In Search of the Sacred



Dear Theophilus,

“Is nothing sacred anymore?”

I seem to be hearing this question a lot more these days. The funny thing is that it usually has to do with the secular world.

No hockey this year! Is nothing sacred anymore?

Texting at the dinner table! Is nothing sacred anymore?

The mall is closed for a holiday! Is nothing sacred anymore?

I find it interesting, though, that none of these are truly sacred in the real sense of the word.

As Catholics we are lucky to come into weekly contact with the sacred through the Eucharist. But even with this it can, at times, seem difficult to find the sacred in the Mass.

Last week at my parish celebration of our patron saint, St. Leo the Great, I was fortunate enough to rediscover a sense of the sacred in the Eucharistic liturgy. With a Knights of Columbus honour guard, incense and holy water sprinkling, the congregation was wholly engaged for the sacredness of the Eucharist to come.

This isn’t to say that the usual celebration of the Eucharist without these elements is any less sacred than when they are present. We cannot, and should not, sustain such a high level of expectation when we meet Christ in the Eucharist. We need to recall that Christ’s own Passover meal was a simple affair. As Catholics we are called to understand that there is nothing more sacred in our faith than the Eucharist (CCC #1324). When it comes to the sacred in the Eucharistic liturgy the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states:

It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that the celebration of the Mass or the Lord’s Supper be so ordered that the sacred ministers and the faithful taking part in it, according to the state proper to each, may draw from it more abundantly those fruits, to obtain which, Christ the Lord instituted the  Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood and entrusted it as the memorial of his Passion and Resurrection to the Church, his beloved Bride. (GIRM #17)

This is a logical progression from Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium:

Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper. (Sacrosanctum Concilium #10)

All of this pondering on the sacred in the liturgy of the Eucharist reminded me of an article I read a few years ago in Adoremus Bulletin. I had been looking for a quote for a staff meeting reflection when I stumbled upon the following from Alvin Kimel Jr.:

The re-enchantment’ of the Catholic Liturgy”, declares Father Aidan Nichols, “is the single most urgent ecclesial need of our time”. I like the use of the word enchant to describe the Divine Liturgy of the Church.

I still vividly remember my first visit in June 1975 to St. Paul’s Church, K Street, in Washington, DC. I had just finished college. Earlier that year I had become a believing Christian. Upon returning to Washington, an old high school friend invited me to join him one Sunday at St. Paul’s. Solemn High Mass, with a visiting African bishop to administer Confirmation; solemn procession, with two thurifers; chanting, crossings, bowings, genuflections, incense -- all of this was completely new for me.

My only prior experience with the Lord’s Supper was as an addendum to the Methodist preaching service, with cubes of bread and shot-glasses of grape juice. Here was something utterly different. I was taken up into a sacred world. On that day I discovered the Eucharistic Christ. I was enchanted.
I found it possible to believe the Eucharistic promises of Christ because of the enchanting beauty and power of the Divine Liturgy that I experienced that first summer at St. Paul’s. I was enchanted into faith. I experienced the glories of heaven and thus came to know the truth of the Eucharist. I will always believe that the consecrated elements are truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. And it is the liturgy that has sustained and generated my faith for the past thirty years.

You can read the entire article here.

Keeping all of this in mind, I’ll ask you the same question I asked my colleagues 7 years ago: “Where do you find a sense of the sacred in practicing your Catholic faith?”

Not Without My Rosary

Dear Theophilus,

Since joining the Knights of Columbus a little over a year ago, I’ve gotten into the habit of carrying my rosary in my right pocket. It’s not actually the rosary I received from the Knights, but a rosary which my wife made for me that’s more than a decade old. Yesterday I left home without it, and I felt naked.

It’s not that I spend my day repeatedly praying the rosary, although that would be nice, but having my rosary in my pocket does offer a level of comfort and helps remind me to pray constantly. I keep my rosary in the same pocket as my pens and keys. Over the course of the day each time I reach into my pocket, which is often, my fingers touch the beads and cross of my rosary and I recall that the Lord is close by my side.

Having my rosary in my pocket gives the opportunity to thank the Lord many times throughout the day for the many blessing He has sent me. On tough days, the comfort of knowing the Lord is near comforts my spirit and helps me overcome the obstacles in life. I can now say that my rosary has become an essential part of my wardrobe.

Defending the Faith

Dear Theophilus,

I’ve come to realize that this whole exercise is as much about deepening my own faith as it is in defending the faith against those who attack it from both inside and outside the Church. It was only during my reading this morning that I came to understand how intertwined these two ideas are. Reading Reasons to Believe by Scott Hahn, I came across this quote from the First Letter of Saint Peter:

Always be prepared to make a defence to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence (I Pet 3:15).

Hahn goes on to explain that the best way to defend our apostolic faith is with sound logic based on faith and reason. We need to avoid the temptation to give quick, curt answers to our attackers; well thought out, logical and eloquent replies will not only earn their respect, but will also plant the seeds of Truth in the fertile soil of their minds.

How do we best prepare ourselves, then? By becoming more knowledgeable of the reasons behind why we do what we do.

When challenged with the question of why I believe what I do as a Catholic and I’m not 100% sure of the answer, the first thing I do is turn to the Catechism. Too cumbersome to carry around, I rely mainly on online searchable catechisms, my favourite provided by the Knights of Columbus. I like using the Catechism because of the concise language, as well as the references to scripture and papal encyclicals that are provided in support.

To build up my knowledge of the faith, I rely on the group of theologians called apologists. When I first came across the term apologist, I thought it meant that we had to apologize for being Catholic. I soon learned that it was the term given to Church thinkers who make it their business to defend the faith based on logic and reasoning. Some of my favourite apologists to date include Fulton Sheen and Karl Keating, who has an excellent web site in Catholic Answers. At present I am only beginning to get to know Scott Hahn.

In the end, being an apologist and defending the faith is not an easy path to take. In his most recent article in the Catholic Register, Michael Coren tells us that if we are not being attacked for standing up for what we believe as Catholics, then we must be doing something wrong. You can read the article here.

By professing the Truth, you will not make others comfortable; no one likes to realize that they are wrong. But by deepening your faith and building a strong foundation of reason, you will always be prepared to defend Catholic teachings with both gentleness and reverence.