Blog 5

An excerpt from Dahm’s book, Parish Ministry in a Hispanic Community, was the required reading for this unit. In it, Dahm illustrated how St. Pius V Parish has used cultural qualities of the Hispanic community and infused them into their traditional liturgies and ministry. Dahm believes it is fruitful to encourage those of the Hispanic culture to keep their rich and vibrant traditions and try and incorporate them into the American mainstream, without loosing the original meaning and expression of their forefathers. There is much to be said for keeping their cultural identity within the Catholic Church.

Lumen Gentium reinforces this cultural acceptance and inclusive nature of the Church “All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways share in the same charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the one hymn of glory to our God” (LG, 49). Dahm’s assertion that the inculturation of Hispanics into the Church enriches and strengthens our collective faith… is valid. It is only through embracing one another’s cultures and differences that we truly live as Christ commanded: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35). That includes loving and accepting the diverse traditions of those who share our faith.

Tradition-awareness can impact the holiness of the Church and the disciple of believers because if we are to reduce our traditions to the least common denominator we have in fact reduced our faith, and as a direct result… the holiness of the Church. Rituals Symbols and Sacraments are essential dimensions of deeper consciousness, but they too are not the sum of their parts… they should be viewed in a universal sacramentality. We embrace all (inter-generationally, inter-racially, and in a non-gender specific way) when we embrace the message of Christ that each of us is a Child of God and worthy of respect and human dignity. It is the nuances of disparity that allow us to exist as ONE church.