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The Southern Cross, Page 9
Thursday, April 13, 2000
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
When you think of the heart of the church — its central points of focus,
so to speak — what first conies to mind for you?
“Eucharist. It’s what the community gathers for. It’s what makes us all one in Christ.” — Alison Rutan, Dedham,
Maine
“To me, the heart of our faith is what we proclaim at the memorial acclamation: our belief in Jesus Christ, who
died and rose and who will come again in glory.” — Thomas Smith, St. Joseph, Mo.
“I’d say the people, ... the community, ... the parishioners whom we gather with and worship with. To me, they are
the heart of the church.” — Kay O’Connor, Wilmington, Del.
“Concern for each other.” — Francis Aubespin, Lafayette, La.
“The Eucharist, Scripture and the people. God is present in all three, and the more we acknowledge that, the more
we can heighten an awareness of it among the people.” — Father Norman King, Elko, Nev.
/ Wy An upcoming edition asks: What strength or virtue do families need most? If you would like to respond for possible
C~7—~-r r ) publication, please write: Faith Alive! 3211 Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100.
An Easter risk: Opening new doors
By Theresa Sanders
Catholic News Service
It he wants to talk about
Easter’s meaning, Father Tom King
tells this story from the life of Jesuit
Father Walter Ciszek:
Father Ciszek was held for 15
years in Soviet prison camps until
his release in 1955. During that
time, he and his fellow prisoners
often were taken out to work in a
nearby copper factory. Whenever
they left the grounds of the camp,
they were forced to walk a few paces
outside the gate, turn around and
then stand at attention while wait
ing for the guard who would accom
pany them.
When the day came for his re
lease, Father Ciszek walked out of
the prison for the last time. He was
free! Yet, even that day, without
thinking, he walked a few paces,
then turned around to wait. Appar
ently, nine out of 10 liberated pris
oners made exactly the same
mistake.
We are a lot like those
liberated prisoners.
Each Easter, we cel
ebrate Jesus’ res
urrection, and
we proclaim
that Jesus has set us free. But often
we continue to live as if we are still
in prison.
It can be frightening to step out
side our self-imposed prison walls.
It can be scary to walk through new
doors. After all, who knows what
might be on the other side?
Yet Easter asks us to take that
risk. Think for a moment about the
things that keep you “prisoner” de
spite your Easter faith. What holds
you back from becoming the person
God wants you to be?
For some of us, the challenge is
simply to pray. We may feel that we
are too busy or tired to take a few
minutes daily to sit down and to
still our hearts and minds. We may
feel that we don’t know how to pray
the right way or that we will sound
foolish. Or we may fear that if we
really pray deeply, we might have to
change other parts of our lives too.
For others, the challenge might
be to start taking
better care of our
bodies. If Easter
faith means anything, it means that
our whole person is important to
God. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church reminds us that “not only
the immortal soul will live on after
death, but even our mortal body will
come to life again.”
Of course, Catholics believe that
their earthly bodies will be trans
formed in the resurrection, just as
Jesus’ body was. So Easter is a good
time to thank God for the bodies we
have been given and to commit our
selves to taking better care of them.
Finally, we might use the grace
of Easter to walk into a new life of
forgiveness: asking forgiveness and
offering it to others:
—Feeling that we have hurt an
other can make us prisoners of re
gret and shame. We may feel afraid
to admit we were wrong or we may
fear that even if we do apologize, the
person we have wronged will turn
away.
—Easter also is a good time to
forgive those who have hurt us.
When the resurrected Jesus first
iiliHill—ili nil" Hill I' 'I
It can be frightening to... walk through new
doors. After all, who knows what might be on the
other side? Yet Easter asks us to take that risk.”
appeared to Peter, the apostle had
good reason to feel afraid. He had
denied Jesus and had abandoned
him.
Yet, according to John’s Gospel,
Jesus’ first words to the disciples on
Easter were “Peace be with you.”
Later, when Jesus met Peter by the
lake, he didn’t berate him. Instead,
he offered Peter breakfast.
How free Peter must have felt!
How free we might feel if we really
believed the good news of Easter!
The jubilee holy door is a symbol, appealing to us to regard
this year as a crossing into the church’s mysterious depths.
During the Easter season, we can pass through Christ, our
door, whose resurrection opened a pathway for us.
The threshold — the doorway — to God is not only open, but
God finds ways to help us move through it, even when we
seem unable.
(Sanders is an assistant profes
sor of theology at Georgetown Uni
versity.)
All contents copyright ©2000 by CNS
A door that
opens in two
directions
By Father Lawrence E. Mick
Catholic News Service
Jtlj aster is a special day for cat-
echumens. After months or years of
preparation, they come to the Easter
Vigil to be baptized, confirmed and
brought to the Lord’s table for the
first time.
For catechumens, Easter is a ma
jor threshold. They are now full mem
bers of the church, accepting respon
sibility for carrying on the church’s
mission in the world.
Catechumens are familiar with
thresholds. Their faith journey often
begins when they walk through the
door of the parish office to inquire
about the Catholic Church.
When they are ready to enter the
catechumenate proper, they cel
ebrate the Rite of Acceptance into
the Order of Catechumens. This rite
begins outside the church if pos
sible. After being signed with the
cross, the catechumens pass
through the church’s door as a sym
bol of their entry into the commu
nity of faith.
As they near the end of their con
version journey, the catechumens cel
ebrate the Rite of Election, another
threshold through which they enter a
period of purification and enlighten
ment.
It is Easter, however, that brings
the greatest threshold experience.
Through the door of baptism, the
catechumens enter into full com
munion with the church and its
people.
The theme for the current jubilee
year is “Open Wide the Doors to
Christ.” As the blessing for a jubilee
door indicates, the symbol of the door
is a bit ambiguous.
—The door can be the door of our
hearts that we need to open to God.
—Or it can be the door to salva
tion, whose threshold we cross.
As catechumens travel through
various doors, they continually are
called to open the doors of their hearts
to Christ. At Easter they enter
through the door that is Christ him
self, sharing his death and resurrec
tion through the waters of the baptis
mal font.
Even after baptism, they will con
tinue to approach other thresholds in
their lives — changes that call them
to die again to sin and rise again to
new life. Each time they will have to
open the door of their hearts once
again to let Christ enter more fully
into their lives.
So it is for all who have been bap
tized. Having crossed the threshold of
the baptismal font, we have entered
into Christ’s body. As we continue on
our journey, we come upon a variety
of thresholds. Each time we are asked
to open the door of our hearts a bit
more so that we can enter the door of
God’s kingdom more fully.
(Father Mick is a priest of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio, and
a free-lance writer.)