The title of this Post is the refrain of the responsorial Psalm of Mass for Monday of this week. It is a provocative antiphon to say the least.
Given the difficulties that continue on the East Coast and the Midwest in the aftermath of Friday night’s remarkable storm (a mini hurricane, really), the readings of Monday’s Mass really spoke to how forgetful we can be regarding our fragility. Millions remain “powerless” in the midst of sweltering heat and electric companies say it may be the end of the week before power is restored. Yes, human “power” (aka electricity) is sorely lacking and all the kings horses and all the kings men are currently unable to deliver help.
Disclaimer – I write this as one unaffected by the power outages and I “coolly” reflect on these matters in air conditioned comfort. But fully half my parishioners are not so lucky and cannot even run a fan to get relief. It is they who must experience our frailty while I merely comment on it. I tip my hat to those who show patience in this current unpleasantness.
The readings today however give us an important teaching that is worth pondering.
The first reading today from Amos, while largely a warning from God that he will punish his unrepentant people, also speaks eloquently to the fact that even what we usually consider “mighty” cannot stand before the far mightier powers we call nature and, and neither can they stand before the Lord God:
Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength; The warrior shall not save his life, nor the bowman stand his ground; The swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life. And the most stouthearted of warriors shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD (Amos 2:14-16)
I quoting this, I do not suggest personal sin is the cause of Friday’s storm or of the current suffering in its aftermath by some. It is true, collectively, we ALL have enough pride to fuel a worldwide storm. But here I quote the passage simply as a reminder of how even what we call great and powerful (our technology and military might) is actually very fragile.
Fragile! Almost every process, function and comfort, in our homes depends on a thin little wire bringing electricity into our homes, and another thin little wire bringing and sending information. Cut these little cords and modern life as we know it goes back to the stone age. And, unlike our even recent ancestors who knew how to make a go of it without these umbilical cords, we are quite helpless. Most of us don’t even know how to cook over an open fire, let alone build one. Two thin and fragile wires, it all rests on that. Cut that cord and the mighty and modern word “flees naked on that day.”
And, not only are our individual lives fragile, but so is what we call civilization. When power outages are widespread (this one is spotty) there is often social unrest to include looting and riots. Social order breaks down very quickly in such circumstances, and we discover that civilization is a thinner veneer than we imagined.
The responsorial psalm says,Remember this you who never think of God, and, I would add: Remember this you who think that, in your own power, your strength lies. And these two lines are also good and powerful reminders also for us who do think of God, but do not often remember that this seemingly powerful world with all its glories is fragile: For this world in its present form is passing away. (1 Cor 7:29-30)
Yes, in an instant, in the rush of a wind, it’s promises and power all collapse.
An old song says, “In times like these you need a savior…” Only the Lord can help us set our heart and our hopes in that place where true and lasting joys are. Reminders like this storm can help, but only Jesus can truly convert our hearts and focus us on the lasting things of God and heaven.
An old hymn says: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, And the verses go on to add:
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
And perhaps a final admonition from Scripture:
But as for man, his days are like the grass or as of the flower of the field. The wind blows and he is gone, and his place never sees him again. But from everlasting to everlasting is the Lord’s love for those that fear him. (Psalm 103:15-17)
I’m am about to venture into dangerous territory. It is territory that is doubly dangerous because it has to do with women’s fashions, AND weddings, two areas where men should never seek to render any opinion whatsoever. I don’t know if it helps to point out that the idea I am about to brook came from a woman, but in case it helps, I offer this character witness on my behalf.
Even more dangerously I am going to suggest something about THE most critical aspect of wedding fashions: “The Dress,” as in, “The WEDDING DRESS.” Yes, I must go delicately into that world “where no man has gone before….”
Yet there is a tradition about the wedding dress that is so beautiful and moving that I felt I had to share it. Some of you may say, “Oh Father, we have done that for generations in my family.” But I had never heard of it, and though I am not the most savvy and informed, I suggest that others have not heard it either.
The tradition I speak of is that of taking the wedding gown and, instead of packing it away in some trunk, the gown is converted to baptismal robes or gowns for the children that will come. In some cases, where there is a lot of fabric, several gowns for children can be made. In the case of simpler wedding gowns with less flowing folds etc, one baptismal gown (or robe) is made to be worn by all the children who will come.
What a beautiful tradition (it seems to me) that links the wedding and the marriage to blessed pro-creation and to the gift of children. Weddings are a day when we celebrate love, beauty and attraction. And the wedding gown celebrates these powerfully. And yet love, beauty and the attraction of the spouses for each other is meant to bear fruit, the fruit of children. Yes, children are the fruit of the marital love that is celebrated on the wedding day. How fitting it seems, that the dress that signals love, marriage, beauty and attraction, should become the fabric of the baptismal robes for the children, who are the holy fruit of that love.
I can see that such an idea may not always be possible. Some women do not, in fact, purchase a special dress just for the wedding. Back in 1959, when my mother was married, it was not uncommon for women to rent a gown or to wear a gown passed down from their mother or a friend. The photo at the upper right is of my mother in a wedding dress, a dress that she and several other of her friends had passed down, with necessary alterations.
But these days most brides tell me that they buy their own wedding dress. The costs some of them quote to me, scare me, especially since the dress will only be worn once. I understand now why, in the old days, dresses were often handed down, from mother to daughter or from close friend to close friend.
But for those who own their wedding dress and wear it only once, what do you think of the possibility of converting it to a baptismal gown or robe for your children? I think it is a beautiful thought, but I am just “some dude.” I can almost hear some women now reaching over to pat my hand and say, “Oh Father, you’re such a dear, but you really have no idea of what you speak. Leave such topics to the experts and stay in your own lane.”
And yet I really do wonder what many of you think. It seems quite a beautiful thought to me. How say you ??
Here are some very nice and modest wedding dresses (but what do I know, I’m just some dude).
The Gospel today focuses on a man named Jairus and a journey he makes from despair to deliverance, with the help of Jesus. Of course Jairus is not merely a synagogue official who lived two thousand years ago. You are Jairus and his journey is yours.
We also meet in this Gospel a woman of great faith to whom the Lord points as an exemplar. If you are ready to accept it, she also can be you.
Let’s observe this Gospel in six stages as Jairus makes his (our) journey.
I. TRIAL – The text says, When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.“
Jarius is in a great crisis, a great trial. Most of us have experienced similar things. Perhaps it is the grave illness or injury of someone we love. Perhaps it is the sudden loss of a job, or of our own health. Perhaps it is the sudden loss of a friend or the effects of a sudden storm or natural disaster. Perhaps it is simply the fear of some catastrophe that looms.
In his crisis Jairus seeks Christ, and falling to his knees, he pleads for help and healing for his beloved daughter.
Note that it is this very crisis that brings him to Jesus so prayerfully. While suffering remains a mystery, it is a recognizable fact that it sometimes takes suffering and crisis to bring us to Jesus. It should not be this way, but it is often the truth. Even for regular Church-goers, it sometimes takes a real crisis to make us finally realized and cry out: “Lord! I really need you! I cannot survive without you!”
And thus Jairus, quite possibly a proud synagogue official possessed of great dignity, it now at the feet of Jesus pleading for mercy. And what of us? Does it take this? Perhaps it does. But, for whatever purpose, God often allow suffering to find us for a reason and for a season.
Jairus is now undergoing a trial, a test. But remember, there is a test in every testimony.
II. TRAVELING – The text says [Jesus] went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
Note that there is a kind of delay here. Jesus could have simply healed the daughter, instantly from where he was (as he did with the Centurion’s servant). But instead Jesus says, (in effect) to Jairus, “Let us journey together for a awhile.” The Lord delays the healing of the daughter, and as we shall see, this delay means her death.
We too must often experience the Lord’s delay, for our crying out for healing and mercy does not often yield instant results. It is as if the Lord want us to live our questions and struggles awhile. It is as if he wants to walk with us in a journey of faith that requires a kind of waiting and watchful trust.
Such a delay is likely part of God’s plan to build our trust and faith, but whatever its cause, the Lord often requires that we wait, that we hold out. Gospel music is replete with such themes. One song says, I promised the Lord that I would hold out, He said he’d meet me in Galilee. Another song says, Hold on just a little while longer, everything’s gonna be alright. Another song says, Keep your hand on the plow, hold on! Yet another says, Lord, help me to hold out, until my change comes.
Thus, the Lord walks with Jairus and us and summons us to a faith that holds out. Scripture says, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come with the morning light (Ps 30:3).
III. TESTIMONY – Along the way the Lord arranges a lesson in trust for Jairus in the person of a woman of strong faith. The text says:
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to Jesus, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?'” And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
Here is a woman of remarkable faith. She has come to a point in her life’s journey that she simply knows by faith that all she has to do is touch Jesus, and she will be healed. Surely she has come to this faith only by a long and painful journey. But she HAS come to this moment, and now she has the faith to be saved.
And she touches Jesus.
Do not miss the significance of this touch, for Jesus does not. Sensing the power of her faith and that healing power has gone out from him he says “Who touched me?” The disciples react with exasperation saying, (in effect) “Lord, hundreds of people have been bumping up against you in the crowd!” But Jesus did not asked who had bumped up against him, or brushed aside him. He asked, “Who touched me?” For it is one thing to bump up against the Lord and another thing to touch him, to touch him in faith.
How many of us really touch God when we come to Mass? He speaks to us in the Liturgy of the Word, do we really hear him? He touches us in Holy Communion, but do we touch him? Do we really expect healing when we go to Mass, do we really expect a healing touch? Or are we only going to be in a crowd bumping up against Jesus?
Many people put more faith in Tylenol than the Eucharist because, when they take Tylenol, they actually expect something to happen, that the pain will go away and healing will happen. But what do they expect when they receive Holy Communion? Often nothing.
How about you? Are you like the woman who touches Jesus expecting healing or just the crowd that brushes past him?
Jesus insists on meeting this woman of faith. And it may well be that he had Jairus in mind. As if to say, “Pay attention to this woman Jairus. Do you see what her faith has gotten her? Do you believe Jairus?” And into our own life the Lord will also and often send those who can testify to us of faith and show what faith can do.
Thus on this journey, Jairus is given a witness to encourage his faith. Who are the witnesses in your life that the Lord has sent?
IV. TEMPTATION – The text says, While [Jesus] was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Note that while there is, on this journey of Jairus, an encouraging testimony of what faith can do, there are also these temptations against faith, and temptations to despair and hopelessness.
And what of us? We too often must confront individuals and a world that are largely negative.
And note how Jairus is told by the negative ones to dismiss Jesus: “Why bother the teacher any more?” Yes, there are many in our life and in this world who not only have no hope, but insist we dismiss Jesus, that He is of no hope or relevance. Many secularists, themselves having no hope, ridicule us who do and taunt us to dismiss the Lord from our journey.
This is a temptation that must be rejected.
V. TRUST – The text says, Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out.
To such as these who are negative and ridicule, Jesus has only a rebuke and he “puts them all out.”
Then turning to Jairus he says, “Be not afraid – Just have faith.” The command that we have faith resonates not merely as an “order” from Jesus but also as a dynamic principle. For the same God who said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, now says “Be not afraid but have faith” and so trusting and saving faith is possible for Jairus and for us.
One of the most principle tasks of Jesus and his holy Spirit is to grow faith within us.And as this faith grows our victories become more and more evident and existent. Scripture says:
For thus says the Lord God, the holy One of Israel, “By waiting and calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies… (Is 30:15)
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Is 40:30-31).
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:35-39)
Hence the Lord Jesus commands faith to bring us reward. And that leads to the final place in the journey:
VI. TRIUMPH – The text says, He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Sure enough, Jairus’ journey with Jesus leads to victory. And so will ours. It may not be the Lord’s will to raise every relative recently deceased, but the Lord will surely give us the victory in every travail and difficulty. And to those who die in him, he will surely say as he said to the little Girl: “I say to you, Arise!”
And for us, in every trial, if you are in the Lord and journeying with him I promise you complete victory in Jesus: To every trial and distress…just say “I’ll Rise!”
In sufferings and sickness…”I’ll Rise!”
In setbacks and sorrows…”I’ll Rise!”
Tears in my eyes…”I’ll Rise!”
No money in my pocket…”I’ll Rise!”
On the rough side of the mountain…”I’ll Rise!”
Yes, just say “I’ll Rise!”
Jairus has made a journey with Jesus from Trial to Traveling with Jesus. Through Testimony and Temptation to the empowering command Trust! And thereby unto Triumph.
The Journey of Jairus is our journey and his victory is ours if we like him journey with Jesus.
Some years ago a scripture professor asked: “Do you know what the biggest obstacle is in understanding Scripture?”
Now since we were doing graduate level Scripture study, a few of us opined that it was the lack of the knowledge of Greek or Hebrew. Or perhaps it was that people today do not know the culture of Jesus’ time, or have not studied the historical-critical method (that answer usually got us extra points in Scripture class back in those days). Other students opined that fundamentalism was the biggest problem (another answer sure to gain points back then).
“No” said the professor. “Our biggest problem in understanding Scripture is our sin.”
Could it be that simple? Surely the woeful lack of catechesis, and the general ignorance of Scripture is the reason!
No, it is our sin. For if we were pure in heart we would seek truth, love Scripture, and the study of the faith. No one would have to drag us to Mass, and staying alert during the readings, sermon and prayers would be little effort, since some one we loved, the Lord, was speaking. We would prefer the beauty of God’s truth to the empty and vain trends of the world, and error would repulse and trouble us. Ignorance and lack of learning would not be an issue, for we would say with Blessed Job: Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food (Job 23:12).
If we were pure in heart we would not wince at the moral teaching of the Scripture and rashly and rebelliously reject it as unrealistic and outdated. Instead we would weep for our sins and rejoice in the truth with the words of Baruch: Happy are we. O Israel, for what pleases God is known to us (Baruch 4:4)!
If we were pure in heart, our minds would connect so many dots, for we would lovingly remember that God had said similar things in other passages. We would see how grace and love and mercy were like threads connecting the whole of Scripture and Tradition. We would see victory even in apparent defeat, providence on every page, and wisdom in every paradox. We would see the whole of the Old Testament as a preparation for Jesus, the whole of the New Testament as the fulfillment of that was promised, and more. Love would enlighten every page of Scripture and Tradition, and that very light would scatter the darkness of worldly errors and selfish interpretations.
Yes, is quite simple in the end, our sin is our biggest obstacle in understanding God’s word. Sin leads to senseless, foolish and darkened minds.
Greek is good, parsing Hebrew verbs, a worthy matter. But seeking a purer heart opens doors that exegetical methods can only knock on. Learning is surely good and required, especially if it looks to the heavens, but only pure love can pierce the veil.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (Matt 5:9).
I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children (Matt 11:25)
Here is a funny video that reminds us that things are sometimes simpler than they first appear.
It is a simple historical fact that the Church has always baptized infants. Even our earliest documents speak of the practice. For example the Apostolic Tradition written about 215 A.D. has this to say:
The children shall be baptized first. All of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, or someone else from their family. (Apostolic Tradition # 21)
Scripture too confirms that infants should be baptized if you do the math. For example
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Luke 18:15-17 NIV)
So the Kingdom of God belongs to the little Children (in Greek brephe indicating little Children still held in the arms, babes). And yet elsewhere Jesus also reminds that it is necessary to be baptized in order to enter the Kingdom of God:
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5 NIV)
If the Kingdom of God belongs to little children and we are taught that we cannot inherit it without baptism then it follows that Baptizing infants is necessary and that to fail to do so is a hindering of the little children which Jesus forbade his apostles to do.
So both Tradition and Scripture affirm the practice of baptizing infants. Strange then that some among the Protestants (not all) should criticize us for this practice. Even stranger that the Baptists are usually be the ones to do so. You’d think with a name like “Baptist” they’d be more into baptism. (Truth be told, most of the other Protestant denominations do baptize infants). It is primarily Baptists and some Evangelicals who refuse the practice.
Part of the reason for this is that they seem to water down (pardon the pun) the fuller meaning of baptism, no longer seeing it as washing away sins and conferring righteousness per se. Rather they seem to see it more as a symbol of faith already received when they said the sinners prayer and accepted Christ as their savior. No time here to argue the full logic of their position and why it falls short of a biblical and Traditional understanding of Baptism.
But, for those of us who do continue the ancient and biblical practice of baptizing infants, the practice says some very wonderful things about the gratuity of salvation and the goodness of God. Consider these points:
1. The baptism of infants is a powerful testimony to the absolute gratuity (gift) of salvation. Infants have achieved nothing, have not worked, have not done anything to “merit” salvation. The Catechism puts it this way: The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant baptism. (CCC # 1250) The Church is clear, salvation cannot be earned or merited, and infant baptism teaches that most clearly. Salvation is pure gift.
How strange and ironic that some of the very denominations which claim that Catholics teach salvation by works (we do not) also refuse to baptize infants. They claim that a certain age of maturity is required so that the person understands what they are doing. But this sounds like achievement. That the child must meet some requirement seems like a work, or the attainment of some meritorious status wherein one is now old enough to “qualify” for baptism and salvation. “Qualifications….Achievement (of age)….Requirements….it all sounds like what they accuse us of: namely works and merit.
To be clear then, the Catholic understanding of the gratuity of salvation is far more radical than many non-Catholics understand. We baptize infants who are not capable of meriting, attaining or earning.
2. The Baptism of infants also powerfully attests to the fact that the beauty of holiness and righteousness is available to everyone regardless of age. To be baptized means to be washed. Washed of what? Original Sin. At first this seems like a downer, “Are you saying my baby has sin?” Yep. All of us inherit Original Sin from Adam and Eve. We are born into a state of alienation from God that is caused by sin. The Scriptures are clear: [S]in entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Rom 5:12). So even infants are in need of the saving touch of God.
Now why would we wish to delay this salvation and resulting holiness for 7 to 12 years? The Catechism says this, Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by Original Sin, children also have need of new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and be brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God….The Church and parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer baptism shortly after birth. (CCC # 1250).
St. Cyprian Bishop of Carthage in the 3rd Century was asked if it was OK to wait to the 8th day to baptize since baptism had replaced circumcision. He responded with a strong no: But in respect of the case of the infants, which you say ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the law of ancient circumcision should be regarded, so that you think that one who is just born should not be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day We [the bishops] all thought very differently in our council. For in this course which you thought was to be taken, no one agreed; but we all rather judge that the mercy and grace of God is not to be refused to any one born of man. (Epist# 58).
So then, here is the beauty, that infants are summoned to receive the precious gift of holiness and righteousness and that they are summoned to a right relationship with God by having their sin purged and holiness infused. Infants are called to this dignity and should not be denied it. With this done, some of the holiest and most innocent days of our lives may well be our first years. Then as the will begins to manifest and reason begins to dawn the grace of holiness gives us extra strength to fight against the sinful world that looms.
3. The Baptism of Infants also attests to the fact that faith is gift for every stage of development– To be baptized is to receive the gift of faith. It is baptism that gives the true faith. Even with adults, true faith does not come until baptism. Prior to that there is a kind of prevenient faith, but it is not the Theological Virtue of Faith.
Now faith is not only an intellectual assent to revealed doctrine. It is that but it is more. To have faith is also be be in a righteous and trusting relationship with God. An infant relates to his parents long before he speaks or his rational mind is fully formed. He trusts his parents and depends on them. It is the same with God. The infant trusts and depends of God and is in a right relationship with God. With his parents, this relationship of trust leads the infant to begin to speak and understand as he grows. Here too it is the same with God. As his mind awakens the infant’s faith grows. It will continue to grow until the day he dies (hopefully) as an old man.
That faith accompanies us through every stage of our life and develops as we do is essential to its nature. An infant needs faith no less than an old man. An infant benefits from faith no less than a teenager or an adult.
To argue as some Protestants do that you have to be a certain age before faith can exist, hardly seems to respect the progressive nature of faith which is able to bless EVERY stage of our human journey.
I have some very vivid memories of my experience of God prior to seven years of age and I will say that God was very powerfully present to me in my early years, in many ways even more so than now, when my mind sometimes “gets in the way.”
Another post too long. Forgive me dear reader. But please spread the word. Too many Catholics are waiting months, even years to have their children baptized. Precious time is lost by this laxity.
Infant Baptism speaks powerfully of the love that God has for everyone he has created and of his desire to have everyone in a right and saving relationship with Him. Surely baptism alone isn’t enough. The child must be raised in the faith. It is the nature of faith that it grows by hearing and seeing. Children must have faith given at baptism but that faith must be explained and unwrapped like a precious gift for them. Don’t delay. Get started early and teach your child the faith they have received every day.
At the bottom of this post is an older video from CBS news that indicates that if you have or use a digital copier, everything you have copied on it going back years is stored on a hard drive in the copier. The drive is evidently so large in them that they can store over 20,000 documents and hundreds of thousands of pages.
Hence if you have ever photocopied personal materials containing social security numbers, checking info, personal data, etc, it is on that hard drive. The CBS news crew showed how easy it is to remove the hard drive and download its contents. It’s a stunning little segment if you never saw it, and I recommend you watch it and share it with 500 of your closest friends.
When we come to privacy there are a number of problems. In particular privacy is a problem in two senses.
The first is the usual sense that many of us are experiencing something of an erosion in the privacy we have come to expect. Our data is out there in cyberspace and can too easily be intercepted by the nosy and the criminal. GPS devices help track our whereabouts, Internet browsing habits are retained at search engines, “cookies” in our computer also track our habits. YouTube faithfully records our viewing habits and do our cable boxes. And, as you can see in the video below, just about everything we have ever copied on any copier built after 2002 is dutifully recorded and kept. Why I am not sure, but it’s there for the viewing.
In many ways our life is an open book. In some ways having our info out there is a convenience. In other ways we are alarmed and suspicious. But in this sense privacy has become a problem. There is less and less of it each day. And don’t even get me started about those full body scanners on the way at airports.
There is a second sense however in which I use the the phrase the “Problem of Privacy.” In a very important way we must remember that there has never been anything private about our life to God. He sees everything. He is the searcher of minds and hearts. The Book of Hebrews says that to him everything lies naked and exposed (Heb 4:13). No thought, deliberation or action of ours is hidden from God.
One of the problems of the modern age is that we are too easily forgetful of the fact that God witnesses everything we do. In school settings I have often reminded students pretending they had done nothing wrong: “Now be careful! God is watching and he knows everything you do. He also knows if you are lying to me! You might get away with something with me but you won’t avoid God!” But it is not only children who need to be reminded of this. Yes, God sees and knows everything we think and do. In this sense there is no privacy. God is watching. Deep down we know but our weak minds forget. And when we do remember our crafty minds try to reinvent God by saying dumb things like, “God doesn’t mind” or “God understands” or “God will not punish.”
So, absolute privacy is an illusion. We may well be able to carve out some privacy from one another and well we should. But we should not seek privacy from God nor can we. There is something increasingly medicinal about practicing the presence of God. The more we experience that God is present and watching the more we accept him on his own terms and do not try to reinvent him, them more we do this the more our behavior can be reformed. A little salutary fear can be medicinal while we wait for the more perfect motive of love to drive out sin.
And, frankly too, acknowledging that not only is God watching but others are too can also have some good effects. We may not approve of their ability to see us, but in the end it can help to remember that they do. A few examples might help illustrate what I mean.
Internet Porn – As a confessor, the sin of Internet pornography has increasingly found its way into the confessions I hear. One of the things I try to remind penitents of is the fact that when they are on the Internet they are out in public, with a name tag on. All their browsing habits are stored both on their own computers and out at the sites they visit and the browsing engines they use. If they think they are merely in the privacy of their own room they ought to think again. Personally, this knowledge keeps me far away from bad sites of any kind on the Internet. There is a kind of salutary fear in knowing that I am out in public when on-line.
The same is true for cable TV. Those boxes send data about what I watch and how long, back to the Cable company. My browsing and viewing habits are known to those who might wish to find them. Frankly it keeps me out of trouble. I hope other virtues do as well, but remembering that I am in public is very helpful.
Likewise for e-mail and other forms of Internet communication such as face book and blogging. Once you press send, or publish, you’ve just made history. The contents of what you have said are out there to stay. You may delete it, but it will stay as data on servers for as long as the sun shall shine. Be very careful what you say, for no matter how private you may think it is, it is not. You are always in earshot of some server which loves to keep your data. What you type in the darkness will be brought to light and what you post in secret will shouted from the housetop. Here too I am assisted by this fact. I may not like that what I send or post is ultimately public. But in the end it makes me careful about what I say or type.
Accountability has also been a help in my life. As a priest I think it is important to live a rather transparent life. I almost never just slip away from the rectory. I always tell someone on the staff where I am going, at least generally, and when I expect to return. I am a public figure. Sure I have some privacy up in my rectory suite, but over all, I make it a rule to account for my whereabouts. I also usually wear my clerical attire as I go about (except on a day off). There are surely times when I expect the rectory to be a private home (after 9pm) but here too, I live with three other priests and though we have our separate apartments, the communal quality of the rectory also provides a salutary kind of accountability in terms of personal behavior.
What I am ultimately saying is that too much demand for privacy can also be a problem. In the end the Lord intends for us to live in community, where we are accountable to others. Some degree of accountability and transparency is helpful and necessary for us.
It is clear that there are significant problems with the erosion of our privacy today. We ought to continue to insist that proper boundaries should be respected.
However we should also remember that some demands for privacy are unrealistic. At some level we simply need to accept that the being online is the same as being in public with your name tag on. That’s just the way it is, so behave yourself.
Finding the proper balance between our public and private lives can be difficult. Surely privacy is to be insisted upon in many cases. But it is also true that overly expansive assumptions of privacy are neither possible nor always healthy. Being in public will always be a necessary part of our life and being aware when we are in public is important. You are in public right now because you are on-line.
Before you comment take a few minutes to watch this video. And never sell your copier again without insisting that you be able to destroy the hard drive. This report was a real eye-opener and will make me wary of how and when I copy confidential documents and personal information.
I recently had an interesting discussion with a traditional Catholic who questioned me about a Traditional Latin Mass Wedding I did. He seemed concerned that the couple was permitted to be married at the foot of the altar. In other words they were inside the altar rail, along with their best man and maid of honor.
He said that such a thing was not allowed, and that the presbyterium (sanctuary) was only for the clergy and servers.
I explained that it was a long practice of the Church, at least in America, that a bride and groom who were both Catholic would be married inside the rail, at the foot of the altar, and that they would kneel inside the rail for the duration of the nuptial Mass. (See photo of my parent’s 1959 wedding at upper right).
He did not seem impressed with my explanation an countered that the “problems” had begun in the 1950s and even as early as the 1940s. He further explained that the liturgical movement was already exerting influence and introducing “aberrations” into the liturgy. He thus reiterated that I had done something wrong.
Sadly our conversation ended and I didn’t get the chance to ask him the question I really wanted to ask: “What was the golden year of liturgy? When was everything, according to him, done “right?” When was the year when there were no aberrations?” When were the rubrics “pure” and when was the liturgy free of what he considers improper allowances, such as a couple being married inside the rail? Apparently the 1950s were not that time for him. Then what was?
I have been saying the Traditional Latin Mass for all 23 years of my priesthood, long before most priests were widely permitted to say it. I had permission of the Archdiocese from day one to assist with traditional Catholics in this manner, under the tutelage of the Pastor of St. Mary’s in Washington DC. In “those days” there weren’t a lot of resources and many of the rubrical books that have since come back into print were hard to find. Thus I learned a lot from Fr. Aldo Petrini and some of the other “old guys.”
Under their instruction I learned not only the rubrics, but also the customs of the “old days” wherein certain permissions existed, by way of indult or custom, to do some aspects of the Sacraments in English. Among the customs of the time was that, though the faithful were generally not allowed in the Sanctuary, weddings, confirmations, and even First Communions were conducted at times within the rails:
Click HERE to see a mid 1950s photo of a Cardinal Archbishop confirming on the steps of the High altar.
Click HERE to see a 1952 photo of First Communion at the altar steps.
Click HERE to see another photo of a wedding in 1927 with the couple inside.
Were these “abuses?” I am not enough of a rubricist to know. I just know and (obviously) have evidence that they were done.
As for weddings there was the custom of doing mixed marriages only in the rectory. But somewhere in the 1950s permission was granted to move these to the Church, but outside the rail and without Mass.
Click HERE to see a photo of a 1960 Wedding conducted outside the rail since of the couple was not Catholic.
At any rate my question remains. What was the golden age of the Mass? What year did the “troubles” begin as traditional Catholics see it? Was it 1963, 1955, 1945? Perhaps even earlier?
Please understand, I ask these questions not without sympathy for the traditional view. It is clear that in the late 1960s a floodgate opened where liturgical change occurred in a way that was in no way organic and there was a great rupture of continuity. And, although I am quite comfortable with the Ordinary Form of the Mass, I also love the Extraordinary Form, and am sympathetic to the concerns of the traditional Latin Mass community.
That said, at times I wince when a kind of particularism sets up within sectors of the Traditional Mass community. And it is odd, when I, a priest who has celebrated the Latin Mass for 23 years, am dressed down by someone who is denouncing something that was clearly done long before the liturgical changes from the Council.
It is too easy for us to savage one another over such things. A layman was telling me recently how he got the evil eye from some pew mates when he made the responses to the priest along with the servers. Those sorts of changes had also come along in the 1940s when clergy started to encourage the faithful to be more involved in the Mass. But once again, it would seem changes of that sort were “too late” to be authentic for some. Hence, though we use the Missal of 1962, it would seem that 1962 is not the year for some.
It was common 25 years ago for Traditional Catholics to call the old Mass the “Immemorial Latin Mass.” And the phrase was used to suggest that the Mass had been unchanged for centuries. Of course any serious study of the Mass reveals that it had undergone not insignificant changes all along and there there were not a few local customs, especially around the reception of the Sacraments. Though, to be fair, the changes were organic, not the rupture with tradition we experienced in the late 1960s.
But again, I wonder, what was the “Golden Year” when traditional Catholics agree all was as it should be. I ask this question sincerely, not rhetorically. But I DO ask it with some sadness for there can often be what I consider an unkindness that can be exhibited by some who wish to restrict things, where freedom is allowed, even within the old norms.
I fear at times that we, who love tradition, fail to manifest the joy and glad hearts that should bespeak those who know the Lord and love the beauty of the Extraordinary Form. We should seem more as people in love with God and the beauty of God, than as technocrats arguing each point. There is a place for precision, but there is an even greater need for joy and mutual love.
How would you answer my question?
Here is a video that, while filmed in 1982, depicts a Mass from the 1940s and shows the bridal party within the sanctuary. Again illustrating the common and widespread practice.
Words, while a precious human capacity, also get in the way of reality. But how can we live without them? At some level we must allow for a deeper level of language to help us in sorting out reality. Something that helps us to form a mental picture. And for this, since words are often a necessary mediator, we turn to metaphors, and stories.
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. A metaphor expresses the unfamiliar, in terms of the familiar. The word is from the Greek metapherein meaning “to transfer,” or, more literally, “to carry something beyond.” from meta (beyond) + pherein (to bear or carry).
So a metaphor seeks to capture something deeper by comparing something less definable to something else that is more easily grasped. In the metaphor, “All the world’s a stage” Shakespeare takes a large and deep concept (the world, or life) and frames it in the context of something more manageable, a stage. This is not to exhaust the meaning of “life” or “the world,” but to capture some truth about them and highlight it for understanding.
Stories communicate what is complex and to some degree, inexpressible, or hard to see by relating memorable experiences that disclose truth. Good stories often communicate many complex truths at once. The best stories use surprise, irony, conflict or some quirky combination of all them to convey truth and wisdom memorably.
As such, these words, stories, and metaphors are often deeply paradoxical, for, at the deeper level of things, is found a unity often hard to see on the surface. And at these deeper levels things often shift, surprise and amuse us. Not everything in life is as it first appears, and God does not easily fit into our little boxes. Stories and metaphors thus open windows onto wider vistas, and deeper mysteries.
With this background in mind, consider a few stories and metaphors. There is a wide collection of such stories from both the Rabbinic tradition and the Desert Fathers. The saints too supply us with much. Pardon the random nature of the following selections, I have drawn them from various sources, but many come from The Spirituality of Imperfection: Story Telling and the Search for Meaning. In these summer months, it makes some sense to share some of these stories and metaphors with you as they are a rich source of the magnificent and mysterious reality called life.
In these selections, I want to largely let them speak for themselves. I will limit myself to brief comments in red.
1. When the disciples of the Rabbi Baal Shem Tov asked him how to know whether or celebrated scholar whom they proposed to visit was a true wise man he answered: “Ask him to advise you what to do to keep unholy thoughts from disturbing you in your prayers and studies. If he gives you advice, then you will know that he belongs to those are of no account.“
For not all things admit of a solution and God sometimes permits things to test us and asks us to live with difficulties. Were there a solution to such a problem as distractions and temptations, spiritual teachers would long ago have given it. Thus those who claim some insight into this common and human problem are of little account.
2. When the Rabbi Bunam was asked why the first of the Ten Commandments speaks of God bringing us out of the land of Egypt, rather than of God creating the heavens and the earth, the Rabbi explained: “Heaven on earth!?” Then man might have said ‘Heaven! That is all too much for me!'” So God said to man, “I am the one who fished you out of the mud. Now come here and listen to me.“
For we often relate first to more earthly things, than higher spiritual matters.
3. A woman sought out a confessor of long experience. In the confession she recounted the behaviors that troubled her. She then began to detail how these behaviors seemed somehow connected with her experience of having grown up in an alcoholic home. At that point the grizzled veteran confessor reached out, and gently patting her hand, asked: “My dear do you want forgiveness or an explanation?“
For some confuse confession and spirituality with therapy. Therapy offers explanations, Confession offers and true spirituality seeks mercy and forgiveness.
4. Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends everything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees. – St. Gregory of Nyssa
For too often our certitude is rooted not in God or in true faith, but in our own thoughts, and these thoughts become idols, and we become ideologues. But wonder is able to fall to its knees in humility and gratitude. Wonder opens us to all God has done, ideology closes us too easily in ourselves and our own limited thoughts.
5. The philosopher Diogenes was sitting on a curb stone, eating bread and lentils for his supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus who lived comfortably by flattering the king. Said Aristippus to Diogenes, “If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils.” Said Diogenes in reply, learn to live on lentils, and you will not have to cultivate the king.
And this is an analogy to our serving of this world and of our consequent slavery to it.
6. A man of piety complained to Baal Shem Tov, saying “I have labored hard and long in the service of the Lord, and yet I am little improved. I’m still an ordinary, ignorant person.” The rabbi answered, “You have gained the realization that you are ordinary and ignorant, and this in itself is a worthy accomplishment.“
For humility, reverence for the truth about ourselves, is the door.
7. One day some disciples of Abba Besarian ceased talking in embarrassment when he entered the house of study. He asked them what they were talking about. They said, “We were saying how afraid we are that the evil urge will pursue us.” “Don’t worry,” he replied “You have not gotten high enough for it to pursue you. For the time being you are still pursuing it.“
For too often and quickly we assess the cause of our ill to be the devil, when, more truly, it is our own flesh.
8. The priest put this question to a class of children: “If all the good people in the world were red, and all the bad people were green, what color would you be? A young girl thought hard for a moment, then her face brightened, and she replied, “I’d be streaky!“
For, we are all a mixed bag, neither wholly good, nor wholly bad. The journey from evil to good is not yet complete. God alone is wholly good.
9. For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. – St. Therese of Lisieux
For too often we make of prayer a complicated thing.
Please feel free to add your own insights into these sayings. I hope to post more of these in the near future.
Here are some more sayings most of which ring true:
