Wiflrid Cardinal Napier OFM & South African bishops advise Red Bull fast for Lent

Johannesburg, South Africa, Mar 16, 2012 / 12:11 am (CNA).- The Church in South Africa is encouraging Catholics to boycott Red Bull energy drinks and donate the money saved to charitable organizations after the company aired a “Jesus Walks on Water” ad campaign.

“In the spirit of observing Lent,” Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, spokesman for the Southern African Bishops' Conference, suggested that Catholic consumers and business owners, “fast from displaying and consuming Red Bull until Easter” and donate the money that would have been spent on the energy drinks to local charities.

Red Bull quickly halted the South Africa television ad on March 14, just one day after it began to run. The company received numerous complaints from Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths.

The South African Bishops' Conference said they would like to see the ad totally pulled from the air, rather than just a pause in the ad campaign.

“While we welcome the halting of the campaign, we would ask that Red Bull … cancel it completely,” Cardinal Napier said in a March 13 statement.

In one evening, hundreds of people from many different faiths filed complaints with Red Bull and the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa.

“In a multi-faith country like South Africa, where over 70 percent of people profess to be people of faith, the use of faith-based symbols in a satirical, tongue-in-cheek manner, is guaranteed to cause a reaction,” the cardinal said.

The energy drink company issued an apology, saying that they try to focus on “well-known themes” in their advertizements. “It was never our intention to hurt anyone's feelings,” the company added.

Cardinal Napier suggested that the Red Bull marketing department should “make a serious effort to attend sensitivity training” to become more respectful of religious beliefs.

“People are more than consumers,” Cardinal Napier said, “and faith-based symbols are more than marketing opportunities.”

The ad mocks the Gospel account of Christ walking on water by depicting Jesus walking on water due because he was bored with fishing. When he steps out of the boat, his disciples ask him if it's due“another one of your miracles” or because he drank Red Bull, which “gives you wings.”

“It's no miracle, you just have to know where the stepping stones are,” Christ replies.

While walking away, the cartoon Christ slips and, taking his own name in vain.

Many voiced their disapproval for the ad, including a reader whose comments were published on South Africa's News24.

He said that although Red Bull might be pleased with the free publicity the controversy has generated, it failed to accomplished anything.

“(Red Bull) blatantly made fun of the most passive aggressive religion on earth.”

All the energy drink makers succeeded in doing with this ad was to make Christians “aware of (Red Bull's) insensitivity to their belief system.”

CNA http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/south-african-bishops-advise-red-bull-fast-for-lent/

Lenten Programme 2012

.

 Lenten Programme 2012

Change my Heart O God

WEEK ONE

SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY

Scripture:                Mark 1: 12 - 15

Reflection

Temptation strikes at the heart of every person.  We all have a personal experience of temptation and we have all given in to temptation in.

Temptation manifests itself in many shapes and forms:  that internal gnawing from within ourselves, another person or group whom we allow to influence our decisions, commercial advertising, society … and the list goes on.

Perhaps in these first few days of Lent you have already been seriously tempted especially with regard to the Lenten resolutions you made and the things you have chosen to give up ~ I know that I have been – seriously tempted!!  If you can get through these first few days of temptation then you will have a stronger resistance for the remainder of Lent.  We have to be strong and resolute and come back to those things that strengthened Jesus when he was so seriously tempted out in the wilderness:  personal prayer, God’s Word and our union with him through the Eucharist.  In addition there is the Sacrament of Reconciliation which enables us to make a new beginning so that we do not have to carry the burdens of past sins during our Lenten journey. 

We began Lent a few days ago on Ash Wednesday with the words “Repent and believe in the Gospel” as our foreheads were marked with ashes.  This is a call and invitation from the Lord himself.  Begin this Lenten journey from a position of strength ~ not weakness!  Let your reception of the Blessed Eucharist today and the proclamationof the Word be the source of your strength.  Experience the living presence of Jesus and actively seek his presence throughout Lent.  Having struggled through temptation the Lord Jesus himself comes to us in our battles and struggles and strengthens us to resist and stand firm.

Practical Suggestions:

1.                 Attend a weekday Mass and receive the Eucharist;

2.               Attend weekly Stations of the Cross;

3.               Give up something non essential that you usually enjoy and or something that will make you a better person by the end of the Lenten Season;

4.               Make a decision to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation – preferably as soon as possible and again during Holy Week;

5.                Establish and maintain a daily routine of prayer.  Use this daily programme to read God’s Word and to reflect on it;

6.               Pray a decade of the Rosary every day;

7.                Observe every Friday during Lent as a day of Prayer, Fast and Abstinence.  Make your intention for your fast and abstinence the return of lapsed Catholics – especially those in your own family.

8.               Make a weekly contribution to the Bishops’ Lenten Appeal;

9.               Encourage an inactive or lapsed Catholic to Come Home to the Father’s House and to attend Holy Mass and/or Stations of the Cross

10.          Participate in a parish outreach project;

11.            Bring an item of food to Mass for the poor;

12.           Pray for the Catechumens and Candidates who will be Baptised and/or Received into Full Communion with the Church at Easter.  Find out who they are and offer them a few words of encouragement and support.

13.           Create a Lenten prayer space in your home:  a purple cloth, purple candle, bible, crucifix and rosary.

Prayer

Father, guide me in my Lenten journey.  Strengthen me in my moments of temptation.  Help me to stand firm in my commitments and renew the gift of your divine presence within me.  Amen.

Spend some time in prayer before the Lord.

Monday 27 February

Scripture:       Lev 19:1-2; 11-18

“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”   

Matthew 25:31-46

Holiness is found in serving Christ in others.

Reflection

Today we enter the first full week of Lent. Lent is a time for getting back to the basics of the spiritual life. Being holy, as God is Holy is our task and our success is measured not so much by the extra Lenten penances, but by the way we treat others. Both the Old Testament and the Gospel point out very down-to-earth areas where our basic orientation will reveal itself – for or against others. The Gospel takes this even further: it is in the neighbour, especially in the needy, the infirm and in the rejected that we find and serve Christ.

The Incarnation is realised today in the person of the other.

Practical suggestion

Get to know your neighbour and their needs.  It is within your own neighbourhood that you can respond to the needs of others and help if you can. 

You can also visit someone in a retirement place, take an old person shopping, or for a drive.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, as we enter the season of Lent, help me to show my love for you by caring for others. Open my eyes to their needs, and my heart to recognize you in them.   Amen.

 

Make a special effort to attend Holy Mass at 6.00 p.m. today

to draw strength from the Eucharist.

 

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY

Scripture:                 Isaiah 55: 10-11

“The word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty , without carrying out my will and succedding in what it was sent to do.”

Reflection

Here we are, already a week into Lent – another year, another Lent – another opportunity given to us by God to examine our lives and to see if we are walking with Him, walking in covenant relationship with Him and His Son, Jesus.

God says, through the prophet Isaiah, that His Word does not fail in what it was intended to do.  I am reminded of the prophets who received the Word that was meant to start them on their missionary work for God, and how many of them tried, in one way or another, to get out of the job – to avoid taking up the task of proclaiming that Word.

Yet, if one reads their stories in the Scriptures, all eventually do end up doing what God asks of them:

Jonah tried to go to the opposite end of the territory to Nineveh, to escape being God’s mouthpiece, but finally landed up there, preached the message to the Ninevites as he was instructed to, and they, in turn, heard and believed in the Word and turned their lives around.

Jeremiah said to God, “You have seduced me, Lord … I used to say, ‘I will not speak in His name any more’, but there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones.  The effort to restrain it wearied me.”  Jeremiah discovered that God’s Word would not leave him alone – he was compelled to carry out the task of sharing it with others.

That Word became flesh in the person of Jesus, who calls each of us, equally insistently, to reflect on our lives, to “repent and believe in the Good News” of God’s incredible love for each of us.  Once we have heard and believed, and turned our lives around, we are asked to share that Good News with others.

Is His Word sent to you succeeding in what it was sent to do?

Practical Suggestion

Make time to reflect on your life.  What have you heard God say to you through His Word – via the Scriptures, a message in a sermon, or through the events in your life?  Are you acting on this?

How has God’s Word affected you?  Is there a need for you to repent and make change?

Prayer

O God, give me the grace of Your Spirit to take Your Word and internalize it.  Then give me the grace to be able to share that Word with others.  Amen.

Stations of the Cross at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow

Wednesday 29 February

Scripture:       Luke 11 : 29 – 32               

Reflection

The story of Jonah (3: 1 - 10) reminds us of the scriptural origin of Lent; the forty days of penance.  Forty days is a time of purification, a time when our close association with God makes us more worthy of him and brings us spiritual growth. 

Jonah preached repentance with a message from God.  “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  In the Gospel Jesus praises the citizens of Nineveh for listening to Jonah.  They made use of the forty days which God gave them, forty days in which to repent and save their sinful city.

Forty days is a sacred tradition in Holy Scripture: The Lord asked Moses to come up to him on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments for instruction of his people.  Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days.

Elijah fled for his life from Jezabel, the jealous queen.  He arrived exhausted in the desert and the Lord sent him food and water and he survived the desert for forty days.  Jesus began his ministry after spending forty days in the wilderness where he fasted and prayed.

The forty days of Lent that God has given us for prayer and repentance are precious and sacred and full of meaning.

We should thank God for giving us the forty days for our conversion – a chance to repent and come personally to God, as Moses and Elijah did.

Practical suggestions

Make a genuine commitment to attend all the Stations of the Cross as part of your forty days of repentance.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, as you stood transfigured, changed and glorified before your apostles, Moses and Elijah conversed with you as personal friends.  May we be transfigured, changed, and renewed this season of Lent, so that we too may converse with you as personal friends.  Amen.

Thursday 1 March

Scripture:       Matthew 7: 7-12

“For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.”

Reflection

Change is often difficult.  We need help to make the decisions that will change the direction of our lives for the better.  We need help to live these decisions day-by-day.  Where to find this help is also difficult.  Sometimes we look in many different places in an attempt to find the right path.

Why do we look in all these different places for help to change?  Today’s Scripture tells us that we only need to look to God for assistance.  Everything that we need to change our hearts and our lives will be given to us from God.  God is the answer, if only we would ask.

Are we prepared to ask God to help us change our hearts this Lent?  Are we prepared to search for the way God has planned for us?  If we are, God says he will help us, he will give us what we need and show us the way.

Practical Suggestion

Today try to join in the celebration of the Eucharist.  If you are unable to attend Mass, try to make a visit to the Church and spend some time in the presence of the Lord.

Prayer

Father, in your greatness you are humble enough to share with us your care and love.  Help me to seek you with all my heart, sure in the hope that you will be found.  May I always trust you. Amen.

  

Friday 02 March

Scripture:                 Matthew 5: 20-26

Leave your offering there at the altar and go and be reconciled with your brother first.

Reflection

“Jesus, you always seem to stretch me…

You have a way of touching the sensitive areas in my life. Why?

Is it because you love me and want the best for me?

I’m sure that it is because in spite of my sin, my many sins, you know my true potential – you believe that I can be an agent of peace and reconciliation.”

Family life, indeed all relationships have their ups and downs.  Nowadays there appears to be a lot of bickering going on between people … husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters.  Often unkind words are said and nasty acts are exchanged in our homes.  Yet seldom is there an apology or any genuine attempt at reconciliation.  Life just carries on and the mindset that prevails is one of “Oh they will get over it” or “They provoked me, so why must I apologize, why must I be the peacemaker?”.

Today Jesus challenges us to move beyond this crazy approach to family life. He wants peace and reconciliation in our homes more than he desires the gifts that we place at the altar.  Go and be reconciled with your brother first!

Practical Suggestion

Make time to pray the Lord’s Prayer today.  Reflect on the words “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who  trespass against us.”  Listen to what God is saying to your heart, and forgive – be Reconciled.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the many times that you have forgiven me.  When I am finding it difficult to forgive, help me to remember what a great sacrifice Jesus made so that I could have my sins forgiven.  Thank you Lord, for your love, your peace, your forgiveness.  Amen.

Stations of the Cross at 5.45 p.m. today

Saturday 3 March

Scripture:       Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus, you must be joking!

Reflection

How can Jesus expect us to be nice to people who won’t even return a smile or go out of our way to help people who don’t appreciate what we do for them?  How can we love someone who irritates us or is always nasty towards us?

When you read St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, you find him expressing both deep hurt and tender love for them.  He was unjustly criticised, for some said, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing” (2 Corinthians 10:10) yet he continued to minister to them!

How was Paul able to do this?  Not by his own strength!  In such situations he relied on Jesus and allowed him to show his power at work in his life. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

We are to do the same. It’s not easy but it is possible to treat our ‘enemies’ the way we would like them to treat us (Luke 6:31).  St. Paul tells us how, “...because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us” (Romans 5:5).  Try it and you may be pleasantly surprised when some of them become your friends!

Practical Suggestion

Perhaps you are not yet in the place where you can forgive from the heart, that spouse, child, friend, colleague, or neighbour who has wronged you, but you can take the first step towards forgiving them by asking God for strength and praying for them.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me not to be easily angered and hold a grudge against those who hurt me.  Grant that I may love them as you love me.  Amen.

These Lenten Reflections are written by Fr. Desmond Nair, Sr. Lucas Lenzen CPS, Irene Helsdon, Deacon Peter Venter, Fr. Brett Williams, Fr. Grant Emmanuel and Deacon Henry Blair.

Written for the Glory of God so may be copied and distributed.  Lent 2012.

Secularism in Sweden - Where Irreligious Trends Lead After Decades

By Edward Pentin 

ROME, JAN. 12, 2012 (Zenit.org).- To see how disturbing a secularist and increasingly irreligious society can become, one need only look to Sweden. 

Abortion has been free on demand and available without parental consent in the country since 1975, resulting in the Nordic nation having the highest teenage abortion rate in Europe (22.5 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 2009). 

Swedish law does not in any way recognize the right to conscientious objection for health care workers (last year, the Swedish parliament overwhelmingly passed an order instructing Swedish politicians to fight against the rights of doctors to refuse to participate in abortion). 

Meanwhile, sex education is graphic and compulsory, beginning at the age of six, and children from kindergarten age are taught cross-dressing and that whatever feels good sexually is OK. The age of consent is 15.

"We have so many violations of human dignity on so many levels, and so many problems when it comes to social engineering," explained Johan Lundell, secretary-general of the Swedish pro-life group Ja till Livet. "This has been going on for the past 70 years."

Lundell was a guest of ours recently at the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (Institute for Human Dignity) where he laid out a catalogue of offenses against human dignity in Swedish society. "We have the highest teenage abortion rate in Europe. Why? Because we say abortion is a human right, it doesn't kill anything, just takes away a pregnancy," he said. "And after 20 years of this, young people don't care any more. Why should they? For 10 to 15 years no one has even said abortion should be legal but rare."

Its sex education program, seen by some social liberals as groundbreaking but others as far too explicit, has been given by some as the principal reason for a low teenage pregnancy rate. But the high number of abortions among that age group are rarely discussed, nor are the figures disclosed. "No one talks about child abortions," said Lundell. "They're ashamed of them. Yet we're the only country in Europe where there's abortion on demand, there are no formal procedures, no parental consent, no informed consent."

Nor are the number of rapes in Sweden widely known or advertised. Yet according to Lundell, over the past 50 years -- during this era of loose sexual mores -- they have risen by "1,000 percent."  

Lundell further noted that all other countries want to reduce the number of abortions, yet despite having 550 different government departments in Sweden, none has a mission to lower the number of terminations. "Children can see this is wrong, parents can see it's wrong, and as a society we don't want it and yet no one talks about it," Lundell added. "It's absurd."

He said that Sweden should "definitely" be taken as a warning to other countries pursuing secularist, socially liberal policies "because then you can see what the agenda is for people, and how the European Union and the United Nations are copying these Scandinavian ideas." 

Returning to the subject of sex education, Lundell said Swedes generally don't bother any more trying to argue that homosexuality is genetic-- a common argument used to promote the same-sex agenda -- because the movement is now so fully accepted that it no longer needs this argument as a support. "In sex education books, they don't talk about someone being heterosexual or homosexual -- there are no such things because for them everyone is homosexual," he said. 

Lundell referred to a brochure for children published by same-sex associations, and printed with the help of financing by the state. "They write positively about all kinds of sexuality, every kind, even the most depraved sexual acts, and it goes into all schools," he explained. "The information is put on Web sites, and school children are told about the Web sites so they can see it." 

Teachers, he said, are encouraged to ask students "What turns you on?" yet Lundell pointed out that if the chief executive of a company asked that at a business meeting, he'd be fired. "It would be sexual harassment," he said. "And yet you train people to do this to children?" Some parents have made formal complaints, branding it as carnal knowledge, too candid for the classroom and labeling the lessons as "vulgar" and "too advanced." But the majority acquiesce to the curriculum, while the option to homeschool children is almost forbidden. 

Yet to many outsiders, Sweden's popular image is of a fair, ordered, just and harmonious society -- the model example of a functioning welfare state. In many cases this is true if one looks at infant mortality rates, life expectancy, standard of health care and access to education. The level of poverty is also relatively low. 

"It's long been said that if it is not possible to bring about a socialist world in Sweden, then it's not possible anywhere," said Lundell. "That's why some have tried to make it into a socialist paradise. But unlike in, say, Italy or Greece, in Sweden it's not about the socialism of finances but rather the socialism of families -- social engineering, which has been much more visible here than in southern Europe." 

Per Bylund, a Swedish fellow at the Von Mises Institute, once described the all encompassing power of the state thus: "A significant difference between my generation and the preceding one is that most of us were not raised by our parents at all. We were raised by the authorities in state daycare centers from the time of infancy; then pushed on to public schools, public high schools, and public universities; and later to employment in the public sector and more education via the powerful labor unions and their educational associations. The state is ever-present and is to many the only means of survival -- and its welfare benefits the only possible way to gain independence." 

Yet this social engineering has had dire consequences. Few European countries have witnessed such a rapid decline in the institution of marriage, nor such an expeditious rise in abortion. During the 1950s and first half of the 1960s, the marriage rate in Sweden was historically at its peak. Suddenly, the rate started dropping so quickly that it saw a decrease of about 50% in less than 10 years. No other country experienced such a rapid change. 

Between 2000 and 2010, when the rest of Europe was showing signs of a reduction in annual abortion rates, the Swedish government says the rate increased from 30,980 to 37,693. The proportion of repeat abortions rose from 38.1% to 40.4% -- the highest level ever -- while the number of women having at least four previous abortions increased from 521 to approximately 750. 

With the exception of a few stalwart campaigners such as Lundell, most Swedish Christians -- and particularly Christian politicians -- remain silent in the face of the countless social violations against human dignity. Little resistance is also given to attacks on religious freedom for Christians, with priority increasingly being given to Sharia law. 

Judging by the figures, it could almost be said the faith has packed up altogether. At the end of 2009, 71.3% of Swedes belonged to the Lutheran Church of Sweden -- a number that has been decreasing by about one percentage point a year for the last two decades. Of them, only around 2% regularly attend Sunday services. Indeed, some studies have found Swedes to be one of the least religious people in the world and a country with one of the highest numbers of atheists. According to different studies carried out in the early 2000s, between 46% and 85% of Swedes do not believe in God.

Lundell said that although small, the Catholic Church has a good bishop and is helped by immigrants from Poland and Latin America. But Catholics are generally seen as outsiders with little influence and they are wary of overtly campaigning or being seen as "too tough," he said. Even Pentecostals are reticent to raise objections. "They are probably the only Pentecostal church in the world that doesn't," he added. 

But despite all this, Lundell, whose organization is attracting a growing number of young people, remains hopeful -- and he remains ultimately loyal to his home country. "I'm so proud of Sweden I can't imagine moving away," he said. "But I am ashamed of the politics when it comes to the family, sexual politics and restrictions on freedom of religion."

"Whole parts of society aren't Sweden any more," he added. "So we will fight, and we will do so with more eagerness than ever."

--- --- ---

Edward Pentin is a freelance journalist and Communications Director at the Dignitatis Humanae Institute. He can be reached at epentin@zenit.org.

Taken from www.zenit.org  

Submitted by Sr Fabiola OP

Two Interesting Arguments for God: Intelligibility & Desire

I wanted to share two simple arguments for God's existence that I don't see used very often :the argument from intelligibility, and the argument from desire.

I. The Argument from Intelligibility

The argument from intelligibility is one that Pope Benedict is largely responsible for.  Fr. Robert Barron explains the argument in Catholicism (pp. 67-68):

Pope Benedict XVI

In 1968 a young theology professor at the University of Tübingen formulated a neat argument for God's existence that owed a good deal to Thomas Aquinas but also drew on more contemporary sources.  The theologian's name was Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.  Ratzinger commences with the observation that finite being, as we experience it, is marked, through and through, by intelligibility, that it is to say, by a formal structure that makes it understandable to an inquiring mind.  

In point of fact, all of the sciences - physics, chemistry, psychology, astronomy, biology, and so forth - rest on the assumption that at all levels, microscopic and macroscopic, being can be known.  The same principle was acknowledged in ancient times by Pythagoras, who said that all existing things correspond in numeric value, and in medieval times by the scholastic philsophers who forumlated the dictum omne ens est scibile (all being in knowable). 

Ratzinger argues that the only finally satisfying explanaiton for this universal objective intelligibility is a great Intelligence who has thought the universe into being.  Our language provides an intriguing clue in this regard, for we speak of our acks of knowledge as moments of “recognition,” literally a re-cognition, a thinking again what has already been thought.  Ratzinger cites Einstein in support of this connection: “in the laws of nature, a mind so superior is revealed that in comparison, our minds are as something worthless.” The prologue to the Gospel of John states, “In the beginning was the Word,” and specifies that all things came to be through this divine Logos, implying thereby that the being of the universe is not dumbly there, but rather intelligently there, imbued by a creative mind with intelligible structure.

In other words, all science points to God, since all science requires intelligibility, which in turn, requires an Intelligent Creator.

Einstein

Much time and energy is wasted on the Intelligent Design debate over things like irreducible complexity, that the more fundamental questions aren't being asked.  Whether the universe was a good idea or a bad idea, a holy plan or an evil plan, it's still  an idea, and a plan.  This necessarily requires a Thinker and a Planner.  Consider the stability of math, of the universal constants, of the fundamental interactions.  Two plus two doesn't suddenly equal five, but there's no natural explanation for why these things remain stable (in fact, since these are immaterial truths, materialism can't even approach them).  Yet if two plus two generated a random result, we could never have math or science, never develop any technology, and all existence would be a series of random and inexplicable events that our brains would be incapable of processing.

By the way, while Benedict developed this argument, we see variations of it being made back in the early days of the 300s, when St. Athanasius argued that “if the movement of creation were irrational, and the universe were borne along without plan, a man might fairly disbelieve what we say. But if it subsist in reason and wisdom and skill, and is perfectly ordered throughout, it follows that He that is over it and has ordered it is none other than the [reason or] Word of God.”  So the argument has a pretty solid pedigree, such as it is.

II. The Argument from Desire

C.S. Lewis (in his second appearance on the blog this week) describes the argument from hunger this way, in Mere Christianity (pp. 136-37):

The Christian says ‘Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim:: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.  If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud.  Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.  If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a copy, or echo, or mirage.  I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.’

This argument is self-explanatory, but let me answer two objections.

Juan de Juanes,
Jesus with the Eucharist (mid-16th c.)

First, the hunger for God may be stronger or weaker for certain people than others.  That's quite natural.  Some people have larger appetites than others, some people are seemingly uninterested (or conversely, obsessed) with sex, etc.  But some degree of a hunger for God exists in every human soul.

Second, while our desires correspond to realities, but they can be corrupted and perverted.  Gluttony is a perversion of our natural desire for food, lust is a perversion of our natural desire for sex, and so on.  But standing back, we can see why hunger (and gluttony) exist, and why sexual desires (and lust) exist.  These are desires that are ordered towards the attainment of specific goals.  So even if the hunger for God gets perverted in some way, this doesn't deny the reality that God exists, and that we long for Him.


Finally, with our desire for God, the appropriate question ought to be: could anything less than God possibly satisfy this hunger?  We try to appease that hunger for God by substituting earthly pleasures: wealth, honor, power, and sensible pleasures (everything from sex to overeating).  But that's like drinking a lot of water when you're hungry for food.  It might fill the void for a while, but it doesn't really satisfy the craving.  Our souls are made with an aching hunger for God.

http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-interesting-arguments-for-god.html 

In his annual address to the Roman Curia, the Holy Father said; "The Crisis of the Church is the Crisis of Faith."

Dear Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The occasion that brings us together today is always particularly moving. The holy feast of Christmas is almost upon us and it prompts the great family of the Roman Curia to come together for a gracious exchange of greetings, as we wish one another a joyful and spiritually fruitful celebration of this feast of the God who became flesh and established his dwelling in our midst (cf. Jn 1:14). For me, this is an occasion not only to offer you my personal good wishes, but also to express my gratitude and that of the Church to each one of you for your generous service; I ask you to convey this to all the co-workers of our extended family. I offer particular thanks to the Dean of the College, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has given voice to the sentiments of all present and of all who work in the various offices of the Curia and the Governorate, including those whose apostolate is carried out in the Pontifical Representations throughout the world. All of us are committed to spreading throughout the world the resounding message that the angels proclaimed that night in Bethlehem, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will" (Lk 2:14), so as to bring joy and hope to our world.

As this year draws to a close, Europe is undergoing an economic and financial crisis, which is ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent. Even if such values as solidarity, commitment to one’s neighbour and responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial, still the motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practise renunciation and make sacrifices. Perception and will do not necessarily go hand in hand. In defending personal interests, the will obscures perception, and perception thus weakened is unable to stiffen the will. In this sense, some quite fundamental questions emerge from this crisis: where is the light that is capable of illuminating our perception not merely with general ideas, but with concrete imperatives? Where is the force that draws the will upwards? These are questions that must be answered by our proclamation of the Gospel, by the new evangelization, so that message may become event, so that proclamation may lead to life.

The key theme of this year, and of the years ahead, is this: how do we proclaim the Gospel today? How can faith as a living force become a reality today? The ecclesial events of the outgoing year were all ultimately related to this theme. There were the journeys to Croatia, to the World Youth Day in Spain, to my home country of Germany, and finally to Africa – Benin – for the consignment of the Post-Synodal document on justice, peace and reconciliation, which should now lead to concrete results in the various local churches. Equally memorable were the journeys to Venice, to San Marino, to the Eucharistic Congress in Ancona, and to Calabria. And finally there was the important day of encounter in Assisi for religions and for people who in whatever way are searching for truth and peace, representing a new step forward in the pilgrimage towards truth and peace. The establishment of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization is at the same time a pointer towards next year’s Synod on the same theme. The Year of Faith, commemorating the beginning of the Council fifty years ago, also belongs in this context. Each of these events had its own particular characteristics. In Germany, where the Reformation began, the ecumenical question, with all its trials and hopes, naturally assumed particular importance. Intimately linked to this, at the focal point of the debate, the question that arises repeatedly is this: what is reform of the Church? How does it take place? What are its paths and its goals? Not only faithful believers but also outside observers are noticing with concern that regular churchgoers are growing older all the time and that their number is constantly diminishing; that recruitment of priests is stagnating; that scepticism and unbelief are growing. What, then, are we to do? There are endless debates over what must be done in order to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that a variety of things need to be done. But action alone fails to resolve the matter. The essence of the crisis of the Church in Europe is the crisis of faith. If we find no answer to this, if faith does not take on new life, deep conviction and real strength from the encounter with Jesus Christ, then all other reforms will remain ineffective.

On this point, the encounter with Africa’s joyful passion for faith brought great encouragement. None of the faith fatigue that is so prevalent here, none of the oft-encountered sense of having had enough of Christianity was detectable there. Amid all the problems, sufferings and trials that Africa clearly experiences, one could still sense the people’s joy in being Christian, buoyed up by inner happiness at knowing Christ and belonging to his Church. From this joy comes also the strength to serve Christ in hard-pressed situations of human suffering, the strength to put oneself at his disposal, without looking round for one’s own advantage. Encountering this faith that is so ready to sacrifice and so full of happiness is a powerful remedy against fatigue with Christianity such as we are experiencing in Europe today.

A further remedy against faith fatigue was the wonderful experience of World Youth Day in Madrid. This was new evangelization put into practice. Again and again at World Youth Days, a new, more youthful form of Christianity can be seen, something I would describe under five headings.

1. Firstly, there is a new experience of catholicity, of the Church’s universality. This is what struck the young people and all the participants quite directly: we come from every continent, but although we have never met one another, we know one another. We speak different languages, we have different ways of life and different cultural backgrounds, yet we are immediately united as one great family. Outward separation and difference is relativized. We are all moved by the one Lord Jesus Christ, in whom true humanity and at the same time the face of God himself is revealed to us. We pray in the same way. The same inner encounter with Jesus Christ has stamped us deep within with the same structure of intellect, will and heart. And finally, our common liturgy speaks to our hearts and unites us in a vast family. In this setting, to say that all humanity are brothers and sisters is not merely an idea: it becomes a real shared experience, generating joy. And so we have also understood quite concretely: despite all trials and times of darkness, it is a wonderful thing to belong to the worldwide Church, to the Catholic Church, that the Lord has given to us.

2. From this derives a new way of living our humanity, our Christianity. For me, one of the most important experiences of those days was the meeting with the World Youth Day volunteers: about 20,000 young people, all of whom devoted weeks or months of their lives to working on the technical, organizational and material preparations for World Youth Day, and thus made it possible for the whole event to run smoothly. Those who give their time always give a part of their lives. At the end of the day, these young people were visibly and tangibly filled with a great sense of happiness: the time that they gave up had meaning; in giving of their time and labour, they had found time, they had found life. And here something fundamental became clear to me: these young people had given a part of their lives in faith, not because it was asked of them, not in order to attain Heaven, nor in order to escape the danger of Hell. They did not do it in order to find fulfilment. They were not looking round for themselves. There came into my mind the image of Lot’s wife, who by looking round was turned into a pillar of salt. How often the life of Christians is determined by the fact that first and foremost they look out for themselves, they do good, so to speak, for themselves. And how great is the temptation of all people to be concerned primarily for themselves; to look round for themselves and in the process to become inwardly empty, to become "pillars of salt". But here it was not a matter of seeking fulfilment or wanting to live one’s life for oneself. These young people did good, even at a cost, even if it demanded sacrifice, simply because it is a wonderful thing to do good, to be there for others. All it needs is the courage to make the leap. Prior to all of this is the encounter with Jesus Christ, inflaming us with love for God and for others, and freeing us from seeking our own ego. In the words of a prayer attributed to Saint Francis Xavier: I do good, not that I may come to Heaven thereby and not because otherwise you could cast me into Hell. I do it because of you, my King and my Lord. I came across this same attitude in Africa too, for example among the Sisters of Mother Teresa, who devote themselves to abandoned, sick, poor and suffering children, without asking anything for themselves, thus becoming inwardly rich and free. This is the genuinely Christian attitude. Equally unforgettable for me was the encounter with handicapped young people in the Saint Joseph Centre in Madrid, where I encountered the same readiness to put oneself at the disposal of others – a readiness to give oneself that is ultimately derived from encounter with Christ, who gave himself for us.

3. A third element, that has an increasingly natural and central place in World Youth Days and in the spirituality that arises from them, is adoration. I still look back to that unforgettable moment during my visit to the United Kingdom, when tens of thousands of predominantly young people in Hyde Park responded in eloquent silence to the Lord’s sacramental presence, in adoration. The same thing happened again on a smaller scale in Zagreb and then again in Madrid, after the thunderstorm which almost ruined the whole night vigil through the failure of the microphones. God is indeed ever-present. But again, the physical presence of the risen Christ is something different, something new. The risen Lord enters into our midst. And then we can do no other than say, with Saint Thomas: my Lord and my God! Adoration is primarily an act of faith – the act of faith as such. God is not just some possible or impossible hypothesis concerning the origin of all things. He is present. And if he is present, then I bow down before him. Then my intellect and will and heart open up towards him and from him. In the risen Christ, the incarnate God is present, who suffered for us because he loves us. We enter this certainty of God’s tangible love for us with love in our own hearts. This is adoration, and this then determines my life. Only thus can I celebrate the Eucharist correctly and receive the body of the Lord rightly.

4. A further important element of the World Youth Days is the sacrament of Confession, which is increasingly coming to be seen as an integral part of the experience. Here we recognize that we need forgiveness over and over again, and that forgiveness brings responsibility. Openness to love is present in man, implanted in him by the Creator, together with the capacity to respond to God in faith. But also present, in consequence of man’s sinful history (Church teaching speaks of original sin) is the tendency that is opposed to love – the tendency towards selfishness, towards becoming closed in on oneself, in fact towards evil. Again and again my soul is tarnished by this downward gravitational pull that is present within me. Therefore we need the humility that constantly asks God for forgiveness, that seeks purification and awakens in us the counterforce, the positive force of the Creator, to draw us upwards.

5. Finally, I would like to speak of one last feature, not to be overlooked, of the spirituality of World Youth Days, namely joy. Where does it come from? How is it to be explained? Certainly, there are many factors at work here. But in my view, the crucial one is this certainty, based on faith: I am wanted; I have a task in history; I am accepted, I am loved. Josef Pieper, in his book on love, has shown that man can only accept himself if he is accepted by another. He needs the other’s presence, saying to him, with more than words: it is good that you exist. Only from the You can the I come into itself. Only if it is accepted, can it accept itself. Those who are unloved cannot even love themselves. This sense of being accepted comes in the first instance from other human beings. But all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me, and I become convinced of this, do I know definitively: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being. If ever man’s sense of being accepted and loved by God is lost, then there is no longer any answer to the question whether to be a human being is good at all. Doubt concerning human existence becomes more and more insurmountable. Where doubt over God becomes prevalent, then doubt over humanity follows inevitably. We see today how widely this doubt is spreading. We see it in the joylessness, in the inner sadness, that can be read on so many human faces today. Only faith gives me the conviction: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being, even in hard times. Faith makes one happy from deep within. That is one of the wonderful experiences of World Youth Days.

It would take too long now to go into detail concerning the encounter in Assisi, as the significance of the event would warrant. Let us simply thank God, that as representatives of the world’s religions and as representatives of thinking in search of truth, we were able to meet that day in a climate of friendship and mutual respect, in love for the truth and in shared responsibility for peace. So let us hope that, from this encounter, a new willingness to serve peace, reconciliation and justice has emerged.

As I conclude, I would like to thank all of you from my heart for shouldering the common mission that the Lord has given us as witnesses to his truth, and I wish all of you the joy that God wanted to bestow upon us through the incarnation of his Son. A blessed Christmas to you all! Thank you.