Catholic Thought discussion

Summary, Chapters 9 thru 10

Chapter 9, “Missions and Missionaries”:
Bishop Sheen describes how he became National Director for the Society for the propagation of the Faith, the philosophical conflicts he encountered there, and goes on to delineate a fair number of evangelical trips he made across the world.

Chapter 10, “In Journeyings Often”:
Bishop Sheen further describes his evangelizing techniques as he traveled across the world. The key advice he provides to evangelize as St. Paul did at Ephesus, where you use the culture of the host country to enlighten the nature of Christianity. Sheen provides more anecdotes of his experiences in China and Japan.

"The world, to me, was suffering from two kinds of hunger. Our Western world, with its affluence, was suffering from hunger of the spirit; the rest of the world from hunger of bread."

This is so true! When I was in El Salvador it amazed me how deep, natural, joyful, and radiant the faith of the people I met were. You don't see faith expressed here on this level, or at least not very often.

"Ephesus taught me that preaching of the Word will always provoke antagonisms. Whether it be against communism or against greed, whether it be directed against divorce or abortion, there will be not only individual harassment but organized revolt."

No matter which age we live in, the ruling elites of every stripe don't like to be challenged. And if they are, they will mount a counter-offensive.

"Time has proved that it is not only the backs and stomachs of the poor that have been affected by indigence. It is also the thinking of those teachers, even at times Christian thinkers, which perverted the very Christian truth which could help in liberation of the needy. By reducing theology to politics, by stressing social needs to the neglect of personal sin in the oppressor, by identifying Mark with Marx, they take all the air out of Christian trumpets which could call international attention to the plight of the people."

Oh yes, activism for activism's sake, one of the big banes of the last few decades. Folks being all spun up about social justice and forgetting all about sin and saving souls.

Kerstin wrote: Activism for activism's sake ... Folks being all spun up about social justice and forgetting all about sin and saving souls.

That is so important and so indicative of what's happening in our Church today! But it's happening on both sides, it seems to me. And we need to pay attention to both types of needs. Sheen's comments about this matter really stood out for me. I highlighted several passages.

Sheen says: Christian salvation has both an earthly and a historical dimension; that the conversion of a single soul may not be alienated from the promotion of human rights as required by the Gospel, and which is central to our ministry; that soul-winning and society-saving are the concave and convex sides of the love of God and love of neighbor...

He continues: ... as Christ is both divine and human, so the mission of every Christian is to be transcendent in lifting eyes to Heaven but also imminent in the care of the way he lives on earth;

And, ... when we separate the two there is the danger to politicize faith ... I think we all see that in the conflicts going on within the Church today. Sheen saw it in his day, which I was surprised to learn. And he's politely telling everybody that it ALL matters.

Sheen writes that he came into office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith just at the moment when the Church was beginning to sense a conflict between divine salvation and human liberation. So this has been going on for a while, but the conflict has reached new lows in this "culture of contempt" we live in. Not sure where I heard the phrase "culture of contempt" but it's fitting. The Catholics emphasizing only social justice and the Catholics concerned only with rules of an era they deem most appropriate are both missing the bigger picture of our beautiful faith. It hurts to see them treat each other harshly. It's like the Devil is prodding both sides.

On a less impassioned note ... I skimmed over a lot of Sheen's commentary about his travels. I didn't like how some tribes "gave" people to the missionaries. It's something that wouldn't be done today. On the other hand, I was reminded how difficult life can be for Catholics in non-Western societies. And that reminded me how Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today. We don't hear much about that in secular media.

Sheen's statements about evangelizing among people of other religions are profound to me. He says Christ is hidden in all world religions.. and that missionaries are not so much to bring Christ to peoples as we are to bring Christ out of them.

That's a beautiful way to reach out to others, and it's how the early Franciscans (and maybe Jesuits) reached out to the people they encountered in Florida in the 1500s.

Today, society, even some Catholic media, believe indigenous peoples in Florida were treated horribly by the early missionaries. In reality, it's a complex, nuanced history that includes missionaries advocating for people in the face of military rule. I'm close to the subject because I've lived in Florida for so many years.

Back on topic: The way Sheen put is makes so much sense to me.
He says: The good Hindu, the good Buddhist, the good Confucianist, the good Moslem are all saved by Christ and not by Buddhism or Islam or Confucianism but through their sacraments, their prayers, their asceticism, their morality, their good life.

I feel that people's faith beliefs should be respected. Yet I also believe we have the true faith. I couldn't reconcile those statements within myself until now, with the help of Sheen's words.

Gerri, I also appreciated the respectful way he spoke of other faith traditions. I don't know Sheen, but given the era in which he was formed, I did not expect to see this. I also appreciated that he spoke of the necessity of working for both social justice and for the promotion of faith. I agree with what you posted, that it so often seems that these are set in opposition to each other when they are complimentary.

Excuse me from being absent the last few days. I’ve been under the weather.

You guys have hit on many of the points I would have made. I think there is a lot packed into this paragraph from Chapter 9.

I came into this office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith at just the moment when the Church was beginning to sense a conflict between divine salvation and human liberation, between working for personal salvation of those in a parish or in a community and having a concern about their social welfare. God never intended that individual and social justice should be separated, though they very often were divorced. In the sixties, in particular, youth developed a passionate interest for social justice in restricted areas, but they showed very little concern for individual justice, that is to say, their own relationship to their parents and to God.

I think he is highlighting a change in the culture, a change in the Church, and a change in the way religious approached their sense of obligation.

As to the culture we know of the sexual revolution of the sixties, the counter culture, and an intellectual deconstruction of tradition. As to the Church, Vatican II, rightly or wrongly radically changed the nature of the liturgy. Changing from a Latin Mass where the priest faced the apse but now faced the congregation and spoke in the vernacular must have been hugely disconcerting. As to religious obligation, it’s a little more complicated to articulate. There were always two sides to religious duty: contemplation and activism, prayer and works. They were always in a balance, but somewhere in the sixties the contemplative side was minimized and an emphasis was placed on works. Not that works are bad, quite the contrary, but the unbalance creates a distortion. It tells people that the God in the sky is less important than your neighbor. Everything became societal and little spiritual. And so we get this quote from Bishop Sheen:

There it was that I saw the balance between the personal and the societal, between the vertical and the horizontal, between the human and the divine.

Is it any wonder then that there has been a loss of faith? If we only look to the horizontal, then we lose our sense of the vertical.
So all three, the culture at large, the changes in the Church, and the culture within the Church, all has brought this decline we have seen since the sixties.

I think the faithful have always struggled with that balance between love of God and love of neighbor. It seems as if one generation can ignore prejudices or social inequality causing great suffering while engaging in a robust devotional life and the next generation looks to the needs of society while downplaying the relationship with God. I think the best we can do is to constantly try to shift the balance when we realize that we have over corrected.

Irene wrote: "I think the faithful have always struggled with that balance between love of God and love of neighbor. It seems as if one generation can ignore prejudices or social inequality causing great sufferi..."

Yes, that is probably true Irene but I think the other factors I mentioned (cultural revolution, Church changes) combined with the emphasis on activism seemed to create a synergy that has caused faith to drop significantly, at least in the first world countries. All of that coming together was not a good thing, in my opinion. It wasn't activism alone. Dorothy Day, among others, was doing good work before the 1960s, and faith was quite high. Bishop Sheen seems to intuitively sense the changes from the 60's, but it's probably easier to see with the hindsight of our 2019 perspective.

Yes, but similar concerns were raised in many eras. Think of the warnings of your own St. Catherine. On the other side, there have been many through the ages who have warned that we have become like the rich man, ignoring the lazarus at our gate to our own eternal peril. This was the warning of Day among others. She was an activist at a time when the balance was just beginning to shift, so yes, social affiliation with organized religion was high at that time. She incorporates much of the devotional life of her time into her personal spirituality. But, the balance was still shifting during her lifetime. Although the 1960s present a unique set of cultural phenonomon, we could find unique elements of each era. I suspect that the balance will shift again. The high religiosity we saw in the 1950s was itself very unique. Church attendance spiked in that decade, including religious vocations. It was not the norm for prior decades.

I think the Church before modernism, through many saints and saintly people, founded hospitals, schools, orphanages along with their churches, monasteries, convents, and abbeys. Alongside them were hermits, scholars, manuscript copiers and illuminators, artists striving to give glory to God and incorporate spiritual works of mercy into their art and writings. From the Acts of the Apostles we see the first disciples getting passionate about neglect of widows and orphans in the midst of successful preaching and conversions. Only when the Church mixed itself up with politics and struggled with fighting or accommodating the earthly power structure did imbalances occur, and in our time the dissociation is as bad as it gets. I'm recalling Sheen's chapter on communism, especially his meeting with FDR.

Irene wrote: "Yes, but similar concerns were raised in many eras. Think of the warnings of your own St. Catherine. On the other side, there have been many through the ages who have warned that we have become lik..."

I agree with that Irene. This is not the first crises in the Church's history, and I would say is not even the most serious crises. Yes, that crises of the 14th century with two and three Popes was serious. The crises of the Protestant Reformation was very serious. The crises of the Enlightenment was very serious. I'm not going to rank them, but this is pretty serious too, though my gut tells me the crises of the Protestant Reformation was the most. Each are unique in their own way. This one seems to be a loss of faith altogether, while the others were more a loss of faith in the Church.

Oh and I should add, the Church abuse crises (though some relate that to the sexual revolution aspect) on top of this doesn't help.

Madeleine wrote: "I think the Church before modernism, through many saints and saintly people, founded hospitals, schools, orphanages along with their churches, monasteries, convents, and abbeys. Alongside them were..."

Now that you make that point, Madeleine, it occurs to me that it wasn't an increase in the activism that caused the imbalance. Perhaps it was just a drop in the devotional side. A balanced scale has equal weights on both sides. You can create an imbalance by adding to one side, or you can create an imbalance by taking weight from one side. Perhaps we took weight off the devotional side instead of adding weight to the activism side. Or more likely a combination of the two.

Yes, Madeleine, from the earliest days we have demonstrated our love of God and love of neighbor. And, we continue to have contemplative communities and health care workers serving in remote lands, artists who proclaim God's goodness in various mediums and scientists who recognize the majesty of God in the cosmos and the cell, ordinary lay people who commit to regular prayer before the Eucharist and ordinary lay people who open their homes to troubled children as foster parents and so on. I think it is the presence of all of these people, each responding to the prompting of the Spirit in unique ways that keeps the Church grounded and faithful to its mission. Maybe the image of a ship is more fitting for the Church than I realized. We have all the charisms and people responding to the various callings. It is just that at times, we can list to one side or another and we need to rebalance ourselves.

Manny, Madeleine, and Irene, thank you - your discussion has articulated my feelings much better than I could have done. And made me take heart that our Church is in the process of righting itself as it deals with the current imbalance and crisis. Crises, maybe. The abuse crisis started before the societal/cultural upheavals of the 60s. Maybe it grew worse in the 60s and 70s? I don't know enough to say.

My perspective on the drop in devotionals is somewhat unique, I think. In my young adulthood, I was a lapsed Catholic for several years. Or so I thought. In reality, my faith always guided me. But I had stopped going to Mass. So when I returned to active participation, I was surprised at what seemed a more casual attitude during Mass. The hand-holding and arm-waving seemed Protestant to me. Incense was nowhere to be found. And the music ... well, we already had that discussion! At the same time, I was heartened to see altar girls and women lectors. I appreciate that those actions are now seen as stemming from baptism (for women's involvement) and not only as steps toward ordination (for men's involvement). The biggest change I noticed, though, was the lack of emphasis on the contemplative side of our faith. I had retained my love of the contemplative throughout my lapsed years, as well as my devotion to Mary.

It's true we're beginning to see more balance between devotions and corporal works of mercy. But what about the faithful who grew up without learning the importance of such things as the Rosary, novenas, the Sacred Heart, devotions to Mary or to the Blessed Sacrament, etc.?

Gerri,

I understand your concern about devotionals much better since I made a CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) retreat two weeks ago. Two days of blending personal stories about turning points in the witness's personal faith journeys, visits to the on-premises adoration chapel (created just for this retreat--not the regular one open to all the parish) with Gregorian chant in the background.
Each team was assigned an hour-long shift in the chapel during the night there. ( My group was the lucky one who drew the first shift!) We had another gathering there of the entire group for the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we sang hymns at special times, and had a beautiful solemn Mass with an indescribable interlude during which I felt more at peace than I had since I-don't-know-when. We also were not allowed watches or cell phones and there were no clocks anywhere.
Contrast this with what is happening in Rome and at the Amazon....I just watched a horrifying podcast in which Taylor Marshall and Tim Gordon described the creeping paganism and pagan ritualism that is infiltrating Rome and the Synod. St. Paul's "pray without ceasing" keeps running through my head....
Other devotions that are new to the Catholicism I grew up in, but I think are important: We have a Mass for the sick and aged and chronically ill every Month there is a 5th Saturday, on that 5th Saturday. One can go for oneself or for another, and receive the Sacrament of the Sick. And on Oct. 23, I will be going to an evening Mass to honor our babies born to heaven through miscarriages, or abortion, or babies who died in infancy. I went to one of these two years ago (I lost two, my husband had four siblings who were stillborn or who died at less than a month old, and my goddaughter lost her first two likewise in early miscarriages.) I missed last year, but plan to do this again. It's wonderful to see support for these parents (men attended as well), When I lost mine, early, many many years ago, there wasn't room for grief. We were just expected to "try again or move on." Now there is recognition that a family has lost a child, and there are support groups, one of which my godchild was able to participate in. It is a beautiful, healing Mass and ministry.

Gerri and Madeleine, Your posts have made me think about how my personal formative experiences might have shaped my attitudes to current liturgical and private prayer. I grew up in a parish that readily embraced every opportunity to encorporate culturally sensitive practices. I have only the most vague recollection of Sunday Mass without guitars, burlap banners and English. Although altar rails were still in use at my First Communion and women still covered their heads when I was young, many changes occurred when I was young enough that they were normal. And they came at a time when I was just becoming old enough to be engaged, to understand what was going on. So for me, the type of music that many find insipid, is actually an improvement over the early guitar Masses I knew and many are my idea of classics which hold beautiful meaning and invite me to prayer. When I was a young adolescent, my mother became involved in the Charismatic Renewal at our parish. Attending these prayer groups with her taught me to pray beyond simply reciting words that I was taught, to listen for God speaking in the words of Scripture, and opened me to an early taste of intimacy with God. It also gave me my first experience of what a supportive Christian community might look and feel like. Prior to that, I had felt invisible in my parish and my families struggles of no concern to anyone else. From that adolescent experience, I developed a love for Scripture that has never left me, a deep desire to help others fall in love with Christ, and a respect for the communal dimension of the Gospel. Although I do believe that my parish (not the one I grew up in) has so emphasized the horizontal dimension of religion that I think we have neglected the vertical, for me the answer is not a Latin Mass, organ music, or formal attire on Sunday. That said, I understand why some of these things might facilitate a more reverent, prayerful experience for others.

Irene, I understand what you mean. I do agree that Mass in the vernacular was a good thing, but some of the most recent changes (lots of jokes about "consubstantial" and people mumbling out garbled responses when they were trying to answer with the old ones) seemed pointless. My mother-in-law was a convert who missed the old Protestant hymns she grew up with but was glad when the new liturgy brought some of them into the Mass, and I think many of them are indeed superior to much of the new music. I do welcome the subtle return of chant, and am still amazed that much of the push for return to tradition is coming from younger Catholics who would like more structure and stricter rules, they've witnessed the harm that results from confusion and too much laxity, too many mixed messages, and want that support their grandparents had when they were raising children. If your parish offers a CRHP retreat (known more recently as Welcome in some parishes) I recommend it. It exceeded my expectations: two days without clocks or cell phones or watches, interactions and bonding with people in an atmosphere of love and acceptance, feeling the Holy Spirit at work in unexpectedly answering our unspoken questions. We laughed and cried and experienced a peace we didn't realize was possible. Nothing like the passive retreats of my young years.

My parish does not hold Christ Renews His Church. We hold something somewhat similar, Parish Alive, which is a retreat unique to our diocese. As for the younger generation, I am seeing several trends. I am seeing those who are gravitating toward what some might call older styles of prayer: Latin Mass, Eucharistic Adoration with the inclusion of praise and worship music, a desire for definite answers. I am seeing those who are moving to "livelier" Protestant churches, often non-denominational ones who give little by way of doctrine and emphasize community and an uplifting worship experience. And, I am seeing a very large group that wants a personal spirituality without any church commitment, that wants to dabble in Gospel stories, eastern philosophies, new age experiences and neo-pagan practices, the classic "nones. I recently read an article that said that if numbers continue as they are currently trending, in a generation neo-pagan will be the dominant U.S. religion."

There wasn’t much else in these two chapters that could be a point of discussion, but I did think there were some good quotes. Here’s a few.

Because of the many sufferings of our missionaries under Communist rule, there should be in the catalog of sanctity a new type of saint. “Wet” martyrs are those who shed their blood for the faith. But since the Communists did not always kill, though they tortured, a new kind of martyr arose: the “dry” martyr. What they agonized through a period of years far exceeds in pain what other martyrs suffered in a brief interval. Each day, hour, and minute was a profession of Faith.

In Tokyo, a dinner was given to the Cardinal and his party by General Douglas MacArthur. He always looked you straight in the eye when he talked and gave the impression of authority and power. I personally believe that he was one of the greatest characters that America has ever produced. Among the reflections he offered at dinner were these: he wished he had eight hundred Catholic missionaries for every one now working in Japan to bring that country to Christianity. The world struggle, he said, is not economic or political but religious and theological; it is either God or atheism.


The more I familiarized myself with the Far East, the more I saw that the Western mind knows the world better than it knows man, but the Eastern world knows man better than it knows the world. Our Western world can tame nature, the Eastern world learned to tame itself. The former is an extrovert and produces a technological civilization; the latter is an introvert and seeks to develop wisdom through contemplation. The Western world regards the head the localization of wisdom, but the Eastern world often makes it the navel.


I have always contended in talking to missionaries that we are not so much to bring Christ to peoples as we are to bring Christ out of them.


Sometimes, the only way one can understand the poor is not by writing a check but by direct contact. I was reminded of the meaning of the Incarnation. God did not remain aloof to the agonies, pains and injustices of this world, but took a human nature like ours, in all things save sin, to prove that true love is identification—not just in the flesh, as in marriage, but in hunger and need.


Thirty years of His life He spent obeying, three years teaching and three hours redeeming.


That was the day perhaps more than any other that I learned that humility is not something that is directly cultivated; otherwise one becomes proud of his humility It is a by-product; the more Christ is in the soul, the less the “I” weighs it down.

Great quotes all. Let me give you a thought on this quote: “Sometimes, the only way one can understand the poor is not by writing a check but by direct contact.” I have proposed in other places that the government instituted welfare system is a sure fire way to eliminate the faith. Government institutions and administrative practices lack a divine element. They are sterile. There is no God in the transaction. True charity requires human contact. True charity requires people helping each other, not administrative paperwork. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Mat 18:20). Notice throughout the Gospels how many times Christ actually touches a person to cure them. The sterility of the welfare system, necessary as it may be, does not promote faith, it extinguishes it. I’ve been posting that for a number of years now. It’s good to see that Bishop Sheen had a similar insight.

Sheen was very much tuned in to the ills of the day, most, if not all, of them still with us. Joseph Ratzinger once wrote, I forget which book it was, that for philosophical changes in society to come to their full manifestation takes about 200 years. The secular ills we are fighting come as we all know from the so-called Enlightenment and the the French Revolution. It took this long for the secular "leaven" to permeate the entire culture. Are we at a turning point? Perhaps. The seeds are being planted. When we look at endeavors such as Word on Fire, The Augustine Institute, Catholic Dynamic, and others using the new media to reach the culture and at the same time catechizing our own we have very much reason to hope.

One of the saddest aspects of today's society is the necessity of the welfare system - sterile though it - because there aren't enough people reaching out, making contact, and helping the poor. There never has been. That, I fear, won't change.

Equally sad is our sterile society, where even the mention of the word God isn't allowed in so many places. But I can't decide if we're really at a turning point, or if the business of promoting the business of evangelization has itself become a burgeoning industry. There's a gloss to some of it that disturbs me. Things like $2,000+ conference entry fees (Napa Institute). Or the master's degree in "Leadership for the New Evangelization" offered by the Augustine Institute. Why are they even in the higher ed business when we have so many historic Catholic colleges in need of support?

There's even a need to pay $324 a year to join Word on Fire in order to gain access to the new Evangelization & Culture journal. As opposed to being able to buy an issue or subscribe just to the journal. And I am quite supportive of Bishop Barron's initiatives. His original Catholicism series is a must-see. I'm waiting for a sale so I can purchase his recent Pivotal Players programs on Fulton Sheen and Flannery O'Connor. Older titles often go on sale when newer ones are being released.

I take heart from St. Therese and her Little Way. Each small action on our individual parts can and does make a difference.

Gerri, I make it a rule not to pay for journals and memberships. There is enough free stuff out there that I don't see why one has to join these so called groups. And there are so many out there now. Are they really evangelizing or just preaching to the choir? You can sign up for all sorts of free podcasts to learn so much. You don't need Bishop Barron's Word On Fire.

Now I have bought some of Bishop Barron's videos and they are quite good. I have the first set of Pivotal Players. While it's beautifully done, I'm not sure there's all that much I learned that I didn't know or couldn't look up. Now if we were neighbors, or anyone in our book club, I'd be glad to lend them to you. Unfortunately we're a bit dislocated.

If I could get his DVDs inexpensively, I would love to add them to the parish library. But, they are too expensive for our non-existant budget.

Irene wrote: "If I could get his DVDs inexpensively, I would love to add them to the parish library. But, they are too expensive for our non-existant budget."

That's a shame, Irene. In our previous parish where I was very much involved in such things it was the priest who made it a priority to have such materials available. In the budget that was all part of adult faith formation. We had evening presentations of these types of programs followed by Q & A. They were very popular.
Our current parish has a completely different system going, so I haven't butted in ;-).

Our parish just gave its annual report that includes our financial status. Our collection leaves us over $30,000 in the hole. If it were not for our annual festival and the contribution of the K of C, we would not meet our bills. The parish does pay for some speakers such as an annual parish mission, an autumn morning of reflection and Lenten speakers, but there is not much more. Most of what gets added to our library is donated by me.

Irene, Bishop Barron occasionally offers short term free viewing of his DVDs. I watched the whole Catholicism series and the first set of Pivotal Players through our email subscription, and the Newman video is available there and on YouTube through the end of October. More Catholic "apps" are emerging. I have EWTN and Laudate, which are great resources, and free, and FORMED is also available for private subscription if the parish doesn't provide it, but it isn't free otherwise. Sometimes it takes just a few people like you willing to give time and resources to spark renewal in a parish. I grew up in a parish where the pastor usually made pleas for the parish building fund instead of homilies. Not the best way to build a parish. The one we are in now offers unbelievable resources, but we have 8,000 families and many who come to us for those instead of to their geographical parishes. Which probably doesn't help the smaller parishes.

I need to get on the right mailing list to find out when things are reduced. I work at a great parish. My pastor is a great pastor. But, each of us have blind spots due to our background. He was in the seminary during Vatican II. He grew up with an experience of faith that separated the vertical and horizontal dimensions of faith. He was told to go to Mass because his parents said so, because to miss Mass on a Sunday could mean eternal damnation. Meatless Fridays, boring 40 Hours as a young child, memorized answers to the Baltimore Catechism with little comprehension and less understanding of its implication to life is what he recalls of his foundational religious experience. Then the doors and windows open up and the light pours in for him. The use of English, the renewed awareness of a community gathered around a memorial meal and sent to be a Eucharistic people, joy and laughter rather than silence in church, and lay involvement in parish life gave new vigor and joy to his faith life and a corresponding renewal of spiritual energy in the parishes he served in. He brings all that to the parishes he continues to pastor. We are considered one of the most active parishes in our diocese. Those who attend Mass several times a month are almost all in a ministry. We have about 10% of our parishioners in small faith groups, many of which have been together for more than 20 years. There is a strong sense of community, people genuinely care about one another and the children treat the space like it is their second home. But, he still thinks he is preaching to people formed in 1950 Catholic schools. He thinks that everyone takes for granted core Catholic beliefs like the Real Presence or practices like saying daily prayers, but don't realize that we are each the Image of God or that prayer that does not incarnate itself in kindness is steril. Despite the fact that Mass attendance is on a steady decline, that few celebrate Reconciliation, that some of our most active members are also engaged in various new age practices, he can't shift his perspective. I fear that this parish is going to have a very hard time when he retires and we get a new pastor.

Quick note, because I know we're moving on to Chapters 11-14.

This comment relates to the new evangelization we've touched on in this section's conversations. Just yesterday I listened to a Bishop Barron podcast about his experience doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) Q&A on the social media platform Reddit. I stay far away from Reddit. It isn't a nice place. I only know it because of my pre-retirement job as a social media manager. I respect the bishop for venturing into that often-hateful place. But listen to this:

- His Q&A there, and apparently a previous one a while ago, are among the most popular Q&As that have taken place on the platform.
- His most recent Q&A generated something like 30,000 comments.
- A key takeaway for him was the interest level. Despite the many snarky comments and closed minds he encountered, he most noticed how much people are seeking and wanting to know what truth is.

And look who they went to, to ask! The hunger is out there, as we've all noted. Reddit is very secular and most popular among younger men, maybe 18-39ish - a hard group to reach. Venturing into their online territory is like going into a mission field.

Apparently all the comments are available for anyone to read but I haven't ventured there yet. I only listened to the podcast. Here's the link: https://wordonfireshow.com/episode201/

Speaking of links, I think I have Manny to thank for previous links to the Thomistic Institute. I'm listening to their free video course on Thomas Aquinis. "Aquinis 101." Taking me a while, as philosophy is not my strong point or even a strong interest .... but Aquinis is so important.

There is hope out there Gerri. We just started what we call our faith formation class at our parish, which is essentially a book read, and we meet once a week. I had to miss the first meeting because I was sick but I was told we overstuffed our usual room. Last year we had maybe twenty-five meet. On this first meeting I was told we had something like fifty. Double! I'm hopeful for the culture at large, but it's going to be a slow process.