Some people ask this question less diplomatically: What good is prayer? What does prayer do? One thing I’ve found helpful to consider is what prayer is not: It’s not the coin you put in the celestial gumball machine that gives you a return on your investment in kind. Prayer is neither payment in advance for services rendered nor is it divine bribery. God will not say: OK, already—25 rosaries is enough! You get the vintage muscle car!

Yet Jesus does use the image of a harried judge entreated by a widow about her cause so long and earnestly that he gives in for fear she might get violent. If even the hard-hearted judge caves in to just demands, won’t God be even more likely to attend to ours? This sounds good in a parable. Still, most of us can remember having prayed quite hard for things we didn’t get.

The 6th-century mystic John Climacus was no stranger to this problem. “When requests are made to God and are not immediately answered, the reason may be one of the following: either that the petition is premature, or because it has been made unworthily . . . or because, if granted, it would lead to conceit, or because negligence and carelessness would result.”

Bede the Venerable, 7th-century Doctor of the Church, agrees at least that timing is a factor: “It also sometimes happens that we seek things entirely related to salvation with our eager petitions and devoted actions, yet . . . the result of our petition is postponed to some future time.” He notes that we’ve all been praying “Thy kingdom come” for quite a while, yet no one has yet to have the kingdom delivered at the end of the prayer. It will come “at the proper time,” he concludes

In the 12th-century the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux probably offered the most popular answer: “[God] will give either what we ask, or what he knows to be more profitable to us.” This echoes the prayer of Jesus in the garden: “If it be your will, let this cup pass; still, not my will, but yours be done.”

I’ve been praying for 35 years for a reconciling of hearts between two people I love very much. One of them died two years ago without the healing ever taking place. Yet I haven’t stopped praying for their reconciliation. Because I believe they both need it, now more than ever. I leave it to God to work out the details.

Scripture
• Matthew 6:5-13; 7:7–11; Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-14; 22:39-46; John 11:41-42; 15:7; 16:26 (see also 2 Maccabees 12:38-46)

Website
• From Saint Augustine's commentary on the Sermon on the Mount

Books
• Prayer by Joyce Rupp (Orbis Books, 2007)
• Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris (Mariner Books, 2001)
• Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom (Paulist Press, 1970)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

I love sports, in particular running. As a sister, would I have to give that up? –Rachel W.

I adore sports as well and am dying to find a local roller derby club that will take on a nun with questionable skating skills! Many of we religious enjoy sports whether as players or spectators. In my IHM congregation, for example, we have a sister who is in a basketball league, another who runs weekly, and many who are cyclists at all levels. In addition we have annual Michigan vs. Ohio State tailgating parties where being a spectator can become a full contact sport!

In many if not all religious communities, there is a place for sports and exercise. The degree to which that is possible varies across communities depending on their mission and customs. Engaging in most kinds of sport is not only good for one’s health but for one’s spirit as well. We recognize that God speaks to us in a variety of ways, including the “languages” that are most native to us—for you it sounds as if running may be that kind of language (check out a blog post I wrote on cycling and meditation).

So there is a very real way that a sport like running can be incorporated into your life of prayer as a sister. There’s also the possibility that it can be a form of ministry, too. Some of the sisters belonging to the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Healing Love have turned running into a way to help children deal with behavioral issues and improve their school work.

I encourage you to keep running and explore how this gift can help you in your own spiritual journey, as well as help others.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Salvation is the one big idea in the Bible. Without it you’ve got just another large dusty book from antiquity. Salvation history traces the pattern of events in human history that reveal God’s saving plan. The “Reader’s Digest” version would be something like this: God’s covenant with Abraham; Israel’s deliverance from Egypt; the giving of the Law to Moses; Israel's entry into the Promised Land; the monarchy of King David; and the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation history culminates in the New Creation awaiting us at the end of time.

What we mean by salvation is another matter. The Hebrew term for it denotes “to make wide or sufficient.” Unrestricted passage is the result: liberation from obstacle or impediment. Sin constricts human possibilities and God makes them wide and free again. When we say “our God is the God who saves,” we’re saying human liberation in a sinful world is only possible through divine intervention.

Early saving events in scripture are mostly military or political. Above all they’re physical: God saves folks from tangible dangers. That sets up the expectation that the God who delivered us yesterday will rescue us tomorrow, if need be. Salvation is not a dead fact but a living proposition. In time, biblical salvation takes on a spiritual aspect as well. We need saving not only from national enemies and seraph serpents but from the consequences of our own choices. Salvation comes to imply the rescue of the whole person, body and spirit. Ultimately, what we need is to be ransomed from death—so God extends the divine rescue all the way to the tomb.

Theologians say salvation is from something and for something. We’re saved from sin and death and for eternal life with God. The opposite of being rescued, of course, is drowning, perishing, being lost. In the wilderness of human choices leading in all directions, we can appreciate how we might wander so far that the only hope of rescue is a helicopter from above dangling its rope ladder over our heads. God’s saving power arrives in human history not unlike that helicopter. Once we understand that, it’s easy to see that all of human history is salvation history—even the parts that never made it into the Bible.

Scripture
• Psalm 51; Isaiah 65:17-25; Jeremiah 17:14; 31:31-34; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Luke 1:68-79; 9:24; John 3:16-21; Acts. 16:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10

Online resources
• Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), November 21, 1964
• “The Nature of Our Salvation in Christ: Salvation as Participation and Divinisation” by Damien Casey

Books
• What Are They Saying About the Universal Salvific Will of God? by Josephine Lombardi (Paulist Press, 2008)
• Salvation Is from the Jews (John 4:22): Saving Grace in Judaism and Messianic Hope in Christianity by Aaron Milavec (Liturgical Press, 2007)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

In this question we put two dogmas together: belief in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption and in the virgin birth of Jesus. We might add the Immaculate Conception of Mary, because a discussion of one of these touches on them all. Theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J. calls these dogmas “prophecy in the midst of the history of suffering.” Prophetic statements are matters of faith and not available for scientific validation.

Nor do these dogmas necessarily spring from the record of scripture. Chapter-and-verse proof-texts for the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception in particular are unsatisfying because neither event is covered in the New Testament. The Assumption was formally declared (“promulgated”) as dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, but that doesn’t mean the church has only recently taught it.

The early church fathers don’t address the matter of Mary’s departure from this world, but possibly as early as the 3rd century the tradition of Mary’s “transitus” recounted her bodily reception into heaven. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and even some Anglicans hold some version of the Assumption in their traditions; Roman Catholicism does not define whether Mary “fell asleep” or “died” before her body was taken up.

The theological argument for the Assumption is one of “fittingness.” Mary is the Ark of God’s new covenant in Christ. She was preserved from sin for this end (her Immaculate Conception) and should not undergo the corruption of death (see Romans 6:23 on the wages of sin). Her body, given over to God’s purposes in the divine plan of salvation, became a vessel too sacred to be discarded or forgotten afterwards. Scholastic thinkers like Aquinas and Bonaventure used the Latin phrase “potuit, voluit, fecit” to sum up the idea: God “could do it, willed it, and did it.”

Perhaps a more humanly compelling argument arose in the wake of the 20th century’s two brutal world wars. Pius XII surveyed the ghastly indignities suffered by the human body in recent memory and saw an opportunity to teach emphatically that God cares what happens to our mortal flesh. Mary’s exalted destiny may bring “clearly to the notice of all persons” the destiny of our bodies and souls. You and I are also vessels of divine life too precious to God to forget.

Scripture
• Genesis 3:15; Luke 1:41-45; 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 53-57; Revelation 12:1-17

Online
• Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, Defining the Dogma of the Assumption

Books
• Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints by Elizabeth A. Johnson (Continuum, 2003)
• Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion by Hilda Graef and Thomas A. Thompson (Christian Classics, 2009)
• Mary: Images of the Mother of Jesus in Jewish and Christian Perspective by Jaroslav Pelikan, David Flusser, and Justin Lang (Fortress Press, 2005).
• Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan (Yale University Press, 1996)
• Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary by Miri Rubin (Yale University Press, 2010)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Music is a wonderful gift whether you are a composer or performer or listener. Let me first encourage you to think about your music. What kind of messages does it send? Are the lyrics gospel-affirming? In what ways does your music build you up into a person of God or allow you to speak a word of encouragement to others? Music does not have to be “religious” to do that; it just has to be real and touch the soul.

Second, as you think about beginning the process of entering a religious community or seminary, know that you will have to make some sacrifices. Some formation programs may have greater limits than others which will affect how you can express yourself musically. But that does not mean abandoning things completely. The process of formation can be an opportunity to come to a new appreciation of your music and perhaps even a new or enhanced expression of your music. As you grow in your vocation, you may find a ministry or form of prayer that incorporates music.

And you may find others in your community who share your love of music. Speaking to the vocation director or other members of the community will help you with specifics about how music is a part of the life and mission of the community.

Finally, remember that the God who fostered your love of music is the same God who calls you to pursue your vocation.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

I admit, being let loose in a sacristy the first time can be like wandering through a costume department in Hollywood. Vestments can be ornate, fabulous, regal—not to mention incredibly heavy, depending on the period they were designed. But what’s most important to recognize is that when first adopted they were a costlier form of the same basic garb worn by the general population.

Ancient Hebrews wore a tunic, gathered with a sash, and a turban. Wool was the primary fabric, but priestly garments were mostly woven of linen and decorated with gold thread and yarns of violet, purple, and scarlet. In addition, high priests wore an overlying robe, squarish, with a hole in the middle to drape over the head, trimmed at the hem in bells and yarn pomegranates. On his head he wore a miter (pointed hat).

When the first Jewish Christians gathered for worship, they assembled in homes and wore no distinguishing clothing. But after the legalization of Christianity in the late 3rd century, formal public worship raised the visibility of the presider and so, too, his vesture. Still, the clothing worn by the presider resembled secular apparel.

First came the alb, a white tunic worn as an undergarment in all social classes. A ropelike cincture held the alb in place around the hips. Next was the chasuble, a more colorful poncho-like covering. Over that was the scarf known as the stole, which may have been a symbol of authoritative office. Then came the dalmatic, a more formal alb worn in the imperial court and reserved for the use of bishops and the deacons who served with them. To the bishop was also reserved the wearing of the miter.

After the 7th century secular fashions advanced, strangely enough, as a result of barbarian invasions which brought down the Empire in the West. But church vesture remained the same, now oddly out of step with what everyone else was wearing. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s inaugurated a return to simplicity in vestments, recommending that their beauty derive from “material and design” rather than “lavish ornamentation” (say good-bye to bells and pomegranates!). The continued use of vestments links our celebrations with those of previous generations and enhances the dignity of our assembly—as dressing in “our Sunday best” always has.

Scripture
• Exodus 28, 29, and 39; Leviticus 8; Ezekiel 44:15-19

Online resource
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal, nos. 335-347

Books
• The Symbols of the Church by Maurice Dilasser (Liturgical Press, 1999)
• The Mass and Vestments of the Catholic Church, Liturgical, Doctrinal, Historical, and Archaeological by John Walsh (General Books LLC, 2010; pay-to-download site)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

I love this question. It reminds me of TIME magazine’s famous 1966 cover: “Is God dead?” It’s a hopeful question because it doesn’t presume the answer—which is a good way to approach the realm of mystery.

Some people say they can’t embrace biblical faith because miracles seem so irrational. Others believe precisely because of the “proof” miracles provide. Neither position would make sense to biblical people, who viewed all natural phenomena as God’s personal activity. “Supernatural” events had no place in their understanding. Hebrew scripture doesn’t use the word miracle but speaks of signs, wonders, and mighty deeds that demonstrate God’s authority in the universe. The New Testament uses Greek words for these same concepts, as well as “works”: the particular activity of God and Jesus.

Three major clusters of what we call miracles are found in scripture. First, there’s the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Second, the stories about Elijah and Elisha describe a dynamic duo of wonderworkers. Finally, the power demonstrated by Jesus and the apostles in the early church compose the Christian miracles. The pattern in all these stories is the same: A problem emerges, a miracle solves it, the miracle is confirmed.

Theologians handle the subject of miracles a little differently. They view the miraculous as an aspect of divine revelation and name three foundational miracles by which all other claims must be tested: Creation, Exodus, and Resurrection. Creation provides the original “Wow!” of wonder. That anything exists at all is because God chooses it to be. Exodus communicates God’s desire to save us come hell or, literally, high water. Resurrection is the final transformation of Creation, confirming that God loves us and has the authority to “renew the face of the earth.”

Would theologians say miracles have occurred since the time of Jesus? Emphatically yes. The signs of God’s power to save and transform us and our world are all around us—for those with eyes to see. And if we’re having trouble seeing the wow!—well, as Jesus once suggested, we might not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16: 31).

Scripture
• Genesis 1; Exodus 3-15; 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 13; Matthew 12:-22-28; 16:1-4; Luke 16:19-31; John 6:25-40; Romans 15:18-21; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12

Online resource
• “Miracles: Signs of God’s Presence” by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.

Books
• Miracles by C. S. Lewis (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001)
• The Healing Touch of Mary: Real-Life Stories from Those Touched by Mary by Cheri Lomonte (ACTA/Divine Impressions, 2006)
• God’s Doorkeepers: Padre Pio, Solanus Casey, and André Bessette by Joel Schorn (Servant Books, 2006)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

A spiritual director is a wonderful companion on your life’s journey. Whether you are discerning your vocation or want to tune in to how God is moving in your life, a spiritual director can help you along the way. There are a number of things to consider when looking for a spiritual director.

First, think about the reasons why you are drawn to spiritual direction. What are some of the spiritual or life questions that are on your mind and in your heart? What are some of the significant landmarks of your faith journey?

Second, what are important characteristics of a spiritual director that attract you? Do you prefer a female or male director, someone from your own faith tradition, someone with a sense of humor or familiarity with a particular spirituality or culture?

Third, check out the spiritual directors in your area. Start by asking around and seeing if a leader at your parish or a school chaplain can recommend any spiritual directors. You can also contact local retreat centers. Most will have certified spiritual directors on staff. Attending a retreat led by a spiritual director can be a good way to see if you are comfortable with a person before making a one-on-one appointment. You might also check with local theology schools or religious communities to see if they have a list of spiritual directors. A good resource is Spiritual Directors International which has a “Seek and Find” guide as well as a number of resources on spiritual direction and discernment.

Fourth, meet with a few different spiritual directors. Spiritual directors expect that you will need time to decide if the relationship is a good “fit.” Feel free to ask them questions about how they do spiritual direction, what they think about prayer, and what they find helpful when in discernment. Pay attention to how you feel when talking with the spiritual director and listen to how the Spirit is leading you.

For more suggestions on finding a spiritual director, see Finding a Spiritual Director on the Spiritual Directors International website.

Recently Sister Julie was asked about suggestions for a meaningful gift to someone making their final vows as a member of religious community. She actually gets asked this question a lot and has a page on her website devoted to this topic.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Ministry comes in two parts, according to Saint Paul: gifts (charismata, which originate with the Holy Spirit) and service (diakonia, the service we offer to God and others). Obviously we can’t control who gets the gifts, which include prophecy, teaching, healing, and leadership, among others. But who gets to serve is easy: We all do, each according to our station in life and in the church.

Deacons have been serving in their unique way since the generation after Jesus. Their originally independent office faded after the first few centuries as the role of priests and bishops expanded and became more formalized. After that period and until the Second Vatican Council, the diaconate was simply one of four transitional stepping stones to priesthood: acolyte, lector, deacon, priest. The permanent diaconate, as an independent office, was restored to the church by Pope Paul VI in 1967. That makes it seem like a “new” position and it’s why a lot of us are unsure what deacons do.

So first, an outline of deacons and their territory. The distinction between transitional and permanent diaconate remains: One is a stage toward priesthood, the other an arrival at a final position. Those training for the permanent diaconate may be celibate or married men over the age of 35—if married, the wife must agree to her husband’s ordination and participate in his training. After the proper theological and pastoral training, one is ordained a deacon. This makes him a sharer in the teaching authority of the church. If the local bishop allows, he may preach. His liturgical responsibilities include baptizing, distributing Holy Communion (including and especially to the dying), presiding at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, officiating at marriages, presiding at funerals and burials, and leading worship (but not the Mass, which is reserved to the priesthood).

In addition, deacons have led the community especially in ministry to the disadvantaged. Theological arguments have been advanced in favor of expanding their ministry to the sick to include anointing and hearing confessions. The precedent of history has also been used to argue for expanding candidacy to include women. At present no action has been taken on these recommendations.

Scripture
• Isaiah 42:1-7; Matthew 20:25-28; 25:31-46; Luke 22:27; John 13:1-17; Acts 6:1-6; Romans 16:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 3:8-10, 13

Online resources
• Answers to FAQs on the permanent diaconate, from the Archdiocese of Newark
• “The deacon has many pastoral functions” by Pope John Paul II, General Audience, October 13, 1993

Books
• The Emerging Diaconate: Servant Leaders in a Servant Church by William T. Ditewig (Paulist Press, 2007)
• Deacons and the Church by Owen F. Cummings (Paulist Press, 2004)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Our ideas about prayer often keep us from recognizing it as more than something we do. At heart, prayer is better understood as something that overtakes and envelopes us—not unlike our experience of love. In the celebration of the Mass, our longing for God is answered by the self-gift of God in the Eucharist. This makes the Mass the highest and most perfect prayer.

In the Bible, God’s people demonstrate their longing for God in praise, thanksgiving, intercession, and blessing. These forms of prayer are present in the Mass. In fact, the word Eucharist means “thanksgiving,” and the central part of the Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer, is one of thanks and praise. We offer “asking” prayers at the time of the General Intercessions but we also pray for the living and the dead during the Eucharistic Prayer. In addition, we pray penitentially for our common sinfulness at the start of Mass and receive a blessing at the end. Catholics begin and end prayer with the Sign of the Cross, and the Mass begins and ends with this sign of blessing.

It would be a misperception to view the Mass as prayer only in the sense that it’s full of prayers. The entire liturgy is a “sacrifice of praise” offered in the gift of our time, presence, and mindfulness. (A friend of mine notes that her praying begins on the way to church, as she hopes for a parking place!)

Liturgy means “public work”: It’s the prayer we offer together as the community of faith. It is also the source of all personal prayer, contemplation, and meditation. Our public prayer includes readings from our most sacred books: the Hebrew Law, prophets, and writings as well as the gospels and letters of the early church. The readings are followed by an exhortation known as the homily. Although “the talk in the middle” can seem like a break in the action, it should fit seamlessly with the rest. The homily helps us contemplate the relationship between God’s story and ours as we move to consummate that relationship in the Eucharist.

Scripture
• Exodus 15:1-18; Psalms 8, 19, 100; Luke 1:46-55; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 14:26; Ephesians 1:12; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:9: Revelation 19:1-10

Online resource
• “Praying the Mass” by Father John A. Hardon, S.J.

Books
• The Mass: An Invitation to Enjoy It by Amy Florian (ACTA Publications, 2003)
• Eucharist by Robert Barron (Orbis Books, 2008)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Church social teaching emphasizes respect for the dignity of every person. For this reason Catholics are obliged to consider the common good in their decision-making. I don’t make decisions based solely on what’s best for me, but what’s best for the human family. “The common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1906). If that sounds like a huge responsibility, then you’re hearing it right.

Advancing the common good in the modern world involves five principles: defending the sanctity of human life; strengthening families; providing for the disadvantaged; welcoming the immigrant; and protecting the environment. Sometimes these principles seem to collide: What do we do when what’s good for one threatens the interests of another?

The most serious moral imperative is always to protect the basic right to life, which makes direct assaults on life and human dignity unjustifiable under any conditions. These assaults include but are not exhausted by abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, genocide, torture, racism, imprudent resorting to war, targeting noncombatants, human cloning, and destruction of embryos in genetic testing.

Other Catholic goals less familiarly chanted include providing assistance to families raising children, especially by ensuring quality education, guaranteeing living wages, addressing hunger, encouraging debt relief, widening health care, ending discrimination, promoting religious freedom, pursuing peace, and caring for creation as a whole. If we really are a “human family,” then taking care of the family should be our highest concern.

Scripture
• Deuteronomy 24:17-22; Jeremiah 22:1-5, 13-17; Zechariah 7:9-14; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 4:16-21; 10:25-37; John 13:34-35; James 2:14-17

Online resources
• Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, 1993
• “Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

When you join a religious order, you make a life commitment to become part of a community. That means that the mission and life of the community become your primary way of living for and with God. What you actually do (your job, or ministry, or career) is “filtered” through this life commitment, just as when you marry, your significant decisions (and even insignificant ones!) are considered with your spouse and in light of your relationship.

So when thinking about what you might do as a religious priest, sister, nun, or brother, you must take into consideration not only your own gifts, talents, and passion but also what is good for your community. You need input from other members of the community to get a sense of the common good and how a job possibility or career path might further the community’s mission. In doing this kind of discernment (both personal and communal) you are also tending to what is good for you, too.

That’s the long way of saying that if you are looking into an active community, then yes, you can have a job or career. If you are looking into a contemplative community, then your primary ministry is going to be prayer.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The testimony of eyewitnesses, not necessarily apostles, was valued in compiling the Christian record. It becomes tricky, though, because New Testament materials weren't definitively selected until the 4th century. That's a long way from the generation of eyewitnesses and required sifting through hearsay, because many texts were not initially attributed to anyone. Authorship, therefore, was not as important as authority. Who wrote the testimony wasn't as critical as who was discerned as the original source.

Take Mark. His name didn't appear in the gospel later attributed to him. And who is "Mark" anyway? Not one of the 12 apostles. Paul had a companion John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and several letters. Another Mark is described as close to Peter in the First Letter of Peter. It's possible this is the same person, in which case his testimony derives from an eyewitness and another early source.

Matthew's gospel followed, employing Mark heavily (55 percent of Matthew comes from Mark) and sharing another unknown source (25 percent) with Luke. But who combined these sources with additional material for the final version is uncertain. The apostle Matthew, a.k.a Levi the tax collector, is unlikely. Why would an apostle copy from a non-eyewitness rather than write from memory? Also, this gospel is quite rabbinical in style. A former rabbi or scribe was most likely the final compiler. He may have taken the unique material (20 percent) from sayings attributed to the apostle Matthew.

Luke borrowed from Mark (over 40 percent) and shared material with Matthew. But 35 percent of Luke came from somewhere else. The biblical Luke was a Syrian physician converted by Paul, so at best his story comes to us thirdhand. Even Paul was not a first-generation apostle. Scholars are divided as to whether this Luke was responsible for both Luke and Acts; the arguments are intriguing either way.

Few would attribute the last gospel directly to John, son of Zebedee. It was written very late in the 1st century, when the apostles might be presumed dead. Its authorship could be traced to a community taught by the apostle, or by another well-known Christian teacher named John in Asia Minor at the same time. Many scholars attribute the gospel and letters of John to a group rather than an individual. Ninety percent of this material is unique to the fourth gospel.

Scripture
• Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1-4; John 21:20-25; Acts 1:1-2; Acts 12:12; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; 1 Peter 5:13

Online resource
• “Who really wrote the gospels, and why should we care?” by Felix Just, S.J.

Books
• Four Portraits of Jesus: Studies in the Gospels and Their Old Testament Background by Elizabeth E. Platt (Paulist Press, 2004)
• The What Are They Saying About . . . series: WATSA Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John by various authors (Paulist Press)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

It is possible for a person who has converted to Catholicism to become a religious sister or brother. Many converts to Catholicism are from other Christian traditions but they may also be from other religious traditions or no tradition at all. It can take a year or several years for a person to learn about the Catholic faith and become a full member of the Catholic Church.

Typically religious communities require that a convert be Catholic for at least two years before they can formally seek entrance. That gives the person who converted time and space to live the Catholic faith in “ordinary time”—that is, everyday life with all its ups and downs and in betweens.

During the time that one is preparing to become a Catholic, usually a process that follows the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a person can certainly explore religious life and learn about sisters and brothers and their mission and way of life. It’s important, however, to tend to the calling to become Catholic, because that is its own calling from God.

When a person and a religious community are ready to begin a formal discernment with one another, there is nothing that is really different between a convert’s experience and a lifelong Catholic’s experience. It is important in so far as it is a significant landmark on our spiritual journey, and for each of us those landmarks will be different or have different meanings attached to them. And if there are areas that a new member needs more study or training in—be it Catholic theology, or pastoral care, or professional skills—the community may encourage them to pursue those.

These are good things to talk about with your spiritual director or vocation director who can help you integrate your calling to the Catholic faith with a calling to religious life or any other form of consecrated life as a Catholic person.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Original sin is not so-named in the biblical Creation story, which describes the event mythically. Obviously it’s not only about eating a piece of fruit. Rather, Genesis presents the universal experience of free choice exercised without wisdom. For God’s creatures, the wise choice is made in the direction of God’s will, ordered toward life and happiness. Only the foolish choose in deliberate opposition to God, a direction leading invariably to sorrow and death.

Although original sin seems to refer exclusively to “the first sin ever committed,” more profoundly it identifies the origin of sin as well. From what aspect of human nature does sin arise? Pride is often fingered as “the mother of all sins.” It’s the Frank Sinatra Complex: “I did it my way!” Another good description of the source of sin is disobedience, because “obedience” is rooted in the Latin word for "listening." Tune out God, the source of truth, and don’t be surprised when you’re lost in a forest of lies. As the saying goes, I’d turn back if I were you.

Lust gets tapped as the root of sin because our sexuality is such a basic, instinctual part of us that, to many ages of thinkers, that alone made it suspect. A better theological word for this idea is concupiscence, because desire tugs at us in more ways than only the sexual. Shorthand for concupiscence is “the sin of more.” No matter what we have—money, possessions, success, pleasure, leisure—it’s never enough. It’s that feeling we get after having a fantastic slice of pie that makes us reach for another—even though we’re already full. We just want to hit that sweet spot again.

That probably led the Christian writer C. S. Lewis to say, OK, maybe it really is about that piece of fruit, in his wonderful sci-fi novel Perelandra. Humanity gets a second shot at a new and sinless planet. Then an earthling tastes an amazing fruit, is completely delighted and satisfied—and immediately wants another. What part of “perfect experience” didn’t he understand?

Saint Augustine of Hippo is often cited as the inventor of the doctrine of original sin in the 4th century. The idea certainly had predecessors, but Augustine gave us the first thorough examination of conscience in his Confessions. He also gave us the prayer that helps us to appreciate why human nature is so greedy for more: “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

Scripture
• Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Wisdom 2:24; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-28

Online resources
• Saint Augustine on the Fall, from the City of God.
• “Sex, Sin, and Salvation: What Augustine Really Said,” lecture by David G. Hunter, Ph.D.

Books
• Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings by Tatha Wiley (Paulist Press, 2002)
• Evolution and Eden: Balancing Original Sin and Contemporary Science by Jerry D. Korsmeyer (Paulist Press, 1998)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

If I had to identify one church question most vital to address in the 21st century, it would be this one. Today we inhabit a global community that is drawing ever-more closely together. It’s like the world got shrink-wrapped in a single generation and we’re all breathing the same remarkably limited and interdependent air now.

Theologians at the Second Vatican Council saw this new reality on the horizon and recognized that the church had to reexamine and clarify its interfaith stance. In the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate, 1965) it formally opened the issue to further exploration.

Note: A “declaration” isn’t the same thing as a “dogmatic constitution,” of which the same Council produced a few. Constitutions are fairly finished documents, not to be tampered with in their essence. Declarations blaze a trail, or at least mark the trailhead, but welcome refinement and progress.

Nostra Aetate, while not a perfect document, had some remarkable things to say. It asserts unequivocally that humanity is one community with a common destiny in God. People turn to different religions in search of the same answers to questions as fundamental as: What is the purpose of life? What is good and evil? Where does suffering come from and what is its meaning? What leads to happiness? What lies beyond death?

Then the document makes its boldest claim: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions” (no. 2). While Christians are bound to witness to “Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6),” we should also “acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians.”

It lists, for starters, that Hindus seek the divine mystery in myth and philosophy, and practice asceticism, meditation, and confidence in God’s love. Buddhists testify to the inadequacies of the material world and that wisdom must be sought through liberation from the trap of possessions. Muslims worship the one God, see in Abraham a spiritual father, and regard Jesus as a holy man and Mary as a source of intercession. Muslims adhere to familiar practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Our shared spiritual heritage with the Jewish community is so intimate that it has spawned many additional teachings since Vatican II. Pope John Paul II called Judaism “the elder brother” of Christianity. Stay tuned as the interfaith dialogue continues!

Scripture
Isaiah 66:23; John 14:6; Acts 17:26; Romans 9:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Galatians 3:7-9; Revelation 21:24

Online resources
• Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate) (October 28, 1965)
• What the Catholic Church Has Learnt from Interreligious Dialogue by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, M. Afr. (2006)

Books
• The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope and Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims by Joan Chittister, Saadi Shakur Chishti, and Arthur Waskow (Beacon Press, 2006)
• One Earth, Many Religions by Paul F. Knitter (Orbis Books, 1995)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

The Sacrament of Penance, popularly called "confession" and recently redubbed the "Rite of Reconciliation," seems to have undergone a sea change in the last generation. But the difference is form, not substance. The name "Penance" focuses on what we must do to reform our lives. "Confession" emphasizes the need to be honest about what makes such change necessary. "Reconciliation" underscores the purpose of the sacrament: to restore our friendship with God. All of these names point to the same sacramental episode, but they highlight different chapters of it, we might say.

Here are the "Five C’s" of the Rite of Reconciliation as described by Father Paul Boudreau: Conviction, Confession, Contrition, Compensation, and Correction. These steps haven’t changed no matter what you call them. The first is Conviction: I admit I've done wrong. That’s covered in the opening line of the Rite: "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." You can use this formula or another suitable expression of owning the truth. Confession is how I hand over the actual matter of my responsibility: What did I do or fail to do that puts me at odds with God, others, or myself?

Contrition is next. Reciting an Act of Contrition is a time-honored way of expressing "a lively sorrow" for sin in your life. If you don't know this prayer by heart you can find it in any collection of Catholic prayers (see link below) and read it aloud at this time. Or express your regret in your own words. As you express contrition the priest offers the formula of absolution the church prescribes.

Compensation is where the priest "gives you a penance." If you stole something, you have to return it. If the offense is less tangible, you may be asked to spend time in prayer or in other ways demonstrate your good will.

Finally there's the matter of Correction. In the Act of Contrition we pray: "I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin." With God's help we're not going to repeat this behavior. To strengthen this resolve we're going to avoid places, people, and patterns that initiated this behavior in the past. These steps to restoration are valid not only in the rites of the church but in any relationship where reconciliation is needed.

Scripture
Matthew 26:27-28; Luke 1:76-79; 3:3; 5:20-24, 30-32; 6:37; 7:36-50; 15:1-32; 23:34; 24:46-47

Online resources
• Acts of Contrition
• Reconciliation and Penance, Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II 

Books
• The Forgiveness Book: A Catholic Approach by Paul Boudreau and Alice Camille (ACTA, 2008)
• Premeditated Mercy: A Spirituality of Reconciliation by Joseph Nassal (Forest of Peace/Ave Maria Press, 2000)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Discerning a vocation can be like the old adage: A watched pot never boils. I know that to be true. During my discernment when I was trying to figure out how God was calling me, I felt as if I would never get to the point of knowing for sure that God was calling me, let alone exactly to what that call was. I had some helps along the way—a spiritual director, supportive friends, and an inquisitive mind that always kept me asking questions of myself and of God. Though I felt as if I were getting nowhere, I realized later that the more I consciously tended to God and sorted through my life with all its hopes and dreams and struggles, the more I was growing into my calling. All of a sudden, so it seemed, the pot was boiling. I wasn’t exactly sure how I got there, but I felt ready to take a step towards what God was calling me.

The process was both an active one and one of simply living life. In terms of an active process I was conscious that I wanted my life to be more oriented around God. And I realized I didn’t have to wait for God to send me a big sign in the sky to act on that. The first step for me was to be more faithful to prayer. That meant praying each day and also learning about different ways to pray. I was attracted to praying with the psalms and also to silent prayer, so I tried them. I also began seeing a spiritual director, someone who could walk with me on my spiritual journey and help me to see the ways God was moving in my life. I began reading more of the saints (Saint Teresa of Avila in particular) and also, when I was finally willing to admit I might be attracted to religious life, to get to know sisters around me. I went on retreat and I tried to make concrete in my daily life the gospel that I was committed to following.

In the midst of taking these kinds of concrete steps I also kept living my life. While the discernment part of things was a real struggle for me, I was free in my “normal” life to just be. I was a grad student, so I was studying, hanging out with friends, working, and enjoying life. Over time I began to feel shifts within my own self, shifts toward feeling more like myself, feeling more alive than ever. My friends started noticing that, too. By being intentional about my discernment and also integrating it with my everyday life, I found that I had already been living into the calling that God was nudging me toward.

If you are wondering if God is nudging you in a particular direction, I encourage you to explore your life and faith and to pick up a few discernment tools. There are lots of articles dealing with discernment and prayer on this website. Look into spiritual direction and find a saint or spiritual book that speaks to you. Take action to practice and grow the values you wish to reflect in your life. And along the way trust in the God who has known you your whole life and is with you every step of your journey.

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Your basic church takes its cue from the Greek origins of the word assembly and also the phrase "belonging to the Lord." If a building is consecrated to assemble the faithful for worship (those also known collectively as the church), and if the building is therefore a "house of God," then it's a church.

A cathedral, by contrast, is the particular church in which the bishop presides over worship and, by extension, over the diocese at large. Historically, cathedrals were grand works of art that took centuries to build: Those who began the construction rarely saw its completion. The cathedrals of Europe were vibrant centers of urban life and learning. Cathedrals tended to be larger than the average church, although the trend toward mega-churches in parts of the United States today have made some local cathedrals seem diminutive by comparison.

Basilicas were originally official buildings of the Roman Empire; the Greek word means "king's hall." When Christians acquired these buildings they were appropriated for Christ the King. These historical structures include four major basilicas of Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, St. Paul's Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major.

One might imagine there could be no such thing as a modern basilica by definition. But minor basilicas continue to be named according to a church's historical significance for a particular region. At present more than 1,500 basilicas encircle the globe, with four countries—Italy, France, Poland, and Spain—garnering over 100 each. Five cities enjoy more than ten basilicas, including Rome, Buenos Aires, and Krakow. Jerusalem and Paris each have five. The U.S. has 65 basilicas, including the Cathedral of St. Augustine, Florida, where the first American Catholic parish was founded; Mission Dolores in San Francisco; Sacred Heart Basilica on the campus of the University of Notre Dame; and the Baltimore cathedral.

If churches are intended to gather all the faithful to worship, chapels (sometimes called oratories) serve more specific populations. Folks stuck in airports appreciate the terminal chapel; prisons, hospitals, schools, convents, and religious houses also have chapels for their communities. Each bishop has the right to an oratory in his residence. In addition, some churches have a smaller chapel attached for daily use.

Scripture
Exodus 3:4-5; Isaiah 56:6-8; Psalms 24, 42, 84, 95, 100, 122, 133; Mark 11:15-17

Online resource
Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Books
Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley by Richard Kieckhefer (Oxford University Press, 2008)
How to Read a Church: A Guide to Symbols and Images in Churches and Cathedrals by Richard Taylor (HiddenSpring, 2005)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.

Formally known as the Way of the Cross, but popularly called the Stations, this devotion emerged not from scripture but from the practice of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Since the time of Constantine, pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem to walk the Via Dolorosa ("Way of Sorrow") from Pilate's house to Golgotha, meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus. Depending on your guide this journey could include 18, 25, or as many as 37 different stops or "stations" of meditation.

For various reasons—distance, expense, and shifting political landscapes among them—it wasn't always possible for people to get to Israel. Yet the grace available in "taking up the cross" with Jesus was deemed valuable enough to seek a way to make this pilgrimage locally accessible to the faithful of Europe.

That led the Franciscans, in whose stewardship the holy sites of Jerusalem were entrusted, to franchise the Via Dolorosa in first one then several sites in Europe. "The Seven Falls of Jesus" consolidated this early Way of the Cross, three of which are preserved in our current Fourteen Stations. (Four of the meetings along the way—with Jesus' Mother, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the Holy Women of Jerusalem—are considered remnants of the other Falls once observed.)

By the 16th century papal support for this devotion increased the demand for Stations in monasteries, convents, and churches. They became so popular that it would be hard to find a church, chapel, or oratory today that doesn't have the Way of the Cross erected within its walls or on its grounds in the open air. Fourteen Stations became established as the standard by the 18th century, and the Stabat Mater hymn (At the Cross Her Station Keeping) has become the traditional song for public devotions.

While images of each event often accompany the Stations, they are not required. The actual Station is represented by the cross itself, to be made of wood. The image may be fashioned of any material. Some artists have added a 15th Station of the Resurrection to create theological balance; others have rewritten the Stations to represent only scripturally based events. This devotion remains a vibrant way to embrace the spirit of pilgrimage and to contemplate how to "take up the cross" where we live.

Scripture
See the Passion accounts in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18-19

Online resource
www.usccb.org/nab/stations.htm (alternative Stations prayed by Pope John Paul II)

Books
The New Stations of the Cross: The Way of the Cross According to Scripture by Megan McKenna (Image Books, 2003)
Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross by Henri J. M. Nouwen (Orbis Books, 1990)
The Way of the Cross with the Women of the Gospels by Sister Ruth Fox, O.S.B. (Liturgy Training Publications)

Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com. ©TrueQuest Communications.