This is my brief reflection for an Ash Wednesday service at which I presided earlier today. Today's readings are here.
“Even now, return to me with your whole heart”. That’s the prophet Joel in today’s first reading, speaking to us across 2,500 years of human history with a message that is still fresh and urgent. “Return to me”. That’s not quite the same as, “Turn to me for the first time”. What God is asking for from us is not a “first-ever turn”, it’s a “Re-turn”. We’ve been there before; we’ve been closer to God in the past than we are now. So now, God invites us: Come back! Please come back – things can be the way they used to be – or even better. No matter what we’ve done, his door is open, and his light is streaming into our outer darkness. He is ready to forgive us. Please come back! God is standing in the doorway, beckoning to us, with pleading in his eyes. Return to me!
And now is the time! “Even now, return to me with your whole heart”. Don’t wait until tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late. This day, Ash Wednesday, is the very day to begin our journey of return.
In a few moments, we’ll be crossing your foreheads with ashes. The ashes are meant to be an outward sign of our inner reality. The ashes stand for repentance. That's the outward sign. We’re invited to dig deep and locate the inner reality that corresponds with the ashes: that, deep in our hearts, we are sorry that we have disappointed God, that we have failed him in some way. We are sorry that we have sinned against others and against him. The ashes on this day are a way of bringing this regretful inner truth to the surface. For today, and during this season of Lent, let us focus on our inner reality. All of us have mixed hearts: there is goodness in our hearts, but there is sinfulness, too. Let today be a day to begin purifying our hearts. Let the ashes be a sign of our resolve to open our hearts and let God do his purifying, saving work there.
Catholics go to church on Ash Wednesday in record numbers equaling and even in some cases exceeding those of Christmas and Easter. A large part of that is likely the sacramental nature of these services; they are signs of being Catholic. The Papacy is part of that; the world’s attention also focuses upon the rituals that attend it: funeral of a Pope, the election and inauguration of the New Pope.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the 22% of Americans who say Catholicism is their religion, there are many people who identify as “Catholics” because they were once Catholic, or they have relatives and friends who are Catholic, or they see their ethnic identity as being Catholic. In fact, PEW has studied this and estimates that 29% of people in the US identify as being Catholic in this broader way, i.e. while they do not check the Catholic identity box when asked their religion, they do admit that Catholicism has had an impact on their lives in this broader sense.
PEW has also studied the observances of those who say they are Catholic. Half of them pray daily, only 22% say they seldom or every pray. However, only 28% of Catholics attend Mass weekly; forty percent seldom or ever attend. Only 23 % of Catholics go to confession at least annually; forty-seven percent never go to confession.
Only 13% of American Catholics do all three of the above observances. However, at the other end of the spectrum only 13% of American Catholics do NOT do all three observances.
The largest share of Catholics (74%) falls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum of observance. They may pray. They may attend Mass. They may go to confession. But they don’t regularly do all three (pray daily, attend Mass weekly and go to confession annually).
If one looks at the characteristics of those who go to Mass weekly versus those who do not go to Mass weekly, the key difference is the important of the parish in their lives.
For all those who say their religion is Catholicism the following are essential; only 30% of these say that being a part of parish is essential.
Personal Relationship to Christ 69%
Devotion to Virgin Mary 50%
Working to help poor and needy 47%
Receiving the Eucharist 46%
Getting married in the Church 40%
For those who go to Mass weekly, however the following are
ESSENTIALS OF CATHOLIC IDENTITY %
Personal Relationship to Christ 91%
Receiving the Eucharist 83%
Getting married in the Church 70%
Devotion to Virgin Mary 69%
Being part of a parish 67%
Working to help poor and needy 65%
Apostolic Tradition 61%
Opposing abortion 59%
Leadership of Pope 52%
Care of environment 41%
Ethnic festivals 41%
The PEW research affirms that Catholicism is really a big tent religion in the minds of Americans. There are many Americans who affirm they are Catholic even though they do not go Mass weekly. Most of them pray daily, two-thirds of them say that a personal relationship to Christ is essential, half of them have a devotion to Mary, more than forty percent say that working for the poor and needy, receiving the Eucharist and marrying in the Church are essential. These people show up at Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, but only 30% of them show up regularly for Mass on weekends.
Beyond these 22% of American adults who say are Catholic, another 27% say they have an affinity for Catholicism because they are former Catholics or are married to Catholics or have a Catholic ethic identity. In other words, Catholicism has a cultural impact far beyond those who regularly come to Mass on Sunday.
So, when Catholics flock to church for ashes, they are likely renewing their identity with Catholicism, that they have a personal relationship with Christ, that receiving the Eucharist several times a year is essential. However, most of them do not think that parish participation and weekly worship are essential.
DeleteIf Leo plays well as an American pope, he might increase the tendency of many who now identify as Catholics to affirm their Catholic identity on ritual occasions such as Ash Wednesday, and perhaps even to bring along those who identify as "cultural Catholics" e.g. family members. However, whether this will have much of an impact on getting any of these to regular weekend parish worship may be doubtful. Having an identity with a local congregation is more an American Protestant ideal than a Catholic one. You do not have to be a member of a parish in order to be Catholic.
Jack, could you define what “ have a personal relationship with Christ ” actually means? I hear Protestants say this (usually they say Jesus, not Christ). I have seldom heard Catholics say this. I have no idea what a “personal” relationship with a spiritual being (Christ) or a human who died 2000 years ago (Jesus)
Deleteinvolves - definitely not tea and conversation - no hanging out together as we do with people.
I am not an active Catholic, but Catholicism “formed” me, provided the framework through which I view the world, events, morality. So maybe that makes me a cultural Catholic, but I am also a “cultural Episcopalian” because I share much more of their theological understandings and ecclesial rules than Catholic. I never joined up though.once I decided I could no longer be an active Catholic I decided to remain a free agent theologically. Anglicanism is familiar to me -same creed, much smaller catechism, similar liturgies, all the same sacraments, but none are withheld due to one’s sex. Many Catholics disrespect the Episcopal church/Anglicanism, calling them “Catholic lite”. I see them differently - I see them as being more humble than Catholicism, more willing to be open to the Spirit leading them to new understandings. Inviting all who follow Christ to the table as Jesus did - no official Catholic country club membership required. Understanding that “ Real Presence” doesn’t mean literally eating human flesh and drinking human blood, hidden in a different appearance, but still eating human flesh according to the theology. The Catholic hierarchy has an unbecoming arrogance - the “ontological” superiority belief in the priesthood,. They co-opt authority and power belonging only to God - giving “absolution” for sins, and indulgences to buy off time in “purgatory”. The church teaches that I am Catholic forever because of my baptism as an infant - which I did not choose. So - where do I fit in the Pew study?
"You do not have to be a member of a parish in order to be Catholic." But it helps.
DeleteI don't know what the customs were in Europe about parish membership, but where grew up you would have had to drive about 30 miles to go to another parish. You'd still have to go that far, but you'd still get the same priest. They're all clusters of missions to each other now.
I understand in the past, in cities where there were multiple parishes, they were starchy about parish lines (but pretty sure they'd cash your donation check even if you were from "outside.")
In the town where we live now it is more populated and more heavily Catholic than western Nebraska. But we are in a family of parishes, since about 4 years ago, and are encouraged to be somewhat fluid about it. People still are registered at a particular parish, for Baptismal records and marriages especially. We always attend St. Anthony's, but help out at St. Stanislaus (my husband as deacon, and myself as choir member sometimes). St. Bonaventure's is part of the family, but they're big, and "old money".
So - where do I fit in the Pew study?
DeleteThe first question you would encounter would be the question about your current religious identity. You could of course call yourself Catholic since you were baptized Catholic and might have come chosen that if the US had responded more positively to Francis, and you may call yourself Catholic again if the bishops and parishes respond positively to Leo continuing Francis's policies sufficiently so that you find a Catholic parish.
My sense is that like most Americans you define your religion on the basis of what parish or congregation you go to. In that case you would likely classify yourself as a None. While the survey asks about church attendance, it does not have any questions about parish or congregation membership.
You might according to your beliefs classify yourself as Episcopal even though your do not currently go to one of their parishes.
After you got past the first question you would encounter the questions about cultural, former, and family Catholics. If you answered None to your current religious affiliations, these questions would likely classify you as a former Catholic rather than a cultural or family Catholic. (you cannot be in more than one category). My sense is that if someone answers that they were baptized Catholic they are likely be classified as a former Catholic.
If someone like Jean who I think was baptized as a non-Catholic answered None to the religion question, depending upon how she answered subsequent questions (e.g. that she was not baptized as Catholic) she might have ended up in the "family" Catholic category because of her relationship to Raber.
Of course, Jean like yourself has possibilities other than None for her religious identification. Some people answer simply Christian or Protestant if they do not identify with a specific denomination, e.g. belong to a non-denominational community congregation.
It complicated but my sense is that they are doing a good job.
"Catholics go to church on Ash Wednesday in record numbers equaling and even in some cases exceeding those of Christmas and Easter. A large part of that is likely the sacramental nature of these services; they are signs of being Catholic."
DeleteThose are interesting statistics and insights into Catholic identity. I think you are right, that receiving ashes is a way to identify as being affiliated with the Catholic church in some way.
I also speculate that the meaning of the ashes goes beyond identity - there is a spiritual dimension to the ashes that resonates with us, even if it's always easy to articulate what it is.
Or being Episcopalian. Maybe Lutherans too?
DeleteYears ago a well known Catholic priest and speaker noted that the churches are much more full on Ash Wednesday than on Sundays. He commented that Catholics go to church when they are “ getting something”. But “ getting” communion doesn’t have the same lure. I have thought about this for years, and am still puzzled.
Around here Jewish neighbors become members of local synagogues formally, and pay dues. But they can’t handle the crowds of non- active Jews who show up on Rosh Hashanah and even more on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. They rent the gyms at schools for Yom Kippur and hold their day- long repentance services in them to accommodate all the Jews who don’t have a congregation — but want to repent and pray with community.
Ramadan is starting too - an entire month of fasting, prayers and repentance. I worked with Muslims several times in my career. Since it’s a moving holy- day(s), the summer months were hardest since no food or water can be consumed between sunrise and sundown. All of my Muslim colleagues observed the fast.
There seems to be some inner drive for most people, of all religions, to observe holy days and rituals focused on repentance.
Nothing happy/clappy about Ash Wednesday. Interesting that it’s so popular. I like Ash Wednesday very much. There’s a quiet about it and throughout Lent for me. Regarding world and national events, it is a time of sadness and Lent seems suitable. Unfortunately, I was fighting a virus yesterday and too lethargic to participate.
DeleteMy choir sang at our Ash Wednesday Mass last night. It was a full church, but not as much as last year; we didn't have to put folding chairs in the aisles. They added a Spanish language Ash Wednesday Mass in one of the parishes in our "family", and I think quite a few people went to that.
ReplyDeleteOur Nigerian priest was the celebrant, and homilized on a theme similar to Jim's, on returning to the Lord. He spoke of making a U- turn in our relationship, if that was needed.
He also made an anguished request for prayers, he comes from the northern part of Nigeria and had received word that day from friends and relatives there of increased violence against Christians, such that many of them had fled.
The deacons and also took ashes to the nursing homes and hospital. K said it was more for the staff at the hospital, not many patients requested ashes.
DeleteKatherine, Some of the Episcopalian priests around here distribute ashes in public places - often at metro stops and busy intersections.They get a lot of takers. Does the RCC allow that?
Delete"The deacons and also took ashes to the nursing homes and hospital. K said it was more for the staff at the hospital, not many patients requested ashes."
DeleteThere was an article in our local suburban newspaper today about a parish in a nearby suburb who set up a "drive-through" Ashes distribution yesterday in an industrial park in their town. But I think that sort of thing is pretty unusual.
When I worked in downtown Chicago ("the Loop"), a Franciscan parish, St.Peter's, had friars standing on the parish steps, providing ashes to any pedestrian who want them.
There is a school of thought (or at least the thought occurs to me) that if we make it really easy and convenient for people to get ashes, then few people would bother coming to the parish for a mass or an ashes service. I'd like to think there is spiritual and practical value to the services. Among the spiritual values might be that the reception of the word of God, the preaching, the music et al might induce the undertaking of of the season's spiritual renewal. One of the practical values being that it may entice unaffiliated people to become more attached to the church, e.g. by coming to mass more often.
"Our Nigerian priest was the celebrant, and homilized on a theme similar to Jim's, on returning to the Lord."
DeleteAfter the service at which I preached yesterday, I re-read a few reflections I had given at ashes services at previous years. They're all different, but they cover a lot of the same thematic material. I don't know if that's good or bad. I have noticed previously, when looking back on homilies I had given a number of years ago, that a lot of the same themes pop up as in my more recent homilies. Maybe I can take some comfort that the same apparently was true about Jesus - he hit the same ideas more than once, too.
I don't know if there is any hard and fast rule about it, but the consensus here seems to be that they would take ashes to people who would not be able to get to a church service, such as nursing home residents (or hospital staff because of work schedules) but other people who were able should come to church to get ashes, because as Jim said, there is spiritual value in doing so. It should be noted that there is no requirement to be "in good standing" or even to be Catholic, to get ashes.
DeletePope Leo—
ReplyDelete“ We perceive in the ashes imposed on us the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war,” he said.
“This is also reflected in the ashes of international law and justice among peoples, the ashes of entire ecosystems and harmony among peoples, the ashes of critical thinking and ancient local wisdom, the ashes of that sense of the sacred that dwells in every creature,” Pope Leo added.”
FWIW, at the service I served at yesterday, we had somewhere between 500 and 600 people. That is a lot for our parish; our largest Sunday masses rarely draw more than 400 people. Yesterday's service was at 4:30 pm, which is convenient for people commuting home from work, including parents picking up their children from after-school care and daycare. When we were in the thick of parenting, we used to do the same and attend that service, too. That said, I didn't think we had an overabundance of kids yesterday. Some infants and toddlers, and some teens. Not a lot of in-between-age kids.
ReplyDeletePersonal Relationship to Christ 91%
ReplyDeleteReceiving the Eucharist 83%
Being part of a parish 67%
A "personal relationship to Christ" is verbiage from Protestantism that stems from the notion that a priestly mediator is not needed between Jesus and the laity. My belief even now is that you become one with Christ thru Communion. So why a "personal relationship with Christ" and the Eucharist are separate things in the minds of some Catholics puzzles me.
Anyway, the two Church observances I miss most as an Anglican or Catholic are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. I think it is salubrious to be reminded of our mortality and of the collective human sins that nailed Jesus to the cross. Time is short for us all given the messes that need to be cleaned up.
And yet I recall one of the major themes of Benedict XVI was that Catholicism is about having a friendship with Jesus Christ.
Delete"A "personal relationship to Christ" is verbiage from Protestantism that stems from the notion that a priestly mediator is not needed between Jesus and the laity. My belief even now is that you become one with Christ thru Communion."
DeleteThis is a good observation. I agree that the church is more likely to talk about "communion" or "unity" (as in the Body of Christ) with Jesus, as opposed to "personal relationship".
And I agree that, in Catholic thought, the church is viewed as mediating this communion / unity. Following Cardinal Dulles, "church" should be understood as much more than the formal institution with its structures and ecclesial offices.
FWIW, when I was thinking about Jean's comment a bit earlier today, I came up with these relationship pairings with Jesus:
teacher <--> pupil (or perhaps master <--> disciple)
king <--> subject
sibling <--> sibling
servant <--> served one
savior <--> saved one
Interesting. But I’m not sure that most who use the term “personal relationship with Christ” mean any of those things. When I think of a “personal relationship” I think of a friendship with an equal. The closest your list might be sibling to, sibling but very often sibling relationships can be fraught and less close than friendships. I have had several very close friends with whom I have a closer, loving relationship than with my siblings. I have a very strained relationship with my eldest trump loving sister.
Delete"If someone like Jean who I think was baptized as a non-Catholic answered None to the religion question, depending upon how she answered subsequent questions (e.g. that she was not baptized as Catholic) she might have ended up in the 'family' Catholic category because of her relationship to Raber."
ReplyDeleteHmm. I may be off-base, but the Pew study comments and your analysis sounds like you are making distinctions about "how Catholic" someone is, as if there are degrees of Catholicity.
It's my understanding that, in the eyes of the Church, once you are received as a convert, you are a Catholic. Period. Forever.
Unless you are excommunicated, you can't weasel out of your Catholic obligations unless you were lying or didn't truly believe what you promised at RCIA, in which case the whole thing was null and void to begin with.
"In the eyes of the Church" is a key phrase here. If the Catholic Church is not what it understands itself and claims itself to be, then in reality membership is no more permanent than in any other human organization. If Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders do not leave permanent "marks" on the soul, then they do no more than any other rituals of membership.
DeleteA Google search yielded the following: "According to Catholic theology, a priest who goes to hell will have the indelible mark (sacramental character) on his soul, and this mark will make him recognizable, acting as a source of eternal shame and degradation." That sounds a lot like a pre-Vatican II understanding to me, but I don't know if it would still be defended today.
I'm not promoting or denying Catholic theology. I don't know if Jesus was divine, if we can be "friends," if God exists in any anthropomorphic sense, or where we go when we die. All that stuff about marks on the soul sounds like people trying to explain something they don't understand, either.
DeleteMy point was that the Church teaches that Catholic have various obligations to do or not do things and that this may affect where we end up in the Hereafter. But Catholicism, to my knowledge, has no degrees of Catholicity. That's for the Masons.
I think "in the eyes of the church" usually refers to the church's understanding of a situation, as opposed to others' understanding. E.g. If I am married, divorced and remarried, but didn't follow the church's prescribed path for this sequence of life events, then "in the eyes of the church", I may still be married to my first spouse, even if I, my spouses and the rest of the community don't see it that way.
Delete"the Pew study comments and [Jack's] analysis sounds like you are making distinctions about "how Catholic" someone is, as if there are degrees of Catholicity."
Deleted
I think it's legit to think about the strength of the bonds between the church and its various members, without claiming that the people who happen to spend more time in church are "more Catholic than thou".
Jean talks about people “ weaseling out” of their obligations as Catholics. This might apply to adult converts (although I don’t personally think it always does) because they chose to become Catholic. Babies and children don’t choose it for themselves - it is imposed on them. Personally, I don’t think that adults who were baptized when too young to choose for themselves
Deletehave any obligation to the church at all. Leaving the church isn’t “weaseling out” of obligations they never chose. I have also read and heard that many converts aren’t given the “ whole” picture when going through RCIA or whatever it’s called now. I have read that sometimes those leading the classes are prevented from exposing candidates to a full range of Catholic thought, including unsettled controversies. That church laws made by human beings don’t have the same moral weight as God’s laws. Or that the content and discussions of the classes are often effectively censored. If they realize later that they were misled deliberately, they have no moral obligation to stay. They didn’t lie and they aren’t “weaseling out” of anything.
We sang that song "Hosea" for Ash Wednesday. I think the words have good things to say about Lent and returning to the Lord
DeleteThis one?
DeleteCome back to me with all your heart.
Don't let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend, 'though straight and tall;
so must we to others' call.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.
The wilderness will lead you
to your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice,
With tenderness, you shall know.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.
You shall sleep secure with peace;
faithfulness will be your joy.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.
That would be the one! It's a Weston Priory one, I usually like their songs.
DeleteOne of our friends used that song for her husband's funeral. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack. She said he had printed out the words and carried them in his billfold.
That's a nice anecdote. I like the cycle of life theme.
DeleteI crossed paths with the composer of Hosea, Gregory Norbet, sometime in the mid-1980s. I was living in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, near my alma mater, Loyola (or possibly I hadn't graduated by that point) and attended mass there on Sundays. There was some sort of summer session going on for their Institute of Pastoral Studies which pulled in liturgists, musicians and others for a month or so during the summer. There was a choir for the liturgies. I wandered into choir rehearsal one day, explained I lived in the neighborhood and sang with the college choir during the school year, and asked if I could sing with them. The choir director kindly agreed. Norbet was in the choir, and sang some of his compositions, including (I think) Hosea. I had never heard the song, nor heard of him before, but some of the cognoscenti knew him and explained to me that his being there was kind of a biggish deal. I don't think I actually talked to him (maybe he was a tenor, and I was in the bass section), but in observing him, he seemed like a kind, quiet and serious person. Dressed as one would expect a Benedictine monk to dress. I think he played some sort of reed instrument, too, but not sure I've got that right.
DeleteI don't think Gregory Norbet is a monk anymore, I believe he is married. He's still involved with church music though (maybe still collaborates with Weston Priory?)
DeleteHave you ever heard his Ave Maria? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nQahqVCQz-A
It has an alto part that's fun to sing.
The one-volume Christian Prayer for liturgy of the hours has one of his compositions, Come To Me, which is listed as one of the hymn options for the Common of Pastors. I'm pretty sure he sang it a couple of times at Loyola that summer.
DeleteHere is a music-publisher sung version of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U6mwljzjdk&list=RD2U6mwljzjdk&start_radio=1 I thought Norbet himself took it at a bit of a brisker tempo, but I may not be remembering clearly.
Thanks for that link to the Ave Maria - I had not heard that before. His style is pretty contemplative, I think.
"Come to Me" is in our repertoire. We definitely sing it a lot faster!
DeleteI got to church early for yesterday's service, so I was able to spend 15-20 minutes at the church door, greeting folks as they came in. I've been a deacon at this church for 20+ years, and a parishioner since the early 1990s. I don't claim to know every parishioner by sight, but I know the faces of quite a few of the ones who come to mass regularly or semi-regularly (at least if they come in my communion line), and remember quite a few others who used to come and now come more seldom or not at all. (it makes for awkward conversations sometimes in the grocery store aisles: "Hey, how's it going? Oh - hmm, have I seen you recently?")
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I saw a lot of folks I didn't recognize. There are dozens of reasons a person may come to our church rather than another church to get ashes; as I mentioned earlier, this service was at an after-work time, so I'm supposing that some of these strangers were people who work in the area and were stopping off on their way home. Still, it's interesting and exciting to see new faces.
"Hmm. I may be off-base, but the Pew study comments and your analysis sounds like you are making distinctions about "how Catholic" someone is, as if there are degrees of Catholicity."
ReplyDeleteWell in a sense there are degrees. Vatican II affirmed that while the mystery called the Church exists fully in Catholicism it is shared in some fashion by non-Catholics through baptism and the sharing of the Word, and indeed quite fully by Orthodox. The Vatican II teaching was not something new. Augustine in the City of God said that there are some people who appear to be in the Church but are not really there and others who do not appear to be in the Church but are.
I think the PEW study is a great example of the abundance of Catholic grace in the world that is not confined to a small minority that goes to Mass every weekend and confession annually. There are many more Catholics who pray daily, have a personal relationship to Christ, think that serving the poor is very important but only come to Mass at Christmas, Easter and Ash Wednesday. And there are even more people who admit they are somewhat Catholic because they were once Catholic, or have Catholic family or friends, or a Catholic ethnicity.
Why are there people who want to make Catholicism into a small religious sect of people who go to Mass each week, have the same beliefs, and keep the same rules? Sectarianism is Protestant. Catholicism is the "Great Church" for everyone.
The reality is that there is an abundance of clericalism in Catholicism not only of clerics but also of laity who have their notions of who is a "good" Catholic and who is not. Why do we read Sunday after Sunday about conflicts that Jesus had with the religious rulers of his day? Is that only of historical value, so that we can be antisemites? I don't think so. The Scriptures are there because clericalism is a constant religious problem. The Pharisees were not priests, but they were guilty of clericalism because they imposed the very strict purity laws of the priests upon the laity!
I think we Catholics (laity as well as clergy) need a New Evangelization that begins by affirming ALL the Catholicism around us. So to all the Catholics who pray daily, and want to deepen their relationship to Christ and the Trinity but find the homilies or the music, or the people at their local parish boring, I would say come pray the Virtual Hours with me, the same prayers that are prayed daily by priests, bishops and the Pope. Instead of the short readings at Lauds and Vespers use the readings from the Mass Lectionary. All four Gospels are read daily in one year's time. Share the Hours and Lectionary readings with your friends and family. Make the psalms and the Gospels the center of your daily life. Sing or meditate upon the many and varied renditions of the psalms in various musical styles.
Christianity began in House Churches maybe it needs to return to them to free itself from the clericalism of our parishes and dioceses. Let us liberate the Hours from the cleric's breviary and the monks choir stalls into the daily lives of the People of God! The Hours could again become the real engine of Catholic renew as it was in the days when the desert solitaries prayed the psalms, and then the Benedictine monks sang them in the choirs and the then the medicants invented the breviary. Every great renewal in Catholicism has been accompanied by a new form of the Hours. This time it will be the Virtual Hours which can be prayed any time anywhere with anyone who has a virtual device.
One can do *both/and*, and follow the Scriptural exhortation to pray without ceasing (such as the Hours), and honor Jesus' request, on the night before he died, to "do this in remembrance of me". The church needs both, the communal worship of the Mass, and the attitude of prayer throughout the day, even though it's not always possible to take part in both during all periods of life.
DeleteDefinitely we should not be in the business of deciding who is the better Catholic or Christian. If I'm pulling scripture out of my hat, there's another quote from Jesus, " they who are not against us are for us".
The Mass and the Hours are related. In the Eastern tradition the liturgical Lords day begins with Vespers (evening prayer) on Saturday evening followed by Matins (morning prayer) either right after Vespers in the Russian tradition (the all-night Vigil) or before Divine Liturgy on Sunday Morning in the Greek tradition. So essentially the Mass is the culmination of the Liturgical Day beginning at sunset.
DeleteIt is actually possible according the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours to combine either Vespers or Matins with the Mass. When this is done the service begins with either the Mass or the Hours greeting followed by the Hymn from either the Hours or the Mass followed by the psalms and canticles of the Hour. This is then followed by either the Gloria or Prayer of the Mass then the readings, etc. After Communion the Gospel Canticle is sung. The readings of the Hour are eliminated, as is the duplicate Lord's Prayer. The form of the litany at the Mass may use that of the Hours. Simple integration. I would make two slight changes. I would start the service about fifteen minutes before Mass allowing some interlude music between psalms for seating people. I would have a deacon or lay person preside over this portion. At the transition to Mass, I would have the deacon and priest process in with the Gospel book. This is analogous to the Eastern procession of the minsters with Gospel book which occurs before the readings at Divine Liturgy.
People would not have to come early; Eastern worshipers often enter after Vespers or the Divine Liturgy begins.
If we did this, we would integrate the Hours and Mass, allowing people to envision in their lives how the Hours and the Mass are related. They could continue this relationship by using the Lectionary readings as an approved substitute for short readings of the Office. I usually use the first reading at Vespers the night before, and the Gospel reading at Lauds the next day again following the Eastern tradition.
My website integrates the Hours with personal prayer by suggesting that laity do not have to pray the whole Hour like the priests and deacons, nor say pray the whole Hour through at one setting. Rather one can begin an Hour by singing or meditating upon the Hymn. The psalms and canticles can follow either immediately or later. Time can then be taken for mediation upon the readings. The Canticle, litany and prayers may be done later. One may or may not share some of these with friends and family members. We could really make the Hours with their hymns, psalms, and longer readings into an evangelization not only of our personal lives but also of our family members and friends. Betty and I have been celebrating the Hours like this ever since the pandemic. If people either can't go to church or do not want to go to church for liturgy simply bring the liturgy to them wherever they are. We are a universal not a parochial church.
Jack - “Why are there people who want to make Catholicism into a small religious sect of people who go to Mass each week, have the same beliefs, and keep the same rules?”
DeleteMaybe because that’s what the catechism teaches? Those who fail to go to mass every Sunday without a “good” reason (near death?) commit a “mortal sin” - official Catholic teaching. Unworthy of communion. The contraceptive teaching implies that the 90+% of Catholics who use modern methods of birth control are also committing a “mortal sin”. I often see comments online by the every-Sunday-at-mass, weekly-confession, weekly-Perpetual-Adoration Catholics condemning all those 1 or 2 kid families because they assume (probably correctly) that they use modern birth control methods - sniffing that they have no right to go to communion and that receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin condemns them to hell for all eternity.
Over the years I have asked various Catholic “experts” - priests, adult religious Ed teachers, etc) at different times about dissent and following one’s conscience and what is really “required” of Catholics in terms of belief and practice (following the man- made rules) to be a “real” Catholic. The responses are all over the map. Some insist on the catechism definitions. Others say only what is in the Creed, although the Creed is used by many not Catholic Christians. Some say everyone who was ever baptized in the RCC even if they haven’t been in a Catholic Church since. Etc.
I think that returning mass to house churches with the lay host ( who lives there) presiding, as was done in the early church, might lure some unchurched to mass— because the small group enables true community, unlike sitting at a mass with 500 other people who are mostly or all strangers.
There are only a couple of masses in my lifetime that so strongly “moved” me with a sense of God’s presence that I’ve always remembered them. One was in a private home, with a priest and the members of the Social Justice Committee. The other was in a campground on a beach in Virginia - Assateague Island, birthplace of Misty of Chincoteage, a popular children’s book at one time. A priest who was camping spread the word among the campers that he would be saying mass on Sunday and where he was located. He set up an altar on the back of his pickup truck. Our small group was immersed in God’s truly “awe-some” presence, in our magnificent God created natural setting.
My Old English group recently had a lively discussion about the rise of new communities largely for the elderly inspired by beguines and beghards in Europe. Maybe those would be examples of Catholic-adjacent worship Jack describes?
DeleteI agree with him that virtual and AI gizmos that accommodate home worship will proliferate unless Internet access collapses or becomes prohibitively expensive.
Enthusiastic folks like Jack will lead the way. Whether it leads to people loving and helping their neighbors IRL remains to be seen. There is already a tendency to see the parish church as a protective fortress from sinners. What happens when every home is such a fortress? If the Holy Spirit is leading, I guess it'll all turn out OK. I don't expect to have to worry about virtual church in my lifetime, in any case.
Off- topic especially for Jean. Jean, I think you subscribe to the WaPo still. In case you missed it, they are having a virtual discussion on Tuesday of scientific advancements in research on rare diseases.
Deletehttps://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?trackId=5b8c25d8ade4e20f4f314fcb&s=6999c87152f684690b0f042e&linknum=1&linktot=21
Thank you for thinking of me. I do keep up with research on myeloproliferative neoplasms through the MPN Research Foundation, MPN Education & Advocacy, which has "ask the expert" Zoom sessions a few times per year, and the Mayo Clinic's quality of life support groups.
DeleteAs far as I know, Harmony Biosciences, which is sponsoring the Post session, is not doing research into rare blood and bone cancers. They made their money initially with a treatment for narcolepsy and are likely hoping to expand in the rare disease treatment biz. The Orphan Drug Act (a Reagan initiative) offers certain incentives and extended patents to manufacturers that pursue rare disease treatment.
I'm always a little jaded about Pharma-sponsored events. I have been to a couple underwritten by Incyte (they make janus-kinase gene inhibitors used in MPNs). Their speakers are good, but you have to first sit through a 45-minute Incyte infomercial and fill out detailed informational surveys for their field rep about your medical history and caregivers.
But I appreciate the thought.
Jack - “Why are there people who want to make Catholicism into a small religious sect of people who go to Mass each week, have the same beliefs, and keep the same rules?”
ReplyDeleteAnne – “Maybe because that’s what the catechism teaches? Those who fail to go to mass every Sunday without a ‘good’ reason (near death?) commit a ‘mortal sin’ - official Catholic teaching. Unworthy of communion. The contraceptive teaching implies that the 90+% of Catholics who use modern methods of birth control are also committing a ‘mortal sin’….Over the years I have asked various Catholic ‘experts’ - priests, adult religious Ed teachers, etc.) at different times about dissent and following one’s conscience and what is really ‘required’ of Catholics in terms of belief and practice (following the man- made rules) to be a ‘real’ Catholic. The responses are all over the map.”
The tendency of our parishes and religious professionals to emphasize catechism more than the liturgy as the source of faith formation is responsible for a lot of wrong ideals about what Catholicism is all about. Generally I prefer to use sociological language when talking about Catholicism, i.e. that it consists of human capital (i.e. all the people who say they are Catholic) and social capital (all the Catholic institutions, e.g. dioceses, parishes, religious orders, schools, hospitals, etc.) and cultural capital (the bible, liturgical books, hymns, commentaries, art, music, etc.) These things are what PEW is talking about when they identify various ways in which people may identify with Catholicism, and when they ask people who say Catholicism is their religion what they consider to be an essential part of Catholicism.
I avoid the theological language of "Church" because it is a theological mystery which is very poorly defined by what most people think of when they read "church", namely the clergy and/or places of worship.
The liturgical reforms of Vatican II were undertaken to make the liturgy the center of faith formation. Our worship forms what we believe. Unfortunately, rather than placing emphasis upon improving the liturgy (better homilies and music and far greater active participation in the liturgy including the Liturgy of the Hours) we have doubled down on religious education hoping that some prose explanations of what this is all about will encourage Catholics to participate.
The standard joke is that much religious formation is more an exit ramp for young Catholics than an entrance into greater participation. I was terribly bored by the catechism classes of my youth and not very inspired by the RENEW and Bible study groups that I have participated in at our local parish. However, the Liturgy of the Hours has given me a faith formation equivalent to that of the clergy and religious.
When I used my liturgical music collection to offer RENEW for music lovers in my parish, I got a very enthusiastic group that meet in my house for years. When they needed someone to facilitate a Bible study group on Tuesday nights, I offered my services. When they learned that I was bringing my liturgical music collection, they said that I could not, to which I responded that I would not then be a facilitator.
We have plenty of people in our parishes, professionals and volunteers, who want to promote their notions of Catholicism through religious education. They attract some like-minded people, alienate others, but are mostly just plain boring.
My alternative is the Hours in their virtual format, liturgy easily adaptable to all times, places and people. While I can understand how difficult it would have been to introduce the Hours into daily life before our virtual technology, I do not see how we can avoid introducing our people to its virtual experience. Are we going to continue to say it is OK to require the clergy to daily pray the Hours (they are not required to offer or go to Mass daily) while not offering any help to laity to pray the Hours.
DeleteThey no longer have the excuse that it would take too much time to do that. My website has all the materials for anyone to discern the place of the Hours in their lives. They don't need anyone else to help them.
All this active participation may not be very attractive to religious professionals or the many Catholics who want a passive religion, just pray, pay and obey.
The call for small worship groups within parishes is a good idea, but the local parish--and I presume many parishes--have always been very hinky of anything that does not come from Liturgical Press or Liguori or whatever with official leader's guides, workbooks, and auxiliary materials. These materials are all pitched to the middle, and they can be boring.
DeleteYears ago, I went to a knitting retreat at the diocesan center. It was put on by a knitting ministry at one of the big parishes. It was wonderful, and I find I still do a lot of praying while I knit. I also enjoyed reading about St Rafqa, the blind Lebanese nun who knitted socks for the sisters in her order.
Bishop Barron's Word on Fire puts out a monthly booklet for $9 which has the whole text for the Hours without page turning except for the opening Hymns which are all in the back of the booklet.
DeleteI advertise it on my site. They do not have much instruction since you read straight through each day. In bulk they can be purchased for $7 a month.
Barron is about as official as you can get, since WOF got the contract not Lit Press for the next edition of the breviary.
"All this active participation may not be very attractive to religious professionals or the many Catholics who want a passive religion, just pray, pay and obey."
DeleteEveryone has to figure out their own prayer life. I am familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours because it was covered in deacon formation. But as a lay woman I have no canonical obligation, for it, unlike clergy, who are obliged to at least do morning and evening prayer. My husband doesn't treat it like an obligation, he does all of it, willingly and with devotion. But I am more drawn to contemplative prayer. I do subscribe to Magnificat, which is a monthly publication by the Dominicans. It has an abbreviated version of morning and evening prayer. I read the morning prayer, and their little reflections on the saints. But I pray my own way, and I think that is okay, I don't think there is a wrong way.
I also provide a YouTube link for the hymn so that if you use the booklet in conjunction with my website, you don't have to go to the back of the booklet.
DeleteSince my site has the full text in both recited and two sung versions, people who use the WOF booklet might easily find they don't need it since everything is on their device.
I am encouraging people to keep their booklets for group recitation. Since each month contains most of the four-week psalter one merely needs to turn to the day of the month. Today for the first week of Lent today is the first Monday of each four week monthly cycle, i.e. is same as week 1 of Advent and weeks 1,5,9, 13,17, 21, 25, 29, 33 of Ordinary time. So if you subscribe for 6 months you have enough booklets for six people.
I think the booklets are also good for underlining and making notes about the psalms. So one might want to have a booklet handy even if one is listening to the sung or recited text. I usually put my iphone in the pouch of my hoodie. It gives a much better surround sound than earphones. Also, that means I can share it with people when I walk at the beach since it can be heard for about twenty feet. I have gotten questions like "where did you get that wonderful music?", so I now have business cards with my website to hand out as an answer.
Katherine “ …Everyone has to figure out their own prayer life……I am more drawn to contemplative prayer. …… I pray my own way, and I think that is okay, I don't think there is a wrong way.”
DeleteAgree. There is no wrong way to pray, and we are all different. Not everyone is drawn by repetitive, liturgical prayer, whether the mass or the Hours. Silent meditation is my preferred form of prayer. But it’s often most fruitful after reading a short written reflection of some kind and contemplating it for a while. I often use the same passages fora while. They are short but take a while to really sinkin. I have a few books that offer short reflections (a couple of paragraphs) usually on a brief scripture or other quote, such as “The Breath of the Soul” by Joan Chittister. One is by a Hindu spiritual writer named Eknath Easwaren. He draws on a wide range of spiritual, wisdom writings. The Bible, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim scriptures as well as great literature. They are not as short, but I have also used Merton’s “Thoughts in Solitude”. and “NewSeeds of Contemplation” in the same way - for contemplating and meditating. I need to read Merton in small doses.
Sorry. The sticky keys on the iPad are getting worse. The touchscreen is really hard to use these days. Maybe time for a new one.
DeleteYikes! All these systems and booklets and recorded music and business cards! Sounds like it takes concentration and money, two things I don't have much of.
DeleteI suppose I still pray like a Protestant. I usually read a Psalm when I get up.
I have a few religious tchotchkes around the house that help me remember to pray for things that mean something to me. I have a St Patrick plaque that reminds me to pray for alcoholics and addict, a Dorothy Day icon that reminds me to pray for the poor, a St Hilda image that reminds me to pray for teachers, etc.
Then a couple times a day, at no set time but usually during exercises or while brushing my teeth: What makes me sad/worried/angry that I cannot fix? Who in Heaven might help me get through it? Whom do I miss that I can no longer see? What am I sorry for? What am I grateful for? What's one thing I did right that I can think about at bedtime instead of the stuff that keeps me awake?
It's all really loosey goosey now.
Yikes! Jean, from the outside your system looks far more complex than mine! It would require a lot of work on my part to understand and get into it.
DeleteOn the other hand, my website is the simple accumulation of all the virtual prayer that I have done since the beginning of the pandemic. I simply look at what I have done last year (and the years before) for this day and time and then copy it into today's post.
I have not only the paired down Saint Gabriel Hours but my far more complex original Virtual Divine Office blog where I have posts like the ones on Weston Priory that are on my new post here.
The blogs are big, annotated breviary that are more like the liturgical manuscripts of old except now with auditory as well as visual stimuli. The visual stimuli include my whole photography collection of tens of thousands of pictures which I use as Icons for each day. They are often of the same day last year or even many years ago. Increasing they include photographs of all the artwork that Betty does. In some way they are a visual offering of my whole life and experience of the transcendent. And I am sharing these with others in a way that I hope is far deeper than I might do with mere words.
Some of the people in my RENEW group were very much into spontaneous prayer; I encouraged them to do so whenever they were so inspired but did not engage in it myself. I took them if they wanted to know me deeply, they should listen to the music that I love rather than the words that I say. I think that is true now of my websites only visually as well as in sound.
Jean’s approach to prayer is much like mine, except when I do centering prayer. It’s very easy. No set times. Not at all formal. It’s spontaneous prayer, but silent, not in groups. Mostly thoughts inspired by daily life, as it is lived. I often tell God how grateful I am for my beautiful view of woods, stream deer, fox and birds that I see every day standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes. I may see a story about a young child who has lost their family so I ask God to be with that child who is experiencing such fear and loneliness at losing a parent. I still pray “ Jesus, Mary , Joseph” when I hear an emergency siren, as I was taught to do in first grade. “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence ( a 17th century Carmelite) is a good outline of this approach to prayer. I often pray gratitude prayers for hot water showers and, when I change bed linens, for machines that wash my sheets and dry them in the winter. Especially since returning from my trip to the Dominican Republic years ago. Any little thing that comes up during the day. Far less complicated than scheduled, formal prayers. Personally, I prefer my collection of books with reflections and meditations to the psalms so they have never been an important part of my prayer life. But many truly love the Psalms. I did enjoy Kathleen Norris’s book of reflections on her life at St John’s Abbey, and her appreciation for singing the Office with the monks - The Cloister Walk I dropped out of Renew fairly quickly, and also a couple of Bible study groups. Not for me. But great for others. As Katherine says, everyone has to figure out their own prayer life.
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DeleteMy parents utterly mocked prayer as superstitious magical thinking. My mother used to haul out Matthew 6:16 as "proof" that prayer was for hypocrites who just want to look holier than everyone else. I suppose I am still a bit conflicted about prayer as a result.
DeleteI do think that praying ought to lead to a tangible result, whether it prompts you to make a donation or take a hot dish to someone or calm your fears enough to carry on with the burdens of life.
I do recoil a bit when people tell me they're praying for me. I see a lot of conversations in oncology waiting rooms. Usually, when people say, "Welp, I'm prayin' for ya," it means that they have reached their limit hearing about someone's health woes and they want to get going.
A lot of people told us they were praying for us after my husband’s fall. I think was meant generously and kindly. So I even asked for prayers. People often offer prayers because they often don’t know how to say anything else that is appropriate or comforting- “ I’m so sorry to hear that your husband broke his back, and is now paralyzed for the rest of his life” doesn’t cut it really. Or “I’m so sorry that your niece and her husband were shot to death by a 17 year old neo- Nazi”. Etc. We don’t have the right words and often feel helpless. So we offer prayers. And receive them.
DeleteI have said before that I don’t believe in intercessory prayer if that means God responds to some people more than others (responds only to Christians). But I have never minded people praying for us and I’m happy to pray for others, even though I have no idea if prayers are heard by God or if they make any difference. I doubt it. Except maybe they provide spiritual support, encourage strength in the face of fear or tragedy. I don’t think that prayers reverse or correct the natural order. Tragedies happen. God doesn’t cause them, nor stop the consequences IMO. But it seems to me that saying to someone that you will pray for them is a way to show care when feeling totally without meaningful words of comfort, when feeling helpless to do anything. And I am quite willing to pray for others because prayers can’t hurt. And saying I will pray for someone often prompts me to reflect, to try to figure out ways to provide tangible support, so praying for others helps me. But my devout evangelical brother and sister in law upset my husband, and angered me, by saying it was God’s will that he fall and break his back and that being upset or sad or depressed was wrong. And that I just needed to remember this or that bible verse they would quote. I did sometimes cling to a bit of scripture or other quote meant to comfort or inspire that came from friends who weren’t telling us we were rejecting God’s will. But I didn’t appreciate being told that my fear, anxiety and depression were basically sinful and that they would pray for me. Nor did I appreciate them telling my husband that becoming paralyzed was “God’s plan for him” ( which really upset him) and they would pray for him.
It’s tricky.
Yes, I do see what you're saying, and I am not knocking prayer, your asking for prayers, people who pray, or the type of prayer people find helpful. I am happy to pray for people if they ask me to, and I have asked people here to pray for others occasionally because I know it means something.
DeleteSo what may sound like criticism or scoffing comments on my part stems from lingering ambivalence toward and discomfort with talking about prayer.
Jack's prayer life intimidates me, frankly, and so does the easy way that many here embrace regular church-going and Catholic life. When I've tried to emulate these examples, they make me feel terrible because I get nothing much out of them.
All of that is my personal problem with envy and spiritual aridity and should not be construed as criticism of others.
Prayer is mysterious. Sometimes it feels like it's going no farther than the ceiling. But yet Jesus prayed. The saints prayed. I heard an interesting podcast one time which suggested that prayer formed a "net" over the world, think of it as everyone who is praying joining hands with everyone. In some way maybe there is synergy with raising our hearts to God and joining them with everyone else who is praying.
DeleteI sometimes agree with Jean’s mother - intercessory prayers might just be magical thinking. I don’t pray for cures only for strength or courage or patience in a situation for myself or others. I definitely don’t pray for” my team” to win a sporting match! My most frequent prayer for myself is asking for faith - for belief. Help my unbelief…. I envy those who truly believe in God - a God who loves.
DeleteI often feel uncomfortable with spoken spontaneous prayer. The type of prayer offered before a sports game! Now legal I’m public schools too. Very often asking someone to say grace publicly results in a meandering word salad prayer. When I’ve been asked ( at a family dinner for example, including the Protestant family events) I have always used the standard Catholic grace- “ Bless us oh lord….etc. I learned the hard way not to ask either my Catholic brother- in - law nor my evangelical brother-in-law to say grace! The food generally got cold.
I’m not really comfortable with someone laying hands on me and praying and I don’t do that to others. Generally I’m not comfortable with public piety. I pray in silence. I have a friend who has had a very tough year. I haven’t seen her in 15 or so months. She was dealing with getting her home ready to sell and moving ( her husband died years ago when she was 56) and then dealing with a family crisis of her sister’s. She has been commuting to her sisters home to help her sister (single with no kids) deal with a legal crisis, still is not yet resolved. If it isn’t resolved on appeal, her sister may go to prison as an “ example”. She angered DOJ/DHS My friend recently got in touch with me after not responding to messages since last May. I didn’t offer prayers,, even though she is a devout Catholic, but thinking about that moved me to supporting her in a different way that I hope will lessen her anxiety about her sister.
Anne, I can't imagine anything less helpful than telling someone that their sufferings were "God's will". I don't know why someone would say that! If they can't think of what to say, just silence and a hug would be better.
DeleteKatherine, or saying “ I will pray for you” to show the do care, but don’t know what to say, But then shut up! 🤨
DeleteJean “When I've tried to emulate these examples, they make me feel terrible because I get nothing much out of them…All of that is my personal problem with envy and spiritual aridity”.
ReplyDeleteBut it may not be a problem. As Katherine notes, we find our own best way to pray. Prayer is simply a way to try to communicate with God. Mass and other liturgical prayer does not really work for me - it usually leaves me feeling spiritually arid. Charismatic prayer doesn't work for me - it’s actually somewhat of a “ turn off”. Bible study groups don’t work for me. But 25 years ago I stumbled into a Centering Prayer group one very hoy and humid summer night and found “ my” prayer. I can still visualize that moment, the details, the faces and voices of the people in the room. Silence doesn’t work for many, and is actually condemned by super conservative Catholics for some reason. Not sure why. But I no longer worry about being a “ good Catholic”, fitting into some kind of narrow mold. You “pray” through the inspiration of the saints and your desire to learn from them how to live a Christian life, by learning their responses to God. That’s your way to pray, to seek God. And maybe hear Gid speaking to you, through the saints.
As I’ve said, I do envy those here who seem to have such an easy relationship with God through whatever prayer they are comfortable with, like mass. But the prayer life that works for others usually fails when I try it. So I always end up going back to the silence when God seems too far away, which is often. I’ve slipped out of the habit dozens of times during the last 20 years, but eventually I always go back to it. I’m going back now, to fight the depression that is always in the shadows behind me as I ponder the course of our lives for the next few years. So many hard decisions to make, so many unknowns. In silence I can sometimes quiet my mind enough to begin to hear God.
I can’t give any advice on how to pray. Like Katherine,, I think everyone has to figure that out for themselves somehow. When I went to CP that first night, I went because of a very powerful feeling that I was “ supposed” to go. I guess then I can say that there actually have been times when God has spoken to me, or led me to something. God has not been totally absent even though it seems that way most of the time.. But I had to learn to shut out the background noise from human beings about the “best” way to pray, and the church telling me that going to mass every week and confession regularly are essential to the Christian life, and that if I didn’t follow all the man- made rules I would burn in hell. Once I let go of trying to do what I was told I should do, and listen to God ( in silence) I began to open to a better spiritual path - for me. Not necessarily for others. But I lose my way a lot too.
DeleteThe harder thing has been learning not to judge others for whom the conventional path works just fine, but who judge and condemn those like me - “Lapsed” Catholics. For me, that word is still Fingernails scratching on the blackboard. I resented the term because of the implied judgments in those who use it.
The hardest of all for me is trying not to judge people like Catholics who judge other Catholics as not “real” Catholics, and people like my evangelical brother in law and his late wife whose beliefs upset both of us, and angered me.
. But I know they were sincere and meant well. I try to forgive. But I will search for the rest of my life, and have to be willing to die without any real confidence that there is a “heaven” or a God who is love. Just hope that there is. I am christian not because I believe that Jesus is divine ( maybe, maybe not) or that he died to redeem us from our sins and the punishment of an unforgiving God, but because Jesus taught us how to live, how to be “ good” - to love, to help thy neighbor. To Forgive, to have mercy. To Repent of the harm you do. To be kind. To try to be just and not judge ( judging others is one of my biggest sins). How to try to live a truthful life and, if “ speaking truth to power”, how to be strong and accept the consequences, as he did.
"... prayer formed a 'net' over the world, think of it as everyone who is praying joining hands with everyone. In some way maybe there is synergy with raising our hearts to God and joining them with everyone else who is praying."
ReplyDeleteI like that image. Maybe we need to see more value in "joining hands" than in hoping God will swoop in like that guy on Queen for a Day with money, a professional makeover, and a Broyhill dinette set.
I do believe that when we sincerely pray for the good of others or reform for ourselves that we are in a temporary state of grace.
And diagnostic equipment also shows some physiological changes to the brain and vital signs when people say the rosary or whatnot. So even if prayer does nothing supernatural, it can reset your energy and focus.
I would agree that praying for others works on us. It forces us to go out from ourselves to think about others, and what we can do. Any kind of meditation, including the rosary (which is like a mantra because of the repetition) produces measurable physiological changes. A Boston cardiologist wrote a book many years ago about this called The Relaxation Response. He prescribed meditation (TM) for his heart patients. He even went to Asia at one point to study a group of Buddhist monks who gave him permission to hook them up to monitors. It was a fascinating study. Christians can achieve the same with centering prayer, or maybe the rosary or chanting psalms, but probably only if that is so ingrained after years of practice that they can eliminate words from their active consciousness. CP quiets the “ monkey mind” in order to be able to hear God in the silence. But it relaxes the body also.
Delete“Be still, and know that I am God.
Be still and know.
Be still”