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fix
Guest
Except for Frank Zalar’s musical contributions, it’s business as usual: three bible readings, a homily, intentions, and communion. The Mass is the same as any other Catholic Mass I’ve attended. We even stand and say that we believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church during the Profession of Faith. But something is different. Maybe it’s that Hausen, with his cornball humor, his congenial, flip delivery, seems more like a standup comic than a servant of the Lord. He’s the cause for this celebration, and rather than disappearing, melting into the Mass in a sort of mystical anonymity that keeps the focus on Jesus, he seems to shine under a spotlight.
Hausen addresses us as his friends. He openly discusses his alcoholism, depression, and even his boredom as crises of faith. The Mass doesn’t seem to be about worship as much as it is about this friendship. Hausen says he doesn’t even like that word, worship.
“God doesn’t need your worship,” he says. “You don’t have to love God. God is love. Loving God is like trying to make water wetter. We come to the church to learn how to love each other.”
The aroma of recovery, of healing, is everywhere, and this warm and fuzzy theology of healing is part of Hausen’s appeal, which is considerable. There’s not yet been a survey of the congregation at Christ Hope, which is settling into a core group of about 100—but many are Catholics who have formed relationships with Hausen within the several Pittsburgh parishes he’s served over the past 40 years. Many were among the 600 parishioners who signed a petition for his return to St. James in Sewickley. Hausen also assumes that many of those in attendance have been damaged in some way—either by an addiction, an unchecked emotion like depression or anger, or the Church. We can’t love if we’re in bondage, he says, or if we’re addicted, depressed, angry, or enslaved to our emotions. This is why he’s offering weekly meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, and “Biblical Spirituality.” At Sacred Heart, his “Biblical Spirituality” seminar was among the best attended of the parish’s adult education programs.
godspy.com/faith/Diary-of-an-Excommunication-Father-Bill-Hausen-by-Jessica-Mesman.cfm
Hausen addresses us as his friends. He openly discusses his alcoholism, depression, and even his boredom as crises of faith. The Mass doesn’t seem to be about worship as much as it is about this friendship. Hausen says he doesn’t even like that word, worship.
“God doesn’t need your worship,” he says. “You don’t have to love God. God is love. Loving God is like trying to make water wetter. We come to the church to learn how to love each other.”
The aroma of recovery, of healing, is everywhere, and this warm and fuzzy theology of healing is part of Hausen’s appeal, which is considerable. There’s not yet been a survey of the congregation at Christ Hope, which is settling into a core group of about 100—but many are Catholics who have formed relationships with Hausen within the several Pittsburgh parishes he’s served over the past 40 years. Many were among the 600 parishioners who signed a petition for his return to St. James in Sewickley. Hausen also assumes that many of those in attendance have been damaged in some way—either by an addiction, an unchecked emotion like depression or anger, or the Church. We can’t love if we’re in bondage, he says, or if we’re addicted, depressed, angry, or enslaved to our emotions. This is why he’s offering weekly meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, and “Biblical Spirituality.” At Sacred Heart, his “Biblical Spirituality” seminar was among the best attended of the parish’s adult education programs.
godspy.com/faith/Diary-of-an-Excommunication-Father-Bill-Hausen-by-Jessica-Mesman.cfm
