Back from Rome Ready to Go

Many of you know that I was leading a pilgrimage to Rome for the last two weeks.  It started out as an opportunity solely for parishioners of Centerville and Hilltop Lakes, but eventually it was opened up to other folks in the Diocese of Tyler and beyond.  I accompanied twenty-five pilgrims from my own parishes as well as from Gilmer, Nacogdoches and a few other places.  Having studied in Rome for five years, I was ready to offer the pilgrims an experience of the Roman Church in her glory from an East Texan perspective.  I spent almost a year planning the pilgrimage with Perfect Impressions Tours of Springfield, Illinois so that I could utilize the expertise of two of my favorite English-speaking tour guides, John and Ashley Noronha, and also so that I could be the one to give the tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and keep the group together and on schedule.

We arrived in Rome on the morning of January 14.  The very next day, everyone was ecstatic to be present at the general audience of Pope Francis.  Over the course of nine days, the pilgrims visited St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, the Holy Staircase, San Clemente, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums.  The seminarians of the Diocese of Tyler who study at the Pontifical North American College (the NAC) greeted the pilgrims and gave them a tour of America’s seminary in Rome.  Most everyone spoke of Sunday Mass at the NAC as a highlight of the trip.  We also took a day trip to visit the Eucharistic Miracle at Orvieto and the shrines of Sts. Francis and Clare at Assisi.  The meals were at restaurants that specialized in regional cuisines of Italy.  And, of course, there was a bit of time for free-spirited pilgrims to tour the city, shop, pray and appreciate (or be intrigued by) Roman culture.

As the priest in charge of the pilgrimage group, I was a little concerned at first if I would be able to comply with all the needs of each and every one of the pilgrims.  However, despite the range of ages, genders and comfort levels, I think everything went pretty well.  I was impressed with how everyone looked after each other, how they let me know if someone was left behind, if they needed a bathroom break, etc.  (Lots of bathroom breaks are the key to a happy pilgrimage :-).  It was a joy for me to celebrate Mass for the group each day at some of the most beautiful and sacred altars in Christendom.  On one of the days, I offered Mass at the Altar of St. Leo the Great in St. Peter’s Basilica.  The relationship of the 5th Century pope to Centerville, Texas at that moment was a profound reminder of the reality of the Communion of Saints and the universality of the Catholic Church.

During the pilgrimage, I was able to visit with some of my friends and professors who still live, work and study in Rome.  I received some inspiration in my priesthood from them, and now I am fired up to get back into the swing of things in Centerville, Hilltop Lakes and Madisonville.  For the next few weeks I will be planning for pastoral, spiritual and building goals for 2014 in keeping with my five-year plans.  I am thankful for the prayers and support of my pilgrimage group and to start this year with the blessing of Pope Francis and the encouraging example of the Church of Rome.

Are Catholics Spiritual or Religious?

This Sunday's readings can be found here.

Have you ever heard someone say “I consider myself more spiritual than religious” or “I am a spiritual person, not a religious person”?  There is a temptation today to see some sort of opposition between spirituality and religion.  Many people are interested in different kinds of spiritualities but some reject religion as almost a bad thing — as if it threatens or impedes spirituality.  To be able to respond to this apparent contradiction, we need to define “spirituality” and “religion.”

“Spirituality” refers to a person’s relationship with God.  It is deeply personal, individual and interior.  “Religion”, on the other hand, is an external, social phenomenon that has profound roots in the human personality.  Lots of people want to consider themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious” because they fear that religion gets in the way of their personal relationship with God.  Sadly, this can be true of more than a few Christian sects.  Some of these fear Catholic Christianity in particular because they think it stifles their interpretation of the Bible.  A “Me and Jesus” spirituality is more appealing than “belonging to the Catholic Church” — or any church for that matter.  Another reason these kinds of people fear religion (in this case, Catholicism) is because being “religious” means living according to moral precepts and being subject to an authority outside oneself.  Sadly, they see the Catholic Church as not only being an obstacle to spirituality but also to their conception of freedom.

What is awesome about being Catholic is that we are both 100% spiritual and 100% religious.  In the Catholic Church, there is no contradiction between these two dimensions of our faith.  In fact, spirituality and religiosity complement each other.  As regards spirituality, we must have a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life and as our dearest friend.  This is expressed in our personal prayer, devotions, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  And yet, because man was not created to be alone, we express our faith “religiously” when we come together to praise God as members of His holy Church at holy Mass!  Without sounding too hokey, I think it is fair to say that Catholicism is not just a “Me and Jesus” spirituality but rather a “We and Jesus” community.

As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, God gives us everything we need to live through, with and in Jesus Christ.  However, He knows we are weak, we struggle with our own sins and broken relationships, and we cannot do anything without Him.  In the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Unity, our Lord wishes to sacramentally unite His sacred flesh with our weak flesh in order to keep us faithful to Him in our thoughts, words and deeds; to keep us close to Him in our spirituality and united with each other in holy religion; and to speak to us tenderly as our God and dearest friend.

Holy Smoke! The Gift of Incense

One of the most distinctive physical characteristics of Catholic worship is the burning of incense during Mass on Sundays, Holy Days, and within Eucharistic Adoration.  The rubrics encourage the use of incense at these celebrations, but it is still only an option (GIRM 276-7).  Many priests simply opt to use incense at Christmas and Easter.  Some never use it at all in sacred liturgy.  This can give the impression that the use of incense is only for the Traditional Latin Mass or just plain outdated.

Visitors to the Catholic communities of Centerville and Hilltop Lakes sometimes ask me why I use incense at almost every Sunday Mass.  The most important reason, for me, is that the burning of incense is Biblical.  In the OT, Moses built an altar of incense (Exodus 30) on which the sweetest spices and gums were burned.  The office of daily renewal was entrusted to a special branch of the Levitical tribe (1 Chronicles 9:29).  In the NT, the Christ Child receives the gift of frankincense from one of the Magi (Matthew 2:11) as an allusion to the divinity of Jesus.  One passage that indicates the early Church was familiar with incense is the vision of St. John the Evangelist of the heavenly liturgy: Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel (Revelation 8:3-4).

While the theological explanation for incense may be satisfactory to everyone, there is still another problem: Some complain that they are allergic to incense.  I use a brand called Gloria Incense which is produced by an Orthodox monastery in Johnstown, PA.  It is a non-allergenic resin-based formula.  Resin incense is generally regarded as superior to wood-based products that burn quickly (often with the aid of “Chemical Catalysts”) and produce chokingly harsh smoke.  This is what people are “allergic” to – not incense itself – and I always try to apply a moderate portion to the coals so as to not “smoke people out” of my little church.

Incense in Mass connects us to our Jewish roots and to the antiquity of our Catholic tradition, and it reflects the holy worship of Almighty God in heaven.  As sacred liturgy engages all our senses – our sight, hearing, taste, and touch – so incense engages our sense of smell.  When we adore Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament on Sundays, may our attitude and disposition reflect that of the psalmist:  Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening offering (Psalm 141:2).