Remembering our Dead

The Rabbis of our Jewish ancestors had a saying: “To remember is to give life. To forget is to let die.” For this reason Jews have long remembered their dead. We too have a long history of remembering those who have died. This is expressed every time we gather for Eucharist and pray the Eucharistic prayer:

Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy. Eucharistic Prayer II.

But once a year, on November 2, the Church sets aside an entire day to remember and to pray for our dead. This day is called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed or All Soul’s Day.

If you listen closely to the texts of the Mass for this day, you will hear a central belief of our faith—that the death and resurrection of Jesus gives meaning and hope to our own death:

Look favorably on our offerings, O Lord, so that your departed servants may be taken up into glory with your Son, in whose great mystery of love we are all united.Prayer over the offerings.

At St. Thomas Aquinas, we will remember and pray for our dead on November 2, at the regular 9am and 12noon Masses, as well as at the 7:00pm bilingual liturgy, at which time we will remember and name our loved ones who died in the previous year.  We will remember our departed brothers and sisters in in other ways as well:

An altar or ofrenda, marking the Day of the Dead, a holiday in Mexico and other Latin cultures, will be placed in the narthex. These altars are typically adorned with photos, memorabilia—even the favorite foods and beverages of those who have died.

As well, a book of remembrance with the names of our departed dead and a picture board with photos of those who have did will be located in the narthex throughout November.

May our remembrance of our departed loved ones bring peace and deepen the faith we profess each time we say in the creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

The Communal Nature of Sacraments

Frequently our parish gets calls for a priest or deacon to do a private baptism of a child. Families desire an intimate celebration reserved only for relatives and friends of the child being baptized. As well intentioned as this is, it is contrary to the Rite of Baptism for Children and the general introduction to the Rite of Christian Initiation, which states,

The people of God, that is the Church, made present in the local community, has an important part to play in the baptism of both children and adults; Rite of Baptism for Children #4.

In the actual celebration, the people of God (represented not only by the parents, godparents and relatives, but also, as far as possible, by friends, neighbors and some members of the local church) should take an active part; Rite of Christian Initiation general introduction #7. 

By their very nature, all sacraments are communal. They are celebrated by the community, in the midst of the community and for the community, as the liturgical documents tell us:

Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations belonging to the Church. … Therefore liturgical services involve the whole Body of the Church; Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #26.

Why is the Church so insistent that the local parish community be present for the most intimate spiritual moments on one’s journey of faith? Because that’s what Jesus did. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, out in the open for all to hear and to see. According to the gospel of Luke, Jesus was baptized along with others,

“After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.” Luke 3:21

When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, he didn’t dine alone. He shared the meal with the community of disciples. Whenever Jesus healed the sick, it was in the midst of a community. The actions of Jesus, from which we trace the origin of our sacraments, were done in the midst of the community. In this way, the members of the community witnessed the love of God and could then share that love with others.

As Jesus’ actions demonstrated, sacraments are about relationships. Every time we celebrate a sacrament, we enter anew into a relationship with the Triune God. This is why we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Sacraments also forge new relationships with the community. In the sacrament of Baptism, we become part of the family of believers. Even the sacrament of Penance, which typically takes place between the priest and the penitent in private, has a communal focus. The Rite of Penance “always entails reconciliation with our brothers and sisters who are always harmed by our sins.”Rite of Penance #5.

Like the first disciples of Jesus, we too are called to witness the transforming love of Jesus through the sacraments. In this way, we become the healing, reconciling, transforming sacrament of God in the world.

The Music We Sing

A neighboring parish is eliminating the contemporary “Life Teen” music from its Sunday evening Mass in favor of a more eclectic repertoire. Putting more traditional music in the mix, the Pastor believes, will enable more people to sing and therefore participate more fully. Not surprisingly, not everyone is happy about the change.

Finding common ground, even when it comes to a universal language like music, is a challenge. Just ask any family on a road trip what music they prefer and they will likely offer varied and diverse opinions. As we have seen by the example above, opinions are also varied and diverse when it comes to liturgical music. Some prefer more traditional music, while others like more contemporary songs.

Contrasting preferences among congregations, coupled with hundreds of thousands of songs from which to choose for any given liturgy can make planning the music incredibly complicated. That’s why in most parishes, each Mass has its own particular musical style, allowing the faithful to pick and choose as they please. And that’s also why many have argued for a common diocesan and national repertoire. But are either of these strategies the best approach? Do they ultimately meet the criteria to support the liturgy in its aim to unify the People of God?

The U.S. Bishops document on music in the liturgy, Sing to the Lord, tells us that choosing music for Mass is a balance between three criteria: liturgical, pastoral, and musical. The liturgical judgment assures a connection between the readings and the prayers of the liturgy with the texts of the songs. The liturgical judgment also affirms that the texts of the music are theologically sound in that they express what we believe. The pastoral judgment takes into consideration the assembly. This judgment encourages music that is singable and that helps the people to pray. The musical judgment underscores the integrity and the quality of the music itself.

But Sing to the Lord doesn’t stop there. When speaking about music in Catholic schools, it says schools “are to cultivate the repertoire of sacred music inherited from the past, to engage the creative efforts of contemporary composers and the diverse repertoires of various cultures.” It also says, “Liturgical music today must reflect the multicultural diversity and intercultural relationships of the members of the gathered liturgical assembly.”

These statements call us to look beyond our own individual preferences in order to satisfy the common good. As Sing to the Lord asserts, “Charity, justice, and evangelization are thus the normal consequences of liturgical celebration.” If we can practice charity, justice and evangelization within the liturgy, then we can live it outside in the world. Then and only then will we have a song worth being sung.

Mercy and Hospitality: Two sides of the same coin

A recent game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets turned into an emotional roller coaster following the sudden death of Marlins’ pitcher Jose Fernandez. Fernandez, 24, died in a boating accident off the coast of Miami two weekends ago. The following Monday, the Marlins paid tribute to Fernandez during their game with the Mets. They wore jerseys bearing Fernandez’s number, 16, and before the game began, a video tribute honoring Fernandez was played to a melancholy version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Then, something unusual happened. In an act of compassion and sportsmanship, the Mets broke the barrier of decorum to embrace the Marlins in their grief. This small act, it turns out, was a big deal. As Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton said to a New York Times reporter,“You never think a hug, or a few hugs, would change anything or be that big. But that was huge of them.” The Mets demonstrated the virtue of hospitality by showing mercy and empathy toward their rivals. 

Hospitality means to love the stranger. As demonstrated by the Mets, a small act of kindness, a nod, a smile, an invitation, a genuine gesture of interest and caring go a long way. Here are some small ways we can help visitors feel welcome at Mass each week:

Cultivate the virtue of hospitality.

Reach out to newcomers and unfamiliar faces. Seek out someone you’ve not met before. Shake their hand, introduce yourself, and take a few moments to welcome them to our parish.

Come early, leave late.

Make the effort to come to Mass a little early and linger just a bit later. Make room in your busy life to greet and spend time with others at Mass, especially people you don’t know.

Help newcomers connect

While you are getting to know visitors, introduce them to other parishioners as the opportunity presents itself. Invite visitors to sit next to you.  Practice hospitality in choosing where to sit.  Instead of sitting at the end of the pew, consider moving into the middle, making room for others to sit on the end.

Give visitors information about the parish

After Mass, introduce visitors to the person at the welcome desk. Ensure that a visitor has a bulletin and other information about the parish before they leave.

Our liturgy is ultimately the gift of God’s hospitality; God’s invitation to share God’s life and God’s love in every ritual moment. We who experience God’s hospitality are called to become instruments of it, as this Gaelic rune attests.

I saw a stranger yestreen: I put the food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place, music in the listening place. And, in the sacred name of the Triune, he blessed myself and my house, my cattle and my dear ones. And the lark said in her song, often, often, often, goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise; often, often, often, goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.

Sacred Pilgrimage

Everyone is on a spiritual journey, but more and more people are making that journey real by going on a sacred pilgrimage. Two years ago, at the First International Congress on Tourism and Pilgrimages in September, the United Nations released figures that showed that one out of every three tourists worldwide is a pilgrim. Pilgrimage is enjoying a boom, despite studies that show the number of persons who claim to be religious has decreased.

Millions of Muslims just made a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia this month. To make the Hajj, an Arabic word that means pilgrimage, is one of five key pillars of Islam. This five-day journey re-enacts the rituals established by the prophet Muhammed. The Hajj is believed to be the largest annual gathering of people in the world. Muslims aren’t alone in their quest for a sacred sojourn. Every year, millions visit the Holy Land, whose sacred sites draw Jews, Muslims, Baháí’s, and Christians. However, it is Mexico that is home to what is believed to be the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. An estimated 20 million people travel to The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City where the mother of Jesus is believed to have appeared to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego in 1531. And an estimated six million pilgrims visit Lourdes, France, each year transforming the small southwestern town into the second most important center for visitors in the country—with Paris being the first. Mary is believed to have appeared in Lourdes in 1858 to a peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous who was later canonized.

During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, countless pilgrims are traveling to Rome to visit the Vatican. Many of them will walk through the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica, blessed by Pope Francis as a sign of God’s mercy and compassion. The Pope is encouraging those who can’t make it to Italy during the Jubilee to visit Holy Doors closer to home. Here in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Holy Doors have been dedicated at The Cathedral of Christ the King, the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Philip Benizi, Our Lady of the Americas, and Holy Vietnamese Martyrs. The Pope believes that those who enter these Doors of Mercy will “experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope.”  

Sacred pilgrimages ultimately symbolize our walk toward a God who walks toward us each and every day.