One world, One family

The summer of my seventh grade, our family went to France for vacation. The tour bus dumped us in front of the Notre Dame, where flocks of tourists crowded the famous site. Shouting over the multilingual clamor of voices and ducking out of camera frames, my family and I weaved our way into the ancient church. The moment we walked– or rather, were shoved – through the heavy church doors, we were welcomed with a gust of cool dusty air and a peaceful silence. The altar of the church and the familiar crucifix stood in front of me, with a congregation of people gathered in the pews. As strains of the words Alleluia, alleluia reached our ears and a priest in his vestments approached the ambo, it dawned upon us that we had stumbled into a Mass that was being celebrated inside the Notre Dame. We weren’t expecting for this to happen – after all, going to Mass wasn’t part of the itinerary the tour guide gave us. While tourists around us snapped pictures of the church, my family and I jumped in the communion line and received the Holy Eucharist from a French lady. “The body of Christ,” she said in her language with smiling eyes. Thank goodness “Amen” is the same response in all countries. 

When I studied abroad for seven months in Asia, I went to Mass in Beijing, Taipei, and Hong Kong. On most occasions, I couldn’t understand everything that was said. But finding a Catholic Church was how I felt at home when I didn’t even feel at home with myself. It wasn’t just the building, but the family which it contained. It was like coming back from college and smelling the delicious home cooked meal waiting for you. Or finding legit Mexican food in Asia (let me tell you how exciting that was!). Or reuniting with a long-lost friend. The first time I went to Mass in Beijing, this kind elderly woman grabbed me by the hand and enthusiastically gave me resources to find Catholic churches near me. She even took down my contact information, scribbling down “Foreigner (老外）” as a note. 

This is the beauty of a universal church. Where there is a Catholic church, there is a home. Where there is Mass, there is a community. Not only are Catholics connected with other fellow faithful around the world, but our modern experiences today also intertwine with the long history of saints, traditions, scripture, and teachings which came before us. Pope Benedict XVI’s shares in his last General Audience, "Here, one can touch what the Church is -- not an organization, not an association for religious or humanitarian purposes, but a living body, a community of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ, who unites us all."

Like any other institution involving humans, the Catholic Church isn’t perfect. Regrettably, there have been mistakes and failures to extend loving arms to every person. But still, the Catholic Church is a home for the sinners, a hospital for the broken, and an academia for the seeking. It isn’t about speaking the same language or coming from the same town. It’s about the faith, hope, and love. We can sing, dance, and celebrate our cultural diversity because what brings us together is not anything that belongs to this world, but to the Heavenly one.

Social Catholic Internet Bookworms

In today’s day and age, it’s all about networking, isn’t it? You can find the niche where you feel welcomed in practically every corner of the Internet – for cat lovers to philosophical debaters alike, your new Internet community is just a webpage away!

As I continue on this blog and working on papers regarding Catholicism, the technique of social bookmarking was introduced to me. Tags – not the ones used for photos on Facebook – are extremely useful in finding resources (or just things in general) of the same topic. Public tags and communities help people like me who are curious about finding other resources instead of hoping on stumbling across the needed information. 

Thanks to benfischer on Diigo, I was able to find this article on works of mercy, which will be helpful for understanding love and charity, two really important things that the Catholic Church emphasizes. The former in its purest form is our God and the latter is the form of responding the love which we receive. Another article found through shared tags is this one. If you remember my previous post on Mass, this is a really interesting read on the significance of the bread as the Eucharistic host. It turns out this site actually contains a lot of other resources for the Catholic faithful and clergy with information that isn’t too difficult to digest. Furthermore, it’s a blog that’s updated relatively often – how exciting! The most recent is about Ash Wednesday, which was just last week; skimming through, I also found a movie review on Les Miserables from a Catholic’s point of view and lots of posts sharing about saints, which is an area of Catholicism which I personally want to learn about more. This user on Diigo mostly uses this social bookmarking site for articles related to various aspects of Catholicism; I noticed that this person has been reading and highlighting a lot of papal encyclicals, which is exciting, because I’ve been reading some myself lately.

Another user on Diigo, Matthew Strader, also has quite a few tags related to Catholicism, even though they might be mixed in with other tags of different subjects. I found a lot of stuff related to prayer and reflections from the Dominicans through the tags, and prayer is definitely a topic that I’d like to touch upon on my blog in the future. There are a lot bookmarked pages that are updated relatively recently too, which will be resourceful.

I really hope this isn’t too creepy or stalker-ish (I feel like one right now, haha). But this exercise helped me learn how to properly use Internet resources – particularly social bookmarking – to find other users interested in similar topics. I guess the entire purpose of the concept of social bookmarking is to share with others and engage in academic dialogue. One thing that I’ve taken away from this is that it’s encouraging to know I’m not the only one who’s trying to plow through some long encyclicals. Maybe it’s the introverted side of me that finds referencing to other users uncomfortable, but I guess if I feel fine liking Facebook pages and following unknown users on tumblr, then social bookmarking isn’t too much different from that.

A role in Rome, thank you Papa Bene!

I got a text message in class from my Catholic friend simply saying “the pope is resigning” out of the blue. What?! I was not expecting another pope so soon since it has only been eight years since Cardinal Ratzinger was elected in 2005. At the same time, resignations have happened before – just not in a long, long time (since 1415). His resignation will most likely, I think, introduce new aspects of spiritual leadership and papal ministry to discuss in the Catholic Church.  

            But people are asking why? That was my same question too, as there does not seem to be any direct influence. However, reading Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation announcement fully, it’s exactly because his resignation is not related to a scandal or politics. Rather, Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement came at a time where he demonstrates – in a really bold way – how to discern God’s will and what it looks like for one to live with God’s life as his center.

Contrary to social media’s portrayal of Pope Benedict XVI as failing, abandoning, or giving up, his resignation is one of humility and Christian example. To step down so suddenly is slightly surprising to say the least, but Pope Benedict XVI puts aside the heavy pressure of 600 years to remind us that he did not accept the papal ministry in pursuit of his own self-interests, but to guide the Church while facing the challenge of an environment increasingly hostile towards faith. In his humility, Pope Benedict XVI recognizes his own capacities and limitations in light of the burdensome demands and requirements of the ministry to which the papacy is called. His resignation does not demonstrate a lack of commitment to the papal ministry, but rather a deep understanding of the commitment and the needs of the Church today. Pope Benedict XVI actively showed this by striving to move the Catholic Church towards integrating faith with modern society through his encyclicals, improving interfaith relations, and renewing the faith by declaring in November 2012 as the start of the Year of Faith. He set the stage for a new evangelization and is now passing on the leadership role to one who – also guided by the Holy Spirit – can carry out this mission.

I am moved by Pope Benedict XVI’s great amount of courage and sincerity. By stepping aside, he shows a side of true leadership which is rarely seen in authority figures today. Even though he carries the authority of the Catholic Church, he also carries the spirit of servanthood established by Jesus Christ and places God’s will for the Church above all else. Furthermore, he humbly recognizes that his papacy, despite significant contributions, is only part of a much bigger legacy that began with St. Paul and will continue into the future under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Where do we go from here? In the spirit of the Lenten season, which began with Ash Wednesday this past week, the Church enters a time of reflection and prayer until Easter. It is an excellent time for Catholics – myself included – to challenge themselves to repent and bring ourselves closer to life with Christ. Pope Benedict XVI, in his last homily on Ash Wednesday, calls all to renew our faith and trust in God as a community. The conclave will be gathering after Pope Benedict XVI steps down on February 28^th. You can read more about how it works here.

            Many articles have called for changing of church teachings or set some standards for what people are looking for in the new pope. However, one must remember that the election of the new pope is not a presidential election. These voices and many others out there, miss the point which Pope Benedict XVI is trying to make. I think he’s asking us to learn about humility and Christian leadership which can be applied in our own lives, rather to make demands on making the Church conform to alternative views which we personally prefer without fully listening first (as put nicely in this article). 

            Although I am a little anxious about this change in papacy (okay or maybe a lot), I am hopeful for this next chapter in the Catholic Church history. I anticipate the white smoke and the words Habemus papam! We have a pope!

Other interesting reads: 1 2 3

Whose team are you on?

Growing up, I’ve dreaded going to gym class. I would be tired by the time we finished our warm-up runs; I can’t hit a baseball; I shot at the wrong basket in basketball (but luckily, I missed). However, I would have never expected to dislike going to gym class because of my faith. It was sixth grade, and somehow the topic of religion came up, and the girl that I was chatting with said, “I’m Christian.”

Having grown up being taught that Catholics were Christian, I was excited to meet another sister in Christ! “Oh, me too! I’m Catholic!”

Her face scrunched up with disgust. “Ew, you’re Catholic?! I hate Catholics!”

I was completely taken aback by her response. “Why?”

“Because Catholics worship Mary!” she accused.

“Wait, that’s not true—” I began to reply, but she had already completely turned around and started talking to a different group of people.

            Ouch. I’ve never felt so misunderstood about my religion before this. I don’t think we talked much after that conversation.

After that awkward termination of a potential friendship in gym class, I began to notice that the disunity in Christianity and the misunderstandings that arise from it. Ever since the East-West schism in the 1300s and the Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century, Christianity has been divided. In recent years, there have been many attempts to bring together the different Christian branches – otherwise known as ecumenism. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has taken big, radical steps towards ecumenism. For example, Lumen Gentium clarifies that Catholic Church is NOT the only way to get to Heaven, debunking myths saying that the Catholic Church condemns non-Catholics to Hell. (But this is not to say that if you are Catholic, you’re guaranteed a free ticket in either. In fact, the Catholic Church has only declared marvelous individuals who are in Heaven and has never condemned any individual, no matter how cruel and hateful, to Hell.)

One question that I get pretty often is “Are you Catholic or Christian?” And when I say that I am both, I am likely met with confused reactions, like they don’t know which folder to file me under in their mental cabinet.

            Christianity is the big umbrella for the belief in Jesus Christ as the human yet divine savior of the world. Catholicism is a subset of it, as well as the Orthodox Church, Protestant denominations, and others. Unfortunately, like the story above, I’ve had some uncomfortable encounters with people who didn’t see Catholics as Christians. I have also met wonderful, loving, and caring Christians who loved me as a member of their faith without trying to convert me to another denomination.

However, there are many misunderstandings that still need to be cleared up. Although there are indeed differences among the Christian denominations, we overlook the many shared similarities. We should be more active in understanding each other, by putting ourselves outside of our comfort zones and being open to hearing each other out. After all, aren’t we all looking for happiness? Don’t we all ask ourselves what is our purpose in life? We all make mistakes and we all can use some love in our life.

The challenges to render relationships within Christianity and with the rest of the world are similar to those regarding any social diversity issue. Assumptions are made and walls come up. We holler at each other while clamping our hands tightly over the ears, and we wonder why the other can’t hear what we’re trying to say. To break this cycle, we need to listen to each other. I was once told, “If you choose to reject something, at least know what you’re rejecting.”

If that classmate of mine had just waited for me to finish my sentence about how Catholics don’t worship Mary, but revere her immensely, maybe we could have found a way to get along and even become friends, instead of being all awkward for the remainder of the school year. It seems that gym class has not only taught me that volleyball really isn’t my thing, but also that at the end of the day, we should be on the same team.

Face to Face: Mass and the Eucharist

We see, hear, smell, taste, and touch: it’s an essential way of interacting and understanding the world around us. One of the things which I love about the Catholic faith is the sacraments. Sacraments let us personally encounter God through tangible ways; they symbolize graces of God and are the graces themselves. The Catholic Church’s practice of the sacraments, as believed to be established by Jesus Christ himself (John 6:54 “EAT MY BODY”), is very considerate of the nature of humanity. As humans, we need help understanding abstract mind-blowing concepts like Jesus’ sacrifice, forgiveness of sins, and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Mass is the main liturgical form of Catholic worship in which the celebration of the Eucharist – the most important sacrament – takes place. It’s our version of Sunday service, but there is also daily Mass available. Take caution though, rumor goes that if you go to Mass too often and pray too much, you might end up in a religious order... The entire Mass is essentially a giant prayer, and what makes this prayer more powerful than any other is the presence of Christ coming down through the Eucharist, where we can encounter the true body and blood of Jesus through the bread and the wine. BadCatholic gives an excellent depiction on how important the Eucharist is to Catholics (that is, the ones who care enough about their faith).

            I’ve dabbled with some other Christian groups. I love their praise bands with catchy worship songs that get stuck in my head and I am easily moved to tears by powerful speakers, but I’m somehow always drawn back to the Catholic church where the old priest drones on about something (I wasn’t listening). No matter how good Protestant groups can get, they lack the one thing which I crave and need the most – a real, tangible, holy form of Jesus Christ, face to face. Nothing can beat the fact that I can be so close to Jesus – literally have Him within me when I eat the consecrated host – through the Eucharist. That’s why despite the sitting, standing, kneeling, and secretly texting throughout Mass, which even Catholics themselves may find mundane, I still go and it’s important to me that I go. Once Jesus is in the picture, everything else comes secondary, including boring homilies.

Pope John Paul II encouraged the members of the Church to go to Eucharistic adoration, in which the Blessed Sacrament (the host of the Eucharist) is displayed and you spend time with Jesus. It’s a very mindboggling and difficult concept. Some days I’m just kneeling there, looking at that wafer, thinking to myself, “That’s Jesus?” To be honest, I don’t think anyone will ever, through human capacity, fully understand how it exactly works. That’s why it’s called the mystery of faith. However, the sacraments – especially the Eucharist – begs us to ask more questions and explore deeper in the faith, rather than hastily taking in the host and washing it down with a mouthful of wine (which is now the blood of Christ!) and booking it before the long parish announcements begin. Even though today’s culture is focused on the presentation and people may not be inclined to attend something as solemn or old-fashioned as the Mass, I’ll bet that the beauty of the prayer and the hunger for Jesus will continue to draw in those seekers.

But really though, we could actually use a few jokes in the homily. Just to keep us awake until the liturgy of the Eucharist.