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A good coach makes all the difference
Living the Catholic faith III
Apr. 24, 2009
James Carroll
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PDF versionPractice makes perfect. I used to believe that, but many years ago when I took up golf, I discovered, as one of my friends told me, "Practice makes permanent." I spent untold numbers of hours trying to perfect my swing and achieve long, straight drives from the tee. To no avail. To my great embarrassment the ball would dribble off the tee or, if I did make good contact, it would sail far to the right or to the left. Rarely would it go far and straight. It was not too long before I gave up on golf and stayed with the sports I learned to play on my own.
There was a time when most Catholics would define themselves as "practicing Catholics." And I suppose that most of us thought that gradually by practicing our faith we would achieve, not quite perfection, but be good enough to qualify for a place in heaven where perfection would be our final outcome.
Today, however, a very large number of Catholics have given up.
PRACTICING CATHOLIC By James Carroll (Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28)
They are no longer "practicing." Many have turned to other religions or joined other Christian denominations. A good number refer to themselves as "recovering Catholics." Others are stubbornly struggling to keep "practicing" on their own, as I did with golf, expecting that somehow "practice" will make them "perfect." But what we need to understand is that practice with good coaching really makes all the difference.
James Carroll is a superb coach.
His coaching is imparted through this book, which he says "has the form of a personal and historical essay about the Catholic church in my lifetime." This church is familiar to most of us:
- The church as a "perfect society" pre-Vatican II;
- The exciting arrival of Pope John XXIII;
- The council and the post-council turmoil as the never-changing church suddenly is overwhelmed by change;
- The crisis of authority with the publication of Humanae Vitae;
- The "restorationist" era of Pope John Paul II, continuing even further with Pope Benedict XVI;
- The utterly shocking sexual-abuse scandal, especially the profound failure of bishops and popes who were more concerned about protecting the small minority of priest predators than caring for the huge number of victimized children.
- All of this is in a world of dramatic change where a new level of violence through terrorism and war seems to threaten our very survival, and technology makes us fear for our humanness, while abuse of our environment endangers the planet itself.
As Carroll shares his personal story of living through these past 60-some years, he brings us to explore issues of theology, scripture studies, modern science, diversity of cultures and world religions as all of these affect our efforts to continue or return to being a "practicing Catholic."
As he points out in his concluding chapter: "My assumption throughout this book has been that one Catholic's personal journey can illuminate the pathways taken by -- and now open to -- all." That assumption is well-founded because at this moment in the history of the Catholic church, the Catholic people have changed. Therefore this book is their story also.
If you have fallen away, or are on the margin or a recovering Catholic, this book could be just what you need to provide the coaching that will enable you to become a practicing Catholic once more. You will discover that Catholic people have changed and now clearly understand that they themselves are the church.
Today's is a Catholic church where, as Carroll describes it: "We understand full well that our church is simul justus et peccator, both saved and sinner, and that it is therefore semper reformanda, always in need of reform. Reform is coming not from the collapsing clerical establishment but from the people. We maintain our loyalty to the church because we cannot live without it. The church gives a language to speak of God, a meaning that is God. The church feeds us in the Eucharist, keeps the story of Jesus alive in the preaching of the Word, marks our journey through life with the sacraments, and underwrites our participation in the community that transcends space and time."
As "practicing Catholics" all of us can rejoice in the great vision of Pope John XXIII with which Carroll concludes his story:
"Today ... Providence is guiding us toward a new order of human relations, which thanks to efforts far surpassing human hopes, will bring us to the realization of higher and undreamed of experiences."
Thomas Gumbleton is a retired auxiliary bishop of the Detroit archdiocese.
Seems to be awfully
Seems to be awfully America-centric. English speaking Ctholic only form a minority of Catholic worldwide.
Snowdrop, this is the third
Snowdrop, this is the third comment from you in which you have done nothing but complain or whine. Seems your comments are very ego-centered. Our Church is in a mess in case you've missed that. Are you for building up of the faith or in tearing faith down? Are you for loving or hating? If you're for loving, then let us see it shine from you.
Since Mr. Carroll is an
Since Mr. Carroll is an English-speaking American writing about his experiences as a Catholic is would seem natural to be 'America-centric'.
I don't wish to add my
I don't wish to add my comment, BUT I would like to read others. How do I do this? What do I click on? Thanks!
Thank you, thank you, Jim
Thank you, thank you, Jim Carroll and Thomas Gumbleton! You have made my day.
Bishop Tom Gumbleton has long
Bishop Tom Gumbleton has long been a beacon to thinking Catholics. His review of PRACTICING CATHOLIC By James Carroll, makes this book a "must read" for me.
Thank you, Bishop, for your
Thank you, Bishop, for your words. At last something positive has been said of the practicing Catholic. Providence is indeed guiding us and has guided us in the past but we were not a listening people. As we learn to listen, may we accept its entirety from God's and Jesus' Spirit with an accompaning responsibility for it to which we are called. As we say so often in our congregational meetings..."How great is the love to which we are called; how deep the responsibility"(SSJ/Phila.Constitutions).
May we, the people of God accept as Jesus accepted God's will not his/our own.
Respectfully, Reparata
WooHoo!
WooHoo!
"Reform is coming not from
"Reform is coming not from the collapsing clerical establishment but from the people."
As much as I would like to agree with this good bishop, I simply can't.
In this context, "the Church" is the institution effectively controlled by the Vatican, a HQ ever ready under Ratzinger at the CDF and now in his new incarnation as pope, to put down dissent --- be it from theologians offering new insights about God and man's relationship to God, or professed women religious challenging official teaching about homosexuality and female ordination, or priests asking the church to adopt optional celibacy. (So much for official recognition of the "sense of the faithful" in this era of so-called "orthodoxy.")
JPII and now Ratzinger have not only resurrected the pre-Vatican II way of doing things but now (especially under B16) have given it new life. Is it the last hurrah? It would be nice to reply "Yes," but there is one big problem: the "centrist" Catholic who dutifully goes to Mass every weekend, drops his or her payment into the collection basket, and says and does absolutely nothing about the crap coming out of Rome!
In the meantime, other Catholics (myself included as of Dec. 2006) have dropped out of this sad state of institutional affairs. Some in this group have joined alternative Catholic communities (lacking any central coordinating leadership), and others have simply (like myself) walked out and stayed out.
Perhaps when God calls this current pope home to his heavenly reward and we get a replacement pope attuned to Vatican II, I'll consider returning to the church of my baptism 61 years ago.
But I'm not counting on it. I'm not holding my breath.
Theresa of Avila, St. John of
Theresa of Avila, St. John of the cross are great exaples of Saints who came out of the time when the church was in it's darkest hours and yet still managed to stay focused on their faith...imagine if they had left waiting for the church to turn around...would they have been fulfilling God's call? Are we called to merely take up space in a pew everyweek and drop money in a basket? Or something more? I have found putting money in the basket means A lot more if I gave up dinner, and put the money I would have spent on food into the basket. We need substance and depth!
Theresa of Avila, St. John of
Theresa of Avila, St. John of the cross are great exaples of Saints who came out of the time when the church was in it's darkest hours and yet still managed to stay focused on their faith...imagine if they had left waiting for the church to turn around...would they have been fulfilling God's call? Are we called to merely take up space in a pew everyweek and drop money in a basket? Or something more? I have found putting money in the basket means A lot more if I gave up dinner, and put the money I would have spent on food into the basket. We need substance and depth!
There are many ways to be a
There are many ways to be a Catholic. I think James Joyce said in a description of Catholic "Here comes everybody"
Yes, some of my fellow Catholics do practice a very rigid Catholicism--Mass every week, frequent confessions, novenas, Mother Angelica, excited by the Pope and priests, impressed with pomp (witness the recent installation in NYC). This is old line Catholicism as it was practiced in the 40's and 50's (I'm 75 and I remember all of this)
I live in very rural America--we have Mass once a week and the priest comes about 50 miles roundtrip. I don't know how many people I see at Mass practice the above mentioned Catholicism--but I'm sure some do.
Another way is not to take seriously most of what the Pope says (or to even know what he says) but to have great devotion to the Mass and to Communion--no matter what one's situation is--divorced, gay, old, women and not to worry about any thunderbolts from on high.
Another way is to say "Yes I was raised Catholic and I guess I'm a Catholic". To go to Mass occasionally.
Another way is to be both a Catholic and a Protestant at the same time. I know several people who practice this
multi-religion. The UCC is a good place to look for these kinds of Catholics.
I fall into the group that takes Mass seriously but also semi-practices the UCC brand of religion. I don't attend their
church but I do take part in a "Faith and Issues" discussion. I am the "house" Catholic.
I await the thunderbolts and I await women priests, married priests, openly gay priests. And I await the "everybody" of James Joyce. (I'm also Irish but my granddaughter is Jewish)
Thanks Northcountry1. I have
Thanks Northcountry1. I have been inspired by Carroll's writing for a long time and his book is an occasion of hope and renewal. As a person struggling to find a way to be in an adult, egalitarian, discursive faith community, and yet who dearly loves the Eucharist, the sacraments, the touching humanity of my Catholic faith, I am touched by the simple honesty, practicality, peace, and courage of your stance. It is the essence of Church, I guess, not to feel alone.
Yes, Yes, Yes! So wise and
Yes, Yes, Yes! So wise and just what I am thinking! Especially about ignoring the stuff from the Vatican and awaiting the thunderbolts you list at the end! Yes,! Yes! Yes! Thank you!
When I was getting sober I
When I was getting sober I was told that trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a form of insanity. I have gone back to the Catholic Church more than once. Never again! I have quit for good. I observe no religious practice. The thought of it makes me ill in my gut. I can not even go to atheist events as they resemble religion too much. On Sundays I go feed peanuts to the squirrels and pigeons. That gets me through the week. Squirrels, pigeons and gulls don't lecture. They don't spend millions of $$ to fight against us queer people. They just eat peanuts.
Dear Stephen (and David? and
Dear Stephen (and David? and the Irish gentleman above: Here comes everybody bears the significant HCE mark in the Wake, by the way),
Out here at my desert hermitage I leave cracked corn out for the doves (white wing asiatic which settled here in the far southwest and eventually some get hit by the heavy heat of summer) and the quail (so far the shotgun toting Republicans have not invaded my cloister) and the various finches and other small birds (one resembling a chickadee). At night the jackrabbit and bunnies come by.
y'all welcome to wander through, or keep us in your prayers, please. Millions have been spent against us old celibate people as well, for calling for peace and justice and stuff like no war.
I'm hoping the former Abbot Primate makes a canonical call here someday! He'd be welcome at this rough hermitage even if the wealthier houses he once so gently ruled no longer want him for fear of their benefactors.
Anyway, I need someone to keep the road runner from snatching the sparrows. Real roadrunner are not lovable like the cartoons; these birds are natural born killers, come right up to you as if to size you up as a snack, and stare you down. When they want to say step back, you don't scare me, they raise their crest; when they seriously want you to leave, they show you the red stripes hiding under the feathers at the back of their heads like angry eyes. These birds are not cute like the cartoons; they are dinosaur raptors.
But the doves are dopey like any dove, and candid as we must be, Jesus said, but I do not lecture. I just feed the birds, like you do too.
pray for me please
frere charles
Stephen - you made me laugh
Stephen - you made me laugh and cry at the same time with your comment. I think I would very much like to sit silently in the park with you and feed peanuts to the squirrels and pigeons. No words, no lectures - just us creatures of God.
oh by the way everyone run
oh by the way
everyone run out please and get this excellent new book from (Father? A priest forever according to the rite of Melchisedech - sorry I cannot translate the old Latin phrase) James Carroll which in the form of autobiography examines brilliantly every theological issue of the past half century and beyond.
Oh and also of course get my Abbot Primate Rembert Weakland's memoirs as well and the Paul Wilkes book aobut him too, which only serves to confirm the crimes he so gently limns.
Something to read to the squirrels and pigeons as they feed. Monks like to hear books read as we eat; it;s part of the Rule of Saint Benedict.
your poor servant
frere charles
"Practicing" golf is probably
"Practicing" golf is probably an apt metaphor for "practicing" catholocism. Both are extremely frustrating and they appear to have a relatively equal chance of leading one to salvation.
I am late to this article,
I am late to this article, but will comment to Bishop Gumbleton anyway. The review says:
"If you have fallen away, or are on the margin or a recovering Catholic, ...You will discover that Catholic people have changed and now clearly understand that they themselves are the church.
... Reform is coming not from the collapsing clerical establishment but from the people."
It is not enough to realize that the people are the church. Because the people do not have the power and the authority to effect reform.
Like several here, I have given up. I left in late fall of 2007, when the USCCB elected George to be their leader, even though he had recently been in the news for once again (long after the alleged "reforms" of Dallas in 2002) protecting a priest-predator until outed by the press. The straw that finally broke my lifelong Catholic back.
This issue is intertwined with several others, all rooted in official Catholic teaching, that cause genuine harm to people, especially to women. The cold and calculating harm that was hidden, and thus enabled, by the bishops AND by Rome, is one all are familiar with. But there is much harm done by church teachings that is less visible than the sexual abuse scandal.
The laity have no voice in the church. The laity cannot even select their own priests, much less bishops, cardinals, and popes. The laity not only have no power, there is no way that they can even be "listened to" unless a cleric decides to listen. And they seldom do, especially within the hierarchy.
The laity has no voice, and the laity have no power. Some people dislike the use of the word "power" and defend the church's hierarchical structure in the name of God-given "authority". But, it's really all about power.
How then, will the laity - the people of God who are the powerless, voiceless church - bring about reform? I ask this of everyone who challenges my decision to leave the church with the comment "You need to stay and work for reform."
How? How can I work for reform? They have no answer. So I ask it here again - How?
Since I am helpless to work for reform, I decided that by remaining a "practicing" Catholic, I was, for all practical purposes, supporting the harm the church does. Just as the bishops enabled the priest-predators to continue harming children and teenagers, I too would be an enabler. By supporting the institution with my "time, talent, and treasure", I was passively participating in the harm done by the church - my presence, and especially my money, enable the church to continue dismissing the laity, and to continue to resist any powerless calls for reform from the people of God.
Like Joseph above, I am 61 years old. I do not expect to see reform in my lifetime. And I do not expect ever to be a "practicing" Catholic again. I do go to church at times with my husband (an Episcopal church), but I would remain un-churched, and belong to no organized religious insitution, if he did not strongly want me to join him. He is not Catholic, but supported me for decades with my choice of church. So, now I support him in his choice by going with him. However, I have chosen not to become an official member of the Episcopal church, and will not choose to join any church during the rest of my life, however short or long that may be.
Hmmm...what might happen if
Hmmm...what might happen if we all decided to live our lives in a way that makes it easier for others to believe in the love God has for us?
I am encouraged to read
I am encouraged to read everyone's comments above...first time I've ever responded to an article here...many of us are refugees from our institutional Church but is it not significant that we are still drawn back to haunt these postings...I will always carry the wound and sadness of the separation that I feel from the Church.....I've had to put aside the innocence of my childhood to come to some of the same realizations as many of you have had....I am angry at this separation, especially in springtime since Holy Week can never be the same for me....I miss my Italian Catholic family childhood - most of those that I shared it with are gone now.....but I do not dwell upon the wound and I have found my connection to the Magna Mysterium in many other ways.....I will culturally be - 'til the day I die- an Italian Catholic who grew up in St. Anthony's parish in NE Washington, DC in the shadow of the Ntl Shrine of the Immaculate Conception..it is who I am....I have not ceased to believe in God - though my conception of God has grown and changed...I have accepted, though regretfully at times, my refugee status....I know that I could never be a part of a church that is as dishonest, greedy and abusive of power as the institutional church is....but it is so good to read your words above, the words of other refugees, who are also walking this path of of spiritual discovery and realization......
Blessings and Gratitude.......Michael (Whidbey Island, WA)
Michael, I too, have enjoyed
Michael, I too, have enjoyed this thread and the sense of "togetherness" it brings, even though I have returned to the Church. I still feel "at the margins", though, due to the overwhelming sense of lack of leadership the laity has, especially women. I wanted to tell you, though, of places where I have found holiness and fulfillment at times, near to you---although a long time ago--if you should visit again---the Chapel at Georgetown University had a wonderful Community on Sundays years ago, with great music and liturgy---a wonderful choir--it may have changed over the years, but I doubt it. Also, near to you on Whidbey, are the San Juan Islands, and at Friday Harbor there was a small church with a priest in residence (perhaps it has been closed, who knows?) I found it a wonderful place to pray...small, a bit isolated, sometimes, like the others have said, some of us can also find God in the quiet places...
Wendy in Boulder
This is indeed a very
This is indeed a very important book on an important topic. It touched me deeply. Catholics should not give up. The Church is the people of God. Keep speaking the truth, loving God and your neighbor. My heart goes out to some of the people above who are frustrated and broken. I have sworn 3 vows. The first during Confirmation, to be a Soldier of Christ. The second, of marriage. The third to defend the constitution of the United States. I've been a little lax on the first one, no more. If you like James Carrol, read who he reads, especially Hans Kung. Peace.
Thank you ALL commentators
Thank you ALL commentators above. Guess what people? Reading these comments feels like "Church" for me. Hey Snowdrop, I've been blunt with you once or twice, (months ago) but Hey! I still say you are part of this important sharing of our thoughts/hearts online. We do not have to be clones of each other. (If only the differences weren't so ouch-y.)
So everybody above feels like Church to me.
Thomas Gumbleton, I loved the honesty about golf nonperfection. I have tennis nonperfection. (And computer nonperfection, math nonperfection...don't get me started.) And I love the cool part about going to what is my great talent, what is most ME! What is something special I can do for the whole huge, gorgeous, imperfect planet of people! Of course the problem I bet we all feel, is that the "something special" we want to do for the planet of people, feels like so little. OK, The Little Way, I get it.
Anyway...I think we should let the Protestants into the club. Evangelicals could be acceptable, if we politely asked them to just tone it down a little. And hey! Daoists could be acceptable, Zen practicioners could be cool. Heck I've even known a few very kind-hearted atheists in my day.
You know the honest truth, all of us religions and nonreligions still have problems dealing with teenagers. We all need parenting classes, communication classes, relationship classes, and more parenting classes.
You know what I can see Jesus doing if he was alive in the Holy Land today?
I can hear him saying, "People do you realize that the latest research shows that sugar is a huge contributor to violence? (As well as cancer.) People why does person after person after person, accept eating food that has poison put on it? [pesticides of course] People you're all suffering together. Gotta work together. How about at least better than yesterday? Eat poisoned food no more--especially GMO food. (And that includes American free "food aid" to poor countries.)"
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