The True Temple, Sacrifice, and Priest

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The Lord Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in Jerusalem. “Jesus went up the Temple as the privileged place of encounter with God. For him, the Temple was the dwelling of his Father, a house of prayer, and he was angered that its outer court had become a place of commerce. He drove merchants out of it because of jealous love for his Father: ‘You shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’ His disciples remembered that it was written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (CCC, 584.) It was out of jealous love for his Father that he drove merchants out of the Temple. He would not allow the merchants to transform the house of God into the house of mammon. “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” If one is to serve God, then he must serve only God. “You shall have no other gods besides me…for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

In this day and age of political correctness, this idea of a jealous God is difficult to uphold. The idea of the plurality and equality of all religions will find the idea of a jealous God rather repulsive – it would immediately be judged as narrow-mindedness, fundamentalism, and simply unenlightened. We should be tolerant of religious differences, so we are told. After all, the Catholic Church, according to a lady senator, does not have the monopoly of the truth.

But have we ever asked: Why is there so much insistence in the jealousy of God? Definitely, it is not on account of the insecurity of a power-tripping god. Rather, God does not want us to have other gods beside him because such is the truth: THERE IS NO OTHER GOD BESIDE HIM. There is only one God living and true. “God is unique; there is only one God.” (CCC, 200) The others are pretenders, fakes, and liars. And it is very dangerous to worship false gods simply because false gods do not deliver. “They have eyes but see not, ears but hear not. They have nostrils but there is no breath of life in them.” False gods cannot save simply because they cannot do it. Mammon cannot save you. The world cannot save you. You cannot save yourself. Worshipping false gods is like worshipping no god at all. False gods cannot save you. Only the true God can do this.

In order to protect us from the deception of pretenders, Jesus presents himself to us as the true Temple where we encounter the true and living God: “Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up…He was speaking about the temple of his body.” In Jesus dwells the fullness of the Divinity. He is God the Son who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, substance or nature (CCC, 202.) When we go to Jesus, we shall definitely know the Father because “no one knows the Father except the Son and everyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” When we go to Jesus, we shall definitely encounter the Father, for “he who has seen (him) sees the Father.” When we go to Jesus, we shall definitely reach the Father, for “no one can come to the Father except through (him).”

And to make sure that the Jesus we approach is the real one, we have to be faithful to what we have received from the Apostles: “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The crucified Christ is the true Christ – one whose Temple (body) was destroyed but was raised up in 3 days.

And this is why, as Peter said last Sunday, “it is good for us to be here.” It is good for us to be here because we stand before the true Christ – the true Temple, the true Sacrifice, the true Priest. Because Christ is the true Temple, we are sure that we encounter the true God. Because Christ is the true Sacrifice, we dare approach the Father with the one Offering that is pleasing to him. Because Christ is the true Priest, we are sure that our worship is accepted “for there is only one Mediator between God and man: the man Jesus Christ.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

The Mass and the Priest

For each priest, the celebration of the Holy Mass is the reason for his existence. It is, it must be, an entirely personal encounter with the Lord and with his redemptive work. At the same time, each priest, in the celebration of the Eucharist, is Christ himself present in the Church as Head of his body; and he also acts in the name of the whole Church “when presenting to God the prayer of the Church, and above all when offering the Eucharistic sacrifice”. When we experience the wonder of the Eucharistic gift, which transforms us and configures us to Christ, there is only room for amazement, gratitude and obedience.

His Eminence Cardinal Antonio Cañizares

5 March 2012, University of the Holy Cross

Glory and Humiliation

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The Lord was greatly pleased with Abraham who passed the test of faith by willingly offering Isaac, his own beloved son, when asked to do so by the Lord. Although the sacrifice was not consummated, Abraham’s obedience was clearly manifested in taking his son to Mt. Moriah to offer him to the Lord. Thus, God said: “Because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands on the seashore. Your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations on earth shall find blessing.” Not only was Abraham’s faith put to test. What he did proved how devoted he was to God.

Abraham did not withhold from God his own beloved son and so God knows how devoted Abraham was to him. But do we know how devoted God is to us? St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, shows us God’s devotion to us: “(God) did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all.” He who sent his angel to tell Abraham “Do not do the least harm to (the boy)” did not spare his own Son but handed him over to evil men. Do we actually understand what this means? The Face of Jesus, which is as radiant in his glory as God’s only Son, was stricken and defiled when he became Son of Man. Jesus, whose clothes were dazzlingly white in an unearthly way, was stripped naked and covered with nothing but sweat and blood. Jesus, who was glorified by both Moses and Elijah, was condemned to death at the clamor of the people who claimed to follow the teachings of Moses and Elijah. Jesus, whom the Father claimed as his own beloved Son, was handed over by the Father to crucifixion and death. “Son though he was, Jesus learned obedience through suffering.”

It is when we see the great difference between the glory of Christ and his humiliation that we realize the extent of God’s devotion to us. The sublimity of his glory and the baseness of his humiliation both leave us the question: “What would God not do to show his love for us?” Is there still anything he has not yet done to show his love for us? “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not give us everything else along with him?” Is there anything that he has not yet done for us? Will there still be anything that he would not do?

Such love coming from God himself traverses the expanse of heaven and earth, glory and humiliation, height and depth. Such love that only God can give – it is such love that made St. Paul say: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Indeed, we are very sure that God is for us. He handed over his Son. He did not spare his Son just so that we may not perish in our sins. “It is God who acquits us.” He is not our accuser. He desires nothing but our repentance and our salvation. Therefore, let us listen to Jesus his Son and trust that he will bring us to salvation. Let us obey the words of God’s beloved Son for he alone has the words of eternal life – He is the Life. Let us follow his lead through the difficult way of the Cross – trust him: He is the Way. No one comes to the Father except through him. Let us listen to him for everything he says is true – He is the Truth. Never doubt that he cares for you – he invested so much on you: he bought you at the price of his Blood.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Clerical Narcissism and Lent

Clerical Narcissism is a problem that afflicts many priests who think that the Mass is a venue to assert their own personality and preferences. I agree with George Weigel with his observation that this narcissism needs to be corrected.

"One implicit purpose of the new translations, with their deliberate recovery of a sacral vocabulary and their adoption of a more formal literary rhythm, was to discipline the tendency of priests to turn the Mass into an expression of the celebrant’s personality. The difficulties some priests have had with adjusting to the changes suggests that this tendency was, in fact, a real problem in implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Prominent Catholic psychologist Paul Vitz once wrote of this as a problem of “clerical narcissism,” and while the phrase undoubtedly stings, there’s something to it—something that needs correcting."

Clerical Narcissism and Lent | First Things

Christ's Fast and our Baptism

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The sins of humankind were the reasons for the flood that devastated the entire earth in the time of Noah: “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Gen. 6:5) The flood was to annihilate evil by destroying all people and the earth with them. And so, rains fell for 40 days and 40 nights killing everyone and everything apart from the creatures which were with Noah’s family in the ark. When the floods receded, everything was supposed to start anew with God’s covenant that never again will he devastate the entire earth with a flood. However, sin was not washed away by the flood. Soon, Ham, one of Noah’s sons, will dishonor his father and his descendants will build the tower of Babel as a monument to their pride.

The flood waters “prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience…” Baptism does what the floods failed to accomplish. The flood waters annihilated evil men but not sin itself. Baptism brings about the forgiveness of sin. How could this be? This is made possible because “Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.” This is the implication of his fasting in the desert: “The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, and he remained in the desert for 40 days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.” Ordinarily, we do not challenge enemies in their territory. Just look at that Filipino boxer who won a fight in Argentina. He and his staff were mauled by the displeased local crowd. But Jesus went into the desert which was notorious for being the devil’s abode. The desert was the enemy’s turf. By his incarnation, he entered into this world, into this arid place that repays man’s labor with thorns and thistles. He entered into enemy territory with only one purpose in mind: to wrestle with the devil for the salvation of man. He was among wild beasts yet was kept unharmed because the angels ministered to him. The beasts did not harm him but we crucified him and angels did not prevent us from doing so for in his suffering and death occurred the real combat. On the Cross, Christ conquered sin. Having been put to death, the Righteous One’s side was opened by a soldier’s lance from which gushed forth an abundant fountain of mercy: the Spirit-filled waters of baptism. Thus, the prophecy of John the Baptist was fulfilled: “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” The Spirit filled baptismal water floods the whole world and washes away the sins of those who would dare plunge themselves into it. Blessed are we who emerged from the waters of baptism for we are now able to appeal to God with a clear conscience.

And we should strive always to maintain a clear conscience by constantly heeding to Christ’s words: “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Let us not be like Ham who lent a willing ear to the devil’s temptation. Let us not be puffed up in pride like the builders of the Tower of Babel. Rather, let us keep ourselves humble, always sincerely repenting of our sins, always willing to listen to the Gospel. Let our lives not be caught up by the entertainment and pleasures of the world. Rather, let us lead penitential lives, always vigilant against the devil’s temptation and always vigilant for the Lord’s will.

“We must flee from creatures, withdraw into solitude, and keep a profound silence, and through these things, enter into the dispositions of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not necessary that we should go looking for Him in the deserts of Palestine, where once He withdrew and fasted for 40 days. He is solitary in the desert of the Most Holy Sacrament: there He has taken upon Himself the sins of all men, becoming (for our sakes) the penitent of the Eternal Father.” (Mother Melchtilde de Bar, Benedictine)

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Video of Solemn Mass in the EF at the Holy Family Parish

The Video of the Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the Holy Family Parish is now posted at the New Liturgical Movement .

More From the Philippines: Solemn Mass in the EF

Rend your hearts, not your garments

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Ash Wednesday opens Lent which is a time of spiritual renewal – a time of going with Jesus to the desert in order to fast and to pray. Thus, fasting today is obligatory for all aged 18 to 60. Today’s obligatory fast hopefully will encourage us to engage in various acts of penance and piety throughout this blessed season.

As we enter into Lent, we receive a warning from the Lord against doing acts of piety and charity “in order that people may see them.” In other words, he warns us against engaging in spiritual acts for a show. And so, as we fast, we are not supposed to look gloomy and unkempt so that others may know that we are fasting. And so is it also with prayer and almsgiving. The point is that we should keep in mind that these acts of piety and charity are not a show, not a performance aimed at eliciting admiration from others. We do these not to impress people. Rather, we do these to worship the Lord and to show him how sorry we are for our sins. The only eyes we wish to entertain with our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving would be those of the “Father who sees what is hidden.” We “rend (our) hearts, not (our) garments, and return to the Lord…for gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.”

We rend our hearts, not our garments – the words of the prophet Joel tell us to be concerned about interiority, that is, about “what is hidden.” Fasting is not about keeping a trim figure or a healthy lifestyle. Rather, fasting is about rending our hearts. Its objective is interior conversion. Fasting is not about detoxifying our bodies. It is about detoxifying our souls of any attachment we have to ourselves and to the world. In his Lenten message for this year, the Holy Father invites us “to look at others, first of all at Jesus, to be concerned for one another, and not to remain isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters. All too often, however, our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for ‘privacy’.” When we fast, we deny ourselves of what we perceive is rightfully ours. This act of self denial breaks our selfishness. It breaks our obsession with “privacy”. It breaks our self possession so that we may open ourselves to the Lord in prayer and to our neighbor in almsgiving. By loving ourselves less, we become available to loving the Lord more and our neighbor for the sake of our Lord. The Holy Father asks, “What hinders (the) humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters? Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else. We should never be incapable of ‘showing mercy’ towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor.”

And so, as we quit our bridal chambers, let us go to the altar and say to the Lord: “Spare, O Lord, your people.” As we empty our plates, let us put food in the plates of the poor. The money we do not spend for the meals we intend not to take, let us donate them to the hapag-asa foundation so that we may feed hungry and malnourished children. Let this season of Lent be less about ourselves and more about others – let us be more fervent in our prayers and more generous in our charity. “Behold, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.”

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!