Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

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.

Editor’s Note: For the next 4 weeks, we will be considering the changes to the Liturgy as we prepare to implement the third edition of the Roman Missal into our worship on November 27, 2011.

Since the turn of the millennium, the English-speaking bishops of the world have been working to establish a new English translation of the prayers of the Mass used throughout the globe.  Beginning next month, on November 27^th to be exact, this new translation will be put into effect.  This weekend, and for the next four weekends, I would like to reflect with you on the ultimate goal of our weekly celebration, some the principles that guide our communal worship, some of the changes to the words and some of our gestures that we use in worship, the reasons for the changes, and finally my hopes for this new way of expressing what we believe as a community of our Catholic faith.

Toward the end of the last century, Pope John Paul II had noted throughout his extensive travels that many of the prayers he used in various English-speaking countries were not the same and, in fact, oftentimes did not reflect the common foundation that they were to have in the Latin prayers of the Universal Church.  Because ours is a universal faith, he charged English-speaking bishops with the task of evaluating their translations against the Latin, authoritative, original text and, once deficiencies were found, to correct them so that the prayers of every unique language would still reflect the common language of our faith, rooted in Scripture and tradition, striving to be common among all of the faithful.

So, for the last decade or so, the bishops have been doing just that.  In order to accomplish this great task, they ran into one key question whose answer would form the method by which they would consider translation.  When considering the translation of Latin to English, how should the translation be established, using dynamic equivalence, as was done after the Second Vatican Councilgiving us a fluid, interpretive sense of the original Latin; or using a formal equivalencegiving us a more strict, formal sense of the Latin words in their romanticism.  The latter was chosen, so that while our language would be more formal and maybe a bit strange to our contemporary ears, we would nevertheless be able draw relationship between our words and the words of Sacred Scripture, between our prayers and the faith that we profess…the beliefs we hold, and the divine romance in which we are invited to dwell.

And here, now, is one of the principles of liturgy: “what we pray should reflect what we believe.”  So, for example, our belief about the divine union of the Father and the Son has been expressed for over 1,600 years as “in the Father and with the Father, the Son is one and the same God”.  Now in our current English liturgy we state that Jesus is “one in being with the Father”.  This current translation appears correct; however, it lacks expression of the dynamic yet constant movement, correlation and ongoing romance of the two in their Oneness.  Our new translation will replace the phrase “one in being with Father” with the single word “consubstantial”, that is: being of the same substance, the same essence, the same nature…always and constant.  Now, I am among the first to admit, that is probably the most challenging change for us to hear and adopt…and while it doesn’t sound romantic, that one word reflects all of our faith the first two persons of the Holy Trinity.  So let’s take another example that might help drive this point home, that “what we pray should reflect what we actually believe”.

In the third Eucharistic Prayer, we currently say to God the Father, “from east to west / a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name”.  In the new translation, we will pray instead, “from the rising of the sun to its setting / a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.”  Now at first glance the two may be so similar that the difference escapes our notice, but in the current phrase, we express the belief that God is glorified in all places by our offering of a perfect sacrifice. Yet, we exist not merely in a particular place, but in a particular time we live, and move, and have our very being.  Because God exists beyond all time and space, yet joins us in our time and space, our prayer ought to reflect this reality, thus the new translation calls these truths to our lips: “from the rising of the sun to its setting…”, thus linking time and space together…the sun rises in the east and then moves to set in the west…both time and space are expressed as dynamic, moving realities that exist under God’s care, and it is within these combined realities that we offer maybe not perfect praise, but we strive to offer a pure sacrifice to God.  This new text actually presents nothing new for our consideration: it brings to mind the ancient Scriptures word for word, so that our imagination is drawn to a richer biblical image.

An additional principle of liturgical worship that we should consider is the principle that we are one when we gather as a body of the faithful.  Because Christ is one, and because we share in His being through baptism, each one of us then is called to unite ourselves with other members of His Body so that our expression of His presence among us is singular, is complete, is united.  Thus, although we are many members, we are all parts of the One whole and as we worship in union, our worship is then common, united, singular and collective.  Our gestures, our words, our postures…all of these are now shared with one another so that our offering of our whole selves as a singular body is then in deep concert…in other words, none of us stands out, none of us is greater or lesser…we are all in harmony, in common-union, in community as we engage in the corporateor bodilyworship of God.  So, we all follow our ritual gestures in common; we all do the same actions that are prescribed to give God a unified worship.  In another sense, our corporate, unified actions and words can now reflect a growing peace and authentic harmony that flows from God’s own life.  Called together from our distinct and wonderfully unique lives, the worship of God thus unites us as one singular people with one sole purpose: praising the glory of God.

And finally, it may serve us well to consider the means by which we achieve this great unity in worship, in giving glory to God as His singular and manifold people.  The Second Vatican Council guides us well.  In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, we are all presented with the challenge to participate in this divine worship to a very high degree.  We are not simply “to attend” or “go to Mass”; instead we are to engage ourselves in a participation in the liturgy that is full, active and conscious.  And here is where I believe our new translation could have a tremendous affect on us.

With changing vocabulary and once-common phrases; with new gestures of highlight and significance; of punctuated responses that evoke the heights of our imaginations; with all these, we will be in constant motionour minds, hearts, or bodies…or all three.  New words will bring to the imagination new images and insights; new movements will highlight things that have always been so important to our faith yet now seem dull, presumed or merely overlooked; new musical settings, chants and silence will now punctuate our active selves, along with our contemplative selves…drawing us, God-willing, into a deeper union with God and with the Church.

As a way of allowing this deeper, common-union…in order to foster full, active and conscious participation, I invite each of you take home with you, one of the booklets that have been placed in the pews.  A few thoughts: first, we designed these for our parish and we did so at a significant expense.  Still, because worship is so important in our Catholic life and faith, I want you to be able to “borrow” a copy for this week.  Please read it and consider the changes that will be taking place in one month’s time.  You’ll note on the back cover that it should not be taken from the Church…you can ignore that, but only for this week.  Please return it next Sunday as we’ll begin to refer to it during our future reflections on this new Roman Missal.

As you read through the notes presented inside, please consider one final principle and a most valuable one…one that I’ll reflect on next weekend.  When we accept well the invitation from God to worship and adore Him, we are asked to present ourselves as a sacrifice; in other words, to submit ourselves to something greater than ourselves.  This requires a kind of humility or docility…something that many of usmyself includedfind very difficult.  So, as you peruse this simple guide during the week, avoid the temptation to judge it or critique it for now…just simply absorb the information and the changes noted within.  And by all, means, let us leave this place nourished with Christ’s own presence, that we might be a people of great peace and joy this week and always.

‘I die the king’s good servant but God’s servant first.’ …these words were heard from the lips of St. Thomas More just before he was executed for defying King Henry VII. Henry demanded that Thomas sign the oath of supremacy, swearing his allegiance to the King over the Pope.  St. Thomas More remained obedient to God and the Church by refusing Henry’s request and thus was beheaded. At his execution, St. Thomas More stated, “I die the king’s good servant but God’s servant first.”

The story of St. Thomas More’s fidelity to God fits the Gospel well this weekend. The Pharisees and religious leaders tried to trick Jesus with a question. “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” If Jesus said yes, he would have been accused of idolatry, breaking Jewish law. If Jesus said no, he would have been accused of disobeying Roman law. They thought they had Jesus tricked until he drew their attention to the image on a coin and replied masterfully, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  In other words, give to Caesar what has his image, but give to God what has his image.

What has God’s image on it? In the book of Genesis, “God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ Give to God what is made in his image and likeness! Jesus reminded his audience that we are called to give God that which has been made in His image, our very lives, loving him with all our heart, mind and soul.

Certainly we are called to obey those God has put in authority over us. Thomas More was a faithful Chancellor to King Henry VIII. However, when Henry’s rules conflicted with God’s law, those rules became null and void. Perhaps this is why St. Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers and politicians. Civil leaders are reminded, especially Christians, that God’s law must reign supreme.

My brothers and sisters, during this month of October, we remember that we are called to respect & reverence all life from conception to natural death and educate this world so that our laws may reflect the Divine and the natural law. We continue to obey civil laws but in the end, may we all be able to say, “I die God’s faithful servant above all else!”