Saturday, March 27, 2010

Praised be

Time was, in Catholic cultures, people didn't greet one another with "Hello" or "See ya!", but with "Praised be Jesus Christ!" If you were Italian, it was "Sia lodato Gesu Cristo", something I learned when I entered my Italian-founded community. Early on, I learned from my co-novice (family name: Jablonski) how to say the same thing in Polish.
It's not something we can use across the board in a culture as diverse as ours. To some, it could be the "Christian" equivalent of a declaration about Allah and Mohammad: a statement about "somebody else's faith" that could even seem like an imposition.
But in adapting to a multi-religious climate, we've lost some important things: frequent, relatively unobtrusive opportunities to reclaim our faith and at the same time let our everyday life and choices be readjusted, continually tweaked into greater conformity with the truth we say is foundational.

"Praised be Jesus Christ!" can seem like just a pious wish. Holy Week invites us to make it a commitment.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Now and forever, amen!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Lisa, you always have a positive outlook no matter what the season. God Bless you