December 2009
Praying Our Faith
Why Catholic? Training continues
August 2009 Murphy Canyon Chapel Center San Diego, CA
W
e completed another round at three training sites: San Diego, Seoul and Honolulu, during this past summer/fall. Eighteen participants from five bases were present in San Diego. We welcomed two new bases to the Why Catholic? community – Naval Base San Diego and Davis-Montham AFB in Arizona. This training marked the fourth and last for McChord AFB, Washington and Little Rock, AFB, Arkansas. Both of these bases have successfully completed all four books of the Why Catholic? process. The good news at Little Rock is that they started the process with 21 people and now have five groups with 48 in attendance. McChord also shared that they have 3 groups with a steady 35 folks in attendance.
“I have seen a huge change in myself and I attribute that to the Why Catholic? process.”
“I enjoyed the discussion on overcoming obstacles in prayer.”
September 2009 Religious Retreat Center Yongsan, Seoul
S
eventeen participants from three areas of the Army were present. Four of five chaplains were new to the peninsula at the time of the training. Two were able to make the weekend and one sent a representative. Marie Jordan, the WC? Coordinator from Area 3 travelled the two plus hour journey on the bus with her newborn son, Joseph, who turned ten days old on the weekend. Marie has not missed a training weekend!
“During the retreat, I was thrilled to have some quiet time to allow the Holy Spirit to work within me—the exercise to have a conversation with a person in the Scripture was superb!”
“Thank you, Sr. Maureen, for coming all the way to Korea to be with us!” 2
On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009)
Understanding “Tradition” “Tradition”
Tradition means literally “handing on.” In this context we mean the handing on of the Gospel, as commanded by Christ himself. The transmission of Divine Revelation is about bringing all peoples to the knowledge of the truth, that is, of Christ Jesus, so that they may be saved. This means that the Church must proclaim Christ to all peoples, in all times, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth [CCC 74]. The fullness of Revelation is Christ himself, as the Word made flesh. Christ himself then commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men; this Gospel is the source of all saving truth and moral discipline [CCC 75]. We believe there are two essential ways in which the Gospel was and is handed on. The Gospel is handed on first BY THE PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES. This happens in two ways: • orally “by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves received—whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his words, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit” (Dei Verbum, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 7). • in writing “by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing” (Dei Verbum, 7) [CCC 76].
The handing on of the Gospel is continued IN THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. The apostles left bishops as their successors [CCC 77]. This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit is called Tradition (distinct from Sacred Scripture, but closely connected to it). Through Tradition “the Church in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes” (Dei Verbum , 8.1). Tradition and Sacred Scripture, therefore, have - one common source; - but they are two distinct modes of transmission [CCC 81].
The difference between “Tradition” and “traditions”
The Tradition (sometimes referred to as “the great Tradition”) is that which comes from the apostles, in which they hand on what they received from Jesus’ teaching and example, and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. Over time, the Church throughout the world has developed various traditions (in liturgy, in devotion, in theology, and in Church discipline), adapted to different places and times. These are expressions of the great Tradition. These can and should change, in the light of how they express the great Tradition [CCC 83].
Further Reading: United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, Chapter 3 (pages 23-33)
All the faithful share an understanding and handing on revealed truth. “The whole body of the faithful cannot err ... in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (census fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, ‘from the bishops to the last of the faithful,’ they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals” (CCC, no. 92, citing Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium; LG), no. 12).
On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009)
3
“Jumping right into the faith-sharing session and showing the new folks exactly what we are about was great!” October 2009 AMR Chapel Center Honolulu, HI
F
ourteen participants from the Army, Navy and the Marines joined us at AMR for our workshops. The hospitality could not have been warmer. I had the wonderful opportunity to be present for the first faith sharing session of the AMR’s Why Catholic? community on Christian Prayer. The sharing and prayer were inspiring and I was grateful for the invitation to attend.
Profession of Faith What We Believe Our next training will provide a basic theological grounding in the core beliefs of our faith as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed. Schedule of trainings: ▪ U.S. bases January 8-10, 2010 Murphy Canyon Chapel Center San Diego, CA ▪ Bases in Hawaii February 11-13, 2010 AMR Chapel Center Honolulu, HI ▪ Bases in Korea February 19-21, 2010 Religious Retreat Center Yongsan, Seoul For more information, please contact: Sr. Maureen Colleary, FSP maureenc@renewintl.org All content (text, photographs, and design) of this Newsletter © 2009 RENEW International. For further information about the Why Catholic? process for the Military, please contact Sister Maureen at: RENEW International, 1232 George Street, Plainfield, NJ 07062-1717 Tel: 908-769-5400 x 121 Fax: 908-769-5660 Email: MaureenC @renewintl.org
4
On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009)