Answering the Call to Sainthood

Dear Theophilous,

If you’re not shooting for sainthood, you’re aiming too low!

It’s the truth! A saint is someone who, after this earthly existence, is spending eternity in heaven. And seriously, if your goal in this life isn’t to get to heaven, my understanding is that the other destination is a lot less pleasant.

Unfortunately, many of us, even the most devout of Christians, don’t see ourselves as saints. Perhaps it’s in our fallen nature to dwell on our own sinfulness. Maybe when we compare ourselves to the saints that have gone before us, we feel we just can’t measure up. There’s a certain discomfort we feel when we’re put on a pedestal, just like the statues in the church vestibule. Personally, I know I will be found lacking when held to such a high standard.

Still, the God who knows us, the God who loves us, calls us to Himself; He calls us all to be saints.

Sainthood is for everyone

In its wisdom, the Catholic Church understands that, although we are sinners, we are all called to be saints; we are all called to holiness. This call began with the creation of Adam and Eve, and their task to tend and guard the garden (cf Gen 2:15). God’s invitation to holiness was extended once more through Jesus Christ when he called the disciples to himself (cf Mt 4:18-22). Once again, in our own time, the Church has made the universal call to holiness:

Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification". (Thess 4:3) (LumenGentium 39)

Yet many of us balk at the contemporary call to sainthood. We look to the saints that came before us, fear we won’t make the cut, so we quit before we even try. The truth of sainthood is startling though. If we look at a history of saints, we soon realize that most of them were not holy from birth; that they required a conversion of heart. The Church itself was founded on sinners:

St. Peter denied Christ;

St. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute; and

St. Paul murdered some of the first Christians.

The list is endless. A great read to know you’re not alone in your sinful start to sainthood is Thomas Craughwell’s Saints Behaving Badly.

Why does God use sinners to become saints? He wants us to take solace in knowing that nothing is impossible with God – even with ourselves.

Sainthood starts now

As the saying goes, There’s no time like the present to get started on your way to holiness. Most of us won’t have a conversion experience like St. Paul, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a conversion of heart. We are all called by name, the question is: will we answer the call.

We might not always recognize them, but these calls are ever-present in our lives. They are not always big and brazen, the Lord rarely works like that, but they are usually a small nudge to get us going back in the right direction. It could be a near miss on the highway, a miscommunication that blows up at work, or a lifestyle choice that leads us to harm. I once heard these small nudges referred to as a Purgatorial Pinch. Once we recognize them, we can use these moments to re-boot our path to sainthood.

Whenever she wants to try to bring me down a notch, my own mother often reminds me of my misspent youth with a quip I know where you come from and I know what you’ve done. My pat answer to this remark is a steadfast: In the journey towards heaven, it’s not where we come from that counts, but where we’re going. I know exactly what my sins are; so does the Lord. I confess and I reconcile with Him, confident He will show me the way.

It’s in recognizing our faults that we become repentant and re-orient ourselves towards God. As any sinner will tell you, the road to sainthood is long and arduous. From time to time we may slip or lose our way. What matters is getting back on the right path so we can arrive at our destination.

It’s never too late to get on the road to sainthood (cf Mt 20:1-16), but NOW is always the best time to get started.

Sainthood is a community

Teaching catechesis in both French and English, as well has having a command of both Portuguese and German to varying degrees, I love to play with language. I’m constantly looking for the ways in which God uses language to bring us closer to him. Something I enjoy pointing out to my students is the compound make-up of the word community from the French “comme” and “un”; meaning “as one”. So when we profess in the Creed that we believe in the communion of saints, we are professing our belief in our oneness with those who are in heaven.

Knowing that we are as one with the saints, both those in heaven as well as the ones still here on earth, gives us great courage. Life is difficult, and our path towards heaven is hard – we can’t do it alone. Thanks be to God that we have the communion of saints to see us through.

We all have our favourite saints for various reasons. Most of us find a personal call to devotion to one saint or the other; some popular, while others are more obscure. I have found that the internet is littered with devotions to the saints that have gone before us. There are Twitter Novenas or virtual candles at countless websites to bring us in closer communion with the saints. All designed to help bring us closer to God. Personally, I enjoy reading brief bios of the saints of the day; finding inspiration in their stories and strength from their words of wisdom.

We can’t forget about the saints here on earth, the saints who walk among us in our everyday lives. Yes, my generation has been blessed to be personal witness to the lives of St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. John Paul the Great, but we need to remember the communion of saints that we spend our days with.

Our family is our first encounter with the communion of saints. When we were married 20 years ago, my wife and I were charged with getting each other to heaven. Now that we are blessed with a son, it’s our responsibility to get him there to. We can’t stop there, however, and we need to recognize the holiness in the others around us – family, friends, colleagues, neighbours; no matter how hard that can be at times.

We live in a communion of saints. We need to rely on each other, but we also need to encourage each other on our path to sainthood.

Sainthood is infectious

Once we decide that our own sainthood is possible, no matter how tarnished our past, we will see it begin to rub off on others. When we decide that now is the time to make a change, others will like what they see and will follow suit. It’s living in this communion of saints that we will begin to see that the universal call to holiness is infectious.

Our little actions of sanctity can go a long way in helping create other saints around us. A simple please or thank-you; letting someone into your lane in rush hour; stopping to talk and listen to a neighbour going through a rough time – each of these will have a greater effect on the other than a sense of entitlement, blaring horn or cold shoulder. When we are saintly two things will happen, we will draw other saintly souls towards ourselves, and, more importantly, we will cause the conversion of the hearts in those we meet.

Following the news in the world today, it’s more than obvious that the world needs saints. Heed the call to holiness. Know that you can become a saint.

Defending Catholic Education



Dear Theophilus,

An Ontario court recently ruled in favour of a parent who wanted their children who are enrolled in a publicly funded Catholic high school to be exempted from religious education. In all fairness, the court is upholding a law that has been inexistence since 1944, when was made a part of the provincial curriculum (Education Act of Ontario, Part I, Section 11, Paragraph 20). Unfortunately, this decision has set a very dangerous precedent for publicly funded Catholic education in Ontario and elsewhere.

Indeed, these are dangerous times for Catholic education in Ontario. The above mentioned court decision comes only months after the Minister of Education, Laurel Broten, publicly stated that Catholic schools in Ontario do not have the right to teach Catholic doctrine (read about this here). If what both the courts and government are saying is to be taken seriously, there is a not so subtle, and very direct attack being made on Catholic education in Ontario – and those who live in other jurisdictions where Catholic education exists need to be concerned as well.

What I find interesting in all of this is that according to the Ontario Ministry of Education document on religious education – religion class in publicly funded schools is to be about instruction and not indoctrination. As a religion teacher in a publicly funded Catholic high school, I can tell you that this is exactly what goes on. If a parent asks if their child will be evaluated on the strength of their faith, the answer is an unequivocal No – only God can make that evaluation. Students are evaluated on their knowledge of the material presented, how they communicate its relevance to today’s world.

Do I teach Catholic doctrine? Absolutely. Do I refer to Church documents such as the Catechism or Vatican II documents to help answer the students’ questions on Church teaching and why those teachings are relevant to the betterment of society? Of course I do. Do I compel my students to believe Catholic doctrine? Not in the least. What I do ask my students to do is to listen to Catholic teaching, ask any questions they may have, then to form their conscience accordingly. The same way a chef will create a sumptuous feast, but he cannot compel the diner to chew, let alone declare the meal delicious.

During my drive into school this morning I listened to the question of exemptions from religion classes being discussed on Radio-Canada. A listener from Toronto suburb where I live had called in to say he found the proposition very tempting. His children are enrolled in French-language public school, and at grade 7 to remain in a non-denominational school, they would need to be bussed two towns over (a 30 minute drive in light traffic, never mind on a bus during rush-hour), while there is a French-language Catholic high school in the town where we live. In many ways I get his dilemma, as my wife and I debated a similar situation when deciding whether or not to have our son educated in French, French Immersion or in our local English-language school (in the end we were blessed to have French Immersion introduced in our neighbourhood Catholic school).

The caller stated that although he had been raised Catholic, he and his wife are Protestant, so if their children were to attend he would want them to be exempt from religion class, as they get enough religious education at home and in their own church. When the host correctly noted that Catholic teaching permeates the entire life of Catholic schools, from curriculum to extra-curricular activities, to teach Catholic virtues, the caller conceded that he and his wife probably share those same values. From my own experience, I’m convinced that if the listener took the time to research what is taught in Catholic classrooms, he’d probably be pleasantly surprised.

Keeping in mind that in the majority of cases, the reasoning behind non-Catholics choosing to send their children to Catholic schools is proximity, followed by program – the push for exemptions from religious education classes can only be seen as an attack on publicly-funded Catholic education. The outcome of non-Catholics being exempt from religion class in a Catholic school will ultimately be the removal of Catholicism from Catholic education.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a call to ban non-Catholics from our classrooms. If anything, as a religion teacher in a Catholic high school I embrace non-Catholics in my class, as they bring a unique perspective to my lessons that I cannot provide. In fact, by inviting non-Catholics into the religious dialogue, we are following the teaching of Vatican II:

The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men. (Nostra Aetate 2)

and

Today, in many parts of the world, under the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit, many efforts are being made in prayer, word and action to attain that fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires. The Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism.

The term "ecumenical movement" indicates the initiatives and activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity. These are: first, every effort to avoid expressions, judgments and actions which do not represent the condition of our separated brethren with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations with them more difficult; then, "dialogue" between competent experts from different Churches and Communities. At these meetings, which are organized in a religious spirit, each explains the teaching of his Communion in greater depth and brings out clearly its distinctive features. In such dialogue, everyone gains a truer knowledge and more just appreciation of the teaching and religious life of both Communions. In addition, the way is prepared for cooperation between them in the duties for the common good of humanity which are demanded by every Christian conscience; and, wherever this is allowed, there is prayer in common. Finally, all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will for the Church and accordingly to undertake with vigor the task of renewal and reform. (Unitatis Redintegratio 4)

Part of the larger problem in this discussion is the misconception of what contemporary Catholic religious education is, with many (Catholics included) seeing it as it once was – the memorization of the Baltimore Catechism. Some of the blame needs to be put on the shoulders of Catholic educators. If we want to defend Catholic education, then we need to be able to articulate why Catholic education matters to the betterment of society. We need to be able to tell the world how Catholic doctrine, social teachings, virtues and Catholic Graduate Expectations will make their children better people.

We need to communicate why Catholic education matters. If we can do that, the parents, like the listener on Radio-Canada, will seek out Catholic schools, not because they are close to home, but because, as the listener stated, the values taught match their own.

If these parents continue to choose Catholic schools with the intent of asking for an exemption from religious education simply because of the school’s proximity, then one can only assume that they are looking for a fight. A fight worth taking on in the defense of Catholic education.

As for my classroom – regardless of the subject matter (geography, history or world religions), it will continue to be permeated with Catholic teachings. Like a chef, I will lay a sumptuous feast out for my students; I pray that they will chew.

Engaging Fully in Mass





Dear Theophilus, 

I recently wrote about how the call of Vatican II to for the faithful to participate fully andactively in the liturgy has been misunderstood as a call for the laity to take over the role of ordained clergy during the Mass. The misguided perception is that to be fully engaged in the Mass, on must be physically involved in every action that takes place during the liturgy – especially the focal point of the consecration. As many have rightfully pointed out to me, it is possible to be fully engaged and participate actively in the Mass without being the ordained minister leading, even when attending the pre-consular Latin Mass.

This got me to thinking of some ways that I use to get the most out of Mass every Sunday. These are practices that I do to help prepare my heart, mind and soul to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, and I would hope that they are helpful to you. That said, they might not be for everybody, and others may have other suggestions – I’d love to hear them in the hopes that they will help my own on-going journey with the Eucharist. 

Engaging in the Mass begins happening long before we slip into the pew. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have a bit of a neurosis regarding punctuality and get a little worked up if things aren’t flowing like a Swiss train schedule. The Sunday’s where we’re running late and peel into the church parking lot on 2 wheels, I find it takes me until the sign of peace before I’m even remotely ready to participate properly in the Mass. By starting my day in a prayerful state and maintaining it until the opening hymn, I’m much more disposed to being open to the Word of God and the saving grace of the Eucharist. 

I never know if I’ll be reading at Mass on Sundays (I generally check the schedule on the fly) so I read through the Mass readings – including the psalm and gospel, while eating breakfast. I find this helps me understand the scripture while it’s read at Mass, whether I’m the scheduled lector or not. Even if you don’t have the time to go over the readings ahead of time, listen attentively, read along in your missalette or close your eyes to limit distractions. I always try to take one thing away from each reading – a phrase or an idea to meditate on. Regardless if the priest focusses on this idea during the homily, I find this helps me to focus on the readings and gives me a reason to dwell  on sacred scripture before, during and after Mass. 

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian Life.” (Lumen gentium 11) As such, receiving Christ in the Eucharist should not only be the highlight of our Mass, but of our lives. As Matthew Kelly so rightly puts it in Rediscover Catholicism –if Muslims believed that they could receive Allah in the Eucharist, just imagine what they would endure to receive the Eucharist each week. As Catholics, we too should have that passion. What can you do to heighten your experience in the reception of the Eucharist? Get to know Christ through this sacrament. It was only in deepening my own knowledge and understanding of the Eucharist (read about it here) that I found my heart begin to burn when receiving the Body and blood of Christ; my chest physically drawn towards the Tabernacle. 

Like I said before, these are my simple and humble ways to approach the Mass to get the most out of this beautiful spiritual experience. Yours might be different, and as a unique creation of God it should be. I would be grateful to hear of how others approach the Mass, as I’m continually evolving on my journey home to God.

What is Full and Active Participation in the Liturgy?



Dear Theophilus,

Lately I’ve come to enjoy reading The Eye of the Tiber. This light-hearted blog takes a look at some of the more un-Catholic activities that seem to bubble to the surface from time to time in the Catholic Church. Some might find The Eye of the Tiber to be a bit churlish, and others a bit childish, but I find it’s in putting things into the silly extreme that we can put them into their proper perspective.

In a recent post The Eye of the Tiber, tongue firmly planted in cheek, told of how a congregation rushed forward to the bewilderment of a visiting priest to participate in the consecration of the Eucharist. Apparently, to be able to participate fully and actively in the liturgy, members of this fictional parish encircle the altar during the Eucharistic prayer, stretching out their hands over the bread and wine at the moment of consecration as though they are concelebrating with the priest.

Unfortunately, many people perceive this as the only way to participate fully and actively in the Mass – by being directly involved in every moment. I’ve heard people complain that only the priest and a few of his favourites “do everything” at Mass while everybody else just sits there and watches. This is often accompanied with head scratching and the puzzled query: Wasn’t Vatican II supposed to change all of this?

In short, Yes – The Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) does call the faithful to become full and active participants in the liturgy by stating:

Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.

In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit; and therefore pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it, by means of the necessary instruction, in all their pastoral work. (SC 14)

And

With zeal and patience, pastors of souls must promote the liturgical instruction of the faithful, and also their active participation in the liturgy both internally and externally, taking into account their age and condition, their way of life, and standard of religious culture. By so doing, pastors will be fulfilling one of the chief duties of a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God; and in this matter they must lead their flock not only in word but also by example. (SC 19)

And this did open the door to more lay participation in the Mass, most notably in the roles of lector and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. The problem, however, is that many people seemed to have stopped reading the document at this point, interpreting Sacrosanctum Concilium to mean that the laity would be welcome to take over the roles reserved by sacred scripture and tradition for the clergy.

Reading a little further we recall that, as the Church, we are called to be the body of Christ on earth, and that, in the same way that our temporal bodies are made of many parts, each with its unique function, it is the same with the spiritual body of Christ – the Catholic Church. We are all unique, individual parts of the body of Christ – each with our own special function (vocation) within the Church. Just as our toes cannot perform the same function as our mouths, nor our lungs as our stomachs or brains; a lector is not called to perform the role of a cantor; nor an usher that of a priest, bishop or pope. Everybody has an indispensible role to play in the proper functioning of the Church, and each needs to participate fully and actively in their role for the Catholic Church to fulfill its mission of bringing God’s Word to the world.

The bishops of Vatican II recognized this when they continued to state in Sacrosanctum Concilium:

Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations of the Church, which is the "sacrament of unity," namely, the holy people united and ordered under their bishops.
Therefore liturgical services pertain to the whole body of the Church; they manifest it and have effects upon it; but they concern the individual members of the Church in different ways, according to their differing rank, office, and actual participation. (SC 26)

Followed more importantly by:

In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an office to perform, should do all of, but only, those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the principles of liturgy. (SC 28)

I think this second paragraph from Sacrosanctum Concilium is probably the most important (and the most looked over). It distinctly states that everyone must participate as far as their office (role) in the liturgy calls for. In other words, it’s perfectly fine to be a simple member of the congregation, as long as we participate fully and actively as a member of the congregation, engaging ourselves by listening attentively to the Word of God, responding to the common prayers and allowing God to engage in us through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist.

It’s when we worry too much about fulfilling the offices of others in the Mass as opposed to those that pertain to our office or rank that the wheels seem to fall off and the Mass and its participants no longer resemble themselves.

In Search of the Sacred



Dear Theophilus,

“Is nothing sacred anymore?”

I seem to be hearing this question a lot more these days. The funny thing is that it usually has to do with the secular world.

No hockey this year! Is nothing sacred anymore?

Texting at the dinner table! Is nothing sacred anymore?

The mall is closed for a holiday! Is nothing sacred anymore?

I find it interesting, though, that none of these are truly sacred in the real sense of the word.

As Catholics we are lucky to come into weekly contact with the sacred through the Eucharist. But even with this it can, at times, seem difficult to find the sacred in the Mass.

Last week at my parish celebration of our patron saint, St. Leo the Great, I was fortunate enough to rediscover a sense of the sacred in the Eucharistic liturgy. With a Knights of Columbus honour guard, incense and holy water sprinkling, the congregation was wholly engaged for the sacredness of the Eucharist to come.

This isn’t to say that the usual celebration of the Eucharist without these elements is any less sacred than when they are present. We cannot, and should not, sustain such a high level of expectation when we meet Christ in the Eucharist. We need to recall that Christ’s own Passover meal was a simple affair. As Catholics we are called to understand that there is nothing more sacred in our faith than the Eucharist (CCC #1324). When it comes to the sacred in the Eucharistic liturgy the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states:

It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that the celebration of the Mass or the Lord’s Supper be so ordered that the sacred ministers and the faithful taking part in it, according to the state proper to each, may draw from it more abundantly those fruits, to obtain which, Christ the Lord instituted the  Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood and entrusted it as the memorial of his Passion and Resurrection to the Church, his beloved Bride. (GIRM #17)

This is a logical progression from Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium:

Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper. (Sacrosanctum Concilium #10)

All of this pondering on the sacred in the liturgy of the Eucharist reminded me of an article I read a few years ago in Adoremus Bulletin. I had been looking for a quote for a staff meeting reflection when I stumbled upon the following from Alvin Kimel Jr.:

The re-enchantment’ of the Catholic Liturgy”, declares Father Aidan Nichols, “is the single most urgent ecclesial need of our time”. I like the use of the word enchant to describe the Divine Liturgy of the Church.

I still vividly remember my first visit in June 1975 to St. Paul’s Church, K Street, in Washington, DC. I had just finished college. Earlier that year I had become a believing Christian. Upon returning to Washington, an old high school friend invited me to join him one Sunday at St. Paul’s. Solemn High Mass, with a visiting African bishop to administer Confirmation; solemn procession, with two thurifers; chanting, crossings, bowings, genuflections, incense -- all of this was completely new for me.

My only prior experience with the Lord’s Supper was as an addendum to the Methodist preaching service, with cubes of bread and shot-glasses of grape juice. Here was something utterly different. I was taken up into a sacred world. On that day I discovered the Eucharistic Christ. I was enchanted.
I found it possible to believe the Eucharistic promises of Christ because of the enchanting beauty and power of the Divine Liturgy that I experienced that first summer at St. Paul’s. I was enchanted into faith. I experienced the glories of heaven and thus came to know the truth of the Eucharist. I will always believe that the consecrated elements are truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. And it is the liturgy that has sustained and generated my faith for the past thirty years.

You can read the entire article here.

Keeping all of this in mind, I’ll ask you the same question I asked my colleagues 7 years ago: “Where do you find a sense of the sacred in practicing your Catholic faith?”

Re-understanding Vatican II



Dear Theophilus,

Recently I sat with a small group of colleagues trying to figure out how to best serve the needs of the rest of the staff at our catholic high school for our upcoming Faith Awareness Day. My other colleagues kept talking about how there is an undercurrent of aggravation with the Catholic Church amongst the staff; and although I tend to keep a low profile, I had heard the rumblings and wasn’t surprised. At one point, a colleague at the table said, “I thought Vatican II was supposed to open a window from the Church to the world. Now it seems as if the window is being shut.” With hindsight, I wish I had has the courage and wisdom to ask who he thought might be shutting the window.

I add wisdom to the courage needed to answer such questions, because up until a couple of weeks ago, like most Catholics of my generation, I knew basically nothing about Vatican II. Sure, I could tell you that it was in the early 60’s (but not the exact date), and that it had been called by John XXIII, who died during the council and that it had been seen to its fulfillment by his successor, Paul VI. After the vernacular becoming the language of the liturgy, I would have been hard pressed to name any of the documents issued by Vatican II (I would have guessed at Gaudiem et Spes and Lumen Gentium – and I would have counted myself lucky).

As a part of my Year of Faith Resolutions, I’ve decided to take on getting to know the Vatican II documents better. Even if I just manage to read through them once, I would hope that it would leave me with a better understanding of them than if I had not read them at all. To this end, I picked up Vatican II – The Essential Texts with introductions from His Holiness Benedict XVI and James Carroll. I’ve only just gotten out of the introductions to begin Sacrosanctum Concilium, and I based on the introductions alone, the book has already paid for itself.



Where James Carroll gives the reader a historical look at the Second Vatican Council, Benedict XVI delves more philosophically into the council documents. The Holy Father’s introduction comes first, however, I would have preferred to have read Carroll’s historical treatment first to give me a context of Vatican II so that I could better understand Benedict XVI’s interpretation of the council texts. Not only does Carroll put the notion of Vatican II into its historical context with the backdrop of the Holocaust and Hiroshima, he also sheds historical light onto where the documents got their catalysts.

As I noted, Benedict XVI’s introduction to the Vatican II texts is much more philosophical, a way to make the documents of half a century ago relevant today. Time and again, throughout his introduction, the Holy Father alludes to, or outright tells us, that Vatican II had no intentions of changing Church doctrine, but rather the way in which Church doctrine is taught in order to make it more comprehensible to the modern world: “… the Council wishes ‘to transmit the doctrine, pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion.’” Unfortunately, it seems that many people, especially Catholics trying to reconcile their faith to the pressures of the modern world, have understood Vatican II to mean quite the opposite – that doctrine must be changed so we can comfortably remain within the visible traditions of the Church.



Keeping this misunderstanding that Vatican II was designed to change doctrine and not the modicum of teaching, it was very refreshing, from an orthodox point of view, to listen to the homily given on October 26, 2012 by Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, to about 1,000 catholic educators. I imagine that his Eminence ruffled a few feathers when he stated: “I’ve been told that up to 85% of Catholics today do not agree with many of the Church’s social teachings. Pause. And I tell them, yes, that is true. But it doesn’t make it right or wise. It is easy to go along with the flow as it is presented in the mainstream media. However, sometimes we need to go against the flow. It might not be easy, but it is right and wise.”

This is our challenge as Catholics in a very anti-catholic world. We are challenged to go against the flow because it is right and wise – but not necessarily easy. And when our opponents throw the window of Vatican II in our faces, we need to have the courage and wisdom to ask them who is closing the window before opening the door to light and truth and inviting them to enter.