The Perfect Pope

What are the Cardinals thinking as they prepare for conclave?  Surely they approach this important and historic process with a mental checklist of skills and qualities that would be essential for the next successor of Peter.  Cardinal Roger Mahony of LA shares on his blog about what the "perfect pope" would be like.  As we look forward to the future, might we also look back to the fisherman Jesus calls to be the Rock of the Church?  Blessings,
DZSJ

Adopt a Cardinal!

Dear Class,
The Sistine Chapel is officially closed to prepare for the Conclave: exciting times! In a spirit of prayer for the Church, I heard about Adopt A Cardinal on the radio this past week.  This is a basic interactive site where you get assigned a cardinal to pray for as they enter the process of selecting the new pope.   I am keeping Cardinal Ranjith of Sri Lanka in my prayers. :-)

Blessings,
Daniella

Church as Sacrament

Rose... that song brought tears to my eyes!  I literally could just write about the song and how beautiful it was.  Thank you so much for sharing that... truly-  It started my day off with peace and appreciation for His absolute "lovely" creation.
The term sacrament was very new to me when I started the LIM program in August.  Although hearing it my whole life, I never knew what the term meant and to what application it had to my life.  Just from my three classes thus far and studying this term, I also associated sacrament with the sacraments of the church.  Needless to say, the meaning is so much greater... deeper... and as Rose said, "beautiful."  Within the readings, the theme of sacraments is shown throughout God's relationship with human beings and His creation.  I loved this quote from Vorgrimler. "When God's word and God' glory (shekinah) are present to human beings, they do not 'represent' an absent God; instead, they present the manner in which God is most intimately present within the human person" (7).  To me, this says it all... "Sacraments are a particular part of the relationship" (Vorgrimler, 5).  If you have an intimate relationship with God, His word and His glory are presented to us in a most intimate way, His creation and His love for us.  Something as simple as walking my dog outside is where I can find the most intimate time with God.  Nature, the sounds, the smells, the flowers, the animals walking everywhere... I feel God's love, I feel His sacraments, I feel God's very self there.  Another term that has been applied to the sacraments is "symbols."  "A genuine symbol does what it symbolizes" (Vorgrimler, 10).  In conclusion of what "sacrament" means to me, Vorgrimler states, "The life that is given to us, the people we encounter, the beloved one, the companions who live in solidarity with us, our work and its products, those events in life that really touch and shake us (and above all, death itself), experiences of liberation, justice, and reconciliation, true works of art, God's CREATION that makes up the world with us and around us: ALL these can be so transparent to God that they reveal God's true presence.  In this way, our whole life can be understood as the fundamental sacrament, to the extent that our understanding of life and our interpretations take account of this transparency and do not remain on the banal surface of things" (11).  Truly summed it up for me and how beautifully said...
It is almost as if the term "sacrament" brings humbleness to me and a HOPE for the fulfillment of the promises of God that are still to come!
I am posting a picture of my 2 animals that I lost within 24 hours this past summer. I know this sounds cheesy and I'm sure you are wondering how this has anything to do with the term "sacrament."  But for me, I find animals to bring so much love that a human cannot.  How they are created, each so differently just amazes me.  My bird, Phoebe, who is considered biblically (in the NT) to be a "helper," reminded me of the gentleness and intricateness of Christ.  I adore nature and I adore all of God's creation... I find Him in ALL things.  So, needless to say, I have an entire new perception and understanding of the Church as Sacrament!
(Having a problem uploading it, going to try and get it up as soon as I can!)

Church as Sacrament

Prior to this reading, when I thought of the word sacrament I always thought of the seven sacraments of the church. I was not aware of the wide scope of our lives that are a part of sacramental theology. This reading has really opened up for me the meaning of sacrament in the Church. In speaking of how the idea of sacrament has changed in the church Mark Searle writes "From speaking of sacraments as a 'means of grace' to speaking of them as encounters with Christ himself; from thinking of them primarily as acts of God to thinking of them mainly as celebrations of the faith community; from seeing sacraments as momentary incursions from another world to seeing them as manifestations of the graces character of all human life" (Johnson 29). This quote really summarized for me what I had read in the first chapter of Vorgrimer. A sacramental theology or view of the world means that we see God's presence in every person, every being, everything we encounter in God's creation. Seeing the world in this way brings about a new respect and awe for creation and all that God has created to show God's love and draw us closer to God's self.  "That means that not only the 'official' high points of this life are realization and expression of the presence of God, God's love and God's salvation, but that God is also expressed in the tiniest and most humdrum parts of life" (Vorgrimer 17). This is such a beautiful reminder of the way we are called to see the Divine presence in all that is around us, something I needed a reminder of this week. I think about what this means for me on days when I feel stressed out, in those moments I need to realize and reflect on all the symbols of God's love that surround me. This reminds me of a song that was one of my father's favorites, he said it helped him to "see the extraordinary in the ordinary". I think that is what sacramental theology calls us to do. What other themes of sacrament did you draw from the readings?

Watching and Waiting

Dear Class,
Check out these online resources as we experience the papal transition.
America Magazine's Page on the Papal Transition
Vatican News 
All Things Catholic Blog on NCR by John L. Allen Jr.
Papal Interregnum (Vacancy in the Holy See) by EWTN

Good Stuff!

Blessings,
Daniella

The Church is Apostolic-

Hi everyone!
Thank you Walter for a great start to this week and deep thoughts from each reading!

Having grown up part of my life in a Pentecostal church, the word apostolic has definitely been part of my vocabulary.  Yet while studying, I do not think I understood the true meaning of this word.  In all honesty, I thought of an "apostolic" church as one that baptizes in Jesus name and believed in the gift of tongues and prophesying as revealed in the book of Acts... literally. I too along with Sullivan was concerned with the reasons that justify our profession of faith in the church as "apostolic."  It was not until the reading in Sullivan that I came to a deeper revelation of this term, apostolic, and to who and what it was referring to.  Apostolic is defined in Sullivan's reading as, "the expression of a relationship to the apostles, whether it be origin, similarity, fidelity, succession or some other way that persons or things would be "of the apostles" or "like the apostles" (152).   One who called himself an apostle of Christ, Paul, amazes me in so many ways.  Paul not only taught, but exemplified how we are to become an apostle and become like Christ in all our ways.  He was the strongest persecutor, yet passionate and so committed to Christ.  As stated in 1 Corinthians 15, "But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain."  His strength of conviction is compelling in a personal way of "Oh God, that I might recognize and act on my conviction."  Paul lived apostleship.  In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the true signs of an apostle. 

The apostolicity of faith and of the church's ministry were interrelated bringing about the quality of the whole church and the responsibility of those who had the official ministry of teaching in the churches.  From this, we can appeal to the following factors.  First, the church clearly understood that the pastoral charge given to the apostles of "making disciples, baptizing, teaching people to observe all that Jesus had taught them" (Matthew 28:19-20), was to CONTINUE to the END of the age. 
"For in many ways, the original apostles roles were unique and intransmissible, but their pastoral ministry was to continue, others had to succeed them, and therefore their mandate, and the authority to carry it out, had to be transmitted to others" (Sullivan, 183).

Within my ministry praxis, Paul's call is brought to my life in a very simple, yet powerful way. Three main points in recognizing and distinguishing the call to apostleship involves: (1) the call is from God; (2) it involves being a recipient of divine revelation; (3) it is a call and mission to preach Christ.
This call is to you and me... together, WE are to carry out the one and only message of Jesus Christ to all.  We are apostles!
So Yes, Walter, seems like all of the tools and resources ARE freely given to us... I am ready!  More so than I ever have been... Truly-