How did the German Bishops get it so wrong?

 Many Catholics around the globe were astonished at the events that occurred in Germany over the last few years regarding the Synodal Path. In it the German Bishops Conference seemed on the verge of voting into being a supervisory or governance body, called a Synodal Council, comprised of laity and clergy. If it was put into effect, this body would denature the office of bishop as the Catholic Church understands it as well as other canonical structures. Pope Francis, interviewed on the airplane on his trip back from Bahrain, said: “I say to German Catholics: Germany has a great Protestant Church, but I don’t want another one, because it won’t be as good.” On 17 February 2024 it was confirmed that the German Bishops would not proceed to a vote on the Council.  It appears that the threat to Church unity has passed. The question I pose in this blog is: "How did the German Bishops get it so wrong?" (Please note that I have not given extensive footnotes for this presentation. If there is appetite for further discussion or queries about it I am happy to provide them)

My response to this is first to go back into the history of how lay people are thought to engage in the Church in governance. As the Church developed in the 19th Century many lay organizations started to come into existence. As time went by the issues arose as to how lay leaders in these organizations related to Church hierarchy. The issue came to a head when Pope Pius XI wrote a letter to cardinal Bertrams about the relationship, which at that time had no canonical description. He stated that: "“the laity participate in some way in the apostolate of the hierarchy” (laici apostolatum hierarchicum quodammodo participent)." This was ultimately unhelpful. What did "in some way" actually mean? What does this mean in Canon Law?

Without going exhaustively into the matter, on which I have written a doctoral thesis, we can say that prior to Vatican II two German theologians posited that laity could participate in the exercise of the power of governance through the bestowal of a mandate from an ecclesiastical authority. This could be interpreted in a broad or a strict manner. The broad interpretation was given by Karl Rahner while the strict was proposed by Sebastian Tromp. The former saw laity as effectively forming a parallel hierarchy while the latter saw the laity as instruments in the hand of the hierarchy with little freedom to act. Another German theologian, Joseph Ratzinger, writing in 1996 at the time of the Instruction Ecclesiae de mysterio, summed up the two positions in this way: 

"This appears extremely important to avoid, on the one hand, an undervaluing of the ordained ministry and a falling into a “Protestantization” of the concept of ministry and of the Church herself, and, on the other, the risk of a “clericalization” of the laity ... This gives rise to a “functionalistic” conception of the ministry which sees the ministry of “pastor” as a function and not as an ontological sacramental reality."

Effectively, Tromp and Rahner, were maintaining the distinction between the power of orders and the power of jurisdiction. They believed this meant jurisdiction would be given to suitable laity independent of Holy Orders. What they had not paid attention to was that if such a distinction did in fact exist the doctrine from the Nota explicativa praevia in Lumen gentium would have taught them that the ontologico-sacramental takes precedence with the canonico-juridico aspect being a further norm required for Church order. In reality, the Council Fathers has abolished the distinction and created a new category which is the "power of governance." The canon which brings this about is canon 129 from the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

In brief, the German Bishops' Conference had continued in the mistaken theology of Karl Rahner even though it had been repudiated by the Council Fathers in Lumen Gentium, 33 and Apostolicam Actuositatem, 24. This was prefigured prior to Vatican II by both the theologian Yves Congar in his book Lay People in the Church (1957) and Pope Pius XII in his address to the Second World Congress of the Lay Apostolate (1957). The juridical implications for this theology which set up that which was decided at Vatican II was formulated by Bishop Narciso Jubany Arnau in 1960 when he wrote: 

"The idea of participation has, perhaps, given place to inexact conclusions. If to participate signifies entering in the ladder of the hierarchy as if it was divided in two, then the term is seriously incorrect [Rahner’s approach]. If he means that the laity are those constituted as some subordinate auxiliaries, directors, engineers and robots of the apostolate who are part of the Hierarchy, then we are found outside the field of the true apostolate, because it supposes a negation of their theological values, that truly bases the action and the activity of the Christian inside the Body of the Church [Tromp’s approach]. If to participate intends to indicate the identity of the same holy end, then our understanding is right although incomplete. It must signify something more: that the laity, bound to the hierarchy, take part in the authentic apostolate of the Church, and participate, according to his capacity, in the same mission that Jesus Christ showed to his apostles in the Commission for the salvation of the world. In other words, the idea of participation in the hierarchical apostolate states more clearly, on one hand, the intimacy of the participant with the participation, and on the other, the intimate dependence of the first with the second. But such intimacy and dependence do not signify by themselves - in virtue of the force of the word - nothing else: they do not necessarily carry with them the communication of an ontological element, totally new, that changes the theological and juridical nature of the lay apostolate. In any case, that part is taken by an extrinsic principle: the mandate. But then the participation signifies a more intimate linking of the activity of the laity with the Hierarchy, to constitute a unique apostolate, that of the Church, that supposes necessarily the concrete realization of diverse functions and two distinct levels: that of the hierarchy and that of the laity."

What, then, you might ask was the correct approach? Jubany Arnau goes on to write: 

"The idea of collaboration, used in the pontifical texts [Pius XII in 1951 and 1957], clearly indicates the personality of the layperson who works according to his condition in a unique apostolate: which is that of the hierarchy, which is that of the Church. And for the other part, excludes all the possible bad ideas of participation [Rahner and Tromp]. Certainly, although an action proper to the laity exists, the apostolate of the laity, in its intrinsic sense, always supposes in one form or another an active association of various causes, works ordered to the acquisition of common ends. The hierarchy works in its field, principally through the hierarchical functions, the laity in theirs, however, always united to the hierarchy. Everyone must meet each other, across a collaboration that must be perfect, in the supreme synthesis of the whole true apostolate, that is, ecclesiality."

Jubany Arnau was present on the Group of Bishops which was charged, along with a Group of Experts, with finalizing Canon 129 paragraph 2 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which legislates that: "In exercizio potestatis christefideles laici ad normam iuris cooperari possunt" (In the exercize of the same power (power of governance) the lay Christian faithful can cooperate according the norm of the law).

As a result, we see that the concept of the Synodal Council was from the outset a radical misunderstanding of what it means to be Church and the power of governance. The German Bishops had been following their own theology instead of listening attentively to Vatican II and the Papal Magisterium. Let that be a warning to all of us lest we make fools of ourselves as the German Bishops did! To paraphrase Oscar Wilde - Being to blame for one Protestant reformation may be regarded as a misfortune but to be blamed for two looks like carelessness!

Repost of Church as Bride in the Holy Eucharist

 Some time ago, on this blog, I published a post to investigate how we can understand the image of the Church as bride in the Holy Eucharist. On the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ it occurs to me that how we engage with this great mystery has a lot to do with our images of Church. For the Mass in the extra-ordinary form the principle image is that of the Mystical Body of Christ. In the post-conciliar liturgy it has been the People of God. I do not intend to elaborate on these images here, however, each has far reaching implications for both celebrant and congregation in terms of their prayer and Eucharistic spirituality. Neither is wrong but then neither is completely correct or exhaustive. I would like to look at the image of the Church as Bride of Christ with the aim of helping us to understand the dynamics of Mass in the ordinary form.

To start with the image of Church as the Bride of Christ, who identifies himself in the Gospel as the bridegroom, is clearly a significant part of the official teaching of the Church. In Lumen gentium this image occurs prior to and after the exposition on the Body of Christ in article 8 and therefore can be taken to nuance and interpret it. The Fathers wrote:

"The Church, further, 'that Jerusalem which is above' is also called 'our mother.' It is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb, whom Christ "loved and for whom He delivered Himself up that He might sanctify her,' whom He unites to Himself by an unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly "nourishes and cherishes,' and whom, once purified, He willed to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity, and whom, finally, He filled with heavenly gifts for all eternity, in order that we may know the love of God and of Christ for us, a love which surpasses all knowledge. The Church, further, 'that Jerusalem which is above' is also called 'our mother.' It is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb, whom Christ 'loved and for whom He delivered Himself up that He might sanctify her,' whom He unites to Himself by an unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly 'nourishes and cherishes,' and whom, once purified, He willed to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity, and whom, finally, He filled with heavenly gifts for all eternity, in order that we may know the love of God and of Christ for us, a love which surpasses all knowledge." (LG, 6)

"Christ loves the Church as His bride, having become the model of a man loving his wife as his body; the Church, indeed, is subject to its Head. 'Because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,' He fills the Church, which is His body and His fullness, with His divine gifts so that it may expand and reach all the fullness of God." (LG, 7) 

In the Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium the image was applied to the work of the liturgy:

"Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father." (SC, 7)

With this in mind let us imagine the Sunday Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist as a "date" where the Bride spends time apart with her Bridegroom to be renewed, refreshed and reinvigorated in her task of continuing the Bridegroom's salvific plan.

1. Gathering: The Bride fasts before Mass to prepare herself interiorly for the encounter with the Bridegroom. She is prompted by the Holy Spirit and gathers to meet with him on the eighth day, that is, the day of the Resurrection. This is the day of the new Creation when the Second Adam and the Second Eve experience the again the renewal of a Creation set free from sin and given the promise of eternal life. In the processional song she sings for joy to be in the presence of the Bridegroom on this special day.

2. Liturgical Greeting: The priest acting in persona Christi capitis (in the person of Christ the Head) greets the people, who are also a presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They could be said to act in persona Christi membris (in the person of the members of Christ) who respond acknowledging the presence of the Lord. The response given by the people to the greeting: "And with your spirit" acknowledges that the priest is ordained and conformed to Christ in his priesthood. The writer Jeremy Driscoll explains it thus: "The people are addressing the 'spirit' of the people; that is, the deepest interior part of his being where he has been ordained precisely to lead the people in this sacred action. They are saying in effect: 'Be the priest for us now,' aware that there is only one priest, Christ himself, and that this one who represents him now must be finely tuned to perform his sacred duties well." Jeremy Driscoll, What Happens at Mass, (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2005, 25)

3. Penitential Act: Mindful of her faults, the Bride confesses her sins while praising the Bridegroom for his mercy and love that are never ending. It also anticipates that the sacrifice which will be enacted in this sacred meal they are to share is: "The Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Eucharistic Prayers in Roman Missal)

4. Gloria: The Bride glorifies the Bridegroom in the mystery of the Holy Trinity knowing his mercy is there for Her: "... you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us." (Roman Missal)

5. Collect: The opening prayer joins the congregation in prayer. The them articulates the Bride's desires and aspirations thus preparing the people to listen to the Bridegroom who is about to speak.

Liturgy of the Word

This part of the Mass is where the Bridegroom feeds the Bride with his Word. In the Constitution on Revelation, Dei verbum we read:

"The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the practice and life of the believing and praying Church. Through the same tradition the Church's full canon of the sacred books is known, and the sacred writings themselves are more profoundly understood and unceasingly made active in her; and thus God, who spoke of old, uninterruptedly converses with the bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church, and through her, in the world, leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Col. 3:16)." (DV, 8)

"The Bride of the Incarnate Word and the Pupil of the Holy Spirit" (DV, 22).

6. First Reading: Taken from the Old Testament the Bride learns how from the beginning of Creation the Bridegroom has prepared her for his coming. During Eastertide the readings from the Acts of the Apostles speak of the Bridegroom working in, through and with the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit, until the end of Creation when the New Jerusalem will come down from the heavens: "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out from heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Rev 21: 2)

7. Psalm: The Bride responds with ancient songs of praise which speak both of God's power but also the history and struggles of the Bride as foretold in the Jewish people.

8. Second Reading: The Bridegroom teaches the Bride how he is present to the Church and continues to guide her through history. The First Reading was the type with the Gospel being the reality and the Second Reading is the Church as sacrament.

9. Alleluia: Again, the Bride responds with praise at the workings of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Bridegroom.

10. Gospel: The Bridegroom feeds the Bride with the Divine Word of the Gospels as the public and objective revelation of the Word made Flesh. It is a living Word proclaimed for us in the present: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Lk 4: 21)

11. Creed: The Bride responds to this revelation of divine wisdom by affirming her faith in the Bridegroom. She believes in Herself and Her destiny to be with the Bridegroom in the Resurrection: "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." (Roman Missal) 

12. Prayers of the Faithful: The Bride manifests the sincerity of this faith by bringing before the Bridegroom her needs and those of the world, trusting that he will provide them, as she cooperates with his grace.

Liturgy of the Eucharist:

This part of the Mass is where the Bridegroom feeds the Bride with his Body and Blood under the form of bread and wine. There is one sacrifice offered under two different modes: that of the priest acting in persona Christi capitis and that of the Bride in persona Ecclesiae or even, I would say Mariae. The sacrifice of praise offered at the foot of the Cross by the Blessed Virgin joins her to her Son. We gaze on the Host and likewise strive to offer ourselves in imitation of her so that we might share in the fruits of redemption.

13. Offertory: Obedient to his instructions: "Do this in memory of me" the Bride brings forward the bread and wine for the Eucharistic sacrifice and prepares the altar.

14: Oblation: The priest, prepares for the sacrifice and praises God thus initiating the self-offering of the Bridegroom to which the Bride is joined.

15: The Eucharistic Prayer: The Bridegroom makes a living memorial of his Paschal Mystery through which he redeemed humanity and brought about the Bride to be the Second Eve born from his side as he hung in the sleep of death on the Cross. The Bride echoes the liturgy of heaven as she offers herself up in union with the Bridegroom in this act of love, gratitude and joy. This is brought to a climax for the Bride in the Great Amen.

16: The Lord's Prayer: United in their prayer and the sacrifice is makes present the Bride is stirred to pray to God as Father trusting in the words of the Bridegroom and adopted into his filial relationship with the Father in the Holy Spirit.

17: Prayer for Peace: The Bride prepares to receive the Bridegroom in Holy Communion by recalling his gift of peace to the Bride and asking that it be manifested in the Church and in the world.

18: Lamb of God: Mindful again of her imperfections and sins the bride asks of the Bridegroom the fruit of mercy and peace. The Host is broken in the ancient action through which the Bride recognized her Bridegroom "in the breaking of the bread." (Luke 24: 35)

19: Reception of Holy Communion: Coming forward the Bride is nourished by the Bridegroom, in sacrament, and longs for the day when she will be united with him in eternity. Individual members echo the Great Amen as they make an individual act of faith in their Lord and Master.

20: Post-Communion Prayer: The desire for this ultimate union with the Bridegroom is expressed in the brief prayer after Holy Communion which also brings the Eucharistic liturgy to a close. It also prays that the effects of the Holy Food will be manifested in the Bride.

21. Dismissal: The Bridegroom sends the Bride into the world to continue her mission to make present his Kingdom. The Bride sings rejoicing in the love of the Bridegroom.

22. After Mass Hospitality: The members of the Bride extend the immediate unifying effects of Communion with the Bridegroom by sharing an agape meal which recognizes the Bridegroom as now being present in and mediated through the Bride.  

Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

 When we come to the liturgy, we need to use the same initial principle of interpretation that we use when approaching the Word. That is, the first reading is a literal reading. We believe, then we ask questions of what we have been given to deepen our understanding. Another was of putting this is the maxim - lex orandi, lex credendi, that is, "the law of praying is the law of believing." So, when we come for forward to Holy Communion the minister will say: "The Body of Christ" and the communicant replies: "Amen" which is, "truly" or "so be it." It is a statement of belief that follow up from the Great Amen which has been sung or said at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer. In the Gospel for today the people dispute among themselves saying: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (Jn 6: 52) Does this doubt enter our hearts too? We, too, need to listen to what the Lord replies: "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink." (Jn 6: 54) One of the prefaces for this feast sums up the mystery we celebrate in this way: "For he is the true and eternal Priest, who instituted the pattern of everlasting sacrifice and was the first to offer himself as the saving Victim, commanding us to make this offering as his memorial. As we eat his flesh that was sacrificed for us, we are made strong, and as we drink his Blood that was poured out for us, we are washed clean." (Preface I of the Most Holy Eucharist) Let us, therefore, approach this Sunday Mass, more than ever, with hearts open to the mystery of the miracle that is the Holy Eucharist.

Vestigia Trinitatis

 As we approach the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity I find myself reflecting on the way in which we experience God in contemporary society especially in the light of science. Ever since the trial of Galileo, which was really a squabble arising from papal court politics, it has been fashionable for those who hate the Church to point to some kind of binary opposition between science and faith. We can also think of the blind leap of faith of thinkers like Kierkegaard for reinforcing Christian faith as being in some way fundamentally at odds with the rigour and discipline of science. I like the statement of Pope St John Paul II when he wrote: "Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes."(Letter to George V. Coyne, 1 June 1988) We can also point out that science is a method for the study of things and God is not a "thing." Additionally, Catholic priests such as Mendel and Copernicus have had considerable influence

St Augustine, beginning his great treatise De Trinitate in AD400, on the Holy Trinity spoke of the traces in Creation of the Holy Trinity. These he called vestigia trinitatis. What, I ask, are the scientifically identifiable traces of the Divine Persons in the world? Since the activity of the Holy Trinity happens in space and time, can we locate divine action in the world? 

Watching the work of Fr Robert Spitzer St. Thérèse Lecture Series - Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ: Physics and the Existence of God regarding the condition required for a functioning Universe at the moment of the Big Bang, which was incidentally the idea of Fr Georges Lemaitre a Catholic priest, I think we can see this as the trace of God. The ordering of Creation through the love and intelligence of God can be discerned. God establishes order, light and love to a Creation which he "saw was good" (Gen 1: 10, 12, 18, 21 and 25) and in its entirety "he saw it was very good." (Gen 1: 31)

When we consider Jesus, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Shroud of Turin can be seen as "the receipt for the Resurrection." The Next Pope, the Big Bang, and the Shroud of Turin Fr Robert Spitzer The Eucharistic Miracles are traces of his humanity and divinity. The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, originating from the year 695, speaks of the Holy Eucharist being exactly what the Church claims it to be. The findings of science we can read regarding this, and other miracles reveal God's power active in the sacrament: MIRACOLI EUCARISTICI - Mostra Internazionale Ideata e Realizzata da Carlo Acutis e Nicola Gori

What, you may ask, is the trace of the Holy Spirit, measurable in the world? I maintain that the Church is the trace of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit is manifested both in unity and diversity with many gifts and charisms revealed over time. It is up to us to attest by our prayers, words and actions to the Holy Spirit in the world so that the world believes that Jesus was sent by the Father: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. the glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. father. I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (Jn 17: 20-26)

Holy Trinity Sunday

 There is a saying that: "context is everything." This is appropriate for us today. The Holy Trinity is the context for all we say and do in the liturgy. This is voiced when the priest begins with the Sign of the Cross and concludes with the Final Blessing, both of which are made in the name of the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit." The Holy Trinity is the revelation of a God whose existence is accessible to natural reason but whose interior life is beyond our comprehension without His self-communication. Hence, it is only through our Lord Jesus Christ that this privileged knowledge of the nature, mission and life is possible. Jesus tells his disciples: "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from the Father." (Jn 15: 15) What can we say about God on this special day? We know that God is light: "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all." (1 Jn 1: 5) We know that God is love: "God is love and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." (1 Jn 4: 17) God is personal: "You did not choose me but I chose you." (1 Jn 15: 16) We do not live in a lonely, meaningless and indifferent Universe. We live in the presence of a ground of Being whose amazing love is shown in his self-sacrifice on the cross for our salvation: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5: 8) This means that we who are so fortunate to know and love this same God in our lives are therefore made ambassadors for that love to all those who are suffering: "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5: 20-21)

Believe, Belong, Behave?

 In my struggle with the pastoral challenges of contemporary society, it is difficult to know where to begin. It seems clear to me that in the West the culturally descended church has imploded. The religion of "choice" in a culture of radical autonomy means that for many there is no sense of collective meaning rather it is "what I choose." Even the radical atheists revealed themselves to be subject to this dynamic. The attempt to designate and organize non-believers as "Brights" failed dismally. People simply want to keep their options open. They are neither believers nor atheists rather they are "nones." I have even had applicants for jobs in Catholic primary schools say to me: "I have my own beliefs." Catholics in the pews can also refer to their confreres in faith as "cafeteria Catholicism." The teachings of the Catholic Church may or may not in any particular situation coincide with mine.

My first response to this is that Catholics do not believe in an "ism." They do not put their faith in an ideology. Like St Paul at the Areopagus we seek to put flesh and blood on the object of all authentic human desires and longings in the person and phenomenon of Jesus of Nazareth who is also: Lord Jesus Christ, Risen Lord, Alpha and the Omega, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Second Person of the Holy Trinity.... For this reason, in the Nicene Creed, it is only after professing belief in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that we state: "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." St Paul puts it well when he says to the Corinthians: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."  (1 Cor 1: 22-25)

Given that our primary purpose and mission is to mediate Jesus Christ to the world how are we to do it? Do we require belief indicated by a conversion of life, or do we prioritize belonging, or is it to ask people to change their behaviour to conform to the teachings of Christ. In short is it one of the nine possible combinations of "believe, behave belong"? the answer to this will determine how we will embark on the mission to evangelize the world. 

The answer to this question, however, needs to take into account that whatever we do the Holy Spirit has already been at work in the individual or society before we have got there it is God: "...who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 4) The action of prevenient grace is just as effective in others as it has been in us. We, however, are blessed to have, for many, parents who were Catholic and strove to hand on that faith to us.

My suggestion is, therefore, since the Holy Spirit is at the beginning of what we are called to do we need to look to Pentecost. First, we read how the disciples, who had been chosen and called by Christ, were witnesses to his resurrection and hence the power of God to save. Thus, they believed what God had done.  After the Ascension they waited in Jerusalem and "were constantly devoting themselves to prayer" (Acts 1: 14) and when Pentecost came they: "were all together in one place." (Acts 2: 1) They belonged together as community and manifested this in their communal prayer. This, in turn, had implications for how they lived their lives: "All who believed were together and held all things in common, they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceedings to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with gladness and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of the people." (Acts 2: 44-47) The moral, social and ethical teaching of "the Way" built on their Jewish heritage to change how they behaved. 

Applying this to our parishes, we need to place priority on the need for people to experience or witness through us the power of God which will draw them to belief in Jesus Christ. The Alpha programme has a role to play in this encounter and conversion dynamic. As an invitational community we encourage such everyone who believes to belong predominantly through prayer. This can be at the Mass but may be in other ways depending on the capacity of the individual. Through belief and belonging the context is created for enduring and sincere transformation of the moral posture of the individual who is gradually conformed to Christ and his law through love since: "Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." (Rm 13: 10) It is important that we act through love rather than through duty since: "Love never ends." (1 Cor 13: 8) Any religion founded on duty, fear, cultural or ethnic affiliation or the desire for prosperity is a house built on sand. (Mtt 7: 24-27)

Like missionary discipleship, where the elements of encounter, conversion, discipleship, communion and mission are always present, it can be difficult to separate the elements of "believe, belong, behave" yet the priority of the kerygma (primordial teaching) tells us that the process requires a renewal of the faith response in the person of Jesus Christ. This never ends. Since the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals to us the Risen Lord let us place our trust in him and open our hearts to his love so that even in our weakness God is present: "Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for the good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a larger family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he justified; and those who he justified he also glorified." (Rm 8: 26-30)

Feast Of Pentecost

 Have you noticed how, in the spiritual life, things do not happen immediately? Noah and his family had to wait for seven days for rain after they had entered the ark (Gen 7: 10).  Elijah had God speak to him in the cave after the great wind, the earthquake and the fire (1 Kgs 19: 11-13) Jesus had the angels wait on him forty days after his going into the desert (Mk 1: 13). Similarly, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples occurs ten days after the Ascension as they devoted themselves to prayer. (Acts 1: 14) As it was for them, so it is for us. Sometimes we need patience when we pray, especially when we ask for the Holy Spirit. What we can be certain of is that God, who is the best of fathers, will give us the Holy Spirit when we ask it of him. (Lk 11: 13) The disciples were told: "And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Lk 24: 49) Let us not be afraid of waiting on the Lord and trusting in his promises: "I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." (Ps 40: 1-3)