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FATHER RON ROLHEISER, OMI
The first keynote speaker on Oct. 28, Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI, is president of Oblate School of Theology (OST). His books are popular throughout the English-speaking world and his weekly column is carried by more than 50 newspapers worldwide, including Today’s Catholic. For most of his 28 years of priesthood he taught philosophy at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Canada, and he remains an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University.
In addressing the topic, “Take Your Spirituality to Heart,” Father Rolheiser said that in Western society we have the greatest freedoms women and children have ever enjoyed in history. “Freedom is a great gift, but fundamentalism imposes certain restrictions,” he emphasized. “Jesus came to set us free. Freedom is a gift from God. God came to get us freedom.”
However, Father Rolheiser also described how freedom is a burden and a responsibility. “We don’t have the maturity to match our freedoms. Jesus was the freest person ever, but he didn’t sin,” said the Oblate priest.
The OST president recalled the words of Henri Nouwen, who he praised as the best spiritual writer of the last 50 to 70 years, as cautioning us to never underestimate our culture and its power. “We are growing morally in some areas as we are going backwards in others. Our culture is the most powerful narcotic ever perpetrated on our planet,” Father Rolheiser said.
The best-selling author then listed what he highlighted as being four Biblical invitations:
1. Ask Jesus for what Bartemaeus, the blind man in Mark’s Gospel, asks for.
2. Keep changing water into wine.
3. Be perfect as our Father is perfect.
4. Eat the Body of Christ.
“Bartemaeus represents good soil. He represents healing and calls out to Jesus,” Father Rolheiser explained. “It’s more important to be fruitful than to own the vineyard. We want to be the people who bring wine to the community. We need hearts shaped by compassion to be perfect as our Father is perfect.”
He also quoted from fellow author John Shea, who said, “Only Jesus does God real well.”
“The former philosophy professor continued, “Perfection means compassion. Have a heart shaped by compassion. The quality of your faith will be judged by the quality of your justice.”
He concluded by saying, “Jesus took the mantle of leadership and turned it into the apron of service. Dealing with Christ means dealing with the body. Jesus said, ‘You cannot deal with God without dealing with each other.”
SISTER ADDIE LORRAINE WALKER, SSND
Father Rolheiser’s address was followed by Sister Addie Lorraine Walker, SSND, who spoke on “Taking the Gospel Message to Heart.”
Sister Walker is the provincial leader for the School Sisters of Notre Dame of the Dallas Province. She holds a master’s degree from Xavier University in Louisiana and a doctorate in religion and education from Boston College. Sister Walker has served as an educator at both Assumption Seminary and Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio.
Sister Walker began by telling the audience that the divine call needs a human answer. “God needs your hands and your feet,” she stressed. “You are a proclamation of God’s good news, the mysterious interaction of divine call and human response. You are the continuation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The province leader of the School Sisters of Notre Dame then asked, “What is God asking of you? How has the divine call taken flesh in your life?”
She told listeners to take the Gospel to heart and have the courage to pray, courage to love, courage to serve and courage to teach.
The seminary educator went into detail, explaining that the courage to pray asks the faithful to be in relationship with all that belongs to God, to listen, to do whatever God tells you, to love God and trust God’s love for you and to love yourself as God loves you.
As for the courage to serve, “be a good steward of all that you received,” Sister Walker said. “And what you have received as gift, give it away.”
Lastly, she focused on the courage to teach. That entails the ability to live as good news, to be a true disciple, to be an educator in all that you are and all that you do and to witness to your relationship with Jesus in all that you do.
ANTHONY R. FLEO
“Enflaming the Heart for the Mission of Catechesis” was the subject of the presentation by Anthony Fleo, who serves as pastoral associate for a large suburban parish in Plano.
He is a founding partner of E2Organizational Consultants and Psychologists and has served as adjunct faculty for the Pastoral Studies Department of the University of Dallas and the Diaconate Formation Program for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Fleo holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Duquesne University with concentrations in psychology and theology.
The third and final keynoter for the day told several hundred attendees they are called to act in an intentional and deliberate fashion when conducting ministry efforts in their parishes.
“Leaders understand mission, and we are a mission drive people,” said Fleo. “Love is doing for the sake of the other person what you normally would not do for yourself.”
In Biblical justice, he said, everyone gets what they need in order to live a dignified life.
When planning programs, Fleo told the audience of catechetical leaders that the first question should be, “How does this help parents raise their children?” He replied, “That question is critical to the survival of the church.”
The pastoral associate added, “Each of us is called to be a leader. We are called to be transformational leaders, to transform the world and raise it to a higher moral standard than we found it.”
He told listeners that people would be coming to them as seekers, believers, learners, disciples and apostles.
Quoting from Pope John Paul II, Fleo ended by saying, “Each of the baptized is called to be disciples and apostles. It is our responsibility to respond in appropriate ways to that mission.”
ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ
The closing liturgy for the event was celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez. In his homily, the archbishop said that Oct. 28, the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, was a fitting end to the conference.
“We are here to strengthen our faith and grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, taking to heart our belief and to make others believe,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Sts. Simon and Jude were martyrs. St. Simon was a zealot and St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases. There are two things useful for us at the end of this conference.”
Quoting from St. Paul, who said, “We are no longer strangers and sojourners but members of the house of God,” the archbishop explained that the work of the new evangelization is to tell everyone about Christ. “When church speaks on the issues of the day, she speaks as the Body of Christ,” the prelate said. “He has chosen to speak through his church. The church has no power except through the Body of Christ.”
Archbishop Gomez emphasized that there is a crucial need in our time to re-educate Catholic people in the basic teachings of the faith. “Fight religious indifference but also religious ignorance,” he urged. “Unfortunately, many Catholics no longer fight this battle. In the new evangelization we must find new ways to express the faith, to convince people of the beauty of the Catholic faith.”
The archbishop continued, “We must accept that Jesus is calling each one of us today to preach the Gospel all over the world, starting with the people of San Antonio. The new evangelization is a big responsibility, but to those whom much has been given, much is required. Keep growing closer to Jesus and keep trying to keep headed the right way.” The prelate told worshippers to turn always to the Scriptures to guide them in their apostolic vocation, as the Scriptures will give truth to all that is just.
“You are trusted to communicate the wisdom of God which is love, and the message of love comes from Jesus Christ,” he exclaimed. “It will solve all the problems of the world, and the amazing thing is that it is in our hands. It won’t happen overnight, but it is there.”
Archbishop Gomez closed by challenging the audience, “May we take it to heart to renew our missionary call.”
The 2007 Catholic Formation and Leadership Conference will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26 and 27. The theme will be: “Catechesis: Encountering the Living Christ.” |