Guided by the Spirit: Questions and answers

By Grant Emmel
VICE-CHANCELLOR

Office of Planning is updating Data Verification Forms from parishes The Office of Planning is currently updating the Data Verification Forms that each parish turned in at the Cluster Training Meetings. With over 50,000 pieces of information the office will try its best to get this updated as soon as possible. You can check to see if your parish has been updated by going to the planning Web site at www.madisondiocese.org under "Strategic Plan" and checking the data verification sheet under "Parish Core Teams." If it has been updated, it will clearly say "Updated" when you open it up. Once all of the forms have been updated, the office will create cluster data verification sheets so you can see the total resources provided by your cluster. If you have any questions or ideas, contact the office at 608-821-3010, guidedbythespirit@straphael.org, or mail Guided by the Spirit, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, WI 53719.

I have been to many parishes and have talked with many parishioners about the Guided by the Spirit planning process.

The early anxiety surrounding the planning process is being replaced by a hesitant acceptance and a healthy engagement by the people of the diocese. As core teams continue to meet in cluster to discuss possible solutions, I want to take some time and answer the more common questions that have been posed by the parishioners they represent.

The questions generally fall into one of three distinct categories: theological, cultural, and process. To fully answer any one of them would take much more space than I am allowed, so feel free to e-mail me if you would like to discuss these further.

I will be taking the next three weeks to answer the more common questions. This week we'll start with theological questions with answers from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and the Code of Canon Law (CIC).

Would the priest shortage problem be solved with married priests or women priests?

The priest, in a sense, IS married, married to the Church, the bride of Christ, stated for over 2,000 years and demonstrated by the Apostles who left everything (including their wives) to follow Christ. As the Catechism states (CCC: 1579): The priest is called to consecrate himself with undivided heart to the Lord and the "affairs of the Lord" (1 Cor 7:32).

As for women priests, Pope John Paul II recently reiterated the Church's position on this with his Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, "Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."

Is it okay to go to Mass just once a month?

No, the first precept of the Church is "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor. (CCC: 2041-2043, CIC: 1246-1248). The following of a precept is meant to guarantee the minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in the love of God and neighbor.

So especially in our modern times where transportation is not the concern it was for our forefathers and commutes of 20 miles are not uncommon for the most trivial things, attending Mass should be the priority.

Why are Catholics having this problem when Protestants are building big churches?

The simplest answer is that the Catholic faith calls upon each of us for continual, daily conversion, to begin and begin again, leaning heavily on the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance, not just a "once and done" conversion.   Full story ...

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