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AMERICA Magazine
A balanced Catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits of the United States for an intelligent Catholic readership. Go online to subscribe.

Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

Bishop Accountability
Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

We are to be consecrated in truth.

Readings: Acts 20:28-38 Psalm 88:29-30, 33-36 John 17:11b-19

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth. [John 17:18-19]

Read the Gospel very slowly and if possible, out loud and if necessary, three times! Although John’s literary style is quite complex, the farewell prayer of Jesus is as powerful as is Paul’s farewell message in Acts.

It is not likely that these passages are the actual words of Paul and Jesus. They are compositions that Luke and John or whoever wrote in their name and are based on the oral tradition of the sayings of Jesus and the preaching of Paul. They were written in the style of farewell addresses of prominent leaders of their times in order to win the attention of early believers to whom the message of truth was entrusted.

The ‘truth’ that is being proclaimed is not from a catechism nor is it a defined doctrine or dogma. It is the core truth about the God who spoke through the prophets and then through Jesus about the universality of God’s love.

During this time of immediate preparation for Pentecost, we are invited to think about our own responsibility to pass on the ‘truth’ of God’s goodness entrusted to us in Christ and how we are to live that truth in our daily lives, each in our own unique way. No one of us can do this alone and so we much join hands literally and figuratively within the community of believers everywhere.

To live the ‘truth’ is to live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ the fruits of which are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, moderation, self-control, reverence, etc. I’m sure you memorized these ‘fruits of the Holy Spirit.’

These are the true ‘marks’ of our authenticity as believers.

Counting our Gains and Losses, Politically Speaking

Tuesday November 2, 2004

The hooting and shouting about winners and losers will soon give way to the paralysis of analysis and reform of the Democratic Party. Indicators are that there is also an agenda being prepared by the ‘old-time’ conservatives of the Republican Party who felt left out of recent discussions about party politics and American values. Stay tuned.

At this point it is not clear how influential was the so-called Catholic vote. What do you think? My bias tells me that it was not the Catholic vote that got Bush re-elected. I think Kerry did not make his case and so the old axiom that we learned in elementary school took over with the majority, “When in doubt, leave it out!” in other words, when there is doubt, the incumbent wins!

Whatever your political persuasion, the challenges remain greater than ever for both parties as it does for every American.

We’ve lost something over the past year or more and I believe it is the ‘virtue’ of civility. The debates were designed to titilate the ears of the electorate, i.e, to get votes rather than to inform. In my opinion, intelligent Americans abandoned hope of a true engagement of issues. I found them insulting—as insulting as the shallow commercials marketing candidates and selling votes. In fact, it was the commercial media who should also be held accountable because they reaped the benefits of no campaign finance reforms that neither party wanted to begin with. Billions of dollars for commercials and not one cent for true dialogue! Ugh.

Kerry had plans that were never elucidated. Bush has plans that are not working. Where do we go from here!

Our Catholic bishops pulled out all their stops, stopping just short of naming the candidates for whom we must ‘morally’ cast our ballots. Although many of their candidates may have won, I think in the long term, the bishops lost. Their credibility is not exactly at an all-time high.

Our bishop speaks about truth and logic in his weekly column but these ‘virtues’ have not been applied across the board to his brother bishops and to his own associates on the issue of accountability for the mishandling of sexual abuse to name only one issue.

It is my considered opinion that American Catholics need to get as serious about Church reform as they are about government reform but reform does not begin with shouts from the gallery but with the action of the mind and heart. As I stated in my last talk to Voice of the Faithful in Union County:

“Now comes the hard part. Don’t be alarmed but I believe most Catholics do not want reform any more than any one of us wants to reform our lives. It’s too hard to grow, to get well and to stay well spiritually. As a priest I engage in what I call pastoral transitional counseling. I enable people in trouble to get to the next step. Most hem and haw. It’s too much trouble to do the right thing.

With regard to Church reform, Catholics who are reasonably happy with their experience of parish are reluctant to protest or call for change. Moreover, those who are unhappy no longer practice. Some of us in the ‘middle’ are content to get our sacraments and get back to the routine of getting through the daily routine. These have been called the “hatched” (baptized), “matched” (married) and “dispatched” (buried) Catholics who do not have a high degree of ownership of their faith.

We want our monsignors to wear their purple and the bishops to don their mitres, and the Knights of Columbus to wear their plumes. Others are simply tired of the noise. Young people have resolved faith practice on their own terms.

Reform of the Church must begin with the reform of our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is our source document. Vatican II one of many constitutional documents. The Beatitudes are the criteria; the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit are the barometer of true reform,

We are in this together, lay and ordained, pastors and people in the pew. We are not going back to the old way but we must accept the challenge to move on to a new order that reflects the mystery of God’s incarnate life in the Church, the Body of Christ.”

Father Lasch
kel@fatherlasch.com

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