South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 46, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1987 Page: 4 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Gulf Coast Register/South Texas Catholic and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
January 2, 1987—4
Living the Faith
Bible Journeys for Christians
Love—the only true power
By Father William Maestri
The feast of the Epiphany invites us to consider the
following: which is stronger—loveless power or
powerless love? Let us not be too quick to answer.
For all the bad things that can be said about King
Herod, stupidity is not one of them. Herod knew well
the dangers of a powerless love. How so?
Well, our gospel readings present the so-called
Wise Men (Matthew calls them astrologers) sear-
ching for the “new-born King of the Jews.” Herod
greets this news as we might expect from one who has
grown comfortable on his throne. Herod tries a few
dirty tricks to get his hands on this pretender to the
throne. Wise men are usually foolish men (one could
read this as a commentary on some intellectuals)
when it comes to the ways of blood and guts politics.
Herod tries to dupe the wise men into sharing their
knowledge of where the child is to be found (a
forerunner of the Freedom of Information Act).
Knowing the weakness of intellectuals, (especially
astrologers) to tell all, God advises them in a dream
not to tell. Instead of returning to Herod they sneak
back home.
We need to be clear about Herod: he is a man of
loveless power. Once again the saying of Lord Acton
must be dusted off: power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. Herod loves his power,
position and mighty throne. Any, and I mean any
challenge to his power must be overcome at all costs.
1) Isaiah 60:1-6
2) Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6
3) Matthew 2:1-12
In time we will see that his failed attempt at
trickery turns into a full scale holocaust upon the in-
nocent children of Jerusalem. Any means can be
justified in order to keep one’s hands in power and
control. Simply put: the way of loveless power always
leads to violence on the part of those who must main-
tain the status quo.
History is filled with examples of rulers and politi-
cians who used any means to keep themselves on the
throne, in the broadroom, or at the capitol. Not un-
common are those who use noble causes (national
security, freedom, justice, the people, etc.) to secure
their dishonorable ends. Herod is not the only one to
break faith with the truth and use anyone and
anything to secure their ends.
We need to also be clear about Jesus: on this day of
Epiphany (revelation or coming to unconcealment)
Jesus began and will end (the Cross on Golgotha as
the ultimate Epiphany) as the One sent by God to
show us the power of powerless love and the weakness
of loveless power. All of this sounds confusing to a
world which brags about a rising GNP, bullish
markets, and which side provides more bang for the
buck (for those on the left, we can say rubble for the
ruble).
Jesus is the Word made flesh which says the only
true power is love. It is love that creates, redeems and
makes holy. It is love which heals and makes whole.
It is love which completes us and reveals the true
nature of God and our destiny. Every other claim to
power is an illusion. Powerless love is such a threat to
loveless power because to really love is to be free. The
Christian is truly liberated to travel light and know a
joy and peace which no one can take away.
The Epiphany is a time of revelation and a time of
challenge. We need to turn a critical eye within and
without. We need to reflect on the extent to which we
live in a freedom which bespeaks a love that is
powerless to manipulate and confront. We must also
look at our churches and our nation to see the many
ways we hide rather than reveal Jesus the Christ.
Each time we take up an agenda which makes no
room for freedom and powerless love we march to the
wisdom (which is folly to God) of the world.
It is only when we challenge the principalities and
powers of loveless power that we reveal the One who
is now among us as Powerless Love. And it is only
such a love which has the power to set us free.
Phrases
By Dolores Curran
In the San Diego Zoo, there hangs
this sign.
Sweetest Phrases in the World
I love you.
Sleep until noon.
It’s quitting time.
You’ve lost weight.
Dinner is served.
Keep the change.
This zoo is really clean. (Thank you
for making the last phrase possible.)
We all like to hear these phrases and
more, but how often do we say them?
Since this is the time for resolutions for
a better year ahead, I suggest we
ponder the above and the ones I
modestly add below and check off
those we will pledge to use more fre-
quently this year.
“I’ll do it, Mom. You sit down.”
“Sure, I’ll volunteer.”
“It’s nice not to have to wait for a
repairman.”
"You’re a good dad.”
“You brighten my day, Son.”
“Where did you learn to do that so
well?”
own money.”
“I’m glad I have a daughter like
you.”
“Let’s visit your mother.”
“This parish is great."
"That was a good dinner, Mom.”
“I didn’t call collect.”
“I wrote to Grandma.”
“I’m not going. Those guys are too
wild for me.”
“I like your sermons. They make
me think.”
“He’s injured but he’ll be okay.”
“You’re pregnant? How wonder-
ful.”
“She’s just going through a stage.”
“I’m glad I’m in this family.”
“I m not going out because I have
to study.”
“I filled the ice cube trays.”
“Thanks for working so hard for us,
Dad.”
“Let’s not fight over it.”
“I’m glad you married me.”
“Go ahead and eat it. You look fine
to me.”
“Well, Mom, I talked to God about
it..."
“Let’s just stay home and enjoy
each other.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I
said.”
“You’re the best friend anyone
could have.”
“Can I do it for you?”
“Let’s celebrate.”
“I’ll buy it out of my
“I gassed your car.”
Receiving Communion at
a Protestant service
By Father John Dietzen
NC News Service
Q. You recently answered a ques-
tion about Protestants receiving
Communion at a Catholic Church.
How about the opposite: Catholics
receiving in a Protestant church?
This happened at a memorial ser-
vice for a dear friend. (Mass.)
A. You may recall my answer in-
dicating that one requirement for a
Protestant to receive Communion with
Catholics, even in the most urgent
situations, is that his or her faith in the
Eucharist must be in harmony with
that of our Church.
This involves not only faith in the
Real Presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist, but also the unity in faith
that Holy Communion signifies for us.
In our Catholic belief, the
Eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament
celebrates and symbolizes the oneness
of faith among those who share it in
that liturgy.
This same principle answers your
new question. Naturally every
ceremony commemorating the Lord’s
Supper, even in a Protestant church,
has some similarities to our own
Eucharist.
All Christian churches believe at
least that eating the bread and drink-
ing the wine is a special way to recall
the death of Jesus and unite us to him
in faith.
It is our belief as Catholics,
however, that the fullest eucharistic
celebration, one which involves the
true transformation of the wine and
bread into the body and blood of
Christ, is possible only when that
liturgy is presided over by one official-
ly assigned to that ministry, in other
words by a validly ordained priest.
This, along with other differences in
faith and doctrine which are also rele-
vant, means that there will be signifi-
cant variations of belief between
Catholics and the official positions of
most Protestant churches about what
is happening at a eucharistic liturgy
and what the Eucharist is all about.
Thus, according to our understan-
ding of the sacraments and our way of
living a sacramental life, a member of
our Church should not ask for the
sacraments, especially the Eucharist,
penance and anointing of the sick, ex-
cept from a priest who has been validly
ordained by the Church to minister
these sacraments.
For anyone who wishes more
details, these policies are spelled out in
the Directory Concerning Ecumenical
Matters of the Secretariat for Pro-
moting Chrisitian Unity, May 14,
1967. It is also discussed more explicit-
ly in the Code of Canon Law, No.
844.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Freeman, Robert E. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 46, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1987, newspaper, January 2, 1987; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840609/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .