Today is the twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary time.
Cardinal John Henry Newman was declared a saint in 2019. This week Pope Leo announced he is making him the 38th Doctor of the Church effective November 1st.
St. John Henry Newman lived in the 1800s and was a convert from the Anglican Church to Catholicism. He is one of the great intellectuals in the tradition of the Church. I mention him this week, not only because of him being declared a Doctor of the Church, but also because he’s a great model for us laypeople to follow. He famously wrote:
“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. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity – I wish [them] to enlarge [their] knowledge, to cultivate [their] reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how faith and reason stand to each other, what are the bases and principles of Catholicism.”
To me he is a more thoughtful alternative to the old adage that the laity is to “pray, pay, and obey”. It’s not that there is anything wrong with doing those things. We all should come to Mass as well as pray outside of Mass; we should support the work of the Church financially, and we should recognize we are part of a Church that has a structure of authority. That’s OK, as far as it goes, but as they say on TV, wait, there’s more.
Laypeople really should be partners, in an appropriate way, with our priests and bishops. We are the ones who have access to the unchurched and the minimally churched. Our baptismal responsibilities are best fulfilled when we understand what the Church teaches and why. We also need to live out the faith in a way that attracts others.
I hope you’re taking advantage of opportunities to better understand the faith we profess so you can live it better and share it more easily.
A few years ago Bishop Barron created a 12 part course on John Henry Newman in the Word on Fire Institute. In honor of Newman being named a Doctor of the Church this course is being made available at no charge in the Word on Fire Show space. Here is a link: https://www.wordonfire.org/videos/wordonfire-show/
In today’s readings we get the same Gospel that is used on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. It’s about gratitude but, even deeper, it’s about recognizing God as the giver of all gifts. Mass is mostly about giving God thanks and praising Him. Whatever gifts we have, even though we may have been good stewards and developed them, originate from God. We do well to remember that and to stay grounded in Christ through an attitude of gratitude.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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