by Rose Marie Berger
“It is not that the Gospel has changed, it is that we have begun to understand it better … the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity to look far ahead.”–Pope John XXIII
On Oct. 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII (“Good Pope John”) opened the Second Vatican Council. As American Catholics look at where we’ve been and where we want Vatican II to take us in the future, I offer this reading list below.
We are at a time ripe with conversion and energy around new ways to be Catholic that are vital for our world today. While current Vatican leadership is practicing “Curial conservatism,” fleeing backwards into the dimming halls of time, the laity continue to lean forward into “aggiornamento,” as Pope John XXIII put it, updating the modes of our faith to match the desperate needs in our world. We are taking up the Resurrection banner and carrying it forward into a world in need of the sacramental life Catholicism has to offer.
Here are 5 articles and books that are important reading for today’s Vatican II Catholics…
You can read this entire article by clicking here.
Rose Marie Berger is an award-winning religion journalist, author, public speaker, poet, and Catholic who specializes in writing about spirituality and art, social justice, war and peace. You can read her blog here.
I am an Anglican who is currently kicking the tires of Roman Catholicism by attending R.C.I.A. The experience, thus far, has been very disappointing. I get no sense whatsoever that the leadership nor the sponsors know why Catholics do what they do. So we introduce ourselves again (four times now), eat muffins, drink coffee, and generally hang out until Mass begins.
After reading Berger’s blog, however, I am encouraged that at least some Roman Catholics are recognizing that the old way of doing things is alienating to say the least. Thank goodness that the thinking Catholics are standing up and trying to enliven the faith. When I asked my small group at R.C.I.A. how they, as Catholics, perceived being the hands and feet of Jesus, I was told that that is a very Protestant way of looking at the faith. Wrong! That’s a very Jesus way of looking at the faith, right?
Jason–RIGHT! RCIA in a lot of cases stinks. Keep working on investigating things for yourself. Read Chesterton!