To the editor:
Praise God for Father Ron Rolheiser!! I look forward to his article every week. He has been a great source of spiritual growth in my Catholic faith.
I have been deeply disheartened by recent letters to the editor questioning his Catholic identity. May we remember that catholic means universal. Having an appreciation and understanding and tolerance of other faiths does not betray or diminish one’s own faith. In my personal experience, being open to the knowledge and understanding of other faiths has strengthened my Catholic faith.
The rich message of Fr. Rolheiser’s articles is misrepresented by intimating that one of his articles is diminishing the value of our rich Catholic rituals and sacraments in lieu of an ability to recognize that God may reveal God’s self in a myriad of ways. We do not “contain” God in a Catholic/Christian box.
May we remember that Jesus was a Jew and that our Jewish heritage in Abraham is connected to Islam’s heritage through Ishmael of whom God said, “I will make of him a great nation … God was with the boy as he grew up.” Genesis 21: 18, 20.
May we take our lead from Pope Francis who has called for a Holy Year of Mercy. May we be merciful in hearing/reading the words of others and not projecting a meaning that was never intended. A woman I had the privilege of knowing in my ministry many years ago was losing her memory but retained a Scripture passage of Jesus’ words that she shared often, “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Wise words to be guided by.
JoAnn Snodgrass
Chaplain; Alverno Health Care Facility, Clinton
