EpicPew.com

So I started writing for one of the most epic sites on the interwebs.

EpicPew.com is a veritable Catholic Buzzfeed.

There are blog posts, quizzes, hilarious articles, and countless lists to give you some hearty and holy laughs.

There are new articles posted everyday during the week. Check it out and support the epic holy hilarity.

My first article: Ten Hilarious (or embarrassing) Nativity Sets

Blessed Pope Paul VI

Blessed Pope Paul VI

I know this is a few days late, but this beatification, I think, is too important to not say something.

For what its worth, I believe that Paul VI was a prophet in his own right. This much maligned soul suffered much for the timeless truth of the gospel and the constant teaching of the church.

1968: Many in the media (sound familiar) began to circulate and speculate that the church was considering changing her stance on birth control with little to no evidence to support their claims. This permeated into the dioceses and parishes in general and people were saying things that were simply not true concerning the church's teaching on birth control. They expected her to cave in on the whole contraception thing, because hey, the world was changing and it was totally un-groovy to be such medieval holdouts.

At this time, the Catholic Church was (and still is) the only church to uphold what all Christians had believed and held until 1930. The Anglicans at the Lambeth Conference that year decided that contraception was allowable in certain cases. Well, we humans in our fallen nature are given an inch and we take a mile. Soon, other Christian bodies followed suit and by 1968, the Catholic Church alone was stalwart in the truth of the matter.

We all know about the speed and the nature of the changes that the world was undergoing at the time and we are still reeling from that period even 50 years later. In this climate of change, our newly blessed not only assumed the command of the barque of Peter, but also took to completing the council his predecessor began and seeing to it that the council was implemented.

Even the best laid plans and the greatest of intentions can be hijacked by those who wish to push their own agendas.

After setting up commissions and consulting at length with some of his closest advisers, Paul VI took it to God. Intent on confirming and ratifying the constant teaching of Christ and the church, he felt it his duty as Supreme Pontiff to clarify the issue. On July 25, 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his prophetic encyclical, Humanae vitae, "On Human Life" to the entire world. Pay special attention to paragraph 17. There, Paul outlines four predictions if artificial contraception were to become widespread.

Remember this is 1968.

1. "First, artificial methods of birth control opens the way of lowering of moral standards for the young."
2. "Second, it leads to marital infidelity." 
3. "Third, the use of contraception will lead to the lowering of respect for women; husbands will regard their wives as mere instruments to serve their own desires." 
4. "Fourthly, the use of artificial methods of contraception, will be a dangerous tool in the hands of government or public authorities who care little about the moral law, and who may force the use of contraceptives on everyone." (Taken from this article).

Think about the state of the world and the family right now in 2014. Paul VI was truly prophetic in every sense of the word. Everything that Pope Paul predicted in this encyclical has come to fruition. Truly, he was being guided by the Holy Spirit in this matter.

The backlash was ugly and quick.

Those expecting a change did not get what they wanted, and that included some cardinals, bishops, and theologians. At the diocesan level, the laity were left in confusion by what the pope said and what they were told by their clergy. A mass wave of defections from the priesthood and religious life ensued. The church was plunged deeper into an uncertain future, at least from the point of view of the world.

Paul VI never again wrote another encyclical.

What do we take from his beatification by Pope Francis? We see that Francis is indeed following in the footsteps of his predecessor. We find that with this beatification in particular, a ratification of Paul's pontificate and evidence of his saintly life. We see the public reaffirmation of his writings, which include Humanae vitae. He is a saint for us right now. And what a time we live in.

I consider myself blessed to see a string of recent popes be beatified and canonized. They are lights in the darkness and examples that we can be proud to call our own.

Please, take the time to read the entire encyclical. It's important (that's why I've linked it three times!) It's only 31 paragraphs. Grab a coffee or a beer (depending on the time of day) and educate yourself on the matter. You'll be glad you did.

Final Address of Pope Francis from the Extraordinary Synod

(This is Vatican Radio‘s provisional translation of the Pope’s address to the synod fathers on Saturday evening.)

Dear Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters,
With a heart full of appreciation and gratitude I want to thank, along with you, the Lord who has accompanied and guided us in the past days, with the light of the Holy Spirit.
From the heart I thank Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, Bishop Fabio Fabene, under-secretary, and with them I thank the Relators, Cardinal Peter Erdo, who has worked so much in these days of family mourning, and the Special Secretary Bishop Bruno Forte, the three President delegates, the transcribers, the consultors, the translators and the unknown workers, all those who have worked with true fidelity and total dedication behind the scenes and without rest. Thank you so much from the heart.

I thank all of you as well, dear Synod fathers, Fraternal Delegates, Auditors, and Assessors, for your active and fruitful participation. I will keep you in prayer asking the Lord to reward you with the abundance of His gifts of grace!

I can happily say that – with a spirit of collegiality and of synodality – we have truly lived the experience of “Synod,” a path of solidarity, a “journey together.”

And it has been “a journey” – and like every journey there were moments of running fast, as if wanting to conquer time and reach the goal as soon as possible; other moments of fatigue, as if wanting to say “enough”; other moments of enthusiasm and ardour. There were moments of profound consolation listening to the testimony of true pastors, who wisely carry in their hearts the joys and the tears of their faithful people. Moments of consolation and grace and comfort hearing the testimonies of the families who have participated in the Synod and have shared with us the beauty and the joy of their married life. A journey where the stronger feel compelled to help the less strong, where the more experienced are led to serve others, even through confrontations. And since it is a journey of human beings, with the consolations there were also moments of desolation, of tensions and temptations, of which a few possibilities could be mentioned:

• One, a temptation to hostile inflexibility [trans: rigidity], that is, wanting to close oneself within the written word, (the letter) and not allowing oneself to be surprised by God, by the God of surprises, (the spirit); within the law, within the certitude of what we know and not of what we still need to learn and to achieve. From the time of Christ, it is the temptation of the zealous, of the scrupulous, of the solicitous and of the so-called – today – “traditionalists” and also of the intellectuals.
• The temptation to a destructive tendency to goodness [it. buonismo], that in the name of a deceptive mercy binds the wounds without first curing them and treating them; that treats the symptoms and not the causes and the roots. It is the temptation of the “do-gooders,” of the fearful, and also of the so-called “progressives and liberals.”
• The temptation to transform stones into bread to break the long, heavy, and painful fast (cf. Lk 4:1-4); and also to transform the bread into a stone and cast it against the sinners, the weak, and the sick (cf Jn 8:7), that is, to transform it into unbearable burdens (Lk 11:46).
• The temptation to come down off the Cross, to please the people, and not stay there, in order to fulfil the will of the Father; to bow down to a worldly spirit instead of purifying it and bending it to the Spirit of God.
• The temptation to neglect the “depositum fidei” [the deposit of faith], not thinking of themselves as guardians but as owners or masters [of it]; or, on the other hand, the temptation to neglect reality, making use of meticulous language and a language of smoothing to say so many things and to say nothing! They call them “byzantinisms,” I think, these things…

Dear brothers and sisters, the temptations must not frighten or disconcert us, or even discourage us, because no disciple is greater than his master; so if Jesus Himself was tempted – and even called Beelzebul (cf. Mt 12:24) – His disciples should not expect better treatment.

Personally I would be very worried and saddened if it were not for these temptations and these animated discussions; this movement of the spirits, as St Ignatius called it (Spiritual Exercises, 6), if all were in a state of agreement, or silent in a false and quietist peace. Instead, I have seen and I have heard – with joy and appreciation – speeches and interventions full of faith, of pastoral and doctrinal zeal, of wisdom, of frankness and of courage: and of parresia. And I have felt that what was set before our eyes was the good of the Church, of families, and the “supreme law,” the “good of souls” (cf Canon 1752).

And this always – we have said it here, in the Hall – without ever putting into question the fundamental truths of the Sacrament of marriage: the indissolubility, the unity, the faithfulness, the fruitfulness, that openness to life (cf Canon 1055, 1056; and Gaudium et spes, 48).

And this is the Church, the vineyard of the Lord, the fertile Mother and the caring Teacher, who is not afraid to roll up her sleeves to pour oil and wine on people’s wound; who doesn’t see humanity as a house of glass to judge or categorize people. This is the Church, One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and composed of sinners, needful of God’s mercy. This is the Church, the true bride of Christ, who seeks to be faithful to her spouse and to her doctrine. It is the Church that is not afraid to eat and drink with prostitutes and publicans. The Church that has the doors wide open to receive the needy, the penitent, and not only the just or those who believe they are perfect! The Church that is not ashamed of the fallen brother and pretends not to see him, but on the contrary feels involved and almost obliged to lift him up and to encourage him to take up the journey again and accompany him toward a definitive encounter with her Spouse, in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The is the Church, our Mother! And when the Church, in the variety of her charisms, expresses herself in communion, she cannot err: it is the beauty and the strength of the sensus fidei, of that supernatural sense of the faith which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit so that, together, we can all enter into the heart of the Gospel and learn to follow Jesus in our life. And this should never be seen as a source of confusion and discord.

Many commentators, or people who talk, have imagined that they see a disputatious Church where one part is against the other, doubting even the Holy Spirit, the true promoter and guarantor of the unity and harmony of the Church – the Holy Spirit who throughout history has always guided the barque, through her Ministers, even when the sea was rough and choppy, and the ministers unfaithful and sinners.

And, as I have dared to tell you, [as] I told you from the beginning of the Synod, it was necessary to live through all this with tranquillity, and with interior peace, so that the Synod would take place cum Petro and sub Petro (with Peter and under Peter), and the presence of the Pope is the guarantee of it all.

We will speak a little bit about the Pope, now, in relation to the Bishops [laughing]. So, the duty of the Pope is that of guaranteeing the unity of the Church; it is that of reminding the faithful of their duty to faithfully follow the Gospel of Christ; it is that of reminding the pastors that their first duty is to nourish the flock – to nourish the flock – that the Lord has entrusted to them, and to seek to welcome – with fatherly care and mercy, and without false fears – the lost sheep. I made a mistake here. I said welcome: [rather] to go out and find them.

His duty is to remind everyone that authority in the Church is a service, as Pope Benedict XVI clearly explained, with words I cite verbatim: “The Church is called and commits herself to exercise this kind of authority which is service and exercises it not in her own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ… through the Pastors of the Church, in fact: it is he who guides, protects and corrects them, because he loves them deeply. But the Lord Jesus, the supreme Shepherd of our souls, has willed that the Apostolic College, today the Bishops, in communion with the Successor of Peter… to participate in his mission of taking care of God’s People, of educating them in the faith and of guiding, inspiring and sustaining the Christian community, or, as the Council puts it, ‘to see to it… that each member of the faithful shall be led in the Holy Spirit to the full development of his own vocation in accordance with Gospel preaching, and to sincere and active charity’ and to exercise that liberty with which Christ has set us free (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 6)… and it is through us,” Pope Benedict continues, “that the Lord reaches souls, instructs, guards and guides them. St Augustine, in his Commentary on the Gospel of St John, says: ‘let it therefore be a commitment of love to feed the flock of the Lord’ (cf. 123, 5); this is the supreme rule of conduct for the ministers of God, an unconditional love, like that of the Good Shepherd, full of joy, given to all, attentive to those close to us and solicitous for those who are distant (cf. St Augustine, Discourse 340, 1; Discourse 46, 15), gentle towards the weakest, the little ones, the simple, the sinners, to manifest the infinite mercy of God with the reassuring words of hope (cf. ibid., Epistle, 95, 1).”

So, the Church is Christ’s – she is His bride – and all the bishops, in communion with the Successor of Peter, have the task and the duty of guarding her and serving her, not as masters but as servants. The Pope, in this context, is not the supreme lord but rather the supreme servant – the “servant of the servants of God”; the guarantor of the obedience and the conformity of the Church to the will of God, to the Gospel of Christ, and to the Tradition of the Church, putting aside every personal whim, despite being – by the will of Christ Himself – the “supreme Pastor and Teacher of all the faithful” (Can. 749) and despite enjoying “supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church” (cf. Cann. 331-334).

Dear brothers and sisters, now we still have one year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.

One year to work on the “Synodal Relatio” which is the faithful and clear summary of everything that has been said and discussed in this hall and in the small groups. It is presented to the Episcopal Conferences as “lineamenta” [guidelines].

May the Lord accompany us, and guide us in this journey for the glory of His Name, with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph. And please, do not forget to pray for me! Thank you!

Thank you, and rest well, eh?

Holy League - Trailer

I got goosebumps. We must put on the armor of Christ. We must have hope. We must once again change the world for Christ. We are the Church Militant for a reason.

"Crusade for the Family" Prayer

Mary, Mother of God, at your request, Jesus
worked His first miracle. He changed water
into wine for the wedding guests at Cana in Galilee.

Over the centuries you have not ceased to
obtain countless signs and wonders for the
poor, exiled children of Eve.

We therefore ask you to intercede with your
Divine Son for the miraculous graces which
the modern world so desperately needs:

-For the conversion and reconversion of whole
nations to Jesus Christ and His teaching on
marriage and the family.

-For the heroic preservation among Christians of
their faith in the indissolubility of marriage, marital
fidelity and the loving acceptance of children, as the
bedrock of the Christian family.

-For the courage of martyrs in all of us followers of
Christ, that we may witness to His power to
overcome the powers of darkness that are bent on
destroying the human family and the moral law.

Mary, Mother of the Holy Family, and
Mother of our families, pray for us. Amen.

Composed by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, Servant of God
Imprimatur +Rene Gracida, Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas
December 12, 1992

A Good Perspective on the Synod from a Modern Day Athanasius

There are a lot of reports coming from the MSM and those sources of a more liberal/progressive bent that have skewed the synod. It doesn't help that the report coming out of the synod itself is slipshod and ambiguous. I won't link them. They are not worth a read. If you are curious, you can search for them.

Raymond Cardinal Burke, our modern day Athanasius, has been a beacon of orthodoxy and a defender of the faith. We must pray for the synod and the synod fathers. Follow this link for the original blog post from Consolamini. It is a good read and a good perspective.

I have faith that the Holy Spirit will guide the rest of the way, as He has from the beginning.

A Little Beauty for Friday: St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, St. Louis, MO

Photo by Andrew Balet.

Happy Feast of Bl. John Henry Newman

A beautiful quote from Bl. John Henry Newman on today his feast day:

"God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about."

MISSION: Inter-religious Dialogue, A Conversation on the Continuing Importance of Inter-religious Dialogue & Missionary Activity in the Church

This is an exercise in both in what the documents of Vatican II actually said and what true dialogue amongst people can look like. For the actual texts of Vatican II, please visit www.vatican.va.

  

Me: Thank you both for coming to dinner tonight! I’m glad that schedules were able to work out. There is nothing quite like having a bite to eat over drinks in a pub with friends.

Fully Catholic Friend: I agree. This has been a great evening so far and if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay a bit longer to hang out and ask a few questions.

Nominal Catholic Friend: I’m all for it. I’m sure I’ll have a few questions that I’d like to ask the both of you, too, as we get into it. First, let’s order another round of drinks!

Me: Great idea! I’d like to make sure that we’re on the same page before we start the conversation. A lot of times these exchanges can get quite heated and we end up talking past one another rather than to each other. Let’s keep that in mind as we go about answering each other’s questions. I think that we’re all reasonable people and our dialogue should reflect that. Our conversations shouldn’t be about “winning”, but in coming to understand each other’s positions and seeking the truth together.

FCF & NCF: Agreed.

Me: Let’s get started then. Who wants to go first with their question?

FCF: I will. I’ve got some great non-Catholic friends, mostly Jewish and Muslim, and they are truly faith filled people according to the dictates of their religion. However, they’re obviously not Catholic and I don’t think that there is anything that we can or should be learning from them in terms of religious truth. Though I love them, I feel that inter-religious dialogue is nothing but a waste of time. Especially since we, as Catholics, claim to have the fullness of truth. Why all this encouragement for inter-religious dialogue?

Me: Wow, you start us off with quite a whopper. You are absolutely correct that, as Catholics, we have the fullness of truth. The church is the pillar and bulwark of truth and the truth “subsists in the Catholic Church…although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure.”[1] However, “the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.”[2] This means that whatever is good, whatever is beautiful, and whatever is true in these religious traditions, a Catholic can and should be able to affirm them as well. “The Catholic Church readily recognizes, indeed celebrates, all the saving and sanctifying graces of God outside the Catholic Church.”[3] Since truth is truth no matter what, the elements of truth in these other religions can serve as markers in the right direction to those that are open to it and willing to follow the truth no matter where it leads. The church “regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.”[4]

Important for us to remember is that “we can and should investigate and learn from the wisdom in other religions.”[5] You seem to be very confident in your faith and for that I am glad. I share your same convictions as well. However, we should be able to welcome these different ways of seeing the truth without thinking that we are losing something of our own. Nostra aetate exhorts us to engage in collaboration and dialogue with other religions that “carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, [we] recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.”[6] By witnessing in this way, we are sowing the seeds of their hopeful eventual acceptance of the Gospel. Those of other religions can also witness to us. Sometimes through the course of dialogue and in investigation into other religious traditions, they “can powerfully remind us of some of the forgotten riches in our tradition.”[7] To think that we would be losing something in affirming the truth is nonsense. “If you are sure of the truth of your faith, you welcome comparisons, confident beforehand that nothing can threaten your own.”[8]

The key to sharing is that it should be done in charity and without coercion. What that means is that the church respects the convictions of those that do not share our Christian faith and does not force anyone to believe. “The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth.”[9] Again, if someone is open to knowing and learning the truth at all costs, we should rejoice at the chance to assist them through the answering of their questions and through the witness of our own lives. If we are concerned about bringing someone into the fullness of the truth, indeed, we can assert that “all the Christian grace to be found outside the formal boundaries of the Catholic Church gravitates toward unity with the Catholic Church.”[10]

NCF: This is all new to me. I, too, thought that it was useless to dialogue with other religions; although, I thought it was because Vatican II taught that all were different paths leading to the same end. Maybe I’m wrong on that one. Could you go further into explaining the church’s relationship to the Muslims and Jews, please?

Me: Of course. In Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium, the council states that “those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in various ways to the people of God.”[11] Again, we must remember that “whatever good is in the minds and hearts of men, whatever good lies latent in the religious practices and cultures of diverse peoples, is not only saved from destruction but is also cleansed, raised up and perfected unto the glory of God.”[12] The Muslims and Jews have a special spot in relation to the church, slightly different than the other non-Christian religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. With Buddhists and Hindus, our similarity lies in our common humanity and ultimate goal. The church affirms this by saying, “God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God.”[13]

            Concerning the relationship with Muslims, the church acknowledges and holds them in esteem for “they adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees.”[14] Though they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, they hold him up as one of the greatest prophets and honor also the Virgin Mary, sometimes called upon with great devotion. The Muslims also “value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.”[15] As we know from experience, we Christians also worship God through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Though over time, there have been hostilities and wars between Muslims and Christians, even into our own day, what unites us is more powerful than what divides us and God will bless those in each camp who strive to work with one another for the betterment of mankind.

            The church’s relationship with the Jews is something altogether different from other non-Christian religions as they are our elder brothers in the covenant with God. The fact that Christ was a Jew and came from this Chosen People, is enough to bind Christians and Jews intimately.  In fact, “the Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant.”[16] We know that God is faithful to His promises and to His people. “Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures.”[17] As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, theirs is “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah” (Rom 9:4-5 NAB). Acknowledging that it hasn’t always been a perfect relationship between the church and the Jews, we can move forward in charity in a new effort towards ever more fruitful dialogue. The Jews still have a very important part to play in God’s plan of salvation.

            To say that we cannot learn anything from dialogue with other religions, is simply false, as we can all now hopefully understand. We must be open to this dialogue in order to have any chance at improving the world in which we live and in coming to a deeper understanding even of our own faith. As human beings capable of reason and given free will, we have a personal responsibility “impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth.”[18] How can we seek and come to a fuller picture of the truth, if we fail to dialogue with others? “We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God.”[19] Regardless of his religion, each man has a responsibility to seek out the truth, and to seek it out in charity. Again, if one is open to the truth, he will no doubt eventually find himself in the bosom of the Catholic Church.

FCF: What an answer! I wish that I would have brought this up sooner. I didn’t actually know what was in the documents of Vatican II. I foresee a lot of reading in the future for me!

NCF: Maybe I was wrong about what Vatican II taught. I thank you for clarification about the church’s relations with other religions. It’s great that we can affirm others as brothers and sisters and I get that from your response. I still think that they can get to heaven through their own traditions, though. What if in a person’s search for truth, the dialogue they are having leads them to something not the truth, or what they think is the truth, but really isn’t? Seems to me that they can still get to heaven, regardless, as you alluded to above.

I suppose next you’ll tell us that to alleviate their confusion, we still have to go out and be missionaries to help others see the truth and be able to articulate soon afterwards, right? How quaint and archaic! I need another round. Seriously, though, I don’t have time to be a missionary, let alone want to be one. I feel pretty confident in my own understanding of the faith, but what business to do I have in sharing it? Why do I have to share it?

FCF: He brings up a good point at the end. Branching off of something he said, I thought that missionaries were only religious or members of the clergy, like nuns and priests. I’m not sure I have the time either. What does the council say about the role that we have? What can I do?

Me: First things first, I agree on another round! Now, where were we? Ah, yes, our roles as laity in the grand scheme of things. There are some items that need to be clarified before we get into the “meat and potatoes” of missionary work.

            We’ve just discussed how the church views inter-religious dialogue and the esteem she holds for other religions. As we’ve learned, that does not make them all equal, nor does it mean that the church is happy to let things be. Those elements of truth found in the different religions are but markers pointing towards the Gospel. Christ relied on His Apostles to “Go...and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). Similarly, as we have been baptized, we have been incorporated into the same role and mission as the Apostles. Our lives have the “proper and indispensable role in the mission of the Church” and our “Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it.”[20] There are many more laity than there are religious, as we all know, thus we also share in the responsibility. “No part of the structure of a living body is merely passive but has a share in the functions as well as life of the body.”[21] The simple fact of the matter is that Christ relies on every part of His Body, the church, to show forth His goodness and truth to the world.

            We are called in virtue of our vocation as lay people, to “exercise [our] apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ.”[22] What that means is that we are called to radiate and bring to the world the joy within us, namely Christ. We are the foot-soldiers, so to speak. There is a reason we are called the “Church Militant!” I’m not sure if you guys know this, but we are able to offer spiritual sacrifices to God every single moment of the day for the salvation of the world. I’m sure that you’ve heard the expression “offer it up.” It’s a prime and simple example of our right and duty to fulfill the religious work in which we have been called, in virtue of being part of the Body of Christ through our baptism. We have the supreme “responsibility of working to make the divine message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world.”[23] Through our receiving of the sacraments, we are strengthened to carry out this mission. The sacraments can be thought of as “health packs” to regain full health, like in some of the video games you like to play. I’m sure I don’t have to tell both of you, but our participation in the mass and liturgical activities is of the utmost importance in our lives. When we participate in the mass, it is like getting our marching orders to fulfill our mission. We first must be immersed in the faith in order to live it out.

            We are called to live out our particular vocation with conviction. In fact, we must “develop earnestly the qualities and talents bestowed on [us] in accord with these conditions of life, and [we] should make use of the gifts which [we] have received from the Holy Spirit.”[24] We each have talents and gifts particular to our person. If we don’t develop these talents and gifts and share them with others, we’re no better than the servant who buried his talents in the dirt. If God has given us talents, we should use them out of love and offer what we have back to Him.

NCF: You seem to be drifting off topic. What does this have to do with missionary activity?

Me: Be patient! I’m getting there. Stay with me. Our goal as members of the church, “and of all its members, is primarily designed to manifest Christ’s message by words and deeds and to communicate His grace to the world.”[25] Sometimes the greatest witness is through the daily tasks that we perform. “Our best arguments arise not from a memorized handbook, but from a faith that is deep and robust.”[26] As I mentioned above, our immersion in the faith must be thorough and thoughtful. When we are living our faith in the midst of the world, we may inadvertently show someone the answer to a deep seeded question they may have. “Sometimes we may answer in a single breath; but we must also answer with our entire lives. For we are servants, like Christ. We are witnesses, like His holy Apostles.”[27] As such, we are given many opportunities by God to exercise our mission in this regard.

            In addition to using our lives as witness to the Gospel, we are also encouraged to look for “opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life.”[28] As laity, placed in a world that so desperately needs Christ, we must do our part to do all we can to improve the temporal order. Indeed, it is part of God’s plan that all men should work towards that end. The temporal order, with all of those things which make it up, “aid in the attainment of man’s ultimate goal, but also possess their own intrinsic value…this natural goodness of theirs takes on a special dignity as a result of their relation to the human person, for whose service they were created.”[29] We are servants!

Remember that everything that God made is good, even though at times we humans misuse those goods. Again, our state in life as lay people is an important and necessary apostolate of the church. We have more contact with those who are not Catholic, or folks less than stellar in the practice of their Catholic faith, than many priests and nuns. Thus, we have more of a chance to manifest the kingdom. Our work and activity in this regard is becoming more important. “We have many reasons to believe. We have plausible, good, and beautiful reasons to believe. And many of our friends, neighbors, and coworkers are desperate to find a reason to believe. Our words and our lives should give ample reasons.”[30]

Perhaps we would do well to remember the witness of St. Francis of Assisi. Even though he was not a layman, we must hold him up as an example for our own lives, whose faith and life gave ample reasons for belief in the Gospel and who almost single-handedly reformed the church of the Middle Ages. Our calling in light of our faith, like St. Francis’, carries great responsibility and gives mankind “a framework of meaning that imparts the strength to serve, that creates an interior freedom from the world and thereby gives individuals the ability to live and work unselfishly.”[31] We have a duty and the privilege to do what we can in service to the church, wherever we find ourselves. The church “needs our commitment in the struggle to bring forth good fruit on her land and…this is a task for mankind as a whole.”[32]

FCF: I think I can see where you are going with this. You’re going to start talking about how this lay apostolate you’ve been describing relates to missionary activity now, aren’t you?

Me: You are correct. And actually, I’ll just be fleshing out a few more things concerning missionary activity. We’ve gone over a few items already in describing our own lay apostolate.

NCF: It’s about time.

Me: I needed to establish a baseline so that you would be able to understand why it is important for us to witness with our lives first and allow that fruit to grow. Our mission activity consists in our dialogue with other religions and in our daily witness at work, at home, and in society. We don’t have to necessarily go to another country to be missionaries. We can be missionaries in our own backyard through our lives, in our own lay apostolate. However, the parts that we play in the mission of the church must be conducted according to the church. What she says concerning missionary work should absolutely be considered in light of what we have discussed so far.

            The church has always been “missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father.”[33] Everything that the church is ordered towards involves the spreading of the Gospel to all nations. Following her Divine Spouse, the church must “walk the same path on which Christ walked: a path of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice to the death, from which death He came forth a victor by His resurrection.”[34] Take special note of how the church is to follow Christ: We, as members of this body, are called to self-sacrifice and service. Only when we lie spent from this divine work are we truly able to experience the glory and graces of the Resurrection. This is our missionary calling.

            The “particular undertakings by which the heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry[ing] out the task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ”[35] can be defined as mission work; evangelization being the primary reason and purpose. The establishment of new and particular churches in those mission territories is only the beginning. Even the new mission territories are called to engage in their own unique mission work, bringing their own charisms and strengths to the effort of evangelization. The new mission territories “should participate as soon as possible in the universal missionary work of the Church.”[36] Catholic unity is perfected with each expansion, showing forth the sanctity of Christ’s church as the Gospel is continually spread.

            God wants all men to be saved and to know His Son, Jesus Christ. We must be willing, indeed are commanded, to share the Gospel with others! No one said it would be easy! Even St. Paul had to remind the earliest Christians to do their part in the mission of the church. He reminds and implores these Christians how important it is to announce the Gospel. “But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?” (Rom 10:14). It’s pretty clear that this is nothing new for the church and has always been her call.

This also points back to our earlier conversation regarding inter-religious dialogue. Though God can lead those who do not know the Gospel to faith “without which it is impossible to please Him, yet a necessity lies upon the Church, and at the same time a sacred duty, to preach the Gospel.”[37] Our love of God should drive us towards this important work. The final purpose of missionary work is to fulfill the plan of God “that the whole human race might form one people of God and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit which, being the expression of brotherly harmony, corresponds with the inmost wishes of all men.”[38] In order to fulfill what it truly means for us to exist and to experience the fullness of our humanity, we need Christ. It’s that simple.

NCF: So people are experiencing less of their humanity without Christ?

Me: Not necessarily. Think of it this way: there are many cups of different shapes and sizes. Some are bigger than others, some are smaller. If you were to fill to the brim one of the smaller cups, you would still have a full cup, correct? Think of the church and our Catholic faith as the biggest cup in the set. When full to the brim, there is vastly more in the cup than in the smaller cup, yet each are totally filled. The capacity for experiencing our humanity in light of Christ and the church is like the big cup. This is why it is so important that we evangelize and do mission work - so everyone can have the biggest cup available and be able to fill it to the brim and thus be able to experience their humanity to the fullest.

FCF: That’s a pretty cool analogy. Then what does mission work itself consist of, according to the church?

Me: Like I mentioned before, we are called to be an example to the world in our everyday deeds and way of life. Our faith should never just be a “Sunday thing.” If we are serious about our faith, it will permeate every aspect of our lives. We need to help the world to awaken to “that truth and charity which God has revealed.”[39] By working together with those who do not share our beliefs, we serve each other. In this way, the “mission of the Church will show its religious, and by that very fact, its supremely human character.”[40] Again, we have a chance in our everyday lives to announce the Gospel through any number of settings and situations.

            However, if we are called to be foreign missionaries, we must be coworkers with God and “raise up congregations of the faith such that, walking worthy of the vocation to which [we] have been called, [we] may exercise the priestly, prophetic, and royal office which God has entrusted to [us].”[41] The presence of such a community bears witness to Christ and thus is able to affect every facet of life. However, this is not enough. The purpose of the laity is to “announce Christ to their non-Christian fellow citizens by word and example, and to aid them toward full reception of Christ.”[42] Sound familiar? No matter where we are, our missionary witness will be of the utmost importance.

FCF: That make sense.

NCF: I guess I can see that. Since we seem to have a big hand in mission work now, how does that affect the religious and clergy? Do they just get to sit back and only do the bare minimum now?

Me: All clergy, priests and religious still have a big hand in missionary work. It’s not just completely on us as laymen! After all, who will be running or sponsoring the missions and making available the sacraments for the laity? Deacons also can play a large role when numbers of priests are low. It goes without saying that proper catechesis, education, and training should be undertaken in order to more effectively give a true witness to the Gospel. In turn, those who have undertaken this education are sent to teach as “qualified ministers, who are to be prepared in due time in a way suited to the conditions of each church.”[43] However, lay people can also serve as qualified ministers after going through the same type of educational process since “the church has not really been founded, and is not yet fully alive, nor is it a perfect sign of Christ among men, unless there is a laity worthy of the name working along with the hierarchy.”[44]

FCF: This has been a very enlightening conversation. I hate to break it up, but it is getting pretty late. There was so much that I thought I knew. You’ve really challenged me to look at these documents for myself and get a better handle on what the church says about other religions and mission work.

NCF: Though I still disagree on some points from earlier in our conversation, I think I am starting to see at least why it’s important, in theory, to actively do mission work. For that I am thankful. I’m also thankful that you’ll be picking up the tab! Let’s do this again soon.

Me: I agree. And I am glad to pick up the tab, if only for tonight! Let me leave you with one more tidbit concerning why inter-religious dialogue and thus missionary activity in our lives is so important. “As members of the living Christ, incorporated into Him and made like unto Him through baptism and through confirmation and the Eucharist, all the faithful are duty-bound to cooperate in the expansion and spreading out of His Body, to bring it to fullness as soon as may be.”[45] Great talk! Good night, guys.

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[1] Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium (21 November 1964), §8.

[2] Second Vatican Council, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions Nostra aetate (28 October 1965), §2.

[3] Richard John Neuhaus, Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (New York: Basic Books, 2006), 16.

[4] Nostra aetate, §2.

[5] Peter Kreeft, Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996), 79.

[6] Nostra aetate, §2.

[7] Kreeft, Ecumenical Jihad, 81.

[8] Kreeft, Ecumenical Jihad, 80.

[9] Second Vatican Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis humanae (7 December 1965), §1.

[10] Neuhaus, Catholic Matters, 17.

[11] Lumen gentium, §16.

[12] Lumen gentium, §17.

[13] Nostra aetate, §1.

[14] Nostra aetate, §3.

[15] Nostra aetate, §3.

[16] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2^nd ed. (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 839.

[17] Nostra aetate, §4.

[18] Dignitatis humanae, §2.

[19] Nostra aetate, §5.

[20] Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity Apostolicam actuositatem (18 November 1965), §1.

[21] Apostolicam actuositatem, §2.

[22] Apostolicam actuositatem, §2.

[23] Apostolicam actuositatem, §3.

[24] Apostolicam actuositatem, §4.

[25] Apostolicam actuositatem, §6.

[26] Scott Hahn, Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith (New York: Doubleday, 2007), 137-138.

[27] Hahn, Reasons to Believe, 193.

[28] Apostolicam actuositatem, §6.

[29] Apostolicam actuositatem, §7.

[30] Hahn, Reasons to Believe, 193.

[31] Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, Credo for Today: What Christians Believe (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009), 135.

[32] Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, Credo for Today, 136.

[33] Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad gentes (7 December 1965), §2.

[34] Ad gentes, §5.

[35] Ad gentes, §6.

[36] Ad gentes, §20.

[37] Ad gentes, §7.

[38] Ad gentes, §7.

[39] Ad gentes, §11.

[40] Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes (7 December 1965), §11.

[41] Ad gentes, §15.

[42] Ad gentes, §15.

[43] Ad gentes, §20.

[44] Ad gentes, §21.

[45] Ad gentes, §36.

This text copyright ©2014, M.T.V.