Quebec, Canada:
God does not want us to be slaves, but sons and daughters; he does not want to make decisions for us, or oppress us with a sacral power, exercised in a world governed by religious laws. No! He created us to be free, and he asks us to be mature and responsible persons in life and in society.
Homily to Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Religious & Lay Workers
So let us ask ourselves a question: How are we doing when it comes to joy? Does our Church express the joy of the Gospel? Is there a faith in our communities that can attract by the joy it communicates?
If we want to go to the root of these questions, we need to reflect on what it is that, in today’s world, threatens the joy of faith and thus risks diminishing it and compromising our lives as Christians. We can immediately think of secularization, which has greatly affected the style of life of contemporary men and women, relegating God, as it were, to the background. God seems to have disappeared from the horizon, and his word no longer seems a compass guiding our lives, our basic decisions, our human and social relationships.
Yet we should be clear about one thing. When we consider the ambient culture, and its variety of languages and symbols, we must be careful not to fall prey to pessimism or resentment, passing immediately to negative judgments or a vain nostalgia. There are two possible views we can have towards the world in which we live: I would call one “the negative view”, and the other “the discerning view”.
The first, the negative view, is often born of a faith that feels under attack and thinks of it as a kind of “armor”, defending us against the world. This view bitterly complains that “the world is evil; sin reigns”, and thus risks clothing itself in a “crusading spirit”. We need to be careful, because this is not Christian; it is not, in fact, the way of God, who – as the Gospel reminds us – “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
The Lord detests worldliness and has a positive view of the world. He blesses our life, speaks well of us and our situation, and makes himself incarnate in historical situations, not to condemn, but to give growth to the seed of the Kingdom in those places where darkness seems to triumph.
If we are limited to a negative view, however, we will end up denying the incarnation: we will flee from reality, rather than making it incarnate in us. We will close in on ourselves, lament our losses, constantly complain and fall into gloom and pessimism, which never come from God. We are called, instead, to have a view similar to that of God, who discerns what is good and persistently seeks it, sees it and nurtures it. This is no naïve view, but a view that discerns reality.
In order to refine our discernment of the secularized world, let us draw inspiration from the words written by Saint Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi, an Apostolic Exhortation that remains highly relevant today. He understood secularization as “the effort, in itself just and legitimate and in no way incompatible with faith or religion” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 55) to discover the laws governing reality and human life implanted by the Creator.
God does not want us to be slaves, but sons and daughters; he does not want to make decisions for us, or oppress us with a sacral power, exercised in a world governed by religious laws. No! He created us to be free, and he asks us to be mature and responsible persons in life and in society.
Saint Paul VI distinguished secularization from secularism, a concept of life that totally separates a link with the Creator, so that God becomes “superfluous and an encumbrance”, and generates subtle and diverse “new forms of atheism”: “consumer society, the pursuit of pleasure set up as the supreme value, a desire for power and domination, and discrimination of every kind” (ibid).
As Church, and above all as shepherds of God’s People, as consecrated men and women, seminarians and pastoral workers, it is up to us to make these distinctions, to make this discernment. If we yield to the negative view and judge matters superficially, we risk sending the wrong message, as though the criticism of secularization masks on our part the nostalgia for a sacralized world, a bygone society in which the Church and her ministers had greater power and social relevance. And this is a mistaken way of seeing things.
Instead, as one of the great scholars of our time has observed, the real issue of secularization, for us Christians, should not be the diminished social relevance of the Church or the loss of material wealth and privileges. Rather, secularization demands that we reflect on the changes in society that have influenced the way in which people think about and organize their lives.
If we consider this aspect of the question, we come to realize that what is in crisis is not the faith, but some of the forms and ways in which we present it. Consequently, secularization represents a challenge for our pastoral imagination, it is “an occasion for restructuring the spiritual life in new forms and for new ways of existing” (C. Taylor, A Secular Age, Cambridge 2007, 437). In this way, a discerning view, while acknowledging the difficulties we face in communicating the joy of the faith motivates us, at the same time, to develop a new passion for evangelization, to look for new languages and forms of expression, to change certain pastoral priorities and to focus on the essentials.
Delivered to the "clerical establishment," I found the quoted phrase a particularly strong criticism of the tendency of many Catholics to want an authoritarian church and/or state.
ReplyDeleteGod does love our freedom.
That is excellent. Yes, the "....tendency of many Catholics to want an authoritarian church and/or state."
ReplyDeleteHeard a Jeremiad of a homily yesterday at a daily Mass (not at our parish). The OT reading was from Jeremiah, and the Gospel was the beheading of John the Baptist. The homilist quoted the late Cardinal George, who said that he would die peacefully in his bed, but his successor would be persecuted, and the successor after that would die a martyr .Because the culture is so terribly anti-Catholic. Mentioning of course the blowback from the Dobbs decision. I think some people give lip service to democracy, but what they really want is an authortarian state to tell them what to do, for their own good, of course.
I really like what Pope Francis said about joy: "Does our Church express the joy of the Gospel? Is there a faith in our communities that can attract by the joy it communicates?" Not much joy to the persecuted remnant" narrative.
Yes, Catholics and other Christians find it easier to talk about rules than the joy they find in their faith. Certainly that was the focus of RCIA as I experienced it. Even when Catholics talk about freedom, it is always in the context of freedom within the confines of rules that derive from teaching.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the joy of the faith is freedom from the judgments of a material world that shames poverty and recoils from age and infirmity. In church, I should feel as good and as loved as anyone there. If I don't, I should examine my heart to see what I am doing to let that joy leach away.
Off topic: My cousin Phil died of the covid last week. He was a lost soul for many years, but had recently reached out to his daughter, whom he had not seen for 25 years. I know what he went through as a kid that made him lose his way. Prayers for God's light and mercy on him in the Hereafter.
If God is LOVE, then Phil is safe in God’s care
DeleteThanks. This one hit me hard. I suppose it was because so many of his fellow drunks sobered up long enough to testify to his kindness and generosity. They said outright that they didn't want the last word to be about his dui's, his failed marriages, and his constant falling off the wagon.
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your cousin, Jean. Sending prayers for him and all who mourn him.
DeleteJean, condolences. I'm glad his friends saw, and spoke up about, the good in your cousin.
DeleteI am now an old person. I literally can’t think of more than a couple of times that I’ve seen joy emanating from a Christian individual, and never from a formal community. Most seem motivated by fear - they fear that if they don’t follow all those rules Jean mentioned that they will go to hell. Some Catholics fear that if they don’t accept every word of the catechism as “ truth” that they will spend eternity in hell. They are browbeaten into believing that if they don’t confess their sins to a man in a Roman collar, that God won’t hear them and forgive. (Fortunately, from what I read anyway, most Catholics have gotten beyond the belief that God needs a human being to mediate when it comes to confessing and repenting). Now that most who were born christian are educated, and have access to unlimited information resources, as well as spiritual resources, Christianity can’t hold as many through superstition and fear. Joy would attract, because there is so little true joy in the world. So little peace in our hearts and souls. But it’s hard to find religious-spiritual communities that are much different than other community groups people associate with, primarily for social reasons. I have witnessed - and experienced- far more joy in groups that that make music together - both formally and informally - than in religion. It’s seen in this small group here for Katherine, Jim, and Jack, music plays an enormous role in their religious lives. I experienced joy when I was young and singing in choirs and small groups both. It had nothing to do with religion though.
ReplyDeleteRichard Rohr once said that the people he sees in church on Sunday seem to be there because they are paying their fire insurance premiums. He said that this seems to be equally true of the priests and women religious to whom he has given retreats, This seems to be the case too among evangelicals and conservative Catholics who have told me countless times that only baptized christians will be with God after they die. Their motivation seems to be saving their own behinds (souls?) and genuinely believing that they can “ save” others by converting them, That sincere, but wrong, belief resulted in countless atrocities committed against the non- christians of the world throughout the post- Constantinian history of the church, which is most of christian history. After more than 1700 years a pope is acknowledging this and apologizing. Where is Jesus - Christ - in the history of Christianity?
There are good christians who do the works of love taught by Jesus. But there are good non- Christians who do these things also.
Anne, you said "most seem motivated by fear". Years ago I read a book called " Love is Letting Go of Fear" by Jerrold Jampolsky. His premise was that all emotions boil down to either love, or fear, Which I thought was an oversimplification, but there was something to be said for fear being at the root of most of the problems in the world. And for fear being something that blocked out love.
ReplyDeleteThen I spelled his name wrong; should be Gerald Jampolsky.
Delete"I have witnessed - and experienced- far more joy in groups that that make music together - both formally and informally - than in religion. It’s seen in this small group here for Katherine, Jim, and Jack, music plays an enormous role in their religious lives. I experienced joy when I was young and singing in choirs and small groups both. "
ReplyDeleteGreat insight. Same here. You say it's not religious. For me, it's at least spiritual. I wonder why it is that making music is more joyful than mere socializing? Some people get no joy at all out of socializing - it sucks all the energy out of them. Just speaking for myself: making music is one of the most joyful things I've done; and for me, it's more joyful if I can collaborate with others (rather than do it all by myself). There are people who would prefer to be "the star" when they make music, but that's not really my style or approach; I'm not much of a diva. Playing or singing something solo is nerve-racking for me (as, in some ways, is preaching). But if I'm making music with others, I feel like I can relax and focus on accompanying others (or, if I am singing, blending with others).
My friend Dan and I used to go to the Methodist Church in Lansing that had a Welsh hymn sing every St David's Day, and we enjoyed that. People sang loud, often spontaneously broke off into harmony, and sometimes there were impromptu solos because one voice stood out and everyone else wanted to hush and listen before joining back in.
DeleteNothing religious or spiritual about that joy, though. Just a bunch of Welsh people enjoying something they did well.
Lectors, cantors, choirs, homilists, etc. are not supposed derive joy because they like showing off their skills, but because they are channels through which God speaks to people. "Your voice, not mine. Your words, not mine."
This homily is very "Francis". To my way of thinking, it comes out of the developing world, where worship is a more joyful than obligatory experience. And there is quite a bit of implied criticism of the hierarchy. (I wonder sometimes, when he lambasts the hierarchy, if he pauses to dwell on the fact that he is, after all, in the hierarchical-est position of all.)
ReplyDeleteI think Francis is very conscious of the fact that he is in the highest position and understands that his critique of the hierarchy has great weight precisely because it comes from such the papacy. He has in fact likely legitimated such criticism for all time in a way that no one else could have. It will be very difficult for even a future pope to undo his critique of clericalism.
DeleteJim thinking, it comes out of the developing world, where worship is a more joyful than obligatory experience
DeleteI agree. I spent a week - only one week but truly amazing - traveling with some fellow parishioners and the pastor of our sister parish in the Dominican Republic throughout the poorest part of the country with the bishop, who was making his annual pastoral visits. We visited a different village every day, returning to the town of our sister parish every evening. The villages were quite literally dirt poor. The people lived in one or two rooms, with dirt floors. Most had some kind of rug or cloth on the floor, and maybe a few worn out mattresses to lay on the floor every evening. A cooking pot or two. No trash because the people had nothing to throw away. They were subsistence farmers who mostly grew beans and onions. The babies started coming when the girls reached puberty so most had many children while still in their 20s. The babies and children had huge bellies because they were full of worms from the parasite infected water they drank from the streams. I was around 50 at the time and was shocked to learn that some women I believed to be older than I were actually in their 30s. So we had to return to the town each day. The bishop was truly pastoral. He was humble. He was patient and loving, listening to very person who wanted to talk with him. He definitely saw himself as a servant leader and not an authoritarian leader.
The big surprise for we jaded North Americans were the liturgies. They were joyful. The people did exude joy. Of course, many North American trads would have been horrified. Not only was the music non classical, and no Gregorian chant of course, it was indigenous. Native instruments were used, including some drums that were similar to bongo drums. Even worse in the eyes of those who believe that Eurocentric liturgies are the “best”, the couple who brought the gifts to the altar danced up the aisle. After receiving them, the bishop put them on the altar, and then joined hands with the couple for a brief and simple dance. A dance that exuded joy.
Anne said:
ReplyDeleteI have witnessed - and experienced- far more joy in groups that that make music together - both formally and informally - than in religion. It’s seen in this small group here for Katherine, Jim, and Jack, music plays an enormous role in their religious lives. I experienced joy when I was young and singing in choirs and small groups both. It had nothing to do with religion though.
Depends upon how one defines religion. If one thinks of religion very broadly, what some might call spirituality, experiences of music and of nature are two that call forth what I would call transcendent experiences, those of truth, good, and beauty, that take people beyond themselves, though not necessarily affirming a personal God let alone a particular religion.
Music, for example, while growing out of and affirming particular religion traditions, nevertheless seems to communication something beyond them, e.g., the Ave Maria, Amazing Grace, that communicates across religious and ethnic traditions.
One of the difficulties with American religious pluralism that church establishments seem to have difficulty understanding is that in the public realm we often talk in terms of transcendental values that are widely agreed upon such as truth, goodness, and beauty.
Within the mental health system, I always affirmed the personal dignity and worth of the mentally ill in those transcendent terms along with notions like love and compassion rather than in terms of Catholic Social Teaching or Biblical values. If I or anyone else had done the latter, mentally ill people would not have known what to make of it, and most likely would have thought that we were into our own self-referential religious trips.
There were many people who understood that I participated in my parish and went to ND for summer school. But that was something they saw as coming from my heart, just the same as my affirmation in deeds (rarely in words) of the dignity and worth of the mental ill.
What was missing in this picture of Evangelization was the lack of interest from my parish (both staff and members) in what I did at work. It did not seem relevant to what they thought as religion and evangelization because it wasn't churchy enough.
At the first Annual Mental Board meeting about six months after my retirement, the Board gave its first Jack Rakosky Consumer Achievement award. (It was a good political move upon the Board to make sure that everyone understood Consumer Achievement was more that Jack's Project; they had bought into permanently).
That meeting and dinner was held for its only time at my parish banquet center; I think because a board member's wife was on staff. I was given the privilege of reading the first award. The Board had decided without any help from me to recognize the achievement of a very kind, gentle woman who on the days she was well volunteered at the board office doing the simplest of tasks, shedding client identifying documents, and erasing computer disks. She usually brought us something she had baked.
The ritual that occurs is that after I read the Board formal recognition of her achievements, a County Commissioner followed with the County Commissioners recognition of her, then the State Representative with the Ohio state recognition, and our Congressional Representative with his entry into the Congressional record.
At the time I was taking a course on the Desert Solitaries. As I read (actually almost chanted the proclamation) I could just see them all rejoicing. Look at this person whom the whole world seemed to ignore, who lived humbly and gently, here in reality resides the grace of God.
I aways thought of that meeting as God's sign that the evangelization that needed to take place was not of the mentally ill but of the parish who does not really understand the Gospel.
I don't understand what it means to be spiritual but not religious. It seems to me that spirituality cannot exist without some reference to religion, even if that reference is "I reject A, B, and C."
DeletePeople who are spiritual seem to trust their own sense of the Eternal over the teaching in a specific religion or denomination.
Lord knows I am guilty of cherry picking all kinds of teachings and theological ideas and am probably paving my own road to Hell by doing so (not to mix metaphors!). But trying to be spiritual without some guidance from a system that has withstood the test of time strikes me as futile as trying to exist in a total vacuum.
From my reading, and experience, most SBNR people in the US were raised with some kind of a religious background. So they were grounded in a formal religious system. However, as they mature, they find that troubling questions are seldom answered, and are usually strongly discouraged. As a Catholic, my questions were dismissed by referring me to the catechism or with some kind of standard apologetics. Evangelical Protestants, especially this generation of young adults who were often the first to go to college and meet others with different ideas, and learn that what they were taught often doesn’t make sense when they learn more about science, are becoming SBNR. They meet gay people and realize that they are good. They begin to comprehend the misogyny inherent in the conservative Protestant AND Catholic teachings about women. When questions aren’t answered, and often aren’t even allowed, people begin going out on their own to seek answers. In my case, I did a systematic, but shallow, study of the major world religions. I began to read spiritual writers rather than strictly religious writers- from all branches of Christianity, Judaism and from Buddhism and Hinduism. I realized that while I found much to admire in all religions, I had been too indoctrinated in Christianity due to where I was born - the culture- and the family I was born to, to easily convert to Hinduism, or Islam, or Buddhism or even Judaism. But I could no longer accept “ with docility “ all that Christianity teaches. However, I could easily accept that Jesus’s teachings provide me a solid spiritual base that I can use to guide my life. I don’t need to believe that he was God.
DeleteI also look to Thich Nhat Hanh and thé Dalaï Lama for spiritual wisdom. I was first converted to meditation by a Hindu writer named Eknath Eswaren. His book was introduced to me by a Catholic nun. I still struggle with prayer. I can’t accept many Catholic teachings. However I can look to many Catholic and other Christian spiritual writers for wisdom and insight. I don’t seek out theology very often, because I think that theology creates a burden of dogma and doctrine that are obstacles to spirituality. For me, spirituality is the relationship with God, not head knowledge or rote prayers, or ritual governed by something called the GIRM ( the antithesis of true spirituality as far as I’m concerned) or books full of must believe doctrine. It’s the relationship with God, however one understands God.
I loved my CP group because it was ecumenical, focused on listening to God. Differences in doctrine and dogma were of no importance. One woman I met through CP, christian meditation, was Jewish. She found that CP helped her grow in her spiritual life, not her formal religious life. The fact that officially it was called christian was irrelevant.
Since mainline Protestant Christians have minimal requirements for doctrinal belief, and, in the EC at least, focus far more on meaning than on dogmatic interpretations of the scriptures, it is the only formal denomination that I feel comfortable with right now, I have been tempted to try the Quakers, but my husband, who is religious but not spiritual, isn’t interested in that option. He likes the rituals.
Richard Rohr often says that more true spirituality is found in weekly AA meetings than in churches on Sunday. I suspect that he is right about that.
Can't speak for AA meetings, but AlAnon is basically just a behavior modification bootcamp. You didn't cause it, you can't control it, and you can't cure it, so quit trying to pretend you are SuperWoman because you are just giving your alcoholics more excuses for not quitting and you are a trial to yourself and others if you don't get out from under these codependent habits. Once in awhile you do encounter True Believers who have been "in program" for decades who are very dogmatic. My sense is that they need that tight leash. But most of us know that it works in spite of itself. And most of us graduate out of it. You don't go deeper into any mystery, much as a lot of AA and AlAnon adherents want you to believe.
DeleteI think that what Rohr sees in AA is a way that people of all religions or none finally face up to themselves honestly. He apparently has done a lot of pastoral work with alcoholics. In doing the 12 steps, they admit to their weaknesses, admit their helplessness, turn themselves over to God however they understand God ( higher power) acknowledge how they hurt others, find ways to to make amends, etc. It’s pretty Catholic when you think about it. And of course, it’s all about accompaniment. They always have someone to turn to as they make the journey. So the people who stick with it do seem to have a conversion experience. - metanoia- whereas most church on Sunday christians, even Catholics who dutifully go to confession every month, do not. Many Catholics seem to think that confession every month and absolution from the man in the Roman collar, are all that is needed. They never really undergo the experience of metanoia. It’s religion - not spirituality.
DeleteThe Twelve Steps
https://www.aa.org/the-twelve-steps
If you define metanoia as transformative change of heart, one can have several of those over a lifetime.
DeleteAA was invented by Bill D, a Catholic drunk, so no mystery about why it seems Catholic. Like most alcoholics, the program is controlling, self-involved, and centers around bragging to others all about your victories (at least in the meetings). The success rate of the program is widely disputed and hard to measure. But it helps many people.
DeleteI have no personal experience with either AA or Al Anon. If I know alcoholics they are high functioning and hide it well. I have only read about it. A close friend had an alcoholic mother in law. Her daughter, now about 50, is anorexic. My friend started going to Al Anon because of her mother in law. She said it helped her tremendously to deal with the m-I- l because her husband wouldn’t get involved. Later, she stayed because of her daughter.Eating disorders are also often an addiction. She said that her mentor in Al Anon was her lifesaver because unlike most anorexics who are able to learn to eat normally by their late 20’s, her daughter did not. Her mentor also had an anorexic daughter. She thinks that Al Anon was critical in helping her get through decades of challenges from her husband’s mother and her own daughter. Her daughter has been stable for several years now. Still painfully thin, but not to starvation level. She was hospitalized several times after dropping to about 85 pounds. She’s 5’8”. Beautiful and very talented, but her whole life has been constrained by anorexia.
DeleteBut, like everything else, it doesn’t work for everybody. Just as AA doesn’t.
Yah, I don't want to derail the thread by going on about 12-step programs. But I just don't see anything "spiritual" in it. Maybe in a closed group just for Catholics it would look more religious or spiritual or whatever. Some sponsors can turn into co-dependents. They're supposed to be hard-nosed, not let you whine about how awful everything is, but to turn the conversation back to what you can do about it (nothing) and getting you to redirect energy toward what you can do (be better to the people you neglected because you let the drunks in your life suck up all your time and patience).
DeleteJean said:
DeleteAA was invented by Bill D, a Catholic drunk, so no mystery about why it seems Catholic.
Father Doyle, known for his work advocating for sexual abuse victims, likes to introduce himself as "a recovering Catholic."
Well, obviously your experience with Al Anon was not helpful. It was helpful to my friend. Everyone is different.
DeleteRichard Rohr wrote an entire book about 12 step programs and spirituality - It's called Breathing Underwater. I read it more than 20 years ago and don't remember details. I still have it on the shelf, so I will try to see why he considers the program to be a spiritual program.
https://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Under-Water-Spirituality-Twelve-dp-1632533804/dp/1632533804/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Oh no, sorry, it was very helpful! I could not have got through my mother's last years without it. I just didn't see anything g spiritual in it.
DeleteFather Doyle, known for his work advocating for sexual abuse victims, likes to introduce himself as "a recovering Catholic."
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard that expression was in a conversation with the rector of an EC about 25 years ago. It was at the reception following the funeral liturgy of the son of one of my college roommates. He died of heart problems related to his severe cerebral palsy. My roommate had been raised Catholic but she and her Protestant husband had decided on the EC. While talking with the rector it came out that my friend and I had been roommates at a Catholic women’s college. He told me that my friend was one of many “recovering Catholics “ in his congregation and wanted to know if I was still Catholic. I was - then.
While reminiscing about old school days, time for me to thank all the sisters, brothers and priests who educated me for no pay. I know now the sexual abusers were out there but I never met one. For my part, I just saw self-sacrificing people who lifted a whole generation of Catholic boomers into the middle professional class. Whether my generation lived up to its social responsibilities is another separate question.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful too for the sisters and priests who helped educate me. I never met the ones who were sexual abusers, it seems to me from what I have read that those types kind of developed a cult of personality. The others just did their jobs and tried to serve God as best they could.
DeleteMore on freedom of religion. The issue of separation of church and state is the main reason I was opposed to Roe being overturned. I do not like abortion on demand through the third, or even the second, trimester. The ideal would be for the states to pass reasonable laws, but it was clear before the decision that they would not. There are very few late term abortions. More than 90% are done in the first trimester - with most of those done by 8 weeks. Given that most Americans do not agree that a zygote is a «baby » I do not believe that conservative Christian beliefs banning abortion from the moment of conception - including Catholic teaching- should be imposed on all Americans. It’s a violation of freedom of religion.
ReplyDeleteseven Florida clergy members — two Christians, three Jews, one Unitarian Universalist and a Buddhist — who argue in separate lawsuits filed Monday that their ability to live and practice their religious faith is being violated by the state’s new, post-Roe abortion law. The law, which is one of the strictest in the country, making no exceptions for rape or incest, was signed in April by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), in a Pentecostal church alongside antiabortion lawmakers …
The lawsuits are at the vanguard of a novel legal strategy arguing that new post-Roe abortion restrictions violate Americans’ religious freedom, including that of clerics who advise pregnant people. The cases are part of an effort among a broad swath of religious Americans who support abortion access to rewrite the dominant modern cultural narrative that says the only “religious” view on abortion is to oppose it.
“The religious right has had the resources and the voices politically and socially to be so loud, and frankly, they don’t represent the Christian faith,” …l “Those of us on the other side, with maybe a more inclusive voice, need to be strong and more faithful and say: ‘There is another very important voice.’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/01/florida-abortion-law-religion-desantis/