Newspaper Page Text
November 27,1980
PAGE 5
There’s A Story In Your Life To Be Told
BY FATHER PHILIP MURNION
A good story has a clear plot, a central
character who fascinates us, and it describes
a situation that all kinds of people will find
interesting.
In a good story, the relationships among
the characters - especially their relationship
with the central character - has to be clear.
A good story can be savored. As its images
are recalled, we discover that it held more
meaning than we first thought.
What is our own story - as individuals
and as communities? How is it like the story
of Jesus?
You might say we are a story church. Old
Testament stories of the patriarchs, kings
and prophets are imbedded in our religious
memories.
The story of Jesus is continually
recounted too. So interesting is it to so
many people, that it is no wonder authors
views of age-old mysteries and experiences.
Father Shea reminds people that the story of
Jesus continues to be told and to be written
in the lives of us ail: individuals, families,
parishes, for example.
The parish is the place where we continue
to tell the story of Jesus. But each year we
see the story differently -- we see it anew -
because of the way it gets reflected in our
own changing lives. So, in a sense, the story
of Jesus we retell each year is both old and
new.
Remembering the life of Christ is not
simply a matter of dredging up incidents
from the past. It is a matter of making
present the events of Christ’s life so that
people may associate themselves with that
life.
We join the Jesus story, become a part of
it and continue it. Our own stories, too,
become important.
An appreciation of the meaning to be
KNOW
YOUR FAITH
(All Articles on this page Copyrighted 1980 by N. C. News Service)
and film producers continually try to
capture the story.
Memories and stories are interrelated. In
every parish where I have served, I have
found that individuals tend to become a
community when they share memories of
certain events.
- The 7 a.m. daily Mass group in one
parish gradually takes shape in the form of a
modest community as its participants build
up a memory bank of past incidents to
retell.
- The musicians and choir members in
another parish slowly acquire a repertoire of
stories they like to retell, as if to underscore
the special relationship among those who
share memories of the same events, and who
serve in similar ways.
In families, hardly a celebration is held -
whether a birthday or Christmas or Mother’s
Day - without the telling of some stories
about past incidents that disclose a family’s
story.
When a parish calls on its own amateur
historians to write the community’s history
on the occasion of a parish centenary, for
example, the story of the parish becomes a
saga of the many memories of its people.
Father John Shea of Chicago does a lot to
remind people of the role played in the
church and in faith by stories. He does this
in his book, “Stories of God,” and in his
poetry through which he presents fresh
found in the stories of our lives can come
from drawing the connections between our
own stories and the story of Jesus.
It is extremely valuable when parishes
help people with this. Some parishes help
people to become somewhat more
autobiographical, to trace their journey of
life and faith, identifying the main
characters in their lives, realizing what
“plot” is emerging in their lives, and what
“editing” may be necessary.
In simple ways, parishes encourage family
members to listen to each other’s stories, to
set aside the time to do this and to consult
the story of Jesus as a way of helping them
reflect on the stories of their own lives.
We will not much appreciate the story of
Jesus if we do not appreciate our own
individual stories, the stories of those people
around us, the stories of the parish and of
the groups that make up the parish family.
In our lives, there is a Christ-like story to
be told about:
- the incarnation; how a life like that of
Jesus is lived in this world;
- obedience to the Father’s will;
- care for the poor;
- healing and reconciliation;
- the death and resurrection.
“The moving hand writes and having writ
moves on,” but a story is left in our
memories. It needs to be recalled by parishes
and their people.
MANY PARISHES are taking pains to write their
histories on the occasion of some anniversary. Amateur
historians interview older parishioners to record their
stories. At Holy Name of Jesus parish in Stamford, Conn.,
the Polish-American community has preserved its memories
in this book to mark the parish’s 75th anniversary. (NC
Photo)
Getting Inside The Faith At Home
BY STEPHEN A NUNES
Family experiences have a common
factor: They are shared. Together, family
members can look back on experiences
they’ve had together of joy or conflict, love,
frustration of disappointment.
For many families, the dinner table is the
most basic place for sharing. Around the
FOR MANY FAMILIES, the dinner table is the most
basic forum for sharing. Here families relate the news of the
day -- its ups and downs, whether it was a good day or bad
day and why. It is a time for listening and responding, for
dreaming dreams, facing reality and even making decisions.
(NC Photos by Mimi Forsyth)
Paul: Serving As An Example
table family members relate the news of the
day - its ups and downs, whether it was a
good day or bad day, and why. The dinner
table is a place for listening and responding,
for expressing ideals, facing reality,-even for
making decisions.
Around the dinner table, family members
share memories. They share attitudes toward
jobs or school, anxieties about the world’s
situation, financial worries, interest in sports
events and relationships with other people.
They share the interests of day-by-day living.
That means they share their values.
It would be interesting to know how
many families openly share their feelings
about the faith around the dining room
table.
One thing is sure: When Christianity is
related to the life people actually lead today,
it offers much grist for the mill of a family’s
conversation. Take a look at the news stories
any day in a newspaper. What is reported in
a newspaper - wars, poverty, homelessness,
political events, courage, illness - is all
within the scope of Christian concern.
Christian values speak to the real world of
everyday life. Can this be discussed at home?
It seems to me it is important for parents
and children to share their feelings about
faith - to be able to talk together about the
meaning of Christianity.
I realize this is easier said than done.
Many people have good intentions in this
area that have not materialized, perhaps
because of the noise of TV, scheduled
activities outside the home or simply
because they’ve found it difficult to start -
they haven’t felt comfortable about it.
But why not?
Does religion seem out of place in a
family’s daily life?
Are people afraid or self-conscious when
it comes to talking about their faith?
A lot of good conversations at home have
started when a particular TV show or a
popular song reflected a certain attitude:
Maybe it trivialized the value of a
relationship between two married people;
maybe it demonstrated how one person can
genuinely reach out to another; maybe it
raised questions about what a family is,
about the ways people help each other grow.
TV occupies a big place in many homes.
It can be used as a natural resource of ideas
for worthwhile conversations. Of course,
such conversations call for listening on the
part of all involved.
I think a key factor in talking about faith
at home is spontaneity. It helps when
discussions of the faith are natural.
Start with a newspaper article or an
incident which occurred that day. Or, take
advantage of a religious media event, like the
showing of the TV movie titled “Jesus of
Nazareth.”
Families that watch a program like this
can discuss it. Ask:
“How does the actor’s portrayal match
your picture of Jesus?”
“What teaching of Jesus was highlighted
by this particular show?
Books too are natural resources of ideas
for family conversations. It is certainly
possible for families to take up a book about
the faith and examine it together.
When speaking about our values and our
faith, it is important to speak personally.
What does Christianity mean to me, to us, to
our family? We need to relate the living
Christ to our own personal experience.
It is helpful if parents feel comfortable
discussing religious topics with each other
and not just for the sake of the children.
Parents set the tone of the family. If
parents not only choose to be Christians, but
find it interesting to discuss the church and
the faith, their children will surely take note.
A family’s lifestyle reflects its faith.
Talking about Christ is one thing. But when
the talk is lived out -- whether through some
poor or of others - it is given depth and
meaning.
If faith is important, it makes sense to
talk about it, and to live it, at home.
BY FATHER JOHN J. CASTELOT
When parents are upset by the behavior
of their children, they find themselves in the
grip of all sorts of conflicting emotions.
The overriding one is, of course, loving
concern. But this is mixed with annoyance,
disappointment and anxiety. These emotions
show up in parental appeals to children,
sometimes in strange, almost humorous
ways.
So it was with Paul and his converts, his
parishioners. He was not just a functionary
doing a job. Paul was a father and he loved
and worried about his people with a father’s
heart.
There was good reason for him to be
disturbed by what was happening in the
community he had founded at Corinth. To
judge by the childish rivalries in Corinth, one
would think Paul had never instructed the
people on the primacy of love, on the
fundamental importance of their oneness in
Christ.
Paul’s appeal to the people reveals his
mixed emotions: He is alternately sarcastic
and forthright, stern and tender. Having
reviewed the situation, especially as it
concerned him and his fellow minister,
Apollos, he seems to say, in effect:
“Look, you certainly didn’t learn this
kind of behavior from either of us! We
didn’t pick and choose among you when we
were instructing you, preaching only to an
elite, to those who appealed to us
personally.” (1 Cor. 4:6)
At this point, Paul resorts to rather biting
sarcasm. If the people now have something
to recommend them, it is only because of
God’s gracious gift, delivered to them
through the good services of his ministers.
What, then, are they bragging about? They
are so smug and self-satisfied that they seem
to think they have it made - on their own!
“At the moment you are completely
satisfied. You have grown rich! You have
launched upon your reign with no help from
us. Would that you had really begun to
reign, that we might be reigning with you!”
(1 Cor. 4:8)
To emphasize how ridiculous their
attitude is, he draws a pointed contrast
between what they think their situation is
and what the actual situation of God’s
ministers is. It is a movingly eloquent
passage, beginning with:
“As I see it, God has put us apostles at
the end of the line, like men doomed to die
in the arena. We have become a spectacle to
the universe, to angels and men alike. We are
fools on Christ’s account. Ah, but in Christ
you are wise! We are the weak ones, you the
strong! They honor you, while they sneer at
us!” (1 Cor. 4:9-10).
But now his deep love for them comes to
the fore: “I am writing you in this way not
to shame you but to admonish you as by
beloved children. Granted you have 10,000
guardians in Christ, you have only one
father. It was I who begot you in Christ
Jesus through my preaching of the Gospel. I
beg you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Cor.
4:15-16).
This appeal for imitation is important.
Paul not only preached the Gospel, he lived
it. He knew talk was cheap, especially at
Corinth, with its chorus of ear-tickling
philosophers, purveyors of “wisdom.”
People had to be shown that living as a
Christian was really possible. They needed a
visible model for imitation. Paul tried his
best to furnish that model.
Just in case they have forgotten, he had
already sent his good friend Timothy to
remind them and, in turn, to serve as an
image of Christ in their midst.
Discussion
Points And Questions
1. Pick one TV show which your family usually watches together.
What does this show tell you about living a shared life? Do people in
the show lead lives which you can relate in any way to Christian values?
Select one eventTrom (lie show and use it as the basis for a discussion
of values important to you.
2. FatherPhilip M urn ion. gives examples of how parish communities
build up memories of important stories. What is one example he
mentions? Why is it important for communities to have this happen?
3. Having read Stephen Nunes' article, why do you think he
considers it important for families to discuss their faith and their
values?
4. What are some specific ways families can begin a discussion
related to their faith?
5. What do you discuss with your family over the dinner table? Do
you find it difficult to talk about religious values?
6. In what way does St. Paul act like a father toward his
parishioners, according to Father John Castelot?