{"id":1487,"date":"2010-01-22T06:46:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-22T06:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/01\/a-question-from-the-banks-of-the-tiber\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:13:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:13:08","slug":"a-question-from-the-banks-of-the-tiber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/01\/a-question-from-the-banks-of-the-tiber.html","title":{"rendered":"A Question from the Banks of the Tiber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>I have a hypothesis about this blog, and frankly I\u2019m not sure whether Frank agrees. My hypothesis is, this blog is most compelling for people near the banks of the Tiber, meaning (a) recent converts, (b) those considering converting, or (c) cradle Catholics who have left the Church and wonder, maybe secretly, about returning.
<\/a>There\u2019s a simple reason for my hypothesis. Frank and I are both recent converts. We were on the other side of the river not so very long ago. We were standing, to take another metaphor, in C.S. Lewis\u2019s \u201chall out of which doors open into several rooms.\u201d For more on this, see Frank\u2019s first post<\/a> on Mere Christianity.<\/i><\/p>\n

But out of that hallway and onto the bank\u2014Frank and I, having just arrived on the Vatican side of the river, remember clearly what the view looked like from the other bank\u2014and how beautiful the Vatican City side is upon arrival. We have a certain perspective that resonates with (a), (b), and (c). And some of the questions that perplexed or motivated us seem to matter particularly to these three groups of readers.<\/p>\n

One of these questions, that of the liturgy, elicited many comments in the past week. I posted on it several times, including here<\/a> and here<\/a>. New converts (a) love the fullness of the Catholic liturgy, even as we wonder about the new Missal. Those who think of converting (b) wonder about giving up their own liturgy, like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Those who left the Church but might come back (c) may wonder why Vatican II tossed the Latin Mass overboard.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s my question to you: What\u2019s your question? What\u2019s your issue? What is or was the issue that is most central to your personal choice about which side of the Tiber you want to be on? Or to return to Lewis\u2019s metaphor, if you are standing in the hallway, what does the Catholic door look like to you? What about it attracts (attracted) you? What troubles (troubled) you?<\/p>\n

Does your question concern:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the liturgy?<\/li>\n
  2. the Bible (whether Catholicism is \u201cbible-believing<\/a>,\u201d as Frank wrote)?<\/li>\n
  3. the authority of the Pope and Catholic bishops?<\/li>\n
  4. the Church\u2019s position on social issues? <\/li>\n
  5. something else?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here\u2019s my answer, a quick one, I promise. I didn\u2019t have any questions the day I stumbled into St. Mary Star of the Sea and pulled down my first kneeler. But I suppose if I had dug deep I would have answered (4), the Church\u2019s position on social issues. Not because I had thought deeply about life, traditional marriage, and the like, but only because the magnetic pull<\/i> of our secular culture is so powerful, I was afraid to break its hold over me, to stand apart from it. I cannot walk through the corridors of the mall, or pass the display windows of Victoria\u2019s Secret or Brooks Brothers or Abercrombie & Fitch without feeling that magnetic power. I cannot step into a political discussion at a cocktail party in some liberal precincts around Boston without feeling alone. I cannot pick up the Boston Globe<\/i> or switch on the network news without remembering that to choose Catholicism is the most countercultural choice I ever made. <\/p>\n

    Now that I\u2019ve made the choice, or it made me, the magnetic field is reversed. Ironically, the Church\u2019s position on social issues\u2014its distinct countercultural stance\u2014is precisely one of the most compelling reasons I remain <\/i>a Catholic. Go figure!<\/p>\n

    But I promised you quick. What\u2019s your answer?<\/p>\n

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

    I have a hypothesis about this blog, and frankly I\u2019m not sure whether Frank agrees. My hypothesis is, this blog is most compelling for people near the banks of the Tiber, meaning (a) recent converts, (b) those considering converting, or (c) cradle Catholics who have left the Church and wonder, maybe secretly, about returning.There\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Question from the Banks of the Tiber<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have a hypothesis about this blog, and frankly I\u2019m not sure whether Frank agrees. 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