"It's weird being Catholic. It really is." Jimmy Kimmel is on to something here. When we compare Catholic practices and teachings to our surroundings in the post modern society they are becoming more and more different. Especially when looking at Catholicism without any context or knowledge of it, does it come across as some strange cult. We go to Mass on Sunday to consume the body and blood of a man that was killed almost 2000 years ago. We don't eat meat on Fridays. The Catholic Church preaches no sex before marriage. Catholics get ash on their foreheads on a random Wednesday known as Ash Wednesday in late winter. There is no meat on Fridays in lent. Catholics have to confess their darkest of secrets to a man in a dress (as George and Jimmy call liturgical attire), and so on.
As you read the introduction you probably concurred with my analysis of society's ignorant view of Catholicism; and it certainly doesn't help when Catholics or former Catholics contribute to the ignorance. What is becoming more and more difficult is being comfortable with being Catholic. What I mean by this is being comfortable with embracing the fact that we are called to be different or "weird". The name of this blog is actually based on the reality that being Catholic is to be set apart for the rest of the world. We are to be in the world and not of the world.
1 John 2:15-16 states, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but from this world." The author in 1 John makes a clear distinction. James in James 4:4 is a bit more aggressive, "Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God." This distinction is found else where in Sacred Scripture. I think it is good to reflect on the words of Christ Himself in John 15: 18-21, "18 If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me."
I like to believe that the Jubilee Year of Mercy is a year where we approach others with verse 21 serving as a lens of sorts. The New Evangelization has taken a look at how the Church as a whole communicates with the world. If we seek to evangelize using only James 4:4 we are doing the Lord no service. James 4:4 was written to an audience that knew either Church teaching or Jewish teachings. In our post modern world the general audience knows neither, and therefore James 4:4 will only alienate the world more than it already is. Meeting someone where they are, "because they do not know the one who sent [Jesus]", is the loving approach needed to properly evangelize.
In seeking to evangelize properly, however, a few things have happened in recent history that have hurt our efforts to engage the world no matter the good intentions behind them. This leads me to discuss the three liturgical corrections that need to be made as written in the article, Three Liturgical Changes We Need Now, found in Crisis Magazine. In short the three corrections are; moving the tabernacle back to the center, celebrating Mass Ad Orientem (facing "east"), and restoring the reception of the Eucharist on the tongue.
Full disclosure, I agree with all three corrections proposed in the article. The first correction has a very literal and direct purpose; to put Christ back in the center of the church. Sure during the Liturgy of the Eucharist Christ certainly is the center of the Mass, but in many places (including our Cathedral in Cleveland) outside of Mass Christ is literally off to the side. If we truly believe in the True Presence, then should Christ not be the center piece of the church? The center where our body is naturally positioned and our eyes focused? I think the article puts it perfectly when it states, "Mysteriously, the Presence is offered to the glance; the person, whether stranger, or child, or wanderer, apprehends holiness. Many have been converted by this Presence alone. Seeking shelter in a place he vaguely perceives as other, as set apart, the pilgrim finds what he didn’t know he was looking for."
The second correction is one that before Vatican II literally set us apart from the rest of Western Christianity. Before Vatican II the Church (for starters celebrated in Latin) celebrated Mass with the Priest joining the faithful in facing Ad Orientem (toward the east). In the spirit of Vatican II, through which sadly many things are permitted, the Novus Ordo is celebrated with the priest versus populum (facing the faithful) as in Protestant churches. In my opinion and the opinion shared by the author of the article is that facing Ad Orientem places the focus in the proper place; toward God. It is easy for humans to get into what the priest is doing, how he is doing, and the other human mannerism. This takes away from the true purpose of the Mass, which is to praise and worship God for revealing Himself to us. To which, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says, "Only for this reason [God's revelation to us] do we know him; only for this reason can we confidently pray to him everywhere. And precisely for this reason is it appropriate, now as in the past, that we should express in Christian prayer our turning to God who has revealed himself to us." (The Spirit of the Liturgy, p. 75-76). Benedict XVI ultimately resolves the issue stating, "Where a direct common turning the east is not possible, the cross can serve as the interior "east" of faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of focus for both priest and prayer community." He goes on to say, "This mistake should be corrected as quickly as possible; it can be done without further rebuilding. The Lord is the point of reference." (p. 84).
The third correction is one that will take humility. I have come to the point in my personal piety that I feel it absolutely necessary to kneel and receive the Blessed Sacrament on my tongue. I firmly believe in the true presence of Christ, and therefore concluded that, "Who am I to stand before the presence of God?" Every knee shall bend before the Lord and mine are included. Kneeling and receiving on the tongue are physical ways that we can remind ourselves of the Sacredness of the Holy Eucharist. It helps in feeling how holy this Sacrament truly is. I like how the article ends this point, "Once communion on the tongue is restored, we’ll find that it’s more practical to distribute it if the people kneel. Soon, we’ll rediscover the efficiency of the communion rail. We will better understand the priest’s irreplaceability. We’ll find that we are fostering the priest’s fatherly, pastoral intimacy with his flock as he feeds them."
Catholicism is supposed to be weird in the eyes of the world! A good and faithful Catholic will embrace the uniqueness of our Faith. We are set apart from the world through Christ who came to save us from the trappings of it. It is very dangerous to seek normalcy with the world or to make Catholicism less weird. We are supposed to be unique, because Christ is unique. Ultimately what we do is for Christ and through Christ. So I challenge you to find ways to embrace the uniqueness of Catholicism. Credo Domine.
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Resources:
1. The Catholic Bible (New American Revised Edition), Oxford University Press.
2. "The Spirit of the Liturgy" by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Ignatius Press.
3. "Three Liturgical Changes We Need Now" by Leila Marie Lawler, crisismagazine.com.
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