"Pentecost is considered to be the birth of the Church. Our baptismal consecration in service to Christ cannot be separated from consecration in service to the Church. One of the main themes permeating the thought of St. Ignatius of Loyola is his exhortation 'Sentire cum ecclesia' or 'Think with the Church.' 'Sentire cum ecclesia' also means to feel with the Church and to love the Church."Pentecost invites us once again to walk with the Church, breathe with the Church, hope with the Church, feel with the Church, 'sentire cum ecclesia.' What does the Church mean for me as an individual? What is my personal relationship with the Church? Do I love the Church? Do I feel loved by the Church?
"Moving beyond ideology
"...Today, some of us seem to be stuck in the ideological battles that followed the Second Vatican Council. Perhaps we are frozen in categories of left and right; traditional vs. avant-garde; male vs. female; hierarchical vs. lay-led, or prophetic vs. static.
"Our inter-ecclesial and inter-community fixations and polarizations ... can distract us from addressing with requisite depth and discernment the issues facing us today. Whatever is not purified and transformed within us is transmitted to others—especially to the next generation." (emphasis BJ's)
"When we sell ourselves to cynicism and despair, meanness of heart, smallness of spirit and harshness in ecclesial discourse, we betray our deepest identity as bearers of joy, hope and truth. Is joy present in our Christian witness? What prevents me as an individual and us as a community from giving a robust, joyful witness to Jesus Christ, the Catholic Faith and the Church?"For the rest of Fr. Rosica's commentary on the Feast of the Pentecost, click here.
Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB is CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada. He is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and writes a weekly commentary on the Sunday readings for Zenit.
