Yesterday, October 11, the Holy Father officially inaugurated
the Year of Faith with Holy Mass in St. Peter's Square surrounded by
Bishops of the Synod for the New Evangelization, which commenced October
7. The Holy Father gave special attention to the 50th anniversary of
Vatican II, and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church. Fifty years ago to the day, the Second Vatican Council opened
amid a flurry of speculation that the Church was finally going to get
with the times, and loosen up.
Most of this speculation was based upon a distortion of Pope John XXIII's proclamation
that, with the Council, "new day is dawning on the Church." Many
interpreted this as the opportunity to break with the less convenient
teachings of the past, to make the Church into something with which the
world would be more comfortable. Strangely, and sadly, many had already
decided that this was the Council's "spirit," which gave license to
ignore everything else Pope John said about the importance of retaining
the great wealth of the Church's teaching, and what actually was written
in the Council documents.
The resulting confusion
caused many to leave the Church, and perhaps many more to stay with a
severely diminished understanding of the faith that they claimed. For
some, enabled by seriously confused clergy, the impression was given
that the Church was only what one wanted it to be - nothing less,
nothing more. Any attempt by the Church to assert her authority or
define her teaching was seen as "authoritarian," and thus, easily
dispensed with by "modern" Catholics.
This confusion, the results
of which can be seen in low rates of Mass attendance, a crisis in
vocations and vice presidential debates, is what Pope Benedict has been
trying for some time to undo; and with the Year of Faith, that effort
becomes more concentrated. This has particular relevance for champions
of life and family.
Everyone who defends life and family in a world that too often values neither can learn something by reading His Holiness' homily and his public statement
on the eve of the Year of Faith. Of particular interest is the Holy
Father's insistence that the New Evangelization be grounded in Truth,
and not in the fleeting perceptions in what some think the world is
looking for.
We see
how the time in which we live continues to be marked by a forgetfulness
and deafness in relation to God. I believe, then, that we must learn the
simplest and most fundamental lessons of the Council, and that is that
Christianity in its essence consists in faith in God, who is Trinitarian
Love, and in a personal and communal encounter with Christ who orients
and guides our lives. Everything else follows from this.
Note this is not the Jesus
of Marxist imagination - the political revolutionary whose deliverance
was all about this world. As the Holy Father points out in Spe Salvi,
that character was Barabbas, the one chosen for mercy opposite Jesus,
by the crowds at Pilate's feet. And Jesus is not just your buddy,
another guy you know who pats you on the back and never challenges you.
No, the communal encounter with the One who orients and guides our lives
is much more than these convenient reinventions can offer. He is not
our invention, we are His. This is an encounter with Love Himself, with
Hope Himself and with Faith. This last will be the Holy Father's
emphasis over the next year, although we will undoubtedly see anew how
all of the great themes of the Catholic Church tie together in the
fullness of history.
For pro-life and pro-family
Christians, this is a chance to form ourselves anew in the beauty of the
Faith. Even as we fight the fight and run the race, we must renew
ourselves in the Source of Truth, which we must bring to every article,
argument, prayer and march. Failure to do this often leaves us empty,
flailing away at things we cannot possibly defeat without Him, convinced
of our own righteousness. If we're not careful, this can be destructive
for us personally, and in our relationships.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
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