A Last Alleluia Before Lent

Lent: A Time of Justice

What is justice? Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten message for 2010 focuses on the justice of God, reminding us through the title, “The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:21-22).


The pope writes,

Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil.

God created us in his image and gave us a natural inclination for love and charity. God, says the Holy Father, intended that we should trust in love and in receiving what is needed from God, rather than seeking to rely solely on self. This self-centeredness becomes the root of injustice.

At the heart of the wisdom of Israel, we find a profound link between faith in God who “lifts the needy from the ash heap” (Ps 113,7) and justice towards one’s neighbor. The Hebrew word itself that indicates the virtue of justice, sedaqah, expresses this well. Sedaqah, in fact, signifies on the one hand full acceptance of the will of the God of Israel; on the other hand, equity in relation to one’s neighbour (cf. Ex 20, 12-17), especially the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Dt 10, 18-19). But the two meanings are linked because giving to the poor for the Israelite is none other than restoring what is owed to God, who had pity on the misery of His people. It was not by chance that the gift to Moses of the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai took place after the crossing of the Red Sea. Listening to the Law presupposes faith in God who first “heard the cry” of His people and “came down to deliver them out of hand of the Egyptians” (cf. Ex 3,8). God is attentive to the cry of the poor and in return asks to be listened to: He asks for justice towards the poor (cf. Sir 4,4-5, 8-9), the stranger (cf. Ex 22,20), the slave (cf. Dt 15, 12-18). In order to enter into justice, it is thus necessary to leave that illusion of self-sufficiency, the profound state of closure, which is the very origin of injustice. In other words, what is needed is an even deeper “exodus” than that accomplished by God with Moses, a liberation of the heart, which the Law on its own is powerless to realize. Does man have any hope of justice then?

The answer for Christians is, of course, a resounding yes! Our justice is in Jesus Christ.

Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship. So we understand how faith is altogether different from a natural, good-feeling, obvious fact: humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from “what is mine,” to give me gratuitously “what is His.” This happens especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Thanks to Christ’s action, we may enter into the “greatest” justice, which is that of love (cf. Rm 13, 8-10), the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected. Strengthened by this very experience, the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.

Expanding upon this at the Angelus this past Sunday (February 14, 2010), he related the days' Gospel reading (the Beatitudes) with his Lenten message.

...the Beatitudes are rooted in the fact that divine justice exists, exalting those who have been wrongly humiliated and humbling those who have exalted themselves. ... This justice, this Beatitude, will be realised in the Kingdom or Heaven, the Kingdom of God, which comes at the end of time but which is already present in history... Christ's Gospel responds positively to man's thirst for justice, but in an unexpected and surprising way. Christ does not propose a social or political revolution, but a revolution of love which he has already achieved with His cross and His resurrection. It is upon these that the Beatitudes rest, opening a new horizon of justice.

The pope's message is an invitation of sorts. He is letting us in on his own "program" for Lenten reflections. We, too, may reflect upon the Lenten Scriptures and our prayers, fasting and almsgiving through this lens to help more fully live a life of justice in Christ Jesus.

The Roman Missal & Hymnals

Bob Batastini, the long-time managing editor for GIA Publications in Chicago, was recently interviewed by a new blog (Pray Tell) regarding liturgical music resources and the new Roman Missal. It's worth reading (click here to see the full text).

Bob gave an impressive talk in Madison regarding the state of Catholic Church music several years ago. He always maintained a position in parish ministry throughout his many years at GIA. He is an excellent church musician and remains a welcome voice!

"Love is God's Very Essence"

At yesterday's Angelus, the Holy Father spent some time speaking about the day's Second Reading for Mass (I Corinthians 12:31-13:13), Saint Paul's wonderful description of love. Pope Benedict XVI himself described this as one of the most beautiful passages of the entire Bible.

The following comes from the Vatican News Service report of his remarks.

"Charity", the Pope explained, "is the 'greatest' gift, which gives value to all the others. ... In the end, when we find ourselves face to face with God, all other gifts will fail and all that will be left to last for eternity is love, because God is love and we will be like unto Him, in perfect communion with Him.

"For now", he added, "as long as we are in this world, charity is the distinctive mark of Christians. It is the synthesis of all their lives, of what they believe and what they do..."

The Holy Father went on: "Love is God's very essence, it is the meaning of creation and history, it is the light that gives goodness and beauty to the existence of each man and woman. At the same time love is, so to say, the 'style' of God and of believers, it is the behaviour of those who, responding to the love of God, order their lives as a gift of self to God and to neighbour."

Conversion

Today (January 25) is the Feast of the Conversion of Paul the Apostle. One of the optional readings for the day recalls the dramatic story of Paul's conversion, knocked from his horse by the Lord himself (depicted in the painting to the left by the Renaissance master Caravaggio). Saul's conversion, which took place even as he was going to Damascus to persecute Christians, is yet another example of God's generous mercy and his tireless patience with imperfect men and women.

Conversion is an interesting word. In Church-speak it involves more than just embracing a new life. It also involves turning away from the things that interfere with the new life as well. In ancient times those to be baptized would face the west (the place where the sun set and from where darkness comes) to reject satan; they would then turn to face the east (the place of the rising sun / Son) to profess their faith, turning their backs on their former lives. Today, our baptismal profession still requires us to reject satan and all his empty promises and to profess our belief in the Triune God (although we no longer physically turn).

I often speak with liturgists about conversion. When planning liturgies people often approach from the angle of "I don't like (or understand or appreciate) this aspect of the liturgy...how can it be changed?" Instead, I think that the question should be, "I don't like (or understand or appreciate) this aspect of the liturgy...how can I change?" We don't change things to suit our vision. We allow our hearts to be changed to live in Christ.

Resources for Lent

It's not too early to start thinking about resources to help parishioners fully celebrate Lent, Triduum and Easter.

I've listed some excellent Lenten resources below. Some are new, some are proven favorites from the past. Some are for everyone, some might just be for you. Feel free to suggest your own through the comments form.

From Liturgy Training Publications:

• Bible Stories for the Forty Days, by Melissa Musick Nussbaum. A story book for children.
• Forty Days and Forty Nights: A Lenten Ark, by Judy Jarrett and Peter Mazar. This is a Lenten version of an Advent calendar.
• Introduction to Lent and Eastertime, by Gabe Huck. A wonderful booklet at a low price that can be used with small groups.
• Keeping Lent, Triduum and Easter. A classic.
• Keeping the Seasons. Reproducible resources (English and Spanish) for Lent, Triduum and Easter 2010.
• What am I doing for Lent this year? (2nd edition), by Paul Turner. Also available in Spanish and in an edition for teens.

From the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC):

• Bulletin Inserts for Lent, Triduum and Easter, by Thomas A. Dente.

From the Liturgical Press:

• A Crucified Christ in Holy Week, by Raymond Brown.
• Lent with Bishop Morneau.
• Living Liturgy Lent Bulletin Inserts.
• Not by Bread Alone: Daily Reflections for Lent 2010, by Jay Cormier. Also available as an e-book and in a large-print version.

Obviously, this list could go on and on. I hope that this is useful to you and, as I said above, share your own suggestions via the comment page.

The graphic is Jésus et la femme samaritaine ("Jesus and the Samaritan woman") from a series of works based upon the Gospel of Saint John by contemporary artist Corinne Vonaesch.

More on Haiti

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have added a page to their website featuring news about Haiti. It is estimated that 1/3 of the population will need emergency assistance.

In addition to the extreme misery for the entire population, there has been an impact on this Catholic country's Church. The archbishop, along with many clergy and ministers, are among the casualties and Port-au-Prince's Cathedral and many parish churches were destroyed. According to a press release on the USCCB website:

The impact of the earthquake in Haiti will be felt for years, especially in the life of the Catholic Church. The cathedral, many parishes, Catholic schools and other church buildings have been destroyed. Pastoral programs will also need to be rebuilt so that the Church in Haiti will continue to be a place of sacramental life.