Lex Cordis Caritas - The law of the heart is Love

Death and funerals are not topics that people tend to talk about very often, unless you happen to be talking to a funeral director and our diocesan director for Property, Buildings and Cemeteries, as I happened to be doing recently. Our conversation centered on the increasingly unusual requests people are making regarding funeral plans. Not too long ago, it was common practice for family members of a deceased Catholic to arrange for a wake at a local funeral home, a funeral Mass in church and burial in a Catholic cemetery. Unfortunately, that is not always the case any longer.

Last summer Pope Francis announced some changes in the processes for handling cases of the nullity of marriage. These changes went into effect this past week on Dec. 8, so I would like to describe them briefly here. Sometimes these cases are popularly referred to as a marriage annulment, but that is technically not accurate, since the church is not declaring an existing marriage to be null, but is examining whether the marriage was null from the outset on one or more grounds that affect the ability of one or both parties to give their valid consent to marry.

As our national observance of Thanksgiving approaches, it is good for us to reflect on the importance of giving thanks to God in our prayers. When we pray, very often our focus is on prayers of petition and intercession. Prayers of petition are when we ask God for something for ourselves, such as petitioning for the grace to overcome a bad habit or vice. Prayers expressing repentance and asking forgiveness for sins are also prayers of petition. Prayers of intercession are when we ask God for something for someone else, such as praying for the health and recovery of a sick friend or relative. These forms of prayer tend to predominate because of our natural tendency to be anxious and preoccupied about matters that trouble and concern us. So from time to time we need to be reminded of the other types of prayer as well, including prayers of blessing, prayers of praise and prayers of thanksgiving.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the most popular television shows was hosted by the famous Milton Berle, a comedian and actor who became one of America’s first television stars. Toward the end of his career, yet while his show was still very popular, another unlikely figure appeared on television on the same night who would surpass Milton Berle in the ratings. That figure was not a great comedian or an accomplished actor. The host of the new show was a Roman Catholic bishop, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. The format of the show was really quite simple. It involved Bishop Sheen standing at a blackboard, writing and drawing as he spoke about many of the truths of our Catholic faith. The show was remarkably popular and even won an Emmy Award.

The main purpose of the Holy Father's visit to our country was stated by the Holy Father himself at the prayer service with Bishops of the United States at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C., where he said, "I appreciate the unfailing commitment of the Church in America to the cause of life and that of the family, which is the primary reason for my present visit." The Holy Father underscored this message in his address to Congress, saying, "Let us remember the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' (Mt 7:12). This Rule points us in a clear direction... . The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us. The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development." This message is very timely as we observe Respect Life Month during this month of October.