This is precisely what the timeless message of the Blessed Von Galen is: faith is not to be reduced to a private sentiment, possibly to be hidden when it becomes uncomfortable; rather it implies consistency and bearing witness in the public sphere in defence of mankind, of justice, of truth.
[snip]
The encounter with Christ, constantly intensified and deepened in the Eucharist, issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelization’ (ivi 24). This is emphasised in the dismissal at the end of the mass: ‘Ite, missa est’, which recalls the ‘missio’, the task for all who participated in the celebration to take to all the Good News received and to animate society with it.
One of the so-called "tensions" that has emerged in the reaction to this pontificate is one that has been coursing through Catholic commentary, reaction and Seconday Magisterial pronouncements for years is the conviction that there is some sort of necessary dichotomy between a high reverence for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and a spirituality that reflects that, and the Gospel mandate to love others sacrificially and to build up the Body of Christ.
Ah…they say…you want that privatized spirituality, that purely vertical relationship, that me n’ Jesus scene going on. I know you…
Well, no you don’t. In fact, one could make the case that those who have had the profoundest relationship to Christ in the Eucharist, who had the deepest personal prayer life, are also those who have done the most powerful work for charity and justice. It’s actually a fairly simple equation. If Jesus is your most inimate friend, your compass, the voice you heed above any other voice, then your life will reflect that. And the fact is, Catholic spiritual traditions give us remarkably concrete means to develop that relationship, means that are concrete and rich in their diversity, but that the modern mind dismisses as overly-privatized and a threat to authentic Eucharistic faith, or something.
Well, then demonstrate that it’s true, if you believe it. I read all of these slightly worried articles sniffing at the "potential problems" in a resurgance of Eucharistic devotion outside of Mass or of more traditional devotions, but no one ever offers any evidence. Have they actually ever surveyed the people who show up for Eucharistic Adoration and asked them what works of mercy they’re engaged in? Probably not, because most of the people who write those articles want nothing to do with the mostly older ladies and gentlemen who take their hour of prayer, and then go off, we can probably bet, to the St. Vincent de Paul Society or the soup kitchen. They’re generally viewed as dangerous extremists who should be paid as little attention as possible. "The Crazies" one priest I worked with called the people who – wait for it – came early to Daily mass and prayed the Rosary!
Far better that they polish their collection of C-list celebrity autographed photos on their office wall (Vickie Lawrence! Tony Danza!) and plan their next day off, which would, if they were not crazy, be, as was the case every other week, taken down in Disneyworld.
But you know, just listen to the Pope and drop the expectations, the prejudices and the blinders. Those who are tempted to dismiss a heightened reverence for Christ in Eucharist, listen. Those who are, indeed, tempted, to retreat into a private, angry, judgmental spiritual space…you need to listen, too.
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