Friends
Peace be with you.
Yesterday, Pope Francis released a rather controversial letter called a Motu Proprio. A motu proprio is a letter issued by the pope on his own initiative. In fact, that’s what the phrase motu proprio means “on his own initiative”. This Motu Proprio is identified by the first two words in the Latin original, “TRADITIONIS CUSTODES” but it may also be called in English “On the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970”. It seeks to regulate when it is appropriate to celebrate the Latin Mass that was common before Vatican II and who gets to determine when and where that ritual can take place. Pope Benedict set forth his own Motu Proprio on the same topic when he was the Pope saying a priest can decide on his own if he is asked by a significant number of the faithful, which was later clarified as 35 people, whether he wanted to celebrate the so-called pre-Vatican II Mass. Pope Francis appears to be concerned about some developments that have taken place since Pope Benedict released his Motu Proprio and is seeking to reign a few people in. He leaves the decision of who can determine who and where a Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970 up to the bishop of a diocese. From what I can gleen, there are people who only attend a Latin Mass in what Pope Benedict called the Extraordinary Form and deny the validity of the Mass of Vatican II, or the Ordinary Form. Now, I am sure there are some who deny the effectiveness of Extraordinary Form as well, by saying that the people who go don’t understand what’s going on because it’s all happening in Latin but that’s different than saying that the Vatican II Mass is from the devil and modernist and a sign of the apocalypse, as I’ve heard from some people who exclusively attend the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy. Now, I know that not everyone who attends the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy believes this and that there are, indeed, people who attend it because of the reverence of the Extraordinary Form versus some of the irreverence that we’ve probably all experienced at Vatican II Masses. But, from what I can discern from this brief letter written on his own initiative, the concern Pope Francis has is that our prayer has become a source of division.
St. Paul is, likewise, concerned about divisions in the church in Ephesus, though his concerns are very different. At the end of the first chapter of this letter, which we don’t get to hear on Sundays but is worth a read, St. Paul says there is a division between the circumcised and the uncircumcised, in other words between Christians who were Jews first and Christians who were not, who were Gentiles first. It appears the Jewish-Christians are still following some if not all of the ritual purity laws of the Old Testament and it has become a source of division for the community. The Gentiles, who were not raised with these same laws, are being told by some that they aren’t as good Christians because they aren’t following all the laws. St. Paul, in verses eight and nine of chapter two says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.” It’s clear that St. Paul is saying that the Old Testament works of the Law are not what saves you but Jesus alone has saved you. And, unlike those who may be tempted to believe themselves somehow better Christians if they keep following the laws of the Old Testament, St. Paul says that this is being deliberately done this way so that we may not boast. In other words, it’s not a competition as to who can follow more of the rules. Salvation is freely offered to us apart from works of the law.
St. Paul continues to build on this in the section that we read, which talks about peace, p-e-a-c-e, in a way that I find intriguing. What is peace? In a family, peace may be thought of as a meal where no one leaves the table in tears. Peace is often seen as the absence of conflict or, in the context of a country, the absence of war. The time between World War I and World War II is often referred to as the “peacetime years”. When St. Paul uses the word peace, he doesn’t mean simply the absence of conflict, but the bringing together of warring people into one community. So, St. Paul says in the second reading, when humanity was divided between Jew and Gentile, all people were justly condemned because of original sin and our personal sins. But, his unearned salvation has brought about peace, the bringing together of Jew and Gentile into a brand new entity called the church. St. Paul, in fact, will use the image of the body to help what St. Paul is saying is that Jesus is the peace, p-e-a-c-e who brings our pieces p-i-e-c-e-s together. He does this through humility, through admitting that we couldn’t save ourselves from our sins but have to rely entirely on him.
Unity is, therefore, an important part of what it means to be a Christian and it can only be cultivated by Christ himself, by bringing the pieces together. It’s important to note that unity is not uniformity. Pope Francis still allows for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy, he just wants to make sure it doesn’t become the norm, the Ordinary Form. And he wants to make sure the Bishop is still the shepherd of the diocese and that rogue priests don’t lead to further division in the very act that should bring us together, our prayer.
In the last forty to fifty years, it’s become quite common for people to be critical of the liturgy, saying they prefer more modern music or more traditional music or a new church or an older church. I’ve worked with people for funerals and weddings and anniversary Masses where people demand things take place that have no place during Mass. I think, if we’re to take St. Paul seriously, if we want to experience the peace that brings the pieces of the church together, we have to set aside these kinds of demands and let Jesus transform our hearts. We have to come to Mass without demands and expectations and just let Jesus be in charge. Let the words of the opening prayer speak to our hearts
Show favor, O Lord, to your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen
