tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post2005310727824818240..comments2023-08-17T06:06:23.531-04:00Comments on Ibo et Non Redibo: Christ without Christianity?John Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07309411001384211788noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-64268030238259862472013-11-11T22:31:56.406-05:002013-11-11T22:31:56.406-05:00I am heartened that you found the post helpful. Ev...I am heartened that you found the post helpful. Even though Ms. Rice will probably never visit this site, she has articulated a common attitude, and it was my hope to address this attitude in a coherent way. I'm am glad that you found it compassionate at the same time. Thanks for leaving your comment!Adam D. Hincks, S.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09317894445176628003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-28150643081465980372013-11-10T17:37:44.382-05:002013-11-10T17:37:44.382-05:00I just came across Anne Rice's renunciation. ...I just came across Anne Rice's renunciation. While I sympathize greatly with her frustration at being seemingly squeezed into a certain political and social outlook, I find it difficult to understand how she squares her attitude with the clear teaching of Jesus. Then I found your post which so clearly and compassionately outlines the Lord's teaching about his body. I hope that our fellow-believer but not fellow-traveller Anne will encounter it somehow someway.Bob Huitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01945677613711642890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-32177103389976656772013-09-30T11:59:47.244-04:002013-09-30T11:59:47.244-04:00Indeed, you are right that primarily we follow Chr...Indeed, you are right that primarily we follow Christ, and the image of us travelling with the followers of Jesus is apt since it evokes the notion of the “pilgrim Church”.<br /><br />On the other hand, the reality of the Church cannot be reduced to a single metaphor. We are pilgrims together, but the body of Christ does have concrete structures within it (c.f., 1 Corinthians 12, as I suggested in the article). And if we primarily follow Jesus, this does not preclude us from following his followers in a secondary or derivative way. My following St. Ignatius and the North American Martyrs, for example, does not mean that I do not follow Jesus Christ. Rather, it focuses and intensifies my following of our common Master.<br /><br />There are biblical exhortations to this “secondary” following. If we return once again to 1 Corinthians, Paul urges the community: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (11:1; c.f., 4:15). When Jesus commissions the seventy-two, he tells them: “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16). These are just two examples.<br /><br />I like your comment because it is a good reminder that we need to think more deeply about ecclesiology. Vatican II's <i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html" rel="nofollow">Lumen Gentium</a></i> is a great place to start. It talks about the Church both as pilgrim and as hierarchical … and much more besides!Adam D. Hincks, S.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09317894445176628003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-84625151130205114992013-09-29T21:56:36.737-04:002013-09-29T21:56:36.737-04:00The Church plays an important role yes, but we don...The Church plays an important role yes, but we don't follow the followers. We travel with them. We follow Christ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-5031972717443539802013-09-29T18:56:39.602-04:002013-09-29T18:56:39.602-04:00I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the commen...I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />I think in fact that the nature of “private” prayer, as you're somewhat getting at, can be easily misunderstood. All prayer, at some level, must be part of the Church's prayer, even when it is hidden from the world. I suspect that the great mystics are profoundly aware of this.Adam D. Hincks, S.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09317894445176628003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841992273882225141.post-73407681281440360462013-09-28T18:38:54.074-04:002013-09-28T18:38:54.074-04:00I really like this, Adam, especially the last para...I really like this, Adam, especially the last paragraph. The reality is that most of us, not being mystics, encounter God through our relationships with other people at least as much as we do through private prayer. I hear a lot of anti-church arguments from my evangelical friends.Munchie Mommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02235606806806233833noreply@blogger.com