GO  REBUILD  MY  CHURCH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 25^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Go Rebuild My Church.”

I chose this title and theme for two reasons. 

First of all, today’s first reading from Ezra 6: 7-8, 12b, 14-20 is all about the Jews coming back from exile and are rebuilding the temple. They receive help from Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes - Persians -which ironically is present day Iran. The temple had fallen into the need of big time rebuilding.

And in biblical texts - like Ezra -  we find out there was a lot of complaining about how the temple was being repaired.

So for a quick homily for today I’m grabbing that theme of rebuilding.

POPE FRANCIS - VATICAN II

The second reason for this theme is that Pope Francis seems to have rebuilding in mind. In a church this big we certainly need reform - change - upkeep.

Pope Francis would be very aware of Francis of Assisi hearing the voice, "Go rebuild my church" and how Francis first thought it meant rebuilding San Damiano.

In time he learned it was the call to renew the whole church - and Francis and Franciscans certainly did that.

I’ve been reading that Pope Francis -  Jorge Mario Bergoglio - is a pope who experienced Vatican II  - a rebuilding council - like most of us.

His take on this is that  Vatican II was a rebuilding - reforming - renewing Council. That was 50 years ago.  There were major changes in our church - starting with Pope John 23. The windows of the Vatican were opened and fresh air blew in.

As I read about what happened after Vatican II, I could hear many reads on all this. One strain and strand was that there was recentralization during Pope John Paul II’s years.

Decentralization was dropped. Recentralization was in.

Some people want top down management. 

Some people want grass root bottom up management.

Control can be a big issue for some.

I’m hearing and reading that Pope Francis wants to get back to our roots in the Vatican II decisions and documents about aggiornamento - rebirth - renewal in our Church.

In other words to get back to the restructuring fostered at Vatican II - much of what in my judgment was grassroots up.

At Vatican II things changed in our church - on the floor - at the meetings - coffee breaks - and in the chit chat after the formal meetings.

The documents that were presented at the beginning of Vatican II were much different than the documents promulgated after discussions, arguments, meetings during the years of the council that ended in 1965.

ONE CLEAR EXAMPLE

Vatican II decided that the Mass, the Liturgy, should be of the language of the people at the local level.

This happened - but with objection - and foot dragging here and there.

In the English speaking world out came missals that had a translation that worked. However, an even better one - would  be in the works.

The key principal was to come up with a translation that had a “dynamic equivalence with the Latin text.”  

That was 1973 mandate.  In the early 2000's,   other people - in the Holy See changed the principle to have a translation that had a “formal equivalence with the Latin text.” The Holy See said it had to be a translation in the most exact manner.

By 1998 a new English translation of the whole missal - the Sacramentary - was completed. In the meanwhile the official group was replaced. A group of 8 [I’m not sure of the number and the particulars of all this] came up with an alternative translation - that becomes the official translation - the one we now have. It seems to me that the key value was to get it as close to the Latin as possible.

To me - I am stressing me here - this is my opinion -  the reason why we priests stumble and mumble some of the new Mass prayers - is because it’s a clumsy translation.

I didn't mention all this from the pulpit in this sermon - because I don't like the bully pulpit.

And I don't usually go with the blog bully pulpit.

However, I want a church where we are free to give our opinions and to have peers disagree. I believe a blog is a fair place to try to state and then to clarify some of these personal thoughts.

I wait for the day our new Roman Missal will be put on a shelf in the sacristy.

Then, either the old books are brought back, or the new translation is used or an even better translation into English - for our English speaking world is broadcast.

To make a very small point, take the creed.

The Latin word "Credo" means "I believe".  After Vatican II that was switched to “We believe”.

That was a significant change in Church thinking and believing.  We are the Church. It’s not just the Pope or the Bishop or authorities - it’s a WE.

Well, it seems, the Latin purists didn’t like that change in the Creed from I to we - in language and maybe in thought - as well.

I believe - or better I assume - the above - because I believe some of it was done in the back room - from on top - from decree.  I would have wanted the ICEL - the International Commission on English in the Liturgy  - that replaced the ICEL group that was “fired” to have to sit up front at a big table with microphones and be questioned.

My first question - if I could be in this interview session - would be, “What Latin to English dictionary did you use?”

If anyone answered that question, I would say, “Why that dictionary? Are there any other dictionaries you are aware of?”

I would want to know and ask what questions that “Special Secret Committee” on the English language translation from the official Latin text asked.

I would want to know if anyone asked: “Should we bring in writers, language experts, poets, translators, culture experts, etc.?”

I would want to know if anyone on this committee heard of Ernest Hemingway - and his style of writing: short sentences, short words.

This is my beef. This committee stuck on the rest of us this tongue twisting translation. I state once more: "IN MY OPINION."

I want to know if this committee had anyone who said regular mass in an English speaking parish. Did they? Were their test runs? Were there feedback possibilities?

I heard a bishop say that some bishops fought this Second ICEL group. It was no contest. Minds were made up. You couldn’t win. “The boys on top want it this way. Sorry.”

I read Bishop Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania complain, complain, complain about this “horror” as it was happening.

WHO’S LISTENING?

So for one key way to rebuild our church, I would list as # 1 - that we be a listening church.

I look at the Pope’s ears. They are big and they look like they work.

He’s coming to the United States this week and he’ll give lots of speeches and there will be excerpts in our papers and on our television sets.

We'll hear Catholic social doctrine. We'll hear that  we need to be a welcoming church. We have to be a forgiving church. We have to be an understanding church.  We have to be a church of mercy.

I want us to be a LISTENING CHURCH.

I know this pope listens.

I want him to hear my  complaint about the New Translation of our Mass and various other things. I would want him to hear my questions. We have to say Mass every day and every day when I say Mass I say to myself, “Enough already. We can do better than this. We have done better than this.”

I hope he knows that the German Bishops and the German Church have resisted this nonsense translation from the Latin.

We didn’t. Ugh!

I want a pope who hears beefs - especially my beefs.

Don't we all?

People ask me what I think about the pope coming to the States.

I say out loud, “I hope he listens.”

I know he does. In the conclave, when he was elected pope, a friend of his - Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Brazil - came to him and said, “Congratulations!” Then he added, “Don’t forget the poor.”

Pope Francis said he heard that and that’s one of the key reasons why he chose the name Francis.

CONCLUSION

So in this homily I’m saying: want to rebuild the church, listen to each other.

Husbands, wives, children, families, parish, priests, people, rich, poor, let us listen to each other.

As we heard at the end of today’s gospel, “My mother and my brothers [and sisters] are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”