The Holy Name of Jesus

The Monogram of the Holy Name of Jesus

"But Moses still pleaded with God: How if I appear before the Israelites with the message that the God of their fathers has sent me to them, and they ask me, What is his name? What answer shall I make? And God said to Moses, I am the God who IS; thou shalt tell the Israelites, THE GOD WHO IS has sent me to you. And he charged Moses again, That is what thou shalt tell the sons of Israel, that he who bears this name, the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent thee to them, and this is the name he will be known by for ever; it shall stand recorded, age after age." - Exodus 3:13-15

"And she will bear a son, whom thou shalt call Jesus, for he is to save his people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21

"So that everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth must bend the knee before the name of Jesus, and every tongue must confess Jesus Christ as the Lord, dwelling in the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:10

"The beast is a number, and makes men numbers. But God has a name, and God calls us by our name. He is a Person, and he seeks the person. He has a face, and he seeks our face. He has a heart, and he seeks our heart. For him, we are not some function in a "world machinery". On the contrary, it is precisely those who have no function that are his own. A name allows me to be addressed. A name denotes community. This is why Christ is the true Moses, the fullfiment of the revelation of God's name. He does not bring some new word as God's name; he does more than this, since he himself is the face of God. He himself is the name of God. In him, we can address God as "you", as person, as heart. His own name, Jesus, brings the mysterious name at the burning bush to its fulfillment; now we can see that God had not said all that he had to say but had interrupted his discourse for a time. This is because the name "Jesus" in its Hebrew form includes the word "Yahweh" and adds a further element to it: God "saves". "I am who I am" - thanks to Jesus, this now means: "I am the one who saves you." His Being is salvation." - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), The God of Jesus Christ: Meditations on a Triune God

"They took the body down from the cross and one of the few rich men among the first Christians obtained permission to bury it in a rock tomb in his garden; the Romans setting a military guard lest there should be some riot and attempt to recover the body. There was once more a natural symbolism in these natural proceedings; it was well that the tomb should be sealed with all the secrecy of ancient eastern sepulture and guarded by the authority of the Caesars. For in that second cavern the whole of that great and glorious humanity which we call antiquity was gathered up and covered over; and in that place it was buried. It was the end of a very great thing called human history; the history that was merely human. The mythologies and the philosophies were buried there, the gods and the heroes and the sages. In the great Roman phrase, they had lived. But as they could only live, so they could only die; and they were dead.

On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realised the new wonder; but even they hardly realised that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn."

- G.K. Chesterton, from 'The Everlasting Man'

In which we ponder science and religion

The feast of the Epiphany (today) seems an appropriate time to consider a subject that has cropped up in a few of my conversations of late - the relationship between science and religion (namely the Catholic Church). The appropriateness of the Epiphany for such an intellectual musing centers on God revealing himself to the world via the star of Bethlehem and the subsequent arrival of the magi from the east. The magi, we must assume, were pagan philosophers and astronomers who looked to the stars and the world about them for answers to the mysteries of life. With the birth of Christ, their vague searches among the shadows for spiritual meaning were over when they encountered the truth in the manger.

This is where our consideration of the twin subjects of science and religion must begin - the search for truth. In terms of religious, and specifically Christian thought, God is truth. Or, put another way, all that is true comes from God. The Scriptures testify to this readily for Our Lord proclaims in the Gospel of St. John, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." In order to conceive how science and religion fit together, we must consider God the author of all that is true in the universe, as he himself declares.

The second step we must take is to consider how we as humans come to know truth. First and foremost, we are born as material creatures in a material world - thus we have an understanding of the physical world around us through our senses and our investigations. We are also born with and develop an intellect, which subscribes to the natural law - the law written on the hearts of all human beings. Therefore, the things which we observe in nature and the things that we discern in our hearts tend toward truth. This tendency, however, is perfected by God's own revelation of himself - the divine law. Revelation is a third source of truth and is found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition and is interpreted by the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church. This is the Catholic position on how truth may be known.

Science fits in quite nicely in this system of the world. For, we must note that science is founded on claims that can only be classified as mystical, or even religious in nature. That is, they cannot be proved or disproved through the sciences:

• The world is intelligible. This is the primary assertion of science. It is the basis of all scientific inquiry. Scientists must believe that the world is imbued with meaning and that it can therefore be made sense of. This premise is largely glossed over as common sense, but we can see its grounding in Western thought if we compare it to, say, the Native American worldview. Many Native American tribes (if not all) subscribed to the belief that nature is sacred and that it is not to be tampered with. Science could not develop under such philosophical circumstances. Science, the knowledge of the world around us, can only exist when we desacralize our surroundings. 
• The mind is capable of discerning truth. This is also so obvious to us Westerns that we often don't stop to think about it. However, in order for the scientific method to function, we must believe that our mind is capable of rational decisions. We must, in essence, possess that faith that our interior thoughts correspond with exterior realities. Hence the importance of the soul in theology. If we were soulless collections of randomly-collected cells, what faith could we have that our bodies naturally evolved to know right from wrong. Thus, the true skeptic is trapped by his skepticism into believing he is unable to know anything for certain. Science cannot exist under these conditions either. 

Now that we have examined how science exists in our culture, we must get on to the true heart of the issue. I have heard outrageous claims that the Church stands in direct opposition to science. These claims are fueled by Dan Brown half-truths and the straw-man arguments of the New Atheists who need a convincing theological bogeyman. The knowledge proposed by the Church and the knowledge developed by scientific inquiry are of two fundamentally different species. Theological truths, as proposed by the Church, attempt to answer questions of why. Scientific truths, on the other hand, are very convincing in explaining to us what things are and how they work. Science falters when it attempts to answer questions of ultimate meaning. Hence, the Church has consistently taught that knowledge gained by the sciences is inherently good, since it uncovers truth that God has imprinted in creation. And, subsequently, since the scope of science and the scope of theology are two different spheres of thought, they can never be said to contradict.

On the theological side of things, we must be conscious of how we are interpreting divine revelation when considering scientific claims. Biblical Fundamentalism, though a fairly recent phenomenon in Christian theology, has a firm claim on a vast segment of the population. This can exacerbate conflict between religion and science, and can quite frankly make Christianity out to look quite foolish. Catholics have never been Biblical Fundamentalists in the modern sense of the term. Yes, the Church teaches that the Scriptures are infallible, and yes she teaches that they are the inspired word of God. She does not teach, however, that all Scripture is to be read at literal face value. She has never taught such a doctrine that is quite foreign to the Christian mind.

The Bible must be understood quite carefully. The various books are written in various styles. To say that the Psalms are to be understood as plainly as the Letters of St. Paul is to deprive oneself of the poetic richness of those songs. So, when we consider the accounts of creation in Genesis, we cannot read them with the journalistic expectations with which we read newspapers. The Church has fantastic precedent in this arena when we consider the writings of the bishops and other members of the early Church. The modern disciplines of history and science were not around when the Biblical books were written, so it escapes me why some continue to force these views on ancient texts. Not even the biblical scholars of the early modern period did that. 

So, let us briefly consider the creation of the world (a tall order, I realize). The best of modern scientific research says that the universe is approximately thirteen billion years old and began with a cataclysmic event known as the Big Bang (a theory which was put forward by a Catholic priest incidentally). Earth took shape slowly over the course of the ages and eventually life developed. How can we interpret the biblical accounts of creation in light of this knowledge? 

First, we must say with certainty that science will never be able to answer the question of why the universe exists, or why it was created in the first place. That is purely metaphysical in nature. Second, we must consider Genesis with our knowledge of what sort of writing it is. It is not journalistic, it is poetic. Just because it is poetic doesn't mean that we can't discern concrete truths from it. Here are a few off the top of my head:

• God created the world. It was not a random act of chance, but an act of the divine will to create.
• God created the world by speaking. In direct contrast to other ancient myths, whose creation stories were often violent, the God of the Bible spoke the world into existence. This prefigures the sending of Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, to redeem creation.
• Creation is good. The account in Genesis speaks quite clearly to the fact that God did not create evil. Material creation is not inherently evil. We are not to attempt to escape the material world, rather we are to sanctify it. 
• Man occupies a special place in creation. Man is the only creature endowed with intellect. We are also unique in our creation in the image and likeness of our creator. We are not mere animals.

I could probably go on (I am sure books have been written on the subject). But with this example we can see how theological truths such as the ones above can never be proven or disproven by science, yet this does not make them untrue. Additionally, we can understand the truth of these statements without disparaging the truth of scientific inquiry which paints a different picture of how the events transpired. 

Science and religion thus only contradict when we force them to. This comes from both sides. Perhaps it is an atheist setting up the Church as anti-science and anti-logic. Perhaps it is your local fundamentalist preacher decrying the purported age of the earth. Whenever you here such arguments, recall that in reality both sides are much more nuanced and compatible than it often appears. The search for truth is not confined to the stars nor is it confined to the crib in Bethlehem. We just need to be able to see the two of them for what they are and not confuse their relative importance and impact on our lives.

The Hosts of Heaven, Exult!

A Happy Easter to All! Below is the text of the Exultet, a solemn hymn sung during the Easter Vigil by a deacon before the lighting of the Paschal candle before the Liturgy of the Word (which on this, the most sacred of nights, consists of nine readings and eight Psalms). Pictured above is the ceremony known as Holy Fire which occurs during the Easter Vigil held at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (where Christ's tomb is located). One lit candle is brought to the sanctuary, and the congregation gathers and lights their own candles until the room is full. 


Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph! Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness. Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice, arrayed with the lighting of his glory, let this holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

(Therefore, dearest friends, standing in the awesome glory of this holy light, invoke with me, I ask you, the mercy of God almighty, that he who has been pleased to number me, though unworthy, among the Levites, may pour into me his light unshadowed, that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.)

(V/: The Lord be with you.
R/: And with your spirit.)
V/: Lift up your hearts.
R/: We lift them up to the Lord.
V/: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R/: It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart, and with devoted service of our voice, to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten. Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father, and pouring out his own dear Blood wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness. These then are the feasts of Passover, in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb, whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.

This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin. This is the night that even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, lending them to grace, and joining them to his holy ones. This is the night when Christ broke the prison-bars of death, and rose victorious from the underworld. Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.

O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! O truly blessed night, worthy alone to know the time and hour when Christ rose from the underworld!

This is the night of which it is written: The night shall be as bright as day, dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness. The sanctifying power of this night dispels all wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty. On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, an evening sacrifice of praise, this gift from your most holy Church.

But now we know the praises of this pillar, which glowing fire ignites for God’s honour, a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious.

O truly blessed night, when things of heaven are wed to those of earth, and divine to the human. Therefore, O Lord, we pray you that this candle, hallowed to the honour of your name, may persevere undimmed, to overcome the darkness of this night. Receive it as a pleasing fragrance, and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who coming back from death’s domain has shed his peaceful light on humanity and lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen

Spy Wednesday

I hope everyone's Holy Week is progressing well. The Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally called Spy Wednesday - the name refers to Judas Iscariot going to the high priests and setting in motion the events of Christ's passion which will begin in earnest tomorrow evening when we leave the season of Lent and enter into the Triduum (Latin: the three great days).

Judas is an intriguing figure in the New Testament, and like it or not, most of humanity has something in common with him. Legends and pious tradition claim that Judas was a Levite, a scholar, and one of the most educated of Christ's Twelve Apostles. Christ evidently saw promise in him, as He called Judas into the first generation of priestly ministry as an Apostle. Yet, Judas betrayed his Lord for thirty measly pieces of silver.

If anything, Spy Wednesday should be a day where we reflect how our actions have betrayed God. Each time we sin and disobey God, we are like Judas setting into motion the painful drama of the death of our Lord. Jesus bore all of our betrayals on the cross. He was our paschal sacrifice, substituting himself in atonement for our transgressions. Since his sacrifice was once and for all, we can take hope in the fact that Christ has born all of our evils before. We need only repent and accuse ourselves in humility in order to be free of their weight on our soul. And what a relief repentance is!

This past Monday I went to confession for the first time in a very long time. I was practically sweating bullets waiting outside of the makeshift confessional set up in the sacristy. While in the process of confessing, however, it felt at times like my sins were trying to escape as I was saying them - that in truly acknowledging what I have done and what I have failed to do - I was cleansing my soul of a disease. I was admitting my betrayals of Christ; and Christ, through the ministry of the priest, was restoring me to himself. At the absolution (the point during confession when the priest, through the power of Christ and his Body, the Church, absolves penitents of their sins), I felt such a rush of relief flood over me. As I left the church that day, I felt a bit like skipping.

Our betrayals of Jesus can be forgiven, and in that forgiveness we are able to be restored by the grace of God to his family. We need only admit that we've done something wrong. This can be a very difficult thing to come to terms with. Perhaps we are like Judas - we are too smart for God, we know that our way is best and that our personal convictions our never wrong. Of course, the Biblical record tells us where this, the deadly sin of pride, gets people: expelled from Eden, drowned in a Flood, forbidden entry to the Promised Land, exiled to Babylon, etc. If we can admit we are wrong, we can admit that we are fallen. If we can admit we are fallen, we can seek to better ourselves and receive the sanctifying grace available to us through the cross of Christ.

"Go, and sin no more." - John 8:11

Hosanna to the Son of David

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" - Matthew 21:6

Palm Sunday is always bittersweet. We echo the joy of the crowds in Jerusalem, who welcomed Christ as the Messiah, yet we know - like Christ knew - that it would end with another procession, a long arduous procession toward agonizing death. Of course, as Christians, we know that his death is what gives us hope for life. The obedient self-sacrifice of Calvary is the eternal gate for the salvation of mankind. Through the great salvific act of Jesus Christ, the cross - an instrument of torture - became a sign of triumphant joy.

That of course, will all be reflected upon in due time. Worth noting at present is the entry of Christ and the prophecies and allusions his passage into Jerusalem recalls. In the verse at the top of this post, we read that the crowd is shouting to Jesus as the "Son of David." We recall from the prophecies read during Advent that the Messiah was to be born of the House of David in Bethlehem, the city of David. We must recall the the Old Testament was not abolished or ignored by Christ, it was fulfilled by Christ. So, we can conclude (and indeed, Catholic thought agrees) that King David was a type of Christ and that Christ would in turn be a perfection of King David.

David, of course, was King of Israel when it was at the height of its power. From his lowly origins as a shepherd, he was chosen by God to lead the nation, and was eventually victorious over the forces of Goliath and the Philistines. He brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (and his son Solomon built the temple for it). His authority was far reaching and he entered into a covenant with God who promised that he would "Establish your throne forever." David was also the author of many, if not all, of the Psalms; the words of which point to the future Messiah to save the world.

Christ fulfills the role of David in many ways. Jesus, known as the good shepherd, came to defeat the forces of sin through a battle (the pain of his Passion), and establish the eternal kingdom of God. David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem is fulfilled by Jesus, the law of the new covenant, entering Jerusalem in victory. And, we should not forget the universal kingship of Christ whose laws are just.

As the redemption of Christ is a universal gift for all, we must avail ourselves of it. The first step is Baptism, which incorporates us into Christ's Body with great joy - akin to the rejoicing of the crowds in Jerusalem. But, though we are members of the Church by virtue of the waters of baptism, we must continue to grow and learn to carry our crosses, even through the hardest times, for we know that at the end there is life. Carrying our crosses and living united to Christ is guided by the law of God fulfilled by Jesus, the King of All, Good Shepherd, and Son of the Living God.

Happy Birthday to the Pope

Today is the 84th birthday of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Born in Marktl, in Bavaria, Germany to Georg and Maria Ratzinger, Joseph Ratzinger lived much of his early life with the desire to become a priest. His seminary studies were interrupted by his forced conscription in the German Army during World War II. No ideological sympathizer with Nazism (his cousin with Down syndrome had been taken to a concentration camp), he deserted his unit toward the end of the war, and was eventually allowed to return to his theological studies. He and his brother Georg were ordained on the same day as priests of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

His priestly ministry centered on his teaching at various universities throughout Germany. He participated in the Second Vatican Council as an assistant to the Archbishop of Cologne. In favor of the reforms of the Council, he nonetheless wished to not break from the past as other, more radical theologians had desired. This position in the middle of the two extremes of modernism and traditionalism in the Church remains central to his papal ministry today.

In 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI. He served as archbishop from then until 1982, when he was made Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II, which caused him to move to Rome. As Prefect, he upheld the orthodox Catholic faith by reinforcing traditional views on priestly ministry, marriage, birth control, and other moral issues.

Ratzinger was elected pope during the Conclave of 2005, following the death of John Paul II. His firm defense of orthodoxy, coupled with his theological intellect, made him an appealing candidate. He took the name Benedict XVI because of his admiration for St. Benedict, an early monastic reformer and co-patron of Europe, and for Pope Benedict XV who worked tirelessly for peace during World War I.

Presenting the faith as the ultimate source of fulfillment in life has been a hallmark of Benedict's papacy. His three insightful encyclicals (letters on doctrine), have revolved around faith, hope, and love in the Christian faith as the ends to which all men aspire. His apostolic visits around the world have been marked with this message, delivered in a gentle and caring manner, contrary to the means of many of his detractors. Benedict has the heart and mind of a professor, who is proposing the faith to a classroom that has fallen asleep.

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At the start of his pontificate, Benedict did not impress me. I am not sure why, but I feel like it was due to my immaturity in my faith at that point in my life. As I have grown over the past few years into someone striving to take his faith more seriously, I have begun to appreciate more and more just how blessed we Catholics are to have a Pope like Benedict. The man is astoundingly intelligent (don't believe me, read some of his writings), has a caring heart for the entire world, and desires the unity of the Church as a force for Christ for fallen humanity. He has defended the moral positions of the Church with clarity, charity, and submission to the Gospel and Tradition, confounding many who see him as cold and autocratic. He is truly a "humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord," just as he said on that April day in 2005 from the balcony of St. Peter's. 

"May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies." - Psalm 40:3

(Picture taken from our friend Ross at subtectummeum.tumblr.com, because it is the most awesome picture of the Pope I have ever seen.)

The New Mount Carmel of America

Exciting news has come to my attention! The order of Carmelite monks is overflowing with vocation requests, many from young men seeking the authentic life of community and prayer fostered by monasticism. The order has outgrown their previous monastery, and is in the process of building a beautiful new home in the foothills of Wyoming.

The massive complex will house a large abbey church with room for all of the religious of the community as well as space for 150 lay worshipers. The monks will live in small cells with a sleeping area, bathroom, and small garden. Eating, praying, and working will all be in common in large communal spaces. The life of the monks, of course, will revolve around prayer and the liturgy. They will sing the Divine Office (the daily prayer of the Church) in community and have mass each day. As such, the abbey church is the center of the complex.

This monastic community is a phenomenal advance for the Church in the United States. In the Middle Ages, during the last great monastic revival, monasteries became centers of learning and shared knowledge about God. New monastic communities, such as this one in Wyoming, can become symbols of the prophetic witness of the Church and be used as a way to save the West from its moral decay, or at least resurrect it to new life when it dies. This, I remind my readers, is how monastic communities of Ireland helped rebuild Europe after the fall of Rome.

Of course the architecture must be mentioned. This complex is absolutely visually stunning, a fitting tribute to God in a spectacular natural landscape. The style is French Gothic, emblematic of the great monasteries of Europe and of the timeless nature of the Church's message. McCrery Architects of Washington, DC, are the brains behind the architectural design, and more can be had at their website, found here.

Images are taken from the New Mount Carmel of America Foundation's website, which can be found here.

Pilate and Mary

It struck me the other day that Mary and Pilate are the only two mortals mentioned in the Creed. It is interesting indeed how these two offer fundamentally opposed realities for us to choose between each day in our lives. For a refresher, here is the chunk of the Creed that is relevant:

For us men and our salvation, he came down from heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sakes he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures.

On the one hand, we have the supreme Christian example of our Blessed Mother, Mary. She, in accepting the Lord (the first person to ever have this privilege), devoted herself to a life with Christ - through good times and through the bad times. Her life was intimately tied to Truth itself, Jesus, the divine logos, the Word made flesh. In taking on this phenomenal challenge of Christian life, Mary was assured that it was not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, Simeon, the priest had this to say: Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, and thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34-35).

The phrase 'and thy own soul a sword shall pierce' stands out to me as a prophecy that would send others running. In this modern world of ours, pain and suffering are seen as things to be avoided, covered up, suppressed, ignored, and if possible, defeated. Not so for Mary. For her, the suffering and sorrow prophesied by Simeon was something that she would eventually have to face full-on without any help of pain-killers or anti-depressants. She witnessed the crucifixion and passion of her own son, the ultimate sorrow of human history, with courage and dedication. The truth revealed by Christ: the truth of agony of sin and the joy of redemption, was experienced by the Blessed Virgin in its entirety. She, like the Church, reflected the truth of the Son in her actions. She clung to the truth revealed by God, even on the hill of Calvary, though the sorrow pierced her own soul.

The actions of Pontius Pilate, on the other hand, are far more indicative of many people in today's world. During the course of Jesus' trial, Pilate asks "What is truth?" This question, though one of the central questions of the meaning of our existence, was not asked in a truthful way. It was asked ironically to truth itself. Pilate, a middle manager of the Roman Empire, was not interested in truth; he was interested in his job. He, in his position of authority, had the opportunity to uphold the truth of Christ's innocence, but instead decided to save his reputation and Roman employment. In the end, he was ruined: legend has it that he committed suicide after being relocated to Gaul.

How many people today are like Pilate? Many ignore truth to have a convenient, pain-free life. How many people just ignore the entire concept of truth altogether? The problem of course, is that without any common recognition of truth, reality falls apart. When people ignore truth as revealed by both God and nature, they are free to imprison themselves in their own self-constructed realities. Pilate, in his denial of Christ and his caving to Jewish pressure, was acting under selfish motivations that would save him from suffering. However, the question must be asked: if one can't suffer for truth, what will one end up suffering for?

Mary, on the other hand, had a firm grounding in the truth revealed by God - the entire truth of human and divine existence, which due to the sinful nature of things includes the dreaded s-word - suffering. However, Mary's suffering was not in vain. In her clinging to the truth, she was able to rejoice in the triumph of Christ and unite herself to God more fully in her glorious Assumption at the end of her earthly life - a far more palatable end than that of Pilate.

So, when we see what the Creed says, we can see the two fundamental paths open to us each day. We can be like Pilate, deny truth, ignore our God-given reason, forget our purpose, fall to selfishness and end in ruin. Or, we can accept Jesus, the logos of God, whole and entire, and follow wherever it may lead, even through the valley of the shadow of death, until He calls us home.

The first image is of Our Lady of Sorrows, from an Alsatian altarpiece. The second is 'Ecce Homo' by Antonio Ciseri

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you

On this day in the Roman Catholic calendar, we commemorate the episode called the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to bear God's Son. This is one of my very favorite stories of the Bible because it brings all of God's plan together in a summary. The entirety of our salvation through the Church established by Christ hinged on Mary's obedience to the Lord's will.

Gabriel greets Mary
Gabriel, a messenger from God, visits Mary and declares her goodness with the words "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." From this we can understand that God is searching for us, he is seeking reunion with his children and comes to us in a variety of ways; for Mary it was through the words of an angel, for us it is through Christ, the living Word of God. The angel's greeting also stands as the ends of the Christian faith - to be full of grace in the presence of the Lord. Catholic dogma affirms Mary's lifelong sinlessness as a special grace conferred on her by the power of God. The result of this grace is that Mary is the highest example of purely human Christian life. She was full of grace her entire life, and literally was with the Lord when he was on earth. However, we can imitate her virtues and her care for her Son as we strive to live virtuously and tend to our relationship with Jesus. God is seeking us, and we seek the ultimate union with Him.

Mary's doubt
The story continues as Luke records, "But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be." Mary was troubled by Gabriel's greeting. So often we are troubled and astounded by the ways God speaks to us. Other times we hear him, but are worried about his demands.

Gabriel announces God's plan to Mary
Gabriel reassures Mary saying, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." Here is the real crux of the entire story - the entire story from Genesis to Revelation. God, who has affirmed the goodness and potential of humanity through the words of Gabriel, announces his plan for the salvation of humanity by a lowly Galilean virgin. The eternal Word has become finite Flesh who will "be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." All of this, God, the highest, the King of all, will be born into a suffering world by a lowly girl. This mystery of the Incarnation, of God taking flesh, is the one most central to all of Christianity. That God is willing to become a mortal and humble himself showcases the love he has for creation and his desire to reunite us to himself.

Mary's reply
Mary, after understanding what was to become of her replied to Gabriel, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Mary, understanding her role in the plan of God's salvation, agrees to Gabriel's message. This was not a case of what would Jesus do, this was a case of the much more important question what would God have me do. Mary was not motivated by her selfish plans for her own life, but rather she was prompted by grace to enjoin her actions to the plan that God had for her - another instance of the humility that all are called to.

Summary
So, from this two paragraph story of the Annunciation, a scant twelve verses of the Gospel of St. Luke, we have discovered the over-arching themes of God's plan for us. 1. We are called to be holy and to become 'full of grace.' 2. We cannot do this alone, and we have doubts. 3. God has sent himself to us to reunite us through his life, death and resurrection. 4. We are called to answer the call of God with joy and to align ourselves with the plan of grace that he has for each of our lives. This in effect means having a life of prayer and an understanding of the discipline needed to follow Christ so that we can answer that call effectively.

A summary of this summary can be found in the Angelus prayer which was traditionally prayed in the morning, at noon, and during the evening. It is said by the Pope and those gathered at St. Peter's Square at noon. It recounts the mystery of the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary and the subsequent conception of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. The text of the Angelus is below, along with a video of the prayer being chanted in Latin.



Latin Version

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ.
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ. Amen.

V. Ecce Ancilla Domini.
R. Fiat mihi secundum Verbum tuum.

Ave Maria...

V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
R. Et habitavit in nobis.

Ave Maria...

V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus: Gratiam tuam quæsumus, Domine,
mentibus nostris infunde;
ut qui, angelo nuntiante,
Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus,
per passionem eius et crucem,
ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur.

Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

English Version

V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the power of Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to your Word.

Hail Mary...

V. And the Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary...

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, Your grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

This monumental event which is so central to our salvation is celebrated as a Solemnity, so that the ordinary directive against eating meat is lifted whenever this feast falls on a Lenten Friday. So, enjoy a steak today for Jesus, guilt-free!

Big Bad Religion

The word 'religion' gets a bad rap these days in terms of Christianity. Secular folks tend to think of it in terms of superstitious ritual and harmful myths lingering in the modern world. Evangelicals tend to dissociate themselves from 'religion' and its many pointless rules and regulations, and focus on simple faith in Christ (whatever that means). The religious person is thus cast as a superstitious, spiritually dead, obedient drone who has no contributions to make to a 'progressive' society and at the same time no 'real' relationship with Jesus.

So, what is religion when it comes to Christianity? Is it simply the rules and regulations? Is it only some tenuous relationship with Jesus? Why are people so eager to follow Jesus, but at the same time so against the concept of religion? Where does this dichotomy happen? Was Jesus a religious leader, or an anti-religious rebel?

I believe that's the best way to start the discussion - with Jesus himself. One simple question can get the ball rolling: what religion was Jesus? Some would answer that he was a devout and observant Jew. Others would undoubtably call him the first Christian leader. Still some new-agey folks would call him a free thinker who gained philosophical and spiritual enlightenment. I would say he had no religion.

What? Jesus had no religion? Now, what I mean to say is that Jesus had no need for religion, at least in the typical sense of the word. Yes, he was raised and lived according to the Jewish laws. Yes, he transformed the meaning and purpose of those laws into the New Covenant in his blood. However, he did not need religion.

God is infinitely perfect, while religion assumes imperfection in all humanity. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, had no need for religion to draw himself closer to God - he was God! He was in communion with God from all eternity. We profess this each Sunday in the Creed: "We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father."

Jesus was God from the beginning. In the Old Testament, God had begun to draw his people to himself in his special relationship with Israel and the various covenants established with them. God was reaching out to broken humanity and calling it back into a special relationship with him. Lumen Gentium, one of the most important documents to come from the Second Vatican Council says this on the subject:

The eternal Father, by a free and hidden plan of His own wisdom and goodness, created the whole world. His plan was to raise men to a participation of the divine life. - Lumen Gentium 2:1 (AD 1964)

From the beginning of time, God in his perfect love, has sought to draw the people he created in his image and with his dignity back to him to participate in his eternal goodness. Wow. This hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. Once we realize God wants us, we draw closer to God. That's a good working definition of grace.

So what does this have to do with Christ and religion? Jesus was the final word of God - quite literally (the Word made flesh c.f. John 1). Jesus was sent by God to establish another, final covenant with the world. The passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus established a new way for humanity to come to terms with God. A quotation of John 3:16 seems appropriate at this juncture.

Jesus provides a way for God to draw sinful humanity back to him, and to cleanse it of sin. Some would say that the only thing we need to do is to 'have a personal relationship with the Lord.' I would go further, and to take Jesus up on the whole of his mission. Jesus, since he was God, had no need for anything to help him get any closer to God. However, he knows that we are sinners, and he knows we need his continuing ministry to guide us back into his love.

It is with these things in mind that God established the New Covenant by founding a church through the work of Jesus Christ. The Church has as its mission, the convocation of all humanity into God's loving embrace. The Church facilitates 'the participation of the divine life' in anticipation of eternal life with Christ. It is not through it's own power that this is done, but through the very power of Jesus Christ the head of the Church, who established it for our salvation.

The Church was established for the salvation of souls through unity with Jesus. Thus, one of the most common descriptions of the Church is the Body of Christ. We are called into union with Jesus to be a part of His Body. However, we can't do it on our own. We can't just claim faith in Jesus and then be done with it. We have a natural tendency to sin and to separate ourselves from the 'participation of the divine life' that we are called to as human beings who are made with dignity in God's own image.

The Church helps us and guides us, that is its purpose. It's sacraments continue the saving ministry of Jesus throughout time and space. Through the nurturing of the liturgical life of the Church, we can continue on our call to sanctify ourselves and make our selves holy as God is holy. This sharing in the life of Christ is part of our dignity as human persons. God is seeking us, and wants us to seek communion with him. The Church, founded by God, provides this medium through the ongoing power of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments.

This is the true meaning of religion. Seeking communion with a God who is at the same time seeking communion through us.

"Just as God's will is creation and it is called 'the world,' so his intention is the salvation of men, and it is called 'the Church.'" - Clement of Alexandria

This theological explanation may have been a bit long-winded and repetitive, but I had to get it out there. So often I hear of people grumbling about the Catholic Church because it is full of 'religiosity.' I don't really understand what this word means, but I have a feeling it is a reaction against the sacramental system of the Church. Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, and each of the other sacraments are not vain rituals, but true grace-giving, life-sustaining actions of Christ who still works in the world by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Church.

Viewing the sacraments as a part of God's plan to draw humanity to him has just increased my appreciation of them. Each has a special role to play in our journey toward sanctification. Of course, they are not the only way. Each work of faith, hope, and charity performed in love has the power to help transform our souls. Each time we choose virtue over vice, we affirm the plan God has for us to join in communion with him. This is religion. This is the Church. It is a system, there are rules, there are leaders, but once it is understood in a context of God's plan for all of humanity, it makes beautiful sense.

Some are called to be leaders -  these are the popes, bishops, and cardinals. Their duty is to maintain the faith entrusted to them and handed on to them since the time of the Apostles. The order they maintain is vital for the Church's saving mission. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Some are called to be priests - they minister to God's people and help draw them in to an active life of holiness and participation in the Church's mission. Some are called to work for the Lord - these are the nuns, monks, brothers and other religious. The carry the love of God to all in all that they do for service and charity. Others are called to be married - to witness the authentic love of God in their commitment of service to one another. This is what St. Paul means when he said that we are many parts, but all one body - the Body of Christ.

To participate in the love of the Body of Christ, is to be religious. To be religious is to live a life of Christ-centered love that animates, sustains, and builds up humanity. To be religious is to participate in the saving mission of the Church.

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To read all of Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) click here.

To read pertinent articles concerning the Church in the Catechism click here.

Thoughts on the Latin Mass

Today, I decided to alter my Sunday routine and attended the traditional Latin mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Grand Rapids. I hear a lot about the Latin mass, both in terms of the history of the Church, and in terms of the controversy that accompanies much talk of the sacred liturgy. And, more importantly, the Latin mass is in the midst of a comeback: there are now 360 Latin Sunday masses in over 150 United States dioceses, this is up 120 from 2007. This is not to mention incidences of the Latin mass outside of the U.S., which is no doubt also considerable. There is much speculation as to the rise in its popularity, but a trend I have personally observed at least in the Catholic Church 'round here is that the younger generations are far more conservative, and generally more devout, than their Baby Boomer elders. I have a few friends going into the priesthood, and they are far more committed to the Church than the parish priest down the road in terms of devotion to the sacraments, the Bible, and the teachings of the Church.

A bit of history and terminology needs to be clarified before delving into the subject further. First, Pope Benedict XVI clarified in his motu proprio letter Summorum Pontificum in 2007 that there are two forms, or expressions, of the Roman Rite of the Mass. Let us remember that the Roman Rite is the most common of the several liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. No rite is more right than another - a Catholic may satisfy his Sunday obligation at any Catholic parish whether it be Roman, Mozarabic, Byzantine, Melkite, Chaldean or what have you. In terms of numbers, however, the Roman Rite far outnumbers all of the other rites and is the liturgy most people, Catholic or not, identify as 'the Catholic Mass.' Anyway, the Roman Rite is expressed currently in two ways: the Ordinary Form, codified by Pope Paul VI in 1970 in the wake of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council; and the Extraordinary Form, contained in the missal codified and reissued by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962. The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is what is commonly known as the 'traditional Latin mass.'

Both forms of the Roman Rite are equally valid and acceptable in the eyes of the Church. They are two expressions of the same truth which flows from Christ's redeeming sacrifice, made present in the Eucharist. The liturgy, it must be remembered, means 'work of the people' and has never been set in stone. However, it is a sacred and profound mystery that must be treated as such, and it should not be changed lightly. We must recall that the mass is a manifestation of the eternal liturgy of heaven, so eloquently hinted at in the Book of Revelation.

That being said, the way each form of the mass manifests these mysteries is distinct. The Ordinary Form is of course more approachable, given its vernacular language. The Extraordinary Form is much more mystical and foreign, evoking the hidden majesty of God. As I said, whatever liturgical abuses that may accompany the Ordinary Form (i.e. liturgical dancing, morally lax homilies, decreased reverence for the Sacrament, etc.) we must recall that it is equal in dignity to the Extraordinary Form, and can perhaps learn a thing or two from it.

Anyways, to get on with today's Latin mass experience. Going into the thing, the characterization of what is often called 'the old mass' went something like this: "The priest faced away from the people, women wore veils, communion was received on the tongue while kneeling, and it was all recited in a dead language. Thank goodness for Vatican II which brought us out of the dark ages." It was a pretty depressing picture from that angle. But, I experienced things quite a bit differently today. Let me go through a few key points.

'Dead' Language
The most obvious difference, of course, was that the mass was said entirely in Latin, with exception of the Epistle, the Gospel, and the Homily. Many are put off by this 'dead, foreign language', because they cannot 'understand' what is going on. This is being a bit simplistic if you ask me. Yes, Latin is no longer a living language, which means it is not a changing language. Latin is basically eternal, it cannot change. This make it the perfect language for liturgy. Things said in 1344 mean the same as things said in 1994, whereas English and all other living languages have changed dramatically in the span of those six centuries.

Additionally, Latin is the language of the Church. It is an aspect of her sacred unity. With the Latin mass, a priest from Cambodia can be understood by a person from Cameroon within the context of the liturgy. They are taken away from their common, pedestrian language and put into communion with one another by a sacred language, reserved for the worship of God.

Which leads naturally to the next point about language in the mass: how do we speak to God in mass? It is my hope that such a sacred event would inspire language that is not often used in the course of the other six days of the week. This is a big deal. We dress up for church because it's important, perhaps we should start speaking like it's important.

The final point to be made about Latin is that it is not readily understandable. What? Did I read that correctly? Yes, candid reader, indeed you did. God and his ways are mysterious. If nothing else, Latin in the liturgy heightens that sense of the mysteriousness of God's workings in our hearts and lives.

Priest Faces the Wall
Yes, for most of the mass, the priest faces ad orientem or toward the (liturgical) east. Directions have special meanings in the liturgical realm. They may not always correspond with the actual direction one is facing, but they carry meanings within themselves. For instance, east is considered the direction of the coming of Christ. I immediately think of the hymn "People Look East". The ancient Jews believed the messiah would come from the East, and we know of course that Jesus comes to us 'from the east' during each mass. West, conversely, is often referred to as the direction of spiritual death. The sun 'dies' in the west. That is why one enters a traditional church through liturgical west and then marks himself with the sign of the cross from the baptismal font. He has left behind his spiritual death, gone through the saving waters of baptism and is ready to receive Christ, rising in the east.

There is a certain pattern, then, that can be discerned in the directionality of the mass. With the priest facing 'east' with the congregation, the entire gathering, symbolic of the people of God assembled, look east together toward Christ. Christ, then, becomes the focus of the entire action of the mass. The priest becomes the head of the people of God assembled, offering the sacrifice of Christ in persona Christi with us as witnesses.

And, on a less esoteric note; the mass is not about the priest, whether in the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form. The priest is a medium of God's grace during the sacred mass, he is not an attraction unto himself - ideally. Facing ad orientem reinforces this holy humility that the clergy are especially called to.

Communion kneeling, received on the tongue
This really seems to me not that large of an objection. Movement in the liturgy symbolizes the actions occurring. For instance, during the Creed, we bow during the sentence, "By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man." This is to emphasize, with our body language, the sacredness of God becoming man. Kneeling, in the same way, imparts a certain message by its very action. Kneeling to receive Jesus in the Eucharist is simply another way in which we acknowledge our humility in accepting the King of Kings into our bodies sacramentally. Likewise, receiving on the tongue allows us not to touch the host with our hands, a further emphasis of our unworthiness.

Final Thoughts
All in all, I found the Latin mass rather enriching. This was the exact way mass was said from the mid-1500s until 1963, with the pre-1500 masses differing little. It then emphasizes communion with the whole Church, including those legions of faithful who have gone before us and make up the Church Triumphant in heaven. The sense of sacredness was heightened not only by the aforementioned qualities, but also by the long periods of silence, when the priest was saying things very quietly at the altar. Silence is itself a gift of God in an increasingly noisy world. It allows time for meditative prayer, and simple wonder and awe, a gift of the Holy Spirit which is often hard to grasp.

That's my two cents. I encourage all to attend a traditional Latin mass. Side note: the church was quite full, with a very diverse crowd; young families, teenagers, middle-aged adults, old people, Latinos, Asians. This was an encouraging sign as to the continued relevance of this time-honored sacred event.

Latin Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Grand Rapids is at 12:30 p.m. each Sunday.