Think about That Again!!!
When we celebrate our nation’s birthday
each year, on July 4, we recall the stirring
words of the Declarationof Independence, “All
men (sic) are created equal.” In 1776, Thomas
Jefferson and the Committee of Five did not
realize the impact that their statement would
make in the world of the future.
Soon, the French Third Estate was asking,
“What about us?” American ladies were
asking the same question. Slaves were asking
the same question. American Indians were asking
the same question. Immigrants were asking
the same question. The poor were asking the
same question. A legitimate point! What about
them?
In 1965, at completion of the Second
Vatican Council, the bishops of the Council
published the Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church, known as Lumen Gentium (Light of Nations).
A chapter was entitled, “The Universal
Call to Holiness.” The gist of the chapter was
simply that there are no strata within the ranks
of Jesus’ disciples. All are equal because of the
gift of grace, the Holy Spirit, in Baptism. The rediscovery
and restoration of Baptism, along
with the Eucharist, as the key sacraments enhanced
the significance of an event that most
Catholics do not recall in their own lives! This,
as you know, is one of the reasons why we relocated
our baptismal font to the front, as you
enter church weekly.
There are those who say the Council Fathers
did not consider what the impact of that
one chapter was to have upon the post Vatican
II, pre-Third Millennium Catholic mindset. The
Holy Spirit was at work in the minds and hearts
of millions of Catholic people (many right in
our own ranks) to reflect on what the universal
call to holiness was saying to them about their
lives. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Basically, the interpretation has been
that there is no single “high-road to holiness.”
There is no better righteousness. Whatever vocation
God has in mind for you is the high-road
for you. Some find it within the call to ministry
or religious life or dedicated singlehood. Most
find the call and the highroad within the sacrament
of Christian marriage. That is God’s plan
for most, the call to holiness for most. Blessed
by the Name of the Lord!
We have seen a re-interpretation of ministries
since the Second Vatican Council. Lay
participation in liturgy and religious education
has skyrocketed and will continue to do so in
the future. Men and women will continue to
function in a variety of vocational contexts in
the future. Who can say that the Spirit of God is
leading us in directions which most could not
have imagined in 1965 when the expression,
“Universal Call to Holiness” was reused?
However, God works most subtly in our
individual lives within our relationships and
our experiences. Our most profound religious
experiences of the Mystery of God usually do
not occur in churches, but during the other 167
hours of the week. That is God’s way. Blessed
by the Name of the Lord!
Pope John Paul II called us to follow Jesus
more closely as we all re-tool and update
and re-assess our religious commitment in the
third millennium. The Pope asked us to focus
on the Person of Jesus in our life. Let us do so
by a more reflective listening to God’s word on
the vital issues which confront our church and
world.
One of the ways in which Catholic lay
people have responded to Vatican II’s call was
through a variety of prayer techniques. While
honoring traditional prayers such as the Rosary
and the Stations of the Cross in Lent, more ancient
practices have been re-introduced.
“Intentional communities” have been gathered
by the Holy Spirit in a way to personalize the
60 minute nod to the Transcendent as we mark
the Lord’s Day. More now have become involved
in small communities concerned with
social-ethical-political issues such as the Community
of San Egidio in Roma that actually brokered
a peace in a civil war in Ethiopia. (They
had to make Jesus proud!) In addition, many
other intentional communities have been
formed. Whether it is a pro-life movement
such as Right to Life, Pax Christi or Catholics
against the Death Penalty, or Daily Mass, Lectio
Divina or Morning and/or Evening liturgical
prayer, these are more familiar groups enabling
Catholics of a like-mind to bolster one another.
However, ultimately, the intimate
moment of Silence and Solitude is the way that
more and more lay people are coming into a
closer Union with the Lord. Many come into
our church daily to spend some down-time in
the Lord. Come and join them!
With the help of the Holy Spirit, let us
respond as Jesus would have us respond to the
“Universal Call to Holiness.” 091910AD jfq
