“I do not ask that you take them out of the world…”
Jn 17:15
Wednesday 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 #216 in that regard:
CHAPTER SIX
A NEW CULTURE
Encounter that becomes culture
216. The word “culture” points to something deeply embedded within a people, its most cherished convictions and its way of life.
“Let’s not build a big church. Let’s have a place where people can come together to celebrate, especially children, a place where they can laugh and cry in peace, because many (during the massacre) died crying (of terror).”
A people’s “culture” is more than an abstract idea.
“World Youth Day, by its very name and nature, is meant for every young person in the world. No one is excluded or can excuse themselves. This means that church leaders should do everything they can to accompany every single youth and young adult in their area.”
It has to do with their desires, their interests and ultimately the way they live their lives.
“It is highly recommended that all members of our diocesan delegation attend these meetings. Formation meetings will be to prepare the mind, body and soul to get the most out of our pilgrimage to Portugal. In addition, we will be doing many activities as a group to prepare us for our journey.”
To speak of a “culture of encounter” means that we, as a people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone.
“But I do believe that there is a God who wants us to be united. Unity is not the same as uniformity. I always mentioned in my schools, we must respect unity in plurality. It is something that we must learn to respect — plurality,”
This becomes an aspiration and a style of life.
The subject of this culture is the people, not simply one part of society that would pacify the rest with the help of professional and media resources.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to be at Catholic University of America to have this connection and to be working with something I like. It’s not just astrophysics in general. I am super interested in exoplanets,”
Welcome back home!
From a Memo from Bishop Patrick J. Zurek Sent to All Diocese of Amarillo Priests in the Matters of Lifting the Covid-19 Dispensation
Today this “restless” and formally unrecognized catechist, is asking those “under the dome”: Why can’t the United Catholic Appeal be more about “encounter”; meaning that we, as a diocese should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning an “Appeal” that includes everyone; instead of using a “Quota” that wants us to believe that, “‘I, as a lay person, do not always have all the knowledge’; while it is quite
probable that the deacon, priest or bishop has a much fuller picture of what is
actually happening”.
Today my prayer is that, “the dome” understands that, an “United Catholic Appeal” has to do with those who have been left in the world at Jesus’s request; their desires, their interests and ultimately the way they live their lives; and rather than counting them for a “Quota”, “the dome” would encounter them through their pledges, it may discover that they have a much fuller picture of what is actually happening than believed.
