Always distinguish your terms, especially as they are related to the Church…Do you know the differences in terms: Holy See, Vatican and the Catholic Church??? They are not the same…our Catholic faith has an order, you know. I was told once I was too fussy. Really?
Father Jerabek, a student at the Pontifical Atheneum of the Holy Cross (Rome) doing work in canon law is also a priest of the Diocese of Birmingham (AL), briefly identifies the differences in terms.
These words, which the new Cardinals are soon to
proclaim in the course of their solemn profession of faith, come from the
Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed, the synthesis of the Church’s faith that each
of us receives at baptism. Only by professing and preserving this rule of truth
intact can we be authentic disciples of the Lord. In this Consistory, I would
like to reflect in particular on the meaning of the word “catholic”,
a word which indicates an essential feature of the Church and her mission. Much
could be said on this subject and various different approaches could be
adopted: today I shall limit myself to one or two thoughts.
Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization
As we draw near to
World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections
concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its
importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially
necessary to recall. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two
aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to
be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between
people are to be achieved. When word and silence become mutually exclusive,
communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or
because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they
complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning.
Working with religious education of children and adults I see a bad trend: the over managed life. So much so that people are putting their social and personal activities above their religious duties and relationship with God. The Third Commandment is no longer holding sway; the Church’s teaching on keeping Sunday for worship and family seeming is out the window. Of course, people strenuously rebut this accusation. Truth be told, you can’t deny that there are activities competing with a proper Catholic observance of Sunday. Praying in Church –with a stable faith community– is not merely an obligation (speaking of Sunday Mass as “an obligation” is a mediocre way of approaching the question of faith, relationship with God and Church observance).
Continue reading Omaha Archbishop reminds faithful on the meaning of Sunday observance
Humor and Catholicism are not easily cohered by many people. For some reason, many people believe that to be a Catholic, a saint, a person “in-tune” with God means, by definition, to look unhappy, if not really be, unhappy. Yea, but no. Really, the contrary is true if you know God, His Son and sacred Scripture. To have a healthy, vibrant spiritual life is have joy. We hunger for intimate connections with God, others and self. We are made for love and joy. Yet, love and joy are mysteries in the Providence, and love and joy separates us from the animals, as does freedom. And to love is be full of joy, full of humor and delight.
Tonight, I had the pleasure of seeing an old and dear friend, Jesuit Father James Martin, speak at Yale University’s St Thomas More Catholic Chapel. Nearly hundred people were in attendance including members of the local and Yale communities. Father Martin is the Cultural editor of America Magazine, the only Catholic weekly journal of opinion. He’s the author of a plentitude of articles and several books (My Life with the Saints & The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, and he’s due to publish yet another book, Sarah’s Laugh: Joy Humor and Laughter in the Spiritual Life, in a few months.
Martin was invited by More House to deliver the More House Lecture, which since its establishment in 1962 has had a few distinguished Jesuits. The inaugural More House Lecturer was given by Father John Courtney Murray, SJ in 1962 on the topic of the Problem of God. Martin is now on a spry list of notable –and a few ignoble– scholars and cultural types. A terrific honor, indeed.
Father Martin’s point is that joy and laughter are under-rated in the spiritual life and are essential for a healthy physical and spiritual life. To be joyful is to be in-touch with God. Joy equals holiness (for those who pray).
While humor is culturally bound in time, place and location, there is evidence that laughter had some importance among the Old Testement characters, think of Abraham and Sarah, Isaiah and in the New Testament with Jesus, think of his interchange with Nathaniel. Saints had a particular bias for humor and joy and laughter, think of Saints Teresa of Avila, Philip Neri, Benedict, Blessed John XXIII and Teresa of Calcutta, and countless others.
Father Martin had ten points in praise of humor and its intimate connection with the spiritual life:
Thanks be to God for the grace of laughing. John Paul II and Benedict XVI have also showed us the value and place of humor in life. As I have said before here: can I really take my humanity seriously? Can I be joy-filled? Can I allow God to show me the way to Him through humor?
Good question. Not a question that you hear with any degree of seriousness in the Church among the “middle management” and met with wonder among the laity. In the recent past tensions have been fired up in various circles. The question of unity among the Catholics and Orthodox has been the lightening rod between the two churches for a long time. One can’t forget the tensions over the establishment of Catholic dioceses in Russia or the refusal of the previous Russian Patriarch to allow John Paul II to visit Russia and the walking out of high level theological discussions of the Orthodox, etc. Now none of this is meant to point figures at any one church official or way of proceeding as much as it is to remember recent history and to note where we have come in a short span of time.