Having lived in a foreign country for some time, moving in their culture and speaking their language, I have a great admiration for anyone who emigrates to the United States. English is not an easy language to learn! Other languages have rules. We have rules, but break them with impunity. Here is a poem I found about that very thing. Sadly, I do not know who to credit it to. Please help me out if you can. Whoever wrote it deserves credit.
English is a Funny Language
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
Yes, English is a strange language. Once in high school in my AP English course, the teacher, a very kind man who was always looking for ways to expand our vocabularies noticed that one of our classmates was very expansive in her preferences. “Goodness, Laurie,” he said to her. “You certainly have very catholic tastes!” At this, the class broke out in laughter. “What have I said?” he asked innocently.
She laughed and said, “Dr. Jenkins…I’m Jewish!” He blushed a bit and explained that ‘catholic’ in the sense that he had used it simply meant “universal” or “all encompassing.”
As I mentioned last week, it is this sense of universality and expansiveness that led J.K. Chesterton to once describe the Church as “Here comes everybody!”
This is a very different from the early days in salvation history. As we read in the Old Testament, when things started out, it was a very exclusive relationship between God and his Chosen People.
However, as time passed we see the prophets proclaiming, as Isaiah does in today’s first reading, how starting with Israel, the Lord will eventually gather all the nations to himself. Again, it’s all about relationship.
Jesus is very clear, however, that there is no preference for seniority in the Kingdom of God. Thus, “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” It doesn’t matter when you arrive at the reunion. Once you walk through the door, we are all family.
That being said, it’s helpful to assess from time to time how ‘catholic’ we really are in how we live our lives. Namely, does our Catholic Faith inform every part of our lives or just certain parts of it?
At home do we stop what we are doing everyday and gather for prayer, besides just before meals?
At work, do our coworkers know that we are Catholic by the values that we bring to the workplace.
In society, This is an election year. How much does Catholic Social Teaching inform how we vote on the candidates and the issues?
May our faith and our lives always be truly “Catholic”, not just in name, but in fact, and in action.