Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined — Mt 7:24-27.
At the Children’s Mass this week, our pastoral minister handed out small rocks with crosses on them to serve as a reminder to the children to build their houses (their souls) on stone. She had spoken with them about the things that cause their houses to be built on sand such as lying, disobeying, fighting and cheating, and the good, holy things that help build their houses on stone such as prayer, being helpful, and listening to their parents.
Even though I am not a child, I enjoy the children’s homilies very much, perhaps because they get down to the basics. Of course, our faith has to evolve as we get older. Life becomes more complex and our belief needs to adapt to that. The world is not so nearly black and white. There are important decisions to be made. There is work to be done and responsibilities to attend to. It is so darn easy to get stuck in ethical muck, where the distinction between right and wrong does not seem so clear.
Yet, what if it really is as simple as children believe it to be? I know it is not easy to be a child. I committed lots of sins as one and I see my children struggle with doing the right thing as well. Knowing the right thing to do and doing it all the time are two different things, no matter what our age. Children, if they have been taught properly, do have a very defined sense of right and wrong, however. They don’t see very many shades of gray. When someone does something wrong, they are quick to point it out, no matter how small the offense. They do know what things will build their houses on stone and what will build it on sand.
What about us? Perhaps we need to get back to basics as well. Perhaps we need to be like the little children that Jesus calls to him. Perhaps we need to get back the strong sense of right and wrong we had when we were young and do our best to do the right thing. We need to weed out the rationalizations that allow us to do the wrong thing and think that it is OK. We need to strengthen the habits that allow us to stay on the straight and narrow path. We need to focus on prayer, and following the commandments, loving our neighbor, and giving to the poor. If we do that, then we, too, will have built our homes on stone, and the turmoil of the storms around us will do us no harm.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:10 am
As a Roman Catholic priest, I’m always troubled by a misuse of terms–even unintentional–that weakens the Catholic understanding of the ordained priesthood.
This piece could be interpreted to state that a female “pastoral minister” gave a “homily” at “Mass”. Perhaps it was an oversight–or a necessary economy of words due to editorial limits–but too many Catholics these days are led to believe that an ordained priest is a mere “sacramental functionary”, and that some of his duties can be exercised by anyone, based on capability. Such a belief reduces the priesthood to function rather than a complete change of identity by virtue of ordination. Since I have read this author’s work before, I am quite certain that this is not what was intended, yet clarification is necessary.
Our diocese has recently prohibited “Communion services” as well, because too many Catholics can no longer make a distinction between such services and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
I hope the astute reader will see in my comments significantly more than hair-splitting. Until we as Catholics recover a disciplined Sacramental understanding, we will continue to suffer not only from a shortage of priests, but also a corresponding lack of understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus’ words turned bread into his Body and wine into his Blood. Words matter.
God’s blessings.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I had a similar reaction to the good Father above. Though there is a definite need to provide age appropriate instruction to children, taking them away from Mass with their parents to have a lay person imitate the Liturgy of the Word (including “homilettes”)is not the answer. This not only waters down the role of the ordained clergy but conditions the children to think that the mass is not for them unless it is entertaining.
My wife and I have six children and they have never known a time when they were not included in the mass with us as a family. This is how our “Domestic Church” communes with the local portion of the Universal Church.
By the way, I have yet to find the title “pastoral minister” permitted for use by anyone who is not ordained. Since this teacher is female and thus cannot be a priest or deacon, the Church has forbidden use of such titles specifically to avoid the confusion mentioned above. Unfortunately there are many “pastors” who think it is their right to disobey the Church and do whatever they want. Some are trying to set the stage for women’s ordination, others are just too “pastoral” to understand the need for a distinction. If we are unwilling to clearly distinguish the “otherness” of the ordained, why should we be surprised that more men aren’t answering the call to the priesthood.
Blessings on all the faithful priests and bishops who are fighting the good fight against this trend to “laicize the clergy and clericize the laity”.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I am a female catechist that has taught the Children’s Liturgy of the Word. Any Catholic can lead the Liturgy of the Word, especially any lay person who has training as a catechist. You do not need to be ordained or a man in order to do this. We currently have the Liturgy of the Word in a local juvenile prison as well. There is an official document from the vatican that instructs lay people on how to conduct the Liturgy of the Word. I’ve had the director of Liturgy and Worship in our diocese approve the Liturgy of the Word that we use, and have been told it is totally acceptable, even for a woman, to conduct it. I’ve also contacted a priest who is an expert on the Liturgy from another state, and has written articles on the Liturgy for this website. He also said this is acceptable.
Children do not understand the big words that priests sometimes use at mass and the Children’s Liturgy of the Word puts the readings on their level and in words that they can understand and relate to in their own lives. I’ve had children that prayed for their baby brother that died, or grandparents that died, or an uncle with cancer and sometimes, their parents who are going through a divorce. After hearing the readings for the mass they have often prayed for a classmate or someone at recess that was hurt. And they pray for their pets too. The children learn a sense of community, of belonging together, even at church. These relationships sometimes carry over into CCD classes and high school youth groups later on. Most of the CCD catechists are female, because there isn’t very many men who will volunteer their time. We also very much welcomed men, to lead the Children’s Liturgy of the Word and they are excellent role models for the kids.
After the children listen to the readings for the mass in simpler language that they can understand, they join their parents for the 2nd half of the mass and communion.
What can it possibly hurt for the children to understand the mass better and begin to have a sense of community, of belonging to our parish family too?
June 5th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
There is no reference to Children’s Liturgy of the Word or to “catechist” in this piece. Only “Mass”, “pastoral minister” and “homily”. Thus the confusion and my concern. The fact that readers are left to make so many assumptions (as we did) merely underscores the need for clarity and distinction.
My parish relies on a team of dedicated female catechists and I am grateful to them for their dedication and service. Whether male or female, all catechists must be well catechized themselves and be faithful to the Magisterium. Sadly, this is not always the case.
It must also be acknowledged that the “trend to ‘laicize the clergy and clericize [sic] the laity’” is a real problem in many parishes/dioceses which threatens to undermine the very foundation of our Catholic faith–the Eucharist.
I do hope Ms. Fagnant-McArthur reads our comments and replies with clarification.
God’s blessings…my prayers…
Fr. John
June 9th, 2008 at 3:01 am
laurak,
Can you please provide the name of the Vatican document which instructs lay people how to conduct the Liturgy of the Word?
God Bless,
Michael