Catholic Reform



It is interesting everytime a new group arises claiming to be the new reform movement that is going to change the church. Almost all of the modern examples of this like "Call to Action" or "Voice of the Faithful" all emphasize an idealogy where the real reason for being Catholic is way down on the list of what they feel is important. For the most part all of these groups end up being a reason to meet once a year in some large metropolitan area to showcase their speakers who rail against the way the church is versus the way it should be--they are all what I would call "church" people and they tend to screech like the "church" lady that Dana Carvey used to portray on Saturday Night Live.



Contrast this with the groups that have worked reform in the history of the Church, let me take St. Francis for an example. Did Francis' begin by taking on a political slogan? No, he began by praying before a crucifix. He began with a look into the Gospels and a re-encounter with Christ. Christ was his focus and through the eyes of Christ he saw the church that Christ founded falling into ruin and felt the command to rebuild it--begining with the crumbling church that he was praying in. Here is true reform--not focused on the structures of the Church but rather on Christ and following Him. In this view of reform the Church is seen transfigured, her humanity veiled, the battle won.



A St. Francis could meet a horrible priest and fall to his knees kissing his hands and lauding the loftiness of the vocation that the man was so poorly living. More than one such priest was brought to his knees by such an encounter. Francis stands as the true model of reform and it has absolutely nothing to do with what the pastor, bishop or pope is doing but everything to do with how am I following Christ. Of course the Church is indispensible from this discipleship because Christ founded the Church and gave it the power to teach in His name.



The problems that we face in North America as Catholics is like that of the Church of Ephesus to whom Christ said in the Book of Revelation, "You have lost the love that you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first."



What would the reforms of Vatican II be like if we could recapture our first love?