This Advent, the Church entered a Year of Grace. For some at Christmas, God seems hidden in our long silent night, but even at the heart of suffering, grace abounds.
“O come, O Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that sets us free, and close the path to misery.” (O Come, O Come Emmanuel, verse 5)
These Stone Walls has a presence on the pictorial social media site, Pinterest. I can’t describe it because I have never actually seen it, but one of the Pinterest boards is called “Catholic News on These Stone Walls.” I don’t know a lot about how Pinterest works, but you may wish to click “Follow this Board” [the “+” button] and share it if you visit it.
But first, a disclaimer that I have made before: In the world of Catholic news, I write from the Oort Cloud, that castoff field of our Solar System’s debris out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Sorry for the astronomical analogy, but you get the point.
In an age of political correctness, I would be long forgotten by our Church if not for These Stone Walls which, ironically, you can see and I cannot. My contribution to Catholic news comes from beyond the periphery of our Church. This is why writer, Ryan MacDonald once called These Stone Walls “A Voice in the Wilderness.” But from here, I have a panoramic view of things.
And what I see from the wilderness this Christmas is troubling. In just the last decade, our culture has traveled down a darker path. In waves of upheaval from traditional values, the desires of individuals have come to outweigh the common good. The Church is thrown off course in a politically correct tempest of moral relativism, gender politics, and a cultural civil war. I wrote recently in “A New Advent, a New Beginning, and Renewed Hope”:
“This is a tough time for a lot of you. For some of us, our politics and our spirits have descended to new lows, and sometimes our society seems to be on a fast track toward self-destruction. Signs that God is indeed with us can seem fleeting and far between.”
You may think that Christmas is not a good time to air this, but it may actually be the best of times. As a society, we are in trouble, and a lot of good, faithful, conscientious people are deeply affected by it. We are entering a new dark age morally, culturally, politically, and spiritually.
It’s an age not at all unlike the one into which Christ was born. The great Advent hymn that has opened my recent posts – “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” – expresses our tenacious grasp on hope. “Emmanuel” in Hebrew is an affirmation of “God with us.”
It seems that Cardinal Raymond Burke agrees with me (or I with him) about the course we are on. He also chose this moment to bring up the state of affairs in our Church and world. When Advent began, Cardinal Burke was interviewed in a prophetic article by Paolo Gambi, an editor of The Catholic Herald (U.K.). The December 1, 2017 interview is entitled, “Perhaps we have arrived at the End Times’: an interview with Cardinal Burke.”
Like a lot of what is happening in our Church, nation, and world, I found Cardinal Burke’s interview to be both incisive and troubling. I had admired him long before reading this article. I admire him much more after. The article is brief, and very much worth our time as we struggle to see the true meaning of Christmas in a culture hell bent on suppressing it.
(One small favor, please: If you want to read the article later, come back here to click on it from TSW. It may not be lost on The Catholic Herald editors that readers are coming to it from These Stone Walls.)
THE ADVENT OF PROPHETIC WITNESS
Two years ago during Advent, I received an encouraging personal letter from Cardinal Burke. In his gracious letter, he asked that I offer some of my unjust suffering as a share in the suffering of Christ for our Church. His letter remains close to my heart because it is a model of generosity. But I did not see it that way at first.
If you have followed Catholic news this past year, then you may know that Cardinal Burke has been an outspoken advocate for the causes of fidelity and integrity in the Church. “Integrity” may seem a strange word to use. Its first meaning is “soundness of moral character” and of course our Church has moral character even when the human adherents within it are flawed – some more than others.
But there is a second meaning that refers to wholeness and unity. To have integrity in this sense means to contribute to the good of the whole, and to refrain from promoting division. After reading the interview with Cardinal Burke, I am convinced that he does not stand in opposition to anyone. He certainly does not oppose Pope Francis.
Cardinal Burke is opposed to division and its impact on the integrity of the Church. Along with other cardinals, he has since written and published his famous “Dubia,” imploring Pope Francis to respond to concerns that division and confusion are entering the Apostolic witness of the Church. His request for my prayers is for unity of faith and purpose.
His letter to me at first seemed such a bizarre thing at an equally bizarre time. Here we were – my friend Pornchai Moontri and I – buried at Christmas in a dungeon, with chaos reigning all around us, when Cardinal Burke asked me to offer my plight for the integrity of the Church – for the healing of divisions and the promotion of wholeness for an institution that threw me to the litigious wolves.
To be transparent and honest, at the time the letter arrived I felt quite divided from the leadership of our Church. Like many of “the accused” I was cast into a long silent night beyond the Church’s periphery. I have not dwelled on this at These Stone Walls, but rather I tend to keep my disgruntled thoughts to myself for the same reason Cardinal Burke is concerned about some of the direction Pope Francis has taken. I do not want to create division.
Most legitimate animosity is built upon righteous indignation, and you can find hints of mine between the lines in posts like “Opus Bono Sacerdotii Heroic Witness for a Heroic Vocation.” I had been feeling thoroughly let down by the accommodations of some of our leaders to the new political correctness.
That feeling was heightened in the Year of Mercy when bishops extended their outreach of mercy to everyone but accused priests. It’s cold out there in the Oort Cloud. So as the Year of Mercy commenced, that was my Christmas gift from Cardinal Raymond Burke: to suffer for a Church that cast me silently adrift. Thanks, Your Eminence! Next year just send me a nice tie.
But after some clearer reflection, I saw Cardinal Burke’s letter very differently. I came to see it as a gesture of mercy and Catholic prophetic witness. When a person asks for such a sacrifice, not for what some assume is his cause, but for what he, himself, knows is his purpose – to restore and preserve unity – that is generosity and virtuous witness.
That letter is among the best Christmas gifts I have received out here among the Church’s debris, and it came as a source of grace, a sort of awakening. What follows may be the most important sentence in this post: There is no greater service to those who suffer than to give meaning to what they suffer.
A few months after I received Cardinal Burke’s letter, a bishop came to this prison to offer Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday. Our friend, Pornchai Moontri and I were among the fifty Catholic prisoners gathered in the prison chapel for Mass. You know well that Divine Mercy Sunday is a very special day for us.
After the Mass, as we filed out, the Bishop grasped my hand and said something very strange to me. He had obviously been reading These Stone Walls. As he took my hand, he bent forward a bit and said quietly but forcefully, “You area prophet! YOU are a prophet.” There was no further exchange.
As we descended down the long flights of stairs outside, my friend, Pornchai said, “Wow! That was\ weird. What do you think it means?” I responded sarcastically, “If the Church is consistent, it means my head is about to be lopped off!” Our prophets do not fare very well.
In Scripture, some were thrown into prison. The Prophet Jeremiah was stoned to death. According to legend, the Prophet Isaiah was sawed in half. The Prophet Jonah was thrown overboard. John the Baptist was beheaded. Saint Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, and finally martyred.
As the great Saint Teresa of Avila once said to God in prayer, “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, it’s no wonder that you have so few!” If I write anything on These Stone Walls that sounds even remotely prophetic, please don’t tell me.
CHRISTMAS IN A YEAR OF GRACE
It is a very hopeful thing that Pope Francis chose this year to inaugurate a Year of Grace. It began after Evening Prayer II of the Vigil of the First Sunday of Advent. I haven’t seen much Catholic news about it, and not a word of it was mentioned in the parishes of a few friends when I asked about it.
But this Year of Grace is real, and really important. If I can convey no other thought at These Stone Walls this Christmas, the one drumbeat I must continually sound is that grace is real, and it is to be discovered even out beyond the periphery. Grace is a very great Christmas gift, but it isn’t always as nicely wrapped as we might hope and expect.
What exactly is grace, and what does a “Year of Grace” mean? Verses one to four of the grand ole’ Gospel hymn, Amazing Grace, were written by John Newton in the late 1700s. Verse five came later and is anonymous. We’ve all heard these verses many times, and most of us have winced at the “saved a wretch like me” part. But verse four is, I think, the apex of the hymn:
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”
I find that verse to be important because it serves as a reminder that we are not at home. We are merely passing through this life. As we pass, we can become so wrapped up in the affairs and chaos of what goes on here that we lose sight of home.
Polarized politics have become familiar turf, and divisions our comfort zones. For many Americans, Hillary and Trump took up more mental space last year than God. Here is a good starting point for the Year of Grace. Resolve to never disparage the Lord’s name – not even when talking about Hillary or Trump!
Some form of the word “grace” appears 350 times in Scripture. “Mercy” appears 364 times. The Hebrew word for grace in the Old Testament is “hanan” while the word for mercy is “hesed.” I once wrote about their connection in “Angelic Justice: Saint Michael the Archangel and the Scales of Hesed.” Our capacity for mercy is contingent upon grace, and along with our souls it is weighed upon the Archangel’s scales.
Grace is the supernatural gift bestowed by God to those who accept their adoption. You could argue that all creation is in a relationship with Him, and that is true, but grace is a special aspect that enters that relationship when it is no longer a one-way street. It comes down to what and Who you serve. “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” (Matthew 6 :24).
In the New Testament, the notion of grace is rooted in a relationship with Christ. My favorite Christmas post is “Joseph’s Dream and the Birth of the Messiah.” The angel of the Lord who appeared to Joseph in a dream urged him not to fear taking Mary as his wife. This assured that Jesus is tied by paternal adoption to the lineage of King David. By that same adoption, we inherit the grace of God through Christ.
There is a ground-shaking assurance from Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans that gives some perspective to our doubts and anxieties about this age: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20)
You are not hearing this from someone for whom life has been a joy to awaken to each day. You are hearing it from someone in prison, and unjustly so. But grace is real, and this Year of Grace is important. Expect it. Be thankful when you see it. We have known grace even in exile, and I still have my head!
Note from Father Gordon MacRae: A blessed Christmas to all! Please visit our…
And please visit and share these other Christmas posts:
- Joseph’s Dream and the Birth of the Messiah
- Christmas in the Valley, and on the High Places
- Upon a Midnight Not so Clear, Some Wise Men from the East Appear
The photos below were taken in the New Hampshire State Prison Visiting Room on Saturday December 16. The top photo is our friend Pornchai Maximilian Moontri with his friends Viktor and Alice Weyand and Mike Fazzino. Viktor and Alice traveled from Traverse City, Michigan to be with us for an annual family Christmas party for prisoners. Viktor is a founder of Divine Mercy School in Bangkok, Thailand and he learned of Pornchai while visiting Thailand. He is now Pornchai’s contact with Divine Mercy Thailand.
The second photo is me with Mike Fazzino who drove up from the New York City area to join us. Mike is friend of These Stone Walls who helps with my writing by sending printed materials to me. It was wonderful to spend a few hours with these good friends who wanted us to share these photos with you.
With Christmas blessings,
Father Gordon
Chenski says
Happy new year!!!!
Love you guys!
I miss your!
Liz F. says
Still praying for you. I hope and pray that you are well!
stephen round says
Greetings to you and your friend Pornchia at Christmas.I am humbled at your strength and courage.Words are inadequate to describe the admiration I feel for a man strong enough to bear your cross.
Bill Donohue, Catholic League President says
Fr. MacRae,
Your sense of justice continues to impress me. Maybe it is because you are a priest or maybe it is because you have been victimized, or both. Wonderful statement.
God bless at this blessed time of year.
Father Gordon J MacRae says
I want to thank everyone for these comments and for sharing this post.
Now I must tell you how naive I am. Father George laughed at this. I was looking at the fine print in the Ordo for Evening Prayer One of the first Sunday of Advent and saw in the small print that “the Year of Grace begins with Evening Prayer one.” So I thought, oh cool! The Pope has declared this a year of grace and I ran with it wondering why I seemed to be the only priest who knows that this is THE Year of Grace. After the post Fr. George explained that every year is a Year of Grace. So I have usurped Papal Authority by declaring this a special Year of Grace. Let’s roll with it!
Christmas blessings. Father Gordon
Maria Stella says
Had to laugh too, Fr. Gordon….and so glad you cleared that up. I was wondering if I had somehow fallen asleep during the sermons that referred to the up-coming Year of Grace. That – falling alseep – has indeed happened. …
However, even though Pope Francis has not [yet] declared a Year of Grace, we are reminded by St. Paul that when sin abounds, Grace abounds even more. … (At least, I think it was St. Paul who said that). So even though the Church – and our society – is going through an incredibly difficult time, it is good to remind ourselves that indeed, it can be a Year of Grace for us, even if it is not officially proclaimed. So, as you say, “let’s roll with it” – because Grace abounds even more.
Wishing you once again, and now to all your virtual parishioners, a Blessed Christmas, and a a New Year full of God’s Amazing Grace.
Helen says
Not to worry, Fr. Gordon…we can NEVER be without the need of great graces. Thanks for the preview!!
God bless your great big, humble, generous heart. You ALWAYS give….and give….and give.
No harm there!!
Always in your fan club,
Helen
Tom says
This was another great post. I like that you continue to use the term “outside the peripheries” and I think its important to keep using it. Today I saw in the on-line Washington Post I get in my e-mail where a 44-year old priest from Ohio committed suicide by jumping off a building in Chicago. He was on leave for alleged inappropriate texting with a 16-year old boy. The Ohio authorities said their investigation will continue even though the priest is dead. I looked at the comments after the story. Many were filled with vitriol and hatred, how this is good riddance for a man who is obviously guilty because he is a Catholic priest. Some melded into slams on Donald Trump and Roy Moore. There were also some who were appalled at the vitriol and I was relieved to see that there is still some civility out there. Then there was one message that I hope all the haters read. It claimed that the 16 year old in the small Ohio town where the priest served was dealing with his homosexuality. Apparently the priest was encouraging him to seek out a counselor or someone to talk to. The conservative parents found the texts and flipped the script, complaining to the diocese that the priest was perverting their son. Now the 16 year old will have to deal with the guilt that this priest took his life because he tried to help. What a great system we have…NOT!
Also I would like to know the name of the bishop who told you that you were prophetic. I would not tell anyone who he is, but I would certainly have new-found respect for him!
Merry Christmas to you and Max, and to all who live with you!
Fr. Stuart MacDonald says
Dear Father Gordon,
I put a Christmas letter in the mail to you this week as a firm believer that cards which arrive during the Christmas season are perfectly acceptable! lol.
I was very moved by this latest post, truly. both at your candour and the beauty of the message. while I can’t really imagine what life must be like, I am glad to know that you have good friends both on the inside and the outside. Often I feel helpless to know what to say or write to you but I do pray for you each and every day and tell as many people as I can about you.
a prophet? you most certainly are! it’s moments like those that keep us going in our troubles, no?
Thank you once again for giving me my homily this weekend!
Oremus pro invicem.
As ever,
Fr Stuart
Margaret says
Fr. GORDON
May the light of Jesus continue to shine on you like the Star of Bethlehem did over the shepherds announcing the birth of our precious Lord. You are an inspiration and a prophet as well..(prophets usually do better in the after life though! 😉 )
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Have a joyous and blessed Christmas.
In Christ,
Margaret
Bea says
Thank you for sharing this post and photos with us, Father Gordon.
May God’s grace abound behind TSW in 2018!
I will be thinking of and praying for you this Christmas.
Father Vince says
My friend and brother- priest, Father Gordon MacRae, has given me a special gift from his prison cell in New Hampshire. This gift is the “gracious insight” that there is no greater service to those who suffer than to give meaning to what they suffer.” I share this gift with you. He does not only say this but testifies to it by unjustly languishing in prison for more than 23 years in prison still loving and serving that institutional Church that betrayed and abandoned him. He reminds us priests especially how blessed we are that ultimately the story of Jesus is our own story….laying down our lives for those entrusted to our care and love for their eternal salvation. Indeed, how blessed we are! This is what it means to be a priest of Jesus Christ. Prisoner Gordon MacRae is a priest forever and no one or any circumstance can ever change that.
Merry Christmas.
Father Vince
Joan Ripley says
This is beautiful, Fr. Vince. It is exactly how I feel about Fr. Gordon and his horrific situation. He is a priest forever no matter what. And that statement about the importance of giving to someone who is suffering the meaning of their suffering is so profound. Fr. Gordon, this is an exquisitely beautiful post and indescribably helpful. I hope and pray that the Good Lord continues to shower you with a plenitude of His Redeeming Grace and His steadfast love, especially during this Christmas season.
Helen says
Praise God for you, Fr. Gordon. I wish you, Max and all of your following, a very merry CHRISTmas. May the baby Jesus fill your heart, to over-flowing, with His love and peace.
And of course, we never stop hoping and praying for justice for you. Until that very day, may He continue to use you for the conversion of those who have not absorbed the Truth.
Always your fan,
Helen
Michael says
Happy Christmas to you, Father, and to Pornchai.
Heaven is our ultimate home, but I will say the times that I’ve felt well and truly home are most often in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Times are dark, but I think of angels at Advent: those beings who behold the Face of God in glory eagerly await the Face of God revealed at the Nativity. What does all that have to do with us, who toil here? A lot! Our guardian angels are in on the adoration. Let’s ask their help to join in on it!
So good to hear Pornchai may have a release date.
M says
Hi Father G,
A blessed and grace filled Christmas and New Year for you and the crew!
Many thanks for you marvellous writing. You are a clear unwavering light in these darkening times.
M
Elizabeth Leurer says
God bless you Fr. Gordon! Thankyou for all your postings-you have no idea for all they have done for me! Merry Christmas to you and Pornchai-Max and all there in prison.
You are in my daily prayers.
A reader from Canada.
Monica Harris says
I had not heard anything about Pope Francis proclaiming a Year of Grace—so thank you very much, Father Macrae, for letting us know.
There are so many good insights in this post: your candor, your prayer-filled thoughts are invaluable.
Cardinal Burke, and the bishop who called you a prophet, are timely messengers. Yes, integrity/uniting The Division is the work of the Holy Spirit, and suffering for the sake of the Church has great meaning…but it is still suffering, isn’t it? Yet you are not suffering alone.
I am so glad you still have your head! At least for now! And a voice, as did John the Baptist.
Blessed Christmas to you and Pornchai Max, and a Year of Grace I pray for you and all your readers/“parishioners”.
Maureen Dawson says
God bless you Fr. G. and Pornchai-Max who are able to offer so much suffering for the Church and our world.
Thank you for sharing the news that this is the year of Grace.
Have a very blessed Christmas!
Peace and joy be with you,’
Maureen D
Fr. Peter Lechner, s.P. says
Dear Fr. Godron,
Thank you for your Christmas greeting and message. I appreciate your witness to the seriousness of our times, your words about Cardinal Burke, your contribution to the Kingdom during your time in imprisonment, and the message of hope you offer. As you may know , Cardinal Burke was our Archbishop in St. Louis before he was assigned to the Signatura. He was also assigned as our sP Apostolic Consultant during his time in St. Louis. Later when I went on a visit to Rome, he was most gracious and friendly in inviting me to lunch with him. Of all the bishops who have confided priests to our care and renewal, he has certainly been one of the most pastoral, supportive and caring – and that includes many Ordinaries and Religious Superiors who are graced with those qualities.
Pete Lechner, s.P.
Maria Stella says
Thank you for this post, Fr. Gordon. And thank you for offering your sufferings for Our Holy Mother Church.
May you, Pornchai-Max, Joseph L., Jeff, James and all your prisoner friends have a Blessed Christmas.
Viktor & Alice Weyand says
This will have been our third Christmas gathering , not the same as past outings in the gym , much more spacious and fun , however the most important part is seeing Fr G and Pornchai , Alice and I look forward all year to the few hours we get to spend with them and yes we come from Traverse City Michigan and would not think of not coming.
This is the only time that you can see more then one resident, the fact that Pornchai heads up the team that coordinates all the food service we got to come in to the visitor area early and had an extra half hourPornchai before Fr G joined us
The three hours we get to spend with them flies and before we know it is time to say good by and for Alice and myself it is a sad moment to know that we will not see them again until next December . We are frequently in e mail contact with Fr G and are kept up to date what happens in their lives , but there is no experience like being face to face with them
Mike Fazzio who comes from Conneticut has been part of our group and we look forward to meeting him and go to our favorite restaurant, the Granit to dinner , this year Sementhia Pornchai‘s foster sister could not make it
We are fortunate to have Fr G and Pornchai in our lives , as they pray for us we pray for them
Viktor & Alice
We may have a release date for Pornchai and I told him I will come to Bangkok to see him once he is back
Maureen says
Thank you, Father Gordon, for such a marvelous and meditative post. Your words are truly prophetic for me. May you be blessed this Christmas and in the New Year.
Patricia says
A happy and blessed Christmas to you, Father, and to Pornchai. I will be looking for God’s grace in my life more ernestly because of your writing.
Ronald June says
Merry Christmas Fr. Gordon, Pornchai, and all the others. Thank you for this beautiful post and I will read the other linked posts also. This is also the first time I’ve heard of The Year of Grace.
Patricia Gubala says
May the Newborn King be with you and bless you this Christmas!!!
Thank you for such a beautiful post..
Heb: 13:3