The Eighth Sacrament

Living our faith before learning our faith

04/19/2023

Jn 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus: "'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How can this happen?" Jesus answered and said to him, "You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

A couple of weeks ago at a parish council meeting someone said that we need to get more parishioners involved and engaged in activities at the parish. And that was a great suggestion. Why? Well, because when people start living their faith, they began to learn their faith. In a sense, Catholicism is “caught” sometimes better than it is “taught.” That is, we learn by doing. We learn about the sacraments by celebrating the sacraments of baptism, confession, Holy Communion, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony, etc. The Catholic religion is not a spectator sport; we have to get in the game, and off the bench.

But before we can talk about what more we need to do here at I.C., we have to take stock of everything we already do. And the activity level of this parish is enormous and constant. We have Mass every day of the week at 7 a.m. with 75 to 100 people attending. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we also have Spanish Mass at 6 p.m. with the same number in attendance. Every Monday evening we have bingo, which is virtually the eighth sacrament of the church!

On Sunday evening, Tuesdays at noon and Wednesdays at noon we have various Bible studies, some of which are facilitated by our three deacon candidates: Bill Thomas, David Young, and Robert Maestri. Of course we have religious education classes on Sundays and Wednesdays with hundreds and hundreds of students. Our English youth group meets on Sunday afternoon, and our Hispanic youth group meets on Friday evenings.

The Ladies Auxiliary is here during the week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We have Eucharistic Ministers who take Jesus to the sick, like Mary Louise Thomas, Robert Maestri, and John Rossfeld. We have lots of parishioners who help with the St. Anne’s Society at the Hope Campus, with the Clothes Closet, with Heart to Heart Pregnancy Center, and other agencies that help the poor. And of course, we have a thriving elementary school with 220 students in K-5, and another 80 in preschool. We also have a huge Hispanic prayer group that meets on Friday night and has breakfast on Sunday morning, and just celebrated their 25th anniversary.

In other words, there is no shortage of activities and engagement here at Immaculate Conception Church. But it is always good to get more Catholics in the game of their spiritual life. Why? Well, because Catholicism is the kind of religion that is better caught than taught. It is first in the hands and feet and heart before it makes sense in the head. In a sense, our head is the last part of us that converts and becomes Catholic.

In the gospel today Jesus is trying to help Nicodemus come to faith in him. But notice how this “teacher of Israel” struggles: it is because he is leading with the head not the heart. So, Jesus tells him something Nicodemus cannot wrap his head around but must wrap his heart around. Jesus says: “’You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

In other words, faith in me is caught by the heart more than taught (or learned) by the head. You have to start living the faith – maybe start playing Bingo, the eighth sacrament! – and then you will start to learn the faith. In a sense, living our religion comes become learning our religion.

By the way, one more way I want to get people back on campus is by offering four Bible studies that I developed during the COVID pandemic. They were on the gospels of Mark and Luke, as well as on the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. But I want to present these Bible studies strategically not haphazardly, that is, while we hear the same Scripture readings in the Sunday Mass during the year. Why?

Well, because at Mass we live the faith and Scriptures, whereas in Bible study we learn the faith and Scriptures. First we live the faith and then we learn the faith. But in a sense, the living comes first, and the learning comes second. Often our head is the last part of us that is converted to Christ. And that is why it was a great suggestion to get more people on our church campus, even if they are just playing Bingo.

Praised be Jesus Christ!