Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Several scholars have written books recently about the place of the Church in the world with regard to Vatican II. Some say that the effects of the “Protestant” Reformation were largely unintended. It is true, for example, that Martin Luther went to his death saying that he never intended to start another church. Politics got involved in the dispute, as always happens, and the struggle over who had the power of the universities in Europe at that time became the motive for the Thirty Years’ War that sealed the division of denominationalism.

Some say that Vatican II actually began with the French Revolution, when Church leaders, those corrupt as well as those not corrupt, were rounded up and put to death by the mob. This watershed event, the struggle between Catholic and reformed Christian monarchs caught in a new struggle with a dawning “enlightenment” of
post-Christianity, marked the beginning of the Church’s divestment of temporal power, finally with the loss of the Papal States. Vatican II was the first time that the Church soberly looked at herself as an institution without a temporal kingdom, and sought to clarify what it meant to make a bridge (literally, “pontiff”) between the world and the Kingdom not of this world. She sought to self-identify as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, in the world, but not of the world, without the encumbrances of secular politics.

As much as Europeans might not like to admit it, I think this process needed the witness of the American Experiment to take place. Principles of democracy and equality, religious liberty and separation of Church and State had not really been tried before. Please don’t misunderstand, I believe that Church and State are such that they cannot be mutually exclusive in certain ways as long as people of religion are considered among the citizens. But there is a healthy separation
that must be in place for religious liberty truly to be religious liberty for all, and not just for some. Liberty must be cherished and protected, but religion must also be supported and nurtured.

Looking around today it is a rare occurrence to find a religion existing independently of state government or political power. And religions are at their least authentic expression while being driven by a government. Wherever a particular religion is promoted as the national religion, you will find discrimination, the possibility of forced conversions and, especially where the abuse of power goes unchallenged, extreme abuses and crimes claiming religion as justification. The
reality is that the actual religion has little or nothing to do with these extreme practices, but the government in power has developed a culture with its own propaganda and subsequent history, so it is exceedingly difficult to uncover the truth. Such were aspects of Christianity a millennium ago, to which Vatican II is a stark contrast today.

In the same way, some of us hope for world religions to experience the same self-discovery of their faith and culture in the American context, where religion has the rare chance to exist free from political power. We need to work together so as to let this example shine to other parts of the world where people still know the
oppression of political systems that define their religions and prevent peaceful coexistence. The American Experiment can still shine a light on what is possible. Islam and Hinduism, even some branches of Christianity, have a chance here in the United States to breathe fresh air and learn their traditions free from imposed political ideologies that would otherwise twist and distort their practice.

In such an environment, we might even be able to progress beyond mere tolerance to respect. According to all the relationships we have formed interreligiously here in the U.S., I can tell you that I know of not one event when these abuses, murders, terrorist activities and fear have not been condemned by our interreligious
brothers and sisters.

We do, however, have the ability to sustain the hate and intolerance. With broad strokes it is easy to identify the enemy and lump all people of a particular profile into that category. This is when I call upon all Christians to do the uniquely Christian thing, the one thing that makes us different. If we truly have an enemy, we must love them. We must do good for them, as we would do for a friend. The practice of compassion and loving kindness, which is shared by all religions, is a good starting place. Then, let us use encouragement in friendship as we go about living this American Experiment together.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

This week I am glad to announce to you some of the ideas that our Laudato si’ discussion group is ready to propose to the parish for consideration as a response to Pope Francis. You will find our ideas listed on pages 8-9 of today’s bulletin.

You will notice that one of the ways our parish is seeking to grow our community into a place where people know each other and are known is by encouraging your family’s inclusion in the Parish Photo Directory. People can feel welcome by getting to know who is sitting next to them in church. I ask you to do it. As it stands right now, only about 350 families will be represented (500 years from now they will think we are only a small parish)—the photographers are scheduled up to Thanksgiving with only 6% of appointments taken. I think we can add more if there is interest.

At the heart of the encyclical is not nature for nature’s own sake. Nature is God’s creation and we must honor it, but it was made by God for a particular purpose. Pope Francis says that God made the earth as the place where he intends to encounter mankind. To destroy the place is to destroy the meeting. Listen to what he says
about how creation is made for the Eucharist:

“The sacraments are a privileged way in which  nature is taken up by God to become a means of  mediating supernatural life. Through our worship  of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a  different plane. Water, oil, fire and colors are taken  up in all their symbolic power and incorporated in our act of praise. In the Eucharist, we find its  greatest exaltation. God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord choose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He came not from above, but  from within. [How absolutely beautiful is that  thought?] The Eucharist joins heaven and earth.  The Eucharist is a source of light and motivation  for our concerns for the environment, directing us  to be stewards of all creation” (233).

One of the women in our group wrote this:

“Reflecting, I came to realize that if we allowed God to do what he had intended, that is, if we allowed him to be in charge, things might kind of take care of themselves. For example, if you cut yourself, the body starts immediately to clot and stop the bleeding. The body is always repairing itself. As for nature: While I was waiting at the light to turn into the supermarket, I noticed the “weeds” growing up out of the tons of cement. It was one of those “moments.” To realize the power of God to have his creation growing up through tons of cement. That he is always trying to make things right, and we are preventing it. It made me sad to think just how much we have destroyed …”

Another parishioner wrote this:

“Pope Francis has inspired me to see outside of political party alliances and focus on the teachings of the Church and everything you just said in your bulletin. After all these years I realized that neither political party truly represents the compassion of Christ or represents the sanctity of life from conception to natural death (fair wages, etc.) and I am moved by the Holy Spirit through the Pope to share this with the world. I look forward to learning how I can help our parish though the political/financial controls that have consumed us  as I also continue to grow. I know this is the truth  although a hard one for many to open their eyes to. It takes true grace to question oneself and change.”

I am so grateful for all who are willing to look around and see the world with new eyes. “All is gift” (St. Ignatius), and “all is grace” (Dorothy Day). Until we are able to see the beauty that is in a blade of grass we won’t begin to understand the love of God. It is my conviction that our world doesn’t care for our world today because they do not know the love of God staring at them from every blade of grass. And only then the tree that passes now from the green of ordinary time to the red of martyrdom, a dying that gives witness to the new life of resurrection at Eastertime. I would imagine the voice of God to be more beautiful than, or maybe the combination total of,
every midnight and bird and poem and storm, Brahms’ “Requiem” and sunrise, all in an instant.

Pope Francis puts it rather soberly:

We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it. We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment (229).

Let us care. God bless you.