Living Tabernacle

Archbishop Michael Byrnes said that Mass will be held inside churches on the weekend of Pentecost.  Many people are happy about this while a few are still very cautious about opening up the church. 

As I have often said, Christianity is about Christ.  It is not about the buildings.  If there is anything to be learned about this pandemic, it is that a church building can be taken away from us.  But Christ cannot be taken away from us.  It would be prudent to prepare for the taking away of the church buildings.  Why?  Because the Archdiocese is currently facing lawsuits after lawsuits for allegations of child sexual abuse.  In the future, some of those church buildings may be sold.  So, if there is anything this pandemic has taught, it is not to turn sacred objects into idols.  Those sacred objects are to be respected, but God alone is to be adored and worshiped.   

The tabernacle in our church building is sacred, but Catholics do not worship the tabernacle.  It is what is inside the tabernacle that we worship.  In the Old Testament, the Israelites also did not worship the tabernacle.  They understood that it was the dwelling place of God and therefore sacred and worthy of respect and honor.  The Israelites worshiped what the tabernacle contained - God Himself.  

In the New Testament, the New Ark of the Covenant is not made of finest gold as the old one was.  The New Ark of the Covenant was Mary (see my article here).  Catholics do not worship Mary, the New Ark of the Covenant.  We worship God and God alone.  During the pandemic, it was not the church building that Catholics miss because the Protestants were correct when they say that we can worship God anywhere.  So long as there are two or three gathered in my name, so there I am also in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).  When Mass was offered in the parking lot, people rejoiced because they received Holy Communion.  We attend Church to receive His Body and Blood so that we be one with Christ.  It was never about the building.  It was about the Eucharist, the receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord.  Even Archbishop Michael understood this clearly.  According to the Pacific Daily News:

In a pastoral letter to Catholics, Brynes wrote that the decision wasn't taken lightly as the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Catholic faith. 

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Catholic faith, not the church building.   

In the Old Testament, the Jewish Temple was the cornerstone, both literally and figuratively, of Jewish worship.  In the New Testament, the Christian body is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells and Christ is the chief cornerstone (Acts 4:10-12). In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was made of finest materials and pure gold.  In the New Testament, the new Ark of the Covenant was Mary.  A created being became a living tabernacle of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Mary was the fulfillment of the Ark who took the joy, power, and presence of Jesus wherever she went.

When we receive the Body of Christ in Holy Communion, we also become living tabernacles like Mary.  As living tabernacles, we are to take Jesus into the world, allowing His presence in us to shine before others so that they too will believe and worship the one true God.  It is for this purpose that Christ built His Church, which is not a building made of stone.  Jesus told us to worship Him in "Spirit and in truth".  What does that mean?  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

CCC 1179  The worship "in Spirit and in truth" of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place.  The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men.  What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones" gathered to be "built into a spiritual house."  For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God." 

Vocations: A Fruit of the NCW

The NCW is known for its many fruits.  One of those fruits are priestly vocations.  You can find the following article here.

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When John Paul II greeted this young boy, it changed his life forever

He’s one of the JPII vocations, having been marked by God through the influence of the Polish pope.

Father Francesco Chiarini, 39, a priest of the Neocatechumenal Way in the Diocese of Fermo, Italy, believes his vocation is related to an unexpected encounter he had as an 8-year-old boy. John Paul II visited Chiarini’s hometown on December 30, 1988. Pope John Paul II, then 67 years old, descended from the sky—literally: He got down from a helicopter, wearing a red cape. A joyful crowd celebrated his apostolic visit. Kiko Argüello, then 48 years old, one of the founders of the Neocatechumenal Way, accompanied the Pontiff to the entrance of the International Center for Evangelization of Porto San Giorgio, located in the central Italian region of Marche.

Among the crowd, an Italian boy holding a small Vatican flag ran with his brother to see the Successor of Peter. They were stopped by a metal barrier. It seemed it would be impossible to see the pope close up, but the future saint took special notice of the elder of the brothers; he stopped in front of the clear-eyed, smiling little boy, who was almost hanging off that barrier.

“We got past the barrier,” Chiarini tells Aleteia. “The pope came to me—I don’t know why he didn’t do the same with my brother, who was next to me—and he caressed my cheek, almost like a friendly and soft pat. I still remember his fragrance.”

Chiarini is now a young priest, ordained in 2010 on the second Sunday of Easter, the feast of Divine Mercy, a celebration proclaimed 10 years earlier by John Paul II.

That encounter was a special moment. The little boy felt something indescribable in his heart, he says. “A few days later, my parish priest, Fr. Enrico, whom you see in the photo, asked all the children taking First Communion preparation course what we wanted to be when we grew up. Without hesitation, I answered: ‘a priest!’”

The encounter took place on the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1988 when John Paul II celebrated Mass and sent out the first families of that International Center as missionaries. They later went to the humblest peripheries of Asia and Africa, forming small evangelization teams accompanied by a priest.

WYD vocations

Chiarini was 17 years old when, in August 1997, he participated with a group of young people from the Neocatechumenal Way in the 12th International World Youth Day (WYD) in Paris. The young man again considered being a priest when he heard John Paul II’s words: “Follow Jesus! Do not be afraid of the ‘new life’ that He offers you.” 

“John Paul II loved Jesus Christ deeply, and he was a witness to prayer. This gave him immense freedom in everything: to say things to young people and to be a young man with young people,” says Chiarini.

Today, the Italian priest holds a doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and has been a professor at the Theological Institute of Marche in Fermo, Italy, since 2009.

Love, suffering and the Cross

In fact, the pontificate of John Paul II had an impact on the lives of millions of young people. On Palm Sunday, 1986, the first WYD took place in Rome. It contributed to Karol Wojtyła receiving the nickname of “the Pope of youth,” and “the Pope of vocations”—both vocations of families and of consecrated men and women.

Chiarini sees another revealing sign of his vocation in the fact that he wrote his thesis for his bachelor’s degree in theology on the writings of a 16th-century Spanish friar, St. John of the Cross, considered the summit of Christian experimental mysticism. The saint’s writings (primarily poetry) inspired Chiarini to study the grace of the gratuitousness of Christ’s love. 

In fact, unknown to Chiarini at the time, John Paul II had obtained his doctorate in theology (1948) with a thesis on the theme of faith in the works of none other than St. John of the Cross. Moreover, years earlier, after the sorrowful death of his father, John Paul II had found that reading the holy poet gave him comfort, at the same time as his awareness of his vocation grew in admiration of the sacrifice of Catholic priests in Nazi concentration camps.

Fr. Chiarini considers the intimacy of his prayer life to be another spiritual link with Wojtyła, who placed every decision in God’s hands. His bond with John Paul II is also a link with his own father, who died some time ago and who was very devoted to the Polish saint. Chiarini’s father prayed to St. John Paul II, asking that through his intercession the Lord would protect his family, help the young people he catechized, and grant him health. The message of Pope Wojtyła strengthened the unity of Chiarini’s family.  

John Paul II: An inspiration

“God helps me live the call. The more I go on as a priest, the more I feel an emptying (kenosis) of myself, and the more I trust fully in his love, thus increasing my capacity to serve and be with young people. John Paul II loved Christ, so the crowds followed him. I feel a ‘gratuitous love’ that ‘I do not deserve,’ but every day, God comes looking for me, even though I am nothing but a poor priest. While I am free, I feel chosen and consoled by Christ.”

Fr. Chiarini says that he’s received a hundred times more than he has given. As an example of how God’s grace works through him, he tells us about his participation in an international amateur football championship he played in while studying at a seminary in Taiwan. In the final qualifying match, he scored the winning goal, and immediately his opponent’s goalkeeper, in a fit of blind rage due to the defeat, struck and broke Chiarini’s leg (tibia and fibula).

Before leaving the field, although he was in pain, Chiarini felt the need to make a gesture which he says came not from him, but from God. Before getting on the stretcher and being taken to hospital where he would later undergo reconstructive surgery, he took the hand of the young Canadian who had injured him, looked him in the eyes, and said, “I forgive you!” 

“The young man was an atheist,” Chiarini says, “but he came to visit me in the hospital. Although he didn’t know where to find me, he did everything possible to talk to me before the operation. Perhaps the Lord put forgiveness in my mouth to save this young man.”

Congratulations Cesar Izaguirre

Many of us have come to know Cesar Izaguirre.  He was one of Guam's RMS seminarian.  He will be ordained into the priesthood on June 20th.  There were also other Guam RMS seminarians who are supposed to be ordained into the priesthood in May, but their ordination was moved to a later date due to the pandemic.  I will have more information about them soon.  Below is an article on Cesar, which is found here.

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Long road, long time leading to priesthood, finally

Cesar J. Izaguirre, 35, who is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood for Philadelphia by Archbishop Nelson Perez on June 20, has had a long journey both in distance and time.

He was born into a devout Catholic family in Managua, Nicaragua, the youngest of the seven children of Bernardo Izaguirre and Maria Estabana Gonzalez.

From an early age he was exposed to the Neocatechumenal Way, a highly structured movement in the church that stresses community and evangelization through lay and clerical ministry. Most of his family were members and he joined at age 12.

Meanwhile secular pursuits were also stressed in the family. “I always did what my parents used to tell me: study and do a good job in school so that you can be a good and happy man like your siblings,” he said.

All of them had finished their education and become professionals — a lawyer, a doctor, a mechanical engineer, an industrial engineer and so forth. Cesar set out to be a systems engineer but because he also felt a pull to a religious vocation through the Neocatechumenal Way, he entered a minor seminary program in Managua.

In 2006, he was sent by his Neocatechumenal Way superiors to Guam, an island in the Western Pacific Ocean that was acquired by the United States from Spain after the Spanish American War. It remains as a U.S. territory and an important naval station. Although relatively small with a population of about 165,000, it is three-quarters Catholic and does have its own archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Agana and a seminary.

Although Cesar did not choose the assignment, he was content with it. “When you join the Neocatechumenal Way you agree to go wherever you are sent,” he said.

While continuing in missionary work, through the seminary he completed his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in theology, but had not received major orders.

Two years ago he was transferred to the Philadelphia Archdiocese to complete his formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, with residence at the House of Studies conducted by the Neocatechumenal Way at the former St. Louis Parish in Yeadon.

Last year he was ordained as a transitional deacon by Archbishop Charles Chaput, and has been assigned for ministry at Our Mother of Divine Providence Parish in King of Prussia.

“I like parish life,” he said. “It makes you realize you are living for God, not for yourself.”

Prayers that have sustained him include the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet and just sitting with the Divine Office and the scriptures.

Through his travels, especially those years in Guam, he became a fairly good cook — fusion, naturally, and a self-taught mechanic.

Although happy in his vocation he admits there were times in the past when he wondered, had he made the right choice?

But he knows “God makes the choice and God does not make mistakes.”

Father Izaguirre is scheduled to celebrate his first Mass June 21 at Mother of Divine Providence Church with Father Martin Cioppi, the pastor, as the homilist.

NCW Official Website

The official website of the Neocatechumenal Way is placed at the top page of my blog beside the Blog song.  The website can be read in different languages, and it offers a wealth of information on the NCW's history, evangelization, and other news.  

R.I.P. Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay

Father Jorge Oriz-Garay was finally laid to rest in Mexico.  His family had a difficult time trying to get his body back to Mexico after he passed away from COVID-19.  He was described as a "great guy with a big heart" by Father Pius.  The following article can be found here.

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Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay Laid to Rest in Mexico

Forty-one days after his death, due to complications from COVID-19, the body of Father Jorge arrived in Mexico. 

It was the end of a long journey, from Brooklyn back to his family, that required the concerted efforts of many — church officials, civil authorities both in Brooklyn and Mexico City, and Delta Airlines. 

DeSales Media, parent company of The Tablet, led the transportation effort to return his body amid the public health regulations of the current pandemic. 

The body of Father Jorge departed from New York to Atlanta Sunday, May 3, on its way to Mexico City. After a three-day layover, including one canceled flight, the casket arrived on Wednesday, May 6. 

On Thursday, the family was allowed a brief visitation, while a deacon offered the prayers of committal.

The burial took place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, in the presence of his parents, Jorge Ortiz and Estela Garay, as well as other members of his immediate family. Father Daniel Castro conducted the final prayers for the eternal rest of Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay.

Irais Ortiz-Garay, the youngest of Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay’s four siblings, expressed the relief her family feels now that they have finally been able to bury her brother in Mexico City.

“We are grateful to all the people who worked so hard during the last weeks to bring my brother’s body to our family,” she told The Tablet. 

Fr. Jorge, 49, was the pastor of St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, when he died on Friday, March 27, 2020. He had been serving in the Diocese since 2009, first at St. Joseph’s in Prospect Heights, then at St. Brigid’s. 

Father Jorge was ordained to the Priesthood at the Archdiocese of Newark as a member of the Neocatechumenal Way on May 29, 2004.

Some Priests Are Fighting Back

In an editorial of the Guam Daily Post dated May 6, 2020 and entitled The Church Sexual Abuse Scandal: What Have We Learned?, Father Fran Hezel wrote (the bold is mine):

Because of the statute of limitations, no criminal charges were filed. Instead, civil suits were introduced against the institution responsible for the individuals who were at fault: The archdiocese, the religious community, and even the Boy Scouts. It would have been pointless to try to exact punishment on the guilty individual – most were dead or had long left the island. 

One of the things learned from the sexual abuse scandal is that the Church now holds the position that ALL allegations are true and that ALL accused priests including dead priests are guilty.  Nevermind the fact that there never was a trial for many of the priests and that dead priests are unable to defend themselves.  This is no different than the MeToo Crowd who proclaimed that ALL women should be believed.  Nevermind the fact that one of the accusers of Brett Kavanaugh admitted to fabricating a rape accusation as a tactic to derail his nomination to the Supreme Court (see the story here).  How can deceased priests be guilty when they never went through trial?  Deceased priests such as Father George Maddock held impeccable records and accolades among his students.  Allegations of sex abuse against him were brought forth only a few days after his death.    

At one time, the Church was at one extreme end of the spectrum where all bishops were believed.  Today, we know that the Church was wrong in silencing the victims of abuse as they believe all bishops.  Today, the Church still has not learned its past lessons.  This time, it went the opposite extreme believing all allegations without any due process.  

Diocese across the United States are publishing the names of priests as "credibly accused of child sexual abuse" publicly.  The list includes the names of priests who have long been deceased.  However, priests and former priests whose names have been published on the list are currently fighting back, suing the Diocese and Bishops.  

Three priests have filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Corpus Christi and its bishop, Bishop Michael Mulvey, claiming that they were wrongfully included in a  list of clerics credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor (see story here).

A former priest is also suing the Archdiocese of St. Louis whose name was included on a published list of clergy members "credibly accused" of child sexual abuse.  According to news report (the bold is mine):

A former priest has sued the Archdiocese of St. Louis, alleging it libeled and slandered him by including him on a list of clerics credibly accused of abusing children.

Michael Toohey, 77, of Creve Coeur, claims in the lawsuit filed last month in St. Louis County Circuit Court that the archdiocese intentionally damaged his reputation, refused to provide more details of any allegation against him and denied his challenge of the claim, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

At issue is a list the archdiocese released this summer that included the names of 63 men with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Twenty-six of those men, including Toohey, had never been named publicly as facing such allegations.

In an interview with the Post-Dispatch in September, Toohey denied sexually abusing anyone and said the archdiocese never told him he had been accused of sex abuse of a minor until the list was released. He said he and an attorney met with the archdiocese after the list was released but that church officials refused to discuss information about his case.  

Is it not interesting that the Archdiocese of St. Louis never told the former priest that an accuser had come forward, accusing him of child sexual abuse?  Even more interesting is that the Archdiocese put his name on the list without questioning him about the allegation.

Across some states, Americans are protesting their state government's Stay-at-Home policy amid the corona virus pandemic.  They cite the right to work, the right to assemble, the right to protest, and the right to movement.  Even the Churches in New Jersey and California are suing the state governments, citing freedom of religion. However, it is unfortunate that the Church has forgotten that individuals also have the right of due process even as they pursue their lawsuit for religious liberties against the state government.

There are also some priests turning to the civil courts and bringing lawsuits against their accusers, claiming defamation.  Victim Advocates, on the other hand, said that priests should work within the church system to defend themselves.  Nevermind the fact that the Church and its bishops have mainly taken the stand that ALL allegations are true and do not consider the due process of its priests (see the story here).   

Church and State

The Church, which was founded by Christ, does not answer to the State.  She obeys only God.  However, in the spirit of good will and cooperation, Father Paul wrote to the Department of Public Health, requesting to re-open the parishes and outlined a list of safety recommendations to keep the parishioners safe.  DPHSS Director Linda Unpingco-DeNorcey gave a resounding "No" to Father Paul's recommendations without much explanation.  Nevertheless, she must have had a change of heart.  Whatever the case may be, it turned out to be a good thing. Today, Archbishop Michael announced that parishes can hold Masses in the parking lot with people in their vehicles. The Church is essential, and we are slowly moving forward.  According to Pacific News Center:

Archbishop Michael Byrnes announced during this morning’s reconsecration Mass that the Archdiocese of Agana will start holding Mass in the parking lot beginning next weekend.

Byrnes said priests are working diligently to proceed with a live Mass in parish parking lots, including the distribution of Holy Communion.

“We have a set of protocols that we think satisfies the appropriate social distancing. All our protocols are in line with what is prudent in this time of COVID-19. The faithful can receive Holy Communion from their cars,” the archbishop said.

He added: “This is another ray of light for us here on this island. And we’re doing this in cooperation with the Department of Public Health. I just want to acknowledge that as a church, we have a strong desire to be partners with our government, recognizing that we have an extraordinary responsibility to see that our efforts in the church don’t become an instance of widening the scope of infection here on the island. So again, it’s good news. And I ask us all to be very cooperative to the kinds of protocols we will need to take in order to celebrate the Mass.”