Steven Wright and the Eucharist (A misleading title for the first of seven articles on the Sacraments)

One of the pastoral prerogatives is the direction of, and contribution to, the content of parish communication organs, whether it's the message board out front (which we don't have...yet), the various social media (for us, definitely a work in progress), or the reliable weekly bulletin. Since my first weekend at St. Michael the Archangel nearly two years ago, I have written a bulletin column called "To Inspire, To Inform,  To Entertain" (IIE) That's not the actual headline because I write too much to be able to fit the title, but those words do appear above a nearby quotation, which I take from sources as diverse as Steven Wright and Flannery O'Connor.


Fondly I tell of how I met Steven Wright. I flew to Boston to compete in the Marathon in 2017. While hanging out at Logan International Airport before my return flight, I saw a bearded man with a Red Sox cap wheeling his luggage in my direction while I was approaching (where else?) Dunkin' Donuts. From several dozen yards the man's identity seemed clear, although he was either trying to conceal it or just be a regular citizen. He seemed somewhat surprised I could spot him. I identified myself as a Catholic priest and a big fan. Wright, himself raised Catholic, seemed genuinely humbled by a priest's respect. I told him I feature diverse quotations in my weekly bulletin. "You mean that paper you get in church? Wow! That's neat." We gave a fist bump (WHY DIDN'T I REQUEST A SELFIE, COUTH BE DAMNED?) and he went on his way. I got in line for coffee, feeling a bit better for having competed earlier that week, even though my time was far slower than I'd desired.


IIE has featured series on the Spirituality of the Twelve Steps, Indulgenced Prayers (in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation--"just to show 'em," God forgive me), and, more recently, the Seven Sacraments. For your penance, here is the first of the seven columns, largely unedited. You are always free to read past bulletins--nothing like "yesterday's news!"--archived under the relevant tab on our parish website.

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I was thinking about doing some sort of series on the Sacraments for the next seven weeks, because 1) there are seven of them; and b) for the next five weeks, the Gospel reading will be taken from the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. Permit me to do something unconventional by starting with the Eucharist. Think of Baptism as the egg and Eucharist as the chicken. In this series I declare that the chicken comes before the egg, in terms of both time and significance.

John 6 presents the famous “Bread of Life Discourse” in which Jesus declares the necessity of eating His flesh and drinking His blood in order to share in the Son’s eternal-life relationship with the Father. This chapter takes the place of “institution narratives” found in the other (“Synoptic”) Gospels, where Jesus offers His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity for our salvation in the forms of bread and wine, first in the Upper Room with His Apostles on Holy Thursday, then on the Cross on Good Friday.

The Church’s Code of Canon Law presents a theologically rich description to lead off its treatment of each of the seven Sacraments. For Holy Eucharist, the Code references the Second Vatican Council’s liturgical document when it says, “The Eucharistic sacrifice, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated through the ages is the summit and source of all worship and Christian life, which signifies and effects the unity of the people of God and brings about the building up of the Body of Christ. Indeed, the other sacraments and all the ecclesiastical works of the apostolate are closely connected with the Most Holy Eucharist and ordered to it.”

That’s right, Catholics: Mass makes Calvary as real for us today as it was for Jesus Himself, those who dared to stand with Him, those who fled in fear, and for those who neither knew nor cared about the event. Through the Eucharist we share in the Paschal Mystery in more than a merely spectatorial manner. When we are all together at Mass, even if we don’t spiritually “have it all together,” insofar as we are “all together,” at least we have a chance. Moreover, every good work of ours finds its force from the Best Work of the God-Man. We are well reminded that we don’t, can’t, save ourselves.

“We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb 10:24-25).

A Steady Paycheck

I watched Ghostbusters when it first ran in the theater. It was among the earliest films I remember attending, which fact hints at my age. The character and lines of Winston Zeddemore didn't particularly stand out, until a TV show or something reminded me of this credo: "I'll believe in anything if there's a steady paycheck in it." As it turns out, that's not quite what he said. Nay rather, as Wikipedia tells:

Questioned extensively during his application by Janine Melnitz as to whether he believed in a large number of supernatural occurrences and beings (such as UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster and the theory of Atlantis among others), Zeddemore replied, "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."

Macht nichts; it stands nonetheless, for me, as an axiom of our time. I have variously applied it in recent years. Tonight it came to me after glancing at a piece of paper and seeing a surname that triggered the memory of two other persons of that surname (likely unrelated to the person on the paper) who entered the Church years before.

The Big Deal: Not very long after their initiation, they stopped attending Mass. Despite a handful of earnest, welcoming encounters (I hope they were!), and about as many faint expressions of interest in further conversation and promises to return to Mass, nothing materialized. (Now watch they come back, to confound me! I'll take it.)

The sight of the names and subsequent rumination stirred a bushel of assorted fruits: anger, fear, and sadness. These are a kind of unholy trinity: always present and active together, though in the moment of revelation we tend to notice only one of them.

Anger: Often the first and loudest in the trinity. It often takes the form of rash judgments and sarcastic suspicions. An example: "People join so that they don't have to pay a non-Catholic tuition rate (a "steady paycheck" of sorts)!" "He came in just to get a sponsorship letter for his niece's Confirmation." "We have a pretty church with a long aisle, great musicians and great parking (all true), and we won't see them again until the baptism of their first child."

Fear: It lurks underneath, and for me it's a close second to, anger. "What am I doing wrong?" "The system has to be fouled up! How can we possibly remediate it and retain these people?" "How much longer can the Church, or our parish, last like this?"

Scratch the surface and find the seeds of those fruits (including but not at all limited to): high expectations; low estimation of/belief in human nature; weak organization, preparation, and follow-up in the RCIA process.

Sometimes anger can be righteous, but I can't lay much legitimate claim to that. It gets really dangerous whenever somebody like me tries to back up my peeves with Divine Sanctioning!  Sometimes my fears are well-founded, or at least they hold some truth. I am not the best organizer of things and persons. It takes a parish to raise a convert (not to mention the "wealth of nations" that we call the Communion of Saints)!

Sadness: The unholy spirit at the heart of it all. Discouragement is spiritual cancer (of the heart--cor).  One synonym is "disillusionment." Put that way, it's not so bad: after all, what's so good about illusions? Face it: people use the Church. In a sense, she puts herself out there to be used. It's an occupational hazard, when your occupation is the steady paycheck of Unconditional Love.

It's sad that venal incentives could possibly, in anyone's case, prompt them to enter the Catholic Church or to seek our "services."

Since Churches have started to look like superstores, have people been starting to use them so? Has the Parish Office become a Customer Service desk, as if "the Parishioner is always right," Divine or Canon Law be damned?

It is sad that many people are not so "entranced by the beauty before [them]" as to keep coming to Mass and draw ever nearer to the Audible and Tangible Lord who reveals Himself therein. It is sad that the beauty of Catholic doctrine, liturgy, morality, and prayer can be obscured by...priests, parishioners, trite music, McChurches, and other representatives of our holy faith.

God's Love is indeed unconditional, but somehow that truth is balanced against the conditions of law and the just consequences of bad choices. It is sad that people get themselves in complicated situations as a result of the abuse of their freedom.

But shall I say that it is sad that God trusts people so much as to reveal His wisdom, power, and love through feeble signs, to feeble senses? I cannot and dare not, for that trust is itself a manifestation of divine Love. "I would let you reject Me, for otherwise you could never love Me."

Bully Pulpit

From the fascinating site Mental Floss, I just picked up the last of "11 Words and Phrases Popularized by Teddy Roosevelt," namely "Bully Pulpit."  If you're like me, you thought that phrase suggested that the speaker was using his position to take unfair advantage of people, much as bullies do what earns their designation.

Fairness doesn't very much enter into it.

We are reminded that "bully," the first half of the term, was Pres. Roosevelt's favored synonym for "grand" or "excellent."  Having played Mortimer Brewster in a high school production of Arsenic and Old Lace, I should have recognized my brother's famous use of bully.

Msgr. Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington posts a call to holiness and mission on the subject of dwindling numbers of Mass attendants.  This manifests alongside the annual Lenten letter of our bishop, whose every oeuvre is a call to holiness and mission.  In this letter Bishop Barres reiterated an earlier direction for every active Catholic to invite an inactive Catholic back to Mass.  I'd love to hear of my readership's seed-sowing successes.

Like many priests, Msgr. Pope takes advantage of situations where many inactive Catholics are present, e.g. funeral Masses, to redirect strayers to the Narrow Path.  His approach is evangelical, as is appropriate for the address that immediately follows the proclamation of the Gospel.  See, it is possible to be evangelical in manner and orthodox in content!

The orthodoxy of content in this situation is that pesky Third Commandment: "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day" (Ex 20:8; Dt 5:12).  There are many ways to observe this precept, but the most obvious one is actual participation in the "sacred synaxis," the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that Our Lord instituted as the perpetual offering of His Body and Blood for the remission of sins.

Icon of the "Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles"
(A Tree is known by its Fruits)

The exception noted by the author of Hebrews has become the norm: "We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some [emphasis mine, as I don't think koine Greek used italics], but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near" (10:25).

Bishop Barres' recommendation is a way for believers to "encourage one another" to act upon their belief.  A faith that is largely theoretical becomes largely "historical": that is, a thing of the past.

Our parish council met this afternoon.  Meetings have been turning to the topic of the Mass Desertion. One member shared how she recently attended a ladies tea at a local Christian fellowship.  Attendees sat at tables which they were allowed to decorate in whatever fashion.  The gathering featured prayer, scripture readings, and speakers.  I was reminded of a similar gathering to which I was invited as a speaker a couple of years ago, in a nearby Catholic parish.  Why couldn't we do something like this, as a way of re-evangelizing our fallen and refreshing our faithful?

I read somewhere that people have begun to prefer worship "events" over the standard Lord's Day Buffet.  Events have themes.  When a parish liturgist asked (I think it was) Fr. George Rutler about the "theme" of a particular Mass, true to form he responded, "The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ."  FTW!  With events, the music, speakers, lighting, etc. become the focus.  The sanctuary becomes a stage, and so much (too much!) depends on the facilitators personality, preferences, etc.

Devotees of the "Extraordinary Form" of the Mass may claim that the Novus Ordo has gone that route, and scarcely could do otherwise; but the Traditional Latin Mass has its own mystical ambience that has drawn younger people whose sense of the sacred may have been malnourished as a result of what they were fed growing up.  We know, too, of Protestants (and Catholics!) who are drawn to Orthodox Christianity because of its Divine Liturgy.  There is beauty everywhere, and this current post is no place to dispute where beauty is most evident.

We would want to make it patently clear that an "event" of this sort is only a supplement to the Mass, and not an alternative.  For the inactive Catholic who attends such a gathering, however, "welcome" is the first and most important word.  The second or third word might be a variation of Hebrews 10:25 cited above, or even something like, "If you liked this gathering, we would like to invite you to a gathering you may or may not 'like,' but one that nonetheless will nourish and form you into the person that God created you to be: a man/woman of Communion."

The same invitation would be extended at any social, athletic or service opportunity, such as the weekend at the soup kitchen, the Kindergarten Christmas tableau, or the youth Eucharistic Adoration service.  This latter has always raised a concern, though I remain a fan of both youth and Adoration.  As a result of such (I dare call them) "events," young people are coming to church, for which, Amen.  Failing to make the Adoration-Consecration Connection, they're not necessarily coming to Mass--because, as I see it, Mass doesn't give them the same feeling, the same experience as a praise concert does.

Msgr. Pope's homily sample (embedded in the post) returns me to the point of attending to the reality and relevance of God-made-Flesh.  Prior to His appearance on the human scene, Jesus was equal to the Father and to the Holy Spirit.  He was behind the issuance of the Third Commandment.  He went through the trouble of suffering and dying and rising from the dead in order to secure forgiveness and salvation.  Willful neglect of this Truth is perilous.

When I take the bread and wine in my hands and proclaim the Lord's words over them, courtesy of the Catholic Church for whom I was ordained, God becomes present for me in a most unique and yet repeatable way.  When I consume the Sacrifice, I become one with it, and am thus sustained in my stumbling execution of what passes for a virtuous life.  I don't know about you, but I constantly need to be re-inserted into this Truth, re-immersed into this Mystery.  I tend to forget stuff rather quickly.

Since Lent is a time for new beginnings, the issuance of an invitation to Mass is the route I hope to take, and my "bully pulpit" will be mobile (not in the newly-restricted sense of the phone, but not at all exclusive of the same).  If this were the only trick of a "one-trick pony," it would suffice.

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THE ABOVE POST pales in significance to the recent news that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has announced his resignation, which he attributes to his failing health.  He is the first to resign the Chair of Peter since 1294.  May the Lord reward him for his labors, and appoint for the Church a capable and holy successor.

"I too hope in this short reign to be a man of peace."

I'll Get Around To It...

The following is an amplified reconstruction of the Homily delivered today by the Reverend Blogger, based on the readings of the ferial day, which the Celebrant read whilst offering a Votive Mass of Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest.

I don't know if anyone else in this assembly, or among my readership, shares this trait of mine.  I have many ideas and aspirations, but a good percentage of them enter my mind by 9am and are out by noon--better than most dry cleaners.  As I read today's Responsorial Psalm, I recalled that several years ago I wanted to write a musical setting for it, usable perhaps for an Ordination Liturgy.  Over the years I have written several Responsorial Psalm settings, and this particular psalm seems suitable.  Someday.

Perhaps among your work associates, friends, or family, you've come across someone who professes, "I don't need to go to church.  I can worship God anywhere I want.  I find God in nature--so I worship whenever I go for walks..."  My inner cynic wonders whether these people actually ever do what they claim--worship God on nature walks.  It's a perfectly appropriate place to do so, mind you, but today's psalm reminds us that, if there is any appropriate forum to adore the Creator, it's here:

"I will praise You, Lord, in the assembly of Your people."  The word assembly, in Greek, is ἐκκλησίᾳ (Psa 21:26 BGT), whence comes the Latin ecclesia, the French eglise, the Spanish iglesia, and others--all rendered, Church.  If there's any forum, it's here; if there's any worthy company in which I am to praise the Lord, it's yours.

We who are present for the Lord's sacrificial banquet every day may find difficult to understand the various excuses that people give.  "Oh, sorry I can't make it; I just bought something big, I have a game/party/late sleep-in..." "Not this week; I just got married, I'm trying to save gas, I have my own way of observing the commandment that Christ and His Church have elucidated with greater precision than I am willing to grant"--whatever.

What is it that they are missing and that we appreciate the privilege of attending?

• The Real-Time meeting of the Great Assembly "of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth" who bend the knee in adoration of the Divine Majesty and confess Jesus Christ not merely as Moral Example, or Friend, or Generator of Good Feelings, but as Lord.  
• The Self-Offering of the Eternal High Priest that reconciles the world to God and atones for man's sins--the sacrifice accepted at the hands of His duly-appointed and ordained priests "for the glory of His Name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church"
• The full manifestation of the Body of Christ, the co-incidence of the Body Mystical and the Body Eucharistic.  Right here and now.

Straight up [to Heaven], yo

Left to ourselves, we don't often accomplish the things we don't plan to do...like vote, write a musical setting for Psalm 22, or attend Mass if we have strayed from the custom of doing so.  What is worth something to us, we address, we accomplish.

Keeping the Body Together

I link the patient reader to Msgr. Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington for a Q&A session on Reverence for Remains and Neglect of Sunday Mass.  Another four-bagger for one of my favorite blogging clergy.  I'd like to write like him when I grow up.

I was given the opportunity to address the matter of Sunday Mass very recently, when a penitent sought clarification because another person had misinformed that it was not a mortal sin.

A standard text in support of the gravity of Mass-missing is Hebrews 10:25, "We should not absent ourselves from the assembly, as some do, but encourage one another; and this all the more because you see that the Day draws near."  The very act of showing up brings joy and encouragement to fellow Catholics (and to priests!).  By being present to the Presence of Christ (in its various manifestations--the Eucharist, the Word, the Celebrant, and fellow members of the Assembly), we tell each other that Mass is worth Christ's sufferings and our efforts.  It is also important to hold up the neglect of Mass to the light of "the Day" that is drawing near: the "Day of the Lord" especially attested throughout the prophetic literature, when YHWH will vanquish His enemies.  While there is no official list of divine enemies, we must imagine that God is not pleased with persons who mindfully and willfully absent themselves from His Sacrificial Banquet without good reason.

My first treat to the rationale of a Synaxis-Shirker came when I was a guest CCD teacher in 2001.  A first-grader guilelessly told the class that her father didn't take the family to Sunday Mass because he works hard all week and deserves to rest on the weekends.  It took me aback.  Unfortunately I had no rapid retort to render to this deadbeat dad.  Just now (for the first time, I confess) I prayed that he may repent and return to Mass with his family in tow.  We dare hope that it has already happened.

One blogger offers a perspective on the various ways people absent themselves from the assembly, focusing mostly on "empty suits" who are nominally present for the Liturgy.

In short: How can this Sweet Mystery of Life not be worth our time and attention?!

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On the subject of reserved, scattered, or divided cremains: this is part of the foreseen fallout of the permission of cremation.  It has become another way for Catholics to join the mainstream population's adventures in creative disposal--to imitate their favorite celebrity by becoming a shower of shavings over Vegas or the Atlantic, or perhaps to be fired from a cannon at Gettysburg or Ringling Bros.

You may know of the proscribed practice of retaining small portions of the deceased.  Because Aunt Matilda is portioned into loverly crystal reliquaries, we must have here a preemptive canonization (already conducted in many homilies).  Soon enough, a speck will be attached to her remembrance cards.  This seems like little more than a lucrative scheme for the death industry, ever interested in giving the people what (who!) they want.

Placing the intact urn into the ground or a mausoleum niche brings closure to the bereaved, a sense of assurance that their loved one has a final resting place where he or she can await the Great Harvest, and where survivors may gather to recollect themselves in view of their own mortality.  Perhaps the most conspicuous feature of a tombstone should be a mirror.