During Advent, we sing the traditional hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, a beautiful song based on the “O” Antiphons from the Liturgy of the Hours (Vespers) for the octave (eight days) before Christmas (beginning December 17).
One verse of that song is of particular interest to catechists because it speaks of our longing for being taught to live according to God’s way:
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
This verse expresses our inner desire to be taught properly so that we may find the right path. Deep within, we all desire rich and profound catechesis - teaching that leads us to know God. When we pray for the coming of Emmanuel, we are praying for the coming of ”the Great Catechist” - the One who teaches us the path to God.
(special thanks to my friend Michael Cameron for pointing out the catechetical dimension of this song many years ago…he probably doesn’t even remember doing so, but it has stuck with me all of these years!)
P.S. Nice meditative version on YouTube (albeit without my favorite verse!)…check it out.
How appropriate that our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, released his newest encyclical - Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) - just in time for Advent, our season of hope!
Here’s a nice summary from The Catholic Review, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
I’m printing out a copy of the encyclical this morning and will read it on the train today and tomorrow and share some thoughts.
Last night, I prepared the young people to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation by leading them in a meditative examination of conscience.
First, we talked about the practical steps involved in going to confession. I was pleased to find that in general, they were very familiar with how to go to confession and very relaxed about it. This can be credited to the program offering the sacrament twice a year: Advent and Lent. For some reason, last year’s class was kind of “freaked out” about the idea of going to confession.
Then, I led them in a meditative examination of conscience. After going through the typical steps of getting them to be relaxed and quiet (never an easy task!), I asked them to imagine that they were entering a room that had nothing in it but a big screen TV, a VCR, and a videotape of their life over the past few months.
They insert the tape and put it on fast-forward play, so that they can see their lives over the past few months unfold in rapid fashion. With that image, I then slowly read a list of questions that ask them to reflect on how well they have loved God and their neighbors. The questions were based on the Ten Commandments and were in the back of the Finding God text book. (Most texts have a version of an examination of conscience in them or on the publisher’s web site).
After going through the questions, I paused and told them to simply finish fast-forwarding through their imaginary videotape, looking at the events of their lives in recent weeks and months to identify where and how they have personally ”come up short” in terms of loving God and neighbor. I let them sit quietly for just a couple of minutes, identifying what they will tell the priest next week.
I finished by inviting them to ask Mary to help them make a good confession next week and we prayed a Hail, Mary.
In all, I thought it went pretty well and I think they are well-prepared for a good experience of reconciliation next week. I reminded them that it is a healthy thing to be able to admit sinfulness to another human being (the priest, who represents Jesus and the Church) and to actually hear the words of forgiveness and absolution spoken out loud.
Just one thing: I wonder if I need to update my meditation to a DVD instead of a VCR!!!
Tonight, I’ll be preparing the young people for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (next Monday). I like to take this opportunity to deal with the question that is foremost on their minds: “why do I have to tell my sins to the priest?”
To answer this, it’s best to put this one sacrament in the context of our entire sacramental outlook as Catholics. To be sacramental is to see the presence of God reflected in the physical world. Catholics rely on the visible - signs, symbols, and gestures - to recognize and encounter the invisible God. The old Baltimore Catechism definition of a sacrament hits the nail on the head when it refers to them as outward signs.
To get the kids thinking in this direction, I like to remind them of the Dr. Seuss story, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. In this story, the Grinch who despises Christmas, decides to “steal” it from the Whos who live in Whoville…pleasant little folks who celebrate Christmas with a myriad of outward signs, symbols, and gestures. The Grinch succeeds in stealing all of the outward signs and then waits to hear the cries and sobs of the Whos in Whoville. To his surprise, he hears the Whos celebrating the arrival of Christmas anyway, despite the loss of all their outward signs: the inner reality could not be taken away.
I then propose to the young people that if some Grinch tried to steal the outward signs of the sacraments (water, oil, fire, bread, wine), that we would still celebrate the inner reality of Christ’s saving grace within (think of Fr. Martin Lawrence Jenco being held hostage for several years and being deprived of the outward signs of the sacraments…Christ was still with him and he continued to celebrate that presence with his fellow hostages).
For us Catholics, the inner world and the outer world are intimately connected. In the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, the outward sign is the encounter of two human beings speaking words. Contrition, forgiveness, and mercy are all inner realities. However, we encounter these realities more deeply by externalizing them. To confess sins to another person (the priest, who represents Jesus and the Church) is much more powerful than doing so privately in our own heart. Unless spoken, we run the risk of not truly dealing with our sins (ask anyone in a Twelve Step program).
To hear the words of forgiveness and absolution actually spoken by the priest is a powerful experience. Could any relationship survive without both people actually speaking words of contrition and forgiveness? We human beings need our outward realities and our inner realities to connect. In the Sacraments, we Catholics have this unity, allowing us to encounter the living Christ deep within and all around us.
P.S. the link above on the Grinch takes you to a YouTube piece that features a song written and performed by my good friend Charlie Johnson (we went to high school together!)
