As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Archbishop Dolan gave the homily at the annual Roman Catholic Red Mass in Washington D.C. Sunday for the Supreme Court Justices. He opened with an anecdote about John Paul II and how he changed somebody's life. Now I know I can be a complainer of sorts, but it seems that JPII is the content of a lot of Dolan's homilies. My own personal prejudice is that people are more moved by examples that are common to them. JPII, according to our official church doctrine, was ontologically changed at ordination and thus, stories about him do not always move me as much.
Our church is (I think for worse) in the age of JPII. There used to be pre-Vatican II priests and Vatican II priests, and now there are JPII priests. Unfortunately, I can't find it right now, but the Saint Francis Seminary web page used to have bios of all the seminarians that included a paragraph of their influences. Almost every single one mentioned JPII. Yes, I know, JPII was moving to them, but they're considering priesthood. The average person in the pew is not considering priesthood (and 50% of them are told not to consider it). But shouldn't our focus as a church be on Jesus and how the "lay" person can follow in his footsteps. I'm not interested in following in JPII's footsteps.
In any case, my two cents: Venerable Archbishop and JPII priests, please use examples and anecdotes those of us in the pew can relate to a bit more (someone who is not ordained or part of religious community). Thank you.
A Faithful Catholic
3 comments:
Even anecdotes about contemporary priests and nuns who commute to work and have to mow the lawns at their houses?
How can JPII be so regarded when he in effect "undid" much of an Ecumenical Council? His dark legacy is with us for many years in the bishops he placed during his 25 years.
Heh.
A quiet revolution is going on among Catholic men. While difficult to find the source of this revival of manly Catholicism, the iconic example of Pope John Paul II is surely a key factor. Not only his robust virility, his love for sports and the outdoors, but his brave counter attack on the dominant sexual hedonism of the era. Pope John Paul’s theology of the body has given men--and women -- a compass to guide them through their disordered social milieu.
For some 15 years or so, a new breed of young men, again inspired by the Holy Father, has entered our seminaries, seminaries cleansed of the effeminate and relaxed Catholicism of earlier decades. In the very face of a supposedly disgraced American priesthood, they have risen to the challenge. Aspiring both to sanctity and manly virtue, they are and will continue to be beacons of a new Catholic manhood. One small indication of this change, albeit not in the U.S., is the recently established seminarians’ soccer league in Rome, where the Church’s future leaders weekly gather to battle with one another. The matches are said to be drawing enthusiastic crowds.
see: http://www.thebostonpilot.com/articleopinion.asp?ID=5234
I don't have a problem with that. Maybe you do...
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