May 2013 | 42:5
A Comprehensive Worship Resource
www.celebrationpublications.org
A Harvest of Solidarity
Reality meets ritual in our meal-centered worship
In this issue:
Parish formation
Preaching resources 5-15
Columns by Pat and Rafael Sánchez, Gabe Huck, Barbara O’Neill, Denise Simeone, Melissa Musick Nussbaum, Biagio Mazza and Peg Ekerdt
Worship preparation Music, Planning, Prayers and Graphics
3
16-27
Folders for each Sunday in May: Patricia Sánchez, Roger Vermalen Karban, Vicki Ix, James Smith, Karen Johnson, Ted Wolgamot, Dick RENEW NOW! Folger and James Auer Daily Bread reflections for preaching and prayer
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EDITOR’S CORNER The calendar this year lenges with confidence and gave us an early Easter in critical thinking. The church March and now an early Penbrings deep experience to the tecost in May. It seems more table as world leaders and than metaphor that events organizations debate the are coming to us earlier than future. As members of the expected, even taking us by church, we are all part of this surprise. process. Pentecost offers us Foremost in our minds is all the gifts the world needs Pat Marrin the selection of a new pope to make wise decisions. We and all the speculation on what this welcome this new season with hope might mean for the future direction and courage. of the church, both in Rome and in our local dioceses and parishes. Readers will note that Fr. Jim Our extended observance of the an- Smith’s homlies, prepared before his niversaries dating back 50 years to death on Jan. 5, 2013, will continue Vatican II reminds us that the council appearing in Celebration for a while. recognized that the church is subject Two new writers have joined us to the same flow of questions and to support our preaching resources. crises that impact all organizations. Dr. Ted Wolgamot, a psychologist It must continually adapt to stay on and addiction specialist with a backmission, interpreting its role in a ground in church ministry, will be fast-changing world. contributing homilies. With new leadership comes new Vicki Ix, who holds an M.A. from St. energy and fresh insights from every John’s School of Theology-Seminary quarter in the church. The Holy Spirit in Collegeville, Minn., will be contribpromises to preserve the church, but uting Sunday scripture commentarby guiding it to meet the “signs of ies from time to time. We are grateful the times” and to embrace new chal- for their gifts and generosity.
Publisher.................................................... Thomas C. Fox Editor-in-Chief.................................................. Pat Marrin Associate Editor.................................................Erin Ryan Production................................................... Tobias Becker Advertising.................................................816-968-2238 CELEBRATION: A Comprehensive Worship Resource (ISSN 0094-2421) is published monthly by The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, Inc. Write Celebration, P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009. Periodical Postage paid at Kansas City, MO 64108 and additional mailing offices. BLANKET REPRINT POLICY Although Celebration is copyrighted, subscribers have automatic permission to reprint, download and share articles from it for local distribution and pastoral need (church bulletins, e.g.). INTERNET ACCESS Subscribers are entitled to full online access to the entire Celebration publication for up to five simultaneous users. Additional electronic options can be purchased. Visit www. celebrationpublications.org to register for online access or to purchase additional options. For questions regarding electronic issues, e-mail support@celebrationpublications.org. Editor: Patrick Marrin, Celebration, 115 East Armour Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64111-1203; Phone: 816968-2266; E-mail: patrickjmarrin@gmail.com. Missing issues: Call 800-333-7373. Celebration is mailed two months prior to the issue date. If you have not received your issue a month before the issue date, call for a replacement. How to renew: Call 800-333-7373. Annual
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FORMATION A Harvest of Solidarity Pat Marrin
3
The Fire of Liturgy Erin Ryan
5
May Lectionary Themes Patricia and Rafael Sánchez
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Words We Need to Hear Gabe Huck
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How to Bear Pain Melissa Musick Nussbaum
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Remembering Heaven Barbara O’Neill
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The Psalms of May Denise Simeone
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In the Merry Month of May Peg Ekerdt
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Hitting the Jackpot Rich Heffern
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Gaudet Mater Ecclesia Biagio Mazza
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PREPARATION M ay Music J. Michael McMahon
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Planning and Prayers Lawrence Mick Paige Byrne Shortal
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May Graphics Mark Bartholomew
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PREACHING Commentaries Patricia Datchuck Sánchez, Roger Vermalen Karban, Vicki Ix Sample Homilies James Smith, Karen Johnson, Ted Wolgamot Youth Preaching Jim Auer Sermon Starters Dick Folger Daily Bread Portia Clark, Jeanne Lischer, Patricia Russell, Paige Byrne Shortal Cover & Art Julie Lonneman
Celebration FEATURE
A Harvest of Solidarity Reality meets ritual in our meal-centered worship By Pat Marrin In 1959, Pope John XXIII was already describing the council he convened as a “new Pentecost.” The Holy Spirit was pouring out charisms to reinvigorate the church, its mission in the world, and its outreach to other Christian communions and religions. Our annual liturgical celebration of Pentecost echoes this same theme by occasioning what the council called ressourcement, a reaching back down the historical lifeline to the original event and inspiration that created the church.
A great harvest As our birthday celebration, Pentecost offers us a rich harvest of biblical themes. It is named for being 50 days from Passover in the Jewish liturgical calendar. Pentecost, or Shavuot, celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and the community’s joy at harvest time, the surest sign of God’s blessing in the promised land. Food security is tied to Israel’s commitment to the Mosaic commands in Deuteronomy governing harvest; firstfruits; gleaning; and care of the poor, widows, orphans and alien residents; as well as the practice of redistribution and debt forgiveness every seven years and in the 50th year — the Jubilee year. The message was clear: As God has saved and loved his people, so they must extend those same blessings to others. Both the Exodus and the Exile are remembered, captured beautifully in Psalm 126: “When from our exile God takes us home again, we’ll think we are dreaming. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed for the sowing, return rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.” For Jesus, the kingdom of God is seen as a great harvest, the fields white with grain, wanting only laborers to gather it in (Matt 9:37). The parables of the sower, the wheat and the weeds, the vineyard, the fig tree, the single
— Julie Lonneman
The evangelists see Jesus’ death as the grain of wheat sown at Passover, springing green again in resurrection and producing the harvest of Pentecost. grain of wheat that multiplies by dying, and other metaphors place Jesus’ vision within the covenant promise of a messianic age. He is in the world as food and drink to hungry people. The evangelists see his death as the grain of wheat sown at Passover, springing green again in resurrection and producing the harvest of Pentecost.
Renewing the liturgy But there is more to the story than just theology and spiritual imagery. Scholars who have recreated the historical conditions at the time the Gospels were written suggest that
Jesus’ frequent references to farming, food and meals were grounded in real-life conditions of hunger brought about by weather and economic policy. Palestine was occupied by the Romans, who used their military might to extract wealth from the land, and labor and loyalty from their subjects in the form of taxes and produce. Jewish grain, oil and wine went to Rome, often leaving the local population with subsistence diets, a condition that served as a form of control. The dream of abundant harvests, surplus grain, feasting and food security underlies many of Jesus’ parables. His power to multiply food in the wilderness was a threat to Roman control and to the temple authorities who controlled the religious festivals surrounding harvest and animal sacrifice. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple struck at the nerve of complicity between Roman and religious interests. The Gospel renewed Jewish liturgy, from Passover to Pentecost, to reflect God’s Exodus covenant, including the call to justice. Pope John’s prayer for Vatican II contained all of these themes, including the need to renew the liturgy to make visible the participation of all the baptized in the Paschal Mystery, the extension of God’s harvest of mercy in the world and, in particular, to the poor. Fifty years after Vatican II — a Jubilee year — we are reminded that this core catechesis will renew the church and her mission, but only if we move it from language, ritual and symbol to embodied activity in the world. The first Pentecost was experienced as an outpouring of wind and fire, good news delivered in every language, reversing the curse of Babel that had thwarted universal unity. Our new Pentecost calls the church into the same expansive and generous spirit of sharing the Gospel with the whole world.
Ritual and food security For us today, the rich theme of harvest invites us to reconnect our May 2013 | 3
Celebration feature liturgical ritual to the reality of food security. The ancient world held its breath each spring as sowers went out to commit precious seed grain to the ground and the weather, knowing that crop failure meant almost certain famine. Modern people, insulated by supermarkets and cheap food from the realities of agriculture, easily ignore the fact that global food reserves are being impacted by climate change and rising demand. A quick search of the Internet reveals that stockpiles are at their lowest levels in 40 years, with the global population consuming more than it produced in six of the past 11 years. Competition over food is hitting the most vulnerable regions of the world first, pushing an estimated 44 million people into crisis in 2012, undermining political stability in parts of the Arab world. Experts warn that we are reaching a tipping point in food security, and that global weather conditions this year will be critical. By May 2013, we will know whether drought and flood predictions have sounded the alarm. For most Americans, this may only mean a rise in food prices, but for much of the world, actual shortages will hurt health and nutrition for millions if not billions of people. Every other issue, from armed conflict to migration, to market instability, to national decisions to strengthen strategic reserves, will be drawn into this most basic of all challenges. Perhaps one curious sign of stillunconscious public anxiety over food in developed countries has been a paradoxical surge in extravagant consumption of specialty foods, and adulation of chefs and cooking shows. Besides the enormous waste of food in our culture, what message does a permissive display of eating and drinking, or the news that obesity is a major health threat in the United States, say to the rest of the world? Are we prepared to help and inspire others in a time of crisis?
The church’s role Many religions, including Christianity, place food at the center of their worship. We gather at the Table of the 4 | May 2013
Parishes can do ordinary things to raise awareness of how ritual and reality connect, or how interdependent our lifestyle and eating choices are to the survival of others. Lord, where bread and wine become our encounter with God and one another. Spiritual and physical hungers are met by God’s promise of abundant life for all. Our churches open their doors to welcome friends and strangers into one community. The center we share is both the altar of personal sacrifice and the table of justice that compels us into the world to advocate for the hungry poor. If we are true to our own message, how churches publicly address the question of the universal human right to eat will test our values and beliefs to the core.
Strategies Crisis management requires careful planning, priorities and strategies based on good information. The church’s role requires no less attention to food insufficiency in the parish or neighborhood. Existing networks of pantries, kitchens and distribution systems like Harvesters, the Catholic Worker and Catholic Charities are a sign of faith in action. Important voices that have long advocated changes in our food system are gaining prophetic prominence as crisis pushes food security to the top of media coverage. Advocates for regional markets, crop diversity and corporate decentralization, rotation and conservation, less petrol- and pesticide-based production, more community and home gardens, better education to reconnect urban people
to the sources of their food — have been grounded in the biblical truths about creation, stewardship, justice and the common good. Parishes can do ordinary things to raise awareness of how ritual and reality connect, or how interdependent our lifestyle and eating choices are to the survival of others. Eating is a communal act. What happens on our altars and family tables touches the lives of millions of people around the world. How can our eating heighten our sense of responsibility for the earth we share with 7 billion other human beings? A parish garden or purchasing food for church and school meals at farmers’ markets supports local producers and can save money. Using the idea of seasonal eating and the 100-mile diet teaches people about the high costs and carbon footprints that are incurred when we insist on having every kind of food all year round. Offertory processions with children carrying up items to stock food banks and meal programs is powerful catechesis that creates solidarity with hungry neighbors. Buying Fair Trade coffee and other products supports just markets and sends a signal to those who exploit the poor in other countries.
Abundant life The new harvest John XXIII envisioned for the church 50 years ago is ripe for implementation in our attitudes and activities, ritual and real. The solution to world food security is less likely to be competition over scarce resources if we can seize the challenge to change the way current systems waste, hoard and distribute food to protect disparity, a vexing reality addressed in papal encyclicals from John’s Mater et Magister down to current letters by Benedict on global economic reform. The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Let us pray the Lord of the Harvest will send each of us to proclaim God’s desire for abundant life for all God’s children in our world.
Pat Marrin is editor of Celebration. Contact him at patrickjmarrin@gmail.com.
formation: worship
The Fire of Liturgy
We have been given a light no darkness can overcome By erin ryan “I have given them the glory you gave me.” (John 17:20, Seventh Sunday of Easter) When I was about 10, I was enthralled with Ingrid and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. It’s a classic for young readers. Full of wonderful lithographs and simple stories introducing Zeus and Hera and the many personalities who filled the imaginations of this ancient world. One illustration for the story of Prometheus shows a group of crude, shaggy humans wearing animal skins and facing the beautiful god in the center of the page, who is descending in a column of smoke with fire from Olympus. Some of the hairy people are crawling on the ground. Others, looking a little dazed, start to stand and raise their arms to the sky. In the tale, Prometheus, a Titan, created humans out of river clay to repopulate the earth after a battle among the gods had killed off the previous mortal population. His brother Epimetheus fashioned new animals. They had a stash of available gifts to bestow, which they were supposed to share. Epimetheus finished first and he gave his animals all the best stuff: keen sense of smell, speedy reflexes, fur coats. Prometheus didn’t have much left to work with. So he decided to steal fire from the hearth of the gods and bring it to his vulnerable creations. Fire kept the people warm, it warded off predators — and it did something else. “A strange thing happened,” wrote the D’Aulaires. “As men lifted their eyes from the ground and watched the smoke from their fires spiraling upward, their thoughts rose with it up to the heavens. They began to wonder and think, and were no longer earth-bound clods.” Dorothy Day (1897-1980) used to like to repeat a quote from Dostoyevsky: “Beauty will save the world.” She used
Dostoyevsky said that art answers our innate need of beauty “without which, perhaps, [we] might not want to live upon earth.” this phrase so often that at times, it’s been attributed to her. Day is invoked quite often in the pages of Celebration. When I’m editing along and I come across her name, the image that springs to my mind is a gritty activist, wearing spare denim dresses, serving the poor in run-down neighborhoods or sitting defiantly in a jail cell. What I don’t think about enough is how much Dorothy Day did what she did because she loved beauty. Former Catholic Worker managing editor Jim Forest, in a biographical essay on Day, says that when she was growing up in Chicago, she often walked through poor areas of the city “finding beauty in the midst of urban desolation. Drab streets were transformed by pungent odors: geranium and tomato plants, garlic, olive oil, roasting coffee, bread and rolls in bakery ovens.” She saw beauty in the faces of the poor, in the sun and the waves, in all the people around her. She opened her January 1973 “On Pilgrimage” column in The Catholic Worker with those words from Dostoyevsky, “Beauty will save the world,” and then went on to cite passages from Dostoyevsky: His Life and Work, by Russian scholar Konstantin Mochulsky. “In speaking of art,” she wrote, “Dostoievsky is quoted as say-
ing [that] it answers man’s innate need of beauty ‘without which, perhaps, he might not want to live upon earth.’ ” There have been times — many times — when I have been in church, and the power of the music, or the Word, or some other part of the liturgy strikes me so hard that it moves me to tears. This happens to me whenever I hear the prologue to the Gospel of John on Easter morning. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it,” the lector says, and I am so pierced with the beauty and the truth of this Word that I have to hold on to the pew in front of me to keep from falling over. This does not happen to me every Sunday. I can recount, unfortunately, many liturgies that did not cause me to look to the heavens in wonder. (Like the time, at a parish in Oklahoma, when the amateur organist played “Joy to the World” so slowly it sounded like a dirge.) Plenty of times the preaching has been dull, or the lectors sped through it like auctioneers, and I just sat there and thought about my to-do list. But the fire of liturgy is always there, underneath, even if it sometimes fails to blaze forth. When I was a girl, enthralled with stories, I thought Mass was kind of boring. I liked the first reading and the Gospel, because they were narratives. But the rest of it … I fidgeted. Until one day I was listening to the eucharistic prayer and I realized we were acting out the story of the Last Supper, right there, in North Carolina in 1987. It dawned on me then that all of liturgy is story. It is image, it is music, it is drama. As we listen to the beauty and poetry of the Word; as we sing and delight in voices and harmonies, we are more than just people who have a lot of stuff to do. We are more than “earth-bound clods.” Erin Ryan is associate editor of Celebration. E-mail her at erinryan45@gmail.com.
May 2013 | 5
Formación: la palabra
Impulsados por el Espíritu El culto y la vida para el mes de mayo 2013 Patricia Datchuck Sánchez y Rafael Sánchez Alonso Cuando Jesucristo tuvo conciencia clara de que su tiempo con sus discípulos tendría un final crucial, se ocupó de prepararles las provisiones que necesitarían para poder navegar con éxito durante ese “poco de tiempo” hasta que volvieran a verlo de nuevo. También nosotros vivimos en ese “dentro de poco” tiempo, es decir, en ese intervalo de tiempo entre las dos venidas de Cristo. Por eso es apropiado que revisitemos los esfuerzos que Jesús hizo por nosotros. Durante este tiempo de Pascua, los textos sagrados y sus autores nos ofrecen como un cursillo de actualización para quienes continuamos esperando la segunda venida de nuestro Señor. Para que no se encontraran solos o sin su paz y su presencia, Jesús prometió a los suyos enviarles el Espíritu Santo (el 5 de mayo). Su Espíritu sería su compañero inseparable y les enseñaría, inspiraría, fortalecería y daría su gracia para que pudieran continuar la misión que Cristo les había encomendado. Este mismo Espíritu continúa hoy presente, se mueve, vive entre nosotros y nos alienta. Por nuestra parte, tenemos que dejar de lado nuestra inclinación a ser independientes, autosuficientes, y así confiar en el recurso más grande que Dios nos ha dado. En la persona y presencia del Espíritu encontramos a Jesús, encontramos a Dios, nos encontramos a nosotros mismos, y encontramos la gracia, bondad e ímpetu necesarios para vivir el evangelio en verdad, en justica, en amor y en santidad hasta que Jesús vuelva. Aunque puede que sintamos la tentación de querer quedarnos fuera de peligro mirando al cielo y esperando boquiabiertos que Jesús reaparezca, es evidente que Jesús tenía otras ideas sobre cómo hemos de esperar y vigilar hasta su vuelta. La pregunta que se les hizo a aquellos discípulos que fueron testigos de la ascensión de Jesús al 6 | May 2013
cielo, “¿Por qué se quedan ahí parados, mirando así al cielo?” (el 12 de mayo), también se nos hace a nosotros; por eso debemos cuestionar nuestra propias indecisiones y temores. Así como Jesús voluntariamente se hizo hombre y entró en la refriega desordenada de los problemas y necesidades de este mundo, así también sus seguidores deben involucrarse e investir sus esfuerzos para que la redención y la liberación de toda la humanidad continúen a través del tiempo y del espacio. Aunque para algunos discípulos les habría parecido más sensato permanecer en Jerusalén, a donde creían que Jesús volvería pronto, estos primeros discípulos tomaron muy en serio el mandato de Jesús y se aventuraron a ir hasta “los confines de la tierra” para llevar su mensaje y predicar la buena nueva. Su audacia y su espíritu aventurero nos desafían hoy a ir más allá de nuestra zona de confort, para que trabajemos y demos testimonio entre aquellas personas y en lugares a los que, de por nosotros mismos, nunca hubiéramos ido. Cuando los primeros creyentes cristianos cayeron en el provincialismo y eran reacios a dar la bienvenida en su comunidad a todos los demás sin excepción ni condiciones, fue el Espíritu Santo quien les motivó a abrir sus corazones y ampliar sus horizontes (el 5 y el 19 de mayo). Puesto que Dios mismo recibe y da la bienvenida no sólo a los judíos sino a todos los pueblos de las naciones de la tierra, quienes profesan pertenecer a Dios y se han comprometido a continuar la misión de Cristo, no pueden ser menos acogedores. Fácil en teoría pero poner ese reto en práctica es mucho más difícil; el carácter universal,
imparcial, sin perjuicios y totalmente inclusivo de Jesús dicta e inspira lo que debe ser también el carácter de sus seguidores. Desafortunadamente, cuando nos enfrentamos con la realidad, es muy difícil llevar a la práctica los principios nobles y las buenas intenciones. Por eso, tenemos que depender más y más en el Espíritu que inspira nuestros pensamientos al mismo tiempo que anima nuestras palabras y obras. Rick Warren, en su bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life, aconseja a los creyentes que descubran el propósito u objetivo para el que Dios los ha creado y dejen que ese objetivo sea el que conduzca y dirija sus vidas (Perseus Book Group, Nueva York: 2003). De forma semejante, los textos sagrados y sus autores nos recuerdan este mes que nuestras vidas están dirigidas por el Espíritu. Movidos por el mismo aliento de Dios, es nuestro deber respirar nueva vida en los lugares muertos y oscuros de nuestro mundo. Impulsados por la presencia perenne de Jesús por su Espíritu, es nuestro deber el dar esperanza y luz y trabajar sin tregua ni descanso por la paz y la verdadera justicia. Impulsados por el Espíritu de nuestro Dios Trino (el 26 de mayo), debemos respetarnos y valorarnos los unos a los otros como miembros que somos de una misma familia. Quienes oramos a Dios como Padre, tenemos la obligación de reconocernos como hermanos y de cuidar los unos de los otros. Con el Espíritu que nos conduce, podemos hacer realidad los ideales que anhelamos como también aquellos que no creemos ser capaces de poner en práctica. Con el Espíritu, este “poco de tiempo,” entre los dos venidas de Jesús, puede convertirse en el preludio apropiado que verdaderamente anticipa el gozo eterno y el carácter universal del reino eterno de Dios. Patricia Datchuck Sánchez y Rafael Sánchez Alonso han provisto de comentarios y homilías a Celebración desde 1979.
FORMATION: word
A Spirit-Driven Little While Lectionary themes for May 2013 Patricia Datchuck Sánchez and Rafael Sánchez Alonso When it became clear to him that his time with his disciples would soon come to a climactic end, Jesus made provisions so they would be able to navigate that “little while” until they saw him again. Since we, too, live in that little while — in the interim between Jesus’ two advents — it is fitting that we revisit Jesus’ efforts on our behalf. During the season of Easter, the sacred texts and their authors offer a refresher course to all who await their returning Lord. So that his followers would not be alone, without his peace and presence, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit (May 5). As their constant companion, the Spirit was to teach, inspire, strengthen and grace the disciples with all they needed to continue Jesus’ mission. This same Spirit continues to move and live and breathe among us. We, for our part, are to set aside our penchant for independence and self-sufficiency and rely on the greatest resource God has given us. In the person and presence of the Spirit, we find Jesus, we find God, we find ourselves, we find grace and goodness and the impetus to live the Gospel in truth, in justice, in love and holiness until Jesus comes again. While it may be tempting to stay out of harm’s way and simply look to the heavens for Jesus’ reappearance, Jesus had other ideas about how we are to wait and watch for him. Just as those who witnessed the ascending Jesus (May 12) were asked, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” so are we to question our own hesitance and fears. Just as Jesus willingly entered into the messy fray of this world’s problems and needs, so are his followers to be invested in the ongoing redemption and liberation of all humankind. Although it may have seemed more sensible to remain in Jerusalem,
In his bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren advises believers to find the purpose for which God has created them and to allow that purpose to drive and direct their lives. In a similar way, the sacred texts and their authors remind us this month that ours is a Spirit-driven life. where it was believed that Jesus would soon return, the first disciples took to heart Jesus’ directives and ventured forth to “the ends of the earth” with their message of good news. Their sense of adventure challenges us to move beyond our comfort zone, to work and witness among people and in places we may otherwise never have encountered. When the earliest believers fell prey to provincialism and were reluctant to welcome everyone, without exception or conditions, into their community, they were prompted by the Holy Spirit to enlarge their hearts and broaden their horizons (May 5, 19). God welcomes not only Jews but all the nations of the earth; those who profess to belong to God and who have committed themselves to Jesus’ mission can be no less welcoming. The universal, nondiscriminatory
and all-inclusive character of Jesus dictates and inspires what should be the character of his followers. Unfortunately, lofty principles and good intentions are quite difficult to translate into practical realities. Therefore, we are to rely more and more heavily on the Spirit to inspire our thoughts, words and actions. In his bestseller The PurposeDriven Life, Rick Warren advises believers to find the purpose for which God has created them and to allow that purpose to drive and direct their lives (Perseus Book Group, New York: 2003). In a similar way, the sacred texts and their authors remind us this month that ours is a Spirit-driven life. Driven by God’s own breath, we are to breathe new life into the dead and dark places of our world. Driven by the abiding presence of Jesus in the Spirit, we are to bring hope and light; we are to work tirelessly and unrelentingly for authentic peace and true justice. Driven by the Spirit of our Triune God (May 26), we are to value and respect one another as members of the same family. We who pray to God as our Father are thereby bound to recognize and care for one another as brothers and sisters. With the Spirit driving us, the ideals we long for but really don’t expect to achieve can indeed be realized. With the Spirit, this “little while” between Jesus’ advents can become a fitting prelude that truly anticipates the everlasting joys and universal character of God’s eternal reign.
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez and Rafael Sánchez Alonso have been collaborating to provide Lectionary commentaries and homilies for Celebration since 1979.
May 2013 | 7
FORMATION: RENEWING THE VISION
Words We Need to Hear Reflections on council documents: Lumen Gentium By gabe huck First, there is church. First, there is church. First, there is the church. This is not a typographical error. It has to be repeated (more times than above) because of a more fundamental error in our past and in our present. Christians simply cannot think straight or act right about any type of ministry within the church, unless we first get some very wrong notions out of our heads, hearts, bones and marrow. Somewhere we fell into an unbiblical and unchristian trap. We got the idea that ministers come first … and only then the church. We got the crazy idea that God makes bishops (including the pope) first, and then bishops and priests somehow create the church, the community of believers. We never put it that crudely. But that is the way many of us think … and act. Now we have to clear the air and begin to understand and feel again what was understood and felt for so long: that God covenants a people, a church, a community of initiated (baptized, confirmed and eucharistized) people. That is the grand and beautiful reality of grace and mission and sign — a people created in covenant worship to witness and to serve. That is what we have to get into our heads, bones and feelings again. Unless we do, nothing we say about ministry will make Christian sense. I can still hear those words of Bob Hovda running in my head in that raspy voice of his. When he died 21 years ago, we had been good friends for almost 25 years. There those words were when I faced up to writing something about Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council’s constitu8 | May 2013
tion on the church. Truth is we’ve had 50 years to understand that the church isn’t hierarchy, but we still act as if it is. And for good reasons: Hierarchy mostly acts that way. It’s not going gently. And the media mostly act that way. Even when we rejoice in bishops like Oscar Romero or Tom Gumbleton, we need to do so as their fellow members of the church, grateful for their example but willing to give our own. And they would be the first to say so. I find Lumen Gentium more tedious than the other Vatican II documents discussed so far in this series. Yet it has its moments. The final line of Chapter One, for example: But by the power of the risen Lord it [the church] is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, its sorrows and its difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light. (#8, italics added) Paragraph #32 is eloquent on “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism.” It continues to speak of a common dignity of members … a common grace … a common vocation to perfection. … In Christ and in the church there is, then, no inequality arising from race or nationality, social condition or sex. And to its great credit, this document, as much as or more than Nostra Aetate a year later, would certainly have startled many in 1964 and many, were they to hear of it, in 2013: But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, first among whom are the Muslims: they profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and
together with us they adore the one, merciful God, who will judge humanity on the last day. One asks: If we had taken this seriously in 1964, what would we have done? It seemed then such a big step to dialogue and pray with Lutherans and Anglicans, let alone Baptists and the United Church of Christ. Then much Catholic/Jewish dialogue followed. Where are we now with such respect for and dialogue with Muslims? But later we find seemingly unqualified governance vested in the hierarchy: Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be respected by all as witnesses of divine and catholic truth; the faithful, for their part, should concur with their bishop’s judgment, made in the name of Christ, in matters of faith and morals, and adhere to it with a religious docility of spirit. This religious docility of the will and intellect must be extended, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra, in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to decisions made by him conformably with his manifest mind and intention, which is made known principally either by the character of the documents in question, or by the frequency with which a certain doctrine is proposed, or by the manner in which the doctrine is formulated. (#25) That last sentence, just short of 100 words (in English at least), is a mouthful. Now do we understand the mentality at work in the recent revisions of the liturgical texts? Perhaps it was not meant to be understood.
FORMATION: RENEWING THE VISION
Though Lumen Gentium was ratified by the council a year after the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” some of its text doesn’t seem to understand what the latter had said in its core section, #14. Chapter Three of this document is titled, lest we miss the point: “The Church Is Hierarchical.” The same could be said of nearly every association of humans. But the challenge was to discern in what way that is evolving in Catholicism and other communities. Christians have had much experience in shaping their hierarchies: Consider Mennonites, for example. Decisions still are made, but we can find understanding and practical approaches to power and control and authority that may resonate better with the Gospel than our own Roman practices. Like everything in the church, the Gospel is the measure. In one place Lumen Gentium makes an attempt to acknowledge that in the Roman church, the office of bishop is the office of bishop, even if some bishops seem to be more equal than others. The pastoral charge, that is, the permanent and daily care of their sheep, is entrusted to them fully, nor are they to be regarded as vicars of the Roman Pontiff; for they exercise a power which they possess in their own right and are most truly said to be at the head of the people whom they govern. (#27) At some point, perhaps we should have given up the sheep image: the human taking care of the docile but rather clueless animals. And while it is good to say that the bishops have authority “in their own right,” not bestowed by Rome, nothing in their present behavior gives any witness to this. On the other hand, the choice of the language of governance, rather than the language of love and support, is harsh. The council chose to struggle with opposing views and, in this document, did not consistently articulate a vision, a language, that could move us on. The document (#27 again) may speak of the Good Shepherd, of lay-
ing down one’s life for the sheep, of listening to those whom the bishop “urges to collaborate with him.” This admonishment just hasn’t taken hold. Where this kind of bishoping has been tried, as soon as decency allows, a very different sort of character is then sent in to clean up the mess. Think of the directions being taken by the churches of Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. We have here a tension between two different visions that are, in Lumen Gentium, juxtaposed as if that resolves the tension. It doesn’t. Why? Because all of the habits, the tools, the mechanics, the systems, the “way we do things in this church,” are stacked in favor of the top-down approach, authoritarian rather than authentic. The document fails to deal with this. The New York Times had a story from Dublin on Jan. 20 this year about an Irish priest, Tony Flannery, 66, suspended by the Vatican in 2012 and now threatened with excommunication by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith because “his views could be construed as ‘heresy’ under church law.” In particular he is told to “write, sign and publish a statement agreeing, among other things, that women should never be ordained as priests and that he would adhere to church orthodoxy on matters like contraception and homosexuality.” In the letter, the Vatican objected in particular to an article published in 2010 in Reality, an Irish religious magazine. In the article, Father Flannery, a Redemptorist priest, wrote that he no longer believed that “the priesthood as we currently have it in the church originated with Jesus” or that he designated “a special group of his followers as priests.” Important to this reflection on Lumen Gentium is to remember pre-Vatican II efforts to silence the very thinkers who would bring such light to the bishops at the council. Important also for our reflection here is Flannery’s reply to the Vatican’s charges: “These issues were not matters of fundamental teaching, but rather of church governance.” That
is obviously a hard distinction for those in the business of governance. Always was, always will be. In the mid-1960s, I was able to take a course at Howard University taught by Rosemary Radford Ruether. Remembering, I hope accurately, how she stressed the way we humans need the lumbering and dull and clumsy institution (including the hierarchy) to get us through seemingly spiritless times, I went back to my well-marked copy of that book. I would hold the opening Hovda words with these closing Ruether words: The great cultural crises in the church’s history occur when tradition becomes a barrier to the church’s future. Then there is a need for a radical break with tradition in order to recover a freedom for new being. Yet this radical break with the past is not the last word about tradition. It is not simply a word of discontinuity but also a possibility for a new and more profound continuity. There is a sense in which a radical break with the bonds of the past, and the opening up to a new state of being and new possibilities of existence, also allow us to recover the past with more authentic objectivity. There is, in the closed perception of tradition, a finalizing of the past which makes the past, for all practical purposes, identical with the absolute. It finalizes the specific cultural perception, and this produces a mythological past. The community can no more encounter its own real past, its own real tradition, than it can be open to a real future. The past is falsified to bring it up to an absolute standard. When the bondage to the past is broken down, one should be freed to get the past back in a more authentic way.
Gabe and Theresa Huck recently returned from Damascus, Syria. Contact him at gabeandtheresa@gmail.com.
May 2013 | 9
FORMATION: witness
How to Bear Pain
A grandmother’s example teaches gratitude By Melissa Musick Nussbaum I come from a long line of bad veins, the elastic sprung and limp, so it wasn’t too surprising when, in 1978 during my third pregnancy, I had my first bout of thrombophlebitis, or vein swelling due to a blood clot. Years later, my veins were, in the charming language of medical terminology, “stripped.” It was an outpatient surgery and I was quickly back on my feet. My mother marveled at the ease of my 1990s surgery compared to the one she endured 40 years earlier. I remember her in the hospital for several days and then bed-bound at home for several more. A few days ago I went in to have the right leg lasered. The whole procedure took less than two hours and was performed in my doctor’s office. I came home and slept for most of the day, an effect more of the mild sedation than of the procedure itself. The next morning I wrestled into a pair of compression stockings and got about my life. Throughout it all, I have been thinking of Mother Curry, my maternal grandmother. She was born on a ranch in Texas in 1880. Like me, she gave birth to five children. Like me, she developed vein varicosities, with all the attendant aches and pains. But unlike me, she had very little help for her problems. Mother Curry was in her 70s when I was born. I remember her cooking, her “bad” leg (for one was always worse than the other, with each taking its turn as “bad”) propped on a small three-legged stool. She would drag the stool as she moved, nudging it across the floor with her foot, trying to keep her leg elevated and the pressure off the flaccid veins. The bad leg would be swollen and discolored, ropy blue veins hard beneath the skin. Around the ankle she had venous ulcers, “weeping sores,” she called them, where the insufficient blood supply left the skin fragile 10 | May 2013
If I had been asked to describe Mother Curry back then, I would have said she was sweet and she was tired. I know now that she was in pain. Chronic pain is tiring. It wears you out, makes you grit your teeth and clench your jaw and face the world with something like dread. and often open, the wound oozing. She wrapped the ankle in Ace bandages after smearing carbolic salve, a black, foul-smelling ointment, on the ulcerated skin. When she could find someone to drive her, Mother Curry went to Hot Springs, N.M., to “take the waters.” She believed the thermal springs there had healing properties. She told us that Geronimo, the leader of the Chiricahua Apaches, bathed in the hot springs. Geronimo’s wife, his three children and his mother were killed by Mexican soldiers in a raid on the Apache camp. The story goes that the grieving Geronimo fled into the desert. There he heard a voice telling him, “No bullet will ever kill you.” It is true that he died an old man. It is true that he died from a fall off his horse and not an enemy bullet. But my grandmother did not believe the story of the voice on the desert wind. She believed the hot springs healed Geronimo and protected him. She believed the waters would heal her legs. And, after some days at the town, resting and soaking in the sulfurous waters, Mother Curry would come home, the ulcers covered with
delicate, intact skin. After a day of making bread and hanging wet clothes on the line, her legs swelled and the healing skin on her ankles broke open, not to heal again until her next trip to New Mexico. I went with her to Hot Springs once. It was a little town filled with sick people. The water from the faucet smelled like rotten eggs. The tiled treatment rooms had grey, peeling grout. I wore shorts and watched game shows on the television in our room and tried to avoid the heat and the ruined bodies. If I had been asked to describe Mother Curry back then, I would have said she was sweet and she was tired. I know now that she was in pain. Chronic pain is tiring. It wears you out, makes you grit your teeth and clench your jaw and face the world with something like dread. Endo-venous laser treatment, or EVLT, as the latest treatment is called, could have changed my grandmother’s life. I realize I never knew her without pain, without her heavy, throbbing legs and weeping sores. I think now that the strokes, which forced her into a nursing home in Muleshoe, Texas, just blocks from my aunt’s house, may have been welcome. Freed from any strength at all, she could sit down. “I just need to get off my feet,” she would say. She could, at last, get off her feet, a phrase that ran through my childhood like a mantra, a prayer. My right leg is bruised from ankle to groin. I look at it and smile. I am so grateful. I’m grateful to Mother Curry for showing me how to bear pain, and grateful beyond words for the skills that relieve it.
Melissa Musick Nussbaum is a regular columnist for Celebration. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colo.: mmnussbaum@comcast.net.
formation: spirituality
Remembering Heaven
The sacraments are for us and all those passing by By barbara o’neill “Lord, bless all who pass by,” read the sign outside a church on my route to school every day. It caught my attention, and in that moment, I felt somehow comforted and supported by the mere suggestion that I might be held in someone’s prayer. The season of Easter culminates with the Solemnity of Pentecost, and we resume Ordinary Time with Trinity Sunday. Throughout this season we celebrate baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and weddings. It requires continuous high energy for all involved with liturgical preparation. Through all of this, we keep in mind those “who pass by,” whether they are regular, faithful parishioners, occasional visitors at Sunday Mass or friends and family who join us for specific sacramental celebrations. Baptism, the primary sacrament from which all others flow, offers us multiple clues as to how we can be a source of blessing to the passersby who come in and out of our churches and our lives. In our own baptisms, we “passed through” the waters of rebirth, emerging as a new creation, chosen and beloved. We were called by name to love and serve, anointed with oil that witnesses God’s grace, which we are to pass on to others with every word and action. Chrism, the oil used to consecrate and make persons and objects sacred, is accented with a wonderful perfume to remind those who embark on the Christian journey that they are called to be the aroma of Christ in the world. A baptismal candle is lit from the Paschal candle, passing on the light of faith that guides those beginning a lifelong journey. External appearances are important in our society. The act of getting dressed, the “putting on” of the baptismal garment, is a conscious way of putting on Christ in our hearts and minds, letting him influence our every thought, word
Baptism, the primary sacrament from which all others flow, offers us multiple clues as to how we can be a source of blessing to the passersby who come in and out of our churches and our lives. and deed throughout the day. The beauty of these symbols and rituals conveys God’s grace into the hearts and souls of all who are present for the sacrament. Those of us who are sacramental ministers help make these moments happen. We prepare everything with care, but then step back and let go. The sacramental experience can stand on its own with little to no explanation. We trust that people will receive the grace they are intended to receive at this time in their lives and that they have the ability to interpret for themselves its meaning. Symbol and ritual affect people in the deepest recesses of their hearts, and ministers are wise not to intrude or try to control everything. Their key role is in the preparation, but the result is the work of the Creator and out of their hands. During this spring season, consider holding an event that might bring these sacred treasures to life. Major publishing houses of music such as Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), World Library Publications (WLP) and Gregorian Institute of America (GIA) have talented composers available to
conduct workshops, concerts and evenings of prayer, reflection and music. Each organization can be contacted through their websites. Coordinators will work with you to meet the needs of your parish community and stay within your budget. Such afternoon or evening events are powerful, engaging and energizing for both ministers and the parish at large and for others in the ecumenical community. On October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII addressed the opening session of the Second Vatican Council with these words: We have every confidence that the Church, in the light of this Council, will gain in spiritual riches. New sources of energy will be opened to her, enabling her to face the future without fear. By introducing timely changes and a prudent system of mutual cooperation, we intend that the Church shall really succeed in bringing men, families and nations to the appreciation of supernatural values. Thus the celebration of this Council becomes a compelling motive for whole-hearted thanksgiving to God, the giver of every good gift, and for exultantly proclaiming the glory of Christ the Lord, the triumphant and immortal King of ages and peoples. Pope John set the tone for the decades to come. The “spiritual riches” and “new sources of energy” and “timely changes” he saw flowing from Vatican II opened up the church in ways that renewed and defined the lives of many who were drawn to serve God’s people. We are reminded these 50 years later to rekindle that love and refresh that spirit for ourselves and for all those who might be passing by. Barbara O’Neill holds an MA in liturgical theology from LaSalle University, Philadelphia. Feedback and questions are welcome. E-mail her at bubsoneill@gmail.com.
May 2013 | 11
FORMATION: simplicity
Hitting the Jackpot
Sufficiency, not wealth, may be the key to happiness By rich heffern One of the fastest-growing enterprises in the country is the selfstorage business. Those fenced compounds with long rows of garage-type modules have sprouted ubiquitously, in city, town and country. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry, with more than 46,000 facilities nationwide, most of which are rented by people who have too much stuff and need a place to stash it. There are even provisions in some mail-order catalogs now for delivering your order straight to your storage cubicle. These “stuff ” camps are emblems of the ongoing hegemony of consumerism. Massive profits follow those who promote buying. We pay for it in burgeoning credit card debt, all kinds of pollution, undermined health, ugly strip malls and big box stores, and a way of living that is diminished in things that matter — solid, nourishing community, regular encounters with beauty, neighborliness and true adventures, for example. We share a normal desire for the necessities, for food and shelter, and then for community, physical vigor, a stable family and healthy relationships. Yet now we add on a contrived, insatiable hankering for “stuff ” and the money to buy it, with little regard for the true value of what is obtained and how it fits into the whole. The Gospel’s warning that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s reign expresses in one robust image the real drawbacks of hoarding excess wealth. It challenges our society’s pervasive notion that life’s ultimate triumph involves beating the odds to acquire a fortune with little effort or sweat. Billie Bob Harrell Jr. won the lottery in 1997. His take was over $30 million. “Winning … is the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he told his financial adviser a few days before he died. 12 | May 2013
Billie Bob Harrell Jr. won the lottery in 1997. His take was over $30 million. “Winning … is the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he told his financial adviser a few days before he died. In 2003 Callie Rogers won a mere $3 million. She was quoted in TIME magazine in 2012: “My life is in shambles and hopefully now [the money] has all gone I can find some happiness. It’s brought me nothing but unhappiness. It’s ruined my life.” By 2009, Rogers was facing bankruptcy, and said she was ready to go back to poverty. William Post III won $16 million in 1988. “Everybody dreams of winning money but nobody realizes the nightmares that come out of the woodwork, or the problems,” he told The Washington Post in 1993. Within three months of receiving his first yearly payment, he was in debt, eventually going bankrupt, and receiving a jail sentence for taking potshots at a bill collector. The opposite of wealth is not poverty, perhaps, but sufficiency. It means having enough. Sufficiency is not necessarily sacrifice and deprivation; it’s working out different ways of achieving satisfaction in our lives. Sufficiency is the concept that drives a simpler, sustainable way of life. We’ve all seen the bumper sticker that reads: “Live Simply That Others May Simply Live.” It’s a ringing call to a sufficient life. Such a life involves, in the words of Mennonite author Doris Janzen Longacre, “cultivating a gentle way of handling the Earth, versatility in the face of shortage, inner provision for contentment and more than all that, commitment to live justly in our world.” A sufficient life means being a bright, creative part of the solution
rather than one more tired cog in the dreadful turning wheels of the problem. It’s healthy as well. Medical experts now estimate that 80 percent of diseases are directly linked to frantic living. Sufficiency involves the virtues of thrift and frugality. It comes through innovation and creativity. It looks something like this: A friend, Susan, regularly reuses her bath- and dishwater, hauling it out to the garden for her vegetables. She gets exercise and cuts down on her water bill, while at the same time deriving a quiet satisfaction from this way of living lightly on the planet. A sufficient life might involve frequenting thrift shops to buy clothing, giving time or handcrafted items to others in lieu of purchased holiday gifts, or refusing to travel far from home on vacation, opting instead to explore your own state. Simple living can involve a kind of elected neediness and a radical dependency that invariably strengthens our communities. Our culture directs us to engineer our total security, to surround ourselves with things and wealth so that we’re in no way ever dependent on anyone else. However, our spiritual traditions tell us that if we protect ourselves from insecurity, from vulnerability, we in turn cut ourselves off both from the Source and from the community we need in order to be fully realized and compassionate humans. “The real meaning of a simple life,” says Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr, “is a life of radical dependency, so that I can’t arrange my life in such a way that I don’t need you.” Accumulating or hoarding makes no sense when you know you absolutely need other people for your life to continue and flourish. Less really is more.
Rich Heffern is a regular contributor to Celebration. Contact him at rheffern@ ncronline.org.
FORMATION: Scripture
The Psalms of May A month of joy By Denise Simeone The final Sundays of the Easter season, Ascension, Pentecost and Holy Trinity — we are served a veritable feast of feasts in this joyful month of May! Psalm 67, a thanksgiving psalm for a fruitful harvest, is sung on the Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 5). Many of us are not farmers, but we understand the fruits of labor and the work of hands. We wonder how the way we make our living extends God’s blessing and abundance over our city block, neighborhood, community or church. Blessings are offered to all nations and to all peoples by a God who is compassionate, rules with justice and equity, and guides and saves all the earth. In return, believers make the ways of God known so all will see God’s awesome power. It seems a fitting psalm to use near the end of the Easter season, during which we have celebrated the abundant gift of God’s own Son. In the Gospel, Jesus invites believers to “keep my word” so God can make a dwelling within them. This indwelling of the Spirit will come and teach the power of relationships beyond human understanding. In the shalom that comes with right relationships, all will share in God’s abundant blessing. Psalm 47, heard on the Ascension (May 12, optionally celebrated in place of the Seventh Sunday of Easter), is a noisy psalm: shouting, clapping, singing, blaring trumpets — cries and songs of gladness and praise. This is the people’s response to the seating of God upon the throne. This praise is echoed in Paul’s words to the Ephesians about Christ seated at God’s right hand in the heavens, recognized and praised above all human powers. This is the Messiah, the Son of God, who preached to the poor and oppressed. This good-news message of God’s loving kindness and saving grace is offered to all:
All we have heard of God’s loving, powerful presence floods back over us. We babble and stammer like infants in the face of such awesome love. The least found favor with God; the lost found refuge; the brokenhearted found comfort. This startling Messiah did not seek the power of human supremacy but rather the authority of the Father, who offered a new world order of loving relationships. This is the God whose reign has come. On this feast, the disciples gaze at Jesus leaving their midst and turn to face the journey of their own joyful witness. Psalm 104, sung on Pentecost Sunday (May 19), opens with “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (v.1), and it could be the reverberation through all the Sunday readings. This hymn echoes the days of creation found in Genesis. It is a lovely psalm worth reading in its entirety for our own contemplation of the Creator’s attentive and tender power toward all the earth. Today’s selection centers on the image of breath. The Hebrews believed that it was God’s spirit or breath (ruach) that was the cause of creation. That same breath keeps humans alive lest they perish and return to dust. The same spirit weaves through all the readings: a strong driving force in Acts; the spirit of adoption in Romans making us sons and daughters of God; and the Advocate in the
Gospel selections. This is the Spirit of God breathed on disciples and the force that will dwell within, helping disciples keep Christ’s word. Imagine the power we could find if we let God’s breath enflame our hearts — “Bless the Lord, O my soul”! Have you ever been entertained by a baby’s babbling and chattering sounds? It seems like nonsense, but it’s delightful to watch. We don’t hear the opening stanza of Psalm 8 on Holy Trinity Sunday (May 26), but it begins: “I will sing of your majesty above the heavens with the mouths of babes and infants (vv. 2-3). The psalm goes on to assert the creative power of God while wondering what humanity is compared to that awesome beauty. And yet God has made humans little less than the angels, and treated them with indescribable grace and dignity. Psalm 8 is wonderfully matched with the readings for Holy Trinity. The Proverbs reading speaks of delight and play, words not often heard in Lectionary readings, and therefore it is worth reflecting upon their choice for this feast. The Wisdom of God, the Spirit, was there from the beginning, playful before God on the surface of the earth. We are told wisdom was “poured forth” (Proverbs 8:23) in the beginning of creation. In Paul’s letter, we hear that “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts” (Romans 5:5). Poured forth, poured out — what a generous love God has emptied and streamed over us. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus promises his followers the guidance of this very same Spirit of love. All we have heard of God’s loving, powerful presence this month of May floods back over us. We do, indeed, babble and stammer like infants in the face of such awesome love.
Denise Simeone is a writer and consultant skilled at group facilitation, long-range planning and mission development. E-mail: denisesimeone@hotmail.com.
May 2013 | 13
formation: faith and life
In the Merry Month of May The theology and reality of marriage
By PEG EKERDT The May calendar is booked with graduation events. My niece graduates from eighth grade, my nephew graduates from college, and innumerable offspring of friends will put on caps and gowns to mark similar endings in their young lives. As few others will note, but you, dear readers, are quite aware, the Easter season also comes to an end in this month of May. Among these many endings, there are beginnings. New life is on the horizon for our young graduates. Little people celebrating first Communion throughout the Catholic nation begin what we hope is a lifetime’s spiritual practice. And beginnings of another kind are prominent on the calendar, for the merry month of May has become the month in which many will marry. In day-to-day ministry, I meet with the engaged couples who want to marry in the Catholic church. Throughout the last 18 years, I have worked with over 500 couples, and I have learned that they come to the church to mark this beginning for a variety of reasons. Some want to wed in the church because they have always presumed and imagined such a beginning to married life. Some seek a place whose ritual will properly honor the colossal nature of their commitment. Some want to recreate for their anticipated children the experiences in faith communities that shaped their own lives. Some come because it is important to the intended spouse. Some come to fill a void for which they have few words. Some come with a version of the following statement: “I have not been as active as I should, but my virtues and values come from my Catholic faith.” And some come with genuine questions or outright disagreement with particular church views but, even in dispute, they come with a sense that this is where they will find God. It is a privilege to receive all of 14 | May 2013
Throughout the last 18 years, I have worked with over 500 couples, and I have learned that they come to the church to mark this beginning for a variety of reasons.
their stories on behalf of the church community. I am touched by their honesty, moved by their goodness, and in many cases, in awe of their resilience. Some credit parents’ and grandparents’ faith-filled marriages as sources of inspiration. Others acknowledge that they have struggled and survived the pain of parental divorce. Many tell stories of lost relationships and tragic deaths, family challenges and dysfunction that have formed them. And nearly all speak of college, travel and work accomplishments that have shaped their lives. On many occasions, I find myself moved to tears by these young adults who honor the church community with their presence among us. They are works in progress, embarking on the vocation of a lifetime with hope and trust that we will support them for all the years to come. I have been teaching a course on the theology of marriage these last few months, and although such matter
has always informed my practice, I have spent more time than usual reading and thinking about sacramental theology. The reality is that the lived experiences of the people of God, young and old, do not always mesh perfectly with guidelines and laws of the church. To wit: I know some of our engaged couples are not at Mass each Sunday. I invite them to come and tell them not only are we incomplete without them, but the weddings will have even more meaning and integrity if they come each week. I know that some of them are living together. I ask them how they made a moral decision that is counter to the teachings of the church. I point out that saving money on rent is not the best determinant of a moral decision, but in this and in all instances, it is God to whom they ultimately will explain their decisions. I know that some have real questions about faith. Still they come to us to make their promises holy and their commitment public. The parish is where the rubber meets the road, if you will, where practice encounters theology. How would Christ greet those who come with questions in abundance and struggle to find their place in the church? Would he receive those whose decisions run contrary to some laws? Would he close the door? I don’t think so. I think the compassionate Christ would keep it open so that the mysterious grace of his promised Spirit might find a way to keep them tethered once they have entered in. Our history has proved that the Spirit’s truth will emerge from the lived experience of our people, who do their best to live in faithful response to the way of the Lord who is love.
Peg Ekerdt is a pastoral associate at Visitation Church, Kansas City, Mo., where her work includes pastoral care, adult formation, marriage preparation and spiritual direction. E-mail her at peg@church.visitation.org.
FORMATION: 50 Years ago
Gaudet Mater Ecclesia
Vatican II’s liturgy reform pointed the way to other changes By BIAGIO MAZZA Upon convening the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII insisted that the first item the council should address was the church’s liturgical life. In so doing, the council would help all Christians, especially Catholics, focus on the most significant and transformative action of the Christian community. The council was to pay attention to aggiornamento, the renewal necessary for each generation of Christians, by rooting liturgical life once again in the Gospels and the early church communities, a process referred to as ressourcement. This would make the church’s liturgical life much more pastoral in its orientation, enabling it to be more welcoming and hospitable to all Christians by focusing on what unites us. The council devoted 15 sessions to the draft on the liturgy, beginning discussions on Oct. 22 and concluding with a vote on whether to proceed with it on Nov. 14, 1962. The discussion and the vote began to solidify the theological, ecclesiological and pastoral principles that would become hallmarks of the council. The liturgy document, the only proposed document to survive the bishops’ scrutiny, was the result of a liturgical renewal movement that had been active for at least 100 years. Long before the Second Vatican Council ever became reality, Catholics had advanced the idea of having meaningful liturgical celebrations rooted in Christ’s Paschal Mystery and engaged in fully by all those gathered. Three popes, Pius X, Pius XII, and John XXIII, were instrumental in supporting the renewal of the church’s liturgical life. The bishops at the council saw this significant advancement and approved the renewal of the liturgy. The document on the liturgy would not be promulgated until Dec. 4, 1963, when the bishops officially voted on it — with 2,147 bishops in favor and four
Baptism into Christ’s Paschal Mystery becomes the basic sacrament of ministry. against. However, the bulk of the discussion and the principles established were pretty much in place by Nov. 14, 1962. The ecclesiology fostered in the document, along with the theological and pastoral principles flowing from it, would become the basis for future deliberations and discussions at the council. Many of these principles would be expanded and developed in other documents. What are some principles established in Sacrosanctum Concilium that are also hallmarks of other Vatican II documents? n The church consists of the whole people of God called to full, conscious and active participation, not only in the liturgical life of the church but also in its evangelical, ecumenical and pastoral mission. We model ourselves on Christ’s self-giving love, enacted and celebrated whenever we gather as God’s people. Immersion in Christ’s Paschal Mystery — his life, passion, death and resurrection — is the model for all Christian living and celebrating. n Baptism into Christ’s Paschal Mystery becomes the essential and basic sacrament of ministry. The whole church, laity and ordained, is called to carry out the mission and ministry of Jesus. The baptismal call exponentially expands the previous view of ministry as being mostly the exclusive domain of the ordained. Rather, all the baptized are called to ministry, modeling Jesus’ self-giving love in all of life’s engagements and encounters. n The local church’s parishes and dioceses constitute the full expression of church wherever they are and are not merely geographic divisions. This principle, expanded and developed in other documents, encourages the use
of local customs, languages, traditions and symbols in celebrating the community’s liturgical life and its identity as church. Cultural adaptation, inculturation and respect for what is meaningful to the local church are to be encouraged and creatively incorporated into its liturgical life. n All these principles and this ecclesiology are rooted in scripture. It may well be the one council document most influenced by the modern biblical movement that had been very active during the 20th century. n An ecclesiology rooted in Christ’s Paschal Mystery is central to the Gospels, to Paul and to other New Testament letters. n Wider use of scripture in all liturgical celebrations is now mandated, with all homilies focused on breaking open the scriptural texts. n Greater education and formation in scripture for all the baptized is to be provided and encouraged. n Taking scripture seriously and making it the basis for renewal and reform in the church furthered John XXIII’s aims of making the council a call to Christian unity around the person of Christ. n Emphasizing Christ’s presence not only in the bread and wine but also in the scriptures unites us even more deeply with all Christians, establishing bonds of unity and bridges of understanding. It must have delighted Pope John XXIII to see such an auspicious and expansive understanding of church and liturgy begin to take form in those first few weeks of the council. The first words of his opening speech must have echoed within him: “Gaudet Mater Ecclesia,” “Mother Church rejoices.” We still rejoice today. Biagio Mazza is an author and adult faith formation coordinator for St. Sabina Parish in Belton, Mo. He has facilitated learning experiences in the diocesan ministry formation program, New Wine, and at various colleges and universities. E-mail: biagio46@gmail.com.
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Formation: SINGING THE RITES
Singing and the Catechumenate Initiates sing with us at the Liturgy of the Word By J. Michael McMahon When unbaptized adults and children are welcomed into the order of catechumens at the Rite of Acceptance, they set out on a “spiritual journey” and a process of formation that takes place “within the community of the faithful.”1 Over the course of an extended period of time (at least one full calendar year in the United States), they take up a way of life that includes worship, catechesis, conversion of life and participation in mission. 2 While instruction is essential, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) makes it clear that the heart of catechumenal formation is participation in celebrations of the word, especially the Liturgy of the Word at Mass on Sundays and holy days. The rite directs that catechesis itself should be “accommodated to the liturgical year, and solidly supported by celebrations of the word.”3 The entire community has an important role to play in welcoming and forming new members. During their time of formation, we support catechumens by our presence and prayer as we assemble with them to hear God’s word and respond in faith. Gathered by the Holy Spirit as one body in Christ, our active participation in the liturgy, including the responses, prayers, singing and acclamations, strengthens the faith of the entire body, including the catechumens who have been given a place in our midst. This view reflects the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that fully conscious and active participation in the liturgy is for the faithful a “right and duty by reason of their baptism”4 (emphasis added). We take part in singing the liturgy not only for ourselves but also for the sake of the entire community. Considering the importance of the Sunday Liturgy of the Word in catechumenal formation, worship leaders and liturgical ministers, 16 | May 2013
The entire community has an important role to play in welcoming and forming new members. both ordained and lay, have been given a remarkable privilege and responsibility. Every aspect of the Sunday celebration has a direct effect on the faith journey of catechumens, including hospitality, proclamation of the Word, preaching and music. Since the responsorial psalm is the most important musical element in the Liturgy of the Word and often provides an interpretive key to the Gospel and other readings of the day, it should be a priority for music ministers. To enable active participation and to support the reflection of catechumens and the entire assembly on God’s word, the refrain should give expression to the text and be suited to the singing ability of the community. The musical setting of the psalm verses should allow the psalmist to proclaim the text in a way that is beautiful, audible and understandable. Catechists can use the psalm refrain when the catechumens gather to break open the celebration of God’s word at a later time.
Psalmists have the challenge of proclaiming both the refrain and the psalm verses clearly and effectively and of singing in a way that is beautiful but not self-referential. Directors, organists and other musicians provide support and accompaniment that supports and enhances the singing without overwhelming it. Music ministers should take into account the presence of catechumens in preparing other elements of the introductory rites and Liturgy of the Word as well. The choice of texts and musical settings and the manner of singing and playing have a powerful impact on participation by catechumens and faithful alike and thus on their formation for life in Christ. Each Sunday the catechumens should ordinarily be “kindly dismissed before the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.”5 Many hymnals and service books provide a short acclamation or response that the assembly may sing as part of that dismissal to express their prayerful support. Singing the liturgy gives concrete expression to the community’s prayerful support of the catechumens on their spiritual journey. This support is critical, since the RCIA declares that “the people of God ... should understand and show by their concern that the initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptized.”6 Endnotes 1. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), nos. 4-5. 2. See RCIA, no. 75 and USCCB National Statutes on the Catechumenate, no. 6. 3. RCIA, no. 75. 4. Vatican Council II, “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” Sacrosanctum concilium, no. 14. 5. RCIA, no. 75-3. 6. RCIA, no. 9.
J. Michael McMahon is Celebration’s music editor and current president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Contact him at mcmahon@npm.org.
PREPARATION: mUSIC By J. Michael McMahon
6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER May 5, 2013 Psalm of the Day: Ps (66) 67 God, Let All the People Praise You PSL C-87/SS 274 Let All the Nations (Warner) PST 22 Let the Peoples Praise You (Jordan/Stanbrook Abbey) CBW 105 O God, Let All the Nations (Alstott) BB p. 165 O God, Let All the Nations (Guimont) GC 66/GC2 937/G3 1077/LPMG 72 O God, Let All the Nations (Hunstiger) SS 548 O God, Let All the Nations (Kremer) W3 850/W4 1093/RS 95/LPGG 86 O God, Let All the Nations/Oh Dios, Que Te Alaben (Krisman) W4 61 O God, Let All the Nations (Petty) LMGM2 867/LPLM 90 O God, Let All the Nations (Proulx) WC 415/WS 153, 356/PRM C61/PMB 630/ LPGA C51 O God, Let All the Nations (Smith) GP 218/MI-BB 787/JS2 55 789f Suggested Common Psalm: Ps (65) 66 Let All the Earth Cry Out with Joy Songs for the Liturgy Arise and Shine (2) CBW 341 Arise, Shine Forth (2) CBW 342 Christ Is Our Peace (G) LMGM2 681 Christ’s Peace (G) JS2 844 City of God (2) GP 548/GC 678/GC2 663/G3 766/MI-BB 375/WC 788/JS2 830/JS3 813/RS 799/CBW 345/WS 665 Come Down, O Love Divine (G) W3 472/ W4 534/CBW 407/WC 601/JS2 461/ JS3 438/RS 617/GC 465/GC2 471/G3
May 2013 556/LMGM2 332 Come, Holy Ghost (G) W3 482/W4 544/ CBW 416/WC 746/GP 402/MI-BB 479/ LMGM 69/LMGM2 324/JS2 458/JS3 443/RS 611/GC 469/GC2 472/G3 559/ WS 627/PMB 372/SS 859 Come, Our Almighty King (G) WC 757/ LMGM 76/LMGM2 334/W3 487/W4 549/GC2 486/G3 562/MI-BB 720/WS 636/PMB 378/JS2 471/JS3 450/SS 868 *Come, Spread the News (E) IH 27/WC 580/WS 510 Creator Spirit, Lord of Grace (G) CBW 409/WC 600/WS 518/PMB 280/JS2 457/JS3 444/BB 191 *Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled (G) GC2 765/G3 869 Dona Nobis Pacem (G) GC 730/GC2 724/G3 822/JS2 348/RS 832/GP 653/ BB 206/MI-BB 504/JS2 742, 744/JS3 701, 705/SS 995 Dwelling Place (G) GP 591/JS3 664/GC 594/GC2 582/G3 678/MI-BB 455 Envía Tu Espíritu (G) JS2 463/JS3 440/ GC 459/MI-BB 475/GP 407 Holy Spirit, Lord of Love (G) CBW 417 *I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light (2) W3 510/W4 585/LMGM2 420/GC 507/ GC2 513/G3 593/RS 651/WC 795/WS 648/PMB 404/JS3 632/MI-BB 603/SS 887 Into Our Hearts, O Spirit, Come (G) WC 594 Jerusalem, My Destiny (2) GC 390/GC2 399/G3 492/SS 801 Jerusalem, My Happy Home (2) W3 690/W4 867/CBW 601/WC 858/MI-BB
618/JS2 788/JS3 758/RS 871/GC 771/ GC2 764/G3 870/WS 713/PMB 454/SS 1053 *Jesus, the Bread of Life, v. 3 (G) LMGM 141/GP 527/MI-BB 365/JS2 817 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (G) LMGM 257/LMGM2 592 Live On in My Love (G) PSL C-88/SS 350 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (2, C) W3 588/W4 642/JS2 746/JS3 709/WC 832/GP 640/MI-BB 458/RS 743/GC 622/GC2 613/G3 641/LMGM2 424/ CBW 625/WS 695/PMB 431/SS 934 O Day of Peace (G) W3 654/W4 811/ PMB 460/JS2 740 O Holy City, Seen of John (2) W3 685/GC 767/GC2 757/G3 863 O Holy Spirit, Come to Bless (G) CBW 410 One Spirit, One Church (G) JS2 778/JS3 745/MI-BB 416/GP 570 Out of Darkness – Walker (G) MI-BB 510/JS2 765/JS3 724/GC 689/GP 574 *Peace – Demny (G) WS 730 *Peace – Norbet (G) WC 878/MI-BB 499/JS2 741/JS3 700/GP 649/WS 726/PMB 462 Prayer of St. Francis (G) RS 830/GC 726/GC2 721/G3 828/GP 650/WC 874/MI-BB 502/WS 725/PMB 459/JS2 738/JS3 702 Priestly People, v 4 (2) WC 761/WS 637/ PMB 383 Receive in Your Heart (G) WC 653 Send Down the Fire (G) GC 466/GC2 477/G3 557 Send Us Your Spirit (G) GC 470/GC2 476/G3 552/MI-BB 476, 478/RS 612/ GP 410/JS2 462/JS3 433/SS 864 Shalom, My Friends (G) WC 873/WS 728/PMB 456 *Shout to the Ends of the Earth (E) PSL
KEY: * = Quotes or makes direct reference to one of the scripture readings or antiphons. E = Related to entrance antiphon. 1 = Related to first reading. Ps = Related to responsorial psalm. 2 = Related to second reading. G = Related to Gospel. C = Related to Communion antiphon. Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Publications Service, 90 Parent Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B1: CBW=Catholic Book of Worship III (1994). G.I.A. Publications, Inc. (GIA), 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638: CCS=Cantor/Congregation Series; G3=Gather, Third Edition (2011); GC=Gather Comprehensive (1994); GC2=Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition (2004); HG=Hymns for the Gospels (2001); LMGM=Lead Me, Guide Me (1987); LPGG=Lectionary Psalms: Grail/Gelineau (1998); LPMG=Lectionary Psalms: Michel Guimont (1998); PCY=Psalms for the Church Year (1983, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995); PST=Psaltery (1990); RS=RitualSong (1996); SI=Songs of Israel (1971, 1983); W3=Worship–Third Edition (1986); W4=Worship–Fourth Edition (2011). Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: BFW=By Flowing Waters (1999); PFS=Psalms for Feasts and Seasons (1990); PSL=Psallite, Year A (2007); PJ=Psalms for the Journey (1991); SS=Sacred Song (2011). OCP, 5536 N.E. Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213: BB=Breaking Bread (2013); GP=Glory and Praise, Second Ed. (1997); JS=Journeysongs–Second Edition (2003); LP=A Lectionary Psalter: John Schiavone (2003); MI=Music Issue (2013); PSC=Psalms and Selected Canticles (1983). World Library Publications (WLP), 3708 River Road, Suite 400, Franklin Park, IL 601312158: LPGA=Lectionary Psalms and Gospel Acclamations, Year A (2010); PMB=Peoples Mass Book (2003); PRM=Psalms and Ritual Music, Year A; SO=Sing Out (1994); WC=We Celebrate (2011); WS=Word and Song (2013).
May 2013 | 17
PREPARATION: mUSIC C-86/SS 408 Spirit of God (G) LMGM 74/G3 554 *Take and Eat, v. 2 (G) GC 831/GC2 812/ G3 950/W4 940/LMGM2 765/WC 660/ RS 910/CBW 611/WS 563/MI-BB 361/ SS 1087 There Is a River (2) GP 718/JS2 656 *Unless a Grain of Wheat, v. 6 (G) GC 697/GC2 699/G3 783/W4 759/JS2 760, 802/JS3 725, 801/MI-BB 352, 509/RS 804/GP 579 Veni Creator Spiritus – Latin/English (G) WC 599/W3 479/W4 543/CBW 418/BB 191/LMGM 70/LMGM2 328/ JS2 457/JS3 444/GC 460/GC2 474/G3 558/WS 517/SS 866 *When We Eat This Bread, v. 3 (2) JS2 823/MI-BB 341/GP 510 You Are Mine (G) RS 762/GC 649/GC2 627/G3 721/W4 704/WC 867/MI-BB 485/WS 723/SS 943
ASCENSION OF THE LORD Thursday, May 9 or Sunday, May 12, 2013 Psalm of the Day: Ps (46) 47 God Goes Up with Shouts (Affley/Murray) CBW 106 God Mounts His Throne (Batastini) W4 1094/LPGG 87 God Mounts His Throne (Chepponis) W4 52/SS 521 God Mounts His Throne (Guimont) GC2 926/G3 1079/PMB 631/PRM C63/LPGA C52/LPMG 73/WS 155 God Mounts His Throne (Haugen) GC 53/ GC2 36/G3 50/RS 80 God Mounts His Throne (Hunstiger) SS 537 God Mounts His Throne (Inwood) JS2 45/ GP 208/MI-BB 779 God Mounts His Throne (Louis) LMGM2/868/LPLM 90 God Mounts His Throne (Proulx) W3 851/ W4 53/RS 79 God Mounts the Throne (Willcock) PFS 32 Songs for the Liturgy *A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing (1) W3 469/ W4 530/GC 453/GC2 467/G3 545/RS 606/SS 850 *Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (1, 2) W3 737/W4 953/WC 721/CBW 426/GP 419/MI-BB 744/LMGM 67/LMGM2 752/JS2 477/ JS3 458/GC 853/GC2 826/G3 949/RS 914/PMB 352/WS 610/SS 1066 Baptized in Living Waters, vss. 4-5 (2, G) PMB 386/WC 762/WS 640 Be Not Afraid (1) GP 602/GC 608/GC2 18 | May 2013
596/G3 683/W4 680/CBW 481/MI-BB 427/LMGM 123/LMGM2 583/WC 852/ JS2 706/JS3 673/RS 734/PMB 446/WS 715/SS 929 Christ’s Church Shall Glory (2) W3 616/ RS 717/SS 960 Come, Christians, Join to Sing (1) GP 684/ JS2 608/JS3 571/W4 628/WC 879/WS 737/MI-BB 555 Crown Him with Many Crowns (2) W3 496/W4 571/CBW 437/MI-BB 743/ LMGM 68/LMGM2 344/WC 724/GP 420/JS2 480/JS3 461/GC 485/GC2 489/G3 574/RS 626/PMB 465/WS 619/ SS 876 Dwelling Place (2) GP 591/JS3 664/GC 594/GC2 582/G3 678/MI-BB 455 Forth in the Peace of Christ (G) W3 627/ CBW 514 Go (G) LMGM 66/LMGM2 320/RS 604/ GC 454/WC 891/PMB 478/WS 751 Go, Make of All Disciples (G) W3 628/W4 792/LMGM2 646/WC 900/GC 687/GC2 666/G3 769/RS 798/JS2 828/JS3 430/ PMB 479/WS 745/BB 185 Go Out in the World (G) WS 744 Go to the World! (G) CBW 508/RS 608/ GC2 469/G3 546/W4 532/LMGM2 321/ WC 889/WS 741/SS 851 Go Ye Therefore (G) LMGM2 322 God, We Praise You (G) BB 194/RS 676/ W3 535/W4 599/PMB 495/JS2 594/JS3 567/WS 762/SS 897 *Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise (1, G) W3 471/W4 529/CBW 399/BB 184/ WC 592/JS2 451/JS3 429/GC 457/GC2 468/G3 543/RS 605/GP 400/PMB 276/ WS 516/SS 849 Hail Thee, Festival Day! (2) CBW 388/BB 183/WC 576/JS2 450/JS3 428/W3 444/ W4 524/RS 588/GC 450 Halleluya! We Sing Your Praises (G) GC 562/GC2 529/G3 626/RS 692/LMGM2 452/PMB 482/JS3 599 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (2) W3 524/W4 614/CBW 555/WC 922/GP 681/BB 195/LMGM 193/LMGM2 465/ JS2 593/JS3 566/GC 524/GC2 519/G3 615/RS 657/PMB 494/WS 775/SS 896 I Will Sing, I Will Sing (Ps) GC 543/GC2 79/G3 96 Jesus Shall Reign (2) W3 492/W4 569/ LMGM2 345/WC 720/RS 631/JS2 479/ JS3 460/PMB 362/WS 624/SS 873 *Let the Earth Rejoice and Sing (1, G) WC 593/PMB 277/WS 514 *Lord, You Give the Great Commission (G) W3 470/W4 790/MI-BB 372/WC 763/ JS2 452/JS3 431/GC 456/GC2 466/G3
544/CBW 691/RS 607/GP 401/PMB 382/WS 641/SS 852 *O Men of Galilee (E) IH 28 *One Is the Body (1) W4 731 *Ps 117: Go Out to All the World (G) Rejoice, the Lord Is King (1, Ps) W3 493/ W4 564/MI-BB 735/LMGM 93/LMGM2 349/WC 737/JS2 478/JS3 459/GC 487/ GC2 493/G3 568/RS 627/PMB 355/WS 613/SS 877 *Since Our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus (2C) W4 531 *Sing We Triumphant Hymns of Praise (1, G) CBW 391/JS2 448/JS3 426/WC 591/ PMB 275/WS 515/SS 853 Take Christ to the World (G) GP 549/JS2 836/MI-BB 383 Tell It! Tell It Out with Gladness (G) GC2 518/HG 92 The Church of Christ in Every Age (2) W3 626/W4 785/WC 940/JS2 843/JS3 823/ RS 803/GC2 665/G3 765/SS 979 The Church’s One Foundation (2) CBW 526/GC 661/G3 742/W4 736/LMGM2 606/JS2 779/JS3 746/GP 573/PMB 385/WC 764/WS 638/MI-BB 415/SS 959 The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns (2) W3 464/RS 591 To Be Your Presence (G) W4 794/SS 973 Vayan al Mundo/Go Out to the World (G) MI-BB 373 We Are Sent into the World (G) JS3 819
7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER May 12, 2013 (in dioceses where Ascension is celebrated on Thursday) Psalm of the Day: Ps (96) 97 The Lord Is King PSL C-93/SS 423 The Lord Is King (Alstott) BB p. 170 The Lord Is King (Cooney) GP 240/JS3 78/MI-BB 802 The Lord Is King (Duncan) LMGM2 871/ LPLM 95 The Lord Is King (Guimont) GC 94/GC2 965/G3 1082/LPMG 76 The Lord Is King (Hunstiger) SS 576 The Lord Is King (Proulx) W3 854/W4 1097/RS 133/LPGG 90 The Lord Is King (Smith) PRM C63/PMB 634/LPGA C53/WS 157 The Lord Is King (Somerville) CBW 222 Common Psalm: Ps (46) 47 See suggestions for Ascension. Songs for the Liturgy All Are Welcome (G) RS 846/GC 753/ GC2 741/G3 850/W4 833/LMGM2 683/ WC 885/WS 735/MI-BB 411/SS 1000
PREPARATION: mUSIC All the Ends of the Earth – Dufford (Ps) GP 683/MI-BB 547/JS2 595/JS3 573/GC 520/GC2 526/G3 604 All Things New (2, G) GC 427/GC2 450/ G3 541 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (2) W3 737/W4 953/CBW 426/WC 721/GP 419/MI-BB 744/LMGM 67/LMGM2 752/JS2 477/ JS3 458/RS 914/GC 853/GC2 826/G3 949/WS 610/PMB 352/SS 1066 As a Fire Is Meant for Burning (G) GC 663/GC2 643/G3 744/RS 779/W4 734 As Grains of Wheat (G) MI-BB 330 As We Gather at Your Table (G) RS 848/ GC2 738/G3 839/W4 831/LMGM2 685/ CBW 583/JS3 760/MI-BB 314/SS 1006 *At That First Eucharist (G) W3 733/WC 628/LMGM 134/RS 922/GC 852/GC2 840/GP 511/WS 568/PMB 292/SS 1079 *Bread of Life, Hope of the World, v. 3 (G) JS2 819/JS3 788/GC 821/MI-BB 323/CBW 597/GP 498 Break Not the Circle of Enabling Love (G) CBW 524 Christ, from Whom All Blessings Flow (G) CBW 525 Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation (G) W3 617/RS 778/GC 662/GC2 642/ G3 745/W4 732/CBW 430/WC 758/ PMB 384/JS2 780/JS3 747/SS 964 Christ Is Our Peace (G) LMGM2 681 Christ Is the King (G) W3 500/W4 768/ RS 630/GC 481/GC2 491/G3 571/CBW 387/JS2 848/JS3 833/SS 879 Christ Is the World’s Light (G) W4 602/ CBW 543 *“Come,” Says My Heart (E) PSL C-92/ SS 245 Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race (G) GC 739/GC2 729/G3 833/RS 837/W4 842 Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (G) W3 731/W4 937/RS 917/JS2 797 Festival Canticle: This Is the Feast of Victory (1, 2) W3 458/W4 515/WC 908/ MI-BB 570/RS 583/GC 429/GC2 458/ G3 520/CBW 396/JS2 428 /JS3 424/WS 763/PMB 489/SS 829 Freedom Is Coming (2) RS 821/GC 723/ GC2 707/G3 814/LMGM2 657 Gather Us In (G) W3 665/W4 836/GC 744/GC2 743/G3 848/MI-BB 302/WC 883/RS 850/LMGM2 676/CBW 587/WS 733/SS 1002 Gather Us Together (G) CBW 601/GP 534/MI-BB 311/JS2 801/JS3 765 Gathered As One (G) PMB 464/GC2 745/G3 841/WC 886/WS 736 Glorious in Majesty (1, Ps, 2) W3 619/RS 791/GC 671
God Is Love (G) JS2 749/JS3 723/CBW 591/MI-BB 463/LMGM 241/RS 744/GC 629/GC2 608/G3 699/GP 647/SS 886 God Made from One Blood (G) RS 824/ W4 749 God of All People (2) GC 331/GC2 349/ G3 412/CBW 314/SS 737 Holy Spirit (G) BB 193/MI-BB 473 I Come with Joy, v. 3 (G) WC 887/W3 726/W4 926/LMGM2 754/CBW 424/RS 854/GC 806/GC2 799/G3 919/WS 576/ PMB 320/SS 1056 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (2) W3 607/W4 707/MI-BB 489/LMGM 41, 160/LMGM2 598/WC 866/JS2 729/JS3 692/RS 768/GC 646/GC2 622/G3 724/ GP 633/WS 712/PMB 452/SS 945 In Christ There Is a Table Set for All (2) GC 749/RS 836 Jesus Is Our King (G) LMGM 91 *Jesus Promises Communion (G) W4 817 Life-Giving Bread, Saving Cup (G) GC 822/GC2 821/G3 926/RS 920/W4 956/ SS 1075 *Lord, Who at Your First Eucharist (G) CBW 605/MI-BB 369/JS2 826/JS3 804/W4 954/G3 914/LMGM2 756 Many Are the Light Beams (G) GC 736/ RS 841 Marana, Tha! – Westphal (2) BB 72 *My Heart Declared to You (E) IH 29 O Christ, the Great Foundation (2, G) W3 618/RS 781, 782/GC2 646/CBW 527/ SS 958 O God of Every Nation (G) W3 650/W4 812/RS 834/GC2 717/G3 825/LMGM2 663 One Bread, One Body (G) GP 499/GC 830/GC2 813/G3 932/W4 931/MI-BB 362/LMGM 139/LMGM2 760/WC 661/ JS2 820/JS3 793/RS 915/WS 535 One Lord (G) MI-BB 656/GP 453 Out of Darkness – Walker (G) MI-BB 510/ JS2 765/JS3 724/GC 689/GP 574 Priestly People, vss. 3-4 (2) WC 761/WS 637/PMB 383 Rejoice, the Lord Is King (Ps, 2) W3 493/ W4 564/MI-BB 735/LMGM 93/LMGM2 349/WC 737/JS2 478/JS3 459/RS 627/ GC 487/GC2 493/G3 568/PMB 355/WS 613/SS 877 Send Us Your Spirit (G) GC 470/GC2 476/G3 552/MI-BB 476, 478/RS 612/ GP 410/JS2 462/JS3 433/SS 864 Sing a New Church (G) GC2 644/G3 743/ W4 727/JS3 830/MI-BB 410/GP 572 *Sing to the Lord (Ps) CBW 569 Soon and Very Soon (2) LMGM 4/ LMGM2 691/GC 770/GC2 758/G3 865/
W4 861/WC 947/JS2 683/JS3 755/MIBB 589/RS 870/GP 723/WS 786/PMB 513/SS 1050 The Church’s One Foundation (G) CBW 604/GP 573/MI-BB 415/WC 764/GC 661/G3 742/W4 736/LMGM2 606/JS2 779/JS3 746/WS 595/PMB 385/SS 959 The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns (2) W3 373/W4 403/WC 461, 472/JS2 319/JS3 282/BB 51/LMGM 1/ LMGM2 236/RS 497/GC 320/GC2 347/ G3 414/CBW 318/GP 307/WS 413, 420/ PMB 186/SS 719 There Is One Lord (G) W3 657/W4 921/ GP 453/GC 809/GC2 796/G3 905/RS 835/LMGM2 745/WC 610/MI-BB 453/ WS 533/PMB 287/JS2 699 *They’ll Know We Are Christians (G) WC 779/JS2 849/JS3 832/MI-BB 584/GC 735/GC2 728/G3 835/GP 568/WS 645/ PMB 390 Thy Kingdom Come (2) GP 719/GC 656/ RS 776 Ubi Caritas (G) W3 604/W4 694, 702/ LMGM2 295/CBW 67, 376/GC 408, 631/ GC2 430, 568, 601/G3 500, 696, 705/ WC 824, 827/JS2 753, 754, 805/JS3 374, 710, 776/MI-BB 340, 461, 468/RS 746, 752/GP 364, 365/WS 686, 687 / PMB 428, 430/SS 813, 938 Unity (G) LMGM2 666 *Wake the Song of Jubilee (Ps, 2) WC 952/PMB 514 We Are Many Parts (G) GC 733/G3 834/ WC 778/MI-BB 585/RS 840/W4 822/WS 644/SS 999 We Are One (G) LMGM2 665/GC2 482/ G3 548, 913 We Know That Christ Is Raised (2) W3 721/WC 586/RS 906/CBW 398/SS 832 *When We Eat This Bread (2) JS2 823/ MI-BB 341/GP 510 Where Charity and Love Prevail (G) WC 825, 833/GC 625/GC2 610/G3 706/ W4 700/MI-BB 468/JS2 756/JS3 720/ RS 747/GP 644/WS 685, 688/PMB 424, 429/SS 937
PENTECOST May 19, 2013 Psalm of the Day: Ps (103) 104 Alleluia, Send Out Your Spirit PSL C-96/ SS 213 Envía Tu Espíritu, Señor (Rubalcava) GP 255 Envía Tu Espíritu, Señor/O Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Peña) JS2 87 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Alstott) BB p. 174 May 2013 | 19
PREPARATION: mUSIC Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Blunt) PMB 164/WC 435/WS 375 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Canedo) JS3 89/MI-BB 810 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (della Picca) PRM B66/LPGA C55/PMB636/WS 161 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Guimont) GC2 976/G3 1084/LPMG 77 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Haas) LMGM 524 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Harbor) LMGM 523/LMGM2 839A/LPLM 96 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Hunnicutt) PRM C56/PMB 635 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Hunstiger) SS 585 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Peloquin) RS 144 Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Proulx) RS 145/G3 77/W4 1099/LPGG 91C Lord, Send Out Your Spirit (Schiavone) LP 85/JS2 941/JS3 90 Send Forth Your Spirit (Walker) MI-BB 809/JS2 86/JS3 88/GP 254 Send Forth Your Spirit (Walker/Murray) CBW 107 Send Forth You Spirit (Warner) PMB 165/ WC 436/WS 376/SS 660 Send Out Your Spirit (Schoenbachler) JS2 465/GP 409 Sequence (sung before the Alleluia) By the Waking of Our Hearts MI-BB 471/ JS2 454/JS3 439 Come, Holy Spirit, Come PRM C67/LPGA C56/JS2 464/JS3 437 Come, Holy Spirit, on Us Shine WC 597/ WS 520/PMB 279 Come, O Holy Spirit, Come JS2 459/JS3 432, 434, 435/BB 38, 186, 192 Eastertide Carol: Pentecost Sequence (Ridge) GP 404 Holy Spirit, Lord Divine W3 857/W4 541,1100/GC 464/GC2 470/G3 1084/ LMGM2 874/CBW 692/RS 981/WC 595/ LPGG 862 Veni Sancte Spiritus (Taizé) W3 473/W4 538/GC 463/GC2 478/G3 550/LMGM 197/RS 615/LMGM2 326/SS 862 Veni Sancte Spiritus (Walker) BB 190/ CBW 419/GP 403/JS2 453/JS3 441 Veni Sancte Spiritus – Latin/English (Chant) JS2 455/JS3 432/BB 38/SS 855 Other Songs for the Liturgy A New Heaven and Earth (1) SS 990 At the Table of the World (1) WC 658/WS 565/PMB 301 Blessed Quietness LMGM72/LMGM2 594 Called and Gathered by the Spirit (2) SS 863 20 | May 2013
Chosen and Sent by the Father (G) HG 114 *Christ, You Formed the Church, Your Body, v. 2 (2) W4 730 Christians, Lift Up Your Hearts, v 5 (1) RS 674/W3 538/CBW 585 Come Down, O Love Divine (G) JS2 461/ JS3 438/W3 472/W4 534/LMGM2 332/ CBW 407/WC 601/GC 465/GC2 471/G3 556/RS 617 Come, Holy Ghost (2) W3 482/W4 544/ CBW 416/MI-BB 479/GP 402/LMGM 69/LMGM2 324/WC 746/JS2 458/JS3 443/GC 469/GC2 472/G3 559/RS 611/ WS 627/PMB 372/SS 859 Come, Holy Spirit (1) JS2 464 Come, Holy Spirit/Ven, Oh Espíritu (1) WC 745/WS 630 Come, Holy Spirit, Wind and Fire (1) WC 742/WS 631/PMB 375 Come, O Holy Spirit/Wa Wa Wa Emimimo (1) GC 471/LMGM2 331 Come, O Spirit (1) SS 865 *Come, O Spirit of the Lord (Ps) GP 411 Come, Spirit, Come (1) SS 860 Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid (1) BB 188/ JS2 449/JS3 427 Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race (1) GC 739/GC2 729/G3 833/RS 837/W4 842 *Envía Tu Espíritu (Ps) MI-BB 475/GP 407/JS2 463/JS3 440/GC 459 Filled with the Spirit’s Power (1, 2) CBW 413 Fire of God, Titanic Spirit (1, Ps, 2) W3 478 Fire of God, Undying Flame (2) W3 474/ W4 533/RS 614 *Gather Your People (2) JS2 798/JS3 768/MI-BB 316/GP 529/G3 837 Gift of God (1) WC 609/WS 531/PMB 289/G3 422/SS 750 God Sends Us His Spirit (Ps) W3 724/GC 467/LMGM 125/LMGM2 333 Hail Thee, Festival Day W3 444/W4 524/ GC 450/CBW 388/BB 183/JS2 450/JS3 428/WC 576/RS 588 Holy Spirit (1) LMGM2 748/JS3 442/BB 193/MI-BB 473 Holy Spirit, Come Now (1) JS3 436 Holy Spirit, Come to Us (1) GC2 479/G3 547/W4 540/SS 861 Holy Spirit, Flow through Me (2C, GC) LMGM2 329 Into Our Hearts, O Spirit, Come (1, Ps) WC 594 Laus Tibi, Sancte Spiritus (1) W4 539 Let It Breathe on Me LMGM 71 Living Spirit, Holy First (1) W4 545 Mold Me, Lord LMGM 128/LMGM2 742
O Holy Spirit, by Whose Breath (2) W3 475/W4 546/WC 749/GC 461/GC2 475/ G3 551/CBW 412/RS 616/WS 632/PMB 371/SS 858 O Holy Spirit, Come to Bless (1) CBW 410 O Holy Spirit, Enter in WC 751 *O Love of God/Amor de Dios (2) GP 541/ MI-BB 301 O Spirit All-Embracing (1) W4 536 O Veni, Sancte Spiritus (1) BB 187 *One Bread, One Body (2) GP 499/GC 830/GC2 813/G3 932/W4 931/LMGM 139/LMGM2 760/MI- BB 362/WC 661/ JS2 820/JS3 793/RS 915/WS 535 One Is the Body (2) W4 731 One Lord – Soper (2) MI-BB 663/GP 453 One Spirit, One Church (1, 2) JS2 778/ JS3 745/MI-BB 416/GP 570 *Peace (G) MI-BB 499/WC 878/JS2 741/ JS3 700/GP 649/WS 726, 730/PMB 462 Praise the Spirit in Creation (1) RS 609/ W4 542 Send Down the Fire (1, G) GC 466/GC2 477/G3 557 Song of the Holy Spirit (1, Ps, G) JS2 460 Song over the Waters (1) GC 585/GC2 559/G3 661/RS 855/SS 921 Spirit Blowing through Creation (Ps) GC 462/GC2 481/G3 555/CBW 415/SS 856 Spirit, Come (Ps) MI-BB 474/GP 410 Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart (1) LMGM2 323 Spirit of God within Me (G) W3 480/W4 547/RS 610/GC 468 Spirit of the Living God (1) LMGM2 325 Sweet, Sweet Spirit (G) LMGM2 327/WC 744/WS 629 *The Day of Pentecost Arrived (1) WC 596/WS 519/PMB 278 *The Love of God (E) PSL C-95/SS 427 *The One Same Spirit (2) PMB 389 The Spirit of God – Deiss (1, G) WC 807/ WS 662/PMB 399/GC 458 *The Spirit of Our God and King (E) IH 31 There Is One Lord (2) W3 657/W4 921/ GP 453/WC 610/JS2 699/MI-BB 453/ GC 809/GC2 796//G3 905/CBW 530/ RS 835/LMGM2 745/WS 533/PMB 287 There’s a Spirit in the Air WC 598/W3 531/RS 689 This Is the Day When Light Was First Created (1) W3 663/RS 842/GC 746 Veni Creator Spiritus – Latin/English (1, 2) W3 479/W4 543/CBW 418/LMGM 70/ LMGM2 328/BB 191/WC 599, 743/JS2 457/JS3 444/GC 460/GC2 474/G3 558/ WS 517/SS 866 Veni Lumen Cordium (1) SS 854 Veni Sancte Spiritus (1) W3 473/W4 538/
PREPARATION: mUSIC LMGM 197/LMGM2 326/JS2 453/JS3 441/BB 186, 192/GC 463/GC2 478/G3 550/CBW 419/RS 615/WC 595/SS 862 Water and Spirit (2) WC 760 We Are Many Parts (2) GC 733/GC2 727/ G3 834/W4 822/MI-BB 585/WC 778/RS 840/WS 644/SS 999 We Are One (2) GC2 482/G3 548/ LMGM2 665 When God the Spirit Came (1) W3 481/ RS 613 You Have Anointed Me (1, G) GC 676/GC2 662/G3 773/RS 795/GP 555
MOST HOLY TRINITY May 26, 2013 Psalm of the Day: Ps 8 How Glorious Is Your Name (Cooney) GC 20/RS 32 How Great Is Your Name (Murray) W3 27/W4 28/RS 31/GC 21/CBW 553 How Wonderful Your Name PSL C-201/ SS 296 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Alstott) BB p. 179 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Carroll) W3 861/W4 1104/LPGG 95 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Guimont) LPMG 81/GC2 880/G3 1088 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Hunstiger) SS 495 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Palmer) LMGM2 877/LPLM 100 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Schiavone) JS2 944/LP 88 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Smith) PMB 639/WS 163/PRM C68/LPGA C57 O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Smith/ Isele) CBW 110O Lord, Our God, How Wonderful (Stahl) PMB 137/WC 387 Songs for the Liturgy All Creatures of Our God and King, (1) W3 520/W4 607/LMGM2 407/CBW 543/MIBB 537/WC 903/JS2 600/JS3 578/RS 670/GC 533/GC2 523/G3 611/GP 672/ WS 634/PMB 481/SS 892 All Hail, Adored Trinity MI-BB 722/GP 416/JS2 467/JS3 446/WC 753/WS 593/ PMB 377/SS 872 *All My Days (Ps) GP 701/MI-BB 597/ JS2 637/JS3 604 All Praise and Glad Thanksgiving JS2 466/JS3 445/MI-BB 717/GP 415 All You Works of God (1, Ps) GC 492/GC2 498/G3 575 Alle, Alle, Alleluia JS2 627/JS3 596/MIBB 561 Alleluia, Sing! (2) GC 473/RS 625
Baptized in Living Waters (2, G) PMB 386/WC 762/WS 640 Baptized in Water (2, G) W3 720/W4 919/GC 798/GC2 797/G3 903/RS 903/ LMGM2 746/CBW 614/WC 617/WS 530/PMB 286/JS2 542/JS3 516/MI-BB 652/SS 1057 *Blessed Be the Holy Trinity (E) BFW 193/SS 695 Cantemos al Señor/Let’s Sing unto the Lord (1, Ps) GC 553/RS 664/W4 846 Canticle of the Sun (1) GC 496/GC2 495/ G3 576/MI-BB 417/WC 905/WS 756/GP 42/RS 638/W4 576/CBW 542/SS 883 Come, Join the Dance of the Trinity (1) W4 554 Come Now, Almighty King (E, G) W3 487/ W4 549/MI-BB 720/LMGM 76/LMGM2 334/WC 757/JS2 471/JS3 450/GC 475/ GC2 486/G3 562/GP 417/WS 636/PMB 378/SS 868 Creating God (1) GC 580/RS 711 Creator God, Creating Still (1, Ps) CBW 420 Dwelling Place (G) GP 591/JS3 664/GC 594/GC2 582/G3 678/MI-BB 455 Father, I Adore You LMGM2 336 Father, Lord of All Creation (2) W3 655/ W4 555/RS 839 Firmly I Believe and Truly (E) CBW 533 For the Beauty of the Earth (1) W3 557/ W4 632/LMGM2 480/CBW 531/MI-BB 593/JS2 642/JS3 609/WC 957/RS 697/ GC 572/GC2 548/G3 633/GP 704/WS 794/PMB 517/SS 909 God, beyond All Names JS2 634/MI-BB 423/GP 667 God Is One, Unique and Holy (1, Ps, 2) GC 476/RS 623 God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit LMGM 77 God, Our God of Distant Ages (1, Ps) WC 711/PMB 346/WS 607 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name W3 524/ W4 614/JS2 593/JS3 566/CBW 555/GP 681/LMGM 193/LMGM2 465/BB 195/ RS 657/GC 524/GC2 519/G3 615/WC 922/PMB 494/WS 775/SS 896 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty (E) W3 485/W4 553/GP 414/LMGM 78/ LMGM2 335/BB 210/WC 911/JS2 469/ JS3 448/RS 624/GC 474/GC2 483/G3 567/PMB 485/WS 772/SS 871 How Shall We Name God? G3 667 How Wonderful the Three-in-One (E, 1, Ps, 2) GC 472/GC2 488/G3 563/RS 618/ W4 550/WC 754/PMB 380/JS2 470/JS3 449/SS 867 Hymn to the Trinity (E) WC 756/PMB 379
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You (1) W3 525/ W4 611/GP 693/MI-BB 544/LMGM 197/ LMGM2 435/WC 918/JS2 617/JS3 575/ RS 669/GC 528/GC2 520/G3 614/CBW 511/WS 761/PMB 497/SS 901 Let All Creation Sing Alleluia (1) WC 709/ WS 605 Let Us Be One (2) WC 777/PMB 388 Many and Great, O God (1, Ps) WC 715/ PMB 345/W3 503/W4 575/RS 637/GC 498 O Dawn of All Creation (1) LMGM2 338 O God, Almighty Father (E) W3 484/W4 551/CBW 421/LMGM 79/LMGM2 337/ GC 479/GC2 485/G3 566/JS3 451/MIBB 719/SS 870 On This Day, the First of Days (1) W3 662/W4 825/CBW 527/MI-BB 721/WC 882/JS2 468/JS3 447/RS 843/GP 413/ PMB 466/SS 907 Praise and Thanksgiving (1) W3 682/W4 856/RS 867/GC 764/GC2 754/G3 861/ SS 908 Sing of the Lord’s Goodness (1) MI-BB 558/GC 547/GC2 532/G3 610/JS2 605/ JS3 582/GP 690 Sing Out, Earth and Skies (1) GC 499/ GC2 497/G3 577/WC 921/MI-BB 552/ RS 640/CBW 545/WS 769/SS 881 Sing Praise to Our Creator (E, C) WC 752/ RS 620/PMB 376/WS 635 Sing We Praises to the Father (E) CBW 422 Sing Your Praises to the Father (E) WC 755 Stand Up, Friends (E) RS 622/GC 478/ GC2 487/G3 565 *The Love of God (E) IH 33 *The Love of God (2) PSL C-95/SS 427 The Works of the Lord Are Created in Wisdom (1) W3 504/GC 493/WC 710/WS 603/PMB 350 This Day God Gives Me W3 673/W4 850/ GC 757/GC2 749/G3 856/CBW 650/JS2 2/JS3 850/WC 201/MI-BB 634/RS 4, 856/GP 727/PMB 2/WS 34/SS 1023 Today I Awake RS 857/GC 755 We Praise You – Dameans (1) GP 677/ MI-BB 548/RS 694/GC 541/GC2 540/ G3 617/CBW 633/JS2 626/JS3 579 World without End (1, Ps) GC 532/RS 673 *You Are Child (Ps) GP 666
J. Michael McMahon is Celebration’s music editor and the current president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Contact him at mcmahon@npm.org.
May 2013 | 21
preparation: planning & prayers
May 5, 2013
Options for Mystagogy Fr. Lawrence Mick If you celebrate Ascension next Sunday rather than Thursday, you have the option today to use the second reading and/or Gospel from the Sixth Sunday of Easter in place of the Fifth Sunday texts. Whether you choose to do so or not, make sure the lectors and musicians are aware of which texts to prepare. If you use the Fifth Sunday Gospel, it provides an ideal opportunity to offer some mystagogical reflection on the sign of peace during the Communion rite. This is the passage that provides the wording for the prayer leading into the exchange of the sign of peace. When we first began using this ritual gesture, there was a need to explain why we were doing it, since parishioners were used to ignoring those around them as much as possible. Now the challenge is to help people move into a deeper understanding of this ritual moment and its connection to sharing in the body and blood of the Lord. If the preacher does not intend to address it, planners might put an article in the bulletin discussing the sign of peace. The Mystery of Faith by Lawrence Johnson, of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, offers solid history and some reflections on this and all the elements of the Eucharist. Other options for mystagogy appear in the prayer texts for today. The opening prayer speaks of holding 22 | May 2013
to “what we live in remembrance.” The wording of the prayer is awkward, but the point is worth noting: What we celebrate in the liturgy, we must live in daily life. The 1998 ICEL translation may help clarify the meaning of this prayer: “Almighty God, enable us to celebrate with fitting joy these days of happiness, that as we accompany the risen Lord in faith we may express in our daily lives the joyful memory of Easter.” Preachers might ask the assembly how well their interactions with others reflect the joy of Easter during this festive season. The prayer over the offerings speaks of purification and asks that “we may be conformed to the mysteries of your mighty love.” Again the 1998 text is helpful: “Lord, let our prayers and offerings rise before you, that we whom you have cleansed in baptism may respond worthily to the mystery of your great love.” The prayer after Communion asks that the fruits of the Paschal sacrament may increase in us. The 1998 version says “Easter mystery” instead of “Paschal sacrament.” Both are valid translations: paschal refers to Easter, and sacrament and mystery are often interchangeable in the tradition. The mystery is the death and resurrection of Christ, celebrated in baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. So this prayer also fits well the challenge of mystagogy for the newly initiated and for all of us.
6th Sunday of Easter Paige Byrne Shortal Introduction My friends, in today’s first reading we hear about one of the first conflicts in the early church — a conflict that threatened to destroy this young community. Instead, they held a council, prayed to the Holy Spirit and resolved their differences. Inspired by their example, let us pray for the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our families and communities, in our world. Penitential Act Lord Jesus, you promised to be with us always: Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, you promised to be with us whenever we gather in your name: Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you promised to send the Holy Spirit as comforter and guide: Lord, have mercy. Scripture Readings Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Dissension in the early church, resolved in the Spirit Ps 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 Let all the nations praise you! Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 The holy city with the glory of God as its light John 14:23-29 The Holy Spirit will teach you. Note: When the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated next Sunday, the second reading and Gospel from the Seventh Sunday of Easter may be read today. PrayerS of the Faithful Presider Confident in the promise of our risen Lord to be with us always and to send his Holy Spirit to be our comforter and our guide, let us pray for the action of the Spirit in our lives and in our world. Minister For peace throughout the world: for the resolution of conflicts without war … we pray, For unity within the church: for respectful dialogue on issues that threaten to divide us … we pray, For harmony within our families: for the desire to create safe, nurturing homes where all may find love, enjoyment and rest … we pray, For an atmosphere in our schools where all students and teachers are valued and encouraged to learn and to respect each other … we pray, For caring people in hospitals, nursing homes and all places where people may feel afraid, lonely or forgotten … we pray, For those who have died and for those whose grief threatens to overwhelm them … we pray, Presider Creator God, hear the prayers of your people this day. Send your Spirit upon us so that we may know your Son, Jesus, strive to be like him, and do as he would do. We pray always in Jesus’ name. Amen.
preparation: planning & prayers
May 12, 2013
Celebrating Ascension Fr. Lawrence Mick Whether you celebrate Ascension on this Sunday or on the prior Thursday, there are a number of choices to make and communicate to various ministers. The first is what texts to use for any Masses on Saturday evening or late afternoon. The new missal has added prayers for a Vigil Mass intended to be used at this time. There are no new readings for such a Mass, though, so only the presiders are directly affected. On the day itself, there are two options for the opening prayer. The first is rather straightforward, but the second is very awkward at the end of the first sentence. It might work better if it read “may already dwell in spirit in heavenly realms.” There are two options for the preface, and both are fairly easy to follow. The second option has a nice reference to being made sharers in Christ’s divinity, which could be the basis of some wonderful mystagogical preaching today. Many parishioners still have little awareness of the implication of the Incarnation — that, as Jesus has shared in humanity, so we are able to share in divinity. Preachers should be alert for opportunities to address this teaching, which is much more prominent in the Eastern churches under the title of theosis. Being more aware of God’s intent to draw us into the very life of the Trinity is essential to a deeper spirituality that many people seem hungry
7th Sunday of Easter Paige Byrne Shortal
to find today. For the Ascension, there are two options for the second reading. The A option is the one used in Cycle A and was used every year before the current Lectionary. The B option is a different one for use in Year C. Both are rich texts, and preachers should be consulted on which one should be used. The first option has a nice reminder near the end that the church is the body of Christ continuing in the world today. This could also be the basis of some good mystagogical preaching. Whichever reading is chosen, make sure that the lectors are notified well in advance; each text requires some careful preparation to proclaim well. The prayer texts also would support mystagogy about the theme of church as the body of Christ. The first opening collect for the day Mass says “where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope.” Preachers could connect this text with the mission that is entrusted to the body of Christ to make Christ visible in this period of history after the Ascension. The prayer after Communion prays that “Christian hope may draw us onward to where our nature is united with you.” This could link the Incarnation again with the concept of theosis.
These prayers are also suitable for Ascension, but visit our online May 2013 files for additional prayers. Introduction Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the last Sunday before Pentecost, when we remember that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as comforter and guide. Do we welcome such grace? Let us pray for hearts and minds open to what God has planned for us. Penitential act Lord Jesus, you send your Spirit to comfort and encourage us: Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, you send your Spirit to enlighten and inspire us: Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you send your Spirit to guide and strengthen us: Lord, have mercy. Scripture Readings Acts 7:55-60 The martyrdom of St. Stephen Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9 The Lord is Most High over all the earth. Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 John’s vision of the second coming of Jesus John 17: 20-26 Jesus prays that we may all be one. Prayers of the Faithful Presider My friends, as we look forward to the feast of Pentecost, let us remember the promise of Jesus to be with us always. For the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in all parts of the world, let us pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Minister For peace: for dialogue where there is discord; for nonviolent solutions where there is conflict; for an end to war, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For the church: for pastors and catechists, confessors and spiritual directors, ministers of worship and ministers to the poor. For the faith and perseverance to preach a loving God to this needy world, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For our families. On this Mothers’ Day, let us ask for special grace for mothers and stepmothers, grandmothers and godmothers. We pray … Come, Holy Spirit. We remember those who have died … (names). For our mothers who have gone before us, and for mothers who mourn the loss of a child, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Let us pray quietly for the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives where we are most in need … (pause). For all that we need to become the holy men and women God created us to be, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Presider Creator God, you know us and our needs. Send your Holy Spirit into our lives that we may be what you call us to be. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. May 2013 | 23
preparation: planning & prayers
May 19, 2013
The End of the Beginning Fr. Lawrence Mick This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, the final day of the 50-day feast we call Easter. It marks the end of the Easter season and of the Lent-TriduumEaster cycle of the calendar. Monday we return to Ordinary Time. So it is a day of ending, but it is only the end of the beginning — and a time of new beginnings, as well. Easter is the primary time for the sacraments of initiation. The newly baptized have spent the Fifty Days unpacking the meaning of the sacraments they received at the Vigil. But this process we call mystagogy does not end at Pentecost. This feast marks the end of the first part of mystagogy, but it is to continue for the neophytes throughout the coming year. And even when that is complete, mystagogy is really a lifelong process as we all continue to live into the meaning of our membership in the body of Christ. This is a good day to recognize those who have celebrated any of the initiation sacraments this year. A reception after each Mass could acknowledge the neophytes, the first Communicants and the newly confirmed. Try to provide name tags for them, which will help the rest of the parish get to know them. The newly initiated might also be asked to stand or come forward at the start or the conclusion of Mass; if this is done at the end of Mass, the presider can give 24 | May 2013
them a special blessing, asking God to give them the grace to persevere in the faith and continue to grow in holiness. Then he can invite the assembly to join them for the reception right after Mass. Planners might sit down with catechetical leaders sometime soon after Pentecost to assess how well mystagogy is being provided in the parish, not only for the newly initiated adults but also for children and teens who have celebrated first Communion or confirmation. We need to move beyond simply preparing children for the celebration of the sacrament and make sure that there is good follow-up that leads them into living out the meaning of the sacrament they have celebrated. For the Masses this weekend, choices abound. There are texts for a Pentecost Vigil, within which there are four choices for the first reading unless you celebrate an extended vigil with all of them. At the Mass of the Day, there are two choices for the second reading. The sequence is required at day Masses. It is not part of the Vigil Mass unless you are using the day Mass texts on Saturday evening; then, the sequence is to be used. Musicians should find a setting for the sequence that enables the assembly to participate well. There are also two options for the Gospel of the day. Remember the double Alleluia at the dismissal.
Pentecost Paige Byrne Shortal Introduction Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the last day of the Easter season, a day we call Pentecost — meaning “Fiftieth Day” — a day we remember the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit as comforter and guide. Let us pray today for the Spirit’s action in our lives, in the world, in our communities and families, in our own hearts. Penitential Act Lord Jesus, your Holy Spirit binds us as one family in you: Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, your Holy Spirit guides and inspires us to follow your way: Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, your Holy Spirit comforts and strengthens us for the journey: Lord, have mercy. Scripture Readings Acts 2:1-11 All are filled with the Holy Spirit. Ps 104:24, 29-31, 34 Lord, send out your Spirit. 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Many gifts, one Spirit; many parts, one body John 20:19-23 Jesus said, “Peace” and “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Note other options for readings. Prayers of the Faithful Presider My friends, on this feast of Pentecost, let us remember the promise of Jesus to be with us always. Let us pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Minister We pray for the church. For young people and for those newly received into the church at Easter: for their continued formation in the faith, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For those whose faith is weakened by adversity or indifference, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For those who inspire us by their lives and support us by their prayers, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For those who are most in need: for the sick, the poor and those in the path of war; for the very young and the very old and those yet to be born; for those in prison and those who struggle with addiction or mental illness, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. For those who have died … (names). And for those whose grief is especially difficult at this time of year, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Let us pray quietly for the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives … (pause). For all that we need to become the holy men and women God intends us to be, we pray … Come, Holy Spirit. Presider Good and gracious God, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts and into our world. Bring us all to your kingdom, won by your Son, our risen Lord, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.
preparation: planning & prayers
May 26, 2013
Cherishing Creation Fr. Lawrence Mick This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday in Ordinary Time after Easter. The texts in the missal are found after the ThirtyFourth Week in Ordinary Time in the section titled “Solemnities of the Lord during Ordinary Time.” In the Lectionary, this section is found at #164, with this year’s texts at #166. Preaching on the Trinity is always a challenge. Focusing on that difficulty, however, can lead us to overlook other riches in today’s texts. For example, both the first reading and the psalm today call our attention to God’s work of creation. They both also acknowledge the role of humanity in caring for creation. That makes this week a good time to raise the moral issues connected with our use and abuse of nature and the resources God has provided for the benefit of all people. Some in our society (and perhaps in your assemblies) think that talk of climate change or global warming is purely political. Climatechange deniers have more followers in the United States than any other country in the world, though that seems to be changing as more and more climate disasters hit the country. Responsible pastors and preachers have an obligation to raise up the care of creation as a basic moral issue, one of the most critical of our time. Those who object may need to be reminded that Pope Benedict XVI spoke many times
on this issue. According to one news report: The 84-year-old German pope has voiced increasing concer n about protecting the environment in his encyclicals, during foreign trips, speeches to diplomats and in his annual peace message. Under Benedict’s watch, the Vatican has installed photovoltaic cells on its main auditorium to convert sunlight into electricity and has joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions. For the pontiff, it’s a moral issue: Church teaching holds that man must respect creation because it’s destined for the benefit of humanity’s future. He has argued that climate change and natural catastrophes threaten people’s rights to life, food, health and ultimately peace. (The Blaze/AP, Nov. 28, 2011) This quote could be reprinted in the bulletin. Planners should include petitions for the care of creation in the general intercessions, and musicians might look for songs that speak of God’s creative work as well as those that urge justice for the poor. Parishes should also publish some concrete ways that parishioners can make a difference in their own use of the earth’s resources.
Holy Trinity Paige Byrne Shortal Introduction Brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is a community and that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Let us pray to the Creator Father; the Redeemer Son and Brother; and the Holy Spirit for the grace to live in community with whomever we are given to love. Penitential Act Lord Jesus, you are Son of the Father and the Word of Creation: Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, you are Brother and Savior: Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you send us the Spirit that we may know and follow you: Lord, have mercy. Scripture Readings Prov 8:22-31 Wisdom was with God before all else. Ps 8:4-9 How great is God’s name over all the earth! Rom 5:1-5 To God, through Christ, in love poured out through the Holy Spirit John 16:12-15 What the Father has given me, the Spirit will give you. Prayers of the Faithful Presider Brothers and sisters, on this day dedicated to the Holy Trinity, we are mindful that God created us to live in harmony with one another, to care for each other and to pray for each other. Let us pray for peace. Minister For peaceful relations among people of all religions: for respect for what we don’t understand and for delight in our diversity … we pray, On this Memorial Day weekend, let us pray for all efforts to solve conflicts without war. For those who work as diplomats, mediators and ambassadors for peace … we pray, For those who cannot be with us today: for the sick, the elderly, those who must work and cannot come to church, and all who may feel isolated from the community … we pray, For those who most need our prayers: for the very sick and the very poor; for veterans of war who came home damaged in body or mind; for all whose lives are threatened, we pray … For those who have died … (names). And for all who have died in service to our country and those who mourn their passing. For all victims of war … we pray, Presider Creator God, you who formed us and made us and know the thoughts and motives of our hearts, mercifully fill your people with the spirit of your unity, that we may cast aside our differences and serve you in all that we do. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. May 2013 | 25
second collection
Loose Change from Church and World
Famous Quotables Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance? — Edgar Bergen Have no fear of perfection — you’ll never reach it. — Salvador Dali He that can have patience can have what he will. — Benjamin Franklin He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty. — Lao Tzu He who has a why to live can bear with almost any who. — Friedrich Nietzsche Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand. — Confucius Hell, there are no rules here — we’re trying to accomplish something. — Thomas Alva Edison I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. — Pablo Picasso I am the captain of my soul. — Nelson Mandela (quoting William Ernest Henley) I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me. — Warren Buffett I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong. — Benjamin Franklin I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better. — Abraham Lincoln I intend to live forever. So far, so good. — Steven Wright Yes, I’m paranoid — but am I paranoid enough? — David Foster Wallace I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll be glad to make an exception. — Groucho Marx I never said most of the things I said. — Yogi Berra I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places. — Henny Youngman I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time. — Marilyn Monroe If a little is great, and a lot is better, then way too much is just about right. — Mae West
Cartoons
Cartoons printed in Celebration are the property of the artists who created them and are not covered by Celebration’s usual blanket reprint permission. For automatic permission to reproduce a cartoon published in this May 2013 issue, send $5 to the artist listed below whose cartoon you wish to use:
Jack Corbett Page 26 376 Waldo Ave. SE 4-D Salem, OR 97302
Harley L. Schwadron Page 26 PO Box 1347 Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Anonymous Quotables He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame. Help wanted: Telepath. You know where to apply. How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you’re on. I am willing to make the mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from them. I doubt, therefore I might be. I used to be indecisive but I’m not sure anymore. I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. I’d agree with you but then we would both be wrong. If at first you do succeed try not to look astonished. If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy? If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done. If it’s stupid but works, it isn’t stupid. 26 | May 2013
“Spellcheck. S-P-E-L-L-C-H-E-C-K.”
preparation: GRAPHICS
May 5 6th Sunday of Easter “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” John 14:27
May 12 7th Sunday of Easter or Ascension of the Lord “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me.” John 17:22-23 or “And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.” Luke 24:49
May 19 Solemnity of Pentecost On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst. John 20:19
May 26 Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity “Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:15
About the artist Mark Bartholomew is a member of the Holy Family Catholic Worker Community in Kansas City, Mo. These same graphics are available on our website for easy downloading for use in bulletins and parish newsletters. To access Celebration online, go to www.celebrationpublications.org. Register by clicking on the link REGISTER NOW and filling in the required fields. A username and password for your account will be sent immediately by e-mail. Use this to enter the site through the Administrator Panel on the same web page. May 2013 | 27
images & POETRY
A Time for Inspiration “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” —Isaiah 44:3
Text and photo by Abbot Barnabas Senecal, OSB St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kan.
Pentecost is a time for inspiration,
Wind and light, hills and prairie
to be renewed in spirit and in mind,
define the area, give place to a university,
to allow a ferment to rise within,
to religious yearning and learning,
in a setting of optimism and hope.
to a Center for Servant Leadership.
Here the water sprays upward,
Known for severely cold winters,
reaching out to those around,
Bismark, N.D., is rich in wheat and long days
an image of strength in concrete,
of summer sun; residents value
green the grass nearby.
water and time for harvest.
Annunciation Monastery, home to
Bismark’s residents, 47 percent Roman
Benedictine women, bears an imprint
Catholic, will celebrate Pentecost together
of Marcel Breuer architecture
with Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists,
in building, bell tower and walkway.
Presbyterians, and other followers of Christ.
To subscribe to Celebration, call 1-800-333-7373, write to us at P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141 or subscribe online at www.celebrationpublications.org. To renew your subscription, call 1-800-333-7373 or write to us. Please include the customer number from your mailing label. See Page 2 for other contact information or send an e-mail to support@celebrationpublications.org. 28 | May 2013
May 5, 2013 — 6th Sunday
Easter
Spirited Away from the Ethnic Cliff
U Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource CelebrationPublications.org ROMAN LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Ps 67 Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 John 14:23-29 Revised Common LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 16:9-15 Rev 21:10, 22–22:5 John 14:23-29 or John 5:19 Anglican LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 14:8-18 or Joel 2:21-27 Rev 21:22–22:5 John 14:23-29
Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for 34 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible from a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.
nless you have been living in absolute isolation for the past several months, you know about the “fiscal cliff.” First coined by Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the term “fiscal cliff ” is popular shorthand for the financial conundrum that the U.S. government faced at the end of 2012, when the Budget Control Act of 2011 was scheduled to take effect. Hyped incessantly by the media, the so-called fiscal cliff was purported to be an economic Armageddon whose effects would be grave and far-reaching. In today´s sacred texts, our attention is drawn to another “cliff ” of sorts, one that could have severely impacted the unity and continuity of the early church. In those first decades after Jesus’ resurrection, his followers faced what might be described as an “ethnic cliff.” In those times Jews were accustomed to thinking of themselves as God’s chosen ones, and so they were, when we realize but they had also grown used to thinking that that we distort gentiles were to be avoided. They thought gentiles were beyond the pale of God’s saving rather than reconcerns. Even though the prophets shared flect, and segrevisions of a universal community, and even though Jesus had gone out of his way to minisgate rather than ter to gentiles and praise them for their faith, integrate, we some were still stymied by the “ethnic cliff.” If they could not overcome their centuries-old turn to the Spirit distrust of gentiles and their unwillingness to whom Jesus has recognize them as their brothers and sisters in the Lord, then their preaching of the universal given us. love of God and Jesus’ saving death would be contradicted by their own prejudices. Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Silas and many others made great efforts to avert an ethnic cliff that could have threatened the survival of the church — efforts that are reflected in the Christian scriptures. In today’s first reading, Luke recounts his version of the Council of Jerusalem. While some Jewish Christians were insisting that gentiles must accept Moses, the law, the prophets and circumcision before becoming Christian, others understood that such a demand was tantamount to saying that Jesus’ saving death on the cross was not sufficient for salvation. While each side clung to its own ideas, little progress was made; but when all gave themselves over in prayer and surrendered to the Holy Spirit, they were able to negotiate the ethnic cliff in a manner that continues to challenge our own parochialism and prejudice. We are also challenged by the vision set before us by the author of Revelation (second reading). By God’s design, the Seer witnessed the heavenly Jerusalem, with its 12 gates, open in all directions to welcome not only the 12 tribes of Israel, but all the 12 apostles of the Lamb. With God’s own glory to illumine it, the holy, heavenly city is open to all without distinction. But lest we suppose that the universal character of the holy city is relegated to heavenly realms, it is good for us to remember that the Seer believed his vision was to be realized on earth, for the earthly city is a true reflection of its heavenly counterpart. In those times when we realize that we distort rather than reflect, and
May 5, 2013
PREACHING
segregate rather than integrate, we turn to the Spirit whom Jesus has given us. Despite our repeated plunges over the “ethnic cliff,” the Spirit will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has told us. The Spirit is God’s personal pledge of grace, within each of us and in all of us together. No one has a monopoly on the Spirit. There is not any good heart where the Spirit refuses to abide and to breathe the very life-breath of God. Orthodox priest and theologian Thomas Hopko underscored the importance of the Spirit with these words: “Just as the work of Christ would be devoid of power without the power from on high … so would the Way be unwalkable, the Truth unknowable and the Life unlivable. The Spirit comes to make possible in men all that Christ is by nature by the gracious gift of his presence.” Amen!
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Luke’s narrative of the decision made by what we can appreciate as the first church council reads straightforwardly, without any rancor — but it was not easy for Jesus’ first followers to come to their agreement. Indeed, the evangelist hints at the seriousness of the disagreement over admitting gentiles to the community when he writes: “There arose no little dissension and debate” (Acts 15:2). At issue was the reluctance on the part of some Jewish Christians to accept that gentiles could come to Christ without first accepting Judaism, its law, dietary customs, circumcision and purification rituals. What should have been a community characterized by harmony, joy and peace was deeply divided. To give contemporary believers a sense of the conflict, William Willimon asks us to consider: How many Christians have had their joy and enthusiasm smothered by bickering? (Acts, John Knox Press, Atlanta: 1988). For example, one member may come forward with a great idea for a church-supported after-school program. But the church board rejects the idea because the children might 2 | May 2013
RESOURCES
May 5, 2013
Easter 6th Sunday Spirited Away from the Ethnic Cliff
sibilities were not offended beyond repair. Hence, with much assistance from the Holy Spirit, the community asked that gentile Christians accept four conditions: (1) do not eat food sacrificed to idols; (2) abstain from incestuous marriages; (3) avoid blood; (4) abstain from the meat of strangled animals. In Leviticus 17-18, these same rules were imposed on Jews and on strangers (aliens, gentiles) who resided in Israel. Those at the council promulgated their decision via Judas and Silas. Notice that the church did not surrender to labels (liberals, conservatives, blue states, red states, alien, citizen) but rather concentrated on mutual respect for one another’s ideas and sensibilities and the inclusion of all believers in Christ. Surely there is a lesson here and an example for all of us.
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 dirty the church’s new carpet. Church meetings with people bickering over budgets and basing their vote on their own preferences and prejudices rather than the word of God give us an appreciation of the ethnic and religious disagreements faced early on by the church. But we cannot be too quick to side with Paul and criticize those who opposed his universalist views. They did not object to preaching to gentiles. After all, gentiles were part of all the peoples of the earth who were Abraham´s descendants (Gen 12:3). But they did object to the idea of not requiring them to follow the law or to undergo circumcision — what they deemed as a sacred sign of their covenantal relatedness to God. In the verses omitted from this pericope (vv. 15-18), James speaks in support of the church’s gentile outreach, citing Amos’ reference to the restoration of the true people of God, which included the “gentiles who are called by name” (Amos 9:11-12). While the participants at that first council eventually agreed upon welcoming gentiles without making them Jews, they took care to adapt this inclusivity so that Jewish sen-
When the intended recipients of the Seer’s visions read this description of the heavenly Jerusalem, it must have given them great hope and strength. Those early believers, persecuted during the reign of Domitian in the 90s, had seen the absolute destruction of their holy city by Titus in the year 70. They had suffered under Nero in the 60s. There seemed to be no future for them. Yet, with the conviction that goodness can never be overcome by evil, and with the sure faith that God had not forgotten or abandoned them, they persevered. As we 21st-century believers hear this first-century resistance literature proclaimed in our own time, we, too, are encouraged to have hope and to persevere despite the problems that threaten the church from within and from without. With imagery borrowed from the prophets (Ezek 40-48; Isa 60), the Seer tried to assure his readers of the continuity between the chosen people of the first covenant; and themselves, the church of the new and eternal covenant. Twelve gates facing in all directions underscored God’s universal welcome to all the people of the earth. In addition to representing the 12
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tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, the number 12 also had cosmic significance. As the sum of the months of the year and the signs of the zodiac, 12 signified the harmony and synchronization with the heavenly bodies for which many of the ancient people strived. The Seer, however, made it quite clear that the harmonious character of the holy city and its inhabitants was not due to astral movements or powers but to God. Even the city walls spoke of universality; their 12 courses of stones were reminiscent of the 12 precious stones worn on the high priest’s breastplate (Exod 28:17ff). In the Seer’s vision, these stones were inscribed with the names of the Lamb’s (Jesus’) 12 apostles, clearly linking Israel and the church. Unlike its earthly counterpart, the heavenly holy city would have no temple; that is, no structure that might relegate the presence of God to a specific place or limit accessibility to the divine source. “For its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb,” wrote John. Was the Seer somehow assuring his readers that even though their magnificent temple had been destroyed by Titus some 20 years before, they still had complete access to God and to Jesus, who dwelled within them through the abiding presence of the Spirit? As living temples, it becomes our responsibility to bring the presence of God to bear on every aspect of human existence. Where there is darkness, we are to be light; where there is hatred, we are to be love. Where there is violence and war, we are to be peace; where there is hunger and thirst, we are to be food and drink. Where there is homelessness, we are to be a sure shelter, and where there is despair and depression, we are to be hope and joy. (Humble nods to the Seer and St. Francis of Assisi.)
John 14:23-29 Good friend and loving brother that he was, Jesus wanted to make provisions for his followers so that when he was lifted up — first in suffering and then in glory — they would be able to continue his ministry. Peace
RESOURCES
and the Paraclete were the provisions Jesus made. In the lengthy last discourse of the fourth Gospel (John 13-17), the evangelist has ably described Jesus’ gifts of peace and the Spirit in a manner that continues to teach and encourage believers. “Peace” or “Shalom” was the traditional greeting our Jewish ancestors used to wish one another well. When used as the cognate verb of the noun, shalom conveys a sense of completeness or a condition of perfection. To wish another “peace” is to wish for their fulfillment, for an abundance of all they need, for prosperity. Peace is not merely the cessation of war or a temporary truce; rather, peace is the very presence of God reigning in the human heart. Gradually, and due in no small part to the prophets, peace or shalom began to be associated with the era of the long-awaited messiah (see Zech 8:9-13; 9:9-10; Isa 2:2-4; 9:5-6; 11:1-9; 40:17-18; Ezek 37:24ff). The fact that the Johannine Jesus was imparting this peace to his own, once his hour had come, signified that through his hour of passion, suffering, death and glory, the era of salvation had arrived. Through Jesus, the long-hoped-for and promised peace became a reality to be enjoyed by all peoples. The author of Ephesians celebrated what Jesus had done and declared Christ “our peace” (Eph 2:14). Like the gift of peace, the Paraclete is Jesus’ abiding bequest to the church. Referenced only in Johannine
6th Sunday of Easter
literature, the term Paraclete was the title Jesus gave to the Advocate or Holy Spirit who would be sent by the Father in Jesus’ name. Just as Jesus was sent by the Father (John 3:17), so would the Father send the Paraclete (John 14:26). In the same way that Jesus was completely present to his own, so would the Paraclete continue to be the abiding presence of the risen Christ with his disciples. Jesus guided his own in truth (John 14:16); so would the Paraclete (John 16:13). As Jesus taught (John 6:59; 7:14, 18; 8:20), so would the Paraclete continue the education of Jesus’ followers (John 14:26). Stanley B. Marrow points out to readers of John that the evangelist purposely pairs the Paraclete’s teaching of the disciples with the act of reminding them (v. 26) of all that Jesus had said (The Gospel of John, Paulist Press, New York: 1995). The Paraclete’s role is to continue the work of the Revealer by assuring the permanence of that revelation in the world. This same task is performed in the community of believers wherever and whenever the words of Jesus are proclaimed and heard and obeyed. Teaching and remembering are not solitary acts. These actions take place within a community of people who witness to the world the presence of Jesus and the perpetual newness of the revelation, which constitute the community and draw others to it in faith. In the Spirit, Jesus teaches and reminds us; we, for our part, are to listen, to obey, to witness and to serve.
Sermon Starters Deacon Dick Folger In the first line of today’s Gospel, Jesus says that if we love him we will keep his word. That might be a tall order, since keeping our own word is hard enough. Napoleon said it well when he advised: “The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.” The author of the bestselling book The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale, knew about human weakness. He wrote, “Promises are like crying babies in a theater; they should be carried out at once.” But the Gospel challenges us to do more than give a quick response. Keeping our word is a lifetime action. The Gospel also reminds us that if we do keep Jesus’ word, the Father will love us and dwell within us. That’s very good reason for us to adopt the words of poet Robert Frost: “But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” May 2013| 3
PREACHING
May 5, 2013
RESOURCES
Preaching to Youth
HOMILY
Jim Auer
Karen Johnson
KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (Acts) “Some men came down to Antioch from Judea, and began to teach the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.’ ” Discerning what truly must be kept, what can safely be changed or dropped, and what is genuinely good among possibilities for change. BACKGROUND NOTE Long ago, the mention of circumcision in a homily would have triggered giggles and snickers. For the most part, depending on the age group, this has passed. What remains is: “What the heck does this have to do with religion?” An explanation along the lines of dedicating new life to God works well. (Apologies to the ladies for the Israelites’ not knowing about egg cells.) HOW YOUTH MIGHT INITIALLY APPROACH THE MAIN IDEA With questions. See above. LEADING QUESTIONS * What motivations do you think the men from Judea had? List a wide range of possibilities, from positive (sincere respect and affection for the Mosaic Law) to negative (clinging to the past for fear of change). Which seems likeliest to you? * What decision was finally made? DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * The decision made by the Holy Spirit, with which the apostles and elders magnanimously concurred. * Invoking the Holy Spirit for enlightenment about our own personal decisions. QUOTATION “Be not the first by whom the new are tried / Nor yet the last to lay the old aside” (Alexander Pope — as distinct from any of the lessthan-saintly Popes Alexander). * Is this sound advice? * Do you think our church should move in the direction of welcoming new things and making changes, or returning to the practices of long ago? What do you think needs changing, and what should always remain as it is?
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Surround Us with Peace “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:26-27). In today’s Gospel, Jesus foretells his ascension as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He promises that those who keep his word will never be alone. His parting gift is peace; he urges us to be neither troubled nor afraid. Unfortunately, human beings show a strong preference for chaos. We seek after peace; we struggle for peace — and yet we have a hard time believing that peace is our birthright, a gift God yearns to give us. In today’s first reading, a conflict erupts between Paul and Barnabas, and unnamed others. The issue is whether or not the gentiles should be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas take a strong stand against chaos. They consult the apostles and elders. Most importantly, they all consult the Holy Spirit. In a clearly worded letter to the faithful, the apostles say, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28). The early Christians took Jesus at his word. They believed the Holy Spirit would guide them. Two thousand years later, we yearn for the faith of the first disciples. We don’t feel at peace, and are often troubled and afraid. Everything seems unclear. In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the mystery of the Trinity and establishes a firm scaffolding of truth that we can always depend upon. Our level of clarity and peace hinges upon the depth of our relationship with each member of the Trinity. We need a
Father. We need a Savior. We need an Advocate. How can we deepen our relationship with a God who is three in one? Fortunately, some who have gone before us did understand this great mystery. Saint Patrick is just such a soul. Centuries ago, he wrote a lorica or prayer for protection, asking the Trinity to surround him. Known as “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate,” this prayer speaks to our desire to be surrounded by God. One version of the prayer has been put to music by singer-songwriter Gayle Salmond on her CD “Ordinary Days.” The refrain can easily be used as part of a morning prayer: Be above me, as high as the noonday sun. Be below me, the rock I set my feet upon. Be beside me, the wind on my left and right. Be behind me, oh circle me with Your truth and light. With Saint Patrick, we can believe that God’s ear does hear us, God’s hand does guide us, God’s strength does uphold us, God’s shield does hide us. Each of us needs a shield — a breastplate — to protect us not only against the world but also against our own disbelief. Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Love, Beloved and Advocate, come and surround us with peace. In the midst of chaos, give us clarity. Help us to believe we have the right, indeed the responsibility, to call on your strength and protection. Give us a strong understanding of our faith and the courage to proclaim it. During this next week, pray to Saint Patrick. Ask him to intercede for you and give you peace and clarity and a vibrant understanding of the gift of the Trinity, our three-inone God who is always with us.
May 12, 2013 — Ascension of the Lord
Ascension Learning to Read the River
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Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource CelebrationPublications.org ROMAN LECTIONARY The Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Ps 47 Eph 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 Revised Common LECTIONARY The Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Eph 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 Anglican LECTIONARY The Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 or 2 Kings 2:1-15 Eph 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 or Mark 16:9-15, 19-20
Scripture commentaries for the readings assigned to the 7th Sunday of Easter are with the May 2013 preaching resources on our website at www.celebrationpublications.org.
Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for 34 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible from a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.
rom the time he was a young boy, Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) wanted to pilot a steamboat up and down the mighty Mississippi river. In his book Life on the Mississippi, first published in 1883, Twain tells of his struggle to do so. After he ran away from his home in Hannibal, Mo., Twain boarded a steamboat in Cincinnati. On the New Orleans-bound Paul Jones, Twain promised the captain $500 (after he graduated from school) if only Mr. Bixby would mentor him. Twain later stated that if he had known how difficult it would be to learn and traverse the almost The disciples were 1,300 miles of river, he would not have had to leave the safety the courage to begin. Even though he painstakingly mapped and security of the the entire length of the river with all its place where they bends, sandbars, islands and towns, he could not retain the knowledge. Frustrated, had communed he decided to quit, claiming, “I haven’t got with Jesus, and be brains enough to be a pilot and if I had, I wouldn’t have the strength to carry them about the Father’s around unless I went on crutches!” But the business. wise Mr. Bixby saw something in Twain, and with his help, the future boat captain and author was able to learn to “read the river.” Jeremy Langford has suggested that Twain’s apprenticeship under Mr. Bixby’s tutelage is not unlike the process of becoming Christian and, in becoming so, taking on the responsibility for continuing the ministry of Jesus (God Moments, Orbis, Maryknoll, N.Y.: 2001). No doubt those first disciples who saw Jesus off, as it were, probably felt like they were up a creek without a paddle. As they surveyed the vastness of the journey before them and the enormity of the task of bringing the good news to all, they may have been tempted, as Twain was, to give up. But just when it seemed that they were being called to do the impossible, Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit enabled them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Just as Twain would learn to read the river, so would those first disciples and all subsequent followers of Jesus learn to read the signs of the times, to assess the needs of the human community and rely on the power and presence and passion of the Spirit to mentor them along the way. That Spirit, according to the author of Ephesians (second reading), will impart wisdom, clarify revelation, help us to know hope and enlighten the eyes of our hearts. I am reminded of the line in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince (1943): “It is only with the heart that one sees rightly, for what is essential is invisible to the eye.” To see with the eyes of the heart is to love and know and value the other. This gift comes when we surrender ourselves to be mentored by the Spirit. If we see with the eyes of our heart, we will be able to wait for Jesus’ return by living according to Gospel principles and by making the spiritual and corporal works of mercy our daily agenda. While the eyes of the mind might be boggled by the staggering burden of human need, the eyes of the heart see a brother and a sister, and we reach out to help. Members of the praying assembly will notice that the sacred texts
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for today offer us two versions of Jesus’ ascension: In the Gospel, Jesus’ ascent to God concludes his earthly ministry; in Acts, his departure, 40 days after his resurrection, inaugurates the church’s mission. By presenting both accounts, the Lucan evangelist has affirmed that Jesus’ mission continues in the church. In his Gospel, Luke has put us in touch with Jesus; in Acts he has given us a window through which to perceive and appreciate the church. Both of these sacred texts challenge contemporary believers to assume their rightful place and responsibility in the ongoing saga of salvation. With the help of Jesus’ own Spirit, we will learn how to read the river: We will learn to respond to the needs of others.
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May 12, 2013
Ascension Solemnity Learning to Read the River
Acts 1:1-11 In her commentary on today’s feast, the late Sr. Verna A. Holyhead reminds readers of older icons of the Ascension that depict Jesus’ feet dangling from a cloud and a small group of disciples huddling underneath, gaping upward (With Burning Hearts, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn.: 2006). Holyhead suggests that we see those disciples as representatives of future generations who still need to gaze into the mystery of Christ for more wisdom. The feet of Jesus are a sign: Just as triumphant rulers once inscribed the names of those they had conquered on their footstools, so now all creation is inscribed under the feet of the victorious Jesus, risen and ascended to glory. Surely it is fitting that Luke chose to begin his second volume with this narrative. Throughout his Gospel, Luke portrayed Jesus and his ministry. In Acts, his second volume, Luke wished to affirm that the church’s mission was continuous with the mission of Jesus, thus legitimizing the work of Jesus’ followers. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, Luke repeatedly noted that all Jesus said and did was under the auspices of the Holy Spirit. Luke also portrayed the early Christian community empowered by that same Holy Spirit. 2 | May 2013
In this narrative, Luke has also addressed the issue of delayed eschatology. When the disciples asked the risen Jesus if the time had arrived for restoring the kingdom, Jesus redirected their attention. Instead of speculating about what was not theirs to know, they (we) should be witnessing to the good news, not just in Jerusalem but to the ends of the earth. Jesus also reminded his followers about the power that would be theirs in the presence of the Spirit. Jesus’ directives were repeated by the two men (angel messengers) dressed in white: The disciples were to leave the safety and security of the place where they had communed with Jesus, and be about the Father’s business. The two messengers assured them that Jesus would return, without offering any specific information as to the time or date or place. When describing the role of the believer, Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel said, “The world is dark and human agony is excruciating, but the prophet [believer] casts a light by which the heart is led into the thinking of the Lord’s mind” (The Prophets, Prince Press, Peabody, Mass.: 2001). Others have led us to the light and
to the Lord. Now it is our job to do the same.
Eph 1:17-23 Have you ever heard someone preach or teach, and their faith was so profoundly obvious that it called forth a deeper, fuller faith in you? Surely the author of Ephesians was such a person. Even today, these words vibrate with faith as the author celebrates the person and the mission of Jesus on earth and in heaven. Part of the greeting of the letter, today’s second reading, reminds believers of what God has done for them and for all in Jesus, and encourages them to rely upon the gift of the Spirit so they may better know and understand what has been revealed in Christ. At the heart of this text is the fact of Jesus’ resurrection: “God raised Jesus and seated him at his right hand, where he reigns above every other power.” In verse 21, the ancient author mentions principality, authority, power and domination; these were the various ranks of angels. By affirming Christ’s place with God over and above the angels, the Ephesians author wished to settle, once and for all, the argument some made that Christ was a created being of a lesser status than the angels. Not only is Christ above the angels and equal to God; he is greater than anyone who ever existed or is yet to be born, “not only in this age, but also in the one to come.” In the final two verses of this magnificent prayer, Christ is described as the head of the church, which is his body. These are tremendous thoughts, says William Barclay (“The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians,” The Daily Study Bible, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, U.K.: 1976). The church is represented here as the complement of Christ. Just as the eyes of the mind cannot become effective without the body, the tremendous action of Jesus Christ cannot be made effective without the work of the church. Christ is the head, but we are the hands and the feet; Christ is over all, but graciously empowers us
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to participate in the process. To further explain his point, Barclay referred to an old legend that sums up this great truth. After his time on earth, Jesus rose to heaven, where he continued to bear the marks of the cross. One day Gabriel said, “Master, you must have suffered terribly for those people down there.” I did,” said Jesus. Said the archangel, “Do they know what you did for them?” “Oh, no,” said Jesus. “Not yet. Just a few in Palestine know, but I have asked Peter and James and John and some others to make it their life’s work to tell others about me, until everyone in every place knows what I have done.” A look of doubt spread over Gabriel’s face. “What if those you have sent grow tired and old? What if the people who come after them forget? Haven’t you made other plans?” Jesus answered, “I haven’t made any other plans. I’m counting on them.” As Barclay admitted, this story is a bit hackneyed, but nonetheless true. As the body of Christ in the world, it is our role to live, to speak, to love and serve in such a manner that others will want to know the good news of salvation.
Luke 24:46-53 In a sermon given on this feast of Jesus’ ascension, the late Peter Gomes said that he once would have apologized “for the hopelessly archaic language and images of so primitive a feast as the Ascension. However, today I celebrate it with its three-decker universe as one of the few but necessary means of liberating us from the bondage and tyranny of analysis and sensibility” (Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, William Morrow, New York: 1998). Gomes understood that Jesus’ ascension reminds us of the “other place” or “better country” noted in Hebrews (11:16) to which we have all been called. Like a pioneer, Jesus has gone before us to be with God, but not without the promise that one day we will be with him forever. In this promise we believe; on this
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In the interim between Jesus’ advents, this remains the mission of his followers. The feast of his ascension challenges us to consider the quality of our service and the depth of our commitment, today and every day. promise we hang our hopes. In faith and with great hope, the Lucan evangelist presents us today with Jesus’ appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. Having shown them the marks of his crucifixion and eaten with them (vv. 36-45), he then turned to the sacred texts to help them appreciate that all these recent events were part of God’s salvific plan. As Jesuit Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer has explained, this represents the Lucan use of the Hebrew scriptures in the service of his Christology (The Gospel According to Luke, Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.: 1985). Only in the light of Jesus’ resurrection can the scriptures of old be fully understood. His rising shed light on those texts that, by virtue of divine inspiration, had a sensus plenior or fuller sense that had yet to be revealed (e.g., Isa 52:13; 53:12; Ps 22; etc.). Luke mentioned that Bethany was the place where Jesus departed. Bethany, about two miles east of Je-
Ascension
rusalem, had been the place where Jesus visited Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42) and, later, raised Lazarus from the dead (John11:1-9). There, Jesus was anointed in the home of Simon the leper (Luke 7:3650), and it was from Bethany that Jesus began his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-38). How fitting that Jesus should also make his triumphant departure from Bethany, having accomplished all that he had been sent to do. After explaining that all that had been promised was being fulfilled, Jesus blessed his disciples, promised them the Spirit and commissioned them to continue his mission. That mission, as stated earlier in Luke’s Gospel, was to “bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, to give sight to the blind, release to the imprisoned and to announce a year of favor from the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19 = Isa 61:1ff; 58:6). In the interim between Jesus’ advents, this remains the mission of his followers. The feast of his ascension challenges us to consider the quality of our service and the depth of our commitment, today and every day. Jesus encourages us to rely more heavily on his gift of the Spirit, whose power and grace are just as unfailingly present to us as they were to Jesus’ first followers. The same Spirit who continues to guide our understanding of the sacred texts also continues to help us integrate the faith we profess with the life that we lead, until Jesus comes to take us home with him forever.
Sermon Starters Deacon Dick Folger A cartoon shows a confused man waiting for the elevator. He notices there are three buttons: UP, DOWN and DON’T CARE. In today’s Gospel story of the ascension of the Lord, we are reminded that the “Jesus elevator” has been getting a lot of use. At his death, Jesus “descended into hell” — into the depths of death. And then he rose from the dead. Today he enters the heavenly elevator again, this time to ascend into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. Jesus’ elevator will need another button. The fourth button will be labeled: REALLY CARE! May 2013| 3
PREACHING
May 12, 2013
RESOURCES
Preaching to Youth
HOMILY
Jim Auer
Fr. James Smith
KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (John, 7th Sunday) “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word.” / (Luke, Ascension) “See, I send down upon you the promise of my Father.” Gratitude for those who taught us the faith. Accepting our responsibility as teachers and exemplars to others. STARTER “Must you go, darling?” Samantha asked, her voice softly trembling like the call of a delicate, softly trembling bird whose heart was about to break. She was real upset. Alexander strode quickly toward her from the window across the room until at last he clasped her in his muscular, sinewy arms and held her close. “Do you really have to go, my muscular, sinewyarmed man?” Samantha repeated. “Yes,” Alexander replied.“Darling, a man can live a thousand lifetimes and never win Super Bowl tickets. If it happens, he must follow his destiny.” (Pause.) I figure when I retire, I might try writing romance novels. LEADING QUESTIONS * “Goodbye” is a shortened form of what four words? * Today’s Gospel reading gives us a goodbye scene. Do you have any goodbye memories that are especially sweet or particularly sad? * What’s the most memorable farewell you experienced? * Did anyone you said goodbye to give you an assignment — something beyond usual things like “Take care of yourself ”? * Jesus didn’t just say, “See ya,” and take off for heaven. What did he leave with the apostles? * What do you think they remembered most about him? * What do you think people will remember most about you? * Jesus promised he would return. Would you like that to happen in your lifetime? Why (or why not)? DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * Young people don’t want to appear preachy. Hence, “Now it’s our turn to preach the Gospel as the apostles did” will not inspire them. Prepare a list of doable ways for youth to preach the Gospel … without preaching. * People of any age, in your own experience, who preached the Gospel without being preachy. 4 | May 2013
Coming Home The ascension of Jesus into heaven is the event of his going back home to heaven. We would appreciate it more if we knew what heaven was like. Alas, the biblical descriptions of streets of gold and gates of pearl do not add much to our knowledge. Nor are we intrigued when the Book of Revelation gives us the physical dimensions of heaven: half the size of America and 1,000 feet high. So, as is always the case with unknowable mysteries, we are forced to imagine them in terms of our own familiar experiences. Since Saint Augustine talks about the “holiday of heaven,” let’s recall one of our own experiences of coming home. Let’s say, from a European vacation. You were getting bored with the routine of middle-class American life. Enough of McBurgers and McFries and McShakes. Let’s have some authentic French cuisine. Be done with cookie-cutter motels — let’s stay in some ancient English castle. A visit to Europe opened your eyes. Nothing helps you appreciate the comfort of an American car like being scrunched in a foreign mini-car. Surviving a Rome rush hour makes you long for American driving rules. You haven’t been really scared until you’ve been stuck between floors in a creaky Greek elevator at 3 a.m. So might Jesus have mused in happy heaven. Not much happening here — same old, same old divine bliss every day. Why not try roughing it in the hinterlands of creation? Humans were made in his own image, so it would be interesting to see how well they lived up to their model. Earth living taught Jesus that it’s tougher than it looks from afar; that doing good is hard; that critical decisions raise anxiety; that love is not always reciprocated; that the prospect of death relativizes all things; that other people can be a living hell.
It’s high time to hie himself back to the simple joys of heaven! But Jesus did not come to earth as a tourist to see how things were on earth. No, he came as a Fixer to change how things were on earth. Since he knew the violent history of humankind, he knew that it would be a battle. Many a young American went off with similar dreams of fighting for his country, defeating the enemy and making the world safe for the latest political slogan. But the farther they got from home, the less romantic it all seemed: the monotonous routine of military life, the fierce discipline and irrational rules, the antagonisms of different backgrounds. Jesus also underestimated the challenge of doing battle. He was surprised at how many opponents rose to the surface, and how vehement and violent they were in pursuing their own agendas. He expected rough treatment from the occupying army, but he was surprised to run into evil in the most unlikely places: his family, his village, his religious leaders — even his closest friends. But then, as tough as the battle had been, it was only a small part of a life that goes on forever. Although he personally left the battle zone, he also left outposts of his Father’s kingdom all over the world. He had defeated the enemy at its home base; all that was left was the mopping-up exercise, which his church would complete. Each one of us recapitulates the life of Jesus in our own way. Paul tells us that we have a dual citizenship in heaven and earth. We try to make a home here, but we know that we are tourists. So, even as we fight death to the last breath, we secretly long for our real home, which is much larger than America, and stretches way past 1,000 miles.
May 19, 2013 — Sunday
Pentecost Truths from the Upper Room
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Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource CelebrationPublications.org ROMAN LECTIONARY Solemnity of Pentecost Acts 2:1-11 Ps 104 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 John 20:19-23 Revised Common LECTIONARY Solemnity of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 or Gen 11:1-9 Rom 8:14-17 John 14:8-17, (25-27) Anglican LECTIONARY Solemnity of Pentecost Acts 2:1-11 or Joel 2:28-32 1 Cor 12:4-13 John 20:19-23 or John 14:8-17
Vicki Ix holds a Master of Divinity degree from St. John’s School of Theology-Seminary in Collegeville, Minn. She has written and given workshops on Gospel living and Benedictine spirituality for over a decade. For more information, or to contact Vicki, go to www.godisalwaysmore.com.
eace be with you” is one of Jesus’ favorite lines. He says it again and again in scripture. Actually, this phrase is uttered 14 times by the Lord in the Gospels. We say it every Sunday to one another as we shake, hug or wave across the aisle. What does it mean? It means that Christ’s peace is given to us at baptism through water and the Spirit. That same Spirit is with us throughout each Christian lifetime and abides in the church, in spite of all that would move us toward fear. It is the Spirit of the risen Lord that holds us fast in faith when everything around us feels shaky. This Sunday is the conclusion of Easter’s Fifty Days. The season of unabashed joy and gratitude is coming to its end. Although we tend to view Pentecost as a singular, stand-alone event, it is, in fact, the pinnacle of Paschaltide. Reflecting Pentecost was the on the loss of this connection, Benedictine Sr. beginning of a Joan Chittister writes, “But only here in this time, between the bursting open of the tomb new way of God and, fifty days later, the overflowing of the Holy being with us. Spirit, does the full awareness of what it is to live in Christ, with Christ, and through Christ finally dawn” (Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009). Contained within today’s scriptures is a pneumatology — a vision of who the Spirit is in the church. The thrust of this feast is Trinitarian, a celebration of the third Person in the Godhead in the same way that the Nativity of the Lord celebrates the incarnation of the Word. This third Person, though, is more difficult to imagine. Benedictine Fr. Gregory Collins, in his remarkable work of liturgical spirituality Meeting Christ in His Mysteries: A Benedictine Vision of the Spiritual Life, writes of the Holy Spirit as “the one who works behind the scenes in the drama of redemption” (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2010). Preaching on Pentecost is, I think, a little like preaching on Easter Sunday. The Spirit, like the empty tomb, is hard for us to get our heads around. But as with the Easter event, there is some wonderful “evidence” left behind, clues that give us a glimpse of the ineffable, the unimaginable. I’m not talking doves or tongues of fire. The Spirit is evidenced by faith in action — the faith of the first church and our faith today. We know the Spirit is with us today because the church continues to journey together in spite of great human frailty, intractable pride and sexual sin. We know the Spirit is with us because there are still heroes among us who choose justice over law and pay the prophet’s price. We know the Spirit is with us because men and women from many nations and faiths hear the same message of peace, compassion and human dignity. Organizations like Church Women United, World Council of Churches and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue testify to the indiscriminate action of the Spirit in our midst. We also know that forgiveness is integral to the mystery of salvation. At the beginning of his messianic epic, Luke tells us about the forerunner, John the Baptist. In his prayer, John’s father, Zechariah, highlights John’s role in the bigger picture: “And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to
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give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus connects healing to forgiveness. He says, “Your sins have been forgiven you” or “your faith has saved you.” And in his last breath, Jesus proclaims his forgiveness for the ones who have hung him on that tree. Forgiveness, freely given by God to us through Christ, is our gift to one another as inheritors of his Spirit. Forgiveness is not an option. If we want to live like the redeemed, it must be our currency in the world. It must be ours because it was his. Still, in the midst of the hardships of daily life and the suffering of the world, we can feel that peace will never be found. It was easy to feel peace in Jesus’ presence, when he walked the earth, I would think. But after the stone was rolled into place? So his appearance at Pentecost (John, Gospel) was about more than good news — more than the knowledge that God had raised Jesus body and soul. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he told the disciples. It was the beginning of a new way of God being with us. In that new presence is the peace for which we hunger. It is already ours, here and now, if we can only embrace the gift. Creation is unbound now and tending toward completion in the cosmic Christ. Like the disciples, we are living in the days beyond the victory. This new consciousness is growing still. It is our job as disciples to live “as if,” to live the hope and joy of the empty tomb here and now.
Acts 2:1-11 The first reading from Acts gives us the “story” of Pentecost. The descent occurs as the disciples are gathered for the Feast of Weeks. Many have highlighted the Fiftieth Day as the “birthday” of the church. I’ve never really appreciated that comparison. The disciples were already “in” the church — already invested in the Christ project. Gregory Collins concurs. “It [Pentecost] is the public appearance of the church which 2 | May 2013
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Pentecost Solemnity Truths from the Upper Room
had been formed in embryo during Christ’s common life with his disciples before Easter” (Collins, op cit). I don’t think the Spirit descended to begin a church. I think God sent the Spirit of the risen Christ because these fragile human beings, frightened and hiding from the forces that took Jesus from their midst, needed some help. I think God knew that our faith in Christ, from the empty tomb to the Parousia, was going to need some shoring up, a commitment of real presence in the present age. “It was a time of great loss and great sorrow, of great demoralization and even greater confirmation and certainty, of Jesus with them still — but differently” (Chittister, op cit). The Spirit comes bearing gifts in this Acts pericope. The disciples demonstrate courage as they enter the streets to preach the good news to travelers of many nations. The Spirit empowers, prods, nudges and pokes. The spiritually stuck now move as if their pants are on fire, but it is their hearts that are burning. The impact of the Gospel is global, and salvation is meant for all people. We call upon the Spirit to “come down” when something important is
happening. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Holy Spirit of the risen Christ is invoked in every sacrament. Most conspicuous is the double epiclesis in the celebration of the Eucharist. We ask the Spirit to make simple elements into the body and blood of Christ. And, in the second epiclesis — a moment that is often lost in the blur of the eucharistic prayer — we ask the Spirit to make us one. For all those who are passionate about ecumenism and about unity within the Catholic church, this second invocation has particular power. Sacraments, councils, ordinations are not the work of human beings. They are very clearly the work of the Holy Spirit. Our pleas for the Spirit’s power and presence do not force God’s hand. Rather, Karl Rahner wrote, “He [the Spirit] comes not because we pray, but because God wills to love us” (The Great Church Year: The Best of Karl Rahner’s Homilies, Sermons, and Meditations, New York: Crossroad, 1999).
Ps 104 When the Eucharist is concluded, the deacon or priest cries, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” Like the disciples sent forth on Pentecost, we are all on mission until the whole world is gathered into one, until the cosmic Christ appears and draws all people to himself. The psalm refrain makes the point clearly: “Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30). The Spirit empowers us to do just that. How do we renew the face of the earth? How do we share our faith in the one who is to come again?
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 For the second reading, the presider may choose either the reading from Romans that was used at the Vigil Mass or a passage from 1 Corinthians. The poetic text from Romans (8:22-27) stirs us with active images and powerful truths. The Spirit — present at creation — remains with creation as it “groans” and stretches
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into the garden it was intended to be. The Spirit is the source of all private prayer, all preaching or any work that requires in-spir-a-tion. We don’t know how to pray. What congregation doesn’t need to hear that simple truth? Prayer isn’t entirely up to us. It is the work of the Spirit with which we need only cooperate. What a relief ! The text from 1 Corinthians 12 highlights the power of the Spirit in the life of each believer: “To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (12:7). Again, the Spirit is at work in each one for the blessing of all. As the Trinity pours out grace upon grace, so is the church to do the same. Our gifts are for the giving; they are not to be hoarded, showcased or rationed out. They are for the community. Pentecost is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with that divine energy poured forth into our lives and into the parish. As we cry out, “Veni, sancte spiritu,” we make our lives vulnerable to a power beyond our imagining. When we put ourselves at the disposal of the Spirit, God uses us in a good way. Pentecost is not a once-a-year liturgical opportunity. It is a posture of availability we can adopt as followers of Christ. Cistercian Fr. Thomas Keating writes, “In daily life the action of the Spirit increases as we try to put the values of the Gospel into effect” (Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit, New York: Lantern Books, 2007).
John 20:19-23 In early December 2012, I went to the ordination and consecration of an Episcopal bishop. The newly created bishop was standing in the midst of every bishop who was present at the ordination. They all came forward and laid hands on him. It didn’t just last for a moment or two. It was continuous, as the entire assembly invoked the Holy Spirit. “Veni, Sancte Spiritu,” as composed by the community at Taizé, rose in strength and beauty over the shepherd called to lead the flock. People wept and smiled at one another as the Presence was acknowledged with conspicuous joy.
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Pentecost is not some one-time event in the life of the church, even though it has just a day in the liturgical calendar. It continues. The love of the Creator and the Redeemer overflows into time and space, into fragile human hearts. There was no fire or earthquake, no wind or trumpet blasts. But God came. It was the same for the disciples in our Pentecost Gospel from John. Huddled in fear, paralyzed by all that could happen, they barred the doors. Still, “Jesus came and stood before them.” This was the risen Lord — the one bearing the wounds of his passion, yet alive. Yes, God came! “Jesus came and stood before them” (20:19). We could get stuck in John’s upper room, mired in the miracle of manifestation, and lose sight of the significance of the gift given to us here. If we can get past the theophany, we can listen to what the Lord is telling us in this appearance: The Spirit is with us. Peace is our gift. The mission continues. Forgiveness is the sign that God’s reign has begun in our lives. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (20:21). It is the disciple’s job to
Pentecost Sunday
tell the story so that the reign of God will come in its fullness. It reminds me of the news footage of families sending loved ones to Afghanistan. Soldiers with heavy duffel bags line up near a plane after being hugged and kissed, anointed with tears and prayers. Maybe this Gospel passage describes Jesus’ intimate moment with his “troops,” a sending forth under his care and with his blessing. With a breath, Christ fills them with purpose, courage and power. We need that power, too. “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (20:23). It is very easy to leap here to the sacrament of reconciliation and the role of the priest as mediator of the Spirit’s power. More daring, I think, is the notion that all the baptized have the capacity — no, the mandate — to forgive one another. Pentecost is not some one-time event in the life of the church, even though it has just a day in the liturgical calendar. It continues. The love of the Creator and the Redeemer overflows into time and space, into fragile human hearts. This love fills us with peace even as we are handed a daunting job description: Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is his mission. If we are to make a life of loving and forgiving one another, we need the Spirit now every bit as much as the apostles needed the Spirit after the resurrection. The good news is, we have the Spirit, and this gift is the only one that really keeps on giving.
Sermon Starters Deacon Dick Folger The new Airbus and Dreamliner airplanes need a mighty wind to lift them into the skies. These air monsters can hold up to 853 passengers and weigh 1.2 million pounds. The 460-ton Airbus needs to be rolling down the runway at 170 miles per hour before the pilot lifts the nose and lets her climb into the sky. It is amazing that all of that weight can rise up on the crest of the winds and fly. The engines roar, with their tongues of fire at work. Lifting our church into existence at Pentecost required a similar mighty wind. This heaven-sent power of roaring wind descended upon the disciples, while tongues of fire lashed down from the skies. May 2013| 3
PREACHING
May 19, 2013
RESOURCES
Preaching to Youth
HOMILY
Jim Auer
Pat Marrin
KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (1 Cor) “There are different gifts but the same Spirit. … To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” Gifts of the Spirit for the building of community. HOW YOUTH MIGHT INITIALLY APPROACH THE MAIN IDEA Why doesn’t that happen anymore? Or: Why doesn’t that happen around here? STARTER Good players often give credit to their teammates, a genuine acknowledgement of different gifts given for the good of the team. Players who block well make a running back look good and the team successful. “Assists” in volleyball and basketball set up kills and field goals respectively. LEADING QUESTIONS * What are the gifts of the Spirit you studied in preparing for confirmation? * What gift do you think is the most important for a community to work together? DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * The Spirit is part of the Trinity. Some in the assembly may consider the Holy Spirit extraneous to God, or the Spirit’s divinity a construct of theologians of olden times. Our knowledge of the Trinity arises from revelation in the New Testament. * The greatest gifts are seldom the most dazzling. See examples in “Starter”; more can be easily created. Make the connection to the faith community. * Gifts that are most needed in communities we belong to, small and large: family, school, parish, town or city, business community, government, the church. MEDIA LINK A community prayer of gratitude to the Spirit, written to the rhythm of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” (If a choir or a soloist is available, it could be sung.) Make the connection to the wind of Pentecost. “You hold us together with your presence / Although your presence is unseen / You delight when we work with you / To spread our love to those in need / (Chorus) We want you to know that we are grateful / For everything you’ve brought to be / We can do wondrous things together / For you are the wind beneath our wings.” 4 | May 2013
Stay in the City A decade ago, a small central city parish was faltering. Even its pastor thought it should close. But a group of parishioners went to the local bishop to ask for conditions to keep their church open. He challenged them to increase membership, demonstrate ministry and pay their bills. Ten years later, the church is thriving. One factor that moved those people was the resolve to resist the many economic and social forces that are tempting the church to follow patterns of money and exclusion. The people met each night during the crucial time between Ascension and Pentecost to pray over the story in the Acts of the Apostles in which a small, anxious community of believers was told to “stay in the city” and await empowerment by the Spirit. What happened in that story was also happening for this faith-filled group. Today, on Pentecost, we retell the story of the birth of the church. A great mystery was revealed to them in prayer, about how the life of Jesus was to be transferred into them and extended into history. The disciples had retreated to an upper room to pray. Mary, Jesus’ mother, was with them. For Luke, author of both the Gospel and Acts, what happened on Pentecost repeated what had happened for Mary three decades earlier in Nazareth when she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, conceived the child Jesus and set in motion the story of God in the world. Now the community of believers was experiencing the Spirit conceiving in them the ongoing presence of Jesus. The church was being born. His disciples would be the body of Christ, animated by his Spirit. Do we recognize ourselves in the story? The church has spread
throughout the world, touching millions of people, extending its influence into every aspect of culture and life. In wind, fire and many languages, the faith we share today burst forth from its small, simple origins to influence world civilization and global events. Yet its vitality is best measured in our local churches. If our worship is not inspiring and our ministry not challenging, perhaps we need to examine whether we suffer from outdated structures and limited ideas and whether we can meet the conditions that prove we are alive: an increase in members, especially young people; ministries that make a real difference in our city and neighborhoods; a spirit of enthusiasm that attracts time, treasure and talent to sustain a vital community. Pentecost was more than just a spiritual outpouring, but an outpouring into real people, lives receptive to the Spirit, ready to emerge from locked rooms into the community to preach, heal and minister to others. As composer Grayson Warren Brown has challenged, “Does the presence of this church in this location actually make a difference?” What do neighbors say about us? What impact do we have on the city around us? Would it matter if we up and moved and were replaced by a business or more housing? The Spirit is given to those who make it visible and effective. Pentecost serves, like every birthday celebration, to remind us that our lives are defined by love, relationships, memories and plans for the future. Everything is a gift meant to be used fully and joyfully to our benefit and that of those around us. Happy birthday to the church in the world, the body of Christ, alive and active through us.
May 26, 2013 — Ordinary Time
Trinity Unlike Anyone Else
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Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource CelebrationPublications.org ROMAN LECTIONARY Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Prov 8:22-31 Ps 8 Rom 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 Revised Common LECTIONARY Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Prov 8:1-4, 22-31 Rom 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 Anglican LECTIONARY Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Isa 6:1-8 Rev 4:1-11 John 16:(5-11)12-15
Roger Vermalen Karban is a priest of the Belleville, Ill., diocese and pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Renault, Ill. He holds a licenciate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and did his scripture studies at St. Louis University. He currently teaches scripture courses at St. Louis University and Southwestern Illinois College.
ince the Council of Nicaea’s definition of the Trinity in 325 — three persons in one God — isn’t spelled out as such in scripture, it’s somewhat challenging to give a biblical homily on this day. One way to approach the topic is to begin with the commandment: “You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them” (Deut 5:8). Though we’ve traditionally applied this prohibition only to carving idols of strange gods, the ancient Israelites also applied it to creating images of Yahweh. To this day, except for one or two debatable discoveries, no one has unearthed a statue, carving, bas-relief or any other representation of Yahweh. (One need only walk through the displays of Chicago University’s Oriental We might employ Institute to see thousands of images of other metaphors or symancient Middle Eastern gods and goddesses. Images of Yahweh are conspicuous by their bols, but we can nevabsence.) er perfectly depict a Though we Christians boast that we faithfully keep the Ten Commandments, we have person or thing that no problem with Michelangelo’s well-known is completely holy. Sistine Chapel creation fresco with its classic “old-man God” imagery. The reason for stopping people from depicting Yahweh is simple: Our sacred authors constantly refer to Yahweh as “holy.” The Hebrew word for holy, kadosh, means “other.” Something or someone kadosh is unlike anything or anyone else. To be holy is to be in a category by itself. We might employ metaphors or symbols, but we can never perfectly depict a person or thing that is completely holy. This is important to remember when we hear the Gospel passages in which Jesus demands his followers imitate the holiness of God. If someone attempted to create an image of Yahweh, he or she would automatically be limiting God to human concepts. How tall would Yahweh be, what gender, what color? No matter how creatively depicted, Yahweh would be limited by our limits. So, as a concrete way of expressing faith in God’s otherness, no one was permitted to depict God. This belief in Yahweh’s holiness carried over into early Christian depictions of the risen Jesus. Students of primitive Christian art remind us that during the first Christian centuries, whenever anyone made a fresco or carved a statue of Jesus, he was always depicted in the styles and clothes of the period and place in which the work was created. The artists never gave us an image of a first-third-of-the-first-Christian-century Jewish man. The famous third-century Roman catacomb statute of the Good Shepherd provides us with a classic example. Along with the contemporary fresco from the catacomb of Priscilla, they show a beardless young man wearing a mini-toga and sandals laced up to his knees, carrying a lamb across his shoulders, looking nothing like the classic holy card pictures with which we’re familiar. Historians say both catacomb images depict someone in the style and clothes of a third-century Roman shepherd. Paul tells us that the risen Jesus, as God, is quite different from the historical Jesus. The historical Jesus was limited to the age, culture and gender in which he ministered. He was a free Jewish man. Yet, the risen Jesus, as the Apostle states, is a “new creation.” In his famous Galatians 3 description of that new creation, Paul insists the risen Jesus is not slave or free, Jew or gentile, man or woman. This person is totally other.
May 26, 2013
PREACHING
The early Christians were convinced that as someone completely holy, the risen Jesus couldn’t be limited by the accidental circumstances and characteristics that limit us, or limited him during his earthly ministry. In 2000, the National Catholic Reporter conducted a contest inviting people to submit an up-to-date picture of Jesus. The winning artist, Janet McKenzie, gave us a portrait in which no one could be certain of Jesus’ gender, race or nationality. Quite an accomplishment — but also quite biblical. That’s why the bishops at the council of Nicea in 325 were faced with an impossible task. As that expert on Jesus’ divinity Fr. Bernard Lonergan always reminded his students, “They had to show that God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, were all made of the same ‘stuff.’ ” Just what is that stuff ? Lonergan made it clear that even when the bishops finally came up with their well-known “three persons in one God” statement, they were defining the word “person” in a way it had never been defined before. In other words, in talking about Jesus as God, even they were forced to break through the limits their Greek language and Greek concepts naturally imposed on them. If Kermit the Frog were a biblical theologian, he would eventually come up with a song called “It’s not easy being God.” No one really knows what God is like. That’s where today’s readings kick in.
Prov 8:22-31 There’s a wisdom debate going on in the Hebrew scriptures. Biblical wisdom has little to do with accumulating facts in our brain, at the ready for trivia contests or watching “Jeopardy.” The wisdom our sacred authors encourage us to acquire is the ability to look around us, notice patterns in nature and use our discovery to understand how God works in our world. If nature has patterns, God, nature’s creator, also has patterns. The author of Proverbs is a great proponent of this methodology. On the other hand, the author of Job believes there are no patterns 2 | May 2013
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May 26, 2013
Trinity Solemnity Unlike Anyone Else
in God’s behavior, and brings up the person of Job to defend the position. According to accepted theological patterns, Yahweh should reward the good and punish the bad. Yet, Job, the good, is the object of God’s punishment. When Yahweh finally makes an appearance at the end of the book to answer Job’s questions, there is no answer. God basically tells Job, “I’m God and you’re not. You’ll never be able to understand me.” In the midst of this wisdom debate, our Proverbs author symbolically personifies wisdom, assuming Yahweh created the ability for us to discern divine patterns in nature even before nature was created. “I was beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.” Those who adhere to this side of the wisdom debate can often be found spending lots of time outdoors, appreciating and worshiping the God who created all these wonders.
Rom 5:1-5 Because Paul’s image of God is filtered through Jesus of Nazareth, he
has to integrate suffering and death into God’s picture. The Apostle begins today’s Romans pericope by speaking about followers of Jesus being “justified.” In scripture, justice normally doesn’t refer to getting a full day’s pay for doing a full day’s work. The word usually is employed when one speaks about the proper relations we’re expected to have with God and the people around us. Down the line, a day’s pay and a day’s work are part of those relations, but the biblical concept goes much deeper than that one aspect. For Paul, one of the essential parts of justice is creating peace, the kind of peace Jesus has worked out between God and us. Yet that peace doesn’t automatically appear because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The peace Jesus offers only happens when we join with him in giving ourselves for others. That’s why affliction and suffering are included in any Christian image of God. The suffering Jesus endured wasn’t, like Job’s, simply a test from God to see how long the sufferer would hang in with God. The suffering of Jesus springs from a determination to be one with others. Such a quest for oneness always entails a death. No one, not even God, can become one with another unless he or she is willing to die to part of themselves. Any committed married couple can testify to that reality. Unity doesn’t happen by accident. No wonder Paul tries to help us see the good consequences — endurance, proven character, and hope — that flow from the affliction of giving ourselves. We become the person God wishes us to be only when we suffer in the way and for the reasons Jesus suffered. Our pain provides an insight into the pain our God also experiences by becoming one with us. Both Jesus’ death and resurrection and our own dying and rising give us a glimpse of a really holy God. Of course, no Christian can reflect on God’s relations with him or her without bringing up the Spirit of God. It’s the same Spirit who was embedded in the historical Jesus, and whom the risen Jesus shares with all of us.
PREACHING
John 16:12-15 The author of John’s Gospel has an advantage over the other three evangelists. He’s had more time to reflect on the implications of Jesus’ dying and rising. Probably writing in the mid-90s, he can better see the effect God’s Spirit has had on his community since the original events of Holy Week. He’s especially conscious of how that church has evolved over the last 60 years. When John creates Jesus’ Last Supper farewell address, he includes a rather amazing comment. “I have much more to tell you,” John’s Jesus tells his disciples, “but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.” In other words, in John’s theology, revelation isn’t a one-time event. It’s an ongoing process. Just as the historical Jesus took a period of time, perhaps a year, to convey his message, so the risen Jesus, through the Spirit, takes us beyond the period of his earthly ministry. Just as a human representation of God would limit God’s holiness, so one human formulation of God’s message would also limit the holiness of that message. Serious students of scripture realize how John’s Gospel didn’t just push the envelope, but went beyond the theological envelopes created by Mark, Matthew and Luke. Read Fr. Raymond Brown’s Community of the Beloved Disciple to see how he lays out the problems and tensions that were created when second-century Christians added the fourth Gospel to their collections of the other three. But the fact that they did add it tells us a lot about their frame of mind, a frame of mind clearly stated in the farewell address quote from John, above. Since the Bible has a “closed canon” and we can’t add books to our scriptures, we too often presume that’s all God wrote and intended us to read. It’s clear from how our
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We become the person God wishes us to be only when we suffer in the way and for the reasons Jesus suffered. Our pain provides an insight into the pain our God also experiences by becoming one with us. Both Jesus’ death and resurrection and our own dying and rising give us a glimpse of a really holy God. Christian scriptures took shape and were collected that our ancestors in the faith wouldn’t have agreed with that concept. Most of the disputes (often physical) at Nicea were triggered by a majority decision to employ a nonbiblical word in the council’s definition of the Trinity. The word was homoousious, or “made of one and the same stuff.” (We frequently see an anglicized form of the word on our milk containers: homogenized.) Though homoousios was a contentious word during that council, we’ve gotten quite accustomed to it over the last 16 centuries; it appears in our creeds and on the first pages of our catechisms.
Trinity Sunday
If today’s feast teaches us anything, it’s that we must be very careful about the images of God we create and employ. One size never fits a holy God. Some people today, based on the biblical prohibition about creating divine images, have difficulty using only male pronouns and male nouns when speaking of God. They reason that verbal images are just as limiting as material images. From a biblical perspective, our God is just as much she as he, as much mother as father. I presume we’ll continue to have disputes over such changes. But unlike the Nicene participants, I trust no one will have to do jail time over the issue. It’s good to return often to the Priestly Genesis creation story. In that Chapter 1 narrative, both the man and woman are created “in the image and likeness of God.” The particular Hebrew word employed for “image” is the same word our sacred authors use when talking about idols of pagan gods and goddesses. When someone in sixth-century B.C.E. Palestine asked why Israelites had no idols of Yahweh, the response was, “We do. Each of us is an image of our God. Our God is as diverse as we are.” As I mentioned above, Paul has no other choice when he speaks about the risen Jesus’ presence in Galatians 3. If he/she is God, there are no limits in our quest for this wonderful person in our everyday lives.
Sermon Starters Deacon Dick Folger The attorney for the rich woman opened the sealed envelope containing her last will and testament. His office was crowded with all the hopeful relatives who were eager to receive their inheritances. As the attorney began to read, they scooted forward to the edge of their seats. “And being of sound mind and body,” he read, nearing the end, I decided to spend all of my money on myself ! There should be nothing left.” In today’s Gospel from the Last Supper, Jesus bequeaths the gift of the Holy Spirit to all of us. He spent nothing on himself, giving all he had to those who were there that night, and to all of us down through the centuries. May 2013| 3
PREACHING
May 26, 2013
RESOURCES
Preaching to Youth
HOMILY
Jim Auer
Ted Wolgamot
KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (Rom) “Now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have gained access by faith to the grace in which we now stand, and we boast of our hope for the glory of God. But not only that — we even boast of our afflictions!” How it feels to be right with God, and how to get there. BACKGROUND NOTE Paul’s “boasting about afflictions” can seem like masochism if incorrectly understood. See Directions to Explore below. HOW YOUTH MIGHT APPROACH THE MAIN IDEA Uncertain whether the whole faith package is good news (just believe and you’re home free) or not (strings attached to believing). STARTER A few years ago, a popular bumper sticker read: “If you died tonight, would you be in heaven or hell?” Would you answer: A) Don’t know. Now can I be excused? I’ve got stuff to do. B) Don’t know, but I wish I did. C) Well … heaven. I think. I hope. LEADING QUESTIONS * What makes us righteous in the eyes of God: things we do or something God does? * Do you feel at peace with God, as Paul mentioned? Have you ever felt not at peace? DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * Attitudes that are signs of the faith that leads to being right with God: “Yeah, well, I guess that’s pretty cool … whatever.” “All I have to do is believe in Jesus, then I can do pretty much what I want? Why didn’t somebody tell me this before?” “I guess that’s a good deal if you’re not a really big sinner, but I’m not one of those people.” * Paul had not gone off the deep end when he wrote about boasting of afflictions. (“Some idiot totaled my car, I’ve got three broken ribs, and I’m flunking calculus. Top that, anybody!”) Paul was speaking principally about the social risks of following Jesus. * Sacrament of reconciliation. * It’s OK to feel certain of heaven as long as we realize it’s a pure gift from God who loves us. 4 | May 2013
God Is Family “May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” You may recognize these words. Because, of course, they are the very ones that greet each member of the church community at the beginning of every eucharistic celebration. You were all addressed with these words just a few moments ago. But even before that, we Catholic Christians begin every Mass we participate in, every prayer we say, every sacred gathering we attend, with these even more familiar words: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We have done this so often that we probably don’t give it much thought anymore. It’s sort of like saying “Good morning” to someone. It’s automatic. That’s the reason for today’s Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. Today is a day set aside by the church to remind us why we say these particular words. The bottom-line reason is because that’s who we are as a family of faith. We need to be reminded of this reality because we easily forget that in all of human history, we are a unique religious community. What makes our faith so exceptional, so unique is the belief that our God is a family! Our God is a community of persons, a fellowship of Love that has burst forth in ecstasy to the point that St. Paul can say in the reading we heard today: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). What this tells us about the God we believe in is that he is One who is constantly communicating infinite Love between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our
God is a sharing God, a God who wants to invite us into becoming a similar community of love among ourselves. Our God, then, is a model for how we are to be in relationship with one another. The whole history of God loving us, wanting to save us from the worst of our own selves and bring us into his Trinitarian family of love, is best highlighted by one word: communication. In order to communicate, you and I speak. We use words. This is how we enter into a relationship with each other. And this is exactly what our God has done with us. In the Hebrew scriptures, God opened his mouth and spoke these words to the people: “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” God then went all the way in the New Testament, and spoke to us in the most definitive way possible: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Finally, he spoke through the Holy Spirit. After the resurrection, Jesus promises to send the Spirit, who will “lead you into the complete truth,” as the Gospel we heard today told us. He will do that through the church, through the sacraments, through the scriptures, through the love we show one another in our common pursuit of justice and compassion, through the Eucharist we are celebrating together as a family at this moment. God is calling us as a church community, a family of faith, to be like him — to be like the Family that is the Trinity. That’s why we begin every Mass with the words that we do. And that’s why we begin all prayer with: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
May 2013 Fifth Week of Easter Wed., May 1: Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8
Joseph the Worker By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. St. Joseph served as the earthly father in the Holy Family and as a model of hard work and faithfulness. Jesus grew in wisdom and compassion at his side. No doubt Joseph felt a father’s pride for his adopted son’s work — the work of his hands and of his ministry. While Jesus’ mission helps us to know our Father in heaven, we learn a little of Joseph’s life of love and service as, well. We see the importance of commitment to family, the necessity of hard and honest work, and the sacrifice and suffering that parents offer in love for their children. For the men in our lives who serve as role models and father figures, we pray. PR
Homiletic starters and scriptural reflection points for each day of the month
Thurs., May 2: Acts 15:7-21; John 15:9-11
Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the church He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts. We must offer encouragement and support for our brothers and sisters as they try to follow Jesus, rather than judging them or putting obstacles in their way. Little good comes of testing them, or God. We are all saved through faith in Christ. Athanasius persevered in a time of heresy and persecution. Indeed, he had to confront those who wished to distort the true message of Christ. The Gospel reminds us that we may face hardship in Jesus’ name, but we are not to create it for those who share our core beliefs. For Christian unity, we pray. PR
Fri., May 3: 1 Cor 15:1-8; John 14:6-14
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Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource
celebrationpublications.org The Lectionary provides a kind of spiritual script for the universal church that keeps us, literally, all on the same page as we journey through the liturgical seasons. These short reflections, written by four authors who meet regularly to share the readings, are intended to help daily preachers and others who pray from the assigned scriptures each day to orient themselves to the Living Word addressed to the church in the world. Authors are identified by their initials, with short bios provided on the last page.
Philip and James, apostles Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Poor Philip cannot see what is already before him. He naively requests to see the Father when he has already been presented with the clearest vision Jesus can offer. And it’s not just that Philip can’t see. He doesn’t understand the bond between Jesus and the Father. Jesus wants to clarify that mystery for him by explaining that he is so united with the Father that Philip, and the others, have already seen and know him. We, too, can be blind to the obvious ways that the Father reveals himself to us. Let us open our eyes and our hearts that we may clearly see you, loving Father, we pray. PR
Sat., May 4: Acts 16:1-10; John 15:18-21 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Being a Christian isn’t easy. If it is, we’re doing something wrong. If we simply go along with the world, then we surely aren’t confronting its injustices, which Jesus did and calls us to do. If we truly seek to end oppression, witness to the truth, protect the lowly and demand fair treatment for all, we will meet opposition — even from other Christians. Jesus tells us that we do not belong to the world. We belong to him, and we must be steadfast in our commitment to show justice and compassion regardless of the personal costs. For the grace to suffer in Jesus’ name, we pray. PR
Sixth Week of Easter Mon., May 6: Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26–16:4a We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. Looking for a quiet place to pray, Paul and Timothy encounter some women and sit and speak with them. One of these women, Lydia, comes to believe in Jesus and is baptized, along with her whole household, and later invites them to stay in her home. Lydia is a striking role model for our contemporary church. She is an independent, intelligent woman, and when she learns of Jesus and the mission of the disciples, she offers her help and her resources. We pray that women will continue to find ways to lead
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the church and that their gifts will be respected and accepted by all. Lord, for an end to sexism in your church, we pray. PC
Tues., May 7: Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11 Sirs, what must I do to be saved? These words are spoken by a jailer after an earthquake pulls loose the chains holding captives. He knows he has witnessed a miracle, and struck with fear, he asks Paul and Silas for instructions. Soon he is a believer and is baptized, along with his household. It is noteworthy that the first thing the jailer does after his conversion is to bathe the wounds of the disciples. The second thing is to bring them to his house and provide them a meal. These are the actions we must take as believers. That friend struggling in her marriage, or another wrestling with an addiction, or yet another overwhelmed by loneliness — all are waiting for our help. Lord, for those who need our care, we pray. PC
Wed., May 8: Acts 17:15, 22–18:1; John 16:12-15 For “In him we live and move and have our being,” as even some of your poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.” As Paul travels in Athens to explain the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, he turns to familiar sayings to support these new ideas. In Athens, Paul is not persecuted but is treated to an open debate about the nature of God. Some scoff at the idea of resurrection; others want to hear these ideas in more detail; still others become believers. Paul’s preaching is instructive here. First, he respects Greek culture, noting how religious they are. Then he finds common ground, supported by their poets. He recognizes they love to debate new ideas, so he debates effectively. Lord, for respect for all cultures, we pray. PC
Thurs., May 9: Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53
BREAD opinion on issues that reflect our deepest beliefs: respect for all life, concern for the poor and elderly, access to mental health care, or the solution to gun violence. Lord, diminish our fear with your presence, we pray. PC
Sat., May 11: Acts 18:23-28; John 16:23b-28 Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. The Dalai Lama reminds us that we can only achieve peace in the world if we are truly peaceful in ourselves. So, we pray that in our daily actions and attitudes we can be more peace-filled. If we pray for less violence in our country, we first need to pray for God’s help in making ourselves less violent in our thoughts, actions and entertainment. If we pray for an end to racism, we must also pray for God’s help in exposing and rooting out racist inclinations that are buried deep in our psyche. Lord, make us channels of your peace, we pray. PC
Seventh Week of Easter Mon., May 13: Acts 19:1-8; John 16:29-33
Our Lady of Fatima I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. Goodbye: It’s a word we say almost without thinking. We have all said goodbye probably more times than we can count. Much of Jesus’ ministry, at least in John’s Gospel, was spent saying goodbye, preparing his disciples for his eventual absence. This was not the time for easy assurances or false promises. It was a time to be realistic: “In the world you will have trouble.” But it was also a time to remember God’s steadfast presence even in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. We trust in your promises and your presence, O God. JL
Ascension of the Lord Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? Today we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven, which seems to bewilder his disciples. The two men dressed in white explain to them the stark reality: Do not spend your time standing there looking at the sky. There is much work to be done here on the ground, and Jesus will always be with you. We are sometimes faced with this same sense of abandonment, but scripture continually reminds us that we are not alone. We have the community of believers to support us in our efforts to minister, just as the disciples did when they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. O Lord, keep us close to you, we pray. PC
Tues., May 14: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; John 15:9-17
Fri., May 10: Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23
Wed., May 15: Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11b-19
Damien de Veuster, priest One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.” Paul’s message is stirring up controversy with local Jewish officials who believe he is teaching people to worship God contrary to the law. This message, “Be not afraid,” is one we hear often in our hymns. We need this encouragement repeatedly as we confront the controversies of everyday life. It takes courage to speak out in opposition to what often seems the majority 2 | May 2013
Feast of Matthias, apostle Love one another as I love you. Jesus commanded his followers to love: love God, love neighbors, love enemies, love self. Jesus made this clear not only with his words, but also with his very life. He did not say, “Whatever you do, do it for attention and prestige and reward.” He did not say, “Build yourself up by criticizing others.” Jesus said, “Love one another as I love you.” This is the second time Jesus has spoken these words to his disciples; the first was after he washed their feet. What’s more, Jesus said our love for each other would be the way others will know we are Jesus’ disciples. You love us, O God; teach us to love one another. JL Isidore Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me. Jesus’ long goodbye continues; his main concern in these chapters is not what will soon happen to him, but what will happen to his disciples after he is gone. He has promised them that he will not abandon them, that the Holy Spirit will come to remind them of all he’s taught them. He has encouraged his disciples to stay connected to the True Vine. Today Jesus prays for his disciples, speaking deeply and intimately
DAILY with his Father about his hour having come and his disciples being left behind. With this prayer, Jesus consecrates the disciples to the tasks ahead, dedicating them to life without him. Your love surrounds us, challenges us and guides us. JL
Thurs., May 16: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; John 17:20-26 I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one. Writing many years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, John thought it was important to remind those who had never known Jesus in the flesh that Jesus was still present, just not in the way that he had been before. Here Jesus’ prayer is not just for the Twelve, but for all who will come after and learn about Jesus because of their witness — which includes all of us. Jesus prays “that all may be one.” Not that we will always agree about matters of faith and doctrine, but with mutual understanding and respect, we can be disciples working together as the body of Christ. Lord Jesus, grant that what separates us is never more important than what unites us. JL
Fri., May 17: Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19 Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? After breakfast on the beach, the risen Jesus and Peter take off for a walk. After a few moments of companionable silence, Jesus turns to Peter and asks, “Simon, do you love me more than these?” Jesus could have been pointing to all the fishing equipment, the boats, the nets and the sea. Or it could be that Jesus meant, “Do you love me more than your fellow disciples do?” Regardless of how we interpret the question, the consequences of Peter’s answer are the same. With his three affirmations of love, Peter is given a task, a challenge, a call: Feed my sheep. Give your life to care for my flock. Put your love into action. Guide us, God of grace, as we seek to love in word and in deed. JL
Sat., May 18: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25
John I, pope and martyr There are many other things that Jesus did. Easter was seven long weeks ago. But just as the crucifixion was not the end of the story, Easter is not the end either. The disciples were stumbling along, working to understand and do all Jesus had taught them. Love one another as I have loved you. Remember me in the breaking of the bread. Be one. Feed my sheep. Keep doing these things even as you wait for the promised Holy Spirit, who will soon come to inspire, energize and challenge you. And remember: You are not alone. The following is in the doing, Lord Jesus. JL
Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Mon., May 20: Sir 1:1-10; Mark 9:14-29
Bernardine of Siena, priest The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom. Inspired by yesterday’s celebration of Pentecost, I’d like to try something a little different this week. Taking each day’s theme from the Book of Sirach, I’ll reflect on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit — unwrap the gifts, as it were. Af-
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ter all, a gift isn’t much good if it stays in the box. Today we hear about wisdom, which inspires “wonder and awe,” once translated as “fear of the Lord.” At a time when it isn’t cool to be impressed by much, this gift may be a good starting place. Life without the capacity to be awed and filled with wonder is a tedious life and may point to a person in the throes of depression or perhaps just lacking in humility and imagination. This is the gift that enables us to wake up, open our eyes, look around and be amazed at the daily miracle of beauty and abundance, life and love. Holy Spirit, open my eyes and mind and heart to thank you for the wonder of today. pbs
Tues., May 21: Sir 2:1-11; Mark 9:30-37
Christopher Magallanes, priest, and companions, martyrs Be sincere of heart and steadfast ... undisturbed in time of adversity. As we continue to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, today’s passage from Sirach points to the gift we call “fortitude” or “courage.” This is a gift of God’s own strength in the face of anything that would frighten us into doing something bad, or, perhaps more common, into doing nothing when action is called for. It is the gift apparent in the martyrs who died for the faith, but also in those who risk derision or loss of social or financial standing to speak truth to power. Holy Spirit, encourage and strengthen me for all efforts you desire from me today. pbs
Wed., May 22: Sir 4:11-19; Mark 9:38-40
Rita of Cascia, religious Wisdom breathes life into her children and admonishes those who seek her. The best definition of wisdom I’ve come across is the gift to see as God sees — the world, each other, ourselves. This gift of the Holy Spirit takes a lifetime to unwrap and is one that will never be fully realized in this world. That is how wisdom “admonishes” us, by reminding us that we never know the whole story, we never know someone completely, we never know what is just around the corner. This combination of seeking after wisdom and acknowledging that there is much we do not know may prompt us to seek out the guidance of the wise: a spiritual director, confessor, chaplain or someone more realized in the faith than we. Seeking guidance from the wise is an important part of unwrapping the gift of wisdom. Holy Spirit, lead me to the wise people of my community and protect me from the guidance of the foolish. pbs
Thurs., May 23: Sir 5:1-8; Mark 9:41-50 Delay not your conversion to the Lord. Another gift of the Holy Spirit that is so needed in our time is “reverence,” also known as “piety.” Unfortunately, piety for some has become associated with a joyless, rule-ridden, judgmental sort of person, so reverence may be a better name for this gift. To be reverent is to love God, to see God in all things and delight in the divine. This is the essence of true conversion. To be in the presence of such a person makes one feel loved and want to love better. Holy Spirit, fill me with the love of God and guide me to those who have the gift of reverence. pbs May 2013| 3
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Fri., May 24: Sir 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12 A faithful friend is beyond price. Today’s passage from Sirach is advice on what to look for in a friend, but also how to be a good friend, a good person. Two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit — “understanding” and “right judgment” — are about doing what God would have us do. Understanding is possible only when we reject suspicion and cynicism and are predisposed to believe the teachings of Jesus. Understanding increases as we follow Jesus’ commands, even those counterintuitive teachings like “love your enemies.” Right judgment, sometimes called counsel, is to do what is right almost by instinct and is acquired only after years of practice. Holy Spirit, increase in me the capacity to be a good friend, a faithful companion, a loving person to all those you place on my path today. pbs
Sat., May 25: Sir 17:1-15; Mark 10:13-16
Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor of the church; Gregory VII, pope; Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, virgin He has set before them knowledge, a law of life as their inheritance. Knowledge, the remaining gift of the Holy Spirit, is not about acquiring facts or rote memorization of points of the catechism. Rather it is a knowledge that allows one to see God’s plan in all circumstances. The gift of knowledge enables us to believe that God’s plan governs all situations, even the most painful experiences, and to live a more joyful, carefree life. Holy Spirit, fill me with the knowledge of your plan for me, for my loved ones and for our world. pbs
Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Mon., May 27: Sir 17:20-24; Mark 10:17-27
Augustine of Canterbury, bishop Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. Jesus is not picking on the wealthy. In the Hebrew scriptures, material richness was seen as a sign of God’s favor. Instead, Jesus is warning of the distraction and false promises of materialism and earthly power. We cannot rest secure because of our bounty. Our things will not gain us salvation. Nor will our works, for that matter, but our right actions can bring us closer to living like Jesus, who freely offers us the gift of salvation. Then we can appreciate the value of the offer of the kingdom. Lord, help us to seek the ultimate prize of your gift of salvation, we pray. PR
Tues., May 28: Sir 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31 We have given up everything and followed you. There are countless examples of holy men and women who have sacrificed the world’s riches to serve the Lord and his people. Their selfless service reflects what Jesus asks us to do for his sake and for the sake of the Gospel. We’re grateful for everyday saints like missionaries, teachers, caregivers, social workers and men and women religious who place the Gospel before their own desires. They remind us to ask ourselves: What are we willing to give up today in order to gain eternal life? In gratitude for those who selflessly serve, we pray. PR
Wed., May 29: Sir 35:1, 4-5a, 10-17; Mark 10:32-45 Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. How 4 | May 2013
BREAD often do our conversations with the Lord become lists of things we want? We should not be afraid to go to the Lord with our deepest longings; however, Jesus’ message isn’t about getting what we desire all the time. In his response to James and John, Jesus uses the example of his life to show the necessity of service, humility and gratitude. We must first see that others receive what is due to them in justice. When we seek to fulfill the needs of others before we petition for our own wants, then we will understand Jesus’ message of what it takes to follow him. To serve others in justice and compassion, we pray. PR
Thurs., May 30: Sir 42:15-25; Mark 10:46-52 Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you. Sometimes we just need an invitation and encouragement. The blind man springs up when Jesus calls to him and clearly voices his need, and Jesus answers him in love and compassion. Our true desires can be a handicap to us if we do not ask the Lord to cure us of what holds us back. We need to recognize how weak we are without Jesus and call out to him no matter how humbling or frightening it may be. He will answer gently and make us whole. Heal us, Lord, we pray. PR
Fri., May 31: Zeph 3:14-18a; Luke 1:39-56
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled. Mary’s profound faith has long served as a model of the fulfillment of the Lord’s promises to those who trust in his divine plan. Certainly she must have been confused and probably frightened, yet she allowed God to work through her, a lowly woman, practically a child herself. She expressed praise and gratitude for being called to serve in this vital way, knowing well some of the hardships she would endure. Mary allowed her faith to be stronger than her fear and embraced God’s plan for her. She even had the grace to serve her cousin Elizabeth, bringing her hope and joy and sharing the good news of the wonders of God. Let us welcome God’s plans for us with wonder and joy, we pray. PR
Daily Bread Authors
Portia Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in English and theology and a master’s in English literature from Oklahoma State University. Jeanne Lischer grew up in St. Louis and Ghana, West Africa, where her parents were missionaries. She is a graduate of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, was ordained in 1990 in the United Church of Christ and is currently the pastor for two rural congregations in Missouri. Patricia Russell graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., with degrees in English and secondary education. Paige Byrne Shortal earned a bachelor’s degree in theology at Saint Louis University and a master’s degree in pastoral studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. Visit her website and contact her at www.paigebyrneshortal.com.