Tag: Jesu

Cogitationes meas… (iii)

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A.M.D.G.
S. Donato, Episcopo et Martyre

Carissimi,

Continuing my reflections from my retreat… Yesterday I reflected on how the invitation by Christ to the Apostles, “…Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…?” [Mark 10:35-40; Matthew 20:20-23] is shared by bishops in the continuation of that same Apostolic ministry, and in turn is asked by them of those about to be ordained priests. Then I remarked how the true nature of priesthood is masked today by a lack of understanding generally about its character and purpose, such that many are in fact emasculating it and in so doing distorting God’s will and purpose for many in the realisation of other vocations.

prayer

The first question I ask most candidates for priesthood is, “What is the first duty of the priest?” By which I mean, what is his purpose, what is his first obligation? The answer is always “to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass” often accompanied with a smile or sometimes a quizzical look as if the question is odd! “No,” I always reply, “the first duty of the priest is to pray. It is the same for any Christian.” For a priest is a “mediator” between God and human beings, he is one who offers sacrifices and intercedes for the people. The first of the Ten Commandments is “You shall have no other gods before me” [Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7] and of the Summary of the Law, Our Lord says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” [Mark 12:30; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27] So it is then that the priest in fulfilment of the Law needs must express obedience to this command if he is to be an effective mediator with God, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” [Heb 11:6] The priest must offer in true charity first that worship of almighty God that is the chief expression of recognising God as the source and summit of all our being, a sacrifice of prayer and praise to the Divine, to Him “from whom all good things come.” [cf James 1:17]

Now notice the statement “must believe that He is” it means of a stronger faith than the mere assent to God’s existence. This statement in verse 6 follows on the heels of an illustration in Genesis regarding Enoch. Only a short sentence, “Enoch walked faithfully with God,” in Genesis 5:22 and repeated in Genesis 5:24 reveals why he was so special to his God. For God was an every day reality to him. It is the kind of faith that those who have it will seek God out. That is the kind of faith that Enoch had. People who really believe that “God is”, they seek Him out. They search Him out. That has to include talking to Him. The priest has to truly believe in and walk with, God.

So “seeking God” means that one approaches nearer to God, seeks Him, or he walks with Him. It signifies fellowship with Him. The Bible shows three stages of coming to God. The first is at God’s calling when one begins to draw near. It results in justification and the imputing of Christ’s righteousness. It occurs when one discerns and answers both the general call of God i.e. to humanity to have a relationship with Him, and the particular calling of God i.e. the fulfilment of His will and purpose and the raison d’être of the specific individual. The second is more continuous, occurring during sanctification, as a person seeks to be like God, conform to His image, and have His laws written, engraved, into his character. This is expressed by the committing of oneself to the ongoing discernment of His will and purpose. The third stage occurs at the general resurrection of the dead when the individual is glorified. The whole point of the preceding process, i.e. to become holy, to become transfigured, to become worthy of eternal life with God.

It is for this reason that the Church binds upon all her Sacred Ministers in major Orders the obligation to recite the Divine Office or “Prayer of the Church” to sanctify the day and all human activity. Why? From all eternity the Godhead was praised with ineffable praise by the Trinity itself, the three divine Persons as an expression of true and Divine Charity. From the first moment of creation the choirs of angels sang God’s praises, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” [Isaias 6: 3]. Adam and Eve had “created in them the knowledge of the Spirit of God that they might praise the name which He has sanctified and glory in His wondrous acts” [Ecclesiasticus 17: 6-8] So then, a priest who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength will be first and foremost a man of prayer, he will walk daily with God, he will offer prayer not only for himself as an expression of his own faith but also on behalf of those he is called to serve in emulation of Christ Himself.

As Fr E Quigley writes in his study of the Roman Breviary, “The Divine Office”: ‘In the New Law our Saviour is the model of prayer, the true adorer of His Father. He alone can truly worthily adore and praise because He alone has the necessary perfection. Night and day He set example to His followers. He warned them to watch and pray; He taught them how to pray; He gave them a form of prayer; He prayed in life and at death. His apostles, trained in the practices of the synagogue, were perfected by the example and the exhortations of Christ. This teaching and example are shown in effect when the assembled apostles were “at the third hour of the day” praying [Acts 2: 15]; when about the sixth hour Peter went to pray [Acts 10: 9]. In the Acts of Apostles we see how Peter and John went at the ninth hour to the temple to pray. St. Paul in prison sang God’s praises at midnight, and he insists on his converts singing in their assembly psalms and hymns [Eph 5: 19; Col. 3: 16; I Cor. 14: 26].’

Now most people appreciate that a priest therefore should be “a man of prayer” but key to understanding the particular role and purpose of the priesthood requires us to be familiar with the Old Covenant, for Our Lord says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” [Matt 5:17] Now remember that we lost our corporeal immortality which God had first intended for us when He made the world, through the disobedience of Adam and Eve and so sin necessitates our salvation and affects our reconciliation with God. When we say “the resurrection of the body” in the Creed we are expressing the desire for complete reconciliation with God, the restoration of creation with Him, so that we may regain that corporeal immortality originally intended for us.

high-priest-in-holy-of-holies

In the Old Testament, God institutes both a general priesthood and a ministerial priesthood; God made his people “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” [Ex 19:6; cf. Isa 61:6] and within the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi was chosen to be set apart for the liturgical service of offering sacrifice as priests [cf. Num 1:48-53; Josh 13:33]. The ancient Jewish priesthood which functioned at the temple in Jerusalem offered animal sacrifices at various times throughout the year for a variety of reasons, but in every generation, one priest would be singled out to perform the functions of the high priest (Hebrew kohen gadol). His primary task was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) service,  its central themes are atonement and repentance. The  Other unique task of the high priest included the offering of a daily meal sacrifice.

God promised on the Day of Atonement to cleanse His people from all of their sins. It is this distinguishing feature that made this Day unique. “For on this Day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the LORD” [Leviticus 16:30]. God had redeemed His people; He subsequently required them to be cleansed from their sin. Leviticus 16 describes the most complex yearly ritual for the purification and riddance of sin in all of Scripture. On this day referred to in Leviticus 16:30 God permitted Israel’s high priest to enter into the Holy of Holies. He allowed entrance into His holy presence only one day during the calendar year. If anyone other than the high priest entered, or if anyone attempted to enter His immediate presence at any other time, they were killed as in the case of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. [Leviticus 16:1 refers to the incident in Leviticus 10:1-7]

In the New Testament, we find Peter referring to a priesthood of all believers, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” [1 Peter 2:9] We also find Paul describes those enjoined in the Apostles’ ministry, “… as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” [1 Cor 4:1] So here we see by comparison the fulfilment of the old Law of the Old Covenant in the New… So what of the high priest and the “Day of Atonement”? Here of course we come to the very crux of our faith, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is the Eternal High Priest who offered Himself on the Cross as the true Paschal Lamb and Unblemished Victim for our redemption in one atoning sacrifice of Himself upon the Cross; on “The” Day of Atonement. The New Testament depicts Jesus as the “great high priest” of the New Covenant who, instead of offering the ritual animal sacrifices prescribed by the Jewish Law, offers Himself on the cross as the true and perfect atoning sacrifice.

High_Priest_Jesus_heaven_Ark-of-the-Covenant

So then, the New Testament says that as high priest, Jesus has made the Church “a kingdom of priests for his God and Father.” [Rev 1:6; cf. Rev 5:9-10; 1 Pet 2:5,9] All who are baptised are given a share in the priesthood of Christ; that is, they are conformed to Christ and made capable of offering true worship and praise to God as Christians “to offer up spiritual sacrifices” [1 Peter 2:5]. “The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly.” [Catechism of the Catholic Church #1546] So then the ministerial priesthood is properly understood to be at the service of the ‘priesthood of all believers’. As St Gregory the Great might put it, speaking as he was of his own ministry as a bishop, to be a “servant of the servants of God”. To be “stewards of the mysteries” and ultimately to both represent Christ and re-present Him in His atoning sacrifice, the Eucharist.

Remembering then that our faith is ultimately about the forgiveness of sin, so that we might have eternal life with God, let us recall how the fruits of Christ’s redemption are to be realised. How are we to receive the eternal life, won for us by Him? How, especially when our high priest has “passed into the heavens” Hebrews [4:14]? It is of course at this point that the need for a ministerial priesthood becomes evident. “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” [John 6:53-54] The ultimate benefit of our salvation in Christ is the restoration of creation with God – the regaining of our corporeal immortality as God had originally intended. We see how our faith is “incarnational” – God made Man in Christ restores the physical material creation to the Creator by atoning completely for sin which had prevented the realisation of God’s desire for us, to be with Him for eternity. How then are we to receive eternal life except by incarnational means!

So it is then that, that as before, God uses His creation to effect His supreme love for us and desire for us to be with Him forever. Here then is where the ministerial priesthood of the New Covenant comes in. In order for the words of Christ to be made true [cf John 6:53] we need to receive as physical persons that physical reality of the Eucharist, of the flesh and blood of the Son of Man. The Catholic priesthood then is a share in the priesthood of Christ and traces its historical origins to the Twelve Apostles appointed by Christ at the Last Supper who were commanded to “do this in memory of me.”

Tomorrow is the feast of St John Vianney, a more perfect example of priestly dedication and service by a man we would be hard pushed to find, one who understood intimately this incarnational need for the ministerial priesthood…

Oremus pro invicem

Cogitationes meas… (ii)

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A.M.D.G.
In Transfiguratione Domini Nostri Jesu Christi

Carissimi,

Continuing from yesterday, a sharing of my reflections whilst on retreat last month…

kiefer_canyoudrinkthecup

July, like all the months of the year, is traditionally dedicated to a particular devotion. July is dedicated to the “Precious Blood” recalling the blood spilt in sacrifice by Christ upon the Cross. These devotional titles are to encourage us to reflect on aspects of the Incarnation, particularly on how our redemption was affected thereby, through Christ’s, “Emmanuel’s” (God-made-man’s) own blood. For me this year, this month in my personal reflections recalled to mind the Sons of Zebedee [cf Mark 3:17], “… You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…?” [Mark 10:35-40; Matthew 20:20-23]

I am ever conscious as a bishop that this “bitter cup” is also “my portion and my cup” [Psalm 16:5-11] for what and who am I but an apostle like those blessed Apostles sent by Christ who founded the Church and thus called to share like them in all things? St. Clement in the first century explicitly states that the Apostles appointed bishops as successors of their ministry and St. Irenaeus and Tertullian testify similarly in the second century what had become the tradition of the Church [St Clement’s Letter to the Corinthians 42:4–5, 44:1–3 A.D. 80; St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., III, 3, 1; cf. Tertullian, De Praescr., 20, 4-8: PL 2, 32] and the book of Acts itself describes too this sharing and handing on of responsibility in the appointment of overseers and presbyters for the Church [cf Acts 13:2-3; Acts 20:28] and Paul [cf 1 Tim 5:17; Gal 2:9] who of course adds to Timothy, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables. But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.” [2 Tim 4:1-5] Tradition tells us that James, son of Zebedee was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom, as recorded in Acts 12:2; he tasted first, as would all the Apostles, that “bitter cup” [his brother, John the Evangelist, would be the last of the Twelve  literally to “taste” it too, but be initially spared his life, to be imprisoned and later retire to Ephesus].

jesus-in-gethsemane

So what is this “bitter cup”? None other than the “chalice of our salvation” (Ps 116:13). This cup was so awful that Jesus  prayed three times, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me” [Mat 26:39,42,44]. Even though the cup was bitter beyond description, and too dreadful to fully express, yet Jesus resolutely determined to drink it [Luke 22:42] in anguish sweating blood [Luke 22:44], knowing that it was the appointed prelude to glory. Therefore, when Peter sought to defend Him in the garden, Jesus said to him, “Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” [John 18:11]. The triumph of Jesus’ Resurrection was to be accomplished only by drinking “the cup of trembling,” or “cup of His wrath” [Isa 51:17,22; Zech 12:2]. In drinking from this cup, Jesus would absorb the shock of the curse of God [Gal 3:13] i.e that is the due penalty of sin. He would “taste death” [Heb 2:9] in a way impossible for any one of us.

It was a cup from which all of the wicked were originally destined to drink, and was described by the Psalmist, “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.” [Ps 75:8]. Thus the cup Jesus was to drink was associated with Divine wrath, with the judgement of sin and the cursing of sinners, Jeremiah referred to such a cup as “this cup of the wine of wrath” [Jer 25:15]. Jesus asks James and John (the Sons of Zebedee) if they are able to drink “of the cup” that He will drink of. He does not ask them if they will be able to drink of a cup like His cup, but from His cup.

Thus Our Lord is referring to the portion of sufferings that He will leave behind that the Apostles in their turn must endure, as Paul says “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” [Col 1:24] Though unlike the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, these sufferings are not redemptive of themselves, but they will be difficult to bear for His followers and nonetheless may be counted towards salvation, if not directly of the world but in conjunction with His suffering for the world, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” [Matt 10:22] For “Whoever listens to you listens to me…” [Lk 10:16] Thus those whom He had called to be His Apostles and who in their turn have chosen successors in their apostolic charge, share in this same invitation to participate with Christ in the salvation of the world, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” [cf John 15:16]

tooffersacrifice
“The cup” is presented by the bishop to the new priest during his ordination…

So my personal reflections have dwelt much upon the significance of this invitation, this sharing in the Apostolic ministry which includes the “bitter cup” to which I am enjoined by my episcopal consecration and into which I will bring those to be ordained to share-in, with me, as co-workers (presbyters, deacons) after the manner of the Apostles. Most especially those whom I will ordain as priests who will offer the Sacrifice of the Mass wherein they especially will taste, after a manner, this “cup of salvation”, this “cup of trembling” and this “cup of wrath” for as St Paul says “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” [I Cor 11:26]. While many Christians may be called to suffering, not all are called and chosen to share in this particular way.

Here we begin to touch upon the very real nature of priesthood, an element I am afraid is not much thought about any more in our contemporary rationalist world and of which I am sorry to say (for those who may find it disagreeable) the modern Rite(s) of the Mass fail miserably to convey; the true incarnational character of the priesthood. Reflecting today personally on the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord brought home to me again the very real import and unique character of the priesthood. By this (and what follows in my sharing of thoughts) I do not mean to assert a form of “clericalism” about the Sacred Ministry, there are many complimentary ministries as St Paul says [cf I Corinthians 12. 2-11] that contribute invaluably to the whole process of theosis, i.e. divinisation through the Church of our humanity; but each of them has a peculiarly unique character.

It is, I feel, a great pity in our time that the Sacred Ministry has come to be perceived as the sole or ultimate expression of all the various ministries, rather than a particular vocation, a particular ministry. I can’t help but wonder if that is why so many have failed to prove themselves as priests, who perhaps may actually have been called to another form of ministry altogether? I also think its why so many inappropriate “ministries” have been invented that emasculate the priesthood in an attempt to fashion from it, in an attempt to reclaim by extension some kind of ministry? For example, “Eucharistic Ministers” – surely only consecrated hands that can consecrate, should handle the consecrated species? Surely, if there is a priest there to say Mass, shouldn’t he distribute the Communion? All too often, that which was permitted to be used “in extremis” i.e. in grave or extreme circumstances, has come to be “the norm” and with it has brought demands that have enabled or clamour for further malpractice. It is a shame that time has aggregated to the priesthood additional ministries that properly belong separately from it, or may be exercised by others in cooperation with it, which have clouded its true nature and purpose.

This clouding of the true nature, character and purpose of the priesthood has brought about a very real danger to the Church as a whole. Potentially there are priestly vocations being missed! Potentially there are vocations to other ministries being missed! Potentially the Church (as institution) is not realising fully all the benefits of God’s Grace as His chosen one’s are failing to realise their true, unique, individual vocations! As I often say in my homilies, we are each uniquely called by God and endowed by Him with gifts, talents, abilities for a specific purpose of His. We were all willed by Him into existence for some purpose known only to Him [cf Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:16] and shared sparingly with us, that in discerning His purpose for ourselves and in the process humbling our will to His, we may realise both in this life and for eternity that true “peace” for the soul “which the world cannot give” [cf Philippians 4:7] but which we are invited to receive in following Jesus [John 14:27] who tells us, like He did to Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor, “noli timere” – be not afraid… words that those preparing for ordination should continually hold in their hearts as they begin to realise the uniqueness of their particular vocation… Of which more tomorrow!

Oremus pro invicem

Deus avia: a pastoral letter on the Feast of St Anne 2013

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A.M.D.G.
S. Annae Matris B.M.V.

Carissimi,

Jesus, Mary & Anna
Jesus, Mary & Anna

“…God’s granny” is the affectionate colloquial term used by devotee’s of today’s saint, St Anne and follows a certain, perhaps over familial but logical consequence resulting from the decree of the  Council of Ephesus in 431 of Mary as “Theotokos” i.e. the “Mother of God”. If Mary is “Mother of God” than the mother of Mary must be “God’s grandmother”!

According to the Protoevangelium of James (Christians whose tradition is only five hundred years old won’t be familiar with this work) generally attributed by scholarly consensus to the second century, the parents of Mary were Anna (anglicised to Anne) and Joachim. Though other members of Mary’s family are mentioned in the canonical Gospels, (e.g. her cousin, Elizabeth Lk 1:36, 39-40) the early date of the Protoevangelium of James and the fact that Mary was well known among the early Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14), has generally lent some authenticity to this tradition concerning Mary’s parentage and childhood and the work was very nearly included in the later codified New Testament canon (mid-4th Century).

Though the idea of “God’s granny” may perhaps be a little too “cutesy” for some, and the concept of God having a grandmother too difficult for others to comprehend without the  “Incarnationis Mysterium”, the tradition has helped many saints over the centuries develop a personal affinity to Our Lord through His earthly holy family. Afterall, we can relate to and more easily appreciate those things about which we are ourselves familiar, and the notion of family is certainly something the majority of us can relate to (sadly, even if our families themselves have been lacking in cohesiveness let alone holiness). Afterall, are we not by virtue of our baptisms, called “children of God” (John 1:11-13), “sharers in the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), “co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:14-17)?

All this refers to our “divinisation” which was the purpose of a) our existence and b) our salvation through Christ. For we are (humanity was) created by God to “know Him, love Him and serve Him in this world, and be happy with Him forever in the next” as our Penny Catechism once taught us. Though “made in the image and likeness of God” we lost our corporeal immortality which God had first intended for us when He made the world, through the disobedience of Adam and Eve and so sin, which is a “deliberative will” (θέλημα γνωμικόν) in opposition to the “natural will” (θέλημα φυσικόν) created by God, necessitates our salvation and affects our reconciliation with God. As St. Justin Martyr tells us “[Men] were made like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons, and yet they, becoming like Adam and Eve, work out death for themselves; let the interpretation of the Psalm be held just as you wish, yet thereby it is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming “gods,” and of having power to become sons of the Highest.” [“the Psalm”, 82:1-7]  But as the Penny Catechism says, “Our Saviour suffered to atone for our sins, and to purchase for us eternal life.” The manifestation of God’s love for us in Christ through His salvation on the Cross not only “restores” creation but “reconciles” us spiritually to God our Father, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!” (1 John 3:1) and ultimately restores our corporeal immortality (i.e. “the resurrection of the body”) for the “life of the world to come” (the Creed) as the apostle Paul declares: “If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:13–18).

As various of the Church Fathers attest, the Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”: St. Irenaeus of Lyons “For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.” St. Athanasius of Alexandria “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” St. Clement of Alexandria “The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God.” St. Cyril of Alexandria says that humankind “are called ‘temples of God’ and indeed ‘gods’, and so we are.” St. Gregory of Nazianzus implores humankind to “become gods for (God’s) sake, since (God) became man for our sake.” St. Basil of Caesarea stated that “becoming a god is the highest goal of all.” and St. Thomas Aquinas “The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.”

So this title of affection for the “mother of the Mother of God”, reminds us that our Christian faith is “incarnational” i.e. focusing on Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, God made man, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity (Phil. 2:8). It reminds us that Jesus was human – as we are – and as a human He had a family – just as we do. The great claim of our Faith is that Jesus was not just a man but was also God and that we too may become like Him.  One of the great differences between the Christian Faith and other religions is that God in Christ interacted deliberately in our existence, in our timeline; that God is not “remote” and “aloof” and “disdainful” of His creation but rather so loves what He created that He desires us to be one with Him (cf John 3:16) and became one of us. Jesus was a real person, situated in a particular time and place and social environment, as various independent and objective historical sources aside from the sacred writings of the Christians of the Apostolic era attest. The remembrance then of “God’s granny” reminds us of this incarnational truth about Jesus and that we too are indeed God’s children through His baptism, and thus have “received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

As the “family” of God then, united as we are to Jesus through our baptism and to the saints who’ve gone before us in the “communion of saints”, let us “keep the feast” and honour another who, like us, was created to serve and love God and in so doing played her part in the history of the world’s salvation. For those of us with fond affection for our own grandmother’s, let us take inspiration in the knowledge of the love that Jesus must surely have had for His grandmother and in like fashion, and in obedience to His Divine Will, let us so honour our own grandparents as we do our parents and ultimately our Father in heaven. That we may each play our part in the salvation of the world, through loving discernment and respectful acquiescence of our own individual vocations to realise God’s desire for us to live in love and union with Him for eternity.

Sancta Anna, ora pro nobis.

‡Jerome OSJV