Sign of Peace at Mass

Recently, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a Circular Letter entitled “The Ritual Expression of the Gift of Peace at Mass” (July 8, 2014).  Pope Francis approved and ordered its publication. The letter deals with the question of the Sign of Peace resolving the question whether the Holy See would move the Sign of Peace to an earlier part in the Mass; a question bantered around by liturgists for years. As a note, the Eastern Churches place the Sign of Peace before the Eucharistic prayer; I am speaking about the Western Church here.

At the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, the synod fathers raised the question of the moving of the Sign of Peace because of the perceived disruption of what the Sign of Peace  has become. Pope emeritus Benedict XVI noted in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum caritas (2007), stated:

“[D]uring the Synod of Bishops there was discussion about the appropriateness of greater restraint in this gesture, which can be exaggerated and cause a certain distraction in the assembly just before the reception of Communion. It should be kept in mind that nothing is lost when the sign of peace is marked by a sobriety which preserves the proper spirit of the celebration, as, for example, when it is restricted to one’s immediate neighbors.”

The Church made the decision to leave the Sign of Peace where it is. The Letter explains:

In the Roman liturgical tradition, the exchange of peace is placed before Holy Communion with its own specific theological significance. Its point of reference is found in the Eucharistic contemplation of the Paschal mystery as the “Paschal kiss” of the Risen Christ present on the altar as in contradistinction to that done by other liturgical traditions which are inspired by the Gospel passage from St. Matthew (cf. Mt 5: 23: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”).

The ritual gesture needs to cohere with the theology. The Church makes a crucial distinction that we need to be aware of: the sign of peace at Mass refers to the Risen Christ’s gift of His peace, it is paschal in nature. The fitting-ness of this rite is placed just before the moment when Jesus will feed His people with His own Body and Blood in Holy Communion. Jesus Christ is our peace, and only from Him is our peace known, lived and an invitation to our conversion. The sign of peace, as a minor rite in the Mass, must reflect this divine gift and not distract us as we prepare to receive that gift of Christ’s peace in the Holy Eucharist. The exchange of peace in many places is done with a superficial and sentimental bearing no mind to who is before us.

 Too often the sign of peace is a breaking of contemplation, a turning away from the Eucharistic Lord present before us on the altar; too often the focus is on the person and community.

Now with the Circular Letter the application of the rite calls for the need to be reverent and sober in the exchange of a sign of the Lord’s peace. It gives “practical guidelines. . .to better explain the content of the exchange of peace and to moderate excessive expressions that give rise to disarray in the liturgical assembly before Communion.”

Moreover: “If it is foreseen that it will not take place properly due to specific circumstances or if it is not considered pedagogically wise to carry it out on certain occasions, it can be omitted, and sometimes ought to be omitted. It is worth recalling that the rubric from the Missal states: ‘Then, if appropriate, the Deacon of the Priest, adds: Let us offer each other the sign of peace.’”

The Sign of Peace, therefore, is not required at Mass. The Holy See is clearly concerned that this optional rite has become the occasion for all sorts of problems and distractions. The Letter lists “abuses” that we must “definitively avoid”: singing a song of peace during the exchange of the sign of peace, people moving around the church to exchange the sign of peace with others, the priest leaving the altar to give the sign of peace to the faithful in the pews, and the not uncommon practice of using the sign of peace at special Masses such as weddings or funerals as an “occasion for expressing congratulations, best wishes or condolences among those present.”

The faithful accustomed to a more free manner of the sign of peace will say that “this is a key moment of connection with others at Mass, it helps to focus on what we are doing, I like saying hello to my friends, and meeting new people,” or some such thing. At a local parish the people are now waving at each other, which is yet another problem. While all of these things are good, they are not fitting in the praying of the Mass. Let me say decisively, we are not under attack from Rome; we are asked to consider what we are doing, why we are doing it, and to be coherent in liturgical practice and tradition.

Liturgical order in Mass is important in the worship of God. I have come to worship the Trinity; not to be distracted.

Mary Immaculate, Queen of heaven and earth

Mary's QueenshipThe Latin Church using the Novus Ordo Mass honors Mary today under the title of the Queen; those praying the Missal of St John XXIII would be celebrating feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Either way, we are at the 8th day since the great solemnity of the Assumption.

The teaching is that Jesus, the King, Second Person of the Trinity, the human face of the Invisible God, exercises His kingship –given Him by God the Father– over the cosmos as servant, teacher, mediator, healer, Savior of the world. There are more Christological images to note which are quite beautiful and necessary to understand the complete package of what it means to be an adopted Son and Daughter of God through Baptism. Recall, what is said of Mary reflects directly back to her Jesus.

Jesus is Lord, His mother is Queen. We follow.

In a democratic and ideological society such as ours, regal images are hard to accept for some people with good reason. Yet, in the spiritual realm, the noble images given in our Liturgy are not crowns of money, power and fame but of a spiritual nature: service, love and humility. Because of the inheritance given in Baptism we share squarely in the divine life. Sacred Scripture reveals to us that adhering to Jesus till the end we will receive a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4); crowns of gold will be given to “the 24 ancients (Rev 4:4).”

Mary is the new Eve, the Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Refuge of Sinners, and thus Queen above all queens. Mary as the Queen Mother wear a crown like no other. Her crown is not made of gold and precious stones; no her crown is  a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1), and the only crown made up of stars mentioned in the Bible.

What is the crown of stars? The tradition tells us that her crown is given directly by God Himself: the Divine Majesty bestowing on His creature a crown of stars with cosmic importance reflecting the brilliance of God Himself. Hence we believe that the stars of the crown guide in the darkness of night, and through the dark times in our lives.

We Christians think biblically: we have 12 gates of the Temple, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles. Mary, given to the Church by the Lord from the Cross. The Queenship means for us that she the Queen of the Church: the Church Militant (on earth), the Church Suffering (in purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (in heaven). BUT this power exercised in relation to what God has given.

Mary as Queen intercedes for us with her Son, the King.

Saint Pius X

Pius XToday, we celebrate the liturgical memorial Saint Pius X and the centenary of his death. He was the 257th pope. The Eucharist, in part because of Pius, is far more central to our lives as Catholics than before him. His intuition and boldness of teaching open new doors to radical gift of the Holy Eucharist. Rome Reports has a brief presentation on Pius.

From the Discourse of Pope Pius XII at the Canonization of Pius X

Sanctity, which was the guide and inspiration of the undertakings of Pius X, shines forth even more clearly in the daily acts of his personal life. Before applying it to others, he put into practice in himself his program of returning all things to unity in Christ. As a humble parish priest, as bishop, as the Supreme Pontiff, he believed that the sanctity to which God called destined him was that of a priest. What sanctity is more pleasing to God in a priest of the New Law than that which belongs to a representative of the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, Who left to His Church in the holy Mass the perennial memorial, the perpetual renovation of the Sacrifice of the Cross, until He shall come for the last judgment; and Who with this Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist has given Himself as the food of our souls: “He that eateth this bread shall live forever.”

A priest above all in the Eucharistic ministry: this is the most faithful portrait of St. Pius X. To serve the mystery of the Blessed Eucharist as a priest, and to fulfill the command of Our Savior “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19), was his way. From the day of his sacred ordination until his death as Pope, he knew no other possible way to reach such an heroic love of God, and to make a such generous return to that Redeemer of the world, Who by means of the Eucharist “poured out the riches of His divine Love for men” (Council of Trent, Session 13, chapter 2). One of the most significant proofs of his priestly sensibility was his ardent concern for the renewal of the dignity of worship, and his concern to overcome the prejudices of an erroneous practice, by resolutely promoting the frequent, and even daily, Communion of the faithful at the table of the Lord, without hesitation, leading children thereto, lifting them up, as it were, in his own arms, and offering them to the embrace of God hidden on the altars. From this, sprang up a new springtime of the Eucharistic life of the Bride of Christ.

In the profound vision which he had of the Church as a society, Pius X recognized in the Eucharist the power to nourish substantially its interior life, and to raise it high above all other human associations. Only the Eucharist, in which God gives Himself to man, can lay the foundations of a social life worthy of its members, cemented by love more than by authority, rich in its works and aimed at the perfection of individuals: a life, that is, “hidden with Christ in God.”

A providential example for today’s world, where earthly society is becoming more and more a mystery to itself, and anxiously searches for a way give itself a soul! Let it look, then, for its model at the Church, gathered around its altars. There in the sacrament of the Eucharist mankind truly discovers and recognizes its past, present, and future as a unity in Christ. Conscious of, and strong in his solidarity with Christ and his fellow men, each member of either Society, the earthly and the supernatural one, will be able to draw from the altar an interior life of personal dignity and personal worth, such as today is almost lost through insistence on technology and by excessive organization of the whole of existence, of work and even leisure. Only in the Church, the holy Pontiff seems to repeat, and though Her, in the Eucharist which is ‘‘life hidden with Christ in God,” is to be found the secret and source of the renewal of society’s life.

Hence follows the grave responsibility of those who, as ministers of the altar, have the duty of it is to open up to souls the saving treasure of the Eucharist. There are indeed many forms of activity which a priest can exercise for the salvation of the modern world; but only one of them is without a doubt the most worthy, the most efficacious, and the most lasting in its effects: to act as dispenser of the Holy Eucharist, after first nourishing himself thereof abundantly. His work would not be that of a priest, if, even through zeal for souls, he were to put his Eucharistic vocation in second place. Let priests conform their outlook to the inspired wisdom of Pius X, and orient every activity of their life and apostolate by the sun of the Eucharist.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Saint BernardThe great Saint Bernard of Clairvaux has his feast day today. The Cistercian abbot and priest, preacher and counselor has left a permanent mark on the Church. His teachings reveal the depth of his love for God, particularly the second person of the Trinity. Moreover, he spoke often of God’s gaze upon us, His mercy for creation. We know from experience that God alone can satisfy our human desire; nothing can replace our desire for God and if we try to replace God with something, it will always eave us frustrated and empty.

From the writings of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux we read: “I am myself a Cistercian; do I therefore condemn the Cluniacs? God forbid! On the contrary, I love them, praise them, extol them. . . .If you ask why . . . I did not choose Cluny from the first, I reply that, as the apostle says…: ‘All things are lawful for me, but all things are not profitable for me.’ It is not that Cluny is not holy and just. It is rather that I am an unspiritual man, sold as a slave to sin. I knew that my soul was so weak that a stronger remedy was necessary. Different diseases call for different remedies; the more serious the illness, the more drastic the remedy.”

Saint John Eudes

St John EudesSaint John Eudes is a saint’s name really unknown to many. But when you read what he did, you realize his importance for the life of the Church and for our personal devotion to the sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the priesthood and preaching on the them of mercy.

“How culpable are we, if, instead of honoring the sacerdotal dignity, we degrade it; if instead of behaving worthily in the holy surroundings and becomingly handling holy things, we sully them with sacrileges; and if, instead of seeking only the glory of our master and the salvation of souls, we run after the glory of the world and our own particular interests.” (St. John Eudes)

Influenced by the teaching of the French school and the teaching of Saint Francis de Sales, as we see in his  Treatise on the Love of God, with distinct revelations of the Benedictines Saint Gertrude and Saint Mechtilde, John Eudes was completely dedicated to the Divine Heart because it is keenly an acceptance of the Incarnation. 

The French devotion to the SacredHeart of Jesus through Bérulle’s devotion to the Incarnate Word, Eudes saw the value of being a witness to the gentleness and warmth of Saint Francis de Sales. Eudes’ intuition was correct because an emphasis on the humanity of Lord’s heart is a fact taught through the centuries but overlooked as unimportant by some. How did he manage this? Eudes was able to move the individual and private character of the devotion into a devotion for the whole Church by locating the Sacred Heart’s devotion into the sacred Liturgy. In the Liturgy of the Church you realize that Catholics dovetail the community in prayer (Holy Mass and the Divine Office) and the personal prayer of an adherent. Writing the prayer texts first for his own religious communities which were approved by several local bishops before spreading throughout the Church. Pope Leo XIII spoke of John Eudes’ heroic virtues in 1903, gave him the title of “Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary“.

John Eudes taught the mystical unity of the hearts of Jesus and Mary and wrote: “You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus, has devotion to Mary.”

The most striking characteristic of the teaching of St. John Eudes on Devotion to the Sacred Heart-as indeed of his whole teaching on the spiritual life—is that Christ is always its centre.

Secrets of Hell revealed

This article published by Aleteia on hell’s secrets revealed by one of the Church’s chief exorcists, Father Gabriel Amorth, is interesting because it begins to put in order the Christian belief in God, and His opponent, Lucifer (Satan, or Devil) and creation of hell.

I recommend reading the article if nothing else your awareness is heightened and you begin to take seriously the place of sin, evil and hell in this life. The Lord Himself has revealed the extent of evil; the saints have spoken of evil and we ought to pay and pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially Wisdom, courage and fortitude. Many people think of hell and the devil as quaint stories to scare people into submission to Church authority. I assure you, hell is real and people have elected to take up residence there thus rejecting God.

Advice given in the article: “To be a man of faith and prayer and always to ask the intercession of Mary Most Holy. And then always to be humble…”

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Assumuption Bartolomeo della GattaThe summer feast of Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is known also as Marymass. The feast is about the fulfillment of the promise God made to us: to live fully and wholly with Him in heaven, to be united with Him body and soul. Neither sin nor death would grasp her being.

So, we believe that Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word, Jesus, did not suffer the indignity of the decomposition of the human body. In defining the dogma of the Assumption in 1950, Pope Pius XII left as an open question as to whether or not Mary died. The Greek Church calls this feast the Falling Asleep –the Dormition of Mary– pointing to the notion that Mary died and yet at that very moment she was called by her Son to the fullness of Life Eternal without delay and decay. Here is reflection by Saint John Damascene:

“It was fitting that she who had preserved her virginity inviolate in childbirth should also have her body kept free from all corruption after death. It was fitting that she who had carried the Creator as a child on her breast should dwell in the tabernacles of God. It was fitting that the bride espoused by the Father should make her home in the bridal chambers of heaven. It was fitting that she, who had gazed on her crucified Son and been pierced in the heart by the sword of sorrow which she had escaped in giving him birth, should contemplate him seated with the Father. It was fitting that the Mother of God should share the possessions of her Son, and be venerated by every creature as the Mother and handmaid of God.”

May we enter into deeper communion with the Holy Trinity so that we, like the great Mother of God, live body and soul at the end of time. Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us.

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe

Kolbe“No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hetacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?”

A while ago I when I visited the death camps in Poland I had the opportunity to visit the prison cell of Kolbe. Walking into the cell where the saint lived his last days was intense. It was the first time I could connect the dots of how the confrontation of evil and good can happen, and how one can completely follow Christ in a concrete and meaningful way. The sacrifice of this Franciscan priest for the good of a married man and father is a striking example of how we can take up our cross today for the good of another person: be Christ-like.

Pray for peace in Iraq Sunday, August 17

girl in prayerThe chairman of the Committee of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, asked us to pray for peace in Iraq on Sunday, August 17.

The prayer noted below was written by the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq, His Beatitude Louis Rafael Sako.

On arriving in Korea today, Pope Francis continued his call for peace in the Middle East, he prayed for a soul of a journalist killed in Gaza and for peace among Asian nations. Not long ago he said: “violence generates more violence; dialogue is the only path to peace.” Prayer is the key to good public order.

Join us in prayer.

Lord,
The plight of our country
is deep and the suffering of Christians
is severe and frightening.
Therefore, we ask you Lord
to spare our lives, and to grant us patience,
and courage to continue our witness of Christian values
with trust and hope.
Lord, peace is the foundation of life;
Grant us the peace and stability that will enable us
to live with each other without fear and anxiety,
and with dignity and joy.
Glory be to you forever

Francis goes to Korea

Francis in KoreaToday, His Holiness Pope Francis began his Apostolic Journey to the Republic of Korea for the 6th Asian Youth Day (13-18 August 2014). We keep the Pope in our prayers and friendship as he visits our sisters and brothers in Korea.

The preparations for the papal visit is called “simply impeccable” and an event to remember. Listen to a Vatican Radio report on the prep. I am sure our friends their are welcoming their father in Faith in grand style and with blessed affection for they know Christ and virtue of friendship.

The Program

The Catholic Church in Korea is one sustained and developed by the laity. The Church in a very real way is a country of martyrs, 124 of them will be beatified by the Pope on Saturday. Listen to a bishop’s review of his Church in a Vatican Radio interview.

Vatican Radio has looked into Catholic life of the  Church on this peninsula. Listen to the interview.

Let us ask in prayer that the Korean Martyrs to assist the Pope, the bishops and laity in the witness to Jesus Christ.