In my columns during the season of Advent, I am reflecting on the Kerygma, the basic proclamation of the Gospel in its essence.
Last week, I pondered the first part of this Good News, which is the radical, unconditional, and eternal love of God for us, a love that we cannot even begin to grasp! Our experience of the Lord’s saving mercy is the basis of our spiritual response to God’s remarkable initiative, as Jesus breaks into our lives in all joy and promise.
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The kerygma also reminds us of other key Scriptural figures — Peter standing up in the streets of Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus for the first time; Paul preaching the meaning of faith in Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and his letters as thoughtfully theological follow-ups to the kerygma.
The task of every vocation in the Church, from those in Holy Orders to the Religious to the lay faithful, is to proclaim the Gospel. This mission is the fundamental purpose of the Body of Christ.
Advent is a significant moment for us to go back to the basics of our faith. Who is Jesus for us? How have we experienced him? How do I grow in my relationship with the Lord? How do I better proclaim the love, mercy, and forgiveness that I have experienced flowing from his merciful heart?
Thanksgiving Day has remained a simple holiday. No gifts, candy, decorations, or seasons are attached to it. Family and friends simply gather for a meal on the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks to God and one another, rejoicing in the many graces and blessings that we have received from the hands of the provident and loving Lord of the feast.
For us, as Christians, thanksgiving is not simply a day on the calendar but rather a whole way of life.
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If you knew the date of your death, how would you live differently?
Such a question may seem strange, but it is one I think about once in a while. Perhaps, I would live fearlessly; knowing how much time I have left would enable me to take risks and face danger more boldly.
If I was facing a premature death, would that knowledge painfully shadow my thoughts and feelings every day? If I was blessed with a long life, maybe I would be tempted to put off conversion, foolishly thinking I have so much time to pull things together.
Obviously, all of these questions and thoughts are moot, since we know neither the day nor the hour of our passing from this life.
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“Though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!”
Paul quotes these lines of the Kenotic Hymn in the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians, citing Christ’s example of humility as a model for the community to emulate.
Two leaders of the Christian community in Philippi were fighting with each other, causing dissension and conflict, so Paul, from his prison cell, seeks to heal the division. The Kenotic Hymn is probably the earliest Scriptural articulation of the Paschal Mystery, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Greek word “kenosis” means “self-emptying,” a pouring out, a radical gift of self.
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In my last column, I began speaking about the Declaration Dominus Iesus (“the Lord Jesus”), which recalls for us “certain indispensable elements of Christian doctrine” that we all need to keep in mind as we think about one of the big questions confronting the Amazon Synod in Rome, which is simply this: how are we called to relate to followers of non-Christian religions, many of whom have never heard the proclamation of the saving truth of the Gospel?
What are these “indispensable elements of Christian doctrine”? The Declaration mentions more things than we have space to discuss here, but I want to highlight the first one in particular, which has to do with the fullness and definitiveness of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The primary aim of the Amazon Synod that is happening right now in Rome is, in the words of Pope Francis, to “identify new ways for the evangelization of that portion of the people of God, and especially the indigenous peoples.”1
This question of how to evangelize is very important, not only for the Amazon Region, but for the whole Church. How do we bring Jesus Christ to those who have never heard of him? And more specifically, how are we called to treat other cultures and other religions with the respect they deserve yet without compromising the saving truth of the Gospel?
I was blessed to do a series of talks on the Catechism of the Catholic Church recently at St. Dennis Parish. I was impressed with the intense interest and attendance level every night.
People are hungry to learn more about the Faith and to put it into practice. Copies of the Catechism flew off the back table at an inspiring rate, which made this bishop’s heart very happy!
We congratulate and rejoice with Deacons Timothy Mergen and Enan Zelinski, who were ordained last week in St. Peter’s Basilica and will be ordained priests here next June for the Diocese of Madison.
These men, so representative of all our seminarians, are prayerful, holy, committed, and zealous in living out the Gospel of Christ and shepherding His holy people. Our prayers and gratitude go to these inspiring servants of the Lord, as well as to their parents, families, and friends.
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Forty years ago this week, Saint John Paul II energized and inspired our country during his epic first Pastoral Visit to the United States.
Saint Paul VI had visited New York City in 1965 during a visit to the United Nations, but that short encounter was the extent of any papal presence in this country. Arriving directly from his remarkable pilgrimage to Ireland, Saint John Paul landed in Boston on a Monday afternoon and electrified all of us.
I was 16 at the time, thinking of priesthood, struggling to discern the mystery of such a call. I was also working my first restaurant job; having graduated from washing dishes to frying chicken, I was making $2.32 an hour, which even then was a terrible wage.
