In last week’s column, I discussed Reinhold Niebuhr’s three-fold model of how Christians relate to the culture around them.
Tag: Second Vatican Council
A look at Vatican II’s Dei Verbum
Another significant document of the Second Vatican Council is Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, promulgated on November 18, 1965, in the closing months of the final council session.
Looking back at the Second Vatican Council
Angelo Cardinal Roncalli, the Patriarch of Venice, was elected pope on October 28, 1958, after the long reign of Pius XII, taking the name John XXIII.
The different Rites of the Latin Church
The first in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
“Bishop Morlino did what? What’s that all about?”
You may have seen notices and articles over the last year or so about Bishop Robert C. Morlino celebrating “Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.”
It is possible that some of you, seeing “Throne,” and “Pontifical,” and “Extraordinary,” might say “What’s that all about?” as you turn the page.
In a short series over the next few issues of the Catholic Herald, let’s drill into “what that’s all about.”
Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Embracing the vow of obedience
Editor’s note: During the Year of Consecrated Life which ends on February 2, this is the last in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
In this commentary on the Decree of the Second Vatican Council, On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life (original = Perfectae Caritatis), we have been reflecting on how the Council Fathers envisioned a deep renewal of what the Church calls “the Consecrated Life.”
Number 14 of the decree speaks of one of the evangelical counsels, obedience. It is one of the most important ones, and gives a particular color to the entirety of Religious Life.
Lecture focuses on music and beauty of Mass
“Of all the things that should be beautiful in the sacred liturgy, music is one of the most important ones,” said Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, to the attendees at the St. Thérèse Lecture November 20 at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center in Madison.
Laity bring light of Christ to the world
Although it dates me to admit it, I was a high school student during the Second Vatican Council.
In our daily religion classes at Aquinas High School in La Crosse (yes, we had daily classes all taught by priests at that time), we studied the documents of that council.
One of those documents had a special impact on me. It was the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church also known by its Latin title, Lumen Gentium.
This document — promulgated by Blessed Paul VI on November 21, 1964 — talks about the hierarchical structure of the Church, including the role of bishops, priests, deacons, and Religious. It also has a full chapter on the laity, which was especially interesting to me 51 years ago.
God in action: Cardinal reminds us that God is at work in our time
This week I happily relinquish most of the Editorial Page to a most distinguished writer: Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.
Cardinal George writes so eloquently about the evolution of the Catholic Church as it relates to society as a whole.
He discusses particularly what has happened in the United States in more recent years, when the Church — and its faithful members — have been forced to “swim against the tide” when the government and social pressure seek to impose their “own form of morality” on us.
How saintly popes modeled virtue
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On April 27, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) and Karol Jozef Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) were recognized as saints of the Catholic Church, and may God be praised for it!
No one with the slightest amount of historical sensibility would doubt that these men were figures of enormous significance and truly global impact.
But being a world historical personage is not the same as being a saint; otherwise neither Thérèse of Lisieux, nor John Vianney, nor Benedict Joseph Labré would be saints.
What is a saint?
So what is it that made these two men worthy particularly of canonization? Happily, the Church provides rather clear and objective criteria for answering this question. A saint is someone who lived a life of “heroic virtue” on earth and who is now living the fullness of God’s life in heaven.
Two inspiring saints: They encourage us to spread Christ’s message in the world
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Our two newest saints — St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II — have been inspirations in my life and the lives of many people in the last 50+ years. Their canonizations should help bring more attention to their lives and their influence on the Church and the world.
Influence of St. John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (now St. John XXIII) died in 1963, the year I entered Aquinas High School in La Crosse. Despite his death, he had a profound impact on my high school years. That’s because during my daily religion classes we talked about what was happening at the Second Vatican Council called by Pope John XXIII. We also studied the documents of the council, hot off the presses.
The one I remember most is Gaudium et Spes (“Joy and Hope”), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document touches on many of the challenges facing people in the modern world which we continue to face today: rapid change, an abundance of wealth and resources, discoveries in science and technology, advances in biology and psychology . . . the list goes on. This document is available in its entirety on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va) and is certainly worth reading today.