Living Our Catholicism. To Worship in Spirit and Truth

Transcription

1 Living Our Catholicism To Worship in Spirit and Truth Part Three in a Series of Three A Pastoral Letter To the People of God in The Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee Most Reverend J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee September 2011

2 Preface Sisters and Brothers, Greeting in Christ Jesus! It is now three years since I first began to share with you my hope that all Catholics in the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee would experience renewed enthusiasm and appreciation for the gift of our Catholic faith. In order to impart that hope to the many Catholics in our Diocese, I set out to communicate with you through a series of three pastoral letters, the topic of which is Living Our Catholicism. This series of pastoral letters explores different aspects of what it means to live a truly Catholic life. Through this series of three, this trilogy, I am able to share my vision of renewal with you - the thousands of individual Catholics in the Diocese - and you are able to read and discuss with other Catholics your bishop s hopes and dreams for you, and the many ways in which you can more fully live your faith daily. During these three years, I have prayed that your own faith is being enriched as you give more attention to the life of God within you the life received in your own Baptism and renewed throughout your life through prayer, participation in the Sacraments of the Church, and service to others. The title of this trilogy, Living Our Catholicism, expresses for me the importance of the daily, hourly, minute-by-minute living out of a faith given to us by God as a gift, and nurtured as we respond to God s grace in 2

3 various ways in our daily lives. I continue to pray that each and every Catholic in our Diocese will persist on this journey of re-discovery of what it means to live a truly Catholic life, and that your joy, your peace and your relationship with God will be deepened and renewed. 3

4 I. Introduction 1. I want to express my gratitude to you for your response to the two previous pastoral letters in this series. Knowing that you take time to read them, to use them in your prayer, and to discuss their contents with other parishioners, and with friends and family inspires me as I bring this series to a close. As your bishop, it is difficult to find ways to communicate with all of the people God has entrusted to me. A pastoral letter provides me with a rare opportunity to convey my hopes and dreams for all of us as a diocese. Likewise, a pastoral letter gives you an opportunity to read and receive a message from me in such a manner that you can give that message your full attention, at the time and place of your choosing. 2. The first pastoral letter in the series, Living Our Catholicism That Our Joy May Be Complete, was published in In that letter, I challenged all of us to rediscover that flame of gratitude within us that fosters deep joy in the gift of being Catholic. Even though the joy we experience in the next life surpasses all we can know or imagine now, we are nonetheless invited and expected to find great joy NOW by living as Jesus lived. Jesus joy was rooted in living in God in God s love, in God s peace, in God s will. The same is true for us In 2010 the second pastoral letter in this series, Living Our Catholicism Who Do You Say That I Am? turned our attention to the 1 Living Our Catholicism That Our Joy May Be Complete;

5 person of Jesus of Nazareth, and made the point that, as Catholics, our faith rests on Jesus, who literally embodied God for us. In the second pastoral letter, we reflected on the importance of coming to know Jesus more deeply, and on living the Spirit-filled life offered to us through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. 4. This brings us to the final pastoral letter in this trilogy: Living Our Catholicism To Worship in Spirit and Truth. When our worship of God is grounded in Spirit and in truth, daily life begins to change because WE are being changed from the inside out. Remembering that God, who as Creator and Redeemer, always initiates loving relationship with us, let us reflect together on this aspect of Living our Catholicism, this aspect of our Catholic life which is To Worship in Spirit and Truth. 5. Do this in memory of Me. The words are familiar ones, heard during the Institution Narrative of the Eucharistic Prayer during the celebration of the Liturgy. Do This In Memory Of Me is also the title of a recently published Exploration of the Sacred Liturgy - a study guide written with a twofold purpose: 1) that of deepening readers understanding of and appreciation for the history and development of the Celebration of the Eucharist across the centuries and into the present; and 2) to prepare Catholics for the coming revisions to the texts in the Roman Missal, the book containing the prayers of the Mass. Written by some of the staff members of Offices of Worship in the Diocese of Memphis and the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, Do This In Memory Of Me is a comprehensive and valuable tool for all Catholics as we approach Advent in the 2012 Church calendar when revisions to the Roman Missal will take 5

6 effect in the United States. It is my hope that many study groups are being formed across the Diocese of Memphis to use this valuable resource. 6. In this pastoral letter, it is not my intent to review the specific elements and structure of the Mass, or to reflect on the upcoming changes in the texts of the prayers, acclamations and so on. As I said, that has been done in the document, Do This In Memory of Me. Rather, I want to use this opportunity to allow all of us to take a broader view of what it means to worship in Spirit and truth. Through this pastoral letter, I want to give all of us a chance to reflect on attitudes and practices which will enable us to deepen our experience of God, not only when we come together to worship as a community, but in our private prayer and in our daily lives. 7. My request to you as you read this pastoral letter is the same as my request with previous pastoral letters: a. Please set aside some time for prayerful reading of this letter, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you about your own life with God as you read and reflect. b. Please spend some time in diocesan and parish groups in which you already participate to include me in your meetings by sharing your reflections on my thoughts as I have written them here. There are currently so many parish and diocesan groups: prayer groups, bible study groups, men s groups and women s groups, social justice committees, altar guilds, liturgical ministry groups, various small Christian communities, parish 6

7 pastoral councils, finance councils and ministry teams. In these groups, so many of you are already actively engaged in discussing and living our faith within our local church. Rather than forming new groups to discuss this pastoral letter, I would be pleased to know that every time you gather, you take some time to share your faith as you are invited and challenged to live it in your unique walks of life and in our communal life as church. c. Finally, it is my sincere hope that discussions of faith will take place in everyday settings with family and friends. At lunch with coworkers and at dinner with family, on the golf course, in the sewing circle, on Facebook, and in the mall, I pray that you will be comfortable talking honestly about matters of faith, about what being Catholic means to each of you. 7

8 II. To Worship in Spirit and Truth 8. The words, worship in Spirit and truth come to us from the Gospel of John, chapter four. The story is of the Samaritan woman and her encounter with Jesus at a place in Samaria known as Jacob s well. Jesus is at once interested in the Samaritan woman s conversion to faith in a loving, living God. As their conversation unfolds, the woman becomes uncomfortable and tries to distract Jesus by making a reference to the existing rivalry among those who worship on the mountain, Gerizim, in Samaria, and those who worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus is more interested in bringing the woman to conversion than he is in the particular cults at both sacred sites. So he cuts through her diversion with the following: Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth Refusing to be sidetracked by a theological dispute between Jews and Samaritans regarding where God should be worshiped, Jesus attempts to shift the woman s attention to how God longs to be 2 Gospel of John: chapter 4:

9 worshiped. Rather than entering a debate about where God s people worship, Jesus tries to steer the Samaritan woman s attention to a God who would prefer that worship, no matter where it happens, would flow from a relationship of love between God and God s people. The Spirit in Jesus reference is the Spirit given by God; the Spirit that reveals truth and enables one to worship God in truth and singleness of heart. Those who would worship in Spirit and truth were those who would know well their genuine longing and need for God. One of the things we can learn from Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman is how easy it is to become caught up in the logistics of worship and miss the experience of communing with the One we came to worship. 9

10 III. Traditional Worship 10. When we participate in the Sacred Liturgy the Liturgy of the Hours, each of the Sacraments, and especially the celebration of the Mass we are invited to worship in Spirit and truth. In the liturgical act, we are guided by the Spirit to be attentive, to be fully and consciously present to Christ the High Priest who is present to us in the gathered assembly, in the person of the priest presider, in the Word proclaimed, and uniquely and substantially in the Eucharistic elements of Bread and Wine. The liturgy is rightly seen as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ... performed by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and his body, which is the church, is a preeminently sacred action. No other action of the church equals its effectiveness by the same title nor to the same degree The Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the source from which all its power flows. 3 And so, as baptized Christians it is our right and duty to take part in the Sacred Liturgy of the Church fully, consciously and actively. As Catholics, we gather at specific times set aside for the official communal worship of the Church. When we gather together for worship as the Body of Christ, our worship is a ritualized expression of our faith in a loving God as well as an expression of our gratitude for God s ongoing revelation 3 Documents of Council Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #7, #9, #10 10

11 and care. In the Sacred Liturgy whatever liturgical rite we are celebrating the Paschal Mystery is enacted and made present in our midst. Our celebrations of the Eucharist and other sacraments, our praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as all the other official rites of the Church help us to come to know God and to know ourselves as belonging to God and to each other through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. 11. In an address to members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the late Pope John Paul II was quoted as saying, Liturgy and life are inseparable realities. It is true that our own faithfulness to God in private worship and daily living actually does enhance and improve the quality of the public prayer of the Church when we gather together. When we have been intentional about spending time with God alone, and when we have made a conscious effort to respond to God in daily living, we are able to bring enrichment to our brothers and sisters when we gather for Sunday Eucharist and other forms of liturgical prayer. I find great inspiration in these words from Documents of Vatican Council II, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God's word and be nourished at the table of the Lord's body; they should give thanks to God; by 11

12 offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all. 4 4 Documents of Council Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, # 48 12

13 IV. Worship Both Public and Private 12. By now most Catholics are familiar with the phrase, full, conscious and active participation. This often-quoted phrase from The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy is a description of the manner in which we are called to be at Mass. This full, conscious and active participation is referred to as the right and duty of the Christian people by reason of their baptism. 5 Shortly preceding the above statement, the same document states: in order that the liturgy may possess its full effectiveness, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions 6 and The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. Christians are indeed called to pray in union with each other, but they must also enter into their chamber to pray to the Father in Secret In this document of the Church, we see that there is a correlation between our prayer to the Father in secret, and our coming together at Mass to fully, consciously and actively participate in the celebration of the Eucharist. Private worship (such as contemplative prayer, meditation, etc.) and devotional prayers (such as the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Novenas and other devotions) do not replace the Sacred Liturgy, and the Sacred Liturgy does not replace private worship and devotions. We need 5 Documents of Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #14 6 Documents of Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #11 7 Documents of Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #12 13

14 both. We need quiet, quality time with God to grow in our personal relationship with God and the opportunity for devotional prayer like the Rosary or the Stations of the Cross. We also need to gather together with God s people for Eucharist and other forms of the liturgy in order to give, to receive, to be nourished, and to celebrate who God is. Because the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, and at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flows the full effectiveness of this public prayer depends on the fervor of the individual participants When we come to the Church s public worship, we bring the sum of who we are. And each time we come together to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy, we are different because as human beings, we are constantly changing and growing. When we come together to worship, we bring all that we were the last time we gathered, plus what we have become since then. That includes our successes, our failures, our hopes and plans, our level of peace, our faith, the consequences of the week s decisions, and much more. In short, we bring our fervor or we bring our lack of it. 8 Documents of Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #10, #11 14

15 V. Worship A Broader View 15. Worship, at its most fundamental level, is our Spirit-guided response to God for what God has done, for what God is doing, and for what our faith tells us God will do in the future. It is our response to coming to know God on increasingly deeper levels. In Psalm 116, the psalmist prayed, How can I repay the Lord for all the good done to me? 9 Like the psalmist, we worship when gratitude wells up within us so strongly that we are compelled to acknowledge it and to express it. Worship is also what we do when we find ourselves immersed in a desperate situation and we instinctively know that only God can carry us through. At such times it seems our entire being cries out to God in unspoken prayer. Worship is the hymn of praise being sung by an entire congregation; worship is also a silent prayer of the heart when one is alone. Sometimes worship is an exercise of faith and trust in the midst of difficulties. Whenever we respond to God, in union with the Holy Spirit who leads us into truth, we are engaged in an act of worship. 16. I find it interesting that the New Oxford English Dictionary defines worship as follows: Worship: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity; the acts or rites that make up a formal expression of reverence for a deity; a religious ceremony or ceremonies. What I think we often miss is that this feeling of reverence or adoration is one of God s great gifts to us. It is, in fact, the Spirit of God within 9 Psalm 116:12 15

16 calling us to deeper awareness of the presence and action of God in our lives. How often do we ignore that still small whisper of God and go on with our busy activities? Yet it takes only seconds to be attentive, to acknowledge God s loving interest in us, and to once again remember that we are never alone because, in Christ Jesus, we have a constant companion who longs to be involved in every aspect of our lives. 17. On a recent trip, I spent some time in an airport waiting for my next flight. Sitting across from me were two women, one of them accompanied by a small child. Often during the women s conversations, the child would tap his mother on the arm, sometimes for several minutes, until she stopped talking and gave her attention to him. As I watched, I couldn t help thinking of the many times during my days when my attention is focused on a particular matter, and God is tapping to get my attention. While I believe that God is at the center of all of my daily activities, and I am aware of a general sense of peace in knowing that God is always with me, I think there are many opportunities during my days - during our days - when we could all stop and take a moment to respond to God who is always seeking deeper union with us. A simple, quiet Yes, God, I know you are with me and I am very grateful is a small act of worship that has the power to influence our attitudes, to broaden our life perspective, to make gentle our responses to others, to make us more secure in our decisions, to turn frustration into patience. Even the smallest act of worship can set us on a new path of transformation that will lead us into deep, intimate friendship with God. 16

17 VI. Worship and the Everyday Mystic 18. At this point in this pastoral letter, I hope it is obvious that it is not the specifics of the many acts of worship that I want to address in this letter, but rather the many opportunities we have to live a life of worship. And what excites me about this is that God s grace is sufficient to help us to live such a life. One of my favorite definitions of a mystic is, one who knows he/she is God s beloved. Those canonized saints of the Church who are often referred to as mystics had this one aspect of their spirituality in common. St. Teresa of Avila described her prayer as an intimate sharing between friends. She knew God as friend, and she lived her belief that Jesus was the central focus of and, in fact, the very reason for her life. Her lived intimacy with God set her on a course that opened many others to God s love for them. St. John of the Cross described his own relationship with God as a constant deepening intimacy between Lover and beloved. St. Francis of Assisi discovered the God of Love in all of God s creation, communing with God in the midst of that creation. 19. St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Jane de Chantal, and a whole communion of Saints had no false ideas about who they were. They lived in humility, accepting both their limitations and their giftedness. The one constant in the life of the mystic was that, no matter what, their faith had them convinced that they were uniquely and wonderfully loved by God, and subsequently, they were called to often compelled to share God s love with others. 17

18 20. Sisters and Brothers, God s invitation to us is no less. We are all called to be mystics, that is, we are all called to come to the realization and the acceptance that the God who formed us in our mother s womb, the God who has guided us and protected us, the God we think we have to search to find, actually seeks us! It is the very nature of God to be the Initiator: God the Creator; God the Redeemer; God who begins again and again, seeks a mutual relationship of deep, daily, lived communion with us. 21. Can you imagine life if each of us knew, deep within us, that we are God s beloved as unique individuals and as a people! How might you esteem yourself, in truth and in honesty, if you carried within you a deep conviction that, no matter how you feel on a given day, no matter the circumstances at hand, whether you fail or succeed at a particular task, God loves you and desires deep, living friendship with you! 22. Remember, to worship in Spirit and truth is to allow God s Spirit to lead us to truth. If we are honest with God about who we are and how we are doing, we will begin to see unwanted tendencies and attitudes gradually disappear. If we are honest when we ask God to help us to be more loving persons, God will surely do that because such a desire is one with God s desire for us. But there is a step that we often do not expect. Part of the process of our becoming loving persons is that God will show us where we are not loving. If our prayer is earnest, if we are being genuine and honest with God, we will not ignore God when we are invited to change. The good news is that God not only invites us to change, God 18

19 also offers us the grace to change. When we worship in Spirit and truth, there is room for God s love in our hearts and in our lives. 19

20 VII. Worship as Service: A Way of Life 23. At this point in our reflection, we might ask, What about the rest of the world? Is my life as one long act of worship in Spirit and truth just between me and God? These are important questions, deserving of serious and regular, prayerful reflection. We can begin to answer by reviewing the following passage from Deuteronomy: Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it? Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it? No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe When we become intentional about offering our life as one long act of worship in Spirit and truth, we begin to live in deeper union with God, and we begin to see some of the need and the pain of the world that God sees. Worship in Spirit and truth opens us to God s invitation to make a difference in the needs that we encounter. We can trust that God will lead us to those situations where the need of another or many others is the right match for our unique gifts and desire to serve God. Sometimes we find ourselves, unexpectedly, in situations where we feel completely ill-equipped. At such times we trust that God s grace at work 10 Deuteronomy 30:

21 in us can and will make the difference that is needed. The key, though, is our commitment to ongoing, mutual relationship with the God whom we have learned to trust. God not only transforms us as we learn to accept God s friendship, God is able to transform pieces of the world through us as we respond in love. We can trust that the word is very near to us; it is in our mouths and in our hearts. 25. One of St. Teresa s [of Avila] great gifts to the Church is her writing on the topic of prayer. She taught that we evaluate our prayer, not by how we feel when we re praying, but by how we act when we re not praying. Sometimes, especially when we begin to pray, we do experience feelings of contentment and well-being. At other times, we might feel nothing. Feeling nothing does not mean our prayer is not good, or that God is not with us. St. Teresa taught that we judge the quality of our prayer by the quality of our loving. There are times when we might not feel that we are getting anywhere in our worship. At the same time, we might notice that we have been more patient in our relating to others, or that we have increased peace and joy. We might experience new hopefulness or a more selfless attitude in our daily lives. Becoming more attentive to God in prayer opens us to becoming more attentive to the needs of others. 21

22 VIII. Conclusion: God Who is All in All A New Beginning 26. The Mission Statement of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis reads: The mission of the Catholic people of west Tennessee is to live and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church by public worship and prayer, teaching and preaching the Word of God, communal witness to the gospel, and charity and service to all. That is an attainable mission to the degree that all of us, the people of the Diocese of Memphis in West Tennessee, respond to God who invites us into friendship and love. 27. Dag Hammarskjöld, former Secretary General of the United Nations, expressed his own spiritual desire in his classic, Markings. He said, If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, quieter, warmer. While his life was filled with fostering world peace, he knew well his spiritual need. As we make a new beginning in living a life of worship in Spirit and truth, we find that God calls us to give more time to prayer and more attention to our daily experience of the presence of God, and more consideration of the people God places in our lives and of the world in which we live. My prayer for you as this trilogy on Living Our Catholicism comes to completion is that through Christ the Mediator, you will be drawn day by 22

23 day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all. 11 In the Divine Word, Most Reverend J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee September Documents of Vatican Council II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy # 48 23

24 For Discussion Preface Living Our Catholicism expresses the importance of the daily, hourly, minute-by-minute living out of a faith given to us by God as gift 1. In what ways do I experience my faith as a gift of God? 2. Do I experience my life as a journey of rediscovery of what it means to live a truly Catholic life? In what ways? I. Introduction Even though the joy we experience in the next life surpasses all we can know or imagine now, we are nonetheless invited and expected to find great joy NOW by living as Jesus lived. 1. Can I identify specific times in my life when, in spite of difficulty, I was aware of God s grace giving me joy? 2. Does my attention turn to gratitude to God when I find joy in a particular person or situation? How do I express that gratitude? 24

25 II. To Worship in Spirit and Truth The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 1. Do I have a sense that God seeks to be in relationship with me? What signs can I identify that God initiates relationship with me? 2. After her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman went into town and told everyone that she believed she had met the Messiah. Do I want others to know Jesus as I do? How do I try to share God s love with others? III. Traditional Worship The Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the source from which all its power flows. 1. How would I describe my own experience of Sunday Liturgy? 2. What can I do to participate more fully in the sacramental life of the Church? 25

26 IV. Worship Both Public and Private There is a correlation between our prayer to the Father in secret and our coming together at Mass to fully, consciously and actively participate in the celebration of the Eucharist. 1. Is there a difference in my experience of Sunday Mass when I am faithful to private prayer during the week? If so, what three difference can I name? 2. Can I honestly say that attentiveness to God during Sunday Liturgy enhances my prayer during the week? Does active participation in the Sunday Liturgy change my daily life in ways other than my prayer, for example my responses to others, or my attitude towards the events of my life? V. Worship A Broader View Worship is our Spirit-guided response to coming to know God on increasingly deeper levels. 1. When did I most recently experience that worshipful feeling of reverence or adoration? How did I respond? 2. Do I recognize God s still small whisper in the midst of my daily activities? Do I identify that small inspiration as God s loving attention and God s desire to be part of the simple things of my life? 26

27 VI. Worship and the Everyday Mystic A mystic is one who knows that he/she is God s beloved. We are all called to be mystics, that is, we are all called to come to the realization and the acceptance that the God who formed us in our mother s womb, the God who has guided us and protected us actually seeks union with us. 1. Do the words above change my impression of who is and who is not a mystic? Is it hard for me to believe that God loved me long before I thought about loving and needing God? 2. The saints lived in humility, accepting both their limitations and their giftedness. Can I say that I am honest with myself about my limitations and my giftedness? Can I name some of them so I can be more specific as I talk to God about who I am and about God s life in me? VII. Worship as Service: A Way of Life When we become intentional about offering our life as one long act of worship in Spirit and truth, we begin to live in deeper union with God, and we begin to see some of the need and the pain of the world that God sees. 1. Do I view my relationship with God as a relationship that affects only me, or does my sense of who I am in God affect others as well? How? 2. When I encounter those whom society shuns, am I usually aware that, in them, I am also encountering Jesus? And do they encounter Jesus when they encounter me? Does this awareness change the way I respond to others? 27

28 VIII. Conclusion: God Who is All in All A New Beginning My prayer for you is that through Christ the Mediator, you will be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all. 1. What does it mean to me that I can judge the quality of my prayer by the quality of my loving? Am I usually aware of how prayer and loving are related? 2. How would my life change if I relaxed into God s love for me? How would the people in my life be affected? 28