Contours of the Catholic Mind

Pray Tell Blog ^ | May 21, 2012 | Julia Smucker

[Petrosius]

One year ago, following about six years of will-I-won’t-I agonizing, I finally made it all the way into the Catholic Church. In my ongoing immersion into the Catholic world before and since (call it mystagogy, call it acculturation), I have observed a number of interesting patterns I might characterize as quintessentially Catholic ways of thinking. Of course, this is emphatically not to say that all Catholics think alike – we’re as far spread all over the map as anybody, to be sure. And I am more and more convinced that there is no such thing as a typical Catholic. And yet, paradoxically, there are certain recognizable tendencies I’ve picked up in this oddly fascinating process of developing a Catholic mind, several of which, I find, seem to suit me surprisingly well. Here are a few of those tendencies as observed after a year of being Catholic.

The very long view. The Catholic left (and occasionally the right, if you get them going on the right issues) may get easily impatient with the pace at which the Catholic Church moves, but one thing I’ve noticed at all levels on which the church operates and across whatever spectrum you can name: Catholics think in centuries. There is a frequency with which we can talk in historical terms, rather than merely from the vantage point of an individual lifetime – can talk of, say, 50 or 100 or 200 years as being not a very long time. It’s as if, even when we lose sight of the broader picture, the whole church’s history is still inescapably there, hovering somewhere in the back of our minds.

The both/and. Maybe it comes from centuries of navigating between oversimplifications (take the early Christological heresies as a case in point), but Catholic thought, in all its beautiful and frustrating variety, has all kinds of room for nuance, and much less room for either/or dualisms. Regrettably, many Catholics seem to be keeping a pretty tenuous grip on this one. At times we seem hopelessly polarized – but even amidst the polarities, the “Catholic both/and” will occasionally slip in, like an unconscious habit. Maybe that’s exactly what it is. We desperately need to recover it to our Catholic consciousness.

Tradition is a living process. And one we can’t escape from. Catholics use the word “traditional” the way Protestants use the word “biblical”: as a sort of measuring rod for theological one-upmanship. We all want to show how the term really applies most fully and robustly to our own position. Again regrettably, the more conventional and limiting definition of tradition, as an absence of or aversion to change (whether spoken of favorably or unfavorably), sometimes makes its way into Catholic semantics and clashes with the more, well, traditional understanding.

So is conversion. What Catholics might call the “conversion process” is similar to what some of the Mennonite circles I grew up in, and still deeply appreciate, would call the “faith journey.” To tell of my conversion would be to tell of my whole life. It would not be untrue to say that both my baptism and my confirmation were climactic conversion experiences, but just as essential were the gradual conversions leading up to those decisions, as well as all the subsequent inexhaustible unpacking of those very live moments. In either case, given the amount of time and energy it takes me to decide just about anything, I’m grateful that I wasn’t required to pinpoint one “conversion moment.” For us it’s not about one decisive moment when you “get saved” so that you can someday go to heaven, but about being in the process of being saved so that, to borrow phrasing from my days in RCIA, your whole life is God getting you in shape to “do heaven” – because “heaven isn’t just a place you go, it’s something you do.”

Held together by ritual. Catholics recognize the power of symbol, whether consciously or not. One of the first things I remember noticing when I began attending Mass regularly was that it’s full of symbols – every ritual action has a significance beyond itself. And gradually, through liturgical immersion, I came to believe in the presence that supersaturates these symbols and makes them more than symbolic. The Eucharist, above all, is more than a symbol, but certainly not less than one. I’ve heard it said that Catholics can’t agree on anything except the Eucharist. And we can’t always agree on the best way to talk about the Eucharist. But it draws us. And by some great holy mystery it holds us together.

Liturgy is plurality. Liturgy is communal by its very nature. And all throughout the Catholic liturgy we pray in the first person plural – the “Catholic we,” as I’ve heard it called. “We worship you … we believe … our Father … have mercy on us.” This is not just about God and me. It’s about God and all of us together. Even the “I confess,” a rare liturgical act in the singular, would make no sense at all without the community of faith being present. In that sense, it may actually be the most communal thing we ever say.

In all of this, I am amazed and humbled, sometimes frustrated but always profoundly grateful to be a part of this “we,” this big tent, this crazy parade. It’s been a wild ride so far – and it’s far from over.

Julia Smucker is a Mennonite Catholic, or a Mennonite who has come into full communion with the Catholic Church, or a Catholic profoundly and gratefully shaped by her Mennonite heritage — take your pick. She completed an M. A. in Theology with a concentration in systematic theology at Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary in 2012.

[narses]

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[JCBreckenridge]

“Julia Smucker is a Mennonite Catholic, or a Mennonite who has come into full communion with the Catholic Church, or a Catholic profoundly and gratefully shaped by her Mennonite heritage — take your pick. She completed an M. A. in Theology with a concentration in systematic theology at Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary in 2012.”

So I’m not the only one? Really? Does anyone have contact information for Julia?

[married21]

I used to know a Mennonite minister who grew up Catholic. She said that when she left the Church as a young adult, she had thought that the rituals were chores that people were going through the motions of, and thought herself well rid of them.

As a mature adult, she looked back and realized the value of rituals and deepened in her appreciation of Mennonite rituals. The ritual that sparked our conversation was the washing of feet. Mennonite brides and grooms wash each other’s feet at the wedding ceremony, while Catholics witness the same ritual with the priest and lay people on Holy Thursday.

[Salvation]

Great article, thanks.

She bares many truths there, I know I am guilty of the long view — I want to skip today and just get it done with.

A good example is on the threads today about the lawsuits against Obama — my take was the long view.......get all the Bishops on board with this or else Obama has loopholes.

[JCBreckenridge]

Yeah, that was a powerful ritual. I had no idea that Catholics made it so important that they do it during Holy Thursday. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw that and I realized that much of what I had been taught when I was younger about the Catholic church was completely false.

[HarleyD]

I always enjoy reading about these “faith-journey” to the Catholic faith. They're just brimming full of self-discovery. Why bother with scripture...which, btw, I notice is always missing from these testimonies.

[Cronos]

I find two of his points resonate so well with me:

The both/and.
Liturgy is plurality.

I find it so beautiful and all encompassing -- we come to God as a family -- His children, together, we believe together, and there is no God is only singing or only solemnity , but 'singing and solemnity' etc.

[married21]

My husband is a convert from non-denominational Protestant. While he wouldn’t have known the chapter and verse when he started the process, there were actually two verses of Scripture that drew him to Catholicism:

1. marriage: the line about “what God has joined, no man must separate”
2. confession/reconciliation: the line about Jesus giving the Apostles the authority to forgive sins they determine are forgiven and hold bound the ones that are held bound.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Interesting! I love Ro-Menno-Catholics and would love to meet more of you!

[Natural Law]

"Why bother with scripture...which, btw, I notice is always missing from these testimonies."

First, you must not listen to many because Scripture is often mentioned. However, for those who convert from Protestantism wrongly interpreted Scripture has been a source of Black Grace.

Catholics do not worship Scripture like Sola Scriptura Protestants do. For us Scripture is not the object of our worship, but a means to an end. It is a window into the divine, but it is not divine.

In the history of the Church there was a time when the written word was considered less reliable than the Sacred Tradition because of rampant forgeries and certain license taken during the transcription process. This was the reason that all Scripture was assessed against the Sacred Tradition for authenticity as the Canon was determined.

[JCBreckenridge]

Thanks! I’m just plain ol’ Latin Rite Roman Catholic these days. I’ve been Catholic now for 7 years, longer than I ever was a Mennonite.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I used to work with some Mennonites (the comparatively mainstream ones who drive cars and don't look much different from anybody else) when I was doing prolife work a couple of years back. Theologically they were about at the other end of the spectrum from Catholics --- non-liturgical, non-hierarchical, no use for about 1700 years of historic Christianity and so forth --- but pro-life-wise they were just about exactly where we were. Even interested in NFP.

< I liked them a whole lot.

[JCBreckenridge]

Yep, I was one of them - theologically though, we have plenty more in common with the Catholic church. No remarriage. Divorce extremely rare and frowned upon. Prolife, support for NFP. Support for traditional marriage. This is why I didn’t find it hard to accept what the church teaches on contraception.

For me, it was looking at the reason why Menno Simons left. He left for reasons which don’t apply today. Plus he had some huge issues with his Christology revolving around being born in a Virgin, not of a Virgin.

Plus some pretty and friendly Catholic ladies didn’t hurt either. :)

[HarleyD]

In the history of the Church there was a time when the written word was considered less reliable than the Sacred Tradition

Just the simple fact that the early church fathers set aside the inspired word of God from all other writings shows that there was a time when the written word was considered more reliable than the Sacred Tradition.

[Natural Law]

"Just the simple fact that the early church fathers set aside the inspired word of God..."

But that did not happen until Pope Damasus I, in cooperation with the Councils of Laodicea and Rome fixed the Canon to today's Catholic Canon and commissioned St. Jerome to produce a Vulgate translation. This was needed to differentiate those few inspired and inerrant writings from among the hundreds of simply inspired or otherwise completely errant and counterfeited works. Until this was done there was nothing except the Sacred Traditions to establish what was and was not a true teaching.

Peace be with you.

[HarleyD]

Until this was done there was nothing except the Sacred Traditions to establish what was and was not a true teaching.

Hmmm...then after this was done didn't this establish the true teachings from the not so true teachings?

[Jvette]

When I came back to the Church, my husband was always asking questions. So many times I would say, “You have to understand the Catholic way of looking at things.”

It’s funny that I was away for more than twenty years, and yet that Catholic way of looking at things was still there.

[Campion]

Just the simple fact that the early church fathers set aside the inspired word of God from all other writings shows that there was a time when the written word was considered more reliable than the Sacred Tradition.

That very act of that "setting aside" is part of that Sacred Tradition, you know. You're -- ironically enough -- citing that tradition as your authority in arguing against it ... not a very stable position, logically.

Sacred Tradition is nothing more, nor less, than the Bible as read, understood, and pondered by the Church. It doesn't stand in opposition to the Bible any more than the leaves of a tree stand in opposition to the trunk.

[johngrace]

"I always enjoy reading about these “faith-journey” to the Catholic faith. They're just brimming full of self-discovery. Why bother with scripture...which, btw, I notice is always missing from these testimonies. "

Because everyday(7 days a week)the Catholic Church Reads the Bible. All real Catholics know this no matter what- it is always there. We also break bread(communion) like the early Church.

Acts 2:

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer........... 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved

ONLY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH READS IT EVERYDAY IN CHURCH 7 DAYS A WEEK with Breaking of Bread:

Today we read the Apostles writings.

Here is Today's:

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

BIBLE Reading 1 Acts 20:28-38

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: "Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock

of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God

that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.

And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.

So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.

And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.

I have never wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions.

In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak,

and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive.?"

When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all.

They were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,

for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again.

Then they escorted him to the ship.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab

R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

or: R. Alleluia.

Show forth, O God, your power, the power, O God, with which you took our part;

For your temple in Jerusalem let the kings bring you gifts.

R. Sing to God, O Kingdoms of the earth.

or: R. Alleluia.

You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, chant praise to the Lord who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.

Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power: "Confess the power of God!"

R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. or:

R. Alleluia.

Over Israel is his majesty; his power is in the skies.

Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people.

R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:

"Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,

so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,

? and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction,

in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.

They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth."