Continuing my attempts to produce these Lectionary Notes in under four hours…
Fifth Sunday of Easter: 6th May, 2012
The Readings this week focus around life in Christ.
We begin with an account of St. Paul’s failed attempts in Jerusalem to commune with Christ’s Body, the Church. Strangely enough, it turns out that people tend to be a bit stand-offish if you’ve previously tried to kill them! In our Gospel Reading, Jesus teaches his disciples using the metaphor of the vine, showing us that union with Him is essential if we are to live. He gives us a warning too, that if we do not produce fruit, we will be cut off from Him and deprived of His Divine life. St. John restates this sentiment in the Second Reading, exhorting his readers to “love not in word…but in deed”.
Let us come to Mass this week thirsty for the grace of Christ which is communicated through His Church. Let us drink deeply, returning to the world refreshed, ready to share the life of Christ and to bear fruit which will last.
Today I got to take another of my friends to the Byzantine Liturgy for the first time. As I’ve said before, I think that every Western Catholic should visit an Eastern Rite parish at least once, in order to gain an understanding of the variety within Catholicism.
One of the most obvious differences between the Byzantine Liturgy and a typical Western Mass is that, in the Byzantine Liturgy, almost everything is sung. I find it interesting, therefore, that one of the parts of the liturgy most commented upon by visitors is one of the few parts of the service which isn’t sung. The part I’m referring to is the prayer which is said by the congregation prior to communion:
O Lord, I believe and profess that you are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Accept me as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God; for I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies, nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief I confess to you: Remember me, O Lord, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Master, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Holy One, when you shall come into your kingdom. May the partaking of your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body.
O Lord, I also believe and profess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly your most precious Body and your life-giving Blood, which, I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen.
I really do love this prayer. It’s so well designed to prepare us to receive the Eucharist. We put our faith in Lord. We trust in His great mercy. We acknowledge the seriousness of what we are about about to partake: the body, blood, soul a divinity of Jesus Christ.
A lot of people have heard of Christopher Hitchens, the “New Atheist”, who died at the end of last year. However, not as many have heard of his brother Peter Hitchens, the Christian. Here is a short clip of Peter in a debate against Adam Rutherford on the subject of abortion:
The other day I was praying the Beatitudes and remembered that years ago I rather enjoyed the version found in “The Message”.
“The Message” is a paraphrase, rather than a translation of Sacred Scripture. Its purpose is to produce the Bible in more contemporary language. Some of the rendering attempts are honestly pretty awful. However, I have found this book to be of some use, especially when reading passages with which I’ve been extremely familiar.
Here’s its attempt at the Beatitudes:
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
Why are there strifes, and tumults, and divisions, and schisms, and wars among you? Have we not [all] one God and one Christ? Is there not one Spirit of grace poured out upon us?
In the JP2 Group last week the question of cremation came up so I thought I’d write a quick post about it here.
Body Bad, Spirit Good?
Prior to the birth of Christianity, cremation was common. This stemmed in large part from the way Pagans viewed the body and soul. They did not believe in the resurrection of the body. In fact, they had a pretty dim view of the body and cremation was sometimes seen as a way of releasing the soul trapped inside the body.
The Gnostic groups which competed with Christianity in the early centuries held to a similar dualistic beliefs. They viewed the spirit as something good, but the body as something evil.
Image and Likeness
Christianity, on the other hand, stood in stark contrast to this worldview, affirming the goodness of the body:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over…all the creatures…” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:26-27
St. Paul also spoke about the body in exalted terms, describing it as a temple:
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Because of this, Christians afforded great respect to the body, both life and in death. We find this in the witness of the Early Church (AD 155) after the death of Polycarp:
[T]he centurion…declared [Polycarp’s] body property of the state and, according to their custom, burnt it. Afterwards, we collected Polycarp’s bones, being more precious than the most exquisite jewels and more purified than gold, we interred them in a fitting place. There the Lord will permit us…to assemble in rapturous joy and celebrate his martyrdom – his birthday – both in order to commemorate the heroes that have gone before, and to train the heroes yet to come… – Martyrdom of Polycarp, Chapter 18
The most important issue here though is that Christians proclaimed the resurrection from the dead:
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power…
– 1 Corinthians 15:42
Therefore, because of their belief in the sanctity of the body, as well as to affirm the resurrection of the body, Christians have historically not cremated their deceased. It is not that God would unable to resurrect a cremated body – He can do anything – it is that Christians simply wish to respect something made in God’s image and to affirm the resurrection from the dead. It is for these reasons that cremation has traditionally not been an option for Catholics.
The other day I was 
