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Rev. Alan Weber, Director
(813) 988-3727
13005 N 50th St
Tampa, FL 33617-1022
director@catholicusf.org
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The Second Vatican Council, in Sacrosanctum Concilium, paragraph 14 urged individual Catholics, and Catholic communities, to strive for "fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations." This refers preeminently to participation in the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The Diocese of St. Petersburg's Living Eucharist Initiative is an opportunity for parishes and individuals to accomplish the Council's goals for Sunday worship.
The idea of "fully conscious, and active participation" is not a new one. Rather, it represents the reclaiming of a set of very old, traditional Catholic values. Our Lenten Faith Series will be dedicated this year to examining the sources of these ancient values.
There will be readings for each week of Lent chosen from ancient sources, beginning with the Christian Scriptures, and continuing with sub-apostolic writers. The purpose of our readings will be to catch a glimpse of the attitudes and practices of the first few generations of believers, beginning with those who heard the Apostles preach.
Each week we will discuss the assigned reading, and identify how the faith and practices of the Apostles has both influenced our experience of the Faith, and stands as the measure of our experience of the Faith. Participants will also receive a brief introduction to the next reading assignment. Group discussions will take place on Sunday mornings after the 10:00 a.m. liturgy, and online below. All Catholics, of all ages, are invited to participate.
The reading for the Fifth Week of Lent (March 29, 2009), is taken fromThe Apostolic Tradition by Hippolytus of Rome. This text was written early in the third century, but contains a record of late second century Roman liturgical and administrative practices. You may read the entire document, but for the purposes of this Lenten Faith Renewal Series, we will focus on Chapter 4. Fr. Alan's reflections will be posted on Monday following our Sunday gathering.
You may post your comments and questions about the readings beginning on each Sunday of Lent, and continuing through the following week.
You can read Bishop Lynch's Pastoral Letter, and get more information about this process of renewal on the Living Eucharist website.
In order to participate in this on-line discussion you must register your name and email address with Fr. Alan. This discussion room will be open only during the weeks of Lent. You do not need to register for the discussion in order to read the posted comments.
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Subject Week Two - the Didache
Date Sun Mar 15 2009 11:13
Author Fr. Alan (director@catholicusf.org)
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The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, usually called by its Greek title Didache, was well known in the apostolic church, and was quoted by several ancient Christian writers. Some ancient authorities ascribed an importance to it that rivaled the value of the Gospels and other texts that were later considered to be canonical scripture. The text was probably composed between the years 80 AD and 110 AD, and contains references to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Its author and place of origin are unknown. The document is divided into four sections. The first section is an instruction on Christian morals which employs the commonly used metaphor of the Two Ways. There is a Way of Life that leads to a righteous relationship with God, and a Way of Death which leads away from God. This model was used variously in ancient Christian writings as the Two Ways, the Two Types of People and the Two Spirits within a Person. This model of spirituality and morals may have originated with Hebrew spirituality; for example, a contrast between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked can be seen in Psalm One of the Hebrew Scriptures. Within Christian writings this model was used as a catechetical tool for strengthening the understanding and the constancy of believers; outside of Jewish and Christian circles it degenerated quickly into dualism. The second section of the Didache is an instruction on the sacraments and liturgical piety. Our readings this week (Chapters 9, 10 and 14), are taken from that section. The three short chapters on the Eucharistic celebration afford insight into practices of the late first century Church. The third section of the document addresses issues of community discipline that were common in late first century, and the final section is an admonition about readiness for the Lord’s return. In the brief chapters on “the thanksgiving sacrament” (Eucharist), we begin to see an elaboration of the formula for celebrating the Lord’s Supper. The Eucharistic celebration was still situated within the context of a communal meal to which only the baptized were admitted. The prayers in Chapters 9 & 10 may be formulae that were recited before and after the communal meal. There is no reference to the Institution Narrative, but the practice of reciting Jesus’ words at the Last Supper was universal among Christian communities, and may simply be assumed by the author. It is interesting to note here that the blessing over the cup precedes the blessing over the bread. This may be a reflection of the original order of the Hebrew Passover meal, in which the meal begins with a cup of wine and second cup of wine precedes the eating of the afikoman bread. There is quite a bit of continuity between this document and St. Paul’s account of the love feast in 1 Corinthians 11. The Lord’s Supper was a communal meal, during which there was a commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus. This communal meal was the chief and central act of worship for Christians. It was an expression of their faith in Jesus, the resurrection and his promised return. It was also a symbolic representation of their identity as the new Chosen People. The many references to proper attitude and comportment during the Thanksgiving Meal indicate the centrality of this celebration to the Church’s identity. There are also some differences worth noting. This text gives slightly more attention to the multiplicity of offices and ministries in the Church. All of the various ministers mentioned in the document also existed in St. Paul’s time, but there is a somewhat more elaborate organization present here. This may simply be a reflection of the growing Church’s need to manage the numerous individuals who were moved to preach the Gospel. For the purposes of our participation in the Diocese’s initiative, Living Eucharist, it is important to note the significance, and interconnectedness, that Baptism, Eucharist, morality and the Lord’s return had for the first generations of believers. Baptism and the celebration of Eucharist both created the possibility of, and demanded the practice of, a very strict moral code based on the teachings of Jesus. Further, all of the preceding led to a final culmination in judgment by the glorified Savior. In the late first century there was a great sense of urgency about living the Christian life, preaching the Gospel and celebrating the sacraments, an urgency that grew out of an expectation of the Lord’s immanent return. The liturgical and theological reforms of the Second Vatican Council intended to reconnect the Church with this ancient and venerable faith experience of the apostolic community. |
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Proclaiming the Gospel of Hope
