Clearly, from last week’s beginnings, Advent shows us not only that we are people of suffering (see our first reading from Isaiah), but we are also the blessed beneficiaries of God’s mercy and comfort (this week’s first reading is God’s response, “Give comfort to my people”).  But it’s easy for us to have missed such a message, tucked away in a few simple Scripture passages.  In fact, in today’s world, there are lots of distractions that can keep us from seeing, from hearing, from experiencing the blessings of our great God.

And so it is: so easy for us to let the season of Advent pass us by without truly preparing ourselves to celebrate our Lord’s birth. Yet, when we enter fully into this season, our hearts become filled with joy as we await the celebration of the birth of our Savior. The Advent season becomes, then, a time of joyful anticipation. We recognize with the eyes of faith that God, in his love for us, has sent his son into the world to bring us peace and joy. This is the true gift of this season: our heavenly Father’s gift of his Son for our salvation. In the midst of this season, we would be served well by recognizing that just as the Father has given us such a gift, so must we seek to give the gift of his love to one another.

Heaven and Hell (Anonymous)

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. “I will show you hell,” said the Lord, and they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious, but around the pot sat desperate people who were starving. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached into the pot, but because the handle of the spoon was longer than their arm, it was impossible to get the stew into their mouths. Their suffering was terrible.

“Now I will show you heaven,” said the Lord, and they went into another room identical to the first one. There was a similar pot of delicious stew and the people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well-nourished, talking and happy.

At first the man did not understand. “It is simple,” said the Lord. “You see, they have learned to feed each other.”

We have these Advent weeks to reflect on the love God has shared with us through the birth of his Son. We will discover through this holy season that our greatest joy will come when we seek to feed one another. Giving of ourselves for the sake of another is the example that our Lord has set for us. May we not allow this time to be only about the presents that are bought, given, received and sometimes returned, but rather, let us enter deeply into the gracious love we share in, when we receive our Lord on Christmas Day.

Happy Solemnity of Christ the King!  So many of us associate this solemnity and Christ’s Kingship with the kind of photo you see to the left: Christ victorious, in glory, accomplishing all that is supremely Good: establishing a Kingdom of Justice, Love & Peace…all the ideals our world and her various societies need.

Yet, as often as we might hope for a regal ruler of the Kingdom of God, we are quickly reminded that God stoops to accept & embrace all of our humanity, including jeering, suffering, and even death.  But as King, Christ rules even those darker aspects of our lives.  A blessed feast to you.

(The first photo is taken from a seminary in Ottawa, while the second photo is of the main crucifix of the cathedral in Lucca, Italy)

For the last few weeks, we’ve been considering the various effects we will experience as we implement the third edition of the Roman Missal next weekend.

From principles, we began to consider practical adjustments last Sunday.  Today, I’d like to continue our reflections beginning with the Lord’s Prayer.  Already we’ve considered our posture and the common gesture of hands folded in prayer during our liturgy whenever we are standing.  In fact, once we stand for the Lord’s Prayer, we will remain standing for quite some time as the liturgy flows and peaks.

Take a moment to recall what the purpose of liturgy is.  While worship of God is the reason for our prayer, liturgy is the way we demonstrate our faith in a visible, tangible way; it’s through ritual that we express together what we believe.  When we celebrate the liturgy then, especially the Eucharist (or ‘Mass’), we express what we believe in word and song and action…together, in unison and in unity.

Now I realize that over the last 45 years, we’ve been attempting to express this common unity in word and song and action.  For those who are a little older, you’ll easily remember that when you used to go to Mass, the primary work of the liturgy was done by the priest: you weren’t really encouraged to fully, actively and consciously participate.  Instead, you would go to confession or pray the rosary or perform a novena all while the priest was doing the work of the liturgy.  It was as if there were two worlds: the world of the sanctuary and the world outside the sanctuary.  But with Vatican II’s renewal of the liturgy, it was desire of the Church that each and every believer participate most fully in the prayer & ritual of the Mass.  We were asked to set aside our own particular & private devotions in order to take up the one, universal ritualized liturgy of the Church together.  This is one of the many reasons why we instituted lectors and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, why we have modified the ministry of usher to encompass all of the various aspects of hospitality.  And throughout the last 45 years, we have been growing toward that full, active, conscious participation in the heavenly liturgy which comes into our midst and the midst of the universal church.  Thus as we enter into the liturgy, we enter into this one, common, unified worship of God that is offered by the entire Church, wherever and whenever she worships.

So, moving into the Communion Rite, let’s recall some of our gestures as well as consider a new posture.  For the reception of Holy Communion, one first needs to be properly disposed to receive the Lord’s Body & Blood.  Each personaccording to their abilitythen approaches the sanctuary with hands folded in prayer.  In unison and with little pageantry, the faithful form an ordered procession.  At the present time, most people make a profound bow as they stand immediately in front of the minister.  There have been some close calls over the last few years as people have bowed and in the process have knocked the paten or bowl containing the Eucharist.  So, it is my hope that we will modify this only slightly:  as you are approaching the Communion Minister and there remains one person between you and the minister, please make your profound bow at that time.  Once you have bowed, you then take another step or two toward the minister in order to receive.  The minister will continue to say, “the Body of Christ” to which you properly respond, “Amen.”  Now, there are two ways you might choose to receive the Body of Christ: either on your tongue or on your hand.  In either case, recall that you are “receiving” the Lord.  Here, we experience a number of varied ways people act: they either grab for the host, or they hold their hands at an angle, or they forget to hold their hands out at all; or, if on the tongue, they do not hold their head up so that we can actually see where to place the host, or they only open their mouth a bit and do not hold out their tongue, or they may hold their head and tongue steady up until the last moment and then lunge forward…clearly not the cleanliest manner.

So, if you are receiving on the hand, after saying “Amen,” simply hold your hands straight out and flat, with the left hand atop the right.  The minister can then place the host on your left hand and with your right hand, you then transfer the host immediately, from your hand to your tongue.  If you are “a south paw”, simply reverse the hands.  You are then invited to approach the minister of the Precious Blood.  If you receive the Body of Christ on your tongue, after saying “Amen,” simply hold your head up, open wide your mouth and lay out your tongue…this will allow the minister to share Holy Communion with you in a most reverent fashion.  You, too, are then invited to share in the Blood of Christ.

Again, while there is still one person in between you and the minister, make your profound bow then…and then after saying “Amen” you may grasp the chalice and consume the Precious Blood…after which you may procession back to your seat.  Please note well: I did not say you may process out into the parking lot!  No, the liturgy is not fulfilled quite yet, there is still work that God has yet to do for us…and we have yet to participate.

A simple notation here is worthwhile: when you receive either the Body of Christ from the paten, or the Blood of Christ from the chalice, you are actually and truly receiving both the Body & Blood of Christ in either species.  Practically speaking, for those who cannot partake of the physical presence within the sacred wine or the sacred, wheat host, please know that if you receive only one of the sacred specieseither the Body of Christ within the element of bread or the Blood of Christ within the element of wineyou are actually partaking of both divine realities, the Body and the Blood of Christ.

Here is introduced one of the more drastic modifications that we will adopt in our parish beginning next week.  Once you return to your place, please do not kneel or sit yet.  Instead, honor well the principle of “common-unity” and continue to pray fervently for all others who are still approaching for Holy Communion.  Once the last person has received Holy Communion, all are then encouraged to kneel together, offering sublime prayers of thanksgiving to God.  Once the tabernacle has been sealed, only then may we all be seated together.

In this weekend’s bulletin, there is a very short reflection that further highlights the reasons behind our common gestures and postures during the Communion Rite…if you have any doubts or you’re not sure you have understood some of these instructions, please read the bulletin insert this weekend…it’s fairly brief.

After some time for silent prayer, we are invited to stand together for our Prayer after Communion, the blessing and the dismissal.  Please keep in mind, that the dismissal is God’s sending forth for each of us…and, after the presider has recessed, all are invited to either offer a private prayer of thanks, remain in the Church for any private devotions or to proceed into the world to be that leaven which hopes to raise all people to the glory of the Father.  Yes, this is the point at which you are encouraged to leave this place rejoicing.

 

So, now, this has been a lot, I know.  You’ve been very attentive and considerate these few weeks as we’ve delved into the third edition of the Roman Missal.  Thank you for allowing me your attention, your considerations, and your goodwill.  I only have three brief caveats:

1.        As much as we will strive for greater common-union within the Universal Church located here in Clinton Heights, utilizing strong liturgical principles: be aware that not every parish is going to do exactly as I have been describing.  No surprise there, huh?  But rest assured, that we have to presume that every parish, and every Catholic, will be doing their very best to be faithful to the Church’s liturgy;

2.        There really is no need for us to act as though we’ve been deputized to become “liturgical police”.  Instead, we’ve been thoroughly invited to unite our minds and hearts, our words and gestures and postures.  But there are sometimes circumstances that people find themselves in, from which they are unable to participate in common postures or gestures.  That’s alright…do the best you can.  What is not alright is when someone might choose to actively disagree with our worship, to stubbornly set themselves outside of communion with the worshipping body.  Still, our best response will always be one of charity and acceptance of whomever comes to be with us…however they come to be with us.  There’s never a need, however, for us to ‘police’ the liturgy.

3.        Be patient over the next several weeks, months and even years.  This is all so new to every one of us…myself very much included!

• Be patient with me as I work very hard to lead our common prayer: I guarantee you I will make mistakes and I’ll stumble across new words and phrases for months to come.
• Be patient with those around you: we all learn and adapt at different speeds and in different ways…simply be accepting of the best efforts of all those around you.
• And by all means, be patient with yourself.  You may find that the comfort of prayer might escape you for a few weeks, or you may become distracted by all the modifications.  That’s natural, so expect it.  And when it comes, welcome that challenge, and simply keep trying to enter more fully, actively and consciously into the ritual & liturgy of the Church…all while God Himself comes to meet us and dwell within & among us!

Thank you again; God bless you and love you always.

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been considering some essential principles that exist to guide our worship as a community of faith, principles such as common-unity in our words of faith, and the principle of open submission to communal, universal worship instead of merely engaging in our own private devotion.  One additional instruction should govern our rituals: if an element (be it a gesture or posture or words) is not provided for by the liturgy, it should not be introduced.  When I was in seminary and as transitional deacons we were to practice celebrating Mass, there were times when a student would make a gesture that was not called for (for example, making the sign of the cross over the chalice prior to co-mingling the Body & Blood of Christa former practice, but one that was discontinued with the second edition of the Roman Missal).  When asked why he was doing it, the student would inevitably say that he had seen it done that way before.  Our professors were quick to correct us, reminding us that what is provided for by the liturgy is more than adequate for our spiritual healthwe need not and should not remove or introduce any elements whatsoever that were outside of the liturgy and its goal.

A further illustration: in one of our parishes outside of downtown Albany, there is a local practice of having everyone present recite the doxological prayer, “Through Him, With Him, In Him…”.  While that might sound very nice and inclusive, it still however is in direct opposition to the Church’s liturgy: it is the role of the priest presider to proclaim this summation of our redemptive, Eucharistic faith, to which all those present are invited to respond with full, active and conscious faith, “Amen”.

Practically speaking, this will affect us most dramatically when we consider our gesture during the Lord’s Prayer.  While sociologically and/or psychologically there may be just reasons for us to take on a posture of open arms during “the Our Father”, maybe seen as a gesture of openness and submission, it is however not what the Church is asking of us as participants.  Instead, united under the care of the priest presider as shepherd, the faithful are invited to unite their words with the one, common prayer Christ shares with us…without hands raised.  It is fitting for the presider to maintain his particular gesture of orans, simply because he continues to gather and offer all of the prayer of this united people during worship.

Now this may not sound like a terribly difficult modification to our current practice; however, realize that for some, this will be a significant challenge.  Again, I invite you consider opening yourself up to the greatest degree when we humbly gather in God’s presence during our celebrations of Mass.  In the same vain, I would offer to you that I am not making up or fabricating what the Church is asking of each one of us: this is simply, and wholly, the universal prayer of the universal Church.  For us to be in deeper communion throughout the Church, it is best signified by our universal postures, gestures and words.

So to carry these principles into our worship, let’s take a few moments today to consider how our liturgy will take shape beginning in 2 weeks time.

From the moment we begin to gather, we’re invited into this Sacred Space to renew our friendship with one another and with God.  We bless ourselves with holy water, we may then continue to greet one another and share our care and our love with one another.  We move toward a pew or seat, and we genuflect to the tabernacle and/or make a profound bow to the altar.  We may kneel for a few moments as we gather our thoughts and prayers and intentions.  Our Cantor (who will also take on the role of “commentator” or director of worship during our ritual) will introduce the liturgy with words of welcome and reflection (and, if necessary, brief announcements).

After a few moments of settling our spirits into our ritual, we are invited to stand for our introductory rites.  As we stand, the default posture we usually maintain is one of hands folded in prayer.  Consider how you will stand: will it be an attentive posture, or will it be one of exhaustion or distraction or boredom?  will you slouch or will you stand erect, offering honor to the person of Christ who is in our midst?  Finally, throughout these introductory rites, I invite you again to engage yourself fully in the prayer and overall ritual: sing to the best of your ability, respond with one voice, togethernot racing ahead of others, but looking to maintain an actual ‘single prayer’ with your sisters and brothers.  If the penitential rite calls for us to do so, strike your breast once as we recall our own fault.  And by all means, be willing to offer a full voice to our acclamations, like “And with your spirit” and “Amen”.

Our lectors (and, by the way, our Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist…at the appropriate times)as they approach the sanctuary, will make a profound bow at their waist, to signify not only the holy space that they are approaching, but also to honor the altar of sacrifice where Christ will come to feed us with His Body and Blood.  As we hear the Word of God proclaimed in our assembly, we are seated, but again, with an attentive posture, ready to accept this Word as “a living Word”, breathed into our midst and our very selves.  Our responsorial is exactly that, our living response to the saving word that has been proclaimed in our hearing.

For the gospel acclamation, again we rise and sing with full voice.  We listen attentively and actively to the gospel proclaimed, and we are seated for the homily.  (now, if you needed a time to fall asleep for a bit, I might suggest that this is a perfect time!)

After the homily, we generally rise to proclaim our faith.  Again, we join in a universal truth that is expressed now in our midst as a single profession, our voices in good cadence together.  After this, we are then invited to formulate our own particular, local prayers.  During this rite, it is so appropriate for us to pray for our own particular intentions all while offering our greater, communal intentions for the Church and the world…and all our inhabitants.  At the conclusion of this prayer, we are then seated as the offertory is received and the altar is prepared.

And thus begins our most immediate preparation for the implementation of the new Roman Missal in just two weeks.  Next week, we’ll continue to consider the second half of our ritual worship and further adjustments to our words, our postures and our gestures.

Finally, please be most open to modifications, to adjustments and to changes.  If we can only relax in the blessed work of our Saving God, only then can we be truly engaged in, and affected by, the great and awesome acts of God in our celebrations of the Sacred Liturgy, the Mass.

Let us be a people of great peace and joy this week and always.

 

Last weekend, we began to consider as a worshipping community the changes that will take place within our liturgies beginning November 27^th, as we implement the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.  We considered some historical developments over the last fifty-or-so years as English was introduced into the liturgy.  And, most importantly, we began to consider certain liturgical principles that should guide our common prayer, principles like, “what we pray should reflect what we believe” and the principle of unity when we gather for public worship.  This second principle then prompted us to consider how we might approach the liturgy, at least from this moment forward.

Recall, if you will, our reflections on common unity.  Among them, we acknowledged that each one of us as individuals has been called and gathered together, asked to leave aside our own private ways of praying and devoting ourselves to God, and to embrace whole-heartedly the public, formal, ritualized, liturgical prayer of the One, United, Mystical Body of Christ.  This might sound simple enough, but allow St. Ignatius of Antioch (in his letter to the Magnesians) to put some practical application to this principle.  He writes:

“…I exhort you to strive to do all things in harmony with God: the bishop is to preside in the place of God, while the presbyters are to function as the council of the Apostles….  Let there be nothing among you tending to divide you, but be united with the bishop and those who presideserving at once as a pattern and as a lesson of incorruptibility.  Neither must you undertake anything without the bishop and the presbyters; nor must you attempt to convince yourselves that anything you do on your own account is acceptable.  No; at your meetings there must be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope in love, in joy that is flawless, that is Jesus Christ who stands supreme.”

And so, comes to our attention, the need to reflect for a few moments on our overall disposition during the liturgy.  These reflections will not be easy: for, most if not all of us, our Western & American sensibilities prompt us to lay claim to, and to stringently defend an individualism expressed in each one’s own personal creativity, individual projections of our own private ideals, ‘my rights’ often at the expense of ‘my obligations or duties to others’.  But as we consider such sentiments, it becomes clear that the person being served by such statements is “me, myself and I” and there is much less room in such a mindset for “the Other”, a community, or even God Himself.  No, if we maintain such a self-centered ideology then its fulfillment will be our undoing: for the Church is not a grouping of scattered individuals looking for their own benefit or service, but rather the Church is a communion of particular women and men called together by God to embody His Voice, His Being and to worship, thank and entreat God’s continued blessings.

And so I would propose that our disposition throughout our liturgical life must be a disposition of openness and submission, of surrender and honest acknowledgment, of docility and humility.

 

When we are all individually approaching Mass, we come with our own particular burdens and fears, and with our hopes and joys.  We come with our individual intentions and prayers…and we all bring them into this one, singular yet united prayer of the Church.  And one of the first things we ought to acknowledgeeach and every one of uswe must acknowledge that something happens at Mass.  It’s not a something of our own contriving or manufacturing or producing…it’s no theater where we’re playing or performing; no, it’s something that God Himself does…He acts!  He acts now to save us: God is concentrating the entirety of His saving love for the world into the ritual action and words of our liturgy.  And in the face of such awesome, divine action, what might be our response?

We could require God to work in our own way.  We might expect and demand that God’s acting is done according to our own particular wants or desires, to what keeps us comfy & cozy.  We might demand that God do or say nothing that causes us any discomfort.  But, I propose that, these kinds of responses will only keep a distance between us and the God of love and salvation.  I would venture to say that such expectations and demands would also alienate us from a God who wants so desperately to reveal Himself more deeply & intimately to us, yet who is kept at bay and is only allowed to act in ways that we want to control, that we might contrive and manipulate…all in keeping with our frail human nature, prone to avoid hurt or discomfort, but all at the cost of God’s intimate drawing nearer to us.

So what, then, might our response be to God’s awesome action?  If we were simply to trust God and submit ourselves to His action, we might then become the wiser, the stronger, the more faith-filled, the more charitable, the more able…to respond in kind to the generosity of God by then adopting His Holy Spirit into our hearts.  Yes, this seems a more rewarding experience of the Sacred Liturgy than if we were to attempt to control God’s own life in our own.

And if our response is then one of submission, we will be most open to experience the “ever newness” of our faith.  On the other hand, if we come to Mass thinking that we have the right to have it be meaningful (or entertaining or engaging) in ways that we define, then that would remove all possibility of receiving the Massthe Sacred Liturgyas a gift from another, from God.  But He defines it, it is God’s initiative, God’s action…we are humble participants and recipients.  Here, then, we can begin to see that the Sacred Liturgy, the ritual, takes us outside of our own selves and beyond ourselves…its now an engagement of us with God where God’s action can then be adopted as our own communal action.

Yes, if we are open and we submit ourselves to Him, God is then able to entice us with His promise of love; He can then touch our hearts in new ways, encourage us by His spiritual gifts, invite usthrough His Sonto enter into His own divine life most fully.

So far, this probably doesn’t sound too bad!  It’s got lots of promise and lots of possibility…so you ask: what does it cost?  It costs us our surrender and our humility.  It will require us to begin to see ourselves anew.  Let me draw on a few practical examples of specific elements in the revised Roman Missal.

Currently, as we recite the Profession of Faith, you may have noticed that I make a profound bow (at the waist) when we mention that Christ becomes incarnate of the Virgin Mary.  That’s an abasement of sorts.  All of us will begin to adopt that gesture within the next few weeks.  Clearly we all can recall the many images from Sacred Scripture when the holy ones oftentimes are bowing, kneeling, or prostrating themselves in the presence of God or even at the mention of His name.  As the Church is Onethroughout time and spacewe join with them in this ritual gesture.

And submitting ourselves to a greater authority is nothing out of the ordinary in our ritual is it?  Recall the gesture each of us makes when we begin any form of prayer.  We mark ourselves with the Sign of the Cross.  In that simple gesture, a profound statement is being uttered: “I submit myself under the Cross of Christ”.  At each baptism that we celebrate, we hear said that the sign of the Cross on the newborn’s forehead claims them for Christ.  They are not to be their own master, but rather we are all made low, so that we might hear the invitation to follow the voice, call & love of our Eternal Shepherd…in humility, openness, docility & trust.

Some of you who are a bit older might recall striking your breast several times throughout Mass as a sign of your fault or sinfulness or weakness.  In a very simple gesture of self-mortification, the goal was to deny our own selfish desires and adopt the desire & spirit of Christ, who humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death for us.  This gesture in today’s ritual is preserved but a few times and only for the presider.  In a few weeks, we’ll restore that simple, yet humbling gesture during the penitential rite.

In each of these simple examples, I’m hopeful that each of us will be most open to modifications, to adjustments and to changes.  If we can only relax in the blessed work of our Saving God, only then can we be truly engaged in, and affected by, the great and awesome acts of God in our celebrations of the Sacred Liturgy, the Mass.   Let us be a people of great peace and joy this week and always.