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The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
ii!i'
'i,/
op's Forum m
of Latin in the
when the
language) became
ally Mass. The
Liturgy of the Word)
read first in Latin
ia English. The Liturgy of
(from the Offertory to
not only was in
the presider faced the
COmmunity throughout
rites. With a common lan-
encour-
lly.
some of the mys-
now exposed
language and colored by the
'of the presider -- has been lost. Lan-
Personalities of presiders vary. What
to our faith has not nor will change. The
t of thanksgiving of Jesus -- the
is the same.
Feast of Corpus Christi -- the Body
gives us pause to consider this most
mystery of our faith. Indeed, the
L.0fthe Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy
is not only essential to our faith, it is
eternal life. It is called the "pledge of
I received a note from a thirteen-year-
Mass in Cologne, Germany. He and I
on e-mail for almost a
Corpus Christi
By BISHOP
GERALD A.
GETTELFINGER
year. This young person expresses
his faith-filled concern in a ques-
tion. I wish to share it with you.
" Unfortunately, at least in Mid-
dle Europe most Catholics are not
in touch with Christ and the
church though they are members of
it. Is it good that the church gives
the sacraments also to these people
mentioned above, and has so many
only extensive (nominal) Chris-
tians? I don't think so."
In my response to him I suggest-
ed that only Jesus, the one who
welcomed the leper, the blind man,
the tax collector, will make the ulti-
mate judgment about the worthiness of those who
approach the sacrament.
Lest there be a misunderstanding I expect those
who approach the Sacrament of the Body and Blood
of Jesus, Holy Communion, to be in the proper dis-
position to receive. "Receiving Holy Communion"
should never be either a show of elitism or a
demonstration of defiance for it is indeed a public
act for the community to witness. Nor should it be a
casual expression of faith. Those who have separat-
ed themselves from the community are responsible
for abstaining from approaching the sacrament. It
is not the ministers' responsibility to make that
judgment.
It is my conviction that Jesus in the Most Blessed
Sacrament is the one who will judge the worthiness
of the recipient and will hold accountable those who
are ministers. All must be attentive.
The role of Eucharistic Minister supersedes all
other parish ministries. It compares to none other.
Good will is not enough. Exemplar), life in faith is
essential for one to be worthy and to have the pub-
lic acceptance of the community of believers. Nei-
ther personal scandal nor perceptions of such have
a place in such a trusted minister.
Let us not be careless or unconscious of what we
are about when speaking of this Most Blessed of all
Sacraments. As believers, be not Casual about what
one does when approaching Holy Communion
either as minister or recipient. Speak not of "minis-
ters of the bread and cup." They are ministers of
the Body and Blood of the Lord. These sacred mys-
teries are essential to our faith. Each of us must be
willing to challenge the ministers and recipients of
the Body and Blood of our Lord as to their worthi-
ness.
By the same token, when anyone approaches this
Most Blessed Sacrament, that same person must
assume full responsibility for that action. God will
be their judge. We must never be so arrogant as to
assume that role. It is my constant prayer no one
would ever dishonor this Most Sacred Sacrament of
the Body and Blood of our Lord.
To conclude this forum, I urge individuals and
families to make spontaneous visits to this Most
Blessed Sacrament, especially in your parish
church. I guarantee that Jesus will bless your effort
in ways you would never imagine!
5
Tell us how much you need, Father
Stewardship
a Stewardship
A conver-
and even
4
was
would
lifted and
the
reforms.
sanctions
point to
lterna-
grew ever
artheid sys-
in the early
Africa boycott
a similar
and
COmpanies
re, saying
against
black
by minor-
say
though
Korea, for
' uch worse
demands change. As disciples of
Jesus Christ, we need occasion-
ally to examine our lives to see
what we need to change to
become even better stewards of
God's gifts.
The same applies to a parish
on its journey toward Total Stew-
ardship. Organizational and atti-
tudinal changes will be necessary
as parishes embrace a steward-
ship way of life. There will be
some trial and error. Progress will
sometimes resemble the speed of
a tractor pull. At the outset, and
at various points along the way,
it's important to take stock of the
condition of parish stewardship
so we can measure progress and
adjust course as needed.
Some questions to ask at
parish stewardship conversion
benchmarks include: What are
our strengths and weaknesses?
What obstacles must we (still)
overcome? What changes are nec-
essary to move us toward a stew-
shape than before economic
embargoes were imposed --
North Korea is said to be on the
verge of mass famine -- their
political systems have not
changed despite decades of sanc-
tions.
Cardinal Law, after an April
visit to Cuba, said the United
States should consider dropping
its economic embargo against
Cuba. Those barriers slow eco-
nomic development in Cuba, he
argued, and "it certainly con-
tributes to the impression with-
in Cuba that the U.S. govern-
ment is the enemy. No good,
long-term policy is served by
this ."
If sanctioned nations are cut
off from the world's oldest, most
prosperous democracy, where do
they turn?
Peter W. Rodman, director of
national security programs at
the Nixon Center for Peace and
Freedom, said in a May 29 essay
ardship way of life? And, the most
rudimentary question of all:
What does Jesus expect?
Let's consider for a moment
one of the biggest impediments to
stewardship conversion most
parishes will probably encounter.
One of our pastors recently
named it the "Pay-the-Bills Men-
tality." Pay-the-bills thinking
works like this: when the collec-
tion basket is passed on Saturday
or Sunday, a pay-the-bi!ls parish-
loner (PTB) tosses in a check or
cash -- loose or inside a contri-
bution envelope -- the amount of
which is often determined by how
the PTB feels that day. PTB's give
out of a sense of duty or obliga-
tion. They are most likely to say:
"Tell me how much you need,
Father, and I'll decide how much
I want to give."
To be sure, many PTB's are,
from time to time, quite generous,
but only when they are convinced
of a specific need for their contri-
f
in The Washington Post that
Burma is turning to China.
Burma gets financial assis-
tance from the link, and China
may angle for naval access to
the Bay of Bengal and the Indi-
an Ocean, "a quantum leap in
China's strategic position in
Asia," Rodman said.
Pope John Paul and other
Vatican officials have decried
the use of economic sanctions,
saying they don't hurt the tar-
geted government as much as
they hurt their people.
The U.S.-led United Nations
economic embargo against Iraq
-- a nation with a significant
minority of Chaldean Catholics
-- has come under particular
scrutiny over the years by the
pope.
In his annual address to
diplomats in 1994, he suggested
that the embargo e periodical-
ly reviewed to avoid harmful
side effects on the population."
bution and are asked to give. always looking for opportunities
They rarely if ever give just for to give more. They accept respon-
the joy of giving. Tithing or pro- sibility for the gifts God has
portional giving are not even a placed in their care.
consideration. Whose approach to giving is
How do PTB
ardship Proportional Givers
(SPG's) in a Total Stewardship
Parish? SPG's begin with the fun-
damental stewardship premise
that God is the source of every-
thing. We own nothing. Rather,
God places His possessions in our
care as His stewards and expects
us to handle them responsibly. In
gratitude for God's gifts and His
trust, SPG's joyfully return a por-
tion of God's blessings through
their own gifts of time, talent and
treasure.
Regarding stewardship of trea-
sure: SPG's do not care how much
money their parishes have in the
bank or "how much Father
needs" for particular projects.
Their giving of time, talent and
treasure is motivated by grati-
tude. They are typically full
tithers or proportional givers:
they decide how much to con-
tribute by first determining their
gross annual income and then
deciding on a fixed percentage to
give back to God. SPG's don't
have to be asked to give; they are
method is right? The answer is
that both are quite meritorious.
The basic stewardship ques-
tion, however, is: What is expect-
ed of me as a disciple of Jesus
Christ?
A parishioner recently dis-
closed that he and his wife,
already SPG's, were discussing
what sacrifices they would have
to make to move toward a full
10 percent tithe. "But, he said,
"it's very difficult for me to con-
sider tithing when I know that
my pastor does not tithe. When
I shared my feelings about this
with him he said, rather indig-
nantly: 'You expect me to tithe
on my salary?' I glanced out the
window at his new car, looked
around his very. comfortable and
expensively decorated rector;
noticed the airline ticket for a
trip to Europe on his desk and
said, 'Father, I don't think it's
about what I expect isn't it
about what Jesus expects?"
What do you think He expects
of you?
To weave a web
Above my head in the garage,
a spider was weaving a web. As
I paused to watch, the spider
swung down once, twice, then
numerous times, before contact-
Commentary
By MSGR. CLINTON
HIRSCH
I H i
ing an object on the wall to
anchor the web. And so, the
tedious task of web-weaving was
well underway.
I suppose spiders are not aware
that we are living in an n.nstant
age" instant replay, instant cof-
fee, instant everythLng.
Apparently not, as this spider
kept trying a slow process
and finally succeeded.
Perhaps our lives are entan-
gled in the "instant web"
wanting instant success, even
instant holiness. It could hap-
pen, but usually not, as that
comes about by constant coop-
eration with the grace of God.
Patience lathe word. We are told
"in patience you will possess
your soul."
The spider in the garage
experienced failing efforts, but
finally, success. So we need to
keep trying to weave the web of
our lives .......
