AT LAST, A SANE VOICE AMIDST THE CONFUSION
The Holy Father had announced a ‘New Evangelization.’ He, not only explained ‘Evangelization’, but gave the four complete steps that lead to Eternal Life. Evangelization is only the first step and it leads to the second step which is ‘Porta Fidei.’ The Pope set aside temporarily the last two steps for this ‘Year of Faith’ because only the first step is needed and this leads to the second step which is Faith.
Though the Holy Father gave this talk on ‘New Evangelization’ as early as in 2000, and though he gave many indications of the great importance of this topic, very few seems to have gotten what he was saying. The word ‘New Evangelization’ had been quoted by many bishops in their speeches but it never came close to what the Pope was referring to. And all the efforts to implement the Popes ‘New Evangelization’ that leads to ‘Porta Fidei’ had been total digression from the main goal of the Holy Father…..from the ‘Lineamenta,’ to the ‘Instrumentum Laboris,’ to the 58 proposals made during the Bishop’s Synod. A watcher to this scenario could only loose heart at what is happening to the Church. But at last, a tiny voice amidst the confusion…..a clear voice from the International Theological Commission.
The International Theological Commission is a group of Catholic theologians from around the world appointed by the Pope upon suggestion of the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith. Each member have a renewable five year term and they meet together in person once every year for a week. Their main job is to advise the Magisterium of the Church especially the CDF. In support of the ‘Year of Faith’ proclaimed by Pope Benedict they came out offering their services. And their short declaration of assistance to the Church contained a perfect knowledge of the ‘MIND’ of Pope Benedict on his ‘New Evangelization that leads to ‘Porta Fidei.’ What a consolation to hear a perfect echo of Pope Benedict.
The ‘Year of Faith’ is for all Bishops, priests, brothers, nuns and all lay people to find out if they have Faith. No one is exempted. The inclusion of Bishops and priest was very clear from the ‘Ratzinger Report,’ from the ‘Year of St. Paul,’ from the ‘Year of the Priests,’ summarized in ‘Veritatis Splendor,’ and most clearly in the ‘New Evangelization’ that leads to ‘Porta Fidei.’ It is the Bishops and priest who are undergoing a crisis of Faith. The signs are all clear from the fact that no shepherd is sounding the proverbial trumpet mentioned by St. Paul, to the worldwide problem of priests that seems not to wane down to the very Bishops who caannot pin point where the problem of the Church is. A brief review of ‘what are the signs of Faith’ shows that there is no Faith in the Church today (with an exception that can only be described as the work of the grace of God.)
This, of course, will redound to the crisis of Faith among the lay people who are taught by the bishops and priest. The crisis of Faith among the lay people cannot be blamed anywhere else except on the pastors.
The ‘Lineamenta’ and ‘Instrumentum laboris’ and the 58 proposals made by the bishop’s synod are all working on the assumption that all the bishops and priest have the theological virtue of Faith and the only work to be done is to lead the laymen towards the ‘door of Faith.’ On the contrary, because they intentionally removed ‘conversion’ from their schema, this shows they have no Faith because conversion is essential to Faith and all who have Faith will emphasize the importance of conversion. Pope Benedict, seeing the trend of mind in the Bishop’s Synod, re-emphasized the importance of conversion last March to priests and deacons. And the International Theological Commission emphasized that too saying: ‘the message of conversion is central to the Year of Faith’……and this is what the Bishop’s documents intentionally omitted stating it was not important. Though Proposition 22 of the Bishop’s Synod talked about ‘conversion’ its description does not approach at all the ‘conversion’ of Pope Benedict.
How in the first place did the laymen happened to have no Faith. Isn’t it because of the faithlessness of their pastors and Bishops? A typical example is the speech of a Bishop-theologian, invited to address the Bishop’s Synod, where he begun by encouraging religious pluralism, a long time heresy and recently condemned again by the Pope at the urging of the International theological commission during its sixth term …and followed by corrections world-side of priests holding such heresy. And the speaker was a Bishop – theologian addressing the Bishop’s Synod. And he is one of those who will evangelize? In fact in his speech he described his religious pluralism as Pope Benedict’s ‘New Evangelization.’ Heresy and truth?
The ‘Year of Faith’ is a command of the Pope for Cardinals, Bishops, priest, brothers, sisters and all laymen…. without exemption, to examine themselves if they have Faith following the guidelines he had already given. It has to begin there. I know it is humiliating. But then we have to begin with humility somehow.
In the ‘Year of Faith’ all we have to learn is how the Act of Faith is made and what are the proper dispositions of the mind and free will that will help us receive the gift of Faith and response to it properly. Nothing else. Everything that is being learned are in the natural level so everyone can do it.
Returning briefly to the Gospel of the 31th Sunday in Ordinary time we just have to do what the Scribe did to be near the ‘Kingdom of God’ (the words used by the Pope referring to Faith.) The Scribe had the knowledge that he should love God with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his strength and will all his soul. One proper disposition that every soul should have is to know how the mind works…and then use his entire knowledge to know God. After knowing God his mind should instruct his free will to love God. That’s it. That is one of the proper disposition that prepares a soul to receive the gift of Faith. We still have to work on three more.
Who knows how the mind works? And one has to go into one’s mind to see what it contains. Does it contain the knowledge of God or does it contain garbage? Considering out present age it is impossible to enter into our minds to find out what it contains because man’s minds are continuously focused outside towards the things of the world. There is no introspection. There is no knowing of oneself. We also have to know God and knowing God consists in going into one’s mind and heart…which are the image and likeness of God. No one has time for that. Souls today would rather know the basketball scores than who is God. In short, analysis shows that conditions are not conducive to making the Act of Faith. So help is needed. And the Holy Father gave us these helps. Like strong medicine few will like it.