Discernment and Charity
2007-10-22 16:46:00
***This post never went out on the email subscriptions, so I am trying again. I apologize to those who receive it by other subscription methods!*********Charity
is one of the pillars of the mission of an ordained Deacon. We are all called to serve the poor and disadvantaged - "Charity inspires a life of self-giving", but Deacons (and priests) are formed as part of their pastoral stewardship to enter into communion with the Charity of Christ the Good Shepherd. As described in Pastores Dabo Vobis, written by John Paul II, our formation is meant to instill in us a way of being in communion with the very sentiments and behavior of the Good Shepherd.Remember my discussion that Deacons are about "being not doing"? The quote from Pastores Dabo Vobis emphasizes that we must feel compelled to act in the charity of the Good Shepherd, and we must see the behavior too. It's a lot like the Catholic teaching that we are "saved by grace through faith" (Eph 2:8), and our faith is demonstrated by g
Freedom
2007-10-22 05:45:00
I have learned a little about freedom working at the soup kitchen.In our secular world today, many people think of freedom as the inborn right to do anything they want based on their own relativistic moral code. In reality, freedom means the right to act responsibility in any way you want - they key word being "responsible". Freedom
unrelated to objective truth or objective morality is not freedom.Pope John Paul II said it well:When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society.or this:Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.At the food kitchen, the disadvantaged people who are our wonderful clients show their intense desire for freedom often. Any time there is an opportunity for choice, no matter how small, they cherish it. However, if one person gets rye brea
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