The Eucharist
"Most of our personal conflicts and sins, like slander, stealing, and adultery, stem from our desire to possess what we do not have and be something we are not."
"As always, we come to the Eucharistic Christ as we are.
1.We approach with humility and open hands, gnarled and perhaps worn, reaching out for life;
2.Hands that have sometimes touched God’s creation in their lowliness;
3.Hands that have occasionally given generously from their abundance and sometimes from their want;
4.Hands that have, probably not often enough, made a difference………..yet we come.And we should because an abundantly merciful God fills our hungry spirit once again, with a promise that we will see divine mercy and be comforted and satisfied.As Francis of Assisi often greeted his companions: May the Lord grant you his peace!"
(Both quotations from Rev. David Lenz's homily on
Sept. 24, 2006)
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One of the foremost reasons I'm becoming Catholic is because of my desire for Communion. I mean this in every sense of the word. For Catholics, Communion is a holy event; a chance to be in the presence of God each service. More than that, Communion is an everyday event. We needn't wait for the first Sunday of the month, or for holidays. The Eucharist is a chance to "commune" with the holy, to enter reverently and thoughtfully into the presence of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a beautiful thing, and never is it more deeply felt than when Communion is not available.
My first experience of the distance of Communion was when I was teaching at Medolark. The majority of the children were Jewish, and it was a strongly secular facility. Because of my schedule, I was unable to go to church. I called around to United Methodist churches to see if a pastor was willing to bring communion to me. I thought this would be possible, because I knew communion was brought to the infirm and home-bound. But I could not find a church that was willing to come out and minister to me. This longing for communion and the impossibility of receiving it made me understand what communion is and what it means.
My most recent experience of the distance of Communion was in the Catholic Church. According to Canon law, non-Catholics should not receive the Eucharist. The way I understand it, some of the regulation has to do with respect for others' beliefs. If you don't believe that, in the Eucharist, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, you shouldn't have to participate in a ritual that declares that. The other part of it, to me, is in what Communion means to Catholics. (And, in my opinion, what it should mean to all Christians.) Because Communion is a holy and communal event, entering into communion unprepared (that is, without asking for the forgiveness of your sins and understanding your relation to God and your brothers and sisters in Christ) is offensive and belies the nature of the Eucharist. I personally think that one should excuse one's self from Communion (in any Christian faith) if one is not in the right mindset or right relationship with God.
I'm very much looking forward to my first Communion, and to the deep meaning that the Eucharist in the Catholic Church holds.
El Greco's Mary Magdalene
Homilies
The really nice thing about going to a mass that is the seat of the archdiocese is that the priests who give the homilies are absolutely top-notch. I've been attending the Cathedral for about three months now, and every homily speaks deeply to me. Part of this is the skill of the priest, but it's also the responsibility of the Holy Spirit.
Before each mass begins, I pray that I might hear and understand the word of God, that God would speak to me through the service in God's own way. (This is not to say that I'm looking for doves alighting on me, or choirs of angels. I think God is much more subtle than that.) It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can hope to reach a kind of Christian enlightenment.
I wish I had access to Sunday's homily, because it was just that good. The visiting priest, a Franciscan friar, discussed divorce, and what our (the Catholic Church's) response should be. It was handled with remarkable sensitivity and acknowledgement that divorce is never an easy decision, and it's incredibly painful for most, if not all, involved. That homily should be up on the Cathedral's website relatively soon.
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"Be joyful, even though you know all the facts." (Wendell Barry)
Another Mary Magdalen, artist unknown
NY Times article
This is a very interesting article from the New York Times about the failure of the evangelical movement to reach out to teens. The leadership involved in organizations like True Love Waits and Acquire the Fire attributes the rate at which teens drop out from the evangelical Christian philosophy to the influence of "worldly values." I have a different take on it.
I've been to Acquire the Fire. In college, I was a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. The youth group at my church could only be described as flamingly conservative. And I had a problem with all of those organizations, because of their completely unrealistic views and rules. For one, they tell you that you are not to befriend "non-believers." (Who is considered a non-believer depends on the group. In the youth group, we were told not to associate with anyone who wasn't of our particular wing of Protestantism, as well as anyone who
was, but had "unorthodox" views. Like me.)
Also, these organizations seem to cater to boys, focusing on high-intensity, high-competitive activities. The majority of leadership positions are held by men. When girls are the focus, we are either infantalized or placed on a pedestal, the object of which the vulgar, sex-crazed boys want to exploit and defile.
I don't know if the Catholic church is better, but I do have a few solutions for reaching out to teens. First, let them tell you what their concerns are. Listen more than you talk. Get more women involved, and hold smaller groups with just girls, where they can feel safe enough to open up, talk, and maybe try the activities that you've been using to lure boys for years. Give them information, without judgement or a value placed on it. Expose them to lots of faiths, in order that they might better understand their own.
Why St. Mary Magdalen?
At the
Patron Saint Index , it states that St. Mary Magdalen is the patron saint of women, converts, contemplatives, and penitent women. Since I am all three, I thought she was a good choice for my blog title.
I know that Mary Magdalene (alternate spelling) has a lot associated with her, from Gnosticism and the purported, much-debated Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to
The Da Vinci Code. I don't believe that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, or the mother of his children. While Jesus, as a "good Jewish boy" of the time, would have probably taken a wife by the time he died in his thirties, it seems unlikely. And you'd think that it would have been mentioned in historical accounts or in the other gospels.
The main reason I chose St. Mary Magdalen, other than her patronage, is because of all the incredible art that she has been the subject of over the centuries. I'll try to post a picture every time I blog. Eventually, I plan to make a notebook of works about her as part of my Catechumenate process.
(My birthday has lots of
saints, but I don't particularly associate with any one of them. Instead, I chose
St. Rita of Cascia, who is the patron saint of many, many things, most important being the patron saint of impossible causes. So many things in my life have been declared to me as impossible, and I've thought even more things to be impossible.)
St. Rita of Cascia, with her stigmata.
Antonio Canova's Mary Magdalen
Spiritual journey
We're three weeks into the RCIA process, and beginning the Rite of Acceptance. To do this, we had to provide information about our baptism.
My baptism didn't occur until I was nearly 16 years old. Having been raised in a very secular way, the realization that there was "something bigger" available to me was a pretty big deal. (I suppose this means that my adolescent rebellion was in becoming a Christian and taking part in organized religion.) I did nearly everything--Episcopalian, Catholic, Lutheran, Unitarian... Somehow, I decided on United Methodist.
I think a lot of it had to do with liking the church that I ended up joining, and less to do with actually wanting to be a United Methodist. In fact, it wasn't until I was a confirmation sponsor last year that I learned what United Methodists believe, and I was quite disappointed when I had the information. (If I'd had it before, I don't think I would have chosen the UMC.) Some of it is the nebulous, "hey, you know, whatever!" attitude. Some is how ministers are assigned to churches. A lot of it is the structure of the church, and maybe knowing too much about it. (It's like seeing sausage made. Not a good thing.)
Every time I attend Mass and RCIA, I feel more assured that I'm doing the right thing.
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Next time: Why St. Mary Magdelen?
