Anne Lastman
In moments of quiet reverie, the most amazingly deep understands surface. With intrusive thoughts put aside the self is able to muse and think about greater things. The questions about life.
Thinking about the very nasty words spoken by a woman in my presence, who knows that I am a practising Catholic and love my faith she turned her tongue to vitriol. I stood silent not knowing where this venom came from, however, when she had left, I was able to sit down (with a coffee) on my balcony looking into river and parklands and think about her words.
The usual offensive words of a former catholic who has joined a small house church with the conviction that her new church has the answer. She told me about Pope being anti-Christ, we worship a woman goddess, our Eucharist is an abomination, priesthood is our idolatry. Our Catholic church is the new Babylon.
I surprised myself by not allowing my Italian temper to surface.
As I tried to think of all the things, we are supposed to do wrong I allowed my mind to wander and think about her words “we worship a wafer” and call it the body and blood of Christ. We pray to and worship a simple peasant woman. We pray to statues. (idolatry- she quoted first commandment) We are cannibals because we believe we eat body of a man. I listened. When she took I breath without me asking her to, I asked what religion do you practice? “I tend towards born again Christian or as I sometimes think about it I’m probably more of a theist and I believe that when we die we die, we die and become worm food.”
This is the background which had assailed me and set me on train of thought about my own understanding of our faith. As I reflected on that supposed “sharing” I felt a deep woundedness by the words she had used especially about priesthood and the Holy Eucharist. Because I believe these to be the Holiest moments of our liturgy, faith which bring Jesus to us personally.
To me it became very obvious that even as a former catholic she must have never known even a little about her faith, and some other denomination probably started by someone gathering former Catholics to make up a “house church” had seen her loss and taken up residence in her, leading her to such beliefs. A house church sounds inviting because it implies warmth, belonging, comfort, to some who may have not experienced this in life would be attracted to such an environment. Perhaps her former catholic church had missed her need and she left disillusioned.
When she stopped her rant and had actually not yet left, I asked her if she would allow me to explain some of the beliefs, she has about the catholic church not to change her mind and condemn her new church but so that she can understand the church she had left.
First, I spoke about Our Lady and her role of salvation and being the mother of Jesus who had given her to us as our mother just before he died on the cross. He told John who also stood near the cross with her that from now on she would be his mother and he would be her son. This ensured she would not be alone. He left her in the care of her new son to take care of because in those times a widow or woman alone would have a hard time and John representing all of us (means that all of us can claim her as our heavenly mother) so that we do not offend our earthly mother. We do not “pray” to her, but we talk to her and ask her to help us and intercede for us and talk with her son about us (you and me and all others) and what we have asked of her is for help as we would ask one of our friends or other. We don’t pray to her we only pray to God through Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
Our mother, like all mothers, intercede either with an older child or husband or God about us and asks if it’s possible to grant our desires. She intercedes for us. We on our part when we say the Rosay with care, love, patience, we recall with her, moments of her and her Son’s life both the beautiful and the very painful ones and finally we recall her response when asked the question would she agree to give an earthly body to the son of God, and her “Yes” and her journey with him and his life and work and finally his leaving for his home next to his father where he had come from.
Our Mother Mary is so vital to the work of our Lord. She is not a statue but like a much-loved photo of loved one in our life who has died. At times we talk to them. We tell them how much we love them and miss them.
Why is the Catholic Church so misogynist? why can’t there be women priests? So, there would be abuse. Once upon a time I thought about wanting to be a priest but of course I wasn’t allowed to. I explained to her that within the catholic church we believe that this is not possible not because a woman is a woman or she can’t do work, but because priesthood is tied to the Eucharist. The priesthood and eucharist are tied to one another and Jesus was a male and he called men to continue his work and ministry. Not because woman was lower than man but because God had planned a different role for her. Not lesser but different.
For woman God had designed and created her to continue his work of creation and carry forward the life and the future. She was to be a mother and give life, and man’s role was to bless the new life. Always the father’s work is to bless all life as God Himself did. Both roles are linked to one another, without life there would be no purpose for the man to give his blessing. The roles are totally equal but very different.
Explaining priesthood and Eucharist would probably be most challenging for me and probably for her to hear so I hoped I could give an explanation which would make sense.
First the “wafer” of her disgust, I explained, occurs because of the number of catholic human beings who go to Mass and receives the eucharist. The “wafer” is made of flour and water (like the unleavened bread on Passover night a few thousand years ago) but because of the number of people, a method was developed which could make the unleaded bread (wafers) in pieces which could be received and consumed by the one presenting to receive it. The blessed Eucharist (Body and Blood of Our Lord) will be with us till the end of time, as promised by Jesus. (Mt 16:15) He will be always with us, he will not abandon us, and with the Eucharist we know this with certainty.
When he gave us bread to eat and blood to drink, he reversed that sin which was committed in the “Garden” eons ago. God said to man and woman “you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or you will die” and loss of eternal life. Now Jesus in reversal says, “unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you do not have eternal life” What was lost with the eating in the garden was eternal life and Jesus now restores the way to reverse this. “I tell you the truth unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53) you have no eternal life. A new eating was needed but an eating of innocence and an eating of divine life as was in the beginning.
The Catholic church from the very beginning has always taken the words of Jesus literally and seriously and not as something symbolic and so it understood that Jesus found a way that all may participate in divine life. How does the “wafer” and “wine” become the body of Our Lord? In a beautiful manner.
How does this happen? Following set liturgy of the Mass with confession of faith, readings, gloria, prayers of faithful, Gospel reading for day, comes the preparation for this sacred moment when the priest (alter Christus-another Christ) allowing Christ to be his his body invokes the Holy spirit to change the essence of the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Jesus by using the same words which were used on that first night where this occurred, that is, on Holy Thursday night so that his words then are still the same words he speaks to us now just as he spoke them to the apostles present in that room. His same words are now spoken then are same spoken to us. He sits there with them, blesses the bread, and offers it to the nearest apostle next to him to break, a piece for himself and pass on to the next apostle to do same until the end as it will be passed on till the end of time. He then blessed the wine and the Holy Spirit again at the words “drink the blood of the son of man” changes the very essence of the wine into the divine blood of the Lord. Then thanksgiving for this gracious gift and body and blood of the person receiving is renewed from the state of being dead because without body and blood a human is dead to renewed life. The blood of Jesus now has restored life.
When I personally think of this I am in awe of the ways of God. A way in which all humanity is able (even for a short time) return to the purity as it was in the beginning before sin.
The priesthood, so despised especially in our time, and the demand for female priests cannot be understood unless we can understand that the priesthood (a service) and the Eucharistic holiness are tied together, one cannot be without the other. The priesthood has to always be male (not because female can’t do the job, but this isn’t a job) but because the human body of Jesus was male and when priest begins saying the words of consecration the Holy Spirit begins change. For a moment time stands still (as it did in Jericho when sun stood still Jos. 10:12-14) and the Lord Jesus is present before our eyes as he was just over two thousand years ago. Now I can understand why some saints at the raising of the host can actually see the Lord and cannot take their eyes off him and some weep. For a moment the priest and the elements were overshadowed by the Shekinah (Holy Spirit-glory of God) and the Lord actually comes to this table. I don’t think I will ever be able to look at the elevated host, the altar, the priest, and Jesus fully present in our midst as he was in that room long time ago. At the blessing of the bread, he is again recognised.
I have to respectfully disagree with those who wish the priest to turn his back on his congregation during the sacred moments. Remembering that Jesus sat with his apostles looking at each, blessing of the elements, passing these to them saying “eat” “drink” and pass on to your brother next to you. Jesus did not turn his back on them and today they apostles are still passing on the Body and Blood to the brothers and sisters. Jesus came to be with and amongst men and not to turn his face against them. The Son of God doesn’t put his hand over them while his glory passes by. To see his back. This time God openly lets himself be seen the cleft in the rock is not needed.
The two sacraments married together can ensure that the promise of Jesus is kept that he will be with us till the end of time. This because in all hours of day globally a Mass is celebrated and the same happens at all Masses, so Jesus for a moment is present to all as here and now as he was in Jerusalem. Our earthly home is filled with his glory of God. The Shekinah hovers all over the earth because Jesus is present here. We also remember the words that Jesus spoke “where two or more are gathered in my name I will be in their midst” (Mt.18:20) at every Mass he is for a still moment in our time present as he was in the supper room. He hasn’t abandoned us. We can see him daily. For God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit time is still, they live in the eternal now and now Jesus speaks his promises to us, and we can hear him and know he keeps all of them.
It’s often said that since the redemption there are no longer males or females, Greeks of Jews (Gal 3.28-29) . This is true. In his divine body he is total and complete because he carries within himself the whole of humanity, both male and female, but in his human body he is all male. He presented himself as male.
Because of the consecration and his earthly presence at this time, it cannot be a woman priest because it could be, dare I say it, spiritual adultery. Priest – male /church- female (married) Female, priest, /female church (spiritual lesbianism).
Woman given gift of co-operating with creation of life, to man gift of being vessel for the flowing of grace to each of God’s creatures, same but different. It has been said that masses offered by sinful priests are invalid, but this can’t be because it is not priest who offers but Jesus his very real himself, priest is the vessel through whom grace of Jesus flows.
The more and more I understand why the Eucharist, why the priesthood, the more I fall in love again. And at consecration I now do not close my eyes and listen to words, but look at raised blessed host, I know its Jesus himself looking at me and now I will look at him, not closing my eyes and hope to see him as he was in this world over 2000 years ago. The Shekinah (Gods glory) for a short time has changed his earthly brother Jesus into the second person of their trinitarian family. the Shekinah (Gods glory) which had left the temple (Ez. 10) has returned to the temple.
“Do you not know that your body is temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (Cor 6:19-20).
The Glory of (Yahweh) God which had left the people of Israel has returned (Ez. 10) Jn (Jn.1: Prologue)
I am not sure I converted my visitor but when we walked our different way she was silent.
