Communion in the Hand

I know that people have very strong feelings about whether they should receive our Lord in the Eucharist in the hand or on the tongue. Personally, I feel that both ways can be done very reverently. An image that makes me appreciate reception in the hand more than I previously did is to remind myself that I am a beggar before God (a metaphor used by St. Augustine, although not in the context of receiving the Eucharist; see Sermon 61, section 8). As a beggar holds out his hands pleading for compassion and material sustenance, so too we come to our Lord seeking mercy and spiritual sustenance. Unlike the beggar, who is my equal, I am not God's equal. And yet, He gives me the audacity to hold out my hand to Him, asking for the Bread of Life.

How we receive Christ in the Eucharist, both externally and internally, matters a great deal. Our challenge as individuals is to choose the option that allows us to show the most reverence and love for Christ.

Love More

The task of the Christian life can be summed up in two words: love more.

Is Church Almost Over?

Children often ask the most profound questions. My five-year old son does not much like attending mass. After Communion, he nearly always asks, "Is church almost over?" While I wish he enjoyed mass more, his question does give us older folks an opportunity to reflect on the nature of the Church and the mass.

I would like to think that I would rather die than not go to mass each week (unless I was literally unable to go). However, that does not mean that I always want to go to mass. In fact, Saturday when we went to the vigil mass, I was reluctant to go. I was tired. I wanted to stay home and rest. And yet, I knew that I would not do that; it was not an option. Love is about the will, not about feelings. I don't always feel like doing chores around the house, mowing the lawn, giving the kids a bath, or any other number of things. However, I do them because not to do them would be to add more work to someone I claim to love (namely, my wife) or to not take care of someone I claim to love (namely, my children). Because going to mass is an important way to show that we love the One who loved us so much that He created us, gave up His life for us, and sanctifies us, then I could not skip mass and say with any credibility to God, "I love you." Jesus did not feel like suffering and dying for us. However, he did it out of love for the Father, and for us.

"Is church over yet?" I am reminded of Jesus' words: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The Church will not be over until Jesus returns in glory at the end of time. And we thank God for that consolation that the Church will be with us until then, giving us the sacraments, strengthening us, showing us how to draw closer to God.

Of course, my son is confusing "church" with "mass." He really means, "Is mass over yet?" The Church is the assembly of the faithful, the People of God, the Body of Christ with Christ as the head and the faithful as the members of his body. The church is also the physical building in which we worship. But the mass is the liturgy, the worship itself. Also, the word "mass" and "mission" come from the same Latin root. At the end of mass, we are told in English "The mass is ended; go in peace." But in Latin the text is Ite missa est, which literally means, "Go, having been sent." The mass is meant to go with us, to strengthen us to do what we are called to do, which is to witness Christ to others. In Propositio 42 from the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held October 2-23, 2005, we are told:

This eucharistic encounter takes place in the Holy Spirit, who transforms and sanctifies us. He reawakens in the disciple the firm desire to proclaim boldly to others all that he has heard and experienced, to bring them to the same encounter with Christ. Thus the disciple, sent forth by the Church, becomes open to a mission without frontiers." (Quoted in Pope Benedict XVI's post-synodal exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis, section 13, footnote 29)

As such, the mass is never over. The mass and the mission are inextricably bound together, and neither has any frontiers. The mass and the mission transcend the frontiers of space and time. As Vinny Flynn writes in 7 Secrets of the Eucharist:

So, in reality there is only one Mass, one eternal Liturgy of the Eucharist, and it's taking place in heaven all the time. Christ, the One Great High Priest, is celebrating it, perpetually offering His once-for-all sacrifice to the Father in the heavenly court, surrounded by Mary and the saints, and by the angels, who sing His praise in endless adoration." (p. 44).

Is church almost over? No, son. Thanks for asking.

Bloom Where You're Planted?

I love to garden. Gardens are a wonderful catalyst for thinking about God and his creation. There is a very good book that helps us to do this: God in the Garden: A Week-by-Week Journey through the Christian Year by Maureen Gilmer. Gilmer quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, the nineteenth-century American essayist and poet: "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered" (p. 83). I like that. We deem plants to be weeds when we play God, determining what will be inside the pale, and what will be outside. We impose our will on nature to make our own creation. That's not necessarily a bad thing (I attempt to do that all the time in my garden), but it is good for us gardeners, and for all people, to remain humble and reflective.

I also think of the saying, "Bloom where you're planted." There is a lot of sense in that saying which applies to many situations. Often we consign our lives to "what if," daydreaming rather than living, complaining rather than serving.

However, over the years I have also planted enough plants in the wrong place to know that this saying is not always the best advice. If you plant a rose in the shade, it will not do well, no matter how much it tries. It may limp along, but it will not thrive. So why should we remain where we do not thrive? Sometimes, our doing badly where we are is a not-so-subtle hint that we do not belong there. If we spend time in quiet prayer with God, we may hear Him telling us to pick up and go to where we can bloom--more particularly, to go where he is sending us. And then once we are there, to bloom. But unlike plants, we have legs, and God may tell us to pick up again a few years later or many years later to go elsewhere. The important thing is to listen to God and to do his will. "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." Wherever He sends us, it will be for own good, so that we may become the person He created us to be, to bloom.

President Obama and Notre Dame

Today, of course was the day that President Obama gave the commencement address and received an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame. Here is what I wrote in an email to Father Jenkins, president of Notre Dame:

Dear Fr. Jenkins:

I urge you to rescind the invitation to President Obama to speak at Notre Dame's commencement this year. During his short time in office, President Obama has been relentless in spearheading assaults on human life and dignity as regards the Mexico City policy, embryonic stem cell research funding, and health provider conscientious clauses, as well as the potential for passing the "Prevention First" bill or the "Freedom of Choice Act." Please do not both embolden him in these pursuits and cause scandal and confusion among the Catholic faithful. God has made you the shepherd of an important Catholic institution, and your flock needs you to stand up for the most vulnerable in our society, and to firmly and loudly oppose such devaluing of human life and constriction of religious liberty. Otherwise, some day Notre Dame will simply become just another school reflecting contemporary cultural values, indistinguishable from secular universities, and the university's Catholic trappings will be but tokens of a forgotten purpose, like walking into a room and not remembering why you went there.

While we must voice our objections to President Obama and Fr. Jenkins, we must do so in charity and reason and temperance, and that part I agree with in President Obama's speech today. We must also take comfort in Jesus' words to his disciples in the "farewell discourse" in the Gospel of John:

Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. (John 14:1).

Let us put our trust there.

Caravaggio and the Rest on the Flight into Egypt

I was looking at Caravaggio's Rest on the Flight into Egypt (ca. 1597). I love the picture of Mary holding the infant Jesus (even if Mary looks like she's from Ireland or perhaps Northern Italy with her red hair rather than a Middle Eastern Jewish woman). The full picture includes Joseph listening to an angel play a violin. That's part of the angel's wing in the part of the picture shown above.

The image of Mary holding Jesus in her arms as both sleep is so peaceful. At mass on Saturday I contemplated this image as I was receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. Anyone who has held a sleeping baby knows the peacefulness of the contact of flesh to flesh, of the little heart beating against your chest. You know the joy of holding someone who loves so purely, so completely. I thought about Jesus as that little baby, as the one in my hands who holds me and loves so purely, so completely.

I have also tried to reverse that image to enhance my prayer life. Jesus taught us to call God not just "our father," but "our dada" (abba). We are to become like a child, totally dependent on the one who gave us life. So I try to think of myself as a baby, being held tightly in God the Father's arms, resting, being soothed, trying to be as close to Him as I can get.

All Creatures Great and Small

I was talking with my children the other day about "creatures." They know the term, as it is typically used today, in the sense of "monsters" or "aliens." I told my children that they themselves were creatures. They said they were not. However, I told them that we are creatures, because we are created by God, and that only God is not a creature.

Later I was thinking about how important this idea is.

When we feel self-important, we need to remember that we are created beings, and that the Creator is the all-important One.

When we are too busy for prayer (one of my more pernicious sins recently), we need to remember that the One who created us loves us and wants to hear from us.

When we think that creation is ours for the pillaging, we need to remember that we have a bond with the rest of creation as creatures ourselves. We are not separate from creation. While we are most beloved of creation, we are related to the rest of creation through our mutual Creator. St. Francis reminds us of this in the prayer, "The Canticle of the Sun" which was apparently originally called "The Canticle of the Creatures":

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.
We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.
We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.

Being a creature is about relationship. It is about knowing one's place as both lowly and exalted at the same time. It is about knowing that all of creation speaks of the Creator, and that no matter where we turn we can see the effects of God. I am reminded of the hymn, "All Things Bright and Beautiful":

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Let's bring back the use of the word "creature." It helps us to remember who we are, and who God is.