2018-09-14-2018-eEdition

SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 THE CATHOLIC WEEK PAGE 3 hile I was in central Georgia, filming the Flannery O’Connor episode of my “Pivotal Players” series, I saw a sign on the outside of a church, which would have delighted the famously prickly Catholic au- thor: “All Sinners AreWelcome!” I thought it was a wonderfully Christian spin on the etiquette of welcome that is so pervasive in our culture today. In a time of almost complete ethical relativ- ism, the one value that everyone seems to accept is inclusivity, and the only disvalue that every- one seems to abhor is exclusiv- ity. “Who am I to tell you what to do?” and, of course, everyone gets inside the circle.What I es- pecially liked about the sign in Georgia was that it compels us to make some distinctions and think a bit more precisely about this contemporary moral con- sensus. Is it true to say “everyone is welcome”? Well, yes, if we mean welcome into the circle of the hu- man family, welcome as a subject of infinite dignity and deserving love and respect. Christians — and indeed all decent people — stand against the view, pervasive enough in the supposed culture of inclusion, that the unborn, the aged, the unproductive are not particularly welcome. If by “all are welcome,” one means that all forms of racism, sexism, and elit- ism are morally repugnant, then yes, the slogan is quite correct. But let’s consider some other scenarios. Would we claim that everyone is welcome to become a member of the college baseball team? Everyone is welcome to try out, I suppose, but the coach will assess each candidate and will then make a judgment that some are worthy of being on the team and others aren’t. Like it or not, he will include some and exclude others. Would we claim that everyone is welcome to play in a symphony orchestra? Again, in principle, anyone is invited to give it a go, but the conductor will make a fairly ruthless de- termination as to who has what it takes to make music at the highest level and who doesn’t, and he will include and exclude accordingly. Would we argue that everyone is welcome to be a free member of our civil society? Well, yes, if we consider the mat- ter in abstraction; but we also ac- knowledge that certain forms of behavior are incompatible with full participation in the public space. And if misbehavior is suf- ficiently egregious, we set severe limits to the culprit, restricting his movement, bringing him to trial, perhaps even imprisoning him. With this basic distinction in mind, let us consider mem- bership in the Church of Jesus Christ. Are all people welcome to the Church? Yes of course! Everyone and his brother cites James Joyce to the effect that the Catholic Church’s motto is “here comes everybody,” and this is fundamentally right. Je- sus means to bring everyone to union with theTriune God, or to state the same thing, to become a member of His Mystical Body the Church. In John’s Gospel, Jesus declares, “When the Son of Man is lifted up,He will draw all people to Himself.” Bernini’s colonnade, reaching out like great in-gathering arms from St. Peter’s Basilica, is meant to symbolize this universally inclu- sive welcome offered by Christ. Is the Church, as Pope Francis says, a field hospital where even the most gravely wounded are invited for treatment? Is the Lord’s mercy available to every- one, even to the most hardened of sinners? Yes! And does the Church even go out from itself to care for those who are not ex- Thu., Sep 13 7:00 p.m. St. Michael Catholic School, Volanta Sports Park, Fairhope, Municipal Stadium Fri., Sep 14 7:00 p.m. McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, Football Game Sat., Sep 15 St. Mary Parish, Mobile, Mass for Participants in High School Volleyball Tournament Sun., Sep 16 9:15 a.m. St. Patrick Parish, Robertsdale, Mass and Confirmation Archbishop’s Schedule WJTC-Mobile/Pensacola/Ft. Walton/Wiregrass 11 am Sundays PROGRAM SCHEDULE www.catholicinamerica.com Check local listings September 16 ..........................Purpose of Military Chaplains / ........................................................................... Faith and Freedom September 23 ...............................................Seven Deadly Sins / ............................................................. Rediscovering Catholicism September 30 ................................... Recognizing God’s Voice / ....................................................... A Doctor’s Perspective on Life Children and Adolescent Protection Program training throughout the archdiocese is offered monthly for personnel and volunteers in the Mobile District and the Baldwin/Escambia and Montgomery Deaneries. Teacher/catechist certification curriculum will be taught at August and September sessions. Baldwin/Escambia Deanery St. Lawrence Parish—7 p.m. ( 2 nd Tuesday of most months) October 9, November 13, December 11, January 8, 2019 Mobile Deanery St. Dominic Parish—7 p.m. ( 4 th Wednesday of most months) September 26, October 24 November 28, December 12, January 23, 2019 Montgomery Deanery Montgomery Catholic High—6:30 p.m. ( 4 th Wednesday of most months) September 26, October 24 November 28, December 12 (no training) PLEASE NOTE THE START TIME HAS CHANGED Dothan Deanery Training sessions are conducted on an “as needed” basis. Contact your pastor in the Dothan area for more information. Each of these parishes will serve as the ongoing training location for its district/deanery. For information or to report suspected abuse contact the Office of Child Protection at 251-434-1559 or email childprotection@mobarch.org The Archdiocesan Child Protection Policy can be found in the “Supplemental Material” section of the Children and Adolescents Protection Program page of the mobarch.org website Education/Training Schedules CHILD PROTECTION OFFICE DAILY READINGS SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22 Sun., September 16 Is 50:5-9a Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Jas 2:14-18 Mk 8:27-35 Mon., September 17 1Cor 11:17-26, 33 Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17 Lk 7:1-10 Tue., September 18 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5 Lk 7:11-17 Wed., September 19 1 Cor 12:31—13:13 Ps 33:2-3, 4-5, 1 2 and 22 Lk 7:31-35 Thurs., September 20 1 Cor 15:1-11 Ps 118:1b-2, 16ab-17, 28 Lk 7:36-50 Fri., September 21 Eph4:1-7, 11-13 Ps 19:2-3, 4-5 Mt 9:9-13 Sat., September 22 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49 Ps 56:10c-12, 13-14 Lk 8:4-15 Sun., September 23 Wis 2:12, 17-20 Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8 Jas 3:16—4:3 Mk 9:30-37 Mon., September 24 Prv 3:27-34 Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 Lk 8:16-18 Tue., September 25 Prv 21:1-6, 10-13 Ps 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44 Lk 8:19-21 Wed., September 26 Prv 30:5-9 Ps 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163 Lk 9:1-6 Thurs., September 27 Eccl 1:2-11 Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17bc Lk 9:7-9 Fri., September 28 Eccl 3:1-11, Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4 Lk 9:18-22 Sat., September 29 Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 Rv 12:7-12ab, Ps 138:1-2ab, SEPTEMBER 23 - SEPTEMBER 29 SaintsAndrew KimTaegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions September 20 (Aug 21, 1821 – Sept 16, 1846) All are welcome, but on Christ’s terms WORD ON FIRE Bishop Robert Barron W plicitly joined to Christ? Yes! In fact, this was one of the reasons the Church was so attractive in the ancient world: when Ro- man society left the sick to fend for themselves and often cast away the newly-born who were deemed unworthy, the Church included these victims of the “throwaway culture” of that time and place. However, does this mean that the Church makes no judg- ments, no discriminations, no demands? Does the Church’s welcome imply that everyone is fine just as he or she is? Here we have to answer with a rather resounding no. And that Geor- gia sign helps us to understand why. The Greek word that we translate as “church” is “ekkle- sia ,” which carries the sense of “called out from.” Members of the Church have been called out of a certain way of life and into another one, out of conformity with the world and into confor- mity with Christ. Every eccle- siastical person, therefore, is a welcomed sinner who has been summoned to conversion. She is someone who is, by definition, not satisfied with who she is. To return to the Pope’s famous im- age, a field hospital receives not those who are doing just great but those who are deeply, even gravely, wounded. The problem is that anytime the Church sets a limit or makes a demand or summons to conversion, she is accused of being “exclusive” or insufficiently “welcoming.” But this cannot be right. As Cardinal George once put it, comment- ing upon the famous liturgical song “All Are Welcome,” all are indeed welcome, but on Christ’s terms, not their own. — Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. September 13 - September 16