Catholic East Texas: May 2016 (Vol. 29, No. 4)

T

E X AS CATHOLIC EAST

THE MAGAZINE OF THE DIOCESE OF TYLER

Why Be

Catholic?

Converts from the Diocese of Tyler tell their stories.

MAY-AUGUST 2016

To read about Bishop Strickland’s Mass for Families with Special Needs and see photos, visit http://cetmag.org/specialneeds16

THE MAGAZINE OF THE DIOCESE OF TYLER

Vol. 29 Issue 4 May - August 2016 Catholic East Texas (USPS 001726) is a publication of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, 1015 ESE Loop 323, Tyler, Texas 75701-9663. Telephone: 903534-1077. Fax: 903-534-1370. E-mail: news@ catholiceasttexas.com. ©2016 Diocese of Tyler.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: CET Subscriptions, 1015 ESE Loop 323, Tyler, TX 75701-9663 Published five times per year. Periodical postage paid at Tyler, Texas, and additional mailing office.

Subscription is $20 per year. News, calendar and advertising deadlines: Aug. 10, Oct. 10, Dec. 10, Feb 10, April 10.

The publisher and editor reserve the right to reject, omit or edit any article or letter submitted for publication. The Diocese of Tyler and/or the Catholic East Texas cannot be held liable or in any way responsible for the content of any advertisement printed herein. All claims, offers, guarantees, statements, etc., made by advertisers are solely the responsibility of the advertiser.

Deceptive or misleading advertising is never knowingly accepted. Complaints regarding advertising should be made directly to the advertiser or the Better Business Bureau.

Publisher Most Rev. Joseph E. Strickland Bishop of Tyler Editor-in-Chief Peyton Low peyton@catholiceasttexas.com Managing Editor Ben Fisher ben@catholiceasttexas.com Assistant Editor Susan De Matteo sue@catholiceasttexas.com Spanish Editor Sr. Angélica Orozco EFMS sistera@dioceseoftyler.org

www.dioceseoftyler.org

This Issue 03 04 08 12 16 20 22 28 30 34 36 40 46 48 50 52 54 56 57 58 60

Bishop Strickland Diocesan News and Calendar Susan De Matteo

Why be Catholic?

Bishop Joseph Strickland

Cracking the Code

Hardy Brunette discovers Catholic authority

Going Full Catholic

Deandra Lieberman’s conversion from Judaism

Understanding Judaism in the Gospels Religion and politics in 1st century Israel

I’m Here for Them

TK Gorman gets a full-time chaplain - by Susan De Matteo

Plot Twist

The unexpected conversion of the Wall family

Tenacity

The journeys of PaulAnthony and Cynthia Ukhun

Books you give away Father Matthew Stehling

Are you Saved?

Interview with Father Nolan Lowry

Be Prepared Dr. Allison Low

Curiosity made me Catholic

Jeremy Brandt discovers Catholicism on the internet

Monseñor Strickland La Familia: Fuente de vida y de Fe Hna. Angelica Orozco

Maria: El primer sagrario P. Luis E. Larrea MFE

La Bienaventurada Virgen María Rev. John-Mary S. W. Bowlin, KCHS, etc.

María, la Segunda Eva Seminarista Juan González

Maria: Refugio de los pecadores Mariela González

La Virgen María en mi vida Hna. Angelica Orozco

Must we be Catholic?

Peyton Low

All registered parishioners in the Diocese of Tyler receive the Catholic East Texas magazine for free. If you are a member of a parish or mission in the Diocese and you are not receiving your free subscription to the magazine, please contact your parish/ mission or complete this form so that we may add you to our mailing list: http://cetmag.org/cetsubscribe 1

Photos on these pages are from the Easter Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

For more photos from diocesan events, go to:

www.dioceseoftylerphotos.com

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Bishop Strickland

Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler

In recent weeks I have read several articles dealing with the issue of being judgmental in today’s society. It seems that the whole concept has become a four letter word, and I believe that in a rather whimsical way this gets to the heart of the matter. Judgmental is literally not a four letter word, it is actually a ten letter word and these extra letters remind us that everything cannot be reduced to sweeping generalizations as is the tendency today. The human journey is ultimately quite complex, beautifully complex, and if we are to fulfill our destiny sorting through those complexities is essential.

In order to truly be human it is necessary that we make judgments on a daily basis, actually constantly throughout each day of our lives. God has created us in His image and one of the most basic ways in which this is manifest is in our ability to make judgements. The human person is alone in creation as the only species that truly has the capacity to choose the good. Many animals have amazing abilities built on their instincts, but none of them can truly make a judgment in the manner of a human person. When we abdicate our capacity to make judgments, in reality we abdicate that which makes us human.

At the root of our modern proclamation that we must avoid being judgmental at all costs is the choice to ignore these basic realities of our humanity. It seems certain that those who tend to label any moral choice as being judgmental have not stopped to reflect more deeply on what they are really saying.

I do not believe that they intend to shun the basic human faculty of making choices.

More properly they seem to be acknowledging that we of course make choices but at the same time they advocate a world where there is no right or wrong choice. This stance ultimately negates a moral code and leaves us with a world where all choices are of equal value. If all choices are of equal value, is there any real basis for making choices at all?

Certainly the negative connotation which being judgmental can have is a real aspect of our human reality which should be avoided, but the popular generalization that all judgment is bad must be avoided as well. In the context of this issue of the CET regarding matters of conversion and faith it is truly impossible to even contemplate sig-

nificant changes in the direction of our lives if we never make judgements regarding the world we encounter. The idea that all judgement is bad is truly nonsensical if one begins to reflect more deeply on the connotations of such a stance. In order to live as those created in the image of God one of the basic elements of our lives is that we make judgments regarding our surroundings.

One of the fundamental elements of today’s demand that we should be non-judgmental in all things is the idea that there is no right or wrong, good or bad, true or false in any aspect of our lives. If we take this to its logical conclusions the whole construct begins to collapse. Rather than giving in to the concept that making a judgment must

necessarily equate with being intolerant, we as Christians are called to make judgments about our lives in light of the truth that God has revealed to us. At the root of this is the belief that goodness, beauty and truth are real and that we who are created in God’s image are charged with the life long quest of seeking these eternal truths. In this context to be judgmental is ultimately to be discerning about our own lives and the lives of others. It is a profound act of love to be willing to speak the truth and guide another person to their ultimate destiny. May we embrace this very human challenge with great strength and remind the world that judging is really an essential element of loving each other.q

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Diocesan News

By Susan De Matteo

and Calendar of Events Sue@CatholicEastTexas.com

Diocese Bishop Joseph E. Strickland will ordain Deacon Jonathon Frels to the priesthood June 11 at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The entire diocese is invited to this day of prayer and celebration.

Deacon Frels, 42, is a native of Corpus Christi and a son of Dan and Susan Frels, both deceased. He has a younger brother, Matthew.

He has a bachelor of science in chemistry from Southwest Texas State University and a PhD in chemistry from Texas A&M. He is a seminarian at Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Boston, Mass.

Deacon Frels has lived in East Texas since 2002, when he moved to Longview to work at Eastman Chemical Company there.

He has been serving at the cathedral.

The Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference, sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Youth Evangelization, is July 8-10 on the Bishop Gorman Catholic Schools campus in Tyler. The event is for youth in grades 9-12, and will feature talks and performances by Father Joseph Espaillet II, director of youth ministry for the Archdiocese of New York; Andrea Vasquez, youth and young adult coordinator for the Diocese of Fresno, Calif.; musician Dave Moore; and Alex Gotay, a youth minister, speaker, and hiphop artist from Houston. Cost is $100 per person, and includes meals, hotel, and shirt. Register through parish youth groups. For information, contact Mark Knox, 903-266-2143, or email mknox@dioceseoftyler.org.

The diocesan Office of Faith Formation has scheduled a number of formation events for parish catechists.

A formation day for parish Christian Initiation teams will be June 25, 10 a.m.3 p.m., in St. Paul’s Meeting Room in the chancery in Tyler. Topics include year-round inquiring, identifying mentors, thresholds of faith, and expanding the Christian Initiation process. Clergy and laity from the diocese will present the sessions. Cost is $10 for advance registration and $15 at the door.

An in-service day for faith formation leaders will be Aug. 6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Cathedral Center. This training day is required for all parish faith formation leaders.

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Tap June 24. The July topic will be “Courage,” with an Encounter July 7 and Theology on Tap July 22. The August topic has not yet been set, but the Encounter is Aug. 11, and Theology on Tap is Aug. 25. For more information about the ministry, contact DOTYAMS at dotyams@gmail.com, text to 84576. The group is on all social media as @dotyams and on Facebook as Diocese of Tyler Young Adults.

Support Catholic Charities East Texas through Amazon.com. When ordering from Amazon, go to Smile.amazon.com and choose Catholic Charities, Diocese of Tyler, as the recipient of the donation from the purchase.

Deacon Jonathon Frels A Diocesan Christian Initiation Team meeting will be Sept. 7.

To register for any of the events or for more information, contact the diocesan Office for Faith Formation, lporter@dioceseoftyler.org or tramirez@dioceseoftyler. org, or call 903-266-2146.

The Daughters of Divine Hope will offer an 11:30 a.m. Mass May 9 for clergy celebrating birthdays or ordination anniversaries this month, and for deceased clergy.

The Mass will be celebrated in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, with lunch following in the Cathedral Center. Future Masses will be June 13, July 11, Aug. 8, Sept.

12, Oct. 10, Nov. 14, and Dec. 12, all at 11:30 a.m.

The diocesan Office for Marriage and Family Life has scheduled marriage preparation weekends for Sept. 23-25 and Nov. 5-6 (Spanish). Marriage preparation days are June 11 and Aug. 6 (Spanish), at the chancery. For information or to register, contact the office at 903-534-1077, ext. 165, or email mbesze@dioceseoftyler.org.

The diocesan Young Adult Ministry is hosting several events over the next several months. They incude an Encounter May 6 and a Theology on Tap May 20, on the topic of “Mary.” In June, the topic is “Mercy,” with an Encounter June 9 and Theology on

To speak with a priest about a possible vocation, call Father Justin Braun at the chancery, 903-534-1077, ext. 171, or email fatherbraun@gmail.com. To speak with a nun, contact Sister Angelica Orozco, EFMS, at the chancery, 903-534-1077, ext. 145, or email sistera@dioceseoftyler.org.

Catholic counseling services are now available in the Diocese of Tyler. Simone Key, MA, LPC-I, is on staff at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to provide faith-based family, marriage, individual and group counseling. Initial phone consultations are free, and services are provided on a sliding fee scale. For information, call 214640-0651.

The Maria Goretti Network is a peer ministry group for survivors of abuse and their families. The East Texas Chapter of the Maria Goretti Network meets the third Saturday of every month in the Cathedral Office meeting room (not the Cathedral Center) at 7 p.m. For information, contact Peggy Hammett, 903-592-1617, ext. 19, or email phammett@thecathedral.info. .

Families Anonymous, a support group for those affected by a loved one’s addiction, alcoholism or other destructive behaviors, meets the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Frankston. The group is the only FA chapter in East Texas, and is open to anyone who has known the despair

More news is available at www.dioceseoftyler.org/news

of a loved one’s addiction. Meetings follow the 12-step model, and the anonymity of members is paramount. For information, contact Rick at 817-994-8248 or Kathy at 817-319-9843.

Athens St. Edward Church. Ethics Training classes basic and recertification will be May 21. Basic training will be at 9 a.m., and recertification will be at noon. Anyone 18 years and older interacting with our children must have Ethic and Integrity certification. Both classes will be in English. Please call Nancy Pitts, 903-681-3040, for more information.

Youth Night is every Tuesday evening in the parish hall, starting with Mass at 6 p.m. To set up text alert reminders, text @ youth2121 to 81010.

Knights of Columbus meetings are the second Monday of each month beginning with Mass at 6 p.m. All men of the parish over the age of 18 are invited to join.

Emory

Gun Barrel City

St. John the Evangelist Church. Saturday “Mourning” Coffee is a peer support group for those mourning the loss of a loved one. It is a place to talk about loss and learn to find peace amongst the pain, laughter amongst the tears, and life despite the loss.

The group meets the second Saturday of each month, 10-11:30 a.m., in the parish Blue Room. For more information, contact Maggie Conder, 972-679-9330, mmconder@gmail.com.

St. Jude Church. Blessed Mother Teresa Ministry parish breakfasts are July 3, Sept.

4, and Nov. 6. The group meets every second Monday of the month in the parish hall.

Knights of Columbus breakfasts are June 5, Aug. 7, and Oct. 2.

Blessed Mother Teresa Ministry and the Gabriel Project need your support. Please volunteer your time or give a monetary donation to help needy mothers, babies, and the hungry.

The Cenacle Prayer Group meets in the chapel after 8 a.m. Mass every Tuesday. All are welcome to join the group and pray.

Frankston St. Charles Borromeo Church. The SCB Food Pantry is open each second Thursday, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Volunteer your time or donate to help feed the hungry in our area. Contact Mary Ann Cluley, 903876-3309, for information.

Holly Lake Holy Spirit Church. The parish picnic will be May 15. Please watch the bulletin for more information.

Lindale

Lumberjacks for Life, the pro-life student group at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, spent April 16 raising funds for Heart Beat Pregnancy Center in Nacogdoches. Events included a 5K run, games and activities, and, pictured at left, a dunking booth with Father Denzil Vithanage, St. Mary Catholic Campus Center chaplain, as the target.

Photo courtesy of Father Denzil Vithanage

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Diocesan News

and Calendar of Events

By Susan De Matteo

By Susan De Matteo

Holy Family Church. The St. Aloysius Gonzaga Youth Group meets every Friday, 6-8 p.m. in the parish hall. Young people ages 12-21 are welcome.

Longview St. Mary Church. The church will recognize graduating seniors at all Masses the weekend of May 14-15. Please bring a photo of your senior along with a short biography, including plans after graduation, to Susan Wells, Lea Kottwitz, or the church office prior to that weekend.

Father Kusmirek will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land Sept. 19-30. Reservations are being taken now. Walk where Jesus walked, and pass through the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica during this Year of Mercy. For information, call 903-757-5893, ext. 303.

St. Matthew Church. Enrollment for Vacation Bible School is open. Cost is $10 per child, and includes a t-shirt. VBS will be June 13-17.

Enrollment for 2016-2017 faith formation classes is open. Cost is $10 per child before the end of May, $20 per child June-August, and $30 per child after August.

Msgr. Pappu will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land Nov. 7-17. Cost is $3,000 per person. For information, call 844-400-9559 or email info@nativitypilgrimage.com. The website is at www.nativitypilgrimage.com.

Lufkin The Dominican Laity of Lufkin invites parishioners from both parishes to join them in praying the Liturgy of the Hours (Vespers) each Wednesday and Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Saint Andrew’s Chapel. In

Father Basil Hoan, retired pastor, dies

CARTHAGE, MO. – Mass of studies.

Christian Burial was celebrated April As did so many of his countrymen, 29 at the monastery of the Congrega- he fled Vietnam in a boat into the South tion of the Mother, Co-Redemptrix, in China Sea. He entered the United States Carthage, Mo., for Father through Wake Island, and endBasil Hoan, a retired priest ed up in a refugee camp in Fort of the Diocese of Tyler who Smith, Ark. Bishop Bernard Law had served the parishes in of Springfield, Mo., invited him Center, Hemphill, and San and the other priests and brothAugustine. ers in the camp to begin serving Father Basil died April in that diocese.

24. He was 81.

He spent one more year in sem Bishop Joseph E. Strick- Father Basil Hoan inary, and was ordained a priest of land celebrated a memorial Mass Mon- the Diocese of Springfield in 1977. He day, May 2, at 7 p.m. at St. Pius I Church served parishes in Missouri and Wisin Hemphill. consin before moving to the Diocese of Father Basil was born in Thai Binh, Beaumont in 1980. He incardinated into or Peace, Vietnam, Dec. 25, 1934, the that diocese in 1985. seventh of eight children. His family was He was assigned to St. Therese in one of two in the village to convert to Center, St. Pius I in Hemphill and St. Catholicism.

Augustine in San Augustine in 1986, and He entered Myduc Seminary for the became a priest of the Diocese of Tyler Congregation of the Mother, Co-Re- upon its creation. demtrix in 1945, and became a brother Father Hoan served those churches of that community in 1950. He was as- until his retirement in November, 2005. signed to a parish in North Vietnam, but He moved to the monastery of the Confled to the south when the communists gregation of the Mother, Co-Redemptook over in 1954. He entered his com- trix in 2015. munity’s seminary in Thu Duc in 1970 His favorite pastimes were gardening to study for the priesthood. South Viet- and cooking. He became a U.S. citizen in nam collapsed just as he was finishing his 1981. q 6

Sue@CatholicEastTexas.com Sue@CatholicEastTexas.com

so doing we honor God’s command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:1).

St. Andrew Church. Godparents and parents who wish to have their children baptized must attend a baptism preparation class scheduled every second and third Friday of the month at 7 p.m. in Spanish. English classes are by appointment. All baptisms are held the third Saturday of the month at 11 a.m. Please contact the parish office 2-3 months prior to register. Please bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

St. Patrick Church. Couples who wish to have their civil or common law marriages validated by the Church and receive the Sacrament of Marriage are invited to call the church office at 936-634-6833 and make an appointment with Father Gavin or Father Raymundo to begin the process.

Malakoff Mary Queen of Heaven Church.

MQH Youth Group has joined with St. Edward’s in Athens. This combined youth group will meet on Tuesdays at St. Edward Church, 6-8 p.m. For further information contact our youth leaders, Chad & Jessica Bentley, mqhstedsyouth@gmail.com.

You can also text 81010 and put @youth2121 to receive announcements and updates from our youth group.

Mount Pleasant St. Michael Church. St. Michael’s annual Spring Carnival will be May 26-29 at the Fair Grounds in Mount Pleasant. Join the fun Memorial Day Weekend, Thursday, 5-9 p.m., Friday, 5-11 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Sunday, noon-10 p.m., for food booths, rides, games, music, and more.

Nacogdoches St. Mary Chapel, Stephen F. Austin State University. St. Mary’s is hosting its first annual Appreciation Picnic for all involved in campus ministry and their families May 8 after the 11 a.m. Mass..

Tyler St. Gregory Cathedral School. St. Gregory is offering a new three-day and

More news is available at www.dioceseoftyler.org/news five-day program for three- and four-yearolds this fall. Students must be three years old by Sept. 1 to enroll. For information, contact the school at 903-595-4109.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Parents who wish to have their children baptized and raise them in the Catholic faith are invited to the baptism classes on May 9 and 16, July 11 and 18, September 12 and 19, and November 14 and 21, 6:308:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Center. Expectant parents also are invited. For information, call 903-592-1617, ext. 30, or email edietel@ thecathedral.info.

Registration for Vacation Bible School is open until May 13. Forms are available online, thecathedral.info, and in the cathedral foyer. VBS will be June 6-10 in the Cathedral Center, and will have the theme Cave Quest: Following Jesus, the Light of the World.

Feed my sheep – The Holy Spirit Catholic Church Knights of Columbus Council 15174 donated 582 hours in 2015 working at the East Texas Food Bank packaging meals to be delivered to area food banks. Approximately 18 people volunteer three hours each month.

The group includes Grand Knight Gary Laudt, Chaplain Father Mike Snider, several Knights, and their wives. Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn

Father McLaughlin named Director of Diaconate Formation Bishop Joseph E. Strickland has appointed Father Anthony McThose not planning to be ordained priests are called permanent Laughlin, JCD, VG, to serve as Director of Diaconate Formation for deacons. Married men may be ordained permanent deacons, and the Diocese of Tyler. single men may be ordained with a commitment Father McLaughlin will coordinate both the to celibacy. formation process for candidates for the permanent There are approximately 15,000 permanent deadiaconate, as well as ongoing formation for those alcons in active ministry in the United States, inready ordained deacons in the diocese. cluding 87 in the Diocese of Tyler.

“The initial and ongoing formation of our dea “Since the restoration and renewal of the permacons is a high priority for me as bishop. Because of nent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council, we his singular academic work on the subject of the have come to understand that deacons are a unique permanent diaconate as well as his extraordinary expression of ordained ministry called to ‘pour out abilities as a teacher of the faith, I have appointed their own lives in service to others,’” Father McFather McLaughlin to oversee this area,” Bishop Laughlin said. “Bishop Strickland has great pasStrickland said. toral solicitude for our permanent deacons and is Father McLaughlin, who serves as a vicar genstrongly committed to providing them with the eral of the Diocese of Tyler and pastor of Mary, support and formation they need to continue to Queen of Heaven Parish in Malakoff, was ordained effectively serve the people of the diocese.”

Father McLaughlin in 1997. He holds a doctorate in Canon Law from Deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach the Catholic University of America, where his doctoral dissertation in the name of the Church. They baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, was on the subject of the canonical obligation to continence for marwitness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. Deacons ried deacons. are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the “Our permanent deacons play a significant role in the life of the Church’s resources to meet those needs.

Church in the Diocese of Tyler. By virtue of their sacramental ordi Deacon Fred Arrambidez will continue to serve as Director of nation and through their various ministries, they are to be servants Permanent Deacons in the diocese. in a servant-Church,” said Bishop Strickland. “Their formation as “On behalf of the permanent deacons of the diocese, I look forordained clergy is essential because deacons help the Church link ward to working with Father McLaughlin,” Deacon Arrambidez the two greatest commandments of Christ: ‘You shall love the Lord said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the ministry your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your of our dedicated body of deacons in the Diocese of Tyler, and his mind,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” academic background will certainly provide guidance for the for Deacons preparing for the priesthood are transitional deacons. mation process of candidates to the diaconate in the future.”

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Why BE Catholic?

Christian anthropolgy - the

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When I consider the question, “Why be Catholic?” I know that most people expect an answer involving a specific Bible verse or a specific logical principle, but in reality the answer is so much bigger. Catholicism built the good parts of the culture we live in, and Catholicism continues to try to fix the bad parts, and to be Catholic is to be on the side of goodness and mercy in the world.

We live at a time when many claim to have no belief in God. If we take this atheistic worldview to its logical conclusion, then the human person has no ultimate destiny and is merely an intriguing cosmic accident. I do not believe that there are many true atheists even in today’s secularized world. Although many claim to be atheists and seem to wear this as a proud badge of independence from any system of belief, I simply can’t believe that many human beings have taken their atheism to its logical conclusion. It is simply

28 In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behaviour: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth.

These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being.

-The Catechism of the Catholic Church not natural for human beings to reject the supernatural. Ancient nature religions testify to the innate sense of the supernatural that seems to be embedded in the human psyche. This common thread runs through every human culture, and it seems to testify

clearly that even if God had never chosen to reveal Himself, human beings would still be seeking Him, even if blindly.

It is popular, in this current age, to blame many of the world’s problems on the Church and on religion in general. We’ve all seen bumper stickers that say that religion is the cause of all wars, and we know that on campuses around the world, it’s taken for granted that the Catholic Church is a stumbling block to human progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Catholic Church brought a radical new conception of humanity into the world, one which gave birth to human rights, universal education, and the conception of morality which everyone today uses without thinking about it.

Indeed, those who most proudly proclaim their atheism are often genuinely concerned about the state of their fellow man and try to reason and act according to the

Illustration - “the Last Judgement”, sistine chapel at the vatican, Michaelangelo 1541

catholic conception of mankind by bishop joseph strickland shared morality which we all inherit from the Catholic Church. They don’t realize it, but they are speaking the Catholic language of human dignity.

The world the Church was born into was a brutal and unmerciful place. The Roman emperors and their legions regularly killed thousands of people to show force and keep the Roman peace, the Pax Romana. At the fringes of the empire, warlord chieftains presided over violent societies. Everywhere, kings and rulers were declared to be gods whose word was absolute law, and might made right. Infanticide and torture and slavery were just facts of life.

In ancient religion, while man universally believed in and sought the divine through the expression of many religions, the gods they worshipped were typically unconcerned about humans or the human condition. The ancient pagan gods were of-

ten portrayed as narcissistic, concerned with their own conquests and jealousies, and were not usually interested in teaching mankind morality.

Into this world came the humblest group of people, a dozen Jews who were not royalty or warlords, not scholars or philosophers. They had a radical message: God has become man, and died for everyone’s sins, and thus every single human being has a destiny with God.

22 The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.

-Gaudium et Spes, Second Vatican Council 1965

This understanding of humanity, this Christian anthropology, has created the world around us. It is the only true and complete understanding of mankind, and it is the key to the eternal happiness of every single person.

1. Christian Anthropology: A new conception of mankind

The very early Church, the Apostles and the followers of Christ who knew that He is risen, immediately began to act differently than the people around them. As just one example, historians inform us of the poor treatment of children in the ancient world, from outright child-sacrifice by many cultures to Roman and Greek practices of drowning unwanted children, or selling them into slavery, or exposure – placing unwanted children outside of the city walls 9

at night to be killed by animals or weather.

Strabo, a Greek author who lived at the time of Christ, wrote about the peculiar practice of the Egyptians who did not kill any of their children. It was literally “something to write home about” in the ancient world. These ancient pagans did not recognize value in the life of children who were not useful. The value of human life for them was not intrinsic, but was based upon usefulness. The Church, by contrast, knew from its beginning that the value of a human being comes from God.

martyred soon after, and his act of holy defiance speaks to us of the real difference between the early Christians and the societies they lived within. Lawrence knew that every sick and disabled person, dismissed by Roman society as useless, had an eternal destiny with God; a value and dignity which nothing on Earth could take away.

1700 The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God. -The Catechism of the Catholic Church The Church immediately began to teach this new anthropology, its understanding of the nature of humanity, which was in opposition to almost the entire world. In the Didache, a training manual for converts written in the first century, the Church teaches “thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide.” The Roman world didn’t pay much attention, since Christianity was a disrespected and sometimes outlawed religion.

The Church acted to save infants when possible, and in some places, it was the special mission of deacons to rescue children exposed to the elements, and deliver them to Christian families for care. These children are sometimes referenced as “orphans” in early Christian writing.

Widows, orphans, the sick and disabled, these were the people who had no “value” in much of the ancient world. From its first days, the Church held a new understanding of human beings: all people have dignity and value given to them by God which cannot be taken away. Because of this understanding, the Church cared for the outcasts as important people, beloved of God. Pure, unspoiled religion in the eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows in their hardships,

-James 1:27 This principle is beautifully demonstrated by St. Lawrence, Archdeacon of Rome in the year 258 AD. Ordered by the persecuting emperor Valerian to hand over all of the “treasure of the Church,” Lawrence brought the poor, the sick, the blind and the lame to the emperor and said, “Here are the treasures of the Church.” St. Lawrence was 10

2. Catholic Morality: Our Anthropology in Action

Since Pentecost, the Catholic Church has had this mission, to boldly proclaim the real nature of mankind, and the Church has never ceased doing it. We continue this mission in our charitable works and social activities all over the world. Anywhere people are not valued for their intrinsic, God-given dignity, the Church is there, to care for those cast aside by the world.

The most basic principle of the Christian moral life is the awareness that every person bears the dignity of being made in the image of God. –United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Morality: the Faith Lived 2004

Societies of the ancient world, using a conception of man based only in the present, often did not understand the moral teachings of the Church. Christians, recognizing their eternal destiny, made choices oriented toward eternal happiness with God. The ancient world marveled at the joy of Christian martyrs led to their death, and could not understand.

Modern Catholic moral teaching maintains the very same understanding, and its principles reflect the application

of our Christian anthropology. Catholics, when faced with difficult moral decisions, are called to consider the eternal destiny of everyone involved, and not to reason merely from the present, earthly situation.

This makes many of our moral teachings unpopular in the world today. We desire that everyone make choices that will bring them to eternal happiness with God and the fulfillment of their destiny, even if it means their life on Earth is more challenging. So many issues come to mind such as abortion, contraception, marriage and divorce, and many others. In each of these cases, the world demands that the Church get on the side of people’s immediate happiness. Instead, the Church is always on the side of humanity’s eternal happiness.

The secret of the Catholic moral life, however, is that it is not merely the postponement of happiness until the afterlife.

No, because it is rooted in a genuine anthropology, a true understanding of humanity, it often brings a special kind of happiness to our earthly lives as well. Our eternal happiness can begin here and now, if we orient ourselves to this particular kind of life.

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord?

Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.

-St. Augustine, Confessions, 400 AD What our Christian anthropology tells us is that we are made for our eternal destiny with God; it is what is natural for us. In doing what we are made for, we can experience real joy, even in hardship and suffering, and it is a kind of joy that comes from no other source.

This is the relationship God offers each person: surrender yourself to Me, the One who knows you best, and I will show you true happiness that surpasses anything the world can offer. One cannot help but be reminded of Christ being tempted by Satan, who showed him all the riches and pleasures of the world, and see that in fact this is exactly how we are all tempted as well. The only right choice is the one rooted in our nature, which points us to our eternal destiny.

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.

-St. Augustine, Confessions, 400 AD

3. Catholic Culture: Contemplation of Our Eternal Destiny And so this idea, that mankind has an eternal destiny which is all-important, has shaped the world around the Church. The Church, which at first rescued exposed infants by dark of night and took food to the hungry in secret, eventually came to be the conscience of the entire western world, and built the culture we live in.

Medicine, as a separate practice from religion, began in the Catholic Church.

Hospitals began to be built in Europe and the Middle East after the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, and by the turn of the first millennium there were hospitals attached to most churches and monasteries. This Catholic dedication to the sick and suffering has never wavered, and today the Catholic Church remains the largest non-government provider of health care in the world, with around 40,000 separate facilities dedicated to health, including hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. It was the Catholic Church which invented the concept of medical care as a natural right for all people, specifically because of our belief that all people possess the same God-given dignity.

The Church invented the concept of education for all people, where previously education had been a matter of status for wealthy elites. Monasteries through Christendom became centers of learning, and in particular Ireland became known as the “Island of Saints and Scholars,” thanks to the educational efforts of monks there. Church councils in the Middle Ages decreed the existence of Cathedral schools and ordered the appointment of teachers for children who could not afford typical tuition. This was the beginning of what would become our modern concept of universal education. Modern government school systems are patterned after the Catholic educational system, and despite challenges brought in the last few centuries, the Catholic Church continues to operate the largest non-government school system in the world. The need to teach every child, everywhere, comes from our Catholic anthropology which tells us that every single child on earth is equal in dignity and destiny.

There are so many more examples in Catholic culture. Our art and music form a beautiful, universal meditation on our destiny and the incarnation of Christ by which we understand it. The concept of legal rights was born within the Church as a logical consequence of our conception of humanity.

International law had its beginnings in the brave protests of Friar Antonio de Montesinos, Father Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de las Casas against poor treatment of native Americans by Spanish conquistadors.

It is only Christian anthropology which drove Catholics to see conquered peoples as humans equal in dignity to themselves. This was a radical shift in outlook, brought about

by Catholic meditation on the destiny of all mankind.

lic Church is in some way a barrier to human progress. Let us all work together to help the world remember how these things came to be, and to help humanity see itself as it truly is: One human family, with a God-given dignity and an eternal destiny.

1702 The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons.

-The Catechism of the Catholic Church And so, my answer to the question “Why be Catholic?” is: The Catholic Church best understands mankind, and can best show mankind the way to reach our destiny with God. q

In sum, the societal structures and moral conventions we have today which are good - our nearly universal respect for human rights, our condemnation of oppression and genocide, our willingness to defend the innocent against the unjust - and which so many people take for granted as “the way things ought to be,” was a hard-fought development in human culture brought about by the Catholic Church’s patient application of the fundamental truth of mankind over centuries. These developments did not come quickly or easily, but thanks to the Church they did come.

The Church which sent its first deacons out by night to rescue innocent children from a cold and merciless world has matured by the grace of God into the conscience of the entire planet. We are everywhere, caring for the sick and hungry, the oppressed and marginalized, the same as we have always done. We believe in human education and progress, in the arts and sciences, and in the equality of all people in their dignity. We do all of these things because we hold the true Christian anthropology, the only way to truly understand humanity.

We live in a world which often does not remember where these good things have come from, and too often thinks the Catho-

11

CRACKING THE

CODE

Local musician Hardy Brunette explains how he came to understand the issue of authority and the Catholic Church.

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I was raised as a pretty strict Calvinist Presbyterian, so I grew up in organized religion. I was really surrounded by Luther and Calvin as a youth, even if I didn’t really understand every point of Protestant theology. We went to church and Sunday school every week, and we were taught to quote the Bible. I didn’t know anything about Catholicism, but I was pretty sure that Catholics were wrong, and I believed all the typical myths about Catholics.

I really considered Catholicism to be something like voodoo.

I went to school at Texas State, or Southwest Texas as it was known then, and obtained a degree in history. I was teaching history, and by then I saw the Catholic Church strictly as history.

I knew that the Catholic Church had a huge influence on the history of the world, as any decent historian would, but that’s all it was for me. Also, being in academia bred a lot of skepticism in me, and I fell out of touch even with Protestant theology and became an agnostic. It seemed to me that Christianity was selfdefeating, with no way to establish the truth, and the fact that there were thousands of different denominations and opinions and interpretations of Scripture in the religion made it silly and impossible. I wasn’t able to put two and two together, and see what Catholicism meant to this issue, not yet. I knew all the dates and places in the history of Catholicism, but I didn’t know what they meant.

I saw the Catholic Church strictly as history.

Over the next ten years, I began a teaching career, played music professionally, met and married my wife Yvette, and eventually we settled in Nacogdoches. My wife is a cradle Catholic. She asked me how I expected a child to be raised in our household, and told me she intended to raise our child as a Catholic. Well, I didn’t really care. Raising our child Catholic was fine with me; I wasn’t buying into any denomination. By this time, I had regained a basic belief in God, but I was skeptical about anything claiming to be “the truth.”

I agreed to go to RCIA, not to become Catholic, but just to understand my wife’s religion, and I met Monsignor Jim Young.

I immediately saw Monsignor Young as my opponent. I didn’t believe much from my Protestant training, but I wanted to win an argument against this priest. I figured I knew so much Protestant theology that I could defeat him and humble him. I couldn’t wait to get to RCIA class every week. I intended to convert this priest to Protestantism!

Every week I would bring in my best objections to Catholicism and Monsignor would smile and laugh, and charitably destroy them. He was kind and respectful, but he knew the answer and the Scripture citation to every crazy question and objection I had. This caused me to go and research and read the Bible and try to prove him wrong…but I couldn’t. Debating with him made me pore over the Scriptures day and night, thinking about aspects of religion I never had before. This went on for a year.

We debated everything. We debated what the Bible said about everything. He showed me verses I had never seen or never noticed that explained Catholic principles. He used a light touch, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He left me wanting to go and do more research. He knew how to use my rebellion and pride to spur me to really question what I knew about the Church. I tried so many times to beat Monsignor Young and the

Catholic Church, but I never could.

I was also going to Mass, and being in Mass is a perfect opportunity to contemplate the Catholic Church. I remember being in Mass and thinking for the first time, “Catholics might be right.” I knew that I couldn’t really believe that Protestantism was the way, because I couldn’t accept that all Christianity was built on was opinions that caused all of these divisions. I knew that God was not a source of confusion. For the first time, I realized clearly that what was bothering me was the issue of authority.

What I was recognizing was something that people had been realizing during the entire history of the Church: in order for Christians to be One, to be united in the truth, God had to provide a sure source of that truth. I already knew that the Bible itself could not be that authoritative source, because my experience as a Protestant showed me that any person could claim their own unique interpretation of it. I was searching for the logical cornerstone of Christian Truth.

I was searching for the logical cornerstone of Christian truth.

I came to Monsignor Young and I told him that I realized that all of the objections I had made, all of the issues I had raised, all of them rested on the issue of authority. If Christ had founded a Church and given it the authority to speak the truth and settle disputes, then all of these objections disappeared. He said, “That’s it!

You have it. You’ve cracked the code!”

I had been in possession of this knowledge for a long time; I just hadn’t realized it. I had studied the Catholic Church as a secular historian, but I had never understood the significance of the Church meeting in council to settle disputes, or of the Popes teaching the Church on matters of faith and morals. I realized that I already knew

Hardy onstage at Luckenbach with his band, Texas Rebellion.

13

that nowhere in the Bible does it teach that the Bible is the only rule for Christians, and I already knew that in the Gospel, Jesus calls Peter the “rock on which I will build my Church.” Everything, a whole lifetime of little facts about Christianity, suddenly made sense.

As Monsignor Young explained, authority was part of Christianity from the very beginning, because Jesus founded it that way.

The authority He possessed, He clearly gave to the Apostles, who ruled the Church before there ever was any New Testament scripture. They ordained the bishops of the Church, and it was only by the authority given to them that the Bible was assembled, much later.

What I came to understand is that really, everything hinges on one question: Did Jesus Christ found a Church? If Jesus founded a Church, then this is the organization He promised to be with until the end of time, and that He promised would be guided by the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what I found in the gospels and the epistles, the Church founded by Christ, doing its thing long before the Bible even existed. The Church always operated by the authority Jesus gave it.

What I came to understand is that really, everything hinges on one question: Did Jesus Christ found a Church?

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So, I became Catholic in 1997. It’s the best decision I ever made, although it hasn’t been easy. Becoming Catholic allows me to see my entire life in sharp focus. It’s like unlocking a door, and I can see my life from the standpoint of my conscience. I look back on all of these years and I see that God was calling to me for a long, long time. I can see all of the opportunities I had to begin to live a holier life, but I always had an excuse to say no. Now, as a Catholic, I have all of the teaching of the Catholic Church to inform my conscience and teach me God’s will.

Of course, becoming Catholic, I had to make that first confession. Monsignor Young helped me through it. Like everyone making a first confession, you’re afraid that the priest is going to be scandalized and that your sins are the worst ever. Later you realize that priests have heard it all and sin is extremely boring. It took a while. I had to confess a whole lifetime worth of sins, sins from my youth, from college, from my career in music…everything. Monsignor helped me, he was patient with me, and he let me get it all out.

Now, I go to confession regularly and it’s wonderful.

Along the way, we have moved to Tyler and we go to Mass at the Cathedral. I felt a desire to learn to serve the Mass, and now I serve Mass every morning. Before I was Catholic, I felt like my life just wasn’t complete, but now I start every day at the altar, serving, and life just makes sense.

The issue of authority is an important one in Christianity.

It took me a long time to understand that Christ had founded a Church, but now I understand that He did so out of love for us. I am so very happy to be a part of it.q Hardy Brunette is the lead guitarist for Texas Rebellion. You can find their tour schedule, videos, music and much more at their website, www.texasrebellion.com. Hardy and his family are parishoners of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler.

eavenl y In H

Gold

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6

Going Full Catholic

Deandra Lieberman converted from Judaism to Catholicism, and now is studying to become a Catholic Scripture scholar. We asked her about growing up Jewish in East Texas, the difference between Orthodox and Reformed Judaism, what it means to keep kosher, and the relationship between Judaism and Catholicism...

What is Judaism? What does it mean to be a Jew? Being Jewish is both an ethnicity and a religion. A person can be descended from Jewish people, but not necessarily practice the Jewish religion. Judaism, the religion, began in the Middle East around 3500 years ago. Traditionally, the first Jew was Abraham, who received a promise from God that his descendants would receive a promised land and be God’s people.

Tell us about growing up.

I was raised in Reformed Judaism here in Tyler, as opposed to Orthodox Judaism. Obviously, Jewish people are a small minority in East Texas, and my family is from New York, so we had a lot of differences from our friends and neighbors. We weren’t strict in our practice of Judaism, we were more “Hanukkah and Passover” Jews.

Because there aren’t very many Jewish kids in Tyler, it’s hard to have Jewish activities, so I went to Alabama for Jewish Summer camp.

What are “Reformed” and “Orthodox” Judaism?

Basically, Orthodox Judaism is the branch of the religion which attempts to follow all 613 laws given by Moses. You can often recognize Orthodox Jewish people by their appearance. The men will usually wear black and have beards, and the women will keep their heads covered or wear wigs. They keep kosher and are very restrictive in their activities on Shabbat, the Sabbath, which lasts from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Reformed Judaism blends in to society more. Reformed Jews stress personal observance of the laws much less, and typically don’t dress in a particularly Jewish way.

What does it mean to keep kosher?

It means to keep the traditional Jewish laws concerning food.

The most well-known of these is not to eat pork, but there are many others. My grandmother told me about the first time she ate bacon and waited for God to smite her, and was surprised when He didn’t.

Some Orthodox families go to great lengths to keep kosher. Because it is forbidden for Orthodox Jews to mix meat and milk, even in the cooking process, some families maintain two separate sets of cookware and dishes, two refrigerators, or even two entire kitchens.

We did none of these things in my home growing up.

Can you explain “Hanukkah and Passover” and the other Jewish holidays?

Sure. There are a lot of holy days and festivals in Judaism, but some of the major ones are: Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish new year.

Yom Kippur - The day of atonement for sin.

Passover – The celebration of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

Hanukkah – The celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

What did you think about Christians as a child?

Some of them seemed to place a lot more emphasis on my Jewishness than my family did. Every now and then, a Christian kid at school would say something to me like, “You are the apple of God’s eye!” and then again every so often a Christian kid would tell me I was going to hell.

I didn’t understand hell, or heaven for that matter. Modern Judaism doesn’t have any strong unified tradition about an afterlife since it’s not explicitly taught in the Jewish scriptures. Jewish prayers for the dead, for example, are pretty bleak, “as a candle is extinguished…” and so forth.

Particularly, the Judaism I grew up in didn’t teach me about sin, and this was maybe the first step in my conversion process.

What did you think about sin?

I was conscious of my own sin. I always had a copy of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. All through my teen years I read it, seriously, but I was mostly on my own, with no way to know how to interpret it. For instance, because there is nothing about eternal life in the Torah, I became terribly afraid of dying. I was reading about the sins of the Jewish people and how serious the punishments for sin were, and it made me feel extremely guilty and afraid.

I was also reading some commentaries on scripture, but there was no consistency to these. I felt sort of lost because there was no clear voice of truth. I wasn’t thinking, “Gosh, I wish I had a central religious authority in my life!” but I was thinking, “I wish I knew what happened when we die.” It bothered me a great deal.

I was also conscious of sin because I was living in a Christian context. The Jews in my life just didn’t talk about sin. I remember one conversation I had with a rabbi about sin, and it was about the sin of murder. As a teen, that’s not on the list of sins I was wondering about.

I became convinced that it was certainly possible to act against the will of God, and based on my reading of the Torah, I became convinced that God was going to punish me, and soon. I expected God to smite me like He did ancient people in the Bible. I was taking the theology of divine wrath taught in the Torah, as understood

by Jews 3,000 years ago, and trying to apply it to my life as a teen in East Texas.

What made you start to consider Christianity?

I remember at one point in high school, we were studying John Calvin, the reformation theologian. We were learning about his idea of pre-destination, and I remember thinking that I would be really upset if I had not been pre-destined to be a Christian, because Christians could have hope. I realized that I was jealous of Christians because they had a relationship with God in which forgiveness was primary. I knew Christians who were peaceful.

I, by contrast, was not peaceful. I didn’t like myself, I didn’t like my actions, and I felt cut off from God, as if I had severed my ties to Him and didn’t know how to return. I was looking for exactly what 17

Judaism and Catholicism

An Orthodox Jewish man places his written prayers between the stones of the Temple Wall in Jerusalem.

839 The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, “the first to hear the Word of God.” The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”, “for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

840 And when one considers the future, God’s People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

-Catechism of the Catholic Church

Jesus offers, but it took a long time to realize this. I came to a point where I knew I wanted to believe in heaven, I wanted to believe that God was merciful, but I couldn’t rationalize it. It seemed silly. Attractive, but silly.

Then, for a school assignment at the Christian high school I attended, we read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and I was introduced to Christian philosophy. After only one chapter, I realized that Christianity made sense, and was logical. Next, we read The Screwtape Letters, and I saw that the person described by Lewis in the book, the subject of all of those temptations, that was me. Lewis had, in my opinion, a keen perception of human motivation. He understood how people think.

It came to a point one morning. I woke up early and walked outside and prayed a sort of surrender prayer. I prayed, “God, I want to know you really well, and if I have to go through Jesus to do that….ok, fine.”

What was your sense of the relationship between your Judaism and Christianity?

Well, it seemed logical that, there being one God, the God of Judaism and the God of Christianity were the same, but this is a terribly complex topic. I had only the vaguest notions of that relationship then, and I’m still studying that today.

In this area of theology, there are two concepts, replacement and fulfillment. Both are pretty simple concepts, by themselves. Replacement speaks to the idea of the new covenant in Jesus Christ being the final covenant and the intended way by which God wills to save everyone. Fulfillment concentrates more on the idea that God never breaks His promises, and His covenant with the Jews is a promise that He would never break. Trying to sort out the exact theology of this gets really, really difficult even in the best of circumstances. In the real world, where people bring their emotions and fears and guilt to the discussion, it’s almost impossible. The Catholic Church has spoken very, very carefully about this in the last century, and I’m still learning this.

I tend to say my Judaism was always oriented toward Catholicism, in that Judaism is oriented to God. That desired union with God is best realized on earth in the Eucharist. I still get people, Catholics who are interested in Jewish stuff and know about my Jewish background, who will invite me to a Passover celebration or Seder meal. I always respond, “No thanks, I think I’ll just go to Holy Thursday Mass instead, and, you know…receive Jesus.”

Figuring out the relationship between Judaism and Catholicism in detail, that’s what I’m really in graduate school for.

Ok, so, you’re a high school senior and you’ve mentally converted to Christianity. What next?

I became pretty open about being a Christian, when I was outside the house. I was a pretty unpleasant person to my parents, and didn’t talk to them much, and so I kept all of this from them, until I figured out what I wanted to do. I decided I wanted to be baptized, and I did tell them that. They weren’t exactly excited about this development, but they are openminded and supportive and so they didn’t try to thwart me.

Even my grandmother took the news better than I expected. I was baptized in a Baptist church right after I graduated high school.

I had some strange reactions from friends and acquaint-

ances. A few people started talking to me about the apocalypse, since they associated Jews converting to Christianity with the end of the world. A few people asked if I was moving to Israel, which was confusing. I remember my first several months as a Christian, I was so uncertain about what to do. I repeated Jewish prayers a lot, since I didn’t know any others.

I also had this feeling of disappointment because what I discovered in local Protestant churches was not like the great and beautiful Christianity I had been reading about. The historical, logical Christianity I knew was true, somewhere, was painted in bold colors. What I was getting on Sunday mornings seemed washed out and pastel.

How did you discover Catholicism?

I went to the University of Dallas for the English program. I wasn’t thinking in terms of Catholic and Protestant, I just knew it was a Christian school and that was fine with me. What I actually discovered at UD were those bright colors I was looking for. I found, in the Catholic faith, the profound and deep relationship with God which C.S. Lewis had described to me.

It started when I arrived on campus, and I had to find a church to go to. Someone invited me to Mass on campus, and so I just fell into Catholic worship. I knew already that Catholicism had a better sense of beauty and mystery than non-Catholic Christianity, but now it became real, and I immediately connected that with my Judaism. Even with my scant contact with Jewish worship as a child, everything I knew from the festivals was very centered around ritual and tradition. My mother had sung to me the Shema, one of the Jewish bedtime prayers, every night, and I had prayed the Jewish liturgical prayers alone in my room many times. The Jewish language and Jewish prayers sound old and dignified, and I immediately recognized this in the prayers of the Mass.

I joined the RCIA program my freshman year, and I was received into the Church at Easter.

ences. I’m studying classical Greek literature, learning translation, and building the foundation necessary to delve deeply into sacred scripture. This semester I’m also studying 19th century theology. It’s tremendously exciting to me.

So, what do your parents think now?

Well, my parents are really wonderful people, and while they don’t exactly understand why I’ve become Catholic, they are accepting of it. Mainly, they want me to be happy, and if striving through all of this theology toward God makes me happy, they’re glad. They even come to Christmas Mass with me now, with the idea, “Well, this is your holiday, we’ll do this.”

Any final thoughts?

I find that it’s easy for people to live a shallow life. I certainly have to guard against this. One of my favorite books, Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos, taught me to recognize this.

We all have a tendency to live in the shallowest crust of ourselves, where we don’t really meet God. We all need to seek out the beauty and coherence in the world to find God there, and so much of that beauty and coherence is in the Catholic Faith.

I hope, in my life and my career, I can show people some of this beauty and coherence that I see, from my particular vantage point as a Jewish convert. I would like to help people see how the Church can help them live a beautiful life. q Deandra is currently studying at Notre Dame University, seeking a Master’s degree in theology, specializing in Sacred Scripture.

What was your initial experience of Catholicism like?

Well, shortly after I joined the Church I came home to Tyler for the summer. I had to, by myself, figure out how to start being Catholic every day. I had to just head down to the Cathedral and start going to Mass. I had to figure out how to live the life. I have to thank Father Tim Kelly for helping me learn how to properly confess my sins. He was really patient with me and eventually I learned how to do it.

I was very lucky to do my first full semester as a Catholic in Rome in the UD program there. I don’t think I had as profound an experience as many of the cradle-Catholic students, who had more of a “finally coming home” experience in Rome, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Part of what I had to do as a new Catholic was to start thinking as a Catholic. I had to come to an understanding of Faith, Hope, and Love in my own life. I had to learn that the greatest of these is love, and so learn to love people. During my youth, my conversion and my brief time as a non-Catholic Christian, I focused a lot on how sinful I was, and how sinful everyone is. I spent a lot of time just thinking that people are awful. As a Catholic, I’ve had to learn to see people as created good but tainted by sin, and focus on that goodness.

How are things now?

Good. I’m a graduate student in the theology program at Notre Dame University in Indiana. I’m studying Sacred Scripture. About two-thirds of the students in the program are converts to the Catholic faith, so I’m among people who understand a lot of my experi-

19

The second temple, as it appeared at the time of Christ.

understanding

Judaism in the gospels

The Gospels, as well as other books of the New Testament, contain many references to Judaism in the time of Christ. Knowing the terms, theology and politics of first-century Judaism can help to illuminate the Scriptures for Catholics. The world which Christ walked through was a complex one with competing factions of the Jewish faith and the overshadowing Roman Empire.

The Samaritans The Samaritans were and are a group claiming descent from the Jewish tribes of the north, specifically the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Levi. The Jews of Jerusalem believed the Samaritans were immigrants from Syria who had converted to a form of Judaism. Perhaps both are partly true.

They used a Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) very similar to the version used by the Jews of Jesus’ time, but they dissented on the matter of worship. The Samaritans believed that Jerusalem was the incorrect location for worship and repudiated the temple there, and instead worshipped on Mount Gerizim in the north of Palestine. At one time they numbered over a million, but today there are approximately 700 Samaritans who still gather on Mount Gerizim to worship.

At the time of Jesus, there was little contact between the Jews and Samaritans because of their theological disagreements, and the groups held each other in great suspicion.

This is why, in John chapter 4, a Samaritan woman is so surprised that Jesus asks her for 20

a drink of water, and goes on to say, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

The pharisees

The Pharisees were widespread throughout Israel and were associated with the common people. It was their practice to call a teacher “Rabbi,” which Jesus is called many times in the Gospels. The Pharisees believed that God’s revelation consisted of the Torah, the books of the prophets, and an oral tradition. Although Jesus was very critical of the Pharisees and condemned some of the principles they taught, He endorsed an important one: The resurrection of the body at the end of time. This principle is taught in passages of the Hebrew Bible used by the Pharisees, such as Daniel chapter 12 and Ezekiel chapter 37.

The sadducees

The Sadducees were strict in only using

the written word of the Torah, did not accept other books as equal to the Torah, and denied any authoritative oral tradition in Judaism. As a result, they had no teaching about an immortal soul or a resurrection. This is why, in the Gospels, the Sadducees are seen questioning Jesus about the resurrection, trying to prove it is untrue. The Sadducees were mainly Jerusalem aristocrats, and their party held positions of high power.

The essenes

Less is known about this group, which is not mentioned in the Bible, but it is identified by ancient authors as a distinct sect of first-century Judaism.

In the mid-20th century the Dead Sea Scrolls, found at the settlement of Qumran, detailed the life and practice of the monastic Jewish sect which lived there in the 1st century. Most scholars identify the Qumran community as Essene. If Qumran was indeed an Essene community, then it provides our best source of information on this sect.

The Qumran community lived an ascetic life on the shore of the Dead Sea, focused on pu-

rity. Some people have speculated that John the Baptist was an Essene, but his theology seems to have little in common with theirs.

The Qumran community was apparently founded by a Jewish priest who is called “the teacher of righteousness” in their literature.

It is likely he was a priest who either was ejected from his office in the temple, or objected to political intrigue in the temple, in about 150 BC. Their community was destroyed in 70-73 AD by the Romans.

The zealots

Another group active in Judaism at the time of Christ was the Zealots. Simon the Zealot is named as an Apostle of Christ.

While not exactly a separate religious sect, they were distinguished by their hatred of and action against the Roman occupational force. Later Jewish writings blame the Zealots for bringing about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

The temple

The temple in Jerusalem at the time of Christ was the second temple, and thus the religion practiced there is often called “Second-Temple Judaism.” The first temple in Jerusalem was built in approximately 950 BC under King Solomon and is sometimes referred to as “Solomon’s Temple.” It contained the Ark of the Covenant which was the golden box which housed the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna kept from the Israelite wandering in the desert. The first temple was damaged by the armies of Egypt and Assyria before finally being completely destroyed by the Babylonians, along with most of the city of Jerusalem, in 586 BC. It was at this time that the Ark of the Covenant disappeared.

Many of the Jews were carried away to exile in Babylon.

The Babylonian Empire fell, and work began on the new (second) temple in 538 BC. After another invasion in 175 BC, Judaism was briefly outlawed, and the temple was taken over for sacrifices to the Greek gods.

In 165 BC, the temple was recaptured for Judaism and re-dedicated to the worship of the God of Israel. This re-dedication is celebrated in the festival of Hanukkah.

In 20 BC, the temple was renovated and expanded by Herod the Great, and became known as Herod’s Temple. This construction was still underway during the life of Jesus, and this is the confusion the Jews had when Jesus was speaking of raising the temple (of His body) in three days. It was Herod’s tem-

ple to which Jesus was taken by his parents to be presented, and in which he was found discussing the Law when he was twelve years old. It was from the courtyard of this temple that Jesus drove the money changers. Jesus foretold the destruction of the second temple: “Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings. He said to them in reply, ‘You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.’” Matthew 24:1-2 In 70 AD, the Roman army under Titus destroyed the temple and the city. Eyewitnesses said the destruction was so complete that it made the area which had been the city completely unrecognizable. All that was left of the temple area was the foundation stones which are visible to this day, and form the “wailing wall” where modern Jews pray and place their written petitions in cracks in the stones.

In 691 AD, Muslims holding the city of Jerusalem constructed the Dome of the Rock, a shrine which today sits on top of the temple mountain, effectively suppressing the desire of some to build a third temple on the site.

The roman empire Existing as it did at a geographic crossroads on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel had been subject to many invasions during its history, and it was frequently conquered and placed under foreign rule. Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world in the 4th century BC. His death left the ancient world in disarray and led to centuries of war as his successors struggled for power. In Israel, this led to the

war of the Maccabees recorded in the Bible.

These wars lasted, off and on, into the first century BC when the expansion of the Roman Empire reached the Holy Land.

The Roman Empire, which during the time of Christ encompassed the entire Mediterranean Sea, the North of Africa, and virtually all of Europe, controlled Israel beginning in 63 BC. The first century AD was part of what is called the Pax Romana, or “Roman Peace.” This was a period in which Rome, the largest city in the world at the time, was at peace. In the territories the empire controlled, things were often not peaceful, and the Romans used terror and force to keep order.

In order to feed the inhabitants of Rome, the empire levied heavy taxes on all of its conquered provinces. This taxation is referenced many times in the Gospels, and was apparently a burden upon the Jewish people.

The Romans tried many strategies to govern their provinces and keep taxes flowing.

Sometimes, they established a local monarch to rule (Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist executed and to whom Jesus was taken before his crucifixion, was one of these) and at others they appointed Romans to rule over areas as governors. Sometimes, they employed both, and this is why Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas were both involved in Jesus’ crucifixion.

In 66 AD, the Jews revolted against Roman rule, and the first Jewish-Roman war began. In 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. The war lasted until 73 AD and fundamentally changed the character of the Holy Land. In the wake of this and subsequent wars, the Sadducees and Essenes disappeared. Pharisaical Judaism was preserved by the efforts of rabbis, notably Yohanan ben Zakkai, who is said to have escaped besieged Jerusalem by being carried out in a coffin.q

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21

I’m Here for Them

As full-time chaplain at Bishop Gorman, Father Charles Vreeland wants students to know that his love, like Christ’s, is never out of reach. by Sue De Matteo His parish consists of lockers, sports fields, classrooms, and noisy gymnasiums, and his parishioners mostly range in age from 11 to 18.

He is Father Charles Vreeland, recently appointed by Bishop Joseph E. Strickland to be full-time chaplain at Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler. His presence at Bishop Gorman isn’t exactly new – he’s spent the past year heading up the school’s chaplaincy team, teaching theology to seniors, celebrating the weekly school Masses, being available to students and faculty, even traveling with the football team to away games – but the new appointment changes the scope of that presence.

“I’m pleased to appoint Father Charles Vreeland as full time chaplain for Bishop Gorman Catholic School,” Bishop Joseph Strickland said. “He has demonstrated a genuine love for the Bishop Gorman community during his first year at the school, and I believe having him present full time as a faculty member and chaplain will be a great asset to Bishop Gorman.”

Father Vreeland said, “I’m able to focus entirely on the school, with pastoral care for the students, faculty, and families. I’ll be on campus full-time, so the students will always know where to find me.

They no longer have to share me with anyone. All my time is now theirs.”

The appointment “is a return to something Gorman hasn’t had for at least 15 years,” he said. “Priests have come to celebrate Masses and hear confessions and teach, but then they’ve had other duties as well,” he said. “So there’s not been that constant, consistent presence of a priest who’s there just for them, and who knows them, who can give them the time they need. You know, once upon a time, priests and religious were common in schools, but we don’t really see that any more. Now, at Gorman, we’re going back to that, and I’m really excited about the possibilities.”

Those possibilities center around what he hopes he can give to 22

the 415 students at Gorman, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, and what they have already given him.

“I’m finishing up my first year here at Gorman, and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier,” Father Vreeland said. “The kids here have accepted me, and we’ve built some great relationships.

They challenge me – kids will always challenge you; that’s just what they do – but they’ve also accepted me as a part of their lives. A couple of times, I’ve heard the kids say, ‘Father Vreeland’s cool, he’s one of us,’ and that makes me happier than I can express. I can only have an impact on their lives if they let me. But they’ve told me they like knowing I’m here, they like having access to a priest, they like knowing I’m here for them, in case they need prayers or just need to talk. And I hear that from the teachers and the staff, too, and even some of the parents. Everyone here has just accepted me with open arms and made me feel at home.”

And he is back at home, in a way. Though he was ordained in Nebraska and served in a parish in Kansas, Father Vreeland is a native Texan. He was born and raised in Fredericksburg, in Central Texas. He was baptized in St. Mary Church there and attended St. Mary School from kindergarten through eighth grade. From there, he went to Fredericksburg High School and then Texas A&M, where he was in the Corps of Cadets.

It was while he was studying at A&M that he began to discern his vocation to the priesthood. The idea of the priesthood teased him “off and on” beginning around his sophomore year in college, “but I was also really attracted to the idea of being married, of being a husband and father someday,” he said. During his junior year, though, the thought of being a priest began to take a stronger hold, especially once he began serving at the altar at St. Anthony Church in Bryan with Father Kirby Garner.

“There was still this tension, or at least I thought there was, between the idea of the priesthood and the idea of marriage and family

life,” he said. “I dated in college, and that desire that we all have for the classroom or the chapel, but in every moment of every day, for intimacy and family life was definitely there. I’d ask myself whether every part of their lives,” he said. “I want, of course, to teach them I’d rather be a priest or a husband, which one I’d be better at. It theology, but more than that I want to show them the love of Christ, gradually dawned on me that those same qualities that would make not just as a theological concept, but as a very real presence in their me a good husband and father would also make me a good priest.” lives. If they walk out of here with a fair grasp of theology but an abOne day, however, while being fitted for a cassock as an altar solute certainty that they are children of God, that the love of Christ server at St. Anthony parish, he received what can only be described is with them and that His grace and mercy are always there for them, as a revelation. then I’ll have done my job.”

“I was being fitted for a cassock, so I tried on one of the priest’s And to show them the love and care of Christ, he offers them cassocks, and then walked out into the sanctuary, where the priest the dedication and devotion of Charles Vreeland. would celebrate Mass,” he recalled. “So there I was, dressed in a “I want them to know they can always come to me,” he said. priest’s cassock, walking out toward the altar, and looking out over “When my seniors graduate, they’ll all have my cell phone number, this church, out into all those empty pews. I began to imagine all with explicit permission to call me at any time if they need or even those pews filled with people, what it would be like to celebrate just want to talk. My care for them won’t end at graduation. I want Mass for them as a priest. More than that, I was overwhelmed by the them to know that I’ll be there for them and with them, through thought of the responsibility for caring for all those souls, all those whatever comes after high school.” people who are God’s flock. At that moment, I really felt the call to And that care, he said, will extend to them even – and especially care for those people, to be a father to them.”

– when they mess up.

His initial discernment was over. He broke up with his girl“In one of my first homilies here during the weekly Gorman friend and decided to enter the seminary. He entered Our Lady of Mass,” he said, “I told them that, as much as I would like to have Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Neb., and studied for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. He was ordained a priest of that community on June 1, 2013, in Lincoln, Neb. One of his early assignments was as parochial vicar in St. John Vianney Church in Maple Hill, Kansas, near Topeka. The parish had a small school, with about 40 students in grades K-12. Father Vreeland taught high school, and fell in love with it.

“Working with young people has always been my joy,” he said. “And being in that school, working with those kids, just made me realize how much I Father Vreeland with Gorman love it. Yes, teaching theology is important, and we want the kids to understand Principal Jim Franz and Deacon what the Church teaches. But the best Bill Necessary part is being with these kids as they start looking toward the rest of their lives, as they decide who and what they want to be. Helping them make the confidence that they’ll all give their lives to Jesus Christ, to live their monumental decisions, helping them discover what God wants from lives in accordance with God’s will and always love God with their them and for them, that’s the really beautiful part of teaching.” whole hearts and their whole lives, I know they’re human. We’re all In 2015, he left the Fraternity and returned to Texas. He joined human. And to be human is to fall, to fail. We all make mistakes. the Diocese of Tyler, and was assigned to the Cathedral and, to his They will make mistakes, and some of those mistakes will be big. delight, Bishop Gorman. Now he is full-time chaplain for the school, “But, no matter what mistakes they make, any of us make, Jesus and is thrilled to have pastoral care for those souls.

Christ will always love us and He will always take us back. I want “I’ve encouraged Father Vreeland to shepherd the school as any them to know about and to understand God’s patience with us, that priest would guide a parish community, becoming involved in virtu- unfailing patience, and that He always waits for us and will always ally every aspect of the life of the school and the families that are a take us back with open arms, no matter how big our mistakes or how part of Bishop Gorman. I appreciate Father Vreeland’s willingness to long we’ve been away from Him. That love is never beyond our reach. take on this important work,” Bishop Strickland said.

“That’s what I want my kids to know and to understand,” FaFather Vreeland has a definite rapport with the students. He’s ther Vreeland said. “That’s what I’m there to show them through my gone bowling with them and to the movies, and was treated to two love for them. I am a priest of Jesus Christ. I am Christ’s representaparties on his birthday. The kids call him “Father America” in tribute tive to them. And I love them with the same patient, unfailing love to his love for Captain America. He is on the sidelines for their foot- that He does.” ball and basketball games, goes to academic and arts events, prays He also hopes that his presence will give the kids a more realisbefore their volleyball games. He drives a pickup with a Bishop Gor- tic, and human, idea of the clergy. man stencil across the back window.

“For a lot of people, priests are the guys they see on the altar on “I want these kids to know that I’m here for them, not just in Sunday, and that’s it,” he said. “People, including Catholics, tend to 23

think of priests as these ultra-holy people who live remote, unobtainable lives. They’re not real. And if people don’t have regular contact with a priest, there’s a tendency to think he’s not someone they could relate to.

“But I want to change that. I talk to the kids here about my life, both as a priest and before. They know I dated, they know what music I listen to, they see my truck. They see me every day, on good days and bad days, so they know I’m not perfect. And maybe, just maybe, as they get to know me, one or two of them might start thinking, ‘You know, I could be a priest.’”

Gorman is one of the very few Catholic schools in the country to have both a priest and deacon on staff. Father Vreeland heads up a chaplaincy team that includes Deacon Bill Necessary, who also teaches middle school theology.

“Deacon Necessary and I are here every day,” Father Vreeland said. “So the kids get this view of a variety of vocations. They know us, they know what our daily lives are like, and they see what it’s like to live out a vocation. That in itself is invaluable.”

“Bishop Gorman has become essentially ‘the parish community’ under the care of Father Vreeland,” said Jim Franz, principal. “We are truly blessed to have him here as a full-time pastor, teacher and friend.”

Father Vreeland is excited about the possibilities a full-time chaplaincy offers, and he said he’s grateful that Bishop Strickland was so willing to try something new.

“When he assigned me, he said, ‘I don’t know where this will lead, but let’s see.’ And I think that’s refreshing,” he said. “It’s very easy to get caught up in our comfort zone, to do things the way we’ve always done them because that’s familiar. But there’s always a need to adapt to changing times and changing needs and changing circumstances. We need to be willing to try something new even if we’re not sure where it’s going. That kind of risk-taking is how we breathe new life into a situation or institution.

“And I’m so happy the Bishop was willing to take this chance with me,” Father Vreeland said. “Gorman is where I want to be. I love being with these kids. I’ve definitely found a home here.” q

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TK Gorman family unites to renovate the school chapel Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler not only has a new full-time chaplain, but a newly renovated chapel as well.

“I was in the chapel one day with a few of the seniors, just doing a few little things,” he said. “The tabernacle was off to one side, but diocesan directives call for the tabernacle to be centered behind the altar. So I thought I’d fix that. Then I got to looking at the chapel’s layout, and I realized that if we changed that structure, if we moved the altar to face a different direction, it would actually be more symmetrical, and look more like a church. Of course, I also realized that would be labor-intensive and probably expensive.”

Yet as he shared his thoughts with the students, they asked the question that would launch the whole process – what would you do if you could?

“When they asked that, I just started thinking out loud,” he said. “I told them what I’d do and why. I also told them why we couldn’t – time and money. But they said, ‘What if we go to ( Jim Franz, principal) and ask if we can do this as our senior project?’ So they went to Mr. Franz and outlined the entire project, and he approved it.”

Father Vreeland then went to Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, who also approved the project, and renovation began in earnest.

The project has been a truly collaborative effort between Father Vreeland, students, faculty, and the wider Gorman community. Anthony and Shanna Meads donated money for a gold baroque tabernacle. Kevin O’Halloran, father of senior Meghan O’Halloran, built and donated the altar. Chris and Elizabeth Alexander, alumni, gave money. Elizabeth also is the Gorman librarian. Andy and Linda Navarro, Gorman parents, gave money. Kaye Fackrell, a retired teacher, donated painting supplies. Leo Bolom, husband of Jane Manley, the school’s Director of Student Activities, donated flooring. Dan and Linda Hall, a Gorman family, donated Stations of the Cross. Local

Kevin O’Halloran working on the new altar.

25

business Granite Division donated floor tile for the sanctuary, and Home Depot donated paint.

Students have given hours of physical labor.

“It’s been really exciting to see the students involved,” Father Vreeland said. “They’re so proud of what they’re accomplishing.

When everything’s finished, they’ll be able to look at the chapel and say, ‘This is ours. We did this.’ I hope it will be something that will

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strengthen their bond to Gorman and keep them coming back even after they’ve left.”

The chapel also has been renamed, and will be dedicated as the Chapel of Divine Mercy.

“That was the kids’ idea, too,” Father Vreeland said. “They thought it would be really appropriate, with this being the Year of Mercy, and as a way to emphasize the unending mercy of Christ.” q

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Plot Twist The Wall family converted after discovering the truth of the Catholic faith, but their conversion story is not what you’d expect...

“Oh, we were a typical Protestant family. I met my wife at the Church of Christ in my hometown. We had our two kids and that was enough. I had a good job, we went to church sometimes, and I was really focused on making money to keep everyone happy. We were living in a nice house in Lantana, Texas, which is a community built around a golf course,” said Dustin Wall. “But something was missing in my life. I knew it. Then, at the Baptist church we were attending, I heard a sermon about the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. It profoundly affected me, and I became convinced that we had to give up everything. That was the last Protestant sermon I heard.”

Dustin’s wife Stephanie takes up the narrative, “I had been praying for him, because I knew he was unhappy. His life revolved around his stressful job, and I could tell he needed a change. When he heard that sermon, I saw a big change. We started to change as a family. He came to me for spiritual answers, and I was raised that it was just the Bible and you, so we just started reading.”

“Pretty quickly, we decided we needed to give up everything, including society itself. We started to realize how corrupt everything was around us. We started to see TV programs, billboards, music, and even some of our neighbors in a new light, and everything just seemed corrupt,” said Dustin. “We decided we had to get away, someplace remote, so we could raise our boys right. Based upon our reading of Scripture, we decided we would just have our own family Church in the wilderness. In retrospect, I guess that’s how a lot of cults start.”

“We first looked at Colorado, but that was too crowded. We settled on Montana, and we went to look at it. Of course it’s beautiful,” Stephanie remembered. “Dustin flew up there again for two weeks of 28

job interviews, and I started selling all of our possessions, and that’s when I had an unexpected meeting. I had listed the boy’s playhouse on Craigslist, and a family arranged to come look at it. A big white van full of kids pulled up, and the dad got out to come to the back yard to look at the playhouse. He inspected it and said, ‘Glory to God. Thanks be to God, this is a blessing.’”

“I was taken aback. Nobody in my life gave thanks to God like that. Then, my son who was with us blurted out, ‘Mister, why do you have so many kids?’ The man looked at me, right in the eye, and said ‘Children are a blessing from God. To reject God’s gifts is selfishness.’ He paid for the playhouse, loaded it up, and drove away,” said Stephanie. “I spent the next two weeks in turmoil. Someone had told me something about God with clarity, and I became convinced I had to know more about these people. I had to know what church they went to.”

“I got home from Montana, and I was ready to move,” Dustin said. “I had a good job lined up and I was ready to build a cabin, but I wanted to be sure Stephanie was ready. Stephanie said she wasn’t ready; she needed to know what religion the people in the van were.

So, I waited while she used the Craigslist ad to get back in touch with them. I wanted to know, too.”

“I thought they were Amish or Mennonite. I wrote to them and asked,” said Stephanie. “They said they were Catholic.”

“These people were ready for us,” recounts Dustin. “As soon as we contacted them, they immediately began to tell us about the Catholic Church. They knew the Bible, they knew Catholic apologetics, and they started to teach us. At first we argued with them and tried to refute these things, but we failed every time.”

Stephanie said, “They explained the history of the Church,

showed us the sacraments in Scripture, detailed the founding of the Church on Peter and the Apostles…and we had already read all of these Scriptures and could see that the Catholic point of view was true and reasonable. This was hardcore Catholic truth coming through our email for weeks, and eventually we became convinced.

We finally surrendered and said, ‘Okay, we believe. We’re ready. We want to go to Mass with you.’”

“And they said, ‘You can’t. There aren’t any real Catholic Churches in existence anymore, and so we don’t go to Mass.’”

“We were shocked. How can there be Catholics who don’t believe that the Catholic Church exists anymore? We started researching, and we figured out there is a group of people called sedevacantists, which comes from the Latin words for ‘the chair is empty.’ They don’t believe there is a real Pope in Rome, they don’t believe modern priests are really, truly ordained, and they don’t accept the Masses said in Catholic Churches all over the world,” Stephanie explains.

“That is who we had run into.”

“I was like, ‘No way!’” said Dustin. “I just had my eyes opened to the truth in Scripture, about how Jesus Christ founded a Church and promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it, and it would be the authority for Christians on earth until the end of time.

It was all pretty obvious to me, now. I knew there was an unbroken line of Popes for almost 2,000 years…and so we turned it around and started defending the Catholic Church to them! We listened

We finally surrendered and said, “Okay, we believe. We’re ready. We want to go to Mass with you.”

And they said, “You can’t. There aren’t any real Catholic Churches in existence anymore, and so we don’t go to Mass.” to Catholic Answers on the radio and read the Catechism, and we figured it out.”

“We argued with them and listened to them, and what they were objecting to, was sin,” Stephanie said. “They had convinced us that the Catholic Church would never fail, and then they contradicted themselves by pointing out all of the sin they saw in the Church and refusing to be part of it. We already knew that all Christians committed sin, even priests and bishops and popes! But we knew that no human sin could undo a promise made by God. ” “We explained to them (as they had previously explained to us) that the Church has four marks that distinguish it: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. We told them they weren’t ‘One’ with anybody, sitting at home on Sunday. They weren’t ‘Catholic’ because that means universal, and sitting by yourself in the woods alone is not universal, and they weren’t ‘Apostolic’ because they had given up on the apostolic succession of the bishops and popes. Ergo, they weren’t the Catholic Church, by themselves,” Dustin explained. “You can’t be Catholic without the Catholic Church.”

“They were trying to convince us not to go to Mass! They warned us not to listen to Catholic radio, but we were listening and discovering the beauty of the rosary and the angelus,” Stephanie remembered. “We told them, ‘Look, we have to go to RCIA, we have to go and see. We have to become Catholic, and there is no way to become Catholic in your world.’”

Braden Wall is an altar server at Our Lady of Victory. Asked about serving, he said, “It is important to me because you are helping God’s chosen priests. A server has to be careful to do everything well for the glory of God and go unnoticed because it is not about you, it is about Jesus. Also, it is important because the church is God’s house and you get to help Him reach others through the Holy Eucharist.”

“Serving is a great thing to do for your parish. It is a great honor to assist at Holy Mass and be an up-close-and-personal witness to the greatest miracle in the world. It is Heaven on Earth. It is our Lord. Who wouldn’t want to be there serving right next to Him?” “So, we went to a Catholic parish in Sherman and saw the Mass for the first time, and people got down on their knees before God. We didn’t expect that, but we immediately knew it was right. I knew that this is what the people of God would do for Him,” Dustin recounted. “I saw the crucifix, and it made sense to me. Everything made sense.”

The Walls moved to the country near Paris, Texas, and went through RCIA at Our Lady of Victory Parish. They became Catholic at Easter Vigil last year and their sons were baptized. They welcomed baby daughter Selah to the family shortly thereafter.

“Being in the Church isn’t a bed of roses, because we’re all imperfect people,” said Dustin. “We’re all sinners in need of God’s mercy, and we make a mess of the Church, constantly. You have to look beyond that, and see that the Church goes on, no matter what mistakes we or anyone else makes. It’s easy to only focus on what’s wrong in the Church, like this family who first evangelized us. But, you can’t let that blind you to the incredible gift that the Church is, and to what God does for all of us.”q Dustin and Stephanie Wall are parishoners at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Paris, along with sons Braden and Blake, and daughter Selah.

29

y t i c a n Te

Chief PaulAnthony Imeine Ukhun and Ine Cynthia Ukhun pose in their ceremonial garb and signs of office.

ny Im o h t n A l u a P onver story of c and the world

Ukhun’s a i h t n y c meine and und o r a s u s e e up. v i g ersion tak r e v e us to n s d n i m e r d How did you come to be in Paris, Texas?

PaulAnthony: I was born in Nigeria and baptized in a Catholic church, and even started in a Catholic school run by Irish missionary priests, but I was transferred to an Anglican school at a young age, and left the Catholic Church behind. I feel that I have been on an arc, an elliptical path, ever since. I was bound to return.

As a young man, I traveled to England to begin seeking a medical degree, but the information I had obtained while in Nigeria about studying abroad in England was outdated and incorrect – the money I had saved for my schooling was gone in just a few months and I was destitute. My brother was seeking a PhD in the USA at Michigan State, and he helped me to join him in Detroit, Michigan.

I began my studies again at Henry Ford College, determined to obtain a medical education, but I was severely tempted to quit because we were so poor. I was working for just a few dollars an hour at a fried chicken restaurant on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, and the manager explained how I could become a fast-food manager like him and it seemed like a tremendous amount of money and success to me. I stayed on my path, however, eventually obtaining my bachelor’s degree in chemistry in South Carolina, and my pharmacy degree in Georgia. I did a postdoctoral fellowship in Missouri, and finally came to San Antonio, Texas, to do medical research. Then we went to Longview and finally to Paris for hospital pharmacy. We expected to be in Paris for one year, but we have never left.

How did you two end up together?

Cynthia: I was raised in Blue Earth, Minnesota, in farming country. I used to pray to God, “Please don’t send me a boring Minnesota farmer for a husband!” I know that God really laughed at that one. I traveled from Minnesota to South Carolina for nursing and met PaulAnthony there. I had never been out of the United States and knew nothing about Africa, but we decided to get married.

Later, I would come to understand how important family is in Nigerian culture. When I called my parents to tell them I was getting married, he was listening on the phone. If my parents had objected, that would have been it, but they didn’t. I was so nervous, I didn’t know how to explain PaulAnthony to them. When I told my mother he was from Nigeria, she asked, “Is he black?” I said, “Um, not really.”

At the wedding, she met him, and they became the best of friends for the rest of her life.

I had married the furthest thing from a Minnesota farmer. I had married a poet and a mystic and a visionary. He always has big plans, and it became my job to figure out how to make them into reality. As a child, I had dreamed of being a missionary, and with PaulAnthony I had found someone with the same zeal.

Has it been an adventure?

Cynthia: Gosh, yes. I have been to Nigeria many times, been crowned at a coronation ceremony there, almost died of malaria, been to the Ukraine as a missionary, helped found clinics and churches, been all over the United States, and there’s never been a dull moment.

The trip to Nigeria to meet his family was my first time traveling out of the USA, and it was a shock. We landed in Lagos, Nigeria, and took a 10 hour ride in a car going too fast over dangerous roads to reach his home village. My new extended family embraced me and immediately accepted me. I had to get used to this completely different culture, where if family arrives and you want to feed everyone, you buy a cow from the man walking the cow down the road, and you walk the cow back home and slaughter it yourself. I have one fear, which happens to be of birds; in Nigeria, chickens are everywhere.

My new family had to pen up all the chickens for me, but they did it!

PaulAnthony: I’m from the Christian South of Nigeria, whereas the North is mostly Muslim. I inherited land and responsibilities from my maternal grandfather in the town of Ekpoma, which led to me being made a chief, and Cynthia being made Ine, which roughly translates as “mother of the land.” We were crowned in a formal ceremony there, and we have worked to bring better health care to the town. We also helped to found a church there, but that was before we were Catholic, so it is a Protestant one!

What was your religious life before you discovered Catholicism?

PaulAnthony: I have always felt a zeal for the Lord. I have been a street evangelist and was later ordained a Baptist minister in the USA. Later, we became Presbyterian, and I was made a deacon and a presbyter in that Church. We have both always felt a need to do something.

While we were living in Longview, which was shortly after I left academia and had finally started earning a salary, I had an idea.

I woke up early one morning with the notion of a free clinic in my head. I could see the need in the community, and I could see the opportunity. We started working together to make this clinic a reality, but it didn’t really take root until we moved to Paris. Assisted first by members of the Presbyterian Church, but ultimately by so many people from a variety of places, we were able to open Agape House Worldwide Ministries. That was a labor of love for us for many years.

Together with our volunteers, we offered a free clinic each month, and we worked with pharmaceutical companies to supply needed medicines to those unable to afford them. We would start each clinic day with prayer and song, and I would preach a sermonette, and we would begin. We took this idea to Nigeria every year as well.

PaulAnthony Imeine Ukhun preaching in Hyde Park, London, in the 1970’s.

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PaulAnthony: On the day my wife and I were both installed as chiefs -The Ine (Mother of the land), and I, the Onogieide (King’s backer) of the land, Ekpoma. White chalk on our feet and forehead means peace. In my right hand I am holding our ceremonial sword of war and peace, beads are symbols of royalty. The white cassock is symbolic of peace, purity, and royalty, the way we appear before the king and people. There is a processional dance that the newly installed chief does before the council of chiefs, king, and the public. It is an all day affair, with many underlying traditions, verbal and written.

So, you are rooted in the Paris community, you are active in the Presbyterian Church, and you have a ministry as well as a business…what brought Catholicism into this picture?

PaulAnthony: Well, as I have said, I feel that I was always on this elliptical journey back to the Catholic Church of my early childhood. I can see now that I always had one eye on the Catholic Church, and so when I first came around Our Lady of Victory, it was not completely foreign to me. Then, I met Father Morgan White and, lo and behold, here was an Irish missionary priest like the ones I knew in Nigeria! I immediately struck up a friendship with him, and he began to give me books to read about the Catholic faith. I took up the habit of sitting in the Eucharistic adoration chapel and reading, and my eyes began to be opened.

Then, the first time I heard Father chant at benediction, I felt instantly connected to the Church. It energized all of the memories buried so deep inside me, from childhood. I felt so drawn to adore the Eucharist, so drawn to give reverence and worship to God in this

sacrament. For so much of my life, I could never believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Maybe it was because I spent so much of my life involved in science; I had a very physical, material conception of the Eucharist, and I couldn’t believe it. But now that I understand the philosophy and theology of the Eucharist, through my reading, I was able to approach it, to seek this faith, and when I see the great reverence of the priest, how they handle the body and blood with such care…how every Catholic kneels in adoration at Mass…how Father White and Father Stoeppel and Father Young constantly remind us of the reality of this great gift…all of these things nurtured my deep belief and faith.

For decades of my life, I knew and believed that Christ would “prepare a table” for us. I read this, I taught it, I preached it, and I believed it…but I did not understand it. Now, I know the truth of how Christ prepares a table for us. I can see the priest acting as Christ; what can I do but fall down in profound reverence before Him? Cynthia: So, he comes to me one day and says, “We have to be Catholic.” Well, in my life, I have had to handle a great many shocks, and I have learned that I am married to a man who looks out beyond the horizon, a long way, and so I take what he says seriously. It was, however, unexpected. I had to catch up to these profound things he was learning about the Eucharist. I was raised as a Lutheran and had lived as a Protestant my whole life. As a Protestant, you have some representation of this, a little plastic cup, a piece of bread on a tray, and it’s all very perfunctory and everyone does it and doesn’t give it another thought. I was not really prepared for the awesome spectacle of the Mass, and you see the eyes of the priest locked onto the host or the chalice as he elevates the body and blood before us, with all of the people kneeling and offering worship to God. At first, I rebelled against it.

What brought it home to you that you needed to be Catholic?

Cynthia: The Stations of the Cross. Having worked in medicine, and in medical missions, I had seen plenty of suffering, but I never had an integrated, Christian understanding of the fact of suffering. I understand now that suffering has a purpose, that we can join our sufferings to Christ’s. Good Friday makes sense to me now.

I look back on my life as a Protestant, and I see that Easter was just a happy time, you get a new dress and everything is very...clean. As a Catholic, I am called to meditate on the sufferings of Christ. There is a body on the cross here. There is blood. This is real. Catholicism has taught me the reality of sin and its consequences. Once I understood that, I wanted to be Catholic.

How have your experiences influenced your Catholicism?

PaulAnthony: When the Catechism teaches Mariology, for instance, and explains the relationship of Mary to God as the Queen-

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Mother in the King’s royal court, this makes immediate sense to me, because I was raised around this type of system, a royal system. For instance, the scene in the Gospel of John of the wedding at Cana, where Mary influences Jesus to do His first miracle, this makes perfect sense to me. These subtle family-hierarchical relationships are part of Nigerian culture, and this helps me to understand Mary’s relationship to Christ.

Cynthia: I have a much easier time understanding this aspect of Christianity after my experiences in Nigeria. You see such things all the time there. I remember going to my father-in-law’s funeral in Nigeria: there was a strict hierarchy, and we all had precise parts to play. You do what is required of you, and you don’t say no…this helps me to understand the workings of people in the Bible and in the heavenly court of God. Nigeria, first century Israel, the Catholic Church, and heaven – everyone has a place, a role to play, a special function assigned to them by God. So, what is next for you?

Cynthia: I’m still a baby Catholic, learning how to do things. I can tell you, one of the most stressful experiences for a brand-new Catholic is sitting in the front pew, and not remembering exactly when to sit and stand! But, I have a relationship to Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, such as I have never had before. Everything else will come in time.

I’m learning what “service” means in this Catholic context. I have become a lector, and as time goes on, I know that God is reeling

me in, preparing me for the next thing He wants me to do.

PaulAnthony: I consider our parish a God-send, and I am so grateful that God has guided us to this place. Now, I pray that God will guide non-Catholic people to me so that I can talk to them, show them what I have found. I want so much to bring other people to the beauty and reverence of the Catholic faith. We still want to be missionaries!

Father White started the process and passed the torch to Father Anthony who brought us into the Church. We are blessed to have good shepherds here. The rosary is a major part of my life now. The rosary can teach you how all of the doctrines of the Church connect.

The theology of Mary makes even more sense to me now that I pray the rosary. All of these theological concepts that Catholics take for granted, like the Assumption of Mary, I am learning their significance for the first time, and I am overwhelmed with their beauty.

One last thing, can you explain your name to us?

PaulAnthony: Certainly. My name is PaulAnthony Imeine Ukhun. Anthony is my first baptismal given name at birth. Paul is my confirmation name at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Paris, Texas. I like the saints, so, I am not about to let them disappear and I keep both. Ukhun is my family name.

And Imeine?

Imeine is my African name. It means “Tenacity.” To never give up.

Perfect.q

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PaulAnthony: I woke up early one morning with the notion of a free clinic in my head. I could see the need in the community, and I could see the opportunity. We started working together to make this clinic a reality, but it didn’t really take root until we moved to Paris. Assisted first by members of the Presbyterian Church, but ultimately by so many people from a variety of places, we were able to open Agape House Worldwide Ministries. That was a labor of love for us for many years.

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It is the place that reminds us to hold a joyful we all share. It is the place that reminds us to hold a joyful hope for Christ’s return to glory, with all those who have gone hope for Christ’s return to glory, with all those who have gone before us, marked with a sign of faith.

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Books you

Give Away

by Fr. Matthew Stehling

Books to help people understand the faith...”rome sweet home” and “Crossing the Tiber” A couple of weeks ago, I stood in front of my bookshelves, combing through the titles, looking for two books to cover for this article. But after several minutes of searching, and a couple of unkind words toward the bookcase, I realized that I no longer owned the books. As I placed an order on Amazon for new copies, I had a strange sense of dejá vu. I knew I had ordered these books several times before, but over the years had given them away. These two books were so helpful to me I can’t help but give them to others.

So I’d like to review two books that probably won’t spend much time on my bookshelf before they are given away again.

In my later high school days, as I began to take the Catholic faith more seriously, Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s book Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism, and Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church by Stephen K. Ray played important roles. As a cradle Catholic, many of the truths of the faith I took for granted. A nod of affirmation or a shrug was the extent of my understanding of the faith. In my senior year, after some persuasion from my best friend, I started attending faith formation classes. (I had been confirmed the year before and thought I was done with learning about the faith!) The catechists, a young married couple in the parish, began introducing me to the reasons we believe what we believe as Catholics. I’d never heard it presented as they presented it. I was hooked. As we continued the classes they lent me Rome Sweet Home. I poured through it and passed it on to others in my circle of friends. In the swapping of books in months following, I came across Crossing the Tiber as well. It took two books written by converts to show me the depth and beauty of the faith that I had grown up with.

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In Rome Sweet Home, Scott and Kimberly Hahn share their conversion from being a Protestant minister to the Catholic Faith.

The book bounces back and forth between Scott and Kimberly as they tell of their earliest encounters with faith and misconceptions of Catholicism. Scott’s own beginning encounters with the Catholic Faith were actually antagonistic. Early experiences convinced him that he needed to rescue Catholics from themselves and the Church. As he began his biblical studies he decided to use the notion of Covenant as the principle with which he understood the Bible. This fateful choice would bring a host of issues to the forefront and cause him to rethink his current understanding of Protestant theology and practice. The understanding of marriage as a covenant played a large role in their

abandonment of the use of contraceptives in their marriage. To their chagrin the Catholic Church was the only Church to stand up for the biblical view of marriage as covenant and see contraceptives as opposed to marriage. The coincidence of their own study and the teaching of the Catholic Church wasn’t enough yet to bring them in. But the more Scott and Kimberly searched and learned, the more they realized that the Catholic Church was rooted firmly in the Scriptures.

One by one, the misconceptions about what the Church teaches were unraveled: salvation by faith alone (sola fide), liturgy, sacraments, Eucharist. It was the encounter with the Mass that was the last piece of the puzzle for Scott in particular. In the Mass, he saw Scripture come alive. After all his study it was in the Mass and the Eucharist where it all hit home. His first experience with the Mass was so personally profound, that, as the priest raised the Consecrated Host, he whispered to himself, “My Lord and My God. That’s really you! And if that’s you. then I want full communion with you. I don’t want to hold anything back.”

Rome Sweet Home begins with a famous quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Roman Catholic Church; there are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church.” In reading Scott and Kimberly’s story, nearly 15 years ago, I realized that this quote applied to me. While I didn’t hate the Church, I certainly had many misconceptions about it. The clarity of their explanations as they interweave their narrative makes this a very easy and enjoyable read. I highly recommend this to life-long Catholics, to fallen away Catholics, to Protestant friends and family, to anyone looking for Truth.

Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray is very different from Rome Sweet Home. The Hahns weave their apologetics (explanations of the faith) into the narrative of their conversion; Steve Ray, on the other hand, weaves his narrative into the apologetics. For me, these books were like a one-two punch.

The Hahns helped me fall in love with the Catholic Faith, and Steve Ray was the text-

book that helped me discover even more depth to my new found love.

The title Crossing the Tiber is drawn from the geography of Rome. Just down the street from the Vatican is the Tiber River, or Tevere in Italian. The Vatican is on the west side of the river; classical Rome is on the east side. To become Catholic, then, is often described as crossing the Tiber to approach the Vatican. Steve Ray came from an Evangelical Protestant and Baptist background, worked in evangelization, and specialized in convincing Catholics to leave the Church in favor of “Biblical Christianity.”

Eventually, however, he began to see a problem with non-Catholic Christianity.

His own words express it perfectly: “How do most Americans chose their church? The same way they chose their restaurant. At lunch time we drive down Main Street. On one side of the street is Burger King, McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut. How do I choose? Easy! What do I feel like today?

Now it is Sunday morning and I drive down Main Street again. On the other side of the street I find Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Mormon.... How do I choose where to go? Again it is very simple. What do I feel like this morning? Do I want good preaching or a good children’s ministry? Do I want a pastor who meddles in my choices or someone who makes me feel good? Americans too often

pick their church the way they pick their restaurant.”

When a long-time friend and evangelical pastor, Al Kresta, decided to convert to Catholicism, Steve decided he had to convince him not to do it. Knowing that Kresta understood the Bible extremely well, Steve Ray decided that reasoning from Scripture would not be effective. So, he undertook a study of the early Church to prove that the earliest Christians were more like Protestants than Catholics. To his dismay, he discovered that the theology and practices of the early Church were entirely Catholic.

Crossing the Tiber is the book which came out of this study.

You should buy both of these books and read them for your own faith knowledge.

Once you own them, I expect you will find people who can use them, like I did. At first, I called it a “loan” and tried to retrieve them, but then I realized I wanted them to go. I want them passed from hand to hand, because that’s how we are intended to pass on the Catholic faith. Sometimes, I’m not as articulate as I’d like to be, and maybe I can’t call to mind a specific verse of Scripture, or remember which second century bishop preached on a certain topic, but I can always say, “Here is a book you would like. It answers a lot of the questions you are asking.”q

SAVED? ARE YOU

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Father Nolan Lowry, a convert to the Catholic Faith, helps Catholics answer this vexing question.

How did you get interested in the theology of salvation?

Well, I’m a convert myself. I was a Baptist kid in Gilmer, Texas.

My dad had become a Catholic in 1996, and my stepmother was already a committed Catholic, but I was still living how I was raised before, as a Baptist who believed in a very Baptist way that I had been “saved.” The only theology I knew was that salvation comes to a person in one moment, when they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and that salvation can never be lost, no matter what a person does.

Gilmer is a very evangelical place; everyone is very concerned about where you go to Church and you get asked, a lot, if you have been saved. Having moved from Tyler to Gilmer, I was sort of overwhelmed by this.

My parents were of course going to Mass, and although they allowed me to continue to attend Baptist services with my friends, I was also to attend Mass with them. Even at my young age of 13, I could see a real difference in the emphasis of the Catholic Church.

How did 13-year old you understand this difference?

There was a subtlety to Catholicism; it wasn’t “in your face.” The emphasis appeared to be on worship, and on living the faith, not just talking about it. The Protestant churches I knew and the Protestant culture I was used to seemed to be largely about judging someone’s status as “saved” or “unsaved,” whereas Catholics seemed to be extending an invitation.

When I joined the RCIA class, this sense of invitation was present there, too. Definitely, the Church wanted me to learn as much as possible, because it’s not a one-time event, but a life-long, lifechanging commitment. What I saw the Catholics proposing was, “Get ready, because if you enter into this life, God is going to work within you, and He’s going to do things with you, and you have to be prepared for it.”

There was nothing bombastic about this understanding of Christianity; it was fundamentally humble. In contrast to the innumerable questions and assertions about who was saved I had heard in my previous life, the Catholics weren’t claiming anything about themselves; they were just pointing the way to Christ. They gave me a Catechism which I was intrigued with. I had been to a lot of Bible studies in my life, but the Catechism was about how to concretely put these Christian principles into practice in your life. It explained so much about the Church.

Being 14, I was the youngest person in the RCIA class where I attended in Longview. Father Gavin Vaverek was the pastor, and he came in to teach classes. This was my first chance to get to know a priest, and it made a big impression on me. Starting to see the Church in terms of relationship, I could see that the priest must have that relationship in a really deep way. Even then, I was wondering what that must be like.

On Easter Vigil (April 11, 1998), I was baptized, confirmed and received first Holy Communion, It seems like a blur now, but I was so proud to be a Catholic. I told everyone at school. However, I did not really get challenged for being Catholic until high school.

What happened in high school?

Well, as I was reaching the end of high school, I had a fairly serious girlfriend who was a faithful Catholic. I think I can say that I was “in love” with her. I certainly could see myself marrying her. To be in love, however, gives you an idea of divine love, as St. Augustine taught so well.

Looking back on the job I had at the time working for Brookshire’s grocery, I could see a path forward. It would have been a great career. I could see the family life, and how good it could be. I had a plan to get an MBA, I really had it all worked out.

Then, I took the opportunity to participate in a Baptist Bible study with some of my friends. As a Catholic, I figured it was still good to participate in such things with my peers, and it pretty quickly turned into a Catholicism-bashing session. I found I was unable to answer the objections and accusations leveled against the Church.

Although I loved the Catholic faith, I couldn’t defend it. Then, I met the Gonzales family from Tyler, and they gave me a copy of Beginning Catholic Apologetics.

Learning from that book, I was able to give answers to the questions like “why do you go to confession to a priest?” and “do you worship Mary?”

In the process of learning and teaching this, I realized I needed to examine my own life. I was talking about salvation and good works and a life of grace…but what was I doing about it?

What are some things you remember learning in RCIA? Well, for one, as a kid I thought the altar servers were the priest’s children! I was really intrigued to learn that priests were celibate; that was a surprise. As a Protestant, you would just connect any kids helping around the church with being “the preacher’s kids.” I remember my first thought about the Catholic priesthood afterwards being, “for those men to live like that, they must have a direct line to God.”

Did you learn to defend the Catholic teaching on salvation?

I sure did. I learned that the feeling I had, that Catholicism is about living the life, really is the teaching of the Church and is the actual plan of salvation taught in the Bible. It’s inescapable. Matthew chapter 25 is about the judgement we will all undergo at the end of time, and Christ says plainly that we will all be judged on the content of our lives. I saw really clearly, then, how silly it is to speak of human beings as “saved” or “not saved” when Christ shows us that He is the judge, and He tells us exactly how and when He will do the judging.

As I learned, and as I explained to my friends in the Bible study, our faith in Christ must be expressed in our lives, in our works. This is the clear teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. We have to live as Christians, in relation to Christ and His Church, and salvation is something that happens during our lives, not at one moment. I started to learn about grace, and how the grace of God brings about changes in our lives. My eyes were really opened to the richness of Catholic teaching.

What I came to realize is that the theology associated with “are you saved?” left out a big part of Christianity: the Church. In Scripture, the Church is called “the body of Christ,” and being part of 37

that body is of supreme importance to salvation. Catholics are often attacked as lacking a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” but in reality being part of the Church is a basic building block of exactly that relationship.

It is within the Church that we receive the sacraments, starting with Baptism which scripture clearly says “saves us” (1 Peter 3:21).

We also receive the Eucharist without which “you do not have life within you” ( John 6:53). All of the sacraments act to move us along the path of salvation by fostering our relationship with Christ.

I also learned that the Bible teaches that salvation can be lost through sin and unbelief. St. Paul himself writes that he must guard himself against sin lest “after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Our Lord tells us that “the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) How did your friends react to you defending the Catholic Church?

Really well. Defending the Church has to be done with kindness and respect, and that’s what I tried to do. I think they respected me more for being able to defend my faith, and do it as a Christian should.

In the process of learning and teaching this, I realized I needed to examine my own life. I was talking about salvation and good works and a life of grace…but what was I doing about it? What was I doing about my own relationship with Christ? What was I attached to? I began to go to daily Mass before school each day, pray the rosary, and go to weekly confession. My whole life felt renewed, and I started to feel a pull to the priesthood.

How did that pull become a vocation?

Well, I was feeling this pull to really go as far in my relationship with Christ as I could and to be a conduit for other people to experience God, and it seemed like I should try to discern this. I contacted the Bishop in Tyler, who at the time was Álvaro Corrada del Rio, and asked for his advice. Shortly after, he came to the parish in Gilmer, and I met him and he knew that I had written to him. We talked for a long time about the priesthood. In retrospect I didn’t know much at all, but he was kind, patient and encouraging. I prayed and discerned and the rest of history. I went to seminary and became a priest of the Diocese of Tyler.

Did you maintain your interest in the theology of salvation?

Yes, indeed. I studied it whenever I got the chance and even wrote my thesis on St. Paul’s theology of faith and works, and modern Protestant understanding of the issue. I’m still interested in it today.

How does all of this affect your ministry as a priest?

It’s in every homily I preach. When I preach, I am conscious that God wants to invite everyone into this relationship, a continuing, lifelong relationship, because He loves them. This continuing relationship calls each person to conversion, and not just one time. As Catholics, our entire lives are to be constantly turning toward God. It’s in my ministry to bring the sacraments to the people of God. As I administer the sacraments, I know that God is acting to foster His relationship with each of the people who receive.

I also love to discuss the topic of salvation as part of ecumenical efforts. I strive to maintain a good, friendly relationship with the other Christian pastors in the towns where I am assigned, and they’re always interested to discuss this theology.

So, how should a Catholic answer the question, “have you been saved?”

I think a good, Catholic response to “have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” or, “have you been saved?” is: “Yes, I have. I have also accepted Jesus as the Lord and Savior of the Catholic Church, which He founded (Matthew 16:18-19). I have also accepted the sacraments, which He instituted as the means of grace to work out my salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Have you? And kindly tell me where it is found in the Bible that all one must do to be saved is accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. He seems to say that that is not enough: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”(Matthew 7:21)

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Thanks, Father. Any final thoughts?

My prayer, as a priest serving in a parish, is that the Lord will help me to bring many souls to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the Church, to teach them how to live this faith in turbulent times, and to give them the spiritual and sacramental support to help them to keep up the good fight and persevere to the end. That’s the biblical way to be saved, and it’s the Catholic way. And of course, I need everyone to pray for me that the Lord will keep me faithful and help me to persevere to the end as well. Blessed and praised be the Name of Jesus now and forever. Amen.q Father Nolan Lowry STL is a graduate of the Pontifical North American College in Rome and is the pastor of St. Edward Parish in Athens.

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Be Prepared Dr. Allison Low helps us Get ready to explain our Catholic faith.

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As Catholics living in East Texas, most, if not all, of us have been asked questions about our faith by our Protestant brothers and sisters. These questions can range from curiosity about traditional Catholic practices like holy water and praying the Rosary, to truly grievous misunderstandings that border on insulting, like “Why are you Catholic? You should be a Christian!” or “Why do you worship Mary?” and “Isn’t the Pope the anti-Christ?”

Sometimes we are ready for questions and have a great answer on the tip of our tongue, but other times we are left embarrassed and self-conscious because we feel we cannot respond intelligently or instantly quote Scripture to defend our position. Despite our baptismal call to evangelization, our feeling of being ill-equipped leads us to avoid conversations about religious matters and thus miss opportunities to share the great treasure we have been given.

But St. Peter gives us the remedy for our perceived inadequacy: “Be prepared” (1 Peter 3:15). We prepare ourselves above all with the Sacraments, but also with the reading of Sacred Scripture and the Catechism, watching and listening to quality Catholic material, attending classes at our parishes and missions, and talking with our priests, deacons, religious and lay teachers.

Another way that we can be prepared is to anticipate questions we may be asked

so that we can be ready with answers. These may be questions we have been asked before, or they may be questions we have had ourselves. Preparing answers to these questions makes us ready to take advantage of the opportunity questions from non-Catholics present, and it helps strengthen us in our knowledge of what we believe and why.

I wanted to share a few conversations I have had with Protestants in a question/ answer format as a tool to help you, and, at the end, I will share some of my favorite resources covering a wider variety of topics, hopefully giving you more confidence to charitably engage in discussions about our faith.

The Hierarchy

Non-Catholic: You Catholics have the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, and all the hierarchy and symbols. But the real “Church” is not a hierarchical institution – it is the invisible body of all those who believe in Jesus and His gospel. What evidence do you have to believe otherwise?

Catholic: The main evidence we have are the very words of Christ himself. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus establishes a visible society - one Church - founded on the Apostle Peter. Speaking in Aramaic, Jesus tells Simon, “I tell you, you are Kepha and on this kepha I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

The Aramaic word kepha means rock, and translated into Greek we have Petros - in English, Peter. Jesus, the wise builder (Matthew 7:24-27), declares He will build His Church on Peter, the Rock, and promises His Church will never be destroyed.

Jesus immediately gives Peter singularly, and then soon after all of the Apostles as a whole, a special ability to make binding decisions on doctrine and discipline in order to lead the Church He has just founded: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19; 18:18). Further, Jesus tells the Apostles if disputes arise and cannot be resolved, these are to be taken to “the

Church” (Matt 18:17). The Bible demonstrates obedience to this charge in Acts 15, when all the Apostles and leaders of the Church gather together in Jerusalem to address a growing heretical view which taught Christians had to first be circumcised. This claim was debated among Christians but, being unresolved, the conflict was settled by the Apostles guided by the Holy Spirit.

In a dogmatic declaration, they determined circumcision was no longer necessary (Acts 15:1-31).

Common sense also tells us if the “Church” established by Jesus was merely an invisible, universal group of all believers, this would mean Jesus left the early Christians (and us today) without any means to resolve the conflicts that would certainly arise when they disagreed – yet if this were the case, Christ would have ignored His own warning: “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste” (Matthew 12:25). And from the beginning, disagreements occurred related to various doctrines including who Jesus was, the necessity of baptism, the definition of marriage, the teaching on contraception, the existence of purgatory, and almost everything else. These false teachings in opposition to Christ’s revelations are called heresies, and, in the face of these false doctrines, an “invisible Church” – a church without authority to interpret Scripture and define the basics of what it meant to be a Christian – would have been a disaster, falling quickly into chaos and confusion. But Christ wants us to be one ( John 17:17-23) and does not want the Church to have dissensions (Romans 16:17). The Lord knew this and provided the solution – a visible Church with a visible organization divinely constituted and protected.

Sacred Scripture also reveals this Church has a hierarchy to provide unity and guidance. In Acts 1:20, we learn two things – not only do the Apostles hold an office (literally bishopric in English and episkope in Greek) but it is an office of succession. The Apostles spread the gospel to the nations, appointing their successors in various communities (Acts 14:23), and, in Acts 20:28, these men were called bishops (episkopos in Greek). Bishops were entrusted with the truths handed down from Christ (2 Timothy 1:12-14), had a duty to teach their flock as humble servants (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 5:1-11) and were to govern (Titus 1:5). This is evidence of the hierarchy and, as Christians, we are told to obey our leaders because they are keeping watch over our souls (Hebrews 13:17)

“the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) and it is “through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known” (Ephesians 3:10). If we want to know the fullness of truth we are not to look singularly at the Bible but rather look to the one, true Church founded by Christ Himself. It is that Church that passes on the truths of God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

confession

The Bible alone Non-Catholic: Why do you listen to man-made traditions when all the truths God has given us for our salvation are found in the Bible? Relying on anything other than the Bible risks distorting the truths of God. Catholic: Let me ask you this…Which came first, the Church established by Jesus which He founded on the Apostles, or the Bible as we know it today? Both history and the Scriptures themselves show us the Church came first – and the authentic and inspired books we now hold to be in the Bible would be a determination made more than 300 years later by the Church.

Scholars tells us it was at least 10 to 20 years after the Ascension before even one letter of our New Testament was written down. For more than two decades, in obedience to Jesus (Mark 16:15), the Apostles went throughout the known world sharing all of the truths revealed by Jesus, preaching and teaching by word of mouth. The first time Paul writes to the Thessalonians, he reminds them the apostolic teachings he taught them orally were the very words of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13), and, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul tells them to stand firm and hold fast to all God has revealed through Christ, coming to them either in written form or handed down orally (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

Your second claim is that we find all of the truths God wants us to know in the Bible, but the Bible itself tells us otherwise.

It is true the Bible is inspired by God and is a source for teaching and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but we are told it is the Church which is to be our source for truth. It is the Church which is

Non-Catholic: Why do Catholics believe you must confess your sins to a priest and not to God? Not only is this not found in the Bible, this is making men gods.

Catholic: The Church teaches we are to confess our sins to God and has never taught a human person can, by his own power, forgive sins. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear: “Only God forgives sins” (1441).

Now, how are we to confess our sins to God and how are we to receive His forgiveness? We do this in the way Jesus instructed us - through His appointed ministers to whom He gave this authority to act in His name without qualifications or conditions.

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any they are retained” ( John 20:22-23). Jesus uniquely gives the authority to either forgive sins or not forgive sins to His Apostles.

Non-Catholic: But you are misinterpreting John 20:22-23. Jesus is simply commanding all Christians to forgive sins. Jesus also tells us to always forgive others and God will forgive us.

Catholic: It is true Jesus commands us to always forgive others, but this itself is evi-

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dence of the unique authority the Apostles receive from Jesus. In John 20:22-23, Jesus tells the Apostles not only “the sins you forgive are forgiven” but also “the sins you retain are retained.” Christ establishes the Sacrament of Confession, through which those ordained with this power of Christ can absolve a person of their sins or refuse to forgive sins when this is warranted. To further support this, Jesus also tells the Apostles in Matthew 18:19, “whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven,” a power that relates to doctrine as well as to discipline, including whether or not a sin is forgiven. By this statement, Jesus also indicates there is a promise of divine protection because when the Apostles make decisions to bind and loose, these will be upheld in heaven.

This unique authority given, though not applicable to every Christian, is handed down through ordination to the successors of the Apostolic office. In 2 Corinthians 5:18, Paul, a bishop, tells us he has been given “the ministry of reconciliation” and the authority to forgive sins, while making it clear he is doing so as an instrument of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10). This authority is also demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 5:5, when Paul excommunicates an unrepentant Christian man living in an immoral relationship with his motherin-law. This authority to forgive sins has been handed down from Christ to the Apostles to their successors the bishops, who have also bestowed this power upon priests, which is why we confess our sins to Catholic priests and bishops.

Mary

Non-Catholic: I see Catholics bowing to statues of Mary and praying to her, treating Mary as a god. This is blasphemy and idolatry!

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Catholic: Catholics in no way, shape or form worship Mary. This would be sinful and a grievous act of idolatry. As Christians, Catholics worship only the one, true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Now, what are we doing with Mary?

It is true Catholics give Mary the highest honor conferred to a human being. We do this because it is exactly what Jesus did! As God, he was able to select his own mother and, in selecting this young girl from Nazareth, he bestowed on her the greatest dignity any human being could ever receive.

In this way, we can never love Mary more than Jesus did.

Turning to the Bible, we see Elizabeth recognizing this fact and calling Mary “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42). Following this, Mary credits the grace of God (Luke 1:46-55) and gives the prophecy we are now fulfilling – “henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

In Scripture, we are told to give honor to whom it is due (Romans 13:7), especially to those among us who are “worthy of double honor” (1 Timothy 5:17). Examples of those deserving honor include disciples like Peter and Paul who laid down their lives for Christ, as well as the Virgin Mary who was humble, obedient, faithful and docile to the will of God. In honoring Mary, we are also doing so in imitation of Christ Himself who was faithful to the commandment, “honor your father and mother.”

Non-Catholic: But Catholics pray to Mary and the saints, treating them as gods and acting as if they can answer your prayers. We have only one mediator – Jesus Christ Himself (1 Tim 2:5), so why do Catholics pray to Mary and those in heaven?

Catholic: Is it possible for you to pray for me? Is it also possible for me to pray for you? Absolutely! In the passage you mention, just before Paul tells us Jesus is the one mediator, he exhorts us to pray for each other and tells us it is good and acceptable to God when we do so (1 Timothy 2:1-5). Is Paul contradicting himself ?

No, because we recognize Jesus is the primary and unique mediator between God and man…but, united to Christ, I can act as a secondary mediator. When we pray for each other, our prayers go to God through Jesus, and the prayers of all those united to Christ are effective, and this includes all

those in heaven, such as the Virgin Mary, the angels and the Saints.

When a Catholic uses the phrase “praying to Mary” or “praying to the Saints”, we are using the word “pray” in its more traditional form – meaning “to ask.” If you go to England or South Africa where more traditional English is spoken, you will find the term “pray” used in this way. [As an example, one may say to a judge, “I pray you pardon me.”] When Catholics “pray” to Mary or the Saints, we are “asking” Mary and the Saints to pray for us. We may ask Mary to pray for a child to be healed from an infirmity, not believing it is Mary herself who can heal the child, but rather, we are asking Mary to pray to God, joining her prayers with our own. We recognize those in heaven are now perfect members of Christ’s Body, having pure love and complete obedience, and, as such, will only continue to pray for others more fervently

communion of saints Non-Catholic: But Mary and those in heaven are dead! God commands us to not to talk to the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Plus, those in heaven are not gods, so how can they hear us?

Catholic: What you are describing is called necromancy - the practice of witchcraft, sorcery, séances and conjuring up the spirits of the dead – and also any attempts to gain knowledge and information from these spirits. This is absolutely forbidden by Sacred Scripture. But when we ask those in heaven to pray for us, we are not calling upon them as in a séance nor seeking knowledge, rather we ask for their intercession. In the Christian sense, we also know those who have died in Christ and are now enjoying the beatific vision of God are more alive than we are…indeed,

they are fully alive!

God has not revealed how it is He permits those in heaven to hear our prayers, but, in Revelation 5:8, it is clear those in heaven do hear us and offer up our prayers to God. The Bible also shows us those in heaven are aware of what is happening here on earth because Jesus tells us they rejoice when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7).

So, it is reasonable to conclude those in heaven can and do make intercession for us to God. And being perfectly righteous, the prayers of Mary and the Saints in heaven are extremely powerful and far more effective than our own ( James 5:16).

faith and works

Non-Catholic: I still have other issues with the Catholics because you hold we must work our way to heaven. Scripture tells us we are saved by faith alone (Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8-9). All we need to do is to accept Jesus into our hearts as our personal Lord and Savior and confess He is Lord and we will be saved (Romans 10:9). Faith alone is the only thing needed to be saved. Good works done are a sign of true, genuine faith but are not necessary for salvation.

Catholic: I want to first clarify, in no way does the Church teach one must “work their way to heaven.” No one can do this – it is impossible! As Catholics we believe we are saved by grace alone. This grace is a free gift from God offered to all men – we do not and cannot earn it.

What the Bible teaches, and thus what the Church believes, is that those who cooperate with grace will be enabled to have faith and do good works and one must persevere in this grace until the end of our earthly life. Our cooperation with grace will produce both faith and works – not one without the other.

As to your argument that we are saved by faith alone, does the Bible truly teach faith in Jesus is the only thing we need to be saved? What if you had faith so great, when you said “move” to the mountains,

you trusted God would move them – is this faith all that you would need to be saved?

Non-Catholic: Absolutely.

Catholic: The Bible actually teaches otherwise. We see in 1 Corinthians 13:2, Paul tells us, “if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing.” And if we continue reading the next passage, Paul even says if I have faith so great I am willing to be burned to death for my faith (martyrdom), but I do not have love, “I gain nothing” (13:3). Paul is showing us it is not faith alone that saves us but rather it is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

In the Bible there is only one place where you will find the words “faith alone” together in the same verse – James 2:24. In the Epistle of James we find: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works?

Can his faith save him? . . . So faith by itself, it if has no works, is dead . . . You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone . . . For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead” ( James 2:14-26).

If you look at the entire New Testament in context and not just picking a verse here and there, you will see neither faith alone nor works alone does anything.

Rather, as St. James tells us, a living faith is one that is inseparable from works (and these works include charitable acts as well as obedience to God’s will).

Jesus Himself tells us one enters heaven by keeping the commandments (Matthew 19:16-17) and our failure to do charitable works will exclude us from heaven (Matthew 25:31-46). As to whether or not one can enter heaven by faith alone, Jesus tells us, “Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

When we appear before the judgment seat of Christ after death, we will be judged by all of the good and bad things we have done in our earthly lives (2 Corinthians 5:10), reaping what we sow – those who have lived only by the ways of the world will receive eternal damnation in hell and those who have lived by the ways of the Spirit (the ways of God) will receive eternal life in heaven (Galatians 6:7-9).

Finally, it is true “God so loved the

world that he gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” ( John 3:16), but Jesus also clarifies this further, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God rests upon him” ( John 3:36). Believing in Jesus Christ requires not merely an intellectual assent of faith but also obedience to God’s will.

Thus, both faith and works, done by grace, are necessary for salvation.

Salvation and Redemption Non-Catholic: Aren’t the charitable works, penance, praying to the Saints and the Sacraments all unnecessary additions to the completed work of Christ? Christ tells us on the cross, “It is finished” ( John 19:30).

Catholic: This is confusing salvation with redemption. Through His suffering, death and Resurrection, Jesus redeemed every human person. Redemption refers to Jesus paying the debt due for the sins of humanity and the restoration of the relationship between God and humanity. By freely laying down His life as a sacrifice for our sins, Jesus merited God’s gift of grace for humanity, and grace enables us to enter heaven.

But not every person is automatically saved by Jesus’ act on the cross. If a person refuses to repent, opposes God’s will or refuses God’s gift of grace, he won’t be saved. Christ’s redemptive act on the cross is sufficient for all (heaven is possible for all) but it is not efficacious for all (not all will be saved). When a person is keeping the commandments (Matthew 19:16-17), repenting (Matthew 4:17), believing in Jesus (Acts 16:31) and living a life of charity (Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 43

13:1-13), he is not denying the sufficiency of Christ’s redemptive act but rather he is relying on the transformative power of grace, merited by Jesus, which enables him to do these things in obedience to God.

Church scandals

you orphans ( John 14:18).

The fact that over the past 2,000 years there has been immorality among the members of the Church and yet the Church has not been destroyed, indicates to me Christ is keeping His promise of Divine protection!

Let’s also not forget that among the very first Twelve called by Christ himself, one was a patent coward who denied Christ (Peter) and another handed over our Lord to His very torture and death ( Judas).

Non-Catholic: This conversation has been very interesting. I am not convinced but I am glad to have a better understanding of the Catholic perspective. I will definitely continue to consider what you have said.

Non-Catholic: How can the Catholic Church be the one true Church founded

by Christ when there have been scandals throughout history, including popes who had children outside of marriage, bishops being selected for office solely for political reasons and now the recent issues of sexual abuse? The Bible tells us you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20) – this seems to make the case the Church is not the one established by Christ.

Catholic: The scandals that occur are horrific and it is always inexcusable for things like this to happen. However, judging the Church based on these particular people is like seeing an apple tree producing bushels of abundant, delicious fruit but then upon find one rotten apple deciding to cut the entire tree down. This is unreasonable – the fruitfulness of the apple tree is based on the fruit that is utilizing all the life-giving nutrients the tree offers. With the Church, her true fruits are the Saints – those who, throughout history, have listened to her, obeyed her, participated in the Sacraments regularly and heeded her advice related to the spiritual life.

And the reality that there are both good fruits and bad fruits in the one, true Church was predicted by Christ Himself. He built his Church on men – sinners not holy angels – and He said that until the Last Day, there would be not only wheat but also weeds, both good fish and bad fish, within His Church (Matthew 13:24-30, 47-50).

But because of this, Jesus also promised to protect His Church from corruption and apostasy: “the gates of hell will never prevail against it,” (Matthew 16:18) and “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), not leaving 44

Catholic: I am glad we had this chance to talk. I am always available if you have further questions about the Church, do not hesitate to contact me. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it! Please pray for me and I will pray for you always. God bless you.

resources There are so many other questions Catholics are commonly challenged with but always keep in mind if you do not have the answers, the Church will! There are many great resources to help us better understand Church teaching and to provide responses to the various questions we may be asked.

One of the best websites to find answers to common questions from non-Catholics is www.catholic.com. There are also many valuable books that I would recommend, but to choose a few, my favorites would be Unabridged Christianity by Fr. Mario Romero and The Essential Catholic Survival Guide by Catholic Answers, both with quick answers to many of these common questions, as well as Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating and Faith of Our Fathers by Cardinal James Gibbons, both of which are more in depth but easy reads.

There are also many great audio resources. Catholic Answers has daily shows on the radio with podcasts you can download, with my favorite being the show called “Open Forum”; you can find their downloads here: http://www.catholic.com/radio/calendar.

EWTN also broadcasts educational shows with my favorite being “Called to Communion”; you can find their broadcasts here: https://www.ewtn.com/podcast/. At www. biblechristiansociety.com you will find free audio downloads which provide many answers to common questions you may be asked as a Catholic. q

Youth Ministry News www.dioceseoftyler.org/youth

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World Youth Day 2016: Poland

On July 23, 2016, the Diocese of Tyler will send 55 pilgrims to Poland for World Youth Day. We will visit Our Lady of Czestochowa and the Jasna Gora Monastery as well as Lagiewniki, home of the miraculous image of the “Merciful Jesus.” We will tour the hometown of Saint John Paul II and visit the Auschwitz concentration camp before the official WYD events begin. We will spend our final days with over 1 million Catholic pilgrims from around the world in Krakow Poland. Part of our pilgrimage will include celebrating the Holy Eucharist with the Pope Francis after overnighting in a field. The tradition of WYD began in 1985 when Pope John Paul II invited young people from around the world to gather with him in celebration of our Catholic faith. The Diocese of Tyler will be sending these 55 pilgrims representing 9 different parishes. As we make our pilgrimage, we would like to take your prayer intentions with us. Please visit the WYD website and submit your prayer intentions.

Many of our pilgrims are fundraising up to 75% of their pilgrimage so donations are appreciated. More information can be found on our website. Thank you for your prayerful support! We look forward to sharing our incredible journey with you when we return!

Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference On July 8-10, we will be launching our second annual Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference (DCYC)!

High school youth, parents and their youth leaders will gather at TK Gorman High School in Tyler for an incredible weekend of fellowship, music, formation and worship. This year, our theme “Illuminate” comes from Isaiah 53: “Share with the hungry, care for the oppressed and your light will rise in the darkness”. Last year, DCYC had over 200 students attend along with over 20 priests, deacons and seminarians, and many youth leaders. We hope to gather students from all 70 parishes in our diocese this year, particularly in parishes who do not currently have any youth gatherings for high school students. Young people long for community and for a relationship with Jesus Christ and His church. DCYC will offer several opportunities for teens to encounter Christ through the sacraments of reconciliation and communion as well as offer time for reflection and adoration. Our keynote Fr. Joe Espaillat comes from the Archdiocese of New York as a bilingual priest, youth worker and rapper. In addition to Fr. Joe, we have Andrea Vasquez from the Diocese of Fresno, California and our MC Alex Gotay. The Dave Moore band will once again be leading us in music. This event doesn’t work without the many hours of volunteer work, financial contributions and the encouragement for young people to attend this life changing event. Thank you for all your support and prayer.

Curiosity made me Catholic

Jeremy Brandt didn’t know any Catholics and had no experience with the Church, but he did have the internet. His curiosity and a school assignment caused to him to start investigating...

I had a really typical, happy, nurturing evangelical Christian upbringing in Tyler. My family is involved in ministry and I was around the church a lot. I would say I definitely have had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as long as I can remember.

I think this movement toward Catholicism began when I was just 12 years old. I went on a retreat that really stressed the importance of reading the Bible every day. It’s a habit that started then and I keep it up to this day. We espoused what I would call a Baptist theology of faith alone, the idea that salvation is one-time event brought about by personal faith in Jesus. Afterwards, while 46

one might commit sin, God did not see this sin, but rather saw only His Son. As I read the Bible intently, I began to become very uneasy about this theology. I read clearly in the book of James that, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” I read in the Gospels about judgement, and I compared it to what I heard from the pulpit every Sunday, and I just couldn’t reconcile these things. Scripture was clearly telling me that I would be judged for my conduct and actions on earth, and that having faith in Jesus did not mean this wouldn’t happen.

I remember the unease I felt over this for a long time.

This turmoil came to the surface when we began to study the Protestant Reformation in earnest in the Christian high school I attended. In addition to the writings of Martin Luther, my teacher presented excerpts from the Council of Trent for us to read. The Council of Trent was the assembly of Catholic Bishops which first met in 1545 to deal with the questions raised by Luther in the Reformation. Luther proposed the idea that man is saved by “faith alone”, and the council took up the question to answer it.

As I read the excerpts, I thought, “Exactly! This is what I’ve been thinking.” I found myself, based upon my time spent reading the Bible, agreeing with the Catholics instead of the Protestants. I have to point out what a good teacher I had, and what a fair-minded person he was to present both sides of this important issue.

Now, at the time, I considered this to be an interesting curiosity, since I knew that on a whole host of issues, Catholics were clearly wrong. They worshipped Mary and had un-biblical customs, and were superstitious and I wasn’t thinking of having anything to do with the modern Catholic Church.

My curiosity was strong, however, and so I went on to read the entire Council of Trent on my own. I was looking at it through evangelical lenses, that the only way to know truth is through the Bible, but as I read it hit me that there was something called Church history, and Catholics had been writing about their beliefs all along.

I started researching the early Church, at first just by reading articles on Wikipedia, and my prejudices started to fall. I didn’t actually know any Catholics so I couldn’t ask any actual people about these things, but I did have the internet. I branched out to Catholic Answers, Catholic.org, Catholic blogs, and I also read Protestant sources which sought to refute the Catholic position. I took it all in. A lot of the sources were totally one-sided, but with some experience it’s easy to realize that, and you can always find the opposite opinion to consider.

I think I must have read hundreds if not thousands of articles about Catholicism online.

I was genuinely frightened to discuss this with my parents, but I really had no reason to be. I guess that’s how it always goes with conversion, you feel a great need to work this out for yourself and be sure about what you’re doing before you tell the people closest to you. They were a little confused at first, but we talked about it and they were wonderful to me. We all went and consulted with non-Catholic people at the church and school, including the teacher who originally showed me the Council of Trent, who are very knowledgeable in Church history. They were all supportive of my investigation. They assured me I was doing this for the right reason, and they gave me more issues and arguments to consider. They also challenged me to go to a real Catholic Mass, and see it for myself. I did, and of course it was foreign at first, but I love how Catholic worship engages me fully, in all my senses.

I think it’s important to point out that as a non-Catholic youth investigating Catholicism, I received genuinely honest intellectual support from the adults in my life. It made me appreciate my parents and my teachers a lot.

So, with my parents’ permission, I joined the RCIA classes at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. My dad came to the classes with me, to keep tabs on what I was learning, and my parents were at Easter Vigil when I was baptized and confirmed.

No, they don’t agree with everything I have done, but they also

know that if I had not become Catholic, I would definitely feel that I was disobeying God. Now that I’m in college in Houston and I’m working in Catholic youth ministry, they congratulate me for working to bring Jesus to kids and make a difference in people’s lives.

Along the way, a few issues really stand out to me as pivotal for my conversion. I already knew from experience that people could interpret the Bible to mean almost whatever they wanted, since it’s not explicit on a lot of topics. Growing up in a church which was a kind of a free-market of ideas about theology had turned me off. Long before I began to consider becoming Catholic, I was tired of the idea that amassing Bible verses in support of a theological opinion is how you determined the truth.

Some people get very upset at the idea of objective truth, that one needs to confirm their beliefs to the teaching of the Church, but to me this is logical and I see the evidence for this approach in Scripture. Jesus was certainly gracious, and kind, but He never said “oh, that’s a neat opinion, you should go with that.” No, He always taught with authority, and that authoritative teaching excluded other opinions. When He said “This is my body,” no one was left free to disagree that it wasn’t. When I looked at Church history, I saw that the Church was not founded to work via opinion, and it never worked that way. It was established upon the authority Christ gave to the Apostles and they gave to the pope and bishops.

Really, I think what I can tell anyone about conversion is to be curious. If you are interested in becoming Catholic, or if you are Catholic and you want to go deeper, look things up. Read.

Dig. Pray about it, then read some more. If you do everything with a desire to please God, He’s going to lead you on the right path. God may call you to uproot yourself from what you know, and it may be difficult, but it will be so rewarding. All of this information is right at our fingertips, let’s use it to draw close to God. q Jeremy is currently attending the University of Houston.

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V I S I Ó N H I S PA N A 48

Las fotografías en estas páginas son del 50 Aniversario de la Ordenación del Padre Matías Rodríguez en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón en Palestine.

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Monseñor

Strickland En semanas pasadas he leído algunos artículos que tocan un punto clave en cuanto a cómo nos formamos juicios en la sociedad de hoy. Parece que este concepto se ha convertido a un concepto negativo y creo que, de una manera fantasiosa, esto se ha transformado en el corazón de la causa. Literalmente, juzgar no es una palabra de cuatro letras, prácticamente es una palabra de seis letras y estas letras extras nos recuerdan que no todo puede ser reducido a generalizaciones aunque hoy exista esta tendencia. En realidad, la jornada humana es algo compleja, bellamente compleja y si estamos llamados a cumplir con nuestro destino, el sortear esas complejidades es esencial.

Para poder ser verdaderamente humanos es necesario que nos hagamos juicios todos los días, en realidad constantemente durante cada día de nuestra vida. Dios nos ha creado a Su Imagen y una de las formas, más básicas, en lo que esto se manifiesta es en nuestra habilidad para hacer juicios. La persona humana está sola en la creación, como la única especie que verdaderamente ha recibido la capacidad de elegir el bien. Muchos de los animales tienen habilidades increíbles, constituidas solo en sus instintos pero ninguno de estos puede, en realidad, hacer juicios, en la forma que lo hace una persona humana. Cuando abdicamos nuestra capacidad para hacer juicios en realidad abdicamos lo que nos hace ser humanos.

En la raíz de la proclamación moderna, de que debemos evadir juicios a toda costa, está la elección de ignorar estas realidades básicas de nuestra humanidad.

Parece certero que aquellos que tienden a etiquetar una acción moral como “juzgar” no se han detenido a reflexionar, más profundamente, sobre lo que están haciendo en realidad. No creo que estén intentando rechazar la facultad humana de elegir opciones. Más apropiadamente, creo que están reconociendo que, sí elegimos opciones, pero a la vez optan por un mundo donde no existe una opción buena o mala. Esta estancia niega un código moral y nos deja en un mundo donde todas las opciones son de igual valor. Si todas las opciones son de igual valor, en-

tonces ¿existe una base real para tener que hacer opciones?

Claro está que la connotación negativa que puede tener el hacerse juicios es un aspecto real de nuestra realidad humana que debería evadirse pero la generalización popular de que todo juicio es malo debería evadirse de igual forma. En el contexto de esta edición del CET, de acuerdo a materia de conversión y fe, es verdaderamente imposible el siquiera contemplar cambios significantes, sobre la dirección que debe tomar nuestra vida, si nunca nos hacemos juicios sobre el mundo que nos rodea. La idea de que el hacerse “juicios” es malo es verdaderamente absurda si uno comienza a reflexionar más profundamente sobre las connotaciones de esta postura. Para poder vivir como personas creadas a imagen de Dios uno de los elementos básicos de nuestra vida es que hagamos juicios de nuestro entorno.

Uno de los elementos fundamentales de hoy demanda que debemos nojuzgar las cosas y la idea es que no existe lo recto o lo incorrecto, lo bueno o lo malo, lo verdadero o lo falso en ningún aspecto de nuestra vida. Si llevamos esto a una conclusión lógica toda la estructura comienza a derribarse. Mejor que rendirnos al concepto de que hacer un juicio debe necesariamente equivalerse a ser intolerante, nosotros como cristianos estamos llamados a hacer juicios sobre nuestras vidas a la luz de la verdad que Dios nos ha revelado. En la raíz de todo esto, está la creencia de que la bondad, belleza y verdad son reales y a nosotros, que hemos sido creados a imagen de Dios, se nos ha encargado la tarea, para toda la vida, de buscar estas verdades eternas. En este contexto, el hacernos juicios es últimamente, discernir sobre nuestras propias vidas y las vidas de los demás. Es un acto profundo de amor el estar dispuestos a hablar la verdad y guiar a otra persona a su destino último. Que abracemos este reto tan humano con gran fuerza y recordemos al mundo que el juzgar es realmente un elemento necesario en el amor de los unos para los otros. q

La Familia: Fuent

En mis recorridos por la diócesis, buscando familias modestas pero ejemplares, que aporten con su testimonio personal un ejemplo de vida familiar Cristo-céntrica, me he encontrado con los Durán. Esta familia está compuesta por el Señor Santiago Durán, su esposa Griselda, sus hijos: Brenda de 23 años, Shleby de 21, Brian de 17, Johnathan de 13 y Zurisadai de 3.

El señor y la señora Durán son de Michoacán, lugar donde nacieron, se conocieron y se casaron.

Como la mayoría de las familias hispanas que viven en EU, los Durán se vieron obligados a inmigrar a los Estados Unidos para buscar mejores oportunidades para ellos y sus hijos. Están en este país desde hace por lo menos 25 años. Durante todo este tiempo, los dos han estado luchando para darles a sus hijos lo que necesitan para vivir e inculcarles la fe en Dios y el amor a la Virgen de Guadalupe. “¡Qué precioso es el valor de la familia, como lugar privilegiado para transmitir la fe!” dijo el Papa Francisco; palabras a las

que hace eco el señor Durán con su manera de servir a su familia y a su comunidad parroquial.

Todos los miembros de esta “iglesia doméstica” celebran su fe en la parroquia de St. Catherine of Siena, en Atlanta, TX desde hace ya ocho años. Desde que se integraron a esta comunidad parroquial han procurado ofrecer su servicio en diferentes ministerios.

El señor y la señora Durán son catequistas, ministros de comunión y lectores. Los hijos son, lectores y monaguillos (servidores del altar). El Señor Durán es el coordinador del coro parroquial.

A los dos les fascina compartir su fe con otros adultos, que como ellos, andan buscando a Dios para tener una relación personal con El. “Hemos andado siempre juntos” dice el señor Durán, “los dos procuramos involucrarnos en las actividades parroquiales para que así, nuestros hijos vean un buen ejemplo cristiano no solo de mamá sino que también de papá. Felizmente me he involucrado en el ministerio de la catequesis porque me motiva ver los rostros de

te de Vida y de Fe las personas que buscan su formación. Veo como algunas personas asimilan perfectamente las verdades de la doctrina cristiana y me entristece ver como otras son indiferentes a ellas. Estas personas que muestran indiferencia ante la fe parecieran dormidas, pareciera que les da miedo sentirse retadas por el Señor”, concluyó.

Por su parte la señora Durán comenta, “a mí me parece que algunas personas, no todas, no viven con ganas su fe, es como que la arrastran y no ven la grandeza de Dios. Yo oro por ellos, le pido a la Virgen de Guadalupe que de alguna forma experimenten en su corazón el gran amor que su Hijo, Nuestro Señor, les tiene”.

Me pareció muy interesante ver cómo, los dos esposos, hablan tan apasionadamente de lo que la fe en Dios hace por ellos y por sus hijos. Ante la pregunta sobre lo que los mueve a ejercer su ministerio

“El Señor me toca profundamente cada vez que leo o escucho su palabra. Esta Palabra de Jesús ha hecho en mí, milagro tras milagro.” parroquial contestaron: “a mí me apasiona sobremanera la música, yo aprendí a tocar guitarra porque quería cantar en la misa, cantarle a Dios. El tocar en la Iglesia y ser el coordinador del coro me llena.

Pienso que esto es así porque considero que este deseo de mi corazón es un llamado especial que Dios me hace y yo quiero responderle con un si alegre”, dijo el señor Durán.

Por su parte la señora Durán dice: “a mí me motiva el leer la Palabra de Dios. El Señor me toca profundamente cada vez que leo o escucho su palabra. Esta Palabra de Jesús ha hecho en mí, milagro tras milagro. Gracias a esta Palabra soy lo que soy”.

Esta pareja de esposos lucha día con día por la felicidad de sus hijos. Desde pequeños les inculcaron el temor de Dios y ahora que ya casi todos son adultos esperan que eso que les dieron de pequeños, de frutos de santidad. Los dos, están de acuerdo con el hecho de que lo mejor que pudieron darles, a sus hijos, es la fe y por eso esperan que ahora que pueden tomar sus propias decisiones Dios ocupe el primer lugar en sus vidas y después lo demás. Al testimoniar el amor matrimonial, los Durán animan a sus hijos a mirarse con amor y respeto pues están conscientes de que “la familia es la fuente de toda fraternidad, y por eso es también el fundamento y el camino primordial para la paz, pues, por vocación, debería contagiar al mundo con su amor” (cf. Papa Francisco).

“A la fecha”, dijo el señor Durán, “todos mis hijos están involucrados en un ministerio parroquial. De una forma u otra están pre-

stando un servicio a nuestra comunidad. Esto para mi es de suma importancia y me alegra porque considero que el servir, en un ministerio, es una forma no solo de expresar sino de vivir la fe. Una fe sin obras es una fe muerta, como dice San Pablo, por lo tanto; mis hijos, mi esposa y yo buscamos la manera de vivir lo que profesamos, de ser auténticos, transparentes y coherentes”.

“Todo esto no quiere decir que nuestra familia esté exenta de retos y de dificultades. También a nosotros nos afecta el materialismo que consume las mentes jóvenes. El que los hijos quieran poner primero otras cosas antes que a Dios es algo con lo que luchamos constantemente, y por si no fuera suficiente, la sociedad no ayuda para que en el ambiente familiar se respire la fe y la cercanía de un Dios que se hizo hombre para estar a nuestro alcance. También el hecho de que los muchachos conviven con jóvenes de otras religiones no deja de retarnos. Las dudas y las preguntas que traen a casa a veces son sorprendentes y, como padres, nos hacen tambalear pero nunca dudar de que tenemos la verdad”, concluyó.

Al preguntarle sobre su sueño para sus hijos, la señora Durán contestó: “Yo sueño con que todos mis hijos sean personas de bien, que no dejen su fe y presten un servicio a sus hermanos. Me gustaría que nunca dejaran de acercarse a la Iglesia y que su fe sea siempre lo que los sostenga en las buenas y en las malas. Quiero que estudien para que aporten a la sociedad y sean personas que viven de acuerdo a los principios que mi esposo y yo les hemos inculcado y actúen siempre de acuerdo a la voluntad de Dios”.

Para finalizar nuestra conversación, el señor y la señora Durán invitan a todas las familias católicas a atreverse a ser diferentes, a ser auténticas “iglesias domésticas”. “Un consejo que yo daría a las familias”, dice la señora Duran, “es que busquen formas para involucrarse en su parroquia, que los padres den ejemplo a sus hijos de un servicio que es completamente desinteresado, de un servicio que se presta para llegar algún día al cielo. Yo me imagino que para muchas familias esto pareciera imposible, pero todo se puede cuando se pone a Cristo en el centro del hogar, cuando El y su Santísima Madre reinan en los corazones de todos los miembros de la familia”.

Por su parte, el señor Durán afirma que la oración en familia es indispensable si se quiere progresar en la fe y en una relación personal con Dios. “Sin este momento de silencio, de quietud y de contacto directo con el Señor, es imposible que se pueda salir adelante. La oración en familia une, no divide, nutre y fortalece el espíritu. Yo sugiero a los padres de familia que procuren orar todos los días con sus hijos, que inviten a Dios a participar de su día y sea El quien dirija sus acciones”.

La conversación con esta familia fue muy amena y agradable, sé que como esta familia hay muchas en esta área del Este de Texas, familias que son sencillas pero ejemplares. Sé que hay otras que luchan constantemente por vivir de acuerdo a lo que Dios quiere y se esfuerzan por amarse y aceptarse.

Para concluir creo que es bueno tener en cuenta esta frase del Papa Francisco: “Tener un lugar a donde ir, se llama Hogar. Tener personas a quien amar, se llama Familia, y tener ambas se llama Bendición”.q 51

V I S I Ó N H I S PA N A V I S I Ó N H I S PA N A

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MARIA, EL PRIMER SAGRARIO

By: Rev. Luis E. Larrea MFE

Cuando nos ponemos delante del Sagrario para orar y reafirmar la Presencia Real de Cristo en la Eucaristía, hacemos un acto de Fe, que solo los católicos comprendemos.

Esta disposición que nos lleva a rezar delante de Jesús Eucaristía conlleva una serie de elementos previos que sólo la gracias de Dios, la comprensión de la Palabra y la tradición de la iglesia nos dan.

Por ello, sólo aquel que ha sido dócil a la gracia de Dios, puede comprender la Palabra y vivir fiel a la enseñanza de la Iglesia, que nos muestra el misterio insondable del Dios revelado.

La gracia de Dios Esa misma gracia que nos asiste para entender o intuir el Misterio de su presencia real, es la misma gracia que llenó a María, la Madre del Señor, al ser invitada por el Ángel a ser su Madre.

María concibió en su seno por obra del Espíritu Santo a Jesús, hijo de Dios y Dios mismo, quien le dijo por medio del ángel “Concebirás en tu seno y darás a luz un hijo al que pondrás por nombre Jesús. Será grande y justamente será llamado Hijo del Altísimo...

Lucas 1,31 y 32 “ El Espíritu Santo descenderá sobre ti y el poder del Altísimo te cubrirá con su sombra; por eso el Niño Santo que nacerá de ti será llamado Hijo de Dios” Lucas 1, 35 De tal manera que María llevó en su seno a Jesús, Hijo de Dios y Dios mismo; El mismo que se encuentra hoy realmente, vivo y presente, en todos los Sagrarios de la tierra. Por eso podemos decir, sin duda alguna, que María fue el primer Sagrario.

“Jesús en el Santuario de María es una expresión que nos recuerda el templo que eligió el Señor para iniciar su vida humana. El, que habita en el cielo desde toda la eternidad, quiso habitar en el tiempo en María, a quien hizo su Santuario.

Confesamos esta verdad de fe con la alegría inmensa de quien descubre los comienzos de la presencia salvadora de Jesús, y la intimidad de María con su Hijo y con su obra”. (Estanislao Esteban Karlic. Arzobispo Emérito de Paraná. Octubre de 2003) Ser el primer Tabernáculo implica llevar al mismo Dios a ser adorado por el mundo, María así lo entendió y por ello lo porta a su primar Isabel quien se postra de gozo ante la presencia real del Dios encarnado. “Cuando, en la Visitación, lleva en su seno el Verbo hecho carne, se convierte de algún modo en « tabernáculo » –el primer « tabernáculo » de la historia– donde el Hijo de Dios, todavía invisible a los ojos de los hombres, se ofrece a la adoración de Isabel, como « irradiando » su luz a través de los ojos y la voz de María” (San Juan Pablo II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 55.)

La Palabra de Dios Apegarse a la Palabra de Dios, no es sino corroborar el plan salvífico de nuestro Padre celestial al afirmar con los labios y con el corazón que Jesús nació de mujer y con ello participó de nuestra naturaleza y por ende hizo que esa mujer, María, fuera el recipiente y el Sagrario que diera la vida al que vive desde siempre.

“Pero, al llegar la plenitud de los tiempos, envió Dios a su Hijo, nacido de mujer, nacido bajo la ley, para rescatar a los que se hallaban bajo la ley, y para que recibiéramos la filiación adoptiva. La prueba de que sois hijos es que Dios ha enviado a nuestros corazones el Espíritu

de su Hijo que clama: ¡Abbá, Padre!”.Gálatas 4, 4-6 Verdadero Dios y verdadero hombre “nacido de mujer”.

“El Hijo de Dios con su encarnación se ha unido, en cierto modo, con todo hombre. Trabajó con manos de hombre, pensó con inteligencia de hombre, obró con voluntad de hombre, amó con corazón de hombre. Nacido de la Virgen María, se hizo verdaderamente uno de los nuestros, semejante en todo a nosotros, excepto en el pecado” (Gaudium et spes 22).

Es más, según San Pablo, Cristo, “siendo de condición divina, no retuvo ávidamente el ser igual a Dios. Sino que se despojó de sí mismo tomando condición de siervo, haciéndose semejante a los hombres y apareciendo en su porte como hombre; y se humilló a sí mismo, obedeciendo hasta la muerte y muerte de cruz” Fil 2, 6-).

“Me llamarán Bienaventurada todas las generaciones” Lc 1,48.

No sabemos lo que hubiera ocurrido si la joven adolescente, María, a pesar de su inicial sobresalto ante las palabras del Arcángel Gabriel, no hubiera aceptado ser la Madre de Dios. Lo que sí es cierto que el “hágase en mí según tú palabra” de María, no solo fue “el acto de fe más difícil de la historia”, sino que transformó el curso de la historia de la humanidad.

“Por su obediencia (a la Voluntad de Dios), ella se convirtió en la nueva Eva, madre de los vivientes” (…) “De la misma manera que aquella -es decir, Eva- había sido seducida por el discurso de un ángel, hasta el punto de alejarse de Dios a su palabra, así ésta -es decir, María- recibió la buena nueva por el discurso de un ángel, para llevar en su seno a Dios, obedeciendo a su palabra; y como aquella había sido seducida para desobedecer a Dios, ésta se dejó convencer a obedecer a Dios; por ello, la Virgen María se convirtió en abogada de la misma Eva. Y de la misma forma que el género humano había quedado sujeto a la muerte a causa de una virgen, fue librado de ella por una Virgen; así la desobediencia de una virgen fue contrarrestada por la obediencia de una Virgen…”, san Ireneo.

Enseñanza de la Iglesia Al igual que por la Filiación Divina, Dios Padre, a través de su hijo Jesucristo, nos hace hijos suyos, el mismo Jesucristo nos señala quien es a perpetuidad nuestra Madre. Nos lo deja escrito el apóstol Juan: “Jesús, viendo a su Madre y al discípulo a quien amaba, que estaba allí, dijo a la Madre: Mujer, he ahí a tu hijo. Luego dijo al discípulo: He ahí a tu madre. Y desde aquella hora el discípulo la recibió en su casa”. Juan 19:25-27.

Este regalo de valor incalculable con el que Cristo confió el discípulo a la Madre y la Madre al discípulo, nos comprometió a formar una gran familia, no solo a los apóstoles y a las primeras comunidades cristianas, sino a las generaciones futuras. Como afirma Benedicto XVI, “Cuando de perseguidor de los cristianos se convirtió en apóstol del Evangelio, Pablo se transformó en “embajador de Cristo” resucitado para que todos lo conocieran, convencido de que en Él todos los pueblos están llamados a formar la gran familia de los hijos de Dios”.

El amor a María y el amor a la Eucaristía, son dos realidades que la Iglesia ha preservado como mucho celo a través de los siglos como expresión de fidelidad al Plan salvífico.

Estamos llamados como cristianos católicos a vivir y dar testimonio de estas verdades fundamentales de nuestra Fe: María es el primer Sagrario que cobijó a Jesús, el Dios hecho hombre, y Jesús sigue presente, como lo estuvo en el vientre de María, en cada sagrario al que nos acercamos.

Digamos siempre con fe las palabras de Isabel a María: “bendita tu entre todas las mujeres y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.

Lucas 1:39-44q 53

La Bienaventurada Virgen María: Madre de Cristo, Madre de los Cristianos Rev. John-Mary S. W. Bowlin, KCHS, etc.

El mayor honor de la Virgen María es ser la Madre de Dios.

Para este papel, Dios la preservó del pecado original desde el primer instante de su concepción. Ella es la nueva Arca de la Alianza (Ap 11: 19 - 12:. 1), en la que Dios mismo viene a habitar. Nuestra santísima Madre fue concebida sin la mancha del pecado original y por lo tanto fue aclamada como “llena de gracia” por el arcángel Gabriel cuando le anunció el nacimiento del Mesías. Ella respondió sin vacilar a las palabras que resumen la vida cristiana: “He aquí la esclava del Señor, hágase en mí según tu palabra.” (Lc 1, 38). Ella respondió con su “sí” al mensajero del cielo, deshaciendo el “sí” de Eva al mensajero del Infierno. (Lc 1, 37) Y concibió a la Palabra eterna de Dios, la segunda persona de la Santísima Trinidad. ¡Jesucristo toma su naturaleza humana, y todo lo que esta conlleva!

Observemos que, Ella, se convierte en la madre de Jesús cuando se somete humildemente a la voluntad de Dios. Esto es más importante aún que su relación de sangre con él. Más adelante en el Santo Evangelio, cuando se le dice Jesús que su madre y otros familiares están esperando para verlo, él dice, “Porque cualquiera que hace la voluntad de mi Padre, que está en los cielos, es mi hermano, y hermana, y madre.” (Mt 12: 50) María es la madre de Jesús, más que por otra cosa, porque ella hace la voluntad de Dios a la perfección.

Su maternidad es, en primer lugar, espiritual. Esto es importante que lo comprendamos porque de esta forma podremos entender cómo ella es nuestra madre también. Al igual que por nuestra condición de hijos de Eva heredamos el pecado y la muerte, por ser hijos de la nueva Eva, la Virgen María, tenemos la vida sobrenatural de Cristo. El Papa Pío X lo pone de esta manera: “[E] n este mismo seno de esta madre purísima, Cristo tomó para sí la carne y también unió a la persona un cuerpo espiritual, formado por los que habrían de creer en él.” [...] Por lo tanto, aunque de manera espiritual y mística, se dice que todos somos hijos de María y ella es nuestra Madre. En efecto, ella es nuestra Madre espiritualmente, pero verdaderamente Madre de los miembros del cuerpo de Cristo, que somos nosotros.” (Ad diem illum) Ella es nuestra Madre porque ella es Madre de la Cabeza del Cuerpo Místico, a causa de su cooperación en la pasión de Cristo, y porque nuestro Señor solemnemente la proclamó como tal al pie de la cruz ( Jn 19, 26).

El Papa León XIII dice claramente: “En San Juan, como la Iglesia siempre lo ha entendido, Cristo identifica a toda persona de la raza humana; Cristo, desde la cruz, la delegó y la designó como madre de la raza humana “. (Cf. Adiutricem populi y Amantissimae voluntatis)

Hay dos maneras en que podemos entender cómo María es nuestra madre.

La primera es que ella es nuestra madre porque ella es la madre de Jesús. Todo lo que podemos decir sobre el cuerpo físico de Jesús, podemos decir, de alguna manera, sobre su cuerpo místico: la Iglesia. El cuerpo físico de Jesús creció y se desarrolló; lo mismo ocurre con la Iglesia. El cuerpo físico de Jesús sufrió; lo mismo 54

ocurre con la Iglesia. El cuerpo físico de Jesús tuvo a María como madre; lo mismo ocurre con la Iglesia. Somos miembros de la Iglesia, Cuerpo místico de Cristo. Por lo tanto, María es nuestra madre espiritual.

La segunda forma en que María es nuestra madre es el hecho de que ella se preocupa por nosotros como lo hace una madre.

Ella no nos hornea galletas, pero le ha dado a Jesús un cuerpo físico, con el que nos alimenta en la Santa Comunión. Ella se preocupa porque nos comportemos adecuadamente; sus únicas palabras dirigidas a otro ser humano en los Evangelios fueron: “Hagan lo que Él [ Jesús] le dice.” Ella intercede por nosotros ante Dios (“No tienen vino.”). Y cuando necesitamos aliento y dirección, ella personalmente se aparece para ayudarnos a regresar al camino que conduce a Dios.

María se ha aparecido, en todo el mundo, a lo largo de la historia, pero sobre todo en los últimos 500 años, para fomentar el rezo del Rosario, animarnos a evitar el pecado y volver a los Sacramentos. Ella nos dio la Medalla Milagrosa en París. Dejó un manantial con agua milagrosa en Lourdes. Ella intentó hacernos cambiar la ruta durante la destrucción en la que estábamos cuando apareció en Fátima. Junto con estas famosas apariciones, ella también apareció en México en AD1531 y convirtió al país. En esa aparición, ella le dijo a San Juan Diego: “¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?”

María es la madre amada de Jesús y ella es también nuestra madre. ¿No permitirías que ella fuera tu madre?q

asamblea mariana diocesana diocesan marian assembly 22 de Octubre del 2016 TK Gorman escuela catolica October 22, 2016 TK Gorman Catholic school Tyler, Texas

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A través de esta reflexión vamos a intentar englobar una visión clara, concreta y general sobre María; La segunda Eva. Tomaremos como base, de dicha propuesta, argumentos que se pueden encontrar en el Magisterio de la Iglesia, Sagrada Escritura y en la Tradición. Esto lo haremos con el fin de lograr nuestro objetivo y recalcar el por qué se puede concebir o entender a María como la segunda Eva. Así mismo, llevaremos cada argumento a un dialogo profundo con lo que a continuación se presenta.

El tema central que abordamos en esta obra es propiamente María, la Segunda Eva. Siguiendo el texto se afirma que, en relación a Eva y Adán, se ha obtenido una visión de cooperación para la ruina de la humanidad; en cambio en María se ve una cooperación positiva con Cristo Jesús, en relación a la obra salvadora de la humanidad. Ante esta visión adentrémonos en la Sagrada Escritura, específicamente en el A. T. que nos dice: «enemistad pondré entre ti y la mujer, entre tu linaje y su linaje: él te pisará la cabeza mientras acechas* tú su calcañar», (Gén 3, 15). Aquí se hace anuncio sobre María: y la segunda Eva. Según la Biblia de Jerusalén (Gén 3, 15), puede concebirse como un “Protoevangelio”, ya que es el primer anuncio o promesa con respecto al descendiente que nacerá de la mujer y que será llamado Mesías. De la misma manera, en este pasaje, se habla de su nacimiento y por consiguiente se ve incluida la Segunda Eva. El Magisterio de la Iglesia en el Concilio Vaticano II, que toma como referencia el A. T., aborda el tema de María en las siguientes citas (Gn 3, 15; Is 7,14; Miq 5, 2-3, sin embargo, Miqueas carece de interés propio sobre María, es decir, no es más que una referencia de Isaías 7, 14). Como resultado de estas tres narraciones analizadas desde el punto de vista exegético, no se descarta la idea de que el descendiente de la mujer es Cristo. De la misma manera las otras dos citas, corresponden a la misma tradición literaria y religiosa Judía. La cita de (Gn 3,15) se encuentra dentro de la unidad de sentencia de castigo que recibe Eva de Yahve. Pero, se ve la oposición entre la mujer y la serpiente, por tanto, aquí no se habla de Eva, sino de la segunda Eva que es una mujer triunfadora.

Sin embargo, hablamos de la imagen primera de Eva y el juicio de valor que Dios hace sobre ella, el cual ha quedado sin repercusión en la Sagrada Escritura, es decir, Eva no aparece después en la Biblia santificada por la luz triunfal; sino acérrimamente bajo la triste sombra de la mujer vencida y seducida (Eclo 25, 24; 2 Cor 11,3; 2 Tim 2, 14).

Por lo tanto, se puede afirmar que detrás de 56

María, la Segunda Eva

Por: Seminarista Juan González Gn 3,15, hay una segunda Eva. Desde una visión histórica recurrimos al siglo II d. C. Siglo en donde los padres de la Iglesia, realizaron un estudio sobre el Gn 3, 15, donde iluminados por la luz del Espíritu Santo concibieron a María, como la segunda Eva. En cuanto al aporte recibido por el N. T. Existe una vinculación entre Mt 1, 22-23; Lc 1, 31 y el Gn 3, 15, lo que permite comprender, desde los evangelios, la imagen de María como la Segunda Eva. Para profundizar más sobre la persona de María se puede recurrir a Lc 1, 26-38, donde está una narración sobre la Anunciación. En esta narración se comprende la respuesta positiva de María, llegando a centrar en el “sí”, que da como respuesta, toda la visión amplia teológica de la obra de la salvación. Por eso, Lc 1, 46-55, habla de un cantico: el Magnificat, nombre dado por la Biblia Vulgata, en el que se comprenden los sentimientos que María experimenta en lo más profundo de su corazón.

Por estas razones, se aprecia que la alegría manifestada por María brota de la elección que Dios le hace, ya que se consideraba indigna de la misión que El le encomienda. Y es en el N. T. donde se nos presenta una imagen detallada de las cualidades y virtudes de María por ejemplo; en Lc 2, 35 la purificación de María, en Jn 1, 12-13 concepción virginal de

Jesús, Jn 2, 1-11 la intercesión de María y en Jn 19, 25-27 madre dolorosa. Aquí se resalta un poco de amplio bagaje que puede ayudarnos a comprender más sobre María, como la segunda Eva. A manera de colofón retomo las palabras que el Concilio Vaticano II, enseña sobre María: “es la Virgen que concebirá y dará a luz a un Hijo, que se llamará Emmanuel, según la profecía de Isaías”, (LG 55). Para ilustrar un poco más, recordemos las palabras de los padres antiguos que también son retomadas por el Concilio Vaticano II, “el nudo de la desobediencia de Eva fue desatado por la obediencia de María; lo que atoo la Virgen Eva por la incredulidad, la Virgen María lo desató por la fe”, (LG 56).

Finalmente, quiero exhortarlos a reflexionar sobre el amor de Dios manifestado en la Virgen María. Puedo decir, que Dios tiene sueños, proyectos y quiere hacerlos realidad en nuestra vida, de igual manera que lo hizo en la vida de su elegida. Fue por amor que Dios la predestino para que fuera su Madre.

Pidámosle a ella, la segunda Eva, un amor a Dios semejante al de ella, que nos haga amar sus sueños, los proyectos de su corazón y que nos permita decir todos los días, a cada momento, “Señor, que tu sueño o voluntad se haga realidad en mí, así como en la vida de María, para la gloria de Dios y bien de mi alma”. Así sea.q Juan Gonzales es un seminarista estudiando para la Diócesis de Tyler.

María: Refugio de los

Pecadores A través de este artículo, quiero invitarlos a reflexionar, junto conmigo, sobre la Virgen Maria como Refugio de los Pecadores. En algunos lugares del mundo, la gente acostumbra rezar las letanías de la Santísima Virgen al terminar el rezo del Santo Rosario. Entre las diferentes formas de oración a la Virgen María, que la Iglesia nos ofrece, están las letanías. Es por esto, que considero importante que reflexionemos al respecto. Veamos: “Estas letanías consisten en una serie de invocaciones dirigidas a ella que al sucederse unas a otras crean una cadena de oración. Las invocaciones que forman parte de esta Letanía, son breves pero consisten en dos partes: la primera de alabanza (“Refugio de los pecadores”), la segunda de súplica (“ruega por nosotros”). Estas letanías lauretanas constituyen una oración en sí mismas cuyo origen se suele situar hacia el año 1500 en el santuario Loreto (de ahí su nombre de “Lauretanas”). A lo largo de los siglos han sido muy apreciadas y recomendadas por los Papas”. (cf. Directorio sobre la Piedad Popular y la Liturgia, II, no.203).

Una de las advocaciones que se mencionan en estas letanías y que ha sido más compleja para mí, es precisamente esta: “María refugio de los pecadores”. Pienso que la razón de este sentimiento es que, por mucho tiempo, recé el Santo Rosario como un robot, repitiendo oraciones, pero sin saber ni reflexionar sobre lo que rezaba. Todo cambió un día cuando, al estar rezando la letanía y profundizar con interés, en esta, me di cuenta de que nunca me había detenido a pensar en el significado de los títulos que la Iglesia le ha dado tan digna Madre. Puedo asegurar que, en esta ocasión, la Virgen María me regaló una experiencia increíble porque me permitió experimentar la presencia del Espíritu Santo quien me movía a la oración y a la meditación. El Espíritu Santo, abría mis oídos, mi mente, mi inteligencia y mi corazón para conocer la belleza, delicadeza y profundidad de cada una de las invocaciones. Al llegar al lugar donde se aclama a María como Refugio de los Pecadores, me inquieté un poco, porque se me ocurrió que esto, si lo otorgamos a la Madre de Dios, es como una dicotomía. Me explico: ¿Cómo es que María, la Inmaculada Concepción, es refugio de los pecadores? ¿Cómo es que a María, la que fue preservada del pecado y que nunca cometió pecado, se le llame refugio de los pecadores? ¿Cómo es que María, la llena de gracia, la Madre de la Palabra encarnada preste su regazo para refugiar al que ofende a su Hijo? “La llena de Gracia - Refugio de los Pecadores”, vi esto como dos cosas opuestas. Pero, al recapacitar sobre esta

Por Mariela González contraposición, encontré que esta dicotomía no existe y que la respuesta no es tan complicada. Es precisamente porque María es madre - que nos acoge, a nosotros los pecadores, para confortarnos en nuestra agonía cuando vivimos en pecado. María, como madre, nos consuela con la misma ternura con la que consolaba a su hijo Jesús. María escucha nuestro llanto, nuestras plegarias, no nos juzga sino que nos mira con amor. Nosotros, los pecadores, nos refugiamos en su regazo porque tenemos la certeza de que su Inmaculado Corazón es un refugio seguro. Nos refugiamos en ella por que como toda Madre nos ama a pesar de nuestra indiferencia y negligencia. Además, después de consolarnos nos instruye, nos corrige con amor y nos dice “hagan todo lo que él [ Jesús] les diga” ( Juan 2:5).

Porque María es Refugio de los pecadores, sin cesar “ruega por nosotros ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte” para que experimentemos, durante nuestra vida terrena, la gran misericordia que su hijo amado quiere derramar sobre cada uno de nosotros y para que a la hora de nuestra muerte, estemos preparados para el encuentro final con Dios. “Nosotros, dice el Papa Francisco, nos refugiamos en esta Madre, porque sabemos que nos mira con amor así como lo hace con su Hijo Jesus”. “María es madre y una madre se preocupa, sobre todo, por la salud de sus hijos, sabe cuidarlos con un amor grande y tierno. La Virgen custodia nuestra salud. ¿Qué quiere decir esto? Pienso sobre todo en tres aspectos: Nos ayuda a crecer, a afrontar la vida, a ser libres”. Si la Virgen María es capaz de vernos como a sus hijos amados, es de contado que se ofrece a sí misma para ser nuestro refugio en momentos de debilidad.

A través de la historia hemos visto como, santos o pecadores, se acogen a la Virgen Madre en busca de refugio y de protección. Algunos Papas han consagrado su pontificado a su Inmaculado Corazón porque han tenido la certeza de que no serían rechazados por ella.

Algunos de nosotros nos refugiamos como niños en los brazos amorosos de la Madre de Dios, con la esperanza de aprender en la escuela de su corazón, la forma más perfecta de pedir perdón, a su Hijo Jesús, por nuestras culpas. En su regazo tomamos consciencia de nuestra debilidad y tenemos la esperanza de que con la ayuda de su intercesión Dios nos contemplará con benignidad y verá con buenos ojos nuestra recta intención y nuestro arrepentimiento. Nos acercamos a María, refugio de los pecadores, porque tenemos la seguridad de que nos ve con ojos amorosos y, aún más, Ella espera para que nos refugiemos en ella para así conducirnos a su Hijo, nuestro Señor Jesucristo. q 57

V I S I Ó N H I S PA N A

La Virgen María en mi Vida

Por: Hna. Angelica Orozco 58

Una de las características más sobresalientes de la vida consagrada, es la devoción que cada religiosa o religioso tiene a la Madre de Jesús. Para la religiosa María es la que modela más perfectamente el modo de vivir de acuerdo a la voluntad del Padre.

Ella es la estrella que ilumina y acrecienta la relación con Dios de cada alma que se entrega totalmente al servicio del Omnipotente y a los hermanos. Una religiosa sin devoción a María corre el riesgo de convertirse en una religiosa a medias porque no se puede amar intensamente al Hijo sin haber conocido el corazón de la Madre.

Al reflexionar sobre esta realidad entrevistamos a la hermana Michaela Tomkowiak, quien por 31 años ha sido miembro de la Congregación de las Hermanas de la Sagrada Familia de Nazareth. Ella es de descendencia Polaca, como San Juan Pablo II y trabaja como enfermera en el Hospital Mother Francés aquí en Tyler. He aquí sus respuestas. ¿Cuál es su primera memoria de la Virgen María?

Recuerdo que en mi ciudad, donde yo vivía con mis padres y mi hermano, había un santuario dedicado a Nuestra Señora de la Consolación. Esta imagen era muy querida por los habitantes de la ciudad. Mi tía me llevaba cuando era niña, a su santuario, pues ella era muy piadosa. Cuando llegábamos al santuario, me impresionaba ver como descubrían el inmenso cuadro, de la Virgen, que había ahí. El cuadro lo cubrían durante la noche con una cortina muy bonita y por la mañana lo descubrían al tocar una música especial. Eso para mí era espectacular.

También recuerdo que cuando tenía entre 13 y 14 años, con mi grupo juvenil, íbamos en peregrinación a visitar a Nuestra Señora de Czestochowa. En estas peregrinaciones caminábamos por 10 días, hasta llegar al lugar donde estaba esta imagen de la Virgen tan querida para el Papa de la sonrisa. Todos los jóvenes que participábamos de estas peregrinaciones nos sentíamos inspirados por el amor tan especial que tenía el Papa Juan Pablo II por ella y por eso caminábamos los diez días sin quejarnos y con mucha alegría.

Puedo decir con certeza que la Virgen María estuvo presente en los primeros años de mi vida, aun sin yo darme cuenta. ¿En su familia había una devoción especial a la Virgen María?

Si, como ya lo dije antes, en mi ciudad tenían y tienen como su reina a nuestra Señora de la Consolación. En mi familia siempre se respiró un amor especial por esta reina celestial. ¿Cuando sintió el llamado a la vida

religiosa, creé que María influyó en su respuesta a este llamado?

Creo que si, ella me dio la certeza de que yo debía entregarme a Dios. Digo esto porque mis padres no querían que yo fuera religiosa. A pesar de esto, yo sabía que la Virgen María estaba muy cerca de mi corazón puesto que estaba en el corazón de todos los habitantes de Polonia. Yo estaba segura de que ella era la indicada para animarme y para darme el valor requerido para darle a Dios una respuesta afirmativa y gozosa. ¿Cómo es la Virgen María, modelo de fe y de fidelidad para usted como religiosa?

Al hacer los votos perpetuos yo la sentí muy cerca, sentí su amor al igual que el amor del Padre y del Hijos. Yo sé que ella está presente en mi vida, pero la veo y la admiro más cuando la contemplo sirviendo a su familia.

Ella es miembro de la Sagrada Familia. Cuando pienso en ella la contemplo buscando la voluntad de Dios de la forma más perfecta y lo hacía desde el silencio. Ella siempre servía calladamente. Lo más importante para mí, es que ella perseveraba en su entrega a Dios y no le negaba ningún sacrificio. Sin ella, la Sagrada Familia no estaría completa.

En las diferentes circunstancias que la vida me ha presentado, la Viren María ha estado ahí, conmigo. Ella se me hace presente como Madre y la siento cerca, muy cerca. ¿Cuál es la virtud de María que más admira o le gustaría imitar?

Esta pregunta es algo difícil de contestar porque todo en ella es virtud. Pero desde mi propia experiencia pudo decir que lo que más me llama la atención es el hecho de que siempre mantuvo su mirada fija en Dios.

Nunca quitó los ojos del rostro de Dios y tampoco nunca hubo nada que bloqueara su relación con El. Porque tenía siempre su mirada fija en El, depositaba en El toda su confianza. También admiro su silencio.

Si nos ponemos a pensar, la Virgen María se mantuvo calladita durante la vida oculta de su Hijo Jesús, ella no anduvo diciendo a todo el mundo que en su casa vivía el Hijo de Dios… tan es así, que algunos cuestionaban la identidad de Jesús diciendo: “acaso, no es este el Hijo del carpintero?” (Mt. 13:55).

María, desde el silencio, supo mantenerse completamente dedicada a su Hijo que también era el Hijo de Dios.

Otro aspecto o virtud de María, que me cautiva, es su sufrimiento vivido desde el silencio. Al pie de la cruz, aceptaba una vez más, con profunda sumisión la voluntad del Padre. Ella sufría intensamente la muerte de su Hijo y no solo su muerte sino que también la forma en la que El moría. Considero que

desde el silencio, la Madre de Dios, habla más que si hubiera hecho grandes discursos. ¿Cómo es su relación personal con la Madre de Jesús?

Desde que la sentí cercana y haciéndose presente en los momentos más difíciles de mi vida, se ha vuelto indispensable para que yo pueda seguir sirviendo a su Hijo en mis hermanos y hermanas que sufren en sus cuerpos. Como sabe, yo soy enfermera y trabajo en el hospital. Este servicio hay que hacerlo con amor, si no, yo pienso que no tiene valor. Ese amor que yo pueda mostrar a mis pacientes, en el hospital, lo he aprendido de ella. Ella me ha dado tanta confianza… una seguridad plena de estar dispuesta y abierta a lo que Dios me quiera pedir. Quiero, como ella, hacer siempre la santa voluntad de Dios.

En estas peregrinaciones caminábamos por 10 días, hasta llegar al lugar donde estaba esta imagen de la Virgen tan querida para el Papa de la sonrisa. ¿Cuál es su advocación Mariana favorita?

Bueno, creo que es Nuestra Señora de Czestochowa pues tengo muchas memorias de su santuario y por mis experiencias particulares con San Juan Pablo II. Si usted recuerda, en Polonia no había libertad religiosa, por lo tanto, esta advocación para mí y para todo el pueblo Polaco, que sufría la injusticia, fue y es un lugar donde se encuentran respuestas a todas las preguntas que uno pueda ponerse y donde se pueden derramar, con libertad, todas las lágrimas causadas por el dolor. Nuestra Señora de Czestochowa es sin duda mi advocación favorita. Digo esto también porque aquí, con esta Señora, Santa Faustina venía a rezar, fue en este santuario donde conocí a esta gran santa. Considero un regalo especial de la Virgen el conocer a Santa Faustina, una santa a la que le tengo gran devoción por que su misión fue la de propagar la Divina Misericordia. Sabemos que la misericordia de Dios es algo que cada

uno de nosotros constantemente necesita.

Siendo que los católicos somos una minoría en esta área de Texas, ¿qué consejo le daría a un joven que quiere defender su fe y su amor a la Madre de Dios?

Primero que aprenda a escuchar con el corazón. Ahora los jóvenes se mueven en mucho ruido, escuchan sin escuchar. Es importante que ellos aprendan a escuchar porque la voz de María es suave, dulce y serena, y ella habla al corazón. Si el joven guarda silencio, no solo exterior sino también interiormente es por seguro que la escuchará y sabrá que es ella. Una vez que la escuche podrá establecen una relación personal con ella y ella les hará saber cómo hay que amarla para después defenderla. También, si pensamos en una familia normal, sabemos que la madre es una parte importante en la familia. Sin la madre no hay hijos. No se puede separar a los hijos de la madre o viceversa. Esto se aplica también a la Sagrada Familia, no podemos separar a María de Jesús. Un hijo no puede olvidar su relación con su Madre. María es la Madre del Hijo de Dios y por esta razón es también madre nuestra. Un hijo verdadero defiende a su madre a costa de lo que sea, por lo tanto, cuando queremos defender a la Madre de Dios que también es nuestra, mostramos un amor filial y verdadero a ella.

Aquí se aplica lo que comúnmente se dice: A Jesús por María.

Si, la Virgen María es sin duda ejemplo de virtudes para toda mujer, consagrada, casada o soltera. Ella, desde su vida callada y silenciosa, siempre abierta a la voluntad del Padre y dispuesta a servirlo en todo ha dejado en claro que se puede vivir una vida ordinaria extraordinariamente.

A ella, que ha estado siempre de cara a Dios, pidamos constantemente su intercesión para que así, como lo hizo con la Hna. Michaela, también anime a otras jóvenes a querer darse por completo a su hijo Jesús, lo conozcan, lo amen y enseñen a otros a hacer lo mismo. q

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Must we be Catholic?

Executive Editor Peyton Low

In this issue of the Catholic East Texas, we have looked at the we see that Jesus does not give us multiple choices when he founds question, “Why be Catholic?” We chose this theme to conclude the a Church, but rather he desires that all his followers be united ( John first cycle of our new diocesan magazine because this is, at the core, 17:21).

To summarize, it is clear from Sacred Scripture we are saved what Bishop Strickland has asked us to do with his magazine – share the positive reasons for our ever-ancient, ever-new Faith through only through Jesus Christ who, through the Baptism and the other Sacraments, gives us the grace that enables us to be transformed. catechesis and personal stories.

In light of this, I’d like to close this issue by addressing the ques- He founded the Church as the instrument to continue his saving tion in a different way. Indeed, a more difficult way because the ques- work by preserving and administering those Sacraments until he retion of “Why be Catholic?” inevitably leads us to ask, “Must we be turns. Since the Sacraments are the ordinary means through which Catholic?” More directly, does one have to be Catholic to get into Christ offers the grace necessary for salvation, and the Catholic Church Christ is the ordinary minister of those sacraments, it is apheaven?

In some manner, the question about who will be saved is one we propriate to state: salvation comes through the Church. The answer have all dealt with and it takes many forms: Will a good person go to our question, “Must we be Catholic?” is “Yes, salvation is found to heaven? What about my protestant neighbors or non-Christian only in the Catholic Church.” As the Catechism of the Catholic friends? What about my children who have fallen away from their Church says, “To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the faith?

We want the very best for those In some manner, the question about whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church” (845). This is a we know and love, and the very best means helping them on the path to who will be saved is one we have all dealt belief which has been taught infalholiness so they can go to their eter- with and it takes many forms: Will a good libly by the Church from its very and must be believed by nal reward when the Lord calls them person go to heaven? What about my prot- beginning all who call themselves Catholic. home. But in our post-modern world which holds one belief or religion is estant neighbors or non-Christian friends? Anyone who knows this truth, yet just as good as any other, it is easy What about my children who have fallen refuses enter the Church or leaves it cannot be saved. and popular to allow everyone to go At the same time, we must about their lives, doing as they please, away from their faith? understand this teaching as the mistakenly confident that if they have been “nice,” they will go to heaven when they die. In this view, there church does: it does not necessarily mean all those who are outside is a god who created the world and watches over it. This god wants us the formal and visible bounds of the Church are condemned to eterto be kind and treat each other well, but the main purpose of life is to nal punishment. God wills that all men be saved. There are those be happy and to feel good about oneself. We might turn to this god who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Lord Jesus or when we are in trouble, but otherwise he (or she) isn’t particularly the fullness of his teaching. We probably know many people that fall into this category. They were raised in homes without faith or involved in our lives.

Our existence would be so much easier if this were the case, if brought up in a Christian faith separated from the Catholic Church. everything was just “fuzzy” enough so that the bare minimum “spir- The Church calls those in this condition “invincibly ignorant” – they ituality” served as the only requirement. But there is one problem do not know what they do not know, and inasmuch, they are not with this view, and his name is Jesus. To his Apostles at the Last responsible for that lack of knowledge. For these, there is hope of Supper, and thus to all of us, the Lord states unequivocally, “I am the salvation if they “seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates through me” ( John 14:6). Jesus doesn’t give us an easy way out. He of their conscience…” (Lumen Gentium 16). They have the possibildoesn’t say, “I am one of the ways,” or “I am part of the truth,” or “In ity of salvation, but that judgment is left to God, not us.

For our part, we must continue to pray for them so that they addition to going through me, there are several other ways to the Father.” No, Jesus gives us no options besides himself and he expects will return to the flock and have the help of grace that can only come from the Church. It is also to these souls that the Church is given few will find this path (Matthew 17:13-14).

Not only does Jesus establish that he is the way to salvation – her mission, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizthe who and the what, but throughout the Gospels he also gives us, ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy by divine command, the means by which he offers this salvation – the Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” how. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). (Matthew 28:19-20). In order to accept or reject the Gospel, each “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did” person must have it preached to him, and to evangelize those who (Luke 13:3). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eter- are ignorant of the Gospel or its fullness is not just the responsibilnal life, and I will raise him on the last day” ( John 6:54). Baptism, ity of the clergy, but the obligation and “sacred right” of all of us by Confession, Holy Communion. In these verses and others, Jesus as- virtue of our Baptism (CCC 848). We do this through our example sociates salvation with the Sacraments – the efficacious signs of grace of virtue and holiness, by prayer for conversion and unity, by being which he instituted so we can be made holy and participate in the prepared to answer questions about the faith, and by proposing the divine life. These Sacraments are entrusted to the one Church that truth found in the Church – the one flesh that has Christ as its head Christ founded on Peter and the Apostles (Matthew 16:18). Again and all of us as its body (Ephesians 5:32).q 60

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