About Authority ....

I frequently read comments posted by that most prolific writer, Anonymous. It irritates me, probably because I disagree with them, even when their subsequent comments disagree completely with their previous one. I'm not sure what it really is that is off-putting to me, possibly that a signed criticism carries more weight than an unsigned one. The writer is putting himself on the line.

Still there are reasons, sometimes substantial ones, why individuals do not want to identify themselves. It's a lot easier to append your signature to a statement or petition where you are one of many, than it is to stand alone in speaking up. Sometimes such action may jeopardize one's future or even one's current position. That's where age gives one great freedom. If you are near retirement, you can be pushed out without fanfare. I am inclined to think of some bishops who have received a gentle (or not so gentle) nudge into their twilight. But that frees them to speak out, unlike an otherwise pastoral cardinal who endorsed the papal teaching on birth control in Humani Generis but told a priest privately "I had to say it. It was expected of me." If you are retired, there's nothing "they" can do to you. If you are a prominent and respected theologian "they" can withdraw your license to teach as a Catholic theologian, and if you are a priest you are removed from the list of episcopabile.

Scandals in the Church

Most media coverage of the church in the last decade has focused on the issue of clerical pedophiles both in America and in Ireland. In the last year or so it has also included Germany and Austria. The scandal has escalated as evidence of cover-ups by the Church hierarchy extending to the highest levels. Responses have ranged from outright denial, protestations of ignorance of the facts, or blaming of lesser authorities. This seems to be the only instance where church authorities endorse the principle of subsidiarity.
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This said, I found an interesting item in the news last week which seemed to get little play in the media.

THE SERVANT CHURCH

My favorite writers on the Church are Adrian Dulles and Edmund Schillebeeckx, neither of whom were notable liberals. Both have significantly influenced my concept of the Church as well as that expressed by the Bishops at Vatican II: Dulles in delineating various models of Church, Schillebeeckx in forming my vision of the Church as the Body of Christ who acts and speaks through it in the world today. Richard P. McBrien’s “The Church” is probably the best and most readable book on the subject in fifty years. When I started to formulate my vision for the Church of the future, not the heavenly New Jerusalem, but the church down and dirty in its members, I tried to put that vision in words in the context of the world today. I think it is the same vision as that expressed by Vatican II in the document De Ecclesia ("About the Church".)

My vision harks back to the early church we find in the Acts of the Apostles. It is the church described by Paul who wrote, “Have that mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

Eucharist - a Mystery

Talk about sharing what your faith means to you! I can grasp why we never talked about religion when I was growing up in Ireland.  Mainly because we couldn't (or at least I couldn't) share our most intimate feelings with someone who might not grasp them. I lived in a parish where our pastor believed that children should receive the sacraments when they could express an understanding of them, not when they arrived at an age established by rules. Consequently, several of my classmates and I received the sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation at the age of seven.

While I agree with his approach in theory, I cannot guarantee that I understood what the words really expressed. How many of us really can say that we understand the mystery of the Eucharist today?  Who can explain the mystery of transubstantiation? Can I explain my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the bread and wine after the words pronounced over them by the celebrant at Mass?

Cursillo

The other day a friend asked me what I meant by saying that a Cursillo was the most significant event on my spiritual journey. I knew what I meant, but I could not express it in a nutshell. I think Catholics, particularly Irish Catholics, are not accustomed to giving personal testimonies or witness talks. Yet that is what Christ told his disciples to do --- to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. When I was younger two topics were taboo in polite society in Ireland: religion and politics.

But times change...

Where is the Church?

Welcome to my blog! I was born in Ireland, but I have lived much of my life in America, mainly in Florida. Those of you with an Irish background may find my blog title familiar, from the old Irish blessing "May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back."

We all like to reminisce about the past and sometimes share our vision of the future. I recall sitting late by the fireside enthralled as my father and old friends shared memories of events and characters from their youth. In fact, I remember upon my arrival in New York sharing some of their stories with neighbors from home now living in the Bronx.

However, I want to share other musings from my concerns about the future and the past of an essential part of my life in both countries, the Church.