• Editorial - Op Ed
• Bulletin Board, Announcements, Calendar
• Welcome and Website Protocol
• Article Archive

Print this page

Article Categories

• Book Reviews
• Open Letter
• Editorials
• Notes, Quotes & Comments
• Pastor's Study
• Project Millstones
• Sidebar Comments
• Weekly Message

Links

AMERICA Magazine
A balanced Catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits of the United States for an intelligent Catholic readership. Go online to subscribe.

Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

Bishop Accountability
Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

Search

Daily Scripture

+ 5th Week in Ordinary Time

It still has meaning.

1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13 Psalm 132:6-7, 8-10 Mark 6:53-56

The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel. [1 Kings 8:6, 8]
_
In recent years there has been much discussion in liturgical circles about the proper location of the tabernacle in the worship space. The directives implementing the Constitution on the Liturgy by the Second Vatican Council prescribed that the tabernacle be located in prominent location in the church or chapel, preferably in a chapel dedicated to the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament and appropriate for veneration. In any case, it was not to be located on the altar table used for the celebration of the Eucharist. As a result in many churches renovations, the tabernacle was moved to the ‘side altar’ previously used for the veneration of the Blessed Virgin or St. Joseph and in some churches, it was placed on the old altar previously used for Mass. In situations the old altar was replaced with a permanent pedestal on which the tabernacle was placed.

In liturgical matters, nothing is simple. Those of a more conservative disposition insisted that the location of the Tabernacle on the side altar reduced the status of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist thereby diminishing its meaning in the devotional life of the faithful. Others of a more liberal persuasion opined that in fact, the location in a separate chapel within the church assigned to the sacrament greater prominence thereby increasing the devotional aspect. Moreover, in as much as an emphasis of the ‘action’ of the Mass as the repetition of the “Lord’s Supper” was promoted by the Council, it seemed to liturgists that the location of the tabernacle in the main sanctuary behind the free standing Eucharist table would compete with the ‘action’ of the Mass as a sacred meal.

The most recent prescriptions in the United States provide that the tabernacle be located in the main sanctuary on suitably ornate pedestal. It is ironic that in the major basilicas including the basilica of St. Peter in Rome, the tabernacle is located on a side altar that is not very prominent.

Whatever the location, it should not be a bone of contention worthy of a liturgical battle. The public and private devotion to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is rooted in the long tradition of the Church and should not be disparaged. In the same way in which the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments was symbolic of God’s presence in the temple, so too, the reservation of the Eucharist Bread has been one of the longest-standing practices of the devotional life of Catholics. It is intended to extend the meaning and the effects of the Eucharistic celebration into the life of the faithful who continue to spend time in prayerful meditation on the mysteries of the life of Jesus not the least of which is his faithfulness unto death on the cross for the salvation of the world. The two aspects of Eucharist need not be in competition. The ‘Mass’ continues to be considered a “sacrificial” meal. But we need to be clear that its connection with the passion and death of Christ even as the lamb of God is not to suggest that his death was mandated to satisfy and angry God. That in my opinion is not an appropriate application of Old Testament sacrifices. No, Jesus sacrificial death was the completion of his entire sacrificial life of unqualified and indiscriminate love in the same way as the sacrificial love of partners in marriage offer their sacrificial love to one another or in the manner that Mother Teresa offered her live in sacrificial service to victims of poverty in the streets of Calctta. It is in this sense that devotion to the Eucharist in the tabernacle takes its extended meaning.

During the celebration of the Eucharist, we become what we eat. Through our devotion to the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle, we are reminded that the Eucharistic presence in our mind, heart and soul extends into all the good works of our lives with the hope that we too will always think and act with the same sacrificial love as did Jesus in his earthly life.

Feast of Pentecost

Sunday May 23, 2010

“Agere Sequitur Esse”

Agere sequitur esse. Ergo, age quod age!

For those who favor a return to the Latin Mass, this should keep the franchise.

Those who do not favor a return to the Latin might reconsider if all my homilies were this brief!

No, I’m not in favor of a return to the Latin Mass!

The readings on the feast of Pentecost are a kaleidoscope of images and metaphors depicting a new beginning, a new creation—not unlike the two descriptions of the first creation in Genesis but perhaps a bit more dramatic. There were no eye witnesses to the first creation event but there were many to the second—people of every race and nation. Confused at first, they caught the spirit and got the message that something new was taking place. Jesus was not dead but still very much alive in their midst—really and truly.

Of a sudden the words Jesus spoke, the stories he told, the signs he performed all came together—they kicked in as it were. It was the great ‘aha’ moment of all time. The human nature of believers was turned inside out. They were reborn in the spirit and everyone knew it. The tongues of fire came from one source but landed on people of different people, descendants of the twelve tribes of Abraham. They were changed radically from theinside out but the gifts of the Spirit—knowledge, understanding, wisdom, counsel, courage, piety, and deep reverence for God—were not given to them for their own enrichment or enjoyment. They were imparted to them “for the sake of God’s dominion,” for the sake of humanity—regardless of heritage or nationality and they were recognized as “people of God” by the fruits of the Holy Spirit—charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self control and chastity. “By their fruits you will know them.”

There is an expression in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, “Agere sequitur esse.” It means action follows being—i.e., acting according to nature. To act in accord with our human nature is one thing and it is more or less instinctive. Our human instincts are not bad. In fact, St. Thomas said “grace builds on nature.” We breathe by instinct; we fulfill our physical and emotional needs by instinct; we avoid danger by instinct. However, our human instincts can be deceptive and lead us into danger as well as out of danger. Despite our drive for independence and our human will to control, we still need something more. Is it possible that this need is also instinctive? In the words of Saint Augustine, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts will not rest until they rest in you.” Perhaps this is the key to our understanding and appreciation of the Pentecost event.

The three readings form a triptych, a panoply of metaphors, similes and literary forms to explain the inexplicable. In the same way that we become the bread we eat in Eucharist, so too the Holy Spirit touches the core of our human nature transforming us at the level of the soul wherein our spiritual instincts reside. No, we are not yet fully ‘divinized’ but over time the Spirit empowers us to think like God and act in a God-like manner in a human way. Jesus remains the paradigm.

The description of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles by Luke reverses the mythical story of Babel in the Old Testament. God confused those who would challenge God’s power and God’s rule over creation. There are no towers built by human hands that can reach heaven or bring about heavenly rule. It is God’s initiative and God’s generosity that generates goodness within us. This is what it means to live in grace or better, to swim in the sea of God’s grace.

Carl Jung speaks of the collective unconscious, the mix of dreams and fears that we inherit from our ancestors. However, he makes the point that we are not predestined to cave into evil but destined to realize our full potential. As Christians, we believe this takes place as we identify with Christ who is the epitome or exemplar of what we are destined to become.

Pentecost still has the potential to unlock hearts and effect miracles as we come to a greater awareness of our power as conduits of divine grace for others. Imbued with the spirit of Jesus, we do indeed learn to think like and act like Christ.

I have witnessed it in the healing of memories in victims of abuse, in the healing of seeming irreconcilable differences in marriage, and we hear it in the words of peacemakers searching for common ground in the Kuran and Bible.

Is it too much to expect that miracles can still happen even in the face of terrorist threats? I’m referring to a conversion of hearts that will rule out terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God.” A mighty wind is still blowing and the fire of God’s love is still burning brightly.

Agere sequitur esse. Ergo age quod age!—Be who you are and do what you have been called to do in Christ.