By David Kerr
Vatican City, Jun 26, 2011 /(CNA/EWTN News).-
The Eucharist is the medicine which can heal our individualist society, Pope Benedict XVI said in his midday Angelus address on Corpus Christi Sunday.
“In an increasingly individualistic culture in which Western societies are immersed - and which is tending to spread throughout the world - the Eucharist is a kind of ‘antidote’ which operates in the minds and hearts of believers and is continually sowing in them the logic of communion, of service, of sharing - in other words, the logic of the Gospel,” said Pope Benedict to pilgrims in St. Peters Square on June 26.
Catholics believe that the bread and wine offered by Christ at the Last Supper literally became his body and blood - and that this same miracle is repeated by priests at every Mass since. Hence the name of today’s festivity – ‘Corpus Christi’ Sunday or ‘Body of Christ’ Sunday.
“From the Eucharist,” observed the Pope, “the Risen Christ is truly present among his disciples and working with the power of the Holy Spirit. And in the following generations through the centuries, the Church, despite the limitations and human errors, has continued to be a force for communion throughout the world.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of Christian life. As the Pope bluntly put it today, “without the Eucharist, the Church simply does not exist.”
The Pope noted this belief in the centrality of the Eucharist has manifested itself throughout the history of the Church, beginning with the earliest Christian communities in Jerusalem who shared all possessions in common.
“From what came all this? From the Eucharist that is the Risen Christ, truly present among his disciples and working with the power of the Holy Spirit.”
He then drew upon the example of the fourth century Abitene martyrs from North Africa who chose to die rather than deprive themselves of Sunday Mass in the face of Roman persecution. They proclaimed “Sine Dominico non possumus’ - without the ‘Dominicum’ - without the Sunday Eucharist, we cannot live.”
Pope Benedict concluded by urging all pilgrims to turn to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was described by Pope John Paul II as the “Woman of the Eucharist.”
“At her school, our lives become fully ‘Eucharistic’, open to God and others, capable of transforming evil into good with the power of love, striving to promote unity, fellowship, brotherhood.”
zondag 26 juni 2011
Pope Benedict calls Eucharist ‘antidote’ to modern ills
woensdag 22 juni 2011
dinsdag 21 juni 2011
Deacons should preach less at Mass, Michigan bishop says
Marquette, Mich., Jun 21, 2011 / (CNA).-
Permanent deacons should not preach at Mass often. Rather, they should preach at other services and serve the Church in the course of their daily witness to Christ, Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, Mich. has said in a new pastoral letter on the deacon’s role in the Catholic Church.
Bishop Sample’s 19-page letter, titled “The Deacon: Icon of Jesus Christ the Servant,” cited the principle that the one who presides at a liturgical service or who is the principal celebrant at Mass should also give the homily.
“This should be the ordinary practice,” he said.
Deacons should preach the homily at Mass “for some identifiable advantage for the faithful in the congregation, but not on a regular basis,” the bishop wrote.
He said deacons have the opportunity to preach in other contexts, such as at wake services, funeral and wedding liturgies outside of Mass, baptisms, liturgies of the Word, during the Liturgy of the Hours and during Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest.
Bishop Sample noted that a deacon also “preaches” through “the witness of his life, especially in his marriage and family life,” as well as in his secular work and his role as a teacher.
The deacon’s ministry in the liturgy is not the “heart” of his service. Rather, he is called especially to serve the bishop by caring for the many works of charity “especially suited” to him, most often under the direction of his local pastor.
Although the deacon is ordained to teach and preach the Word of God, “the most effective preaching he does is through the witness of his life in loving service to the most needy among us,” Bishop Sample wrote in a column summarizing the pastoral letter.
The Bishop of Marquette had stopped accepting new deacon candidates until a study of their role had been completed.
In his letter, he announced that a man will not be ordained simply to “be the deacon” at a particular parish or mission. Instead, there must be “a specifically identified need in the community” recognized by the bishop in consultation with the local pastor. This follows the scriptural example of the early Church, where the Apostles chose deacons to minister to the needs of widows so that the Apostles would be free to pray and preach the Word of God.
In the Diocese of Marquette the prospective deacon will now need to have “a particular service ministry” for which he will be ordained, such as service as a catechist or in care for the poor, the sick, the elderly or the imprisoned.
This change will reflect the fact that a deacon’s primary ministry is “not in the sanctuary but in the service of charity.”
“I express my deep gratitude to my deacon brothers for their selfless service to God’s people in the image of Christ the Servant,” Bishop Sample said. “Let us pray for them and support them as they care for the special children of God among us.”
maandag 20 juni 2011
zondag 19 juni 2011
Installation Mass for Most Rev. Charles H. Dufour: A most wonderful occasion.
By Msgr. Kenneth Richards
In an atmosphere that was charged with expectation as with electricity, the presence of the Holy Spirit was truly felt as approximately two thousand four hundred (2400) persons gathered at Holy Trinity Cathedral for the Installation Mass for the Sixth Metropolitan Archbishop of Kingston, Most Rev. Charles H. Dufour, DD, CD. The Most Rev. Thomas Gullickson, the Papal Delegate presided over the Rite of Installation, and he was assisted by Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Donald J. Reece, DD, GCM., in seating the new Archbishop in his Cathedra.
Dignitaries present for the occasion included His Excellency the Most Hon. Patrick Allen and Lady Allen; the President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, Most Rev. Patrick Pinder, Metropolitan Archbishop of Nassau Bahamas; Most Rev. Neil Tiedeman, Bishop Mandeville; Most Rev. Robert Kurtz, DD., Bishop of Hamilton Bermuda; Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston, Most Rev. Edgerton R. Clarke, DD.; Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, MP (representing our Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding); Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips, MP (representing Leader of the Opposition, Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller); President of the Senate, Hon. Oswald Harding; Rev. Gary Harriott, General Secretary of the Jamaica Council of Churches; Rt. Rev. Alfred Reid, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands; Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory, Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay; Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, Suffagan Bishop of Kingston; Members of Parliament; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; other Dignitaries; over one hundred & fifty (150) local and visiting Priests and Deacons; Religious Sisters and Brothers; Archbishop Dufour’s Family Members and overseas guests; the laity of the local church; well wisher; and members of the local media.
In a stirring homily that elicited periodic applause from the congregation, Archbishop Dufour, pledged to build on the legacy of his predecessors. His charge to the Archdiocese included the call for a recommitment in the following areas: to safeguard the dignity and sanctity of life from conception to natural death; to build on the efforts of his predecessors to restore Catholic presence and values in our Catholic Schools; to renew the value of family life as central to societal transformation and advancement. Archbishop Dufour also highlighted the importance of wholesome family life in facilitating the mission of the Church in building the Kingdom.
May the clergy, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of Kingston respond to the charge of our Archbishop in making his charge to the Archdiocese a reality! All for the Glory of God!
Cardinal encourages 60 hours of adoration to celebrate Pope’s anniversary
Rome, Italy, Jun 17, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
Bishops around the world are encouraged to promote 60 hours of Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of all priests, for new vocations, and for Pope Benedict XVI, who will celebrate 60 years as a priest on June 29.
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Vatican’s Congregation of the Clergy, said this would be an ideal time to “gather around the pontiff and show him our gratitude, our affection and our communion for the service he offers to God and the Church.” Above all, he continued, it will show the commitment to “making the truth shine out in the world,” which characterizes his pontificate.
In his statement published June 16 by L’Osservatore Romano, the cardinal said the 60 hours of Eucharist adoration could be continuous or spread out over the month of June and should be embraced “particularly by priests.”
The statement was also signed by the congregation’s secretary, Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta.
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (the Day for Priestly Sanctification) would be an ideal day to conclude the Eucharist adoration, Cardinal Piacenza added.
Through this special initiative, the cardinal continued, “We could offer homage to the pontiff with an extraordinary crown of prayers and supernatural unity, that shows the real center of our lives, from which all missionary and pastoral effort springs forth, as well as the authentic face of the Church and her priests.”
The Congregation for the Clergy recommended meditating on biblical passages featuring the Apostle Peter, the first Pope. It specifically mentioned chapters 20 and 21 of the Gospel of John, in which the Lord asks Peter if he loves him more than the rest, and chapter 16 of the Gospel of Matthew, in which Christ tells him, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.”
Pope Benedict was ordained on June 29, 1951, together with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, at the Cathedral of Freising in Germany, on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Love within Trinity overflows into forgiveness for man, Pope says
Vatican City, Jun 19, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
The love that exists within the Holy Trinity overflows into the love and forgiveness for man which is manifested by Christ’s death on the cross. That was the message of Pope Benedict XVI in his Trinity Sunday sermon during his visit to the tiny European state of San Marino June 19.
“So, in the mystery of the cross, there are three Divine Persons,” he told the 25,000 strong congregation at the country’s Serravalle Stadium.
“The Father, who gave his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world, the Son, who carries out the will of the Father to the very end and the Holy Spirit - poured out by Jesus at the moment of his death - who comes to render us participants in divine life, to transform our lives, so that our lives are animated by divine love.”
San Marino is situated in the north-eastern part of the Italian peninsula and is one of just three independent states in the world to be completely surrounded by another country, in this case Italy. It has a population of only 30,000. Pope John Paul II also visited San Marino back in 1982. That visit was for just one day, as is Pope Benedict’s today.
“The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, because God is love: the Father gives everything to the Son, the Son receives everything from the Father with gratitude, and the Holy Spirit is like the fruit of this mutual love between the Father and Son,” said the Pope describing the Holy Trinity – the Christian proposition that God is three persons but one divine nature - as the “first and greatest mystery of our faith.”
To illustrate the Holy Trinity’s mercy for man, the Pope drew upon the first Bible passage read at today’s Mass. It recounted the disobedience of the Jewish people who, after being led out of slavery in Egypt by Moses, wanted a golden idol instead of God.
“All seems lost, all friendship broken,” said the Pope.
“Yet, despite having committed the gravest of sins, God, through the intercession of Moses, decides to forgive His people and calls Moses to ascend the mountain once more to receive His law, the Ten Commandments.”
God then describes himself to Moses as “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” In these words, said the Pope, “there can be no clearer revelation” of the Trinity’s benevolence towards man.
“We have a God who renounces the destruction of the sinner and wants to show His love in an even more profound and surprising way right in front of the sinner in order to always offer the possibility of conversion and forgiveness.”
The culmination of this divine offer said the Pope, drawing upon today’s Gospel reading, is the incarnation of God-made-man in the person of Jesus Christ.
“The evangelist John refers to this statement of Jesus: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life’.”
So while some may presume a God who would “come to judge the world, to destroy evil, to punish those who work in darkness” instead, said the Pope, “He shows He loves the world, He loves man, despite his sinfulness, and sends what is His most precious possession: His only begotten Son.”
San Marino claims to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world. It was founded in the early 4th century by two missionaries, Marino and Leo, who were fleeing anti-Christian persecution in what is now Croatia.
The Pope noted how “Marino and Leo with their faith in God revealed in Jesus Christ, brought new perspectives and values to the local context, resulting in the birth of a culture and a civilization centered on the human person.”
And he urged the people of St. Marino to stay true to the ancient Christian faith of Marion and Leo.
“The temptation has crept in to believe that the wealth of man is not the faith, but his personal and social power, his intelligence, his culture and his ability to manipulate scientific, technological and social realities.”
“Thus, in these lands, the Christian faith and values have begun to be replaced with a presumed wealth, which in the end reveals itself inconsistent and incapable of containing the great promise of truth, goodness, of beauty and justice, which for centuries your ancestors identified with the experience of faith.”
Later on today the Pope will venerate the relics of St. Marino at the local cathedral before travelling back into Italy for a meeting with young people in the nearby town of Pennabili. He’ll then return to the Vatican by helicopter tonight.
maandag 6 juni 2011
Vatican to publish Irish Church abuse report in 2012
Vatican City, Jun 6, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
The first phase of the apostolic visitation investigating clergy abuse in Ireland has concluded with the announcement that an overall synthesis of its results and recommendations will be published by early 2012.
The report will focus on the nationwide mission of renewal announced by Pope Benedict XVI in his March 2010 pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, the Vatican said June 6.
The investigators, known as “visitators,” had set out to examine the effectiveness of the present response to cases of abuse and the current forms of assistance provided to abuse victims.
They also considered the prospects of the “profound spiritual renewal” presently being pursued by the Church in Ireland.
Because of the initial evaluation, the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for Catholic Education do not envisage further apostolic visitations. The visitors meetings with various organizations and individuals, including the local bishops, provided “a sufficiently complete picture of the situation of the Irish Church” concerning the areas under investigation.
The relevant Vatican dicasteries, or departments, will give indications to the bishops for the “spiritual renewal” of the dioceses and seminaries. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will provide similar recommendations for the religious institutes.
The congregation has analyzed responses to the visitation’s questionnaires sent to all institutes with religious houses in Ireland. Visits to some religious communities will follow.
The Vatican said that the visitation to the four metropolitan archdioceses of Ireland, the seminaries and the religious institutes was “very useful” because of the cooperation of everyone who took part.
“The Holy Father's sincere thanks goes to them, especially to the four Metropolitan Archbishops,” the Vatican said.
In April media reports speculated that the visitors would recommend the closure of the national seminary at Maynooth in county Kildare. The seminary authorities dismissed the reports as “without foundation.”
The four-man team heading the investigation into four of the key dioceses of Ireland consisted of Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto, Archbishop Terence Prendergast, S.J., of Ottawa and Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster, England.
A parallel investigation has examined religious institutes.
The apostolic visitors have conducted penitential services in Ireland seeking forgiveness for the abuse of hundreds of children by priests and religious over several decades.
In February, Cardinal O’Malley spoke of a “window of opportunity” to build a “holier church” in response to the abuse crisis.
And a spokesman for Archbishop Dolan told CNA that after his interviews with 113 Irish seminarians he sees “much hope for the renewal of the faith in Ireland.”
Pope Benedict’s 2010 pastoral letter to Ireland asked victims’ forgiveness and expressed “shame and remorse” over the abuse.
Thirty years after AIDS discovery, appreciation growing for Catholic approach
Rome, Italy, Jun 5, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
The Vatican’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva says that 30 years after the discovery of AIDS, international relief agencies and faith-based groups are beginning to show an openness to the Catholic solution for the illness.
“We are at the beginning of a convergence in the sense that functionaries of international institutions and organizations and people from faith-based groups are talking across the lines and coming to respect each other a bit more,” Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told CNA.
Archbishop Tomasi’s comments come three decades after the first medical paper recognizing the illness was published in the U.S.
Based on a study of homosexual men in California and New York, the new ailment was initially labelled GRID, or Gay-related Immune Deficiency. Since then, the U.N. estimates that 65 million people worldwide have been infected by HIV/AIDS, with over 25 million killed.
The most significant point of departure between the Catholic Church and many other bodies involved in the fight against AIDS is over the use of condoms as a preventative measure.
“It has been proven and even documented now that the really effective way is to change your behaviour. And so, this has been our insistence,” Archbishop Tomasi said, stressing the Catholic Church’s emphasis on behavioral change over condom-distribution.
His comments also come in the week that a new report suggests millions of people are dying from AIDS because Western governments are refusing to accept that condoms are ineffective in curbing the spread of the disease.
The report, entitled “The Catholic Church and the Global AIDS Crisis,” is the work of the American public health expert Matthew Hanley.
“We are always told that condoms are the best known ‘technical’ means for preventing HIV transmission, but we are never told that condom promotion has failed to reverse those most severe African epidemics; behavioral modification, on the other hand, has brought them down,” says Hanley.
Hanley estimates that six million infections would have been averted in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade if the Catholic approach of fidelity and abstinence had been promoted instead of widespread condom use.
“That this is not common knowledge should give us pause. Public health leaders may increasingly recognize this reality – but remain, by and large, reluctant to emphasize behavioral approaches to AIDS control over technical solutions.”
Hanley’s report also claims that in east Africa, Uganda saw a 10 percent drop in the number of people with AIDS between 1991 and 2001 after investing in abstinence programs. The rates of infection only began to climb again when foreign donor agencies insisted on the increased use of condoms in the fight against AIDS.
Last month the Vatican held a two-day conference on how best to tackle the AIDS epidemic. It was aimed at finding common ground on the issue and included contributions from those who disagree with the Catholic Church.
vrijdag 3 juni 2011
donderdag 2 juni 2011
In the world, not of it: Facebook & Catholic Evangelism
By Andrew Haines
I spend too much time on Facebook. I’m working to fix that. Recently, I’ve gotten a little help from an unexpected place.
About 90% of my Catholic “friends” on Facebook drive me up a wall. Up. A. Wall. The newsfeed wall of my Facebook account, to be more specific.
I’ve got 700-and-some connections on the site — a pretty conservative number, all things considered. But lately I’ve found that I can’t log onto Facebook without being bombarded by pious images of (pastel colored) saints, public requests (and offers) to remember certain intentions during the rosary, and comment after comment linking the word “hugs” with “prayer warrior.”
All three together is enough to force my cursor back to the URL bar for an emergency trip to another site. Anywhere.
At first, I thought maybe my selection (or acceptance, really) of Facebook friends tended toward the zealously devout. But I began to realize, more and more, that being Catholic in a 2.0 world has become almost indistinguishable from emotivism. Social media is new soil for building up the Church. But many Catholics — “traditional” and “progressive,” alike — are failing to grasp the true meaning of Pope Benedict’s call to evangelize the “digital continent.”
The maxim to “be in the world, not of it” seems especially apropos, here. New media and web-2.0 apps are, quite definitely, a product of the world. And Catholics should be conscious and prudent when it comes to appropriating into personal life elements that can, quite easily, become vehicles for some very unholy content. There’s a hesitancy about social media — Facebook, Twitter, and the like — that causes believers to wonder just how such tools can (or ever could) serve the greater glory of God.
On the other hand, the potential of the interactive universe is too much to pass up. Where once we were limited to effecting Christian conversion in the hearts of our physical neighbors, now we can reach out to those around the globe and from entirely different walks of life. Catholics, as historical proselytizers, naturally desire to seize on such an opportunity.
What is happening though, I fear, is that caution is overtaking the evangelical spirit. Rather than pervading the world of the digital continent, we’ve begun setting up camp within it. In essence, we’ve begun to create our own digital continent. Instead of establishing beachheads and outposts with an eye to leading others toward Rome, we’ve begun to transport the comforts of the City into an electronic wilderness.
In short, many Catholics view the internet as a suitable place to grow in faith and virtue. But that view couldn’t be more wrong, or more destructive.
When Julius Caesar famously ventured across the Alps to meet the Helvetii and Belgae tribes, he never aimed to make Gaul his home. As a proud son of Rome, he sought to conquer the northern lands and their peoples, winning them for the glory of the Republic. The ultimate goal though was to expand Roman power, not to recentralize it in a foreign land. Caesar knew the value of preserving the patria; and in 49 BC, he returned there to inhabit it — and to rule it — himself.
The same thing is true for Catholics in the digital continent: there is a great deal to be won for the sake of the patria (the heavenly one more than the earthly). But the primary goal is not to inhabit a foreign land forever, but to introduce those who live there to the beauty of civilization.
Moreover, just as no good commander sets up a permanent outpost on foreign soil — for fear of becoming weak and indefensible — Catholics shouldn’t become too comfortable on the digital continent. They should be excellent navigators and explorers; but not inhabitants. Social media and web-2.0-based interaction are wonderful tools for sparking dialogue and conversion. But they don’t substitute for the human-to-human interaction that lies at the foundation of evangelical kerygma. Total conversion requires an encounter with a total person (i.e., the total Christ), and Christ is not incarnate in a digital body.
That Catholics seek to ‘conquer’ new media for the sake of the kingdom is laudable. But the longer we continue to relax in our surroundings — to make social media and the internet our home — the more at risk we become of losing what it is that makes us Christians: namely, our full participation in the living, breathing, human Christ, who is only truly present in the Eucharist.
Evangelism in a foreign land is fruitful only insofar as we can make an authentic call to discipleship to those who claim it as their home. That’s the goal of our progress in the digital continent — and it is helpful to recall that from time to time.
The Roman Missal: Three misconceptions
1. The new English translation of the Roman Missal isn’t necessarily better than the one currently in use, it’s just different!
Although comments of this nature are likely motivated by a sincere concern for the sensibilities of the faithful, I think they are ill advised and ultimately harmful.
The Church is both human and Divine, and we know that the human contribution will often stand in need of improvement as She journeys toward Heavenly perfection. Such is the case with the current translation, and acknowledging as much shouldn’t be a source of scandal for any of us.
So, why a new translation?
There is an old Latin phrase that comes to mind, lex orandi, lex credendi — loosely translated, as we pray so too do we believe. As such, the words of Holy Mass should communicate the richness of Church doctrine accurately at all times. Presently, however, they don’t always do so very well, and the new translation is an attempt to capture in English the theological clarity and depth of meaning that is found in the Latin original.
Now, we can spend the next six months lamenting whatever shortcomings may exist in the present text, but I think we’re all better served by looking forward and preparing ourselves to receive the improvements to come.
Secondly, the current translation was carried out using a method (called “dynamic equivalence”) that attempted to present the meaning of the Latin text apart from its form; putting it into the so-called “language of the people.” In so doing, translators deliberately produced “active voice” translations even when the original text was phrased in the “passive voice,” and this brought about some negative consequences.
For example, in the current translation of the Roman Canon the priest now addresses God the Father saying, “You know how firmly we believe in You and dedicate ourselves to You.” There’s an inappropriate air of presumptuousness and self-affirmation evident in these words, is there not?
The corrected translation, however, will recapture the prayerful humility of the original text as the priest will petition the Father saying, “Remember, Lord, your servants and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you.”
Subtle, perhaps, but don’t underestimate the impact a shift in orientation back toward the Lord can have! Wherever the current liturgical text is overly focused on the speaker, it contributes to the erroneous perception of Holy Mass as an essentially human act of praise and worship when, in fact, it is truly nothing less than a Divine action — it is the worship of Jesus Christ offered to the Father into which we are invited to participate by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In addition to this, the new translation will also make more explicit the very important connection that exists between the text of the liturgy and its principal source — Sacred Scripture, a truth that is sometimes obscured in the current translation. (E.g., “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”)
Look, change is never easy, not even change for the better. All of us are being called to roll up our sleeves and get to work in order to prepare for the new text, and we need to be realistic. No one is motivated to undertake a substantial effort like this for a merely lateral move; e.g., “different not better.”
Well, the good news is, Holy Mother Church isn’t asking us to do anything of the sort. We are about to receive what can properly be called a correction and therefore a vast improvement, and we needn’t be bashful about saying so.
2. The new translation of the Roman Missal with its elevated, formal, sacred language — which is not the way most people speak — will make “active participation” more difficult. It is, therefore, a step away from the reforms encouraged at Vatican Council II.
First, it’s important for us to understand what “active participation” truly means. (I wrote on this topic in greater detail here.) HINT: It isn’t what most people think it is.
Secondly, it’s worth noting that the Council employs the word “sacred” in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy more often than in any other document it produced - more than 60 times in reference to the liturgy and those things associated with it; e.g. “sacred music, sacred art, sacred buildings, sacred vestments, sacred ministers, sacred images,” and the list goes on.
The Council Fathers tell us that “every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others” (cf SC 7). This means that every single thing used in the celebration of Holy Mass — all that is perceptible to the senses — must also be sacred lest it serve to distract the faithful from the transcendent presence and action of Christ into which they are invited as participants. This would include, of course, the language that we use and the words that we speak at Holy Mass.
“Sacred” simply means “set apart for Divine worship; proper to things religious, not profane or proper to things secular.” When applied to language, this naturally means speaking in a manner unlike the way in which we typically engage in ordinary conversation and commerce. And guess what? English speaking Catholics already pray this way very comfortably in the Mass as the “Our Father” has always employed an elevated manner of speaking.
The more formal wording and sentence structure in the new translation will serve to elevate our awareness of what is actually taking place at Holy Mass, thereby enhancing our ability to participate in the manner in which the Council intended.
3. Yes, but the unfamiliar words and complicated sentence structures go against the Council’s own directive stating, “The rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people's powers of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation” (SC 34).
Let’s be clear about what the Council Fathers are saying. One of the most important things that should be communicated in the celebration of Holy Mass is that we are taking part in something far greater than ourselves; something so great and so profound, in fact, that the Church properly refers to it as Sacred Mystery.
The Council is NOT saying that the perceptible signs in the liturgy are to be so simplistic as to make Holy Mass entirely comprehensible. This, in fact, is impossible! It is the very nature of the sacred liturgy to exceed the human capacity for full comprehension. It is not a finite subject to be taught; rather it is an invitation to enter into Divine union with the ineffable Christ that we might co-operate with Him in the work of Redemption.
By mistaking the conciliar exhortation above as a license to “dumb down” the rite (particularly in its English texts) in an attempt to fully communicate the indescribable glory of Christ’s operative presence in the Mass, we have anchored the feet of the faithful to the here-and-now at a time when their hearts and minds should be straining for elevation, into an experience of the Divine union that is offered.
Ironically, it is the current text — in spite of the translators’ attempts to make it readily comprehensible — that requires a great deal of explanation in order to alert the faithful to the fact that, appearances aside, we really aren’t taking part in the community’s act of praise and worship; rather, we are participating in something infinitely greater — the very work of God.
Narrowing the field down to just these three wasn’t easy, but was necessary in the interest of space. I’d like to invite readers to email me via the website below to suggest additional questions and/or possible misconceptions that they would like to see addressed in future columns.
woensdag 1 juni 2011
Pope points to Moses as model of intercessory prayer
Vatican City, Jun 1, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
Pope Benedict XVI said at the June 1 general audience that intercessory prayer helps us to grow in deeper knowledge of God and his mercy and makes us more capable of loving others in a self-sacrificial way.
Drawing upon the life of Moses, the Pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that the Old Testament prophet not only led his people out of slavery in Egypt but also gave them and us an example of how to offer prayers of intercession.
“Even when the people at Sinai, asked Aaron to make the golden calf, Moses prays, and this is very emblematic of his role as intercessor.”
The Pope identified various aspects of the intercessory prayer of Moses we can learn from. The first he named was fasting, just as Moses did for 40 days on Mount Sinai.
“The act of eating, in fact, involves taking the food that sustains us, so fasting, giving up food is, in this case, of religious significance: it is a way to indicate that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
“In fasting, Moses shows he is waiting for the gift of God's law as a source of life: it will reveals God’s will and nourish the human heart, making him enter into a covenant with the Almighty that the source of life: it is Life itself!”
A second lesson to intercessory prayer we can learn from Moses, the Pope said, was his openness to the will of God, as opposed to bending God to our will. This, he noted, is what the Israelites did in making an idol of a golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai.
“This is a constant temptation in the path of faith - to circumvent building according to Divine providence” and instead create “a god which is understandable, relevant to their plans, their own projects.”
Thirdly, the prayerful reaction of Moses to the infidelity of his people and the wrath of God highlights both the seriousness of sin and the mercy of God.
Pope Benedict recounted how “Moses intercedes for his people, fully acknowledging the gravity of their sin. He also pleads with God to remember his mercy, to forgive their sin and thus to reveal his saving power.”
“Moses’ prayer of petition is an expression of God’s own desire for the salvation of his people and his fidelity to the covenant.”
His reaction also shows that intercessory prayer expands the human heart towards both God and man, the Pope explained. “Love of the brethren and love of God pervade the prayer of intercession, and are inseparable.”
Pope Benedict said that this bond can be seen in the person of “Moses the intercessor” who is “a man stretched between two loves, which overlap in prayer in a single desire to do good.”
The Pope finished his reflection by saying that the intercessory prayer of Moses points us in a particular direction – Jesus Christ.
“Moses points beyond himself to that perfect intercessor who is Jesus, the Son of God, who brings about the new and eternal covenant in his blood, shed for the forgiveness of sin and the reconciliation of all God’s children.”
Today’s address was the fifth Wednesday audience delivered by Pope Benedict on the topic of prayer. His previous theme – the lives of the saints – took two years to complete.
