Thursday, February 22, 2007

But Before I Go: Can the Church Loom So Large that She Obscures Christ?

My question:

Is it possible to so focus upon the Church that we unintentionally obscure Christ, her Lord and Savior?

What we are discovering through talking to people is that one can be very active and intentionally so, in the Church, in the Church's worship, study, service, even mission, and have little or no lived relationship with Christ as the source of this activity Some of the comments during the discussions of intentional discipleship seemed to imply that ecclesial activity automatically places you in a relationship with Christ. Ecclesial activity = personal relationship with Christ.

Is the "unconscious norm" that some (conservative, high culture) Catholics think we are violating when we talk of intentional discipleship (and insist we are talking about "me and Jesus") the idea that an intentional relationship with the Church is an intentional relationship with Christ?

If that were so, practicing and activity would be an adequate measure of discipleship. And challenging people in RCIA to encounter the Church and consider becoming Catholic, rather than a disciple of Jesus Christ, would be enough in and of itself.

And "taking on your Catholic identity" would automatically be the same as conversion. And there wouldn't be any need to worry about pre-evangelism and initial proclamation or the "new evangelization" as long as people were "active" and living by the minimal "norms." And it would be rude and high-handed and intrusive to ask visibly practicing Catholics about their lived relationship with God because their practice, however motivated, would constitute a salvific relationship with God.

If that were so, insisting that intentional relationship with the Church is not sufficient for salvation by itself, that intentional relationship with Christ is, in the context of salvation, prior; would be "me and Jesus".

If that were so, explicitly preaching the kergyma to awaken initial faith in Christ in order to fruitfully receive the fruit of Christ's redemption through the sacraments and participate in the life of Christ's body on earth, would be "me and Jesus".

In our common pastoral practice, are we functioning as though baptism in and of itself establishes a salvific relationship with Christ (as it does for a child below the age of accountability because of the faith of the Church and their parents and godparents)? Are we functioning as though the norm for infants and small children is the norm for all Catholics throughout life?

Whether you are baptized as a child or as an adult, if you live long enough to reach true responsibility, you must ultimately say "yes" to Christ and his Church because no one else can do so for you. Some of us discover Christ through a prior encounter with the Church and some discover the Church because of their prior relationship with Christ.

But for how many does their prior encounter with the Church effectively obscure the need for personal faith in Christ, that personal "yes"?


posted by Sherry W @ 8:31 PM   1 Comments

1 Comments:

At February 23, 2007 9:11:00 AM MST , Anonymous Pete Ascosi said...

I would say that a prior encounter with the "Church" had a neutral effect on my own adult conversion or "reversion." As far as the teaching of the Church and the sacraments - I received it every week - but for years as a teenager and up until about 3 or 4 years ago (I'm now 25) - it was all empty - it was as PJPII says "hollow ritualism." But when I encountered the risen Lord Jesus - and turned from ME as the center of the universe (metanoia) and turned to Jesus - I was changed and transformed as I actualized the grace of baptism and confirmation!

At the same time, however, my conversion to Christ did happen in the midst of the "Church" - the loving people of God, who welcomed me, listened to me, & prayed with me.

So I guess it matters sometimes what you mean by the "Church."

Bishop Edward Clark of Los Angeles made some applicable comments to the Religious Education Conference in Anaheim, CA on March 31, 2006:

"Conversion to the person of Christ, the Holy Father announced, must precede conversion to the church. 'The new evangelization,' he wrote, 'is not a matter of merely passing on doctrine but rather of a personal and profound meeting with the Savior." For the new evangelization, the point of departure is Christ himself, his person, because he himself is our salvation. This is the first focus of the new evangelization" (cf. Osservatore Romano, Eng. ed., Jan. 14, 1991, p. 2).

Full text of his very excellent address on the new evangelization is available here- http://www.christlife.org/sharefaith/articles/newineskin.html

In regards to baptism, St. Louis Montfort writes in "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary":

"Is it not true that nearly all Christians prove unfaithful to the promises made to Jesus in baptism? Where does this universal failure come from, if not from man's habitual forgetfulness of the promises and responsibilities of baptism and from the fact that scarcely anyone makes a personal ratification of the contract made with God through his sponsors?"

We need to actualize the grace of our baptism and confirmation - as an adult - make a personal ratification to Jesus Christ. Commit our lives completely to him! As all the saints did! The strong emphasis upon this in Protestant denominations is a good thing ... something we can benefit from ... something that is of course profoundly Catholic!

btw, this blog is great - keep up the good work "Siena"

Peace and grace in our Lord Jesus!

 

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