FRIDAY POTPOURRI: O BOY! OBLATION

I remember meeting Pope John Paul II.  It was in the papal palace and there we were lined up in a room and he walked down the line shaking hands and saying a few words.  I remember thinking, “What do you say to the most popular and powerful man in the world?  ‘Hey!  Everyone back home says, “good job!”’”  Everything just seemed too trite.

In a similar way, what do you give as a gift or offering to God?  What do you buy for the God who not only has everything but made everything in the first place?

This is where the interesting word “oblation” comes in.  It is one of the Eucharistic prayers.  “Accept this oblation.”  I know of a number of people who cannot abide by the new translation, one of the reasons being words like this.  On the other hand, words like this are great opportunities to learn the language of the Church and to expand our horizons.  Oblation means an offering to God.

Keep that word in your hip pocket because paragraph 79 (yes, we are still on 79) subsection f of the GIRM wants you to carry that concept around with you.  First and foremost is the oblation of the Mass.  What do you give to the Father?  What do you give to Perfection itself?  Why not give back perfection?  What do you give Love itself?  Why not Love?  Where do we find this perfection?  In Jesus Christ.  Where do find Jesus?  First and foremost in the Eucharist; Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.  We offer to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, His Son.  “Through Him (Jesus) and with Him, and in Him, O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, for ever and ever.  Amen!  Amen!  Amen!”  This is truly the hight point of the Mass when we make this incredible, mind-blowing oblation to our Father.  That is yet another reason why, as Flannery O’Conner says, “If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.”

But this paragraph says this is not the only gift we have to offer.  At the Mass we also (dear priests of the baptized) learn to offer our very selves.  That is why it is important to participate in such things as singing, kneeling, praying, because we are offering our very selves.  Even the offertory becomes a liturgical action and not a convenient way to collect money to keep the lights on and to candles on the altar.  The fruit of our labors we bring to this Mass and offer it in service to God and His Church as our offering.  That’s one reason I tell people that, even if they can’t (or don’t want to) give, bring and empty envelope and enclose it with prayer.  

Our lives, our thoughts, our bodies, our actions, our souls we must grow in the habit of giving to God, “and so day by day to be brought, through the mediation of Christ, into unity with God and with each other, so that God may at last be all and all.”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: WE'RE WALKING, WE'RE WALKING, AND WE'RE STOPPING

GIRM paragraph 77 cont.

So . . . 

The GIRM is so, so, so carefully worded.  There is no punctuation, no comma, no part of a comma that has not been carefully thought out.  But I have a little - “problem” would be too big of word for it - maybe just “question” with the end of this paragraph.

Concerning the entering into the Eucharistic prayer it says, “The Eucharistic Prayer requires that everybody listens to it with reverence and in silence.”

I get the silence (save for the crying babies who are our future kindergarten class.  If they aren’t crying, you are dying.)  Music shouldn’t be playing, conversation shouldn’t be going on, other prayers should not be taking place, our focus is on this most august of prayers.  Okay.

I also get the “listen” part even though it is NOT the congregation that is being addressed.  It is the Father to Whom we are speaking.  (This is made a little confusing by the priest facing the people and saying, “Take this all of you,” which, at that point, is still being addressed to the Father, not the congregation.  The priest is speaking on behalf of all to the Father like Moses leading the people through the wilderness.  The way we do it seems like a docent walking backwards and saying, “we’re walking, we’re walking.”  See first 30 seconds of movie clip.  Sorry for the commercial.)

So, while the directives may be true, do not think that the laity are passive participants in the Eucharistic Liturgy.  Remember we just finished praying, “My sacrifice and yours.”  Pope Benedict, God rest him, pointed out that the role of the priesthood of the people is a very important one.  That is why we may not take on more than one ministry at the Mass.  A person cannot (or should not) be lector AND extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, for example.  It takes the person too far away from the more important role of prayer.  Those who perform these ministries are not doing MORE, they are being taken away from their primary duty to perform a task on behalf of the community.  So they are limited on taking more than a fair share of BURDEN.

The reason we are quiet and listening is to take part in the Eucharistic prayer.  We are to PRAY it.  It is not prayed AT you or in spite of you, it is something into which you are to enter, to make your own, and offer that Father.  You are not there to receive, you are there to WORK.  Otherwise, why not just let the priest pre-sanctify everything and just show up for the readings, homily, and Communion service?  

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES

Paragraph 78 of the GIRM

When I lived in Cleveland I had a membership for the Cleveland Museum of Art.  During this time the Vatican Exhibit came to town and I went with a bunch of family to see it.  Being a member of the museum, I could have gone in the VERY short line to get in.  But since my relatives were not members, we walked the end of the three mile long queue to wait our turn.  It was worse than waiting in line for a new roller coaster at Cedar Point.

I lady with a clipboard came walking past us asking, “Members?  Are there any members here?”  

“I’m a member,” I said.

“Well sir, you may go to the front of the line.”

With my most dejected face I said, “No I can’t.  I’m here with family and they are not members.  I have to stay here with them.”

“No you don’t!” she said in a most cheery manner, “Because they are with you, you ALL can come to the front of the line!”  To my family I was a hero, to the others in line; the new enemy.

Anyway, because they were associated with me, my family received the benefits.  Now it wasn’t me, I wasn't any more special than they were, but I was associated with the museum.  THAT was what was special, and we all benefited, I as much as they

Okay - bearing in mind all analogies limp, that is what is going on as we begin the Eucharistic Prayer, the source and summit of our lives, or as this paragraph states it, “the center and high point of the celebration.”  The priest, as a man, does not associated himself with the gathered people.  He associates himself with Jesus and is acting in personal Christi or “in the person of Christ.”  And in persona Christi, he associates the people with himself.  

“Pray my brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father.”

It seems as though it is a subtle distinction and semantics, but it is the difference to waiting at the end of the three mile long line or going right in.  We are not just a bunch of really good average Joes getting together to worship our great God.  We are, rather, A royal people, a holy nation, a people set apart acting as the Body of Christ.  The priest isn’t any more special as a man than any other person present, it is Christ Who is the special One and with Whom, through the priest, we all associate.  We are a community of priests coming together with the ordained priest to offer sacrifice and praise.  We are performing a supreme act, the crowning achievement of a worthy life, reaching our highest dignity, grasping at our ideal and potential, capping of our identities gained at our baptism off priests, prophets, and kings!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE POWER OF WORDS

Okay, I lied.

This is one more week of Offertory.  Paragraph 77

*sigh*

The good news is that this is absolutely, positively the last post on it in this series.

Offertory concludes after everything in the previous posts has been completed and the following prayers are said.  The first one used to give me the willies.  It is introduced thusly:

“Pray brethren (brothers and sisters) that my sacrifice and yours may be may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father.”

To which everyone responds:

“May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His Name, for our good, and the good of all His holy Church.”

Now, imagine that you are a young guy just ordained, the oils are still wet on your hands, you’ve arrived at your first assignment, the pastor pushes you out on the altar and says, “Go at it kid,” and you hear that prayer.  I remember distinctly when that happened to me.

The year was 1998 and I was assigned to St. Ambrose in Brunswick.  A couple of seminarians showed up to help me with my first Sunday Mass.  The first Mass on Sunday was music free and many people attended that Mass because of that.  I tried to make them sing an opening song which as an absolute disaster and apologized and promised I would never do that to them again.

St. Ambrose is one of the largest parishes in the diocese and the size of the building reflects this  so there were a lot of people of all ages at that Mass.  We got to the prayer above and I hear, “at your hands,” and “for our good,” and had a slight panic attack.  

Just because you are ordained doesn’t mean that you “get” being a priest yet.  I also remember walking past windows as a newly ordained and being surprised to see the Roman collar, or walking into a restaurant and wondering why so many people were looking at you.  “Oh right, I’m a priest.”  So when you first start hearing this prayer you want to shout out, “What are you people thinking?  Are you insane?  Why are you trusting me with this?  Last week I was just a guy from Barberton.”

Even today I don’t listen to that prayer too closely.  In the end, I know it is not ME.  It is the priesthood and Christ.  It is my job to be faithful and let God act.

Alright, most of that was NOT in this paragraph.

But one last thing is:  We have the prayer over the gifts: a petition that God accept our gifts and the work we are about to do.  This is where (once again) the vital role of the priesthood of the faithful comes into play.  By your “Amen” at the end of this prayer, you make its petition your own as part of your offering.  It is not an inconsequential word or a simple nicety.  It is an engagement of your ministry.  It is very much a responsibility.  By it, you are participating in the sacred action, making an offering of your life, prayers, and petitions, and promising to engage in the rest of the Mass and in the life of a Christian.

That “Amen” alone should cause you to pause in much the same way the “for our good” does for your priest.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: EVERYTHING MATTERS

St. Therese was all about doing every little thing with love and for the glory of God.  If she washed floors, she gave thanks that she was able to do this for someone and did the work with great care because she did it for God.  That way every action we perform – every action we perform – can become a greater connection to God.

 

I try to remember that as I wash dishes while our machine is down.

 

“Try” is the operative word.

 

The next paragraph of Lumen Gentium (34) reminds us that God wishes to give His Spirit to every person in order that they may perform these “good and perfect works.”  Julian of Norwich fans might see a little of her theology reflected here.  All things given to God can be made good and for the glory of God and our benefit.

 

At your baptism, Sacred Chrism was put on your head and (among other roles) you were anointed priest.  For a priest to fulfill his duties he must offer sacrifice.  (That is the definition of a priest – one who responsible for the sacrifice.)  There are many chances to offer sacrifices in daily life – “in family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body” and even hardships, if they are accomplished in the Spirit and through Christ are sacrifices acceptable to God. 

 

Personally I find it very cool that relaxation was included.  Not only do we have a great God who is almost like a doting grandmother, “You need your rest!  You will take it easy today!” we also have a Church that says the same.  When possible, as a priority, we are to rest.  But not simply rest, but rest in God.  Even rest can be for our sanctification.  (So be careful about going to see that R rated film for your rest.)

 

Of course this culminates in the Eucharist, our source and summit.  After have received God’s gifts, we are sent out into the world to be priests, prophets, and kings, living the life, transforming our world, and offering sacrifices.  But then we are to return to the Eucharist and offer all that we have done with the Eucharistic sacrifice.  That is why we must have full, conscious, and active participation at the Mass.  We must actively offer our sacrifice.  Remember the new translation, “Pray my (brothers and sisters) that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father.”  What a monumental missed opportunity Mass is when we go through it brain dead not offering our own sacrifice and relying on the priest to keep us entertained.  We are not there to be entertained.  Hopefully we are given the environment to do what we are supposed to be there to do, to offer ourselves and our sacrifices as the priesthood of the laity.

I WANT TO CHANGE MY ANSWER

A seminarian interviewed me for a project on which he was working and one of his questions was if I thought there was still a climate that promoted clericalism within my circle of priest acquaintances. I readily agreed that there are individual priests who have clerical tendencies but that the general mindset is frowned upon in the presbyterate as a whole.

I want to change that answer.

There was/is a reaction against the abuse of the collar that was so strong that it could be labeled bitter. But when a reaction is too strong the correction tends to be an over compensation and in the end we are left with a mirror image of what it is we tried to eliminate. In other words, we become what we hate. It is like being in a small sailboat listing heavily to port in a strong wind and overcompensating too much to the starboard side. End result: You get wet. You just happen to be on the other side of the boat.

So at the Mass, says Pope Benedict XVI in The Spirit of the Liturgy, “It must be plainly evident that the oratio (prayer/praying) is at the heart of the matter.” “In this prayerful approach to participation there is no difference between priests and laity.”

The priest does what he does because we need him to do it. But the heart of the action is the great prayer being offered to God (and God’s offering to us.) It is devastating to our understanding of who we are as Church to downplay the role of the priesthood of the baptized. What the average Catholic does in the pew every Sunday is not a passive absorption of something important someone else is doing but in itself a vital, essential, meaningful role.

But we do not believe it.

As evidence of this I offer you a common theme in liturgy planning meetings. The sentence is often murmured, “What can we do to get people more involved?” This usually means inventing or duplicating ministries. This is a huge mistake. It sends the message loud and clear that what is happening in the pew is not important. It says if you want to be important you need to find a role that comes as close to mimicking the role of the priest as possible. What does that smack of? The clericalism we tried to snuff out.

Further quoting the pope, “Of course, external actions – reading, singing, the bringing up of the gifts – can be distributed in a sensible way. . . We should be clearly aware that [these] external actions are quite secondary . . . The almost theatrical entrance of different players into the liturgy, which is so common today, especially during the Preparation of the Gifts, quite simply misses the point. . . If the liturgy degenerates into general activity, then we have radically misunderstood the “theo-drama” of the liturgy and have lapsed almost into parody.”

This abuse is particularly prevalent in “youth masses.” People want the kids "more involved." But in fact what we are inadvertently teaching is that what they do at Mass when they do not have an extraordinary role is not really not all that important. What a tragedy! The opposite is in fact the case. Those busying themselves about are actually fulfilling secondary roles. What happens in the pew is (or should be) the primary action. The oratio!

Here we can also see why the Church makes such a fuss about people not taking on multiple ministries at the same mass. That is if they are the lector, they should also not be an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion or some such combination. Even if the person does not mind it is patently unfair as it robs the person from performing their priestly and ultimately more important role.

Hence we have from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (5) “In addition, the ministerial priesthood puts into its proper light another reality of which much should be made, namely, the royal priesthood of believers. Through the ministry of presbyters the people’s spiritual sacrifice to God is brought to completeness in union with the sacrifice of Christ, our one and only Mediator. For the celebration of the Eucharist is the action of the whole Church, in it all should do only, but all of, those parts that belong to them in virtue of their place within the people of God. In this way greater attention will be given to some aspects of the Eucharistic celebration that have sometimes been neglected in the course of times. For these people are the people of God, purchased by Christ’s blood, gathered together by the Lord, nourished by His word. They are a people called to offer God the prayers of the entire human family, a people giving thanks in Christ for the mystery of salvation by offering His sacrifice. Finally, they are a people growing together into unity by sharing in Christ’ s Body. These people are holy by their origin, but becoming ever more holy by conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the mystery of the Eucharist.”