2012  Articles by Martin Mallon (Ireland)

 

Dec 25: Joy To The World
This beautiful reflection has link to  great article about Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol", with the words "historians believe that this story is responsible for our continued observance of Christmas. It revived very old customs that had been on the verge of dying out" 

Dec 18: All My Life
 
I came across this beautiful poem by theologian Mary T. Malone. There are so many elements to this poem, that I felt obliged to print it for readers to reflect on. Comments would be appreciated, particularly because each time I read this poem something new strikes me and I am sure I am missing many insights.

Dec 11: Advent and Mass  
Patrick Moore, a famous English astronomer died on Dec 9.  One notable quote made by Patrick has a bearing on this meditation: "Haven't got a clue how to visualise infinity. Even Einstein hadn't. I know because I asked him." One of the greatest scientists  could not “visualise infinity” so it is no wonder that the mystery of the incarnation is difficult for us lesser mortals to make sense of

Dec 4: Ecumenical Council to be held every ten years "for ever"     
"The frequent holding of general councils is a pre-eminent
means of cultivating the Lord's patrimony. It roots out the briars, thorns and thistles of heresies, errors and schisms, corrects deviations, reforms what is deformed and produces a richly fertile crop for the Lord's vineyard. Neglect of councils, on the other hand, spreads and fosters the aforesaid evils"
Ecumenical Councils are to be held every ten years “for ever”. Naturally, this did not go down well with subsequent Popes and curia as it deprived them of power and control

Nov 27: Mary
  

Mary, the mother of Jesus, becomes prominent as we approach Advent. She has a major role to play in Advent and is a great witness to us all. Her ability to wait patiently never ceases to amaze, especially in the modern era where no one app ears to be able to wait for anything. 

Nov 20: Who To Believe? 
If we continue to ban people from Catholic campus speaking engagements because of this issue or that,  if we refuse to dine with the Catholic Left, how can we enlist their aid, as Cardinal O’Malley did in Boston, when we might need it?  

Nov 13: Richard McBrien on Pope John XXII's opening address at Vat II
The Church has always faced persecution and exterior threats, but the most serious threats have always come from within.... We did not and do not listen to each other. Dissent is crushed not “by demonstrating the validity of her teaching, but by condemnations and sanctions. 

Nov 6: The Law of Love
Where does this leave the institutional Church? Clearly it is more important to obey this Law of Love than to obey the Church. Yes, Church teaching is useful for guidance, but Jesus puts the Law of Love above Church teaching 

Oct 30: New Evangelisation  
So we are in a situation where the New Evangelisation is directed at “those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church” and yet we are expected to believe that liturgy will bring these lapsed Catholics back to the Church, even though many will have experienced the liturgy before they left the Church and in some cases liturgy was a reason for leaving. How can they experience the liturgy if they are not physically in the Church? Concentration on liturgy is going to evangelise few lapsed Catholics. Concentration on our daily lives, ecumenism and the poor appears to be the way forward and constantly deepening our relationship with Jesus is the engine of growth.

Oct 23: Vatican II Success Story?
Effective ecumenism is one of the greatest unused tools of evangelisation. Imagine if the Christian Churches could be, and seen to be,  united on many issues, how Christ’s request in John 17:21, that “May they all be one”, would demonstrate that Christians do practice Christianity and are united in Christ. What a wonderful witness of Christ for the rest of humanity.

Oct 16:   50 Years On 
The hierarchy are encouraging us to read the documents of Vatican II, but say we must interpret them in a particular way; their way. The “right hermeneutic” that Pope Benedict has requested be used in interpreting Vatican II documents is one where the “conservative” aspect of every teaching must be chosen. Clearly this is not what the bishops and the Holy Spirit wanted to be the outcome of Vatican II 

Oct 9: The formation of conscience
The teaching of Vatican II indicates the way forward as regards conscience. 
As the people of God we should use our consciences and not just rely on Church teachings
c.f. articles on conscience  by Brian Lewis

Oct 5: The vision of Vatican II
A powerful commentary on the inspirational America Magazine interview with Ladislas Orsy SJ
John XXIII was advised to be careful because if you make concessions to the bishops then they will run away with the Council. Apparently the Pope responded: “They too”, meaning the bishops, “have the Holy Spirit.” The Pope obeyed the Spirit as he discovered the Spirit in the bishops, and without that the Council would have been very different; it would have been a restatement of the status quo of the last two or three centuries. The bishops' first responsibility is to the Holy Spirit, not to the Pope, not to the bishops’ conference 

Oct 3: Vatican & Religious: going backwards or forwards?
The archbishop appears to be overly optimistic as the evidence suggests the Holy See appears to be intent on going backwards, as demonstrated by the new translation of the Mass and the Visitation of the US  LCWR

Oct 2:  C
all for Reform
The current situation is very dangerous as it does cause people to drift along, believing official Church teaching is God given and binding, without using their discerned moral consciousness, therefore abdicating personal responsibility.  The reform of the Church must begin with the people informing their consciences

Sep 25: The Year of Faith
It appears we are not to read the documents of Vatican II unless we use tunnel vision with the tunnel being a “right hermeneutic”

Sep 18: Why did Jesus not marry?
Celibacy, as a requirement of the priesthood, is a church discipline and no more. The Second Vatican Council made this plain when it stated that "Celibacy is not required by the priesthood itself, as is evident in the practices of the early Church, and in the tradition of the Eastern Churches"

Sep 11: Signs of the Times
The next ecumenical council should not be Vatican III, but Rio I !

Sep 4: Christianity and Banks
What kind of a reception would the prodigal son have gotten in the Merkel household?  

Aug 28: Some Aspects of the Spirituality of Therese of Lisieux
Try  talking about mercy in the Church. Take as your concrete examples the remarriage of divorcees, or priests who have left the ministry. You can be sure of being criticised, even denounced

August 21:  A Pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial
The Cardinal said that coming to Paray was a source of strength from the heart of Jesus

August 14: Congar and the Council
The Council planted the seeds of a new ecclesiology – a new church. But the obstructionism  of the Roman Curia and of the forces of the right led to too many essential points being expressed as compromises

August 7: Congar and the Curia
Newman had to defend himself against the “schismatic spirit” of the right. The similarities with today’s church are striking as the curia and hierarchy  present a “schismatic spirit”. This can be seen in the  non-implementation of Vatican II teachings on collegiality and subsidiarity, together with the  reform of the reform

July 31: Church Governance & Conscience 
What are the People of God to do when faced with a hierarchy that is ignoring some of the main teachings
of an Ecumenical Council?  

In the fourth century for over 30 years during the Arian crisis, the Church taught that Jesus 
was not  divine. This was in opposition to the teaching  of the Council of Nicea  in 325 AD.  

St Athanasius and the laity ignored official Church teaching and listened to the conscience God gave them, 
until the teaching of the divinity of Christ was restored.  
A
s Newman says “The Catholic people, in the length and breadth of Christendom, were the obstinate champions of Catholic truth, and the bishops were not.”     

July 24: Priests and change in the Church
Article quotes Bishop Fritz Lobinger:
“The early church indeed did ordain local leaders who were married,
 had received brief local training, were chosen by the local community 
and had proven their worthiness over some time.
I am not alone. There are hundreds of bishops who feel that renewing this ancient tradition
is the only solution to the shortage of priests.”  

July 17: Inconsistent Methodology
It would appear that Pope Benedict will continue to use the hermeneutic of continuity
to interpret the teachings of Vatican II
while using “definitive” teachings
to halt debate on disputed points of theology, such as ordaining women priests

July 10: Community and Inclusion Reflection on talk at Dublin Eucharist Congress by Fr Peter McVerry SJ
We must be radical to follow Jesus and our institutional church clearly is not. 
The institutional church is a church of laws and not compassion and this is not the church Jesus started


July 3: How to live today

What should we do now while we wait for changes in the structure of the institutional church?

June 26: Eucharist and Dialogue
Martin recommends this excellent article from Independent.ie Healing our rotten State from within
by
Stephen J. Costello
"It is the spiritual dimension that urgently needs to be tapped into...  
where inner riches and vast resources of the Irish spirit lie dormant. Therein lies our strength. And the solution.

June 19: Baptism, Ecumenism & Vatican II

June 12: Eucharistic Congress, Dublin

June 5: The Ministry of Women Deacons  and Canon 129

May 29: Vat II & the legitimacy of Canon 129

May 22: International Eucharistic Congress Dublin   June 10-17

May 15: Towards an Assembly of the Irish Catholic Church - comments re May 7 Dublin meeting

May 8:  Cardinal Sean Brady

May 1:  Vatican abuse of power?