tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post2351077388645804833..comments2023-03-31T11:10:18.032+03:00Comments on Deo Volente Ex Animo: 99 cents well spentThomas Gullicksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640680485289909046noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post-41948875748154086362013-03-11T14:54:34.066+02:002013-03-11T14:54:34.066+02:00As a Protestant child, I had, of course, few praye...As a Protestant child, I had, of course, few prayers to learn, but I did learn about many parts of Scripture (even via memorization!); the other real catechetical source was the lyrics of the songs we sang on Sunday. If the average Catholic child at the average Catholic parish has, for the last several decades, drawn large parts of his/her theology from the music at Mass, well, that would explain a lot.Hidden Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06042188431683942338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post-36090670759643435982013-03-10T18:55:31.190+02:002013-03-10T18:55:31.190+02:00Thanks, Hidden One! I ask myself lots of times jus...Thanks, Hidden One! I ask myself lots of times just why it is or was that the older generation knew their faith better than folks, let's say, under 50. Certainly, catechesis went bankrupt and content went out the window. That is not the whole story, however. I think also that besides the loss of motivation to "know your faith", people stopped learning prayers and praying at home. As a child, I learned a whole treasury of prayers, which had an intellectual content. What child receives that today? No, we have work to do... for the sake of the children. Thomas Gullicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13640680485289909046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post-71082120903573852192013-03-10T18:17:14.295+02:002013-03-10T18:17:14.295+02:00I am reminded of a remark by Blessed Cardinal Newm...I am reminded of a remark by Blessed Cardinal Newman:<br /><br />“I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.” (1851)<br /><br />A laity like that is well equipped to evangelise; a laity that does not know the Faith so well will be much hampered in evangelizing. I daresay that in the days of old before the Council, the laity knew the Faith much better than we know it now (which is not to say the laity knew it well <i>enough</i> then).<br /><br />I admit to finding myself frustrated by many initiatives for lay evangelization not only for the reasons Fr. Dickson has given but also because they are not prefaced by the education of the faithful who are supposed to do the evangelizing. I do not say that evangelization is wholly a matter of the intellect - hardly! - but without a firm catechetical basis it is difficult to become a Saint.Hidden Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06042188431683942338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post-70787441097347428302013-03-10T12:47:30.567+02:002013-03-10T12:47:30.567+02:00My sentiments exactly, Father! I suppose it is a d...My sentiments exactly, Father! I suppose it is a discovery for them just like personal conversion in the life of a saint opens new vistas and casts out fear. We can only hope that they realize that the "new" referent refers not to the glories of Catholicity over the centuries up until our day, but rather to their personal discover. We can also pray that a healthy abhorrence of the dizzying heights of the soapbox will keep us all living the faith first at home and then by our good example in the workplace.Thomas Gullicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13640680485289909046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923995063430144879.post-67110492541821547872013-03-10T12:39:25.303+02:002013-03-10T12:39:25.303+02:00I find myself frustrated by the idea that lay evan...I find myself frustrated by the idea that lay evangelisation is a new idea. 20 years ago the parish to which I was appointed assistant priest was viewing a diocesan-wide programme for lay evangelisation which began with the very premise that this was so novel we needed to find a new courage. Having spent several years doing door-to-door and Street contact with the Legion of Mary; several years of charitable work with the SVP, and knowing people who had been active in the Catholic evidence Guild, I was stimulated to the challenge those at the parish meeting. Unfortunately, the idea that the laity were discovered by Vatican Council II was -and I think remains- hard to correct. We do these folk and the folk you mention who affected spouse etc, a great injustice by presenting that the apostolate of the of the laity is a new discovery. Fr Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11702725497183621855noreply@blogger.com