22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Jesus responds to Peter's remonstrations: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Mt 16: 23) What does it mean to be a "stumbling block"? In Ezekiel we read: "Certain elders of Israel came to me (Ezekiel) and sat down before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and placed their iniquity as a stumbling block before them; shall I let myself be consulted by them?" (Ez 14: 1-3) Perhaps we can use this text to understand how Peter's objection to the Passion, reasonable on the face of it, is actually to have taken an idol into his heart. The idol is worldly glory and success. The error is to think that the glory of the resurrection can be achieved without suffering. Other responses to the Passion are equally wrong and also involve Peter - denial of Jesus: "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times" (Mt 26: 34) and, falling asleep to the challenge of staying with the Lord in his hour of need: "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mt 26: 40-41)

Sin, Death and the Assumption of the BVM

 In the Book of Genesis God tells Adam: "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you will die" (Gen 2: 16-17) This instruction is reported, by Eve, to the serpent: "God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die'." (Gen 4: 3) There does seem to be some uncertainty here as to whether eating of the fruit will cause instantaneous death or merely in the future. It is possible that there is a translation issue due to the verbal constructions of Hebrew which, I am told, does not have a dedicated future tense. This leads to the prophetic present where a meaning can be both in the present and referring to the future, e.g. "Look, the young woman (Gk virgin) is with child and shall bear a son, and you will name him Immanuel." (Is 7: 14). In any event the serpent replies, calling God a liar: "You will not die." (Gen 3: 4) Yet Adam does die, even though it is at the age of nine hundred years (Gen 5: 5). There is no biblical record of when Eve died.

It is clear, from the biblical account, that the Fall has implications both physically and spiritually for the couple who have eaten of the forbidden fruit. To Eve: "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Gen 3: 16) To Adam God says: "... cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3: 17-18) The phenomenon of death is brought about through sin: "Therefore, just as sin came into the world though one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned..." (Rm 5: 12) Paul also tells us that the end of sin is death: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 6: 22)

Our Lady, the Church tells us as dogma and she testifies to herself in her apparitions to St Bernadette at Lourdes, is the Immaculate Conception. She was not affected by Original Sin and consequently not subject to the curses brought about through that act of disobedience. As a result, her ability to respond obediently to God's will for her was not impeded by the weakening of the will and the distortion of the intellect, brought about by Original Sin and continuing in concupiscence for those who are baptized. It means that she is not affected by death in the same way that the rest of the human race is. Hence, the Eastern Churches talk about the Dormition of Our Lady since she fell asleep. She did not die in the sense that we know it with the dissolution of the body and separation of body from soul.

Born from the womb of the Immaculate Conception and conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was also not affected by Original Sin, which is hereditary. Nevertheless, he is fully human: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." (4: 15) It is through him that the curse of unending death is overturned: "For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so will all be made alive in Christ." (1 Cor 15: 21-22) It is on account of his resurrection that we long to be freed from the sentence of death and corruption brought about through sin: "... for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the glory of the children on God." (1 Cor 8: 20-22).

Our Lady was not only free of Original Sin but in her obedience to God she was free from personal sin. She is Immaculate in her conception and in her personal conduct. This is all brought about through the plan and grace of God. however, her freedom remained. Her "fiat" - "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Lk 1: 38) - is a constitutive element of the life of the Church. In her person she serves, as the Preface for the Assumption states: "... as the beginning and image of your Church's coming to perfection." Her glorification, body and spirit, we pray will also be ours as a fulfilment of God's salvific plan: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be confirmed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Rom 8: 28-30) 

What else can we say of the Assumption of Our Lady? What does this glorification look like? St Paul reassures the Thessalonians that all of the faithful will ultimately be joined with the Lord in a resurrected state whether they are alive or dead when he returns in glory: "For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thess 4: 16-17) In my opinion, if we look at the Shroud of Turin, we can see how the body, wrapped in the linen cloth, de-materialized leaving behind the three-dimensional image left on the tendrils of the linen. If Our Lady had been wrapped in a linen cloth after she "fell asleep" we would have similar artifact with her image imprinted on it in a three-dimensional photographic negative. She experienced this grace, to share fully in the resurrection, on account of her sinless state which precluded the consequences of physical death. Thus, crowned as Queen of Heaven, the lowly "handmaid of the Lord" is able to intercede for all those of her children in the Church who call upon her, asking for her aid.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today we hear one of the most celebrated episodes in the Gospel of Matthew - the confession of faith by Simon son of Jonah, the fisherman, henceforth known as Peter, (Gk. Cephas). My attention, on this occasion, is drawn to Jesus' question: "Who do people say that the 'Son of Man' is?" (Mt 16: 13) The Son of Man is not just a way of saying "human being" it also refers to a reference in Daniel 7: 13-14. This figure is portrayed coming on the clouds of heaven into the presence of God. He is glorious: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him..." (Dan 7: 14) It is also an expression used 80 times in the Gospels, largely as a self-refence by Jesus. At this point it is ambiguous as to who is in question. The disciples respond by reporting a range of opinions currently in circulation, we expect, about Jesus. The next question is more direct: "But who do you say that I am" (Mt 16: 15) Simon takes the bait: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Mt 16: 17) Taking a sneak peek at the Gospel for next week Jesus is preparing the disciples for the fact that his fate, in the short term, will be anything but glorious. Jesus appears to make a distinction between himself and the Son of Man in Daniel. There will be no glory without the cross. Likewise, for us as missionary disciples, there will be no glory without suffering: "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!" (Mt 10: 24-25) 

  

Priest as MC vs Priest as Icon of Christ

 Subsequent to the visit of Fr Paul Turner to New Zealand there has been occasion for me to reflect on what it means to be a priest presiding at Mass. A priest friend of mine pointed out that we had been accustomed, consciously or otherwise, to think of the priest acting as Master of Ceremonies (MC) at the Mass whereas now we need to think of the priest differently. 

First of all, what does an MC do? The MC ensures continuity of the ceremony or ritual. He or she engages with the audience or congregation to explain what is happening or the format of what will happen. This has the aim of maintaining the involvement and interest of those present. A priest, who usually has a microphone, will not only lead prayers, explain the significance of what is happening, lead the singing, prompt posture changes, tell ministers to come forward to do their ministry, announce notices, and provide continuity through little interventions that helps the liturgy to flow. At worst he will act like some game show announcer who constantly makes quips and jokes the keep everyone cheerful. When there are situations involving school children or a predominantly non-Catholic congregation, such as at a funeral with many non-believers present, the priest can be drawn into this function.

However, when we get inside the liturgy of the Mass this should not be the case. Those who are gathered are a priestly people. Everyone has a role to play, according to their function as either ordinary or extraordinary ministers, as well as the roles proper to the people, whether lay or consecrated. They know the liturgy and do not need, as a rule, to be prompted or to have the liturgy explained to them. If prompts are required, in terms of posture or as instructions for the people such as at the Sign of Peace and the Dismissal, these are done by the deacon. If the priest does these roles, in the absence of a deacon, the action does not lose its nature. For example, the priest when he proclaims the gospel, which is a task proper of the deacon, he keeps his hands closed. Furthermore, the homily is intended to break open the Word of God not to have the predominant intention of entertainment or education.

What then is the role of the priest? In a technical sense, he acts "in persona Christi capitis" (in the person of Christ the Head) such that the people are acting as the members of the same Body of Christ. When he presides, it is the priest who prays with hands extended. Sometimes this is referred to as the orans position. What does this position signify? We are not told. Is it the position used by the Jews in the time of Christ as they stood in prayer? Is it the movement of the priest in the Mass in the extraordinary form under the 1962 Missal?

For me, in my opinion, it depends on what is being said. If it is an address to the people, such as "The Lord be with you" it is different to when the Collect is being said or the Post Communion Prayer being prayed. The difference can be noted in the dialogue prior to the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer. The General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM) states: "The priest calls upon the people to lift up their hearts towards the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving; he associates the people with himself in the Prayer that he addresses to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit." (GIRM, 78) 

The instructions for the dialogue in the ordinary form differ from the extraordinary form. In the latter the priest, facing towards the altar, therefore facing East together with the people, place his hands on the altar, for "The Lord be with you," elevate his hands at "Lift up your hearts," before making a slight arc and joining his hands at his breast at the words "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." he then extends his hands to pray the preface. In the ordinary form, facing the people, the priest says the same words, in the vernacular, with the actions: Extending his hands, say... The Priest raising his hands, continues... The Priest, with hands extended, adds...."  (ICEL Instruction on the Preface Dialogue). I read it this way: the first extension of hands is an opening of the arms towards the people with the palms of the hand directed towards them, the second movement, with palms facing upward, elevates the hands, the third movement, pulls the arms of the priest back extending them on either side of the body with palms (and wrists) facing the people. This position, if made as I indicate, is slightly uncomfortable but I think that is the point given the stress placed on a body in the cruciform position.

The posture at this point is the same as for the Collect, the Eucharistic Prayer and the Prayer after Communion. it is a posture of Christ crucified but also risen. We can also think of the Ascension as the risen Christ goes up in glory. The earthly liturgy rehearses the heavenly liturgy from Revelation 4: 1 - 5: 14 and the priest, representing Christ is the "Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered." (Rev 5: 6) Tertullian speaks of the orans posture of the Christian as imitating the crucified Christ. Thus, the priest within the action of the Eucharistic liturgy is not an MC but an icon of Christ who offers prayers to his heavenly Father. The focus of the priest is not on organizing the people. His actions and words are to invite them to join with him the prayer that he is making the Father. Ultimately, the extraordinary form and ordinary form pray is the same but the theology of the People of God more explicitly invites the participation of the people and joins them to the priest who is but one of the presences of Christ in the liturgy along with the people, the Word and the Blessed Sacrament.

When is the birthday of the Church?

I have noticed that people tend to speak of the "birthday of the Church" at Pentecost? However, is this the case? In the Roman Missal the preface for the feast day uses the expression: "as the Church came to birth" rather than "was born." This speaks to me of the idea that the Church is being born in an ongoing manner, as new members are added through baptism. It can also take into account the pre-existence of the Church in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and to be in line with Jesus Christ being the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13: 8). 

Furthermore, when we think of Our Lord, his birth is when, as it states in the creed, "he became man." This is not the case for the Church. In fact, with Pentecost it can be said that "she came to birth in the Spirit." As the Second Eve she finds her origin from the side of Christ and is joined to him in a common life "consortium totius vitae" as the Bride of Christ sharing in his ministry, Proverbs 31: 10-31 and Ephesians 5: 22-33, and is being continually renewed in time.

A suitable text for this idea might be: "The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven." (1 Cor 15: 47-49)

This sense of becoming is also evident in the preface for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We read there: "For today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your Church's coming to perfection...". The Church is a "work in progress." She sees in Our Lady the fulfilment of what she will become when, as we read in Lumen Gentium, 2:

He (God) planned to assemble in the holy Church all those who would believe in Christ. Already from the beginning of the world the foreshadowing of the Church took place. It was prepared in a remarkable way throughout the history of the people of Israel and by means of the Old Covenant. In the present era of time the Church was constituted and, by the outpouring of the Spirit, was made manifest. at the end of time it will gloriously achieve completion, when, as we read in the Fathers, all the just, from Adam and "from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect," will be gathered together with the father in the universal Church.

The danger of people contemplating the Church as being "born" or having a "birthday" is that they are going to fixate on the institution of the Church by the Lord in time as a solely historical event to which they are the heirs. The anamnesis of the Eucharist and Pentecost is a present reality which challenges the disciples to actualize the life giving action of the exitus and reditus of the Holy Trinity in their own time as you described in the perichoresis. 

Since the Eucharist is the memorial of the whole of Christ so too the life and nature of the Church embodies, albeit deficiently in her members, that reality. To this end the story and doctrine regarding Our Lady is the only true picture of what God wants for the Church as a whole. The feast of the Assumption can be seen as a Pentecostal event as lowly Miriam of Nazareth, through the power of her Son's resurrection, shares fully in his victory through the Holy Spirit. She realizes the destination of her humble faith by being crowned Queen of heaven and earth. Pentecost has approximately one hundred and twenty fearful and lowly individuals, transformed and infused by the Holy Spirit, to become a sign and sacrament of God's salvific power manifested in a community, the People of God, recreated perennially by Baptism and the Eucharist.

Feast of the Assumption of the BVM

 The Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) from 1854 and the Assumption of the BVM in 1950 are the only times that popes have used their power to declare infallible doctrine. Catholics are required to give their consent to these doctrines as being an objective and constitutive part of the Catholic faith. Many non-Catholics will not even have heard of these things. Yet, these doctrines speak of profound truths regarding the person also known amongst her other titles as Mary of Nazareth, most likely a teenager, living in Nazareth from sometime before 4BC. She exclaims: "Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me" (Lk 1: 48-49) and indeed, on this patronal feast of New Zealand, we do call her blessed. Pope Pius XII summed up the mystery in this way: "Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendour at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages." (Munificentissimus Deus, 40)

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 The episode we hear today is found only in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Furthermore, it is only in Matthew that the Lord says: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Mt 15: 24) I think that the Matthean community needed to hear this message. As a mixed community of Gentiles and Jews, which is apparent from elsewhere in the Gospel, the revolutionary idea that both Jews and Gentiles could be united as Christians in the new Law, based not on Moses but on the Sermon on the Mount, was a challenge. As we heard last week St Paul was mindful of the priority of the Jews in the history of salvation: "They are the Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises, to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah..." (Rm 9: 4-5) It remains that the offer of Christ is available to them, as we hear in the Solemn Intercessions on Good Friday: "let us pray also for the Jewish people, to whom the Lord our God spoke first... graciously hear the prayers of your Church, the people you first made your own may attain the fulness of redemption." The woman begs: "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter tis tormented by a demon... Lord, help me." (Mt 15: 22 and 25) To the Jews, Jesus acknowledges their ancient Covenant: "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (Mt 15:26) while to the Gentiles the Lord responds to their faith: "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." (Mt 15: 28)