Lex Cordis Caritas - The law of the heart is Love

For over 10 years now most of the parishes in our diocese have been praying the Prayer to St. Michael after Mass, invoking his intercession to “defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.” I have seen how our faithful, including many young people who otherwise appear inattentive at Mass, proclaim this prayer with enthusiasm and zeal, apparently because they recognize the battle for our souls waged by the powers of darkness and evil, seeking to pull us away from all that is good, all that is beautiful, and all that is true. This battle is not just metaphorical, but is quite real. We see it every day in the secular media and popular entertainment that send very overt messages contrary to our Christian faith. We see how legislators and government leaders are corrupted by the donations they receive from Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union to pass laws that promote abortion, introduce distorted and harmful notions of human sexuality into the school curriculum, and turn the true meaning of marriage and family life on its head.

I wish to inform you of an important and exciting change in our approach to the initiation of our young people into the Catholic faith. One of the prominent changes called for in our Fourth Diocesan Synod in 2017 was the restoration of the original sequence of the sacraments of initiation, returning first holy Eucharist to its proper place as the pinnacle of Christian initiation, with confirmation taking place prior to first Communion. In our diocese, we are now celebrating both sacraments in the same Mass, at the ordinary age of third grade. We have seen the enthusiasm with which our children are embracing this approach, and I am confident we will see the graces of these sacraments bearing fruit for many years to come. Beginning in July 2021, we will celebrate confirmation and first holy Communion Masses at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, instead of at parishes, except when I come to a parish for an official pastoral visitation, which will occur approximately once every five years.

Our celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday is a reminder that all of us will one day rise from the dead. This is an essential element of our faith, as we profess on Sundays and holy days in the Creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” To whom does this “resurrection of the dead” refer? Jesus taught that “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). Contrary to what the church has taught through most of her history, in recent years some theologians have suggested that no one is in Hell, but everyone will go to Heaven. Our Lord’s reference to “the resurrection of condemnation” indicates rather clearly that not everyone will go to “the resurrection of life,” but only “those who have done good deeds.”

The reference to “a hidden life” is also a very apt description of the life of St. Joseph, whose feast day we will celebrate on March 19. The Bible does not record any words spoken by St. Joseph. He is identified as a carpenter, and some brief references are made in the infancy narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke about his key role at the time of the birth of Jesus, but after the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, St. Joseph is not mentioned again. The details of his life are not known. They remain hidden. We do not know when he died or how he died. Yet, St. Joseph is a mighty intercessor for those who turn to him.

Twenty-five years ago, on the weekend on Feb. 10-11, 1996, I gave a homily on “Reforming the Reform” at St. René Goupil Church and at St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, where I used to assist with weekend Masses when I was chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago. My words drew strong reactions pro and con at the time, so I think they are worth revisiting now.