Catholic Sensibility

I’ve been delving back into fiction this summer. I’ve been mostly disappointed by fantasy and sf as of late. I was looking up promising books that veer close–magic realism.

Alice Hoffman’s The Story Sisters was recommended. Not a book that makes a father feel all warm and fuzzy. The title sisters and mom are abandoned by father/husband. Without the power of the father, things go awry as the sisters roll through adolescence. (Could’ve predicted that.) Grandma to the rescue, but not until the last quarter of the book.

I liked the writing, pacing, and the character development. The ending seemed a little too neat. Lots of really bad things happened to two of the sisters before the grandmother and allies stepped in to help sister number 3. It seemed like a family just unraveled over several years just so everything will work out in Paris for the survivors of this mess.

This read followed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz, author. I found this novel more sparkling, more funny, and more brutal. Fast-paced, to be sure. It made more sense than the Hoffman. I thought it also lagged toward the last 25%.

My wife has been bugging me to go watch the last Harry Potter movie. I’m not quite ready for that adventure to be over–at least the cinematic part.

I could overlook the editing problems in the later books of that series, as I can overlook the flaws in these two very good reads. But every year or two, I need to get a really good read into my head. Haven’t found it yet. Anybody out there finding good summer reading? Only a month or so left–better find it fast.

One of my friend-bloggers has upcoming nuptials, and writes of rings. What are y’all hearing about unity sand? I have to confess it seems a little curious. When I first heard about it, I visualized the couple creating a mandala.

Apparently that’s not it.

I rather prefer the naturally-colored sand above from Hawaii. When I was single, I admired the contrast of Theresa Russell’s aqua-colored swim suit on this beach.

But even sand needs to be washed off.

A few weeks ago, I met an alumni couple at the parish. They mentioned at their wedding liturgy they washed each other’s feet. I haven’t given that a whole lot of thought yet. But I wonder what the commentariat here sees in such a gesture.

Liturgy texts for the Australian solemnity of Mary McKillop are available. I know I don’t have many readers from Oz, but a few notable things: Entrance and Communion antiphons, but nothing for “Offertory”/Preparation of Gifts.

Rome affirmed a request by that nation’s bishops:

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has approved a request from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference that the liturgical observance of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop be raised from a “feast” to a “solemnity.” Each year on the 8th of August the “feast day” of Mary MacKillop has traditionally been marked in parishes and a special Mass is often said, particularly in places where the Sisters of Saint Joseph have a presence.

And a liturgical reminder of what the elevation to solemnity entails:

A solemnity will mean that the Mass of the day will include a first reading as well as the second reading. It will also include the Gospel, the Gloria and the recitation of the Creed. This honour is a recognition that the story of and devotion to St Mary MacKillop has a prominent place in the Catholic community in Australia.

The comic page has discovered the Catholic exodus to Saturday afternoon.

I’m of mixed feelings on this move. I went to Saturday Mass in college, but that was more because my close friend played in the ensemble. I like the quality of Sunday morning Mass. But the young miss and my wife prefer Saturday night–so that’s where we usually go.

But you know: Saturday late afternoon has a quality all its own. I mean a spiritual quality. Something like Vespers. Now that would be an exodus of which I’d approve.

I worked for a parish many, many years ago. It had a solid, well-deserved, and virtuous reputation as a progressive faith community. But my predecessor had a problem. She was a very attractive and persuasive person, and drew a good following in the ministries of RCIA and liturgy. Maybe too good.

It might shock some of my conservative readers, but I also have some appeal with parishioners. People are drawn to me and things I do. But I also give them the freedom to say “no” to me. Early in my second year in this parish, the pastor challenged me on why so many long-time volunteers were shifting involvements or dropping from ministry. Name names, I suggested. When he did I suggested he speak to them.

One couple had been doing three retreat days a year for RCIA people since the 70′s. They approached me early on and said they would continue leading retreats my first year, but that it was time for them to move on to something a little more creative. The chairperson of the liturgy committee was also head of the RCIA team. In her spare time she was a physician at a local hospital. She told me her life needed to be drained of some crazy, and that she would discern dropping one of her positions at the end of my first year. I assumed her job was a keeper.

I later asked Fr Tom if he talked to my friends. And he had. And they told him what they told me. And they also mentioned I gave them the freedom to say no.

If people are unfree to decline involvement, I simply don’t see where discernment has any place in their lives. I was in a good parish in those days. My predecessor drew in a lot of lay involvement. But they also were formed and free to say no. My colleagues there, alas, were less understanding of that principle.

In a way, it’s a bit like the culture of celebrity. One person draws in the doers. Not because of God maybe, but maybe more because of personality. I don’t like it. It’s okay for an initial motivation–maybe. But eventually, a person should be in service because of her or his God-given gifts and because of a need in the community. Not ’cause the boss is charming, cute, or won’t hear the word “no.”

After Mass this morning, I chatted with a parishioner who is a working artist. She asked how I was, and I shared with her my musical has a producer, and performance dates this November. Interested in doing set design, I asked her. Seeing her hesitation, I reinforced: “You are free to say no.” Another friend was in the conversation circle, and she affirmed it: “Oh yes, Todd is very good about giving you the freedom to say no.”

It was easily the nicest thing anyone has said about me in a good week.

As a parish minister, I need to live and show the trust that is so much a part of the Christian faith. By giving the people freedom, I treat them like adults and show respect for their other commitments. In turn, when they do say yes, I have a higher trust they’re doing so from a spiritual or personal motivation. And not just because I asked.

What are the responsibilities of the bishops’ conference?

15. It will be the responsibility of the Conference of Bishops to determine which of the prevailing languages are to be introduced into full or partial liturgical use in its territory. Their decisions require the recognitio of the Apostolic See before the work of translation is undertaken in any way.[Cf. SC 36 § 3; S. Congr. for the Sacraments and Divine Worship, Letter to the Presidents of the Conferences of Bishops De linguis vulgaribus in S. Liturgiam inducendis, 5 June 1976: Notitiae 12 (1976) 300-301.] Before giving its decision on this matter, the Conference of Bishops should not omit to seek the written opinion of experts and other collaborators in the work; these opinions, together with the other acts, are to be sent in written form to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in addition to the relatio mentioned below, in art. n. 16.

Curious wording that’s not quite the same as, “(They) should seek the written opinion of experts.”

A colleague offered a prayer themed on Saint Martha yesterday at our staff in-service. She shared a remarkable image (not the one below) of the industrious saint of Bethany: an olive-skinned woman with piercing dark eyes, fists on hips, in the garb of a Middle Eastern woman.

We read from yesterday’s first choice of Gospels:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.

When the endless debate about the proper way to receive Communion surfaces in the Catholic New Media, it’s often accompanied by the pious opinion, “If you really recognized Jesus in your midst, you would be on your knees with the rest of us and trembling in fear.”

Well, no. I wouldn’t. Not every day. Some days I would be with Martha, giving the Lord a discussion–maybe while well-grounded eyes roll. It was her sister who threw herself at the Lord’s feet. And as much as I love Mary of Bethany for her many saintly characteristics, I can’t say that emotional clingy women are really appealing to me. And I speak as a man as well as a seeker looking for a spiritual mentor. And then we have the notion of Martha as Slayer.

That’s not to say that reverence isn’t important to me. But it has its place: as part of a wide, catholic, and well-rounded religious palette. Kneeling is not the only appropriate outward posture. It’s far from a defining characteristic of faith.

Because faith is really the end we’re all seeking. Lots of people grovel–sometimes not even to God. Speaking up to the Lord clearly didn’t prevent Martha from uttering her statement of faith:

I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.

Before the Passion and Resurrection, not too many of the Lord’s disciples offered a confession like this. I’ll have to add it to my collection of potential replacements for the Prayer of Humble Access.

Jesus said to his disciple:
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.

Turning to a recent proposal to postpone next year’s Irish Eucharistic Congress, I disagree with those advocating a retreat. The Church doesn’t need believers backing away. We also don’t need people grovelling before bishops or the sacrament–as if we can’t tell the difference. Having a congress full of Marthas would be a good thing, with bishops in full attendance among the people.

If you guys had been on the ball,
If you shepherds had kept your eye on the flock,
If you hadn’t been looking for the seats at the right hand and the left,
These children wouldn’t have been abused.

And then let’s see who kneels.

Outward piety is not the fallback position for the truly faithful. Sometimes it’s appropriate to stand our ground, ask questions, and engage the events of our lives most directly. According to the witness of Scripture, it’s at least as likely to lead us to faith.

Numbers count, as does linguistic unity:

14. Since the introduction of languages into liturgical use by the Church may actually affect the development of the language itself and may even be determinative in its regard, care is to be taken to promote those languages which – even while perhaps lacking a long literary tradition – seem capable of being employed by a greater number of persons. It is necessary to avoid any fragmentation of dialects, especially at the moment when a given dialect may be passing from spoken to written form. Instead, care should be taken to foster and to develop forms of speech that are common to human communities.

I don’t know if this concern about “dialects” is as notable in English developments as its huge capacity for adopting new words. But perhaps other commenters have an experience with dialects of English or other languages.

Admittedly, I debate posting about things close to home, but there may be a lesson or two in this parable. Very recently, I was confronted by two very different approaches to weddings at the parish.

In wedding number one, I got an email from the bride-to-be less than three weeks before the date. It went something like this: OMG, we need to have a wedding Mass. Please help!

Happy to do this. I’m not a bride, and I never was. So the idea of putting together a liturgy for a wedding on a few weeks’ notice is not a big deal for me. I’ve done it on less than 48 hours. If the pastor called me right now this second (1:54PM local time) and said there’s a wedding at 3PM, I could rouse my wife from her nap, get dressed, grab a hymnal and a few pieces of music out of my office and start playing preludes at 2:30 while guests arrive. The last-minute couple would get above-average liturgical music capably rendered.

So I was able to calm down the bride at our meeting, chat up the groom about harmoniums and learning to play the violin and we were soon on track for a nice liturgy.

In contrast, we also fielded a recent wedding that was, alas, handed from priest to priest and ended up in a deacon’s hands. (It is July when clergy transfers in our diocese are all the rage–plus two of our guys decided to book vacation at the same key time.) Despite my colleague’s urging of the couple, I wasn’t consulted about this wedding in advance. I learned that one family is very musical, and a choir of twelve and five instruments were being utilized. Cool, I thought.

The problem was that this fine ensemble of musicians really needed someone’s assistance to arrange themselves in a fairly open space. We got it figured out–during the rehearsal of bride, groom, deacon, and attendants. I was amazed to learn one of the group was a parish liturgist somewhere. I wouldn’t dream of taking an ensemble on the road for a wedding in someone else’s house without checking things out thoroughly ahead of time.

Couple number 1 got our very best. I’m sad to see them relocate out of state–but you’ve got to follow the job.

I hope couple number 2 was satisfied. They sure didn’t get my best, but I have few regrets–they didn’t ask for it, and it seems, they weren’t expecting it anyway.

Lacking an official translation, a language may still be used for singing, intercessions, and in the homily. As may Latin:

13. Moreover, the fact that a language is not introduced into full liturgical use does not mean that it is thereby altogether excluded from the Liturgy. It may be used, at least occasionally, in the Prayer of the Faithful, in the sung texts, in the invitations or instructions given to the people, or in parts of the homily, especially if the language is proper to some of Christ’s faithful who are in attendance. Nevertheless, it is always possible to use either the Latin language or another language that is widely used in that country, even if perhaps it may not be the language of all – or even of a majority – of the Christian faithful taking part, provided that discord among the faithful be avoided.

Important, that last part. Potentially, this is very sensitive territory.

These puppies have saved my diet.

I don’t know why my diet plan forbids fruit, yet allows me tomato–which is technically a fruit. I’m not arguing, especially because I get to eat my favorite vegetable that’s really a fruit.

I also don’t know why I can’t eat blackberries, but I can eat peppers. As you may know, peppers are berries.

I’m glad for these warm and spicy berries vegetables. I chop them up to put in my reconstituted eggs. I put them in practically every stir fry: clams and mushrooms, chicken and garlic, and tonight: some lean ground beef and onions. They pretty much banish the soy aftertaste in a lot of the packaged foods I eat.

On the weight front, I’ve been hovering at minus-43 for a few days now.

As for the classification of foods, I need to take my coach’s suggestion to contact the nutritionist and address my questions there. I wouldn’t mind trading bell peppers for blackberries. But keep the jalapeños coming, please.

CNS has a nice bit out on the Vox Clara gathering in Rome earlier this week. (Now you know where your copyright cash is going, JT.) Seems like consultation could be more economically achieved by videoconferencing, but maybe the Roman atmosphere is important to sniff and imbibe.

On the docket: translating new blessings for the oils at Chrism Mass. The new text, according to the article, is optional. Of course it is.

Otherwise, it was musing about future projects: an interim edition of the Roman Pontifical (rites for bishops), future versions of the Missale Parvum, and also a revision of the Ratio Translationis. (Current one here.) O yes, and all the sacramental rites and the Liturgy of the Hours.

Anybody seen and planning on using the Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts? If you were the liturgist, would you implement it? Or is it too high-churchy for your faith community? How frequently do you suppose monasteries and other similar communities utilize this? Imagine the confluence of traditional and modern: Epiphany worshipers shushing their neighbors to get these important dates into their cells and pdf’s.

A sacred music composer of some fame once wrote:

[Holy prophets such as David and Solomon] not only composed psalms and canticles to be sung … but invented musical instruments of diverse kinds within this view, by which the songs could be expressed in multitudinous sounds, so that the listeners, aroused and made adept outwardly, might be nurtured within the forms and qualities of the instruments, as well as by the meaning of the words performed with them.

[I]n accordance with the material composition and the quality of instruments, we can best transform and shape the performance of our inner being towards the praises of the Creator.

Who could this composer be?

Granting the primacy of vocal music (which this composer did not deny) is this a sound approach to instruments in sacred music?

Discuss, if you please.

A discussion about dialects:

12. Within the liturgical sphere, moreover, a distinction necessarily arises between languages and dialects. In particular, dialects that do not support common academic and cultural formation cannot be taken into full liturgical use, since they lack that stability and breadth that would be required for their being liturgical languages on a broader scale. In any event, the number of individual liturgical languages is not to be increased too greatly.[S. Congr. for the Sacraments and Divine Worship, Letter to the Presidents of the Conferences of Bishops, De linguis vulgaribus in S. Liturgiam inducendis, 5 June 1976: Notitiae 12 (1976) 300-301.] This latter is necessary so that a certain unity of language may be fostered within the boundaries of one and the same nation.

My assumption and hope is that a depth of linguistic research and consultation went into this principle and is applied today. Linguists themselves assess “dialect” to describe how a language is spoken within a subdivision of a nation, say Newfoundland or Louisiana. But also “dialect” can be used to describe the historical relationship, say Italian and French with one another.

Perhaps today the main principle is a political one. Some third world and Arab nations are constructs of the 20th century colonial realities, not linguistic or cultural ones. So there are many challenges afoot in these countries. Separate cultural and language realities might exist within one set of borders. Or the same language may be spread across two or more nations. Or one might consider the Chinese situation, where the written form is standard, but the spoken languages of Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually understandable.

Don’t forget the role of class either: often the “standard” version of a language is defined by the usage of the elite. That might have a potential chilling effect on evangelization.

As we’ve read before, there are economic considerations to effecting a translation. A poor nation with two or more languages may be more deeply burdened than several nations sharing the same language.

A lot of consider in this, and hopefully the CDWDS and various bishops’ committees are on top of it all everywhere.