Dear Parishioners:
According to a member of the Resurrection Choir who has been keeping count, I have now celebrated 70 funerals at St. Timothy Church. (The Resurrection Choir has sung for 392 funerals since its beginning.) Our recent loss of Martha Ellen “Marty” McLeod was my #70. That is a lot of funerals, given the fact that I have been here only three years! It was rather fitting to have this threshold crossed by someone who lived a life so fully and joyfully. At the age of 91, Marty was as ready as any of us can ever hope to be. Her death was on a Saturday, and the Funeral Mass took place on the day after the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Those who knew her will remember her big smile and it was clear from the celebration that all were truly inspired by her faith and joy in life, and especially by her love for Jesus. I had the privilege of anointing Marty a few times, most recently just before I left for my family reunion and vacation.
It has occurred to me that this moment is a good time to share some thoughts with you about how to prepare for the “call to the Kingdom” that will come for all of us, and to offer a few pointers about the involvement of the Church in meeting the needs of that special time of grace.
“Remote preparation” is simple: do your duty to God and to other human beings. Come to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Go to Confession regularly, at least a few times a year. Live the Sacraments you have received that define your relationship to God and to His Church: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders. Heaven is offered to all who are open to receive it and who are willing to cooperate with the grace won for us by the action of Jesus Christ. The practice of our Faith does not win salvation, as if it were our own actions that get us there. However, the Sacramental life serves to prepare in our hearts the proper dispositions and attitudes for accepting the free gift of Life in Christ.
As you recognize that your time is near, whether through age (Scripture says life is “70 years or 80 for those who are strong”) or through illness, make arrangements to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick as needed. In former times, this Sacrament was called “Extreme Unction” and it is generally what Catholics refer to when they speak of “Last Rites.” If you or a loved one are facing illness that is serious, or surgery, then don’t hesitate to request the Anointing.
There are special rites that are meant to be direct preparation for the journey to the Kingdom. The final Eucharist is very significant and it is called “Viaticum,” that is, “Food for the Journey.” This can be offered by a Priest, a Deacon or an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion who brings Communion to the Sick. The Priest alone may provide what Fr. Bill Faustner calls “the triple-A treatment”: Absolution, Apostolic Pardon, and Anointing. Absolution refers to the last Confession. The Apostolic Pardon is a special prayer that includes a Plenary Indulgence, a privilege offered as death approaches. The Last Anointing has prayers that speak of entrusting the soul about to die to the Creator and a welcome into the Kingdom.
Catholics pray to St. Joseph for a “Happy Death,” that is, a death that takes place with the final blessings of the Church and with loved ones present, as Jesus and Mary were there for the death of Joseph. In order for such a death to come, we need to be vigilant and to stay close to the Church.
If a priest has been called and anointing has taken place, you can be sure that you have done what you need to do for your loved one who has died. It is best to have this attended to at a time when the person facing death is still lucid and with other family members present. Be sure to tell your family that you want to see a priest. Let the Church know whenever you are facing surgery or some illness that may call for the Anointing of the Sick. I have often attended to this Sacrament after a weekend Mass for someone going into the hospital sometime that week. Fr. Bill Faustner does chaplaincy work at Riverside, O.S.U. Hospital and Mt. Carmel West. We are happy to assist you in time of need.
Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.
Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters with complete purity.
Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let these first learn to perform their religious duty to their own family and to make recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing to God. The real widow, who is all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But the one who is self-indulgent is dead while she lives. Command this, so that they may be irreproachable. And whoever does not provide for relatives and especially family members has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years old, married only once, with a reputation for good works, namely, that she has raised children, practiced hospitality, washed the feet of the holy ones, helped those in distress, involved herself in every good work. But exclude younger widows, for when their sensuality estranges them from Christ, they want to marry and will incur condemnation for breaking their first pledge. And furthermore, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers but gossips and busybodies as well, talking about things that ought not to be mentioned. So I would like younger widows to marry, have children, and manage a home, so as to give the adversary no pretext for maligning us. For some have already turned away to follow Satan. If any woman believer has widowed relatives, she must assist them; the church is not to be burdened, so that it will be able to help those who are truly widows. (I Timothy 5:1-16)
Often in our day, the Church is accused of not acknowledging the ministry of those beyond the ordained ministry. Paul’s advice to Timothy here shows that there has always been a place for a diversity of ministries in interdependence with each other. Timothy, the Bishop, whose unique role is highlighted throughout the Letter, is advised to relate to elders with an attitude that acknowledges their wisdom. His relationships with people of any age or status are to be appropriate to the person as a brother or sister in Christ.
A special case in the ancient world is that of women who have lost their status in society due to the death of their husbands. In certain areas, these women were bereft of any protection whatsoever. Their standing in relation to the wider society was determined by familial bonds – husband, father or son. When there is no such relationship, they have no rights or privileges, no recourse to meet their needs. The advice Timothy receives is in regard to the Church’s sense of duty to those most in need.
Discernment of real need is the issue in question. At the same time, Paul highlights the responsibility of the parties who have need; they ought to be proactive in finding help before relying on the Church to take care of them. Those whose needs are met by the Church have a duty as well: to “set their hope on God” and to “continue in supplications and prayer night and day.” There is a reciprocal and interdependent responsibility.
Although circumstances and the structure of relationships in society differ in our day, our own community can learn from the principles implicit in Paul’s advice to Timothy. Each person has a place and a role for the good of the whole. When we allow
Reflections on the Liturgy:
The document that guides the Church in the Latin Rite in the celebration of the Liturgy is called “Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani,” the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. This has been published in three editions. The new Roman Missal which will be promulgated in English this November finds its norms in this Instruction. It will be helpful to offer a few notes on the principles guiding the celebration of the Liturgy as they are given in the G.I.R.M.
The G.I.R.M. is available online on the US Bishops’ website.
http://old.usccb.org/liturgy/current/revmissalisromanien.shtml
A Witness to Unchanged Faith (continued)
4. Further, the nature of the ministerial priesthood proper to a Bishop and a priest, who offer the Sacrifice in the person of Christ and who preside over the gathering of the holy people, is evident in the form of the rite itself, by reason of the more prominent place and office of the priest. The meaning of this office is enunciated and explained clearly and at greater length, in the Preface for the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, the day commemorating the institution of the priesthood. The Preface brings to light the conferral of the priestly power accomplished through the laying on of hands; and, by listing the various duties, it describes that power, which is the continuation of the power of Christ the High Priest of the New Testament.
5. In addition, the nature of the ministerial priesthood also puts into its proper light another reality, which must indeed be highly regarded, namely, the royal priesthood of the faithful, whose spiritual sacrifice is brought to completeness through the ministry of the Bishop and the priests in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the one and only Mediator. [Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum ordinis, no. 2.]
For the celebration of the Eucharist is an action of the whole Church, and in it each one should carry out solely but completely that which pertains to him or her, in virtue of the rank of each within the People of God. In this way greater consideration will also be given to some aspects of the celebration that have sometimes been accorded less attention in the course of time. For this people is the People of God, purchased by Christ's Blood, gathered together by the Lord, nourished by his word. It is a people called to bring to God the prayers of the entire human family, a people giving thanks in Christ for the mystery of salvation by offering his Sacrifice. Finally, it is a people made one by sharing in the Communion of Christ's Body and Blood. Though holy in its origin, this people nevertheless grows continually in holiness by its conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the mystery of the Eucharist. [Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 11.]
Conscious, active and fruitful participation in the Mystery of the Eucharist is the central reason for all the norms and regulations associated with the Mass. Acknowledgement of the actions proper to every participant and respect for the unique contribution of every member of the assembly establishes the unity of heart and mind that is necessary for a true act of worship. Christ the High Priest is present in the ministerial priest (the bishop or priest who celebrates the Mass) and in His People who are one in the royal priesthood that is theirs by Baptism. The Eucharist is the action of the whole Church, Christ in union with the members of His Mystical Body.
When each participant becomes aware of his or her role in the Mass, the celebration becomes far more effective. As the action of Christ Himself, the Mass always achieves it end, the worship of God in Spirit and in Truth, and the making present of the Sacrifice of Calvary, which won our salvation. As the action of His members in union with Christ the Head, the Mass also serves to bring forth the fruit of the Redemption for the whole world, bringing to God “the prayers of the entire human family.”
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