Father Brighenti - Web of Faith: A Curious Catholic’s Answers to Theological Questions

Fr. Ken Brighenti and Fr. John Trigilio

Web of Faith

A Curious Catholics Answers
to Theological Questions

EWTN PUBLISHING, INC.
Irondale, Alabama

Copyright 2021 by EWTN Publishing, Inc.

The questions and answers in this book have been taken from episodes 1999-2017 of EWTNs Web of Faith 2.0 .

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Scripture quotations are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Imprimatur : Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Diocese of Metuchen, NJ
November 23, 2020

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paperback ISBN 978-1-68278-060-2

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021932842

Contents

Introduction

Recently I attended an excellent presentation on evangelization by a dedicated Catholic layman. During the animated question-and-answer period, he was asked, Why are we Catholics so reluctant to talk to others about our Faith? His response caught me off guard. He said, Most often we are afraid of the second question. Like me, the audience was clueless until he explained. When someone asks us if we are Catholic which is the first question what happens next often goes something like this: Okay, so if you are a Catholic, why does the Church teach... or forbid... or make you... ? Thats the second question, and because Catholics often feel unable to give a convincing response, we keep quiet to avoid that question.

The book you are holding is an excellent resource to help dispel any fear of the second, third, or fourth question. Drawing from the rich archives of their EWTN presentations, Fr. Brighenti and Fr. Trigilio present their latest work, Web of Faith , which, as we have come to expect, is written in clear, understandable language and in complete fidelity to the Churchs Magisterium. While many good sources of accurate information about what we Catholics believe and why we believe it are available, not all are so readable or written in such a conversational style. This work invites the reader to eavesdrop on a lively conversation between two good friends who love Christ and His Church and who want others to know the truth more fully in order to love the truth more intensely.

Nor do the authors mistakenly think that such a serious task requires relentless solemnity. Rather, their deliberately light touch and regular doses of humor give abundant evidence that these priests believe that joy must be the most distinguishing characteristic of the disciple of Christ.

By whichever means you found this book and whatever induced you to open it, you are in for a delightful journey with enriching information, insight, and inspiration. Take and read.

Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer
Bishop of Harrisburg

Chapter 1

Doctrine

1. Crucifixes and Crosses

Is there a reason as to why Catholics wear a cross with the Corpus of Jesus Christ on it and non-Catholic Christians typically do not?

Fr. Brighenti: The idea of only wearing a plain cross really came about during the Protestant Reformation, and Catholics may wear plain crosses as well. Theres no standing rule on this. But normally, you would not see Protestants wearing a crucifix, either on a ring or as a pendant around their necks, nor do they have them in their churches, unless theyre High Anglicans or of similar denominations. Following Martin Luthers revolt from the Catholic Church, Protestant reformers such as Zwingli and his fellow cohorts committed a serious mistranslation, identifying Christian icons as a form of idol worship as seen in the Old Testament (such as the stipulation about the golden calf and other blasphemies of that nature). The Orthodox and Byzantines had to overcome this error in the nineteenth century as well, under what they called the Triumph of Iconoclasm. There was a whole scenario in that era where the Orthodox, or the Eastern Church, were getting rid of religious icons because of this same mistranslation. Theres now a feast day on the Byzantine calendar called the Triumph of Orthodoxy, in which the use of icons was restored in the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Trigilio: It was a brutal battle at times.

Fr. Brighenti: Likewise, these various reformers in the Protestant Reformation era were mistranslating that quote. As Catholics, we dont worship an image, a statue, or a holy card. We say that an image or a stained-glass window represents and reminds us of a particular saint in Heaven, and that these images point us to Christ. Furthermore, Catholic worship is very Incarnational. It involves the senses. One of our senses is sight, so we employ art. One of the clarifications that the Second Vatican Council offered was that art in churches should be the worthiest art that you can afford to employ, so Styrofoam doesnt really cut it.

Fr. Trigilio: Or papier-mch.

Fr. Brighenti: Thats why Catholics wear the crucifix, because the Corpus of Jesus Christ reminds us of the price of our salvation. We certainly have a great feast on September 14 called the Triumph of the Cross, which reminds us of the victory that Christ has won for us on Good Friday. That is the sacrifice which is perpetuated and brought to us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Its the same sacrifice at Calvary. Therefore, we both need and want to be reminded of that.

Fr. Trigilio: Exactly. I think this is what made such an impression on me as a young person. For my family, putting up a crucifix didnt take a second thought. You had a crucifix, not just in your bedroom, but in the main living room, too. You saw it when you came in and out of the house. That crucifix was a constant reminder that theres going to be some suffering in your life, but also that you can identify with Jesus since He suffered for you. Seeing Him in His Passion is a means of encouragement. Its not a means to intimidate or scare you, but its a loving reminder that Jesus did this for you. Alternatively, if you just saw the cross without the Corpus, you could very easily miss the point; thats why when the film The Passion of the Christ came out, many Christians who didnt have the crucifix or the Stations of the Cross like we do were overwhelmed with tears when they saw the movie, because they had never pondered and meditated on the Passion of Our Lord as we do quite frequently as Catholics.

Fr. Brighenti: We went through a little burp of that ourselves in the late sixties and early seventies, maybe even up into the nineties when crucifixes were being replaced with the Risen Christ. Ill always remember Fr. William Heidt, our liturgy professor. He said, You have to have the sacrifice first before you can have the Easter Resurrection. The crucifix doesnt take away from the Risen Christ, and certainly not during Eastertide. When I was pastor of an Italian parish, I put the statue of the Risen Christ out, and I know that many of the Eastern European churches do as well, but we still keep the crucifix, because we want to be reminded of what Christ went through for us and the price of our sins that were nailed with Him on the Cross.