"Why don't you ever go to the Latin Mass?"

I was asked this question the other day by someone who knows very well my love of the traditional Latin Mass, now referred to as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is true, I rarely travel into New Orleans for the TLM even though I do love it. I explained to the person asking me the question that is was because my family attended the Ordinary Form, the Novus Ordo, as it is called, and it was more important for me to attend mass as a family. It may sound cliche but that old adage, "the family that prays together, stays together" is something I firmly believe in.

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration and no better place is this revealed to us than in the Mass, Ordinary or Extraordinary. Jesus in all of His glory is shown to us at the consecration, made present by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is made possible through the graces a man receives at his ordination when he becomes a priest. With the bishop laying his hands on the priest and with the anointing of his head and hands, the priest has been 'set aside', consecrated for the Lord. It is this that makes the Mass valid as a great prayer of thanksgiving when offered to God. Can one Mass be made more beautiful or can one Mass seem more spiritual? Yes, but at the moment of consecration when the priest is 'in persona Christi' the Mass is real and Jesus is on the altar made present in the bread and wine as the Body and Blood of Christ. We must never lose sight of this fact. Do I long for and pray for the Mass to return to the more traditional and for the Latin to return to the place it was meant to have in the Liturgy? Yes, I do but not because it is more real but because the reverence of the more traditional focus is given to God. We must always remember it is not about our likes and dislikes when it comes to giving honor and glory to God, the focus must always be on Him.

'ad orientem' vs 'versus populum'; why do we need to vote?

As I sit watching the sun rise on this glorious Sunday morning, I am reminded of another Sunday morning where the Son rose and it brings to light ever more the argument for "ad orientem". 'Ad orientem' is Latin for 'toward the east' and this was a subject brought up by our pastor yesterday at Mass. I found this to be a teachable moment because...well he didn't.
As I have mentioned in previous posts our Mass is founded on rich tradition and Sacred Scripture. Historically the earliest Christian practices was to have the entire congregation face the east, the natural and cosmological symbol of the rising sun which is the perfect expression of our Risen Savior. Churches are built to face geographical East, or as Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, points out the position called "liturgical east". The priest is in the position of leadership guiding the congregation toward their eternal salvation and the Second Coming of Christ. The priest now leads the congregation in prayer and worship, offering our sacrifice to God. The priest is leading, not turning his back to the people as so many are want to phrase it.
Cardinal Ratzinger states in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, that with the advent of 'versus populum' the 'turned to the people' posture would lose sight of the worship to be given to the Lord and make the priest, the man, more of the focus. Unfortunately in many instances this has been the case. A priest I spoke with claims that now with the priest facing the people the worship space is closed and God is left out of the circle. There is no leading, we become closed in and self-centered, to use Cardinal Ratzinger's words. When this posture changed after Vatican Council II it was never meant to be about facing the people or centered around the priest. The discussion was brought about because of the construction in new churches that had free standing altars. Something was terribly lost in the translation of the general instruction and unfortunately God has suffered for it. Never was the priest encouraged to put his back to the Cross, he was to face the congregation at times of prayer to encourage participation, i.e. ..."now pray my brothers and sisters...".
Ironically our pastor's homily was about our reflection of the sacraments after we leave Mass. Do we convey what we believe in our everyday lives? And after attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion do we reflect the graces received in our actions toward others? All good points and something we can all ponder, but I found myself apologizing to Jesus again for our denial of Him during the Liturgy. Heaven forbid the priest should face Him instead of us, heaven forbid we miss out and not be able to see or hear what is going on. The priest reminds us of our actions after we leave the Liturgy, but what about the time spent in the presence of the Lord. Is that little head bob enough of a sign of worship or receiving Jesus on the hand and popping Him in the mouth enough to show Jesus He is really and truly present? Being dressed in our most casual attire is that another action to show Him we believe? Where is the sacrifice we are willing to make all for the glory of God?
The subject of 'ad orientem' is not debatable as far as I'm concerned, nor should we be voting on the position the priest takes at Mass. It is all about the glory and honor given to God. Until we realize it is not about us, sadly our lives will reflect our behavior toward God and all mankind for that matter.

What makes us catholic with a capital "C"?

I recently received an email from one of my professors encouraging us to not miss the opportunity to learn more about the priesthood in this the designated "Year for Priests" by attending the upcoming Word of God Conference. As I read his post two things made an impression on me; (1) the designated year for priests has not been embraced with the fervor shown the designated Year of St. Paul. He was correct in his post that this year is more about learning about the ministerial priesthood than it is about praying for vocations, which should be done as well. Secondly as Catholics we don't always embrace the opportunities given to us to learn about the Sacred Traditions of our faith.

I am impressed, I must admit when someone shares with me they read their bible regularly at home, usually at night prior to bedtime. I have to say, my parents were avid readers but they did not read the bible and we were protestants. But if I were to ask that same person if they read something out of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or if they knew the Church's teaching on immigration, let's say, they might stumble for the correct words or give me the more popular secular view on immigration. Never more as this come to my attention than recently with the discussion on abortion. Remember as Catholics we are not "sola scriptura" but we have a teaching authority, the Magisterium, and much of this teaching is based on Sacred Tradition handed down in a deposit of faith that has been kept for over 2000 years.

Catholics identify themselves as Catholic because they were baptised Catholic, attend a Catholic Church and receive Holy Communion, although it's debatable as to whether they believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. For many, this is as far as their identity with the Catholic faith goes. We are losing our identity as Catholics because too many don't understand what the Church teaches and then when told or instructed don't accept the teaching because it doesn't go along with the main stream secular way of life they are living. Yes we all have a hard time swallowing the truth from time to time because our pride gets in the way, it's not what we want to hear. Yet if we claim to be one body in Christ, one Church, then that truth pertains to us as Catholic Christians.

My new go-to-book is the Compendium of the Catholic Church's Social Doctrine. In this day and age of politics, economics, health care and immigration it is our responsibility as Church to know what the Church teaches and the basis for that teaching. Also timely is Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical "Caritas in Veritate". We are Catholics because we believe in the teaching of Christ and because He gave that teaching authority to the Apostles to continue His misssion. We are the Body of Christ, we must live as the Body of Christ, doing His work and continuing the Mission.

Do Catholics have a "prayer line" or a "prayer chain"?

This question was posed to me the other day, a parishioner had come in to the office and wanted to know if we could advertise a "prayer line" or "prayer chain", she wasn't sure of the proper term. I thought about how I was going to phrase this and be tactful so I said, "well as Catholics we pray for one another in a communion of Saints, as Church, the term "prayer chain" is more a protestant thought". We began to discuss how we pray for one another and our prayers are joined with all the saints for the good of all the members of the Church. We have the ultimate prayer line.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it succinctly, "the communion of saints is the Church", (CCC 946). All the baptised members of the Church form the faithful body of the church with Christ as the head. We pray for one another always as Church because of that reason, we are one body. I remember when I was in R.C.I.A. and our catechist told us that in the prayers of the faithful when we pray for the Church we are all included at that moment in the prayers because that included all of us, as members of the one true body of Christ. I'll never forget how comforting that was to know. In every Mass said when the Church is prayed for I was being included. Pretty awesome!
The Catechism also reminds us that in intercession, that asking on behalf of another, is characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. It is an expression of the communion of saints, we pray not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others, even those who mean us harm. This intercession is in full participation with the intercession of Christ. (CCC 2635).
As Church it is important to remember just that, we are Church. We look out for one another and we pray for one another. We pray to Mary, Our Mother and to the saints for intercession. These are our prayer lines, let's use them.

What will the impact of Caritas in Veritate have on us and our culture?

I have noticed two significant and quite polarizing news situations that have emerged before us as a society. First and foremost has been the much anticipated release of Pope Benedict's newest encyclical Caritas in Veritate, which I hope to read shortly. Second has been the buzz and fallout with the interview of Justice Ginsberg regarding the initial reason Roe v. Wade was allowed, to more or less suppress a certain aspect or culture of society, to put it as delicately as I can. Two views could not be more polarized.

Having not read the encyclical as of yet, I hesitate to comment. Having studied Catholic Social Teaching and having read the Pope's previous encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi, I feel it is safe to say he toes along the same line, the dignity and respect of the human being as made in the image and likeness of God are the foundation of what builds a society and what will continue to hold this nation together. Our economy will only stabalize once we all realize we are here for one another and not for profit. We must as a society look out for mankind. This encompasses fetuses at birth until natural death of the infirmed and elderly no longer considered productive in society. Who can determine that? Only God. It is a judgment call to say someone is productive or not, and we are not here to make judgments.

Last night at dinner, my mom and a friend of mine agreed they did not want to be burdens on their families when they got old and couldn't do for themselves any more. They both said they would "pull the plug" so to speak. So my mom says, "Debbie you have my permission to pull the plug, alright?" I looked at her and said it was not my plug to pull, only God could pull that plug when He was good and ready. Well that shut her up and she didn't say too much after that. Now my friend continued to say she would have this discussion with God when the time came, she would say, "God I know you don't believe in this but this is what I want." Now this cracked me up, we have so little regard for the omniscence of God.

The Pope is also calling on us as a society to give a helping hand to those countries that are considered not worthy because of their wealth or status as a powerful nation. That concept must begin at home, in our own neighborhoods, in our cities, our own states. I read a beautiful article today by Monsignor Guissani and he stated the same concepts that John Paul II focused on in so many of his writings. We only find completeness of self when doing for others. He says that when we witness another struggle it is natural for us, as human beings, to want to help them "with something of ours." He goes on to say that this is a need of ours that has to be met. If this need is not met we are incomplete beings. How many times has John Paul II stressed this "communio personarum", in that we are only complete human beings when freely giving the gift of self.

On the other hand Justice Ginsberg is saying, with no qualms by the way, Roe v. Wade was meant to keep a certain population from growing too large. And this is different from what Hitler did how? Now knowing that mentality it bogles the mind..... I can't even finish the thought. If we don't begin to see the worth of the tiniest human being or the oldest and sickest among us we will not begin to see the worth in others around us. They can lay their gifts at our feet and we will not recognize the blessing before us. What will become of us as a society, a nation if we continue with this disregard?

I encourage all Catholics, and non-Catholics as well, to please read the new encyclical. Think about what the Pope is asking of us as a society. And then I encourage you to read the Gospels again to see how this relates to the teaching of Christ and how we as Christians must bring this to fruition. You know it is up to us.

Has the Year of St. Paul brought any conversions of heart?

And so marks the end of the Year of St. Paul. I was in Italy last year just prior to the beginning of the year dedicated to St. Paul and since then I have come to know a bit more about the man Paul. I participated in a bible study on St. Paul and I attended a lecture given by Dr. Chris Baglow about the life of St. Paul that focused on the Temple of the Holy Spirit and how our lives reflect this about us, we as temples of the Holy Spirit. Paul gave us such incredible teaching as to our being the 'body of Christ' by our participation in the Eucharist. As Catholics I still wonder how many people realize the implication of this teaching. That by taking in Jesus Christ into our bodies we become like Christ, we are temples of the Holy Eucharist. For the Israelites, the Temple in Jerusalem was the most holy place on earth because it held the Ark of the Covenant, the Word of God. The significance of what Paul was teaching was probably incredibly difficult for some Jewish people to hear, much less comprehend. There are times I want to shake some people out of their reverie for the implications of what this means for our lives.
When teaching the children about St. Paul, they can all tell me that his name was Saul and he was knocked off his horse by a blinding light and was cured and became a follower of Jesus. Sounds so simple. We have to realize that Saul was blind for three days before he experienced his "resurrection" and then truly saw the "light". I wonder what hell he descended to for those three days, what did he truly "see" before his resurrection? This is not so simple. When we experience a conversion, a metanoia or a change of heart, many of us will experience this gradually but for some it will be that God knocks us on our behinds to get our attention. When this happens do we see God working in our lives? God reveals many things to us we don't want to acknowledge. For our sakes He wants us to see our sinfulness, the ugliness in our lives before we can freely turn to God and be the person He created us to be. This conversion is truly a blessing, a miracle happening in our lives. Like St. Paul do we recognize the miracle happening in our lives? Do we recognize ourselves as 'Temples'? Sin and ugliness can be extremely painful especially when it's our own sin and pain. For God it's the struggles of our lives that make them worth living, living in Christ.

Are we prepared for our own life after death?

Yesterday when I heard about Ms. Fawcett's and Mr. Jackson's deaths I thought of a delightful and quite imaginative book written by Dr. Peter Kreeft called Between Heaven and Hell. It is written in dialogue prose and focuses on a conversation taking place between President John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley, who die within hours of each other in November of 1963. I wondered if Ms. Fawcett and Mr. Jackson were engaging in a similar conversation. The dialogue is philosophical in nature regarding the truth of heaven, hell and purgatory. It is quite thought provoking to say the least.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that "Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan and to decide his ultimate destiny" (CCC 1013). The Church encourages us to live our life in Christ and to prepare for our death to this earthly life and to live in the fullness of life with Christ in heaven. The question then becomes how do we prepare and are we prepared to let go of this earthly life and live in Heaven? Christ came to show us how to prepare. He was the perfect man exemplar for us. The teachings of the Church remind us of our obligation and responsibilty to live our baptismal call. It is through Baptism that sacramentally we have already "died with Christ" in order to live a new life, (CCC 1010).

There are people who believe that Faith alone will get them to heaven. Jesus taught us the corporal works of mercy and gave us the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes give us attitudes to adopt in living our vocation characteristic of the Christian life with the promise of sharing in the Kingdom of God, our just reward. This is about action, the workings of Christ, not just faith alone. Christ was all about faith and actions.

The Church teaches that heaven is the state of supreme and definitive happiness, the goal of the deepest longings of humanity (CCC 1023). Human beings are all about happiness and the perfect happiness can be found resting in the presence of the Face of God, the Beatific Vision. Whereas hell is a state of self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed. This self-exclusion is a free choice to refuse to believe and be converted from sin (CCC1033). It comes down to our choice and the choices we make in living our life here on earth. It begins here and now. Purgatory, the Church teaches, is a final purification after death for those in friendship with God, a final cleansing of human imperfection before being able to enter the perfection of heaven, (CCC 1031). I have been taught that one must walk through fire so to speak for this cleansing to take place, sounds painful to say the least.

So, what's it going to be, heaven, hell, or purgatory? God is our Judge, but the choice is up to us?