MAGISTERIUM

 

It dawned on me today that our world is terribly different and shaken, and that the means of social communication are massively contributing toward capsizing or crushing the once steady ship of true common culture and vibrant tradition. Our world is as much off course as it ever was during barbarian onslaughts, when the Roman empire fell apart. 

What do I mean by that? Perhaps too simply and superficially, I would insist that what Elizabeth Lev lauded in her 2018 book as the contribution of Counter-Reformation art to the Catholic Church's comeback in the minds and hearts of Catholic people straight across the board either did not really happen as she recounts it or could no longer happen today at a popular level. 

"Fundamentally, the beauty in these pages is the fruit of conflict, where the natural collides with the supernatural, the universal call to sainthood encounters humanity’s fallen nature, the personal relationship with God confronts the mission of the universal Church, and man’s desire for stability is threatened by the modern options that ever-expanding knowledge brings. The Church proposed that the most fruitful place for this debate, which ignites creativity like flint and tinder, was on canvas, not in the streets." (from the introduction of "How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art" by Elizabeth Lev)

Am I saying that beauty and truth can no longer conquer through pictorial expression? No! I am saying that the temple or corner of the public square, represented for example by that quiet side chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome decorated with canvases by Caravaggio, is no longer accessible to enchant or "entrap" the common man who walks in off the street. The man of today has nowhere to be confronted by discourses about God, life, sanctity, vocation, and conversion. 

It is not so much that painting, sculpture, architecture, and sacred music are no longer captivating, but that they are not as accessible in contemporary society as Lev claims them to have been once upon a time.

We must reject as a way forward the folly of dialogue and accompaniment (anti-Gospel pretensions denying the primacy of repentance and conversion), as that proposal stands before us in tatters. If I were going to write this book, I guess I would start with the wisdom of Saint Benedict, who time and again goes to the most evident and elementary in his Rule. I am always struck, for instance, when he directs his young monks to the seemingly obvious, like when he directs them to take their knives (needed for work) out of their belts, before going to bed at night, so as not to injure themselves in their sleep.

On this Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, might I suggest that the way forward could be as obvious as reminding ourselves of how St. Mark opens his Gospel (Mark 1:14-15)?

And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came in Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel: [Catholic Way Publishing. The Holy Bible: Douay-Rheims Version (pp. 2708-2709). Catholic Way Publishing. Kindle Edition.] 

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI

Christ the Alpha and the Omega

 

The Feast of the

TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

5-6 August 2023, St. Lambert

 

Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

2 Pt 1:16-19

Mt 17:1-9

Praise be Jesus Christ!

       But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

…they saw no one else but Jesus alone. I have recently concluded that we need to do more to defend ourselves from the deleterious effects of social media consumption. We need to do more to protect our eyes, our hearts, and our minds, and for those entrusted to the care of others, to protect the vulnerable in family and society as well.

You will probably have thought to yourself, maybe you said it out loud, or heard someone else complain that they spend too much time scrolling on their phone or that screen time wasted on any number of devices has become a trap for them, for us. We complain and yet remain for the most part hooked, even if it’s just to playing solitaire or some other game. Some of these games claim they’ll keep your mind young and alert or maybe spare you from Alzheimer’s or senility. Dream on! As convinced as we may be that we want to break with these things, we still fall back into the habit and find that our housework, our schoolwork, or our job is not getting done or suffers as a result of our (let’s call it) addiction. We’re in a rut and perhaps even losing out on needed sleep time.

       I can remember coming home from college (1968-72) and sitting down occasionally in the afternoon with Mom for her two favorite soap operas on TV. Despite never watching them myself at school, I never had the impression during those brief holiday visits of having missed out on anything in the months I was at school. It was never hard to pick up the storyline. At some point Mother must have concluded that those programs were a waste of time, because one vacation I returned from school, and noted that her world no longer stopped for that hour in the afternoon for those two shows. I asked what had changed and her response was that she had given them up as they made her nervous. As the years went on, I noted that, except for a couple programs on EWTN, TV held no interest for her at all. Instead, Mom eagerly retired to the easy chair in her bedroom not only for some privacy while doing her COPD breathing treatments, but more and more to pray her rosary and to do spiritual reading, especially from her Magnificat.

       But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

       I suppose I should properly be preaching about this Sunday’s great mystery, the Transfiguration, about how seeing the Lord in glory on the mount in the company of Moses and Elijah helped prepare Peter, James, and John for the scandal of the Cross. Instead, I keep coming back to those words just quoted. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

       …they saw no one else but Jesus alone. Not only screentime but our social life abounds with popular opinions and disbelieving attitudes which distract us from the One only Who is necessary, Jesus. Our Lord elsewhere in the Gospel chides Martha, the sister of Mary and Jesus’ friend Lazarus, telling her to stop fussing about the details of hospitality and to leave her sister Mary alone to continue there at Jesus’ feet, focusing entirely on Him: “Martha, Martha… Mary has chosen the better part and it shall not be taken from her.”

       What did Peter, James, and John see up on Mount Tabor? They saw the beloved Son of God the Father, all radiant, lifted up and confirmed by the witness of the Law and the Prophets (Moses and Elijah). They were instructed, enlightened if you will, about how Jesus alone should always and everywhere be sufficient for them. That would be my point to you, also my message for us.

       In our first reading the Prophet Daniel covers the same ground. “The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.”

       “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

       What is Catholicism all about in its essence? What should we be celebrating at Sunday Mass? What is the point of everything we say and do in our lives? The message of the Transfiguration clarifies that point by stating clearly that Jesus alone is enough.

       St. Peter in his letter has another nice way of putting it. We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

       So, in good company with St. Peter I will recommend to you the same. … we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

       Maybe the fulness of Gospel truth has not quite dawned on us yet. Maybe we need to expend a greater effort to stay focused on what is central to our faith. Don’t go chasing after novelty, scrolling up and down on your phone. Live as Peter, James, and John did the grandiose experience and truth of Christ’s Transfiguration but do not just be amazed by God in Christ. Follow through as they did without or beyond any glorious visions or manifestations.  Simply let Jesus come and touch you. Start by forgetting all the lesser distractions, the screens, big or small. It would be well worth it if you could hear Him saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And never forget or doubt the message. …when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. God in Christ alone matters. All the rest just makes us nervous or dumbs us down.

       Praised be Jesus Christ!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI