Not long ago, the Pope, while encouraging faith sharing and evangelization through the internet, also spoke of “giving the internet a soul.” Danielle Bean took up his challenge of ‘soul giving’. Maybe you won’t agree with everything she suggests, but the topic, in my opinion, is long overdue for thoughtful discussion. I welcome the post, and I think many others will also welcome and appreciate it. 10 WAY TO GIVE THE INTERNET A SOUL
Questioning one’s faith is something that many Catholics feel uncomfortable about. Yet, if our faith is to grow and develop in this digitalized age – an age of information and message bombardment, we need to know how to approach and respond to questions of faith. Here is an excellent article that might be of some help to you: ARTICLE
How do we learn about faith? The other day I asked a lady of Scottish heritage at St. Mary’s Parish (who is in her late 80’s) how she learned her prayers and catechism. What she told me was not about books, but the story of her mother, her brothers and sisters, and of a faith that was taught from the heart and lips of her mother. (The Scottish people were story tellers and passed on their customs, culture, and faith orally – the oral tradition.) I asked her if she would write down a few words, and a few days later she gave me a hand written note. I have decided to type most of it up, and to share it with you. It is a story of faith, a loving mother, of memory, and the oral tradition. Today many Catholics find it difficult to express their faith – they just don’t have the words or the vocabulary. This might help us to appreciate the ways of another era, and to learn a little from days gone by.
I learned at a very young age that prayer was top priority in my life. I came from a large family and it was at the age of 3 that we started to learn our prayers. At 3 years of age our prayer was learning to bless ourselves. I can still see my mother with my younger siblings, guiding their hands in making the Sign of the Cross. That was our first prayer, and we didn’t move on to the ‘Our Father” until we could bless ourselves without help, and we didn’t move on to the ‘Hail Mary’ until we made no mistakes in the ‘Our Father’, and so on down the line.
Sarah Reinhard describes herself as a catholic wife, mother, writer, convert, and farm girl. She has a blog called, snoringscholar.com, and is a regular columnist on CatholicMom.com. This Lent she is doing a little something different by posting a series called, a different perspective. I’m not sure what will be said by the author of this series, a woman called Brittany, but if you are trying to understand a little more about faith, and the lack of faith in others, it might be a good read. Only two posts have been made so far, and it is hard to tell where it is all going. Sarah Reinhard is definitely a staunch catholic, and so I am cautiously recommending this little series. Will it be helpful in understanding those who have little or no faith remains to be seen, but I suspect that she will be able to inspire some insights into the world of agnosticism, and lost faith.
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I captured a few pictures from the EWTN Broadcast of the Youth Rally with The Pope. It was a glorious meeting filled with African Music, Welcoming Messages, Youth Testimonies, and a short speech by Pope Benedict encouraging the youth to be faithful to their Christian Identity. He challenged the youth to make life long decisions and commitments – the true test of real maturity in every age: Dare to make definite decisions – life long commitments, and don’t give in to doubt, corruption, and hedonism. You are the seed – the seed of the new City, the New Jerusalem, he said, and the only way to grow the seed is to die to love. Bring to life the Holy City, the Pope challenged, as the crowds applauded enthusiastically. Towards the end of the event a young man in a wheel chair came on to the stage with the Pope and sang a moving song to Jesus My Friend. The young man appeared to have been crippled during the recent civil war, and as he sang I’m sure many a tear of thanksgiving and hope were shed as he made God’s love strong and visible.
Think back to the good old days when most Catholics and Protestants went to church each Sunday? These are often touted as the ‘golden days’ when few doubted God’s existence, and our churches were filled with generous contributors, and everyone, or almost everyone, professed to be Christian. Now think, was the world any more loving, honest, merciful, forgiving, than it is today. Maybe, but in my humble experience, I remember little evidence. When all were Christian, most felt quite satisfied with the status quo, and felt little challenge to explore and deepen faith.
Of course, I speak in generalities, and there were some memorable and wonderful people who I remember, and still consider saints. The point I want to make is just this. Faith is a gift that must never grow stagnant, or be taken for granted. It is about being light amidst the darkness. Maybe the times we live in, and the ‘crisis of faith’ we perceive around us, is God’s way of shaking things up, and drawing us into a more committed relationship with God, one another, and the world – a deeper and more mature faith.
Chief Fontaine insisted a number of times on the need for rebuilding the relationship between the Catholic Church in Canada with Native Peoples. He was addressing Canada’s Bishops.
“I don’t want to look at the hurts of the past,” he said. “I want to recommit ourselves and to talk about the future. So much in the past was also good and healthy, and we can build on this and learn.” At the same time, he acknowledged, “this will be a difficult journey, because too many Canadians do not believe in us, the Aboriginal Peoples.”
Full Story:
Ottawa-CCCB)… Relations between the Catholic Church and Canadian Aboriginal communities were the focus for the opening day of the annual meeting of Catholic Bishops from across Canada. Their meeting will continue until this Friday at the Nav Canada Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, with about 90 Bishops in attendance.
Religion is a bad word in certain quarters of our society, and the world at large. Some people say: “Religion causes too much pain and tragedy. I’ll have nothing to do with it. It should be eradicated.” Here’s a response from a religious sister to this very question. I think it proves helpful in forming our own personal response to those that write religion off. How do you respond to those that believe that religion is a bad thing for the world?
WHAT IS RELIGION ABOUT?
The Sufi tell of disciples who, when the death of their master was clearly imminent, became totally bereft. “If you leave us, Master,” they pleaded, “how will we know what to do?” And the master replied, “I am nothing but a finger pointing at the moon. Perhaps when I am gone you will see the moon.” The meaning is clear: It is God that religion must be about, not itself. When religion makes itself God, it ceases to be religion.
But when religion becomes the bridge that leads to God, it stretches us to live to the limits of human possibility. It requires us to be everything we can possibly be: kind, generous, honest, loving, compassionate, just. It defines the standards of the human condition. It sets the parameters within which we direct our institutions. It provides the basis for the ethics that guide our human relationships. It sets out to enable us to be fully human, human beings.
This weekend I am preaching on two very significant, if not the most significant Christians responsible for the spread of Christianity after the Ascension of Jesus. This weekend we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Peter and Paul were both very different characters. Peter was a fisherman in Capernum. He was not a scholar or highly educated man, but he had natural leadership abilities, and in some ways he had what we call today ‘street smarts’. He could think on his feet, assume leadership, and he was totally sincere in his love for God. But, as we see though out the gospels, he was impetuous, stubborn, opinionated, etc.. In other word he was not perfect.
Paul was a gifted scholar schooled in the Jewish faith. And, as a Roman citizen he was schooled in Greek thought, and the Roman culture. He was zealous for the faith of his Jewish ancestors, and abhorred the Jewish Christians. In the Acts of the Apostles we are informed that he was responsible for the death of St. Stephen.
Shortly after the Ascension, he met the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and after this he became a fervent Christian intent on converting the gentiles to Christianity. He was known as a great preacher! He was also, I suspect, a thorn in the side of many Jewish Christians who believed you had to be a Jew first, and then a Christian. He strongly disagreed with many of the first Christians with Jewish roots, and thus the Council of Jerusalem was called in 66AD. Paul won!
