Matthew 8:8

 Matthew 8:8

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

Just before we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we remember and speak the words of Matthew 8:8. This scripture passage reminds us that we have a need for humility and trust before Christ.  We should not feel entitled to the Eucharist, because none of us deserve it.

We are not worthy to receive the Eucharist.  Nothing we could say or do could make us deserve it.  Ultimately, God is holy, and we are weak sinners, and by pure justice, He should have nothing to do with us.  But He comes to us anyway in the Eucharist.  

These words that we say together come straight from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 8:8), and the story of the centurion who comes to Jesus asking healing for his servant.  He is not a Jew.  He does not even seem to be a follower of Jesus.  He has no right to Jesus’ healing at all, but he has great faith and humility, and he begs the Lord to heal his servant.

In His infinite mercy, Jesus heals our souls.  We are not worthy, but Christ makes us worthy to receive Him.

H/T: Michael Grosch

How Christ Said the First Mass (Foretold in the Temple) by Fr. James Meagher

 Excerpt from:

How Christ Said the First Mass

by

Fr. James Meagher

HOW THE MASS WAS FORETOLD IN THE TEMPLE.

I.— THE SIGNS, SYMBOLS, AND CEREMONIES OF THE MASS IN THE TEMPLE.

The Catholic Church, its divisions of porch, nave, and sanctuary, its ornaments, vestments, and ceremonial, came from the Jewish Temple and the synagogue of the time of Christ.

The Passover service was modeled on the Temple worship. Thus the Last Supper combined in one ceremonial the patriarchal worship, the tabernacle, the

Temple, the synagogue, all united in one feast the Hebrews called the Passover, which Christ fulfilled and changed into the Mass. Let us therefore see first the

Temple, its divisions, its rites, its ceremonies, and its sacramentals, that we may better understand the ceremonies Christ followed when he said the first Mass.

To teach truth by visible objects is an instinct of our nature. Words, spoken or printed, represent ideas. But we love to show our thoughts by actions. Even animals

make-believe a fight in play ; with her doll the girl images her motherly instinct ; boys amuse themselves with toys; men speak in figure, type, parable; tone of voice, shade word meanings, show hate, anger, fear or sorrow, and smile, tear, and sob tell our feelings.

We love to see the actor in the play represent, not himself but a celebrated personage. Therefore, before the dawn of history, the theater was found in civilized lands, where on its stage tragedy, comedy, and history were imaged before delighted audiences.

God made use of these representative instincts through which to foretell the future Tragedy of Calvary, to prophesy the Last Supper and the Mass. This was the best

way to teach mankind, in that age when Adam's children were ignorant, when words were few, when language was hardly formed, when ideas were crude, when books were unknown, when few could read or write.

From the gates of Eden the Redeemer was revealed, the woman's Seed who was to come and conquer the serpent-demon who had enslaved mankind. But how was the

revelation to be handed down in that age of the childhood of our race ? God made use of this representative instinct of our nature, and told the life of the foretold Christ in the ceremonial of sacrifice, in the rites of the tabernacle, and in the ceremonies of the Temple. We will, therefore, first see the Temple, its ceremonies, for these we will later find in the Last Supper.

To Jew and unbeliever the Temple has ever been a riddle, and they have written countless books to explain its mysteries. The Catholic Church alone has the key

which unlocks the mysteries of that maze of vast bewildering building, with its Holy of Holies, Holies, Priests' Court, Court of Israel, Women's Court, Chel, Choi,

Cloisters, some roofed, others open to the sky, with various chambers, each at the time of Christ having its own proper use.

The wonderful building, with its rites and ceremonies, was a divine poem written by God to reveal present, past and future. In the past, the Jew saw God his Creator,

mankind in original innocence, the Temptation and the Fall, the condemnation on our race, woman's deeper wound, the promise of the woman's Seed, sinners

drowned when the world was baptized by the flood, the call of Abraham, the blessing on his race, the revelation given the Hebrews, their delivery from Egyptian slavery, the manna their food for forty years, their miraculous preservation and struggles, the whole world plunged into darkest idolatry, the glory of their judges, and the splendors of David and Solomon.

The Temple was the very heart and soul of the Jewish Church, in which alone Jehovah was then adored in days of deepest paganism. But beyond, deep into the future, the Temple story and worship carried their minds, down to the days of Christ, to his Last Supper, to his atrocious death, to the New Testament, to the Catholic Church * with her Pontiff, her bishops, her priests, her sacraments and her millions of redeemed souls.*

The Temple and its vast ceremonial formed a book within and without written by God's eternal hand, not in dead lifeless letters as man writes, but in warm, living

signs, symbols, types and figures. Amid the multitudes of Temple emblems, let us take those relating to our subject, and read the lessons of this Divine Poem, this

heavenly poetry, this drama of Calvary, transcendent above all others — God its author here taught the future death of the only Begotten Son.^

The Holy of Holies closed by a veil represented heaven closed to mankind because of the sin of our first parents. The Holies with its glittering golden altar and walls foretold the church building — especially our sanctuary with its altar on which now the Mass is offered. The Courts with the ministering priests, the sacrificed victims, pre- figured the Jewish priests who later were to kill the Saviour.

The words then of God's wonderful book had two meanings : — one, what the objects showed in themselves; this now alone the Jew can see ; and the other meant the God-Man, the Church, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and this the Christian with his faith can see. Patriarch, prophet, the holy ones of Israel, filled with faith of the foretold Messiah saw this sacred drama of the future, and read between the lines and behind the objects the story of the redemption of mankind ; thus they walked in the faith, hope and love of Him who was to be born of their race. Thus the holy ones of old saved their souls.

Cenacle and church building were modeled after the Temple. We will therefore give a rapid glance over this great building, famed in all the earth, visited so often by

the Lord, itself being copied from the tabernacle.

> S. Augustine, De civit. Dei, L. xviii. c. 48.

» S. Augustine, In Epist. Joan, ad Parthos, Tracts 11, n. 111.

» S. Thomas, Sum. Theo. I. a, See 102 ; S. Augustine, The Fathers, etc.

All or Nothing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpdMiMO0itM

Shhhhh!!!

Everything has gotten louder. Have you noticed?  I especially ask this question of others who have been around this planet for  40+ years.  You may dimly remember a day when every waking moment did not contain the possibility of electronic entertainment at the touch of a button, when certain places were special and part of that distinction meant that they were quiet.

When I was a kid and our family went out to dinner (a rare treat) -- the restaurant was quiet. We put on nice clothes and we were  . . . quiet. Everyone could hear each other, there was no loud music blasting.
Even the decour was, well, quiet.

Around the late 70s or early 80s I discovered Chile's Restaurant. It was eclectic, it was loud, it was energetic and sort of irreverent in a fun, young way. Boots, canoes, wash tubs and antlers all hung from some hook on the wall or even from the ceiling itself. It was "cool," mostly because it was unique.

OK - enough already! Here we are almost 30 years later and I, personally, am saturated with and tired of this. It has become the well-worn norm, this cookie cutter style in restaurants. For heaven's sake, it is more quiet in a Starbucks --- people talk in normal voices there. If only Starbucks did not match contributions to Planned Parenthood -- I would be a steady customer -- for the civility and quiet.

I think, as a society, we have become louder. Our every waking moment is filled with some kind of noise.  This is all the more reason that I long for the quiet church I remember from my childhood!  --- Sorry, I didn't mean to shout!

I just read a post by Pat Archbold on this very subject. I must say that it is wonderful to know I am not alone in this quest for respectful, contemplative, nourishing silence. His post has a great title, "For the Love of God -- Shut Up!" Here are some of the things he says -- you should read the whole article if you find you are like-minded in this. :-)

He notes that these days energetic and talkative parishioners fill the open sanctuary, greeting one another with enthusiasm. Some would say, "Ah, but this fosters community."
I would say I agree with Bishop Murphy of Rockville Centre when he stated, 

This interferes with the ability of the people to enter into the liturgy and have the kind of active participation that the Second Vatican Council calls for.

Now, the good Bishop was also referring to the problem of having the tabernacle in a separate area than the nave of the church. That is a whole other post just waiting to be written. I certainly agree wih him on that point, also.
But back to the subject of "quiet" and Pat's comments.

That real active participation can be fostered by silence, glorious and heavenly silence. 

Further, there are plenty of other times to foster community, silence is much rarer indeed.  This manic need to be moving and talking in the misguided notion that it is active participation is, well, misguided.
Bishop Murphy had it right.  He . . . . began an education campaign on the value of silence and her constant companion, reverence.

This was the message (paraphrased) in a Church Bulletin at Pat's parish,

“If the Church is not on fire, you should not be talking.”  Amen.

So to those who still think that cacophony equals community, I say one thing.  For the love of God, shut up.

EWTN Live - The Biblical Story of the Mass - Fr. Pacwa, SJ w Tom Nash and Fr. Wade - 09-15-2010

The Lamb's Supper (and audio interview)

If I have not recommended this book before then shame on me! The Lamb's Supper is an amazing book by Scott Hahn. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Scott Hahn (about the Early Church Fathers)

Q: In The Lamb’s Supper, you described your first encounter with the Holy Eucharist. Could you tell us the experience and what the Early Christians got to do with it?

A: I had been studying the writings of the Fathers, and there I’d found countless references to “the liturgy,” “the Eucharist,” “the sacrifice.” For those first Christians, the Bible — the book I loved above all — was incomprehensible apart from the event that today’s Catholics called “the Mass.” Well, I’d had no experience of liturgy. So I persuaded myself to go and see, as a sort of academic exercise.
As the Mass moved on, I began to notice how biblical it was. One line was from Isaiah, another from the Psalms, another from Paul. The experience was overwhelming. Then I saw the priest raise the host, and I felt a prayer surge from my heart in a whisper: “My Lord and my God. That’s really You!”

A wonderful additional resource:
Audio clips of another interview -- Mike Aquilina interviews Scott Hahn.
If you don't know much about the Mass, or feel like you "just don't get anything out of it," you should definitely read The Lamb's Supper and listen to these. And, let me add that if you already LOVE the Mass -- I humbly offer the same advice!  :-)

ls01.mp3

ls02.mp3

ls03.mp3

ls04.mp3

ls05.mp3

ls06.mp3

ls07.mp3

ls08.mp3

ls09.mp3

ls10.mp3

ls11.mp3

ls12.mp3

ls13.mp3

SOURCES:
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
and
Sonitus Sanctus
Sonitus Sanctus is dedicated to offering free orthodox Catholic audio.
"Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ." Rom 10:17 (DRV)

The Upcoming New CORRECTED Translation

Father Z found this note about the new translation of the Roman Missal at SERVIAM.
Here is the original post.
Here is his article copied and pasted because it is definitely a "keeper" for my Catholic Notebook.
Father Z uses bolding for his points od emphases and red for his comments:

I would like to propose a change in our “default” reference to the upcoming translation changes to the Roman Missal.

At the moment there are three camps:  [1] There is the “It’s About Time” camp (of which I am a card-carrying member) and there is [2] the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Seeking to Undermine the Glorious Empowering Liturgical Reforms of the Last Forty Years” camp, of which I am not.  I suspect that each of these camps represent about 10% of Catholics.  In between, there are 80% who currently belong to [3] the “What New Translation?” camp.  In political circles, these are called “swing voters.”

We are currently referring to the upcoming translations as “new.”  While accurate, this reference is also editorially neutral. [Interesting.]  As most people don’t know there is anything wrong with the current translations, their default position will likely be “why hassle me with a change where none is needed?”  They might also conclude that the original prayers were simply re-written by Pope Benedict to reflect his conservative agenda.  Then we are put in a defensive position from square one.

I suggest our default reference be “corrected translation” or “new corrected translation.”  By adding the word “corrected” to all references, we teach that the original translations were defective and that this was a repair, not the promotion of an agenda.  We communicate the the real reasons for the change from the outset, not in defense against those on the left who ARE promoting an agenda.

Just for the record I am in the "It's About Time" camp. :-)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Holding hands during The Lord's Prayer isn't proscribed in the rubrics.

WARNING - PERSONAL OPINION TO FOLLOW -

I would definitely prefer not to hold hands during the "Our Father."
I feel this way for a few reasons. From least important to most important:

• It just feels strange to me. 

• I am thinking too much about "holding hands" and not the prayer. 

Is my hand cold?  Is my hand sweating? Didn't this person just sneeze and then swipe at their nose with this hand? Why don't people at least "hold hands" instead of giving me a limp rag to hold? This guy's hand is huge! This kid's hand is sticky. I feel like I am at an AA meeting or a Girl Scout sing-along. Do I give the little squeeze before I let go here? Will they notice if I wipe my hand off because it is now all wet with perspiration.

• But mostly I do not like to hold hands during Mass because of a theological argument that Pope Benedict XVI made in his book, Spirit of the Liturgy. 

The point of holding hands is a sign of community and communion. Since this is the case, it is a misplaced sign, because we aren't truly in communion until we have exchanged the sign of peace.  This is why Communion happens after the Sign of Peace, because it is the sign of communion par excellence.

Applause at Church

Before Benedict XVI became pope he wrote the following warning about making the Mass into entertainment:

"Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation."

(Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy).

Consubstantial With (not -"One in Being With")

By Russell Shaw (over @ OSV Daily Take)

Among Catholics generally, the realization has begun to sink in that we’ll soon receive and in due course start using a new English translation of the Mass. A few people have known that for a long time, and among them reactions are of two kinds: eager anticipation on the part of some, dissatisfaction verging on rejection on the part of others. It’s instructive to consider the pros and cons of this disagreement.

For some of the unhappy ones the source of their discontent appears to reside at least partly in nostalgia. The English translations currently in use remind them of the good old days after Vatican Council II, when they were young and everything seemed possible. In the new translations they claim to see an undoing of Vatican II and a rolling back of liturgical reform.

Whatever else might be said of this view, the people who feel like that have had their shot at reforming the liturgy for the last 40 years. Now it’s somebody else’s turn. Fair’s fair, after all.

A more serious complaint is that the new English version is in some particulars too difficult for people to understand. An example frequently cited is the use of the word “consubstantial.” So, precisely because it comes up so often in this discussion, let’s take a moment to consider the great “consubstantial” debate.

The issue arises in the Nicene Creed, where the Latin text declares that Jesus Christ, Son of God, is “consubstantialem Patri.” In the English translation now in use this is rendered as “one in Being with the Father.” In the new version, it becomes “consubstantial with.” No contest, the critics say. Who knows what “consubstantial with” means? “One in Being” is better because it’s nice and clear.

But hold on. “One in Being” is not as clear as it seems. Nor, upon examination, is it even correct.

We are dealing here with the language of metaphysics — appropriately so, since this is a creed, a solemn statement of the content of faith in which it’s necessary that the formulations be precise. By this standard, the current “one in Being with” fails the test.

For one thing, the supposed clarity of “Being” is delusory. Being as we understand it — the being of ourselves and other created things — is only an analogical participation in the subsistent being of God. Yet the translation’s non-specific and undifferentiated application of the word “being” to God sweeps this huge difference aside. We get the appearance of clarity at the expense of accuracy, and in a creed that won’t do.

For another thing, the current translation to the contrary notwithstanding, “being” and “substance” aren’t the same thing. Being means “existence.” And while one trembles at the challenge of trying to say in a few words what “substance” means as a term in metaphysics, it signifies something like the unique, singular identity of a thing.

Is “consubstantial” mysterious? Certainly. The creed is speaking of no less a mystery than the Trinity — three Persons in one God — and affirming that the Second Person, the Son, while distinct, nevertheless is one with the First Person, the Father, in the unique, singular identity of God. In short, “consubstantial with the Father” is correct whereas “one in Being with the Father” is not.

One trusts that the translators of the new translation of the Mass have gone through an analytical process similar to this in making the many decisions any translation involves. If so, the new version will be a considerable improvement over the old.

SOURCE:
Our Sunday Visitor - Russell Shaw is an OSV contributing editor
http://www.osvdailytake.com/2010/03/making-case-for-consubstantial.html

Hiding the Alleluia During Lent

Question: Why Don't Roman Catholics Sing the Alleluia During Lent?

 

Answer:
Throughout the liturgical year, the Catholic Church makes certain changes to the Mass to reflect the liturgical season. Next to the change in the color of the priest's vestments, the absence of the Alleluia during Lent is probably the most obvious.

The Meaning of the Alleluia

The Alleluia comes to us from Hebrew, and it means "praise Yahweh." Traditionally, it has been seen as the chief term of praise of the choirs of angels, as they worship around the throne of God in Heaven. It is, therefore, a term of great joy, and our use of the Alleluia during Mass is a way of participating in the angels' worship. It is also a reminder that the Kingdom of Heaven is already established on earth, in the form of the Church, and that our participation in Mass is a participation in Heaven.

Our Lenten Exile

During Lent, however, our focus is on the Kingdom coming, not on the Kingdom having come. The readings in the Masses for Lent and in the Liturgy of the Hours focus heavily on the spiritual journey of Old Testament Israel toward the coming of Christ, and the salvation of mankind in His death and resurrection.
We, too, are on a spiritual journey, toward the Second Coming and our future life in Heaven. In order to emphasize that journey, the Church, during Lent, removes the Alleluia from the Mass. We no longer sing with the choirs of angels; instead, we acknowledge our sins and practice repentance so that one day we may again have the privilege of worshiping God as the angels do.

The Return of the Alleluia at Easter

That day come triumphally on Easter Sunday—or, rather, at the Easter Vigil, on Holy Saturday night, when the priest chants a triple Alleluia before he reads the Gospel, and everyone present responds with a triple Alleluia. The Lord is risen; the Kingdom has come; our joy is complete; and, in concert with the angels and saints, we greet the risen Lord with shouts of "Alleluia!"

SOURCE: About Catholicism

Ite Missa Est - I Want to Be a Good Graffiti Artist & Gatherer!

Father V's post was spectacular.  I save it here in my notebook and you are welcome to read it (with my comments and bolding for emphasis) or, better yet,  go straight to his blog and read it there!

It was a Chestertonian night. Last night was the closing of Forty Hours down in Uniontown at which I preached and after we enjoyed a truly delicious meal from the hand of our host, and then a priest friend and I retired to the coziness of Saint Sebastian rectory, had refreshments, a fire in the fireplace as well as at the tip of our noses, and discussed the wonders of the Mass into the late hours.

Fr. “O” (who was trying on that moniker and decided that it did not work) made the argument that the “Ite missa est”, aka the dismissal or, “Go, the Mass is ended” is the most important part of the Mass. I begged to differ (greatly) and accused him of speaking in hyperbole, but like a Saint Sebastian Terrier he held his patch of earth. While still maintaining that he was, perhaps, overshooting his mark (like the cow that jumped over the moon) to make his point, his ideas were still worthy.

There was a tendency, one of which I do not approve, that at the end of Mass, when the priest said, “The Mass is ended, go in peace,” the youth shouted back, “The Mass never ends!”(Our church actually used to do this at the Life Teen Mass. The reply was, "The Mass never ends. It must be lived. Thanks be to God, Alleluia!!" . . . . . . I actually learn things from these deviations our Liturgy has taken through the years. Although, I am quite relieved we are responding in a Liturgically correct manner now! There are better ways to learn such things!)

Well, fine. It’s bad enough when priests start jockeying words around at the Liturgy but it is becoming a practice that everyone seems to enjoying the liberty – or rather – license of taking. Coming up to Communion are all kinds of answers to the declaration, (These examples shocked me)

Priest:  “The Body of Christ.”
Responses (he has heard): “Yes.”
                   “I believe.”
                   “My Lord and my God.”
                   “Thank you.”
 Even, occasionally, usually around December 25th and once in the spring, “Sure.” Sure these are all interpretation of “Amen,” but Amen means so much more than any one of these (there you’re right Fr. O) and just saying Amen does cause the priest to have to stop and interpret your answer.

“The Body of Christ.”

“Yes.”

“I suppose that means you hold to the ancient teachings of the Church that this is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that you are agreeing to treat the Host as such when I hand Him to you. Or is it just that you have never been to Communion in a Catholic Church before or you have never been catechized or you are an artist which makes you dangerous and expensive as Father K was fond of saying?”

But I digress.

The Mass is not something that a Catholic does on Sunday. It is merely (HA! “merely”) the source and summit of a life lived. What was celebrated around altar is not to be left there but rather taken out into the street. Bits of the Mass should be scattered everywhere like streamers after the home team wins the homecoming game. The Mass should be strewn in our trees, tossed about our houses and workplaces like confetti. Everything we touch not only leave fingerprints and a DNA samples but traces of the Eucharist. The world should change because you went to Mass. It should be closer to Jesus. It should in some way have received some healing. Our work does not end at the dismissal but that is where it begins! And then, when we have made a thorough mess and spread the Word and Mission of Jesus around our cities and towns like good graffiti artists, we are to gather it all up again and bring it back to its source as an offering to God Who will only in turn feed us, bless us, and sent out again.

That’s what it is to celebrate and be part the Body of Christ.

Let the Church say, “Amen!”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you again, Father V @ Adam's Ale 

http://clevelandpriest.blogspot.com/

Preparing for the Mass - Februaury 22, 2009

The readings

Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25

Responsorial Psalm 41: 2-3, 4-5, 13-14
Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.

2 Corinthians 1 :18-22

Mark 2:1-12

First - for the children

Now for us big kids:

This Sunday is the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Let's look at some historical cultural content to understand more fully by reading an article by John J. Pilch of Georgetown University

Please note that for my personal notebook purposes I have edited. Bolding is my emphasis.

GROUP-ORIENTATION

Today’s Gospel story from the second chapter of Mark resonates with indications of the group-centered character of Mediterranean culture. Notice that the paralytic was brought to Jesus by a group and carried by four men (v. 3). This is not just camaraderie but customary, strong Mediterranean social cohesiveness. In fact, it is the loyalty of this group to Jesus that moves him to heal the paralytic (v. 5)

The Greek word ordinarily translated “faith” is more appropriately translated “loyalty.” It describes people who pledge themselves to another person “no matter what.” This group was well aware of the hostile scribes who sat in Jesus’ home watching him carefully (v. 6). That didn’t deter them from publicly demonstrating their loyalty to Jesus.

PARALYSIS

Leviticus (21:16-24) specifies that among other physically challenged people, a lame person may not approach to offer the bread of his God (see also Deut 23:1-2). To our ancestors in the faith, the physical condition itself was not as serious as the social consequences: exclusion from God’s holy community.

In today’s episode, Jesus phrased it thus: “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ [repairing the social condition], or to say ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk’ [repairing the physical condition; v 9]?” Clearly his culture sees restoration to normal functioning as easier to achieve than restoring someone to full membership in the community.

HEALING

Recall the distinction between disease and illness offered by medical anthropology (see Fifth Sunday). Sickness, one among many misfortunes in human life, can be viewed as disease or illness.

The process of conquering a disease is known as curing.
The process of restoring meaning to the life of a sick person and that person’s family and community is known as healing.

Jesus first heals the paralytic by pronouncing that God forgives his sin and wants to revive their mutual, intimate relationship: “Your sins are forgiven!” (v. 5). By addressing this man as “son,” Jesus publicly announces that the man is now a member of Jesus’ *fictive-kinship group, his own family-like community.

When Jesus perceives that the scribes grumble because he acts like a broker on behalf of God, who alone forgives sins (v. 8), he takes yet a further step. He cures the man’s disability: “Take up your mat and go home!” (v. 11). Even here, Jesus demonstrates his primary interest in healing. By telling him to “go home,” Jesus restores the man to his own community. Regaining full membership in his community and finding welcome in Jesus’ community truly restores meaning to this group-oriented man’s life.

More reflections & commentary can be found @ The Center for Liturgy Sunday.

Vocabulary help:

*fictive kinship: A term used a lot by anthropologists.
Fictive kinship is the process of giving someone a kinship title and treating them in many ways as if they had the actual kinship relationship implied by the title. People with this relationship are known as fictive kin.

See last Tuesday's post for more about this.

Preparing for the Mass - Februaury 15, 2009

First reading: Reading I: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46

Sing or say: Responsorial Psalm: 32:1-2, 5, 11    

First reading: Reading II: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

From the Gospel: Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 

First - for the children.

Now for us big kids:
This Sunday is the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Get to Know the Readings.

from The Many Faces of AIDS: A Gospel Response U.S. Bishops, 1987

"Leprosy was a terrible disease in biblical times. Highly contagious, it was fatal, since there was no cure for it. The law could do nothing other than exclude lepers from participation in the life of the community.

There was more to it than that. The responsorial psalm 32 is a reminder that in biblical times people often regarded sin as the cause of disease. Lepers were therefore sinners, and the community excluded them from its worship. In a theocracy such as Israel, exclusion from the temple was a fate worse than death.

Jesus enters the scene as the healer of lepers. Those for whom the law offers no hope find in Jesus their savior, their key to re-entry into the human community.

We have our own ‘lepers’ today. They are the wretched people of the world’s slums, the one’s dying of AIDS, the ones sitting on death row. The law of society has nothing of hope to offer them. Their only hope is in the great prophet (who) has appeared among us, and in those followers of Jesus like Paul, seeking not my own advantage, but that of the many.

The mystery of the human condition is such that, in one way or another, all will face pain, reversal, and, ultimately, the mystery of death itself. Seen through the eyes of faith, however, this mystery is not closed in upon itself.

Through sharing in the cross of Christ, human suffering and pain have a redemptive meaning and goal. They have the potential of opening a person to new life. They also present an opportunity and a challenge to all, calling us to respond to suffering just as Jesus did—with love and care.”

More reflections and commentary for this Sunday can be found at The Center for Liturgy Sunday. 

Preparing for the Mass - Februaury 8, 2009

First - for the children.

Now for us big kids:

This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Get to know the readings.
 
Reflections for this Sunday can be found at The Center for Liturgy Sunday.
Here is an example of what you can find there (author Reginald H. Fuller, The Word of God for the Church Today):

"The Book of Job is rarely used in the Lectionary, so a word of introduction is in order. Job belongs to the third group of Old Testament books, called the “Writings.” . . . . . 

Job is led to wrestle with the problem of suffering.

Suffering can no longer be interpreted as it was in Deuteronomy, namely, as a direct punishment for sin, for Job has been righteous and has maintained his integrity. What Job has to learn in the end is that a person’s righteousness gives him or her no claim upon God.

The book closes with a prose epilogue in which the fortunes of Job are restored to him. The Book of Job can best be understood as a forerunner of the Pauline doctrine of justification by the grace of God alone."

You may want to read the entire Scriptures in Depth reflection. It is quite enlightening.

Ad Orientem means "toward the East"

source: New Liturgical Movement
by Jeffrey Tucker
edited by Soutenus

What does it mean for us to "look east?"
The early Church attached great importance to facing towards the dawning light in its prayer. Early churches were built so that, when the assembly gathered for prayer, they faced the East. When Mass was celebrated, priest and people faced not each other, but together faced the altar, toward the East.
St. Clement of Alexandria (150 – 216 AD) explained:

... And since the dawn is an image of the day of birth, and from that point the light which has shone forth at first from the darkness increases... In correspondence with the manner of the sun’s rising, prayers are made looking towards the sunrise in the east. (Stromata Book IV, ch. 7)

Even when, as the Church grew, it was no longer possible to build every church so as to have the altar facing eastward, the custom remained of having priest and people together face the altar during the Eucharistic liturgy, facing the Daystar who came to be with His people on that altar.

This posture of priest and people facing the altar is known as ad orientem, which is the Latin for “toward the East”. Most Catholics who are aware of this posture would probably associate it with the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, that is, the Mass as it was celebrated before the liturgical reforms of the 1970’s. Indeed, one of the liturgical changes most associated with Vatican II is that of turning the priest around so that he faced the people.

Many Catholics would probably imagine that this change was mandated by Vatican II, and that the former posture of ad orientem had been abolished. But this impression, widespread though it is, is incorrect. In point of fact, no document of Vatican II and nothing in the rubrics of the modern Roman Rite either requires the priest to celebrate Mass facing the people or abolishes celebrating Mass ad orientem.

photo credit: Homesick No More

Beauty in Words and Art

I found the graphic to the left at Restored Traditions . It seems to be a very nice source for Catholic Art. Curious about the name I read more. This is part of what I found:

Restored Traditions is an online Catholic-art gallery specializing in the reproduction of Catholic-traditional art using the Giclee (gee-clay), professional printing process. All of our Catholic artwork is reproduced on only the finest, archival, acid-free materials.

We focus on a specific niche of Catholic artwork, Religious Art, Sacred & Theological art, and Catholic Gifts, which are not commonly carried in Catholic-art stores today. Find timeless, religious artwork from master painters like Bouguereau, Caravaggio, C. Bosseron Chambers and many more Catholic artists.

I also found an interesting web site where you can find the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin and English. Here is a part of the Mass I love reading in Latin.

Pater noster, qui es in cœlis, sanctificétur nomen tuum: advéniat regnum tuum: fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cœlo et in terra panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie; et dímitte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris: et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem. R. Sed líbera nos a malo.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. R. But deliver us from evil.

The priest says, Amen. He takes the paten between his first and middle finger, and says:

p. 471

Líbera nos, quæsumus Dómine, ab ómnibus malis prætéritis, præséntibus, et futúris, et intercedénte beáta et gloriósa semper Vírgine Dei genitríce María, cum beátis Apóstolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andréa, et ómnibus sanctis,

Deliver us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present, and to come; and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious, Mary ever virgin, Mother of God, together with thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and Andrew, and all the saints,

He makes the sign of the cross with the paten from his forehead to his breast and kisses it.

da propítius pacem in diébus nostris: ut ope misericórdiæ tuæ adjúti, et a peccáto simus semper líberi, et ab omni perturbatióne secúri.

mercifully grant peace in our days: that through the help of thy mercy we may always be free from sin, and safe from all trouble.

Remember to Get Your Sunday Stickers!

Most of us are familiar with kids' affinity for stickers, trading cards and mementos. Sports cards & stickers are a very popular commodity these days in kid-world. Well, let me say it doesn't always have to be football or soccer! The motto at Sunday Stickers is:

"STICK around for God"

Every Sunday the children receive a sticker that illustrates the gospel reading.

They can place it and collect it in their album which has interesting facts about the Church and her liturgy: "Why are there often steps leading to a Church? What does Advent mean? What is so "white" about White (Whit) Sunday?..."

A copy of the Sunday Sticker Album (5.5 x 8.5 inches, 40 pages, w/ 70 stickers) serves a whole liturgical year (A,B or C). It is generic and unused copies can be used again 3 years later when the reading cycle returns.

On the site, Sunday Stickers there is a video presenting this. There is a deadline on ordering. IMHO, I think you should definitely GO today and place your order!

H/T to Curt Jester for finding this info!

Novus Ordo 2044

I laughed til I cried.

Novus Ordo 2044

Then I thought about it and just cried.

H/T: True Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter.

The Traditional Liturgy

Today my husband and I were talking about "entertainment churches" that seem to be growing by leaps and bounds in our neck of the woods. Prayer and singing are wonderful ways to praise God but it seems many of my Protestant brothers and sisters (and, alas, my life teen Mass friends) just do not seem to understand that "feeling good" is not an indicator of God's measure of us. It does not bring us into a closer relationship with God. Doing God's will, receiving God's graces, walking that closer walk with our Lord and Saviour is a supernatural event, not an emotional one. (This does not preclude experiencing emotions alongside any supernatural event -- i.e: sacraments, receiving grace, prayer. But emotions are a very fallible human indicator of reality...even in human events!) While I wholeheartedly support entertainment* that is wholesome and Christian based, I am so sad to see this taking the place of worship and Mass. On that note, I am including an essay I found. This was written by our Pontiff in 1988 when he was Cardinal.

*I have used the word entertainment* in this context: an event that is diverting, holds attention, gives pleasure.

Here is the very interesting essay from 1988 by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger:

While there are many motives that might have led a great number of people to seek a refuge in the traditional liturgy, the chief one is that they find the dignity of the sacred preserved there....

I confine myself to coming straight to this conclusion: we ought to get back the dimension of the sacred in the liturgy. The liturgy is not a festivity; it is not a meeting for the purpose of having a good time. It is of no importance that the parish priest has cudgeled his brains to come up with suggestive ideas or imaginative novelties.

The liturgy is what makes the Thrice-holy God present amongst us; it is the burning bush; it is the alliance of God with man in Jesus Christ, who has died and risen again. The grandeur of the liturgy does not rest upon the fact that it offers an interesting entertainment, but in rendering tangible the totally Other, whom we are not capable of summoning. He comes because He wills. In other words, the essential in the liturgy is the mystery, which is realized in the common ritual of the Church; all the rest diminishes it. Men experiment with it in lively fashion, and find themselves deceived, when the mystery is transformed into distraction, when the chief actor in the liturgy is not the living God but the priest or the liturgical director.

H/T: New Liturgical Movement