The Prodigal You Love E-Book

Theresa Aletheia Noble

• Herausgeber: anna ruggieri
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Using the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Sr. Theresa Noble, a formerly fallen-away Catholic, gently covers the necessary elements of approaching those who have left the Church. She encourages you to meet them where they are while emphasizing the importance of the faith.
With her gentle encouragement, she will lead you to continue to hope for their conversion, so that you might share the joy of the Father when The Prodigal You Love returns home.

Leseprobe

THE PRODIGAL YOU LOVE

INVITING LOVED ONESBACK TO THE CHURCH

Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSPForeword by Father Dave Dwyer, CSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Noble, Theresa.

The prodigal you love : inviting loved ones back to the church / Theresa Noble, FSP ; foreword by Fr. Dave Dwyer, CSP.

1 online resource.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-0-8198-6005-7 (epub) -- ISBN 978-0-8198-6006-4 (mobi) -- ISBN 978-0-Cover photo 8198-6007-1 ( pdf) -- ISBN 978-0-8198-6004-0.

1. Ex-church members--Catholic Church. 2. Non-church-affiliated people. 3. Church work with ex-church members--Catholic Church. 4. Prodigal son (Parable) I. Title.

BX2347.8.E82

248'.5--dc23

2014026881

Unless otherwise noted the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Excerpts from Raniero Cantalamessa’s “Have Fear But Do Not Be Afraid: Gospel Commentary for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time,” copyright © 2008, Zenit. Used with permission.

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For my parents, Jane and Chris,who loved and prayed me back to the Church

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

“When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

“So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

“Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

— LUKE 15: 11–32

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE: A Story of Hope

CHAPTER TWO: The Foundation of Humility

CHAPTER THREE: Listening to the Holy Spirit

CHAPTER FOUR: Finding the Balance: Love and Truth

CHAPTER FIVE: Responding to Illusory Ideas

CHAPTER SIX: Accepting Doubt and Embracing Doubters

CHAPTER SEVEN: Why Our Faith Matters

CHAPTER EIGHT: Respecting Free Will

CHAPTER NINE: Prayer Is Key

CHAPTER TEN: The Power of Suffering

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Be Saints, It Is All That Matters

CHAPTER TWELVE: Becoming a Person of Hope

Epilogue

APPENDIX: Prayers

Notes

Foreword

Standing in the back of church after Mass, I’m shaking hands with the good People of God as they stream toward the light beyond the doors. Most slow their pace just enough for me to give the briefest of blessings on their upcoming week as I attempt to convey slightly more sincerity than a flight attendant saying, “Bye now.” I like to think I’m working an assembly line of grace.

One person in the crowd has a more pointed agenda, however. She stops right in front of me and grasps my hand, while the rest of the congregation re-routes around us as if we were a construction zone during rush hour. With a distressed look on her face, she implores, “Father, please help.... My heart is breaking. Please tell me what I can do to get my son to go back to Church.” I offer a sympathetic look that strains to express my own and the Church’s genuine concern for one of the lost sheep. At the end of a short exchange, I recommend prayer and perseverance, although even to my ears this sounds like a platitude. As the woman walks away, inevitably unsatisfied with my lack of a solution, all I can think is, “I really wish that gift shop just behind me had a book that I could recommend for her—a book that addresses this pastoral problem well and even lays out the process of inviting your loved ones back.”

The bad news is that this is not an account of one particular Sunday. Replace the woman’s face with a different one, exchange the word “son” for daughter/grandchild/niece/husband/friend/ loved one, and this scene is repeated in the life of a priest way too often. Wrestling with this issue goes beyond the clergy, too. It is not hyperbole to suggest that every adult practicing Catholic has at least one person in their life who is away from the Church and the sacraments—a lost sheep who has slowly wandered off, or a prodigal child who ran away with disdain. In fact, research has shown that if we were to count all the so-called “former” Catholics together as a group, they would be the second-largest religious denomination in the United States, outnumbering even Southern Baptists. That’s a lot of people! How can we get them back? How can all of us be agents of change?

The good news is that you’re holding the book I and so many others have been waiting for. Finally, I have an answer to, “Father, what can I do?” We’ve heard a lot in the Church lately about what recent popes have called the New Evangelization. Sometimes this can become a very “churchy” enterprise at the level of diocesan-wide programs and theological symposia at Catholic universities. A slightly more “Jesus approach” would be to go about it one on one, face to face, heart to heart. That’s why The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church is the New Evangelization par excellence. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP, has given every adult Catholic a spiritual handbook for loving people (not haranguing them) back to the community of faith. She reminds us that we are not only called by Christ to this important mission, we are—all of us—quite capable of carrying it out.

As a Paulist priest, welcoming distant Catholics back to the Church is something very close to my heart, as it is ingrained in us even before we begin our seminary studies. The ministry my brother Paulists have tasked me with at present (www.BustedHalo.com) consists of creatively finding new ways to reach out to young adult Catholics. They’re the elusive 18 to 39-year-old crowd who prefer the label “spiritual but not religious.” These days most are part of the millennial generation, who, as both faith-based and secular sociologists tell us, eschew identifying with any large institution, particularly church. The stats get more daunting with every published survey. At present, a third of American adults under thirty years old claim no affiliation with any organized religion—a number that has tripled in just a couple of decades. If anything has become clear to me in my ten years in this ministry, it is that we select few who do this for a living (indeed, as our vocation) cannot possibly invite back to the Church the millions of people who are not practicing their faith. We need your help! Selfishly, I see this book as mobilizing a global task-force of New Evangelizers. And now that you’re reading this, you are one! But don’t be scared: it’s really quite simple.

You know who makes it look effortless? Our Holy Father. In a very short time, Pope Francis has shown that we Catholics can be—indeed need to be—more charitable, loving and understanding when it comes to engaging people with whom we disagree. He has single-handedly shifted the Church’s approach to one that involves taking the Gospel to the streets, meeting people and saying, “I’d really like to hear where you’re coming from.” Like the pope, Sister Theresa pointedly yet gently reminds us that this process of stirring the flame of faith in the hearts of our loved ones is not all about what’s wrong with “them”; it needs to start with each of us, you and me.

Lest I come off sounding too much like a detached, professional clergyman, let me clearly say that I need to read and heed this book as much as anyone. I candidly admit to my own personal pain around my friends and family members who have left the Church. Much like you, it hurts me when people I care deeply about turn away from the beautiful gift of our Catholic faith. Even though I’m a priest, I have definitely felt helpless in certain situations not knowing how best to “work on them” to return. I too need to be reminded that I must allow myself to be conformed more into the likeness of Christ so that my loved ones cannot help but be attracted to the community that gathers around his table.

Pray with me for just a moment.... “Lord, in your wisdom and love transform my heart, renew my actions, make gentle my words, and in doing so, draw your children back into your loving embrace and to the community of your Church.”

Now I can’t wait for the next time someone comes up to me after Mass asking for help with their prodigal loved ones. Help has arrived!

FATHER DAVE DWYER, CSP

Acknowledgments

Thank you first to my parents who looked upon me with the Father’s love and prayed for me unceasingly when I was away from the Church. Thank you Kelly, Michael, Javier, Anthony, Kate, and Joanne for trusting me with your stories. I am very blessed to know you all. Thank you Fr. Anselm, Fr. Anthony, Michael, Lucie, Dan, Ami, Monica, and Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouvé, FSP, for your feedback in the editing process; your comments and changes were extremely helpful and humbling. Thank you Sr. Jacqueline Jean-Marie Gitonga, FSP; Sr. Khristina Galema, FSP; Sr. Carmen Christi Pompei, FSP; and Erin Nolan for contributing heartfelt prayers for the appendix. Thank you to my sisters in community; my siblings David, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary Margaret; all my friends; and everyone who prayed for this book and continue to pray for its readers and for all of our loved ones who are away from the Church and far from God. May God draw them near to his merciful heart and use our lives as instruments of his peace and love.

Introduction

If you picked up this book, it is likely that you love someone who is away from the Church, or you might want someone you love to become Catholic. You may think about this reality often, or you may hardly think of it at all. But you picked up this book because something in your heart tells you that you could respond to this situation in a better way.

Even Jesus had a hard time getting through to his friends and family. He lamented this reality in the Gospel of Mark: “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house” (6:4). When Jesus was among friends, relatives, and people he had known his whole life, those who should have known him best, “he could do no deed of power” and “he was amazed at their unbelief ” (6:5–6). Perhaps we feel this way with those we love most. We do not understand why they cannot appreciate the gift of Jesus in the Church. We feel powerless to sway them, to move their hearts.

Some might even say that the evangelization of our loved ones, proclaiming or re-proclaiming to them the Good News, is an almost impossible task. This is good. Sometimes we need to face difficult tasks so we can see that all goodness comes from God, not us. It is not by ourselves that we accomplish anything but “through him who strengthens” us (Phil 4:13). Precisely because it is difficult and requires holiness, the evangelization of our loved ones is an intense path to sanctity. The task of evangelizing our friends and family is not for the fainthearted or those weak in faith. It is a hidden work without fanfare or instantaneous results. We work in the knowledge that we may not be successful. Jesus himself was not successful in calling all those he loved to him. But we can be sure that trying is always better, for our loved ones and for us, than not trying at all.

In the Book of Isaiah, we hear the prophetic words that foreshadow the person of Jesus: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (42:3). Our loved ones may be bruised, through their own behavior, the behavior of others, or both. The light of their faith may be dimly burning or nonexistent. But we are called to be like Jesus, to tenderly and compassionately guide our loved ones to the healing gaze of the Father and to the burning fire that is his love.

Pope Francis related an incident that reveals one of the most important aspects in evangelizing one’s own family and friends. He said: