Unearned Luck

Working towards a more effective catechesis for native-born Catholics in the United States living in the first half of the 21st Century involves arriving at an understanding about the culture in which Catholics are living and participating and, therefore, the culture within which that catechesis takes place. At the same time many Catholics talk about establishing Catholic culture or re-establishing Catholic culture. Both discussions require a definition of culture and some idea of the purpose of culture. From understanding these then can come a broader discussion as to whether or not the current culture in which Catholics are participating is beneficial for them, whether a Catholic culture existed in the United States, and whether one could exist now and how does that develop. This conversation must begin, though, with an understanding of culture and the reasons for culture. Dr. Amos Wilson defines culture as the "...set of rules and procedures together with a supporting set of i...

     One of the most fascinating aspects of art is found in its ability to teach or reveal truth. Art, though, speaks its own language and ignorance of the language leaves the depth of the art, its true beauty, ignored and overlooked. The faith of the Catholic Church can be viewed similarly. Without knowing the language in which the Church expresses God's revelation of Himself, then what should be a vibrant, life-altering faith is reduced to a shopping list of doctrines and dogmas viewed once and quickly forgotten.      As with art, education is the key to understanding the language in which the Church speaks and the Church's worldview. In the Church, this education is known as catechesis. In the United States, catechesis started as the memorization of specific answers to specific questions, which served Catholics well within their Catholic neighborhoods and their Catholic parishes, but failed them once they got out into the larger world and they began to f...

Photo by  Andres Siimon  on  Unsplash “‘Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again’” -John 8:10-11 “Maybe you missed some of the conversation. In talking about the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. If one is a so called Catholic but rejects that teaching, that one is a protestant or heretic, you choose. Read John Ch 6. Look up heresy.” -@DeaconWaugh on Twitter “Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him” (Can 751). Heresy is “the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt.” If a Catholic does, in fact, deny or doubt the Church’s teaching on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, then th...

Photo by Raphael Koh  on  Unsplash Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. -Matthew 18:5-6 Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. -1 Timothy 1:6-7 Then there's this bit of tripe from last Sunday's bulletin: "As Christians our ultimate goal is to be Christ-like, to reflect the dazzling glory of Christ in all of our interactions, and so bring honor to God. In pursuit of this goal, the more clearly we see the way to our own transformation in Christ." Obviously, this is supposed to tie in with Sunday's Gospel reading about Christ's transfiguration in Luke 9:28-3...

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever. 1 John 2:15-17 Perspective is important. A perspective from which catechesis could be taught is that of God as our loving Father. The Ten Commandments, for example, are clearly moral proscriptions against specific thoughts, actions, mindsets, and understandings. Applicable to everyone everywhere and at all times, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of the Moral Law. Besides, you don't get much more direct and, arguably, negative than, "Thou shalt not..." And this is exactly how they are taught, too. So negative do catechists deem the Commandments' formulations, many at...

Photo by Nathan Bingle on Unsplash Peter said to him, "Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” ⏤Acts 8:20:23 There seems to be no viable argument against the contention, that Catholics in the United States do not know their faith beyond what they may have picked up as children. If any of us had, would we be going through the mess and confusion we are right now? It would seem equally incontrovertible, that those willing and able to educate their peers in the faith are to be encouraged and supported as much as possible. Especially useful are attempts to supplement or reinforce average Catholics' thin grasp of Chris...

Photo by Ewelina Karezona Karbowiak on Unsplash The monthly meeting occurred, and, like has happened for the past four or five months, the discussion focused on the problems with the United States and the Church using Anthony Esolen’s Out of the Ashes as a starting point. This month, though, the participants were charged with finding a solution. Beginning with Ireland’s referendum vote on May 25th, within three minutes and after a question about the lack of quality catechesis being ultimately to blame for the direction that vote took, the discussion switched to school shootings. How each person responded was predictable, since it was how each person has always responded. The gentleman, who blames the media and the pervasiveness of electronic devices, blamed the media and the pervasiveness of electronic devices. The gentleman, who blames the atmosphere of children’s competitive sports, blamed the atmosphere of children’s competitive sports. The gentleman, who shows up o...

Photo by Sunyu on Unsplash Last Friday, May 25, the Irish people voted 2 to 1 to repeal the Eighth Amendment to their constitution, an amendment ratified in 1983, and meant to protect the lives of unborn infants. In so doing, the Irish people have opened the door of the henhouse to the fox of "choice," a predator who will not stop until the Irish have killed themselves off, much like the Japanese and most of Europe are already doing. Having the fox's slyness without the dove's innocence, the  "pro-choice" crowd have begun with the unborn, since no one is nauseated by what can't be witnessed. Soon, though, this fox will have the Irish supporting the killing of everyone deemed "enslaved" by life, so long as these mercy killings are kept out of sight. It doesn't take an experienced tracker to see the bloody tracks this fox has left throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, yet, millions are entranced by his innocent gaze and soothing r...

Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash The following is a guest post from Michael Einterz , a husband, father, attorney, and a very involved member of St. Alphonsus  Liguori  Catholic Church in Zionsville, IN. One of his many volunteer roles at the parish is as the director of RCIA and adult education. The Catholic Church in America has a problem. This seems to be a universally accepted truth, but the agreement ceases there. The Catholic Blogosphere, including the number of priests and bishops who participate in the discussions, can’t agree on a solution to the problem – and it’s not for a lack of trying.  Although we could drag out volumes of Church History, in my opinion, a review of the attempts to solve the problem can start back in 2012 when Sherry Weddell published her blockbuster Forming Intentional Disciples. Although not the first of its kind, it combined several elements and rightfully became a hit among parishes and Catholic ministers...

Photo by Alex Blăjan on Unsplash I greatly appreciate Fr. Matthew Schneider's (@FrMatthewLC) brief reply to my post, There Is No Secret To Reverse Parish Closings , via his Twitter account on May 11. As before, I wish to address the four points he raises in his reply, then move to a discussion of a larger topic. I greatly respect Fr. Schneider and am eternally grateful for his priesthood and the beautiful witness it is to the world. I will now address his Twitter comments very briefly. 1.     Fr. Schneider first addresses his writing style, describing it as "brief & with catchy headlines to hopefully increase readership." Alright. Increasing readership is an admirable goal for one devoted to evangelizing the masses via Twitter, but shouldn't a little more thought be given to what is being offered to them? While it may be important to form Catholics to evangelize the world, the issues raised in my earlier article requires evangelization and catechesis of t...

Photo by Nathaniel Tetteh on Unsplash On May 8, 2018, Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC, of the Archdiocese of Washington, D. C. published to his blog on Patheos.com  an article entitled,  The #1 Secret to Reverse Parish Closings . While I am not in any way disparaging Fr. Schneider and I do hold him in the highest regard, I do mean to put an end to the lazy, thoughtless, and enduringly unproductive advice he restates, advice which finds relevance only in the small positive feedback loops in which it is circulated like pot at a Willie Nelson concert. We, as Catholics, seem to have a macabre horror of considering as relevant anything that finds Catholics or the Catholic Church at fault for its own problems. Fr. Schneider's oft-repeated trope, that "parish closures come from demographic factors like Catholics moving to the suburbs, ethnic parish attendance dropping, and the population decline of the rust belt," is a perfect example of this mindset.  Other than the ...