WHAT DOES IT REALLY 'MEAN' TO BE A CATHOLIC?

WHAT DOES IT REALLY 'MEAN' TO BE A CATHOLIC?

Here are some of the elements of Catholic identity I believe are critical for us to care about and to pass on to our children:

LIVE OUT YOUR OWN CATHOLIC COMMITMENT
Be a good example. And pray -- at church, at home, at work and in the classroom -- for grace to be a good witness of the faith. Others will absorb your Catholic values as you talk and live with them.

STICK TO THE BASICS OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH
People in various circumstances obviously have different expectations and needs. Without ignoring the place of Jesus, the Bible and the other elements we have in common with other churches there are a number of richly Catholic essentials to stress:

• The Mass, or eucharistic liturgy, is central for Catholic lives. We must participate in it at least every Sunday and holy day.

• The seven sacraments, our most profound personal encounters with the Living God, must be thoroughly understood and received with devotion.

• The place of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who is mentioned in the Scriptures at all the important moments in her Son's life, must be emphasized. Christian revelation is incomplete without mention of her.

  Other saints are important, too, as examples of how faith is lived.

• The importance of the pastors of the church must be explained: the roles of the priest; the bishop of the diocese; and, the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome and head of the Church. There is no Catholicism without union with the pastor.

  The value of sisters, brothers and deacons in the church must also be taught.

  A good Catholic, in this context, will want to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

• The official teaching authority of the church, the magisteruim, must be made clear. It is important for Catholics to know that we don't make up the teaching as we go along; but rather rely upon the official teaching authority of the church in order know what is truly Catholic and what isn't. Pope John Paul II 's new "Catechism of the Catholic Church" makes clear what the correct teachings really are.

• The living Tradition of the church must be clarified. Many beliefs have come to us as a result of 2,000 years of the living heritage of believers. Tradition -- living and written in the Bible -- is the process whereby revealed truth THE WHOLE PIE
  All Christian Churches have elements which Jesus intended his church to have. This is true to a greater or lesser degree depending on the church or sect.

  The reason someone should be a Catholic is that the Catholic Church contains ALL of the elements Jesus and the Apostles intended for the church. We believe that the Catholic Church is the true church founded by Jesus.

  (This is taught clearly in the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium," paragraph 8. Chapter 2 of the document, paragraphs 14 and 15, spell out the important elements that make up the true church.)

  Perhaps the idea of the fullness of the truth of the church can be expressed in a very simple way. I believe our church has the "whole pie," not just a piece of it.

  SLICES OF PIE
  Protestant churches and some fundamentalist sects certainly have important "slices of the pie." They believe in Jesus, the Bible as the Word of God, preaching, fellowship, and moral living. But we have those "slices of the pie" in the Catholic Church, too. Plus we have the great blessing of the Eucharist, or the Mass, which is what former Catholics miss the most.

  We have the sacraments of our church, mentioned in the Bible and instituted by Jesus. We have the important "slice of the pie" which we call the magisterium, the Holy Father and the bishops who are successors to Peter and the Apostles.

  Know that Christian revelation is incomplete unless there is a place for Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who is mentioned at all of the important moments in the life of her Son.

  We have the "slice" which we call Tradition, the distilling of the riches of the 2,000-year-old heritage of the church.

  We have great teachings on social justice in which we proclaim respect for the dignity of each human person. The church speaks often and eloquently about the dignity of unborn human life.

  By being part of the universal Catholic Church we have the "whole pie," not just part of it.

  THE BIBLE
  It is important to keep in mind that without the Catholic Church there would be now Bible. The New Testament is really the expression of the life of the early church. God inspired the sacred authors but it was the church, guided by the Holy Spirit, that decided which writings would be incorporated into the Scriptures.

  SEEKING UNITY
  The Catholic Church continues its dialogue with the great Protestant churches. We work for unity, love and peace and are dedicated to ecumenism. But some of the Christian sects are not interested in ecumenism. These groups do not seek unity and harmony, but division and proselytism. It is good to keep this in mind as individuals and parish communities while we seek constant renewal in living the life that Jesus intended us to live.

  MOTHER AND HOME
  We who are Catholic have come to love the church as our mother and our home. She brings to us the blessings of the virtue of hope. But, ultimately, we are Catholics because of God's generous gift of Faith, which we neither earn nor deserve.

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