Sacrament of Charity

Pope Benedict XVI writes another deeply spiritual work. The Sacrament of Charity is an Apostolic Exhortation, written by the Pope after the eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October, 2005. The Pope explains in detail the Eucharist, its importance to liturgies and relevance to the life of the church. According to Benedict, the Eucharist is the very center of all we think and do in the church. Benedict explains that Eucharistic faith is the "mystery of God himself and his Trinitarian love." He explores this concept with a fascinating discussion of the relationship between the Eucharist and each person of the Trinity. The sacramentality of the Church, according to the Pope, is closely tied up with the Eucharist. He celebrates each sacrament in light of the Eucharist. He details how the works of the apostolate are "bound up with the Eucharist. The church, itself is a sacrament that unites us in our journey with the Lord. Benedict suggests that I receive a "mission" when I celebrate the sacred mysteries. My commission is to be a Christ like "witness" with my life. I receive a mission to be an active "witness" to the Love of the Lord. The Pope further teaches that I cannot possess Christ just for myself. I can only be with HIM in union with others, especially the least ones. This gives me social responsibility. I must care about the plight of others in God's creation, the homeless, displaced, hungry, and the poor. One lesson in this detailed meditation that was especially meaningful to me was that our catecheses, our presentations in RCIA and any instruction concerning our faith, especially for the sacraments of initiation, "must be constantly directed" to the sacrament of Eucharist. As an instructor for confirmation, I know this applies to me. As teachers we must live "personally what we celebrate". Our "process of Christian formation" must be experiential, it should be a "vital and convincing encounter with Christ". The Sacrament of Charity is a scholarly work, with extensive notes and detailed explanations of each point the Pope teaches regarding the Eucharist. It is not as easy to read as some of Benedicts other writings. Reading this book is a bit like sitting in a class taught by a master professor. One drinks in the detailed knowledge and carefully records the professor's extensive references to support each of his teaching points. It is worth the effort to explore the many concepts he teaches. I recommend this book for anyone who loves the Eucharist.

The title I chose draws from the final sections of this amazing work. Note well its inclusive language. It continues: "The eucharistic mystery thus gives rise to a service of charity towards neighbor, which 'consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God' . . ." Seasoned readers of Pope Benedict XVI will recoginze his citation here of his earlier work God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est) (Benedict XVI); experienced readers may also catch the subtle allusion to the great Dominican priest and theologian Schillebeeckx's most well known work, Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter With God. Indeed the most frequently footnoted references are unusually to the Pope's own previous statements and speeches. The next most footnoted and referenced source is the Vatican II document Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World: Gaudium et Spes. Any long time student of the development of our ecclesiology will immediately recognize the many unfootnoted sources. For like a Beethoven symphony this present work builds subtly to a spectacular climax thus synthesizing themes from all the ages. Do not walk out early: read the whole book! Too often with official pronouncements such as these we find people, if they open the cover at all rather than reading a review of a review and quoting sound-bites therefrom twisted to their own personal prejudice, too often we find people read, if they read it at all rather than jump and skip until they discover a phrase that can be twisted to support their personal prejudices and thus grant their prejudices a certain ersatz papal authority, too often we find people fail to read these Papal pronouncements all of the way to the end, and re-read, and reflect, and ruminate and meditate and read once more as we must in order truly to hear the Word of God. This work must be read through to the end. Do not stand up in the middle of the symphony, in the quiet section, having heard what you think you wanted to hear, and then leave to pay the babysitter. Stay until its over. Read this book to the end. Though there is much silence and a strange new simplicity of style (as compared with such exhortations of thirty years ago), do not leave early. Read it until the end. Though passages may go on quietly as the Moonlight Sonata, with nothing new to challenge but only to comfort and ease you, read till the end, and discover amazed an awakening as stirring as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. QUICK QUIZ (in catechetical format)- QUIZ QUESTION ONE Who wrote this: "We cannot remain passive before certain processes of globalization which not infrequently increase the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide. We must denounce those who squander the earth's riches, provoking inequalities that cry out to heaven (cf Jas 5:4)." "The Lord Jesus, the bread of eternal life spurs us to be mindful of the situations of

One reviewer of Pope Benedict's new apostolic exhortation called it a "Eucharistic catechism," a description that fits perfectly. The Holy Father first introduces readers to an explanation of the role of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. It is quite simply the "constitutive of the Church's being and activity." He then addresses practical matters concerning worship and the sacraments. Catholics are urged to consider re-ordering the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist to be celebrated all at once in succession, so as to emphasize the proper place of the Blessed Sacrament in the life of the Christian and the Church. Priests are instructed to embrace a spirit of humility and not present themselves as the center of the liturgical action. The importance of beauty and the liturgy, long a key theme for Benedict, is also stressed. "Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate splendour." The Sign of Peace is not a mini-happy hour and ought to be exchanged with restraint. I once watched a priest and deacon "high five" each other in the sanctuary, and there seems little doubt that is the sort of exaggerated behavior the Holy Father would have us avoid. Pope Benedict explains that "active participation," a term used by liturgists to bring everything from campfire songs to bongos into the Mass, "does not refer to mere external action" but concerns a "greater awareness of the mystery being celebrated." How should parish leaders foster the participation of worshippers? "The primary way to foster the participation of the People of God in the sacred rite is the proper celebration of the rite itself." In other words, the endless experimentation many people experience at Mass should end. Relatedly, he also defends the use of sacred music from those who would inject popular music into the Mass. "Generic improvisation or the introduction of musical genres which fail to respect the meaning of the liturgy should be avoided." Translation: Your rock band belongs in the undercroft, not the sanctuary. Priests and the laity are urged to learn more Latin. "Similarly, the better-known prayers of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung." The document's much-discussed section on pro-abortion politicians is actually rather short. Pope Benedict lists the Church's "not negotiable" values in the public square -- the right to life, the defense of marriage, and the right to educate one's children -- and states that Catholic politicians are bound to defend them. With "Sacramentum Caritatis," Pope Benedict's "reform of the reform" has begun, and he has wisely decided to make the education of his flock his first priority.