I came across this quote from Dorothy Day that seems pretty relevant to the present situation. Amazing that she said it in 1968. I find this bit encouraging and comforting; "It is the saints that keep appearing all through history who keep things going." However it is depressing to remember how many saints suffered at the hands of the powers that be who were supposed to be the shepherds.
Great quote, and interesting thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the saints, too, and their contrast with some of the leaders today. The two groups aren't completely mutually exclusive; there are so many bishop and abbot and prior saints that there is a Common of Pastors in the liturgical books to celebrate their holy days. The texts for those days can be a challenge during times like these.
Jim, you're right that they aren't mutually exclusive.
DeleteThere's a young man from here who was ordained a transitional deacon in the spring. We've been seeing him around the parish a lot this summer. Nice kid, we've known him since grade school. He seems enthusiastic and optimistic; which one should be, when choosing ones life's work. It's a tough time to be entering the priesthood. I just hope it doesn't all beat him down. In our desire for transparency and accountability we shouldn't forget about friendship and encouragement.
A few minutes after reading your post, I ran across this quote from Henri de Lubac:
ReplyDelete"The best Christians and the most vital are by no means found either inevitably or even generally among the wise and clever, the intelligentsia or the politically minded, or those of social consequence. … Their lives are hidden from the eyes of the world. … they are the source of all initiative and action, all spadework that is not to be fruitless. It is these people who are our preservation and who give us hope."
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/07/the-hidden-splendor-of-the-church
I've believed that since about the time D.D. wrote it. Later I was struck by Psalm 146. By styling themselves "princes of the Church," they made the connection obvious:
ReplyDelete"Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.
Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing."
Here's another quote that seems to describe the episcopacy in general:
ReplyDelete"AUTHORITY and power are in inverse ratio to their familiarity with the concrete situations in which the new ideas emerge; they never know whether or not the new idea will work; much less can they divine how it might be corrected or developed; and since the one thing they dread is making a mistake, they devote their energies to paperwork and postpone decisions."
Bernard Lonergan, Insight, quoted by Eugene Hillman. CSSp, Inculturation and the Leaven of the Gospel (article), Commonweal, 1-11-91.
And here is something a wee bit harsher:
ReplyDelete" Authority has simply been abused too long in the Catholic Church and for many people it just becomes utterly stupid and intolerable to have to put up with the kind of jackassing around that is posed in God's name. It is an insult to God Himself and in the end it can only discredit all idea of authority and obedience. There comes a point where they simply forfeit the right to be listened to." Thomas Merton(Hidden Ground of Love, p. 230)
The Church--or maybe factions in the Church--seem kind of schizoid about authority. The line we got in RCIA was that if obeyed everything the Church taught as interpreted by Father, and something was a sin, we would not be held accountable for it.
ReplyDeleteI found this idiotic. We would not be accountable for using the brains and discernment God gave us?
Makes no sense. Why be catechised at all?
I have never believed that one had to check one's brains at the church door. I think Dignitatis Humanae, dealing with freedom of connscience, is my favorite Vatican II document.
ReplyDelete