Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.Amen.Our Parish Sacramental Life
DAILY AND SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1Mon 21st Sept No Mass St Matthew Tues 22nd Sept Devonport 9:30am Wed 23rd Sept Ulverstone 9:30am St Pius of Pietrelcina Thurs 24th Sept Devonport 12noon Fri 25th Sept Ulverstone 9:30am Sat 26th Sept Devonport 6.00pm ... Sts Cosmas & Damian Ulverstone 6:00pmSun 20th Sept Devonport 10:00am ... ALSO LIVESTREAM Ulverstone 10:00am If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Your prayers are asked for the sick:Sydney Corbett, Merv Jaffray, Delma Pieri, Lauren Lloyd, Vinco Muriyadan, & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:Judy Freeman, Fr Neville Dunne MSC, Shane Kirkpatrick, Graeme Wilson, Piet Kappelhof , Simeon Howe
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 16th – 22nd September, 2020Molly Page, Beryl Robertson, Dorothy Crawford, Leonard Payne, Patrick Laird, Margaret Scanlan, Iris Bird, Shirley Ranson, Aubrey Sheridan, Donald Philp, Stanley Henderson, Jack Corcoran, Peg McKenna, Joan McCarthy, Marie Stewart, Olive Rundle, Mely Pybus, Jean Archer, Eileen & Colin Conroy and Marie & Gary Trevena.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest
in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION
ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
After first becoming as still as I can, I read the Gospel passage slowly, as many times as I need.
Perhaps I imagine being one of the workers in the parable.
How do I react when I see the latecomers being paid as much as those who have worked all day?
Does this speak to me of justice … or of injustice?
Are there times when I want to grumble at the generosity of God?
With a spirit of loving generosity, I ask God for whatever I need to be able to live with an attitude of joyful freedom for the Kingdom of God.
I close my prayer with my own words of gratitude and by making a slow sign of the cross.
Weekly Ramblings
Last week I asked people to pray for the College of
Consultors as we met on Tuesday to look to address the challenges that the
Diocese faces as a replacement for Fr Brian Nichols who has been appointed
Vice-Rector of Corpus Christi Seminary in Victoria next year.
Thank you for your support – but could I ask you to
continue praying because we were only able to complete the first part of the
process. The Archbishop is speaking to several priests over the next week or so
to see if the next phase of the process can be completed or to see if we need
to go back to the drawing board.
With the newsletter today there is more information about
the Month of Prayer with information about the times for sessions where there
will be some explanation and an opportunity to experience the various forms of
the particular prayer style. The first style of prayer is a familiar one -
Rosary – which will take place as the Annual Rosary Pilgrimage on Sunday 4th
October. Timetable looks like this: 9am – Port Sorell; 10:30am – Sheffield;
11:50am – Lunch (14 Laura St, Latrobe BYOP); 2:45pm – Devonport (including DM
Chaplet); 4:00pm – Penguin; 4:55pm Ulverstone (Including Adoration &
Benediction); 6:00pm Supper & Fellowship. (See Noticeboards for more
details).
Next Friday evening at 7:00pm at Holy Spirit Church, Sandy
Bay, Jesse Banez will be ordained a Deacon, a step on his pathway to Priesthood
sometime early next year. Please keep Jesse in your prayers during this week
and into the future. Also, would you be so kind as to add Kanishka to your
prayers this week as he participates in his 2020 Retreat as part of his
Seminary training.
Stay safe,
stay sane and stay warm.
The Spiritual Rosary Pilgrimage is
an online activity that runs between September 8th (Birthday of Our
Lady), –October 7th (Feast of the Holy Rosary). Please go to the
website https://www.parousiamedia.com/the-spiritual-rosary-pilgrimage/
and sign up.
GRAN’S VAN
For the last few years Mersey Leven Parish has been assisting with Gran’s Van on Sunday evenings, generally during the month of April.
The Gran’s Van Organisation is asking if there is enough interest in the Parish community to extend this service to every Sunday during the year.
If the Parish is interested it would mean that helpers would be required on more than one occasion. If any parishioners think they may be able to help with coordinating, cooking, serving or driving the van could they please contact the Parish Office so a decision can be made whether to extend this service or not.
CLEANERS ROSTER OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH
As we are now back to weekday and weekend Masses, we are calling
out for volunteers to join a team with the cleaning of Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
Please contact the Parish Office 6424:2783 if you would like to help.
ST PATRICK'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL, LATROBE
On Friday 25th September staff
and students from St Patrick's Latrobe will hold a prayer service to
commemorate the Sisters of Mercy who have played a large part in the history of
our school. Parishioners are warmly invited to attend our prayer service
beginning at 10.30 am in the school hall followed by morning tea at 11am.
For catering purposes we would appreciate it if you could RSVP to the school
office on 64261626 or by email, stpatslat@catholic.tas.edu.au
NOVEMBER REMEMBRANCE BOOKS
November is the month we remember
in a special way all those who have died. Should you wish anyone to be
remembered, write the names of those to be prayed for on the outside of an
envelope and place the clearly marked envelope in the collection basket at Mass
or deliver to the Parish Office by Thursday
22nd October.
SILENT
RETREAT EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN
Come and join us in this beautiful experience with God! Latin Mass, Rosary, Adoration, Conferences, Confession, Spiritual Direction and the Way of the Cross.
Emmanuel Centre, 123 Abbott Street, Newstead. Date: 26th – 31st October, 2020.
Cost $550.00 per person. RSVP 0418 183 411 email palavravivatasmania@gmail.com
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
After first becoming as still as I can, I read the Gospel passage slowly, as many times as I need.
Perhaps I imagine being one of the workers in the parable.
How do I react when I see the latecomers being paid as much as those who have worked all day?
Does this speak to me of justice … or of injustice?
Are there times when I want to grumble at the generosity of God?
With a spirit of loving generosity, I ask God for whatever I need to be able to live with an attitude of joyful freedom for the Kingdom of God.
I close my prayer with my own words of gratitude and by making a slow sign of the cross.
Weekly Ramblings
Last week I asked people to pray for the College of
Consultors as we met on Tuesday to look to address the challenges that the
Diocese faces as a replacement for Fr Brian Nichols who has been appointed
Vice-Rector of Corpus Christi Seminary in Victoria next year.
Thank you for your support – but could I ask you to continue praying because we were only able to complete the first part of the process. The Archbishop is speaking to several priests over the next week or so to see if the next phase of the process can be completed or to see if we need to go back to the drawing board.
With the newsletter today there is more information about the Month of Prayer with information about the times for sessions where there will be some explanation and an opportunity to experience the various forms of the particular prayer style. The first style of prayer is a familiar one - Rosary – which will take place as the Annual Rosary Pilgrimage on Sunday 4th October. Timetable looks like this: 9am – Port Sorell; 10:30am – Sheffield; 11:50am – Lunch (14 Laura St, Latrobe BYOP); 2:45pm – Devonport (including DM Chaplet); 4:00pm – Penguin; 4:55pm Ulverstone (Including Adoration & Benediction); 6:00pm Supper & Fellowship. (See Noticeboards for more details).
Next Friday evening at 7:00pm at Holy Spirit Church, Sandy Bay, Jesse Banez will be ordained a Deacon, a step on his pathway to Priesthood sometime early next year. Please keep Jesse in your prayers during this week and into the future. Also, would you be so kind as to add Kanishka to your prayers this week as he participates in his 2020 Retreat as part of his Seminary training.
Stay safe,
stay sane and stay warm.
The Spiritual Rosary Pilgrimage is
an online activity that runs between September 8th (Birthday of Our
Lady), –October 7th (Feast of the Holy Rosary). Please go to the
website https://www.parousiamedia.com/the-spiritual-rosary-pilgrimage/
and sign up.
GRAN’S VAN
For the last few years Mersey Leven Parish has been assisting with Gran’s Van on Sunday evenings, generally during the month of April.
The Gran’s Van Organisation is asking if there is enough interest in the Parish community to extend this service to every Sunday during the year.
If the Parish is interested it would mean that helpers would be required on more than one occasion. If any parishioners think they may be able to help with coordinating, cooking, serving or driving the van could they please contact the Parish Office so a decision can be made whether to extend this service or not.
CLEANERS ROSTER OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH
As we are now back to weekday and weekend Masses, we are calling
out for volunteers to join a team with the cleaning of Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
Please contact the Parish Office 6424:2783 if you would like to help.
ST PATRICK'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL, LATROBE
On Friday 25th September staff
and students from St Patrick's Latrobe will hold a prayer service to
commemorate the Sisters of Mercy who have played a large part in the history of
our school. Parishioners are warmly invited to attend our prayer service
beginning at 10.30 am in the school hall followed by morning tea at 11am.
For catering purposes we would appreciate it if you could RSVP to the school
office on 64261626 or by email, stpatslat@catholic.tas.edu.au
NOVEMBER REMEMBRANCE BOOKS
November is the month we remember in a special way all those who have died. Should you wish anyone to be remembered, write the names of those to be prayed for on the outside of an envelope and place the clearly marked envelope in the collection basket at Mass or deliver to the Parish Office by Thursday 22nd October.
SILENT
RETREAT EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN
Come and join us in this beautiful experience with God! Latin Mass, Rosary, Adoration, Conferences, Confession, Spiritual Direction and the Way of the Cross.
Emmanuel Centre, 123 Abbott Street, Newstead. Date: 26th – 31st October, 2020.
Cost $550.00 per person. RSVP 0418 183 411 email palavravivatasmania@gmail.com
Letter From Rome A Cardinal Says He's Open To Women's Ordination;A Priest Who Did So Remains Suspended
Irish Redemptorist Tony Flannery says he's been given the change to recant
- Robert Mickens, Rome, September 18, 2020.
This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscriptionOne of world's most influential cardinals recently admitted
that he is "open" to the idea of ordaining women to the Catholic
priesthood.
"I am not saying that women have to become priests; I
just don't know. But I'm open to it," said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich
SJ in an interview published September 13 on the website of KNA, the German
Catholic news agency.
Hollerich is a high-profile cardinal with international
stature due to his position as president of the Commission of the Episcopal
Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). He's also archbishop of his native
Luxembourg.
So his views matter.
But just a few days after he commented on women priests,
Tony Flannery – the Irish Redemptorist who was suspended from priestly ministry
in 2012, primarily for his support of women's ordination – revealed that the
Vatican had sent him a series of doctrinal proposals in July (via his superior
general) to which he would have to "submit" as a first step towards
"a gradual readmission" to public ministry.
One wonders if the men at the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith (CDF) are going to press Pope Francis to have Cardinal Hollerich
recant and force him to sign a fidelity oath similar to the one placed before
Father Flannery.
They'd better move quickly. In just a few weeks the
62-year-old Jesuit will mark the first anniversary of getting his red hat.
Or what about those German bishops who have also called for
open discussion on ordaining women to the priesthood? There are several of
them.
Some, like Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart,
have long stated their support for women's ordination. And recently more have
joined him, including the president of the German episcopal conference, Bishop
Georg Bätzing of Limburg.
Is the pope going try to muzzle them, too? Would he suspend
them?
Rethinking Church teaching on human sexuality
It's important to remember that Tony Flannery's case goes
back to 2012 when Benedict XVI was still pope and the late Cardinal William
Levada was the CDF prefect.
But, no matter who is sitting on Peter's Chair, evidently
there's an ethos and set of protocols so ingrained in the people at the old
Holy Office that they still see it as their mission to be inquisitors and
doctrinal watchdogs.
Mind you, Flannery was not suspended solely because of his
support for women's ordination. He was also canned for questioning other Church
teachings and disciplines over the years.
So in addition to submitting to the statement that "a
baptized male alone receives sacred ordination validly", as the price for
returning to ministry, the CDF has also generously offered him the chance to
submit to three other doctrinal formulae.
He is to affirm that "homosexual practices are contrary
to the natural law"; that unions other than marriage between a man and a
woman "do not correspond to God's plan for marriage and family"; and
that "gender theory is not accepted by Catholic teaching".
He says he's never expressed any views on so-called
"gender theory" and is confused as to why that issue is in his CDF
file. Who wouldn't be?
It's pretty ironic that Flannery was suspended because he
raised questions about these issues in a popular column he used to write in a
magazine called Reality. This was probably too much for churchmen who tend to
see "reality" as a threat to their pie-in-the-sky version of
religion.
We should not forget to mention that Jesus never ordained
anyone and he never said much about sex, certainly not about homosexuality. At
least that's what is recorded in the Gospel accounts.
Father Flannery is not the only Catholic, nor is he the only
ordained presbyter to probe the Church's teachings on these issues. There are
even bishops and cardinals now who are doing the same.
Needless to say, the 73-year-old Redemptorist has no
intention of signing the CDF fidelity oaths, which – quite frankly – seem like
something from an era and type of practice we thought the Church was moving
beyond with the election of Pope Francis and the publication of his vision for
ecclesial renewal and reform, Evangelii gaudium.
Tony Flannery has a few more things to say on these topics
and others. You can find them in his new book, which will be on the bookshelves
October 10th. It's called, From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine.
Eight Laws Of Change
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
While orthodoxy is about correct beliefs, orthopraxy is about right practice: doing the practices and living the lifestyles that end up changing our consciousness. Francis of Assisi said to the first friars, “You only know as much as you do!” [1] Franciscan teaching, which is based in Scripture, has freed me and many others to live more embodied, loving lives.
The Franciscans are not alone in their emphasis on practice. In his book The 8 Laws of Change: How to Be an Agent of Personal and Social Transformation, author Stephan A. Schwartz offers life-practices he gathered from observing the Quakers. Their actions—grounded in contemplation—have had a profound impact, helping to abolish slavery, promote gender equity, and reform prisons and other institutions. Schwartz writes: How could this small group of people create movements that ultimately involve millions, tens of millions? This is a tiny group whose beingness is so powerful that enough people personally change their choices so that the desired change becomes society’s new norm. In studying the histories of these great social transformations, eight laws—I hesitate to call them laws, but because they are constants in each case, I think they have earned the term—begin to emerge. . . . Taken together, they reveal how individual choice linked in consensus becomes the strategy of beingness that creates change. Adherence to these Eight Laws is not the unique domain of Quakers, of course. But in their efforts, it can be clearly seen. Here are the laws: First Law. The individuals, individually, and the group, collectively, must share a common intention. Second Law. The individuals and the group may have goals, but they may not have cherished outcomes. Third Law. The individuals in the group must accept that their goals may not be reached in their lifetimes and be okay with this. Fourth Law. The individuals in the group must accept that they may not get either credit or acknowledgment for what they have done and be authentically okay with this. Fifth Law. Each person in the group, regardless of gender, religion, race, or culture, must enjoy fundamental equality, even as the various roles in the hierarchy of the effort are respected. Sixth Law. The individuals in the group must foreswear violence in word, act, or thought. Seventh Law. The individuals in the group and the group itself must make their private selves consistent with their public postures. Eighth Law. The individuals in the group and the group collectively must always act from the beingness of life-affirming integrity. [2]
[1] “The Legend of Perugia,” Saint Francis of Assisi: Omnibus of Sources (Franciscan Press: 1991), 74. [2] Stephan A. Schwartz, The 8 Laws of Change: How to Be an Agent of Personal and Social Transformation (Inner Traditions/Bear & Company: 2015), 17-18. Moving Beyond Mistakes And Weaknesses
The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused.
Michael Buckley wrote those words and they contain an important challenge. We’re forever trying to make excuses for things we need not make excuses for and are forever trying to excuse the inexcusable. Neither is necessary. Or helpful.
We can learn a lesson from how Jesus dealt with those who betrayed him. A prime example is the apostle Peter, specially chosen and named the very rock of the apostolic community. Peter was an honest man with a childlike sincerity, a deep faith, and he, more than most others, grasped the deeper meaning of who Jesus was and what his teaching meant. Indeed, it was he who in response to Jesus’ question (Who do you say I am?) replied, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” Yet minutes after that confession Jesus had to correct Peter’s false conception of what that meant and then rebuke him for trying to deflect him from his very mission. More seriously, it was Peter who, within hours of an arrogant boast that though all others would betray Jesus, he alone would remain faithful, betrayed Jesus three times, and this in Jesus’ most needy hour.
Later we are privy to the conversation Jesus has with Peter vis-à-vis those betrayals. What’s significant is that he doesn’t ask Peter to explain himself, doesn’t excuse Peter, and doesn’t say things like: “You weren’t really yourself! I can understand how anyone might be very frightened in that situation! I can empathize, I know what fear can do to you!” None of that. The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused. In Peter’s betrayal, as in our own betrayals, there’s invariably some of both, the excusable and the inexcusable.
So what does Jesus do with Peter? He doesn’t ask for an explanation, doesn’t ask for an apology, doesn’t tell Peter that it is okay, doesn’t offer excuses for Peter, and doesn’t even tell Peter that he loves him. Instead he asks Peter: “Do you love me?” Peter answers yes – and everything moves forward from there.
Everything moves forward from there. Everything can move forward following a confession of love, not least an honest confession of love in the wake of a betrayal. Apologies are necessary (because that’s taking ownership of the fault and the weakness so as to lift it completely off the soul of the one who was betrayed) but excuses are not helpful. If the action was not a betrayal, no excuse is necessary; if it was, no excuse absolves it. An excuse or an attempt at one serves two purposes, neither of them good. First, it serves to rationalize and justify, none of which is helpful to the betrayed or the betrayer. Second, it weakens the apology and makes it less than clean and full, thus not lifting the betrayal completely off the soul of the one who has been betrayed; and, because of that, is not as helpful an expression of love as is a clear, honest acknowledgement of our betrayal and an apology which attempts no excuse for its weakness and betrayal.
What love asks of us when we are weak is an honest, non-rationalized, admission of our weakness along with a statement from the heart: “I love you!” Things can move forward from there. The past and our betrayal are not expunged, nor excused; but, in love, we can live beyond them. To expunge, excuse, or rationalize is to not live in the truth; it is unfair to the one betrayed since he or she bears the consequences and scars.
Only love can move us beyond weakness and betrayal and this is an important principle not just for those instances in life when we betray and hurt a loved one, but for our understanding of life in general. We’re human, not divine, and as such are beset, congenitally, body and mind, with weaknesses and inadequacies of every sort. None of us, as St. Paul graphically says in his Epistle to the Romans, ever quite measure up. The good we want to do, we end up not doing, and the evil we want to avoid, we habitually end up doing. Some of this, of course, is understandable, excusable, just as some of it is inexcusable, save for the fact that we’re humans and partially a mystery to ourselves. Either way, at the end of the day, no justification or excuses are asked for (or helpful). We don’t move forward in relationship by telling either God or someone we have hurt: “You have to understand! In that situation, what else was I to do too? I didn’t mean to hurt you, I was just too weak to resist!” That’s neither helpful, nor called for. Things move forward when we, without excuses, admit weakness, and apologize for betrayal. Like Peter when asked three times by Jesus: “Do you love me?” from our hearts we need to say: “You know everything, you know that I love you.”
Where Do We Go From Here 
This article is taken from the weekly Blog of Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can read his blog here
For most people in our community and across the culture generally, life revolves around the school year. Most parishes have recognized this, which is why student programs and faith formation classes follow the school schedule. Consequently, while not a liturgical season, the start of the school year marks a new season of life in our parish. That’s why we call the weekend after Labor Day “Kick-Off Weekend.”
It would be cliché to say that this year’s kick-off will be unlike any that have come before. And yet, it’s true. Kick-off is normally the biggest weekend of the year in activity, energy, and attendance, which is why it’s usually my favorite weekend. And while it will be different, the 2020 kick-off will not be lacking in activity, energy, or (thanks to our online broadcasts) attendance. If anything, its importance is only magnified as we’re all craving the re-connectedness it symbolizes.
What’s new this year?
Connecting Online and In-Person ChurchOnline church is not going away. Online should always be an option for the homebound and it remains the most effective way to introduce the unchurched to your church. But we know the truth is that even pre-COVID some “regulars” at church came no more than twice a month. Maybe you don’t like that fact, and perhaps you want to work to reverse it (we do). But meanwhile, online is a great way to keep your parishioners engaged with the parish even when they’re not physically present.
That’s why this year we are going to continue improving our broadcast capabilities, especially in the ways in which we can connect our in-person and online audiences. It is our view that these two audiences are actually one community of worship and faith. For Kick-off Weekend, we’ll be trying out something very special – something you might have never before seen on a parish Mass broadcast. Tune-in Sunday morning to find out.
“Watch Parties”While online church is not going away, the particular novelty it enjoyed at the beginning of the crisis has been wearing off. Over the past few weeks, we have noticed an increased interest in coming back to church. But for many, that journey will be made in small steps. That’s why this fall we’re trying out something new to create just such a step.
“Watch Parties” are small in-home gatherings of friends, neighbors or extended family, to attend our weekend Mass broadcast together. These gatherings are safe: distanced, masked, and outdoors, when possible. Once Mass is over, discussion questions can kick-start faith-sharing on the topic of the weekend’s message. The big benefit is that they are born out of pre-existing relationships. The host can extend invitations to people who are otherwise unchurched and might never have accepted an invitation to church.
Video! Video! Video!Over the summer, we’ve greatly increased our capacity for the development of video content. It’s not just because we like seeing ourselves on screen: this year, almost all of our programs will utilize video in some way. In the absence of most in-person gatherings, the success of our student programs, small groups, and children’s faith formation is almost completely dependent on producing quality video messages and content. One example is our daily devotional email. We’ve seen a huge increase in interest since we turned the old text-based message into a video format at the beginning of the summer.
It’s tempting to want to just go back to normal. But the health of our parishes depends on our ability to move forward. Now is the time to kick-start that journey.
Spiritual and Religious: The Benefits of Being Both
Many people today define themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’, but is it really that easy, or healthy, to separate spirituality and religion from one another? James Martin SJ thinks not, and in an extract from The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, he explains why religion should not be dismissed so readily (HarperOne, 2010).This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
Everybody seems to be spiritual these days – from your college roommate, to the person in the office cubicle next to yours, to the subject of every other celebrity interview. But if ‘spiritual’ is fashionable, ‘religious’ is as unfashionable. This is usually expressed as follows: ‘I’m spiritual but just not religious.’ It’s even referred to by the acronym SBNR.
There are so many people who describe themselves as SBNR that sometimes I wonder if the Jesuits might attract more people if they gave the Spiritual But Not Religious Exercises.
The thinking goes like this: being ‘religious’ means abiding by the arcane rules and hidebound dogmas, and being the tool of an oppressive institution that doesn’t allow you to think for yourself. (Which would have surprised many thinking believers, like St. Thomas Aquinas, Moses Maimonides, Dorothy Day and Reinhold Niebuhr.) Religion is narrow-minded and prejudicial – so goes the thinking – stifling the growth of the human spirit. (Which would have surprised St. Francis of Assisi, Abraham Joshua Heschel, St. Teresa of Ávila, Rumi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Or worse, as several contemporary authors contend, religion is the most despicable of social evils, responsible for all the wars and conflicts around the world.
Sadly, religion is in fact responsible for many ills in the modern world and evils throughout history: among them the persecution of Jews, endless wars of religion, the Inquisition, not to mention the religious intolerance and zealotry that leads to terrorism.
You can add to this list smaller things: your judgmental neighbour who loudly tells you how often he helps out at church, your holier-than-thou relative who trumpets how often she reads the Bible, or that annoying guy at work who keeps telling you that belief in Jesus is sure to bring you amazing financial success.
There is a human and sinful side to religion since religions are human organisations, and therefore prone to sin. And frankly, people within religious organisations know this better than those outside of them.
Some say that on balance religion is found wanting. Still, I would stack up against the negatives some positive aspects: traditions of love, forgiveness and charity as well as the more tangible outgrowths of thousands of faith-based organisations that care for the poor, like Catholic charities or the vast network of Catholic hospitals and schools that care for poor and immigrant populations. Think too of generous men and women like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Catherine of Siena, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King again. Speaking of Dr. King, you might add Abolition, women’s suffrage, and civil rights movements, all of which were founded on explicitly religious principles. Add to that list the billions of believers who have found in their own religious traditions not only comfort but also a moral voice urging them to live selfless lives and to challenge the status quo.
And Jesus of Nazareth. Remember him? Though he often challenged the religious conventions of his day, he was a deeply religious man. (This is something of an understatement).
By the way, atheism doesn’t have a perfect record either. In his book No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers, Michael Novak points out that while many atheist thinkers urge us to question everything, especially the record of organised religion, atheists often fail to question their own record. Think of the cruelty and bloodshed perpetrated, just in the 20th century, by totalitarian regimes that have professed ‘scientific atheism.’ Stalinist Russia comes to mind.
On balance, I think religion comes out on top. And when I think about the examples of the maleficent effects of religion, I remember the English novelist Evelyn Waugh, a dazzling writer who was by many accounts a nasty person. One of Waugh’s friends once expressed astonishment that he could be so mean-spirited and a Christian. Think, said Waugh, how much worse I would be if I were not Christian.
Still, it’s not surprising that, given all the problems with organised religion, many people would say, ‘I’m not religious.’ They say: ‘I’m serious about living a moral life, maybe even one that centres on God, but I’m my own person.’
‘Spiritual’ on the other hand, implies that freed from unnecessary dogma, you can be yourself before God. The term may also imply that you have sampled a variety of religious beliefs that you have integrated into your life. You meditate at a Buddhist temple (which is great); participate in seders with Jewish friends at Passover (great, too); sing in a gospel choir at a local Baptist church (great again); and go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at a Catholic church (also great).
You find what works for you, but don’t subscribe to any one church: that would be too confining. Besides, there’s no one creed that represents exactly what you believe.
But there’s a problem. While ‘spiritual’ is obviously healthy, ‘not religious’ may be another way of saying that faith is something between you and God. And while faith is a question of you and God, it’s not just a question of you and God.
Because this would mean that you’re relating to God alone. And that means that there’s no one to suggest when you might be off track.
We all tend to think that we’re correct about most things, and spirituality is no exception. And not belonging to a religious community means less of a chance of being challenged by a tradition of belief and experience, less chance to see when you are misguided, seeing only part of the picture, or even wrong.
Let’s consider a person who wants to follow Jesus Christ on her own. Perhaps she has heard that if she follows Christ she will enjoy financial success – a popular idea today. Were she part of a mainstream Christian community, though, she would be reminded that suffering is part of the life of even the most devout Christian. Without the wisdom of a community, she may gravitate towards a skewed view of Christianity. Once she falls on hard times financially, she may drop God, who has ceased to meet her personal needs.
Despite our best efforts to be spiritual we make mistakes. And when we do, it’s helpful to have the wisdom of a religious tradition.
This reminds me of a passage from a book called Habits of the Heart, written by Robert Bellah, a sociologist of religion, and other colleagues, in which they interviewed a woman named Sheila, about her religious beliefs. ‘I believe in God,’ she said. ‘I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice.’
Even more problematic than Sheilaism are spiritualities entirely focused on the self, with no place for humility, self-critique, or any sense of responsibility for the community. Certain ‘New Age’ movements find their goal not in God, or even the greater good, but in self-improvement – a valuable goal – but one that can degenerate into selfishness.
Religion can provide a check to my tendency to think that I am the centre of the universe, that I have all the answers, that I know better than anyone about God, and that God speaks most clearly through me.
By the same token, religious institutions need themselves to be called to account. And here the prophets among us, who are able to see the failures, weaknesses, and plain old sinfulness of institutional religion, play a critical role. Like individuals who are never challenged, religious communities can often get things tragically wrong, convinced that they are doing ‘God’s will.’ (Think of the Salem witch trials, among other examples.) They might even encourage us to become complacent in our judgments. Unreflective religion can sometimes incite people to make even worse mistakes than they would on their own. Thus, those prophetic voices calling their communities to continual self-critique are always difficult for the institution to hear, but nonetheless necessary. In his own way, Ignatius exercised a prophetic role by asking Jesuits not to seek high clerical office in the church – like that of bishop, archbishop or cardinal. In fact, Jesuits make a promise not to ‘ambition’ for high office even within their own order. In this way, Ignatius not only tried to prevent careerism among the Jesuits, but also spoke a word of prophecy to the clerical culture of church in his time.
It’s a healthy tension: the wisdom of our religious traditions provides us with a corrective for our propensity to think that we have all the answers; and prophetic individuals can moderate the natural propensity of institutions to resist change and growth. As with many aspects of the spiritual life, you need to find balance in the tension.
Religion provides us with something else we need: stories of other believers, who help us understand God better than we could on our own.
Isaac Hecker was a 19th-century convert to Catholicism who became a priest and founded the American religious order known as the Paulists. He may have summed it up best. Religion, said Hecker, helps you to ‘connect and correct.’ You are invited into a community to connect with one another and with a tradition. At the same time, you are corrected when you need to be. And you may be called to correct your own community – though a special kind of discernment and humility is required in those cases.
Religion can lead people to do terrible things. At its best, though, religion modifies our natural tendency to believe that we have all the answers. So despite what many detractors say, and despite the arrogance that sometimes infects religious groups, religion at its best introduces humility into your life.
Religion also reflects the social dimension of human nature. Human beings naturally desire to be with one another, and that desire extends to worship. It’s natural to want to worship together, to gather with other people who share your desire for God, and to work with others to fulfil the dreams of your community.
Experiencing God also comes through personal interactions within the community. Sure, God communicates through private, intimate moments – as in prayer or reading of sacred texts – but sometimes God enters into relationships with us through others in a faith community. Finding God often happens in the midst of a community – with a ‘we’ as often as an ‘I.’ For many people this is a church, a synagogue or a mosque. Or more broadly, religion.
Finally, religion means that your understanding of God and the spiritual life can more easily transcend your individual understanding and imagination. Do you imagine God as a stern judge? That’s fine – if it helps you draw closer to God or to become a more moral person. But a religious tradition can enrich your spiritual life in ways that you might not be able to discover by yourself.
Here’s an example: One of my favourite images of God is the ‘God of Surprises,’ which I first encountered in the novitiate. My own idea of God at the time was limited to God the Far Away, so it was liberating to hear about a God who surprises, who waits for us with wonderful things. It’s a playful, even fun, image of God. But I would have never come up with it on my own.
It came to me from David, my spiritual director, who had read it in a book of that same title, by an English Jesuit named Gerard W. Hughes, who borrowed it from an essay by the German Jesuit Karl Rahner.
That image was amplified when I read the conclusion of one of the great modern spiritual novels, Mariette in Ecstasy. Ron Hansen, an award-winning writer who is also an ordained Catholic deacon, penned the story of the religious experiences of a young nun in the early 1900s, loosely based on the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the French Carmelite. At the end of the story, Mariette, who has left the monastery many years before, writes to her former novice mistress, and assures her that God still communicates with her.
We try to be formed and held and kept by him, but instead he offers us freedom. And now when I try to know his will, his kindness floods me, his great love overwhelms me, and I hear him whisper, Surprise me.My image of the God who surprises and the God who waits for surprises came from three Jesuit priests and the religious imagination of a Catholic writer.
In other words, that idea was given to me by religion.
Overall, being spiritual and being religious are both part of being in relationship with God. Neither can be fully realised without the other. Religion without spirituality becomes a dry list of dogmatic statements divorced from the life of the spirit. This is what Jesus warned against. Spirituality without religion can become a self-centred complacency divorced from the wisdom of a community. That’s what I’m warning against.
One of world's most influential cardinals recently admitted
that he is "open" to the idea of ordaining women to the Catholic
priesthood.
"I am not saying that women have to become priests; I
just don't know. But I'm open to it," said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich
SJ in an interview published September 13 on the website of KNA, the German
Catholic news agency.
Hollerich is a high-profile cardinal with international
stature due to his position as president of the Commission of the Episcopal
Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). He's also archbishop of his native
Luxembourg.
So his views matter.
But just a few days after he commented on women priests,
Tony Flannery – the Irish Redemptorist who was suspended from priestly ministry
in 2012, primarily for his support of women's ordination – revealed that the
Vatican had sent him a series of doctrinal proposals in July (via his superior
general) to which he would have to "submit" as a first step towards
"a gradual readmission" to public ministry.
One wonders if the men at the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith (CDF) are going to press Pope Francis to have Cardinal Hollerich
recant and force him to sign a fidelity oath similar to the one placed before
Father Flannery.
They'd better move quickly. In just a few weeks the
62-year-old Jesuit will mark the first anniversary of getting his red hat.
Or what about those German bishops who have also called for
open discussion on ordaining women to the priesthood? There are several of
them.
Some, like Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart,
have long stated their support for women's ordination. And recently more have
joined him, including the president of the German episcopal conference, Bishop
Georg Bätzing of Limburg.
Is the pope going try to muzzle them, too? Would he suspend
them?
Rethinking Church teaching on human sexuality
It's important to remember that Tony Flannery's case goes
back to 2012 when Benedict XVI was still pope and the late Cardinal William
Levada was the CDF prefect.
But, no matter who is sitting on Peter's Chair, evidently
there's an ethos and set of protocols so ingrained in the people at the old
Holy Office that they still see it as their mission to be inquisitors and
doctrinal watchdogs.
Mind you, Flannery was not suspended solely because of his
support for women's ordination. He was also canned for questioning other Church
teachings and disciplines over the years.
So in addition to submitting to the statement that "a
baptized male alone receives sacred ordination validly", as the price for
returning to ministry, the CDF has also generously offered him the chance to
submit to three other doctrinal formulae.
He is to affirm that "homosexual practices are contrary
to the natural law"; that unions other than marriage between a man and a
woman "do not correspond to God's plan for marriage and family"; and
that "gender theory is not accepted by Catholic teaching".
He says he's never expressed any views on so-called
"gender theory" and is confused as to why that issue is in his CDF
file. Who wouldn't be?
It's pretty ironic that Flannery was suspended because he
raised questions about these issues in a popular column he used to write in a
magazine called Reality. This was probably too much for churchmen who tend to
see "reality" as a threat to their pie-in-the-sky version of
religion.
We should not forget to mention that Jesus never ordained
anyone and he never said much about sex, certainly not about homosexuality. At
least that's what is recorded in the Gospel accounts.
Father Flannery is not the only Catholic, nor is he the only
ordained presbyter to probe the Church's teachings on these issues. There are
even bishops and cardinals now who are doing the same.
Needless to say, the 73-year-old Redemptorist has no
intention of signing the CDF fidelity oaths, which – quite frankly – seem like
something from an era and type of practice we thought the Church was moving
beyond with the election of Pope Francis and the publication of his vision for
ecclesial renewal and reform, Evangelii gaudium.
Tony Flannery has a few more things to say on these topics
and others. You can find them in his new book, which will be on the bookshelves
October 10th. It's called, From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine.
Moving Beyond Mistakes And Weaknesses
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