October, 2012
Dear Parishioners,
Fifty years ago this month (October 11, 1962), the Second Vatican Council had its
opening session. I was a teenager at the time, and had for the first fourteen years of my life,
known the church as primarily the domain of the clergy where the role of the laity was “Pay,
Pray and Obey!” There was very little if any room for questions, dialogue or doubts about what
we believed and how we were expected to live out our faith. It may be an oversimplification to
say that the dominant emotion associated with our Catholic faith was fear. There was the fear of
God, fear of eternal damnation, fear for the eternal souls of our non-Catholic friends, fear of
intimacy with others, fear of the nuns who taught us (not always ) and the priests who scolded
us in confession ( not always .)Yes, the churches were full to overflowing as people fulfilled
their Sunday obligation after waiting in long lines for confession but, for so many, the motivation
was more fear than love of God, more obligation than a desire to follow Christ as his disciple.
We had no sense that the Church was the People of God, a Pilgrim People. The best kept
secret was that through our Baptism we had been incorporated into the Body of Christ and we
were called to share in the Mission of Christ. And then there’s the Holy Spirit! Last Sunday, we
heard these words from Moses’ lips, “Would that God’s spirit be poured out on all God’s
people”. With the advent of the Second Vatican Council, we discovered that the Spirit had
indeed come upon ALL God’s people.
One of our parishioners who is a professor in the Theology Department here at Boston
College has written and lectured extensively about the impact and meaning of the Second
Vatican Council and the challenge we face in being faithful to the spirit of the Council. Rick
Gaillardetz is one of the contributors to a special issue of the National Catholic Reporter on the
Council. He says the Council gave us the Pillars of our Church, but the building is not finished.
The priority of Baptism
The Constitution on the Church (Lumen
Gentium) repudiated a baroque vision of the
church as an “unequal society” comprised
of two ranks, clergy and laity. It stressed
the priority of Christian baptism and
affirmed
our
primary
identity
as
Christifideles, the Christian faithful.
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
(Sacrosanctum Concilium) insisted that all
the faithful are called to a full, conscious
and active participation in the Eucharistic
worship.
The decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
(Apostolicam Actuositatem) acknowledged
our baptismal charisms, charisms that we
have a right and obligation to exercise in
communion with our pastors, to build up
the church mission of service in the world.
The Decree on Ministry and Life of
Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis) obliged the
pastors to celebrate those gifts testing and
ordering them for the building up of the
Church. Lumen Gentium affirmed that each
of the baptized possesses a supernatural
instinct for the faith (sensus fidei) that allows
us to hear God’s word, penetrate its
meaning and apply it more fully in our
lives.
The constitution on Divine Revelation
Dei Verbum) insisted that because of this
instinct for the faith,
all the faithful
participate in the development of tradition,
and consequently (Lumen Gentium), they
have a right to make their questions,
insights and competencies known to their
Church leaders.
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes)
called the baptized to an adult faith,
demanding that they take the initiative in
bringing the Gospel into their homes, their
workplace, their election booth. It frankly
acknowledged that the clergy can offer
some spiritual guidance but that they will
not have an answer to every pressing
question.
I am so grateful to Rick and all those who are reminding us of the critical importance of the
Council for the future of the Church. On this fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Second
Vatican Council, I believe we are called to reflect deeply on the rights and responsibilities of
our Baptism and our share in the mission of Christ. In addition to this anniversary, we also
celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the beginning
of the Year of Faith. My hope and prayer is that as individuals and as a community we can find
ways to deepen our knowledge of our faith tradition so that we may know, love and follow
Jesus Christ with more and more dedication and passion.
In Christ,
Fr. Bob
HOW SHOULD OUR FAITH INFORM OUR BALLOTS?
Join us on Sunday, October 14th at 11:00 am in the Choir/Media Room with
Dr. Rick Gaillardetz, Ph.D, Theology Professor at Boston College and a St. Ingatius Parishioner.
God is NOT a Republican or a Democrat. NO political candidate is perfect. So, how can a
Catholic vote responsibly while taking into consideration our Catholic Faith? This talk will
address how to reflect on the decisions before us in this election in the light of faith, without
speaking about particular candidates.