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In the Gospel today (Monday of the 25^th Week of the Year) the Lord says,

No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light (Lk 8:16).

In other words, the Lord lit the light of the Church in order to give light to the world and to be seen. The world is in darkness; the moral darkness of these times is very deep.

You don’t light light. It is the darkness that needs the light. Light is meant to be seen. There are too many “undercover Christians,” “secret agent saints,” and “hidden holy ones.” Jesus didn’t light our light so that we could hide under a basket out of fear or secrecy. He wants the Church to shine; He wants you and me to shine. He wants every Christian to be a light so that we’re like a city on a hill! He wants us to shine so that we can’t be hidden.

If we don’t shine, then the world is dark. That is because we are not just a light, we are (in Christ) the light. If you want to know why the world is in darkness, you don’t need to look very far. We like to think that things are a mess because the wrong party is in power, or Hollywood is too secular, etc. But if we are the light of the world, then the world is dark because we are not shining the light of Christ. Light scatters darkness; it does not blame it. This darkness has happened on our watch. As a Church, we have been too content to hide our light under a basket. That is why the world is dark. If we collectively do our work, then the darkness does not stand a chance. But too many people—clergy and lay—remain fearfully silent while the purveyors of darkness are loud and proud.

To all of this, Jesus simply says, “You are the light of the world.”

Let’s look at some details about the light:

The CAUSE – Jesus describes himself as the One who lights a lamp. We are to yield to Christ, to allow Him to shine through us. He is the cause of our light. Let your light shine. There’s an old gospel song that says, “When you see me trying to do good, trying to live as a Christian should, it’s just Jesus, Jesus in me.”

The COST – The purpose of light is to shine, but there is no shining without burning. Shining costs us something. It may be Christ’s light, but it is through us that He shines. This means sacrifice on our part. It means letting Him use us. It means not always sleeping in when we want to. It means not just sitting at home and saying “Ain’t it awful.” It means getting out there and getting involved. It means risking a few things. It means being targeted and visible. It means being identified with someone (Jesus) who is hated by many. And in a world that prefers the darkness to the light (cf John 3:19-21), it means being called harsh, out-of-touch, and hateful. There is no shining without burning.

The CONCRETENESS – Letting our light shine is no abstract thing. It involves concrete behavior. Jesus talks about deeds. Your light shines by the way you live, the choices you make, the behavior you exhibit. The light shines when Christians get married and stay married, stay faithful to their commitments, and are people of their word. Our light shines when we tell the truth instead of lying, live chastely instead of fornicating, and behave courteously and respectfully. It shines when we respect life; it shines when we stop behaving recklessly. Our light shines when we clean up our language, give to the poor, and work for justice. Our light shines when we refuse to view pornographic, violent, or degrading material. Our light shines when we love instead of hate, when we seek reconciliation instead of vengeance, and when we pray for our enemies. Our light shines when we walk uprightly and speak the truth in love, without compromise. That’s when our light shines.

The CONSEQUENCE – God is glorified when our light shines. We should not act or get involved merely to satisfy our own anger or to fight for our own sake. We are light so as to glorify God. It is not about our winning; it is about God shining and being glorified. Too often when we do get involved we merely seek to win an argument or to be praised rather than to glorify God. We must pray that we have good intentions, for it is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. The desired result is God’s glory not ours.

Turn on the lights! It’s time to shine or else it’ll be over soon. Are you ready to shine? The Church is not just any light, the Church (by God’s grace) is the only light there is at all. As a member of Christ’s Body the Church, what are you doing to shine?

https://youtu.be/7OIwSQmyCg4

There are times when one reads something from one of the saints and is stunned by the tremendous insight, the piercing analysis, like a surgeon’s scalpel dividing diseased from healthy tissue. Such was my experience recently when reading a passage from St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

In this passage, Bernard analyzes the descent into the increasing darkness of sin experienced by those who refuse to hear the call to repent. I would argue that it applies not just to individuals, but to entire cultures.

Here is the entire passage:

If this cold once penetrates the soul when (as so often happens) the soul is neglectful and the spirit asleep and if no one (God forbid) is there to curb it, then it reaches into the soul’s interior, descends to the depths of the heart and the recesses of the mind, paralyzes the affections, obstructs the paths of counsel, unsteadies the light of judgment, fetters the liberty of the spirit, and soon—as appears to bodies sick with fever—a rigor of the mind takes over: vigor slackens, energies grow languid, repugnance for austerity increases, fear of poverty disquiets, the soul shrivels, grace is withdrawn, time means boredom, reason is lulled to sleep, the spirit is quenched, the fresh fervor wanes away, a fastidious lukewarmness weighs down, brotherly love grows cold, pleasure attracts, security is a trap, old habits return. Can I say more? The law is cheated, justice is rejected, what is right is outlawed, the fear of the Lord is abandoned. Shamelessness finally gets free rein. There comes that rash leap, so dishonorable, so disgraceful, so full of ignominy and confusion; a leap from the heights into the abyss, from the courtyard to the dung heap, from the throne to the sewer, from heaven to the mud, from the cloister to the world, from paradise to hell (Sermon 63.6b on the Song of Songs, “The Fox in the Vineyard”).

Let’s examine the passage in stages. My comments are shown in red. Fasten your seatbelts; turbulence ahead!

1. If this cold once penetrates the soul when (as so often happens) the soul is neglectful and the spirit asleep – It too easily happens that we are morally or spiritually asleep. This provides a doorway for the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus warns, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41). And yet we love to sleep. We also love to anesthetize ourselves with alcohol, drugs, and other diversions. Jesus says in one of the parables that he sowed good seed in his field, But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away (Matt 13:25). Bad things happen when we are spiritually and morally asleep.

2. and if no one (God forbid) is there to curb it, then it reaches into the soul’s interior, descends to the depths of the heart and the recesses of the mind – If we are smart, we walk in spiritual company with the Church, close spiritual friends and spiritual leaders within the Church. Even if at times we get sleepy, they can rouse us and warn us. Too many do not do this; if they pray at all they are “lone rangers” and many drift from or discount the voice of the Church and family members. So either we have put ourselves in a position in which there is no one to warn us, or we ignore the warnings we do get. Thus the darkness of sin reaches deeper into our interior. 

3. paralyzes the affections, – The first thing we lose is our desire for spiritual things.

4. obstructs the paths of counsel – The darkness of sin makes good counsel offered to us seem difficult at first and later on appear downright obnoxious. For example, one may begin to wonder, “Why does it matter whether I go to Mass?” or “Why is looking at a little porn so bad?” or “Why is the Church so ‘uptight’ about things?” 

5. unsteadies the light of judgment – Severed from good counsel, our judgment becomes poor and self-serving.

6. fetters the liberty of the spirit – The (human) spirit is that part of us that opens us to God, that delights in truth and goodness. But as the flesh begins to dominate, the spirit’s influence is diminished. Its “liberty” to move within us to draw us to the good, true, and beautiful, is hindered.

7. and soon—as appears to bodies sick with fever—a rigor of the mind takes over: – Our thoughts become distorted; “stinking thinking” begins to seem sensible. St. Paul said of the Gentiles of his time that, having suppressed the truth, they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools (Rom 1:21-22).

8. vigor slackens – What was once virtuous and easy to do now seems hard, and one lacks strength to do good.

9. energies grow languid – Without the enthusiasm of an alive spirit infused with grace, we begin to lack the energy to do what is good and right. It all seems so much harder, so much effort!

10. repugnance for austerity increases – As the spirit descends more into a “coma” and the flesh becomes more demanding, attempts to limit pleasure make us angry. It is almost like the situation with gluttony, wherein the stomach is stretched so that more and more food is required to reach satiety.

11. fear of poverty disquiets – The more we get, the more we have to lose and hence the less secure we feel. The world and the flesh now have in their grip on us through fear. Poverty is freeing, but wealth enslaves. You can’t steal from a man who has nothing to lose; you can’t intimidate him. But a rich man, one rooted in the world, has too much to lose and is thus disquieted by even the most benign of threats. The laborer’s sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much; but the rich man’s wealth will not let him sleep at all (Eccles 4:11).

12. the soul shrivels – Just as any part of the body that is underused begins to atrophy, so too the soul and its faculties. Increasingly unused, they recede, weaken, and go dormant.

13. grace is withdrawn – As sin grows more serious and descends into mortal sin, the soul is robbed of graces. 

14. time means boredom – Without spiritual insight, boredom is sure to come. Nothing has real meaning; even the delights of the flesh fail to satisfy. Regarding a soul in this state, Scripture says, All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun (Eccles 1:8-9).

15. reason is lulled to sleep – Foolish thinking is not seen for what it is. One cannot follow the path of simple logic or reason because the flesh feels threatened by it. Sins of the flesh are not the most serious of sins (sins of the spirit are) but they are the most disgraceful because of their capacity to cloud the mind.

16. the spirit is quenched – The human spirit becomes increasingly dead.

17. the fresh fervor wanes away – Good days, spiritually speaking, become fewer and fewer.

18. a fastidious lukewarmness weighs down – One actually begins to cultivate mediocrity, to celebrate it as open-minded, tolerant, and praiseworthy because it avoids “extremes.”

19. brotherly love grows cold – Sartre famously said, “Hell is other people.” Yes, sin is growing very deep now. The world is closing in on an increasingly petty object: me. 

20. pleasure attracts – It always has, but now inordinately so and with greater and greater power. 

21. security is a trap – In other words, it is a lie. This world is a thief; it takes back everything (no matter what the John Hancock Insurance Co. says). But increasingly, the sinful soul prefers lies to the truth, even knowing deep down that they are lies.

22. old habits return – Even if one had made progress in virtue, it now erodes.

23. Can I say more? The law is cheated – In other words, legalism and minimalism become tactics. One uses every trick in the book to take the clearly manifest will of God and parse words to claim it is unclear or does not apply, or to see how it can be observed in the most perfunctory of ways. One will often collect “experts” to tickle one’s ears. Whatever it takes to cheat the law, skirt the edges, and reinterpret the clear norms.

24. justice is rejected – After cheating the law, the next step down is to reject it outright. The person does not care what God says. He now begins to exalt his imperial, autonomous self. He says “I’ll do what I want and I’ll decide whether it’s right or wrong.”

25. what is right is outlawed, – Next comes trying to prevent others from proclaiming the truth: call what they say “hate speech,” fine them, arrest them make them answer in court, banish the truth from schools and the public square, demonize them, and criminalize all possible ways of proclaiming the truth.

26. the fear of the Lord is abandoned – The delusion that one will never face judgment for one’s actions is embraced.

27. Shamelessness finally gets free rein – Things that ought to (and used to) cause shame are now celebrated. Scripture laments them saying, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them (Rom 1:32). The celebration of sin—even the exaltation of it as virtue—shows that the darkness is now complete. The fall is complete with a crushing thud. St. Bernard describes it this way: 

28. There comes that rash leap, so dishonorable, so disgraceful, so full of ignominy and confusion; a leap from the heights into the abyss, from the courtyard to the dung heap, from the throne to the sewer, from heaven to the mud, from the cloister to the world, from paradise to hell.

Pay attention to what the saints say! I’m sure that some people will dismiss this post as being overly “negative,” but I am more concerned with whether it is true. My own experience as a pastor, teacher, disciple, sinner, and denizen of the world, is that St. Bernard is right on target with his analysis and has given us a kind of diagnostic manual of the progression of the disease known as sin. Read this, ponder it, and consider your own life and the lives of those you love.

Unattended, disease has a way of moving deeper in stages. It becomes a grave matter if we do not soberly assess its presence and power and then apply the medicines of prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, and fellowship with the Church (cf Acts 2:42).

Are you praying with me? Listen to St. Bernard of Clairvaux!

Do you remember the meaning of the literary term onomatopoeia? In case you’ve forgotten, it’s a word that sounds like the object it describes. Words like oink, meow, wham, sizzle, and my personal favorite: yackety-yak are examples of onomatopoeia.

There are times when music, including sacred music, has an onomatopoetic quality; they sound like what their words are describing. For example, there are songs that describe the crucifixion featuring hammer blows in the background, and songs about the resurrection and ascension that feature notes soaring up the scale.

The best way to understand musical onomatopoeia is to listen to examples of it. So, consider the eight examples of sacred music I present below, which powerfully take up the very sound of what the words are describing.

N.B. The clips below are meant to be played by an embedded player. If your browser does not support such a player, clicking directly on the source hyperlinks to link directly to the MP3 files.

This first clip is from the vespers of Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, a French composer who lived in the 1700s. In his treatment of the text of Psalm 126 Nisi Dominus (unless the Lord build the house) comes the line sicut sagittae in manu potentiae ita filii (like arrows in the hand of the mighty, thus are his children). This is a psalm that praises the gift of children and goes on to declare, “Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them!” In this short clip, the text sicut sagittae (like arrows) thrillingly depicts the sound of arrows flying forth. The sound is created both by the strings and the voices. As you listen, marvel at the vocal discipline required of the choir to create this musical onomatopoeia.

Source: Mondonville Grands Motets, Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra

Could you hear the arrows flying forth?

The second clip continues in a kind of battle-like mode. It is from the oratorio “Jepthe” by Giacomo Carissimi, who lived in the 1600s. It recalls the Old Testament story of Jepthe, one the Judges who ruled Israel prior to the monarchy. Jepthe is summoned to battle against the Ammonites and wins a great victory, only to fall into the grave sin of keeping an evil vow that leads to the death of his only daughter. The clip we will hear is from the battle scene in the oratorio. The Latin text is Fugite, fugite, cedite, cedite impii, corruite, et in furore galdii, dissipamini! (Flee, flee, yield, yield, impious ones, be scattered, in the furor of swords we strike you down!) You’ll hear pulsing sounds from the choir and strings, reminiscent of the sound of clashing swords and spears. The rushing sounds of the strings also paint a picture of a fleeing army. The sudden softening of the volume of the choir creates the image of an army that has fled and is now off in the distance.

Source: Carissimi, Oratorios. Chamber Choir And Orchestra Of The Gulbenkian Foundation Of Lisbon/Michel Corboz Dir.

Our third musical onomatopoeia is probably the best known of all the clips presented here. It is from Handel’s Messiah. The text says, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Sure enough, the music sounds just like what the words describe as the choir creates a meandering sound. One can almost hear and see the sheep going astray.

Source Messiah: London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Walter Süsskind

And while we are considering animals, our fourth clip is a musical onomatopoeia that imitates the sound of a cock crowing. It is from the motet “Vigilate” by William Byrd. The text of the Motet is from Mark’s Gospel (13:35-37), in which the Lord Jesus, Vigilate, nescitis enim quando dominus domus veniat, sero, an media nocte, an gallicantu, an mane (Watch! For you know not when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at the cock crow or morning). The excerpt is of the choir singing the words an gallicantu (at cock crow). Just see if the music sung doesn’t imitate the very sound of a cock crowing (cock-a-doodle-doo)! It begins in the men’s voices but becomes clearest in the treble voices at the end.

Source: The Tallis Scholars Sing William Byrd, Peter Phillips Dir.

The fifth clip depicts a common technique in Orchestral Masses. At the words crucifixus etiam pro nobis (and He was also crucified for us), the orchestra takes up the sound of hammer blows. The clip is from the Beethoven Mass in C. Listen especially to the deep bass and cello sounds and the hammer blows they bring to mind.

Source Beethoven Mass in C Robert Shaw; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Our sixth clip moves us from war and suffering to love. It is Palestrina’s treatment of a text from the Song of Songs. The Latin text is Surge amica mea (Arise my beloved). As the word surge (arise) is sung by the various voices, the notes soar high through the scale. (The sopranos reach the highest notes, of course.)

Source: Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera, James O’Donnell & Westminster Cathedral Choir.

The seventh clip is from a well-known motet by Thomas Luis Victoria, a Spanish priest, mystic, and composer of the 16th century. The Latin text is O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery). The overall text develops the idea of the paradoxical mystery that animals would witness the birth of Christ and see him rest in their feed box (manger). In the opening bars, hollow fifths evoke the very mystery of which the text speaks. Victoria’s mystical prayer resonates through this wonderful piece.

Source: Missa O Magnum Mysterium. The Choir of Westminster.

Our eighth and final clip bring us to Jericho and another battle scene, this one thrillingly set forth in the arrangement of the African-American spiritual “The Battle Jericho” by Moses Hogan. We hear the percussive intensity of a battle during the siege of the walls and the likely use of arrows and swords. A soprano soloist takes up the sound of the trumpet that the Lord directed to be sounded. And then the choir imitates the sound of falling with their final word, “Down!”

Source: The Spirituals, Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

So, then, here is a brief tour of musical genius evident in the sacred music of the Christian tradition. Perhaps you know of other examples of musical onomatopoeia!