As we begin these summer months, now is a time for us to pause and reflect upon the many gifts and blessings that God has given us in our lives, especially the gift of life and the gift of our faith that sustains us in our daily lives and the many challenges that we often face.
As I reflect over the past several weeks, as busy as they have been, it has been such a tremendous blessing for me as I have had the privilege of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with so many of our young people throughout the Diocese as well as almost 100 adults at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Pentecost. I know these past several weeks have also been the occasion for many First Communions as well as the reception of about 1,000 new Catholics across the Diocese at Easter Vigil. All of this is a great sign that the Church is alive and growing not only here in North Texas, but all around the world as more and more people respond to and accept the Catholic faith. This calls to mind the words of the Second Vatican Council in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, which teaches “the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race” (1). Through these Sacraments of Initiation, we are truly seeing Christ working through his Church as the instrument of salvation in the world, bringing us together as the Body of Christ, the Church, and calling each of us to be his instruments and witnesses to all the world.
I would like to take this time to especially thank all of you in the many parishes who have given so much of your time and efforts in preparing and catechizing those who have received Confirmation, First Communion, or those who were received into the full communion with the Catholic Church at Easter. Having been a pastor in Illinois of several parishes, large and small, rural and urban, I know firsthand how dedicated you are to your ministry, and how much you unselfishly give of yourselves as you hand on and witness your faith. Your role as catechists in the life and mission of the Church is an indispensable one, for you are truly instruments of Christ bringing others into communion with the Person of Jesus Christ and his Church — in a sense you truly step into the mystery of Christ handing on not your own teaching, but the teaching and very Person of Jesus. As Pope John Paul II teaches in his Apostolic Exhortation on Catechesis Catechesi Tradendae, “What assiduous study of the word of God transmitted by the Church's Magisterium, what profound familiarity with Christ and with the Father, what a spirit of prayer, what detachment from self must a catechist have in order that he can say: ‘My teaching is not mine!’" (6). Thank you for your work and know that all you are doing is making a big difference in the life of the Church and in the world!
These days of summer are also a time for vacation and getaways in which we take some time away from the busyness of life and school and the many other activities that take place during the other times of the year. In fact, it is important that we do take some time, especially during the summer, to rest and reflect, not only for our own physical rest, but also for our spiritual lives as well. Vacation and rest can be and should be a great time for spiritual renewal, when we step away from the busyness and distractions of daily life to reflect upon the blessings of God, especially the blessings of life, family, and our faith. Pope Benedict XVI, who himself always takes time off in the summer for vacation and rest (and to escape the heat of Rome) has given us a beautiful reflection on how vacation can be and should be a time of reflecting on the presence of Christ in our lives. He states:
We are already in the heart of the summer, at least in the northern hemisphere. This is the time in which the schools are closed and in which most vacations are concentrated. Even the pastoral activities of the parishes are reduced, and I myself have suspended audiences for a period. It is therefore a favorable moment to give first place to what is effectively the most important thing in life, that is to say, listening to the Word of God.
— Angelus Address, July 18, 2010
Reflecting on the well-known passage from the Gospel of John where Martha is busy working and providing hospitality, and Mary is sitting at the feet of the Lord, the Holy Father reminds us that while work and the tasks of daily life are necessary and always before us, Mary has chosen the better part because she is focusing on what ultimately is most important and what will last for eternity — our relationship with God. We cannot allow even the busyness of our lives and the many things that need to be done, to keep us from our relationship with God. The Holy Father again states:
Christ's word is quite clear: no scorn for the active life, nor much less for the generous hospitality; but a plain reminder of the fact that the one thing that is truly necessary is something else: listening to the Word of the Lord; and the Lord is there in that moment, present in the person of Jesus! Everything else will pass and will be taken away from us, but the Word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily activity (Ibid).
Vacation, far from being a time to set aside our obligations of our faith, is actually an ideal time to reflect upon the Word of God and the Lord’s presence in our lives. This time away from the busyness and distractions of our daily lives becomes a perfect time to, like Mary in the Gospel, sit at the feet of the Lord and be renewed in our faith and our love for the Lord and to remember that our relationship with Christ and his presence in our lives is the most important thing, and without his grace and his love we can do nothing. As Pope Benedict concludes:
Dear Friends, as I said, this Gospel passage is very important at vacation time, because it recalls the fact that the human person must work, must involve himself in domestic and professional concerns, to be sure, but he has need of God before all else, who is the interior light of love and truth. Without love, even the most important activities lose value and do not bring joy. Without a profound meaning, everything we do is reduced to sterile and disordered activism. And who gives us love and truth if not Jesus Christ? So let us learn, brothers, to help each other, to cooperate, but first of all to choose together the better part, which is and will always be our greater good. (Ibid)
With all this in mind, vacation is not a time to take a vacation from practicing and living out our Catholic faith! Vacation does not give one a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday. Even when we travel, we still have the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday wherever we are, and we have the responsibility to make the appropriate plans ahead of time to be sure that we can attend Mass while we are away. Especially in our technological world today, there are many tools at our disposal that can help us locate when and where we can go to Mass wherever we are, tools like www.masstimes.org, and there is even an app for your smart phone that can give you Mass times and locations wherever you are.
This is also a good time to remind ourselves of how we are to properly prepare ourselves for Mass and of the proper attire and reverence we should show when we attend Mass, even when we are on vacation. First, one must be properly prepared to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion. Three things are necessary for one to worthily receive Communion. First, one must be in the state of grace, that is, if one is in the state of mortal sin, then one must receive the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion. This however, does not mean that one should not attend Mass; one must still attend Mass on Sunday but cannot receive Holy Communion until one has gone to Confession. Second, one is required to fast for one hour before receiving the Eucharist. This is both a physical and spiritual preparation for receiving the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Eucharistic fast is very important in preparing our hearts, minds, and bodies for our reception of Jesus. Finally, one must believe that Jesus is truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.
In addition to the above, one must prepare themselves for Mass by wearing proper attire to Mass, attire that is appropriate and modest for the occasion of worshiping God and receiving Christ in the Eucharist. One should never wear attire that is distracting or disrespectful to others. Vacation does not dispense from this important requirement. One should dress as if they are visiting someone very important, and who is more important than Christ! Finally, there should never be gum chewing during Mass, and we always need to remember to turn off our cell phones so as not to be an interruption and distraction to others during Mass.
All of this is very important, not only in our own personal life of faith, but also in that we need to be a positive witness to others of how we live out and practice our faith. Our reverence at Mass and toward all things that are holy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Reverence or Piety. In many ways, our culture has lost sight of this gift, of the recognition of the holy. May we all strive always to be a positive witness to holiness through the ways in which we love and live our faith.
I pray that you all have a blessed summer and some time for vacation and the opportunity to rest and reflect upon the presence and blessings of God in our lives.
Copyright © 2011 by North Texas Catholic