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Here is the wonderful letter Fr. Terry, pastor of St. Joseph's in Sykesville wrote to his parishioners. He refrences the arrticle "Catholic Body Parts" by Greg Erlandson printed in Our Sunday Visitor on Feb. 7, 2010. The link to the article is: www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/5952/Catholic-body-parts.aspx
March 3, 2010
Dear SJCC Family,
I'm writing to share some reflections regarding the article that appears on the flip side of this page; if you haven't already read it, please do that first before reading the remainder of this letter. I'm grateful to Mr. Greg Erlandson, who publishes Our Sunday Visitor, for his permission to reprint his article in our parish bulletin. We live in very interesting times, both in terms of our wider North American as well as our ecclesial cultures. We people of faith, disciples of the Lord, Jesus Christ, are also immersed in the wider secular culture that is frequently at odds with His gospel. The late Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae/The Gospel of Life, wrote that certain elements of a culture of death impede the proclamation of the gospel of life. Our faith enlightens and inspires our involvement in the civic arena; and serves to critique its potentially death-dealing elements that are at odds with the values of the Gospel.
We live in a pluralistic society that formally separates church and state; even as it protects our right to worship freely within the religion of our choosing. Roman Catholicism is a universal umbrella under which many peoples, of varying persuasions, gather for shelter. We are united by our sharing the same faith, though the expressions of that faith in our daily lives may appear differently: unity and uniformity, they are not the same thing! How bland our church would be if we all thought and lived in exactly the same manner. When we are not threatened by differences, and perceive them as opportunities for growth and deeper understanding—then we embrace the richness of a Catholic diversity that enlivens our parish and the wider church.
Mr. Erlandson points out the potential dangers in terms of 'dividing up': self sorting into like groups and living in self imposed thought ghettoes based upon political persuasion and fueled by an angry quest for ideological purity. It’s very important for us to remain rooted in a particular faith community, not shopping around for a parish that caters to what we find palatable. It’s also important that we regularly rub elbows with people who share our faith but think differently from us! We need one another, precisely in all our difference and diversity; standing firmly on the common ground of our shared faith that will not be divided by partisan secular political agendas.
On behalf of our parish leadership, I commit us to remaining a 'St. Paul' type parish that is one body, many parts. For that to happen, dear friends, it is important that we spend less time deciding who are the sheep and who are the goats among us; and rededicating ourselves to embodying the concern for one another to which St. Paul calls us: "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy." Let us joyfully undertake this noble task, prayerfully invoking upon our good efforts the blessing of God through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.
God bless you,
(Rev.) Terence P. Weik, S.M.
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