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A healthy balance, part II

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Is Catholicism really more communal than other faith traditions within Christianity? Let’s not rest on our laurels or count on what we often tell ourselves. The fact is that Catholicism’s rich sacramental tradition is deeply communal, as are the stories we tell and values we share. But the actual experience of parish life is not. Quite typically it can be quite the opposite. Parishes are often quite large and have bureaucratic processes that replicate the bureaucracy of centralized church structures. If we want people to experience a sacramental church that is truly communal, we need to intentionally create parish experiences that foster such understandings. We need to identify existing practices that create community—such as an annual festival, for example—and build on what works. We need to build connections among smaller groups within parish life that are of a communal nature. We need to preach and teach about community. Community does not come naturally and is not a magic outcome of a sacramental system. In the past, it flowed as much from Catholic immigrant communities and ethnic traditions that were often close to forms of peasant communalism in a European past. It seemed to be natural to the Catholic tradition, but in reality it was a product of wider cultural forces, ones that were intentionally embraced by the parish. Today the parish needs to find new ways to embrace communalism wherever it can find it. The future of the church is not something that will arise accidentally. It will come about as we work for what we want. © 2007, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

Community building connections

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New brain research on vision loss provides insights

26 Mar 2017 - Preaching the News for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Jesus heals a man born blind in this Sunday’s gospel, but many of those around him with good vision were unwilling to see the miracle in front of them. While modern science has yet to find a cure for blindness, promising studies are under way as researchers are gaining a new appreciation of how the brain of a person blind from an early age makes new connections that enhance hearing, smell, and touch, as well as memory and language. Researchers used MRIs to scan the brains of 12 people who were born blind or lost their sight by age 3. The scans showed a number of changes in the brains of the people who were blind that weren’t present in scans from people who could still see. Changes caused by early blindness “may be more widespread than initially thought,” lead author Corinna Bauer, a scientist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said in a hospital news release. “We observed significant changes not only in the occipital cortex [where vision is processed], but also areas implicated in memory, language processing, and sensory motor functions,” said Bauer. Learning more about these connections could lead to more effective rehabilitation programs to help blind people, the researchers suggested. According to senior study author Lotfi Merabet, O.D., Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear and an associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, “Even in the case of being profoundly blind, the brain rewires itself in a manner to use the information at its disposal so that it can interact with the environment in a more effective manner. If the brain can rewire itself—perhaps through training and enhancing the use of other modalities like hearing and touch and language tasks such as Braille reading—there is tremendous potential for the brain to adapt.” Bauer said the connections that appear to be unique in those with profound blindness suggest that the brain "rewires" itself in the absence of visual information to boost other senses. She said this is possible through the process of neuroplasticity, or the ability of our brains to naturally adapt to our experiences. The researchers hope that increased understanding will lead to more effective rehabilitation efforts that will enable blind people to better compensate for the absence of visual information. The study was published online March 22 in the journal PLOS ONE. Lessons drawn from the readings “Man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart,” the first reading this Sunday reminds us. In the case of blindness, researchers are learning to look into the brain, and in doing so, devising new therapies to enhance compensating abilities to lost vision. At the same time, advances in gene therapy are beginning to offer hope that certain kinds of blindness at present untreatable may soon be reversible. Final thought in light of the news While the advances of modern science are extremely valuable and carry the potential to alleviate much suffering, it is good to remember that much suffering comes about when those of us with good vision choose a sort of voluntary blindness by ignoring the call to compassion that is at the core of the gospel message. Jesus healed because his heart was moved by the suffering he saw. Can we say the same?

blindness vision neuroplasticity brain connections

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Homily stories

09 Feb 2020 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

My sister is discussing the significance of offering the sign of peace at Mass with the students in her catechism class. “Many times you are extending peace to people you know—friends and family. But often you are offering the gesture to a perfect stranger. That is a very powerful thing to do.” Then she told this story: "I went to Mass at a downtown church one Saturday night. At the appropriate time, I turned around and gave the sign of peace to the couple behind me. A week later I was riding on a bus in another part of town when the same couple got on and sat next to me. I recognized them, but at first I didn’t say anything. Then I thought, why not? I tapped the man on the shoulder and introduced myself by saying, ‘You probably don’t remember me, but I gave you peace last week.’ The couple looked surprised at first, but then a vague recognition crossed their faces. We formally introduced ourselves and talked for about 20 minutes until my stop. "It was such a pleasant experience; I felt a deep sense of connection with the couple and an overwhelming feeling of hope that we all can get along. Peace is a wonderful gift to give and receive." To those who know her well, my sister is the salt of the earth. To those who don’t, she is nothing less.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

salt of the earth sign of peace connections

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