Elections, Friendships, and the Gospel

I promise this post is not meant to be political.

The election is over. In the aftermath, there has been a great deal of confusion, frustration, anger, hateful words, division, unfriending, rants, despair.... The list goes on.  It's a lot to take in. People are afraid.  And when people are afraid, they say things they would not say otherwise. People are angry, and they will also say things they would not say otherwise because they are angry.

But the people who are explosive and angry have not caught my attention. I'm more drawn to those who are not swayed by the outcome of an election.  What I mean by that, I have a deep admiration for those who don't let things like this shake their faith (or their friendships).  Those people who continue to believe and trust that God is still in total control.

I would like to share something with you all. On election day, I read chapter 12 of the Gospel of Matthew. It was not premeditated.  I didn't choose this chapter for this particular day. But as I've been working my way through the Gospel of Matthew, I opened my Bible on election day to that chapter.  And I don't think that was any coincidence.  This is what I read there:

Matthew 12:25 and following "Knowing their thoughts, He said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.... But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.'"

And, yesterday, as I became more and more aware of how much hate and anger was going around on social media, my thoughts returned to this passage.  The worst thing about this election season, as I see it, is the enormous division that has arisen among Americans.  It didn't matter who you were voting for.  If you weren't voting for the same person as another person was voting for, you were "unpatriotic," "bigoted," "racist," "criminal," and all other sorts of things that I will not repeat on principle.  Look around you! What is this that is happening in America?  This once great nation is being laid waste by disunity and hatred.  If we want to see our country rise out of these dark times, then it's going to require something of us.  We're going to have to overcome our differences and unite.  We're going to have to work together.  We're going to have to acknowledge and accept one another's shortcomings and choose to love one another because we are all human beings.  I know a lot of people are scared. A lot of people are angry. A lot of people just don't know what's going to happen. But, the truth of the matter is, the division that has been created this election season is doing a lot more hurt than good.

It has also been shocking and saddening to me that people have been losing friendships over this election.  No wonder we are suffering from so much disunity.  If we can't even consider someone whose opinion differs from ours a friend, then how far have we fallen?  Again, I find it no coincidence that this week I was also reading the chapter on Friendship in C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves. C.S. Lewis says of friendship that it is "...the least natural of loves," by which he means friendship is not necessary for survival.  He says: "...we can live and breed without Friendship.  The species, biologically considered, has no need of it."  

He goes on to say: 

"This (so to call it) 'non-natural' quality in Friendship goes far to explain why it was exalted in ancient and medieval times and has come to be made light of in our own.  The deepest and most permanent thought of those ages was ascetic and world-renouncing.... But in Friendship - in that luminous, tranquil, rational world of relationships freely chosen - you got away from all that.  This alone, of all the loves, seemed to raise you to the level of gods or angels."  

Friendship isn't (or shouldn't be) about agreeing with someone on everything.  Look at Lewis himself.  He and J.R.R. Tolkien were very dear friends.  But the number of things they disagreed on was equal to (if not greater than) the number of things they agreed on.  This didn't end their friendship.  

Personally, I think these two would have been appalled by the "Facebook friends" trend, where you can call someone your "friend" without them being your "friend" in the truest sense of the word.  C.S. Lewis believes friends are friends because they share a common interest.  They rarely talk about their friendship (as opposed to those in romantic relationships, Lewis says, who seem to only talk about one another).  Some of the greatest friendships (ask someone who has been friends with a particular person for more than 20 years) are those friendships where we are challenged by our friends to be better.  In college alone I saw a number of friendships struggle, to their end or to their redemption.  But when the struggle passes, if the friendship still stands, it stands the stronger.  But it would not have been that way had the people involved simply given up on it.  They were willing to sacrifice, willing to try, willing to fail.  But they gave it a chance.  

I don't mean to condemn those friendships that struggled and failed.  Sometimes, this too, is necessary, though it be painful.  Blessed Fulton J. Sheen once said: “Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.” 

This only makes sense if we understand love as willing the good of the other.  And, as John Paul II categorized friendship as the highest form of love, the great saint defines friendship as "willing the good of the other for the other's own sake." That is to say, "That person is my friend, and I desire what is best for that person. I not only desire it, but I will it.  And I will it with no expectation or desire of reward."  

One of my favorite contemporary Catholic speakers is Chris Stefanick of Real Life Catholic.  The day after the election, he posted a video in which he said: 

"Respect each other. There is no political party, no election is worth losing friendships over. There is no political party, no president that is worth getting into debates that might close the door for you to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to your friends and family for." 

What's a true testimony of true friendship?  That I unfriend you because of your political beliefs? Or that I allow you to express your political opinions, even though I may disagree with them, and that your expression of what you think does not change the fact that I consider you a friend? 

To continue His beautiful and amazing way of rocking my world and blowing my mind (even just a little), I opened up my Bible yesterday to keep reading through Matthew's Gospel, and once again the contents seemed super appropriate for the aftermath of this election. 

Jesus has just dealt with a lot of verbal opposition from the Pharisees.  Earlier, they had accused His disciples of breaking the Sabbath. Now they've accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan, and then they demanded a sign of Him... basically, Jesus has had a hard day, and probably an exhausting one.  Because, remember, He's fully man as well as fully God, He can get exhausted.  

So, chapter 13 of St. Matthew's Gospel, it says: 

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  And great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. 

Now, if I was in Jesus' place, I think I would be exhausted.  I would've wanted my quiet time by the beach and just asked everyone to come back another day. But Jesus doesn't do that.  He continues to carry out the mission that He has received from the Father.  

The Sower by Millet

 And He told them many things in parables, saying: 'A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."

The parable is also relevant for us in this moment in history.  The sower went out to sow.  The sower doesn't know what seeds will sprout and what seeds won't.  He sows them anyway.  He doesn't know how much fruit the seeds will bear or how much of a harvest he will have. He sows them anyway.  There is an uncertainty that comes with his role.  That uncertainty of the future doesn't stop him from doing the task he has been given to do.  And it shouldn't stop us either, particularly those of us who are engaged in the work of evangelization and catechesis.  No matter what is going on in the world or in our own little world of our personal lives, we have been given the task of proclaiming the Word of God, whether it is convenient or inconvenient.  The election doesn't change that.  (In fact, I think it makes it all the more important!)  

The Sower by Van Gogh

But, not only do we need to embrace the role of the sower, we need to recognize the truth that we are the soil.  To what measure is the soil of my soul prepared to receive the Gospel and for that Gospel to bear fruit in my life?  Which kind of soil am I? Am I the trodden path?  The rocky soil?  The thorny patch? Or the good soil?  What things do I need to weed out of my life for the Gospel to take root and not be choked by my worldly concerns?  What parts of my heart have become to hardened to receive the Word? and how can I break up that soil?  What places in my life need more good soil added to them so that there is a good foundation for the Gospel to take root? 

How can I work with Jesus the Sower to make my heart a patch of good soil that is ready to receive the Gospel?  This is what will make a difference in the world; even more of a difference than who is in the White House.  

As J.R.R. Tolkien said, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."  

And, to quote a movie less renowned than the great 20th century author, "How do we change the world? One act of random kindness at a time." (Evan Almighty, 2007)

We need to acknowledge that the only One Who can heal the wounds of this nation, is the One that so many are trying to push out of government matters altogether: Jesus Christ.  He is the answer.  If only more people would believe this!  We need to stop placing so much faith in an elected official and a government to lead us and take care of us, and start putting all our faith in Jesus Christ. We are citizens of His kingdom first. And guess what: He still reigns since 33 A.D. (and long before). He is our one and only Hope. Now and forever. 

Until we meet again, I leave you with this parting thought: 

Pace e bene,

the Itinerant Catechist

Never Stop

Never stop learning.

This was one of the last pieces of advice I received in my undergraduate career as a Catechetics and Theology double major at Franciscan University.

You might think that after four intense years of theological study and delving into Scripture and the Catechism and papal documents and Dogmatic Constitutions and...you name it, maybe they'd say something like "Great job! Go teach stuff. You've got all you need."

No.

My professor's parting words to us were read Scripture and the Catechism every day.

Why? Don't I know Scripture and the Catechism? I went to school for it for the last 4 years. And had plenty of Catholic education before that.

But you know something? For as much as I have learned, I am still a student. And that is not just because I'm now getting my Masters in Theology.

I am still a student because I am still learning from the Master and Teacher, my Lord and God Jesus Christ.

How proud (and foolish) would I be to think I know everything there is to know about the infinite God?  Pretty foolish. And dangerously proud.

He is forever. He is infinite. And He is Teacher.

We teach what He taught. No more, and no less.  But how do we ensure that what we teach is still what He taught? By continually going back to the source and learning it anew.

In my first few weeks here, it was hard to find much time to read Scripture or the Catechism between all the registration forms and meetings.  But on the days where I have found the time (which are becoming more frequent now, for which I am grateful), I find myself much more aware of the great gift that is my Faith.  Not only that, but I am reminded of just how little I know, and just how much He wants to show me (and keep showing me).

Guido's portrait of St. Matthew the Evangelist

So far since being here I have been re-reading the Gospel of Matthew.  To return to the first delivery of the Gospel has been truly beautiful. I would say this has been unexpected, but at the same time I can't say I'm surprised by it.  After all, these life-giving words never cease to have power.  But it truly has been remarkable.  This week I have gone through the Sermon on the Mount, and it has been convicting to say the least.  When I read chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel, it was the second time in about 2 hours that I had come across the Beatitudes that day, and it would be followed by a third time as I turned to my reading from the Catechism, which was about "Our Vocation to Beatitude."  Clearly, God was trying to tell me something.  And from the Beatitudes onward, Jesus gives us a whole new perspective of how we are to live.  For the people of His day this was earth-shattering.  It should be so for us today, too; but we often become so familiar with passages from the Bible that we can breeze over the implications for our lives.  But Jesus is saying here: "I know this is what you think it means to live for God; and some of it's true, some of it isn't, but there is so much more!! Let me show you."

A passage that really stood out to me today was Matthew 7:21-23.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do so many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me you evildoers.'" 

It's not comfortable to put myself in that position. But the Gospel isn't meant to sit comfortably with us. It is a call to conversion.  And here I see clearly another reminder that our God is not a God of checklists.  He doesn't sit there and expect a few specific things from us, check them off, and say "Come on in!" when we reach "the pearly gates."  It goes so much deeper than that. Look at what He says to them: "I never knew you.... I never knew you."  God isn't about checklists.  He desires relationship! He longs for it.  He aches for that relationship with us.  And we can make ourselves feel good about ourselves all day by saying: "Oh, I'm a good person because I did this, that, and the other thing."  But if we can't say that we have a relationship with God, where what we do comes from a loving relationship with Him and leads to that same loving relationship with Him, how much weight do those actions have? Are they driven by love? Or are we just "checking it off the list?"

It's convicting. It's intimidating.  It doesn't sit comfortably.

But, particularly in my role as a catechist, I cannot afford to get comfortable.  Souls are on the line.  And I either know and live my faith out of a relationship with God, or I put on a show and risk facing that judgment where God might just say to me: "Look, you did all those things, but...I never knew you."  Phew! That's scary. But I couldn't be more grateful for that wake-up call, which I would not have had if I didn't take that bit of advice and make the decision today to keep learning.

To my fellow catechists, never stop learning.  Even if you only have 5-10 minutes to spare today, take some of that time to read from the Gospels or from the Catechism. Let what you read sink in a little, and look for a way that you can start living that right now.

Christ the Divine Teacher

We never really stop being students.  We are always disciples of Christ, and to be a disciple is to be a student ("disciple" comes from the Latin word for "student," discipula, discipulae).  We are Christ's students.  And to continue learning from Him is to continue returning to His Word.  May His Word be life for our souls and breath for our spirit that we may not fail Him in this essential task of catechesis.

In His Heart,
the Itinerant Catechist

Women, Men, and John Paul II

Feminine Genius.

It's an attractive phrase, isn't it?  It was a phrase used by the great Saint John Paul II in his Letter to Women, which was published in 1995.  

As a Catholic woman, I have heard this phrase "feminine genius" thrown about in various circles with much emphasis, but usually not accompanied by much explanation.  What does it actually mean?  More importantly, what did St. John Paul II mean by it?  

Now more than ever, it seems that people all to easily fall into the fallacy (whether it's an official one or not, I'm not sure) of borrowing terms and quotes from certain eloquent sources and using it to support their arguments and ideas without actually exploring the context of said term or quote.  Out of concern that the term "feminine genius" has been lumped into such a fallacy, I write this post.  

Particularly at present, the world we live in is all too fond of secularizing Christian messages.  What this usually looks like is society will take bits and pieces of Christianity and will openly support those bits and pieces that are convenient for them to support.  This will happen even if society openly supports movements that are directly opposed to the rest of the Christian message.  And so, we can end up with a reading of this particular segment of John Paul II's Letter to Women where all that society takes note of is what's underlined and nothing else around it.  

Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God's own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child's first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.

Thank you, women who are wives! You irrevocably join your future to that of your husbands, in a relationship of mutual giving, at the service of love and life.

Thank you, women who are daughters and women who are sisters! Into the heart of the family, and then of all society, you bring the richness of your sensitivity, your intuitiveness, your generosity and fidelity.

Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life-social, economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of "mystery", to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity.

Thank you, consecrated women! Following the example of the greatest of women, the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, you open yourselves with obedience and fidelity to the gift of God's love. You help the Church and all mankind to experience a "spousal" relationship to God, one which magnificently expresses the fellowship which God wishes to establish with his creatures.

Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic.

If it's convenient, society might note that last paragraph, too, but only if it's convenient to whatever message is being purported.  

This leads to an important question....

Have you read John Paul II's Letter to Women or Mulieris Dignitatem?

This is not the same thing as reading your favorite blogger's commentary on the documents. (That's right; I don't want you to just read what I have to say about these documents. Read them yourself.) If you want to know what St. John Paul II had to say about the feminine genius and the dignity of women, read his words.  Sometimes we need a little help translating, since dear JPII is of a philosophical school of thought and his writings can be a little heavy; but take the time to read it if you can.  The Letter to Women is very brief. Mulieris Dignitatem is significantly longer; but it will give you a fuller sense of the Church's teaching and position on women in the Church and in the world.  

In his Letter to Women, St. John Paul II acknowledges and expresses great sorrow for the injustices, abuses, and violence that women have suffered in the past.  He condemns the exploitation of women and the abuse of their sexuality.  He condemns the injustices that are committed particularly against mothers and which do not view their pregnancy or their child as a gift.  He expresses his gratitude and approval that much has been done to alleviate and overturn these injustices and abuses.  

"This journey must go on!" he says. But then immediately he goes on: "But I am convinced that the secret of making speedy progress in achieving full respect for women and their identity involves more than simply the condemnation of discrimination and injustices, necessary though this may be. Such respect must first and foremost be won through an effective and intelligent campaign for the promotion of women, concentrating on all areas of women's life and beginning with a universal recognition of the dignity of women" (article 6).  

He gives no sign of any approval of the common movement which approaches the raising up of women to the deprecation and degradation of men.  He says in article 7: 

We are then told that, from the very beginning, man has been created "male and female" (Gen 1:27). Scripture itself provides the interpretation of this fact: even though man is surrounded by the innumerable creatures of the created world, he realizes that he is alone (cf. Gen 2:20). God intervenes in order to help him escape from this situation of solitude: "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). The creation of woman is thus marked from the outset by the principle of help: a help which is not one-sided but mutual. Woman complements man, just as man complements woman: men and women are complementary. Womanhood expresses the "human" as much as manhood does, but in a different and complementary way.

When the Book of Genesis speaks of "help", it is not referring merely to acting, but also to being. Womanhood and manhood are complementary not only from the physical and psychological points of view, but also from the ontological. It is only through the duality of the "masculine" and the "feminine" that the "human" finds full realization (emphasis mine).

Thus, it is important to realize and acknowledge that, when John Paul II spoke about the "genius of women," he was not setting it up in opposition to the "genius of men."  It was not that John Paul II was setting up the "genius of women" opposite what some might perceive as the "idiocy of men." Not at all!  What was it then?  It was the great saint's desire to show the mutual contributions of men and women.  The emphasis is on women in this case because, as the Holy Father said previously, women have often been overlooked and abused in the past.  Yes, this was unjust, and we can point fingers all day as to whose fault it was.  But that isn't the point of John Paul II's letter.  His point is not how do we place blame that is past, but how do we move forward into a brighter and more beautiful era?  

But back to the main question: What is the feminine genius?  

Well, let's read from the man himself (articles 9-10): 

Progress usually tends to be measured according to the criteria of science and technology. Nor from this point of view has the contribution of women been negligible. Even so, this is not the only measure of progress, nor in fact is it the principal one. Much more important is the social and ethical dimension, which deals with human relations and spiritual values. In this area, which often develops in an inconspicuous way beginning with the daily relationships between people, especially within the family, society certainly owes much to the "genius of women".

Here I would like to express particular appreciation to those women who are involved in the various areas of education extending well beyond the family: nurseries, schools, universities, social service agencies, parishes, associations and movements. Wherever the work of education is called for, we can note that women are ever ready and willing to give themselves generously to others, especially in serving the weakest and most defenceless. In this work they exhibit a kind of affective, cultural and spiritual motherhood which has inestimable value for the development of individuals and the future of society. At this point how can I fail to mention the witness of so many Catholic women and Religious Congregations of women from every continent who have made education, particularly the education of boys and girls, their principal apostolate? How can I not think with gratitude of all the women who have worked and continue to work in the area of health care, not only in highly organized institutions, but also in very precarious circumstances, in the poorest countries of the world, thus demonstrating a spirit of service which not infrequently borders on martyrdom?

 It is thus my hope, dear sisters, that you will reflect carefully on what it means to speak of the "genius of women", not only in order to be able to see in this phrase a specific part of God's plan which needs to be accepted and appreciated, but also in order to let this genius be more fully expressed in the life of society as a whole, as well as in the life of the Church. ...The Church sees in Mary the highest expression of the "feminine genius" and she finds in her a source of constant inspiration. Mary called herself the "handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38). Through obedience to the Word of God she accepted her lofty yet not easy vocation as wife and mother in the family of Nazareth. Putting herself at God's service, she also put herself at the service of others: a service of love. Precisely through this service Mary was able to experience in her life a mysterious, but authentic "reign". It is not by chance that she is invoked as "Queen of heaven and earth". The entire community of believers thus invokes her; many nations and peoples call upon her as their "Queen". For her, "to reign" is to serve! Her service is "to reign"!

This is the way in which authority needs to be understood, both in the family and in society and the Church. Each person's fundamental vocation is revealed in this "reigning", for each person has been created in the "image" of the One who is Lord of heaven and earth and called to be his adopted son or daughter in Christ. Man [by which the Holy Father means humanity] is the only creature on earth "which God willed for its own sake", as the Second Vatican Council teaches; it significantly adds that [humans] "cannot fully find [themselves] except through a sincere gift of self" (Gaudium et Spes, 24) (emphasis mine).  

In all that description of the "feminine genius" I find nowhere the persistent "men-bashing" that seems to have become not only acceptable, but also, I hate to say, popular these days.  I have noticed this particularly in some of the more extreme feminist movements.  It has reached a point where I will not publicly acknowledge myself to be a feminist, at least never in a situation where I would say that without any context being provided.  Yes, I believe that men and women should have, as much as possible and appropriate, equal rights.  But I also have an understanding of justice that is not the same as "fairness" or "sameness."  Men and women should be treated justly and equally; that does not mean they should be treated "the same" in all situations.  

Before anyone blows their top off, breathe. I do not mean that I approve of women being paid less for what they do or be forced to pay more for particular services. Absolutely not.  However, part of justice is, as a professor of mine once said, "treating different things differently; treating different things the same remains unjust."  If you go from a room full of only men to a room full of only women, I think you would note that there are differences.  Differences in conversation, ways of thinking, expressions, demonstrations of affection, etc.  God made man and woman equal; He did not make them the same.  A favorite comedian of mine once said: 

"We have people in this country who don't believe that any more: that men and women are different. Listen to me, all you have to do is be married for 10...15...minutes, and you will realize you are from different worlds."

We have been classically conditioned, particularly in America, to think that equality is synonymous with sameness.  This isn't true.  There are differences; and so, in the way that we men and women are cared for, there are bound to be differences, and, if we are operating in a truly just society, there should be differences.  I cannot discipline a 4-year-old the same way I would discipline a 14-year-old. Why? Because they are not the same. They are equally persons, and equally in the wrong, but there remain fundamental differences between them that will bear significant weight in my disciplinary actions. If I am giving a gift, would I give the same gift to a 4-year-old girl as I would give to a 14-year-old boy? Unlikely. 

The conflicts and confusion we see frequently today between men and women and their roles is rooted in the original sin.  In this moment, both the man and the woman disregarded their God-given roles.  The man failed to guard the garden as he had been asked, and he also failed to guard his wife. It says in Genesis that Adam was with Eve the whole time (if it doesn't say so in your Bible, it does say so in the original Hebrew). What was he doing? Why didn't he step in to protect his wife? Eve failed to call her husband on to holiness and instead led him to rebellion against God. The root of her action essentially was pride and hunger for power. The serpent tempted her with the idea that God did not care for them and was holding out on them; that He didn't want them to be as powerful as He was. Eve couldn't resist the idea that she could rise to greater heights by seizing this opportunity and taking for herself what God had forbidden (and, some speculate, would have given to them eventually when they were ready for it).  Adam and Eve forgot that they were to be mutual helpers to one another, and as a result they fell.  The consequences were grave. The relationship between the man and the woman became strained because now it had been weakened by sin and the loss of grace.  Adam failed to guard his wife and so he would struggle now to provide for his family; life and labor would be more difficult. Eve had grasped at something that she was not ready for, desiring power, and so she would continue to desire after the role God had given to her husband. It is a strain on the relationship between the man and the woman, who were made to help each other reach the heights of holiness and eternity.

The Church has said, "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience."  Christ is the new Adam, Mary the new Eve, and the Cross is the new Tree.  Therefore, if we want to live as we are called to live, we should look to Christ and Mary to show us true manhood and true womanhood.  Mary did not grasp at the role she was given; she received it from the hand of God in the fullness of time.  Christ did not shy away from the challenge or effort that was called for to save mankind from their sins, even when it meant laying down His life.  He fought for His bride, the Church, and leads us to our heavenly home.  John Paul II says, "for [Mary] to serve is to reign." The same is true of our Lord. His reign is one of service. He kneels at the feet of His disciples and washes their feet. He stoops beneath the weight of the Cross, the weight of all our sins, and suffers in our stead.

Our worldview has become distorted indeed if we think that grasping at power is natural or praiseworthy.

Now I am not saying that the role of women is to be meek and silent, which is often what people think of when they hear Mary is to be our model. But consider the saints: St. Joan of Arc stepped up to be a leader for her country in a time of great need. But God gave this role to her. It was certainly not what she had in mind for herself; but because it was God's will for her, she humbly accepted it and rose to the occasion by the help of His grace.  Furthermore, a role that people do not often see the Blessed Virgin Mary has is that of warrior. But this is Scriptural.  When the angel Gabriel greets Mary, he says: "Hail, full of grace!" This hearkens back to the greeting Gideon receives from Gabriel in the book of Judges: "Hail, mighty man of valor!"  The word "valor" appears again in the book of Proverbs, chapter 31:10 ff. The Church recognizes this passage as descriptive of Mary as well. She is the woman of valor. How is she a warrior? She is a warrior in that she does God's will, even when it was very difficult and dangerous for her to do so. She received His Word in her heart and in her body, and as such she is the very first disciple. Her role as a warrior is less forward than that of Joan's perhaps, but it could never be called less worthy or less important. In fact, her "yes" and her silence has a great humility to it, and as such a tremendous holiness.  Don't we admire those who do what is right and good outside of the spotlight?  This was Mother Teresa's desire, even though she often appeared in the media: she desired to be allowed to just do God's will and show God's love to the poorest of the poor. This was much of Mary's life: silent service to God.

My brothers and sisters, do not be taken in by the secularization of such a beautiful teaching from the great St. John Paul II.  The feminine genius is real and true; but it is not meant to be used as a point of opposition against our brothers in Christ. Our brothers in Christ face great struggles today as well, and frequently are put down in many ways. This is heightened by the truth that a man's greatest fear is failure. A woman's greatest fear is to be ignored. So how can we help each other? "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).  Build one another up. Build up your brothers and sisters. Help them to see who they are: children of God, called to greatness, redeemed by Christ, and destined for a purpose (to follow Christ and to bring others to Him).

Until we meet again,
Pace e bene,
The Itinerant Catechist

The "You" in Youth Ministry

My undergraduate work took place at Franciscan University of Steubenville.  One of the marks of Franciscan is the bachelor of arts degree in Catechetics.  (If you don't know what that is, catechesis, plainly and simply, is handing on the Catholic faith.)  I was blessed to study at Franciscan University, pursuing a double-major in Theology and Catechetics, with a concentration in Youth Ministry, and a minor in Communication Arts. Yeah, that's a mouthful. (Or an eyeful, in your case, as a reader.)

My experience of youth ministry has been mainly theoretical up to this point.  I have been blessed to study under some amazing teachers, and also privileged to know and learn from a number of people who are involved in the work of ministry.  I've learned a lot from these and others.  But I know I still have a lot to learn, so please do not take this post the wrong way.  I don't mean to be critical; but I do hope to caution.  What I am about to describe are things that I myself have experienced and mistakes that I have also made.  My hope in writing this post is to help others to not make the mistakes I have made.  But if you do, please don't think you have failed.  God is so good and merciful to us that, even when we make mistakes, if we truly desire to help others encounter Him and have a relationship with Him, He will make all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

Early into my studies at Franciscan, I learned that I wanted to live by a statement on one of my favorite Christian t-shirts: "It's not about me..." (and on the back) "...It's all about HIM."

There is no "me" in ministry.  But there is a "you" in youth.

What I mean to say is, as a youth minister (and a youth minister is anyone who ministers to youth; the Director of Youth Ministry usually is called by this title, but we'll use it in its more general sense in this post), youth ministry cannot and should not become about me at any point in time. It should be about the young people that are coming to the youth nights.  It's about them and it's about Jesus.  What role do I play?  I am just helping that encounter to have a space to happen.  Or at least...that's what I should be doing.

You see, I've seen and experienced firsthand what happens when the ministry suddenly becomes more about the catechist than about the audience.  Let me provide an example that you may have experienced.

I'm facilitating a small group discussion. And suddenly, as facilitator, I have a really cool reflection and I'm just so excited that I decide "I'm going to share this with the group and it's going to blow their minds."  So I tell them.  And what happens? Silence. Maybe a nod. A shrug. An acknowledgment that I've spoken. But mostly...a lot of blank or confused staring.

What just happened?

Small group suddenly became about me, the catechist, and not about the youth.  Now, that may not seem like a big deal, and in some situations it really isn't. But other times, it can become a huge obstacle.  There may be a kid in my small group who was going to share something, but is now afraid to for fear of sounding silly or ill-informed.  And now they might never feel brave enough to speak in small group. I've closed a door for them. (I found this video extremely helpful in getting a visual of what small group conversations should aim to look like.)

Another scenario: I'm giving the talk at a youth night, and I decide to go off on a tangent and make this point that relates to this cool saint quote that I'm in love with right now. It's not necessarily related to the topic, but I just want to share it with them...because I'm excited about it.  And...ten minutes later, I'm still talking about the saint quote, and am being met with a lot of blank/disinterested stares.

What just happened?

That talk just became about me and my spirituality instead of what it was meant to be about: Jesus (in one way or another, all talks should be about Jesus).  Not only that, but now I'm taking up even more of the precious time we have with the youth talking about what we were supposed to be talking about, and they're sitting there being talked at (something which most kids don't like to be...talked at).

Now, lest you think that I am saying that youth ministry that should be done by a purely by-the-book fashion, please let me assure you that this is not at all what I mean.  This kind of youth ministry does not work well either.

By-the-book youth ministry just goes straight from the notes of whatever program you're using (or writing perhaps) with no room for the catechist to actually be a person.  That is to say, they're just reading words off a page that they didn't even write (and maybe don't care about) like some kind of faith-relaying robot.

Something that young people can detect better than anything else is a lack of authenticity.  They know when you're faking it.  They know when what you're talking about isn't something you actually care about.  On the flip-side, they can tell when you're really passionate about something, and they do, often, find that attractive.

What makes or breaks it?

Plainly and simply, there is a difference between following the Spirit and following myself.

Shocker, right? Yet it's so easy for us to fail to distinguish between the two.  There may be something in the talk or small group discussion I facilitate that speaks to my spirituality, my prayer life, my experience.  But does that always mean I should share it?  No.  How do I know?  I have to discern. I have to pray with it.  And oftentimes, an examination of my motives is helpful.  Are my motives to look cool in front of these kids?  Or is the Spirit guiding me to share this because it might help somebody here tonight?  Sometimes it can be really hard for us to distinguish between the two.  Other times it's really easy. But this is why the catechist has got to be praying everyday.  If we want to speak God's words, we must be familiar with His voice.  And once we're familiar with His voice, it becomes much easier to distinguish between His voice and ours.

So this is the negative "you" in youth ministry: youth ministry that is much more centered around what the facilitator is interested in and passionate about than around the needs of the youth and the Person of Jesus Christ.  This isn't youth ministry.  This is "you" ministry.  Suddenly, it's all about me.  It's about what I want to talk about and what I'm excited about.  It ought to be about how much Jesus wants a relationship with these kids and how much I want to help these kids encounter Jesus; but I can only help if I take the time to understand their needs and the steps we need to take for that encounter to happen.  As much as I may be super excited about John 13, this might not be the Gospel passage that the teens I minister to need to keep hearing about.  Maybe they need to hear about the Good Shepherd, the Prodigal Son, the woman at the well.... Whatever it may be, I need to be aware of. And if I fail to do that, then I am (to a greater or lesser extent) preventing that encounter with Jesus Christ from happening. And the reason is not one that I can be proud of: because I want to talk about [insert topic] instead.

I will say it again: I have made these mistakes.  I am not accusing or judging anyone here.  But I know that I often need to take a reality check, look at the situation, and say to myself: "Why am I talking about this? Do I want to draw attention to myself by this, or is this something that might help someone here?"  A great way to know the difference is for me to know those I'm ministering to well.  When I know their needs, I am better able to discern what to say and what to leave unsaid because I have a better gauge of where the young people listening are at.

Youth ministry has got to be about finding where the young people in your youth group are at right now.  Do they know Jesus?  They might know about Him.  But do they know Him?  How can you help them to encounter Him? How can you help them to break down those walls they've put up?  How can you help them to know how to let Jesus love them and lead them?  These are the questions we should be answering.  These are the desires we should be seeking to satisfy (though, of course, it is not us but Jesus who satisfies them ultimately).

I said there is a positive "you" in youth ministry. I promise there is one.

One of the many things I admired about my professors in the undergraduate Catechetics program was the way that they encouraged each one of us in our individuality.  They were not out to make "cookie cutter catechists" who all talk the same way, and use the same analogies, etc.  No. They wanted us to flourish as persons: to be who we have been made to be and to be comfortable in that.  God made us who we are.  God wants us to be who we are.  God wants me to be the catechist that only I can be.  And this is good!  It is good because there may be a person out there who has heard the conversion story of a thousand other people and remained unmoved.  But mine might just change their life.  This isn't pride.  This is just trusting God.  I know I've been transformed by the words and deeds of others, probably in ways that they will never know and because of things they will never remember.  But St. Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.  This doesn't just mean be ready to give the apologetics for the sacrament of the Eucharist (though sometimes you'll need that).  It also means being ready to share your story: how I came to know Jesus and how He has changed my life.  My story may not (and probably won't) change 1000 lives.  Maybe not even 100.

But it could change one.  And that's why I need to be ready to share it.

Teens detect authenticity, or the lack thereof.  If I am real with them about my experience of who Jesus is, and how He wants to love Him, and how I know that because I've experienced it personally...they'll know.  They may not be transformed on the spot, ...but somebody might be.  What is required of me is the humble obedience to share my story, and, more importantly, to share His story: the Gospel.  That's what evangelization is.  It isn't winning others over to "my side."  It's opening the door for people to enter into life with Christ.  It's not about proving people wrong; it's about introducing them to the Fullness of Truth (Christ!).  It's not about me; it's all about Him.  And the positive "you" in youth ministry is you being you (in Christ) and pointing others to Christ, so that none of the attention or glory or praise ever stay with you, but are passed immediately to Him.

"You gave a great talk tonight."
"Thank you. Praise God!"

"What you said really inspired me."
"I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you, Jesus, for speaking through me."

Live and breath Psalm 115:1.

Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

God has chosen you to preach the Gospel, and He wants you to do that in the unique way that only you can.  But in all humility, we praise God when we succeed in helping someone else to come to know Jesus.  It is not by our words that hearts and lives are changed; it is only by His.  Only His voice, which spoke the world into being and calms the stormy sea can bring peace, comfort, joy, and strength to those who could not find it before.  Only He can fulfill the innermost desires of our hearts. And I never want to get in the way of someone encountering Jesus Christ.

So, in the words of Tobymac,

If You want to steal my show,

I'll sit back and watch You go,

If You've got something to say,

Go on and take it away.

I need You to steal my show,

I can't wait to watch You go-o-o-o. 

So take it away.

My brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to let the Lord take control.  May we be given the grace to follow the guidance of the Spirit and not get in the way of the Lord, Who so desperately longs to speak to the hearts of those we minister to.  

Be assured of my prayers for all of you who read this post. May the Lord bless you.

Pace e bene,

the Itinerant Catechist

Shore Thoughts

It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize for my long hiatus. But much of that time was spent recovering from a summer of master's classes and then preparing for a long journey south. But after a short time at home, a long drive, and my first week, I am pretty well settled in my new residence as I begin serving the Church in Florida.  My involvement in particular ministries is still being finalized, but I've had a good first few weeks getting settled here and enjoying the life in community with my fellow Echo apprentices who have been placed in this area.

The adjective "itinerant" has described my life pretty well in the last week, not only because I was making the longest drive I've ever made, but also because this is the beginning of a whole new chapter of life.  I'm still realizing that I am not returning to my undergraduate university, Franciscan University of Steubenville, in a week, even though many of my friends are.  I'm realizing that I will not be seeing them and my fellow graduates for a while.  I'm realizing just how far from home I am.  I'm adjusting to a new lifestyle of being more or less independent, but also living in a community of new people.  There are many changes to adjust to, sure enough. But thankfully, everyone has been very kind and generous to me (and to all of us) as I move through the transition.

We've been out to the ocean a few times since I got here, and both times the song "Oceans" by Hillsong has been on my mind.  I remember I hadn't heard this song before I crossed an ocean to study abroad for four months.  This was my first time being very far from home, and I didn't know what the semester would hold. I was nervous, concerned I wouldn't have many friends, and worried that many things would go wrong.  But I look back on that semester with an incredible fondness.  It was truly amazing, one of the most beautiful adventures of my life. :) My worries were slowly dispelled, and God taught me how to trust Him with everything.  "Oceans," when I heard it, spoke to my heart deeply...because it spoke from my heart deeply.  It was exactly what I felt as I embarked on that journey:

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown,

Where feet may fail. 

And there I find you in the mystery,

In oceans deep,

My faith will stand. 

And I will call upon Your name,

And keep my eyes above the waves,

When oceans rise,

My soul will rest in Your embrace,

For I am yours, and you are mine.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters,
Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me,
You've never failed, and You won't start now.

I won't say that semester was completely free of worry and struggle.  There were moments where I felt them strongly, particularly in the beginning.  But in those moments, I was able to find comfort, encouragement, and direction (some easy to take, some harder) in the Lord, particularly in the celebration of the Mass, which I could attend every day if I wanted because classes did not meet at that time, and also in a little prayer book I had received form my dad: My Daily Bread.  

That semester taught me to trust God in a whole new way: with my relationships with people, with my immediate and long-term needs, with the smallest and biggest details of traveling abroad, and so forth.  Once I was able to really trust God with that, I found that I didn't need to be afraid; that He would take care of it, and, not only that, but things turned out even better than I could have imagined or planned for myself.  I learned that His plans are so much greater than mine, and I learned to trust those plans enough to give up my own.

My journey to where I am now has required a lot of trust, too; but it has been made a bit easier by remembering how God asked me to trust Him that semester and how beautiful the end result of that was.  I remember sitting in my room a few weeks before graduation from undergrad and Oceans started playing on my computer.  I remember just sitting for a moment and listening, and remembering how nervous I was before beginning that semester abroad, and applying that life lesson to the right now: God was with me when I went to Europe for four months, and that's not going to change as I'm going to a new and unfamiliar place for two years.

That's what kept me going. That's what kept, and has continued to keep me from getting overwhelmed and freaked out by how new all of this is.  Because I know, no matter what happens, and no matter where I go, my God is always, always the same.  He's never failed and He won't start now.  No matter what happens, good or bad, He will be there, just as He's always been.  All I have to do is turn to Him.

So as I've sat on the shore by the ocean, and tasted the salt in the waves as I braved deeper waters, I remember just how good God is, and how I can always depend on Him.  Though everything else may change, He will be there. He is my solid ground. He is my constant.

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders, 

Let me walk upon the waters, 

Wherever you would call me, 

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, 

And my faith will be made stronger, 

In the presence of my Savior.

Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 

~1 John 3:2-3~

Until we meet again,

the Itinerant Catechist

Make the Habit

In my studies here at Notre Dame, I had the opportunity to read Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works by James K. A. Smith.  The book is full of helpful ideas, though it's lacking in terms of application.  But one of the key ideas contained in it is the necessity of forming habits, or habituses, as Smith calls them.

What's a habitus?  In simple terms, Smith calls it an "embodied know-how," that is, a particular ritual or gesture that we learn through doing, particularly as a part of a community.  For example, as an American, I have learned to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to pay respects to the American flag when the National Anthem is played by placing my hand over my heart.  How do I subconsciously know to do these things at particular times?  Because I was part of communities that taught me to.

What does any of this have to do with worship?  Think about it.  As part of a liturgical community that worships with a series of habituses, doesn't that language become part of your vocabulary? The gestures part of your daily life?  Smith makes the argument that if we are teaching people how to worship then this should be true.  So...why don't we see it?

I think there is a large gap between liturgical instruction and liturgical practice.  That is not to say that I think that Masses should be "teaching Masses," where the priest explains every prayer and gesture before it is done within the context of the sacrifice of the Mass itself.  Rather, life outside of the church (building) should be preparation for worship.  Religious instruction, or catechesis, ought to prepare people to enter into the Mass more fully by helping them to understand why we do what we do.  I think we could say that many people have formed these habituses in their lives by attending Mass with their families throughout the years, and this may indeed be why they still attend Mass.  This is good!  A habitus has been formed.  And even if the person does not fully understand that habitus, we can be sure that this habitus is forming that person in the way that they think, act, and pray.  How do I know that?  Because this is how the habitus works.  I grew up in a house where, every year on Easter morning, we were greeted with the exclamation: "He is risen!" and our response would be "He is risen, indeed!"  Now, whether I acknowledge this or not, or am aware of it or not, it remains true that my prayers during the Easter season often take up this chorus in some way or another; maybe not exactly in its wording; but the thought, the idea, the entrance into the mystery is there.

Now, let's think about the other end of the spectrum.  When particular practices are not familiar to you, and they are taken up by those around you, you're kind of operating in an oblivious and awkward state where you're really not sure what to do with yourself.  It's uncomfortable, awkward, and when you try to participate it feels...well, fake.  I can say this is true from my recent experience, too.  The Notre Dame Fight Song: I've been here for seven weeks and have had not very much exposure to this song, so I don't know the words, or gestures, or anything about what I'm supposed to do when it plays.  So when it's played and everyone sings along, I'm standing there and all I can do is clap because I have no idea what else to do.

Take this principle and apply it to worship: if you went to Mass and saw the priest incensing the altar, and someone asked you what it meant, would you be able to tell them?

If you answered "yes" to that question, it's probably because you were formed in that habitus with an explanation to accompany it.  "We incense the altar because it is an embodiment of our prayers surrounding the altar and rising up to God through Christ's sacrifice."  It reminds us that this is happening, and in some way it makes it real, not in the same way that the Sacraments do (ex opere operato), but in a sacramental manner nonetheless (outward sign symbolizing invisible reality).

But, if you would be as confused at that moment as I am when the Notre Dame Fight Song plays, you probably did not receive much explanation for the habitus.  No one told you why.  But perhaps you accepted it because it was something that you were exposed to for a long time as a member of that community.

And if your answer was: "Incense? What's incense?" then...you probably didn't receive the formation in the habitus or explanation of the habitus.

So there are differing levels in the formation of the habitus.  But that's not the sole point I want to make here.

The Church calls parents the primary catechists in the lives of their children.  Parents.  Not the religion teacher, not the youth minister, not the pastor.  When parents send their children to Catholic schools, or to youth group, or CCD classes, etc., they are fulfilling that role in some respect.  However, I would disagree that this is enough.  This is formation for the habitus, but not usually formation in the habitus.  That is to say, it may explain the whys and hows of the habitus to the child, but it does not always (and sometimes cannot) mean that the habitus is repeated and/or practiced in such a way that it becomes part of the person's daily life.  Or, vice versa: it is formation in the habitus, but no formation surrounding the "why" of the habitus.  In this case, the habitus of the Lord's Prayer might be formed to the point where the child can recite this prayer from memory, but he/she does not know why we pray the Lord's Prayer.  Neither of these is an evil; in fact there are many goods here.  But to conclude that either of these scenarios is enough is problematic.  For, once the child reaches the age of adolescence, what do they begin to do?  They begin to think critically and question everything they have ever done or been told to do.  So what happens when they ask "Why do we say that prayer?" and no one can tell them?  Most likely, since they do not see its worth, and especially if they do not see this practice alive in their own families, then most likely they will leave it at the door of the religion classroom and never use it again.

However, it would be equally mistaken to say that the formation of a habitus is unnecessary, as some people are led to believe.  Catechesis cannot be a purely mental activity.  Why?  Because we are not purely thinking beings.  We are not only spirit; we are also bodily.  We have bodies that are integrated with our soul/spirit in a way that the two cannot be separated from another (until death, and then they will be reunited on the last day at the Resurrection of the Body).  Our bodies must be engaged in worship as much as our minds are.  In fact, at least in my own experience, I find that one tends to lead the other.  If I am really attentive to prayer and desire to fully enter into it, I must assume a posture that allows that, whether that is falling on my knees, bowing my head, folding my hands, spreading my hands apart in an expression of receptivity, etc.  But, at other points, sometimes my mind is elsewhere, distracted by the various concerns of the world.  And sometimes, the only thing that can pull me out of that is to do something physically that directs my mind back to prayer.  Humans are body and spirit, and catechesis must form both in the knowledge and practice of the faith if we want it to permeate the whole person.  

But, in a similar way, we must not try to separate what is done in the religion classroom or catechetical setting from the experiences of daily life.  In other words, if the only place where children (or young people) take up these religious gestures, prayers, and actions is within this setting, then are they truly being formed in Christian life?  Not in the fullest sense.  It must be taken up at home.  Children must be instructed in the faith by their parents if they are going to be able to fully participate in it.  They must see their parents prayer, and be taught to pray by their parents.  They must be taught how to make the Sign of the Cross and how to thank God for His blessings.  They must be taught the significance of a shared meal so that eventually they can come to see the great gift it is to be welcomed to the Table of the Lord where He offers us His very self.  It is also true that when children are instructed in the faith by their parents (and particularly their fathers), they are more likely to continue to practice the faith throughout their lives.  

That Prayer Before Meals that you always said together at Grandma's house was a habitus.  Whether you liked it or not, you did it, and it gradually became a part of your life.  You know that prayer, even today, and you even pray it on your own!  It wasn't just something you learned, it was something you became.  That "embodied know-how" became a part of you, and now it's hard to imagine a dinner together that did not include that prayer.  

That song you always sang at church about "Faith of our fathers, holy faith, we will be true to thee till death," has stuck with you, and you can hardly hear one of the martyrs' stories without thinking of that verse.  

Genuflecting before you sit in your pew at church is normal.  No one gives you funny looks for it.  (But they might if the habitus is so ingrained that sometimes you do it in places where you're not supposed to: e.g. the movie theater. Oops.) 

I think we could be doing a lot more in terms of formation in habituses within the work of catechesis.  So many practices from Catholic tradition have just fallen out of common practice because people don't know what they mean or just are never taught these practices.  But these practices help us to grasp something of the real-ness of our faith: the way that it redeems not just our souls but also our bodies.  Why should we not return to God our thanks and praise for His goodness with our bodies as well as our souls? I conclude that those we catechize should be formed in these kinds of practices. It could be as simple as a holy water font in your classroom (or your home!) and encouraging your students/children to use it, and do so yourself, and explaining to them that we do this as a reminder of our Baptism, by which we have been saved through Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection.  Teaching them songs, prayers, general practices and postures of prayer; exposing them to art and music from the rich tradition of the Church; reading to them the Lives of the Saints, the stories of Scripture, the Psalms, and other beautiful stories and/or poems.  

The classroom should be a place where students encounter beauty, and find themselves inserted into a story: the story of salvation, which continues all around us every day.  The story is this:  we have been saved from sin by Jesus Christ; will we respond to Him by following Him faithfully? Will we spread the Gospel and invite others to join us on the journey?  This story, when told well, captivates the imagination and inspires wonder.  It makes us desire to be a part of the bigger reality that is all around us every moment.  And the way that we do that is through participation in the life of the Church, particularly through the Sacraments.  

So, if you're a catechist, don't just teach kids about the Mass.  Explain to them one gesture or prayer at a time, and take them to Mass so they can encounter that practice and be formed in it.  If you can, encourage the parents of the children to practice these prayers and gestures with their children at home.  If parents are uncomfortable with doing this because they do not know the prayers and gestures themselves, perhaps you could offer resources that would help them.  Don't allow the faith to remain a surface-level kind of knowledge that is merely another set of facts and theories to memorize and not use again.  Rather, let the faith become something that is so practiced and embodied within the child (and the catechist! above all, the habitus must be borne witness to by the catechist) that a habitus is formed, and formed so deeply that it becomes difficult to even think of life without that habitus.  

Blessings! 

the Itinerant Catechist 

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 

~James 1:22~

O Greatest Humility

Have you seen this painting before? I hope you have, if only because it's a beautiful painting.  I'm not sure that everyone knows the story of the painting though.  It's obvious that what we have in the picture is a man and woman praying in the midst of their work early in the morning. Notice the church steeple on the horizon.  Millet, the artist, titled this painting The Angelus.  If you're not familiar with this prayer, it is one that has a rich history in the Catholic tradition.  It used to be that every day at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. the bells of the local church would ring, and everyone, no matter where they were or what they were doing, would pray the Angelus.  It was a moment to recollect and enter into a place of prayer in the midst of the labors of the day.  

But why the Angelus?  What was so significant about this prayer? 

The Angelus is the prayer of the Annunciation to Mary and the Incarnation of Jesus.  It goes like this: 

Leader: The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary

All: And she conceived of/by the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary.... 

Leader: Behold the handmaid of the Lord,

All: Be it done unto me according to thy word. 

Hail Mary....

Leader: And the word was made flesh, 

All: (bowing or genuflecting) And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary.... 

Leader: Let us pray.

All: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

That this prayer was given such prominence in the daily Christian life in days past speaks a great deal to the significance of the mystery at its center: the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus, the mystery of the Son of God becoming a man by being conceived, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the womb of Mary.

The Incarnation of Jesus is one of the most beautiful and central mysteries of the Catholic faith.  While it is more often the Paschal Mystery (the Death and Resurrection of Jesus) that are emphasized, we must not forget that it was the Incarnation that made this greatest sacrifice possible.  But what is the Incarnation?

It's not uncommon that people will confused the Immaculate Conception with the Incarnation.  So let's make that distinction first.  The Immaculate Conception refers to the birth of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and how she was redeemed by Christ ahead of time so that she was conceived without sin in order to be the pure Ark of the New Covenant.

The Incarnation, as was mentioned before, refers to the moment when Christ was conceived in Mary's virgin womb by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, Jesus was also conceived without sin because He is God.  But it was fitting that God would redeem Mary before the Incarnation and from the moment of her conception, since fallen humanity begets fallen humanity due to the original sin of Adam and Eve which damaged our human nature.  But, furthermore, because Mary was free from original sin and its effects, she was able to make the most free choice to be the Mother of God because she was uninhibited by any characteristics of fallen human nature.  She was as free to say "yes" to God's plan as Adam and Eve were to say "no" to it before the fall.  God could have done this another way if He had chosen to, since He certainly has the power to do so.  But, as St. Thomas Aquinas would say, the way that God chose to become man was fitting.

Fra Angelico's Annunciation

But why does it matter?  It's a sweet, sentimental idea, right? Jesus becomes a little baby and we celebrate it every Christmas with a kind of nostalgic aura.  But to leave the Mystery of the Incarnation at that is to reduce its beauty and power to something much less than the Mystery is by its very nature.

Bishop Robert Barron, when he was still Father Robert Barron, made the connection or Jesus' Incarnation as related in the Gospel of Luke is meant to be like a military narrative of sorts.  This is why he begins his Gospel with details about how this event took place in such-and-such year, under the reign of Emperor Tiberius.  It seems like he's setting up a story of military conquest.  Yet, is the Gospel at all about Emperor Tiberius?  No.  The story transitions immediately into the narrative of Jesus Christ.  What Luke is doing is communicating that Jesus Christ is greater and more glorious than the Roman Emperor, though he has no earthly kingdom or armies, and He died upon a Cross like a common criminal.  Christ, who comes as a helpless infant, who is born in a stable, who is welcomed into the world by only Mary and Joseph and a few shepherds, is worth our attention far more than any leader that history would call "great."  

What is accomplished by this great mystery?  Our salvation begins here.  At the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary, the hope we await has come incredibly close.  He is in Mary's womb for 9 months, and then He is born into the world on a night like any other, yet so unlike any other because God-become-man is being born!  This plan has been hidden from demons, and theologians speculate that the angels did not know it either until it had happened.  Such a message of hope: 

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. 

Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord.  

He is here! The salvation of the world has come! The uncrossable void between God and man that was created by the first sin has been bridged by the one who would leave the glory of heaven and be born as a helpless infant.  He becomes like us in all things by sin; He empties Himself to such a degree in order that we might be rescued from our sinful state.  Only the God-man can achieve this.  Why?  Because man could not obtain forgiveness for Himself; it had to be offered to Him by God.  But atonement for the sin was still necessary, and so God became a man in order to be the perfect sacrifice: He is human, so He can offer a sacrifice on behalf of all of humanity; He is God, so He can offer forgiveness to humanity through this sacrifice, and His sacrifice reaches through all of history because the infinite God offers it.  

What I would like to dwell on for a moment is the great humility of God that is revealed in the Incarnation.  

When we think of the humility of God, or even Google images of it, we think of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, or His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross. 

It is not so often that we think of this moment of His Incarnation and entry into the world as a tremendous expression of the humility of God. 

Ecce humilitatem Dei. 

Behold the humility of God. 

It is this mystery that makes the redemption possible.  Had God not become incarnate, we would not be saved.  He became a tiny, helpless infant, totally reliant on St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary to care for Him.  He became vulnerable to such a degree as this.  Yet He was still seen as a threat, and so Herod sought His life.  But Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family, protected the Son of God and His Mother, as was the task given to him by God. How beautiful! (There will probably be a post on St. Joseph eventually. He is one of my favorite saints.)  

How amazing the experiences Mary and Joseph had with the Christ child must have been. 

Think about how this little baby, God become man, would wrap His tiny fingers, which fashioned the stars, around the finger of Joseph or Mary. 

How the Word which spoke creation into being humbled Himself to the point of not knowing how to speak, and blessed the chatter of babes by becoming one. 

How the King of kings and Lord of lords was born in the most humble stable, and blessed the tiny dwelling of a few animals with His presence. 

How He was born in a mange in order to show that He would be the food for the world. 

How He was adored by simple shepherds to show that He came for all: from the lowest of men to the highest of kings.  

Here is the mystery that begins the Paschal Mystery, the source of our Redemption.  That we might be redeemed, this first took place, and the Son of God became like us in all things but sin, and was born of a woman.  His birth was not stately.  He came as one Who could be approached, approached without fear but with wonder nonetheless.  

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth,

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of old, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious dawn.

Fall on your knees!

O hear the angel voices!

O night, divine! 

O night, when Christ was born. 

Caravaggio's Adoration of the Shepherds

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 

~Isaiah 11:1~

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 

~Isaiah 11:6-8~

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. 

~Isaiah 9:6~

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 

~Isaiah 53:1-2~

And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called "Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 

~Isaiah 9:6-7~

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

~Luke 2:12~

Once again, I find myself in awe of this great mystery. May I not live my life the same way as before in light of this knowledge of the mystery of the Incarnation. 

Until we meet again, 

Pace e bene!

the Itinerant Catechist