SYNOD - Report #5: Environment, social justice emerge as eucharistic themes

While contentious issues such as celibacy and communion for divorced and remarried Catholics have dominated headlines in the early days of the Synod of Bishops, quietly a number of other surprising themes are emerging, including the connection between the Eucharist and ecology.

Two bishops from the developing world have insisted that if the Eucharist is the summit of all creation, then it necessarily implies concern for the integrity of the environment.

Both men have linked this concern with real-world problems of environmental degradation experienced in their countries.

“Climactic change presents a serious threat to world peace. It is an authentic ‘sign of the times’ that demands of us an ‘ecological conversion,’” said Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo, Peru, on Oct. 4.

“The church has a huge responsibility in this spiritual field,” said Barreto Jimeno, a Jesuit.

“As ‘fruit of the earth’, the bread and the wine represent the creation which is entrusted to us by our Creator,” Barreto Jimeno said. “For that reason the Eucharist has a direct relationship with the life and hope of humanity and must be a constant concern for the church and a sign of Eucharistic authenticity.”

“[In] the Archdiocese of Huancayo, the air, the ground and the basin of the river Mantaro are seriously affected by contamination,” he said. “The Eucharist commits us to working so that the bread and wine be fruit of ‘a fertile, pure and uncontaminated land.’”

Bishop Gabriel Peñate Rodríguez, Apostolic Vicar of Izabal in Guatemala, made much the same argument in his Oct. 5 intervention.

“Guatemala is a country menaced by mineral exploitation,” Peñate Rodríguez said.

“Many licenses have been granted in this field to companies from developed countries who do not guarantee the care of the environment, and show no respect for the rights of the indigenous communities; and that are not fair in the distribution of profits, from which they leave hardly one per cent in form of royalties.”

Using much the same language as his fellow Latin American Barreto Jimeno, Peñate Rodríguez issued a plea: “We also hope that the bread that is converted in the body of the Lord and the wine which is converted into his blood may be fruit of a fertile, pure and uncontaminated land,” he said.

Another theme struck by bishops from the global South has been the importance of small Christian communities in offering catechesis and forming authentic Eucharistic devotion.

“Discipleship, as knowledge and recognition, goes together with an interpersonal relationship,” he said. “This normally takes place in small communities and movements; it is difficult that it takes place in the crowd, and even less in a multitude.”

Up to now there has been very little deep personal contact between Catholics within the parish structure,” he said. “But in recent years Asian believers have been building up a sense of communion with their brothers and sisters in faith through the small Christian communities.”

“People who experience this sense of communion with their neighbors are better prepared to deepen their sense of communion within the context of Eucharist,” U-Il said. “From this point of view the vitalization of small Christian communities is an excellent means of helping believers to deeply understand the value of the Eucharist and to participate more fully in its celebration.”

One other point that surfaced in Oct. 5 discussions was the intrinsic link between the Eucharist and social justice. Patriarch Grégoire III Laham of the Greek- Melkhite rite quoted Eastern fathers of the church to make the point.

“St. John Chrysostom, in his 50th Homily on St. Matthew, says, ‘The mystery of the Eucharist is the mystery of the brother, and judgment will be on the way we link together the mystery of Christ present in the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament present in the brothers,’ “ Laham said.

“In the fourth century, Narsaï the Syrian also tells us, ‘Holiness without your brother man is not holiness, for you cannot enter the Kingdom alone.’ “

An area of clash came in discussion of the Eucharist as sacrifice, and the need to balance between the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the Mass.

In the open session Wednesday night, Cardinal George Pell of Australia voiced concern that talk about “various presences” of Christ, such as in the community, in scripture, and in the individual believer can blur the centrality of the real presence in the Eucharist.

One bishop from Eastern Europe warned that a lack of reverence in treating the Eucharist reflected “maybe even veiled forms of profanation.”

At the same time, Bishop Jacques Perrier of Lourdes, France, warned that an exclusive focus on the real presence of Christ in the reserved host could lead precisely to a neglect of the other “real presences,” and an overly individualistic sense of the sacrament.

For the first time so far, two addresses in the synod drew applause Thursday morning: Archbishop Lucian Muresan from Romania, who offered a moving testimony on the suffering of the churches behind the Iron Curtain, and Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud, who ended with a strong plea for unity among the various branches of the Christian family, including the capacity to celebrate the Eucharist around a common table.

Pope Benedict XVI was present Thursday morning, and was applauded as he exited by a group of American seminarians from the North American College.

In a touch reminiscent of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter carrying his own luggage, Benedict appeared the morning of Oct. 6 carrying his own tote bag with the documents from the synod, an “everyman” touch uncharacteristic of previous popes.

In other synod business, results of voting for the moderators and relators of the 12 small working groups were released. Among American participants, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was selected as the moderator of English Group A, while Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh is the relator of English Group B.

“In the fourth century, Narsaï the Syrian also tells us, ‘Holiness without your brother man is not holiness, for you cannot enter the Kingdom alone.’ “

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Two points stand out here for me as an Orthodox Christian. First, this rather out of the blue commentary on the environment. This is very patristic. The Fathers taught that all of creation was created for theosis, not just us. Man in his pre-Fall state had the potential both for his own theosis, but also, through his own holiness, to consecrate the physical world. By bringing sin into the world, not only did man distort his own nature, but also that of the physical world around him and the natural disaters we see around us are more often than not the result of the weight of sin on creation. Creation was in fact given to us by God and we are to have dominion over it, but it is given to us in the nature of God's stewards over God's creation.

Second is the point on brotherhood, the Eucharistic community. The Eastern Fathers always taught that we, as a general rule (true asetical hermits being the exception and they are very rare)are saved within and as part of the Eucharistic community. To an Orthodox Christian or an Eastern Rite Christian in Communion with Rome, this seems self evident. To the Latin Rite Christian, especially of the more conservative stripe, this seems foreign. Those of us "of an age" remember the "old ladies mumbling ther beads" during the Liturgy. They were there but they weren't part of the Liturgy, the work of the people. Just as we move towards theosis within and as a part of a Eucharistic community, we also do so as a Liturgical people.

First of all, KNOW, that John Allen is decidedly more of the liberal leaning than most of us in this forum. This source - National Catholic Reporter - is one which we normally disdain and rarely post. That said, I intentionally posted this article tonight simply to demonstrate what we already shun, if that makes any sense. It is, for lack of a better word, an 'opposing' view.

Those of us "of an age" remember the "old ladies mumbling ther beads" during the Liturgy. They were there but they weren't part of the Liturgy, the work of the people. Just as we move towards theosis within and as a part of a Eucharistic community, we also do so as a Liturgical people.

What a comfort it is to read this! That is my "pre Vatican Council II" recollection from the Latin Rite. The old women praying the Rosary during Mass. The younger generation (those born post VCII) have elevated the pre VCII Mass to some sort of euphoric level. I witnessed it first hand and returned to it several years ago, fully expecting that perhaps I had not understood something from my own experience as a child. Stepping into the Church that morning to attend the Indult Tridentine Mass, I recognized that NOTHING had changed. Here were the women praying their rosaries during the Mass. Young families assembled in the pews and I 'relived' my own childhood watching the parents turn the pages in their children's missals. The kids were totally lost. The children were expected to behave like adults, "little soldiers" kneeling straight in their respective pews. They dared not utter a word, or turn a page without the approval of their parents. I couldn't wait to leave the church that day.

In our Maronite Church, I am the one suggesting that the woman's group assume the noble task of praying for our pastor and the community; take over the responsibility of cleaning the church and washing the altar clothes; and fulfilling the Patriarch's recommendation of expanding our understanding of the Syriac language. And I am not even a Maronite! Such a gift! Such a blessing! They all take it for granted, but not me. I have personally witnessed what happens when we neglect our heritage and seek only to have the Maronites acknowledge it.

As you commented on a different thread, the Eastern Catholic prelates are speaking out at this Synold with a clear, bold and noble voice. May the members of the Latin Church hear and heed their voices.

"The younger generation (those born post VCII) have elevated the pre VCII Mass to some sort of euphoric level. I witnessed it first hand and returned to it several years ago, fully expecting that perhaps I had not understood something from my own experience as a child. Stepping into the Church that morning to attend the Indult Tridentine Mass, I recognized that NOTHING had changed. Here were the women praying their rosaries during the Mass. Young families assembled in the pews and I 'relived' my own childhood watching the parents turn the pages in their children's missals. The kids were totally lost. The children were expected to behave like adults, "little soldiers" kneeling straight in their respective pews. They dared not utter a word, or turn a page without the approval of their parents. I couldn't wait to leave the church that day."

But you see, NYer, it wasn't really the Tridentine Mass that was the problem, but rather a centuries long inculcating of the people that they were simply individual, autononmous observers of the Mass. That is not what the Liturgy was ever meant, properly, to be. The Liturgy is just what its name says it is, the work of the people, not as individuals but as a community together. The problem lies in a mindset which took hold of the Western Church centuries ago and which, luckily, never got into Orthodoxy or all of the Eastern Rite Churches in communion with Rome. Your own Maronite Church, however, as your priest will tell you, became almost completely Latinized, something which of late, by the grace of God, that Church has been moving away from.

Not all of us younger Post-V2 Catholics want the Tridentine Mass to be a carbon copy of the liturgical culture of the 1950's.

I firmly believe in full liturgical participation. I have studied and mastered the Latin language, not just because I had to in High School, but because I believe it is necessary to know be better able to participate in ther Liturgy (and not rely on goofy translations).

We live in a mono-glot society where non-English is scorned. This mindset has and continues to infect many Catholics in addition to the population at large. I disdain this mentality. The easiest way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. This is very easy to do if one actually makes the slighest effort to follow the Mass actively.

Unfortunately, many of my Trad brethren have a "Low Mass" mentality or are simply indifferent to this. This issue of liturgical participation will continue to be a matter of contention in the traditional circles.

However, I would not characterize the younger generation as being for the good old days of Low Mass. In fact, it is my generation that is the most receptive to actively participating in the Tridentine Mass. All we need is good instruction and nudging from liturgically minded priests and other leaders of example.

And yes, the Latins do have a lot to learn from the East concerning liturgical participation. It is a sad fact of history that liturgical minimalism has infected the West.

NYER, I believe your experience of the TLM is accurate for the situation in Troy, NY. That would be a minimalist Indult setting, hardly an ideal TLM. Contrast this with a typical FSSP or SSPX Church. In these latter, you would discover a much richer (but not quite perfect) liturgical culture a la "Mediator Dei." In fact, this very reason for the differences in one TLM to another is why we are moving to NJ next year. We are going to be full time parishioners in a liturgically active, and diocesan TLM Church as opposed to the sorry minimalist Indult in Baltimore.

C'mon now, not everyone is a monoglot.

We picked up the Viadana "Exultate Justi in Domino" tonight at choir practice. I sang it 2-3 times in my old (Episcopal) church, and amazingly all the Latin just rolled out. I didn't even need the music (which was good because we were short on copies.)

Exultate Justi

Isn't that nice?

Exultate justi in Domino;
rectos decet collaudatio.
Confitemini Domino in cithara;
in psalterio decem chordarum, psallite illi.
Cantate ei canticum novum;
bene psallite ei in voci feratione.
Quia rectum est verbum Domini,
et omnia opera ejus in fide.
Diligit misericordiam et judicium,
misericordia Domini, plena est terra.

Rejoice o ye just in the Lord
for the upright is worthy of praise.
Sing praises to the Lord with the harp,
Praise him with the psaltery of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song,
Sing praises to him with a loud voice.
For the word of the Lord is right,
and his works are done in truth.
He loves righteousness and judgement,
the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

(of course now it's stuck in my head. But it's better to have GOOD music stuck in your head . . . )

"Here were the women praying their rosaries during the Mass. Young families assembled in the pews and I 'relived' my own childhood watching the parents turn the pages in their children's missals. The kids were totally lost."

I have been to one SSPX Mass. It was in Tokyo, celebrated by a priest who has no domicile, but commutes from Tokyo to Osaka and the Philippines, subsisting primarily on the charity of those he serves.

As the SSPX has no structures in those areas, he carries his "Church" with him in large and heavy cases.

I arrived early, and was able to watch as he and some parishoners transformed an ordinary Japanese meeting hall with a tatami mat floor into a suitable space for a Mass.

There were only about twenty or twenty-five people there, but there was no problem with people being "lost" or not participating. Except, I think, a couple of the occidental adults were lost during the homily, which was in Japanese.

Frankly, I never understood what the problem is with the old ladies saying their rosaries during the Mass. How many hundreds of times have they heard it before? They could probably recite it. Are they closed off from the Graces of the Mass because they are not intently listening to another repetition?

The priest is celebrating the Mass. He is the one who has that authority. He is the one who speaks the words of consecration. The LOLs are there, they are praying, and they receive the eucharist. Where is the need to meddle with them? Why can't people just leave them alone?

And that goes for anybody else who does not wish to be outwardly demonstrative. Larry the Cable Guy wasn't that far off in his description (paraphrasing from memory): "Up, down, up, down, do a couple of shots, up, down, up, down, shake hands with everybody around you..."

If my physical infirmities allow me to kneel on a given day, that's the extent of the outward show I want to make, and I do that not for the people around me, but directly from me to Our Lord. I don't want to shake hands. I don't want to hold hands during the Pater Noster. I don't want to sing (or, in my case, croak). The NO tries to force you to be outwardly demonstrative.

I just figured out how to put into words one thing that really bothers me about the NO: It just **reeks** of busybodies who can't leave people alone but are driven to tell everyone else what they *must* do. LEAVE ME ALONE!.

And that's what I like about the old Mass. It leaves you free to commune with God in the way that suits you. You can follow the words of the Mass. You can drift off into a reverie about how something in the reading applies to your own life. You can just bask in Christ's presence. You can pray quietly for your own intentions. It doesn't try to be some hyper-regimented Chi-com-esque synchronized group performance.

"Not all of us younger Post-V2 Catholics want the Tridentine Mass to be a carbon copy of the liturgical culture of the 1950's."

A hearty Amen to that.

My Juventutem/WYD experience was full-on Solemn High, through-sung, Latin liturgy unambiguously for the glory of God and our own sanctification. It is my intention to, as they say, "bring it".

At the Indult Masses I will soon direct choirs for (if you know singers in Queens and Brooklyn, send them to me!) it is the pastor's intention and my task to have the Masses be through-sung Dialogue Masses with Gregorian propers. I will teach the pastor the sung formulas for the readings and prayers. And, no, we will never force the faithful to sing the parts that pertain to them, but only encourage them while respecting their liberty to worship as they please (as I understand this is Eastern Rite practice).

While I appreciate the pregnant silence of the Low Mass, High Mass was to be the norm for Sundays and solemn feasts. That is what Vatican II intended. Options for a partially vernacular celebration of the classical Latin Rite were given in the 1965 Missal, whose revisions I believe were inspired at least in part by Eastern praxis, based on my experience of English-language Divine Liturgy at the DC Basilica in June, and the "low" Syro-Malabar Divine Liturgy celebrated at Juventutem by Bp. Alencherry of Thuckalay, India. Unfortunately (or fortunately - we shall see what comes out of the synod), this organically-developed revision of the liturgy was unceremoniously dumped after less than 5 years for the novus Ordo Missae, while valid, some have called a "chastisement".

Kolokotronis - I cannot thank the East enough for her examples. While it's said that we Latins are first among equals, I firmly believe that it also means we're first when it comes to institutional blockheadedness. God knows we've proven it time and time again. Pray for us!

(For those interested in the 1965 Missal, a 21-year old student has started a blog dedicated to its study and makes a compelling case for its being the revision intended by Vatican II. I find I am thus far in complete agreement with this thesis. http://traditionalromanmass.blogspot.com/ )

"I firmly believe in full liturgical participation. I have studied and mastered the Latin language, not just because I had to in High School, but because I believe it is necessary to know be better able to participate in ther Liturgy (and not rely on goofy translations)."

As a classics major in college (back in the days when whale oil for our lamps and wood for our fires were part of the room and board bill), I can appreciate your love for Latin and commend you on it, but.... Several years ago we got a new priest in our parish. He gradually moved the Divine Liturgy from almost totally Greek to almost totally English. Initially I was against it, but as time has gone on, I've developed a true love for the English. While I think its silly to say that anyone who had attended the Liturgy regularly didn't understand what it was about or what was said when it was all in Greek (it is in koine/Byzantine Greek, not modern Greek), I think its equally silly to think that everyone understood, for example, the daily services in Great Lent, which are rich in the theology of The Church. Fully participating in these devotions in English, understanding what the priest and cantor are saying as well as understanding my own responses has been quite wonderful. For us, the retention of some Greek is important because it reminds especially the converts who established our parish about 100 years ago, but beyond that, the vernacular has to be the language of choice if we truly believe lex orandi, lex credendi.

This is not to say that I object to Greek for us or Latin for you Western Catholics. I don't. Were it simply all about me, I'd be fine with the Greek or Latin were I a Latin Rite Christian. But the fact is it isn't all about me or even people like me. Since we switched to mostly English, our parish has been blessed with many, many converts who have added immeasurably to the social and spiritual dynamics of our parish. Indeed, our Metropolitan once said to us all, after a Divine Liturgy, that when he looked at us and learned the names and histories of the parishioners, he knew he was looking at the face of the future of Orthodoxy in this country.

At any rate, love your Latin, learn it well, but remember that for most people it always was and will continue to be, something of a barrier to full participation in the Liturgical life of the Church in the West.

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