Catholic Hotdish

It's hard to see how a loving God could allow suffering and setbacks. But we don't always see the whole picture. Photo/ Ben Sutherland. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Have you ever prayed to do God’s will, really hoping that He will do your will? Then when things turn out worse than you planned, you question how a good God could will such a lousy turn of events? Or do you ever wonder why God would allow things that are both terrible and random to happen to innocent people?

The classic question is, how can an all-knowing, all powerful God allow suffering, crime, disasters and all the other evil of the world?  Throughout history the greatest minds have pondered this problem. I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers in a short blogpost but we can find some insights by looking at two facets of God’s will, which account for everything that happens.

Ordaining Will

This is the “active” will of God, who wants only what is good and holy. It’s God’s plan for all of creation and each person. God’s ordaining will is outside our free will; only He has influence over it.  Examples of God’s ordaining will are found in:

•  Scripture,
• The Ten Commandments as given to Moses,
• The Precepts of the Church,
• The duties of our state in life,
• Obedience to lawful authority—civil, family and church, and
• The New Commandment, as given by Jesus to love one another.

Permissive Will

We often want God’s ordaining will to line up with our own will but most of us are a little more apprehensive about what He’s going to allow. Under His permissive will, God operates in accordance with our free will, the laws of Nature that He established and the actions of angels and demons.

In his blog, Glenn Dallaire talks about how God allows but doesn’t will physical and mental illnesses, accidents, natural disasters, the bad effects of our sinful free will choices and those of the angels and demons, along with their influences and effects upon us.

It’s impossible for God to will evil because as St. Thomas Aquinas writes, God wills his own goodness. When He does allow evil He seeks to draw good from everything.   According to St. Thomas:

God therefore neither wills evil to be done, nor wills it not to be done, but wills to permit evil to be done; and this is a good.

It might seem contradictory that God wills our punishment but in itself that punishment is a good with evil attached to it. This can work the other way, too. Someone doing evil can accidentally bring about good without intending it. The good isn’t intrinsic to the action but it contributes to the beauty and perfection of the universe. One example is when a person is martyred for the faith. This evil action has at least one good result: the martyred person becomes a saint.

We may like some aspects of God’s will in our lives better than others but it doesn’t really matter if they’re the result of His ordaining or permitting will because God’s seen everything that happens to us beforehand, has pondered how we would benefit from it and has approved of it.

St. Augustine summed it up this way:

 “Nothing is done, unless the Almighty wills it to be done, either by permitting it, or by actually doing it.”

Forgetting to do your penance doesn't invalidate the confession but refusing to do it does. Photo/liquene. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Have you ever had to leave right after confession, intending to do your penance as soon as you could—but then you forgot? Or has a priest told you to do a charitable or self-sacrificial act for your penance instead of saying a prayer and because you couldn’t do it at that moment it slipped your mind? In both cases is the absolution valid?

The answer is, it depends.

As with many of the laws and norms governing the Christian life, your level of culpability depends on where your heart is. According to canon law, “the confessor is to impose salutary and suitable penances in accord with the quality and number of sins, taking into account the condition of the penitent. The penitent is obliged to fulfill these personally.” (Canon 981)

What makes a confession invalid

We’re obliged to do the penance, but what  if we accidentally don’t?  The conditions below make a confession invalid, according to a book co-authored by Cardinal Donald Wuerl:

• No true sorrow for sins and lack of intention to avoid grave sin in the future,
• Deliberately neglecting to confess all grave sins, or
• Refusing to do an assigned penance.

So it seems that forgetting to do a penance doesn’t carry the same weight as willfully refusing to do it, and therefore doesn’t invalidate the absolution. But Father John Hardon points out that through centuries of Church teaching, the following have been required of those who receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

• They must be truly sorry for their sins, at least out of fear of God’s punishments;
• They must confess their grave sins, or (if there are no mortal sins) at least some venial sin(s) from their past life; and
• They must perform the penance which the confessor gives them.

Importance of the penance

Receiving absolution isn’t the whole story, however. When it comes to making amends for our sins, the penance given in confession plays an important role.

The Catechism states: “Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction for’ or ‘expiate’ his sins. This satisfaction is also called ‘penance.’” (CCC 1459)

I’m not quite at the point where I’m tying strings around my fingers to remember things like Uncle Billy in It’s a Wonderful Life but I have forgotten to do a penance – or worse, done it half-heartedly. I guess in those cases it might be good to think about why we’re going to confession and who we’re apologizing to.

Photo/ideacreamanuelaPps. Licensed under Creative Commons.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit have been coming up in conversations with my goddaughter, whom I’m sponsoring for Confirmation this spring. She has her eye on a particular gift, even though she’ll receive all seven when she’s confirmed later this month.

As the Holy Spirit bestows the seven gifts on my goddaughter in Confirmation, He will increase and complete her baptismal graces. (I remember her baptism well. I’m excited to see everything come together as she receives the last of her sacraments of initiation!)

Whether you’re involved with Confirmation right now, were confirmed at the Easter Vigil this year (congratulations!), received the sacrament a while ago or you’re just interested in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this sacrament, here is quick explanation of the gifts and a description of each one.

We know about the seven gifts because in scripture Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would have them when the Spirit rested upon Him. (Is. 11:2-3) The first verse lists wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and a fear of the Lord. The Church recognizes seven gifts because while the Hebrew text mentions the fear of the Lord twice, Greek and Latin versions instead list “piety.”

Following the Spirit’s promptings

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are habits that perfect us so we’re able to follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote. They are supernatural gifts that are present to us as long as we’re in a state of sanctifying grace. They complete and perfect the virtues (faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance) of those who receive them and make us docile and ready to obey the Lord’s inspirations. (CCC1831)  The gifts are meant to help us share in God’s life and nature—on earth and for eternity.

The gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and counsel belong to reason, while fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord belong to appetite, according to St. Thomas.

1. Wisdom: The ability to find God in all things—in nature, events in the world and generally the ups and downs of life. It keeps us from judging by appearances alone and makes us more mature in how we think and act.
2. Knowledge: This gift offers understanding of God and the universe. More than a collection of facts, it helps us know who we are and the true value of things through life events.
3. Understanding: This gift helps us know how to live as Christians. It also gives insight into the truths of the faith so we aren’t confused by the conflicting cultural messages on how to live. It is perfected through prayer and reading scripture.
4. Counsel (Right Judgment): The knowledge to discern between right and wrong—and the ability to choose what is right and avoid sin. This gift also helps us seek direction in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation while being open to the advice of others.
5. Fortitude (Courage): The ability to overcome fear and stand up for what is right according to God’s law even in the face of rejection, verbal abuse or physical harm. It gives the firmness of mind needed to do good and endure suffering. And it provides the strength to live a good Christian life even when no one seems to notice.
6. Piety (Reverence): A deep sense of love and respect for God and the Church. Reverence leads to prayer because in realizing our total reliance on God we come before Him with humility, trust and love. At the Holy Spirit’s instigation, through piety we pay worship and duty to God as our Father, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote.
7. Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe): A gift that helps us recognize God’s majesty and glory, and His great love for us. It helps us avoid anything that would separate us from His love.

As I go through this list, I’m wondering whether I’ve fully unwrapped all these gifts since my own Confirmation. It’s not a bad idea to ask the Holy Spirit to inflame them in our soul.  In his article on the Catholic Education Resource Center’s site, Fr. William Saunders quotes Bl. John Paul II on the power of the gifts: “With gifts and qualities such as these, we are equal to any task and capable of overcoming any difficulties.”

Some Triduum traditions date back to the Early Church--and some don't. Photo/Daniel Leininger Licensed under Creative Commons

If you’re looking forward to observing Holy Week and Easter as I am, hopefully you also see this as a good opportunity to grow in faith. Another aspect of the Triduum that I love is the tradition that shapes our prayer, worship and family customs during this important time.

This year marks the 1,979^th time (approximately) that Christians have commemorated Holy Week and Easter.  That’s almost two millennia of celebrations involving hymns, incense and readings of the Passion, not to mention Easter lilies, ham and Peeps.

The early Christians unfortunately had no Peeps but they did have some prayerful and interesting ways of commemorating these holiest days of the year. Some of their customs have become part of our tradition and some of them are no longer practiced.

Fasting was an important part of the Early Church’s Holy Week observances. Second century Christians practiced an absolute fast from food for the 40 hours before Easter and a third century account indicates that some during that time fasted from food throughout Holy Week. It was the norm to fast on Holy Saturday, the hinge between the seasons of penance and Easter.

Walking in Jesus’ Steps

Some interesting details about Holy Week in Jerusalem are found in a document called the Pilgrimage of Egeria dating to about the year 388.

Christians began the week on Saturday evening before Palm Sunday in Bethany with dinner and the Gospel reading of the anointing of Christ’s feet. The next day they assembled at the Mount of Olives for hymns and readings, and then processed to Jerusalem with palms and branches.

On Holy Thursday, Christians attended the liturgy late in the afternoon and again traveled to the Mount of Olives where they commemorated Jesus’s agony and arrest all night. On Good Friday, they venerated a relic of the true Cross in the morning and commemorated the Passion for three hours in the afternoon. On Friday night clergy and laity who were strong enough held another vigil.

Another early Holy Week tradition that has endured is the Tenebrae (Latin for shadows or darkness) service. On the evening or early morning of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, Christians of various denominations chant or recite psalms and readings while a series of candles is gradually extinguished leaving the church in darkness. At Catholic services, readings are from the Liturgy of the Hours. The tradition of putting out lights at the service dates back to the fifth century.

Baptism and Fire at the Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil was an all-night celebration during the Church’s first six or seven centuries, as sometimes hundreds and even thousands of catechumens were baptized at once.

The vigil blessing of new fire, during which Christians lit lamps, candles and the paschal candle, may have led St. Cyril of Jerusalem to comment that the night was bright as day. The Roman emperor Constantine illuminated Rome during the vigil with lamps and huge torches.

In the eighth century when the Church began administering the sacrament of baptism on Saturday morning instead of Saturday evening, Catholics in France, Germany and other countries developed a two-part ceremony to celebrate the Easter Feast on Sunday.

First, at midnight before Easter morning in the dark church the clergy brought the Cross from the sepulcher to the high altar. Candles were lit and the congregation processed solemnly with the cross through the church, the cloister, or cemetery. When they returned to the church, participants sang a hymn symbolizing Christ’s victorious entry into purgatory and hell.

Reenacting the Easter Story

Then before dawn on Easter Sunday, two priests representing the holy women went to a place designated as the empty tomb where another cleric representing the angel announced the Lord’s Resurrection. The first two priests brought the message to the choir prompting two other priests impersonating Peter and John to run to the tomb. Finding it empty, they showed the congregation the linen that had wrapped the body. These reenactments have been the basis for many Easter plays.

Whatever traditions you keep, I pray that during this 1,979^th Triduum we may enter more deeply into the mysteries of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. Finally, I hope this much-loved Paschal homily by St. John Chrysostom inspires you.

Blessed Holy Week and Easter!

In line for confession at the Vatican or anywhere else, make the most of the wait time. Photo/rufty Licensed under Creative Commons

I plan on going to confession before Easter and I know I’m not alone. No matter how often Catholics receive the sacrament, many find this is an especially good time to seek forgiveness and healing in preparation for Our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.

I don’t know if there will be a long line at my church when I go but I’m guessing I’ll  have to wait. I don’t like it but it’s a great way to work on patience–a virtue that comes up often when I’m in the confessional.

If you’re like me and you sometimes do your formal preparation for confession during the car ride to church, waiting in line to receive the sacrament of reconciliation offers the chance to slow down and really think about what I’m doing.

If you get to church and find a long confession line, maybe the first thing to ask is, do I really need to go right now? If you’re confessing venial rather than mortal sins, confessing them is a good idea but when many others in line may have more serious sins to confess, you can seek forgiveness during Mass, as Father Zuhlsdorf suggests in his blog.

Ways to prepare for confession while waiting

• Pray: Ask God to help you make a good confession. Pray the rosary for His guidance. One friend prays that he can be honest and confess all the Lord wants him to, and also that he’ll be receptive to what God wants to reveal to him through the priest. Here are some pre-confession prayers.
• Prepare: This site offers a good guide for making a confession and Catholics Come Home offers a number of resources.
• Examine: If you’re not sure everything came to mind during your car examination, make a more thorough examination of conscience now. Check one of these sites while you’re waiting:
  Here’s one that offers both preparation for the sacrament and an examination of conscience.
  This one might be hard to read on a phone but I think it’s good.
  Father John Hardon offers an in-depth examination of conscience.
  This examination is also thorough.
•  Reflect on your sins and seeking forgiveness. Read the bible. Some churches offer guides with prayers or reflections near the confessional. Orthodox priest Father Ted Bobosh offers a beautiful meditation on confession and the wisdom writings in the book of Sirach on his blog.

A  few things not to do in line

• Talk:  This is not the time to get to know fellow parishioners. You disturb others who are praying and concentrating on receiving the sacrament.
• Text, Surf or play games on your phone: Using your phone or iPad to pray or do an examination of conscience will help prepare you for the sacrament but texting or using other apps won’t. Try turning it off if you’re not using it for preparation.
• Sing or pray out loud:  Find another place in the church for this if it helps you prepare.

The idea of going to confession makes some people anxious enough without adding a long wait in line. If we can see this wait time as a gift rather than an early penance we can go into the confessional the same way we leave it–with peace.

Photo/úlfhams_víkingur Licensed under Creative Commons

When we’re looking for an explanation of Church teaching on some of the most controversial issues of the day including gay marriage and contraception, the discussion inevitably comes around to natural law.

If you’re like me and you don’t have a theology degree, you might be asking, what exactly is natural law? Rules for protecting  the environment? Did the Church invent it to back up her positions?  If it’s a law, how is it enforced? And most importantly, how does it have a bearing on our lives?

Goldfish and all the flora and fauna do come under the purview of natural law but it encompasses much more. It is the rule of conduct given by God that’s already loaded in our hearts–an instinct all humans have which when understood through right reason, calls for using things in accord with their nature.

For example, if you decide to liberate your goldfish  from its water-loving nature and take it out of the bowl for any length of time, it shouldn’t be a surprise that soon you’ll have a dead fish.

Human Nature and Reason

Natural law gets its name for two reasons: first, because it has to do with our human nature and second, because we understand it by the natural means of reason.

According to the Catechism, natural law “expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie.” (CCC1954)

Natural law states the primary precepts governing the moral life. It depends on our desire to love and submit to God, and to treat our neighbor fairly. The Ten Commandments contain its major precepts. (CCC1955)

St. Augustine explained how it works:

Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring.

Natural law is:

• Universal and found in the hearts of all people whether or not they practice a religion. It “remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles.” (CCC1957)
• Unchanging throughout history. The Church didn’t invent it. The Roman philosopher Cicero wrote of it before Christ’s birth: “For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men and is immutable and eternal. (CCC1956)

No one gets arrested for violating the natural law per se, but it’s the underlying source for many of our civil laws.

Part of all our decisions

Natural law plays a role in all our decisions. It is the foundation of truth placed by God. On it we build the moral rules to guide our choices, provided our reason has been properly formed.

According to an article on the site Christ’s Faithful People, the Church’s moral teaching stems from a sound theory of natural law based on two foundational points: God created the natural law and the natural law is manifested in the human person. ”A proper interpretation of the natural law must take seriously the natural inclinations of the human person and the ability of reason to understand toward what good ends those inclinations point. ”

I can’t go into specifics on how the Church interprets natural law in each of her teachings. I’ll leave that to the Catechism and a teacher who had much more than a theology degree.

Not everyone perceives the precepts of natural law clearly and immediately. Original sin obscures them sometimes. We all need both grace and revelation to understand moral and religious truths. (CCC1960)

Altar of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Photo/david_shane Licensed under Creative Commons

Last week I said that none of the most popular superheroes could defeat the devil.  But one woman martyr did crush him in a vision–the day before she and her companions died gloriously for the faith in North Africa in the year 203.

In my opinion, St. Perpetua had as much valor as a Navy Seal and so did St. Felicity, both of whom share a feast day this week. They were among the most well-known and venerated martyrs of the early Church.

Besides their bravery in facing a savage death for professing to be Christians, these women show us their great faith, hope and trust in God. They also teach us something about parenting under extreme stress.

Perpetua was a noblewoman from the  city of Carthage, near the modern city of Tunis in Tunisia. Felicity was a slave. They and three others were arrested for their faith, and for refusing to pay tribute to the Roman gods. Perpetua had an infant son; Felicity was eight months pregnant.

The women were sentenced to be torn apart by beasts as part of the emperor’s birthday celebration. They were baptized before being led away to prison.

It seems ironic that they were arrested for being Christians before they were actually baptized into the faith but it was common at that time for believers to wait for baptism until they were near death. They understood that baptism was for the forgiveness of sins and thus it was held with such value that many waited to receive the sacrament until right before dying.

Perpetua’s father visited her in prison with her son to convince her to abandon her faith. Eventually she was allowed to keep her son in prison with her.

Felicity worried that she wouldn’t be martyred with Perpetua and the others because Roman law forbade executing pregnant women. Two days before she and the others were thrown into the arena, she gave birth and her baby was adopted by a Christian couple.

Perpetua and Felicity’s Christian witness in prison resulted in the conversion of one of the jailers.

Perpetua’s vision of her battle with the devil was one of several she had while in prison. The day before her execution, she dreamed she was brought into the amphitheater but instead of beasts, she saw an Egyptian. Then a man taller than the top of the arena appeared holding a rod used by gladiators and a branch of golden apples. She was to fight the Egyptian and either he would kill her with a sword or she would conquer him and receive the branch.

She told of the gladiator battle in The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, one of the earliest pieces of writing by a Christian woman:

And we came nigh to each other, and began to buffet one another. He tried to trip up my feet, but I with my heels smote upon his face. And I rose up into the air and began so to smite him as though I trod not the earth. But when I saw that there was yet delay, I joined my hands, setting finger against finger of them. And I caugth his head, and he fell upon his face; and  I trod upon his head. … And I went up to the master of gladiators and received  the branch. And he kissed me and said to me:  ’Daughter, peace be with you.’ And I began to go with glory to the gate called the Gate of Life. And I awoke; and I understood that I should fight, not with beasts but against the devil, but I knew that mine was the victory.

When Perpetua and Felicity actually were martyred on March 7, they were first whipped and then thrown into the arena where they were mauled by a wild cow. They exchanged the kiss of peace and were killed by a sword.

Before her martyrdom, St. Perpetua professed her faith:

For this cause came we willingly unto this, that our liberty might not be obscured. For this cause have we devoted our lives.

Photo/Daniel Dobleu Licensed under Creative Commons

If the real battle between good and evil were like a superhero movie, God, wearing a mask or maybe iron armor, would face off against his super villain, the devil, whom He would defeat after a very intense two-hour confrontation.

There’s no doubt that evil exists but often it’s hard to trace it back to an arch enemy. I think Satan would like us to think he’s Batman’s nemesis–or that he doesn’t exist at all.

Since he  is an angel and can assume any form he chooses, we might not recognize him.  But there is good evidence that he wreaks havoc and tries to get us to make bad choices.

According to Bl. Pope John Paul II:

The battle against the devil … is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world. The evil that surrounds us today, the disorders that plague our society, man’s inconsistency and brokenness, are not only the results of original sin, but also the result of Satan’s pervasive and dark action.

Satan was at first a good angel, the Fourth Lateran Council taught, but he and other angels “radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign.” (CCC 392)  The story of their fall from heaven is found in Rev. 12:7-9. It is believed that Satan and his angels refused to serve Christ, whose human nature was below the level of the angels. But since angels don’t face the same weaknesses and temptations as humans, it’s not totally clear why he sinned.

We don’t know how high Satan is on the angel scale of importance. He is powerful because he is pure spirit, but he is still a creature and can’t prevent the building up of God’s reign. It’s a great mystery why God allows his diabolical activity. (CCC 395)

Jesus talked a lot about the devil–He mentioned Satan at least 17 times in the gospels.  Matthew 4:1-11 tells how the Evil One tried to derail the Lord’s mission by tempting Him three times in the desert.

The Apostles also thought Satan was real.  St. John wrote: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)   St. Peter warned: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

When Jesus prays, “But deliver us from evil” in the Our Father, evil “refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who ‘throws himself across’  God’s plan and His work of salvation accomplished in Christ.” (CCC 2851)

The devil isn’t responsible for all evil–we contribute to the evil in the world through our own wrong choices–but he brings intelligent direction to all the evil tendencies and forces.

Iron Man’s high-tech weapons won’t help in defeating the devil but prayer will. Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi offers these rules:

1. Do not forget that the devil exists.
2. Do not forget that the devil is a tempter.
3. Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute.
4. Be (always) vigilant in the eyes and the heart.
5. Be strong in spirit and virtue.
6. Pray tirelessly.
7. Adore God.
8. Listen to God’s words.
9. Remember Christ’s victory over temptation. Remember man’s sharing in that victory.
10. Be humble and love mortification.

Mardi Gras in Honolulu, Hawaii. Photo/madmarv00 Licensed under Creative Commons.

In many places around the world, Carnival or Mardi Gras celebrations will be in high gear this Sunday, as people live it up during the final days before Lent starts. I wasn’t aware that for centuries the Church has called it Quinquagesima Sunday, the last of three Sundays before Lent that were designated as a time to prepare for the penitential season.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is named for the custom of slaughtering and feasting on the fatted calf as the last indulgence before fasting and abstinence begin on Ash Wednesday. It’s the climax of Carnival (which means literally, taking away flesh) a festive season starting at Epiphany in many countries.

In England the day before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday–the final day of Shrovetide (taken from the word “shrive” which means to confess). It refers to the week before Lent when the laity was encouraged to go to confession, according to the Anglo-Saxon “Ecclesiastical Institutes.”  Germans celebrate Fastnacht, the eve of the fast.

Even centuries ago, Carnival and Mardi Gras revelry tended to get out of hand and the Church tried to check the excesses, especially in Italy. In the 16th century, Forty Hours of prayer was established on the final days of Carnival, partly to draw Catholics away from dangerous occasions of sin and also to make reparation for sins committed.

In 1747, Pope Benedict XIV granted a plenary indulgence for those who participated in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during three days of Carnival.

This leads me to Quinquagesima Sunday. The Latin word for 50th, it marks exactly 50 days before Easter. In the past, it was observed as the third of a three-week countdown starting two weeks earlier with Setuagesima (70th) Sunday followed by Sexagesima (60th) Sunday, referring to the approximate number of days until Easter. The numbers are more symbolic than actual mathematical realities.

This isn’t meant to be a lesson in Latin ordinal numbers (Lent itself is called Quadragesima meaning 40th) but to make us aware of the time period we’re entering.

Something like Carnival was probably already going on when Greeks in the early Church practiced a pre-Lenten penitential season to get in the right frame of mind for Lent. Early Christian communities followed the Greek tradition when they named the three “gesima” Sundays for the start of their Lenten fasts. When Pope  St. Gregory the Great made the practice of Lent uniform in about 600, he marked these Sundays as reminders of the approach of Lent so Catholics could prepare. Clergy wore violet vestments on these Sundays.

While the Church no longer observes the  ”gesima” Sundays as part of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite,  they are still found in the 1962  Roman Missal and are observed as part of the Extraordinary Form. They’re a good reminder that we should start thinking about Lent now so it doesn’t take us by surprise before we’ve had a chance to prepare mentally and spiritually.

There’s nothing wrong with killing the fatted calf on Mardi Gras but it’s even better to be ready for what comes on the day after: an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord through prayer, fasting and almsgiving as we prepare to commemorate His Passion and Resurrection.

There is no surgical procedure to remove the conscience. When it is formed correctly, it gives light and life. Photo/Army Medicine Licensed under Creative Commons

If the conscience were an internal organ, I think we’d be able to have it surgically removed. As it is, we can deaden our conscience but I don’t think it’s possible to completely kill it even with the strongest poison.

While I’ve never sought to destroy my conscience I have  tried to silence it now and then. Thanks to my parents and all the people who’ve helped to positively form my conscience since I was a child, I can now recognize what a great gift it is.

While there are always plenty of threats to conscience health, an especially big one is on the horizon, so I thought it would be good to look at what the conscience is, how it’s formed or malformed, and what the Church says about external forces that try to coerce us into violating our conscience.

Our conscience is our “most secret core and sanctuary,” according to the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes. It’s where we are alone with God “whose voice echoes in our depths.” Deep within our conscience is a law inscribed by God that calls us to love and to do what is good and avoid evil. And if our ear is tuned to it, we hear it at just the right moment.

The Catechism states that conscience judges choices, bears witness to authority of truth and welcomes the commandments. By the judgment of reason, we recognize the moral quality of acts we’re going to perform, that we are performing or that we have done. (CCC 1777)

Bl. John Henry Newman put it this way:

Conscience is a law of the mind; yet [Christians] would not grant that it is nothing more; I mean that it was not a dictate nor conveyed the notion of responsibility, of duty, of a threat and a promise … [Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.

Like virtues–and vices–our conscience is formed to an extent by habits. We have to learn and practice its interior law. Throughout our entire lives it must be formed and our moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful and formulates judgments according to reason. To make moral decisions, not only must our conscience be formed but it must be informed about the topic.

There are some ground rules for acting in good conscience:

• One may never do evil so that good may result from it;
• The Golden Rule: “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” (Mt. 7:12, Lk. 6:31, Tob. 4:15)
• Charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience: “Thus sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience … you sin against Christ.”

As we exercise our conscience, “there are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.” (CCC 1756)

When someone ‘s conscience is malformed or when they make errors of judgment in moral conduct, it’s for one of these reasons: ignorance of Christ and the Gospel, bad example, enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejecting the Church’s authority and teaching or lack of conversion and charity. (CCC 1792)

If our conscience is formed properly, the Church teaches that we have a right to act in conscience and freedom to make moral decisions. The Vatican II Council Fathers wrote that man “must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters. (Dignitatis Humanae)

We’re obliged by our conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are “contrary to the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ (Acts 5:29).” (CCC 2256)

The federal government’s mandate that nearly all employers offering their employees health insurance provide free contraception, sterilization and some aborifacient drugs is directly at variance with Church teaching. Not only would this new rule force many Catholic organizations to violate their consciences but also Catholics throughout the country who will be forced to pay through their health plans for the “free” services.

In reference to the Church’s position on contraception, the encyclical Humanae Vitae states:

“Every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of the natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible” is intrinsically evil.

This seems like the right moment to listen for the voice of God in our conscience. As St. Augustine said:

“Return to your conscience, question it … Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.”