THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER; THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

So now I am back in harness. I am back to my own room(s) and my own community. What did I learn on retreat? The value of silence, of being quiet in the Presence of the Lord, above all in the Blessed Sacrament. I learnt the value of 'wasting time' with God. The task is to keep it up.

Today we had the Gospel of Jairus with the option of reading the longer text with the woman with a haemorrhage. This Gospel text is really a duet. Jairus, desperate for the life of his daughter, comes to Jesus to do his 'magic' by laying his hand on the girl. In the middle of the crowd the woman, desperate for healing, reaches out to Jesus and through her touch declares her faith in Him. This is dangerous for her. Her bleeding renders her unclean and she consequently defiles those she touches. Jesus, though, knows those who reach out and touch with Him faith and those who merely touch. In response to her testimony He confirms her healing.

This is a lesson for Jairus and for us. Touching Jesus and being touched by Him is no small thing. For Jews the closest one got to God was at Jerusalem, in the Temple. Even then only the High Priest, once a year, got to approach and enter the Holy of Holies. Here is He who makes holy. He is surrounded, jostled and unrecognised, unacknowledged. Here He is, open to faith but not just to desperation and He works a miracle in response to Jairus' growing faith.

We too get to approach and touch Jesus. Through Baptism and Confirmation we are the Body of Christ, His presence in the world. We get to receive Him at Mass in the Blessed Sacrament. How have we used our hands, our tongues in the last twenty-four hours? Do we approach Him in faith or in desperation or worse with indifference, obeying the impulse of habit or duty?

We receive Him and He expects us to carry Him to those who do not. He expects us to reach out and touch those in our society who are hurting or lost and bring His healing to them. We are to be His hands, His touch, His voice in the world. We are to say to those who are broken, "Arise!" "Arise, O sleeper, arise from the dead and Christ our light will shine on you!"

A POST FROM A QUIET PLACE

I am on a directed retreat at the moment in our friary at Ards peninsula, Co. Donegal. Donegal is about as far north as one can go in Ireland. It's in the north-western corner and Ards is a peninsula (one of a number) on its north-western edge. For a 'Dub' it's miles from anywhere. At the moment it is raining but not as cold as it has been. Unlike my home friary there are very few children nearby, there is little traffic and I can hear the sea, the wind and the birds. The air is clean and fresh and these days comes straight from the Arctic.

I am here with another friar on a private retreat. Last year I made my directed retreat in Dublin, in silence. That was good but not as life-giving as this one. Perhaps it is because last year my Dad was sick and dying or that retreat house had tiny rooms and I get claustrophobic or perhaps it is because I have a big room here, we're not bound to silence and the director is one of our own. Speaking of directors ours can, while giving direction, quote from multiple languages, some of them biblical, sometimes all in the same sentence and even 'redact back' to what the author would've said but decided to leave out. Very funny and very helpful. I am learning to waste time with God, to let God be God and let the silence do the talking.

GOD COMES HUMBLY TO HIS PEOPLE: THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE

This is the icon of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. Obliged by the Mosaic Law Mary and Joseph go to the temple, the heart of the Jewish religion, to offer up the sacrifice of two doves, the offering of the poor. They have toiled their way up through the city to the Temple and up the long stairs and now God made man is carried into the temple built for His worship. The new Ark of the Covenant, the pure tongs who holds in her arms Christ the burning coal sent to purify man, stands on the temple mount. The true Holy of Holies is in the midst of the people of Israel, the Law-giver comes as a subject of the Law and hardly anyone notices.

The icon shows the moment when the Blessed Virgin handed over her Son to Simeon for circumcision. No mother wants her child to suffer but as a Jewess her heart also must have swelled with joy too, joy that her Son was to become an official member of Israel, the Chosen People. She stands near the altar which is covered by a ciborium, a dome on four pillars. This is a reference to the Mass, the Divine Liturgy, where Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross is offered to the Father and His Body and Blood are made present. She who gave God a body and blood now presents her Son so that He may offer His Body and shed His Blood for us.

Joseph stands at the left. In his hands are the two doves. Here is a man of silence. His words are nowhere recorded but the Father put His Son and the Mother of His Son into his care. There can be no greater tribute. The two doves were offered to 'redeem' the life of the first born. The Redeemer is redeemed with the sacrifice of the poor. He comes humbly and silently in the arms of a maiden.

Simeon bows to receive the Precious Son of God made man. In the Orthodox Liturgy for this feast he is said to tremble. Christ Himself is shown as the man-child, already aware of His Mission. Behind the Blessed Virgin, the Theotokos, stands Anna. In her hand is a scroll whose inscription I cannot decipher but it does not seem to be a quotation of Simeon's words. She is already spreading the word of the extraordinary event.

ONE 'YES' OPENS UP ETERNITY: THE ICON OF THE ANNUNCIATION

This is the second image in the series. It's the Annunciation to the Virgin of the Divine plan. Gabriel's right hand shows only three fingers because it forms the name of Jesus Christ in the manner of the Orthodox priestly blessing. His fingers form the name for he is both pronouncing it and conveying the blessing but it is hidden because as yet the Virgin is the first human to hear it. His left hand holds the staff os his office as a messenger and servant of the Most High. 'Full of grace' he calls her. She who is sinless and devoid of any evil, is also full of merit and virtue. She is as humanity was meant to be and she through her 'yes' opens the way for what humanity will become. The little spool of thread in her hand is a reference both to the garment without seam that she will weave for her son but also to her weaving a body for him from her own flesh.

From the very top of the icon the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove with rays of light flashing forth. He descends at the Virgins and as once He hovered over the waters at the creation of the Earth so He comes to dwell in her who is to be the Mother of God. The Virgin, in traditional inner blue and out purple, stands to receive God's message. The blue denotes her sanctified human nature while the purple refers to the Divine glory that overshadows her. He 'yes' makes our 'yes' possible. Her heart will be pierced by a sword of sorrow because it is utterly open to the will of God. Through her sorrow and that of her Son our joy will be eternal. In this moment the road to Calvary and the empty tomb, the way to heaven and into the very heart of God is opened.

One small note: the lights on Gabriel's robe are sometimes called 'lyric lights' as if the very poetry of his being were shining through his clothes.

GOD DOES NOT STAND ALOOF; THE ICON OF THE NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN

I actually posted this a few days ago at my other blog but I think it more appropriate here.

Some years back two of my fellow Capuchins and I made a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, the heart of Orthodoxy. We visited the monasteries of Xenophontos, Gregoriou, Dionysiou, Paulou, and the skete of Agia Anna. It is a place to which we would like to return one day. While there and in Thessaloniki I collected as many prints of icons as I could and among my collection there are packs of postcards featuring icons.

This is the birth of the Virgin. It is the first in a set known as the Dodekaorton. The virgin appears as a baby in the bottom left as she is prepared for her bath and in her crib at the feet of her mother, St. Anne. At the bottom right a young girl is weaving. St. Anne is the chief character of this icon robed in red and contemplating the extraordinary events that have accompanied the birth of her daughter. Behind her she embrace Joachim her husband ad reference to the conception of the Virgin. To the upper left Joachim is in prayer while at the top right the angel comes to tell him of God's favourable answer. Facing St. Anne the ladies approach with spools of thread and food near a table with seems set for a meal. The spool like the distaff in the hands of the girl at the lower right is a symbol of Anne's having 'woven' the flesh of Mary in her womb (Ps. 139).

This icon celebrates the faith and courage of those who prepared the way for our Saviour. These are the grandparents of Christ and their struggles made the conception and birth of the Virgin possible which in turn led to the Incarnation of the Word. Christ was not born in vacuum but into the history of a family and a people, into the history of the world. He does not often announce His plans in advance and even then they are often beyond our wildest imaginings. He asks us only to be faithful and to do His will. He does the rest. He does not stay apart and aloof but approaches us with utter gentlest, humility and compassion. God does not stand aloof; you will always find Him in the lowest place.

POPE BENEDICT'S MESSAGE TO THE INTERNATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS

Fr. Mark, over at Vultus Christi, has both a commentary and the text of the Holy Father's message.

CLERICALISM, CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM: THE ENEMIES OF ORTHODOXY

Many years ago while I was still studying for ordination one of our friars who was on a course here in Dublin came home with a story to tell. At the Mass that day a well known Irish priest had laid his stole on the floor to symbolise the 'priesthood of all believers' and encouraged all the people at the Mass (who were also doing the course) to join him in praying the Eucharistic Prayer except for the consecration which he said on his own. There was some horror around the table at this. On reflection it occurred to me that this could be an example not of some new, liberal theology but of an old theology poorly digested. By keeping the consecration to himself the celebrant was still operating out of traditional Catholic theology that when the priest recites the words of consecration, while intending to do what the Church does at Mass, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. It could be argued from such a position that the rest of the Eucharistic Prayer is just icing on the cake so to speak. Whenever the priest permits the laity to join in or when he alters the text is implicitly asserting such a position. Of course that is not what the Church teaches. Yes the words of consecration 'this is my body' and 'this is the chalice of my blood' are the form to the matter of the bread and wine but that does not mean the rest of the Eucharistic Prayer is pointless. The whole prayer is either leading up to or going on from the consecration but it is directed to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The whole prayer is like a great symphony of which the consecration is the heart, the climax but not the whole work.

The action of that priest could also be seen as an example of clericalism. Clericalism like laicism is the attempt to exceed the boundaries of one's authority and role; it is a violation of the principle of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity requires that no one should do for a 'lesser' (or 'higher') power what it can do for itself. Clericalism occurs whenever the priest does what it is not his role to do; whether it's altering the texts of the Mass, distorting the teaching of the Church, or ignoring the advice of his accountant or sacristan. You could say that clericalism is often at the root of heresy.

One of our friars told me that while at the Eucharistic Congress he was thanked by a lady for being courteous! She did so because so many clergy had been anything but. We went on from there to share other stories that we had heard. That rudeness towards others, especially the laity and even more so when the reputation of the Irish Church is in the gutter, is a form of clericalism. Clericalism is not a manifestation of conservatism or of liberalism. Each is prone to it. There is in the present Irish Church at least a confusion between orthodoxy and conservatism even as liberalism begins to retreat. Conservatism and liberalism are imports from the political and social dimensions of the world. They are not native to the Church. They can be used to describe general tendencies; conservatives wish to uphold stability and preserve what is good while liberals wish to uphold the freedom of the individual to grow and flourish. Liberalism appealed to a sizeable number of clergy from the fifties onwards because it offered them a sense of freedom in what they experienced as a stifling environment. It promised growth and success and greater, easier authenticity. Now that that project is revealed as a mirage conservatism is on the way back promising stability, truth and respect. If the liberalism of the past few decades pushed clericalism out of relationships into liturgy and theology the re-emergence of conservatism threatens to push it back into relationships. (Un)fortunately the laity now have a taste for involvement in the Church and a higher standard of education.

Like liberalism conservatism is easy. Conservatism has easily delineated positions that, within the Church, are usually orthodox. Orthodoxy, the concern to have the right, the true teaching of the Church and give the right glory to God, is not so easy. It is like the difference between someone who likes classical music because that is what he is expected to like and someone who likes classical music because he has learnt to appreciate such music, he recognises the range and complexity of the genre and can discern what is and is not part of it. Not everyone has an ear for great music nor has everyone the sense for what is part of tradition, for what is orthodox and not just conservative. The conservative clergy man can be deluded that if he wears his collar (even better a soutane), does the red and says the black, and makes his authority felt then is being orthodox in some way. I have no problem with soutanes and commend the 'red and black bit' but we are servants not masters and when we exceed our role, when we are rude and arrogant we serve not Christ but His enemies.

Orthodoxy is rooted in charity, that charity which is nourished by the wound in Christ's side. Orthodoxy is found in the lives of the saints. Orthodoxy is visible in humility, compassion and gentle holding to the truth in love.