Normal Sunday morning...

Many people can be left bewildered by Catholicism. There seems to be so much to learn, to remember, to put into practice. Just to take the example of a normal city parish on a Sunday morning: a first-time visitor might be amazed at the variety of things taking place. Catholics sit, stand and kneel; they make gestures with their arms; they respond together in a set manner; they dip their hands in water. The church itself is often adorned with crucifixes, statues, and stained glass; there might be sweet-smelling smoke everywhere, bells rung at odd intervals, and, perhaps most strangely of all, the raising above the altar of a cup and a small white disc.

How might a Catholic explain to this visitor what is going on? The first thing to say is that the faith cannot be reduced to some “essentials” where “the rest” is seen as of lesser significance. Nevertheless there exists what is known as the “hierarchy of truth”. This means that the different truths of the faith – from angels to contraception, from incense to the Our Father, from the Blessed Virgin Mary to statues – are “organised” around a centre, thereby helping to orientate the casual enquirer as well as the seasoned theologian.