Troubadour, March 2012

Posted March 19th, 2012 by CLMjm

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The Eucharistic Marriage


by Robert Fontana

For Catholics (and Orthodox, Episcopalians, and some Lutherans) the word “Eucharist” is both a verb and a noun. Remember the difference between a verb and a noun? A noun is “the baseball” (person, place or thing). A verb is “throwing the baseball” (action). As a verb, “Eucharist” describes what we do whenever we gather for worship. There’s a lot that happens!


  • Procession from people’s homes to the church

  • Gathering songs and prayers of penance

  • Scripture readings and homilies

  • Intercessory prayer and presentation of gifts

  • Consecration of the gifts of bread and wine

  • Exchange of peace and communion procession

  • Dismissal and procession home

All of this, including the bells and smells (ringing the bells during consecration and incensing by the deacon or priest), is the “verb” Eucharist or the celebration of the Eucharist. The purpose of the “verb Eucharist” is to create the “noun Eucharist,” both sacramentally in the bread and wine which becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus, and spiritually in the community gathered which also becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus.


Catholic marriages are Eucharistic Marriages, even if only one member is Catholic and even if there is no Mass at the wedding, because the Eucharist, as verb and noun, is its foundation and goal. (I’m going to briefly discuss this here, but if you want the more in-depth study you will have to attend The Eucharistic Marriage: A CLM Conference for Couples scheduled for April 20-21. Visit catholiclifeministries.org for a registration flier and more information.)


1. Catholic marriages happen in a church. Oh yes, you wanted yours on a beach and the priest said no. Your son wanted his in Uncle Henry’s barn but the priest said no. A Catholic marriage happens in a church (unless a dispensation is given). There’s a good reason for this. Your Catholic marriage is not about you! It is not your private affair but a public institution which you participate in for the sake of participating in the Church’s mission to make Jesus and the Kingdom of God present in time and space.


2. The ministers of the Catholic marriage are the couple (not the priest). The couple gathers with the Church to make public their love for one another and declare their intention to be faithful to one another in good times and bad, and to love and honor one another over a lifetime. But the bride and groom are not the only ones who make vows at this wedding. By our presence, we who gather with them to witness this wedding, we also make vows. We commit ourselves to support this marriage in good times and bad, in sickness and health, until death. The priest is there to witness the wedding, lead prayer, and give the nuptial blessing.


3. Catholic marriages, even those without a Mass, gather around the proclamation of the Word of God (Liturgy of the Word). This makes visible the truth that Jesus, God’s word risen and alive, is at the center of all Catholic marriages. There is no Catholic marriage, no sacramental union without the full participation of Jesus, and by extension, the Trinity, in the marriage, inspiring, guiding, challenging, and healing. The sharing of Scripture reminds all that this marriage is not simply about the couple, but about what God in Jesus and the Spirit is doing through this couple.


4. The bride and groom declare their intentions. This, in fact, is what makes the marriage sacramental, and not the presence of the priest, and not even the reading of Scripture or having a Mass, however important these are. What makes a marriage sacramental is that the couple intends in their marriage what the Church intends for marriage, that it be a sign of God’s love for humanity in the way the couple gives of themselves to each other without reservation, for the whole of their lives, and welcomes children. For example, could a faith community on a remote island in the South Pacific that only sees a priest once every six months have a sacramental marriage without the presence of the priest? Yes! The couple are the ministers of the sacrament of marriage. They could state their intentions before the community of faith, exchange vows, and enjoy the full blessing of a sacramental union until the priest (or deacon) comes to give the nuptial blessing in the name of the Church.


5. The bride and groom exchange public vows. Couples marry when they declare publicly what they have been sharing privately; a desire to live together over a lifetime in fidelity, love, and honor, regardless of life’s circumstances, until separated by death.  Wow, now that’s counter-cultural!


6. Should there be a Mass, the service continues with Liturgy of the Eucharist. Everything that Jesus is — body, soul, and divinity — is contained in the Blessed Sacrament. And everything that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are about — forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with humanity, gift of the Holy Spirit, union with God — are contained in this Sacrament. And the fundamental purpose of this Sacrament is so that Jesus can give of himself completely and without reservation to everyone who receives the Eucharist. We call it “Holy Communion” because Jesus enters literally into bodies and unites Himself with us. WOW! Sounds crazy! But this is the ancient faith of Christians.


This is also the goal of marriage: Holy Communion. What Jesus does in the Eucharist, spouses are called to do for one another in marriage: give of themselves to each other completely and without reservation and receive the gift of the other completely and without reservation so as to become one body. WOW!


7. The bride and groom, now married sacramentally, are blessed by the priest and by the prayers of the Body of Christ gathered. They are blessed so that they might leave this place of public worship and be a public sign and sacrament in the world of God’s love for humanity. Through their Eucharistic Marriage, spouses form what Vatican II called a “domestic Church” where faith in Jesus is learned, lived, shared, and celebrated.

From your marriage your children should meet Jesus;
from your marriage the poor should meet Jesus;
from your marriage your neighbors should meet Jesus;
from your marriage your colleagues at work should meet Jesus;
and from your marriage you and your spouse should meet Jesus.

I know what you’re thinking; “this is all heady stuff, but how does this affect my marriage now?” COME TO THE EUCHARISTIC MARRIAGE CONFERENCE AND FIND OUT!


 
 

A Brand New Day


by Kristin White

My five year old, Micah, is amazing and has many gifts. He is good-natured, funny, and is best friends with his big brothers and his little sister. He is well liked at school and is a teacher’s dream. He has floppy curls that hang in his big blue eyes and with his olive skin already I am worried about girls. He never wakes up in a sour mood. My Micah is amazing. He also has absolutely no volume control.


I started to notice it when he was about a year old. Instead of ever crying or attempting to climb out of his crib, he would sit happily saying in a loud low voice, “Moooooooom. Moooooooommmmmm,” until I would go rescue him from the confines of his almond colored wooden crib. He has the loudest voice when he’s trying to get my attention, and I’m pretty sure can be heard from miles away when he is playing outside with his brothers. About a year and a half ago he tiptoed quietly into our room, the sunlight was peeking through the shades. I opened my eyes and noticed that his forehead was about an inch from mine, and as I started to wipe the sleep from my eyes, he yelled so loud that the rest of our house woke up, “IT’S A BRAND NEW DAY, MOM!”


For the next month every morning he would wake me up that way. Of course it was summer. But Micah didn’t care. He reminded me every day that “IT’S A BRAND NEW DAY MOM!”


As I was thinking about this month’s article and the approach of Easter with Lent half-way over, I was thinking about how simple yet profound those words truly are. Yesterday as I looked out my window all I could see was rain. Rain has been falling steadily for the past week. Rain splattered across the large window, the sky dark shades of grey, even black. Everything was bleak.


Lent has that undertone of bleak. We sacrifice and prepare. We are waiting for sorrow. And we don’t look too far to see how much grey surrounds us. Words like depression, miscarriage, stage four cancer and abuse give more credence to the grey. Bullying, suicide, murder and substance abuse make the shades of black even more apparent. And then we are left with the rain. The rain that falls steadily in grief — sorrow so great it makes your heart ache and makes your entire being turn inside out so that all you can hear is rain. All you can see is grey. Everything is dark. Lent prepares us for the blackest day. The day when the world turned their backs on the One who was their redemption. The greyest day. A day when it seems like hope is lost. Forever.


Micah was born after one of the darkest years of my life — a year after losing our first daughter, Mary Therese. My entire pregnancy with him was riddled with grief, anxiety, and thanksgiving for the gift of another opportunity for bringing life into the world. The day he was born the clouds didn’t completely disappear, but the rain stopped. A brand new life. A brand new day. I had thought hope was lost forever. But Micah’s life has been a constant reminder of slivers of light peeping through the clouds. How hope can begin to bubble out of despair and life can find meaning again.


Even in complete darkness, the sun rises.


One of my favorite things about Easter is walking into the church and hearing the choir singing loud joyful hymns after six weeks of solemnity. The hope in their voices. The lift in their song. Jesus is the Brand New Day. Easter is the reminder that the greatest sacrifice for us will always be rewarded. With life. With hope. With a brand new day.


Even in complete darkness, the Son rises.


Today the rain has stopped. The grey clouds are still there, but the bright blue sky is so incredibly gorgeous I know that today is going to be a good day. I am so thankful for the reminders God gives me, especially through my children. Even when they are yelling. But maybe sometimes that is the only way I can hear Him.


Each day is a gift. Each life is a gift. May your Easter be a Brand New Day…full of hope, full of life.


 
 

The Golden Era of Christianity


by Robert Fontana

Oh if we could only capture that “Golden Era of Christianity” how happy we would be. Let’s see; when exactly was the “Golden Age of Christianity?” Was it with Jesus and his disciples? Certainly that was a golden time when Jesus was immediately present to his followers and instructed them in every-which-way to live in the Kingdom. But, wait a minute, the religious leaders thought he was possessed and his relatives thought he had lost his mind (Mark 3), plus one of his intimate friends betrayed him, and most of his buddies abandoned him when he needed them most (except for the Beloved Disciple and the women).


How about the day of Pentecost? Surely that was the golden moment with Mary, the apostles, and other disciples filled with the Spirit, and sharing their possessions so that no one was in need. Oops, wait a minute; the Greek followers of Jesus complained that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food (Acts 4), and then there was the problem of a couple lying about a donation to the community (Acts 5), and, yikes, what about Steven? He was abandoned by everyone, including Peter, James and John, while preaching at the temple, and was stoned to death.


Oh if the Gentiles would just become Jews then the golden age of Christianity could begin! Devout Jewish followers of Jesus demanded that the Gentiles convert to Judaism as a condition for Baptism. James and Peter fudged. They insisted that believers need not be circumcised but must follow Jewish food regulations (Acts 15). Paul demanded that there be no expectation laid on Gentile believers other than faith and living the Jewish moral law (Gal 2). By the time John’s Gospel came, the debate had widened. John insisted that no true believer could remain a Jew (and the Jews were insisting that no Jew could be a follower of Jesus (see John 9).


To make matters worse, the Romans start picking on Christians. Nero blamed Christians for starting the fires that burned a third of Rome. Other emperors accused them of disloyalty to the empire for refusing to offer sacrifice to the emperor and serve in the army. Furthermore, rumor had it that they practiced cannibalism because during their worship they eat somebody’s body and drink his blood. Periods of persecution followed. Surely, if Christianity could only become legal and we were free of Roman hatred then Christians could recreate the golden years when Jesus and his disciples were one!


Hurrah for Constantine who legalized Christianity in 313 A.D. Now a new Pentecost can happen but, OH NO, some Christians following Arian claimed that Jesus is not God, but a man who became God. Jump ahead to 380 and the Emperor Theodosius declares Christianity as the religion of the empire. Does that bring about the “Golden Era?” NO! There are unintended consequences — becoming a Christian is necessary to enter the “Who’s Who” of Roman life. Corruption, compromise, and indifference abound and, sadly, the Christians began persecuting the pagans, whose religion was outlawed.


You get the point I’m trying to make. There has never been a golden period of Christianity and there never will be. The followers of Jesus are always on the verge of collapse and renewal. One group is always demanding a return to the past as the way of recapturing the golden era and another group is always demanding this change and that to usher in a new Pentecost. Both are right and both are wrong. Every generation of believers must grapple with the new circumstances of their history and figure out what it means to live as followers of Jesus with a measure of integrity, knowing that the next generation will both correct and affirm their decisions. Perhaps it’s the “grappling” that’s important, and not getting “it” right!


Today Catholic Traditionalists are demanding a return to the monarchical discipline, precise doctrine, intellectual rigor, and strict morality that sustained Catholic life from the Council of Trent (1545-1563) to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). They celebrate the triumph of Catholicism as the culture of life in opposition to the culture of death that they believe dominates the West. For some reasons these Catholics politically look like Republicans. They distrust big civil government but embrace big church government.


There are other Catholics who might be called Evangelical Progressives who have returned to the Scriptures as the foundational document of the Church and insist that the egalitarian community of Jesus with each person serving according to his or her gifts is the model for Catholic life in the 21st century. These Catholics are inspired by Pope John XXIII who saw the Church as the village fountain that served all who came to drink from its waters. They find support in the Second Vatican Council document, the Church in the Modern World, which reads, “The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the mean of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.” (Gaudium Et Spes, 1) For some reason these Catholics politically look like democrats. They distrust big church government but embrace big civil government.


Traditionalists and Evangelical Progressives each believe a golden era in Christianity is just beyond the horizon if only the other side would go away. Phooey! Getting the nuns back in their habits (something I think ought to be considered) or ordaining women deacons (another option I favor) will not usher in a “new Pentecost” and a golden era of Christianity. This does not exists and never will.


God is big and grace abounds among the Traditionalists and the Progressives, and everyone in between — but so also do ignorance, self-righteousness, and narrow-mindedness. There is a great need for dialogue within the Church, a great need for listening to one another simply for understanding, not to argue, persuade, or win arguments. This too will not bring about that “Golden Era,” but it would strengthen respect, communion, and mutual love.


(PS: In my next Troubadour article I’ll share why I think sisters need to return to wearing a habit.”)

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