Tag: Question Box

Q: Do Christians worship the same God as Muslims?

A: Yes. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all profess only one God. They are the three major monotheistic religions. All three also trace their origins back to Abraham and are, therefore, called the “Ab­ra­hamic religions.” All three also place great importance on sacred texts and are referred to sometimes as the three “religions of the book.” Christianity accepts the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the “Old Testament”) as well as the Gospels and other books of the New Testament, comprising the Christian Bible. Islam regards the Bible as God’s revelations to earlier prophets, but does not believe it to be sacred per se or inerrant.

Obviously, neither Judaism nor Islam accepts that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and, therefore, equal to God. Both religions would have serious problems with our concept of the Trinity, one God in three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of this, some in Judaism and Islam might even say that Christianity cannot rightly claim to be a monotheistic religion. Our own language about this was hammered out in the earlier centuries of the Church, as definitively stated in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which we recite every Sunday. The successors of the Apostles were insistent that our belief in Christ and in the Holy Spirit in no way “divided” God.

Some Christians, and among them probably some Catholics, will object to the idea that Muslims worship the same God, effectively saying “not my God.” They may base this on the characterization of God by some within Islam or the terrible things done by some in the name of Allah (the Arabic name used by Muslims for God). Lest we start casting stones, we should not forget that Christianity has its own dark history of doing some terrible things in the name of God.

The tradition of the Catholic Church makes clear that Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews — including in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and the statements of many popes. Referencing Pope St. Gregory VII, Vatican II’s “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (Nostra Aetate) states: “The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own” (para. 3).

Some years ago, when I was serving as chaplain at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over the fact that Campus Ministry and the Student Government Association had cooperated on finding a place on campus where our Muslim students would feel comfortable praying. We identified a small, unused room in Ambrose Hall and after some modest renovations opened it to the students.

Then it began — emails and phone calls from a few upset alumni and others, as well as ill informed (if not intentionally misleading) stories in some Catholic news outlets. You would have thought we had bulldozed Christ the King Chapel and built a mosque in its place. For our part, we thought this was a pretty modest accommodation for our students of other faiths, not despite the fact that we are Catholic, but in part because we are Catholic. I think all of the modern popes and not a few saints would have defended us.

The fact that we may have different ideas on the one God does not mean that we don’t worship the same God.

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: What are we to make of the different forms of the liturgy within the Roman Rite?

A: Last week, I covered the Eastern Churches and Rites, but what about the different Rites that seem to exist within the Roman or Latin Rite?

To be clear, there is only one Roman Rite, though it has certainly seen development over the two-thousand-year history of the Church. What you see in most parishes is the “novus ordo,” literally the “new order” of Mass. It is also referred to as the “conciliar liturgy,” or the “Mass of the Council,” in reference to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). This has also been called the “ordinary form” of the Roman Rite. The first typical edition of the novus ordo was promulgated in 1969, with translations in the vernacular published in 1970.

The novus ordo has undergone further revision since its introduction. We are now in the third typical edition of the Roman Missal first promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 2002 with amendments in 2008 and the approved English translation issued in 2011.

What Catholics often refer to as the “Traditional Latin Mass” was called the “extraordinary form” of the Roman Rite by Pope Benedict XVI when he first allowed greater usage of this in his letter Summorum Pontificum in 2007. It is now referred to as the preconciliar liturgy, that is, the liturgy as it was celebrated prior to the reforms of Vatican II. The most recent updating of that form of the Mass would be the 1962 Roman Missal, promulgated by Pope John XXIII.

Prior to 2007, priests needed special permission (called an “indult”) to offer this form of the Mass. Pope Benedict XVI relaxed this requirement, removing the need for the indult but still placing some restrictions on it.

Why did he do this? He explained that while it should be clear that this is “extraordinary” (meaning out of the ordinary), the form was never abrogated formally. He also recognizes that many people are still drawn to this older expression of the Church’s central prayer.

I believe Pope Benedict’s primary intention was to foster greater unity within the Church. Whether that has happened is a good question. Along with his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, I think Pope Benedict wanted to do what could be done to reconcile Catholics who had broken communion with the Church over this and other issues, specifically followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who founded the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). In other words, “If the form of the liturgy is the thing that is keeping you from full communion with the Catholic Church, we can work with you.”

Did this work? Not really. If anything, it may have further exposed the fissure, which was less about the liturgy and more about the Second Vatican Council as a whole.

A word about the SSPX, which is considered “canonically irregular.” This is owing to the ordination of their own bishops in 1988 in defiance of the Holy See. They are no longer in schism (excommunications were lifted in 2009). They are not sedevacantists (those who believe the chair of Peter to be vacant). The SSPX recognizes Francis as the pope and their sacraments are valid. That said, they are not in good standing or yet in full communion with the Church.

There are other groups in full communion with the Church that are devoted to this form of the Roman Rite, such as the Fraternity of St. Peter, the Institute of Christ the King and the Canons regular of St. John Cantius.

I have some more thoughts on all of this, but maybe for another day.

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: Can you explain the different “branches” within the Catholic Church, for example the Eastern churches and rites? What about the differences between the Novus Ordo and “Traditional Latin Mass” and the various groups that celebrate that?

A: This is a doozie! I will break down your question into two parts. This week I will do my best to explain the various churches and rites within the Catholic Church. Next week, I will tackle the different forms of the liturgy with the Latin Church/Roman Rite.

Before I begin, let me state: this topic is hugely complicated and what I present here will still be “painting with broad strokes.”

Think of a large circle that is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Within that circle are actually 24 Churches: the Latin Church (that’s most of us here in the Diocese of Davenport) and 23 Eastern Churches. These Churches each have corresponding “rites” or forms of the liturgy.

As Christianity spread organically from Jerusalem, it went to other places besides Rome, including Antioch, Constantinople, Alexandria, and beyond. These places developed their own liturgical traditions that are valid and of “equal right and dignity” (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1203), but are not the Roman Rite. All of these rites are ancient. If anything, the Roman Rite is the “new kid on the block” in terms a solidified liturgical practice.

This means that there are Catholics who are not Roman Catholics, in terms of using the Roman Rite of the liturgy, though they are certainly in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the pope.

The Eastern rites consist of five major families: Byzantine (the largest), Eastern Syrian, Western Syrian, Alexandrian, and Armenian. Under these families are additional rites or variations (“usages”) of those major rites. 

Prior to the Great Schism of 1054 in which many of the Eastern Churches split from Rome, there was greater unity. When disputes occurred, councils were called, the first being the Council of Nicaea in 325.

When we refer to the Eastern Orthodox Churches, we mean those who are no longer in communion with Rome (as opposed to the Eastern Catholic Churches). For every Eastern Catholic church and rite, there is an Orthodox counterpart, except for the Maronite Church/Rite (Lebanon), which never split from Rome.

When someone from one of the Eastern Orthodox Churches desires to become Catholic, that person is brought into the Catholic counterpart of his or her original Church. For example, a Bulgarian Orthodox who becomes Catholic (by a profession of faith, like any other validly baptized Christian coming into the Catholic Church) becomes a Bulgarian-Rite Catholic, not a Roman Catholic. This is out of respect for those equally ancient Churches, rites and traditions, so as not to completely homogenize the Catholic Church, though the Latin Church is by far the largest and most widespread.

May an Eastern Catholic go to a Latin Church/Roman Rite Mass and receive Communion? Yes. What about the other way around? Can a Roman Catholic go to an Eastern Rite Catholic Mass and receive communion? Yes.

In the Eastern Churches, their members are fully initiated at baptism, meaning they are baptized, receive Confirmation (“Chrismation”) and their first Communion all at infancy.

There is so much more, but I hope this gives you a start. I will follow up next week with a column on some of the differences and variations within the Roman Rite. If you would like to learn more about Eastern Catholics in our area, check out this great explanatory video on “What is the Byzantine Catholic Church?” (www.byzantineiowa.org). Also check out these two Catholic Messenger articles (https://tinyurl.com/rpnhkcrr and https://tinyurl.com/mrywkcrh).

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: Recently, in some locations in the Davenport Diocese, Ash Wednesday Masses were canceled due to inclement weather. Is Ash Wednesday ever rescheduled or can ashes be distributed on another day?

A: Contrary to popular thinking, Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation. You do not have to go to Mass that day or receive ashes. Yet, in practice, many more people show up for Ash Wednesday than they do for actual holy days of obligation throughout the year. This is always fascinating to me.

First, it demonstrates a very human need to acknowledge our sinfulness, our need for God, and our desire to begin again. The Church’s Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy puts it this way: “Notwithstanding the secularization of contemporary society, the Christian faithful, during Lent, are clearly conscious of the need to turn the mind towards those realities which really count, which require Gospel commitment and integrity of life.”

Second, it tells me that many people are willing and able to adjust their schedules to get to Mass, even on a weekday. Local parishes do well to try to coordinate their Mass schedules so that more people can participate on these days but, even without that, people figure out a way to get to Mass on Ash Wednesday. Our evening Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral this year looked almost like a Christmas Eve Mass. Then again, maybe the soup supper afterwards lured them in.

Hopefully, people are not just turning up in such numbers on Ash Wednesday to show others that they are “good Catholics.” This is antithetical to the Gospel that is read that day, in which Jesus commands us not to appear to be fasting. The line from T.S. Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral comes to mind: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

To my knowledge Ash Wednesday cannot be rescheduled. The liturgical blessing and distribution of ashes only happens on this day. However, distribution of blessed ashes can be done outside of Mass on that day in the context of a celebration of the Word of God. This can also be done by a deacon or a lay person. I suppose distribution of blessed ashes could take place on another day in places where the faithful had no opportunity to go to Mass on Ash Wednesday, for example in care facilities or prisons, but this would be exceptional.

Whether or not you received your ashes this year, Lent started nonetheless. More importantly, we should wear our ashes on the inside.

Q: Why do we say “God bless you” when someone sneezes?

A: I would bet that even strident atheists say this when someone sneezes. It has become a social custom. In my family, we would sometimes also say “Gesundheit!” — the German for “health.” Other languages and cultures do the same, for example, “Salud!” in Spanish.

Still, where did we get “God bless you” as a response to a sneeze? I have heard that people used to believe that the soul could be expelled through the mouth by sneezing or that it signified the presence of an “evil spirit,” and so saying “God bless you” would quickly return the soul or dispel the spirit.

More recently, I read that St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) had asked the faithful to say “God bless you” when someone sneezed during a great plague that struck Rome in the 6th century. Because sneezing can be a symptom of illness, it makes sense that we ask God’s blessing on someone who might be coming down with something.

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: Why do we fast? Recently, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to fast and pray for world peace. Does fasting somehow move God to orchestrate things our way?

A: This is an excellent and timely question as we are now a full two weeks into Lent, a time in which we especially think of fasting.

In Matthew’s Gospel, the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus replies, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:14-15).

As we hear in the Gospel each year for Ash Wednesday, Jesus tells his disciples, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites … But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Mt 6:16-18).

Clearly, then, Jesus instructs his disciples to fast. We also know that Jesus fasted, as we heard in the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry” (Lk 4:1-2).

In a variant verse of Matthew 17:21, when asked by his disciples why they had such trouble casting out a demon, Jesus responds, “This kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.” In almost all of the approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she also has called for fasting in reparation for sin, for conversion and for peace.

Clearly, this practice is not foreign to our tradition. It has deep biblical roots, in not only the life and ministry of Jesus, but also going back to our elder brothers and sisters in faith, the Jewish people. Think of Esther and her fast to spare the lives of her people.

Does it work? We need to be clear: fasting is not like going on a “hunger strike” to bend God’s will to ours. Yet, why would Jesus, Mary and the pope ask for this if it had no effect? To be sure, we are dealing with mystery here, but I believe fasting must be effective. Whether it achieves exactly what we wish is another matter.

At the very least, fasting changes us. Like prayer, fasting is less about getting God to “orchestrate things our way,” and more about conforming our will to God’s. It creates a hunger in us that goes beyond physical hunger. As Jesus says, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Mt 5: 6). In a sense, by fasting, we pray with our whole body; we make a “living sacrifice.”

Fasting also allows us to enter into solidarity with the poor, the hungry and the displaced, if only in the smallest of ways. It softens our hearts and makes us more understanding and, therefore, more compassionate to those in need.

Fasting, or any form of Lenten penance, is also never about punishing ourselves or proving how tough or holy we are to God. God would certainly reject that kind of sacrifice.

Still, I wonder what might happen if all 1.4 billion Catholics on planet earth earnestly fasted for world peace. The line of G.K. Chesterton comes to mind: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr .Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: With the Pope being very ill and at some point possibly becoming incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties, what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church?

A:This is something on the minds of many Catholics. As we continue to pray for the health of Pope Francis, we also need to prepare ourselves for the day when he will no longer be our pope.

He may yet choose, as did his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to resign. If not, at some point he will die, as we all must. The difference today from earlier eras of the Church is that people generally live longer and with relatively good quality of life and yet may be unable to function with the same mental acuity. This would certainly pose a problem for a pope, entrusted with the governance of the Church.

Apparently, in 2022, Pope Francis verified the existence of a letter he wrote shortly after his election as pope outlining the terms of his resignation, should he become incapacitated. However, the letter’s contents are unknown and some questions exist about its canonical validity.

Dioceses can be “impeded,” meaning that the bishop is no longer able to serve as bishop. Certain protocols for a diocese’s governance then come into effect until a new bishop is appointed. Canon law does not spell out anything so specific for the Holy See. Normally, this transition of power happens only when a pope dies or resigns. Canon 335 states: “When the Roman See is vacant or entirely impeded, nothing is to be altered in the governance of the universal Church; the special laws issued for these circumstances, are to be observed.”

At this point, given the daily updates we are receiving, it does not appear that the Roman See is “entirely impeded.” Reports state that the pope is aware, alert and on good days able to engage in some limited work. We have had more detailed reports about Pope Francis during his hospitalization than was typical in the past or, for that matter, than any of us might be comfortable with were we in a similar situation. As much as some people like to believe that the Vatican is a “secret” organization, Vatican officials have been remarkably transparent during the pope’s illness.

I would also point out that this isn’t our “first rodeo.” We have had ill and at least partially incapacitated popes in the past. The Church does not come to a grinding halt when this happens. The structure, processes and delegation within the various dicasteries of the Vatican keep things running, apart from those things (such as the appointment of new bishops), which only the pope can do.

I was blessed to study in Rome during the last years of Pope John Paul II. It was difficult to see him so visibly struggling as he battled not only the effects of aging but also Parkinson’s disease. At the same time, in his infirmity, he preached profoundly with his own body the dignity of the human person at every stage of life. A person is a person no matter how old or how sick.

When Pope John Paul II died, I felt both a palpable sense that we were without our head and a sense of deep gratitude for his service to the Church and a hopeful confidence that the Church would go on. The Church is much bigger than the pope or any of his predecessors back to St. Peter himself. The Church is the living, breathing, Body of Christ, animated by the Holy Spirit. I trust I will have similar feelings when Pope Francis passes.

In the past two conclaves, I found myself frustrated by coverage in the secular press. They present the election of the pope as a purely political process. This was also my main beef with the recent film Conclave. In it, we receive a picture of the Church minus the Holy Spirit. We forget that the pope is not simply the “head of an organization,” but a father (that’s what “pope” means), and that he and the men who will select his successor are men of faith, disciples of Jesus Christ.

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)

By Fr. Thom Hennen
Question Box

Q: Does a person need to have an annulment to remarry after their spouse has died? I understood that marriage was “until death do us part,” but am I mistaken about this?

A: You are absolutely correct. A person whose spouse has died and who wants to remarry in the Catholic Church is free to marry and does not need an annulment for that previous marriage. Of course, the other party must also be free to marry, having no living spouse or having received a “declaration of nullity” from the Church for any previous marriage.

Where does this come from? You might recall in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 22:23-33) that Jesus is given a tricky hypothetical by some Sadducees. The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, asked Jesus whose wife a woman would be at the resurrection if she had been married seven times to seven brothers, one after another. They thought this would prove their point about how ridiculous a notion the resurrection would be.

In his usual fashion, with rapier-sharp wit, Jesus dismantles their argument. He says, “At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.” In other words, marriage is an earthly reality and it is indeed “until death do us part” for married couples.

That does not mean that you will not recognize your spouse as such in heaven. You will rejoice in that reunion, made possible through the love, sacrifice and support you offered to each other throughout your married life. That is the point of marriage, to help each other and your children get to heaven. Yet, as Jesus says, in heaven we “neither marry nor are given in marriage” but are all caught up in the wedding feast of the Lamb. He is the Bridegroom and we, the Church, are the Bride.

Q: What do we do with our old blessed palm branches from Palm Sundays past?

A: If you are like me, you probably have a small collection of these in your home. I will often tuck them behind a crucifix or other holy images and forget about them until Palm Sunday. The rule of thumb with blessed objects is not to discard them in the trash. Rather, they should be burned or buried. I suppose that using old palms as garden mulch might be an acceptable and respectful form of burial.

As we approach Ash Wednesday, your parish may actually set out a basket to collect the old palms and dispose of them properly for you. If not, you might offer to arrange that. The ancient custom was that the palms from Palm Sunday were burnt and the ashes were then used on Ash Wednesday. I have actually tried this but found that the ash produced by the old palms was too light and fluffy to make a good smudge, even when mixed with a little water.

In the United States, we are used to that fine, dark ash that leaves a distinct cross on our foreheads.  This is generally store bought — the “good stuff.” In other countries, ashes are not smudged on the forehead in the sign of a cross. They are sprinkled on the head, in which case the lighter ash would work just as well. In many ways, this makes more sense as, ironically, we are instructed in the Gospel on Ash Wednesday not to neglect our appearance but to wash our face so that we may not appear to be fasting (see Mt 6:16-18).

(Father Thom Hennen serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and vicar general for the Diocese of Davenport. Send questions to messenger@davenportdiocese.org)