Reason and Faith Can Help Us Cope With Change, Parish Renewal
By Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G.
 

As we all prepare to adjust to the changes that will occur with our parish structures, we are aided by both reason and faith. Because we have free will, we are able to choose an attitude, to take a position in any and every situation and circumstance. We are responsible for our choices and our decisions because with our gift of free will comes responsibility for our choices and decisions. Even if we cannot change the outer circumstances of our life, we are responsible for our attitude towards it.

One of the early psychologists, William James, advised: “The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so shall you be.”

Viktor Frankl, reflecting on his own experiences in several concentration camps, noted that the last freedom to be taken away or lost was the freedom to choose an attitude. He observed that in the circumstances of the concentration camp, some persons grew in compassion and self-sacrifice. Other prisoners became more self-centered and more cruel than some of the camp guards. The difference, he noted, was the person’s choice of an attitude.

The story of our attempt to avoid responsibility and make ourselves victims is clearly illustrated in the Book of Genesis, where there are stories of blaming rather than accepting responsibility. Because of our free will we have the freedom to choose an attitude and to act with responsibility. Neither the “devil made me do it” excuse nor any one else can be blamed for the choices we make and how we use our free will.

The three theological virtues of faith, hope and love purify, enlighten and strengthen our free will and reason, so that we can develop a stronger sense of responsibility. In an age like our own, our faith teaches us that we are responsible and accountable beyond ourselves, that we are especially accountable to God and that we will be called to render an account of how we have been good stewards of our life and the gifts, talents, abilities, resources and opportunities that were given to us or came our way.

We cannot be held responsible for some talent or ability that was not given to us. But, we can be held accountable if we do not discover, develop and share the talents and abilities that were given to us. We should be humble, acknowledge our gifts with gratitude and use our talents and resources for the mission of the Church and the common good.

What can we contribute to the mission of Jesus Christ that continues in the Church is a question that we should frequently ask ourselves. The gift of faith can help us form attitudes and perspectives inspired by the Gospel.

Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit

For members of a parish community and the parish community itself, there is a personal and communal responsibility to bear and to show forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, there is a great witness to the Gospel. It might be helpful for a parish to see how it is expressing and living out the fruit of the Spirit described by Saint Paul in Galatians 5:22: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self control. Do our attitudes, words and behavior show the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Pope Paul VI, in his apostolic exhortation on Christian joy, gives an example of how this can be done: “Joy always springs from a certain outlook on man and on God. ‘When your eye is sound, your whole body too is filled with light.’ We are touching here on the original and inalienable dimension of the human person: his vocation to happiness always passes through the channels of knowledge and love, of contemplation and action. May you attain this good quality which is in your brother's soul, and this divine presence so close to the human heart!

“Let the agitated members of various groups therefore reject the excesses of systematic and destructive criticism! Without departing from a realistic viewpoint, let Christian communities become centers of optimism where all the members resolutely endeavor to perceive the positive aspect of people and events. ‘Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.’ ”

How we deal with different points of view should be guided by faith, hope and love. We should grow in and express the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, at home, at work, in our parishes and at meetings and groups that we participate in.

Faith

When Jesus went home to Nazareth, he was amazed at the lack of faith of the people of the town, and their rejection of what he said and did. That incident in the life of Jesus should alert us to times when we might be acting with little or no faith, not making judgments based on Gospel values or our Catholic faith. When we are concerned more with convenience than sacrifice, we are not expressing a strong or vibrant faith. There are still places in the world where it is a criminal or even a capital offense to convert to or practice Christianity.

A theologian has commented on the strong faith of the early Christians and their faith in the Eucharist in these words: “We shall not begin to understand what the Eucharist meant to Christians until we have estimated the background of real danger… in a setting of absolutely normal daily life… normal men and women were prepared to accept the risks and inconveniences they undoubtedly encountered just to be present at the Eucharist together and regularly.”

What risks and inconveniences are we prepared to accept? A change in Mass schedule frequently brings a negative reaction from some people with a particular preference. Churches without air conditioning get complaints about the heat; churches with air conditioning experience climate control battles: it is too cold, it is too hot. These are not the risks and inconveniences that the theologian just described.

What about the risks and inconveniences of those who went to Mass under communism? Sadly you sometimes hear someone saying they no longer go to Mass because they do not get anything out of it. This statement is an example of our individualistic self-centered culture and little or weak faith.

Eucharist means thanksgiving. The Eucharist remembers all that has been given to us. The Mass offers us grace to help us live lives of self-sacrifice in imitation of Jesus; the Mass gives us the grace to move from self-centeredness and selfishness to self-giving love.

Mass is not for entertainment or convenience. It is the unbloody sacrifice of the cross. More recently, some people have been known to angrily announce their intention of leaving the Church because a parish is being consolidated or a building is being closed. What would men and women who took risks and experienced difficulties to participate in the Eucharist make of this attitude? How does faith help us to correct false attitudes?