Last weekend, I was away for a family wedding. It took me to the middle of Pennsylvania, and the return trip allowed for me to make a stop on September 11 at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA. As it turned out, I was there just as the President and his retinue were departing. I waited with many other Americans who chose to be there that day as the invited guests streamed out, wondering when we would be able to enter the grounds. Suddenly, we saw three helicopters lift up and depart and the guards stepped aside to allow us to go in.
Site of the Crash of Flight 93, Memorial Wall and Bells, Shanksville, PA
It was truly a moving experience to see the signs of honor given to those who lost their lives. An amazing number of media personnel were still on the grounds getting their pictures and giving their wrap-ups to what had gone on before. Americans of all backgrounds were also on the scene to show that we remember the sacrifice of those who have gone ahead of us.
This past week, we saw a gathering of St. Timothy Women for a potluck. As an honorary (dues-paying) member, I was able to stop in as things were wrapping up. It was clear that everyone had a good time. Although for several years now we have not had an active “Women’s Club” as such, it is clear that all the members are very active and involved. We owe a debt of gratitude to the women of St. Timothy Parish who keep us in business and who make sure that all that used to happen under the umbrella of the Women’s Club still happens. I am sure that the Holy Spirit will tap on someone’s shoulder to take up the task of leadership when the time is right. In the meantime, we thank those who led in the past and we invite those who are feeling the Spirit’s tug to take the risk of stepping forward. Remember, it was a woman who got us all started by her Yes to God when the angel asked her to be the mother of the Messiah.
Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.
Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.
Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. (I Timothy 6:7-10)
Radix malorum est cupiditas is a famous expression, here translated “the love of money is the root of all evils.” St. Paul gives his practical advice to St. Timothy and his coworkers not to set store on the material things of this world. Our current economic woes are the result of a failure to follow this advice at every level of society.
When we put God first in our lives and seek to live a rich interior spiritual life, then the attachments of this world are not as alluring as they used to be. When we see our material possessions as means to a higher end, then they lose their hold on us. Contentment with what we have when our basic needs are met is a real sign of our understanding who we are. Having St. Timothy as our patron, we ought to heed St. Paul’s advice.
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
Accommodation to New Conditions (Continued)
12. Therefore, when the Second Vatican Council convened in order to accommodate the Church to the requirements of her proper apostolic office precisely in these times, it examined thoroughly, as had Trent, the instructive and pastoral character of the Sacred Liturgy. [Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 33.] Since no Catholic would now deny the lawfulness and efficacy of a sacred rite celebrated in Latin, the Council was also able to grant that "the use of the vernacular language may frequently be of great advantage to the people" and gave the faculty for its use. [Cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 36.]
The enthusiasm in response to this measure has been so great everywhere that it has led, under the leadership of the Bishops and the Apostolic See itself, to permission for all liturgical celebrations in which the people participate to be in the vernacular, for the sake of a better comprehension of the mystery being celebrated.
13. Indeed, since the use of the vernacular in the Sacred Liturgy may certainly be considered an important means for presenting more clearly the catechesis regarding the mystery that is inherent in the celebration itself, the Second Vatican Council also ordered that certain prescriptions of the Council of Trent that had not been followed everywhere be brought to fruition, such as the homily to be given on Sundays and holy days [Cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 52.] and the faculty to interject certain explanations during the sacred rites themselves. [Cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 35:3.]
Above all, the Second Vatican Council, which urged "that more perfect form of participation in the Mass by which the faithful, after the priest's Communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same Sacrifice," [Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 55.] called for another desire of the Fathers of Trent to be realized, namely that for the sake of a fuller participation in the holy Eucharist "the faithful present at each Mass should communicate not only by spiritual desire but also by sacramental reception of the Eucharist." [Ecumenical Council of Trent, Session 22, Doctrina de ss. Missae sacrificio, 17 September 1562, chapter 6]
The call of the Second Vatican Council for the People of God to have a greater awareness of the meaning of the Liturgy and to participate more fully has led to some changes that in an earlier age would have been misunderstood. When others are calling basic tenets of the Faith into question, it is natural to “batten down the hatches.” Hearing the Spirit’s call to the Church to be truly universal, changes now very familiar to us all were made involving the language used in the Liturgy and the People’s participation in the Sacraments more fully.
Prayers in English (our vernacular) and regular reception of Holy Communion are now commonplace for us. The call of the Spirit now is to renew our sense of awe and wonder and to deepen our understanding of the Liturgy. Changes necessary to bring this about are under the guidance and direction of the same Church that has led us through the centuries in other forms and expressions of the same Faith. We have to put our trust in the Spirit to draw us more profoundly into the Mystery we celebrate.
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