Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION July 17, 2013 I Denver CatholiC register proclaimed the Father and the New testament the Son. According to the Saint, how is the Holy Spirit known? A. through the preaching of the Apostles B. by his dwelling among us C. in the conscience and the consciousness of the baptized GeoRGe WeIGel A new approach to modern Catholic history Criticism comes with the territory when you write books, and the best for which any author can hope is intelligent criticism that engages your argument and leads to new insight all around. Alas, that's too often the exception, especially among the more ideologically entrenched of Catholic intellectuals and reviewers. Thus I've been disappointed that, from both the port and starboard sides of the Barque of Peter, several reviewers have either missed the point of, or not engaged the argument about, modern Catholic history that I offered in "Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church" (Basic Books). The book begins with an obvious fact: Benedict XVI was certain to be the last pope to have attended Vatican II. That fact led to an equally obvious conclusion: an era in Catholic history was coming to an end. Which conclusion, in turn, led to two obvious questions: When did that era begin, and how should it be described? It seemed to me myopic to assume or argue that the period in question began with Vatican II. A more sophisticated form of this myopia opened the historical lens wider, finding in the Catholic biblical, liturgical, theological and social action movements of the mid-20th century the antecedents to the Council. But was that going far enough back to get the era into clear focus? I thought not. For those reform movements themselves had antecedents in the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), who abandoned the defensive strategy of Gregory XVI and Pius IX in the face of cultural and political modernity, and who sought to engage these "new things" (as Leo styled his most famous encyclical) in a critical, authentically Catholic way. Leo XIII, I proposed, was the man whose 25-year-long papacy marked the beginning of the era that was coming to an end with Benedict XVI. And how should that era be described? I suggested that the past century and a quarter was the last, extended moment of Counter-Reformation Catholicism: the mode of being Catholic that came into being, largely through the Council of Trent, in response to the challenges posed by the Protestant Reformation and the first stirrings of modern cultural, social, economic and political life. Now, I suggested, Counter-Reformation Catholicism—the way-of-being-Church in which every Catholic over 50 today grew up—was giving way to the Catholicism of the New Evangelization, or what I and others call "Evangelical Catholicism." I thought this way of framing modern Catholic history offered a more complete account of the Catholic drama from my grandparents' day to my grandson's that was typically on offer. It linked Leo XIII to Vatican II via the reformist movements Leo's pontificate had set in motion. And it stretched Vatican II and its authentic interpretation into the pontificates of two men, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who as young participants at the Council had helped shape its call to the Church to re-imagine itself as a communion of disciples in mission. When I explain this out on the hustings, people seem genuinely appreciative: dots get connected, and what seems a fragmented, even indecipherable history begins to display Henry James's "figure in the carpet:" the narrative thread that ties together a very complex business—which modern Catholic history undoubtedly is. I don't think this proposal is "idiosyncratic," as one starboard-leaning reviewer put it; nor is it "odd," as a brother on the portside had it. It's not even original, for as I explain in the book, the idea emerged out of a decade of conversation with my friend, Professor Russell Hittinger, who has done important and groundbreaking work on Leo XIII. My proposal may, however, challenge the comfort zones of those still stuck in Counter-Reformation Catholicism. For my further suggestion is that Evangelical Catholicism is not some 50-yard line between Catholic left and Catholic right, but a vision of Church far beyond those polarities. If that's "idiosyncratic" or "odd," then so were John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and so is Francis, the evangelical pope from the far end of the earth. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Weigel's column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Denver Archdiocese. Phone: 303-715-3215. By PEtER WEStHOFF All about the Holy Spirit A quiz on Catholic things under the patronage of the "Doctor of Prayer," St. Teresa of Avila. For each question there is one right answer, but that answer may be the unwritten choice of "D," which stands for "None of the Above." The following quiz covers Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 683-701. 1. St. Gregory Nazianzus says that the Old testament stefanick from page 3 will end, and the left wing of the gay movement doesn't intend for it to end there. When you've beaten the opposition by labeling them "bigots," they don't end up being equals. What they're after is a crushing victory of a new definition of marriage over a definition based on natural law and affirmed by divine law (Scripture). Don't believe me? David Parker does. He was put in handcuffs for his unbending refusal to have his kindergartener taught about same-sex marriage in the classroom in Massachusetts. So does Pastor Stephen Boissoin who was sued for writing about marriage in Canada (it took him several years of costly legal battles to fight that suit). So do the good people at Ocean Grove Methodist Camp, which lost part of its tax exempt status for refusing to let its grounds be used for gay marriage in New Jersey. The list goes on and on. the catechism gives eight specific ways we come to know the Holy Spirit through the Church. the next two questions are about these eight ways. the catechism gives eight symbols of the Holy Spirit. Our last two questions are about these. 6. this symbol brings to mind the transforming YEAR 2. We know the Holy energy of the Holy OF FAITH Spirit through these Spirit's action. SCRIpTuRE whenever he interA. the dove cedes for us: B. water "For through faith you A. the Scriptures C. fire are children of God in B. prayers Christ Jesus." 7. these two symbols C. charisms and — Gal 3:26 are considered togethministries er in the theophanies of 3. We know the Holy Spirit the Old testament and then through the words and symbols fulfilled in Christ: of: A. anointing and seal A. the sacramental liturgy B. cloud and light B. tradition C. finger and hand C. the Church's magisterium 4. What is the common translation of "Paraclete" when it refers to the Holy Spirit? A. Instructor B. Companion C. Guide The tragedy for the gay movement is that no matter how many laws we pass or people we silence, samesex couples can never have "equality" if by equality they mean, "the same thing that mixed gender couples share." They can never enjoy the one-flesh union that since the dawn of mankind has consummated marriage and carried on the human race. This act has profound meaning not just because it's an expression of affection, but because—by its nature—it is ordered to something as profound as new life, which demands so much commitment. The act itself, which only man and woman can share, speaks a vow. And for all our attempts to re-write marriage law, we can't re-write the language of our bodies. If that's discriminatory, then nature is discriminatory. And here's the catch: thanks to natural law, we all kind of know that on some level. When people claim that the natural function of our body parts seems, to them, wildly irrelevant when it comes to sexual ethics, or that they . B, 2. B, 3. A, 4. D – Consoler, 5. , 6. C, 7. B the CatholiC DiFFerenCe 5. St. Paul uses many titles in referring to the Holy Spirit, each preceded by "Spirit of": promise, adoption, Christ, God. St. Peter adds one other title in his first epistle: A. Spirit of Love B. Spirit of Glory C. Spirit of Unity Next quiz covers catechism Nos. 694-701. just can't see the difference between the sexual union of a man and woman and the sexual "union" of two women, or that the complementarity of the sexes strikes them as utterly meaningless—they're either kidding themselves, or they've done a lifetime of hard work to hide the truth from their intellects. But our new social structures won't erase the truth written in hearts and bodies. And the new "tolerant inquisition" gaining steam that seeks to silence us with accusations of "hate speech" and "discrimination" for talking about things like natural law and the common good won't stop us from speaking the truth in love. (If we're persecuted for that, so be it. We Christians live for persecution.) In that light, very little has changed. Visit speaker and author Christopher Stefanick at www. RealLifeCatholic.com. Stefanick's column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Denver Archdiocese. ARCHBISHOp AQuILA'S SCHEDuLE July 19: Mass to commemorate the first anniversary of the Aurora theater shootings, St. Michael the Archangel Church, Aurora (7 p.m.) July 23–July 28: International World Youth Day, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil CORRECTIONS Due to an oversight, an article in the July 3 issue about the Prayer in the Square rally did not list one speaker. Joe Walters, dean of spiritual formation at the Colorado Christian University, also spoke at the rally. The Register regrets the omission. The total number of homes destroyed in the Black Forest Fire was recently downgraded to 486. In the story "Black Forest Fire victims using faith to recover their lives" in the July 3 Denver Catholic Register, the number of homes lost is stated as more than 500.

• Cover