The week was simple. I joined the friars for prayers and Mass, spent extended times in Eucharistic Adoration (Mary Town has 24 Adoration) and read through the Pope's encyclical, Laudato Si'. I also began reading Romano Guardini's book Learning the Virtues: That Lead You to God. I also saw a series of videos via You Tube of testimonials of Jewish Converts to Catholicism. This wasn't planned ahead of time, I was drawn to it. More on that later.
I know that there is a five hundred pound gorilla in room, which is Friday's Supreme Court decision concerning same-sex marriage. I saw the news just before lunch, and was shocked by the suddenness of the ruling more then the outcome. Earlier in the week Fr. Dwight Longenecker had made an educated guess that June 30 was going to be the "day," (along with offering a not so coincidental reflection on the Mass reading for that day), so it wasn't on my radar. I'll write on this more profoundly this week. I thought about giving a quick take on it, but I can see it will end up taking up the entire post. So patience. I will get to it, just not right now.
What insights did I walk away with this week? Here are a few points.
1. You have to put in the time before the Blessed Sacrament
As a Salesian religious I'm called to pray in community twice a day, celebrate Mass, pray the rosary and, in the spirit of St. John Bosco, make frequent though short visits to the Blessed Sacrament through out the day. The idea is the we are active, and spending long periods of time in prayer is not always possible. So we pray as we can, lifting our minds to God throughout the day, encountering the Lord in the young people we serve and the events of our lives. Very true. But as I've taken on the responsibilities of director and pastor I've learned that a Holy Hour is invaluable. It has to be right the first thing in the morning, because once the day starts it's impossible to find time for those short visits, let alone an hour. At night I'm just too tired. But that time in front of the Blessed Sacrament is essential. The greatest gift we have to offer others, no matter who we are or what our vocation is, is the gift of Jesus. If we don't spend time with him, foster a relationship with him, we are never going to be say that we know him and share our love for Christ with others. I can testify that getting up that extra hour earlier is not easy, but it is worth it.
2. Practicing traditional devotions make the celebration of the Mass a more heightened experience.
When I grew up popular devotions were simply not promoted. I'm talking about things like novenas, the rosary, the use of sacramentals like the Miraculous Medal or the Brown Scapula, even Eucharistic Adoration, which were given little, if any mention. To be fare, we did learn the rosary, but even this central devotion was not promoted as it should have been. I chalk this up to a misreading of the Second Vatican Council. With Vatican II the Liturgy was renewed, and it's proper place at the center of Christian worship was emphasized. Popular devotions were to be revised so that they both harmonized with Sacred Scripture and lead the faithful more naturally into the celebration of the Mass. The Divine Office, aka the Liturgy of the Hours, which priests and religious pray, was recast as the prayer for all Christians, not just the "professional" ones. Again, all right on. But there was an interpretation that set popular private devotion against the official public liturgy. The rosary and novenas were what the people did when they couldn't understand the Mass, but now that we have the vernacular liturgy those things are unnecessary, or even harmful. As for sacramental, at best they were nice reminders of holy things, and at worst superstitious anachronisms.
I can tell you nothing is farther from the truth. Since discovering, and really surrendering, to the Divine Mercy devotion, I've found my attentiveness, reverence, and devotion (for lack of a better term) at Mass has increased incredibly. It's not to mystical proportions, but I've found that I am "in the moment" during both he Liturgy of the Word and of the Eucharist on a much more consistent basis. Any priest will tell you that with all the preoccupation of parish or school administration keeping from being distracted during Mass is a challenge, and not every celebration has the same level of focus. I would say that forming a habit of more traditional, devotional prayer, which includes the Divine Mercy Chaplet along with the rosary (which is already apart of our Salesian routine), that augments the Office, has lead to a more consistent, reverent and profound experience of the Eucharist.
3. We owe a great debt to our Jewish brethren
As I mentioned before, I found myself drawn to videos on You Tube featuring testimonials of Jewish converts to the faith. The most controversial of the three I saw, Roy Schoeman, accepts the term convert, but prefers to call himself a "fulfilled Jew." And I think that's what the the big take away was for me, because all three witnesses were strong in saying that are still very much Jews who have now recognized the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Schoeman, as well as Rosalind Moss (who is now a nun) and Ronda Chevin, a philosopher who is now widowed, all talked about how they discovered how Jewish the Catholic Church is when they first began investigating it. For Chevin this was not a positive point. She entered Christianity by way of evangelical Protestantism. Her brother, who had already converted to Catholicism, dragged her to Mass one evening, and she was horrified to see how much the Mass resembled a synagogue service. She kept thinking that St. Paul tells us that Jesus came to abolish all this and make something new. It was only over time that she came to understand that Jesus came to fulfill, not abolish the Old Law.
As I wrote, Schoeman is a controversial figure, who has definite ideas connecting the Holocaust with the End Times that Jews, as well as many Christians, would have serious problems with. He's not blind to the Church's shortcomings visa vi her relationship with the Jewish people over the centuries, and isn't afraid to quote the truly disturbing words of otherwise saintly Church Fathers about our elders in the faith. He's evenhanded in his assessment of Pius XII, noting the pontiff's personal efforts to save Jews from the Nazis, to the point of hiding Jewish refugees in Castel Sant'Angelo, but also saying he could have done more in his official capacity as pope to make the situation known to the world.
I walked away from these presentations with is a greater appreciation for the richness of the Catholic faith, and how ever ancient it really is. Also that we owe a great deal to our Jewish brothers and sisters. I understand better now Jesus' words from Matthew, that he came to fulfill, not abolish. We do need to be sensitive to the history of our relationship with the Jewish people. I know Schoeman would like to see a more deliberate evangelical entitative taken toward the Jewish people, but we are sensitive to the history, and our own sins. It's for us "cradle Catholics" to discover the Jewish roots of our faith, and, in not be afraid to share the riches of the Catholic Church with others, even Jews, which we've been afraid to do since World War II.
***
That was my take away from my yearly retreat. As for the big picture, I believe the Lord is calling us to greater devotion. We shouldn't be deceived about this Supreme Court decision; it's going to be rough times ahead for the Church here in the United States. But I'm optimistic. In 2,000 years we've faced pretty tough times. But if we stay close to Christ he will see us through, no matter how rough the going may get.
No comments:
Post a Comment