We're on a Mission From God...

Thoughts about We’re on a Mission from God: The Generation X Guide to John Paul II, the Catholic Church, and the Real Meaning of Life by Mary Beth Bonacci. Published in 2000.

Back cover reads:

The generation of Catholics who have come of age since Vatican II is different in many respects from Catholics of their parents’ generation. These younger people have grown up in a world- and a Church- which has changed tremendously in a very short period of time. They were raised in a society which encouraged them to question what their parents accepted on faith. They were formed by a system of religious education which was in many ways struggling to keep up with rapid social change.

John Paul II is a pope for these times. He recognizes that today’s young Catholics have many questions. He sees emerging in them a deep and sincere faith struggling for definition and support. In response, he has designated a special, bi-annual event- World Youth Day, where he comes to them to bring the truth and the love of the Roman Catholic Church.

In this book, Mary Beth Bonacci joins with JP2 in bringing young Catholics a clearer understanding of the Church and their role in it. She takes his quotes from the five World Youth Day events and “unpacks” then, explaining the truths of the faith clearly and concisely. This book is perfect for the Catholics of Generation X- and for Catholic youth of any age who wish to understand and deepen their faith.

Rxn- The cover is what caught my attention. I have prayer cards of JP2 that look like this. I'm also a member of Generation X, so I thought it'd do me some good after my life of apathy and cynicism during high school and college, heh. Anyways. the book is a pretty good read. It's not a quick read, but it's not boring. Bonacci writes in a witty style that keeps a smirk placed squarely across your lips. Some of her writing is very matter-of-fact and in your face, which I like. A good read. The quotes are so good that I didn't want to put any one-liners in. I highly recommend it for any high school freshman and older who'd like to learn more about the faith in a simple, straightforward, and interesting way.

Quotes: Most of this is her writing, some things are direct quotes from JP2.

“Because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit thee out of my mouth (Rev 3:15-16). Whoa! We thought He was grateful when we threw Him little crumbs of attention. We thought we were doing really well when we were “basically a good person.” If all we’re striving for is to be “basically a good person,” and to put God into some neat little unthreatening corner in our hearts, we’ve got trouble. We’re being lukewarm, and He doesn’t like that. Not at all. When was the last time someone threatened to vomit you out of his mouth? It’s not a pretty picture” (25).

“When it comes to theological matters, most Protestant churches believe that the answers are in the Bible and that the Holy Spirit will help the individual reader understand what to believe. Unfortunately, as they all examine these things individually, they often come to conflicting conclusions about what is right. And then, often, their churches split, and new denominations are formed. There are thousands of them. A lot of Catholics want to take a similar approach to their faith. They want to look at each issue for themselves and decide if they think that the Church is “right” on this issue. They then, while still calling themselves Catholic, want to practice only those tenets or beliefs they happen to agree with. Isn’t that a valid way to function as a Catholic? Don’t we have a right to decide for ourselves what to believe? We have to start with a more fundamental question. Why does the Church hold the teachings she holds? Is it because we pick a really smart guy to be pope, and then we have him study an insse very carefully, so when he decides something we’re pretty sure he’s right? Are we putting our faith in a guy and in a system of teaching just because it’s easier than figuring it out for ourselves? No. The Church has never pretended that she teaches on her own authority. WE believe that the Catholic Church teaches with the authority of Jesus Christ. Pretty big claim to make? Yes. Why would we make it? Because Christ Himself told us so- several times. He told Peter, the first pope, “Thou are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (32).

“How many… thing that because certain forms of behavior are socially accepted they are therefore morally right? They abuse the beautiful gift of sexuality.” John Paul II (55).

“So God created Eve. And Adam said, “this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” He saw, for the first time, another person, another way of being human. He saw an equal, someone like him with whom he could share his life. He saw someone he could care about more than himself. Adam and Even both existed so that they would have something bigger than themselves to live for. They were made to live for the good of the other and for the good of the community they formed. They were made to find their fulfillment in caring about each other” (57).

“Adam’s only interest was what was best for Eve, and Eve’s only interest was what was best for Adam. And they both knew that. Eve knew she could trust Adam completely. She knew that he’d never use her. And vice versa. It was easy for Eve to live totally for Adam, because she knew he was totally living for her, too, so he’d never “take advantage” of her generosity. People were like that- before original sin” (58).

“God designed sex to say something- to say, “I give myself to you forever, and I dedicate myself to what’s best for you- forever.” It doesn’t mean, “I give myself to you for now, but I may take myself back later,” or, “I’m doing this ’cause it feels good for me, so don’t get too attached.” The body has a meaning, a nuptial meaning, and the heart knows that. Sexual expression says forever- it says marriage. It did then, and it still does today” (59).

“Wouldn’t that be nice? To have someone in your life who was committed to you forever and who really did want what was best for you/ Someone you could totally trust not to flake out on you, not to be hurtful or cruel to you, not to manipulate you- someone who would totally accept you and love you no matter what? In that kind of environment, you’d be free to love totally and to give yourself to that other person unconditionally, because you’d know he’d never take advantage of it. You could open up, because you wouldn’t have to hide or protect yourself. You could act totally for your spouse’s good, secure in the knowledge that someone was looking out for your good- that same spouse. And sex would be so awesome. “Deep inner joy” is an understatement. Sex with someone you knew would never leave you, never use you, and never hurt you would be an expression of pure love and trust” (59).

“Some religious give themselves entirely to prayer. These contemplative orders, such as the Carmelites and the Poor Clares, live in what is known as a “cloister,” where they are completely shut off from the world. They don’t read the newspaper. They don’t watch TV. They don’t talk on the phone. They don’t have visitors. They don’t go out. They just pray—all day, every day. They pray for you and for me. They pray for the poor. They pray for the rich. They pray for the government. They pray for the world. They’re probably the only ones keeping the world afloat these days” (73).

“So the priesthood and religious life, contrary to popular belief, are not about renouncing love. Neither are they about renouncing happiness or fulfillment. They’re about finding all of that, in this life and in the next, by living with one foot in this world and one foot in the next. A religious vocation isn’t for everyone, of course. It’s for those God calls to it, those He knows are suited for it, those who have what it takes. When you’re deciding what to do with your life, don’t just automatically shut out the possibility of a religious vocation. Try to remain open to whatever God has in store for you. Ask for help. Pray for His guidance. And listen for a little knocking sound” (79).

“Doubt isn’t necessarily about questioning God’s existence. It’s about questioning why we believe. That can be a good thing. It’s necessary- because we believe for different reasons at different times in our lives. If you believed in God when you were a kid, it was probably because your parents told you He existed[…]. Most adult Christians have hopefully moved beyond that kind of faith experience. But how does that happen. It happens when, at some point, probably as teenagers, they say, “Wait a minute. Do I believe this just because my parents said it? Is this my faith or just theirs? Is any of this true?” There’s nothing wrong with that. I think, in a way, it comes from God. It’s an invitation to learn more about Him. It’s an invitation to deepen our faith, to understand it so that we can live it more fully and share it with others. After all, it’s hard to convince someone else of the truth of Christianity when our best argument is, “Well, my parents said it’s true.” (93).

“Have you ever known someone who’s really intelligent and who questions everything? I have. I love people like that. In the short term, they can be a real pain, especially when you’re talking about religion. When you answer their questions with the pat little answers you half remember from CCD, they say, ‘Yeah, but what about…’ or ‘That doesn’t quite make sense, because...’ They make you think a lot deeper and clarify your own faith. And intelligent people who question, and who honestly search for the answers, tend to become the most convinced, and the most convincing, Christians. The problem is that some people don’t take these doubts and questions as an invitation or an opportunity to learn more. They take it as an excuse to ‘chuck it all.’ Face it, a lot of people just don’t want to live the Christian life. It’s a lot easier not to be a Christian” (93).

“The world says we can determine our own values systems about sex. But we’ve discussed the fact that God says sex has a truth, a language, built right into ti. It speaks the language of marriage, and we need to respect that truth. When we don’t and we base our behavior on a lie, we get hurt, because we’re going against the way we’re made” (99).

“Think about this- even if you were the only person in the world who needed saving, Christ would have gone through that hideous, awful, painful, horrifying death. For you” (108).

“Man can fully discover himself only through a sincere gift of himself.” John Paul II (117).

“I am, and we all are, living examples of Christianity. That gives us a certain responsibility. We’re Christ’s presence in the visible world. We’ve got to act like it. When people see us being cruel or not respecting our sexuality, it’s not just like when the rest of the world does those things. It’s ‘those hypocritical Christians.’ We can give Christianity a bad name. more important, we can keep them from seeing that inner radiance, that peace that would draw them to Christ. Our actions, good or bad, determine whether others will find Christ. That’s a big responsibility” (126).

“Being an angel, Satan s a whole lot more powerful than humans are. He’s faster and smarter. He can go from place to place instantly. He can influence us inside our brains. He can distort our attitudes and the circumstances of our lives. Satan is not, however, as powerful as God. He’s not some kind of equal “anti-God” that God is always having to do hand-to-hand battle with, hoping to win so that He can work on His plan without interference. God created Satan, and He could crush him in a heartbeat. A teacher of mine once told me that Satan is like a football coach. He watches the films of our lives like a coach watching the films of last week’s game. And then he plans his strategy. Where are you weak? Where are there openings he can get into? When is your guard down? Once he’s found those openings, he uses them relentlessly. Are you lonely? He’ll tempt you with sex or with a relationship with someone he knows is dangerous to you spiritually. Depressed? He’ll tempt you with booze or drugs. Happy? He’ll convince you it was all your doing and you don’t need God in your life at all” (140).

“Bernard Nathanson founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now the National Abortion Rights Action League – NARAL). His organization decided that, in order to create sympathy for their cause, they needed to identify an “enemy” to be the bad guy so that they could look like good guys. The enemy the targeted? The Roman Catholic Church. They used the media to create a massive propaganda campaign painting the Catholic Church as male-dominated, cruel, and opposed to abortion out of insensitivity to women. They portrayed themselves, on the other hand, as loving, sensitive to women, and in favor of abortion. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church does fare more for women in crisis pregnancy than any other agency in the world, they were successful. Anti-Catholicism still rears its ugly head in the abortion debate on a regular basis. (When was the last time you heard of a pro-life congressman identified as a Methodist or Presbyterian? But if he’s Catholic, you’d better bet it’ll be pointed out ever time his name is mentioned. ) They were successful in other ways, too. They wanted people to believe that a lot of women died every year of illegal abortions, to convince people that legal abortion would save women’s lives. Problem was, after the advent of penicillin, not enough women died of illegal abortions to scare people. In 1972, for example, the year before Roe v Wade, 39 women died as a result of illegal abortion. They didn’t think that was enough. So they made up numbers. Huge numbers. They claimed that up to ten thousand women were dying every year, all from illegal abortion. They lied, and Dr. Nathanson admits it” (163-164).

“They lie when they tell us we aren’t supposed to suffer in this life. It can be good to suffer, if we face suffering courageously. Suffering teaches us to rely on God. It gives us strength to strive for what’s best, instead of just what’s easiest. It allows us to join our sufferings to those of Christ, who certainly didn’t run away from pain. He accepted a most hideous form of suffering- hanging from a cross by holes in his hands and dying. He could have gotten out of it, but He didn’t , because there was a greater good to be gained- our redemption. When we suffer, we can join it to His suffering and use it to bring grace to a world that desperately needs it. If we want to spread the gospel, if we want to struggle for solidarity, justice, and peace in the world, if we want to defend life, we have to expect to suffer some. Injustice, disunity, and fighting are fare more popular in many quarters, and you won’t be popular for standing up for politically incorrect causes like protecting the unborn. That’s why the Holy Father calls it “struggling” for justice and not “partying” for justice. It’s not easy to stand up for what’s right. And if you’ve made a habit of drowning or fleeing every suffering moment that’s come your way, you’re not going to have the courage to stand up when the going gets rough” (180).

“It really bugs me that formal religious education in America generally ends with confirmation. For the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone would want to send people out into an adult world with an eighth-grade understanding of their faith. John Paul II has messages that challenge you to go beyond a limited understanding of “religion.” He wants Christ- the living, active Christ- to be an ongoing, active presence in your life. H wants you to understand Christ in an adult way and to develop an all-encompassing relationship with Him. He wants your faith to be more than just something you “do” on Sundays. He wants you to have an abundant life that you won’t find with an immature, lukewarm faith” (210).