Sunday, November 04, 2012

Bl. John Paul, Pope Benedict, and Vatican II...

...and an evangelical approach to the Faith.  Lots of  good material in Maryvale studies (in addition to academic work, I decided to take a course in Evangelisation, and am loving it).   The Second Vatican Council emphasised the importance of every baptised Christian being a missionary, bringing the message of Christ to the world.

For years, I  heard a sort of general  message that "before Vatican II everything was going well - we didn't need this Council", and in a way I sort of accepted this without thinking about it very much. I  took the attitude that, well, the Council happened and we had somehow  to make the best of it. But I also knew that this was a lazy approach and that the reality was all rather different. When I actually studied the documents and also related them to my own experiences of being an active Catholic, I realised how crucial and valuable it all was and is.

And now, here I am, celebrating the 50th anniversary of that Council and seeing the hugeness of it . And the Catechism, the 20th anniversary of which we mark this year: our family copy, much used, is on the ledge beside me as I write this.


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