Spirituality: A Religious Belief by Anthony de Mello, S.J.

A religious belief… is not a statement about Reality, but a hint, a clue about something that is a mystery, beyond the grasp of human thought.

In short, a religious belief is only a finger pointing to the moon. Some religious people never get beyond the study of the finger. Others are engaged in sucking it. Others yet use the finger to gouge their eyes out. These are the bigots whom religion has made blind. Rare indeed is the religionist who is sufficiently detached from the finger to see what it is indicating— these are those who, having gone beyond belief, are taken for blasphemers. (One Minute Nonsense (1992), p.134)

Song: Bashana Haba'ah

Next year, when peace will come,
we shall return to the simple pleasures
of life so long denied us.

You will see, you will see,
O how good it will be, next year!

Bashana haba'ah
neshev al hamirpeset
v'nis por tsiporim nod'dot
y'ladim b'chufsha y'sachaku
to feset ben habayit l'ven hasadot
od tire kama tov yiye
bashana bashana hab'ah

Poem: The Angels for the Nativity of our Lord, William Drummond, early 17th century

Run, shepherds, run where Bethlem blest appears,
We bring the best of news, be not dismayed,
A Savior there is born more old than years,
Amidst heaven’s rolling heights this earth who stayed:
In a poor cottage inned, a virgin maid
A weakling did him bear, who all upbears;
There is he, poor swaddled, in a manger laid,
To whom too marrow swaddlings are our spheres:
Run, shepherds, run, and solemnize his birth,
This is that night – no, day, grown great with bliss,
In which the power of Satan broken is;
In heaven be glory, peace unto earth!
Thus singing, through the air the angels swam,
And cope of stars re-echoed the same.

Poem: A Baby is Born, Anonymous, 15th century

A baby is born us bliss to bring;
A maiden I heard lullay sing:
‘Dear son, now leave thy weeping,
They father is the king of bliss.’

‘Nay, dear mother, for you weep I not,
But for the things that shall be wrought
Or that I have mankind i-bought:
Was there never pain like it iwis.’

‘Peace, dear son, say thou me not so.
Thou art my child, I have no mo.
Alas! That I should see this woe:
It were to me great heaviness.’

‘My handes, mother, that ye now see,
They shall be nailed on a tree;
My feet, also, fastened shall be:
Full many shall weep that it shall see.’

‘Alas! dear son, sorrow is now my hap;
To see the child that sucks my pap
So ruthfully taken out of my lap:
It were to me great heaviness.’

‘Also, mother, there shall be a spear
My tendere heart all-to-tear;
The blood shall cover my body there:
Great ruthe it shall be to see.’

‘Ah! dear son, that is a heavy case.
When Gabriel kneeled before my face
And said, “Hail! Lady, full of grace,”
He never told me nothing of this.’

‘Dear mother, peace, now I you pray,
And take no sorrow for that I say,
But sing this song, “By, by, lullay,”
To drive away all heaviness.’

Liturgical Notes for The Advent Season

We just celebrated the Second Sunday of Advent and a churchgoer will notice the following changes in the Mass:

1. Advent has a Lenten feel to it. Mostly, the church is stripped down to its bare essentials. Flowers, plants, and decorations are removed from the church so that the faithful can recognize that we are waiting, yearning for the arrival of Christ.

2. Purple (Dark blue) and pink are Advent colors. Since Advent has four Sundays, an Advent wreath is lit in the church on each Sunday. Two purple ones are lit for the first and second Sundays, a rose pink one is lit for Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday to mark the halfway point, then a final purple candle is lit for the fourth Sunday. When Christmas occurs, some customs place a white Christ candle in the center.

3. The gloria is omitted. We will receive the gloria back when the angels sing it announcing that Christ is born for us in Bethlehem. The angels tell the shepherds in their fields and then sing, "Gloria in Exclesis Deo."

4. The Advent penitential rite is used. Many priests mix them up, but it sounds strange. A penitential rite exists for each season. In Advent, the priest says:

Lord, Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's Kingdom. Lord, have mercy.
You come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness. Christ, have mercy.
You will come in glory with salvation for your people. Lord, have mercy.

5. The "O, Antiphons" begin on December 17th and are said or sung each day as Christmas approaches. It is designed to quicken our responses to our waiting. We become more vigilant and we know something marvelous is to happen. We wait with our senses engaged.

6. We have a rich tradition of Advent music that helps us focus on our waiting. We refrain from singing about the birth of Christ until Christmas begins on December 25th. These songs prepare us well for the wonder of the season. Our secular music has combined both Advent and Christmas carols so that we do not distinguish between them well.

7. The Christmas season begins with the Octave (8 days) on December 25th. It ends with the feast of the circumcision and the giving of the name of Jesus to the infant. During that time we follow the scriptural events of the nativity including the slaughter of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, the Holy Family, and the circumcision. The twelve days of Christmas lead us to Epiphany with the visits by the Eastern sages. The longer Christmas season includes the presentation in the Temple, Candlemas, and the visit to Simeon and Anna. The Christmas season ends when the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist occurs. It is really a lengthy season.

Poem: Puer Natus Est by William Byrd

A child is born to us,
and a son is given to us,
and the power of command will rest upon his shoulders;
and his name will be called, Messenger of Mighty Counsel.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done wonderful deeds.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will forever be, ages upon ages. Amen.

Second Sunday in Advent

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December 5, 2010

At this stage in Advent, we focus our attention on the hidden events that are percolating in surprising ways on the biblical landscape. Isaiah is proclaiming his vision, John the Baptist is emerging from the desert like a lion, and the mountains are being leveled while the valleys are filled in. We tend not to think of the young mother and father who are awaiting the birth of their child. He grows in the comforting silence of his mother's protective womb while the world's events tempestuously swirl around him. An expectant father worries about every strained movement of his wife as they await the birth of their firstborn.

Darkness settles early into the northern hemisphere and we are reminded of the darkness of our lives. Unconsciously we seem to realize that on our own we cannot overcome the world's destructive forces. We yearn and we wait and we hope. We may always be sure of what we wait for but we settle more easily into the stillness. We grow in realization that the darkness has the potential to overwhelm us.

This is the time we hear the Baptist's tiny voice in the desert exhorting us to become more deeply aware of our sinfulness and to recognize our dependence upon God's saving actions. John is a curious man who renounced the ways of his contemporaries and exists like a hermit by living off the land. Matthew's portrait of him is as a zealot with righteous anger. He notes John's urgency in proclaiming repentance as preparation for admission into God's kingdom and he casts his fury upon the Pharisees and Sadducees. John knows he is not the anointed one but that the Messiah is coming soon. John urges potential followers to bear good fruit.

Paul in his letter to the Romans instructs people to think in harmony with one another. Isaiah's vision of the Peaceable Kingdom in the first reading describes that this good fruit must further produce harmony and is wrapped intimately with social justice. The ones who are most vulnerable in society will be the best protected and no harm will come to natural allies. As a sign that the vanquished will be exalted, a new everlasting king will sprout from Jesse's house, which has been subdued. Even the pagan Gentiles will seek out the God of the Jews.

As we prepare for Christmas, we are to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths. This involves some degree of repentance. Many people have difficulty in participating in the sacrament of reconciliation and baring their souls to another human being, especially to a priest who has recognizable human failings, in a church that many experience as lacking pastoral concern for their struggles and needs.

A mature, reflective person may have a different view of one's own sinfulness as it lines up with church teachings that reflect hoped-for, unreachable ideals that fit a small percentage of the population. Many of the faithful ones are disappointed with the hierarchy that seeks to separate rather than unite and yet they yearn for a church that is repentant and willing to direct its pastoral concern back to the individual who is striving, hoping, dreaming, wishing for a reconciled, loving, compassionate understanding of their struggles. Life is a long Advent.

Many are still listening for the Baptist's voice far off in the desert preaching "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." We wait. We hope. We yearn. And Christ's life continues to develop within us.

Quote for the Week

From Isaiah 11:

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox,
the baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as the water covers the sea.

On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Isaiah tells us that God himself will come and save the people. Jerusalem and all of Israel will break out in glory with this good news. God also consoles the people asking them to cry out and receive God's favor. Israel can rejoice because her God comes to liberate her. The Lord announces, "I am your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. If only Israel would listen and obey God's commandments, she will have abundant life. On Saturday, the readings shift to Sirach to tell us about Elijah as he is enveloped in a whirlwind. He is charged with turning back the hearts of the people to God and re-establish the tribes of Jacob.

Gospel: The people in Luke's Gospel are amazed at what they have experienced with Jesus: he forgives sins, speaks well, and heals a paralytic. Matthew shows Jesus as the good shepherd who gathers his flock to himself and also seeks out the one who is lost to return him to the fold. When talking about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus exalts John the Baptist as the returned prophet Elijah. Jesus is bemused by the crowds who do not dance when the flute is played or mourn during a dirge. Jesus further explains that Elijah has come again to restore all things, including the tribes of Jacob. He says that because of the people's hardness of heart, the Son of Man must suffer great things and die.

Saints of the Week

Monday: Nicolas, bishop (d. 350), was a popular figure who inspired the notion of Santa Claus because of his generosity and caring works. He was the bishop of Myra in southwestern Turkey and was jailed during Diocletian's persecution. He attended the Nicene Council in 325 and the people of God became endeared to him for his kindness.

Tuesday: Ambrose, bishop and doctor, (339-397), is known for baptizing Augustine in 386 and for being the bishop of Milan. A separate rite in the Church is named after him called the Ambrosian rite. He was made bishop by the people even before he was baptizes a Christian. One of the four great doctors of the church, he wrote on liturgy and scripture.

Wednesday: The Immaculate Conception of Mary celebrates her holiness and sinlessness that originates from her virginal birth to Ann and Joaquim. Because of her graced-state, Mary made herself worthy to become the mother of Jesus.

Thursday: Juan Diego, hermit, (1474-1548), received a visit from Mary at Guadalupe near Mexico City. She told him to build a church at the location of her appearance. When Mary later told Juan to bring flowers to the bishop, the flowers fell from his cape leaving an impression of Mary on it. Juan is very popular because he was a native Mexican.

This Week in Jesuit History

• Dec. 5, 1584: By his bull Omnipotentis Dei, Pope Gregory XIII gave the title of Primaria to Our Lady's Sodality established in the Roman College in 1564, and empowered it to aggregate other similar sodalities.
• Dec. 6, 1618: In Naples, the Jesuits were blamed for proposing to the Viceroy that a solemn feast should be held in honor of the Immaculate Conception and that priests should make a public pledge defend the doctrine. This was regarded as a novelty not to be encouraged.
• Dec. 7, 1649: Charles Garnier was martyred in Etarita, Canada, as a missionary to the Petun Indians, among whom he died during an Iroquois attack.
• Dec. 8, 1984: Walter Ciszek, prisoner in Russia from 1939 to 1963, died.
• Dec. 9, 1741: At Paris, Fr. Charles Poree died. He was a famous master of rhetoric. Nineteen of his pupils were admitted into the French Academy, including Voltaire, who, in spite of his impiety, always felt an affectionate regard for his old master.
• Dec 10, 1548. The general of the Dominicans wrote in defense of the Society of Jesus upon seeing it attacked in Spain by Melchior Cano and others.
• Dec 11, 1686. At Rome, Fr. Charles de Noyelle, a Belgian, died as the 12th general of the Society.

Prayer for Advent

Almighty and merciful God, the day draws near when the glory of our Messiah will make radiant the night of the world that waits in darkness. May the lure of greed not impede us from the joy which moves the hearts of those who seek to know Christ. May the darkness not blind us to the vision of wisdom that fills the minds of those who find him. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer Anton Luli, S.J.

On 19 December 1947, they arrested me and charged me with provoking unrest and with propaganda against the government. I lived in solitary confinement for 17 years and for many more in forced labor.

On Christmas night that year (how could I forget?) they dragged me from that place and put me in another lavatory on the second floor of the prison. They forced me to strip and hung me up with a rope passed under my arms. I was naked and could barely touch the ground with the tips of my toes. I felt my body slowly and inexorably failing me. The cold gradually crept up on my limbs and when it reached my breast and my heart was about to give in, I gave a desperate cry. My torturers had arrived; they pulled me down and kicked me all over. That night, in that placed and in the solitude of that first torture, I experienced the real meaning of the Incarnation and the Cross.

But in this suffering I had beside me and within me the comforting presence of the Lord Jesus, the Eternal High Priest. At times his support was something I can only all “extraordinary,” so great was the joy and comfort he communicated to me. But I have never felt resentment for those who, humanly speaking, robbed me of my life. After my release, I happened to meet one of my torturers in the street: I took pity on him; I went towards him and embraced him.

They released me in the 1989 amnesty. I was 79 years old.

This was my experience as a priest throughout these years. It is a very unusual experience compared to that of many priests, but certainly not unique. There are thousands of priests who have been persecuted in their lives because of the priesthood of Christ. Their experiences differ but they are united by love. The priest is first and foremost someone who lives in order to love. To love Christ and to love everyone in Him, in all life’s circumstances, to the point of giving up his life.

Everything can be taken from us, but no one can wrench from our hearts our love for Jesus or our love for our brothers and sisters.

Prayer: Francis Xavier

O God, I love Thee, I love Thee --
not out of hope of heaven for me,
nor fearing not to love and be
in the everlasting burning.

Thou, Thou, my Jesus, after me
didst reach thine arms out dying,
for my sake sufferedst nails and lance,
mocked and marred countenance,
sorrows passing number,
sweat and care and cumber,
yea, and death, and this for me.
And thous couldst see me sinning;
Then I, why should I not love thee,
Jesus, so much in love with me?

Not for heaven's sake; not to be
out of hell by loving thee,
not for any gains I see;
but just the way that thou didst me
I do love and I will love thee;
What must I love thee, Lord, for then?
For being my King and God. Amen.

Translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Memorial: December 3rd

Prayer: Maura Clarke, MM

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I am at peace here and searching - trying to learn what the Lord is asking.

Murdered in El Salvador, December 2, 1980