RIP Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

Catholicism lost one of its greatest contemporary voices today. Our loss, is Heaven's gain, as the Lord calls his servant home. One can imagine that Fr. Neuhaus had now heard, what we all long to hear, "Well Done, My Good and Faithful Servant".

I was never an avid reader of First Things like my father and grandfather, but I will tell you, the intellectual and theological depth, as well as its Orthodoxy, made it an excellent publication. I was perusing another site on the web that posted the following written by Fr. Neuhaus, "Born Toward Dying" in 2000. It was published in its entirety in "Introductions to the Eternal Pity".

"We are born to die. Not that death is the purpose of our being born, but we are born toward death, and in each of our lives the work of dying is already underway. The work of dying well is, in largest part, the work of living well. Most of us are at ease in discussing what makes for a good life, but we typically become tongue-tied and nervous when the discussion turns to a good death. As children of a culture radically, even religiously, devoted to youth and health, many find it incomprehensible, indeed offensive, that the word "good" should in any way be associated with death. Death, it is thought, is an unmitigated evil, the very antithesis of all that is good."

For the complete essay please check out First Things.

I will always remember watching EWTN during the last Conclave and listening to his insightful analysis and his correct view that Cardinal Ratzinger was very likely to be the next Pope. The Church has been so very blessed to have Fr. Neuhaus for the time it did.

Rest in Peace and May Perpetual Light Shine Unto Thee

The Priest Shortage

The one area that is really feeling the “Catholic Priest Shortage” is the United States Armed Forces. It doesn’t help that Catholic “Progressives” often dislike the military and either discourage priests from considering serving as Army (or Air Force, or Navy, or Marine) Chaplains or have nothing but contempt for them. It’s a sad but true statement of their real priorities so present on the website of the National “Catholic” Reporter. But I digress.

The United States Army has requirements or MTOE (modified table of organization and equipment) for 200+ Catholics priests to serve as Army Catholic Chaplains. During WWII and Korea the Catholic Chaplain was an indelible part of life. One of the greatest scenes in the WWII classic “The Longest Day” is an Army Catholic Priest walking the streets during the Battle for Carentan administering Last Rites. Today, there are only 80 Catholic Priests in the United States Army. That obviously creates a situation where the shortage is especially present and its impacts felt. The priest shortage is not nearly as severe in parishes in the United States where demand for access to the Sacraments has fallen precipitously since the early 1960s (I don’t assign the problem to Vatican II, though some of its “Fruits” perhaps caused problems). If you want to go to Mass, you don’t have an issue. My mom recently discovered www.masstimes.org where you can find Mass times for the entire United States. In the military, with a finite number of priests, but enormous demands, there will be a shortage.

The unit that replaced the 172nd SBCT up in Mosul in August of 2006 did not have a Catholic Priest. That meant that Catholic Soldiers would maybe have access to the Sacraments once a month at best. I’ve been fortunate that both brigades I’ve been a part of had assigned Catholic Chaplains with the Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). Fr. Greschel was an outstanding and committed Catholic priest from Chicago with a great sense of humor and of duty. Since the Brigade was based on a Super FOB (first Courage/Marez and then Victory) there was no problem offering the Mass for as many soldiers as desired it. This deployment our BSB has a great Polish missionary priest (who first was a missionary to the native population of Alaska). It’s an experience going to the Sacrament of Penance in three languages: English for the confession, Latin for the Act of Contrition, and Polish for the absolution. That’s the universality of the Church. Anyway, now that we are on deployed COPs, our priest has to travel to offer the Mass for soldiers who do not have access to it on FOB Warhorse. The end result is that at least every other week, if not a couple weeks in a row, we do not have access to Sunday Mass. Today was no exception. I went to Mass, expecting mass, but Fr. Maciej had not returned from one of the outlying FOBs/COPs to offer Mass. We had to have a Sunday Service in the Absence of a Priest (SSAP) instead, which is still a great opportunity to gather and pray, but without the benefit of the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass.

On a somewhat related note, the Mass and the whole story of the Christian Faith is summed up in the Pulpit of the Cross. This synopsis by the late great Archbishop Fulton Sheen is such an important discussion of the Heart of the Christian Faith and Salvation History. Please take the time to read it.

A New Year Brings Changes to Iraq

Today is January 1st, 2009. Last night at 2359 the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing MNF-I's presence in Iraq expired. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States and her coalition allies (Poland, Great Britain, Australia, South Korea, and many others) have operated under a United Nations Mandate.

As Iraqi Security improved, the need for that mandate and the corresponding operational abilities it provided were seen as less necessary. Thus, the United States and the Republic of Iraq began lengthy negotiations over a document that is now known as the Bi-Lateral Security Agreement (the SOFA). At 0001 on 1 January 2009 that document and its rules came into effect. It is a great moment both for the US Mission in Iraq, but also for the Republic of Iraq. The SOFA recognizes the sovereignty of the Government and Nation of Iraq and establishes the United States and Iraq as fully and equal partners in the endeavor to build a democratic government in the Middle East.

As of today, the Armed Forces of the United States are valued partners in helping Iraq rebuild their country, but are also guests of the Republic of Iraq. There might be more restrictions that make life more difficult, but it is well worth it. The symbolism of it is enormous and it demonstrates how far Iraq has come from the days of Saddam Hussein. So truly, Happy New Year Iraq!

On another unrelated note, I recommend this great article on the changing role of the Infantry Soldier in the Counter-Insurgency fight. The fight against insurgents and terrorists is only a small part of the greater fight in Iraq and this article highlights the skill and adaptability of the American Soldier.

Normally, the role an Infantry Soldier plays can be summed up simply: Infantry Soldiers are Soldiers who are primarily trained for fighting on foot. However, with ever-changing modern warfare and the enhancements made to the country of Iraq by the efforts of coalition forces and Iraqi security forces, the role of the Infantry Soldier is undergoing changes of its own. (For the rest please go to the above link)

Merry Christmas

A parish priest began his sermon last night with these songs about Christmas and home and reminded me that they were written in WW2 and were the most popular songs at that time with both soldiers and home front types because of the sentiments they convey.

I think they are quite timeless in the sentiments they convey. Christmas, the Feast of the Incarnation and Birth of Christ happens regardless of one's circumstances. But the celebration of it with friends and family has become an important part of this Holiday Feast. While the religious connotation must always be paramount, religion finds its fullest expression in community, and no community, no Church, is more powerful and important than the Church of the Family (paraphrase of Catholic Teaching). Thus, Christmas is best celebrated with our dear friend and family.

I'll Be Home for Christmas by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent (c) 1943

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
and presents on the tree

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas from the film Meet Me In St. Louis, Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane 1943

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

There is always next year, Merry Christmas.

In Hoc Anno Domini - Christmas Proclamation

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. . . . Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. . . .

Continues Here

The benefits are real

The Below is an Awesome Letter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the truths so often ignored by the Iraq War's many critics:

In response to the Dec. 17 letter "The pain is real" from Patricia Mitchell regarding President George W. Bush's "less-than-serious reaction" to the shoe-throwing incident and his "delusion" regarding the war in Iraq: I, too, wish that Bush had had a different response.

I wish he'd told the world that five years ago had someone thrown a shoe (or a disapproving glance) in the direction of a foreign dignitary in the presence of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the shoe thrower would have been tortured in indescribable ways and, if lucky, his body may have found its way to a mass grave.

I wish Bush had told the world he went to a meeting with Iraq's democratically elected leader, outside the protection of a U.S. military installation, and the worst thing that happened was a shoe flew by his head.

I wish Bush had pointed out that the journalist who threw that shoe was only there because the Iraqi government now allows a free and uncensored media to cover the details of what agreements its government enters into and with whom.

I wish Bush had said a lot of things about what is going on in Iraq. But I doubt Ms. Mitchell ever would have heard the president's words if he had said those things. Because, as she admits, all she reads in newspapers are reports of death and despair.

I'd like to tell Ms. Mitchell that while she is reading about the evils in Iraq, a half a world away, our day is coming to a close. A day in which I will have seen Iraqi children running off to school with SpongeBob backpacks and a desire to learn. I will have driven past hospitals that treat Iraqis on the basis of the severity of their illness, not on a connection to Hussein or the Baath Party. A day in which I will have spoken with hundreds of prisoners, not one who will claim to have been tortured by the police or had their confession coerced. And most of all, a day in which I will have spoken to numerous Iraqi citizens proud of what Iraq has become, content to be free from the yoke of oppression and excited by the prospects of an open and democratic future.

D---------------
Milwaukee
Civilian Rule of Law Adviser
Provincial Reconstruction Team
Forward Operating Base ----------
----------- Province, Iraq

Faith, Prayer Sustain the Family

For anyone in the Milwaukee area I strongly urge you (if you are Catholic) to go to your local Catholic Parish and pick up the Catholic Herald. They have a fantastic article on a strong Catholic family, that of State Representative Mark Gundrum and how their Catholic faith allowed the family to endure and grow during Rep. Gundrum's recent deployment to Iraq.

I was particularly touched by their focus on prayer and the Eucharist for surviving the deployment: "After the tears were shed, hugs exchanged and painful goodbyes were said at the airport last year as the Gundrum family sent dad, Mark, on his way to a nine-month deployment to Iraq, the children had one destination in mind: their church. 'After we dropped Mark off at the airport, that was the first thing the kids said,' said Mary Gundrum recalling how they asked to go to Eucharistic adoration to talk with Jesus."

For more information on the article you can go to the Catholic Herald's website, but if you want the full story, you'll have to pick up a Daily Herald. It is worth it.

A Moral Prism for Iraq

One thing that continues to stun me about Iraq is the sheer poverty of the place. Yet amidst all the poverty, there are riches and hope. We are doing good here and it is demonstrated by our willingness to try to help these people improve their lives.

As Saddam fell into madness he began to ignore the problems of Iraq and instead spent lavishly on his military and his palatial estates. In some Arab countries that have far less oil wealth, the infrastructure is very new and the people are able to share in the excess of the nation's oil wealth. Through sanctions, wars, and Saddam's megalomania the Iraqi people did not have the same opportunity.

The sheer poverty of the place came into full effect on a combat patrol the TAC made up in the northern reaches of our AO. It is a desolate place as opposed to the green fields and canals of other parts of our AO Legion. I think it is that desolation of endless desert that highlights the sheer poverty experienced by the Iraqi people in this region. They are farmers, but there is so little water, there aren't a lot of fields that can grow crops. They live in mud brick homes and compounds, many of which have been abandoned to time and the desert as people move up and out of the region to go to Baqubah or Baghdad or some other city. As one of the locals said, "It's too hard to make a living out here". He happened to be doing pretty well, since just about every green field we saw was his, but what about all the other families?

The majority of the homes we saw were abandoned as locals decided that the harsh unforgiving land was too much. If you've seen those movies of the Wild West featuring those Western Boom Towns in the middle of nothing, you have a small glimpse of what this area is like up in the north. At the same time there is an exotic beauty to the terrain which makes you think of Lawrence of Arabia (one of the greatest movies ever made if you haven't seen it).

Yet despite this glaring poverty, there is quite a bit of love and joy in the area. There were so many children who see the Strykers coming and begin asking for soccer balls. If every kid in Iraq had a soccer ball they would still want them. No Stryker leaves the wire without a complement of Soccer Balls to throw out if the situation merits it. The kids wave their hands back and forth pretending to conduct a thrown-in, the international sign for “give me a soccer ball!” We were mobbed and a few soccer balls were tossed out to the group. You could see twenty kids chasing after one thrown ball. Yes, there was a little fighting until one child emerged with the ball.

You realize that they are so innocent, but that they are above all children and the hope of Iraq. The families are obviously rich in love and kids. One might figure that the number of children was inversely proportional to the availability of work, but I will leave that to the social statisticians to fully determine. It takes a hardy soul to remain in that region, but for many it is home. They will cling to it as long as they can, seeking to have the earth bear fruit while raising a family.

I think during this season it is certainly a time to recognize how blessed one is. I recognize the enormous blessings that God has given me. I also recognize that we have an obligation to assist others in what small ways we can. In many ways, that is what we are doing in Iraq. We overthrew a ruthless tyrant and are attempting to help the Iraqis establish a government that is answerable to the people and will work for the people. We are working to provide and assist the Iraqis with building up their infrastructure so they can be self-sufficient due to the purposeful neglect of Saddam Hussein. We are trying to change a people into thinking about the country as opposed to their tribe, clan, or sect. Some have said it is a Sisyphean task. Maybe it is, but what would it say about us if we didn't try?

Iraq could be one example of where the interests of National Security and the Moral Choice co-exist.