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Posted by on Oct 6, 2024

Bone of my Bones – Flesh of my Flesh

Bone of my Bones – Flesh of my Flesh

Foundational myths are those stories that help a people explain and understand how things came to be. All peoples have them. They provide the undercurrent of common knowledge that supports the ways of doing everyday things and out-of-the-ordinary things for both leaders and everyday ordinary folk.

In the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, we hear two foundational myths from Hebrew culture. The first tells of the creation of the universe and all it holds. The second tells more about human origins, including how humans came to be and how things got to be so challenging.

How we came to be

The world had been created, we are told, but it was barren. A stream bubbled forth from the land, wetting the clay as it flowed. From that clay, the Lord formed a human being, breathing life into his nostrils. With the breath from the Lord, the human, a man, came to life.

The place was totally barren. There was nothing there. So, the Lord planted a garden, the Garden of Eden. The stream became a river that flowed through the garden and became four great rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. These rivers were named in the story, so we know where all this is said to have happened.

The garden was lovely, filled with plants and food. But it was a bit lonesome. There was no one with whom to share the beauty or sit down and share a bite of fruit.

The Lord noticed that the man was lonesome, so he decided to give him a companion. He created many different kinds of animals and birds. The garden was filled with their calls. But none of them proved a fit companion for the man, the adam (man) who had been formed of the adama (ground). The man was still lonesome.

Finally, the Lord made the man sleep deeply. He took a rib from the side of the man and formed it into another being, one like the man. This being would be the equal of the man and his partner. She was not taken from his head, so not superior. She was not formed from his foot, so not inferior. She was formed from his side, to be his equal, his partner in life.

When the man awoke, he was delighted to receive the woman from the Lord. “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” He named her Ishsha (woman), noting that she had come from Ishah (her man, her husband). (Gn 2:18-24)

We know the names of these two first people as Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were created to be partners in the journey of life. They were to share intimate love and cling to each other, leaving all others aside.

Our Story Continued

This foundational myth continued, explaining how Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden when they came to know the difference between good and bad. The adventures of this couple and their children have been told and retold through the centuries. The basic assumptions of the story have shaped the beliefs and interactions of millions of men and women. They continue to be foundational for more millions into our own times.

What does the story mean for us?

What then do we draw from this story? How does a story so old, with so many untied ends, continue to shape our thinking and our ways of organizing our communal lives? Are we to take it literally, or are we free to look at the underlying lessons that it conveys? How might later interpretations of the story have shifted our perceptions, so that we now understand it differently?

All are important questions as we reflect on this story and what it means in our lives today.

Generally, we look to our own family and cultural community to tell us where we fit in the grand scheme of things.

If we are in a patriarchal, patrilineal, patrilocal culture, for example, we assume that our identity comes from the line of our fathers and grandfathers. We live in the communities in which our fathers grew up. Our mothers come into the family from another patrilineal family and leave behind their own family in the process. On the day a woman is married, in this example, she may not be allowed to return to her parents’ home at all, because now she belongs to her husband’s family. His family are now responsible for her support and the support of any children she may have. Men have the highest prestige and privilege. Women are expected to do what their husbands order and have no status outside the protection of the men. In some cultures, they may not leave the home without a male family member as their escort and chaperone. If they are divorced, they have no recourse. They may find themselves without financial support or protection and their children remain with their father’s family. Girls are not valued as much as boys because they will be given to other families in marriage. They will not continue the family line.

Things are different in a matriarchal or matrilineal culture. In these cultures, women are the leaders. The mother’s brother is the disciplinarian for the children, not their fathers. Their inheritance comes from their mother’s line. Their name will be from their mother’s line. Women are free to end a marriage and do not lose their social status in such cases. Women are free to come and go as they please. They make decisions for the community and must approve major changes. Daughters are valued because they continue the family line. Boys will be part of the lives of their sisters as well, helping to raise her children.

In our Western society, we trace our family lines from both sides of the family. It’s a bilateral cultural system. We have cousins from both sides. We can find help and support from relatives on both sides of the family. No one is automatically disgraced or socially abandoned by families in case of the legal dissolution of a marriage. In fact, spouses can be held responsible for continued support of the children and the spouse with fewer resources. However, in many ways, our culture continues to demonstrate its ancient patriarchal influences.

This is all important to keep in mind when we read that men and women were created to become one flesh, leaving behind their parents to form a new family. This is the original ideal for marriage, a foundational myth that has continued through Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim communities. And yet… It has been through multiple transformations along the way, but still remains there in the depths. Each cultural group that has received this teaching has heard it in the light of their own experience. Since the original three traditions have been fundamentally patriarchal, the interpretation of the story has favored the privileges of men.

In our world today, the questions of the rights of women, their place in the religious community, their freedom to make their own decisions and to pursue their own callings within the communities in which they live, and the extent to which their identity is to be subsumed into that of the men in their lives, are in transition and discussion.

With changing views on the place of women in family and society, it becomes necessary to evaluate the role of men as well. It’s not an easy time or an easy process. Yet it’s essential and we will get through it.

The bottom line

Humans are created to live with each other, to be companions to each other, to engender and raise children together. Yet humans are not all just the same. We are only beginning to understand the genetic basis of our gender identity – it’s not determined exclusively by which chromosomes we have. The genes on the chromosomes are far more important than we ever dreamed until recently. Our talents, interests, and gifts are not determined by our chromosomes. So much more is at stake. Finding the balance moving forward is not and will not be easy.

Our challenge today is to take the ancient foundational myths and see more deeply into their meaning. We are created to be together. We thrive on loving relationships. We need stability and love to grow. We learn through the tough times we experience and are helped by the love of a God who was willing to experience them himself, as one of us.

So, we rejoice with the author of the letter to the Hebrews who reminds us that the one “for whom and through whom all things exist…is not ashamed” to call us brothers and sisters. (Heb 2:9-11) We are children of God. We must accept the kingdom of God like a child, coming to the Lord and accepting his blessing. (Mk 10:2-16)

We were made wondrously and are oh so varied, each person. May we rejoice and celebrate love in its multi-colored and patterned forms.

Readings for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Aug 15, 2021

Layer upon layer of meaning for the Feast of the Assumption

Layer upon layer of meaning for the Feast of the Assumption

The Feast of the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary pre-empts the usual celebration of the Sundays of Ordinary Time when it falls on a Sunday as it does this year. It is a feast that has been celebrated by the Church for many centuries, but it was only officially promulgated as a feast in 1950. The Assumption refers to the belief that Mary’s body was taken into heaven at the time of her death. In the Eastern Church, the feast is called the Dormition and the belief is that she when she died, she simply went to sleep and was taken, body and soul, into heaven.

The readings begin with one from the Book of Revelations (Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab). This book is an example of apocalyptic literature, in which there are many layers of meaning. It is not to be taken literally, because the characters and events described are symbols of other realities. Numbers, colors, objects – all carried deeper meanings than their face value. Revelations was written during a time of persecution of the Christian community. Those for whom it was written understood it as an encouragement in time of trouble. Through all the suffering and trials, Christ and the Church would prevail, because God was on their side.

In today’s reading, first a sign appears in the heavens – a woman laboring to give birth. Then comes a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, ready to devour the child. There were said to be seven diadems on its seven heads, each of which had ten horns. Seven and ten were numbers signifying completeness and power. Horns are symbols of power. The diadems also referenced power. Red symbolizes war, destruction, and bloodshed. This dragon symbolized the forces of evil, arrayed against the woman and her child. The woman herself relates to two layers of meaning. She represents both Israel, from whom the savior would be born, and Mary, the Israelite mother who would give birth to Jesus and the church.  The child born and saved from the dragon was both Mary’s son, the Christ, and the community of believers who form his body today, the Church.

The triumph of the forces of good does not appear seamlessly in this story. There are many ups and downs, many triumphs and tribulations. However, the focus is on the ultimate victory of God, brought to fruition through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the faithfulness of the Church. The inclusion of a woman in the mix, as the one giving birth, makes clear the importance of the feminine and of matter in the story of salvation. God is not one who despises matter or the feminine. God unites heaven and earth, male and female in the story of salvation.

The readings continue, with St. Paul reminding the people of Corinth that Christ was raised from the dead. Christ is the first of “those who have fallen asleep” and been raised to new life. (1 Cor 15:20-27) Death came through the first human, Adam. All humans die. Now, because Christ is the new Adam, all humans will rise as he did. This will happen at the end of time, when all enemies of life have been conquered, including death.

The role of women is again featured in the Gospel according to St. Luke (Lk1:39—56) In this story, a newly pregnant Mary leaves Nazareth shortly after her encounter with the angel Gabriel. Gabriel has informed her that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, is having a baby and is now six months pregnant. This is a miracle because Elizabeth was past child-bearing age. Mary hurries to Elizabeth’s side to help her in the final months of the pregnancy.

When Mary approaches Elizabeth, her cousin cries out to her in the words we use in the Hail Mary: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” The child in her womb had leapt with joy when Mary greeted Elizabeth. This child grew up to be the final prophet, John the Baptist, who pointed to Jesus as the one who was to come. Elizabeth praised Mary for believing the angel’s words and consenting to God’s request of her.

If you or I heard such a greeting, we might well focus on our good deed or we might be embarrassed and brush off the greeting as excessive. Mary responded differently. Her response takes the form of a Canticle, a song of praise to God. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” This song is sung by the Church every evening as part of Evening Prayer. She sings of God’s great love and mercy throughout history, of the way the Lord comes to lift up the lowly and cast down the mighty from their thrones. She rejoices that the Lord has always come to the aid of his servant Israel and remembers the promise made to Abraham and his children forever. We too are children of Abraham in faith. She sings our song.

On this, the feast of the Assumption, let us rejoice in the courage and faithfulness of Mary, a teenager who met an angel, believed the messenger of God, and accepted a role that would bring danger, hardship, and sorrow, but also joy as she shared the journey of Jesus’ life. She understands what it is to be a mother, a wife, a faithful woman. She is ready to help all who ask for aid.

See you at Mass.

P.S. Many years ago I wrote another blog post for the Feast of the Assumption. If you’re interested, you can find it at:  https://blog.theologika.net/feast-of-the-assumption/

Image: Dormition of Mary – unknown artist – public domain

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Posted by on Oct 3, 2016

Finding God in All the Wrong People – A Look at the Emerging Church

Finding God in All the Wrong People – A Look at the Emerging Church

Accidental Saints

 

Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Nadia Bolz-Weber with Krista Tippett at the Wild Goose Festival from On Being on Vimeo.

Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran Minister who is described as “not your mother’s minister.” This is a marvelous interview with the woman who is the pastor or “pastorix” as she jokes of the House of  Sinners and Saints in Denver. Raised in the Church of Christ with no drinking, dancing, and no instruments in church Nadia has gone through many years of addiction and stand up comedy. In her Denver church,  she has incorporated the four part a capella singing of her childhood and focuses her preaches on the ongoing death and resurrection of Christians.

Before meeting her husband she had not found a Christianity with a care for the poor and a liturgy. Her getting clean and sober she describes as a “completely rude thing for God to do.” In Lutheranism she discovered a long articulation of belief that she “did not have to get rid of half her brain to accept.” She found an emphasis on God She doesn’t feel responsible for what her congregants believe but she feel responsible for what they hear and experience in the preaching and in the liturgy. they are anti excellence but pro participation. She calls her liturgy “high church and tent revival.”

For a fresh take on traditional Christianity in contemporary language enjoy this interview.

 

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Posted by on May 22, 2015

Why Mary is Important

Why Mary is Important

Hail Mary - F Fong

When we think or speak of Mary, the Mother of God, it is always important to keep in mind that she is best understood in the context of her relationship with her son, Jesus. Said formally, Mariology is always constructed in the context of Christology. This is so because Christ is the redeemer and the sole source of salvation. Everything in creation came to be through him. Mary, because of her role, participates in the creative and redeeming action of God in a special way.

Mary’s exceptional conception as sinless affords her the choice to live fully for God. She was not programmed to be good, but rather, Mary did not carry the deep fear of interference and resistance against God that exists in all other human beings. The rest of the human race has the grace and possibility to work with and overcome fear and anger, but we must work to limit our desire for control and instead surrender to God’s grace. We often do not choose right away to stop being resentful or angry. We often project onto others the responsibility for our own self-inflicted injuries. Mary had a clear vision of her place in life. She was born totally honest and prepared to grow. She chose to say “yes” over and over to these qualities, even when they brought suffering.

According to the Scriptures, Mary grew in her understanding of her son, herself, and the work of God in the world for salvation. We read more than once in the Gospel of Luke that she “pondered” how their lives were unfolding and what God was doing. She did not have a road map to reassure her of where they were going, but she had given her consent at the Annunciation and she trusted over and over. Her pregnancy was unexpected and controversial. The choices that Jesus made had consequences. His declaration in the synagogue that he was the Messiah brought immediate violence and ejection from the community. We find him and Mary later in the Gospel living in a completely new town, Capernaum, not a hill village like Nazareth but a fishing village.

Icon of the Wedding at Cana - Lucia 398 - CCWhen Jesus began his itinerant preaching and healing ministry we know that Mary, her sister and a group of women accompanied him as well as the crowds. This was not a normal lifestyle for first century Jewish women. Mary had to give up her reputation, village, old friends and the comforts of a house. In all of these ways she was an excellent listener of God as he called her out of the usual, the expected. She had to be quite aware of the danger that Jesus was in. In the Gospels, in village after village, the rage and jealously grew in the scribes and Pharisees. They hated his penetrating honesty, his clear perception of their air of superiority. They despised Jesus’ humility and closeness to the cast-offs of society. Mary must have constantly had to put her worries in the hands of God. She modeled an exceptional surrender to God and acceptance of His will. No one could have gone through this without being in deep prayer and interior connection to God all the time. She stood by Jesus from Cana to Golgotha and we have no reason to believe that she knew that “everything was going to be all right.”

Throughout the centuries Mary has been understood as the second Eve who reversed the willfulness and disobedience of the first Eve. Even when this story is understood metaphorically, Mary still is understood as the first human to be perfectly and happily obedient. She is also appreciated as the mother of the Church because she remained as the center of the early church community and loved them as her own. But it is her maternity of Jesus which stands out as the most important role she has because of its eschatological (future reaching) character. What is meant by this is that she is not just a person who did something unique in the past. Mary was and is “full of grace.” In the spiritual relationship which she has with her son and the whole of creation, Christ’s grace pours through her as the first disciple to all of humanity. Mary mothers us (protects and strengthens us) if we let her. Catholicism understands all of humanity, living and dead, to be in spiritual solidarity, a mystical body. Because of this solidarity or communion, Mary can help us to have a readiness to commitment, trust even in unbearable loss, and unimaginable joy when we are united to her son.

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Posted by on Feb 24, 2015

Why Mary is Important

The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World

800px-Petersdom_von_Engelsburg_gesehen - public domainThe Synod of Bishops and Pope Francis have asked members of the Catholic community, from both the Western and Eastern churches, to read the draft document prepared at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family last October in Rome and to respond with comments and insights drawn from their own experience of the Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and the Contemporary World.

Generally, members of the hierarchy do not consult ordinary members of the community regarding establishment of policies for dealing with pastoral issues such as how to help people prepare for marriage, how to support married couples in their life commitment, how to care for families that are wounded or broken apart, how to help members who are not heterosexual in their orientation, how and when to welcome children into the lives of a family, and how to pass on our faith within our families.

Nevertheless, all of us have some experience in this regard, since all have lived as members of a family. The bishops are asking us to share our experiences and the wisdom we have gained through the  practical challenges of living in families as people of faith.

The document prepared in October 2014 has been published. Each diocese has been asked to distribute the draft document and a questionnaire regarding the information included in the document. The dioceses are to collect responses, and prepare a summary of the thoughts of those who live with its geographic region.

The time frame is short. Responses are needed by the end of the first week of March so there will be enough time to summarize them and return them to Rome before the bishops assemble again in October 2015.

Please read the document carefully and respond to the questionnaire honestly and prayerfully, based on your own experience. Pope Francis and the bishops really want to know what the thinking of the People of God (the Church) is on these matters, because the Holy Spirit speaks through the everyday experiences of ordinary people.

Links to the document in several European languages are included in the sidebar to the right. For readers in other countries, check with your local diocese for the document in other languages.

Surveys for the Diocese of Monterey, California are available at the diocesan website.

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Posted by on Dec 16, 2014

Why Mary is Important

The Gabriel Project: Help for Pregnant Women in Crisis

Gabriel Project Icon The Gabriel Project is a national program endorsed by the US Catholic Conference of Bishops as an important pro-life parish activity that lends spiritual, emotional, and practical support to pregnant women in crisis.

Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, Rev. Msgr. John Perusina of St. Michael Parish in Houston began the Gabriel Project by putting up a sign that said , “If you will have your baby, this parish will help you in every way.” The sign still stands.

By the early 90s, the project was well established in the dioceses of Houston-Galveston and Corpus Christi. It is now a national organization that provides spiritual, emotional, and practical support for pregnant women in crisis. The Gabriel Project does not limit itself to serving Catholic women. It provides services to all women regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion. The main portal website is www.TheGabrielProject.us.

Parishes have trained volunteers who respond to requests and inquiries from pregnant women in crisis. According to Virginia Kaufmann, coordinator for the Gabriel Project at Resurrection Parish in Aptos, CA, each case is unique. One involved a young woman who could not continue to live with her mother and needed help finding housing. Generally, the women don’t have enough money to meet their basic expenses. One needed help with breastfeeding issues.

The San Francisco Archdiocese has posted several stories about “Angels” as the volunteers are called. Many times the situation requires helping the family to accept and welcome the new child. In one case a teenage mother’s father refused to have anything to do with her unless she got an abortion. Eventually, he came around, loves the baby, and now plays the proud grandpa. One young woman felt completely alone and abandoned until, through her tears, she saw a Gabriel Project sign outside a church. Within a few days she had an Angel, rent, and all the things she would need to welcome the new baby. Angels have also been known to provide childcare and parenting instruction. In one case a woman who had lost custody of her two-year-old because she was homeless was able to welcome back that child not long after giving birth to the new baby. This happened shortly before Christmas.

The women and the Angels develop very close bonds that have led to ongoing friendships in many cases. The volunteers, through their concern and practical help, bring alive the reassurance of the Angel Gabriel when he appeared to a very young Mary and told her not to be afraid, that she had found favor with God. Together, volunteers and new mothers discover that they too are loved dearly by God.

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Posted by on Sep 17, 2013

Why Mary is Important

St. Hildegard of Bingen

 

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen

St. Hildegard of Bingen lived in the 12th century. A remarkable woman, she founded a Benedictine convent, served as abbess of her community, studied medicine and physiology, including the use of medicinal herbs, composed and played hauntingly beautiful religious music, wrote poetry and morality plays, produced artistic works, and was a prophetic leader and preacher within the Church of her day.

Hildegard was also a mystic, having had visions beginning around the age of three. When in her early 40s, she began writing of her visions and their meaning. These were presented in three major works: Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord), Liber Vitae Meritorum (Book of the Rewards of Life), and Liber Divinorum Operum (The Book of Divine Works).

Many of her musical compositions have survived to the present and have been recorded by contemporary artists and orchestras. Her music goes beyond the traditional chant of her day, with a much broader range of notes in her melodies than was common at the time.

Hildegard saw humans as the thinking heart of all creation, called to work with God in shaping our world. Humans, and indeed all of creation, are “living sparks,” “rays of his splendor, just as the rays of the sun proceed from the sun itself.” She taught that our separation from God through sin brought harm to us as humans and to all of creation, but through Christ, we have the way for all to return to our original state of blessing.

In her words:

All living creatures are sparks from the radiation of God’s brilliance, and these sparks emerge from God like the rays of the sun. If God did not give off these sparks, how would the divine flame become fully visible?

Hildegard is honored as a Doctor of the Church. We celebrate her feast on September 17.

St. Hildegard, pray for us as we seek to see God’s face in each other and in all of creation.

 

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Posted by on Aug 26, 2012

A Refreshing Perspective on Respect, Love, and Obedience in Marriage

Today I’m giving this platform to the Rev. Mr. Patrick Conway, Deacon serving at Resurrection Catholic Community in Aptos. Patrick is Pastoral Associate in our parish, married for well over 20 years, father of 5, and a fine musician. He brings a welcome perspective to the study of scriptures such as the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:21-32) in which Paul addresses the relationship between husbands and wives. With Patrick’s permission, I share it with you.

Elbow Sunday 8-26-2012 Deacon Patrick Conway

Today is officially called the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. But unofficially it’s called “Elbow Sunday”. That’s because in Catholic churches all over the world today, during the Second Reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians when he says that wives must obey their husbands, husbands elbow their wives, and when he says that husbands must love their wives as Christ loves the Church, wives elbow their husbands right back!

Actually, this is a tradition that’s sort of gone by the wayside, because for decades now the Church has made that first paragraph about wives obeying their husbands optional, and most parishes don’t read it anymore, because most lectors, especially women, don’t want to read it, and most Catholics, especially women, don’t want to hear it, and most preachers don’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole! But I, just back from vacation and feeling strong, relish the challenge! Either that, or fools rush in where angels fear to tread!

So, what about it? It says here in the Word of God that wives must submit to their husbands in everything. 12 years ago the second-largest group of Christians (after Catholics) in the United States, the Southern Baptists, included it in their Statement of Faith, and many evangelicals and other Christians also believe and teach that wives must submit to their husbands. So what does the largest Christian Church in the world, the Roman Catholic Church, say about this?

Nothing. If you look at all the current Church teachings on marriage – in the Catechism, Canon Law, teachings of John Paul II, Engaged Encounter, Marriage Encounter – you won’t find a word about it. So now hear this, wives (and husbands): the Catholic Church does not teach that wives must submit to their husbands. Wives, you get to give the final elbow!

Just has it has in the lectionary, the Church has basically dropped or at least de-emphasized that notion of inequality that is wrongfully implied in Paul’s letter. The Church takes the rest of the passage to come up with a wonderful understanding of marriage as an equal partnership in which both husband and wife submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Both husband and wife give one another the love of Christ, loving each other as Christ loves the Church.

It’s like a dance – one partner leads, the other follows. But it’s not always the man who leads. In some things the woman can lead better, and so she should, and her husband should follow. Other times, the wife should follow her husband’s lead. Mutual submission to one another, and always, to Christ. There is no place for domination in this relationship. Domination is a serious and destructive sin, whether it is done by a husband or a wife.

Paul says that the marriage relationship is like the relationship between Christ and the Church, and so it is. But, unlike our relationship with Christ, who is always the Christ to us, husbands and wives take turns being Christ to one another. Now, as a husband, I take very seriously my call to love my wife as Christ loves the Church, and that’s my prayer every day. But every day I see all the ways that I fail to do that, unlike Christ who never fails me. And I see that, regardless of my best efforts to be Christ to my wife, it is more often she who is Christ to me. The greatest incarnation of Christ in my life is, and has been, my wife, whose constant love, faithfulness, mercy, care and devotion never cease to amaze and humble me. She has given herself to me completely, just as Christ has given himself to me. She gives herself to me through Christ, and Christ gives himself to me through her.

But marriage is not just for the good of the married, or even for the children that may come from a marriage. Marriage is for everyone, that is, for the good of everyone. That is Paul’s greatest gift in his teaching about marriage, that marriage is a sacrament, a sign and symbol for the whole world of the relationship between Christ and the Church, between Christ and humanity. Marriage reveals that this relationship between Christ and humanity is not one of divine domination, but of tender, intimate love, like the tender, intimate love between a husband and wife. It is deeply personal.

Marriage is to remind each one of us of what is possible between us and Christ, a tender, intimate, profoundly personal relationship that is truly everlasting. And each one of us is called to this dance of love with Christ, with Christ who has first loved us and who has come down from heaven into our world to give us his love, to give us himself, and who seeks only our love in return.

That’s all he’s been trying to tell us in these Gospel readings these past few weeks, that he’s giving us himself, his whole self – flesh and blood, body and soul, humanity and divinity, and he’s just dying with passion for us to receive him.

May our response to him be like St. Peter’s: “Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and love. We know that you’re the one for us.”

Reprinted with permission.

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Posted by on Jul 21, 2011

Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles – Then and Now

Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles – Then and Now

Mary Magdalene as Myrrh Bearer
Carrying spices to anoint Jesus body
in the tomb. – Eastern Orthodox icon.

The first witness to the Resurrection, according to all four evangelists, was a woman named Mary Magdalene. From the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great to 1969, her place in the story of the Roman Catholic community was confused with that of another woman, the repentant prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. This woman was not Mary Magdalene.

In the earliest of the Gospels, St. Mark names Mary Magdalene as one of the women present at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mk 15:40). She is the first woman Mark names in the list of those who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning (Mk 16:1). The angel told the women that Jesus had been raised from the dead and instructed them to go to the Apostles with the news. They were to tell the men to go to Galilee. Jesus would meet them there. The women were frightened, according to Mark, and they didn’t tell anyone. (Mk 16:8)

Mark’s Gospel has two endings: one is short and says that the women reported to Peter and through them the message went out to the entire world. The second ending is longer and features Mary Magdalene. In this version, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first. She is described as the one “out of whom he had cast seven demons.” (Mk 16:9). Mary told Peter and the others of having seen Jesus and the message of the angel. They did not believe her testimony. Then two men to whom Jesus had spoken on the road returned to testify that he was risen. Peter and the others still did not believe. Finally, Jesus appeared to Peter and company at supper. He scolded them for not believing the first witnesses he had sent to them. (Mk 16:9-14)

The other Evangelists tell essentially the same story. In Matthew’s Gospel she is named as among the women at the crucifixion, at the tomb that evening, and present on Sunday morning before the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. The angel gave Mary and the other women with her the message to carry to Peter and the others that Jesus was risen and to meet him in Galilee. On their way to tell Peter, Jesus appeared to all of them, saying, “Peace! Do not be afraid. Go and carry the news to my brothers that they are to go to Galilee where they will see me.” (Mt 28:9-10). In this account, the men believed the women and went to Galilee. (Mt 28:16)

Luke names “Mary the Magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out” early in his account. (Lk 8:2) She was one of a group of women who traveled with Jesus and helped fund his ministry. He does not specifically name any women present at the crucifixion, but he says the friends and women who had come with Jesus from Galilee were there, standing at a distance from the cross. (Lk 23:49) They followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb and then went home to prepare the burial spices and perfumes. (Lk 23:55-56)

Sunday morning, Luke says, Mary Magdalene and the others were the first at the tomb, heard the angel’s message and relayed it to Peter and the others. The men did not believe their account until they had come and seen with their own eyes that the tomb was empty. (Lk 24:1-12) They still did not know what to think until Jesus came to them personally at suppertime. (Lk 24:36-45).

In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene is named as one of the women at the cross with the beloved disciple and Mary the mother of Jesus. (Jn 19:25) She is the first person at the tomb on Sunday morning and saw the stone moved away. She went and told Peter and John, who came to see for themselves. Meanwhile, she was alone in the garden, mourning Jesus’ death, when she saw a man she thought must be the gardener. She asked where Jesus’ body had been taken, not recognizing her Lord. Jesus spoke her name, “Mary,” and her eyes were opened to recognize him. She spoke with him, then returned to the Apostles with this testimony, “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18)

The gospel accounts are clear. Mary Magdalene was one of the women who had traveled with Jesus from a time early in his ministry. She had been healed by Jesus, probably of a severe mental illness, described in that time as having seven devils. She stayed with him to the bitter end, and then stayed to anoint his body after his death. When she met him in the garden, she boldly took the news to the men who were recognized as leaders of the group. As a woman, her testimony was considered worthless. Nevertheless, she testified boldly. And Jesus backed her up, scolding those who doubted her word!

In one of the terrible ironies of history, Mary Magdalene was tagged as a great sinner who was forgiven much, rather than being remembered as a very brave woman who carried an impossible story to a group of men who would not accept testimony from any woman, much less such a fantastic story from a woman with a history of mental instability. Her story became one of forgiveness of a woman’s sinful nature rather than the rightful story of a woman’s faithfulness, courage and openness to hear of the impossible abundance of divine life and love that overcomes even death.

As we move forward in history, the time has come to correct the telling of Mary Magdalene’s story and to ask ourselves if we would be more open to receive her testimony today than Peter and the others were on that first Easter Sunday.

How do we measure up today? Do we value the witness of women? Do we recognize the importance of their role in nurturing the next generation? Do we value their intelligence and give them opportunities to reach their fullest potential? Do we give women a voice and a role as teachers and preachers within our community of faith? Do we look out for women: working to end violence and abuse against them? Do we hear the voices of women who are overwhelmed with work, worried about how they will care for the families they have, unable to muster the resources to bear more children and raise them well? Do we hear the voices of women who are in danger from those who should be their loving supporters? Do we hear their voices telling of the kingdom as it is coming to birth in our world today, through their struggles for freedom, equality, education, and opportunity?

I pray that we, as individuals and as a community of faith, will not find ourselves being scolded by our Lord for not listening to the ones he has sent as witnesses to each of us, telling of his Resurrection and the coming of the kingdom into our world today. At least half of the witnesses any of us will meet will be women. May we be open to hear through their many voices and stories the voice of the Lord, calling us to share in the freedom and abundance of life in God’s love.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.

 

 

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Posted by on Mar 25, 2011

Why Mary is Important

The Annunciation – Celebrating Incarnation and a Young Woman’s “Yes” to God

The Annunciation - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1850

March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation, the celebration of the visit by the angel Gabriel to a young woman in Nazareth to ask a great favor of her. The Lord of Hosts, Creator of all that is, was and ever will be, requested her consent to becoming the Mother of God (Theotokos or God-bearer), Mother of the Incarnate Word of God, Mother of His Son. The story of this visit is recounted in Christian scriptures (Lk 1:26-38, Mt 1:18-21)  and also in the Qu’ran (Sura 3: 45-51).

With Mary’s courageous decision to consent to the Lord’s request, a new era in the history of human relations with the Lord opened. In a time and place where women were little valued or respected and had fewer rights than men, the consent of a woman who was little beyond childhood and was still unmarried was solicited and respected by the greatest power of all – her creator and ours.

This feast has been celebrated since the earliest days of the Christian community, probably even predating the celebration of Christmas. Celebration of the Annunciation (and therefore of the Incarnation) coincides with the general time frame of the celebration of the Passover and Exodus, events that formed the Jewish community into a nation, beginning their history as a people. With the Annunciation and the Incarnation, the life of a new community began and the history of salvation took a new turn that eventually led to inclusion of all peoples on Earth.

Selection of the date for the celebration was not random. It coincided with the timing of the birth of John the Baptist, conceived following the time of his father’s service within the Holy of Holies on the Feast of Atonement in the fall. The Annunciation took place six months later, putting it in early spring. Based on those dates, John the Baptist’s birth was celebrated in June and Jesus’ birth date came to be set as December 25.

Setting the date of the Annunciation in spring also followed the Jewish tradition of celebrating beginnings and endings on or around the same date. It was known that Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred at Passover time. Setting the beginning of his life, his conception, at the same general time made sense to the early community. The big innovation was that for Christians, his conception marked the beginning of life, rather than his actual physical birth. (The “womb to tomb” tradition thus has ancient roots as well.)

Moving forward a few hundred years, in 525 when the new calendar was introduced by Dionysius Exiguus, the Anno Domini calendar, March 25 was set as the first day of the year. The Christian community considered it to be the beginning of a new era of grace.

May we, as we continue to live out our lives as sharers in the mystery of incarnation, rejoice with the angels and saints, and with Our Lord as well, the great blessing of a young woman’s willingness to trust that her Lord would never ask too much of her.

Let us join with our sisters and brothers in the Eastern Christian churches in rejoicing on this day.

Today is the beginning of our salvation,
And the revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:
“Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”
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Posted by on Dec 12, 2010

Why Mary is Important

Lived Religion – Relating to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lived religion is a sociological term for the way people behave on a day to day basis. Santa Clara University sociologist Maria del Socorro Castaneda Liles has written Our Lady of Everyday Life an ethnography of Mexican American women and their relation to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Joe Rodriguez, a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News has summarized this research in the title of his article with the words Mother, Friend, Lawyer. Pesonally, I would not have used the term “lawyer” because it has a more legal, technical connotation than the word advocate. The Spanish term “abogado” is used for both.

These interviews documented something familiar to most of us who share a Mexican heritage. There is more of a casual, friendly, and intimate conversation between devotees and the Virgin, as opposed to a more ritual relationship embodied in formalized prayers or devotional manuals. The interviews also show that women and their sense of themselves is changing.

Younger women felt that Our Lady could relate to their economic struggles as single mothers and to their decisions to control the number of children they have. In Guadalupe, they find the Mother of God as strong, resourceful, and capable.

This theme of empowerment might seem new and contemporary but it is at the heart, literally the heart, of the Guadalupe experience for the conquered indigenous people of Mexico and the “Gran Mestizaje,” the resulting nation of people created by the blending of European, African, and indigenous American groups.

The appearance of Mary, pregnant and dark complected as the advocate and protectress of the lowly, the powerless, is also an act of heavenly recognition of human dignity and worth.

From a purely secular standpoint this is a startling phenomenon. The general pattern in times of such social upheaval and distress is the development of revitalization movements which attempt to go back to earlier better times, to plead with the gods who have abandoned a civilization, or in some cases to engage in “ghost dances” to render themselves invisible.

In many respects, the name Guadalupe is an attempt by the Spanish to claim the apparition as that of one of the black Madonnas from their homeland who was also a patron of Christopher Columbus. Yet, people who know her real name call her “Tepeyac” from the hill on which she appeared.

While it might be tempting to equate her with Tonantzin, the Aztec goddess of the dawn, the woman who appeared to Juan Diego and her subsequent cult had none of the darkness and blood that characterized the Aztec and Meso-American pantheon.

The slide show from the online version of the same article conveys the intimacy of a people and their “Patrona”.

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