As I type these words in my office I can hear the sound of a snow plow scraping its way down Third Avenue here in Elizabeth. Not something I would have expected to be hearing on October 29. The change of seasons certainly has been changeable and unpredictable, with our moving in the last few weeks from summer to fall, back to summer and straight into winter. But if you don't like the weather only wait, I'm told we'll be back into the 60's next week.
A change coming that is certain and predictable is one I've been writing about for the last couple of weeks; the arrival of the new Roman Missal on November 27. Many ask why the change, and the best answer I can think of is that at this moment the Church is calling us to a greater reverence and fidelity in celebrating the Mass. Not that we have been unfaithful or irreverent, but there is a concern that the quality of liturgical celebration has not been all it could be, partly because of a relaxed style in the written words of the Sacramentary, which has led to what some feel is a too "laid back" style of presiding at the Mass by certain priests. The new translation is closer to a word for word rendering of the Latin so more of the elegance and poetry will come out. The Missal is not simply more literal for its own sake, but is trying to make explicit the Scriptural roots of the Mass as well as the ancient origins of many of the prayers. The language will strike us as more formal, to be sure, maybe even awkward in places. I encourage all of us to take the time to explore the text and so discover for ourselves the riches of Scripture present in the prayers we recite and hear.
I won't go through all the changes at this time, but I do want to focus on one in particular that we will notice right away. Now when the priest gives the greeting "The Lord be with you," we respond "And also with you." We will respond "And with your spirit" after November 27. Does this response mean, as some have suggested, a denial of our bodies? Not at all. But the greeting, "The Lord be with you" comes at particular points in the Mass, when the priest is about to perform an action unique to his priestly ministry, that emphasizes his taking the place of Christ in the Eucharistic celebration. We make this response at the beginning (before the Penitential Act), before the proclamation of the Gospel, at the Preface before the Eucharistic prayer and before the final blessing and dismissal. We are not giving a simple greeting as we would a friend on the street. By responding "And with your spirit" we are recognizing the special indwelling of the Spirit that the priest received at ordination that conforms him in a special way to the image Christ. The priest is an instrument of the Lord at that point, and it doesn't matter which priest it is at that moment. He may be a saint or may not be quite there yet. We may like him personally, or maybe not so much. What matters is that he is acting in the place of Jesus Christ, and it is that fact that we are acknowledging by our response.
Does that mean that the holiness and personal character of a priest doesn't matter? Of course not. In the Gospel for this Sunday (Mt. 23:1-12) Jesus assured the crowd and his disciples that the religious leaders of his day had legitimate authority to govern, and their directives were to be followed. But they were not practicing what they preached, and so their example should be shunned. We know that if a leader, especially a religious leader, doesn't walk along the path he is instructing others to go few if any will follow, even if his teaching is true. That I am conformed to Christ's image by my ordination is not an excuse for pride, but for humility. I know that people are watching my actions, and so I do have to keep a guard that my conduct matches up to my words. I do not want to lead others astray or be an excuse to question the truth of the Gospel. I need the reminder that the "And with your Spirit" response brings of who I am, Who I represent and what I'm called to be.
All the baptized also share a special image of God and indwelling of the Spirit received with the Sacrament. Jesus' words from today's Gospel are important to all Catholics, lay as well as clerical. We work in offices, retail stores, factories, or any number of different places. Maybe we are still in school. In most of these places we are with non Catholics, non Christians or fallen away Catholics. We might be the only face of the Church for these people. If we profess the faith with your lips, but don't really live it, are we any better than the Pharisees Jesus spoke of in the Gospel? We all need to be aware of the special gift we have been given by God of the Spirit that dwells within us.
I'll be highlighting other changes, or linking to materials I find in my journeys on the web that may be helpful.
