Eyes on the Prize

Mr. Benedict settled back against his desk. ‘It’s natural that you feel as you do, Reynie.  There is much more to the world than most children – indeed, most adults – ever see or know.  And where most people see mirrors, you, my friend, see windows.  By which I mean there is always something beyond the glass.  You have seen it and will always see it now, though others may not.  I would have spared you this vision at such a young age.  But it’s been given you, and it will be up to you to decide whether it’s a blessing or a curse.’

‘Excuse me, Mr. Benedict, but how can it possibly be a blessing to know that people are untrustworthy?’

Mr. Benedict looked at Reynie askance. ‘Rather than answer that, allow me to call attention to the assumption you’re making – the assumption that most people are untrustworthy.  Have you considered the possibility, Reynie, that wickedness is simply more noticeable than goodness? That wickedness stands out, as it were…? Let me ask you: have you ever had a dream in which, having spied a deadly snake at your feet, you suddenly begin to see snakes everywhere – suddenly realize, in fact, that you’re surrounded by them?’

Reynie was surprised. ‘I have had that dream.  It’s a nightmare!’

‘Indeed. And it strikes me as being rather like when a person first realizes the extent of wickedness in the world.  That vision can become all-consuming – and in a way, it, too, is a nightmare, by which I mean that it is not quite a proper assessment of the state of things.  For someone as observant as you, Reynie, deadly serpents always catch the eye.  But if you find that serpents are all you see, you may not be looking hard enough.’

-          The Mysterious Benedict Society, Book 2, p. 37-39

One of the most important insights of phenomenology is that of intention – the idea that we knowing subjects have the power to decide what we focus our senses on and what objects will be in our epistemic circle of concern.  It is true that we are influenced by a great many things – from our socialization to media, peer influences and pressures, education, and a host of other things.  But it is also true that we can become aware of those influences and that they become objects of our knowledge as well.  We then become aware of the fact that we can stand outside of those influences and evaluate them.

Once we develop this awareness and the power we have over influences, we can then have the insight from the quotation above.  The narratives of the culture warriors on both sides of the spectrum are terribly wrong and exist to get us to act based out of fear rather than love.  The culture warriors are more interested in being influencers and in controlling various instruments of influence in media, education, government, and religion.  They are not inviting us to pursue truth but rather to accept a narrative.  They are the fire people in Plato’s cave who cast shadows on the wall and make noises all while keeping us chained to the wall, forced to accept their narratives. 

But once we unshackle the chains and explore the cave, we come to an awareness of the influences and influencers.  We come to recognize that the cave is not all there is – that there is a way out of the cave to a whole different world and perspective.  There we discover the goodness of the world and we invite others to discover it as well – to leave behind the cynical world of the cave which is small indeed compared to the vast goodness existing in the universe. 

The culture warriors within religious traditions who perpetually posit the endless list of evils in the world are in fact atheists.  For they have looked at the problem of evil and determined evil greater than good in the world, which is a denial of the goodness and infinite nature of God.  Good by definition has to be greater than evil, in which case evil is a finite if we regard it as a being at all.

So once again pay no heed to those behind the green curtain and who would manipulate us for their own ends.  Take a second look at the world to see the good, and in seeing the good come to realize it is greater than the evil we imagine and experience.

The Church's Treasure

 

The Treasure of the Church

In what does the treasure of the Church consist? To the aesthetic it would be found in art, music, architecture and other fineries of beauty.  To the dogmatist it would consist in the “deposit of faith” given to the Church by Christ himself to be guarded and preserved until the second coming.  To the liturgist and sacramental theologian it would be found in the sacraments and liturgical practice of the Church.  But all these are wrong, and today’s feast day reminds us of where the true treasure of the Church lies.

St. Lawrence was a deacon commanded by the emperor to bring forth the treasures of the Church and give them to the emperor as tribute.  The empire, of course, meant money, gold chalices, and other fineries. St. Lawrence gathered up the poor of Rome, entered the palace, and declared, “Here is the treasure of the Church!”

The diaconate serves as a constant reminder that the Church’s treasure lies in people, most especially the poor.  All the other things mentioned above are all important things, but they are transitory in nature; they are a means to an end; and they all exist to serve the needs of the human person, who alone among all things has an eternal destiny and alone is loved by God unreservedly. 

The mission of the Church is directed to the service of persons as persons – as subjects to be respected and dignified, not as objects to be treated in transactional ways.  Too often the Church sees people as dollar signs and volunteers to be used rather than as persons with dignity.  It is no wonder that attrition is high both in church ministry and in church attendance. 

It is also little wonder that people feel marginalized by the Church when only certain persons are given priority in who we serve and advocate for in public policy to the neglect of others.  Or when one set of ethical standards exists for the ordained and a very different set for laity.  Or when sexual abuse of minors, the abuse of indigenous peoples, and the sexual use of adults by clergy takes place.  When the response to such scandals is denial followed by lawsuits followed by financial settlements the Church is not treating people as persons but as transactional objects of exploitation. 

Even more transactional is when “consultative processes” are undertaken by the Church for long term future planning.  A process is created that gives the appearance of listening, input, and consultation but in reality the decisions had been made long in advance on the future of communities and the process exists only as window dressing to provide the appearance of consultation.  People have seen this show before. They can see lay people used as props for video presentations by clergy on the end result of the “process”.  They know the layfolk are not allowed to speak.  Such processes are almost more insulting to people’s dignity.

Today’s feast is a call to diaconal service and a return to discover where the true treasure of the Church exists – in people, created in God’s image, redeemed in Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit.  It is a call once again to commit ourselves to one another in loving service and ordering all other things to the service of the human person.

Our Lady of Perpetual Crisis

The newspaper that morning had been filled with the usual headlines, several of them devoted to what was commonly called The Emergency.  Things had got desperately out of control, the headlines reported: the school systems, the budget, the pollution, the crime, the weather...why, everything, in fact, was a complete mess, and citizens everywhere were clamoring for a major - no, a dramatic - improvement in government.  'Things must change NOW! was the slogan plastered on billboards all over the city (it was a very old slogan), and although Reynie rarely watched television, he knew the Emergency was the main subject of the news programmes every day, as it had been for years.

(The Mysterious Benedict Society, p. 2-3)

Sound familiar? It does indeed reflect the general news media, regardless of which trough one takes in the daily news.  

Much, worse, however, are entire religions devoted to the culture of perpetual crisis.  Christian media outlets reflect this popular devotion in spades, as do a host of organizations dedicated to making money off the crisis du jour.  And to be clear, this devotion transcends denominational, sectarian, and spectrum differences.  Consider:

* Traditonalists in the Roman Catholic Church have as their crises this year the actions of the Vatican that first outlawed private Masses in St. Peter's Basilica, followed by more general restrictions on the celebration of the Missal of St. Pius V.  That they care more for their private Masses than actually providing Mass regularly to people in the Amazon and other regions of the world is indicative of the self-absorption that dominates the group.  And the fact that they refer to the Missal of St. Pius V as the "true" Mass is indicative of the heresy rampant in the movement, the phrase indicating a denial of the fact that the Church by definition must provide valid and efficacious sacraments to the faithful.  

* More progressive brands of Christianity have their own crises of the day related to women's ordination and sexuality issues.  The Church's stance and practice on these issues has been remarkably consistent since its inception such that any appeal to the Tradition would yield precious little in terms of a theological foundation for any change on these issues.  

Both groups have been engaged in crisis theology since the early 1960s, each raising vast amounts of money to support organizations and various vagandi clergy in their unauthorized ministries of ego massage parlor franchises.  

Crisis theology is a cult of atheism.  At its root such thinking does not at all believe in God nor in the Church, but rather it centers all of our attention on ourselves and one's power status in the Church and society.  

Before Jesus began his public ministry he underwent a series of temptations in the desert.  Each temptation represents something different that serve to detract us from God.  The temptation to turn stones to bread appeals to our desire for comfort for our bodies.  The temptation to throw oneself from the Temple seeking angelic help is an appeal to our vanity in performing parlor tricks instead of really trusting in God.  And the temptation to all the kingdoms of the world is our desire for power and vanity that is in reality the worship of evil.  Jesus succeeded in rejecting all these allures not only in this moment in the desert, but throughout his ministry in rejecting the crowds and the appeals of the political groups of his day.  

In the life of Jesus there is no appeal whatever to crisis theology, for crisis theology is a surrender to all the temptations of the evil one.  There is no trust at all in God, nor any recognition of the transitory nature of this life and world in crisis theology.  As in The Mysterious Benedict Society, the crisis is created by humans in an effort to seek control over others.  While we yell and scream in the midst of the storm, Jesus sleeps in the boat, and when he is awakened by us - not the storm - Jesus rebukes us first for our lack of faith and only quells the storm afterward.  Even a real storm isn't a crisis, for God is present and the storm will pass.  So rest in the boat with Jesus and ignore the crisis provocateurs.    

Nones on the Bus

A lot has been written about people who do not profess any religious allegiance at all.  A few "nones" have actually written very thoughtful pieces as to why they identify as such.  Sadly, most in the religion business do not read these pieces, or if they do they dismiss them by alleging ulterior motives in order to reorient the conversation on a ground of their own choosing.  Gosh, can't imagine why the "nones" have no interest in religion....

I used to be in the religion business.  I worked for the church for a number of years, but now I no longer do so.  I still attend church, but largely as an outcast and a pariah in my own tradition.  The experiences of my work in religion has led me to understand why the "nones" are growing and what their state of mind is on matters religious.  Some may regard me as a "none" even though I occupy a seat in the pew, and they may be right.  

Over the years I have taught a great many students and have come to meet a lot of "nones". They often explain their religious journey in essays they have written in my classes, in the discussions we have in class sessions, and in the conversations we have about such matters in the halls or my office.  The depth of thought they express on these topics is deep and insightful.  The "nones" believe profoundly in God by and large; very few are atheist, agnostic, or freethinkers.  Many even have a prayer life and spiritual practice.  However, they can no longer find God in the institutions of religion and the church, mosque, or synagogues in which they were raised.

For them, a great deal of pain has taken place in these institutions, ranging from physical, sexual, and psychological abuse to ostracism and rejection of their questions, experiences, and identities.  This pain has been inflicted either on them or on someone they love - family, friends, classmates, etc.  

Institutional religion has become a blood sport in every denomination, every tradition.  The "nones" are in many ways like those fleeing into the desert seeking for God, not finding God in imperial religion dedicated to blood sport and perpetual war.  The "nones" are pilgrims in a very authentic sense, and this blog is for them - for us.  For it is one thing the "nones" have taught me is that there is no us and them.  There is just us.  

Coherence and Consistency

Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon.  But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others.  They seek to criticize, not to correct.  Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others.  (St. Augustine, Sermon 19, 2-3: CCL 41, 252-254)

Everyone knows that nothing solves a problem more effectively than a document.  Whatever the problem is, just gather together a group of academics or churchmen together to compose a document and without fail that problem magically disappears.  This technique is so effective that various levels of government employ this tactic and endow them with powerful nomenclature like "Market Study", "Blue Ribbon Commission," and the like.  What is most remarkable is the cost savings: for a mere $500,000-$750,000 you can solve a problem like infrastructure through a study document rather than spending billions on road construction and the like.  

So it is in church life as well.  The recent call for a document on "Eucharistic Coherence" by a number of U.S. Bishops ran into the embarrassing fact that such a document from the USCCB already exists and was published in 2006.  Read it here. The embarrassment stems from the fact that many of the bishops calling for such a document were a part of the USCCB when the last document was published, coupled with the fact that the document actually failed to solve the problem in question, going against all conventional wisdom on the efficacy of documents.  

The document from 2006 is actually a very good treatise on Eucharistic theology, liturgical practice, and spiritual reflection on every Christian's relationship to the Eucharist and the Body of Christ, the Church.  What the document fails to do, in the minds of bishops who want a new document, is to provide a political cudgel against only certain Catholic politicians on only certain particular issues.  So, for example, it would call out politicians who do not protect human life in the womb, which is an important topic worthy of merit.  However, it would not apply to politicians who defend the death penalty, demean and denigrate immigrants and refugees, or fail to protect the poor and vulnerable who lack access to health care or a living wage.  Such a foray into the political would be theologically untenable, inconsistent, and place the bishops clearly in the position of endorsing one political party and its candidates over another - something that has never, ever worked well for the Church in her history.

What is more, such a foray into the public and political opens the bishops up to equal criticism in its commitment to human life.  The bishops are tired of hearing about sexual abuse, and they want to insist that things are different, they're sorry, and they have made amends - none of which is true.  People will not forget how bishops thought that sexually abusing a child - a child - was not criminal and did not at all warrant removal from the clerical state.  Instead, it warranted a stay at a treatment facility and a new job at a new parish.  Now, how is that respect for human life and dignity?

Moreover, the restitution the bishops claim to have paid did not come voluntarily out of the bishops' remorse.  Instead, every penny provided as restitution to victims came through lawsuits and court judgments.  The procedures we now have in place came only because the bishops were shamed into them on the one hand and forced by insurance carriers on the other. The words of sorrow and the healing services ring hollow of all meaning when such an incontrovertible fact exists in the annals of history.  And the Church has not yet faced up to the plight of children fathered by priests and the mothers of these children and how they are treated.  

We are, however, now learning the particulars of what had been known for a long time in a general sense about the Church's concern for human life among indigenous peoples.  The stories of abuse, the discovery of mass graves on church property, and the vast numbers of both are now being reported across the globe.  Consider that as of July 2nd the mass graves of 1505 children had been found at just seven church school properties in the U.S. and Canada alone, an average of 215 per site.  Another 497 schools in the United States and Canada still need to be searched.  

If the past is prologue, there will be words of apology, healing services, and resistance to provide any means of restitution for these past crimes to the indigenous community - which will eventually come through legal coercion.  

The bishops are not wrong in raising up the importance of the abortion issue, nor are they wrong in asking all of us to reflect on our relationship to the Eucharist and coherence thereof in our own lives.  But the bishops should take heed of Augustine's words above that opened this essay.  They might well reflect on their own coherence and consistency before casting stones in a glass menagerie of their own making.  

The Eucharist - the Body of Christ, and a Modest Proposal

This space is not often utilized much anymore.  The theological has become wholly subsumed into the political nowadays, making any musings here subject to the reduction into ideology that has ravaged almost every academic and spiritual field in the land.  

A great deal is being said lately regarding "Eucharistic Coherence" - a topic that strangely became an imperative in mid-November 2020 and has found prelates taking to the standard places of theological conversation like "Tucker Carlson Live," Breibart News, and "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,"   Here in these august venues of sober conversation and contemplation various musings on what "Eucharistic Coherence" is offered for consideration.  

The proposed document from the U.S. Bishops proposes to offer a reflection on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church and for individual Christians.  The document will provide a restatement of teaching on the Eucharist and provide a reflection on how this applies to the life of a disciple of the Lord.  These aspects of the forthcoming document are welcome and necessary for our common life together as a community of faith.  The mystery of faith requires constant and continual theological and spiritual reflection in our lives to provide ever new inspirations and insights as individuals and as a community.  

The Eucharist contains within itself the entire mystery of faith, and as such has two fundamental dimension - one as object, the other as action.  In the first, the Eucharist is a gift offered to humanity and to be received with humility and gratitude.  As a gift it is not something anyone can claim to have by right before God.  As an action, however, the Eucharist is an obligation placed upon us all - the obligation to offer thanksgiving, the duty to offer oneself as a sacrifice for others just as Jesus did for us, the duty to be in communion with one another as a people of God - the body of Christ.  

In determining one's worthiness of approaching the sacrament, these two dimensions must be kept in mind.  The Eucharist is not a mere object; it is also a duty and an action.  What is more, the Eucharist is not an object entirely of our control.  It is, at the end of the day, a free gift of God offered for all.  

To be disposed worthily to receive the sacrament is one of great personal challenge. On the one hand no one is indeed worthy - we say as much in Mass and they are not mere idle words.  At the same time, the Church provides for us minimum requirements for such worthiness, and in doing so presents them to us so that each individual discerns whether they will approach to receive the Eucharist.  Such a discernment and examination of conscience is a daily obligation and is a demanding task for each person.  

In my own life I have often found myself conscious of sin and have refrained from taking communion.  Those who know me well know this about me.  While I find myself qualified to make such a judgment about myself, it is not a judgment I am qualified to make about anyone else.  The task of examining one conscience is time consuming and demanding enough.  The time commitment and burden of undertaking this task for others is utterly immense.  

Thanks be to God that apparently there are a great number of people qualified and eager for such work in the Church!  I wish them well.  Many of these folks have already notified me of my unworthiness, for which I am most grateful.  As you can see, I share your judgment of myself often.  It is my hope that technology will advance soon that will enable the creation of Worthiness Detectors that can be installed in church aisles - much like a TSA screening machine.  Everyone can then pass through the machine to see if one is worthy to approach, and like the TSA process we can have a pre-screening line for those exempt from such detection measures.  This will free up a great deal of time and labor in the Church workforce so that we can attend to other things like caring for the poor and marginalized and other things that we've been unable to get to on the to-do list because of this screening work.