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L e t t e r s
CHARISM OF ORTHODOXY
I read with great interest Tim Monahan’s letter "Conversion of Notre Dame?" (May 1997). I would advise Mr. Monahan and his friends to seek advice on community development and evangelization techniques from People of Praise, a Catholic charismatic covenant community in South Bend.
Charismatics are also working for the revival of orthodox Catholicism throughout the world.
I was a twenty-seven-year-old graduate student when I attended the 1976 National Charismatic Conference at Notre Dame. It was there that I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I have been involved in the charismatic renewal ever since.
Even if Monahan and friends are not interested in pursuing the charismatic expression of Catholicism, I feel they will receive orthodox advice from People of Praise. It’s possible, if not likely, that members of People of Praise are on campus at Notre Dame, either as faculty, staff, or students.
Steve Rosa
Nashville, Tennessee
FILLED WITH HAPPINESS
I cannot resist writing you a letter of congratulations on your article, "No Apology from the New Apologists" (May 1997). As usual, on receiving my copy of your periodical, I read it from cover to cover the day it arrived. Mr. Keating’s courageous and "faith-full" talk filled me with happiness that our good Savior Jesus has such an apologist (Should I write "new"?) on his side.
I cannot help but be reminded of a certain Catholic bishop in the fifth century who also ably defended our holy Catholic faith against the heterodoxy of his age. May God bless you. I pray for you and your associates at daily Mass.
James F. Plouf
Whittier, California
LOVE IT
I’m a student of apologetics as well as a new subscriber to This Rock. I love it! Looking forward to the next issue. Kudos to you, and may your tribe increase!
Fernando Matro
Chicago, Illinois
A LITURGIST SPEAKS
Every time I see letters to your magazine poking fun of liturgists, I get a little annoyed. I’ve been meaning to write, and the letter from Timothy Keefe in the July/August issue was the last straw. I am a volunteer who coordinates liturgy at a fairly large parish in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. I have been involved in music (as cantor and musician) and liturgy planning at numerous parishes in three dioceses in the last ten years. Of all the people that I know who work in music and liturgy planning for the Church, their primary reason for their ministry is to bring more people into the Church, to get people more involved.
I think that the Church needs more than apologists. I know of some young adults who have left the church because they disagree with something the church teaches. But I also know many more who have left because even though they agree that the Catholic Church is the one true Church, they say they do not feel like they belong. Mr. Keefe scorns "sentimental" lyrics, but it is precisely because their emotional needs are not being met that these people seek other denominations.
I know of no heretics amongst the liturgists I am acquainted with—we are not changing the liturgy. We are trying to get people to participate more actively in liturgy, rather than just watching as if the Mass were a show. We are trying to entice them so that they desire to invite their friends and families. Simple things like a warm welcome or a handshake in greeting at the church entrance before Mass begins can make a difference in a person’s experience of that Mass. It can also be the one thing that draws a newcomer into the Catholic Church.
Regarding choice of music: Music is art, and musical taste is very personal. For a very large parish, it is extremely difficult to find music that suits every single person’s style of worship. Music performance is an entirely separate issue, but I would like to note that sometimes a "good hymn" becomes an awfully bad one when it’s too slow, too fast, or not sung or played well.
Regarding Marty Haugen’s music: I think Mr. Keefe had better read (or sing) those lyrics again—he has missed the meaning. "Gather Us In" is not self-absorbed and self-congratulatory. The subject is appropriately chosen: the gathering community, here we are—young, old, sinners, proud, selfish. Granted, the lyrics are vague regarding the Eucharist, but it was written as a gathering song, and it helps us to warm up our voices as well as prepare our hearts for listening—it sets up the expectation that the Mass will transform us. Yes, Christ becomes bread and wine—he is present for us to receive in a special way. But let us not forget that Christ is also present in each person gathered for Mass, in the scripture that is proclaimed, and in the priest presiding.
Catholic Answers wants to evangelize and bring people to the Church, by appealing to their sense of logic and their desire for truth. Liturgists are after the same goal, to bring people to the Church, by appealing to their senses (seeing, hearing, touching) and emotions. That is what the Eucharist and the other sacraments are about, physical signs of God’s grace. I might add that liturgy planning is obviously more subjective than the logical approach. Liturgy planning is also a much more difficult and at least as equally powerful a method for evangelization.
Loretta Reust
Newhall, California
Editor’s reply:
Many fine Catholics assist in their parishes’ music programs, and they deserve everyone’s thanks. But I think Mr. Keefe was suggesting that, despite sometimes heroic efforts, the post-Vatican II music scene needs to be counted, on the whole, as a failure. One can differ with him in that judgment, but I think no one can deny that in most parishes (not all, granted, but the large majority), few people sing or evidence much enthusiasm for the hymns that are served up to them. Thomas Day, in his books Why Catholics Can’t Sing and Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo?, explained this phenomenon well, I believe. As for whether the new music has been effective in passing along the faith, I should point out that you say that "Christ becomes bread and wine." This is precisely the opposite of what happens and is a serious theological error. Bread and wine become Christ. Maybe we need less Marty Haugen music and more Pange Lingua.
SATISFACTION
This is to thank you for your excellent work. I am very pleased with your response to Fr. Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., and with the booklet Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth. They came at the same time, and I felt great satisfaction in reading them both.
Tom Whalen
Redford, Michigan
NOT INDISCRIMINATELY
There was an error in the July/August issue’s "Quick Questions." Someone asked why, if baptism confers grace, we shouldn’t just go around baptizing everyone, infants and adults. You pointed out correctly that, in the case of adults, they must be instructed properly and freely consent, or the sacrament would be invalid. But the answer incorrectly state that, in the case of infants, if their parents or guardians did not consent, the sacrament was invalid. This is not true. The sacrament would be illicit, but not invalid (CCC 868). Baptism works ex opere operato, which means that if the proper matter and form are used, the sacrament is always valid, unless the recipient places an obstacle in its path. Not wanting to be baptized would be an obstacle. In fact, canon 868 points out that there are times when an infant should be baptized even against the wishes of the parents. In such cases the administration of the sacrament would be both valid and licit.
The answer should have been that we can’t go around just baptizing infants indiscriminately, because the law of the Church forbids it, and it forbids it because this would cause hatred of the Church and scandal, and no provision would be made for the upbringing of the person.
Rev. Carl Pilla
Syracuse, New York
CATHOLIC BROTHERS
I am an inmate who wrote you a short while back about how much I enjoyed your magazine, but could not afford it.
I am now writing to thank you! I received a package containing a tract sampler, a copy of Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth, and an issue of This Rock.
I must once again say thank you! Your magazine is always a source of inspiration and answers for me and a couple of Catholic brothers I share them with.
The tracts are great. Where I’m at there are many Calvinists. I now have ample responses for them. "The Case of the Sinning Minister" really grabbed a few men on the yard who were kind of lost on what to believe. As a matter of fact, I had several requests for a copy of that one.
Pillar is a great quick reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I received last year from a friend.
Again, thank you very much. You are all in my prayers. I thank God for your organization and your compassion.
V. Paul Fanelli
Corcoran, California
OBSESSED
I have a serious problem with Pope John Paul II. The Pope is not above criticism. (I cite Teresa of Avila as precedent.) I want to know just what he thinks he is doing with all of this ecumenism. Does he actually think he is winning souls for Christ? What motive do Protestants have to convert if we treat their religion like is has any shred of credibility? Christ did not say, "Go and dialogue with all nations." He said to convert them. I suspect that the Holy Father’s problem is that he sees Protestant faiths as Christian faiths. The truth is that no Protestant religion is really a Christian religion because their religions were neither founded by Christ nor teach what Christ taught. The only Christian faith is the Catholic faith.
Those of you who are obsessed with the Holy Father may take offense at my comments. Everyone loves John Paul II. If he were really living up to his position, he would be the most despised man on the planet.
Keith Elflein (age 23)
Editor’s reply:
Maybe he is "living up to his position": He seems to be the man most despised—by you. You betray no evidence of having read or understood any of this pope’s writings on ecumenism, not to mention those of his predecessors of or Vatican II. Protestants not Christian? Even the pre-Vatican II Church never denied that Protestants (and Eastern Orthodox!) were Christian. Why are you imposing your private interpretation on the word? Yes, you have a "serious problem," but I suspect that at root it isn’t with John Paul II.
RECLAIMING THE LOST
I have almost no money to send, but every day I send prayer heavenward on your behalf. You are wonderful! You struck a real chord with me, a very orthodox nun (and convert from Presbyterianism eleven years ago), because the local parish here has had a radical feminist nun as director of religious education for twenty-two years. I see my job as trying, person by person, to regain some of those hundreds of lost souls—lost due to her degrading the Church, Scripture, and the magisterium all those years—for Christ and his Church. Please pray for me, too.
Sr. Tecla Rogers
Ukiah, California
WATER OF INTENT
In the July 1997 issue, Mark P. Shea states that anybody can administer baptism as long as he has the same intention as the Church does. He reinforces this by underscoring that the baptizer must intend to baptize according to the mind of the Church. Since the "new birth" (or being "born again") is simply another name for water baptism (CCC 1265, 1279), I am wondering how the RCC deals with John 1:13, which tells us that the new birth is not of the will of man. If the new birth relies on the baptizer’s intention to be valid, it would rely on man’s will, would it not?
Jason Vanezia
Via the Internet
Mark P. Shea’s reply:
No. It would rely on God’s will. It is God’s will that we be "born of water and the Spirit" as our Lord reminds us (John 3:5). It is God’s will that we be "baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt 28:19). Therefore, when we baptize according to the intention of the Church, we are baptizing in reliance on the will of God, not man.
FOR SIS
I trust that This Rock is a fine magazine and much needed at this time. That is why I am subscribing to it, not for myself but for my sister, a mother of eight, grandmother of three. She is a fine woman, charitable to a fault, an inspiration to her older sister, but I think she would benefit from the kind of information offered by This Rock. If she receives it directly into her home, it would place it where not only she, but her grown-up children will see it.
Carolyn Flagg
Bedford, Virginia
BOMBARDED VOWS
Julie A. Ferraro’s article, "The New Vows: Chastity, Poverty, and Disobedience" (June 1997) was disappointing. She asserted that vowed religious women are having sexual encounters with men. She wrote, "Friendships with members of the opposite sed are common, too, as male and female religious work in offices, restaurants, and universities. Occasionally these relationships escalate in to sexual encounters." Ferraro also mentions homosexuality.
The article appears to be all hearsay, the opinion of Ferraro, whose only credential is being a freelancer from Indiana, and no evidence or documentation is submitted in the article to back up these assertions. This article was uncharitable, to say the least, to our religious.
Our religious are bombarded by society for their vows; we should try to strengthen and encourage them.
Frederick Weilbacher, Jr.
San Diego, California
Julie Ferraro’s reply:
In response to Mr. Weilbacher's assertion that my article is all hearsay—I must agree. Anyone with friends or acquaintances in religious life can tell stories of sisters, priests, and brothers breaking their vows to marry—with or without formal dispensations. Many of these relationships began in the workplace, where the religious and the other person worked side by side.
HILAIRE WHO?
I hate to have to ask this. It’s probably in a back issue of This Rock. But who is Hilaire Belloc? I just downloaded some writings and I love the logic, but I don’t know who this is!
Danny Feducia
Bossier City, Louisiana
Editor’s reply:
Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) was a prolific writer (over one hundred books) and known especially for his poems, histories, and works of religious controversy. The most widely read of his books was The Path to Rome (1904), the journal of his pilgrimage from France to the Vatican. A great friend of G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), Belloc served in the French army and the British Parliament, married an American and traveled throughout the U.S., and was famous his debating skills and his loyalty to the Church. You will find his books at university and public libraries; several titles are still in print.
A SAD REFLECTION
At the university where I worked until August, one priest wrote an open letter to the student newspaper declaring his homosexuality. Others of the same congregation have left because of their sexual orientation or problems with the vow of chastity. It is not new, it is not even news. It is just a sad reflection on the state of religious life today.
I looked through your magazine; it was very spiritual for me. I am a forty-one-year-old devoted Catholic. I am currently being held in prison and am having a bad time of it. I won’t be here more than a year and a half—and this is my first and last time in prison.
Pepe Merino
Blythe, California
Apache Junction, Arizona
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