October 15, 2023
/We are pleased to bring you another edition of CATH-Links, an initiative born from the CC@S Synodal process. We hope this initiative will encourage reflection, engender discussion, and help members better understand and engage with the Church and the modern world.
If you are interested in submitting reflections, meditations, articles, book reviews, etc., see Submit Resources for Publication for submission guidelines. We look forward to your participation!
COFFEE & CONVERSATION
Join us on October 29th at 3:00 pm in front of Old Union for our monthly gathering! This month we spotlight three meditations offered by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Dominican friar and former Master of the Order of Preachers, at the retreat that preceded the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
Synod Retreat Meditations by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP
Opening Meditation: Hoping Against Hope. [vaticannews.va] “At the Last Supper, they received a hope beyond all that they could have imagined: the body of Christ and his blood, the new covenant, eternal life…This is what St. Paul called ‘hoping against hope’ (Romans 4:18), the hope that transcends all of our hopes. We too are gathered like the disciples at the Last Supper, not as a political debating chamber competing to win. Our hope is Eucharistic….The hope of the Eucharist is for what lies beyond our imagination….This is the hope that the disciples glimpsed on the mountain in the Transfigured Lord. It makes the conflict between our hopes seem minor, almost absurd. If we are truly on the way to the Kingdom, does it really matter whether you align yourselves with so-called traditionalists or progressives? Even the differences between Dominicans and Jesuits pale into insignificance! So let us listen to him, come down the mountain and keep on walking confidently. The greatest gifts will come from those with whom we disagree if we dare to listen to them.”
Synod Meditation: Friendship. [vaticannews.va] “On the night before he died, Jesus addressed the disciples who were about to betray, deny, and desert him, saying: ‘I call you friends.’ (John15:15). We are embraced by the healing friendship of God which unlocks the doors of the prisons we create for ourselves. ‘The invisible God speaks to men and women as friends’ (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, 2). He opened the way into the eternal friendship of the Trinity. This friendship was offered to his disciples, to tax collectors and prostitutes, to lawyers and foreigners. It was the first taste of the Kingdom.”
Synod Meditation: The Spirit of Truth. [vaticannews.va] “The Lord has promised the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth. On the night before he died, Jesus said, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.’ (John 16:12-13). Whatever conflicts we have on the way, we are sure of this: the Spirit of truth is leading us into all truth. But this will not be easy. Jesus warns the disciples: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now’. Peter at Caesarea Philippi could not bear to hear that Jesus must suffer and die. On this last evening before the death of Jesus, Peter could not bear the truth that he would deny Jesus. Being led into the truth means hearing things that are unpalatable.”
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
Synodal discernment and women in the diaconate. [thetablet.co.uk] “The People of God have asked. The Synod may answer. What about women deacons? The Instrumentum Laboris states, ‘Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered. Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way? Persons and pressure groups on both sides of the issue are making their opinions known. But opinion is not fact, and lobbying is not discernment. The Synod on Synodality is an exercise in discernment and true discernment depends on the tripartite formula…The first requires facts. The second requires prayer. The third requires consensus.”
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
For those who missed the September 17th Harvard Catholic Forum event, here is a recording of Bishop Robert Barron’s lecture on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. [youtube.com] The program was co-sponsored by the Collegium Institute, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought, COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, Nova Forum for Catholic Thought, and the Lumen Christi Institute. The event was made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”
BOOK OF INTEREST
The Vatican II Collection [wordonfire.org] “One of the most major cultural and ecclesiastical events of the twentieth century was the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which brought together Catholic bishops from all over the world. Despite the fact that almost everyone recognizes its significance, Catholics have debated its precise meaning and application for the past sixty years. On the one hand, ‘radical traditionalists’ argue that Vatican II betrayed authentic Catholicism and had disastrous consequences in the Church’s life; on the other hand, ‘progressives’ see the council documents as a first step toward a more radical reform of the Church, perpetuating the ‘spirit’ of Vatican II.
Despite the fact that numerous voices have debated the council since the documents were published in the mid-1960s, the Vatican II texts are still widely unread, and if they are read, they are frequently misconstrued. This ground-breaking new book collection from Word on Fire is aimed at resolving the issue. It includes the four central documents that best express the council’s vision – Dei Verbum, Lumen Gentium, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and Gaudium et Spes. The collection also includes Pope St. John XXIII’s opening address, Pope St. Paul VI’s closing address, Bishop Barron’s foreword, theologian Matthew Levering’s afterword, and useful appendices that list essential words and figures and answer frequently asked questions. The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection is a robust but readable journey into the true history and purpose of the Second Vatican Council, and a compelling call for an enthusiastic return to its text today.” ~SunRise Marian
