God's blessings to you all!
Last Thursday, my husband and I attended the annual dinner for the local Right to Life group.
We went to this a couple of years ago and had a nice time. We were away last year, but when I heard that Michael Coren was speaking this year, I HAD to go!
Michael Coren is a journalist who is a syndicated writer for some Canadian newspapers. He is also and author, and a recent convert to the Catholic Church.
He did not disappoint! He is an entertaining speaker, and definitely lets us all know how he feels on the issues he addresses.
In the case of this dinner, the issues were Life issues...abortion, and euthanasia in particular.
I cannot speak for the denominations present, but I would like to address the Catholic teachings on these issues, as I understand them.
The Catholic Church is the only mainstream Christian church which has consistently taught that a) Life begins at conception (not implantation, as is often argued) b) We do not have the right to deliberately end a life, either at its beginning or at its end, therefore induced abortion and euthanasia are not something the Church permits for any reason.
That life begins at conception is part of the reason the Church also cannot allow the use of abortifacient forms of birth control, such as The Pill, IUDs and diaphragms. (The Church does not allow any other form of deliberate pregnancy prevention either, but the other forms do not fall into the abortifacient category, so I will not deal with them here).
Euthanasia is often touted as humane or compassionate. As God is the author of life, only He has the right to end life. We do not have to look far to find examples of people with no 'reason' to be alive. They may have been chronically ill, severely handicapped or mentally incapacitated. But in this group are also those who have given and received great love. There are those who, although mentally affected, are used by God to teach the "wise" great lessons. Some have even become canonized Saints.
Families have stories of their elderly members who, although weakened by age, managed to dispense wisdom to the other family members, sometimes despite chronic pain. These people are often the 'praying arm' of their families and parishes.
Who are we to decide when to end a life? Who can know the mind of God? Is this degeneratively ill person here in order to allow someone to learn how to love him or her? Is someone in need of lessons in compassion? Is the ill person themselves in need of lessons in humility? Patience? We don't know.
To my mind, abortion is a self-evident evil. I know, however, that I seem to be far from the majority in this. It is certainly not reflected in our national lack of ANY regulation concerning abortion. Imagine! In Canada, a small person can be aborted, killed, up to the very last days of in utero development!
People do not realize the connection between abortion and birth control. It is relatively recently that countries have allowed access to abortion. Some still do not allow unrestricted access.
What people also do not realize, is that NO major Christian Church (and I'm not aware of any minor ones either!) allowed any form of birth control until the Anglican church allowed it for grave reasons. This happened at the Lambeth Conference of 1930.
I would like to point out that the Muslim religion does not allow birth control or abortion either. And they're supposed to be the 'bad guys'?
At this point in time, the only major Christian Church to withstand public pressure to give in to abortion and birth control is the Catholic Church. I will add here that I do know that there are many non-Catholic Christians who, as individuals and in some cases parts of their denominations, also eschew BOTH abortion and birth control...but usually birth control is not seen as an evil.
So what is the issue with birth control? Well, as mentioned above, some forms are abortifacient (they cause a very early abortion by allowing the woman's body to shed the fertilized egg before it implants). These would be seen as abortion is seen.
Other forms of birth control are still interfering with God's work of starting and ending life. It is strange to me that people who strive to have God in control of their lives, will not allow Him to be in charge of their reproductive lives! But in a society which can allow the death of a child within its mother, why should we see the value of children outside their mother?
It strikes me as sad that when someone is talking about the value of planning their family naturally, they lose credibility when it is found that they have more than three or four children!
What people do not understand is that many people WANT lots of children and view them as gifts, not problems.
Even when I was at the doctor expecting my last child, they asked what form of birth control I was using. I said none. Then I clarified that we had used Natural Family planning, but this pregnancy was not a failure of the method. They don't have a category for that, I don't think.
This is a rather scattered view of some life issues. I will explain Natural Family planning another time. Good night!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Greetings in Christ!
Late last week, I had the privilege of receiving one of the healing sacraments. In other words: Confession, Reconciliation, Penance. Those names are all aspects of the one sacrament of forgiveness.
This is probably one of the least favourite sacraments. Arguably the other is probably Holy Orders!
Confession, as I tend to call it, is the act of publicly (to a priest) naming sins, and, hopefully, being absolved of those sins.
People tend to avoid this sacrament, often putting themselves in grave danger of being "guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ" as St. Paul said, by receiving the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist unworthily. The avoidance is akin the avoidance many people have of the doctor's office. They may well suspect they are ill, but don't want to hear it said aloud, as if this somehow makes the illness non-existent.
The illness dealt with by the sacrament of Reconciliation, as it is usually called at present, is the spiritual illness of sin. We all do it. If anyone has doubts, they only have to read Scripture to hear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Taking that sin into the confessional and speaking it aloud to the priest is a difficult thing to do.
Sin falls into two categories, Venial Sin and Mortal Sin. Venial sin is the type that damages, but does not break, the relationship between God and His people. Mortal sin, on the other hand, breaks the relationship between God and His people.
This is actually a scriptural distinction, although many are not aware of this. 1 John 5:17 (RSV): All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. {KJV: "not unto death"}
The Church teaches us that all mortal sin must be confessed sacramentally in order to be absolved.
Venial sin can be absolved in several ways. During the Mass itself there is more than one instance when venial sin is absolved. We may say during Mass "I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault: in what I have done and what I have failed to do and I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord, our God." This is in the Roman Canon, now called the first Eucharistic Prayer. In the Tridentine Rite, we would say "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" (By my fault, by my fault, by my most grievous fault) and acknowledge our sin. Just before Communion we now acknowledge our imperfection and say "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I ("my servant" in Scripture)will be healed.
What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? For a sin to mortal, it must involve grave matter and the sinner must have full knowledge of the sin and give it full consent.
It's pretty hard to commit a mortal sin accidently. In actuality, what is a mortal sin for one person, may be only a venial sin to another if they are ignorant of what they are doing.
Now, should ONLY mortal sins be confessed sacramentally? You might hear different things from different people. I think it is good to remember that no sin can enter heaven. If we persist in venial sin, we can find ourselves sliding into mortal sin without much thought. In a way, unrecognized venial sin desensitizes us to more serious sin. One speaker I heard likened unresolved venial sin to a callus that can grow over an irritation on our skin. It can make the irritation less irritating, and cause our conscience to go into a sort of hibernation.
Many people develop a devotional relationship to the sacrament of reconciliation. At one time it was not at all unusual for people to go to confession every week, before they received the Eucharist at Mass. Now, many people do not do the bare minimum, which is reconciliation once a year. Some people, however, go to confession regularly, monthly or even weekly.
Are these people greater sinners than other people? They may actually be less sinful. People who confess often get into the practice of monitoring their behaviour, with a mind to change what needs changing. They may do a daily examination of conscience, which has them deliberately reviewing the day's activity.
Regular confession to one confessor (that would be the priest) helps to expose recurrent behaviours and helps to eradicate them.
Some of our Protestant brethren take issue with confessing sins to a man and having him absolve. After all, priests are sinful people too, right?
Scripture very clearly gives the ability to bind and loose on earth and in heaven to the apostles (Matthew 18:18). By apostolic succession, this ability has been passed on to the priests of today.
The one actually absolving the sin is Christ. We say that the priest, when absolving sin, is acting 'in persona Christi Capitis'. By virtue of his holy orders, the priest is binding or loosing, in this case sin.
I try to receive this sacrament frequently. Frequently enough? I don't know. Sometimes, I feel very light when I am absolved. Sometimes I don't feel much of anything. But I am always touched when I hear the words of absolution. It is a tremendous gift. I can tell you quite cleary what my most persistent faults are! I confess, I mess up, and I confess again. I do not confess as a 'cop out' as some would say. I confess what I truly want to change.
Occasionally, and it is rare, I have been 'talked out' of a sin. The circumstances around what I saw as a sin were such that Father did not believe my behaviour was actually a sin. That can certainly give one a moment of thought!
Unfortunately, it can happen that the confessor does not believe in the confession of venial sin, and will discourage this practice. These men are really robbing the penitent of a great tool for achieving holiness! In a society which seems to like to tell us or show us that nothing is sinful, it can sometimes be a quite a challenge to take up the call to holiness.
I would challenge whomever finds himself (or herself) reading this to consider going to confession soon. For a Catholic, this is one of our most valuable gifts.
God Bless
Late last week, I had the privilege of receiving one of the healing sacraments. In other words: Confession, Reconciliation, Penance. Those names are all aspects of the one sacrament of forgiveness.
This is probably one of the least favourite sacraments. Arguably the other is probably Holy Orders!
Confession, as I tend to call it, is the act of publicly (to a priest) naming sins, and, hopefully, being absolved of those sins.
People tend to avoid this sacrament, often putting themselves in grave danger of being "guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ" as St. Paul said, by receiving the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist unworthily. The avoidance is akin the avoidance many people have of the doctor's office. They may well suspect they are ill, but don't want to hear it said aloud, as if this somehow makes the illness non-existent.
The illness dealt with by the sacrament of Reconciliation, as it is usually called at present, is the spiritual illness of sin. We all do it. If anyone has doubts, they only have to read Scripture to hear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Taking that sin into the confessional and speaking it aloud to the priest is a difficult thing to do.
Sin falls into two categories, Venial Sin and Mortal Sin. Venial sin is the type that damages, but does not break, the relationship between God and His people. Mortal sin, on the other hand, breaks the relationship between God and His people.
This is actually a scriptural distinction, although many are not aware of this. 1 John 5:17 (RSV): All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. {KJV: "not unto death"}
The Church teaches us that all mortal sin must be confessed sacramentally in order to be absolved.
Venial sin can be absolved in several ways. During the Mass itself there is more than one instance when venial sin is absolved. We may say during Mass "I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault: in what I have done and what I have failed to do and I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord, our God." This is in the Roman Canon, now called the first Eucharistic Prayer. In the Tridentine Rite, we would say "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" (By my fault, by my fault, by my most grievous fault) and acknowledge our sin. Just before Communion we now acknowledge our imperfection and say "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I ("my servant" in Scripture)will be healed.
What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? For a sin to mortal, it must involve grave matter and the sinner must have full knowledge of the sin and give it full consent.
It's pretty hard to commit a mortal sin accidently. In actuality, what is a mortal sin for one person, may be only a venial sin to another if they are ignorant of what they are doing.
Now, should ONLY mortal sins be confessed sacramentally? You might hear different things from different people. I think it is good to remember that no sin can enter heaven. If we persist in venial sin, we can find ourselves sliding into mortal sin without much thought. In a way, unrecognized venial sin desensitizes us to more serious sin. One speaker I heard likened unresolved venial sin to a callus that can grow over an irritation on our skin. It can make the irritation less irritating, and cause our conscience to go into a sort of hibernation.
Many people develop a devotional relationship to the sacrament of reconciliation. At one time it was not at all unusual for people to go to confession every week, before they received the Eucharist at Mass. Now, many people do not do the bare minimum, which is reconciliation once a year. Some people, however, go to confession regularly, monthly or even weekly.
Are these people greater sinners than other people? They may actually be less sinful. People who confess often get into the practice of monitoring their behaviour, with a mind to change what needs changing. They may do a daily examination of conscience, which has them deliberately reviewing the day's activity.
Regular confession to one confessor (that would be the priest) helps to expose recurrent behaviours and helps to eradicate them.
Some of our Protestant brethren take issue with confessing sins to a man and having him absolve. After all, priests are sinful people too, right?
Scripture very clearly gives the ability to bind and loose on earth and in heaven to the apostles (Matthew 18:18). By apostolic succession, this ability has been passed on to the priests of today.
The one actually absolving the sin is Christ. We say that the priest, when absolving sin, is acting 'in persona Christi Capitis'. By virtue of his holy orders, the priest is binding or loosing, in this case sin.
I try to receive this sacrament frequently. Frequently enough? I don't know. Sometimes, I feel very light when I am absolved. Sometimes I don't feel much of anything. But I am always touched when I hear the words of absolution. It is a tremendous gift. I can tell you quite cleary what my most persistent faults are! I confess, I mess up, and I confess again. I do not confess as a 'cop out' as some would say. I confess what I truly want to change.
Occasionally, and it is rare, I have been 'talked out' of a sin. The circumstances around what I saw as a sin were such that Father did not believe my behaviour was actually a sin. That can certainly give one a moment of thought!
Unfortunately, it can happen that the confessor does not believe in the confession of venial sin, and will discourage this practice. These men are really robbing the penitent of a great tool for achieving holiness! In a society which seems to like to tell us or show us that nothing is sinful, it can sometimes be a quite a challenge to take up the call to holiness.
I would challenge whomever finds himself (or herself) reading this to consider going to confession soon. For a Catholic, this is one of our most valuable gifts.
God Bless
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Hello friends
I apologize for my lapse in posting here. We've had computer trouble, now apparently mended, and I am also working on a posting that is actually requiring some research, and it's far from finished yet. In the meantime...
A very dear priest-friend of mine once said that Catholics do funerals very well. Sadly, we tested this comment once again this week.
Canada is at war. The troops in Kandahar province of Afghanistan are suffering what seems to me to be a high number of injuries and deaths over there. An inside source tells me that there is a news blackout regarding the injuries. For morale, I suppose.
The deaths cannot be hidden.
On Friday at our chapel, I sang in the choir for the funeral Mass for a soldier, and member of our chapel parish. Although I did not know the family personally, I had certainly seen them frequently. This was about the hardest funeral I've ever been involved with. I was not the only participant who felt very drained when it was over.
Catholic funerals are not what people generally think of when they think of funerals. There are similarities of course, but also many profound differences.
The Catholic funeral is less a memorial to a life ended than it is a celebration of new life with God. In fact, the only two times a person will have the large Paschal (Easter) Candle lit for him or her during the lifetime, is at the person's baptism and at his or her funeral.
What is the connection between Easter, Baptism and the Funeral? The Paschal Candle, which should be brand new each year (and incidently is the only candle in the church required to be wax, specifically at least 51% beeswax) is lit during the Easter Vigil Mass each year. It is lit from a special fire made for just this purpose. The light from this candle symbolizes Christ's light of salvation given through His resurrection from the dead. The candle is plunged into the water to be blessed at this Mass as well.
So, the candle is a sign of Christ's resurrection. It stays lit during every Mass of the 50 day Easter Season.
When a person is baptized, they are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. The pouring of water on the one being baptized symbolizes, among other things, death! This is seen somewhat more clearly if the baptism is done by immersion. Coming out of the water symbolizes rising from death as a new creation in Christ. Infants being baptized have the stain of Original Sin removed. Adults, or anyone over the age of reason, have Original Sin and any sin they've committed (Actual Sin) up to that time, removed. This symbol is further exhibited when the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment.
When a baptized person has died, Catholics believe that he is passing into everlasting life. "You raise the dead to new life in the Spirit" go the words to the Kyrie we chanted at this funeral when we asked for Christ's mercy for the dead and for ourselves. The funeral pall draped over the casket is a reminder of the white garment given at Bapism!
I'm not sure, but I surmise that this is why the Catholic military funerals I've seen do not drape the casket with a Canadian flag. My understanding is that the flag may be placed on the casket before burial, but not within the Mass.
Catholics do not properly have a Eulogy at a funeral Mass. The priest or perhaps a Deacon as I saw at another funeral, will deliver the Homily, as at a Sunday Mass. This homily will almost always give those at the Mass examples of what kind of a person the deceased was. Sometimes funny stories, collected from friends and family in the days before the funeral, are related. But always, in my experience, the emphasis is on eternal life. Family and friends are usually given other opportunities to share stories of the life of the deceased. This can happen before or after the Mass, at a wake or at a reception.
We are a Church that prays for the dead. We believe the dead are "alive in Christ". In John 11:25, Jesus says "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
So death of a believer is a type of resurrection. This is the Easter connection.
I am not sure I've ever been to a Mass that did not involve incense. Before the casket is taken from the church, the deceased is commended to God. The casket is blessed with Holy Water and is incensed. Holy Water is another reminder of Baptism and incense is symbolic of our prayers rising to God. At Friday's funeral, we sang a short song during the incensing which wished the deceased a greeting of angels when he entered heaven.
As hard as this funeral was for the choir, who must sing on, often through choked back tears (on a personal note, I saw that the deceased had surviving him a son who was only about as old as our youngest, which us under three), we can only imagine what this was like for the family, who we saw throughout. The choir left with headaches, the family, who appeared very strong in Faith, left with heartache, which cannot be cured with an aspirin.
God Bless
I apologize for my lapse in posting here. We've had computer trouble, now apparently mended, and I am also working on a posting that is actually requiring some research, and it's far from finished yet. In the meantime...
A very dear priest-friend of mine once said that Catholics do funerals very well. Sadly, we tested this comment once again this week.
Canada is at war. The troops in Kandahar province of Afghanistan are suffering what seems to me to be a high number of injuries and deaths over there. An inside source tells me that there is a news blackout regarding the injuries. For morale, I suppose.
The deaths cannot be hidden.
On Friday at our chapel, I sang in the choir for the funeral Mass for a soldier, and member of our chapel parish. Although I did not know the family personally, I had certainly seen them frequently. This was about the hardest funeral I've ever been involved with. I was not the only participant who felt very drained when it was over.
Catholic funerals are not what people generally think of when they think of funerals. There are similarities of course, but also many profound differences.
The Catholic funeral is less a memorial to a life ended than it is a celebration of new life with God. In fact, the only two times a person will have the large Paschal (Easter) Candle lit for him or her during the lifetime, is at the person's baptism and at his or her funeral.
What is the connection between Easter, Baptism and the Funeral? The Paschal Candle, which should be brand new each year (and incidently is the only candle in the church required to be wax, specifically at least 51% beeswax) is lit during the Easter Vigil Mass each year. It is lit from a special fire made for just this purpose. The light from this candle symbolizes Christ's light of salvation given through His resurrection from the dead. The candle is plunged into the water to be blessed at this Mass as well.
So, the candle is a sign of Christ's resurrection. It stays lit during every Mass of the 50 day Easter Season.
When a person is baptized, they are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. The pouring of water on the one being baptized symbolizes, among other things, death! This is seen somewhat more clearly if the baptism is done by immersion. Coming out of the water symbolizes rising from death as a new creation in Christ. Infants being baptized have the stain of Original Sin removed. Adults, or anyone over the age of reason, have Original Sin and any sin they've committed (Actual Sin) up to that time, removed. This symbol is further exhibited when the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment.
When a baptized person has died, Catholics believe that he is passing into everlasting life. "You raise the dead to new life in the Spirit" go the words to the Kyrie we chanted at this funeral when we asked for Christ's mercy for the dead and for ourselves. The funeral pall draped over the casket is a reminder of the white garment given at Bapism!
I'm not sure, but I surmise that this is why the Catholic military funerals I've seen do not drape the casket with a Canadian flag. My understanding is that the flag may be placed on the casket before burial, but not within the Mass.
Catholics do not properly have a Eulogy at a funeral Mass. The priest or perhaps a Deacon as I saw at another funeral, will deliver the Homily, as at a Sunday Mass. This homily will almost always give those at the Mass examples of what kind of a person the deceased was. Sometimes funny stories, collected from friends and family in the days before the funeral, are related. But always, in my experience, the emphasis is on eternal life. Family and friends are usually given other opportunities to share stories of the life of the deceased. This can happen before or after the Mass, at a wake or at a reception.
We are a Church that prays for the dead. We believe the dead are "alive in Christ". In John 11:25, Jesus says "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
So death of a believer is a type of resurrection. This is the Easter connection.
I am not sure I've ever been to a Mass that did not involve incense. Before the casket is taken from the church, the deceased is commended to God. The casket is blessed with Holy Water and is incensed. Holy Water is another reminder of Baptism and incense is symbolic of our prayers rising to God. At Friday's funeral, we sang a short song during the incensing which wished the deceased a greeting of angels when he entered heaven.
As hard as this funeral was for the choir, who must sing on, often through choked back tears (on a personal note, I saw that the deceased had surviving him a son who was only about as old as our youngest, which us under three), we can only imagine what this was like for the family, who we saw throughout. The choir left with headaches, the family, who appeared very strong in Faith, left with heartache, which cannot be cured with an aspirin.
God Bless
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Law
Today at Mass, Father's homily really made me think.
That is a good thing, and really not SO unusual!
He was discussing liturgy and the rules. He mentioned scrupulosity, that sin of seeing sin where none exists. Made me a little nervous.
I will readily admit to finding great comfort in rules. They give our lives structure and a certain level of predictability.
I have been called pharisaic, that is; like a Pharisee.
The Pharisees were a sect in Judaism who took great interest in the many laws that existed for the Jewish people. Jesus took them to task. This can be a troublesome text for people like me, until some light is shed on it.
The Pharisees were very caught up in the letter of the Law. By losing sight of the reasons behind the law, the 'spirit' of it, they became incapable of the love that is necessary for the just functioning of a society.
Scripture tells us that we are to love the law. We are to love the Lord's precepts (another word for rules). Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
God gave us His Church so that we would not be without leadership when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a part of the Body of Christ. The Church (the Body of Christ) gives us rules. As we love the Body of Christ, we are to love the Church and love the rules. Oh, did I mention that Jesus Christ IS God in the form of the Son?
Part of the problem is that people present the discussion as if it's an either/or thing. You either love OR you follow the rules. This is certainly not the case.
As confirmed adult Catholics, we are REQUIRED to admonish the sinner. That is one of the Spiritual works of mercy. We can't admonish the sinner if we don't know right from wrong...ie rules.
Father's homily was referring mostly to liturgy. Liturgy has rules. It's very easy to dismiss the rules as bureaucratic, hierarchical, outdated, outmoded, irrelevant. Who's to know? Does God really care if we follow the rules the Church gives us for liturgy? Will the people know any different?
I think of the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew where we hear "Well done good and faithful servant. You have shown you can be trusted in small things. You will be trusted with greater things."
Following faithfully the directions on the timing of, say, the Communion song seems to many people like a very small thing indeed. But there are reasons behind it. We should be faithful to that small thing.
But if the song starts three seconds late, or even early, do I bite off the head of the music leader? Of course not. If she truly does not know, at some point direction will need to be given. If she gets it right 14 weeks out of 15? Ignore it. She knows how it's supposed to work.
If I know that someone is falling into grave sin, do I let it go? Well, if I am certain the person knows better, it is entirely possible that my pointing out a sin would be no help. It might even make matters worse.
If the person is ignorant of the sinfulness of his action, the loving thing IS to point out the sin. How loving is it to have a person persist in sinfulness that may endanger his soul?
I've known people in positions of authority and guidance who ignore blatant sin, because, well, the sinner is so HAPPY...one wonders if that might be a temporary condition. And what of the soul of the person who did not admonish the sinner?
We are not in a time and place that much likes being told what to do. I think we have lost sight of how rules help us function more smoothly as a society.
I also think that in the Church, of all places, where we are called NOT to conform to the patterns of the world, would be a place where rules would be respected.
That is a good thing, and really not SO unusual!
He was discussing liturgy and the rules. He mentioned scrupulosity, that sin of seeing sin where none exists. Made me a little nervous.
I will readily admit to finding great comfort in rules. They give our lives structure and a certain level of predictability.
I have been called pharisaic, that is; like a Pharisee.
The Pharisees were a sect in Judaism who took great interest in the many laws that existed for the Jewish people. Jesus took them to task. This can be a troublesome text for people like me, until some light is shed on it.
The Pharisees were very caught up in the letter of the Law. By losing sight of the reasons behind the law, the 'spirit' of it, they became incapable of the love that is necessary for the just functioning of a society.
Scripture tells us that we are to love the law. We are to love the Lord's precepts (another word for rules). Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
God gave us His Church so that we would not be without leadership when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a part of the Body of Christ. The Church (the Body of Christ) gives us rules. As we love the Body of Christ, we are to love the Church and love the rules. Oh, did I mention that Jesus Christ IS God in the form of the Son?
Part of the problem is that people present the discussion as if it's an either/or thing. You either love OR you follow the rules. This is certainly not the case.
As confirmed adult Catholics, we are REQUIRED to admonish the sinner. That is one of the Spiritual works of mercy. We can't admonish the sinner if we don't know right from wrong...ie rules.
Father's homily was referring mostly to liturgy. Liturgy has rules. It's very easy to dismiss the rules as bureaucratic, hierarchical, outdated, outmoded, irrelevant. Who's to know? Does God really care if we follow the rules the Church gives us for liturgy? Will the people know any different?
I think of the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew where we hear "Well done good and faithful servant. You have shown you can be trusted in small things. You will be trusted with greater things."
Following faithfully the directions on the timing of, say, the Communion song seems to many people like a very small thing indeed. But there are reasons behind it. We should be faithful to that small thing.
But if the song starts three seconds late, or even early, do I bite off the head of the music leader? Of course not. If she truly does not know, at some point direction will need to be given. If she gets it right 14 weeks out of 15? Ignore it. She knows how it's supposed to work.
If I know that someone is falling into grave sin, do I let it go? Well, if I am certain the person knows better, it is entirely possible that my pointing out a sin would be no help. It might even make matters worse.
If the person is ignorant of the sinfulness of his action, the loving thing IS to point out the sin. How loving is it to have a person persist in sinfulness that may endanger his soul?
I've known people in positions of authority and guidance who ignore blatant sin, because, well, the sinner is so HAPPY...one wonders if that might be a temporary condition. And what of the soul of the person who did not admonish the sinner?
We are not in a time and place that much likes being told what to do. I think we have lost sight of how rules help us function more smoothly as a society.
I also think that in the Church, of all places, where we are called NOT to conform to the patterns of the world, would be a place where rules would be respected.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Good evening.
Today is, as the title indicates, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ordinary time simply means 'ordered' or 'numbered'. It does not mean 'unremarkable' or 'boring'. Sundays which are not in Ordinary Time are in other seasons of the Church calendar which would be Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter seasons. In that case a Sunday would be called "The Fourth Sunday in Lent" or something like that.
It comes as a surprise to many that there is no 'First Sunday' in ordinary time. I do not know why. Many a new liturgical minister has been befuddled by this!
Today is the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, but we were blessed today with a Mass that was not at all ordinary.
We had three priests and a deacon celebrating Mass. And it wasn't a wedding or funeral. This is rather unusual at any rate, but in our military chapel it is exceedingly rare for many reasons. The priest who was the main celebrant even commented on how unusual it is for all these men to be ANYWHERE at the same time!
This is the first time I"ve seen our new deacon, who is still in the process of moving in. He was ordained less than a month ago. It is also the first time I've seen a deacon 'in action'. There are specific parts of the Mass reserved for deacons.
I will also add that there are two types of deacons. Temporary deacons are men on their way to Ordination as a priest. Permanent Deacons are men who may be married with families. By their ordination they make the statement that they will not re-marry if their wife dies. This is similar to the priests in the Eastern Rite churches. Once they are ordained, they may not marry.
It was a lovely Mass today. Father commented that it would be hard to claim a vocations shortage here.
With our one altar server, who is also an adult, it made for an all-male team in the sanctuary, which is all too rare.
We in the choir numbered only four, and even then that was only when both my husband and I were not being called upon to tend to our little one! Nonetheless, I gather we sounded pretty good. We got applause after Mass.
I do NOT like getting applause. The glory is to be to God. We are not entertainment. But still, it feels nice. Did that make any sense?
Our music leader has been making heavy use of a few songs over the past couple of weeks. The small congregation is slowly learning them and starting to sing better. There was a fellow here this week visiting his daughter who was a wonderful, if temporary, addition to the musical side of the congregation. We decided he had to join the choir, but unfortunately it would be too long a commute!
All in all I came away feeling particularly blessed today. I hope this feeling oozes out to the community so they will join us!
God Bless
Today is, as the title indicates, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ordinary time simply means 'ordered' or 'numbered'. It does not mean 'unremarkable' or 'boring'. Sundays which are not in Ordinary Time are in other seasons of the Church calendar which would be Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter seasons. In that case a Sunday would be called "The Fourth Sunday in Lent" or something like that.
It comes as a surprise to many that there is no 'First Sunday' in ordinary time. I do not know why. Many a new liturgical minister has been befuddled by this!
Today is the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, but we were blessed today with a Mass that was not at all ordinary.
We had three priests and a deacon celebrating Mass. And it wasn't a wedding or funeral. This is rather unusual at any rate, but in our military chapel it is exceedingly rare for many reasons. The priest who was the main celebrant even commented on how unusual it is for all these men to be ANYWHERE at the same time!
This is the first time I"ve seen our new deacon, who is still in the process of moving in. He was ordained less than a month ago. It is also the first time I've seen a deacon 'in action'. There are specific parts of the Mass reserved for deacons.
I will also add that there are two types of deacons. Temporary deacons are men on their way to Ordination as a priest. Permanent Deacons are men who may be married with families. By their ordination they make the statement that they will not re-marry if their wife dies. This is similar to the priests in the Eastern Rite churches. Once they are ordained, they may not marry.
It was a lovely Mass today. Father commented that it would be hard to claim a vocations shortage here.
With our one altar server, who is also an adult, it made for an all-male team in the sanctuary, which is all too rare.
We in the choir numbered only four, and even then that was only when both my husband and I were not being called upon to tend to our little one! Nonetheless, I gather we sounded pretty good. We got applause after Mass.
I do NOT like getting applause. The glory is to be to God. We are not entertainment. But still, it feels nice. Did that make any sense?
Our music leader has been making heavy use of a few songs over the past couple of weeks. The small congregation is slowly learning them and starting to sing better. There was a fellow here this week visiting his daughter who was a wonderful, if temporary, addition to the musical side of the congregation. We decided he had to join the choir, but unfortunately it would be too long a commute!
All in all I came away feeling particularly blessed today. I hope this feeling oozes out to the community so they will join us!
God Bless
Monday, August 21, 2006
AIDS boondoggle
Happy Monday!
What follows is some disjointed mental meanderings...
Well, the Aids conference held in Canada is over. Deep Breath. What a mess this seems to be.
The devil is tapdancing in some pretty high places it would seem by some of what has surfaced in the "fight against AIDS"
I've heard it called a pandemic. What is a pandemic? Answers.com (the first definition that showed up) says this:
Widespread; general.
Medicine. Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza.
n.
A pandemic disease.
The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 is listed as a pandemic. It killed 20 million people world wide in ONE YEAR.
AIDS deaths worldwide since 1981 (that would be twenty five years) is 25 million, according to AVERT.com. Another site says 20 million, yet another 23 million.
Let's say that there are 900,000 deaths each year since 1981.
This is what the WHO says about cancer rates worldwide:
Cancer by the Numbers
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million new cases annually; followed by cancer of the breast, just over 1 million cases; colorectal, 940,000; stomach, 870,000; liver, 560,000; cervical, 470,000; esophageal, 410,000; head and neck, 390,000; bladder, 330,000; malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas, 290,000; leukemia, 250,000; prostate and testicular, 250,000; pancreatic, 216,000; ovarian, 190,000; kidney, 190,000; endometrial, 188,000; nervous system, 175,000; melanoma, 133,000; thyroid, 123,000; pharynx, 65,000; and Hodgkin disease, 62,000 cases.
How come AIDS gets as much attention as it does? It isn't such a big deal compared to cancer.
We hear a lot about AIDS prevention. Usually, the other word seen with that is 'comdoms'. Condoms are too porous to stop a virus. There has to be something better than that.
There is.
Uganda managed to get it's AIDS rate down below 6%. The employed the chastity principle. This is, I believe the best progress yet made. Ah. Yes, but chastity is so unpopular! And no one makes much money off of it. And by golly, it calls for self control. Can't have that!
If all these people talking about AIDS really cared about lives, they'd do what worked.
I think there's an agenda or two, or ten, at work. Apparently sex trade workers (I think we used to call them prostitutes?) used the opportunity to ask for more rights or something. Huh?
I guess I get tired of the shrillness, the intolerence that seems to be associated with this movement. We need to find treatments for those who are ill, but also, we need to prevent this disease.
I guess I'm not the only one. Tony Clement said there was no point saying anything at the conference. He said it was not a place for rational discussion, and that it had become too political.
When will there be rational discussion? The Catholic Church is very active in hospices which help people dying of AIDS and other diseases. They are also promoting prevention by calling for chastity. This means abstinence from sexual relationships if you are not married, and faithfulness to ones spouse if you are married. Oh, and of course to be married means that there is one man and one woman involved.
The Church is more than willing to help those attracted to members of the opposite sex develop a lifestyle of chastity. There are many who have done it and continue to do it.
But it still comes back to self control, doesn't it?
What follows is some disjointed mental meanderings...
Well, the Aids conference held in Canada is over. Deep Breath. What a mess this seems to be.
The devil is tapdancing in some pretty high places it would seem by some of what has surfaced in the "fight against AIDS"
I've heard it called a pandemic. What is a pandemic? Answers.com (the first definition that showed up) says this:
Widespread; general.
Medicine. Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza.
n.
A pandemic disease.
The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 is listed as a pandemic. It killed 20 million people world wide in ONE YEAR.
AIDS deaths worldwide since 1981 (that would be twenty five years) is 25 million, according to AVERT.com. Another site says 20 million, yet another 23 million.
Let's say that there are 900,000 deaths each year since 1981.
This is what the WHO says about cancer rates worldwide:
Cancer by the Numbers
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million new cases annually; followed by cancer of the breast, just over 1 million cases; colorectal, 940,000; stomach, 870,000; liver, 560,000; cervical, 470,000; esophageal, 410,000; head and neck, 390,000; bladder, 330,000; malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas, 290,000; leukemia, 250,000; prostate and testicular, 250,000; pancreatic, 216,000; ovarian, 190,000; kidney, 190,000; endometrial, 188,000; nervous system, 175,000; melanoma, 133,000; thyroid, 123,000; pharynx, 65,000; and Hodgkin disease, 62,000 cases.
How come AIDS gets as much attention as it does? It isn't such a big deal compared to cancer.
We hear a lot about AIDS prevention. Usually, the other word seen with that is 'comdoms'. Condoms are too porous to stop a virus. There has to be something better than that.
There is.
Uganda managed to get it's AIDS rate down below 6%. The employed the chastity principle. This is, I believe the best progress yet made. Ah. Yes, but chastity is so unpopular! And no one makes much money off of it. And by golly, it calls for self control. Can't have that!
If all these people talking about AIDS really cared about lives, they'd do what worked.
I think there's an agenda or two, or ten, at work. Apparently sex trade workers (I think we used to call them prostitutes?) used the opportunity to ask for more rights or something. Huh?
I guess I get tired of the shrillness, the intolerence that seems to be associated with this movement. We need to find treatments for those who are ill, but also, we need to prevent this disease.
I guess I'm not the only one. Tony Clement said there was no point saying anything at the conference. He said it was not a place for rational discussion, and that it had become too political.
When will there be rational discussion? The Catholic Church is very active in hospices which help people dying of AIDS and other diseases. They are also promoting prevention by calling for chastity. This means abstinence from sexual relationships if you are not married, and faithfulness to ones spouse if you are married. Oh, and of course to be married means that there is one man and one woman involved.
The Church is more than willing to help those attracted to members of the opposite sex develop a lifestyle of chastity. There are many who have done it and continue to do it.
But it still comes back to self control, doesn't it?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
On preparing a dresser for painting
Today I gained a deeper insight into our youngest daughter. She is eleven and is currently more than half way across the country from us.
Dh has decided to paint her dresser in the fashion he is painting her desk and bed. My part in this is to clear out the clothing and scrape the stickers off of the outside.
I must give a little background to this girl. She was homeschooled last year in part because I knew her socializing during class was giving the teacher a pain. I also know that she has a little trouble staying 'on task' which didn't help either.
In my daughter I had also seen a flash of spirit time and again that I did not want extinguished by the wear and tear of constant harping by a teacher, regardless of how necessary the chastising might be for classroom peace.
I expected a challenge as I proceeded to work at home with our daughter.
Yes, staying on task was a challenge, but with fewer distractions, this got better. Dd got to the point where if she knew she was easily distracted that day, she'd go and work in her room. By the end of the year she was turning in very good Math and grammar assignments. This was progress!
She is also 'artsy' Nearly everything in the house has paint on it, from her being struck by inspiration, but not remembering (yet again) to protect her work surface, or clothing.
As I took clothes out of her drawers, I was first struck with her organization. Her clothes were sorted by colour rather than purpose! I suppose this makes it easier for her to make sure she matches!
I was surprised at how little detritus there was at the bottom of the drawers. Given that I frequently find her socks stuffed in strange places around the house, I figured I'd find odd things stuffed in her drawers. Not the case at all.
I did, however, find an exacto blade in one drawer and a pair of pliers in another. Not so odd for this gal. She loves to fix things and do woodwork.
Her mind is always working. She often has ways to fix things I am ready to throw out. I know this is why she can't focus sometimes. She's thinking about something far more interesting.
As I worked to clear off the dresser, things got a little tougher. What is trash and what is treasure? Beads, pretty stones, tiny dolls' shoes. Dead tissues I took the liberty of throwing out...art erasers, math erasers, crayons...coloured craft (aka popsicle) sticks. Coloured glass. A keychain with the Blessed Virgin on it. Her crucifix from the Chapel when she was confirmed (so she DID still have it!)
There were few stickers on the dresser when it came down to it. I was thankful for that!
My girl is growing up. I can catch a glimpse into the woman she will be. Probably not like me. She will paint, drive nails, and 'putter'. She will do crafts and draw as she is already doing so well.
I do hope she remembers what she teaches herself so well now. Her prayers, her catechism, and how to appreciate little things in life...like pieces of coloured glass.
God Bless
Dh has decided to paint her dresser in the fashion he is painting her desk and bed. My part in this is to clear out the clothing and scrape the stickers off of the outside.
I must give a little background to this girl. She was homeschooled last year in part because I knew her socializing during class was giving the teacher a pain. I also know that she has a little trouble staying 'on task' which didn't help either.
In my daughter I had also seen a flash of spirit time and again that I did not want extinguished by the wear and tear of constant harping by a teacher, regardless of how necessary the chastising might be for classroom peace.
I expected a challenge as I proceeded to work at home with our daughter.
Yes, staying on task was a challenge, but with fewer distractions, this got better. Dd got to the point where if she knew she was easily distracted that day, she'd go and work in her room. By the end of the year she was turning in very good Math and grammar assignments. This was progress!
She is also 'artsy' Nearly everything in the house has paint on it, from her being struck by inspiration, but not remembering (yet again) to protect her work surface, or clothing.
As I took clothes out of her drawers, I was first struck with her organization. Her clothes were sorted by colour rather than purpose! I suppose this makes it easier for her to make sure she matches!
I was surprised at how little detritus there was at the bottom of the drawers. Given that I frequently find her socks stuffed in strange places around the house, I figured I'd find odd things stuffed in her drawers. Not the case at all.
I did, however, find an exacto blade in one drawer and a pair of pliers in another. Not so odd for this gal. She loves to fix things and do woodwork.
Her mind is always working. She often has ways to fix things I am ready to throw out. I know this is why she can't focus sometimes. She's thinking about something far more interesting.
As I worked to clear off the dresser, things got a little tougher. What is trash and what is treasure? Beads, pretty stones, tiny dolls' shoes. Dead tissues I took the liberty of throwing out...art erasers, math erasers, crayons...coloured craft (aka popsicle) sticks. Coloured glass. A keychain with the Blessed Virgin on it. Her crucifix from the Chapel when she was confirmed (so she DID still have it!)
There were few stickers on the dresser when it came down to it. I was thankful for that!
My girl is growing up. I can catch a glimpse into the woman she will be. Probably not like me. She will paint, drive nails, and 'putter'. She will do crafts and draw as she is already doing so well.
I do hope she remembers what she teaches herself so well now. Her prayers, her catechism, and how to appreciate little things in life...like pieces of coloured glass.
God Bless
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Culture Crisis
Happy Sunday!
Dh and I recently returned from a brief trip to New Brunswick to drop our eldest daughter off for her first year at university.
We did the 'to' part of the trip as quickly as we could, given that we also had our 2 year old with us.
The 'from' trip took a little longer. We stopped just to look at some of the lovely things we saw.
The bulk of our travel time was spent going through the province of Quebec. We were mainly on secondary highways, so there were many small communities along the way. It was easy to find a place to stop when we needed to.
Something that is very notable as one passes through Quebec is that it has been strongly influenced by Catholicism. Even tiny villages contain lovely old church buildings. These are often well preserved and look now much as they did when they were built, sometimes 200 or more years ago.
Along with these church buildings are names...St. Eustache, St. Simon, St. Louis de Ha! Ha! (no, I'm not kidding). Many of these saints are obscure, at least to a 21st century Anglophone. But in among those are St. Jean Chrysostom, St. Thomas d'Aquin, Notre Dame de/du (and here you may fill in the blank...du Lac? de Grace? All titles are referring to The Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Christ, Jesus, God. There are personal names like Rosaire (rosary).
As I listed the saints' names, I saw as well references to sacraments and other religious themes.
I would venture that in North America only California boasts as many religious references in its geography as Quebec. Think carefully: Sacramento, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Junipero Serra...
Sadly, the Church has lost much, perhaps almost all, of its influence on the people of this province. Attendence at Mass is very poor. Some historic churches have started charging admission in order to keep them up. As far as I know no one is so crass as to charge to attend Mass, but sightseers can be charged. There are not enough parishioners to support the churches. I understand that sometimes there really is no parish at all...just a building relegated to a historic spot.
Even among the other Canadian provinces, Quebec ranks about the lowest for birth rate, which means it is well below replacement level. What happened to the Church here? You know...the Church that demands its followers not use birth control?
It is not in good shape...that is for sure.
How did this happen? Well I think it is self evident that European and North American cultures seem to be actively trying to shed any semblence of a Christian society. But Quebec was built around Catholic influence more than almost anywhere else.
It is a case, and I put this succinctly as I claim no deep knowledge of the province's past, of government and Church getting more than a little cozy with each other. I have spoken to people who would have been only children at the time of the end of the Duplessis era. The resentment of what had gone on was deep and strong.
What is left of the Church in Quebec is struggling. A friend who is a seminarian in Montreal tells me that seminarians who wish to follow what Rome teaches, as opposed to the disobedient version they are expected to learn, are forced to hide their orthodox tendencies and play along with their misleading shepherds. As they are ordained, they can be obedient to Rome...if they are strong enough and stealthy enough to survive their seminary time.
God be praised that there are such seminarians. There is hope.
Another church worker I know who is also from Quebec, told me that in Quebec everyone is baptized. The pity is that the Church is still a cultural entity...families have always had their children baptized...but in recent times they seem to have forgotten why. There is no follow up. No catechesis (religious education), no attendence at Holy Mass...at least not until it's time for First Communion. Perhaps it is because of the bad taste left in the mouthes of les Quebecois at the end of the Duplessis era. They are ignoring the Church at a higher rate than even other Canadians. And the Church for the rest of us isn't so healthy either.
We who are somewhat (or perhaps much) better off as far as our parish situations go must not be complacent. The Church that Christ left us which is to last for all time will not necessarily last everywhere for all time. Ephesus, the place where tradition tell us the Blessed Virgin ended her earthly existence, does not have a Christian community to speak of at present time. Check out the present condition of the Church in many of the places mentioned in the New Testament. Not pretty.
My family was recently in Bosnia and Herzogovina, a place where Christianity was first introduced by St. Timothy, the same one mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. One priest we met there said it was the last generation for the Catholic Church in this area. This would be the same Church St. Timothy taught.
We must all realize that the Church is bigger than the weak, sinful humans who work and worship in it. Duplessis may not have had his head on quite right with regards to how his government worked with the Church, and whichever clerics cooperated in what went on were obviously not representing the Church to the people the way they should have. They will have a lot to answer for, I'm sure.
You know that a Church has really fallen when you see ciboria (cups, usually golden, which hold the hosts, the Body of Christ, in the Catholic Mass) in antique stores and flea markets. There is so much of this consecrated material in such places that to purchase it and return it to parishes which are still vital would by impractical, if not impossible.
God Bless
Dh and I recently returned from a brief trip to New Brunswick to drop our eldest daughter off for her first year at university.
We did the 'to' part of the trip as quickly as we could, given that we also had our 2 year old with us.
The 'from' trip took a little longer. We stopped just to look at some of the lovely things we saw.
The bulk of our travel time was spent going through the province of Quebec. We were mainly on secondary highways, so there were many small communities along the way. It was easy to find a place to stop when we needed to.
Something that is very notable as one passes through Quebec is that it has been strongly influenced by Catholicism. Even tiny villages contain lovely old church buildings. These are often well preserved and look now much as they did when they were built, sometimes 200 or more years ago.
Along with these church buildings are names...St. Eustache, St. Simon, St. Louis de Ha! Ha! (no, I'm not kidding). Many of these saints are obscure, at least to a 21st century Anglophone. But in among those are St. Jean Chrysostom, St. Thomas d'Aquin, Notre Dame de/du (and here you may fill in the blank...du Lac? de Grace? All titles are referring to The Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Christ, Jesus, God. There are personal names like Rosaire (rosary).
As I listed the saints' names, I saw as well references to sacraments and other religious themes.
I would venture that in North America only California boasts as many religious references in its geography as Quebec. Think carefully: Sacramento, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Junipero Serra...
Sadly, the Church has lost much, perhaps almost all, of its influence on the people of this province. Attendence at Mass is very poor. Some historic churches have started charging admission in order to keep them up. As far as I know no one is so crass as to charge to attend Mass, but sightseers can be charged. There are not enough parishioners to support the churches. I understand that sometimes there really is no parish at all...just a building relegated to a historic spot.
Even among the other Canadian provinces, Quebec ranks about the lowest for birth rate, which means it is well below replacement level. What happened to the Church here? You know...the Church that demands its followers not use birth control?
It is not in good shape...that is for sure.
How did this happen? Well I think it is self evident that European and North American cultures seem to be actively trying to shed any semblence of a Christian society. But Quebec was built around Catholic influence more than almost anywhere else.
It is a case, and I put this succinctly as I claim no deep knowledge of the province's past, of government and Church getting more than a little cozy with each other. I have spoken to people who would have been only children at the time of the end of the Duplessis era. The resentment of what had gone on was deep and strong.
What is left of the Church in Quebec is struggling. A friend who is a seminarian in Montreal tells me that seminarians who wish to follow what Rome teaches, as opposed to the disobedient version they are expected to learn, are forced to hide their orthodox tendencies and play along with their misleading shepherds. As they are ordained, they can be obedient to Rome...if they are strong enough and stealthy enough to survive their seminary time.
God be praised that there are such seminarians. There is hope.
Another church worker I know who is also from Quebec, told me that in Quebec everyone is baptized. The pity is that the Church is still a cultural entity...families have always had their children baptized...but in recent times they seem to have forgotten why. There is no follow up. No catechesis (religious education), no attendence at Holy Mass...at least not until it's time for First Communion. Perhaps it is because of the bad taste left in the mouthes of les Quebecois at the end of the Duplessis era. They are ignoring the Church at a higher rate than even other Canadians. And the Church for the rest of us isn't so healthy either.
We who are somewhat (or perhaps much) better off as far as our parish situations go must not be complacent. The Church that Christ left us which is to last for all time will not necessarily last everywhere for all time. Ephesus, the place where tradition tell us the Blessed Virgin ended her earthly existence, does not have a Christian community to speak of at present time. Check out the present condition of the Church in many of the places mentioned in the New Testament. Not pretty.
My family was recently in Bosnia and Herzogovina, a place where Christianity was first introduced by St. Timothy, the same one mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. One priest we met there said it was the last generation for the Catholic Church in this area. This would be the same Church St. Timothy taught.
We must all realize that the Church is bigger than the weak, sinful humans who work and worship in it. Duplessis may not have had his head on quite right with regards to how his government worked with the Church, and whichever clerics cooperated in what went on were obviously not representing the Church to the people the way they should have. They will have a lot to answer for, I'm sure.
You know that a Church has really fallen when you see ciboria (cups, usually golden, which hold the hosts, the Body of Christ, in the Catholic Mass) in antique stores and flea markets. There is so much of this consecrated material in such places that to purchase it and return it to parishes which are still vital would by impractical, if not impossible.
God Bless
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Madonna House (part 2)
I'm back!
From the lakeshore, we went to the chapel and vespers (Evening Prayer). My friend had suggested I take one of the few seats around the chapel's edge. She would sit with most of the residents on the floor.
I had only seen the chapel before when it was empty. Now, it was very full of life. I was handed a binder and psalm-book as I went in and found a seat. I would have had great difficulty getting myself up and down from sitting on the floor!
As my friend had warned me that she would not be sitting with me, she jokingly added that I'd better not embarrass her. About the first thing I did when getting settled was to drop my psalm book on the wooden floor!
The chapel is lovely. There is an iconostasis at the front of the chapel behind the altar. The glimmer of the sanctuary lamp can be seen only dimly from where we are. Icons of the apostles line the wall above the iconostasis. There are also icons of The Blessed Virgin and Jesus, of course.
I see a series of brass bells hanging from a T-shaped pole near the altar. I assume these bells would be rung at the Consecration during a Mass.
The ceiling of the chapel is a mesh of wooden beams rising to the point of the roof. Everything seemed to gleam. This chapel was well loved and well cared for. The wood was heavily varnished and spotless.
Vespers were a treat. There were no instruments but the human voice. Psalms were all chanted in what seemed to be perfect four part harmony. It was truly lovely. The chants were simple enough for me to follow, even with this being my first time here. The woman I sat beside actually commented that I must have been here before. When I said I had not, she said "Well you must be a musician then!" I 'fessed up. I do love being able to sight read music!
After vespers, everyone trooped over to the main house for dinner. I kept on the jacket I had put over my rather bare shoulders when we were in the chapel.
We were seated at a table set for 6 people. There were two priests already seated and they stood up as my friend andI came to sit down. We were later joined by the woman I'd chatted with in the chapel and another woman.
Conversation was pleasant. I was jokingly chastised for not being up on my GK Chesterton readings. We spoke a little about Beloc. It turned out that one of the priests and the woman from the chapel had spent a good deal of time in a couple of MH missions in York, England and in Russia respectively. Having been to Europe myself for the first time last year. We shared a lot of our observations.
The meal was simple but very good. We had cold roast beef, new potatoes, carrots, zucchini salad with a cold strawberry and walnut pudding for desert. I am told that meat is only eaten on Sundays here. After dinner we had tea.
Conversation was a big part of this time for all the diners it seemed. Everyone seemed very relaxed and happy.
By the time dessert was served, I was beginning to melt. There were no bare shoulders in the room so I didn't take off my jacket...
After dinner, the Rosary was recited. Although it began and ended in English, the three 'inside' decades were in French, an African language, and Russian.
After the Rosary, good-byes and thank-yous were exchanged and we went on our way to return home.
It was a lovely relaxing day. I do hope to be able to do it again and perhaps bring other friends. My friend has a list...
God Bless
From the lakeshore, we went to the chapel and vespers (Evening Prayer). My friend had suggested I take one of the few seats around the chapel's edge. She would sit with most of the residents on the floor.
I had only seen the chapel before when it was empty. Now, it was very full of life. I was handed a binder and psalm-book as I went in and found a seat. I would have had great difficulty getting myself up and down from sitting on the floor!
As my friend had warned me that she would not be sitting with me, she jokingly added that I'd better not embarrass her. About the first thing I did when getting settled was to drop my psalm book on the wooden floor!
The chapel is lovely. There is an iconostasis at the front of the chapel behind the altar. The glimmer of the sanctuary lamp can be seen only dimly from where we are. Icons of the apostles line the wall above the iconostasis. There are also icons of The Blessed Virgin and Jesus, of course.
I see a series of brass bells hanging from a T-shaped pole near the altar. I assume these bells would be rung at the Consecration during a Mass.
The ceiling of the chapel is a mesh of wooden beams rising to the point of the roof. Everything seemed to gleam. This chapel was well loved and well cared for. The wood was heavily varnished and spotless.
Vespers were a treat. There were no instruments but the human voice. Psalms were all chanted in what seemed to be perfect four part harmony. It was truly lovely. The chants were simple enough for me to follow, even with this being my first time here. The woman I sat beside actually commented that I must have been here before. When I said I had not, she said "Well you must be a musician then!" I 'fessed up. I do love being able to sight read music!
After vespers, everyone trooped over to the main house for dinner. I kept on the jacket I had put over my rather bare shoulders when we were in the chapel.
We were seated at a table set for 6 people. There were two priests already seated and they stood up as my friend andI came to sit down. We were later joined by the woman I'd chatted with in the chapel and another woman.
Conversation was pleasant. I was jokingly chastised for not being up on my GK Chesterton readings. We spoke a little about Beloc. It turned out that one of the priests and the woman from the chapel had spent a good deal of time in a couple of MH missions in York, England and in Russia respectively. Having been to Europe myself for the first time last year. We shared a lot of our observations.
The meal was simple but very good. We had cold roast beef, new potatoes, carrots, zucchini salad with a cold strawberry and walnut pudding for desert. I am told that meat is only eaten on Sundays here. After dinner we had tea.
Conversation was a big part of this time for all the diners it seemed. Everyone seemed very relaxed and happy.
By the time dessert was served, I was beginning to melt. There were no bare shoulders in the room so I didn't take off my jacket...
After dinner, the Rosary was recited. Although it began and ended in English, the three 'inside' decades were in French, an African language, and Russian.
After the Rosary, good-byes and thank-yous were exchanged and we went on our way to return home.
It was a lovely relaxing day. I do hope to be able to do it again and perhaps bring other friends. My friend has a list...
God Bless
Monday, July 31, 2006
Madonna House (part 1)
Greetings!
I had the opportunity to visit with a friend, what can really only be described as a commune called Madonna House
Madonna House consists of men and women, including a number of priests, who live prayerful lives together as celibates. They grow their own food, including eggs,meat, milk and cheese according to principles (which as I read them sound like organic farming!) laid down by their foundress, Catherine de Hueck Doherty. They also sell books and donated items to raise money for their own missions.
Catherine's cause for sainthood is being examined and promoted by those in Madonna House, and others.
MH is also a Catholic community.
There are many MH communities throughout North America and around the world, but the first one was the one I saw yesterday.
I had been here before, but I only saw what visitors usually see. A quick tour of the main house, the museum, the bookstore and the used goods store. Yesterday was a treat as I went with a friend who had spent a year there. I got to see some areas not usually seen by visitors.
First, we drove out to the farm. As we droved I realized that MH covered a lot more territory than I'd realized, even though I"ve been there on at least two other occasions.
We were given a tour of the farm. I patted horses for the first time in years. I saw their Ayreshire and Holstein dairy cattle. I saw the sheep and their 'guard llama' named Dudley.
One wonders if the name 'Dudley Llama' was one of several puns I caught as we toured the various farm buildings. The buildings are named for various saints. The farm buildings definitely show a sense of humour. The walk in freezer was called St. Isadore (try saying that with a long 'I'). The hay barn was called St. Timothy. St. Lawrence O'toole was...do I need to tell you? I even noticed an icon of the Transfiguration in the cheese making room of the dairy. I didn't have the nerve to ask if it was a commentary on what happened to the milk.
Farming techniques are really only recently starting to be mechanized. Scythes are still used to cut long grass and hay. Hay tongs still hung in the barn. The foundress believed that by employing simple, non-mehanized techniques, the people would be prepared for any conditions they may encounter as they were sent on missions.
The little chapel on the farm was lovely. The altar was handmade by residents of MH. I suspect the cover on the Tabernacle was also a local creation. Icons were seen almost everywhere and reflect the strong influence the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church had on Catherine Doherty, who was born in Russia.
We went back toward the main house before the peanut butter cookies, being baked by one of the farm residents, were ready. My friend had an appointment. On the way, we picked up another friend of hers and I got a tantalizing and brief look at the archives for MH. In a community where toilet facilities do not include running water (although they are immaculate), the archives had climate control, and alarm system, and a very professional and up-to-date looking set of mobile shelving.
A book that caught my interest in the computer room was called "The Mass of the Future". It was copywritten in 1947! I would love to get a chance to read it!
After dropping the friend off at the staff house, which is a school converted to dormitories, we proceeded to my friends appointment. While she went in, I was to sit at the lakeside in one of the wooden chairs (I avoided the Muskoka chairs as I wasn't sure I'd be able to climb out of them!) under the shade of several trees. I had been given a copy of "Apostolic Farming" by Catherine Doherty as I said good-bye to those we met at the farm. I proceeded to read the little book and enjoy the coolness of the breeze.
I knew from experience that MH residents are very quick to notice visitors. They guard their privacy carefully and visitors paths are guided. I had been coached by my friend as to what to say if anyone approached me in her absence.
Well, the hour passed, and the only notice anyone appeared to take in me was an elderly lady who walked by and waved in my direction...and kept going.
At this point, I'd better leave off for now and put my family to bed. I will finish this tomorrow!
God Bless
I had the opportunity to visit with a friend, what can really only be described as a commune called Madonna House
Madonna House consists of men and women, including a number of priests, who live prayerful lives together as celibates. They grow their own food, including eggs,meat, milk and cheese according to principles (which as I read them sound like organic farming!) laid down by their foundress, Catherine de Hueck Doherty. They also sell books and donated items to raise money for their own missions.
Catherine's cause for sainthood is being examined and promoted by those in Madonna House, and others.
MH is also a Catholic community.
There are many MH communities throughout North America and around the world, but the first one was the one I saw yesterday.
I had been here before, but I only saw what visitors usually see. A quick tour of the main house, the museum, the bookstore and the used goods store. Yesterday was a treat as I went with a friend who had spent a year there. I got to see some areas not usually seen by visitors.
First, we drove out to the farm. As we droved I realized that MH covered a lot more territory than I'd realized, even though I"ve been there on at least two other occasions.
We were given a tour of the farm. I patted horses for the first time in years. I saw their Ayreshire and Holstein dairy cattle. I saw the sheep and their 'guard llama' named Dudley.
One wonders if the name 'Dudley Llama' was one of several puns I caught as we toured the various farm buildings. The buildings are named for various saints. The farm buildings definitely show a sense of humour. The walk in freezer was called St. Isadore (try saying that with a long 'I'). The hay barn was called St. Timothy. St. Lawrence O'toole was...do I need to tell you? I even noticed an icon of the Transfiguration in the cheese making room of the dairy. I didn't have the nerve to ask if it was a commentary on what happened to the milk.
Farming techniques are really only recently starting to be mechanized. Scythes are still used to cut long grass and hay. Hay tongs still hung in the barn. The foundress believed that by employing simple, non-mehanized techniques, the people would be prepared for any conditions they may encounter as they were sent on missions.
The little chapel on the farm was lovely. The altar was handmade by residents of MH. I suspect the cover on the Tabernacle was also a local creation. Icons were seen almost everywhere and reflect the strong influence the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church had on Catherine Doherty, who was born in Russia.
We went back toward the main house before the peanut butter cookies, being baked by one of the farm residents, were ready. My friend had an appointment. On the way, we picked up another friend of hers and I got a tantalizing and brief look at the archives for MH. In a community where toilet facilities do not include running water (although they are immaculate), the archives had climate control, and alarm system, and a very professional and up-to-date looking set of mobile shelving.
A book that caught my interest in the computer room was called "The Mass of the Future". It was copywritten in 1947! I would love to get a chance to read it!
After dropping the friend off at the staff house, which is a school converted to dormitories, we proceeded to my friends appointment. While she went in, I was to sit at the lakeside in one of the wooden chairs (I avoided the Muskoka chairs as I wasn't sure I'd be able to climb out of them!) under the shade of several trees. I had been given a copy of "Apostolic Farming" by Catherine Doherty as I said good-bye to those we met at the farm. I proceeded to read the little book and enjoy the coolness of the breeze.
I knew from experience that MH residents are very quick to notice visitors. They guard their privacy carefully and visitors paths are guided. I had been coached by my friend as to what to say if anyone approached me in her absence.
Well, the hour passed, and the only notice anyone appeared to take in me was an elderly lady who walked by and waved in my direction...and kept going.
At this point, I'd better leave off for now and put my family to bed. I will finish this tomorrow!
God Bless
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Redemptive Suffering
Hello again;
Perhaps it's because of a phase of life I find myself in, but the Church's teaching on redemptive suffering is coming to mind a lot lately.
Although I know I've had the symptoms for some time, it has been within the past two weeks that I've had a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. As I understand it, this is not degenerative, but it will come and go, posing some challenges to daily existance as it does so.
In the past, I have met Christians of the Protestant variety who seem to believe that if one is truly saved, truly redeemed and truly believes in Jesus and His healing power, one will not suffer physical pain or illness.
This is not a scriptural notion. It is certainly not the teaching of the Catholic Church.
We are a fallen people. We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Because of sin, our own and those of our first parents, Adam and Eve, we are subject to such inconveniences as illness.
Catholics believe that illness can be put to work for our own good and the good of others. We call this redemptive suffering.
St. Paul tells us that he dealt with a chronic condition. Scripture tells us that Timothy did, too. Surely if simple faith in Jesus' ability to heal were sufficient to effect a cure, these Godly men would have been the first beneficiaries of such a miracle. They weren't, yet Jairus' daughter, who may not have ever heard of Jesus, was brought back from the dead...because of her father's faith.
When we are suffering in some way (and it does not have to be an illness of body, or even physical pain. Mental pain will do, too) we can "offer it up". We can add it to the suffering Jesus endured on the cross. Why would we do this? Well, St. Paul says in Colossians "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church".
This can be seen as a very bold statement, but there it is. How is it that Christ's sacrifice is somehow incomplete?
As I understand it, this lack of completion is due to the ongoing nature of Christ's sacrifice. I mentioned in an earlier post the difference between Kairos time and Chronos time. Chronos time is what we know so well; Time that goes in a straight line and does not repeat. Kairos time is God's time. He can see all of past present and future at once. So Jesus is suffering now, in the same sacrifice He made over 2000 years ago. We join with His sacrifice when we offer Him the use of our afflictions.
This can be to various effects. Pain may be offered in reparation for ones own sin. It can be offered for someone one knows. It may be offered for the general 'pool' of redemptive sacrifice and therefore benefit someone in Purgatory or someone not yet born. How suffering is used is up to God (although I suppose he may take suggestions!). Only occasionally does God reveal the use of a particular person's pain.
Knowing that our pain may have a role in someone's salvation does make it possible to rejoice in our suffering, however major or minor it may be.
God, I ask you to give me the grace to bear my discomfort with dignity and joy. When it is your will that this pain be taken from me, give me the wisdom never to forget what it meant!
God Bless
Perhaps it's because of a phase of life I find myself in, but the Church's teaching on redemptive suffering is coming to mind a lot lately.
Although I know I've had the symptoms for some time, it has been within the past two weeks that I've had a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. As I understand it, this is not degenerative, but it will come and go, posing some challenges to daily existance as it does so.
In the past, I have met Christians of the Protestant variety who seem to believe that if one is truly saved, truly redeemed and truly believes in Jesus and His healing power, one will not suffer physical pain or illness.
This is not a scriptural notion. It is certainly not the teaching of the Catholic Church.
We are a fallen people. We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Because of sin, our own and those of our first parents, Adam and Eve, we are subject to such inconveniences as illness.
Catholics believe that illness can be put to work for our own good and the good of others. We call this redemptive suffering.
St. Paul tells us that he dealt with a chronic condition. Scripture tells us that Timothy did, too. Surely if simple faith in Jesus' ability to heal were sufficient to effect a cure, these Godly men would have been the first beneficiaries of such a miracle. They weren't, yet Jairus' daughter, who may not have ever heard of Jesus, was brought back from the dead...because of her father's faith.
When we are suffering in some way (and it does not have to be an illness of body, or even physical pain. Mental pain will do, too) we can "offer it up". We can add it to the suffering Jesus endured on the cross. Why would we do this? Well, St. Paul says in Colossians "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church".
This can be seen as a very bold statement, but there it is. How is it that Christ's sacrifice is somehow incomplete?
As I understand it, this lack of completion is due to the ongoing nature of Christ's sacrifice. I mentioned in an earlier post the difference between Kairos time and Chronos time. Chronos time is what we know so well; Time that goes in a straight line and does not repeat. Kairos time is God's time. He can see all of past present and future at once. So Jesus is suffering now, in the same sacrifice He made over 2000 years ago. We join with His sacrifice when we offer Him the use of our afflictions.
This can be to various effects. Pain may be offered in reparation for ones own sin. It can be offered for someone one knows. It may be offered for the general 'pool' of redemptive sacrifice and therefore benefit someone in Purgatory or someone not yet born. How suffering is used is up to God (although I suppose he may take suggestions!). Only occasionally does God reveal the use of a particular person's pain.
Knowing that our pain may have a role in someone's salvation does make it possible to rejoice in our suffering, however major or minor it may be.
God, I ask you to give me the grace to bear my discomfort with dignity and joy. When it is your will that this pain be taken from me, give me the wisdom never to forget what it meant!
God Bless
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Providence
Hello again!
My husband and I were out with our two youngest children last evening. We were picking wild blueberries.
Imagine! In the 21st century, is is still possible to get food for free. And organic food at that.
The blueberries are abundant this year. I have been told of a woman who over two days has picked 25 quarts of them!
Things such as this are a gift of God. We do nothing to prepare gifts like this. They are just given to us. All we need to do is to find them.
I do not think most people are aware of Divine Providence. What is it?
Divine Providence is how God cares for us. If we let Him.
I have a good friend who made the decision (in conjunction with his wife!) at his marriage, to keep the family God would give him entirely on Divine Providence. He and his wife would later consecrate their family to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
What did this mean? It meant that the couple and later their family would rely totally on God for their needs. Imagine! No salary. No regular income.
Could you do it?
I do not think everyone is called to this kind of radical faith, but I think we can be awed by this sort of trust. We might even be rather impressed by how well it worked! My friend's wife died a few years ago and I did not meet her. I have heard many a tale of their life together.
This family had a music ministry. They travelled quite widely within Canada and even internationally, as a family and as a couple after the family was grown.
A large part of this sort of trust in God's providence is humility. God works through other people. Peoples' kindness and generosity, and the family's own creativity is how the family raised four faith filled children. But the family had to be willing to accept the gifts they were given, or to rely on their own talents to 'barter' for something they needed. How many are too proud, even when they are in need only temporarily, to ask for or accept help?
How does this differ from a sort of unofficial welfare?
As I see it, the basic difference is that this is a consecrated lifestyle. The couple made the decision after much prayer and spiritual direction. It was not done to enable a slotheful lifestyle. One way of looking at it is that it was partly done to allow others to do God's work.
Was it entirely easy? From what I hear, there were more than few difficult times. The key was trust and prayer. They had what they needed.
Those of us who do not feel we are called to this rather radical sort of trust also need to examine our lives. Are we certain we are not being called to this sort of example? If we are sure it is not for us, how can we train ourselves to rely on Divine Providence in our own 'ordinary' lives?
There are many ways to do this. First make sure you are 'prayed up' as some Protestant friends of mine would say. Stay in touch with your Father...and your Mother, Mary. She knows all about trust, as she relied on God to get her through what was, after all, the very unusual situation of her pregnancy by a Heavenly Father. She also knew about the practical bits of running a household on very little.
Look at your lifestyle. Are you working as much or more for 'wants' rather than 'needs'? Perhaps your children would rather have your time to play a game at home than the skating lesson you work extra time to pay for. Are you trusting God with your fertility, allowing to be born the children He thinks you should have? If you are part of a couple which has decided at some point to permanently end your fertility, are you being called to reverse this? Or can you make some other sort of reparation, such as assisting a large family in some way? Adopting a child? When you have a decision to make, do you even call on God for input?
If you are a single person, are you collecting things you can't 'take with you' when you die? Is there time and money you could spend on a worthy cause rather than on collecting the latest gadget or trendiest wardrobe item?
So how did I get here from picking blueberries? Free material gifts, like food, are from God, whether we go and find them in the woods or someone gives them to us. It's something to remember.
My husband and I were out with our two youngest children last evening. We were picking wild blueberries.
Imagine! In the 21st century, is is still possible to get food for free. And organic food at that.
The blueberries are abundant this year. I have been told of a woman who over two days has picked 25 quarts of them!
Things such as this are a gift of God. We do nothing to prepare gifts like this. They are just given to us. All we need to do is to find them.
I do not think most people are aware of Divine Providence. What is it?
Divine Providence is how God cares for us. If we let Him.
I have a good friend who made the decision (in conjunction with his wife!) at his marriage, to keep the family God would give him entirely on Divine Providence. He and his wife would later consecrate their family to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
What did this mean? It meant that the couple and later their family would rely totally on God for their needs. Imagine! No salary. No regular income.
Could you do it?
I do not think everyone is called to this kind of radical faith, but I think we can be awed by this sort of trust. We might even be rather impressed by how well it worked! My friend's wife died a few years ago and I did not meet her. I have heard many a tale of their life together.
This family had a music ministry. They travelled quite widely within Canada and even internationally, as a family and as a couple after the family was grown.
A large part of this sort of trust in God's providence is humility. God works through other people. Peoples' kindness and generosity, and the family's own creativity is how the family raised four faith filled children. But the family had to be willing to accept the gifts they were given, or to rely on their own talents to 'barter' for something they needed. How many are too proud, even when they are in need only temporarily, to ask for or accept help?
How does this differ from a sort of unofficial welfare?
As I see it, the basic difference is that this is a consecrated lifestyle. The couple made the decision after much prayer and spiritual direction. It was not done to enable a slotheful lifestyle. One way of looking at it is that it was partly done to allow others to do God's work.
Was it entirely easy? From what I hear, there were more than few difficult times. The key was trust and prayer. They had what they needed.
Those of us who do not feel we are called to this rather radical sort of trust also need to examine our lives. Are we certain we are not being called to this sort of example? If we are sure it is not for us, how can we train ourselves to rely on Divine Providence in our own 'ordinary' lives?
There are many ways to do this. First make sure you are 'prayed up' as some Protestant friends of mine would say. Stay in touch with your Father...and your Mother, Mary. She knows all about trust, as she relied on God to get her through what was, after all, the very unusual situation of her pregnancy by a Heavenly Father. She also knew about the practical bits of running a household on very little.
Look at your lifestyle. Are you working as much or more for 'wants' rather than 'needs'? Perhaps your children would rather have your time to play a game at home than the skating lesson you work extra time to pay for. Are you trusting God with your fertility, allowing to be born the children He thinks you should have? If you are part of a couple which has decided at some point to permanently end your fertility, are you being called to reverse this? Or can you make some other sort of reparation, such as assisting a large family in some way? Adopting a child? When you have a decision to make, do you even call on God for input?
If you are a single person, are you collecting things you can't 'take with you' when you die? Is there time and money you could spend on a worthy cause rather than on collecting the latest gadget or trendiest wardrobe item?
So how did I get here from picking blueberries? Free material gifts, like food, are from God, whether we go and find them in the woods or someone gives them to us. It's something to remember.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Politics and Abuse
Hi Folks
It is a surprise to few, I can imagine, that 'church' and 'politics' often appear together.
I have never belonged to a parish that did not have 'politics'. I have often wondered why...even as I frequently found myself in the middle of the fray.
As Christians...I think any Christian, not just a Catholic Christian, we are to seek holiness. We do this by imitating Christ to the best of our abilities.
I suppose part of the issue is that we all have different abilities! Also, we do not have the benefit of Divine Nature...we've only been given a human one.
People all have their own ideas of how things should go. How should the Mass look? What should the music sound like? What does the choir wear? The altar servers? Boys? Girls? Albs? Cassocks? What should we serve after Mass? Do we serve anything? What do we do with children during Mass?
And so we begin the politics. Someone figures he or she has the ear of the pastor. Or perhaps one just figures they can influence the pastor in a preferred direction. A strong willed soul starts speaking for a group (often not enumerated!)...as it "WE want this...WE don't like that". Who are we?
Perhaps the busy people in the parish become clickish and don't really invite others to enter their ranks. Perhaps a particular minister is unnapproachable and kind of runs his or her own show.
I have a fantasy of a parish led by a strong, confident priest with lots of energy and lots of time on his hands (remember, I did say this was a fantasy) who can see that all the workers in the parish are trained in the philosophy of ministry, and then well trained in their particular ministry. Further in this fantasy are workers who wish to learn, and who respect authority....SCREECH!
Okay, perhaps I"m delusional. Authority? What authority?
Now we get into the area of abuses...
One of the wonderful things about the Catholic Church, particularly those of us who thrive on active parish work, is that we have authority to fall back on. The way I see it, the Vatican writes documents, the Bishops read them, adapt what they are permitted to adapt, pass the info on to the priests, who use this information and pass relevent parts on to the lay ministry. No, I"m not really delusional...really.
Here's the reality check...I've never seen this happen as it should. Currently, I volunteer in a small parish in a military 'diocese'. This diocese has somehow managed to entrench many practices which are not in accord with the expressed guidelines from on high. Wow. Talk of politics!
When you have members of such a diocese who educate themselves in writings from Rome, or even writings from the national group of Bishops (who, unfortunately are not always to be relied upon to enforce what Rome requires) in such a diocese or parish, you have a recipe for much anguish.
I am one who firmly believes that if there is any possible way to follow Vatican mandates, they should be followed. In a military environment, occasionally some things are not possible. But is a parish in a small city really a military environment? It's not "in theatre" or "in the field" even if we are affiliated with the military. So do the rubber rules given to the military really apply?
When once I enumerated some of the odd practices of our parish to an email group, I got a reply from someone in Boston who said even in her notorious city, what I related sounded very bad.
I have been accused at times of trying to push my 'opinion'. I will state categorically that my opinion, when it comes to Vatican mandates, does not matter. Neither does a given priest's opinion. This relieves us of much responsibility. We are told how things should be. All we need to do is to make it happen.
It is unfortunate, (now, this IS my opinion) that in liturgy, we don't have too many binding documents. This leaves a lot of room for creativity...and strife.
I suspect that under Pope Benedict XVI we will be given a little more guidance. Currently, the Pope is making his taste in liturgical music known. Some of us are cheering. But it's pretty hard to reverse 40 years of musical freedom. I"m not sure if it can even be reigned in. As much as I'd love to be singing it, I cannot envision a Mass in our parish being chanted in the Gregorian fashion. Understand please, I am not calling for a Tridentine (from the Council of Trent...priest facing the same way as the people) Mass. The current Mass done in a reverent fashion is wonderful too.
How many know that we laypeople are supposed to be able to recite or chant the Ordinary of the Mass (those parts which are the same from week to week) in Latin? Where do I get this information? From the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium! Yes, folks...Vatican 2.
Yet I grew up being told that Latin was forbidden in the diocese in which I lived.
People are people and where two or more get together, opinions will be in the midst. So where is room for Jesus, who promises to be there?
But I am absolutely certain that by following the instructions we do have, we are submitting to an authority, the Church, which is a good thing. We will also have a lot fewer arguments.
So, hierarchy, how about helping the laity out with this?
God Bless
It is a surprise to few, I can imagine, that 'church' and 'politics' often appear together.
I have never belonged to a parish that did not have 'politics'. I have often wondered why...even as I frequently found myself in the middle of the fray.
As Christians...I think any Christian, not just a Catholic Christian, we are to seek holiness. We do this by imitating Christ to the best of our abilities.
I suppose part of the issue is that we all have different abilities! Also, we do not have the benefit of Divine Nature...we've only been given a human one.
People all have their own ideas of how things should go. How should the Mass look? What should the music sound like? What does the choir wear? The altar servers? Boys? Girls? Albs? Cassocks? What should we serve after Mass? Do we serve anything? What do we do with children during Mass?
And so we begin the politics. Someone figures he or she has the ear of the pastor. Or perhaps one just figures they can influence the pastor in a preferred direction. A strong willed soul starts speaking for a group (often not enumerated!)...as it "WE want this...WE don't like that". Who are we?
Perhaps the busy people in the parish become clickish and don't really invite others to enter their ranks. Perhaps a particular minister is unnapproachable and kind of runs his or her own show.
I have a fantasy of a parish led by a strong, confident priest with lots of energy and lots of time on his hands (remember, I did say this was a fantasy) who can see that all the workers in the parish are trained in the philosophy of ministry, and then well trained in their particular ministry. Further in this fantasy are workers who wish to learn, and who respect authority....SCREECH!
Okay, perhaps I"m delusional. Authority? What authority?
Now we get into the area of abuses...
One of the wonderful things about the Catholic Church, particularly those of us who thrive on active parish work, is that we have authority to fall back on. The way I see it, the Vatican writes documents, the Bishops read them, adapt what they are permitted to adapt, pass the info on to the priests, who use this information and pass relevent parts on to the lay ministry. No, I"m not really delusional...really.
Here's the reality check...I've never seen this happen as it should. Currently, I volunteer in a small parish in a military 'diocese'. This diocese has somehow managed to entrench many practices which are not in accord with the expressed guidelines from on high. Wow. Talk of politics!
When you have members of such a diocese who educate themselves in writings from Rome, or even writings from the national group of Bishops (who, unfortunately are not always to be relied upon to enforce what Rome requires) in such a diocese or parish, you have a recipe for much anguish.
I am one who firmly believes that if there is any possible way to follow Vatican mandates, they should be followed. In a military environment, occasionally some things are not possible. But is a parish in a small city really a military environment? It's not "in theatre" or "in the field" even if we are affiliated with the military. So do the rubber rules given to the military really apply?
When once I enumerated some of the odd practices of our parish to an email group, I got a reply from someone in Boston who said even in her notorious city, what I related sounded very bad.
I have been accused at times of trying to push my 'opinion'. I will state categorically that my opinion, when it comes to Vatican mandates, does not matter. Neither does a given priest's opinion. This relieves us of much responsibility. We are told how things should be. All we need to do is to make it happen.
It is unfortunate, (now, this IS my opinion) that in liturgy, we don't have too many binding documents. This leaves a lot of room for creativity...and strife.
I suspect that under Pope Benedict XVI we will be given a little more guidance. Currently, the Pope is making his taste in liturgical music known. Some of us are cheering. But it's pretty hard to reverse 40 years of musical freedom. I"m not sure if it can even be reigned in. As much as I'd love to be singing it, I cannot envision a Mass in our parish being chanted in the Gregorian fashion. Understand please, I am not calling for a Tridentine (from the Council of Trent...priest facing the same way as the people) Mass. The current Mass done in a reverent fashion is wonderful too.
How many know that we laypeople are supposed to be able to recite or chant the Ordinary of the Mass (those parts which are the same from week to week) in Latin? Where do I get this information? From the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium! Yes, folks...Vatican 2.
Yet I grew up being told that Latin was forbidden in the diocese in which I lived.
People are people and where two or more get together, opinions will be in the midst. So where is room for Jesus, who promises to be there?
But I am absolutely certain that by following the instructions we do have, we are submitting to an authority, the Church, which is a good thing. We will also have a lot fewer arguments.
So, hierarchy, how about helping the laity out with this?
God Bless
Monday, July 10, 2006
Lectio Divina
Vale!
Over the past few weeks, the seminarian who is working in our chapel this summer has started and leads us in what is called Lectio Divina.
All of us involved at the beginning were unfamiliar with LD, other than the name. I am under the impression that there may be other forms of it, but here I will tell you what we do.
Lectio Divina means "divine reading". A thumbnail of the technique would be to say that we s-l-o-w things down, in particular scripture reading, and repeat it s-l-o-w-l-y a few times, and then meditate and contemplate. This was a common practice among the Desert Fathers, I am told.
I have a terrible time slowing and quieting my mind. Three things I MUST not do before bed if I wish to have a good sleep are to have a fight with someone, drink coffee, read liturgy books (no, I'm not kidding). I'm told by a friend that I have a mind like a terrier. Once it clamps on to something, it doesn't let it go.
So, I thought LD would be difficult for me on that count.
Five of us, including the seminarian, were at the first meeting. We had already been sent a teaching on LD so we would have an idea how we would proceed. We were also instructed that the Gospel reading for the following Sunday would be used as the scripture reading.
The teaching laid out the plan: Scripture would be read slowly three times by one person. Then there would be a meditation. This took the form of a reading about the passage by a well-known writer. This was also read at about half the speed one would normally read aloud. The next division was to pray. Then we contemplate.
For the purposes of group LD, one person had a watch. A quiet bell was rung when we changed 'modes' at 10 minute intervals.
This is how it worked out. We met and the two of us who would be reading aloud were assigned our reading. We started with five minutes of silence. We then recited the Lord's Prayer at a pace to match breathing. After this, we begin.
All is utterly silent except for the reader and the bell (or drinking glass and teaspoon, as in our case!).
I discovered that is is rather difficult to read aloud at half speed! Try it sometime.
During the 10 minute 'prayer' segment, we try to "hear" God speak to our hearts as we think about the Gospel we have just heard. We may also feel called to share the prayer aloud. During the contemplation segment, we think about God. Some get some rather suprising insights at this time.
When one is very familiar with Scripture, one may also have other pertinent scripture readings come to mind. One may just say the number of the reading aloud (assuming you can find the reading when you want it!) and the others may look it up and read it to themselves.
After this is all over, we usually sit around for a few minutes in a stupour and as we 'wake up' (no one has ever fallen asleep...really) we discuss what may have happened. Questions about the procedure may be asked.
I was surprised at how easily I could quiet my mind the first time. I did find, however, that toward the end of the 40 minutes I kept having to reign my mind back in as it started to plan the following day.
It's been a little more difficult since. I do not do it daily on my own, which might help.
Praying LD on ones own allows a little more flexibility. The seminarian says he tends to skip the 2nd and 3rd step and goes straight to contemplation. Each segment can be as long or short as one wishes.
I'm not sure how we'll keep this up after 'our' seminarian leaves. I do hope someone takes it over!
God Bless
Over the past few weeks, the seminarian who is working in our chapel this summer has started and leads us in what is called Lectio Divina.
All of us involved at the beginning were unfamiliar with LD, other than the name. I am under the impression that there may be other forms of it, but here I will tell you what we do.
Lectio Divina means "divine reading". A thumbnail of the technique would be to say that we s-l-o-w things down, in particular scripture reading, and repeat it s-l-o-w-l-y a few times, and then meditate and contemplate. This was a common practice among the Desert Fathers, I am told.
I have a terrible time slowing and quieting my mind. Three things I MUST not do before bed if I wish to have a good sleep are to have a fight with someone, drink coffee, read liturgy books (no, I'm not kidding). I'm told by a friend that I have a mind like a terrier. Once it clamps on to something, it doesn't let it go.
So, I thought LD would be difficult for me on that count.
Five of us, including the seminarian, were at the first meeting. We had already been sent a teaching on LD so we would have an idea how we would proceed. We were also instructed that the Gospel reading for the following Sunday would be used as the scripture reading.
The teaching laid out the plan: Scripture would be read slowly three times by one person. Then there would be a meditation. This took the form of a reading about the passage by a well-known writer. This was also read at about half the speed one would normally read aloud. The next division was to pray. Then we contemplate.
For the purposes of group LD, one person had a watch. A quiet bell was rung when we changed 'modes' at 10 minute intervals.
This is how it worked out. We met and the two of us who would be reading aloud were assigned our reading. We started with five minutes of silence. We then recited the Lord's Prayer at a pace to match breathing. After this, we begin.
All is utterly silent except for the reader and the bell (or drinking glass and teaspoon, as in our case!).
I discovered that is is rather difficult to read aloud at half speed! Try it sometime.
During the 10 minute 'prayer' segment, we try to "hear" God speak to our hearts as we think about the Gospel we have just heard. We may also feel called to share the prayer aloud. During the contemplation segment, we think about God. Some get some rather suprising insights at this time.
When one is very familiar with Scripture, one may also have other pertinent scripture readings come to mind. One may just say the number of the reading aloud (assuming you can find the reading when you want it!) and the others may look it up and read it to themselves.
After this is all over, we usually sit around for a few minutes in a stupour and as we 'wake up' (no one has ever fallen asleep...really) we discuss what may have happened. Questions about the procedure may be asked.
I was surprised at how easily I could quiet my mind the first time. I did find, however, that toward the end of the 40 minutes I kept having to reign my mind back in as it started to plan the following day.
It's been a little more difficult since. I do not do it daily on my own, which might help.
Praying LD on ones own allows a little more flexibility. The seminarian says he tends to skip the 2nd and 3rd step and goes straight to contemplation. Each segment can be as long or short as one wishes.
I'm not sure how we'll keep this up after 'our' seminarian leaves. I do hope someone takes it over!
God Bless
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Good Afternoon
I had the pleasure of sharing my morning with three young people of my aquaintance. We met for Morning Prayer (part of the Liturgy of the Hours) and then went for breakfast at a local restaurant.
One of these people is a young man who entered the Church this year. The mastermind, as I understood it anyway, was another young man who is currently studying to be a priest. The third is a young woman who is in university.
It is always a joy to share faith stories with people. To see young people so focussed and themselves joy-filled is 'over the top'.
I have to add here that two of these people are less than half my age. I am forced to think of where I was at their ages. I am impressed by all of them.
Praying the Liturgy of the Hours is pretty much second nature to all of us. The Second Vatican Council strongly encouraged lay people to take up this practice. It is slowly growing, but still rather scarce among the laity. Clergy and those in consecrated life are required to pray at least some of the hours by virtue of their vocation.
I"m not sure I'd even HEARD of the LOH when I was in my 20s! So it was very neat to just sit and pray together. We were, literally, all on the same page!
Do not be put off by stories of empty seminaries and bad behaviour in the Church.
Bad things do happen...everywhere. I agree that the Church should be held to a higher standard, but it's still made up of sinners. This can include spectacular sinners.
But the seminaries and convents in faithful dioceses are starting to fill up again. Many are already full to over-flowing. Now that the bad stuff has been brought to light, it can be dealt with, and is being dealt with.
The Church has gone through and survived bad spells in the past. These times tend to produce great Saints.
I'd say the future is bright.
The future is bright.
I had the pleasure of sharing my morning with three young people of my aquaintance. We met for Morning Prayer (part of the Liturgy of the Hours) and then went for breakfast at a local restaurant.
One of these people is a young man who entered the Church this year. The mastermind, as I understood it anyway, was another young man who is currently studying to be a priest. The third is a young woman who is in university.
It is always a joy to share faith stories with people. To see young people so focussed and themselves joy-filled is 'over the top'.
I have to add here that two of these people are less than half my age. I am forced to think of where I was at their ages. I am impressed by all of them.
Praying the Liturgy of the Hours is pretty much second nature to all of us. The Second Vatican Council strongly encouraged lay people to take up this practice. It is slowly growing, but still rather scarce among the laity. Clergy and those in consecrated life are required to pray at least some of the hours by virtue of their vocation.
I"m not sure I'd even HEARD of the LOH when I was in my 20s! So it was very neat to just sit and pray together. We were, literally, all on the same page!
Do not be put off by stories of empty seminaries and bad behaviour in the Church.
Bad things do happen...everywhere. I agree that the Church should be held to a higher standard, but it's still made up of sinners. This can include spectacular sinners.
But the seminaries and convents in faithful dioceses are starting to fill up again. Many are already full to over-flowing. Now that the bad stuff has been brought to light, it can be dealt with, and is being dealt with.
The Church has gone through and survived bad spells in the past. These times tend to produce great Saints.
I'd say the future is bright.
The future is bright.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Over the past few days, there have been several articles having to do with liturgy which have come to my attention.
These articles are coming from high places. People like the Pope and his assistants are spending a lot of time thinking about the fundamentals of liturgy.
The 'forbidden' word Latin has been mentioned a few times. One article reminded us that Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) did not call for a total abandonment of Latin. In fact, while mentioning that the vernacular language may be used, it tells us that all Catholics should know the Ordinary (Parts of the Mass, such as the Gloria and the Holy Holy) and common prayers in Latin.
I remember the day I first read this part of SC. It was almost like a blow. As a teen in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, I was told that the Archbishop had banned the use of Latin. I do not wish to speak ill of the dead. In truth I do not know if Archbishop Carney actually said that. It didn't matter. No Latin was ever used.
I had studied Latin for a couple of years in a Catholic school. It did not frighten me, as it seems to do to others. I wanted to hear it in Mass. I can't tell you why. I'd never heard it before!
It was through the miracle of the internet that I met a woman (Hi B!) who started to teach me about REAL liturgy...and it was through her, indirectly, that I began to read CS.
Some of my friends thought this woman had created a monster. Perhaps she did. My hunger for good liturgy often overrode my good manners. I began to learn, to teach (whether people wanted to hear it or not) and to demand liturgy as the Church REALLY teaches it.
I am originally a music minister although I am currently only loosely associated with a choir. It never really leaves you, though. So the other article that is foremost in my mind caught my interest.
Pope Benedict has reinstated a music director in Rome who was removed from his position during the time of Pope John Paul II. This music director is very much of the traditional school of Catholic Music. Latin again...polyphony...chant.
So are we going to finally get some rules with regard to liturgical music? One can surely hope. One of my larger 'thorns' with regards to liturgical (or pseudo-liturgical) music is that so much of the published vernacular music is just not very good. There is so much of praising the created (us!) rather than the creator. So much is not singable by your average pew-sitter.
A little tangent here. One of the liturgical mantras is 'participation'. The entire congregation should sing. But much music is too high, too complicated, or changed too frequently. To be fair, much classical liturgical music is not singable by the congregation at large. So where does this leave us?
I think current liturgical thought should re-evaluate the idea that everyone should sing everything. Okay, they don't really say that, but it is surely implied! Some music can legitimately be a 'shut-up and listen' piece. (I borrowed that phrase from someone on an email list I belong to. Sorry, don't remember whom.)
As it stands now, a whole lot of new vernacular music for the Ordinary of the Mass is going to have to be written or adapted to accomodate changes in the Sacramentary. Even if an existing piece can be adapted, will the setting (tune) suit the newly reverent words? Of course those fortunate enough to still be familiar with Latin settings will likely find their learning curve much less steep!
Gloria tibi Domino!
These articles are coming from high places. People like the Pope and his assistants are spending a lot of time thinking about the fundamentals of liturgy.
The 'forbidden' word Latin has been mentioned a few times. One article reminded us that Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) did not call for a total abandonment of Latin. In fact, while mentioning that the vernacular language may be used, it tells us that all Catholics should know the Ordinary (Parts of the Mass, such as the Gloria and the Holy Holy) and common prayers in Latin.
I remember the day I first read this part of SC. It was almost like a blow. As a teen in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, I was told that the Archbishop had banned the use of Latin. I do not wish to speak ill of the dead. In truth I do not know if Archbishop Carney actually said that. It didn't matter. No Latin was ever used.
I had studied Latin for a couple of years in a Catholic school. It did not frighten me, as it seems to do to others. I wanted to hear it in Mass. I can't tell you why. I'd never heard it before!
It was through the miracle of the internet that I met a woman (Hi B!) who started to teach me about REAL liturgy...and it was through her, indirectly, that I began to read CS.
Some of my friends thought this woman had created a monster. Perhaps she did. My hunger for good liturgy often overrode my good manners. I began to learn, to teach (whether people wanted to hear it or not) and to demand liturgy as the Church REALLY teaches it.
I am originally a music minister although I am currently only loosely associated with a choir. It never really leaves you, though. So the other article that is foremost in my mind caught my interest.
Pope Benedict has reinstated a music director in Rome who was removed from his position during the time of Pope John Paul II. This music director is very much of the traditional school of Catholic Music. Latin again...polyphony...chant.
So are we going to finally get some rules with regard to liturgical music? One can surely hope. One of my larger 'thorns' with regards to liturgical (or pseudo-liturgical) music is that so much of the published vernacular music is just not very good. There is so much of praising the created (us!) rather than the creator. So much is not singable by your average pew-sitter.
A little tangent here. One of the liturgical mantras is 'participation'. The entire congregation should sing. But much music is too high, too complicated, or changed too frequently. To be fair, much classical liturgical music is not singable by the congregation at large. So where does this leave us?
I think current liturgical thought should re-evaluate the idea that everyone should sing everything. Okay, they don't really say that, but it is surely implied! Some music can legitimately be a 'shut-up and listen' piece. (I borrowed that phrase from someone on an email list I belong to. Sorry, don't remember whom.)
As it stands now, a whole lot of new vernacular music for the Ordinary of the Mass is going to have to be written or adapted to accomodate changes in the Sacramentary. Even if an existing piece can be adapted, will the setting (tune) suit the newly reverent words? Of course those fortunate enough to still be familiar with Latin settings will likely find their learning curve much less steep!
Gloria tibi Domino!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Blessed Burnout
Hi Folks
Today I'm setting out on a little mental ramble around ministry, committment, and burnout.
It's that time of the year. People are looking at what sort of responsibilities they want to place on themselves or divest themselves of for the coming year.
At least that's how it is in a parish.
Our parish is small and highly mobile. Every Fall there is a scramble to fill those last remaining vacancies in ministry positions which weren't filled in the Spring when people who had held them started to move away.
And every year there are the guilty feelings that come when you realize that there are some people you only WISH would move away. But that's another thing entirely.
So often within a parish (and I can't think of a single one, in my experience, which has been different) many jobs fall on few shoulders.
Some people are just better at assessing their own circumstances and knowing when to say 'no'. Some people just don't wish to be involved...sigh.
And some people just love what they do so much that it overwhelms them and they say yes to everything and everyone...sigh.
Some people might be able to handle this. Retired people...single people...sometimes. But most of us cannot although we may try!
It is so hard to say 'no' to a good cause.
But even work for Christ will be too much if it's not where God really wants you to be. If it IS where God wants you to be, He'll give you what you need to make it happen. Maybe superhuman strength and endurance. Maybe great delegating skills. It's His call.
Discernment is something many of us are not very good at. Discernment is the ability (in this context anyway) to decide with God's guidance, which step we are to take next.
If that should sound easy, I assure you it is not. How do you know when God has spoken? You don't, ultimately. You may actually 'hear' a voice. You may 'feel' an answer. Someone may come to you with a proposition that just screams out that it's your answer. Your answer may come in the form of spiritual direction. You may not feel or experience anything at all. God might just be leaving the decision entirely to you.
If things seem to work out fairly well, that might be confirmation you've made the correct choice. But having things become difficult can be a sign you're on the right path too...If a parish has been used to doing something incorrectly for a long time, there WILL be resistance to change, even if that change is, ultimately, good. If you are following Church directions, you are almost certainly on the right track.
One thing I have seen happen is when things always seem to go VERY well, all the time. This can be a sign that something is very wrong. Fulton Sheen, quoting someone named Finney Peter Dunne said that religion should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable". If that be the case, it would seem that someone will always be in some amount of distress on account of ones efforts in ministry.
It's dealing with this that can contribute to burnout.
A wise priest I once knew told me, shortly after I began my liturgy studies, that as I was learning, I would seek change...and that I would encounter resistance. He was surely correct on both accounts. At times I even challenged him, respectfully of course.
Sometimes, at this time of the year, the wisest thing for a person to do is to take time off...This gives one a chance to rest and review ones accomplishments. It also gives others a chance to develop and hone their skills as they replace you.
One of the hardest things to do is to watch something you've worked hard to accomplish fade away, because no one, or maybe no one with your particular skill set, steps in to fill a leadership void.
Ah, humility. Things come and go. God alone is eternal. Our efforts will not last forever. Sometimes they don't even last a year.
Such is life in ministry in a highly mobile parish. Discern your call anyway!
God Bless
Today I'm setting out on a little mental ramble around ministry, committment, and burnout.
It's that time of the year. People are looking at what sort of responsibilities they want to place on themselves or divest themselves of for the coming year.
At least that's how it is in a parish.
Our parish is small and highly mobile. Every Fall there is a scramble to fill those last remaining vacancies in ministry positions which weren't filled in the Spring when people who had held them started to move away.
And every year there are the guilty feelings that come when you realize that there are some people you only WISH would move away. But that's another thing entirely.
So often within a parish (and I can't think of a single one, in my experience, which has been different) many jobs fall on few shoulders.
Some people are just better at assessing their own circumstances and knowing when to say 'no'. Some people just don't wish to be involved...sigh.
And some people just love what they do so much that it overwhelms them and they say yes to everything and everyone...sigh.
Some people might be able to handle this. Retired people...single people...sometimes. But most of us cannot although we may try!
It is so hard to say 'no' to a good cause.
But even work for Christ will be too much if it's not where God really wants you to be. If it IS where God wants you to be, He'll give you what you need to make it happen. Maybe superhuman strength and endurance. Maybe great delegating skills. It's His call.
Discernment is something many of us are not very good at. Discernment is the ability (in this context anyway) to decide with God's guidance, which step we are to take next.
If that should sound easy, I assure you it is not. How do you know when God has spoken? You don't, ultimately. You may actually 'hear' a voice. You may 'feel' an answer. Someone may come to you with a proposition that just screams out that it's your answer. Your answer may come in the form of spiritual direction. You may not feel or experience anything at all. God might just be leaving the decision entirely to you.
If things seem to work out fairly well, that might be confirmation you've made the correct choice. But having things become difficult can be a sign you're on the right path too...If a parish has been used to doing something incorrectly for a long time, there WILL be resistance to change, even if that change is, ultimately, good. If you are following Church directions, you are almost certainly on the right track.
One thing I have seen happen is when things always seem to go VERY well, all the time. This can be a sign that something is very wrong. Fulton Sheen, quoting someone named Finney Peter Dunne said that religion should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable". If that be the case, it would seem that someone will always be in some amount of distress on account of ones efforts in ministry.
It's dealing with this that can contribute to burnout.
A wise priest I once knew told me, shortly after I began my liturgy studies, that as I was learning, I would seek change...and that I would encounter resistance. He was surely correct on both accounts. At times I even challenged him, respectfully of course.
Sometimes, at this time of the year, the wisest thing for a person to do is to take time off...This gives one a chance to rest and review ones accomplishments. It also gives others a chance to develop and hone their skills as they replace you.
One of the hardest things to do is to watch something you've worked hard to accomplish fade away, because no one, or maybe no one with your particular skill set, steps in to fill a leadership void.
Ah, humility. Things come and go. God alone is eternal. Our efforts will not last forever. Sometimes they don't even last a year.
Such is life in ministry in a highly mobile parish. Discern your call anyway!
God Bless
Friday, June 02, 2006
I Love Liturgy
Happy Monday!
Recently, it was confirmed that I am going to be heading up the Liturgy Committee for our little chapel. This position normally lasts two years, although so far we've had one person hold it for three years, and another for one year.
I guess we'll see what happens.
I have a background in Liturgy, as I took a course in Pastoral Liturgy at an almost local university.
The course, although rather more creative in some areas than would seem appropriate if one is familiar with the documents of the Church, reinforced my love for liturgy.
So, just what is liturgy? Liturgy comes from the Greek word leitourgia and I hope I spelled that correctly. This word means something like 'public work'. Liturgy is our public form of prayer...work for God. Peter Kreeft, a Catholic writer also points out that it is God's public work for us, too. Funny no one mentioned this even once in my hearing when I was taking the course, but it makes a lot of sense.
During the Liturgy, and here I"m primarily speaking of the Mass, our "work" is the praise and worship of God. God's work, is acting during the Consecration to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
It was stressed, when I was studying and in everything related that I've read, except for Kreeft, that liturgy is OUR public work. That is fine. But when the added dimension of God's work is considered, it makes the guidelines the Church gives us for liturgy a lot more palatable. This work is a shared effort. We the people cannot call all the shots.
The Sacramentary, which is the big red book the priest uses during the Mass, has instructions throughout it written in red (Latin: rubrus). From this we get the word 'rubrics'. The rubrics are like stage directions. They remind the priest what is to happen next. When do we stand, when do we kneel?
Rubrics can be used as a club...but they can also be used in love. They are there to be followed if at all possible. This gives a conformity to the Mass that allows the people a level of comfort which makes possible the experience of Mass as prayer, which is what it most certainly is!
If Mass were to change frequently at the whim of a Bishop, Priest, or dare I say Liturgy Director, one would be so busy trying to figure out what was coming next that the possibility of Mass as prayer would be lost. Rubrics exist also to ensure that the faithful receive and participate in a valid Mass.
Within the framework presented by the rubrics is much room for creativity. The Homily, Music choices, choices of certain prayers (where options exist), decoration for the sanctuary and the rest of the church building, all add a particular flavour to a Mass. Of course there is also the cycle of readings. This is not a choice of the priest, but fixed by the Church. Different readings are read each Sunday in a three year cycle. Most of the Bible is covered in this time. Having this lectionary cycle prevents the priest or deacon reading and re-reading passages which are personal favourites.
In the early 1970s, just after the close of the Second Vatican Council, liturgy nearly disappeared in some places. "The Spirit of Vatican II" as it was called by many who found 'rules' restricting and inhibiting, found licence for such travesties as Clown Masses, where ministers were dressed as clowns and processed in accompanied by balloons and bubbles, and 'Liturgies of the Eucharist' where the 'matter' presented for consecration was the likes of potato chips and soda pop (which I will add would have rendered the sacrament invalid).
Although we can be thankful that such ridiculous practice has ALMOST died out (I did hear of a clown mass about three years ago...sigh), vestiges remain. I cringe when I hear of lay people giving 'homilies', or wearing stoles (both practices are the domain of priests and deacons) and when I hear of people trying to make the Mass 'relevent' to a particular group.
In my experience, seeking relevence discovers a path to extinction, where religious practice is concerned.
Liberal institutions of education often present options for liturgy that do not seem to reflect the mind of the Church. This is seen in much of the 'liturgical' music that is published in North America. It is also seen in books and periodicals for liturgy that seem to disregard liturgical direction as it comes from Magisterial (teaching) bodies within the Church itself.
This can be intensely frustrating and divisive. Some believe that if it's in print it must be so...
I am sure I will have more to say on all this another time. This has been long enough for now!
God Bless
Recently, it was confirmed that I am going to be heading up the Liturgy Committee for our little chapel. This position normally lasts two years, although so far we've had one person hold it for three years, and another for one year.
I guess we'll see what happens.
I have a background in Liturgy, as I took a course in Pastoral Liturgy at an almost local university.
The course, although rather more creative in some areas than would seem appropriate if one is familiar with the documents of the Church, reinforced my love for liturgy.
So, just what is liturgy? Liturgy comes from the Greek word leitourgia and I hope I spelled that correctly. This word means something like 'public work'. Liturgy is our public form of prayer...work for God. Peter Kreeft, a Catholic writer also points out that it is God's public work for us, too. Funny no one mentioned this even once in my hearing when I was taking the course, but it makes a lot of sense.
During the Liturgy, and here I"m primarily speaking of the Mass, our "work" is the praise and worship of God. God's work, is acting during the Consecration to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
It was stressed, when I was studying and in everything related that I've read, except for Kreeft, that liturgy is OUR public work. That is fine. But when the added dimension of God's work is considered, it makes the guidelines the Church gives us for liturgy a lot more palatable. This work is a shared effort. We the people cannot call all the shots.
The Sacramentary, which is the big red book the priest uses during the Mass, has instructions throughout it written in red (Latin: rubrus). From this we get the word 'rubrics'. The rubrics are like stage directions. They remind the priest what is to happen next. When do we stand, when do we kneel?
Rubrics can be used as a club...but they can also be used in love. They are there to be followed if at all possible. This gives a conformity to the Mass that allows the people a level of comfort which makes possible the experience of Mass as prayer, which is what it most certainly is!
If Mass were to change frequently at the whim of a Bishop, Priest, or dare I say Liturgy Director, one would be so busy trying to figure out what was coming next that the possibility of Mass as prayer would be lost. Rubrics exist also to ensure that the faithful receive and participate in a valid Mass.
Within the framework presented by the rubrics is much room for creativity. The Homily, Music choices, choices of certain prayers (where options exist), decoration for the sanctuary and the rest of the church building, all add a particular flavour to a Mass. Of course there is also the cycle of readings. This is not a choice of the priest, but fixed by the Church. Different readings are read each Sunday in a three year cycle. Most of the Bible is covered in this time. Having this lectionary cycle prevents the priest or deacon reading and re-reading passages which are personal favourites.
In the early 1970s, just after the close of the Second Vatican Council, liturgy nearly disappeared in some places. "The Spirit of Vatican II" as it was called by many who found 'rules' restricting and inhibiting, found licence for such travesties as Clown Masses, where ministers were dressed as clowns and processed in accompanied by balloons and bubbles, and 'Liturgies of the Eucharist' where the 'matter' presented for consecration was the likes of potato chips and soda pop (which I will add would have rendered the sacrament invalid).
Although we can be thankful that such ridiculous practice has ALMOST died out (I did hear of a clown mass about three years ago...sigh), vestiges remain. I cringe when I hear of lay people giving 'homilies', or wearing stoles (both practices are the domain of priests and deacons) and when I hear of people trying to make the Mass 'relevent' to a particular group.
In my experience, seeking relevence discovers a path to extinction, where religious practice is concerned.
Liberal institutions of education often present options for liturgy that do not seem to reflect the mind of the Church. This is seen in much of the 'liturgical' music that is published in North America. It is also seen in books and periodicals for liturgy that seem to disregard liturgical direction as it comes from Magisterial (teaching) bodies within the Church itself.
This can be intensely frustrating and divisive. Some believe that if it's in print it must be so...
I am sure I will have more to say on all this another time. This has been long enough for now!
God Bless
Friday, May 26, 2006
Can we say 'God' in Canada?
Hello
At the risk of sounding flakey, I will tell you that this entry is based on a dream I had a couple of nights ago...which I suppose means that I was asleep at some point that night...
I was walking in what looked a bit like an old-style mall...you know the type where you wander off the street into what looks like an exposed hallway or alleyway that has stores off of it...perhaps I'm remembering what I've seen in Europe.
Anyway...things were decorated for Christmas, in a fairly standard non-religious way.
I came across one building full of people, joyfully listening to a speaker who was telling the throng that we CAN say "God" in Canada...
The speaker referred to incidences I recognized from my own life in which I was rather surprised that what I was seeing and hearing was at odds with the politically correct notions we are told we hold as Canadians.
When my two oldest children were in Kindergarten, not so very long ago, I was very surprised to see 'priest' up on the board illustrating various occupations a person might have. This same school, which was a public school, also had no problems with singing 'real' CHRISTmas carols at Christmas time.
I might add here that we were at the time in the most politically correct part of the country, I'm sure. Well, next to Toronto anyway! That would be the Comox Valley in British Columbia...
Never at any time in my employed life, which I will admit was not a long one, was I told either by a boss or by a customer that I was wrong to say "Merry Christmas" when greeting a customer.
Currently, I live in a community which seems to have no problem waking people up on a Sunday morning with church bells.
This same community, and I think every other one I"ve lived in, has no issues with Christmas Nativity scenes on public property either.
Maybe it's me, but I don't feel any shame in praying a Rosary or a Divine Mercy Chaplet while I walk, either. No one has ever commented on it.
I suppose if anyone really had their shirts in a knot over this issue, they'd have managed to get the references to God taken out of our national anthem.
I do know it was a Catholic chaplain who was 'pro-active' in getting the cross taken from the Canadian chaplains' cap badge. Had any Jews or Muslims complained? No.
I wonder if we aren't too busy trying to read peoples' minds and act on what we think we see there...
So how did the dream wind up? I can't tell you. But I did wake up with a sense that we need to be aware that it may be kinder territory for Christians than we sometimes are led to believe.
At the risk of sounding flakey, I will tell you that this entry is based on a dream I had a couple of nights ago...which I suppose means that I was asleep at some point that night...
I was walking in what looked a bit like an old-style mall...you know the type where you wander off the street into what looks like an exposed hallway or alleyway that has stores off of it...perhaps I'm remembering what I've seen in Europe.
Anyway...things were decorated for Christmas, in a fairly standard non-religious way.
I came across one building full of people, joyfully listening to a speaker who was telling the throng that we CAN say "God" in Canada...
The speaker referred to incidences I recognized from my own life in which I was rather surprised that what I was seeing and hearing was at odds with the politically correct notions we are told we hold as Canadians.
When my two oldest children were in Kindergarten, not so very long ago, I was very surprised to see 'priest' up on the board illustrating various occupations a person might have. This same school, which was a public school, also had no problems with singing 'real' CHRISTmas carols at Christmas time.
I might add here that we were at the time in the most politically correct part of the country, I'm sure. Well, next to Toronto anyway! That would be the Comox Valley in British Columbia...
Never at any time in my employed life, which I will admit was not a long one, was I told either by a boss or by a customer that I was wrong to say "Merry Christmas" when greeting a customer.
Currently, I live in a community which seems to have no problem waking people up on a Sunday morning with church bells.
This same community, and I think every other one I"ve lived in, has no issues with Christmas Nativity scenes on public property either.
Maybe it's me, but I don't feel any shame in praying a Rosary or a Divine Mercy Chaplet while I walk, either. No one has ever commented on it.
I suppose if anyone really had their shirts in a knot over this issue, they'd have managed to get the references to God taken out of our national anthem.
I do know it was a Catholic chaplain who was 'pro-active' in getting the cross taken from the Canadian chaplains' cap badge. Had any Jews or Muslims complained? No.
I wonder if we aren't too busy trying to read peoples' minds and act on what we think we see there...
So how did the dream wind up? I can't tell you. But I did wake up with a sense that we need to be aware that it may be kinder territory for Christians than we sometimes are led to believe.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Musings on the Body of Christ
Greetings
In these last days of the Easter Season, I've been reflecting on the Body of Christ.
Catholics believe Christ to be with us in four ways during a Mass.
Christ is present in the Word, as proclaimed by the priest or deacon. The priest or deacon (or on occasion a presiding Bishop) reads from the Gospels during every Mass. Lay people are not permitted this privilege during a celebration of the Mass, although they may read from other parts of Sacred Scripture.
Which Gospel is read at a particular Mass is not at the discretion of the presider or the lector. The Gospel for a particular Sunday or Weekday Mass is given in the Lectionary. This ensures that the faithful are exposed to the entire of the Gospels, not just those which may be favoured by a particular presider or lector.
Christ is also present in the assembled Faithful. We are the Body of Christ...the Mystical Body. This body includes the deceased faithful, both those believed (or known, in the case of canonized Saints)to be in Heaven and those still being prepared for Heaven's glory in Purgatory. It also included the Pope and Bishops in union with him, as the Magisterium of the Church Christ founded. We recognize Christ Himself as the head of this Mystical Body. We are the members: hands, feet, eyes, etc. to do God's continued work on earth.
At times during the Mass, Christ is also present in a particular way in the Priest. If one listens carefully to the prayers of the Mass, one can notice a difference in the person speaking. Sometimes the Priest will speak as part of the assembled Faithful, but sometimes he also speaks as Christ. During the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the priest repeats the words Jesus spoke to his disciples "Take this, all of you and eat (drink) This is my body, (blood) which will be given up for you". We believe that God, through the priest, becomes present during the Eucharist, under the appearance of bread or wine. Jesus is present again, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We are participating the sacrifice of Calvary. We are following Jesus' command to his followers in Scripture.
We are greatly gifted and privileged to be given such a gift from God! The bread of Angels becomes the Bread of Man!
In the past number of years (I suppose that rightly or wrongly, many would blame Vatican II again for this!) the language of the Mass has been changed and weakened. So many Catholics of this day and age would not have heard the phrase "bread of Angels". We talk about mass...instead of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or even just Holy Mass.
A couple of years ago, I was looking through a hymnal which is predominantly made up of traditional Catholic hymns. In the Latin version of one hymn, I thought I saw the word for pelican. I couldn't imagine what a pelican had to do with the Mass.
There is another tradition which has been dropped from the common Catholic lexicon...that of the pelican. The story goes that a pelican who is unable to provide for her nestlings will pierce her own breast with her beak and feed her blood to her babies. The Church in former times held the pelican up as a symbol for Christ!
Something else that has happened, is that many involved in Liturgy (the public prayer of the Church...simply put: Holy Mass) have been working hard to de-emphasise the role of Holy Eucharist and have tried to place it on par with the Word. The altar (of sacrifice) becomes a table (for that cozy shared meal. Hmmm. Lunch with God!). Of course Jesus himself refers to the meal...but anyone can make a meal. Only God can rise from the dead to make himself present to us in the flesh...in a meal that lasts for all eternity.
Now, I firmly believe that in traditional practice in the Church, the Word does not tend to be given the respect and veneration that is due it. But is it possible that Christ present in the Word can be of the import of Christ present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist? I believe not. There is too much that my humaness can take as distraction from the Word...the quality of the proclaimer, the particular words spoken, how well I am able to focus at a given time. But the Eucharist is self contained. Once it is confected it is what it is: Jesus. There is no way that can be detracted from.
During Easter, we've been celebrating God dying for us and rising again so that we may join him in Paradise. He did not leave us. He told us he wouldn't do that. We meet with him in a mystical and wonderful way every time we attend Holy Mass!
In these last days of the Easter Season, I've been reflecting on the Body of Christ.
Catholics believe Christ to be with us in four ways during a Mass.
Christ is present in the Word, as proclaimed by the priest or deacon. The priest or deacon (or on occasion a presiding Bishop) reads from the Gospels during every Mass. Lay people are not permitted this privilege during a celebration of the Mass, although they may read from other parts of Sacred Scripture.
Which Gospel is read at a particular Mass is not at the discretion of the presider or the lector. The Gospel for a particular Sunday or Weekday Mass is given in the Lectionary. This ensures that the faithful are exposed to the entire of the Gospels, not just those which may be favoured by a particular presider or lector.
Christ is also present in the assembled Faithful. We are the Body of Christ...the Mystical Body. This body includes the deceased faithful, both those believed (or known, in the case of canonized Saints)to be in Heaven and those still being prepared for Heaven's glory in Purgatory. It also included the Pope and Bishops in union with him, as the Magisterium of the Church Christ founded. We recognize Christ Himself as the head of this Mystical Body. We are the members: hands, feet, eyes, etc. to do God's continued work on earth.
At times during the Mass, Christ is also present in a particular way in the Priest. If one listens carefully to the prayers of the Mass, one can notice a difference in the person speaking. Sometimes the Priest will speak as part of the assembled Faithful, but sometimes he also speaks as Christ. During the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the priest repeats the words Jesus spoke to his disciples "Take this, all of you and eat (drink) This is my body, (blood) which will be given up for you". We believe that God, through the priest, becomes present during the Eucharist, under the appearance of bread or wine. Jesus is present again, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We are participating the sacrifice of Calvary. We are following Jesus' command to his followers in Scripture.
We are greatly gifted and privileged to be given such a gift from God! The bread of Angels becomes the Bread of Man!
In the past number of years (I suppose that rightly or wrongly, many would blame Vatican II again for this!) the language of the Mass has been changed and weakened. So many Catholics of this day and age would not have heard the phrase "bread of Angels". We talk about mass...instead of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or even just Holy Mass.
A couple of years ago, I was looking through a hymnal which is predominantly made up of traditional Catholic hymns. In the Latin version of one hymn, I thought I saw the word for pelican. I couldn't imagine what a pelican had to do with the Mass.
There is another tradition which has been dropped from the common Catholic lexicon...that of the pelican. The story goes that a pelican who is unable to provide for her nestlings will pierce her own breast with her beak and feed her blood to her babies. The Church in former times held the pelican up as a symbol for Christ!
Something else that has happened, is that many involved in Liturgy (the public prayer of the Church...simply put: Holy Mass) have been working hard to de-emphasise the role of Holy Eucharist and have tried to place it on par with the Word. The altar (of sacrifice) becomes a table (for that cozy shared meal. Hmmm. Lunch with God!). Of course Jesus himself refers to the meal...but anyone can make a meal. Only God can rise from the dead to make himself present to us in the flesh...in a meal that lasts for all eternity.
Now, I firmly believe that in traditional practice in the Church, the Word does not tend to be given the respect and veneration that is due it. But is it possible that Christ present in the Word can be of the import of Christ present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist? I believe not. There is too much that my humaness can take as distraction from the Word...the quality of the proclaimer, the particular words spoken, how well I am able to focus at a given time. But the Eucharist is self contained. Once it is confected it is what it is: Jesus. There is no way that can be detracted from.
During Easter, we've been celebrating God dying for us and rising again so that we may join him in Paradise. He did not leave us. He told us he wouldn't do that. We meet with him in a mystical and wonderful way every time we attend Holy Mass!
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