The Fourth Sunday of Advent

I don’t usually publish my homilies … or even write them down for that matter … but I enjoyed my homily this morning so much that I really wanted to share it with you.

As the Church celebrates each of the Sundays of Advent, she presents a virtue for us to meditate upon each week. The first week we looked at Hope, the second week we looked at Peace, then last week, “Pepto-Bismol Sunday,” we meditated together on Joy. Now, today, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Church asks us to meditate on the great virtue of Love.

Now something happened this week that can teach us a lot about Love – the new Star Wars movie came out. I haven’t seen it yet, and if any of you tell me how it ends, you’ll go straight to Hell. But we learn about love from an important moment in the original trilogy when Luke Skywalker crash lands on a swampy little planet called Dagobah and meets a little green fellow named Yoda. Now Dagobah is really a lot like Bethlehem: they’re both places that nobody really ever wants to be. But while Luke is there, Yoda tells Luke to pull his X-Wing fighter ship out of the swamp using only the power of his mind. Luke’s response is, “I’ll try”, but Yoda tells him, “Do, or do not; there is no try.”

That’s the same advice we can take today as we try to live the great virtue of Love. I’ve never tried to pull a fighter ship out of swamp so I can't tell you how difficult that is, but I can tell you for sure that loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength is really hard, and so is loving my neighbor as myself. And yet Yoda’s words strike us as very true: no matter how hard it is to love, “Do, or do not; there is no try.”

We see beautiful examples of that kind of love in the readings of today’s Mass. In our second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear about Jesus, who showed the greatest love for us when He gave all of Himself on the Cross for our salvation. And in today’s Gospel, we hear about our Blessed Mother, who showed a tremendous love for her cousin Elizabeth as an example of love of neighbor. When she arrives at the house, she had just made a tremendously difficult journey through the mountain country, and yet her first words are not, “The road was long, the food was terrible, and the donkey sweated the whole way.” Instead, her first words are greetings for her cousin: her love for Elizabeth trumps everything else. “Do, or do not; there is no try.”

So what about us? It’s our job to clean up the table after Christmas dinner, but we clank and clatter and crash around so much that we drown out the football game on TV. Or we need to take Great Aunt Susie to the airport, but we complain about it the entire way there and all the way back. Sure, we’re doing the right thing, but are we really doing it with love?

Thankfully, today's Scripture readings tell us what it takes to live the virtue of love, the same way that Mary and Jesus do. It’s the same thing that the prophet Micah uses to describe Bethlehem in our first reading today – it’s about being small, so that there is enough room for God and others. Unless we can be small enough to leave room in our hearts, in our lives, and in our calendars for God and others, then we aren’t going to be able to live this beautiful virtue of love.

Now, this is hard work. But just like Luke in the swamps of Dagobah, as we try to become small enough to leave room for the love of God and neighbor, we can Do or do not; Love or love not. There is no try.  

Doughnuts? I like doughnuts!

I discovered today that Nov. 5 is one of TWO National Doughnut Days in the United States. That leads me to some “holey” thoughts about the way God interacts with us.

It’s often been said that there is a “God shaped hole” within each of us, where we recognize that we can’t “dough” everything all by ourselves. In other words, we are dependent beings. We need something beyond ourselves to fulfill us and bring us peace of soul.

We can try to fill that hole with all sorts of things … not typically jelly or Boston crème, but instead with work, or technology, or food, or vacations, or even unhealthy behaviors.  The problem is that none of these things can truly fill and fulfill us. We can try to cram more and more of these “goodies” into our lives, but it is only the infinite Presence of God that will truly fill the needs and dependencies we hold within us. He can meet our needs and fulfill our desires for happiness, peace, and joy in a way that no limited earthly thing can even come close.

So … enjoy a doughnut today (preferably with chocolate frosting and sprinkles), and take a minute to ask the Holy Spirit to fill in the hole for you!

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, AND I'M EXCITED!!!

BOY AM I EXCITED ... SO EXCITED THAT I'M USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!
BECAUSE ...

• SUNDAY ADORATION STARTS AGAIN ON SEPT. 6, AT 5PM, IN THE CHURCH!
• LUKE 5:29 HIGH SCHOOL BIBLE STUDY STARTS AGAIN WEDS., SEPT. 9, IN THE YOUTH ROOM (2nd floor of the Parish Center) at 5:29 PM!
• OUR FIRST CONFIRMATION RETREAT OPTION IS SATURDAY, SEPT. 12!  (Or you could go on Sept. 26 if you signed up for that one)
• CONFIRMATION CLASS AND LIFE TEEN STARTS AGAIN ON SEPT. 20! (Bring your parents to this one!)
• EDGE BEGINS ON SEPT. 27! (Bring your parents to this one, too)
• THE WEEKEND OF SEPT. 26-27 IS OUR FEAST DAY WEEKEND AS A PARISH -- HAPPY FEAST DAY IN ADVANCE!

 

I HOPE YOU'RE AS EXCITED AS I AM BY NOW!! SEE YOU THERE!!

Who we are

I know, I know ... I can't remember the last time I wrote two days in a row ... but one of my professors started off with a bang this Monday morning by quoting a teaching I had always glossed over before, and I wanted to share it.

As a bit of background, Pope Paul VI published Gaudium et Spes on December 7, 1965, as a result of the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council. This particular document is about how we as members of the Church interact with the world -- hence its longer English title, "The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World." I had looked through it during seminary but had never really noticed how tremendously powerful paragraph 43 is -- have a look:

This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation. Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age. Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament fought vehemently against this scandal and even more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New Testament threaten it with grave punishments. Therefore, let there be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life on the other. The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal salvation. Christians should rather rejoice that, following the example of Christ Who worked as an artisan, they are free to give proper exercise to all their earthly activities and to their humane, domestic, professional, social and technical enterprises by gathering them into one vital synthesis with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are harmonized unto God's glory.

Secular duties and activities belong properly although not exclusively to [the lay faithful]. Therefore acting as citizens in the world, whether individually or socially, they will keep the laws proper to each discipline, and labor to equip themselves with a genuine expertise in their various fields. They will gladly work with [others] seeking the same goals. Acknowledging the demands of faith and endowed with its force, they will unhesitatingly devise new enterprises, where they are appropriate, and put them into action. [The lay faithful] should also know that it is generally the function of their well-formed Christian conscience to see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the earthly city; from priests they may look for spiritual light and nourishment. Let the layman not imagine that his pastors are always such experts, that to every problem which arises, however complicated, they can readily give him a concrete solution, or even that such is their mission. Rather, enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church, let the layman take on his own distinctive role.
Often enough the Christian view of things will itself suggest some specific solution in certain circumstances. Yet it happens rather frequently, and legitimately so, that with equal sincerity some of the faithful will disagree with others on a given matter. Even against the intentions of their proponents, however, solutions proposed on one side or another may be easily confused by many people with the Gospel message. Hence it is necessary for people to remember that no one is allowed in the aforementioned situations to appropriate the Church's authority for his opinion. They should always try to enlighten one another through honest discussion, preserving mutual charity and caring above all for the common good.

Since they have an active role to play in the whole life of the Church, [the lay faithful] are not only bound to penetrate the world with a Christian spirit, but are also called to be witnesses to Christ in all things in the midst of human society.

I know ... isn't this amazing? What a beautiful testimony to God's action in our lives, gathering us together into His family and giving each person a mission according to his or her vocation, to bring His presence and love into the world. And just like any family, we will have legitimate disagreements on how to do this -- but if we trust that each of our brothers and sisters is sincere in his or her desire to bring that message and knowledge of salvation to the world, we can do so much!

So, from my temporary foray into academia, let me offer this encouragement: let's keep in mind that end-goal that Pope Paul VI lays out for us -- that everything we do be for God's glory, and that we keep our eyes open for opportunities to work together, both with our lay brothers and sisters, with the clergy of the Church, and with others of good will, to bring His presence and love to the world.

Saints Peter and Paul, whom we celebrate today, had this close to their hearts -- let's ask for their intercession to bring it close to ours, as well!

What I'm learning

It's hard to believe that my summer program is almost half over! We finished one set of final exams at the end of this past week, and I've been enjoying our Mid-Summer free weekend tremendously! But with that free time, I've had a chance to internalize and meditate on some of the material that we've been studying over our first academic term.

One of my classes in the first session was taught by Fr. Dennis Gill, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia whom I knew from my time at St. Charles Seminary. He brought to our attention an article published in the Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, which was written by Cardinal Sarah, the cardinal in charge of the Vatican's Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. So this is the sort of thing that folks want to pay attention to -- a thoughtful presentation by somebody who knows what he's talking about!

Cardinal Sarah wrote about the tremendous importance that the Second Vatican Council places on the participation of the Christian faithful at Mass and the other Liturgies of the Church. It's part of our sanctification and growing closer to Jesus! But the Cardinal points out in a very thoughtful and powerful way that we don't just have "full, conscious, and active participation" (actuosa participatio) when we DO something at Mass. On the contrary, we participate fully in Mass and get the most out of Mass when we enter into the sacrificial love of Jesus; then we have what we need to show that same love of Jesus to the whole world!

I don't usually post full texts of things, but this article is tremendous, so here you go ...

THE SILENT ACTION OF THE HEART

Cardinal Robert Sarah

L'Osservatore Romano

June 12, 2015

[Exclusive Rorate translation by Contributor Francesca Romana]

Fifty years after its promulgation by Pope Paul VI will the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council be read? “Sacrosanctum concilium “ is not de facto a simple catalogue of reform “recipes” but a real “magna carta” of every liturgical action.

With it, the ecumenical council gives us a magisterial lesson in method. Indeed, far from being content with a disciplinary and exterior approach, the council wants to make us reflect on what the liturgy is in its essence. The practice of the Church always comes from what She receives and contemplates in Revelation. Pastoral care cannot be disconnected from doctrine.

In the Church, “that which comes from action is ordered to contemplation” (cfr. n. 2). The Council’s Constitution invites us to rediscover the Trinitarian origin of the liturgical action. Indeed, the Council establishes continuity between the mission of Christ the Redeemer and the liturgical mission of the Church. “Just as Christ was sent by His Father, so also He sent the Apostles” so that “by means of sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgical life revolves” they accomplish ”the work of salvation”. (n.6).

Actuating the liturgy is therefore nothing other than actuating the work of Christ. The liturgy in its essence is “actio Christi”. [It is]the “work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God.” (n.5) It is He who is the great Priest, the true subject, the true actor in the liturgy (n.7). If this vital principle is not accepted in faith, there is the risk of making the liturgy into a human work, a self-celebration of the community.

By contrast, the real work of the Church consists in entering into the action of Christ, in uniting oneself to that work which He received as a mission from the Father. So, “the fullness of divine worship was given to us" since “His humanity, united with the person of the Word, was the instrument of our salvation” (n.5). The Church, the Body of Christ, must therefore become in Her turn an instrument in the hands of the Word.

This is the ultimate meaning of the key-concept of the Conciliar Constitution: “participatio actuosa”. Such participation for the Church consists in becoming the instrument of Christ – The Priest, with the aim of sharing in His Trinitarian mission. The Church takes part actively in the liturgical action of Christ in the measure that She is His instrument. In this sense, to speak of “a celebrating community”” is not devoid of ambiguity and requires prudence. (Instruction” Redemptoris sacramentum”, n. 42). “Participatio actuosa” should not then be intended as the need to do something. On this point the Council’s teaching has frequently been deformed. Rather, it is about allowing Christ to take us and associate us with His Sacrifice.

Liturgical “participatio” must thus be intended as a grace from Christ who “always associates the Church with Himself.”(S.C. n. 7) It is He that has the initiative and the primacy. The Church “calls to Her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father” (n.7).

The priest must thus become this instrument which allows Christ to shine through. Just as our Pope Francis reminded us recently, that the celebrant is not the presenter of a show; he must not look for popularity from the congregation by placing himself before them as their primary interlocutor. Entering into the spirit of the council means, on the contrary, making oneself disappear – relinquishing the centre-stage.

Contrary to what has at times been sustained, and in conformity with the Conciliar Constitution , it is absolutely fitting that during the Penitential Rite, the singing of the Gloria, the orations and Eucharistic Prayer, for everyone – the priest and the congregation alike– to face ad orientem together, expressing their will to participate in the work of worship and redemption accomplished by Christ. This way of doing things could be fittingly carried out in the cathedrals where the liturgical life must be exemplary (n. 4).

To be very clear, there are other parts of the Mass where the priest, acting “in persona Christi Capitis” enters into nuptial dialogue with the congregation. But this face-to-face has no other end than to lead them to a téte-à-tète with God , who through the grace of the Holy Spirit, will make it ‘a heart to heart’. The council offers other means to favor participation [through] “ the acclamations , responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes.” (n.30).

An excessively quick reading and above all, a far too human one, inferred that the faithful had to be kept constantly busy. Contemporary Western mentality formed by technology and bewitched by the mass media, wanted to make the liturgy into a work of effective and profitable pedagogy. In this spirit, there was the attempt to render the celebrations convivial. The liturgical actors, animated by pastoral motives, try at times to make it into didactic work by introducing secular and spectacular elements. Don’t we see perhaps testimonies, performances and clapping in the increase? They believe that participation is favored in this manner, whereas in fact, the liturgy is being reduced to a human game.

“Silence is not a virtue, nor noise a sin, it is true” says Thomas Merton “but the continuous turmoil, confusion and noise in modern society or in certain African Eucharistic liturgies are an expression of the atmosphere of its most serious sins and its impiety and desperation. A world of propaganda and never-ending argumentations , of invectives, criticisms, or mere chattering, is a world in which life is not worth living. Mass becomes a confused din, the prayers an exterior or interior noise.” (Thomas Merton, “The Sign of Jonah” French edition, Albin Michel, Paris, 1955 – p. 322).

We run the real risk of leaving no space for God in our celebrations. We risk the temptation of the Hebrews in the desert. They attempted to create worship according to their own stature and measure, [but] let us not forget they ended up prostrate before the idol of the Golden Calf.

It is time to start listening to the Council. The liturgy is “above all things the worship of the divine Majesty” (n.33). It has pedagogic worth in the measure wherein it is completely ordered to the glorification of God and Divine worship. The Liturgy truly places us in the presence of Divine transcendence. True participation means renewing in ourselves that “wonder” which St. John Paul II held in great consideration (Ecclesia de Eucharistia” n. 6). This holy wonder, this joyful awe, requires our silence before the Divine Majesty. We often forget that holy silence is one of the means indicated by the Council to favor participation.

If the liturgy is the work of Christ, is it necessary for the celebrant to introduce his own comments? We must remember that, when the Missal authorizes an intervention, this must not turn into a secular and human discourse, a comment more or less subtle on something of topical interest, nor a mundane greeting to the people present, but a very short exhortation so as to enter the Mystery (General Presentation of the Roman Missal, n.50). Regarding the homily, it is in itself a liturgical act which has its own rules.

“Participatio actuosa” in the work of Christ, presupposes that we leave the secular world so as to enter the “sacred action surpassing all other” (Sacrosanctum concilium, n.7). De facto, “we claim, with a certain arrogance, to stay in the human - to enter the divine.” (Robert Sarah, “Dieu ou rien”, p. 178).

In such a sense, it is deplorable that the sanctuary (of the high altar) in our churches is not a place strictly reserved for Divine worship, that secular clothes are worn in it and that the sacred space is not clearly defined by the architecture. Since, as the Council teaches, Christ is present in His Word when this is proclaimed , it is similarly detrimental that the readers do not wear appropriate clothing, indicating that they are not pronouncing human words but the Divine Word.

The liturgy is fundamentally mystical and contemplative, and consequently beyond our human action; even the “participatio” is a grace from God. Therefore, it presupposes on our part an opening to the mystery being celebrated. Thus, the Constitution recommends full understanding of the rites (n.34) and at the same time prescribes that “the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.” (n.54).

In reality, the understanding of the rites is not is not an act of reason left to its own devices, which should accept everything, understand everything, master everything. The understanding of the sacred rites is that of “sensus fidei”, which exercises the living faith through symbols and which knows through “harmony” more than concept. This understanding presupposes that one draws close to the Divine Mystery with humility.

But will we have the courage to follow the Council up to this point? Such a reading, illuminated by faith, is however, fundamental for evangelization. In fact, “to those who are outside as a sign lifted up among the nations under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together “ (n.2). It [the reading of S.C.] must stop being a place of disobedience to the prescriptions of the Church.

More specifically, it cannot be an occasion for laceration among Catholics. The dialectic readings of “Sacrosanctum concilium” i.e. the hermeneutics of rupture in one sense or another, are not the fruit of a spirit of faith. The Council did not want to break with the liturgical forms inherited from Tradition, rather it wanted to deepen them. The Constitution establishes that “any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing.” (n.23).

In this sense, it is necessary that those celebrating according to the “usus antiquior” do so without any spirit of opposition, and hence in the spirit of “Sacrosanctum concilium”. In the same way, it would be wrong to consider the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite as deriving from another theology that is not the reformed liturgy. It would also be desirable that the Penitential Rite and the Offertory of the “usus antiquior” be inserted as an enclosure in the next edition of the Missal with the aim of stressing that the two liturgical reforms illuminate one another, in continuity and with no opposition.

If we live in this spirit, then the liturgy will stop being a place of rivalry and criticisms, ultimately, to allow us to participate actively in that liturgy “which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle.” (n.8).