Information

Prophets Proclaim Mission Statement
Wonder Workshop Vision
Contact Us

|

Belief Systems

Religion
Philosophy
Theology
Scripture
Spirituality

|

Intersecting Disciplines

Science
Culture
Society
Political Structures

|

Resources

Store
Downloads
Faith Displays

|

Programs

Wonder Program: INTO The Light

|

Home
One emphasis of Vatican II was a refocusing of Jesus in a historical context which seeks to see His life not only through Scripture but also revealed through a myriad of supporting documents. This examination and structured academic study of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity has come to be known as the "Quest for the Historical Jesus".

With the continual advancement in science, the philosophical process, theological refinement, and ever more honed morality of ethics; the opportunity to embrace the Historical Jesus has never been greater since the time of Vatican II. The challenge laid out by Vatican II is to infuse the Historical Jesus into the entire Religious Education program of the entire Parish. This is very difficult to do because in many respects not even at the Diocesan level has this been accomplished to the degree where it can be channeled down to the parish level. At the practical parish level a means is required whereby the different themes (points of Faith to be learned—The Twelve Truths) can be tied together in a single overriding framework. This framework would allow for thematic differentiation while at the same time bringing together a single focused order which takes on greater and greater clarity within the educational process of parish life as one grows through the program from Baptism through adulthood within the parish community.

The Historical Jesus emphasizes the last instructions of Christ in the form of a mission, which is the binding glue of the Catholic Church; which is to TEACH. The framework which will combine the different themes of education into a single growth process is centered directly in the Eucharist. It is from the Eucharist, radiating outward that the Mission of Jesus is energized and glorified to the Father as formulated in the Second Vatican Council.

Through the Eucharist, the teaching voice of the Faith Community is joined in harmony with every Faith Community present within the entire Catholic Church. In essence the entire Parish, in every aspect, becomes the teaching voice on the local level merging with every other Parish to become the teaching voice of the world. In this manner the documents of Vatican II point the way in which the Church faithful will themselves become the organizing functional body by which the Church functions in its mission. What this means is that the ministers from Pope to priest become the prophets of the Promise through their witness of service to the requirements of the entire Body. In order to serve in the light of Vatican II and to be free to honestly proclaim the Mission (to Teach)as service; leadership must come from the ground up, and in essence must stay at the ground level. This will free the ordained ministry to proclaim with honesty the message instilled by Jesus and in the process give meaning to His history ("Quest for the Historical Jesus"), which is the ultimate fulfillment of the Promise.

The question then must be asked, "How is this reform in the Faith Life of the Catholic Church ever to happen given the current structure and unwillingness to embrace the true God; the Holy Spirit? The only answer can be found in the essence of the Holy Eucharist. Not the ritual of Liturgy which is reverting to pre-Vatican II expression; not the current concept of Liturgy which mixes ritual with sacrament; not a form of Liturgical worship which does not express a continuity with the Liturgical year (in which Easter is the high point, supported by Christmas and Pentecost). For as it is now our ritual of the Sacrament of Eucharist supports and nourishes a current Church structure which refuses to accept its Mission to Teach through the act of becoming prophets in fellowship with the King of Prophets.

Pope John Paul II got it right in his fourteenth encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, when he said that the Eucharist is a cosmic event, and that it "unites heaven and earth" and "permeates all creation". (EE—8) However, his understanding of how this is to come into a visualized reality is not very concrete. The discernment of this great Mystery, the Eucharist, can be taken to the next level, which is pointed to by Vatican II. The direction set forth by Vatican II can be found most directly expressed in the philosophy/theology of Teilhard de Chardin and the concept of consciousness.

In brief, Teilhard maintains that the energy of God the Holy Spirit is and has always been focused and witnessed in the world through the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The discourse centers on the growth of consciousness as it spreads through creation to come to a greatest stage of advancement (of knowing its creator) in humanity. And this greatest awareness comes to humanity in the Promise made by God the Father (to send a savior) that a means of connecting in a most personal manner with would be given to humanity when they had proved themselves. Then, in the fullness of time God the Son came and gave humanity the greatest means of connecting with God (Father and Spirit): the great Sacrament of His Eucharist. It is in the power of the Eucharist (yet to be realized) that the energy/grace can be found to convert the structure of Church authority to the Mission commanded by Jesus as He drifted into the Heavens. In tapping the energy/grace of consciousness as it flows through the consecration of wine and bread a conversion to the freedom that being prophet offers will become the only option possible. The Mystical Body will grow and govern itself as a whole, entire organism. At that point the Mystical Body will seek to become complete by becoming one with the Eucharist and which will then make it possible for a realization of the cosmic connection of which Pope John Paul II proclaimed as it was envisioned with Vatican II.


So, how does the Church get to this mark in the process of becoming conscious in God, through His Son? In seeking the manner and way of seeing Eucharist as essential to our growth in the energy/grace of God in the cosmos, we will begin to embark on this journey. And how will humanity know we have begun this journey to which the Eucharist invites us? A good indication will be when the ritual of the Liturgy is not mixed with the Sacrament of the Eucharist but is used to symbolize the essence of what we hope to attain in our conscious growth into the Eucharist. What this means is that Liturgy must, in sign and symbol, be consistent with the message of the Mission. Going back to signs and symbols of pre-Vatican II reveal that the power of the Eucharist will only be absorbed from the edges and not from the center which is the total Jesus in God in the consciousness which "permeates all creation". (EE---8)