Worship Matters

Coming to the conclusion, Francis invited those present to "ask the Lord today to give all of us this sense of the sacred, this sense that makes us understand that it is one thing to pray at home, to pray the rosary, to pray many beautiful prayers, make the way of the cross, read the bible, and the Eucharistic celebration is another thing.

Our current Holy Father is not a liturgist, nor is he a theologian. It is clear to me, however, that he has a profound piety and love for the Church.

The Sound of Silence

In his great book The Spirit of the Liturgy Cardinal Ratzinger, as was, now Pontiff Emeritus Benedict XVI, had a lot to say about silence in the liturgy, and the problem represented by its almost complete exclusion from the Ordinary Form.

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta used to say that there were three things necessary for holiness:

1. Silence
2. Silence
3. Silence

JPII: Positive Restoration

I was having a great conversation yesterday about the modern liturgical calendar as compared to the 1962 liturgical calendar. As I was reflecting on this facinating topic I started thinking about the document Sacrosanctum Concilium. If you’ve read this document you know that it called for a reform of the liturgical calendar that privileged the integrity of the ferial days.¹

In theory this is a great idea. However, in practice it may not have been a successful or even feasible project. I will grant that when you compare the current liturgical calendar with it’s predecessor the current calendar does attempt to privilege the ferial. The vast number of octaves, feast days, etc., found in the 1962 calendar (which was itself a reform calendar) are significantly reduced in the modern calendar.

At first glance this observation might seem insignificant. However, it has a very real impact on the lived faith of the Church. There is a necessary relationship between the devotional life of the Church and the liturgical calendar. The devotional life is what has historically inculturated the faith in societies and thus incarnated the faith in individuals. It’s been suggested by some that the simplification of the liturgical calendar is one significant cause for the decline of the devotional life in the Church.

I think that Blessed Pope John Paul II recognized the poverty of devotion that crept into the contemporary expression of the faith.² This may be one reason why he departed from a minimalist approach to the liturgical calendar. He is still known for his penchant for actively seeking out worthy members of the faithful to elevate to the altar by canonization. He has been critiqued for this. Some have suggested that he exercised this papal prerogative too often. Some even refer to Blessed John Paul II as a canonization machine. However, this simply may have been a wise pastoral decision to shift away from this particular directive about the liturgical calendar in Sacrosanctum Concilium.

I’m sure that this suggestion may be difficult to hear. But, it seems to me that it’s a suggestion that’s in keeping with the purpose of our most recent council. Formally, we describe the Second Vatican Council as a “pastoral council.” However, we tend to treat it like a “dogmatic council.”³ But as the last two Pontiffs have taught us, it is fair to bring reasonable and reverent critique to some of the practical directives of the Council.⁴ Based on the writings and statements of our current Holy Father I expect to see Pope Francis continue this trend of critical reflection upon the documents of the Council.

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1. Ferial days are essentially the liturgical celebrations of the season instead of the special movable and immovable celebrations that occur throughout the year.  ↩

2. There are a number of actions taken by John Paul II in his pontificate that indicate to me that he had a real interest in restoring a robust devotional life in the Church.  ↩

3. Even this distinction is controversial. It’s unclear to many what this distinction actually means.  ↩

4. This could even be applied to conceptual and fundamental aspects of the Council in certain instances. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is famous for having reservations about and critiques of certain aspects of Gaudium et Spes and Nostra Aetate and their concrete implementation.  ↩

Dust and Ashes

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Oddly, my yearly custom has become a Facebook complaint about Mass attendance. Normally people opine sparse Mass attendance. But, on Ash Wednesday, even more than Christmas and Easter, pews swell with souls seeking to be dusted with the remains of burned palms. This is what I opine. It's frustrating because it isn't a major celebration in the liturgical life of the Church. It has a special place in the liturgical cycle. However, it's importance is derived from its relationship to Easter. Ash Wednesday is a midway point. It's a time to look back to Adam and the fall. But it's also a time to look ahead toward Christ and the redemption. It's like gazing down from the top of a mountain dividing two radically different countries. But we are no idle sightseers. We are on a journey from the one land to the other. From sinnful Egypt to holy Jerusalem. The midpoint is important. But this is only due to its relationship to the beginning and to the end of that journey.

This journey of ours is rather odd. It's less like a forced march through rugged terrain and more like a guided tour through a national park. The land has already been tamed. Christ has tamed it. We are simply following after his footsteps. Our guide, the Church, is moving us along the trail he has already cut. Along the journey our guide points out for us significant markers along the roadside for our benefit. This is one way to see the liturgical cycle.

When the Church identifies for us the hierarchy of celebrations she is helping us discern what is important for us to see or know about on our journey. This is why days and seasons are ranked. This is why we have days of precept, days of obligation, and days that are neither. Some celebrations teach us more about the Christian life than others. The Church, as both Mother and Teacher guides us in our path toward greater personal conformity to Christ through establishing which ones are important for us to celebrate. This isn't something we get to choose. The student doesn't get to dictate the lesson plan of the teacher. But this is how so many people act. For one reason or another people choose the lessons they want to accept or not. The student/teacher relationship is broken.

America is a child of the enlightenment. Hyper individualism is a foundational disposition of the American ethos. All things get subordinated to the radical autonomy of the individual. Choice is held to be the most important human power in our modern culture. But this is an exaggeration in our society, in ourselves, that should be brought under control.

Unfortunately, I think that the constant reducing and transferring of obligatory liturgical celebrations has damaged our liturgical sensibilities. Ecclesiastical authority may have unwittingly capitulated to this central vice of American society. Not raising the bar and holding people accountable has contributed to the general religious confusion in our time. The establishment and maintaining of obligatory celebrations helps us set priorities in life. Establishing a precept about mandating Mass attendance communicates to people that this action, and this particular celebration is very important. It goes on the top of the list. But instead, I fear we have communicated the opposite.

This is one puzzle piece to a much larger problem. But, it's an easy place to start solving it. That Ash Wednesday has a greater attendance than, say, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, is, to me, a sign that we have our loves seriously out of order.

Subdeacon

I want to begin with a disclaimer. I've been trying to figure out how to articulate an experience I had on Christmas. I'm not sure words can do justice to the experience. But, I figured that I should try.

Over a decade ago, while I was a diocesean semenarian, I was taught by some great guys how to properly serve the Holy Mass. I had, of course, learned the rubrics at my home parish. However, the guys at the seminary taught me how to internalize those rubrics. I was taught how the order of worship, the physical actions, are an intrinsic part of Liturgy. They taught me the significance of each action. But, more importantly, they taught me how to make each step, each gesture, an act of prayer.

I've always treasured this gift. It's always served me in my Catholic life. After all, does not the Church affirm that the Sacramental Life, i.e., the liturgical life, is the constitutive character of Christianity? Everything is ordered to worship and everything flows from worship. The physical movements in the Liturgy, regardless of one's mode of participation, serve as the vehicle for offering a spiritual sacrifice to the Lord. This is why fidelity to the rubrics of the Liturgy, especially the Mass, is so important. It's only through the fixed structures in the Liturgy that the authentic spontineaity of the spirit becomes fully manifest. It is a fundamental mistake to think that the reverse is true. Regularity is a necessary condition for contemplation.

As a Dominican friar the gift that those men gave me has grown, developed, and flowered in various ways. Yesterday, however, that gift reached a level of intensity that heretofore I'd never experienced nor anticipated.

There's a new monestary of Carmelite Nuns here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of us friars have been offering Mass for them at their chapel when we are able. These nuns exclusively use the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in their Monestary. So, when we come to their Monestary we celebrate our own Dominican Rite of Mass. Usually it is a Low Mass or a Missa Cantata (High Mass). However, on Christmas we were able to celebrate a Solemn Mass for them. I served as the Subdeacon for the Mass.

[For those unfamiliar with the Dominican Rite (or other more ancient forms of Mass as celebrated in the Latin Church I would suggest consulting your favorite search engine) it is similar to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.]

The order of Mass according to the Dominican Rite is complex. There's a lot to remember –– especially for the Subdeacon. You'd think that, as a result, it wouldn't be conducive to contemplation. My experience, however, was remarkable. I've served as an acolyte for both the Low Mass and the Missa Cantata regularly. However, serving as a Major Minister in our Rite had a different feel to it. It was intense.

God has granted me, over the years, a few opportunities where I've found myself in a spiritually enraptured state while serving Mass. It can be embarasing when it interferes with liturgical duties. But, my experience on Christmas was different even than this. It was as if I was given an opportunity to experience the truth about liturgical time. We say: in the Divine Liturgy of the Church our human time enters into eternity. This is how the Mass is a re-presentation of Christ's Paschal Mystery. It's not a repetition of it, simulation of it, or some new sacrifice. Each time Mass is offered we access the one Sacrifice that Christ made for us all. We stand at Calvary with the Blessed Mother and all the faithful. I believe it! The Mass lasted about one and a half hours; yet, it felt like five or ten minutes. But again, it wasn't like getting sucked into the online world or video games or some task of interest. Indeed, a similar phenomenon can occur in those sorts of activities. Instead, it was ... well ... different. The experience had a different character, a different feel. The intensity I experienced was radically peaceful. St. Theresa of Avila's "sober innebriation" is the only phrase that seems to fit.

My mind is still swimming as a result of this experience. I'm still trying to fit together and articulate its profundity. Each detail of the experience held deep significance. For instance, wearing a Dalmatic for the first time was really akward at first. Yet, on the other hand it was a tremendous confirmation of my vocation to be a priest. Holding the patten before my eyes while covered with the Humeral Veil brought to mind the descriptions of those holy angels who veil themselves before the presence of the Lord. The symbols used in the rite are amazing. They help the human mind realize that in the Liturgy we are joined with heavenly realities. We become true participants in a Cosmic Liturgy. For that brief time I was deeply aware that we were in the midst of the angels and saints worshiping God in both spirit and truth.

Holy Obligation

Today I rejoiced. The USCCB approved what I think is the most important liturgical project it has recently engaged. Today the Bishops approved a new translation project for the Liturgy of the Hours. Finally! The Roman Missal was a giant step in the renewal of the whole English speaking Catholic world. This will be no less of a renewal. But it is a renewal with a narrower scope. This, I think, will be a large step toward the renewal of the clergy and religious. You see, we take on the obligation to pray with and for the Church in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is our Holy Obligation, hence the name: Divine Office. It is a sanctification of all time and all space, hence the name: Liturgy of the Hours. The Office, as it is tersely referred to, is not a private devotion. It is a public act of Worship. It is not undertaken for the sake of building the virtue of religion in the one who is praying it. Rather it is prayed for the salvation of the whole world.

However, one who prays the Office faithfully cannot help but be changed by it. Such repetition begins to form one's thinking, one's actions, one's prayer life. Holy habits are just as formative, and addictive, as profane habits. I know it has dramatically effected my own life. My favorite psalms are always whirling through my mind during the day. But more than that, the very schedule of my day is literally ordered around the celebration of the Divine Office. It permeates everything a cleric or religious does.

Something that is so deeply infused into the life of the cleric or religious is going to deeply form him. The Mass is a big part of this, but I think the Divine Office is a much bigger influence on those obliged to keep it. I'm really excited by this move. It is a tangible point of demarcation in the effort to renew the clergy and religious in our country.

Now, if we could only get Rome to re-reform the structure of the Office.

Be Ye Reconciled: Part 4

We've spoken about both the objective character of a sin and the subjective character of sin. Hopefully this will be helpful. Maybe it's just been confusing. If it's been confusing or you have questions just shoot me an email. You can find that email address on the About page. In this final post in this series I'll try to give some practical advice for the Christian life. Actually prepare before you go to confession.

Take the time to think about the manner in which you have been living your life. Identify your sins and really think about the gravity of each. Be honest with yourself. Be willing to admit to yourself where you are weak and where you are strong. Ask God to help reveal your own heart to yourself. Too often when we examine our consciences we neglect God's assistance. The Lord is the one who knows the heart. As a psalm says, "in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom." Implore his aid in your examination. "O God come to my assistance. Lord make haste to help me."

After going through this process get yourself to confession.

Go to confession as frequently as you need. In doing this don't simply think of confession as something functional. Think of it as it truly is — an encounter with Christ. We should think of the sacraments as acts of love. We should want to receive the sacraments because we love God not simply because of what they do for us. So, go to confession because you love God. Make this your disposition and it will be rewarded.

When you go to confession make sure you are faithful to the requirements of the Church.

Remember to name the sin, express its gravity, and the frequency with which you committed the sin. When you do this it doesn't need to resemble a shopping list. You can have a conversation with the priest. Remember, confession is not spiritual direction! If you need spiritual direction make an appointment. However, have an honest conversation about your sins with the priest. Also, you don't need to confess the sins of others. Exercise Christian maturity and take responsibility for your sins. Don't try to blame others for your sins. Only recount the involvement of others if it is essential for explaining the gravity of a sin.

Enjoy the sacrament.

Sacraments are celebrations. Celebrate the great mercy that God has given us in the forgiveness of sins. What a wondrous thing! I think that it is hard in our present culture to do this. It requires us to first realize that we are all sinners. Our society doesn't like this reality. They think it harms our self-esteem. I say, better my ego is damaged than my immortal soul be lost. I think we have so much anxiety over going to confession because we are told that we are supposed to be perfect already. We are told by the world that if we admit our sinfulness then we are somehow less. But remember, Christ came for sinners, not the righteous.

I think the main point is that we need to feel sorry for our sins and at the same time rejoice in God's mercy. If we keep this disposition in mind and educate ourselves then we can celebrate this sacrament well. Our God is truly a savior who has promised to provide for us in our deepest needs.

Be Ye Reconciled: Part 1

I was having a conversation with one of the Brothers last night. We discussed the ways we evaluate a human action to determine how to attribute praise or blame for a given action. You may wonder why. Well, it's really important on many levels and for various reasons. But, for those of us studying in preparation for priestly ordination it is of the utmost importance. Like a doctor in the examination room, so too the priest in the confessional. The priest needs to be able to diagnose the spiritual ailments of the penitent. Only then is he able to provide the best treatment for you. Just like a disease of the body, sin is a disease of the soul. Just like a disease there are certain objective characteristics that afflict a patient but there are also subjective characteristics of a given disease. Often a disease manifests itself in unique ways particular to the biology of the individual patient. So too sin. Sin has an objective character but it also has a subjective manifestation in the individual penitent. The bad doctor is unable to recognize the balance between the objective and the subjective. So too the bad confessor.

While we were having this conversation. I was struck by how perilous the poorly educated confessor is to the everyday practice of the faith. The primary example that came to mind was the method many of us have been taught to help determine whether we ought to go to confession or not. We are often taught that we must confess all our mortal sins but not necessarily our venial sins. Setting aside the absurdity of not confessing our venial sins, the idea that we are to confess all our mortal sins is crazy. Why? It is impossible for us to determine which sins are mortal or which are venial with absolute certainty.

I'm sure this is a surprising, if not a scandalous statement to many of you. But, it's simply the reverse corollary of the fact that we can never be certain if we are in a "state of grace." But why can't we know for sure if we've committed a mortal sin? Think about the criteria for a mortal sin. You need to have sufficient knowledge that the action is evil, you need to make a complete act of the will, and the action must be sufficiently grave. But here's the problem. We can't know any of these things with certitude. Only God has a certain knowledge of these things. So, what is the practical effect? Because of this ambivalence toward our current state of grace we end up in one of two camps. Either we don't recognize the evil of our sinfulness or we think that every bad thing we do is a mortal sin. We lack the ability to judge the gravity of our sins. The result is that we become apathetic or we become scrupulous.

Hopefully, everyone reading this is a little shaken. This is what many of us have been taught since childhood. Few of us have any other tools to examine our consciences. Because I've gone pretty long I'll try to offer some solutions in future posts. Hopefully this will help free us to enter into the life of holiness with greater joy, hope, and peace.

The Snow White Effect of Perfectionism

When was the last time you went to confession? Has anyone ever asked you this? I hope so. But, most likely you've never even heard a priest ask you. Why? I think that it has to do with the perfectionism I wrote about here. I know this goes against conventional wisdom. But, in my experience, conventional wisdom is generally wrong. A good example is that only some people hold strong positions. Give me a break. If you have an IQ higher than a toaster (thank you Ann Coulter) then you probably hold a lot of strong opinions. Some people just share their strong positions while others pretend to not hold strong opinions while passively aggressively attacking those who don’t share their views. But, I digress. Conventional thinking wants us to believe that it is improper to ask such a private question. Once again, conventional thinking is masking the real issue.

People don’t talk about Confession because of American perfectionism. I, of course, will ask the question of people. Rarely I get an honest answer. But sometimes I do. Among the honest answers I generally get three:

1. “I don’t have any sins to confess” (the most common answer I get from older people)
2. “I go and nothing changes. So I don’t go anymore” (the most common answer I get from younger people)
3. "I'm going to hell anyway ..." (the answer I usually get from middle-aged people)

To get at the heart of the matter we need first to talk about the Sacrament of Confession – what it actually is and what it is not. Confession isn't magic. Confession was not designed by our Lord to expunge our sinfulness like bleach instantly removes stains from clothing. Instead, Confession (or Penance, the name I prefer) works more like the sun. Stains are progressively removed from clothing though persistent exposure. So, we should expect the effects of the Sacrament to work similarly. Another aspect to consider is our disposition toward the sacrament. We shouldn’t go to Confession simply to have our sins forgiven. Instead, we should go to Confession simply because we love God. This difference in disposition is important. It is the difference between selfish motives and altruistic motives.

To summarize what I said about perfectionism last time there are two primary ways it can manifest itself. Either, one engages in hyper-self-reflection or no self-reflection. The first answer I usually get from people about why they don’t go to Confession is an example of the latter. It is not fundamentally important that there is no self-reflection happening in these people’s lives. What's important is the reason for the lack of self-reflection. It is painful. In a culture that struggles with perfectionism we are become like the Witch-Queen in Snow White. When I gaze into the magic mirror I discover that I am not the fairest one in the land. Then we begin to compare ourselves to others in unrealistic ways. I am then left with seemingly two options. Either I need to pretend that I am the best or I need to destroy those who I perceive to be better than me. Because, in a perfectionist society it is unacceptable to be less than the best, the most beautiful, the smartest, the holiest, the most pius in the land. If I’m not the best then I’m worthless, I’m unlovable. But let's leave malice aside for now. If I chose to pretend it's safer never look into the mirror. If I never look into the mirror, I’m free to live in a sheer, self-made delusion of self-perfection. I protect my weakness with cowardice. I don't approach Confession because it requires true self-reflection and is, therefore, terrifying.

The second response is more reasonable. But, along with treating Confession as a magical process it also misses the whole point of the Christian life. The Christian life is not fundamentally about me being perfect. The Christian life is about the love of God. When we approach the Sacrament of Penance in a selfish way we come seeking God’s mercy imperfectly. Essentially, we are testing God. We are saying that we will keep his commandments if he proves his love for us by taking away our imperfections. I groan, "if only God would remove sin x, then I could be a mystic." "Every day I would levitate and heal the sick. "Maybe I would get that cool Stigmata thing like St. Francis." But, doesn’t Christ say something about carrying ones own cross? I would challenge anyone to find where God ever promises to make us perfect. A brief read of the lives of the saints helps wash away the delusion that the saints were perfect people. They were jerks just like the rest of us. I think this is why Christ preaches mercy and forgiveness. Mercy and forgiveness are only needed in a land plagued with imperfect people. Instead of wanting God to remove our imperfections in Confession we might simply try to go to Confession for God's sake and not our own sake.

Both of these last responses are rooted in the narcissism that's inherent in a perfectionist society. But, notice, both of them are born out of despair. They are different desperate responses to the same impossible standards our society places upon each of us. This brings me to the third response I get. I don’t get it as often. It only appears, generally, after a long relationship with someone. It is the response of ultimate despair. It is the last cry of a hardened heart. Think about what’s really being said. It isn't "I'm choosing to go to hell" it is "I'm going to hell." Maybe put more explicitly, "God is sending me to hell ...". Yet, what is in the mind of this person is, “I’m so imperfect, so unlovable that even God hates me.” This is a very sad place to be. To feel so poorly about one's lovability that hell is inevitable is its own sort of hell. Each time we act without mercy toward the sinner we are contributing to such a person's hell.

But let's not despair. The solution to this phenomenon is easy and the solution is the same for each. GO TO CONFESSION! There is no secret formula, no magic pill. Simply, go to Confession and keep going. That’s the hard part. Perseverance in going to confession is hard. As a consecrated Religious the Second Vatican Council exhorts me to go to Confession once a month. That can be hard. Do I always make it? No. Do I try? Most of the time. I love going to Confession, I hate getting to Confession. It’s silly, I know. It's irrational and stupid but, it's true. And, I know it's true for many people. But regardless, we must persevere in going to Confession. If we truly desire to fight perfectionism this is the first and most powerful step we must take. It’s the beginning, middle, and final step. So, get up, put on your big kid pants, run through a good examination of conscious and get to a confessional near you.

Planning

I have a bit of advice for everyone. If you need to schedule anything in conjunction with the Church please, please, speak to your parish first. This is especially true when you're planning a wedding or a baptism. You may find out that the Church has some requirements that you must meet prior to scheduling the event.

It is not uncommon to find an angry bride when she discovers that there's a six month period of preparation required by the Church in most Diocese prior to getting married. It isn't fun telling the couple that they will need to move the date even though the announcements have already been mailed out. It is also difficult on everyone when the person responsible for preparing the family and proposed godparents for a baptism has to tell them that one or both proposed godparents aren't qualified. It is always an a awkward conversation when you have to inform your sister that she can't be a godparent because she is in an irregular marriage after you have already asked her.

The rites of the Church are not ceremonies that we should enter into without consideration. They effect us in a substantial way. They are the most significant moments in our life. Yet, we treat them as mere accessories – nice but not essential. They become occasions of friend and family networking instead of encounters with the living God. We must need have a greater sense of care when it comes to our liturgical life, our sacramental life. So please, when you make a todo list for these sort of events place "contacting the parish" at the top of the list. Everyone will thank you for it. If they don't, they should.