Words of the Word

Week 21. Saint Monica of Hippo. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

“And they devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) themselves to the Apostles’ teaching (τῇ διδαχῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων, te didache ton apostolon) and fellowship (καὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ, te koinonia), to the breaking of bread (τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου, te klasei tou artou) and the prayers (ταῖς προσευχαῖς, proseuchais).

And day by day, attending (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook (μετελάμβανον, metelambanon) of food with glad and generous hearts (ἀγαλλιάσει καὶ ἀφελότητι καρδίας, agalliasei kai apheloteti kardias) and praising God (αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν, ainountes ton Theon) and having favor (χάριν, charin) with all the people. And the Lord added (προσετίθει, prosetithei) to their number day by day those who were being saved (σῳζομένους, sozomenous) (Acts 2:42, 46-47).”

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations. (Psalm 96:3, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
who console the sorrowful and
who mercifully accepted the motherly tears
of Saint Monica for the conversion
of her son Augustine, grant us,
through the intercession of them both,
that we may bitterly regret our sins and
find the grace of your pardon.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

We last considered the meaning of how the newly baptized were living when it came to their new life in Christ Jesus: “they devoted themselves (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes)” and we will explore over the course of the next few days that these newly baptized devoted themselves to 4 particular experiences of Christian living. These experiences are termed by some scholars as the ‘constitutive elements of Church’ and they are presented as Chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris begins. In other words, when these 4 experiences come together in the power and work of the Holy Spirit, the result is the Body of Christ, the Church. The first of these experiences is διδαχή (didache), translated here in the Acts of the Apostles as “teaching.”

διδαχή has both a rich usage and meaning in the ancient world. Biblically, throughout all of Sacred Scripture and especially in the New Testament, the usage and meaning of διδαχή is nuanced (a precise variation of a word’s meaning in or for a particular context). From a Christian point of view as evidenced particularly in the Acts of the Apostles, διδαχή presupposes κηρυγμα (kerygma or kerugma). Before “teaching” can properly occur, the ‘one-to-be-taught’ must first have encountered the Person Jesus Christ, be connected to Him through the Gift of Faith and respond with a lifestyle or manner of living marked by metanoia (daily, ongoing conversion from selfishness to selflessness as lived by Jesus culminating in His Cross) and belief (characterized by a radical trust in the Person Jesus that His words and deeds are the path to authentic living). Technically speaking, διδαχή is not so much ‘teaching the Faith’ to lead people to Faith in the power of the Holy Spirit as it is unpacking the Faith already experienced in the κηρυγμα. Meeting, encountering and being connected to Jesus are necessary prior to any genuine Christian teaching.

διδαχή, that teaching which unpacks the Faith experienced in the κηρυγμα, is also revelatory and missionary in scope. διδαχή is not theological trival. διδαχή is not concerned with Divine minutia. διδαχή is not teaching that is meant to help one be a game winner at biblical or theological pursuits. In unpacking the κηρυγμα, διδαχή - as presented by the apostles (more on that tomorrow) – cooperates with the Holy Spirit in leading people to greater depths of connection with Jesus Christ: the Divine Son of God Who took on our nature for our salvation. διδαχή is the work that responds to Jesus’ question of Peter and the apostles, “But you, who do you say I am?” διδαχή is the response to those in the boat who ask, “Who then is this Whom even wind and sea obey?” As one can appreciate, these questions – this work called διδαχή, is ongoing.

But Jesus’ disciples are not afforded a διδαχή experience simply to live in a land of wow. As blessed as life’s ‘wow moments’ are, as wonderful as those times are when new connections are made for us by the Holy Spirit and we grasp them, all of this is given as Gift for the purpose of service. Coming to greater depths of knowledge and experience of Jesus is not to insulate or absent us from the work of heralding Who He is to all in the world. This does not necessarily mean becoming the town crier on a soapbox. It involves gentle moments of responding to questions of family, friends, co-workers and whoever else stumbles into the path of life as to Who Jesus is and His importance and significance for living.

Consider:

Has the distinction between κηρυγμα (kerygma) and διδαχή (didache) been your experience in religious formation?
Is this distinction still valid today?

Week 21, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in You my God. have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. (Psalm 86:1-3)

COLLECT

O God, Who cause the minds of the faithful
to unite in a single purpose,
grant Your people to love what You command
and to desire what You promise,
that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place
where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard (σκληρός, skleros); who can accept (ἀκούειν, akouein) it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock (σκανδαλίζει, skandalizei) you? … We have come to believe and are convinced (ἐγνώκαμεν, egnokamen) that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:60-61. 69)”

REFLECTION

After being fed and taught at length about the meaning of the feeding, it does come down to a decision. Jesus’ Self-proclaimed identity, “I AM the living bread come down from heaven,” is a make-it or break-it: it is a life changer. As Jesus saw the disciples leaving, He had every opportunity to stop them and ‘change’ His words to a more poetic or metaphoric meaning. He didn’t. True, to the Jewish ear of Jesus’ day, one can certainly appreciate where many of them are coming from. The Kosher dietary laws strictly forbade the consumption of another being’s blood. Many cultures that ‘rubbed shoulders’ with Israel in her ancient history practiced blood drinking. Drinking the blood of a bull or an ox was thought to endow a person with that animal’s remarkable strength. For Israel, blood was sacred because it was believed to be the ‘carrier’ of the Divine Life Breath that made each being a living being. So culturally, one can appreciate where the disciples are coming from when they tell Jesus that His teaching is “hard.” Not only did Jesus mean what He said, there is another piece to the puzzle worth considering.

σκληρός (skleros), the Greek word translated here as “hard,” has another facet of meaning especially in the first-century world of the Gospel. We might be tempted initially to say that the disciples’ declaration is a knee-jerk response to their cultural background. Yet σκληρός, especially in the Gospels, addresses a level of responsibility on the part of the receiver. In other words, Jesus’ teaching is “hard” – not just because of their background but also because, on some level, the disciples have chosen not to receive the teaching. To go a bit further – the disciples not only say that Jesus’ teaching is “hard,” but they pose a question, “who can accept it?”

Translated here at “accept,” ἀκούειν (akouein) is the Greek verb that fundamentally means “to listen.” This is an action that goes far beyond the physics and biology of ‘noise’ hitting the tympanic membrane and registering as some comprehensible or incomprehensible sound to a person. Biblically, ἀκούειν is intimately involved in ‘coming to Faith (Saint Paul)’ and is the necessary action to understand the “signs” that Jesus performs. One might argue that the disciples have become ‘hard’ to Jesus’ teaching because they have not listened (Sound familiar, it’s what happened in the Garden and we keep doing it). So what is needed “to listen” in such a way that one receives Jesus’ teaching?

Saint Augustine chimes in with insights penned in one of his many homilies: “He [Jesus] teaches us that even the act of believing is by way of being a gift and not a matter of merit: “As I told you,” he says, “no one can come to me but whoever has been given it by my Father.” If we call to mind the earlier part of the Gospel, we shall discover where the Lord said this. We shall find that he said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him.” He did not say “leads” but “drags.” This violence happens to the heart, not to the flesh. So why be surprised? Believe, and you come; love, and you are dragged. Do not regard this violence as harsh and irksome; on the contrary, it is sweet and pleasant. It is the very pleasantness of the thing that drags you to it. Isn’t a sheep dragged, or drawn irresistibly, when it is hungry and grass is shown to it? And I presume it is not being moved by bodily force but pulled by desire.”

Is this to say that God the Father ‘selects’ or ‘predestines’ people to belief in His Son, Jesus? I think not for our Tradition is quite clear: God our Father desires the loss of none! On the human side of the equation it does come down to an act of humility expressed in an old Jewish prayer: “God is God, I am not. God is God, we are not.” While we have been given an intellect and that intellect can be in the service of Faith (Saint Anselm, “Faith seeking understanding”) there comes a point where, like Peter, we accept the Words of Jesus, period. HE IS JESUS – He does not have to explain Himself – His disciples (us!) have “to listen” in a way that involves cooperating with all that the Father has done that we may, like Peter boldly proclaim: “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Week 20, Thursday. Saint Rose of Lima. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Praise the Lord for He is good; sing to our God for He is loving. (Psalm 147:1, Liturgy of the Hours: Morning Prayer).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with your love,
so that,
secluded from the world in the austerity of a life of penance,
she might give herself to you alone;
grant, we pray, that through her intercession,
we may tread the paths of life on earth and
drink at the stream of your delights in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

As mentioned yesterday, we are going to spend some time ‘breaking-open’ God’s Word from the Acts of the Apostles. The above-cited verses not only open chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris, but they also provide a framework for grasping the Holy Spirit’s various challenges to the Church that are spelled out with clarity in “Transmitting the Faith (chapter 3, Instrumentum Laboris).” Building on yesterday’s reflections of how many came to be baptized (kerygmatic preaching), we turn today to examine how ‘being baptized’ (receiving and accepting the encounter with Jesus Christ) translates into ‘acting as a baptized’ (discipleship in the Lord Jesus).

In verse 42 and 46, we learn the first activity of the newly baptized is to “devote (verse 42)” and “attend (verse 46).” While translated into English differently in each verse, the Greek verb, προσκαρτερέω (proskartereo) – meaning “to remain with” “to stay by” or “to give of oneself” – is the same in both verses. προσκαρτερέω is used in these verses as a ‘present-participle’ meaning that the action is continuous. Biblically, when an action is continuous it can suggest that the activity is a manner of living or how one lives. In verse 42, προσκαρτερέω describes how the baptized live 4 specific facets of Christian discipleship. What προσκαρτερέω ‘does’ is to underscore what we might call the level of commitment or depth of dedication characteristic of the newly baptized. In receiving and accepting the Person Jesus Christ, the new baptized realize that there is something very different about their lives that require, by definition, a new way of living. This new way of living is not just ‘Jesus among other people and things’ in which everything and everyone has equal standing. It is the radical way of living Jesus expressed in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things will be given besides (Matthew 6:33).”

προσκαρτερέω, as a unique and total way of living the baptismal encounter in Christ Jesus, is the grounding of what Blessed John Paul II termed the “new ardor and courage” of The New Evangelization. While The New Evangelization embodies Jesus’ missionary mandate, while The New Evangelization seeks to remedy the reality of the baptized who no longer live Christ’s life – The New Evangelization also seeks to encourage more deeply those already engaged in the Christian mission.

Consider:

What practically can be done to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in experiencing a ‘new ardor’ in our parishes and dioceses where apathy and indifference appear so intrenched?

Week 20, Wednesday. Queenship of Mary. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Psalm 23:1, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

O God,
who made the Mother of your Son
to be our Mother and our Queen,
graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,
we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom
the glory promised to your children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Today’s selection from the Instrumentum Laboris ‘looks’ a bit different from previous entries. The selection is not per se a paragraph from the document, rather a quote from the Acts of the Apostles that now opens Chapter 3 of the Instrumentum Laboris, “Transmitting the Faith.” Insights expressed in the paragraphs that follow do in fact flow from the testimony and life of the infant Church, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. For that reason, it is appropriate to spend a few days breaking open this Word of God that is known by many as the ‘Constitutive Elements of Church.’ Each element ought to be a source of reflection for how our parishes and dioceses exist as a living expression of the Body of Christ and therefore a set of criteria for being Church.

The biblical citation informs us, “And they devoted (προσκαρτεροῦντες, proskarterountes) themselves.” The “they” referred to in the Sacred Text are the newly baptized. As the post-Pentecost apostles preached Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, thousands heard and accepted the preaching in such a way that it moved them to accept baptism in Jesus Christ. “They” sought and accepted baptism after listening to the preaching of the apostles. The Acts of the Apostles makes a distinction between preaching and teaching. The crowds of people listen to the apostles ‘hand-on’ the Person, Jesus Christ. This initial preaching, this initial ‘handing-on’ OF A PERSON, the Person Jesus Christ, is an encounter with Him in which one is blessed with the gift of faith. This initial preaching in the Acts of the Apostles is known as kerugma or kerygma (κηρυγμα). κηρυγμα is a first-preaching. κηρυγμα, technically, is not all the details about Christian belief and theology. κηρυγμα is presenting the crucified and risen Jesus in such a way that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, a person initially accepts Jesus and begins to live the Gift that has been given in that encounter: faith, that relationship that trusts what the Person Jesus says and does is the way to live the Kingdom authentically as a child of His and our Father. Long before an delving into the finer points of belief (which we will examine tomorrow) and analyzing deeper theological contentions and teachings, κηρυγμα is the first-work of the Body of Christ, a work that fundamentally and foundationally ‘hands-on’ the Person Jesus that all may encounter Him.

Consider:

Do ‘religious education programs’ and/or Catholic schools follow, in your experience, this distinction between preaching and teaching?
Was this a distinction that was needed in the infant Church alone - or - can it benefit us in the present day? If so, how?
Is is possible to present much ‘data’ about Jesus and miss Him as Person?

Week 20, Sunday. Words of THE WORD.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Turn Your eyes, O God, our shield; and look on the face of Your anointed one; one day within Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. (Psalm 84:10-11)

COLLECT

O God, Who have prepared for those who love You
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of Your love,
so that, loving You in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats (φάγῃ, phage) this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat (φαγεῖν, phagein)?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on (τρώγων, trogon) me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) this bread will live forever.”

REFLECTION

Do not eat or eat? Eat or eat? These are two questions at the heart of Jesus’ blunt teaching about Who He is and how His followers are to act. Let’s take a look at the first question.

Do not eat or eat? The question is simple and the response: a common sense, emphatic declaration, “Yes (otherwise, we - as humans - die)!” But to gain a bit more insight on this question, we must turn our attention to Genesis 3. Why ... given that Deuteronomy, not Genesis is the First Reading this Sunday? Part of the answer lies with the Evangelist, Saint John himself. The Gospel that bears his name opens, “In the beginning,” a clear signal that as far as he is concerned the saving, sacred record of Jesus that is about to unfold in the Text is a New Creation. Much in the Gospel according to Saint John presents a New Creation and this is important for us this Sunday because in the Creation account, eating plays a significant (quite an understatement) role in humanity’s relationship with God and the world.

In keeping the question ‘Do not eat or eat?’ before us this Sunday, it is clear in the Creation Account that humanity is not given carte blanche to eat anything. Boundaries are placed on what humanity can and can not consume in the Garden. The question of what to eat becomes important because we learn through Eve’s dialogue with the Snake that the Creator has imposed at least 1 restriction on food and Eve (along with Adam for that matter), while she may not have known the exact reason why the food is prohibited, she knows that it is forbidden to eat.

(As a slight aside, I want to stress here that this food prohibition is not whimsical nor capricious on the part of God nor are any of the episodes of this Sacred Account of the Beginnings to be casually declared ‘just a story’ that can be dismissed because ‘we know better.’ We don’t. There is much bound with the fruit and the entire Garden experience that is crucial for grasping what it means to have been created in the “image and likeness of God.” Such a creation has implications, not only for the rest of Creation, but very importantly for the relationship of God of humanity.)

Physiologically, as food deals with what we choose to put into our bodies and consequently our lives, in Genesis 3 fruit is food AND a whole lot more! Even our doctors and nutritionists remind us, ‘you are what you eat.’). Hence we were told not to eat of a particular food in the Garden. So long as humanity did the work that was entrusted to them by the Creator and did not eat of a particular fruit, Genesis teaches that Divine Harmony - Original Justice - flourished. But when humanity choose to grasp (as opposed to receiving graciously) for that which Divinity forbade, life took a noticeable turn, to say the least, and the relationship that humanity enjoyed with God changed utterly. That which was forbidden (for our own good) was grasped, taken and consumed. Adam, Eve and the whole of humanity were filled with shame and alienated from the Loving God because the command “Do not eat!” was ignored.

Out of love, the Creator sounded the ‘first Gospel (known by the Fathers of the Church as the Protoevangelium, [Genesis 3:15])’ and promised healing. Since the wound and the rupture were so grave, healing would take time because the human heart, caught in the addiction of selfishness and doing things ‘my way,’ took (and continues to take) a long time to be healed and to re-fashioned. It is interesting to note that as Salvation History unfolds, food plays a role in God healing humanity’s relationship with Him - the covenant meals, the hospitality meals, the Passover, the Messianic Banquet envisioned by Isaiah, and the meal prepared by Wisdom: food plays a role in the healing of relationships, Divine and human.

This brings us to the Person, Jesus. In the Garden, humanity was instructed ‘not to eat of a particular food.’ Now, Jesus commands the consumption of a particular food: HIMSELF! Because humanity ingested that which was not of the Creator’s Will, humanity is now commanded to consume the Body and Blood of Christ that He - JESUS! - says is true food and true drink. The path from the rupture of the Garden to new life as children of God requires the consumption of His Body and His Blood. Hence it is no longer “Do not eat” but “Eat!”

Now this raises the second question, “Eat or eat?” It is an important question because the Evangelist John employs two distinct Greek verbs in this Sunday’s proclamation - and both of them are translated into English as “to eat.” In the first part of this Sunday’s pericope, the Greek verb ἐσθίω (esthio) is used. ἐσθίω (esthio) refers to a physical act of eating and it is the verb used to translate the Hebrew אָכַל (ʾakal) that appears in Genesis 3. אָכַל (ʾakal), while its primary meaning and principle usage is the physical act of ‘food into mouth,’ it can refer – on occasion – to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating’ that is akin to ‘taking in a lesson or a message.’ The Greek ἐσθίω (esthio) functions in a similar way. In its major uses, ἐσθίω (esthio) is the physical act of eating but on occasion it can refer to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating.’

But then there is the other verb in Greek that is translated into English “to eat,” the Greek verb τρώγω (trogo). Interestingly, in antiquity this verb did not specifically refer to the action of eating but rather how one ate: gnawing and chewing … and the gnawing and chewing were often accompanied by sound. In other words, τρώγω (trogo) is an exceptionally graphic action, often used to describe how animals and barbarians ate, not the way our moms and dads taught us to eat and behave at the supper table! What τρώγω (trogo) does here in the text is TO REMOVE any hint or suggestion that Jesus is speaking about a metaphoric, poetic or solely spiritual eating. The action is quite physical. The action is quite messy – AND – it points directly to the Cross. The only way that anyone can consume the flesh and blood of a living being is for that living being to be dead. Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a specific way: τρώγω (trogo) is a declaration of giving Himself completely in fidelity to the Father’s Will that results in His Sacrifice on the Cross that we may live fully.

Thus the “do not eat” of Genesis is replaced by Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a very particular way: τρώγω (trogo).

Biblically, this is a significant Text in the Church’s teaching of Jesus’ Real Presence, a teaching and experience that requires sound catechesis as upwards of 60% of practicing (yes, practicing Catholics) have become quite lukewarm (to be charitable) on this fundamental and privileged Gift to Encounter the Savior Who heals us of what went wrong in the Garden. At the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Hippo some 1600 years ago, Saint Augustine addressed the newly Baptized and Confirmed prior to the reception of Holy Communion for the first time, “Become Who you consume.” In the Garden, our nature ingested a poison; our nature welcomed sin into our very being – not just into our spiritual nature, our physical nature as well. We are in need of an antidote for the ingested poison: spiritually and physically (sacramentally). No wonder that Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Gregory of Nyssa referred to the Holy Eucharist as a Sacred Drug! Saint Ignatius wrote of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality” and Saint Gregory wrote of the Eucharist as the antidote for poison of sin swirling around in our souls and bodies.

Graciously coming before our Lord, receiving (not taking) with hearts open to His Real Presence is our healing and our strength for the journey - a healing that we can receive no where else and from no one else.

Week 20, Sunday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

89. No area in the Church is outside the parameters of this program; nor should anyone feel exempt. The Churches of a long Christian tradition, above all, have to deal with the practical problem that many have abandoned the faith. To a lesser extent, the same problem also exists in younger Churches, especially in large cities and some heavily influenced areas of society and cultures. The great social and cultural challenges presently being created by rapidly expanding urban centers, especially in developing countries, are certainly fertile ground for the new evangelization.

Consequently, the new evangelization also concerns the younger Churches. Their work of inculturation demands continual examination so that the Gospel, which purifies and elevates culture, can be introduced into cultural settings and, in a particular way, open them to its newness. Generally speaking, all Christian communities need a new evangelization simply by being engaged in a pastoral ministry which seems increasingly difficult to exercise and which is in danger of becoming a routine matter, and thus little able to communicate its original intent. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 89)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

Almighty ever-living God, Whom,
taught by the Holy Spirit,
we dare to call our Father,
bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts
the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,
that we may merit to enter into the inheritance
which you have promised.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

How often has any of us encountered a situation similar to the following - ‘Ah great, idea (or plan or words) ... but they don’t apply to me in my circumstance. My situation is unique and you can’t possibly understand it.’ This is the point addressed by the final paragraph of chapter 2: The New Evangelization is everyone’s concern and it is everyone’s work. All areas of the Church, young and old, deal with social concerns that impact living the life of Jesus Christ in a true and authentic way. No local Church can say, ‘we’re doing just fine ... we don’t need to trouble ourselves with this new program (remember, The New Evangelization is not a program and it is imperative to avoid slipping into the program mentality). So on that note, 2 concerns are worth mentioning.

1) Since The New Evangelization is everyone’s concern, there is a danger of it being nobody’s concern. It is similar to students who read with a highlighter, highlighting the entire page. In highlighting everything, nothing is highlighted. With The New Evangelization, it is vital for each member of the Body of Christ to simply get out there and tap people on the shoulder and offer the inviting Word of Christ to them. If the parish says, ‘we’ll wait to see what the diocese wants us to do’ - if the diocese says, ‘we’ll wait to see what directives come from Rome’ then chances are very good that nothing is going to happen. So what is each person to do? What is each local Church to do? Do what the First Disciples did in the Acts of the Apostles: gather together, fast, pray, call on the Spirit and wait for the building to rock with the Spirit’s guidance and direction for action!

2) Everyone in pastoral ministry - and life in general - can attest to ‘those days,’ those days when you look back and see that it was just the same old, same old, same old. There are those days when simply meeting the demands of what hits you in the face is an accomplishment. It happens; it is called life. The danger the Instrumentum Laboris cautions is when the ‘same old’ becomes the norm, when we settle simply for the minimum. Choosing the minimal runs the risk of being incapable of doing the Spirit’s work of assisting people to encounter Jesus and supporting them in the necessary responses of daily conversion and belief that is a radical trust in Jesus’ words and deeds as the only path for life.

Consider:

How has the Holy Spirit guided you and your parish to engage the work of The New Evangelization?

Week 19, Saturday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

88. The new evangelization is also the name given to a spiritual reawakening and the reanimation of a process of conversion which the Church asks of herself, all her communities and all the baptized. Consequently, this reality is not the concern of well-defined regions only, but the means to explain everywhere the teaching of the Apostles and put those teachings into practice in our day. Through the new evangelization, the Church seeks to insert the very original and specific character of her teachings into today's world and everyday discussion.

She wants to be the place where God can be experienced even now, and where, under the guidance of the Spirit of the Risen Christ, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the gift of faith. The Gospel is always a new proclamation of salvation, accomplished by Jesus Christ, to make every human life share in the mystery of God and his life of love, thereby opening human life to a future of hope, which is inspiring and trustworthy. Emphasizing the Church's call to undertake a new evangelization at this moment in history means intensifying the Church's missionary activity so as to respond fully to the Lord's mandate. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 88)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Create a clean heart in me, O God. (Psalm 51:12, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

Almighty ever-living God, whom,
taught by the Holy Spirit,
we dare to call our Father,
bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts
the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,
that we may merit to enter into the inheritance
which you have promised.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

The final paragraphs of “A Definition and Its Meaning (regarding The New Evangelization)” also bring chapter 2 (“Time for a New Evangelization”) of the Instrumentum Laboris to a close. As one expects in concluding words, summary and emphasis color the presentation. Yet facets of the New Evangelization emerge as if to suggest that The New Evangelization is much bigger than anticipated. The caution here though is that there is much ‘out there’ on The New Evangelization. Some of what is ‘out there’ is frankly irritating as some are attempting to use the term, The New Evangelization, for any and everything to advance an agenda that has little to do with what the Holy Spirit began to stir in Pope Paul VI and continued through Pope John Paul II and is now a clear focus of Pope Benedict XVI. While it is hoped that everyone will become familiar with all the documents of The New Evangelization, paragraphs 88 and 89 can serve as a quick introduction to the key dimensions that constitute The New Evangelization. We’ll address paragraph 88 today and paragraph 89 tomorrow.

Paragraph 88 begins by ‘adding’ another dimension to the definition and meaning of The New Evangelization: “spiritual reawakening and the reanimation of a process of conversion.” The Instrumentum Laboris has certainly addressed the necessity of conversion (metanoia) in daily Christian living and as a constitutive element of The New Evangelization. Yet “reawakening” and “reanimation” presume that an ‘awakening’ and an ‘animation’ have, in fact, occurred. This is not to call into question the validity of the working of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Grace in the life of an individual believer. Yet for many there is a disconnect between the awakening and animation of the Spirit and daily living. Many good people that are still participating in Sunday Mass hold that their spiritual lives begin and end at the door of the Church ... which is why in some cases it is important to be the state of Grace while moving through a Church parking lot on Sunday!

A prevailing cultural wind of “I’m not getting involved” results in affecting the spiritual life causing a clear break between the hour or so on Sunday and the remaining 167 hours throughout the week (This is another dilemma that needs attention - the Sabbath is to be A DAY - 24 hours of “resting in the Lord” - not minimally fulfilling an obligation of 1 hour in Church and ‘getting it out of the way’ to go about other ‘things.’). What is the cause of the disconnect? While it is a question that must be pondered, it will take much more than this blog to adequately respond. Suffice it to say for now, there is certainly responsibility each believer has for Gifts of Grace lovingly entrusted to him or her by Our Lord. On the other hand, we have to inquire how the Church has prepared people for the ‘awakening’ and ‘animation.’

Initially, we might inquire: what is unique about ‘religion class’ in our Religious Education programs and Catholic schools? In many places, ‘religion class’ is no different in content and pedagogy than a history, social studies, philosophy or world/culture heritage course. Are ‘religion classes’ ‘taught’ in the mode of catechesis (recall earlier blog entry) that “hands-on” the Person Jesus Christ that the listener chooses, in Grace, to respond to Jesus’ desire to encounter her or him? Is Jesus’ command to convert daily (metanoia) and to believe (a radical trust in HIM, that HIS words and deeds are the direction for life and none other) presented and unpacked for the would-be disciples of Jesus in the here and now? What about opportunities for adults to gather and continue being formed through Sacred study in the ways of the Spirit? It is sad that many, decrying the closing of parishes and Catholic schools, rarely see the loss concerning anything related or connected to the Person, Jesus Christ. Loss of a soccer field, sports program, a building to meet for various activities, even nostalgia - all good in themselves - are the object of disappointment, hurt and anger in the school or parish closing. But these miss the central point of the life-giving and life-changing encounter with the Person, Jesus Christ. These ‘goods’ can assist in coming to the Lord as the world is replete with the “seeds of the Logos.” But this also demands that these activities have a very clear focus and purpose: Jesus Christ, period.

Paragraph 88 raises another dimension of the work of The New Evangelization: “Through the new evangelization, the Church seeks to insert the very original and specific character of her teachings into today’s world and everyday discussion.” Many would respond that such is laudable and necessary given the cultural narcissism metastasizing exponentially as a cancer on life. Yet once again it presupposes that there are sufficient disciples - lay, religious and ordained - who are properly formed to speak the authentic teaching of Jesus in “today’s world and everyday discussion.” When competent disciples are present at work’s water cooler, sports field or supermarket and can respond gently and charitably to the inaccuracies and falsehoods expressed about Jesus and His Body the Church, that is a moment of The New Evangelization. This suggests that specific points of Christology, Sacred Scripture, Ecclesiology, Dogmatic theology and Apologetics - all tailored to and in service of The New Evangelization are sorely needed.

Finally (not that paragraph 88 or for that matter any other content of the Instrumentum Laboris has been exhausted), paragraph 88 offers a very interesting insight: “The Gospel is always a new proclamation of salvation, accomplished by Jesus Christ, to make every human life share in the mystery of God and his life of love, thereby opening human life to a future of hope, which is inspiring and trustworthy.” This, in my reading, is quite rich. Minimally it does raise a caution about The New Evangelization: avoid the program mentality. How often we have embraced ‘renewal programs’ in our dioceses and parishes? Well intentioned? Absolutely! Yet the program mentality - 1 size fits all - does not work when it comes to the life of the Spirit. Yes there are aspects of the Spirit’s life that all believers have and must have in common. Yet to infer at the diocesan level or parish level that this or that ‘packaged program’ is the answer, forget it. The authentic grunt work of The New Evangelization is not to look for a program, but to meet one another in the ‘Courtyard of the Gentiles,’ tap one another on the shoulder and give a word from The Word that invites encounter, conversion and belief.

Consider:

Much has been presented in today’s ETD. What point has ‘grabbed’ you in paragraph 88?
How are you going to run with what (Who) has grasped you?

Week 19, Friday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

86. Consequently, these texts indicate the geographic area for the new evangelization, though not exclusively, as primarily the Christian West and identify the persons to whom it is directed, namely, the baptized in our communities who are experiencing a new existential and cultural situation, which, in fact, has imperiled their faith and their witness. The new evangelization consists in viewing real-life situations, areas of living and pastoral activity in such a way as to allow these people to leave the “interior desert”, an image used by Pope Benedict XVI to represent the current human condition which is caught in a world that has virtually eliminated from view any question of God. The specific task of the new evangelization is having the courage to raise again the question of God in these places and situations and to restore a high quality and motivation to the faith in many of our Churches of ancient origins.

87. This definition, however, serves as an example and is not intended to be exclusive. In other words, the West is one of many places of the new evangelization and is not the only place for its activity. The definition allows us to understand the extensive work of the new evangelization, which cannot be reduced simply to updating certain pastoral practices, but, instead, demands the development of a very serious, thorough examination and understanding of the root causes of the situation in the Christian West. The urgent nature of the new evangelization, therefore, is not limited to the above situation only. Pope Benedict XVI stated: “In Africa too, situations demanding a new presentation of the Gospel, ‘new in its ardor, methods and expression’, are not rare. [...] The new evangelization is an urgent task for Christians in Africa because they too need to reawaken their enthusiasm for being members of the Church. Guided by the Spirit of the risen Lord, they are called to live the Good News as individuals, in their families and in society, and to proclaim it with fresh zeal to persons near and far, using the new methods that divine Providence has placed at our disposal for its spread.” These same words are to be applied by Christians to particular situations in America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, continents where the Church has long been active in promoting the new evangelization. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 86-87)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Indeed, how good is the LORD, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age. (Psalm 100:5, Liturgy of the Hours: Morning Prayer).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

In continuing to explore “A Definition and Its Meaning” of The New Evangelization, the remaining paragraphs of this section are blunt and even then, some would consider “blunt” an understatement. The Instrumentum Laboris is blunt in identifying unique challenges posed by particular geographic regions (notably the West); blunt in identifying a root problem and blunt in what the Church must do. The Instrumentum Laboris certainly is not presenting a band-aid approach to the peril of the “interior desert” as the text clearly articulates that the “task of the new evangelization is having the courage to raise again the question of God in these places and situations and to restore a high quality and motivation to the faith in many of our Churches of ancient origins.” Restoring and motivating the Faith in all places will require the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit to accurately and precisely read the ‘signs of the times’ and respond appropriately from the Tradition’s Sacred Treasure of both the old and the new - both tailored to the needs of leading people into communion with Jesus Christ. Such a work moves a person from the emptiness of the “interior desert.”

(Permit a necessary aside on the point of the “interior desert.” This is a term that Pope Benedict has been using to describe the solipsism, myopic malaise, apathy, narcissism and the intentional, active railing against any dimension of life connected to God. The “interior desert” is not to be confused with the biblical desert experience (e.g. Jesus‘ battle with Satan in the desert or Israel’s journey from slavery to freedom through the desert). The biblical desert and subsequent experience is necessary for maturity on all levels of human existence. The “interior desert” is the antithesis of the biblical desert.)

Consider:

What ideas has the Holy Spirit given you to assist the entire Body of Christ in being restored and motivated to a “high quality” of Faith?

Week 19, Wednesday. Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

85. The convocation of the Synod and the subsequent establishment of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization provide still another step in refining the meaning of the term “new evangelization.” Addressing the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict XVI specified its content: “Making my own the concerns of my venerable Predecessors, I consider it opportune to offer appropriate responses so that the entire Church, allowing herself to be regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, may present herself to the contemporary world with a missionary impulse in order to promote the new evangelization.

Doctrine of the Faith further clarified the meaning of the concept of the new evangelization by proposing a definition: “In its precise sense, evangelization is the missio ad gentes directed to those who do not know Christ. In a wider sense, it is used to describe ordinary pastoral work, while the phrase ‘new evangelization’ designates pastoral outreach to those who no longer practice the Christian faith.” This definition was later taken up in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Africae munus. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 85)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold. (Psalm 45:10, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

Almighty ever-living God,
who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory,
grant we pray, that,
always attentive to the things that are above,
we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

After examining 84 paragraphs, the final section of Chapter 2, “A Definition and Its Meaning,” devotes 5 paragraphs to defining The New Evangelization. One might wonder why the document waited to define “The New Evangelization,” at this point in the text instead of the beginning. The Instrumentum Laboris has been clear that The New Evangelization is not about ‘new’ content rather a ‘new’ way of presenting the essentials of Christianity beginning with the Encounter with Jesus Christ.

Paragraph 85 notes phrases such as “refining the meaning of the term The New Evangelization,” “… clarified the meaning of the concept of The New Evangelization” as well as a brief history of the term’s use in recent documents. Perhaps in this period of time prior to the Synod, the term The New Evangelization should be somewhat fluid and flexible raising as many appropriate concerns as possible for the Synod, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to direct and to guide. This does not mean that The New Evangelization is presently a free-for-all. We are given some clear direction: “In its precise sense, evangelization is the missio ad gentes directed to those who do not know Christ. In a wider sense, it is used to describe ordinary pastoral work, while the phrase ‘new evangelization’ designates pastoral outreach to those who no longer practice the Christian faith.” These insights certainly give the Church direction presently and precise objects of pastoral efforts.

Consider:

How can the term “The New Evangelization” positively express a new approach to pastoral ministry and not just another ‘buzz word’?

Week 19, Sunday. Words of the Word

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“Look to Your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of Your poor ones for ever. Arise, O God, and defend Your cause, and forget not the cries of those who seek You. (Psalm 74:20, 19, 22, 23)”

COLLECT

Almighty ever-living God, Whom,
taught by the Holy Spirit,
we dare to call our Father,
bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts
the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,
that we may merit to enter into the inheritance
which you have promised.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 34:9).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

The Jews murmured (Εγόγγυζον, egogguzon) about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’” Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring (μὴ γογγύζετε, me gogguzete) among yourselves (John 6:41-43).”

REFLECTION

Perhaps it is a title of an 80’s REM album. Perhaps it describes an aliment of the heart. Perhaps you are a fan of onomatopoeic words. In this Sunday’s part of the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse, murmur is the word that describes the crowd’s response to Jesus’ continued teaching concerning the meaning of the sign (the feeding with the abundance from the loaves and fish) and the pronouncement of His own identity (I am the Bread of Life).

The Greek word that is translated murmur is γογγύζω (gogguzo). In antiquity, γογγύζω described a muffled, low tone, incoherent noise that conveyed dissatisfaction without the use of words. It was also a means of communicating one’s complaint that the other party, for whatever reason, did not live up to perceived expectations. But γογγύζω is more than simply registering a complaint or announcing one’s displeasure because it also conveys an air of entitlement. In fact, in the biblical era what separates what we call “grumbling” from “murmuring” is that the one murmuring believes she or he is entitled to something from the other. The one murmuring, rightly or wrongly (although in the Gospels is it often wrongly), has a claim on some dimension of another’s life and when that is not realized, murmuring is the response.

This helps to make some sense as to why, after murmuring, the crowds contended that they had Jesus ‘figured out.’ They readily spout their ‘knowledge’ of Jesus in such a way to express a claim that they have on Him to provide bread and fish once again. In claiming to know Him, that air of entitlement sets up a block in their own lives as to Jesus’ true identity and the meaning of the sign of the loaves and fish. As is so often the case in the walk with Jesus, if you think you have Him figured out, you don’t … and never will.

Week 18, Thursday. Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

84. Separate consideration is given to the question of the lack of priests. All the responses voiced concern about the insufficient number of priests, which negatively affects a calm, effective exercise of the manner of “being Church”. Some responses made a detailed analysis of the problem, treating this crisis alongside that of marriage and Christian families. Many mentioned the need to envision a more integrated organization of the local Church, involving lay people along with priests in the animation of the community.

These responses mentioned that synod discussion could bring clarity to the matter and result in prospects for the future. Almost all the responses call for the whole Church to engage in a strong pastoral programme on behalf of priestly vocations, which begins in prayer and calls upon all priests and clerical religious to live in such a way as to bear witness to the attractiveness of their vocation and to seek ways of speaking to young people. The same applies to vocations to the consecrated life, especially those for women. In view of the new evangelization, some responses also stressed the importance of an adequate formation programme not only in seminaries and novitiates but also in academic institutions. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 84)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Create a clean heart in me, O God. (Psalm 51:12, Mass).

COLLECT (click for Readings)

God of our Fathers, Who brought
the Martyr Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
to know your crucified Son
and to imitate him even until death,
grant, through her intercession,
that the whole human race
may acknowledge Christ as its Savior
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Today’s selection, paragraph 84 concludes chapter 2’s examination of “Parish Transformation and the New Evangelization” by addressing the topic, ‘lack of priests’ particularly when it comes to “a calm, effective exercise of the manner of “being Church.” The Instrumentum Laboris notes that many responses to the Lineamenta reflected on this reality “alongside that of marriage and Christian families.” Perhaps the following 2 observations are worth some discussion:

1) Maybe the phrase ‘lack of priests’ needs some critiquing and nuancing. The document raises an interesting point when it speaks of “a calm, effective exercise of the manner of “being Church.”” The question worth raising is what exactly is “a calm, effective exercise of the manner of “being Church” that a ‘lack of priests’ apparently impacts negatively? Are we talking about “being Church” of a previous era? If that is the case, the Instrumentum Laboris has presented clearly that the New Evangelization may involve new expressions, new ways of “being Church” (more on this in the following chapter on Christian Initiation). If that is the case, could or might the label and reality of ‘lack of priests’ in the present expression and experience of Church be the Spirit moving the Church in a direction that is not presently and clearly seen?

Another caution with the phrase ‘lack of priests’ is that it could, in the minds of some, suggest that the Lord is not adequately providing for the His Body, the Church. We know of many lessons recorded in the Sacred Scriptures, lived throughout the Sacred Tradition and continuing to unfold in our midst of the Lord providing all that is necessary (not luxurious) for life. While it is certainly valid and necessary to ask whether or not men are responding to the Lord’s call (more on that in the following section), to suggest that we might not have all that is needed for “being Church,” could in fact call into question whether or not we really, honestly trust Our Lord and Savior.

2) On the proverbial other hand, both the Lineamenta and the Instrumentum Laboris have identified a key hermeneutic of the New Evangelization: the Encounter with the Person, Jesus Christ that sparks actions of metanoia (a radical turning in body, mind and heart from selfishness of sin to the selfless of Jesus lived ultimately on the Cross) and believing (a radical trust - called faith - in which I as an individual and we as a community of faith commit with body, mind and heart to Jesus’ actions and words as the only Way of living in this world with a view towards the World to come). This Encounter reaches its most intimate and deepest level in the Most Holy Eucharist and other Sacramental celebrations all of which are Encounters with the Divine Person Jesus, Who leads all in the power of the Holy Spirit to communing with His Father. In this context, it is fair to ask, are there sufficient priests to offer the Sacramental celebrations at times that reflect most visibly the assembled Body of Christ and that are offered at a reasonably accessible time for all the members of Christ’s Body? The Lineamenta and the Instrumentum Laboris (even more forcefully) made the point that life has changed significantly in the various examined sectors and perhaps as a result of these changes, maybe the times that Sacramental celebrations have been offered need adjustment. Perhaps Baptism only after the last Mass on Sunday, Penance only for 30 minutes on Saturday late afternoon, the Sunday Holy Eucharist only Sunday morning - to name only a few - are areas for discernment (another vital action sounded throughout the pages of the Lineamenta and Instrumentum Laboris) to know what the Lord wants and where our communities are along journey of faith. Discernment is also necessary in that these ‘time adjustments’ MUST enhance the sense of Sacred Time and especially Sabbath Rest which many contend have all but sadly vanished in our culture.

On a personal note, as one who teaches part time in our Archdiocesan Seminary, it is privilege to be part of the formation of the Church’s next generation of priests. More and more are responding to the Call from Our Lord to be priests and these men are good and balanced seekers of holiness, sociable and imbued with a deep sense of service to the Body of Christ. Thank you, Lord, for these seminarians and may your Spirit, Who has begun a good work, “bring it to perfection” through Christ our Lord. AMEN!

Consider:

What thoughts cross your mind about the ‘lack of priests’?

Week 18, Tuesday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

83. In recounting these obvious hope-filled signs, the responses to the Lineamenta indicate that the path taken is a slow but effective work of reforming our manner of “being Church” among people and avoiding the pitfalls of sectarianism and a “civil religion,” all the while retaining the form of a missionary Church. In other words, the Church must not lose her image of being a Church near to people and their families. Even where the Church is in the minority or the victim of discrimination, she must not lose her prerogative of remaining close to people in their everyday lives and, in that very place, announcing the life-giving message of the Gospel.

Pope John Paul II stated that the “New Evangelization” means to remake the Christian fabric of human society and the fabric of the Christian communities. It means assisting the Church to continue to be present “in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters,” so as to animate their lives and direct them to the Kingdom that is to come. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 83)

PSALM (click for full Psalm)

The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory. (Psalm 102:17, Mass).

COLLECT (click for today’s Scriptures)

Draw near to your servants, O Lord,
and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness,
that, for those who glory in you
as their Creator and guide,
you may restore what you have created
and keep safe what you have restored.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

In continuing the reflections on “Parish Transformation and the New Evangelization,” paragraph 83 speaks of caution, challenge and communion. In acknowledging the slow work of evangelization, there can be a tendency to loose focus. For this reason, the document cautions that in the efforts to promote the New Evangelization, the Church can never loose sight of the missionary mandate. Jesus Christ must be preached and lived at all times. Being clear that we are about the preaching and living of a Person Who desires an encounter and ongoing communing with us, this will be the hermeneutic that prevents Catholic Christian living from falling prey to becoming a “civil religion” that amounts to nothing more than a culturally or customarily nice thing to do on occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Baptisms, First Communions, Weddings and Funerals. Many involved in pastoral ministry know when the reality of ‘cultural Catholicism.’ The Instrumentum Laboris views this approach to the Church as an opportunity to invite and to call back into the fold, those who - for whatever reason - have grown lukewarm or cold to the practice of the Faith. This is challenging for those in ministry as it is for those who have left. In both cases, there is often the need to “remake,” re-tool or re-express practices that while still Catholic on the surface, have lost their connection to the Person, Jesus Christ. Preaching and living Him in such a way that we permit ourselves to connect with Him as Person is at the core of responding to His declaration, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!”

Consider:

How does your parish and/or diocese keep life’s moments such as Weddings and Funerals, to name only 2, centered in and on Jesus Christ?

Week 18, Monday. Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

82. In this regard, the Church has many resources at her service. The responses agree that the first resource is the great number of baptized lay people who are engaged in and decisively continue their voluntary service of building up the parish community.

Many responses refer to the flowering of the vocation of the laity as one of the fruits of the Second Vatican Council and list other resources, namely, communities of consecrated life; various ecclesial groups and movements which, through their fervour, their energy and, above all, their faith, give a strong impetus to renewal in ecclesial settings; and the many devotional shrine-centres, which, in particular Churches, serve to call people to the faith. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 82)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 97:1, Mass).

COLLECT

O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration of your Only Begotten Son
confirmed the mysteries of faith by the witness of the Fathers
and wonderfully prefigured our full adoption to sonship, grant,
we pray, to your servants, that, listening to the voice of your beloved Son,
we may merit to become co-heirs with him.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Given some of the email responses to yesterday’s entry (thank you, but please - please - please use the comment feature so that all can benefit), it is clear that parish vitality and a previously examined topic, the pain caused by family and friends not practicing or leaving the faith, have resonated with a good number of people. To that end, the remaining 3 paragraphs that examine “Parish Life and the New Evangelization” will be treated individually over the course of this week.

Paragraph 82 celebrates “great number of baptized lay people who are engaged in and decisively continue their voluntary service of building up the parish community.” This indeed is wonderful and is recognized as a fruit of the Second Vatican Council. In places where this wondrous fruit is sowing seeds that eventually lead people to salvation, the Church must actively support and express gratitude, truly valuing the gifts of the Spirit operative and generously placed at the service of the Lord and His Kingdom.

Respectively, though, I wonder about the phrase “voluntary service” to describe what are essentially ministries flowing from Baptism. While any ministry requires the “yes” of the minister, ministry is first and foremost a call that one responds “yes” or “no.” Volunteering technically puts the emphasis on “my choice” and not on the reality that one is responding to a call that has been sounded by the Lord and echoed in His Church.

Additionally, the reality of call implies some type of formation for the particular ministry and again, many can testify to laity formed well in and for particular ministries. But there are places where a sound theological and ecclesial formation are lacking. While people may be generous in the gift of time, talent and treasury, the absence of formation means that advice and decision making are often skewed and governed by principles of the secular business world, a nostalgia for a bygone era or simply the always popular, “we’ve always done it that way.” I am certainly not advocating an avoidance of good business practices and reporting that can help us be good stewards but decisions but a way of ministry that clearly does not have the Face of Jesus Christ in focus, will not hasten the coming of the Kingdom.

Consider:

What has been your experience of the various ‘lay ministries’?
Are these people ‘volunteers’ or ‘ministers’?

Week 18, Sunday. Words of the Word.

ANTIPHON (click for full Psalm)

“O God, come to my assistance; O Lord make haste to help me! Your are my rescuer and help; O Lord, do not delay. (Psalm 70:2,6)

COLLECT

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

The Lord gave them bread from heaven. (Psalm 78:24).

GOSPEL EXCERPT (click for all readings)

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking (ζητοῦντες, zetountes) for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking (ζητεῖτέ, zeteite) for me not because you saw signs (σημεῖα, semeia)
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work (ἐργάζεσθε μὴ) for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

REFLECTION

When we left the crowd last week, they had been fed abundantly by Jesus Whose pronouncement: ‘take, thank and distribute’ transformed meager portions of food into an abundance that would shock any matriarch’s grand Sunday meal. Interestingly, while the crowds sought Jesus because of the “signs” He was performing for the sick, Jesus initiated the feeding and gave them food in abundance as gift. As the crowd sang His praises as a prophet, Jesus withdrew to the solitude of the mountain. What we do not hear proclaimed this Sunday are the events associated with Jesus’ walking on the water of Galilee to Capernaum, which sets the stage for the action of the crowd, once again, to seek Jesus.

The Gospel proclamation this Sunday opens with the crowds searching for Jesus and then getting into boats with great urgency when they realize He has gone from the place of the Feeding. When the crowds ‘find’ Jesus, He confronts them: “you are looking (ζητεῖτέ, zeteite) for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

As far as Jesus is concerned, the Feeding is a σημεῖα (semeia) and as a σημεῖα one is called to make a decision to act on the σημεῖα (recall last week’s discussion of σημεῖα). One might argue that the crowds did in fact ‘do something’ as a result of the σημεῖα: they went looking for Jesus. But were they really looking for Him? Jesus declares that the crowd was not really looking for Him, but for the food He provided earlier. On one hand, it is hard to blame the crowd. Life in general and the economy specifically were very difficult in first-century Galilee. While some made a good living on the sea, others did not know when or where they would eat next. But on the other hand when it comes to the Feeding, it is a σημεῖα and there is no getting around the fact that a σημεῖα calls for a decision to act in a particular way. A σημεῖα calls for a particular work.

The point is underscored further by the use of the Greek verb ζητεω (zeteo). ζητεω, translated in this Sunday’s text as “to seek,” implies more than just looking around for something lost. In fact, in antiquity this verb is generally used when speaking about people being lost or found. ζητεω does not necessarily refer to a physical loss or find when referencing people, it is speaking more about the connection, the relationship, the link people have with one another. Yet what is even more fascinating is that ζητεω involves the work of searching for the other, on the other’s terms! Yes, I realize this sound confusing – how can you search, guided by the other’s terms, when you are not connected to the other person? But that is precisely what the σημεῖα is ordered to do, especially throughout the episodes of Jesus’ Ministry in the Gospel according to Saint John. When Jesus ‘does’ the σημεῖα of the Feeding, that provides the ‘terms’ for ζητεω: seeking Jesus as Person for the connection, the relationship, the encounter He gives.

Saint Augustine commented: “It is as if he said, “You seek me to satisfy the flesh, not the Spirit.” How many seek Jesus for no other objective than to get some kind of temporal benefit! One has a business that has run into problems, and he seeks the intercession of the clergy; another is oppressed by someone more powerful than himself, and he flies to the church. Another desires intervention with someone over whom he has little influence. One person wants this, and another person wants that. The church is filled with these kinds of people! Jesus is scarcely sought after for his own sake. . . . Here too he says, you seek me for something else; seek me for my own sake. He insinuates the truth that he himself is that food . . . “that endures to eternal life.” Tractates on the Gospel of John.

Certainly there is much that rings this Sunday with the Church’s upcoming Synod on the New Evangelization. At the very heart of the New Evangelization is a proclaiming of the Person Jesus Christ Who invites everyone to encounter Him. That encounter, that “sign” to use Johannine terminology, initially requires 2 works, 2 actions on our part: metanoia (the ongoing, daily conversion of heart, mind and body from selfishness to selflessness as lived by Jesus) and believing that is essentially a deep trust in the Person Jesus that what He says and does for me and for us is THE only way to live life. For many ‘named’ Christian, the search for Jesus has become convoluted by all sorts of distractions – some of them ugly, foul and uncompassionate while other distractions may in fact seem and sound spiritual and religious but leave a void in life. Being fed by the Savior is by no means a passive event – it is His invitation to connect deeply with Him for Who He is.

Week 18, Sunday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

80. Many responses describe a Church strongly engaged in the work of transformation by being present among people and within society. The younger Churches are working to enliven parishes which are oftentimes extensive, animating them internally through a program, depending on geographic and ecclesial contexts, called “Basic Christian Communities” or “Small Christian Communities.” Their stated purpose is to foster a Christian life which is better capable of sustaining the faith of their members and illuminating, through their witness, various areas of society, particularly in large, sprawling cities. The older, more-established Churches are reviewing their parish programs which are being administered with increased difficulty as a result of a decrease in the number of the clergy and a decline in Christian practice. They are seeking to avoid the danger that their work become merely bureaucratic and administrative and lead to undesired effects, namely that particular Churches, already too busy with operational problems, might, in the end, become exclusively concerned with themselves. In this regard, many responses refer to the idea of a “pastoral unity” as a means of combining a parish renewal program with a cooperative endeavor among other parishes, so as to create a more community-minded particular Church.

81. The new evangelization is a call to the Church to rediscover her missionary origins. According to many responses, the new evangelization can devote work in this area to leading Christian communities to be less concentrated on themselves inwardly in the midst of the changes already taking place and more engaged in proclaiming the faith to others. In this regard, much is expected from parishes that are seen as an entryway, open to everyone in every place on the globe, to the Christian faith and an experience of the Church. In addition to their being the place for ordinary pastoral life, liturgical celebrations, the dispensation of the sacraments, catechesis and the catechumenate, parishes have the responsibility to become real centers for propagating and bearing witness to the Christian experience and places for attentively listening to people and ascertaining their needs. Parishes are places where a person receives instruction on searching for the truth, where faith is nourished and strengthened and where the Christian message and God’s plan for humanity and the world is communicated. They are the prime communities for experiencing the joy that comes from being not only gathered together by the Spirit but prepared to live one’s proper vocation as a missionary. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 80-81)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord gave them bread from heaven. (Psalm 78:24, Mass).

COLLECT

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Today and tomorrow’s selections from the Instrumentum Laboris addresses “Parish Transformation and the New Evangelization,” a topic that many people are feeling as dioceses once known for their large numbers are having to consolidate parish schools, operations and even the parish itself. Yet at the same time, news of vibrant communities experiencing explosive growth dots the ecclesial radar throughout the world. Paragraph 80 references “Basic Christian Communities” as instrumental in helping to foster Christian living. Many of these communities flourish throughout the world, particularly in areas marked by poverty and/or persecution. It does raise a question though – why is there growth in poor, persecuted areas and, generally speaking, decline, apathy and indifference in ‘traditionally Catholic’ areas? These paragraphs also provide another valuable contribution to current pastoral activity: a description, beyond canonical language, of who and what constitutes parish identity. The Instrumentum Laboris describes parishes as “places where a person receives instruction on searching for the truth, where faith is nourished and strengthened and where the Christian message and God’s plan for humanity and the world is communicated. They are the prime communities for experiencing the joy that comes from being not only gathered together by the Spirit but prepared to live one’s proper vocation as a missionary.” Such a quote can serve a parish well in mapping an experience of renewal as opposed to planning for a parish’s closure.

Consider:

How have you described parish prior to reading today's selection from the Instrumentum Laboris?
How can insights expressed in these paragraphs assist your parish right now?

Saint John Vianney - reflections on prayer

From the catechetical instructions by Saint John Mary Vianney:

“My little children, reflect on these words: the Christian’s treasure is not on earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. If you pray and love, that is where a man’s happiness lies.

Prayer is nothing else but union with God. When one has a heart that is pure and united with God, he is given a kind of serenity and sweetness that makes him ecstatic, a light that surrounds him with marvelous brightness. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.

We had become unworthy to pray, but God in his goodness allowed us to speak with him. Our prayer is incense that gives him the greatest pleasure.

My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the soul and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.

Prayer also makes time pass very quickly and with such great delight that one does not notice its length. Listen: Once when I was a purveyor in Bresse and most of my companions were ill, I had to make a long journey. I prayed to the good God, and, believe me, the time did not seem long.

Some men immerse themselves as deeply in prayer as fish in water, because they give themselves totally to God. There is no division in their hearts. O, how I love these noble souls! Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Colette used to see our Lord and talk to him just as we talk to one another.

How unlike them we are! How often we come to church with no idea of what to do or what to ask for. And yet, whenever we go to any human being, we know well enough why we go. And still worse, there are some who seem to speak to God like this: “I will only say a couple of things to you, and then I will be rid of you.” I often think that when we come to adore the Lord, we would receive everything we ask for, if we would ask with living faith and with a pure heart.”