La fe de nuestros padres - �y nuestra?

Monday, October 11, 2010

*Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

English Spanish

“La Fe de nuestros padres, aún vive, a pesar del calabozo, el fuego y la espada…” Este himno, basado en Hebreos 11:1-2, todavía se canta en nuestras iglesias y es una alabanza a la supervivencia del Cristianismo a pesar de las persecuciones que han tratado de suprimirlo desde los tiempos de los emperadores romanos. La fe católica no se ahogó en la sangre de sus mártires, al contrario, más bien se hizo más fuerte tanto en intensidad como en su alcance. El estribillo de la canción: “Fe de nuestros padres, sagrada fe, hasta la muerte te seré fiel”, en los labios de los santos, no fue un alarde vano.

Sin embargo, mientras todavía muchos se unen a cantar este estribillo, el compromiso con su fe católica es más vacilante. Muchos, moldeados por su experiencia en la sociedad de consumo en la que vivimos, son, como algunos los catalogan, “Católicos de Cafetería” – piensan que tienen la libertad de seleccionar y elegir aquellos dogmas de su fe que mantendrán y que de hecho van a practicar. Un reciente estudio Pew, que entrevistó a un sinnúmero de católicos sobre el conocimiento de su fe, encontró una pluralidad inquietante de “analfabetismo religioso”; o sea, que no entienden, no comprenden o poco les preocupa entender lo que ellos, como católicos, se supone que crean.

Estudios Pew anteriores también han documentado el número de católicos que se ha alejado de la iglesia – algunos hacia sectas evangélicas y otros a una cómoda apostasía de una cultura más y más secularizada donde las creencias religiosas son motivo de indiferencia. De hecho, los católicos inactivos – aquellos a los que llamábamos “alejados” – si tuviesen hoy en día su propia denominación, sería el grupo religioso más grande en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, ¿si en verdad entendieran lo que realmente creemos como católicos, hubiese dejado la iglesia la mayoría de estas personas?

Algo se puede culpar a las catequesis fallidas de dos generaciones de católicos que maduraron durante la confusión que acosó a la mayor parte de la iglesia luego del Segundo Concilio Vaticano. El programa didáctico de aprender el catecismo de memoria se reemplazó por uno más empírico. Los niños aprendieron que Jesús los amaba pero no podían nombrar los Diez Mandamientos ni los siete sacramentos.

Sin embargo, la intuición de los que propusieron esa “catequesis empírica” no necesariamente estaba del todo mal. El mismo Papa Benedicto XVI insiste en que el cristianismo no es primordialmente una creencia de una serie de proposiciones o ideas sino que nace de un encuentro con una persona: Jesucristo. Sin embargo, el encuentro con Cristo, si es auténtico, no puede ser sólo una creación de nuestra propia subjetividad: también necesita el “contenido de la revelación” que está en las Escrituras, las cuales nos da la iglesia, para poder conocer a Cristo como en realidad es.

En los 1990’s la iglesia produjo en el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, una síntesis de las enseñanzas del Vaticano II que era también una continuación de “la fe de nuestros Padres.” Este catecismo universal sirve como referencia tanto a los creyentes como a aquellos que buscan conocer a Jesús y lo que Éste a su vez demanda de nosotros si aceptamos su invitación a entablar una amistad con El.

Nuestros padres mantuvieron la fe –a pesar de las persecuciones que sufrieron; nuestros padres nos transmitieron la fe – a veces sobreponiendo muchos obstáculos para hacerlo. Estudiar los cuatro “pilares” del Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica — el credo, los sacramentos, la vida de fe y la oración del creyente — ayudaría a los católicos de ahora a ofrecer, como dice el Apóstol, “una explicación a cualquiera que le pregunte el motivo de su esperanza…” (1 Pedro 3:15)

Nuestros padres mantuvieron la fe – a pesar de las persecuciones que sufrieron; nuestros padres nos transmitieron la fe – sobreponiendo muchos obstáculos para hacerlo. Al ser más “religiosamente instruidos” podremos retener mejor nuestra fe y al mismo tiempo transmitirla a los demás.

“Fe de nuestros padres,
Lucharemos por ganar todas las naciones para ti;
Y por medio de esa verdad que viene de Dios
Entonces seremos verdaderamente libres.”

Comments from readers

Michael Kramer - 10/12/2010 10:52 PM: Thank you Your Excellency for this beautiful and much needed column! It's so wonderful to hear these words from the bishop who confirmed me 10 years ago! I'd like to offer for consideration that until the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass begins to share the elements that are possible to share with Papal Masses (offered in the hermeneutic of continuity) and until we begin shaping our religious education programs more direct, without side-stepping issues like Purgatory, Original sin, and the Virgin Birth (again the concept of continuity) we will continue to struggle, loosing parishoners to "educated" protestants. The Liturgy and the Faith, when offered in continuity, according to our Holy Father, BOTH teach and transmit what our fathers had and then truly they can say: "Tradidi quod et accepi". But the way we've tried to act in the last 40 years, with the Spirit of the Council rather than the letter, we are losing our people because in many cases they aren't getting truth but simply whatever has been made up in the minds of those around them. God Bless you Your Excellency, thank you again for this wonderful column!

Andrew Meszaros - 10/12/2010 04:02 PM: It's become popular these days to say things like: "I am spiritual but not religious" or "I have faith but I don't follow anyone's teaching". And you have to ask yourself: what can I believe if nothing is being proposed? What kind of a creed is it that has no content? What kind of a morality is it that permits everything? Whose word do I find trustworthy if there is no teacher? Electricians, plumbers, dentists, accountants: all have their teachers, but when it comes to religion, everyone is a master on his own? Curious! The Church's authority needs to be affirmed. Christ founded it upon the rock of Peter, the pillar of truth. Firm, stable, trustworthy truth attracts; doubt and fuzziness does not. I hope I am spiritual, and pious, but I also hope that I am religious.

Antonio Fernandez - 10/12/2010 10:32 AM: Thank you Archbishop Wenski for your excellent and timely reminder that as Catholics we need to take our Faith seriously and fully. I also want to thank him for his encouragement to the laity to pursue a better knowledge and understanding of our Church's teachings. We appreciate his support in this area. The Archbishop makes reference to the temptation among us to behave like "Cafeteria Catholics", a term coined by Pope John Paul II and also used repeatedly by Pope Benedict XVI. Pope John Paul II, talking to the US Bishops in Los Angeles in 1987 expanded on this idea by saying "that a large number of Catholics today do not adhere to the teaching of the Catholic Church on a number of questions, notably sexual and conjugal morality, divorce and remarriage…"

Confronted with that serious matter, some in our midst may say this is a consequence of the Vatican Council II. The problem is not what the Council said but what many of us think was said and changed by the Council. I still remember some of the problems caused by the Dutch Catechism of 1966, indicating that regarding the several methods of regulating births there was nothing said in concrete about this methods by the Council and consequently, they [the bishops] could "sense a clear development in the Church, a development, which is also going on outside the Church" (A New Catechism, 402). However, the Council in its constitution Gaudium et spes, clearly states that the members "of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law" (GS 50).

Unfortunately, this attitude toward not accepting the faith taught by the Church as a whole, is not limited just to sexual matters, we find it in many other areas such as social justice, capital punishment, war, euthanasia, liturgical practices, etc. As the Archbishop well indicates we have an excellent guide for our lives as Catholics in the Catechism of the Catholic Church; however, I would dare to add, that we need also to read again the documents of the Vatican Council II to understand and realize what was really said on the final documents prepared by the Council Fathers, approved by Pope Paul VI and wholeheartedly supported by all his successors.

I find very significant and providential that Archbishop Wenski signed this week contribution on Monday, October 11, 2010… the day we were celebrating the 48th anniversary of the opening of the Vatican Council II by Pope John XXIII.

Sister Lidia Valli - 10/12/2010 10:25 AM: Thank you Archbishop for challenging us to live our faith.

Brother Jay Rivera, OSF - 10/12/2010 12:11 AM: I began to read the article and was a little thrown off by the reference to the hymn, "Faith of Our Fathers". As I read through it, everthing began to come back. I remember growing up with tradition. It played a major role in the life of my family. There were certain things that we did, because they were part of our faith. There was never a question of "should we" or "do we have to." Family prayer, worship, rituals, religious symbols, and the way that we responded to our parents and treated each other was all part of our faith.

It saddens me to see families define themselves in terms of their accomplishments, their neighborhoods, economic status and political affiliations. None of these things really give man a sense of who he is in relation to God and neighbor. All it says is what he has accomplished in comparison to others. Too often, Catholic's based their identity on achievements rather than the Christian ideal.

Tonight, after reading this article, I had a long conversation with a young man who asked me, "Brother, how do I fulfill God's will in my life?" I responded with something that I learned as a child. "Give him permission to take what he wants and welcome what he gives." Obedience and submission to Divine Providence was a key component in the faith of our fathers.

Thank you Excellency for helping me remember the most important lesson that my fathers handed down to me.

Nancy Zloch - 10/11/2010 01:34 PM: Archbishop, I was very pleased and thankful to read your letter. I pray it gives courage and direction to the pastors and priests in our diocese to speak the Truth, especially regarding the 5 non-negoiable Truths of the Catholic faith, which are upside down and even glorified in today's society.
As a CCD teacher it saddens me to see our children having very little knowledge regarding the gifts of the Catholic Church and Her teachings. I believe this disservice to our children lies at the feet of all Catholics, religious and laity alike. Your words give me great hope the pervasive "Cafeteria Catholicism" can and will be reversed. God bless you!

Jan Rush - 10/11/2010 11:58 AM: God bless you, Archbishop Wenski, and thank you for bringing up the serious problem of "Cafeteria Catholics". I am hopeful that under your courageous leadership, the laity will start hearing about the controversial issues of abortion, homosexuality, fornication, artificial contraception, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research to name a few. It seems that many of our priests won't discuss these critical issues from the pulpit, perhaps for a variety of reasons. But, would Christ accept any of these reasons as valid? It is the loving and faithful priest who tells his people the truth in all matters. Your encouragement of the many good priests in our diocese will help them to speak out in the service of love and truth. And as you quoted at the end of your message, it is the Truth that will set us free. I know I speak for many, many Catholics in the Archdiocese of Miami when I say we are truly blessed that such a faithful servant of God has been sent to lead us in the battle against the culture of death. May God bless, strengthen, comfort and protect you as you carry out your ministry.