Do you think American culture is completely lost?
I don’t.
At the very least I think it is salvageable.
Think of this: Every
year thousands of manger scenes are placed outside of churches, homes, and
other public areas. They are not alarmed,
do not have guard dogs, they are not electrified to give a shock to somebody
who touches them. By and large, good
sized and often expensive statues are set out on the lawn where I wouldn’t leave
my bike overnight and there they sit during the Christmas (and advent) season
mostly unmolested. And when they are
tampered with, it makes the news. We
still care. There was only one incident
of which I am aware concerning scores of Catholic churches in the Diocese of
Cleveland this year.
One.
And there are scores of outdoor church manger scenes.
And millions of people.
There is hope.
We need now build on that hope.
2 comments:
Wednesday 07 jan 2015
Dear Father,
Yes. You are correct. Bishop Sheen wrote to me in a letter in 1977.
He said, "Stephen. The good people are getting better and the bad people are getting worse. Make your choice." I choose good. but don't tell any body. I don't want to look like a sissy.
Stephen
Dr Philip Jenkins (an Anglican) spoke in July at the Napa Institute Conference (Equipping Catholics in the Next America).
Dr. Jenkins called attention to several trends that go unnoticed but are perhaps picking up steam. Two of them that I recall were the explosion of interest in going on pilgrimage to well-known holy sites (even secular or minimally churched people are going) and an interest in Mary.
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