The Heart of Catholicism: Practicing the Everyday Habits That Shape Us

By Bert Ghezzi

In The Heart of Catholicism, Bert Ghezzi, bestselling author and popular speaker, invites readers into his deep love for the Church. With great warmth and authenticity, he shows how foundational habits such as praying, studying scripture, serving others, celebrating sacraments, and learning from the saints remind us who we are as followers of Christ.

In this completely revised and expanded version of Being Catholic Today: Practicing the Everyday Habits That Shape Us, Bert Ghezzi brings together his love for the Church and his teaching expertise in this practical introduction to the way Catholics live.

Ghezzi uses stories from his own life to show how Catholicism is contagious, spreading from person to person because of the things Catholics do that are distinctively Catholic. Essential practices such as praying daily, celebrating the sacraments, reading and applying scripture, honoring the saints, confessing and overcoming sin, participating in parish life, caring for the poor, and evangelizing are treated in seventeen brief and inspiring chapters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Release date: Mar 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781594714412

Bert Ghezzi

A popular Catholic author and speaker, Bert Ghezzi has written twenty-six books, including The Heart of Catholicism,Voices of the Saints, Mystics and Miracles, and Prayers to the Holy Spirit. Hundreds of his articles have appeared in the religious press. Ghezzi has been involved in religious education for more than forty years. He has served as a leader and teacher in several Catholic renewal movements and has spoken at numerous educational and renewal conferences throughout the United States and Canada. He appears frequently as a guest on EWTN, which also features his television series Signs of Our Times. Ghezzi is often interviewed on Catholic radio and his two-minute spots on saints play regularly on EWTN radio. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, Ghezzi worked for seven years as a professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He has served as a senior editor for five publishing companies since 1975 and now works as an acquisitions editor for Our Sunday Visitor’s book division. Bert and Mary Lou, his wife of fifty years, have seven children and sixteen grandchildren. The Ghezzis live in Winter Park, Florida. You can read Ghezzi’s blog at www.bertghezzi.com.

Book preview

A wonderful book for newcomers and a great refresher for Catholics who seek to live solidly rooted, enthusiastic lives following Christ in the Church. Presenting daily habits that lead to a deep and joyful conversion to Christ, Bert Ghezzi inspires and motivates.

Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz

Archbishop of Louisville

"The Heart of Catholicism is a welcome resource for any adult wanting the faith to permeate every aspect of life. It is a first-rate resource from a trusted author, perfect for the task of growing more deeply through study, reflection, and practicing just how we live our beautiful Catholic faith."

Cardinal Donald Wuerl

Archbishop of Washington

In a warm and accessible way, Bert Ghezzi offers the lifelong Catholic and the new convert a practical way of exploring and renewing their faith. Bert’s broad knowledge of and love for the faith is a wonderful guide for those who want to draw closer to Christ and the Church.

Most Reverend William E. Lori

Archbishop of Baltimore

Bert Ghezzi is a master at his craft and an obvious student of the classroom of silence. These pages are dripping not only with ageless wisdom but also with the hard-earned practical insights that come from a lifelong struggle to live in wisdom.

Matthew Kelly

Author of The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic

In this cohesive, pastoral compendium of Catholic teaching, Bert Ghezzi draws upon the spirit and teachings of Vatican II, the deep biblical and sacramental traditions of the Church, personal narratives, and probing theological reflection to persuade readers to discover, deepen, and live the call to holiness as Catholic Christians in the world.

Denise Morency Gannon

Founder and Director of the Roncalli Center

"Like the scribe who brings out things old and new, Bert Ghezzi shares wisdom garnered from his years of experience as a faithful Catholic, along with an appreciation for what is essential to Catholics who live in this current moment. The Heart of Catholicism is simultaneously a classical and contemporary presentation of the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith and an important resource for the New Evangelization."

Fr. Steve Grunow

CEO, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

"Whether you’re a lifelong Catholic, a convert to the faith, or a person who is pondering your relationship with Christ and his Church, treat yourself to The Heart of Catholicism by Bert Ghezzi. This is not a book you’ll read once and put on a shelf. Rather, it is a living invitation to more fully know and embrace Catholicism and its many gifts. Filled with resources, teachings, and reflection questions for individual or group study, Bert’s book belongs in every home and parish."

Lisa M. Hendey

Author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms

Bert Ghezzi’s book is a fantastic breath of fresh air! His language is thoughtful, simple, and clear, and his teaching is complemented with practical stories. He highlights the beauty of what it means to be Catholic. The entertaining anecdotes about challenges and opportunities invite individuals to reflect critically on their personal journeys of faith. His pastoral examples open doors for animated conversations with family, friends, and fellow parishioners. Once the book is in your hands you will not want to put it down!

Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski, M.H.S.H.

Director, Institute for Pastoral Initiatives

University of Dayton

Unless otherwise noted, scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked (NJB) are taken from the New Jerusalem Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of Rite of Penance, copyright 1974, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. (ICEL); excerpts from the English translation of Rite of Confirmation, second edition, copyright 1975, ICEL. All rights reserved.

Veni Sancte Spiritus, translated by Rev. Dr. John Webster Grant, used by permission of Phyllis Airhart, the copyright holder. All rights reserved.

This Work was previously published as Being Catholic Today: Your Personal Guide by Bert Ghezzi, Ann Arbor: Servant Publications, copyright 1998.

____________________________________

© 1998, 2014 by Bert Ghezzi

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews, without written permission from Ave Maria Press®, Inc., P.O. Box 428, Notre Dame, IN 46556, 1-800-282-1865.

Founded in 1865, Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the United States Province of Holy Cross.

www.avemariapress.com

Paperback: ISBN-13 978-1-59471-440-5

E-book: ISBN-13 978-1-59471-441-2

Cover image © plainpicture/bobsairport.

Cover and text design by Katherine Robinson.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ghezzi, Bert.

The heart of Catholicism : practicing the everyday habits that shape us / Bert Ghezzi. pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

Summary: Incorporates stories from the author’s own life to show how Catholicism is contagious; spreading from person to person because of the things Catholics do that are distinctively Catholic-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN 1-59471-440-1 (978-1-59471-440-5)

1. Catholic Church--Doctrines. 2. Christian life--Catholic authors. 3. Catholic Church--Customs and practices. 4. Ghezzi, Bert. I. Title.

BX1754.G4155 2014

248.4’82--dc23

2013044592

In memory

of my parents

Josephine A. and William B. Ghezzi

Also by Bert Ghezzi

The Power of Daily Prayer

The Saints Devotional Bible, compiler/editor

Voices of the Saints

Discover Christ, coauthor

Saints at Heart

Everyday Encounters with God, coauthor

The Sign of the Cross

Mystics and Miracles

Living the Sacraments

Getting Free

Contents

Preface

I. Being Catholic

1. What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?

2. Making a Commitment to Christ

3. Studying for Life

II. Receiving Daily Graces

4. Celebrating the Sacraments

5. Worshipping at Mass

6. Observing the Liturgical Seasons

III. Opening to God

7. Praying Every Day

8. Reading and Applying Scripture

9. Honoring Mary and the Saints

10. Receiving the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

IV. Making Daily Changes

11. Doing the Right Thing

12. Overcoming Bad Behaviors

13. Going to Confession

V. Reaching Beyond Ourselves

14. Participating in Your Parish

15. Making Friends for Christ and the Church

16. Serving in the Body of Christ

17. Caring for the Poor

Afterword

Acknowledgments

Notes

Glossary

Preface

Catholicism is contagious. We catch it from other Catholics who are living their faith with enthusiasm. Most often we catch it from Catholics banded together in some kind of community—a parish, a prayer group, a Bible study, or some other communal group whose committed relationships and obvious love for one another attract others like magnets.

I am a cradle Catholic, raised by a faithful, single-parent mother, and educated in Catholic schools from the earliest grades through graduate school. But I did not discover what it meant to live a fully Catholic life until I became a university student in my late teens.

Shortly after I enrolled at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1959, I bumped into an informal community of professors and students who were living what I sometimes call the normal Catholic life. They invited me to join them for early-morning prayer. With them I learned to pray a layperson’s version of the Liturgy of the Hours. That exposure to praying the psalms and reflecting on scripture shaped the way I pray to this day.

We organized ourselves into a kind of Catholic fraternity or sorority called Chi Rho, the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek. The group pursued what I regard as essential everyday habits of the spiritual life of Catholics. We worshipped together at Mass. We studied the liturgy and the sacraments, sponsored a Bible study, and worked for social justice and racial equality. Many others from the group and I marched on Washington in 1963 and were thrilled to have heard Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.

My Chi Rho brothers and sisters brought me to experience a personal relationship with Jesus, the relationship that defines each of us as Catholics. At one of our Bible studies I was awestruck and transformed by a verse in John 14 that said the Father and the Son had come to make their home in me (see Jn 14:23). I was stunned that the God of the universe dwelt in me even though I did not feel it. This verse has become a theme for my life.

Then one night during Lent of my junior year, Professor William Storey, the faculty advisor to Chi Rho, asked me if I experienced the Lord when I prayed. Later I realized that this was his Catholic way of asking if I had a personal relationship with Jesus. I told him that, no, I had no experience of God when I prayed. But later that night I prayed and asked the Lord to let me experience him. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than the Lord enfolded me in his presence. This encounter with Christ has oriented my life. At that moment the Lord elicited from me a decision to follow him.

So my earliest involvement with committed Catholics introduced me to the following identity-shaping practices or habits of Catholic spiritual life:

• forming and sustaining community;

• praying daily;

• regularly participating in the Mass, sacraments, and other liturgical prayer;

• regular scripture study;

• working for social justice; and

• maintaining a personal relationship with the Lord, which of course is the foundation of all our spiritual practices.

Then, in 1963 I was admitted to the University of Notre Dame to pursue a graduate degree in history. In December I made a Cursillo retreat and soon found myself participating in a community of Catholics whose faith was contagious. A Cursillo retreat is a dynamic, short course in Christian living given over the period of a long weekend. Its teachings, prayer, and fellowship broadened my Catholic experience and drew from me a deeper sense of commitment to Christ.

One teaching in particular, titled Environments, permanently affected my approach to evangelization. The presenter explained that we should pray for members of all our social environments and be prepared to speak to individuals about the Lord and the Church. He urged that we hold ourselves to a decision to be open about our faith and recommended that we each prepare a short testimony that we could instantly use when an opportunity arose. For the past five decades, I have found these principles effective for bringing others to Christ. And I suggest that those committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus adopt these old tried-and-true practices.

For me, the Cursillo highlighted two essential elements of the spiritual life of Catholics: commitment and evangelization.

At Notre Dame in 1967 my wife Mary Lou and I were among the earliest responders to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that came to be called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Shortly after I experienced this intense conversion of heart—what we came to call being baptized in the Spirit—I found myself thrust into leadership. I served on the service committee that fostered the movement, led prayer groups in two Michigan cities, wrote a handbook for building prayer groups, and for eleven years edited New Covenant, the magazine that guided the Charismatic Renewal.

Receiving a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit touched every area of my life. His renewed presence energized my prayer, scripture study, worship, and every other element of my spirituality. The Spirit taught me how to receive spiritual gifts and use them to build up the Body of Christ. Most of all, the Holy Spirit heightened my experience of and love for the Lord Jesus.

My Charismatic Renewal experience added these practices to my understanding of the spiritual life of Catholics:

• receiving the Holy Spirit and his gifts;

• growing in holiness through the Spirit’s gifts; and

• using spiritual gifts to build up the Church.

Over the past forty years I have had many opportunities to teach