Is the St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish community a place from which I, as one of the baptized, set out as missionary disciple and to which I return, full of joy, in order to share the wonders worked by the Lord through my witness; or is it a locked door that I hide behind seeking protection from the secular influence of society whose culture has horribly effected our country❓
The Church lives within a society; it is not immune to its culture. We
from Bishop Zurek’s Letter to St. Mary’s Cathedral, “A Reflection on Christian Life”
see the horrific effects of this in our country…This has found its way into the Church. We who follow Christ as
Christians are called to be the “Light of the world”; yet “a few” of our
number have allowed the secular influence to dominate their life and hence
their light has dimmed.
Each time I return to St. Mary’s Cathedral parish, isn’t it only right to feel like I’m “no longer a stranger and sojourner” as I did while I was away living as a Catholic in a secular world; however, isn’t it also only right that I, as among the baptized laity, not lock myself behind the doors of St. Mary’s Cathedral parish by “concentrating exclusively on their own activities and their organizational needs“; for wouldn’t that be hiding “behind appearances of religiosity and even love for the Church,…seeking, instead of the glory of the Lord, human glory and personal well-being”;…
…indeed, if my time at St. Mary’s doesn’t heal me of the influence of the secular world on issues such as The Drama of Poverty, War, The Travail of Migrants, Human Trafficking, Sexual Abuse, Violence Against Women, Abortion, Surrogacy, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, The Marginalization of People with Disabilities, Gender Theory, Sex Change, and Digital Violence; and then give me the strength to, “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News“, by caring for our common home, then would not my time at St. Mary’s “be nothing more than romantic individualism dressed up in ecological garb, locking (me) into a stifling immanence;…
…consequently, since there are no blessings acquired for believing in the Lord when I see Him at St. Mary’s Cathedral, shouldn’t I attain for the blessings given to those who cannot see Him in the secular world, but go out into it anyway believing He is there;…
…however, if I have doubts, as St. Thomas did, about setting “out as a missionary disciple”, can I not find peace knowing that, “Jesus came, although the doors were locked“, and St. Thomas ultimately discovered the joy, of sharing the wonders worked by the Lord through his witness❓
