Dear Friends,
The entrance antiphon for the 3rd Sunday of Advent reads like this: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” These are words taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (4:4-5). The Third Sunday of Advent is designated as Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday. Paul again invites us to rejoice always in the second reading for today in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 ff. How can we truly rejoice in all circumstances? Maybe a look at the prophet John the Baptist could give us a clue as to how to rejoice in all circumstances of life. The gospel of John tells us that John was sent from God and he came on a mission. His mission was to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. Don’t we too have the same mission, that we were sent by God and were given that tremendous task at baptism of testifying to our Lord and that through us, all might believe in him. What an awesome responsibility it is? Wow! It is breathtaking to know that we have such spectacular power to bring people to Christ our Lord whose coming we await eagerly. If so, what do we do to accomplish this huge responsibility? Do we have a strategy? Do we have some plans? If yes, are we sufficiently equipped to accomplish it?
As we go about preparing for that momentous occasion when God would breakthrough all impossibilities to be born as one of us, please reflectively read what the Prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.. (61:1-2, 10-11).
On Tuesday, 15th December 2020 we will have the Stations of the Crib. It is a very peaceful, meditative, and contemplative reading of the events leading up the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. There will be beautiful songs also to reflect the joy of the season. Please do not miss it.
Please remember the many options available for you to attend one of our Christmas Masses. In all we will have 9 Masses celebrating the birth of our Lord both in the church and in the hall. As the number of Covid-19 cases spike again I urge, plead and implore you to help each other feel safe by wearing the mask when you come for Mass.
Be Blessed!
With love, Fr. John
Ecclesia de Eucharistia
For this week, we shall reflect on paragraphs 49 and 50 of the encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” (The Church draws her life from the Eucharist) by St. John Paul II on the vital role the Eucharist plays in the life of the Church. With these paragraphs we begin to read the 5th chapter titled: THE DIGNITY OF THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION. Here Pope John Paul II is discussing about special circumstances where the Holy Communion can be administered to those from Eastern Christian Churches in communion with the Pope.
- With this heightened sense of mystery, we understand how the faith of the Church in the mystery of the Eucharist has found historical expression not only in the demand for an interior disposition of devotion, but also in outward forms meant to evoke and emphasize the grandeur of the event being celebrated. This led progressively to the development of a particular form of regulating the Eucharistic liturgy, with due respect for the various legitimately constituted ecclesial traditions. On this foundation a rich artistic heritage also developed. Architecture, sculpture, painting and music, moved by the Christian mystery, have found in the Eucharist, both directly and indirectly, a source of great inspiration.
Such was the case, for example, with architecture, which witnessed the transition, once the historical situation made it possible, from the first places of Eucharistic celebration in the domus or “homes” of Christian families to the solemn basilicas of the early centuries, to the imposing cathedrals of the Middle Ages, and to the churches, large and small, which gradually sprang up throughout the lands touched by Christianity. The designs of altars and tabernacles within Church interiors were often not simply motivated by artistic inspiration but also by a clear understanding of the mystery. The same could be said for sacred music, if we but think of the inspired Gregorian melodies and the many, often great, composers who sought to do justice to the liturgical texts of the Mass. Similarly, can we overlook the enormous quantity of artistic production, ranging from fine craftsmanship to authentic works of art, in the area of Church furnishings and vestments used for the celebration of the Eucharist?
It can be said that the Eucharist, while shaping the Church and her spirituality, has also powerfully affected “culture”, and the arts in particular.
- In this effort to adore the mystery grasped in its ritual and aesthetic dimensions, a certain “competition” has taken place between Christians of the West and the East. How could we not give particular thanks to the Lord for the contributions to Christian art made by the great architectural and artistic works of the Greco-Byzantine tradition and of the whole geographical area marked by Slav culture? In the East, sacred art has preserved a remarkably powerful sense of mystery, which leads artists to see their efforts at creating beauty not simply as an expression of their own talents, but also as a genuine service to the faith. Passing well beyond mere technical skill, they have shown themselves docile and open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The architectural and mosaic splendors of the Christian East and West are a patrimony belonging to all believers; they contain a hope, and even a pledge, of the desired fullness of communion in faith and in celebration. This would presuppose and demand, as in Rublëv's famous depiction of the Trinity, a profoundly Eucharistic Church in which the presence of the mystery of Christ in the broken bread is as it were immersed in the ineffable unity of the three divine Persons, making of the Church herself an “icon” of the Trinity.
Within this context of an art aimed at expressing, in all its elements, the meaning of the Eucharist in accordance with the Church's teaching, attention needs to be given to the norms regulating the construction and decor of sacred buildings. As history shows and as I emphasized in my Letter to Artists (Cf. AAS 91 (1999), 1155-1172),the Church has always left ample room for the creativity of artists. But sacred art must be outstanding for its ability to express adequately the mystery grasped in the fullness of the Church's faith and in accordance with the pastoral guidelines appropriately laid down by competent Authority. This holds true both for the figurative arts and for sacred music.