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“Ancient of days” by
William Blake (1757 –1827)
English poet, artist, mystic |
Sent
the following letter to one of our bishops regarding the Catechism of the Catholic
Church (CCCB) and the Mystery of our Faith . . . .
“Read
your comments about the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Your praise about this document
encouraged/inspired me to reflect on the Catechism on my blog as follows:
Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and
shattered the rocks – but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped
blowing, and then there was an earthquake – but the Lord was not in the
earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire – but the Lord was not in the
fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12
-
Jesus,
according to noted Franciscan priest, retreat master, and author Richard Rohr,
was asked some 120 questions in the Gospel stories – it may surprise you to
learn that he only answered three!
Orthodox
Jews, on the other hand, are required to observe a ‘mere’ 613 commandments
while the Koran (placing emphasis on the moral obligations of all its
followers) consists of over 100 hundred verses or suras that our Muslim brothers and sisters are required to learn by
heart from school age on.
The New Catholic Catechism(1969) produced by
The Bishops of the Netherlands, reflected the very essence of the pastoral
style introduced by the fathers of the Second Vatican Council. It invited
readers to explore their faith with an open mind in an increasingly complex and
multi cultural society made up of many faiths and more interfaith marriages. Note,
how the 1969 version treats the question of homosexuality: “It is not the fault
of the individual if he or she is not attracted to the other sex. The causes of
homosexuality are unknown” This rendering appears in sharp contrast to the tone
in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states “Homosexual
persons are called to chastity . . they should gradually and resolutely
approach Christian perfection”.
The current
Catechism is structured much like a legal document complete with carefully designed
and precisely arranged paragraphs. Additionally, and unlike its predecessor, it
is written in the stilted clerical language typical of most Vatican documents. Its
style, verse and chapter, precisely reflects Roman Catholic Canon Law (1983)
which forms the basis for the Church’s operating manual or internal legal
system.
As a legal
document the current Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) has raised perhaps
thousands of Roman Catholics that now carry a very dualistic view and
understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Who belongs and who doesn't -
who is guilty of a grave and intrinsically disordered sin and about an
institution that is not! Who should be excommunicated and who should be made a
saint! Should life be so simple or so black and white?
Jesus or his
disciples never recorded a single word. Jesus didn’t ask the local scribes (who
he frequently criticized) to record his words. Faith, the precious gift from
God is written on our hearts not on a piece of paper. It is here that we will
find all the answers we will ever need. Perhaps we don't even need a catechism.
Certainly the early church survived without one. The church can point the way
but never become the destination.
Where has
the mystery of our faith gone?
The
Catechism speaks of love but promises little. As a result it is more often used
as instrument of punishment than a means to engage in a loving and forgiving
relationship with our neighbour and self through an unconditionally loving
deity.
No one
should expect members of the clergy to say anything that challenges the
catechism. But this document creates more controversy than diversity. This is
especially evident when it comes to discussion on #2357 where the word 'love'
is not only noticeably absent but defies overwhelming scientific and medical
evidence to the contrary. At times the Roman Catholic Curia seems to defy proven
scientific progress perhaps because of its glorious past. However, God meets us
in the present not in the past and not in the future. God meets us where we are
and not where others would have us be. God who is the Word alive loves us and
his creation unconditionally! Should we not celebrate that incredible mystery each
day?
In an
attempt to create a homogenous and perhaps unifying understanding of our
beliefs; religions often discourage its members to explore their faith beyond
‘established and well defined’ boundaries. But surely, we must ask: is God not greater than that? What’s
more, surely we have not exhausted who God is and can be for us today? St.Thomas of Aquinas, perhaps the greatest
theologian of the Catholic Church, is quoted as saying 'concerning the nature
of God, it is better to consider what God is not". While upon his death,
reflecting on the many volumes he had authored: “all that I have written seems
like straw to me."
Our demand
for definitive answers, rather than the search, often appears elusive when it
comes to discovering the Creator within. I strongly believe that ‘ready
answers’ instead of questions often prevent us from embracing the very mystery
of God. The demand for exacting and narrow definitions, in a world, where
almost everything can be ‘Googled’ may prevent us from discovering what we
already know with our hearts but not with our minds.
A MODERN
PARABLE
A little three year old girl wanted to hold her
newborn brother but was discouraged by her parents for fear she might drop the
baby. Finally, after continued persistence the parents relented and allowed her
to enter the nursery alone, holding back with obvious trepidation. Watching
secretly from a safe distance and observing the little girl, the parents could
just hear the girl ask her baby brother: “tell me again about God, I’m starting
to forget?”
Karen
Armstrong in her book The Great
Transformation writes “until the eighth century, writing was regarded as a
divine, uncanny skill that was potentially dangerous for human beings. The view
being that the wisdom of the community belonged to everybody; and should not
become the possession of a literate minority. At the time, Jewish scholars argued that the shift
from oral tradition to written texts can lead to religious stridency, giving a
student misplaced clarity and certainty about matters that are essentially
elusive and ineffable”.
Definitions
and perhaps even creeds, do not define who we truly are and more importantly
who we, in God can be. Instead they often become fixed standards that divide
and separate us from one another. Similarly, church dogma and doctrine can be
very helpful in guiding us toward the Truth but should never become the
substitute for the heart and love of the mystery that is God.
Our search
for peace and unity, based on diversity, will demand more questions than
answers if we wish to seek a greater understanding of that mystery that speaks
beyond mere words.”
Here follows the Archbishop’s written response:
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your letter of XXXXX regarding my comments on the Catechism of the Catholic Church published on-line on XXXX.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. It is my hope that the Year of Faith will be an occasion for all of us to entrust ourselves more deeply to the Lord and to his Body, the Church.
This form letter and response was not
totally unexpected, however, bear in mind that this same cleric recently launched
an initiative to win back disenfranchised Catholics at a cost of half a
million. Faith is a gift from God. The role of the any religious institution is
to listen and bring healing to those it is called to serve.
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