Recognizing that the Church was certainly in need of renewal at the end of the fifteenth century, we will examine the movements of authentic renewal that were rising to address the problems.
“The real foundation of real ecumenism is devotion to Jesus Christ… Devotion is a powerful personal conviction that our Divine Savior in eternal life knows me, knows you individually, knows us, not as the great choir, but one at a time. That He cares about us. That He sends us grace. That in the difficult times of life we can trust in Him and that He will lead us even through the valley of the shadow of death. That He expects things of us and that when we fail He expects our repentance.That He hears our prayers especially for those who are dear to us and for the world, and that in the hour of death when we close our eyes we will find Him — He will be there.” Fr. Benedict Groeschel
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Study Questions:
-Discuss Fr. Groeschel’s definition of “devotion” to Jesus Christ. How does this compliment and/or differ from your
understanding of Catholic devotion?
-What point does Fr. Groeschel make about Orthodox and other ancient, Christian churches, such as Coptic or Armenian?
-How did the Black Death in 1350 effect the Catholic Church?
-How did William of Ockham’s theory of arbitrariness effect the Reformation?
-Why does Fr. Groeschel state that Calvinism is theologically closer to Catholicism than Lutheranism?
-What point does Fr. Groeschel make about celibacy in the Middle Ages?
-Who were some of the female reformers in the Middle Ages and how did these women go about reforming from within the Catholic Church? What quality united all reformers, Protestant and Catholic?
-Why does Fr. Groeschel believe the Catholic Church today is in desperate need of renewal? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
-What needs to be done to effectively – authentically – reform our Catholic Church today, according to Fr. Groeschel?
Vocabulary:
Catholic Charismatic Movement (Charismatic Renewal): A movement within the Catholic Church, in which worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy, healing and “praying in tongues.” This movement is based on the belief that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the abilities to pray in tongues and to heal (which Christians generally believe existed in the early Church as described in the Bible) should still be practiced today.
Reform: To give new or better form to an existing reality while preserving its essentials.
Protestant Holiness Movement: A set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century, which is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley’s doctrine of “Christian perfection” – the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin.
Madam Adorno: Referring to St. Catherine of Genoa, Italian mystic and author, who died in 1510.
Evangelical: Of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels.
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I love Fr. Groeschel and, as a Lutheran, I always appreciate his charity. One thing I have noticed from many Roman Catholics is a “lumping” together of (small “p”) protestants. Fr. Groeschel largely avoids this. One thing I think Fr. Groeschel does miss, however, is his assessment of Luther and Calvin. Luther did NOT espouse a “double predestination” model where, before one is even conceived they are predestined to heaven or hell. That was Calvin. Nor did Luther speak of faith as a “symptom” of their predestined fate. That too was Calvin. Calvin criticized Luther for “retaining” too much Catholic substance and form; it was Calvin who was the iconoclast, not Luther. Luther kept the Sacramental system and the full and True presence of Christ in the Eucharist; Calvin argued that Christ could not truly be present in the Eucharist since Christ was bodily in heaven and therefore could not be bodily present at the altar.
My point is merely that there are protestants, there are protestants, and then there are protestants. Our “protest” are not the same. But as a whole, THANK YOU!!! for this wonderful talk and video. And God Bless Fr. Groeschel!
Fr. Groeschel is a very insightful teacher, I learned many things from his lecture. The only observation I would like to make is the fact that he says Jesus never commanded his apostles to write the New Testament when Jesus did it at least nine times in the book of Revelation. Jesus explicitly commanded the Apostle John to write letters to the seven churches in Asia and by extension to the Universal Church. I have heard several people making the same claim: “Jesus never commanded his apostles to write anything”, the New Testament was not the idea of the apostles but the purpose of God. Overall I like his fervor and desire for reform in the Church. God bless you Fr. Groeschel.
Joe, I am happy to hear that you have benefited from Fr. Groeschel’s efforts. I share your esteem. We may lament that he passed away recently.
Might I just suggest that your comment does not respond to Fr. Groeschel’s assertion? The apostle John’s letters to the seven churches do not constitute the New Testament; they do not even constitute the whole of the one book in which they appear. Furthermore, John received that command to send letters to the churches — not to publish them as Scripture, but as a practical missive to the people actually involved — as stated in the same Scripture. It came to him in a vision that occurred over fifty years after Christ had ascended into heaven. Fr. Groeschel, meanwhile, like the others you allude to, had in mind what Christ said and did during his earthly life.
Furthermore, it appears that your statement that “the New Testament was not the idea of the apostles but the purpose of God” attempts to place in opposition two points that are not directly contradictory. Catholics believe that the human writers of the New Testament (and not all of them were apostles) did indeed “have the idea” to write. They were inspired by God, but they wrote of their own free will; they were not coerced, because that is not how divine grace operates. Grace leaves human free will and capabilities intact, so that it was, in fact, the biblical writers’ own idea to produce an original piece of writing. When Paul wrote his letters to the various churches, he was intent on responding to the concrete situation in each of the communities to which he wrote. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit becomes evident only afterwards, in what he actually wrote. John was inspired to write by a vision of the Lord Jesus in glory, but in fact, most of the book of Revelation is simply an account of the vision itself. The letters which occur at the beginning are actually a part of that recounting. That the vision, including the letters, was to become part of the Bible became evident only later, as history attests, for the book of Revelation was not definitively included in the canon of Scripture until the end of the fourth century.
Thank you for your kind response. I am sorry to hear about the passing of Fr. Groeschel, may he rest in peace. This lecture was the first time I heard from him and It really was a blessing to me, to the point that I just bought a book from him (I am with you always). I am reading it and I can tell he had a very deep devotion to Christ and that is something that inspires me to do the same. May the Lord bless you and thanks again.