Intentionally Catholic

Gloria Scoyola

Description

Being Catholic.

Are you:

• A cradle Catholic born into the faith and a regular participant in Sunday Worship yet unable to defend your faith?

• A lukewarm, pew Catholic going through the motions?

• An inactive Catholic, believing but barely attending Mass except for Easter and Christmas, weddings and funerals?

• A Fallen Away Catholic, angry at the Church for a slight, real or otherwise? 

• A Catholic who has left the Church to enter into another religious affiliation because Mass was boring?

• A new Catholic, wondering if you fully understand what you have professed?

• Thinking about becoming Catholic but not sure if you can accept or live with what the Church teaches? 

• An intentional Catholic, openly living and sharing the joy, doctrine and dogma of the Church that has endured for centuries.

There are over a billion Catholics in the world. How many Catholics actually live and love their faith may be in question but those who are intentionally Catholic are united every day in the struggle to live and understand the teachings and traditions instilled in this universal identity since Jesus Christ first appeared on the scene. Some have died for the faith and others walk away when called to defend it. Some identify with the crucified Christ and others with the resurrected Christ. Some deem obedience the crucial element needed to be true, while others consider love to be essential in the teachings of the Catholic faith. Many spend their whole lives devoted to the Church answering when called to serve, supporting the Church in all her needs, savoring the joys that can be found therein.

Whoever you are, Ms. Scoyola invites you to enter into her experience of thirty plus years in the service of the Church. She returned to the faith after an absence of twenty years, guilty but repentant and found reconciliation and redemption. In her years of serving in several parishes of the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston in Texas, she directed the formation of hundreds of adults and children asking to be initiated or welcomed into the Catholic Church through the RCIA ministry.  In doing so she learned to become Intentionally Catholic.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Catholic
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 12 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977264923
• Langue: English

Extrait

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Intentionally Catholic All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Gloria Scoyola v3.0
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
Cover Photo © 2023 www.gettyimages.com . All rights reserved - used with permission. Scripture texts, used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC NABRE New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Acknowledgements
With gratitude to the pastors and faithful parishioners of the following Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston: Rev. Don A. Neumann, St. Pius V in Pasadena, Msgr. Dan Scheel, St. Jerome in Spring Branch, Rev. Philip Wilhite, St. Albert of Trapani, in Houston and Sacred Heart, in Conroe, Rev. Paul Procella, St. Mary Magdalene in Humble, Rev. Norbert Maduzia, St. Ignatius of Loyola in Spring, and Rev. James Burkart, Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring. Especial thanks to Rev. Lee Flores, OLG, Rosenberg and Mr. Jim Barrette, Secretariat for Pastoral and Educational Ministries in the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston.
Dedication
With much love and appreciation to my friend and editor, Margaret Chiavone, who helped make this book possible.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Love Of God
Chapter 2: Fiat
Chapter 3: The Will Of God
Chapter 4: Knowing And Believing
Chapter 5: When Darkness Prevails
Chapter 6: Let The Children Come To Me
Chapter 7: Forgiveness
Chapter 8: The Last Things
Chapter 9: Prayer
Chapter 10: The Gospel And Evangelization
Chapter 11: Blessings
Chapter 12: Mary
Chapter 13: The People Of God
Chapter 14: Church Councils, Synods And Encylicals
Chapter 15: Liturgy
Chapter 16: Sacraments
Chapter 17: The Mystery Of Evil
Chapter 18: The Priesthood
Chapter 19: The Laity
Appendix
Preface
There is a wonderful "something" about belonging to the first Christian Church established by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. Jesus called Peter and told him, "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." 1 Through-out the past two millennia, forces have come against the one true Church, and yet, true to His Word, the Church continues to survive. The Church has been attacked by armies, scandals, believers, and unbelievers alike. She has suffered greatly at the hands of some that have been unworthy of the trust put upon them such as popes, bishops, priests, and other leaders. God doesn’t make mistakes, but the Church sometimes does. She is governed by men (with a lot of help from women) after all but guided by the infallible hand of God. Many Catholics abandon the Church, for lack of understanding perhaps, but many new Catholics embrace her with a fervor that brings an infusion of life saving grace to the whole. Perhaps She may diminish in numbers, but She will never die . She will live forever.
I was one of the many who abandoned the Church in the days of the Second Vatican Council. Only through God’s grace, was I guided back to the Church after the sudden death of my mother which I now consider a tragic blessing.
I was born in 1946 and raised Catholic. I was a child of the sixties, witness to the Korean war, Vatican II, the first moon landing, the Kennedys and Martin Luther King assassinations, Vietnam, the peace movement, the feminist movement, Black power, Raza Unida, Watergate, and others.
The Second Vatican Council, a time of great and sometimes turbulent change, was initiated by Pope John XXIII when he called for the opening of the windows of the Church to let the Holy Spirit in; for an "aggiornamento" and renewal in the Church. He opened the windows of the Church to let the Spirit in!
When I was sixteen, rumors were running rampant about the Church, priests, and nuns. I was overcome with the many changes and scandals that were circulating! I did not understand what I perceived as hypocrisy in the Church. I saw only the turmoil, not the grace. So, I stopped attending and stayed away for 20 years. The thought of being part of another evangelical or protestant Christian church never occurred to me. I was just lost. My mother was saddened by my attitude toward our faith. Nothing she said could answer the questions I had, especially since we didn’t speak much about "religion" at the time. Easter and Christmas yes, but not about how or why those Holy days came about. Nothing about what those days meant and how they changed the world. We had a beautiful bible with lovely art, but we never read it or spoke about it. It was just sitting there on the coffee table, a silent but unfulfilled testimony. The only thing I remember learning in my CCD class was that the bread, once "blessed" was sacred. I can still see Sister lifting the hem of her skirt and stomping on the unconsecrated host to prove her point.
I felt bad for my mother. She was constantly inviting me to accompany her to Mass but never pressuring or laying guilt on me for my refusals. Sometimes when visiting her in later years, I would throw her a bone and attend Mass with her. This sounds awful, doesn’t it? She was fifty-seven when she died suddenly, shortly after a phone conversation in which we had been planning a visit. An hour after we spoke, my brother called and told me that Mom had become very ill, and I needed to come home immediately. I was at work, and I panicked. I remember the silence that enveloped me as I struggled to contain my emotions. As the noise and chatter of a busy office faded away, I knew that my mother was dead. A voice inside said, "your mother is gone." It didn’t say "my mother is gone" it said, "your mother is gone". That was the day I learned that God speaks to us and even though it took a while to trust his voice, I continue to listen for it. I have often said that if Mom had known her death would bring me back to Christ, she would have died sooner. She lived her faith abundantly and told anyone who would listen that she had met my dad in the communion line at Mass!
Her death came suddenly in the summer of 1982. Among her things I found a worn and tattered booklet of a novena to St. Jude. Its condition spoke volumes of her faith and devotion. In her honor, I decided to offer the novena myself. By Lent, the next year I had promised to "do" all of Lent, again in her honor. What I experienced after so long an absence was so different I had to step outside the building and assure myself that I was in a Roman Catholic Church.
What took place during my twenty-year absence is a saga to be recounted at another time. I will write instead of the years of grace that have filled my life since then. It hasn’t been easy or pain free. It hasn’t always been fun, but it has been meaningful and profound. And yes, doubt and disappointment continue to attack. Doubt in myself, doubt in the Church, doubt in the government. All around me doubt! But I continue to hold fast because I know who loves me! And He loves you too! There is no doubt in that.
If you have loved ones who have strayed from the church, be like my mother and pray for them as she did for me. Do not harass, threaten, or cajole. Your silent prayers will guide them back. I have seen this many times in my ministry.
CHAPTER 1
THE LOVE OF GOD
All That You Are

All of my life
I heard about You, blind to your
existence, refusing You entrance,
believing but disbelieving, demanding
answers already there
playing games of hide and seek,
here I am, come find me

Your patience is worthy of all that
You are, Savior, King, Shepherd
You kept your eye on me and followed
till I found you
making You a part of me, believing
that someday I would be worthy of
all that you are.

In writing about God’s love, I hope that I can do it justice. How can one explain or describe the power that God’s love imparts on one who recognizes it for what it is and accepts it although self-doubt abounds? When the storm clouds gather and the sun shines none to brightly, we know; we know that the sun is still there. But will it shine? Will it shine for me, for you, for us?
We question God’s love because we are constantly lied to. That’s a fact. It is up to us to call on the Holy Spirit to help discern the truth. We see mostly those things that bring doubt to the love that God has for us. Violence, hatred, inclement weather, death, and cruelty seem to be signs of being abandoned by God. If God is so good and loves us so much why does He allow evil to exist? That’s a question to be answered in a later chapter.
In our imperfect human condition, it is difficult to understand why God, so powerful and mighty would deign to come down, showering his beautiful and unending love on those so sinful and filled with self-contempt that they know such a love is certainly not meant for them. If I cannot accept that God loves me, how can I accept that God loves those I cannot or will not love. Who can be worthy of such a gift?
Adam and Eve felt such self-contempt that they found their nakedness sordid and hid from the voice of God. Yet, God did not turn away. He persisted. He persisted because this is what God does. He persists. He is faithful. "Can a mother forget her infant, b