Bishops
Themes in Blessed Sheen’s nearly 50-year-old sermon resonate today
A digital recording of a 1977 Lenten Mass celebrated by Blessed Fulton J. Sheen has been provided to the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J. Father Matthew Gonzalez received the copy of the liturgy, which originally took place on March 6, 1977, during the second Sunday of Lent.
Archbishop Sheen traveled from New York City to Newark to celebrate the Mass and deliver the homily at the invitation of then-Archbishop Peter L. Gerety. During the sermon, Sheen addressed a division within the Church, describing a tension between a vertical focus on a relationship with God and a horizontal focus on social engagement and earthly matters.
Father Gonzalez noted that Sheen used the Gospel account of the Transfiguration to suggest a balance between these two tendencies. The archbishop argued that Christians must move between the mountaintop of prayer and the valley of the world, maintaining communion with God while bringing his presence to others.
AI-assisted briefing based on the sources below.Sources behind this story
- Official sourceThemes in Blessed Sheen’s nearly 50-year-old sermon resonate today
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