Projects, Programs, Procedures, Oh My!
March 08, 2017
Which is why, at this point, readers may have noticed that, in a chapter on “repairing God’s house,” they’ll find no new ideas for projects, programs, studies, procedures for nominating bishops, committees, structures, offices, synods, councils, pastoral plans, changed teaching, new teaching, budget realignments, sweeping reforms, or reshuffled personnel.
None of those things matter. Or rather, none of them is essential. The only thing essential, to borrow a thought from the great Leon Bloy, is to be a saint. And we do that, as a Church and as individuals, by actually living what we claim to believe, and believing the faith that generations of Christians have suffered and died to sustain. If we want to repair God’s house, if we want to renew the Church, we need to start with a reform of our own hearts, with an unflinchingly honest look at ourselves. And we certainly have a motive to do so: We can count on demanding times ahead. However we manage it, we need to be bolder and more loving in our Catholic witness, both personally and as a family of faith. Because anything else, no matter how pious its veneer, is dead weight.
Chaput, Charles J.. Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World (p. 203-204). Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.