By Sister Marie Thérèse, M.I.C.M.
Theme: Toward an Integral Catholic Culture: Variations on a Theme of Father Feeney
Title: On the Origin of Cultural Integration
Using the Holy Rosary and its mysteries, the Miraculous Medal, and the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as exhibits for her thesis, Sister brought out beautifully how an integral, or complete, Catholic Culture can be built around these sacramental gifts from God. These sacramentals are original, she said, in the sense of causal starting points from which a living Faith draws spiritual nourishment, as in the proper order of first things first. If good Catholics do not use them properly they are not going to have a foundation upon which to nurture a Catholic culture, because one cannot give what one does not have. She developed the point that only those who live these devotions can foster a culture that is integrally Catholic. One ought not merely recite the Rosary, she stressed, but meditate on the mysteries. This prayer of meditation will give one the grace to live out in daily life the many lessons of the Rosary. Life is vibrant, and so should be the meditation on each mystery. Employing richly relevant anecdotes Sister then drew the same lesson from the Miraculous Medal and Scapular devotions. One ought not to merely wear the sacramentals, but live according to what they signify.
2009 SBC Conference