One of the purpose of the Way is to imitate the Early Christians so that the brothers celebrating in small communities would be able to deepen their faith as the Early Christians did. This deepening of the faith has occurred in some of the brothers. Many of them are now open to life in that they have more than 5 children, and some families are adopting children. Some of them are giving up their jobs to become mission families. These are not simply human good works, but Christ acting through them. Why? Because it isn't considered the norm to give up the securities of a job and leave a homeland to become a mission family. Very people do this.
These people have acquired a very strong faith to do this just as the Early Christians did. The brothers and sisters in the community view themselves as concelebrants just as the Early Christians did. They view their community priest as a "brother" and the community priest view them as part of the priesthood. These are not against Catholic teachings. Both the Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church do state that we are a holy nation and a royal priesthood.
In Early Christianity, the term "concelebrate" is understood differently that it was today. In Early Christianity, all Christians concelebrate according to their role or liturgical order in the Church. Therefore, the Neocatechumenal Way is following the Concelebrant Mass found in the GIRM. The Way imitates the Mass of the Early Christians by celebrating in small communities so that the members of the Way would live out their baptism by growing in faith. By growing in faith, they have developed a deeper relationship with Christ. This has worked for many members of the Way.
Once members of the Way are converted in this way, it becomes easier to evangelize. The former Pope John Paul II once stated that what is needed are holy people. It would be very difficult to evangelize in foreign lands if members of the Way do not experience some kind of conversion. "Conversion" here is defined as "a change in heart"....the same kind of conversion that St. Paul went through. In Early Christianity, the term "convert" does not mean to change religion. It means to change your heart.
And here is where the Pharisees come in. The Pharisees (as I said in one of my posts) are those who are only concern with the letter of the law. The Pharisees of the Bible found it more lawful and better to have a brother starve because following the letter of the law was more important than feeding the brother. In the same way, the Pharisees of today found it more important to follow the letter of the law than having their brother grow in faith, which prepares them for evangelization. In other words, they do not want their brothers to follow the Concelebrant Mass in the GIRM because according to the Letter of the Law, concelebrant refers only to the priests and bishops.
In the Holy Bible, Jesus condemned the Pharisees. Following the Spirit of the Law is not a means to avoiding the Letter of the Law. It is a means of understanding what the real purpose of the Law is, and keeping the Letter of the Law in the context of the two greatest commandments, which is to love God with your whole heart, mind, and and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Those who ride on the letters without any feeling in their hearts are only using those letters to escape. They escape the challenges of their lives. These challenges are always going back to one single question: do you love the Lord Jesus who died for you more than yourself? Only those who accept the Lord are brave enough to face the challenges. They go beyond the letters and give themselves to the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteDear Zoltan,
ReplyDeleteThose who go strictly by the Letter of the Law see things only in black and white. For example, the Letter of the Law says that the laity who attends Church must receive the Body of Christ standing up with their hands or with their tongue. Therefore, a person who is in a wheelchair at Mass will not be able to receive the Body of Christ. The person who is disabled would be banned by the Pharisees because the Letter of the Law is more important than the disabled person receiving the Body of Christ. To them, there is only black and white. There is nothing in the GIRM that addresses persons with physical disabilities. One can only find it elsewhere in Opening Doors, Volume II, National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities, 1987.
Dear Steve Finnell,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that the Pharisees were following man-made traditions, but they were also following scripture literally. You are incorrect to say that Jesus did not question the righteousness of the Pharisees. In fact, the Pharisees were not righteous at all.
The Old Testament stated:
Exodus 31:14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.
The Old Testament law on the Sabbath says that they are not to work at all. This is one of the reasons the Pharisees were condemning Jesus....because Christ worked on the Sabbath when the Old Testament made it clear that no work should be done. During the Sabbath, Jesus went around healing the sick, curing the blind, and making the lame walk. In fact, Jesus even asked the Pharisees if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath (See Luke 14:3-4), and the Pharisees remained silent. They remained silent because they did not understand the Sabbath Law that God gave them. Christ also had His disciples pick grain during the Sabbath Day.
Matthew 12:1-2 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
Jesus' response to this charge is:
Matthew 12:6-7 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ [fn] you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
So, it was not just their man-made tradition that Christ condemned, but their misunderstanding of God's Law especially regarding the Sabbath.