Postscript to Synod XV

The young auditors addressed a concluding message to the Holy Father. It sounded a lot less like the Acts of the Apostles than it did promotional material from the Dicastery of Integral Human Development.

“New ideas need space and you gave it to us,” they wrote to Pope Francis. “We share your dream: an outgoing Church, open to all, especially the weakest, a field hospital Church. We are already an active part of this Church and we want to continue to make a concrete commitment to improve our cities and schools, and the social and political world and working environments, by spreading a culture of peace and solidarity and by putting the poor at the centre, in whom Jesus himself is recognised.”

Jesus just barely made it into the message, which meant the auditors were not listening very carefully to the bishops. The synod fathers themselves had decided to write a message to the youth of the world, and the first draft was soundly rejected for not clearly beginning with Jesus.

—Fr. Raymond J. de Souza

The recent Synod in Rome—a.k.a., the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 3 to 28) Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment—is a case in point. Sociology—which is not necessarily incompatible with Catholic doctrine—seems to have taken on the same weight as the message of the Gospel, which leads many to conclude that the Synod participants, or at least a majority of the attendees, are/were more interested in the religion of sociology than the religion of Jesus Christ.

One can reasonably conclude, from the vocabulary adopted by the Synod participants, i.e., the language attached to certain ideologies that too often are antagonistic toward Catholicism, that too many attendees surrendered to said crass contemporary thought forms in a wholesale and uncritical manner rather than purifying catchphrases and sociological categories that support behaviours which attempt to supplant the reality of human biological, spiritual and social complementarity. In a real sense, the praxis of authentic philosophy—the configuration of the mind to reality—has been inverted, and the Synod delegates are, in many cases (if we examine statements), seeking to conform reality (and the rest of us) to dark fantasies.

In our time, too many Catholics are caught up in an understanding and praxis that produces an abundance of catechetical programs that are gimmicky, toothless, and frequently miss the importance of drawing aspirants into the true, the good and the beautiful, the transcendentals, the vehicles through which God leads souls into communion with Him and His Church. God established His Church to mediate His Presence and love, His truth and mercy, for the salvation of souls, especially in and through the Holy Eucharist, Divine Worship.

“Truth beauty and goodness have their being together, by truth we are put in touch with reality which we find is good for us and beautiful to behold. In our knowing, loving and delighting the gift of reality appears to us as something infinitely and in-exhaustively valuable and fascinating.” (Dubay, T. The evidential power of beauty: science and theology meet; 1999) In seeking to discuss one, the others are naturally and organically brought into the conversation. (Guernsey, D. Educating to Truth, Goodness and Beauty; 2016)

It seems that some eager evangelists, attached to the Synod, in an attempt to neatly package the Faith, resort to a soundbite evangelization which rarely captures the necessary nuances that, by the grace of God, may become windows through which the Faith is caught by thirsty seekers.

Bring young people to Christ? Yes, by all just and charitable means, bring them (and the rest of us, too)! It seems, however, that among too many Catholics, even among learned clergy, there is that mistaken notion that evangelization is solely concerned with bringing people to Jesus, to the seeming exclusion of bringing souls to God (the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost) through, to and in the company of the Church Militant, the Body of Christ, the People of God. By focussing (rightly!) our missionary activities on Jesus our Lord and Saviour, which is the necessary priority, we should not exclude the means by which He Himself established to bring people to Himself.

The Baltimore Catechism

Q. 491. What is the duty of the Teaching Church?

A. The duty of the Teaching Church is to continue the work Our Lord began upon earth, namely, to teach revealed truth, to administer the Sacraments and to labor for the salvation of souls.

Protestant = Me + Jesus

Catholic = Jesus + the Church + Me

Evangelization need not be hindered by the false dichotomy of choosing either Jesus or the Church, which is a rather unhelpful and Protestant notion which tends to diminish the necessity of the Church and her sacraments instituted by Christ Himself. The Catholic sense, which is to say the only legitimate sense handed down by the Apostles, is a both/and proposition—we call people to Christ and His Church. If we remember Who founded the Church, that Jesus founded His Church, i.e., the Catholic Church, upon the Apostles, we won't stray too far from the truth that Jesus, while distinct from or in His Church, cannot be separated from His Church. After all, the Church is His Church, and those who act against the Church, whether from within or from outside, are acting against Jesus Christ (St. Matthew 5:10-12).

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus resides or acts in and through His Church. Jesus saves; He ordinarily saves us through His Church. The salvation Jesus offers us comes through His Church. The Church offers salvation in Christ by offering the sacraments that Jesus gave to His Church for the express purpose of saving souls, to bring them (us) to everlasting life.

The Baltimore Catechism

Q. 574. What is a Sacrament?

A. A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

Q. 575. Are these three things, namely: an outward or visible sign, the institution of that sign by Christ, and the giving of grace through the use of that sign, always necessary for the existence of a Sacrament?

A. These three things, namely: an outward or visible sign, the institution of that sign by Christ, and the giving of grace through the use of that sign, are always necessary for the existence of a Sacrament, and if any of the three be wanting there can be no Sacrament.

Q. 576. Why does the Church use numerous ceremonies or actions in applying the outward signs of the Sacraments?

A. The Church uses numerous ceremonies or actions in applying the outward signs of the Sacraments to increase our reverence and devotion for the Sacraments, and to explain their meaning and effects.