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Perspective

Let the church take charge of neighborhoods

This op-ed piece from the Buffalo News is music to my ears.

By the way, Ms. Goldman mentions Transfiguration Church throughout. I’ve posted on this issue in one of my earliest blog entries: Who stole the kiszka?

Let the church take charge of neighborhoods
By Mary Kunz Goldman

No one said it was going to be easy. No one said it was going to be cheap.

That’s why the “Journey of Faith and Grace,” as the Diocese of Buffalo dubs its current downsizing, is such a shame.

Remember the last wave of church closings, in 1993? Want to see the destruction? Visit Transfiguration Church. Drive out Sycamore Street from downtown, past Fillmore Avenue, and it’s on your right.

Walk around. Take a good look.

Graffiti covers the side of the huge, shuttered church, just as it covers the boarded-up houses nearby. You can see through the steeple. When the light hits right, you’ll catch the glimmer of shattered stained glass. So much for the Polish immigrants who paid money they couldn’t afford to create this once-magnificent place. This is how we honor them.

When did the church become all about the bottom line?

Mother Teresa didn’t downsize. Money wasn’t an object to Father Baker. Centuries ago, the Jesuit missionary Father Marquette would have found it cheaper to stay in France. But he came to America.

The city churches the diocese is looking to close are our chance to be Mother Teresa. A beautiful, active church radiates hope and stability. Closed and crumbling, it spreads defeat.

“I don’t want to hear that “the church is people, not buildings,’ line ever again,” says Buffalo Common Council President David Franczyk. “I will never accept that lazy phrase.”

Franczyk, who attends Corpus Christi, by the Broadway Market, resents the 1993 closings.

“I’ve been to Rome,” he says. “They have churches from 400 A.D. And we can’t keep up a church that’s as old as an old person? These churches should be our legacy for the next thousand years.

“I know they have fewer priests, fewer parishioners, but there has to be a better way to deal with these problems.”

There is a way. And guess what? It’s not to declare defeat.

The church is supposed to fill the emptiest vacuum of the human spirit, to cast its light through darkness. Is there a better place to do this than in desperate neighborhoods? Can the church argue that God’s work there is done and it’s time to focus more on the suburbs?

Before there were governments to ensure society’s needs, there was religion. When government stumbles, religion should step in. Our city will eventually fix our schools, but, meanwhile, we can’t afford to lose another child to illiteracy. We can’t lose more kids to gangs.

How’s this for a battle plan:

Each church should get out a map and claim a territory of blocks around it. The church will declare that neighborhood no longer “open.” It is now under the influence of the church.

Every house should be “encouraged” by the church to look maintained. Gardens should be grown. Garbage on the ground should not be tolerated. Classes could focus on reading and other life skills.

I’d help. A lot of people would, if only church leaders would start behaving like leaders, energizing us instead of preaching doom and destruction.

Block by block, the church should influence every home. This strategy works. John Gotti’s neighborhood loved him because he promoted a sense of order.

If a villain like Gotti could inspire appreciation from a neighborhood, surely a church can. Neighbors should come to see the church not just as a friend, but as a force they will not be permitted to ignore.

Buffalo should show other dioceses how it’s done. The world’s eyes would be on us. Then we could celebrate our successful transfiguration of the city by reclaiming Transfiguration Church. Say we’re sorry. Fix it up and open it again.

Will it be cheap? No. Easy? No.

But remember, no one ever said it would be.

Perspective

Who told you you have the right to be who you are?

Stanley Hauerwas, the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University, published an article in the May 1995 issue of First Things.

I would like to reflect on Hauerwas’ article Preaching As Though We Had Enemies which was cited on the Pontifications Blog.

Who told you you have the right to be who you are?

That is why the saints are so powerful and so distressing at the same time. They did not make up who they are. They allowed God His rightful place. God designed, fashioned, changed, and converted them. He destroyed them utterly, and made them nothing, so He could make them everything.

As Christians and particularly as Catholic Christians we are at war. It is a war of two fronts.

We are at war within ourselves to be sure.

That war is defined by our need to maintain our own identity in the face of becoming what God calls us to be. At a deeper level it is our need to analyze and define what God calls us to be rather than letting God’s Word and His Church define it. When you claim the name Christian your right to self determination is gone. You are not a member of a democracy and the civil notion of freedom is a falsehood.

The root of sin is self will. It is your will apart from God’s will.

As a Christian you are called to allow yourself to be emptied and to have enough faith and trust to allow God to fill you. You are called to subjugate your will to His will.

God has the right to define you. Furthermore, Jesus gave that right to the Church. That right is not yours or mine individually. He gave the Church the sacraments, most especially the sacraments defining membership through baptism, strengthening the members in the Spirit, nourishing the members in the Eucharist, and teaching them through the Word.

The Church then is your starting point. It is the place where you surrender and are incorporated. You surrender yourself to fulfilling what God’s Word and the teaching of the Church demand of you. By doing so God readies you to be a soldier of Christ.

As a corporate body, we the Church are at war with the world. Christianity, at least in the fist 300 years or so lived that war. Remember the martyrs and evangelists? Once Christianity became the state religion the war’s front changed. But remember Jesus called us to be in the world not of the world.

In the discourse in John 17 Jesus tells us:

And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.

And Jesus says:

But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

As the state religion Christians had an easy go. For about 1,500 years we’ve held say and sway over the world. We almost became part of the world, and on occasion, by all outward signs, we were of the world. However, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit has remained with His Church and has not allowed this.

The paradigm, as they say, has shifted. The state religion is freedom. The last 200 years has been a steady progression in self will.

Define yourself, be what you want to be. Sculpt your body, adorn yourself, most of all never question anyone’s self determination. Don’t want to have a baby, kill it. Don’t want to die in pain, kill yourself. Most of all never question anyone’s reasons or motivations. Live and let live.

Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero. Latin for seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow.

We fall into that trap. We say, —Well I don’t really like that, but as long as they keep it to themselves its ok.— We apply that to everything from peoples’ style of dress and music to homosexual behaviors and abortion.

But, that is not what you are called to do as a soldier of Christ. You are called to challenge the world, the government, and your neighbors.

It is not ok.

The preaching Hauerwas speaks of is not mine or simply the clergy’s. It is each of us, each of us preaching by example. We must each live the life of Christ in word, deed, and action.

He said:

Put differently, the project of modernity was to produce people who believe they should have no story except the story they choose when they have no story … That story and the institutions that embody it is the enemy we must attack through Christian preaching.

How to go about it? First, live the Christian life. Live Christ’s story for it is real and it is all truth. Start by making a Lenten resolution to exercise your faith. Pray, make frequent trips to receive the sacraments, come to devotions. Surround yourself with Christ.

Surround yourself in the home. Dust off that old crucifix —“ the one with the Jesus nailed to the cross, and put it in a prominent place. Pray before and after meals. Pray when you wake and go to sleep. Pray as a family. Read scripture and good books that edify the Christian faith. In the old days these were called spiritual exercises —“ and for a reason.

Second, do not stand for sin. Turn off the TV. Stay away from the movies and music. Dress conservatively. Speak the name of Jesus in public. Put a Bible on your desk at work. When someone mentions how they think so and so has a right, say that you don’t think so. Say, that’s not what the Church teaches. Speak your witness.

Keep Jesus words in mind:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first…you do not belong to this world”. (John 15:18-19)

You have no right to call yourself Christian and remain who you are. You are called to constant conversion. You are called to regeneration in the Spirit. You are called to preach His name and His Word. You are called to:

Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you.

Perspective

How we receive

A friend approached me today. He noted that the pastor of his parish spent the entire homily this past Sunday discussing the proper procedures for receiving the Holy Eucharist.

His statement to me boiled down to: —He talked about how we should hold out our hands. Why doesn’t he just speak about the Gospel?—

Why indeed!

In reply I said that since, at least in the United States, the Eucharist may be received in the hand in the Roman Catholic Church; pastors must take time to correct improper behaviors.

I also noted that the PNCC doesn’t go in for the ‘communion in the hand bit. Only the ordained may touch the Holy Eucharist (Bishops, Priests, and Deacons). It should also be noted that the PNCC does not have ‘Extraordinary Ministers of Communion’. The PNCC also has regular exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, at a minimum, on every first Sunday. We stress the dignity and reverence due the real presence of Jesus Christ.

In my opinion ‘communion in the hand’ is a horrid abuse. I will not speak for the Roman Catholic Church on the issue, it is not my place. However, the article —Communion in the Hand, Rethinking Communion in the Hand— by Jude A Huntz from catholic-pages.com does a great job of detailing this issue.

The point about improper behavior and abuse is that it exists where it is allowed. If we stop, before opening the door to situations that might lead to abuse, we have far less to worry about. Once the door is opened it is very difficult to close it.

Whenever we deign to partake of the Bread of Life we should be circumspect, composed, of proper physical and spiritual demeanor. Even the Saints recalled their unworthiness and the care that must be taken in receiving the Eucharist. To wit St. Paul tells us:

—Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord”

I’ve had people come forward for communion in our parish and stand there with their hand out. I simply, quietly, and very gently tell them that I cannot place the Eucharist in their hand. Since we give the Eucharist, Body and Blood, by intinction I ask if they have any health reasons for not receiving the Precious Blood. Regardless of that fact, the Eucharist goes on the tongue.

In my experience only one person has walked away. I also had one person ask me about this at a non-liturgical event. They said they would never go to a church where they cannot get communion in the hand.

Unfortunately, for that Roman Catholic person, they had a very poor understanding and/or education on the fact that ‘communion in the hand’ is not their right. It is in fact an ‘indult’ given to the various dioceses in the United States. They also had a very poor understanding of the concept of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is for them but not for them alone. It is the Bread of Life, entire and complete, for all who partake worthily. The ministers of the altar acting in persona Christi are giving of what they sacramentally represent.

A little Aquinas should help.

Síºmit íºnus, síºmunt mille:
Quantum í­sti, tantum í­lle:
Nec síºmptus consíºmitur.

Síºmunt bóni, síºmunt máli:
Sórte tamen inæquáli,
Ví­tæ vel intéritus.

Mors est mális, ví­ta bónis:
Ví­de páris sumptiónis
Quam sit dí­spar éxitus.

Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial food;
But with ends how opposite!

Here ‘t is life, and there ‘t is death,
The same, yet issuing to each,
In a difference infinite.

To my friend I can only say; remember what you receive is due the utmost in holy dignity and respect.

Perspective

Grace in the City

John Luke, the BLOGCORNER Preacher has a great article on salvation.

The premise is something we should all take to heart. Regardless of where you are or what you do the possibility of accepting Jesus Christ and living the Christian life is available to you. Is it an easy road? No. Is it impossible? No. Why? Because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

See “blessed shall you be in the city”.

Current Events, Media, Perspective

A Very Busy News Day

Go, Go, Alito…

On the Alito Confirmation, the following was found in a Reuters article:

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, “I must say that I wish the president was in a position to do more than claim a partisan victory tonight.”

“The union would be better and stronger and more unified if we were confirming a different nominee, a nominee who could have united us more than divided us,” Schumer said.

The honorable Senator must have downed twelve Manhattans at lunch. Or perhaps there was something odd in his hookah pipe? Senator, the nation is divided and issues of life and the culture of death are at the root of the division.

Where we are lucky as a country is in our freedom to express ourselves. The consistent message for life has taken root. People do not want abortion, euthanasia, babies killed to produce stem cells that do … well nothing.

You should well know that your own actions and rhetoric are divisive. Perhaps New York State needs a different nominee for Senator?

Insights into the Motivators for Abortion:

Report: 8 Million Born With Birth Defects Annually by Lauran Neergaard of the AP.

Ms. Neergaard writes:

“Most people think of birth defects as something that is not preventable,” said Dr. Jose Cordero, the U.S. assistant surgeon general and birth defects chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “There are great opportunities to ensure that babies are born healthy.”

A good opening, but now it gets worse:

About 8 million children worldwide are born every year with serious birth defects, many of them dying before age five in a toll largely hidden from view, the March of Dimes says.

Now this is a bold statement, meant more to elicit the idea —“ well if they are going to die anyway —“ why not abort them? You have to read down to get the statistics.

Unfortunately the statistics are unclear at best. They do not specifically address which of these children dies when. How many born in a year die that same year? If you took the statistics reported and if you drew a huge generalization from them you might say that 42.3077% die in a year, but you would be wrong.

Most birth defects occur in poor countries, where babies can languish with problems easily fixed or even prevented in wealthier nations, according to research released Monday by the organization.

Again, leading —“ look they are languishing, why not abort them? They are also poor and languishing. Hey, nobody wants to see that, right?

However, the researchers said some innovative programs in Iran and Chile show that effective preventions don’t have to be costly.

Preventable Defects

Indeed, about 70 percent of birth defects could be prevented, repaired or ameliorated, they concluded.

Now at least they are talking about doing something useful. Prevention, good heath care, it goes on. This is indeed good and worthy. We can all agree to support that.

What they fail to discuss is the other 30% of these lives. What about their lives? What can we do to improve their lives, care for them, and provide them with nurturing and a commitment to their lives? How can we assist their parents and train their parents and the world that this is not a problem, but a blessing?

“We were surprised by the toll,” said epidemiologist Christopher Howson with the March of Dimes, which sponsored the five-year project after doctors complained that birth defects often are ignored as a public health problem.

“It’s like the tip of an iceberg that is rising out of the ocean” — noticed only after infant mortality from other causes drops, he said.

Specialists said the report focuses much-needed attention on a concern of every parent-to-be.

“Most people think of birth defects as something that is not preventable,” said Dr. Jose Cordero, the U.S. assistant surgeon general and birth defects chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “There are great opportunities to ensure that babies are born healthy.”

Some 7.9 million children a year are born with serious birth defects caused at least partly by genetic flaws such as heart defects, spina bifida and other neural tube defects, sickle cell anemia and Down syndrome.

Undoubtedly hundreds of thousands more are born with defects caused not by genes but by post-conception problems: mothers infected with rubella or syphilis, which can damage their babies’ brains; certain medications or alcohol; lack of dietary iodine. Too few countries count those defects for a good estimate.

Millions Die

At least 3.3 million children under age five die each year because of birth defects, and millions more are mentally or physically disabled.

Prevalence ranges from a high of 82 defects per 1,000 live births in Sudan to a low of 39.7 per 1,000 in France. The researchers cautioned that the data aren’t precise enough for detailed country-by-country comparisons, but they cited poor maternal health care, a higher percentage of older mothers and greater frequency of marriage between relatives as leading risks in low- and middle-income countries.

Additionally, populations from Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia are most at risk of the common inherited diseases thalassemia, sickle cell and the metabolic disease G6PD. Those regions are less likely to offer genetic testing that reveals at-risk couples.

The report takes no stand on abortion, but it found that Down syndrome is roughly twice as common in poorer countries — which typically lack prenatal testing — while half of affected pregnancies in Western Europe are terminated following prenatal diagnosis.

A stand without a stand! Look, the rich western nations know how to do it. The westerners get it right. No languishing, dirt poor, disabled kids in our culture. NIMBY! Even the languishing poor can read between these lines.

Every mother-to-be has about a 5 percent chance of having a baby with a serious birth defect, the so-called “background rate,” explained Dr. Arnold Christianson of South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand, who co-wrote the report.

Lowering Risk

That risk can rise or fall, depending on a host of circumstances: Does she take folic acid, a nutritional supplement that fights neural tube defects? Is she vaccinated against rubella? Does she have uncontrolled diabetes or other pregnancy-harming illnesses? Is she well-nourished? Are her pregnancies spaced far enough apart?

“If mom can be as fit and well as possible at the time of conception, it reduces the risk of a birth defect,” Christianson said.

Among the report’s recommendations:

Improved health care for all women, with special emphasis on pregnancy nutrition.

Improved family planning and birth-defect education. In Johannesburg, surveys show less than 40 percent of African women know what Down syndrome is — much less that their risk rises with pregnancies after age 35, Christianson said.

Here’s that stand for the culture of death —“ improved family planning. Once those South African women are ‘educated’ they can make the right choice. A child who is not perfect is a burden so kill it. It’s OK, they are going to die anyway.

Proper care of affected babies. In South America, for example, 55 percent of babies with Down syndrome die before their first birthday. Median U.S. survival is age 51, up from age 3 in the 1960s thanks to improved care.

“Care is an absolute,” Howson said. “Prevention is the ideal.”

Yes, and how about proper care of, and acceptance of, all life?

Furthermore, prevention can be cheap: Fortifying grain with folic acid costs about a penny per year per person, Cordero said.

In 2000, Chile added enough folic acid to wheat flour to cause a 40 percent reduction in neural tube defects. The U.S., with lower fortification levels, saw a one-third drop.

Even gene tests can be relatively inexpensive. The report cites Iran which, faced with skyrocketing costs for thalassemia care, in 1997 began giving couples a US$5 gene test prior to marriage. Some separate if both carry the disease-causing gene, but they also can opt for fetal testing if they choose to conceive. By 2001, more than 2.7 million prospective couples had been screened, 10,298 at-risk couples identified and counseled — and thalassemia births had fallen to 30 percent of the expected rate.

Yes, they were ‘counseled’ all right, and the children are no more. The death toll is still the same, they just did the killing earlier.

What absolutely amazes me about this drivel is that the article’s author and those doing the study advocate death as an answer to — death. It’s not out front, but it is surely there. The part that they forget is that we are all going to die. Why is your life more precious than these?

My wife and I had our children relatively late. Because of several factors there was a chance, which one doctor deemed to be significant, that they might have birth defects. And you know what? We ignored their advice. We ignored their tests. God was blessing us with a child and we accepted that blessing regardless of the possibility of physical, mental, or emotional difficulties for that child. God had given us the blessing. A moment of love and union. God gave us the opportunity to express our love and to cooperate in bringing about a new life.

Each child is blessed in the gifts that they offer all of humanity. The weakness of some calls us to reflect on our duty not to worldly perfection, but to the Christ in all. The glory of the cross is in the beauty and blessing that flow from it.

We were blessed that we have perfectly healthy children. Nevertheless, it made no difference —“ for it is human life and the most precious gift in God’s creation,

—I know what you are thinking. You need a sign. What better one could I give than to make this little one whole and new? I could do it; but I will not. I am the Lord and not a conjuror. I gave this mite a gift I denied to all of you-eternal innocence. To you she looks imperfect – but to me she is flawless, like the bud that dies unopened. She will never offend me, as all of you have done. She will never pervert or destroy the work of my Father’s hands. She is necessary to you. She will evoke the kindness that will keep you human. Her infirmity will prompt you to gratitude for your own good fortune…More! She will remind you everyday that I am who I am, that my ways are not yours, and that the smallest dust mote whirled in the darkest space does not fall out of my hand…I have chosen you. You have not chosen me. This little one is my sign to you. Treasure her!—

From: The Clowns of God by Morris West

Perspective

The Tonsure and Minor Orders

The Roman Church lost something when the tonsure and minor orders were done away with.

In their current system the order of acolyte and lector were preserved. These were two of the minor orders in the former system, prior to ordination to the sub-diaconate (Note: there is a range of opinions on whether the sub-diaconate was a minor or major order. However, in common usage and understanding it was considered a major order and carried with it the obligation to recite the Divine Office and to perpetual celibacy).

The orders of lector and acolyte are still quasi-secular. In certain Roman Catholic dioceses men wishing admission so as to minister as lectors and acolytes are so admitted. Note however that in today’s Roman Church a man does not become a cleric per se until he receives ordination to the diaconate.

Luckily, the tonsure and the full range of minor orders were maintained in the PNCC. They are also maintained in the SSPX, the FSSP, and in several monastic orders as well as in the Eastern Churches.

I decided to set down these reflections on the tonsure and minor orders. These reflections were precipitated by my musing about the symbolism of clothing. I was inspired to this train of thought from two sources.

Before I was ordained as Deacon I went through the tonsure and minor orders. My ecumenical friends were very interested in this. They asked: Why? What does it symbolize etc? I wanted to address that.

Second, I was reading the posts on Anglo Catholicism at Pious and Overly Devotional (cross posted at Occidentalis) which is, in my opinion, a tongue in cheek look at the trends in Anglo Catholicism, while at the same time, a cry for something the vast majority of the Roman Catholic faithful miss.

These rites are rich with historical symbolism and a message for today.

The tonsure (Lat. tonsura, from tondere, to shave) consists of shaving or cutting part of the hair of the head as a sign of dedication to special service. The reception of the tonsure marked admission to orders and to the rights and privileges of clerical standing. It is administered by a bishop or abbot.

The Scriptures are replete with the call to disavow worldliness. The idea of shaving the head to mark an oath or to denote service appears in the Old Testament (Num. 6:18)

Then at the entrance of the meeting tent the nazirite shall shave his dedicated head, collect the hair, and put it in the fire that is under the peace offering.

St. Paul had his head shaved when he made a vow (Acts 18:18);

Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.

And others did likewise as in Acts 21:18-24 (Council of Jerusalem).

The next day, Paul accompanied us on a visit to James, and all the presbyters were present. He greeted them, then proceeded to tell them in detail what God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry. They praised God when they heard it but said to him, “Brother, you see how many thousands of believers there are from among the Jews, and they are all zealous observers of the law. They have been informed that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses and that you are telling them not to circumcise their children or to observe their customary practices. What is to be done? They will surely hear that you have arrived. So do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take these men and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses that they may have their heads shaved. In this way everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports they have been given about you but that you yourself live in observance of the law.

The fathers and Counsels each tried to address the issue of worldliness.

Tertullian advised Christians to avoid vanity in dressing their hair.

What purpose, again, does all the labor spent in arranging the hair render to salvation? Why is no rest allowed to your hair? First, it must be bound, then loosed, then cultivated, then thinned out? Some are anxious to force their hair into curls. Tertullian, 4.21.

Jerome chastises any treatment of the self as an object of beauty for the sake of beauty. In his Letter to Eustochium Letter 23 para. 28 —“ 384)

Avoid men, also, when you see them loaded with chains and wearing their hair long like women, contrary to the apostle’s precept

According to Prudentius (IIepur. xiii. 30) it was customary for the hair to be cut short at ordination.

Paulinus of Nola (c. 490) alludes to the tonsure as in use among the (Western) monks.

In approx. 500 Sidonius Apollinaris (iv. 13) testified that Germanicus the bishop had his hair cut ” in rotae speciem.”

The earliest instance of an ecclesiastical precept on the subject occurs in can. 41 of the Council of Toledo (the Council was presided over by St. Isidore who notes the clerical tonsure as a rite established before his time.) (A.n. 633):

omnes clerici, detonso superius capite toto, inferius solam circuli coronam relinquant.

Can. 33 of the Quinisext council (or Council of Trullo – 692) requires even singers and readers to be tonsured.

Ancient Epitome: Whoever is worthy of the priesthood should be ordained whether he is sprung of a priestly line or no. And he that has been blessed un-tonsured shalt not read the Holy Scriptures at the ambo.

The Fourth Council of Constantinople (869-870) Canon 5, discuses the acceptance of tonsure and the intent of the tonsured.

St. Bonaventure writes (Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae, Ad Claras Aquas, 1889, Vol 4, pp. 607-610.):

Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod in Christo Iesu non valet circumcisio etc.; intelligendum est, quod per se non valet ad iustificationem capillorum amotio, verumtamen ad eruditionem valet, valet etiam ad distinctionem. [To that which is objected, that in Christ Jesus circumcision is not worth etc.; it must be understood, that per se the removal of hair is not worth (anything) for justification, nevertheless for instruction it is worth (something), (and) it is also worth (something) for distinuishing.]

By a recurring focus, beginning in scripture, finding a symbolism in the usages of Rome where slaves had their hair cut marking them as slaves, finding common usage in the monasteries, to its gradual adoption by all clerics, the tonsure is well established as the symbolic and outward testimony of the cleric as to his service to Christ. The cleric was no longer part of the world, but a slave of Christ. As Bonaventure states, the tonsure has worth for instructing and distinguishing.

I myself was fortunate to have been admitted to the clerical state by this rite. Symbolism and ancient rites are something that the PNCC faithful have carried on because they well know that such rites touch us deeply.

Rites are good practice, marking both the times of, and events in, our lives. These are moments of solemn reflection. In them we find a moment that brings us one step closer to Christ. A moment that confirms our intention to not only do what the Church does, but live out in reality what the living Church teaches. Thusly the tonure is a sacramental.

As noted, the tonsure is the transition point from the lay to the clerical state. It is symbolized by the cutting of each man’s hair, in the form of the Holy Cross, followed by his receiving the surplice. The Bishop tonsures each man who has acknowledged this willingness to abide in the Church.

In the opening prayer the Bishop says:

May God bestow upon them the Holy Spirit, to preserve in them forever the spirit of piety and protect their hearts against the entanglements of the world and worldly ambition. And as they are changed in outward appearance, may His right hand grant them an increase of virtue, deliver their eyes from all blindness, spiritual and human, and bestow on them the light of everlasting grace.

After the tonsure he turns toward the tonsured and prays:

Here, O Lord, our humble prayer, and grant to bless these Your servants. In Your holy name we now invest them with the garb of holy religion. May they, by Your help, remain faithful in Your Church and merit to attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord.

The bishop then invests each man with the surplice, saying to each:

May the Lord clothe you with the new man, who is created according to God in justice and true holiness.

He then prays:

Almighty, eternal God, forgive our sins and deliver these Your servants from all slavery of secular fashions, so that, as they renounce the ignominy of worldly style, they may possess Your grace forever. And as we make them wear the likeness of Your crown upon their heads, may they, by Your help, merit to attain within their hearts the everlasting inheritance. Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, forever and ever.

The bishop then gives the men the following admonition:

Dearly beloved sons, you should consider that today you have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Church and have received the privileges of clerics. Take care, lest you forfeit them through you fault. Strive to be pleasing to God by modest dress, becoming demeanor, and good works. May He grant it to you by His Holy Spirit.

Now think about this. We are acknowledging separateness. Not aloofness, but separateness. We are acknowledging that we desire a spirit of piety and protection against the entanglements of the world and worldly ambition. That is a powerful message and witness in this day and age. We are asking God to create us as a new man, a man of justice and holiness. As Psalm 51 proclaims: Create a new heart in me.

Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.
Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.
Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.

We are pledged to God’s work in a special way. We undertake that work not just in the philosophical sense or intellectually, but physically as well. We dress differently. We look differently. Inwardly and outwardly we strive to be the new man.

This message is not lost on the lost culture of today. Think of ‘Goth’ culture. Goth culture is replete with religious elements and symbolism. The Goth wiki states:

Religious imagery has frequently played an important part in gothic fashion and also in song lyrics. Many Goths believe in open-mindedness and diversity, and aspire to “free themselves from the limitations” of traditional belief systems. An interest in neo-paganism and the occult amongst Goths is higher than amongst the general population, but there is a wide diversity of other religious beliefs. The main exception to this tolerance is for any form of religious fundamentalism…

Right down to black dress and makeup, the Goth culture takes (and certainly has co-opted Christian) symbolism and has used it to effectively place its mark on mainstream culture. It is defined by and expanded by its dress. Some people would say —“ hey look, they dress as they believe, I can identify with that. If it were merely philosophical or intellectual its world would be limited to a few small discussion groups. People couldn’t get their minds around it. Instead its lived blackness is the outward and public proclamation of what it stands for: individualism, nihilism, and anarchy. It is its point of departure and its point of attachment.

Dress and posture convey to the eyes, and rites culturally sustain A message. We need to recapture the means of delivering THE message. The tonsure is the anti-Goth message, the anti-worldliness message. It is not individualism, but submission. It is not nihilism but a proclamation that God is indeed alive and active in the world and in each of our lives. It is not anarchy, but order.

Tradition and order in historical perspective are necessary in order to counter what we rail against. If we believe in the communion of saints as more than just a happy concept and an intellectual construct, but rather as a reality, we need to recapture the precedence of our Catholic/Christian imagery.

Stay tuned for more on the Minor Orders (The Order of Porter, The Order of Reader, The Order of Blesser, The Order of Acolyte).

Current Events, Perspective

A Voice Crying Out

I was going to write a piece on the continuing evil of abortion in the United States and across the world. However, the debate generated by the Episcopal Church’s now outright support and financing of abortion and the commentary thereon does a better job than I could.

I previously highlighted the Pontificator’s stance on the issue.

Now, Gawain de Leeuw has replied to Al Kimel (the Pontificator) on the issue. Mr. Kimel has responded in kind and most excellently.

One general comment about Mr. de Leeuw’s posts —“ notice he calls the ECUSA the EcUSA, i.e., a church —“ small ‘c’. That, is a very powerful statement.

Mr. de Leeuw begins:

Al Kimel writes: “A Christian community that supports the unconditional legal right to abortion has ceased to be Christian; it has ceased to be Church. A Church that is not willing to stand against the evil of abortion cannot be the Church that Jesus Christ founded. The lampstand has been taken away.”

This author agrees as previously noted. Mr. de Leeuw goes on:

It’s pretty powerful rhetoric, and reveals the monolithic, totalitarian impulse within Roman Catholicism. It first removes legitimacy from its opponents. It renders the opposing church “evil” which permits the obvious: death.

In one sentence he does the same thing he claims Mr. Kimel does. He does so by resorting to threadbare reformation rhetoric about the Roman Church. How unfortunate for him. He is not marching with Luther, Calvin, or Henry VIII, for if he were he would be condemned just as heartily. To wit:

John Calvin (1509-64). “The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being and it is a most monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light” (Commentarius in Exodum, 21,22)

Martin Luther (1483-1546). “Even if all the world were to combine forces, they could not bring about the conception of a single child in any woman’s womb nor cause it to be born; that is wholly the work of God.” (Luther’s Works, VII, 21)

He goes on:

In the end, Al wants ECUSA destroyed – what else can one do with such evil homophilic babykillers like ourselves?

While I cannot imply Mr. Kimel’s motives or goals, I can acknowledge my feelings on the idea and they come from this Sunday’s Gospel:

—This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.—

Mr. de Leeuw says:

And of course, this is part of Roman history. And it is justified, because we kill fetuses upon the altar of religious pluralism. Such extremism makes me quite glad that I am in the liberal, reformed end of the church. I do not need to worry about his damning me. I sleep well at night.

He starts again with rhetoric. Mr. Kimel has touched a nerve. I do not think Mr. Kimel personally damned him. However, the failure to worry over the fate of one’s everlasting soul is simply a failure to have any fear of God.

Mr. de Leeuw continues:

Although it seems that the issue is about babies, it is more properly about the church’s relationship to the state; and secondly about the church’s relationship to its own body.

Yes, it is about babies. Because you agree with the government’s sin you believe that no one has a right to stand against it? Abortion is wrong, evil, sinful, and murder —“ this is fact. Is the Church’s stand dependant on the state? Is a relationship required?

The choice to sin is the choice for evil over God. We can take a historical tour of governments that have actively promoted evil, but I’ll save everyone the time and energy right now.

And, sure, you can stand and work for the government. You can believe in the infallibility of the government and you can support it whole heartedly. Just call yourself a secular humanist, not a Christian.

Can Christians accept a government that permits people, of different religions, to have abortions? Or shall it provide a law that says, for example, Christians cannot have abortions, but atheists can – kind of like a Christian Sharia?

I say no on both accounts. Christians cannot accept such a law nor may they uphold it. Now notice, he says ‘government’. He would like to imply that real Christians are damning the United States. He fails to remember that any human power is from God and that right is right by God’s law.

As Christians we cannot permit evil and must stand against it. We must stand against evil on behalf of Christians and non Christians alike. Mr. de Leeuw, did Jesus Christ redeem the world? Is Jesus Christ God? Is Jesus Christ our arbiter and judge? Does this apply to all of mankind, regardless of what people think?

It may be that in the choice between a woman’s life and a child’s life, the Episcopal Church has decided to admit the law of the land – the choice that most of its baptized members agree. His claim, however, is that ECUSA is not a Christian church. Well that’s his opinion, and not Gods, but by the nature of their acts, it would not be the view of most Catholics, who would agree with most of the teaching of Episcopal churches.

Why do our parents tell us those funny little sayings that turn out true? It appears that Mr. de Leeuw never heard the one about everyone jumping off a bridge/cliff/building.

Also, please spare us the rhetoric about the ‘teaching of the Episcopal churches.’ What teaching? Where is it standardized? I can go from church to church, state to state, country to country and get a different message every time, right down to core beliefs about baptism (non-use of the Trinitarian formula). Basically Episcopal teachings are made up by whomever is there at the moment, high church, low church, and apparently, no Church.

Also, most Catholics of any persuasion would balk if they understood the phony priesthood and the rest of the phony sacraments of the Episcopal church. If you explained your views on the sacraments honestly you would have to tell them – no it is not the ‘Body of Christ’ —“ its just bread in the Episcopal Church. It is only a symbol, not reality – which again says a lot.

As the title of my post implies, powerful rhetoric is needed. Proclamation is needed. Make straight the way of the Lord, that is, the Lord’s way.

“They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. … You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Let’s pray that as Christians we can stand together and bear witness in the face of all evil.

Perspective, Saints and Martyrs

Where is your nose leading you?

Every Wednesday evening we hold Holy Mass, Exposition, a Novena to Our Lady of Czestochowa, and Benediction. The Holy Mass is attended by a small group of regulars who each have their own reasons for needing this time aside with the Lord.

Last night I paused to wonder about all that goes on in a parish community, at a diocesan level, and in the lives of the clergy. I wondered about some of my experiences as a young altar boy. Some clergy just didn’t seem ‘into’ the Holy Mass. Many did, they were devout and faithful, but for some the emphasis fell on politics (internal and external), their personal proclivities, or on business. Their nose was leading them elsewhere.

As I stand before the altar in my role as deacon —“ called to be an exemplar of holy service, I am still amazed, in awe, overcome by God’s infinite mercy.

He allows me to stand there, clumsy and awkward as I am. He allows me to hold His body and blood in my hands. I just want to scream out —“ look, this is Jesus, this is God, here for us. My own weakness grieves me in light of His great love and mercy.

When I enter Church I do not head for the sacristy or office. I stand there in front of the tabernacle, just to say thank you. Thank you for allowing me to come here and serve once again.

Will I loose it someday? Will my nose lead elsewhere? I pray not.

Michael Kwatera in his book The Liturgical Ministry of Deacons begins with a discussion of St. Lawrence’s glorious martyrdom. He says:

On the third day Lawrence made good on his promise: he gathered a great number of the city’s poor and placed them in rows: the elderly, the blind, the lame, lepers, orphans, widows. Then, instead of handing over silver and gold, Lawrence presented these lowly ones to the eyes of the greedy official: “Here are the true treasures of the Church.” This bold affirmation of their surpassing Christian dignity, which came easily from a man who had faithfully ministered the Lord’s Blood and the Lord’s charity to them, won him a painful but glorious death on the gridiron. St. Augustine linked Lawrence’s self-sacrifice in martyrdom with his self-giving in the Eucharist:

Lawrence, as you have heard, fulfilled the office of deacon in the church of Rome. There he ministered the sacred Blood of Christ; there he poured out his own blood for the sake of Christ. . . . The holy apostle John has clearly revealed the mystery of the Lord’s Supper by telling us: “As Christ laid down his life for us, so we must lay down our lives for our brothers.” St. Lawrence grasped that teaching; he understood it and practiced it. In a word, what he received at that table, he prepared to fulfill in himself. He loved Christ during life and imitated him in death.,’

The story of St. Lawrence shows that the liturgical ministry of deacons ideally was a seal they placed on their other duties.

All I want to say is this: Please, Lord Jesus, keep me firmly planted in the Holy Mass. Grant that from the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, Your grace may flow into my heart, that it might fill me, so that Your glory may be seen through the work you have called me to do. Amen.

Current Events, Media, Perspective

Holy Fools —“ OK, Nuts —“ out

I was reading the postings at Orthodixie in regard to Vassula. For those not familiar, Vassula Ryden allegedly has conversations with Jesus which she reports on.

She came to the fore recently when the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles uninvited her and a Christian Unity conference to be held in their Cathedral. This from a diocese that prides itself on ugly architecture, never meeting a militant homosexual they didn’t like, and whatever other blatantly liberal inventions they can dream up.

Since there is a dearth of comments on my blog, I decided to comment on her. You see, her adherents love to browse around the Internet looking for comments about her. They then prolifically comment on the comments.

I figured, wow, I can get bunches of comments just by talking about this woman.

The name Vassula reminds me of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, the ‘magical’ song from Disney’s Cinderella.

My name’s Vassula, I speak with Jesus, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!

From her website comes the following —quote— featured prominently:

“My Vassula, My Word is like a lamp to give light and shine so that every soul may see Me, feel Me and return to Me, see? I wish to remove this darkness which lies heavily in this world. I am giving you My lamp so that you place It on a lampstand and not under your beds.” (Jesus – August 28, 1989)

Vassula is very good at paraphrasing scripture and applying it to her messianic delusions. She can also quote lyrics from the Who (read the plot line – you’ll laugh).

I’m glad Jesus gave her this message, but unfortunately for her it is not exclusive. It is the same message he gives to everyone. While you are indeed special in His eyes, you do not have exclusive revelation. In addition please remember that you are responsible to God when you lead others into sin.

I would highly recommend that you choose the Church you would like to join, whether Roman Catholic or Orthodox, and hie yourself over to your local parish weekly. By the way, wear a veil, sit in back, and listen to God’s Word from those charged with bringing it to you.

Another interesting aside falls well into the lies and misdirection column: Vassula’s website claims the endorsement of the Pope, albeit when he was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. You can read the convoluted logic at her website yourself. Basically it is a letter from Card. Ratzinger giving a heads-up to local ordinaries, and in a polite way, telling them to watch out.

The commenting may now begin…

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