Lex Cordis Caritas - The law of the heart is Love

Continuing our overview of the 12 synodal declarations of our fourth diocesan synod, we come now to the eighth declaration, which says: “The art of celebrating the liturgy properly and adoring the Lord in the Eucharist devoutly (ars celebrandi et adorandi) is the key to fostering the active participation of the people of God in divine worship. The clergy of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois must consider the celebration of the liturgy as their principal duty.” This declaration is taken from the opening paragraph of my first pastoral letter, which I issued on June 22, 2014.

Previously we saw that the fifth declaration of our fourth diocesan synod addresses the life-long catechetical formation needed to prepare people to be disciples of our Lord and stewards of his creation. This relates to the proper sequence and age for receiving the sacraments of initiation, which is addressed in the sixth declaration of the fourth diocesan synod.

We come now to the fourth declaration of our fourth diocesan synod. The first three declarations of the synod addressed our communal commitment to the discipleship and stewardship way of life as a community of faith, setting our pastoral initiatives in relation to holiness, and growing both in terms of the numbers of followers of Jesus Christ as well as in the depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our fourth synodal declaration seeks to describe more for us as individuals what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In the previous issue of Catholic Times, we discussed the first declaration of our diocesan synod, in which we proclaimed a new mission statement. Today we will look at the second declaration of our fourth diocesan synod, which states, “In the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, ‘all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness’ and will invite people to a life of discipleship and stewardship.” That seems quite simple and even obvious, but it is deeply profound.

Welcome to the first issue of Catholic Times in our new magazine format. The changes you see are not just in appearance, but rather are a total redesign to a more modern, more convenient magazine format that I hope you will find more appealing. At the same time, we will continue to address matters of interest to our readers concerning issues and events involving the life of faith in the local communities of our diocese as well as in the universal Catholic Church throughout the world. My column will continue to be a regular feature of Catholic Times. Since breaking news is often readily available today through the internet, our approach through Catholic Times will not necessarily aim at giving you the latest scoop on current events, but will focus more on going deeper into a story to help you understand the spiritual dimensions and religious implications for people of faith trying to live as committed disciples of Jesus Christ and grateful stewards of his generous gifts of creation. We will also give you a Catholic perspective of the news to counter and correct the anti-religious bias often found in the secular media.