Once
Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his
disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He
said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:
“Father, may your name
be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our
daily bread,
and forgive us our
sins,
for we ourselves
forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”’
Luke 11:1 - 4
As adults none of us wishes to either show
or admit our total dependence on others. If it is about our spouses and
partners, we use words like shared
responsibility, or, working together.
However we word it, the research still tells us very plainly that women do
most of the housework. I know, I know. The statistics are against us, if not
personally, then across the entire male gender in general. In essence, while we try to avoid such words
as dependence, reality suggests that
we are, in fact, utterly reliant on someone else filling in the gaps, or coping
with everything. OK, perhaps on a good day we could call it co-dependence.
Our children, on the other hand are called
dependents for a very good reason. Their welfare, their health, their
education, their everything, is channeled through us. It is our responsibility,
it is our lot until they start making
those decisions, slowly but surely, for themselves. When we have children we
become acutely aware of their needs –
they need feeding, warmth, a change of clothing, sleep, play, talking to,
cuddling, discipline, teaching. Those who lack this acute awareness struggle
with the notion of parenting and more often than not require support. And let’s
be realistic: it is not uncommon in many communities.
Luke (11:1 – 13) introduces his notion of
dependence when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray. We call it the Lord’s
Prayer. More appropriately it should be called Our Prayer. In this prayer, God, addressed as Father, is approached
as the giver of grace and mercy. Our spiritual and physical health is dependent
upon his unrestricted, unconditional generosity. We are already most favoured,
we are his children. He is utterly
and totally aware of what we need, and Jesus tells us, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and
the door will be opened to you.
This is not a dependency that requires no
action from us. No. Each day we must forgive our neighbours their debts, we
must keep his name holy and ultimately assist in the building of his kingdom,
for his will must be done. This prayer also becomes an indicator of the
presence of the kingdom among us: we pray we will be nourished by his daily
bread (in the sense of the Eucharist, as well as both spiritual and physical
nourishment, and as participation in a divine, heavenly banquet begun now in
the present and to be completed in the eternal kingdom).
Paul, in writing to the Colossians (2:14),
succinctly expresses our dependence on God: He
has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to
pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.
None of us needs to be carried from birth
into the next life. Even dependents have obligations: to be thankful, to be
cooperative, to acknowledge the work done for and on their behalf, to
contribute, to encourage and to fortify the efforts made. But helpless dependency
must end. It too must be nailed to the cross. Each of us needs to carry our own
weight.
Peter Douglas
Latin is not just for
encyclicals. For all Catholics, it is our living history.
by Grace Spiewak
19 July 2019
The Catholic Church often faces the perception that it
cannot adequately respond to the social issues of our modern age. For example,
the Congregation for Catholic Education’s recent document “Male
and Female He Created Them,” with its aversion toward the field of
gender studies, perpetuates the idea that the church has outdated views on
L.G.B.T. issues. Some also call the church misogynistic for its
exclusion of women from the priesthood. Many of
these critics say the use of Latin is another outdated
tradition, a symbol of resistance to modernity.
On the contrary. Severing our Latin roots may only
further confuse and divide us. To demonstrate the relevance of Catholicism
today, the church should celebrate the Latin language and its significance in
our history.
The decline of the Latin Mass, as well as the
disappearance of Latin and ancient Greek in education, seems to
reflect the belief that classical languages no longer have a purpose for
us. We forget the influence of Latin and Greek on leaders across the centuries,
from St. Ignatius Loyola to Jane Addams. Far from stifling or limiting their
ideas, their knowledge of Latin helped reinforce core values of
self-motivation, communication and originality. The discipline of studying
ancient languages translates to a zeal for learning overall, as well as a
dedication to the improvement of the self and the world. These are among the
reasons the church adopted Latin as an official language, and the work of
scholars in the church over many centuries proves its effectiveness.
And even as Latin Masses become less common, there is an
enduring appreciation for the ancient language. In his apostolic letter “Latina Lingua,” published
in 2012, Pope Benedict XVI notes that “the church has spoken and prayed in the
languages of all peoples since Pentecost” but adds that liturgical books and
Vatican communications are written in the Latin of early Christian communities,
“precisely in order to highlight the church’s universal character.” Pointing to
a “renewed interest” in the language because of its value in science and
technology, Benedict established the Pontifical Academy for Latin to
promote the study of the language.
In June, Vatican Radio began broadcasting a weekly
bulletin in Latin titled “Hebdomada Papae” (“The
Pope’s Week in Review”). In the announcement of the program, Vatican Radio’s
editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, described it as a way to bring new life
to the language. “We did not conceive it with a nostalgic look to the past but
as a challenge for the future,” he said. Meanwhile, Pope Francis’ popular
Twitter account has a Latin version with 914,000 followers, a notable increase
from its 100,000 followers in 2013.
We may still be few in number, but some of us see Latin
as a way to grow within our faith. Latin’s absence from everyday speech gives a
sense of specialness when it is read, heard or spoken. It offers relief from
the superficial talk that swarms our daily lives.
When using a foreign language, one must be more
intentional since the words do not come naturally. But this is fitting for a
global religion: Latin is not the native language of any one people and thus
offers an equal opportunity for all to share in its learning.
Even as a long-term student of Latin, I cannot use it
colloquially. Reading a Latin prayer challenges me to examine every word and
elevate my comprehension of the phrases I have heard since childhood. I usually
make the sign of the cross with a mechanical muscle memory akin to scribbling
my signature. But when I recite in Latin—In nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus
Sancti—I slow my gestures and consider the brief phrase that
envelops the greatest mystery of my Catholic faith. Latin does not create the
Miracle of the Trinity, but it reminds me of it in a way that English cannot.
Does using a language unfamiliar to most of the Catholic
community discriminate against certain populations? Remember that women, slaves
and prostitutes in the ancient city of Rome spoke at least simple Latin,
using the same language that Cicero and Caesar did. Promoting the use of
Latin—in Masses, publications and prayers—can foster pride in the church,
reminding us of our unique and complicated history. It allows people of all
cultures and classes to connect not only with the roots of the church but with
the vast population who have spoken the language throughout time.
Offering only Latin Masses would
not serve the needs of Catholics today. But incorporating Latin prayers and
phrases into everyday spirituality and catechesis can revitalize the striving
for holiness and for service to others. It presents an opportunity to interlace
our prayer lives with the scores of people who have come before us.
In Horace’s Satire 1, he
writes sed
quod eram narro, or “rather, I said who I was.” Similarly, the
Catholic Church can say what it is without fear of being seen as antiquated.
Latin prayers, songs and writing can refresh a wilting pride for Catholicism’s
past and present. Latin can help the church declare in honesty what it was,
what it is and what it wants to be.
Published in America 19 July 2019.
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