The Messiah Is Among You
The Messiah Is Among you.
In one way it may seem the ideal if our Journey in Faith groups were to continue to meet over the Christmas season. It would be so good to share experiences of this and other Christmases in the light of the rich liturgies we will celebrate. As a catechist part of me wants to explore the richness of Word and prayer and living traditions. However, in the absence of dismissal catechesis at present, we have already bade farewell until January. This is ‘right and proper’. Family and other commitments also need to be honoured. I suspect it may be another reminder for us that the Spirit of God was at work calling our inquirers, catechumens and candidates to Christ in their familiar places, long before we met them.
Hopefully the next two weeks will also be a time when parishioners, with varying degrees of awareness, will have particular scope for their essential role:
“…the people of God should understand and show by their concern that initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised… Hence, the entire community must help the candidates and the catechumens throughout the process of initiation… They should therefore show themselves ready to give the candidates welcome into their homes, into personal conversations, and into community gatherings…” RCIA n9
I am reminded of the story of the holy Rabbi living in the woods near a monastery that was declining in fervour and numbers. When the Abbot consulted him about his concerns the Rabbi told him that he had, indeed a message for him that he could repeat only once: the Messiah was living in his community. Returning to the abbey the Abbot told his brothers what the Rabbi had said, with the feeling that he had not received anything very helpful. It could just be true, but who could it be?! Gradually attitudes to each other changed – just in case this one or that one was the Messiah in disguise! This led to changes in the way they lived and prayed and soon others were attracted by their way of living and came to pray with them and some came to join them. Almost imperceptibly they’d found and shared a new way of living.
In responding to the Advent messages and all the preparations for celebrating Christmas (and the ancient ‘rites’ of the midwinter solstice too!) the parish community lives its response to the message that the Messiah is among us. In simple, unpretentious ways God’s presence will be witnessed again in this season.
Attracting people who wish to know more about being a Catholic Christian happens unseen, unknown to us. It is different for everyone but in our stepping back to appreciate this time of celebrating Incarnation we can consciously trust that it is the Spirit of God that works among us: individuals and parish.
By encouraging everyone to pray for each other, especially inquirers and candidates perhaps our community awareness of Christ being born in and among us will be heightened and grow the more.
Rejoice All Who Are Chosen
This 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete/Rejoice Sunday, we light the pink candle to deliberately mark the advent and approaching celebration of the Incarnation. For some this might symbolise how quickly the time is passing while counting the many tasks on the list which are to be done before Christmas. Advent reminds us that this is a time of preparation, of considering how quickly time does pass, and the many ways we could be ready for the coming of Christ. During this season we sing in the familiar hymn 'Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.' Shall come to you, shall come to me, shall come for all. I rejoice each time I consider that our Lord chose to 'come', to manifest his love and trust in us, to marvel at and with humanity.
This Sunday we have also celebrated the Rite of Acceptance for our catechumens and the Rite of Welcome for our candidates. The RCIA team, liturgy committee and the parish priest prepared a leaflet based on the combined rite (found in the American publication of the Rite) #507-528. The prayers speak of joy and rejoicing, of preparation and the time spent in coming to know Christ more fully. They speak of how God has 'sought and summoned' them in many ways and acknowledges how in response the catechumens and candidates are seeking to know more about and are turning toward God. The assembly were asked if they were ready to help the catechumens and candidates 'follow Christ' and we answered 'We are.' Now that is really something worth adding to the task list.
Like the pink candle of Advent, this liturgy marks a stage in time within the journey that both catechumens and candidates are on in the company of our communities. In the Gospel this weekend we hear of others who were 'filled with expectation and were questioning in their hearts and who wanted to prepare themselves for the Messiah.' Lk 3:10-18 They ask John the Baptist 'What then should they do?' John speaks to them of charity, of acting justly and with integrity and to live faithfully as they prepare for baptism. Echoed in the Rites of Acceptance and Welcome the catechumens, candidates and assembly reflected on the how we are to listen to the Word, to come to know God, to love our neighbours, to gather for prayer and to participate in the service of others.
I thought this was a very appropriate time to celebrate this combined Rite which clearly resonated the Advent message of preparation, prayer and expectation. It is a time to rejoice for all who are chosen to follow Christ. 'Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.'
WHAT TIME IS IT FOR YOU?
Advent is such a short season, yet its impact on the church year is phenomenal. There really is something for everyone whatever stage they are at in the RCIA process. For enquirers it might be their first experience of seeing the church in festive mode with the liturgical violet and the Advent wreath. It offers a great opportunity for those who may not yet be regularly attending mass, to explore the inside of the church and see the signs and symbols that speak of Advent. Or perhaps you have planned a celebration of the word of God [RCIA 81] for your catechumens instead of the usual RCIA session.
The second reading is particularly apt to the period of the catechumenate as Paul writes to the Philippians how confident he is
‘that the one who began a good work in you, will continue to
complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.’
That is being experienced by each one now at this very time.
The season offers a special chance for all to experience parish gatherings, whether it is Advent Stations of the Cross, special seasonal small groups, prayer groups, or the practical side of helping with the Bazaar or Fayre. This is a busy time for the SVP and church charities, and don’t forget local initiatives in the neighbourhood for helping those in need. These also offer a chance to work in co-operation with other faiths and people without belief: allow your catechumens to evangelise by their witness.
Perhaps your candidates have creative talents and will help in decorating the church or arranging the flowers. They may help in the organisation of parish social events, or those involving the elderly and the sick.
In the Gospel we are introduced to John the Baptist, who comes out of the wilderness ‘proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’. Luke records that John son of Zechariah, came at a very precise time in Caesar’s reign: fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. For our catechumens and candidates it is this precise time that is marking out something great in their life journey: perhaps to be written or drawn in their journal.
This is a time to show how we Catholics look forward to the end of time, and prepare for the coming of Christ, turning what many see as a secular occasion of spending money for one’s immediate friends and family, into a time of celebrating with praise and gladness the joys God has given us.
Here is an idea I heard this week in our small group. Turn the chore of writing Christmas cards into an opportunity to think lovingly of each intended recipient, offering a prayer to them as you sign the card.
RCIA Network Newsletter – December 09
New edition of the Newsletter now available on website
Be patient! Be confident!
I find it even more difficult to be patient and wait these days - really I think because of the speed of life, pressure of work, and expectations for instant response. I have an irrational fear of not being ready, or not working hard enough, or of what 'might happen'. And yet as Advent begins, I hear God speak through the First Sunday readings - 'yes, there are nations in agony, and menaces in the world, but dont you be 'coarsened' by the cares of life. Instead, pray for strength, and stand with confidence. Trust in your friendship with God - Christ has already offered salvation, the battle is won, and the life God wants you to live you are living!' That is the Truth, and we are invited to enter, patiently, more deeply into this liberating, life-giving truth. There are tensions in the double-sided message... of 'now' and 'not yet', 'disaster' and 'deliverance', 'destruction' and 'new dawn' - and advent faith says stay awake and actively live with it - and sure enough, if we live the present moment fully, we find signs of the One we are waiting for. As Nouwen says in 'Bread for the Journey' 'waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God's glorious coming.'
And I see it on the faces of those being 'Welcomed' or 'Accepted' into the Order of Catechumens - they are such witnesses to patient waiting for me! One Enquirer has been coming to Mass with her little nephew for 6 years (since his mother died - she made a promise!). She is actively taking that first step now, and says it feels so exciting, and so natural. Her enthusiasm is catching - the whole parish seem to be full of advent expectation, really loving this 'new' catechumen who brings new life & hope to us - God is bringing order and beauty amidst the chaos, beginnings and endings, death and birth, dark and light, despair and hopem so in a nutshell, love one another and trust God.
I hope Advent starts well for you - enjoy Thom Shuman's poem:
Every evening it's the same: put the key in the deadbolt, turn and lock; check the windows; put out the cat; leave a light on...
all those routines to feel safe and fall asleep in peace.door open ajar
But some night, in the midst of my security, you will tiptoe into my house,
rearranging the furniture, cracking the combination of my heart, and ransacking all my fears.
Then, softly whistling 'Come Thou Long- Expected Jesus' you will slip out, leaving the door standing wide open
that I might follow you into the kingdom.
Come Lord Jesus! Amen!
At the Turning of the Year
Readers in the UK will know that many people are beset with huge problems caused by storms and what meteorologists have called a "once-in-a-thousand-year-rainfall-event". For those waiting to go home to see just how bad the damage to their homes has been - for the rescue workers and emergency services - for engineers trying to ensure the safety of highways and bridges - for teachers and students wondering whether schools should risk reopening - for all of these folk, the reality of the next few weeks as we approach the Christmas festivities will be bleak indeed. It all probably feels pretty apocalyptic - echoing some of the readings that the Church puts before us at this time of year. For all of us in the northern hemisphere, the nights are going to draw in still further until we reach the winter solstice - the weather will get colder - possibly wilder, windier and wetter - winter really is strengthening its grip ... and for some of us, the idea of hibernation for humans seems an increasingly good idea!
But the Gospel messages of the weeks ahead will be "Stay Awake!" "Be ready!" Rather than curling up somewhere cosy and letting the world go by until the warm weather returns, we are exhorted to stay awake - to be ready - to read the signs - to keep faith.
Many places will be preparing to celebrate the Rites of Acceptance and Welcome, marking a new stage in the journeys of faith of catechumens and those preparing to be received into the Church. It often seems appropriate to mark the beginning of a new Church Year by honouring this new beginning for them. And, in the midst of deepening darkness, this shared looking ahead to the new life of baptism and Easter is a powerful sign of faith and hope - for those at the "receiving end" and for the parish communities witnessing it.
The Christian message is that, when things seem at their darkest, there is hope -the promise of light. Unless people have walked in darkness there is no need for a prophet to assure them that they will see a great light. If people have not known oppression (in one of its many forms), there is no reason for them to long for liberation. If we have not experienced the weariness of journeys (actual or of life itself), how can we welcome the promise that rough places will be made smooth for us, paths that seem to be going nowhere will finally show us the way forward - that insurmountable obstacles will be laid low and valleys of despondency raised up? Life's experience takes us through the dark as well as the light. We have four more weeks of days getting shorter to get through - and several more months of wintry weather - but in these days, we know things are on the turn. We have the witness of people who have found in our communities something that has been as a light to them - something (or rather Someone) they have chosen to follow.
Suggested ritual for the Turning of the Year
Either on your own - or with a group - reflect back on the year just gone... and name some of the blessings received.
Dim the lights - if possible aim for total darkness - and reflect and, where appropriate, name some of the dark things that have affected you and the world over the year (and, possibly, longer). Simply let the words drop into the darkness - don't judge or, if in a group, comment or engage in conversation about them ...
When you feel ready - or people in the group have shared all they wish to, light a taper or candle (a lit tee-light tucked out of sight can make this a little less obtrusive than lighting a match!). You might like to use a psalm - part of Ps 27 or 43, for example, or the second of the Opening Prayers for next Sunday's Mass;
Father in heaven,
our hearts desire the warmth of your love
and our minds are searching for the light of your Word.
(At this point, you might wish to light a candle, perhaps the first in an Advent wreath)
Then continue (perhaps have the words below printed for the group to join in)
Increase our longing for Christ our Saviour
and give us the strength to grow in love,
that the dawn of his coming
may he find us rejoicing in his presence
and welcome the light of his truth.
Amen.
A Flavour of a Northern Network Day
Last Saturday saw the first of the R.C.I.A. Northern Network “Journey in Faith” days that I ‘blogged about’ in September. Amongst the fifty five who gathered were ‘new teams, experienced but tired catechists, parishioners who have often wondered just what it’s all about’ and a genuine Enquirer who had telephoned the office some days earlier. He had seen the poster and ‘wondered what it was all about’. We explained the purpose of the day and that although he had not yet officially taken the step of contacting a local parish regarding his growing desire to ‘become a Catholic’ he would be made welcome if he chose to come along: and he did!
He admitted later that when he first entered he had ‘cold feet’ and wanted to run away, but he came and introduced himself instead and I was able to introduce him in turn to someone I knew would be a very good ‘accompanier’ through the morning session. Nikki is in the second year of a Foundation Degree in Pastoral leadership at Hope University and is currently reflecting on the RCIA for her course so this opportunity for ‘hands-on’ experience was valuable for her too. I knew I’d made the right decision when at lunch time he came to me again and asked me how he could go about taking this forward: he had thoroughly enjoyed the morning and knew he wanted to further explore living as a Catholic Christian. I introduced him to the co-ordinator of the parish RCIA team which meets just five minutes away from his home and she accompanied him through the afternoon.
What were the main ingredients of the day that were so much appreciated in the final evaluation forms? Well we shouldn’t be surprised that in fact, they all flowed from the vision of the RCIA itself:
“warmth, we were made welcome, a variety of voices giving input, lovely spiritual atmosphere, good teaching and sharing, enlightening and encouraging, breaking and sharing the Word, friendliness and openness of people sharing, scripture study in a small group, excellent music ….”.[1]
Also greatly appreciated were the two real life story tellers who came to the day. The first told his story of his family’s journey from non-practising Anglicanism to becoming enquirers and spoke movingly of ‘the threshold’ of belonging and the freedom to choose. In the afternoon a Neophyte (he loved his new name!) described how full membership resulted in him knowing that he wanted to ‘give something in return’ and his involvement in the RCIA group in a new way. Both these ‘very brave witnesses who spoke on their journeys’[2] added a deeper dynamic to the experience of the day and kept it ‘real’.
A mixture of experience and freshness, of accompaniers and accompanied permeated the day and the inclusion of parts of the Rites themselves: in the signing of the cross during morning prayer and the dismissal … to lunch (!) brought alive the ability of the Rites to speak to our experience.
There was some serious conversation in plenary about people not wanting to be seen ‘upfront’ and therefore not celebrating Acceptance/Welcome rites except within the RCIA group, but these were countered by others who shared what it meant for them to receive the welcome which followed such a celebration.
Without doubt though what stays with me is the very rich sharing of the Gospel for the 32nd Sunday in ordinary Time Year B. The images, words/ phrases and questions posed by people as it was broken open in the large group stretched and challenged my reception of it and I am left with the images of three faces discerned within the story itself: the smug, the humble and the watching face of Jesus.
Did we achieve what we hoped for? I think we did :
It is an introduction for anyone new to RCIA or for parishes wishing to refresh their team. An opportunity to glimpse a vision of the richness the RCIA journey offers, not only to new comers to the faith, but to the whole parish community. All are Welcome!”
The programme for the day was arrived at through inter-diocesan collaboration and was delivered through local collaboration: Amen to collaboration! May Middlesbrough, Hexham & Newcastle, Leeds and Hallam all experience similarly encouraging days.
[1] From the evaluation forms completed on 7.11.09
[2] Evaluation forms
Our great praise and our quiet prayer
The parish priest wants more people to join the choir. Six, he says, is not enough; there should be at least ten of us. And in a way he has a point. We're not a large parish, but there are certainly people scattered around the church with good voices, singing out on Sunday mornings, and every now and then he makes an appeal for more members. I'm grateful for his support, but I know from talking to people that one of the barriers to joining is our Wednesday evening practice: parents are busy with families, or aren't yet home from work, older people often don't like coming out on dark winter nights. So we adapt. The ones who come on Wednesdays, do. They learn the psalm, the communion song, the acclamations, so they can give a lead. On Sundays we have a short rehearsal before Mass, in the meeting room, to which all are welcome. People who can pick things up quickly, who like the singing, join us then, and everyone learns the psalm response, or a Communion chant, at a short introduction about seven minutes before Mass begins.
We'll never sing the Hallelujah Chorus like this - but why would we want to, at 10.30am in St Joseph's, with the Children's Liturgy group making their cheerful way back into the assembly, and the grown-ups welcoming them and assimilating the homily... What we might be moving towards is a gradual understanding that singing is something we do together, as a community gathered to worship in this place; and that our song is sometimes our great praise and sometimes our quiet prayer.
The women of the choir are mothers and grandmothers. Their attendance at choir practice and indeed at Mass on Sundays is affected by whether they're on grandparent duty or not. They are also (and I know you'll recognise this phenomenon) the ones who make the coffee after Mass, arrange the flowers, run the Church Bazaar, populate parish prayer groups, lead baptism preparation, visit the local prison. It's my hope that as people join with the song they might also join with the life of the church: not just the coffee and the flowers and the bazaar, but also the work of being Christ to others in their families, workplaces and in the town. I came into the Church twenty-seven years ago via a group of young people singing their way through the Celebration Hymnal in a presbytery in south London, and now I could not be anywhere else. What surprised me (again) when I came to St Joseph's, and began to look after the music and some of the liturgy, was how many people have taken this same route, and how much the liturgy sustains them in their lives of continuing conversion. Not as in 'Oh, the music was nice this morning', but as in 'I've been singing that psalm all the way through our OFSTED'.
Sing the Lord a new song.
Let the sea and all its creatures,
the coastland and its people,
fill the world with praise.
Let every village and town,
from Kedar on the plain
to Sela in the hills,
take up the joyful song.
Sing glory to the Lord,
give praise across the world
Isaiah 42:10-12
AnnB
Reflections on All Saints Day
There appears to be overwhelming evidence that we share a common 
ancestry with the animal world and that our remote roots go back quite literally millions of years. This is the 150th anniversary of the voyage of the Beagle. The insights of Charles Darwin have coloured our view of ourselves and our world. We hold in our hands the incredible variety and beauty of creation along with the cold restlessness of ‘survival of the fittest’. A restlessness endlessly challenged by the human experience of compassion and mercy.
The readings of the Eucharist for the feast of All Saints remind us that we are not just the accidents of an evolutionary process but are touched by something of the divine – we are in the words of St John “already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed”. We are still growing - one could say evolving, into a new creation.
The quality of that ‘new creation’ is found most profoundly in the person of Jesus of Nazareth – in whose life we discover the limitless riches of what it is to be a compassionate, merciful, forgiving, generous human being and the price that is paid for living such a life, challenging as it does the power structures of the ‘survival of the fittest’ mind set of our world.
The feast of All Saints is a celebration of the countless people whose lives have been touched by the example of Jesus of Nazareth. Not just the obvious St Francis’s or St Therese’s of our tradition but the so called ordinary people who have touched the lives of others by their compassion and generosity of spirit. Murmur name upon name of those who have graced your life and you will begin to move into the mystery of this feast and discover that you are literally standing on holy ground.
In the Celtic Tradition of these Islands this time of year is called Samhain. It marks a significant divide in the year’s cycle – a movement into the dark but creative time of the seasons of the year. It was known as a ‘thin time’ – a time when it was possible for movement to take place between the Two Worlds of the Celtic Imagination. It was a time of creativity and mystery, not without the possibility of discomfort and danger. The ‘trick or treat’ celebrations of Halloween with the emphasis on ghosts, witches and all things that go bump in the night are a pale reflection and mere shadow of this ancient tradition. The feasts of All Saints and All Souls are more than likely a Christianisation of that tradition. Reminding us that to live as followers of Jesus is to live in ‘thin times’ – to live as beatitude people
- To be on the side with those who have no status
- To grieve in solidarity with those who have lost their identity
- To be open to the possibility of God’s action in our world
- To hunger for justice and peace
- To be merciful in all cases without exception
- To live in integrity and truth
- To actively pursue the cause of true peace (Shalom)
- To be open to the possibility of rejection without bitterness
The poet Brendan Kennelly in the poem “The Good” reminds us that..
“The good are vulnerable
As any bird in flight,
They do not think of safety,
Are blind to possible extinction
And when most vulnerable
Are most themselves.”
He concludes the poem with these two lines
“I think that I know one or two
Among my friends”
The first reading of the Mass for All Saints is an affirmation that far from there being only ‘one or two’ the numbers are impossible to count of those who have born witness to the life and teaching of Jesus. The question for each one of us is:
“Can I add my name to the list?”
The importance of sycamore trees
The importance of sycamore trees
Before I became a Catholic, reading and reflecting on Scripture, hearing the Word expounded, meeting with other Christians for prayer and praise, and praying on my own, were all important things I did in the practice of my faith. And when I did became a Catholic they remained just as important to me, although I also began to appreciate the reality of the Mass much more than I had before. I encountered some more things people did, such as the Stations of the Cross, saying the rosary, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, honouring Our Lady and the Saints and asking them to pray for us, and going to places like Lourdes. I now understand some of these practices more than I did and am much the better for doing so. The others I may come to understand more fully one day in the future when the Spirit leads me in that direction. But I see them all as part a fascinating spiritual landscape to be explored. A corporate distillation of 2000 years of shared spiritual reflection
But how many hours a day should I spend in prayer, or in reading the Scripture or in saying the Office, and how often should I say the rosary or go to Mass during the week, and how much of my money and time should I give away to those in need? The answer could well be ‘a lot more than I do’ but, apart from the useful discipline of the Sunday obligation, it’s the S word – the should word that often indicates that the cart is before the horse and that there is a major loss of the plot. St Paul (1 Corinthians13:3) went as far as saying ‘and even if I give up my body to be burned – if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever’. What St Paul (and, indeed, St Thérèse of Lisieux) meant by ‘love’ was inseparable from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Originally the word ‘charity’ meant this kind of love (derived from the Latin caritas), but somehow the ‘should’ type of do-gooding gave birth to the unpleasant expression ‘as cold as charity’.
Sycamore Fig
Zacchaeus (Luke chapter 19) was a rich man but his riches did not win him any friends. His neighbours hated him as a tax-collector and a collaborator with the Roman army of occupation, and they suspected him of ripping them off. When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming, the crowd would not let him get through to the roadside as Jesus came along. Being, like me, vertically challenged, he couldn’t see what was going on. But Zacchaeus had one quality that was to prove the gateway to life. He knew that he wanted to see Jesus very much indeed. He was so determined that he single-mindedly climbed a tree*, perhaps spoiling his expensive clothes in the process and causing some loss of dignity. But he wanted to see Jesus more than anything else. And not only did he see Jesus but Jesus looked up and saw him. And Jesus honoured him beyond his wildest dreams – he chose to come eat with him in his house. Here was totally undeserved and freely-given grace that filled him with joy. We are not told whether Jesus told him that he should clean up his act or even ‘should’ give up being a tax-collector. But when so much love is freely given there isn’t any ‘should’ about it. Zacchaeus reacted to the grace offered by Jesus by repenting and wanting to make amends to anyone he had defrauded by misuse of his office.
Religious practices are good sycamore trees if they help us to see Jesus and to reach out to him. If we let them become ends in themselves they are sycamore trees on the wrong road into Jericho. But if we let the living Holy Spirit lead us to the ways of organising our spiritual life according to where we are at the moment on our faith journey, the Lord will be spending more time at our house.
*The sycamore of the Bible is not the familiar Acer pseudoplatanus, (a kind of maple) that is so common in Britain but the Sycamore Fig , Ficus sycamorus . The tree Zacchaeus climbed would be much smaller than the ones around Wuthering Heights!