St. John Chrysostom – Patron of the Agora

Again, leave it to the Holy Father to continually insist that the Church’s rightful place is precisely in its dialogue with the culture and its milieu.

Writing a letter commemorating the 16th Centenary of the death of St. John Chrisostom, Benedict XVI presents the Church with a model of apostolic zeal and charity, coupled with unwavering orthodoxy and a commitment to intra-Christian reconciliation.

The opening salvo:

John Chrysostom is distinguished in the ancient Church for having promoted that ‘fruitful encounter between the Christian message and Hellenic culture’ which ‘made a lasting impact on both Eastern and Western Churches.’

Reminding the whole Church that ’social justice’ homilies are not just an artifact of the 1960s, B16 tells us that Chrystostom dedicated the whole of his Lenten preaching in 387 AD to the role of Christians in society:

In order to build a more just city, he urged the wealthy among the faithful to practice charity toward the poor, while he counselled that those advanced in learning should serve as teachers, and that all Christians should assemble in churches to bear one another’s burdens.

Continuing with the theme of ‘charity,’

he affirmed that the Church’s material assistance to the poor ought to be extended to all the needy, regardless of religious belief: ‘He belongs to God, whether pagan or Jew. If he is also an unbeliever, he deserves help.’

This is just a taste of the Apostolic Letter by Benedict. Unfortunately, there is no official English translation. Many thanks to Fr. Z for his translation.

Culture Preserves Evangelical Integrity

Today as I was teaching a catechism class to parents, the subject of culture came up as we were discussing how we catechize our children. Culture, in the true sense of the word, is the means by which a society passes on what is its own. In a more profound philosophical sense, culture expresses the heart of a people through education and the aesthetic.

What can we say of culture in the United States? The United States was known as the “melting pot” of the world. Those who migrated to the Union would abandon a great deal of their language, heritage and even their own names in order to become a part of the melting pot that was the United States. This abandonment was not absolute. There were still Polish communities and Irish ghettos. However the process of deculturation strengthened as one of the vehicles of culture, education, became public and universal. With an increasing push to assimilate to American life and the publicization of education, later generations either let go or forgot their cultural roots.

This would not have necessarily been problematic if the amalgam of the melting pot was something other than increasingly secularized and bereft of spirituality. But this is not the case.

So we have successfully become a melting pot, and that is precisely what has happened to our cultural heritages. Their rich textures and flavors have melted together into a syrupy goo, destined to be slopped over the hands of our children as they feed themselves with it, ingesting the flavors of secularism with all of its possibilities and problems.

This constitutes the culture of the American public square and the challenge of proclaiming the Gospel effectively in it. Culture serves, served, and always will serve as the means by which society teaches its beliefs. When we exchanged our cultural heritage for that of the Secular Amalgam, we lost our ability to effectively spread the faith. Any success we have had in the secular culture was through the positive means already available within it: desire for happiness, emphasis on personal relationship, strong work ethic, sense of the common good (which is dwindling), desire for success, creativity, originality, patriotism, etc. However, this culture is fundamentally broken and self-destructive. It is a culture in which the good life is identical with the aquisition of goods, and the economy thrives on it. It is a culture that denies the dignity of the human person by categorizing them as a means to an end, or a problem to be eradicated, or a mouth to be fed. Finally, it is a culture whose only way of approaching religious and political plurality is by eradication of the tension by political process, or by complete apathy. Such an environment prevents growth and dialogue and short-circuits the advantages of this culture.

Of course, there is always hope. Besides a posture of embracing this culture as a Christian people we also have a changing attitude towards culture itself. The establishment is no longer the melting pot, but the salad bowl. We preserve our cultural heritage. We live together but remain different, respecting and celebrating each other’s differences as well as what binds us together. In this new attitude we find that the hispanic communities feel more welcomed to maintain their identities in America.

Guess what segment of the population is renewing Catholicism in America: the new group of immigrants who are coming at a time when cultural preservation is encouraged, the hispanic communities from Mexico and other Latin American countries. They bring with them their culture, which is their built-in method of conveying the Catholic faith. Just look at their music, artwork, devotions, family activities, and you will see what I’m talking about.

Now, no culture is perfect and this culture has its own set of challenges. However, those challenges ARE NOT the absence of faith, lack of spirituality nor loss of Catholic identity. Nor does this culture encourage individualism and negligence of the family. I think I will leave this post alone and see your responses to what I have said so far. There is so much more to be discussed here.

Martyrdom: Not an extraordinary experience

This past Sunday the Holy Father beatified nearly 500 Spanish martyrs. Politics aside, the message of the Holy Father was quite clear: Martyrdom can come to anyone.

Adding such a great number of martyrs to the list of beatified persons shows that the supreme witness of giving blood is not an exception reserved only to some individuals, but a realistic possibility for all Christian people. It includes men and women of different ages, vocations and social conditions, who pay with their lives in fidelity to Christ and his Church.

But what do we make of martyrdom today? Most times we think of martyrdom as something that happens to other people at other times and places. Not for our world, and certainly not in our country, nor in our time.

However, the Gospel tells another story. To follow Christ is to follow him unto death usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. To shed one’s blood for Christ is an incalculable gift of God, not only for the disciple in question, but also as a witness to the world, that Jesus Christ is worth dying for.

Lastly, the Holy Father made reference to the so-called “white martyrdom” that the rest of us are called to live out. This bloodless martyrdom is nonetheless filled with just as many sufferings and persecutions. May we be faithful to our call to follow the cross diariamente.

This martyrdom of ordinary life is a particularly important witness in the secularized societies of our time. It is the peaceful battle of love that all Christians, like Paul, have to fight tirelessly; the race to spread the Gospel that commits us until death. May Mary, Queen of Martyrs and Star of Evangelization, help us and assist us in our daily witness.

Holy Cross Chapel as an example of engaging the public square

Last night, amidst the hustle and bustle of Catholic high-society (and the River Oaks Country Club), a group of dedicated benefactors gathered to celebrate 25 years of the Holy Cross Chapel. Located smack-dab in the middle of downtown, just off the (aptly named) “Main Street Square” MetroRail stop, the Holy Cross Chapel is described as a “spiritual oasis” to a world that too-often forgets the presence of God in the midst of daily business activities.

George Strake, Jr, (one of the honorary co-chairs) commenting on this weekend’s Gospel, tied together the message of Jesus with the mission of Holy Cross Chapel. The Gospel for this weekend presents us with two figures, a pharisee and a “publican” (or a tax collector). The one (the pharisee) prides himself on not being like the other. The tax collector, the publican, hides in the back, begging God for forgiveness. Mr. Strake commented that Holy Cross Chapel’s mission is precisely for those businessmen (and -women), who – even though aren’t perfect – are struggling to do good and striving to do the right thing.

The mission of the church should necessarily be seeking out these men and women – for Our Lord certainly came to “seek and save the lost”

Holy Cross is definitely a locus that engages in the public square. Especially now at street-level, it is a visible sign to the community that the Church is present and welcoming to all. She is also challenging the business community to be ethical, to do the good, and to remember the contemplative dimension to humanity. This is an excellent example of how the public square can be evangelized.

Cardinal-designate Daniel N. DiNardo talks about his role in the public square.

On Wednesday, October 17, 2007, the day the announcement was made that Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, was named to the College of Cardinals, DiNardo made a comment about his role as a cardinal in engaging the public square. A press conference was held at noon of that day.  Speaking both in English and with a prepared statement in Spanish, he expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for his being named, reflected on the meaning of this announcement for the Church in Texas, and thanked his predecessor, Archbishop emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza, for the groundwork laid before him.

When asked if are there any issues he wanted to raise as a Cardinal, DiNardo responded:

Obviously the all issues we have dealt with here in the State of Texas on matters of faith and how faith intersects in the public square, I certainly will intend to do that. And I think, rightfully so, and because with the voice of a cardinal, people might stand up and take notice maybe a little more. … We’ll have to see how this plays out.          

(cf. The official, edited, vetted article from the Houston Chronicle.)

After seeing Cardinal DiNardo at the TMO education session on the Church and the Public Square, I am extremely excited to see DiNardo’s interest in what he calls the “intersection” of faith and culture in the public square. Kudos to the TMO and their persistence. It is also obvious that DiNardo has taken time to internalize the necessity of the Church to speak in the public square, because his above comments were made spontaneously.

I believe that Cardinal DiNardo’s prominence in this part of the United States will definitely have a valuable impact on the discussions about the Church’s role in the public square. More and more pastors (curae animarum) should take his lead, doing what St. John Chrisostom and St. Leo the Great did in their day. These saints were great spiritual leaders, profound theologians, loving pastors, hard workers, liturgical priests, and advocates for the social needs of the most-vulnerable in their charge.

You don’t have to be pick just one of those characteristics, as many do today. You don’t have to pick just two. It is possible to be cura animarum and embrace both spiritual matters and social questions. It not only is possible, but it is, in fact, necessary in today’s world and in today’s church. By way of example, even the most-progressive of the periti of the Second Vatican Council were spiritually nourished by the older liturgical form. (Obviously, this is not a digression into matters liturgical, but it is meant to illuminate the issue.) A pastor who is spiritually grounded will have the ganas to face the social challenges that lie ahead for this generation.

With chief shepherds like DiNardo, the other shepherds of the diocese can see a model of leadership that is both theologically grounded as well as socially engaged.

Found it…

or at least one instance of it.

Yesterday, i attended an “Accountability Session” at Trinity UMC in Houston’s Fourth Ward. It was hosted by TMO (tmohouston.net, whose parent group is the IAF). The HISD superintendent, Saavedra, and other candidates for the school board were present – answering questions put to them by TMO. The Mayor was also there, along with several candidates for city council – along with several in-term members as well.

It was great to see the tables turned. There we were – as TMO – a network of churches, organizations, synagogues, and unions – all supporting one another, standing up for the values we share in common: justice for the poor, wages for the under-paid, security for the vulnerable, adequate education for children, etc. One by one the candidates and the councilmembers “had” to say yes to us, because they saw who we represented.

We were not just faceless constituents. We were constituents who were members of value-based organizations – like churches, etc. we care. Our faith & our values spoke to them. Our values mean something to us – and we want those values enfleshed in real policy & actions.

Here is the agora, where a frank exchange of ideas was provided for. Granted, it was sometimes hostile to the candidates and the elected officials, but it was a means by which we were made known, and they were made known as well – especially when a candidate disagreed to one position or another. I can think of a few candidates and officials who were ‘brought down’ by similar accountability sessions.

We need more of these, but they take time, work, and energy. They also take relationships built up with elected officials and candidates. That also takes time and committment.

But it also takes grass-roots people who care about real things.

Perhaps it’s time for a few house meetings of our own.

Seminarians? What issues are y’all concerned about?

I’ve got a list. But not sure where y’all-folk stand.

Anyone else out there? ….

Where is the agorà?

Now that a basic gist of the agora has been established, the next question is, “where is it located?”. Obviously, the current use of the word ‘agora‘ is analogous. What is trying to be re-discovered or re-presented is the place (or places) in which the exchange of ideas and dialogue takes place. In European cities and towns, this was most-obviously in the town square (plaza, piazza, etc.).

But what about now? What about here? Where is the public square? What and where is the forum or medium of the exchange of goods and ideas?

The agora does not exist-per se as a physical location anymore, but there are a panoply of locations that can qualify as the public square.

But more-concretely, right now, in my lived situation, where is my public square? Where is my forum? That is harder to nail down.

Is it the office? The watercooler?

What if people don’t have an office or a watercooler?

Last week at the event that springboarded this new endeavor, I was at Starbucks. Irony abounds. Public legend says that the ideas for the French Revolution and even the American Revolution took place at cafes. (Moreso in pubs ["public houses"] in the english colonies than cafes.) Indeed, when in italy, i am impressed at how folks just stop by at their local cafe, no only for a shot of espresso, but to BS. Just to talk, to rest, and to chat. I noticed that people kept coming to one particular cafe, rather than going to any-old cafe. There was a sense of being at home, of familiarity, of knowing people, and of being known.

I must admit, I’m something of a coffee snob. Or at least a person who likes the atmosphere of coffee shops (the closest thing we have to cafes in the states.) I don’t really go there for coffee. I really never have. I enjoy coffee (very much thank you), but it’s really the ambiance that i’m after. A chill place, interesting people, indy music, and an atmosphere that promotes both reading and discussion.

I’ve noticed over the years that there are two kinds of people that come to a particular coffee shop. (and perhaps three kinds).

(1) “Gimmee my coffee and let me go on with life” people. These are usually the exact same people at mass (we call them the ‘give me my Jesus and let me go home‘ people) who don’t give a rip as to what the homily is about, nor do they care that they are called to do anything more than do their ‘duty’ and get on with what really matters in life. (whatever that may be). They are usually rude, in a hurry, demanding of their product, and most-often self absorbed in other affairs.

(2) The “residents”. These are the locals who treat a cafe as “their” place. They sit in the same seats; the hold court; they visit with their friends; they BS. These folk are fantastic. They usually are of an intellectual bent, and are fascinated with what’s going on in the world. This is their public square. This is their place to meet and greet. They usually pick a place or two and call it home. They know the baristas by name and can tell you everything about them. And the baristas can usually call them by their first names and know exactly what drink they will order – even before they open their mouths.

There. That’s probably ‘my’ public square, although i don’t go to a single cafe enough to be known. I used to, but not yet anymore. They’ve gone a bit commercialized for me.

But where is the public square for the people i serve? The lavaderia? possibly. The street corner? Maybe. That is an unknown for me – and i need to start finding out.

Because, in the end, once we find out where the public square exists, then the free-exchange of goods and ideas can be leveraged.  Identifying the locus of the agora is but a first step.  The next is to engage in public dialogue.

What is the Agora?

From the Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora

<quote>

An agora (αγορά), translatable as [a public square], was a public space and an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. An agora acted as a marketplace and a forum to the citizens of the polis.

Agora also means a place of assembly in any Ancient Greek state. It is sometimes used in modern language to refer to a crossroads, either metaphorically (the point or concept which links, or is the crossroads of multiple related concepts), or literally, a point at which many physical roads or paths meet.

</quote>

The agora is simply the Public Square, a forum that allows for a free exchange of goods and ideas. It is where the “movers and shakers” go. It is where politicians go to make their case and to exact taxes. It is where free-thinkers go to espouse their ideas, hoping to gain more adherents. It is where Christian missionaries went in “gentile” towns, seeking ears and hearts open to the Gospel. It is where Christian families and communities went in order to safeguard their values. It is where secularists do battle with people of faith, seeking the eradication of religion as the scourge of humanity. It is the locus of a new dialogue, ripe with passion and nothing to lose. For to lose is to admit that Christianity has ceased to be a relevant and significant voice that can shape the world of today and tomorrow.

First-cut at the Agora

So, this is how it goes.

(1) The Church has every right to engage in the agora, because the church has a public dimension to its mission that cannot and must not be denied.

(2) Those who relegate religion – and Christianity in particular – to the realm of private piety, punctures the very heart of Christianity. The Christian is “Saved” by Christ precisely so that his saving work can be continued publicly.

(3) Those whom Christ saves are saved – not just as individuals – but as an “elected” member of his body. Christians did not choose Christ; Christ chose them.

(4) Christians have a duty (i.e. non-optional) to engage the agora precisely because Christians have “Good News” to share with it. Not only about “Jesus” (and all that), but that there is hope, life, goodness, and true joy that comes from the God who calls his people to himself.

(5) Human Persons who are Christians have every right to imbue the culture in which they live with the “marks” of Christianity. The lived reality of Christians in a particular culture is just that – particular. Historically speaking, Czech Christianity has a different lived-culture than Italian Christianity, even as different as Vietnamese Christianity is from Mexican Christianity. Same faith, just “incarnated” differently, and particularly.

(6) The arrogance of post-Enlightenment elitists have done much harm not only by eroding the cultural bases of their own culture, but also deny even the possibility of a sustained contribution of Christians in their own culture. The baby is most-definitely being thrown out with the bath water. Europe, and European-derivative cultures (such as the USA) that jettison the continued influence of Christianity risk becoming an entity altogether un-conceived-of. The end of which will not be Europe, nor even remotely receptive to Christianity.

(7) The Sitz-im-Leben: the horizon of cultural dialogue in the West is markedly post-Christian. Indeed, it has all the trappings and possible flavorings of Christianity, but it is most-definitely not-Christian. We have again arrived at the agora, the marketplace of ideas. The Marketplace where not only goods are exchanged but also the free-exchange of thought and ideas. The situation is again ripe for a re-telling and a re-presentation of the Gospel. The same truths can be re-told, but this time, just like Paul’s speech at the acropolis, the message must be re-inculturated, and told with a voice that will be attractive to the native hearers, but will, ultimately, be a message of contradiction.

(8) The Agora already is a marketplace. It is already set up and running. The question for Christians is whether or not Christians will choose to engage in a dialogue.

Hello World

My first post for this blog will essentially be an email i drafted to my friends, hoping to elicit some response. Here it is in its entirety.

after spending an hour engaging in conversation with a former-catholic buddhist and a former-jehova’s-witness secular-humanist at *$’s this morning, i decided that i need to write some books. here’s what i’ve come up with so far. let me know if you’d like anything written, or if you’d like to write one, so i can take it off my plate. which one should i write first???

Book Ideas

(1) The public square (and social grace) – the case for christianity to either be engaged in the public square or resign itself to cultural and religious insignificance. This is not simply a Re-hash of R.J. Newhouse’s work, though influenced by it – basing itself in the mandate of the Gospel as well as the impetus for cultural dialogue and evanglization as taught by the second vatican council.

(2) Religion is Good for the Human Person – the case for religious formation for all human persons – b/c it forms their worldview with an ethical sense of right / wrong, even if they do not believe. The case why such formation is even _better_ for those who believe. i.e. why i am a ‘better’ person b/c i have a religion

(3) Fides et ratio – part deux. The case for the continual intellectual pursuits of persons of faith – how it is essential that persons of faith use their intellect to “think through” their faith – so that their entire person – not just their spirit and their ’soul’ – but also their intellect is ‘conformed to the mind of christ’ – or – as st paul says ‘ the renewal of our minds’. A discussion of post-enlightenment religious reactionism is also part of the discussion, which fuels many anti-intellectual threads in post-enlightenment christianity, namely in protestant (and pseudo-protestant) strands as well as in the socially-driven catholic sphere.

(4) The Human Person – spirit, soul, body. Why we are a ‘quid unum’ of spirit, soul, body. Why the work of redemption is not just a matter of ’saving souls,’ but also the transformation of the body and mind and culture. – this plays out both in ‘heaven’ and in the final judgment, where every human person will not only be resurrected from the dead, but also receive the ‘resurrection of the body’ – before the final judgment. — all consequences of the Incarnation of the Divine Word, with homages to Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas.

(5) The Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, and the Sacraments – Why the single-most-important event that has occurred in human history is the incarnation, which laid the groundwork for the redemption brought about by the Paschal Mystery, and why the sacraments are the living re-presentations of the Paschal Mystery and the ‘living christ’ who comes to us during the celebration of His Mysteries, which we call the sacraments.

(6) The New Evangelization – the case for a renewed sense of evangelization of all peoples, particularly the peoples of europe, but localized in their eldest-daughter-colony, the United States. Emphasizing that the work of the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is far from over, indeed, a new impetus is required to re-christianize a culture that has forgotten its origins, not to mention its ultimate destiny.

(7) Mary and Peter – the Church as both inspired and hierarchical – as both disciple and apostle – as both prophet and teacher. Based heavily on the works of Hans Urs von Balthazar, this is a rendering of ecclesiology that allows one to see that their is indeed room for – and is required – both ‘new movements’ and ‘new expresions of the spirit’ as well as the triple-muneric-gift of the church. The interaction between religious orders, congregations, consecrated movements and those who have been gifted with the sacrament of Holy Orders.