why catholic - december 2009

8/14/2019 Why Catholic - December 2009

1/4

December 2009

Praying Our FaithWhy Catholic? Training continues

August 2009Murphy Canyon Chapel CenterSan Diego, CA

W e completed another round at three trainingsites: San Diego, Seoul and Honolulu,during this past summer/fall. Eighteenparticipants from five bases were present in SanDiego. We welcomed two new bases to the Why

Catholic? community Naval Base San Diego andDavis-Montham AFB in Arizona. This trainingmarked the fourth and last for McChord AFB,Washington and Little Rock, AFB, Arkansas. Both ofthese bases have successfully completed all four books of the Why Catholic? process. The good news atLittle Rock is that they started the process with 21people and now have five groups with 48 inattendance. McChord also shared that they have 3groups with a steady 35 folks in attendance.

I have seen a huge change inmyself and I attribute that to the

Why Catholic? process.


2/4

September 2009Religious Retreat CenterYongsan, Seoul

S eventeen participants from three areas of theArmy were present. Four of five chaplains werenew to the peninsula at the time of the training.Two were able to make the weekend and one sent arepresentative. Marie Jordan, the WC? Coordinatorfrom Area 3 travelled the two plus hour journey on the bus with her newborn son, Joseph, who turned tendays old on the weekend. Marie has not missed atraining weekend!

2 On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009)

I enjoyedthe discussion

on overcoming obstacles in

prayer.

During the retreat, I was

thrilled to have some quiettime to allow the Holy Spirit to work within methe exerciseto have a conversation with a

person in the Scripture was superb!

Thank you, Sr. Maureen, for coming all the way to Korea to be with us!


3/4

On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009) 3

Understanding Tradition

TraditionTradition means literally handing on. In this context

we mean the handing on of the Gospel, as commanded by Christ himself.

The transmission of Divine Revelation is about bringing all peoples to the knowledge of the truth, thatis, of Christ Jesus, so that they may be saved. Thismeans that the Church must proclaim Christ to allpeoples, in all times, so that this revelation may reachto the ends of the earth [ CCC 74].

The fullness of Revelation is Christ himself, as theWord made flesh. Christ himself then commanded theapostles to preach the Gospel. In preaching the Gospel,they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men;this Gospel is the source of all saving truth and moraldiscipline [ CCC 75].

We believe there are two essential ways in which theGospel was and is handed on.

The Gospel is handed onfirst BY THE PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES.

This happens in two ways: orally by the apostles who handed on, by the

spoken word of their preaching, by the examplethey gave, by the institutions they established,what they themselves receivedwhether from thelips of Christ, from his way of life and his words, orwhether they had learned it at the prompting of theHoly Spirit ( Dei Verbum , Vatican IIs DogmaticConstitution on Divine Revelation , 7).

in writing by those apostles and other menassociated with the apostles who, under theinspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed themessage of salvation to writing ( Dei Verbum , 7)[CCC76].

The handing on of the Gospelis continued IN THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION .

The apostles left bishops as their successors [ CCC77]This living transmission, accomplished in the HolySpirit is called Tradition (distinct from SacredScripture, but closely connected to it). ThroughTradition the Church in her doctrine, life and worship,perpetuates and transmits to every generation all thatshe herself is, all that she believes ( Dei Verbum , 8.1).

Tradition and Sacred Scripture, therefore, have- one common source ;- but they are two distinct modes of transmission

[CCC 81].

The difference betweenTradition and traditionsThe Tradition (sometimes referred to as the greatTradition) is that which comes from the apostles, inwhich they hand on what they received from Jesusteaching and example, and what they learned from theHoly Spirit.

Over time, the Church throughout the world hasdeveloped various traditions (in liturgy, in devotion, intheology, and in Church discipline), adapted to differentplaces and times. These are expressions of the greatTradition. These can and should change, in the light ofhow they express the great Tradition [ CCC83].

Further Reading:United States Catholic Catechism for Adults,Chapter 3 (pages 23-33)

All the faithful share an understanding and handing on revealed truth.The whole body of the faithful cannot err ... in matters of belief. This characteristic isshown in the supernatural appreciation of faith ( census fidei) on the part of the whole

people, when, from the bishops to the last of the faithful,they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals

(CCC, no. 92, citing Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium; LG), no. 12).


4/4

October 2009AMR Chapel CenterHonolulu, HI

F ourteen participants from the Army, Navy andthe Marines joined us at AMR for ourworkshops. The hospitality could not have beenwarmer. I had the wonderful opportunity to bepresent for the first faith sharing session of the AMRsWhy Catholic?community on Christian Prayer. Thesharing and prayer were inspiring and I was gratefulfor the invitation to attend.

4 On the Pastoral Front (Dec 2009)

All content (text, photographs, and design) of this Newsletter 2009RENEW International .For further information about the Why Catholic? process for theMilitary, please contact Sister Maureen at:

RENEW International, 1232 George Street,Plainfield, NJ 07062-1717Tel: 908-769-5400 x 121 Fax: 908-769-5660Email:MaureenC @renewintl.org

Profession of Faith

What We BelieveOur next training will provide a basic theologicalgrounding in the core beliefs of our faith asexpressed in the Apostles Creed.Schedule of trainings: U.S. bases

January 8-10, 2010Murphy Canyon Chapel CenterSan Diego, CA

Bases in Hawaii

February 11-13, 2010AMR Chapel CenterHonolulu, HI

Bases in Korea

February 19-21, 2010Religious Retreat Center

Yongsan, Seoul

For more information, please contact:Sr. Maureen Colleary, [email protected]

Jumpingright into thefaith-sharingsession and

showing the newfolks exactlywhat we areabout was

great!

why catholic - december 2009

Documents