Thursday, April 8, 2010

Archbishop Gomez is Going to Los Angeles

As a “back-to-basics” shepherd who is intent on combating the errors of the secular world by teaching the content of our Catholic faith, the appointment of Archbishop José H. Gomez (of San Antonio) is a timely and wonderful blessing for the people of Los Angeles. 

A quote I really liked taken from an interview with His Excellency.  Most Reverend José H. Gomez, S.T.D. said  . . . . .
"I think that the challenge that Catholics have now days is education in the faith. We really need to know our faith. Most Catholics do not know the teachings of the Church. In the old times we not only had Catholic schools, we also had a culture that was supportive of Catholic teachings. The whole life of the cities and towns was built around the religious life.

Now we have these huge metropolises and television and movies and the media and so many things that have nothing to do with the Catholic Church and Catholic teachings. People live in a society that is often opposed to the Faith, and so our challenge is one of formation; bringing people to Christ and then helping them to deepen their understanding of His life and His teaching; the content of our faith."
The whole article is @ Catholic Exchange.
The interviewer was: Louie Verrecchio
Louie Verrecchio is a Catholic speaker and the author of Harvesting the Fruit of Vatican II; an internationally acclaimed adult faith formation tool, endorsed by George Cardinal Pell, that explores the documents of the Second Vatican Council. For more information please visit: www.harvestingthefruit.com.
OK -- so, obviously,  I cannot stop with just one quote from the article. Here is another . . . .

Verracchio: You’re a member of the “USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.” Similarly named offices exist on the diocesan and parish levels as well. Why is evangelization so frequently coupled with catechesis?
Archbishop José H. Gomez: Because that is the experience of the encounter with Christ. Consider the history of the Catholic Church; the Apostles first had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and in a sense that was what their evangelization efforts were all about – bringing people before the person and the life of Jesus Christ. But it doesn’t end there. After this initial personal encounter you have to complement it with the education of the faith; that’s catechesis.

Related Sources for Reference:
http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=9287

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