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worth noting . . .
THE WHOLE TRUTH? . . . Priests as ambassadors of Jesus Christ are sent by him to preach the Good News of Salvation. I suppose there has always been a tendency to be selective in what is preached. In this issue Dr. Frederick W. Marks talks about a vast silence in the pulpit on certain important points of Catholic doctrine and morals, such as contraception, abortion, modesty, cohabitation, the serious obligation to attend Mass every Sunday, the Mass as a sacrifice, and so forth. Instead many Catholics hear only bland generalities from the pulpit and are constantly being urged to love everybody. Does it hit home?
WHO IS A WHO? . . . In his thought-provoking and timely article, Fr. Anthony Zimmerman argues convincingly that the human soul is present at the moment of fertilization. This means that that tiny, one-cell being is already a person (you and I were once at that stage) and therefore deserves our respect and protection. This is not just an academic exercise. Daily we read in the press and hear on TV proposals for legislation to approve research on “human stem cells.” This means that these tiny brothers and sisters of ours are experimented with in a scientific laboratory and then discarded. In blunt words, they are killed for the sake of experimentation.
ON DRESSING UP FOR SUNDAY MASS . . . It is distressing to see how casually many Catholics dress when they attend Sunday Mass. True, our culture now glorifies the “casual” look; many dress casually to attend the theater or an opera. But that should not be the case when it comes to attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There we go to meet God and we should show him the respect that is his due. In this issue I am happy to offer you a thoughtful article on the proper dress at Mass. It is written by a young priest who presents his reflections on why Catholics should put on their “Sunday Best” when they attend Mass.
LOSS OF A SENSE OF SIN . . . I believe it was Pope Pius XII who said that the great sin of the modern world is a loss of the sense of sin. Apparently two-thirds of American Catholics ignore their Sunday Mass obligation and rarely, if ever, go to confession to seek absolution from their sins. They are living in sin but it does not seem to bother them. This month I am pleased to offer you a thought-provoking essay on the need that we all have for conversion, for “turning around,” for rejecting our sins and seeking God. The article is by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., who is a frequent contributor to HPR. He is also a regular columnist in Crisis magazine.—K.B.
Back to Homiletic & Pastoral Review Table of Contents June 2000