Is Work Prayer, Or Is Prayer Work?

Tomorrow the Church across the world celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints, a day where we are reminded of the reality of the Communion of Saints, and those who have stood as examples of heroes of faith to the Church for centuries; a number that is continually growing with each passing day.  This Solemnity commemorates not only those Saints after whom Churches are named, and Statues are erected; but also those countless women and men of every age, who as members of the baptized lived their lives working toward that goal of the Kingdom, and who made that Kingdom come alive on Earth. As members of the Baptized, we are members of that Communion, and Jesus calls us all to Sainthood.

The title of this blog was inspired by a memory from my days in the Seminary. A few of us had ventured out into the night on All Saints Day to continue our own festivities, and we began to talk about the Solemnity at hand, and the Priesthood…and how it had some particular implications for those in Holy Orders. We were pompous…we were immature in so many ways…and we thought that we could solve all the problems of the world, and of the Church, that very night before last call. We were right about one thing though; this Solemnity of All Saints calls us Priests to task.

As members of the Baptized we are all called to Sainthood, and that is without a doubt, a heavy call for anyone. As Priests however we are held to a particular duty as we strive to answer the call of Christ to Sainthood in our own lives. On the day of our Ordination, the Bishop handed us the Chalice and Paten, and said the words;

“Accept from the holy people of God, the gifts to be offered to Him. Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”

With these words we find the most difficult charge issued to every Priest. It’s a call that we hold in common; Roman, Independent, “Old”, National – whatever kind of Catholic you identify yourself as…we are all charged to model our lives on the mystery of the Cross. If the people we Shepherd are striving to be Saints, then surely we must make that strive with all the more determination, because there is a lot at stake! Aren't we called to be not only Saints, but Martyrs?

The Sacrifice of the Cross that is made present on the Altar every time we celebrate Mass must be the absolute center of our Spiritual Journey.  If we are modeling our lives after the mystery of the Lord’s Cross, then we cannot help but look at the role of the Cross in the life of Christ Himself. In the current Liturgical Cycle we have been reading on Sundays from the Gospel of Mark. As we know from Biblical Criticism, the Markan account includes the “Messianic Secret”; Jesus’ command to those who would proclaim Him as the Messiah to be quiet about this revelation. Jesus didn't want to be known by His miracles, or His parables, but rather by His Passion. He wasn't a magician or a gifted storyteller, He was the Messiah. The Cross was not only how He defined Himself, but it was also the means by which He wanted the rest of the world to identify Him.

Are we as dedicated to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross. The challenge is particularly poignant to those of us who live our Priesthood in the Independent Catholic experience.  We go to a secular job everyday to support ourselves. We pay bills. We have romantic relationships. The challenge to constantly model our lives on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross is even more difficult, and at the same time, even easier to neglect.

Where is our prayer? I remember when I was in the Seminary we had Adoration everyday in the Chapel, and the students were encouraged to make use of that time for private prayer. On well more than one occasion, I would take a book from Class to read during that prayer time. When I looked around the Chapel, I always noticed, I was not the only one…We were Seminarians, studying Theology!! Wasn't doing our homework a form of prayer? Was it really though? Or were we trying to kill two birds with one stone…

In the beginning days of Seminary that was acceptable. There were lots of responsibilities, stressors, and commitments that had to met. Now however, we are Priests. Now, in many ways it is even easier to think, “my work is my prayer”…now however, is also when that is no longer an excuse. You see the stress of Seminary is never going to go away. Life is always going to be filled with commitments, requirements, and deadlines; and all those things are always going to be in addition to Ministry. We cannot however effectively kill those multiple birds with one stone.

Prayer requires its own time, and its own attention.  It requires a vigilance that is arguably nearly impossible in the life of working clergy. How often do we turn our morning commute to work into an opportunity to pray? It’s a wonderful practice to be sure, but the moment we park the car, and walk into the office our attention shifts to the matters at hand; the files on the desk, the calls to return, the deadlines to be met.  Perhaps in the challenge of this very distraction we can begin our dedication to our vigilance.

Regardless of what we do for work, it is our employment that makes our life of ministry possible. Without income, we can’t live…and what kind of ministry can a dead person run? This is where we can accurately say that “our work is our prayer”. John of the Cross, in the very first Chapter of his work, “the Dark Night of the Soul”, speaks of that moment when a mother releases her child to walk on their own. The child no longer feeds at her breast, and no longer is carried around by her loving embrace. She lets them go; and that child takes those first few steps walking independently. Our relationship with God experiences something similar and with childlike joy the soul pursues all those comforting, and “warm” experiences of prayer, devotion, and pious practice. This stage of Spiritual development is only in Chapter One; it’s the very beginning of the journey towards what he calls the Dark Night, where we find that union with the Cross…Here the child is tempted to forget about the mother with those first few steps. Here the child is tempted to chase the excitement of the world around them, and fall while reaching for all it has to offer. Here the child may fall. When the door to our office opens at 9:00am for a days work, we become that child taking those steps from the arms of our mother. Here we run the risk of doing all the same things as that child. Here we make work our prayer, and remember constantly the ultimate purpose of our employment; so that we can be in Ministry.

But that prayer is not enough. That prayer is not what is going to lead us to union with Christ on the Cross. From 9-5 our work is prayer, but from 5-9 prayer is work. It takes work to set that time to spend growing in our relationship with God. It takes effort to schedule that time that we are going to dedicate to furthering that relationship with the mystery of the Cross. All relationships take work. They take work, faith, and honesty. Why would this relationship be any different?

How do we have a relationship with a mystery?

Perhaps one of the best verbal expressions of that mystery of the Lord’s Cross were the words spoken by Jesus Himself; “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”  In this outcry from the Cross, Jesus expresses an abandonment and desolation that puts Him in complete solidarity with sinful humanity. His sacrifice on the Cross destroys the power of sin (which is itself separation from God), and experienced the very depth of that void of separation. It comes then as no surprise that at the core of a journey to find union with Jesus, we find that union in the Dark Night that John describes…in a feeling of abandonment.

The life of growing in that intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is not one that is full of warm and fuzzies to be certain.  It’s scary. It’s work. It’s near impossible for you and I in this life…and it in fact IS impossible, if we hope to reach it only by “offering up” the struggles of our day, and saying a Hail Mary before bed.  The charge given to us on the day of our Ordination makes this journey non-negotiable. We are charged to model our life after “the Mystery of the Lord’s Cross” – the Cross by which Jesus defined Himself, and we must do the same. We are charged to seek union with the Cross, and ultimately, union with the very depths of that Dark Night.

As we celebrate All Saints Day tomorrow, may we recommit ourselves to that task of our Ordination Day.  As we shepherd communities that are striving to be Saints, may we do so by laying down our own lives as martyrs; martyrs who are eager to embrace the Cross of Christ. Like the Saints and Martyrs who have gone before us, may we find eternal joy and fulfillment in the abandonment of the here and now. 

For You, and For All

I started writing this blog last week, and decided to just let it go. Tonight however, I feel that I just can’t let it go, and that in fact I have an obligation, as a Priest, to speak up and say something.

 In the last two weeks a few things have happened in the news.
- The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Newark told the faithful that they should not receive communion if they do not agree with the Roman Catholic “teaching about marriage” (being between a man and a woman).
- The Roman Catholic Bishop in San Francisco expressed his thoughts on gays receiving Communion, and then gave a hypocritical homily about “building up the kingdom of God”...while the Episcopal Bishop of the same Diocese was essentially dis-invited to the event due to his opposing opinion.
- The Pope reportedly thinks that gays are “underdeveloped”- a statement that I will not even begin to remotely comment on.

 Today however, I was pushed over the edge, when I read about how a Bishop in Minneapolis responded to a letter from a woman whose son is gay. The Archbishop said;

 “Those who do not [believe the teaching of the Church on this matter] cannot consider themselves to be Catholic and ought not to participate in the sacramental life of the Church.

Indeed, some may find this a hard saying but many of Jesus’ teachings were likewise received as such. I urge you to reconsider the position that you expressed in your letter. Your eternal salvation may well depend upon a conversation of heart on this topic.” 

 A new day has dawned in the Religion vs LGBT debate, particularly the Roman Catholic Church vs LGBT debate. This is no longer a matter of the Church defending her view of marriage, now it is going so far as to say; that a mother who supports her gay son may not find salvation, just for being gay you shouldn't receive communion, and if you vote in favor of gay marriage you shouldn't participate in the Sacramental life of the Church.

 What the hell is going on??

 When I still practiced my Catholic faith in the Roman expression, I took solace in the fact that the Church only felt that gay “actions” were morally wrong (not just being gay). That was acceptable for many people, I think; after all, the Church feels the same way about heterosexual sex outside of marriage. “They just don’t like sex in general” I always thought, but given my background I understood the gist of these teachings. Sex has a value that is under appreciated in society, and it is an expression of intimacy that is being abused by acts that take place outside of love and commitment. I could accept that.

 For a long time I had no issue with the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on gay marriage. I told customers at the bar many times, whenever the discussion came up in fact; gays don’t want to march down the isle of a Cathedral and get married, they want the legal right to do it in a courtroom, what’s wrong with that. The Church defended their religious views, and the nation could battle over the politics…done deal.

 Now however this has been elevated to a new level. Now this activism that is sparking up in the Roman Church says something that should concern all people who identify as any kind of Catholic; gay or straight, Roman or Independent, democrat or republican.

 It affects everyone, gay and straight, because now it has been said that your participation in the Sacramental life of the Church (and indeed Salvation itself) is dependent upon your opinion of this issue. You don’t even have to be gay anymore; now you can just care about someone who is gay, or support someone who is gay, or vote for a candidate who supports gay marriage. To that mother, who the Archbishop said should worry about her eternal salvation if she continued to support her gay son; I would say just the opposite. There is a special place in heaven for parents of gay children, who are dealing with a revelation about their kids that they don’t understand. They are worried about their kids, and all they know about homosexuality is what the media has fed them, and what they hear from the pulpit. A parent who puts all that aside and wants to stand by their children is admirable, blessed, and should be applauded; especially considering 24% of kids (at least in Rhode Island), who “come out” at home find themselves homeless. Whose salvation is at risk there? Who is going to take the responsibility for that statistic?

 The Church is no longer standing by her teaching; they are instead turning into bigots. This is no longer about standing up for doctrine, it’s about giving themselves to fear; fear of something they don’t understand, something they don’t want to understand. Am I saying that if you don’t agree with same sex marriage you are a bigot? No, not at all. What I am saying is that these statements no longer are supportive of “the human dignity of the homosexual person”, that the Roman Church purports herself to protect – and when you defile the human dignity of another, based on a specific characteristic, you are in fact a bigot.

 It doesn't build, my (or anyone else’s) human dignity, to sit and listen to someone say that people can’t go to communion (even if they themselves are straight and happily married), if they hold a private opinion about legislation pertaining to my rights. It doesn't build human dignity to know that a woman is told she shouldn't receive communion if she supports her gay son.

 Why do I care? I’m not a Roman Catholic, so I shouldn't be effected…but I am still a Catholic. I am still, like it or not, united to that Church through the Eucharist; the Sacrament that has become a prize to be won, instead of a gift that has been given.

 I care because as a Priest and as someone who works in the Human Services/Social Work field, I have given my life to the building up of human dignity…and these statements are a direct attack on that dignity.

 I care because I think of the gay Priests out there, who serve under the Roman expression of our faith…and I feel for them. I feel for the ones who are gay, and faithful to their promises, and by virtue of all of these statements are only beaten into the ground. As I have said before, if this weren't a matter of bigotry…if the Church was truly simply defending their position on marriage…if the Church was true to their own teaching, then a gay Roman Catholic Priest who is true to his promise of celibacy should be able to be totally “out” as a homosexual.

I care because there are Roman Priests, who don’t care; who would rather live double lives then stand up for one side or the other.

 I care because it is about The Eucharist.

 The Eucharist is more than a welcoming hug, a sign of acceptance. The Eucharist is what unites us, and what makes us all Catholic - not our stance on homosexuality...to say otherwise is an offense to the Eucharist. The sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the Cross; it’s Jesus Christ, giving His body for our Salvation. On the cross He handed His body over to sinful human kind and it was destroyed in a violent death; in the Eucharist He hands it over to sinful human kind so that we can become one with Him…so that we can be fed by Him…so that He can be with us at every moment of everyday, and grow in a personal and intimate relationship with Him. Saint Therese of Lisieux once said, when talking about the Eucharist; “It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but rather to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in which He takes delight.”

 Who is anyone of us, priest, Pope, or otherwise, to rob Jesus Christ of His delight?

 Someone asked me this week, “so your Church is like a Catholic Church?” No – it is a Catholic church, and I am not ashamed of it – but we are not a Roman Catholic Church – and I am not ashamed of that either! We are Independent Catholics…we are Old Catholics, and we make no excuses about it; and I give thanks to God daily that I have found a place where the Eucharist is what it is supposed to be…what it was given to us to be…and not where it is simply treated like an “I voted” sticker we receive when leaving the polls. Wherever you go to Mass, whoever you are, and whoever you love; take comfort in knowing that the primary concern of Jesus Christ, is you; you and your relationship with Him…because that's the only reason He came to us in the first place.