In 2025, instead of the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, this coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” 17 His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. (John 2:13-22)
In 2005 the translated diary of Admiral Yonai, the Japanese Navy Minister and member of the Supreme Council, was released. In the days between the Imperial Saiden (Sacred Decision) to accept the terms of Potsdam and before it was announced, Yonai wrote that “It may be inappropriate to put it in this way, but the atomic bombs and the Russian entry into the war were in a sense, God’s gifts…Now we can end the war without making it clear that we have to end the war because of the domestic situation.. I have long been advocating the conclusion [of the war], not because I am afraid of the enemy’s attacks or because of the atomic bombs, the most important reason is my concern over the domestic situation.”
The atomic weapons offered an external excuse for surrender, allowing Japan to end the war without explicitly revealing that the domestic situation had become untenable. Emperor Hirohito, once considered a demigod, was losing public support for continuing the war amid growing hostility toward him and his government. The official propaganda was losing traction in the face of unopposed allied bombers and fighters over the home islands, growing food shortages – the “domestic situation.” Yet even then the general public did not know the extent to the “situation.”
Yoshio Kodama was not a government leader during World War II, but an ultranationalist and powerful political fixer who operated behind the scenes. During the war, he was an agent for Japanese military intelligence and amassed a fortune through smuggling and procuring materials for the Imperial Japanese Navy. He had a unique view of the war from the ground level to halls of power. After the war he wrote a memoir, I Was Defeated, in which he wrote:
Although the nation was resigned to the fact that the decisive battle on the Japanese home islands could not be avoided . . . they still thought that the Combined Fleet of the Japanese Navy was undamaged and expected that a deadly blow would be inflicted sometime either by the Japanese Navy or the land-based Kamikaze suicide planes upon the enemy’s task forces. Neither did the nation know that the Combined Fleet had already been destroyed and neither could they imagine the pitiful picture of rickety Japanese training planes loaded with bombs headed unwavering towards an imposing array of enemy [aircraft carriers and battleships].
In history, after the dropping of the second atomic weapon on Nagasaki, Emperor Hirohito called an Imperial Council, a meeting of serious consequence. The Supreme War Council was deeply divided yet, for the first time, they worked on terms to end the war. After a prolonged discussion the Council was divided. They agreed that the war needed to end, but they disagreed with the conditions of surrender. The post August 1945 in History outlines the divisions between the group that would only accept the Potsdam Declaration for unconditional surrender with four conditions vs. the group that wanted to accept with the only condition being the retention of the Imperial House (kokutai). At the August 9/10 Imperial Council, when all had spoken, the Emperor had the final word. He then announced his support of the “one condition” offer. He said that Japan must “bear the unbearable.” One can only imagine that Hirohito was referring to the psychological impact of defeat after so many years of propaganda.
Without the availability of atomic weapons, as this series has assumed, and as the war continued it would be the civilian people of Japan that truly have to “bear the unbearable.” But it would not be limited to the psychological. The impacts would also be physiological and sociological at the national and the personal levels.
In 2025, instead of the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, this coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the oldest church in Rome – that honor seems to belong to Santi Quattro Coronati (314); but then that depends on what sources you believe. Old St. Peter’s, the original church on the spot where the current St. Peter’s stands dates to 324, the same year as St. Lorenzo and St. John Lateran. Did you know that the Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome – the place from where the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo, leads his diocese even as he leads the church universal.
The Lateran did not even start out as a church – it was a palace on the Lateran Hill that came into the possession of the Emperor Constantine who lifted the ban on Christianity in 313. Sometime later the emperor gifted it to the church and by 324 it was converted to become a church and was declared to be the “mother church” of all Christianity: ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput – of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head.
Part of the blessing being a parish priest is that you are invited into some of the most intimate moments of a family’s life. There is perhaps none more intimate and intense than the moments when illness passes through uncertain diagnosis, to one which blurs into the final days of a life. It is part of a life of ministry to be into a family whose loved one’s days are numbered. It is a privilege to journey with the family as they prepare for the loss that surely and steadily this way comes. In those times, Hope can seem more tentative, more distant; perhaps hovering on the edge of disappointment.
It seems to me the families that best journey this path are the ones who tell stories, not waiting for the wake and funeral service, but begin the telling at home, in the hospital, or in hospice. Those stories are the ones that are snapshots of life, wonder, and bring an easy laughter to the soul even as they bring a moment of joy to the dying person. For just a moment, a good life is recalled and one is transported away to another time and place. It is a comfort and a reminder of a life filled with love, family, and friends. A good life.
Since moving to Northern Virginia, I have been afforded the opportunity to connect with many of my classmates from the United States Naval Academy Class of 1974 – as well as an amazing array of graduates from classes before and after my time… these days, well after my time. There are two parishioners currently at USNA in the Class of 2027! Yikes!
There is an expression that “Time, Tide, and Formation wait for no person.” And there an inexorable march of time and markers along the way to help us remember. Not only meeting the new generation of midshipmen and commissioned Naval and Marine Officers, but also the passing of classmates.
Last year at our 50th Reunion we held a memorial service for our classmates who have passed away in the line of duty and in life. It was an interesting prelude to our celebration of All Souls Day this weekend. All Souls is a day when we remember all the faithful departed, known and unknown, whose souls are in the hands and mercy of God. Most often we focus on our family members and a small circle of intimate friends. But All Souls is a day we cast the net of our family and prayers much wider to souls known and unknown to us.
Certainly there is a very strong bond between Academy classmates, but in truth I did not know most of the 900 or so graduates. One’s sphere is generally limited to the Company of men with whom you lived for four years, people in your academic major, and perhaps your sports team. In my case, swimming was a year-round sport making my world even smaller. Though I did not know (or could not remember) many names on the memorial list, it was still sobering to read the list of classmates who has passed away. One of my roommates was on the list; he passed away while I was living in Kenya. Many of the early deaths were aviators whose career was certainly higher risk than life in submarines. As we aged into our late 40s and into our 50s the list began to acquire more names and the causes of death more connected to our age than our military careers.
Yesterday classmates and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Rich Johnson. He was my roommate sophomore year (“youngster year” in the parlance of USNA) along with Tom Rathbone. Rich served as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) – think of Goose in the backseat of Maverick’s jet fighter in “Top Gun.” In fact, Rich attended Top Gun as an NFO. I should have asked his wife Sarah if he serenaded her with “Great Balls of Fire.”
As I sat in the church, in the quiet, the words of the Second Eucharistic prayer came to mind. It comes just after we have prayed: “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection.” In a way, we recall the good people known to us in this lifetime. But what about the ones we did not know? I am comforted by the words as the Eucharistic Prayer continues: “and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray.” The souls of all the departed are in the hands and mercy of God. They are in our prayers.
May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, though the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Language is important. Faithful Catholics do not “get” the Eucharist – they receive the Eucharist. Catholic marriage ceremonies do not say “take this ring,” our language is the lover saying to the beloved, “receive this ring.” The language of “receive” reflects a disposition that in the Eucharist, in marriage, or indulgences, what is received is gift – unmerited, unearned, not for sale – pure gift. We are called to receive such gifts with open, grateful hearts.
There is a whole lot of theology carried in the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. It is meant to be more than a day to fondly remember someone close to you who has passed away. It is a day to be in communion with them. Hopefully their particular judgment was Heaven and eternal glory. We love them and know their flaws, so perhaps they are undergoing the purification of the elect – and we can help them on All Souls with prayers and Eucharist celebrated as acts of love because of the merits of Christ.
Image credit: All Souls’ Day | Jakub Schikaneder, 1888 | National Gallery Prague | PD-US
If you would like to see the complete series of posts for All Souls, you can view and download it here.
During the first 300 year of the Christian church, the people of God endured periods of peace, but also extended periods of persecution. Especially in the local churches, each generation remembered the martyrs and the leaders who exemplified the faith. By the fourth century these women and men were honored in liturgies that commemorated their passing into God’s bright glory. In time, churches were named to honor their memory, sometimes even built on their tombs. And in time relics were collected and honored.
You may have noticed the change in the series graphic from “Ending the War in the Pacific” to “Ending the Asia Pacific War.” The reasons were made clear in the two posts immediately preceding this post. One of the key points to keep in mind is “Excluding Japanese, every single day the war continued [in the summer of 1945] between 8,000 and perhaps 14,000 noncombatants were dying.” (Richard Frank) That is between 56,000 and 98,000 each week or 240,000 and 420,000 per month. The tragedy increased each day, and by far the greatest impact of that tragedy was borne by people who were not Japanese and who were not Westerners.
To not understand this basic reality of the summer of 1945 is to not consider the common humanity of all people involved in this epic battle. It was the dilemma of August 1945 for Allied planners (not having any atomic weapons in this counter-factual speculation) and facing this reality:
Japan is militarily defeated by any meaningful measure.
Surrender is not a military decision but a political one.
The polity of Japan, via the Supreme Council (Big 6), allows hard-core militarists and nationalists to essentially veto all war decisions not to their liking. These people are committed to Ketsu-Go, the decisive battle that will bring the Allies to a negotiating table.
The junior officers in Army Headquarter and in the units operating outside Japan in the occupied territories have a history of setting their own agenda. In other words, there is no surety that they will lay down arms even if Japan surrenders.
As long as Japan does not surrender, the death toll of civilians outside of Japan will continue to increase.
What are the viable options available to the Allies? There are not many and what is available is not good.
What’s the distinction? A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin. It is a complete cleansing, as though the disorder caused by sin were fully healed. This means that if a person fulfills the necessary conditions for a plenary indulgence, they can be completely freed from the consequences of their sins, assuming they are in a state of grace and have the intention to receive the indulgence. The conditions typically include sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope, along with performing the specific work to which the indulgence is attached (Catechism, 1471)
A partial indulgence removes part of the temporal punishment. It is a real but incomplete purification, lessening the burden but not entirely eliminating it. The degree of temporal punishment removed is not specified and can vary based on the individual’s disposition and the nature of the act performed. The Church encourages the faithful to seek partial indulgences through various prayers and acts of charity, as these can contribute to one’s spiritual growth and sanctification (Catechism, 1472).
We continue our series of posts in anticipation of All Souls Day.
Growing up in the mid-20th century I clearly remember the nuns leading us in prayers and rosaries for “the poor souls in purgatory who have no one to pray for them.” Which is actually a quite lovely idea and really addresses the idea of the communion of saints, living and deceased. But I also clearly remember being told “this rosary will shorten the sentence in purgatory by 30 days.” As a third grader I thought “OK.” Seemed like a pretty good bargain. When one begins to understand all the above, you have to wonder, where and when did indulgences begin to be described in terms of “days” or “years” and such?
One needs to remember that in the early Church, penances were very public and were prescribed for a set period of time. For example, spend Sunday morning outside the church dressed in sack cloth and ashes for 1 year. An indulgence, even then an act of piety, could reduce the penance by (e.g.) 30 days. It wasn’t a reduction of the time in purgatory (as if that even had a meaning), but a reduction of time in this life when the penitent was “apart” from the believing community. As the Sacrament of Confession moved to a private setting, so too did the penances, and yet the language of time endured. Slowly the connection to penance was lost and starting in the early medieval period, indulgences began to be described in terms of “days,” “quarantines,” or “years” and slowly, misguided priests and religious began to connect indulgences with chronological time in purgatory.
By the late Middle Ages and into the modern era, people began thinking that saying a certain prayer automatically subtracted X days from purgatory. This contributed to superstition and misunderstanding — and was a factor in the abuses that provoked the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent strongly condemned the abuses surrounding indulgences, corrected abuses, but the language was embedded in the popular imagination as was the connection to purgatory.
The 20th-Century brought reform. Pope St. Paul VI, in 1967, issued the apostolic constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina, a watershed in indulgence theology but really just a reaffirmation of what it was always meant to be. The Pope abolished the “days and years” system, noting that it was misunderstood and misused and left the faithful thinking it was some kind of “works salvation” by which they could earn (or worse be owed) the grace of purification. It was at that time that the Church reduced all indulgences to two categories: Plenary (full remission) and Partial (remission in part). It was done hoping that an emphasis shift away from “measuring time” to encouraging the faithful to perform works of devotion, penance, and charity with sincere faith would return indulgences to their original meaning and purpose.
Image credit: All Souls’ Day | Jakub Schikaneder, 1888 | National Gallery Prague | PD-US
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