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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 Four - St. Justin, the Martyr
Date Sun Mar 29 2009 11:44
Author Fr. Alan (director@catholicusf.org)
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Our reading for the Fourth Week of Lent (March 22), is taken from St. Justin's First Apology. The entire work is interesting reading, but we will focus on three paragraphs: Chapters LXV, LXVI and LXVII. St. Justin, the martyr, was a pagan convert to Christianity. He was probably born in Syria at the beginning of the second century, and was martyred in Rome in the middle of the second century (150-160 AD). Justin belongs to a group of early Christian writers called "apologists." In the ancient world an "apology" was an explanation, or defense, of the virtue of one's actions. Plato, for example, offered an apology of Socrates, who had been accused of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. Christians came into conflict with the Roman Empire because the Christian faith forbade participation in Roman civic religion and, unlike Judaism, did not enjoy legal status in the Empire. Christian writers undertook apologies in order to explain to civil authorities that Christians were no threat to the Empire or to public morality. Many of the Christian apologists were educated people who had been trained in rhetoric and philosophy. In their writings we see the earliest attempts at presenting a systematic and reasoned approach to understanding Christian beliefs. This was not the only style of theology done in the sub-apostolic Church, but eventually it became the preferred style. Justin's writings are an excellent example of the attempts of early Christian intellectuals to organize Christian beliefs for the benefit of both the faithful and wider society. For example, in his First Apology Justin uses Plato's schema of descending orders of being to refer to the rationality and truth of Christian beliefs about God (Chapt LX). The paragraphs that comprise our readings this week are part of Justin's explanation of Christian worship. There were a great many false rumors spread about Christianity by its pagan detractors. Justin addresses these, each in turn. In the three paragraphs LXV, LXVI, LXVII he describes the rite of communion for the newly baptized and the weekly celebration of Eucharist. There are some clear parallels with the earlier writers that we have read. Justin emphasizes the primacy of Christian unity and the central role that the Eucharistic celebration had in the community's life. Justin also refers to the Church's care and concern for the poor. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians addressed this issue, but in the context of the community's disregard for its poorer members. Here, we see a positive statement of the Church's commitment to what would be called "social justice" in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (Chapt LXVII). Chapter LXV makes reference to a common practice in the early Church, a practice that fell into disuse but was revived by the Second Vatican Council. Justin writes, "those who are called deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion." The deacons, as well as members of the congregation, regularly took Eucharist home for reception by the sick, imprisoned and others who could not attend the community's weekly celebration. Our contemporary use of lay people as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is a recovery of this early practice. We also see in Justin's writings some increased development of the use of ritual. The original, apostolic celebration of Eucharist employed minimal ritual, and took place within the context of a communal meal, "the love feast." Justin makes no mention of a communal meal. Rather, he describes a ritual quite similar to our contemporary celebration of Eucharist. It is worth noting, however, what Justin says about the nature of the ritual; it seems to have required a great deal of creativity and extemporizing by the bishop who presided. Justin writes that the bishop "offers thanks at considerable length," (LXV) and "the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits" (LXVII). Catholics today begin to squirm if the Sunday celebration approaches an hour's duration. The sub-apostolic Church seems to have thrived on unhurried readings from Scripture and lengthy prayer. Justin provides an early reference, and explanation, of the belief that would be described by medieval theologians as "transubstantiation." He writes, "the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh" (LXVI). In Justin's understanding, the transformation of the Eucharistic elements has a parallel in the transformation that takes place in the believer as a consequence of receiving the Lord's body and blood. Finally, it is also worth noting another ancient tradition that was revived by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Justin writes, "Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss" (LXV). The Sign of Peace, that still makes some Catholics uncomfortable, is an ancient expression of the love of God, and unity with God, that is encountered in the Eucharistic celebration. |
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Proclaiming the Gospel of Hope
