Fifty Years of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Today is the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, on December 4, 1963. Understanding the primal importance of the liturgy, this was the first document approved by the Second Vatican Council and it followed a long and growing "liturgical movement," which extended back for many decades. Many prior popes and bishops, including St. Pope Pius X, had recognized the need for various reforms to meet people's desire for deeper appreciation of and greater lay participation in the Holy Mass.

One of those involved in the liturgical movement was Father Joseph Ratzinger, who was a peritus (advisor) to the Council (and later became Pope Benedict XVI). In his contemporary account, he described how important the sacred liturgy is and why the situation as it existed prior to the Council demonstrated an evident need for renewal.

[F]or the Church, divine worship is a matter of life and death. If it is no longer possible to bring the faithful to worship God, and in such a way that they themselves perform this worship, then the Church has failed in its task and can no longer justify its existence. But it was on precisely this point that a profound crisis occured in the life of the Church. Its roots reach far back. In the late Middle Ages, awareness of the real essence of Christian worhip increasingly vanished. Great importance was attached to externals, and these choked out essentials. (Theological Highlights of Vatican II, 129)

Although the Council of Trent eliminated some abuses that had crept into the liturgy over time and made some reforms to prevent new overgrowths in the future, Father Ratzinger noted that this created its own problems.

The main measure [after the Council of Trent] was to centralize all liturgical authority in the Sacred Congregation of Rites . . . This authority completely lacked historical perspective; it viewed the liturgy solely in terms of ceremonial rubrics, treating it as a kind of problem of proper court etiquette for sacred matters. This resulted in the complete archaizing of the liturgy, which now passed from the stage of living history, became embalmed in the status quo and was ultimately doomed to internal decay. The liturgy had become a rigid, fixed and firmly encrusted system; the more out of touch with genuine piety, the more attention was paid to its prescribed norms. . . . The baroque era adjusted to this situation by superimposing a kind of para-liturgy on the archaized actual liturgy. Accompanied by the splendor of orchestral performance, the baroque high Mass became a kind of sacred opera in which the chants of the priest functioned as a kind of periodic recitative. The entire performance seemed to aim at a kind of festive lifting of the heart, enhanced by the beauty of a celebration appealing to the eye and ear. On ordinary days, when such display was not possible, the Mass was frequently covered over with devotions more attractive to the popular mentality. . . . In practice this meant that while the priest was busy with his archaic liturgy, the people were busy with their devotions to Mary. They were united with the priest only by being in the same church with him and by consigning themselves to the sacred power of the eucharistic sacrifice. (Theological Highlights of Vatican II, 130-32)

Faced with this situation, as the bishops themselves could see in their own churches, the Council Fathers saw the need for liturgical renewal, including taking steps to make a reality the expressed desire of Pope Pius X for greater "active participation" on the part of the laity.

In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. For the liturgy is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it.

In this restoration, both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community. (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 21)

Clearly, then, this was not a "reinvention" of the Mass, nor was it the creation of a "new Mass," as that term is sometimes derisively used. As a matter of sacramental doctrine, there is one and only one Mass, just as there is only one God, one holy sacrifice of Christ, and one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Rather, as the text indicates, this was to be a restoration of the whole purpose of the liturgy – "when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects. . . . Such participation by the Christian people as 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people' (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism." (Id., 11, 14).

It is to their credit that our excellent priests at Blessed Sacrament have helped to make the blessings of Sacrosanctum Concilium a reality. And thanks to Bishop Loverde, and Bishops Keating and Welsh before him, that the sacred liturgy throughout the Diocese of Arlington is so reverent and fruitful. (Sadly, in some locales this is not always the case, as many of us discover when we travel during the holidays and go to Mass in some other diocese and/or as some others of us experienced back in the 1970s. Although the Mass is always holy – because Christ himself who is present in the Mass is holy – that much-needed reverence can sometimes be lacking.)

The fruits of Sacrosanctum Concilium are many, but understanding that our faith is a journey, there is still room for us to grow, to move ever closer to the Lord. As Pope Francis has been saying a lot in a variety of contexts, let us ask God for this grace in the sacred liturgy, to be more worthily disposed and to grow deeper in the love of Christ, the Holy Bridegroom of the Church.

George Weigel Speaking at Blessed Sacrament This Evening

This evening, Monday, December 2, after the 7 p.m. Mass, Blessed Sacrament will once again welcome renowned author George Weigel who will speak about the joy of "full-time Catholicism," in light of his new book Evangelical Catholicism - Deep Reform in the 21st Century Church and, no doubt, Pope Francis' recent apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium on the proclamation of the Gospel in today's world.

"Recreational Catholicism — Catholicism as a traditional, leisure-time activity absorbing perhaps ninety minutes of one’s time on a weekend — is over," observes Mr. Weigel.

Full-time Catholicism — a Catholicism that, as the Second Vatican Council taught, infuses all of life and calls everyone in the Church to holiness and mission — is the only possible Catholicism in the twenty-first century.

The Evangelical Catholicism of the future is a Catholicism of radical conversion, deep fidelity, joyful discipleship, and courageous evangelism. Evangelical Catholics put friendship with the Lord Jesus at the center of everything: personal identity, relationships, activity. Evangelical Catholics strive for fidelity despite the wounds of sin, and do so through a daily encounter with the Word of God in the Bible and a regular embrace of Christ through a frequent reception of the sacraments.


Evangelical Catholics experience dry seasons and dark nights, like everyone else; but they live through those experiences by finding their meaning in a deeper conformity to the Cross of Christ — on the far side of which is the unmatchable joy of Easter, the experience of which gives the people of the Church the courage to be Catholic. And evangelical Catholics measure the quality of their discipleship by whether, and to what extent, they give to others what they have been given: by the degree to which they deepen others’ friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ, or bring others to meet the unique savior of the world.

Mr. Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center, is one of the world’s leading authorities of the Catholic Church. He is the author of more than twenty books and is a regular columnist for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Before Evangelical Catholicism, Mr. Weigel is perhaps best known for his comprehensive biography of Blessed Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope, as well as God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church, written shortly after the 2005 Conclave.

Please join us this evening for this informative and timely discussion.

Pope Francis Issues Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium

Pope Francis has issued his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, which follows up on, and expands upon, the work of the Synod on the New Evangelization which met in October 2012. Below are some excerpts from the opening passages.

Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)
His Holiness Pope Francis
Solemnity of Christ the King, November 24, 2013

1. THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.

I. A JOY EVER NEW, A JOY WHICH IS SHARED

2. The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.

3. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards! . . .

6. There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is… But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness… It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam 3:17, 21-23, 26).

7. Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy”. I can say that the most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith. In their own way, all these instances of joy flow from the infinite love of God, who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ. I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”.

8. Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? . . .

17. Here I have chosen to present some guidelines which can encourage and guide the whole Church in a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality. In this context, and on the basis of the teaching of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, I have decided, among other themes, to discuss at length the following questions:

a) the reform of the Church in her missionary outreach;
b) the temptations faced by pastoral workers;
c) the Church, understood as the entire People of God which evangelizes;
d) the homily and its preparation;
e) the inclusion of the poor in society;
f) peace and dialogue within society;
g) the spiritual motivations for mission.

18. I have dealt extensively with these topics, with a detail which some may find excessive. But I have done so, not with the intention of providing an exhaustive treatise but simply as a way of showing their important practical implications for the Church’s mission today. All of them help give shape to a definite style of evangelization which I ask you to adopt in every activity which you undertake. In this way, we can take up, amid our daily efforts, the biblical exhortation: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say: Rejoice” (Phil 4:4).

Please read the complete apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium here.

Matthew Kelly Coming to the Diocese of Arlington

Acclaimed writer and speaker Matthew Kelly is coming to the Arlington Diocese for a special event -- "Living Every Day with Passion & Purpose." Co-hosted by Blessed Sacrament and other parishes, this morning-long celebration of faith will take place on March 22, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Saint Mary's church in Alexandria.



"Are you thriving or just surviving? Are you ready for more energy? A deeper sense of purpose? More joy? A clearer understanding of God’s plan for your life?"
-- This program seeks to help you to become a bold and dynamic Catholic, "living with passion and purpose."

So, save the date, tell your friends, and watch for news on how to get tickets to this exciting event.

Bishop Loverde Invites You to Our Diocesan Pilgrimage on October 12

Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Diocese of Arlington

It is the grace of God and His Son's sacrifice on the Cross that enables us to reach the finish line of eternal life, but we must be willing participants. This means more than just fulfilling our Sunday obligation, though this is certainly essential; it means putting Christ first in our life. To train, we must set aside time for prayer, for spiritual reading, for learning more about the rich deposit of our faith. The Lord is waiting for us to respond to His invitation to delve deeper into a personal relationship with Him. . . .

I invite you to set aside Saturday, October 12 in order to participate in our biennial Diocesan Pilgrimage. This is a concrete way to grow in faith, a day when thousands of diocesan parishioners make the journey to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The pilgrimage will consist of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with a guided meditation, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the availability of the Sacrament of Penance, all spent in the magnificent Shrine dedicated to Our Lady, our first model in faith and discipleship.

During this year's pilgrimage, we will not only have the opportunity to pray with the members of our diocesan Church, but also with Catholics around the world. On the afternoon of October 12, we will participate in an international simulcast wherein ten Marian Shrines around the world will pray the Rosary. This afternoon of prayer with the universal Church will include a message from Pope Francis, uniting himself with us during this Year of Faith.

I encourage you to make this Pilgrimage the first step in your recommitment to an intentional faith, whereby the Lord Jesus is the center of your life. Remember, the Lord cannot be outdone in generosity. The sacrifices that you make in spending time with Jesus and in other activities will bear great fruit in your spiritual life. The Diocesan Pilgrimage is one small journey in the larger pilgrimage that each one of us is making — the pilgrimage to join Mary and the saints at the finish line: in Heaven with the Lord!

Find out more information here. This pilgrimage of faith will encourage families to commit to praying together daily, an essential practice that will help create much-needed peace and stability within the foundation of society, the family. Please join us at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 9:30 a.m. on October 12, the vigil of the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. If you would like transportation from Blessed Sacrament to the Basilica and back, please contact Susan Doyle by clicking on this e-mail link before October 6 to receive further information.

Called & Gifted Workshop Presented Again!

If you missed it the first time, here's another opportunity!  Blessed Sacrament is repeating the Called & Gifted Workshop on Friday, May 3, 7-10 pm and Sat., May 4, 9am-4 pm.  The recorded talks lay out the Church's teachings which undergird the critical role of the laity in Her mission to evangelize.  Small group discussions follow the talks, and each participant is given an inventory on "charisms" (particular Gifts of the Holy Spirit) to take and score during the event.  Following the workshop, participants will schedule phone interviews with the Catherine of Siena Institute to further discern charisms.

Registration is required as lunch will be served.  Please contact Susan Doyle in the parish office:  bscc_dre@yahoo.com.

Phase II of the Called & Gifted series will be scheduled shortly for those who attend this event, as well as for those who attended the workshop during Lent.

 

Called and Gifted Workshops Begin

The Called and Gifted Workshops began on the evening of Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. with talks (pre-taped) by Dominican Father Michael Sweeney, O.P. and Sherry Anne Weddell, co-founders of the Catherine Siena Institute, dedicated to the formation of lay Catholics for their mission in the world.

Each participant received a booklet on the Small Group Process and a copy of the Spiritual Gifts Inventory to review and complete at home.  A discussion of the inventory will be held at next week's meeting on March 4. The talks reminded all of our baptismal vocation as lay people of being sent by Christ into the world to be apostles, sent out to be Christ's witnesses wherever we go and whatever we do.  The reason why we are anointed in baptism and confirmation is to be sent out to share Christ's love, to share our faith in Christ with others and to transform the world.

 

 

The Called and Gifted Worskhops help lay people to identify their spiritual gifts for service to the Church. Upcoming workshops will be held on the following Mondays: March 4, 11, 18 and 25, all at 7:30 p.m. in the church following the 7:00 p.m. Mass.

For more information, please contact the parish office. Join us and discover how YOU are being called to serve God and the Church!

Sherry Weddell on Forming Intentional Disciples

Sherry Weddell, co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute and author of the book Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Know and Follow Jesus spoke at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church last Friday and Saturday about the current state of affairs in the Church in the United States. The talks drew large crowds of people, many from other parishes.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Reed

Ms. Weddell, who gave her talks here on the eve of World Mission Sunday, has been giving similar presentations to parishes and dioceses all over the country, making it her mission to help people to understand their mission of being a fruitful witness of Jesus Christ. In her talks at Blessed Sacrament, she took as her starting point various survey results and statistics (which confirmed what many have suspected all along) showing a disappointing level of knowledge of the faith and involvement in the Church, but more importantly, a failure of so many to understand that our faith is not about simply knowing some religious facts or adopting certain moral and ethical guidelines or about following a bunch of rules.

These survey results demonstrate that, for various reasons, so many people fail to grasp that our Catholic faith is actually primarily about relationship -- having an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ and establishing and fostering a joyous personal relationship with Him. Our faith must become a living and dynamic lived faith, a faith that reflects that relationship of love that we are called to have with our Lord, and not merely a begrudging or passive faith, much less a joyless or even an antagonistic one.

Accordingly, as Ms. Weddell implored, there is a need for us to become "intentional disciples" of Jesus, not merely for ourselves, but so that we might be better able to spread the light of His love and truth to others. Perhaps this need is most pressing with respect to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have drifted or fallen away or ran away from the Church or those still in the Church but who are at risk of leaving now in favor of something else, either Protestant congregations, secular worldly concerns, or outright agnosticism or atheism.

The summary for Ms. Weddell's recent book describes the situation this way:

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples.

These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church.

Consider these statistics for the United States.

•Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing.
•Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.
•The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010.
•Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God.

If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized -- in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.

Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more.

And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Know and Follow Jesus is available for purchase at the Catherine of Siena Institute website (where proceeds will go toward helping the Institute's mission of equipping parishes for the evangelization and formation of lay Catholics for the sake of their mission in the world) or at other places where books are sold. The website also includes the Intentional Disciples Blog, where Ms. Weddell posts and continues the discussion she began in her book and speaking tour.
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See also "Called to radiate the Word of truth," Message of Pope Benedict for World Mission Day 2012.

Snapshots from the Bishop's Synod on the New Evangelization

The Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith is continuing its work in Rome through all of next week, concluding on October 28. Vatican Radio has some photographs on its Facebook page providing a nice insider's look on the bishops and Pope in the Synod hall.

On Wednesday, October 17, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and Relator General for the Synod on the New Evangelization, provided a report on the discussion thus far at the Synod:

For the past several weeks, we have listened attentively to the reflections on what the New Evangelization means and how the Church might best address concerns that have led to this call by our Holy Father for a New Evangelization. . . . These following reflections are intended in some way to help the discussion in the language groups (circoli minori) as they prepare propositions to offer to the Holy Father at the conclusion of our work. With these observations I also include a number of points for development.

In this relatio, I will summarize some of the observations presented under the following headings:
1. The Nature of the New Evangelization;
2. The Context of the Church’s Ministry Today;
3. Pastoral Responses to the Circumstances of Our Day; and
4. Agents / Participants of the New Evangelization.

Read the rest of Cardinal Wuerl's report at Zenit News Service.

Below is a video report about Cardinal Wuerl and the Synod. Please note that sometimes there may be a delay in the video loading from YouTube to your browser.

Let Us Pray

by Mark Rothe
Master Catechist, Diocese of Arlington

It begins . . . with prayer. It begins as it should, as it must if it is to be fruitful, with prayer.

Most appropriately, the Year of Faith was inaugurated at Blessed Sacrament with that most special prayer which involves adoration of our Lord in the most Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. There is a great need in this Year of Faith, together with the New Evangelization, for a better appreciation of the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, Father Anthony Killian said in his sermon at the Holy Hour on Thursday, October 11. He noted how St. Faustina recounts in her diary when Jesus had sadly told her that, all too often, with respect to the Eucharist, people "treat me as a dead object." But He is alive -- in Him, all things are made new, and we can ourselves be renewed in receiving the living Risen Christ, "the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ." (CCC 1405, quoting St. Ignatius of Antioch)

Renewal in Him and through Him is a major reason for the Year of Faith. It is an exhortation to be renewed, Fr. Killian said, so that we can then joyously take that renewed and reinvigorated faith to others.

It must be a living faith and a lived faith that we take to others, rather than treating our Lord and our faith as if they are dead objects. We must open our hearts to Him, to His Spirit of Love and Truth, and worthily receive His Body in Holy Communion with Him, so that His Light might more clearly shine through us, through our lives and witness of Him.

How might we open our hearts in this Year of Faith? What are some of the activities we might engage in during this Year? How might we better inform our intellects and prepare ourselves for the New Evangelization, for our actively participating in the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to a cold and dark world sorely in need of some good news?

There are and will be plenty of opportunities to renew and grow in your faith this coming year. For example, Pope Benedict chose October 11, 2012, to open the Year of Faith precisely to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, this would be a good opportunity to study the Council, including both the texts and understanding why Pope John XXIII was inspired to call the Council, what he sought to accomplish in the Council, and what the Council fathers believed they had done upon its conclusion, so that you might properly read the texts in continuity with the entire 2000-year deposit of faith. One might also take the occasion to read the various magisterial documents implementing the teachings of the Council, as well as reading other encyclicals, apostolic exhortations, etc. on other aspects of the faith.

In addition to reading authoritative magisterial documents, you might also read some of the writings of the doctors of the Church, the early Church Fathers, and other saints. You might read these materials on your own or you might take advantage of the many programs and talks that are offered at Blessed Sacrament and nearby parishes. For example, this coming Thursday at 7 p.m., we are showing Episode Three of Father Robert Barron's excellent Catholicism series as part of our Cinema Catechism program, and there are also showings on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. On Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., Sherry Weddell, author of Forming Intentional Disciples and co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, will be speaking on New Evangelization in the Year of Faith: "Do We Believe More in God's Love Than In Our Own Weakness?" Ms. Weddell is also giving a talk on Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., entitled "Forming Intentional Disciples: A Workshop for Parish Leaders" (registration is requested).

If you have not already read the Catechism, now is a good time to do so, or re-read it. The Catechism is a precious and indispensable tool to arrive at a systematic knowledge of the content of the faith, Pope Benedict reminds us in Porta Fidei. Of course, you might even think about reading the Bible -- the whole Bible. Find a good and authoritative translation that you feel comfortable with and read it in its entirety.

Beyond personal study, you who are married should be helping your spouse to grow in the Lord and you parents should become more engaged in your children's religious formation. This would also be a good time to become more active in the parish. Outside the parish, you might consider becoming more active in various works of mercy and charity in the community.

However, in all of these various activities that we might engage in during the Year of Faith seeking to renew our own faith, to wake ourselves from our slumber, so that we might be better and more effective workers in the vineyard of the Lord, if we are to be successful, if the vineyard is to actually bear fruit, we cannot do these things on our own. We need help. We need the Lord to accompany us in the field and as we journey through life. In short, we need to pray.

The Year of Faith and the New Evangelization begin with prayer. They must begin with prayer and they must continue to be prayerful throughout. In humble prayer, in responding to the Lord who is already calling upon us, we open our hearts to communication and communion with God. The whole point of the Year of Faith is to grow in faith, which means not simply gaining in intellectual knowledge of various facts about Jesus, but having a closer and more intimate encounter with Him personally. Our knowledge of Him who is Life must be a living knowledge, a knowledge that is alive, and not merely an inanimate acquisition of facts as if He were a dead thing, as if He was merely some historical guy from ancient Nazareth.

We must know Him in our hearts by maintaining communication with Him through prayer, not only so that we might ever be connected with Eternal Life, but so that we might be able to be His witnesses. "It is always important for us to remember that the first condition to speak about God is to speak with God," instructs Pope Benedict XVI (Address of May 24, 2012), echoing what he said before he became Pope, "We ourselves cannot gather men. We must acquire them by God for God. All methods are empty without the foundation of prayer. The word of the announcement must always be drenched in an intense life of prayer." (Address of December 12, 2000)

So, let us seek to improve ourselves in our prayer life. In his homily at last Wednesday evening's Mass, Fr. Killian said that one of the biggest things that people raise with him and other priests is a desire to improve their prayer life. This is nothing new -- the Apostles themselves asked Jesus how to better pray. Especially in this noisy world, where there are all sorts of distractions, and what with all the various hardships that people endure, which might cause us anxiety and restlessness, prayer can be difficult at times.

Perhaps one way to improve yourself with respect to prayer is simply to make a more concerted effort to pray. Every day. Make an act of the will and decisively resolve to set aside one or two times, five or ten minutes every day (or more), perhaps when you first wake up or before going to bed or some other specific time, and simply bring your life to a screeching halt. Call a time-out and just stop all those worldly things that you otherwise would do. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and try to shut out the world. And then pray. Even if the world tries to intrude, just keep going. Speak to God, open your heart to Him, and allow Him to speak to you. Indeed, in prayer, God has already taken the initiative, and we are really responding to Him when we pray.

If your mind is too flustered to pray in your own words, pray with the Church with the standardized written prayers, the Our Father, Glory Be, the Hail Mary, etc., so it is not just you praying individually, but praying in communion with all the faithful. Make this part of your routine, seeking the grace to be able to pray better, so that if you are not able to shut out the world on your own, God will give you the help by grace to do so, and your prayer life will improve. If you are really ambitious, consider learning the prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours, where you alternate a selection of psalms with other prayers and readings, and which is ideally said at the given specific times of the day.

Another possibility in improving your prayer life this year might be to go beyond personal prayer and participating in the many prayer groups at Blessed Sacrament or other parishes. One excellent and highly recommended opportunity right now is 40 Days for Life. Beside these 40 days, there are permanent prayer vigils held every day outside local abortion facilities. Also on a permanent basis at Blessed Sacrament are Eucharist Adoration on Fridays, children's Adoration on Fridays, the Legion of Mary on Thursdays, the Padre Pio prayer group on Sundays, the Mom's Rosary Group, and others.

The Year of Faith has begun with prayer. Let it continue with prayer. Let us pray that the Lord stay with us and walk with us. Let us pray, "Credo Domine, adauge nobis fidem!" (I believe, Lord, increase our faith!). In the communion of prayer, let us join ourselves with His Mother, our Blessed Mother, and the other saints, so that they might ever be at our side, guiding us and praying with and for us. With prayer, we keep the soil fertile, we keep the soil watered, and thus we allow the seeds planted in our hearts by God to grow and bear fruit.

Father Cregan Attends Rome Conference on the New Evangelization

    As the Church looks ahead to both the Year of Faith (Oct. 11, 2012-Nov. 24, 2013) declared by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei (Door of faith) and the October 2012 Synod of Bishops on “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” our pastor, Father John Cregan, gathered in Rome last month with thousands of participants from around the world at a conference to discuss efforts in the New Evangelization.  The meeting was organized by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, established by Pope Benedict in June 2010, with the theme “New Evangelizers for the New Evangelization - The Word of God grows and spreads.”

Father Cregan said he was invited because he is a spiritual director for the international group Youth 2000. “The whole purpose was to gather input for this new office they have for the New Evangelization initiative and that will be presented to the bishops next year when they come for the Synod,” he said. On Saturday, Oct. 15 the conference participants met the Pope in the Paul VI Audience Hall and on Sunday, Oct. 16 they attended Mass celebrated by the Pope in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Knowledge of the faith was a key message of the conference. “If we are going to evangelize, we have to know our faith -- make sure that you are truly a faithful Catholic follower of Jesus, that you embrace all the teachings of the Church and that you know your faith,” said Father Cregan.  “We can’t give what we don’t have.”

           The Pope himself described the world’s need for the New Evangelization in June 2010 when he established the new Pontifical Council, saying its “principal task will be to promote a renewed evangelization in the countries where the first proclamation of the faith has already resonated and where Churches with an ancient foundation exist but are experiencing the progressive secularization of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God.’”

Father Cregan pointed out, “Where secularism and relativism come together is this loss of the understanding of moral absolutes, that there is Truth.  It is a reality.  … If we don’t embrace the Truth and see that there are moral absolutes it hurts us and we lose an awful lot.  The secular world basically doesn’t look up, they look this way (horizontal) and values are lost.”

How does someone participate in the New Evangelization? Father Cregan explained, “To me it’s one on one.  It’s (through) the people that God brings into your life and He wants you to be an instrument of the truth coming to these people.  (It’s through) little things, like you go to work and say to someone ‘I hear your mother is very sick.  I want you to know yesterday at church I prayed for your Mom.’  We’re showing ourselves as people of faith.”  He also encouraged families to have and read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and for young people to read YOUCAT, a catechism for youth that was distributed at the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain.

“When issues come up that are contrary to the teachings of the Church we can speak in a kind, compassionate but very direct way … to help people to see that people don’t go along with the flow,” he added.  “You give people something to think about.  But then through the joy of your life you make (the faith) very attractive.”

Father Cregan also stressed the importance of the Eucharist and how necessary it is “to develop a love for this gift because it’s a gift of love, it’s a sacrament of love.  It is a life changer because it brightens our life with hope and lifts us up above our weaknesses.  It’s such an incredible gift …If we stay in holy communion with Jesus through this sacrament, it’s a sure way to Heaven.”

The author, Jennifer Reed, is a Blessed Sacrament Parishioner.