Transcribed Homily of Father Terrance of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Dec. 27, 2023
Praised be Jesus and Mary. (Now and forever.)
Here in the octave of Christmas the Church asks us to reflect on the birth of our Savior, and the gift of redemption and healing that He brings to us. The blessing of having Jesus Christ in your life is something that, unfortunately, many people are lacking today.
With that thought in mind, I just want to take this opportunity to maybe help clarify what I think the recent document, Fiducia Supplicans, is saying. It’s the new declaration regarding the blessing of same-sex couples and other couples in irregular situations. It would be good for people, obviously, to read the document not just listen to the commentaries on it.
But whenever we read something from the Magisterium, we need to have a spirit of openness and docility. We need to have a teachable spirit, essentially.
Magister in Latin means master or teacher. Magisterium means teaching office.
“He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me’ Jesus says of his Church in Luke 10 verse 16.
The opposite of having a teachable spirit is being closed and suspicious, and having a spirit of hostility, instead of a spirit of docility, which, unfortunately, a lot of people have towards the Vatican and the Holy Father nowadays. It’s a spirit that can easily lead to schism, believe it or not. It did so with Lefebvre in the 70s and 80s and can do so again even today.
Saint Thomas Aquinas says that whatever is received is received according to mode of the receiver. So if I am already disposed to be defensive. Or hostile towards the Vatican, or the Holy Father, then I’m going to read, or listen to them, with that filter of suspicion and criticism. So, in essence, I probably won’t be able to actually hear what’s being said. Whenever I read a magisterial document or some thing from the Magisterium that I don’t quite understand, I don’t see how something can fit or square with the Church teaching, do you know what I do? I listen to people who actually do know how to harmonize, recent magisterial documents with the perennial teachings of the Church.
Pope Benedict XVI called that the hermeneutic of continuity which I think is lacking in a lot of places. One thing I don’t want to do, though, because I don’t want to publicly descent from, or attack, the Church, or the Vatican, or the Holy Father. That’s actually scandal. That’s actually a sin against the unity of the Church.
The document Fiducia Supplicans is very clear about what marriage is and what it isn’t. It’s also very clear that only sexual relations in a marriage are considered by the Church to be morally licit, i.e. not sinful.
It’s also very clear, as it states in paragraph 5 of the document, that, “the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex”.
However, the document does talk about blessing couples in irregular or same-sex relationships, which is a new proposal. In the 2021 document from the CDF, to the dubium, or the doubts, regarding the blessings of unions of persons of the same sex, the congregation said no, the Church does not have the power to bless the unions of the persons of the same sex. Why? Because sinful unions or sinful actions can never be blessed by God, very simply.
Again, that teaching is reaffirmed in this most recent document. The 2021 response added that individuals with homosexual inclinations can be blessed if they’re showing the will, and desire to live according to God‘s will. This new document ads that couples can be blessed as well. So in many ways, that’s the sticking point, talking about blessing irregular couples.
The Church is saying, couples can be blessed, but their unions cannot be blessed. So sinners can be blessed, but not their sin. And the blessing that the Church is talking about here, in situations that are informal, spontaneous, blessings. Like when people come up to a Priest, on the street, or at the shrine, they say, father, can you give us a blessing? It’s not talking about a blessing in a liturgical, right or a civil union ceremony, or a marriage ceremony or anything that would look like your legitimizing sinful relationships. It’s very clear about avoiding those things.
I believe that the Church is trying to say to us priests that in these cases, the object of the blessing is the persons, not their relationship. Since the object, since what I am blessing, can not be their union. If the union is sinful, then the object must be the persons themselves. Couples has to refer to persons not to their union. That’s how you can understand this new directive in a way which doesn’t change or compromise Church teaching. Some people are saying, well, you can’t separate the couple from what unites them. I understand that observation, but I think the church is asking us precisely to do that in these situations, to make that distinction between the persons and their relationship. And I think that the bishops that are even specifying this further in their own instructions, saying that persons or individuals are blessed, not their union, I think that the Bishops who are understanding it, and interpreting it, in that way are actually doing what the Church is asking of them.
The German Bishops had previously opened the door to the blessing of same-sex unions and marriages. The Church, in her magisterial teaching, is now closing that door, and is saying, this is as far as we can go. People say that the couples can be blessed, but it has to be understood that in no way, are we blessing their sinful relationship.
Lastly, the new document talks about prudent and fatherly discernment of the ordained ministers, meaning as a priest I have to be wise when people come up to me and are asking something from me. I think a priest should already know that, right? If a couple who is clearly homosexual comes up to me and says, Father, will you bless our relationship or bless our marriage, I’d have to say no, I can’t, sorry, I can pray for you. Do you want to say an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be together? I can do that. If you’re open to it, I can give you a blessing that God will help you to live holier lives and draw closer to Him, but I can’t bless your relationship, I’m sorry. Usually, a short exchange with people who come up and ask for a blessing, can give me an indication of what’s really being asked of me and whether or not, it’s prudent to give it. An inquisition is not necessary when people ask for blessings, but some simple, basic questions can be very helpful. But some simple, basic questions can also be wise and prudent, and fatherly at the same time. so with the heart, and with the intercession of Our Lady, let’s pray, obviously, for people who are in irregular situations and sinful relationships. Let’s pray that the Lord would open their hearts they would find Jesus in this Christmas season. Let’s also pray for those who are full of animosity and vitriol towards the Holy Father, and towards the Vatican, and who are openly opposing them, because whether they know it or not, they need a conversion as much as the rest of us sinners do.
Praise to be Jesus and Mary. Now and forever.
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