Hail, thou Life-Giving Cross!

This is the holy week of Christ, the week of the divine passion. This is the week of mankind's redemption. Let all mortal flesh attend and with awe behold the unfolding mystery of salvation.

The Lord of Heaven in flesh made manifest rides upon the foal of an ass. The King is come to his chief city to purify her of all unrighteousness,
...To tear down the high places,
...To level the altars of false gods,
...To grind to dust the abominations of idolaters.

Examine your hearts, brethren in Christ, and meet your Lord at the gate of your heart to allow him liberty to purify you from all sin, to take away all doubt, to plant faith in your hearts and fill you with all hope.

The Lamb of God, both divine priest and spotless victim, shall offer himself upon the altar of the Holy Cross for the life of the world. Let all the faithful give heed and mark well the wounds of Christ by which his precious blood was poured out for the cleansing of our souls and bodies. From his side flowed both water and blood. The water signifies our baptism, not a mere outward washing away of dirt, but the spiritual cleansing of our souls by the Holy Spirit who indwells the faithful and unites them in the Body of Christ through which the barrier of the Law has been nullified and we are reconciled to the Father.

Behold the Holy Cross of Jesus!
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Behold the victory of God over Satan and the powers of Hades!
Behold the price of the world's redemption!
Behold the love of God!

“Hail! life-giving Cross, unconquerable trophy of the true faith, door to Paradise, succour of the faithful, rampart set about the Church. Through thee the curse is utterly destroyed, the power of death is swallowed up, and we are raised from earth to heaven...”

In Explanation...

It has been some time since I posted on here and, since I was sort of the one originally championing the cause of the blog, a lapse in other postings as well.  For this I must apologize and give explanation.

I am now officially a lost sheep, a prodigal son, or one of the lapsed.  I have been struggling with many things since June of last year and this blog was actually, in part, an attempt of mine to stem the tide of my own impending disbelief in God and disenchantment with life.  I figured if I could steep myself in scripture once more and gain an audience or a group of friends I would find purpose once again.  I have not.  And life has quickly consumed the joy which once I only found in pursuing Christ.

But I can't find it there any longer.  I read and pray...nothing.  I go to Church, try to sing, listen intently...nothing.  I work with the youth and try to teach...nothing.  I can no longer be a hypocrite and continue in these things.  I have turned from my Faith because I feel my Faith has turned from me.  Try as I might, I can't touch it any longer, I can't feel it pulse through my veins, I draw little strength and no peace from it.  I have no hope that anything now is working to my good.  No hope at all actually.  Henry David Thoreau, a deist, once said that the masses lead lives of quiet desperation.  I agree with him and am succumbing now to the quiet desperation my life has been consumed by.

This is why I have not posted on here lately.  I didn't feel it would be right as I dealt with the weight of these feelings to act as if everything was ok; so I said nothing at all.  But my feelings have got to the breaking point and my grip on life and faith has dissolved to the point that I fear the complete loss of both (a recent  hospital visit confirmed the former).  So I leave the blog to whatever future it has under Brett and Stephen (and maybe myself if I can find my way back to the fold so-to-speak) and apologize for its short history.  I encourage you all to continue in the faith and give me a model to live up to again.     For now, however, I cannot pretend to have my stuff together and will no longer contribute to a blog knowing that I have nothing of any worth to say at this point in time.

I wish you well,

Chris

On Virginity, or the Consecrated Life

Preachers, teachers, parents, and other authorities have taught many of us from an early age that preserving one's virginity is very important. This was always communicated under the assumption that it would someday be given to our spouses. Sadly this teaching has focused simply on maintaining virginity until marriage and does not even take into consideration the honourable, laudable, and holy state of the Consecrated Life as a possibility for youth of today. It is assumed that the procreative urges natural in all humans must be indulged at some point and that a truly fulfilled life requires marriage and a family. Marriage and children are good and holy things, but we do our young people a disservice to not offer them the option of living a life wholly consecrated to the love and service of God.

In Christianity, monasticism has been designated as the path for single people who desire to remain single. A community of believers wedded to Christ and the Church who have set themselves apart to the service of God can be a powerful force with which to be reckoned. The influence of consecrated men and women on the life of the Church is tremendous and should not be dismissed.

St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 commends the unmarried life to single believers as preferable to that of the married life. Remaining unmarried, in St. Paul's estimation, allows believers to be fully focused on the work of Christ and the Church. However, if a man or women finds that controlling lustful passions is best served through marriage, no sin is committed, but fidelity to one's spouse is required. Too often seeking marriage in order to control passions is used as a convenient excuse for not engaging in serious discernment concerning the consecrated life of virginity. I would urge you, beloved of Christ, think carefully about what God would have you do. It is far better for you to admit the possibility of being called to consecrated life than to rashly marry and cause great distress through not properly discerning the will of God.

In conclusion, I do not condemn or denigrate the married life, but I do wish to praise the consecrated life. It is distressing that, especially in North America, we have so abandoned monasticism that it no longer figures into the lives of Christians or is even considered as a viable option among our youth. In our society that places such a premium on indulging every whim and passion, that insists on getting everything exactly as desired, it would be a good and holy thing for Christian youth to consider once again the call of Christ to deny themselves, take up their Cross, and follow Christ, even to the point of leaving behind family, wealth, and worldly aspirations.

May God send forth his Spirit to put into the hearts of many the vocation to the consecrated life. Amen.

Veni, Veni Immanuel

An author I have been reading lately as part of my Lenten preparations said that the beginning of theology occurs when we take the historical event of Christ’s death on the Cross and instead ask the Christian why? While some may see the holes in this, the point is when we reflect upon why Christ died when He could have avoided the Cross; we begin the discipline and joy of theology. And while this doesn’t quite relate to the purpose of this post per se I wanted purely to say that often we can get lost in the complexities or problems of faith when what we need at most times is to simple come before the Cross and lose ourselves in the mystery of Christ’s passion.

It is with this Spirit that I have thus come to approach Lent. Often the direction of my Lenten study, and importantly the books I want to read and meditate on come well before the season. This year was different, this year I struggled. I had no idea what to read, I had no idea what to study, I had no idea what to base my meditations upon. I even had no idea what to fast from. The traditional fast seemed appealing as a means to overcome this but as I prayed about and considered it, it just did not seem right. The book from which the insight in the first paragraph comes, John Behr’s “The Mystery of Christ” was one I had long meant to read and turned to a week in to Lent out of desperation. From there came readings in the Apostolic Fathers, and now in an effort to truly get myself into the season I am reading the Lent sermons of Andrewes and St. Leo the Great. And while this is great I was reminded last weekend that I have missed the point. I have let my religion and spirituality lose its grounding and allowed it to become complicated. 

What spurred this Epiphany was simply the remembrance in my mind of the great Advent hymn, Veni, Veni Immanuel (A link to one version of the text will be at the ned of the post). The first line, O Come, O Come Immanuel, reminded me what was truly important about Lent, indeed reminded what is most important at all times of the year. What I need, what we all truly need is Christ. At all times, in all places, in all situations I and we need Christ. I didn’t need to read specific books or meditate on certain words, symbols or images. I just needed to allow myself to remember that I need Christ. I NEED CHRIST. Nothing else and most importantly nobody else. Only Christ gives me life, only Christ can guide my paths, only Christ can bring me to the Father, from whom I can adore and find peace, comfort, joy and peace by the Holy Ghost. The simple task, the simple thing I needed to do this Lent was to remind myself to be lost, to allow myself to be reminded that I need Christ, and I need Him continually.

As I have studied theology at College level, I have often found the pursuit of knowledge of God far more appealing whether recognised or not, rather than pursuing to be alone, to be vulnerable, to be stripped bare before Christ. To be humbled before Him, to come completely empty and broken as I am before Him each and every day, acknowledging Him as the fountain of life, of wisdom and of knowledge. And while God has used my study to draw me close to Him, to reveal Himself to me, too often I have felt that I will be most effective to Him if I can become a great theologian, a great Patristics scholar or a great historian. Though of course these aren't bad goals I have too often approached them first instead of turning to God first. I have approached study to find God when I should have realised all I needed to do was allow God to work in me. To stop, take the time each day to genuinely pray, not just to talk but to listen and to be silent in His presence. If it is His will, God will provide absolutely all that I need to be a great theologian, Patristics scholar etc. (I should point out I don't want this for fame, such as there is, not many would have heard of Barth, Moltmann or Rahner, but because I want to know all that I can, about the faith I love and the God I adore), but it will be all for nothing, if I don't put Him first. I must each and every day, during many times today call upon Christ and ask Him to come, to come and redeem this captive.

 

While I am continuing my reading with this renewed focus, I am singing and reciting the hymn daily, to remind myself that all I need, and all I will ever need is Christ. For Christ alone can satisfy my soul, my needs and my wants, and only Christ can lead me into the life that will not only bring out my full potential but allow me to be all that God wants me to be for others. St. Irenaeus says that “Man fully alive is the Glory of God”, that is what I want for my life, and that I can only aspire to achieve if first I allow myself to be taken over by Christ. To be filled by Him and to be completely surrendered to Him. So Come, O Come Immanuel, and renew Thy captive Israel.

May God bless you this Lenten season and may you be reminded that all you, and all that we need is for Christ to come to us, upon us, and in us. I am interested also to hear what others are doing during this Lenten season.

Here's the link for the text of the hymn:  http://www.carols.org.uk/o_come_come_emmanuel.htm

Peace and Blessings,

Brett

Ash Wednesday

The readings appointed for Mass this day in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (USA) are taken from the Joel 2:12, and St. Matthew 6:16.

To most attentive worshipers, these lections would seem to be preaching contradictory messages. On the one hand, the Prophet Joel would seem to call for a holy fast, “Turn ye even to me, saith the Lord, with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning...Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar....” For those involved in the Right to Life movement, the National Day of Prayer, or other public penitential movements, this imagery is not at all foreign. Our liturgical worship on this day evokes some of this sentiment as well.

By contrast the Gospel lection enjoins, “When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Is not this teaching contrary to our liturgy, the solemn assemblies such as National Day of Prayer, or the forty-day fasts called by Protestant leaders? What do we make of this?

I suspect the reason behind the choice of these lessons has nothing to do with a sinister anti-liturgy, puritanical, or anti-catholic plot. The Prophet Joel calls us to keep a holy Lent. Now is the time for fasting. We who have been joyful and comforted over the previous season through the celebration of our Lord's Nativity and Epiphany are called to be confronted with our own sinfulness, our mortality, the sin-corrupted world we live in, and understand that indeed, salvation did not come through a flourish of God's magic wand, but rather came through the Son of God living, suffering, and dieing as one of us. In order to deliver us from sin and redeem corrupted creation, he had to endure the effects of sin (cf. Romans).

The Gospel lection calls us to fast rightly. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not good works done to be seen by men and thereby earn us praise and honour from their lips. I say go and receive the ashes on your forehead and take on a discipline. But be warned against lifting up your heart in pride. Remember that all our righteousnesses are bloody rags. There is nothing wrong with the tradition we have received and follow. We worship with our whole body. As such external things, like ashes, matter as a way of making tangible the internal and invisible, and helps keep a communal understanding of the fast.

In conclusion, let us make our Lent holy. Let us live simply, come to terms with our sinfulness, and look to God for forgiveness and grace, whose love for mankind was so great that he became man, lived, suffered, and died for our sins, but rose again, ascended to God's right hand, and will come again in glory.

Almighty God, we give you thanks for the gift of your Son, Jesus the Christ, who took on our human nature to redeem us from death and reconcile us to you in his body; we especially ask that as we embark with him upon the long journey to Mount Calvary, we might be given the grace to put to death the sinful affections of our flesh and cultivate new, holy habits, so that in this time, and throughout all our life, we might show your love and glory to all men. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Valentine's Day Reflections

The more and more I have grown older and subsequently in my knowledge of Christianity and society the more I am struck by the oddities the latter’s beliefs and traditions. Saint Valentine’s Day is a case in point. We celebrate two Saints days in Australia which occur throughout the Western World. Saint Valentine and Saint Patrick. Despite being a country with a strong British heritage, and one that continues, the saints, George, Andrew and David, are forgotten, despite being the patron saints of England, Scotland and Wales respectively. Ironically they make up the Union Jack which is on the Australian flag but most Australians wouldn’t able to explain the meaning our flag either. Patrick is seen as representative of Ireland and a reason to celebrate what is great about Ireland and general Irish-ness. Also the fact that he was Welsh and helped convert the Irish to Christianity is largely forgotten.

Australia also has one native saint now in St. Mary Mackillop (admittedly only recent so no chance to grow in national celebration and very unlikely to) and THREE patron saints. Of which no one would have any clue to their names, let alone their lives. There is only one official patron, the Blessed Virgin, but we have also had St. Francis Xavier and St. Therese of Lisieux both patrons of universal missions. The fact that by a quirk of Western history which Australians wouldn’t on the whole would be able to explain (High immigration to Australia by the Irish) we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or (Because largely of romantic literature of the Middle Ages and its effect upon Christian society of the time) St. Valentine’s Day.

What however St. Valentine’s and Saint Patrick’s does offer, along with the great festivals of Christmas and Easter, a chance to put forward the Gospel. I sincerely believe that with Hot Cross Buns (for Americans, rolls with crosses on the top eaten traditionally on Good Friday) and the incessant amount of carols played at shops over Christmas the Holy Ghost can use such simple things as buns and carols to draw people to Himself, to get them thinking, to get them questioning and asking what Easter and Christmas are all about. Our thoughts should be turned to praying that the little left we have in the forms of public expressions of Christianity can be used by God, and that people may be stirred to either at Christmas or Easter attend church or merely look up the meaning behind the days. We are lucky here in Australia that Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are public holidays enabling people the chance to attend services but also ensuring that they are at the centre of Australian society. ANZAC Day without doubt is the national holiday, but Christmas is the high point of the year for most. Saint Valentine’s and Saint Patrick’s are both highly publicised, though not public holidays, and serve as opportunities to bring up our faith by engaging with the resources we have to do so. I was able to share with a guy at work that among the many stories of Saint Valentine was that he was engaged with soldiers and their women being able to get married in secret defying Roman law. Such a story that paint Christianity in a positive light serve as chances to share about our faith and the religion we are a part of. They may seem trivial or not workable but every chance we have we should take.

Another thing that got me thinking on Saint Valentine’s Day were the amount of single people I met upset or trying to be content to be single on the day. This got me thinking because if in secular eyes Saint Valentine’s is all about love and showing love to the person who means the most in our lives, then surely as Christians we can use this as a day to show our love to God and to reflect on His love for us. A love that was made very clear at Calvary. As Christians we a part of the Church, the bride of Christ, we are Christ’s bride and He is our husband.  This in turn emphasises the importance of marriage in society, for mankind, and the importance of the family as a place for children to be raised and nurtured. That marriage is given definition not by what society says or a minority insists it should be, but rather created by God as a sign and symbol, perhaps the deepest we have of our relationship with God. Marriage then becoming the very definition of our relation with Him. With Christ as my husband then the need for a bride drops dramatically (though I do want to be married one day) and the emphasis of a day taken over by society can once again be used as Christians as a day at least for us to draw closer to God, and to bring glory and honour to Him. If we can do this and strive to do it with intent that will surely be the best way to honour Saint Valentine and Saint Patrick as well as providing us with another day to glorify God and to spread His name amongst the nations.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about this. I do firmly believe that the Church should embrace the role that Saint Valentine’s plays in our societies and use it as a means of growing Christians, help them deepen their understanding their relationship with God, as well as strengthen the sacrament of marriage and the role of the family in society.

Peace and Blessings,

Brett

Joint Post: What does it mean to be living in the age of the Church?

So it is time for our first "joint post" as authors of this blog.  When I originally posed the idea of this blog to Brett, I stressed that not only should we have individual posts whenever we had opportunity, but once in awhile we should put our heads together on a single question.  So we have decided to answer the following question: 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE LIVING IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH?  HOW OUGHT THIS SHAPE AND COLOR OUR MINISTRY?

Our three individual answers are as follows (and we did not collaborate on any of these responses, they are each our own).  The wealth of perspective on this question is stimulating and very interesting.  Thank you for putting your heads together on this with me, guys.  And please comment so we can keep the discussion going (especially if you read the blog!).

Brett's response:

Without the need to qualify basic truths my answer begins as follows:

To be living in the age of the Church means that our whole lives should be centered and directed upon serving her. She is the bride of Christ, instituted by Christ Himself, sustained by the Holy Ghost to be a living witness to God upon the Earth. Israel was a sign of God's presence in the world, but with the Advent of Jesus and his rejection by Israel, the Church becomes the sign of God in the world. Her role is to contionously point to God. Her role is to allow people through herself to see the light of Christ. She exists to serve God and to serve the world.

She preserves the teaching entrusted to her by the Christ, the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition handed down by the Apostles and maintained by Orthodox writers throughout the centuries. This may seem irrelevant but it is not so, for the maintaining of true doctrine is imperative for the Church to stay within the will of God. She also offers the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion which give visual evidence to the change that has happened upon the inside. By the Holy Spirit in Baptism we are washed and made clean beginning our new lives in Christ and by Holy Communion we are united to the Holy Trinity, united as the mystical body of Church to all Christians at all times and places who have participated in the Paschal Feast.

The Church forms and guides us, prepares us and sustains us for the doing of God's work. While she may not be perfect, she is the true and right way for an individual to express and live out their faith. Christ established the Church and we cannot claim to be Christians without at least seeking to become part of the Church Catholic in a particular location. The Church is our mother. the Church is Christ's bride. Nothing brings us closer to God and to each other, than the Church. Therefore service in and for the Church is our ministry. All that we do is pointed to Christ for the sake of Christ and done within and for His Church. Not so she may be glorified but that the God she serves may be glorified. She prepares us for the life to come, the life spent with Christ, eagerly anticipating His Second Coming.


Stephen's response:  

In a way this question asks us to consider the vocation of the Church.  Who are we, what are we doing here, and how are we supposed to do it?  No discussion of ecclesial identity would be complete without at least a nod to the broken relationship between God and Man.  It was to reconcile us to Father that the Son became Man, lived, suffered, died, rose from the dead, and bodily ascended into heaven.  On the day of Pentecost the Most Holy and Blessed Theotokos, Mary the Virgin, together with the holy Apostles, and many other disciples received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The Apostles would go on to teach us in the Epistles that we who have been baptized by water and the spirit into the death and resurrection of Christ are made members of the Body of Christ.  Thus, our identity is fundamentally tied to the Incarnation as the means of our redemption and theosis.

What is our purpose?  The Great Commission is our statement of purpose.  As we are going into all the nations we are to proclaim to them the Gospel of the Lord, teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us, and to baptize them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  In short, our mission is to bring Christ to the nations so that the nation might partake of Christ and be saved.  How is this commission to be fulfilled?  We proclaim the message by our words and our deeds so that the nations might be stirred by the Holy Spirit to repentance.  We are to teach Christ so that the nations will learn and follow Christ.  And never to be neglected are the sacraments as conduits of grace.  Confession and repentance are needful, as are proper catechetical instruction.  Baptism is just as necessary, not only because of our Lord's command, but also because of the spiritual benefits that we receive.  Proclamation, teaching, and sacrament are all equally necessary to make a Christian.

How then does this affect our ministries?  The clergy (bishops, priests, and deacons) are to be the servants of the servants of God.  Their job is to model Christ to the Faithful, to teach, equip, and coordinate the Faithful as we collectively execute the Great Commission, and to administer the sacraments.  To put it simply, clergy are in the business of discipleship and coordination.  The Faithful are the 'boots on the ground'.  It is the job of every baptized Christian to exercise the 'priesthood of all believers.'  Quite simply this troublesome phrase means mediating Christ to the world around you.  As Christians (little Christs) we need to be about the business of proclaiming and revealing Christ to the world through our lives in our relationships with other people.  That can't be done unless we are growing in Christ.

I will conclude my remarks here before another paragraph of that skims through ascetical theology consumes more space.  In summary, the Church continues the work of Christ reconciling the world to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells her.


Chris' Response:


As the self-proclaimed mystic in the group, my answer may prove a bit absurd.  I want to go a bit beyond the basic understanding of fulfilling The Great Commission and the like and pick up on a more nuanced understanding of what it means to be living in the "Church Age."  So, up front, I believe first and foremost in the supremacy of the Church in fulfilling the Great Commission, following the leading of the Spirit, discipling believers, upholding orthodoxy, and loving.  Putting all of that aside, allow me to digress:  The Church is the Bride of Christ.  This is a metaphor I have never taken lightly and I believe it has radical implications for the Church should we truly adopt it as a guiding principle.  Why?  Because by "Bride of Christ," I truly mean bride.  Yes, with all the sexual trappings of the word as well (I am one who does see Song of Solomon as an allegory of God's love for his bride, the Church--a sensual, romantic, passionate love).  In essence, then, the same speech given the bride at any Christian wedding you'd hear today is the same speech we all need to hear as Christians forming the corporate body of Christ's bride.  If we are to be Christ's bride then I think it is worth looking at the Biblical ideals for a bride to allegorically understand our role in the world in this, the age of the church.


So what does the Bible tell us about being a good bride?  Quite a bit actually.  However, us authors all agreed to make these answers fairly short so I cannot be exhaustive in my answers.  If you read the passages I outline as an allegory for the Church, God's bride, as well as instructions for human brides you will see several important qualities of living in the Church age.  Allow me to go through a few (again, remember that I am reading these as an allegory for the Church as a bride/wife and God as husband):

1. Proverbs 31--This famous passage describes the "ideal" woman/bride.  As such, I think it contains many truths about being Christ's ideal bride, the Church.  Verse 10 says that the Church, if she acts nobly, is more valuable to God than rubies.  Verse 11 states that God has full confidence in us.  In verse 12 the Church Bride "brings good" to God, not harm.  Verses 13-16 tell of the Church bride being industrious, hardworking, ceaselessly faithful to her family, and wise with funds.  She works vigorously (17), does not rest (18), "opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy" (20), cares for those in the household (21), is strong and dignified (25), speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction (26), she is not idle and cares about the affairs of the house (28).  Above all, she fears the Lord and honors God with the work of her hands (30-31).  If read allegorically, the power of those statements for the Church is unmistakable.
2. Song of Solomon--The whole book is arguably an allegory for Christ's bedding with the Church, his bride.  It is full of sensual, erotic imagery and captures the passion of an all-encompassing love for God (I will blog more about this later).  It tells us, the Church, that we are to bed Christ, become intimately attached with Him, know every contour of his body, and touch of his presence.  We should know him intimately and passionately and unashamedly declare the pleasure we get from such a relationship (it sounds odd, but I think it true none-the-less).
3. 1 Peter 3:1--Tells wives to be subject to their husband so that others are won over to him by the conduct of the wife alone
4. 1 Peter 3:2-6--Tells wives not to adorn themselves externally, but to adorn their heart.  It's not about the appearances, but the spirit behind them
5. Ephesians 5:22-6:9--This passage makes the allegorical interpretation I am using explicit

I promised Stephen and Brett I would keep my answer short.  I feel as if I did not answer it in full, however.  I think it is simple enough, however, to state that the meaning of living in the Church Age (in my estimation) is to be the bride of Christ and to act in accordance with all the Biblical ideals of a Bride.  This should be our goal.  I hope I am helping the Church to be the best bride possible.


So there you have it!  What do y'all think?  The goal of this post was too give a breadth of opinion and insight on one specific issue.  I hope it is illuminating.


In Christ,


Chris, Stephen, and Brett