Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
OUR VISION
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
Email: mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Email: pmccormack43@bigpond.com
Seminarian in Residence: Kanishka Perera
Mob: 0499 035 199
Email: kanish_biyanwila@yahoo.com
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Christmas Mass Times 2020
OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH, STEWART STREET, DEVONPORT
CHRISTMAS EVE: 5:00pm Children’s Mass
6:30pm Children’s Mass
8:00pm Mass
Midnight Mass (Carols starting at 11:15pm)
CHRISTMAS DAY: 9:00am Mass
SACRED HEART CHURCH, ALEXANDRA ROAD, ULVERSTONE
CHRISTMAS EVE: 6pm Children’s Mass
8pm Mass
CHRISTMAS DAY: 9am Mass
RECONCILIATION: Our Lady of Lourdes Church – Wed 9th Dec, 7pm
Sacred Heart Church – Thurs 10th Dec, 7pm
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.Amen.Our Parish Sacramental Life
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1Mon 23th Nov NO MASS ... Clement 1, St ColumbanTues 24th Nov Devonport 9:30am … St Andrew Dung-Lac & CompanionsWed 25th Nov Ulverstone 9:30am ... St Catherine of AlexandriaThurs 26th Nov Devonport 8.30am ... pre-recording of Sunday Mass Devonport 12noonFri 27th Nov Ulverstone 9:30am Sat 28th Nov Devonport 6.00pm ... Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ulverstone 6:00pmSun 29th Nov Devonport 10:00am ... ALSO LIVESTREAM Ulverstone 10:00amIf you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Your prayers are asked for the sick:Les Enniss, Mary Bryan, Sam Eiler, Judy Redgrove, Sydney Corbett, Edite McHugh, Jill Cotterill, Deb Edwards & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:Sr Mechtilde Dillon SSJ, Elvira Giuliani, Paul Dilger, Peter Magill, Oscar van Leent, Stan Laffer, Dolly Eaves
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 18th – 24th November, 2020Karen Farr, Geoffrey Woods, Keiran Hofer, Fay Glover, Edith Collis, Marie Kristovskis, Maisie McLaren, David Cooper, Bert Carter, Francis Farruge, Shirley Bellchambers, Joyce Doherty, Bernadette Ibell, Georgina Colliver, Jim Suckling, Christopher Davey, Mark Dave, Laszlo Kiss, Janice & James Dunlop.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPELI begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help me reach the heart of this challenging gospel.I read it slowly and gently, remembering that the Son of Man (and King) is the one and same true shepherd. I can trust his call, guidance, teaching and his judgements.What is stirring within as I read? If I am feeling any fear or unease, I could ponder where this might be coming from. Or maybe, I am remembering times when I have received help, or been of help? I stay with these memories.In the First Reading, Jesus, the true shepherd, has kept me within his gaze. Here, Christ the King desires to invite me to the feast. How can I respond to this invitation in the here and now? I ask to see, ever more keenly, Christ present to me in all circumstances.Perhaps I feel drawn to stay with Christ for a few moments, who appears to me both in glory and power … but also, as one who is vulnerable and in need.When ready, I end with the sign of the cross. Weekly RamblingsThis weekend we begin advertising our Christmas Mass Times. Because of the current Covid restrictions we have arranged that there will be 5 Masses at OLOL and three at Sacred Heart. Sadly, at this stage we are still not able to be at all of our Mass Centres.
Christmas normally has an increase in the number of people attending Masses so it is likely that there will be some issues about how we can ensure that the maximum number of people are able to celebrate this special time. BOOKINGS WILL BE NECESSARY and each Mass will be limited to 120 people. The booking site will be live from 1st December via Eventbrite – details will be available here next weekend, on our Facebook Page. Bookings will also be possible from the 1st via the Parish Office – during Office Hours.
Once details are live we will be asking for your assistance in making the information known by whatever means are at your disposal – your own Facebook page, personal contact, whatever.
This is going to be a major undertaking but as we have well over 1,000 places available across the eight Masses we are hopeful we will be able to enable as many people as possible to share in the Christmas Spirit.
Hopefully, there will be a Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Julian available for distribution this weekend. The letter – Honouring the Lord’s Day – and is inviting us grow in our appreciation of the meaning of the Mass and encourage a fresh engagement with the Eucharistic Mystery.
Take care, stay safe and stay sane, 
ADVENT – MORNING PRAYERAs part of our Advent journey, Morning Prayer (Lauds) will be recited weekly from 9.30am to 10am at St Joseph Mass Centre Wilson St, Port Sorell. Dates: Monday 30th November (Feast of St Andrew), Tuesday 8th December (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception), Monday 14th December (St John of the Cross) and Monday 21st December. The Prayer of the Church (Divine Office) for the day will be used. You will be provided with the prayers for communal recitation. If you have questions, require further information or hope to attend contact Giuseppe Gigliotti on 0419684-134 or gigli@comcen.com.au Covid protocols will be observed.
2021 COLUMBAN ART CALENDARS 2021 Calendars available from the Piety Shop at OLOL Church Devonport and Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone. Cost $10.00 each.
CHRISTMAS CARDS available from the Piety Shop at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESEA SPLENDID SECRETA highly respected international speaker on spirituality will deliver the 2020 John Wallis Memorial Lecture from England, via zoom, on Tuesday 24 November, 7pm - 8:30 pm. Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ will discuss the spirituality of the Pope’s new encyclical in a lecture entitled “A Splendid Secret: Fratelli Tutti and the Transformation of Relationships”.Due to our Zoom capacity, registration will be required. Please email spirit@graciousgenerosity.com.au to indicate your intention to attend. Local COVID-19 protocols will determine the number of participants at any one location. Further information: Eva Dunn 0417 734 503
BECOMING MOTIVATED DISCIPLES This Advent the Verbum Domini Institute is focusing on how to live out the Gospel more fully through motivated Christian Discipleship. Join this four week short course to hear and discuss the meaning of Christian discipleship with the aim of developing a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ in preparation for his birth at Christmas. When: Tuesdays 24th Nov., 1st, 8th & 15th Dec. Time: 10.30am-12pm. Cost: Free. Register: christine.wood@aohtas.org.au or call 03-6208-6236. Where: online via Zoom.
CONCERNED CATHOLICS TASMANIA INC (CCT) INVITATIONConcerned Catholics Tasmania invites you to a regional gathering focussing on the report “The Light from the Southern Cross – Promoting Co-Responsible Governance in the Catholic Church in Australia”. This document was commissioned by the Australian Bishops Conference and Religious Superiors in response to the final report of the Royal Commission. Find out more and have your say Saturday 5th December - 10am to 12noon at Star of the Sea Hall, Mount St Burnie. Registration is necessary - sue.hyslop@icloud.com
VIRTUAL WAY TO ST JAMES PILGRIMAGEMake your way through natural surroundings in a meditative way anywhere in the world on 9th – 10th January 2021. Join this Global “El Camino de Santiago” in the Spirit of the Annual Pilgrimage to St James Church in Cygnet in the Huon Valley. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/waytostjamescygnet/Website link: https://www.waytostjames.com.au/
Thursday 26th November. Eyes down 7:30pm. Covid safe procedures will be followed.
Letter From Rome
The United States Is In Desperate Need Of Healing, But Don't Look To The Bishops
The Catholic bishops' conference has once again shown how irrelevant it's become to the nation- Robert Mickens, Rome, November 21, 2020. This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscription
Most average Catholics around the world probably don't know the name of their local bishop.
And fewer still could tell you who serves as president of the national episcopal conference in their country.
That's probably not such a bad thing.
As some recent events have shown, Catholics probably aren't losing out much by not knowing or having a whole lot of contact with these men of the Church who like to call themselves shepherds.
"Look, I am against the shepherds," says the Lord in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.
"I shall take my flock out of their charge and henceforth not allow them to feed my flock. And the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, because I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths to stop them from being food for them" (Ez 34, 10).
Fear not, it's God -- not the bishops -- who's in chargeInterestingly, the first reading for this weekend's Solemnity of Christ the King is taken from the same chapter of Ezekiel. But it does not include this verse.
Rather, it begins with one directly following it: "For the Lord God says this: Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it."
Among other things, the Lord promises to "bandage up the injured and make the sick strong", something the shepherds have not done.
This mission of healing is something Jesus entrusts to the twelve apostles.
"And he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal" (Lk 9, 2).
The bishops of the Catholic Church put a great emphasis on the fact that they are the rightful successors of the apostles.
Yet those in the United States -- at least as a national conference (USCCB) -- seem to have forgotten they have a duty to heal. And not just the physical or spiritual ailments of individuals, but also the fractures and division inside their communities.
That would include the deep and dangerous political and social tensions within their nation, which are reflected almost mirror-like in the Church, as I wrote recently.
Healing is not the preeminent priority for the US bishopsMany of the bishops in the United States pride themselves on raising a prophetic voice against the evils and dangers of the current age.
These "culture warriors" think they are some sort of white martyrs for the faith because they suffer scorn for making the elimination of legal abortion their "preeminent priority".
They have approached the issue like political lobbyists rather than spiritual leaders. They have worked to outlaw abortion, precisely because they lack all moral leadership and credibility to be able to convince women to stop having abortions.
They don't possess the immediately recognizable authority of true shepherds or successors of the apostles, so they jump in bed with anyone -- even a sociopath like Donald Trump -- to have the powerful of this world do what they are too incompetent and spiritually lazy to achieve.
They cannot win over the hearts and minds of their own people, so they sell their souls to a con man and justify this as the best way to achieve their "preeminent priority".
The USCCB has forgotten that the bishops' preeminent priority is that mandated by the Gospel -- to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal.
The bishops would rather battle Joe Biden than help heal the nationAnd after the recent presidential and congressional elections, the United State is in desperate need of healing.
President-elect Joe Biden, only the second Catholic ever to be elected to the highest office of the land, is obviously more aware of this than the bishops.
Not only have most of them been slow to publicly acknowledge that he's defeated Mr. Trump, some of them continue to support the outgoing president's outrageous claims that the Biden campaign stole the election.
As a national body, the US bishops are leaderless and their views are inconsequential to the lives of the vast majority of Americans -- including members of their own Church.
Only those who are wealthy or have influence in the corridors in Washington are tuned in to the inanities that come from the USCCB, because these power brokers are actually using the bishops like tools for their own ideological agenda.
It seems not a single bishop made a plea at the recent USCCB virtual assembly to discuss what they as a body, or the Church as a community, could do to play a lead role in helping to heal the nation.
Abortion trumps a national emergencyThe conference is famous for setting up committees. But no one suggested one to even look at how to bring healing to their badly bruised and deeply divided country.
Instead, they found it more urgent to form a working group to prepare them for battle with Mr. Biden over points of disagreement.
"When politicians who profess the Catholic faith support [abortion rights], there are additional problems," said the conference president, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez.
"Among other things, it creates confusion among the faithful about what the Catholic Church actually teaches on these questions," he said.
As others have said, Catholics in the United States are not confused about the Church's teaching. They just disagree with some or all of it!
This past week was an opportunity for bishops in the United States to end their blatant party politics and temporarily put aside their zealot-like fixation on abortion.
They love to strut around as being defenders of life. But they have not the courage nor the capacity -- not even the foresight -- to consider how their conference might help the United States from spiraling into a national emergency.
Because if the deep and hateful divisions are not healed, that's where the country is headed.
Our Three Intelligences
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
After her theological training and ordination in the Episcopal tradition, my friend Cynthia Bourgeault has spent much of the last two decades teaching the Wisdom tradition in a Christian context. You are about to read something that it took me most of my life to begin to comprehend! I admire Cynthia’s unique insights and ability to bring together the ancient wisdom of Christian monasticism and the transformational teachings and practices of spiritual seeker G. I. Gurdjieff (1866–1949). Today she offers a brief explanation of Gurdjieff’s teachings on Three-centered Awareness.
Wisdom is a way of knowing that goes beyond one’s mind, one’s rational understanding, and embraces the whole of a person: mind, heart, and body. The intellectual faculty is one way of knowing, to be sure, but it is joined by two additional faculties: the intelligence of the “moving center” and the intelligence of the “emotional center.” These three centers must all be working, and working in harmony, as the first prerequisite to the Wisdom way of knowing.
I’m going to start with the moving center because it’s the one least known in the West, least valued, and least worked with. The moving center basically is about intelligence through movement. It’s the way that our body is able to put its tentacles out and explore and gain information from the world. It’s that whole realm of things that we don’t do directly with our intellectual rational brain but that deeply engage us. We drive a car, ski down a hill, sail a boat. It gets in our bodies. That kind of intelligence, which we mostly underuse, is a huge reservoir of connectivity and information with the world.
The intellectual center is a profoundly useful tool for exploring and navigating the world, and it allows us to do things that separate us from the rest of the animals. But the program it runs is perception through separation. It’s a grand separating, evaluating, and measuring tool. But it can’t “do” because of the limitations built into its operating system. It can’t ask two questions: “Who am I, and who is God?” because these questions can’t be measured by an operating system that depends on separation. I have sometimes said that doing the journey toward mystical union with the mind is like trying to play the violin with a chainsaw. It’s not that the chainsaw is bad, but its nature is to cut and separate, not make music.
Finally, the heart and the emotional center are not identical. The emotional center is the capacity to explore and receive information from the world through empathetic entrainment by what we might call vibrational resonance. Of all the centers, the emotional center moves the fastest. It’s the part of us that gets the impression instantly. We don’t have to parse it out. It is our antenna, so to speak, given to us to orient us toward the divine radiance. The heart is not for personal expression but for divine perception.
Adapted from Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart (Jossey-Bass: 2003), 27, 28, 34; and An Introductory Wisdom School with Cynthia Bourgeault: Course Transcript & Companion Guide (Wisdom Way of Knowing: 2017), 5, 9, 10. Now available through the online course, Introductory Wisdom School (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2019). Can The Ground Cry Out?
Does the earth feel pain? Can it groan and cry out to God? Can the earth curse us for our crimes?
It would seem so, and not just because ecologists, moralists, and Pope Francis are saying so. Scripture itself seems to say so.
There are some very revealing lines in the exchange between Cain and God, after Cain had murdered his brother Abel. Asked where his brother was, Cain tells God that he doesn’t know and that he’s not responsible for his brother. But God says to him: Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you will till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength.
Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground … and from now on the ground will curse you! Is this a metaphor or a literal truth? Is the ground we walk on, till and plant seeds in, build highways and parking lots over, and call “Mother Earth, nothing other than simple dumb, lifeless, speechless, brute matter which is totally immune to the suffering and pain that humans and other sentient beings feel or indeed to the violence we sometimes inflict on it? Can the earth cry out to God in frustration and pain? Can it curse us?
A recent, wonderfully provocative book by Mark L. Wallace entitled When God was a Bird – Christianity, Animism, and the Re-Enchantment of the Word would say, yes, the world can and does feel pain and it can and does curse us for causing that pain. For Wallace, what God says to Cain about the earth crying out because it is soaked in murderous blood is more than a metaphor, more than just a spiritual teaching. It also expresses an ontological truth in that there is a real causal link between moral degeneration and ecological degeneration. We’re not the only ones who bear the consequences of sin, so too does the earth.
Here’s how Wallace puts it: “The earth is not dumb matter, an inanimate object with no capacity of feeling and sentiment, but a spirited and vulnerable living being who experiences the terrible and catastrophic loss of Abel’s death. Its heart is broken and its mouth agape, Earth ‘swallows’, in the text’s startling imagery, mouthfuls of Abel’s blood. … Bubbling up from the red earth, Abel’s cries signal not only that Cain had murdered his brother but that he has done lasting, perhaps irreparable, violence to the earth as well. … [Now] wounded and bloodied, Earth strikes back. Earth has its revenge. Earth does not passively acquiesce to Cain’s attacks and stand by and watch his gory rampage proceed with impunity. On the contrary, Earth retaliates and ‘inflicts a curse’ on Cain by ‘withholding its bounty’ from this farmer-killer who now must roam the land unprotected and without security.” The earth now refuses to give its bounty to Cain.
What Wallace affirms here is predicated on two beliefs, both true. First, everyone and everything on this planet, sentient and non-sentient being alike, are all part of one and the same supreme living organism within which every part ultimately affects all the other parts in a real way. Second, whenever we treat the earth (or each other) badly, the earth retaliates and withholds its strength and bounty from us, not just metaphorically but in a very real way.
Perhaps no one puts this more poignantly than John Steinbeck did some eighty years ago in The Grapes of Wrath. Describing how the soil which produces our food is now worked over by massive steel tractors and huge impersonal machines that, in effect, are the very antithesis of a woman or man lovingly coaxing a garden into growth, he writes: And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumpled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. And men ate when they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had not prayers or curses.
When Jesus says that the measure we measure out is the measure that will be measured back to us, he’s not just speaking of a certain law of karma within human relationships where kindness will be met with kindness, generosity with generosity, pettiness with pettiness, and violence with violence. He’s also speaking about our relationship to Mother Earth. The more our houses, cars, and factories continue to breathe out carbon monoxide, the more we will inhale carbon monoxide. And the more we continue to do violence to the earth and to each other, the more the earth will withhold its bounty and strength from us and we will feel the curse of Cain in violent storms, deadly viruses, and cataclysmic upheavals.
How NOT To Ask For Money This Year
This article is taken from the weekly Blog of Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can read his blog here
Many of the bitter fruits of the COVID crisis can be ignored, at least for a time. But unlike lower attendance, decreased engagement, and smaller reach, parishes can’t ignore the issue of money for long. Bills come due, staff salaries must be paid; maintenance cannot be deferred indefinitely. Giving is down in almost all parishes, anywhere from 7% to 50%. The parishes late to the table when it comes to electronic giving and online Mass have been especially hard hit (and, of course, they are more likely to be smaller, poorer parishes).
Money was already a big problem for the church before COVID. Giving has been declining across the country and the pool of donors is growing smaller and older. My theory is that the fundraising practices which Catholic parishes have traditionally relied on have created a culture of giving that is transactional, guilt-based, presumptive, and disconnected from any strategic direction, vision, or mission. Decades of fish-fry fundraisers and spaghetti dinners, waves of “second” and “third” collections layered on top of the relentless nagging, and needy messaging heard from the pulpit of “we need more” has distracted, dispirited, and demotivated the faithful. It would seem like giving is just not very important in the life of the Church.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Our giving culture should reflect the truth that giving is an act of discipleship. Jesus taught that money is the number one competitor for our hearts, meaning that getting our relationship with money right is key to following Christ. Disciples give because they believe in the mission of the church and know that it takes money to build the kingdom.
Understanding the mistakes we were making as a parish (and we were making a lot of them) helped us set a new course towards building a healthy culture of giving. But there are a few that I see most often. These three mistakes and the principles they illuminate can apply to any parish, regardless of the size of their budget or the demographics of their community.
1) DON’T ask out of needinessGiven the unprecedented decline in giving that most parishes are experiencing, this could be forgiven. Their struggles are real, and I don’t want to discount them. But it remains true that people give to neediness maybe once, or once in a while, but not on a consistent basis. Instead, they give to vision. They want their gifts and giving to have an impact in the life of the parish, and in people’s lives.
Parishes should avoid messaging that speaks about meeting growing budget gaps, rising overhead, and additional obligations to the diocese. Instead, show givers how the parish is rising to meet the challenges of the current COVID crisis and how their support can move the needle.
2) DON’T ask too oftenMultiple asks for money at Mass, in your lobby, in your bulletin, on your web site are counter-productive. In “churchmoney”, we call them ‘competing systems.’ They compete for the same dollars, at the same times, in (sometimes) the same way. Rather than collect more money, asking too often actually encourages modest giving. It allows people to assuage their guilt by giving to the lowest-priced appeal or giving nothing at all. Take this opportunity to reevaluate the fundraising practices of your parish and determine if you’re asking too often.
3) DON’T fundraiseIf you want to teach your parishioners that they should only give in church when they receive something in return, host a lot of fundraisers. Many fundraisers are fun community events, but as a method of giving, they are essentially transactional. Additionally, they are a notorious waste of staff time and energy for, often, very little to show in return. Forget fundraisers, or at least begin to wean your parish off them. Instead, teach your parish to give in their place of worship as an act of worship.
Raising money to fund the mission and ministry of a parish is difficult even in normal times. And this time is far from normal. How about in all the chaos and crisis you begin to rethink how you fund your church.
How Capitalism Destroyed Itself:Technology Displaced By Financial Innovation
Dr Patrick Riordan SJ is Senior Fellow in Political Philosophy and Catholic Social Thought at Campion Hall, Oxford.This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
Capitalism has many critics today. Blame for the 2008 crisis is laid at capitalism’s door; the current pandemic was made possible by the impact of globalisation, one of capitalism’s favourite children; the vote for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in 2016 along with the rise of chauvinistic nationalism are accredited to the frustrations of the victims of globalised capitalism; the widening inequalities in the world are seen as fruits of capitalism; and environmental crises are attributed to the depredations of capitalism. There is some nuance in the many condemnations, with qualifiers such as ‘casino’ and ‘finance’ capitalism, but the general tone of the discussion is negative and critical.
It is interesting, therefore, to read a book that does not deny the problems listed above but takes a more differentiated view. As the title suggests, many of the problems currently encountered can be due to a self-destructive dynamic in capitalism that could have been countered by political and legislative action. Democratic politicians and their constituents have unleashed those destructive forces. For those critics, such as the author, William Kingston, who value the contribution that capitalism has made, it is saddening to see its disintegration.
The argument of this book is clear, persuasive and frightening. The premises and steps of the argument are as follows.
1. Capitalism has been hugely significant in the generation of wealth that has allowed many millions of people to live decent lives for longer than they might otherwise have done.
2. At the heart of capitalism’s creativity has been the paired achievement of securing independent property rights and ensuring, through legislation, that property rights are exercised for the public good.
3. Constrained property rights facilitated a series of technological innovations contributing to wealth creation.
4. But propertied interests have succeeded in capturing the law-making powers of government and have freed property from the constraints obliging it to serve the public good.
5. This law-making power has been used to extend to the generators and holders of money the same rights accorded the holders and generators of other commodities.
6. Consequently, the investment in technological innovation which might have saved capitalism has instead been diverted to financial innovation.
7. The consequences of these changes are growing inequality, the crises of the banking and credit systems, austerity politics, and the popular revolt of voters and taxpayers against this oppressive regime.
The conclusion drawn is that our democratic regimes are caught in a bind from which there seems to be no escape. They are in hock to the financial interests that fund parties and candidates, and at the same time they depend on popular support that they attempt to purchase with the promise of transfers in benefits and welfare payments.
Kingston, as Emeritus Professor of Innovation at Trinity College, Dublin, focuses on the innovations that enabled the emergence and development of capitalism. He highlights structural changes that have transformed government’s role to protecting the interests of those already benefitting from the existing generation and distribution of wealth, but block the sources of innovation that could deliver solutions and further development for the benefit of all. The analysis is not a purely economic one, but sees the roles of culture, ideas and politics as intrinsically linked with the economic.
Legal protection of property was fundamental for the development of capitalism, but the legal regime also imposed constraints that required property to function for the public good. Innovative products brought to market could succeed in generating profits for their producers only on condition that they delivered benefits to consumers who therefore chose those products in preference to alternatives. Technological innovation was the key to capitalistic success. The public good benefited as long as producers were obliged by law to compete; monopolies were discouraged. The relevant constraints have been gradually eroded, such that now the benefits mostly accrue to the owners, and producers don’t have to take risks.
The creation of private property in ideas by means of intellectual property rights illustrates the book’s core thesis. Those who want to secure for themselves the benefits of economic activity have persuaded law makers to remove the constraints on how their assets might be used. Instead of financing technical innovation, owners of capital can choose to speculate in financial products. In effect the poachers had succeeded in getting control of the law the gamekeepers relied upon to protect the public good. Kingston is not opposed to intellectual property rights. Where information is a commons, it will be destroyed unless the beneficiaries are motivated to protect it. As with other property, it is the assurance enjoyed by private owners that they will be able to reap the benefit of their work and investment that secures their willingness to make the effort. No one will invest in the research needed to generate new ideas for technology unless they can be sure of recovering their costs.
The justification of intellectual property rights by appealing to the public benefit to be had from the assurance that investment in research and development will be allowed recover costs is not so relevant to trademarks or brand names. Secured brand names give big firms a monopolistic advantage for which the recovery of development costs provides no justification. Kingston points out that all the developed countries progressed originally by copying from one another, but that now by working in collusion to prevent the poorer countries from imitating and copying the products of richer countries they are effectively blocking development out of poverty.
Chapter three on the capture of market power powerfully illustrates the case being made: high levels of profit that ‘should only be earned by successful innovations to compensate for the risk of their related investment’ are now being earned by ordinary trading activity involving little or no risk. ‘Since it is innovation that primarily justifies it, capitalism could only last as long as capitalists were denied the power to establish their own working conditions’.
A constant theme throughout the book is the desirability that private property rights be so constrained by legislation that their exercise must benefit the public good. But perhaps the manner in which concern for the public good is taken for granted and not directly addressed in our public discourse is a contributory factor in facilitating the hijack of legislation by vested interests? The absence of literacy about the relation of law to public good makes it easier for those proposing (de-)regulation to formulate their case by concentrating exclusively on the expected benefits to their own operations.
A fascinating example is how accountants made rules to suit themselves. In chapter four, Kingston narrates how the auditing (accountancy) profession succeeded in getting the publicly established standards of best practice changed to standardised box-ticking procedures. This replaced the requirement that professionals exercise personal judgment. As a result, practitioners are freed from personal liability for mistaken judgment. Now all they need do to protect themselves is to demonstrate that required procedures were followed. Another change in standards which had very negative consequences for the public good was the restriction that auditors only had to report actual losses incurred by a bank, and not any expected losses. As a result, auditors were signing off on the accounts of banks which were due to make serious losses and, in some cases, to fail. But the auditors had nothing to answer, they claimed, since they had complied with requirements, a defence which the House of Lords enquiry into the 2009 banking crisis in the UK did not accept, but could do little about. Kingston reports on the self-interested parties succeeding in capturing the law-making processes and shaping the focus of concern.
A major step in the disintegration of capitalism occurred when trading in money began to be treated on the same terms as trading in other commodities. In the modern economy money is created from nothing when banks extend credit to borrowers, a process that the former governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, calls ‘alchemy’ (99). What can restrain bankers from irresponsible and reckless lending especially when such activity promises to be profitable both for the bank and its agent? Institutional developments such as the creation of central banks as lenders of last resort have only increased the moral hazard. With the expectation that their risks will be secured ultimately by taxpayers, bankers have no outside restraints on their lending activity. This situation has developed because the benefits of limited liability originally developed for the firms engaged in industry and trade have been extended to banks. Kingston argues that banks should be returned to the stage where they were partnerships with unlimited liability, namely that every partner was liable to the full extent for loans made and debts incurred. Unlimited liability would ensure responsible lending since each lender would have to accept the risk and not assume it could be passed on to the taxpayer.
This book should be required reading for every student of economics, every prospective banker, every civil servant, every candidate for public office, and recommended reading for every citizen. It offers a more nuanced reading of the history of capitalism showing the links between inventors and innovators and those willing to support innovation with their seed money. It offers a realistic appraisal of the role of financial and commercial interests in democratic politics and it shows the vulnerability of politics to manipulation by those pursuing sectional interests instead of common goods. If the deregulation agenda can be reversed somehow, and if constraints can be imposed once again on capital so that it must serve the public interest, this can only be achieved if the countervailing powers of politics and legislation are rescued from sectional interests and voters exercise their vote in the public interest. Such a conscientised electorate will benefit from the analysis of this book.
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office. Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session organised with a Priest.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am), Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 6pm Community Room Ulverstone
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE:
Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1
Mon 23th Nov NO MASS ... Clement 1, St Columban
Tues 24th Nov Devonport 9:30am … St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions
Wed 25th Nov Ulverstone 9:30am ... St Catherine of Alexandria
Thurs 26th Nov Devonport 8.30am ... pre-recording of Sunday Mass
Devonport 12noon
Fri 27th Nov Ulverstone 9:30am
Sat 28th Nov Devonport 6.00pm ... Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ulverstone 6:00pm
Sun 29th Nov Devonport 10:00am ... ALSO LIVESTREAM
Ulverstone 10:00am
If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Les Enniss, Mary Bryan, Sam Eiler, Judy Redgrove, Sydney Corbett, Edite McHugh, Jill Cotterill, Deb Edwards & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Sr Mechtilde Dillon SSJ, Elvira Giuliani, Paul Dilger, Peter Magill, Oscar van Leent, Stan Laffer, Dolly Eaves
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 18th – 24th November, 2020
Karen Farr, Geoffrey Woods, Keiran Hofer, Fay Glover, Edith Collis, Marie Kristovskis, Maisie McLaren, David Cooper, Bert Carter, Francis Farruge, Shirley Bellchambers, Joyce Doherty, Bernadette Ibell, Georgina Colliver, Jim Suckling, Christopher Davey, Mark Dave, Laszlo Kiss, Janice & James Dunlop.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
I begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help me reach the heart of this challenging gospel.
I read it slowly and gently, remembering that the Son of Man (and King) is the one and same true shepherd.
I can trust his call, guidance, teaching and his judgements.
What is stirring within as I read?
If I am feeling any fear or unease, I could ponder where this might be coming from.
Or maybe, I am remembering times when I have received help, or been of help?
I stay with these memories.
In the First Reading, Jesus, the true shepherd, has kept me within his gaze.
Here, Christ the King desires to invite me to the feast.
How can I respond to this invitation in the here and now?
I ask to see, ever more keenly, Christ present to me in all circumstances.
Perhaps I feel drawn to stay with Christ for a few moments, who appears to me both in glory and power … but also, as one who is vulnerable and in need.
When ready, I end with the sign of the cross.
Weekly Ramblings
This weekend we begin advertising our Christmas Mass Times. Because of the current Covid restrictions we have arranged that there will be 5 Masses at OLOL and three at Sacred Heart. Sadly, at this stage we are still not able to be at all of our Mass Centres.
Christmas normally has an increase in the number of people attending Masses so it is likely that there will be some issues about how we can ensure that the maximum number of people are able to celebrate this special time. BOOKINGS WILL BE NECESSARY and each Mass will be limited to 120 people. The booking site will be live from 1st December via Eventbrite – details will be available here next weekend, on our Facebook Page. Bookings will also be possible from the 1st via the Parish Office – during Office Hours.
Once details are live we will be asking for your assistance in making the information known by whatever means are at your disposal – your own Facebook page, personal contact, whatever.
This is going to be a major undertaking but as we have well over 1,000 places available across the eight Masses we are hopeful we will be able to enable as many people as possible to share in the Christmas Spirit.
Hopefully, there will be a Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Julian available for distribution this weekend. The letter – Honouring the Lord’s Day – and is inviting us grow in our appreciation of the meaning of the Mass and encourage a fresh engagement with the Eucharistic Mystery.
Take care, stay safe and stay sane,
ADVENT – MORNING PRAYER
As part of our Advent journey, Morning Prayer (Lauds) will be recited weekly from 9.30am to 10am at St Joseph Mass Centre Wilson St, Port Sorell. Dates: Monday 30th November (Feast of St Andrew), Tuesday 8th December (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception), Monday 14th December (St John of the Cross) and Monday 21st December.
The Prayer of the Church (Divine Office) for the day will be used. You will be provided with the prayers for communal recitation. If you have questions, require further information or hope to attend contact Giuseppe Gigliotti on 0419684-134 or gigli@comcen.com.au Covid protocols will be observed.
2021 COLUMBAN ART CALENDARS
2021 Calendars available from the Piety Shop at OLOL Church Devonport and Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone. Cost $10.00 each.
CHRISTMAS CARDS available from the Piety Shop at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE
A SPLENDID SECRET
A highly respected international speaker on spirituality will deliver the 2020 John Wallis Memorial Lecture from England, via zoom, on Tuesday 24 November, 7pm - 8:30 pm.
Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ will discuss the spirituality of the Pope’s new encyclical in a lecture entitled “A Splendid Secret: Fratelli Tutti and the Transformation of Relationships”.
Due to our Zoom capacity, registration will be required. Please email spirit@graciousgenerosity.com.au to indicate your intention to attend. Local COVID-19 protocols will determine the number of participants at any one location. Further information: Eva Dunn 0417 734 503
BECOMING MOTIVATED DISCIPLES
This Advent the Verbum Domini Institute is focusing on how to live out the Gospel more fully through motivated Christian Discipleship.
Join this four week short course to hear and discuss the meaning of Christian discipleship with the aim of developing a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ in preparation for his birth at Christmas.
When: Tuesdays 24th Nov., 1st, 8th & 15th Dec.
Time: 10.30am-12pm. Cost: Free.
Register: christine.wood@aohtas.org.au or call 03-6208-6236. Where: online via Zoom.
CONCERNED CATHOLICS TASMANIA INC (CCT) INVITATION
Concerned Catholics Tasmania invites you to a regional gathering focussing on the report “The Light from the Southern Cross – Promoting Co-Responsible Governance in the Catholic Church in Australia”.
This document was commissioned by the Australian Bishops Conference and Religious Superiors in response to the final report of the Royal Commission.
Find out more and have your say Saturday 5th December - 10am to 12noon at Star of the Sea Hall, Mount St Burnie.
Registration is necessary - sue.hyslop@icloud.com
VIRTUAL WAY TO ST JAMES PILGRIMAGE
Make your way through natural surroundings in a meditative way anywhere in the world on 9th – 10th January 2021. Join this Global “El Camino de Santiago” in the Spirit of the Annual Pilgrimage to St James Church in Cygnet in the Huon Valley.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/waytostjamescygnet/
Website link: https://www.waytostjames.com.au/
Thursday 26th November. Eyes down 7:30pm.
Covid safe procedures will be followed.
Letter From Rome
The United States Is In Desperate Need Of Healing, But Don't Look To The Bishops
The Catholic bishops' conference has once again shown how irrelevant it's become to the nation
- Robert Mickens, Rome, November 21, 2020.
This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscription
Most average Catholics around the world probably don't know the name of their local bishop.
And fewer still could tell you who serves as president of the national episcopal conference in their country.
That's probably not such a bad thing.
As some recent events have shown, Catholics probably aren't losing out much by not knowing or having a whole lot of contact with these men of the Church who like to call themselves shepherds.
"Look, I am against the shepherds," says the Lord in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.
"I shall take my flock out of their charge and henceforth not allow them to feed my flock. And the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, because I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths to stop them from being food for them" (Ez 34, 10).
Fear not, it's God -- not the bishops -- who's in charge
Interestingly, the first reading for this weekend's Solemnity of Christ the King is taken from the same chapter of Ezekiel. But it does not include this verse.
Rather, it begins with one directly following it: "For the Lord God says this: Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it."
Among other things, the Lord promises to "bandage up the injured and make the sick strong", something the shepherds have not done.
This mission of healing is something Jesus entrusts to the twelve apostles.
"And he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal" (Lk 9, 2).
The bishops of the Catholic Church put a great emphasis on the fact that they are the rightful successors of the apostles.
Yet those in the United States -- at least as a national conference (USCCB) -- seem to have forgotten they have a duty to heal. And not just the physical or spiritual ailments of individuals, but also the fractures and division inside their communities.
That would include the deep and dangerous political and social tensions within their nation, which are reflected almost mirror-like in the Church, as I wrote recently.
Healing is not the preeminent priority for the US bishops
Many of the bishops in the United States pride themselves on raising a prophetic voice against the evils and dangers of the current age.
These "culture warriors" think they are some sort of white martyrs for the faith because they suffer scorn for making the elimination of legal abortion their "preeminent priority".
They have approached the issue like political lobbyists rather than spiritual leaders. They have worked to outlaw abortion, precisely because they lack all moral leadership and credibility to be able to convince women to stop having abortions.
They don't possess the immediately recognizable authority of true shepherds or successors of the apostles, so they jump in bed with anyone -- even a sociopath like Donald Trump -- to have the powerful of this world do what they are too incompetent and spiritually lazy to achieve.
They cannot win over the hearts and minds of their own people, so they sell their souls to a con man and justify this as the best way to achieve their "preeminent priority".
The USCCB has forgotten that the bishops' preeminent priority is that mandated by the Gospel -- to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal.
The bishops would rather battle Joe Biden than help heal the nation
And after the recent presidential and congressional elections, the United State is in desperate need of healing.
President-elect Joe Biden, only the second Catholic ever to be elected to the highest office of the land, is obviously more aware of this than the bishops.
Not only have most of them been slow to publicly acknowledge that he's defeated Mr. Trump, some of them continue to support the outgoing president's outrageous claims that the Biden campaign stole the election.
As a national body, the US bishops are leaderless and their views are inconsequential to the lives of the vast majority of Americans -- including members of their own Church.
Only those who are wealthy or have influence in the corridors in Washington are tuned in to the inanities that come from the USCCB, because these power brokers are actually using the bishops like tools for their own ideological agenda.
It seems not a single bishop made a plea at the recent USCCB virtual assembly to discuss what they as a body, or the Church as a community, could do to play a lead role in helping to heal the nation.
Abortion trumps a national emergency
The conference is famous for setting up committees. But no one suggested one to even look at how to bring healing to their badly bruised and deeply divided country.
Instead, they found it more urgent to form a working group to prepare them for battle with Mr. Biden over points of disagreement.
"When politicians who profess the Catholic faith support [abortion rights], there are additional problems," said the conference president, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez.
"Among other things, it creates confusion among the faithful about what the Catholic Church actually teaches on these questions," he said.
As others have said, Catholics in the United States are not confused about the Church's teaching. They just disagree with some or all of it!
This past week was an opportunity for bishops in the United States to end their blatant party politics and temporarily put aside their zealot-like fixation on abortion.
They love to strut around as being defenders of life. But they have not the courage nor the capacity -- not even the foresight -- to consider how their conference might help the United States from spiraling into a national emergency.
Because if the deep and hateful divisions are not healed, that's where the country is headed.
Our Three Intelligences
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
After her theological training and ordination in the Episcopal tradition, my friend Cynthia Bourgeault has spent much of the last two decades teaching the Wisdom tradition in a Christian context. You are about to read something that it took me most of my life to begin to comprehend! I admire Cynthia’s unique insights and ability to bring together the ancient wisdom of Christian monasticism and the transformational teachings and practices of spiritual seeker G. I. Gurdjieff (1866–1949). Today she offers a brief explanation of Gurdjieff’s teachings on Three-centered Awareness.
Wisdom is a way of knowing that goes beyond one’s mind, one’s rational understanding, and embraces the whole of a person: mind, heart, and body. The intellectual faculty is one way of knowing, to be sure, but it is joined by two additional faculties: the intelligence of the “moving center” and the intelligence of the “emotional center.” These three centers must all be working, and working in harmony, as the first prerequisite to the Wisdom way of knowing.
I’m going to start with the moving center because it’s the one least known in the West, least valued, and least worked with. The moving center basically is about intelligence through movement. It’s the way that our body is able to put its tentacles out and explore and gain information from the world. It’s that whole realm of things that we don’t do directly with our intellectual rational brain but that deeply engage us. We drive a car, ski down a hill, sail a boat. It gets in our bodies. That kind of intelligence, which we mostly underuse, is a huge reservoir of connectivity and information with the world.
The intellectual center is a profoundly useful tool for exploring and navigating the world, and it allows us to do things that separate us from the rest of the animals. But the program it runs is perception through separation. It’s a grand separating, evaluating, and measuring tool. But it can’t “do” because of the limitations built into its operating system. It can’t ask two questions: “Who am I, and who is God?” because these questions can’t be measured by an operating system that depends on separation. I have sometimes said that doing the journey toward mystical union with the mind is like trying to play the violin with a chainsaw. It’s not that the chainsaw is bad, but its nature is to cut and separate, not make music.
Finally, the heart and the emotional center are not identical. The emotional center is the capacity to explore and receive information from the world through empathetic entrainment by what we might call vibrational resonance. Of all the centers, the emotional center moves the fastest. It’s the part of us that gets the impression instantly. We don’t have to parse it out. It is our antenna, so to speak, given to us to orient us toward the divine radiance. The heart is not for personal expression but for divine perception.
Adapted from Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart (Jossey-Bass: 2003), 27, 28, 34; and
An Introductory Wisdom School with Cynthia Bourgeault: Course Transcript & Companion Guide (Wisdom Way of Knowing: 2017), 5, 9, 10. Now available through the online course, Introductory Wisdom School (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2019).
Can The Ground Cry Out?
Does the earth feel pain? Can it groan and cry out to God? Can the earth curse us for our crimes?
It would seem so, and not just because ecologists, moralists, and Pope Francis are saying so. Scripture itself seems to say so.
There are some very revealing lines in the exchange between Cain and God, after Cain had murdered his brother Abel. Asked where his brother was, Cain tells God that he doesn’t know and that he’s not responsible for his brother. But God says to him: Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you will till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength.
Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground … and from now on the ground will curse you! Is this a metaphor or a literal truth? Is the ground we walk on, till and plant seeds in, build highways and parking lots over, and call “Mother Earth, nothing other than simple dumb, lifeless, speechless, brute matter which is totally immune to the suffering and pain that humans and other sentient beings feel or indeed to the violence we sometimes inflict on it? Can the earth cry out to God in frustration and pain? Can it curse us?
A recent, wonderfully provocative book by Mark L. Wallace entitled When God was a Bird – Christianity, Animism, and the Re-Enchantment of the Word would say, yes, the world can and does feel pain and it can and does curse us for causing that pain. For Wallace, what God says to Cain about the earth crying out because it is soaked in murderous blood is more than a metaphor, more than just a spiritual teaching. It also expresses an ontological truth in that there is a real causal link between moral degeneration and ecological degeneration. We’re not the only ones who bear the consequences of sin, so too does the earth.
Here’s how Wallace puts it: “The earth is not dumb matter, an inanimate object with no capacity of feeling and sentiment, but a spirited and vulnerable living being who experiences the terrible and catastrophic loss of Abel’s death. Its heart is broken and its mouth agape, Earth ‘swallows’, in the text’s startling imagery, mouthfuls of Abel’s blood. … Bubbling up from the red earth, Abel’s cries signal not only that Cain had murdered his brother but that he has done lasting, perhaps irreparable, violence to the earth as well. … [Now] wounded and bloodied, Earth strikes back. Earth has its revenge. Earth does not passively acquiesce to Cain’s attacks and stand by and watch his gory rampage proceed with impunity. On the contrary, Earth retaliates and ‘inflicts a curse’ on Cain by ‘withholding its bounty’ from this farmer-killer who now must roam the land unprotected and without security.” The earth now refuses to give its bounty to Cain.
What Wallace affirms here is predicated on two beliefs, both true. First, everyone and everything on this planet, sentient and non-sentient being alike, are all part of one and the same supreme living organism within which every part ultimately affects all the other parts in a real way. Second, whenever we treat the earth (or each other) badly, the earth retaliates and withholds its strength and bounty from us, not just metaphorically but in a very real way.
Perhaps no one puts this more poignantly than John Steinbeck did some eighty years ago in The Grapes of Wrath. Describing how the soil which produces our food is now worked over by massive steel tractors and huge impersonal machines that, in effect, are the very antithesis of a woman or man lovingly coaxing a garden into growth, he writes: And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumpled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. And men ate when they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had not prayers or curses.
When Jesus says that the measure we measure out is the measure that will be measured back to us, he’s not just speaking of a certain law of karma within human relationships where kindness will be met with kindness, generosity with generosity, pettiness with pettiness, and violence with violence. He’s also speaking about our relationship to Mother Earth. The more our houses, cars, and factories continue to breathe out carbon monoxide, the more we will inhale carbon monoxide. And the more we continue to do violence to the earth and to each other, the more the earth will withhold its bounty and strength from us and we will feel the curse of Cain in violent storms, deadly viruses, and cataclysmic upheavals.
How NOT To Ask For Money This Year
This article is taken from the weekly Blog of Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can read his blog here
Many of the bitter fruits of the COVID crisis can be ignored, at least for a time. But unlike lower attendance, decreased engagement, and smaller reach, parishes can’t ignore the issue of money for long. Bills come due, staff salaries must be paid; maintenance cannot be deferred indefinitely. Giving is down in almost all parishes, anywhere from 7% to 50%. The parishes late to the table when it comes to electronic giving and online Mass have been especially hard hit (and, of course, they are more likely to be smaller, poorer parishes).
Money was already a big problem for the church before COVID. Giving has been declining across the country and the pool of donors is growing smaller and older. My theory is that the fundraising practices which Catholic parishes have traditionally relied on have created a culture of giving that is transactional, guilt-based, presumptive, and disconnected from any strategic direction, vision, or mission. Decades of fish-fry fundraisers and spaghetti dinners, waves of “second” and “third” collections layered on top of the relentless nagging, and needy messaging heard from the pulpit of “we need more” has distracted, dispirited, and demotivated the faithful. It would seem like giving is just not very important in the life of the Church.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Our giving culture should reflect the truth that giving is an act of discipleship. Jesus taught that money is the number one competitor for our hearts, meaning that getting our relationship with money right is key to following Christ. Disciples give because they believe in the mission of the church and know that it takes money to build the kingdom.
Understanding the mistakes we were making as a parish (and we were making a lot of them) helped us set a new course towards building a healthy culture of giving. But there are a few that I see most often. These three mistakes and the principles they illuminate can apply to any parish, regardless of the size of their budget or the demographics of their community.
1) DON’T ask out of neediness
Given the unprecedented decline in giving that most parishes are experiencing, this could be forgiven. Their struggles are real, and I don’t want to discount them. But it remains true that people give to neediness maybe once, or once in a while, but not on a consistent basis. Instead, they give to vision. They want their gifts and giving to have an impact in the life of the parish, and in people’s lives.
Parishes should avoid messaging that speaks about meeting growing budget gaps, rising overhead, and additional obligations to the diocese. Instead, show givers how the parish is rising to meet the challenges of the current COVID crisis and how their support can move the needle.
2) DON’T ask too often
Multiple asks for money at Mass, in your lobby, in your bulletin, on your web site are counter-productive. In “churchmoney”, we call them ‘competing systems.’ They compete for the same dollars, at the same times, in (sometimes) the same way. Rather than collect more money, asking too often actually encourages modest giving. It allows people to assuage their guilt by giving to the lowest-priced appeal or giving nothing at all. Take this opportunity to reevaluate the fundraising practices of your parish and determine if you’re asking too often.
3) DON’T fundraise
If you want to teach your parishioners that they should only give in church when they receive something in return, host a lot of fundraisers. Many fundraisers are fun community events, but as a method of giving, they are essentially transactional. Additionally, they are a notorious waste of staff time and energy for, often, very little to show in return. Forget fundraisers, or at least begin to wean your parish off them. Instead, teach your parish to give in their place of worship as an act of worship.
Raising money to fund the mission and ministry of a parish is difficult even in normal times. And this time is far from normal. How about in all the chaos and crisis you begin to rethink how you fund your church.
How Capitalism Destroyed Itself:
Technology Displaced By Financial Innovation
Dr Patrick Riordan SJ is Senior Fellow in Political Philosophy and Catholic Social Thought at Campion Hall, Oxford.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
Capitalism has many critics today. Blame for the 2008 crisis is laid at capitalism’s door; the current pandemic was made possible by the impact of globalisation, one of capitalism’s favourite children; the vote for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in 2016 along with the rise of chauvinistic nationalism are accredited to the frustrations of the victims of globalised capitalism; the widening inequalities in the world are seen as fruits of capitalism; and environmental crises are attributed to the depredations of capitalism. There is some nuance in the many condemnations, with qualifiers such as ‘casino’ and ‘finance’ capitalism, but the general tone of the discussion is negative and critical.
It is interesting, therefore, to read a book that does not deny the problems listed above but takes a more differentiated view. As the title suggests, many of the problems currently encountered can be due to a self-destructive dynamic in capitalism that could have been countered by political and legislative action. Democratic politicians and their constituents have unleashed those destructive forces. For those critics, such as the author, William Kingston, who value the contribution that capitalism has made, it is saddening to see its disintegration.
The argument of this book is clear, persuasive and frightening. The premises and steps of the argument are as follows.
1. Capitalism has been hugely significant in the generation of wealth that has allowed many millions of people to live decent lives for longer than they might otherwise have done.
2. At the heart of capitalism’s creativity has been the paired achievement of securing independent property rights and ensuring, through legislation, that property rights are exercised for the public good.
3. Constrained property rights facilitated a series of technological innovations contributing to wealth creation.
4. But propertied interests have succeeded in capturing the law-making powers of government and have freed property from the constraints obliging it to serve the public good.
5. This law-making power has been used to extend to the generators and holders of money the same rights accorded the holders and generators of other commodities.
6. Consequently, the investment in technological innovation which might have saved capitalism has instead been diverted to financial innovation.
7. The consequences of these changes are growing inequality, the crises of the banking and credit systems, austerity politics, and the popular revolt of voters and taxpayers against this oppressive regime.
The conclusion drawn is that our democratic regimes are caught in a bind from which there seems to be no escape. They are in hock to the financial interests that fund parties and candidates, and at the same time they depend on popular support that they attempt to purchase with the promise of transfers in benefits and welfare payments.
Kingston, as Emeritus Professor of Innovation at Trinity College, Dublin, focuses on the innovations that enabled the emergence and development of capitalism. He highlights structural changes that have transformed government’s role to protecting the interests of those already benefitting from the existing generation and distribution of wealth, but block the sources of innovation that could deliver solutions and further development for the benefit of all. The analysis is not a purely economic one, but sees the roles of culture, ideas and politics as intrinsically linked with the economic.
Legal protection of property was fundamental for the development of capitalism, but the legal regime also imposed constraints that required property to function for the public good. Innovative products brought to market could succeed in generating profits for their producers only on condition that they delivered benefits to consumers who therefore chose those products in preference to alternatives. Technological innovation was the key to capitalistic success. The public good benefited as long as producers were obliged by law to compete; monopolies were discouraged. The relevant constraints have been gradually eroded, such that now the benefits mostly accrue to the owners, and producers don’t have to take risks.
The creation of private property in ideas by means of intellectual property rights illustrates the book’s core thesis. Those who want to secure for themselves the benefits of economic activity have persuaded law makers to remove the constraints on how their assets might be used. Instead of financing technical innovation, owners of capital can choose to speculate in financial products. In effect the poachers had succeeded in getting control of the law the gamekeepers relied upon to protect the public good. Kingston is not opposed to intellectual property rights. Where information is a commons, it will be destroyed unless the beneficiaries are motivated to protect it. As with other property, it is the assurance enjoyed by private owners that they will be able to reap the benefit of their work and investment that secures their willingness to make the effort. No one will invest in the research needed to generate new ideas for technology unless they can be sure of recovering their costs.
The justification of intellectual property rights by appealing to the public benefit to be had from the assurance that investment in research and development will be allowed recover costs is not so relevant to trademarks or brand names. Secured brand names give big firms a monopolistic advantage for which the recovery of development costs provides no justification. Kingston points out that all the developed countries progressed originally by copying from one another, but that now by working in collusion to prevent the poorer countries from imitating and copying the products of richer countries they are effectively blocking development out of poverty.
Chapter three on the capture of market power powerfully illustrates the case being made: high levels of profit that ‘should only be earned by successful innovations to compensate for the risk of their related investment’ are now being earned by ordinary trading activity involving little or no risk. ‘Since it is innovation that primarily justifies it, capitalism could only last as long as capitalists were denied the power to establish their own working conditions’.
A constant theme throughout the book is the desirability that private property rights be so constrained by legislation that their exercise must benefit the public good. But perhaps the manner in which concern for the public good is taken for granted and not directly addressed in our public discourse is a contributory factor in facilitating the hijack of legislation by vested interests? The absence of literacy about the relation of law to public good makes it easier for those proposing (de-)regulation to formulate their case by concentrating exclusively on the expected benefits to their own operations.
A fascinating example is how accountants made rules to suit themselves. In chapter four, Kingston narrates how the auditing (accountancy) profession succeeded in getting the publicly established standards of best practice changed to standardised box-ticking procedures. This replaced the requirement that professionals exercise personal judgment. As a result, practitioners are freed from personal liability for mistaken judgment. Now all they need do to protect themselves is to demonstrate that required procedures were followed. Another change in standards which had very negative consequences for the public good was the restriction that auditors only had to report actual losses incurred by a bank, and not any expected losses. As a result, auditors were signing off on the accounts of banks which were due to make serious losses and, in some cases, to fail. But the auditors had nothing to answer, they claimed, since they had complied with requirements, a defence which the House of Lords enquiry into the 2009 banking crisis in the UK did not accept, but could do little about. Kingston reports on the self-interested parties succeeding in capturing the law-making processes and shaping the focus of concern.
A major step in the disintegration of capitalism occurred when trading in money began to be treated on the same terms as trading in other commodities. In the modern economy money is created from nothing when banks extend credit to borrowers, a process that the former governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, calls ‘alchemy’ (99). What can restrain bankers from irresponsible and reckless lending especially when such activity promises to be profitable both for the bank and its agent? Institutional developments such as the creation of central banks as lenders of last resort have only increased the moral hazard. With the expectation that their risks will be secured ultimately by taxpayers, bankers have no outside restraints on their lending activity. This situation has developed because the benefits of limited liability originally developed for the firms engaged in industry and trade have been extended to banks. Kingston argues that banks should be returned to the stage where they were partnerships with unlimited liability, namely that every partner was liable to the full extent for loans made and debts incurred. Unlimited liability would ensure responsible lending since each lender would have to accept the risk and not assume it could be passed on to the taxpayer.
This book should be required reading for every student of economics, every prospective banker, every civil servant, every candidate for public office, and recommended reading for every citizen. It offers a more nuanced reading of the history of capitalism showing the links between inventors and innovators and those willing to support innovation with their seed money. It offers a realistic appraisal of the role of financial and commercial interests in democratic politics and it shows the vulnerability of politics to manipulation by those pursuing sectional interests instead of common goods. If the deregulation agenda can be reversed somehow, and if constraints can be imposed once again on capital so that it must serve the public interest, this can only be achieved if the countervailing powers of politics and legislation are rescued from sectional interests and voters exercise their vote in the public interest. Such a conscientised electorate will benefit from the analysis of this book.
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