Appreciating the Brethren

I was reading the Intentional Disciples blog this morning and I came across a great statement from Vatican II that is useful reflecting on as we encounter non-Catholic Christians.

"... Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated brethren. It is right and salutary to recognize the riches of Christ and virtuous works in the lives of others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to the shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in His works and worthy of all praise."

"Nor should we forget that anything wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our separated brethren can be a help to our own edification. Whatever is truly Christian is never contrary to what genuinely belongs to the faith; indeed, it can always bring a deeper realization of the mystery of Christ and the Church."

-Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) (1964), I, 4.

Before I comment, the icon above is the apostle Peter (representing the Western - Latin Church) embracing the apostle Andrew (representing the Eastern - Greek Church). Unity has been a project in the Church since the beginning. Read Acts of the Apostles!.

As far as the statement, first, this is great to hear, especially from the teaching authority of the Church! And especially in 1964. Very prophetic.

Now, of course, none of this obviously contradicts our belief in the fullness of truth within the Catholic Church (which we pray all Christians, including us Catholics come to appreciate more and more). But, ultimately, ecumenism is an important part of the fullness of truth. Read what JPII wrote about it.

As far as our witness to non-Catholic Christians I think we need to always first recognize the enormity of our unity in Christ first and then, as we feel led, move forward with dialog and witness.
Our witness and our speech needs to be seasoned with salt though and should recognize that much disunity in the Church stems from miscommunication. Click on the above banner to access a really great Web site which is devoted to "building bridges and healing division with Evangelicals." This site explains Catholic truth in a way that is easy to understand for non-Catholics. Each article ends with the following prayer to Jesus for unity.

Lord Jesus, let Your prayer of unity for Christians
become a reality, in Your way
we have absolute confidence
that you can bring your people together
we give you absolute permission to move
Amen.

World Youth Day Celebration in DC - Oct 6

You may have heard of it. World Youth Day. Millions of Catholic young people getting together with the Pope to celebrate our faith and to be inspired to live for Jesus. But, you may have also heard its in Australia in 2008. Way too far away!!

Anyway, for those who can't go, like me (unless we have a miracle here), the Pope has encouraged dioceses around the nation to sponsor their own individual celebrations to serve as spiritual prep for those going and as an event for those who can't go - but do want to be spiritually close to the event in '08.

So on October 6th down at Catholic U in Washington DC they are hosting an all day "World Youth Day Event" sponsored by a great Catholic group called Youth Arise International.

Come for a powerful day of dynamic and professional speakers, praise and worship with Catholic musician Matt Maher, holy mass with Bishop Jacobs from Louisiana, Eucharistic Adoration, and fellowship with other young adults from all over the DC Metro Area. Find out more on MySpace or Facebook or their Registration page.

Youth Arise in connection with dioceses is doing events like this all around the world. They put together a little video to promote the event which follows:

Challenges and the hope of the Gospel

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of attending the 25th anniversary of Fr. Martin's Ashley, an incredible addiction treatment center located in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Close to 1200 people from all over the U.S. came to celebrate the impact Ashley has had on countless thousands for recovery and life. The sense of life flowing from God, brokenness, humility, honesty, hope, gratitude and community were tangible. It reminded me of the testimony about the early Christians, 'see how they love one another.' I found it deeply inspiring and challenging.

Yesterday I read an article from Chuck Colson's Breakpoint website about a troubling new study called: Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teens. The bottom line of the study, according to the article, is that evangelical teens may be engaging in premarital sex at younger ages and more frequently than their non evangelical counterparts. This despite the significant work of youth leaders to move kids to sign abstinence pledges. The article than points out the initial decisions these kids make needs to be lived out in the context of a community of believers, for grace to be truly transforming and ongoing. As Christians, regardless of our age or tradition, we all face these same issues.

For those of us who are Catholic Christians I would raise a couple of points for reflection based on the two previous paragraphs. First, do we have an ongoing means of helping people in and outside our parish to encounter the Lord Jesus personally and be renewed in the Holy Spirit? Do we have a concern for people in and out of the parish who are in desperate need of hearing there is good news and meaning to life? Do we help people feel safe to 'come as they are, to be who they are?' In Luke 15:1, we read how sinners were drawing near to the Lord to hear him. They were comfortable being in his presence. How about us, would those same folks feel welcomed and comfortable with us?

Related to the need for ongoing ways of connecting people with hearing the good news of Jesus and invitation to relationship with the Trinity through him is the question, do we have a relational structure in the parish? Not just the spontaneous type of relationships that comes for those involved in much of the service and activities of the parish, but intentional community, small groups, for anyone? Is there an ongoing pastoral plan for helping integrate parishioners and new comers into Catholic Christian relationships where grace is most effective?

Being present at Ashley's celebration and reading the article on the difficulty of teens living for Christ challenges me to pray about how the Holy Spirit wants me to take action personally and what he wants for us as a parish, how about you?

The New Evangelization

You may have heard of it. Its called the new evangelization. Is it a new message? No, it is the same message, same Gospel the Church has always proclaimed. But what Pope John Paul II meant by "new" is new in "ardor, methods, and expression."

A wonderful example of this is the Gospel being proclaimed in blogs like this and other multimedia - like a music, drama, video, etc. The following video by a group called LifeHouse is a wonderful example of evangelization at the most basic level. It is the struggle of a sinner trying to find their way back to God. A perfect video following this Sunday's liturgical readings on the Prodigal son. Watch the whole thing - its very powerful!

Passion for Jesus

ChristLife just released a podcast this week that includes a 10 minute teaching by Archbishop Collins of Toronto on listening to God through Scripture (lectio divina). I found it very inspiring - as he brings the book of Revelation to life! Listen now to this podcast!

And, by the by, it's a great inspiration to have an old (relative term:) guy like that up there passionately preaching the Gospel and inspiring the faithful to be committed disciples of Jesus.

Declare the wonderful deeds!

I went climbing this past weekend at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. It was an awesome time!! I may have to share some pictures from the trip with this blog when I get them developed.

While camping out, after the first day, I was hanging out around the campfire with my friends and began to read some excerpts from the Bible. Well, I turned to 1 Peter (no, not because my name is Peter:) and read this passage:

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy."

One of my favorites! What struck me was the purpose of "the Church" here is clearly laid out. The four nouns in the beginning refer to the people of the new covenant - the Church. We are called to "declare wonderful deeds!" And one "wonderful deed" that I always marvel at is creation and the beauty God created it with. Its awesome! Get away from the city sometime and get to the mountains or to the ocean or some aspect of His creation that speaks of His grandeur.

In that same spirit, check out this slide show of some of the most amazing landscapes, etc. in the world. May it give you some inspiration and lift your heart heavenward to the Father who created it all!

Scripture Memory

I think Scripture memory is obviously a great practice, especially if one wants to share his/her faith. I was recently watching a teaching on "catechesis" back in the days of the Old Testament. Well, apparently, all the good Jewish kids would memorize the whole Torah. That is five books man! And not the short or most faced paced ones in my view - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Even more crazy than that is the fact that those kids that wanted to be rabbis and were selected to begin training would memorize the whole Old Testament. I can't conceive doing that!!

So a big hat tip to the Jews of the Old Covenant for some serious "catechesis." So, I think some Christians are catching on to this whole Scripture memory stuff and starting their kids out real young. Check out the following video for a sample of young girl reciting Psalm 23 from memory.

Cute. She does a great job! Doesn't she? I doubt I could even say half those words when I was her age :)

Sharing our lives in order to share Christ

In the first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul says, "So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our selves, because you had become very dear to us." (1 Thes. 2:8) RSV

St Paul tells us something about his work with the churches. His evangelizing and pastoring were relational. He refers to being like a mother with a child (2:7) and later like a father with his children (2:11). He was inviting and welcoming others into the family of God, the Church. Those who had become disciples of Jesus, members of the church, knew the apostle Paul. I mean really knew him. They saw the way he lived and worked and preached while among them. They saw who he was when he taught and encouraged them as they gathered in homes and assembled together as the church and, when he was working to sustain himself so as to not place undo burdens on them financially. He openly shared his heart and life with them. Just read the letter he sent them with an ear to hear how he relates with them.

To be effective evangelizers especially with those we see somewhat regularly, unlike a one time divine appointment to share God's love with a person during a flight somewhere, - we are called to share who we are. Witnesses in our lifestyle and in our words. Just like St. Paul.

And that doesn't mean faking it. The Lord will use us in our brokenness and sinfulness, - if we are attempting to follow him faithfully, with the desire to grow in holiness and a willingness to make Him known.

Of course in sharing our lives with others, discretion is needed when sharing with the opposite sex. Where possible it is far better for women to share their lives with women and men to share with men, or to share in group settings or as teams.

People hunger for relationships and they long to see authentic witnesses. We are introducing people to a new way of living in Christ as members of the Church. When we share our faith in the Lord Jesus, let's be open to sharing our lives with others as well.

St. Paul, pray for us!