“Are you discussing with one another what I said…?”
Jn 16:19
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
In recent homilies Bishop Patrick J. Zurek has put forth the Encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, as the standard for love and unity in our diocese. Today, let’s reflect upon paragraph #211 in that regard:
CHAPTER SIX
DIALOGUE AND FRIENDSHIP IN SOCIETY
SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR A NEW CULTURE
The BASIS of Consensus
Consensus and truth
211. In a pluralistic society, dialogue is the best way to realize what ought always to be affirmed and respected apart from any ephemeral consensus.
“Let me be clear — it is the Chinese Communist Party that has been responsible, not the people of China, and no one should respond to this crisis with racial hatred toward the Chinese,”
Such dialogue needs to be enriched and illumined by clear thinking, rational arguments, a variety of perspectives and the contribution of different fields of knowledge and points of view.
While it may be easy to “parrot” prayer, “blah, blah, blah,” he said, real prayer requires effort.
Nor can it exclude the conviction that it is possible to arrive at certain fundamental truths always to be upheld.
…the priests and religious have been staying in close contact with their parishioners through phone calls, the internet and WhatsApp. Unfortunately, he said, they “are very used to war.”
Acknowledging the existence of certain enduring values, however demanding it may be to discern them, makes for a robust and solid social ethics.
“Knowing that it would be hard only increased my urge to complete this lengthy project.”
Once those fundamental values are acknowledged and adopted through dialogue and consensus, we realize that they rise above consensus; they transcend our concrete situations and remain non-negotiable.
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek invites the public to attend and learn more about the Clarendon parish. The church was built in 1892 and torn down on Sept. 9, 2019.
Our understanding of their meaning and scope can increase – and in that respect, consensus is a dynamic reality – but in themselves, they are held to be enduring by virtue of their inherent meaning.
Catholics and all people of good will are urged to contact their state senators and the Governor to support policy and legislative measures that uphold the safety and wellbeing of all persons in our communities and to oppose HB 1927. (“permitless carry”)
Oppose HB 1927 and a culture of violence, Letter signed by Bishop Patrick J. Zurek and all Bishops of Texas
According to Bishop Zurek’s memos , “Surely many have longed, with a deep desire, to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.“ Today this “restless” and formally unrecognized catechist, asks Our Lady of Fatima to pray that in the Diocese of Amarillo we can begin “discussing with one another” our consensus that the UCA “Quota” is vital to having Mass; and that through this dialogue we realize that our deepest desires such as attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion are “enduring by virtue of their inherent meaning”, and “rise above consensus”, which would have us believe they are like other “ephemeral” things such as, “life under the dome”, which needs the “Quota” to survive.
