A Note On Practical Catholicism

Last week I presented a theme in the homily which may or may not have been heard among details: Although I often emphasize our individual spiritual life and union with God, we are also communal members of the Risen Christ. In our case, we are Catholic Christians, which means that we are members of the apostolic Church with authority running from Christ and the apostles, through the bishops, to local clergy. A parishioner who heard me preach at St. Mark’s thanked me, saying it was the first time he heard Church authority emphasized in a homily. Clearly there is need to redress an imbalance here, for we are Catholic Christians under Church duly appointed authorities.

As I write, our Bishop is in Rome on a required visit every five years to give an account to the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) of the spiritual condition of his diocese, and to receive guidance or instruction from the Holy Father and cardinals (at least this is my understanding of such a visit). Our diocese is not independent of the whole Catholic Church, and parishes are not independent of the diocese and our Bishop. On May 9, Bishop Michael will celebrate first communion and confirmation in the St. Mark’s parish, in part symbolizing and realizing the nature of the Catholic Church in union with Rome and our Bishops.

Bishop Michael appointed me as parochial administrator of Holy Trinity and St. Mark’s parishes, and of the “missions,” with the same responsibilities and rights in church law as a pastor: to proclaim and to teach the Gospel; faithfully to celebrate the Sacraments for growth in holiness; and to administer all temporal goods of the parishes in my charge. Although I prefer the teaching function, I must do all the duties to which I have been assigned. When I began, chancery officials instructed me to have my name on all checking accounts, and to pay bills from St. Mark’s office. It was painful for Holy Trinity, which lay leaders had administered with loving care, to surrender their check book to my pastoral supervision. As one of these faithful leaders said to me, “Fr. Paul, we do not like doing this, but we will do what the Bishop asks of us.” At the time, she was a member of our common finance council. No member of the finance council objected, because we were informed of diocesan policy, and sought to implement it.

We were also told in some detail that large projects, such as re-roofing a church, is under the priest’s duties as administrator; that for expenditures of more than $5,000, he must consult the finance council; and that for all expenditures over $10,000, the diocesan finance council must give their approval. We intend to follow these policies, and not just “look the other way,” doing what is merely past practices.

A Brief Note On The "Resurrection" Of Jesus

The four canonical Gospels, Acts, and several letters of the Apostle Paul have preserved meaningful and beautiful stories of the Resurrection of Jesus. More fully, the gospels contain stories about appearances of the Risen Christ to one or several persons; accounts of encounters with the Resurrected are also found in the Acts of the Apostles and in several of St. Paul’s letters. Furthermore, there is an abundance of statements in each of the New Testament documents declaring that Jesus was raised from the dead, or explicating its spiritual meaning for the faithful.

As I understand the New Testament, these accounts and statements about Christ being raised, now alive, and “Lord of all,” are by no means mere appendages to the gospels or other writings. On the contrary: accounts of experiences of the Resurrected Christ form the decisive nucleus of the New Testament. If Christ had not been experienced as alive and Lord, there would be no Christian faith, no life in union with Christ. As the Apostle tells his disciples in Corinth, “If Christ had not been raised, you would still be in your sins....If for this life only we hoped in Christ, we would be the most pitiful of human beings.”

The term “resurrection” is not, I suggest, the most precise word to communicate the experiences of Christ raised. “Resurrection” translates the Greek word anastasis, which literally means, “standing again.” The New Testament generally employs verbs such as “Christ was raised,” or “Christ appeared to...” What is more decisive than terminology is the fact that whereas the Creed speaks of “Resurrection” as a fact, the earliest Christian documents connect the Risen Christ with a concrete person who was granted the experience, or “the vision.” In other words, later doctrinal developments objectified an event that was a real spiritual experience. This is why the creeds and doctrines come across as relatively dry and sterile, whereas the New Testament documents are alive with fresh, vivid experience. Christ Jesus was experienced as alive after he had been crucified and died in the body.

Compare the Nicene Creed with St. Paul’s summary in I Corinthians. The Creed: “He was crucified, died, buried, and ... rose again.” The Apostle Paul: “Christ was crucified for our sins, buried, and risen, and appeared to Cephas... and last of all to me.” The Apostle does not treat Christ’s resurrection as an abstract fact, but as a real spiritual experience that occurred between the unknown God and a chosen human receiver, such as Cephas (Peter), or Paul. Even clearer is Paul’s account of his conversion: “God was pleased to reveal His Son in me” (usually translated “to me.”)

"He Is Risen Indeed"

The ancient Easter greeting says it all: “The LORD is Risen!” And the reply: “He is Risen indeed!” This greeting remains alive in the Church, especially in the Orthodox and Anglican-Episcopalian traditions. Catholics usually employ the simple phrase, “Happy Easter.” I used to struggle with this brief greeting, because the name “Easter” is not based on Christ, but on an ancient goddess who gave her name to the month of April in pre-Christian German culture.  But then, Sunday is named for the Sun god, and Monday for the moon goddess, Thursday for Thor, and so on. One way to view the matter is that through faith in Christ, one can see the truth in every ancient belief, as well as its errors, and make one’s peace with an imperfect world!

A more explicitly Judaeo-Christian phrase used throughout the Easter season is the single Hebrew word, “Hallelujah,” spelled “Alleluia” through the Latin form. The word is from the Hebrew words for “Praise Yah,” or more fully, “Praise Yahweh.” As “Yahweh” is translated usually as “the LORD,” the proclamation means, “Praise the LORD.” And as the first Christian confession was simply, “Jesus is LORD,” Alleluia means “Praise the LORD,” that is, “Praise Jesus, the LORD.” It is an implicit acknowledgement that God has raised Jesus from death to life eternal, and that this same Jesus Christ is the rightful ruler over all humankind, and wholly one with the Creator of all. As the famous Christ-hymn concludes in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, “Let every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”

If Jesus, crucified, had not been raised; if Jesus Christ were not fully alive and LORD, what difference would it make? It would mean that life here is all that there is, and that death awaits each human being--indeed, every creature--as its interminable end. If God had not raised Christ, “we might as well eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” as the Apostle Paul points out. But in truth Christ has been raised. “As in Adam all do, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Hence, “death is swallowed up in life.” Life eternal conquers sin and death. Hallelujah!

Writing an Easter message in the midst of Holy Week, as I am doing now, may feel like planning a birthday party as one’s beloved lies dying. Heavy hearts of Holy Week are vastly different from the experience of Easter joy in the Lord’s Resurrection. But part of the good news of Christ’s Resurrection is that we are not confined by our feelings, our emotions, but through faith, hope, and charity we arise out of ourselves into the divine Mystery. And in God, there is always and only goodness and joy.