Our ideas about prayer often keep us from recognizing it as more than something we do. At heart, prayer is better understood as something that overtakes and envelopes us—not unlike our experience of love. In the celebration of the Mass, our longing for God is answered by the self-gift of God in the Eucharist. This makes the Mass the highest and most perfect prayer.

In the Bible, God’s people demonstrate their longing for God in praise, thanksgiving, intercession, and blessing. These forms of prayer are present in the Mass. In fact, the word Eucharist means “thanksgiving,” and the central part of the Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer, is one of thanks and praise. We offer “asking” prayers at the time of the General Intercessions but we also pray for the living and the dead during the Eucharistic Prayer. In addition, we pray penitentially for our common sinfulness at the start of Mass and receive a blessing at the end. Catholics begin and end prayer with the Sign of the Cross, and the Mass begins and ends with this sign of blessing.

It would be a misperception to view the Mass as prayer only in the sense that it’s full of prayers. The entire liturgy is a “sacrifice of praise” offered in the gift of our time, presence, and mindfulness. (A friend of mine notes that her praying begins on the way to church, as she hopes for a parking place!)

Liturgy means “public work”: It’s the prayer we offer together as the community of faith. It is also the source of all personal prayer, contemplation, and meditation. Our public prayer includes readings from our most sacred books: the Hebrew Law, prophets, and writings as well as the gospels and letters of the early church. The readings are followed by an exhortation known as the homily. Although “the talk in the middle” can seem like a break in the action, it should fit seamlessly with the rest. The homily helps us contemplate the relationship between God’s story and ours as we move to consummate that relationship in the Eucharist.

Scripture
• Exodus 15:1-18; Psalms 8, 19, 100; Luke 1:46-55; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 14:26; Ephesians 1:12; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:9: Revelation 19:1-10

Online resource
• “Praying the Mass” by Father John A. Hardon, S.J.

Books
• The Mass: An Invitation to Enjoy It by Amy Florian (ACTA Publications, 2003)
• Eucharist by Robert Barron (Orbis Books, 2008)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Church social teaching emphasizes respect for the dignity of every person. For this reason Catholics are obliged to consider the common good in their decision-making. I don’t make decisions based solely on what’s best for me, but what’s best for the human family. “The common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1906). If that sounds like a huge responsibility, then you’re hearing it right.

Advancing the common good in the modern world involves five principles: defending the sanctity of human life; strengthening families; providing for the disadvantaged; welcoming the immigrant; and protecting the environment. Sometimes these principles seem to collide: What do we do when what’s good for one threatens the interests of another?

The most serious moral imperative is always to protect the basic right to life, which makes direct assaults on life and human dignity unjustifiable under any conditions. These assaults include but are not exhausted by abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, genocide, torture, racism, unjust war, inhumane genetics, exploitation of creation.

Other Catholic goals less familiarly chanted include providing assistance to families raising children, especially by ensuring access to quality education and healthcare, guaranteeing living wages, addressing hunger, encouraging debt relief, ending discrimination, promoting religious freedom, pursuing peace, and caring for creation as a whole. If we really are a “human family,” then taking care of the family should be our highest concern.

Scripture
• Deuteronomy 24:17-22; Jeremiah 22:1-5, 13-17; Zechariah 7:9-14; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 4:16-21; 10:25-37; John 13:34-35; James 2:14-17

Online resources
• Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, 1993
• “Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

When you join a religious order, you make a life commitment to become part of a community. That means that the mission and life of the community become your primary way of living for and with God. What you actually do (your job, or ministry, or career) is “filtered” through this life commitment, just as when you marry, your significant decisions (and even insignificant ones!) are considered with your spouse and in light of your relationship.

So when thinking about what you might do as a religious priest, sister, nun, or brother, you must take into consideration not only your own gifts, talents, and passion but also what is good for your community. You need input from other members of the community to get a sense of the common good and how a job possibility or career path might further the community’s mission. In doing this kind of discernment (both personal and communal) you are also tending to what is good for you, too.

That’s the long way of saying that if you are looking into an active community, then yes, you can have a job or career. If you are looking into a contemplative community, then your primary ministry is going to be prayer.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The testimony of eyewitnesses, not necessarily apostles, was valued in compiling the Christian record. It becomes tricky, though, because New Testament materials weren't definitively selected until the 4th century. That's a long way from the generation of eyewitnesses and required sifting through hearsay, because many texts were not initially attributed to anyone. Authorship, therefore, was not as important as authority. Who wrote the testimony wasn't as critical as who was discerned as the original source.

Take Mark. His name didn't appear in the gospel later attributed to him. And who is "Mark" anyway? Not one of the 12 apostles. Paul had a companion John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and several letters. Another Mark is described as close to Peter in the First Letter of Peter. It's possible this is the same person, in which case his testimony derives from an eyewitness and another early source.

Matthew's gospel followed, employing Mark heavily (55 percent of Matthew comes from Mark) and sharing another unknown source (25 percent) with Luke. But who combined these sources with additional material for the final version is uncertain. The apostle Matthew, a.k.a Levi the tax collector, is unlikely. Why would an apostle copy from a non-eyewitness rather than write from memory? Also, this gospel is quite rabbinical in style. A former rabbi or scribe was most likely the final compiler. He may have taken the unique material (20 percent) from sayings attributed to the apostle Matthew.

Luke borrowed from Mark (over 40 percent) and shared material with Matthew. But 35 percent of Luke came from somewhere else. The biblical Luke was a Syrian physician converted by Paul, so at best his story comes to us thirdhand. Even Paul was not a first-generation apostle. Scholars are divided as to whether this Luke was responsible for both Luke and Acts; the arguments are intriguing either way.

Few would attribute the last gospel directly to John, son of Zebedee. It was written very late in the 1st century, when the apostles might be presumed dead. Its authorship could be traced to a community taught by the apostle, or by another well-known Christian teacher named John in Asia Minor at the same time. Many scholars attribute the gospel and letters of John to a group rather than an individual. Ninety percent of this material is unique to the fourth gospel.

Scripture
• Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1-4; John 21:20-25; Acts 1:1-2; Acts 12:12; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; 1 Peter 5:13

Online resource
• “Who really wrote the gospels, and why should we care?” by Felix Just, S.J.

Books
• Four Portraits of Jesus: Studies in the Gospels and Their Old Testament Background by Elizabeth E. Platt (Paulist Press, 2004)
• The What Are They Saying About . . . series: WATSA Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John by various authors (Paulist Press)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

It is possible for a person who has converted to Catholicism to become a religious sister or brother. Many converts to Catholicism are from other Christian traditions but they may also be from other religious traditions or no tradition at all. It can take a year or several years for a person to learn about the Catholic faith and become a full member of the Catholic Church.

Typically religious communities require that a convert be Catholic for at least two years before they can formally seek entrance. That gives the person who converted time and space to live the Catholic faith in “ordinary time”—that is, everyday life with all its ups and downs and in betweens.

During the time that one is preparing to become a Catholic, usually a process that follows the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a person can certainly explore religious life and learn about sisters and brothers and their mission and way of life. It’s important, however, to tend to the calling to become Catholic, because that is its own calling from God.

When a person and a religious community are ready to begin a formal discernment with one another, there is nothing that is really different between a convert’s experience and a lifelong Catholic’s experience. It is important in so far as it is a significant landmark on our spiritual journey, and for each of us those landmarks will be different or have different meanings attached to them. And if there are areas that a new member needs more study or training in—be it Catholic theology, or pastoral care, or professional skills—the community may encourage them to pursue those.

These are good things to talk about with your spiritual director or vocation director who can help you integrate your calling to the Catholic faith with a calling to religious life or any other form of consecrated life as a Catholic person.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Original sin is not so-named in the biblical Creation story, which describes the event mythically. Obviously it’s not only about eating a piece of fruit. Rather, Genesis presents the universal experience of free choice exercised without wisdom. For God’s creatures, the wise choice is made in the direction of God’s will, ordered toward life and happiness. Only the foolish choose in deliberate opposition to God, a direction leading invariably to sorrow and death.

Although original sin seems to refer exclusively to “the first sin ever committed,” more profoundly it identifies the origin of sin as well. From what aspect of human nature does sin arise? Pride is often fingered as “the mother of all sins.” It’s the Frank Sinatra Complex: “I did it my way!” Another good description of the source of sin is disobedience, because “obedience” is rooted in the Latin word for "listening." Tune out God, the source of truth, and don’t be surprised when you’re lost in a forest of lies. As the saying goes, I’d turn back if I were you.

Lust gets tapped as the root of sin because our sexuality is such a basic, instinctual part of us that, to many ages of thinkers, that alone made it suspect. A better theological word for this idea is concupiscence, because desire tugs at us in more ways than only the sexual. Shorthand for concupiscence is “the sin of more.” No matter what we have—money, possessions, success, pleasure, leisure—it’s never enough. It’s that feeling we get after having a fantastic slice of pie that makes us reach for another—even though we’re already full. We just want to hit that sweet spot again.

That probably led the Christian writer C. S. Lewis to say, OK, maybe it really is about that piece of fruit, in his wonderful sci-fi novel Perelandra. Humanity gets a second shot at a new and sinless planet. Then an earthling tastes an amazing fruit, is completely delighted and satisfied—and immediately wants another. What part of “perfect experience” didn’t he understand?

Saint Augustine of Hippo is often cited as the inventor of the doctrine of original sin in the 4th century. The idea certainly had predecessors, but Augustine gave us the first thorough examination of conscience in his Confessions. He also gave us the prayer that helps us to appreciate why human nature is so greedy for more: “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

Scripture
• Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Wisdom 2:24; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-28

Online resources
• Saint Augustine on the Fall, from the City of God.
• “Sex, Sin, and Salvation: What Augustine Really Said,” lecture by David G. Hunter, Ph.D.

Books
• Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings by Tatha Wiley (Paulist Press, 2002)
• Evolution and Eden: Balancing Original Sin and Contemporary Science by Jerry D. Korsmeyer (Paulist Press, 1998)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

If I had to identify one church question most vital to address in the 21st century, it would be this one. Today we inhabit a global community that is drawing ever-more closely together. It’s like the world got shrink-wrapped in a single generation and we’re all breathing the same remarkably limited and interdependent air now.

Theologians at the Second Vatican Council saw this new reality on the horizon and recognized that the church had to reexamine and clarify its interfaith stance. In the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate, 1965) it formally opened the issue to further exploration.

Note: A “declaration” isn’t the same thing as a “dogmatic constitution,” of which the same Council produced a few. Constitutions are fairly finished documents, not to be tampered with in their essence. Declarations blaze a trail, or at least mark the trailhead, but welcome refinement and progress.

Nostra Aetate, while not a perfect document, had some remarkable things to say. It asserts unequivocally that humanity is one community with a common destiny in God. People turn to different religions in search of the same answers to questions as fundamental as: What is the purpose of life? What is good and evil? Where does suffering come from and what is its meaning? What leads to happiness? What lies beyond death?

Then the document makes its boldest claim: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions” (no. 2). While Christians are bound to witness to “Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6),” we should also “acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians.”

It lists, for starters, that Hindus seek the divine mystery in myth and philosophy, and practice asceticism, meditation, and confidence in God’s love. Buddhists testify to the inadequacies of the material world and that wisdom must be sought through liberation from the trap of possessions. Muslims worship the one God, see in Abraham a spiritual father, and regard Jesus as a holy man and Mary as a source of intercession. Muslims adhere to familiar practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Our shared spiritual heritage with the Jewish community is so intimate that it has spawned many additional teachings since Vatican II. Pope John Paul II called Judaism “the elder brother” of Christianity. Stay tuned as the interfaith dialogue continues!

Scripture
Isaiah 66:23; John 14:6; Acts 17:26; Romans 9:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Galatians 3:7-9; Revelation 21:24

Online resources
• Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate) (October 28, 1965)
• What the Catholic Church Has Learnt from Interreligious Dialogue by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, M. Afr. (2006)

Books
• The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope and Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims by Joan Chittister, Saadi Shakur Chishti, and Arthur Waskow (Beacon Press, 2006)
• One Earth, Many Religions by Paul F. Knitter (Orbis Books, 1995)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The Sacrament of Penance, popularly called "confession" and recently redubbed the "Rite of Reconciliation," seems to have undergone a sea change in the last generation. But the difference is form, not substance. The name "Penance" focuses on what we must do to reform our lives. "Confession" emphasizes the need to be honest about what makes such change necessary. "Reconciliation" underscores the purpose of the sacrament: to restore our friendship with God. All of these names point to the same sacramental episode, but they highlight different chapters of it, we might say.

Here are the "Five C’s" of the Rite of Reconciliation as described by Father Paul Boudreau: Conviction, Confession, Contrition, Compensation, and Correction. These steps haven’t changed no matter what you call them. The first is Conviction: I admit I've done wrong. That’s covered in the opening line of the Rite: "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." You can use this formula or another suitable expression of owning the truth. Confession is how I hand over the actual matter of my responsibility: What did I do or fail to do that puts me at odds with God, others, or myself?

Contrition is next. Reciting an Act of Contrition is a time-honored way of expressing "a lively sorrow" for sin in your life. If you don't know this prayer by heart you can find it in any collection of Catholic prayers (see link below) and read it aloud at this time. Or express your regret in your own words. As you express contrition the priest offers the formula of absolution the church prescribes.

Compensation is where the priest "gives you a penance." If you stole something, you have to return it. If the offense is less tangible, you may be asked to spend time in prayer or in other ways demonstrate your good will.

Finally there's the matter of Correction. In the Act of Contrition we pray: "I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin." With God's help we're not going to repeat this behavior. To strengthen this resolve we're going to avoid places, people, and patterns that initiated this behavior in the past. These steps to restoration are valid not only in the rites of the church but in any relationship where reconciliation is needed.

Scripture
Matthew 26:27-28; Luke 1:76-79; 3:3; 5:20-24, 30-32; 6:37; 7:36-50; 15:1-32; 23:34; 24:46-47

Online resources
• Acts of Contrition
• Reconciliation and Penance, Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II 

Books
• The Forgiveness Book: A Catholic Approach by Paul Boudreau and Alice Camille (ACTA, 2008)
• Premeditated Mercy: A Spirituality of Reconciliation by Joseph Nassal (Forest of Peace/Ave Maria Press, 2000)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Discerning a vocation can be like the old adage: A watched pot never boils. I know that to be true. During my discernment when I was trying to figure out how God was calling me, I felt as if I would never get to the point of knowing for sure that God was calling me, let alone exactly to what that call was. I had some helps along the way—a spiritual director, supportive friends, and an inquisitive mind that always kept me asking questions of myself and of God. Though I felt as if I were getting nowhere, I realized later that the more I consciously tended to God and sorted through my life with all its hopes and dreams and struggles, the more I was growing into my calling. All of a sudden, so it seemed, the pot was boiling. I wasn’t exactly sure how I got there, but I felt ready to take a step towards what God was calling me.

The process was both an active one and one of simply living life. In terms of an active process I was conscious that I wanted my life to be more oriented around God. And I realized I didn’t have to wait for God to send me a big sign in the sky to act on that. The first step for me was to be more faithful to prayer. That meant praying each day and also learning about different ways to pray. I was attracted to praying with the psalms and also to silent prayer, so I tried them. I also began seeing a spiritual director, someone who could walk with me on my spiritual journey and help me to see the ways God was moving in my life. I began reading more of the saints (Saint Teresa of Avila in particular) and also, when I was finally willing to admit I might be attracted to religious life, to get to know sisters around me. I went on retreat and I tried to make concrete in my daily life the gospel that I was committed to following.

In the midst of taking these kinds of concrete steps I also kept living my life. While the discernment part of things was a real struggle for me, I was free in my “normal” life to just be. I was a grad student, so I was studying, hanging out with friends, working, and enjoying life. Over time I began to feel shifts within my own self, shifts toward feeling more like myself, feeling more alive than ever. My friends started noticing that, too. By being intentional about my discernment and also integrating it with my everyday life, I found that I had already been living into the calling that God was nudging me toward.

If you are wondering if God is nudging you in a particular direction, I encourage you to explore your life and faith and to pick up a few discernment tools. There are lots of articles dealing with discernment and prayer on this website. Look into spiritual direction and find a saint or spiritual book that speaks to you. Take action to practice and grow the values you wish to reflect in your life. And along the way trust in the God who has known you your whole life and is with you every step of your journey.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Your basic church takes its cue from the Greek origins of the word assembly and also the phrase "belonging to the Lord." If a building is consecrated to assemble the faithful for worship (those also known collectively as the church), and if the building is therefore a "house of God," then it's a church.

A cathedral, by contrast, is the particular church in which the bishop presides over worship and, by extension, over the diocese at large. Historically, cathedrals were grand works of art that took centuries to build: Those who began the construction rarely saw its completion. The cathedrals of Europe were vibrant centers of urban life and learning. Cathedrals tended to be larger than the average church, although the trend toward mega-churches in parts of the United States today have made some local cathedrals seem diminutive by comparison.

Basilicas were originally official buildings of the Roman Empire; the Greek word means "king's hall." When Christians acquired these buildings they were appropriated for Christ the King. These historical structures include four major basilicas of Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, St. Paul's Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major.

One might imagine there could be no such thing as a modern basilica by definition. But minor basilicas continue to be named according to a church's historical significance for a particular region. At present more than 1,500 basilicas encircle the globe, with four countries—Italy, France, Poland, and Spain—garnering over 100 each. Five cities enjoy more than ten basilicas, including Rome, Buenos Aires, and Krakow. Jerusalem and Paris each have five. The U.S. has 65 basilicas, including the Cathedral of St. Augustine, Florida, where the first American Catholic parish was founded; Mission Dolores in San Francisco; Sacred Heart Basilica on the campus of the University of Notre Dame; and the Baltimore cathedral.

If churches are intended to gather all the faithful to worship, chapels (sometimes called oratories) serve more specific populations. Folks stuck in airports appreciate the terminal chapel; prisons, hospitals, schools, convents, and religious houses also have chapels for their communities. Each bishop has the right to an oratory in his residence. In addition, some churches have a smaller chapel attached for daily use.

Scripture
Exodus 3:4-5; Isaiah 56:6-8; Psalms 24, 42, 84, 95, 100, 122, 133; Mark 11:15-17

Online resource
Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Books
Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley by Richard Kieckhefer (Oxford University Press, 2008)
How to Read a Church: A Guide to Symbols and Images in Churches and Cathedrals by Richard Taylor (HiddenSpring, 2005)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Formally known as the Way of the Cross, but popularly called the Stations, this devotion emerged not from scripture but from the practice of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Since the time of Constantine, pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem to walk the Via Dolorosa ("Way of Sorrow") from Pilate's house to Golgotha, meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus. Depending on your guide this journey could include 18, 25, or as many as 37 different stops or "stations" of meditation.

For various reasons—distance, expense, and shifting political landscapes among them—it wasn't always possible for people to get to Israel. Yet the grace available in "taking up the cross" with Jesus was deemed valuable enough to seek a way to make this pilgrimage locally accessible to the faithful of Europe.

That led the Franciscans, in whose stewardship the holy sites of Jerusalem were entrusted, to franchise the Via Dolorosa in first one then several sites in Europe. "The Seven Falls of Jesus" consolidated this early Way of the Cross, three of which are preserved in our current Fourteen Stations. (Four of the meetings along the way—with Jesus' Mother, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the Holy Women of Jerusalem—are considered remnants of the other Falls once observed.)

By the 16th century papal support for this devotion increased the demand for Stations in monasteries, convents, and churches. They became so popular that it would be hard to find a church, chapel, or oratory today that doesn't have the Way of the Cross erected within its walls or on its grounds in the open air. Fourteen Stations became established as the standard by the 18th century, and the Stabat Mater hymn (At the Cross Her Station Keeping) has become the traditional song for public devotions.

While images of each event often accompany the Stations, they are not required. The actual Station is represented by the cross itself, to be made of wood. The image may be fashioned of any material. Some artists have added a 15th Station of the Resurrection to create theological balance; others have rewritten the Stations to represent only scripturally based events. This devotion remains a vibrant way to embrace the spirit of pilgrimage and to contemplate how to "take up the cross" where we live.

Scripture
See the Passion accounts in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18-19

Online resource
www.usccb.org/nab/stations.htm (alternative Stations prayed by Pope John Paul II)

Books
The New Stations of the Cross: The Way of the Cross According to Scripture by Megan McKenna (Image Books, 2003)
Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross by Henri J. M. Nouwen (Orbis Books, 1990)
The Way of the Cross with the Women of the Gospels by Sister Ruth Fox, O.S.B. (Liturgy Training Publications)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Sooner or later thoughtful people will ask this question. The Old Testament, or Hebrew scriptures, can be viewed as the spiritual history of the human race. After the first ten chapters of the Book of Genesis, this history focuses specifically on one community, the people Israel.

We follow their story through good times and bad, when they prove faithful and especially as they are spectacularly unfaithful to their destiny as the people of God. The story includes families that fail to love one another; leaders who lead their people into hellish circumstances; prophets who speak for God in an attempt to avert catastrophe; wise ones who teach the truth; and brave ones who do what's right despite the cost. In other words, it's a familiar story that recurs in every generation.

The New Testament, or Christian scriptures, can't be appreciated apart from this earlier saga. For example, Isaiah foretells the birth of a Prince of Peace; the gospels announce the birth of Jesus. Symbols or types contained in the Old are re-presented in the New (the Ark of the Covenant reveals and conceals the Divine Presence in precious materials; Mary of Nazareth bears the Son of God in her own body).

Perhaps the most compelling illustration of how the Testaments fit together is the relationship between the Creation story in Genesis and the opening of the Gospel of John. "In the beginning . . . God created the heavens and the earth," Genesis intones. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," John declares.

In both of these beginnings a world springs to life as a result of the Divine Word. In each instance God's Word assumes material form and roams about. In Genesis the glorious beginning winds up in tragic defeat as humanity falls into sin and becomes vulnerable to suffering and death. In John the rather humble beginnings of God's-Word-among-us lead to triumphant reversals: Sin is defeated and death loses its sting in redemption.

Throughout the twin stories of the Testaments we hear about God's mercy and love and the constant striving of God to rescue us from our self-inflicted misery. As the rabbis say, the whole Bible can be boiled down to four words: We sin. God saves. Those last two words transform our history into the history of salvation.

Scripture
Isaiah 9:6-7 and Luke 2:1-14; Exodus 37:1-9 and Revelation 12:1-5; Genesis 1:1-31 and John 1:1-14

Online resource
The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible by the Pontifical Biblical Commission

Books
Invitation to the Old Testament and Invitation to the New Testament by Alice Camille (ACTA Publications, 2004)
Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know by Timothy Beal (HarperOne, 2009)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

While many religious communities did choose to modify their habit and many of these, with the approval of the church, eventually stopped wearing the traditional habit, others did indeed continue wearing habits. Some of these communities are active religious sisters and some are cloistered contemplative nuns.

Because each community is uniquely called by God, how they chooose to dress depends on their particular ministries, customs, and way of life. For some communities a recognizable uniform worn regularly (a habit) is not essential to their life and mission, while for others it is. A sister or nun can serve God fully and authentically in her prayer and ministry regardless of what she wears.

Taking a religious name is not a matter of whether or not one is a sister or a nun but rather of the customs of a particular community. Some communities of sisters and of nuns have the custom of using one’s baptismal name, and others the custom of taking a religious name.

The changes in customs that have taken place most noticeably since Vatican II were never made lightly but were the results of much prayer and discernment. Religious sisters and contemplative nuns are called first to faithfulness to God, even if that means that a much-loved custom no longer benefits that particular community’s God-given mission.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The poet William Stafford wrote about the spirit of reverence in which he describes this human imperative: "A great event is coming, bow down." He reflects, "And I, always looking for something anyway, / always bow down" (Things That Happen, 1970). Folks like Stafford with a highly cultivated sense of reverence know there's never a wrong time to bow, because every moment is a miracle. But it's also good to know what folks may be bowing to as they maneuver around the sacred space of Catholic churches.

First and foremost there's the altar, officially called the Table of the Lord. Because Catholic worship is centered on the celebration of the Eucharist, this table is the most important piece of furniture in the church. When entering a church it's appropriate to make a bow of the head and shoulders toward the altar. That is an act of faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The bow itself is an ancient symbol of surrender to a higher authority: baring the back of the neck made you vulnerable to the person before whom you subjected yourself. Bowing toward the altar whenever you cross in front of it is proper. (But if you're cleaning or decorating the church or otherwise crossing frequently, the protocol is naturally suspended.)

Later in church history it became common to reserve some part of the Eucharist in a receptacle known as the tabernacle. The tabernacle is placed variously around churches, from directly above the altar (from the days when the altar was against the wall of the sanctuary) to the present practice of reserving the Eucharist at the side of the sanctuary space or sometimes in a separate chapel entirely.

Because the tabernacle contains the consecrated Body of Christ, it—like the Table of the Lord—are reverenced with a bow or even a genuflection (going down on one knee and making the Sign of the Cross over yourself). When the tabernacle is in line with the altar or shares the same sanctuary space, it is not necessary to reverence both. The proper bow is always primarily toward the Table of the Lord. Of course you'll see folks bow toward images of Jesus, his mother Mary, favorite saints, or the cross. These are devotional gestures and not obligatory. Inside the church reverencing the altar is sufficient.

Scripture
Exodus 3:4-6; Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; Psalm 86:9; Revelation 4:6-11

Books
Stories That Could Be True: New and Collected Poems by William Stafford (Harper & Row, 1982)
The Spiritual Life: Recognizing the Holy by Robert Fabing (Paulist Press, 2004)
The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life by Paula Huston (Loyola Press, 2003)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

I am over 50 years old and feel called to religious life, but most communities do not seem to accept older candidates. What should I do?

It can be tough to respond to a calling from God when one keeps running into obstacles in pursuing that calling. It's especially important to stay close to God during this time and if possible stay connected to a spiritual director.

You are not alone in being over 50 and sensing a calling to a form of consecrated life. We regularly receive requests for information here at VISION and on aNunsLife.org and have looked for dioceses and religious communities that are open to folks over the age of 50. There are not many because of the expectation that a person be in good overall health and capable of participating fully in the mission and ministry of the lifestyle, whether ordained or religious life.

In general I have found that contemplative religious communities are more open to older candidates, and for men that may include the possibility of ordination. Vocation directors, however, are becoming more aware of the growing group of people over 50 who are called to some form of consecrated life. Although there is little precedent in our current forms, the church does have a form of life called the Order of Widows that could be renewed and revitalized for older women and men.

For you, now, I encourage you to go more deeply into God's calling to you with a spiritual director. Also, spend time with others who are sensing a similar calling..

Trust that God does in fact have something in mind for you, even if at this time you keep bumping into obstacles. I will be praying with you and will continue to keep an eye out for possibilities for you.

Communities that accept older vocations.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The good news is that you don't need to convert back. Technically speaking you're still Roman Catholic. Having remained within the Christian framework these past 20 years, you haven't denounced your baptism or anything grave like that. So anytime you're ready, the Catholic Church is open to you.

It's recommended for anyone who's been away from the church for any reason, especially for many years, that you approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation before returning to full participation in the Eucharist (you may have called it Penance or Confession 20 years ago, but it's generally known as Reconciliation now).

Most parishes still have "confessions" on Saturday afternoons, but in your case you may want to call the local church and make an appointment with a priest at a time of mutual convenience. That will give you the time you need to really talk things through. Directness is the best policy here. Tell the priest you've been attending your husband's church and would like to "come home" to your own tradition. This would be a great opportunity to explore with him what your needs are in regard to religious practice.

Some larger parishes have regular support groups for Catholics who've been away to help catch you up on what may be new in church practice. These groups are variously known as Landings, Catholics Coming Home, or Re-Membering Church, among others. It can be enormously comforting not to feel alone as you resume your place in the Catholic assembly.

If your local Catholic parish doesn't have such a group, you may want to read one of the books below as you find your way. Also, if you're in an urban area, you might want to go on a "parish quest" and try sitting through a few Sunday Masses in various Catholic churches. You're coming from a "high church" Orthodox experience, and in the Roman tradition we've got everything from formal cathedral liturgies to guitar Masses. Maybe something in the middle of the road will suit you better at this time (or maybe what you're looking for is a let-your-hair-down celebration!). Either way, welcome back. Our prayers are with you as you settle in.

Scripture
Romans 1:9-12; 8:28-39; 10:8-13; 11:29; 15:7

Books
Catholics Can Come Home Again! A Guide for the Journey of Reconciliation with Inactive Catholics by Carrie Kemp (Paulist Press, 2001)
A Faith Interrupted: An Honest Conversation with Alienated Catholics by Alice Camille and Joel Schorn (Loyola Press, 2004)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

If all the priest does is "talk" after the readings, we're in big trouble! Regrettably, there will always be clergy who are less gifted or improperly prepared for the task of proclamation. The result is yammering, which leads to boredom, impatience, and questions like this one from the assembly, I'm afraid. So let's get the terms right. The priest (or deacon) is not supposed to talk, give a speech, teach, or even offer a sermon at this time in the Mass. What we're supposed to hear is a homily.

So the question we're really asking is: What's a homily and why do we have one? The word is rooted in the ancient word for "conversation." A homily isn't merely a conversation between the preacher and us but between the scripture we've just heard and the world we live in. Think of it as a call-and-response, like others we hear at Mass. For example, when the priest says, "The Lord be with you!" we reply, "and also with you!" If the Lord isn't with somebody when the call goes out, the conversation stops right there. The call must find its response or there's no real communication.

In the same way the scripture passages proclaimed at Mass (not simply "read," if your local lectors are doing their job) are best understood as a call awaiting our response. God's word is alive, the Bible says. But not alive on the page—it's alive in those who hear the word of God and keep it! It takes some reflection, of course, for us to appreciate how to live out the word we hear proclaimed each week. So that's where the homilist comes in. It's the job of the one who gives the homily to build a bridge between the ancient word of God and the modern world in which we live and move and have our being.

While a sermon can be a moral teaching on any issue of the preacher's choosing, the homilist must remain anchored to the readings, which are preselected for each week of the church year in a book called the lectionary. That can be challenging, but it does ensure that we hear from a wide range of scripture passages each year—not simply the preacher's particular themes of interest or expertise. The homiletic method means both homilist and assembly must grow together as we participate in the conversation God is having with us today.

Scripture
Nehemiah 8:1-12; Luke 4:16-21; 11:27-28; Acts 17:28; Hebrew 4:12

Online resource
Fulfilled in Your Hearing: The Homily in the Sunday Assembly from the U.S. Catholic bishops

Books
Once Upon a Gospel: Inspiring Homilies and Insightful Reflections by William J. Bausch (Twenty-Third Publications, 2008)
The Practical Preacher: Handy Hints for Hesitant Homilists by Paul Edwards (Liturgical Press, 1994)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

I was married and am now divorced. I recently decided to become a Catholic. Because my marriage wasn't in the church, can I still be a nun? I want to see if this course is right for me. Where can I start?

The process of becoming a Catholic and of working with a tribunal can take some time. In addition, the church generally requires a waiting time (e.g., 2 years) before entering religious life for persons who are converts to the Catholic faith. The journey of becoming a nun can take minimally 5 years.

At this point I would begin by talking with the folks at your parish. Second, it is important that you get to know what being a nun is really like. Each religious community (e.g., Dominican, Loretto, Franciscan) is like a family and as such has its own unique way of expressing and living its mission. Some nuns and sisters live a more contemplative, cloistered life while others live a more active life in ministry. Both kinds of life are rooted in prayer and living the gospel. It's important to spend time seeing what you are attracted to and what God may be calling you to. I've got a number of suggestions on how to get started becoming a Catholic nun on my website. Spend time especially with the suggestions around prayer and getting to know sisters. Your parish will be able to help you locate religious communities in your area.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

We've got a lot of big words in our religious vocabulary. Each one is quite specific in the territory it covers. Catechesis is basically religious education. It's rooted in the Greek word for "echo," and its intent is to nurture the Christian life through imitation in word and deed. Obviously catechesis involves learning the "faith facts" that enable us to speak meaningfully about what we believe.

But catechesis is not only about transferring information from one generation of the church to the next. We need to echo the faith of our mothers and fathers in a spirit that is awakened, nourished, and developed. That is why we've heard so much in recent years about "whole community catechesis" and "adult faith formation." Religious ed isn't only for children anymore, and it goes far beyond religion class and sacramental preparation. Catechesis is a lifelong process that seeks to deepen the echo of faith so that it reverberates through every corridor of our lives, relationships, and decision-making.

Catechesis is important, but it can't go anywhere without the work of evangelization.This word also has Greek origins and means "proclaiming good news." Where Christianity is concerned, that good news of God's reign is contained in the gospel. We should recall that, just as catechesis doesn't mean memorizing rote facts about faith, evangelization isn't the same as shouting scripture verses to passersby in hopes that the gospel will "take" in their hearts. We can think of evangelization as creating the spark that ignites the fire and catechesis as the work of tending the flame once it's established.

Regretfully, some folks who practice religion their whole lives long were never properly evangelized and so their faith remains unenlivened and burdensome, all obligation and very little illumination. In the same way it's possible to really hear the good news of Jesus and believe it—but lack the follow-up of catechesis and so remain like spiritual children, immature in understanding. When they work hand in hand, however, evangelization and catechesis can make saints out of us, bringing us to faith and then to holiness, inch by inch.

Scripture
Luke 1:1-4; 4:16-21; John 1:1-18; 3:16-21; Romans 10:6-15; James 2:14-18; 1 John 1:1-4; 2:12-17

Online resources
Article from VISION magazine: "Ten great things about being Catholic" by Alice Camille
Pope Paul VI's Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi)

Books
Days of Deepening Friendship: For the Woman Who Wants Authentic Life with God by Vinita Hampton Wright (Loyola Press, 2009)
God for Grownups by Virginia Smith (Thomas More, 2002)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

For everybody who didn't get the memo: Biblical authorship is tricky. It can't compare to contemporary authorship, defined against forgery and plagiarism—and in favor of copyrights and royalties. Scripture writers didn't claim rights over their work. They didn't seek fame or a livelihood for their efforts. Ancient writers sought to establish the mantle of authority, rather than authorship, for what they set down. So they often wrote under the auspices of existing schools of thought. To the ancients that was not skullduggery; that was how it was done. The contemporary filmmaker who pays "homage" to earlier directors that contributed to his or her vision is invoking a similar liberty.

In the Old Testament, scholars presume four schools of writers contributed to the five books of the Bible commonly known as the "Law of Moses." The authority of Moses is invoked, but even the rabbis don't hold that Moses penned Genesis through Deuteronomy. In the same way, three generations are believed to have contributed to the Book of Isaiah—one being the 8th-century B.C. prophet himself, whose scroll was extended by later students and admirers. Many Hebrew texts were added to or edited by later compilers in this way. But it's in the New Testament that authorship gets really interesting.

Saint Paul was the first contributor to what would be known one day as the New Testament. He wrote a generation before there were gospels, so his early witness to Christian beliefs and practices is quite valuable. Most Catholic and many Protestant scholars hold at least seven of the 14 letters attributed to Paul to be authentically his: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Romans, and Philemon. If you read them in that order, you get the style, personality, theology, and viewpoint of a single unique letter-writer.

Three other letters are routinely classified as Deutero-Pauline. This means they reflect Paul's ideas but also reveal another hand, perhaps a student of his. The Deutero-Pauline letters are: 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Three more letters are hotly debated but widely regarded as non-Pauline. These are the so-called Pastoral Letters: Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy. A 14th letter once credited to Paul, Hebrews, is now universally regarded as by another author.

Truth is truth, no matter who says it. Because the authorship of Paul's letters was debated even by the church fathers, who nonetheless put them in the Bible, we might honor their assessment that the words are God-inspired, even if their author sometimes remains a mystery.

Scripture
The Pauline letters are best read chronologically: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Romans, Philemon, 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, Titus, and 1 and 2 Timothy. Read the Acts of the Apostles for background.

Online resource
A historical introduction to the Pauline Epistles

Books
How to Read the Bible by Richard Holloway (W.W. Norton & Company, 2007)
Paul the Letter-Writer by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, O.P. (Liturgical Press, 1995)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.