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Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The scriptures have maximum impact when we are able to read or hear them not just in terms of there and then, but of here and now. My reading of today’s scriptures is very much in that vein, and I hope you will excuse me if my remarks are a little more personal than usual. If you follow Catholic news in the media, you are most likely aware that, come Advent, the prayers you hear at Mass and the responses you make will sound quite different from those we’ve been praying for the last 40 years or so. A new Roman Missal with brand new translations of the Mass prayers – both for the priest and for the congregation – is on the way. The new translations are being hailed by some for their more elevated, more formal, even more sacred tone than what we’re used to, as well as for their close adherence to the Latin vocabulary and syntax of the original prayers, many of which are quite ancient. But the translations are not without their critics, and I have been one of them, as some of you know! In an article I wrote for America, the national Jesuit weekly, well over a year ago, I took exception both to the process by which they came about and to the resulting product. I thought that the process followed was a step away from the teaching of the Second Vatican Council about the renewal of the liturgy and the collegial role of bishops. And I argued that the resulting product -- the new translations -- are, in many cases, awkward, confusing, and not very English. My opinion only, of course, but it is one that is shared by many. This is neither the time nor the place for arguing the matter. Good, intelligent, faith-filled people line up on both sides, and the advocates for the new Missal just happen to have most of the bishops of the English-speaking world on their side! My purpose in even introducing this subject is twofold. First, if you haven’t yet heard of the impending changes, it’s time you did because you are going to be hearing – and learning – a good deal more about them in the months to come. As the saying goes, they are coming soon to a church near you! My second reason for bringing up the new Missal comes from a comment someone made to me not long ago, a comment that put me in mind of today’s gospel passage from the Sermon on the Mount. The comment was this: “Father, why are you so worried about the new Missal? It’s Christ’s Church, not yours. Shouldn’t you just trust that it will all work out fine?” And I appreciated the sentiment. It was said respectfully and with genuine concern, and I thought it was good that someone would be so direct with me! And it got me thinking and doing some soul-searching. To begin with, it would be hard to put forth a very strong case in favor of worrying, wouldn’t it? Hard to argue against trust in God! Our Heavenly Father does know all our needs – better than we know them ourselves. We are to seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness and everything else we need will be given to us. And the more I thought about this with reference to this business about the new Missal, the more I could see a persuasive argument for letting go, a persuasive argument for quiet trust and acceptance. But, to be honest, like most challenges I deal with in life (and I’m sure the same is true for you), simple acceptance doesn’t always come all that easily to me. On this issue there have been a lot of inner struggles and some sleepless nights. That’s because trusting in God isn’t the same as passive acquiescence. God has, after all, made us intelligent, thinking beings and expects us to use those gifts wisely. So, there is a place in our faith and in the Church for asking questions, for seeking dialogue, even for expressing disagreement. Where would we be, for instance, had not many voices, including those of victims and of people in the pews, spoken up and told the awful truth about clergy sexual abuse and the way the Church handled it, when speaking up was regarded by many as an act of disloyalty? But in the case of the new Missal, after opinions have been expressed and dialogue has at least been attempted, there does come a point when one’s personal views need to give way to a larger good, a point where trust needs to take over, and I have come to that point. I intend to do what my questioning friend asked of me: to trust in the Lord. I also trust that it is the people who will have the last word on the new Missal once it has been introduced. That includes, of course, all of you who pray together here so magnificently and who make every celebration of the Mass in this place a thing of holiness and beauty. In the end, the people’s word will be the most important word of all, certainly more important than any word of mine. In the months ahead, we will be working together on these matters, and even though my serious reservations remain, I know this much: come Advent, we will continue here at St. James to do what we already do so very well: celebrate the Church’s liturgy in a way that is profoundly prayerful and profoundly beautiful. If the new Missal helps with that, so much the better; and if it doesn’t, we will do our best to make the best of it. Let me close with a favorite story often told about Pope John XXIII, my hero, the Pope who called the Second Vatican Council, the great and Blessed Pope who deserves more credit than anyone else for giving the people their rightful role in celebrating the Church’s liturgy. At the end of a long day, burdened by more than his share of worries and concerns, Pope John would follow the wisdom of today’s gospel. He’d turn off the lights and say, “It’s your Church, Lord, I’m going to sleep!” Father Michael G. Ryan |
