The Church Today

Seeing the Church as perfect rather than pathetic

03/27/2019

Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."

How do you feel about the Catholic Church today? If we take off our rose-colored glasses, which help us to see with the eyes of faith, we begin to see an embattled Church instead of the Bride of Christ. The most recent bomb that has shaken the faith of many Catholics exploded in 2002 with the revelations of the clergy sexual abuse of minors. Many people left the Church and many still feel we have not adequately addressed the crisis or the abusing clergy.

On a more personal note, many Catholics’ faith in the Church is shattered when they get a divorce and struggle to get an annulment. Sometimes life is not “a box of chocolates” as Forrest Gump said, but rather you get lemons, a failed marriage. I describe our ministry in the tribunal as making lemonade, that is, changing a bad situation into a blessing situation. In other words, sometimes we feel the Church does not have enough rules and regulations, for instance when dealing with abusive priests, and at other times we feel the Church has far too many rules and regulations, like when someone seeks an annulment.

Probably one of the most famous French priests in modern times who argued the Church had too many rules and regulations was Alfred Loisy, a brilliant bible scholar. He sarcastically said: “Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, and what came was the church.” Pope Benedict explained what Loisy meant saying: “Instead of the great expectation of God’s own Kingdom, of a new world transformed by God himself, we got something quite different – and what a pathetic substitute it is: the Church” (Jesus of Nazareth, 48). In other words, Loisy increasingly began to see the Church’s rules and regulations as “pathetic” and be finally was excommunicated by Pope Pius X in 1907. Tragically, Loisy died on June 1, 1940, not only having lost his faith in the Church, but also his faith in Jesus Christ, and even his faith in God. He wrote in his Memoirs: “If I am anything in religion, it is more pantheistic-positivist humanitarian than Christian.” Loisy thought God was everything and everything was God, which is pantheism. How do you feel about the Church today? Is she something perfect, or is she something pathetic?

In the gospel today, Jesus insists that the Kingdom of God and the Church are inseparable and they both require rules and regulations in order for us to be happy and holy. Jesus boldly declared: “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Then he goes on to explain how the smallest part of the law must be obeyed. In other words, Catholics cannot be a Church without canon law, any more than the United States can be a country without a Constitution. Just like we Americans take pride in our Constitution because we know it protects our rights and promotes our liberties, so Catholics should be pleased with the provisions of our rules and regulations, both in the Ten Commandments, and in the 1,752 canons of the Code of Canon Law. I am convinced – and more importantly, Jesus is convinced – that the legal requirements of being an organized, universal, world-wide Church do not make the Church pathetic, but rather they help the Church to be more perfect.

How to do you feel about the Church today? If the recent events and the turbulent times are rocking your faith and love for the Church today, I recommend you read two books. First, I highly recommend you read the conversion story of Scott and Kimberly Hahn called Rome Sweet Home. That book and their journey will help you put your rose-colored glasses back on and see the Catholic Church as the Bride of Christ. In the Introduction they wrote: “In truth, the journey began as a detective story, but soon it became more like a horror story, until finally ended up as a great romance story – when Christ unveiled his Bride, the Church.” Sadly, some people’s experience of the Catholic Church is still a horror story, like that of the French priest Alfred Loisy, and some people struggling with an annulment. But it doesn’t have to be. With humility and grace, patience and perseverance, study and Scriptures, you can slowly start to see the Church as less pathetic and more perfect day after day.

The second great book is about another awesome convert to Catholicism called Apologia Pro Vita Sua, by Blessed John Henry Newman. He wrote these strong words: “There are but two alternatives, the way to Rome and the way to Atheism.” But you don’t have to believe John Henry Newman, just ask Alfred Loisy.

Praised be Jesus Christ!