By
the time we arrived at our destination, the Shrine of St. James at
Compostela most are fully
aware of the nourishment needed (in every sense of the word). All have been
made aware of our needs along the road; those needs will be addressed at our
destination. But
the destination will be of no benefit whatsoever to those among us who have
failed to achieve spiritual enlightenment along the road.
I
heard all of the above rubbish from my fellow pilgrims. It is the sort of
jargon that goes with this territory. As for myself, I merely survived, a not
inconsiderable achievement! See you soon
It is sadly true that
very many of those who go to church and regard themselves as faithful
Christians actually have very little grasp of what the Christian religion is
about. People tend to express their emotional needs in the available language
and images of Christianity and then to construct a kind of personalised
'do-it-yourself' version of the faith. This, in turn, they expect the Church to
reflect. When they discover that their own understanding of Christianity is
different from the official version they are offended, and some leave the
Church in a state of aggravated disillusionment. But many others do not get to
that stage, because nobody in the Church ever explains the doctrines and
disciplines of Christianity with sufficient clarity or confidence for them to
become conscious of just how wide is the gap between their own version and
received Christianity.
Sermons are often preoccupied with
pastoral applications, or become, in effect, attempts to render Christianity in
terins of the news items of the moment Often the impression conveyed by the
pulpit is that modern Christianity is scarcely separable from a sort of
consecrated Humanism the agenda derived from public debate of current issues;
the doctrines left unstated in order to emphasise the caring attitudes which
society esteems. The nature of the training the clergy receive, at least in the
Protestant churches, including the Church of England, may even leave many
priests without any extensive knowledge of doctrine. But the Church is the body
of Christ in the world. It is, by definition, as unified as He is, and anyone
who is not in agreement. with its doctrines is not inside the Church however
serious their intentions. The Church was founded by Christ to unfold teachings
about the nature of God and Ilis demands ou ineu, ai)d women; the Church also
exists to do the good works which He performed, and to do them in Ilis name -
as His continuing body. The second duty of Christians has beeii allowed to
supersede the first Yet the first is actually the more important: Christ came
into the world to make the will of God known, and to offer the astonishing gift
of salvation to a people whose lives are enveloped in sinfulness. This
salvation is available only to those who assent to the doctrines of the Church.
This last fact is very distasteful to moral culture today with its
indiscriminate hunianism, its belief in the essential goodness of humanity, its
emphasis on the sovereignty of human needs, and its reliance on human
capabilities.
Christians are not those who cobble together a version
of religion to suit thell, personal needs. They are servants of objective
truths and their first. duty is the representation of those truths to their
contemporaries in a ruanner which assists transmission to future generations.
The knowledge of God is carried in the hands of men. We are not called upon to
select only the aspects of religion which have personal appeal, but to learn
the doctrines and to discipline ourselves to be fit ambassadors of the Kingdom.
And ambassadors convey the will of the sovereign;they are not agents on their
own behalf.
-EDWARD NORMAN
MASSES
TODAY
6.30: Fr. Bernard McAllister, (Anniv)
9.00: Vocations
11.00: Patrick & Winnifred O’Connor, (Anniv)
12.15: Fr. Gerard Cunnane, (Anniv)
6.30: Tom Mulkerrins, (Anniv)
Announcements
Mission Alive presents Spice Island Youthquake
A concert of Carribean Music - traditional and sacred
in the Augustinian Church, Sunday Sept 30th at 8:00 pm Sub:£5
The Galway Lions Club is holding a Breakfast Morning
in the Galway Bay Hotel in aid of
The Senior Citizens to Trabolgan Project
Sunday Sept 30th from 11:00 am to 1:30pm
Musical Entertainment provided. Adm £5.....Children £2.50
SCIENTISTS AND
RELIGION
A survey conducted in 1916 by a Dr James Leuba in
USA showed that 40% of scientists believed in a Supreme Being. Edward Larson
repeated Leuba’s study in 1997. Again, 40% believed in a Supreme
Being. However, only 7% of scientists in 1997 believed in a “personal
God”, down from 40% in 1916. Belief in life after death declined from
35.2% in 1916 to 7.9% in 1997. Mathematicians (14.3%) were most likely to
believe in God. Surprisingly, 40% per cent of American scientists believe in a
Supreme Being, an identical figure to 80 years ago. However, belief in a
personal God doesn’t fare so good: down from 40% to 7%, strongly
indicating a weakening of religious beliefs.
Scientists must clarify their thoughts on the
supernatural, since they are pursuing natural explanations of matters for which
supernatural explanations are seriously proposed, e.g. the origin of life, the
origin of human consciousness, etc. But many scientists freely choose to
believe in the supernatural. The traditional picture of the world divides it
into a five-level hierarchy. At the bottom is the mineral, inanimate level,
consisting of matter and energy. As you move up the levels, a new property is
seen at each step. The second level is the vegetable level (plants), which
consists of matter and energy, but, in addition, is alive. The third level is
the animal level, consisting of matter, energy, life, and, in addition,
consciousness. The fourth level is the human level, consisting of matter,
energy, life, consciousness, and, in addition, self-consciousness.
Religion is in sharp decline in the West. At the same
time our standards of living are steadily increasing. But, in my opinion, human
happiness is decreasing. In the past people accepted a different philosophy of
life, which assigned to people a position in life with more clearly defined
roles and responsibilities. The influence of religion has been eroded to a pale
shadow of its former strength. Past ideas of connectedness between people and
the importance of responsibility have been replaced by ideas of the freedom and
rights of the individual.
The core value of religion is spirituality. If we are
possessed of spiritual souls, and I believe we are, we can never form
successful and happy societies if we ignore the spiritual dimension. By
spirituality I mean the sum of those things that our nature thirsts for in
order to lead a fulfilled life. In summary, we need to grow in wisdom and in
love. Wisdom means understanding and working the principles that underpin
decent human relations. And, in practical terms, love means treating your
neighbour with the same courtesy and respect that you would wish to receive
yourself.
-William Reville is a lecturer in biochemistry
at UCC and writes for The Irish Times.
RULES FOR
OLDER PEOPLE IN RELATION TO YOUNGER
- Realise that younger people of both sexes, whether relatives or
close in other ways, have a right to go their own ways according to their own
(and not your) principles, ideas, desires, to gain their own experiences, and
to find happiness in their own (and not your) fashion.
- Do not force upon them, then, your own example or wisdom or
inclinations or favours.
- Do not bind them in any way to yourself or put them under any
obligation.
- Do not be surprised or annoyed or upset if you necessarily find that
they have no time, or little time, for you, that no matter how well intentioned
you may be towards them, or sure of your cause, you sometimes inconvenience and
bore them, and they casually ignore you and your counsel.
- When they act in this way, remember penitently that in your own
youth, too, perhaps (or probably) acted in the same way towards the older
authorities of the time.
- Be grateful for every proof of genuine notice and serious confidence
they show you, but do not expect or demand such proofs.
- Never in any circumstances give them up, but even as you let them go
their own way, go with them in a relaxed and cheerful manner, trusting that God
will do what is best for them, and always supporting and praying for them.
(The above rules were composed by the greatest
Protestant theologian of the twentieth century, the German Karl Barth. He was
82 when he wrote them.)