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November 22, 2005

A play by Karol Wojtyla

Lisa from the True Motherhood blog provides the following link and strong recommendation:

I pray often for the "radiation" of God's fatherhood. If you have not read the play "Radiation of Fatherhood" by Karol Wojtyla, then I highly recommend it. I have read the whole Theology of the Body and all of the encyclicals, but my favorite is "Radiation."

I had not heard of this work, but, after Lisa's endorsement, I'm going to try to fit it in over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Posted by Walter Babetski at 9:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 8, 2005

Dept of Corrections

Pope John XXIII once said “See everything, overlook much, correct a little.� That advice is probably just as warranted for family life as it is for Church life. My wife and children will attest to the fact that I have always struggled with correcting too much (and affirming too little). Though I have improved over the years, I still have all-too-frequent moments of backslide. I’ve been ruminating on these words of Pope Benedict XVI for the past month, hoping they will help me to rein-in unnecessary correction:

“Fraternal correction is a work of mercy. None of us can see himself well, see his shortcomings well. So it is an act of love, to be a complement to one another, to help each other see one another better, and to correct each other. I think that one of the functions of collegiality is to help one another, also in the sense of the previous imperative, to know the shortcomings which we ourselves do not wish to see -- "ab occultis meis munda me," says the psalm -- to help each other so that we may become open and can see these things.

Of course, this great work of mercy, helping each other so that each one can really find his or her own integrity, and functionality as an instrument of God, demands great humility and love. Only if this comes from a humble heart, from someone who does not place himself above another, who does not consider himself better than the other, but only a humble instrument to mutually help each other. Only if one feels this deep and true humility, if one feels that these words come from common love, from the collegial affection in which we wish to serve God together, can we in this way help each other with a great act of love.

Also here, the Greek text adds some nuances; the Greek work is "paracaleisthe"; it is the same root from which the following word comes from "Paracletos, paraclesis," consoling. Not only correcting, but also consoling, sharing the sufferings of others, helping them in difficulty. And this also seems to me to be a great act of true collegial affection.�


Posted by Walter Babetski at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 2, 2005

A father's forgiveness

From Benedict XVI's recent commentary on the De Profundis:

It is significant that reverent awe, a sentiment in which respect and love are mingled, is not born from punishment but from forgiveness. Rather than sparking his anger, God's generous and disarming magnanimity must kindle in us a holy reverence. Indeed, God is not an inexorable sovereign who condemns the guilty but a loving father whom we must love, not for fear of punishment, but for his kindness, quick to forgive.

Posted by Bill White at 12:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack