"That's not my spirituality", the Mass and Life Issues.

Written last year (2011) for a class called "Ministry of Social Justice"


Spirituality is the concrete manner of living out one’s faith in Christ. Being ordered to Christ, it draws on - in different ways and to different degrees - the three transcendentals; namely, Goodness, Beauty and Truth. These find expressions through the living of the evangelical counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

Each person is drawn in a particular way to serve God and neighbour and, in justice, called to render to both what is due to them. Now, the most fundamental right of God is to be worshiped, and loved above all else. The most fundamental right of the human being is life from conception until natural death. The right of God to be worshiped and loved is ultimately inherent. The right to life is contingent only on conception; that is to say, creation as a human being. The two biggest justice issues facing us today, and always, then, are the right-worship of God and the respect for human life at all its stages. We will look, briefly, at the main injustices that ‘spirituality’ is used to excuse and how an appropriate understanding of spirituality can be used to combat injustice in these two areas. We will therefore discover that, although spirituality may be used to excuse a lack of interest in these justice issues, there are some issues which, as a matter of justice, it is impossible for a Christian not to have participate in.

Although there are many ways of expressing personal devotion to God, the public worship of the Church is something given to us by God, through Her (that is, the Church), to be expressed as laid down in the rubrics of the given Rite. For the Latin Rite of the Church, the Holy Liturgy takes two forms, the forma ordinaria and the forma extraordinaria. Although some are drawn to the beauty or the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, for the purposes of this reflection, we will look at the Ordinary Form of the Mass because it is by far the most attended form of the Mass in Australia.

It seems that many people interpreted the Liturgy implemented by Pope Paul VI, wittingly or unwittingly, in terms of what some have called the ‘Spirit of Vatican II’, or in a hermeneutic of rupture. In doing so, they come to insist that it is what makes people feel good which ought to guide the liturgy. At the extreme end of this, we see evidence of so-called ‘Clown Masses’, or Masses where the Celebrant is sitting on the floor in front of a coffee table to ‘celebrate Mass.’ In the less extreme, there are parishes in this archdiocese which substitute one of the four (at the time of writing) provided  Acclamations of Faith, or the Sanctus, or other parts of the Mass with other verses or hymns or songs that are - arbitrarily - deemed ‘more appropriate.’ In justice, the rule “Say the Black, Do the Red” ought to be followed.

That is not to say that in all cases, the words to be said by the Priest cannot be changed as a pastoral consideration. However, this ought only be done where the rubrics provide, namely, where it is written “in these or similar words.” In cases where it is pastorally prudent, the expression of the faith of the community is allowed at these time during the Sacrifice of the Mass. Moreover, the Mass itself can have “legitimate variations and adaptations” according to the needs of “different groups... provided that the substantial unity of the Roman rite is preserved.” (Sacrosanctum Concillium 38) This same paragraph, however, continues to assume that the rubrics will be followed, for it says that these adaptations “... should be borne in mind when drawing up the rites and devising rubrics.” (Ibid.)  In short, the expression of a group’s spirituality can be expressed either when the rite which they celebrate is being drawn up, or when the rubrics allow. To change the parts of the Mass, however, where there is no scope in that rite to do so, is a grave injustice against God because correct worship, as expressed by the Church, is due to Him at all times. This, then, is not something a Christian can choose to have an interest in; it is not a matter of interest. Therefore, in the worship of God, it is imperative that every Christian worships God in the way that He has laid down through His Church.

In the same way, interest in what is often called the ‘pro-life issue’ is not something that can be a matter of interest for Christians. As with Liturgy, the various expressions of involvement in the promotion of life may vary between individuals, groups or peoples; nonetheless, there are boundaries to this. No Christian can ever choose to be anti-life because Christ Himself is the Life (Cf Jn 14:6). The difference, however, between acting justly towards God where it is most called for, by His very Nature, and acting justly towards men where it is called for by their very nature is this: the Church has not given us clear, solid manner to act justly in the cause of Life. There are no rubrics for protecting Life from unjust Death.

As an aside, I have chosen to capitalise Life and Death here because I am referring both to the natural and super-natural realities that these terms can be used to refer to. Although it could be said there a rubrics for protecting supernatural life from supernatural death, this is only true in regards to the Sacraments. While these create and sustain supernatural life within us, such life can easily be lost through human actions which are not subject to rubrics.

The way one is involved in protecting Life will depend very much on one’s spirituality. For example, if one is drawn primarily toward the transcendental Truth, one might be called to defend life through writing or speaking out against injustices against Life such as abortion, adultery, the degrading of Holy Matrimony, or euthanasia. If one is drawn to Goodness, one might seek to counsel those in danger of Death or those promoting what Blessed John Paul II called the Culture of Death. This might be done through sidewalk counselling, pastoral care for the aged, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged; it might be done through running retreats like Rachel’s Vineyard or supporting Rachel’s House of Hope. For those drawn to beauty, it might consist activity in for the promotion of Life might take the form of promoting beautiful Liturgy, designing pamphlets containing information about programs such as those mentioned above. It is rare, indeed if it happens at all, that  one is drawn only to one of the transcendentals. Therefore, it is likely that one will be involved in the promotion of the Culture of Life in a number of different ways or, at least, in a way that combines the elements mentioned here above. However, the very nature of the human being demands that Life is respected in both its natural and supernatural forms.

It can be seen that in at least some justice issues, interest therein matters not. In the two areas that are most often subject to unjust behaviours, it can be seen that there is room for expressions of spirituality, but no scope for ignoring the issues. That is to say, God always deserves to be worshiped according to the norms laid down by Holy Mother Church; and Life, both natural and supernatural, is always due to all humans at all times by their nature and the gratuitous gift of God.

Difference

People don't come up to one and exclaim, "I hear you're becoming a lawyer!" "... a doctor!" "... an engineer!" or "... a hairdresser!" Yet, in the past fortnight, I have had no less than four people say to me, "I hear you're becoming a nun!" Then, predominately, once I've explained that I am still discerning that, and I ask that the statement of my apparently-impending nunhood not be repeated, I am told "But it gives such hope to people!" or am asked "Why do you think you get to be treated differently?"

Why doesn't the thought of good Catholic lawyers, doctors, engineers and hairdressers give people hope in the same way the thought of another nun reportedly does?

Also, if one would not go around discussing unconfirmed marriage plans, then why do people go around discussing unconfirmed consecration plans?

I don't want to be treated differently: I want to be treated the same.

The Literal Wealth of the Catholic Church

I was asked over on my tumblr the follow question. My response is posted below.

Let me tell you a story.
There once was this Italian guy called Lorenzo (or, in English, Lawrence) who lived in Rome and happened to be a Catholic. Now, this was back in the day when it was unpopular to be Catholic - much less a practicing one - in Rome. What was more, he worked for the Church.
The dude in charge of Rome at the time, a man called Valerian demanded that Lorenzo bring him all the riches of the Church - something he’d been made aware that our friend could do for him. He also demanded that Lorenzo give up the True Faith or die in the same way that seven of his friends did four days before.
So Lorenzo rocked up for his execution accompanied by all of Rome’s poor, crippled, diseased, blind and undignified people.

Another story for you: there once was this great King who decided to visit is subjects. He wasn’t particularly well received, so they did what they could to send him away.
However, in three days, he returned again and has never left his people since.
He is the source and summit of their life.
He dwells in his tent in every one of his palaces on Earth at all times.
His name means God-will-save and he is called God-with-us.
You probably know him as Jesus.
His dwelling place is usually called a Tabernacle and it is here that He reposes, loving His people and waiting for their love so that He can shower on them gifts that we call graces.
The poor that St Lawrence brought to the Emperor Valerian are the Face of Christ, who said that in being kind to the poor, the outcast and the downtrodden, we were being kind to Him: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” (source)
The Eucharist and the least among us are the literal wealth of the Catholic Church.

Do they weigh on my conscience? Yes.
I do not have a great love for either of them, though I very much desire to.
I have a feeling, anon, that what you meant was “Does the material wealth of the Catholic Church weigh on your conscience?”
I’ve a question for you in return. And the answer to that question.
Do you know what the entire art collection of the Holy See is insured for?
It’s not.
Do you know how much the Vatican values each of the art pieces for accounting purposes?
One Euro.
The value of the art and architecture of the Catholic Church is not found in it’s material worth. It is found in its ability to lead people to God, and to worship Him.
tl;dr
The literal wealth of the Catholic Church is Christ Himself.
The material wealth of the Church only has value insofar as it points to the first.

Quote of the Now.

Do we recognise that the innate dignity of
every individual rests on his or her
deepest identity – as image of the Creator
– and therefore that human rights are
universal? … And so we are led to reflect
on what place the poor and elderly,
immigrants and the voiceless, have in our
societies. How can it be that domestic
violence torments so many mothers and
children? How can it be that the most
wondrous and sacred human space – the
womb – has become a place of unutterable
violence?

 - Pope Benedict XVI, Welcoming Celebration by the Young People, 17 July 2008

Religious Diversity

This week (the final week of my Philosophy of Religion class) we are discussing Religious Diversity.
This is a quote from one of the slides:

Religious diversity does provide a problem for certain religions, like Christianity. Christianity teaches that Fod is all-loving and all-powerful, and yet he chose to reveal his saving truth by way of a human sacrifice in a remote corner of the Roman empire 2000 years ago, and will forever torture everyone who hasn't heard of this or can't believe it.

Now to me, this seems like a grossly unfair claim. I cannot think of a single mainstream Christian denomination holds that God will "forever torture everyone who hasn't heard of this or can't believe it." Indeed, the true Christian denomination - namely Catholicism - does not hold that at all.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that:

"Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."⁶³ Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

The foot note [63] says GS 22 § 5; cf. LG 16; AG 7.

 Moreover, "[w]hosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved." (Lumen Gentium 14) This implies that unless you know, epistemologically speaking, "that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ" you can be saved outside the Church. 

Does that mean that we should reject the Chruch? Absolutely not! If you actively seek truth, the Truth, you will come to know that Christ founded the Catholic Church is that it is necessary for salvation and the only sure means thereof. 

The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of prayer. The souls that have reached this point are truly the heart of the Church. - Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Coke or Pepsi?

You all know I'm a die-hard Pepsi-Max fan.

Or, rather, you all knew that I was a die-hard Pepsi-Max fan.

I, Kelly, do hereby give up Pepsi-Max and all other PepsiCo products until such time as that company severs ties with Senomyx, a company that uses cells from 'electively aborted' babies.

Thatisall.

Left Behind

BREAKING NEWS: THE RAPTURE HAS HAPPENED AND ALL PRACTICING  CATHOLICS HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND

Earth, 8pm, Saturday May 21st

Exclusive report by Left-Behind-Catholic-Blogger Kelly Clark.

In an exclusive on the 'phone interview, this Catholic Blogger had the chance to speak with one of her judges-to-be and friend-when-he-was-on-earth, Thomas.

According to Tom, "the coverage here [in Heaven] is better. There were some rooms in my house back there where there was no coverage at all, so it's got that going for it."

When asked how it felt to know that he'd soon be judging me, Tom replied, that "they told all of us not to read the news papers so that our opinion wouldn't be biased," but it appears the Powers at Be do not seem to consider telephone conversations to be a bias-provoking mechanism.

It seems that Baptised Catholics who no longer attend regular Sunday Mass and the agnostics are among the Saved, though no practicing Catholic is reported to be among the 144,000.

"For those left behind, the apocolypse has just begun."

Restless

I'm restless tonight.
 Yeah, go on, quote Augustine to me.
I've already done it to myself.

The thing is, having my heart resting in God implies some tangible connection between the two of us.
For me, this 'connection', as it were, is less than tangible.
That is part of the reason for my restlessness.

Another cause of my restlessness is my lack of sanctity. I want to be a Saint. Now.
But, again, impatience is not a virtue.
I just want to do what I ought to do for God - and more! - and I fail so terribly.

Terribly becuase my failure terrifies me.
God, in His infinite justice, terrifies me.
I do not deserve to still be alive, I do not deserve to know of Him, I do not deserve to raise my eyes Heavenward.
It is in His power to stop these things. Indeed, His justice would seem to demand it.

But I live. I know of Him. I can still cry out in prayer.

I can only draw one conclusion from this: that my God is one of utmost Mercy.

"I remember two things very clearly: I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour." - the character John Newton in Amazing Grace (2006)

Deo Gratias!



I want to serve, though. I want to be a profitable servant to my God.
I am anything but that.
Yet He chose do die for me.
Why?
θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.
Deus caritas est.
 God is charity, God is love.

That's why.







Now all I need to do is to remember this.