Dear Friends,

“Churchianity” is a word, usually derisive, that has come to describe a Christian institution or congregation that reduces the teaching of Jesus Christ to the policies and practices of the congregation or church.

It is clearly intended to be a pejorative term, a word that emphasizes the negative aspects of an organized religion.

I had never heard of or read of the concept until last month even though it has been around, apparently, for many years.

Only a fool would deny that the value and purpose of religion as a factor in how people organize and make sense out of their lives was not in a state of great change.

Some would say that we (Americans) are distancing ourselves from God.

I am not sure that is the case nor am I sure that reality is that simple. To be sure, people are distancing themselves from the churches, Christian churches, in particular.

The attrition from the Catholic Church is quite dramatic but it is not necessarily that this distancing is a faith issue or matter of belief.

There is no denying the fact that people have been disillusioned by the Catholic Church, in part because of the abuse of power by a good number of bishops who enabled dangerous and sick men to hurt children.

The billions of dollars that have been spent in this regard, I am sure disillusion Jesus.

The decline in the number of age appropriate young men that choose ordained ministry as a career choice has created a tremendous void in Catholic peoples experience of the church. Many Catholics have never met a priest and the Catholic Faith is very much priest dependent. The introduction of foreign born priests, no matter how sincere and how well educated, is, in my judgment an ill conceived, ultimately disastrous solution.

And then there is the absence of lively intelligent conversation about important issues that have to do with the real lives of ordinary Catholics.

Conventional, institutional Catholicism would probably explain the Gospel story for this weekend as being an intentional act of Jesus to begin the organization, the management of the church.

Conventional Catholicism is quite content with teaching that these characters called from fishing are to be the managers of the new religion that Jesus is starting, the new church he is launching.

Ultimately, it is from this passage we get popes and bishops and priests. Believe me, I have no complaint with popes and bishops and priests, in theory.

The practice of ordained ministry is where I think we have the problem.

Now, I firmly believe that we cannot have a church without popes and bishops and priests, but throughout history the practice of ministry has been challenged and changed and challenged and changed.

The Gospel story can be about other things.

There are the fish.

Typically, the fish are assumed to be the church members, to use that innocuous word, “faithful”, they are the “faithful”.

It seems to me that the fish are pretty central to the story but I am not sure that we can assume that all Jesus meant in telling the fish story is that the fish are the faithful lay people.

They are fish.

I am not sure of the full meaning that the story teller, Luke, attaches to the fish, but they are NOT unimportant to the story.

Conventional Catholic leadership gets nervous because things are changing and conventional leadership is challenged. I understand that, I get frustrated.

Maybe you have seen the Catholics Come Home commercials on television. I think that they are pathetic, many don’t, I am sure, but, they just miss the point.

It just misses the point to assume that the many people who are no longer active Catholics or are Catholics who explore other religious spiritual options for their lives have left “home”.

Chruchianity approaches the frustration with rules and policies that make people feel the “authority” of the church. Churchianity creates a “them” and “those”, good guys and bad guys.

It uses categories of belonging and membership, I think, actually, it abuses categories of belonging and membership.

I think we need to look to the fish without assuming that they are the “members” or the “faithful”.

The fish are the key to the story. They are not the possession of the fisherman, they are, ultimately, food.

Think about.

Peace,

Father Niblick

PS I offer for your reflection in this bulletin an article reprinted with permission of The Tablet, the official weekly magazine of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster in London. Dan O’Leary is a respected priest and teacher who speaks from the his heart and from the heart of the church.

 LENTEN MOVIES

Again this year, we will have movies for your entertainment and reflection. It seemed that Monday afternoons worked well last year, so we will try that again.

The movies will include:
The Class, a French film
The Hurt Locker
Goodbye Solo
Flame and Citron
Welcome (another French film, I saw in Scotland, if I can get it)

I am considering the film Milk but I don’t want the subject matter to detract from thoughtful viewing of the movie.

I would like to hear from you on that one.

More information will be in next weeks bulletin but the movies will be shown on Monday afternoons at 1:00 PM beginning, February 22 and ending on Monday, March 29.

 

ITS JUST BREAKFAST, AGAIN, THIS LENT

You are all invited to breakfast every Sunday morning during Lent after the 10:30 Mass in Casa Maria. No charge, just come and visit. We will do sign ups from week to week but if you haven’t signed up, come anyway.

I think that it is good for us talk and visit and slow down a little bit during Lent so we can get ready to smell the flowers.

 

LENTEN BIBLE STUDY

I am not sure what people look for in a Bible Study. In some churches bible studies look at particular passages and try and make a moral application to their lives.

Others look to bible studies as if there is some secret knowledge in the Bible that will answer deep and serious questions or give special knowledge.

In my experience, there is nothing secret in the Bible. Answers to deep and serious questions are not answered. Bible study is study. I try and bring to these studies what others have studied.

The Bible in the first instance is ancient literature composed in languages that no one speaks anymore. Serious studies have tried to understand what the authors wrote or composed before they move to what the authors believed or taught about God.

The Gospels were written by people who were gifted writers and people who had a deep sense of the spiritual and real presence of Jesus Christ, particularly, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We will look at the Sunday Gospel Readings for each Sunday in Lent on Monday evenings WITH the CFP classes. You are all invited to join us, you don’t have to be involved in CFP. We gather in Casa Maria from about 6:45 until 8: PM.

On, Tuesday evenings, we will study just the death and resurrection stories of the Gospel, the so called Passion readings. We will meet in the Parish Office Conference Room, from about 6:30 until about 8:30 from Tuesday, February 16 through, Tuesday, March 30. THERE WILL BE NO STUDY ON MARCH 16.

For more information, please call me-865 8956 or email nedgan@yahoo.com  CWN