A visit from his Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze

Just a few days ago, April 14th, University of Dallas had the honor of hosting his Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze for our annual John Paul II Lecture.

Francis Cardinal Arinze is the Prefect of the Discipline of the Sacraments and Divine Worship within the Catholic Church. He came to our school to give a talk on "Interreligious Dialogue and Evangelization," the latter of the two he finds to be one of the biggest problems in the Church these days. There were three scheduled events for the day, a special Question & Answer Session with 30 students, a noon Mass, and a lecture at the local, Irving Arts Center. I was fortunate enough to find myself at all three. My friend, Kathryn, studiously took notes. Here are some quotes from the Cardinal. I will post more later about the talk.

Question & Answer Session with students:

“Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the desires and hopes of the human heart.”
“World religions should be studied with the Light of the Gospels. There needs to be a synthesis of thought.”
“Sharing the Gospel is like bringing the noon day sun to people searching for the Light at 4 o’clock in the morning.”
“You can be sincere and say that 2 + 2 = 5, but you are still wrong.”
“Evangelize with your life. Witness. Speak about Christ and His Church.”
“You cannot give what you do not have.”
“If you have fire, then you can inspire.”
“Conviction is very contagious.”
“Only God’s grace can change hearts."
“The greatest challenge for the Church – Evangelization.”
“We believe – we celebrate – we live – we pray this Faith.”
“We did not invent this faith.”
Making reference to a woman affectionately talking to her dog: “I have nothing against dogs, but she should have had a baby.”
“Religion cannot be caught by the market forces.”
“Don’t secularize our Catholic identity.”
“Our prayers must be to God, through His Son, in unity with the Holy Spirit.”
“When an element is of Divine Institution we cannot subject it to enculturation.”
“The liturgy is a gift we receive, not a product we produce.”
“How we pray shows what we believe.”
“We cannot reduce the liturgical celebration to a recreational social gathering.”
“The music in Mass should elevate the mind to God. That’s not to say guitars don’t elevate the mind, but if they draw people away from the Holy, then they must be examined and studied more closely.”
“I’m a rough and tumble Catholic.”

The lecture entitled 'Interreligious Dialogue and Evangelization:'
“Christ instituted His Church to bring fruits of His work.”
“We must evangelize with silent witness, participation in the sacraments, social Christian engagement.”
“Evangelization is bringing the Good News of salvation until the end of time,"
“Jesus Christ is at the center of evangelization.”
“The Catholic Church reflects the rays of Truth.”
“We have to proclaim Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
“God is Truth and everything that is good and noble and true is found in God.”
“Facts don’t respect whether you accept them or not.”
“Jesus Christ is unique."
“In Jesus Christ God has said everything He needed to say to us.”
“There is and there will never be another quite like Jesus Christ.”
“The Son of God manifested Himself to us without any merit on our part.”
“This goodness in God is joyful.”
“The Church exists in order to evangelize.”
“We are bound to seek God, and once we find Him, we are bound to follow Him.”
“God called us all to a human destiny – to be united in Jesus Christ, His Son.”
“Christ becoming man united Him to every human being.”
“Everything that is true comes from the Holy Spirit.”
Making reference to those who have, by no fault of their own, never heard of Jesus Christ: “When they reach Heaven they will be surprised by their Savior.”
“God has not made us members of His advisory council.”
“Love compels us to speak the Truth.”
“Inter-religious Dialogue is not to be entrusted to problem children within the Church.”
“It is only proposed, not imposed."
“Share what you consider precious.”
“It is a challenge of Divine Providence that we live in these times.”
“There’s a very short book, 700 pages or so, it will tell you everything you need know. It’s called the Catechism.”
“Sell your overcoat and buy a Catechism. You won’t need the overcoat for a while.”
“You can't say, ‘I’m a Catholic, but…’ No, no, no, you must say, ‘I am a Catholic, therefore.’”
“The Incarnation – Jesus Christ Himself – is the single most important event in human history.”
“The founding of the University of Dallas was very important, but cannot touch Jesus’ life.”
“Every individual has their duty to look for the Truth.”
“Pontius Pilate is the patron of all those seeking Truth, on the condition that they never meet.”
“God wants us to move from things visible to things invisible.”
“God never contradicts Himself.”
“Reason is a gift from God.”
From an audience member, “Should we pray for our Protestant friends, Your Eminence?” “Yes.” Long pause. Applause. “Have you heard anything I’ve said in this past hour?”
“Don’t immediately begin talking about religion with a person who has no religion.”
“Friendship grows not by tricks or strategy. Friendship grows from the heart, not the head.”
“It is God who converts, not we.”
“We can become instruments of God if we don’t spoil His work.”
“Take part in the Theological banquet.”

Good stuff.