Convergent Streams Volume 2 Number 1

Volume 2 Number 1

First Quarter 2014

Rachel and Leah

In this Issue From the Editor.................................................... page 4 Searching, Finding, Epiphany................................. page 6 A Dominican’s Dithyramb...................................... page 6 Missio Dei......................................................... page 12 Occupy Spirituality ............................................ page 16 Lessons in courage: Women in the Bible................ page 18 Coming out of the Catholic closet......................... page 20 Barriers and Opportunities To Catholic Unity.......... page 22 Honoring the ordinariness of our lives................... page 24 Purgatory.......................................................... page 26 Seeking Salvation.............................................. page 28 Here I Am Lord!................................................. page 30 Katholic Kitchens................................................ page 32 First Quarter Saints Wordsearch........................... page 74 Saints Calendar................................................. page 75 Lent Crossword Puzzle........................................ page 78

Convergent Streams Vol. 2 No. 1 This publication is an outreach ministry serving the entire Independent Sacramental Movement, operated by the International Old Catholic Churches’ publishing office, the Office of Communications and Media Relations. Copyright 2013-2014 All rights reserved.

Executive Editor: The Right Rev. Gregory Godsey Managing Editor: The Very Rev. David S. Jennings Editor-at-Large: The Right Rev. A. Edmund N. Cass

Mrs. Brenda Eckels Burrows Guest Writers: Rev. Fr. John Taylor Brantley The Right Rev. Jerry Brohl The Very Rev. Jim St. George Rev. Fr. Tom Shortell The Right Rev. Christian River Sims Rev. Fr. Andrew Smith The Right Rev. Ronald Stephens Rev. Mrs. Dollie Wilkinson Rev. Fr. Bryan Wolf

Contributing Editors: The Very Rev. Prior Michael Beckett

From the Editor The Right Rev. Gregory W. Godsey editor@convergentstreams.org At the end of the last year and the start of the new one, I found myself reflecting on all the things I have done and haven’t done over this year. Many people take the opportunity to make New Year’s resolutions, only to find themselves breaking them before the end of January.

This year I am not going to do the resolution thing. It is meaningless unless you intend to actually keep them. And we all know that when you make a New Year’s resolution, that you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

This year I want to do things, not just resolve to do them. One of the things I have been very proud of this past year is this publication.

When others said we could not possibly create and maintain a magazine for the Independent Sacramental Movement, we said we were going to try.

With the help of all our guest writers and editors we have not only managed to create a magazine, but we are starting the second year of publication!

To my knowledge, this is a venture that has never before succeeded in our movement.

With all that support and all the submissions we hope that this year will be an even

better year for this publication.

Another exciting project of ours is mentioned in one of the articles in this edition (Here I am Lord!). That is the Independent Movement Database. The database has been in operation since 2005 and has had 1.5 million hits in that time.

Over the past year this project has seen a complete change in the way it was administered. In the beginning the database was a Wiki-style site where anyone could submit and edit their information.

This became a huge burden on the resources of our hosting service and we had to decide to either pay hundreds of dollars a month for dedicated servers or to scale back software load on the existing servers. We chose the later. This change created more work for the human beings behind the scenes of the database, but it dropped the load on the

server by three quarters.

We also added a few moderators to help with the submission and editing of the database. This means that it is not a one man show anymore, but that various members of the ISM are involved in the dayto-day operations of the site.

And let me be very clear, we are not the only ones making great strides toward giving our movement a better image. The fine people at the Universal Spirit Broadcasting Network continue to offer quality programing by members of the ISM. As I write this, Father Rick Romero is traveling down the east coast interviewing clergy in the ISM for a brand new series of programs for USBN. We are proud of their work and proud to have them as regular advertisers in Convergent Streams.

I was taken aback when I compiled the numbers for the yearly review of the Independent Movement Database. I noticed that the number of active jurisdictions had dropped. It was not a huge drop, but it was a drop.

I began to dig deeper and was encouraged to see that these jurisdictions had not ceased to exist, but rather they had merged into other jurisdictions.

This is encouraging because it shows that our history as a movement of splitting into increasingly smaller jurisdictions every other day may be coming to an end.

One of the things we have been working on in our church has been the process of forming working relationships. Not necessarily intercommunions, as in all reality, we should all be in communion with each other as members of the body of Christ. But rather, we are working to build relationships with jurisdictions willing to work together toward common goals regardless of our particular expression of the faith. We believe this is important as it will make us all stronger.

But in order to do so, we have to move past the ideals of the past (ie. hostile takeovers of smaller jurisdictions, demands that a jurisdiction be 100% orthodox in order to work with them) and develop new ways to work together and new ways to reach those who need our message most. It is not about how many people you have in the pews, it is about how many people you helped and how many you were Christ to today.

I want to say that I very proud to be a part of the ISM and I am humbled to be a part of many of the projects that are growing and developing in our movement. It is my prayer that 2014 will be any even greater year for our movement and will bring even more wonderful projects to our doorsteps!

God Bless!

A Dominican’s Dithyramb The Very Rev. Prior Michael Beckett msgrbeckett@myiocc.org

Searching, Finding, Epiphany

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n the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when

the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV) Today we mark the end of the Christmas season – the

Day of Epiphany. We celebrate this day to reflect on the visit of the Magi – the wise men – to Jesus and the giving of their gifts. We reflect on the meaning of this visit of those wise ones to see Jesus.

Epiphany is about Jesus and his message being available and relevant to people of every age and race. Jesus isn’t just a Jewish prophet with an exciting message, but God made present amongst us and available to all of us to worship and follow. God’s love reaches beyond the everyday barriers of race and class; something the Magi didn’t quite get at first.

So Who Were the Magi?

We don’t know much about the Magi from Scripture. All Saint Matthew tells us is that they were “Magi from the East”.

Some translations have “Wise men from the East”. The word in Greek refers to priests of the Zoroastrian religion. They came from Persia, the countries now known as Iran and Iraq, and they saw meaning in the movement of the stars. Their visit fits an Eastern pattern of great births being accompanied by momentous events in the sky. Certainly we know of a comet in 11BCE in Gemini with its head towards Leo, seen by many as a symbol of Judah.

We also know of planetary conjunctions in both 7BCE and 6 BCE which would have added to a sense that momentous happenings were on the way.

The Magi would have noticed these things and taken them

seriously. But who were they?

One commentator, Brian Stoffregen puts it like this; “Originally in Persia, Magi were dream- interpreters. By Jesus’ time, the term referred to astronomers, fortunetellers, or star-gazers. They were horoscope fanatics - a practice condemned by Jewish standards. We might compare them to people in fortune - telling booths, or people on the “psychic hotline” or other “occupations” that foretell the future by stars, tea leaves, Tarot cards etc. They were magicians, astronomers, star-gazers, pseudoscientists, fortune tellers..”

Another writer, Nathan Nettleton, puts it like this; “They were the speakers of the sacred words at the pagan sacrifices. At worst, the term referred to a magician or sorcerer, or even a deceiver.

Magi were people whose activities were repeatedly condemned and prohibited throughout the scriptures and were completely anathema to the people of Israel.”

Whilst in English we get the words “magic” and “magician” from Magi, the Zoroastrian religion forbade sorcery. They clearly were looking for a new king and had found meaning in the movement of the planets and stars which led them to come to Israel to greet the new-born king. They journeyed (Continued on page 52)

Guest Writer The Right Rev. Jerry Brohl, COSF johnxxiiicommunity@gmail.com

This article is going to read like it’s all about me.

Please be patient. It’s not.

I am a cradle Roman Catholic.

My family participated, as a family, in many of the Roman Catholic devotions and rituals of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. I’m a product of 15 years of Roman Catholic formal education.

13 years of my adult work experience has been as a certified director of religious education in the Archdioceses of Detroit, MI and Baltimore, MD and the Diocese of Grand Rapids, MI. From ages 15 thru 35, I served multiple parishes as a catechist certified by the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI. Sacred Heart seminary, Detroit, MI was my home for almost 2 years. In 1968-72, I was initially a candidate for ordination to the permanent

diaconate for the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI until Rome put the kibosh on Detroit’s request for an age dispensation from the 35 year age requirement.

Rome did reduce the age to 32-1/2 years. I was tonsured and received all the minor orders, except sub-diaconate,

by Roman Catholic bishops of the Archdiocese of Detroit but could not be ordained to the diaconate because I was only 28 when the first class was ordained in 1971.

For me, Vatican II was not just a breath of fresh air, it was a loving jolt in my mind and heart. I was ecstatic! There was no hesitation in me when opportunities for reform were made available. I was an organizer of a ‘floating parish’ which was non-geographical and self-governing. I jumped

into the permanent diaconate with both feet. I was an extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist and Lector every chance I got. Thanks to John Cardinal Dearden, the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI was in the forefront of progressive Catholicism of that time. I couldn’t have been happier!

Then came the push back.

It was 2002. I had had a conversation with a boyhood friend who brought it to my attention that I was driving myself and everyone else crazy with my spiritual unsettledness over the church. Give it up or fix it was his advice. After some prayerful discernment, I decided to fix it. But how?

Pastors and some parishes expressed uncertainty and resistance. Over the years, and with the appointment of regressive bishops of the Archdiocese, the momentum slowed considerably and eventually stopped altogether.

In 1978, after being fired from the parish in Catonsville, MD where I was employed as the parish religious education director, I started a 24 yr funk.

I have a cousin who was an independent Catholic priest and is now a bishop. So, I knew there was such a thing as independent Catholicism. Off to Google and the web I went.

In 2002, my research left me with the perception that there were five kinds of independent Catholic jurisdictions: traditionalists, conservatives, moderates, New Wave, and the United Catholic Church (UCC).

I’m telling you all of this so that you might better understand why I claim to be an INDEPENDENT Roman Catholic today.

At the time, Archbishop Robert M. Bowman was the UCC presiding bishop. He became my mentor and friend. He ordained me to the diaconate in 2002, and the priesthood in 2003. I remained an endorsed clergy person of the UCC until 2006 when I was forced out.

During those years in the UCC, I maintained the view and conducted myself as an independent Roman Catholic while the UCC itself and most other independent Catholic jurisdictions claimed their orders thru the Old Catholic

After my firing in 1978 along with my disappointment over the slowdown of reform in Detroit, I decided that I could no longer present myself in a leadership position within the Roman Catholic church (RCC).

I tried to remain attached to a Roman parish for a couple of years but my heart just wasn’t in it any longer. I never lost my faith but my church participation was practically nil.

(Continued on page 37)

The Clerical Curmudgeon The Very Rev. David S. Jennings msgrjennings@myiocc.org

“Do not disturb.”

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t’s a great sign for the door of the room at your neighborhood best Western, but, as a means for promoting spiritual growth, it is an utter disaster.

I got to thinking about this recently, after my Bishop told me of a conversation he’d had with a fellow clergyman. It seems that this particular priest had made a brief reference to the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial during A HOMILY. One parishioner, in particular, took great exception to this. He let it be known in no uncertain terms that the church was no place to bring up issues of social justice.

Sadly, attitudes like that are all too common in the body of the church, no matter what denomination you examine.

Far too many see the church as a place to get their spiritual ticket punched so they can gain admittance to the Kingdom of Heaven. They have reduced their weekly act of worship to a painful duty that they endure in solitude and silence.

When I first became involved

in the independent Catholicism movement about a dozen years ago, I was astonished to see how deeply some Roman Catholics resented the introduction of the Pauline Rite mass. The former Tridentine rite was much superior , they said because it allowed them to bask in the splendor of ancient hymns and Latin

liturgy. The fact that they understood only a word or two of what was being said in the Latin mass was no cause for alarm; it simply meant that they could be alone with 10

their thoughts and their God The problem is, that they were missing the point of communal worship. We come together not just for the spiritual health of each individual member, but for the spiritual health of the parish has a whole. The idea that everyone is responsible only to themselves ought to be appealing only to those who received their spiritual formation from a disciple of Ayn Rand.

Some people will never know how much the mere fact of them being in church might affect someone who draws strength from that example of dedication to the they.

And that’s even before you consider the opportunities to encourage each other oneon-one. After all my years of following Christ, I remain convinced that the most powerful tool Satan can wield is implanting the notion that believers are going through a certain type of crisis that nobody has ever dealt with before someone caught in that belief and experience a downward spiral spiral of Shane that at the very least will cost them their day.

In the issues of social justice or economic justice being outside of the church’s purview? Nonsense. In the final analysis, there is no economic justice, there is no social justice,. There is only justice.

The Bible is fill with examples

of what justice and injustice look like. When a man kills his brother out of jealousy and spite, that is injustice when reality that yields great rewards that is justice. When someone overlooks long-standing prejudices to help a fellow individual, that his justice Too often, we try a to separate ourselves from every sight or sound that might make us uncomfortable. We don’t want to see any minority person stopped by police simply because ton skin color. We don’t want to see your smell the person who lives without a home in a time when everincreasing economic inequality is the order of the day. We don’t want to hear the protests of workers who are being worked in their efforts to seek just wages for their labor.

Avoiding the world allows us to avoid justice. We place a do not disturb sign around herself to sleep walk through life without being touched by those around us it’s a sure recipe were spiritual stagnation. Much better to be conscious of the world around you to be stirred to action by the Holy Spirit.

In other words as I have often said, “May the grace of the Lord disturb you all.”

The Very Rev. David Jennings is a Monsignor and Vicar General in the International Old Catholic Churches, Inc. He has a long history in journalism. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Guest Writer The Rev. Fr. Tom Shortell uaccmex@gmail.com

Missio Dei

“The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:16-20 NABRE)

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any individuals know the Bible verse quoted above and refer to it as the Great Commission. For many churches, this phrase is considered their marching orders to go and evangelize the world. But what does that

really mean? Do we really understand what the mission is? Whose mission is it? Is it my mission to accomplish as I see fit or I am working on behalf of someone else? What is the goal? How do we evangelize?

Without a clear answer to these questions and a commitment to the goal with a righteous heart, many grave errors have been and will be committed, all in the name of God or the Church.

In 1970 there was a movie released called Love Story starring Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal, based on a book of the same name. There was a memorable line from the movie that ranked thirteenth in the American Film Institute’s 2005 list of top 100 movie quotes of the last 100 years.(1) When Oliver Barrett, played

by O’Neal, tries to apologize to his girlfriend Jennifer Cavilleri, played by McGraw, 12

for his anger, Jennifer retorts back “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”.

Oh, if only that were true!

By our imperfect nature we are bound to make mistakes.

Sometimes in our zeal for God and for wanting to save souls, people forget, or maybe they never really understood, what their baptism actually calls them to do. Grave errors and atrocities are often the result. On March 12, 2000 at a Day of Pardon Mass at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II asked for forgiveness for all the sins committed in the name of the Roman Catholic Church since its beginnings.

During his pontificate from 1978 - 2005, John Paul II apologized more than one hundred times for the sins of the Roman Church. Some of these sins were committed while evangelizing and carrying out the Great Commission.

Here are some of the most outstanding apologies: • The persecution of the Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilee in the trial by the Roman Catholic Church in 1633 (31 October 1992).

• Catholic involvement with the African slave trade (9 August 1993).

• The Church’s role in burnings at the stake and the religious wars that followed the Protestant Reformation (May 1995, in the Czech Republic).

• The injustices committed against women in the name of Christ, the violation of

women’s rights and for the historical denigration of women (10 July 1995, in a letter to “every woman”).

• Inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust (16 March 1998).

• For the execution of Jan Hus in 1415 (18 December 1999 in Prague). When John Paul II visited Prague in 1990s, he requested experts in this matter “to define with greater clarity the position held by Jan Hus among the Church’s reformers, and acknowledged that “independently of the theological convictions he defended, Hus cannot be denied integrity in his personal life and commitment to the nation’s moral education.”

It was another step in building a bridge between Catholics and Protestants.

• For the sins of Catholics throughout the ages for violating “the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and [for showing] contempt for their cultures and religious traditions”. (12 March 2000, during a public Mass of Pardons).

• For the sins of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204. (4 May 2001, to the Patriarch of Constantinople).

• For missionary abuses in the past against indigenous peoples of the South Pacific (22 November 2001, via the Internet).

• For the massacre of Aztecs and other Mesoamericans by the Spanish in the name of the Church.”(2) (Continued on page 38) 13

Guest Writer The Rev. Fr. John Taylor Brantley johntaylorbrantley@gmail.com

A step forward in accessible religious education

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n late 2012 the clergy and laity of the Old Catholic Province of St. Mary embarked on a quest to make quality religious education and formation available to everyone.

A year later the result of their efforts are ready! It has been announced that in January of 2014 Our Lady of Walsingham College will open her doors (figuratively speaking as the programs are offered in their

entirety on the internet) to the public, but that is not the impressive part! The most important part of the project is that all education provided will be absolutely free of charge!

“The goal of (Our Lady of) Walsingham College is to provide quality religious education and spiritual formation to everyone, not just those few who can afford to spend $30,000 a year on a master’s degree.”

-Fr. John Brantley The Province of Saint Mary, part of the communion of the Apostolic Celtic Church, is a liturgically and theologically

traditional jurisdiction which simultaneously maintains a socially accepting and inclusive position. The new program is designed to offer education and formation for both laity and clergy to further their ability to 14

serve the Body of Christ and to fulfill the missions and callings laid upon them. In accordance with US Law, as an independent institution of Religious Education, the school has not sought secular academic accreditation and has not made any statement that suggests that they will in the future. All of the degrees, certificates, and diplomas granted by Our Lady of Walsingham College are validated by the bishops of the Independent Sacramental Movement. Classes are scheduled to begin on the 8th of January in 2014. Registration opened to the public on December 16th, 2013. For more information please visit www.

WalsinghamCollege.webs.com.

Father John Brantley is a priest in the Old Catholic Province of Saint Mary and the program advisor of Our Lady of Walsingham College.

He was ordained to the Priesthood in June of 2013.

Guidelines If you would like to submit an article or if you have a comment or complaint, you may send them to editor@ convergentstreams.org in Microsoft Š Word format or Adobe Š PDF format.

All submissions will be considered, but no guarantee or promise is made that said submission will be published.

The editorial staff of Convergent Streams reserves the right to publish, refuse to publish or hold for publishing at a later date any submission without explanation. if you require materials returned, please enclose SASE. Advertising Advertising space can be purchased for ads that are considered relevant to members of the Old Catholic Church or Independent Sacramental Movement.

Please contact Bishop Godsey at bishopgodsey@myiocc. org for more information.

As always, for more information, you can visit our website at http://www. convergentstreams.org.

Acknowledgements Picture used in the Missio Dei article on page 12 is by Shan213 and is from Flickr.

It is licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.

Picture used in the There is no such thing article on page 8 is by Duncan Hull with modifications. It is licensed CC BY 2.0.

You may also mail submissions, query letters or comments to Bishop Gregory Godsey, 118 Frances Drive, North Augusta, SC 29841, USA. 15

Book Review The Right Rev. Christian River Sims punkpriest1@gmail.com

Occupy Spirituality

By Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed. .” Lk. 17:5-10

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his book has grown out of the radical movements in the past several years. As I read the book I see glimpses of my own journey in the past years.

I was raised and ordained in the institutional Church, and through the years have lost faith in the institution because it simply serves the God of death rather then life. I live and work with those who are at the very bottom of the 1 percent--the drug addicts, the sex workers, the homeless kids, those who choose to live on the street--I see their suffering each day.

The institutional Church does not see them, but instead sees the people with money, power and prestige. Adam sums up for me what it means to be the Church: “Jesus is the Hungry--to be fed. Jesus is the Thirsty--to be satisfied. Jesus is the Naked--to be clothed. Jesus is the Homeless--to be taken

in. Jesus is the Unwanted--to be wanted.” Where is God? He is here on this street, homeless. He is here on this street, in all the lonely and unwanted, waiting for our love.

As I walk for the subway I wonder, what will it take for us to notice Him?” And as I walk down Polk and the Haight, I asked the same question.

True spirituality is not in a certain doctrine, not in believing in One God over another-true spirituality is seeing the Divine in your neighbor. It is in seeing the Divine and being willing to give up in order that they may have.

Secondly, the authors point out how our education systems maintain the status quo. I had an excellent seminary education, I was able to work, and to pay for it, but my real education came when I was kicked out of the institution and had to survive on the streets, with my own wits, and with God’s undergirding arms. People call me “ferral”, “wild”, and I 16

am, and hope to get more so to the day I breathe my last breath. Matthew Fox says: “Without wildness we have no creativity.” I love working with teenagers and young adults because they have some of that wildness, but as they older they buy into the system of security--financial and fear of the future. Over and over again I see youth who want know part of the present day system--they find themselves living on the edge, in the park on the street. We need to strive to encourage that wildness so that it will free our economic system, free us to give to all.

need that he longs for shelter.

Breathprayer: May I see your face (breathing in)...in every face (breathing out).

Reflection question for journaling: In what simple ways have you practiced hospitality this week?

The Right Rev. River Damien Sims is a bishop of the Society of Franciscan Workers, and is a priest who does street ministry in San Francisco, CA.

Finally, like Matthew Fox I am a priest, but I see myself more as a “keeper of the sacred mysteries,” one who passes on the faith to others, a faith that is dynamic, growing, that walks with the ones’s that Jesus walked with and died for.

Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Workers movement, summed it up: “It is no use saying that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ.

Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the voice of our contemporaries that he speaks; with the eyes of store clerks, factory workers and children that he gazes; with the hands of office workers, slum dwellers, and suburban housewives that he gives, and with the heart of anyone in

Occupy Spirituality can be found at Amazon. com, Booksamillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com or at your local bookstore.

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Guest Writer The Rev. Deacon Dollie Wilkinson dolliewilkinson@gmail.com

Lessons in courage: Women in the Bible Editor’s Note: This is the continuation of a multipart series by Deacon Dollie Wilkinson on Women in the Bible.

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emale role models of faith aren’t limited to the New Testament. Women who lived before the time of Christ’s earthly ministry have much to teach believers today.

Eve Genesis 3:20, Genesis 4:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Timothy 2:13 Except for the Jewish lore which tells the story of Lilith, Eve is the first woman of Judeo-Christian tradition and the mother of all mankind.

All nations, tribes and tongues come from her.

Eve was created by God and, with her husband Adam, shared dominion over the earth.

(Genesis 1:26-29). Notice that verse 27 emphasizes that God created them male and female.

The first recorded words that God ever spoke to mankind are given in Genesis 1:28. These promises were given directly to Eve as well as Adam.

Although man and woman play differing, but complementary roles within marriage, as far as God is concerned. man and woman are equal. Both sexes were created in the image of God, and both have been called We were both called to subdue the earth.

Eve came from man’s ribs (Genesis 2:21-25). Not his feet, for she was not to be walked over, nor his head, because she was not to boss him about. She came from the bones closest to his heart. This 18

speaks much of the relationship that exists in marriage.

Rachel & Leah Genesis Chapters 29 – 35 Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob. After running away from his sins, Jacob arrived at the home of Laban, the brother of Rebekah, his mother. There he discovered Laban’s daughters.

Rachel, the younger, was the more beautiful of the two, and Jacob immediately resolved to make her his wife.

Unfortunately, Jacob had been cheated out of his inheritance in a scheme concocted by Rebekah to benefit Esau, her favorite son. Unable to provide a dowry, Jacob agreed to work for Laban for seven years in exchange for marrying her.

The depth of Jacob’s ardor can be seen in the way that he agreed to Laban’s terms even after Rebekah’s betrayal. Sadly, underhandedness would prove to be a family trait: Laban substituted Leah for Rachel at the wedding, and Jacob would be compelled to labor another seven years to gain the woman of his dreams.

The situation could not help but be a breeding ground for hurt and resentment. Rachel and Jacob were very much in love, but the deception of Rachel’s father hurt them both. Leah, meanwhile, found herself a distant second in her husband’s affections

-- an object lesson in the perils of polygamous and polyamorous relationships.

In a time when a woman’s worth was measured by her ability to produce offspring, God responded to Leah’s cries of loneliness by making her a mother several times over.

But the birth of a child, which id supposed to be a joyous event, devolved into a competition between the sisters. Rachel and Leah both turned to their servants to be used as surrogate mothers.

Neither sister considered the fallout that had occurred when Sarah enlisted Hagar as a sexual surrogate.

Bitterness is like poison to the soul. It destroys a person. Women of God need to be careful of the hurts and emotional wounds that may follow them from their backgrounds and childhood.

These need to be dealt with. Only Jesus can heal these kinds of aliments.

Bitterness is toxic to the soul. Women (and men) need to make sure that they do not allow issues which have been set lose by the actions of past generations create havoc in their lives.

Sometimes problems in your home may be due to the gossip or actions of others, whether directly or indirectly. This was the case for Rachel and Leah.

(Continued on page 73) 19

Building Parishes The Right Rev. Ronald Stephens stephens44@me.com

Coming out of the Catholic closet

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n building the consciousness of my parish, I tried first of all, to work on the community aspect of the parish - building a strong, caring group of people who praised God together, who wanted to come to church because their presence strengthened the body, and who recognized that their relationship with Jesus was one that was communal and not just private. We embraced a hospitality that showed anyone who came to our church that we are non-judgmental, and that we enjoy our ‘belonging’, that we see Jesus in others (Where two or three are gathered’…

Matt 18:20)) and so on.

After spending a year developing this community, we came to realize that in following Jesus as his disciples we had to do the work of Jesus. We had to strengthen the kingdom on earth. We had to follow the mission statement of Jesus when he said he came to serve and then echoed Isaiah, saying,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4: 18-20) Jesus wanted the community of followers to reach out to others, so our next year was spent on developing strategies to involve our parish community in different forms of outreach, sharing our time and our money to help others. The difficulty of doing this with a small community is great because with so few people to draw on there is a chance that the community will feel overburdened and lose sight of why they are doing these works. We were lucky enough to be able to partner with another church, and together we were able to do a variety of things that involved most of the parishioners without overtaxing them.

This year, however, I begin 20

to develop the third branch of a Christian community. In John 20:21-23 Jesus says “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. And in Matthew 28:19 we hear “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In other words, we need to evangelize. And this word seems to be scary to the traditional Catholic!

Perhaps it brings up visions of churches that go door to door spreading the Gospel, or the people on streets or at airports handing out pamphlets… but for whatever reason, most Catholics get very turned off or just plain frightened by the idea of it.

In 2007 the issue of evangelization was studied.

“Asked whether spreading the faith was a high priority of their parishes, 75 percent of conservative Protestant congregations and 57 per cent of Afro-American congregations responded affirmatively, whereas only 6 percent of Catholic parishes did the same.”

Catholics tend to be in the closet. They go to church, perhaps; they give money to the church; but they don’t talk about their faith - they don’t share it with anyone outside - and often, even inside!. How can we, for a start, begin to talk about our faith experience at church, invite others to come to church, or represent the church in our communities. I think this frightens most of us who were born Catholic. How can

we become more comfortable as we come out of the Catholic closet and reveal ourselves and our feelings about God and our church communities to others?

Catholics have also traditionally been very passive and let the clergy take on the role of evangelization, which is, of course, one of the important roles of a pastor anyway.

But there is no way that the mandate of evangelization can happen without every baptized Catholic taking an active role.

To begin to do this, I feel that we have to develop a sense of humility. What I mean by this is that we must realize and admit that not one of us in this church has all the answers.

We are on a journey together to find the meaning of life, discover who Jesus is and how to be better people. If we begin to have a communal sense of this fact, it might be easier to begin to talk about it outside of our own little community.

We also have to develop a fearless conversational attitude about our faith. We need to ask questions and not be afraid of doing that. We have to develop an awareness that many of the people we interact with each day are not at all religious, probably do not believe in a God, or if they do, don’t think about it much. When we start to feel comfortable about saying we went to church on the weekend and enjoyed a really good homily that made (Continued on page 47) 21

Unity Discourse Brenda Eckels Burrows, aMGC brendaanneckels@gmail.com

Barriers and Opportunities To Catholic Unity Essay Four: Let’s Shake On It. Somewhere between 107 and 110, a Christian Bishop in Gaul (modern day France), Ignatius wrote: “Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

He was writing to Christians in Smyrna, located on the slopes of the Mount Pagos (Kadifekale today) and alongside the coastal strait immediately below where a small bay existed until the 18th century in modern day Turkey. As mentioned in Essay 3 of this series, Ignatius was a man on a mission, convinced that only his group’s beliefs were correct and any other group’s beliefs were wrong.

Ignatius was not writing to the entire Catholic Church, or even HIS entire church – a fact that can get pretty easily overlooked when reading something titled as being “From the Ancient Church Fathers”.

These were specific instructions to a specific congregation, much the same as Paul’s letters – both truly Paul’s and those written under his name by others. By writing “wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church” Ignatius didn’t just use the word Catholic in an effort to establish the trademark for catholicchurch. com, or for that matter to give one particular set of Bishops the rights to every website that ends in “.catholic”. Without studying more about him, his writings, the community he belonged to, and the groups 22

he called heretics we have no idea what he meant by the term “Catholic”. All we posses is what other people thought he meant. Sadly, we also only hear the voices from history’s winners. Some of the “heretics” Ignatius wrote about were hunted down so ruthlessly that all we know about them is what he had to say.

For a very long time after World War II stories would appear in the news that some remote island in the Pacific ocean had been visited and upon the land was found a Japanese soldier who never found out the war was over.

Everything known about the modern age was foreign to him. Not only that, but much of history was unknown to him also – before the war, he might have been a simple farmer or fisherman. He may have never known that the Holocaust happened, that woman played baseball, or that there was a group of Christians in India who developed from the missionary work of the Apostle Thomas. He was limited in his ability to sense, and therefore to know, about a great many things because of his education, his culture, his access to information, and his ability to interact. It is exactly the same situation for Catholics. The most intelligent Catholic is the one who has a good understanding of how much she doesn’t know, has enough education and lives in a culture where learning is a lifelong pursuit simply for the joy of it, and

has both an ability to interact and access to information.

In the United States, much of Europe, and other areas typically called “first world” there is a sort of delusional belief that everything that needs to be known can be found online. We have fallen victim to the exact same stumbling block Ignatius did...considering only one source. For him, it had to be something that was taught by the people his community considered apostles – namely, the men named Peter and Paul, Luke, Matthew, and John. What Mary Magdalene said, what Philip said, even what the Virgin Mary said that was in the collective oral history of the times but may not have been written down by one of those 5 men simply did not matter. If in fact, the information came by way of a community he was competing against, he considered it even more suspect. Just like the Japanese soldier, he was frozen in his time and his place.

What each generation is called to do then is to: (1) acknowledge that we may never know exactly what he, or others from the early church meant, (2) that whatever he (and others) meant, it was limited by his ability to sense and know, and (3) that it is up to us to define exactly what “Catholic” means to us today, taking into account the scriptures we do have (and newly collect), the traditions we have held (and (Continued on page 54) 23

Guest Writer The Very Rev. James St. George Father.Jim@mysaintmiriam.org

Honoring the ordinariness of our lives

I

That Mary held so close

have always held a deep love of the Blessed Mother.

I am not sure where it came from, but perhaps my own mother instilled it in me the way she always stopped to pray at the Blessed Mother statue as we entered the large doors to our home parish of St. Paul in Erie, Pennsylvania. Or, the way, even my almost always stoic father, would say a silent prayer in her presence. I used to love attending weddings, too, because they would almost always place a single rose near the Blessed Virgin and pray for her blessing and guidance as newly-minted couple. And the big day, too! On her Feast Day in May, we would raise her up in our arms and place her on down gently on a large cart under the watchful and terrified

eyes of Monsignor Marino.

Then, that cart, bearing our Lady, was wheeled around our Catholic-Italian neighborhood for all to adore! (A major feat as she weighed almost 1,000 pounds!) I remember how the neighbors used to spend weeks getting ready! They would clean their homes and fix up their yards, adding new plantings, and some would even paint the curbs white with blue trim! At every home where someone stood waiting patiently for her to come by, with those glorious streamers blowing in the gentle breeze, we would stop and they would say a prayer and then pin money to her decorations.

Oh how I loved those days!

I remember fondly now (perhaps more fondly as I am further away from the actual 24

time) how the nuns of our parish would teach us, and love us in their own way, to bring us more deeply into a life of faith and service. We were fortunate to have a myriad of sisters; Benedictines, Josephine, and Notre Dame, all clamoring about the hallways – working in harmony – to rear us often terribly bad children!

The motto always rang true

in our home, “Harm a nun, harm your mother!” We were warned and never crossed that line more than once!

Later, as a young adult, when I crossed the legal line and ended up on the wrong side of a jail cell, it was my Blessed Mother who brought me safely through. I wanted to so often give up, but she would have none of that and through my

prayers - and her constant vigil - those few months changed my life and allowed me to go back to my call and re-enter seminary as a changed man; a better human being, now more wiser, more humble, and true. No, I was far from perfect, but I was better for the experience and my dedication to her remained solid. She has always been by true north.

Even when we first initiated the dream that would become our parish of Saint Miriam, I would begin with a prayer to my Blessed Mother. I would ask for her intercession and her guidance. And when the time came for us to rent that small chapel in a synagogue in Philadelphia where it all began, I made her a promise: If she would guide me and keep me from being too elated or haughty, if she would allow us to grow and to bring honor to the kingdom, then I would, in humble return, have a Rosary said every Thursday in her honor. We do so, every Thursday save Thanksgiving Day, and have never missed, no not once. In return she has blessed us many times.

Now, as a solely membersupported Catholic parish, we recognize the importance of giving; all forms of giving: our time, talent, and treasure all of which gathers together to furtherance of the kingdom of God. With this mandate in mind, at a Parish Board of Directors meeting, at my (Continued on page 49) 25

Guest Writer The Rev. Father Bryan Wolf frwolf@myiocc.org

Purgatory Purgatory. Just the mention of the word can either send one into prayer or debate. It is often the most misunderstood concept of Catholicism and perhaps, most denied doctrine. From the outset, I do not profess to be a theological scholar but am prompted to write briefly upon the subject as I have been asked most about this.

Purgatory gets a lot of bad press. In his book, Arise from Darkness, Fr. Benedict Groeschel says most Catholics conjure up an image of “hideous pools of fire with naked screaming souls bobbing up and down like french fries in a fast food emporium.”

Dante, in his Divine Comedy, likens Purgatory to a suburb of hell- close enough to smell the stench of hell and feel the heat, but still far enough away to have hope. And the Protestants and some Eastern religions, deny it altogether.

Most Catholics have come to understand Purgatory as a spiritual place of purification and not punishment. Following

a mystical experience, Saint Catherine of Genoa described Purgatory as a place where the soul receives “the gift of God’s unlimited mercy and allows us to participate in God’s grace; removing all sin and obstacle between ourselves and God’s love.” She maintains: “the soul willingly accepts the mercy of Purgatory, being aware that something within the soul displeases God but does not deny him.”

It is believed that upon death, souls have three paths to travel- heaven, hell and purgatory. Those steadfast against God, denying God in great sin are destined for hell. Not necessarily a place of horrific torment, but a dark place separated from the love and spirit of God. Whether or not souls are poked relentlessly with pitchforks, as our image of hell usually is- we cannot know, but to be separated from the love of God for all eternity is a burdensome thought.

There are those souls believed to ascend directly to the joy and presence of God in 26

heaven. Pious and righteous souls. The souls of innocent persons who have suffered the torment of mortal bondage- the diseased and the persecuted.

But the majority of us seemed destined for a visit to Purgatory.

In my conversations, dare I say debates, with Protestant

call them to task. They pray for the souls of the departed, but if the departed are either in hell and beyond the reach of God or already in heaven with God, our prayers for them are not needed. So by their prayers alone, there is silent agreement that souls are in need of purging.

Saint Therese Couderc, foundress of the Sisters of the Cenacle; before her death, related images from a mystical experience wherein she said, “I saw souls, not in torment, but in solemn prayer and supplication adoring God’s divine majesty. A sense of hope, harmony, faith and a unity with God and a love ineffable.” Recorded in her biography, A Great and Humble Soul, by Fr. Henry Perroy- “ she (St. Therese) longed to return, a place I go to prepare myself to be worthy of meeting God.”

friends, they tell me that Purgatory is a made up Catholic place. Heaven or Hell, they tell me, no in between. When I try and explain that even Scripture (2 Maccabees 12:41-45) reveals that: “Had he not believed that the dead would be raised, it would be foolish and useless to pray for them.” When they counter that Maccabees is an Aprocryphal book and not within the Protestant Bible, I

Perhaps this best illustrates what Purgatory is- a place to go to prepare to meet God. We wouldn’t answer our door to greet guests without first looking in the mirror or putting on our best clothes for a job interview. I would not want to meet God without first ensuring I was at my best. So we pray for the Church Suffering. For the souls in Purgatory who are purging themselves and (Continued on page 52) 27

Guest Writer The Rev. Father Andrew Smith sscyrilandmethodius@yahoo.com

Seeking Salvation

H

ave you ever really watched infomercials?

Constantly telling you that you just can’t live without this or that product; that whatever it is, be it some new and improved kitchen utensil to the latest “get rich quick” scheme; will make your life better. “Hey, get on the bandwagon- For just 3 easy payments of 19.99 ... your life will be happy and carefree.”

Have you ever fell for, or at least almost fell for the hype?? A sense of anxiety is created so that if you don’t send that payment of 19.99 or whatever, your life will be unhappy and worthless. Well, surprise, surprise consumerism at its worst!! This got me thinking; imagine this with me, what if God chose to bring his message to us by way of an infomercial??

Feeling Lost? Alone?

Unloved? Yearning for inner peace and tranquility?

Then, you need to try GOD!!!!!!!!!

You can have eternal life, a sense of purpose, and the all Important UNCODITIONAL LOVE!!!!!!

For just a modest investment of Time Talent and Treasure, You can have all of this and more!!!

Did I mention the unconditional, lifetime guarantee???

Yes, UNBELIEVABLE!! ...

Society puts its trust in consumerism, money- Mammon as the Bible calls it. We are forced to serve the “almighty dollar” at the expense of everything else. We worry of about every little detail of our lives, leaving little or no room for God. We are constantly anxious about our lives; where will we live, what will we eat, are my clothes of the latest trend and in fantastic shape ... the list goes on and on. Eventually we worry ourselves in to a sense of emptiness and despair.

Jesus offers us an alternative to all this anxiety. Simply put, “Trust in the providence of God”.

We need to choose to live more simply and be satisfied with and grateful for what we do have.

Don’t dwell on what we don’t have, don’t try to “keep up with the Jones’” Don’t put your trust in Things or Possessions. “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?” NO!!

If anything, you will shorten it.

I look at my own life, and have to admit that I have been there more times than I care to

28

think about. One time in my life is an all too graphic example. I was, so I thought “on top of the world”. I had a good paying job that allowed me to enjoy some of the finer things. I felt that I had no worries at all. Then some minor things changed, I became arrogant enough to think that I was invincible. I could do whatever I wanted and there would be no consequences. I even went so far as to turn my back on God. I became a servant of Mammon. I made some bad decisions and well, you guessed it things came crashing down in a big hurry. I was arrogant enough to blame everything on outside sources and fell in to the pit of self-pity. The bad choices I made caused me to have to spend 4 months in jail.

This was the kick in the head that led to my salvation. I was forced to face myself and came to realize that my situation was completely my own doing. I began to pray for forgiveness both for what I did as well as my arrogance. I realized that God had brought me to this place in my life in order to show me His great gift of Grace. I read and reflected on scripture and prayed for guidance. I found solace for my brokenness and balm for my hurt. I came to the realization, through the tremendous grace of God that I am not in charge.

God is in Charge. I was most attracted to these words from Matthew, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness ...“ Admittedly, I still struggle to live this out every day, but I do so knowing that God is there to

guide me and pick me up and dust me off when I slip. We do need to plan for our future, but we do not need to constantly worry about it. The best-laid plans often come to naught. I can personally attest to that.

Sometimes you just have to trust in God and let things “play themselves out”. God will be there to pick up the pieces. As stated in Psalm 62, “Only in God is my soul at rest; from him comes my salvation. He is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.”

We just need to have faith, and know in our hearts that “God is my safety and my glory he is the rock of my strength; my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, 0 my people!”

We only need to commit to examining our lives and placing our trust in the Living God, the God of our salvation, the God who came down from heaven and dwelt among us, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fr. Andrew grew up in Appleton. WI. He studied Theology, Philosophy and Sociology at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, WI and completed his theological studies at Holy Redeemer Seminary of the UICC. Fr. Andrew was ordained to the diaconate in December of 2010 and to the Order of Presbyters in May of 2011. He currently serves as Pastor of SS Cyril and Methodius Parish UICC in Neenah, WI. Fr. Andrew enjoys cooking, reading and is an avid history buff.

29

Contributing Editor Brenda Eckels Burrows, aMGC brendaanneckels@gmail.com

Here I Am Lord!

A

A sidebar to Catholic Unity

re you a Catholic that wants to dig into the fertile ground of Catholic life and start talking, listening, and even gathering in real life?

Great!

Here’s Some Ways To Start:

Here I am Lord!

Denominations Make sure you are included in either the print directory or online directory (preferably both) of whatever groups you belong to.

For example, your local chambers of commerce, state and regional council of churches, interfaith councils, and similar organizations. If the denomination considers itself part of the Independent Sacramental Movement, the Independent Catholic world, or is an Independent expression of Roman, Old, Anglican,

Episcopal, or Orthodox denominations, add a free listing to the Independent Movement Database at http:// www.independentmovement. us and at http://bit.ly/IeSInt, another such listing service.

Have a clear, easy to load web page in addition to a Facebook page.

On the stand alone web site, place such items as: • Denomination Mission Statement, • Role of the Bishop Statement, • Biographies of Executives – both Clerical and Lay, in a clearly marked “About Us” section.

If you have a state issued license, IRS 501(c)(3) status, or a particular corporate type, say so.

Have a mail, email, and phone number not only for the top religious authority in your denomination, but also for your top legal authority – many times that is the corporate entity Chairman of the Board 30

or President of the Board.

If you have an Ecumenical Officer or Manager, provide the same contact information directly under the head religious and legal representatives.

Educate your Executives in basic accounting principles and good governance with the same level of time and money you spend on teaching ministry and theology.

The President of your denominational board should have at least a passing understanding of Robert’s Rules of Order, and at less than $10, it is not outrageous to expect to buy him a copy.

Your Treasurer and your entire organization can benefit greatly from buying the Treasurer Quickbooks for Dummies or even sending the her to a one day seminar. Of course, you could decide to run an entire national multi-state church with a wisdom circle held once every four years.

However, when she goes to open a checking account, the treasurer is likely going to need a copy of the minutes where it was motioned, seconded, and voted on that she could do so, and who the signers are.

While Catholic history is full of examples of ways to run a church, that is no reason why board members can’t at least know the difference between Policy and Collaborative Governance.

Likewise, more and more churchgoers of all faiths are demanding that if you ask them to put in the collection plate, you tell them where and why and when it was spent.

When looking at other denominations to engage in, especially if it is for a joint effort or event, a discernment about inter-communion or merger, or even just whether to accept their money as tuition for your seminary, look not just at the spirit and faith of the leaders – look at how well trained they are to run an enterprise in today’s world.

Need help? Every state in the US has at least one office of the Small Business Administration, where even the smallest denomination can learn the hands on things that make up running any organization.

In many areas, the SBA also offers one on one coaching and assistance from retired executives through SCORE. Running a non-profit church denomination and running a non-profit trade association actually have many parallels, and a denomination can easily have someone with 20 or more years in the same field warning them of likely minefields, providing hints and tips, and being an independent sounding board. Many states have non profit associations that can provide everything from discounts on the church vehicle insurance to databases of grants that faith based organizations (Continued on page 65) 31

Katholic Kitchens Convergent Streams Staff and Readers staff@convergentstreams.org

Roasted Chicken Nachos With Green Chili-Cheese Sauce Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ingredients •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed (or used canned if unavailable) 2 jalapeños, stemmed 1/2 medium onion, peeled and quartered 2 garlic clove, peeled 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

By Yongho Kim (Own work) [CC-BY1 lime, juiced SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.

1 teaspoon toasted org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)], via Flickr cumin seeds Kosher (coarse or margarita) salt 1/4 cup [60ml] (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose [60ml] flour 2 cups chicken (480ml) stock, at room temperature 4 cups shredded (950ml) Monterey Jack cheese 1 (1-pound) (450g) bag salted corn tortilla chips 1 (3-pound) whole (1350g) roasted chicken, meat finely shredded, skin and bones discarded

Quick Salsa: • • • • • •

1 pint (570ml) cherry tomatoes, halved 2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped 1 jalapeño, chopped 2 handfuls fresh cilantro leaves, hand shredded 2 limes, juiced Kosher (coarse or margarita) salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sour cream and guacamole, for serving 32

Preparation Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, and garlic. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatillos are soft. Drain and cool slightly, then put them in a blender. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and cumin. Puree for a few seconds to blend, and then pour in about a 1/4 cup of water and process to a coarse puree; taste and season with a generous pinch of salt. You should have about 2 cups of this green salsa (salsa verde). Make a roux by melting the butter over medium-low heat in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Just as the foam subsides, sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to remove the starchy taste from the flour; don’t allow it to brown. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and simmer for 8 minutes to thicken. Once you have a good base, fold in 2 cups of the shredded Jack cheese; mix until completely melted into a sauce. Stir in the prepared salsa verde until incorporated; remove the green chili cheese sauce from the heat.

Make a quick salsa by combining the cherry tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime juice in a bowl; season with salt and pepper, tossing to combine.

To build these awesome nachos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180c). Get a very large oven-proof platter and cover it with a few handfuls of tortilla chips, follow with a portion of the shredded chicken, a coating of the cheese sauce, and a nice sprinkle of the remaining shredded jack. Make 3 or 4 layers of the nachos, depending on the size of the platter. Bake the nachos until they are all hot and gooey, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Spoon the tomato salsa over the top of the nachos and serve with the sour cream on the side.

New Mexico Pork Tamales Ingredients Meat filling • • • • • •

1 1 1 2 1 1

cup shredded cooked pork cup shredded cooked chicken (15 ounce - ~400g) can beanless chili con carne tablespoons cooking oil tablespoon chili powder tablespoon garlic powder 33

• • •

2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Wrappers •

1 (8 ounce - 230g) package of corn husks (contains about 100 husks)

Masa mixture • • • • • • • •

2 pounds (900g) Masa flour 3 tablespoons paprika 3 tablespoons chili powder 3 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons salt 2 cups solid vegetable shortening 8 cups warm chicken stock (or 8 cups water and 8 chicken bullion cubes)

Procedure Meat filling Stir ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

Wrappers Soak corn husks in warm water for at least two hours. A dinner plate may have to be used to hold corn husks under water.

Masa mixture Mix dry Masa flour with paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt. Mix well for even distribution of spices.

Cut shortening into the Masa mixture with a pastry cutter.

Mix until mixture resembles the texture of tiny peas.

Slowly add chicken broth one cup at a time. Mix well with electric mixer. Mixture should resemble consistency of peanut butter.

Continue mixing with electric mixer to incorporate air into batter.

Mixture is ready to use when 1 teaspoon of batter floats on water.

Filling and cooking tamales

34

Use one corn husk per tamale. Lay flat on table.

The corn husk is roughly rectangle shaped.

Spread 1/2 cup of Masa mixture on entire upward facing corn husk, leaving a 1 inch (2.5cm) gap along the long edge and narrow end of the corn husk.

Spread 1 tablespoon of meat mixture, in a narrow band in the middle, down the length of the masa spread corn husk.

Roll/fold the husk along the wide edge, touching the edges of the masa together, with the meat mixture ending up in the middle of the masa. The part of the husk with the 1 inch gap with no masa should be rolled around the outside of the husk.

Fold about 1 inch of end of rolled husk, upward along the body of the husk. (The narrow end with 1 inch masa gap). You should end up with something resembling a cornucopia, with one end folded over and one end open.

Stand all of the rolled tamales on end in a steaming colander with the open end of the tamale facing upward.

Steam the tamales over boiling water for 2 hours. Place a lid over the steaming colander. Keep the tamales above the boiling water, don’t allow them to stand in it.

At the end of the cooking period, open one tamale and make sure the masa is cooked and not doughy.

Allow tamales to rest 30 minutes after cooking, before serving.

This will help to keep the masa from sticking to the corn husk.

Notes, tips, and variations • • •

Makes about 50 to 75 tamales.

Left over tamales may be frozen in zip lock bags.

Reheat frozen tamales in a microwave. If you reheat by steaming, they may become soggy.

35

Spanish Flan Ingredients • • • • •

5 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 can of condensed milk 1 can of evaporated milk (large can) caramel ice cream topping

Instructions Heat oven to 375°F. Combine all ingredients (except caramel topping) in blender.

Blend for 2 minutes.

Place thin layer of caramel topping on bottom of a round pie pan. Pour egg mixture on top of caramel topping.

Place the smaller pie pan in a larger pan filled with enough water so that it comes about one inch up the side of the smaller pan. This will act as a double boiler and stop

By Cary Bass (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

the flan from burning.

Place both pans in oven.

Cook for 1 hour or until center is firm. Remove from oven.

Wait until cool.

Place a round dish over the top of the smaller pan and flip it over. The flan can be served on the dish.

All Recipes this month are courtesy of the WikiBooks Cookbook.

The WikiBooks Cookbook can be found at http://en.wikibooks. org/wiki/Cookbook. They are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License and as such are the only part of Convergent Streams that bears the same licensing.

36

There’s no such thing!

(Continued from page ) church. After leaving the UCC, I dabbled in Old Catholicism and considered incardinating into some jurisdictions Old Catholic jurisdictions but it just didn’t seem like a good fit for me. So, I and our community remain today totally autocepahlous. We are under no jurisdictional authority.

Finally, we come to the point of this article. After a lifetime of commitment to the Roman Catholic church, I finally worked it out in my head that I refuse to be put out of it by the Vatican. The RCC has always been my church home and remains so today. Some folks within the RCC define faithful dissenters as people who remain within the RCC but dissent from some of her teachings or practices. I say to those folks that I am also a faithful dissenter even though I have been put out of the RCC. I absolutely and unequivocally refuse to allow anyone, be they pope or bishop, to take my faith from me. While I respect and do consider the magisterium and tradition of the RCC, it is my informed conscience that will decide matters of faith and morals for me.

dissenting Roman Catholics, whether within or outside the RCC, to stand up and declare their dissent openly.

But do not give up your Roman Catholicism. Claim it proudly and as a person of its faith. Do not hold to Old Catholicism, Episcopalianism, or other liturgical Christian faiths if, in your heart, you are Roman Catholic. Claim it; be loud and proud!

Our Blessed John XXIII Community is an INDEPENDENT Roman Catholic parish. We are not under the authority of the Pope nor the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, MI. There’s no such thing you say! I say there is.

You, too, can continue your present independent catholic parish/ministry but do so as an INDEPENDENT Roman Catholic parish/ministry.

Peace and continued blessings.

Bishop Jerry is pastor of Blessed John XXIII Community in Wyandotte, MI.

I am on somewhat of a crusade. I am calling on 37

Missio Dei (Continued from page 13) These apologies are reflective of the concept of mission and evangelization that the Roman Catholic Church has had throughout history. “When Christianity was first spread beyond Europe, Rome attempted a strategy of imposition, the enforced use of unmodified Roman forms.”(3) This strategy of imposition and the ones that followed during the first evangelization period beg the question regarding motive. From an anthropological view, “the sequence of strategies is not unlike those of international development. Development agents were no less convinced than religious missionaries that they had truth and historical inevitability on their side”.(4) The sins of the past may be forgiven, but they are not completely forgotten, especially regarding the contempt for indigenous cultures, their religion and the massacre of the Aztecs and Mesoamericans.

These transgressions left an indelible mark on Mexican Hispanics. They now form part of their identity. Since the Second Vatican Council, many reforms have taken place and evangelization is done much differently and with cultural sensitivity.

Let us return to the questions that were asked at the beginning of this chapter. To

answer them requires a brief historical overview of Missio Dei and its evolution to what is referred to today as missional church. For a long time and up until the mid twentieth century, Missio Dei, the Latin term for God’s mission, was thought of in terms of going on mission, leaving the country to encounter another people and another culture; an activity that the church did. Sadly, to the countries being evangelized, the word “missions” or “mission” became synonymous with Western Colonialism and ultimately, ecclesiocentrism. That is, “the church sends the church’s missionaries to accomplish the church’s mission, which is the expansion of the church and, implicitly, the achievement of the church’s agenda”.(5) Faced with such challenges, ecumenical Christian leaders needed to re-evaluate and envision a new encounter between the gospel message and modern Western culture. A key turning point that caused a paradigm shift in missiology occurred at a meeting of the International Missionary Council (IMC) in 1952 at a site in Willingen, Germany. The Council adopted a statement on The Missionary Calling of the Church. In essence, the statement identified a shift in the mission paradigm towards a Trinitarian but still Christocentric understanding of the church’s mission firmly grounded in Missio Dei, God’s mission. In the statement, the church is identified as a body 38

sent by God to accomplish His work in the whole world until the end of time. The source of the missionary activity is in the Triune God. “There is no participation in Christ without participation in his ministry to the world. That by which the church receives its existence is that by which it is also given its world-mission”.(6) With this understanding then, the church should be folded up into the mission of God. In discussing this new shift away from ecclesiology, David Bosch writes: “Mission was understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It was thus put in the context of the doctrine on the missio Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit was expanded to include yet another “movement”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. As far as missionary thinking was concerned, this linking with the doctrine of the Trinity constituted an important innovation.

Willingen’s image of mission was mission as participating in the sending of God.”(7) For its part, the Roman Catholic Church as well took heed of the need for reform and a move from mission (church planting) to evangelization rooted in Missio Dei. Propelled by the fresh and invigorating spirit of Vatican II, several papal documents discuss new aspects to the teaching on missions: Ad Gentes (1965),

Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975) and Redemptoris Missio (1990).

Ad Gentes – On the Mission Activity of the Church was a decree issued on December 7, 1965 from deliberations of the Second Vatican Council.

What is spectacular about this document is that it identifies that the Church is rooted in Missio Dei. The document states it this way, “The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father.”(8) It teaches that mission is not something that is done only by those specifically trained for such undertakings but rather it is what all baptized Christians are called to. Furthermore, no longer is mission something under the control and direction of the Roman Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith. Since the decree understands that the Church is missionary by its very nature, the responsibility for mission rests in the daily life of the church and therefore with all its bishops. The influence and impact of contemporary Protestant thinking about Missio Dei cannot be discounted.

Additionally, the decree begins to move the idea of missions away from a geographical concept to one of service to people. For the first time, specific instructions and guidelines are mentioned for (Continued on page 40) 39

(Continued from page 39) the training of missionaries.(9) The second document to consider is Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation of December 8, 1975 to all Bishops, Clergy and the Faithful of the Entire World.

In this exhortation, the lexicon changes from mission to evangelization. The three main points of this decree regarding a new evangelization are that 1) the church needs to turn evangelization inwards on itself first and perpetually listen to the Word of God, 2) that the mission of the church is a continuation of Jesus’ mission in proclaiming and witnessing to the Kingdom of God and 3) that all members of the church are called to participate in evangelization which now has a social justice and human development dimension.(10)

The final document is Pope John Paul II’s Redemptoris Missio, Encyclical Letter on the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate, December 7, 1990. This document, while not as profound as Evangelii Nuntiandi, does give a complete and systematic reflection on mission and attempts to put forth the church’s official teaching. In his encyclical, John Paul II emphasizes the Christocentric nature of mission/evangelization, the multifaceted nature of missions that addresses the need for a new evangelization to Christians

who have distanced themselves from Christ and the Gospel and the aspect of enculturation on missions, and finally, the need for inter-religious dialogue.(11)

This paradigm shift then leaves the open question, what does a missional church totally enveloped in Missio Dei look like? There can be many interpretations of the word missional and indeed it is the current buzz word among many denominations today. In our treatment of ministry to Mexican Hispanics, especially in the United States, missional is more than an adjective. It is a verb. Mexicans can relate to that. They are well familiar with a popular song by singersong writer Ricardo Arjona that is called “Jesús es verbo, no sustantivo”. Translated to English the title means “Jesus is a verb, not a noun”. If one wants to have a missional ministry, then one needs to meet the people where they are. The church or ministry that a priest, deacon, religious or laity is engaged in must follow an incarnational model and not the typical attractional model that most churches are familiar with. No longer does the invitation to “come and join us” work. We need to be a church that “goes and does”.

For ministry to Hispanics in the Latin American Diaspora north of the border, the incarnational model is essential. “And as Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, the attractional model has lost its effectiveness. The West looks more like a cross-cultural 40

missionary context in which attractional church models are self-defeating. Furthermore, the process of extracting people from the culture and assimilating them into the church diminishes their ability to speak to those outside.”(12) In other words, as important as it may be to have a holy and sacred place for worship, that is not the only place where people should be encouraged to come hear God’s word and be with Him. An incarnational model makes God’s presence known in all aspects of daily living. What is stated here may sound contradictory to the reality that many Diaspora Mexicans do attend a church and the attraction is the ethnic atmosphere that provides a sense of home, a sense of belonging. While true, this doesn’t diminish the fact that there are many personal and spiritual needs that can only be met outside of the formal worship setting. If a priest feels a strong pastoral pull towards ministry to Hispanics, his or her obligation doesn’t end with the Mass, it starts there.

There are two other characteristics besides being incarnational that are important to this discussion as presented

by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. The second is that the church or ministry should have a world view like that of Jesus, a messianic view that sees the world as God’s active and participative work and not as a dichotomized sphere of holy and unholy. Thirdly, the leadership style should not be hierarchical

but should be apostolic as outlined by the Apostle Paul.(13) “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-13 NIV)

Scripture is central to these three characteristics of incarnational, messianic and apostolic. If the desire is to be sincerely missional, then the original guide book is the Bible itself. We need to read the Bible with a questioning heart open to understanding and change. The Bible is more than a historical document that recounts God’s manifestation to the world and to Jesus’ life here on Earth. The Word of God is alive in Scripture.

Through the Holy Spirit working in us we can critically search and question the depths of the Bible looking for missional sustenance. Darryl Guder states: “Congregations are open to being challenged, to looking hard at their deeply ingrained attitudes and expectations. The missional approach asks how does God’s Word call, shape, transform, and send me . . . and us? Coupled with this openness is the awareness, that biblical formation must mean change, and often conversion.

Christian communities may (Continued on page 42) 41

(Continued from page 41) discover that their discipling will require repentance and that their way of being church will have to change”(14) God’s relationship with humankind has been missional from the very beginning. In Genesis God told Abraham that his descendents would number like the stars and that through him many nations would be blessed. The catch was, of course, that Abraham would have to leave his homeland. If he accepted, God would send him on a great mission, a mission that continues to this day.

Jesus was a missionary par excellence. Growing up and being educated by Joseph and Mary to be a righteous Jew, Jesus was learning what his social and religious responsibilities were. Jewish law required at least one annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. I am sure Jesus accompanied Joseph and Mary on those pilgrimages.

As was the Jewish custom, a boy would study and prepare to transition from boyhood to manhood at age 13. At that age a boy legally became a bar mitzvah (meaning son of the commandment). It is not difficult to understand then why at the age of 12, Jesus would have stayed behind in Jerusalem (without permission) on one of these pilgrimages in order to dialogue with the teachers in the temple courts. We are told that while he listened and talked with

the teachers, everyone that heard him was amazed at his questioning and his level of understanding. As you can easily imagine, his parents were frantic with worry when they realized Jesus was missing from the Nazareth caravan.

They returned to Jerusalem in search of their lost son. Jesus, however, was not lost. He knew that he had to be there, it was part of what he needed to learn and to do. The Gospel of Luke tells us, ““Why were you searching for me?” he asked.

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” (Luke 2:49-50 NIV). The word “house” is also translated as “about my Father’s business”. From the time Jesus was 12 years old, he had one purpose in life, to do the will of his Father in heaven. Jesus was beginning to understand who he was and what role he would play in the history of the salvation of humankind.

This encounter in the temple courts with the teachers was Jesus’ spiritual bat mitzvah.

Cognizant that he received a mission from his Father in Heaven, we are told that he returned to Nazareth and grew in stature, wisdom and favor with God and with man.

His Father’s house or his Father’s business is Jesus’ first reference to Missio Dei, God’s mission or will. A requirement of mission is to be sent. We know that Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2. Turning 42

again to Luke’s Gospel, “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ( Luke 4:16-20 NIV) So Jesus had been anointed and sent. He had a mission.

But what is the will behind the mission? Again, the answer is found in Scripture, in John’s Gospel Chapter 6: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. “(John 6:38-40 NIV)

in the mission. He is very closely tied to God. So close in fact that he can do nothing on his own accord. The actions and reactions are reciprocal, one dependent on the other. “…Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…” (John 5:19-20 NIV).

As the end of his time on Earth nears, Jesus tells the disciples in John 5 that he will send them the Holy Spirit from the Father, the same Spirit that proceeds from the Father. Later, shortly before he is arrested, Jesus prays openly to his Father in John Chapter 17 for his own glorification (John 17:1-5), for the disciples (John 17:6-19) and for all believers (John 17:20-26). He gives a fascinating intimate summation of his entire life’s work and the symbiotic relationship that humankind has with God. He expresses the interconnectedness between the divine and the human. These prayers have special significance because soon after, Jesus commissions the disciples to carry on the work of his Father, just as he had been commissioned to do. ““Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.””

(John 20:21 NIV). This means that they have the same power and authority that Jesus had.

(Continued on page 44)

Jesus, however, is not alone 43

(Continued from page 43) They knew, without a doubt, what the job was that they needed to accomplish. They understood the Missio Dei, its Trinitarian makeup and the interdependence with Christ.

Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter

28 explains the commissioning this way: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ““All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matt. 28:18-20 NIV) What is extremely important to our discussion here is that the Disciples had a crystal clear understanding of the mission they were given. They were not interested in ecclesiocentrism.

They were single-minded and focused. Their goal was to grow the Kingdom of God with active believers by spreading

the Good News of eternal (spiritual) life through Christ and an everlasting intimate relationship with God the Father. They imitated Christ and followed his example. This was the secret to their success.

Their exhortation was to begin living in the Kingdom of God now. The fruits of their labors

are detailed in the Book of Acts.

The Kingdom that God that Jesus was announcing and drawing people into was one of a personal relationship with the Creator. For Jews in Jesus’ time, God was considered so far above man that it was not permitted to even speak his name. In their perception, the relationship with God was a one-way relationship “from above”. Jesus came to change that perspective to such a degree that he told the people to refer to God as Abba, father.

Jesus tried to impart to the people that they were one with the Father and he exhorted them to be perfect like God is.

In the Jewish view, everything flowed from the top down, from God to man. Jesus showed us that man can reach up to God in 44

confidence, trust and assurance.

Jesus told the people that he did not come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill and complete it, improve it, perfect it. To express this visually, we

God’s message horizontally to all the world. The Missio Dei, God’s desire that all his children be with him and have eternal life through Christ.

Bishop-Elect Tom Shortell, OSFC, D.Min., is Vicar for Mexico for the United American Catholic Church. He lives in the State of Guerrero, Mexico where he ministers to the local population.

Footnotes

can use the familiar 3-sided polygon called a triangle.

The number 3 “signifies completion or perfection, and unity. Three is the number of Persons in the Trinity.”(15) The third symbol, the very familiar Star of David is my graphic representation of the new vision of the relationship with God that Jesus expressed in his prayer for all believers in John 17:20-23. This was the concept that the Disciples learned from Jesus and spread as part of the Good News. With this new vision of union with divinity, the Father with His children, we can now express the Great Commission that Jesus left us this way; a firmly grounded faith, connected vertically between God and humankind that will support the weight of extending

1. AFI.com. “AFI’s 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.”

2005 Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www.afi. com/100years/quotes.aspx.

2. Catholic Australia.

“Catholic Australia - Australia and the Popes.” 1978. Accessed April 8, 2013. http://www. catholicaustralia.com.au/page. php?pg=austchurch-popes17h.

3. Angrosino, Michael V. “The Culture Concept and the Mission of the Roman Catholic Church.”

American Anthropologist 96, no. 4 (1994): 824-25.

JSTOR (682446). Accessed April 13, 2013. http://www. jstor.org/stable/682446.

4. Ibid.

5. McKinzie, Greg. “An Abbreviated Introduction to the Concept of Missio Dei.”Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional (Continued on page 46) 45

(Continued from page 46) Theology and Praxis (August 2010). Accessed March 13, 2013. http://missiodeijournal. com/article.php?issue=md1&author=md-1-mckinzie.

6. Phillips, James M., and Robert T. Coote, eds. Toward the Twenty-first Century in Christian Mission. N.p.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993.

194-5 Google Books. Accessed April 18, 2013. http://books. google.com.mx/books? id=Y1VlVxotz_4C&dq=The+Wi llingen+statement+on+the+M issionary+Calling+of+the+Chu rch&source=gbs_navlinks_s .

7. Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission.

Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991. 390 (As cited in http:// missionalchurchnetwork.com/ history-of-missional-church/).

Accessed April 5, 2013.

8. Vatican Website. “Ad Gentes On the Mission Activity of the Church .”

Sec.2 Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ documents/vat-ii_decree_ 19651207_ad-gentes_en.html.

9. Bevans, Stephen. “Church Teaching on Mission:Ad Gentes, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Redemptoris Missio and Dialogue and Proclamation.”

1-2 Maryknoll Vocations.

Accessed April 9, 2013. http://www.maryknollvocations. com/mission.pdf

10. Bevans, Stephen, Church Teaching on Mission: Ad Gentes, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Redemptoris Missio and Dialogue and Proclamation, 5-7 11. Ibid., 8-13 12. Hirsch, Alan. “Defining Missional.” Leadership Journal (2008): 1-2. Accessed April 13, 2013. http://www. christianitytoday.com/le/2008/ fall/17.20.html?start=2.

13. Frost, Michael, and Alan Hirsch. The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003.

14. Guder, Darrell L. “Biblical Formation and Discipleship.” In Treasure in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness, edited

by Lois Y. Barrett, 70. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004. Google Books. Accessed April 13, 2013. http://books.google. com.mx/books?id=AkbiiVH1N s0C&printsec=frontcover&dq= Treasure+in+Clay+Jars:+Patt erns+in+Missional+Faithfulne ss,&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M71pUfDs ObXe4APvyYCIDQ&ved=0CCwQ 6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=chal.

15. Fairchild, Mary. “Bible Numerology.” About.com.

Accessed April 11, 2013. http://christianity.about. com/od/biblefactsandlists/ qt/Bible-Numerology.htm.

46

Building Parishes (Continued from page 21) us think about an issue, then we are making progress. Many people are striving for some sort of spirituality today and have many questions about why we believe what we believe.

We need to read a lot - it is so easy these days with the never-ending articles on the net - that we need to keep up with the issues that people might want to talk about, and bring a Christian perspective to them.

As an independent Catholic church, my community, the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America, is not really interested in people who are comfortable in a Roman church but we do actively seek out lapsed Catholics who have issues with some of the Roman ideas on things. We seek out divorced or alienated Catholics, so we need to talk about why we allow divorced Catholics to go to communion, why we accept gay or female clergy, why we don’t submit to the authority of Rome. We want them to know there is a place for them in a tradition that they feel comfortable with, but in conscience, don’t always agree with.

I think we need to develop comfort in talking about why we are not ‘fundamentalist”.

Many people are convinced that Christians have made themselves irrelevant and are intellectually challenged.

If all the religion they get is

from the politically oriented fundamentalist, they think that all Christians are anti-progress, literalist, close-minded and blind in learning about advances in science and technology.

It is a stereotype that many people have of the Catholic.

It is wrong, of course, but we have to learn how to talk about why it is wrong.

We also have to learn about and be willing to talk about the differences in the structures of our independent church organizations and other churches. I get so tired of hearing - I am am spiritual but I hate the institutional elements of an organized religion. I was at an Alanon meeting one day when this subject came up, and I spoke about how Alanon and AA are very similar to institutionalized religion.

They have a liturgy - a way of doing things that is the same every week - they have an introduction, a short prayer, readings, a presentation, a discussion, a word of caution and a closing prayer - then they all go out for coffee!

Sounds a lot like what we do each week. Somehow people have confused being organized with organization. Certainly institutionalized religions have done or caused their share of bad things - but we are the church. We make it what it is, and we need to share that.

We have to teach our people that liturgy is all about praise to God, but also takes us (Continued on page 48) 47

(Continued from page 47) through a cornucopia of human emotions. There is a movement to each liturgy designed to make us penitent, thankful, engaged in minds and heart and sent out to be better people. In a good liturgy there is time to meditate, to think, to pray, to listen, to sing and celebrate, to feel at one with others, to laugh, to cry. Surely one of those things alone is enough to talk to someone about during the next week.

In taking our church out into the world, conversation is the best way to do it. How do we learn to begin conversations about faith, morals, church?

It really shouldn’t be much different than for any topic.

We have to learn to sense if our listener is engaged or turned off or uncomfortable, but don’t we do that with most topics - like politics! If we are uncomfortable talking about it, we need to find out what it is that makes us uncomfortable and begin to fix it. Is it because we feel we don’t know enough?

Do we feel we might be challenged or embarrassed?

If we read a book that really has moved us and strengthened our faith, do we share it with others? Or a CD of music we find spiritually enriching? A retreat that gave us an new insight? All of these things can be ways to begin a conversation about Catholicity.

Our parishes need to begin to offer seminars or classes in

relevant, topical matters. Last Lent I offered a weekly course in “Understanding What it Means to Be an Independent Catholic”. It was all about what we believe, and I tried to focus on questions that were ‘hot’ topics for conversation, and then go into a theology of why we believe it. The attendance was good, discussion was deep and the questions were intriguing. I hope many of those who took the course feel more comfortable in talking about their faith because they have developed some of their own answers to these issues.

Another possibility that needs to be explored is a visiting the sick. Oftentimes this is when people are most apt to want to discuss religious matters.

Having a ministry at church that does this sort of thing, whether it be nursing homes, hospitals or just people that you know who are ill, it can develop wonderful things for the parish.

We often think of the poor these days, but Jesus healed as one of the primary things he did.

Finally, marketing our Church is another way to call out to people that we are Catholic and that we want to involve all people in the kingdom on earth. We don’t want to force our way or make people uncomfortable, though that is not always a bad thing - I would imagine Paul made a lot of people uncomfortable in his evangelizing - but we want to let them know that we are there, that we like what we do, that there is good in 48

Honoring the ordinariness

what we do and that we are not afraid to talk about it.

The Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People (Apostolicuam Actuositatem) from Vatican II gave us help in making clear our duty of evangelization.

The apostolate of the Church, therefore, and of each of its members, aims primarily at announcing to the world by words and action the message of Christ and communicating to it the grace of Christ...the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them toward the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, and incite them to a more fervent life. (AA, 6) The bottom line is that independent Catholics, just as all Catholics, need to be centered on their own relationship with God, with works of service to others, and - the subject of this article - a passion for bringing Christ’s vision to others. We need to do more work with our parishioners both to get them to understand the importance of it, and to make them feel comfortable doing it. It is coming out of the Catholic closet - definitely a paradigm shift for many, but one that we are called to make.

Bishop Ronald Stephens is the pastor of St. Andrews Church in Warrenton, Virginia. He and his partner live in Reston, Virginia.

(Continued from page 25) urging and direction, almost five years ago now, we ratified an annual award to recognize the person, or persons, who best exemplified sacrificial giving within our community.

This award is always presented at the New Year’s Day Mass – The Octave Day of Christmas – The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God to remind us of why we exist.

I have been thinking a lot of Mary lately as we approach Advent at the time of this writing. Too, she is becoming more of a focal for me as Bishop-Elect and as a Franciscan as my anxiety and unworthiness rear their head into my psyche. My memories come flooding back and they are joined with my time before entering parish life. As a Trauma Chaplain, working at the largest hospital in Pennsylvania for almost seven years, I often found that so many people lose hope this time of year. I have come to understand that much of it is because expectations are so high, and reality comes in so low. We are all guilty of this: we set the bar high and then are disappointed to find that our lives are so ordinary, so common. Day after day, each one so much the same as the last. It is only a glance (Continued on page 51) 49

50

(Continued from page 49) at the changing number on the wall calendar that makes it different. Nothing seems to ever change. Everyone and everything is always the same.

Just monotonous, ordinary and common - oh so very common. Even the sameness is always somehow the same.

But during this glorious time of year, from Advent through the Christmas Octaves, we hear of the stories of such a people, an ordinary people, not unlike you and me, in their own world of monotonous sameness.

But one day something happened. They were given some extraordinary news and because of that coming, the commonplace became sacred, and the ordinary would be forever fresh and new.

One night, as gentle shepherds watched their sheep on the hillsides just outside of Bethlehem, an extraordinary thing transpired: an angel spoke to them. And yes they were afraid. I suppose even that is ordinary. But the angel reassured them and then regaled a story of the birth of a very special child. He was to be the Savior of the world. The angel explained that a whole new age was dawning. All of life would take on new meaning and new dimension. For this child was one who would make the drab, dull deserts blossom with beauty. He would create a highway through the insurmountable mountains of life. This One who was born

would bring a new dimension of peace that the world had never known before. These shepherds, not really understanding, went on in trust and faith and soon their new life began.

The coming of God’s Love that we celebrate in this holy season transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, and the commonplace into the sacred. We, too, have that same ability now. We, too, can dedicate our lives to such an endeavor. We, too, can continue to build a church of love, and light, and hope, and inclusion for all people right here and now, and in doing so we will change the ordinary into something beyond measure.

May our eyes, like our Blessed Mother, believe in something greater than ourselves. For it is true: our eyes have beheld a great Light. Blessed New Year…

Monsignor Jim St. George is an educator and pastor of Saint Miriam’s Church in Blue Bell, PA. He and his husband Shawn live in Pennsylvania. Monsignor St. George will be consecrated a Bishop in June of 2014.

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Purgatory (Continued from page 27) cleansing themselves to meet God. We pray for departed souls to encourage and prepare them, as we hope there will be those who will pray for us.

Purgatory is a mystical waiting room. A place not of separation and sorrow, but one of joyous and excited anticipation. Looking in the mirror to make sure we are at our best. When the voice breaks out through eternity, “Next! God will see you now.”

“Eternal Lord God, you hold all souls in life; Give to your whole Church in paradise and on earth your light and your peace; and grant that we, following the good examples of those who have served you here and are now at rest, may at last enter with them into your unending joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Prayer for the Departed. OCACNA Sacramentary. pg.214) Father Wolf is a priest in the International Old Catholic Churches, Inc. He lives with his husband in Aberdeen, New Jersey.

Seeking, Finding, Epiphany (Continued from page ) from their homes in Persia to Bethlehem in search of this baby. Instead of angels and visions, we have the image of the Magi following a sign in the skies – in nature – and for a long period of time. The magi see the intentions of God in the skies. This is not new: Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens themselves declare who God is, and that his handiwork is seen in created nature. “We observed his star at its rising”. The magi know that there is something significant happening.

When did they come?

The Gospel of Saint Luke doesn’t mention the Magi and holds that the Holy Family returned to Nazareth after the presentation of Jesus at the Temple where he was circumcised. It’s probable that Saint Luke didn’t know of this episode in Jesus’ early life. Saint Matthew seems to place the visit of the Magi some time after Jesus’ birth. The Holy Family are in a “house” not in the stable of the inn. Herod kills all the newborn boys under the age of two years. So it’s likely that the Holy Family had stayed for some time in Bethlehem and the Magi came some time after Jesus’ birth, perhaps as long as two years after.

WHY did they come?

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Clearly, the Magi were searching. The Magi recognized much of the truth of Jesus, who he was and what he would become. The magi had a general idea of this God and this King of the Jews, but they didn’t really know who or what they were looking for. Bono and U2 were criticized some years ago by some supposedly orthodox Christians when they produced a song entitled, “I still haven’t found what I am looking for.” I can’t see the problem with that especially given the spiritual depths in many of their songs. You see, the example of the Magi was that they were searchers, not really knowing what or who they were looking for. They didn’t claim to have it all but they saw their lives as a journey of discovery. And in that they are an example to us. We don’t know it all. But if we like them are prepared to be diligent seekers, then like them we may be graced by God’s light, by our Epiphany. When the wise men finally found Jesus, we are told that their first response was joy – “they were overwhelmed with joy”. That is what happens when we find Jesus. This is what awaits us at the end of the journey. Next, they paid him homage – they worshiped him and acknowledged Him as King. After the joy comes the worship. That means acknowledging Jesus as King.

Jesus as the center. Jesus as Lord. And then, after joy and after worship, comes offering of their gifts. In response to who Jesus is and the joy He gives, we offer ourselves

and our gifts to Him. So my message for today is to dare, like them, to take the risk of seeking, and God may well bless us with our own Epiphanies which transform us as doubtless the Magi were transformed by what must have been a surprising experience for them as they knelt before the infant Jesus.

So how do you find Jesus?

Maybe you can start out like the Magi – with a general idea of God, and a general idea that He is guiding you. Like the Magi, we need to turn to the scriptures. If you don’t read them, you will never really get the specific directions that God is trying to give you. Approach them with the right spirit, the right purpose. Ask for help along the way - the church, God’s people, are meant to help you along that way. The wise men knew when they needed to ask someone else for help.

And pray. Ask God. When you find Jesus, rejoice. After all, He is God. Put Him in the center of your life. Ask yourself whether what you are doing honors him a King. Offer to him what you have, who you are.

Where can this Jesus be found? He is with you now. Won’t you seek Him? Won’t you recognize Him? Won’t you let Him fill YOUR life with joy? Amen.

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Unity Discourse (Continued from page 23) why we held them), and how we bring Christ to the world today.

This letter then clearly spells out what his group’s beliefs are, what the other groups, which he called heretics, believed, and the penalties for following those other beliefs. One barrier to Catholic unity - how to tell which beliefs are or are not Catholic or Christian - was as prominent in his day just as it may have been in Luke’s day. If the early church was a myriad of Jesus followers collecting together in communities across the Roman world and beyond, then might it not be at least possible God intended it to be that way? Where, for example, does the Old Testament say that all the tribes of Israel were supposed to merge together under one human leader, and forsake the unique traditions and ways they did the thing called “being the people of God”? There might certainly be kings, but that did not mean that the Tribe of Judah had the right to hunt down the other tribes and force them to follow even the most minute rule of the Judah tribe.

The problem of confusing hard fact with developed belief and / or terminology exists to this day, aggravated in the United States by the player with the biggest pot of money – the Roman denomination – abusing secular systems to force the

perpetual image that the Roman Church is the only Catholic church. Like in US politics however, you can’t just throw money around and fool all of the people all of the time, and eventually the true meaning of the term ripples back up to the surface and life returns to normal. While there are many sources to use that give the same definition of “catholic”, here is one that matters: L. Michael White, Professor of Classics and Director of the Religious Studies Program University of Texas at Austin described it as follows: “the church that called itself “catholic,” which means simply universal, claims to be the only access to salvation there is.”

Why is his definition the one being used? Because his definition was part of the PBS show Frontline’s series on Christianity, and the average American lay person is far more likely to have heard his definition than any one of the distinguished theologians in the upper levels of any denomination of Catholic Churches.

Here is what Dictionary. com has to say: Catholic: cath•o•lic [kath-uh-lik, kath-lik] adjective 1. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal.

2. universal in extent; 54

involving all; of interest to all.

3. pertaining to the whole Christian body or church.

Origin: 1300–1350; Middle English < Latin catholicus < Greek katholikós general, equivalent to kathól ( ou ) universally (contraction of phrase katà hólou according to the whole; see cata-, holo-) + -ikos -ic One opportunity to Catholic Unity is to refocus not only our words, but our hearts, minds, and hands to the second definition of Catholic.

Of course, salvation of the individual is as important as ever, but that work is uniquely personal. Every human being has a different learning orientation, each has a unique view of self, community, and faith. Since this great diversity in how humans learn, how they view faith, community, and self is something endowed upon them by God, why should we humans insist that there can only be one way for them to connect to the divine? In essence, the last 2,000 years has been primarily an exercise of our churches screaming at God that we don’t like His bounty, we don’t like His diversity, His creativity, or His genius, and then trying to force God into a very narrow box in which to reach out to the humans he loves.

We Catholics have been called to change. We have been called to use all our senses, to reach, to explore, and most of all to

touch. Catholicism is not meant to be a fine art museum that never changes except for the occasional dusting or moving one statue more to the front.

Catholicism is meant to be a dynamic spirit filled entity that grows, breathes, learns, adapts, and always keeps the focus on what matters – Jesus Christ.

That means we have to let go of some ideas that never were part of God’s plan.

Ignatius’ letter clearly spells out what his group’s beliefs are, what the other groups, which he called heretics, believed, and the penalties for following those other beliefs. One barrier to Catholic unity, how to tell which beliefs are or are not Catholic or Christian, was prominent in his day just as it may have been in Luke’s day.

Here’s the secret: it didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now.

Oh certainly, if you head a denomination that God has blessed with a flock, and that flock is being spiritually fed, in turns spiritually feeds others, and helps to bring forth the Kingdom of God, it is helpful to have a road map of where you are all going and how you intend to get there. If you are a single person, a human living in time and space, a road map is helpful too. However, God has been speaking since Moses traveled with Miriam, Paul with Timothy, and Chaucer’s The (Continued on page 56) 55

(Continued from page 55) Canterbury Tales that a journey shared is often more rich and satisfying than a journey alone. The magic of “being Catholic” is that single point.

The journey is shared – with one’s family, faith community, diocese, denomination, the entire Catholic world, and most importantly with Jesus Christ himself. That is the “thing” that makes Catholic life Catholic.

Even the most solitary member of the Catholic Church knows that they are not alone in the journey of life. This may in some respect be why even ex-Catholics never quite give up some of “being Catholic” - the sharing of the journey of life, regardless of the expected outcome, is important. “And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.” Genesis 1:27, Catholic Public Domain Version (VULG) Them. From the beginning of man’s existence he was not meant to be alone, but in company...in community.

That passage is much less about what later came to be called marriage, and much more about how much of an obscenity God finds the concept of a human being living this life life alone.

The allegory of a map is intentional. In the past, once you had a map from point A to point B, especially if that map was difficult to come by, had lots of people saying they used it and it worked, you treasured it. That map became the one most important tool

in the trip you were on. Even today, in the world of Christian Fundamentalist belief it is often said “The King James Bible is the only road map I need to get to heaven.” The problem is that what God actually intended for us was to use our senses, our wisdom, our networks to create a GPS system. No matter what road was closed, or what new detour cropped up, the GPS, being far superior to just using a map alone, can recalculate the route that you can follow to get to your destination either the fastest or with the least effort. A GPS doesn’t make a value judgment – the person who chooses the easy path is no less respected than the person that uses the shortest, or for that matter the person who constantly stops to investigate that interesting country road over there.

So back to Ignatius. What then do we as modern day Catholics do with him and his writings? Just as we can learn some interesting things about ourselves by reading stories from from our ancestors, so it is with the Church Fathers and Mothers. While we have to consider the world in which he lived and wrote, there is still value to be had in considering what he has to say about this first century community, his own community in Antioch, and perhaps about Pauline Christian practices in general. The point is that we should accord the same level of respect to the writers and speakers from the non-Pauline world as well, in order to have a more complete 56

“family history” to draw on.

For example, prominent in Ignatius’ letter are the marching orders to “follow and honor” the Bishops. , Almost assuredly, Ignatius never imagined the abuses of power, crimes, injury, and death that would follow as those orders morphed within his own church into blind obedience to a human, instead of the loving obedience to God that was so much of the message of Jesus. The letter gives us a list of what at the time constituted the clergy – the presbytery (who he felt should be treated “as you would the apostles”, Bishops, and Deacons (who deserved to be “reverenced”). Immediately, we come across a conundrum as he does not mention the term “Priest” defining the title of an individual, but instead the description of a particular group who are separate from Bishops and Deacons.

Dictionary.com, that standard use free to everyone source used by students from grade school to doctoral studies defines the word as: “Presbytery [prez-bi-ter-ee, pres-] Show IPA noun, plural pres•by•ter•ies.

1. a body of presbyters or elders.

2. (in Presbyterian churches) an ecclesiastical court consisting of all the ministers and one or two presbyters from each congregation in a district.

3. the churches under the jurisdiction of a presbytery.

4. the part of a church appropriated to the clergy.

5. Roman Catholic Church . a rectory.”ii The web site New Advent states: “In the New Testament bishops and priests are, according to Catholic teaching, the sole bearers of the priesthood, the former enjoying the fullness of the priesthood (summus sacerdos s. primi ordinis), while the presbyters are simple priests (simplex sacerdos s. secundi ordinis).”iii In a hypothetical survey of 100 Catholic seminarians, hardly any would say that any part of the dictionary.com listing would convey the correct meaning of what Ignatius said, and there would be lots of debate as to whether New Advent got it right either. Just as in the first essay of this series, we can see where the disconnect between what clergy mean when they say something and what laity thinks they mean. Was Ignatius referring to priests as a whole, or did his community only use that term for the “simple priests”? Did his community consider Bishops to be priests, or was it a separate position? As discussed in previous essays, we are also hampered by the fact that we don’t speak his language, and some of the copies we have of his writings are in an altogether third language.

(Continued on page 58) 57

(Continued from page 57) This may have been one factor in the recent decision by the multi-ligual Roman Pope Francis to actually listen to his laity on the topic of family and marriage. It certainly would be beneficial to any denomination to remember to frequently “fact check” that when one class of members uses a term the other classes of members have the same understanding of what that term means. In Ecumenical discussions both within Catholicism and in the larger religious world, many of the errors, wars, and deaths of the past – to say nothing of the problems of the present – might have been mitigated more than a bit by stepping back and taking the time to make sure everyone actually had the same understanding. This, of course, can pose a significant barrier within Catholic denominations that have either a theology or a culture with a fixed belief that certain classes are unable to understand things as well as other classes, that certain classes of members are divinely granted the ability to define terms, or that dissension by certain classes against other classes is not just frowned on but possibly a cause for loss of salvation.

Consider for a moment just the situation with the Utrechtian Old Catholic denominations of Europe, whose entire apostolic history rests on the foundations of Bishops who were secular Princes, not priests called by God, nurtured by an assembly

of believers, and ordained with the support of an entire church. A counterpart is a small US denomination who has only a slight apostolic history, and most of that not through Carfora lineage, but who has a vibrant growing community with parishes full of real people who are as Catholic as the Utrechtians. What is a Bishop, who can become a Bishop, and how one becomes a Bishop is not a new set of questions. It is as old as Christianity itself, born out of the very human struggle to manage growth, delegate work, and retain a connection with at least some prior group of Jesus followers.

Catholic Denominations must develop solid, written, public statements of what exactly is a “bishop” to them, how one becomes a bishop, and what if any requirements are needed to be called a bishop. In the business world, this is called a job description. No theology needed. If your denomination has decided that the term “bishop” applies to any church member with a Master’s of Divinity from an accredited university who oversees the operations of three or more parishes that are led on a day to day basis by a parish council and a pastor regardless of where those parishes are... then say so. Stop worrying that Denomination B over on the next street lets anyone with a Bachelor’s degree (for goodness sake..!) be called a bishop, even if the only parish they run is in the garage of their home. God is more than 58

powerful enough to see to it that if He didn’t want that kind of setup that Denomination B will fade away. A denomination will further unity by posting or publishing a “job description” for bishop, and then seeking out other denominations that have not only published a “job description” for bishop, but have a job description similar or complementary to your denominations! Endless debates about who is and isn’t a bishop just leave everyone stuck in the same mud-fight, unable to move.

Finally, this letter from Ignatius refers to the people – the members of the faith communities that would come to be called the laity – saying “Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

In other documents Ignatius writes about many aspects of what the laity was comprised of, how one became a member of it, and what rights and responsibilities that group had within his community.

This is another area that fairly screams for clarity and transparency. As noted in the previous essay, one reason there is no accurate number of Catholics in this world is that there is no one definition. The bible speaks of “where two or three are gathered...”, of Paul being told the only “community” was a small group of women who didn’t even have a building, and of a bunch of Jesus

followers huddled terrified in an Upper Room. Our origin story is not a Constantine-funded Cathedral filled to the brim with people, masses of clergy, incense and pageantry. As a teenager today would say, “get over yourself”. Once a year, do a reasonably complete survey of your community. In your published Annual Report, be honest. There is no shame is saying something like this: “We are the XYZ Catholic Church. St. Somebody in Somewhere, Someplace is our only faith community, and this year we mostly met in members homes, but had a few masses outside at the town park in Someplace. There are 32 people who have decided to become members of our church. 20 of them have a baptism certificate, had a First Communion, and were confirmed. 8 of our community are children under 18. 2 members of our community aren’t sure if they were baptized or not, and 2 of our members were never baptized. 5 of our members live too far away to attend mass with us, or are too disabled or elderly to attend mass with us. One person is in the armed forces abroad.

We also have a group of 15 people who are on our mailing list that attended services at least once this year. 10 of these people belong to the local Roman denomination, but don’t like the services there. 2 of the people also belong to the (Continued on page 60) 59

(Continued from page 59) ABC Assembly of God Church, but reported they like to go twice on Sundays. The other 3 people are residents in the group home run by one of our members. We also have 40 people either on our mailing list or our Facebook page, and last year 10 of them attended a non mass event like a potluck.

Our largest mass was on July 4th in the park when 200 people from a tour company joined us. Our smallest masses were on Sept 27 and Nov 15 with a celebrant and one other person. Our average attendance for masses in member’s homes was 20, for the park (not counting July 4th) was 30.

8 of our members are clergy, with one bishop, 4 priests, 2 deacons, and a seminarian.

Two of the clergy members are also members of a religious order and the bishop and 2 of the priests serve on boards or committees. Of the other members, 15 served on at least one committee, board, or the community council and were also members of a religious order. In addition, 10 of our members who have not served this year on a board or committee are members of a religious order.”

If a Catholic denomination only has 3 members, and they are all related, only God knows if they are a “true church”. As with the issue of bishops, by their fruit you will know them...

If your denomination is like XYZ

Catholic Church in the sample above, then go out there and find other churches that are a similar size to yours, have a similar definition of bishop and clergy to yours, and then see if theologically there is common ground. Start the ecumenical outreach small. Do you both believe in and pray the Our Father? Great! Attended each others annual picnic and see if there is anything else, like BBQ sauce, that you can agree on.

Let the Smith Family Catholic Church and the Jones Family Catholic Church do the same.

Who knows, perhaps one day the Association of Family Based Catholic Churches will boast 50 denominations, watch each others backs, develop some ethics guidelines, and end up accomplishing more than that big denomination that is too busy playing politics to care for the poor and hungry. Let God take care of that concern, while your denomination takes care of the concerns sitting like proverbial planks in the eye.

It may just turn out that is what Jesus was trying to say.

There it is, another opportunity – probably the biggest opportunity in history - for Catholic unity. Use all the senses... simply follow the example of Luke, Paul, and Ignatius and write and share what the beliefs, practices, policies, and procedures are for “our” particular group of Jesus followers. The next is to sit down and read what others have to say about the communities they belong 60

to with only the eye of the student seeking knowledge about that group. Leave the inquisitor at home.

Once these exercises have been done, the work of ecumenicism can begin: where are the beliefs the same? Where are the practices complementary? What policies and procedures are worthy of emulating? This process of doing a compare and contrast, and identifying where there might be common ground to build upon has been used not just by students and theologians, but by lawyers, divorcing spouses, interior designers, and others from all walks of life. It remains much easier to figure out which differences are worth fighting about if you can at first see what things don’t have to be fought about at all. And then touch. Shake hands. March together in a rosary procession.

Sit next to each other at a council of churches meeting.

Do lunch. Make the other Catholics more real by doing what Paul did: get out there are meet. Visit each other.

The method by which, since that first one in Jerusalem, the Catholic Churches gather and try to reach a common agreement of what is or is not Catholic at that given point in time is by a council. Today, a council can be defined as a gathering of all the Bishops of an area or of the entire Catholic Church for the purpose of discussing and addressing some concern of the Church

as a whole. Closely related to it is a synod, from a Greek word meaning “assembly” or “meeting”. The word was first used to refer to meetings of Bishops, which did not develop until sometime in the first century, and in many Catholic denominations it still has that meaning.

Whether new converts in Rome or Corinth had to be circumcised was not just a regional issue – it was an issue that was affecting the entire assembly of Jesus followers, no matter what side of the debate they were on. One barrier to Catholic unity is that for far too many years one or another branch of Catholicism has called and held a council, made decisions, and then attempted to force those decisions on the entire Church. Long before a true ecumenical council of the entire Holy Catholic Apostolic Church can happen, Catholics need to clearly define who they are, what a bishop is, how many of “us” are flocking around a particular bishop, and where on the family tree we are positioned. Catholics need to have more family reunions, sharing circles, denominational visits, and these need to happen first with the kin we are closest to not in lineage, but in size, age, and temperament.

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), as quoted from the “About Us” section of www.thearda.com; “strives to democratize access (Continued on page 62) 61

(Continued from page 61) to the best data on religion.

Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and

University, the ARDA is funded by the Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation, Chapman University and the Pennsylvania State University.”

They have developed a Family Tree for Christianity that in many ways is far superior to the one created by one denomination that was discussed in Essay one.

It’s not complete, as it only tracks those denominations that arose out of Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria. The branches

Image from Essay 1 in Volume 1 Number 2 of this magazine. researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world.

Currently housed in the Social Science Research Institute, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of Sociology at the Pennsylvania State

from Jerusalem, for example, only lists two orthodox denominations, and doesn’t include the Jesus followers led

by James the brother of the Lord who remained Jewish.

Even if they remained Jewish, they are still family, and (Continued on page 64) 62

This data was downloaded from the Association of Religion Data Archives, www.TheARDA.com, and was collected by J. Gordon Melton.

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(Continued from page 62) important ones at that. There is likewise no mention of the Ethiopian that Philip converted, the Indians that heard Thomas speak, and the many other groups that were birthed by Jesus birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

However, it is a start, and it is a start that is backed up with hundreds of pieces of data to support it. Most importantly, it visually presents a basic Catholic truth. There never was one physical church. The One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church has always existed, and has always encompassed all Catholics. We have just been blind men, calling out our respective points of view, and missing the enormity, the beauty, and the truth that is the One Church we are all part of.

We have come full circle again. Essay one was about being willing to see with new eyes that what we thought of as Catholic might be different from what is Catholic in term of unity. Essay two was about being willing to listen with the willingness to evolve in order to achieve a greater level of unity.

Essay three was about sniffing out the purveyors of liturgical drag shows, the denominational Bishops with no flock, and the out and out criminals guilty of crimes against humanity.

over the soft velvet petals of liturgical tradition. They are things that are important not just to Romans, or Bosnians, or Liberals – they are important to the entire Church and to Catholic unity. It is time to roll up our sleeves, and gather again, all of us, and reach our hands into the fertile soil of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and Resurrection and work with the Gardener to build the Catholic portion of the Kingdom of God. Being human, our first gatherings may not include everyone. It may not actually create any major statements, unions, inter-communion agreements, or changes in our day to day lives. However, as imperfect as it will be, as human as it will be, it will be a start, and each year we can finish another gathering, synod, regional or denominational council with “next year...” and hope that someday we will be able to taste what unity is here in our world. All Catholics are being called to gather...and God asks...

“Whom shall I send?”

Footnotes i http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ religion/story/emergence.html ii http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/presbytery

Now we are at touch...we are called as Catholics to grasp the cover-up of pedophilia by the horns just as much as we are encouraged to run our fingers 64

Here I am Lord!

(Continued from page 31) are eligible for. If you belong to a larger organization, be it the Union of Utrecht or the Idaho Council of Churches, ask if they have resources to train your leaders and provide them the tools to do the jobs they have.

Research, survey, and create a professional Annual Report that is published in print or online. Include a notice of how media should cite anything they quote with a contact specifically for them.

Today, many consumers will not invest a dime in a company without looking at one, and more than likely your denomination tithes, passes the plate, or does fundraisers. In a world where shoppers choose Kmart over Walmart because of dissatisfaction with how the latter treats female employees, having a well prepared annual report that not only goes over the what, when, how much, how many and other detail but also gives a snapshot in time of the people, the faith, and the spirit of a denomination can mean the difference between being having 5 people a month drift in and having 15 purposely seek you out because the other denomination in town leaves them wondering where the money went.

Treat your members, friends of your denomination, and the vendors who may grant you discounts or special

terms the respect that they deserve. Annual Reports can be useful evangelical tools in the fact that if you look like you have your act together, people will be more willing to listen to your sermon. They can also be left in places that regular proselytizing materials can’t – like the local library, historical society, chamber of commerce office, and so on.

As a side benefit, a denomination with a clear Annual Report as outlined in the article can more easily attract other denominations that are like minded or similar in environment and size for conversation and connection.

When attending an interCatholic event, pack a few in your bag. Swapping annual reports in person can increase the possibility that it will actually be read and that further discussion will arise than just saying “check out our web site”.

The media reporters of today look at the web first, and nothing destroys your chances more of missing a chance to tell your entire area you are there and who you are than to be invisible to them. While press releases will always be useful in letting local media know about your fundraiser, and sometimes can act as providing a public record, the 24 hour 7 day a week news cycle moves so fast that by the time you gather the board to decide what to say, the issue has moved to page 7. Let the media come (Continued on page 66) 65

(Continued from page 65) to you, but be kind and clearly indicate how exactly you want to be listed as a source.

When posting press releases or annual reports on social media, post just the link to the actual document on your web site. Specialists in corporate communications can tell story after story of items posted directly as a post on Facebook only to be hacked, copied, changed, or misused.

As soon as you can, recruit a volunteer or even hire someone with relevant skills to be your media contact.

It is actually quite easy to train someone to say “I won’t have a comment on that until I speak with Bishop So and So”. Trust me, Bishop So and So has a lot on his plate, and will appreciate the chance to take a deep breath and say a quick prayer, before jumping into the debate about woman’s ordination. Even so, if your denomination can afford the minor expense, send the person to an SBA seminar on marketing or publicity, or perhaps sign them up for some of the excellent e-newsletters on the topic.

Give them a dedicated denominational email address used only for media inquiries, and provide them the tools to frequently check it.

If your media contact has the time and resources,

consider having them sign up for helpareporter.com. HARO, as it is known, can deliver up to 3 free email alerts daily, straight from journalists and media companies looking for stories and experiences. Be aware, these are some of the largest media outlets in the country, and there are razor tight deadlines. Also, with the service you can submit unlimited pitches to top journalists from local, regional and national media outlets.

Stay informed about the industry specific, regional, and local periodicals that you might be able to be written about it. Something as simple as an excel spreadsheet listing all the blogs, magazines, newspapers, tv stations, and radio stations within 15 miles of each parish can make sending that press release a quick snap that gets results.

Don’t assume that the Bishop down the street will tell his flock that they can come to your blessing of the animals, or your presentation of sacred classical music. Don’t insult him either – when holding an event that is genuinely of interest to all Catholics, send a personal invitation from your bishop to every other Catholic bishop in the area, with the business card of the media contact and the bishop signing the letter. If it of interest to all Christians, do the same. Even a mail merge postcard invite can be made more personal by having your bishop jot down on it “Gene, saw your statement 66

on marriage equality...I agree” or “Bishop Puffy, I think you would find this pianist to be very enjoyable. Please, come listen and enjoy...Bishop Joe”.

Be rigorously honest, and if affordable, consider having both your finances and your annual report independently audited.

Use a professional accounting or business firm that has “arm’s length” objectivity: no principle offers or executives that belong to your denomination, no investments in the same properties or funds as the denomination, no relatives of denomination clergy or officials in positions of decision making authority.

If you had $500 in donations and spent $5,000, be honest about it. For every Catholic that feels that is a wasteful example of overrun spending by a presiding bishop, there will be one who looks and says...”Hmm, 10 members...$4,000 on vestments and furnishings.

Finally! I can go to a church that looks like a church!” The same is true for membership, parishes, bishops, priests...everything.

Consider enabling your parishes, clergy, dioceses, and laity to reach out and touch other Catholics.

Develop guidelines of who may join local interfaith organizations, if and how the denomination will recognize members that belong to

religious groups outside the denomination, and what each group may do for national and regional events like St. Patrick’s Day, National Day of Prayer, etc. in conjunction with other Catholic and Christian groups.

Consider recognizing members of your denomination that do the work of reaching out to other Catholics. Give a nod during announcements to that member who blogs at Not All Catholics Are Roman, the woman who volunteers to sit on the city interfaith council committee, and the kids who create place-mats for the residents of the other denomination’s nursing home.

Give an award at your annual meeting, synod, council, or assembly to those people who work for unity. Remember to take a picture of them for your web site, annual report, and Facebook page.

Get Feedback and Encourage Questions.

Provide a way for your members, those who aren’t members but who attend services or events, and other denominations that are engaged with to provide feedback and ask questions anonymously.

Whatever way is chosen, make it as easy as possible to use, and promote it frequently.

In the next 12 months, identify at least one other denomination that is within a day’s drive, and make an effort to have leaders (Continued on page 68) 67

(Continued from page 67) and laity from each meet.

It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be a big formal affair. Have your Bishop call up, introduce himself, and invite the Bishop to bring a couple of his laity to a coffee hour. Meet for pizza halfway between the two denomination.

Make arrangements to stay in the same campground at a inter-catholic event. Go out bowling, with the losing team buying dinner for the winning team. By including laity, the guys and gals in the pointy hats will be less inclined to wage theological warfare, especially if the laity provides the car to get them home.

Still not sure that your group and that group can get along?

Plan something that includes one 6 year old lay member from each denomination. The only purpose is to listen and learn and share as human beings who happen to both be Catholic, and who happen to belong to different churches.

Make a 5 year plan to attend at least one inter-catholic event that is regional or national in scope.

It takes time, money, and effort to take 8 people from Washington State and transport them to the Summer Program in Utrechtian Old Catholicism in the Netherlands.

If yours is a denomination with Old Catholic DNA, it is a highly recommended effort. However, for the same expense a denomination can

send 20 people to a one day Washington State Conference On Catholicism and still have enough money to be a sponsor of the event. Consider which is going to provide Catholics within your area, and within your part of the Catholic Family Tree, the most beneficial result. For an Old Catholic denomination, it might mean sending one person to Utrecht, and 15 to a state conference.

For a small denomination that would find a trip to Europe unaffordable, it might be easier to send folks to a regional event and then help drum up sponsors so that a professor from Utrecht can speak at a session there.

Regional events, Family Reunions, Calls for Council, and special Synods are popping up allover the Catholic world, from denomination large and small. Watch the news, magazines, and web sites that cater to or specialize in inter-catholic issues.

Make a 3 year plan to actively support, through hosting, sponsorship, or management, of a city, county, or small region inter-catholic event.

How many denominations exist within a 100 mile radius of yours? That is the target of small regional events. They can be one day or more, formal or informal, open to laity and clergy or only one of those groups. They do require organization, but quite often not on a scale much larger than 250 people.

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These are the types of events that smaller regional convention centers and hotels are experts at. Throw out an invite to form a committee to put one together, and if it is anything over 100 people, give yourselves at least a year to plan and execute. Use the paid professionals at these convention centers and hotels (and more and more some larger retreat houses turned conference centers) to take care of coming up with the details, the menus, and the system to keep track of reservations.

If your denomination is a 501(c)(3), contact your local National Able Office and Welfare to Work department, as these can frequently provide volunteer employees to help get the work done.

Once your committee gets going however, lay the theology at the door, and keep it strictly focused on providing an atmosphere for human beings to listen, learn, and share.

Start thinking of the Big Council â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and start planning.

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail, as the saying goes. It may be 10 or 30 or maybe 100 years before a true Catholic Ecumenical Council is called by a group of Catholic denominations, and open to every Catholic bishop in the world. With thousands of denominations, the chances are, however, that such a council will be called sooner rather than later, especially if it

is called by a group of Catholic denominations that are firmly in the camp of denominational self determination. This is not a wedding that you want to become the woman with the empty lamp for.

If we truly believe that we are one Church, in is incumbent on all of us to keep our eyes on that prize and make what small steps we can toward it. While at first it may seem like daydreaming, it is when we dream big that the way to that ideal sometimes becomes more clear.

Start planning now about what the bare minimum requirements of such a council might be...not just in logistics of what stadium might hold it, or how many denominations donating equal shares to the expense of it it would take, but in matters like how to make sure that each denomination gets an equal chance to be heard, or that no women, GLBTQ folk, or Latin liturgy loving people get cut out.

Ask questions about what issues are there that are actually so universal that they must be discussed at such a council?

Consider if there is something your denomination could be doing now to make that issue more clear when that day comes.

Most importantly, discuss (Continued on page 70) 69

(Continued from page 69) this with other Catholics, write about what comes up in those discussions, and share everything about the hoped for, longed for, planned for Big Council with every Catholic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; of every type and denomination. The only way to a true Council of the entire Holy Catholic Apostolic Church is the one that is truly universal. Every Catholic, with No Catholics Left Behind.

Here I am Lord!

Clergy After receiving approval from your denomination, create whatever online professional identity that is permitted, and keep it separate from your personal life.

Include your geographic location, but not your home address.

If the social media site your denomination approves for you offers it, join the regional, city, and local groups.

Keep it strictly the faith and religion business. The person in the next town who wants to talk about transubstantiation may just not be all that into cats.

If you are a clergy who is also an executive of your denomination, seminary, or other entity, act like it.

Every word and picture that goes on a web site is property of the internet forever, and will come back to haunt you.

Remember that once you are online, especially when online in the professional identity your denomination has approved, you are on stage and anything you say, do , or post reflects on not just you, but your denomination, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s members, and the Catholic world at large. Politeness, courtesy, and other good manners have never hurt anyone.

Keep your online resume current. Whether you are on Linked In, Facebook, or Monster, Google will find you, and the best course of action is to have the most up to date information read first.

Consider submitting the link to your online resume to the Independent Movement Database at http://www. independentmovement.us and other such listing services.

Even if the service does not currently list such links, most are constantly working on expanding and improving.

Here I am Lord!

Laity If your parish, diocese, or denomination, has an Ecumenical Committee or Outreach Group, consider sitting in on a few meetings and getting to know what they do.

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Even if it is only a once a month conference call, you can learn a lot about your own denomination by how they handle this key area of being catholic. In addition, for some people “serving on the Ecumenical Committee” might be just too much of a time and talent commitment, but catching the August meeting and learning they need $10 in postage stamps might not be. Volunteerism can come in many forms.

Talk up your denomination and being Catholic as you feel comfortable.

When there is a parish social event, if it open to the public, share the invitation with your neighbors, friends, and family.

Put a plain evergreen wreath on your door November 1st, and add a bright pink or purple flower for each of the Sundays in Advent.

Let people see your rosary is something more than a 1980’s fashion statement or gang ritual, but avoid being one of “those Catholics” that descends upon the travelers at the bus station like a cross between a Moonie and a Jehovah Witness, slinging rosary’s and books about Fatima into people’s faces.

If you use social media, seek out groups that reflect your Catholic interests such as music, type of services, and devotions, but also consider joining a couple groups with a

wider focus. Groups that focus on Independent Catholicism, Anglican – Orthodox Relations, and groups for Franciscans from all walks of life are good examples. Avoid getting drawn into intense debates on minute points of canon law, especially if they seem to always be started by the same people, who also seem to have little to no “outside of the ‘net life”.

Geeks call these people trolls, and even the best maintained sites and groups have them.

Go ahead and talk about your local faith community and what it means to you, but unless you are specifically asked to, don’t worry about being the spokesperson for your entire denomination. Focus on listening, sharing when you read something you feel you have in common, and getting to know the real people and real communities behind the online profile. Share what you learn there with your pastor and your faith community. Since many interfaith councils only allow one representative per denomination, these groups can be a wonderful way for others in a denomination to engage in the tasks of ecumenical outreach.

“Like” your Parish and Denomination on Facebook, but consider also hitting “like” on some inter catholic or Ecumenical page also.

Send a message to your friends that you are interested in the greater Church, and Christianity in general. If you (Continued on page 72) 71

(Continued from page 71) belong to other social media sites that have groups or circles, consider doing the same there.

Consider listing your denomination, or your parish when you are publishing something about faith or religion online.

However, resist the urge, no matter how strong, to club people over the head with it. See that amazing sunset pic with the scripture verse? When you share it, add a line like “As an Anglican Catholic, I am amazed at how spiritual watching a sunset can be.” You are talking about religion anyway, and a few keystrokes just might spike someone’s interest enough to google or message you with the question “What’s an (fill in the blank) Catholic?”

Not only will you provide a great opportunity for people to learn about the diversity in the Catholic world, you will be less likely to be reported as a spammer for randomly forwarding and splashing pictures with no purpose.

Do Not repeat or participate in chain emails. Seriously, these are truly the scourge of the internet, and they do not improve the chances of Bill Gates giving you money, of your prayers being heard, or of saving some mythical cancer ridden child. If there is a great picture or poem, highlight it, copy it, and then paste it in a separate message to those

close friends and family that actually will appreciate it or post it to a site like Pinterest where everyone can see it without having thousand page headers with millions of email addresses end up in some Russian criminals database.

Bring your ideas for inter-Catholic dialogue, events, or services up, and do it frequently.

Just because last year there was no interest in your parish of inviting the local Roman, Episcopal,, and Anglican communities to join you saying the Our Father for National Day of Prayer doesn’t mean that his year it might not be a perfect idea.

If your pastor isn’t interested, but your reading of the last column from the Ecumenical Officer makes you think she would be – go ahead and send it to her. Most of the time, there is no rule that says the Holy Spirit can only inspire clergy, and even if your denomination does have one, everyone has common sense.

Again, don’t club people over the head. Be polite, use whatever conventions of speech and address your denomination follows, and be kind. “Bishop Leo, Do you think that perhaps we could invite the Roman parish next door to the BBQ?” in a calm voice is a lot nicer than “Hey Leo, we gonna invite them Romans?” yelled out in the parking lot in front of “them Romans”.

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If you feel your denomination is missing out on opportunities to dialogue with other Catholic denominations, speak up – even if you feel more comfortable doing it anonymously.

What is seen as resistance to inter-Catholic dialogue sometimes is just overworked Pastors, Executives focused only on the new building or seminary, or Bishops who are so busy with theological debate they don’t have time to keep up with the fact there is a new Denomination down the street. Pastors, Executives, and Bishops are human, and subject to the same limitations of human ability as anyone else.

With these starting points, anyone utilizing even a few will find that other ideas spring to mind. When it comes to bringing more unity, especially unity that respects and honors the many ways of being Catholic, it can certainly be said that the harvest is plenty.

Glad you stepped up and said yes! - God Got an idea that could further either connections in the ISM or in Catholicism as a whole?

Convergent Streams wants to hear it! Submit your ideas, in 500 words or less, to the Editor at godseygreg@gmail. com with “The Big Council” in the subject line. Please include your Name, Denomination, and daytime telephone number.

Lessons in Courage (Continued from page 19) The lesson we learn from here is that we cannot afford to harbor unforgivingness in our hearts. It will only destroy us.

Rachel’s life illustrates the manner in which we can allow others’ actions affect us to such an extent that we believe we cannot forgive them.

God can turn these kind of situations around for us today if we serve Him and love Him with all our heart (Romans 8:28). If you love God you will forgive those that have hurt you and refuse to harbor bitterness in your heart against them. Bitterness destroys (Hebrews 12:15). It is in your own interest that you forgive.

By God’s grace and your will power, you can forgive.

After getting your heart right with God, you can then pray and break the sadness that might have been let lose in your life. It might be helpful to ask other believers to pray with you. Ask God for healing and a restoration so you can better decide to forgive those who have wronged or hurt you in the past.

Let Rachel’s life be an example to your life and not a mirror of it.

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First Quarter Saints Wordsearch B S I T C P U I N A R C T S B A W O L A C Q G Z R

A W E J R T A M Z N A K Y A N L L G E U A V Z E C

F B A L O O C T S C L H S R N Z R A X T S O M V F

O A N C A S F H R D I I T O I E A C E E I F E A Z

F P D A Q S E A W I L C I A G L P I R P M S Z D U

W T R E I Z E P Y T C T C O G V B T D R I J Y I Y

F I E J Y M A D H N A K R S I A J S E E R R E A E

N S B B O G A E S I E Y T N D O T A N P P B R Z Y

Z M E J N H G D C I N P C H H W K L I R S A G M V

B O S E Y R N N R A C E F N O B M O R A B G E E Q

G F S I E T U O Z E N N B O W M T H A G B Z U T U

R T E A U N I I F T T O A A D Q A C H S L M A H A

V H T T N Q A C L G S E U R K N J S T N A B P O A

Y E T A J N A N I C O W P V F H O N A A S Q C D V

AGATHA AGNES ANDREBESSETTE ANGELAMERICI ANNUNCIATION ANSGAR ANTHONY BAPTISMOFTHELORD BASILTHEGREAT BLASE CASIMIR CYRIL CYRILOFJERUSALEM ELIZABETHANNSETON EPIPHANY FABIAN FELICITY FRANCISDESALES GREGORYNAZIANZEN

T L E N Z Q Q R O L Q D O S S N I M K Q E P B I L

N O T E S N N A H T E B A Z I L E T Y Q U K C U X

A R N S H B D T Y H N F E B K G D J A A W I Y S E

N D B K V X L F B U F N A I T S A B E S R Z N I N

C Y R I L O F J E R U S A L E M C M V O E V K A F

Y N O H T N A I N A I L I M E E M O R E J I I G S

E P I P H A N Y I E J S F W H P E S O J M B M I V

A N G E L A M E R I C I J E E I S J Y L A E X B H

P G X G M L G H I L A R Y H X F H O U F J J W Y S

T W L B M L W D R Q S R F N K Z F A W G W K C L Z

HILARY JEROMEEMILIANI JOHNBOSCO JOHNOFGOD JOSEPH JOSEPHINEBAKHITA KATHARINEDREXEL METHODIUS PATRICK PAULMIKI PERPETUA PETERDAMIAN RAYMONDOFPENYAFORT SCHOLASTICA SEBASTIAN THOMASAQUINAS VINCENT 74

I Y C D R X E Z L Y D P D E G N P C M T C W C V N

Saints Calendar January Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan

1, 2014: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 2, 2014: Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bb & Dd 3, 2014: The Most Holy Name of Jesus 4, 2014: Elizabeth Ann Seton 5, 2014: Epiphany of the Lord 6, 2014: Bl. Andre Bessette, Rel 7, 2014: Raymond of Penyafort, P 8, 2014: Wednesday after Epiphany 9, 2014: Thursday after Epiphany 10, 2014: Friday after Epiphany 11, 2014: Saturday after Epiphany 12, 2014: Baptism of the Lord 13, 2014: Hilary, B & D 14, 2014: Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time 15, 2014: Wednesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time 16, 2014: Thursday of the First Week of Ordinary Time 17, 2014: Anthony, Ab 18, 2014: Saturday of the First Week of Ordinary Time 19, 2014: Second Sunday of Ordinary Time 20, 2014: Fabian, Po & M; Sebastian, M 21, 2014: Agnes, V & M 22, 2014: Vincent, De & M 23, 2014: Thursday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time 24, 2014: Francis de Sales, B & D 25, 2014: Conversion of St. Paul, Ap 26, 2014: Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 27, 2014: Angela Merici, V 28, 2014: Thomas Aquinas, P & D 29, 2014: Wednesday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time 30, 2014: Thursday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time 31, 2014: John Bosco, P

February Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014:

Saturday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time Presentation of the Lord Blase, B & M; Ansgar, B Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time Agatha, V & M Paul Miki and companions, Mm (Continued on page 76) 75

Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb

(Continued from page 75) 7, 2014: Friday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time 8, 2014: Jerome Emiliani; Josephine Bakhita, V 9, 2014: Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time 10, 2014: Scholastica, V 11, 2014: Our Lady of Lourdes 12, 2014: Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time 13, 2014: Thursday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time 14, 2014: Cyril, monk, and Methodius, B 15, 2014: Saturday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time 16, 2014: Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 17, 2014: Seven Founders of the Order of Servites 18, 2014: Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time 19, 2014: Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time 20, 2014: Thursday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time 21, 2014: Peter Damian, B & D 22, 2014: Chair of Peter, Ap 23, 2014: Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time 24, 2014: Monday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 25, 2014: Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 26, 2014: Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 27, 2014: Thursday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 28, 2014: Friday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

March Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar

1, 2014: Saturday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time 2, 2014: Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time 3, 2014: Katharine Drexel, V 4, 2014: Casimir 5, 2014: Ash Wednesday 6, 2014: Thursday after Ash Wednesday 7, 2014: Perpetua and Felicity, Mm 8, 2014: John of God, Rel 9, 2014: First Sunday of Lent 10, 2014: Monday of the First Week of Lent 11, 2014: Tuesday of the First Week of Lent 12, 2014: Wednesday of the First Week of Lent 13, 2014: Thursday of the First Week of Lent 14, 2014: Friday of the First Week of Lent 15, 2014: Saturday of the First Week of Lent 16, 2014: Second Sunday of Lent 17, 2014: Patrick, B 18, 2014: Cyril of Jerusalem, B & D 19, 2014: Joseph, Husband of Mary 20, 2014: Thursday of the Second Week of Lent 21, 2014: Friday of the Second Week of Lent 76

Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar

22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31,

2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014: 2014:

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Third Sunday of Lent Monday of the Third Week of Lent Annunciation Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Friday of the Third Week of Lent Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Fourth Sunday of Lent Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

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Lent Crossword Puzzle

Across 5. We celebrate Christ’s __ on Easter Sunday.

9. During Mass, the ___ which give Ash Wednesday it name are distributed; are referred to many times in the Old Testament as a sign of sorrow, mooring, repentance, and mortality.

10. The three holiest days of the Church year are called the __ 11. What is the last week of Lent known as?

Down 1. The great, central feast, of the Church year; Lent prepares us for this great feast.

2. Quarantine is a Latin word meaning ___.

3. Lent comes from an old English word meaning ___ 4. The Latin word for “_____________,” mandatum became the source for another name for Holy Thursday also called Maundy Thursday.

6. The number of week we celebrate Lent.

7. Ashes are made by burning the blessed palms that were distributed the previous year on ___ Sunday.

8. The color of royalty, repentance, and self-discipline, is the traditional color for the Lenten season

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Virgin Mary in Prayer By Quentin Matsys (1466â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1529) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons