October 27, 2011

REVITALIZING CATHOLIC CULTURE AND IDENTITY

Revitalizing our Catholic Culture and Identity is a reintroduction of our cultural response where Jesus  Christ is the center of our lives, and the Church is our mother and teacher.  Everything we do should flow from that, in fact, it is a Journey to the Heart of the Faith and Jesus meets us where we are as a people. It is acelebration, in words, imagery and action, of the God who takes infinitedelight in bringing human beings to fullness of life through their very Culture and making it their Catholic Identity. Our Catholic Culture is meant to accept or adopt what is pure and life giving, challenge what is inconsistent or at variance with our values and reject or transform what is against the dignity ofhumanity or the truth of God.  Like the faith itself it is an invitation to encounter and live life united to the Incarnation. It is a re-call to the disciplining of the desires that goes far beyond the requirements of justice so as to serve the infinite demand of life. We have moved to a culture that strives only to avoid suffering and provide self gratification, therefore we have to provide an alternative vision to the world where we live.  It is not about reintroducing the artifacts of Catholicism as though they were dusty objets d'art in a museum of culture. It is rather to conduct usever deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation with the hope that we might be transformed by its power. St Paul consistently proclaimed that the church of Jesus Christ is not so much an organization as an organism, a mystical body. The church accordingly isa living thing, whose purpose is to gather the whole world into the praise of God.

REVITALIZING CATHOLIC CULTURE AND IDENTITY

Revitalizing our CatholicCulture and Identity is a reintroduction of our cultural response where JesusChrist is the center of our lives, and the Church is our mother and teacher.Everything we do should flow from that, in fact, it is A Journey to theHeart of the Faith and Jesus meets us where we are as a people. It is acelebration, in words, imagery and action, of the God who takes infinitedelight in bringing human beings to fullness of life through their very Cultureand making it their Catholic Identity. Our Catholic Culture is meant to acceptor adopt what is pure and life giving, challenge what is inconsistent or atvariance with our values and reject or transform what is against the dignity ofhumanity or the truth of God.  Like thefaith itself it is an invitation to encounter and live life united to theIncarnation. It is a re-call to the disciplining of the desires that goes farbeyond the requirements of justice so as to serve the infinite demand of life.We have moved to a culture that strives only to avoid suffering and provideself gratification, therefore we have to provide an alternative vision to theworld where we live.  It is not aboutreintroducing the artifacts of Catholicism as though they weredusty objets d'art in a museum of culture. It is rather to conduct usever deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation with the hope that we might betransformed by its power. St Paul consistentlyproclaimed that the church of Jesus Christ is not somuch an organization as an organism, a mystical body. The church accordingly isa living thing, whose purpose is to gather the whole world into the praise of God.