Eucharistic Compendium

More great news. The Eucharistic Compendium promised in Sacramentum Caritatis is finally finished. It is being reported that it has been published either in Latin or in Italian (depending on who you ask). It also sounds like it is geared toward clergy, rather than the laity, but that won't stop me from getting one once the English version is published.

Democrats Angry with the Pope

Big surprise, but Democrats in America are upset with the recent comments made by Pope Benedict about politicians who support abortion. (Article) (Another)

Eighteen Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have joined in criticizing Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) for his statement that pro-abortion politicians should not receive Communion.

During a conversation with reporters on May 9, as he was flying to Brazil, the Holy Father had said that he fully supported the decision of some Mexican bishops to bar politicians from receiving the Eucharist after the lawmakers voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City. The Mexican bishops, the Pope said, had "simply announced to the public what is stipulated by the law of the Church."

The Bishops of the United States have not had the backbone to say this, although this is really the policy of the Church. This is probably getting some of these abortion supporting "Catholic" politicians a little nervous. I think some of the more moderate Catholics would think twice about voting for a formally excommunicated politician, maybe I'm wrong.

But the Democratic legislators, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, charged that the Pope's stand (and by implication the laws of the Church) "offend the very nature of the American experiment."

A move to exclude pro-abortion legislators from receiving Communion would be "a great disservice to the centuries of good work the Church has done," the 18 Congressmen argued.

So, formally excommunicating those who, "by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms." (SC 83)

A great disservice? How about a great disservice to the Truth?

Advancing respect for life and for the dignity of every human being is, as our church has taught us, our own life’s mission. As we said in our Statement of Principles, ‘We envision a world in which every child belongs to a loving family and agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life and the undesirability of abortion – we do not celebrate its practice. Each of us is committed to reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and creating an environment with policies that encourage pregnancies to be carried to term.’ That is precisely what some of us are doing with our initiative ‘The Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act’ – which includes policies that promote alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, improve access to children’s healthcare and child care, as well as encourage paternal and maternal responsibility.

Huh? I'm glad they at least mentioned adoption, but I don't understand why that's not the primary option considered. If they indeed "agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life..." they could never support abortion. And, what's all this about being committed to stopping unwanted pregnancies? Think they do that by telling people to not have sex? I'm sure not, I'm sure it's contraception.

You can read the whole statement, if you'd like, but I'm sure you'll be as disappointed as I am.

-JG

My Contribution to the Motu Proprio debate

There has been a lot of talk and rumor recently in the news and on blogs about a supposed upcoming Motu Proprio from Benedict XVI regarding the use of the Tridentine Rite of Mass. So called "Traditional(ist) Catholics" will be praising its coming, and indeed have been anticipating it for a long time.

Though most such reflections on the liturgy start with the Vatican II Council, I will step back a bit to the Council of Trent. At the time of Pope Pius V, there were many different liturgical traditions which had come down through time and were being practiced in Europe. On top of that, the Reformation was in full force, and some of the protestant ideas had crept into the Liturgy. The solution was to eliminate Rites that were less than 200 years old, and the Promulgation of a Roman Rite in 1570. The various other rites mostly disappeared, with the exception of the Rites of religious orders, and a couple other rites (notably Ambrosian).

This leads us to the Vatican II Council. We are primarily concerned with Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. This was a document I read after having experienced the Tridentine mass a few times, to understand what had happened in those days. It was interesting, and I will note what I think. The Council saw the need for some sort of Liturgical reform, because there were plenty of problems in the way the Mass was being practiced. Yet, the reform they envisioned (at least according to the text) seems to the casual observer to be different than the reforms that took place.

This leads to one of the most compelling arguments against the Mass of Paul VI, namely that it was a drastic and dramatic change in the Liturgical practice of the Church. The Church doesn't change in revolutions, or based on the whim of the times, so clearly this argument cannot be true, but yet the evidence supports this position.

stated they weren't in formal schism. For my money, if you don't accept the teachings of the These ideas were too much for a number of groups, which came to a head with groups like the Society of Saint Pius X, who passed into schism with the Church in or around 1988. People can argue all they want about this, in fact, my friend made sure to inform me that Cardinal Arinze stated they weren't in formal schism. For my money, if you don't accept the teachings of the Magesterium, the Councils, the Pope, and even go so far to set up your own ecclesial tribunals, you may as well be in schism, formal or not. And so, the SSPX celebrates Mass illegitimately with the Tridentine Rite.

Queue up the Indult offered by Pope (soon to be Saint) John Paul II. In a final act to prevent the schismatic group from breaking away, he extended the offer that priests could celebrate the Tridentine Rite of Mass with permission from the local Bishop. Since the SSPX was already set on disrespecting the Hierarchy of the Church, and so submitting to a Bishop would not be acceptable.

So, where does this leave us all? There are schismatics who celebrate the Mass illegitimately, there are groups who celebrate this Rite legitimately, in some Diocese, and the widespread use is the Mass of Paul VI.

Where, then, does this Motu Proprio fit in? What has happened since the Indult was offered by John Paul II is that some Bishops refuse to give permission to their priests to say the Mass in the old Rite. Therefore, there has been rumblings for a couple years at least that there would be a Universal Indult offered, essentially allowing any priest who wants to celebrate the Tridentine Rite of Mass.

Now comes the part of this posting that makes people disagree with me. I oppose this measure.

I fully support the use and extension of the Tridentine Mass, because of its historical/traditional value. As a young(er) Catholic, to experience Mass the way my parents did when they were children, and their parents, and theirs, back and back and back until before the family was Christian, is an experience that is incredibly moving. The Latin Canon, handed down nearly unchanged from Gregory the Great, is actually quite beautiful, and I still enjoy hearing it (in English or Latin).

I also firmly believe in the role of Bishops in our Church. The bishops are the shepherds of their particular flocks. The priests in a Diocese are helpers of the Bishop, and they celebrate the sacraments with the permission and in unity with their Bishop. This is why I cannot support a universal indult, as it is envisioned by certain Traditionalists. I believe it would be bad to introduce another area of strife between Priests and their Bishops. The old Indult is too young to be discarded, first issued in 1984, it is barely a blip on Church history. For now, I don't see too much of a problem with keeping the power of Bishops, and disallowing Tridentine Mass in Diocese where the Bishop feels that is the correct course of action. At the very least those Bishops must eventually die or reach retirement age, and be replaced.

I do, however, see some direct harm in a Universal Indult. Such a decree will only serve to embolden groups such as the SSPX, who are at schism. The Pope clearly stated that adherents to the group were subject to an excommunication, but if the Indult is offered, the group will have more power to argue that they are not in schism to their members. This could be harmful to the faithful, participating in Masses that are sacrilege because they think that these masses were legitimized by the Indult. Technically, it gives SSPX no reason to exist, but they will, as they tend to deny much that the Church has taught since the Vatican II Council.

Another dangerous aspect of the Indult could be a deeper division of the faithful. If this meant a greater access to Tridentine masses, this could mean that there would be a much greater division between the Traditionalists and the regular Catholics and the Modernists. Division is not Catholic, and this is a Catholic Church.

There are counterpoints. The Indult might help make Paul VI masses more reverent, possibly. There have always been different Rites available, even now there are Eastern Rites around. This could expand knowledge about Rites, and encourage learning about the Liturgy. Also, it does, in a way, help to restore more of a connection with Tradition. The thing is, this is something that can be achieved under the old Indult, at least in Diocese where the Bishop allows the old Rite.

And so I have said my piece, I must also say that I think a universal indult will be offered, by years' end. Cardinal Ratzinger had a lot to say about the Liturgical renewal, much that wasn't good. But, if you read Sacramentum Caritas, he definitely states that we cannot roll back liturgical reform, and I have to agree. To do so would be a setback to the Church, and would be just as bad and unprecedented as the reforms of Paul VI.

I shall point you to a few articles related to this idea.

First, an Article by Msgr. Richard J. Schuler refuting the notion that the mass of Paul VI was a revolution.

Contrary to what many may think and many may have hoped, the liturgical
reforms of the Second Vatican Council were not a revolution. Indeed, far
from being a sudden explosion of new ideas, the decrees of the council were
rather the keystone that crowned the developments of the previous sixty
years, beginning with the "motu proprio" of Pope St. Pius X, "Tra le
sollecitudini" of 1903. The events that preceded the "motu proprio"
stretched back into the nineteenth century being rooted in the romantic
movement, the revival of monasticism, the rediscovery of Gregorian chant
and the Caecilian reform of church music. 

Next, we have the Ottavini Intervention, a letter from Cardinal Ottavini to Pope Paul VI, underlining the problems with the mass he had just promulgated. This was an important document to me at one time, and even now, it is telling of the surprise of many on the newness of the new Rite. This is a well thought out criticism of the New Mass.

We have an article by Paul Likoudis entitled "Cardinal Ratzinger Blames Church Crisis on Liturgical Collapse", taking excerpts from the then Cardinal's autobiography.

Rather than being a force for unity in the Church, the new Mass has been the source of liturgical anarchy, dividing Catholics "into opposing party positions" and creating a situation in which the Church is "lacerating herself."

Formally imposed after a six-month period of "liturgical experimentation" in which anything —and everything—did go, the Roman Catholic Mass has never attained a universality, stability—or even an element of predictably—for most Catholics around the world; but instead has been a stimulus for never-ending innovations—from altar girls to dancing girls to women priests.

While the Missal of Paul VI "brought with it some authentic improvements and a real enrichment," the banning of the old Mass caused some "extremely serious damages for us," he wrote in La Mia Vita, released in mid-April in its Italian translation.

And finally, the article that was the straw that broke my back and mad me want to finally write this, from the Catholic News Service.

The move is aimed at ending a liturgical dispute which has simmered for more than 20 years. In the process, it could clarify how the pope intends to implement what he once described as a "liturgical reconciliation" in the modern church.

The pope will enunciate the new policy in a document to be released after more than a year of debate and discussion at the Vatican. The Roman Curia had mixed views on expanding the use of the Tridentine rite, and so did the world's cardinals and bishops -- all of which has lent a certain drama to the outcome.

I need not quote Sacramentum Caritas although one of the major themes through it is a devotion to liturgical reform, and an emphasis on following proper liturgical norms.

So, as I said, some document will be issued soon, and I believe it will be essentially a universal Indult, giving the power to priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass without needing to seek permission from their Bishops. As I said, I worry that this will undermine the power of Bishops, and further divide the already fractured faithful. The Indult as it stands still needs time to show its fruits.

Peace, and everything good.
-JG

The Key to Sacramentum Caritas

Zenit published an interview they conducted with Fr. Nocola Bux about Sacramentum Catiras.

Q: For the second time the Pope has authored a significant text with the word charity, love. First "Deus Caritas Est" and now "Sacramentum Caritatis." Do we have a key for reading this papacy?

Father Bux: Charity is the key to reading Catholic Christianity and therefore the postsynodal exhortation, because Pope Benedict's thought is fully Catholic in the sense that it is the bearer of what is believed always, everywhere, and by all -- as St. Vincent of Lerins says -- and at the same time it is a thought that is mobile, attentive to the questions of contemporary man.

The "bulldog" that everyone thought this Pope would be is turning out to be a fuzzy puppy dog. Even I am surprised, though I didn't propose to know anything for real about him as a man, just as the Grand Inquisitor. Apparently this should be no surprise to anyone.

Q: What is for you the most important point of this exhortation?

Father Bux: The admonition to live the Eucharist as a sacrament of love, which is organic communion, or more exactly, reciprocal obedience between Pope and bishops, bishop and priests, priests and laity.

Just as we do not make the Church but it is rather Jesus who gathers together and continually renews the Church with the action of the Holy Spirit, so also the Eucharist, greatest manifestation of the Church, must be observed in obedient humility in such a way that I "diminish" and the Lord "increases" more and more in every Christian.

It speaks for itself.

-JG

More on politicians in the UK

Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow has come out publicly, strongly urging lawmakers to follow natural law.

He said: "Moral truth is by its nature a reality which cannot be denied or deconstructed without serious consequences for the well-being of society. Indeed Pope Benedict insists on this in his new apostolic exhortation, 'Sacramentum Caritatis.'

"Recognizing the truth about humanity is, he writes, 'especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms.'

"'These values,' the Pope said, 'are not negotiable.'"

Archbishop Conti added: "This must be another way of saying that these values form the bedrock of society.

"A society which, on the other hand, builds itself on the untested ground of new ideologies or the shifting sands of liberal -- or perhaps I should say illiberal -- opinion is doomed to failure."

All I can say is this: Bravo! It's about time we have Bishops who are willing to take a stand and tell it like it is. This is a demonstration of the power of an Apostolic Exhortation. Already now the actions exhorted by the Pope are being put into action. Let us hope and pray that more of our Bishops will be willing to take such a stand.

Sin is the Enemy

Pope Benedict, in reflecting on this Sunday's gospel, said that Sin is the true enemy of the Human Person. Article

"If it is true that God is justice, then we should not forget that he is above all love; if he hates sin it is because he has an infinite love for all human beings," the Holy Father explained.

The Pontiff reflected on the Gospel account of the day's liturgy. It dealt with the adulterous woman who was to be stoned to death, but who was saved and forgiven by Jesus.

Benedict XVI stated: "Jesus does not start a theological debate about the law of Moses; he is not interested in winning an academic dispute on an interpretation of the Mosaic laws. His objective is to save a soul and reveal that salvation can be found only in the love of God.

"Jesus came to tell us that he wants us all in heaven and that hell, of which so little is said in our time, exists and is eternal for those who close their hearts to his love.

For one, we can note the theme common to the Benedict XVI papacy thus far, namely God is Love. Another thing he mentions is that Society has forgotten the sense of Sin. I direct you now to Sacramentum Caritatis, paragraph 20:

We know that the faithful are surrounded by a culture that tends to eliminate the sense of sin (55) and to promote a superficial approach that overlooks the need to be in a state of grace in order to approach sacramental communion worthily. (56) The loss of a consciousness of sin always entails a certain superficiality in the understanding of God's love.

Surprise, the Pope even mentioned this cultural trend in his exhortation.

Peace.
-JG

Sacramentum Caritatis and the "Eucharistic Life"

Part III of Sacramentum Caritatis deals with the Eucharistic Life, and how to live your life while recognising the Eucharistic character of every aspect of the world around us. The premise is that of the entire exhortation, namely that the Eucharist is the pre-eminent sacrament and is the "source and summit of the Church's life" (paragraph 70).

71. Christianity's new worship includes and transfigures every aspect of life: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Christians, in all their actions, are called to offer true worship to God. Here the intrinsically eucharistic nature of Christian life begins to take shape. The Eucharist, since it embraces the concrete, everyday existence of the believer, makes possible, day by day, the progressive transfiguration of all those called by grace to reflect the image of the Son of God (cf. Rom 8:29ff.). There is nothing authentically human – our thoughts and affections, our words and deeds – that does not find in the sacrament of the Eucharist the form it needs to be lived to the full. Here we can see the full human import of the radical newness brought by Christ in the Eucharist: the worship of God in our lives cannot be relegated to something private and individual, but tends by its nature to permeate every aspect of our existence. Worship pleasing to God thus becomes a new way of living our whole life, each particular moment of which is lifted up, since it is lived as part of a relationship with Christ and as an offering to God. The glory of God is the living man (cf. 1 Cor 10:31). And the life of man is the vision of God. (203)

This really tells it all, and summarizes essentially the entire exhortation. The Eucharistic Life extends to all of human existence, and there is nothing we do that cannot be traced back to the Eucharist. This extends especially to our public life; the Eucharistic faith is not limited to the private, personal times in our lives.

83. Here it is important to consider what the Synod Fathers described as eucharistic consistency, a quality which our lives are objectively called to embody. Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others: it demands a public witness to our faith. Evidently, this is true for all the baptized, yet it is especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms (230). These values are not negotiable. Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature (231). There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist (cf. 1 Cor 11:27-29). Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them (232).

Normally I would have picked a couple good sentences from this statement and then summarized the rest. I must point out how important this is, as related to what was said before. We cannot simply be believers without being doers. And some of us, due to the blessings God has bestowed upon us, are in the position to affect public policy. Those who are in such a position have the obligation to act out their faith much more than anyone else. After all, to those whom much has been given, much is expected.

This leads into one of the major themes of Sacramentum Caritatis: the Radical Newness of Christianity. Under Judaism, there wasn't a universal communal sense of life (a Eucharistic sense). There was the concept of the Chosen People, but it was more a following of God's commandments, offering the necessary sacrifices, etc. that the faithful had an obligation to. The idea of the "mystical body" hadn't been developed.

So, how does the Pope suggest we live the Eucharistic Life? The first aspects that are mentioned are the participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

72. From the beginning Christians were clearly conscious of this radical newness which the Eucharist brings to human life. The faithful immediately perceived the profound influence of the eucharistic celebration on their manner of life. (...) Saint Ignatius' phrase – "living in accordance with the Lord's Day" – also emphasizes that this holy day becomes paradigmatic for every other day of the week. Indeed, it is defined by something more than the simple suspension of one's ordinary activities, a sort of parenthesis in one's usual daily rhythm. (...)

73. Conscious of this new vital principle which the Eucharist imparts to the Christian, the Synod Fathers reaffirmed the importance of the Sunday obligation for all the faithful, viewing it as a wellspring of authentic freedom enabling them to live each day in accordance with what they celebrated on "the Lord's Day." The life of faith is endangered when we lose the desire to share in the celebration of the Eucharist and its commemoration of the paschal victory. (...)

These statements reaffirm something that has been lost in recent years, the respect for Sunday and Sunday worship. My observation is that many people have lost the sense that Sunday mass is important. People will miss mass and think nothing of it. Very few people who miss mass even would consider the fact that they should go to confession before returning to the Eucharist. It is a quite important thing that needs to be restored.

74. (...) Christians, not without reference to the meaning of the Sabbath in the Jewish tradition, have seen in the Lord's Day a day of rest from their daily exertions. This is highly significant, for it relativizes work and directs it to the person: work is for man and not man for work.

This is quite an interesting statement, because it goes somewhat against what I have learned previously. I have been exposed to the teachings of Opus Dei, and one of the common statements is that man is made for work. Reading one version of the creation story in Genesis will support that idea; Adam was made to work the land. This doesn't oppose The Work, but it did make me think.

82. (...) by sharing in the sacrifice of the Cross, the Christian partakes of Christ's self-giving love and is equipped and committed to live this same charity in all his thoughts and deeds" (228). In a word, "'worship' itself, eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented"

This relates to the idea presented above, namely that the Eucharist is incomplete without a moral transformation. The Eucharist leads us to give Christian witness with our lives.

89. The union with Christ brought about by the Eucharist also brings a newness to our social relations: "this sacramental ‘mysticism' is social in character." Indeed, "union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own."(241) The relationship between the eucharistic mystery and social commitment must be made explicit. (...) In discussing the social responsibility of all Christians, the Synod Fathers noted that the sacrifice of Christ is a mystery of liberation that constantly and insistently challenges us. I therefore urge all the faithful to be true promoters of peace and justice: "All who partake of the Eucharist must commit themselves to peacemaking in our world scarred by violence and war, and today in particular, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation."

And this is where I have been challenged in reading this document. The Eucharist points us toward social justice. I've always, for some reason, had an aversion to the social justice aspect of Christianity. I think it is because there are people who focus only on that, and I am much more an internal conversion/prayer life sort of Catholic. Those people who seem to focus on social justice, to the detriment even of true faith, really don't help the faith, just like the fundamentalist Christians don't help the cause any by insisting on a strictly evolution free 6 day creationist idea of "science".

93. At the conclusion of these reflections, in which I have taken up a number of themes raised at the Synod, I also wish to accept the proposal which the Synod Fathers advanced as a means of helping the Christian people to believe, celebrate and live ever more fully the mystery of the Eucharist. The competent offices of the Roman Curia will publish a Compendium which will assemble texts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, prayers, explanations of the Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Missal and other useful aids for a correct understanding, celebration and adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar (251). It is my hope that this book will help make the memorial of the Passover of the Lord increasingly the source and summit of the Church's life and mission. This will encourage each member of the faithful to make his or her life a true act of spiritual worship.

All I can say to this: "Awesome." I hope to be the first one on the block to have one, and hopefully will be able to get one before the first set is sold out at the store (like the first Compendium) .

97. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may the Holy Spirit kindle within us the same ardour experienced by the disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and renew our "eucharistic wonder" through the splendour and beauty radiating from the liturgical rite, the efficacious sign of the infinite beauty of the holy mystery of God. (...)

There's nothing like a happy ending.

May the Eucharistic life spring forth within us and bring this world the peace it desperately needs.
-JG

Sacramentum Caritatis: Initial Reflections

I have just (finally) finished reading Pope Benedict XVI's most recent publication, the Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, or, On the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church's Life and Mission. Light reading for the last few days.

My first impression: it's long! Not to be a discouragement, but it took me these three days and nights to finish it. That said, I probably tackled this length of document faster than I've finished any other ecclesiasitcal documents of similar length. It was a good read, worth all the hype.

I first heard reportings of it on the evening news, and was soon after sent an article from Zenit from a firend. By this point I had made it through the introduction and the beginning of the first part. I was struck at how these, and anything else I heard, tended to miss the point. The evening newspeople said "Pope discusses priestly celebacy in recent letter", and the Zenit article was about the Pope urging the use of Latin for international Masses. I realize that "Pope says the Eucharist is awesome" won't play well as a headline, but it was unmistakable that this was the point, just by reading the introduction and conclusion.

My thoughts, on the document as a whole. It was really nice, and wonderfully written. I had never took the time to try to view the whole of Christian life through the lens of the Eucharist, but that's what Pope Benedict did, and it really was an awakening. Nothing new was really said, it was just put into different terms, which made the critical reading difficult. There are a wealth of good reflections in this document, and I would not exhaust them with 100 posts (though I may try).

Interesting things to note about the document:

• The Pope didn't diverge from Catholic teachings (shockers, I know)
• The media seems to have missed the point, and got caught up in the details
• Paragraph 93 promises the writing and publication of a "Eucharistic Compendium"

Each of the three parts had different feels, and I think I would encourage the interested reader to take each one separately. As I read, I wrote down some recurring themes, and they happened to each correspond to a different part. The first theme was trinitaritarian love, understanding that concept and how the eucharist tipifies it. Next, Part II hit me hard with focusing on respecting liturgical norms (like I said, different feel). Finally Part III touched me with the Radical Newness of Christianity.

And so, part one of our series on Sacramentum Caritatis is completed. Stay tuned as I try to exhaust its riches.

Peace and Eternal Life.
-JG