Giving Up? Giving Over!

Perhaps something for us to consider this Ash Wednesday 2009 is what we are handing over to the Lord. As Catholics, we have been well-trained (I hope!) to think about "giving up" as a means to penance. Chocolate, ice cream, alcohol, pastries, desserts . . . renouncing all of these can help us to be aware of the luxuries of life and to help increase our awareness of Lent.

We certainly fast during Lent from the Gloria and the Alleluia during our liturgical celebrations and prayer. But all the giving up, as it were, the abstaining from meat (i.e. poultry, beef, veal, pork products) on all Fridays of Lent is meant to be a signpost to us of our need to convert. And to point us to what -- that is WHO -- is really important. The Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Gospel!

Something that is ancient, that is biblical, that is primordial in the human-divine relationship is giving over. This handing over, not as a passive resignation but an active trust into Someone else's safekeeping, this is really what we are called to. It is the basis, interestingly enough, of the Latin root for our English word tradition (in Latin, traditio). In his first Letter to the Corinthians, in both chapters 11 and 15, St. Paul writes to the Christian Church there, "I hand on to you what I myself received, namely . . ." (1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3). He hands over, in trust and safekeeping, to the Corinthian Christians from whom he has been absent, the deposit of faith and the right practice of that faith.

Handing over is actually a choice for life. Jesus does so continually during his ministry, culminating in the Agony in the Garden and his death on the Cross -- for the life of the world, for our salvation. The Eucharist is our frequent celebration of this handing over.

Our handing ourselves over to the Lord is not some kind of "human sacrifice." Although it is, indeed, a sacrifice, it is us allowing the Lord to be Lord, to be Savior, to be who Jesus says he is in our lives. And it's allowing the promise of our Baptism to be once again renewed and fulfilled in us!

We see St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi do this frequently in their lives, both in imitation of Jesus and even moreso in response to his call. It is the vocation of every Christian to hand ourselves over to the Lord. Our Franciscan vocation impels us to do this, to be a people of penance, so that we are not only giving up what is unnecessary, but giving over in hope and trust to the One who has saved us and who never gives up loving us.

Resurrection! The Victory Belongs to the Lord -- and to Us!

Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen!

Proclaimed throughout the world for the Easter celebration (among those celebrating according to the Gregorian Calendar), this ancient cry proclaims God's victory in Jesus Christ over the ancient curse of sin and death.

What wonderful Good News for us and for the whole world! We see and hear such dreadful news, day after day, and perhaps find ourselves defeated with crime, war, terror, abuse and neglect. And then there's the economy!

Interestingly, the truth of the Lord Jesus' resurrection does not seem to change the political, economic, social or military realities. At least, not at first glance.

At the Easter Vigil (Latin/Roman Rite) we hear the solemn proclamation called the Exsultet, "This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave."

It is a solemn proclamation by believers with small candles aglow from the single Paschal Candle proclaiming the Lord's victory over sin and death. I think of the late Archbishop Paulos Rahha of Mosul who apparently perished when kidnapped -- how is this relatively small Chaldean Christian Church in the Iraqi archdiocese suffers with his loss. Are they experiencing any joy as Christians this Easter?

And so, before the injustice that countless people suffer -- before the oppression of the Burmese and Tibetan peoples, before the wanton slaughter in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan; before the drug lords of Mexico and Colombia; before the street gangs and organized crime bosses in our own country; before those who defy the laws of God in our civil society and take the lives of unborn children and threaten the lives of the weak and the vulnerable under the aegis of "euthanasia"; before those who take advantage of the poor and the elderly,those who attempt to undo neighborhoods for shameful profit -- we boldly -- and lovingly -- declare that Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen!

What makes the difference is our very lives! More powerful than policies, more eloquent than legislation -- as important as these may be -- the difference is the lives we live in the Risen Lord. St. Paul teaches us in his Letter to the Romans, which we heard again at the Easter Vigil (6:3-11), ". . . you must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus" (vs. 11).

Therein lies the victory of Christ, into which we are baptized. We are alive -- because of Holy Baptism -- in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not dead, we are alive! And in our partaking in the Eucharist, we share in the Lord Jesus' own victory. Hence, we live holy lives -- filled with God's Holy Spirit.

Respecting Our Planet -- Sister Water

St. Francis of Assisi composed the famous Italian poem, Canticle of the Creatures in the 13th century. He was apparently suffering from an eye affliction and could no longer enjoy what he extolled. Nevertheless, taking his cue from Psalm 148 and Daniel 3 (the Canticle of the Three Youths), he praises God for all created things. Later on he would add his praises to God for those who bear infirmity and who forgive; likewise, toward the end of his life, he praised God for "Sister Death".

He audaciously calls creatures "brother" and "sister." For Francis, this is not sentimentality. Rather, this is a declaration of faith in God who creates and who re-creates fallen nature -- and especially humanity -- in Jesus Christ! In Romans 8:18-23 the Apostle Paul explains to the Christian Church the redeeming work of Christ for all creation. In fact, all creation groans in labor pains for the revelation of the children of God (humanity restored in Christ)!

Furthermore, we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and are reminded that all who are in Jesus Christ are a new creation. The Book of Revelation teaches us that Jesus Christ brings about a "new heaven and a new earth" (21:1) and that he promises to make all things new (21:5).

These texts echo the Old Testament prophecies from the Book of Isaiah about a new creation (65:17-18), which like Revelation promises fulfillment by the Lord. The writings of Isaiah also promise restoration of creation (2:1-5 and 11:6-9).

As Christians we proclaim that this has occurred because of Jesus Christ and through him! In fact, it is the mystery into which we are baptized, sealed with the Holy Spirit in Confirmation/Chrismation and in which we participate in the Holy Eucharist and renewed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. That which has already happened is being fulfilled in the life of the believer and in the life of the community of faith, the Church!

This was St. Francis' vision. God restoring all things in and through Christ (cf. Colossians 1). Now, you might ask, all very well and good. But, what has that got to do with Lent? Good question!

Actually, a lot! Lent is the time of the Church year, a privileged time at that, in which we undergo the sacred journey of a retreat together. As this blog has stated previously, it is a time of change of attitude. About everything . . . including our relationship with the earth!

Scientists revealed a new map on Thursday (14 February 2008) that shows marine ecosystems around the world that have been affected by human activities. High impact areas are shown in red, followed by dark orange, light orange, yellow, green and blue, which signals low impact. (aol.com, Friday 15 February 2008)

Before I am dismissed as a "tree hugging Franciscan" by some -- please note, this is about God's Earth of which we are inhabitants, but certainly NOT owners! As Franciscan friars, a significant part of our concern for proclaiming the Gospel is justice, peace and the integrity of creation. It is not some "liberal" or "conservative" propoganda. This is really very Gospel-centered and Gospel-oriented.

The map above gives a pretty good (computer-generated) indication of the status of our oceans -- what is healthy; what is unhealthy; what needs vast improvement; what is critical. While some may dismiss the issues of "global warming" and the like (I've heard that brought up more than once here in frigid Wisconsin!), nevertheless, we need to check our attitudes toward the earth.

Are we aware of the fishing crisis? Of the crisis regarding the amount of cargo that spill from ocean-going freighters into the seas? Of the "algae blooms" in both fresh-water systems and the devastation to coral reefs and other ecosystems in the oceans, especially those relatively close to our shorelnes?

This is not a trivial addendum to the Gospel nor to living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. Rather, it is a matter of our Christian integrity. If the fishing stocks are depleted, for example, what will millions of people have to eat? Not to mention the disrupted ecosystems in the ocean and their effects upon human habitation and survival.

So, perhaps a good reflection for us this Lent is our common -- and individual -- attitude toward the earth, especially the "precious and chaste" gift of "Sister Water" (the words in quotation marks are those of St. Francis of Assisi in his Canticle).

What is my attitude toward this vital gift of the "blue planet", as it is called? How do I praise God, like the psalmists, St. Francis of Assisi and countless believers, for water? Do I respect this gift? Do I remember to thank God for every sip of water and every use of it I make?

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste. from the Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving -- Doing Lent! Part 1

The ancient and traditional practices of Christians during Lent are prayer, fasting and almsigiving. Why do we "give up" things in Lent?

Way back in the early Church there emerged practices for Christians to accompany those who were preparing for the Sacraments of Christian Initiation (what has been restored in the Catholic Church since the Vatican Council II -- RCIA [Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults]).

The text called The Didache was a very early Christian treatise (late 1st century -- early 2nd century). Curiously, this parchment was only rather recently discovered in Constantinople (now Istanbul), at the Phanar (the headquarters of the Patriarch of Constantinople) by a Greek Orthodox scholar in the late 19th century!

It apparently was originally a Jewish booklet for righteous living that Christians borrowed and made additions. Among the Christian additions are how to do baptism and how to do eucharist! In one sentence for the baptismal instruction it indicates that the Christian community is to prayerfully accompany the catechumen (one to be baptized) with fasting.