Michael Daly CJ Blog

My Thanks for 2011 and Blessings for 2012

michaeldalycj — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:48:59 +0000

Just about time to say thank you to my dear friends who have helped me through 2011. Your prayer, thoughts, actions, challenges, writings, sermons, words, cooking, inspirations, company, music and love have astounded me and kept some sanity in my bones, soul and spirit. I wish I could name you all, but fear in these few words, I will forget many and not have enough space or time to write all your names down… but be assured that I always carry you in my heart.

Special ‘thank you’ ‘ (in no special order) to – Mike Norcock; Denis Costley; Keith and Valerie Watkins; David and Moira Foster; Gordon and Kathy Lee; John Ghazal; Mark and Lynda Lynam; Matt and Vicky Lee, Paul Abnett, Paul and Talitha Ishi-Smith, Phil Ede, Rene and Anette Jorgensen; Ruth Green; Tracey Jeffreys; Sr. Ambrose; Fr. David King; Dee Heyfron; Steve Dine; Neil Sanderson; Javier Gonzalez; Jim and Sue Hough; Jim and Pauline Hannant. My fellow Companions of Jesus – Br.Roger Crosthwaite; Sr.Beth Ann Willis; Br.Dylan Dickerson; Br. Charlie Coxill, Sr. Marianne Harvey, Sr. Mary Ann Eagle, Sr. Diana Holley, Br’ Robert Mace; Sr. Sally Harrington; Sr. Sylvia Kirkpatrick; Br. Con Carrrol; Sr. Fiona Mckie. Thanks also to Fr. Chris Spain; Fr. James Martin; Brennan Manning; Bridget and Mike Kitts; Heidi Baker; Sr. Eileen Wheeler; Fr. Boniface Moran; Dr. Greg Boyd;Bonnieand Trevor Lyne; John and Debbie Purfield; Bob Harper; Pastors Dave Bishop; Chris Simmons, Robbie Dawkins; Bill Johnson; Rob Bell; Kris Vallotton and Danny Silk. To my three wonderful sons’, Stephen, Daniel and Nathan, a big thank you for keeping me up to speed and not complaining when I have failed so miserably so often. Thanks also to all my friends at Sidley Baptist Church, St. Barnabas, St. Mary Magdalene and God’s greenhouse here in Bexhill-on-Sea.

As with most years we mourn the departure of dear friends. I remember especially, June English, Rosemarie Searle, Sally Santonochito, Rev. David Wilkerson, Rev. John Stott and my dear aunts Margaret Woodroffe and Bernadette Galvin. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

I pray that 2012 will be a year of reconciliation and renewal for all of us and that you and I will be drawn closer each day to Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Michael Daly. C.J.

31/12/2011

Worship First, Debate Later

michaeldalycj — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:29:05 +0000

I read the following article recently and thought it was worth sharing.

Michael Daly. C.J.

Worship First, Debate Later

I had been fretting for a few days about whether a black suit would be too formal for the event and in the end I decided on a classic navy pinstripe blazer paired with khakis and a white shirt and tie. I figured since I was traveling up to New England to be with friends from grad school that this ensemble would serve me well, allowing me to blend in with the crowd no matter how staid or solemn the event.

After stopping off to purchase a congratulations card, we were running a bit late. When I entered the church lobby, somebody I recognized ran toward me and said, “Oh good, you’re here! The pastor has an alb for you in the sacristy. Go hurry up and put it on and come back out here.” I walked over to meet the pastor and he picked up the worn white garment. Sensing that I didn’t have much experience vesting, he offered to help. Take off the jacket and slip this on, he told me. After buttoning up the front, he took the cincture, the long piece of rope that serves as a sort of holy belt, and tied it around my waist, leaving enough tassel loose so that the knotted ends would fall just above my shoes when I walked. Any worry I had about my attire no longer mattered; everything was covered in this sacred garb.

I was in Connecticut at a suburban Lutheran church for the ordination ceremony of a close friend who was called to serve a congregation in western Massachusetts. We had met as divinity students; he was on track to be a minister while I opted for a strictly academic route. The school we attended prided itself on its ecumenical nature, and Tim used his small in planning this joint ordination to incorporate this ethos into his ordination. As a result, he asked me, his Roman Catholic friend, to serve as crucifer (some misread the title as crucifier, an admittedly more dramatic role I may have considered had it been offered). I would wear an alb, lead the procession to the altar carrying a wooden cross, and have a prime seat in the sanctuary for the duration of the service.

From that vantage point I was able to see the other ways that the ecumenical spirit animated parts of the service. Many of my classmates had been ordained earlier in the year, and they vested and processed in behind me. Included were a handful of Episcopal priests, a few Congregationalist ministers, and others of various Christian persuasions. All the clergy sat together, their denominational loyalties mostly hidden beneath their uniform chasubles and stoles.

I had learned that ecumenists often lump together Catholics, Lutherans and Episcopalians because their liturgies are fairly similar, and I had attended enough services from each tradition to know that this is basically true. But it had been a couple years since graduation and so I had forgotten just how familiar a Lutheran service would be to my Catholic sensibilities. The opening sequence of prayers and music could have been lifted right from the Roman Missal (but that they were recited by a female bishop reminded me that I was not at Catholic Mass), and the readings were selected by a lectionary shared by many denominations. Responses and music were quite similar, and theological language was nearly identical. We did not pray for Benedict our pope or hope to share in the beatific vision with Mary ever virgin, but the overwhelming sentiment of the service was catholic in the literal sense of the word.

In the days and weeks that followed the ordination, I was filled with a spirit of ecumenism that I had not felt as viscerally since my time in divinity school, and my thoughts again turned to the place of worship in ecumenical efforts. There are many theological issues, some legitimate and some aesthetic and trivial, that keep Catholics and Protestants apart. Figuring out how to bridge these gaps often seems to be the starting point, with the goal of arriving someplace where common worship is possible.

What if we flipped the order?

A good friend who works in the Catholic Church with individuals from opposite ideological spectrums often makes the point that it is more difficult to be distrustful and disparaging of others when you know them personally. If this is true on the personal level, might it work at the denominational level as well? What if Catholics and Protestants were to approach the altar together, sincerely believing that all involved did so in a spirit of reverence and respect, awe and humility?

There would inevitably be some hiccups along the way. Would a Catholic priest feel comfortable concelebrating with a divorced female Episcopal priest? Would an openly gay and partnered minister want to break bread with an ideological opponent? How would Congregationalist and Roman Catholic presiders approach the Eucharist when their theologies are so distant? On a more basic level, what kinds of language would be used? Which core elements of worship services would be included? How would these be chosen?

Catholics and Protestants alike hold certain theological, doctrinal and liturgical traditions sacred, and the real differences among our various Christian tribes should not be casually dismissed or glossed over. But imagine the possibilities if we were able to trust in God enough to set them aside for a bit for a greater purpose. Imagine tearing down barriers, if only for an hour at a time, and worshipping together, with a vision of unity animating our thoughts and words. Perhaps the differences that seem so insurmountable to unity might lessen a bit in intensity after such a service? Though some will dismiss this idea as theologically lightweight and overly romantic, actually being present with one another in worship allows the sincerity and faithfulness of our neighbors to be felt in meaningful and transformative ways.

Michael O’Loughlin. The Huffington Post

Save the Altar Girls!

michaeldalycj — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:51:48 +0000

The following news item comes from America Magazine The National Catholic Weekly. I am blogging it as I really can’t believe it! I have that strange feeling that I’d like to scream!!

Michael Daly. C.J.

Save the Altar Girls

This is not a local story, but one that represents larger trends in the church—in the priesthood, the liturgy and in the role of the people of God. Recently Sts. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, Ariz., changed its policy on altar servers. From now on only boys may serve; girls may apply for jobs as sacristans. Why? The rector of the cathedral told The Catholic Sun that the cathedral is not alone in making this regulation. A parish in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., he argues, have found that replacing girls with boys as servers leads to more vocations to the priesthood.

These moves to limit laywomen’s access to the altar threaten to drag the church back into the pre-Vatican II world. One wonders if next the altar rail will return, another barrier between the priests and the people.

According to the rector, people who are upset about this decision concerning Mass servers make a mistake in considering it “a question of rights,” as if someone’s rights were being denied. But, he says, no one has a “right” to be a server or even more a priest. One must be “called” to any church office. When the secular world comments on who should be an altar server, he says, it has only an emotional view, unguided by the light of reason.

The key issue is the status of the baptized: that the laity may be called by the Spirit to offer their talents in various roles. The rejection of altar girls disregards the counsel of the Second Vatican Council that the charisms of the baptized “are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation.” By virtue of baptism, the council reminds us, “there is neither male nor female. For you are all ‘one’ in Christ Jesus.” There is “a true equality between all with regard to the dignity and activity which is common to all the faithful in building up the Body of Christ” (“Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” Nos. 12, 32).

That this call should be fully welcomed does not appear to be a priority in Phoenix. Yes, the Vatican instruction “Sacrament of Redemption” (2004) allows women servers, but it leaves the decision to local bishops. In Phoenix the bishop leaves it to the pastors. This pastor did not consult the parish council, he says, because its members are not theologically trained.

Another issue is the image of the priesthood today. Is it wise to re-enforce the sense of the priesthood as a clerical caste? Is the acolyte supposed to be like the page who serves Sir Galahad until King Arthur dubs him a knight? In a culture where parents want their daughters to have the same opportunities as their sons—in co-ed Catholic colleges, in the armed services, in athletics, in employment—the church can look irrelevant, even foolish, in shunting them aside. The more the priesthood is presented as an exclusive club, the smaller and more remote it will become. Those who put up barriers between themselves and the people should, using modern parlance, recall Jesus’ words to his disciples: “Look, how many times do I have to tell you? You are here to serve.”

Inevitably the issue of women’s roles in the church raises the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood. Recently a cardinal in Lisbon and some bishops in Brazil, among others, also raised the question; but since Pope Benedict XVI, despite continued agitation, has reaffirmed the policy of John Paul II to allow no discussion of the topic, the matter of altar servers must be considered a separate and independent issue.

In no way should policies imply that women are second-class citizens—welcome to tidy up the sacristy, arrange flowers and clean linens but not to set the gifts at the altar or hold the sacramentary or censer. Rather, they must be welcomed into every service and leadership role, including catechists, lectors, chancellors and general secretaries of bishops’ conferences. (The diaconate for women remains an open question and ought to be explored.) Churches that invite all their people to bring all their talents to the welfare of the congregation will thrive. To tell a young woman that she may no longer pour the water on the priest’s fingers at the Lavabo looks like sexism. If the ban in these dioceses continues and spreads, perhaps women and girls will consider withholding their other services to the parishes, and men and boys, in solidarity with their sisters, will decline the honor of acolyte.

Having girls share serving opportunities with boys is an expression of their equality in Christ. Parishes must create a variety of social and service activities. A distinguishing characteristic of today’s young men and women, even when they are not “devout” in the usual sense, is their rejection of discrimination in any form. They are highly sensitive to any hint of exclusionary policies in organizations. Perhaps if more young people believed they could continue that commitment to equality as priests, more would be ready to follow a priestly vocation.

michaeldalycj — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:50:38 +0000

The Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis died during the evening of 3rd October . Franciscans observes the death of Saint Francis on this day and celebrate his feast day on the following day 4th October.

As he lay dying, it is told that Francis prayed Psalm 142 and during the closing verse he died. This event is solemnly remembered each year by Franciscans to honor their holy Father’s entrance into the joy of going home to the Lord by way of sister death –a transitus–a passing– of Francis from life to Life today, 3rd October .

Alleluia, Alleluia, Francis, poor and humble, enters heaven rich and is welcomed with celestial hymns. Alleluia.

Psalm 142

I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord did I make my supplication.

I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him trouble.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then he knew my path.

In the way where I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.

I looked on right hand, and held, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

I cried to You, O Lord: I said, You are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

Attend to my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name: the righteous shall compass me about; for You shall deal bountifully with me.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Francis, poor and humble, enters heaven rich and is welcomed with celestial hymns. Alleluia.

O God, you granted our blessed Father Francis the reward of everlasting joy: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of his death, may at last come to the same eternal joy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Faith – spelt RISK…….. not-Maybe…..

michaeldalycj — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:22:34 +0000

I sometimes (too often indeed) instead of heeding the call to move out of my crystalised Christian comfort zone look glumly at the possibility of getting it wrong if I did….asking maybe I’ve heard wrongly….maybe I should hold back….maybe this isn’t such a good idea….maybe it’s the wrong time….maybe I’ll make matters worse…maybe….maybe ……maybe?

Recently I read of a promising 12-year-old athlete who went to a sports psychologist for help. She had all the skills of a future Olympic medalist, yet never seemed to live up to her potential. The psychologist handed her four darts and instructed her to toss them at a target across the office.

She looked at him nervously and asked, “What if I miss?”

Those four words kept her from reaching her potential. Instead of focusing on how to run and win the race, instead of focusing on how to succeed, she worried about how to keep from failing.

Faith is spelt RISK. The young athlete needed to trust her skills and not allow FEAR to stop her. Fear contends against faith. Fear is the destructive force and controlling weapon of Satan. We are told to live by faith… because we TRUST not in ourselves but in Him who is trustworthy.

I think Mike Yaconelli understood this when he wrote, ”I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to cry or laugh…………I want to be “dangerous” to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered “dangerous” by our predictable and monotonous culture…..”

Come on…..are you going to risk it? I certainly am….and no ‘maybe’s’ allowed!

Michael Daly. C.J.

September 2011

michaeldalycj — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:55:58 +0000

On the tenth anniversary of September 11, James Martin, S.J., returns to the spots where he and his brother Jesuits ministered in the days following the attacks. Produced by Kerry Weber.

Father’s Love Letter

michaeldalycj — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:13:21 +0000

michaeldalycj — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 06:21:34 +0000

The following story comes from Dan Millman in “Chicken Soup For the Soul”:

“Many years ago, at Stanford Hospital, there was a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. He hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, ‘Yes, I’ll do it if it will save Liza.’

“As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, ‘Will I start to die right away?’

“Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.”

What a beautiful example of love! We can easily measure our love for others by how much we are willing to do for them. There are some people I love enough to drive across town and run an errand for them. There are other people I love enough to be awakened at 3:00 in the morning if they need someone to talk to. But there are very few people I love enough to give my very life.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13-14)

I’m not asking you to die for anyone today. But I do want you to ask yourself this question: “How much am I willing to do for those whom I say that I love?”

Rev. Alan Smith. From ’A Thought for the Day’ (2001)

Humility Prayer

michaeldalycj — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 06:12:46 +0000

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being honoured, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

(Prayer by Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta.)

Michael Daly CJ Blog

Recommended Reading From 2011

My Thanks for 2011 and Blessings for 2012

Worship First, Debate Later

I read the following article recently and thought it was worth sharing.

Worship First, Debate Later

Save the Altar Girls!

The Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi

Faith – spelt RISK…….. not-Maybe…..

Father’s Love Letter

Humility Prayer