Most political discourse today is missing the point. Should we veer toward socialism – or hold fast to free enterprise and deregulation, to less restricted capitalism? More government regulation and control, or more individual rights and freedoms? So much faith today is put in political and economic ideology! The argument sometimes centers on the Constitution: should the Court judge by strict interpretation, or should it “breathe” and adapt to modern issues and problems?

This country is far different from when first grounded on the Constitution, and based on free enterprise and individual rights. Then, America mostly agreed on what was right and what was wrong – most individuals agreed that there was good and evil, and that we do not determine it: we must discover it. It was and is our challenge to find the true and eternal good, and to come into it; to discern the lurking evil and avoid it when possible, and fight it when necessary.

That was then; this is now. Does it matter whether we have free capitalism or regulated socialism, if we have forgotten the difference between good and evil? Is a greedy free capitalist who manipulates your health insurance any better for you than a “regulated” corrupt Washington bureaucrat? Which one will be looking out for your best interests? Who can be trusted to police either one, when God Himself is banned from the system?

The problem is deeper than the system that organizes us. The problem is within us. Before reform, America needs revival.

In receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Teresa said, “I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing – direct murder by the mother herself.” Thankfully, American support for abortion is eroding: a recent Pew poll reveals 47% support legal abortion in all or most cases, a 7-point drop from last year; 45% want it illegal, an increase of 4%.

The chasm dividing Americans on many major moral issues is deeply troubling: half see it one way, half the opposite. Most troubling, however, is the moral insensitivity if not blindness of so many – and they have the power to vote! We vote into office people who are moral chameleons, able to adapt to “right” or “wrong” as campaign donors or constituent whims dictate. A nation so governed cannot stand. Its house is built upon mud.

We deserve it. A democracy deserves the government it gets, because for good or evil it is self-inflicted. As a people we are more concerned with our own bread-and-butter issues than with the good or the evil of our choices, the right or the wrong of how we live.

“The chickens have come home to roost,” using words of our President’s former religious and spiritual advisor. We elected them; we are reaping their bitter fruit. America is being restructured, redirected, indebted, refinanced and redefined in ways that make peace impossible: no justice, no peace – simple as that. Let us hope it is not too late!

Who would remodel the house, if its foundation were flawed and unstable? Who would rearrange walls and invest in costly renovations, while the foundation was beginning to crumble? If the foundation is not repaired first, the house will fall! The foundation must be strong and true.

An organization is as morally good as its members. Can corrupt and greedy people in Washington run health care with any more justice than corrupt and greedy people in private insurance companies? Are self-servers and self-promoters in the private sector somehow any more or less dangerous than those in the public?

There is a heart-crisis in America deeper than politics can reach. No party, no bureaucracy, no politician can touch the problem at the foundation; the change first comes within. Some decades ago we took a grave turn for the worse, into a very dark and dangerous alley, and we are tasting the bitter consequences.

Yes, there is a deep-down problem that changing parties alone cannot solve. What do we want this election – Democrat problems or Republican problems? Do we prefer liberal or conservative corruption this cycle? We’ve been burned by both sides – where is the center, the core of things? Where are servant-leaders grounded in truth? Wisdom and justice come from places higher and deeper – and we will not see them until we ourselves learn to look higher and deeper.

The Church is sent to evangelize, but so many in the Church are asleep. Lord, awaken us.

I can think of two reasons to read fiction or to watch fictional stories on TV or in movies. First, because sometimes truth and reality are presented and found through fictional stories: Jesus, after all, often taught truth by way of parables. Second, there is a darker reason – a person can seek to escape from truth and from reality, preferring “make-believe” over that true belief that leads us to God, and to eternal life.

There is troubling evidence of the latter in our entertainment culture. So many are obsessed with sports and actor celebrities! So many are mere spectators of shallow caricatures of people in infantile sitcoms or in brutal stories of vengeance. It would be so much better to seek the hidden realities of truth, from authentically human characters, in believable human stories that point us upward. It would be so much more profitable to resonate in heroic accounts of the triumph of justice, truth and love.

Why would a person prefer to patronize his own dehumanization, rather than nurture and tend his rightful human development? Why would a person seek fantasy and avoid truth – why not seek the bread than endures to eternal life, rather than that bread that perishes? Why do so many squander precious life-times in plays and games and make-believe, and not once and for all resolve to find and embrace and live the truth that waits beneath all that is?

God is here! Eternal God is near, among and within, so close! We are surrounded by parables, proclaiming the saving truth of God. The great poet and Catholic priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, wrote (1),

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed.
Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Are we not distancing ourselves from Him more and more, choosing to be distracted, preferring to be too busy, seeking the surfaces of things and avoiding the “deep down things” where waits His charged grandeur?

Holy Ghost, waiting in the morning light, warm and waken our poor chilled souls.

Thomas

(1. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918. “7. God’s Grandeur”, http://www.bartleby.com/122/7.html)

For some time now, the accusation of a “dumbing down” has been charged against our education system. Grade inflation in the schools, lowered norms for standardized tests, lowered minimal passing averages, stretched out and simplified curricula and so on have been charged and defended and explained and denied. There are certainly some very bright and competent students making their way through the system! But societal beliefs have taken priority over traditional educational norms, and there are consequences.

I fear that much graver consequences are coming upon us, due to a moral, a religious “dumbing down” that has taken root in our parishes and dioceses. I’m not talking here of the 7th and 8th grade Confirmation candidates who cannot recite the Hail Mary or even the Our Father, and who have not received the Sacrament of Confession since their First Communion, and who are in the Confirmation program because “my parents made me come.” No, my concern is more for their parents, and the parents that these children will grow up to become.

Adult faith formation in this country, America, is either non-existent or pathetically inadequate in many if not most of our parishes and dioceses. In “position papers” from the bishops in America we hear the right things – we hear what the Church as Church believes and teaches. It is the actual practice that is so impoverished.

The General Directory for Catechesis (1997) makes clear the scope of formation needed:

GDC 175. So as to respond to the more profound needs of our time, adult catechesis must systematically propose the Christian faith in its entirety and in its authenticity, in accordance with the Church’s understanding. It must give priority to the proclamation of salvation, drawing attention to the many difficulties, doubts, misunderstandings, prejudices and objections of today. It must introduce adults to a faith-filled reading of Sacred Scripture and the practice of prayer. A fundamental service to adult catechesis is given by the Catechism of the Catholic Church and by those adult catechisms based on it by the particular Churches. ….

What is the proper scope? The universal Church teaches that the “entirety” of the Faith must be “systematically” proposed to our adults! And we have such a presentation to base our adult formation upon, in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” In America in particular, the priority that adult formation must hold in the over-all program of education and formation is also made clear in the U.S. Bishop’s document, “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us” (1999):

§ 5 § Adult faith formation, by which people consciously grow in the life of Christ through experience, reflection, prayer, and study, must be “the central task in [this] catechetical enterprise,” becoming “the axis around which revolves the catechesis of childhood and adolescence as well as that of old age.”

§ 6 § To make this vision a reality, we, as the Catholic bishops of the United States, call the Church in our country to a renewed commitment to adult faith formation, positioning it at the heart of our catechetical vision and practice. We pledge to support adult faith formation without weakening our commitment to our other essential educational ministries.

Instead of adult formation being our “central task” in all formation programs, being “the axis” of all else – instead of being at “the heart of our catechetical vision and practice” – in practice adult formation is the “extra” that is typically first to be dispensed when budget or space or time conflicts arise. Many pastors give only lip service to the need for adult formation – some do not even give this much, but rather see their adults as knowing pretty much all they need to know about the Faith and the moral challenges of our culture. The result is little to no support from the clergy for real adult formation, and of course “if Father doesn’t think it’s important, why should we?”

Adult faith formation is crucially important. In these dangerous times, it is critically important; it is urgent; it is essential. This is a “dumbing down” that is leading not only the Church but the whole culture to disaster. The dimmer the light of Christ becomes in a culture, the more widespread and bloody becomes the brutality of a growing culture of death. Darkness is coming, and the Church in America is sleepy from her self-indulgences. May God arouse us, and soon! Jesus did not go to the Cross to enable moral compromise, religious indifference and social acceptance. Jesus died to enable our sanctity: He calls us to be saints, to be His light, to pass the saving Gospel on to the many who know not their right hand from their left. Lord, give us renewal!

This is from the Catholic Code of Canon Law, concerning us – “the faithful” – the lay members of the Church:

Can. 212 §1 Christ’s faithful, conscious of their own responsibility, are bound to show christian obedience to what the sacred Pastors, who represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith and prescribe as rulers of the Church.

§2 Christ’s faithful are at liberty to make known their needs, especially their spiritual needs, and their wishes to the Pastors of the Church.

§3 They have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ’s faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the Pastors and take into account both the common good and the dignity of individuals.

I am especially glad to read paragraphs 2 and 3, of our rights and duties. We have the right to make known our spiritual needs! We have the right and even the duty to make known our views concerning the good of the Church – to make these views known to the pastors, and to others of the laity. The true duty and responsibility that we carry before Christ is more than the “pay, pray and obey” that some might still think!

No, we Catholic laity have a rightful share in the life of Christ as priest, prophet and King. Part of the sacred duty of our pastors is for them to help enable us to discover and to truly live that life. True Christian love for our pastors, on our part, must include our efforts to help them to fulfill their role as shepherd after the Shepherd – efforts that call forth from us prayer, the personal example of humility and a teachable spirit, works of charity, and straightforward adult-to-adult communication of truth.

Thomas

In a recent Zenit article, about the Pope’s Homily at Launch of Year for Priests, 6/25/09, he speaks pointedly of the crucial importance of priests in the life of the Church, for good or for ill. The Pope taught,

Indeed, if it is true that sinners, in contemplating him, must learn from him the necessary “sorrow for sins” that leads them back to the Father, it is even more so for holy ministers. How can we forget, in this regard, that nothing makes the Church, the Body of Christ, suffer more than the sins of her pastors, especially the sins of those who are transformed into “a thief and a robber” of the sheep (Jn 10: 1 ff.), or who deviates from the Church through their own private doctrines, or who ensnare the Church in sin and death?

Yes, the sins of every person in the Body of Christ makes the whole Body suffer! Yes, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1Cor 12:26) But the priests and bishops, standing as they do “in persona Christi capitas” – in the person of Christ the head, for our sakes – when they fall, the whole Body is deeply wounded. When our priests and bishops fall into compromise with the world, into the three-fold lust of this world, then the Kingdom is betrayed, the Gospel is confused and the People of God are led astray to a land of barrenness and hunger. St. John exhorts us all (1 Jn 2:15-16)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

The Church needs holiness; we all are called to holiness! How deeply afflicted we become, when we are led by men whose true vocation has been compromised and obscured by the desires of this world.

The Pope continued,

How is it possible not to remember with emotion that the gift of our priestly ministry flowed directly from this Heart? How can we forget that we priests were consecrated to serve humbly and authoritatively the common priesthood of the faithful?

Yes, our priests “were consecrated to serve humbly and authoritatively the common priesthood of the faithful”! It is a profound joy when such servant-hearts are found, and witnessed! How beautiful, when those who stand in the place of Christ do so bringing rightful honor to His Name and to His Church. How tragic it is, however, when those set over us, to shepherd and to guide us, do so as “hired men”, lording it over us, abusing their authority and despoiling the riches and gifts of the people. How our priests need the Heart of Christ! How we need holy priests and bishops!

What then are we to do?

What are we to do, when shepherded by men who have not the heart of the Shepherd? This is a huge topic, and a huge question – and a crucially important one. First, we must never succumb to the temptations in this situation that would only delight the evil one, and would lead to only more woundedness and ineffectiveness in the Church: we must hold tight to the true charity of Christ in His Sacred Heart. He loves all men, and we must love. We owe love to one another, in Him.

But secondly, we must find for ourselves the spiritual sustenance we need, if the clergy will not lead us to it. If they fail to teach the full treasure of the Faith of the Church, we must seek out trustworthy teachers for ourselves. We must seek, exactly, how to come into the “full, conscious and active participation in the Sacred Liturgy” that will open our hearts to the full measure of grace that Christ has for us in the sacraments. We must come to understand the deep beauty, the glory, of the truth of the Christian life: how to live the morality of the Gospel. And we must learn how to pray, to enter an authentic interior life of communion with God who is our Life. If they will not teach, we must nevertheless learn. We must become disciples. We must become disciples, and perhaps our example will help awaken and bring to sobriety others – even including those priests and bishops under whom many now languish and suffer.

Thomas

Today is the feast of John the Baptist  – a fitting day to begin a Blog dedicated to renewal in the Church.  The reading in today’s Morning Prayer, in the Divine Office, includes this:

23 Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,

24 To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom. (Mal 3)

How is this reading and prophecy so appropriate to the call for Church renewal?  Listen to it, in the light of our Church led by our fathers in Christ!  We call our priests “Father”, for they are ordained to be fathers to us and for us in Jesus Christ.  In this year especially dedicated to the priesthood, begun June 19, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church is calling us, priests and laity, to be especially attentive to the holy priesthood.  That is, we “children” are to turn our hearts to our spiritual fathers.  Our spiritual fathers, our priests and bishops, are to turn their hearts to their spiritual children – lest God come to strike this spiritual land, this Promised Land His Church, with doom.

Listening to the reading in this way, I can see how relevant and piercing it becomes.  How we need holy, sacrificial priests and bishops!  How we need a laity submitted and obedient to such fathers in Christ – because we need a people, a Church,  submitted to Christ.  We need this, and the world needs this, because the world awaits true, authentic living witnesses to the radical truth of God and His Gospel.

The world does not need one more lukewarm, distracted and bored assembly.  The People of God does not need more “company men” in the place of her priests and bishops, who say what is popular and what sells, who trouble no one, who reveal Christ to no one, who call no one to Life.  The Church needs holy priests and bishops.  The Church needs fathers whose hearts are turned to their children in truth, in authentic sacrificial love.

We as laity have expected too little of our fathers, our priests and bishops.  Instead, we have accepted the compromise.  As long as they refrain from the hard parts of the Gospel and of following Christ, we are free to chase after the pleasures and comforts of this world.  As long as the Liturgy is quick, our Sunday drive-through, we too can keep merely on the surface of it all, blind to the holy, the eternal, the transforming.  We remain untouched by the Cross, what light there is remains under a basket and the world remains in the dead idolatries of darkness.

Fathers, turn your hearts to your children!  Children, turn your hearts – your hearts – to your fathers!  We do not love our priests and bishops enough, even though, granted, many of them make it difficult for us to love them in truth.  Many priests and bishops keep themselves isolated and fortified against the fullness of love that would call them deeper into the depths and heights of their exalted vocation in Christ.

How we need truth among us!  We need the truth of love, as well as the love of truth.  May the Lord give us His grace, the grace of love, the grace to love.  The Church will remain as she is – largely weak, divided, confused, shallow and ineffective – until the transforming power of Christ is welcomed and is received within us all.  Business as usual is unacceptable in the light of the Cross of Christ.  He did not die to enable mediocrity, but rather sanctity.

Thomas Richard