Crazy Catholic Question #153: Suffering

I am having a really hard time understanding suffering, especially those who suffer directly from their experience with the church. Any insights?

Well, first of all, you are not alone. The purpose and meaning of suffering eludes us all, especially when we are in the thick of it. The church is unquestionably a fully human institution, and therefore far from perfect. In fact, as shown in the sexual crisis, we are a deeply flawed people.

But, we are also saturated with the grace and mercy of God. If we are able to open ourselves and receive this mercy, then we are drawn to share it as well. The “church” (aka, the people of God, not just our church leaders) has come in for the save so many times in my life that I have a deep loyalty to her. When my Dad was broken to the point of mental breakdown after his divorce, it was the People of God from the church that wrapped their arms around him and brought him back to health. When my family experienced a devastating house fire two days before Christmas when my daughters were only 8, 5 & 1 year old, the People of God from the church brought a fully decorated Christmas tree for our sad hotel room and a pile of gifts “from Santa.” And, of course, the People of God (namely ALL OF YOU) prayed and supported my family through the dark days of my health crisis back in 2016. My girls may not know their creed by heart, but they will NEVER forget these formative experiences of church.

That being said, the People of God are still human beings, both luminous in beauty and drenched in grace, but also prone to real failure and fraught with ugliness.

Richard Rohr emails a meditation each day from the Center for Action and Contemplation. I found the one from 10/23/18 on the “Traumatization of Spirituality” particularly insightful.

It is based on the work of James Finley, a clinical psychologist on staff at CAC. He speaks expertly—from a professional, personal, and mystical perspective—on suffering and healing. Here Jim explains how Spanish mystic John of the Cross (1542–1591) allowed trauma to transform him.

John of the Cross was invited by Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) to join her in reforming the Carmelite Order by returning to a renewed fidelity to prayer, simplicity, and poverty. The priests of the order did not take kindly to the suggestion that they needed reform and demanded that John stop his involvement. John said that he would not stop because he discerned in his heart that God was calling him to continue with this work. The priests responded in a very harsh manner, capturing him and putting him in a small dark prison cell with little protection from the elements. John was imprisoned for nine months. During that time, on a number of occasions, he would be taken out of his cell, stripped to the waist, and whipped. 

John felt lost. It wasn’t just because of the severity of his imprisonment. This was the Church! The priests who were mistreating him were people he had emulated. John went through what we could call the traumatization of spirituality, which can be described as a kind of dark night of faith in which we lose experiential access to God’s sustaining presence in the midst of our struggles. [I, Richard, imagine many are going through a similar experience as we learn about the Catholic Church’s extensive cover-up of sexual abuse.]

Trauma is the experience of being powerless to establish a boundary between our self and that which is about to inflict, or is already inflicting, serious harm or even death. It is one of the most acute forms of suffering that a human being can know. It is the experience of imminent annihilation. And so, when your faith in God has been placed in the people who represent God’s presence in your life and those people betray you, you can feel that God has betrayed you. And it is in this dark night that we can learn from God how to find our way to a deeper experience and understanding of God’s sustaining presence, deeper than institutional structures and authority figures.

For John of the Cross, his suffering opened up onto something unexpected.  John discovered that although it was true that he could not find refuge from suffering when he was in his prison cell, he also discovered that the suffering he had to endure had no refuge from God’s love that could take the suffering away, but rather permeated the suffering through and through and through and through and through. Love protects us from nothing, even as it unexplainably sustains us in all things. Access to this love is not limited by our finite ideas of what it is or what it should be. Rather, this love overwhelms our abilities to comprehend it, as it so unexplainably sustains us and continues to draw us to itself in all that life might send our way. 

This is why John of the Cross encourages us not to lose heart when we are passing through our own hardships, but rather to have faith in knowing and trusting that no matter what might be happening and no matter how painful it might be, God is sustaining us in ways we cannot and do not need to understand. John encourages us that in learning to be patiently transformed in this dark night we come to discover within ourselves, just when everything seems to be lost, that we are being unexplainably sustained by the presence of God that will never lose us. As this painful yet transformative process continues to play itself out in our lives, we can and will discover we are finding our way to the peace of God that surpasses understanding.

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #152: Conscience

How do I form my conscience so as to make important decisions with God’s guidance?

Conscience is a complex subject which requires some time and study to fully grasp. To that end, I recommend a few resources: First, the audio presentation by Mark Miller, CSSR on Fundamental Moral Theology now available on our website at this link: www.ctredeemer.org/we-form/education/adults.  Great for your commute to work. Long, but totally worth it. Next, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) is a very nuanced and helpful guide in our pursuit of understanding the role of conscience. Lastly, Darlene Fozard Weaver’s piece entitled Conscience: Rightly Formed & Otherwise, which I would like to paraphrase a bit below.

According to one of our most authoritative documents from Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, “Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a person - where one is alone with God, whose voice echoes in one’s depths.” Deep within our conscience, we have something that moves us towards what is right and just; the echo of God ever calling us to love, to do what is good, and to avoid evil. When we are in the thick of it and have to make a decision (such as when we find ourselves in a voting booth this week), it is our conscience that is operative and tells us to do this, and shun that.

So conscience does not create right and wrong (relativism) – it discerns and recognizes an objective moral law AND yet also is the “secret sanctuary - the innermost and inviolable part of us that ensures our dignity as a free and responsible agent; therefore coercing the conscience of another or acting against one’s own conscience (even if it goes against church teaching) violates the person. Love is impossible without freedom.

Since there are so many types of issues that fall across the moral spectrum, a conscience that dissents from church teaching on a particular question is not necessarily wrong. We need to recognize that Catholic moral teachings are not equally settled, specific, or authoritative, and teachings often change and grow. It’s not that truth is relative, it’s just that we don’t know all of it quite yet.

To form conscience well, we first need to desire the true and the good – while avoiding both moral subjectivism and a blind objectivism that cheats conscience of its dignity. This formation is a lifelong process involving the total person—one’s reason, emotions, embodied and social experience, imagination, and intuition.

Second, conscience formation requires that we promote the goods of kindness and mutuality – giving our children a vision of the world where others matter, and where our own happiness and well-being are tied to theirs.

Finally, and most importantly, a well-formed conscience requires faith; not simply assent to particular dogmas, but rather a living faith, the committed cultivation of an intimate relationship with God. By steadfastly placing ourselves before God’s loving gaze, by accepting God’s saving self-offer, we come to know ourselves and the world truthfully. As we share more deeply in the life of God, our experience of moral confusion elicits less fear, less judgement and more love. How? Faith answers the problem of conscience’s unreliability, not because faith guarantees the impeccable uprightness of conscience, but because faith tells us such perfection is neither possible nor necessary. Faith keeps us from scrupulosity as well as complacency. Faith keeps conscience from evading the burden of freedom through blind obedience and from abusing the gift of freedom by presuming it has no conditions. Faith may keep conscience from dissent or lead conscience to it. Faith keeps conscience from mistaking obedience, or freedom, or personal authenticity as its aim. That is, faith keeps us from mistaking our own goodness (however we understand it) as the direct goal of the moral life rather than an indirect outcome of it.

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Can a Catholic be Pro-Life and vote for a Pro-Choice candidate?

Can a Catholic be Pro-Life and vote for a Pro-Choice candidate?

As an employee of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (namely, the Catholic Church) I am not permitted BY LAW to tell you how to vote. So, if you hear a minister of ANY church, even a priest or bishop, publicly supporting specific candidates or promoting any one party as “THE Catholic vote,” they are breaking the law and should be reported to the Archbishop immediately.

Also, it should be noted that as Catholics, we can’t just select some teachings to follow and dismiss others simply because “we don’t agree.” Rather, we are called to the arduous process of forming our conscience. This process is, in itself, the teaching of our Church. Once we have done this work, we are obligated to follow the conclusion of our informed conscience whether it agrees with Church teaching or not (CCC Article 6: 1790, 1800). We violate this teaching by blindly obeying Church law OR by totally ignoring Church teaching if either is done without any sincere discernment.

That being said, I am permitted to write about certain issues, such as what does Pro-Life actually MEAN? What is it supposed to look like? Sadly, in our ideologically driven culture, civil and substantive dialogue on complex issues such as this one has become quite impossible. So, I’m simply going to quote a few people who got me thinking...

1st quote: Jesus asked “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" (Matt 21:28-32)

2nd quote: Fr. Tom Reese, SJ, NCR, May 29, 2018. “Pro-life advocates should strongly support programs that give women a real choice — increasing the minimum wage, free or affordable day care for working and student moms, free or affordable health care for mothers and their children, parental leave programs, education and job-training programs, income and food supplements, etc. The pro-life movement must support any program that lessens the burden on mothers and their children. No candidate should be allowed to call themselves pro-life if they vote down programs that would help mothers and their children…According to the CDC the number of abortions fell from 1993 to 2000 and dropped again from 2009 to 2014. The number of abortions peaked in 1990.”

3rd quote: Cardinal Bernardin. “Our moral, political and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker. Such a quality of life posture translates into specific political and economic positions on tax policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency means we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fiber of society or are beyond the proper scope of government responsibility.”

As Jesus asks “What do you think? Which of the two did his father's will?"  Send your letters of criticism to Fr. Reese and your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #150: Preschoolers

Why does The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd start Faith Formation so young?

Developmentally, children begin to view God as a “judge” by age seven. Studies show that nurturing the relationship between the preschool child and God; helping them to “fall in love” and introduce lessons and create an environment in which they can truly listen and hear Jesus introduce himself as the “Good Shepherd” is extraordinarily beneficial to their faith development, even into their adult years.

Here is an open letter penned to the Parents of 3-6 Year Olds from a Parent of Teens (from a parish in St. Louis). “I have been very blessed to be the mother of three amazing children. I have watched my babies grow into three strong and independent teens. Sure we've had some of the 'normal' teen drama and I'm sure there will be more to come, but we have also witnessed the way in which the Holy Spirit has touched each one of them.

How did this come to be? Well you may doubt what I am about to tell you, but this much I know. I have watched and heard them say and do things that I know for a fact came from being children of the Good Shepherd.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) - an amazing faith formation for children - especially for the 3-6 year olds. When our children entered the atrium their eyes filled with wonder and excitement. The entire room was a spiritual and delightful place for them to be…I was fortunate to be an aide for those first few years. I watched children walk slowly into the atrium and quickly 'get to work.' They practiced setting the model altar - they loved when an adult would light the candles and they could extinguish them. They colored vestments, herded sheep, mixed dough and touched mustard seeds. They learned beautiful songs and shared wonderful stories.

I can sincerely say my kids are better prepared for the world because of their time spent in the atrium. They know how to work independently, they know how to be compassionate, and they know that they are never alone. They have learned that it’s ok to ponder, to be still and to listen to their heart…It will be a blessed time that will place values deep in their soul - values that will one day help them to be strong and independent teens. I truly believe that with all my heart.

Even now, as my kids are pulled in so many different directions, and just getting them to church is sometimes a task in and of itself, I still see glimpses of that earlier time. I see the value they place on each other as well as themselves. I see a beautiful soul that knows right from wrong. I see how they put others first without compromising their own being. They have been given the foundation needed to see them through the difficult years ahead. They know they are children of the Good Shepherd and that they are loved. What more could a mother ask for?

Let us hold each other, and our children in prayer – A grateful mom

We are still registering children ages 4 & 5 (and some 3 year olds if deemed ready to go!) for our Tuesday morning atrium gatherings that begin at 9:30AM.

Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #149: Women in Leadership

Why aren’t more women in leadership roles in our Catholic Church?

Sr. Joan Chittister once told a story that I think sums it up.

“A little girl camel said to her mother camel, “Mother, why do we have these webs between our toes?” And the mother camel said, “Darling, camels have these webs between their toes so we can walk in the sand without sinking.” She said “Oh!” then asked, “Mother, why do we have these very long eyelashes?” And the mother camel said, “Darling, camels have very long eyelashes to protect their eyes from sandstorms in deserts.” She said, “Oh!” then asked, “Mother, why do camels have these humps on our backs?” The mother camel said, “Well, darling, camels have humps on their backs so they can cross the desert without needing extra water.” The kid said, “Hmmmm. I have a problem. If we have webbed toes so we can walk in the desert, and we have eyelashes so we can see in the desert, and we have humps on our backs so we can have enough water in the desert, would you tell me what in God’s name we are doing in the San Diego Zoo?!?” Now that’s what I see as the problem for women in the church. She went on to say “We’ve got everything it takes girls, but they’ve got us in prison…”

Here are some quotations from our very own Church Teaching about women in the church:

“…every kind of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language or religion, must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design. It is deeply to be deplored that these basic personal rights are not yet being respected everywhere.” Everywhere. (Guadium et Spes, no. 29 – The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council – no small authority.)

“We can say with certainty that discrimination against women contradicts the will of Christ. We are painfully aware that sexism, defined as “unjust discrimination based on sex,” is still present in some members of the Church. We reject sexism and pledge renewed efforts to guard against it in church teaching and practice.” (Strengthening the Bonds of Peace, U.S. Bishops, 1994) Emphasis all mine.

Is a calling to leadership a basic human right? Are there people God is calling into leadership that the magisterium will not recognize, invite into the conversation or hear due to the sexism present in the Church?

“The Church’s ministry fostering human rights in the world requires continued scrutiny and purification of her own life, her laws, institutions and policies…In the Church, as in other institutions and groups, purification is needed in internal practices and procedures.” (1994 Synod of Bishops)

And yet, even at our most local level of church leadership, the Presbyteral Council, the main consultative body that assists Archbishop Vigneron in his pastoral care and governance of the Archdiocese of Detroit, out of 34 seats, not one is offered to a woman. Not one lay person or woman’s voice is heard. Just last week, Archbishop Vigneron held a meeting with the priests of our Archdiocese to discuss the recently reinflamed sex abuse crisis. Per Fr. Joe’s excellent homily last weekend, where were the mothers and fathers at that meeting?

In Jesus’ name, we as Church should be leading the charge against sexism. Let’s see some concrete changes in our leadership. Give women and lay people our rightful seat at the table. It is time for our experience to be heard and to lead our Church forward.

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.