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Bishops express sorrow, condemn
racially motivated shooting in Buffalo
By Rhina Guidos
WASHINGTON – Several U.S. Catholic bishops expressed sorrow and called out racism and gun violence after reports of a May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, that left at least three injured and 10 dead – a crime authorities categorized as likely motivated by hatred for Black people.
In a separate shooting at a Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods, California, May 15, a gunman killed one person and wounded five. The suspect in that shooting was targeting members of the Taiwanese community, Orange County officials said.
In one of the most powerful statements condemning the violence that took place when a gunman opened fire on a Saturday afternoon at a supermarket in Buffalo, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said May 15, “Faith compels us to say no to the rotten forces of racism, no to terror, and no to the mortal silencing of Black and brown voices.”
Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, also spoke up against what has been categorized not just as violence but one colored with chilling racism. “The tragedy in Buffalo is hardly the first such violence against African Americans,” he wrote shortly after the attack. “From the crossing of the ocean in slave ships, in which many Africans died, to their violent treatment by slave masters to the thousands of lynching of Blacks in the South to more recent killings of unarmed African Americans by police and civilians, even in their churches, this racism has claimed an inordinate number of Black lives simply because they were Black. When and how will it stop?”
Responding to both incidents, Chieko Noguchi, director of public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the U.S. bishops were calling for an honest dialogue “addressing the persistent evil of racism in our country.”
Asian American Catholic woman takes pride in culture’s overlooked saints
By Mark Pattison
WASHINGTON – Asian Americans are a distinct minority in the United States. Those who are Catholic make them minority within a minority.
Thus, when you see your heritage and faith reflected, it really is a godsend. And when you don’t, you may not wait for someone else to do it and take up the task yourself.
That’s what Sarah Hoyoung Ku has done, with a little help from her friends.
Ku, who is a Korean American, and her Chinese American husband live in the San Francisco Bay area. Despite there being more Americans of Asian heritage there than in almost any other part of the country, there were few representations of their common Asian heritage to be found for themselves and their five children.
“It’s only by parenting that seeing yourself reflected in the books that you read and the images and toys that you play with,” said Ku, who was raised a Protestant and joined the Catholic Church 12 years ago. “It was hard to find a doll that looked Asian. That started with them as little kids … even physical, facial features.”
That also extends to Asians’ representation in church, Ku found.
It’s the reason she founded an Instagram account called Asian Catholic Woman – @asiancatholicwoman – where she explores Catholic faith through an Asian American lens.
“We’re creating Asian space, in an Asian American lens,” Ku said. She writes about one column a week for the account, which has more than 2,300 followers and has additional resources for those who visit the page.
“When you ask about the Asian saints, I have been hungry to know these stories,” Ku told Catholic News Service during a May 13 phone interview.
Recently, author Meg Hunter-Kilmer wrote “Saints Around the World,” “which is great for kids,” Ku said, and “Pray for Us,” geared toward young adults.
“She’s really good about telling the stories of diverse saints,” added Ku, who also has written a reflection for CNS’ catechetical and spirituality section.
“When I discovered these books, I was so thrilled. It was so meaningful,” Ku said.
“I can’t tell you what it means to see the stories of saints from your own ethnic culture, she added, “reading Meg’s books … and these ‘Pray for Us’ books.”
Ku has been reading the stories herself. “I still remember getting the book in the mail. I have three daughters. I had Elise, my 6 year old, on my lap. I went immediately to the Korean saints’ stories.” Ku in particular likes the stories of St. Agatha and Blessed Columba.
“I was just taking it in. These were new-to-me stories. I was proud to share these stories with my daughter,” Ku told CNS. “They involve a lot of suffering and persecution. The story of the Catholic Church in Korea and Japan and Vietnam, there’s so much distrust of government to leaders of the Catholic Church,” due to supposed “foreign influence.”
Ku said the stories “just involve such steadfastness to Jesus. And so much bravery. It’s just incredible.” Her daughters seem to have picked up on this. “My three daughters recognize the bravery and such deep love for their faith. They (the saints) were tortured for their faith and killed for their faith. These are meaningful moments.
“Afterward, I noticed that Elise in the days afterward, that she would pick up ‘Saints Around the World’ and look at the story of the Korean saints. It could be because they’re 6 and learning to read. I think there’s something in there that appeals to her spirit, just as it did to me.”
More recently, Ku pitched a project with the Hallow app; “I love the app,” she confessed. “I had the idea: What if, in May, you were able to choose Asian saint stories that were read by Asian American Catholics? How crazy!”
May also marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“In January, I got on a call with the Hallow team: Asian saint stories read by Asian American voices. They were really supportive,” Ku said. “We got seven of the stories from Meg’s book. … I got to read the stories for the Korean saints.”
Other stories in the Hallow series are in Japanese and Hmong, an ethnic group in Laos. Ku was able to get the first American-born Hmong priest to do the recitation of Hunter-Kilmer’s story of a Hmong saint.
The recordings have been up since the start of May.
It still takes Ku a bit to wrap her head around the fact that “Pray for Us” stories are available for hearing in their native tongues. “I’d been waiting for that part. I find that part so incredibly powerful in particular, to hear the language the saint would have spoken in their lifetime.”
May God go with you into ordinary time
On Ordinary Times
By Lucia A. Silecchia
As a teacher, I have mixed feelings about graduations. While commencements launch new beginnings for graduates, they are also bittersweet farewells.
Each year, the basic formula of our graduation ceremonies remains the same. The setting, order of events and cherished traditions remain remarkably unchanged, reflecting the enduring desire to mark important passages with predictable rituals. In spite of their comforting sameness, however, each graduation ceremony heralds a significant change in my own life, not just in the lives of my students.
Each year, I see my students’ joy and am happy for them. However, as a teacher left behind there is a certain sadness knowing that each year’s graduating class – as individuals and as a group – will no longer be part of my everyday life. Certainly, commencement day is about my students and not me. Yet, the day when this celebration no longer tugs at my heart may be the day I should start another path of work.
The years I spend with my students are brief – only 3 or 4 years do we walk together. For that time, I am privileged to be part of their lives and to have them as part of mine. I am deeply grateful to my students for all they share with me during the time we travel together along the path of life. The class of 2022, in a particular way, crossed my path in a unique set of pandemic-provoked disruptions. Thus, in a special way, I am grateful for their good will through some challenging days.
I am grateful for all the ways they shared their joys with me. Some of them knew great joy in the years we spent together as they welcomed children, became aunts or uncles, achieved academic success, or wore new rings on their fingers. Some overcame great obstacles, were surprised at wonderful job offers, and learned that they had talents they did not know that they had. Some made life-long friends and I have celebrated at the weddings of those who sat together in my class.
I am grateful for all the ways they also shared their sorrows with me. Some of them had loved ones who started the journey with them but are no longer at their sides to share the joy of graduation. Some had struggles with finances or health, watched plans disrupted and mourned dreams denied. Like life itself, the journey through school has its highs and lows.
I am grateful for all the ways they shared their families with me. Those who teach young children rather than adults see far more of their students’ families than I do. Yet, my students tell me of their loved ones – their parents, children, spouses and siblings. Many tell me much about beloved grandparents because, often, it is in the years of young adulthood that their grandparents pass away.
In particularly entertaining ways, my students share their families with me at graduation. I still feel a vague dread when someone’s proud dad says, “I’ve heard all about you!” because that is not necessarily a good thing. I sense that my students feel similar dread when a proud mom says, “How did he do in your class?” Fear not, students! I have a well-practiced repertoire of non-responsive answers to that question.
I am grateful for the ways my students thank their loved ones, my colleagues and their classmates as we share our pride and common joy with them. As they receive their diplomas while wearing the strangest of hats and smiling the biggest of smiles at their cheering families, they remind me that few accomplishments are achieved alone.
I am grateful for the ways in which many students have shared their faith with me. Although much is said by many – myself included – criticizing Gen Z’s and Millennials, I have been inspired by them. In an age of shallow soundbites, some have asked me the big questions. In an age of secularism, some have prayed with me. In a time when faith is thought to be private, some have prayed for me. In a time when the world can seem thoughtless, they reach out with commitments to service, good-hearted kindnesses and traces of that idealism a cynical world so desperately needs.
My students – soon to be my former students – were once strangers to me and to each other. Through many different paths, they and I came together for a time and shared a unique season of our lives. As May and June unfold, teachers like me will be saying our good-byes.
“Good-bye,” however, is a comforting word of farewell – an ancient abbreviation of the phrase, “God go with you.” So, to all those whose diplomas say “2022,” I pray that God does, indeed, go with you as you embark into our fragile world. Bring that world your courage, your hope and your love. And, if you think of it, say a prayer for me – I’ll miss you. Thanks for sharing with me some of your ordinary times.
Congratulations! May God go with you, Class of 2022.
(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.)
Who’s listening to the women?
AMID THE FRAY
By Greg Erlandson (CNS)
The leaked draft Supreme Court document that laid out the case for overturning Roe v. Wade making abortion a constitutional right has provoked an uproar.
Abortion advocates are furious that the forthcoming ruling may toss abortion back to the legislatures. Abortion opponents are working furiously to have laws in place at the state level to ban abortions. In either case, the struggle won’t be ending. It will be punted to nearly level of government for the foreseeable future.
As we wait for the high court’s final decision in June, we might do well to listen to Getty Israel, the founder and CEO of Sisters in Birth, located in Mississippi.
Sisters in Birth exists to help poor and underserved women in the poorest state in the union to give birth to healthy babies and to help mothers find the care they need. In a recent interview, Israel sounded fed up with the swirling national debate.
When interviewed on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” Israel did not take the standard NPR line on abortion. She sounded ticked off at everybody.
“When we get calls from women – and we do – who are looking for an abortion, the first question I ask is, ‘What’s going on?’”
“Because, yes, I want to change her mind. Yes, I want to reduce the abortion rate. That’s a lot of Black lives lost in an era of Black Lives Matter,” she said.
“Pro-choice people are willing to wage a war … to protect (Roe v. Wade). But they’re not willing to help create any community-based interventions to address the various underlying risk factors that will lead a woman to look for an abortion,” Israel charged.
What’s missing from the national debate, she added, are the voices of women who are considering abortion. “No one ever says, What do you need? What can we do to help improve your life so that you don’t find that you need to have an abortion?”
“When a woman is seeking abortion, 9 times out of 10, she is alone,” she continued. “Pro-choice people aren’t walking down the path with her, and neither are the pro-life people, beyond beating her over the head with a Bible and Scripture.”
Almost 38% of Mississippians are Black, the highest in the nation. Yet they account for 68% of abortions. Women looking for abortion often work minimum-wage jobs without health insurance. They are beset by poverty and a torn social net.
Mississippi also has the highest rate of infant deaths in the first 12 months of life. Sixty percent of those babies are Black, many of whom were born premature. Yet state medical care for pregnant women and for new mothers in poverty is minimal and underfunded.
Banning abortion will not make Mississippi a pro-life state.
The racist murder of Black shoppers in Buffalo, New York, has transfixed the nation, but Getty Israel is right: Hundreds of thousands of Black babies are being aborted or dying in their first year of life for lack of adequate health care and support.
Nationwide there are bold pro-life efforts like the Women’s Care Centers that help expectant mothers, but so much more is needed. Passage of a new child tax credit program is one place to start.
Catholic bishops are calling for all Catholic institutions to step up and support moms in need. In the words of the New York bishops, if “every Catholic parish, every Catholic Charities program, every Catholic health facility, every Catholic school, every Catholic college and university” were asking women how they could help, the impact could be culture changing. The challenge is, how do we make this more than just a slogan?
(Erlandson, director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, can be reached at gerlandson@catholicnews.com.)
Called by Name
I am happy to report that we not only have a new priest, Father Andrew Bowden, but we also have a new seminarian, Mr. John Le. John was born in Vietnam but had to flee the country as a teenager after the communist takeover. He settled in Houston, Texas and attended high school there before enrolling at Texas A&M. John studied engineering and worked as a microelectronics engineer in Houston and Dallas before entering the Jesuits. After over a decade as a Jesuit brother, John began to discern diocesan priesthood. He has lived and worked with his brother in Brookhaven for the last year or so, and that’s when I started to get to know him. John will be enrolling at Sacred Heart Seminary in Hales Corners, Wisconsin this August. Sacred Heart specializes in educating second-career seminarians, and recent graduates from Sacred Heart in our diocese include Father Lincoln Dall. Carlisle Beggerly enjoyed two years at Sacred Heart even more recently as he did his pre-theology studies at Hales Corners before coming to Notre Dame in New Orleans for theology.
I was heartened to hear Bishop Kopacz announce at Father Andrew’s ordination that he has now ordained 12 priests since being consecrated as Bishop of Jackson in February of 2014. That is a great blessing, and we are seeing great work done by our recently ordained men.
It is encouraging for me to see my classmates and former seminary brothers become pastors. Father Aaron Williams is now pastor at St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Parishes in Natchez, Father Mark Shoffner is now pastor at St. John in Oxford, and Father Adolfo Suarez is pastor in Forest.
Also, Father Andrew Nguyen will be pastor soon at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Greenwood, and I am excited to be rector at St. Peter Cathedral beginning this July. The good news is that this is not the end; it is only the beginning. God willing, we will have four new priests entering the fold in the next three years. Carlisle Beggerly’s diaconate ordination is coming up on June 4 at his home parish in West Point, and so next year we will get to see him ordained a priest, followed the next year by Ryan Stoer and Tristan Stovall.
Our prayers for a “Homegrown Harvest” continue to be answered, and I ask that you continue to ask the Lord for more laborers for His harvest. I would like to thank our current seminarians for their dedication to their formation. And remember — we are about quality, not necessarily quantity! I’m so happy with our current group of men because I believe they are dedicated to being formed well, and so even if they do not ultimately present themselves for ordination, they will be great husbands and fathers in our parishes. Please pray for our men in formation, and continue your great work of praying for vocations, and encouraging more young men to consider whether the Lord is calling them to shepherd his people as a priest of Jesus Christ.
Rally around the call to accompany expectant mothers
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
As Catholics we are in the midst of a nine-day Novena undertaken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in preparation for the great feast of the Visitation on May 31. This second joyful mystery of the rosary recalls that tender scene when Mary and Elizabeth, two of the most well-known pregnant women in world history, encountered one another with unbounded joy in God their Savior. Even the “baby stirred in my womb for joy” Elizabeth exclaimed to her younger cousin who had arrived at Zachariah and Elizabeth’s doorstep to assist her who was in her sixth month with the unborn John the Baptist. Women helping women in preparation for birth and in the months following the emergence of new life from the womb into the light of day, is fundamental for family life, community, and civilization.
The need for caring support around a pregnancy and the earliest stage of life is fundamental for mothers and their infants, for family life, communities, and ultimately civilization. There are many in our churches and in our communities in Mississippi who rally around the call to accompany expectant mothers, and in the time following the birth of their children. We can only rejoice to see such loving support. For the Catholic Church, as the whole world knows, the right to life is fundamental because we are made in the image and likeness of God (Imago Dei). The dignity of the human person is rooted in this fundamental belief.
What the whole world may not know, or chooses to ignore, is that the church commits herself, in season and out of season, to the well-being of the human person at every stage of life. This is evident in our social teachings that foster the common good, serve the poor, marginalized and vulnerable, champion health care, sponsor education, and support life’s basic needs: food, shelter and clothing and gainful employment. Moreover, in recent years, care for our common home, the earth, has become more urgent.
Pope Francis’ masterpiece, Laudato Si, rejoices in God the creator, and addresses this God-given obligation. When we add it all up it is all about what St. Paul eloquently states in his letter to the Romans. “The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, but about justice and peace, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. (14:17)
Now back to the Visitation and the gift of unborn life that opened this column. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States over the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is imminent and the prospect of overturning of Roe v. Wade is sending shock waves across the land from the White House to all points on the compass.
There is no doubt that this is an historic moment for our nation. The passion surrounding this life issue burns no less intensely than nearly 50 years ago when Roe v. Wade became the law of the land in 1973. There has been a creeping shadow ever since because at the core of our collective consciousness is a tortured conscience that is unable to reconcile a self-image of inherent goodness with the blood of the innocents. But whether Roe v Wade is overturned or rolled back, abortions will not cease, as we know. The political onus will return to the legislatures of the 50 states to enact laws going forward, and as we have already experienced, these laws will vary greatly.
Like the fires engulfing our western states, there will be widespread conflagrations that burn at the fault lines of our fractured society. The personal onus is another dimension, the terrain of conscience and conversion, challenging every individual to safeguard the gift of sexuality knowing there is freedom through boundaries, to cherish the gift of life, one’ own and the vulnerable in our midst, and to realize that violence against the unborn is at the root of the violence that roils our nation and world.
What can one person or one church do? “The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” (John 1:5) is the promise that our labors with God will always matter. Praying, serving, empowering and advocating are always relevant.
Pope Francis encourages encounter with the other and accompaniment, and a recent project worthy of praise in every Catholic diocese is “Walking with Moms in Need.” Whatever the ruling on Roe v Wade, the church in league with other networks is redoubling its efforts to accompany mothers, their preborn and children in the early stages of development so that they and we, like Mary and Elisabeth, can rejoice in the gift of life and in God our Savior.
Se unen en torno al llamado de acompañar a las futuras madres
Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Como católicos, estamos en medio de una Novena de nueve días emprendida por la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos en preparación para la gran fiesta de la Visitación el 31 de mayo. Este segundo misterio gozoso del rosario recuerda esa tierna escena cuando María y Isabel, dos de las mujeres embarazadas más conocidas de la historia mundial, se encontraron con un gozo ilimitado en Dios su Salvador. Incluso el “bebé se agitó de alegría en mi vientre”, exclamó Isabel a su prima más joven que había llegado a la puerta de Zacarías e Isabel para ayudarla, que estaba en su sexto mes con el nonato Juan Bautista. Las mujeres ayudando a mujeres, en la preparación para el parto y en los meses posteriores a la salida de la nueva vida del útero a la luz del día, es fundamental para la vida familiar, comunitaria y de la civilización.
La necesidad de apoyo cariñoso en torno al embarazo y la etapa más temprana de la vida es fundamental para las madres y sus bebés, la vida familiar, las comunidades y, en última instancia, la civilización. Hay muchos en nuestras iglesias y en nuestras comunidades en Mississippi que se unen en torno al llamado de acompañar a las futuras madres y en el tiempo posterior al nacimiento de sus hijos. Solo podemos regocijarnos al ver un apoyo tan amoroso. Para la Iglesia Católica, como todo el mundo sabe, el derecho a la vida es fundamental porque estamos hechos a imagen y semejanza de Dios (Imago Dei). La dignidad de la persona humana tiene sus raíces en esta creencia fundamental.
El mundo entero puede no saber o elegir ignorar que la iglesia se compromete, a tiempo y fuera de tiempo, con el bienestar de la persona humana en cada etapa de la vida. Esto es evidente en nuestras enseñanzas sociales que fomentan el bien común, sirven a los pobres, marginados y vulnerables, defienden la atención médica, patrocinan la educación y apoyan las necesidades básicas de la vida: alimentación, vivienda y vestido, y empleo remunerado. Además, en los últimos años, el cuidado de nuestra casa común, la tierra, se ha vuelto más urgente.
La obra maestra del Papa Francisco, Laudato Si, se regocija en Dios el creador y aborda esta obligación dada por Dios. Cuando sumamos todo, se trata de lo que San Pablo afirma con elocuencia en su carta a los Romanos. “Porque el reino de Dios no es cuestión de comer o beber determinadas cosas, sino de vivir en justicia, paz y alegría por medio del Espíritu Santo. (14:7)
Ahora volvamos a la Visitación y al don de la vida no nacida que abrió esta columna. La decisión de la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos sobre Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization es inminente y la posibilidad de anular Roe v. Wade está enviando ondas de choque por todo el país, desde la Casa Blanca hasta todos los puntos de la brújula.
No hay duda de que este es un momento histórico para nuestra nación. La pasión que rodea este tema de la vida arde no menos intensamente que hace casi 50 años cuando Roe v. Wade se convirtió en ley del país en 1973. Ha habido una sombra que se arrastra desde entonces porque en el centro de nuestra conciencia colectiva hay una conciencia torturada que es incapaz de reconciliar una imagen propia de bondad inherente con la sangre de los inocentes. Pero, ya sea que Roe v Wade sea anulado o revertido, los abortos no cesarán, como sabemos. La responsabilidad política volverá a las legislaturas de los 50 estados para promulgar leyes en el futuro y, como ya hemos experimentado, estas leyes variarán mucho.
Al igual que los incendios que envuelven a nuestros estados del oeste, habrá conflagraciones generalizadas que arderán en las fallas de nuestra sociedad fracturada. La responsabilidad personal es otra dimensión, el terreno de la conciencia y la conversión, que desafía a cada individuo a salvaguardar el don de la sexualidad sabiendo que hay libertad a través de las fronteras, a apreciar el don de la vida, la propia y la de los vulnerables entre nosotros y a darse cuenta de que la violencia contra los no nacidos está en la raíz de la violencia que agita a nuestra nación y al mundo.
¿Qué puede hacer una persona o una iglesia?
“Esta luz brilla en las tinieblas, y las tinieblas no han podido apagarla.” (Juan 1:5) es la promesa de que nuestro trabajo con Dios siempre importará. Orar, servir, empoderar y abogar son siempre relevantes. El Papa Francisco fomenta el encuentro con los demás y el acompañamiento y un proyecto reciente digno de elogio en todas las diócesis católicas como “Caminando con las mamás necesitadas.”
Cualquiera que sea el fallo de Roe v Wade, la iglesia, en connivencia con otras redes, está redoblando sus esfuerzos para acompañar a las madres, sus bebés antes de nacer y sus niños en las primeras etapas de desarrollo para que ellos y nosotros, como Mary y Isabel, podamos regocijarnos en el regalo de vida y en Dios nuestro Salvador.
Pope: Christian politics must be marked by love, respect
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – For politics to be “the highest form of charity,” as Catholic social teaching promotes, it must be exercised with full respect and even love for those who disagree, Pope Francis said.
“We are called to live the political encounter as a fraternal encounter, especially with those who least agree with us; and this means seeing in the one with whom we dialogue a true brother or sister, a beloved child of God,” the pope told an international group of young adults May 16.
The young people, ages 18-35, are part of the lay Chemin Neuf community’s “Politics Fraternity,” which brings together prayer, direct service to the poor and a commitment to the common good and to political activity “according to the heart of God,” the group’s website said.
“Encounter, reflection, action: This is a program for politics in the Christian sense,” the pope told them.
For a Christian, a political encounter and debate must go beyond “respectful dialogue,” he said. “Since the Gospel asks us to love our enemies, I cannot settle for a superficial and formal dialogue, like those often-hostile negotiations between political parties.”
Instead, the pope said, with mutual respect and a solid commitment to finding common ground, political adversaries must listen to each other and seek the good of all rather than the promotion of their pet project or position.
Virtuous politics also involves “common reflection in search of this general good, and not simply by the confrontation of conflicting and often opposing interests,” the pope said. “In short, ‘the whole is superior to the part,’ and our compass for elaborating this common project is the Gospel, which brings to the world a profoundly positive vision of the human person loved by God.”
Pope Francis praised the Chemin Neuf project and its participants for recognizing that prayer, dialogue and reflection are not enough.
A politics grounded in reality and aiming to make concrete contributions to people’s lives must include the experience of serving the poor, he said, like the group does with its work with migrants, its care of creation and the small community of young adults who have chosen to live in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Paris.
At the end of the audience, Chemin Neuf members gathered around Pope Francis, who was seated in a wheelchair because of ongoing knee pain, and prayed for him while laying hands on him.
“In prayer let us all ask God to bless us,” he said. “Lord Jesus, bless all of us who work close to you. Bless our ideas. Bless our hearts. Bless our hands.”
Managing an ascension
IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
A friend of mine, somewhat cynical about the church, recently remarked: “What the institutional church today is trying to do is to put its best face on the fact that it’s dying. Basically, it’s trying to manage a death.”
What he’s suggesting is that the church today, like a person struggling to accept a terminal diagnosis, is trying to reshape its imagination to eventually accommodate itself to the unthinkable, its own dying.
He’s right in suggesting that the church today is trying to reshape its imagination, but he’s wrong about what it’s trying to manage. What the church is trying to manage today is not a death, but an ascension. What needs reshaping in our imagination today is the same thing that needed reshaping in the imagination of the first disciples in the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. We need to understand again how to let go of one body of Christ so that it can ascend and we can again experience Pentecost. What’s at stake here?
Among the elements within the paschal mystery, the ascension is the least understood. We are clearer about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. We have less understanding of the ascension.
The forty days between the resurrection and the ascension were not a time of unadulterated joy for the first disciples. It was a time of some joy, but also of considerable confusion, despondency and loss of faith. In the days before the ascension, the disciples were overjoyed whenever they recognized again their risen Lord, but most of the time they were confused, despondent, and full of doubt because they were unable to recognize the new presence of Christ in what was happening around them. At one point, they gave up completely and as John put it, went back to their former way of life, fishing and the sea.
However, during that time Jesus slowly reshaped their imaginations. Eventually they grasped the fact that something had died but that something else, far richer, had been born and that now they needed to give up clinging to the way Jesus had formerly been present to them so that he could be present to them in a new way. The theology and spirituality of the ascension is essentially contained in these words: Refuse to cling to what once was, let it go so that you can now recognize the new life you are already living and receive its spirit. The synoptic gospels teach this to us in their pictorial rendering of the ascension, where a bodily Jesus blesses everyone and then rises physically out of their sight. John gives us the same theology but in a different picture. He does this in his description of the encounter on Easter morning between Jesus and Mary Magdala when Jesus says, “Mary don’t cling to me!”
Today, the church is trying to manage an ascension, not a death. I can easily see where my friend can be confused because every ascension presupposes a death and a birth, and that can be confusing. So where, really, is the church today?
Edward Schillebeeckx once suggested that we are living in that same despondency that was felt by the early disciples between Jesus’ death and their realization of his resurrection. We are feeling what they felt, doubt and confusion on the road to Emmaus. The Christ we once knew has been crucified and we cannot yet recognize the Christ who is walking with us, more alive than before, though in a new way. Hence, just as those first disciples on the road to Emmaus, we also frequently walk with faces downcast, in a confused faith, needing Christ to appear in a new guise to reshape our imaginations so that we can recognize him as he is now present to us.
I think Schillebeeckx is right about this, except that I would put it in another way. The church today is in that time between the resurrection and the ascension, feeling considerable despondency, with its imagination attuned to a former understanding of Christ, unable to recognize Christ clearly in the present moment. For many of us who grew up in a particular understanding of the faith, our former understanding of Christ has been crucified. But Christ is not dead. The church is not dead. Both Jesus and the church are very much alive, walking with us, slowly reshaping our imaginations, reinterpreting the scriptures for us, telling us again: Wasn’t it necessary that the Christ (and the church) should so suffer. …
For many of us today, to live in faith is to be in that time between the death of Christ and the ascension, vacillating between joy and despondency, trying to manage an ascension.
On the road of faith, there’s always bad news and good news. The bad news is that invariably our understanding of Christ gets crucified. The good news is that Christ is always very much alive, present to us still, and in a deeper way.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)