In the Breaking of the Bread

Every Eucharist is introduced with the reminder that the sacrament of Jesus' self-gift originates "in the same night he was betrayed." Those who eat at Jesus' table are his betrayers, then as now, yet from the death and hell to which our betrayal condemns him, he returns to break bread with us as before. It is no simple fellowship meal.

All meals with Jesus after Calvary speak of the restoration of a fellowship broken by human infidelity: the wounded body and shed blood are inescapably present. We do not eucharistically remember a distant meal in Jerusalem, nor even a distant death, we are made 'present to ourselves' as people complicit in the betrayal and death of Jesus and yet still called and accepted, still companions of Christ - those who break bread with him. When the Church performs the eucharistic action it is what it is called to be: The Easter Community, guilty and restored, the gathering of those whose identity is defined by their new relation to Jesus crucified and risen, who identify themselves as forgiven. What happens in the eucharist is that the Church assembles simply to make this identification in praise and gratitude, and to show in concrete form its dependence on Christ. It is an action which announces what the community's life means, where the activity radically opens to the creative activity of God in Jesus. Every sacrament is a sharing in Easter, in the paschal mystery. All their betrayals are to be understood as betrayals of him, and through that understanding comes forgiveness and hope.

Philippe Rouillard, From Human Meal to Christian Eucharist

Can Doctrine Develop?

When Saint Augustine of Hippo developed the doctrine of original sin in the fifth century, he said that due to the iniquity of our first parents all children who died before they were baptized were destined to hell. In the Middle Ages, this doctrine was soften suggesting that the unbaptized would dwell in a suspended state, neither in hell nor heaven. Their eternal address would be "limbo" coming from the Latin "limbus" meaning 'hem' or 'edge' suggesting that the child would share in a state of natural happiness outside heaven.

For several years the Roman Church has been studying this teaching and fifteen years ago removed it from their catechism. However, this restrictive view of salvation has finally been put to rest under the authority of Benedict VI of Rome. The new study states that there are "serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and brought into eternal happiness."

As a more open and broad understanding of salvation takes hold within the church the critics are complaining that removing the teaching of limbo will discourage the christening of infants, making baptism a formality and not a necessity, and no longer will there be an argument to present to parents who make the agonizing decision to abort the fetus, because without limbo those fetuses will no longer be denied communion with God.

What do we make of this development of doctrine? Do you think it is possible for other doctrine to be developed that would present a more open, inclusive, invitation to salvation and human wholeness?

Mystagogia #2

United in faith and love, through the Paschal Mystery, of our Lord's dying and rising, we may overcome the demonic forces within the world, remain faithful to the gift of grace that we have received being assured of our salvation. May our lives reveal true liberty and enjoy the happiness of heaven that we have already begun to taste and experience on earth, being able to express with our lives the reason for the hope that is within us.

Feast of Saint Anselm of Canterbury

Almighty God, you raised up your servant Anselm to teach the Church of his day to understand its faith in your eternal Being, perfect justice, and saving mercy. Provide your Church in every age with devout and learned scholars and teachers, that we may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 64

On Constituting an Abbot

Once he has been constituted,
let the Abbot always bear in mind
what a burden he has undertaken
and to whom he will have to give an account of his stewardship,
and let him know that his duty is rather to profit his brothers
than to preside over them.
Hhe must therefore be learned in the divine law,
that he may have a treasure of knowledge
from which to bring forth new things and old.
Hhe must be chaste, sober and merciful.
Let him exalt mercy above judgment,
that he himself may obtain mercy.
He should hate vices;
He should love the brethern.

In administering correction
He should act prudently and not go to excess,
lest in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust
He break the vessel.
Let him keep his own frailty ever before his eyes
and remember that the bruised reed must not be broken.
By this we do not mean that he should allow vices to grow;
on the contrary, as we have already said,
he should eradicate them prudently and with charity,
in the way which may seem best in each case.
Let him study rather to be loved than to be feared.

Let him not be excitable and worried,
nor exacting and headstrong,
nor jealous and over-suspicious;
for then he is never at rest.

In his commands let him be prudent and considerate;
and whether the work which he enjoins
concerns God or the world,
let him be discreet and moderate,
bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said,
"If I cause my flocks to be overdriven,
they will all die in one day."
Taking this, then, and other examples of discretion,
the mother of virtues,
let him so temper all things
that the strong may have something to strive after,
and the weak may not fall back in dismay.

And especially let him keep this Rule in all its details,
so that after a good ministry
he may hear from the Lord what the good servant heard
who gave the fellow-servants wheat in due season:
"Indeed, I tell you, he will set that one over all his goods" (Matt. 24:27).

Liviu

In the midst of the darkness shined a life-giving light, as Liviu Librescu, 76, a Holocaust survivor, stood at the door of room 204 in order to free his students from pending death by the insane Cho who massacred students and faculty at Virginia Tech. Allowing his students to escape through the classroom window, Liviu was fatally wounded.

Hero is too shallow of a word to describe the final acts of this wonderful man, whom many called "father". There is no doubt that the final act of his life reflects that way he lived every moment. The shema was carved into his heart. In him the Torah is made flesh and dwells among us.

This Romanian was killed on Yom Hashoah, the international day that commemorates Holocaust victims. May we give thanks to God for revealing the inner heart of what it means to be human.

The Thirteenth Day of Easter

O Lord, you have saved us through the Paschal mystery of Christ: Continue to support your people with heavenly gifts, that we may attain true liberty, and enjoy the happiness of heaven which we have begun to taste on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 64

On Constituting an Abbot

In the constituting of an Abbot
let this plan always be followed,
that the office be conferred on the one who is chosen
either by the whole community unanimously in the fear of God
or else by a part of the community, however small,
if its counsel is more wholesome.

Merit of life and wisdom of doctrine
should determine the choice of the one to be constituted,
even if he be the last of the order of the community.

But if (which God forbid)
the whole community should agree to choose a person
who will acquiesce in their vices,
and if those vices somehow become known to the Bishop
to whose diocese the place belongs,
or to the Abbots, Abbesses or the faithful of the vicinity,
let them prevent the success of this conspiracy of the wicked,
and set a worthy steward over the house of God.
They may be sure
that they will receive a good reward for this action
if they do it with a pure intention and out of zeal for God;
as, on the contrary, they will sin if they fail to do it.

Finding Strength

Last night several of us gathered to remember those who had died or were wounded at Virginia Tech on Monday, to lift them up in prayer, to pray for their families and loved ones, and to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the eucharistic meal. The liturgy with its timeless quality drew us close to the suffering and gave us an opportunity to grieve the great loss of life at the university. We rejoiced that among us was a student from Virginia Tech, one of our own, and her parents. Her presence with us gave us an opportunity to live more deeply into the realities of this past week. May we continue to hold in our prayers and hearts those whose lives have been altered for ever by this tragedy.

Feast of Saint Alphege of Canterbury

O loving God, your martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death when he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant that all pastors of your flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; and who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On the Order of the Community

The juniors, therefore, should honor their seniors,
and the seniors love their juniors.

In the very manner of address,
let no one call another by the mere name;
but let the seniors call their juniors Brothers,
and the juniors call their seniors Fathers,
by which is conveyed the reverence due to a father.
But the Abbot,
since he is believed to represent Christ,
shall be called Lord and Abbot,
not for any pretensions of his own
but out of honor and love for Christ.
Let the Abbot himself reflect on this,
and show himself worthy of such an honor.

And wherever the brethren meet one another
the junior shall ask the senior for his blessing.
When a senior passes by,
a junior shall rise and give him a place to sit,
nor shall the junior presume to sit with him
unless his senior bid him,
that it may be as was written,
"In honor anticipating one another."

Boys, both small and adolescent,
shall keep strictly to their rank in oratory and at table.
But outside of that, wherever they may be,
let them be under supervision and discipline,
until they come to the age of discretion.

The Eleventh Day of Easter

Grant, O Lord, that we may so live in the Paschal mystery that the joy of these fifty days may continually strengthen us, and assure us of our salvation; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 63

On the Order of the Community

Let all keep their places in the monastery
established by the time of their entrance,
the merit of their lives and the decision of the Abbot.
Yet the Abbot must not disturb the flock committed to him,
nor by an arbitrary use of his power ordain anything unjustly;
but let him always think
of the account he will have to render to God
for all his decisions and his deeds.

Therefore in that order which he has established
or which they already had,
let the brethren approach to receive the kiss of peace and Communion,
intone the Psalms and stand in choir.
And in no place whatever should age decide the order
or be prejudicial to it;
for Samuel and Daniel as mere boys judged priests.

Except for those already mentioned, therefore,
whom the Abbot has promoted by a special decision
or demoted for definite reasons,
all the rest shall take their order
according to the time of their entrance.
Thus, for example,
he who came to the monastery at the second hour of the day,
whatever be his age or his dignity,
must know that he is junior
to one who came at the first hour of the day.
Boys, however, are to be kept under discipline
in all matters and by everyone.

Receiving Holy Communion

Several Sundays ago, a parishioner asked about the correct way to receive the eucharistic bread and wine. Tradition informs us that we are to receive "into our hands" the Sacrament of the Lord's Body; we should not receive it with our fingers, nor with one hand only. Our practice comes from the teaching of Cyril of Jerusalem, 382 AD, "by making the left hand a throne for the right, and hollowing the palm of the right to receive the Body of Christ, " by placing the left hand under the right, both hands being held open and lifting them together to be received by the mouth. Also, it is proper to use the hands, guiding the chalice, in the reception of the Blood of Christ.

Though one may receive only the consecrated Bread (since the Real Presence of Christ is manifested in both the Bread and the Wine), the Chalice has its own special grace - "the grace of gladdening." As a physical banquet is incomplete without drink, so Christ's Spiritual Banquet can only be completely enjoyed, with entire satisfaction for the soul, if to spiritual eating is added spiritual drinking. Indeed the common cup powerfully suggests human fellowship of an intimate, unselfish, generous, and uplifting nature.

(Some notes drawn from Liturgy and Worship: A Companion to the Prayer Books of the Anglican Communion, 1964>

A Poem: death came ....

death came
to blacksburg
yesterday
in a cloud of
murderous rage
as children
were slaughtered
in the academic halls
of a university.

death came
to blacksburg
yesterday
as Seung-Hui Cho
"a normal looking kid"
they say fired rounds
of ammunition in
dorm and classroom
brutalizing, terrorizing,
destroying human life.

death came
to blacksburg
yesterday
and we yearn
to know why;
our grief is unrelenting
our sorrow weighty
with tormenting emptiness.

death came
to our children
yesterday
in the blackness
of gun powder
and the horror
of madness.

death came,
death came,
my God, my God why ....?

The Tenth Day of Easter

O God, by the waters of Baptism you have renewed those who believe in you: Come to the help of those who have been reborn in Christ, that they may overcome the wiles of the devil, and continue faithful to the gifts of grace they have received from you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, wo lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 62

On the Priests of the Monastery

If an Abbot desire
to have a priest or a deacon ordained for his monastery,
let him choose one
who is worthy to exercise the priestly office.

But let the one who is ordained
beware of self-exaltation or pride;
and let him not presume to do anything
except what is commanded him by the Abbot,
knowing that he is so much the more subject
to the discipline of the Rule.
Nor should he by reason of his priesthood forget
the obedience and the discipline required by the Rule,
but make ever more and more progress towards God.

Let him always keep the place which he received
on entering the monastery,
except in his duties at the altar
or in case the choice of the community and the will of the Abbess
should promote him for the worthiness of his life.
Yet he must understand
that he is to observe the rules laid down by deans and Priors.

Should he presume to act otherwise,
let him be judged not as a priest but as a rebel.
And if he does not reform after repeated admonitions,
let even the Bishop be brought in as a witness.
If then he still fails to amend,
and his offenses are notorious,
let him be put out of the monastery,
but only if his contumacy is such
that he refuses to submit or to obey the Rule.

A Day of Horror

We can't imagine what it was like to be on the campus of Virginia Tech today when a lone gunman opened fire killing at least 31 people and wounding 29. Those reporting, not knowing what to say have already sensationalized the events by calling it "the deadliest campus shooting" in American history. I am unable to even begin to get my thoughts around this unfathomable thing that has happened. Most of those responding to the events of the morning are speaking out against the NRA, as well as, violence and sex in our media. Only one response was a prayer from a Jewish reader. It will take all of us sometime to comprehend this tragedy. What would cause one human being to destroy human life? What is our response as people of faith to such a barbaric act? How are we affected by the unspeakable? Will our lives be changed by this event? Or will we forget about this horror as the weeks go by? May we pray for the children who were killed and their parents and families. May we pray for the killer and his family? May we pray for the university and all the students and faculty. May we ask Christ to help us to understand and interpret the unimaginable.

Benedictine Spirituality: Hospitality

Reading the Holy Rule must at times appear rather archaic for we find ourselves far from living under discipline and obedience. However, in the midst of what at times must sound harsh and intolerant there is a wonderful spirit of hospitality that we as a parish, or any community of faith, must learn to embrace.

The rule calls the community to receive a guest as Christ, to show honor, charity, humility, kindness toward the stranger, to share the peace of Christ and the Word of God with those who have arrived; and to show even greater care and solicitude toward the poor. All guests and pilgrims are welcome at the Abbot's table giving them seats of honor and respect.

Those who desire to enter for the amendment of life are to test the spirits to see if their desire is of God; and priests desiring to enter must come without any expectation or desiring special treatment, but must take their place among the community. Once living within the monastic community, guest and pilgrims are to respect the communal life of the brothers.

How does such a spirituality of hospitality reflect our own welcoming of those who come among us? What do we need to do to share Christ's love with the stranger? How welcoming are we to the poor when they come through our doors?

The Ninth Day of Easter

O God, you have united diverse peoples in the confession of your Name: Grant that all who have been born again in the font of Baptism may also be united in faith and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.