Ad Dominum

Very often in our eucharistic liturgy we grow accustomed to the daily, simple formulas, the divine call and response wherein we ask for something from God: forgive our sins, hear our prayer, intercede for our people and our world, bless our gifts, transform these mass-produced wafers and this foul-tasting wine into the Body and Blood of your son, bless us, and on and on. And of course God responds, hearing our prayers and forgiving us and making present for us the Christ, sacrificed and risen, in our very midst on our altars.

Such is not the nature of our God in its entirety: that’s not the whole story. Our God is a God of surprises; our God is a God of awe. In yesterday’s first reading we see this clearly demonstrated:

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.

Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

(Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8)

Does that sound like our user-friendly Mass God? Hardly!

Sometimes our lives don’t always flow in a placid stream. We don’t usually travel through green pastures and still waters. More often than not we journey through wilderness lashed by wind and burning with fire. Perhaps this tells us something about the nature of God: not our comforting, ritualized God, but our troublemaker God, our awesome God, our God of surprises.

The Holy Father said yesterday in his Angelus address that:

In a majestic vision, Isaiah finds himself in the presence of the Thrice-Holy Lord and is seized by a great fear and by the profound feeling of his own unworthiness. After a seraph purifies his lips with a hot coal and takes away his sin, Isaiah is ready answer God’s call.

The next time you sing the Sanctus, reciting the well-known, “Holy, holy, holy,” try placing yourself in Isaiah’s sandals and consider what it might mean to stand before the glory of that God.

Pax et bonum.

Cardinal Rode has been talking again.

(That would be Franc Cardinal Rode, the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.)

In a talk given in Naples on February 3, Rode said that religious orders in the United States and Western Europe are in “crisis.” [Source]

The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church.

The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world.

Rode described the period after the Second Vatican Council as a time

rich in experimentation but poor in robust and convincing mission.

Pay special attention to this in particular:

Faced with an aging membership and fewer vocations, many religious orders have turned to “foreign vocations” in places like Africa, India and the Philippines, the cardinal said. He said the orders need to remember that quality of vocations is more important than quantity.

“It is easy, in situations of crisis, to turn to deceptive and damaging shortcuts, or attempt to lower the criteria and parameters for admission to consecrated life and the course of initial and permanent formation,” he said.

I sincerely hope that the Cardinal is not saying here what he seems to be saying… that African, Indian, Fillipino, and other “foreign” brothers and sisters exhibit a “lowering of criteria and parameters for admission to consecrated life.” Quality vs. quantity… did I really just read that?

Further, I, and I am certain many, many others, are not convinced that his assessment of the Church as “experimental” and not fulfilling its mission is charitable or accurate.

It is true that the numbers of those entering consecrated life are down. I don’t, however, think that “traditional practices” are the cause. Nor do I believe that the adoption by the Congregation’s prefect of a 30′ watered-silk cappa magna is the answer, either.

Rocco Palmo pointed out yesterday that the Slovenian Cardinal reached the retirement age of 75 in September.

[Image source]

Pax et bonum.

Blaise was a physician before being appointed as Bishop of Sebastea, Arminia (modern day Sivas, Turkey) in the early fourth century. According to sources he was martyred for the faith by being beaten, raked with iron combs, and beheaded. His intercession has been sought as the patron of throat-related illnesses since his cult developed in the Middle Ages.

Because of Blaise’s intercession for maladies of the throat, the “Blessing of Throats” is traditionally performed on his feast day (today). The blessing consists of two (unlit) candles being placed around the front of the throat while the priest/deacon/lay minister prays:

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The blessing, while traditionally done on this feast day, is also often offered the following weekend in many parishes so that those who cannot attend daily Mass may receive it.

The message of salvation is more than our verbal proclamation of the gospel. We must redefine evangelism to include how we live and interact with people — what it means for us to call them into God’s family to become members of God’s household. This is as important as our ability to accurately quote scriptures.

- Brenda Salter McNeil,  A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race

According to McNeil, and many other theologians and saints, I might add, including Francis, we must use more than our words to let our new lives in Christ be known. Francis is often quoted as saying, “Preach always; if necessary, use words,” which may or may not be a direct quote, but his life clearly demonstrates that he lived that philosophy.

This past Sunday’s second reading relates:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

Our lives are the key. One hundred million words cannot equal a life well-lived. McNeal says that our “evangelism,” our witness, must include our everyday, person to person interactions with people.

St. Blaise’s great witness is not his sermons; they have all disappeared. We have none of his writings. What we do have, however, is the record of a life well-lived, and freely given, for the sake of the love of God Incarnate.

This day we pray that Blaise will intercede for our health and our voices, remembering that we must follow his saintly example and let our whole lives be our voice.

Pax et bonum.

I have to be honest- I didn’t feel very well on Saturday. As a matter of fact, it was a pretty bad day. When I got off of work, I went from the library to the church for the vigil Mass, which is my usual. I appreciated my few minutes of meditative prayer, and then sat down to look over the readings for the day, which is also my usual practice. I read the Old Testament reading; “That’s good,” I said. Then I read the Psalm; “Also nice,” I thought. I then read the second reading:

Brothers and sisters:

Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It is not jealous, it is not pompous,

It is not inflated, it is not rude,

it does not seek its own interests,

it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,

it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;

if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

(I Cor. 12:31—13:13)

…and it hit me like a ton of bricks. What if we actually took the time to read this passage, and to hear it? Not in the typical cliche sort of way, but in a way that inspires positive action?

It spoke to me in a very deep way, and it profoundly changed my perspective on some personal issues with which I am currently struggling.

How should we love people?

• We are patient with those whom we love.
• We are kind to those whom we love.
• We are not jealous with those whom we love.
• We are not pompous toward those whom we love.
• We do not inflate ourselves.
• We are not rude to those whom we love.
• We do not love because of our own interests.
• We are not quick-tempered with those whom we love.
• We don’t brood when someone we love hurts us.

And what about love?

• Love bears everything.
• Love believes.
• Love never stops hoping.
• Love endures anything.

Love never fails.

Even the Holy Father picked up the theme at Sunday’s Angelus address:

Love is the essence of God himself, it is the meaning of creation and history, it is the light that gives goodness and beauty to every man’s existence.

At the same time, love is the ’style,’ of God and the believer, it is the comportment of him who, responding to God’s love, makes his own life a gift of self to God and neighbor.

And these two aspects “form a perfect unity” in Jesus. Fixing our gaze upon him, we can confess with the Apostle John: ‘We have seen the love that God has for us and we have believed in it.’ [Source]

The greatest virtue is love. Can you imagine this life if we actually lived that?

Pax et bonum.

To my mind, the idea that doing the dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you are not doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in warm water, it really is not so bad. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to go and have a cup of tea, the time will be unpleasant and not worth living. That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

(Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2008.)

Outside, after Mass

Altar

Cross

Sanctuary and Nave

I was very pleased to find these images of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Holyoke, MA on the Google archive of Life magazine images. What is so cool about this round church? These photos were taken in May, 1953, over a decade before the Second Vatican Council reforms began to take effect. What does this mean practically? This “round church” was built for the “Tridentine” Mass! Already we have evidence of a movement for reform in liturgy and architecture before the Council was even convened.

Regardless of personal taste, one has to admit that this is pretty amazing.

In case you don’t believe that people were happy with the new church, check out the back of this postcard:

“Beautiful and practical”

Pax et bonum.

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I have also expanded the Links section to include “Resources” which I will be adding to constantly. There are some real treasures there, so check it out if you feel so inclined.

Pax et bonum.

Genuine Christian love is forged against the anvil of our selfishness and possessiveness.

… It is important to remember that love is more than a feeling. It is active and transitive. The real test of my loving is not that I feel loving, but that the other person feels loved by me. Love is what I do to create this sense of feeling cared for.

- Morton T. Kelsey, Companions on the Inner Way

If I might be bold enough to say it, I think that this is where many- most- people fall short. Love is not an emotion. It is not something that we feel when we think about another person. While feelings are all well and good, it is our action that lets us perform the act of loving another.

All of the warm feelings in the world are not love. Feelings are chemicals; love is action.

Pax et bonum.

A friend sent me this note a couple of weeks ago:

I had to share this with you guys, because it was rather bizarre, and I wondered if something like this has happened to either of you. I walked out on Mass for the first time in my life today.

Usually I go to brunch with the young adults/Integrity group after Mass at my home parish, but since it was canceled today, I decided to get some supplies from the gift shop at a nearby RC parish that I’m fond of, St. REDACTED. My little Anglo-Catholic heart was delighted to learn that I was just in time for Mass in the Extraordinary Form!

It was going fine until the sermon. The priest talked about the Holy Family for a bit, then how the institution of the family is being destroyed in these modern times, which is true. However he then proceeded to viciously castigate homosexuals – which he called perverts – for the blasphemy of same-sex marriage and the corruption of children. His tone was downright sinister – he sounded like Rush Limbaugh, with the cadence of a Baptist minister, spitting out the words. It may have been the tone of self-hatred. I don’t know.

If he had said something like, “This is what the Church teaches. I understand some people have difficulty with that, and we love them and only want them to understand. But we cannot and will not change our position.” – That would have been fine. This was something entirely different.

Anyway. I pray that he will find some peace, and that he doesn’t continue to drive people out. (It was a full house! Yay for Latin!)

After internally debating whether to stay and speak with Father, or leave, I stood up and walked out. Several others followed in silence.

I told my friend that he should report the incident immediately to the local RC Bishop. (He declined to do so, saying that the man is intimidating and that he wouldn’t do anything. He’s right, of course, on both counts, but I still think it should be recorded somewhere officially.)

So my question to you, dear reader, is how would you have handled the situation, both during the Mass and afterward?

I suppose it should be said that this particular instance can be used as a springboard for a larger discussion: what should our response be if anything like this happens during a Mass? One may very often hear “liturgical purists” writing to Bishops about an “abuse,” or “conservatives” writing to Bishops because of “bad theology.” So, is what is good for the goose also good for the gander?

Pax et bonum.

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