August 2003

The Bishop's Letter
From Bishop Kevin Manning
Catholic Outlook, August 2003

My Dear People,

Vocations

READING St Matthew's Gospel one morning I came across the words of Christ: "The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to His harvest."

I was left to wonder whether the Lord is deaf or Catholics are just not praying enough for vocations, given the acute shortage of priests in some Dioceses in Australia. I incline to the latter reason and am left to wonder why.

Is there not a deep enough appreciation of the Catholic priesthood? Is there some irritation that women are being sidelined in not being ordained? Is there an insufficient understanding of priesthood, or maybe a lack of faith in the power of prayer?

Surely, there is a lesson for us in the election of Mathias, (Acts 1/1-267) the man who filled the place of Judas. He has the honour of being the first person in the Church to be called and appointed to a spiritual office by the Church and in the Church. Is St Luke not giving us a model for the Church to follow?

Firstly, the electors, who came from the Mount of Olives, from the place of Jesus' agony and glorification, and now ready for a new beginning "joined in continuous prayer", obviously the first and most important condition.

Peter then began to speak. It was his responsibility as leader to take the initiative and lay down the conditions for the election; namely, that the one elected must have been associated with Jesus from the beginning.

Then the whole Church looked for a suitable candidate, not only by discussing, reflecting and deciding, but also by praying so that the choice would be God's choice.

The next step warms the hearts of gamblers. Lots were cast which, in Old Testament times, was an already acceptable procedure thereby leaving the decision to God when it exceeded what man could do. This step also showed the sacramentality of the office, for in the last analysis no man can place another man in an office that must come from a higher power than man possesses.

Thus is presented a deep theology of vocation and the interplay of many factors - the Church as a whole, the apostolic office, human qualifications, and the new gift of God. These elements must all be present.

In the Church today we must acknowledge that the place from which vocations come is the same now as it was then, the prayer of the Church and the unity and joy she receives from vocations.

Obviously, prayer is necessary in the present times since the Lord, not deaf, is having problems hearing the muted voice of Catholics.

Reform

EVERY now and again I come across an "ersatz creed", which someone suggests should be used in a Prayer Service or substituted for the Creed in the Mass. Without exception these pseudo-creeds are superficial, profoundly self-centred, generally testifying to what some uninstructed mind desires rather than what is Church teaching.

Creeds were very important to Christian missionaries in the early days of the Church and were agreed summaries of the Truth, not simply personal versions, or someone else's version, of Truth. The word comes from the Latin word "credo", which means "I believe".

Creeds were used in the preparation of people for Baptism who, in the early Church, were generally adults able to understand and learn these creeds. In the first centuries of Christian life and worship many creeds were used, some short, some long, but officially recognised summaries of what Christians believed.

The two best known today are, of course, The Apostles' Creed and the one recited on solemn occasions, the Nicene Creed. It is called Nicene because it comes from the Church Council held in Nicaea in 325. Nicea is now the Turkish town of Iznik, south of Istanbul and west of Ankara.

The Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea because he was worried about the differences in belief that were developing in the Church. This Council and the following one set out the teaching about Jesus and His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Later the Council of Constantinople declared that the Holy Spirit "proceeded" from the Father. This declaration was added to the Nicene Creed.

In 451 the Council of Chalcedon affirmed the Nicene Creed as the true statement of the Christian faith. The final revision of the Creed came from the Council of Toledo in 589 when the words "and the Son" were added to "the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son". It was the Council of Toledo that decreed that the Nicene Creed should be professed by every Christian at Mass.

It is nice to remember that when we profess the Nicene Creed at Mass we are participants in a tradition that goes back 1678 years. The Creed is a great unifier; it sets out and expresses what the Church believes and teaches. It is a counter to those who impose their own preconceived ideas upon what we should believe.

Nothing is to be gained by division only unity is fruitful. St Augustine illustrated this with emphasis when he explained to the Donatists: "even though you have the same 'Amen', the same 'Alleluia', the same Canon, the same hymns, the same Credo, there is one thing you do not have: by rupturing unity you have destroyed love; but it is in love that the Holy Spirit dwells; without Him you have but an empty form." How true!

Yours sincerely in Christ,

 

Most Rev. Kevin Manning
Bishop of Parramatta