Lastly, Paul teaches us that we must not abandon those who have committed a sin unto death, but that we must rather coerce them with the bread of tears and tears to drink, yet so that their sorrow itself be moderated. For this is the meaning of the passage: —Thou hast given them to drink in large measure,— that their sorrow itself should have its measure, lest perchance he who is doing penance should be consumed by overmuch sorrow, as was said to the Corinthians: —What will ye? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?— But even the rod is not severe, since he had read: —Thou shalt beat him indeed with the rod, but shalt deliver his soul from death.—
What the Apostle means by the rod is shown by his invective against fornication, his denunciation of incest, his reprehension of pride, because they were puffed up who ought rather to be mourning, and lastly, his sentence on the guilty person, that he should be excluded from communion, and delivered to the adversary, not for the destruction of the soul but of the flesh. For as the Lord did not give power to Satan over the soul of holy Job, but allowed him to afflict his body, so here, too, the sinner is delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the serpent might lick the dust of his flesh, but not hurt his soul.
Let, then, our flesh die to lusts, let it be captive, let it be subdued, and not war against the law of our mind, but die in subjection to a good service, as in Paul, who buffeted his body that he might bring it into subjection, in order that his preaching might become more approved, if the law of his flesh agreed and was consonant with the law of his flesh. For the flesh dies when its wisdom passes over into the spirit, so that it no longer has a taste for the things of the flesh, but for the things of the spirit. Would that I might see my flesh growing weak, would that I were not dragged captive into the law of sin, would that I lived not in the flesh, but in the faith of Christ! And so there is greater grace in the infirmity of the body than in its soundness. — Book I, Chapter XIII.
This interesting tale at Friar Rick’s Weblog: Moving the Sign of Peace at Mass was forwarded to me:
There has been talk about moving the Sign of Peace during the Eucharistic Liturgy to another location. In some cultures there has been a feeling that the Sign of Peace gets —out of hand—. I’m not sure what that means… perhaps it’s not what Western Europeans consider prayerful. The National Catholic Reporter in the US has a good editorial about this that I would like to share. It really captures my feelings…
Two things here: The first is the negative reference to “Western Europeans.” Of course Friar Rick has a huge picture of a bunch of “multi-ethnic” Canadian folks standing where — in front of the Vatican, in Western Europe, at the top of his blog. I don’t understand his point? Does Rome have it all wrong
The second is the oddball reference in the National Catholic Reporter article to the best place for the “sign of peace.” Rome wants to move it to the offertory! I can understand the penitential rite, or its current position, but the offertory? That makes no sense whatsoever. I can just imagine the mess — the collection, the offertory song (as most U.S. parishes shy way from proper Church music as defined by the Roman Church), plus the peace… Oy vay — throw in a liturgical dance and you’ll have a real hootenanny.
For any Roman Catholics, who may be dismayed by these changes, perhaps a bit of catechesis is in order, compliments of Frederica Mathewes-Green in item five from “First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I’d Known
5. With Love and Kisses
We kiss stuff. When we first come into the church, we kiss the icons (Jesus on the feet and other saints on the hands, ideally). You’ll also notice that some kiss the chalice, some kiss the edge of the priest’s vestment as he passes by, the acolytes kiss his hand when they give him the censer, and we all line up to kiss the cross at the end of the service. When we talk about “venerating” something we usually mean crossing ourselves and kissing it.
We kiss each other before we take communion (“Greet one another with a kiss of love,” 1 Peter 5:14). When Roman Catholics or high-church Protestants “pass the peace,” they give a hug, handshake, or peck on the cheek; that’s how Westerners greet each other. In Orthodoxy different cultures are at play: Greeks and Arabs kiss on two cheeks, and Slavs come back again for a third. Follow the lead of those around you and try not to bump your nose.
The usual greeting is “Christ is in our midst” and response, “He is and shall be.” Don’t worry if you forget what to say. The greeting is not the one familiar to Episcopalians, “The peace of the Lord be with you.” Nor is it “Hi, nice church you have here.” Exchanging the kiss of peace is a liturgical act, a sign of mystical unity. Chatting and fellowship is for later.
Or, the Friar and his flock could join the PNCC. Bishop Bigaj, Bishop-Ordinary of the Canadian Diocese, would be happy to discuss it with you. You won’t even have to worry about liturgical wars. We didn’t destroy the liturgy, and we didn’t throw out tradition for the sake of being contemporary. We have both, and that based on natural development — and in English, French, Spanish, Polish, or whatever language works for your people. All are welcome in the PNCC.
Here a portion of the antiphon is sung in Latin. I like the way this video was set up. with the falling snow, symbolic of washing, and the whiteness of the snow recalling our desire to be renewed and washed clean, Very appropriate as part of our Advent preparation.
In PNCC usage the Asperges is performed prior to the principal Holy Mass on Sundays
With hyssop sprinkle me,
O Lord, and I shall be cleansed. Wash me, and I shall be whiter, whiter than the snow.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
With hyssop sprinkle me, O Lord, and I shall be cleansed. Wash me, and I shall be whiter, whiter than the snow.P. Show us Your mercy, Lord. [Alleluia]
R. And grant us Your salvation. [Alleluia]P. Lord, hear our prayer.
R. And let our cry come to You.P. The Lord be with you.
R. And also with you.P. Let Us Pray
Father, we call upon You to abide with Your people who are assembled here. Clease us of our sins and make us aware of the promise of Your Son that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He is with them. Through this Holy Eucharist we celebrate make us worthy to sit at His table in the kingdom of heaven.
We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.R. Amen.
Pokropisz mię.
Panie hyzopem, a będę oczyszczony: obmyjesz mnie, a jako śnieg będę wybielony.
Zmiłuj się nademną, Boże, według wielkiego miłosierdzia Twego. Chwała Ojcu i Synowi i Duchowi Świętemu, jak była na początku, teraz i zawsze i na wieki wieków. Amen.
Pokropisz mię Panie hyzopem, a będę oczyszczony: obmyjesz mnie, a jako śnieg będę wybielony.K. Okaż nam Panie miłosierdzie Twoje.
O. I daj nam zbawienie Twoje.K. Panie wysłuchaj modlitwy nasze.
O. A wołanie nasze niech do Ciebie przyjdzie.K. Pan z wami.
O. I z duchem twoim.Módlmy się
Wysłuchaj nas, Panie Święty, Ojcze Wszechmocny, wieczny Boże; i racz zesłać świętego anioła Twego z niebios, aby strzegł, osłaniał i bronił wszystkich zgromadzonych w tym przybytku. Niechaj ta święta ofiara, której będziemy świadkami i uczestnikami, umocni w nas wiarę w obecność między nami Jezusa Chrystusa, który powiedział, że gdzie dwu, albo trzech zbierze się w imię Jego, On jest pomiędzy nimi, niech rozpali w sercu żar świętej miłości i wzmoże gorliwość w spełnianiu obowiązków względem Ciebie, Ojcze najłaskawszy, Kościoła Chrystusowego, Ameryki, Polski i wszystkich ludzi bez wyjątku. Przez Jezusa Chrystusa Pana naszego.
O. Amen.
But how hard it is to condemn to penance for life one who even afterwards keeps the commandments of the Lord, let Him teach us Himself Who has not refused forgiveness. Even to those who do not keep His commandments, as you read in the Psalm: —If they profane My statutes and keep not My commandments, I will visit their offences with the rod and their sins with scourges, but My mercy will I not take from them.— So, then, He promises mercy to all.
Yet that we may not think that this mercy is without judgment, there is a distinction made between those who have paid continual obedience to God’s commandments, and those who at some time, either by error or by compulsion, have fallen. And that you may not think that it is only our arguments which press you, consider the decision of Christ, Who said: —If the servant knew his Lord’s will and did it not, he shall be beaten with many stripes, but if he knew it not, he shall be beaten with few stripes.— Each, then, if he believes, is received, for God —chasteneth every son whom He receiveth,— and him whom He chasteneth He does not give over unto death, for it is written: —The Lord hath chastened me sore, but He hath not given me over unto death.— — Book I, Chapter XII.
From Interfaith Worker Justice:
Interfaith Worker Justice congratulates the United Electrical Workers Local 1110 for a historic victory that ended a six-day occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago. Last night, the company’s workers voted to accept a $1.75 million settlement.
“Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the rights of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked”
Psalm 82:3-4The Republic workers would have been forgotten if they hadn’t stood up — by sitting down and occupying their factory. They captured the attention and the support of people of faith, and sent shock waves through corporate board rooms across the nation.
Absolutely true. The workers would have been caught up in court wrangling (something they couldn’t afford) and government bureaucracy in an attempt to obtain the wages they had earned. They faced a Federal government that has all but given up on wage and hour enforcement under the Bush Administration, the white tie and tails folks. The workers only choice was to stand up by sitting down — much like Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Walęsa did in the dawning days of Solidarity.
This is a victory to be celebrated by the thousands of people who stood in solidarity with the workers: people like you who took the time to send messages to Bank of America and rallied at banks across the country.
The Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, an IWJ affiliate, has been working closely with Local 1110 since day one. On Tuesday of this week, IWJ members from around the country rallied alongside Chicago Interfaith Committee in supporting workers.
Both the Republic Windows victory and this week’s news of Wal-Mart’s $54 million settlement of a class-action suit over unpaid wages highlight wage theft, a national crisis on which IWJ and its national network of workers centers are playing a leading role in tackling.
IWJ Executive Director Kim Bobo has written the first book to deal with this issue. In a happy coincidence, her Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid – And What We Can Do About It
, was published this week, during the Republic sit-in.
While we celebrate the Republic victory, we are going to see hundreds of factory closings in the coming months, and the question is: will workers be paid what they’re owed? And while the Wal-Mart settlement is welcome news, 60 additional wage theft lawsuits remain pending, cases involving billions of dollars that have been stolen from and are owed to millions of workers.
Workers should never be ashamed of expressing their rights and their demands. That is their bargaining strength. We all assume that we have some measure of control, saying: ‘I work for who I choose.” Unfortunately the benefits of our labor, be it physical or intellectual, rarely inure to our benefit in proportion to our sacrifice. If we demand that we be compensated equitably we are seen as pariahs. The government, press, and many of our fellow workers look at us with disdain. ‘So you didn’t get paid — just quit, move on. So they took advantage of you, that’s just life.’
As people of faith we cannot move on, get over it, and most especially we cannot accept a life based on one-upmanship. I am a member and a deacon of the PNCC, a Church whose founder, Bishop Hodur, stood up for workers’ rights. I live in a Church, founded by immigrants and laborers, who from its beginning championed the dignity and rights of those immigrants and workers. I see the extent of abuse that goes on to this day (and people think the days of sweat shops, slave labor, and child labor are long gone – they’re not!), I can say that one must stand up, whether through advocacy, preaching, teaching, or sitting-in. People of faith must witness against inequality based on advantage and power.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
TriCounty Choir Institute’s Village Singers and Village Quartet will present an “Advent Meditations” concert at 3 p.m. Dec. 21 at Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church, 1921 Eden Park Blvd, McKeesport, PA. There is no charge for admission, but a free will offering will be taken.
Let us consider another similar passage: —He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.— That which abideth has certainly had a commencement, and that from some offence, viz., that first he not believe. When, then, any one believes, the wrath of God departs and life comes. To believe, then, in Christ is to gain life, for —he that believeth in Him is not judged.—
But with reference to this passage they allege that he who believes in Christ ought to keep His sayings, and say that it is written in the Lord’s own words: —I am come a light into this world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness. And if any man hear My word and keep it, I judge him not.— He judges not, and do you judge? He says, —that whosoever believeth on Me may not abide in darkness,— that is, that if he be in darkness he may not remain therein, but may amend his error, correct his fault, and keep My commandments, for I have said, —I will not the death of the wicked, but the correction.— I said above that he that believeth on Me is not judged, and I keep to this: —For I am not come to judge the world, but that the world may be saved through Me.— I pardon willingly, I quickly forgive, —I will have mercy rather than sacrifice,— because by sacrifice the just is rendered more acceptable, by mercy the sinner is redeemed. —I come not to call the righteous but sinners.— Sacrifice was under the Law, in the Gospel is mercy. —The Law was given by Moses, grace by Me.— — Book I, Chapter XII.
While the disciples were disputing concerning precedence our Lord, the teacher of humility, took a little child and said: —Except ye be converted and become as little children ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.— And lest He should seem to preach more than he practised, He fulfilled His own precept in His life. For He washed His disciples’ feet, He received the traitor with a kiss, He conversed with the woman of Samaria, He spoke of the kingdom of heaven with Mary at His feet, and when He rose again from the dead He showed Himself first to some poor women. Pride is opposed to humility, and through it Satan lost his eminence as an archangel. The Jewish people perished in their pride, for while they claimed the chief seats and salutations in the market place, they were superseded by the Gentiles, who had before been counted as —a drop of a bucket.— Two poor fishermen, Peter and James, were sent to confute the sophists and the wise men of the world. As the Scripture says: —God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.— Think, brother, what a sin it must be which has God for its opponent. In the Gospel the Pharisee is rejected because of his pride, and the publican is accepted because of his humility. — Letter XII. To Antony, Monk.
Almost all bodily excellences alter with age, and while wisdom alone increases all things else decay. Fasts and vigils and almsdeeds become harder. So also do sleeping on the ground, moving from place to place, hospitality to travellers, pleading for the poor, earnestness and steadfastness in prayer, the visitation of the sick, manual labor to supply money for alms-giving. All acts, in short, of which the body is the medium decrease with its decay.
Now, there are young men still full of life and vigor who, by toil and burning zeal, as well as by holiness of life and constant prayer to the Lord Jesus, have obtained knowledge. I do not speak of these, or say that in them the love of wisdom is cold, for this withers in many of the old by reason of age. What I mean is that youth, as such, has to cope with the assaults of passion, and amid the allurements of vice and the tinglings of the flesh is stifled like a fire among green boughs, and cannot develop its proper brightness. But when men have employed their youth in commendable pursuits and have meditated on the law of the Lord day and night, they learn with the lapse of time, fresh experience and wisdom come as the years go by, and so from the pursuits of the past their old age reaps a harvest of delight. — Letter LII. To Nepotian.
From Holy Name Parish in South Deerfield, Massachusetts and Fr. Randy Calvo: Don’t Let It Pass Unobserved
December 8th is one of those sacred days on our church calendar that is unique to the National Catholic Church. That it is unique bothers some people because they associate it with separation, that if no one else has it and we do, then we are different, and different implies separate. I never appreciated the logic of this reasoning. I know when studying the four Gospels, for example, that the unique materials in each one of them are invaluable in our attempts to understand the perspective and purpose of the author. The unique materials do not separate the Gospels from each other; they enhance one another so that we can have a fuller understanding of the Good News. They look at Jesus from different angles, not giving us separate pictures of Him, but rather a more developed one.
The Feast of Divine Love is unique, but that is part of its importance. It could only have arisen in a church such as ours, from a perspective such as ours. It says much about who we are, and also in that process about how God has revealed Himself to us. This feast day replaces the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which refers to a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church issued by Pope Pius IX in 1854. The same Pope associated this teaching and feast with his resistance to the emerging democracies of the modern world. He issued the Syllabus of Errors intentionally on this date in 1864. This official document ridicules the authority of human reason, intellectual progress and science, freedom of religion and ecumenism. It states that the church should have temporal power, even military power, and that not only should there be no separation of church and state, but that the church should stand above the state.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception was also used by this Pope to sanction his own infallibility. He opened Vatican Council I on this date in 1869. This Council declared in 1870 that the Pope’s authority is universal and infallible. This new proclamation set off a series of events that led to the creation of the Old Catholic Church. Old refers to the old ways of the church before the Pope had himself newly declared infallible. In 1907, Fr. Francis Hodur was consecrated a bishop by the Old Catholic Church in Utrecht, Holland. With his consecration, Bp. Hodur signed the Declaration of Utrecht, which was promulgated in 1889, in direct opposition to the theology of Vatican Council I. With that act, Bp. Hodur, on behalf of our church, formally and specifically rejected the new theology of papal infallibility.
By this same act, he also endorsed the Old Catholic rejection of the new dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and for fundamental theological reasons. Mary is the source of Jesus’ human nature. If her human nature is not our full human nature, that is, if she is born free of —original sin— and we are not, if, in other words, she is born —immaculate— and we are born sinful, then the nature she passes on to Jesus is not ours. If that is the case, then Jesus’ incarnation and thus His act of salvation, is compromised. We, therefore, must reject the theology of the Immaculate Conception.
We have been and are a progressive, democratic Catholic church, and since we have formally rejected the theology of this day and the theological pronouncements associated with it, it is only logical that we would replace the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with a theologically more tenable celebration. That celebration is the Feast of Divine Love. The Feast of Divine Love speaks about creation as a testament of God’s love. The physical universe is a wonder to be marveled at, not one to be ridiculed as inherently sinful. We are stewards of creation when made in the likeness of God, not its masters. This being the case, reason, science and progress are not to be fended-off in fear or anger, but embraced as part of God’s revelation (see Romans 1:20). Likewise, reason and free will are how we are created in God’s image as an act of divine love. For these to flourish we must advocate for democracy in the state and the church. This is our feast day in a practical and profound way. This is our perspective that we alone share with the world about God to better understand God. Don’t let it pass unobserved.