THE OLD CATHOLIC MISSION IN SUSSEX

My dear people

We have spent the last two weeks since Septuagesima preparing ourselves for our Lenten observance.  Today it begins.  We commemorate today several things:

• The beginning of Christ's sojourn for forty days and forty nights into the wilderness in preparation for and in denial of Satan for His great ministry of proclamation and teaching the "Good News";
• We recall our Baptism and entry into the Catholic Faith and the promises we made at our Confirmation;
• We enter into a holy season of penitence and fasting remembering our mortality;
• We begin our meditation and preparation as the Body of Christ on Earth in preparation for the commemoration of the Passion and Death of Our Lord and His Glorious Resurrection... by which we are made inheritors of the Kingdom of God and receive eternal life.
  

Lent is of course of itself the commemoration of Christ's time in the wilderness [see Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13] .  After His baptism, Our Lord Jesus Christ went into the wilderness in order to prepare in solitude by fasting and prayer for the accomplishing of His great work for which He had come to earth. For forty days and forty nights, He was in the wilderness not eating any food, praying about and contemplating His future ministry.  He was tempted by Satan, but rebuked him. 

This is primarily the reason why Lent exists.  The Church commemorates this period of Our Lord's fasting and spiritual retreat in order to prepare us for the commemoration of the accomplishment of His mission - His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

In the Liturgy of today we receive the imposition of Ashes on our foreheads in the sign of the Cross.  This, as when we cross ourselves with Holy Water, reminds us of our Baptism, but also today of our Confirmation when the Bishop traced the sign of the Cross in Chrism on our heads and we promised to turn from sin, reject Satan (as did Christ in the wilderness) and turn to Christ.

The Ashes themselves speak to a time when they were used, according to the Bible, to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence is found in Job 42:3-6. Job says to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."  In the Early Church the use of ashes had a like signification and with sackcloth formed part of the public penance. The blessing of the ashes is one of the great liturgical rites of the year. It was originally instituted for public penitents, but is now intended for all Christians, as Lent should be a time of penance for all.

However, as Christ is "Alpha and Omega" the beginning and the end... so the symbolism of the Ashes is cyclical, for in the sign of the Cross they speak to us silmultaeneously of our re-birth in Christ and of our mortal death "Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt thou return." Genesis 3:19.... to remind us of the whole purpose of our Catholic Faith... eternal life which prize was won for us by Christ's Passion and Death.

The Ashes serve to symbolise both our mortality and our need for repentance and contrition in order to receive eternal life with God:

1. The imposition of the Ashes in the sign of the Cross reminds us of the promises made at our Baptism on our behalf (by our parents and Godparents) and by ourselves before the Bishop at Confirmation when we "died to sin", "rejected Satan and all his works" and "turned to Christ";
   
2. The Ashes themselves speak demonstratively through the ages of repentance and mourning and serve to remind us of our own mortality and the need to "die to self" in order to...
3. Receive eternal life, which is the summit and purpose of the Christian life.
   

Hence the Ashes at the beginning of Lent remind us that to gain eternal life we must repent of our sin, reject Satan and turn to Christ, mindful of our mortality in order that we may receive eternal life.  So marked with the sign of Faith we enter into the holy season.

Holy Mother Church in her tradition and wisdom however, doesn't just mark us with ash and leave us to it... remember the readings of Quinquagesima, the last Sunday before Lent?  The Church reminds us again in what spirit we are to observe the season in today's readings;

"Thus saith the Lord: Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting and in weeping and in mourning. And rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God..." Today's Epistle [Joel: 2:12-19]

"When you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast... For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also." Today's Gospel [Matthew 6:16-21]

The Divine Economy: Charity.  Holy Church teaches us that the only profitable way to observe Lent is in the spirit of Charity - of Divine Love.  Last Sunday's Epistle 1 Corinthians xiii: 1-13, teaches us that without Charity i.e. love, all our labours and endeavours are emtpy, without meaning, without effect;

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

We are to be mindful that our fasting and our abstinence should not be devoid of meaning or efficacy but instead be directed by devotion and love for God in Christ.  All our Lenten observance should be conducted in this spirit of adoration, of seeking to love God and neighbour in all we do. 

The Gospel reminded us of why we do all this...

"Then Jesus took unto him the twelve and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will put him to death. And the third day he shall rise again."

It speaks of the Passion of Christ - and the Passion of Christ speaks of God's love manifest in Christ; "For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world: but that the world may be saved by him." [John 3:17].  The Church reminds us that this season of Lent is to prepare us to commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection.  It also serves to remind us that if we have Faith, all things may be accomplished, if we turn to Christ, we will be saved and we will have eternal life with God;

"Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole."

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ - do you see how Mother Church comforts, teaches and aids her children to understand and see the meaning of this holy season?  Why we observe it? Why we mark ourselves with Ashes?  It all for us to experience and share with Our Lord His life, His witness, His Gospel... His Passion, His Death and His Resurrection.  It is all with the purpose of cleansing ourselves, developing and nurturing and growing contrite hearts [Psalm 51:17] in pursuit of heaven and eternal life.

I wish you all a holy and blessed Lent.  I hope together we might purify ourselves and prepare ourselves with Christ for the great work (Matt. XX. 1-6) that is there for each of us in the vineyard of souls and the in the tilling of fertile hearts (Luke VIII. 4-15).

As always with my love and prayers for you all

Fr Jerome OSJV

Parish Priest.

The Worldwide Family of Catholic Apostolic National Churches mourns the death of the Patriarch, Dom Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez

Patriarch +Dom Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez (Seated) with

Our Archbishop-Metropolitan, Bishops and visiting Bishops.

On the morning of October 29, 2009, at approximately 9am, His Beatitude, Dom Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez, the Patriarch of the Worldwide Family of Catholic Apostolic National Churches passed away, at the age of 87.  Patriarch Mendez was the last living bishop, of the original bishops consecrated by former Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, who founded the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB). Patriarch Mendez was personally responsible for the spread of the National Catholic Church movement around the world, and is survived by the Brazilian Church, as well as the National Churches ministering to the lost sheep around the world.

Our own Archbishop Andre Queen SCR served as Patriarch Mendez’ Apostolic Delegate to the United States from 2005 to 2007, and the Patriarch himself consecrated (sub conditione) our Archbishop-Metropolitan and Archbishop Queen, to ensure a direct transmission of “Duarte-Costa” Apostolic Lines of Succession. His Eminence, Archbishop-Metropolitan Robert M. Gubala SCR, sent condolences on behalf of the entire Church to the Episcopal Council of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB), which can be read here.

The Catholic Apostolic National Church received official notification of the Patriarch’s passing from the Episcopal Council of ICAB (translated from Portuguese):

“The church is in mourning, beginning at 9am today with the death of the Honorable and Reverend Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez, who presided over the four seats, and Council proclaimed its patriarch and became, later, also Worldwide Patriarch serving all of the Catholic Apostolic National Churches who have communion with ICAB.

TheEminent Professor of the Diocese of Brasilia, which was the founder, died at 87 years of age, as of December 3 and leaves an example of tenacity, sacrifice, courage and determination, a deep and irrepressible yearning in all those deprived of their friendship or were directed by him and grazing. A great characteristic of Dom Luis Castillo was undoubtedly his indomitable courage, the strength he brought to the primacy of the church and the incredible ability he displayed, to build and manage knowledge, a born leader, a man geared to high-flying and high altitude.

Without him, the Church where she exisits, would not possess the assets that it holds today, because it has always been possible to notice, besides being a profound idealist, he has put love in everything realizou. He was a creator of dioceses, and in the history of ICAB, was the Bishop who developed carefully the hierarchy to ensure the continuity of certain ideals of the San Carlos of Brazil. Detractors have always shown a taste for pomp and circumstances, but Dom Castillo-Mendez, personally, was a man of simple life and deeds humility.

The Patriarch of the Church in Brazil was the third Bishop consecrated by St. Carlos of Brazil, of receiving, directly, his  apostolic succession. Working much of his life with the founder of the Church and did his best at a certain point of time, in fulfilling the mission to consecrate the followers of the Apostolic College left by Jesus in differentcountries, taking with them the principles of the National Church. For in recognition of this that, assembled in council, the diocesan and primates of several countries that joined the faith nationally elected and gave him the title of World Patriarch that he displayed with great care and was able to honorably execute until death.

The Mass will be celebrated BURIAL OF THE 10am THIS SUNDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL OF OURLADY OF MIRACULOUS MEDAL, OFFICE BRASILIA, a gathering of bishops, clerics,families and faithful from various parts of BRAZIL AND THE WORLD FOR THE LASTGOODBYE TO THE PATRIARCH OF THE CHURCH.”

THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

ORIGIN OF THIS FESTIVAL

After many devout souls had venerated the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with sincere devotion, in the solitude of quiet life, as is seen in the lives of SS..Augustine, Bernard, Bonaventura, Thomas of Aquin, Francis de Sales, Ignatius, Clara, Gertrude, Mechtild, Catharine of Sienna, Theresa, and others, our divine Saviour willed that His heart's infinite love should be recognized by all men, and be kindled in cold hearts by a new fire of love. For this end He made use of a feeble, obscure instrument, that all the world might know that the devotion to His loving heart; previously almost entirely unknown, was His own work. This instrument, disregarded by the world, was one who shone before God in all 'the radiance of the most sublime virtues; the nun Margaret Alacoque of the order of the Visitation of Mary, at Paray, in Burgundy. In the year 1675, whilst she was one day in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament; our Lord appeared to her, and pointing to His heart which He showed to her, surrounded with flames, surmounted by the cross, encircled with a crown of thorns, and pierced with a gaping wound, He said to her: "Behold this heart, which has loved mankind so much, and which receives only ingratitude and coldness in return for its love. My desire is that you should make reparation to my heart for this ingratitude, and induce others also to make reparation." Our Lord then designated the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi as the special day for this duty. In several subsequent apparitions our divine Lord repeated this injunction, and made the most unbounded promises in favor' of all who would apply themselves to this office of reparation to His Sacred Heart. The following are some of His promises;

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

I will establish peace in their families.

I will console them in all their pains and trials.

I will be their assured refuge in life, and especially in death.

I will shed abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

Sinners shall find in my Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.

Lukewarm souls will be rendered fervent.

Fervent souls shall rise rapidly to greater perfection.

I will bless those houses where the image of my heart shall be exposed and honored.

I will give to priests the gift of moving the hardest hearts.

Persons who propagate this devotion,. shall have their names inscribed on my heart, never to be effaced from it. Margaret obeyed, but found everywhere the greatest opposition, actual sneers and persecution, even from her Sisters in religion, until finally, with the aid of her divine spouse, she succeeded as mistress of novices, in bringing her young charges to the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But this did not content her zeal; although opposition continued, she strove to fulfil the command of Jesus, who assisted her by at last changing the hardened hearts of the nuns and inflaming them with the same love of His Sacred Heart. This devotion soon spread from the convent throughout the adjoining dioceses, where confraternities in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus arose, and Pope Clement, XIII., after causing the strictest investigation to be made, commanded?the Festival of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be observed throughout the Catholic Church on the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.

ON DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

I. OBJECT OF THIS DEVOTION

By the Sacred Heart of Jesus must be understood not the lifeless heart, separated from the body of Christ, but the tender, loving heart of the God-Man, the home of all His emotions, the fountain of all His virtues, and the most touching embodiment of His infinite love for man. The Catholic Church, in like manner, sets apart certain festivals with appropriate Mass and office, in honor of the cross, of our Lord's sacred blood and wounds that our devotion to the Redeemer may be rendered more fervent by the contemplation of these objects, for Jesus has shed His blood for us, has received wounds for us which He retained even after His resurrection, as eternal signs of His immense love for man, has taken them with Him to heaven, and will show them to us on the judgment Day. How much more should our Saviour's Sacred Heart be the object of our devotion, since all the thoughts, sentiments, and emotions of this most loving heart aim only at our salvation, and since it is always ready to receive truly penitent sinners to forgive them, again to turn His love to them, and make them sharers in eternal bliss.

Therefore the saints have from the first encouraged a tender devotion to this most Sacred Heart, as already mentioned. "Longinus," says St. Augustine, "opened the side of Jesus with His spear; in it I enter, and securely rest." "O how good," exclaims St. Bernard, "how lovely to take up my abode in this Heart! In this temple, in this sanctuary, before this ark of the covenant, I will adore and praise the name of the Lord, and say with the prophet: I have found in the heart of Jesus, my king, my brother, my friend." "Believe me, O blinded men," says St. Bonaventura, "if you knew how to enter by His sacred wounds into the interior of Jesus, you would there find not, only a wonderful sweetness for your soul, but even sweet repose for your body. And if even the body there finds rest, how great, think you, must be the sweetness which the spirit there enjoys, if through these wounds we become united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!" And St. Peter Damian says: "In this adorable heart we find the weapons with which to defend ourselves against our enemies, a cure for our ills, powerful help against temptations, the sweetest consolation is suffering, and the purest joy in this valley of tears."

St. Mechtild and St. Gertrude found themselves transported in an especial manner by the tenderness of this adorable heart, to adore it fervently, and Gertrude, enlightened by the Spirit of God, spoke these prophetic words: "The Lord retained until these late centuries the devotion to His Sacred Heart, as a last effort of His divine love." We have already seen how these words have been verified in the pious Margaret. O would that Jesus' great desire that all men, might know and love His Sacred Heart be accomplished!

II. EXCELLENCE OF THIS DEVOTION

It is, says the venerable P. Simon Gourdan:

The most sacred devotion, for by it man venerates the holiest sentiments and emotions of the Heart of Jesus, by which He has sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and presented Himself to us as the perfect model of the most exalted sanctity.

The oldest devotion of the holy Church, which, instructed by the great St. Paul, has at all times recognized the munificence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The most approved devotion, for the holy Scriptures everywhere exhort us to renew our heart by changing our lives, rendering them contrite by true penance, inflaming them with the fire of divine love, and adorning them by the exercise of all virtue. Therefore a new heart is promised on which to remodel our Heart. That Heart can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is given us as an example of all virtue, and which we must imitate if we wish to be saved.

The most perfect devotion, for it is the: source of all other devotions; the Heart of Jesus is that inexhaustible treasury from which the Mother of God and all the saints have drawn their graces, their life, their virtues, and all spiritual blessings. Filled from this treasury, other servants of God have instituted different devotions.

The most useful devotion, for in it we have the Fountain of Life itself before our eyes, from which we can draw directly, and increase in all virtue by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy desires, and seeking to imitate it.

The devotion most pleasing to Christ, for by it we honor God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, because we adore the interior power of God, seeking to please His heart.

Finally; the most necessary devotion, for its object is that we become intimately connected as members with Jesus, our Head, that we live by and according to His spirit, and have only one heart and soul with Christ.

Because this devotion is of such importance, we cannot sufficiently recommend it to all who are anxious for their soul's salvation. Every person may cherish this devotion, and venerate the Heart of Jesus by himself, but there is a greater blessing when pious souls make the devotion in a confraternity. In the year 1726 there existed more than three hundred such confraternities, and they are now spread throughout all Catholic countries. Do not delay then, O Christian soul, to practise this devotion, uniting with others . to honor the divine Heart of Jesus, because in this most Blessed Heart all men find their reconciliation, the pious their assurance, sinners their hope, the oppressed their comfort, the sick their relief, those who are fighting their strength, the dying their refuge and the elect their joy and bliss.

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE
BENEDICT XVI
PROCLAIMING A YEAR FOR PRIESTS
ON THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE "DIES NATALIS"
OF THE CURÉ OF ARS

Dear Brother Priests,

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 ? a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy ?, I have decided to inaugurate a ?Year for Priests? in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the ?dies natalis? of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide.[1] This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today?s world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus?, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say.[2] This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ?s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as ?friends of Christ?, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

I still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person. I also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. Yet the expression of Saint John Mary also makes us think of Christ?s pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I am also led to think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?

There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgment of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realization of the greatness of God?s gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. Here the teaching and example of Saint John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Curé of Ars was quite humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: ?A good shepherd, a pastor after God?s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy?.[3] He spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: ?O, how great is the priest! ? If he realized what he is, he would die? God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host??.[4][5] These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the sacrament of the priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: ?Were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love? Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth? What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods ? Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshiping the beasts there ? The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you?.[6] Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the sacraments, he would say: ?Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest? After God, the priest is everything! ? Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is?.

He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his Bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: ?There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there?. As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ?s presence and to bear witness to his saving mercy: ?[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!?: with this prayer he entered upon his mission.[7] The Curé devoted himself completely to his parish?s conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care. Dear brother priests, let us ask the Lord Jesus for the grace to learn for ourselves something of the pastoral plan of Saint John Mary Vianney! The first thing we need to learn is the complete identification of the man with his ministry. In Jesus, person and mission tend to coincide: all Christ?s saving activity was, and is, an expression of his ?filial consciousness? which from all eternity stands before the Father in an attitude of loving submission to his will. In a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Certainly this is not to forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but neither can we overlook the extraordinary fruitfulness of the encounter between the ministry?s objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister. The Curé of Ars immediately set about this patient and humble task of harmonizing his life as a minister with the holiness of the ministry he had received, by deciding to ?live?, physically, in his parish church: As his first biographer tells us: ?Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed?.[8]

The pious excess of his devout biographer should not blind us to the fact that the Curé also knew how to ?live? actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organized popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the ?Providence? (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.

His example naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of cooperation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people[9][10] Here we ought to recall the Second Vatican Council?s hearty encouragement to priests ?to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of the dignity of the laity and of the special role they have to play in the Church?s mission. ? They should be willing to listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes, and acknowledge their experience and competence in the different fields of human activity. In this way they will be able together with them to discern the signs of the times?.[11] and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, ?that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, ?loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour?? (Rom 12:10).

Saint John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.[12] ?One need not say much to pray well? ? the Curé explained to them ? ?We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to him, let us rejoice in his sacred presence. That is the best prayer?.[13] And he would urge them: ?Come to communion, my brothers and sisters, come to Jesus. Come to live from him in order to live with him?[14] ?Of course you are not worthy of him, but you need him!?.[15] This way of educating the faithful to the Eucharistic presence and to communion proved most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Those present said that ?it was not possible to find a finer example of worship? He gazed upon the Host with immense love?.[16] ?All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass? ? he would say ? ?since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God?.[17] He was convinced that the fervour of a priest?s life depended entirely upon the Mass: ?The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!?.[18] He was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice: ?What a good thing it is for a priest each morning to offer himself to God in sacrifice!?.[19]

This deep personal identification with the Sacrifice of the Cross led him ? by a sole inward movement ? from the altar to the confessional. Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this sacrament. In France, at the time of the Curé of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion. Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence. He thus created a ?virtuous? circle. By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become ?a great hospital of souls?.[20] His first biographer relates that ?the grace he obtained [for the conversion of sinners] was so powerful that it would pursue them, not leaving them a moment of peace!?.[21] The saintly Curé reflected something of the same idea when he said: ?It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to him?.[22] ?This good Saviour is so filled with love that he seeks us everywhere?.[23]

We priests should feel that the following words, which he put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: ?I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite?.[24] From Saint John Mary Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the centre of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the ?dialogue of salvation? which it entails. The Curé of Ars dealt with different penitents in different ways. Those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God?s forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the ?flood of divine mercy? which sweeps everything away by its vehemence. If someone was troubled by the thought of his own frailty and inconstancy, and fearful of sinning again, the Curé would unveil the mystery of God?s love in these beautiful and touching words: ?The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, he already knows that you will sin again, yet he still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: he even forces himself to forget the future, so that he can grant us his forgiveness!?.[25] But to those who made a lukewarm and rather indifferent confession of sin, he clearly demonstrated by his own tears of pain how ?abominable? this attitude was: ?I weep because you don?t weep?,[26] he would say. ?If only the Lord were not so good! But he is so good! One would have to be a brute to treat so good a Father this way!?.[27] He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God?s own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor. To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God?s love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with him and dwelling in his presence: ?Everything in God?s sight, everything with God, everything to please God? How beautiful it is!?.[28][29] And he taught them to pray: ?My God, grant me the grace to love you as much as I possibly can?.

In his time the Curé of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord?s merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love: Deus caritas est (1 Jn: 4:8). Thanks to the word and the sacraments of Jesus, John Mary Vianney built up his flock, although he often trembled from a conviction of his personal inadequacy, and desired more than once to withdraw from the responsibilities of the parish ministry out of a sense of his unworthiness. Nonetheless, with exemplary obedience he never abandoned his post, consumed as he was by apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. He sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism: ?The great misfortune for us parish priests ? he lamented ? is that our souls grow tepid?; meaning by this that a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living.[30] He himself kept a tight rein on his body, with vigils and fasts, lest it rebel against his priestly soul. Nor did he avoid self-mortification for the good of the souls in his care and as a help to expiating the many sins he heard in confession. To a priestly confrere he explained: ?I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place?.[31] Aside from the actual penances which the Curé of Ars practiced, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus? own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the ?precious cost? of redemption.

In today?s world, as in the troubled times of the Curé of Ars, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, ?modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses?.[32] Lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: ?Are we truly pervaded by the word of God? Is that word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking??.[33] Just as Jesus called the Twelve to be with him (cf. Mk 3:14), and only later sent them forth to preach, so too in our days priests are called to assimilate that ?new style of life? which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and taken up by the Apostles.[34]

It was complete commitment to this ?new style of life? which marked the priestly ministry of the Curé of Ars. Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Letter Sacerdotii nostri primordia, published in 1959 on the first centenary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney, presented his asceticism with special reference to the ?three evangelical counsels? which the Pope considered necessary also for priests: ?even though priests are not bound to embrace these evangelical counsels by virtue of the clerical state, these counsels nonetheless offer them, as they do all the faithful, the surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection?.[35] The Curé of Ars lived the ?evangelical counsels? in a way suited to his priestly state. His poverty was not the poverty of a religious or a monk, but that proper to a priest: while managing much money (since well-to-do pilgrims naturally took an interest in his charitable works), he realized that everything had been donated to his church, his poor, his orphans, the girls of his ?Providence?,[36] his families of modest means. Consequently, he ?was rich in giving to others and very poor for himself?.[37] As he would explain: ?My secret is simple: give everything away; hold nothing back?.[38] When he lacked money, he would say amiably to the poor who knocked at his door: ?Today I?m poor just like you, I?m one of you?.[39] At the end of his life, he could say with absolute tranquillity: ?I no longer have anything. The good Lord can call me whenever he wants!?.[40] His chastity, too, was that demanded of a priest for his ministry. It could be said that it was a chastity suited to one who must daily touch the Eucharist, who contemplates it blissfully and with that same bliss offers it to his flock. It was said of him that ?he radiated chastity?; the faithful would see this when he turned and gazed at the tabernacle with loving eyes?.[41] Finally, Saint John Mary Vianney?s obedience found full embodiment in his conscientious fidelity to the daily demands of his ministry. We know how he was tormented by the thought of his inadequacy for parish ministry and by a desire to flee ?in order to bewail his poor life, in solitude?.[42] Only obedience and a thirst for souls convinced him to remain at his post. As he explained to himself and his flock: ?There are no two good ways of serving God. There is only one: serve him as he desires to be served?.[43] He considered this the golden rule for a life of obedience: ?Do only what can be offered to the good Lord?.[44]

In this context of a spirituality nourished by the practice of the evangelical counsels, I would like to invite all priests, during this Year dedicated to them, to welcome the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church, not least through the ecclesial movements and the new communities. ?In his gifts the Spirit is multifaceted? He breathes where he wills. He does so unexpectedly, in unexpected places, and in ways previously unheard of? but he also shows us that he works with a view to the one body and in the unity of the one body?.[45] In this regard, the statement of the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis continues to be timely: ?While testing the spirits to discover if they be of God, priests must discover with faith, recognize with joy and foster diligently the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, whether these be of a humble or more exalted kind?.[46] These gifts, which awaken in many people the desire for a deeper spiritual life, can benefit not only the lay faithful but the clergy as well. The communion between ordained and charismatic ministries can provide ?a helpful impulse to a renewed commitment by the Church in proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of hope and charity in every corner of the world?.[47] I would also like to add, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope John Paul II, that the ordained ministry has a radical ?communitarian form? and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their Bishop.[48] This communion between priests and their Bishop, grounded in the sacrament of Holy Orders and made manifest in Eucharistic concelebration, needs to be translated into various concrete expressions of an effective and affective priestly fraternity.[49] Only thus will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated.

The Pauline Year now coming to its close invites us also to look to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who represents a splendid example of a priest entirely devoted to his ministry. ?The love of Christ urges us on? ? he wrote ? ?because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died? (2 Cor 5:14). And he adds: ?He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them? (2 Cor 5:15). Could a finer programme be proposed to any priest resolved to advance along the path of Christian perfection?

Dear brother priests, the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney (1859) follows upon the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes (1858). In 1959 Blessed Pope John XXIII noted that ?shortly before the Curé of Ars completed his long and admirable life, the Immaculate Virgin appeared in another part of France to an innocent and humble girl, and entrusted to her a message of prayer and penance which continues, even a century later, to yield immense spiritual fruits. The life of this holy priest whose centenary we are commemorating in a real way anticipated the great supernatural truths taught to the seer of Massabielle. He was greatly devoted to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; in 1836 he had dedicated his parish church to Our Lady Conceived without Sin and he greeted the dogmatic definition of this truth in 1854 with deep faith and great joy.?[50] The Curé would always remind his faithful that ?after giving us all he could, Jesus Christ wishes in addition to bequeath us his most precious possession, his Blessed Mother?.[51]

To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Curé of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their Bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to his Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: ?In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world? (Jn 16:33). Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Curé of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!

With my blessing.

From the Vatican, 16 June 2009.

BENEDICTVS PP. XVI

The latest edition of the Newletter for the Old Catholic Church in Europe, Passiontide/Easter 2009 is now available to view or download here: OCCE Newsletter

My dear people

Today we observe the Sixtieth day before Easter known as "Sexagesima".  You may remember from my homily last Sunday, that these three Sundays; Septuagesima (70), Sexagesima (60), Quinquagesima (50) relate to a time before forty (40) days were set by Popes St Gregory and Gelasius as the uniform period of Lenten observance.

[It also interesting to note that Fr Hunwicke (Blog: Liturgical Notes) reminds us that these Sundays were also set by Pope St Gregory to take place at the three great basilicas outside the city of Rome during the Lombard campaigns.  You may notice (if you have one) in the handheld Missals underneath the title for these Sundays the inscription Station at: St Laurence/St Paul/St Peter which three great churches stood almost as "spiritual sentinels" outside the walls of the Roman city.  Remember that in these times, the congregations of the Roman churches would process from their "parish" church to the church where Mass would be offered by the Pope, so on these Sundays the Faithful had to walk outsisde of the then city to attend Mass.]

The Gospel today is that of the parable of "The Seed and the Sower" perhaps one of the most popular and remembered of Our Lord's parables:

(Luke VIII. 4-15.) At that time, when very great multitude was gathered together and hastened out of the cities unto him, he spoke by a similitude: The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And other some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other some fell among thorns; and the thorns growing up with it, choked it. And other some fell upon good ground; and being sprung up, yielded fruit a hundredfold. Saying these things, he cried out: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. To whom he said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables; that seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And they by the way-side are they that hear: then the devil cometh, and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now they upon the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no roots, for they believe for a while, and in time of temptation they fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they who have heard, and going their way, are choked with the cares arid riche, and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit. But that on the good ground are they who, in a good and perfect heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience.

Notice that Our Lord gives a full explanation of the parable to His disciples.  Which means there is little that I feel able to add!  Except to say that the key here is both the "seed" which is the Word of God but also understanding our response, our disposition to it.

The Word of God is more than just Scripture.   Remember the prologue to St John's Gospel that we hear at the end of Mass?  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" and you may remember my homily in Advent for the first of the Great O Antiphons "O Wisdom that comes forth from the mouth of the Most High" about Christ being the "Word", the "logos", the "ruach", the action of the mind and will of God.  Remember in Genesis that it is this word "ruach" which is used to describe the creative aspect of God's speaking life into His creation.  As Catholic Christians, we understand the Word of God to be more than just a reference to Scripture, to the Bible, but to mean Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Therefore for us, "Word of God" means Jesus Himself and it means the force of these words of His in today's Gospel have particular significance "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" because it is the Word Himself that is speaking, Christ as the "logos" as the "ruach".  To those immediately around Jesus hearing this parable it was a warning... "Listen to the Word amongst you" is effectively what He is saying.  These words still have resonance for us as Catholic Christians centuries later for in the Mass when we listen to the Scriptures (the written Word of God) we hear Christ, the Word of God, Himself speaking to us.  More than that, we later receive the Word of God, Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament.  We take the Word of God into ourselves, into our bodies under the guise of bread and wine.  We eat the "seed" that then germinates within us.  In these two ways we receive the Word of God, hearing the Scriptures and receiving the Blessed Sacrament.

But what matters also is not just our reception of the Word but our disposition, our response to it/Him.  It is not enough just to hear the Word but one must react to it.  There is no point when reading Scripture to just simply open the Bible and start reading, taking in only the printed word.  Rather when approaching the Scriptures we should pray with them. 

"Lectio Divina" is the practice of praying and meditating with the Scriptures.  Before reading a passage of text, one prays for guidance and inspiration, that the words will become the living Word to the reader, that they will come alive with meaning and significance, that their interpretation will come to us afresh, that we will gain insight both spiritual and mental.  This is practised by Religious and Clergy on a daily basis in the Prayer of the Church also known as the "Liturgy of the Hours" in the Office called the "Office of Readings" where Scripture and the writings of the Fathers and Saints of the Church are read surrounded by Psalms and prayer.  The purpose is always to increase faith, to increase understanding, it is both prayer and study.  I would commend "Lectio Divina" to anybody and would be happy to discuss it with anyone who would like to practise it.

The point of the parable about our disposition is that, like the seed that fell in good soil, so we should prepare ourselves, our hearts, our souls, to be like that fertile soil where the seed will germinate, take root and grow.  So we too should receive the Word and allow it/Him to germinate and grow within us.

You may remember from last Sunday the parable of the vineyard?  We should be tending to our souls like the vineyard labourers to the vine, we should be pruning, guiding vines, taking off dead branches etc and again, in like manner we should be tending our spiritual selves in the same way as soil, removing stones, removing weeds and briars, that we may be fertile ground for the Word to dwell.  We need to rid ourselves from those obstacles that prevent the Word from growing within us; sin, hardness of heart, stubborness, selfish desires, ignorance etc.  We should instead be removing these things from ourselves, from our lives, to enable us to grow spiritually in sanctity, in purity, in wisdom and our understanding of God and in our love for God.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory" the Last Gospel reminds us that Christ, the Word of God, came and lived and breathed and spoke among us and He still does in the Mass, in the Liturgy of the Word, in the Scripture and also in the Sacrament.  He still abides with us in His Body both Sacrament and corporately in The Church, in each member of His Body, in each of us.  Allow yourself to be open and receptive to Him, take Him into your heart, reach out and ask Him to come into your life, study Him, study the Scripture, receive Him into your heart and mind and bodily in the Sacrament of His Love for YOU; that you may grow and develop in His Word and Love and so prepare yourself for His Kingdom when He comes again.

As always with my love and prayers for you all

Fr Jerome OSJV

Parish Priest.

From the rich treasury of The Church's liturgy, today marks the beginning of the "O Antiphons".  These seven antiphons for the Magnificat lead us up to ChristMass and they express the increasing anticipation of The Church to greet the Incarnation of Our Lord on ChristMass day.  The first of these is...

O Sapientia

Latin:

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,attingens a fine usque ad finem,fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

English:

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,reaching from one end to the other,mightily and sweetly ordering all things:Come to teach us the way of prudence.

This antiphon is reflective of the true significance of the Incarnation - God made man - literally "Emmanuel = God with us". 

The first line "O Wisdom coming forth from the mouth of the Most High" refers to Christ as "Wisdom" i.e. the "Logos" meaning "The Word" as referenced in the prologue to St John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1.  This is itself reflective of the "spirit" of God - not necessarily a reference to the Holy Spirit - but certainly referring to the creative power, the force and conceptualisation of the Divine Godhead i.e. the action of the Divine will such as that which created the world.  What is significant particularly is the phrase "forth from the mouth of the Most High" which when compared to the accounts of Genesis gives us a clearer understanding of this Wisdom.

The Hebrew word behind spirit that is similar to the Greek logos is ruach, and it means "air in motion." It is the same word for "breath." It also means "life." By resemblance to breath and air in motion, it means "spirit."  This is evidenced in the Creation account,

Genesis 1:1-9 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.?3 And God said, ?Let there be light,? and there was light.

God speaks and the creation happens... God breathes, and His breath creates what is His will, what is in His mind, His conceptualisation.  This "ruach" also "logos" also "Word" is Jesus Christ - its what we mean by "and the Word was made flesh," by the Incarnation - God made man.  The babe in the manger, is but the outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible miracle of the Incarnation - God made man; that which is the mind and will of God i.e. "Wisdom" referenced in the first line. 

The antiphon goes on to talk about the beginning and the end of things "reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things" describing this which is both the "Wisdom"concept i.e. thought and the force that realises it.  Again there is a direct inference to St John's Prologue "In the beginning..." but also making the point that this "Wisdom" is not just the beginning but also the end...

You may remember that during the Easter Vigil the Paschal Candle is traced and then decorated with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet - "A" = Alpha and "Ω" = Omega; meaning the beginning and the end.  The Paschal Candle of course represents Christ the "Light of the world" who illumines the darkness i.e. death, by His resurrection; from death then comes life, the beginning and the end are in Christ.

Also of course, the antiphon is referring to the eternal plan of salvation in the mind of God, conceived by God at the very beginning of time.  It is not by chance that the characters in the Nativity narrative are there - each and everyone was called and known by Him for this role - each and everyone of them had freewill, but they were so attuned to God, they so loved God, that they would accede to His will.  The Blessed Mother, St Elizabeth, St Joseph, all demonstrate their voluntary love of God such that they are willing players in His plan of salvation. 

During this season of Advent this playing out of the plan of salvation is made clear to us by the dual themes of The Church's liturgy - always the first coming and the second coming; the Incarnation and the Final Judgement.  As we prepare for the rememberance of the first coming, so too we prepare ourselves for the second.  The prophet Isaiah and St John Baptist figure predominantly in the liturgy as each is the precursor to the first and second comings of Christ.  Isaiah prophesises the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, the Emmanuel, God with us and St John Baptist heralds the birth and the ministry of Christ; as he leaped in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, Mary's cousin when she visited her after the Annunciation and later, when he is baptising by the banks of the River Jordan and baptises Christ of whom he says "Behold the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world" to his disciples.

My dear people

In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian's we heard in today's Epistle reading at Mass;

"One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism."

And in the Creed every Sunday we proclaim that there is "one holy catholic and apostolic church" but what exactly do we mean when we say that? 

Firstly we must understand that "catholic" in this context should be properly understood, not to refer to a partisan perspective of church polity, but rather it's literal meaning "universal".  It does not mean the "Catholic Church" as in Roman Catholic, nor Orthodox Catholic nor even Old Catholic!  Of prime importance here is the next adjective to give us it's true context and meaning, "Apostolic"; "et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam" there is but one holy catholic and apostolic church.  So what is the importance of "Apostolic?"

What we are saying here is that the Church we profess is not just universal as in all encapsulating, everywhere, but that our Church is descended from the original Apostles of Christ, that we are uniquely connected to them through the Apostolic Succession - the fulfillment of the promise of Christ to His Apostles that He would send them the Holy Spirit to teach them all things [John 14:16 & 26, 16:7] and that He would be with them always until the end of time [Matthew 28:20]. 

What we are proclaiming here, in the Creed, is what distinguishes us as Catholic Christians from other "churches" for we are "Apostolic" meaning "of/with the Apostles" which assures us of our closeness to Christ and to God.  For by this Apostolic Succession we are able to know Christ's abiding presence with the Church through the grace and efficacy of the Sacraments.  Through the Apostolic Succession - the passing on through the laying on of hands at Ordination, of the sign of the Holy Spirit - we are able to receive the Eucharist and receive forgiveness through sacramental Absolution, we in effect are able to witness and receive those "outward and visible" signs of God's "inward and invisible" effectual grace.  When our bishops and priests offer Mass, we know that Christ through them - "in persona Christi" or "alter Christus" - is able to offer Himself both as priest and victim [Ephesians 5:2 Romans 4:25 Council of Ephesus (Part III, ch. i, anath. 10)] of His one eternal Sacrifice - the Crucifixion - through which our Salvation has been assured [Hebrews 10:14, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:6-10].  

Last Thursday at our votive Mass for "Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest" I taught from the Epistle to the Hebrews about the intrinsic correlation of the Sacrifice of the Mass to the sacrifices once offered in the temple at Jerusalem.  How Christ is both the "covenant", the "high priest" and the "victim" and of the importance of that understanding to our comprehension of what the Mass is really about.  Of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross and His ministry and person being the completion, the fulfillment of the Old Covenant between God and His then "chosen people" (the Israelites) and the New Covenant in Christ for the salvation of His people. 

I have also preached much lately on the theme of God's "Plan of Salvation" as we have celebrated recently the lives of St John the Baptist, of St Anne (Mother of Mary), we have heard again the Gospel of the Annunication and this week will celebrate the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I have talked much of "vocation" in this context also, of the vocations of Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, John the Baptist and then also of Andrew and Peter and of those others whose place in the history of our salvation was no accident, but whose "ad sum" or "fiat" to the will of God effected His plan of salvation and how our vocations, individually given us from God "I knew you before you were in your mother's womb" [Jeremiah 1:5] are intrinsically linked to the perpetuation of that plan, particularly vocations to the Sacred Ministry which allow the Sacraments which effect Christ's continued abiding presence with His people through them.

It is largely through lack of teaching and understanding about the Mass and God's plan for salvation that much of today's divisive debates in the churches take place especially around the subject of vocation.  Let us remember in the first place that essentially man and woman are not the same.  A woman can give birth, a man cannot.  This is an undeniable fact of nature.  It is not true therefore to assert, as some people do in the equality debate, that the roles of men and women are interchangeable.  They are not.  Aside from the simple biological and physiological differences, the fact is that everyone is "individual" not all have the same abilities, or are gifted with the same talents.  I cannot be you and you cannot be me.  Nature, nurture etc the evidence of science is that no two people are alike - even twins are recognisably different persons even if they do share specific attributes.  The point is here, that in creation there are only two forms of human, male and female and there is a very obvious distinction between the two!

In God's plan of salvation, this diversity in humanity is recognised and balanced.  Man cannot give birth, therefore Christ had to be born of a woman.  A woman having given birth to the Saviour, then to balance things out, she should give birth to a son, a male child.  Together, the two, male and female, bring about the salvation of the world.  For this reason, Our Lady is also called "co-redemptrix", "Mother of God" for her role in the plan of salvation was no accident, though it took her "ad sum" to Gabriel's "ave", her voluntary submission to the will of God, nonetheless, it was purposed.  Christ in like manner, to fulfill the Old Covenant, needs must be male, to be a "Son of David."  In this way God's plan of salvation is not divorced from that of His creation - He works through and with His creation to bring about salvation.

This is perhaps most simply illustrated by regarding the iconography of the Mass - the external and visible that portray the internal and invisible.  In the same way that I, though a validly ordained priest, cannot confect the Body of Christ by using anything other than unleavened bread - the Sacrament of Orders cannot effect anything upon anyone other than a man.  Remembering that the vocation of the Sacred Ministry is to perpetuate the re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Calvary - that event represented by the crucifix - the image of God made man on the cross - so too in the spirituality of the Mass, Christ through man (i.e. the priest) offers Himself in His eternal role as High Priest and Victim.  Therefore the iconography of the Mass - the external visible representation of the incarnate Christ in the priest (in persona Christi), portrays the internal and invisible - Christ the High Priest offering Himself to the Godhead and fulfilling His promise to His faithful who partake then in the fruits of their redemption, namely His Body and Blood (the external and visible bread and wine) from which they receive the "new" manna - the "Bread of Life" [John 6:25-59]

It was not through any other limitation other than God working His plan of salvation through His creation that Christ chose men to be His Apostles - as through woman humankind receives life, so through man humankind receives salvation.  To suggest that His choosing men was due to the "limitations culturally" of His time is to suggest that the whole Gospel - His life, ministry, passion, death and resurrection - is somehow not eternal.  That this Jesus of Nazareth was not the Christ but a Christ, not the Messiah but just another prophet.  This is the fundamental problem with regard to the prevalent misunderstanding and lack of teaching regarding the Mass - it is not simply a "family meal" it is a sacrifice - it is not simply a memorial, it is a witnessing of that same one oblation made once and for all time, that single moment in our history, the Crucifixion, the sacrifice of the Son of God for man in atonement of sin.

You see brethren, true equality is about recognising and embracing diversity - it is not about making square pegs fit into round holes - it is about accepting the true nature of things and their inherent qualities or attributes that contribute to the whole.  In this case, in God's plan of salvation, it is about seeing that "male and female He created them" and through His creation, the role of saving humankind was shared equally between mankind and womankind.  In the perpetuating revelation of God's plan of salvation, the two kinds continue to have a vocation each that contributes to the whole.  In the same way that from man comes the seed and from woman the egg, together creating the new person; so too with God's plan of salvation - through the woman the male saviour is born, both aspects of humankind together share roles in the salvation of the human race.  Without Mary's "ad sum" to Gabriel's "ave" there would be no birth, no saviour, her role is obviously pivotal in God's salvific plan.  The assertion that some would make that the Catholic (universal) Church is "patriarchal and sexist" is simply not borne out by Catholic teaching regarding God's plan of salvation, by our recognition of the Blessed Virgin as co-redemptrix.

The "versus populum" orientation of Altars has prevented this true understanding of the Mass and of vocation.  It is no wonder, if people are looking always at the person of the priest "at the front" - that they identify with him simply as another human being.  They are presented continually with the face of the man they know.  Whereas, "ad orientem" the priest with his back to the people, prevents the people establishing a relationship or recognition with the person of the priest, but helps them to focus the right direction of their worship - towards God, towards the Altar.  By not seeing the face of the priest - or at least only glimpses - they are more able to recognise that he is not the focus of their attention, that Christ through him, through the priest, is the real celebrant fulfilling His offering of Sacrifice.  With their eyes fixed forward toward the Crucifix on the Altar, which is reverenced at various times throughout the Mass to draw attention to it, the focus of the people in worship becomes centred on God in Christ - not the person "at the front." 

I am firmly of the opinion that this debate regarding the ordination of women is largely due to the fault of pastors not teaching the faithful the proper context and symbology of the Mass and of contemporary liturgy as not portraying the true "lex credendi lex orandi" of the Church.  It is not difficult to appreciate the modern confusion of roles if God's plan of salvation through His creation has not properly been taught, and how the personality of priests presented in "versus populum" worship has led to a desire to "change" the face at the front! 

The faith of the "one holy Catholic and Apostolic" Church cannot - not simply will not - it cannot change the application of the Sacrament of Orders without fundamentally changing the Faith itself.  Three Popes in recent times have reiterated this point - Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI - and this opinion is shared with the successors of the other ancient Patriarchates - the Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem as well as Moscow, Eygpt, Ethopia etc.  It is not within the power of any of these - nor any Ecumenical Council to change the fundamental essence of God's plan of salvation.  "Anyone who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son." [2 John 1:9]

My brothers and sisters in the Faith

Today is the solemnity of Corpus Christi, this day is given to us by Mother Church to remember and give thanks for the great gift, the Sacrament of Christ's Love for us, His Body and Blood sacrificed for us on the Cross of Good Friday.  Due to the gravity of The Church's observance of the Sacrum Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday), the celebration of the institution of the Mass on Holy Thursday is curtailed; today's feast is given to us in order to be able to celebrate it with acclamations of joy and thanksgiving for this heavenly food that sustains our pilgrim life on earth.

The Blessed Sacrament i.e. the Body of Christ presented to us through the mortal veil of bread is, together with the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Apostolic Succession, and aside from our own personal experiences and spiritual relationships with Him; the greatest sign of Christ's enduring love for us.  Through the Blessed Sacrament, Christ makes Himself present to us in a very real and corporeal sense; physically He exists in the consecrated Host and spiritually He exists there making manifest His love for us by this heavenly food.  As God gave the Hebrews "manna from heaven" to sustain them in exile, so Christ gives us "heavenly food" to sustain us through our sojourn here on earth.

Christ Himself taught His disciples the true meaning and efficacy of the Eucharist:

'When the people found Jesus on the otherside of the lake, they said to him, "Teacher when did you get here?" Jesus answered "I tell you the truth; you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. Do not work for the food that goes bad; instead work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food that the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has put his mark of approval on him". So they asked him: "What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?" (...) They replied, "What miracle will you perform so that we may see too and believe you? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as Scripture says he gave them bread from heaven to eat". "I am telling you the truth" Jesus said "it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven (some manuscripts have: what Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven). For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives his life to the world." "Sir" they asked him, "give us this bread always." " I am the bread of life" Jesus told them. "Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty"(....) . The people started grumbling about him, because he said "I am the bread that came down from heaven" (..) "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread I will give him is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live" . This started an angry argument among them. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" they asked. Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth; if you do not eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is real food; my blood is real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I in them (..)" Jesus said this as he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many of his followers heard this and said "this teaching is too hard. Who can listen to it?" Without being told, Jesus knew that they were grumbling about this, so he said to them "does this make you want to give up? Suppose, then that you should see the son of man go back up to the place where he was before? What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life - giving Spirit yet some of you do not believe (...)? Because of this, many of Jesus' followers turned back and would not go with him any more. So he asked the twelve disciples "And you, would you also like to leave...?" (John 6: 25 - 67).

Many of the followers of Christ left there and then, many of them were angry because they could not imagine the possible concept in the words spoken to them. They perceived that Christ literally meant that mankind had to eat his flesh and drink his blood; that they were being asked to practise cannibalism.  Christ knew their thoughts and He made no attempt to tell them that they were wrong.  It is significant that Christ did not attempt to call them back, He did not say: ?Come back. You have misunderstood me. I did not mean the words literally? Christ had nothing to retract.  It seems by his actions and response to the grumbling of those who heard him, that He went further to confirm His teaching by saying: ?Does this make you want to give up??  Today He still asks this same question and we all of us know individuals once of the Faith who have since departed from it because of this teaching.

In our contemporary world, the concept of spiritual sustenance is still difficult for many to understand.  Certainly the concept of transubstantiation, the doctrine that teaches that Christ is made corporeally as well as spiritually present in the species of the Bread and Wine at Mass, has caused many people over the years to reject Christ and His Church, those who let their head govern their heart and spiritual self.  Yet it is clear that this teaching is the true and proper understanding of the Eucharist spoken of by Christ and passed down to us from the Apostles through successive generations of the Faithful.  Yet some of these same people will confess to believing the corporeal resurrection and physical ascension of Christ and still others outside the Faith will argue their belief in reincarnation...?

The Apostle Paul wrote:  

"For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it and said "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me (...)" This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. It follows that anyone eats the Lord's bread or drinks from his cup in away that dishonours him, he or she is guilty of sin against the Lord's body and blood (...) For if people do not recognise the meaning of the Lord's body when they eat the bread and drink from the cup, they bring judgement on themselves as they eat and drink. This is why many of you are weak and ill, and several have died." (1 Corinthians 11: 23-30). AD 49. 

St Paul here clearly states that what he is writing for the benefit of the reader is the tradition of the Eucharistic doctrine as it had always been understood by the Apostles and disciples of Christ from the inception of The Church.  He retells the story of the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, the commemoration of which we celebrate in today's solemnity.

Note also in this text, that St Paul proffers a warning to those who doubt the true meaning and efficacy of the Blessed Sacrament.  "For if people do not recognise the meaning of the Lord's body when they eat the bread and drink from the cup, they bring judgement on themselves" and it is clear here then, that St Paul regards the received teaching from Christ as to the true nature of the Eucharist to be another opportunity to reject or accept Christ as one's Lord and Saviour.  The bread and wine are not just symbolic but truly are Christ in corporeal form and to reject His presence in them is to reject Christ Himself as if He were standing before them whole as He did St Thomas after the resurrection.

It is usual on this feast day, after Mass has been solemnly celebrated, to process with a consecrated Host through the streets.  This ancient custom has always been both celebrational and an opportunity to bear witness to the Faith; an opportunity to process with Christ, the King of Kings and bear witness to His Love made manifest in the giving of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist and on the Cross.  It has become a custom in some local places to hold a "procession of witness" with the Host on Corpus Christi to bear testimony as Christian Catholics to our presence in the local community.  It is also customary for such processions of the Host to pause and bless the people with the Host, signifying Christ blessing them Himself physically through His Body - and a reminder too that at every Mass, this opportunity is made available to His chosen people in the Holy Communion.

Today's feast is an opportunity then for both celebration and witness, as well as thanksgiving.  It is an occasion to bear witness to the teaching of Christ Himself about His institution of the Eucharist; it is an event in which to celebrate the presence of Christ in our faith community at every Mass; and it is an opportunity to bear witness to the Faith itself, "that which has been taught and believed everywhere and by all" about the Bread and the Wine becoming truly, corporeally and spiritually, the Body and the Blood of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I urge you all to prepare yourselves for this day, preferably with examination of conscience and penance and with faith, so that when you come to "eat the bread and drink the cup" you will not bring judgement on yourselves but rather affirm your belief in Him present in the Blessed Sacrament, who gave His life that you might live eternally in the love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Fraternally for eternity with Christ

The Very Reverend Canon Jerome Lloyd OSJV VG