Dear Friends,
We have arrived at the last Sunday of Ordinary Time with a bang. After all that we heard and celebrated this past week, we now come to the end of Year A, the year during which we focus on the gospel of St. Matthew. Wow. And we complete this year as always with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Why do we do this?
In 1925, as waves of nationalism and secularism were on the rise across the globe, Pope Pius XI instituted the Solemnity of Christ the King as a reminder that Christ reigns above all earthly rulers. While temporal powers rise and fall, Christ’s reign and his kingdom remain eternal. This Solemnity calls believers to totally surrender their wills and hearts to Christ’s sovereignty.
When times are uncertain and conflict ravages the globe, we can take comfort in knowing that Christ stands in infinite power above it all. As Pope Benedict XVI noted, “It is in the very offering of himself in the sacrifice of expiation that Jesus becomes King of the universe.” His sacrifice for all humanity reminds us to follow his example and offer our hearts and lives in service of our fellow man. Pope Francis remarks: “The kingdoms of this world at times are sustained by arrogance, rivalries and oppression; the reign of Christ is a ‘kingdom of justice, love and peace.’ . . . For a Christian, speaking of power and strength means referring to the power of the Cross and the strength of Jesus’ love: a love which remains steadfast and complete, even when faced with rejection and it is shown as the fulfillment of a life expended in the total surrender of oneself for the benefit of humanity.” To live as people of the kingdom of God, we must act in a restorative manner, bringing healing to a broken world.
Next weekend we will be stepping into the First Sunday of Advent. Do you hear the music in the air already: O Come, O Come!!!
I am happy to announce and welcome three new staff to our community and thank them for their services: Jennifer Hera, our Administrative Assistant, Charles (Chuck) Maute, our new bookkeeper, and Naida Danielson , who is helping with maintenance.
Let us now move forward with the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI entitled: Sacramentum Caritatis.
Have a Blessed Week!
With love,
Fr. John
W e e k 22 — SA C R A M E N T U M C A R I T AT I S ( TH E SA C R A M E N T O F C H A R I T Y : T H E E U C H AR I ST )
CONTINUATION OF THE POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY, CONSECRATED PERSONS AND THE LAY FAITHFUL ON THE EUCHARIST AS THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE CHURCH'S LIFE AND MISSION
P A R T T W O : T H E E U C H A R I ST — A M Y ST E R Y T O B E C E L E B R A T E D ( c on t i n u e d )
"Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven"
(Jn 6:32)
CARE FOR PRISONERS
- The Church's spiritual tradition, basing itself on Christ's own words (cf. Mt 25:36), has designated the visiting of prisoners as one of the corporal works of mercy. Prisoners have a particular need to be visited personally by the Lord in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Experiencing the closeness of the ecclesial community, sharing in the Eucharist and receiving holy communion at this difficult and painful time can surely contribute to the quality of a prisoner's faith journey and to full social rehabilitation. Taking up the recommendation of the Synod, I ask Dioceses to do whatever is possible to ensure that sufficient pastoral resources are invested in the spiritual care of prisoners. (179)
MIGRANTS AND PARTICIPATION IN THE EUCHARIST
- Turning now to those people who for various reasons are forced to leave their native countries, the Synod expressed particular gratitude to all those engaged in the pastoral care of Specific attention needs to be paid to migrants belonging to the Eastern Catholic Churches; in addition to being far from home, they also encounter the difficulty of not being able to participate in the eucharistic liturgy in their own rite. For this reason, wherever possible, they should be served by priests of their rite. In all cases I would ask Bishops to welcome these brothers and sisters with the love of Christ. Contacts between the faithful of different rites can prove a source of mutual enrichment. In particular, I am thinking of the benefit that can come, especially for the clergy, from a knowledge of the different traditions. (180)
LARGE-SCALE CONCELEBRATIONS
- The Synod considered the quality of participation in the case of large-scale celebrations held on special occasions and involving not only a great number of the lay faithful, but also many concelebrating priests. (181) On the one hand, it is easy to appreciate the importance of these moments, especially when the Bishop himself celebrates, surrounded by his presbyterate and by the deacons. On the other hand, it is not always easy in such cases to give clear expression to the unity of the presbyterate, especially during the Eucharistic Prayer and the distribution of Holy Communion. Efforts need to be made lest these large-scale concelebrations lose their proper focus. This can be done by proper coordination and by arranging the place of worship so that priests and lay faithful are truly able to participate fully. It should be kept in mind, however, that here we are speaking of exceptional concelebrations, limited to extraordinary situations.
THE LATIN LANGUAGE
- None of the above observations should cast doubt upon the importance of such large-scale liturgies. I am thinking here particularly of celebrations at international gatherings, which nowadays are held with greater frequency. The most should be made of these In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, (182) that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers (183) of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant. (184)
EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATIONS IN SMALL GROUPS
- A very different situation arises when, in the interest of more conscious, active and fruitful participation, pastoral circumstances favour small group celebrations. While acknowledging the formative value of this approach, it must be stated that such celebrations should always be consonant with the overall pastoral activity of the These celebrations would actually lose their catechetical value if they were felt to be in competition with, or parallel to, the life of the particular Church. In this regard, the Synod set forth some necessary criteria: small groups must serve to unify the community, not to fragment it; the beneficial results ought to be clearly evident; these groups should encourage the fruitful participation of the entire assembly, and preserve as much as possible the unity of the liturgical life of individual families. (185)
(179) cf. Propositio 48
(180) Candidates forthe priesthood can be introduced tothesetraditions as part oftheir seminarytraining: cf. Propositio 45.
(181) Cf. Propositio 37.
(182) Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36, 54.
(183) Propositio 36
(184) ibid.
(185) Propositio 32