Adoremus Bulletin - March 2020 Issue

Adoremus Bulletin For the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

MARCH 2020

News & Views

From Font to Font: A Mystagogical Reflection on the Updated Order of Baptism of Children Mystery—the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus—and so, the day when, from apostolic times, the Church assembles to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, Sunday, is most fitting for this first sacrament to be celebrated. Sunday is also the first day of the week, the day of creation, and the Church gives thanks for the new creation that this child is, as well as the new spiritual creation that the child will be in Christ through baptism.

Pope Francis’ Amazon Exhortation Calls for Holiness, Not Married Priests

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By Courtney Mares Vatican City (CNA)—Pope Francis published his response to the Vatican’s 2019 Amazon synod in an apostolic exhortation on February 12.

Despite widespread speculation following the synod, the pope does not call for married priests, but seeks to expand “horizons beyond conflicts.”

Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis’ much-anticipated post-synodal apostolic exhortation, presents the pope’s “four great dreams” for the Pan-Amazonian region’s ecological preservation and “Amazonian holiness.”

The exhortation does not quote from recommendations made by bishops at the Vatican’s October meeting on the Amazon. Instead, Pope Francis “officially present[s]” the synod’s final document alongside his exhortation, asking “everyone to read it in full.”

The topic of ordaining viri probati, or mature married men, was a point of considerable discussion at the synod, and made waves across the Church.

While Pope Francis did not rebuff the idea directly in his exhortation, the Vatican’s editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, addressed it in a column released alongside the apostolic exhortation.

Speaking of priestly celibacy, Tornielli wrote that “the Successor of Peter, after praying and reflecting, has decided to respond not by foreseeing changes or further possibilities of exceptions from those already provided for by current ecclesiastical discipline, Please see AMAZON on next page

Vol. XXV, No. 5

God desires to pour grace upon us, and the source of this divine life is baptism. It is in the interests of pastors, parents, and the entire Church to understand and celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism in such a way that this first sacrament is a true font of divine life. In the end, this is precisely the goal of the revised edition of the Order of Baptism of Children recently released for use this upcoming Easter.

By Father Anthony Strouse

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ne of the most noticeable objects in the celebration of Baptism is the font, in which the child is immersed or from which water is poured over the head of the child. And yet, at the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers also used the font in teaching about the relationship between the liturgy and grace: “From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God…is achieved.”1 In speaking about the liturgy, and especially the Eucharist, the Council seems to allude to the first sacrament, baptism, from which all other sacraments flow.

As the Church in the United States is given a new Order of Baptism of Children, which will be required for use starting on Easter Sunday 2020, there is a new opportunity to understand the spiritual realities communicated through physical signs. Indeed, God desires to pour grace upon us, and the source of this divine life is baptism. It is in the interests of pastors, parents, and the entire Church to understand and celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism in such a way that this first sacrament is a true font of divine life. In the end, this is precisely the goal of this revised edition of the Order of Baptism of Children.

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Adoremus Bulletin MARCH 2020

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Let’s begin our examination of baptism at the end of the ritual book. Among the most noticeable additions in the new Order of Baptism of Children are those found toward the end of the book outlining the celebration of infant baptism within Sunday Mass: “To illustrate the paschal character of Baptism, it is recommended that the Sacrament be celebrated at the Easter Vigil or on a Sunday, when the Church commemorates the Resurrection of the Lord. Furthermore, on a Sunday, Baptism may be celebrated also within Mass, so that the whole community may be able to take part in the rite and so that the connection between Baptism and the Most Holy Eucharist may stand out more clearly.”2 Thus, the connection between the two fonts (baptism and the Eucharist) is made clear: the two sacraments are two opportunities for the outpouring of grace, the sanctification of men in Christ, and the glorification of God. (Although baptism often takes place outside of Mass, the present article imagines the baptism of one child during Sunday Mass.)

This threefold effect of outpouring, sanctification, and glorification is accomplished through the rituals, the words—and the days—which communicate the spiritual realities. Baptism makes the child a sharer in the Paschal Vision and Revision The newly revised Order of Baptism for Children is out and, according to Father Anthony Strouse, it’s got a flood of vital insights, especially as they touch on the Eucharist..................................................1 Make Up with God As we travel the desert days of Lent, Christopher Carstens reminds us, God’s cosmetic beauty is no mirage, but gives true meaning to our less-than-glamorous journey.................................................................3

Sacramental Door The revised Order also points out that Mass itself doesn’t look the same when baptism is involved. Rather than the usual procession with the ministers to the sanctuary, the priest celebrant and ministers begin Mass during which a baptism occurs at the doors of the church, or from the place where the parents and godparents are gathered, and then begin Mass in the usual way with the Sign of the Cross.3 Often people take the church’s doors for granted because their practical purpose—their function—often eclipses their form. Indeed, the doors are literally entryways through which people enter into ordered creation, be it a business, a house, or a church. But in a church, a doorway is not simply re-ordered creation, but also a symbol—a sensible sign which signifies and causes the reality to which it points—of the heavenly Jerusalem.

And so Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7). Jesus is the one, the only one, through whom people are saved (Acts 4:12); consequently, any gathering at the doors within the liturgy is not merely a convergence of souls at an architectural part of a building, but a gathering that manifests the reality of Jesus’ flock, those who profess belief in Christ, entering through him, the “Sheepgate,” into the heavenly reality of the liturgy itself.

In the revised Order of Baptism of Children, too, the priest omits the Greeting and Penitential Act of the Mass. Instead, at the door he greets those present, especially the parents and godparents. To this end, the revised Order provides a text to help the celebrant express the joy that the Church has at the imminent baptism of the child. At the same time, the text begins to prepare those present for the unfolding of the mysteries in the Mass: “Dear parents Please see BAPTISM on page 4 No Blood, No Glory…

The 16th-century Flemish painter Jean Bellegambe painted The Mystical Bath not to shock our senses, but to draw them to the next world. So says Denis McNamara..............6 Hand-to-Hand Combat The Last Supper teaches two kinds of giving: one that leads to love and the other to betrayal—and, as John Johnson notes, it’s a lesson we must keep on learning..............8 News & Views .....................................................2 Readers’ Quiz.......................................................3 The Rite Questions........................................... 10

2 Continued from AMAZON, page 1 but by asking that the essentials be the starting point,” for discussions regarding priestly ministry in the Amazon.

Nearly half of the pope’s own 24-page document is dedicated to outlining the pontiff ’s “Ecclesial Dream” for the Amazon region, in which Pope Francis stresses the singular role of the priest, while affirming the laity’s ongoing contributions to evangelization.

“No Christian community is built up which does not grow from and hinge on the celebration of the most holy Eucharist…. This urgent need leads me to urge all bishops, especially those in Latin America, not only to promote prayer for priestly vocations, but also to be more generous in encouraging those who display a missionary vocation to opt for the Amazon region,” Pope Francis wrote in the exhortation, published February 12.

In Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis warns against an outlook that restricts “our understanding of the Church to her functional structures.” The pope also rejects a narrow vision of “conceptions of power in the Church” that “clericalize women.”

“Efforts need to be made to configure ministry in such a way that it is at the service of a more frequent celebration of the Eucharist, even in the remotest and most isolated communities…. There is also a need for ministers who can understand Amazonian sensibilities and cultures from within,” Pope Francis wrote.

“The way of shaping priestly life and ministry is not monolithic; it develops distinctive traits in different parts of the world. This is why it is important to determine what is most specific to a priest, what cannot be delegated. The answer lies in the sacrament of Holy Orders, which configures him to Christ the priest. The first conclusion, then, is that the exclusive character received in Holy Orders qualifies the priest alone to preside at the Eucharist,” Francis said.

The pope called for revision to “the structure and content of both initial and ongoing priestly formation” to be more pastoral and in dialogue with Amazonian cultures. Francis said that “the stable presence of mature and lay leaders endowed with authority” is required in the region, calling for more permanent deacons and women religious to address the Amazon’s challenges.

Following the controversy sparked by the presence of indigenous statues at Vatican events during the Amazon synod in October and the subsequent apology by Pope Francis for “Pachamama” being thrown in the Tiber River, Pope Francis uses the post-synodal apostolic exhortation to appeal for unity and sensitivity to the over 110 distinct indigenous cultures in the Amazon.

Pope Francis presented his four dreams—social, cultural, ecological, and ecclesial—for the “Beloved Amazon” region with indigenous poetry interspersed throughout the apostolic exhortation.

Vatican: Pope Francis Does Not Condone Optional Priestly Celibacy

By Hannah Brockhaus

VATICAN CITY (CNA)—A Vatican spokesman said that Pope Francis’ position on priestly celibacy is “known,” quoting the pontiff ’s remarks in a January 2019 press conference, in which he said he does not agree with making priestly celibacy “optional” in the Latin rite.

The statement by Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni was issued January 13 and was said to be in response to questions from journalists “regarding a recent editorial initiative.”

The initiative referred to is a new book on priestly celibacy and the crisis in the Church and priesthood, co-authored by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, who is head of the pope’s liturgical office.

In his statement, Bruni quoted Pope Francis’ comments aboard the papal plane to Rome from Panama January 28, 2019, in which he said, “personally, I think that celibacy is a gift to the Church. I would say that I do not agree with allowing optional celibacy, no.”

The pope added at the time that he thinks there is room to consider some exceptions for married clergy in the Latin rite “when there is a pastoral necessity” in remote locations due to lack of priests, such as in the Pacific islands.

Bruni’s statement also noted Francis’ quotation of the words of St. Pope Paul VI: “I prefer to give my life before changing the law of celibacy.”

The book by Pope Benedict and Cardinal Sarah, called “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” is published in English by Ignatius Press.

Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

NEWS & VIEWS

New Sacrament Formation Program Released in American Sign Language Philadelphia, PA (CNA)—A new sacrament formation program for the deaf and hard of hearing is offering adult catechetical information in American Sign Language.

Designed by Ascension Press, Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language became available on January 6. It was developed by Father Sean Loomis, the chaplain for the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Creators of the new project hope the materials, designed specifically for the deaf community, can fill in gaps left by other catechetical programs and address some of the unique challenges faced by the hearing impaired, who may struggle with participating in Mass, Confession, and the Catholic community.

“A huge challenge among the deaf is that they are very uncatechized, and while that is certainly the case with the vast majority of Catholics, that catechesis is impoverished in a significant way” for those who are deaf, Loomis told CNA. “Most deaf people at this point aren’t even interested. They already feel turned off,” he said. “So like 1% of deaf people even go to church because they feel like the church of any denomination really has nothing to offer them.”

The new project offers three-part videos on each sacrament. Each segment is about 6-10 minutes long, and together they discuss the presence of the sacrament in scripture and tradition, the theology of the sacrament, and the sacrament’s personal significance.

“The first video…[introduces] them to the scriptural defense of where Christ established the sacraments so that they get exposed to the Word of God as well as the writings of the Church fathers.... So that they see what the Catholic Church believes is not something we fabricated somewhere along the way, but has been the same belief from the very beginning age of the Church all the way until now,” he said.

“The second video for every sacrament…is about the theology of it,” he said. “It’s the catechesis behind it.

It’s what’s really going on in the divine plan when this sacrament is received. So it’s sort of the dogmatic approach.”

“The third one is about living the grace. So now that you are a baptized individual, for example, what does that mean about your life? I want them to practice the mental exercise of taking theory and abstract theology and applying it concretely to their very individual and specific life,” he added.

The program also includes a workbook, which offers quotes from saints and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as works of art. Loomis stressed the value of artwork as a visual stimulus for deaf Catholics to pray and learn about Church history.

“I also have Visio Divina,” he said, a type of prayer “where they look at a piece of artwork and learn how to read that Christian art to see what it is that they actually believe. In that way, I’m trying to expose them to the wealth of the Christian artwork that has been part of our heritage.”

“That is specifically something I thought would help them encounter God in a way that’s unique to their culture and their specific needs.”

Father Loomis is not deaf, but began learning American Sign Language during seminary, after being asked to consider deaf ministry. He practiced sign language each week with a local deaf man to gain proficiency.

After years of practice, Father Loomis said he has come to better understand the isolation and misunderstanding that often faces the deaf community. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is particularly challenging, he said.

“They can go to a hearing priest and write their sins

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down on a sheet of paper, which some will do. And of course, they experience a diminished satisfaction with that since they can’t receive any feedback from the priest.... They’re not consoled by the words of absolution because they can’t hear them.”

Under Father Loomis’ leadership, the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been able to designate interpreters for 13 different churches, and to offer a Mass entirely in American Sign Language.

“When I offer Mass, I don’t voice it and then have an interpreter stand nearby. I do the entire thing in American Sign Language so that they can experience the incarnation of Christ who comes to them as they are, in persona Christi, through my priesthood,” he said.

Knights of Columbus Drop Secret Initiation Ceremony New Haven, CT (CNA)—The Knights of Columbus has announced a major revision to its longtime initiation ceremonies and for the first time will open them to the public, saying the changes are needed to become more appealing to prospective members and to respond to a “crisis” in Church membership.

“Today, we need an exemplification of our principles that presents, in a clear and convincing way, how charity, unity and fraternity can come together to form a Catholic way of life for today’s man and his family,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in the January 2020 issue of Columbia magazine.

The rituals of the Knights, sometimes called ceremonies or exemplifications, have for decades been separated into first, second and third degrees focused respectively on the principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity, the first three principles of the Catholic men’s fraternity founded in Connecticut in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney.

The Knights of Columbus now claim about 1.9 million members in 15,900 local councils in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, South Korea and several other countries.

Usually when new members joined the Knights, councils would run a first degree initiation ceremony for them or take them to a nearby council with a trained degree team. New members would be encouraged to go through their second and third degree ceremonies at a later date.

These ceremonials of the order were kept under a pledge of secrecy limited to the membership.

The new ceremony will now combine all three degrees and, in another major change, will be opened to the public. Anderson said the exemplification may be conducted in a council’s meeting chamber or in a church, “with families and friends seated in the pews.”

“They will see firsthand the organization that their husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends are joining—the principles and values they are committing to and why it matters,” Anderson said in remarks he originally delivered November 23 to the Knights of Columbus midyear organizational meeting of state deputies in Orlando, Florida.

“This historic new ceremonial is rooted in our past and tailored to our present. It will inspire more men to join us,” Anderson said. “Most of all, it is essential to the sustainability of the Knights of Columbus, as it will empower us to advance our mission and grow in the years ahead. It is essential to our ability to meet the crisis we now face.”

Anderson’s remarks acknowledged that more than 26 million Catholics have left the faith in the United States and millions more in Canada. Baptisms have fallen by 40%, sacramental marriages have fallen by more than 66% and only just over 20% of Catholics attend Mass regularly. Four in ten baptized Catholics no longer identify as Catholic, and for the first time self-identified Catholics no longer make up a majority of Hispanics, according to a 2019 survey.

Please see NEWS & VIEWS page 11

EDITOR - PUBLISHER: Christopher Carstens MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph O’Brien CONTENT MANAGER: Jeremy Priest GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Danelle Bjornson OFFICE MANAGER: Elizabeth Gallagher PHONE: 608.521.0385 WEBSITE: www.adoremus.org MEMBERSHIP REQUESTS & CHANGE OF ADDRESS: info@adoremus.org LETTERS TO THE EDITOR P.O. Box 385 La Crosse, WI 54602-0385 editor@adoremus.org

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Rev. Jerry Pokorsky = Helen Hull Hitchcock The Rev. Joseph Fessio, SJ

Contents copyright © 2020 by ADOREMUS. All rights reserved.

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Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

Resolve to be Better Looking this Lent

By Christopher Carstens, Editor

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Michelangelo’s depiction of God creating the cosmos graces the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit brought order, arrangement, and beauty out of chaos at the world’s creation, so today does their liturgical action restore order, arrangement, and beauty to our chaotic lives.

Readers’ Quiz

On the Paschal Triduum in the Roman Missal

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n architect, a surgeon, and a liturgist were sharing a round of beers at a bar one day, wondering among themselves what occupation best described God. So, since the liturgist happened to have a copy of Holy Writ on him, the three friends opened the Bible to the Book of Genesis and took turns reading the creation accounts. After they had finished, the architect was the first to speak. “To me,” he said, “God seems most like an architect. Observe that from chaos and nothingness he drew forth, organized, and built the entire universe: the seas, the mountains, the rivers, and land, all according to a well-designed plan. Clearly, God is an architect.” This description of God made some sense to the others.

Still, the surgeon couldn’t help but observe that God was, in his mind, more like himself. “I agree that in the beginning there was chaos and nothingness. But what is more remarkable than designing and ordering the material world is how he brought forth life itself.

Consider how Adam lay sleeping, and then, from his opened side—as by the hand of a most-skilled surgeon—God brought forth Eve. Only a surgeon could do such a thing.” Our friend the surgeon, the architect and the liturgist agreed, had a point.

But all of a sudden, the liturgist exclaimed: “Aha! But God is first and foremost a liturgist! After all, who made the chaos in the first place?”

Chaos: the word means disorder and confusion. Its opposite is order and arrangement, the Greek (and now English) word for which is cosmos—the root of “cosmetics.” Thus, when God made the heavens and the earth—that is, the cosmos—he arranged, ordered, and enlivened his ex nihilo creation. Out of chaos, emerged cosmos.

But it wasn’t long before the cosmos fell back into chaos once again (and not necessarily because of the liturgists!). At first, there was harmony and concord between God and man, heaven and earth. With Adam’s rejection of God’s goodness, the once well-ordered cosmos fell apart. And as creation fell apart, so did Adam’s perfect union with Eve. For once Adam rejected God, it was no surprise that Adam also rejected his wife: “This woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it,” says Adam to God (Genesis 3:12). His warring with God led his body to war against his own mind, so that, as St. Paul would say many years later, “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want” (Romans 7:19). Our first father’s sinful enslavement of the cosmos led the fallen cosmos to enslave him: “Thorns and thistles [the ground] shall bear for you…. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall re-

turn” (Genesis 3:18-19). Cosmos had returned to chaos.

Following the fall, then, we returned to ground zero.

Still, God willed once again to add some logic, order, and beauty into this otherwise chaotic, disordered, and ugly creation. He sent his Son, the Logos.

Jesus, the Second Adam, reverses the catastrophic collapse caused by the first Adam. Whereas the first Adam exclaimed, “Not thy will, but mine, be done,” and turned cosmos to chaos, the Second Adam cries out, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42), and he turned chaos to cosmos once again. In taking on our ugliness—“so marred were his features, beyond that of mortals his appearance, beyond that of human beings” (Isaiah 52:14, as we read on Good Friday)—Jesus bestows upon us his divine beauty.

God made the cosmos, and man made the ensuing chaos. But Jesus—who is God and man—restored the cosmos from chaos once again. And here is where you and I and the ugliness in our lives come into the picture: for the liturgy—especially the Triduum liturgies— is the cosmetic enhancement of our fallen world.

The morning’s first reflection in the mirror is rarely the best we show throughout the day. Hair is a mess.

1. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Good Friday liturgy, and the Easter Vigil each begin at different times during the day. What are the Missal’s directions about these various times?

Editor’s note: We continue offering our newest feature, a Readers’ Quiz, to test your own knowledge and, we hope, supplement your own understanding of the liturgy. Our first Readers’ Quiz (January 2020) tested your knowledge on the Roman Missal in general terms. This offering will see what you know about the Paschal Triduum in the Missal.

2. The Roman Missal anticipates newly-baptized adults doing which of the following for the first time at the Easter Vigil? a. Bringing forward the bread and wine at the offertory. b. Praying the Universal Prayer (General Intercessions). c. Receiving Holy Communion. d. Being Confirmed. e. All of the above. f. Answers a. and c.

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3. True or False: If pastoral reasons suggest that there be individual veneration of the cross on Good Friday, a second or third cross may be used if the number of people is very large.

4. The Roman Missal contains seven readings for the Easter Vigil. Still, as the Missal says, where “more serious pastoral circumstances demand it,” their number may be reduced. If the readings are reduced in number, which of the following must be retained? a. G enesis 1:1–2:2 — On the creation of the cosmos. b. Genesis 22:1–18 — On Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. c. Exodus 14:15–15:1 — On the passage of the Chosen People through the Red Sea. d. Isaiah 54:5–14 — On the New Jerusalem. e. Isaiah 55:1–11 — On the salvation that is offered

Eyes are drooping and puffy. An otherwise excellent

handlebar moustache has been wrenched wildly awry.

What’s our solution? Cosmetics! Just as that first cosmos was ordered and arranged, so now our morning medicine cabinet’s worth of products re-order and rearrange our fallen and ugly selves.

The liturgy is similarly cosmetic. Liturgist Aidan Kavanaugh was fond of saying that “liturgy does the world the way the world was meant to be done,” for it carries on the beautifying work of Christ, applying the restorative unction of his Holy Spirit. And for those of us who participate in the liturgy—especially the Easter liturgies—God’s cosmetic work on us re-creates, remakes, and re-stores us to that living reflection of the Logos, who is Beauty himself.

So, this Lent, resolve to become more beautiful. Celebrate the liturgy beautifully, and open your ears, eyes, minds, and hearts wide. Show those liturgists out there a thing or two—and turn chaos into cosmos. We may compare God to many things, but as the liturgy shows us, there is no comparison to what God truly is: beautiful.

to all. f. Baruch 3:9–15 — On the fountain of wisdom. g. E zekiel 36:16–28 — On the creation of a new heart and a new spirit.

5. D oes the Roman Missal prescribe a cross or crucifix for adoration on Good Friday?

6. T rue or False: The priest carries the Paschal Candle into the church building at the Easter Vigil.

7. Th e Mass of the Lord’s Supper ritualizes Jesus' mandatum—his command to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34)—by: a. taking up a second collection. b. e ncouraging all participants to join in the washing of the feet. c. b ringing communion to the sick and homebound. d. mandating the exchange of the Sign of Peace. e. all of the above.

8. T rue or False: at the Easter Vigil, the lights in the church building are switched on at the Gloria.

9. B ells may be rung during the Gloria at the Easter Vigil. At what point during the Triduum did they fall silent (that is, when was the last time they were used)?

10. Who does the Missal expect to lead the singing of the “Alleluia” prior to the proclamation of the Gospel at the Easter Vigil? a. Deacon. b. Assembly. c. Choir and cantor. d. Priest-celebrant.

ANSWERS on page 11

Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

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A child at baptism fulfills what the children of God foreshadowed at the first exodus, as depicted here in The Crossing of the Red Sea (1634), by Nicolas Poussin: he leaves a land of sin, slavery, and death; drowns his deadly pursuer in the waters; and emerges victorious on the far shore.

and godparents: Your family has experienced great joy at the birth of your child, and the Church shares your happiness. Today this joy has brought you to the Church to give thanks to God for the gift of your child and to celebrate a new birth in the waters of Baptism. This community rejoices with you, for today the number of those baptized in Christ will be increased, and we offer you our support in raising your child in the practice of the faith.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us now prepare ourselves to participate in this celebration, listening to God’s Word, praying for this child and his (her) family, and renewing our commitment to the Lord and to his people.”4 In this greeting, the faithful come to understand that, besides enjoying a connection to the Eucharist, the celebration of baptism within Mass also visibly demonstrates that the child is becoming a member of the Church, the communion of all the baptized with each other in Christ.

Who Are You? As with the previous versions of the rite, the new Order then continues with the naming of the child. In an age of screen names and twitter handles, the culture has lost some of the weight of what’s in a name. Names are important, not because they are unknown to God, but because they reveal to the Church the identity of the person with that name. The Book of Revelation speaks about those whose names are written in the book of life (and of those whose names are not). This speaking of a name points to the hope that the child, once baptized, will continue along the path of a disciple of Jesus, and that his or her name will be written in the book of life. For this reason, the 1983 Code of Canon Law legislates that the name is not “foreign to Christian sentiment.”5 This hope will be manifest a number of times in the person’s life after baptism: at confirmation (perhaps taking a patron saint’s name); at marriage, or at the numerous rites that prepare for and occur during the celebration of ordination; and finally, at the funeral, where the person is prayed for by name in the hope of inheriting the pledge of resurrection to new life first promised in baptism.

Now that the Church knows the new member’s name, there remains the final part of the Rite of Receiving the Child: the signing of the cross on the forehead. In this way, in anticipation of the later rites in the Order of Baptism, the child is claimed for Jesus by the sign of his Cross. It is by the Cross that Jesus conquered sin and death, and so, by that same Cross, sin and death will be conquered in the child. It is also no accident that the priest and the parents (and, optionally, the godparents)

“ It is by the Word of God that conversion takes place among those who encounter Christ. Similarly, for parents and the family members and friends who are present, the Word of God gives them the opportunity to encounter Jesus and convert their lives more deeply to him.”

as those who will have authority from God to protect the child and help lead him or her along the path of discipleship, all sign the child with the Cross.

With these important preliminaries completed, the revised Order then notes that the family and ministers proceed towards the sanctuary. This procession draws one’s mind to a shepherd leading the sheep. The priest leads them to the two places where they will be fed during Mass: the ambo, where they will be nourished by the Word of God, and the altar, from which the newly-baptized will later in life receive the Bread of Angels for the necessary strength to live the baptismal call to holiness.

The Order also states that the procession should be accompanied with singing, encouraging the use of Psalm 85,6 as the older ritual also noted. It is at this point that “the Priest venerates the altar with a kiss, and, if appropriate, incenses the cross and the altar,”7 and then proceeds to the chair. In the previous ritual book, there was no expressed rubric on processing back to the sanctuary.

Bracketed rubrics merely indicated, “If baptism is to be celebrated at Sunday or weekday Mass, the Order of Mass begins here with ‘Lord, have mercy.’”8 The current Order also notes that, when prescribed in the Missal, the Gloria is then sung or said, followed by the Collect, which is provided in the Order.9

“ In an age of screen names and twitter handles, the culture has lost some of the weight of what’s in a name.”

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Continued from BAPTISM, page 1

“In speaking about the liturgy,” notes Father Anthony Strouse, “and especially the Eucharist, the Council seems to allude to the first sacrament, baptism, from which all other sacraments flow.” Architecturally, the connection between the baptismal font and the altar at which the Eucharist is made present is expressed in similarity of design and placement along the same axis. Ritually, the Order of Baptism of Children finds the newly-baptized carried in procession from the font to the altar for the concluding rites.

A Word about New Life The next part of the ritual is the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, generally before he would perform a miracle, he proclaimed the Word of God (at least in seminal form). One need only think of the Samaritan woman at the well whom Jesus draws into conversion through the revelation of who he is. Thus, it is by the Word of God that conversion takes place among those who encounter Christ. Similarly, for parents and the family members and friends who are present, the Word of God gives them the opportunity to encounter Jesus and convert their lives more deeply to him. At this point, the rubrics in the revised Order clearly state that when Baptism may be celebrated during the Sunday Mass, the readings for that day’s Mass may be used,10 whereas the previous Rite of Baptism for Children was silent. Even when the ritual Mass “For the Conferral of Baptism” is not allowed, such as on Solemnities and

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Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020 Sundays of Advent, Lent, or Easter,11 one of the readings can be taken from the Order of Baptism of Children, with the celebrant exercising due prudence in his choice of texts.12 But, no matter which readings are proclaimed, the Order directs the celebrant to preach the homily “based on the sacred text, but [taking] into consideration the Baptism being celebrated.”13 In other words, the pastor ought to focus his homily on the importance of baptism so that all present may clearly understand what is occurring.

According to the revised Order, the proclamation of the Word of God and homily then lead to the Universal Prayer (Prayer of the Faithful). This sequence is not accidental, however. For, when the Word of God is preached, it ought naturally lead to prayer. This is not only true in this celebration, but is a hallmark of the Christian life.

When a person encounters the Lord in the Scriptures during Mass, prayer naturally grows from that encounter.

In the case of baptism, that prayer seeks to strengthen the child about to be baptized so that he or she can truly be a follower of Jesus. But the prayer also moves toward the invocation of the saints, asking them to assist this child to be a disciple of Jesus and follow their example in achieving that discipleship. In particular, the revised Order notes that the celebrant is invited to mention the patron saint of the child to be baptized.14 The new Order also includes an extended Litany of Saints, rather than simply the shorter form, as in the former edition.15

lowed the Chosen People to “pass dry-shod through the Red Sea, so that the chosen people, set free from slavery to Pharaoh, would prefigure the people of the baptized.”23 So, too, for baptism, water offers the child both death and life. St. Paul asks: “Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). The water puts to death in the baptized all that is fallen, washing away original sin. But it also gives life as the baptized receives the pledge of eternal life from Christ and Christ gives the grace to live a life free from grave sin. The end of the blessing of the water echoes St. Paul’s words: “May the power of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, we pray, come down through your Son into the fullness of this font, so that all who have been buried with Christ by Baptism into death may rise again to life with him. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.”24 The next part of the celebration is the Renunciation of Sin and Profession of Faith, in which all the baptized present are to participate. After each article of the renunciation of Satan and the Profession of Faith in the Triune God, all present give their assent with the words, “I do.”

After this profession, the threefold immersion or pouring

of water with the invocation of the Blessed Trinity occurs.

After emerging from the font, an acclamation is sung or said that expresses the joy of those present for the new life given to the child in baptism. Unlike the previous ritual, the revised Order suggests one acclamation in the order itself: “Blessed be God, who chose you in Christ,” though other options are found in the appendix.25 Completing the Baptism Next follows what the Order calls Explanatory Rites. The introduction describes these rites as the completion of baptism, and the enrollment of the child in the assembly of the People of God.26 The first of these rites is the anointing with the Sacred Chrism. Consecrated by the diocesan bishop, the Sacred Chrism is the material which reminds the faithful that the baptized are priests, prophets, and kings. The anointing takes place on the crown of the child’s head, symbolizing the whole body, and the priest prays, “Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has freed you from sin, given you new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and joined you to his people.

He now anoints you with the Chrism of salvation, so that you may remain as a member of Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, unto eternal life.”27 Please see BAPTISM, page 12

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“ Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has freed you from sin, given you new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and joined you to his people. He now anoints you with the Chrism of salvation, so that you may remain as a member of Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, unto eternal life.”

— Prayer at the Anointing with Chrism

After the saints are invoked, the celebrant prays a Prayer of Exorcism, the child is sealed on the breast with oil, and God is invoked to drive out anything contrary to his will, to bring the child into the light, and make him or her a temple of the Holy Spirit.16 The exorcism text reminds the people present that at birth humans are not the friends of God, but need to be claimed by God for that purpose. Next, the child is anointed with the Oil of Catechumens (Oleum Sanctum), unless it is to be omitted “for serious reasons.”17 At the beginning of the celebration, the child was claimed by the sign of the cross. Now, by the anointing with oil blessed by the diocesan bishop, the priest again claims the child for Christ. St. Paul states it this way: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”18 So the child is claimed for God once more, but in a more powerful way, to prepare the child to receive the Spirit of Christ. Thus, the child is strengthened by oil for the upcoming battle by which Christ will bind up the strong man (the devil) and take what formerly was under his dominion and transfer the newly baptized for citizenship in the Kingdom of God.19

A Time to Die, A Time to Be Born After the child is anointed, the revised Order notes, the celebrant and the family and godparents process to the font, if possible, singing a “suitable liturgical song” such as, most suitably, Psalm 23.20 This continues in microcosm the macrocosm of the Christian life: the movement from the doors to the nave, from the nave to the font, and from the font to the altar represents the pilgrimage of the People of God, which itself fulfills the exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea to the Promised Land.

The celebrant now blesses the water which will be used.

As the main symbol in the celebration of baptism, water is polyvalent in its symbolism with seemingly contradictory meanings and foreshadowings. Water is necessary to cultivate and sustain life, but too much of it can also lead to death. Fittingly, the blessing of water incorporates many of these same meanings, as they emerge throughout salvation history, by speaking about both the lifegiving and lethal properties of water. For example, the Order recalls, “God, whose Spirit in the first moments of the world’s creation hovered over the waters….”21 And yet, the water and the land had to be separated. Next the Order remembers the flood, which “foreshadowed regeneration, so that from the mystery of one and the same element of water would come an end to vice and a beginning of virtue.”22 In a similar way, through water, God al-

By the anointing with the Oil of the Catechumens, the child is strengthened for the upcoming battle by which Christ will bind up the strong man (the devil) and take what formerly was under his dominion and transfer the newly baptized for citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Indeed, as the Chosen People drowned Leviathan in their passage through the waters of the Red Sea, so now the infant conquers the Dragon in his own passgae throught the font's waters, as depticted on the side of this baptismal font.

The Role of Deacons at Baptisms within Mass From the May 2019 Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter In anticipation of the release of the new edition of the Order of Baptism of Children (OBC), the Secretariat of Divine Worship has been asked about the proper role of a deacon during the celebration of Baptism within Mass. The rite says little about the role of deacons in this situation, so it would seem that general liturgical principles provide an answer to this question. Perhaps most importantly, although there is no doubt concerning the validity of Baptisms performed by deacons at Mass (with the priest celebrant standing by as an observer), the traditional role of the deacon is to assist the priest at the liturgy, and not to preside over other sacraments when a priest is celebrating the Mass. As for the other aspects of the celebration, common sense must prevail and there will naturally be circumstances when a deacon may be called upon to take a more active role in the Baptism of children within Mass, for example, when the priest is elderly or if there is a large number of children.

At a Mass in which Baptism takes place, the deacon would, first and foremost, perform his usual roles at Mass: 1) carry the Book of the Gospels in the entrance procession and reverence the altar with the priest; 2) proclaim the Gospel; 3) retain the possibility of preaching the homily (in which case he follows the instructions given in the Order of Baptism, basing his homily on the sacred text but also considering the Baptism being celebrated); 4) read the intercessions in the Prayer of the Faithful, drawn from the Order of Baptism and supplemented with petitions for the needs of the Church and the world; and 5) take on his usual roles in the Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites. (In the Universal Prayer at a Baptism within Mass, the deacon reads the petitions, but the priest celebrant leads the invocation of the saints, as indicated by the rubrics.)

Within the Order of Baptism itself, “[i]f there are very many children to be baptized, and there are several Priests or Deacons present, these may assist the celebrant in performing those rites that are indicated in the text” (OBC, no. 34). In such cases, deacons may join in the prebaptismal anointing with the Oil of Catechumens, baptizing some of the children, and anointing them with Chrism afterward. In more usual circumstances, when there are a small number of children to be baptized, deacons could assist the priest by helping to dry the holy water off the newly-baptized children and by placing the white garment on each child.

They could also distribute the baptismal candles to the fathers or godfathers and/or lower the paschal candle to assist them in lighting the baptismal candles.

Given the wide variety of local situations, the Church relies on its ministers and lay collaborators to work together in a spirit of harmony to ensure that the celebrations of its rites are solemn, prayerful, efficient, and joyful.

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By Denis McNamara

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o the modern eye, a group of people bathing in a vat of blood evokes horror movies or violent occult rituals. Without the lens of Christian symbolism, Jean Bellegambe’s early 16-century portrayal of The Mystical Bath can even strike an educated Catholic as somewhat strange. But with a Catholic imagination and an eye for detail, any faithful viewer realizes that Bellegambe’s artistic representation allows access to otherwise unknowable spiritual realities precisely through the poetic representation of Christ, human figures, blood and personifications of the theological virtues. Just as the Incarnation of Christ made God knowable through the matter of his own body, the deep meaning of being washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb is made known by the hand of the artist through wood and paint.

Bellegambe’s work stands out as a particularly striking example of how art can communicate the divine truths of the faith. As the Sacred Paschal Triduum approaches, The Mystical Bath also offers a brilliant image of the liturgy, where men and women are in truth washed clean in the blood of the Lamb and nourished by his sacred body through sacramental signs.

Altering the Facts to Make the Truth More Evident Unlike scientific prose, poetic representation alters realistic facts to make the truth of things more knowable.

When Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players,” he was not speaking literally, but making a higher and more important point about the meaning of life from youth to old age.

When a father calls his daughter his “princess,” he does not bestow upon her a royal title, but reveals how much he loves her. In each case something more true is made knowable by speaking poetically.

Similarly, scripture overflows with poetic language. The Book of Revelation says that the Church is the bride of Christ adorned for her husband, equating it with a city called the heavenly Jerusalem, then calling it the “wife of the lamb.” If an artist painted a picture of a city in a white dress walking down an aisle to marry a wooly animal, it would rightly seem absurd. When poetic representation is taken literally, it becomes an opaque thing which speaks only about its own irrationality.

But when properly understood, it opens like a flower, intrigues us, and reveals more than it otherwise could.

As Cardinal Avery Dulles notes, “in symbolic communication, the clues draw attention to themselves.

We attend to them, and if we surrender to their power they carry us away, enabling us to integrate a wider range of impressions, memories and affections” than simple declarative statements, or what he calls “indicative signs.”1 To put it bluntly, “Where’s Waldo?” is much more engaging than “Here’s Waldo.” It invites the viewer to look, to search, to investigate and encounter his own thoughts, experiences and feelings along the way.

Bellegambe had to understand and represent the Blood of Christ in a similarly poetic way. Throughout scripture, blood is identified with forgiveness of sins, and Christ is called “the one who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5). From the beginning to the end of the Bible, blood is associated with God’s Presence and therefore redemption, justification, cleansing, sanctification, the new covenant, a new birth, peace, membership in the Church and, ultimately, salvation.

In the Old Testament, blood represented life itself, and therefore in ancient Jewish worship, the blood of a sacrificed animal had to be

Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

Washed Clean in the Blood of the Lamb: A Study in Sacramentality poured as an offering to God, the author of that life, and it was never to be consumed by men.

But in a kind of spiritual jiu-jitsu, Christ poured out his own blood, making a perfect offering to God. Then in true generosity, he transformed blood from a thing offered by man to God into something given as a free gift from God to man. Moreover, it was made accessible in a way proper to human beings: sacramentally present in the Eucharist. No longer gruesome or taboo, it became a means of metaphysical cleansing and entry into divine life, all of which is aptly manifested in The Mystical Bath.

Poetic Realism Born in Flanders, Jean Bellegambe is associated with an artistic school known as the Northern Renaissance. While Italian Renaissance artists emulated ancient Roman forms and privileged a mathematically-derived sense of threedimensional linear perspective, Northern Renaissance artists chose to reveal the depths of reality in a different way. On the one hand, they showed meticulous observation and rendering of detail, but they also stepped out of rigidly consistent representation in order to emphasize the truth about the things represented. Figures may appear at different scales, for instance, with more important ones being larger than others. Similarly, objects may appear to bend or turn toward the viewer in illogical ways in order to show the viewer important aspects of the ideas the painting represents. In this way, the poetry of visual representation comes

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to the fore to lead the viewer to the truth the painting reveals.

Despite being frequently characterized as unduly harsh, the Dies Irae sequence used in the Requiem Mass contains the surprisingly tender line: “King of fearsome majesty, Who gladly saves those fit to be saved, save me, O font of mercy.” Bellegambe captures this concept precisely by centering The Mystical Bath on the crucifixion as a continuing reality which still affects the world. In an overt evocation of baptism and a baptismal font, the blood which flows from Christ’s side fills a golden tub ornamented with leaves and flowers, suggesting the paradise into which the bathers will soon enter. Small dragons crouch under the supportive feet of the tub, showing that the forces of evil have not only been defeated by Christ’s blood, but harnessed into the supreme cause: the salvation of souls. An orderly crowd of figures dominates the bottom half of the painting, with some already in the tub, including two notably repentant women. St. Mary Magdalene appears in the front left holding the jar of ointment which she used to anoint Christ’s feet, while St. Mary of Egypt appears behind holding three small loaves of bread, the only food she took with her to the desert in repentance after life as a prostitute. In a similar vein, the prominent and luxuriously dressed woman sitting in front of the font is not merely undressing to enter the bath

like the others behind her, but she is taking off her jewels, a traditional representation of conversion from the luxuries of the world to the humility of holy poverty which accompanies repentance.

On the far left, a winged woman in red and green personifies Charity and helps a bather into the font. Under her feet the Latin word for charity, caritas, appears, and a star representing the fire of divine love rests on her head.

Her counterpart on the right, who personifies hope, has the Latin word for hope, spes, under her feet and wears a ship on her head, an allusion to a longstanding notion of the ship as a place of safety which transports a person to heaven. Bellegambe depicts Faith, fides, on the viewer’s right panel, holding a candle while leading St. Catherine of Alexandria to the font. Faith, Hope, and Charity, then, together lead the faithful to eternal salvation through the redeeming Blood of Christ.

Painted Dialogue In a theological tour de force showing deep understanding, Bellegambe included three banners in the top half of the painting with calligraphic Latin texts from the sixtythird chapter of Isaiah. Together, they read as a dialogue foreshadowing the victory of Christ’s blood.

On the viewer’s left, an angel carries an inscription from Isaiah 63:1, reading: “Who is this

coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?”

In scripture, Bozrah was a city in the Edom region, mentioned in Isaiah 34 as a place where a great sacrifice had been offered to the victorious Lord on the day of his vengeance. So the prophetic question, “Who is this coming from Edom?” prefigures Christ, who offered the perfect sacrifice of his own blood as the true conqueror.

Isaiah 63:1 continues with the Messiah’s response: “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.” The follow-up question from verse 2 appears on the banner of the other angel, asking with a sense of disbelief: “Why are you red in your apparel, your garments like one who treads the winepress?”—as if one stained in blood or wine could not be the triumphant messiah.

Christ answers this second banner in verse 3, written on the scroll above the cross: “I have trodden the winepress alone, and there was not a man with me,” signifying his suffering as the sole savior of mankind, abandoned by his followers in his suffering and death. The verse continues with the foreshadowed voice of Christ: “I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come.”

Just as the work of crushing grapes would leave those in the winepress stained with juice, Christ’s “work” of salvation leaves him stained in his own precious blood.

In his zeal to set things right in the world, Christ crushes

evil and rescues man from the power of sin and death.

In God’s time, then, the wine of salvation history had reached its perfect vintage, and the moment of redemption in his blood had come. This “time” is the age of the Church, when Christ’s redemption is available to every sinner in baptism and the Eucharist, skillfully combined in The Mystical Bath as a baptismal font, a wine press, and a bath in which to be cleansed in Christ’s own blood.

Ugly No More With such a portrayal of blood, The Mystical Bath could easily be thought of as an experiment in the macabre.

But in the sacramental worldview, the Christian mysteries are not only made known by signs that human senses can perceive, but are given in a way proper to human receptivity. Just as the Holy Eucharist offers worshipers the Body and Blood of Christ as a sacred meal without the least hint of gruesomeness, so Bellegambe’s painting does something remarkable: it takes away all sense of horrific bloodiness in a painting about blood.

The title of Bellegambe’s painting—The Mystical Bath—gives a nod to this sacramental transformation.

The word mystical comes from the Greek word mystes, the same root that gives us the word mystery, mystagogy, and even minister as the one who dispenses the mysteries. St. Jerome famously translated mystery into the Latin word sacramentum, and so a mystical bath is a sacramental bath in which real matter is used and real mysteries are made present, but in an idealized and ritualized way. In that sense, The Mystical Bath offers a spiritualized reality and its high level of realism offers many layers of theological richness which fascinate the viewer, yet without evoking disgust and horror. Instead, Christ’s blood is made known to the spectator as something that cleanses, leaving the figures spotlessly clean, not covered in gore. In a sense, it becomes a sacrament of the sacrament of redemption, that is, it seeks to portray the mystery of salvation in symbolic terms, and thereby allows the earthly Christian to share in a profound spiritual reality.

Poetic representation allows for the coexistence of both blood and spotlessness, an apt presentation of being washed clean in the blood of the lamb.

Dulles again writes that true symbols give knowledge of a “selfinvolving” kind, a knowledge which creates a “place to live” and allows the viewer to imagine himself discovering the possibilities of life. Furthermore, he argues, symbols have a “powerful influence on commitments and behavior” because they “introduce us into realms of awareness not normally accessible to discursive thought.”2 Insofar as Jean Bellegambe’s great triptych is symbolic, it offers more than what a simple treatise of theological propositions can provide. It allows the viewer to see himself entering the mystical bath, then urges him to make a surrender to God precisely because he has been captivated and invited into an attractive realm of spiritual beauty.

The power of art and beauty, then, is not a dainty accessory to the Christian life, but provides the spiritual sweetness that calls us to join Christ in the victory of the Cross.

Dr. Denis McNamara is Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, and cohost of the award-winning podcast,“The Liturgy Guys.”

1. Avery Dulles, SJ, Models of Revelation, (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), 132.

2. Ibid., 136.

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Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

Tradition and Betrayal: Responding to Scandal with Adoration

By John Johnson

a cow chews her cud) cannot be mistaken: Jesus intends for his real flesh and blood to be actually consumed. Eat as beasts eat. It is hard to imagine not being scandalized by this mandate if we were in the same crowd. Peter does not understand (“Sure, Lord, transubstantiation, I got it!”), but he does offer a great assent of faith: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The crowd leaves, and Jesus does not call them back. They are scandalized by this teaching. Judas too is deeply scandalized by this teaching. But unlike the crowd that day, Judas makes the tactical decision to stay.

He is well-liked, holds a position of authority among the twelve as their bursar, and he has his fill of bread. For the Iscariot, staying the course might be his best chance at the systemic social change he craves. How he too should have left! How tragic for him it was to stay and pretend to believe. And yes, how his decision that day so prefigures that of the faithless prelate. Apostolic betrayal is rooted in opposition to the Eucharist.

“ Tradition’s Latin cognate, tradere, carries a distinctively paradoxical double meaning: it can be translated as ‘to hand on’ as well as ‘to hand over.’”

The Beast and the Lamb In St. John’s Revelation we view the apocalyptic battle between two figures: the beast and the Lamb. While we want to assume that these opponents will be easily distinguishable, in reality they are not. Both are signified as creatures, both make war, both have recovered from mortal wounds, both have multiple horns, both elicit worship from the nations, both give their followers a mark. The antichrist is no easily recognizable, mustache twirling villain, but a highly skilled work of forgery. The beast is even given the power of speech, or logos. The virtual indistinguishability of the beast from the Lamb is a mirror of the virtual indistinguishability of betrayal from tradition. There is only one way to see the antichrist and not be deceived; this is to see through the eyes of the beloved, animated particularly by the Paraclete’s gift of wisdom, as well as his gift of knowledge. To hand on for the good of the giver is betrayal.

But to hand on for the good of the recipient is tradition. Though the beast even has speech, the one way the beast fails to imitate the Lamb is in love. The Devil can give everything but himself. And himself is precisely what the Lamb comes to give. In order to see the Lamb, then, the seer must be given wholly unto charity.

John Sees The Revelator at Patmos who pens the great Gospel is signified by an eagle because he soars above the others and can gaze into the light of the sun without blindness.

Whereas Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus, Mark’s with the testimony of the forerunner, and Luke’s with the infancy narrative, John’s Gospel begins in the very contemplative life of God—even prior to the genesis of creation. John’s Gospel has its foundation not “In illo tempore” but “In principio.” St. Thomas Aquinas notes that John is beloved above every apostle by our

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n the upper room on Holy Thursday, the truth incarnate entrusts and conveys himself wholly to his apostles for the purpose of drawing all men to himself. This total self gift is offered by way of a mimetic commission: “that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:16). There is a word for this re-communicable handing on of the real: “tradition.” But this word’s Latin cognate, tradere, carries a distinctively paradoxical double meaning: it can be translated as “to hand on” as well as…“to hand over.”

The acts of tradition and betrayal, then, are virtually identical in external appearance. To most, the sordid deeds of Judas are completely invisible: “Now no one at the table knew….” Astonishingly, his brothers will even praise him in the midst of his treachery “that he should give something to the poor” (John 13:28).

This episcopal ambivalence to treachery might resonate sorrowfully with many faithful of today. But how exactly is a Catholic to respond to apostolic betrayal? A glance at the Catholic blogosphere indicates that scandalous deeds have an all-too-common consequence: the scandalization of Catholics—literally, we stumble.

Being scandalized takes many forms. We run away, we become “outraged,” we lose faith, we lose hope; ultimately, we can end up scandalizing others in return, entering into the anti-tradition that is but a repeatable mirror of Judas’ own “going out” (John 13:30). Whether or not these echoes of Judas’ betrayal today are wounding the mystical body to an extent without historical precedent is not the subject of this article. But just as the act of apostolic tradition has been echoed—repeated to today for the good of the Church—and will be until Christ returns, so too, it seems, shall the act of betrayal be echoed. And woe to him who cooperates in this betrayal. Tradition, which characterizes the apostolic charism, is mimicked and doubled through demonic parody—seeding the anti-charism of apostolic betrayal.

Every apostle in that upper room receives an invitation to hand on; one chooses to hand over. As a Church, perhaps now more than ever, we must learn how to respond to this betrayal. If we think we can easily spot the difference between either sort of tradere, we are surely deluding ourselves. Even in that upper room, after all, right up to the end, Judas had managed to dupe every apostle—every apostle but one.

“While we want to assume that the beast and the Lamb will be easily distinguishable,” writes John Johnson, “in reality they are not. In the Book of Revelation, both make war, both have recovered from mortal wounds, both have multiple horns, both elicit worship from the nations, both give their followers a mark.” The antichrist, depicted here by Luca Signorelli (d.1523) as a puppet of the devil, is a highly skilled work of deception. The virtual indistinguishability of the beast from the Lamb is a mirror of the virtual indistinguishability of betrayal from tradition.

Lord for three reasons,1 each related to his capacity for sight. First, his youth, implying an inherent beauty and disposition to admiratio. Second, his purity, which is the essential correlative of sight: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Third, as an extension of his purity, St. John is perspicacious. This is to say he has an unrelenting and zealous intelligence to see beyond appearances into the heart of things. He writes through the inspiration of the Blessed Trinity as a father writing to a young, beloved Church, and he writes to the Church universal—transcendent of space and time in the economy of salvation. He writes to the Church in its infancy, but also to the Church in the last days, and the Church today. Through his sight, St. John, then, is not only a prophet in word but in deed, serving as a model of spiritual discernment—one who uniquely sees the work of the Christ apart from the work of the antichrist.

Judas and the Bread of Life John first points the Church to Judas’ betrayal in a strange place: the conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse. I believe John does so because he wants us to know that the anti-tradition of Judas begins in a denial of the true Eucharistic presence. To be sure, John did not pen his Gospel by dividing it into chapters and verses. That comes later. But as Catholics, we aren’t allowed to believe in coincidence. It is significant that the author who gives a number, “666,” to the beast’s mark (Revelation 13:18) gives us the first glimpse of Judas’ betrayal at John 6:66: “After this, many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.”

The crowd returns to their former way, the way of the beast. They are scandalized by the offer to share in divine life through a real, carnal intermingling of flesh and blood. As the Levitical prohibition against blood explicates, the life of a creature is conveyed in its blood.

Ritualistic human sacrifice and cannibalism was, in that day, not at all unheard of.2 In fact many, if not most pagan cultures would have practiced it regularly—all but three: Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Why is this significant? John tells us that Jesus uttered his teaching on the Eucharist at the perfect crossroads of Jewish, Greek, and Roman culture: Caper’na-um. John’s changing of the Greek word for “eat” in 6:54 from phagēte (from the infinitive “phagein”, to eat or consume generally; to devour as rust devours metal or as you are ‘eating up’ the contents of this article) to trōgōn (from the infinitive “trogein,” literally, to gnaw, to munch, to crunch as

Judas at Bethany The next time John points us to Judas is at Bethany.

Lazarus has been raised from the dead; the women serve and adore. Mary, whose brother had been resurrected, anoints Jesus with costly ointment. Judas is indignant at her adoration. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

(John 12:5). Sadly, here again we see a foreshadowing of a certain contemporary indignation, often cloaked by language of “social justice” and equally opposed to adoration. The great irony, unapparent in English, is that Jesus is receiving adoration here in Bethany, meaning literally “poor house” or “house of affliction.” Christ is being adored precisely by the poor. Judas opposes their adoration with noble pretense. We can imagine ten other apostles nodding their heads in agreement, “Good point! That’s a lot of nard!” While deliberately silent in the moment, John is more explicit with us in his text regarding Judas’s motives: “This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas has a tell; and we today should note it. There is a way apart from mystical insight to know that he is lying. Nothing can be loved in the abstract. We know in the abstract, but we can only love the particular. (For instance, no man can love the abstract principle “wife,” but he better love his particular wife.) This epistemological principle sheds light on Judas who feigns concern for “the poor” in the abstract while opposing the particular, real poor in front of him immersed in adoration of Christ. John notes that the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. Judas is unmoved by the beauty of the transcendent worship as his gaze is fixed on a merely transitive good. Remarkable is the gentleness and affection with which Jesus responds to Judas. “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me” (John 12:7). The same Jesus that calls Peter “Satan” when the latter dares to oppose his passion is far less direct with Judas. Jesus is waiting mercifully and lovingly until the end. John says nothing.

Judas on Holy Thursday Finally, the third time John points us to Judas, we are in the upper room. Jesus announces that one of his disciples will betray him. The Gospel says, “The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke” (John 13:22). John includes this detail as something of an understatement. We can imagine the turmoil in the room at that moment—the uproar, the fingerpointing, the hurling of self-exonerative denials. “Not me!” “Couldn’t be me!” “I say it’s that shifty-eyed Bartholomew over there! We’ll skin him alive if it is!”

But hidden in the midst of this primal ecclesial chaos, only one apostle—the youngest of them all—chooses against joining into the mimetic rivalry of the other eleven. “One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast (en tō kolpō) of Jesus.” Why is the Greek here significant? Because with it we can see John intends for us to make a connection back to the prologue: “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom (eis ton kolpon) of the Father, he has made him known” (John 1:18). In the upper room, John develops a grand syllogism that spans and synthesizes his entire Gospel. He places himself in the bosom of the Son. The Son, we know from the prologue, is in the bosom of the Father. Therefore, the reader is left to deduce: he, John, is in the bosom of the Father, and so can see him and make him known. This loving sight of the good (who is the Father!) received and in turn made known to the beloved is authentic tradition. Apart from adoration in the bosom of the Son, we have no access to the Father. And as John’s deed of adoration conveys, we

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Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

John, in his Gospel, associates Judas’s betrayal with the Eucharist in the upper room. Jesus announces that one of his disciples will betray him. The Gospel says, “The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke” (John 13:22). John includes this detail as something of an understatement, but we can imagine the turmoil in the room at that moment—the uproar, the finger-pointing, the hurling of self-exonerative denials.

Adore and Discern Only through adoration is St. John strengthened in love to follow our Lord into his saving hour even as Peter and the ten fled. There are many ways we can be scandalized by the treachery of Judas. Each should be carefully avoided. Sadly, the denial of the eucharist, the

thwarting of adoration, the counterfeit concern for the poor, and the handing over of the transcendent in favor of merely transitive goods continue to echo today.

The crowd’s denial of the true presence is as real today as it was during Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse in John 6. Judas’ opposition to beautiful worship first seen in Bethany in John 12 is stronger than ever. It’s easy to be outraged by these offenses. Anger is warranted—we can only imagine St. John’s anger as he witnessed our Lord’s torture—but the passion of anger must never be handed over to outrage lest we be scandalized. There is a sense in which we should avoid being scandalized in the event that we find ourselves, like St. John, in the midst of “ugly” worship, difficult as that is. Calvary was, after all, the “ugliest.” To be scandalized by betrayal is to be scandalized by the cross of Jesus. In the midst of such betrayal today, we the faithful have an opportunity to adore with John and the women, even amid a hostile, disbelieving crowd. We can be sure that such adoration brings consolation to our Lord who so thirsts for our love in his saving hour.

Holy Thursday calls us to meditate on the possibility that the mystical body may go the way of its head.

When it does, will I respond as Judas, taking my transitive piece and fleeing the way of the beast into my own place? Or will I respond as Peter, resisting in outrage, drawing my sword in protest, until I too flee for fear? Or will I respond as John, whose adoration in the face of scandal renders him impervious to stumbling and even ordinary martyrdom? John does not flee. And when the Lord reveals to him the secret of his own betrayal, John keeps that secret. Should we see the antichrist at work today, even if we see it clearly, we may need to choose between accusation in imitation of the accuser or adoration in imitation of the adorer. And should we choose to adore, we can be confident that our silence is not an act of cowardice, but one rooted in the deepest courage.

In keeping this secret of our Lord, we find the beginnings of life in his sacred passion. The Son of Man must be handed over. And the Son of Man must be handed

on. The extent of our cooperation in either of these acts of tradere will depend solely on our willingness to adore. Adoration, even in the face of scandal, is the sole conduit of authentic tradition and remains the only antidote to apostolic betrayal. A younger St. John, in his enviable zeal, would prefer to call down fire from heaven and destroy the enemy (Luke 9:54). But ultimately John learned to call down another sort of fire. And he was known in old age to do so often: “Little children, let us love...” (1 John 3:18). Like John, we must learn to respond to betrayal in our midst with adoration. This Holy Thursday, during and following the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, let us recall that only one thing necessary: Adoremus.

John Johnson is the Executive Director of the Albertus Magnus Institute, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to the promotion of Catholic higher education, and the host of the Magnus Podcast. He has a philosophy degree from St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA, and a Masters degree in Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA, where his studies focused on the beatific epistemology of St. Thomas Aquinas. He has spoken at Catholic retreats and events across the country and lives in California with his wife and four children.

1. Commentary On John, 2639; Lectio 5, Ch. 21.

2. The existence of ritualistic sacrifice and cannibalism among Barbarian and Celtic cultures in the ancient world is well recorded by modern archeological and ancient accounts alike. Classical witnesses to the fact include Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder, and Herodotus who documented ritualistic cannibalism in Scythia as early as the 5th century BC (Histories, Book 4): “The manners of the Anthropophagi are more savage than those of any other race. They neither observe justice, nor are governed, by any laws. They are nomads, and their dress is Scythian; but the language which they speak is peculiar to themselves.

Unlike any other nation in these parts, they are cannibals.” Pliny the Elder, a contemporary of Jesus, recorded similarly (Naturalis Historia Book 7, Chapter 2): “The Anthropophagi, whom we have previously mentioned as dwelling ten days’ journey beyond the Borysthenes, according to the account of Isigonus of Nicæa, were in the habit of drinking out of human skulls, and placing the scalps, with the hair attached, upon their breasts, like so many napkins.”

AB/LAWRENCE OP ON FLICKR

too are called to enter mimetically into this mystery of being in the bosom of the Father through the Son. Importantly for today, John’s actions in this dire moment seem, by all appearances, to be utterly impractical.

His response to the impending betrayal and destruction of his Lord doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help the situation. He simply decides to be silent and adore.

This lack of action can be perplexing, especially to Peter.

Seeing the youth in adoration, Peter breaks from the shouting match and beckons to John, “Tell us who it is of whom he speaks” (John 13:24). Remember, none of the others can hear his question. I suspect John does not want to answer Peter, preferring to remain in adoration.

But just as he will wait for Peter after running faster and arriving first at the empty tomb, John defers here to Peter’s authority, asking his master who it is. John asks in secret, and Jesus responds in secret with words and a sign of bread—again calling us back to the source of both tradition and betrayal: the Eucharist.

John now knows it is Judas. Nobody else at table knows. It is a secret communicated between friends, an act of mutually indwelling love in which Jesus communicates the secrets of his heart to his beloved. I do not know if John’s silence was in part caused by some solemn introspection, “Could it be me?” But for us, this question must be at the forefront. I am capable of being Judas, John, or any of the other ten. More often than not, I am not John. But I must always ask, “Could it be me?” This question should compel us to silence in adoration of Christ. Through such silent adoration, John is able to know the Lord, and see the Lord’s traitor.

And what does John do with this knowledge? There is a desire in us that wishes for a catharsis in the unfolding drama. If only John had jumped up, pointed, and screamed, “Peter! It’s Judas! Get him!” But John doesn’t.

Why? Luke’s Gospel reminds us that these men were well armed (Luke 22:38). If John were to have told Peter the identity of the traitor, it would have been a blood bath suitable for Quentin Tarantino’s next screenplay.

John knows that it is not Judas’ blood to be shed at this moment but that of the Lamb. It is the saving hour of the Lamb, and Judas is cast out. To respond with outrage is simply to cast oneself out in turn. And though the other apostles would later return, they too are also compelled out. They flee with Peter who denies Christ.

They are scandalized by this saving cross. Only John is able to continue in adoration with the women at the foot of the cross, following the Lamb wherever he goes (See Revelation 14:4). Through this adoration, John is able to be present at the cross and provide consolation to the one who so thirsts for our love. And through this adoration, John rests in the bosom of Christ—thereby resting in the eternal bosom of the Father, and so can make him known. Tradition without adoration is betrayal, even though the two are identical in external appearance.

The Son of Man must be handed over. And the Son of Man must be handed on. The extent of our cooperation in either of these acts of tradere will depend solely on our willingness to adore. Adoration, even in the face of scandal, is the sole conduit of authentic tradition and remains the only antidote to betrayal. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper concludes with the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and this adoration gives way to Good Friday’s adoration of the Holy Cross.

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THE RITE QUESTIONS : How may sign language be used in : I continue to see people holding

Q the celebration of the sacraments? Q hands during the Our Father. Is this okay? I’ve heard various arguments, but A none of them seem to get beyond rules : An official response from the Holy See in 1965 regarding the celebration of the Eucharist stated that the Holy Father “kindly granted that the language that is called « gestural » can be employed in the celebration of the liturgy for the deaf, whenever a pastoral reason suggests it, in all the parts which are said in the vernacular language” (Notitiae 2 (1966): 30-31, 95). This permission included the celebrant parts, lay responses, and parts that are said together.

The U.S. Bishops in their 1978 pastoral statement on persons with disabilities established a comprehensive principle: “It is essential that all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to persons with disabilities, since these forms are the essence of the spiritual tie that binds the Christian community together.” The bishops reiterated this principle in 2017 in the revised Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons with Disabilities. In the same document, the bishops also noted that “[i]nconsistencies arise in such areas as the provision of sign language interpreters and captioning for persons who are deaf ” and expressed their “longstanding concern for ‘realistic provision’ for the means of access to full sacramental participation for Catholic persons with disabilities.”

The Guidelines give special attention to the celebration of Penance and Matrimony with the Deaf. With regard to confession, the Deaf “should have the opportunity to confess to a priest able to communicate with them in sign language, if sign language is their primary means of communication. They may also confess through an approved sign language interpreter of their choice” (30). However, in reality the use of sign language interpreters is more problematic. The Deaf community is small, and so interpreters know the Deaf persons, particularly in a ministry setting. This makes the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance awkward and difficult for both penitent and interpreter and prevents many Deaf from celebrating the Sacrament.

In the celebration of marriage, sign language can be used for the expression of matrimonial consent. “Marriage may also be contracted with the assistance of a sign language interpreter whose trustworthiness has been certified by the pastor” (45). The celebrant and laity may use sign language in the celebration of the other sacraments.

Sign language requires unobstructed sight lines, so the layout and arrangement of the church building is of particular importance. In their building guidelines, Built of Living Stones, the U.S. Bishops said that “[s]pecial attention should be given to individuals with visual or hearing impairments” and encouraged “the use of an accessibility inventory to ensure a careful review of potential or existing architectural barriers” (212-213).

— Answered by Father Randy Stice Associate Director, USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship

Q : When May the Easter Vigil Begin?

A

: When the Easter Vigil (which St. Augustine called “the holy mother of all vigils”) begins is often a question that vexes pastors. On the one hand, because the Church does not give a specific time for the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, pastors are left to make a prudential and pastoral judgment. On the other hand, pastors fear that, if the Easter Vigil begins too late in the night, few of the faithful will attend.

Without being overly precise, the Church holds that the “entire celebration of this sacred Vigil must take place at night, so that it both begins and ends before the dawn on the Sunday” (Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the General Roman Calendar, 21). In the section pertaining to Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, the Roman Missal states, “The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday” (3).

This timing seems clear enough, but for some years now, it has been the practice in many parishes for the Easter Vigil to begin shortly after sunset—and not “after nightfall,” as the Church intends. On any other day of the year, what follows—sunset—according to the minds of most everyone, is not nightfall, but twilight. Nightfall occurs when the fading light of the setting sun is no longer visible to the human eye. Nightfall, then, occurs at different times in different locations, in some places and at sometimes more quickly than others.

So important to the Easter Vigil is the symbolism of the light shining in darkness that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in its Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts, Paschalis Sollemnitatis, declares that “this rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense” (78; cf. John 1:5). As he lights the Paschal Candle from the light of the sacred fire, the priest prays, “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds,” after which the Deacon thrice declares, “The Light of Christ,” as he leads the faithful into the church (14, 15). When the deacon chants the praises of the Paschal Candle, he prays that, as it burns, it might “overcome the darkness of this night” (19). If the Easter Vigil begins while it is still light, these prayers make little sense.

A pastor might well understand all of this but still think, for the sake of the faithful, that the Easter Vigil should still begin before nightfall. In its circular letter, the Congregation notes that this concern “is not put forward in connection with Christmas night” (78). In fact, in those (sadly, rare) places where the Easter Vigil begins after nightfall and Christmas Midnight Mass is celebrated at midnight, those attending the Easter Vigil will return home earlier than they will on Christmas, yet how many people grumble about the late Christmas hour? It is arguably more common that they relish the beauty of that night and look forward to it each year.

A beginning time for the Easter Vigil prior to nightfall is, as the circular letter states, a “violation” of the rubrics for this night (78). Especially egregious is a starting time approximate to the usual beginning time of an anticipated Sunday Mass, a practice that is “reprehensible” (78). The Easter Vigil begins after nightfall, not before.

— Answered by Father Daren J. Zehnle Diocese of Springfield (IL)

or preferences.

A

: Holding hands is a nice symbol. Indeed, it’s a powerful symbol. The Order for Celebrating Matrimony employs the sign of joining hands when the man and woman have declared their “intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony” (61).

The Church’s liturgy employs a rich grouping of symbols that are meant to be placed together in a beautiful mosaic where Christ unites his Church to himself through the Holy Spirit in offering to the Father. The problem is this: when we rearrange the tiles of the Church’s liturgical mosaic, we risk producing a different image.

St. Irenaeus uses such an illustration with regard to interpreting the Scriptures: “Suppose someone would take the beautiful image of a king, carefully made out of precious stones…, and change around and rearrange the jewels, and make the form of a dog, or of a fox, out of them…. In the same way these people patch together… words and sayings and parables from here and there and wish to adapt these words of God to their fables” (St. Irenaeus of Lyons: Against the Heresies, Book 1, ed. Walter J. Burghardt, John J. Dillon, and Thomas Comerford Lawler, trans. Dominic J. Unger, vol. I, 55th ed., Ancient Christian Writers (Mahwah, NJ; New York: The Newman Press, 1992), 41).

While there is rarely any ill will with regard to things imposed upon the liturgy, these impositions, however little they may be, can deconstruct the deeply intricate set of signs that the Church’s liturgy already has built into it. Indeed, “the visible signs used by the liturgy to signify invisible divine things have been chosen by Christ or the Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 33). To use a different analogy, when we add our own symbolism, we rewire and sometimes short-circuit the liturgical symbolism inherent in the ritual.

The Communion Rite has its own inner logic and, beginning with the praying of the Our Father in common, proceeds toward increasingly more significant signs of communion: 1) Unity of voice in praying the “Our Father”—“formed by divine teaching.” 2) Exchanging a sign of peace—in the U.S. we shake hands—a further sign of communion. This physical sign of peace prepares us to be made one body with Christ in the reception Holy Communion. 3) Communion Procession—journeying together to one place, toward Christ, the altar. 4) Eucharistic Communion—full bodily communion, which, through Christ, gives us communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

All of these signs are moving us toward communion with the One to whom all the signs should point.

Holding hands is actually a more profound symbol of unity and peace than is shaking hands—have you ever held hands with a stranger? Because of that, holding hands tends to short-circuit the progressive nature of the other signs. Also, holding hands impacts the sign of the unity of voice: praying the words that Jesus gave us with one voice. What is being emphasized when we hold hands during the Our Father: our communion with each other or the unity of voice with Jesus?

The only real sources that directly address this question are the Roman Missal, which tells us what to do during Mass, and a question that was submitted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS) in 1975. We’ll first look at the Roman Missal.

The Roman Missal directs what we do during the celebration of Mass, but it does not mention hand-holding as an option. Indeed, the unity of people’s voices in being “formed by divine teaching” is emphasized by the priest extending his hands (see RM 124), by which he, as the one who stands in the person of Christ the head, gathers together the Church with himself in praying to the Father with one voice.

Many of the questions (or doubts, dubia) submitted to the CDWDS are published in the journal Notitiae with their responses. However, the questions posed are often very specific and the way in which the questions are answered can also be very specific—often in a way that does not allay all doubt on the wider subject. Here’s the text of the question and answer that was posed to the CDW from Notitiae: “Whether the practice can be admitted which occurs here and there in which those participating at Mass, instead of expressing peace to each other at the invitation of the deacon, hold hands while the Lord’s Prayer is sung?”

Answer: “Holding hands has for a long time been on its own a sign of communion rather than of peace. Moreover, it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously, though on private initiative: It is not found in the rubrics. Nor can it be understood by what reason the gesture of peace at the invitation « let us offer each other the sign of peace » should be suppressed, which has such great significance, grace and Christian character, in order that another sign of lesser significance may be introduced at another time during the Mass. For this reason, if it is a matter of substitution, this must simply be rejected.”

As the CDWDS sees it, the introduction of the hand-holding symbol is understood as a sign of communion, as we saw in the Order of Celebrating Matrimony. In this way, hand-holding actually disrupts the subsequent sign of peace by anticipating it, as well as introducing a sign beyond the unity of voices being emphasized in the Our Father. While the CDWDS does not specifically address situations where both handholding and the sign of peace are included, at a minimum it indicates that the handholding practice is discouraged.

Indeed, by praying the rites as they’re given to us, “the faith of those taking part is nourished and their minds are raised to God, so that they may offer him their rational service and more abundantly receive his grace” (SC 33). While hand-holding continues in some places, it has abated enough from the parochial landscape to have receded into the background of the regular celebration of Holy Mass. It is hoped that the emphasis on praying the Our Father with one voice would form us further into the likeness of the One who said, “Not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

— Answered by Jeremy Priest Diocese of Lansing (MI)

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Readers’ Quiz Answers: From Quiz on page 3

1. “The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated in the evening, at a convenient time” (Roman Missal, Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 1). “On the afternoon of [Good Friday], about three o’clock (unless a later hour is chosen for a pastoral reason), there takes place the celebration of the Lord’s Passion” (Good Friday, 4).

“The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday” (Easter Vigil, 3).

2. e. All of the above. “It is desirable that the bread and wine be brought forward by the newly baptized” (Easter Vigil, 60). “After the sprinkling [of the people following their renewal of baptismal promises], the Priest returns to the chair where, omitting the Creed, he directs the Universal Prayer, in which the newly baptized participate for the first time” (Easter Vigil, 58). “Before the Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God), the Priest may briefly address the newly baptized about receiving their first Communion and about the excellence of this great mystery, which is the climax of Initiation and the center of the whole of Christian life” (Easter Vigil, 64). “If adults have been baptized, the Bishop or, in his absence, the Priest who has conferred Baptism, should at once administer the Sacrament of Confirmation” (Easter Vigil, 50).

3. False. While the former Sacramentary permitted a second or third cross for veneration, the current Roman Missal does not. Instead, it states, “Only one Cross should be offered for adoration. If, because of the large number of people, it is not possible for all to approach individually, the Priest, after some of the clergy and faithful have adored, takes the Cross and, standing in the middle before the altar, invites the people in a few words to adore the Holy Cross and afterwards holds the Cross elevated higher for a brief time, for the faithful to adore it in silence” (Good Friday, 19).

4. c: Exodus 14:15–15:1 — On the passage of the Chosen People through the Red Sea. The Missal says: “where more serious pastoral circumstances demand it, the number of readings from the Old Testament may be reduced, always bearing in mind that the reading of the Word of God is a fundamental part of this Easter Vigil. At least three readings should be read from the Old Testament, both from the Law and from the Prophets, and their respective Responsorial Psalms should be sung. Never, moreover, should the reading of chapter 14 of Exodus with its canticle be omitted” (Easter Vigil, 21).

5. Cross (although interpretations and practices differ!). The Missal itself seems to indicate a cross, by constantly referring to this element of the Good Friday liturgy as “Adoration of the Holy Cross,” as well as speaking simply of “Holy Cross” in its rubrics.

The priest or deacon, while unveiling or showing the

Continued from NEWS AND VIEWS, page 3 “This is a crisis for our Church. This is a crisis for our Catholic families,” Anderson said, adding “this is a crisis for our order.”

Anderson cited the difficulties of bringing young men, especially young fathers, into the order. Many said they found it difficult to attend multiple ceremonies.

“They also tell us that secrecy is unnecessary, and sometimes, it is even an impediment to joining,” Anderson added. He cited a lack of manpower in local councils to perform degree ceremonies. Some candidates give up, and some never seek second and third degrees.

“Last year, little more than half of the men who took their First Degree also took their Third Degree,” he said, adding that the number of third degree teams is expected to decline.

He said the current system is “too often a stumbling block, not a gateway to membership” that often fails to promote “a truly Catholic fraternal membership according to the vision of Father McGivney.”

The 2019 Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to consider combining the first three degrees and removing the condition of secrecy.

Anderson said he directed a review of the ceremonials “with an eye toward staying true to our roots while at the same time presenting our principles of charity, unity

cross, calls the faithful to “Behold the wood of the cross” (Good Friday, 15), “on which hung [but no longer hangs?] the salvation of the World.” In addition, the Missal’s General Instruction, when indicating a crucifix, describes it as a “cross adorned with a figure of Christ crucified” (117, 122)—a description not found in the Good Friday section of the Missal.

Historically, too, the adoration appears to be of the actual cross of Christ. Still, many places—including the Good Friday papal liturgy in Rome—use a crucifix.

6. False. Even though the former Sacramentary indicated that the priest carry forward the Paschal Candle, the current Missal states, “The Deacon or, if there is no Deacon, another suitable minister, takes the paschal candle and a procession forms. The thurifer with the smoking thurible precedes the Deacon or other minister who carries the paschal candle. After them follows the Priest with the ministers and the people, all holding in their hands unlit candles” (Easter Vigil, 15). Accordingly, the order of procession—thurible, candle, priest, people—evokes that first great exodus from Egypt, where a Column of Cloud and a Pillar of Fire led Moses and the Chosen People from slavery into freedom.

7. c: bringing communion to the sick and homebound.

“At an appropriate moment during Communion, the Priest entrusts the Eucharist from the table of the altar to Deacons or acolytes or other extraordinary ministers, so that afterwards it may be brought to the sick who are to receive Holy Communion at home” (Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 33). The Missal expresses a further response to Jesus’ mandate at the offertory: “At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, there may be a procession of the faithful in which gifts for the poor may be presented with the bread and wine” (Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 14).

8. False: “When the Deacon arrives before the altar, he stands facing the people, raises up the candle and sings a third time, ‘The Light of Christ,’ and all reply, ‘Thanks be to God.’ Then the Deacon places the paschal candle on a large candlestand prepared next to the ambo or in the middle of the sanctuary. And lights are lit throughout the church, except for the altar candles” (Easter Vigil, 17).

9. Gloria at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. “The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said. While the hymn is being sung, bells are rung, and when it is finished, they remain silent until the Gloria in excelsis of the Easter Vigil, unless, if appropriate, the Diocesan Bishop has decided otherwise. Likewise, during this same period, the organ and other musical instruments may be used only so as to support the singing” (Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 7).

10. d: Priest-celebrant. “After the Epistle has been read, all rise, then the Priest solemnly intones the Alleluia three times, raising his voice by a step each time, with all repeating it. If necessary, the psalmist intones the Alleluia. Then the psalmist or cantor proclaims Psalm 118 (117) with the people responding Alleluia” (Easter Vigil, 34).

and fraternity in a more clear and convincing way.” The process involved consultation with supreme directors, state officers, and longtime members experienced in ceremonials.

“The result is a new ceremony that stays true to our traditions while addressing the needs of our times,” he said.

Anderson placed the order’s longtime rituals in the context of the 19th century, when the Knights of Columbus competed with many other fraternal societies. Men of the time “wanted secrecy and the sense of progression that came with multiple degrees,” he said.

Adoremus Bulletin Editor Named Consultant to USCCB Liturgy Committee Christopher Carstens, editor of Adoremus Bulletin, has been appointed a consultant to the Committee on Divine Worship (CDW) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The announcement of his appointment came at the conclusion of the USCCB’s November 2019 plenary meeting in Baltimore, MD. According to the December 2019 issue of the committee’s Newsletter, the newly appointed chairman of the CDW, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford, CT, ap-

“ We give glory to you, Lord, who raised up your cross to span the jaws of death like a bridge by which souls might pass from the region of the dead to the land of the living.”

—S t. Ephrem, Office of Readings from Friday, Easter Week III

Editor’s note: For the sake of our donors’ privacy, Adoremus will no longer print each donor’s name, place, and gift amount, although we will continue to publish Memorials and other intentions. Each donor will, of course, continue to receive an acknowledgment letter and continued remembrance each month at the altar.

MEMORIAL FOR D’Ann G. Rittie from Bob Rittie Lee and Mary Highberger

from Rev. Msgr. George Highberger

TO HONOR St. John Henry Cardinal Newman from Gerald Michael Schnabel

IN THANKSGIVING Ordination of Rev. Mr. Michael Trummer - May 2020 from Barbara Konrad

pointed Carstens, who is also director of the Office for Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, WI, and an adjunct faculty member at the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, IL. At that time, Archbishop Blair also appointed three other consultants, including Father Ryan T. Ruiz, professor of liturgy at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati, OH; Sister Marilú Covani, SP, vice president of the Instituto Nacional Hispano de Liturgia and former director of worship of the Diocese of San Bernardino, CA; and Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, associate professor and director of sacred music at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY. These consultants will join four other consultants currently serving as advisors to the CDW. Archbishop Blair also appointed five new members to the CDW, including Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City; Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver; Bishop John T. Folda of Fargo, ND; Auxiliary Bishop Timothy C. Senior of Philadelphia; and Auxiliary Bishop Daniel H. Mueggenborg of Seattle. These new members will join three continuing members, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel of Evansville, IN; Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, VT; and Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Monterey, CA, who will continue to serve as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Divine Worship in Spanish.

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Adoremus Bulletin, March 2020

These three offices—the priestly, the prophetic, and the kingly—all find their most potent source within the Mass even as the intimate connection between baptism and the Eucharist are reaffirmed through the revised Order. For example, the priesthood of the baptized offers to God daily prayer and the regular joys and sufferings of life. This same priesthood finds its crown in the weekly offering that the child gives throughout his or her life in the prayers of the Mass, united to the bread and wine and offered by the priest to God. Likewise, the baptized exercise their prophetic ministry by speaking for God. The ability to tell the Good News flows from baptism, and is strengthened by it. Such a witnessing is not to be sanctimonious or judgmental, but seeks to apply the wisdom of God’s Word, through Sacred Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, especially as received in the Mass, to everyday situations. Jesus, the Word of God, calls himself the Light of the World (John 8:12). Without the proclamation of the Word of God (that is, Jesus, who is light), the world remains in darkness. The vocation to be a prophet is the vocation to be a bearer of Christ and a bearer of light.

Nourished by the priestly sacrifice of the altar and by the prophetic word of the ambo, the baptized are enabled to exercise their kingly ministry by ruling their own person by obedience to God. It is an authority under the King of Kings, which allows the faithful not be to blown about by passing fads and customs, but to govern themselves according to the rule of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28).

Following the post-baptismal anointing with Sacred Chrism, the revised Order indicates, the child is clothed with a white garment. The garment cannot be another color,28 and should be provided by the family. The white garment reminds the faithful of the white garments being worn by those in heaven, whose lives were cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). It is a sign, the rite states, of Christian dignity, and is meant to be unstained.29 After the handing over of the baptismal candle, which represents the light of Christ, the optional “Ephphatha” Rite may take place. This rite reaches back into Jesus’ ministry and brings to the present the opening of ears to hear and the mouth to speak, symbolized by the priest touching the ears and mouth of the child while saying, “May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and the

“ In the rite of baptism, Jesus’ healing is manifested in the Ephphatha so that the child can hear the Word of God and, as he or she matures in the faith, profess it to others.” mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess the faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.”30 The ministry of Jesus was one of healing, which he often accomplished through touch. In the rite of baptism, Jesus’ healing is manifested in the Ephphatha so that the child can hear the Word of God and, as he or she matures in the faith, profess it to others. In a world that so often encourages a cacophony of voices that compete with Jesus, and which seeks to stifle the Word of God by keeping believers silent, this optional right may be a good way to help, not only the child, but the rest of the faithful present to keep their ears open for Christ and proclaim the faith in their daily lives.

Following the “Ephphatha” Rite, the Order instructs that the celebration of Baptism has concluded, and Mass continues in the usual way with the Offertory.31 It also highlights that the Eucharistic Prayers “For the Conferral of Baptism” from the Roman Missal include proper insertions.32 At the conclusion of the Mass, there are special blessings for the child’s mother and father, as well as for all the faithful present.33 Conclusion In the Incarnation, Jesus’ divinity was communicated through his sacred humanity, the invisible through the visible. In his Mystical Body, Jesus continues to communicate his invisible grace through the visible realities of common life. In baptism, the new life that God desires for all his people is communicated through water and other symbols of belonging to Christ. The new Order of Baptism of Children, especially through the rubrics, prayers, and actions of the celebration within Mass, makes present the spiritual realities from the twin fonts of Baptism and the Eucharist, and continues to pour out grace, sanctify men in Christ, and glorify God.

Father Anthony Strouse is a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, MI, and pastor of St. Pius X parish in Flint.

He was ordained in 2010 after studying at the University of St. Thomas/St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Following ordination, he also completed a Master of Arts in Liturgy degree through the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL. He is a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Dominic, and a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

1. Sacrosanctum Concilium in The Sixteen Documents of Vatican II. Ed. by Marianne Lorraine Trouvé, FSP. Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1999, n.

10. Emphasis mine.

2. The Order of Baptism of Children [OBC], English Translation according to the Second Typical Edition. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019, n.250. The OBC goes on to add, however, that baptism celebrated during Sunday Mass “should not happen too often.”

3. Ibid., nn. 296-297.

4. OBC, n. 298.

5. Code of Canon Law Annotated, eds. E. Caparros, M. Thériault, J. Thorn.

Montréal: Wilson & Lafleur Limitée, 1993, c. 855.

6. OBC, n. 303.

7. Ibid., n. 304.

8. Rite of Baptism for Children [RBC]. English translation prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. New Jersey: Catholic Book Publishing Corp, 2004.

9. OBC, nn. 305, 306.

10. Ibid., n. 307.

11. See General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 372.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid., n. 308.

14. Ibid., n. 311.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid., n. 312.

17. Ibid., n.314.

18. Rom. 8:9, NAB. 19. Cf. Mk. 3:27, NAB. 20. OBC, n. 315.

21. Ibid., n. 317.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid., n. 323.

26. Ibid., n. 18.

27. Ibid., n. 324.

28. Ibid., n. 325.

29. Ibid.

30. Ibid., n. 327.

31. Ibid., n. 328.

32. Ibid.

33. Ibid., n. 329.

A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery, By Christopher Carstens

Let prayerful participation in the Easter Mysteries bring you life, joy, and holiness!

The Church’s liturgies from Ash Wednesday through the Easter Triduum to Pentecost afford Catholics a wealth of sacramental signs and symbols. Yet many of us who yearn to enter into these liturgies have never been instructed in the meaning behind them or taught how to profit spiritually from them.

Author Christopher Carstens remedies this deficiency in A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery, explaining each element of the Lenten and Easter calendar so you can joyfully and intentionally enter into its liturgies with a clear head and a pure heart. You’ll discover, for example, how sacramentals such as ashes, palms, and candles reveal Christ, and how processions, kneeling, and anointing shape both your body and soul so that, over time, you will come to reflect the humble yet glorified Son of God. Along with scores of other rich details, you’ll learn the following about these celebrations: • ASH WEDNESDAY: Why, as you begin your journey through Lent, you must know where Lent is leading you, liturgically and in your spiritual life.

• LENT: How understanding liturgical time is a key to praying better in Lent.

• PALM SUNDAY & HOLY WEEK: For these days, God has given you an arsenal of weapons to win your spiritual battles; here you’ll learn what they are — and how to use them.

• HOLY THURSDAY: Why, on this day, you must give particular emphasis to praying for priests and serving others.

• GOOD FRIDAY: Why thoughtful watching and prayerful listening are your primary tasks for the day.

• HOLY SATURDAY: Why this day is the time for silent meditation, prayer, and fasting.

• THE EASTER VIGIL: These pages show you how to enter the Vigil with eyes and heart wide open, absorbing each detail into your very soul.

Available from Sophia Institute Press (sophiainstitute.com)

• EASTER SUNDAY: Finally, you’ll learn here how to answer the call to sanctity from God and for God, today, throughout the Easter Season, and throughout your life!

Christopher Carstens is Editor of the Adoremus Bulletin and Director of the Office for Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, WI.