Hermitage Note: On the Edge of the Precipice

Sunday Mass was beautiful. Mass is always beautiful. With or without music – the Holy Mass is always beautiful.

Why?

Because of what is happening. More than what is happening. It is, more so, who is happening in the Great Mystery that presents Himself in the gifts on the altar and is then offered to us as communicants and recipients of His great grace that is abounding toward us in the Eucharist.

It is altogether too easy for us modernites to become too flippant … too lackadaisical … where this Great Mystery is concerned. Far too many, in fact, deny the actual presence of Christ in the bread and wine on the altar.

Moses, approaching the burning bush in the desert, was told by Lord, Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. [Exodus 3:5] Joshua, approaching the prince of the host of the Lord, was told, Loose thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. [Joshua 5:15.] John, that voice crying out in the wilderness, told those who followed him, “There cometh after me one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I baptize you with water; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” [Mark 1:1-8]

Saint John Cassian [AD 360-435], in describing the clothing of monks in the monastery, insisted that monks remove their sandals before approaching to celebrate or to receive the Holy Mysteries, observing in the letter that which was said to Moses and to Joshua, the son of Nun. Why would he so insist if the bread and wine only symbolically represented this one who comes to baptize us with the Holy Spirit?

It is understandable that Protestants deny the real presence and opt for the eroded idea of a symbolic presence. This, after all, negates the importance of the hierarchical priesthood where Holy Orders is a needed and necessary sacrament. This idea of a symbolic presence chips away at the necessity for apostolic succession that honors the office bestowed upon Peter and his legitimate successors. This idea diminishes the necessity of the Sacrament of Confession wherein legitimately ordained priests offer absolution for sins.

This idea of a symbolic presence opens wide the floodgate through which a deluge of heresies floods forth to delude, deceive, and divide the Body of Christ. I have been both a victim and a promulgator of heresies related to the rejection of genuine apostolic authority. It was, in fact, this need for real authority, that was foundational in my being drawn toward and later into the Catholic Church. From the chair that I sit in, through the eyes that I look through, it is easy to see why people raise their bristles about the Catholic Church.

It is largely an authority issue … a refusal to submit to authority … in an age where vast numbers of individuals are quick to establish themselves as their own primary authority figures. Anarchy, any form of anarchy, whether political or religious, is dangerous and leads to disaster. We are, as modern society, standing at the edge of the precipice of the greatest crisis of these modern times.

Entering into communion in the Catholic Church in 2007 was a decision that was not well-accepted by the vast majority of those who knew me back then. It was a well-thought out and prayed over decision that still has unavoidable ripple effects.

An even darker, and I cannot help but to believe more sinister, modern reality is that 69% of modern Catholics do not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I cannot help but to wonder why so many “unbelievers” in transubstantiation [the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist] continue coming to Mass. Why not go somewhere where consubstantiation [a symbolic presence] is acknowledged?

I remind myself that no amount of heresy, whether material or formal, will ever change the truth. No amount of personal denial or unbelief will ever change the truth. The Apostle Paul tells us, “For we can do nothing against the truth; but for the truth.” [2 Corinthians 13:8] Even the hottest argument against and the most vehement denial of the truth only serves to further prove the truth.

None of us should be surprised at the darkness that is filling the modern world. Seers and prophetic voices have insisted for a long time now that deep darkness was on the horizon. It behooves us all to learn and to live the truth while we yet have light to see.

Saint Benedict tells us in the Holy Rule to get up then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom 13:11). Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from heaven that every day calls out this charge: If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps 94[95]:8). And again: You that have ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev 2:7). And what does he say? Come and listen to me, sons; I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Ps 33[34]:12). Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you (John 12: 35). [Prologue 8-13]

Many, in this coming darkness, will deny the faith and lose their eternal souls. Nothing is more dramatic or horrendous than a soul entering into the eternal flames as proof of the truth that has been proclaimed throughout the ages. Yet, even as I type, hell continues to enlarge and gorge itself [Isaiah 5:14] upon the multitudes that enter therein via the broad way that leads to destruction. [Matthew 7:13-14]

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I am realizing just how grievously some events of late have injured me. I am also, in the midst of dealing with the repercussions and ramifications of those events, surrounded by realities that daily remind of just how amazingly God shows up in the midst of deep darkness … in the midst of intense trials and tribulations … to supply our needs. I am only now beginning to be able to name the demons that make the bludgeoning thud of those words and actions even more grievous in their lingering.

I honestly needed the “better words” that I read this morning … words from a Saint and words from one who will surely be canonized.

Mother Angelica reminds me, “It is your obligation to speak the truth, and everyone can either take it or leave it. But truth must be in us. We live in such a poverty of truth today.”

Saint Bernadette Soubirous reminds me, “My job is to inform, not to convince.”

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Seek peace. Keep the faith. Pray and persevere.