Evangelization & Formation: May 2013 Archives

Post Pentecost some of our study and prayer ought to work on what it means to live by the Holy Spirit and how does the Church relate to the Spirit. We need to be serious about the Holy Spirit and not leave such questions to the dust bin or the happy-clappy Christians who claim to be slain in the Spirit alone. Sometimes I get the sense that we Catholics go to extremes when it comes to Holy Spirit: either we pay no attention to the Spirit or we ascribe to much to the Spirit. We even forget that the Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity: the Bible reveals the Holy Spirit to be God.

There is nothing to fear in coming to understand the what and who the Holy Spirit is for the Catholic.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (797) teaches:

What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church. To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members. The Holy Spirit makes the Church the temple of the living God:

Indeed, it is to the Church herself that the "Gift of God" has been entrusted. In it is in her that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith and the ladder of our ascent go God. For where the Church is, there also is God's Spirit; where God's Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace. (Saint Irenaeus)

One of the things I like about Pope Francis is the common imagery used in his homilies. No long ago he warned of becoming a babysitter church. Today's Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae with members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches the Holy Father used the biblical --and common-- metaphor of salt to speak about faith, hope and charity. Mark's gospel for Mass today provides a good amount of grist for the mill. Salt helps to savor the faith as much as it opens taste buds to share this faith with others.

I think one of the reasons the Holy Father latched onto the use of the image of salt is basic encouragement of Eastern Christians to resist becoming "Museum-piece Christians." So often the Eastern Christians are treated pretty poorly by Western Christians that it is too shameful to speak about; however, Eastern Christians also love the ghetto mentality. Isolation is a value for them, it seems. Frequently, you hear them complain and criticize the Roman Church for negligence when in reality they seem to prefer being someone's door mat. If you read between the lines the Pope is giving a personal witness to Eastern Christians in living differently. Later in his homily, the Pope talks about Christianity's originality. For me, I think the pope is criticizing those who want a uniform theological and liturgical tradition, which is not what it means to be Catholic. Francis, said,

"Salt makes sense when you [use] it in order to make things more tasty. I also consider that salt stored in the bottle, with moisture, loses strength and is rendered useless. The salt that we have received is to be given out, to be given away, [in order] to spice things up: otherwise, it becomes bland and useless. We must ask the Lord not to [let us] become Christians with flavor-less salt, with salt that stays closed in the bottle. Salt also has another special feature: when salt is used well, one does not notice the taste of salt. The savor of salt - it cannot be perceived! What one tastes is the flavor of the food: salt helps improve the flavor of the meal."

This weekend we are celebrating the Pentecost. The gift of the Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus; the Spirit is what creates and sustains us. In 2006 Pope Benedict met with members of the ecclesial movements. What follows the points he made on the Holy Spirit that I thought would be good to meditate on today. Our study and prayer to and in the Spirit is not well known in the Church so I think this material appropriate for formation and evangelization. As part of the Year of Faith observances the ecclesial movements are meeting with Pope Francis today and tomorrow. Come, Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit, in giving life and freedom, also gives unity. These are three gifts that are inseparable from one another. I have already gone on too long; but let me say a brief word about unity.

To understand it, we might find a sentence useful which at first seems rather to distance us from it. Jesus said to Nicodemus, who came to him with his questions by night:  "The wind blows where it wills" (Jn 3: 8). But the Spirit's will is not arbitrary. It is the will of truth and goodness. 

Therefore, he does not blow from anywhere, now from one place and then from another; his breath is not wasted but brings us together because the truth unites and love unites.

The Pontifical Mission Societies in the USA are expanding their work of proposing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the help of technology. 

This new initiative of the new evangelization come with the help of the boss himself, Pope Francis. He unlocked the new App. Oblate Father Andrew Small assisted. The MISSIO App may be downloaded free wherever Apps are available.

Missionary work need not only be in foreign countries. Missionary work in the United States of America is a real need even today. There are people in the USA, in Connecticut, that have yet to hear and live  "Good News" of Jesus Christ and experience the Lord's great love through the work and witness of the Catholic Church. Can each of us be motivated by the command of Jesus to "go, make disciples of all nations"?

While the Catholic Church in the USA is no longer considered as 'mission territory' by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, that is, we no longer depend on financial support and manpower from other nations, the fact is that we need to continue to propose to one and all that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. A possible resource for us in Connecticut is the Propagation of the Faith, "One Family in Mission" (a new web site).

The Church in the USA has four groups help the "least among us" that are known as The Pontifical Mission Societies:

• The Society for the Propagation of the Faith
• The Society of St Peter Apostle
• Missionary Childhood Association
• Missionary Union of Priests and Religious

2013 is the 151st anniversary of the death of the founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Pauline Marie Jaricot. With the Venerable Servant of God Pauline Jaricot let us contribute to the work of the New Evangelization, be that match that lit the fire of love and service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.