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PDF versionLent: a season of communal preparation
by Richard McBrien on Feb. 15, 2010
Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent, is observed this year on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
The word "Lent" is derived from an old English word which means "springtime." The Latin adverb lente means "slowly."
On the basis of etymology alone, Lent signals the onset of spring and invites us, at the same time, to slow down our usual pace of activity and to take stock of our lives.
But Lent obviously means much more than the coming of spring. Indeed, in the Southern Hemisphere it is fall, not spring, that is on the way.
The etymology of the word offers one approach to disclosing the point and purpose of Lent. The liturgical route provides another, more productive path. The season of Lent is, in the final accounting, a preparation for Easter.
Members of the church prepare for the renewal of their baptismal vows at the Easter Vigil and for the annual celebration of the greatest of Christian feasts. Catechumens, on the other hand, prepare for Baptism and their full initiation into the church.
However, the name "catechumen" would eventually lose its significance, and by the Middle Ages the catechumenate, for all practical purposes, no longer existed.
During the first three centuries, most Christians prepared for Easter by fasting for only two or three days. But by the fourth century this pre-Easter fast developed into our now-established Lent of 40 days. Nevertheless, it was still viewed as a preparation for Easter and the baptism of new Christians.
Beginning in the fifth and sixth centuries, as the number of adult baptisms sharply declined in relation to the baptism of infants, the need to prepare adults for Baptism at the Easter Vigil receded.
Lent was gradually transformed into a time of prayer and penance, modeled on a 40-day, post-Epiphany fast popular among monks, in imitation of the fasting and penance practiced by Jesus during his 40 days in the desert.
Then with the liturgical renewal advanced by Pope Pius XII's restoration of the rites of Holy Week in 1956 and by the Second Vatican Council's retrieval of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), Lent, on the one hand, and Baptism and Easter, on the other, were happily re-connected.
Once again, Lent came to be seen and experienced as a season in preparation for Easter–preparation not just for individuals, but for the whole community of faith.
With the restored RCIA, Lent served anew as the "home stretch," as it were, of the long process of the initiation of new converts into full membership in the church.
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On the First Sunday of Lent there is the formal enrollment of the names of the catechumens, known also as the rite of election. This rite ratifies the catechumens' readiness for the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) and provides an opportunity for them to express their desire to receive these sacraments.
There follows a period of purification and enlightenment, embracing the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent, in which catechumens are encouraged to purify their minds and hearts from temptation and sin, and to deepen their union with Christ.
The climax of this process is reached at the Easter Vigil, but it does not end there. A "suitable period" of post-baptismal catechesis, known as mystagogy (which is derived from a Greek word, meaning "to teach a doctrine," or "to instruct into the mysteries"), continues the new convert's instruction of the Christian moral life, the sacraments, the Trinity, and prayer.
Although it has been over 40 years since the restoration of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and over 50 years since the reform of the Holy Week liturgies, there are still many Catholics who continue to regard Lent in less liturgically appropriate ways.
For these Catholics, Lent remains a season devoted to prayer and penance (surely good and holy things in themselves), but without explicit reference to Baptism, to the Easter Vigil, or to their own responsibility for nurturing the faith-development of new Christians, including their active participation in the church's sacramental and ministerial life.
For many, Lent is still primarily, if not exclusively, a time for personal asceticism and private devotions: giving up things like candy, movies, and hand-held games, or attending daily Mass, as if the Mass itself were a private devotion, like Stations of the Cross.
The Eucharist is a communal celebration, not a penance. It is the center of the church's entire life, including the season that is about to begin.
Just as Lent is directed toward Baptism and Easter, so Baptism and Easter are directed always toward the Eucharist, the heart of everything the church does.
© 2010 Richard P. McBrien. All rights reserved. Fr. McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.
The communal aspect not only
The communal aspect not only of Lent but also of Eucharist is so important. Just recently a bishop asked about communion services said something like the following: "I don't think they are so good. The emphasis in a Communion service is on receiving Jesus. But the other aspects of the Eucharist, communal celebration, hearing the Word of God, being challenged by the Word and the Preaching, these are usually missing. I would recommend that we not have Communion services, but to encourage people to find where they can celebrate Mass."
The availability of Mass is decreasing and the availability of the Sacrament of the Sick is declining. When will the Bishops begin to acknowledge these facts and accept the ordination of married men and women?
Why could "communion service"
Why could "communion service" not include readings and a sermon? I'm getting to be an old and retired priest now, but when I was reading the Vatican 2 documents it keeps occurring to me that if the Bishop is "the priest" of the Diocese and then appoints others to represent him in bringing the Sacraments to the people where he can not be present, he just might be able to appoint the community itself, as a "corporate person" to represent him in carrying out the priestly" functions. We would get back to the sort of communities St. Paul describes where "there are a variety of gifts" carried out by different people in the community. But the community itself would be able, with one of their members trained and appointed to preside, would be "the priest".
You might want to re-read
You might want to re-read what Vatican II has to say about ecclesiology and the priesthood, and then re-think your statement. IF you think the Eucharistic sacrifice can just be downsized to a "communion service" than there are some issues there.
Downsized? We have
Downsized? We have downsized the vision of church to what an ordanined priest can handle. In much of the midwest, I see the shortage of priests has downsized the opportunity of the faithful to what he can handle. He will handle less than they are capable when it comes to spiritual life. I see us reduced to a minimalistic church that is driving our people into meaninglessness or into other denominations. Sorry to say.
My sister, a married lay
My sister, a married lay woman, leads a communion service almost every week at her parish. She includes the daily readings, a "reflection" which is well prepared, short and so well tied to the readings it made me weep when I heard her the first time. There is always a suggestion about how one could continue the message of the reading for the rest of the day. It is a reverent and inclusive communal service and the small community of daily communicants are blessed to have her and they in turn bless everyone with their openness and response. Often she asks someone from the pews to lead a song. She is a wonderful gift to all.
Why could "communion service"
Why could "communion service" not include readings and a sermon? I'm getting to be an old and retired priest now, but when I was reading the Vatican 2 documents it keeps occurring to me that if the Bishop is "the priest" of the Diocese and then appoints others to represent him in bringing the Sacraments to the people where he can not be present, he just might be able to appoint the community itself, as a "corporate person" to represent him in carrying out the priestly" functions. We would get back to the sort of communities St. Paul describes where "there are a variety of gifts" carried out by different people in the community. But the community itself would be able, with one of their members trained and appointed to preside, would be "the priest".
It is paradoxical how
It is paradoxical how "clerical" this statement really is, even assuming that the author wants to expand the notion of priesthood beyond anything Catholics have hitherto recognized. The operative principle in this text is that priestly ministry is primarily a matter of episcopal "delegation," -- all we're lacking is canonical jurisdiction or faculties. Faculties are necessary, but not sufficient -- faculties cannot just be delegated to anybody independent of the sacramental commission of Orders.
I object to communion
I object to communion services, not because the influence is on 'receiving Jesus' as the anonymous bishop stated, but rather because it blurs the lines, the distinctions, between laity and clergy -- even in the mind of those lay ministers who might be temporarily given the privilege of leading such a service. It blurs the distinctive nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as well.
I cannot count the number of times that, as a seminarian conducting communion services, I was told that I had said a "nice Mass". I would correct the people, kindly, and remind them that the service was not Mass, that the Communion they received was not consecrated at the service, but rather at a previous parish Mass. Despite that, though, the distinction was clearly blurred.
The alternative to a communion service, of course, would be a communal celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is not a made-up paraliturgy, like a communion service is, but rather the prayer of Mother Church. It can be led by a layperson and that person does not require any special permission or dispensation from the local ordinary. Finally, it is significantly different from the Mass and it would thus not lead to a blurring of the distinctions between the Mass and a communion service.
I don't know what diocese you are part of, but in many US dioceses, the number of young men (and not so young as well!) studying for the priesthood is actually growing. The seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Louis had to open a new wing of the seminary to accommodate the growing numbers of students. The Diocese of Saginaw, once a poster-child for declining vocations, is now booming with them. The Diocese of Lincoln opened its own new seminary, as did the Archdiocese of Denver. In dioceses with faithful bishops who are serious about recruiting good and holy men to the seminary are having no problems with the availability of Mass, and thus no need for such things as communion services.
Finally, the Church will not "accept the ordination of...women" because it cannot. The Church does not have the authority to ordain women. The Church is constrained to continue the priestly ministry as constituted by Christ -- He did not ordain women (no women at the Last Supper), neither can we. Married men might be ordained (and some have been, especially converts from Protestant communities) since priestly celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine. However, it is replete with its own difficulties as well.
I'm not sure how lines are
I'm not sure how lines are blurred between laity and clergy if the parishioners know who their pastor is. I too have been commented upon my "nice Mass" and have simply looked on it as a moment of quick catechesis. Whether it stuck will be found out in the future, I guess.
I've suggested doing Liturgy of the Hours, or just simply canceling the Comm. Svc. since Mass was being offered a mere 7 blocks away, but have not made an impact with that thought. With some, it's about receiving daily Communion, whether in Mass, a Comm. Svc., or simply showing up while someone distributes Communion without a liturgy of any sort.
If we had enough priests, we wouldn't generally need so many liturgies that can take the time-slot of daily Mass. But we don't.
One important thing to ponder about the apostles: in THAT day and time, had Jesus picked a "diverse" group of followers, including women, multiple races, and everything else that matters today, would he have been able to make the same impact? To say that priests are men because the apostles were men forgets also that the apostles were married Jewish men (at least 11 of them were).
And when Jesus conducted his first ordination, which cathedral did he use and what seminaries did they come from? The Church can, but won't, accept the ordination of anyone they feel to be inferior. As cherished as full equality is in the US, it's obviously not in the Vatican. But we have married popes and bishops and priests in our history, as well as female deacons and quite possibly female priests and bishops (depending on whose history one reads).
A person's spirituality based on their gender? Sounds very Middle Ages to me...
perhaps the learned Clint
perhaps the learned Clint might benefit as you suggest in your gentle subtext from a refreshing re-reading of the conciliar documents including the pastoral constitution and the priesthood of the entire people of God.
I would suggest he begin a curative re-reading of forty years of the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien's clear yet profound explanations of the issues, which I now am finding very helpful as Lenten reading. In fact I have just been looking through Who Is A Catholic? and find it very informative, particularly upon these very hierarchical points.
Ah, yes, the conciliar
Ah, yes, the conciliar documents are quite familiar to me from my seminary days. We were required to read the actual documents, not somebody's commentary and interpretation of those documents, and I learned a great deal about what the Council actually said, as opposed to be what others say that the Council said.
The priesthood of the faithful that dear Frere comments on is a priesthood that is different from the ministerial priesthood, as anyone who has read the documents knows. The priesthood of the faithful is that calling each of us has to pray for others and for our world, as well as to offer intercessory sacrifice (giving up various good things, sacrificing time and talent and treasure, offering up suffering, etc) for the needs of ourselves, our relatives and friends, and the world at large. The Council never intended that the priesthood of the faithful should be seen as the same thing as the ministerial priesthood, the office of priest.
Indeed, it is this very misunderstanding, fostered mistakenly by many, that says that there is no intrinsic difference between the priesthood of the faithful and the office of priest, that has led to the very vocational situation we are in in many dioceses. At one time we say that there is no difference between the ministry of the laity and the ministry of the priest; we seek to downplay the priest in every way we can. We seek to make the priest into a sacramental machine, removing from him all leadership and governmental roles in the parish, and also convert him into a dour dressing social worker.
We tell those who might be called to the priesthood something like "You have no special place in the Church (or at least, you should not). Your ministry and mine is not intrinsically different. I can do everything you can do, or should be able to. So give up wife and family, give up a private life and be on call 24/7. Work hard, take the crap we spew at you when we don't like what you say or do and receive very little pay for your troubles. And, no, we don't respect or honor you any more than anyone else. You are not essential to the operation of my parish and if you leave, we;ll just have Communion or Scripture services without you." Why would anyone want to be a priest in those circumstances?
Thanks be to God that that attitude about the priesthood is vanishing quickly and we are returning to the traditional understanding of the priesthood. We are returning to the absolutely true belief that the priest, at ordination, is ontologically changed, altered in substance, to grant him the power to stand in persona Christi. We are returning to the understanding that without the priesthood, there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist, there is no Church. Thus, without the priesthood, there is no Church.
Finally, I agree that Fr. McBrien might make very good Lenten reading. It would certainly be a severe penance to read much of his stuff.
Clint dude if you do not like
Clint dude if you do not like them do not go. We in the desert need them for lack of acceptable vocations. Same thing if you do not like NCR do not read it. It's like the lesson of the ancient desert hermit when asked about fasting. When hungry, eat.
pray always
even at a communion service
Clint claims: 'I cannot count
Clint claims: 'I cannot count the number of times that, as a seminarian conducting communion services, I was told that I had said a "nice Mass".'
What year was this?
Did you achieve ordination?
How did that go for you?
just wondering
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)
What are you talking about
What are you talking about Charles?
Dear Frere, the years were
Dear Frere, the years were the early 90s. As I have said many times, no, I was not ordained, I withdrew from the seminary following my college years. I did not feel that I was called to the priesthood; after four years of discernment I believed myself called to educational ministry in the secular life.
I have never regretted my years in the seminary, indeed I praise God for them. I met many wonderful people, most of whom I remain in contact with and some are my very best friends. I learned a great deal about my faith and myself; far more than most people have the opportunity to learn, and far more than I would have learned had I not gone to the sem. I had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of many stellar priests and bishops, and had the rare but wonderful opportunity to have the present Archbishop of New York as a college professor (for only one class, but what a class!!).
I'm not entirely sure what relevance any of this has to the conversation, but oh well.
Who cooked the meal? No
Who cooked the meal? No delivery service then. Isn't passover a family affair? Being RC I could be wrong. Just a thought. The Kodak moment we see was one man's take.
Excellent story. So many
Excellent story. So many things start with etymology. God Bless All
I know it is not too late to
I know it is not too late to give this essay to all my parish, but wish it had come sooner. One of the best short summations of what should truly be happening during the Lenten Season. Thank you Fr. McBrien, especially for the last line, reminding us of how all we do in the Church should bring us to the celebration of the Eucharist.
thank you for this very
thank you for this very helpful historical summary
In Baptism, we enter into
In Baptism, we enter into Christ's death and resurrection. Penance, therefore, is de facto oriented to recalling Baptism, as it helps us participate in Christ's death, and I don't see how a Catholic can call it liturgically inappropriate.
Also, there's more to the Triduum than the Easter Vigil. You can't separate Easter from Good Friday - the two together are the heart of the mystery of salvation, and it would be very stupid and not Catholic to have only one of Good Friday and Easter. Lent is preparing us for Good Friday as much as it is for Easter.
Indeed this is a wonderful
Indeed this is a wonderful historical overview of the linkage between lent and baptism/Easter. It is unfortunate that this recovered linkage has not been assimilated into practice as deeply as other aspects of Vatican II liturgical reform. The Easter Vigil is still grossly undervalued, as measured by attendance figures, than Easter Sunday services. In my opinion, we shouldn’t expect out attitudes toward lent to shift appropriately until we manage to elevate our appreciation of the Easter Vigil. Even in parishes with wonderful pastors and suburb liturgy, no amount of coaxing by highly respected preachers seems to convince people to participate in the Vigil as the high point of the liturgical year.
I do wonder if the length of the Easter Vigil is part of the problem? If so, the missing element of liturgical knowledge is that (a) the Liturgy of the Word with its seven readings and (b) the Baptism/Confirmation service were originally simultaneous services. Baptism/confirmation was celebrated in a separate baptistery building for new Christians at the very same time that the rest of the community was gathered in the main church reviewing salvation history through seven readings and psalmody. Indeed it does seem that the extended liturgy of the word was originally designed to occupy the rest of us spiritually while our neophytes were being baptized and anointed. The newly baptized then processed into the church for the Eucharistic Liturgy with everyone else.
In other words, the extreme duration of the Easter Vigil today is the result two formerly simultaneous services becoming consecutive. Would it become easier to “sell” the vigil as the high moment of our year if they were once again celebrated simultaneously, and would that it turn make it easier to deeply reorient our appreciate of lent?
I am curious as to your
I am curious as to your source of information. I have never come across this concept before. I find it interesting.
Very good question, Sal. It's
Very good question, Sal. It's been many decades since I seriously studied liturgy, and most of my theology library has now been passed on to a nephew.
However, I did find one reference in my remaining books: Gabriel Bertoniere, The Historical Development of the Easter Vigil and Related Services in the Greek Church. (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, #193) Pont. Institutum Studiorum Orientalium, Roma, 1972.
The early layers of liturgical development, most especially structural development, is always traced from East to West, orgininating in Jerusalem. Although the focus of this book is on the early liturgy of Constantinople, the phenomenon of baptism occuring separately during the liturgy of the word, with a major procession of the bishop with the newly baptized into the main church before the eucharistic liturgy begins, has it's origin in Jerusalem. A quick reread, suggests the core structure of that service parallels our current Roman Easter Vigil, except that the baptism and reading service have become consecutive rather than simultaneous.
I must confess, however, that I can not now recall any citation tracing the Roman service back to the Jerusalem structure. It could have been an assumption on my part, frankly, but a perfectly reasonable one, I suggest.
Dennis
Thank you so much for taking
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, Dennis.
You have peaked my curiosity and I am going to try to research your thesis a bit more. In a certain sense, it makes sense, and could add flavor to our Easter Vigil especially for folks who find the whole evening beautiful, inspiring but very long.
If you do research this,
If you do research this, please let me know what you find. dgalon@rogers.com
If theory were to inform practice here, then there are options other than buildng baptistries with walk in pools for the baptism service. Presumably it was the limited size of such spaces that caused the larger part of the community to be separately assembled in the church in Jerusalem.
We could recover the original logic today by simply replacing the entire liturgy of the work with baptism & chrismation in the main church. In my parish, we now use a large, appropriately decorated cattle watering trough as a temporary baptismal pool for immersion. Very effective.
On the other hand, our pastor has combined the readings into a unified but abreviated whole called the "panorama of salvation" with multiple simultaneous readers, including a male/female couple who "play" God--sometimes reading in unison, sometimes separately. This unique liturgy of the word is so lovely, it would seem a shame to drop it.
try it in a monastery where
try it in a monastery where folks have nowhere else to go, and no desire to be elsewhere, at the end of full Holy Week services
lumen Christi
Oh yes, Brother Charles,
Oh yes, Brother Charles, liturgical life in a monestary is and should be differently experienced than liturgical life in a parish. Given that monks are adapted to long periods of silent recollection, a slow paced, leisurely liturgy is wonderful. Relatively minor fluctuations in tone expressed in music can be savoured at the core of one's being is such a mood.
But worldly life is different. Our pace is excessively hectic, to be sure, and pauses to reflect and recollect are much needed. But the human pysche can not turn from super high speed to monastic recollection in a flash on Sunday morning or Easter Vigil night. The transition from "life" to "a silent 8 day retreat," for example, takes most of us at least a day of relaxation before serious silent prayer is possible.
Some of our modern liturgical norms are, in my opinion, derived from the monastic ideal and just do not work in typical parish settings. For example, I believe the pauses for reflection in the liturgy of the word--slow transition between reading/psalmody/reading/psalmody/reading--is counter productive. Its effect in most parishes is boredom rather than recolection.
I happen to enjoy the extended Easter Vigil perhaps as much as you do, Brother Charles, but that must not blind me to the fact that my cup of tea may not be the best brew for today's youth. It is our job (by that I mean old folks) to bend as hard as necessary to engage our youth, and not the other way around.
Must be the holiday spirit -
Must be the holiday spirit - No one has found any fault with this article - yet!
Without disagreeing with the
Without disagreeing with the content above, I nevertheless find a problem in the emphasis of this article. The artificial tension between "community-centered" marking of Lent and private ascetical practice is not necessarily antithetical, as the undertext of the article suggests. Yes, there is a need to recover the communal significance of Lent, and yes, Lent is--as Adolf Adam well defined it, the "Easter Preparatory Season." But that does NOT deny the need for individual asceticism, individual self-denial, individual penance, individuals going to Mass, etc. Going to daily Mass inherently involves a community, so I am not sure what Fr. McBrien would have the Mass-goer do to "prove" his communal bona fides. Again, the liturgical history is OK, but--as in many matters of liturgy--my problem is the subtext agenda.
JMG, That you "find a
JMG,
That you "find a problem," seems to me to be your problem. For me, the activities you describe as having an artifical tension, are presented as quite complementary, not in opposition. I see no "denial of the need for individual asceticism, individual self-denial, individual penance, etc." It is definitely an "et/et" proposition, not an "aut/aut" one.
The old saw about seeing the glass of water as half full or half empty would seem to apply here. And whether you see it as half empty or full depends on whether you're drinking or pouring.
Well said, JMG. So much of
Well said, JMG. So much of the writing of Fr. McBrien seems well-stated on the surface, but often one can find, as you so accurately point out, a subtext agenda.
Father McBrien completely misses the point of those who choose to attend Holy Mass more often during the season of Lent. People who choose to do that do not do so believing Mass is a penance, nor even in a spirit of penance, rather they do so in an effort to remind themselves of the centrality of the Mass, and to take on a new spiritual practice, hopefully in order to make that practice habitual.
Dearest Clint, As your own
Dearest Clint,
As your own subtextual analysis discovers isomorphism with JMG's perhaps you would be so kind as to bullet the several points of this agenda for us not so astute in this analytical art.
Could you also, please, for me, who lack your literary capacities, or as part of this same agenda building, cite specific text from this or any other of forty years of the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien's theological opus in which he so scoffs, as you suggest in your subtext, at those who seek more frequent Mass attendance?
By the way, in light of your perception of a subtextual theological agenda, please share where you earned your DD, and where the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien his.
awaiting your answers ever more faithfully,
I remain
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)
Well, I could cite a recent
Well, I could cite a recent column in this very publication in which Fr. McBrien scoffs at the traditional practice of Eucharistic Adoration, calling it a "doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward". Surely you recall this particular piece?
Might I also cite the critique of his book "Catholicism" by the USCCB's doctrinal committee. The USCCB stated that the book had many statements that were "inaccurate and misleading", it exaggerates "plurality" within the Catholic theological tradition. His book does not possess a Nihil Obstat nor an Imprimatur, both of which are necessary for a book to be considered for pedagogical purposes.
Fr. McBrien edited the Harper-Collins "Encyclopedia of Catholicism", which the Jesuit magazine "America" (hardly a bastion of conservative thought) stated was so full of "unforgivable" "errors and inaccuracies" that were "so numerous that they make the volume unreliable." ( http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6710&CFID=548...).
Further, Father McBrien served as a paid consultant on the movie "The DaVinci Code", which is based on the idea of Our Lord marrying St. Mary Magdalen and producing offspring, a claim that has been denied by 2000 years of Church teaching and for which no objective evidence exists.
What does all this tell us? It tells us that every word Fr. McBrien writes must be read with a critical eye. Father McBrien has a history of doctrinal error and inaccuracy and a history of adopting positions that are contrary to traditional understanding of the faith. His comments reflect dismissal of traditional beliefs and practices as theologically unsophisticated. His work tends toward the modernist in tone and as such it leads one to believe, accurately, I think, that Father has an undercurrent of scoffing at traditional Catholicism, practice and belief.
By the way, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Louis University and a Master of Education from Xavier University. I did not earn a DD (which is an honorary degree, by the way!), and neither did Fr. McBrien. Father's degree is STD (Doctorate in Sacred Theology), not a DD.
Where did you earn your doctorate that allows you to so readily defend Fr. McBrien's every word, and that enables you to discern his meaning and interpret his commentary?
Just wondering.
JM shares: "Going to daily
JM shares: "Going to daily Mass inherently involves a community, so I am not sure what Fr. McBrien would have the Mass-goer do to "prove" his communal bona fides. Again, the liturgical history is OK, but--as in many matters of liturgy--my problem is the subtext agenda."
Not one to enter into the murky world of discerning the agenda of any subtext, limited so painfully as I am by this obvious literary incapacity and lack of scholarly subtextual analysis training (and thusly temerous of falling into the self-deluding sin of conspiracy theorists), perhaps nevertheless I might dare to suggest, without putting words into his mouth what the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien might have, as JMG puts it so succinctly, charitably, "the Mass-goer do to "prove" his communal bona fides" by repeating the very words of Our Lord in Matthew 25, through in increase in tithing and alms-giving, by clothing the naked, by feeding the hungry, by sheltering the homeless, by receiving the stranger at the gate despite any passing qualms from the BP and other federal, sheriff and local law enforcement agencies, by seeking peace and pursuing it, by accompanying the Reverend Father John Dear SJ upon this prophetic path towards a persistent peace, no matter where it now leads, even to Los Alamos to halt the unholy construction of a new generation of godless plutonium weapons plants, even unto a Night Flight into Gaza . . .
. . .even to bringing peace, generosity, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, joy, acceptance, conversation and Love into one's own household and heart (to make a long sentence even longer).
Perhaps our kind, scholarly and very Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien might find within these simple acts this blessed season of grace "communal bona fides" but I am loathe to place such rough words into his learned and faithful mouth.
With thiws comprehensive
With thiws comprehensive history of the catechumenate being elected at the beginning and baptized at the end of a very specific season, why were the public "conversions" of Tony Blair and Newt Gingrich so out of season?
TO give Newt time to excommunicate Notre Dame in such a timely fashion?
Those two men were not
Those two men were not catechumens, Charles. Therefore, they are not relevant to this conversation.
then what validity, anon.,
then what validity, anon., hold their very public conversions, out of season?
Please read the rites, or
Please read the rites, or perhaps ask your buddy Dick McB about them. These two men were not converts. They were baptized Christians who were received into the One True Church. This can be done anytime of the year. That being said, what at all do they have to do with this discussion except your feeble attempt to interject politics into it?
The "old and retired priest"
The "old and retired priest" above hit the nail on the head: a Communion Service does include the Word and more. As the parish music and worship director, I take my turn in leading Communion services on days our pastor is unavailable for Mass. We have a brief penitential rite, just like Mass. We have the daily readings, just like Mass. A "reflection" is offered (just like a homily at Mass). Then we recite the Lord's Prayer and share a sign of peace, just like at Mass. Being a lay person, I simply retrieve the viaticum from the tabernacle and use it for distributing Communion.
A mere few blocks away, the other Catholic parish in our town also has a daily Mass, but in the afternoon or evenings on some days, so our morning time slot can mean a difference for some of our faithful. The oddest thing (to me) is how none of the dozen or so present will sit near anyone else.
There is absolutely no need
There is absolutely no need for a weekday Communion service. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours if a priest is not available for daily Mass. "Sunday Services in the Absence of a Priest" was created for, get this, Sundays when a priest would not be available for the Eucharist--not for the convenience of a parish on the priest's day off (or to empower deacon, sister, or mrs to do something). When you say Viaticum, you mean that everyone at the "communion service" is about to die?
When I took this job, I too
When I took this job, I too questioned the need for a Communion service, and still do, anonymous. And I say "viaticum" with a decided irony and wicked smile on my face, mainly because most of the small crowd in attendance is elderly.
We have Communion services even though a Mass is being offered later that day just a few blocks away. Still, people come to me remarking that (a) the Communion Service is too long - why can't you just give us Communion and send us on our way? and/or (b) why can't it be earlier and shorter so I can receive the host before I go to work? The issue is that there are folks who want to receive Communion but don't want to bother with Mass or a Communion Service. They just want Communion.
How do we (as a Church) deal with that? Are we over-stressing the need to have defined liturgies for everything we do? If people want Communion, why not just give it to them? If people want ashes, why have all these Masses - just set up the priest and deacons and let people cycle through all day at their convenience.
I'd prefer to cancel the Communion services - I think it would help highlight both the importance of a priest to our parish life as well as the importance of the sacramental action of consecration and reception of Communion at Mass.
but would be very
but would be very uncharitable to those faithful who so faithfully participate.
Count your blessings for this vital service. Several would wish to stand in your shoes.
Make the "reflection" a dialogue, a conversation.
Place yellow caution do not enter tape around most of the pews so everyone sits closely together with you, thinking the pews are under construction.
Pass out Communion at the start for those who must leave, and have a longer more relaxed service for those who stay, having nowhere else to go, who have no one else to sit with, than you.
What a great blessing for you, this great service and charitable kindness.
Nothing is "proven" by denying it, for lacking the anatomical presence of an ordained priest. See the Conciliar documents on the priesthood of the whole people of God.
Everything and everyone gains by this your greatest charity and love with one another, which is the truest presence of Our Lord within you.
You make absolutely no sense.
You make absolutely no sense. Perhaps we should just leave the Eucharist in a big bowl so people can come and go and take what they needed, like some m&m's. Why inconvenience them with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Perhaps the priest could just come in one day a week and consecrate 5000 hosts, and then go on vacation while they are left in the big bowl for whoever wanted one. And then anyone who wanted could come in and do whatever kind of service he or she felt relevant. How does this sound?
Good points.
Good points.
Daily Communion is a great
Daily Communion is a great strength and a great grace. Earlier in our Church History Communion was granted only a few times in the liturgical year but in the past century we moved towards daily Communion, which I had the great gift to receive while within monastic enclosures and when working within our urban centers, a great comfort and strength I now so deeply miss, and it shows for example in my weakness and great willful unkindnesses.
Our large parish is fortunate
Our large parish is fortunate to have two priests in residence, and two Masses on each week-day with large attendance for both. On the rare occasion that neither can be present for a week-day Mass, such as during the yearly diocesan priest retreat, our communion service proceeds as you describe in your post.
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As indicated in this article and referenced in another by Sr. Joyce Rupp, our individual Lenten practices should be geared toward growing more Christ-like in temperament and actions, and as a consequence, growing closer in communion with others — following the two Great Commandments of Our Lord. As you mentioned, it is curious how often parishioners in some parishes avoid sitting next to each other unless they have no choice. Body language in one's physical space often says more than words.
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I recall a story about St. Therese who was annoyed during prayers by another nearby elderly nun who routinely made loud and distracting noises that nearly drove the younger nun crazy. Then one day when tempted to give a harsh glance toward the offender, it occurred to her to offer up that vexing noise as "music" for God. That little penance had the effect of praising God, loving the elder nun for love of God, and making Therese into a genuine saint in the process. That seems to be a good model for our Lenten practices as well — to recover the goodness that we in our flawed humanity have neglected during the other times of the year.
Which two Great Commandments
Which two Great Commandments of Our Lord?
The two greatest Commandments came from the Old Testament, to love God and Neighbor, but the greatest commandment of Our Lord might be to love our enemy, to love those whom we do not yet love, as you illustrate so well. All the rest is illustration and example, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, receiving the stranger, liberating the captive, etc.
Very helpful both
Very helpful both historically and as spiritual insight.
Thank you, Father McBrien.
Steve Schulte
Los Angeles
In response to Clint Green:
In response to Clint Green: Jesus did not ordain non-Jews (nor women). Yet, the Catholic Church ordains non-Jews.
The argument against ordination of women appears to be very weak. MJS
In response to Clint Green:
In response to Clint Green: Jesus did not ordain non-Jews (nor women). Yet, the Catholic Church ordains non-Jews.
The argument against ordination of women appears to be very weak. MJS
To read Fr.Richard McBride is
To read Fr.Richard McBride is always a source of gratitude for me...not for his muddled-headed nonsense..but gratitude that Christ has instituted a Magisterium that keeps alive for us His Truth. There is such chaos and confusion in the thinking expressed in the blogs here..too numerous to repeat but I will point out one that just glares at me...communion services conducted by lay persons. Lay people are not allowed to conduct Communion Services (not even Extra-ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion)at all. PERIOD!!! Of course that does not mean they are not happening. No matter how wonderful or meaningful the homily, the prayers, etc.it is forbidden. Of course the same people would argue that they are answerable only to their own conscience, however poorly formed or mis-informed. Lay women are also at the current time not allowed by Church law to give homilies...even women religious. This does not mean of course that it is not happening. Thus the chaos and the confusion where the people refuse the wisdom of the magisterium...encouraged by such "sages" as the head of theology at Notre Dame. Sed libera nos s malo!
For all you who keep saying
For all you who keep saying that the Eucharist is a "family meal"--did Jesus say that we should have take-out?
Helpful info discussed..Iam
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