First Two Thousand Years
25 moments that shaped today's Church
ARKANSAS CATHOLIC
ARKA
The Council of Trent
BY CHARLES SULLIVAN
he first decades of the 16th century marked an
era of intense and constant criticism of the Roman
papacy and the institutional Church.
As the Reformation gathered momentum and Protes-
tantism began to emerge not only in distinct and disparate
denominations but also as a growing secular power, the
Church was stirred to action by the urgings of the Holy Spirit.
In May 1542, Pope Paul I[I called for an ecumenical
(world-wide) council to meet at Trent, a small Northern
Italian city that marked the geographical and psychological
"mid-way point" between the German churches and Rome•
Opening on Dec. 13, 1545, the three major objectives
of the council were to heal the wounds of division that had
sprit Christianity;, to effect a thorough reform of the
Cathoric Church; and to establish peace throughout the
empire so that a strong defense against the threatening
Ottoman Turks could be organized.
The whole body of Catholic teaching was discussed in
!
light of Protestant criticism. The early debates concerned
the relationship between Sacred Tradition and Sacred
Scripture in response to Luther's assertion that "scripture
alone" (sola scriptura) was the means by which God's mes-
sage is preserved and transmitted throughout the ages. In
sessions five and six, the council fathers dealt with the con-
troversial issues of original sin andjnstification. As a mat-
ter of fact, the council spent nearly seven months debating
the issue of justification (which is longer than any debate
over a particular issue in the entire history of Church
councils).
In 1552, political realities divided the council and itwas
tbrced to close tor a time. Pins IV re-convoked the coun-
cil in 1561, which subsequently went on to debate and
define Church doctrine concerning the Eucharist and sac-
rifice of the Mass (sessions 21 and 22) and the sacraments
of holy orders and marriage (sessions 23 and 24).
On Jan. 28, 1564, Pope Pins IV confirmed all the
decrees of the council without exception• The imple-
mentation of these decrees was now in the hands of suc-
ceeding popes, the college of bishops, and the universal
Church as a whole• This task of implementation (and the
painful but necessary reform associated with it) continued
unabated throughout most of the next two centuries. The
result was a form of Roman Catholicism that flourished
and endured into the second half of the 20th century.
1 AJ~. 250 A.D. 500 A.D. 750 A.D. 1000 A.D. 1250 A.D. 1500 A.D.
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BIIRTH OF O-'IRIS-I"
1750 A.D. 2000 A.D.
PRESENT
we are res
or Zion's sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem s sake I will not be
JL quiet, until her vindication shines
forth like the dawn and her victory like a
burning torch."
Most priests, often without realizing that
they are doing so, live by Isaiah's heart-felt
words. They believe that God wants them to
preach the message until people
finally become fully converted.
"I can't be quiet," one priest confided,
"until all my parishioners finally lake the
Lord and his teachings seriously." Then he
added almost as an aside, 'q'hey'll probably
get tired of me, but that's all right."
This priest died a number of years ago.
Although his preaching and example met
with only limited success, I'm sure that God
not only gave him the divine equivalent of an
"E" for effort, but also commanded an angel
to show him to one of the choicer places in
Scripture
Speaks
Today
ISAIAH
62:1-5
1 CORINTHIANS
12:4-I I
JOHN
2:1-I I
Father John Gould
heaven. He richly deserved the reward. He
was one of the most dedicated priests that
I've ever known.
Even though most of us priests take our
priesthood and its responsibilities seriously,
usnng our
the Church cannot depend just on'us. All
Catholics are expected to share this same
attitude. The spread of the Gospel depends
on the work and witness of each one of us.
It also requires that we all bear witness
together as a Church. The world will
change only when we decide to help
change it.
This is where today's second reading
enters the picture.
God has given us different gifts, forms of
service and works. All of these -- as well as
all of us -- are important. "To each indi-
vidual the manifestation of the Spirit is
given for some benefit ... But one and the
same Spirit produces all of these, distribut-
ing them individually to each person as he
wishes."
It is our responsibility as Cathorics to use
our to benefit others. They have been
given for the building up of God's kingdom,
ll, Lea~
19.Mak~
20, M0n
21,~lia
23.N0t,
which is visibly present in the world as th(
Church. They are to be used to bring dt
Gospel to people and to bring those peop 30.1
32. Oeri
to Jesus Christ. , 33,t ,
If we share Isaiah s sense of commil .Enc(
ment and urgency, we will minister thog 37.suk
gifts and works not only well but also effec 9.Clu
tively.
In this context, the Gospel is not jt !
about a wedding that took place two mille
ma ago at Cana m Galilee. It is Jesus pro
ise that he work miracles whenever
iollow his m.other's command: "Do whateV
he tells you. ,, , .i
And what does he tell us? For Zion s
I will not be silent, for Jerusalem s sake I w~
not be quiet, until her vindication shin~
forth like the dawn and her victory like ~'~
burning torch."
Father William Gould's weekly column is
sored by Little Rock Scripture Study. !
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