principles.” For instance, knowing the truth about God and ourselves is essential for spiritual progress. That God is all-powerful and holy, and that we are finite, sinful and helpless creatures in comparison, is an awareness that needs to permeate our consciousness. Without it, we fall into pride. Furthermore, it is impossible to arrive at true humility if we are ignorant of this first principle.From here, we learn to completely trust in God, but a preliminary step, even before trusting in God, is to distrust oneself. “Scupoli believes if we begin with confidence in God, we are all too liable to leave out the unpleasant part of the equation.” This is where humility is fostered. Too often we fail to consider the self-seeking motives of our behavior. To assuage this tendency, consecrated religious brothers and sisters renounce their will through obedience to their superior. For them, there is that check and balance. But as for laity, we have to daily examine our conscience and find ways to renounce our will; those that are conformable to our duties in everyday life. This way, we avoid being subject to the fleeting nature of emotions and passions.Fr. Robinson adds, “Buried deep within ourselves is a conviction that we are really not that bad.” For many, especially at first sight, this realization can seem at odds in all that we cherish in self-esteem and being positive. However, this form of self-abandonment is quite liberating. When we fail and do wrong, we are at peace knowing that such imperfections are totally consistent with what we are. Far from being discouraged (which is not of God), we are given more reason to totally trust in the Lord and his grace to make us better.It is easier, therefore, for the “self-conscious sinner” to apologize, to be the peacemaker and to move on after having floundered, and when applauded for virtue or some great achievement, he knows all too well that the Lord is the author of such goodness. Amid success, he can avoid an exaggerated sense of self. Indeed, neither failure casts him down nor does success puff him up. More than anyone else, he is at peace with himself because his hope is in the Lord.This disposition of soul does not come automatically. St. Paul speaks of a kind of training that is useful for the good fight; one that requires work. He said, “I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:27) “Spiritual Combat Revisited” puts the necessity of spiritual exercises and training in the following context:“This is not so much an effort to build up a series of virtues; no doubt spiritual exercises should have that effect; but even more so, progress in spirituality is intensely personal; it means growing in a more intimate union with Christ.”Even in the drama of everyday life, sacrifices and even suffering are necessary for happiness. A successful career is impossible without them. But as it pertains to spiritual growth and moral development, they are even more important. Indeed, taking on sacrifices and enduring suffering for the kingdom introduces into the soul a foretaste of eternal happiness; a kind of peace and joy that physical pleasures are incapable of producing. So that we would better aspire to heaven, God will allow inconveniences in our life and even painful contradictions. As John Henry Newman said:“And be sure of this: that if he has any love for you, if he sees a lack of good in your soul, he will afflict you, if you will not afflict yourselves. He will not let you escape. He has ten thousand ways of purging those whom he has chosen, from the dross and alloy with which the fine gold is defaced...Let us judge ourselves, that we may not be judged. Let us afflict ourselves that God may not afflict us.”Too often, we want to have it both ways. We want to swing back and forth between the demands of the flesh and those of the spirit. Thinking that we can have the “best of both worlds,” in this respect, is one of the greatest illusions in our spiritual combat. If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would admit that we do not want to give ourselves completely to one or the other. Nevertheless, the struggle to renounce of our will for God’s sake teaches us just how powerful the flesh is over our decision-making. Without this ongoing struggle against our sensuality and selfishness, we cannot attain to the kind of perfection Christ bids us to. As Fr. Jonathan Robinson reminds us, “The danger is not that adversities will overtake us, but that prosperity and comfort will.”
Sermons: Seizing the opportunity!
Aug 17, 2012 / 00:00 amExperience can work to our advantage. Most people see it as such. However, what people miss sometimes is that experience can be a liability; a handicap of sorts.
Chick-fil-A and Chicago: A heads-up for the Church
Aug 10, 2012 / 00:00 amProfessor Robert George of Princeton once said on Relevant Radio that the legalization of same-sex marriage would be an unmitigated disaster.
Chick-fil-A and Chicago: A heads-up for the Church
Aug 3, 2012 / 00:00 amTiming is everything. This maxim is especially the case if good is to prevail over evil. Whether it be personal sin or political tyranny, response to a crisis is most effective when it is done in the beginning stages.
St. Alphonsus: rising above adversity
Jul 27, 2012 / 00:00 amHave you ever heard of a person starting an organization only to be kicked out of it? Well, this is what happened to St. Alphonsus Liguori whose memory is celebrated by the Catholic Church on August 1st. One of the testaments to his outstanding character is that adversity did not hold this man down!In 1839 Alphonsus Liguori was canonized a Saint and in 1871 was declared to be a Doctor of the Church. Yet, he was a man who experienced many defeats in his life. One such defeat came in 1723 when, as a lawyer, he suffered a humiliating loss in the courtroom. It was said that he did not eat for three days, but that setback would prove to be quite useful in God’s plan.It just so happened during that same year, as he was visiting the sick in the hospital, he experienced the presence of God in such a strong way, that would change his life forever. According to one source, “He saw a mysterious light, felt the building shake, and heard the voice of God asking him to ‘leave the world’ and place himself totally in his service.” This transforming experience inspired his vocation to the priesthood. Later, in 1762, he would be ordained as bishop of Naples, Italy.St. Alphonsus then went on found the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, better known as “The Redemptorists.” From its beginning in 1732, the Redemptorist order struggled with division from within. It even was met with hostility from the State. Indeed, the Prime Minister of Naples, Bernardo Tanucci, tried to strip the religious order of its privileges. And towards the end of the Saint’s life, ironically, at the very “hands of the Pope who would later declare him venerable, Alphonsus was cast out of the order he founded.”Nevertheless, whatever confronted him – good or bad – St. Alphonsus took it in stride.Oh! How many Saints encountered what seemed to be a hopeless situation?! Failures in the eyes of the world, these men and women were used by God to bring about great accomplishments. It also happens that the Lord uses circumstances – which appear to be useless or a defeat in our eyes – to bring about a greater and lasting good. However, in order to carry this out, the Lord needs willing souls; those Christians who are not discouraged by the appearances of failure or the threat of danger.This great man learned to accept the peace of God through the various trials of life; not to mention the many infirmities he had to endure. He believed that whatever situation or condition God allowed to transpire in his life – good or evil, health or sickness, honor or disgrace – was part of an intelligent design no less wonderful than the creation of the universe.Although his prolific writing career did not begin until he was fifty years old, he would write one hundred and eleven books. According to R. J. Miller, “St. Alphonsus had published 7,000 more editions of his works than Shakespeare by 1961, even though Shakespeare had over a century and a half head start.”Arguably one of his greatest writings was “Uniformity with God’s Will.” In it he wrote, “Those who love God are always happy, because their whole happiness is to fulfill, even in adversity, the will of God. Afflictions do not mar their serenity, because by accepting misfortune, they know they give pleasure to their beloved Lord.”This is an important part of knowing God’s peace and his joy. God Almighty either positively wills something to happen (i.e. loving him above everything else and serving the poor) or He allows evil to take place so that some greater good may come of it; such is His passive will. The belief of St. Alphonsus – as well with every canonized Saint – is that whatever happens is either willed or permitted by God. As such, whatever circumstances unfold in our lives is part of a great design whose Author is none other than the Lord himself. To be sure, it is no exaggeration to say that the circumstances of each and every moment are none other than the content of God’s will for us. It may rightly be called the “Sacrament of the Moment.”But as for those whose happiness depends on favorable circumstances, he writes the following: “Because his peace of mind depends on the prosperity or the adversity he meets; he changes with the changes in the things that happen to him.” “The just man,” on the other hand, “is like the sun, constant in his serenity, no matter what betides him. His calmness of soul is founded on his union with the will of God; hence he enjoys unruffled peace.” This is the key to St. Alphonsus "unruffled peace!" It is the secret to the happiness the Saints enjoyed while they were on earth. In a nutshell, the secret to sanctity and peace of soul is none other than to will what God gives us in the circumstances of each day. Think about it: If we thank God for only those things that suit our pleasures – and for that which is agreeable to us – can we not also thank Him for all the deprivations and setbacks that run counter to our will as well? And are they not just as good for us in the long run? If we have the faith of St. Alphonsus we would answer in the affirmative.This is no small feat…to will what God wills…as it comes to us in the circumstances of each day. In fact, it can be quite grueling! It can wear us down! It can even feel like a kind of death to self! But it is the most mysterious and yet most liberating ambition anyone could have! Indeed, St. Alphonsus’ uniformity to God’s will gave him wings. Now, he is in heaven as one who peacefully resides above all adversity.
In every sinner awaits a St. Mary Magdalene
Jul 20, 2012 / 00:00 amThe Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene is July 22
A Star in the Darkness of Night
Jul 13, 2012 / 00:00 amIn 1947, seeing that Western Civilization was weighed down by a long and exhausting world war, Pope Pius XII penned a wonderful encyclical on St. Benedict.
What US Supreme Court ruling portends for the Church
Jul 6, 2012 / 00:00 amThe US Supreme Court ruling on June 29 with regard to Obamacare was a real shocker. In a 5-4 ruling, the mandate was surprisingly upheld; US Supreme Court justice John Roberts being the swing vote. Suddenly, the uphill climb to preserve religious liberty in our country is looking a little steeper.
The tower and the Fortnight for Freedom - Part II
Jul 2, 2012 / 00:00 amIt is a true marvel that nearly everyone in 16th century England – including bishops, priests and laity – sided with King Henry VIII despite his transgressions. Even his own family encouraged St. Thomas More to take the oath, swearing allegiance to the King’s supremacy. Now, this is surprising considering that the Catholic Church built up England from a tribal, savage and superstitious region to a civilized and educated nation. Oxford University, in fact, was one of the first universities in Europe; an institution that was the fruit of Catholic monks creating a Christian environment in which sanctity and learning could flourish. For a nation to just abandon its religious heritage in such short order is a lesson for all of us. Indeed, because the papacy and the episcopate became an object of ridicule and scorn, King Henry VIII could get away with incarcerating and then executing St. John Fisher, a bishop in good standing and St. More, a highly respected chancellor, for so-called high treason without the slightest rebellion or insurrection in public.For their imprisonment, these two Saints spent a long and lonely fourteen months in the Tower of London. But there were no public protests to have them released. Instead, their characters were maligned from many pulpits. If we can write a sad note in Great Britain’s history it would read as follows: The Tower was not the gathering place for protestors. Rather, it was met with silence while two Saints wasted away inside.Enter the HHS mandate: It is interesting to note that during an election year President Barack Obama decided to gamble on compelling the Catholic Church to provide contraception through its health insurance. Many in the Catholic media had marveled that he would take this risk, considering the importance of the Catholic voting bloc, but from all appearances, the HHS mandate did not cause a sizable political backlash. Certainly the polls show that most people support the Catholic Church’s position in asserting her right to refuse the distribution of birth control, but support doesn’t necessarily translate into a vigorous defense. With that said, what can prove to be damaging to the Obama presidency is not the HHS mandate, but the Fast and Furious scandal. In fact, if the White House can survive the scrutiny and negative publicity of Fast and Furious, and if the economy can make a comeback in the months to come, it is conceivable that President Obama can be reelected in 2012.Yet, this begs the question: How can a U.S. president possibly be re-elected if he, in broad daylight, set out to deny the Church’s right to religious liberty? Answer: It has something to do with why a tyrannical king could deny the Catholic Church’s religious liberty in 16th century England. In recent decades, the Church in America was hit with the 2002 priestly scandals, low pastoral standards and a general lowering of morality (i.e. studies show Catholics do not fare much different in terms of divorce and contraception.) Furthermore, the moral evils of contraception are rarely talked about in Catholic venues, the worst offenders of human rights (i.e. progressive politicians and other public figures) are allowed to sit comfortably in our pews and those who show no interest in observing God's laws have easy access to the Sacraments. Suffice it to say that by making repentance an option as a matter of pastoral policy had led, in no small measure, to the 2002 priestly scandals in which the Catholic Church lost quite a bit of credibility in the eyes of the American public. The residue of that public distrust still remains. As such, the public outrage over the HHS mandate is predictably subdued. Like the Tower of London in the 16th century, the public square in the United States is quiet in this regard.This is where the Tower has some relevance for the Fortnight for Freedom. It teaches us that in addition to mounting a robust defense of religious liberty, exposing the injustice of the HHS mandate, a real repentance from relaxed standards is needed. An examination of conscience would likely tell us that as with the Reformation in the 16th century, Catholics had something to do with the chipping away of religious liberty in 2012. Therefore, can we ask: Is it possible that we made it easier for the Obama administration to threaten the Church with his mandate?Catholics can learn from the historic homily Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore delivered on June 21, 2012 in that the injustices of the H.H.S. mandate must be clearly articulated. Indeed, every effort must be made to expose this unprecedented power-grab by the federal government, but the Church in America can also greatly benefit from the comments made by Archbishop Charles Chaput when he said, “The worst enemies are in here, with us – all of us, clergy, religious, and lay…”All this confirms that the Church is the hope and despair of mankind. When her leaders and members are worldly, and pastoral standards are relaxed, society disintegrates and the State assumes inordinate power. On other hand, when Catholics are world-renouncing and zealous for the things of God, society is well ordered. The Church, for her part, is then able to be that effective “sign of contradiction” to the menace of political tyranny.
The tower and the Fortnight for Freedom
Jun 29, 2012 / 00:00 amOn June 21st of 2012, Archbishop William Lori delivered a historic homily to commence the Forthnight for Freedom in the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. Upon the conclusion of the homily, he deservedly received a standing ovation from the congregation in attendance. Indeed, it was passionately and flawlessly delivered. He addressed religious freedom in light of the martyrdom of St. John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, England, and St. Thomas More, lawyer and chancellor. In short, the execution of these two heroic men in 1535 resulted from their refusal to take an oath acknowledging King Henry VIII's divorce with Queen Catherine, and his act of making himself Supreme Head of the Church in England. In addition to the heroism that Archbishop Lori asked us to remember and venerate, I would like to address another consideration that is every bit as important for the preservation of our religious liberty, and this consideration has to do with the historical circumstances which made it easier for King Henry VIII of England to violate not only the religious liberty of the Church in his own country, but the human rights of those Catholics who died under him.These historical circumstances have something to do with what Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said during the same week that the Fortnight for Freedom was kicked off:“Politics and the courts are important. But our religious freedom ultimately depends on the vividness of our own Christian faith – in other words, how deeply we believe it, and how honestly we live it. Religious liberty is an empty shell if the spiritual core of a people is weak. Or to put it more bluntly, if people don’t believe in God, religious liberty isn’t a value. That’s the heart of the matter…The worst enemies of religious freedom aren’t ‘out there’ among the legion of critics who hate Christ or the Gospel or the church, or all three. The worst enemies are in here, with us – all of us, clergy, religious, and lay – when we live our faith with tepidness, routine, and hypocrisy.”Alongside the developments in England, there were other unfortunate developments unfolding in the Catholic Church. During the lifetime of St. John and St. Thomas – from the late 1400’s to at least the mid 1500’s – the papacy had stooped to its lowest point in terms of internal discipline, morals and the ill repute that naturally followed. At the same time, scores of Catholics left the Church and Protestantism was borne. By breaking with the Roman Catholic Church (from 1517-1534), Martin Luther and King Henry VIII certainly did wrong. However, the general lowering of morality among the Catholic clergy, even within the Papal Court itself, gave many an excuse to either sever ties with the Church or introduce their own flawed agenda.For instance, the papacy of Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) was rocked with scandal. Pope Julius II (1503-1513) was preoccupied with wars. As for Pope Leo X (1513-1521), Joseph Brusher, a papal historian, had this to say about him: “Leo faced the crushing responsibility of spiritual leadership with a light heart. He loved shows and games, and many a play and ballet was performed for the Pope's amusement. A keen sportsman, Leo spent much time hunting. He was careless of the morals of the humanists he patronized as long as their Latin was Ciceronian.” Upon giving a toast, he was quoted saying, “Let’s enjoy the papacy!” And Pope Clement VII (1523-1534) “was a handsome man of good morals, and quite free from the frivolity of Leo X, but he was not very able and was tortured with a dangerous inability to make up his mind. In short, he was scarcely the pope for troubled times.” Indeed, he dragged his feet, hoping the crisis with King Henry VIII and his appeal for a divorce would just go away. The thing to be noted here is that the problems which beset the papacy was but an index of what was transpiring in many dioceses throughout Europe.However, to put things in perspective, out of a total of 266 popes, about a hundred of them were superb to very good, about hundred were good, if not, capable and there were a handful that were real disappointments. But even given the imperfections of these few popes, Pope St. Leo the Great (440-461) reminds us that "the dignity of Peter suffers no diminution even in an unworthy successor."Nevertheless, relaxed morals and discipline within the Church has led, in many cases, to a boomerang effect that ended up costing her dearly. We Catholics rightly deplore the Reformation and how it led to the splintering of Christianity, but what preceded the Reformation – what made it ripe for its success – was a general lowering of morality and discipline among the clergy. It can be argued, therefore, that decades of sinful behavior and mismanagement on the part of the leaders and members of the Church occasioned the Reformation. In fact, during the twenty years leading up to the Luther’s protest, the talk of the town – in nearly every town – was “reform! reform! reform!” And unfortunately, from Pope Alexander VI (1492) to Pope Clement VII (1534) and beyond, the image of the papacy was stained and the pope’s credibility as being the Universal Shepherd of the Church was damaged. Therefore, when the State bullied the Church, the public was slow to take notice. For "The Tower & the Fortnight for Freedom II," see Monday's column.