{"id":1634,"date":"2012-11-17T13:09:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-17T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/archbishop-chaput-being-a-saint-is-the-only-thing-that-matters\/"},"modified":"2012-11-17T13:09:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-17T13:09:00","slug":"archbishop-chaput-being-a-saint-is-the-only-thing-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/archbishop-chaput-being-a-saint-is-the-only-thing-that-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop Chaput: being a saint is the only thing that matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Philadelphia, Pa., Nov 17, 2012 \/ 06:09 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- At a conference on faith and evangelization, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told participants that sanctity is the single necessity in a person's life.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe only thing that matters is to be a saint. That\u2019s what we need to be. That\u2019s what we need to become,\u201d he said at the Nov. 16 Catholic Life Congress in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Chaput began his talk, titled \u201cRenewing the Church and Her Mission in a 'Year of Faith,'\u201d by discussing the nature of faith. He said the Nicene Creed, recited at every Sunday Mass, is the \u201cframework and fundamental profession\u201d of Catholic belief.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe less we understand the words of the Creed and revere the meaning behind them, the farther away we drift from our Catholic identity \u2013 and the more confused we become about who we really are as Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop discussed the importance of personal integrity, and the role of Sunday Mass in forming our lives throughout the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe need to give our hearts to what we hear and what we say in our public worship. Otherwise, little by little, we become dishonest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFaith, he told his listeners, \u201cis confidence in things unseen based on the word of someone we know and love \u2013 in this case, God\u2026only a living encounter and a living relationship with Jesus Christ make faith sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Chaput then reflected on the present state of the Catholic Church in America, painting a stark picture.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMore than 70 million Americans describe themselves as Catholics. But for all practical purposes, they\u2019re no different from everybody else in their views, their appetites and their behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis state, he said, was part of the \u201clegacy\u201d left by the baby boomer generation \u201cto the Church in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn a sense, our political and economic power, our addictions to comfort, consumption and entertainment, have made us stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn response to that state of affairs, Archbishop Chaput urged every one to repentance and to conversion. In the face of a Catholic population indistinguishable from the general public, he proposed a sort of examination of conscience.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSo we need to ask ourselves: What do I want my life to mean? If I claim to be a Catholic, can I prove it with the patterns of my life? When do I pray? How often do I seek out the Sacrament of Penance?\u00a0 What am I doing for the poor? How am I serving the needy? Do I really know Jesus Christ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWho am I leading to the Church? How many young people have I asked to consider a vocation? How much time do I spend sharing about God with my spouse, my children and my friends? How well and how often do I listen for God\u2019s will in my own life?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFrom there, the archbishop reflected on what we need to become, and took Saint Thomas More as an example.<\/p>\n

\tMore was an English lawyer and statesman, and chancellor of England under Henry VIII. His Catholic faith made him oppose Henry's divorce and re-marriage, and separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church. His integrity led him to be martyred in 1535.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Chaput gave his audience a \u201chomework assignment\u201d over Thanksgiving break. He asked that people watch \u2013 \u201cwith your family\u201d \u2013\u00a0 the 1966 film on St. Thomas More called \u201cA Man for All Seasons\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said that \u201cabove all, More was a man of profound Catholic faith and practice. He lived what he claimed to believe. He had his priorities in right order. He was a husband and a father first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop then said that More is an example for all Catholics.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019re all called to martyrdom. That\u2019s what the word martyr means: It\u2019s the Greek word for \u201cwitness.\u201d\u00a0 We may or may not ever suffer personally for our love of Jesus Christ. But we\u2019re all called to be witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Chaput concluded his talk by emphasizing that becoming a saint, like St. Thomas More, is the one thing necessary in everyone's life.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadelphia, Pa., Nov 17, 2012 \/ 06:09 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- At a conference on faith and evangelization, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told participants that sanctity is the single necessity in a person's life.<\/p>\n

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