John Paul II Archives - Amazing Catechists

Number One #Superfood: The Eucharist, Hands Down

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink . . . This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever (Jn 6:53-55, 58).

I’d like to begin my post by telling you about one of my favorite saints, St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859), the holy Curé of Ars, and patron of parish priests. He started his priestly life in a way that might have discouraged most of us. After a poor academic performance in seminary, he was consigned by his doubtful superiors to the tiny farming village of Ars, France. In this dingy backwater, drunkenness and frivolity were the norm, and public sin rampant. But because of his humble and persevering devotion to the Eucharist, he converted the entire town, as well as thousands of citizens from surrounding villages who flocked to him daily by the hundreds to make their confessions. To this day, his body remains incorrupt, and is venerated by about 500,000 pilgrims annually.

I share this because we all have moments when we feel ill-equipped to save souls, like below-average seminary students exiled to the hinterlands. And most of us truly are unremarkable in the eyes of the world; more frustrated, over-burdened, and exhausted than inspiring. But Jesus invites us to eat a seemingly ordinary meal of bread and wine that, in the hands of our beloved priests, becomes the power needed to radically empower our lives. When we partake of Him in this intimate and transformative way in the Holy Eucharist, we embrace the possibility of ordinary souls doing extraordinary things. Suddenly, there is life in us (Jn 6:53). And therein lies a path of genuine glory.

Many of you are preparing students to receive sacraments this year. But all of us are laboring to bring our students to Christ, hoping even when all seems hopeless to facilitate an encounter with Jesus that will save their souls. As catechists, to bear fruit that will last (Jn 15:16) we must begin with our own encounter with Christ through the Eucharist, the “source and summit” of our faith.

Consider this: With astounding humility, the Messiah came to us a poor, helpless infant, born in a stable. Condescending still more, His Precious Blood was poured out in suffering and death to ransom us from our sins. In perhaps His greatest act of humility, He is offered to us daily under the appearance of bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist, a form easily overlooked, ignored, disbelieved, or taken for granted. He waits for us in the tabernacle, calling to our hearts, longing to heal and transform our lives.

I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . (Lk 22:15).

Those who do not yet have an appreciation for the strange and wonderful power of the Holy Eucharist might find it bizarre that so many Catholics run with the devotion of smitten lovers to daily Mass, day-after-day, for years on end. But for each of those lucky souls there is a unique story of suffering that has taught them a joyful dependency on Christ’s life-giving love, revealed with unspeakable beauty and tenderness in this otherworldly sacrament.

The best means to reach perfection is through receiving Holy Communion frequently. Experience sufficiently proves it in those who practice it. (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

Consider also the many ways in which Christ is truly present to us (and through us) at Mass. Gathered as a community—as His body, the Church—with the priest standing in persona Christi, speaking Christ’s living words–Sacred Scripture, we enter into His once-for-all-time eternal sacrifice on the Cross through the Eucharist. Have you ever felt so wrapped in Christ? Are you starting to see the urgency and the unspeakable privilege of getting to Mass and participating in a whole-hearted and conscientious way?

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Lk 22:19-20).

In this holy communion with God, this new covenant in Christ’s body and blood, we are called to save souls. But He doesn’t just call us; He provides sustenance and power. His body is real food for this work, and His blood real drink.

The Eucharist thus appears as both the source and the summit of all evangelization, since its goal is the communion of mankind with Christ and in him with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
(John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia)

If we truly desire to save souls, and we do, there just isn’t a greater source of grace and inspiration than the Blessed Sacrament—our own dear Jesus in the unassuming form of bread and wine.

If you have not been to Mass in a while, please consider availing yourself of this great gift–but first call your local parish and find out when confession is offered. We all need a fresh start now and then, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation will wipe the slate clean and bring healing and refreshment to your soul. (Instructions can be found online.) You’ll be a lot more open to Jesus if you tidy up before you invite him in. Ask the great confessor, St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney to pray for your intention.

“I am only content,” he once said, “when I’m praying for sinners.”

To offer our trust to Christ in return for His life-giving Eucharist is a wonderful way to begin 2015. Make this the year you say yes to the number one superfood on the planet–the only one that can power up your entire life, body and soul.

For more inspiration, here’s a great website with quotes from saints devoted to the Eucharist.

See you at Mass. God bless you!

Review: To the Heights, by Brian Kennelly

By Guest Post

REVIEW by JT Therrian

I’ve often wondered what my life would’ve been like by now had I followed the call of God’s voice as a young boy. Erroneously believing that a life of pain and hardship lay in that direction, I hardened my heart and adopted a more “realistic” attitude toward my future.

To the Heights, Mr. Brian Kennelly’s novelization of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasseti’s life (1901-1925), showed me what such a life devoted to caring and loving, begun at a very early age, might have looked like. Pier Giorgio simply and humbly believed that no one is ever too young to love and to care for others, especially for the marginalized, the poor, and the disenfranchised.

I found the life of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasseti incredibly inspiring. I admit that before reading To the Heights I had not heard of this popular third order Franciscan. Mr. Kennelly does a great job fleshing out Pier Giorgio Frasseti’s love for his family along with his passion for the Catholic Church; his pious devotions to praying the Rosary; attending daily Mass; and spending time in adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

It is important to show young Catholics the rewards of a strongly-lived faith. This book does just that. To the question: given the current state of the world, how can I believe in a God? Mr. Kennelly replies, through Pier Giorgio Frasseti’s humble actions and words: take account of all the graces in your life. How can you not believe in God?

As a Vincentian, I was heartened to read of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasseti’s work in the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The spirit of caring and charity rings true on every page. In a moving passage, Pier Giorgio explains to someone seemingly indifferent to serving the poor, “There is a special light behind the poor and unfortunate, one we do not have, one that has nothing to do with riches and health. I urge you to see that light tonight, not with your eyes, but with your heart.”

There are many echoes of past saints and sanctifying grace in the young man’s life: his fondness for hiking reminded me of Pope St. John Paul II’s passion for the outdoors; Pier Giorgio’s love of the poor and the sick, and the selfless acts of kindness with which he filled his days, brought to mind St. Vincent de Paul and St. Thérèse of Lisieux (especially in his love of flowers); and his limitless charity towards the poor is exemplary of St. Francis’ concerns.

But Mr. Kennelly also shows us that the tenderhearted and pious young man was no stranger to physical confrontations. Pier Giorgio lived through WWI and the chaotic political aftermath in Italy which gave rise to Mussolini’s infamous fascist (and anti-Catholic) Black Shirts. Pier Giorgio did not back down from unjust confrontations, although he would only fight when all peaceful avenues had been exhausted. In reaction to the Black Shirts, he remarked, “It’s a sad day when Catholics cower to evil and treat the teachings of their Church as if they are merely suggestions, abandoning them without the slightest sign of a troubled conscience.” How prophetic and timely this warning, as our Church continues to face relentless assaults from the secular world.

I truly enjoyed To the Heights and I will be recommending it to everyone for years to come. Mr. Kennelly not only understood what was in Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasseti’s mind, he showed us the care, love and charity alive in the blessed’s heart. We are grateful to such a talented author for revealing these graces. I also enjoyed the book’s short chapters, and I liked that Mr. Kennelly includes some actual prayers in the text, introducing some of the Church’s treasures, such as the Tedeum, to readers.

If you know someone, especially a young person concerned about the plight of the poor or injustice in the world, you must inspire them to action with a copy of To the Heights.

JT Therrien is a Catholic Canadian fiction writer working in a variety of genres: literary; commercial; children’s and young adult; inspirational (mostly based on the Theology of the Body and traditional Catholic doctrine); art-themed; paranormal; romance and love stories. He plies his craft in short story, novella and novel-length works. Readers who enjoy Brian Kennelly’s To the Heights might also like JT’s art-themed, Theology of the Body, young adult, dystopian novella Sprainter, available at all online e-book retailers. Readers can also follow JT online: https://twitter.com/jttherrien – Twitter, http://jttherrien.blogspot.ca – blog, https://sites.google.com/site/jttherrienauthor – website, https://www.amazon.com/author/jttherrien – Amazon author’s page, and at many other social networking sites.

Catechism Trivia

By Pat Gohn

Seventeen years after its first publication, The Catechism of the Catholic Church continues to fascinate and instruct readers around the world. Today’s column enumerates a few of the things that inspire and delight me about The Catechism. Call it Catechism trivia if you like.

The Catechism is a Monumental Achievement

The idea for the Catechism of the Catholic Church came in the first days of the Extraordinary Synod in Rome in October 1985. John Paul II convened this meeting of the world’s bishops, who were the presidents of their national bishops’ conferences, to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of Vatican II.

The bishops discerned that, as the world has become a “global village,” there was a growing need for the one faith of the Church to be proclaimed in a single universal volume. Not that there weren’t already catechisms available. But there had not been a UNIVERSAL catechism, or major catechism, in over 400 years, since the Roman Catechism of 1566, following the Council of Trent.

Historically speaking, this was a big deal for Catholics. And a major undertaking of faithfully handing on the Deposit of Faith, as received from the Apostles through the ages. It required a systematic catechetical overhaul of the Roman Catechism, while maintaining integrity of content. Plus it must incorporate the enormous wealth of two millennia of Christian experience. The goal was to create a universal resource that made the teachings of the Catholic Church accessible both for the modern Catholic, and for generations to come.

(And just for a moment, consider that this global task began in the late 80s before widespread use of email and electronic reference texts and tools existed. Not only that, you pretty much would want to hire a spiritual Superman for the job, given the impact this work is going to have. Imagine the job description: Wanted: Excellent communicator with a genius level understanding of Catholic doctrine and theology, coupled with a passionate fidelity to orthodoxy. Candidate should possess a pastor’s heart and concern for those who teach and learn the faith. Success as a published author a must!)

In 1986, following the Synod’s recommendation for a new universal catechism, John Paul II assigned Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to lead a commission of bishops and Cardinals to develop the next universal catechism. Ratzinger, a renowned theologian and author in his own right, and the Pope’s go-to man as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would later become Pope Benedict XVI.

Over 6 years, the new catechism received the input of over 1000 bishops worldwide – a true work of collegiality between the bishops, the pope, with the Holy Spirit. Over 24,000 modifications were assimilated into the text from the bishops’ suggestions through the skillful editing and writing style of Christoph Schönborn, (a former Ratzinger protégé, now Cardinal of Vienna, Austria.)

Finally, the first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was presented in October 1992 in French. It was the 30^thanniversary of the opening of Vatican II. The English edition arrived later in 1994. The official Latin version was published in August 1997.

To date, The Catechism has been translated into over 50 languages.

The Proportions of the Text

The Catechism is both concise and comprehensive. It uses a numbering system, as do many ecclesial texts, to reference its subject matter. There are 2865 numerical paragraphs in total.

There are four parts, sometimes called “pillars”, of The Catechism:

· Part One (beliefs or creed) represents 39% of the content, and covers paragraphs 1-1065.

· Part Two (sacraments) = 23% and covers paragraphs 1066-1690.

· Part Three (the Christian life) = 27% and covers paragraphs 1691-2557.

· Part Four (prayer) = 11% and covers paragraphs 2558-2865.

The actual doctrinal portion of The Catechism covers about 700 pages, depending on font size of the version you read. It’s multiple indices and glossary are 100-200 pages.

In June 2005, Benedict XVI released the Compendium, a shorter, more concise format of The Catechism, using a question and answer format. It does not replace The Catechism, but serves as a faithful introduction to the doctrines presented in the larger work.

Citations

Each page of doctrine is heavily footnoted and cross-referenced. (One gets a good education just by meandering through The Catechism’s many sources!)

Scripture is the most frequently cited source in The Catechism. In fact, 40 out of 46 books of the Old Testament are cited, and all 27 books of the New Testament are quoted. It is a wonderful to discover the biblical underpinnings of Catholic doctrines. I recommend having a bible nearby when reading The Catechism for referring to the scriptures found in the footnotes. (Or use the resource below.)

The Documents of Vatican II are the second most quoted source. (You might want to have a copy of that handy too! Or use the resource below.) Sixteen other ecumenical councils from history are also quoted.

The writings from 22 popes are quoted, as is Canon Law, and numerous other ecclesiastical documents.

Hundreds of quotes from over 50 saints, Church Fathers, and Doctors provide a wealth of inspiration for one’s meditation. By the way, 6 of which are women: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Rose of Lima, St. Joan of Arc, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and the Christian mystic Julian of Norwich.

The most quoted saint in The Catechism is St. Augustine with 87 citations, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas with 61.

The Catechism and Related Works On-line

To conclude, allow me to share useful websites for your reading. While I always encourage Catholics to buy copies of The Catechism for their personal reading, I realize that many Catholics find their reference needs online. The sites below are worthy of bookmarks in your browser.

1. My favorite source for The Catechism on-line is the website sponsored by St. Charles Borromeo’s Parish. This is a wonderful apostolate, and their site has a very user-friendly search engine: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm.

2. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops also has The Catechism online, but the search engine is difficult to use. However, their site provides the glossary to The Catechism, which is handy, and not always found on other sites:http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/.

3. The Vatican website, naturally, has any reference work you might need. The search engine, while comprehensive, is a little tedious for beginners. But here’s what you can find:

The Catechism: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

The Documents of Vatican II: http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm

The Compendium:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

4. The Catechism uses the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible in its text. To browse or search the RSV Bible, go here:http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/.

This article first appeared at CatholicExchange.com.