Seeing the Lord: Biblical Orientations for Eucharistic Renewal News & Views

Vatican Rejects German Church’s Plans for Laity to Preach, Conduct Baptisms

By AC Wimmer

CNA—The Vatican’s liturgy czar has intervened against the implementation of resolutions of the German Synodal Way that demand laypeople should be able to regularly baptize and preach the homily at Mass in churches across Germany.

In a letter to the German Bishops’ Conference president dated March 29, Cardinal Arthur Roche said neither was possible—despite at least one German diocese already announcing both practices.

The written intervention by the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was addressed to Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, which has obtained a copy of the document.

Apart from covering the question of homilies and baptisms by laypeople, the seven-page letter also reminded the German bishops that liturgical translations must be confirmed and approved by the Vatican.

On the issue of homilies, Cardinal Roche wrote that the reason why laypeople cannot regularly preach at Mass is not due to their need for “better theological preparation or better communication skills.” Nor is the intent to create “inequalities among the baptized.”

Instead, the cardinal pointed to “distinctions made by the Spirit, who produces different charisms that are distinct and complementary.”

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By Joshua Revelle

Jesus’ post-Resurrection engagement with his disciples on the road to Emmaus presents us with a perpetually valid model for Eucharistic revival.1 In light of recent appeals by the bishops of the United States for such a revival, I would like to introduce some insights from patristic, medieval, and modern exegesis of this Gospel episode (Luke 24:13-35) that suggest orientations for fruitful renewal. My hope is that by considering how Jesus Christ once opened the eyes of his disciples, we can learn how to see him more clearly ourselves and better cooperate with him in promoting Eucharistic renewal in the Church.

State of the Disciples

The narrative opens with two disciples travelling away from Jerusalem. Not only was Jerusalem the nexus of Jewish religion, but the Apostles are also gathered in Jerusalem, and so these disciples are distancing themselves from the apostolic community. Even more importantly, their journey takes place “that very day”—that is, on the day of Christ’s resurrection. Although the Gospels highlight the agility of Christ’s resurrected body, which limits what we can conclude about his physical location at various times, nonetheless, the inspired author implies that by departing from Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, these disciples are moving away from the resurrected Christ.

One might object that the disciples’ geographical route is irrelevant, but we quickly learn about their interior state, which confirms that their direction is a symptom of a deeper spiritual disorder We are introduced to this disorder first through its effect: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” St. Mark summarizes the whole episode: “he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country” (Mark 16:12). Based on this summary alone, we might conclude that the disciples’ inability to recognize Christ was a natural consequence of their not having previously seen anyone of this “appearance,” but the Fathers of the Church knew that some ratio was necessary to explain Christ’s appearing differently, to avoid implicating him in deception; there must have been something in the disciples in need of correction that justified his appearing in a different way.2 St. Gregory explains that Christ “was a stranger to faith in their hearts,” and accordingly he “showed himself in body such as he was in their minds.”3

As Christ once opened the eyes of his disciples, we can learn how to see him more clearly ourselves and better cooperate with him in promoting Eucharistic renewal in the Church.

“ The inspired author implies that by departing from Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, these disciples on the road to Emmaus are moving away from the resurrected Christ.”

St. Augustine likewise attributes the disciples’ inability to recognize Christ to a deficiency in their faith. After joining them on the way, Jesus “said to them, ‘What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad.” They report that they were discussing the things “concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” St. Augustine observes that they designate Jesus merely as a prophet, and no longer as the Christ

On the Road

Again…

Joshua Revelle revisits the account of the disciples meeting Jesus on the Emmaus road—it turns out the story marks the first Eucharistic revival. And now, according to Revelle, it’s our turn 1

The End. The Ascension.

In this reprint of Father Jean Corbon’s The Wellspring of Worship (Ignatius Press), the late liturgy scholar explains the Ascension as a new beginning for Christ’s redemptive work 3

Try on a New Song for the Lord

The music and words that thread the collect of the Mass, says musicologist Jennifer DonelsonNowicka, are part of the majestic liturgical wardrobe the Church wants us to wear 6 and the Son of God; hence they have abandoned genuine Christian faith.4

We also learn about another spiritual disorder connected to their lapse in faith and despondency, namely, despair. They confess that “our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” By admitting that “we had hoped,” they reveal that they no longer have hope.5

Jesus’ death was therefore a scandal to them. The anonymous author of an ancient Christian text long attributed to St. Cyprian proposes that many Jews were convinced that the Christ would not die. He argues this based on the Jewish crowd’s response to Jesus’ prediction of his crucifixion: “‘when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show by what death he was going to die.… The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?’” (John 12:32-35). Accordingly, Pseudo-

Please see SEEING on page 4

Take It Personally

The heart of the liturgy is always personal.

Roland Millare explains exactly how personal by showing that in selflessly glorifying God in the Eucharist, we will find ourselves glorified 8

All Bones About It…

Altar relics were left behind as part of the liturgy for a reason, writes Paul Senz: each serves the faithful as a living history lesson and a pilgrim guide to salvation all in one 9

Cardinal Rule

In Jessica Navin’s review of Cardinal Robert Sarah’s Catechism of the Spiritual Life, the first rule for fully living a life in Christ, says the Cardinal, is to fully live a life in the sacraments 12

Cardinal Roche wrote that well-formed laypeople should contribute, for instance, as catechists or by conducting conversations about sacred Scripture.

However, he added that laypeople could not give the homily at Mass since only someone ordained “sacramentally represents Christ by virtue of the sacra potestas [sacred power] conferred on him at ordination.”

Explaining that the issue of preaching at Mass was, in other words, a sacramental rather than an educational matter, Cardinal Roche warned of “misunderstandings” about the figure and identity of the priest, who is the only one who can act ‘in persona Christi capitis’ [in the person of Christ, the head of the Church] by virtue of the sacrament.”

The cardinal also rejected the introduction of laypeople regularly administering baptisms, something already in practice in some German dioceses. He wrote that justifying this with a lack of priests, for example, was not possible under canon law.

Laypeople could only validly perform baptisms in exceptional circumstances, such as in danger of death or “in painful situations of persecution, but also in mission areas and in other cases of special need,” the cardinal explained.

Cardinal Roche reminded the German bishops of Pope Francis’ 2019 letter regarding the direction of the Synodal Way process. “The universal Church lives in and from the particular Churches, just as the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the universal Church; if they were separated from the universal Church, they would weaken, decay, and die,” the Pope wrote at the time.

Responding to Cardinal Roche’s communication, a spokesperson for the German Bishops’ Conference on Thursday said the bishops would continue to seek dialogue with Rome on these issues.

Earlier this month, several German bishops announced plans to implement several resolutions passed by the Synodal Way.

Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück—then vice president of the German Bishops’ Conference—said laypeople could baptize babies and “regularly” preach at homilies in his diocese.

About one week later, on March 25, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had accepted Bishop Bode’s request to resign.

U.S. Bishops Issue Statement on Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine has issued a statement providing principles for evaluating some newer methods and technologies for disposition of the bodies of the deceased. The USCCB’s Administrative Committee approved the issuance of the statement on March 15.

In their statement, the doctrine committee affirms that every human being has been created in the image of God and has an inherent dignity and worth. Furthermore, since “every man and woman is a unity of body and soul, respect for the person necessarily includes respect for the body.” The Church considers burial to be “the most appropriate way of manifesting reverence for the body of the deceased,” as it “clearly expresses our faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.” While the Church permits cremation unless it is chosen for reasons contrary to the Catholic faith, the preferred method is burial.

Applying the basic principles found in the Instruction regarding Burial of the Deceased and the Conservation of the Ashes in the Case of Cremation (Ad resurgendum cum Christo) issued by the thenCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2016, the committee evaluates the two most prominent newer methods for disposition of bodily remains that are proposed as alternatives to burial and cremation— alkaline hydrolysis and human composting—and concludes that they fail to satisfy the Church’s requirements for proper respect for the bodies of the dead. After the alkaline hydrolysis process, there are about 100 gallons of liquid into which the greater part of the body has been dissolved and this liquid is treated as wastewater. At the end of the human composting process, the body has completely decomposed along with accompanying plant matter to yield a single mass of compost, with nothing distinguishably left of the body to be laid to rest in a sacred place.

The doctrine committee concludes their statement by recalling that the Catholic faith teaches us that our ultimate destiny as human beings includes our bodiliness: “We are therefore obliged to respect our bodily existence throughout our lives and to respect the bodies of the deceased when their earthly lives have come to an end. The way that we treat the bodies of our beloved dead must always bear witness to our faith in and our hope for what God has promised us.”

The committee’s full statement may be read here: https://www.usccb.org/resources/On Proper Disposition 2023-03-20.pdf.

Notre Dame Receives $1 Million Grant to Improve Catholic Preaching across US

NOTRE DAME, IN—The McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame has received a $1 million implementation grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish a threeyear program titled Savoring the Mystery: Catholic Preaching in an Age of Disaffiliation. This initiative, based out of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy at the McGrath Institute, proposes a renewal of Roman Catholic preaching. The McGrath Institute serves as a theological resource in partnership with Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools to address contemporary pastoral challenges.

The grant will fund a team-based cohort approach to improving preaching skills for Catholic clergy: 10 diverse cohorts of 20 Catholic leaders from across the United States will take part in a two-year formation process. These groupings will consist of one clergy member and one lay staff member and will focus on mediating an encounter with Jesus Christ through Scripture and preaching. In the third year of the program, McGrath staff will work with a select group of these participants to create digital courses and other resources to expand the impact of the formation process to the wider Church in the United States.

“This program perfectly aligns with our mission to connect the intellectual resources of the University of Notre Dame to the daily pastoral challenges facing today’s Catholics leaders. It is clear, based on all sociological studies, that poverty in Catholic preaching is a major obstacle to the flourishing of Church life in our day,” said Timothy O’Malley, academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy at the McGrath Institute. “This generous grant will allow us to foster compelling preaching that resonates with U.S. Catholics experiencing the effects of disaffiliation. We hope to create a preaching culture of affiliation.”

The effort is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The McGrath Institute is one of 32 organizations receiving funding in an invitational round of grants for the initiative, which is designed to help Christian pastors strengthen their abilities to proclaim the Gospel in more engaging and effective ways.

“Through the richness of this program, we will be able to contribute to the formation of faithful Catholic leaders and inspire a renewed Catholic imagination promoting the liturgical renewal of the Church,” said John C. Cavadini, Ph.D., McGrath-Cavadini Director, McGrath Institute for Church Life.

The Compelling Preaching Initiative is part of the Endowment’s longstanding interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company.