LET IT aLL sTART hERE
For Catholics who care...
The one thing I am rarely guilty of is not paying close attention to the directives of authority figures. I take their words literally and their challenges seriously.
So as you can imagine, I listen closely to what our beloved Pope Francis asks of me. And with that in mind, let us consider once again his call to every Christian, through his Exhortation--The Joy of the Gospel, to get busy in small ways (as well as thru wide-ranging campaigns,) and "take up, with the whole Church, this new phase of evangelization." I am a great proponent of the Grassroots Movement. Small, creative, constant efforts are, to me, as powerful a means of revolt as any armament. Think of Gandhi's 1930's Salt March, a perfectly successful protest. You might be asking: where is she going with this? Why the allusion to a battle? Well, in our "call to be constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others", we will be called also to disarm and work against relativism. There is no way around it. Historically, the Catholic Church, especially under John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, has identified moral relativism as one of the most significant problems for faith and morals today. But that is a subject for another of my blog bits. As a grassroots effort "to go forth" and evangelize, I would like to offer this suggestion to Pope Francis: Reinstate the capitalizing of all pronouns referring to God . Faithful Catholics had been doing so for decades. And by doing so, the Catholic scribe bares witness to his/her faith. By doing so there is a clear message being sent to the secular world: We believe in God and we believe in showing reverence for God. To put it simply: We believe. When I was learning to write in third grade, Sr. Vencenzia (1971) taught us to capitalize all pronouns referring to God. It was how we showed reverence for Him. Before word processors and before writing cursive was a lost art, I rewrote many sentences because I had not been paying attention to that little "Catholic Rule." And yet my pastor, the other day (2014) informed me that: It is no longer done. Who gets to change the rules? Is it more apathy at play here or our culture's lost ability to be constant and stand for something that is meaningful? Would you like to join the army of "Spirit-filled evangelizers" that Pope Francis is searching for? You don't have walk 240 miles as Gandhi and his followers did. You can do something as simple as choosing to capitalize the "H" in the words: He, His...Him. After all, isn't it the least we can do for Him?
6 Comments
Charlene Caramore
12/1/2014 08:17:29 am
Last night I started reading Joy of the Gospel. It's been sitting on my table waiting to be read for about 3 months now so I'm taking your blog as confirmation that it's time! I only got to the part about renewing our personal encounter with Jesus. I really had to stop on page one and then ponder that because the message is so important. I've been running all over and busying myself with nonsense. Am I intentionally avoiding running into the open arms of my Lord and my God? But that's not the question I want to ponder for Advent. The question is how can I find the peace to rediscover my love for Him? When I was laying on the couch for 2 months with a knee injury, I felt so close to Him. Like Mother Teresa has said, when we suffer we get so close to God we see His face; we kiss His face. I want to be that close to Him again. Perhaps now is the time--not waiting till I'm flat on my back and have no place else to go but confidently walking toward Him today and every day, every minute.
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Evelyn Augusto author of Let It All Start Here
12/2/2014 05:48:13 am
Thomas Merton can show you how to discover that inner peace where you will find Him.
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Charlene Caramore
12/2/2014 08:05:33 am
I've read some of Merton's works but something stops me concerning his life. What happened to him at the end? He really seemed to lose contact with Christ and the church and was just floating around out there. Then there's the whole thing about his death. I guess I have to learn much more about him to feel comfortable about his message. I know I shouldn't judge especially when I don't have the facts. Thanks for giving me a nudge. I think I'll be more apt to return to his works and start praying for answers. By the way, how does one forward this to the Pope? Forgive me for being a bit clueless, but I think I need some guidance here! Help!
Charlene Caramore
12/3/2014 07:38:12 am
I just ordered Seven Storey Mountain from Amazon. Is that a good place to start with Merton? I've always wanted to read it and yet for one reason or another like the ones I mentioned above, I never did. But then it took me years before I read St. Therese's Story of a Soul. When I did, I loved it and began to love her.
evelyn
12/3/2014 08:46:35 am
Yes! That is his classic. We can talk more about it once you've read parts of it. We will discuss it here at LetItAllStartHere. Till then I will post bits of his other writings here for you to use as a study tool to inspire you. I will be posting my blog is a couple of hours. Thanks and keep showing up here...because this is where it can all start. Evelyn
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