Deja Vu

Well that's it! My last class was a few weeks ago, only this time it really is my very last class. I know that probably sounds familiar. You're safe in believing that you've read that first line before; or something very similar. I enjoyed the ILM experience and couldn't help myself when I had the opportunity to take another class. I really enjoyed the Liturgy class and I enjoy talking about it with the people in my Parish who ask about my ILM experience.

 

The word Déjà vu, comes from the French and it means "already seen"; usually it is explained as the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not. It's a little scary to think that early researchers tried to establish a link between déjà vu and serious mental disorders, but you'll be glad to hear they determined "there does not seem to be a special association between déjà vu and schizophrenia or other psychiatric conditions (thank goodness ... right!)".

 

You might also remember that I wrote, "This has been the story of my personal journey for truth, knowledge, and wisdom, but as with all great stories and epic journeys ... it's really just the begining." After that post I was asked to be the RCIA Coordinator in my Parish and it's going well. RCIA isn't new for me: I went through the program in this Parish and was confirmed at the Easter Vigil in 2004. After that I was a member of the team for a few years, and as of this recent Easter Vigil I've been Catholic for 10 years.

 

Also as of this recent Easter Vigil, my first group of eight participants are now fully Catholic themselves. We're in Mystagogy now and everyone is doing well. Although many experiences have prepared me for this service I would like to note (once again) how much the ILM program has meant to me. I learned a lot that applies to what I'm trying to share with those who are on their own journey for truth, knowledge, and wisdom.

 

Liturgy - Class 8 Part 2

Jesus “didn't come to abolish the law", which was and is the Word of God given in covenant to His people. He condemned the Pharisees not because they were following the law, but because they were not building a relationship with God. The rules must be followed in Love to build relationships.

 

Our take on this should be different than most. The Catholic Church is the church that goes back to the root of Jesus' teaching, with a thread of consistency in sharing the message of love proclaimed by Jesus; but we need to struggle with this concept of law and relationship.

 

Those who obey only the law are not in right relationship with God because the Word is not getting through to their hearts. It's about coming to the edge of chaos and the conversion that takes place as a result of encountering Christ in the Liturgy. We must change our hearts to be more like Christ, so that we can in-turn reconcile ourselves to Christ.

 

Jesus is asking us to return to a time when we were right with God. Liturgy puts us back in this right relationship with God and that is what Justice is. Liturgy trains us in obedience through listening in ways that matter.

 

Some people turn liturgy into a ceremonial process hoping to recharge their faith, but it must include conversion. For instance: If there is a group that is discriminated against (we vs. they) and we do nothing to help we have not experienced conversion.

 

Jesus was trying to restore the original order, not by retribution but through inclusion, empathy, and equity. For Jesus, justice was about the people that were left out; the poor and the widowed, giving everyone a place at the table.

 

The challenge is to engage our leadership stance, in a way that will help us understand how we can get better as individuals, and in this way help the Parish get better. Do people feel welcome and included? Do we remove prejudice from our liturgy? Liturgy is only valid when we struggle at the edge of chaos (justice).

 

We can’t pretend to Love God, Liturgy is anamnestic. It’s in the doing that we celebrate the memory of Christ, which another student pointed out is similar to the idea that “Faith without works is dead”. It's not that God doesn't want us to worship, He doesn't want us to worship without having participated in Justice.

 

Liturgy and justice are two sides of the same coin. Everybody celebrates and nobody is left out. We want catechumens to learn to be more like Christ, and He wasn’t spending time in the Tabernacle. We too must go out and be radically inclusive, even to the people we don’t know.

 

We must go out and be the face of Christ in the world. We must live like we pray, and when people ask questions we must be prepared to explain why we live this way. We must be prepared to proclaim what Jesus means to us, and we must share the healing message of Christ with the people we are with.

 

When we are doing the work of justice we are all doing the work of the Lord, whether it’s Lutheran’s or Catholics, or even atheist’s, it is helping the world move closer to Christ. Where ever Samaria is in your life, cross the border to help those who make you uncomfortable, because Christ taught us the one thing that makes liturgy valid is a love of the poor.

 

“In the Liturgy, we break our bread and share our wine, and we break open our lives so that God can rush in with forgiveness, peace, hope, and life. Then the doors are broken open and we rush out to be word to others, to tell the story and let it come true in us; to be the bread, to be the wine, and to be the body of Christ for a hungry, yearning world. To do justice and walk humbly with our God: We do this and remember. We remember God, we remember who we are, we remember what we promised in our baptism, and we remember God’s covenant with us.”

My post for the class website:

I was intrigued by the idea that Liturgy puts us back in right relationship with God, and that this right relationship is what justice is. Like Jesus, for me justice is about the people that are left out: For Him it was the poor and the widowed and for me it’s the poor and homeless.

We may never be able to give everyone a place at the table but that should always be our goal, where everybody celebrates and nobody is left out. When we are doing the work of justice we are all doing the work of the Lord, no matter who we are, because it is in the helping that we move the world closer to Christ.

Jesus didn’t spend all of His time in the Tabernacle, and we too must go out and be radically inclusive; even to the people we don’t know. We must go out and be the face of Christ in the world. We must live like we pray, and when people ask questions we must be prepared to explain why we live this way.

It’s in the doing that we celebrate the memory of Christ, which another student pointed out is similar to the idea that “Faith without works is dead”. It's not that God doesn't want us to worship, He doesn't want us to worship without having participated in Justice.

We were challenged to engage our leadership stance in a way that will help us understand how we can become better individuals, and in this way help our Parishes become better communities. Where ever Samaria is in our lives, we must cross the border to help those who make us uncomfortable, because Christ taught us the one thing that makes liturgy valid is a love of the poor.

I would like to end my ILM class on the Liturgy with a powerful quote from Megan McKenna: “In the Liturgy, we break our bread and share our wine, and we break open our lives so that God can rush in with forgiveness, peace, hope, and love. Then the doors are broken open and we rush out to be word to others, to tell the story and let it come true in us; to be the bread, to be the wine, and to be the body of Christ for a hungry, yearning world. To do justice and walk humbly with our God, we do this and remember. We remember God, we remember who we are, we remember what we promised in our baptism, and we remember God’s covenant with us.”
 

Liturgy - Class 8 Part 1

We weren’t allowed to sit down after the opening prayer. Instead we were asked to break up into groups of four. There were only enough of us to make up three groups and our instructor actually needed four groups, so I ended up in a group of three.

 

During tonight’s class our instructor wanted us to consider the following: 1) What is liturgy; 2) What is justice; 3) What do liturgy and justice have to do with each other; and 4) Which should come first?

He passed out four questions taken from our reading and my little group was asked to explain “in plain English” what Megan McKenna meant by saying, "We are the leftovers of God's feasting". We were given a few minutes to come up with an answer to what that means and why it is important.

 

Our answer was, “When we go to Mass and participate in the Eucharist, we become more like Christ who feeds us. We then become the leftovers that are shared with others; because what we eat (Christ) leads us to service. We are sent into the world as Jesus was sent into the world by His Father, spirit fed, at peace, and in communion.”

 

Our instructor asked us how we might explain this to a catechumen, so I said, “We must not become isolated. We must share what we receive with others”. Another guy in my group added, “It is the plan for salvation: God gave us Christ, who in turn fed the Disciples, who in turn fed the people, who in turn have fed us”.

 

We are what we eat. We receive from Christ and we give to others, which is why the Liturgy of the Mass ends with the petition to “Go out into the world and proclaim the Good News”. We eat it, we become it, and we share it with others.

 

Next we were asked to discuss how we are like the fox and the tiger from our reading assignment. She stated that “We are all beggars in the presence of God” which to me meant we are all equal. Not everyone agreed with this idea, and I have to agree that we all have different talents to share.

 

The idea is that we should “remember that before God we are all equal, begging with empty bowls”. It’s about remembering what “God has done, is doing, and still wants to do for His people”. It’s about putting the world back together again the way it’s supposed to be, the way God created it to be.

 

So what is justice? We listed right and wrong, fairness, equity, judgment, values, empathy, laws, rules, conversion, reform, learning, rehabilitation, and punishment. For Liturgy we listed the work of God, the work of the people, public service, participation, worship, thanksgiving, prayer, celebration, story, ritual, sacrament, and penance.

 

Looking at the two lists leaves the strong impression that there is no (or very little) overlap, so how are these two things alike? In most US Parishes you get push back when you talk about liturgy and justice together. Nevertheless, they are not separate things, they are the same: Liturgy and Justice are one. Jesus began teaching justice right from the beginning and is quoted as saying, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice". ... Etc.

 

The answer to the question about what Liturgy and Justice have to do with each other is that Liturgy leads us to Justice because we recognize that we are all equal before Christ. Being brought to the edge of chaos, helps us to recognize that we are all one in Christ, and that we may be the tiger in one way and the fox in another. We are to sacrifice ourselves for others.

Liturgy - Class 3 (Extra notes)

I’m “off the continent”, resting on a beach and listening to the ocean this week, so I missed tonight’s class. The notes for this post are from the third class.

 

The word Logos is from the Greek, and it means (wait for it) Word, as in the Word of God. Each Christmas Day the reading is from John, “In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God and Word was God. We were asked what John meant: Is he speaking about Jesus?

 

For Mark, the image of Jesus is very human and the cross was a scandal. In John, written about 70 years after Jesus’ death, the image of Jesus is divine and the cross is like a throne. Of course the theology of Jesus was revealed and understood over time. John began his writing at the very beginning, the moment of creation, to make it clear that the Word was with God and the Word was God from the very beginning.

 

We may have parents, but each of us must recognize that we were created by the Word (Logos) of God. The relationship between God the Father and God the Son produces the Holy Spirit, which infuses everything! When God speaks something happens. When we hear good news we want to talk about it, and eventually the Good News was written down so that it could be shared.

 

Our instructor asked what the difference is between scripture and homily. One is written and one is proclaimed, and in some ways reading the stories is not as powerful as hearing the stories. It’s all about our relationship with the Logos, and in some ways this is what makes us different from the Baptists.

 

Hearing the Living Word of God proclaimed is part of what makes us a living community. For instance, proclaiming scripture on the radio is not liturgical because you are not there. Proclamation is not about reading out loud, it's about hearing and sharing it in community.

 

So what does this mean for your Parish?

 

Three things the liturgy committee needs to know: 1) The committee must understand the four parts of the liturgy; 2) They must pay closer attention to the calendar; and 3) They must encourage the assembly to participate.

 

Three things the lectors need to know: 1) They must pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit; 2) They must proclaim the Word carefully and with expression: and 3) They must recognize that each reading is part of the whole story.

 

Three things the Pastor needs to know: 1) He must understand what is happening at the specific Mass; 2) He must keep the homily simple; and 3) His talk must connect how scripture comes alive in this particular assembly.

 

Three things the assembly needs to know: 1) The assembly must come to Mass ready to participate; 2) They must listen attentively to all of the readings and the Homily: and 3) They must try to recognize how this affects them today.

 

It’s OK to hold our volunteers accountable, and there are lector resources that can help. Some Parish’s use a faith sharing process to help each lector prepare for their reading. It may be even more helpful to record a video of the lector and have them watch it. Usually they will improve overnight.

 

Like we’ve said before, each reading has a beginning, middle, and an end, and you must also recognize and emphasize the most important message in the reading. That important point may only be a half a sentence long, but it’s still important and it must still be emphasized.

 

Our instructor told us a story about a homilist that was really bad. Although it wasn’t apparent it turns out that he was a newly ordained Priest, and he was filling in for seriously sick Pastor. Our instructor had listened to quite a few of his homilies, all of which were less than adequate. Evidently he had worked for a construction firm before becoming a Priest.

 

One Sunday the Priest started his homily with a story about how he had been such a mean boss prior to becoming a Priest. It was very personal and almost like a confession, being poured out to the assembly. He skillfully connected it to the scripture readings for that day, connected to his own life and how it changed him, and made if very meaningful to the people. Our instructor contacted him and said that it was by far the very best homily he had ever heard.

 

The best way to help your Priest is to focus on the things that he does right. Be specific, give details, tell why you liked it, and explain the difference it will make moving forward. Of course you must know the elements of a good homily, but the Priest will move in the direction of encouragement.

 

The assembly expects a lot from the Priest, and they should. We should also expect a lot from the assembly. The homily should be a dialog, and the assembly should come prepared by having read the readings.
       
There is a source called “Fulfilled in Your Hearing” that has a process for faith sharing to develop themes for homilies. There is also a source called ‘Question of the week” that can be found at www.pastoralplanning.com/questionoftheweek.html that can be used to help the assembly reflect on the readings. It works through the questions, what did you see, what did you hear, and what did it mean to you?

My post to the class website:

 

I don’t normally appreciate experiential learning, which may be why I had a lot of trouble with chemistry. None of my experiments ever worked out “as predicted”, but that’s another story. I would prefer to sit quietly, listen intently, take notes, and learn through absorption, or osmoses, or subliminal suggestion. Nevertheless, I enjoy the small-group exercises that we do each week.

 

I've been thinking about our third class, in which our instructor asked us to examine a painting that looked like an icon. It was an image of a man bending over something round, and the person was holding dividers common to those used in ancient construction and navigation. He seemed to be doing something important, like centering, or holding, or measuring.

 

We were asked to reflect on what we saw in the painting, which is actually God the Architect of the World and the Creator of Life. It’s an image of God creating order out of chaos, with His foot just out of the frame of the painting to signify that He is too big to comprehend fully.

 

From that we considered the act of creation. The Creation story has a beginning (The earth was formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep) during which everything is created; a middle (Let us make man in our image) which means that we too are too big to contain and we too are creators; and an end (The reward for trusting in him will be the salvation of our souls) after which we become one with God in Heaven. Over the last few weeks I've been surprised at how comforting this insight has been.

Liturgy - Class 6

Tonight as class convened we were asked, “What is the most effective learning experience you have had regarding your faith?” We were supposed to write down our answer on the now familiar sticky notes. The most effective learning experience I have had regarding my faith is (wait for it) my three plus years at ILM.

 

I’ve had two other strong learning experiences in my life. One was in the service where I competed for grades with a physicist and a mathematician. I’m afraid we pushed the grade curve so high that some of the students in our class didn’t pass.  Another one was a technical school called Masters Institute in which I learned computer systems and networking.  All three of these experiences contributed to the next answer.

 

The follow up question was to list the three strategies or elements that made it effective. Of course these had to be written down on sticky notes as well. I wrote “Quality instruction”, “Consistent message”, “Fascinating subjects”, and “Friendly environment”.  Our instructor also liked the idea of fascinating subjects, pointing out that if we're drawn to the subject we can't wait to learn more.

 

However, for teaching others we have to start with what fascinates the hearer, not what fascinates the instructor. Doing so makes it easier for the student to absorb and connect the story.

 

Next we had to do some speed dating. We had one minute to talk to another person in the room and share our “story” and then listen to their story about learning. With the sound of the bell we had to move on to another person, each time trying to remember as much as we could about the strategies and elements that made if effective.

 

Others in the class wrote patience, live experience, volunteering, interactive, examples, retreat experience. Becoming more involved, more engaged, parental guidance, and listening. One student pointed out that “knowledge builds your faith, and faith inspires good works”, and another suggested that “What you know is power, because it enables discernment”.

 

When the student is committed to success it’s easy to do whatever it takes to learn the material. Our instructor pointed out that “People who write down their goals improve their chances of success”. I liked that idea that testimony can make your faith stronger, by helping you develop a consistent message, and teach you how to share your faith.

 

In the end however, developing a relationship with others is how we engage the hearers. It requires skill and patience on the part of the instructor.

 

Someone asked the following question: “Is it appropriate to allow children to do the readings during Mass?” He didn’t think so because when a child reads the scripture during Mass, everyone is thinking “Oh how cute” instead of listening to the Word of God. Our instructor did agree that ultimately the congregation must learn something, or the reading lacks the required level of communication.

 

To me it doesn't seem appropriate to have young children read during an adult mass but it might be appropriate for them to read during a youth mass. It's about the learning opportunity of those you’re trying to reach. It's not just what the documents say, it's about the meaning and purpose of what they are trying to say. It's important to understand the principle.

 

Our instructor moved on with some questions about the reading assignment for this week. I suddenly realized that I had read the assignment for next week, not this week, but I can catch up next week. The class web site lists the assigned readings for the following class, and when I checked on the reading assignment for tonight I was looking at the web page for tonight’s class instead of the previous class. It’s not really as confusing as I make it sound, I just goofed.

 

From the second to last page of the reading in “Fasten your Seatbelt” some had read, “It's more important to catechize the parents during preparation for infant baptism”. He was concerned about parents that have their children baptized and never come back, and he wanted to know how to reach them.

 

Our instructor suggested that it’s the perfect opportunity to use the five questions, discussed in a previous post, for the parents; 1) “Where have you been?” 2) “Where do you want to be?” etc. and that it should be made as interactive as possible to engage the adults. We should try to think of experiences can we provide the parents.

 

After the break we stared with a discussion about why liturgical catechesis important. We’re a hands on community, an expression of what we learn, and it's about our relationship, intimacy and communion with Jesus. The Apostles could have lunch with Jesus as part of their relationship, and since we can’t do that, it’s even more important for our relationship with Jesus to be fully present in the Mass.

 

So then what is liturgical catechesis and how is it different from religious education? For one thing it’s not a classroom activity; it’s an expression of our faith in common events. We’re all learning by example, sharing our struggles, and in the process discovering what Jesus would do. It’s interactive rather than through presentation.

 

All catechesis is liturgical in that we are learning about Jesus, but there is a way in which we forget that it's liturgical. Teaching others about God is liturgical in nature, and through the experience we discover how God is in our lives, we discover what we believe, and we discover who we are in community.

 

How do we do liturgical catechesis and how does catechesis happen in the Mass? Learning about the Pascal Mystery during the Eucharistic Prayer is part of it, but we’re also coming closer to God through interaction and participation.

 

Evangelization is the first level of catechesis in growing the faith, because it leads to the initial spark of faith. Evidently 40% of Sunday attendees are pew warmers that lack intimacy with Christ. Evangelization is sharing who Jesus is to people who do not know "the Good News".

 

Initiatory Catechesis is the second level of catechesis. It is about understanding your faith and sharing that faith with others, like the inquirers in the RCIA process.

 

Liturgical catechesis is the third, ongoing, level of catechesis. It is more like teaching your kids what it's like to be a part of the family. It's more about life style training, or mentoring, then it is about facts. Ongoing catechesis is sharing your faith every day, it’s not accomplished in one hour per week.

 

The model for catechesis is taken from the Baptismal Catechumenate Community. It’s based on the activity of the whole community; which is the Body of Christ. Integrating the Pascal Mystery into the people, the Body of Christ, is the reason a Parish exists. We are not just a community; we are a community of Christ.

 

It’s important to note that the Easter Vigil isn't a one day celebration; it's about ongoing participation and involvement. There is no graduation. To accomplish this, the Good News has to sound like good news. We can’t bore the participants, we have to discover what fascinates them, and it must be shared in stages because people are led through stages by the Holy Spirit.

 

Catechesis is sharing how we live in community and drawing in those we meet. If we tell the story correctly people will be drawn in naturally, because they’ll see that Jesus really is an important member of the community. As they approach the edge of chaos, they will be changed by the Holy Spirit, and it’s our job to recognize this opportunity, bring out this encounter, and emphasis how this brings us to the truth.

 

One lesson about the Paschal mystery is that we need to “suck it up” and give up our ego for the sake of our relationship with God. To teach people about Jesus we must be open about how we live as Christians. Even if we go to graduate school to learn something new, its' liturgical catechesis if it teaches us something about our faith.

 

AT this point someone told a story about a mouse that barks like a dog. It was only peripherally connected to tonight’s topic, but it finished with a funny punch line.

 

Our instructor then asked us to gather into groups of four or five and discuss the following questions, “What is your truest, biggest, wildest, hope for your parish?” What is the one step you can take in the next 30 days to accomplish this goal?” and “How will you hold yourself accountable?” Talk about ending the class with a challenge!

My post to the class website:

 

OK I'll admit it ... I'm an emotional lightweight. Liturgy is a work of God and a work of the people, and in it I encounter the Divine through the beauty of the rites, music, art, and architecture: That encounter quite often brings me to tears.

 

Liturgy is a radiant expression of the Paschal Mystery, in which Christ draws me to himself and calls me to communion. God's love in Christ encounters me, attracts me, delights me, and enables me to emerge from myself; drawing me towards my true vocation, which is love.

 

I’ve always believed that the little decisions are more important than the big decisions, because over time so much more of “who we are” is determined by the little stuff we deal with each and every day. I’m going to add to that something I was reminded about in our last class tonight, that we are led through the stages of our lives by the Holy Spirit.

Liturgy - Class 5 Part 2

After the break we discussed how the Liturgical Year developed. No written records exist of course, and historians have been trying to understand how the traditions developed. It developed over time and differently throughout the world and across cultures. Jesus, His apostles, and the early church didn't leave a guideline on the Liturgical Year. For instance, some places don't count Sundays as days of Lent while others do. Trying to keep it to exactly 40 days is a form of historization which resulted in the addition of Ash Wednesday. What’s important is the symbolism (Jesus spent 40 days in the desert), not the exact number of days.

 

The first holy day created after the resurrection was Sunday, the Lords Day. We were asked to keep the Sabbath Holy, and to build the Church in the breaking of the bread. The story about the Road to Ammaus is not about the road, it’s about community. It’s not about when Jesus is returning, because he is right there next to you.

 

Originally there were no saint days or evening Mass or other special days, it was just Sunday and the breaking of the bread. Soon after the people began asking if there should be something more than just Sunday, they added the Easter season with an annual feast day to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus. At first a date connected to Passover was chosen, and for a while it was a fixed date like March 6th which might fall on any day of the week. Eventually it was moved to the Sunday closest to the day that Jesus rose from his death. Today of course it’s celebrated on the first Sunday after the first day of spring, and it’s still on the day closest to the day of His Resurrection.

 

The Acts of the Apostles makes it clear that from very early on Friday was always a fast day. The Triduum celebration developed early as well, and was celebrated from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. Originally people would get baptized at almost any time of the year, but early in the first century it became a part of Easter.

 

Lent, the time of preparation before Easter, was added by an attempt at historization again. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert prior to His baptism so why shouldn’t we spend time in preparation. The preparation for baptism began to see a vetting process, with catechumenates being prepared for baptism.

 

This started an argument with some saying that “Easter was more important than Lent”. So now Easter has 50 days, which was derived at by taking the perfect number seven and making it even more perfect by multiplying it by itself, and then making it even more perfect by adding one more day (7x7=49+1=50) Easter was extended to 50 days, which was considered to be perfect perfection.

 

The early Church wanted this day to be the most important day of the year; however, it’s not about math it’s about symbolism.  We are a Church that reveals in the resurrection the fullness of Christ, and we are a Church that celebrates our Baptism. It is such an important day that we cannot contain it in one day, it must go through a whole season.

 

After the first few centuries Pentecost, a Jewish feast, was taken over by the Christians. Ordinary Time was recognized and eventually Saint Days began to be added. Sometime around the fourth century Christmas as added, again as a result of historization, because after all we should know when Jesus was born. However, the birth of Jesus isn’t based on his actual date of birth, as his death is, although it seems to be based on pilgrimages to the Holy Land that continue even today.

 

Luke and Matthew don’t use dates in their infancy narratives, and Christmas is not really about the birth of Jesus, it’s about the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God. Several centuries after Christmas becomes a season of its own, Advent was added.

 

So what do we do with this information about the Liturgical year? The shape of the liturgical year is how early Christians taught people about Jesus, and we can share the story and message of Jesus by the way we celebrate the seasons. We can influence the parish liturgy by planning and celebrating properly. For instance, during Advent we must stand against the culture; we're Catholics and we must help people understand that Christmas doesn't end on Christmas Day; it's a season. When we continue to sing Christmas carols people will ask why, and that will become a teachable moment.

 

We as leaders must have a deep understanding of what the Liturgical Year is all about so that we can influence others. Every year after someone celebrates their first communion they should know more than they did the year before. Every Sunday is important and we should be trying to improve our liturgy every Sunday.

 

Every Sunday we should be moving our Parish towards the Triduum. We need to understand how we are celebrating this coming Sunday because of what we learned at the Triduum. The Triduum is the edge of chaos that we talked about on a previous week, where we learn more about Jesus than the rest of the year. How we are living must be different than how we were last year. If the Triduum is really the high point of the year, how does it change us?

 

Evidently Ash Wednesday is more popular in the West then in other parts of our country, possibly because of the mix of cultures, but what fuels this desire for ashes? If we could figure out what people's deepest longing is we could help them understand that, "ashes are good but there is something better".

 

We need to discover what we can do in our Parishes so that nobody is sitting in the pews thinking they are not worthy. Every Sunday we need to be helping people understand that they are worthy, like the greeter that meets you and looks at you in the eye, and the lectors who read like it matters, emphasizing the important part of the readings.

 

Our Priests need to recognize how important the homily is, and it must be a message about love. Those who feel unworthy take the message personally, “He is talking about my sins, so I must not be worthy”. When everyone is singing they will recognize community and be more apt to join in and feel like a part of the community.

 

The most important thing is a smile, friendly face, and a conversation. Pope Frances is driving new people to our parishes, because he is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. We need to make an effort! Help people in the sections near the doors should acknowledge all new comers.

 

There is no single answer for all parishes, but we can try something and change it if it doesn't work. What’s the perfect picture for our Parish? How are we going to celebrate this year differently than last year so that new comers will come back again? We must pick something we can change and work on it even if it takes a full year. We shouldn’t try to fix everything at once, and we should have a plan. It's about leadership, because the pastor may be great but he'll be gone eventually.

 

There is a story about the whole year that leads up to the Triduum. What are we doing throughout the year that will make the Triduum better than the year before and how will it make the rest of the year better.

 

My post to the class website:

 

I find the Liturgical year to be a bit like the two characters of Advent. In it we look back to the first coming of the Son of God, while at the same time we look forward to Christ’s second coming at the end of time. There is so much about the mystery of Jesus that we need the entire year, and indeed a lifetime, to experience its fullness.

 

Since becoming Catholic, I’ve instinctively understood that the Liturgical Year is not a history of Christianity, but I had not recognized that Christmas is not a story about the birth of Jesus; it is a story about the incarnation of the Christ.

 

Throughout each year our personal and communal story is reflected in the Liturgical Year, which to me is the shape of a spiral. As the calendar winds around from beginning to end, we become different people moving forward and upward in our relationship with God and our communities.

 

The shape of the Liturgical Year is how early Christians taught people about Jesus, and we share the story and message of Jesus by the way we celebrate the seasons. We must have a deep understanding of the Liturgical Year; because how we are living this year must be different than how we were living last year.

Liturgy - Class 5 Part 1

Again tonight, we were asked to contribute one question and one insight from the reading. The instructor had written down, Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter on colored post it notes and then asked us to come forward to choose one. We gathered into groups based on what we had chosen and took a few minutes to put our thoughts down on paper.

 

I was in the group discussing Advent, and we thought it was hard to find one question and one insight based on the readings. Our question was “How do we focus neophytes on the true meaning of Advent?” and our insight was more observation really,” Too much emphasis is put into shopping and not enough time is put towards preparation for Christmas”.

 

The answer surprised me a bit. Our instructor said that although we could encourage our inquirers to resist the commercialization of Christmas, we would not be able to prevent it entirely. He suggested that we “bring our faith to the mall” and at least be Christian examples while we’re there.

 

We also discussed the two characters of Advent; 1) that it’s a time of preparation for the first coming of the Son of God, and 2) in it we also look forward to Christ’s second coming at the end of time.

 

The group discussing Easter asked, “Why is the gospel reading from the Gospel of John, most of the time, rather than Luke?” Their insight was that, “During the Easter season readings from the Old Testament are replaced with readings from the Acts of the Apostles”.

 

The group discussing Lent asked, “What is the Triduum?” Their insight was that although Lent is special because it represents a new beginning, the Triduum of the Lord is the high point of the entire liturgical year. The season of Lent is not exactly 40 days long, and may have 43 or 44 days. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday.

 

It’s important to realize that the Triduum is a single event that occurs over three days. It doesn’t include Thursday, but instead starts on Thursday evening and ends on Sunday evening. To keep it as one event the environment should progress from beginning to end. We shouldn’t re-configure the environment overnight by treating each day separately.

 

The Triduum decorations should change slowly over the three days. The gradual changes seen during Triduum help us understand this single event. Every day is part of the whole story: it’s not like on Friday Jesus is dead and on Sunday Jesus is alive.

 

The people discussing Christmas asked, “Why, shortly after the birth of Jesus do we go straight to His baptism?” There insight was that, “The preparation for coming of the Lord is dependent on baptism”. Our instructor also pointed out that the Liturgical Year this is not a history of Christianity. Christmas is not really a story about the birth of Jesus; it is a story about the incarnation of the Christ.

 

Those discussing Ordinary Time asked, “How many weeks are in Ordinary Time?” There insight was, “It depends”. Ordinary Time is a period associated with the growth of faith and knowledge. The reality is that the Liturgical Year has soft boundaries which are difficult for some people to accept. For instance, evidently there is no first Sunday of Ordinary Time.

 

The Liturgical Year began to develop from Middle Eastern culture, but today it has been influenced by cultures from all around the world.

 

Lent includes a cycle of readings for the scrutiny’s to assist in uncovering what is weak and sinful and strengthening what is good in each of us. The readings for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent come from the Gospel of John. They are the story of the Samaritan Woman, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus. Although these readings come from Cycle A they should be read in all Masses if there are elect waiting for Baptism.

 

Something I had heard but didn’t understand is that we shouldn’t drain the font. Although we too are looking forward to Easter we are still baptized Christians and we remember our baptism. Lent is a reminder of our baptism as we are preparing the elect for their baptism.

 

The Liturgical Year is important because it gives time structure, it provides a frame of mind, and it assists with the recalling of memorial of events. Science fiction stories talk a lot about going back in time, and Steven Hawking asks, “Why do we tell stories about going back in time, and why do we remember the past and not remember the future?”

 

Jesus’ death and resurrection are the fulcrum point of time. We need to be paying attention to what that means, what happened at the moment of the crucifixion and what happened at the moment of the resurrection. Remember that at the very beginning of time “In the beginning was the Word” and it goes forward to the end of time.

 

The part of the Eucharistic Prayer called the Anamnesis includes the past, present, and future. Luke understands that our journey starts at the birth of Christ, and that the past is about the future. Luke recognizes that the death images he includes in the story of Jesus will be descriptive of our deaths.

 

The fact is that Jesus is always with us. What we are celebrating is the fullness of the death and resurrection of Jesus. There is so much about the mystery of Jesus Christ that we (and the elect) need the entire year to experience its fullness. Someone asked where Jesus went during those three days after his death? Our instructor felt that the Resurrection reflects a new reality with Jesus, in and through everything: We are the Body of Christ.