The first video from Saint Superman!
Superman is a Saint
If Superman represents the greatness contained in all men and women, written upon our hearts by the very God we seek to serve, then we represent that that very greatness can be attained by anyone, that it is a fundamentally human goal, and indeed, is the very reason each and every one of us is here. John Paul II, another superhero, once wrote to our generation "Never settle for less than the moral and spiritual greatness of which you all are capable." Let's take those words to heart, and live our lives, in Christ, the very source and inspiration for us, who is indeed the greatest hero of all.
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5 comments
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August 7, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Erik
I agree that peoples understanding or awareness of sin stills leaves much to be desired. But i think the order of things should still have us preach love before sin. I think you have something with Paul’s point about the law being made to be broken in order to show us how we fall short. To put a mirror up to us and confront us with our sinfulness. But i doubt how receptive people would be to the law in this day in age.
I think it’s ironic that you say knowledge of sinfulness should be preached more, when, if you ask most catholics, the one thing they most likely will say they learned being catholic was that they are a sinner. The church has always seemed to do well in emphasizing sinfulness.
What pushes people away in my opinion is that lack of witnesses to radical and genuine love. I think we must first preach with love because love testifies to sinfulness because of the conspicuous lack of it. People who don’t know love will not receive well the message of their sinfulness. They will only receive the message of sin with bitterness and resentment. Love helps to reveal our sin because it puts into clearer context of what and who our sin offends. Witnessing the compassion on the street of giving alms, or of volunteers who serve the misfortunate and poor; penetrates our hearts and show us the capacity for love in humanity. It begins to remind us of the lack of time we have spent loving others.
People doubt genuine love. They think it’s all show, that it’s all for some self serving power game to get ahead, to get a pat on the back from society. I’ve had a kid in my ministry who expressed this very sentiment. They doubt love because they have been hurt, and they do not trust anymore, they do not want to give anyone a chance to hurt them again. I’ve been rereading Shane Claiborn’s Irresistible Revolution, and i must say what most inspires me about him is his courageous attitude in loving others, of putting love into action. If more of us did that, then peoples ears might be more open to the message of salvation or even recognize their need for it themselves.
August 10, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Jordan Henderson
I think the faithful Catholics would be very receptive to tough messages. Watered down catechesis is how we got in a lot of trouble today.
I can hardly recall a single Homily being preached that doesn’t touch upon Love and yet I rarely hear sin and sinfulness touched upon at all.
Is Love greater than Sin? Absolutely. Should Love be preached? Yes! But, it’s not Love first then Sin, nor convict first, then Love, it’s Both/And preach Love and Sin.
What does Love and the Law intersect? The whole of the Law is; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Just as the Law is Both Love God and Your Neighbor, Love and Law are not in any way in conflict.
Ultimately, all Sin is rooted in not loving God, not learning the ways of God and thus not knowing what is offensive to God. Christ said, If you Love me keep my commandments.
I think Catholics have a pretty clear idea that God Loves them. Seeing as most Catholics aren’t even really convicted that God wants them to attend Mass every day of Obligation, it’s pretty clear they are less sure of what constitutes Sin.
August 13, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Erik
“I think the faithful Catholics would be very receptive to tough messages. Watered down catechesis is how we got in a lot of trouble today.”
I am not advocating watered down catechesis, i am very much in agreement that we should not sugar coat or diminish the message of the gospel and it’s demands. My comment about the receptivity of the Law was more in response to a conversation Brian and I had about this a month ago regarding how the world is becoming more and more post christian. That we would have to evangelize first by preaching the law so that people could become aware again of the way in which the fall short(sin) and then from there we should show them the law of love. Really all i am saying is: don’t forget the love, because, well frankly, it’s easy for most of us to. My experiences in ministry have taught me that we must continually remember that we are doing what we do out of love.
“Is Love greater than Sin? Absolutely. Should Love be preached? Yes! But, it’s not Love first then Sin, nor convict first, then Love, it’s Both/And preach Love and Sin.”
I agree, i think it’s both/and. After all, it’s not like you stop loving someone when you start preaching about sin, in fact it is an act of love to make people more aware of sinfulness. My point was more to stress that love should be in the equation and that the banner of love should be at the head when preaching sin. The love preached is a radical one, it is a challenging confronting love that sheds light on the darkest places. I agree that Love and Law are not in conflict.
“I can hardly recall a single Homily being preached that doesn’t touch upon Love and yet I rarely hear sin and sinfulness touched upon at all.”
To be honest i’ve heard my fair share of both, which is good. Really i am just speaking from my own experience and my impression is that for a bunch of people it seems that the church’s message is pared down to: we are all sinners and are going to hell unless we repent (but perhaps this is a sentiment more common among the older generation). Which, while true, in a basic sense, does not communicate the whole message. The sad part is that the people who have this impression probably don’t attend mass regularly and thus don’t hear the abundant homily’s on Gods love.
“I think Catholics have a pretty clear idea that God Loves them. Seeing as most Catholics aren’t even really convicted that God wants them to attend Mass every day of Obligation, it’s pretty clear they are less sure of what constitutes Sin.”
This pretty clear idea of Gods love is surely not clear enough because a clear understanding of god’s love would reveal our own sinfulness. For knowing his love is to know he died because of our sin; to free us from it.
August 14, 2010 at 12:25 am
Marie
I absolutely loved this!! Both the video and your opinion on the subject. I certainly look forward to learning more from someone on the seminarian journey. I agree on all counts regarding Law and Love, but it seems we’re mostly coming at this from a ‘Catholic’ perspective, and not a secular one. Honestly, in my own experience, it’s almost better to assume this perspective.
On that note, then, what’s been really striking to me is coming to understand the person of Jesus Christ. Thank God for Pope Benedict because he’s done so much for me in revealing this simple yet astounding truth. Once we know who Jesus is, we can understand love and mercy, and put ‘the law’ in context. I remarked once before on how I personally discovered the meaning of sin (http://www.confessionsofacatholic.com/2010/06/spanish-told-me-what-sin-really-meant/), but far more important is the God-Man who saved us from it. I suppose the challenge then is still how to tell people about it, but as mentioned earlier, I think a good witness is the right place to start – ‘create a clean heart in me, oh God, and *then* will I show transgressors your ways’ Psalm 51!
Bless you all, and thanks for a wonderful discussion
March 18, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Brian Patrick Cork
well… thanks for taking up the flag and working to become a priest.
there will never be enough Christians until everyone is, right? so, we need both good examples, and people to lead us. both those baring points illuminate the objective.
you are such a clear writer. and, maybe because of that you are, not yet a clear speaker. but, to lead, your oratorial skills will need to improve. so, solid effort Brian.
Cork