tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15909042419780689862024-03-14T00:52:20.438-07:00A Foretaste of WisdomA Traditional Catholic BlogMaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.comBlogger396125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-52937014442133635992017-08-09T10:03:00.000-07:002017-08-09T10:05:40.724-07:00I've moved.<div style="text-align: justify;">
I will not be blogging at this site anymore. I felt that the theme and history of this blog, which I began as a naive high-schooler in the first days of my pursuit of wisdom, needed to be left behind for better things. </div>
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I have started <a href="https://divinefoolishness.blogspot.com/">another blog,</a> however, more explicitly devoted to my own thoughts and reflections in philosophy. The new blog does, and will, have some things in common with this old one; reposts from this blog may show up there someday. But the theme and direction of that blog is different, simpler, and, I think, better - more mature and learned, to be sure. I am transitioning from student to scholar, from college to graduate school; my pursuit of wisdom is gaining some traction that it did not have before.</div>
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Thanks to the few readers who enjoyed this blog; hope you enjoy the next one better! </div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-33913141825737075732016-03-26T13:53:00.000-07:002016-04-24T20:16:10.597-07:00The Traditional Vigil of Easter – Part 2: From the Blessing of the Font to the Vigil Mass; General Conclusion<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHnS9YEdEEI/VvbypX4KDdI/AAAAAAAAKOY/ZBq8w_sM-nMW7M0Gd4Qic9cfGSIVwvdQQ/s1600/The%2Bdescent%2Binto%2Bhell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHnS9YEdEEI/VvbypX4KDdI/AAAAAAAAKOY/ZBq8w_sM-nMW7M0Gd4Qic9cfGSIVwvdQQ/s320/The%2Bdescent%2Binto%2Bhell.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Harrowing of Hell</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Continued
from <a href="http://foretasteofwisdom.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-traditional-vigil-of-easter-part-1.html">Part 1</a>.)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Following the twelve prophecies, in the
traditional rite, the baptismal water is blessed in the font. There is much significance to the baptismal character of Easter, as indicated already in the twelve lessons. Baptism is a spiritual regeneration, a resurrection, a rising from the dead. Christ's resurrection is the source of the baptismal efficacy. With Christ we too rise from a spiritual death. After He died, He descended into hell to draw into eternal life the fathers of the old covenant who waited there. The catechumens who are traditionally baptized today symbolize these fathers, and the conferring baptism parallels the resurrection of their souls from the death of hell. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The blessing of the font is one liturgical event
in which the architecture of the church building bears much symbolic importance.
Traditionally, the baptismal font is placed in a room, called the baptistery, near
the entrance of the church, to symbolize that baptism is the sacred initiation or
entrance into the Church itself, the beginning of membership among the sacred
people who constitute the mystical Body of Christ. The baptistery itself was in
the shape of an octagon, to signify baptism as the representation of the eighth
day of creation, a day which signifies the renewal of creation, and hence the
renewal of life itself – resurrection. In the Old Testament, circumcision
occurred on the eighth day after the child’s birth. Jewish liturgical
celebrations were often extended over eight days. God Himself rested on the
seventh, a fact which implicitly contains the truth that the eighth is when the
cycle of creation begins anew, but in a higher and more perfect way. Christ
Himself rested in the sepulcher on the seventh day of the week, and rose on the
next day. This symbolism of the number eight deeply penetrates the entire
structure of the traditional liturgy, and has been lost in other areas besides
Holy Week; hence it is a subject of its own. But it is especially relevant
tonight, on the vigil of Easter, which is the first and foremost celebration of
the Eighth Day: new life, new creation, regeneration, and resurrection, all of
which take a certain form in baptism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since the blessing of the font occurs
in the baptistery, the clergy must process from the sanctuary to the back of
the church, and the faithful follow them. This procession is accompanied by the
chanting of Psalm 41, the <i>Sicut Cervus, </i>famously
set to polyphony by Giovanni Palestrina. This chant has a ritual and symbolic
function: those who process towards the font of baptism, particularly if they
be catechumens, are like the deer who longs for the fountain of living water;
and they express this longing in the sacred chant. The blessing of the font then
occurs, followed by the administration of the sacrament of baptism. Then all
return to the main part of the church, whilst singing the Litany of the Saints,
who make up the body of Christ’s Church, to signify the welcoming of the newly christened
by the holy people of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This sequence of the ritual has
likewise been heavily changed in the reform of 1955, in a manner that is often
symbolically and ritually unintelligible. First, I would argue that it is
itself an element of the current liturgical crisis that the symbolism of
architecture is heavily reduced. Traditionally, the church space is just as
much a part of the liturgy as any other element. Few churches now retain the
octagonal baptistery at the entrance of the church, which is but one example of
the current lack of appreciation for liturgical symbolism. Secondly, in the reform
of the specific ritual for the Easter vigil, this symbolism has been distorted
even more inexcusably by several changes: the blessing of the baptismal water
occurs, not in a font, but in a bucket that is placed, not in the back of the
church, but <i>in the sanctuary. </i>This
has the result that even the unbaptized may enter the Holy of Holies itself, a privilege not traditionally granted even to the baptized laity. Thus, the symbolism of baptism as the entrance into the Church is gone. After any baptisms have been
conferred, there is a rite, wholly novel, of the renewal of baptismal promises,
preceded by an exhortation that is stylistically incongruent with the
traditional Roman rite. The idea of a renewal of baptismal promises is itself theologically dubious, to say the least, and introduces a man-centeredness that distracts from the authentic focus of worship. This is followed by a communal praying
of the Lord’s prayer, which is traditionally prayed by the celebrant alone
until the final phrase, <i>sed libera nos a
malo. </i>This prayer too is preceded by an exhortation that is stylistically
inappropriate, and bears the marks of modern sentimentality rather than
traditional piety. A focus on the community acting together has been introduced where previously the focus was entirely on the liturgical action itself. Further, the Litany of the Saints has been split into two
parts, the first sung before the blessing of the baptismal bucket, and
the second afterwards – an interruption that is unjustified in itself, and is
moreover unintelligible from a symbolic point of view. Further still, the <i>Sicut Cervus </i>is sung <i>after</i> the blessing and baptisms, whilst
the newly blessed baptismal water is carried to the actual font,
wherever that is located. The symbolism of this sacred text has thus been
altered: the text speaks of one who thirsts for the water of baptism which he
has not yet received; and yet, when it is sung, the baptisms have already been
conferred, and this text is no longer relevant to the actual ritual. It is now
merely decorative, much like the <i>Exsultet
</i>earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Following these rituals, in both the
old and the new rites, the mass of the vigil is celebrated. As mentioned earlier, the time of the mass in the new rite differs from the traditional time
of its celebration and its character as anticipation – i.e. <i>not </i>a "first mass of Easter Sunday." Traditionally, the mass was not even the most important part of the vigil, symbolically. The traditional vigil mass was only a <i>partial </i>celebration of Easter, since it reintroduces some of the liturgical signs of joy, but in a <i>restrained</i> fashion. This was in accord with its time of celebration, which was just before Vespers, on the evening of Holy Saturday, near sunset. Thus, in place of a Communion antiphon there
was sung an abbreviated form of Vespers. This means that later in the
night, in the traditional office, the sacred hour of Matins of Easter would be
sung, followed by Lauds. As Matins is the most important hour of the divine
office, and tonight is the most important night of the year, it was crucial that these be sung as the formal beginning of the celebration of Easter itself. But in the reform of
1955, tonight's Matins has been entirely lost, due perhaps to a dubious historical
opinion that the twelve prophecies constituted a kind of Matins and that tonight's mass belonged properly to Easter Sunday itself. This opinion is long outdated, and clashes with the very character of the vigil liturgy. Hence, at the end of the mass, instead of Vespers there is sung an abbreviated
Lauds, which itself falls far short of the traditional Lauds. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This had at least two notable effects: first, the ritual character of the Easter vigil mass, which is still that of an </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">incomplete</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> celebration of the resurrection, is now simply incongruent with its celebration as a first mass of Easter Sunday itself. Secondly, the most
important hour of the office, namely Matins, is now in fact nonexistent for the most important night of the
entire year. This is perhaps one of the worst aspects of the new Holy Week, especially if
one takes the very plausible interpretation that it was precisely at the hours of
Matins and Lauds that the Church traditionally understood the Resurrection itself
to take place. In short, the upgrade of the vigil mass to a first mass of Easter Sunday has yielded nothing but liturgical </span>incongruity<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and has rid us moreover of the most important moment of the entire liturgical cycle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some concluding remarks: The foregoing
account which I have given, as lengthy as it is, is by no means a complete or
adequate treatment. Much more could be said in depth concerning the loss of symbolism
and theological significance in the new rite. I will simply state some of the
most important things here, in a general way. The mystery of Easter is in many
ways the most complete and all-encompassing mystery of the Christian faith and
its liturgical expression. The Resurrection of Christ is the defining moment in
the history of salvation and man’s relation to God. On Palm Sunday, we saw a
figure of Christ throwing open the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem by the power
of the cross, hailed by palm and olive branches; and we beheld a figure of ourselves
following Him into Jerusalem by participation in the triumph of His death. On
Good Friday, the mystery of Christ’s death actually takes place (probably next
year I will write about Good Friday). The flipside of that mystery is the
Resurrection, which completes Christ’s triumph by the cross. He has conquered
death and come to life again, never again to be submitted to the pains of death.
In order to follow Him into the New Jerusalem, we must share in His winning
eternal life, eternal victory over death. We must therefore share not only in
His death by the cross, but also His resurrection from the tomb. This we do first by the sacrament of
baptism, by which we are immersed, “buried,” with Christ, and rise again with
new life, the life of God – a new creation, the realization of the eighth day.
But this first resurrection is continued as we take advantage of its fruits by
living out the Christian mystery into which it has initiated us; and this we do
especially by the liturgy itself, which seems to offer us this day the very
means of participation in the mystery through the sacred symbols, which are an
extension of the sacraments. The symbolism of light in the New Fire and the Paschal
Candle, the many layers of symbolism contained in the sacred texts of the
Prophecies, and the symbolism of water and baptism in the blessing of the font,
the placing of the font in the architectural setting, etc. - all of these point, in all
their details, to the mystery of Resurrection in the myriad ways through which
it manifests itself in God’s revelation. The liturgy itself seems to proclaim
to us: “See! Here is the Resurrection of Christ, which is also your
resurrection, presented before you so that you may take hold of it for
yourself, and <i>participate</i> in it, so
that you might become gods through Christ, the God-Man!” The drastic reduction
and distortion of this symbolism has the effect of diminishing that very participation to which the traditional rite exhorted us, since we can no longer <i>see</i>
in the sacred rituals the meaning of those symbols; and our <i>contemplation </i>of the sacred mysteries is
thereby impaired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The liturgical heritage of the Church is not merely a thing of sentimental nostalgic value,
but is the most precious element of our religion, the sacred means of God’s
worship and of our deification, which God Himself has bequeathed to us through
tradition. Therefore the liturgy is something which we must preserve according
to its <i>tradition,</i> and not reinvent according
to our own fancies, lest we hinder our own sanctification by a kind of
liturgical Pelagianism. Liturgical symbolism is not merely a poetic pleasantry to accompany our acts of piety; rather, it is itself the means whereby we <i>encounter</i> God in His mysteries - an encounter which is indispensable for the transformation of our souls, and for the true worship of God, who reveals Himself to us only in His mysteries.</span></span></div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-35734271469277652062016-03-22T11:21:00.001-07:002016-03-26T01:14:40.913-07:00The Traditional Vigil of Easter – Part 1: From the Lucernarium to the Prophecies<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://iconreader.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/resurrection2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://iconreader.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/resurrection2.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year, I wrote an article (<a href="http://foretasteofwisdom.blogspot.com/2016/03/on-traditional-rite-of-palm-sunday.html">reposted</a>
this year) touching on certain aspects of the ancient rite of Palm Sunday,
prior to the changes made in 1955 under Pope Pius XII. In that post, we saw
that the reform abandoned a large amount of symbolic text and ritual, so that much
of the liturgical significance of Palm Sunday was lost. The resulting liturgy,
which is contained in the 1962 missal, was one largely devoid of the
traditional biblical typology, and the symbolism which demonstrated the continuity
and harmony between the various moments of the history of salvation. The
contemplative participation in the mystery of this day is consequently
radically impaired: the symbolism that once offered us the medium of such
participation has been destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year, I have decided to devote two posts to the rites of Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil, of which much the same
could be said as of Palm Sunday, perhaps even to a greater degree. The Easter
Vigil is one of the most well-loved liturgies of the whole year among pious
Catholics, yet little is known of its actual history, and of the far-surpassing
grandeur of the ancient rite. The ancient rite conveys the sense that the liturgy is a means of actually revisiting the mysteries of our faith, and not merely thinking about them piously. In the liturgy, God is present to us in a real way through His mystery, which are made available for our participation, so that we might be united to God through the mediation of the Incarnate Word, in whom God is united perfectly to man. This sense is especially present in the rites of Holy Week. A good deal of this sense was lost in the ritual reforms of Pius XII. Hopefully this will become clear in what follows.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much controversy exists among
historians regarding the time of celebration for the Easter Vigil. Whatever the
specific disagreements, this much is clear: the mass of the Easter vigil was
never, until the mid twentieth century, a first mass of Easter Sunday itself.
There was never a midnight mass like that of Christmas. Indeed, the structure
and character of the Easter vigil mass is one which is only <i>partially</i> a celebration of our Lord’s
resurrection, and <i>not </i>the full
celebration. There are various interpretations of this fact. Some compare this
liturgical phenomenon to the biblical narrative, in which Christ, after He
rose, nonetheless did not reveal Himself immediately to His disciples, but
remained hidden for awhile. Hence, in the liturgy the resurrection is fully
celebrated, not at the vigil Mass, but during the day on Sunday itself. Another
interpretation is that the vigil liturgy, rather than celebrating the
resurrection, anticipates it. Thus, though Christ is not yet risen, the Church
joyfully anticipates His resurrection by a mass that is in some parts joyful
and in other parts incomplete, to signify that the Church does not yet
celebrate, but merely awaits that most sacred event. The moment of the
resurrection itself occurs at midnight, at the celebration of Easter Matins and
Lauds – the first of which has been eliminated in the 1955 rite, thus doing away
with the most important hour of the office on the most important day of the
year. Whichever interpretation one takes, the fact is that the vigil mass was
always just that – a <i>vigil,</i> i.e. a <i>waiting </i>for the actual celebration, and
not the full celebration itself. The modern notion of a vigil mass which is an
early celebration of the mass of the day is a complete novelty. This means
that, normally, the vigil mass would not have occurred deep in the night,
around midnight, but earlier in the night, just after sunset. In actual fact,
for pastoral reasons (which some have also interpreted symbolically), it often
occurred during the day on Holy Saturday, since vespers was commonly sung
earlier during Lent. But the normal time, as indicated by the liturgical texts
themselves, is at night – but decidedly <i>not
</i>at <i>midnight</i>, as an early mass of
Easter Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So much for the time of the Easter
Vigil. Greater changes occurred in 1955 in the actual ritual itself, which had
the effect of destroying the profound symbolism that was contained in the
traditional rites. Without going into absolutely all of the details, I will now
attempt to provide a summary of the most important changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The vigil of Holy Saturday begins, in
both the old and new rites, outside the Church with the blessing of the New
Fire, or the <i>Lucernarium</i>. In the traditional rite, there are three prayers for the blessing of the
fire, all of which make reference to a certain aspect of the symbolism of the
fire. The first refers to the lighting of the fire by flint, with an allusion
to Christ the cornerstone, Who lights our hearts on fire with divine splendor;
and it prays that our hearts will be inflamed with heavenly desire during the
Paschal season, so that we may enter into eternity with solemnity. The second
prayer contains some of the same references, but speaking also of the light of
the world and the pillar of fire which guided Moses towards the promised land;
and it prays that we too might be led by this light towards the heavenly land
promised to us. The third prayer invokes again the name of the Son, as well as
the Holy Spirit, begging that the divine light of grace may strengthen us
against the fiery darts of the enemy. The second and third prayers are no longer
existent in the 1955 rite; thus, the typological reference to Moses and the
pillar of flame no longer appears, nor the prayer for opposition of the divine
to the demonic fire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the old rite, these prayers are
followed by a fourth prayer for the blessing of the five grains of incense,
which are to be inserted later into the Paschal candle. After praying this
prayer, the priest sprinkles both the fire and the grains of incense with holy
water and incenses them with the thurible. Then all process into a darkened
Church following the deacon, who carries a tall reed with a triple-branched
candle. Each branch is lit from the New Fire successively as the procession
moves closer toward the sanctuary, each time accompanied by a genuflection and
the singing of the <i>Lumen Christi</i>. In
the sanctuary, the Paschal candle itself is placed in a pillar next to the
ambo. Once reaching the sanctuary, the magnificent rite of lighting the Paschal
candle now occurs to the singing of the beautiful text of the <i>Exsultet</i> by the deacon<i>.</i> This whole rite – the procession of
the triple candle, from which the Paschal candle is lit – symbolizes the Resurrection
as the work of the Holy Trinity. The <i>Exsultet
</i>is a part of the ritual of lighting the candle. At the words “Therefore on
this sacred night, O Holy Father, receive the evening sacrifice of this
incense,” the five grains of incense are inserted into the candle. At the
words, “And now we know the excellence of this pillar, which the bright fire
lights for the honor of God,” the candle itself is lit. And then, at “O truly
blessed night,” the whole Church, which up to this point has been in darkness,
is bathed in light. The <i>Exsultet </i>is thus not merely a text or a song, but a ritual.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjwkvNR5Xls/VvZEu1Z5PBI/AAAAAAAAKOI/s2z5wh3BlNIAfq5dhgISDlIDecLNINSVQ/s1600/Paschal%2Bcandle%2BFSSP%2BRome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjwkvNR5Xls/VvZEu1Z5PBI/AAAAAAAAKOI/s2z5wh3BlNIAfq5dhgISDlIDecLNINSVQ/s400/Paschal%2Bcandle%2BFSSP%2BRome.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Paschal candle is lit from the triple candle, with the FSSP in Rome.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This whole ritual, from the blessing of
the fire to the Exsultet, has been radically changed, even mutilated, in the
rite of Pius XII. The five grains are no longer blessed along with the fire;
instead, they are inserted into the Paschal candle, which is then lit, still
outside the Church, according to a ritual that is wholly novel and invented –
and which has always struck me as awkward and disjointed in character. The
Paschal candle itself is then carried into the Church, with the three
genuflections and the <i>Lumen Christi,</i>
which thus no longer correspond to the threefold ignition of the triple-candle,
since it has been eliminated. Thus the Trinitarian symbolism of the
Resurrection has been obscured – a symbolism which is fundamental to the entire
Christian mystery and its universal liturgical expression – and the triple <i>Lumen Christi </i>has no actual liturgical
function. The Paschal candle, already lit, is then placed in the center of the
sanctuary, rather than next to the ambo. This is a strange departure from
constant universal tradition, in which all the liturgical symbolism revolves
around that of the altar itself, whose centrality is never displaced. Moreover, since the candle is already lit, the symbolic and ritual
function of the <i>Exsultet </i>is no longer
existent, and the singing of that sacred text likewise no longer has any reason
to exist, except as a text. This reflects a general trend in the 20<sup>th</sup>
century reforms, which suppressed much of the ancient symbolism and ritual, and
reduced the liturgy to a mere text; or else sought to invent an arbitrary
ritual with no basis in traditional symbolic modes of expression. The lack of
ritual in the <i>Exsultet </i>is an
especially disturbing loss, since the traditional rite of lighting the Paschal
candle was perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the liturgical year, and
now the connection of the text to the ritual action has been entirely lost: no
longer are the grains of incense inserted at the words which indicate so; no
longer is the candle itself lit when the texts refers to this action; and no
longer is the darkness of the Church enlightened at the words which refer to
the blessedness of this sacred night, which is illumined by the Resurrection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In both rites, the singing of the <i>Exsultet</i> is followed by the chanting of
the prophecies. In the traditional rite, there are twelve prophecies read, each
of them prefiguring some aspect of the Resurrection. Some of the most beautiful
and most profound texts of the entire Old Testament are sung in this rite, in
which a complete picture of the history of salvation is typologically and
symbolically portrayed, as it culminates in the Resurrection. In the new rite
of 1955, only four of these twelve prophecies remain. Among those suppressed
are some of the most vivid symbolic depictions and prophecies of some aspect of
the Resurrection contained in the Old Testament: the tale of Noah and the Ark
(Genesis 5, 31; 8, 21), the sacrifice of Abraham (Genesis 22, 1-19), a
prophetic image of baptism and restoration (Isaiah 54, 17-55, 11), a discourse
in praise of the light of wisdom (Baruch 3, 9-38), the valley of the dry bones
(Ezekiel 12, 1-14), the Paschal lamb (Exodus 12,1-12), a discourse on penance
(Jonah 3, 1-10), and the tale of the three young men in the furnace (Daniel 3,
1-24). This heavy elimination of scriptural texts is somewhat ironic, given the
purported intention of the 20<sup>th</sup> century reformers to <i>expand</i> the quantity of scripture
contained in the liturgy. In any case, a substantial body of symbolic content
was lost with the suppression of these texts, with a result similar to that of
the reform of Palm Sunday: no longer does the liturgy offer to us so vivid a
picture of the Resurrection, as it is presented to us figuratively in the Old
Testament, fulfilled in the New, and participated in by God’s people – <i>us,</i> the worshipers –<i> </i>unto life everlasting. This participation occurs principally through
the sacraments, especially baptism, but also through the liturgical living out
of the fruits of baptism by the celebration of the Resurrection itself, which
is the archetype of baptism (new life, regeneration, etc). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(To
be continued.)</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-4606628954562356242016-03-20T12:24:00.000-07:002016-03-20T17:42:50.624-07:00On the Traditional Rite of Palm Sunday (Repost)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDtNMVV6VGs/VRcQl55H3dI/AAAAAAAAJzI/9UZUE54tZRM/s1600/palm_sunday_icon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDtNMVV6VGs/VRcQl55H3dI/AAAAAAAAJzI/9UZUE54tZRM/s1600/palm_sunday_icon.jpg" width="247" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many
traditionalists are not aware of the extensive reforms to the liturgy
of Holy Week which were carried out under the pontificate of Pope Pius
XII. Most traditionalists who <i>are </i>aware of those reforms are of
the opinion that they were either insignificant or could not be compared
to the later reforms which followed the Second Vatican Council.
Traditionalists associated with the SSPX generally have this view.
However, I myself have come to the opinion that the reforms of Pius XII
formed a definite precedent to those of Paul VI - nay, the process of
reform which produced the <i>Novus Ordo</i> actually began by Pius XII
and was continued by Paul VI. This is evident first from history, but
also in the effects which these reforms had on the rites themselves. I
think it would not be a stretch to say that the essential problems with
the <i>Novus Ordo </i>also exist in the reformed Holy Week of Pius XII,
which is found in the 1962 Missal. But most traditionalists will be very
reluctant to accept this, due to a variety of factors - an attachment
to the person of Pope Pius XII, an attachment to the person of Marcel
Lefebvre, an urge to attribute all of our problems to Vatican II (which I
have criticized <a href="http://foretasteofwisdom.blogspot.com/2015/01/vatican-ii-and-origins-of-liturgical.html">here</a>), and ultimately a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of the liturgy in general. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I
do not have the time or space just yet to devote to any detailed study
of the reforms; others have done so before me, in some degree or
another. But I would like to say a few things in this post about the
reform of Palm Sunday. Prior to 1955, the rite for Palm Sunday was much
more elaborate than it is in the 1962 Missal, and it was simply filled
with theological and symbolical content pertaining to the mysteries of
this entire week. The greatest changes occurred in the ceremonies prior
to the Mass, in the rite for the blessing of the palms and the
procession of the cross. The rite of blessing was closely structured
after the order of Mass itself, with an Introit, Collect, Epistle,
Gradual, Gospel, another collect corresponding to the Secret, a Preface
and Sanctus, a kind of "Canon" for the rite of blessing, the
distribution of the palms (corresponding to communion), and a final
collect corresponding to the Postcommunion. This structure was
completely lost in the reform of 1955.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
texts of these prayers and readings contained a vast amount of symbolic
meaning, to put the mind in the frame of thought for contemplation of
the sacred mysteries. The liturgy for this day provides a complete
theological interpretation of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem,
which is a figure of His triumph over sin and death, to be definitively
accomplished by His death and resurrection in just a few days. The
Christian people participate in this victory of Christ, entering with
Him into the eternal Jerusalem. The first Collect is an expression of
hope, enabled by Christ's death, and fulfilled by His resurrection,
which is also our own. The liturgy of today thus begins showing its
focus to be profoundly eschatological, a symbol of our entrance into
heaven with Christ. The story of salvation is prefigured by events in
the Old Testament, brought to our attention today. The text of the
Epistle is from the book of Exodus, chapters 15 and 16, which recounts
the story of the Israelites after they had triumphantly emerged from the
bondage of Egypt. "In those days, the children of Israel came unto
Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy
palm-trees; and they encamped by the waters..." The Israelites, led by
Moses and Aaron, are the figure of the people who are saved in Christ,
through His own triumph over the bondage of sin. They also prefigure the
Jews who welcomed Christ into Jerusalem with palm branches. Moreover,
"all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses
and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them,
Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt,
when we sat over the flesh-pots, and ate bread to the full. Why have you
brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude
with famine?" Just as these Israelites here rebelled against Moses and
Aaron, their leaders, so would the Jews rebel against Christ and crucify
Him, whom they had first welcomed as their King. In response to the
complaints of the Israelites, "the Lord said to Moses, Behold I will
rain bread from heaven for you." Likewise, God would give to His people
the Bread of Life, come down from heaven, Christ Himself, who would be
offered as a sacrifice and consumed by His people for their
sanctification. The mystery of Christ's sacrifice will be celebrated in a
special way on Holy Thursday, the feast of the Institution of the
Eucharist, and in an even greater way on Good Friday, the celebration of
the sacrifice itself. This text thus shows itself essential to
understanding the mystery of Palm Sunday in the Roman tradition. It also
introduces an unmistakable connection to the Eucharist, which is so
integral to the mystery of Holy Week as a whole. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another
text in the rite, after the Gospel, introduces another instance of Old
Testament typology alongside that recounted in the Epistle, namely the
story of Noah and the flood. This prayer, corresponding in position to
the Secret of the Mass, explicitly refers to both the stories Noah and
Moses as antetypes of present realities: "Let these branches, whether of
palm or of olive, be blessed <b>+</b>, and, as in the antetype of the
Church, Thou didst multiply Noe, when he went forth from the ark, and
Moses, when he went out of Egypt with the children of Israel, so may we,
who bear palms and olive branches, go forth with good works to meet
Christ, and, through Him, may we enter into everlasting joy." This
prayer shows us that through our participation in the liturgy of today,
we mystically enter into the events of Palm Sunday and everything they
represent, that we might be saved by our union with Christ. The
relevance of the story of Noah is explicated more clearly in the proper
rite of blessing - the "Canon" of the blessing of the palms - in the
prayer <i>Deus, qui per olivae. </i>The text is as follows: <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"O
God, Who didst
appoint a dove to bring its message of peace to the earth by means of an
olive
branch, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thou mayest sanctify with heavenly
benediction these branches of olive and of other trees, so that they may
profit
all Thy people unto salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen." The olive
branch is thus a sign of the peace foreshadowed by the subsiding of the
great flood, when the world had been cleansed of all sin, and Noah and
his family could step out onto the "new earth" to begin a new life,
which signifies eternal life itself. This eternal life is won for us by
none other than Christ Himself and His triumph over death, which He
announced upon His entry into Jerusalem. In the prayer immediately
preceding, <i>Deus, qui miro, </i>we learn that "the palm branches,
therefore, look to His triumph over the prince of death, but the sprigs
of olive proclaim that in a certain manner the spiritual unction is
already come."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All
of the texts just cited were suppressed from the rite in 1955. The
typology of Exodus no longer appears, nor the typology of Noah and the
flood, nor the collects; likewise all but one of the prayers that
constituted the "canon" of blessing have been abolished. Of these last
there were originally six, all of which overflowed in eloquence and
beauty, some which were even explicitly didactic in their manner of
expression. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Only the fifth of these prayers, <i>Benedic, quaesumus, </i>was retained, and it is placed near the very beginning of the rite. </span>These
texts could form the basis of a formulation of a treatise on liturgical
theology and the nature of liturgical signs and symbolism, which so
closely resembles the nature of the sacraments themselves. In fact, it
is notable that the first of these prayers, <i>Petimus, Domine, </i>explicitly refers to the olive branches as a <i>sacramentum</i>, obviously the same word which refers to the seven sacraments. </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0NndGrMD5OU/VRcQ9sXtUgI/AAAAAAAAJzQ/vPuwk5PgS98/s1600/Palm%2BSunday%2BDoors.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0NndGrMD5OU/VRcQ9sXtUgI/AAAAAAAAJzQ/vPuwk5PgS98/s1600/Palm%2BSunday%2BDoors.jpg" width="247" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">FSSP in Rome</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In
the traditional rite, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem is itself
celebrated - or re-enacted - later in the rite in a supremely vivid
manner, at the end of the procession of the cross which follows the
distribution of the palms. After a long procession outside the church,
accompanied by the singing of antiphons recalling the entry to
Jerusalem, the clergy and faithful stop outside the doors of the church,
which are now shut. A few cantors within the church alternate with the
choir outside singing the hymn <i>Gloria, Laus, et Honor,</i> in
acknowledgment of Christ's triumphal majesty. At the end of this hymn,
the subdeacon who has been carrying the cross strikes the doors of the
church with the staff, and the doors are opened, clearly signifying
Christ's opening the gates of the New Jerusalem by His death upon the
cross, which was foreshadowed by His entry into the earthly Jerusalem.
This profoundly vivid rite too is no longer contained in the liturgy of
Palm Sunday after the reforms of 1955. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Following
the procession, the actual Mass of Palm Sunday begins. Traditionally,
the recitation of the Passion, from St. Matthew, included in it the
account of the institution of the Eucharist. The same is true for the
Passion readings on Spy Wednesday and Good Friday. Again the essential
connection of the mysteries of Holy Week to that of the Eucharist is
thus made unmistakably clear. The entire Christian faith centers around
the mystery of the Eucharist, which is the selfsame mystery as that of
Christ's passion and death upon the cross - the culmination of Holy
Week, and the ultimate source of meaning for every rite that is
celebrated during this week. Hence it is eminently fitting that the
account of the institution of the Eucharist be included in the Passion
readings for these days. It is simply astonishing that the reform of
Pope Pius XII removed these accounts from <i>all </i>of the Passion readings during Holy Week, with the result that <i>not even once in the entire liturgical year do we hear the institution of the Eucharist recited.</i>
This is not an easily forgivable loss, to speak mildly. This connection
to the Eucharist is also diminished in other aspects of the reform of
Holy Week, specifically that of the Good Friday "Mass of the
Pre-Sanctified." This rite also strongly paralleled the rite of an
actual Mass, in such a way that made abundantly clear that those rites
were the re-presentation and re-visitation of the sacrifice of Christ,
albeit the consecration of the host does not take place that day. This
rite too was quite destroyed in 1955.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
effect of all of these changes is that the rites no longer foster in so
perfect a degree the contemplation of and participation in the
mysteries of Christ. There is no longer the strong awareness of our
progression with the triumphant Christ towards the heavenly Jerusalem,
fostered by the typological and symbolical content which permeated the
ancient rite. The traditional liturgy revealed itself to be the means by
which we unite ourselves with Christ in all His mysteries, so that we
might be united ultimately to His divinity in heaven through
contemplation. This purpose is no longer clear in the new rites. The
same effect would later result from the changes that followed the Second
Vatican Council. Most traditionalists evaluate the post-conciliar
reforms merely on the basis of their doctrinal clarity (or orthodoxy) or
lack thereof. The standard argument is that the Pauline reforms were an
ecumenical attempt to make concessions in the liturgy to the false
doctrines of Protestantism. There may well be truth to this argument.
But I would strongly propose that it is only a small part of the story,
and the damage done is greater than doctrinal ambiguity. Doctrinal
expression is one means that the liturgy employs for the sake of <i>contemplation</i>;
right doctrine is not an end in itself. Hence, doctrinal problems with
the newer liturgies are not problems only because they appeal to
Protestantism or any heresy, but even more importantly and primarily
because they hinder the contemplative end of the liturgy. Doctrine alone
is not enough to sanctify and save man; he must go further and be
united to God in loving contemplation. Moreover, this end,
contemplation, may be hindered or retarded even when one manages to
persevere in right doctrine. Thomas Kempis, in the <i>Imitation of Christ, </i>famously
wrote that theological knowledge of the Trinity is useless if one does
not love and so please the Trinity. Contemplation, then, can fail to be
achieved even while right doctrine is preserved; and this is why it is
possible to say that the liturgy of Pius XII is quite simply <i>bad liturgy,</i> even if it contains no false or ambiguous <i>doctrinal </i>content,
if indeed it does not. For in comparison to the traditional rites,
these rites fail to attain the primary end and purpose for which the
liturgy even exists, and hence, in this respect, they are just as bad as
the <i>Novus Ordo. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This
post has mainly only addressed the changes to Palm Sunday, and even so,
only incompletely. Much more could be said about the novel elements
introduced into the new rites, such as the points whereat the priest
prays <i>versus populum</i> - something to become very popular after
Vatican II - the abolition of the preface proclaiming the divine
kingship, and other things. Moreover, the reforms of the rites for the
Triduum, especially Friday and Saturday, were much greater than even
those of Palm Sunday, and will have to be saved for a later treatment
(maybe next year). Suffice it to say that they all had the same
detrimental effect on liturgical contemplation, and hence formed a
definite precedent and stepping stone to the <i>Novus Ordo</i> itself.
In the meantime, for a detailed summary and analysis of the reform, I
would recommend the excellent series written by Gregory DiPippo <a href="http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/search/label/1955%20Holy%20Week%20Revisions#.UreyIfRDtHc">here</a>. There is also <a href="http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/07/reform-of-holy-week-in-years-1951-1956.html">this article</a> by Fr. Steven Carusi, providing some valuable liturgical and theological commentary on the reform. Others, such as <a href="http://theradtrad.blogspot.com/search/label/pre-1955%20Holy%20Week">The Rad Trad</a>, <a href="http://ordorecitandi.blogspot.com/">Rubricarius</a> at St. Lawrence Press (search the relevant topics), and <a href="http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-council-and-liturgy-alternative.html">Fr. Hunwicke</a> have also had some things to say about Holy Week on their own blogs. It
is my hope that more mainstream traditionalists will grow more aware of
these <span style="font-family: inherit;">issues, and action be taken in parishes. <span style="font-family: inherit;">There is</span> already <span style="font-family: inherit;">some serious re<span style="font-family: inherit;">storation</span> happening</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at one <span style="font-family: inherit;">parish in New Jersey,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as reported <a href="http://johnrotondijr.blogspot.com/2016/03/major-hebdomada-incipit.html">here</a> by John R: at Mater Ecclesiae they will be celebrating the full pre-1955 Holy Week this year for the first ti<span style="font-family: inherit;">me</span>. Kudos to John R and his <span style="font-family: inherit;">team of liturgists!</span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-31125085540020998622016-03-07T11:28:00.000-08:002016-03-07T11:28:03.750-08:00March 7 - Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/St-thomas-aquinas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/St-thomas-aquinas.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Summa Theologiae, <i>Secunda Secundae</i>, Q. 180, A. 7. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Whether there is delight in contemplation?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Objection 1.</b> It would seem that there is no delight in contemplation. For delight belongs to the appetitive power; whereas contemplation resides chiefly in the intellect. Therefore it would seem that there is no delight in contemplation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Objection 2.</b> Further, all strife and struggle is a hindrance to delight. Now there is strife and struggle in contemplation. For Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "when the soul strives to contemplate God, it is in a state of struggle; at one time it almost overcomes, because by understanding and feeling it tastes something of the incomprehensible light, and at another time it almost succumbs, because even while tasting, it fails." Therefore there is no delight in contemplation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Objection 3.</b> Further, delight is the result of a perfect operation, as stated in Ethic. x, 4. Now the contemplation of wayfarers is imperfect, according to (1 Corinthians 13:1)2, "We see now through a glass in a dark manner." Therefore seemingly there is no delight in the contemplative life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Objection 4.</b> Further, a lesion of the body is an obstacle to delight. Now contemplation causes a lesion of the body; wherefore it is stated (Genesis 32) that after Jacob had said (Genesis 32:30), "'I have seen God face to face' . . . he halted on his foot (Genesis 32:31) . . . because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank" (Genesis 32:32). Therefore seemingly there is no delight in contemplation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On the contrary,</b> It is written of the contemplation of wisdom (Wisdom 8:1)6): "Her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness": and Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "the contemplative life is sweetness exceedingly lovable."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I answer that,</b> There may be delight in any particular contemplation in two ways. First by reason of the operation itself [Cf. I-II, 03, 5, because each individual delights in the operation which befits him according to his own nature or habit. Now contemplation of the truth befits a man according to his nature as a rational animal: the result being that "all men naturally desire to know," so that consequently they delight in the knowledge of truth. And more delightful still does this become to one who has the habit of wisdom and knowledge, the result of which is that he contemplates without difficulty. Secondly, contemplation may be delightful on the part of its object, in so far as one contemplates that which one loves; even as bodily vision gives pleasure, not only because to see is pleasurable in itself, but because one sees a person whom one loves. Since, then, the contemplative life consists chiefly in the contemplation of God, of which charity is the motive, as stated above (1 and 2, ad 1), it follows that there is delight in the contemplative life, not only by reason of the contemplation itself, but also by reason of the Divine love.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In both respects the delight thereof surpasses all human delight, both because spiritual delight is greater than carnal pleasure, as stated above (I-II, 31, 5), when we were treating of the passions, and because the love whereby God is loved out of charity surpasses all love. Hence it is written (Psalm 33:9): "O taste and see that the Lord is sweet."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reply to Objection 1.</b> Although the contemplative life consists chiefly in an act of the intellect, it has its beginning in the appetite, since it is through charity that one is urged to the contemplation of God. And since the end corresponds to the beginning, it follows that the term also and the end of the contemplative life has its being in the appetite, since one delights in seeing the object loved, and the very delight in the object seen arouses a yet greater love. Wherefore Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.) that "when we see one whom we love, we are so aflame as to love him more." And this is the ultimate perfection of the contemplative life, namely that the Divine truth be not only seen but also loved.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reply to Objection 2.</b> Strife or struggle arising from the opposition of an external thing, hinders delight in that thing. For a man delights not in a thing against which he strives: but in that for which he strives; when he has obtained it, other things being equal, he delights yet more: wherefore Augustine says (Confess. viii, 3) that "the more peril there was in the battle, the greater the joy in the triumph." But there is no strife or struggle in contemplation on the part of the truth which we contemplate, though there is on the part of our defective understanding and our corruptible body which drags us down to lower things, according to (Wisdom 9:15), "The corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things." Hence it is that when man attains to the contemplation of truth, he loves it yet more, while he hates the more his own deficiency and the weight of his corruptible body, so as to say with the Apostle (Romans 7:2)4): "Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Wherefore Gregory say (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "When God is once known by desire and understanding, He withers all carnal pleasure in us."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reply to Objection 3.</b> The contemplation of God in this life is imperfect in comparison with the contemplation in heaven; and in like manner the delight of the wayfarer's contemplation is imperfect as compared with the delight of contemplation in heaven, of which it is written (Psalm 35:9): "Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure." Yet, though the contemplation of Divine things which is to be had by wayfarers is imperfect, it is more delightful than all other contemplation however perfect, on account of the excellence of that which is contemplated. Hence the Philosopher says (De Part. Animal. i, 5): "We may happen to have our own little theories about those sublime beings and godlike substances, and though we grasp them but feebly, nevertheless so elevating is the knowledge that they give us more delight than any of those things that are round about us": and Gregory says in the same sense (Hom. xiv in Ezech.): "The contemplative life is sweetness exceedingly lovable; for it carries the soul away above itself, it opens heaven and discovers the spiritual world to the eyes of the mind."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reply to Objection 4.</b> After contemplation Jacob halted with one foot, "because we need to grow weak in the love of the world ere we wax strong in the love of God," as Gregory says (Hom. xiv in Ezech.). "Thus when we have known the sweetness of God, we have one foot sound while the other halts; since every one who halts on one foot leans only on that foot which is sound."</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-15027957462278265212016-03-05T09:22:00.000-08:002016-03-05T09:22:03.545-08:00St. Augustine - From Matins of Laetare Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://mundabor.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-feeding-of-the-five-thousand-xx-jacopo-bassano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://mundabor.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/the-feeding-of-the-five-thousand-xx-jacopo-bassano.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>A homily of St. Augustine, taken from the Tridentine Breviary:</i></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span data-offset-key="b6g7q-0-0"><span data-text="true">The miracles which our Lord Jesus Christ did were the very works of God, and they enlighten the mind of man by mean of things which are seen, that he may know more of God. God is Himself of such a Substance as eye cannot see, and the miracles, by the which He ruleth the whole world continually, and satisfieth the need of everything that He hath made, are by use become so common, that scarce any will vouchsafe to see that there are wonderful and amazing works of God in every grain of seed of grass. According to His mercy He kept some works to be done in their due season, but out of the common course and order of nature, that men might see them and be astonished, not because they are greater, but because they are rarer than those which they lightly esteem, since they see them day by day. Or it is a greater miracle to govern the whole universe, than to satisfy five thousand men with five loaves of bread; and yet no man marvelleth at it. At the feeding of the five thousand, men marvel, not because it is a greater miracle than the other, but because it is rarer. For Who is He Who now feedeth the whole world, but He Who, from a little grain that is sown, maketh the fulness of the harvest? God worketh in both cases in one and the same manner. He Who of the sowing maketh to come the harvest, is He Who of the five barley loaves in His Hands made bread to feed five thousand men; for Christ's are the Hands which are able to do both the one and the other. He Who multiplieth the grains of corn multiplied the loaves, only not by committing them to the earth whereof He is the Maker. This miracle, then, is brought to bear upon our bodies, that our souls may thereby be quickened; shown to our eyes, to give food to our understanding; that, through His works which we see, we may marvel at that God Whom we cannot see, and, being roused up to believe, and purified by believing, we may long to see Him, yea, may know by things which are seen Him Who is Unseen. Nor yet sufficeth it for us to see only this meaning in Christ's miracles. Let us ask of the miracles themselves what they have to tell us concerning Christ for, soothly, they have a tongue of their own, if only we will understand it. For, because Christ is the Word of God, therefore the work of the Word is a Word for us.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-40176060359005248112016-01-26T13:36:00.002-08:002016-01-26T13:36:57.145-08:00On the Loss of Septuagesima (Repost)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0J7wtKfOPc/VODTeBdwxSI/AAAAAAAAJwU/M4nsMP_WCr4/s1600/Babylon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0J7wtKfOPc/VODTeBdwxSI/AAAAAAAAJwU/M4nsMP_WCr4/s1600/Babylon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"...<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Babylon, </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">that city which plots our
ruin..."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
About a year ago, I wrote <a href="http://foretasteofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-fate-of-septuagesima-in-new-liturgy.html">here</a> on
the problems with the post-conciliar abolition of the pre-Lenten season
of Septuagesima. This season was traditionally a time of preparation
for the coming season of Lent, during which we do penance for our sins,
in mourning for the death of Christ which we ourselves have inflicted
upon him. The three weeks prior to Lent, though not a season of
obligatory penance, nonetheless serve to prepare Christian minds for the
entrance into the strictly penitential season. While penances have not
yet begun in this season, the penitential <i>spirit </i>now begins to take its place in the souls of the worshipers.<br />
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<br /></div>
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But
there is also a profound symbolism connected with this season which was
lost in the post-conciliar reform. The liturgical year repeatedly
presents us with opportunities to consider the history of salvation
insofar as it is effected through each of the mysteries celebrated.. One
of the significant ways in which this is accomplished is by a renewal
and repetition of the imagery of the seven days of creation. The fathers
of the Church, based firmly in scriptural footing, understood the
number seven to be fundamental for understanding all of human history as
directed towards eternal salvation. The concept of the <i>eighth </i>day
was accordingly understood as a sign of salvation itself. This concept
of the eighth day is firmly rooted in scripture. Circumcision in the Old
Testament, which prefigured Baptism, was accomplished on the eighth day
by the command of God. The Resurrection of Christ occurred on the first
day of the week - the day after the sabbath. The number eight thus
signifies resurrection, new life, the renewal of creation, and so,
ultimately, eternal salvation itself. The patristic tradition,
exemplified by St. Augustine in <i>The City of God</i>, divides all of
human history into seven ages. The seventh age, corresponding to the
seventh day, signifies a final resting in God <i>in this life</i>, but not yet the eternal life of the beatific vision. This eternal life is the eighth day, a never ending day.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This
numerological symbolism manifests itself liturgically in many ways,
such as in the division of the traditional liturgical year into seven
seasons: Advent, Christmas, Septuagesima, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and
Pentecost. Moreover, within this framework itself there are many other
indications of the deep symbolism of the numbers seven and eight. A
notable example is the celebration of octaves - eight day prolongations
of the celebrations of certain feasts. Before the reforms of the 20th
century, octaves were a common feature of the liturgical calendar. This
symbolism also appears in the period between Easter and Pentecost. The
number seven has many other significant meanings in the life of the
Church (seven sacraments, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.), and
could take a treatise all by itself.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It
dawned on me when reading Dom Gueranger that the time comprising
Septuagesima through Easter is another particular manifestation of this
symbolism within the liturgical year. Septuagesima Sunday marks the
seventieth day (7 x 10) before Easter itself. In this season we enter
into a renewed commemoration of the mystery of salvation and its working
through history. The word <i>Septuagesima </i>signifies the number
seventy, in commemoration of the seventy years of the Babylonian
captivity - itself a symbol of the captivity of man in sin. The Church
adapts the symbolism of seventy years to the period of forty days plus
the three weeks of Septuagesima - not an exact equality (it amounts to
63 days), but the essential idea of the numerological symbolism is
preserved. Lent itself is also named <i>Quadragesima</i>. Hence, the
period from Septuagesima symbolically constitutes a reverse countdown,
so to speak, to Easter day, which marks the end of the seventy days. We
are aware in a special way, during this time, of our captivity in sin,
and the history of our salvation is presented for our contemplation in a
specially vivid way. The collects of this period begin to remind us
ever so poignantly of the darker realities of our fallen nature.<br />
<br />
The Collect of Septuagesima Sunday:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The
prayers of your people, we beseech you, O Lord, graciously hear, that
we who are justly afflicted on account of our sins may be, for the sake
of your name, mercifully set free.</blockquote>
The Collect of Sexagesima Sunday:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
O
God, who see that we trust in no deed of our own: mercifully grant that
we may be defended against all hostile forces by the protection of the
Doctor of the Gentiles. [There is a special devotion to St. Paul
expressed in the liturgy of this day.]</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Collect of Quinquagesima Sunday (which is today):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Our
prayers, we beseech you, O Lord, mercifully hear: and, when we have
been freed from the fetters of our sins, protect us from every
misfortune.</blockquote>
</div>
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This
rich theology and spirituality of the liturgy - with all its deep
biblical and patristic symbolism of the seven days and their culmination
in the eternal eighth - is quite lost in the liturgy of Pope Paul VI.
The traditional symbolism of man's bondage in sin, from which he is
freed by the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, and reborn into
eternal life on the eighth day, is now quite botched and distorted. As a
consequence, that continuous contemplation through the liturgical year,
previously facilitated by the ancient liturgical tradition, is now
crippled and maimed.<br />
<br />
This is a classic example of where
the rationalistic concerns of the liturgical reformers were given
precedence over the theology already inherent in the traditional
liturgy. Rationalism subjects everything in the liturgy to human
scrutiny, and the suitability of liturgical elements is judged in the
cold light of the principles of "reason." The reformers considered
Septuagesima to be superfluous, and unnecessary backward extension of
Lent (which, of course, it is not). "Reason" would demand that such a
thing be done away with; so they did away with it. They thought that by
eliminating Septuagesima they could "restore Lent to its full
importance" (in the words of Archbishop Bugnini). Lauren Pristas argues
persuasively that quite the opposite is true, since one does not really
tend to prepare for what is not important - as the Church does in the
preparatory season of Septuagesima. Moreover, Septuagesima fits into the
symbolic framework of the number seven, something worth preserving in
and of itself. But the ancient tradition of the Church was not well
enough esteemed. Rationalism prevailed, and the Church lost yet another
of the riches of her venerable liturgy.<br />
<br />
I close with a brief meditation from Dom Gueranger, from his own treatise on the <a href="http://foretasteofwisdom.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-mystery-of-septuagesima.html">Mystery of Septuagesima</a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are sojourners
upon this earth; we are exiles and captives in Babylon, that city which
plots our
ruin. If we love our
country, - if we long to return to it, - we must be proof against the
lying allurements of this strange land, and refuse the cup she proffers
us, and with which she maddens so many of our fellow captives. She
invites us to join in her feasts and her songs;
but we must unstring our harps, and hang them on the willows that grow
on her river’s bank, till the
signal be given for our return to Jerusalem [Ps. cxxv]. She will ask us
to sing to her the melodies of our dear
Sion: but, how shall we, who are so far from home, have heart to <i> sing the Song of the Lord in a
strange Land?</i> [Ps. cxxxvi]. No, - there must be no sign that we are content to be in bondage, or we shall deserve to be slaves for ever.</blockquote>
</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-51621257701039937342016-01-06T12:43:00.000-08:002016-01-06T12:43:29.419-08:00Dom Gueranger on the Feast of the Epiphany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLIRZsBN1Tw/Vo169jtxGHI/AAAAAAAAKNg/5qgUAbNnh20/s1600/Epiphany%2B-%2Bthe%2BMagi%2B-%2Bunknown%2Bartist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLIRZsBN1Tw/Vo169jtxGHI/AAAAAAAAKNg/5qgUAbNnh20/s400/Epiphany%2B-%2Bthe%2BMagi%2B-%2Bunknown%2Bartist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The following is taken from Dom Gueranger's </i>The Liturgical Year.<i> Note well the richness of this great feast, which once held for Catholics a dignity surpassing that of Christmas itself, being indeed the completion and fulfillment of the Christmas mystery. Christ, the God-made-man, is today revealed as God to the whole world. The Incarnation in all its glory is the subject of today's celebration (which traditionally enjoys a full Octave), the foundation of the entire mystery of Christ's humanity.</i></div>
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THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD</div>
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The Feast of the Epiphany is the continuation of the mystery of Christmas; but it appears on the Calendar of the Church with its own special character. Its very name, which signifies Manifestation, implies that it celebrates the apparition of God to his creatures.</div>
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For several centuries, the Nativity of our Lord was kept on this day; and when, in the year 376, the decree of the Holy See obliged all Churches to keep the Nativity on the 25th December, as Rome did - the Sixth of January was not robbed of all its ancient glory. It was still to be called the Epiphany, and the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ was also commemorated on this same Feast, which Tradition had marked as the day on which that Baptism took place.</div>
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The Greek Church gives this Feast the venerable and mysterious name of Theophania, which is of such frequent recurrence in the early Fathers, as signifying a divine Apparition. We find this name applied to this Feast by Eusebius, St. Gregory Nazianzum, and St. Isidore of Pelusium. In the liturgical books of the Melchite Church the Feast goes under no other name.</div>
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The Orientals call this solemnity also the holy on account of its being the day on which Baptism was administered, (for, as we have just mentioned, our Lord was baptised on this same day.) Baptism is called by the holy Fathers Illumination, and they who received it Illuminated.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Lastly, this Feast is called, in many countries, King’s Feast: it is, of course, an allusion to the Magi, whose journey to Bethlehem is so continually mentioned in to-day’s Office.</div>
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The Epiphany shares with the Feasts of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost, the honour of being called, in the Canon of the Mass, a Day most holy. It is also one of the cardinal Feasts, that is, one of those on which the arrangement of the Christian Year is based; for, as we have Sundays after Easter, and Sundays after Pentecost, so also we count six Sundays after the Epiphany.</div>
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The Epiphany is indeed great Feast, and the joy caused us by the Birth of our Jesus must be renewed on it, for, as though it were a second Christmas Day, it shows us our Incarnate God in a new light. It leaves us all the sweetness of the dear Babe of Bethlehem, who hath appeared to us already in love; but to this it adds its own grand manifestation of the divinity of our Jesus. At Christmas, it was a few Shepherds that were invited by the Angels to go and recognise THE WORD MADE FLESH; but now, at the Epiphany, the voice of God himself calls the whole world to adore this Jesus, and hear him.</div>
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The mystery of the Epiphany brings upon us three magnificent rays of the Sun of Justice, our Saviour. In the calendar of pagan Rome, this sixth day of January was devoted to the celebration of the triple triumph of Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire: but when Jesus, our Prince of peace, whose empire knows no limits, had secured victory to his Church by the blood of the Martyrs - then did this his Church decree, that a triple triumph of the Immortal King should be substituted, in the Christian Calendar, for those other three triumphs which had been won by the adopted son of Caesar.</div>
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The Sixth of January, therefore, restored the celebration of our Lord’s Birth to the Twenty-Fifth of December; but, in return, there were united in the one same Epiphany, three manifestations of Jesus’ Glory: the mystery of the Magi coming from the East, under the guidance of a star, and adoring the Infant of Bethlehem as the Divine King; the mystery of the Baptism of Christ, who, whilst standing in the waters of the Jordan, was proclaimed by the Eternal Father as Son of God; and thirdly, the mystery of the divine power of this same Jesus, when he changed the water into wine at the marriage-feast of Cana.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
But, did these three Mysteries really take place on this day? Is the Sixth of January the real anniversary of these great events? As the chief object of this work is to assist the devotion of the Faithful, we purposely avoid everything which would savour of critical discussion; and with regard to the present question, we think it enough to state, that Baronius, Suarez, Theophilus Raynaldus, Honorius De Sancta-Maria, Cardinal Gotti, Sandini, Benedict 14th, and an almost endless list of other writers, assert that the Adoration of the Magi happened on this very day. That the Baptism of our Lord, also, happened on the sixth of January, is admitted by the severest historical critics, even by Tillemont himself; and has been denied by only two or three. The precise day of the miracle at the marriage-feast of Cana is far from being as certain as the other two mysteries, though it is impossible to prove that the sixth of January was not the day. For us the children of the Church, it is sufficient that our Holy Mother has assigned the commemoration of these three manifestations for this Feast; we need nothing more to make us rejoice in the triple triumph of the Son of Mary.</div>
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If we now come to consider these three mysteries of our Feast separately, we shall find, that the Church of Rome, in her Office and Mass of to-day, is more intent on the Adoration of the Magi than on the Other two. The two great Doctors of the Apostolic See, St. Leo and St. Gregory, in their Homilies for this Feast, take it as the almost exclusive object of their preaching; though, together with St: Augustine, St. Paulinus of Nola, St. Maximus of Turin, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Hillary of Arles, and St. Isidore of Seville, they acknowledge the three mysteries of to-day’s Solemnity. That the mystery of the Vocation of the Gentiles should be made thus prominent by the Church of Rome, is not to be wondered at; for, by that heavenly vocation which, in the three Magi, called all nations to the admirable light of Faith, Rome, which till then had been the head of the Gentile world, was made the head of the Christian Church and of the whole human race.</div>
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The Greek Church makes no special mention, in her Office of to-day, of the Adoration of the Magi, for she unites it with the mystery of our Saviour’s Birth in her celebration of Christmas Day. The Baptism of Christ absorbs all her thoughts and praises on the solemnity of the Epiphany.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the Latin Church, this second mystery of our Feast is celebrated, unitedly with the other two, on the sixth of January, and mention is made of it several times in the Office. But, as the coming of the Magi to the crib of our new-born King absorbs the attention of Christian Rome on this day, the mystery of the sanctification of the waters was to be commemorated on a day apart. The day chosen by the Western Church for paying special honour to the Baptism of our Saviour is the Octave of the Epiphany.</div>
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The third mystery of the Epiphany being also somewhat kept in the shade by the prominence given to the first, (though allusion is several times made to it in the Office of the Feast,) a special day has been appointed for its due celebration; and that day is the second Sunday after the Epiphany.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Several Churches have appended to the Mystery of changing the water into wine that of the multiplication of the loaves, which certainly bears some analogy with it, and was a manifestation of our Saviour’s divine power. But, whilst tolerating the custom in the Ambrosian and Mozarabic rites, the Roman Church has never adopted it, in order not to interfere with the sacredness of the triple triumph of our Lord, which the sixth of January was intended to commemorate; as also, because St. John tells us, in his Gospel, that the miracle of the multiplication of the Loaves happened when the Feast of the Pasch was at hand [St. John, vi. 4], to which, therefore, could not have any connection with the season of the year when the Epiphany is kept.</div>
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We propose to treat of the three mysteries, united in this great Solemnity, in the following order. To-day, we will unite with the Church in honouring all three; during the Octave, we will contemplate the Mystery of the Magi coming to Bethlehem; we will celebrate the Baptism of our Saviour on the Octave Day; and we will venerate the Mystery of the Marriage of Cana on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, which is the day appropriately chosen by the Church for the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.</div>
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Let us, then, open our hearts to the Joy of this grand Day; and on this Feast of the Theophany, of the Holy Lights, of the Three Kings, let us look with love at the dazzling beauty of our Divine Sun, who, as the Psalmist expresses it [Ps. xviii. 6], runs his course as a Giant, and pours out upon us floods of a welcome and yet most vivid light. The Shepherds, who were called by the Angels to be the first worshippers, have been joined by the Prince of Martyrs, the Beloved Disciple, the dear troop of Innocents, our glorious Thomas of Canterbury, and Sylvester the Patriarch of Peace; and now, to-day, these Saints open their ranks to let the Kings of the East come to the Babe in his crib, bearing with them the prayers and adorations of the whole human race. The humble Stable is too little for such a gathering as this, and Bethlehem seems to be worth all the world besides. Mary, the Throne of the divine Wisdom, welcomes all the members of this court with her gracious smile of Mother and Queen; she offers her Son to man, for his adoration, and to God, that he may be well pleased. God manifests himself to men, because he is great: but he manifests himself by Mary, because he is full of mercy.</div>
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The great Day, which now brings us to the crib of our Prince of Peace, has been marked by two great events of the first ages of the Church. It was on the sixth of January, in the year 361, and Julian, (who, in heart, was already an apostate,) happened to be at Vienne in Gaul. He was soon to ascend the imperial throne, which would be left vacant by the death of Constantius, and he felt the need he had of the support of that Christian Church, in which it is said he had received the order of Lector, and which, nevertheless, he was preparing to attack with all the cunning and cruelty of a tiger. Like Herod, he, too, would fain go, on this Feast of the Epiphany, and adore the new-born King. The panegyrist Ammianus Marcellinus tells us, that this crowned Philosopher, who had been seen, just before, coming out of the pagan temple, where he had been consulting the soothsayers, made his way through the porticoes of the Church, and, standing in the midst of the faithful people, offered to the God of the Christians his sacrilegious homage.</div>
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Eleven years later, in the year 372, another Emperor found his way into the Church, on the same Feast of the Epiphany. It was Valens; a Christian, like Julian, by baptism; but a persecutor, in the name of Arianism, of that same Church which Julian persecuted in the name of his vain philosophy and still vainer gods. As Julian felt himself necessitated by motives of worldly policy to bow down, on this day, before the divinity of the Galilean; so, on this same day, the holy courage of a saintly Bishop made Valens prostrate himself at the feet of Jesus the King of kings.</div>
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Saint Basil had just then had his famous interview with the Prefect Modestus, in which his episcopal intrepidity had defeated all the might of earthly power. Valens had come to Caesarea, and, with his soul defiled with the Arian heresy, he entered the Basilica, when the Bishop was celebrating, with his people, the glorious Theophany. Let us listen to St. Gregory Nazianzum, thus describing the scene with his usual eloquence. “The Emperor entered the Church. The chanting of the psalms echoed through the holy place like the rumbling of thunder. The people, like a waving sea, filled the house of God. Such was the order and pomp in and about the sanctuary, that it looked more like heaven than earth. Basil himself stood erect before the people, as the Scripture describes Samuel - his body, and eyes, and soul, motionless as though nothing strange had taken place, and, if I may say so, his whole being was fastened to his God and the holy Altar. The sacred ministers, who surrounded the Pontiff, were in deep recollectedness and reverence. The Emperor heard and saw all this. He had never before witnessed a spectacle so imposing. He was overpowered. His head grew dizzy, and darkness veiled his eyes.”</div>
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Jesus, the King of ages, the Son of God and the Son of Mary had conquered. Valens was disarmed; his resolution of using violence against the holy bishop was gone; and if heresy kept him from at once adoring the Word consubstantial to the Father, he, at least, united his exterior worship with that which Basil’s flock was paying to the Incarnate God. When the Offertory came, he advanced towards the Sanctuary, and presented his gifts to Christ in the person of his holy priest. The fear lest Basil might refuse to accept them took such possession of the Emperor, that had not the sacred ministers supported him, he would have fallen at the foot of the Altar.</div>
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Thus has the Kingship of our new-born Saviour been acknowledged by the great ones of this world. The Royal Psalmist had sung this prophecy - the Kings of the earth shall see him, and his enemies shall lick the ground under his feet [Ps. lxxi. 9, 11].</div>
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The race of Emperors like Julian and Valens was to be followed by Monarchs, who would bend their knee before this Babe of Bethlehem, and offer him the homage of orthodox faith and devoted hearts. Theodosius, Charlemagne, our own Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor, Stephen of Hungary, the Emperor Henry 2nd, Ferdinand of Castile, Louis 9th of France, are examples of Kings who had a special devotion to the Feast of the Epiphany. Their ambition was to go, in company with the Magi, to the feet of the Divine Infant, and offer him their gifts. At the English Court, the custom is still retained, and the reigning Sovereign offers an ingot of Gold as a tribute of homage to Jesus the King of kings: the ingot is afterwards redeemed by a certain sum of money.</div>
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But this custom of imitating the Three Kings in their mystic gifts was not confined to Courts. In the Middle-Ages, the Faithful used to present, on the Epiphany, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, to be blessed by the Priest. These tokens of their devotedness to Jesus were kept as pledges of God’s blessing upon their houses and families. The practice is still observed in some parts of Germany: and the prayer for the Blessing was in the Roman Ritual, until Pope Paul 5th suppressed it, together with several others, as being seldom required by the Faithful.</div>
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There was another custom, which originated in the Ages of Faith, and which is still observed in many countries. In honour of the Three Kings, who came from the East to adore the Babe of Bethlehem, each family chose one of its members to be King. The choice was thus made. The family kept a feast, which was an allusion to the third of the Epiphany-Mysteries - the Feast of Cana in Galilee - a Cake was served up, and he who took the piece which had a certain secret mark, was proclaimed the King of the day. Two portions of the cake were reserved for the poor, in whom honour was thus paid to the Infant Jesus and his Blessed Mother; for, on this Day of the triumph of Him, who, though King, was humble and poor, it was fitting that the poor should have a share in the general joy. The happiness of home was here, as in so many other instances, blended with the sacredness of Religion. This custom of King’s Feast brought relations and friends together, and encouraged feelings of kindness and charity. Human weakness would sometimes, perhaps, show itself during these hours of holiday-making; but the idea and sentiment and spirit of the whole feast was profoundly Catholic, and that was sufficient guarantee to innocence.</div>
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King’s Feast is still a Christmas joy in thousands of families; and happy those where it is kept in the Christian spirit which first originated it! For the last three hundred years, a puritanical zeal has decried these simple customs, wherein the seriousness of religion and the home enjoyments of certain Festivals were blended together. The traditions of Christian family rejoicings have been blamed under pretexts of abuse; as though a recreation, in which religion had no share and no influence, were less open to intemperance and sin. Others have pretended, (though with little or no foundation,) that the Twelfth Cake and the custom of choosing a King, are mere imitations of the ancient pagan Saturnalia. Granting this to be correct, (which it is not,) we would answer, that many of the old pagan customs have undergone a Christian transformation, and no one thinks of refusing to accept them thus purified. All this mistaken zeal has produced the sad effect of divorcing the Church from family life and customs, of excluding every religious manifestation from our traditions, and of bringing about what is so pompously called, (though the word is expressive enough,) the secularisation of society.</div>
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But let us return to the triumph of our sweet Saviour and King. His magnificence is manifested to us so brightly on this Feast! Our mother, the Church, is going to initiate us into the mysteries we are to celebrate. Let us imitate the faith and obedience of the Magi: let us adore, with the holy Baptist, the divine Lamb, over whom the heavens open: let us take our place at the mystic feast of Cana, where our dear King is present, thrice manifested, thrice glorified. In the last two mysteries, let us not lose sight of the Babe of Bethlehem; and in the Babe of Bethlehem let us cease not to recognise the Great God, (in whom the Father was well-pleased,) and the supreme Ruler and Creator of all things.</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-57659523131104274692015-12-29T00:44:00.000-08:002015-12-29T00:45:40.767-08:00Venerable Bede on the Mystery of Christmas - From the Monastic Breviary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Matins for the fifth day in the Octave of Christmas in the Monastic Breviary has the following lesson, from Saint Bede the Venerable. It is a commentary on the Gospel reading for Christmas itself, which is repeated today. St. Bede reflects on the response of the shepherds to the exhortation of the angel to seek out the newborn Infant Christ. The liturgy for today here reminds us that, by it, we participate in the sacred mystery of Christmas by going, like the shepherds, to seek Christ Himself, to strain for the <i>vision </i>of what we have believed through hearing. The liturgy is a contemplative endeavor; it approaches beatitude itself, through the medium of the mysteries of Christ's humanity. </div>
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With happy joy, indeed, did these shepherds hasten to see that which they had heard, and because they instantly sought the Savior with an ardent and faithful love, they merited to find Him whom they sought. But they also have shown by their words as well as by their deeds with what effort of mind the shepherds of intelligent flocks, yea, all the faithful must seek Christ. "Let us go over to Bethlehem," they say, "and let us see the word that is come to pass." Therefore, dearest brethren, let us also go over in thought to Bethlehem, the city of David, and in love recall to our minds that there the Word was made flesh, and let us celebrate His Incarnation with honors worthy of Him. Having thrown off carnal desires, let us with all the desire of our mind go over to the heavenly Bethlehem, that is, the house of living bread, not made by hands, but eternal in heaven, and in love let us recall that the Word was made flesh. Thither He has ascended in the flesh; there He sits on the right hand of God the Father. Let us follow Him with the whole force of our strength and by careful mortification of heart and body let us merit to see Him reigning on the throne of His Father, Him whom they saw crying in the manger. </blockquote>
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"And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger." The shepherds came in haste and found God born as man, together with the ministers of His nativity. Let us hasten too, my brethren, not with footsteps, but by the advances of good words, to see the same glorified humanity together with the same ministers remunerated with a reward worthy of their services; let us hasten to see Him refulgent with the divine Majesty of His Father and of Himself. Let us hasten, I say, for such happiness is not to be sought with sloth and torpor, but the footsteps of Christ must be eagerly followed. For, offering His hand, He desires to help our course and delights to hear from us: "Draw us, we will run after thee in the odor of thy ointments." Therefore, let us follow swiftly with strides of virtue that we may merit to possess. Let no one be tardy in converting to the Lord; let no one put it off from day to day; let us beseech Him through all things and before all things that He direct our steps according to His word and let not injustice dominate over us. </blockquote>
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"And seeing, they understood the word that had been spoken to them concerning this Child." Let us also, most dearly beloved brethren, hasten in the meantime to perceive by a loving faith and to embrace with complete love those things that are said to us concerning our Savior, true God and Man, so that by this we may be able to comprehend Him perfectly in the future vision of knowledge. For this is the only and the true life of the blessed, not only of men, but even of the angels, to look continually upon the face of their Creator, which was so ardently desired by the Psalmist who said: "My soul hath thirsted after the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" The Psalmist has shown that the vision of Him alone, and no abundance of the things of earth, could satisfy his desire when he said: "I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear." But since neither the idle nor the slothful, but those who perspire in works of virtue, are worthy of divine contemplation, he carefully premised these words: "But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice."</blockquote>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-43336997552729662652015-12-25T11:09:00.000-08:002015-12-25T11:09:03.975-08:00Dom Gueranger on Christmas Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The following is taken from </span><i style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The Liturgical Year. </i><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Observe the lively faith which once animated the Christian world, centered around the celebration of the sacred mysteries in the liturgy of the Church.</span></h2>
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CHRISTMAS DAY: THE HOUR BEFORE THE MIDNIGHT SERVICE</h2>
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We will begin by telling them that in the early ages of the Church every great Feast was prepared for by long <i>Vigils; </i>during which the people deprived themselves of their usual rest, and spent the hours in the Church, fervently joining in the Psalms and Lessons which made up the Office which we now call <i>Matins.</i> The Night was divided into three parts called <i>Nocturns.</i>At dawn of day they resumed their chants in an Office which was even more solemn than Matins: it was one of praise, and from this its characteristic, was called by the name of <i>Lauds.</i>This Service, which occupied a very considerable portion of the night, is still kept up, though at a time less trying to nature; <i>Matins</i> and <i>Lauds</i> are publicly recited every day in Cathedral and Monastic Churches, and privately by everyone in Holy Orders. They are by far the longest portion of the Divine Office. The want of the old spirit of devoted appreciation of the Liturgy has made the Laity indifferent to being present at the celebration of Matins, and this even in countries where Protestantism has not rendered their presence almost an impossibility. Thus, there are very few places where the people assist at Matins, excepting four times in the year; namely, on the three last days of Holy Week, and on Christmas Night. It is only on the last named that the Office is said at the same hour as anciently; for with regard to <i>Tenebrae,</i> they are recited on the afternoons respectively preceding each of the three days.</div>
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The Office of Christmas Night has always been said or sung with extraordinary solemnity. Firstly, it was so just, that the moments immediately preceding the Hour when the Holy Mother gave birth to her Jesus, should be spent in the most fervent prayers and watchings! But, secondly, the Church is not satisfied to-night with saying her Matins - she does so every night, and the faithful may come and assist at them as often as they wish:- she follows them by the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that so she may the better solemnize the Divine Birth; and she begins her Mass at Midnight, for it was at that silent hour that the Virgin-Mother gave us the Blessed Fruit of her Womb. We cannot be surprised that the faithful, in many parts of Christendom, used to spend the whole Night in the Church.</div>
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In Rome, for many centuries - at least from the seventh to the eleventh - two Matins were sung, the first in the Basilica of St Mary Major. They commenced immediately after sunset. There was no Invitatory. As soon as they were ended, the Pope celebrated the first or midnight Mass. No sooner was it finished, than the people accompanied him to the Church of St Anastasia, and there he sang the second Mass, or, as it was called, <i>of the Aurora.</i> Again the Pontiff and people formed a procession - this time it was to St Peter’s - and having entered the Basilica, the second Matins were begun. They had an Invitatory, and were followed by Lauds. The other Hours having been sung, the Pope said the third and last Mass, at the hour of Terce, which is our 9 o’clock. We are indebted for these details to Amalarius, and to the ancient Liturgist of the thirteenth century published under the name of Alcuin. We also find them clearly indicated by the text of the old Antiphonaries of the Roman Church, which were published by the Blessed Joseph Maria Tommasi, and by Gallicioli.</div>
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How lively was the faith of those olden times! To people who lived unceasingly amidst the Mysteries of Religion, Prayer was a tie which knit them closely together, and made them pass hours in the Church without weariness. They understood the value of the Prayers of the Church; and the Ceremonies of the Liturgy, which complete the tribute of man’s inward worship of his Creator, were not looked upon as, unfortunately, they now so often are, as a dumb show, or at best an unmeaning poetry introduced for effect. What, in our days, are found only in individuals, were then in the mass of the people - faith, and a keen sense of the supernatural.</div>
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Thanks be to God! this strong practical faith is not dead among us, and is each year spreading in the land. How often have not we ourselves been charmed at seeing the traditions of the old Catholic customs still kept up in some families, especially in those favoured parts of the country where heresy has not been able to corrupt the simplicity of the people. We have seen, and it is one of the most pleasing recollections of our childhood, one of these families seated together, after the frugal evening collation, round a blazing fireside, waiting for the hour to come when the whole house was to go to the midnight Mass. A plain but savoury supper, which was to be eaten on their return home, and so add to the joy of holy Christmas Night, was prepared beforehand. A huge piece of wood, called the <i>Yule-Log,</i> was burning cheerfully on the hearth; it would last till the Mass was over, and warm the old men and the little children, as they came in chilled by the sharp frost.</div>
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Meanwhile, till it was time for Mass, their conversation was upon the Mystery of this much-loved Night. They compassionated the Blessed Mother and the sweet Babe, exposed to the inclemency of wintry weather, and with no other shelter than that of a wretched stable. Then, too, there were the <i>Christmas Carols, </i>in the practise of which they had spent many a pleasant evening of Advent. The whole soul was evidently in these dear old melodies, and many a tear would fall as the song went on to tell how the Angel Gabriel visited Mary, and declared to her that she was to be Mother of the Most High God; how Mary and Joseph were worn with fatigue, going from street to street in Bethlehem, trying to find a lodging, and no one would take them in; how they were obliged to shelter in a stable, and how the Divine Child was born in it; how the loveliness of the Babe in his little crib was above all the beauty of the Angels; how the Shepherds went to see him, and took their humble gifts, and played their rude music, and adored him in the faith of their simple hearts. And thus they spent the happy Eve, passing from conversation to song, and from one song to another, and all was on Mary or Jesus, Joseph or Bethlehem. Cares of life were forgotten, troubles were gone, melancholy was a sin; but it was time to leave; the village clock had just gone eleven; and of the happy group, there was a little one who had been too young the other years, and this was his first Midnight Mass. There was no brighter face in the procession than his. Would he ever forget that beautiful Night!</div>
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In many of our readers, these reminiscences will excite a feeling of regret that the miseries of the world around us make such Catholic customs as these unrealities: at all events, they will show how the holiest feelings of religion may blend with the best joys of family and home. The lesson is worth learning, though the examples that teach it are too Catholic for these rough times. Let us, therefore, leave them and turn again to objects, which are realities, made holy by to-night’s Mystery, they will assist us to enter still further into the spirit of the Church.</div>
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There are three places on this earth of ours which we should visit to-night. For two of them, it can only be in spirit. The first is Bethlehem, and the Cave of the Nativity, which is Bethlehem’s glory. Let us approach it with respectful awe, and contemplate the humble dwelling which the Son of the Eternal God chose for his first home. It is a Stable in the hollow of a rock, just outside the city walls. It is about forty feet long by twelve in width. The ox and the ass, as spoken by the Prophet, are there, standing near the Manger, mute witnesses of the Divine Mystery to which man refused to lend his own dwelling.</div>
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Joseph and Mary enter into the Stable-Cave. It is night, and all nature is buried in silence; but these two Hearts are sending up their praise and adoration to God, who thus deigns to atone for man’s pride. The Virgin-Mother prepares the Clothes which are to swathe the limbs of the Divine Infant, and longs, though with a most tranquil patience, for the blissful moment when she shall have the first sight of the Blessed Fruit of her womb, kiss him, caress him and feed him - the Eternal God - at her Breast.</div>
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Our Jesus, on his part, now that he is about to leave the sanctuary of his Mother’s womb, and make his visible entrance into this world of sin, adores his Heavenly Father, and, according to the revelation of the Psalmist, which is commented by St Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, thus speaks: <i>Sacrifice and oblation thou willedst not; but a Body thou hast fitted unto me. Holocausts for sin did not please thee. Then said I, behold I come. In the head of the Book it is written of me that I should do thy will, O God! </i>[Heb. x 5, 6, 7].</div>
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All this was happening in the Stable at Bethlehem, about this very hour of the Night. The Angels of God were singing their anthems of praise to this his incomprehensible mercy towards his rebel creatures. They looked down with admiration upon the Mother of their God,<i> the Mystical Rose, </i>whose hidden beauty was soon to bloom and fill the world with its fragrance.</div>
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O happy cave of Bethlehem! scene of these stupendous Mysteries! who is there that can forget it to-night? Who is there that does not love it above the richest palaces of Kings? From the very commencement of Christianity it was the object of men’s deepest veneration. When, later on, God sent the great St Helen to resuscitate in his Church the knowledge and love of <i>the Holy Places</i> of Palestine, one of the works of the holy Empress was to build a magnificent Basilica over the spot, where stands this trophy of God’s love for his creatures.</div>
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Let us go in spirit to this venerable Basilica; we shall find there groups of infidels and schismatics, but we shall also find the Religious who have the care of it, preparing to sing the same Matins, and in the same Latin tongue, which we are to have. These Religious are the Children of St Francis, heroic followers of the poverty of their Divine Master, the Infant of Bethlehem. Because they are poor and humble therefore they have had, for upwards of four hundred years, the honour of being the sole guardians of these <i>Holy Places, </i>which the Crusaders grew tired of defending. Let us pray in Union with them to-night; and go with them, and kiss that sacred spot of the Cave, where is written in letters of gold: HERE WAS JESUS CHRIST BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY. (HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST.)</div>
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In vain, however, should we seek at Bethlehem for the holy Crib in which the Infant Jesus lay. The curse of God has struck that unhappy country, and deprived it of this precious relic, which now, for upwards of twelve hundred years, has been venerated in the centre of Catholicity, Rome, the favoured Spouse of Christ.</div>
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Rome, then, is the second place we must visit on this blessed Night. And in the Holy City itself there is one special Sanctuary which claims all our veneration and love. It is the Basilica<i>of the Crib,</i> the splendid Church of Saint Mary Major. Of all the Churches which the people of Rome have erected in honour of the Mother of God, this is the grandest. It stands on the Esquiline, rich in its marble and gold, but richer still in its possessing, together with the Portrait of our Lady painted by St Luke, the humble yet glorious Crib of Jesus, of which the inscrutable designs of God have deprived Bethlehem. An immense concourse of people is to-night assembled in the Basilica, awaiting the happy moment when this monument of the love and the humiliation of a God will be brought in, carried on the shoulders of the Priests, as an Ark of the New Covenant, whose welcome sight gives the sinner confidence, and makes the just man thrill with joy. Thus has God willed that Rome, which was to be the new <i>Jerusalem,</i> should be also the new <i>Bethlehem;</i> and that the children of the Church should find, in this the unchangeable centre of their Faith, the varied and exhaustless nourishment of their Love.</div>
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But the Basilica of the Crib is not the only sanctuary in Rome which has an attraction for us to-night. An imposing ceremony, which embodies a profound mystery, is taking place, at this very hour, in the palace of the Vatican, near the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.</div>
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The Divine Infant, who is to be born amongst us, is<i> the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, whose government is upon his shoulders</i> [Isa. ix 6], as we shall sing to-morrow, with the Church. We have already seen how the God of Hosts has honoured this power of Emmanuel, by leading powerful Nations to acknowledge him who lay in the Crib of Bethlehem as the Lord to whom they owed their adoring fealty. The same recognition of that Babe as the <i>Mighty God </i>is made by the ceremony to which we allude. The Sovereign Pontiff, the Vicar of our Emmanuel, blesses, in his name, a Sword and Helmet, which are to be sent to some Catholic warrior who has deserved well of the Christian world. In a letter addressed to Queen Mary of England and to Philip, her husband, Cardinal Pole gives an explanation of this solemn rite. The sword is sent to some Prince, whom the Vicar of Christ wishes to honour in the name of Jesus, who is King: for the Angel said to Mary:<i> The Lord will give unto him the Throne of David his father </i>[St Luke i 32]. It is from him alone that the <i>power of the sword</i> comes [Rom. xiii 3, 4]; for God said to Cyrus: <i>I have girded thee (with the sword)</i> [Isa. xlv 1,5]; and the Psalmist thus speaks to the Christ of God: <i>Gird thy Sword upon thy thigh, O thou most Mighty!</i> [Ps. xliv 4]. And because the Sword should not be drawn save in the cause of justice, it is for that reason that a Sword is blessed on this Night, in the midst of which rises, born unto us, the divine Sun of Justice. On the Helmet, which is both the ornament and protection of the head, there is worked, in pearls, the Dove, which is the emblem of the Holy Ghost; and this to teach him who wears it that it is not from passion or ambition that he must use his sword, but solely under the guidance of the divine Spirit, and from a motive of spreading the Kingdom of Christ.</div>
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How beautiful is this union of energy and meekness under the one symbol and ceremony! This power of blending and harmonizing the varied beauty of distinct classes of truth is not to be found save in that Christian Rome, which is our Mother and where God has established the centre of Light and Love. The ceremony we have been describing is still observed. What a grand list it would be, had we the names of all those glorious Christian Warriors, who were thus created Knights of the Church, at this solemn hour, when we celebrate the Birth of him who came to vanquish our enemy! We are going to adore this Babe in his Crib; let us think of our Mother’s teaching, and pay homage to him as our <i>Prince and King,</i> and beseech him to humble the enemies of his Church, and vanquish those who are leagued against both our perfection and our salvation.</div>
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And now to the third of the sanctuaries, wherein is to be effected, this Night, the mystery of the Birth of Jesus. This third Sanctuary is near us; it is in us; it is our own heart. Our heart is the Bethlehem that Jesus desires to visit, and in which he would be born, there to live and grow <i>unto a perfect man,</i> as St Paul expresses it [Eph. iv 53]. Why, after all, was he born in the stable of the city of David, but that he might make sure of our heart, which he loved with an everlasting love, and so ardently that he came down from heaven to dwell in it? Mary’s virginal womb held him but for nine months; he wishes us to keep him for ever in our dwelling!</div>
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O heart of man, thou living Bethlehem, hold thyself in readiness, and keep a glad feast! Already, thou hast prepared thyself for this union with thy Jesus by the confession of thy misdeeds, by the contrition of thy sins, and by the satisfaction thou hast made for them. Now, therefore, be all attention: he is coming in the Midnight. Let him find everything ready, ready as were the Stable, the Crib and the Swaddling-clothes. True, thou hast nothing to offer him like what Mary and Joseph had - she, a Mother’s caresses; and he, the most solicitous and tender care; but thou hast an adoration and a love like those of the poor Shepherds, and these thou must offer. Like the Bethlehem yonder in the far east, thou art living in the midst of heresy, of infidelity, and of men who ignore the divine mystery of divine love: secret then, but hearty, must be thy prayers, like those which are ascending this night to heaven from the few faithful ones who are assembled in the Holy Cave with the Sons of St Francis; for in that unfortunate Palestine, which has been a slave to the most degrading errors for this last thousand years, there are still a few who know and love God. On this glad Midnight, let thy soul become like that splendid Basilica of Rome, which possesses the two treasures, the Holy Crib and the venerable Portrait of the Virgin Mother. Let thy affections and thoughts be pure as the white marble of its pillars; thy charity bright as the gold which glitters on its ceiling; thy deeds shining as the countless tapers which light up its beauty, and turn this night into the glare of a summer noon. Thou must learn, too, O soldier of Christ! to use a Christian’s weapons; thou must fight thy way to the Crib of thy Jesus; thou must fight for thy position there, and maintain it by the unbroken loyalty of thy love; thou must fight for the happy consummation of thy victory: union eternal with him. Treasure up these holy sentiments, and let them console and sanctify thee during these moments which precede the coming of Emmanuel into thee. O living Bethlehem! there is a word which heaven gave thee for these moments; take it up, and let it be thy ceaseless prayer; <i>Come, Lord Jesus! come</i> [Apoc. xxii 20].</div>
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It is time for us to depart, and go into the House of God. The Bells are not being rung for us, it is true - still, their melody wakens up Bethlehem in our hearts. How strange this joyous pealing at this midnight hour! But is not everything strange in this mysterious night of the Birth of God? He is going to show himself to us - but it is to be in a Crib, and as a little Child. When he came on Sinai, it was surrounded with thick clouds of smoke, and amidst thunder and lightning: now, there is nothing but humility, stillness and loveliness beyond measure. The Moon, emblem of the brightness reflected from Jesus upon Mary, is shedding its soft light on our path. The stars are twinkling in the firmament, and make us think of the Star which is so soon to rise and guide the Magi to our Saviour’s Crib.</div>
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And whilst thus thinking over all these strange mysteries, we have reached the porch of the Church. The Sanctuary sends its light down even to the threshold of the holy place. Beautiful sight, indeed! What wonder that King Clovis, as he entered the Church of Rheims on his first Christmas Night, stood dazzled with the blaze of light, and trembling with emotion said to St Remigius, who had just baptized him: ‘Father! is this the Kingdom thou didst promise me?’ ‘No, my Son,’ replied the Bishop, ‘it is but the way that will lead thee to it.’</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-73582381443337766882015-12-25T09:00:00.000-08:002015-12-25T09:00:03.322-08:00Pope St. Leo the Great - Sermon for Christmas<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CYnw7lFX78U/Vntd0k3jQxI/AAAAAAAAKMk/Z_Rcpr-P4mE/s1600/Nativity6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CYnw7lFX78U/Vntd0k3jQxI/AAAAAAAAKMk/Z_Rcpr-P4mE/s320/Nativity6.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>by Fra Angelico</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Sermon on the Feast of the Nativity, I.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I. All share in the joy of Christmas</b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lordthe destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life. For the Son of God in the fullness of time which the inscrutable depth of the Divine counsel has determined, has taken on him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author: in order that the inventor of death, the devil, might be conquered through that (nature) which he had conquered. And in this conflict undertaken for us, the fight was fought on great and wondrous principles of fairness; for the AlmightyLord enters the lists with His savage foe not in His own majesty but in our humility, opposing him with the sameform and the same nature, which shares indeed our mortality, though it is free from all sin. Truly foreign to this nativity is that which we read of all others, no one is clean from stain, not even the infant who has lived but one day upon earth Job 19:4 . Nothing therefore of the lust of the flesh has passed into that peerless nativity, nothing of the law of sin has entered. A royal Virgin of the stem of David is chosen, to be impregnated with the sacredseed and to conceive the Divinely-human offspring in mind first and then in body. And lest in ignorance of theheavenly counsel she should tremble at so strange a result , she learns from converse with the angel that what is to be wrought in her is of the Holy Ghost. Nor does she believe it loss of honour that she is soon to be the Mother of God. For why should she be in despair over the novelty of such conception, to whom the power of the most High has promised to effect it. Her implicit faith is confirmed also by the attestation of a precursory miracle, andElizabeth receives unexpected fertility: in order that there might be no doubt that He who had given conception to the barren, would give it even to a virgin. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b><b>II. The mystery of the Incarnation is a fitting theme for joy both to angels and to men</b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Therefore the Word of God, Himself God, the Son of God who in the beginning was with God, through whom all things were made and without whom was nothing made John 1:1-3, with the purpose of delivering man frometernal death, became man: so bending Himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, and join both natures together by such a compact that the lower should not be swallowed up in its exaltation nor the higher impaired by its new associate. Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality: and for the paying off of the debt, belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with possible nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suited the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Rightly therefore did the birth of our Salvation impart no corruption to the Virgin's purity, because the bearing of the Truth was the keeping of honour. Such then beloved was the nativity which became the Power of God and the Wisdom of God even Christ, whereby He might be one with us in manhood and surpass us in Godhead. For unless He were true God, He would not bring us a remedy, unless He were true Man, He would not give us an example. Therefore the exulting angel's song when the Lord was born is this, Glory to God in the Highest, and their message, peace on earth to men of good will Luke 2:14 . For they see that the heavenly Jerusalem is being built up out of all the nations of the world: and over that indescribable work of the Divine love how ought thehumbleness of men to rejoice, when the joy of the lofty angels is so great?<br />
<br />
<b>III. Christians then must live worthily of Christ their Head</b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit , Who for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us, has had pity on us: and when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ Ephesians 2:4-5, that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which you are a member. Recollect that you were rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God's light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from you by base acts, and subject yourself once more to the devil's thraldom: because your purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge you in truth Who ransomed you in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever. Amen.</blockquote>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-82150302267531118792015-12-23T19:04:00.004-08:002015-12-23T19:07:42.173-08:00Pope St. Leo the Great - Sermon for Advent<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MYGV-LH4DFY/VntfnwPE3cI/AAAAAAAAKMw/C-LOkhKNtwg/s1600/Fra%2BAngelico%252C%2BAnnunciation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MYGV-LH4DFY/VntfnwPE3cI/AAAAAAAAKMw/C-LOkhKNtwg/s320/Fra%2BAngelico%252C%2BAnnunciation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Painting by Fra Angelico</i></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this sermon, Pope Leo the Great preaches of the necessity of self-mortification, particularly in the season of Advent. During this season, we prepare ourselves both corporeally and spiritually for the coming of the Messiah, whose divine wisdom cannot well be infused into our souls if we are burdened down by mundane and fleshly cares. Advent therefore is a penitential season. Our adequate participation in the worship of the holy Child depends upon our worthy preparation. With one more day of Advent left, the spirit of penance should be heightened. Christmas Eve is indeed traditionally a day of both fast and abstinence. We should especially now, therefore, take the following words to heart.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>On the Fast of the Ten Month, VIII.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I. Self-restraint leads to higher enjoyments</b> </blockquote>
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When the Saviour would instruct His disciples about the Advent of God's Kingdom and the end of the world's times, and teach His whole Church, in the person of the Apostles, He said, Take heed lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and care of this life Luke 21:34 . And assuredly, dearly beloved, we acknowledge that this precept applies more especially to us, to whom undoubtedly the day denounced is near, even though hidden. For the advent of which it behooves every man to prepare himself, lest it find him given over to gluttony, or entangled in cares of this life. For by daily experience, beloved, it is proved that the mind's edge is blunted by over-indulgence of the flesh, and the heart's vigour is dulled by excess of food, so that the delights of eating are even opposed to the health of the body, unless reasonable moderation withstand the temptation and the consideration of future discomfort keep from the pleasure. For although the flesh desires nothing without the soul, and receives its sensations from the same source as it receives its motions also, yet it is the function of the same soul to deny certain things to the body which is subject to it, and by its inner judgment to restrain the outer parts from things unseasonable, in order that it may be the oftener free from bodily lusts, and have leisure for Divine wisdom in the palace of the mind, where, away from all the noise of earthly cares, it may in silence enjoy holy meditations and eternal delights. And, although this is difficult to maintain in this life, yet the attempt can frequently be renewed, in order that we may the oftener and longer be occupied with spiritual rather than fleshly cares; and by our spending ever greater portions of our time on higher cares, even our temporal actions may end in gaining the incorruptible riches. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>II. The teaching of the four yearly fasts is that spiritual self-restraint is as necessary as corporeal</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
This profitable observance, dearly beloved, is especially laid down for the fasts of the Church, which, in accordance with the Holy Spirit's teaching, are so distributed over the whole year that the law of abstinence may be kept before us at all times. Accordingly we keep the spring fast in Lent, the summer fast at Whitsuntide, the autumn fast in the seventh month, and the winter fast in this which is the tenth month, knowing that there is nothing unconnected with the Divine commands, and that all the elements serve the Word of God to our instruction, so that from the very hinges on which the world turns, as if by four gospels we learn unceasingly what to preach and what to do. For, when the prophet says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork: day unto day utters speech, and night shows knowledge , what is there by which the Truth does not speak to us? By day and by night His voices are heard, and the beauty of the things made by the workmanship of the One God ceases not to instil the teachings of Reason into our hearts' ears, so that the invisible things of God may be perceived and seen through the things which are made, and men may serve the Creator of all, not His creatures. Since therefore all vices are destroyed by self-restraint, and whatever avarice thirsts for, pride strives for, luxury lusts after, is overcome by the solid force of this virtue, who can fail to understand the aid which is given us by fastings? For therein we are bidden to restrain ourselves, not only in food, but also in all carnal desires. Otherwise it is lost labour to endure hunger and yet not put away wrong wishes; to afflict oneself by curtailing food, and yet not to flee from sinful thoughts. That is a carnal, not a spiritual fast, where the body only is stinted, and those things persisted in, which are more harmful than all delights. What profit is it to the soul to act outwardly as mistress and inwardly to be a captive and a slave, to issue orders to the limbs and to lose the right to her own liberty? That soul for the most part (and deservedly) meets with rebellion in her servant, which does not pay to God the service that is due. When the body therefore fasts from food, let the mind fast from vices, and pass judgment upon all earthly cares and desires according to the law of its King. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>III. Thus fasting in mind as well as body, and giving alms freely, we shall win God's highest favour</b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
Let us remember that we owe love first to God, secondly to our neighbour, and that all our affections must be so regulated as not to draw us away from the worship of God, or the benefiting our fellow slave. But how shall we worship God unless that which is pleasing to Him is also pleasing to us? For, if our will is His will, our weakness will receive strength from Him, from Whom the very will came; for it is God, as the Apostle says, who works in us both to will and to do for (His) good pleasure Philippians 2:13 . And so a man will not be puffed up with pride, nor crushed with despair, if he uses the gifts which God gave to His glory, and withholds his inclinations from those things, which he knows will harm him. For in abstaining from malicious envy, from luxurious and dissolute living, from the perturbations of anger, from the lust after vengeance, he will be made pure and holy by true fasting, and will be fed upon the pleasures of incorruptible delights, and so he will know how, by the spiritual use of his earthly riches, to transform them into heavenly treasures, not by hoarding up for himself what he has received, but by gaining a hundred-fold on what he gives. And hence we warn you, beloved, in fatherly affection, to make this winter fast fruitful to yourselves by bounteous alms, rejoicing that by you the Lord feeds and clothes His poor, to whom assuredly He could have given the possessions which He has bestowed on you, had He not in His unspeakable mercy wished to justify them for their patient labour, and you for your works of love. Let us therefore fast on Wednesday and Friday, and on Saturday keep vigil with the most blessed Apostle Peter, and he will deign to assist with his own prayers our supplications and fastings and alms which our Lord Jesus Christ presents, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.</blockquote>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-6117446397531199282015-11-26T11:29:00.000-08:002016-03-16T11:22:36.192-07:00New Reflections on the Contemplative Life<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0-_tNm87MY0/VldTvKks_8I/AAAAAAAAKLc/Swd45K1yj30/s1600/St%2BFrancis%2Bin%2Bthe%2BWilderness%2B-Giovanni-Bellini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0-_tNm87MY0/VldTvKks_8I/AAAAAAAAKLc/Swd45K1yj30/s320/St%2BFrancis%2Bin%2Bthe%2BWilderness%2B-Giovanni-Bellini.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Francis in the Wilderness</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Having
emerged from a period of quietude on this blog, I thought it might be a good
idea to share some of my recent thoughts. Lately, my considerations of
theology, philosophy, liturgy, spirituality, art, music, education, and life in
general have in many ways coalesced and united. They are still in the process
of merging into a larger system of thought. My readings of late have been
various but not unrelated, ranging from the reflections on the monastic life by
Dom Columba Marmion and Hubert Zeller, to the philosophical reflections on
life, liturgy, and art, by the Thomist thinker Josef Pieper. And several more
authors to go along with them. A common theme in my recent thought, motivated
by all of these writers, has been the expansion of the spirituality of the
liturgy to the whole arena of human life in general. This manner of thinking is
one that is deeply contemplative, one which sees the world through a lens that
is informed by the liturgical or sacramental mindset of the Church, as
exemplified especially in her monastic tradition and that of the Fathers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All
of this has been especially pertinent to me as someone who has been
professionally and classically trained as a musician. From childhood my parents
helped to instill in me a love of classical music, and I have played the piano
from a very young age, performing and experiencing firsthand the riches of the
classical tradition. Moreover I have very often been involved in the liturgical
choirs of my communities, and am generally familiar with the repertoire of
Gregorian Chant and sacred polyphony. Liturgy and music have proven to be two
of the most central aspects of my life, layman though I am. But recent studies
have led me to see <i>all</i> of my musical
experience in light of the liturgy itself, so that, even outside the context of
the directly liturgical celebration, music has become to me something eminently
liturgical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A
chapter on <i>Music and Liturgy</i> in
Cardinal Ratzinger’s <i>The</i> <i>Spirit of the Liturgy </i>was especially
instrumental in adapting my mind to this manner of thinking. Ratzinger has a
way of uniting music and liturgy to life in general, opening up to an awareness
of the whole of creation as a grand, cosmic liturgy, in which all creatures
participate in the great song of praise. This vision of the world is deeply
Biblical, echoing the words of the Psalms, and the song of the three youth in
the furnace, which constantly attribute the praise of God to the works of
creation: “Let the heavens proclaim the Lord…etc.” But this vision is also found
in a philosophical form in the pagan thought of the ancient Greeks, such as
Pythagoras and Plato, who saw the story of the cosmos as a divine musical
composition. Music, like liturgy, bears a real relation to the work of God –
indeed, “the work of God,” <i>Opus Dei, </i>is
the name which is applied to the liturgy itself by St. Benedict. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8_SGYeH3c2o/VldaEpsqgwI/AAAAAAAAKMI/7PaJ69oPFXs/s1600/Pianist%2Bhands.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8_SGYeH3c2o/VldaEpsqgwI/AAAAAAAAKMI/7PaJ69oPFXs/s200/Pianist%2Bhands.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed,
music is more than an arbitrary human convention: it is an art that springs
from the depths of the nature of man – man who is the crown and pinnacle of the
cosmos, the essential component that gives meaning to the whole. As such, music
expresses the meaning of all creation, inasmuch as it is bound up in man
himself. All of human desire, the inner straining after the true, good, and
beautiful, is expressed in music. To the philosopher, music offers an
opportunity to approach closer to the possession of the good, true, and
beautiful; for the man informed by faith, music answers to the straining
further after the triune God Himself. All of creation pertains to this
condition of straining: no irrational or inanimate creature would be worth
anything if it were not bound up somehow in the dynamism of human life. Music,
therefore, by expressing the “weal and woe” of humanity (to use a phrase of
Schopenhauer, quoted by Pieper), is also an expression of the meaning of the
cosmos as a whole, the work of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This
likeness of music to the liturgy itself is no accident. The book of Psalms –
perhaps the single most important text in the liturgy – is notable for its
employment of the whole range of human emotions in the service of divine
worship. These are no mere animal passions. These are the passions transformed
by the graces of supernatural knowledge and love, drawn up into and absorbed by
the spiritual pursuit of God, the offering or gift of self. They are the very
expression of that pursuit and that offering. Historically, the Psalms were not
only the prayer book of the ancient Jews, but also the hymn book; indeed, to
pray and to sing were practically the same thing for the Jews. Song is an
expression of human emotion in its deepest essence, a complex reproduction of
the spiritual life of humanity as such: whence its distinct and inexpressible
power over the human spirit. It is only natural, therefore, that prayer be <i>sung</i>. Prayer: the expression of human
selfhood in complete service to the almighty, and the direction of all passions
and affections to worship and adoration – what better aid could prayer have but
music, which intensifies and directs those very same affections in the very
expression of them? Whence Augustine famously wrote that “He who sings prays
twice,” and “Only the lover sings.” Liturgy, because it is so largely concerned
with prayer and the offering of the self, with all its emotions and desires,
must therefore be an eminently musical thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXvPBOUEEJw/VldbyVqHCgI/AAAAAAAAKMU/bLmoeOAUtss/s1600/Sacrifice%2Bof%2Bthe%2BLamb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXvPBOUEEJw/VldbyVqHCgI/AAAAAAAAKMU/bLmoeOAUtss/s400/Sacrifice%2Bof%2Bthe%2BLamb.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Something
similar to what I have said of music may be said also of the other arts, and of
course, the cosmos itself, in relation to the liturgy. All of the arts –
practiced well (that is, of course, an indispensable condition) – can serve as
a way of opening the human mind to the contemplation of the Truth. The arts,
like music, play a sacramental role: they manifest the work of God, and thereby
God Himself, to the one who sees with the eyes of faith. Hence, they afford an
opportunity for the soul to offer itself to God in humble submission – to begin
to be absorbed into the divine Beauty which peaks from underneath visible
reality. The cosmos likewise is an opportunity for this experience. Indeed, in
the words of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “The world is charged with the grandeur of
God.” Viewed thus, all of life is transformed into an extension of the liturgy,
a proclamation of God, an occasion for worship.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
saints were <i>supernaturally </i>alive with
this contemplative, experiential vision of reality. They saw things through the
eyes of faith, and thus were keenly aware of the divine Beauty which lies
beneath the surface. Yea, more than this, they were aware of the divine <i>Persons</i> who exist all things by the
presence of immensity (omnipresence) and who became present <i>substantially</i> in the souls of the saints
themselves by a divine indwelling. The saints were absorbed into God,
transformed, deified, lost in the “transluminous obscurity” of the divine which
they were allowed to know in all things. In the words of the Pseduo-Areopagite,
they were “patient of the divine things” by a certain “connaturality” or “sympathy”
with them. Moreover, this mystical experience sometimes produced marvelous works
of writing, poetry, and even music. The <i>Confessions
</i>of Augustine are the work of a soul in tune with the universe and so in
touch with God, a soul who breathed the life depicted by the book of Psalms, a
soul who knew the depths of emotion conveyed in the music of contemplation: “How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good.” Likewise, the Eucharistic hymns
of Thomas Aquinas express the intimate contact with God which he attained through
that great sacrament. The sublime music of St. Hildegard von Bingen cannot be
described but as the very sound of a soul overwhelmed in divine ecstasy,
attuned by the divine harmony.</span></div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7tEyL7sLlD0/VldTTqQ3uJI/AAAAAAAAKLQ/wLWZQGimf7I/s320/cancion-angel-bouguereau.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="234" /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cancion de Angeles, by Bouguereau</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These
were men and women of faith: their experiences were of a <i>supernatural</i> level. By analogy, and at a <i>natural</i> level, there are also the poets and ancient philosophers
who penetrated deeply into the meaning of things, saw and tasted the beauty and
sweetness which lie at the root of every human longing. These were the men who
found their way out of Plato’s cave, who reached beyond the boundaries of
mundane existence and aspired to the true greatness that is man’s destiny (a
greatness which is, paradoxically, man’s death to himself and renunciation of
his present greatness, and an absorption into the greatness of Another). I am
thinking of Plato himself, his student Aristotle, the poets and artists of
human history, the Shakespeares and Keats’ and Shelleys, the Bachs and Mozarts
and Chopins, the Boticellis and Da Vincis and Bouguereaus, and so many more –
mystics in a natural but profound sense. These souls knew the ritual of life,
they fulfilled to the best of their abilities the liturgical dimensions of
human nature, so far as they were permitted within the bounds of nature. The
example of these men demonstrates to us the inherent dynamism in man towards
the fulfillment offered by the Christian life, which is first and foremost
liturgical: the contact of the divine mystery, the experience and contemplation
of the transcendent God, as it manifests itself in the <i>opus Dei</i>. Man, even in his natural state, is deeply aware of his
calling to something greater than <span style="font-family: inherit;">h</span>imself, something which <span style="font-family: inherit;">h</span>e must possess. And
so he desires to possess it. His life is marked by a constant straining for
this possession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of
course, men seek for this possession in various places, oftentimes the wrong
places. Modern culture is marked by a disdain for the contemplative life just
described: the vocations of the poet, the musician, and the cloistered monk all
appear vain to modern man, who no longer appreciates the value of leisure. Our
culture seeks human fulfillment in work and industry, in the active life
divorced from contemplation. But as Josef Pieper shows in <i>Leisure the Basis of Culture, </i>this pursuit itself turns out to be
vain in the end. Human life acquires its worth not from that which is useful or
practical, but from that which is good on its own merits, for its own sake, <i>per se; </i>in other words, that which is
the object of <i>contemplation</i>. In fact
it is the most useless things that turn out to be the best and the most
beautiful, the things of true value; whereas what is only useful turns out to
be completely worthless. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZKXGzeK_hg/VldWpTld3FI/AAAAAAAAKL8/_ZohVmQURH4/s1600/narcissus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZKXGzeK_hg/VldWpTld3FI/AAAAAAAAKL8/_ZohVmQURH4/s200/narcissus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Narcisuss, by John William Waterhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another
example is the modern tendency to exalt human selfhood as its stands. We live
in a culture of narcissism. But as we have seen, the contemplative worldview
which we have explored involves precisely the opposite of self-assertion or
self-exaltation: it is the complete <i>absorption</i>
of the self into the being of another. The ecstasy of the poets was the <i>abandonment</i> of themselves to the beauty
which so captured their wonder and attention. Likewise, and even more so, the
mark of the saints was the complete forgetfulness – nay, even renunciation – of
themselves, to be completely united to God Himself. The story of these contemplative
souls is a love story – not the love of self, but always the love of <i>Another</i>, whose Goodness is
from and of Itself. Religion is indeed a kind of self-expression, but an
expression of self-renunciation in submission to Another, not an expression of
self-assertion. This is an especially important truth, the denial of which is
extremely dangerous to the religious health of any human society. Any
exaltation of the mundane, the ego, or the merely human risks neglecting the
true value of any created thing, which comes not from itself but from God. All
the contemplatives whom I have mentioned, whether artists, poets, or saints,
recognized this truth in some manner. Either they implicitly experienced the
bittersweet nostalgia for the divine perfection which is <i>beyond</i> all created goodness, or they directly experienced the
divine sweetness itself by the gifts of grace and faith. </span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These
are some of the thoughts which I have concluded, after considering the
extension of the liturgical and contemplative mindset to the other areas of
life. In brief, the liturgy transforms the vision of man so that he proceeds
through all of life seeing the signs of God, and straining all the more after
the sight of God Himself. By this account, man has a way of accessing God
through all things, either in the distant manner of nature, or in the direct
and experiential manner of grace. These thoughts may serve, moreover, to inform
our understanding of education, which is the formation of the whole human
person according to wisdom. Wisdom, as I have written on this blog before,
comes in many forms, but all ordered towards the vision of God. The primary act
of wisdom is contemplation, which is perfected by vision. Education will thus
have vision as its end. The educated and cultured man therefore shares somehow
in the character of the saints themselves, inasmuch as he is marked by the desire
of this vision, “as a dear longs for fountains of water”; and for this reason
he will live his life centered around and nourished by the sacred liturgy, and
moreover always in accordance the spirit of its inner essence, which extends to
all of human existence.</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-7119978752519496232015-09-29T16:50:00.000-07:002015-09-29T16:50:01.316-07:00St. Benedict- On the Spirit of Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fE0x58OTb-E/VgsjO_mITZI/AAAAAAAAKKY/rxm9SaM37tU/s1600/monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fE0x58OTb-E/VgsjO_mITZI/AAAAAAAAKKY/rxm9SaM37tU/s320/monk.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>From the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 6</i></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let us do what the Prophet says: "I said, 'I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth.' I was mute and was humbled, and kept silence even from good things" (Ps. 38[39]:2-3). Here the Prophet shows that if the spirit of silence ought to lead us at times to refrain even from good speech, so much the more ought the punishment for sin make us avoid evil words. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Therefore, since the spirit of silence is so important, permission to speak should rarely be granted even to perfect disciples, even though it be for good, holy edifying conversation; for it is written, "In much speaking you will not escape sin" (Prov. 10:19), and in another place, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For speaking and teaching belong to the mistress; the disciple's part is to be silent and to listen. And for that reason if anything has to be asked of the Superior, it should be asked with all the humility and submission inspired by reverence. </div>
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But as for coarse jests and idle words or words that move to laughter, these we condemn everywhere with a perpetual ban, and for such conversation we do not permit a disciple to open her mouth.</div>
</blockquote>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-36461665361354557182015-09-18T15:20:00.000-07:002015-09-18T15:23:48.673-07:00Wisdom<div style="text-align: justify;">
The title of my blog was originally chosen, in the inability to think of anything else more profound, to indicate my purpose here as a pursuit of philosophical and theological knowledge. Much - nay, most - of what I have written, however, concerns the sacred liturgy. At first, I was afraid this might not fit the title perfectly, but I have since changed my mind. The common phrase in the Easter rites is "Wisdom! Be attentive!" The liturgy indeed has a direct relationship to wisdom. In his commentary on the Gospel of John, St. Thomas, following Origen, writes that the divine worship is somehow a participation in the divine wisdom. In other places, following Psuedo-Dionysius, he writes that the liturgical signs have the purpose of turning our minds to God in contemplation. Contemplation itself, moreover, is founded on the gift of wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit. This being the very purpose of the liturgy, the connection to wisdom is essential. Hence, by a sort of accident, the liturgical focus of my blog has indeed come to square with my original title.<br />
<br />
The liturgical orientation to wisdom involves above all things a profound sense of wonder at the mysteries of faith, the ineffable greatness of God that manifests itself under the veil of sacred signs. The liturgy is essentially sacramental - it is a complex of signs and symbols, intended to bring our minds into contact with certain hidden, divine realities. That contact, that touch, that "taste" of the divine sweetness is wisdom, or the contemplation that flows from wisdom. The Latin word for wisdom is <i>sapientia, </i>which comes from <i>sapere - </i>"to taste." Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, our knowledge of the divine truths is elevated to something more powerful than abstract knowledge: it becomes experiential. Our contemplation of these truths moreover has the effect of making us grow in charity, in devotion, in the union of ourselves to God - our divinization. This occurs principally through the contemplation of Christ's humanity - a sacrament, of sorts, of His divinity - which itself is signified through the sacramental rites of the liturgy - principally the Eucharist. Wisdom and sacramentality are intricately united in the liturgy.<br />
<br />
They are also united in nature and the arts, and in things not supernatural. St. Thomas distinguishes three types of wisdom: that of the philosopher, that of the theologian, and that of the saint. The first is acquired through study and effort in the pursuit of truth, under the natural light of reason, using the principles of logic, metaphysics, and so forth. The philosopher seeks, as far as he is able, to know the highest causes of the universe. But this comes along also with an appreciation of the beauty of things. Beauty and truth are both objects of contemplation, inasmuch as truth has an intelligible beauty of its own, for which we are prepared to contemplate by the contemplation of the sensible beauty of created things. Nature thus assumes a kind of sacramentality of its own, so indispensable to the vocation of the natural theologian. The famous passage of Romans chapter 1 verse 20 comes to mind: "From the visible things of the world the invisible things of God are seen." Wisdom 13 asks, "Should they not learn to recognise the Artificer by the contemplation of his works?...Such great beauty even creatures have, reason is well able to contemplate the Source from which these perfections came." The philosopher thus has at his disposal the whole of the created world and its beauty, from which to gather up knowledge and contemplation of the higher realities. The fourth proof for the existence of God, given by St. Thomas, relies on this comparison of earthly beauty to its heavenly exemplar.<br />
<br />
The second type of wisdom, that of the theologian, is likewise acquired by study and effort, but on the basis of faith, rather than the light of natural reason. Like the philosopher, the theologian seeks the highest causes, or Cause, of things, and he proceeds in a scientific manner to the knowledge of that Cause. Moreover, he too sees the created world as a source of knowledge, a sign of higher things; but he looks at the world also under the light of revelation, which elevates his knowledge to something supernatural. He sees now in the world a reflection of those truths which are not accessible to reason alone. He sees all of creation praising the Lord in the manner depicted so often by the Psalms, and thereby he finds himself better able to participate in the joy (and sorrow) of the Christian mystery. Moreover, the theologian knows by revelation the humanity of Christ, a sensible sign of divinity. The physical actions of Christ as man are known by the theologian as being also the spiritual works of God for the redemption of man. The liturgy, for the theologian, as well as the expressions and concepts of his science, are further signs which participate in the sacramentality of Christ's humanity, as means for the theologian to access the knowledge of God.<br />
<br />
The third type of wisdom, which is the infused gift of the Holy Spirit, is on that account not acquired by human effort. It still makes use of created things in some way, as signs of higher realities, but the knowledge of those realities is of a different order completely. The theologian and the philosopher knew these realities still in a human mode, inseparable from discursive reasoning and reflection; the contemplative saint knows them in a divine mode, as God knows Himself, and all things in Himself. The saint participates in a very real way in the knowledge of God, in a manner more like to vision than speculation - albeit not with the clarity of Beatitude. For this reason, the contemplative soul makes use of material signs in such a way that he does not remain so bound up in them as the philosopher and the theologian do, but rests in a much more perfect degree in the purely spiritual comprehension of God. The liturgical signs especially, along with all created things, are the opportunity for the soul to receive from God the grace of such an intimate knowledge, a knowledge by connaturality with God, by "suffering divine things." <br />
<br />
Each of these forms of wisdom is a <i>foretaste</i> of that Wisdom which is the Beatific Vision. </div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-36754658347329934192015-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:002015-08-11T17:53:05.638-07:00Pope Pius XI on the Importance of the Liturgy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xqa4OYWUBak/VcmcpQQY1JI/AAAAAAAAKJk/BqOjw9-Ieio/s1600/Pope%2BPius%2BXI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xqa4OYWUBak/VcmcpQQY1JI/AAAAAAAAKJk/BqOjw9-Ieio/s320/Pope%2BPius%2BXI.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pope Pius XI</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
People are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year -- in fact, forever. The church's teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart, and have a salutary effect upon the whole of man's nature. Man is composed of body and soul, and he needs these external festivities so that the sacred rites, in all their beauty and variety, may stimulate him to drink more deeply of the fountain of God's teaching, that he may make it a part of himself, and use it with profit for his spiritual life. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
-- Pope Pius XI, Encyclical <i>Quas Primas,</i> on the Kingship of Christ, paragraph 21</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pope Pius XI certainly recognized the superior experiential and mystical approach of the liturgy over a merely doctrinal approach. This squares nicely with the patristic, Thomistic, and all-around traditional Catholic understanding of the relationship between liturgy and doctrine: liturgy is indeed at the center of the Christian life, more so than doctrine, inasmuch as it allows the faithful to participate actually in the realities themselves which are the subject of doctrinal teaching. Liturgy enables a real encounter with the God that doctrine merely talks about.</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-85503027630440232562015-08-03T18:37:00.002-07:002015-08-03T18:37:40.855-07:00Current Liturgical Questions and Attempted Solutions<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas Aquinas before a Crucifix</td></tr>
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<br />
I have been researching a bit lately for a treatise I hope to write for my senior thesis at Thomas Aquinas College. Unsurprisingly, this treatise will deal with the subject of the liturgy. My first aim is to provide some foundations and principles from which to formulate a theology of the liturgy, relying principally on Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Fathers of the Church - not to mention the sacred liturgy itself, most of all. A secondary aim is to provide some firm principles by which to evaluate the liturgical reforms of the last century. </div>
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In my research, I have encountered several ideas all pertaining to the question of the liturgy with which I hope to better acquaint myself, and many questions and problems which I hope to resolve. In this post I would like to discuss some of those problems, many of which I have already discussed in some form or another on this blog. Many of my questions surround the question of <i>liturgical realism. </i>What I mean by liturgical realism is the understanding that the liturgy does not merely recall to mind, in an abstract or imaginative way, the mysteries of Christ, but it actually re-presents them here and now. In the liturgy, according to this understanding, the worshiper does not merely think about the mysteries, but he actually encounters or experiences them mystically. This is how the Fathers often treat of the liturgy. When the Fathers speak of liturgical symbolism, they speak with such conviction and passion that it is difficult to escape the conclusion that they believed they were actually re-visiting the mysteries represented in the liturgical signs. Oftentimes they expressly state this belief. For example, Dionysius the Areopagite states that through the sacred symbols we are led to the divine realities themselves, in order to attain our deification. If this understanding is correct, it seems to me all the greater a crime to basically reinvent the rites of the liturgy, as was done in the course of the 20th century.<br />
<br />
I would like to understand precisely how the doctrine of liturgical realism is true. How is it possible that the mysteries of Christ are actually present, in a real way, here and now, not merely in our mental recollection of them? How is this different than the manner in which the seven sacraments re-present the sacred mysteries? What is the role of the liturgy with regard to grace?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W5YlQc3ZAQY/VcAOgTiEN1I/AAAAAAAAKIA/WvKhiVqYk-Y/s1600/Dom%2BCasel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W5YlQc3ZAQY/VcAOgTiEN1I/AAAAAAAAKIA/WvKhiVqYk-Y/s1600/Dom%2BCasel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dom Odo Casel (1886-1948)</td></tr>
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Modern explorations of liturgical realism inevitably involve a discussion of what is called the “theology of the mysteries.” In the early 20th century, a form of this doctrine appeared in the work of the highly controversial Benedictine monk, Dom Odo Casel, a theologian of the liturgy. He proposed basically a form of liturgical realism, according to which the mysteries of Christ’s life – His actions and passions, the events He wrought and experienced, etc. – somehow became really present in the liturgy. Casel compared the Catholic idea of liturgy to ancient Pagan ideas of creation, in which nature was viewed as a complex of symbols through which further realities could actually be encountered. Casel proposed that the Catholic liturgy was essentially the same thing: symbols through which the reality symbolized could actually be touched somehow. In the case of the liturgy, the realities symbolized are the mysteries – the acts and passions of Christ during His life. Thus, the mysteries are somehow present here and now in the liturgy, not just as past events commemorated or meditated upon, but as presently existing realities.<br />
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It is generally recognized that Casel did not adequately explain how this liturgical realism is possible; Casel did not write with an aim to give any philosophical explanation, after all. But his theory was the subject of much controversy. From the little research I have done, it appears that many Thomists of the neo-scholastic tradition (many of them hardcore Aristotelians) were included among those who could not accept Casel’s doctrine. Today, certain members of the Society of St. Pius X in fact accuse Casel of originating many of the ideas which influenced the liturgical reform (a claim which I rather doubt).<br />
<br />
But certain voices among Thomists, calling for a deeper, renewed study of St. Thomas’ works, have discovered that Thomas himself embraced a certain “theology of the mysteries” which provides deeper and more adequate explanations than Dom Casel could formulate. St. Thomas’ doctrine, moreover, reveals itself to be deeply rooted in a tradition inherited from the Fathers of the Church themselves. Among the few writers who have called attention to this aspect of Thomas’ teaching is Jean-Pierre Torrell, OP, a scholar on the deeply spiritual theology of the Angelic Doctor. Torrell points out in <i>Saint Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master, </i>that St. Thomas in fact developed a more detailed account of the mysteries than is generally recognized. In the <i>Tertia Pars</i> of the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>, St. Thomas devotes a very large section to the life of Christ, and His actions and sufferings. This section of the <i>Summa </i>has until recently been much overlooked even by self-proclaimed Thomists. In this section, St. Thomas provides some simple but profound principles by which to explain the possibility of the ever-presence of the mysteries of Christ.<br />
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St. Thomas explains that the mysteries of Christ have the capacity to transcend all space and time on account of their spiritual power. Christ was not only man, but God; as such, all His actions and sufferings are efficacious for the salvation of man even now, 2000 years after Christ walked the earth. Moreover, due to the eternal nature of Christ's priesthood, which forms an essential part of His headship of the Church, the mysteries of Christ are accessible principally through the priestly ministry of the Church. Thus, it is possible for the faithful now to somehow be transported back in time, insofar as they come into contact with the specific graces associated with each of Christ's actions and passions which occurred in the past. (Not only this, but the faithful are also brought into mystical contact with heaven itself, which they hope to achieve. There is thus a marvelous convergence of past, present, and future in the Christology and Eschatology of the sacraments.) This provides a necessary basic principle for explaining how the mysteries of Christ may be present through the sacred liturgy. But the more specific details of this explanation are yet lacking. How is it that the liturgy has the power to bring us into contact with the graces of Christ's mysteries?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3597oEeOhk/VcAPKvjRu7I/AAAAAAAAKIM/9qwfHHRl9Gw/s1600/crucifixion%2Bfra%2Bangelico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3597oEeOhk/VcAPKvjRu7I/AAAAAAAAKIM/9qwfHHRl9Gw/s400/crucifixion%2Bfra%2Bangelico.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crucifixion, by Fra Angelico</td></tr>
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On a Thomistic basis, it is easy to answer this question with regard to the sacraments. The sacraments have been instituted by God as instrumental causes of grace, such that they actually contain the powers of Christ's mysteries and sanctifying grace itself. But it is not so easy with the extra-sacramental parts of the liturgy, which, though they in many ways resemble the sacraments themselves, are distinct from them. The liturgy, like the sacraments, consists in signs and symbols of higher realities. But St. Thomas says that "Holy Water and other consecrated things are not called sacraments, because they do not produce the sacramental effect, which is the receiving of grace" (IIIa, q.65, a.2, ad.6). This is essentially the modern distinction between sacraments and "sacramentals" - the latter including the sacred liturgy itself: sacraments confer grace, but sacramentals do not. St. Thomas goes on to say: "They are, however, a kind of disposition to the sacraments: either by removing obstacles: thus holy water is ordained against the snares of the demons, and against venial sins: or by making things suitable for the conferring of a sacrament; thus the altar and vessels are consecrated through reverence for the Eucharist."<br />
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However, although the sacramentals do not confer grace, they nonetheless maintain an intimate connection with grace. St. Thomas says elsewhere that "Human institutions observed in the sacraments are not essential to the sacrament; but belong to the solemnity which is added to the sacraments in order to arouse devotion and reverence in the recipients" (IIIa<i>,</i> q.64, a.2, ad.1). This <i>devotion</i>, St. Thomas writes, comes not without contemplation, for "devotion is an act of the will to the effect that man surrenders himself readily to the service of God. Now every act of the will proceeds from some consideration, since the object of the will is a good understood... Consequently meditation [or contemplation] must needs be the cause of devotion" (IIa IIae, q.82, a.3). In particular, devotion is aroused by the contemplation of the mysteries of Christ (Ibid, a.3, ad.2). Since the sacramentals and liturgical objects surrounding the sacraments have the purpose of arousing devotion, it seems that a contemplative disposition is imperative in the well-reception of the sacraments themselves. However, contemplation itself, which St. Thomas understands as an <i>experiential knowledge </i>of God, is impossible without grace. This contemplation is infused by God from the outside, unattainable by human effort. It is founded on the gift of wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit, which pertains only to the life of grace.<br />
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Thus, on the one hand, the liturgy, a sacramental, does not have the power of giving grace in the manner that the sacraments do. But on the other hand, the liturgy does have the purpose of arousing devotion, which is caused by contemplation, which itself is caused by none other than grace. Sanctifying grace comes with an increase of the three theological virtues, as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the highest of which is wisdom - the foundation of contemplation. So even sacramentals must have a connection to grace, though not as instrumental causes, as in the case of the sacraments. Interestingly, in the case of the sacraments, St. Thomas adamantly opposes the theory that the sacraments merely constitute an <i>occasion </i>in which God grants grace. In more modern terminology, this is the idea of <i>moral causality.</i> Rather, St. Thomas insists, the sacraments themselves inherently have the God-given power to confer grace - the theory of <i>instrumental and physical causality. </i>I wonder, however, would St. Thomas endorse a theory of moral causality with regard to the sacramentals, and thus the parts of the liturgy not divinely instituted?<br />
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St. Thomas teaches in several places, following in the footsteps of Dionysius the Areopagite, that the signs and symbols in the sacred liturgy are meant to lead the mind of the worshiper to divine things, so as to be united spiritually to God. In other words, the sacred signs are meant to lead the mind to contemplation. However, infused contemplation, precisely because it is infused, cannot be acquired by human effort. Hence, the liturgy, as a human institution, cannot simply by itself lead the mind to infused contemplation; rather, it can only be the fitting occasion, as it were, for the infusion of contemplation. As such, it is the fitting occasion for the infusion of sanctifying grace, modified, as it were, by each of Christ's mysteries presented in the liturgical rites. Liturgy is the preparation of the soul for the well-reception of the grace which flows from each of the individual works of Christ. The sacred liturgy itself proclaims this doctrine in many instances, when it petitions God to make efficacious the graces of a specific mystery, as in the collect for the Transfiguration: "Sanctify, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gifts offered by the glorious transfiguration of Thine only begotten Son, and by the splendors of that very illumination cleanse us from the stains of our sins." This implies, further, that the reception of the sacraments themselves will be all the more beneficial and complete in the very context of the liturgy.<br />
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Thus, although the liturgy is a human institution, it cannot be purely so, simply because it is so powerful an aid to the reception of grace and contemplation. The liturgy is an occasion of grace precisely because it is rooted firmly in faith in the mysteries of Christ, which are <i>divine</i>. The mysteries of Christ are revealed to us in a more or less determinate scheme (which is manifest even amidst the variety of liturgical rites - indeed, complemented by it), and our receptivity to them must be conditioned according to that scheme, in conformity and openness to it. This means that, in order to be a "patient of divine things" (in the words of Thomas and Dionysius), it is imperative to maintain a disposition of humility, self-denial, and self-alienation, and a complete devotion to the work of God. In the liturgy, everything must revolve, not around man or the self-hood of the worshiper, but around God and the God-man Jesus Christ. We must direct our attention away from the merely human, the common, and the mundane, and focus in on the divine mysteries themselves, so that they may draw us up in contemplation to divine union.<br />
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This has several further consequences, two of which are especially important in considering the present liturgical crisis. Firstly, it is a grave crime to reduce the theocentricity of the liturgy and create an heightened awareness of man's humanity and self-hood in its place. The only legitimate place for man's self-consideration in the liturgy is in humble submission to God, so that God may draw the soul up to Himself towards the divine intimacy that is the goal of worship. There is no place for self-assertion or self-"fulfillment," in the common sense of those terms. Worship is precisely the wrong place for man to assert his own value as man. Rather, it is where man must recognize his nothingness before God, in order to be united to Him by grace and contemplation. Man's divinization is only accomplished by the grace of God encountered in His mysteries. I have discussed in other posts certain ways in which the liturgical reform violated these very principles, producing a liturgy that promotes human self-hood at the cost of the theocentricity and christocentricity of the traditional liturgy.<br />
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Secondly, since the liturgy is rooted in a divine faith in the sacred mysteries, it must be received as something from tradition, not constructed at the whims of men. The best liturgical historians have asserted that all the great classical rites were not written by men; rather, they grew organically from the seeds which Christ planted in His life, teaching, and institution of the sacraments. Christ Himself taught that "No one comes to the Father except through Me." From the beginning, it was thus ingrained in the Christian instinct that in order to reach the Father, it is necessary to participate in the life of the Son, the Incarnate Word. "God became man so that man might become God," said St. Athanasius. Many other Fathers too, such as St. Augustine, attest to the ancient belief in the necessity of participation in the mysteries. The liturgy, revolving around the sacraments of Christ, developed as the realization of this very principle. The contemplation of the mysteries and the reception of the sacraments naturally gave birth to the liturgical rites, and men simply followed the lead of divine inspiration in executing the acts of worship. Every new development of the liturgy was thus always in harmony with, or indeed extrapolated from, what came before, so that everything in the liturgy was founded on the basic institutions of Christ. Tradition was the norm, and development always occurred on the basis of tradition. But at various points in history, men sought to usurp the role of tradition and re-construct the liturgy according to their own conceptions. The 20th century has yielded the most recent examples of this. The result was almost always an imperfect and deficient means of leading the soul to contemplation and participation in the sacred mysteries.<br />
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These points could be argued with more substantial support from the writings of St. Thomas and the Fathers of the Church, such as Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Augustine, St. Gregory of Nazianzen, Pope Leo the Great, and others. I think it can be well established that the tradition which we have inherited as Catholics, East and West, contains the seeds of a liturgical theology according to which the recent reforms cannot be condoned. </div>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-32712629884247056052015-06-20T18:02:00.000-07:002015-06-20T18:02:06.793-07:00Plato's 'Phaedo': The Desirability of Death<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Merely because I find it so fascinating, I am posting an excerpt from the Platonic dialogue, <i>Phaedo,</i> wherein Plato attempts to show that the philosopher must have a certain desire for death. Socrates has been condemned to death, and seeks to convince his friends that he has good reason not to be afraid in such circumstances.</div>
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And now I will make answer to you, O my judges, and show that he who has lived as a true philosopher has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die, and that after death he may hope to receive the greatest good in the other world. And how this may be, Simmias and Cebes, I will endeavor to explain. For I deem that the true disciple of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other men; they do not perceive that he is ever pursuing death and dying; and if this is true, why, having had the desire of death all his life long, should he repine at the arrival of that which he has been always pursuing and desiring?<br />
Simmias laughed and said: Though not in a laughing humor, I swear that I cannot help laughing when I think what the wicked world will say when they hear this. They will say that this is very true, and our people at home will agree with them in saying that the life which philosophers desire is truly death, and that they have found them out to be deserving of the death which they desire.<br />
And they are right, Simmias, in saying this, with the exception of the words "They have found them out"; for they have not found out what is the nature of this death which the true philosopher desires, or how he deserves or desires death. But let us leave them and have a word with ourselves: Do we believe that there is such a thing as death?<br />
To be sure, replied Simmias.<br />
And is this anything but the separation of soul and body? And being dead is the attainment of this separation; when the soul exists in herself, and is parted from the body and the body is parted from the soul-that is death?<br />
Exactly: that and nothing else, he replied.<br />
And what do you say of another question, my friend, about which I should like to have your opinion, and the answer to which will probably throw light on our present inquiry: Do you think that the philosopher ought to care about the pleasures-if they are to be called pleasures-of eating and drinking?<br />
Certainly not, answered Simmias.<br />
And what do you say of the pleasures of love-should he care about them?<br />
By no means.<br />
And will he think much of the other ways of indulging the body-for example, the acquisition of costly raiment, or sandals, or other adornments of the body? Instead of caring about them, does he not rather despise anything more than nature needs? What do you say?<br />
I should say the true philosopher would despise them.<br />
Would you not say that he is entirely concerned with the soul and not with the body? He would like, as far as he can, to be quit of the body and turn to the soul.<br />
That is true.<br />
In matters of this sort philosophers, above all other men, may be observed in every sort of way to dissever the soul from the body.<br />
That is true.<br />
Whereas, Simmias, the rest of the world are of opinion that a life which has no bodily pleasures and no part in them is not worth having; but that he who thinks nothing of bodily pleasures is almost as though he were dead.<br />
That is quite true.<br />
What again shall we say of the actual acquirement of knowledge?-is the body, if invited to share in the inquiry, a hinderer or a helper? I mean to say, have sight and hearing any truth in them? Are they not, as the poets are always telling us, inaccurate witnesses? and yet, if even they are inaccurate and indistinct, what is to be said of the other senses?-for you will allow that they are the best of them?<br />
Certainly, he replied.<br />
Then when does the soul attain truth?-for in attempting to consider anything in company with the body she is obviously deceived.<br />
Yes, that is true.<br />
Then must not existence be revealed to her in thought, if at all?<br />
Yes.<br />
And thought is best when the mind is gathered into herself and none of these things trouble her-neither sounds nor sights nor pain nor any pleasure-when she has as little as possible to do with the body, and has no bodily sense or feeling, but is aspiring after being?<br />
That is true.<br />
And in this the philosopher dishonors the body; his soul runs away from the body and desires to be alone and by herself?<br />
That is true.<br />
Well, but there is another thing, Simmias: Is there or is there not an absolute justice?<br />
Assuredly there is.<br />
And an absolute beauty and absolute good?<br />
Of course.<br />
But did you ever behold any of them with your eyes?<br />
Certainly not.<br />
Or did you ever reach them with any other bodily sense? (and I speak not of these alone, but of absolute greatness, and health, and strength, and of the essence or true nature of everything). Has the reality of them ever been perceived by you through the bodily organs? or rather, is not the nearest approach to the knowledge of their several natures made by him who so orders his intellectual vision as to have the most exact conception of the essence of that which he considers?<br />
Certainly.<br />
And he attains to the knowledge of them in their highest purity who goes to each of them with the mind alone, not allowing when in the act of thought the intrusion or introduction of sight or any other sense in the company of reason, but with the very light of the mind in her clearness penetrates into the very fight of truth in each; he has got rid, as far as he can, of eyes and ears and of the whole body, which he conceives of only as a disturbing element, hindering the soul from the acquisition of knowledge when in company with her-is not this the sort of man who, if ever man did, is likely to attain the knowledge of existence?<br />
There is admirable truth in that, Socrates, replied Simmias.<br />
And when they consider all this, must not true philosophers make a reflection, of which they will speak to one another in such words as these: We have found, they will say, a path of speculation which seems to bring us and the argument to the conclusion that while we are in the body, and while the soul is mingled with this mass of evil, our desire will not be satisfied, and our desire is of the truth. For the body is a source of endless trouble to us by reason of the mere requirement of food; and also is liable to diseases which overtake and impede us in the search after truth: and by filling us so full of loves, and lusts, and fears, and fancies, and idols, and every sort of folly, prevents our ever having, as people say, so much as a thought. For whence come wars, and fightings, and factions? whence but from the body and the lusts of the body? For wars are occasioned by the love of money, and money has to be acquired for the sake and in the service of the body; and in consequence of all these things the time which ought to be given to philosophy is lost. Moreover, if there is time and an inclination toward philosophy, yet the body introduces a turmoil and confusion and fear into the course of speculation, and hinders us from seeing the truth: and all experience shows that if we would have pure knowledge of anything we must be quit of the body, and the soul in herself must behold all things in themselves: then I suppose that we shall attain that which we desire, and of which we say that we are lovers, and that is wisdom, not while we live, but after death, as the argument shows; for if while in company with the body the soul cannot have pure knowledge, one of two things seems to follow-either knowledge is not to be attained at all, or, if at all, after death. For then, and not till then, the soul will be in herself alone and without the body. In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible concern or interest in the body, and are not saturated with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away and we shall be pure and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere; and this is surely the light of truth. For no impure thing is allowed to approach the pure. These are the sort of words, Simmias, which the true lovers of wisdom cannot help saying to one another, and thinking. You will agree with me in that?<br />
Certainly, Socrates.<br />
But if this is true, O my friend, then there is great hope that, going whither I go, I shall there be satisfied with that which has been the chief concern of you and me in our past lives. And now that the hour of departure is appointed to me, this is the hope with which I depart, and not I only, but every man who believes that he has his mind purified.<br />
Certainly, replied Simmias.<br />
And what is purification but the separation of the soul from the body, as I was saying before; the habit of the soul gathering and collecting herself into herself, out of all the courses of the body; the dwelling in her own place alone, as in another life, so also in this, as far as she can; the release of the soul from the chains of the body?<br />
Very true, he said.<br />
And what is that which is termed death, but this very separation and release of the soul from the body? </blockquote>
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Simply speaking, according to an Aristotelian philosophy, this argument fails; for man is a creature composed of both body and soul, whereas Plato regards man as a soul encaged within a body. Consequently, Plato holds that man cannot have speculative knowledge unless he divorces himself from the body, which is otherwise an obstacle to the acquisition of this knowledge. The Aristotelian, on the contrary, recognizes that man cannot exercise philosophy or even have any kind of speculative knowledge without the aid of the body; for the agent intellect must abstract from the phantasm in the imagination, which in turn only exists because of the senses themselves. </div>
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That being said, I do think there is a way in which a Thomist theologian - who is also an Aristotelian philosopher - may elevate Plato's idea to a conformity with Christian theology. In this life, the Thomist says, natural knowledge can only be attained with the aid of the bodily senses. But due to fallen human nature, the body has also become a burden and a hindrance. The flesh rebels against the spirit, influences it, sometimes deadens it. Consequently, in order to rise to perfect contemplation of the truth - the divine truth - one must first prepare oneself by rising above the senses, mortifying the body, checking the bodily passions, etc. This is necessary until death, after which - hopefully - the harmony of the human person will be restored, and the soul will rest in the vision of the divine essence, and the body will enjoy the fullness of its own perfection. For the Christian, death is desirable not for its own sake, but only because it is a necessary step to a fuller life.</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-79446056536240554142015-06-05T23:08:00.000-07:002015-06-05T23:15:58.178-07:00Corpus Christi - Readings from the Office of Matins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is somewhat belated, as the feast of Corpus Christi was yesterday, but I believe it used to have an Octave, so traditionally we should still be celebrating the feast. The following excerpts constitute some of the lessons for the office of Matins for this feast in the Tridentine breviary, as found <a href="http://divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/officium.pl">here</a>. A more complete presentation of St. Thomas' work in composing the office, including more excerpts in the lessons, may be found <a href="https://thedivinelamp.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/the-office-for-corpus-christi-by-st-thomas-aquinas/">here</a>. This exemplifies St. Thomas' profoundly liturgical and Eucharistic mysticism. He was not merely the rational thinker whom he is normally made out to be. He was motivated by an intense piety, which can be seen in this, probably his greatest masterpiece, the office of Corpus Christi.<br />
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<b><i>Reading 4</i></b></div>
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From the Sermons of St Thomas of Aquino.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>17th or 57th of his Opuscula, or Lesser
Works.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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The immeasurable benefits, which the
goodness of God hath bestowed on Christian people, have conferred on them also
a dignity beyond all price. " For what nation is there so great, who hath
gods so nigh unto them, as the Lord, our God, is" unto us? Deut. iv.
7. The Only-begotten Son of God, being pleased to make us " partakers
of the Divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4, took our nature upon Him,
being Himself made Man that He might make men gods. And all, as much of ours as
He took, He applied to our salvation. On the Altar of the Cross He offered up
His Body to God the Father as a sacrifice for our reconciliation He shed His
Blood as the price whereby He redeemeth us from wretchedness and bondage, and
the washing whereby He cleanseth us from all sin. And for a noble and abiding
memorial of that so great work of His goodness, He hath left unto His faithful
ones the Same His very Body for Meat, and the Same His very Blood for Drink, to
be fed upon under the appearance of bread and wine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Reading 5</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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How precious a thing then, how marvellous,
how health-giving, how furnished with all dainties, is the Supper [of the Lord
!] Than His Supper can anything be more precious ? Therein there is put before
us for meat, not, as of old time, the flesh of bulls and of goats, but Christ
Himself, our very God. Than this Sacrament can anything be more marvellous ?
Therein it cometh to pass that bread and wine are bread and wine no more, but
in the stead thereof there is the Body and there is the Blood of Christ; that
is to say, Christ Himself, Perfect God and Perfect Man, Christ Himself is
there, under the appearance of a little bread and wine. His faithful ones eat
Him, but He is not mangled ; nay, when [the veil which shroudeth Him in] this
Sacrament is broken, in each broken piece thereof remaineth whole Christ
Himself, Perfect God and Perfect Man. All that the senses can reach in this
Sacrament, [look, taste, feel, smell, and the like, all these] abide of bread
and wine, but the Thing is not bread and wine. And thus room is left for faith
; Christ Who hath a Form That can be seen, is here taken and received not only
unseen, but seeming to be bread and wine, and the senses, which judge by the
wonted look, are warranted against error.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Reading 6</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Than this Sacrament can anything be more health
- giving Thereby are sins purged away, strength renewed, and the soul fed upon
the fatness of spiritual gifts. This Supper is offered up in the Church both
for the quick and dead it was ordained to the health of all, all get the good
of it. Than this Sacrament can anything be more furnished with dainties The
glorious sweetness thereof is of a truth such that no man can fully tell it.
Therein ghostly comfort is sucked from its very well - head. Therein a memorial
is made of that exceeding great love which Christ showed in time of His
sufferings. It was in order that the boundless goodness of that His great love
might be driven home into the hearts of His faithful ones, that when He had
celebrated the Passover with His disciples, and the last Supper was ended, the
Lord " Jesus, knowing that His hour was come that He should depart out of
this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He
loved them unto the end," John xiii. 1, and instituted this
Sacrament, this Sacrament, the everlasting forth - " showing of His death
until He come " again, 1 Cor. xi. 26, this Sacrament, the
embodied fulfilment of all the ancient types and figures, this Sacrament, the
greatest miracle which He ever wrought, and the one mighty joy of them that now
have sorrow, till He shall come again, and their heart shall rejoice, and their
joy no man take from them. John xvi. 22.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-44603333763102415062015-06-04T16:07:00.000-07:002015-06-04T16:07:33.536-07:00Theodore of Mospuestia on the Eucharistic Liturgy<div style="text-align: justify;">
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The following passage is taken from a work by the Church Father, Theodore of Mospuestia, on the liturgy of the Eucharist. Here he speaks of the relation of the Eucharistic liturgy to the sacrifice of Christ and to the liturgy which Christ performs in heaven. All of these are versions or manifestations of one and the same work of Christ, which He performs for man's redemption and for the worship and praise of the Father. Through the liturgical symbolism, we attain to a contemplation of certain realities of Christ's work. On the one hand, we reap the effects of His passion and death when He was on earth. On the other hand, we have a glimpse, as it were, of the heavenly liturgy.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We
must first of all realise that we perform a sacrifice of which we eat. Although
we remember the death of our Lord in food and drink, and although we believe
these to be the remembrance of His Passion—because He said: "This is my
body which is broken for you, and this is my blood which is shed for
you"—we nevertheless perform, in their service, a sacrifice; and it is the
office of the priest of the New Testament to offer this sacrifice, as it is
through it that the New Covenant appears to be maintained. It is indeed evident
that it is a sacrifice, but not a new one and one that (the priest) performs as
his, but it is a remembrance of that other real sacrifice (of Christ). Because
the priest performs things found in heaven through symbols and signs, it is necessary
that his sacrifice also should be as their image, and that he should represent
a likeness of the service of heaven. It would be impossible for us to be
priests and do priestly service outside the ancient law if we did not possess
the likeness of heavenly things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
blessed Paul said about Christ our Lord that "if He were on the earth He
should not be a high priest, seeing that there were priests of the law who
offer gifts according to the law and who serve to the example and shadow of
heavenly things." He means by this that all the priests according to the
law performed their priestly service on earth, where all the law was made to
suit mortal men, and the sacrifices consisted of irrational beasts led to be
slaughtered to death, which meant that they were fit for this mortal sojourn on
earth. It is indeed clear that all the injunctions and ritual of the law were
only partially suitable. Circumcision, Sabbath, holy days, observances of days,
and distinctions in food: all these suited a mortal nature, and none of them
has any place in an immortal nature, and to people who performed such things
even sacrifices of irrational beasts are not suitable, as these are slaughtered
and |80 die in the act of sacrifice. As to Christ our Lord, if He were about to
perform His priestly service on earth, it was necessary that He also should
perform this service according to the Divine law, which was something that
harmonised with the (Mosaic) law; and if He did not perform a priestly service
according to the law, He would not have been a high priest, as He would then be
performing a priestly service not according to the law of God. Now, however, He
performs the priestly service in heaven and not on earth, because He died,
rose, ascended into heaven in order to raise us all up and cause us to ascend
into heaven, and made a covenant with those who believe in Him that He will
grant them participation in the resurrection from the dead and ascension into
heaven.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He
performs a real high priesthood and offers to God no other sacrifice than
Himself, as He had delivered also Himself to death for all. He was the first to
rise from the dead, and He ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of
God in order to destroy all our adversaries, as the blessed Paul said: "He
offered one sacrifice for our sins for ever, sat on the right hand of God, from
henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one
offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified." He calls His
enemies those who fight against us, and their destruction is clearly seen in
our perfection, as the work of a high priest consists in his drawing near to
God first and then in drawing also the others to Him through himself. The
blessed Paul rightly calls Him high priest because He was so in reality, as
through His resurrection He was the first to ascend into heaven; and He sat on
the right hand of God, and granted us through Himself to be near to God and
partakers of good things. "The high priest of all of us is," as the
blessed Paul said, "Christ our Lord, who did not, like the high priests of
the law, serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things, but He is the
minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which God pitched and not
man," so that through them He might make manifest |81 the heavenly things.
He refers by the word "sanctuary" to heavenly things which do not
contain anything that is contrary or reprehensible, and by the sentence
"the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man" to the heavenly
abode, because the tabernacle of the law was pitched by man, but heaven is made
not by men but by God, and it is of it that the Apostle said that Christ is the
minister, as He ascended into heaven and there performs service for all of us,
so that He might draw us to Him by all means, according to His promise. It is
for this reason that he said in another passage that "He is at the right
hand of God and making intercession for us." He calls
"intercession" not a supplication made for us in words, as this
intercession is made in deeds, because through His ascension into heaven He
makes intercession for us to God and is anxious that all of us should ascend
into heaven to Him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">If,
as the blessed Paul said, Christ our Lord should not be a priest if He
performed His priestly service on earth, it follows that He does not perform
His service according to the ritual of the law, but since priesthood and the
service of the law were made manifest by God on earth, it was not necessary
that it should be rejected by God and another one be substituted on the same
earth. He is then rightly a priest because He performs priestly service in
heaven, where there is not a single association with earthly things, and in
this way no blame attaches to the priests of the law. Since these are said in
another place to do their work among mortal and earthly men, while He performs
His priestly service in immortal and heavenly things, which are much higher and
loftier, is it not clear that neither can we be priests appointed to do
priestly service for earthly things? It is indeed well known that the
priesthood of the law suited earthly and mortal men, while Christ is the high
priest of heavenly things, and will cause all of us to ascend into heaven at
the right time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As
to us who are called to a new covenant, as the blessed Paul said, we received
salvation and deliverance in hope, and although we have not seen them we
expect "by our patience to be absent from the body and be with our
Lord." We walk by faith and not by sight because we are not yet in the
reality, as we are not yet in the heavenly benefits. We wait here in faith
until we ascend into heaven and set out on our journey to our Lord, where we
shall not see through a glass and in a riddle but shall look face to face.
These things, however, we expect to receive in reality through the resurrection
at the time decreed by God, and now it is only by faith that we draw near to
the firstfruits of these good things: to Christ our Lord and the high priest of
things that belong to us. We are ordered to perform in this world the symbols
and signs of the future things so that, through the service of the Sacrament,
we may be like men who enjoy symbolically the happiness of the heavenly
benefits, and thus acquire a sense of possession and a strong hope of the
things for which we look.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As
the real new birth is the one which we expect through the resurrection, and we
nevertheless perform this new birth symbolically and sacramentally through
baptism, so also the real food of immortality is that which we hope to receive
truly in heaven by the grace of the Holy Spirit, but now we symbolically eat
the immortal food which is given to us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, whether
in symbols or through symbols. It follows that a role of a high priest must
needs be filled, and it is found in those who are appointed for the service of
these symbols. Those who have been chosen as the priests of the New Testament
are believed to perform sacramentally, by the descent of the Holy Spirit, and
for the confirmation and admonition of the children of the Sacrament, these
things which we believe that Christ our Lord performed and will perform in
reality.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This
is the reason why they do not immolate at all times new sacrifices like the
priests of the law. These were ordered to offer to God numerous and different
sacrifices of oxen, goats and sheep, and offered new sacrifices at all times.
When first sacrificial beasts had been slaughtered, had died and suffered
complete dissolution, others were always immolated in the place of those which
had been slaughtered a long time previously. As to the priests of the New
Testament they immolate the same sacrifice always and everywhere, because one
is the sacrifice which has been immolated for us, that of Christ our Lord who
suffered death for us and who, by His offering this sacrifice, obtained
perfection for us, as the blessed Paul said: "By one offering He perfected
for ever them that are sanctified." All of us, everywhere, at all times,
and always, observe the commemoration of that sacrifice, "for as often as
we eat this bread and drink this cup we do show the Lord's death till He
come." As often, therefore, as the service of this awe-inspiring sacrifice
is performed, which is clearly the likeness of heavenly things and of which,
after it has been perfected, we become worthy to partake through food and
drink, as a true participation in our future benefits—we must picture in our
mind that we are dimly in heaven, and, through faith, draw in our imagination
the image of heavenly things, while thinking that Christ who is in heaven and
who died for us, rose and ascended into heaven and is now being immolated. In
contemplating with our eyes, through faith, the facts that are now being
re-enacted: that He is again dying, rising and ascending into heaven, we shall
be led to the vision of the things that had taken place beforehand on our
behalf.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Because
Christ our Lord offered Himself in sacrifice for us and thus became our high
priest in reality, we must think that the priest who draws near to the altar is
representing His image, not that he offers himself in sacrifice, any more than
he is truly a high priest, but because he performs the figure of the service of
the ineffable sacrifice (of Christ), and through this figure he dimly
represents the image of the unspeakable heavenly things and of the supernatural
and incorporeal hosts. Indeed, all the invisible hosts did service to that
Economy which transcends our words and which Christ our Lord accomplished for
us. "They are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation" as the blessed Paul said. Matthew, the
evangelist, showed also this when he said: "and the angels came, and
ministered to Him." This is also attested by our Lord who said:
"Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and
descending to the Son of Man." Incidents in the Gospel show also events
that happened through them, whether it be through those who at the birth of our
Lord sang: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good hope to
men," or through those who at His resurrection revealed to women what had
occurred, or through those who at His ascension explained to the Apostles that
which they did not know. It is necessary, therefore, that here also, when this
awe-inspiring service is performed, we should think that the deacons represent
an image of the service of these invisible spirits, and that they have been
appointed to minister to this awe-inspiring service by the grace of the Holy
Spirit which they received.</span></div>
</blockquote>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-12538889684746503842015-05-04T14:40:00.001-07:002015-05-04T14:40:16.304-07:00Divine Intimacy - The Gift of Wisdom<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQO-BNyRM0/USzqOIYXnyI/AAAAAAAAFyk/QeTu9XFOHs0/s1600/Thomas%2BAquinas%27%2Bvision%2C%2BSanti%2Bdi%2BTito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQO-BNyRM0/USzqOIYXnyI/AAAAAAAAFyk/QeTu9XFOHs0/s400/Thomas%2BAquinas'%2Bvision%2C%2BSanti%2Bdi%2BTito.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas Aquinas before a crucifix</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</xml><![endif]--> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The following passage is taken from the book <i>Divine Intimacy </i>by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene. This chapter expounds the traditional doctrine of Catholic mystical theology that contemplation arises from the gift of wisdom, founded on charity, which elevates the virtue of faith to a superhuman mode of operation. By faith, we intellectually assent to revealed truth; but in its human mode, faith still works with individual propositions and abstract concepts. Wisdom elevates faith to a superhuman mode, in which it encounters the divine truths in a quasi-experimental manner. Faith at this level truly becomes an "encounter" with God Himself; it is an experience which surpasses abstract knowledge. This is the teaching of the ancient fathers of the Church, and of St. Thomas Aquinas, represented here by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1.
The gift of understanding enables us to penetrate God’s mysteries; the gift of
wisdom takes us further: it lets us taste them and gives us a delightful
knowledge of them. This is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">savory
knowledge </i>of which St. Bernard speaks, the untranslatable <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“dulce sapere”</i> which the Holy Spirit
offers us in the words: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Gustate et
videte quam bonus sit Dominus” (Ps 33,9). </i>“Taste and see that the Lord is
sweet.” It is not by chance that it is first said <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">taste, </i>and then<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> see, </i>for
by the gift of wisdom we know God by the experience of the heart which “tastes”
the object loved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There
are two ways of knowing: a speculative, intellectual way, and an experimental
way, resulting from a kind of “connaturality” with the object of our knowledge.
The latter is not so clear, but it is much deeper than the former, and grasps
the inner substance of things. Thus, for example, because of the affinity of
thought and affection that binds a mother to her child, she knows its heart
much better than any other person. Similar to this is the knowledge of divine
subjects which we acquire by means of the gift of wisdom. Between God and us
there is a certain “connaturality,” a certain similarity, produced by the love
which unites us to Him and in some way assimilates us to Him; even more, St.
Paul does not hesitate to say that “He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit”
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I Cor </i>6,17). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
gift of wisdom enables us to know God and divine things precisely through this “connaturality,”
and therefore gives us a delightful experience of them through the love which
is its source. This experience seizes the soul in its very center, that is, the
will, forcibly drawing it to God and at the same time, inundating the intellect
with floods of light. The gift of wisdom acts somewhat like the rays of the sun
which give heat and light at the same time. Its warmth quickens charity in the
soul, and through this enkindling of love, the soul is enlightened concerning
the divine realities and is enabled to judge of them, because it knows
intuitively their infinite goodness and their absolute superiority over all
created things. “Oh, the depth of the riches of…God!” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rom </i>11,33). This is the cry of the soul inflamed and illumined by
the gift of wisdom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2.
All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are closely connected with charity, for they
abound only in souls who possess charity, and they develop in the measure that
charity increases. However, the gift of wisdom has a very special relationship
to the love of charity, primarily because it is set in action by means of
charity. St. Thomas says, “The cause of the gift of wisdom is found in the
will, and it is charity” (IIa IIae, q.45, a.2, co.); therefore, the more a soul
loves God, the more capable it becomes of receiving the motions of this gift.
In addition, the delightful knowledge of God derived from the gift of wisdom is
a most powerful means of increasing charity. How can we fail to love the Lord
more after having tasted His sweetness? In the measure that the gift of wisdom
invades a soul, charity increases and so does its unitive force, by which the
soul adheres ever more closely to God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This
gift leads to a more profound prayer than that experienced when the gift of
understanding alone intervenes: the soul feels “seized” and drawn by God in an irresistible
way; it feels truly united to the Lord and tastes Him in this union – not in a
sensible manner by spiritually – and by intuition, it kjnows Him in the most
intimate way possible here below. The soul emerges from this prayer inflamed
with love, a love which it expresses above all by the perfect conformity of its
will with God’s in all the happenings of life; it comes from this prayer for
full of God that, upon returning to its ordinary duties, it sees and considers
everything in relation to God. In this way the gift of wisdom extends its influence
even in our practical life and teaches us to judge all things in the light of
God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
order to receive the actions of the gift of wisdom – the most sublime of all
the gifts – we should gently prepare our heart for the plenitude of love, and
at the same time apply ourselves to the acquiring of a profound humility,
because as Jesus has said: “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and has revealed them to little ones” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mt </i>11,25). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“And
those alone acquire the wisdom of God who are like ignorant children, and,
laying aside their knowledge, walk in His service with love” [John of the
Cross, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ascent of Mount Carmel, I, 4,5</i>].</span></div>
</blockquote>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-67452522191386521062015-04-18T13:56:00.000-07:002015-04-18T13:56:48.254-07:00Liturgy, Contemplation, and the Self (Part 2)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q4HipTUnQNY/VR2_mnFp-uI/AAAAAAAAJ0g/eimbYm5lK2Y/s1600/crucifixion-and-saints-fra%2Bangelica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q4HipTUnQNY/VR2_mnFp-uI/AAAAAAAAJ0g/eimbYm5lK2Y/s1600/crucifixion-and-saints-fra%2Bangelica.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Continued from part 1)</i></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From <span style="font-family: inherit;">eve<span style="font-family: inherit;">rything said in the previous p<span style="font-family: inherit;">ost</span>,</span></span> it can be gathered what folly it
is to adapt the liturgy to human or worldly concerns<span style="font-family: inherit;"> - <i>folly</i> especially because it hinders contemplation, which is the participation in divine <i>W<span style="font-family: inherit;">i</span>sdom</i>. </span>The reforms of
the 20<sup>th</sup> century set the focus of the liturgy off its balance,
centering it more on man than previously, and dramatically reducing the
theocentric symbolism. Whereas the traditional liturgy incorporated elements,
in both its text and external ritual, that served to direct the mind to the
mysterious action taking place – the mystery in which the
soul must participate by contemplation – and hence to God Himself,
the new liturgy is celebrated in such a way that is more centered on man. This
is true not only of the manner in which the new liturgy is commonly celebrated
in the typical parish, but of its inherent form as well. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the <i>Novus
Ordo</i>, the priest often faces the people, creating an atmosphere in which
they are on equal footing, rather than in which the priest leads the people
onward to witness the mysterious action. In the introductory rites, the priest
sits at a chair placed prominently in the sanctuary, facing the people. The
attention is shifted away from the altar to the person of the priest and his
relation to the people, and for a while priest and congregation appear to
interact with each other rather than with God. By contrast, in the traditional
liturgy, the priest faces the altar, addresses God, and whenever he sits to the
side it is rarely to bring any attention to himself. The center of focus is
always the liturgical action itself, primarily performed upon the altar. The
people are there to witness the action, the priest to make it present; the
priest and people are not themselves the main attraction of the Mass.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is clear in the traditional rite again
during the parts of the Mass that are especially ordered towards the Eucharist
itself, such as the offertory and principally the Eucharistic prayer. The
priest here does a great deal more than recite the text of a prayer: he
performs an <i>action</i>. Despite the fact
that the priest faces away from the people and they cannot see everything that
occurs, the traditional liturgy<span style="font-family: inherit;">, <span style="font-family: inherit;">fully celebrated,</span></span> manages to foster the strong sense that the
priest is <i>doing </i>something. During the
Canon, the priest <span style="font-family: inherit;">perform</span>s many physical gestures and rituals, such as bowing, the
sign of the cross, genuflection, kissing the altar, extending and folding his
hands in various positions, etc., and the ministers around him likewise
participate physically in the action performed. By contrast, in the new rite
the physical actions are largely reduced, even when the priest faces the people
and the action he performs are visible to them. The priest now seems merely to
be reciting a text – he is a narrator, and the
people listen to the story he has to tell. The main visible physical actions
which he performs are a very few signs of the cross, <span style="font-family: inherit;">and </span>the elevations at the
consecration. Most everything else is recitation, for the edification, and
perhaps even education, of the people<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This may be mitigated somewhat when the new
rite is celebrated <i>ad orientem,</i> but
even so, there is still the loss of external ritual, which diminishes the
liturgical focus on the divine action. This <span style="font-family: inherit;">demonstrates the rationalistic tendencies of the reformers, who thought that anything <span style="font-family: inherit;">which appea<span style="font-family: inherit;">red <span style="font-family: inherit;">repe<span style="font-family: inherit;">titive and "useless" sho<span style="font-family: inherit;">uld be suppressed<span style="font-family: inherit;">. The priestly action of the liturgy was reduced to the bare essential actions which constitute it,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> which helps to obscure<span style="font-family: inherit;"> rather</span> than<span style="font-family: inherit;"> clarify</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">its nature as <span style="font-family: inherit;">the action of G<span style="font-family: inherit;">od. <span style="font-family: inherit;">At the same time, the laity were allowed a more external <span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span>participation<span style="font-family: inherit;">." </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span>he laity were allowed <span style="font-family: inherit;">and even encouraged to take a role in the liturgy that resembled the role<span style="font-family: inherit;">s tra<span style="font-family: inherit;">d<span style="font-family: inherit;">itionally taken only by the clergy. Lay readers, cantors,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and Eucharistic ministers entered the sanctu<span style="font-family: inherit;">ary<span style="font-family: inherit;">, the congregation became much more involved in <span style="font-family: inherit;">interaction with the priest, and generally <span style="font-family: inherit;">c</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">onfusion a<span style="font-family: inherit;">rose</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">regarding the true action of the liturgy in which the faithful must participate. <span style="font-family: inherit;">These changes were all <span style="font-family: inherit;">based on a <span style="font-family: inherit;">false notion of "<span style="font-family: inherit;">active participation," where "active<span style="font-family: inherit;">" was taken to <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">imply</span> <i><span style="font-family: inherit;">external. </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">But </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">true l</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>iturgical participation is essentially contemplation<span style="font-family: inherit;">, <span style="font-family: inherit;">and so it essentially <i>interior</i>. T<span style="font-family: inherit;">he external elements of the liturgy exist to foster this contemplation; the externals are not an end in themselves. <span style="font-family: inherit;">In their interpretation of liturgi<span style="font-family: inherit;">cal participation of the faithful, the reformers went little further than mere external participation<span style="font-family: inherit;"> - which is ironic given the a<span style="font-family: inherit;">forementioned</span> reduction of the more priestly action. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It might be said that t</span>he priestly action was replaced with a lay action<span style="font-family: inherit;">. This does not so much indicate a shift of focus from priest to people<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as</span> a shift from God to <span style="font-family: inherit;">man<span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span></span> for the traditional priestly action is essentially the re-presentation of God's work<span style="font-family: inherit;">, while <span style="font-family: inherit;">its reduction and replacement introduces a focus on the work of man.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of the new texts and prayers also <span style="font-family: inherit;">demonstrate this shift of attention</span>. In the Order of Mass, this is most clear in the new
prayers for the Offertory, which now glorify the role of the work of man, while
the old prayers tended to invoke the work of God as the source of the
acceptance of the gifts. But the shift from God to man is even more evident in
the proper prayers, particularly the collects. The difference between the traditional
and the new collects is similar to the case of the offertory prayers, in
regards to the emphasis on the work of God versus the work of man. While
nothing in any of the new texts is doctrinally false, the precedence of the
work of divine grace to the work of human effort is no longer clear in the new
texts of the collects, whereas it was abundantly clear in the traditional texts.
Whereas the traditional collects emphasized that the work of God is prior to
the work of man, and is indeed the source of man’s merit, the new collects
tend to focus merely on man’s own merit, without the
strong acknowledgement of God’s role or the role of grace. This
is true not only of the individual collects, but of the entire set of collects,
seen as expressing the different aspects of the relation between God and man
which are manifested throughout the liturgical year. Dr. Lauren Pristas used
the term “semi-Pelagian” to describe the attitude of
the new collects. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, the whole reform <span style="font-family: inherit;">was influenced by an attitude of adaption to the mentalities of modern man<span style="font-family: inherit;"> - a purpose openly proclaimed by the reformers themselves. <span style="font-family: inherit;">A great many prayers and texts were suppresse<span style="font-family: inherit;">d which might be thought offensive to modern ears, and they were replaced or rewritten in such a way that might be more appealing<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <span style="font-family: inherit;">In other words, the liturgy was made to be more mundan<span style="font-family: inherit;">e, closer to man, closer to worldly concerns<span style="font-family: inherit;">. As a result, it is easier for one worshi<span style="font-family: inherit;">pin<span style="font-family: inherit;">g in the new liturgy to <span style="font-family: inherit;">be more wrapped up with himself<span style="font-family: inherit;">, or</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">for <span style="font-family: inherit;">the whole human race that worships in the new liturgy to be more wrapped up with itself. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All of this, and probably much more, goes to
show the difference between the traditional liturgy and the new liturgy in how
they aid in attaining the abandonment of self and the world, which is so
necessary for contemplation and our participation in the divine Wisdom. If we
are to follow the principles of Pseudo-Dinoysius, whose mystical teaching is the
explanation for the mysticism of so many saints, then we must concede that the <i>Novus Ordo, </i>with its greater focus on
man, the self,<i> </i>and the world, and its lesser focus on the divine action taking place, is significantly
less conducive to contemplation than the traditional liturgy. The mystical
encounter with the action of Christ, and thereby the assimilation to
Christ’s own divine life, is possible only to the
extent that we abandon self, the world, and lower things. T<span style="font-family: inherit;">his tradition is founded in the teaching of the scriptures themselves, wherein we read of the parable of the Ph<span style="font-family: inherit;">arisee and the Publican: the one whose prayer was <span style="font-family: inherit;">self-absorbed and <span style="font-family: inherit;">narcissisti<span style="font-family: inherit;">c, the other whose prayer was other-directed,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> selfless. T<span style="font-family: inherit;">he true contemplative adopts the attitu<span style="font-family: inherit;">de of the Publican, <span style="font-family: inherit;">and in his prayer he detaches himself from the world, himself, and lower things. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>The construction of
the <i>Novus Ordo</i>, on the other hand, was a<span style="font-family: inherit;">n indirect, but <span style="font-family: inherit;">significant</span></span>
concession to these very things – often deliberately so</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. As such, it represents a rejection of the mystical and liturgical
tradition of the Catholic religion. </span></span>
</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-33461499217351428512015-04-11T15:40:00.002-07:002015-04-11T15:44:11.506-07:00Liturgy, Contemplation, and the Self (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R1jjCVGIWYE/VSN7vnRagoI/AAAAAAAAJ1Q/qvq39ZF54ZU/s1600/resurrection%2Bof%2Bchrist%2Bfra%2Bangelico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R1jjCVGIWYE/VSN7vnRagoI/AAAAAAAAJ1Q/qvq39ZF54ZU/s1600/resurrection%2Bof%2Bchrist%2Bfra%2Bangelico.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Resurrection, by Fra Angelico</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a profound passage from the <i>Summa </i>(which is of course full of such passages),
St. Thomas Aquinas writes of the gift of wisdom<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wisdom denotes a certain
rectitude of judgment according to the Eternal Law. Now rectitude of judgment
is twofold: first, on account of perfect use of reason, secondly, on account of
a certain connaturality with the matter about which one has to judge. Thus,
about matters of chastity, a man after inquiring with his reason forms a right
judgment, if he has learnt the science of morals, while he who has the habit of
chastity judges of such matters by a kind of connaturality. Accordingly it
belongs to the wisdom that is an intellectual virtue to pronounce right
judgment about Divine things after reason has made its inquiry, but it belongs
to wisdom as a gift of the Holy Ghost to judge aright about them on account of
connaturality with them: thus Dionysius says (Div. Nom. ii) that
"Hierotheus is perfect in Divine things, for he not only learns, but is
patient of, Divine things."</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The gift of wisdom is, according to St. Thomas,
the basis of the prayer of <i>contemplation,
</i>which is a simple, loving gaze upon the divine truths. The normal way of
sanctity, we are taught by the saints, consists essentially in this infused
prayer of contemplation. It is not the Beatific Vision, but its prelude, an <i>experiential</i> knowledge of God that
surpasses the knowledge attained by speculation or imagination. One does not merely
think about divine truths abstractly, but is “a <i>patient </i>of divine things” – that is, one <i>receives, experiences, suffers </i>the
divine, without being granted to see it. This is to be likened to the
experience of brilliant light which dazzles our weak human eyes so that we are
first blinded before we are permitted to see with clarity. Likewise,
contemplation is an experience of the divine light, but without the clarity of
vision. In this contemplation we participate truly in the divine Wisdom,
through the gift of wisdom, so that we are brought closer to our <i>deification</i>, the full participation in
the divine nature – we become, to use St. Thomas’ terminology, <i>connatural </i>with the divine nature. Hence
this contemplation is not only the preparation for, but also the very beginning
of our union with God. It is indeed a foretaste of Wisdom, in which we “taste and see that the Lord
is sweet.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This union with God is made possible by God’s union with us in the person
of Jesus Christ, who “became man so that man might
become God” (St. Athanasius<i>, On the Incarnation</i>). The
act of becoming man, and the act of suffering and dying a criminal’s death, was for God an
entirely selfless act. God, the Lord and Creator of the universe, humbled
Himself to assume the infinitely inferior dignity of a servant and a creature,
so that He might offer Himself up as a sacrifice. He forgot Himself, even His
own divinity, that He might assume our humanity, and perform the greatest act
of love for us. We, in turn, have been enabled to do the same for Him: to
completely forget ourselves, and to unite ourselves to God, that leaving behind
our frail humanity we might be elevated to partake of His divinity.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Contemplation is the earthly beginning of this
elevation of man to God. Thus it is of the essence of this contemplation that
man abandon himself, as Christ abandoned himself first in becoming man, and
again in dying as the death of the worst of sinners. Contemplation is an
inherently selfless act; it is entirely other-directed. Thus it is necessary
for the contemplative soul to be completely detached from himself, and to throw
himself completely into the arms of God. The mystic father of the Church, Dionysius
the Areopagite – whom St. Thomas cited above – exhorts his disciple Timothy
with the following words:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And thee, dear Timothy, I
counsel that, in the earnest exercise of mystic contemplation, thou leave the
senses and the activities of the intellect and all things that the senses or
the intellect can perceive, and all things in this world of nothingness, or in
that world of being, and that, thine understanding being laid to rest, thou
strain (so far as thou mayest) towards an union with Him whom neither being nor
understanding can contain. For, by the unceasing and absolute renunciation of
thyself and all things, thou shalt in pureness cast all things aside, and be
released from all, and so shalt be led upwards to the Ray of that divine
Darkness which exceedeth all existence. (Dinoysius, <i>Mystical Theology</i>)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, the Catholic tradition assures us that
this contemplation is the end and perfection of the sacred liturgy in all its
forms. The liturgy is the formal worship of the Church, the first place wherein
the soul finds the living representation of the sacred mysteries for his
contemplation. The act of worship is an act of complete submission to God, and
so it must necessarily involve an act of perfect self-abandonment to God. The
liturgy is not first ordered to man himself, as a source of edification;
rather, it is ordered to the worship of God for His own sake, which
accomplished by a complete forgetfulness of oneself and the gift of oneself to
God. The perfection of worship thus consists in the very union with the divine
nature that is begun in contemplation.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dionysius himself writes in another work, the <i>Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, </i>that the
purpose of the liturgy is the deification of the worshiper, which is his
unification to God. “Let us affirm, then, that the
supremely Divine Blessedness, the essential Deity, the Source of deification,
from Which comes the deification of those deified, bequeathed, by Divine
Goodness, the Hierarchy, for preservation, and deification of all rational and
intellectual beings.” God in His goodness has
raised man from the mire of sin in order to assimilate him to Himself. But this
must be carried out through the rites of the liturgy. For “how could the Divine
imitation otherwise become ours, unless the remembrance of the most holy works
of God were perpetually being renewed by the mystical teachings and
ministrations of the Hierarchy?” It is crucial to understand
that this deification of man is not a <i>self</i>-deification.
Man cannot make himself god; this can only be accomplished by <i>participation</i> in the God who alone is
divine <i>by nature</i>. Thus, even as the
sanctification and glorification of man is accomplished through the liturgy, it
is only by forgetting and abandoning himself that man can attain this end. Man’s only good is to worship
God. Thus, in complete opposition to the deification of self, man’s deification is accomplished
only by his going out of himself and directing his attention entirely to
another.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It follows that the liturgy, in order to be as
efficacious as it possibly can be, must foster this spirit of self-abandonment and
mortification, turning the focus of the worshiper away from his own ego and
from mundane things, and towards God alone. The selfhood of the creature is
involved in the act of worship only insofar as it is in submission to the
Creator. The worshiping creature must not assert his own value, but must
recognize that his only value derives from his submission and union to the
divine. It is the sacrifice of Christ which pleases God; we please God now only
inasmuch as we unite ourselves to Christ in the offering of the sacrifice. When
the sacrifice of Christ is carried by the hands of God’s holy angel to the heavenly
altar, we too will be carried up to be yet more closely united with God. Our
deification is only accomplished by participation in the mysteries of Christ,
who said “No one comes to Father except through Me.” </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The content of the liturgy must be formed in
accordance with this rule of self-abandonment and submission to the mysteries
of Christ, so as to be united to the divine nature by participation. The signs
and symbols have the purpose of orienting the soul away from self, except
insofar as the self is meant to be absorbed, as it were, into God and His
mysteries. The liturgy must therefore be something set apart from the world and
from merely human affairs, resembling the liturgy of heaven itself. The
ordinary life of the Christian, as lived through the liturgy, must be something
<i>extraordinary </i>with respect to the life
of man in the world. The liturgy must foster the awareness that the Christian
man is not a citizen of the world, but of the heavenly City of God. Indeed, the
liturgy is itself the living out of this truth – the divine citizenship <i>in act,</i> to use an Aristotelian term. The
liturgy is the primary act of the Church, by which it shows its essential
connection to heaven, its identity with the City of God. Wrapped up with this
great mystery is the theocentricity of the liturgy – its focus on the divine,
rather than the human. As the liturgy is, in a way, the earthly presence of Heaven
itself, set apart from the world, so is it the all absorbing presence of God on
earth, in which man steps out of himself to give himself to God. </span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>(To be continued...)</i> </span></div>
</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-26350078760870313092015-04-07T00:29:00.001-07:002015-04-07T00:30:09.352-07:00The Resurrection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqZW-kdXkEE/VSOHQuBNKYI/AAAAAAAAJ1g/c5xKoVnYNgI/s1600/Resurrection%2Brubens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqZW-kdXkEE/VSOHQuBNKYI/AAAAAAAAJ1g/c5xKoVnYNgI/s1600/Resurrection%2Brubens.jpg" height="320" width="222" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The mystery of Easter is the center and culmination of the entire liturgical year. Every mystery of the faith which we celebrate throughout the whole year is directed and ordered to the resurrection. Without the resurrection, "our faith would be in vain," says St. Paul. The resurrection is the definitive enabling cause of our salvation and union with God, the flipside of the passion and death. Christ suffered and died, not only that He might make satisfaction for our sins, but that He might conquer the death of sin by rising again on the third day. The passion of Christ is incomplete without the resurrection. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The essential life of the Christian is a participation in the life of Christ Himself. Just as the divine person of Christ participated in human nature, so must we humans participate in divine nature, through our participation in the life of Christ Himself. Grace makes us sons of God and partakers of the divine nature. It elevates us to a spiritual adoption by God the Father, of Whom Christ said "no one comes to the Father except through Me." Therefore our spiritual adoption is only by participation in Christ's own life. The resurrection too, then, must become ours. Christ's resurrection becomes our resurrection. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now we participate in Christ's resurrection through various means. First and foremost is the sacrament of Baptism, which the fathers and doctors of the Church teach us is a participation in "Christ dying and rising." For by Baptism, we die to sin and rise to God, regenerated with a new life of the soul. Baptism by immersion in an especially vivid manner recreates the image of being buried (immersed under water) and rising (emerging from the water). Secondly to Baptism, our participation in the resurrection occurs through the liturgical celebration of the resurrection, which is repeated every year on the feast of Easter, and also in various other ways throughout the year (every Sunday, every octave, etc). The constant renewal of this mystery within the liturgical cycle allows us to contemplate the mystery by a participation in the wisdom of God, thereby affecting our assimilation to God through the mystery itself. The resurrection thus literally becomes ours, or the promise of it. The fruits of Baptism itself gain more increase in this way, and our final resurrection to eternal life is better ensured. The liturgy, on the foundation of the sacraments, especially Baptism, is the primary means of our participating in eternal life itself, or its promise, in the virtue of hope.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The liturgy of the Easter Vigil makes these mysteries abundantly clear. The Easter Vigil is traditionally also a celebration of the sacrament of Baptism. The Baptismal font itself is blessed, and the catechumens are baptized this night. The readings of the Easter Vigil - twelve of them in the old rite - are a majestic meditation on the mystery of Baptism and the resurrection, prefigured and foretold in the Old Testament. Genesis, for example, gives us the accounts of the creation and the deluge, signifying the re-creation and purgation that occurs in Baptism. Abraham consents to sacrifice his son, who is nonetheless preserved from the hold of death. In Exodus, the Israelites pass dryshod through the Red Sea, emerging victorious from their Egyptian bondage, a symbol of the free people of the resurrection and regeneration that is Baptism; and yet the sea swallows and drowns Egyptian king and soldiers, who signify the forces of sin and death. A striking passage in Ezekiel relates the prophets vision of the valley of the dry bones, which rise to new life at the breath of God. The Paschal Lamb appears in another reading from Exodus. The whole liturgy is permeated with an awareness of the Baptismal significance of the resurrection, the mystery of Easter.</div>
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St. Augustine speaks of the two regenerations or resurrections. The first is the regeneration of the soul, and so it is the promise of eternal life; one who perseveres in the graces of Baptism will receive the fulfillment of the promise, as well as the second resurrection, of the body, to salvation. But those who do not persevere in the graces of Baptism will fall away from the first resurrection, which is of the soul, but will suffer the second resurrection, of the body, unto judgment and eternal damnation. The people of the City of God participate in the first resurrection, and by living the full life of that City while on pilgrimage on this earth, they better ensure their own perseverance in the first resurrection, that they might enjoy its fulfillment in eternity. The earthly incarnation of the City of God is of course the Church, whose primary acts are the sacraments and the liturgy. Thus it is by our participation in those primary acts that we participate in the first resurrection, and ensure our second resurrection unto eternal life.</div>
MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1590904241978068986.post-89247774693247425492015-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:002015-04-07T00:34:15.164-07:00St. Gregory of Nazianzen - An Easter Oration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The following text is a beautiful oration which was given for the feast of Easter by the Eastern father, St. Gregory of Nazianzen. St. Gregory's teaches us that the liturgical feast is not merely a commemoration, in which we recall to mind the mystery of Christ's resurrection and victory over death. Rather, the liturgy offers us an opportunity to actually revisit that mystery, to encounter it truly, almost as if we were being transported back in time to witness the resurrection itself. Moreover, not only do we witness it, but we become one with the rising Christ: His resurrection becomes our resurrection. Thus, through our participation in the liturgy, we are united to Christ in His resurrection in the past, and thereby participate in the promise of our own future resurrection. The liturgy effects something <i>real </i>within our souls; it is more than merely symbolic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I.
It is the Day of the Resurrection, and my Beginning has good auspices. Let us
then keep the Festival with splendour, Isaiah 66:5 and let us embrace one
another. Let us say Brethren, even to those who hate us; much more to those who
have done or suffered anything out of love for us. Let us forgive all offenses
for the Resurrection's sake: let us give one another pardon, I for the noble
tyranny which I have suffered (for I can now call it noble); and you who
exercised it, if you had cause to blame my tardiness; for perhaps this
tardiness may be more precious in God's sight than the haste of others. For it
is a good thing even to hold back from God for a little while, as did the great
Moses of old, Exodus 4:10 and Jeremiah Jeremiah 1:6 later on; and then to run
readily to Him when He calls, as did Aaron Exodus 4:27 and Isaiah, Isaiah 1:6
so only both be done in a dutiful spirit;— the former because of his own want
of strength; the latter because of the Might of Him That calls.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">II.
A Mystery anointed me; I withdrew a little while at a Mystery, as much as was
needful to examine myself; now I come in with a Mystery, bringing with me the
Day as a good defender of my cowardice and weakness; that He Who today rose
again from the dead may renew me also by His Spirit; and, clothing me with the
new Man, may give me to His New Creation, to those who are begotten after God,
as a good modeller and teacher for Christ, willingly both dying with Him and
rising again with Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">III.
Yesterday the Lamb was slain and the door-posts were anointed, and Egypt
bewailed her Firstborn, and the Destroyer passed us over, and the Seal was
dreadful and reverend, and we were walled in with the Precious Blood. Today we
have clean escaped from Egypt and from Pharaoh; and there is none to hinder us
from keeping a Feast to the Lord our God— the Feast of our Departure; or from
celebrating that Feast, not in the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but in
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, 1 Corinthians 5:8 carrying with us
nothing of ungodly and Egyptian leaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">IV.
Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I
died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him;
today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him Who suffered and rose again for
us— you will think perhaps that I am going to say gold, or silver, or woven
work or transparent and costly stones, the mere passing material of earth, that
remains here below, and is for the most part always possessed by bad men,
slaves of the world and of the Prince of the world. Let us offer ourselves, the
possession most precious to God, and most fitting; let us give back to the
Image what is made after the Image. Let us recognize our Dignity; let us honour
our Archetype; let us know the power of the Mystery, and for what Christ died.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">V.
Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become God's for
His sake, since He for ours became Man. He assumed the worse that He might give
us the better; He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich; 2
Corinthians 8:9 He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might receive
back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that we
might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify us; He died that He
might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying low
in the Fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him Who gave Himself a
Ransom and a Reconciliation for us. But one can give nothing like oneself,
understanding the Mystery, and becoming for His sake all that He became for
ours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">VI.
As you see, He offers you a Shepherd; for this is what your Good Shepherd, who
lays down his life for his sheep, is hoping and praying for, and he asks from
you his subjects; and he gives you himself double instead of single, and makes
the staff of his old age a staff for your spirit. And he adds to the inanimate
temple a living one; to that exceedingly beautiful and heavenly shrine, this
poor and small one, yet to him of great value, and built too with much sweat
and many labours. Would that I could say it is worthy of his labours. And he
places at your disposal all that belongs to him (O great generosity!— or it
would be truer to say, O fatherly love!) his hoar hairs, his youth, the temple,
the high priest, the testator, the heir, the discourses which you were longing
for; and of these not such as are vain and poured out into the air, and which
reach no further than the outward ear; but those which the Spirit writes and
engraves on tables of stone, or of flesh, not merely superficially graven, nor
easily to be rubbed off, but marked very deep, not with ink, but with grace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">VII.
These are the gifts given you by this august Abraham, this honourable and
reverend Head, this Patriarch, this Restingplace of all good, this Standard of
virtue, this Perfection of the Priesthood, who today is bringing to the Lord
his willing Sacrifice, his only Son, him of the promise. Do you on your side offer
to God and to us obedience to your Pastors, dwelling in a place of herbage, and
being fed by water of refreshment; knowing your Shepherd well, and being known
by him; John 10:14 and following when he calls you as a Shepherd frankly
through the door; but not following a stranger climbing up into the fold like a
robber and a traitor; nor listening to a strange voice when such would take you
away by stealth and scatter you from the truth on mountains, Ezekiel 34:6 and
in deserts, and pitfalls, and places which the Lord does not visit; and would
lead you away from the sound Faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
the One Power and Godhead, Whose Voice my sheep always heard (and may they
always hear it), but with deceitful and corrupt words would tear them from
their true Shepherd. From which may we all be kept, Shepherd and flock, as from
a poisoned and deadly pasture; guiding and being guided far away from it, that
we may all be one in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and unto the heavenly rest. To
Whom be the glory and the might for ever and ever. Amen.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Gregory of Nazianzen</td></tr>
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MaestroJMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06552734342224710734noreply@blogger.com0