Posted on 10/20/2005 9:56:40 AM PDT by murphE
This is a sermon from an audio link from The EWTN library. I transcribed it myself, so any errors are mine.
As St. Francis of Assisi was going through his deeper conversion, he would often pray before a crucifix at a chapel called San Damiano just outside of Assisi. He desired to do the will of God, and he would often appeal to the Crucified One, “speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” On one particular day a voice came forth from that crucifix, a voice that Francis heard in his heart, and the voice said, “Now go forth Francis and build up my Church for it is nearly falling down.”You see the dilapidated structure of San Damiano chapel was kind of an example of what was happening to the Church spiritually in some of Her members. It was if the good Christ was saying to Francis go forth and rebuild the Mystical Body of Christ on earth the Catholic Church, for it is nearly falling down. In short Francis would be that reforming instrument that would call the members of God back to their senses; he would help bring the people of God back home, home to where they belonged.
Home...man has an inner longing for home, for what is familiar. And that’s why a man always loves coming home. So we have that song, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, it means something. Because of his familiarity with his surroundings a man feels secure as he walks through the door of his house. And so it is with a religious man, a Catholic man, he should feel a sense of security and shelter in the oasis that is the Roman Catholic Church. Holy Mother Church gives a peace that man could never give. In the past, a person was able to find safety and shelter in the Church, and even though she may have had many imperfections in her membership, he always had his questions answered. And they were answered in certain, clear and even dogmatic ways.
Language is also a part of being home. A person returning from a trip abroad finds that he is home again when he hears that familiar local language. And so in the Church, at least at one time in the Latin Rite, a person felt at home in many parts of the world when he entered into a parish for mass. This man experienced a certain peace, a spiritual oasis as he heard the chanting, the Gregorian chant, or listening to the Roman canon recited by the priest in Latin not in the every day language of the streets.
Now if the Catholic who ceased to be an active member of the Church way back in the 1960's were to return to a Catholic parish today in the west, if he wanted to again become religiously active, after being away for than a generation, he probably would not recognize today’s Church as the one he had left. Even just entering a typical modern parish, particularly if it’s one of those new ultra modern designs, would feel strange to him. The prodigal son having returned to his Father’s house would feel like a foreigner. He’d feel out of place. He wouldn't’t feel at home. And perhaps he would think he had even come to the wrong address. Or maybe he entered into another Christian religious service. The devotional pictures, the statues, that he remembered as a youth, would probably have disappeared. They had been replaced by banners. Devotional images on stained glass windows that had left their mark on him when he was a boy, would probably have been replaced with some undefinable non devotional work of art. And the glorious High Altar that he had probably served at when he was a boy would be gone, maybe replaced by some butcher block table. And in vain would he look for that communion rail where he received his first Holy Communion. It would be gone. And as for the tabernacle and the red sanctuary lamp, the man would probably not find it on the main altar. And if he stayed for Holy Mass, the every day language of the service would leave him dumbfounded and the lack of sacred music would puzzle him. “Is this really my home?” And if he stayed for the homily hoping to hear solid dogmatic teachings that would give him unfailing answers to all his questions, he might be very disappointed. And as he left mass the prodigal son would probably feel robbed of his inheritance. “Where is my patrimony?”
The destruction of time honored customs, devotions, church interiors and exteriors, as well as a disdain shown towards tradition these modern times would shake his new found faith. Oh yes it was easy to abolish traditional forms of preaching, teaching and worshiping, but it’s very difficult to put something in its place. The religious home for many people where an oasis of truth and devotion existed has largely been destroyed. And it will take a long, long time to rebuild.
One’s parish is to be one’s home. And a priest is to be a father of that family, the shepherd of that flock, the mediator for the people of God, - that is why it is unfathomable to me that there would be anything called a “greeters ministry” in any parish, with men and women greeting parishioners as they enter into the church building. People who are coming home are not greeted in this way. Parishioners are not guests; they’re members of the family and the parish is their home. But, despite the smiles and the greetings many Catholics feel unsettled. They feel out of place, they don’t feel at home in their own parishes.
Strong Catholic preaching coming from the pulpits, solid meat and potatoes Catholicism has largely been replaced by a psychobabble that is no better than “chicken soup for the soul”. And this present reality has had serious consequences. The first I call “Latin flight”- people leaving the very rite that they grew up in, the Latin Rite Catholics that they are, and they begin to head towards the east, knowing that the Church “breathes with both lungs” they have found more “spiritual oxygen” if you will in the Maronite, Byzantine or Melkite Rite. Furthermore , some have headed off to Fundamentalist Protestant groups, where at least they can hear a sermon that Christ is Lord and universal Savior of the human race, and the bible being utterly inerrant.
In every home there are certain family treasures, special heirlooms, as well as time honored customs, and these must be respected because they have come to us from our fathers, from the ancients. And so it is in the Roman Catholic Church, family treasures, special heirlooms, devotions which we have had for centuries, we need to have that reverence for traditional preaching, teaching, architecture, sacred music, and liturgy. A respect, a reverence for what we have received from our fathers.
The list of other repairs in the Latin Rite is quite long. The problems include poor architectural designs, young ladies serving near the altar, the dominant language being the vernacular instead of Latin, the Holy Mass being perceived only as community meal instead of a sacrifice offered to the Father. And we need to ask, we need to humbly ask, how much mass facing the people has truly added to this confusion. The mass with the priest facing with the people, not with his back to the people, but in the same direction as the people, is the traditional position of the priest. He’s the father of the family, the shepherd of the flock, and he is the mediator for the people of God.
Preaching that sounds more like self help books is another thing in need of repair. Holy Communion being distributed and received with greater reverence including the use of gold paten dishes. And oh how we need the return of that communion rail, which not only defined the Holy of Holies, but also became the very altar for the laity where they received the precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. Non precious sacred vessels, lacking artistic merit or made out of breakable material, and the list goes on and on.
But thanks be to God, many are noticing the damages and at least the problems are noted and blueprints have been drawn up in various documents released recently by the Holy See.
There’s a famous line by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, he used to say, “Those who are married to the age will be a widow in the next age.” Attempts to make the Church look and sound more like the outside world, to bring it up to date, more like the modern age have not worked. In fact modern people have largely lost any respect they had for the Church, and She’s become a widow in this age in the minds of many. But the Holy Roman Catholic Church is ageless, She is the spotless Bride of Christ, and though 2000 years old she looks as good as that first Pentecost Sunday. She is our home, she is our oasis, she is our place of refuge, but we must rebuild and restore this home carefully. We must find those lost abandoned family heirlooms, family customs and devotions must be resurrected. Yes, we must restore our foundations so that we may be more settled and secure, and that those outside the home will be drawn toward the Church as something not of this world. Modern day Maccabees are needed, modern day St 'Francises' are needed, who are willing to build after the destruction. New apostolic men, good priests, bishops are needed to go to the lost sheep in various parishes and reestablish the house of God as a temple and the home of the people of God. Our present Holy Father has provided the game plan, false profits must have their false teachings put to the sword, and the public revelation of Jesus Christ must shine forth to attract people. And yes the altar must be rebuilt, true solemn worship restored. Only then will the people of God come to their senses, fall prostrate, and once again feel at home.
I thought of you when I heard this...;-)
Lol. That's quite interesting, though. As miserable as I was, the thought of leaving the Catholic Church never occured to me. The only rational explanation for a catholic joining an Evangelical Church, would be poor catechesis ... VERY POOR catechesis. Who would abandon the Sacraments for a bible thumping preacher. On the other hand, as I watched the steady changes in the Latin Church, I truly believed that these were approved. Why else would a priest do something contrary to catholic teaching?
It is through this forum, that I learned about other options. Even then, I never gave up until the other parishioners let me know that restoring the Crucifix to the Sanctuary did not interest them. They were not aware of the GIRM and, worse yet, did not want to know. With so many churches closing in the diocese, they were grateful to the bishop for assigning a vibrant pastor when the previous one died. They loved their parish - first! - and were determined to work with him to keep it alive.
It's somewhat reversed in my Maronite parish. The Church was built as a shrine and only converted after the actual church was destroyed in a fire. These families are very attached to this small building and resentful that we will be moving to a larger one. But the neighborhood is no longer safe and the move is necessary, for their own good. As we prepare to celebrate the parish Centennial, I am at great peace with a beautiful and reverent liturgy, and an orthodox "meat and potatoes" priest.
The awesome beauty of the Catholic Church is beautifuly expressed in the Catechism:
"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).
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