News Item: : Cardinal Burke Makes Inspirational Appeal - We Need a Witness to Christian Marriage that is Limpid, Heroic and Ready to Suffer
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
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Saturday 07 March 2015 - 14:55:17

I was blessed to attend the presentation given by His Eminence, Cardinal Raymond Burke, last night in Chester. We sense that these days of the Cardinal's visit present a rare period of graces and blessings to strengthen the faithful for the battle that is coming, and indeed is already upon us.

It was marvellous therefore to see Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, clergy from various dioceses and religious orders, plus a large gathering of lay people from throughout Britain, present at last night's event. I enjoyed meeting up again with friends from various places.

The event was organized and hosted by SPUC and Voice of the Family, whilst the vital theme of Cardinal Burke's presentation was Remaining in the Truth of Christ on Holy Matrimony. 

The content of His Eminence's presentation was so rich and thorough that I soon realized that it would be impossible to do justice to it in the space available in a blog-post. During the evening, I decided to simply note down a few salient themes which readers might find helpful as sources of encouragement and for the inspiration of fresh resolve.

The first thing I noted down was the fact that His Eminence acknowledged clearly the grave situation in which the Church now stands. Drawing on the teachings of recent popes, he noted that the Church Herself must be re-evangelized in order for the Gospel to be taken out to a thoroughly secularized world.

Something that particularly struck me during the evening, was Cardinal Burke's call for a renewed study of Veritatis Splendor, Evangelium Vitae and Familiaris Consortio.

For several years on the run, I used to re-read Veritatis Splendor (and Fides et Ratio), in order to keep purifying my mind and thinking from the sophisticated enforcement of moral and religious relativism which surrounds and bombards us in our culture. As I have let this practice slip in recent years, it was good to be reminded of this clear and engaging encyclical. Some of our readers may find reading this clear teaching document to be helpful between now and the Synod. 

The same is true of Familiaris Consortio. A few years ago, some friends paid for us to attend a weekend in Walsingham with the National Association of Catholic Families (NACF). The beauty of these families and their witness is a testimony to the timeless value of this encyclical. We would therefore say that, despite claims to the contrary by some modernistic prelates, it is in no way outdated; all it has ever really lacked is widespread reception, promotion and implementation. Indeed, Cardinal Burke re-affirmed the ancient concept of the Domestic Church and the fact that parents are the primary educators of their own children. He also spoke of the importance of family prayer and the need for education in chastity, modesty, purity and virtue.

Evangelium Vitae is another helpful document that I used to re-read on occasion. Torch of The Faith has also given parish presentations based on it.

His Eminence also gave a timely reminder of the importance of a renewed committment to the Great Commission, which Our Lord gave to the Apostles, to preach, baptize and teach all nations. Just last summer, we heard Fr. Simon Henry, in Farington, give an excellent homily on the Great Commission. This helped us to dust off some of the layers of laxity which can gather if we are not too careful. I personally think that we must particularly guard against this when a pope and many cardinals, bishops and priests seem to be giving the impression that conversion to Christ and His Church are somehow not essential today. (A Torch of The Faith tip here: In order to keep yourself alert and at the ready, add some encyclicals from - at the very least - St. Pope Pius X, Bl. Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII, together with the last chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, to your reading list! You can get those encyclicals at the Vatican website).

One of the most inspiring aspects in Cardinal Burke's presentation, was his reminder that the Lord has promised to be with us until the end of time. Leading into this theme, His Eminence called the faithful to a more ready and generous obedience to the Word of Christ. He noted that this obedience is indispensable, and invited us to call on the Holy Spirit to purify us of any rebellion or disobedience that we may harbour in ourselves. I think that is so important in light of something I once read in the Little Catechism of St. John Vianney, about the ease with which we plough the 'fields' of the souls of other people; whilst all the while neglecting to care for our own. It can be sobering to recall that, at the end of our earthly life, the Lord will show us the real state of our own field!

At this point, Cardinal Burke promised to pray for the reconversion of Great Britain, when he visits St. Augustine's shrine at Ramsgate on Monday, 9th March, to offer Holy Mass. I'm sure you'll agree that this is great news!

His Eminence also underscored the fact that Christian marriage is the critical locus of the witness of the Church for the transformation of our society. He noted that the restoration of respect for conjugal union in marriage is essential for the very future of Western civilization. During the evening, His Eminence affirmed the Church's true teaching on sex outside of marriage, homosexual activity and contraception. In relation to the latter, he also drew attention to the abortifacient component of many forms of contraception.  

His Eminence reminded that there is only one kind of marriage as God has created it; and as Jesus Christ has redeemed it, by the shedding of His Blood. 

I was inspired by his reminder that fulfillment - meaning perfectio - has properly to do with nature and ends, rather than mere selfish whims. These are good little sound-bites to draw from in defending the truth.

After the presentation there was a fruitful period for questions and answers. Laurence England, author of the blog That the Bones You Have Crushed, asked to what degree the Cardinal thought the crisis was related to a Eucharistic crisis. 

Cardinal Burke agreed that there is a definite link between the loss of belief in the Real Presence/the sacrificial nature of the Mass and the call for divorced/'re-married' to be given Holy Communion. In answer to another person's question, he also acknowledged the link between the collapse in catechesis and the loss of the sense of the sacred that has occured in the implementation of the liturgical reforms. He noted the fact that many left the Church in droves when a 'man-centred' approach began to take hold and spread. This has all contributed to the present crisis.

I'll conclude this post now with five further key points that I took from the cardinal's presentation. 

1. Cardinal Burke said that we must love divorced/'remarried' people and help them in any way that we can to come closer to Christ - but not change doctrine and not give in to false sentimentalism. 

2. To those who say we should somehow leave the doctrine and just change the practice in the name of mercy, we need to pose the principle of non-contradiction. Is the person validly married or not? If so, then they cannot not be married at the same time! 

3. Prayer and sacrifice are essential as the Church is in a time of crisis. The value of these can not be over-estimated. His Eminence urged all of us to offer up our sufferings in union with Christ for the Church.

4. At the same time, there is practical action that we need to take: We must call for the Synod to move beyond this obsession with irregular marriages and deal with the urgent issues to address the threats posed by abortion, contraception, same-sex 'marriage' and the undermining of parental rights. Cardinal Burke drew attention to the polite Filial Appeal website, which has now gained over 120,000 signatures.

5. During the evening, His Eminence recommended that we regularly call on the help of those great defenders of marriage: St. John the Baptist, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. This links to his inspiring call for us to make a defence of marriage that is limpid, heroic and ready to suffer.          

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.893 )