Marian Helper Spring 2014

20 M arian H elper • S pring 2014 • www.marian.org What word sums up the Council for you? Renewal. It was a Council of renewal. What are the essential teach- ings of Vatican II that every Catholic needs to know? Well, we’re all called to holi- ness. Everyone (baptized and confirmed) in the Church is equally and fully a member of the Church, of the People of God. We have a common vocation, which is to follow Christ fully, to be holy. That’s really essential. Also, we are to live our faith and witness in word and deed — the seed of the new evan- gelization. Every Catholic is called to be an apostle and has a mission to live their faith in the world. The Council Fathers called the doc- ument on the laity the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity ( Apostolicam Actuositatem ). Another essential teaching is the call to be a worshipping people. The liturgy is the wor- ship of the people of God. It’s not a spectator sport. We’re not observing it. We’re offering the liturgy, obviously with the necessary presence of the ordained ministers who act in persona Christi, but we all are worshipping together. Also, every Catholic should be reading his Bible and making use of all the wonderful Catholic Bible study aids available, so that the Word of God is not solely the domain of the specialists. We should all be more familiar with the Word of God in Scripture and Tradition. Catholics are to take the initiative to reach out to other Christians, to build bridges of understanding. We are not to be closed in on ourselves, but really seek to bring our faith into the world — trying to find common ground with other Christians and even with non- Christians for the sake of the welfare of the world. Our faith is not just to be an isolated, private matter. Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, says it is a faith that is to be lived in the world. Part of that is reaching out to other Christians and non-Christians, to appreciate that we’re Doctor Alan Schreck, a theology professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and popular author, has taught a number of classes on the Second Vatican Council. He has also written books on it. V atican II: M ercy for the M odern A ge An expert on the Council gives an overview for all of us. Pope Francis will canonize two participants in the Second Vati- can Council, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, on Divine Mercy Sunday 2014, midway through the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. Doctor Alan Schreck, a theology profes- sor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and popular author, has studied the Second Vatican Council for decades. We asked him to share some insights into the Council and these two Popes. Interview by Chris Sparks C ourtesy of F ranciscan U niversity of S teubenville