Pray Always

12-05-2021Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

Dear Friends,

It’s been ten years since we have been using the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal for the celebration of Mass. It was the first Sunday of Advent 2011 that we were introduced to “consubstantial”, “And with Your Spirit” and lots of other linguistic changes. Most of us have probably forgotten the discomfort of adapting to changes in the Liturgy but every now and then, I admit I unconsciously revert back to a phrase here or there.

If you were present at Mass on the First Sunday of Advent in 1969 you witness the change from the Tridentine Rite to the New Order of Mass commissioned by the Second Vatican Council. And it was quite a change. The changes with this 3rd edition of the Missal weren’t so dramatic but they will still felt uncomfortable at first. When the 3rd Edition was rolled out, one of my prayers was that the new Missal would free the Liturgy from imposed agendas and ideologies. The Liturgy is simply not a political reality and as such is neither liberal or conservative, nor is the new Missal a step back since the “new” Mass was not a progressive triumph.

Sloppy liturgies, theologically ambiguous words, doctrinally deficient images have certainly contributed to the disappearance of many Catholics from the pews of Sunday mass. It also has caused a certain amount of confusion in and out of the Church as to what it is we believe. Almost imperceptibly there has been a slow lowering of the bar when it comes to our insistence on adherence to certain Catholic practices and principles. This erosion can be seen in Catholics who assert their “right” to not accept fundamental moral teachings of our Faith as if it were just a matter of taste. The fact that so many of our once great institutions such as hospitals, schools, universities, convents are in the state of rapid decline reveals that the once firm unity of belief has been shattered.

While I won’t pin all this on poor liturgies or lackluster translations it is apparent that strengthening the Liturgy can be a bulwark against the onslaught of secularism. A renewed Liturgy certain has to be at the center of any renewal of Catholic life. If, as the Second Vatican Council claims, the Mass is the “source and summit” of our life as Catholics any hopes for renewal must begin with the Church’s worship.

But of course, it does not end there. We will soon hear the Christmas stories once again. And the Gospel of Matthew tells us that after the Magi came and worshipped the Christ that “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” Mt 2:12 Anytime anyone encounters Christ they can never go back the same way they came. Our worship is designed to help us encounter Christ and when we do we are never the same. The course of our lives change, we are indeed never the same.

Having had that encounter ourselves, the Opening Prayer of the Liturgy on the First Sunday of Advent Sunday asks that we have the “resolve to run forth to meet Christ”. Think of a child running to the arms of his father who has returned from a business trip. We are running to Christ with great excitement, knowing that in his presence all is well.

Advent is half over. Are you ready to run to Christ with arms filled with the fruit of your faith and deeds on Christmas?