The other day I found a recipe for corn chowder in the food section of the daily paper. Just reading the list of ingredients made me hungry: fresh kernels of corn, diced potatoes, minced onions, chicken broth, diced thick bacon, red bell peppers, cumin, turmeric, whipping cream and fresh thyme. The directions suggested simmering and cooling for the flavors to blend properly before serving the reheated masterpiece.

It was delicious, but the dish needed time. The same is true of good venison stew (as my mother always claimed) and of good spaghetti sauce (as my Sicilian Aunt Helen insisted). Some things need plenty of time to be nutritious and tasty.

The same can be said of good theology. We live in a moment when new realities are surfacing and more familiar answers seem inadequate and not very compelling. As Americans we are terribly impatient for the universal recognition of whatever we may happen to think is the obvious solution. As the correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen, often reminds us, other parts of the world may not see things our way… not now or ever.

I’m certainly not one of those folks who are perennially convinced that “it used to be better!” At the same time, there are moments when I envy the leisure of the ancient system of communication which required a few weeks for messages to be sent back and forth. One had time to think about things more carefully. No one was confronted by the release of a document in Rome and the request for a personal reaction a half hour later, even before one knew of the existence of the statement, much less had the opportunity to study or even read it. Thoughtful responses to theological questions simply take time.

Catholic theology has two purposes: the exploration of how major mysteries of our faith are interrelated and the engagement of culture by our faith. Both take time.

Take for example our newly emerging relationship to the Jewish people. God does not revoke his promises as Pope John Paul II repeatedly insisted, quoting St. Paul himself (Rom 11:29). Thus our faith tells us that Judaism on its own is a community of salvation. We Christians are convinced that Jesus Christ is the final medium of the world’s salvation.

Both traditions look forward to the future final intervention of God. How these two fundamental truths are properly interrelated is not yet clear. We need time to think and pray and listen to each other with respect as well as with the convictions of our faith.

Another example is the reality of so many good and generous people who have experienced divorce as a solution to a difficult situation and live in second unions. The teaching of the New Testament is clear (Matt 5:31-32). The ancient churches of the East found a way to deal with this painful pastoral reality, but Western Catholicism has not as yet found a solution other than through the annulment process. I think this also needs more time and prayer. Recognizing the ideal, there still has to be a better way.

The role of women in leadership in the church is another challenge which won’t disappear from the screens of our contemporary colleagues. In the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” the bishops of Vatican II noted among the signs of the times “women who claim for themselves an equity with men before the law and with men” (paragraph §9). How to work this out theologically while still respecting ancient traditions may take more time than today’s impatient folks will allow.

Certainly listening to the ways in which the Orthodox deal with this question (as some of those churches discuss restoring women to the historical diaconate) and to the ways the churches of the Reform have invoked authority for their practices can be illuminating for everyone. To do that well simply takes time.

Determining where the Spirit of God is at work in the ancient religions of Buddhism or Hinduism, or the more modern reality of Islam, is also a task for our age when we are brought to live side by side together in a new way. Exploring the implications of religious pluralism for us Christians who have a clear conviction regarding our defin-itive answer to the world’s salvation needs more time.

Fifty years ago who would ever have imagined that Milwaukee would have growing Muslim neighborhoods or a Hindu temple or Buddhist temples scattered throughout the city. They are good neighbors and we must come to terms with the new reality civilly as well as theologically.

The recipe for the best of the church’s theology includes generous measures of research, prayer, assimilation of the church’s teaching over the centuries and discussion among qualified peers as well as the ability to listen carefully to the Gospel as lived and taught by the church.

In another postscript I would certainly recommend reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America!” Her account of trying to make a living while engaged in low paying entry-level employment opens a reader’s eyes to the enormous challenges of waitressing, being an aide in a nursing home or working at a major discount store. You’ll never see these folks the same way again.