Making Time

Christians used to express their relationship with Jesus. ... The meaning of the expression advent also includes that of 'vistatio', ... a visit, which in this case means a visit from God: He enters my life and wishes to address Himself to me...

In daily life we all know the experience of having little time for the Lord, and little time for ourselves. We end up becoming absorbed by 'doing'. Is it not often true that it is activity itself that possesses us, society with its multiple distractions that monopolises our attention? Is it not true that we dedicate a lot of time to entertainment and leisure activities of various kinds?

Advent, this potent liturgical period we are entering, invites us to remain silent as we come to appreciate a presence. It is an invitation to understand that the individual events of the day are signs God addresses to us, signs of the care He has for each of us. How often does God make us aware of some aspect of His love! To maintain what we might call an 'inner diary' of this love would be a beautiful and rewarding task in our lives. Advent invites us and encourages us to contemplate the living Lord. Should not the certainty of His presence help us to see the world with different eyes?

Homily of Pope Benedict XVI
First Vespers for the First
Sunday of Advent
November 28, 2009
Translation from Vatican News Service

It's not too early to think about......Easter!

The Liturgical Institute, housed on the grounds of Mundelein Seminary outside of Chicago is hosting a one day conference, Treasures of the Triduum, on Friday, January 22, 2010. Registration materials and workshop descriptions are available by clicking on the link above.

Advent Online

The U. S. Bishops have a nice page devoted to Advent, including an online Advent Calendar. Check it out at www.usccb.org/advent.

Giving Thanks

Tomorrow our nation celebrates Thanksgiving, a day that, unfortunately, is in danger of being overshadowed by the shopping frenzy of "Black Friday." In the United States most consider the celebration of pilgrims together with native Americans as the origin. It seems that our ancestors had a real sense gratitude to God for the blessings received.

Giving thanks to God lies at the heart of prayer in the Judeo-Christian tradition. In fact, our word Eucharist comes from a Greek word, eucharistein, which means "to give thanks and praise." It grew out of the Jewish prayer of blessing, often used during meals, recounting God's great works of creation, redemption and sanctification. (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1328).

When people speak to me about their participation in the Mass, they often speak of in terms of the many graces that they receive from God--spiritual refreshment, peace, forgiveness, etc. These are excellent things, but I think what we receive is only part of the story. The other part is what we give back to God.

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says,

the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. (paragraph 10)

Font and summit.

This, to me, is a reminder that we are not simply there to receive, but to give back to God the things we have (that he has given us). We give back our lives, our hearts, our work and our joys with the realization that everything that is good comes from him because he loves us (not because we deserve it!). We also give back our pain, suffering, sadness, and troubles. It was through pain, suffering and humility that God saved the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we give the challenges of our lives back to God, he can transform them into something magnificent as well (if not in this world, in the next).

Gratitude also needs to be part of our daily prayer. In my own prayer life I feel much more centered when I am able to thank God for creation, life, family, work, Church and the countless blessings seen every day. When I do so, I find that there seems to be less for which to ask.

I often find myself focusing on what I "need" rather than the great blessings God has bestowed on me. I have a wonderful wife and children, loving and generous parents, a nice home, meaningful work, and plenty of food (to name a few of the most important blessings). Many, many fathers go to sleep every night wondering if their children will have a meal the next day or if they will be safe from community or ethnic violence. Many women and children are abused and don't know where to turn. Many elderly are abandoned. Many children are starving. My "needs" certainly are insignificant in comparison.

My wife--the real liturgist in the family--began a practice in our family as part of our dinnertime prayer. Each person needs to say something for which they are thankful. When I am being terrorized by my children or am disappointed with my work, it's always good to give thanks for these things. The terror or disappointment will pass, but God's great gifts remain for ever!

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the night,
With the ten-stringed harp, with melody upon the lyre.
For you make me jubilant, LORD, by your deeds;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy.
How great are your works, LORD!
How profound your purpose!

The just shall flourish like the palm tree,
shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
Planted in the house of the LORD,
they shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall bear fruit even in old age,
always vigorous and sturdy,
As they proclaim:
"The LORD is just; our rock,
in whom there is no wrong."

Psalm 92:2-6, 13-16 (NAB)

Appear and Inspire

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions
To all musicians, appear and inspire:
Translated Daughter, come down and startle
Composing mortals with immortal fire. W. H. Auden (1907-73)

November 22 is the annual day to honor Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians and sacred music. Unfortunately, this will not be celebrated liturgically this year, but we can still remember and feast in honor of this holy saint!

Saint Cecilia lived in the second or third century in Rome. As with many early Christian saints there is relatively little known about her life. It is thought that she came from a noble Roman family and that she was given in marriage, against her will, to a non-Christian named Valerian. After evangelizing Valerian and his brother, the two were baptized and were soon martyred. While trying to bury their bodies, Cecilia was captured and condemned to death. According to legend, her persecutors first tried to kill her by suffocating her with steam, but that failed. They eventually cut her throat with an axe. Legends say that she still sang a hymn of praise to God as she lingered on for three days.

Devotion to St. Cecilia began quickly thereafter (she is one of the women mentioned in the Roman Canon). She had founded a house-church, and Pope Paschal I erected a church above her house in the Trastevere region of Rome in the ninth century. Her body, along with her husband and his brother and another man martyred with them were exhumed from the catecombs and were buried in the church.

The photo above is of one of my favorite pieces of art. Stefano Maderno (1576-1636) carved this emotional portrayal of the saint after her body was moved in 1599 to its current place under the main altar. This is how her incorrupt body was found lying before it was moved. The axe marks were visible in her neck and her arm was outstretched with three fingers extended (which was, of course, explained as a testimony to her faith in the Triune God). While at first glance the statue is graceful and flowing, a longer examination reveals the awkwardness of her position. Carved into the floor in front of the altar is this statement:

Behold the body of the most holy virgin Cecilia,
whom I myself saw lying incorrupt in the tomb.
I have in this marble expressed for you the same saint
in the very same posture.

A nice description of the church is available by clicking here.

While there is absolutely no evidence supporting it, legend claims that St. Cecilia invented the organ. In honor of the Saint I thought that you might appreciate the clip below--the last two movements of Handel's Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day, HWV 76, led by the great Baroque interpreter Ton Koopman.

But bright Cecilia raised the wonder higher:
When to her Organ vocal breath was given
An Angel heard, and straight appeared
–Mistaking Earth for Heaven.

Preparing Children for Advent & Christmas

It seems to me that children's books dealing with faith and church have been getting better. Perhaps more than any other season, the Advent-Christmas cycle provides fertile ground to capture the imaginations of children with some quality books. I asked an expert--my wife--to put together a very short list of her favorites. I have added links to Amazon.com so that you can learn more.

The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger (especially good for Advent)

How Jesus Came by Thomas Wahl, OSB (especially good for Advent)

B is for Bethlehem by Elisa Kleven

Jesus The Word by Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones, illustrated by Shelly Hehenberger

What Star Is This? by Joseph Slate, illustrated by Alison Jay

The Animals' First Christmas Adapted by Gaby Goldsack, illustrated by Linda Clearwater (especially good for toddlers and preschoolers)

Who Is Coming to our House? by Joseph Slate, illustrated by Ashley Wolff (especially good for toddlers and preschoolers)

Enjoy!

U.S. Bishops Approve Final Missal Texts

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting this week in Baltimore. The Conference has embraced communications' technology and has a webpage dedicated to the meeting and streaming video is available. You can also follow this on Facebook and Twitter. With all of this technology you can follow the latest debate on their discussion of end-of-life issues, the sanctity of marriage, or "Hotel's choice of muzak makes for some odd juxtapositions with the bishops. This morning: Livin' la Vida Loca" (posted this morning on Twitter). If only Twitter had been around during the Second Vatican Council!

In liturgical matters, the bishops approved several components of the translation of the Roman Missal including the Proper of Saints, the Roman Missal Supplement, the Roman Missal Commons, Propers for the USA, and USA adaptations for the Roman Missal. All of these will be sent to Rome and must receive the recognitio (confirmation or ratification) of the Holy See.

More on Catholics with Disabilities

Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people" (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.

In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit... (C0nstitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 14; emphasis added)

Over the years I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on this particular paragraph of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. "Participation" is a loaded word, and we learn more about it as time marches on. We have come to recognize that our participation has both external and internal components. The external both shapes and expresses the participation of the spirit. This can be done through singing, listening, kneeling, or even sitting in silence.

The baptismal rights and duties of Catholics with Disabilities often are not a parish priority, even though the participation by all the people is called for by the very nature of the liturgy itself! There are many practical issues surrounding making worship accessible, but the vast majority of the parishes tend to quietly set these aside rather than taking time to work with people with disabilities to come up with solutions. We are fortunate in this country to have the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. Their knowledgeable staff and useful website provide resources for all Catholics. The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions also has published an excellent resource, Guiding Principles & Strategies for Inclusion in the Liturgy of Catholics with Disabilities, which can be downloaded from their website.

Today the Holy See announced that it will host a conference, Effata! Deaf people in the life of the Church, in the Vatican's new synod hall November 19-21. A press release from the Vatican News Service said that this conference "arises from the need to promote and improve commitment in this field of disability in order to achieve true integration for deaf people."

We have done some work with deaf ministry in this diocese. This has been accomplished because of some very dedicated lay people and their unwavering support of deaf people. St. Joseph Parish in Madison has become a home of sorts for this ministry. St. Joseph and St. Dennis Parishes in Madison each have a signed Mass each week. A priest who is fluent in American Sign Language occasionally comes from the Green Bay diocese and meets with the deaf community and celebrates the Sacrament of Penance, counsels people as needed, and celebrates the Mass.

While this small band of dedicated ministers do so much, there is much more to be done. The first step always is to ask! Consult those with disabilities in your parish and get input on how we can make our parishes and the Sacraments accessible so that all of the baptized may exercise their right and duty of participation!

Solemnity of Christ the King

We are approaching the end of our liturgical year, the Solemnity of Christ the King. Its position on the liturgical calendar helps remind us that all that we do as Christians leads us into the Kingdom of Christ, one with God the Father.

The feast was established only 84 years ago by Pope Pius XI, partially in response to the ongoing celebration of the sixteenth centenary of the Council of Nicea (325) which defined the dogma of the Son and the Father "of one being," (consubstantial) and added the words "whose kingdom shall have no end" to the Profession of Faith (still known as the Nicene Creed).

In the years following the First World War, Pope Pius XI was concerned that the great devastation brought by modern warfare had taught nothing to nations and peoples. In his encyclical Quas Primas (December 11, 1925) he began:

Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord. (Quas primas, 1)

Rather than commissioning studies or convening a conference, Pope Pius XI determined that the best way to help people understand the concept of Christ's sovereignty was by commemorating it in the liturgy.

For people are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year - in fact, forever. The church's teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart... (Quas primas, 21)

He declared the final Sunday of October to be the date of this feast's observance. He believed that it would provide a fitting introduction to the Feast of All Saints, who considered Christ their glory. He also felt that this date, late in the Church year, vividly expressed "the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year." (Quas primas, 29)

With the reform of the liturgical calendar after the Second Vatican Council, the solemnity was moved to the last Sunday of the Church year.

Primary source: The Liturgical Year: Its History and Its Meaning After the Reform of the Liturgy (Adolf Adam, tr. Matthew J. O'Connell), Liturgical Press.

Veterans' Day

God of power and mercy,
you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst
and wipe away our tears
that we may all deserved to be called your sons and daughters.
We as this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
--From the Sacramentary, "Mass in time of war or civil disturbance"

Ninety-one years ago today the hostilities of the war to end all wars ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month with an armistice. In our country, of course, this is Veterans' Day.

We owe a great deal of thanks to all veterans who have protected and defended our nation. Perhaps the greatest thanks we can offer is our own heroic efforts to promote peace and to love one another as members of the heavenly household--God's sons and daughters.

The Communion of Saints

In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle; we sing a hymn to the Lord's glory with all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory. (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 8)

One of the frequent criticisms of the way we celebrate the reformed liturgy is that it lacks reverence or that it has lost its sense of the mystery. It's a criticism with which I tend to agree (at times). However, the critique often goes on to disparage the liturgical reform, liturgy in the vernacular, communion in the hand, and many other things that have become common place since the reform. These are criticisms which I heartily reject!

The "Mystery" of course, refers to the Paschal Mystery. We don't use the word mystery as Agatha Christie does. We won't ever have enough clues to "solve" this mystery. Instead, it is "mysterious." It is hidden. It is something we can never fully comprehend. No matter how much we study, how intensely we pray, or how often we go to church, this is not something that can be grasped by mere mortals!

November seems like an appropriate time to speak about the heavenly nature of the liturgy. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says that through our participation in our parish (earthly) liturgy we take part in a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy. These are difficult words for me to grasp, because our earthly liturgies often seem anything but heavenly! In the earthly liturgy the choir may sing out of tune, the organist forget the key signature, the lector may mumble or mispronounce "brazier" in a way that makes you giggle, the priest may preach too long or never really prepare, there are people present whom we don't like, it may just be plain boring. Surely this is not what the heavenly liturgy is like!

I often like to "translate" the phrase of paragraph 8 cited above to say that the liturgy gives us a "glimpse" of heaven. While glimpse doesn't necessarily do justice to "foretaste," I think it can foster a meaningful reflection. Every parish church is somehow (mysteriously) present at the heavenly altar, praising the Father through the Son in unity with the Holy Spirit and with the angels and saints. I like to consider looking up at the ceiling and seeing it as a window to heaven. The alternative is imagining a mirror on the ceiling, so that instead of seeing heaven we only see ourselves with all of our shortcomings!

The glimpse that we have is imperfect as is our own participation. However, by seeing what is really there, we see through the earthly things to the heavenly realities.

For example:

• God gathers a people to himself, not just the ones I would invite to church but even people I don't like (gasp!).
• Christ speaks to us in the Holy Scriptures. We don't just hear about events in salvation history or about Christ. God isn't bound by time and space like we are! They are made present for us now! That is why in the Exsultet we sing "This is the night" rather than "That was the night."
• Having prepared us with his word, Jesus Christ feeds us with his very own Body and Blood. Pope Benedict XVI made the keen observation,

If man eats ordinary bread, in the digestive process this bread becomes part of his body, transformed into a substance of human life. But in holy Communion the inverse process is brought about. Christ, the Lord, assimilates us into himself, introducing us into his glorious Body, and thus we all become his Body. (General Audience, 10-Dec-2008)

Could this be what heaven is like? Perfect reconciliation, perfect praise, perfect union with and in Christ? These are but a few of the things which we glimpse in our liturgy.

While many critiques of contemporary liturgical practice in our country are legitimate, I have to say that getting in touch with the mystery goes far beyond language and other actions. At its core is how we participate in the liturgy and how well we look for glimpses of heaven!

Sing to the Lord Workshop

The Office of Worship is presenting a workshop for liturgists and musicians on Saturday, November 14 at Saint Mary Parish in Platteville.

The U. S. Bishops’ document, Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship will be the focus of the morning’s discussions. The workshop will cover both theological and practical information about music in the liturgy.

Please pre-register for this workshop by visiting www.madisondiocese.org/worship or by calling the Office of Worship at (608) 821-3080. A registration fee of $5 per person ($15 total for three or more people from the same parish) is requested. Copies of the document Sing to the Lord ($10) may be purchased when you pre-register. Purchasing this document is recommended but not required. They are available as supplies last.

Saint Mary Parish is located at 130 West Cedar Street in Platteville. It is wheelchair accessible. If you have other special needs, please contact the Office of Worship.