Thursday, September 20th, 2012
Daily Archive
20 September 2012
By necessity, evangelization takes place in a setting both personal for the seekers and in a world climate of very real, if slowly shifting concerns:
29. But evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of (a person’s) concrete life, both personal and social. This is why evangelization involves an explicit message, adapted to the different situations constantly being realized, about the rights and duties of every human being, about family life without which personal growth and development is hardly possible,[Cf. Gaudium et Spes 47-52; Humanae Vitae] about life in society, about international life, peace, justice and development- a message especially energetic today about liberation.
Jesus knew the people of his time. We must also, if we hope to be effective evangelizers.
Every seeker lives in a setting of personal concerns, and also interacts with loved ones, people of work and play and/or learning, and in a neighborhood or political sphere. These matters influence life. And life is where God meets us.
Pope Paul’s citation of “international life, peace, justice and development” is rightly connected to “liberation.” It’s as much true today as it was almost forty years ago. It will likely never change. Seekers and non-believers want to know what Christian hope has to say about these factors that weigh so heavily on human life. Is it enough that Christ and tradition point to the afterlife? I don’t think so. That wasn’t the main thrust of Jesus’ message. And while it serves as part of the inspiration of the Gospel message, it isn’t the whole message.
20 September 2012
Posted by catholicsensibility under
humor,
The Blogosphere [6] Comments
I’m seeing a third century quote attributed to Jesus getting a load of blogplay the past few days. I think I’m going to stay on the fence and not read too much into/of this stuff. Even if genuine, which I cannot imagine, there will be enough deniers to withhold universal traction, wherever that would lead.
Otherwise, interesting cocktail talk, but move along, theologians.
We all know Jesus was a carpenter, a son of a carpenter. Christians do not have a sacrament of woodcarving, let alone cabinet-making, so that strikes me as an appropriate follow-up of what we do know. Clergy don’t convert to Judaism before ordination, so we know that the masculinity of those at the Last Supper (which I’m not so sure we’re sure of) is more important than what we do know. And as for the connection to the fishing industry, the pope has a ring. But no mother-in-law.
Now, let’s get back to what really makes a difference in the imitation of Christ: how and what one does for others to exemplify the Lord, not how we look for little clues to indulge our fascination.
20 September 2012
The reservation of the Eucharist was begun for practical reasons. Adoration came later:
§ 70 § Christ present in the eucharistic species is a treasure the Church has come to cherish and revere over the centuries. The reservation of the Eucharist was originally intended for the communion of the sick, for those unable to attend the Sunday celebration, and as Viaticum for the dying. As the appreciation of Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic species became more developed, Christians desired through prayer to show reverence for Christ’s continuing presence in their midst. For Catholics, eucharistic adoration has “a sound and firm foundation especially since faith in the real presence of the Lord has, as its natural consequence, the outward, public manifestation of that belief.”(HCWEOM 5)
“HCWEOM” refers to Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, the rite treating our interaction with the Eucharist separate from Mass. Nearly all of these rites (they are liturgies) developed from lay devotions and experiences of the Eucharist apart from the Sunday liturgy.
All texts from Built of Living Stones are copyright © 2000, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
