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"Year of Faith" - 5 Things You Should Know
Faith is the fundamental act of Christian existence. Pope Benedict XVI (Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, Pg. 77)
Fifty years ago on October 11th a seismic shift occurred in Rome, sending shock waves throughout the worldwide Church that have been magnified up to this very day.
This Year Just Got a Whole Lot Faithy-er
On this fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II and the twentieth anniversary of the writing of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Pope has inaugurated a "Year of Faith", calling the faithful to focus on knowing, living, and sharing their faith better for the next year.
Here are 5 things you need to know about the Year of Faith:
1. What is the Year of Faith?
- Starts October 11, 2012 and ends November 23, 2013
- A "summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world" (Porta Fidei #6).
- A call to know our faith, live our faith, and share our faith
Several times in the recent history of the Church Popes have challenged the faithful to dive deeper by announcing a year long focus on a specific aspect of the faith. I did some research and found these past "Years of"...
2009-2010 Year of Priests and St. John Vianny 2008-2009 Year of St. Paul 2004-2005 Year of the Eucharist 1983-1984 Holy Year of Redemption 1967-1968 First Year of Faith Announced by Pope Paul VI
Pope Benedict XVI announced this Year of Faith in an Apostolic Letter titled "Porta Fedei" (Door of Faith) in which he explains "The Year of Faith ... is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world."
"If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelization," Pope Benedict explained in a homily at the Opening Mass for the Year of Faith "it is not to honor an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even more than there was fifty years ago! And the reply to be given to this need is the one desired by the Popes, by the Council Fathers, and contained in its documents."
2. Resources for the Year of Faith
- Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter "Door of Faith" announcing and explaining the Year of Faith
- Pope's homily he gave today at the Opening Mass for the Year of Faith
- Year of Faith Website!!!
- USCCB's Resources for the Year of Faith
- Even More Resources!!!
- Want to learn your faith? Read the Catechism in a year!
3. Official Prayer for the Year of Faith
What could be better for the Year of Faith than a prayer that encapsulates our faith, a prayer of faith said around the world, and established in the fourth century? None other than that oldie-but-goodie: The Nicene Creed.
That's right folks, the Nicene Creed is the official prayer for the Year of Faith. Pray it often, learn it, memorize it, share it, write it on your stuff, spray paint it, love it - many martyrs shed their blood to ensure that this creed of faith would be passed on to you.
It is by believing with the heart that you are justified, and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved. May the year of faith lead all believers to learn by heart the creed and to say it every day as a prayer, so that the breathing agrees with the faith. --From the Pastoral Aid for the Year of Faith
4. Plenary Indulgence for the Year of Faith
Everyone loves indulgences. Get rid of some temporal punishment for your sins, or offer it up for someone else (I could use it!). Here are the requirements as explained from the Year of Faith website.
During the Year of Faith, which will last from 11 October 2012 to 24 November 2013, Plenary Indulgence for the temporal punishment of sins, imparted by the mercy of God and applicable also to the souls of deceased faithful, may be obtained by all faithful who, truly penitent, take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
(A) Each time they attend at least three sermons during the Holy Missions, or at least three lessons on the Acts of the Council or the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in church or any other suitable location.
(B) Each time they visit, in the course of a pilgrimage, a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church or a holy site designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith (for example, minor basilicas and shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Apostles or patron saints), and there participate in a sacred celebration, or at least remain for a congruous period of time in prayer and pious meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary and, depending on the circumstances, to the Holy Apostles and patron saints.
(C) Each time that, on the days designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith, ... in any sacred place, they participate in a solemn celebration of the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours, adding thereto the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form.
(D) On any day they chose, during the Year of Faith, if they make a pious visit to the baptistery, or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism, and there renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.
... faithful who, due to illness or other legitimate cause, are unable to leave their place of adobe, may still obtain Plenary Indulgence "if, united in spirit and thought with other faithful, and especially at the times when the words of the Supreme Pontiff and diocesan bishops are transmitted by television or radio, they recite ... the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and other prayers that concord with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up the suffering and discomfort of their lives".
5. Year of Faith Website
The Church went all edgy and created a website for the Year of Faith.
It's got it all: the Catechism, the Compendium to the Catechism, the official hymn for the Year of Faith, a Mass for the Year of Faith, a collection of homilies by the Pope on Church Fathers, Apostles and medieval theologians, news for the Year of Faith, a worldwide calendar of events, a publication on the New Evangelization, how to obtain a plenary indulgence for the Year of Faith, and lots more.
So Get Out There and Grow In Faith!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/NtoeRHsmNHY]
His Fingers Chewed, Cut, and Burned Off
Feast of St. Isaac Jogues and Companions
October 19th is the Feast day of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions. St. Isaac was a French Jesuit missionary to the Huron Indians in Canada who died a martyr in 1646 and helped thousands of Indians to convert to the faith in his lifetime.
He ministered to the Huron Indians from 1636 to 1642, when he was captured by the Iroquois Indians. St. Isaac and other Frenchman were imprisoned and tortured, St. Isaac had several of his fingers bitten off, burned, or severed. Even though he was severely mistreated, he urged the others held captive with him to forgive their captors and to offer their sufferings up to God for them.
St. Isaac was rescued and returned to France in 1643, where he was given a special dispensation to celebrate Mass with so few fingers. The following year he willingly went back to minister to the very Indians who tortured him.
After two years ministering to his persecutors, he was captured by the Mohawk Indians who killed him with a tomahawk.
St. Isaac and his companions, "The North American Martyrs," are honored as Saints, missionaries, and examples of total loving sacrifice, even for your enemies.
Letter from a Willing Martyr
Here is a heart wrenching excerpt of one of St. Isaac Jogues' letters to a Priest friend before St. Isaac made his last journey where he was captured and martyred.
. . . <The Iroquois have come to make some presents to our governor>, ransom some prisoners he held, and treat of peace with him in the name of the whole country. It has been concluded, to the great joy of France. It will last as long as pleases the Almighty.
To maintain, and see what can be done for the instruction of these tribes, it is here deemed expedient to send them some father. I have reason to think I shall be sent, since I have some knowledge of the language and country. You see what need I have of the powerful aid of prayers while amidst these savages. I will have to remain among them, almost without liberty to pray, without Mass, without Sacraments, and be responsible for every accident among the Iroquois, French, Algonquins, and others. But what shall I say? My hope is in God, who needs not us to accomplish his designs. We must endeavor to be faithful to Him and not spoil His work by our shortcomings....
My heart tells me that if I have the happiness of being employed in this mission, <Ibo et non redibo> (I shall go and shall not return); but I shall be happy if our Lord will complete the sacrifice where He has begun it, and make the little blood I have shed in that land the earnest of what I would give from every vein of my body and my heart.
In a word, this people is "a bloody spouse" to me (Exodus iv, 25). May our good Master, who has purchased them in His blood, open to them the door of His Gospel, as well as to the four allied nations near them.
Adieu, dear Father. Pray Him to unite me inseparably to Him.
Isaac Jogues, S.J.
Jesus, our Brother, you won the heart of St. Isaac Jogues and helped him grow as a caring, courageous person. He dedicated his life to sharing his love for you by carrying the Good News about your love for all people to others.
Remembering the spirit of St. Isaac Jogues, may we all grow in caring and courage. Help each of us, Jesus, to be strong and gentle messengers of your love. Amen.
St. Isaac Jogues and Companions, Pray for us!
Ryan-ism: What is Catholic Social Teaching?
[youtube=http://youtu.be/Kce_BZvjfX4] This morning this video caught my eye on Facebook, and it does a great job of very simply explaining in five minutes the core of Catholic social teaching.
This video is produced by SolidarityWithSalisbury.com and comes with a downloadable one-page summary of the video. I haven't had time to read many of the articles, but the about page of the website says it is dedicated to "collecting, distilling and communicating the truth of Catholic Social teaching as it applies to the business world", which is an exciting endeavor.
**You might also be interested in Fr. Robert Barron's comments on Paul Ryan and Catholic social teaching, found here and here.
+JMJ
Deacon Ralph Poyo [Video Interview]
In honor of Support a Catholic Speaker Month 2012, I had the pleasure of sitting down (virtually) with national Catholic speaker Deacon Ralph Poyo to talk about his speaking ministry, New Evangelization Ministries, and his distant Shire relations. This happens to be my first video interview and it was a ton of fun.
**Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom and comment to enter the Catholic Book Giveaway to help spread the word about Deacon Ralph's speaking ministry!**
Organized by Brandon Vogt, Support a Catholic Speaker month is designed to help raise awareness and support for Catholic speakers. Over 11,000 people cast more than 82,000 votes to come up with the a list of the top 100 Catholic speakers. Bloggers were then invited to interview and/or write about one of the speakers.
Deacon Ralph Poyo is one of these top 100 Catholic speakers, and for good reason. A national catholic speaker and founder of New Evangelization Ministries, Deacon Ralph has 30+ years of ministry experience in almost every imaginable capacity - youth minister, youth conference speaker, Deacon/Priest conference speaker, retreat leader, chastity speaker, author of discipleship resource "Pick Up your cross and follow me", and more recently, as a parish consultant.
"His thirty plus years of experience in Youth Ministry has helped Dcn. Ralph develop a preaching/teaching style that is capable of captivating youth and penetrating adults with the truth of the Gospel."
The first thing you will notice about Deacon Ralph is how entertaining he is to hear speak. He's telling jokes, in wheel barrels, hopping down into the audience, or locking himself in chains. But once he's won you over, he does not fail to deliver a passionate and convicting presentation of the truth of Jesus Christ. During the interview Deacon Ralph explains "when my girls hear me speak, they say 'Dad you're angry!' But I just tell them that I am angry at the lies of the devil."
Deacon Ralph desires deeply to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit in all he does and to be used by God to win souls for Christ. This passionate man's ministry is truly a gift to the Church.
Watch the Video Interview Below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOaqzzFj2bE]
Topics Discussed:
1:32 - Deacon Ralph's background 3:42 - How youth ministry helped develop his speaking ministry 5:23 - What fuels your passion? 6:41 - What is New Evangelization Ministries? 11:51 - What is the biggest barrier stopping American Catholics from being "all in"? 13:30 - Are you related to anyone from the Shire?
Stay in Touch with Deacon Ralph:
DeaconRalphPoyo.com NewEvangelizationMinistries.org Twitter: @HobbitDeacon
Here are a few examples of Deacon Ralph in action...
(This first one is the talk referenced by me during the interview. One of my all time favorites.) [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/2755101 w=400&h=300]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej1nq9hJ92E?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jzCTrnpjz4?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Catholic Book Giveaway to Support Deacon Ralph!
I really believe Deacon Ralph is a top notch Catholic speaker, and in honor of Support a Catholic Speaker Month I want to do all I can to spread the word about Deacon Ralph and his speaking ministry, as well as build support for him.
So...I'm starting a Book Giveaway!
Tweet this article, share it on Facebook, or say a prayer for Deacon Ralph. Then leave a comment saying which one you did. You'll be entered for a chance for me to send one of you a hardback copy of Crossing The Threshold of Hope by Pope John Paul II, free of charge. Contest ends Oct. 1st, when I'll pick and announce one random winner and send them the book free of charge.
About the Book:
The writings of Pope John Paul II in Crossing the Threshold of Hope were originally intended to be broadcasted as a live television interview with an Italian journalist. When John Paul II had to cancel the interview at the last minute, he still wanted to answer Messori’s questions. The Pope sent written answers to the journalist with permission to publish them as he saw fit, writing on the outside cover the title suggestion "Crossing the Threshold of Hope."
Questions and topics covered in the book include: “How does the Pope Pray?” “Does God Really Exist?” “If God Exists, Why is He Hiding?” “Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?” “Why So Many Religions?” “Buddha?” “Muhammad?” “Judaism?” “What Is the New Evangelization?” “Is There Really Hope in the Young?” “The Reaction of the World,” “Does Eternal Life Exist?” “Human Rights,” “The Mother of God,” and “Be Not Afraid.”
So make sure you comment below for your chance to win the book, and show some support for Deacon Ralph while you are at it!
+JMJ
Free Book Giveaway & Support a Catholic Speaker Month
It's September and you may not know it's also Support a Catholic Speaker Month. I'm giving away a free book (see end of post) by Blessed Pope John Paul II to help raise some support for Deacon Ralph Poyo, who I had the pleasure of video interviewing and writing an article about.
Being a Catholic speaker is hard work. They travel away from family for many days out of the year, giving all the energy and passion they have to a large group of people for sometimes hours on end, and don't always get the best pay or sometimes rely solely on the grace of God to provide them and their families with support.
Today's First Reading starts with St. Paul urging us to live a life worthy of the call we have received. He then goes on to talk about the many and varied calls given to us as followers of Christ:
But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
Being a Catholic speaker is a call from Christ to serve and build up the Body of Christ, the Church, in a specific way. The Church needs good public speakers to build us up, convict us, empower us, and to evangelize us.
The purpose of Support a Catholic Speaker Month is to give us a chance to give back to the speakers who have given so much to us by supporting and encouraging them as gifts to the Body of Christ.
I believe this is so important and I want to try to reward you for spreading prayers, love and support for the great Catholic speaker I had the honor of interviewing for this month, Deacon Ralph Poyo.
Deacon Ralph's speaking ministry is a passionate and spirit filled gift to the Church (if you don't know much about him, check out the video interview and blog post here), and there are some Churches and some Catholics who need to hear him speak, but have never even heard of him. (Check out the bottom of the post interview for some amazing examples of him speaking)
Help me spread the word about his speaking ministry and support him with prayer.
Here are two things you can do right now to support Deacon Ralph:
1) Pray for him, his family, and the call he is living out. It would only take a few seconds to send a Hail Mary his way. Maybe offer him up in your intentions at Mass. Say a Rosary for him. Comment below what you have offered up in support and we can start a spiritual bouquet for him and his ministry.
2) Share the post and video interview on the interwebs The post and interview can be found here. Facebook, twitter, email - however you can spread the word helps Deacon Ralph get to a parish that God wants to send him to minister at.
I am giving away a free Catholic book by Blessed Pope John Paul II, and you can enter for a chance to win it by commenting below on this post (or this post) and saying whether you shared the interview with Deacon Ralph on Facebook or twitter, or said a prayer for him and his ministry. The opportunity to enter ends October 1st, when I will pick and announce a random winner, contact them, and send them "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" by Blessed Pope John Paul II, free of charge.
Thanks in advance for your charity and support!
+JMJ Edmund
Catholic Book Giveaway to Support Deacon Ralph!
You can find the full post with the video interview and Book Giveaway >>>here<<<
[Interview] Arleen Spenceley Writes About Sex
Arleen Spenceley likes to talk about sex. And as a Catholic young adult who is also a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times, she is very good at it.
I first came across Arleen's writing by way of a link to her blog, and the first thing I noticed was how disarmingly charming her writing is. She reels you in with a story and a laugh and is the farthest thing from preachy. But her work doesn't aim merely at making you laugh (which she does very well) but also at making you think.
Tampa is my home town, so when I found out that she writes for the Tampa Bay Times and is promoting chastity and the truth of Christ through the local news of my hometown, I was pumped to say the least - "You go Catholic writing girl you! Talk about that sex and how awesome chastity is!"
Arleen graciously agreed to answer some questions that have been on my mind ever since being exposed to her writing, and I think you will enjoy her answers. The Catholic Church needs more evangelists like Arleen who are in the world but not of the world spreading the message of the Gospel with charm, wit and joy.
How did you become a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times and what about writing makes you most passionate?
Believe it or not, the short answer to part one of this question is fried chicken. Here's the long answer: In high school, I worked as a cashier at Popeyes Chicken (where we do good 'bayou'!). One afternoon, a customer came to the counter, and he looked totally familiar. I remembered while I took his order that he was a local paper's publisher, and recently, he had given a talk to my school newspaper's staff. I told him I was going to be a journalist. He told me he needed writers and gave me his card. That high school kids could write for a paper hadn't dawned on me 'til that day. I was so excited by the opportunity, so, I called him and left a voicemail. No response. So I sent an email. No response. I never did hear back. Bummed, I brought it up to my school newspaper's sponsor, who suggested I call an editor at the other local paper. So I did. A couple days letter, I met face to face with an editor at the Times. A few days after that, he gave me my first assignment as a Times correspondent. I wrote as a correspondent for the second half of my senior year of high school through the summer before I graduated with my bachelor's degree in journalism. In the spring of 2007, I applied for a staff position and after a short series of interviews, I joined the staff in July the same year.
In answer to part two of this question, while I am passionate about writing, I think I write because I'm passionate. And I love grammar.
Some of your articles published in the Tampa Bay Times include "Why I'm Still a Virgin," "Why I quit facebook, twitter and texting" and "It's time to reshape our beauty standards." For RELEVANTmagazine.com, you've written "What it's like to be Catholic in a Protestant world." You write a lot about sex, relationships and the drawbacks of a generation saturated by social media.
What has been your experience expressing such strong Catholic values in the Tampa Bay Times, and what kind of feedback do you receive when you write?
All the essays you've listed are actually among the ones I've loved writing most. While I also write feature stories, opinion is my preference. As a Roman Catholic Christian, I can't not infuse what I write with my faith and every time I do it, it's absolutely exhilirating. When I wake up on a Sunday and remember that well over 400,000 people are at their breakfast tables eating their waffles and reading about why I'm saving sex for marriage, I'm humbled and amazed and grateful for the privilege.
The feedback is always overwhelmingly positive. Especially when I write about sex (twice for the Times since 2009), I get a lot of notes and calls from people who are Christians - Catholic and Protestant - who are encouraged, or want to encourage me, or who are compelled to share their own stories with me. I've actually been moved to tears by some of it, like the lovely voicemail I got from a 90 year old man, who's been married for 70 years to his 90 year old wife. Both were virgins at their wedding. It's responses like his that make the bad feedback bearable (i.e., "You're a virgin because you're probably not a hot babe." and "Who gives a #&$! why you've never been laid?").
In your opinion, how is engaging local news media outlets a good way of engaging the culture and bringing a Catholic presence to mainstream media?
Depending on the publication, you're really handed an incredibly large platform on a figurative silver platter. I remember the day my first Times story appeared in print. While I drove to school that morning, I saw the Times wrapped in plastic at the ends of all the driveways. It was so surreal to know that I, some random person, got to tell a story to all these people I don't even know. While that story wasn't earth shattering (it was about an amateur country music club), I realized that whatever I wrote would be hand delivered to the culture. So when the opportunities began arise to write essays about my lifestyle (which is profoundly part of my faith in Jesus Christ as a Roman Catholic Christian), I couldn't imagine a better way to engage the culture and bring a Catholic presence to the mainstream media.
I'm wondering how many other good Catholic writers are doing what you do, and why there aren't more Catholic writers out there speaking up in secular newspapers. What's your take on this as someone who does it on a regular basis?
This is a really good question. I'm stumped! There are plenty of practicing Catholics and plenty of newspaper writers, but my guess is that "practicing Catholic who writes for a newspaper" is such a specific niche that we really are just that few and far between.
How can Catholics go about engaging their local news either online or in print?
So many ways! When your church or ministry hosts an event that's open to the public, send a press release about it to your local paper. If something's happening at church that might be a story, pitch the idea to a reporter. (And give us at least a couple weeks' notice.) Write letters to the editor (lots of papers will print them!) when an opportunity arises to explain or clarify what the church teaches. Leave comments on stories online that model the kind of life Christ leads us to live.
How can readers support good writers such as yourself who write for the newspapers they read?
Pray for us! Share what we write with your families and friends, your students, your ministries. Facebook, Google+ and tweet the heck out of our stories. And send us feedback. I can't speak for every writer, but I always appreciate knowing how what I write impacts the people who read it.
What is your advice to budding Catholic writers who are trying to develop their writing skills in order to engage the culture and take part in the New Evangelization?
If you can write, write more. The more you write, the better you'll get. Start a blog. Ask writer friends to proof-read and criticize your work. And read. Read stuff written by good writers. Sometimes, before I write, I pull up my paper's archives and read features by a couple colleagues who are a Pulitzer Prize nominee and winner, respectively. It inspires me, and gives me something to emulate. The better we write, the more likely readers will read what we write to the end. And when what we write is part of the New Evangelization, we absolutely want them to want to finish reading it. _________________________________________________________________________
So get to work! Support good writers in your local newspaper, start writing, and start engaging the local news and spreading the Gospel!
You can find Arleen and all her published writing at www.arleenspenceley.com where she also blogs regularly. And be sure to go support her by giving her a LIKE on her facebook page.
These are a few of my favorite pieces by Arleen:
- I'm not saving myself for marriage (I'm saving sex)
- Fifty Shades of Virginity
- Why I'm Still a Virgin
- Confessions of a Catholic Christian
- It's time to reshape our beauty standards
### It stinks to be outside the loop. You miss things when you are outside the loop. The loop is exciting and if you subscribe to this blog you are smart, funny, attractive - and in the loop.
Catholic? Where's the evidence?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPHe51B7Z00&w=560&h=315] "You may say you're a Catholic but....there's no proof!"
What makes you Catholic? The clothes or jewelry you wear? Going to Mass on Sundays? Being raised a Catholic? If you were put on trial for your faith, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Catholic? This chilling video, written by Bob Rice and produced by Outside da Box, challenges you to think about what really makes you a Catholic.
"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but Him who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
Right now Americans are getting mixed signals about what exactly Catholics believe. Faithful Catholics are fighting a battle to faithfully live out what the Church believes, while many who call themselves "Catholic" are living in opposition to the Gospel and the Church's teachings. We need to challenge our brothers and sisters.
####Let's flood the internet with this video. Facebook post it on your friends' wall, tweet it on Twitter, email it to everyone you know, or write the video URL in marker on your forehead. (If you do that last one, please send me a picture...)
Comment below and let me know how many places you posted the video, so I can give you a virtual high-five.
+JMJ
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A Guide to Catholic Voting
A teen in my youth group posted this excellent question in our Facebook group for our Parish's youth ministry, asking about voting as Catholics:
Now I know this is a religious group, but according to Faithful Citizenship, we have a duty to support and (once we become of age) to vote for who we believe best represents Christ. Now I want to ask this very important question: Why do we as Catholics always focus on one issue? You never hear of a Christian rally to end poverty or homelessness, yet you always hear of Christians campaigning against Abortion. While I do understand that abortion is wrong, I just don't get how we cant constantly only vote Republican when Republicans time and time again neglect and hurt our impoverished citizens. The main question here is, do we support Romney who may be pro-life, but at the cost of destroying all social programs, destroying Medicare and Medicaid, Student Aid for college, and a lot of aid to families and individuals in need, or do we support Obama, who may be criticized for the abortion and contraceptive issues, but does support social programs and helps to keep unemployment and poverty down. It will come down to this: Which is the evil that you feel completely comfortable supporting?
This teen is expressing the feelings of probably most of the people in the United States who might not fully understand what the Church is getting at by resisting abortion and the health care mandate so strongly, when there are so many other battles to be fought and issues to deal with. The mainstream media plays this angle all the time: "Look at the Catholic Church, so uptight about such a trivial thing like condoms/abortion/same-sex marriage/religious liberty when people are dying in the streets and going without health care and contracting HIV and AIDS. Why don't they stop thinking about themselves and think about all the millions of Americans we could be helping?" The following is a great Q&A article done by Fr. Stephen F. Torraco, PhD over at EWTN's web resources called A Guide to Catholic Teaching and Voting. ***Nota Bene: It is not the Church's place to tell you who to vote for. But it IS the Church's place to teach us how to vote morally and in good conscience by providing moral guidelines and foundations to use as we decide who to vote for.
####UPDATE: A reader suggested "The Voters Guide for Serious Catholics" produced by Catholic Answers, and it is an excellent summary of how a Catholic should go about voting, including the 5 nonnegotiables and your role as a Catholic voter. I highly recommend reading it as well. Buy a copy or check out the text online here.
A Brief Catechism for Catholic Voters
Fr. Stephen F. Torraco, PhD
1. Isn’t conscience the same as my own opinions and feelings? And doesn’t everyone have the right to his or her own conscience? Conscience is NOT the same as your opinions or feelings. Conscience cannot be identical with your feelings because conscience is the activity of your intellect in judging the rightness or wrongness of your actions or omissions, past, present, or future, while your feelings come from another part of your soul and should be governed by your intellect and will. Conscience is not identical with your opinions because your intellect bases its judgment upon the natural moral law, which is inherent in your human nature and is identical with the Ten Commandments. Unlike the civil laws made by legislators, or the opinions that you hold, the natural moral law is not anything that you invent, but rather discover within yourself and is the governing norm of your conscience. In short, Conscience is the voice of truth within you, and your opinions need to be in harmony with that truth. As a Catholic, you have the benefit of the Church’s teaching authority or Magisterium endowed upon her by Christ. The Magisterium assists you and all people of good will in understanding the natural moral law as it relates to specific issues. As a Catholic, you have the obligation to be correctly informed and normed by the teaching of the Church’s Magisterium. As for your feelings, they need to be educated by virtue so as to be in harmony with conscience’s voice of truth. In this way, you will have a sound conscience, according to which we you will feel guilty when you are guilty, and feel morally upright when you are morally upright. We should strive to avoid the two opposite extremes of a lax conscience and a scrupulous conscience. Meeting the obligation of continually attending to this formation of conscience will increase the likelihood that, in the actual operation or activity of conscience, you will act with a certain conscience, which clearly perceives that a given concrete action is a good action that was rightly done or should be done. Being correctly informed and certain in the actual operation of conscience is the goal of the continuing formation of conscience. Otherwise put, you should strive to avoid being incorrectly informed and doubtful in the actual judgment of conscience about a particular action or omission. You should never act on a doubtful conscience.
2. Is it morally permissible to vote for all candidates of a single party? This would depend on the positions held by the candidates of a single party. If any one or more of them held positions that were opposed to the natural moral law, then it would not be morally permissible to vote for all candidates of this one party. Your correctly informed conscience transcends the bounds of any one political party.
3. If I think that a pro-abortion candidate will, on balance, do much more for the culture of life than a pro-life candidate, why may I not vote for the pro-abortion candidate? If a political candidate supported abortion, or any other moral evil, such as assisted suicide and euthanasia, for that matter, it would not be morally permissible for you to vote for that person. This is because, in voting for such a person, you would become an accomplice in the moral evil at issue. For this reason, moral evils such as abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are examples of a “disqualifying issue.” A disqualifying issue is one which is of such gravity and importance that it allows for no political maneuvering. It is an issue that strikes at the heart of the human person and is non-negotiable. A disqualifying issue is one of such enormity that by itself renders a candidate for office unacceptable regardless of his position on other matters. You must sacrifice your feelings on other issues because you know that you cannot participate in any way in an approval of a violent and evil violation of basic human rights. A candidate for office who supports abortion rights or any other moral evil has disqualified himself as a person that you can vote for. You do not have to vote for a person because he is pro-life. But you may not vote for any candidate who supports abortion rights. Key to understanding the point above about “disqualifying issues” is the distinction between policy and moral principle. On the one hand, there can be a legitimate variety of approaches to accomplishing a morally acceptable goal. For example, in a society’s effort to distribute the goods of health care to its citizens, there can be legitimate disagreement among citizens and political candidates alike as to whether this or that health care plan would most effectively accomplish society’s goal. In the pursuit of the best possible policy or strategy, technical as distinct (although not separate) from moral reason is operative. Technical reason is the kind of reasoning involved in arriving at the most efficient or effective result. On the other hand, no policy or strategy that is opposed to the moral principles of the natural law is morally acceptable. Thus, technical reason should always be subordinate to and normed by moral reason, the kind of reasoning that is the activity of conscience and that is based on the natural moral law.
4. If I have strong feelings or opinions in favor of a particular candidate, even if he is pro-abortion, why may I not vote for him? As explained in question 1 above, neither your feelings nor your opinions are identical with your conscience. Neither your feelings nor your opinions can take the place of your conscience. Your feelings and opinions should be governed by your conscience. If the candidate about whom you have strong feelings or opinions is pro-abortion, then your feelings and opinions need to be corrected by your correctly informed conscience, which would tell you that it is wrong for you to allow your feelings and opinions to give lesser weight to the fact that the candidate supports a moral evil.
5. If I may not vote for a pro-abortion candidate, then should it not also be true that I can’t vote for a pro-capital punishment candidate? It is not correct to think of abortion and capital punishment as the very same kind of moral issue. On the one hand, direct abortion is an intrinsic evil, and cannot be justified for any purpose or in any circumstances. On the other hand, the Church has always taught that it is the right and responsibility of the legitimate temporal authority to defend and preserve the common good, and more specifically to defend citizens against the aggressor. This defense against the aggressor may resort to the death penalty if no other means of defense is sufficient. The point here is that the death penalty is understood as an act of self-defense on the part of civil society. In more recent times, in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II has taught that the need for such self-defense to resort to the death penalty is “rare, if not virtually nonexistent.” Thus, while the Pope is saying that the burden of proving the need for the death penalty in specific cases should rest on the shoulders of the legitimate temporal authority, it remains true that the legitimate temporal authority alone has the authority to determine if and when a “rare” case arises that warrants the death penalty. Moreover, if such a rare case does arise and requires resorting to capital punishment, this societal act of self-defense would be a *morally good action* even if it does have the unintended and unavoidable evil effect of the death of the aggressor. Thus, unlike the case of abortion, it would be morally irresponsible to rule out all such “rare” possibilities a priori, just as it would be morally irresponsible to apply the death penalty indiscriminately.
6. If I think that a candidate who is pro-abortion has better ideas to serve the poor, and the pro-life candidate has bad ideas that will hurt the poor, why may I not vote for the candidate that has the better ideas for serving the poor? Serving the poor is not only admirable, but also obligatory for Catholics as an exercise of solidarity. Solidarity has to do with the sharing of both spiritual and material goods, and with what the Church calls the preferential option for the poor. This preference means that we have the duty to give priority to helping those most needful, both materially and spiritually. Beginning in the family, solidarity extends to every human association, even to the international moral order. Based on the response to question 3 above, two important points must be made. First, when it comes to the matter of determining how social and economic policy can best serve the poor, there can be a legitimate variety of approaches proposed, and therefore legitimate disagreement among voters and candidates for office. Secondly, solidarity can never be at the price of embracing a “disqualifying issue.” Besides, when it comes to the unborn, abortion is a most grievous offense against solidarity, for the unborn are surely among society’s most needful. The right to life is a paramount issue because as Pope John Paul II says it is “the first right, on which all the others are based, and which cannot be recuperated once it is lost.” If a candidate for office refuses solidarity with the unborn, he has laid the ground for refusing solidarity with anyone.
7. If a candidate says that he is personally opposed to abortion but feels the need to vote for it under the circumstances, doesn’t this candidate’s personal opposition to abortion make it morally permissible for me to vote for him, especially if I think that his other views are the best for people, especially the poor? A candidate for office who says that he is personally opposed to abortion but actually votes in favor of it is either fooling himself or trying to fool you. Outside of the rare case in which a hostage is forced against his will to perform evil actions with his captors, a person who carries out an evil action ¾ such as voting for abortion ¾ performs an immoral act, and his statement of personal opposition to the moral evil of abortion is either self-delusion or a lie. If you vote for such a candidate, you would be an accomplice in advancing the moral evil of abortion. Therefore, it is not morally permissible to vote for such a candidate for office, even, as explained in questions 3 and 6 above, you think that the candidate’s other views are best for the poor.
8. What if none of the candidates are completely pro-life? As Pope John Paul II explains in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), “…when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects.” Logically, it follows from these words of the Pope that a voter may likewise vote for that candidate who will most likely limit the evils of abortion or any other moral evil at issue.
9. What if one leading candidate is anti-abortion except in the cases of rape or incest, another leading candidate is completely pro-abortion, and a trailing candidate, not likely to win, is completely anti-abortion. Would I be obliged to vote for the candidate not likely to win? In such a case, the Catholic voter may clearly choose to vote for the candidate not likely to win. In addition, the Catholic voter may assess that voting for that candidate might only benefit the completely pro-abortion candidate, and, precisely for the purpose of curtailing the evil of abortion, decide to vote for the leading candidate that is anti-abortion but not perfectly so. This decision would be in keeping with the words of the Pope quoted in question 8 above.
10. What if all the candidates from whom I have to choose are pro-abortion? Do I have to abstain from voting at all? What do I do? Obviously, one of these candidates is going to win the election. Thus, in this dilemma, you should do your best to judge which candidate would do the least moral harm. However, as explained in question 5 above, you should not place a candidate who is pro-capital punishment (and anti-abortion) in the same moral category as a candidate who is pro-abortion. Faced with such a set of candidates, there would be no moral dilemma, and the clear moral obligation would be to vote for the candidate who is pro-capital punishment, not necessarily because he is pro-capital punishment, but because he is anti-abortion.
11. Is not the Church’s stand that abortion must be illegal a bit of an exception? Does not the Church generally hold that government should restrict its legislation of morality significantly? The Church’s teaching that abortion should be illegal is not an exception. St. Thomas Aquinas put it this way: “Wherefore human laws do not forbid all vices, from which the virtuous abstain, but only the more grievous vices, from which it is possible for the majority to abstain; and chiefly those that are to the hurt of others, without the prohibition of which human society could not be maintained: thus human law prohibits murder, theft and such like.” [ emphasis added]. Abortion qualifies as a grievous vice that hurts others, and the lack of prohibition of this evil by society is something by which human society cannot be maintained. As Pope John Paul II has emphasized, the denial of the right to life, in principle, sets the stage, in principle, for the denial of all other rights.
12. What about elected officials who happen to be of the same party affiliation? Are they committing a sin by being in the same party, even if they don’t advocate pro-choice views? Are they guilty by association? Being of the same political party as those who advocate pro-abortion is indeed a serious evil IF I belong to this political party IN ORDER TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF with that party’s advocacy of pro-abortion policies. However, it can also be true that being of such a political party has as its purpose to change the policies of the party. Of course, if this is the purpose, one would have to consider whether it is reasonable to think the political party’s policies can be changed. Assuming that it is reasonable to think so, then it would be morally justifiable to remain in that political party. Remaining in that political party cannot be instrumental in the advancing of pro-abortion policies (especially if I am busily striving to change the party’s policies) as can my VOTING for candidates or for a political party with a pro-abortion policy.
13. What about voting for a pro-abortion person for something like state treasurer, in which case the candidate would have no say on matters of life in the capacity of her duties, it just happens to be her personal position. This would not be a sin, right? If someone were running for state treasurer and that candidate made it a point to state publicly that he was in favor of exterminating people over the age of 70, would you vote for him? The fact that the candidate has that evil in his mind tells you that there are easily other evils in his mind; and the fact that he would publicly state it is a danger signal. If personal character matters in a political candidate, and personal character involves the kind of thoughts a person harbors, then such a candidate who publicly states that he is in favor of the evil of exterminating people over the age of 70 - or children who are unborn - has also disqualified himself from receiving a Catholic’s vote. I would go further and say that such a candidate, in principle - in the light of the natural law - disqualifies himself from public office.
14. Is it a mortal sin to vote for a pro-abortion candidate? Except in the case in which a voter is faced with all pro-abortion candidates (in which case, as explained in question 8 above, he or she strives to determine which of them would cause the let damage in this regard), a candidate that is pro-abortion disqualifies himself from receiving a Catholic’s vote. This is because being pro-abortion cannot simply be placed alongside the candidate's other positions on Medicare and unemployment, for example; and this is because abortion is intrinsically evil and cannot be morally justified for any reason or set of circumstances. To vote for such a candidate even with the knowledge that the candidate is pro-abortion is to become an accomplice in the moral evil of abortion. If the voter also knows this, then the voter sins mortally.
COPYRIGHT © 2002 Stephen F. Torraco
How to Use a Catechism
Every Catholic needs a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And every good Catholic should be very familiar with their catechism. Be a real Catholic, refute heretics, know what the Church truly teaches, prove you speak orthodoxy, learn about your faith, defend your faith, hold religious educators accountable, be a Catholic in the fullest sense. But once you have a Catechism, how do you use it?
What is the Catechism?
When I was in college and would tell people I was majoring in catechetics, most people reacted by saying "So you're going to be a Priest?" With that in mind, before we talk about the Catechism of the Catholic Church and how to use it, I think it's a good idea to start with the big word right there in the title that might trip us up.
Some definitions...
The word catechesis comes from the Greek word κατηχισμός from kata meaning "down" and echein meaning "to sound" or "to echo" - literally meaning "to sound/echo down".
Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote a Church document on catechesis titled "On Catechesis in Our Time". In it he defines catechesis as:
"...the whole of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing they might have life in His name, and to educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ.
(On Catechesis in Our Time, Paragraph 1)
So catechesis is the "echoing down" of the Deposit of Faith done by the Church to every generation throughout history. It is the Church's way of handing on to God's people the Deposit of Faith given to Her by Jesus Christ Himself. A catechism is a systematic summary of fundamental contents of the faith, written with the purpose of echoing down this faith to the faithful.
Cat- words... Catechesis: education in the faith of children, young people, and adults, especially the teaching of Christian doctrine with the goal of initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life (cf. CCC 5) Catechism: a systematic and organic presentation of the fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition (cf. CCC 11) Catechist: a person who does catechesis Catechetics: the study of catechesis Catapocalypse: the feline destruction of life as we know it; spay and neuter your cats
This doesn't mean catechesis is only for kids. In the encyclical "On Catechesis in Our Time", Blessed John Paul II goes on to say:
"...the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity." Paragraph #5
So if you are listening, reading, or seeing something or someone that brings you to a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith and therefore a greater intimacy with Jesus Christ, then you are being catechized. You don't "grow out of" catechesis just like you don't "grow out of" falling deeper in love with your wife.
What is the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first edition promulgated in 1992, is the first systematic presentation of the whole Catholic faith since the Council of Trent in 1566. Some readers will be familiar with past catechisms such as the Roman Catechism from Trent or the Baltimore Catechism. Catechisms have been produced by the Church both universally and locally by Bishops throughout history.
What makes this catechism so important is that it is the first catechism in over 570 years to be written and guided by promptings of the Pope with the purpose of being used universally throughout the world by the Church.
There is no longer a question about whether or not the Church has "changed its beliefs" since the Council of Trent in order to make the faith more modern, as some heretics within the church have been known to say to support teachings contrary to the Catholic faith.
Thanks to Blessed Pope John Paul II, we can now definitively point to the Catechism as a sure rule and guide in our time of everything the Catholic Church teaches and believes.
Blessed Pope John Paul II first asked in 1985 for a Catechism or compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals to be written by the Church. The first edition was published in French and then translated into other languages such as English. After the Latin official text was finished, the translations were revised by the Latin standard, and so we have the second edition, translated into most languages.
How to Use the Catechism
Contents - The Four Pillars The Catechism is an "organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety". This means that all of the faith relates back to Christ and is interconnected as a unified whole. We can see this in thoughtful structure of the catechism based around four traditional "pillars":
Profession of Faith (Creed or Profession of Faith ) Par. #'s 26-1065 The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (Sacraments or Celebration of Faith) Par. #'s 1066-1690 Life in Christ (Morality or Life of Faith) Par. #'s 1691-2557 Christian Prayer (Prayer of the Believer) Par. #'s 2558-2865
All four sections are centered and unified in Jesus Christ and our faith in Him. This is called "christocentricity". Throughout Church history the Creed, Sacraments, Ten Commandments, and Our Father have been taught as the four pillars of the faith. Likewise the catechism uses these pillars for its structure and outline of each section.
They could be summed up as the profession of faith, celebration of faith, life of faith, and prayer of the believer - Creed, Sacraments, Morality, and Prayer. (CCC 13)
Reference (Paragraph) Numbers Best Use: For navigating the Catechism, referencing to other sections of the Catechism, and for recognizing what pillar of the catechism you are in. These are the bold numbers next to the chunks of text. This is the meat of the Catechism. Short hand references to paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church are often written CCC 5 or CCC #5 (like in this article, for example) meaning Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph number 5.
When people reference to the Catechism they don't use page numbers, because different translations or publications could have differing page numbers. Therefore any references to a section of the Catechism is done using the paragraph number. The table of contents, however, lists page numbers, not reference numbers. (Confusing, I know.)
[NOTE: The Catechism is broken down into the four parts, which are divided into sections, which are divided into chapters, which are divided into articles, which are subdivided into roman numerals and/or paragraphs. Don't let that overwhelm you, this is just to be sure that you aren't confused. When people say "Catechism paragraph 25" they generally mean reference (bold) number 25. ]
Cross References Best Use: Finding how a particular topic is discussed in other pillars of the Catechism and following a theme throughout the Catechism. These numbers appear in the margins and tell you what other sections of the Catechism are related to the idea in the sentence or paragraph you are reading, often bringing you to other pillars of the Catechism. For example, when reading paragraphs 1330 on the Eucharist, the cross references will bring you to 1341, 614, and 2643.
In Brief Best Use: To sum up and review a lengthy section you have read. Also good for memorization. At the end of each major article in the Catechism is the "In Brief" section, which summarizes the entire article's topic in a few short paragraphs.
Index Best Use: Finding information on a specific topic or question in mind. This is an alphabetical index of general subjects and where the subjects are referenced throughout the entire catechism. Each subject or term has subheadings to get more specific about what exactly you are trying to find.
For instance, say you want to read what the Church teaches about Jesus' presence in the Eucharist. Turn to the index, find the bold word "Eucharist", and under it you will find "presence of Christ in the Eucharist" and further subheadings of different topics concerning the presence of Christ in the Eucharist with the paragraph numbers following.
Glossary Best Use: Finding a quick definition of a term and the important Catechism passage on that term. Here you will find short definitions of important terms with references to key paragraph numbers. For example, if you wanted to know what adoration is, a good place to start is looking it up here. You will find a short definition in the glossary which summarizes the articles found in the catechism. It will then give the main paragraph numbers for this term in parenthesis.
Index of Citations Best Use: Finding how a particular Bible passage or verse is referenced throughout the Catechism - how the Church interprets the verse. This is an amazing and powerful feature of the Catechism. You can look up Documents of the Church, Liturgical Rites, important authors from the tradition of the Church, and even the Bible to see how these sources are used throughout the Catechism.
One of the coolest ways to use this index is to look up how a certain passage in the Bible is cited in the catechism. For example, today's Gospel Reading was from Matthew 11:25-27. I can turn to the index of citations and find that Matthew 11:25 is referenced in the catechism paragraphs 153, 544, and 2785. If there is an asterisk, this means the passage was paraphrased in the paragraph.
This is a great way to read the Catechism while reading through the Bible to see how the Church applies a particular passage.
Where You Should Start
- Start at the beginning and read to the glorious end (highly recommended)
- Bring it to Adoration and pray with a few sections at a time (highly recommended)
- Look up something you are interested in or know nothing about
- Think of a question someone has asked you that you didn't know the answer to
- Look up the daily readings in the Index of Citations
Other Catechisms to Check Out
The Catechism Online - The USCCB put the entire Catechism online. YouCat - A catechism put out by the Church and written for the youth of the Church Adult Catechism - A catechism put out by the USCCB and written for adults Compendium to the Catechism - The "mini-catechism" of 200 short pages in question-answer format. A good supplement, but don't wimp out and never read the full catechism. You'll miss out.
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"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:1-5
******* Who to send this article to: Your mom, recently initiated RCIA candidates, recent converts, atheists you gave a Catechism to, your young adult friends or children, high school religion teachers who need to read the catechism, people you love.
Faith and Reason: An Initiative of FUS
Franciscan University recently launched "Faith and Reason", an online Catholic resource with the mission of engaging the wider culture with the message of Christ. Its name is inspired by Blessed John Paul II's Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio(Faith and Reason), and Franciscan University hopes the website will help bring people to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and equip Catholics with a deeper understanding of how relevant and reasonable the Catholic faith is even in our post-modern culture. From the site:
"From emerging issues in business and bioethics to questions of politics, art, music, and more, Faith & Reason will deepen your understanding of the world in which you live and give you the tools you need to engage the culture with truth and love."
The Channels section of the site features videos in all sorts of interesting categories: from Christ in the Marketplace, Media and You, Apologetics 101, Witnesses for the New Evangelizationand more. Be sure to check it out and pass it on to your friends. It is important now more than ever for us to be equipped as Catholics with the reasons for our faith, because our Catholic faith is the MOST reasonable of them all and the most fulfilling! (Dare I say fun too?) As Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said:
"There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church."
+JMJ
"Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope." 1 Peter 3:15
*****If you want to help spread the New Evangelization and the Catholic Faith, post the link to the Faith and Reason website on your friend, relative, distant relations, and long time nemesis' facebook, twitter, and email.
Then comment below how many people you sent it to!
Here's the Link: http://www.faithandreason.com/ Or to send them to this article which points them to the website: http://catholicyouthminister.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/faith-and-reason-fus/
I challenge you to really branch out to people you might not normally send stuff like this to. Be an Evangelist!