{"id":85406,"date":"2015-06-23T12:38:40","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T19:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=85406"},"modified":"2016-06-22T11:01:17","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T18:01:17","slug":"does-the-church-ask-too-little-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/does-the-church-ask-too-little-of-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Church Ask Too Little of Us?"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he Anchoress<\/a> looks at something I’ve thought about for a while now: does Catholicism ask too little of us?<\/p>\n

\n

It is striking to consider that while some in the church are suggesting that we need to require less of people, we are losing members to religions that are perceived to require \u201cmore\u201d of them \u2014 particularly as pertains to prayer and fasting, and even to what people wear. …<\/p>\n

So, what are the failings of Catholicism, here? Why are Latino men and women moving toward Mormonism and Islam, and away from the church?<\/p>\n

Is the big failing that the Church doesn\u2019t really \u201crequire\u201d prayer of anyone, as long as they\u2019re attending Sunday Mass, and that its fasting is not challenging enough to seem meaningful because it misses a real element of sacrifice borne out of love?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ve personally found that as you get deeper and deeper into the tradition and teaching of the Church, you find that there is more and more asked of you, but the fact remains that there is very little required <\/em>of you.<\/p>\n

\"pray_fast\"<\/a>The Liturgy of the Hours<\/a>\u200b are not seriously proposed for the laity. When we resurrected Sunday Vespers<\/a> in our parish – just for Lent, mind you – it was practically revolutionary.<\/p>\n

The requirements of the Lenten fast<\/a> have been diluted over the centuries, to the point that it isn’t really “fasting” at all. <\/p>\n

The Eucharistic fast (fast before receiving Communion) has been whittled down to irrelevancy – from fasting from midnight to fasting for three hours to now just one hour. Given commuting time to your parish, the “fast” means you can still have breakfast before you leave for Sunday Mass. How is that a fast?<\/p>\n

And don’t get me started on meatless Fridays.<\/p>\n

\n

The Second Vatican Council had an idea that Catholics needed and wanted to be treated as adults, able to make their own way, decide on their own \u201cmore meaningful\u201d sacrifices than those proscribed by the church. That was part of the thinking behind the end of \u201cmeatless Fridays.\u201d<\/p>\n

But those Fridays already were meaningful; the fast was an offering and connection to the Crucifixion. It was also a cultural and community marker; a sign of unity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Detail<\/a>When I was in RCIA ten years ago and more, we were taught the minimum requirements. This seems to be a disease in the Church; there are an awful lot of people who are only interested in doing the minimum required. <\/p>\n

But if we are truly in love with Christ and His Church, won’t we want to do more than the minimum? Won’t we want to do everything we can to draw closer to the beloved?<\/p>\n

How would your spouse feel if you were doing the absolute minimum for him or her? And what would that say about your relationship?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Anchoress looks at something I’ve thought about for a while now: does Catholicism ask too little of us? It is striking to consider that while some in the church are suggesting that we need to require less of people, we are losing members to religions that are perceived to require \u201cmore\u201d of them \u2014 particularly as pertains to prayer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[55,15,49,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-divine-office","category-meditations","category-ocia","category-rant"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-mdw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83295,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/pray-for-peace\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":0},"title":"Pray for Peace","author":"Thom","date":"03 September 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis issued a plea for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on this coming Saturday the 7th of September. All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace. I make a forceful and urgent call\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Syria in September","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syria-in-September.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syria-in-September.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syria-in-September.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Syria-in-September.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2107,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-regulations-for-the-archdiocese-of-seattle\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":1},"title":"Lenten Regulations for the Archdiocese of Seattle, 2012","author":"Thom","date":"21 February 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"For this penitential season, the Church draws on the wisdom of the Scriptures and tradition in suggesting a time of intense prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. Catholics are also obliged\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Seasons"","block_context":{"text":"Seasons","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/seasons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arms of the Archdiocese of Seattle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Archdiocese_of_Seattle-205x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44945,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-regulations-for-the-archdiocese-of-seattle-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":2},"title":"Lenten Regulations for the Archdiocese of Seattle, 2013","author":"Thom","date":"13 February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For this penitential season, the Church draws on the wisdom of the Scriptures and tradition in suggesting a time of intense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. Catholics are also obliged\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archbishop J. Peter Sartain"","block_context":{"text":"Archbishop J. Peter Sartain","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/archbishop-sartain\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arms of the Archdiocese of Seattle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Archdiocese_of_Seattle-205x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":83793,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-regulations-for-the-archdiocese-of-seattle-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":3},"title":"Lenten Regulations for the Archdiocese of Seattle, 2014","author":"Thom","date":"03 March 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Lent starts Wednesday! Here are the Lenten regulations as sourced from the Saint James Cathedral web site. A fuller description may be downloaded from the Archdiocese of Seattle web site. For this penitential season, the Church draws on the wisdom of the Scriptures and tradition in suggesting a time of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archbishop J. Peter Sartain"","block_context":{"text":"Archbishop J. Peter Sartain","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/archbishop-sartain\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arms of the Archdiocese of Seattle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Archdiocese_of_Seattle-205x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2927,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-feast-of-pius\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":4},"title":"The Feast of Pius","author":"Thom","date":"30 April 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"When Pope Saint Pius V issued the Papal Bull \"Quo Primum\" in 1570, Christendom was in chaos. The happy diversity of rites that had persisted through the middle ages had come home to roost in the disjointed response to the Lutheran reforms that, driven by ego and ignorance on both\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/piusv-223x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-regulations\/","url_meta":{"origin":85406,"position":5},"title":"Lenten Regulations","author":"Thom","date":"13 March 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For this First Sunday in Lent, I thought it might be opportune to post the Lenten Regulations for the Archdiocese of Seattle published in the \"Northwest Catholic Progress\" this week. I'm very encouraged that the regulations not only give the bare minimums, but also some encouragement to do more, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archbishop J. Peter Sartain"","block_context":{"text":"Archbishop J. Peter Sartain","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/archbishop-sartain\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85406"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87358,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85406\/revisions\/87358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}