Monthly journey into richness of faith

At a recent talk at the Catholic educators conference, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey told educators to teach and learn the faith by breaking “down the Creed sentence by sentence, clause by clause, adjective by adjective.”

I thought that was uncanny since I had already been thinking of having one of our priests take on that very same project as part of the magazine’s support for the Holy Father’s Year of Faith. I say uncanny but perhaps Father Patrick Serna’s words are more appropriate, “highly coincidental or providential.”

The use of Father Serna’s words at this point in this column is anything but unintentional; in fact it’s merely this writer’s way of transitioning to the “rest of the story.”

The Creed puts forth the belief systems of Catholics in a very concise and precise manner. While it does so with uncommon elegance, there is the risk that it may be too abridged for some who require more clarification. The immensity of the Word and the richness of Tradition suggest that more explanation and detail may be helpful.

As Bishop Mulvey suggests, one good way to do this is to break down the Creed and study its parts in greater detail; to do so in the light of history, the grace of scripture and the insight of doctrine. That was the task at hand, but who to assign the task was another matter.

Enter Father Serna. Before this project I had not met Father Serna but knew that he had some serious theological training at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. I had also heard that he was a man who loved the fullness of the outdoors and the simple life. I believed he could bring to this undertaking the broad theological and historical knowledge required to explain in an uncomplicated manner the richness of our faith.

After meeting with Father Serna at his parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sinton I was convinced he was the right man for the job. His vocation story, which appears in page 25 of this issue, is inspiring. I also attended Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe and was overcome with nostalgia for the Mass of my youth when I got to kneel at the communion rail along the other communicants to receive Holy Communion. I had not done that in 50 years.

I should point out that the joy was somewhat tampered by my discovery that I had made an error in last month’s issue when I wrote that Msgr. Leonard Pivonka at St. Elizabeth was the only one that used the practice on intinction to administer to Body and Blood of Christ. Father Serna does also.

Some might think that his more traditional methods may be challenging of Vatican II; nothing could be further from the truth. Father Serna puts the Vatican II documents at the same level of importance as the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

At the risk of putting words in his mouth, he would say that contrary to popular belief Vatican II did not ban tradition it promoted the richness of Tradition, with a capitol T. While Vatican II promoted many changes, it did not demote the things that could be changed. It offered options to the celebration of the faith, but did not in any way denigrate the fullness of these historic practices.

After Mass, I observed Father Serna teaching parishioners at a well-attended Bible class at the parish hall. His ability to interact with his congregation reaffirmed to me that he was the right man for the project I had in mind. While he explained complex subjects in simple terms, he did not shy away from imparting his knowledge of the Church Fathers and the Magisterium.

With this issue then, we begin a monthly journey into the richness of our faith as laid out in the Nicene Creed. It promises to be an interesting, educational and pleasurable ride into the depths of Catholic theology.

In his inaugural column, Father Serna explains, “The Nicene Creed helps us to understand our faith better, and in understanding our faith better, we are then able to love the God of our faith more profoundly.”