LENT – EASTER 2004

“UNLESS YOU REPENT . . .”
Luke  13:3
After Lent  and  Easter, Repentance is still  Revelant.

Jesus  began  His  public  ministry,  preaching the good  news   of  the  kingdom of  God,  by  calling people to repentance.  “Repent,  for the  kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  (Matthew 3:2) As someone once expressed it,  the  reason why  we  need  the good news  of salvation is because of the bad news of sin.  There are only  two alternatives before  us, either we repent or we per-

Repentance can be accompanied with remorse and regret,  sorrow and  other  similar sentiments.   But these, in the absence of a firm decision to change, is not  repentance.  We may resolve  to change be- cause  of shame, because we want  to improve, be- cause  we would like to be acceptable in society,  or for a multitude of other  reasons.  But true  repen- tance   requires  a  recogni-

ish.

“I tell  you,  No;  but  unless you repent  you will all like- wise perish.” (Luke 13:3). “The  Lord is  . . .   forbear- ing toward  you, not wishing that  any  should  perish,  but that all should  reach repen- tance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

As we go through the  vari- ous  Lenten observances in preparation for the  celebra- tion  of the resurrection, the Church stresses the  impor- tance   of  repentance.	For

There are  only  two alternatives before us, either we  repent or we  perish. “I tell you, No; but  unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3).
“The Lord is . . .  forbearing toward you, not wishing that any  should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)

tion  that  sin  is offensive to God, and  a rejection of His truth and   love. 	True   re- pentance is God-ward, and not   turned  towards  one- self.   True  repentance that is focussed on God restores life to dead souls, but re- morse   is  directed towards oneself and  only  confirms spiritual death. “For godly grief produces a repentance that  leads  to salvation and brings no regret, but world- ly grief produces death.”  (2
Corinthians 7:10)

without repentance there  can be no turning away from sin.

What is repentance?  It is nothing less than a de- cision to turn around, to change all that  is sinful in one’s life –  thoughts, attitudes, words, actions
-- for that  which is in accordance with  God’s will.

Essential  marks of repentance. There are five es- sential marks  of genuine repentance, as distinct from mere  regret  or remorse:

Admission of sin: Most of us have  learned to ac- knowledge our  faults,  though only  in  a general way. “Well, nobody’s perfect” and  ”We are all sin-

ners,  including me” are  two  favourites.  But  real acknowledgment of one’s sin will follow a careful and even ruthless examination of conscience with no excuses, and an honest recognition of personal sin.   Not general, not  social,  but  personal sin.  To deny  one’s  own  sin  is  to  deny  one’s  need  for  a Saviour.  As Jesus said,  “Those who are well have no need  of a physician, but  those  who  are sick; I have  not come  to call the righteous,  but sinners  to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)

Recognition of harm done. There is a psychology- induced emphasis on the harmful effect of sin on our own psyche. But genuine
repentance  must 	include a  recognition  of  the   effect of our  sin..    “For I know  my transgressions, and  my  sin is ever before  me.  Against  thee, thee only, have  I sinned, and done  that  which  is evil in thy sight...” (Psalm  51:3-4)

Sorrow  for sin.   Sin is an of- fence,    always  against   God and  often  also  against man. Genuine repentance is al- ways  marked by  sorrow  for sin.    This  sorrow can  some- times have a self-centred motive (fear  of punishment) but   ideally  should  have   a God-centred  motive (sorrow for  having offended the  ho- liness  of  God). 	“And  Peter

Reparation,  or a desire to repair the harm done,  is an essential of the “”fruits of repentance” that John the  Baptist spoke  of (Luke 3:8) and  Zacchaeus so spontaneously demonstrated: “Behold, Lord... if I have  defrauded any  one  of anything, I restore  it fourfold.”  It was this  readiness to repair the dam- age he had  done,  that  moved  Jesus to say, “Today salvation has come  to this house” (Luke 19:8-9).

The  Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforces this  truth:
CCC 1459: Many  sins  wrong  our neighbour. One must   do  what  is  possible   in  order  to  repair  the harm    (e.g.,    return    stolen
goods, restore the reputation of  someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice  requires  as much.
CCC 2487: Every offence committed   against    justice and  truth  entails  the duty  of reparation , even if its author has been forgiven.   This duty of  reparation also  concerns offences against another’s reputation.	This    repara- tion, moral and sometimes material, must  be evaluated in  terms  of the  extent  of the damage inflicted.   It obliges in conscience.

Reconciliation is a two-way process. We tend  to think of

remembered the saying  of Jesus, ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bit- terly” (Matthew 26:75).

“I have not come to call  the
righteous, but  sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

forgiveness as a response to repentance. But we see from God’s own  example that  for- giveness is  the  initiative  of love.  God  forgave  the   sins

Resolution to  never  again  sin.  Genuine repen- tance  is marked by a horror for sin and  its effects. This  includes a deep  desire and  a determination to undo the harm done.

All  sin  is  primarily an  offence  against God  be- cause  it breaks  His law; but  many  of our  sins  are also offences against our fellow man.  Recognition of the evil of sin would naturally lead to a resolu- tion  to never  sin again.

of mankind even  before  they  were  committed, in the  atoning sacrifice of the  Lamb  who  was  slain from  the  foundation of the  world (see Revelation
13:8).  But forgiveness, even  though given  freely, is like water  off a duck’s back if we do not repent. Only  those  who  truly  repent can  experience the forgiveness of  God.    And  without experiencing the  forgiveness of God, nobody can  truly  forgive another.

Editor

HOW PEOPLE VIEW “THE PASSION...” WILL DEPEND LARGELY ON HOW THEY VIEW THE CHRIST

The most vitriolic enemies	 of 	the film and its mes- sage are not Jews: they  are  drawn from the forces of militant	secular- ism and the Fifth Column within the Catholic  Church.

For, make  no  mis- take, this  is an in- tensely 	Catholic film.   Mel  Gibson
is a traditional Catholic who  rejects  the  humbug and  chaos  of the Second Vatican Catastrophe - as do an increasing number of the disillusioned sur- vivors  stumbling around in the ruins of the once- mighty Roman  Catholic Church. The  faithful translation on to film of the scriptural narrative of Christ’s  passion and  resurrection would, 50 years ago, have  presented Catholics with  an image  that was totally familiar. Bishop Joseph Devine, bishop of Motherwell, is one of the few in Britain to have seen the  film and  has  described it as “stunningly successful... a profoundly religious film.”

Yet, today,  the Easter  People,  the dancers in sanc- tuaries, those  who  claim  They  Are  Church and all the assorted Lollards and  Fifth Monarchy Men who  have  converted Catholicism into  a crankfest regard  the Passion with  as much alienation as any atheist.

[According to  them] Religion  should be  nice.  It should have no doctrines, since  that would create division. There are no moral  absolutes, no objec- tive  truths. In an ideal  world, you  should not  be able  to put  a cigarette-paper between a Catholic and  a Buddhist. Since  we are all going to Heaven, regardless of our  conduct on  earth, what  is  the point of all this  violence on  Calvary?  Of course, we need some ritual and collective spirituality: so,

let’s  go and  hang some  cuddly toys on 	the 	railings of 		Kensington Palace. What we need is a one-size- fits-all, syncretic religion, centred on 	 the 		United Nations; an ethi- cal code  that  does not 	  restrict	us from  the  perpetu- al gratification of all appetites.

You  will  find  little  dissent from  those   proposi- tions  among  the  smirking, blue-rinse nuns of the post-Conciliar  Church, or  their  ecumaniac male counterparts. To them, the  crack  of the  centuri- on’s whip and  the  thud of the  hammer on  nails are  distant, alien  sounds - a disturbing echo  of Holy  Week  long  ago,  of Gregorian plainsong,  of ferias in Seville. In a word - ecumenically unhelp- ful; best washed away by a few more cups  of tea at Scottish Churches House.

The  militantly secular world is also  keenly alert to the  challenge of the  Passion. In responding to Gibson’’s initiative, no double-standard is too bla- tant,  no inversion of truth too shameless. Critics are  queuing up  to denounce “pornographic vio- lence”  (the  now  favourite weasel  phrase) in  the literal  portrayal  of  the   crucifixion.  These   are the   self-same people  who   acclaimed every   sa- distic and   pornographic  obscenity with   which Hollywood has  poisoned the  world over  the  past three decades, who  vigorously denounced  “cen- sorship” and  promoted the  “pushing of boundar- ies”. Now, suddenly, they  are alarmed about por- nographic violence.

Yet, amid  all  the  sound and  fury,  the  most  con-
(Continued at the bottom of page 4)

TRUTH AND THE CHRISTIAN

When we think of the prime requirement of a Christian life,  what   usu- ally comes  to mind is “love”. 	Which  is   true enough in a sense, except that  in  practice it  seems to ignore  the  relationship between truth  and   love. We   tend   to   see   a  lack of love  as  a major  sin  of omission, which it is; but we often, just as easily, excuse a lie  as necessary or not so important.  This amounts  to  a  denial  of God Himself.

When 	God 	revealed Himself to Moses, and Moses   asked   His   name, God said “I am who I am” (Exodus  3:14). As the only

“The eighth  commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations  with others.
This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people  to bear witness  to their God who  is the  truth and  wills the truth. Offences  against  the truth express by word or deed
a refusal  to commit oneself  to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and,  in this sense,  they undermine the foundations of the covenant.” – CCC 2464

holy  people   to  bear  wit- ness  to their  God  who  is the  truth and  wills the truth.  Offences    against the truth  express  by word or deed  a refusal  to com- mit oneself to moral up- rightness: they are fun- damental infidelities to God  and,   in  this   sense, they  undermine the foun- dations of the  covenant.”
– CCC 2464

Truth  and   love   are   the two foundations of any godly  relationship.  That is  why   we  are  directed to   “speak   the   truth   in love”   (Ephesians   4:15). We may speak the truth without love  (and  some- times  do!),  and  this  can

self-existent Being, God does not derive  His iden-
tity from a relationship with  creatures.  He is not measured by creation; rather, He is the  measure of all created things. “I AM” is therefore the most basic truth in the  universe, from  which all truth regarding creation is derived.  Misrepresentation of the  truth is a serious offence  against God, and not only against our neighbour.

“The eighth  commandment forbids  misrepresent- ing  the  truth  in  our  relations   with  others.   This moral  prescription flows  from  the  vocation of the

be very hurtful. But if we misrepresent the truth, however good the  intention, we are not  acting  in love.   So while there  can  be truth without love, there  can never  be love in the absence of truth. In this  sense, truth is more  basic  than love.

The  concept of  truth  embraces more  than just facts.  Precisely because God  alone  is the  source of all  truth, truth also  includes moral  principles of living  that  God  has  laid  down for  us.  These are not mere  rules  arbitrarily laid down, but  flow from the nature of God Himself.

HOW PEOPLE VIEW “THE PASSION...” WILL DEPEND LARGELY ON HOW  THEY VIEW THE CHRIST (continued from page 3)
temptible phenomenon is the trahison des clercs. The Catholic Church will not embrace this film, despite the  Pope’s verdict on it (“It is as it was!”),  because it expresses a faith  it now  finds  embarrassing. The Passion was made  with  as much religious dedication as the crafting of an Orthodox icon.  The Tridentine Mass was celebrated on the set every morning and  there  was at least  one conversion to Catholicism dur- ing the  making of the  film.  Small  wonder that  modernist Roman  theologians are galled  by the  fact that Tradition has produced the most triumphant artistic articulation of faith and  that  evangelical Protestants are flocking  to experience it.
Excerpt from “Scotland on Sunday”

Today’s world is marked by many   platitudes  about  love, but   no  concern about truth. In  the  process, in  the  name of “love”,  truth is denied and opposed.  So  we 	think we can  break  the  law  and  com- mit  injustices to favour  those we “love”.  People cheat and accumulate  wealth  to   leave an  inheritance to  those   they “love”.   Some give false evi- dence in  court   to  secure the acquittal of those  they  “love”.

“Do not be conformed to this world but  be transformed by the renewal of your  mind, that you may  prove what is the  will of God, what is good  and
acceptable and  perfect.” (Romans  12:2)

have  seen  falsehood play a prominent role. 	Very  often, the  innocent have  been  sacri- ficed, even  victimised, for the sake  of offenders who  hold  a “higher” position (in a Church in which all are God’s children and  share  an  equal  dignity!). The   greater    tragedy  is   that we  tend  to  accept such  gross violations of truth because “everyone’s   doing   it”.	But the  word  of God strictly com- mands us not to be conformed

And we sometimes demand that  friends and  fam- ily should be willing to lie to prove that they “love us”.   The  same  distortion of moral  principles can be seen  in every sphere of life.

Some  people try  to  make  a distinction between truths of the  faith  and  truth in our  relationships. The  apostle John  wrote,  “If any  one  says,  ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother  whom he has  seen,  can- not love God whom he has not seen.” (I John 4:20)

So also  anyone who  claims to abide  by the  truth in his  relationship with  God but  does  not  regard the truth in his relationship with  others is contra- dicting himself.

Unfortunately, even  in the  life of the  Church, we

to the world. Rather,  we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. The Christian is called by God  to think differently from  the  world. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that  you  may  prove what  is the will of God, what  is good and  accept- able and  perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

This month we start a series on the subject of Truth in the life of the Christian. We pray  that  this  will help  us to focus  on what  is really  foundational to the Christian life. If we cannot go the Father apart from Jesus, who  is the way, the truth and  the life, it means that  we cannot enjoy a relationship with the Father apart  from a life dedicated to truth.

Errol C Fernandes

“NEVER, NEVER, NEVER
TELL A LIE”
From Archbishop John Foley’s Address to Church  Communicators

The   first   principle  of  communications,   espe- cially  in  the  Church, must  be never  to tell  a lie, Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social  Communications, has stated.

“When  you  tell the truth, you never  have to cover your  tracks,” he said.  “You don’t have  to think up a new lie consistent with  an old one. Literally,  the truth will make you free.”

His forthright comments came at an international conference in  Rome  for  diocesan and   Bishops’ conferences press  officers.

Basing  his  talk  on  Jesus’ declaration, ‘The truth shall  make  you  free’, Archbishop Foley  told  the participants: “The first principle of all communi- cation, but  especially communication on  behalf of the Church, is never,  never,  never  tell a lie.

“Naturally, you have to make sure  that  what  you are  saying   is   the   truth and   you  have   to  phrase your  statement or your response precisely to  re- flect   the   truth that   you know and not to report rumours or mere  opin- ions.

“When you tell the  truth, you never have to cover your tracks. You don’t have to think up a new  lie consistent with
an old one. Literally, the  truth will make you free.”

fectiveness of all  of your work as Church com- municators will depend upon your  reputation for honesty	and 	integrity, your  credibility

“Once    such    a   reputa- tion  is  established - that people can believe ev- erything you  say  -  then

“A  habit   of  truth is  also  a  very  liberating one. When one  has  a reputation for truth, there  exists a wonderful atmosphere of credibility, and people are open  to what  you say because they  know  you will never  deceive them.

“I guess  you could say that  truth is not only  mor- ally right; it is politically correct. It establishes an atmosphere of trust.”

Archbishop Foley,  who  has  been  at  the  heart  of the  Church’s communications  expansion in  the Vatican for almost 20 years,  and  was  previously editor of his diocesan newspaper in Philadelphia, admitted that  he  has  been  asked  in  the  past  to say things that  were  not  true.  But he denied that he had  ever lied  or asked  others to lie in Church communications

“I am convinced that  those  who wanted me to say something that  was  not  completely true  did  not think they  were  doing  wrong,  but  thought they were indeed doing what  was best for the Church,” he said.

“When  asked why I did not follow  instructions to say what  I knew  was  not  true,  I replied that  not only  was  what  I was  asked  to do morally wrong; it was also dumb.

“The   truth  will   always come out  - perhaps it  is

people will be open  to accept from you what  I call “good  news”  ideas  - ideas  about possible feature stories on people and  movements in the  Church that  do extraordinarily good work  in the  name of Jesus for the  poor,  the  handicapped, the  sick,  the forgotten.”

Archbishop Foley   said  people are  hungering for good news and stories which might  provide inspi- ration and  encouragement in their  efforts  to live decent lives.    By contrast, much of the  media’s interest in covering the Church is often  discover- ing weaknesses in an institution which preaches virtue. However,  in their  candour the  media can make mistakes and  can ruin  reputations.

“For press  offices  in  the  Church and  for leaders in the Church, perhaps nothing better  exemplifies the  truth of what  St Paul  said  in his  letter  to the Romans: ‘Be not   overcome by evil, but overcome evil with  good.’”

The  challenge for  those  in  Church communica- tions, he  added, is to find  out  the  truth in  crisis situations and  report it accurately and  fairly;

Prepare reports on  Church activities and  initia- tives  that  will  be  accurate and  informative and will help  the media and  the public to understand what  the Church is doing  and  why it is doing  it;

Generate  an   inexhaust-

already known by  those to whom you are com- municating. A   failure to tell the truth is a scandal, a betrayal of trust   and  a destroyer of credibility.”

He added: “So important is   the   responsibility  to tell  the  truth that  the  ef-

“If we  are  to help  in the  ministry
of the  Church  to bring  the  light  of Christ to the  world, the  true  light  that dispels the  darkness, then
we ourselves must  be models of integrity and  of truth. The light  is never served by a lie; Jesus is never served by falsehood.”

ible source of ‘good news’ stories, which the  media will be ready  to accept because they  know  they can trust you and because they  know  you are trying to help  them  and their readers.And encouraged: “If we  are  to help  in  the ministry  of  the   Church

to bring  the  light  of Christ  to the  world, the  true light that  dispels the darkness, then we ourselves must    be  models of integrity and  of truth. The

light is never  served by a lie; Jesus is never  served by falsehood.”

Archbishop John P Foley  is President of the  Pontifical Commission for Communications

The Tree  Speaks.
Why Catholics Should Listen.

Today, we are witnessing a never-before interest in spiritual matters. Perhaps some of it results from a disillusionment with  materialism, and  some  of it is fed by a hunger for new  fads.   But even  so, there  is an undeniable interest in spirituality and the divine on the part  of many  sincere seekers.

singly, 	th
dus 	S

ve 	p
es 	i

One  manifestation of this  is  the  proliferation  of regular columns devoted to spiritual matters, in many   established national  newspapers. 	These carry   articles  on   the    spirituality  of   many movements and religions. Not surpri
given  the  higher proportion of  Hin in  the  population, the  majority of the large percentage of the articles carried have to  do  with  various aspects  of Hindu spirituality.

The Speaking Tree in  The  Times  of India  is one  such  column, and  I ha learned never  to miss  it.   The  articl
on   Hindu  and   Buddhist  spirituality, including Yoga, Zen and Vipassana, are written
by persons whose own  background renders them competent, many  of  whom are acknowledged to be spokesmen for their  subject.

Naturally they express what  they believe, and that is their  right.   But the  Catholic should note  that what  they  have  to  say  about their  own  religion and  spirituality -- and  who  would know  better than they!  -- contrasts strangely with  what  is told (and  sometimes not told!) to simple lay Catholics who trustingly attend Yoga classes and  Vipassana courses conducted/promoted by  certain priests,

nuns and Catholic lay people. And further, much of  it  is  incompatible with   Catholic belief. 	For example, which Catholic attending a Yoga   class conducted in  a  Catholic parish  or  school, has been  told  that  the  purpose of Yoga is to become God? Some  examples:

“‘The   absolute  is  within   oneself,’   declares   the Chandogya Upanishad,  ‘Tat  tvam   asi’  or  ‘Thou art That’. The Divine  dwells  within  each  one of us through  his  microcosmic representative,
e  individual self  or jiva.”  (“Gain  the elf, Lose the  I.” The  Speaking Tree, 18
August 2002).

“The	manifestation	of 	inherent divinity is  in  reality   the  revelation of the divine  self of man. This is not different from  the  Supreme  Self  that ermeates  even   the   tiniest 	  particle
n  the  universe. It  is  accessible to  all human beings..”  (“Cosmic  Vision  Alone
Reveals  the Truth” - The Speaking Tree).

“The  Vedas   describe   an  ultimate reality,  which they   call    Brahman.   The    awareness   of   this
‘reality’ is  attained through  the  practice  of yoga and   meditation.	“Aham   Brahmasmi”  (“I  am Brahman”)  --   is the  statement of this  realisation and  identification which  is synonymous with  the concept   of  nirvana. 	Conceptions  of  Brahman and  nirvana are  integral  to the  different schools of Indian and  Buddhist philosophy.” (“Physics of Nirvana:  Link  Two Realities”  , The Speaking Tree
11 July 2002)

Printed 

“The  word   ‘Yog’  is  derived   from   the   verb   yuj which means to yoke, to join, to connect. The end of life is to yoke oneself  to the  holy  spirit  i.e.,  the Paramchaitanya. Hindu  scriptures enlighten us on the various ways or margas of doing so... Hath Yogis have evolved various Aasanas, postures and occult practices for awakening the Kundalini.” (“Raising Kundalini With Sahaj  Yog”  The Speaking Tree - 1
April 2002)

matter 

Plainly  stated, the  objective of yoga is the  deifi- cation  of man.   Such  a view is radically different from  Christianity,  which   clearly 	distinguishes between Creator  and  creature, God and  man.   In Christianity  God  is  the  “other”,   and  never   the “Self ”. As the “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation” states  it,  “Christian  prayer  is always  determined by the structure  of the Christian  faith, in which  the very truth of God and creature  shines  forth.”

Why more Catholics  should  read The Speaking Tree.    In  the  midst of the  prevailing confusion in the  Catholic Church over subjects like inculturation  and    dialogue,  misrepresentation of  Vatican II  documents, and   demands from  a “theology from below” (!), it helps know  the truth about the  various forms  of  spirituality that  are being  offered  to us and  placed before  us.

While   we recognise the  right  of every  person to follow  the  path   of  his/her choice, we  certainly deplore  the  fraud   and   deception that   presents these  as compatible with  Catholic spirituality.  It is in our own interests to take the trouble to learn the  truth, for only  when we  know  the  truth can we be truly  free.

Errol C Fernandes

We welcome you to attend the
Emmanuel  Prayer Group meetings
every 1st, 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month from 7.30 to 9 p.m.
at St. Joseph's Convent, MMT Hall, Bandra.

We would  appreciate your response, suggestions and questions.
Write to us at "EMMANUEL"
304, Asit Apartments, Kane Road, Mount Mary, Bandra - 400 050.
OR
e-mail  us at riterrol@vsnl.com

The cost of printing EMMANUEL is met by the freewill love offerings of the members and well-wishers of the Emmanuel Prayer Group

Published by the Emmanuel Prayer  Group  of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Editor:  Errol C. Fernandes.  For Private Circulation Only.

ERROL FERNANDES and I started corresponding with each other only in 2003, a few months before I went online with a personal computer and an email address. We jointly gave a seminar on the New Age in Bandra, Bombay in February 2004. The Lord called him on June 25, 2004.
This ministry carries on Errol’s crusade against New Age error in the Catholic Church in India- 
Michael Prabhu michaelprabhu@vsnl.net www.ephesians-511.net