An “Unusual Sermon” was posted by author Patrick Madrid on Inside Catholic website. It was this title of Madrid’s posting that caught my curiosity. The minister, Stanley Hauerwas, gave the sermon in 1995. He has not become a Catholic, at least not yet, even though he presented a lot of good reasons for becoming one, including the following:
“In contrast, Catholics do not begin with the question of ‘How much do we need to believe?’ but with the attitude ‘Look at all the wonderful stuff we get to believe!’ Isn’t it wonderful to know that Mary was immaculately conceived in order to be the faithful servant of God’s new creation in Jesus Christ! She therefore becomes the firstborn of God’s new creation, our mother, the first member of God’s new community we call church. Isn’t it wonderful that God continued to act in the world through the appearances of Mary at Guadalupe! Mary must know something because she seems to always appear to peasants and, in particular, to peasant women who have the ability to see her. Most of us would not have the ability to see Mary because we’d be far too embarrassed by our vision.”
Now if our priests and bishops were preaching that there is no salvation outside the Church, ministers like-minded with Rev. Hauerwas might be Catholic today. I am going to find this minister’s address and send him some literature along with an invitation to come into the one true Church, which he so much admires. Grace is a mysterious gift, however. Sometimes it happens that a seemingly implacable enemy of the Church is the one to respond to grace. More often, however, the convert is one who already has an affinity to Catholic doctrine. The Spirit moveth where He will. Our job, as members of the Church militant, is to give non-Catholics the challenge of Faith in charity. As one of Father Feeney’s converts once told him, “Father, I had so many Catholic friends, even among the clergy, but none of them ever asked me to become a Catholic. Thank you for asking.”
