Being Transformed

Reading USCCA, Chapter Four: "Bring About the Obedience of Faith"

The questions "for discussion" listed in this chapter are huge!

Challenges in "applying" my faith:
I feel it is important for me to "live it first."  It is so hard to speak about something unless I am living it.  I know Christ teaches us w/ authority through His Word (the Bible), but my witness to His Truth isn't respected by those "of the world" unless I've lived and am living whatever it is I say.

The help I expect from The Church is at least 3-fold:
1) Teach and form me in the Truth of Jesus Christ.
2) Lovingly and mercifully correct me when I go astray.
3) Show me by example how to be like Christ.

My parents are my best models of faithful discipleship to Christ.  Next would be many persons recounted in Scripture.  Next would be anyone who has suffered greatly yet perseveres in trusting God and sharing His Love.

Proclaiming the Gospel

Reading USCCA, Chapter 3: "Proclaim the Gospel to Every Creature"

"Principal Duty of the Council: The Defense and Advancement of Truth

The greatest concern of the ecumenical council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously. That doctrine embraces the whole of man, composed as he is of body
and soul. And, since he is a pilgrim on this earth, it commands him to tend always toward heaven.

This demonstrates how our mortal life is to be ordered in such a way as to fulfill our duties as citizens of earth and of heaven and thus to attain the aim of life as established by God. That is, all men, whether taken singly or as united in society, today have the duty of tending ceaselessly during their lifetime toward the attainment of heavenly things and to use only for this purpose the earthly goods, the employment of which must not prejudice their eternal happiness.

The Lord has said: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice” (Matt. 6,33). The word “first” expresses the direction in which our thoughts and energies must move. We must not, however, neglect the other words of this exhortation of Our Lord, namely: “And all these things shall be given you besides” (ibid.). In reality, there always have been in the Church, and there are still today, those who, while seeking the practice of evangelical perfection with all their might, do not fail to make themselves useful to society. Indeed, it is from their constant example of life and their charitable undertakings that all that is highest and noblest in human society takes its strength and growth."

http://conciliaria.com/2012/10/mother-church-rejoices-opening-address-of-john-xxiii-at-the-council/#more-2134

Regarding Pope John XXIII's five points for achieving the goal of teaching Christian doctrine more effectively:

1. "Be filled with hope and faith."  Amen.  What of anything worthwhile can be achieved without hope?

2. "Discover ways of teaching the faith more effectively."  Discovery is always an important part of learning and growing for both "teacher" and "student."

3. "Deepen the understanding of doctrine."  That's what I am actively trying to do through my current studies and service projects.

4. "Use the medicine of mercy."  Amen.  Maybe sometimes people need to be awakened to their need for mercy, but always people need mercy.

5. "Seek unity within the Church... and with all..."  Amen!  Yes!  The Lord has planted in my heart a special longing for Unity.  I consider this longing (while often painful) to be a gift of the Spirit.  A gift, not something just to be tolerated, but something to be used for God's glory and our edification.

Why would Christ call others to carry on His saving "vision"?  I consider the use of the word "vision" in this question to be only half of what Christ has commissioned.  I know that "vision" is much more than an idea or a dream or a purposeful plan; it is akin to "vocation."  Both words allude to one of our senses but mean to encompass our total being in some sort of recruitment to a purpose and more so, a conforming to God's Will through the very transformation of our Selves.  It is the transformation part that I would have us highlight.  Christ calls us to be transformed in such a way that we are then, by our very living, invitations to others to be transformed by Christ as well.

How does the Church help me understand the Bible?  Mostly by preserving the oral and written testimony throughout the ages.  How do the popes and bishops ensure that the "full and living Gospel will always be preserved in the Church"?  I don't think they actually do.  I think it is the Holy Spirit that does so.  When the popes and bishops are faithful to the Holy Spirit, then they are channels of the Holy Spirit's faithfulness.  Our faithfulness must always be first and foremost to Christ.  It is in our living of faithful communion with Christ that the Holy Spirit can work in us and through us.

Meeting God in Trust

Reading the USCCA by the USCCB, 2012.
Response to discussion questions from chapter two, "God comes to meet us":

God's generous self-revelation to me is the way God makes it possible for me to become more fully aware of my true self and of Him and of how I can respond to His initiated relationship.  It is much like the moon reflecting the light of the sun, or like a baby learning how to smile by gazing at her mother.

To say that we have a "revealed religion" means that our faith is a response to God's self revelation.  (Religion is the practice of our faith.)

Positive features of the American culture:
Founded on constitution that protects freedom of religion
Foundational principal of Freedom (and other human rights) for all persons
Freedom of movement
Relatively minimal government compared to other nations
Yet a significant Christian influence present (from foundational principals and current witness of genuine Christians)

Ways our culture needs to be converted or transformed by the Gospel:
We operate as a culture as if God doesn't exist; we need a renewed recognition of God and His Sovereignty.
We need to repent of our excesses: materialism, greed, gluttony, laziness...
We need to embrace our blessings as gifts to be shared, with each other, and with the rest of the world.

However, I must admit that I have my doubts any human government can sustain Christian values.  While it appears that a democratic form of government seems to be the best way to protect religious liberty, I think that in humanly ordered society the culture of death will always eventually over-take the culture of Life.  I believe it is only in The Church that we will experience a culture of Christ's Lordship.  And even in The Church, while we are yet in the world, while the world is yet under the influence of Satan (and his temporary dominion), we can't achieve such a "converted society" or "redeemed culture".  It is only when Christ has put everything under His Lordship that there will be a holy culture, i.e. the New Jerusalem.

I believe we are not called to be successful in anything; we are called to be faithful in everything.  It is only the Lord Who will make all things perfect and holy once again, by redeeming all in Christ.  Is is the redemptive work of Christ that will make all things Good/ New again.

What helps me to read and pray Scripture is to enter into "dialogue" with God (and hopefully sometimes with others).  This is why I blog!  I have no idea who might be interested in what I have to say on these matters.  But I put my thoughts "out there" in case my witness to God's working in my life might make a good difference in someone else's.

Re public policy?  I don't have a clue.  I am such a skeptic about most things "public" and all things "policy"!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."  ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

My Soul Longs For You, Lord

Reading the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, pub. USCCB, c. 2006, 9th printing 2012.
Responding to discussion questions from chapter one, My Soul Longs for You, O God:

What am I looking for in life?  Hmm... peace, wholeness, oneness-with-God, rest, meaningful-but-tranquil-connectedness.  As for my goals and ideals?  I find that for the first time in my life I don't have clear dreams or goals; I have fulfilled many (all?) of my previously envisioned goals, and I feel I have spent/exhausted my life along those lines; I want new dreams; I want an all-consuming dream for this next era of my life. 

How does God and the Church play a part in this?  Hmm... finding God's purpose for me now is the central defining balance-point and the only thrust/trajectory that will satisfy me.  As for "The Church," I don't know what part it plays "in my life"; rather, I think in terms of what part my dream (God's purpose for me) will play in the life of the Church. 

How is my life a journey toward God?  I am very aware (and have been for as long as I can remember) that my life is entirely about being held by God, walking w/ Christ, longing for being completely consumed with and by the Holy Spirit.  Even as a very young child I remember feeling a deeply poignant longing/ yearning for something; I was beginning, even at age 14, to realize that this fathomless hole inside me could only be filled by God.  All of my adult life has been a mixture of responding to God's drawing me into intimacy w/ Him and allowing myself to be distracted by other things, sometimes alternating between the two, more often struggling with the tension of the ever-present choice.

As a seeker I look for the truth in The Truth as revealed by the Author of All Truth, God, by reading His Word (the Bible), by communing w/ Him in prayer, and by opening myself further to the movement of the Holy Spirit by worshipping the Lord in communion w/ other believers, namely through the Mass.  I pay attention to people, things, and events in my life and continually ponder how they are part of God's Story.  I listen to my heart.

When I experience truth, beauty, goodness, I praise God.  I credit God for all good things.  I bless His Holy Name.  What makes it POSSIBLE for me to seek God?  Firstly, God Himself; secondly, God designed and created me to seek Him; thirdly God designed and created the universe to be a context, a time and space, where I can meet God and relate w/ Him. 

The main thing I have found in my search for Truth is this: Jesus-Christ is my Creator and Redeemer, my Teacher, Best-Friend, and Lover of my soul.  It is in trusting and following Jesus as my Lord that I can grow in my understanding of Truth.

Does being Catholic give any particularity to my search for God?  Hmm... I'm not sure.  I know that God definitely led me to finding my Home in the Eucharist.  I also know that I feel a soul-kinship with "the mystics."  But does being Catholic give me any sort of advantage in growing in the Lord?  I tend to think of being-Catholic as being open to becoming ever more aware of the bigness of God and ever more embracing of others.

My first family, especially my parents, have been a profound blessing, especially in terms of learning of and experiencing God as an absolutely unconditionally loving Creator and Parent.  My parents have done this by being themselves unconditionally loving and giving the credit to God, and by teaching me from His Word.  They also gave me an amazing start in life and introduction to the wonders and beauty of the world, most notably the awesomeness of creation and the sacredness of all peoples in all their variety.  They lay the groundwork for giving me the perspective that I am a citizen of the Earth and yet my true home is Heaven.

Right now, today, my longing for God is most genuinely expressed in my questioning how God wants to organize my life, order my schedule, prioritize my commitments.

Goodness

The idea of Good must be an absolute; it cannot be conceived as something relative.  Otherwise, the concept is really one of more-or-less-better-than, i.e. relatively better than something else, neither of which is wholly Good.

Furthermore, the idea of Good must be rooted in an acknowledgement of the existence of God.  Good must be freely generated from a Creator-of-the-Good, and that Goodness must be a feature of the Creator's God-ness.

Goodness must be "free".  Why?  It must be "free" in the sense that it's essence is not determined by any condition outside of itself.  That's part of the absoluteness of the concept: i.e. "Good" is good because that's what we call its inherent essence.  It's not "good" because it's better than something else.  It's not "good" because it's sometimes "good" for a limited time or situation or particular entities.  What is found to be "good" is good because it bears recognizable qualities of the "Good," and what is called and known as "Good" is Good because it is a hallmark of the One Who Is Good: God.

I think I'm suggesting that the "Good" is a facet of God's Being which is made most manifest in Christ, much as we have come to understand Truth being most perfectly revealed in Christ-The-Word.

I think what I'm searching for or contending with is a way to describe and contrast my experience of what I know about God and God's Creation, most particularly God's Eternal Reality versus the contemporary myth or world-view of our culture.  Most people I know recognize that our cultural thinking carries a propaganda that there is no Truth, let alone a Truth that can be known; there is only relative perspectives and opinions and preferences.  Similarly, most people recognize that our social thinking promotes the lie that nothing is good or bad, there is not absolute basis for a morality, there is only that which is more or less preferable and it's based on each person's or group's passing notions of such.

Furthermore, our culture/society has nearly succeeded in persuading most of us (even Christians) that anything that is "real" has a divided nature.  "There are two sides to every coin."  "There are two sides to every story."  "You can't know what is good unless you have also experienced the bad."  "You can't make a choice unless there are at least two things available."  I would argue that all of this thinking is part of the lie first expressed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.  I.e. I am arguing that dualistic thinking and conceiving is never fully or adequately revealing of that which is True because that which is True is One.  Similarly, that which is Good is Whole.

I'm sure there have already been some very great thinkers who have expressed very well what it is I am trying to understand as I try to describe my thoughts.  I realize that my present search for how to express something which I know deep w/in myself to be True is much like eyes trying to see through the darkness the Face of One Who's Voice they have heard in their heart.

More later.

Current Reading

I'm currently reading (and re-reading) Theological Reflection, Connecting Faith and Life by Joye Gros, O.P., D.Min. for a class.  It's a good introduction to the topic.  I may comment further on this TOPIC at a later date.  I plan to NOT quote or reference directly any material received from the program I'm in or any material recommended I read for the program.  This is simply a note that I'm reading this book, and I recommend it.

Re The Priesthood

I just read Sr. Sara Butler's paper "Women's Ordination: Is It Still An Issue?"  Butler gives an excellent explanation of the Church's Teaching on this topic.  I hope to learn more on this subject, but this is a GREAT over-view and she references other sources I hope to eventually explore.

To find this paper, google Sr. Sara Butler and then find in the list: Mar7dunwoodie.doc  (I don't know how to link a ".doc")