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The Southern Cross, Page 4 Thursday, September 14, 2000 Commentary Not pride, but humility T he Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has recently issued two documents that have caused a stir in ecumenical and interre ligious circles. Both emphasize an unpopular point: one religion is not “as good as” another. The new declaration “Dominus Iesus: On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church” (see page 1) reaffirms the Church’s constant teaching that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world: “there is no other name ... by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). And it restates the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that despite a certain level of communion with other Christian churches, the “church of Christ... continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church.” A few weeks ago, the CDF issued a 4-page clarification of the phrase “sister churches,” pointing out that the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” (which is fully present only in the Roman Catholic Church) is mother to all the local churches. She herself is mother, not sister. Why would the vast and powerful Catholic Church—with a billion adherents, she is by far the largest religious organization in the world, comprising half or more of the world’s Christian population—feel the need to repeat such asser tions? Perhaps the influence of relativism and an unthinking “tolerance” has become so prevalent that even Catholics have been tempted to forget or to downplay the unique saving role of Christ and the theological fact that there is and can be only one Church. When anyone, Christian or not, receives God’s grace, he or she is receiving Christ, who is that grace, consciously or not. If a Jew, a Moslem, or even a Hindu or a Buddhist outshines a pro fessed Christian in the living out of the grace received, it is to the Christian’s shame. Likewise, all baptized believers belong, to some degree, to the one, holy, catholic and apos- (Continued on page I I) Look for the best By Ticki Lloyd he other day, I was thumbing through a well-worn book of Psalms given to me by a saintly priest years ago. The beauty of the old book is that it has the psalms in English and Latin. And it’s a real pleasure to read; it keeps me in touch with Latin, which I love so dearly. I remember my eyes resting on Psalm 139:14, “I praise you for you are fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are your works.” How often do we think of ourselves as wonderful people? We would prob ably be embarrassed by the thought of it. But, if we consider that we are wonderful not because of any thing we have done, but because of what God has done in creating us, we might take a different view of ourselves. Look around! The world is full of wonderful people. We might look different, dress differently and have different views, but the amazing thing we all have in common is the Spirit of God within us. If we fully understood the wisdom of God with us at all times, we would never limit what we can achieve. God never withholds guidance from us, nor does he reserve it for certain times. He is constantly with us. When we are distraught over something and there seems to be no way out of doubting that God is near, we have to remember that he works wonders in heaven and on earth. We are not supposed to judge others, but sometimes we do. Have you ever met someone and formed your opinion of what you thought they may be like? Ninety-nine per cent of the time we are wrong. Sometimes we judge people by the way they walk, talk or dress partic ularly, the way they dress. We may never know what’s in the mind, heart and soul of the “airhead” under a big hat. The cover of a book may not always be an indica tion that a story of quality and inspiration is inside. The same is true of people. A first impression based on a person’s outward ap in ourselves, others pearance is not a representation of the “real” person. Wonderful possibilities open up to us when we are willing to think the best of ourselves and see the best in others. Vision like this frees us to be creative, and we can appreciate others as God’s “won derfully made creatures.” All of us have gifts to offer. Sometimes we view our talents as insignificant. We may not mind sharing our time and our money with others, but when it comes to sharing our talent, we begin to think we have nothing to share. We may never know how our talent can give encouragement to someone who needs self-assurance. Sometimes we may feel that oth ers are more favored by God than we are, more graced than we. We have to remember that God alone reads the human heart. He alone decides what is best for us. When we recognize that God is the One Presence in our lives, we can deal with any situation. Just as our physical body needs a constant supply of nourishment to function, our spirit needs the nourishment of prayer. In growing up, many of us have taken journeys that had their share of ups and downs, which brought us to where we are. Our bodies changed, and our thoughts as well. We evolved into who we are and what we are, each one unique and wonderful. It is faith that brings us to knowledge. When we stay close to the faith that softens our heart, we experience an ongoing revela tion of God’s love. When we walk in darkness and don’t feel God working in our lives, perhaps we’re walking with our eyes closed, and it will require God’s healing love to open them. Then will we come to believe that we are truly a wonderful people of God. Ticki Lloyd is a parishioner of Saint Francis Xavier Church, Brunswick. It’s O.K. to love myself By John McCormack ome days, loving myself is beyond my reach. Yet psychotherapists and spiritual counselors exhort us to love ourselves. The experts tell us again and again that the view I have of myself will shape my emotional well being, significantly influence my physical health, color my view of others, and even influ ence my view of God. Some students of human nature speculate that all of us have an inferiority complex. We com pare ourselves to others and judge ourselves to be “less than.” Sometimes I flaunt my inadequa cies, wearing a long face and frightened brow for all to see. At other times I hide my inadequa cies amazingly well, appearing confident and blessed. I imagine others looking at me and say ing how good or blessed I am. But always I walk with a shadow within me hiding, behind a tree or around a comer next to my soul. There is a whisper waiting to be said the first,time I stumble, “you jerk!” Counselors and therapists warn us that what we whisper to ourselves shapes our view of our selves, forms our self-concept, grows or squash es our self-esteem. If we whisper encouraging, compassionate, hopeful thoughts praising our efforts, our self-esteem blossoms. If we repri mand and condemn ourselves with critical whis pers from deep within, then our self-esteem plummets. When we judge ourselves worthless, we condemn ourselves to the dungeons of our own internal hells. Some hours, some days, I think it is impossible to love myself. Beware the negative whispers. I must take a look at myself through the lens of human com passion. We all stmggle daily to meet our basic needs. We do the best we can given our circum stance. Our resources are limited and we regu larly fail. Most of us keep trying. The source of our worth is our constant effort. For those of us who believe in God, there is more than human compassion, there is also Divine Love. I am a child of God. He so loved me that He sent His son to save me. If I can but hold this truth close to my heart, especially when I am failing, then I can love myself with out excuse and without question. When I was little I was taught that the worst of all sins was pride. I learned to put myself down so as not to be boastful or cocky. Regrettably, I did not hear them tell me that the only danger was putting myself higher than God. So long as I acknowledged that all of my wonderful person al gifts were personal presents from Him, then I could be proud of my goodness. There are moments I still struggle to believe that. What a freeing and glorious thought: I can fully accept all of my wonderful strengths so long as I acknowledge that they are His presents to me. I do not have to pretend I am less than I am. I do not have to feel guilty if I feel proud. God wants me to whisper to myself about my goodness. It's OK to love myself. Hallelujah! John C. McCormack, PhD, PC, is a parishioner of Saint Mary’s on the Hill, Augusta.