Pope Benedict: Cuba and the world need change

Fidel Castro meeting Pope Benedict

The Holy Father has nearly completed his apostolic mission in Cuba. He then met an ailing Fidel after Mass. We must pray that somehow our Blessed Saviour may soften Fidel's heart before death.


Earlier, in his masterly sermon, the Holy Father outlined a return to authentic Catholicism in Cuba; yet a lesson that we, in the secularized "west" could do well to listen to and act upon:

Fidel enjoying his visit with the Pope

Furthermore, the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable condition for attaining freedom...Christianity, in highlighting those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ’s invitation to know the truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries, as did the Lord, even before the ominous shadow of rejection and the Cross....Convinced that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality most deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love...Cuba and the world need change, but this will occur only if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the way of love, sowing reconciliation and fraternity.

A frail Fidel speaking with His Holiness

Pope Benedict in Cuba:True obedience of faith is true liberty

Pope Benedict's sermon from yesterday's Mass of the Solemnity of the Annunciation included a number of key themes. One that drew my attention was the theme of true human liberty being that of following God's will. God's will is, of course, obedience to the Church. For obedience to the Church is obedience to Christ. 

"The expression, “became flesh” points to our human reality in most concrete and tangible way. In Christ, God has truly come into the world, he has entered into our history, he has set his dwelling among us, thus fulfilling the deepest desire of human beings that the world may truly become a home worthy of humanity. On the other hand, when God is put aside, the world becomes an inhospitable place for man, and frustrates creation’s true vocation to be a space for the covenant, for the “Yes” to the love between God and humanity who responds to him. Mary did so as the first fruit of believers with her unreserved “Yes” to the Lord. 

Pope Benedict and President Castro

 God has created us as the fruit of his infinite love;  hence, to live in accordance with his will is the way to encounter our genuine identity, the truth of our being, while apart from God we are alienated from ourselves and are hurled into the void. The obedience of faith is true liberty, authentic redemption, which allows us to unite ourselves to the love of Jesus in his determination to conform himself to the will of the Father. 

Dear brothers and sisters, I know with what effort, boldness and self-sacrifice you work everyday so that, in the concrete circumstances of your country, and at this moment in history, the Church will better present her true face as a place in which God draws near and encounters humanity".  

Pope Benedict in Cuba: Cuba at a Cross-roads

President Raul Castro, replete with Soviet-style honours gave a rambling speech on the glories and achievements of Marxist-Leninist Cuba. The Holy father, on the other hand, offered the President and the Cuban nation the truth of Christ. Developing earlier themes of his Pontificate regarding a false anthropology, a false humanism - the Holy Father stresses Cuba's glorious Catholic heritage and the deepest aspect of the Cuban soul being devoted to Mary. In some ways the Pope's welcoming address reminded me of Pope John Paul's addresses to General Jaruzelski following the imposition of martial law.Years later, the General confessed to be shaking with anxiety over the encounter.

The Holy Father pointed out that Cuba is at a cross-roads - continue down the road of sixties-style Soviet delusions or truly allow the Catholic Church to release Her dynamic power of re-evangelizing the nation. No man has full control over a nation; each and every person is a moral agent - yet, the Castro brothers have enormous influence. May they see the Church as the greatest friend of Cuba. May they return to the Faith of their forefathers and - since Christ always offers the Graces of repentance and conversion - assist the Church to revitalize that small island nation. The Castro brothers have an extraordinary opportunity (grace?) to strengthen the nation. If not, Cuba will fall prey to the forces of a degrading form of secularism that is haunting western Europe, Canada, the United States (the so-called "West").

Pope Benedict and President Raul Castro: Welcoming Ceremony, Cuba 2012

Pope Benedict : 

Many parts of the world today are experiencing a time of particular economic difficulty, that not a few people regard as part of a profound spiritual and moral crisis which has left humanity devoid of values and defenceless before the ambition and selfishness of certain powers which take little account of the true good of individuals and families. We can no longer continue in the same cultural and moral direction which has caused the painful situation that many suffer. On the other hand, real progress calls for an ethics which focuses on the human person and takes account of the most profound human needs, especially man’s spiritual and religious dimension. In the hearts and minds of many, the way is thus opening to an ever greater certainty that the rebirth of society demands upright men and women of firm moral convictions, with noble and strong values who will not be manipulated by dubious interests and who are respectful of the unchanging and transcendent nature of the human person. Dear friends, I am convinced that Cuba, at this moment of particular importance in its history, is already looking to the future, and thus is striving to renew and broaden its horizons.

Pope Benedict's Apostolic Journey: Cuba, Castro and the New Evangelization

Within hours, Pope Benedict will be touching down in Cuba to continue the evangelization begun in earnest by Bl. Pope John Paul II. Let us pray that the Castro brothers come to not only realize that the Church is of great benefit to Cuba as a nation and the Cuban people; but also offers the true and human alternative to unbridled consumerism and capitalism. Marxism, as the late Pope identified, is a contradiction in itself, it collapses due to inherent weaknesses.


Now is the time for a new evangelization on this tiny island nation. The time is now for the Castro brothers to return to Holy Mother Church. The propitious moment has come. Pray, pray for Cuba.

Pope John Paul and Fidel Castro: The time has come for the New Evangelization 

Ban the Bunny!

Yep... I've got it in for the little furry critter and would like nothing better than a savory rabbit stew. Let me explain.

I just came from mass, where I had an opportunity to gently rib a young Irish friend who had expressed some dissatisfaction with the last St. Patrick's Day parade. Apparently the participants conducted themselves in a less than saintly fashion culminating in the portrayal of St. Patrick as a drunken bishop. I suggested he get himself to an Italian parish on St. Anthony's feast for the procession and subsequent celebrations to learn how to do it properly. The food is better too, but I digress.

What does all of this have to do with my desire to declare open season on bunnies this time of year? Just this... I have always regarded Easter as an exclusively religious holiday. Christmas has gotten so commercialized that it has bitten the dust long ago. I have long favored changing the date to sometime in January to coincide with the Orthodox calendar, leaving the commercial interests to do what they like with December 25.

Seeing the way St. Patrick's Day has been secularized over the years culminating in the complete parody of a Christian saint makes me feel the secularists are slowly advancing on Easter. Even now there is an Easter Parade in my neighborhood. It makes me cringe...

Pope Benedict speaks about Cuba

En route to Mexico, Pope Benedict spoke these words with regards to Cuba:

Speaking in response to a question focused on the second, Cuban leg of the trip, the Pope said, “With this visit a way of cooperation and dialogue has been inaugurated – a long road that requires patience, but that leads forward.” The Pope added, “It is evident today that Marxist ideology as it had been conceived no longer responds to reality.” He said, “new models must be found, though with patience.” 

The full report can be found here. Call me naive, but I still hold out hope for the conversion of Fidel Castro. Indeed, to not hold out hope for anyone is to reject Christ. But there are signs: Castro's openness to Pope John Paul, his taking his mother's Roman Missal to the same Pope's Mass, the recent address to the nation from the Primate of Cuba - and now, the upcoming visit.

Let us pray that Cuba return to her Catholic roots... let us pray that she not fall into the trap of secular capitalist materialism lurking in Florida (and beyond), awaiting the death of the Castro brothers to once more submerge Cuba into a monstrous offshore whorehouse...

Westminster Cathedral: MacMillan's "Seven Last Words from the Cross"

MacMillan's "Seven Last Words..." is an example of how sacred music can be used to advantage during Lent, while maintaining the purity of the Easter Triduum.

Evangelization or Trolling?

I am going to be charitable and assume that at least some Catholics actually want to spread the gospel. There are those who would prefer not to but that's another post for another time.

I have been reading Reasons for Hope, a primer on apologetics published by Christendom College Press. It reiterates some basics of rhetoric that might bear repeating. The task of the apologist can be divided into three elements... logos, pathos and ethos. Each of these is necessary to the task of persuading the listener to take the message seriously. Much of what passes for apologetics is really preaching to the choir so these elements are not always present.

Logos is the substance of the message, the reasoned argument. Pathos is the emotional appeal of the message or its persuasive quality. Finally ethos is the essential trustworthiness of the messenger in the eyes of the listener. You can begin to see how this relates to a blog. What you are exposed to here is a block of text. You cannot see my face, look into my eyes or feel the emotions that I feel as I write this. All you get is the logos with virtually no pathos or ethos. No one is going to be convinced of anything by reading a blog.

Look at the short message under the masthead. The word "fellowship" describes what we are doing here and the only reason it works is because we know each other and can supply the missing elements from our shared experience. We really are preaching to the choir here and we should recognize that fact. After all, we all need to be encouraged, supported or even corrected on occasion. Unfortunately many bloggers seem to post only when they are angry or disgusted. Given the fact that the object of their anger is likely not reading the blog, what is the purpose of this? Sharing these things tends to reinforce them and the feeling of standing there with a crowd of sympathizers, even a virtual one, can be a powerful inducement to persist in the emotion.

By the way, I run a movie night on Fridays and last year on Good Friday I showed The Passion. Feel free to be outraged.