****************
Matthew
Kelly’s Rediscover Catholicism is
aptly named, as it is a book that calls us to rediscover the hunger within
ourselves for truth, for love, for God.
If we respond to this call of rediscovery, Kelly contends, we will
become who God created us to be--the very best version of ourselves. As we allow ourselves to be transformed, we
will, in turn, transform the Church and, beyond that, the whole world. For me, the core challenge of Rediscover Catholicism is a deeply
personal one. Reading it was a very
moving, and in some ways unsettling, experience.
Early
in the book, Kelly recounts an anecdote about Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most
admired men of the twentieth century.
Known to be a regular reader of the New Testament; Gandhi once was asked
why he had not himself become a Christian. Gandhi replied, “If I had ever met
one, I would have become one.” Kelly
writes of his reaction to Gandhi’s words that they speak to him “ with a
clarity that pierces my heart.” I could
not agree more. They struck me like a
hard slap in the face.
Many
years ago, I latched on to the idea that if every Catholic in the world acted
as God calls us to act for just the next
ten minutes, the entire world would be converted to Jesus. This formulation had the “value” of placing
responsibility elsewhere. Gandhi’s words
brought the challenge embedded in my hopeful fantasy right back to my doorstep.
Perhaps if I were the person God calls me
to be—that He created me to be—for just ten minutes, the ripple effects would transform
the whole world. If this is true for me
(and for you), then each of us has a profound mission.
Kelly
spends many pages discussing the state of the Church today, both the positives
and negatives. He doesn’t pull
punches. He takes aim at the ways that
society—and, at times, our own Church--makes it more difficult for us to make
room in our lives for God, and to find our way back to Him. But it would be a mistake to dwell on those
aspects of the book, for Kelly’s message is that you and I can overcome or
transform those obstacles.
Do
I wonder why fewer Catholics go to Church every Sunday? Why fewer participate in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation? Why few people say the Rosary or pray the Liturgy of the
Hours? I could try blame television or
the Internet or the quality of sermons or the discomfort of face-to-face
confessionals. But for me the lesson of
Kelly’s book—the personal aspect of his challenge--is that the “fault” is
mine. Take Sunday Mass as an
example. If I were to make a greater effort—by
preparing myself in advance, participating enthusiastically, actively listening
for God’s message to me each Sunday—I would get more out of the Mass. In turn, my life would gradually be
transformed by the grace I would find there.
This would spill into the rest of my life and others would notice. They’d see the positive difference in me and
they would ask themselves, “How can I get some of that?” And when they asked me, I’d tell them. I can
be that one Christian Gandhi never met if I would commit myself to letting
God’s grace work in my life. I can be an
agent of change in the Church and in the world by letting God be an agent of
change in my life. To do so, I must
commit myself to making the effort to be the person that God calls me to be,
the person that God sees when He looks at me.
To
be clear, though, Kelly’s book is not a “downer” in any way. His message is one of hope and joy. It is radical and simple—but simple doesn’t
mean easy. God is ever-merciful and
loving. He waits for us. We can blame others—society, the Church, the
media—or we can accept the personal challenge to rediscover Catholicism. If, rather than accept this challenge, I
decide that “others” are to blame, nothing will change. But if you and I each try to be the best version
of the person God created us to be, we can, with God’s help and grace, change
the world.
