Catholic Sensibility

… and come away with a chest of Blood. Artist Sebastian Errazuriz suggests that his supply of vino was …

inadvertently blessed by the priest while turning wine into the blood of Christ during the Eucharist.

Well, no. It doesn’t work that way.

But the making of wine popsicles on a crucifix stick, that’s slightly clever. On the other hand, I prefer my wine chilled and white, not frozen.

Two  months ago, I blogged on Stations of the King’s Cross, reproductions of paper cuttings depicting the Via Dolorosa for London train travelers. The artist has been in touch and sends this word:

On Saturday 26^th May an exhibition of the original artworks will open at St Mary’s, Eversholt Street (near King’s Cross Station.) Rather neatly, this is the eve of Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter Season. The exhibition will open with an evening prayer at 7pm, followed by refreshments, and an opportunity to view the artworks accompanied by live piano music. The well known Catholic poet Sarah de Nordwall (one of the Catholic Voices) will be performing some poetry, and free booklets will be available for people to take as they please. Everyone is welcome to the event.

The paper-cuts have been professionally framed and will be sold by silent auction: bids can be submitted at St. Mary’s, or online at www.stationsofthekingscross.com. Details of the leading bids will be updated every day throughout the exhibition.

All proceeds will be donated to the following charities:

• Mary’s Meals (who provide one daily meal in a place of education to attract chronically poor children into a classroom where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.)
• St Vincent de Paul Society (who tackle poverty in all its forms through the provision of practical assistance to those in need.)
• The Bard School (an open community supporting faith-based artists.)

The exhibition will be open 9am – 8pm daily up to and including Monday 4th June.

Booklets illustrating the papercuts were available on the Circle Line and can also be acquired for free from the artist’s web site. A sample:

Some audio from Britain featuring an interview with the hosting pastor, Fr John Caster: Stations of King’s Cross-bbc-radio

They are logical points, but three important aspects of the connection between the dedication rituals and the celebration of the Eucharist:

17. After the altar had been prepared, the bishop celebrates the eucharist, the principal and the most ancient part of the whole rite, (See Pope Vigilius, Epistula ad Profuturum episcopum 4: PL 84, 832) because the celebration of the eucharist is in the closest harmony with the rite of the dedication of a church: 

• For the celebration of the eucharistic sacrifice achieves the end for which the church was built and the altar erected and expresses this end by particularly clear signs.
• Furthermore, the eucharist, which sanctifies the hearts of those who receive it, in a sense consecrates the altar and the place of celebration, as the ancient Fathers of the Church often assert: ‘This altar should be an object of awe: by nature it is stone, but it is made holy when it receives the body of Christ.’(John Chrysostom, Homilia 20 in 2 Cor 3: PG 61, 540.)
• Finally, the bond closely connecting the dedication of a church with the celebration of the eucharist is likewise evident from the fact that the Mass for the dedication has its own preface, which is a central part of the rite itself.

The Church mentions its continuum of missionary proclamation/catechesis/pastoral ministry. Those distinctions have a rough arc, to be sure, but the borders might appear blurred when the Church encounters those who were raised Christian, but have yet to fully awaken in their faith. Let’s chat about the New Evangelization:

276. If catechesis is defined as a moment in the total process of evangelization, the problem inevitably arises of co-ordinating catechetical activity with the missionary activity which necessarily precedes it, as well as with the pastoral activity which follows it. There are in fact “elements which prepare for catechesis as well as those deriving from it”. (Catechesi Tradendae 18d) In this respect, the link between missionary proclamation which seeks to stir up the faith, and initiatory catechesis, which seeks to deepen its roots, is decisive for evangelization. This link is, in a certain sense, more evident in the mission ad gentes. (Redemptoris Missio 33) Adults converted by the primary proclamation enter the catechumenate where they are catechized. In situations requiring “new evangelization”, (Redemptoris Missio 33) co-ordination becomes more complex because ordinary catechesis is, at times, offered to young people and adults who need a period of prior proclamation and awakening in their adherence to Christ.

Similar difficulties arise with regard to the catechesis of children and the formation of their parents. (Cf. Catechesi Tradendae 19 and 42) At other times forms of ongoing catechesis are applied to adults who, in fact, reguire a true intiatory catechesis.

277. The current situation of evangelization requires that both activities, missionary proclamation and initiatory catechesis, be conceived in a co-ordinated manner and be given, in the particular Church, through a single programme of evangelization which is both missionary and catechumenal. Today, catechesis must be seen above all as the consequence of an effective missionary proclamation. The directives of the decree Ad Gentes—which sets the catechumenate in the context of the Church’s missionary activity—remain a particularly valid reference point for catechesis. (Cf. Ad Gentes 11-15. The concept of evangelization as a process structured in stages was analysed in Part I, chap. I. The process of evagelization)

Some of the problems of modern catechesis may stem from an attempt to impart catechesis when those served have yet to be fully (or at least substantially) converted by the Gospel. Maybe it’s not a surprise that if faith has never truly taken root, catechetical service as classroom children leads only to occasional engagement in parish ministry. No wonder people drop out of Catholicism, if the underpinings are assumed, but not really present. What’s the answer? Maybe less adult education and more missionary proclamation. That really puts the liturgy–especially the homily–on the spot. Church critics who suggest Catholics are ignorant or uncatechized are missing the boat. Many baptized people have never been truly evangelized. More/better catechesis won’t work. That’s like watering the soil when the seed hasn’t been planted.

Let’s kick off the Spiritual Sixteen, shall we?

In the 72-hour voting periods, “Silent Night,” probably the most popular Christmas song in the US, eked out a pair of one vote wins. “Prayer of St Francis,” also identified in hymnal-speak as “Make Me A Channel of Your Peace,” had two easy wins. It might well be the most popular “refugee” from the Catholic 60′s.

Susan Boyle has sung the higher-seed.

The German guitar song is well suited for the autoharp.

Happy polling.