September 5, 2008
Understanding the implications of creation
"God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27)."
Holy Mother Church teaches us that this divine image — attested to by Sacred Scripture and the tradition of the Church — requires nourishment through the sacramental life of the Church. Further, the Church encourages her children to have recourse to the other sources of spiritual strength and encouragement that are the patrimony of the Church’s spiritual tradition. Each person is able to find in the Church all that he or she needs for spiritual development and growth.
The Church’s exhortation to seek these aids is coupled with a growing hunger in modern people to discover the true and authentic meaning of themselves. Of course, this cannot be accomplished apart from Christ and His Church, and the faithful have begun to rediscover the great treasures that exist in the Church.
In recent years there has been an increase in spiritual development on the personal level through individual spiritual direction and in parish-based retreats involving both priests and laity. There continues to be available to the faithful, sodalities, prayer groups and Catholic Bible study. Now we are seeing the development of retreats, spiritual conferences and groups directed specifically toward the particular needs of women and men.
Last spring, the St. Louis Archdiocese hosted the Men for Christ at CBC High School. From the enthusiastic response of those present this was the first of what will be many conferences that deal directly with the unique spirituality of men. Most recently there have been meetings of Magnificat ministry, which makes its goal the spiritual renewal and growth in holiness for women of faith. There have been two meetings of this ministry in the archdiocese that have drawn large number of women who desire to deepen their faith, strengthen their spiritual lives and to grow in more perfect union with the Blessed Trinity.
In the current cultural climate, it may appear to those who do not understand the faith that the Church is moving backward in developing spiritual programs that segregate the sexes. Clearly this is not true; rather, what is developing and growing in the Church is a more profound understanding of the implications of creation. God created male and female who both share equally in His dignity, but who are also unique, particular and distinct.
These spiritual programs for men and women recognize, respond to and celebrate in Christ the beauty of creation.
Again, some will suggest that these experiences only further serve to separate men and women from each other, but the Church understands that man and woman cooperate in mutual reciprocity and respect. These experiences serve not to separate man from women but to further strengthen the union they share in the mystery of Christ.
In the final analysis, it is clear that modern people recognize that they are more than just a physical reality and deeply hunger to fan into flame the life of God that dwells in them. We must all take advantage of all those tools at our disposal in the Church. Yet, we must also gives thanks for how blessed we are in the Archdiocese of St. Louis with spiritual opportunities that account for the dynamics of being male and female. This is, after all, how God intended us to be.
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