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Hope in the Lord, Suggestions for the Summer

Most Reverend Joseph Kurtz

Reprinted with permission from the East Tennessee Catholic.

Here are three possible ways to deepen your faith and your relationship with the Lord.

These days the papers are filled with lists of suggested summer reading or “must do” activities. So I may as well join the crowd and suggest three.

Letters to a Young Catholic

Apologetics is the fancy word for explaining the faith to others and defending that faith. I just finished a “must read” book by George Weigel entitled Letters to a Young Catholic (Basic Books, 2004). It is a vividly written book that combines travelogue, witness, and good solid doctrine, explained in language the average person can grasp and enjoy. I was so taken with its chapters, each a self-contained unit, that I found myself referring to one chapter in my recent homily for ordination and then another chapter for the homily I gave at the Worldwide Marriage Encounter convention in Baltimore two weeks ago. The first few chapters take us from Georgia, for a visit to the home of Flannery O’Connor, to the tomb of St. Peter in Rome and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Each time there is a powerful lesson. You won’t go wrong in picking up a copy.

A GIFT of Faith

Speaking of powerful lessons, if you have not signed up for the series of foundational adult-faith-formation courses—12 sessions offered all over the diocese—please do so. The schedule is listed in every edition of The East Tennessee Catholic (see page 8). Covering the truths of our faith, the series offers a good grounding in Catholic doctrine, and I am so pleased that all the presenters are “home grown.” With the help of a core committee of Anne Frederick, Sister Albertine Paulus, RSM, Dale Powers, and Father Al Humbrecht, the sessions will cover the four pillars of the Catholic catechism in summary fashion.

Essential for anyone involved in ministry on a parish or diocesan level, the classes would be a great help to every adult Catholic in the diocese. Who is not called to share the gift of faith and to answer questions of faith each day? The series is for parents, catechists, and every serious adult Catholic. I especially like the name: A GIFT—that is, Adults Growing in Faith Together, which reminds us of the diocesan campaign that is making the series possible and very quickly showing forth the fruits of the generosity of the faithful. This wave of adult faith formation is sweeping the diocese, and it will continue as the years go on. It is not the only wave.

Plans are already under way for a series of parish adult-formation offerings that will present the four pillars of our faith as expressed in the Catholic catechism. Using a format created by Renew International, we hope to have these “seasons” offered in parishes in fall 2006. As with Renew’s “Healing the Body of Christ,” which we adopted for Lent 2003, many of these sessions will be held in the homes of willing parishioners. More about that later.

Marriage Encounter

Speaking of generosity, I had the thrill of taking part in the national convention for Worldwide Marriage Encounter in Baltimore two weeks ago and encountering so many generous married couples. It was a privilege for me to make an Encounter Weekend two years ago. I already knew Marriage Encounter is a great gift to couples and families, and my weekend experience is something about which I wrote a column almost two years ago. But the experience of being in a room with more than 500 couples and many of their children and then having a chance to hear firsthand and close-up about their love for each other and for the church was just exceptional.

I will be taking a lead in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this November when I begin my role as chair of the bishops’ Committee on Marriage and the Family, so I wanted to take part in the Marriage Encounter convention and be prepared. Part of the time was devoted to a focus group with a half-dozen couples about the topics that will likely form the core of a pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops in 2007. What I heard was very enriching and filled me with hope.

I brought home a new insight that relates to the special role of couples and priests in Marriage Encounter. We so often hear about evils of clericalism: that sense of privilege a priest might take on as the faithful are only too glad to treat “Father” as special. I call it an evil because in its extreme form it can actually rob the priest of a healthy sense of service and a daily call to holiness and humility. Those who rail against it, however, often belittle the priest and the greatness of this vocation. In Marriage Encounter I found a perfect blend.

On the one hand, there was a calling for the priest and couples to see each other as human beings and see the relationship of friendship as important in each. However, I also heard desires that thrilled me. It was announced that Worldwide Marriage Encounter wants to have the next generations of priests come from “encountered” homes, and believe it or not, I had separate conversations with two couples, each of whose son is currently discerning. Though these couples are somewhat fearful for the future, they were thrilled that God may be calling their son to be a priest. How refreshing!

Marriage Encounter is an antidote to clericalism and anti-clericalism. I strongly endorse its gifts. Making a Marriage Encounter weekend is another of those highly recommended activities for a married couple.

Summer Survey

So here is the briefest of surveys on good things to consider in these lazy summer days: read a book—one such as Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel; go to an adult-faith-formation session, one in your neighborhood with the title A GIFT; or investigate the possibility of a Marriage Encounter Weekend, for your own good and for the church and the world. Or do all three.

Click here for a printable version (PDF, 12KB)