Sunday, July 1, 2012
EVANGELIZATION, CANONIZATION, AND BLESSED JUNIPERO SERRA............
Today Sunday July 1, 2012, is the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, in the liturgical life of Catholic-Christians. But in the years July 1st, falls on Monday through Saturday, it is commemorated as the Memorial of Blessed Junipero Serra, OFM, in the USA. Reverend Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan friar, who became a missionary priest in the New World, and founder of the first nine Missions in Alta California, was born Miguel Jose Serra, in Petra, Majorca, Spain on November 24, 1784. From 1768-1784, when he died; Father Serra led the missionary friars in evangelizing and converting the natives, as he journeyed in what is now the State of California USA, founding mission buildings from San Diego up to San Francisco, and across the bay in Sonoma and San Rafael; of which there are twenty one in total. In the last three years of his life, Father Serra received the title, 'Founder of Spanish California'. During the Revolutionary War, it is said he took up a special collection amounting to $137.00, which he forwarded to General George Washington. Preaching, teaching, baptizing, and given a dispensation to administer Confirmation - more than 5,000 Native Americans atr thought to have received the Sacraments from him and the other missionaries, as they converted them to the Catholic-Christian Faith. Beatified by Pope John Paul II, on September 25, 1988; Junipero Serra remains a Blessed of the Church, but is not yet a canonized Saint, with need for authentication of another miracle attributed to his intercession; and with criticism / protest over the treatment and conditions exacted upon the Native American Indians whom he was instrumental in converting to Catholic Christianity. Academic studies have verified the harshness and forced nature with which the converts were captured and catechized, with Father Serra himself writing in 1780,......"that spiritual fathers should punish their sons, the Indians, with blows appears to be as old as the conquest of the Americas; so general in fact that the saints do not seem to be any exception to the rule". Academic research has subsequently underscored the hardship and even, corporal punishment that was used, but also acknowledges that, "Serra's intentions in evangelizing were honest and genuine". Yet the controversy persists, in part given sensitivity to the Native American Community, in recognition of the reality of the historical record; but also fueled by political correctness, which is not necessarily objective, or lacking other agendas. Therefore, I support the canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra, in a very timely manner as a Saint of the Catholic Church and the Christian Faith as soon as his candidacy fulfills canonical requirements. Human lives are replete with successes, failures, rights, wrongs, virtues, and sins. One of the basic tenets of Catholic Christianity is Forgiveness. If the Church can be kept from forgiving and reconciling grievances two hundred and forty years ago and embrace the continuing presence and value of the California Missions to the Faith in the Golden State, then we are being held hostage. If the contributions of Junipero Serra to the History of California are great enough for him to have one of only two Statues allowed each State in the United States Capitol Statuary Hall from California, along with Ronald Reagan, (who was added in 2009, replacing Thomas Starr King, who was influential during the U.S. Civil War) then should he be denied canonization ? If he is found worthy of canonization by the verification of one more miracle required to be eligible, then his official declaration as a Saint should soon follow............Fr. Troy
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2 comments:
Thanks for the thoughtful missive about Fr Serra! Sometimes we have acted over-zealously…. and every Dec 12 the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, we also recognize that the culture of the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas were so very quashed in favor of the European cultures of the Conquistadores -- and that was the divine purpose of the Blessed Mother’s apparitions in Mexico, to embrace her children who were being persecuted. We also prayerfully remember Pope John Paul’s address to the Native Americans in 1987 in Arizona: "Your encounter with the Gospel has not only enriched you; it has enriched the Church. We are well aware that this has not taken place without its difficulties and, occasionally, its blunders.”
And also among his apologies given for the new millennium on Good Friday 2000 “Let us pray that each one of us, looking to the Lord Jesus, meek and humble of heart, will recognize that even men of the Church, in the name of faith and morals, have sometimes used methods not in keeping with the Gospel in the solemn duty of defending the truth. ….. in certain periods of history Christians have at times given in to intolerance and have not been faithful to the great commandment of love, sullying in this way the face of the Church, your Spouse. Have mercy on your sinful children and accept our resolve to seek and promote truth in the gentleness of charity.
Lord of the world, through your Son you asked us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us. Yet Christians have often denied the Gospel; yielding to a mentality of power, they have violated the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and shown contempt for their cultures and religious traditions: be patient and merciful towards us, and grant us your forgiveness!”
YOUR COMMENTS ARE EXACTLY THE REASON I BLOGGED ON THE TOPIC OF JUNIPERO SERRA AND EXPOUND THE POSITION AND INSIGHTS I PRESENTED. HISTORY ENLIGHTENS AND EDUCATES US AND WHAT WE LEARN WHEN PROACTIVELY RESPONDED CAN BE BENEFICIAL TO MOVING FORWARD WITH A DEEPER APPRECIATION AND RESPECT FOR ALL PERSONS IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKIND............TDP
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