Crazy Catholic Question#145: Why am I still a Catholic?

Why am I still a Catholic?

Well, I don’t know about you, but weeks like these leave me hanging on by a pinky finger. The tragic news coming out of Pennsylvania of the thousands of children’s lives forever marked and shaken by an abuse of power - not only of the priests who sexually violated them but also of our own hierarchy’s complicity in concealing this horrible violence – leaves me asking “What am I still doing here?”

C.S. Lewis once wrote “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The nature and intensity of this pain coupled with the fact that we have not invited—no, DEMANDED—an outside investigation of the magnitude conducted in Pennsylvania in every, single (Arch)diocese that exists indicates there is something very serious and systemically wrong with us, the way we are organized and our whole Catholic, clerical culture. It’s been 16 years since the Boston Globe broke the silence. What is going on? The fact that our own Archbishop appears to view this problem as a lapse of chastity rather than a catastrophic failure in leadership only compounds the problem; amplifies the pain.

Catholic Historian Kathleen Sprows Cummings wrote a great NYT piece this week in which she talks about two different tacks to take in bringing about change in patriarchal institutions. “Some feminists seek a place at the table; others want to reset the table. The former hope to promote gradual progress from within an existing framework of norms and organizational structures; the latter demand nothing less than radical, wholesale reform. When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, I have always been a “place at the table” kind of feminist…Tuesday’s grand jury report has changed my mind…<and has>  propelled me directly to the center of the “reset the table” camp. We need to rip off the tablecloth, hurl the china against a wall and replace the crystal with something less ostentatious, more resilient and, for the love of God, safer for children!  People will say that there is still holiness in the church, that there are many priests and bishops with good and pure hearts, and they are right. But there are times when the sin is so pervasive and corrosive that it is irresponsible to talk about anything else, and this is one of those times.”

So, why are we still Catholic? Why are we still coming to the table? Because WE, the Body of Christ, the Church, The People of God, are absolutely essential to any kind of substantial reform.  

What we believe, what we hold sacred and how we choose to live our lives and the Gospel values we profess with integrity is what makes us Catholic. I cannot simply stop believing what I believe, nor do I wish to. I bought the dream hook, line & sinker; Jesus’ vision of what could be is still compelling and sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s the source of my hope. The Bishops don’t own that hope, or the Church, or the People of God. Jesus is the source of that hope and I don’t think He is going anywhere in this debacle. He is right where He always is, in solidarity with the wounded. I say we all follow him there with gusto. I’m not sure what that is supposed to “look like” quite yet, but I think the first step is to listen together.

To that end, the first item on our agenda at our next Chic Chat Women’s Spirituality meeting on Friday, Sept. 21st at 11:30AM in our library is “Discuss how to respond to Pennsylvania report.” If you would like to attend, ALL women and men are very welcome. Personally, I like this creative proposal:  https://dailytheology.org/2018/08/17/statement-of-catholic-theologians-educators-parishioners-and-lay-leaders-on-clergy-sexual-abuse-in-the-united-states/

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns via our website at www.ctredeemer.org.

Crazy Catholic Question #144 - Baptism

What is the meaning of our baptism?

Fr. Ron Rolheiser says at the center of our lives there is an innate tension. On the one hand, “something in us wants to be different, wants to stand out; from the minute we’re born, our independence and uniqueness begin to make their protest. We don’t want to be the same as everyone else. And this isn’t just  pride or ego. Nature intended it that way. If no two snowflakes are meant to be the same, how much more so human beings?

But, we also have within us an equally strong desire for unity, community family and intimacy.” As much as we want to be separate and stand out, we also deeply desire to be connected - not out of fear but because we somehow know that our togetherness is an essential part of God’s design and dream for us.

Since the time of early Christianity, Baptism has been our initiation into this togetherness. In Baptism, the “one Spirit” makes us members of the Body of Christ and of “one another” (Our Catechism, 1267).  ‘I am baptized’ says that we are part of something bigger than ourselves; each of us are an indispensable part of the on-going incarnation of God into our world.

Alone, we are not the Messiah, we are not perfect; we, as individuals, are not “the whole enchilada” so to speak, but, we are also not powerless or expendable. Each of us are unique and important pieces of God’s creation, equipped and called to make a special contribution to the on-going revelation and redeeming action of Christ in our world. Odd though it may be (and sometimes hard to see), we are the vehicle of choice for God’s grace.

On the day Jesus began his public ministry, he stood in the temple and read from Isaiah “God has anointed me…sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to prisoners.” Then he closed the scroll and said “today this scripture is being fulfilled.” By God’s design, through our baptism, we have been swooped up into the Trinity through the person of Jesus and in some mysterious way - WE play a part in this fulfillment! WE are both the message and the messenger of this grace, we ARE the Body of Christ bringing God’s saving love to the world - right now, this very minute! WE are the anointed, called to heal one another by virtue of our faith in the power of the Body to which we belong.

So what’s taking so long? What is holding us back from living out our baptismal call to spread the good news of God’s love for us? Maybe it’s that we still haven’t heard the news ourselves. The image of God as a somewhat vindictive judge who meticulously records of our every infraction still looms large in our Catholic imagination. We still don’t believe that we are loved beyond measure and that there is nothing we have done to earn this love and absolutely nothing we can do to lose it. Baptism is sign and symbol designed to open us up, plunge us into this boundless love of God so that we can give what we have received and act as compassionate agents for transformation in our world. 

One of the most profound truths I learned as a child was that each time we dip our fingers into the baptismal font and cross ourselves that we can with confidence hear the words that God spoke to Jesus on his day of baptism - “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased.” This acceptance is the very heart of the good news that is, indeed, almost too good to be true! Nonetheless, we are bid to believe it and to live in the freedom that this lavish love affords. The very heart of our calling as baptized Christians is to muster the courage to accept this acceptance and to share extravagantly, to the point of scandal, what we have received.

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #143: Serendipity

Do you believe in divine serendipity? Yes, 100%. I believe coincidence is God’s way of working miracles anonymously. A serendipitous story from this past week….

During my morning prayer, church pal Dave Zande texted me two pages from a book by Fr. William Barry, SJ that advised that we be direct in our petitions to God; clear in exactly what we desire. So, I prayed “I wish to experience God’s presence and for confirmation that we are on the right path in continuing to expand our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) style of faith formation.” I’ll be honest, this desire was born out of a weariness felt from the extensive preparation that this program demands and my concern that our dedicated staff was feeling a bit stretched like me…and then off to another 12-hour work day I went.

This particular morning we were holding a meeting for our summer catechists. I was slated to lead the opening meditation and then Karen & Michele, our Elementary coordinators, were to take over from there. One of our catechists, Maria, arrived with her three children, but unawares to me, our childcare provider couldn’t make it.

After I led the opening meditation, I received an urgent phone call (serendipitously timed), so I stepped out into the hall and I noticed Maria’s three children excitedly tearing up Atrium One - not unusual behavior for children experiencing our atrium for the first time – they are so curious they want to pull everything out and explore!

After my phone call, I walked into the atrium and asked Nicole (age 4) Sergio (age 7) and Madison (age 9) if they had ever been in this room before? They all answered “No.” I asked “Would you like to learn how this room works?” They all responded “Yes.” I invited them to “restore the room” (aka, Montessori language for cleaning up) so that all the materials we needed could be found in their proper place. Then I asked each child what they were most curious about...

Sergio was all about the maps, Madison chose the Good Shepherd (THE central parable of the whole program – the oldest immediately recognized the essentials!) and sweet little Nicole wanted to hear about the Precious Pearl (a personal favorite). I had no trouble locating these lessons because this kind of serendipity is EXACTLY what our CGS training prepares us for; responding in the moment to the child’s deepest spiritual question and curiosity.

So, while Michele & Karen finished up the meeting, I led the children through these 3 lessons and they were nothing short of luminous with joy, sad when it was time to leave and asked with great eagerness when they could return. Maria Montessori said “joy is the indicator of interior spiritual growth, just as an increase in weight and physical strength is the indication of bodily growth.” (visit https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/06/29/montessori-schools-are-exceptionally-successful-so-why-arent-there-more).

Now, I swear to you, I am still a skeptic! I am still blown over with wonder and amazement every time I witness this level of enthusiasm for our program - especially from my own children. Frankly, my family can get a little “Jesused-out” sometimes with all the time we spend at church with my work – but my 8-year-old jumps out of bed for our summer program AND my 13-year-old wants to take the 90 HOURS of Level One CGS certification training! I can’t help but find this downright WEIRD!

So yes, I do believe in divine serendipity, because what I heard God say to me that morning IN THE CHILDREN’S JOY was “Is that enough presence and confirmation for you?!?!?” My response was "Yes Lord. Thank you for answering my prayer. You may now cancel the sky-writer!" Hee hee

To achieve our vision for our Faith Formation program for all 500 of our CTR kiddos, we need approximately 40-50 trained catechists. We now have 7. Are you being called? I wish with everything I am that I would have discovered CGS when my oldest was 3 years old. Consider it. Some scholarships available. One Saturday a month beginning Sept. 8. Visit www.ctrdeemer.org to register.

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #142: Montessori

Crazy Catholic Question #142: Who is God? Where was I in the very beginning (before I was born)? How did I get here? Who was God with in the beginning of creation? Was God by Himself? Where is my grandmother who has died? What is life? Do you like life?

We hear these and many other questions from our children. When we consider our answers, we can remember Maria Montessori who said “joy is the indicator of interior growth, just as an increase in weight is the indication of bodily growth.” Just as the mother knows that the food she gives her child is good because her child grows, so also the joy the child manifests when encountering certain religious themes indicates that these themes correspond to deep, vital needs.

As we begin our Summer Faith Formation with our CTR children this Monday, we ask for your prayers and thank you for your continued support and care of our staff and catechists as we work to plant seeds that will be nurtured by this community in the years to come among our little ones. In the spirit of our shared work of providing good, nourishing spiritual food for our children, I’d like to share this short excerpt from Dr. Sofia Cavalletti, the originator of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method of Religious Instruction from her book “The Religious Potential of the Child” volume two.

“We first focus on the mystery of the Kingdom of God, as communicated through several short parables: the mustard seed, the yeast, the seed of grain, the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure all found in chapter 13 of Matthew’s gospel. We believe that because the parables present essential themes about the nature of reality, they help one become oriented to reality…The mystery of the reign of God is the mystery of life itself: the mystery of a marvelous energy at work that causes growth and transformation, a movement from the “lesser” to the “more.” And this mystery carries within it all that is most beautiful and precious. As the child awakens to life, he or she needs to be oriented to it. In observing very young children, we cannot help but notice how compelled they are to reach out and touch the things around them. But this need for physical knowledge of his or her surroundings is not the only need of the child; there also lies, deep within, an all-engaging, through unexpressed question: What is life? To hear this question, we need not wait until the child can formulate it in words. Rather, we must “hear the question” in the intensity of the child’s response to the answer being offered. Clearly the question does not arise from mere intellectual curiosity; the very way the child receives the answer indicates to us its importance.

The gospel tells us that the life force that compels the universe and ourselves always toward the “more” is the kingdom of God. The giver of this life force is God. Our God is a God who gives. We can say that the gospel meets the vital need of the child, or illuminates the need, with the presence of a person and love. The gospel transforms a fundamental experience of being alive into a personal relationship.

The silent question of the child, What is life? Leads us to several parables that answer in a form and a language suited to the child. The form of the parable is allusive in nature and offers an answer which is substantive but, at the same time, open-ended. The form of the parable invites ongoing reflection. The child’s response of deep satisfaction and joy occurs when the hunger to know the reality in which he or she lives is fed with the gospel message.”

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

For more on Montessori's legacy: https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/06/29/montessori-schools-are-exceptionally-successful-so-why-arent-there-more

Crazy Catholic Question #141: Feminism

CCQ #141: Is there anything exciting happening this week? 

Why, yes! Very exciting indeed! (Hint: I made this question up so I could answer it). As a matter of fact, one of my heroes is coming to town, to OUR church, this week with the Castelot Summer Scripture Conference. I still remember the first article I read written by her, copied on salmon colored paper and given to me by a trusted spiritual guide back in 1995 or so. In 10 minutes it changed my life, my spirit, my relationship with God, my self-understanding as a woman, a minister and as a child of God. In a word, Dr. Sandra Schneiders, IHM is a treasure.

She also is an internationally known biblical scholar, esteemed professor at Berkley’s Jesuit School of Theology, author of 10 books, and holds an S.T.L. license from the Institut Catholique in Paris and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome; she is a scholar of the highest order. Her feminist interpretation of our sacred scriptures and insights on how to view our church history in order to “remain” in the best sense of the word have been immeasurably valuable to me.

I, like virtually every Catholic female I know, have some pretty strong feelings about being a woman in the church. For me, some are good. Very good. I am grateful to have worked for visionary and forward thinking priests in all my 23 years of formal employment in the church; men who value, listen and actively support women called to ministry and empower us to do the work we feel called by God to do as unencumbered as the organization will allow, up to and including our own Fr. Joe.

I am grateful for my Vatican II loving Dad who taught my sister and I (with gusto!) that we, even as women, are baptized “priest, prophet and king” and that through our baptism each of us share in the priesthood of Jesus. I am deeply thankful for dedicated and fearless scholars such as Dr. Schneiders in speaking truth to power with unflinching courage, brilliance and grace. And I am grateful for you, the community of CTR (and my former parish of SJF). Not all Catholic churches embrace their female leaders like you do. This is no small thing! Sincere gratitude to each of you for your kind acceptance. Let’s hope it continues as I move on to this next paragraph! <insert nail-biting here>

Though I am grateful for the Catholic Community who has formed and nurtured me all my 48 years, I am also lovingly critical of it, which I believe is not only my right as a contributing family member, but also my responsibility. My rose colored glasses fell off when I was a young woman teaching 2nd grade “catechism” (as it was called back in the day) and I asked the children “How many sacraments are there?” and one little girl answered “There are 6 for girls and 7 for boys.” I was momentarily speechless and then with great sorrow I told her she was quite right. Formative.

Our progress since the 60’s does instill some hope, but it continues to anger me, disturb me and break my heart that 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 woman’s voice (or even lay person) is heard.

As the mother of three strong-willed daughters, there is nothing I wish more than that my girls would be steeped in Dr Schneiders redeeming scholarship. A few of Dr. Schneiders quotes that are well worn in our home (in sentiment if not exact language) are: “No matter how entrenched in the imagination of the average Christian the image of a male God might be, our theological tradition has never assigned sex to God.” “The gender of God, God's presumed masculinity, has functioned as the ultimate religious legitimization of the unjust social structures which victimize women.” Despite appearances, God has not prescribed that men are to have a monopoly of leadership and authority in our church – and there is a “flip-side” to the experience of oppression that we women have and continue to experience that is akin to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

President Jimmy Carter once wrote "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable. The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives…it is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these outdated attitudes and practices.”

Sincere gratitude to Dr. Schneiders for her consummate, life-giving work spanning over 4 decades in doing just this!

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #140: Conscience

CCQ #140: What do I do if my informed conscience does not agree with church law?

A couple weeks ago I attended Mass at another parish. The priest preaching during Mass made reference to the reality that our current immigration policy is morally wrong. At that point a couple of people stood up and walked out, obviously very upset with his remarks. This reminded me of a piece on Conscience Formation written by my former colleague, Sr. Mary Ann Dixon, O.P. I’ve edited and adapted some of her work below.

We all hold opinions on a number of issues. Some of these opinions are well informed and some are made with little conscious effort. In most cases, our experiences lead to values, which help us form opinions. But how do we navigate our moral stance without reducing it to an opinion?  How do we keep an authentic moral compass?

Morality is a concrete response to the things we believe, and our Church has, of course, over the centuries, made many statements about morality. Some subjects we have taught as sinful include: contraception, abortion, the death penalty, nuclear war, homosexual activity, domestic violence, war of aggression, and economic exploitation…among others.

As faithful Catholics, we do not have the option of selecting some teachings for consideration and dismissing others “because we do not agree with that.” 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 conforms to Church law or not (CCC Article 6: 1790, 1800). We can offend this teaching by blindly obeying Church law without any discernment or by totally ignoring Church teaching, again without any discernment.

Authentic discernment or conscience formation calls us to consider several aspects of moral decision-making. 

  

1.  Church Teaching  Formation      

We may have learned that we form conscience by following the law of the Church, but if that were the complete truth there would be no room or need for discernment. Rather, we are called to seriously attend to church teaching and place ourselves “under the influence” of Church law. We must know the law, the value implicit in the law and, if possible, the situation out of which the teaching was articulated.  For example, prohibition of artificial contraception was articulated in 1930 in the aftermath of Margaret Sanger’s establishment of Birth Control Clinics in 1923 and the World Population Conference in 1926. At that time Pius IX said, “the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, and that those who frustrate its natural power…are branded with the guilt of grave sin.” (Casti Cannubi) The Church’s teaching on artificial contraception was reiterated by Paul VI in Humanae Vitae, although in this document a concession was made to the reality that conjugal love had a parallel purpose: it also nurtured the love relationship between husband and wife. So, we, as Church, grew in our recognition that sex is not only for the purpose of procreation, but also has unitive properties for married couples.

2.  Wisdom of the Community

Church law is not enough, however. The Church also calls us to consult other sources of expertise in the area about which we are making a decision; maybe a doctor or counselor, a spiritual director or an expert on the subject. For example, in war, we should know the Church’s teaching on just war and the context in which that teaching was written. Then we must ask, “Do these criteria still apply given the development of weapons since that teaching was articulated?” What has history taught us about the causes and effects of war?

3.  The Lived Experience

Besides consulting Church law and current experts on an issue, we are asked to look at our life situation, its demands, its limitations and its realities. What has been my experience? What do I know from the realities in my life?  

4.  Scripture

Our sacred texts often do not address specific moral questions – for example nuclear weapons did not exist in the first century, so we can’t expect to find any specific direction on that topic. We can always find “one liners” in the Bible to make our case, but that would be a misuse of Scripture. Truly, the Bible can be used to justify virtually any behavior if taken out of context; divorced from its original language and meaning. With Scripture, it is important to be attentive to an overall spirit that captures a value rather than to try to find the right quote or verse and a solid inquiry may necessitate consulting a theologian or scholar. We also have to be faithful to our Church’s teaching about Scripture – that we study and interpret it rather than accept a literal reading of the Scripture.

5. Finally, along with the study, searching and reflection, we must pray. We must humbly present ourselves before a loving God and pray for direction – not the direction that someone else tells us, but the direction from within ourselves. We stand before God saying, “Being as honest and thorough as I could be, this is what I think my decision must be.” Then we are obligated to follow our conscience.  At this point, no one has a right to say our decision is morally wrong.

Can we make mistakes? Yes.  Can we fool ourselves?  Yes. But if we have put effort into our discernment, we have integrity as an ally.  We stand before God having followed an authentic process of discernment. This is what our Church asks of us…

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: http://crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.

Crazy Catholic Question #139: 13 Reasons

CCQ #139: Do you think 13 Reasons Why is dangerous for our teens to watch?

I am not a mental health professional, so I am not qualified to answer that question, however, I AM a Mom and I have to say the advisory notice from our Oakland County Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force certainly caught my attention (see adjacent). Though I could only stomach watching 5 episodes of this high drama series with my own teenage daughter, we did talk at length about the themes touched on in the show and how all of us need to be thoughtful and careful about what we "ingest" as far as media/shows, not unlike we are attentive to our food choices. Because, ultimately, as the saying goes "we are what we eat" and whether we recognize it or not, shows like 13 Reasons Why DO shape our thoughts and our culture.

Like it or lump it, 13 Reasons HAS become one of the shared stories among our teens - just like Happy Days and The Brady Bunch were part of our shared culture growing up. Remember Bobby's unfortunate discovery of the bad luck Tiki charm found on the Brady's trip to Hawaii? Even if you didn't see the episode, you know what I'm referring to. The bottom line is, we can ban watching 13 Reasons in our homes, but that is not going to shield our children from the discussions about it with their friends. The tidal wave force of our culture, of which this show is a part, WILL be part of our children’s formation. We have little to no control over that. The way we respond as parents to this presence is crucial. As the Youth Task Force mentions, conversation is key. If our teens watch the show, perhaps we parents can view it as an opportunity, even an invitation, to talk about these important topics that effect our young people today. 

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: http://crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.