In the last post, I stated that the purpose of our gathering together is to receive what we need in order to be sent out again. This leads to the next question: sent out to do what? In the Catholic world, there is no simple answer to that question.
Outside the Catholic Church, it may be simple, depending on one's congregation. Some Christian congregations act as if their primary mission is adding members to their congregations and promoting individual salvation through the promise that personal morality would be rewarded in the next life. The theologian Martin Marty called these "Private Protestants." Other non-Catholic congregations preach that the way to God is through the transformation of society. Marty called these "Public Protestants."* The Catholic Church doesn't say that it's either/or; rather, it's both/and. Both are biblical (with basis in the Old Testament and the New); both are well-ensconced in Catholic Tradition.
We are sent out to live good and holy lives in and of themselves, and we are sent out to work, hope, and pray for a more just world. One need only look again at the two new forms of the Dismissal to realize that (see the previous post); one need only read Pope Benedict's latest encyclical to realize that.† There are times in everyone's life when one needs to take personal action to repent of evil ways and turn toward the good. There are also times in everyone's life when one needs to defend a just cause or to stand up in opposition to an unjust system. We are sent forth to do both.
Hopefully, our gathering, hearing the proclamation of the Word, praying, and communing every Sunday help us discern what is most needed for us this week.
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* See The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-minded America is Tearing Us Apart by Bill Bishop for an analysis of this and how it is currently playing out in US society.
† See Caritas in Veritate and associated resources at http://www.usccb.org/jphd/caritasinveritate/index.shtml.
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