2010-01-11T18:42:00.006-05:00

The Christian challenged by Jesus Christ
by
Cardinal Suenens

(“The Christian at the Dawn of a New Era”, by Cardinal Suenens, pp. 13-16; pp. 25-27.)

“Faith is not simply a matter of lifting
one’s eyes towards God in contemplation;
it also means looking at the earth
but with the eyes of Christ.”
M. Quoist

“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”

One day, along the way, Jesus asked his disciples point-blank, “Who do you say that I am?” In every generation Jesus asks his friends, the same vital question; the response of Christians today determines their identity and shapes the action which follows from it.

At a time when Christians are urged to give witness to the gospel in a world that is less and less Christian, we must reexamine the Master’s question to his first disciples, a question which challenges us all.

After all, the quality of our Christian practice will depend on our faith in him: the depth of our union with him will be the best safeguard of the future of his Church. Our Lord does not ask his followers to be the majority party in the world, but rather to be the leaven in the dough, the salt of the earth, the lamp on the lamp-stand.

What is missing to too many Christians, baptized and confirmed in childhood, but who never ratified in adult life the sacramental riches within them, is to have truly met Jesus Christ, to have discovered his face, his word, his demands, and to have entered into an existential relationship with him.

The Master puts the same direct and vital question to each new generation. It is no use taking refuge in generalities, telling him that we see him as a master thinker, exemplar, a great prophet, or even the greatest prophet of all time.

This decisive question goes straight to the heart, like a sharp sword, and there is no evading it. Our authenticity as Christians depends upon how we answer it.

For Christianity is not an “ism”, it is not the first instance a body of doctrine, a rule of life: it is first and foremost a vital link with the risen Christ who unites us to himself in death and in life.

But Christ Jesus is not only the driving force behind the Christian’s personal life; he is also the one who commands us to carry his Name and his Gospel to the heart of the world.

We must obey this order to go out to the world, to take to the high seas. We are only fully evangelized if we, in our turn, become evangelizers far afield or on our own doorsteps.

Christianity is not something which we can keep for ourselves like a private possession; the only way to preserve it is by spreading it around. Ah, if only Christians whose Christianity has been handed down to them could cultivate a new awareness of the enormous spiritual distress that is in the world; if only they would go out to the world and proclaim to it by word and deed that Jesus Christ is himself the Key to that community of peoples which the world cannot achieve!

I would like to cite here a moving extract from Patriarch Athenagoras, former Primate of Orthodox Christians. He writes: “It seems to me that we no longer know what Christianity is. For me, who discovered Christianity very lucidly, in my mature years, having rigorously explored atheism, it is a source of wonder which deepens daily.

Mostly, however, people refuse to show any interest in the faith because they think they know it, whereas they really know nothing about it. They confuse God, this great unsettler, with the cornerstone of an outdated social and moral order. For them, Christianity is a sort of humanitarianism for people of a religious disposition.

Worst of all is that many Christians born into the Church know little more about it and they are bored with being Christians.”

The Christian Challenged by the World

In the past, in traditionally Christian societies, people were able to live out their Christianity supported, to a large extent, by the family, the surrounding environment, and a common Christian value system which provided the points of reference, at least in law.

Today, the faith is no longer handed on automatically from generation to generation: people no longer are Christian because they have inherited the faith from their parents.

Young people want to make up their own minds about their values in life and they reject, or are strongly tempted to reject, what is handed down through the traditions of family, society, or church. We are being summoned to address this new challenge of the present time.

When we talk about a “Christian”, what do we mean today? Are those who bear this name truly believers; do they have a real, committed, personal faith? Mgr Riobe put his finger on the problem when he wrote:

“There are fewer Christians practicing today, but the important question to ask is how many are believers, and what they in turn are doing to ensure that they themselves are credible.”

We must focus on the very core of the Christian message. We have “sacramentalized” the Christian people on a grand scale, but we have not adequately “evangelized” them. This is the fact of the matter.

Christians need to become more deeply and personally aware of their faith. A good number of them need to be helped to make the transition from a sociological kind of Christianity to a full Christianity which they have freely chosen by their personal assent.

The Church of tomorrow will consist of Christians who have struggled against their environment in order to reach a faith decision that is personalized, clear, explicit and responsible. That is what the Church will be like in the future.

Here is the crux of the matter: how can we today Christianize, through living authentic lives, so many nominal “Christians”? A purely “practicing” Church is not enough: it must also be “confessing”. We must witness to our faith and live by it.

What is Christianity? It is Jesus Christ, present to us, who must shine through us. Christianity is not primarily a body of doctrine, a code of practice. It is first and foremost entering into a covenant of life with God.

The Orthodox writer and martyr, Fr Alexander Men, brings out this essential aspect when he writes:

“It has quite rightly been said that Christ has not left us a single line in writing, in the way Plato left the Dialogues. He has not left us a law on tablets of stone, as did Moses. He did not dictate the Koran, like Mohammed. He did not found a new form of religion, like the Buddha. But he did say: ‘I am with you always; yes, to the end of time’. In that lies the deepest experience of Christianity.”

Fiat Testimony

(The following testimony is shared by Madeleine Porter from her website www.thefiatrosary.com This testimony was receive by Madeleine on December 24, 2009.)

Thank you so much for your website and the Fiat Rosary. Several miracles have happened in our lives due to the Fiat Rosary. My husband had a history of alcoholism, he was physically and verbally abusive.

Last summer I was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, my husband responded by getting drunk, throwing a fit and kicking our 5 year old down the stairs paralyzing him from the waist down. A month later he blew his head off with a shotgun.

Fortunately I had wonderful friends who helped whole I searched from someone to adopt my son. Last Christmas a friend gave me a brown rosary with a medal instead of a crucifix and only 3 Hail Mary beads instead of 10. She said she didn’t know anything about it other than it was called Fiat.

I found your website and started praying to Mary for help at least three times a day. January 8th my son and I were at a birthday party and he started moving his legs for the first time in months! Over the next few months he actually started walking and now its as if nothing happened to him! His doctor said he can’t explain it other than a miracle!!!! Praise God.

On March 9th, I had a Doctors appointment. He said my cancer was in remission!!!! Last month, November 27th my doctor said the cancer was 100% GONE! Thank you Jesus and Mary!!!

Thank you for your website.

Julia

FIAT Spirituality

WHAT IS FIAT SPIRITUALITY?

Fiat Spirituality is a full and openhearted response to God's plan for the redemption of mankind. Rooted in Mary's humble surrender to God's will, it emphasizes the idea of spreading the joy of the Gospel to others. It does this through a network of small prayer groups which encourage committed individuals to take apostolic initiatives in spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.It is essentially a spirituality born out of a deep awareness of the unity between the Holy Spirit and Mary.

The word FIAT itself is from the Latin, literally meaning "Be it done;" it is the 'yes'' of Mary at the Annunciation - "Be it done unto me according to Thy word." When that humble surrender was made the Holy Spirit filled Mary with Divine Life. So it is with us, as we imitate Mary's humility, we too become totally open to God's plan for our life. Jesus was born of that surrender, and the world is saved by it. The secret of Pentecost is the joy of the Holy Spirit coming down upon us all.

WHAT IS THE AIM OF FIAT?

To be at the service of Christ in transforming passive Christians into joyful, active Christians in a well balanced life: interiorly, through liturgical and sacramental participation and exteriorly, through joyful service. We call them FIAT INITIATIVES. Pray everyday for the joy of Jesus in carrying out His great design in us and through us. Sister Teresa once wrote "you can tell how much you love God, by the way you love your neighbor in need.

"WHAT IS NEEDED?

There are many who follow Jesus, but few who become true disciples opening themselves totally as Mary did to follow the Divine plan for the salvation of the whole world. Even among believers there is a lack of initiative in carrying out God's plan. In some there is also a cynicism and a skepticism that stifles all resolve and action to advance God's kingdom.

When serious problems arise few have the moral courage to tackle them and fewer still have the will to persevere in the work of redemption. Dorothy Day is quoted, "The early Christians started with the works of mercy - feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked...that all the works are within the reach of all is understood.

But that we should take part in some of them is a matter of duty imposed by the natural and Divine Law." She called it the duty of delight. Joy follows love and service.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Basically the problem is spiritual individualism. If you are alone in your spiritual life you are ineffective. God's plan was revealed to us through Jesus Christ, and the four words of Jesus are: Love, Pray, Go, Teach. We all need to realize our responsibilities to the community more fully. We know about love and prayer, but we are weak in our zeal to go forth and make God's kingdom known.

Religious faith must be brought to bear on all aspects of life: social, cultural, educational, recreational. Working alone achieves very little in spreading the joy of Christianity to one and all. The best intentions and the best efforts of isolated individuals will fail to achieve substantial, lasting effects.Fiat Spirituality is a powerful formula for achieving that animating principle so desperately needed in today's world.

It rests on the Christian doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ in all its details which includes the Divine Maternity of Mary and the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit, the very well-spring of Christ's life. Once understood and implemented this doctrine will provide the motivating power. We must see every person, in every place as part of Christ's body or potentially part of it.

FIAT SPIRITUALITY provides a vision and spiritual dynamism which will create a world force-harnessed to lift up the whole world to Christ, who is our joy and our strength.WHAT IS THE

ULTIMATE GOAL?

To bring everyone closer to Jesus, who came to fill us with his joy; to liberate us from fear and needless anxiety; to motivate us to be doers of the Word and not merely hearers; to help us experience God's love, and joyfully spread it around especially to those most in need. Our goal is to help others:

1) experience God's love and joy

2) to believe in an eternity of joy

3) to see that the Church exists only to help people attain joy, and come home to God's love for all eternity.

This can only be done by being faithful to the authentic massage of Jesus Christ.

HOW IS THIS ACCOMPLISHED?

Through FIAT cells or prayer groups which involve Mary's intercession. To bring forth Christ in this world we need both Mary and the Holy Spirit. In the past Mary has often been presented through exaggerations. But the secret of Mary's humble Fiat is a universal model for all Christian witnessing. It is the ideal Christian response to God's call.

WHAT IS A FIAT CELL?

1) It is a gathering of Christians, (between six and twelve in number, though in the beginning a minimum of three would suffice) who meet together once every week or two weeks to pray, to share and to report on their apostolic outreach during the past week. The meetings are to last about an hour and no more than an hour and a half.

2) Prayer - Catholics use the FIAT Rosary which opens with this prayer: "Most Holy Spirit - help us to relive in union with Mary, the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries of Jesus. Amen." Others may choose to pray in their own way. The group prays together with Mary before the Holy Spirit asking courage as did the first apostles in the Upper Room.

3) Sharing - The leader then reads a short passage from Scripture or from a spiritual book. Each person in turn comments on the word or line in the reading that touched him or her the most.

4) Song - All stand to sing a spiritual hymn.

5) Report - In the final part of the meeting each promoter reports on his or her apostolic activities performed since the last meeting. They might answer such questions as these:

How did you minister to others?

Did you mention the love of God, the love of Jesus at anytime?

What was the reaction?

How did you make Christ known and loved?

Did you experience joy in these activities?

Handmade FIAT Rosaries
by Deacon Karl

The FIAT rosary originated from a spiritual experience by Veronica O'Brien during the night between 7 and 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, in 1984. Here is the account she herself gave the following day to Cardinal Suenens:"During the night before the Nativity of Mary, I was saddened by the thought that although Mother's Day is becoming more and more popular and that the birthday of Mary, the Mother of all mothers, would not be celebrated in Christian homes.

In my prayers, I said to the Lord :"Jesus, tomorrow is the feast of the Nativity of your Mother. Every child in the world gives his mother a present for her birthday. What will you give your Mother, Jesus?'And suddenly, as a spiritual flash of light, I saw in my mind an image of a small, reduced rosary, and I thought I heard the Lord say to me: 'Here is my birthday present to my Mother; it will help her to make me known to the very ends of the earth. Make it known all over the world.' "

Madeleine Porter, a Religious Education Teacher and Director of Religious Education in Rhode Island since 1980, crafts handmade Fiat Rosaries at a remarkable price, around $3.00. Over two decades ago, Madeleine has introduced the FIAT Rosary to her CCD classes which became and continues to be a success with Catholic youth.

In cooperation with Father John Catoir, Madeleine adapted the FIAT Rosary to appeal to a youthful audience. These adaptations are spectacular, appealing not only to youth, but to adults as well.

I highly recommend and endorse Madeleine’s rosaries and her divinely inspired Apostolate. This is truly a family Rosary which will greatly appeal to your youth, as well as to yourself.

If we are not careful, the rosary will become a rare devotion in the generations to follow. We must find creative ways to appeal to our youth, who are the Church of tomorrow, to pray the rosary and carry on this marvelous devotion. Madeline’s program is certainly one inspired and creative way to introduce and engage our youth. Madeleine’s Apostolate is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the United States.

For more information and to obtain this special FIAT Rosary, please contact:Jim and Madeleine Porter387 Minerva AvenueCumberland, RI 02864(401-723-8803)fiatrosary@yahoo.com

Rejoice Always
by
Deacon Karl

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” Phil 4:4

Every third Sunday of Advent on Gaudete Sunday, we hear the above reading from Paul to rejoice always.

In the early 60’s, the Gaudete liturgy was remarkably brought to life. This was in the Cathedral of St Francis de Sales in Oakland California. The Bishop, a rather extraordinary man, was celebrating the liturgy on the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

The celebration began as usual. But, when it became time for the second reading, there was silence.

Then, suddenly from the choir loft of the Cathedral came a shout, rejoice!!! From the sacristy came another shout, rejoice!!! And then someone stuck their head out of a confessional and shouted, rejoice!!

After a few seconds, someone stood up in the midst of the church and said, “why”???

Then the three who had shouted “rejoice” formed a chorus and answered: the Lord is near, the Lord is near, the Lord is near.

And then the whole church beginning with the Archbishop, at his seat from the sanctuary, and all the way to the back of the jam-packed church, began a wave shouting: The Lord is near, the Lord is near, the Lord is near…

This was the beginning to Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

This liturgy was marvelous. Can you imagine an Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 60’s starting a wave in an Eucharistic celebration?

It was the Word of God come alive in a remarkable way.

Paul tells us to rejoice always. Not only when I feel like it, always; not only when life is good, always. How about when the world is crashing down all around me, always….

Some of us may be thinking that Paul’s message to “rejoice always” sounds fine, but apparently Paul did not have the problems I have. Let Paul try to “rejoice always” in the 21st century.

Doesn’t Paul realize that life is full of wrongs, there is sadness, there is grief, there are disappointments, bad things happen to good people.

My friends, it is true that Paul did not have the problems you or I have. But, he certainly had problems of his own.

As an Apostle, Paul was repeatedly imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. On five occasions Paul had his skin completely ripped off his back from lashings, he was beaten with rods three times, and he was stoned and left for dead once.

Paul was shipwrecked three times, was constantly harassed and ridiculed on his missionary trips, experienced hunger, thirst, sleepless nights, and homelessness. And eventually Paul would be executed.

When Paul wrote this epistle to the Philippians he was in Ephesus in a dark, stinking, damp, rat infested jail not knowing if he was to live or die.

Yet, do you know what the most common word is in this epistle? Joy. Sixteen times Paul says, be joyful, rejoice, share my joy, you are the sharers of my joy….

Why? Because the Lord is near. You are not alone. You do not have to go it by yourself!!

In this world, no one can be completely free of grief, sickness, or injustice. Jesus even suffered a terrible agony in the garden. Even though sufferings are a part of life, the Lord will never abandon us.

There is always grace!

Like Paul, you and I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire as mentioned by John the Baptist. The Greeks viewed this “fire” as a spark of divine life in a person. That is why they coined the word “enthusiasm” which means literally “God within the person.”

True Joy comes from an inner knowledge that God is living within you. Regardless what storms enter our lives; we do not have to allow or permit anything to rob us of Divine Joy.

We can rejoice in good times and bad times because the Holy Spirit is always with us.

The door to this level of true happiness only opens from the inside. You must open that door by becoming more aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and more open to use His graces.

Turn to the Holy Spirit, and ask for the grace to live in His happiness. Give yourself to God and God will do the rest.

Jesus’ wish for your life is for you to experience the fullness of His Joy.

On the night before He died Jesus said, “I have told you all these things, that my Joy may be in you and your Joy may be full”.

Pope John Paul II wrote, “Christ came to bring Joy; joy to children, joy to parents, joy to families and friends, joy to workers and scholars, joy to the sick and elderly, joy to all humanity.” This includes you!!!

Pope John Paul II also wrote, “Joy is the keynote message of Christianity, and the recurring motif of the Gospels….go therefore and become messengers of Joy.”

Christ came to bring Joy. As a child of God you have the right to experience supernatural joy. Claim Jesus’ Joy so your joy may be full.

The Kingdom of God is in desperate need of joyful Christians. God’s Divine Joy in this world is dimming. Together, we must be instruments to bring God’s Joy to those around us.

Let us rejoice always and be messengers of joy.

FIAT Spirituality USA