Questions cannot go unanswered unless they first be asked...

The quote today is from Thomas Merton:

"Questions cannot go unanswered unless they first by asked. And there is a far worse anxiety, a far worse insecurity, which comes from being afraid to ask the right questions--because they might turn out to have no answer. One of the moral diseases we communicate to one another in society comes from huddling together in the pale light of an insufficient answer to a question we are afraid to ask."

The Scripture quote is from Luke 18:27 "All things are possible."

We must not be afraid to ask the questions. This is true at every moment of our lives. Nothing ventured, nothing gained was one of the sayings of my Dad. He encouraged our questions and I do think we are at a point in time when many of us now have more questions than answers, but we must keep asking the questions.

The Archdiocese of Miami is going to have a synod so that the Archbishop can listen to the concerns of the people. When I came to Miami in 1986, the archdiocese was engaged in the synod process; with a recent doctorate in theology, I ended up the Chair of the Secretariat of Theology with a group of wonderful but busy priests. I knew so little but was to go around and offer theological help to all the other groups in the Synod. It was a humbling experience but what I remember was a great group of lay people all engaged in trying to live the faith, to increase their faith, and with great questions about how they could be more active in their own parishes. I began the Center of Spirituality with the training program for spiritual directors as a direct result of the the questions and desires of the laity at the Synod in 1986. I have great hopes for this new synod with our new Archbishop.