Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
April 2, 2025 Column Father De Celles
Colds and Flus. There’s been some nasty flus/colds/viruses going around the last few weeks. Two weeks ago I heard that some schools had closed for a couple of days because so many kids were calling in sick. Angelus told me that they had 20% of their kids out one week. I finally caught a terrible cold myself and it knocked me out of service for about a week. So let’s keep praying for each other to not get sick and/or to recover quickly if we do.
Pope Francis. Of course, we’ve all read about the Holy Father’s hospitalization for double pneumonia. As I write this on Wednesday, he has been sick for almost 2 weeks. Here is this morning’s update from Catholic World News:
“Pope Francis remains alert and in good spirits, but his symptoms “continue to present a complex picture,” doctors at Gemelli Hospital reported on February 19.
“On the 6th day of the Pope’s hospital stay, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: “He had a tranquil night, work up and had breakfast.” He spent part of the day sitting up in a chair, did work, “received the Eucharist, and throughout the day, alternated between rest, prayer, and reading.”
“Vatican sources said that the Pope has not required supplemental oxygen, and his heart function has remained steady.
“However doctors continue to battle what they have described as a “polymicrobial respiratory-tract infection”—meaning that they are fighting several different bacteria and/or viruses simultaneously. What was originally envisioned as a 3-4 day hospital stay may now stretch to two or three weeks.”
They don’t sound too worried. Unfortunately, the Vatican is always overly upbeat when it comes to reporting any pope’s health. And at 88 years old pneumonia is extremely dangerous, often deadly. So we need to pray for him in a particular way.
Now, let me be perfectly frank. A lot of people tell me that they don’t like the Pope, or that they are often angry with him, because of some of the things he says and does. For example, a few days ago he took the unusual step of writing the US Bishops to encourage them to oppose President Trump’s enforcement of US immigration laws—many American Catholics strongly disagreed with him (they were free to do so, in as much as it was merely his prudential judgment).
But let me remind you that you can disagree with many things the Pope says and does (except when he teaches the constant doctrine of the Church), and you are free, even, not to like him as a person. But you must always love him.
Of course, many Catholics do like him and find it easy to love him. But not everyone. So if you find yourself struggling to love him, remember that Jesus tells us to even “love your enemies.” And the pope is surely not our enemy: the term “pope” comes from the Italian for “father”—Pope Francis is our Holy Father.
Again, let me be frank. When my father was alive, sometimes he and I disagreed, especially when I was a very young man. We were very much alike, and both stubborn and willful, so we could sometimes have strong disagreements. And sometimes I didn’t always like what he did, and vice versa. But he was always my Father, and so I always loved him as my father, even when we disagreed and even argued.
Fortunately, as I grew older, we figured each other out and were able to like each other a lot more and argue a lot less. But that was because we continued all those years to love each other as father and son.
Remember, “love,” in this sense, doesn’t mean lots of smiles and warm feelings. Rather, it means “willing and striving for the good of the other.” So in loving my father, I always tried to want good things for him and do good things for him. Most importantly, I prayed for him. Even when I was mad at him for something, I prayed for him.
So, whether you like him or dislike him, agree or disagree with him, love our Holy Father, and pray for him. Especially now, in this illness, which may be his last. Pray for Gods’ will, pray for the forgiveness of any of his sins, pray for his recovery, and pray, when/if it is time in God’s plan, for his “happy death.”
Sexagesima Sunday. In the “old days” (60 or so years ago) the 3 Sundays before Ash Wednesday were called Septuagesima (“seventieth”), Sexagesima (“sixtieth”)and Quinquagesima (“fiftieth”) Sundays, respectively, referring to the days left before Easter (approximately). This was done to remind us that Lent (“Quadragesima,” “forty”) was approaching, in order that we might begin to prepare for Lent.
There was a lot of wisdom of this practice in the “old calendar.” Preparing for Lent doesn’t involve beginning to do extra penances, etc. of Lent, but it can involve thinking about what those penances should be. Considering, what sins I really need to work on, whether particular mortal sins, or even particular venial sins that are habitual, i.e., a “vice.” And then figuring out what sacrifices, prayers and acts of charity I should adopt as Lenten penances to help me to overcome them, with Christ’s grace. Or maybe I want to grow in a particular virtue. Maybe you want to be kinder to your spouse, or more honoring of your parents. What penance(s) would help me to do this?
Last Sunday was Septuagesima Sunday and today is Sexagesima Sunday, and Ash Wednesday is 10 days away. So start to think and pray about what you can do for Lent that it may be truly fruitful.
Trump is Very Wrong on IVF. Did you see this last Tuesday, as reported by Catholic News Agency?
“President Donald Trump frustrated pro-life activists Tuesday afternoon with an executive order that directs the United States Domestic Policy Council to examine ways to lower costs for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and expand access to the procedure.
“…The move to expand access to IVF and lower its costs fulfills one of Trump’s campaign promises but puts him at odds with many members of the pro-life community who oppose IVF because the process has destroyed millions of human embryonic lives.
“IVF is a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs to create human embryos and implant them in the mother’s womb, which deviates from the natural procreative process. To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and routinely destroy [kill] undesired embryos [babies].
“…Edward Feser [a widely respected Catholic Moral Philosopher] said in a series of posts on X that ‘there should be no funding for it whatsoever, and no Trump supporter who would fail vigorously to resist such a move can claim to be genuinely pro-life…‘Catholics and other pro-lifers: Ask yourself what you would say and do if a Democrat had done this….If you will not say and do the same thing when Trump does it, then you are a hypocrite whose loyalty to your party has trumped loyalty to your religion and to the natural law.’
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles