What is the Catholic Church in favor of? (Part Two)

In my last post I discussed how important it is for us to not allow the culture to dictate the terms of our conversations about life and other important issues.  My point was that we have a beautiful and very consistent view of the world that needs to be proclaimed!  Unfortunately, because we allow the culture to dictate the terms of the conversation, our side of that conversation too often comes off as things we are against.

About 17 years ago I had a cyst reappear on my shoulder.  Because I lived in a parish where I didn’t have family or close friends nearby, I asked a nurse who was on my finance council if she would mind repacking my shoulder with gauze every other day for the two weeks the doctor prescribed.  I was so grateful for her positive response.  That time, every other day, gave us an opportunity to talk, and we started talking about medical ethics (a subject that still attracts my attention and study today).  She stated the view that the Church seems to throw out opinions and dictates.  Why should the Church have anything to say to medical professionals about medicine?  Thus began a conversation of several days in which she came to an appreciation of where the Church’s view and teaching comes from.

I relate this story because our consistent view of human life means that some things are inconsistent with a vision grounded in the dignity of the human person.  And so, I thought it might be important to enumerate these things without explaining them (which would take more than several weeks’ worth of articles).  If you have any questions about the things on this list, I'm sure your pastor or any other priest would be most happy to have a conversation with you, explaining what the Church’s understanding of the issues are.

Things which are inconsistent with our understanding that God is the Creator and Lord of human life include (so, this is not an exhaustive list, just the most current issues): contraception, abortion, euthanasia, vasectomies, tubal ligation, the medically unnecessary amputation of body parts (e.g. arms and legs - yes, that is a thing).  Basically, anything that disrupts, disfigures, or otherwise frustrates the normal functioning of the human body, which is otherwise functioning as designed, is something the Church recognizes to be an injury to the dignity of the human person.

That last sentence leaves an awful lot of ground for dialogue; dialogue which would uncover much of the political messaging we have been receiving over the last many decades (never mind the last several months) as a cynical play on our feelings and on our understanding of the suffering of so many in our society.

So, anyone interested in an honest conversation?

What is the Catholic Church in favor of?

Too often the Church is better known in our culture for what it is against rather than what it is for.  I guess this is the consequence of being engulfed in a societal shift and our sometimes desperate attempts to hold on to what we have known to be good.  Unfortunately, in doing so we too often allow evil to set the agenda and the terms of the conversation.  So, I’d like to take an opportunity to re-set the terms of the conversation.

What does the Church Christ founded, and we who are members of the Body of Christ, stand for?  What does our belief in Christ mean?  What does He bring to the experience of being fully human?  We find the answer in the Gospel according to St. John, chapter 10, verse 10b: “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Everything Jesus did, and does, is about healing us and bringing us to the fullness of life.  Why?  So that we might be with Him and the Father for all eternity through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And we are called to give witness to this truth of human existence.  We are called to give witness to its goodness and beauty.

We give witness to this truth, in particular, by cherishing, nurturing, and protecting human life.  At our best we do this quite naturally and beautifully.

When a woman is pregnant we are naturally attracted to her and to her growing child.  We want to be of help in nurturing, protecting, and caring for both her and her child.  It’s a beautiful thing.  It’s so beautiful that sometimes it gets a bit much for the mother.  People want to feel the baby growing inside of her; and the attention can get overwhelming. 

When the baby is born, it seems like everyone wants to hold him or her.  We make goofy faces and weird noises; and then we squeal with delight when the baby responds with a smile or giggle.  A nursing mother and child is a beauty to behold, and even dirty diapers bring strange expressions of delight.

It has been such a privilege to see a family delight in their child, even when things aren’t “perfect”.  My cousin has a child with a brain disorder wherein the hemispheres of the brain don’t have all the connectivity of a normal brain.  What is their response?  They love her all the more even as they strive to get her the help she needs to have her best life.  And I’ve seen this in so many families.

As we grow older we don’t stop needing the love, care, and protection of those around us, especially as we make our way through the “third” stage of life.  This can be particularly difficult when dementia or Alzheimer’s is involved.  And yet, that too can be very beautiful.  As one daughter stated at her father’s funeral: “I fell in love with each of the personalities he developed as he made his way through that difficult time.”

The Christian way of life is love; in season and out.  Period.

Sacred Worship

This week we wrap up our series of reflections on parish life focusing on Sacred Worship.  This is the area of parish life the majority of us are most connected to in the life of the parish.  That is appropriate since the Vatican Council II teaches us that the Mass is “the source and summit of our life in the Church” (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium 10).  Unfortunately, that means it can also become a flashpoint for endless bickering in the parish family as well as the Church as a whole.  This is why it becomes particularly important that each parish have a well-functioning Sacred Worship Committee; and that that committee be committed to first of all understanding what the Church calls us to in sacred worship by studying the documents relating to the liturgy and the devotional life, and then discerning with the pastor how best to bring this about in the particular community.  In other words, it should never simply be about “what I like”.

I have been pleased to find at Sacred Heart – St. Patrick Parish a well-functioning Sacred Worship Committee and a real appreciation for liturgy well done and for the importance of the devotional life – indeed, there is a certain pride here in the devotional life.  There have been challenges, particularly in the area of music, which I hope we have begun to address in a satisfactory way.  But while much has been done to get all on the same page and moving together in all areas of our liturgical / devotional life, what has been accomplished thus far has primarily been about a new pastor and those already engaged getting to know one another and getting on the same page.  There remains the always ongoing task of engaging the larger parish.

You will find in our new Sacred Worship Committee Pamphlet a description of the several ministries which are necessary for the full flowering of the liturgy and the devotional life of our parish.  I have let our confirmation candidates know that, for our parish family to flourish, we need them to be involved BOTH in the life of the parish generally AND in the liturgical ministries; and there is plenty to do!  We are in particular need of help with hospitality (ushers), music (choir, instrumentalists, cantors), and altar servers.  If you can be of help in any of these areas especially, please see the sacred worship pamphlet for contact information.

The liturgy and our devotional life are uniquely important for the life of our parish community.  The way in which we come together in worship has a evangelizing effect all its own which draws our children, those who are searching, and ourselves as well to our God – Who reveals Himself to us in a particular way in our worship of Him through the paschal mystery of his Son in the power of the Holy Spirit.