Communion

Communion

Physically separated I’ve adored you from afar.

I had come to take for granted your physical presence; when you and I are one.

Obstinately I shamed those that won’t allow us to be together.

But in time and weakness I would forget, like a child distracted by a new friend at the 

expense of the old.

I kept you in my heart lukewarm, while I yours I burned red hot.

There were days when the thought of you rent my soul and ne’er could I go on.

Without you I was given to fear; anxiety and apathy were my gods.

Selfish and guilty am I; many have been denied so long, yet to you they held tightly.

No bounds on you exist and thus your seeming absence was the scourge of my blindness.

No more shall I groan and hiss hiding my face and pounding my fists.

We will be together always, my love.

Today we met and it was sweet.

I will take you for granted no more.

Dr. Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, Jesus Christ
May 24, 2020

The Global Pandemic: A Time to Search for Truth at the End of the Postmodern Era

Living in the 21st century in the time of a great plague seems either apocalyptic or something out of a science fiction novel. The truth of the matter is that humanity has endured epidemics for all of human history. Our current malady is neither mysterious or apocalyptic. It is the result of natural biological processes, specifically processes that occur when there is significant interspecies interaction in intimate spaces. The increased emergence of zoonotic disease: diseases passing from animals to humans are a result of incursion into jungles and rain forests as well as the hunting and eating of species not meant for human consumption. The latter example can be correlated directly with poverty. Mankind's complicity in the current crisis as well as other forms of human suffering, whether biologic, economic, or another type of injustice is rooted in the philosophical thought of the last two centuries. 

 As Pope Francis lamented during his recent homily before the Urbi et Orbi blessing, the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic is a result of us not listening to our "poor ailing planet." The Supreme Pontiff frequently admonishes those who ignore Catholic social teaching on the environment, unrestrained capitalism, socialism, and care of the poor. The voice of the Church is like one crying out in the wilderness, "make straight the path of the Lord." In order to understand how we got here and where we are going, we have to answer Pilate's question to Jesus: "What is truth?" Jn 18:38.

Man's quest for truth is as old as our species itself. Our first parents were so hungry for knowledge that they disobeyed the God of creation. The real sin of Adam wasn't in desiring truth; it was in failing to recognize that truth is only found in God. Thus, the first sin was man's folly that he could be like God. While this error has persisted throughout salvation history and may be recognized by Christians familiar with scripture, we remain blind to our own dead-end search for the truth or even our disbelief in universal truth itself.

The quest for truth took interesting turns during the modern and postmodern eras of the 19th and 20th centuries. The modernist idea that objective truth is begotten by science and reason gave way to the postmodern denial of absolute truth and the widespread heresy of relativism: the belief that reality is both personal and fluid. The popularity of relativism among those that identify as Christians, spiritualists, or merely kind people, is due to the belief that this philosophy is ardently humane. Objective moral truth, on the other hand, may be considered cruel because it carries with it the possibility of gravely wounding others. There is also the overly uncomfortable position that we may be indicted in accord with our own actions. The evil one tells us that God wants us to live our own truth so long as we don't hurt anyone else. It is of no matter that such relative truth is paradoxically a lie that threatens to mortally wound our own soul. Let me be clear that liberal and conservative, Christian and non-Christian, capitalist and socialist are all equally duped by the Father of Lies as he has a lust for all souls. 

There is considerable debate as to whether the postmodern era is behind us and what philosophy will replace it. I believe that we are entering a new religious age, one that will usher in the final battle between good and evil. Mankind again will awaken to the soul's inherent desire to know objective truth, to know God. This awakening, however, will be a dangerous time. Many will seek God from within themselves. Man can now perform many sorts of miraculous deeds. We can bend gender at will, create and destroy life without fear or regret, wage war with the push of a button and without consideration of innocent lives, and much more. One has to look no further than his own living room to witness the absence of objective moral truth. Many Christians cannot even see when it is right before their eyes. Our children are unmoved at condom commercials and shows normalizing gender fluidity. News reports of war, poverty, and human suffering are no more real than the video games they play. Governments and people celebrating laws legalizing infanticide are passively dismissed with no emotional cry out. We have not only eaten of the forbidden tree, we ourselves now plant the tree.

You may be wondering what all of this has to do with a global pandemic and our planetary quarantine; the answer is everything. While God did not cause this plague, he did allow it to happen. He allows all of human suffering to happen, and He asks us to respond as Christians-with love and charity. As Christians, we know that the glorified Christ was only possible because of the suffering Christ. We are to pick up our cross daily and die to Christ so that we will be raised with Him. Through His grace and mercy, we are being given a chance to put our faith in Him. We are called to humble ourselves to His will. Take this time to read scripture, pray, and contemplate God's incarnate Word. This is an excellent time to discern God's will in our lives and in the world and to pray that we may humbly submit to it. This is the time to recognize that we are not God and that we are not even capable of our next breath without him. Will we be able to realize that the answer to Pilate's question was standing right before his eyes?

Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

Feast of St. Athanasius

Litany of the Blessed Sacrament

Litany of the Blessed Sacrament

Down in adoration falling

He who is the beginning

The first born of the dead

So that primacy may be His in everything

In you there is abundant comfort

In you there is infinite mercy

In you there is peace beyond all understanding

In you there is all consolation

In you there is justice

In you there is mighty protection

In you there is abiding love

In you there is unfailing hope

In you there is unbounding strength

In you there is divine compassion

In you there is redemption

In you there is righteousness

In you there is sight

In you there is wisdom

In you there is light

In you there is life

In you there is perfect patience

Let us bow down and worship

Bending the knee before the Lord our maker

For he is our God and we are His people

The flock he shepherds

Given on the Feast of St. John Capistrano, Priest

October 23, 2019

Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

The Moral and Heretical Crises in the Catholic Church

Essay 1—The sexual abuse crisis and the collapse of sexual morality

Catholics who follow Church news or Catholic posts on social media may be confused or even disheartened with the things that they are reading and hearing. I will present a series of short essays concerning current moral and heretical crises currently plaguing The Church. These essays are written with the intent to inform the Catholic faithful of current problems and their potential solutions without providing excessive detail that is available elsewhere.  In this first essay we shall examine the clergy sexual abuse crisis and provide an answer to the question of what is really at the core of this evil.

Background and the McCarrick abuses

The sexual abuse crisis in the Church has received mass media coverage for the past couple of decades. While the Catholic Church instituted well needed reforms for the protection of minors, it has failed to identify and pluck out the root cause of the issue. The crisis started to come to a head over the last couple of years and exploded with the courageous statements made by Archbishop Vigano, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States under Popes Benedict XVI and Francis. In coming forward with serious accusations of sexual abuse by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop destroyed the veil of protection sewn by Pope Francis and worn by the former Cardinal and others complicit in the coverup of his abuses and the abuses of so many prelates. McCarrick was accused and found guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault on young men including seminarians.  In one particularly evil incident, McCarrick used the Sacrament of Reconciliation to groom and attack his prey. These acts are nothing short of Satanic. Vigano has credible evidence that Pope Benedict XVI knew about McCarrick’s abuses and privately sanctioned him, removing him from public ministry only to have Pope Francis to rescind those sanctions. Pope Francis claims that he had no knowledge of the McCarrick accusations, nor the sanctions imposed by Benedict. The evidence, however, does not support the Holy Father’s denial. Immediately following Vigano’s bombshell letters, the Archbishop went into hiding where he still remains. He continues to speak in his seclusion, occasionally granting interviews and releasing letters. 

Increasing calls of investigation from the Bishops, priests, and laity prompted the Vatican to hold the sexual abuse summit of 2019. The summit was an opportunity for a serious dialogue around the root cause of this evil and to impose concrete procedures for dealing with future issues of abuse by clerics and with those that help cover up these evils. Instead, this opportunity was squandered in favor of a convenient, clean, and politically correct talking point. The result of the summit was an indictment of clericalism as the root cause of the crisis. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Furthermore, United States bishops were determined to undertake strict reform following the Pennsylvania grand jury report but were sidelined by Francis because of the Vatican’s proposed summit. The USCCB has still not had the opportunity to deal directly with the issue which is plaguing the Church worldwide but especially here in the United States. 

The Root of the Evil

In 1972 Pope Paul VI wrote that “The smoke of Satan has entered the Church of God.” This was shortly after the Second Vatican Council, which can be said to have been hijacked by progressive, liberal, and dangerously secular members of the Church hierarchy. We will discuss more about the Second Vatican Council in subsequent essays.  This enigmatic statement by Pope Paul VI has been postulated to refer the secularization and moral laxity that has consumed the post-conciliar period of the Church. One of the unintended but serious consequences of the Council was tacit acceptance of widespread homosexual activity among all strata of the Church hierarchy. This acceptance resulted from efforts of so many bishops and cardinals to protect themselves from those that would root out active homosexual clergy from the Church. It is a fact that the widespread practice of homosexuality by clerics who have not been faithful to their vows of celibacy have directly caused the abuse crisis that the Church is suffering from this very day. The Church would have the faithful erroneously believe that the abuses are from pedophiliac priests and that the abuse crisis is a child abuse crisis. There have certainly been child victims and I am in no way dismissing that.  However, despite the attempts by the Church hierarchy to hide facts from the faithful, it is now widely known that the preponderance of the abuse victims were not children but post-pubescent adolescent males. The conclusion is that the sexual abuse crisis is not a result of pedophilic clergy but instead widespread actively homosexual priests and bishops along with their sympathizers.

Sister Lucia dos Santos, a Fatima visionary, predicted that the final battle between good and evil will be fought over marriage and the family.  We are seeing this battle raging in our midst today.  In just ten short years we have seen the desecration of marriage and family life.  Issues of sexual morality and gender identity are now played out in the light of day and accepted by so many in our culture. One cannot turn on the TV or view social media without being attacked by ideas and images that are contrary to natural and moral law.  Previously such abominations to God’s creation lurked in the shadows, but our enemy the Devil, has been granted weak minds and weak souls on which to prey. This weakness, I believe, is a direct result of the lack of courage on part of our Bishops to uphold the teachings of the Church. I believe this is also a direct result of the Second Vatical Council or at least the implementation of the ideas of the Council.  We have been weakened by sin and by the heresy of moral relativism.  We are taught that if we don’t accept disordered morality then we are bigoted, non-compassionate, and even non-Christian.

Where do we go from here?

As Catholic Christians we must not be led into the darkness of confusion. We cannot lose our compass.  Society teaches us that there are multiple truths; what is true for me may not be what is true for you.  This is a modern heresy called relativism! There is only one truth and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, we are living in a time where our shepherds don’t faithfully teach this truth. They fall into Satan’s trap and sacrifice truth for convenience and even popularity. Many, such as James Martin who is a Jesuit priest and vocal advocate of the homosexual agenda, are preaching heresy with no consequences from his Order, his Ordinary, or the Vatican.  We must remember that to be merciful means to admonish sinners!

If there is one positive idea that came from the Second Vatican Council it is that the laity have a voice and a place in the Church.  When our priests and Bishops fail to preach the truth of the Gospel it is our duty to call them to task. You see, this is our Church and we have the responsibility to safeguard Her.  Christ promised that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against Her. The final battle is raging on, but our victory is assured.  The Blessed Mother of God has already crushed the serpent under her foot.

How then do we fight the battle?  Arm yourselves with humility, for pride is the tool of the devil.  Pray for humility, but most importantly go frequently to Confession.  Receive the Eucharist at least weekly but daily if possible.  Safeguard the belief in the Real Presence.  The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Without the Blessed Sacrament we cannot defeat the enemy. Turn to the Most Holy and Blessed Mother of God.  She is our most powerful intercessor.  Say the Rosary frequently; it is a powerful weapon against evil.  Finally, pick up your cross daily.  Offer your suffering for the Church and for the consolation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

The Dark Journey

I go to the hill of the skulls

Not unlike everyman

I go on fully aware

Accompanied alone

Mal de vivre, the ironic joy

How long the journey? I do not know

Make haste! Salvation is at hand

I go to the hill of the skulls

In no man can I confide

The Cyrene I see not

Who can shelter me?

Their pity a hinderance

I go to the hill of the skulls

Over the treacherous path, no one can carry me

Oh that others shall follow

The suffering feels so good and the tears so sweet

I go to the hill of the skulls

Resplendent with joy as so many before

The first to go lit the path with darkness

In darkness we follow

In darkness we find light

I go to the hill of the skulls

Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

September 17, 2019

Come home to God’s Mercy

Luke 15:1-32

Today’s Gospel is a story that we are all very familiar with; the story of the prodigal son. Jesus was being criticized for associating with well-known sinners and rebuffed this criticism with three parables. The first was the parable of the lost sheep.  He asks what shepherd, having lost a sheep, would not leave the rest of his flock in the desert while he searched for the one missing sheep.  He then asks what woman, having lost a coin, would not sweep the house in search of the lost coin.  In both cases, Jesus talks about the celebration that would ensue. He says that there is greater joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than any number of righteous souls in no need of repentance.

To help make things clearer, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son.  One of two brothers asked his father for an advance on his inheritance as it were.  He moved to a far-off land and squandered his wealth on debauchery and later found himself impoverished wanting even the slop that was fed to the pigs.  The son decided to go home to his father, confessing his sins and asking not for forgiveness, but a position among his father’s servants. When he arrived home his father met him and lavished him with fine things and celebrated with a big feast. The lost son’s brother, after hearing of his brother’s return and the celebration, was jealous of the attention heaped on his brother.  His father explained that all that the father had belonged to the brother that was always with him, but that there was cause for great celebration that his brother who was dead was no alive.  He who was lost was now found. 

The theme that runs through the three parables is mercy.  God loves the righteous and rewards them with many gifts of grace and eternal life.  In the same way that he finds joy in His obedient children he mourns those who are lost and to whom death awaits.  There is indeed great celebration in heaven when lost souls find God; for what father would not celebrate the return of a child from the throes of death?   

We are called to be righteous followers of Christ and to grow in holiness through the gift of God’s grace.  Those who are on the road to perdition are called to come back with the certain knowledge of God’s love and mercy.  We are all called to be those shepherds that search for and rescue Christ’s lost sheep. 

In what ways can we be the shepherd of the father in these parables?  How do we rescue lost souls and how do we show mercy?    God has given each of us gifts that are to be used to fulfill his kingdom here on earth.  Perhaps you know your gifts and how they can be shared with the Church.  Have you done so yet?  If not, why are you waiting for he is calling you?  Maybe you haven’t even given this any thought.  I’d urge you to spend some time in Adoration and ask the Lord what he is calling you to do.   If you are the prodigal son or the lost sheep, then come back and embrace God’s infinite love and mercy. If you are being called to be a shepherd then offer yourself to God being ever mindful of His will.  He will show you the way if you ask him and you take the time to sit in silence and listen.

Given the 24^thSunday in Ordinary time 2019 AD

Scott Francis Davis, O.P.

Lk 13:22-30

Strive to enter through the narrow gate….many will not be strong enough

Jesus was asked as he was teaching if only a few would be saved. His response is just as sobering today as it was in the time in which he lived and perhaps more so. He tells us to strive and enter by the narrow gate but warns that some will not have the strength. We know from the Apostle that all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13) so what does it mean that some will not have the strength?  The lack of strength is synonymous with a lack of faith in Christ. By following Christ and receiving God’s grace, we will have the strength to enter the narrow gate. Those who chose not to follow Him will not have the strength to enter the narrow gate.

Furthermore, Jesus lets us know that time is not on our side. He uses the metaphor of the master of the house arising and locking the door. This metaphor refers to the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment. Once we pass from this life, we await the final judgment, and those found standing outside the door will knock in vain. The Gospel says there will be wailing and grinding of teeth from those on the outside. Souls who are locked out find themselves in hell where there is no possibility of redemption. 

Jesus concludes his answer by saying that people will come from the North, South, East, and West. He says that those who are last will be first and the first will be last. While the Jews didn’t know it quite yet, the Gospel message of salvation offered by Christ was for all people and not just for the Jewish people. The gentiles and those from every corner of the earth would partake in the salvation offered to all.

Do we have the strength to enter the narrow gate today? In what ways do we stand for the truth of the Gospel and Christ’s Church? How do we defend against the modern heresies of modernism and relativism?  It takes courage to stand for truth in a world so mired in Satan’s lies. Don’t be fooled by what the evil one would convince you is mercy and compassion. His lies will lull us into a false sense of security. Instead rely on scripture, tradition, and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Hebrews not to be carried away by strange teachings. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews Chapter 13). Pray that you may not be left knocking.