The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Third Edition is the same understandable and down-to-earth guide to all things Catholic. This book is an eye-opener and a page-turner, whether you are brushing up on specific Catholic terms and concepts or learning them for the first time.

The Subcommittee on the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found this catechetical text, copyright 2013, to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Now Available! Online correlation to the U.S. Bishops' High School curriculum framework Click here!

The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Third Edition
ISBN: 978-1-59982-160-3, paper, 480 pages

What do editors do in the summer? In my case, they check page references for Saint Mary’s Press books coming out in the fall and spring. In the course of publishing a book, page references (to glossary pages, or to other pages in the book, or to pages in an ancillary or companion book) are checked three or four times by various people along the way. This is because publishers are reader-pleasers. We do not want our readers to denounce us in righteous indignation: "You SAID this was on page 25 and it is NOT. This book is DEFECTIVE!" We want our readers to have smooth sailing, so we check page references a LOT."

Currently I am checking page references to the Saint Mary’s Press Catholic Children’s Bible. What a wonderful Bible! (I can say this first, because it is true, and second, because I personally had nothing to do with it. Although, if I had had anything to do with it, I should and would be patting myself on the back!) Anyway, as I am checking page references, I tend to glance at the stories. (This is an occupational hazard when you like the material you are working with.)

Of all the stories I paged through yesterday, the very first one, based on Genesis 1:1—2:3, stayed with me: "God Made Us to Love and to Be Loved." It stayed with me because yesterday, early in the morning, I received a call that my friend Virginia Tyler Unverzagt, whom I have known for 48 years, had died.

We met as postulants in the novitiate of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1965, and, while our lives took circuitous routes, we managed to stay in touch. When I moved back to Indiana in 2006, Virginia, having earned a doctorate in theology at the University of Chicago, was head of the Master’s Program in Pastoral Ministry at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana.

"From sudden and unprovided death, O Lord, deliver us!" an ancient litany prays. This death was not sudden and unprovided. It was slow in coming—almost two years of patient endurance on Virginia’s part, and of anxious concern for her on everyone else’s. During those two years, Virginia went on living in her unique, focused, and intentional way. (Her friends knew not to try to chat with her on the phone. She was like Sergeant Joe Friday. She wanted "just the facts, ma’am" and then she wanted you to hang up.)

In those two years, Virginia made plans for her daughter with autism and her husband with early Alzheimer’s. She and her husband moved from their townhouse to assisted living. Then she moved to Saint Mother Theodore Health Care at St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, for hospice, spending one of her first weeks there helping her husband move into a studio apartment in the assisted living facility. During that week, she happened by my house (at that time she was still driving) and returned to me a Clay City pottery serving bowl (a local product in this part of Indiana) that I had given her for a Christmas present a few years ago. "I won’t need a kitchen at the Woods," she said. "You can probably re-gift this." I put it in my cupboard and will keep it forever.

What came to me yesterday, as I pondered the fact that "God made us to love and to be loved," was simple gratitude for the gift of friendship in my life—for Virginia in particular, but, in general, for all my friends. Contrary to the saying, "A friend is a gift you give yourself," I myself feel that I have never ever "given myself" a friend. Friends are gifts from the Father of lights, the Giver of all good gifts. I am always pleasantly surprised when I discover that I have made a friend, because, while I do have my good points, most of them are not visible to the naked eye. I have to admit that becoming a friend to me takes a bit of perseverance. There is no way I could have given myself a Virginia.

And there is something else. To me, Virginia was the living embodiment of a servant leader. From being a high school math and religion teacher, to being a DRE, to being a college professor and then head of a department, Virginia both served and led with grace, compassion, and clarity. Servant leadership was her identity, and she admitted during one of our last conversations: "I have always been a servant. That was my thing. And now, to let other people serve me—it’s very, very hard."

I wish I had thought to remind her of this passage from the Gospel of Luke: "How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, have them sit down, and will wait on them" (Luke 12:37, GNT). Our life in Christ (and our death in Christ) may require us to find him waiting on us, serving us, loving us in the love of our friends. May it be so. Amen.

Now let us join together in singing this old standard, remembering with gratitude "friends on earth and friends above":

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our grateful hymn of praise . . . .

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above; for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our grateful hymn of praise.
(Folliot S. Pierpont, 1835-1917)

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,

Joanna

A note on the Year of Faith: World Youth Day is July 23-28, with a special celebration with Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is not too late to plan a local celebration—with a Brazilian theme, of course. This is the time to remind our youth that they are part of a worldwide Church, and that they are surrounded by "a large crowd of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1, GNT) from around the world, who, like them, are following in the footsteps of Jesus. See this site for information about World Youth Day: http://worldyouthday.com/. The Pope’s schedule for World Youth Day can be found here.

Registration for the Chicago World Youth Day Celebration (on July 27) is open until July 12 or, as the Chicago Catechetical Office confirmed with me today (July 2), perhaps a week later, as they are not yet at capacity. For more information, click here.

Materials needed: Paper, stamps, and envelopes

We no longer live in a letter-writing culture. Even those of us who remember life in the ‘60s may recall writing letters to friends while on vacation or at camp, and to parents when we were the campers.

When long-distance phone calls were expensive and therefore rare (usually for special occasions or emergencies), letters were the usual means of communication among family and friends separated by the miles. Some families even set up round-robin systems in which one letter was passed along to several families in turn, each adding news. The letter would be sent along until all the families in the circle had read the letter, and then a new one would be started.

However, letter-writing remains a powerful tool for self-communication, should we choose to use it. And the topic of friendship (What is a true friend? How do I know if someone is a true friend? What do I do if my friends are leading me into questionable activities?) is a topic that teens should be given the opportunity to explore in an objective and dispassionate forum.

This activity may give focus to some of these concerns.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 14, 2013
Luke 10:25-37

Opening Prayer

Jesus, as we share our reflections on the parable of the Good Samaritan, help us hear the story anew. Send your Spirit among us this day to help us examine how we may act with unity of heart as the Good Samaritan did, with love and compassion as the first response. Amen.

Context Connection

The command to love God and neighbor found in verses 27-28 of Luke's parable of the Good Samaritan can also be found in Matthew 22:34-40 and in Mark 12:28-34.

In Sunday's Gospel Jesus is again challenged by a member of one of the established religious groups. Luke tells us that the challenger is a lawyer, a person who knows the rules and regulations. The lawyer asks: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (10:25). In reply, Jesus asks the lawyer: "What is written in the law?" (10:26). Jesus also invites him to give his understanding of the law. The lawyer offers this response: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself" (10:27). Jesus affirms the lawyer's answer and tells him that if he lives in this way, he will have eternal life. This statement, which the lawyer recalled from the law and which is also the Jewish prayer called the Shema, can be found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and in Leviticus 19:18. (See the "Pray It!" article in The Catholic Youth Bible® near Deuteronomy 6:4-5.) As a devout Jew the lawyer would have prayed the Shema several times each day. The Shema would have been as familiar to him as the Lord's Prayer is to Christians.

The lawyer continues the dialogue by asking Jesus a second question: "And who is my neighbor?" (10:29). The question implies that some people are not considered neighbors. In Leviticus 19:18 neighbor is defined as a fellow Jew; the term did not refer to non-Jews. Jesus's answer redefines for the Jews of his day the definition of neighbor. Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Those listening to Jesus that day would have found it unsettling to have the adjective good describe a Samaritan. There was no love between the Jews and the Samaritans. (See the "Live It!" article near Luke 10:25-37.) The July 1 "YES!" e-newsletter also has an explanation regarding the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The violence done to the traveler is overt; he is stripped, beaten, and then left half-dead on the road by the robbers. Of those who pass by, only one stops to assist the injured person. The others each find a way to justify or rationalize why they should not help. Only the Samaritan, the most unlikely person, comes to the aid of the traveler. This is shocking because the Samaritan is traveling in Judea, a place where he is not welcome, and his safety is already at risk. Moved by compassion the Samaritan, in spite of the risk, stops in a deserted place--which only increases his vulnerability--to show love for the person by the side of the road. He becomes even more vulnerable when he places the injured person upon his beast--an act that would slow him down--and takes him to an inn to recuperate. In Jesus's story the hated enemy is the one who becomes the hero with a human heart.

The lesson in this parable is not about who deserves to be cared for, but about becoming individuals who treat everyone with care and compassion. No matter how frightening the situation or how alien and defenseless the person may be, we must take the same risk the Samaritan did. At the end of the story, Jesus implores the lawyer: "Go and do likewise" (10:37). This statement is meant not only for the lawyer but also for all who say they believe in and follow Jesus.

Tradition Connection

"The divine image is present in every man" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1702). This is true about every man, woman, girl, or boy--it is true about everyone. No human being lacks in any way the mystery that she or he was loved into creation by God and therefore deserves to be honored with compassion and love. Jesus restored the original dignity of human beings by his redeeming act of complete self-sacrifice. "It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God"1 (Catechism, paragraph 1701). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are reminded to express love and compassion not only for those who are easy to love and care for but also for our enemies and those we find difficult to love. Every human being has an immortal soul--made in the image and likeness of God--that makes him or her infinitely valuable and worthy of respect. Human beings do not have to do anything to gain this status because it is already theirs by the very fact that God created them. "Endowed with 'a spiritual and immortal' soul,2 the human person is the 'only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake.'3 From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude" (Catechism, paragraph 1703).

Jesus tells us that the way to eternal life is through love of God, neighbor, and self. With this same love God created humankind. God willed, from the moment of Creation, that all human beings would one day be united again with God in eternal life. Jesus reminds us that every individual has a choice to make. How will you choose to love others?

Wisdom Connection

Luke's rendering of this command is different from Matthew's and Mark's. Luke presents it as one great commandment. The love of your neighbor is equal to the love of God. You can not have one without the other. Luke wants his community to understand that loving God and caring for members of the Christian community are critically important, but he also wants his community to know that it is equally important to love and care for those the Christian community would consider nonmembers. It is easy to love those who are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, but the real test of one's Christianity is to extend the same love and care--with the same intensity--to the nonmember. This challenge continues in our world today. In many different ways we define individuals as belonging or not belonging. Unfortunately, by creating these categories we sometimes discriminate and exclude others based on unfounded information. A vigilant Christian community can never allow its members to act in this way.

Luke seems to make another point by using the lawyer as the person in dialogue with Jesus. The priest and the Levite in the story were as well versed as the lawyer in the law. Somehow these well-educated men missed the deepest purpose of the Shema, but the Samaritan, who instinctively practiced love, showed he understood the deeper purpose of the law. The priest and the Levite knew the letter of the law, but the Samaritan understood the spirit of the law.

Acknowledgments

The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

The Lord's Prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Copyright © 1988 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Endnotes Cited in Quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Gaudium et Spes 22.
2. Gaudium et Spes 14 § 2.
3. Gaudium et Spes 24 § 3.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 21, 2013
Luke 10:38-42

Jesus, come to be with us as we welcome you into our midst and listen to your words. May your words empower us and give us direction as we continually seek to be faithful disciples. Amen.

Context Connection

This Sunday's Gospel contains only six verses but conveys a story most Christians remember for a lifetime. Martha and Mary are disciples of Jesus, and each is trying, in her own way, to be a faithful follower. Martha roots her discipleship in the hospitality of Abraham (see Genesis 18:1-10). She prepares food and tends to the various needs of her guest. Mary also roots her discipleship in the hospitality of Abraham, but she is attentive to the person and listens to Jesus's words. If we examine the hospitality of Abraham, both dimensions are present: taking time to listen to visitors as well as preparing for their physical needs.

We encounter Martha after she has welcomed Jesus into her home. She is overwhelmed with the tasks at hand, which distracts her from the real spirit of hospitality. She has created a situation that leaves her feeling she has too much to do and that not enough people are helping her. In reality the author may indeed be trying to tell us there were just too many things to do. We should not try to read into the story that Martha was a type A personality, someone who was neurotically obsessed to do more than what was expected and to do everything perfectly. Martha's comments, however, give us a glimpse into who she was: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself" (10:40). Can you hear yourself saying these same words about your sister or brother? It is an honest human response to feeling overwhelmed. Martha is actually accusing her sister of abandoning her. Martha's words could have said: "Mary has abandoned me to do all the work all by myself."

Martha further presses Jesus in an attempt to force him to respond: "Tell her [Mary] then to help me" (10:40). Martha has already concluded that Jesus will agree with her and will instruct Mary to go and help her sister. But Jesus does not respond in the way Martha anticipates. First, Jesus comforts Martha in her frustration: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things" (10:41). Then Jesus helps Martha focus on the essential element of hospitality, which is to pay attention to the guest. His message is that listening to the guest is all that is necessary, the other things are good but optional. Mary's understanding of hospitality is affirmed by Jesus when he says: "Mary has chosen the better part" (10:42). From the time Jesus came into the house, Mary sat at Jesus's side, giving him her full attention by listening to his words. This gesture shows us that Mary has received Jesus as he is--a prophet--for the prophet is defined by his word. Mary understands that hospitality went beyond just feeding one's guests, whereas Martha's understanding seems limited to domestic tasks. Mary receives Jesus in loving attentiveness, which Jesus affirms. Jesus indicates that this is a higher form of welcome or hospitality.

Tradition Connection

Just as Mary chose to be in the presence of Jesus, we can choose through prayer to be in the presence of Jesus. Prayer is the habit of consciously placing ourselves in the presence of Jesus. It is a way for us to sit at Jesus's side and talk with him, placing our cares and concerns, as well as our praise and thanksgiving, before him. Prayer also affords us the opportunity to listen to Jesus and to hear what he is saying, insights he is giving us to help us be faithful disciples. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that "in the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. . . . Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him" (paragraph 2565). For a disciple of Jesus, prayer is a necessary part of Christian life. "Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments.'[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart'"1 (Catechism, paragraph 2098). Living a balanced Christian life requires that we place a priority on prayer, along with performing acts of kindness, as we strive to fulfill Jesus's command to love our neighbor.

Mary in the Gospel story is in search of God and has that desire fulfilled in Jesus. Mary is able to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, and give witness to that reality as she sits at the feet of Jesus. Prayer is one of the ways we have available to us to foster our human desire to search for God.

Man is in search of God. In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. "Crowned with glory and honor," man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging "how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth."2 Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator, and retains the desire for the one who calls him into existence. All religions bear witness to men's essential search for God.3 (Catechism, paragraph 2566)

Wisdom Connection

Luke makes two significant points in the story of Martha and Mary that are not only relevant to the Christian community of his day but also relevant for us today.

Christian discipleship is first and foremost about personal faithfulness to Jesus. A disciple must make it a priority to listen to Jesus's word. Devotion to Jesus is the "only one thing" (10:42) required. Luke is challenging the Christian community's priorities, putting first things first, putting Jesus first.

Luke acknowledges that in the Christian community, both responses are necessary--listening to the word of Jesus and tending to the needs of others. Some followers will dedicate themselves to the care of the needs of others. However, they must always keep their charitable work in balance, allowing time for praying and listening to the word of Jesus. The witness of this kind of discipleship is loving service, but without prayer, care for others' needs may or may not be love.

Second, those disciples who choose to remain in the presence of Jesus have the promise of new life, as manifested in the birth of Isaac in the story of Abraham and Sarah.

Acknowledgments

The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

The Lord's Prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Copyright © 1988 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Endnotes Cited in Quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Luke 18:1.
2. Psalm 8:5; 8:1.
3. Cf. Acts 17:27.

Saint Ignatius was not only the founder of the Society of Jesus and the author of the Spiritual Exercises. He was also a friend to many, a spiritual director, and a writer of letters. He wrote nearly 7,000 letters in his lifetime. Some of them were to his great friend, Francis Xavier, whom he had sent to India and the Far East. Francis Xavier appreciated Ignatius’s letters so much that he cut out Ignatius’s signature and pinned it on his clothing, next to his heart.

Read more about Saint Ignatius Loyola at http://norprov.org/spirituality/lifeofignatius.htm. More information about Saint Francis Xavier can be found at http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/st-francis-xavier-sj/.