Apostolic Succession at the Bar of Skepticism

Moss’s arguments and Radner’s responses concerning Christian martyrs in the Roman Empire are all but isomorphic with the arguments put forward by some contemporary historians and the responses by other historians concerning Apostolic Succession in the first two centuries of the Church. Like accounts of martyrdom, bishop lists can serve to galvanize a community in the face of various pressures (both internal and external). Both the (so-called) martyrs and the (putative) successors to the Apostles serve an obviously rhetorical role in the narrative of the developing catholic Church, and there are analogues for each in both Jewish and pagan histories.

So, what follows? Are the early bishop lists and martyrologies both shams because they have non-Christian precedents and play a moral and polemical role in the Church’s self-understanding and witness (both then and now)? Of course not. One does not need to be gullible to recognize a logical fallacy where it exists in the hermeneutics of suspicion. Of course these ancient Christian authors had moral, theological, and in some cases polemical purposes in composing their accounts of the Church’s history. For that matter, any standard introduction to the New Testament will emphasize the distinctive theological viewpoints of the four Evangelists. Each Gospel was written for a different audience, and the central narrative is arranged and supplemented to suit the authors’ peculiar purposes. The Gospels are theological documents, written for religious reasons. Are they therefore unhistorical?

At the conclusion of his review, Radner points out the radical skepticism that motivates Moss’s dismissal of Christian martyrology. Like other forms of radical skepticism, this dismissal is not based on evidence, but is predicated upon an a priori suspicion or outright hostility towards its object:

Christian martyrdom’s power, which is a historical phenomenon and stands as an important piece of evidence in its own right, is bound to its religious meaning. The two cannot be separated, and together they shed light on the early Church’s witness. Minimalist readings of that early record are certainly possible. But Moss draws radically negative speculative conclusions from it: It is all a sham.

This isn’t history but an ideologically charged refusal to deal with the moral consistency of Christian martyrdom, both in the first centuries and as it is still in fact suffered. This refusal marks an indifference in the face of Christian martyrdom’s deep political challenges. The indifference itself hints at the irrelevance of her main project.

Like Christian martyrdom, Apostolic Succession is “a historical phenomenon and stands as an important piece of evidence in its own right.” Furthermore the principle of Succession “is bound to its religious meaning.” Like martyrdom, Apostolic Succession sheds “light on the early Church’s witness.” And as with martyrdom, “[m]inimalist readings of that early record are certainly possible.” It is this last point that serves as an excuse for the skeptic: “It is all a sham.” But is it?

John Henry Newman wrote that to “just be able to doubt” is no excuse for not believing. Otherwise, skepticism would be a universal solvent when applied to historical claims, and any theological claim with an historical element could not be received with the full assent of faith. The Resurrection of Our Lord is the most obvious case in point for Christians. The primary historical evidence for the Resurrection consists in the written accounts of four persons who claim to have seen (or are recorded as having seen) the risen Christ (Peter, John, Matthew, and Paul), though no one is supposed to have been a witness of the Resurrection itself. The earliest (extant) written accounts of the Resurrection were produced some twenty years after the event. Other than Saul, there are no corroborating witnesses from outside the early Christian community, for the very good reason that the Risen Christ only appeared to his followers, and then only in private–e.g., the Upper Room and the Road to Emmaus, not the Jerusalem Temple or the court of Pontius Pilate. In other words, although the evidence for the Resurrection is very good in its kind, it could have been a lot better. Some might say that it should have been a lot better, given how much was and is riding on it. And since the actual evidence is not better than it actually is, the confirmed skeptic will not believe.

Apostolic Succession and the Criterion of Faith

The gist of Apostolic Succession is that there is an ordained Christian ministry, distinct from (though not unrelated to) the priesthood of all believers, which ministry is sacramental in character, being conferred through the  imposition of hands by at least one already ordained minister, some but not all ordained ministers receiving this gift in its fullness (inclusive of the authority to ordain), and only those who have been ordained to ordain can validly ordain others. [2] In that this ministry was given by Christ to the Apostles, it is Apostolic. In that it has been entrusted by the Apostles to other men, there is a Succession to the ordained Christian ministry. In that this succession essentially involves a visible rite by which the ordained ministry is sacramentally bestowed by one who has already received this gift in its fullness, it is objective and historical. In that this objective and historical dimension of the succession has been observed ubique, semper, ab omnibus, it is unbroken. [3]

Apostolic Succession, so understood, is a solid and impressive feature of Church history. It is like a mountain range: full of unexplored details, but abundantly evident in the main. Ordination by the laying on of hands is clearly Apostolic; ordination by those who have been ordained to ordain is the prevailing practice in the Church throughout history; the college of bishops in communion with the bishop of Rome (as a point of emphasis) is a materially evident and historically continuous thing (which Catholics call “the Magisterium”), being a touchstone of orthodoxy as witnessed by the history of the Ecumenical Councils and the writings of the Church Fathers. [4] The objections to Apostolic Succession, by contrast, are built upon conjecture about periods or areas for which we do not have much evidence, some possible exceptions to the rule of mediate ordination (e.g., the early Christian prophets), and (less theoretically) the experience of many Christians in ecclesial communities that lack sacramental Apostolic Succession but nonetheless enjoy an authentic life of faith and good works in some sort of communion with other like-minded communities. [5]

Ultimately, the challenge presented by the principle of Apostolic Succession is that, like the Resurrection and the accounts of the early Christian martyrs, once it is admitted as historically plausible, it presents us with a call to faith, which we must either accept or reject. And this call to faith requires submission to a living and visible authority on earth. Just as the Christian martyr lays down his own life for the sake of something greater–the hope of a better Resurrection–a Catholic lays down his private judgment for the sake of something greater–the teaching authority of the Church. Both acts undeniably involve loss. But the question, “Is there really something greater to be gained?” is one that only faith can finally answer.

It is important to respond to critics who challenge the historical basis for the Christian traditions of the Resurrection, Martyrdom, and Apostolic Succession. There is, after all, an historical basis for each of these, and it can be found both in the early documents and subsequent development of the Church. [6] The arguments of the critics, which are more or less probable speculations, can be and have been responded to on historical grounds by way of offering more or less probable speculations in defense of the Church’s doctrine and practice concerning the nature and transmission of the ordained ministry. [7] Even supposing that the arguments of the skeptics are roughly on par with the arguments of believers on this matter, from any Christian point of view which accepts the theological claims about Christ and the Church found in the New Testament the position of the skeptic is seen to be heavily burdened by untoward implications, namely, ecclesial deism and solo scriptura.

Those who accept Apostolic Succession, on the other hand, avoid both of those problems precisely by embracing the historical episcopate as a sacramental gift from Christ, through the Apostles, to the Church. In that Holy Orders is a sacrament, it involves an outward sign (the imposition of hands) which contains and conveys an inward grace (the charism of teaching, governing, and sanctifying). [8] The outward sign provides the inquirer with an objective marker in his search for the locus of the Church’s interpretive authority. The grace of the sacrament provides part of the rationale for believing that the college of bishops is uniquely equipped to be God’s instrument for preserving the Church in unity (governing), holiness (sanctifying), and truth (teaching), such that one is never justified in preferring his own private judgment to the definitive judgment of the Magisterium in matters of doctrine nor in otherwise separating himself from the communion of the Church.

Apostolic Succession and Private Interpretation

Of course, the inquirer into the historical and theological basis for Apostolic Succession, who does not yet accept it on the basis of the Church’s authority (which is to have faith), cannot plead the Church’s authority as reason for accepting the doctrine except by way of begging the question. But one of the things he can do, without either marshaling all of the historical data into an undisputed synthesis or presupposing the authority of the Catholic Magisterium and the truth of the Catholic doctrines of Holy Orders and Apostolic Succession, is evaluate the following hypothetical syllogism:

If Apostolic Succession (as understood by the Catholic Church) is guaranteed by the laying on of hands in sacramental succession from the Apostles, then all one needs to identify true doctrine is to identify those who are in succession from the Apostles, who are by this fact uniquely equipped to teach the truth.

Given that Christ only founded one Church (the universal Church)–as attested by the singular ecclesia used in Matthew 16:18–such that the three-fold charism of teaching, governing, and sanctifying, while most obviously operative in the local churches, presupposes, depends upon, and is ordered to the life of this one, universal Church, the inquirer is justified in asking further “Where should I look for the true interpretation of divine revelation in the event that not all sacramentally ordained bishops are in communion with one another, teaching the same doctrine?” The Catholic answer to this question is to look to the bishops in communion with the bishop of Rome. There are biblical and historical data, subject of course to a variety of interpretations, upon which the Catholic position concerning the distinctive role of the bishop of Rome in the communion of the universal Church is based. But, again, one need not marshal an undisputed synthetic account of the whole historical data set or else presuppose the truth of Catholic teaching concerning the papacy in order to evaluate the following hypothetical syllogism:

If the bishop of Rome is the visible principle of unity for the universal Church, such that those sacramentally ordained bishops not in communion with Rome are in schism from the Church, then all one needs to identify true doctrine is to identify the college of bishops in communion with the bishop of Rome. One need not adjudicate between competing colleges of bishops on the basis of one’s own doctrinal opinions–here accepting the teaching of this college, and there of another college–in order to determine what is orthodoxy. One can simply accept by faith the teaching that comes from the college of bishops in communion with the bishop of Rome.

Thus, Apostolic Succession and the Papacy together constitute objective grounds for distinguishing between human interpretive opinions and the divinely authorized interpretation of special revelation. These grounds are objective in that they do not predicate the validity and authority of the Christian ministry, nor the veracity of its teaching, upon the ordained ministers agreeing with one’s own interpretation of the doctrinal content of divine revelation. As to the reason for supposing that this is an important point, I will only add here (to what I have said elsewhere) that the following proposition is (at best) deeply counter-intuitive, yet it seems to follow from any historically plausible position other than Catholicism:

“My own interpretation of whatever writings I deem to be canonical is the measure of the universal Church that Christ founded.”

Please note the qualification, “historically plausible.” This post is not intended to discount the need for reasonable investigation of history. One can find numerous sects or individuals making extravagant claims to authority, which, if true, would obviate the need to ultimately depend upon one’s own hermeneutical abilities. Ecclesial claims, however, are necessarily rooted in history due to the Incarnation. The Church is the Body of Christ, and the Christ is Jesus of Nazareth. Any plausible claimant to be the Church that Christ founded must, therefore, have historical roots in the first century. Furthermore, unless one is prepared to accept ecclesial deism (with its concomitant restorationism) the claimant to ecclesial authority must be able to give a reasonable account of its own continuity-in-identity-through-change-over-time (after the manner of a seed growing into a tree) with the visible Church that Christ founded some 2,000 years ago. [9]

Conclusion

For those not driven by radical skepticism predicated upon indifference or outright hostility towards the hierarchical principle embodied by the historic episcopate and the primacy of the pope, the historical evidence for the same, while it cannot compel one to believe, is sufficient when taken with other biblical and theological considerations to warrant faith in the Catholic claims concerning ecclesial authority. If we were to consider matters from either the historical-critical or the epistemological / theological perspective alone, the case for Catholic faith would seem to be unproven relative to the historical data or else predicated upon philosophical and theological arguments that any group or individual making sufficiently audacious claims to interpretive authority could easily appropriate. But the case for Catholicism is not restricted to the purview of any single academic discipline. We do not have to chose between history, epistemology, and theology (etc.). We can consider all relevant matters by way of faith seeking understanding, or personal opinion seeking faith.

_______________

[1] See the following posts, along with the subsequent comments: “Apostolic Succession: A Minimalist Proposal,” “On Selective Skepticism,” and “Don’t Pity the Fool.”

[2] Much to this effect has been argued in detail in the article “Holy Orders and the Sacrificial Priesthood.”

[3] Some critics of Apostolic Succession suggest that it entails that the entire Christian Ministry could be lost if only one link in the chain of succession has been broken. But the tactile succession from the Apostles via the successive laying on of hands is better likened to a grid than a chain, as pointed out by John Spalding in his essay, “The Apostolic Succession Unbroken.”

[4] See Vladimir Soloviev, Russia and the Universal Church, “Part Two: The Ecclesiastical Monarchy Founded by Jesus Christ” for an account of the place of Peter in the life of the Church with special reference to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon and the “Robber Council” of Ephesus. For the testimonies of the Fathers to the Bishop of Rome as a touchstone of orthodoxy and catholic communion, see Edward Giles, Documents Illustrating Papal Authority: A.D. 96-454.

[5] The Catholic Church’s understanding of non-Catholic churches and ecclesial communities is expressed in Unitatis Redintegratio, the “Decree on Ecumenism” of the Second Vatican Council.

[6] For a presentation of the evidence from Tradition and Sacred Scripture, see the following sections of Bryan Cross’s extended response to Michael Horton on the topic of sola scriptura: “Apostolic Succession,” and “Bishops.”

[7] Felix Cirlot’s Apostolic Succession: Is it True? An Historical and Theological Inquiry (1948) is perhaps the most extensive defense of Apostolic Succession on historical-critical grounds. In addition to the detailed case made by Cirlot in response to common objections to the historicity of Apostolic Succession, see the summary account of Holy Orders in the pre-Nicene era by Aidan Nichols OP in Holy Order: Apostolic Priesthood from the New Testament to the Second Vatican Council (1990), 35-47.

[8] 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6.

[9] For an overview of the changes in the Catholic Church considered as organic developments, see “A Response to Scott Clark and Robert Godfrey on ‘The Lure of Rome’.”

Joshua Lim

Joshua was born and raised in the PCUSA. He spent a few years in college as a Baptist before moving back to a confessional Reformed denomination (URCNA) prior to enrolling at Westminster Seminary California, where he completed an M.A. in Historical Theology in the Spring of 2012. That same year he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church on April 21st, the feast day of St. Anselm. He told his story in a guest article at Called To Communion titled “Joshua Lim’s Story: A Westminster Seminary California Student becomes Catholic.” He is presently completing an M.A. at the Dominican House of Studies, officially the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington D.C.

Welcome, Joshua!

Regular readers of Called To Communion are familiar with Jason Stellman. In September of last year we posted an article he wrote for us titled “I Fought the Church, and the Church Won.” In November of last year, I interviewed Jason regarding his conversion from Presbyterian pastor to Catholic, and posted the podcast of that interview here. On March 9 of this year, Jason Stellman gave a talk at the Holy Family Conference at Holy Family Parish in Kirkland, Washington. Jason had been planning to talk about “The cruciform life” during that session of the conference. But in the hour before his talk was scheduled to begin, he had lunch with Scott Hahn, who convinced him to tell his conversion story instead. So he did, and thankfully the event was recorded:

Download the mp3 by right-clicking here.

Jason blogs at CreedCodeCult.com.

Below is a video of Pope Francis’s first words from the balcony at St. Peter’s Square (he arrives 11 minutes into the video), followed by an English translation.

Brothers and sisters good evening.

You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have come almost to the ends of the earth to get him… but here we are. I thank you for the welcome that has come from the diocesan community of Rome.

First of all I would say a prayer pray for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI.. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord bless him and Our Lady protect him.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…

And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood . My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with help of my Cardinal Vicar, be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.

And now I would like to give the blessing, but first I want to ask you a favour. Before the bishop blesses the people I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me – the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer – your prayer for me – in silence.

[The Protodeacon announced that all those who received the blessing, either in person or by radio, television or by the new means of communication receive the plenary indulgence in the form established by the Church. He prayed that Almighty God protect and guard the Pope so that he may lead the Church for many years to come, and that he would grant peace to the Church throughout the world.]

I will now give my blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.

[Urbi et Orbi blessing] May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in whose power and authority we have confidence, intercede on our behalf to the Lord.

Response: Amen.

Through the prayers and merits of the Blessed Mary ever-virgin, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of Blessed John the Baptist, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, may Almighty God have mercy on you, and with your sins forgiven, may Jesus Christ lead you into everlasting life.

Response: Amen.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence, absolution, and remission of all your sins, time for a true and fruitful penance, an always repentant heart and amendment of life, the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, and final perseverance in good works.

Response: Amen.

And may the blessing of Almighty God, + the Father, + the Son, and + the Holy Spirit, descend on you and remain with you always.

Response: Amen.

Brothers and sisters, I am leaving you. Thank you for your welcome. Pray for me and I will be with you again soon. We will see one another soon. Tomorrow I want to go to pray the Madonna, that she may protect Rome.
Good night and sleep well!

(source)[A video that shows the whole time from the appearance of the white smoke until Pope Francis departs from the balcony, can be found here.)

Pope Benedict XVI on the day of his election to the Papacy
April 19, 2005

As a non-Catholic at the time, I was facing a unique aspect of the Catholic act of faith, one that is tested in the hearts of all Catholics whenever a new pope is to be selected. This aspect of the Catholic faith cannot be found in any empire, State government, political party, or corporation, and distinguishes Catholicism both from ecclesial consumerism and from every Protestant denomination.¹ Intrinsic to the Catholic faith is a belief that goes beyond the notion that divine providence governs the course of events, since Catholics believe that all events, including the rise and fall of empires, nations, corporations, and denominations, occur under the hand of divine providence. Divine providence offers no guarantee that any such entity will endure, and therefore no sufficient reason to believe that when an empire, nation, corporation, or denomination selects a new leader, that leader will not conduct it to its demise. By his or her beliefs, character, experience and vision, the new leader of any such entity variously offers grounds for hope or despair concerning its successful perpetuation.

The Catholic faith, however, contains a doctrine involving Christ’s founding of and indissoluble union with the Catholic Church as His Mystical Body, sustained in part but essentially through His unique relation to St. Peter and his episcopal successors in Rome in their role as the Vicar of Christ until Christ returns. The Catholic act of faith is in this way unique, because in making this act of faith, one does not merely assent to propositions concerning Christ as considered apart from the Church, or as considered apart from any visible body on earth. One expresses faith in Christ-as-inseparably-united-to-the-Catholic-Church, and thus faith in His working in and through His Church, to guard her from error and guide her into all truth until He returns. Because of the essential role of St. Peter and his episcopal successors in the structure and identity of the Catholic Church, the act of Catholic faith includes faith in Christ regarding each successive pope, specifically faith that Christ will protect each pope in his exercise of the papal office from promulgating any false doctrine.

This kind of component does not belong to a Protestant act of faith, because in Protestantism the Church Christ has promised to protect and guide is not a particular visible body, but all Christians and denominations whose doctrine sufficiently match [what one judges to be] the gospel laid out in Scripture.² So from the Protestant point of view, the existence of such Christians and denominations is taken to be the present fulfillment of Christ’s promise. And the future fulfillment of the divine promise is taken to mean not that any one of these presently existing denominations will remain until Christ returns, but merely that until Christ returns there will be Christians somewhere who hold beliefs sufficiently conforming to the gospel laid out in Scripture.

This difference between Protestant and Catholic ecclesiologies has an important comparative implication for the respective acts of faith. While I was a Protestant investigating the Catholic question, I wrote the following to a friend sixteen months before I was received into full communion with the Catholic Church:

In a certain way, being a Protestant requires less faith, because the Bible does not change (at least not now). If others depart from Scripture, then one just departs from them and brings the Scripture with oneself. But a Catholic must have more faith in God to guide His Church. And that is hard for me, in large part I suspect because I have been a Protestant all my life.

Four months later I wrote to this same friend:

But trusting the Holy Spirit to guide the Church is a very hard thing for a person who has been a Protestant for a long time, or from birth. It is not easy to distinguish between rightly trusting the Holy Spirit to guide the Church, and wrongly trusting that men are following the Holy Spirit (when in fact they are not). I mean, there are two ways to error. But, for a Protestant by second nature, the tendency (in my opinion) is to err on the side of not trusting the Spirit to guide the Church through the men He has appointed.

In this respect, the Catholic act of faith is more difficult, because in this act one is believing that until Christ returns He is faithfully protecting and preserving this ecclesial body in orthodoxy, rather than that at every moment until He returns, He will ensure merely that some body or other will hold doctrine in sufficient conformity to the gospel contained in Scripture. More specifically still, the concrete application of this component of the Catholic act of faith is trusting that Christ will guard and protect not just some persons somewhere, whom one then discovers and identifies by their sufficient agreement with one’s own interpretation of Scripture, but will guard and protect this man selected to govern the Church from the Chair of St. Peter, as his 266th successor in the case of Pope Benedict XVI.³

The assent of faith in this doctrine is tested in the hearts of Catholics when a new pope is selected. If we believe this doctrine, then when a new pope is to be selected, the future prospects and possibilities arising from the ideas held by the person who will be selected provide no sufficient reason to the Catholic faithful to cease being Catholic, or to non-Catholics to become Catholic, as though some previous dogma will be overturned, or some new assurance of the preservation of Tradition has been provided. On the contrary, by faith through this doctrine we know that God in His faithfulness will continue to govern and preserve His Church, guarding her from shipwreck no matter which man is brought to her helm. Those who disbelieve this doctrine, however, embrace the Church when she agrees with them, and depart from her when she does not, flock to her when a man of their particular theological or moral party receives the keys, and abandon her when a man holding some perspective other than their own is selected for the fisherman’s throne. That stance falls short of Catholic faith and what it means to be Catholic.⁴

Of course as grace builds on nature, so too does the charism of the one to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Kingdom. As history shows, a good pope can be an instrument of great good and flourishing in the Church, and likewise a bad pope can bring great harm and shame to the Church. Hence we rightly pray that God would provide a virtuous and orthodox man with the natural and spiritual gifts needed to shepherd the Church well. But that is altogether different from the stance of disbelief characterized by notions such as that if Cardinal X is selected then one will have reason to become Catholic, or that if Cardinal Y is selected then one will have reason to leave the Church. The identity of the next pope provides no reason to become Catholic, and no reason not to be Catholic, precisely because the Catholic faith concerning the Church’s government transcends the man Peter, and rests in the unbreakable promises of Christ concerning both the Church and the Petrine office. If this faith were false, there would never be sufficient reason to be Catholic, even if the pope of that time happened to be a good pope. But if this faith is true, then it is always time to become and remain Catholic, whether the next pope is a good pope or a bad pope.

As I sat at my desk that Friday and pondered that truth, I came to see clearly that the selection of Pope Benedict XVI as the next pope was not in itself evidence of Christ’s protection of the papacy, much as the selection of much less pious men for the papacy in previous times was not evidence of Christ’s failure to protect the office. Rather, what confronted me as one among many motives of credibility was the history of the papacy itself, and the very fact that there was a 266th successor of St. Peter. To make the Catholic act of faith, I would need to believe in Christ’s fidelity to the papal office not because a man like Pope Benedict XVI had been selected, as though every future pope would be such a man. Rather, I needed to believe that what Christ had done over the course of 266 successors of St. Peter, He would continue to do through that office until He returned. On the one hand I had no good reasons remaining not to be Catholic, and on the other hand I had the Church of all the ages with all her martyrs and saints, beckoning me to come as Christ bade St. Peter come to Him on the water. I pushed back from my desk, walked to the nearest Catholic church, and said the following to the first person I met there: “I’ve decided to become Catholic. What must I do to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church?”

1. On ecclesial consumerism see here.
2. See “Christ Founded a Visible Church.”
3. On the “Chair of St. Peter,” see here. For a list of popes from St. Peter to Pope Benedict XVI see here.
4. One does not rightly become a Catholic on the ground that one happens to believe at present all the doctrines that the Church teaches. That approach is a form of rationalism, not fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding). One rightly becomes a Catholic by an act of faith in which one assents to all that the Catholic Church teaches, even if not yet fully understanding it, on the ground of the apostolic authority of the Church’s magisterium. When we are received into the Catholic Church we say before the bishop, “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.” We are not saying that we just happen at present to believe Catholic doctrines. We are not merely reporting our present mental state vis-à-vis Catholic doctrine. Rather we are making a confession of faith, an act of the will whereby we are submitting to the apostolic authority of the Church in assenting to what she “believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God,” on the ground of her magisterial authority in succession from the Apostles whom Christ Himself appointed and sent.

This rare move of a pope renouncing the Petrine office last occurred in the fifteenth century and before that in the thirteenth century.¹ Gregory XII renounced the office of pope in 1417 to facilitate an end to the confusing years of the anti-popes known as the Great Western Schism. In 1294 Pope St. Celestine V, after only a few months in office, wished to return to his former life of hermitage and renounced the bishopric of Rome. Pope Benedict has ruled the Church for a longer period of nearly eight years, having been elected in April 2005. His renunciation comes not to end a controversy but to retire due to ill health.

Canon law makes brief mention of this process. The current Code of Canon Law (1983) states

Can. 332 § 2. Si contingat ut Romanus Pontifex muneri suo renuntiet, ad validitatem requiritur ut renuntiatio libere fiat et rite manifestetur, non vero ut a quopiam acceptetur.

Can. 332 §2. If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns [renuntiet] his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.

The reason why no one accepts the renunciation of the pope is that the pope is the Church’s supreme pastor and the president of the college of bishops. He is entrusted with the supreme care of souls. While he is brother to all the other bishops, he is also the successor of St. Peter, the one charged with confirming the faith of the brethren (Luke 22:32). There is no authority within the Church on earth higher than the pope. The decision must be free and deliberate. This is why Pope Benedict stressed in his announcement that he had made this decision for the good of the Church and only after a prolonged period of discernment of seeking the Lord’s will. Thus he said,

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

It is no secret that the Holy Father’s health has been deteriorating of late. Aware of this possibility, Pope Benedict has made cryptic mentions in the past of the possibility of renunciation. For example, in a 2010 book-length interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, the Holy Father said,

If a Pope realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of the office, then has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.²

Pope Benedict XVI

The Holy Father has been a constant inspiration for us as a man who has loved the Church so deeply and thoughtfully. He has spent himself in service to his flock, in his visits to various countries, his presence at World Youth Days, his constant teaching, and his care for the order of the Church. He has been at the helm of the Barque of Peter during some precarious times and has incurred the hatred of many who see in him and the Church all that is inhumane. Yet Pope Benedict made it clear that he would not resign because of difficulties: “One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say that someone else should do it.”³ In this, he is blessed to share in the revulsion the world felt at the Lord Jesus, in despising his love and his teaching (see Acts 5:41). May Benedict depart this life in much joy, the joy of his Lord!

For many of us at Called to Communion who were still Protestant at the time, the election of Pope Benedict XVI and his subsequent reign held out the question, “Will that be my leader someday?” Perhaps we sensed something of the Holy Father’s solicitude for visible reunion of Christians, a concern which has led to, among other things, a warming of ties with the Orthodox Churches and the creation of the Anglican Ordinariate, through which Anglicans can return to full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining some distinctive liturgical elements of their tradition. Benedict himself announced this concern the day after his election when he said:

The current Successor [to St. Peter] assumes as his primary commitment that of working tirelessly towards the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers.

May the next Successor of St. Peter likewise continue the work of prayer and love and dialogue in the truth for the reunion of all Christians!

We of course are saddened that one of the greatest theological minds to hold the Petrine office is now leaving. He has given the Church so much, not least in his encyclicals and informal works on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, his work against relativistic conceptions of culture and politics, his freeing of the 1962 extraordinary form of the Mass, the Year of Faith currently underway in the Catholic Church, and much more.

We are sad that we will no longer have Benedict as our pope. Yet God guides the Church, and so we pray for Benedict’s successor and put our hope in the chief Shepherd, from whom all popes and bishops receive their authority and example.⁴ May He come and take His flock to himself after making her ready and after the full measure of the nations have found their salvation in the Barque of St. Peter.

O God, eternal shepherd, who govern your flock with unfailing care, grant in your boundless fatherly love a pastor for your Church who will please you by his holiness and to us show watchful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Election of a Pope or a Bishop from the Roman Missal)

1. It first occurred 1,778 years ago, when Pope St. Pontian resigned on 28 September 235.
2. Light of the World (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2010), 30
3. Light of the World, 29
4. See 1 Peter 5:4 and John 21:15-19

Both these objections misunderstand what Catholics mean by Tradition. In the broadest possible sense, Tradition is simply everything that the Church has and does to transmit the faith from generation to generation. This includes her liturgy, sacraments, canons, devotions, teaching, and preaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains Tradition this way:  ”Through Tradition, the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.” (CCC 78)

From this definition, it should be clear that Tradition and Magisterium are not redundant. Tradition is the ordinary vehicle for transmitting the faith. The Magisterium is its authoritative interpreter. We could not eliminate Tradition and rely only upon the Magisterium for many reasons.

First, the content of Tradition is broader than the dogmatic pronouncements of the Magisterium. Tradition conveys a great deal of positive content that may never have been treated by way of dogmatic pronouncement. A good case in point would be the doctrine of male-only priesthood. For millennia, Tradition effectively transmitted this doctrine through Scripture, liturgy, sacramental practice, canon law, the patrimony of the fathers, and so forth.  Only in recent years have the Popes found it necessary to teach specifically on this topic. It is absurd to say that we only knew this doctrine when the Popes finally decided to pronounce upon it. Therefore, Tradition and the Magisterium are not redundant.

Second, Tradition offers an important witness to the integrity and antiquity of the faith that may not be conveyed by magisterial pronouncements alone. To illustrate, the weight of Tradition was a strong motive for me to accept the Church’s dogmatic teaching on the communion of saints. I saw that devotion to Mary and the saints was both very ancient and very widely attested. This prompted me to investigate the reasons that Catholics have given for the practice. Thus, Tradition served a function in my life that could not have been served by the dogmatic statements of the Magisterium.

Third, Tradition conveys the faith in a manner that the Magisterium alone could never replace. Christian faith is not reducible to creedal formula. The experience of the faith is far richer than simply a list of teachings, but includes the life of liturgy, catechesis, preaching, charity, and prayer. Even if the Magisterium pronounced on every conceivable theological topic, we would still need Tradition as the normal mode of conveying the faith.

Protestant Christians, I think, implicitly understand this distinction between message and medium. No Presbyterian would be content simply to email the Westminster Confession to all professed Christians and then consider that he had “done Church.” He would not reduce his faith to the pronouncements of teaching authorities, or even to the contents of Scripture. Why else did the Reformers think so deeply about the reform of the liturgy? They understood that the medium is, itself, part of the message.

What about the charge that Tradition is too vague to be workable?  I have sometimes heard Protestants say that Tradition is of no use unless the Church can produce an exhaustive list of Traditions in the same way that she has produced an exhaustive list of inspired books. I think what motivates this objection is the belief that Scripture and Tradition must form a sort of neutral data set, from which we exegete the content of the faith. Unless I know that I have the whole set, I cannot possible draw reliable conclusions about the content of the faith.

Ironically, I think this objection works better against the Protestant doctrine of Scripture than it does against the Catholic doctrine of Tradition. On the view of someone like R.C. Sproul, we can only make a definitive account of the faith in terms of the inspired books. However, we don’t know with certainty which canonical books are inspired. (According to Sproul, we must be content with “a fallible list of infallible books.”)

Catholics, however, don’t view Scripture or Tradition this way. They do not form a neutral data set from which we independently exegete the content of the faith. Rather, they transmit the content of revelation within a community endowed with authoritative interpreters. Only within such a community could you ever know with certainty that you possessed a definitive account of the faith.

Furthermore, it is just not true to say that we don’t know the contents of Tradition. If you would know the Church’s Traditions, look to her liturgies, devotions, canons, the writings of the fathers, architecture, art, music, catechesis, and doctrinal pronouncements. Heinrich Denzinger composed a nearly exhaustive list of the latter that is widely available.¹

The substantive dispute between Protestants and Catholics is not over the usefulness of Tradition, therefore, but over its authority. Does Tradition transmit the deposit of faith in a way that authoritatively conditions my interpretation of Holy Scripture and of the faith? Or, does my interpretation of Scripture stand in judgment of Tradition? We can only answer this with reference to two other questions: “What provision did Christ make for the transmission of the Christian faith? And with what authority did he invest it?”

Christ gave very specific instructions concerning the transmission of the Christian faith. First, He instituted the Church’s liturgy, and ordered that it be handed on in perpetuity. (Luke 22: 19-20; John 20: 21-23). Second, He committed His body of oral teaching, including instructions about baptism, to the disciples (the eleven), and commanded that they teach it to all nations. With this command He included a promise of divine assistance. (Matthew 28:18-20) Third, He assigned the Church the responsibility of rendering binding decisions, and promised that heaven would confirm those decisions. (Matt 16:18; 18:18)

When it comes to the apostles, we find that they transmitted each of these elements to posterity. Paul includes the elements of the liturgy as part of the deposit of faith. (1 Corinthians 11:23-24.). The elders at Jerusalem considered their disciplinary decisions to reflect the central doctrines of the faith, and to be guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 15) And, the apostle entrusts the charge of handing on the faith to successors. Again, this charge is accompanied by the promise of divine assistance. (2 Timothy 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:2).

There is only one part of Tradition that the apostles do not mention. They completely ignore the formation of the New Testament canon. The closest they come is the reference to “Paul’s Letters” in 2 Peter 3:16, but this hardly constitutes a doctrine of the Canon. As far as we know, neither Jesus nor the apostles had any concept of a New Testament Canon serving as the primary vehicle for the transmission of the Christian faith. Anyone who says otherwise depends neither on Scripture, nor ancient Tradition, but upon modern innovation.

How, then, can Scripture and Tradition relate usefully? Justin Martyr (d.165)  gives one of the best answers in chapter 67 of his First Apology. Normally, they relate liturgically:

 And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought . . .

In this scenario, neither element is useless. The Scriptures inspire us as God’s very words. The Sacrament brings us Christ, in his very flesh. Tradition, by the authority of Christ himself, conveys the deposit of faith (and Christ himself) in multiple ways.

What about the question of a norma normans? If Tradition conditions our reading of Scripture, then can Scripture be a norm for Tradition?  Scripture norms Tradition in the sense that Scripture provides the primary subject matter for theology, dogmatic discourse, and the Church’s kerygma. Crucially, Scripture contains the very words of Christ. There can be no question of teaching or preaching contrary to Scripture.

But, ironically, the one who places his interpretation of Scripture over Tradition destroys the authority of both. It is only through Tradition that Scripture can even be a final authority. This is because there is always an interpretive gap between the words of Scripture and the understanding of the reader/hearer. How do I know that my interpretation of Scripture is what God really meant? I can only know if I rely on the interpretive method established by Christ, if I rely on an interpretive method that possesses divine authority.

Let me illustrate. Consider the exception clause in Matthew 19: 9. Christ permits divorce in the case of πορνείᾳ. What exactly does Christ mean by “πορνείᾳ?”  And, how am I to understand “divorce” in this passage relative to the parallel passages in the synoptics, and in the teachings of St. Paul? Scripture cannot possibly rule my behavior, it cannot be an authority, if I do not know what it means. How, then, do I proceed. Do I rely on my own lexical, exegetical skill to interpret this difficult passage? Do I rely on experts? Or do I defer to Tradition?

The Fathers of the Church gave a clear interpretation of the teaching on divorce and that interpretation has been confirmed by the canonical Tradition of the Church for millennia. If I rely upon Tradition as a divine authority established by Christ, then I can clearly, and unambiguously obey the unique authority of Scripture. If I reject Tradition, however, can I be certain that my interpretation possesses divine authority? It is only Tradition that allows Scripture to be a final authority.

In conclusion, Sacred Tradition is very useful.  Christ established it for the authoritative transmission of the faith and the sanctification of the Church. He also made us a promise of His divine assistance, to accompany the transmission of the faith and to guarantee its integrity. Tradition is an important witness to the antiquity, unity, and Catholicity of the faith.  It conveys content that Scripture and the extraordinary Magisterium may not have addressed. Finally, reliance on Tradition does not diminish the unique authority of Scripture. Scripture alone contains the inspired words of God. Therefore, we reverence Scripture and accord it a unique place in our faith and worship. But Tradition is what allows Scripture to guide me, to rest assured that I have understood it aright.

1. There is also an updated Latin-English version.

Icon for the Feast of the Presentation
by Andrei Rublev

Simeon had been waiting for the Messiah, assured by God that he would not see death before seeing the Lord’s Anointed One. On this day, while holding the Anointed One in his arms, he prayed, giving thanks to God who, in the presence of all peoples had over many centuries through the calling of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and through Moses and Joshua and David and Solomon, and the prophets, prepared a particular people to be those through whom in This Child salvation would come to the whole world, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (St. Luke 2:32) Then he blessed Mary and Joseph, and speaking to Mary, he prophesied concerning this Anointed One, that He would bring salvation through suffering, that Mary too would suffer in soul, and that by encountering Him the hearts of men would be revealed, so as ultimately to be placed either on His right, or on His left (Heb. 4:12; Mt. 25:33; 27:38, Acts 10:42; 17:31, Rom. 2:16).

In the West this feast has also been called the “Purification,” because the law of Moses that Mary and Joseph obeyed that day was the law of purification for women who had given birth. (cf. Lev. 12:1-8) This does not mean that Mary was sinful, for the same reason that Jesus’s baptism does not mean that He was sinful. This feast has also been called Candlemas, because of the tradition in which the Church blesses and distributes candles to the faithful, who carry the lit candles in procession and thereby mark the entrance of Christ the Light into the world, according to the word of St. Simeon, faithfully reported by the Blessed Mother to St. Luke. In the East this feast is called Hypapante, which means “Meeting” because when Christ is presented to God in the Temple, there is a meeting of God and man, of Christ and His people Israel, represented in Sts. Simeon and Anna.

There is evidence that this feast was already being observed in Jerusalem in the early fourth century. The Office of Readings for today contains a homily from St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (died ca. 638) in which the tradition of processing with candles is evident:

In honor of the divine mystery that we celebrate today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light. Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendor of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ. The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.

St. Sophronius of Jerusalem

The light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows; the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.

The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendor, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendor. Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness. By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in his honor.

In early Church history, one of the most beautiful sermons from this feast is titled “Oration on Simeon and Anna: On the Day that They Met in the Temple,” traditionally attributed to St. Methodius of Olympus, who was martyred in AD 311. Some scholars have argued that this was not written by St. Methodius, but is a later work. That may in fact be the case. Nevertheless it seems that the earliest manuscripts of this work preserved to this day in Moscow and in St. Catherine Monastery on Mt. Sinai, date back to the eighth and ninth centuries. So the sermon was likely composed some time between the late third century and the eighth century. In it we see Simeon representing Israel, and Anna representing the Church. We also see development of the Marian implications inherent in the Presentation narrative, such as Mary’s role as the ark of the New Covenant, the Second Eve, and intercessor for the Church. I have included below the whole sermon, which is worth meditating on carefully and prayerfully every year on this feast.

Composer Frank La Rocca, who is himself a Catholic revert, and occasionally comments here at CTC, composed the following piece, titled “Diffusa Est Gratia,” for this feast:

Oration on Simeon and Anna: On the Day that They Met in the Temple

St. Methodius of Olympus

I. Although I have before, as briefly as possible, in my dialogue on chastity, sufficiently laid the foundations, as it were, for a discourse on virginity, yet today the season has brought forward the entire subject of the glory of virginity, and its incorruptible crown, for the delightful consideration of the Church’s foster-children. For today the council chamber of the divine oracles is opened wide, and the signs prefiguring this glorious day, with its effects and issues, are by the sacred preachers read over to the assembled Church. Today the accomplishment of that ancient and true counsel is, in fact and deed, gloriously manifested to the world. Today, without any covering, 2 Corinthians 3:18 and with unveiled face, we see, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of the divine ark itself. Today, the most holy assembly, bearing upon its shoulders the heavenly joy that was for generations expected, imparts it to the race of man. “Old things are passed away” 2 Corinthians 5:17 — -things new burst forth into flowers, and such as fade not away. No longer does the stern decree of the law bear sway, but the grace of the Lord reigns, drawing all men to itself by saving long-suffering. No second time is an Uzziah 2 Samuel 6:7 invisibly punished, for daring to touch what may not be touched; for God Himself invites, and who will stand hesitating with fear? He says: “Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden.” Matthew 11:28 Who, then, will not run to Him? Let no Jew contradict the truth, looking at the type which went before the house of Obededom. 2 Samuel 6:10 The Lord has ” manifestly come to His own.” And sitting on a living and not inanimate ark, as upon the mercy-seat, He comes forth in solemn procession upon the earth. The publican, when he touches this ark, comes away just; the harlot, when she approaches this, is remoulded, as it were, and becomes chaste; the leper, when he touches this, is restored whole without pain. It repulses none; it shrinks from none; it imparts the gifts of healing, without itself contracting any disease; for the Lord, who loves and cares for man, in it makes His resting-place. These are the gifts of this new grace. This is that new and strange thing that has happened under the sun Sirach 1:10 — a thing that never had place before, nor will have place again. That which God of His compassion toward us foreordained has come to pass, He has given it fulfilment because of that love for man which is so becoming to Him. With good right, therefore, has the sacred trumpet sounded, “Old things are passed away, behold all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 And what shall I conceive, what shall I speak worthy of this day? I am struggling to reach the inaccessible, for the remembrance of this holy virgin far transcends all words of mine. Wherefore, since the greatness of the panegyric required completely puts to shame our limited powers, let us betake ourselves to that hymn which is not beyond our faculties, and boasting in our own unalterable defeat, let us join the rejoicing chorus of Christ’s flock, who are keeping holyday. And do you, my divine and saintly auditors, keep strict silence, in order that through the narrow channel of ears, as into the harbour of the understanding, the vessel freighted with truth may peacefully sail. We keep festival, not according to the vain customs of the Greek mythology; we keep a feast which brings with it no ridiculous or frenzied banqueting of the gods, but which teaches us the wondrous condescension to us men of the awful glory of Him who is God over all.Romans 9:5

II. Come, therefore, Isaiah, most solemn of preachers and greatest of prophets, wisely unfold to the Church the mysteries of the congregation in glory, and incite our excellent guests abundantly, to satiate themselves with enduring dainties, in order that, placing the reality which we possess over against that mirror of yours, truthful prophet as you are, you may joyfully clap your hands at the issue of your predictions. It came to pass, he says, “in the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the house was full of His glory. And the seraphim stood round about him: each one had six wings. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, Woe is me! I am pricked to the heart, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. And one of the seraphim was sent unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I strict, and who will go unto this people? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but understand not; and you see indeed, but perceive not.” These are the proclamations made beforehand by the prophet through the Spirit. Dearly beloved, consider the force of these words. So shall you understand the issue of these sacramental symbols, and know both what and how great this assembling together of ourselves is. And since the prophet has before spoken of this miracle, come, and with the greatest ardour and exultation, and alacrity of heart, together with the keenest sagacity of your intelligence, and therewith approach Bethlehem the renowned, and place before your mind an image clear and distinct, comparing the prophecy with the actual issue of events. You will not stand in need of many words to come to a knowledge of the matter; only fix your eyes on the things which are taking place there. “All things truly are plain to them that understand, and right to them that find knowledge.” Proverbs 8:9 For, behold, as a throne high and lifted up by the glory of Him that fashioned it, the virgin-mother is there made ready, and that most evidently for the King, the Lord of hosts. Upon this, consider the Lord now coming unto you in sinful flesh. Upon this virginal throne, I say, worship Him who now comes to you by this new and ever-adorable way. Look around you with the eye of faith, and you will find around Him, as by the ordinance of their courses, the royal and priestly company of the seraphim. These, as His bodyguard, are ever wont to attend the presence of their king. Whence also in this place they are not only said to hymn with their praises the divine substance of the divine unity, but also the glory to be adored by all of that one of the sacred Trinity, which now, by the appearance of God in the flesh, has even lighted upon earth. They say: “The whole earth is full of His glory.” For we believe that, together with the Son, who was made man for oar sakes, according to the good pleasure of His will, was also present the Father, who is inseparable from Him as to His divine nature, anal also the Spirit, who is of one and the same essence with Him. For, as says Paul, the interpreter of the divine oracle, “Cod was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” 2 Corinthians 5:19 He thus shows that the Father was in the Son, because that one and the same will worked in them.

III. Therefore, O lover of this festival, when you have considered well the glorious mysteries of Bethlehem — which were brought to pass for your sake — gladly join yourself to the heavenly host, which is celebrating magnificently your salvation.2 Samuel 6:14 As once David did before the ark, so do you, before this virginal throne, joyfully lead the dance. Hymn with gladsome song the Lord, who is always and everywhere present, and Him who from Teman, Habakkuk 3:3 as says the prophet, has thought fit to appear, and that in the flesh, to the race of men. Say, with Moses, “He is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:2 Then, after your hymn of thanksgiving, we shall usefully inquire what cause aroused the King of Glory to appear in Bethlehem. His compassion for us compelled Him, who cannot be compelled, to be born in a human body at Bethlehem. But what necessity was there that He, when a suckling infant, that He who, though both in time, was not limited by time, that He, who though wrapped in swaddling clothes, was not by them held fast, what necessity was there that He should be an exile and a stranger from His country? Should you, forsooth, wish to know this, you congregation most holy, and upon whom the Spirit of God has breathed, listen to Moses proclaiming plainly to the people, stimulating them, as it were, to the knowledge of this extraordinary nativity, and saying, “Every male that opens the womb, shall be called holy to the Lord.” Exodus 31:19 O wondrous circumstance! “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Romans 11:33 It became indeed the Lord of the law and the prophets to do all things in accordance with His own law, and not to make void the law, but to fulfil it, and rather to connect with the fulfilment of the law the beginning of His grace. Therefore it is that the mother, who was superior to the law, submits to the law. And she, the holy and undefiled one, observes that time of forty days that was appointed for the unclean. And He who makes us free from the law, became subject to the law; and there is offered for Him, who has sanctified us, a pair of clean birds,Luke 11:24 in testimony of those who approach clean and blameless. Now that that parturition was polluted, and stood not in need of expiatory victims, Isaiah is our witness, who proclaims distinctly to the whole earth under the sun: “Before she travailed,” he says, “she brought forth before her pains came, she escaped, and brought forth a man-child.” Isaiah 66:7 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? The must holy virgin mother, therefore, escaped entirely the manner of women even before she brought forth: doubtless, in order that the Holy Spirit, betrothing her unto Himself, and sanctifying her, she might conceive without intercourse with man. She has brought forth her first-born Son, even the only-begotten Son of God, Him, I say, who in the heavens above shone forth as the only-begotten, without mother, from out His Father’s substance, and preserved the virginity of His natural unity undivided and inseparable; and who on earth, in the virgin’s nuptial chamber, joined to Himself the nature of Adam, like a bridegroom, by an inalienable union, and preserved His mother’s purity uncorrupt and un injured— Him, in short, who in heaven was begotten without corruption, and on earth brought forth in a manner quite unspeakable. But to return to our subject.

IV. Therefore the prophet brought the virgin from Nazareth, in order that she might give birth at Bethlehem to her salvation-bestowing child, and brought her back again to Nazareth, in order to make manifest to the world the hope of life. Hence it was that the ark of God removed from the inn at Bethlehem, for there He paid to the law that debt of the forty days, due not to justice but to grace, and rested upon the mountains of Sion, and receiving into His pure bosom as upon a lofty throne, and one transcending the nature of man, the Monarch of all, she presented Him there to God the Father, as the joint-partner of His throne and inseparable from His nature, together with that pure and undefiled flesh which he had of her substance assumed. The holy mother goes up to the temple to exhibit to the law a new and strange wonder, even that child long expected, who opened the virgin’s womb, and yet did not burst the barriers of virginity; that child, superior to the law, who yet fulfilled the law; that child that was at once before the law, and yet after it; that child, in short, who was of her incarnate beyond the law of nature. For in other cases every womb being first opened by connection with a man, and, being impregnated by his seed, receives the beginning of conception, and by the pangs which make perfect parturition, does at length bring forth to light its offspring endowed with reason, and with its nature consistent, in accordance with the wise provision of God its Creator. For God said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” But the womb of this virgin, without being opened before, or being impregnated with seed, gave birth to an offspring that transcended nature, while at the same time it was cognate to it, and that without detriment to the indivisible unity, so that the miracle was the more stupendous, the prerogative of virginity likewise remaining intact. She goes up, therefore to the temple, she who was more exalted than the temple, clothed with a double glory— the glory, I say, of undefiled virginity, and that of ineffable fecundity, the benediction of the law, and the sanctification of grace. Wherefore he says who saw it: “And the whole house was full of His glory, and the seraphim stood round about him; and one cried unto another, and said. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3 As also the blessed prophet Habakkuk has charmingly sung, saying, “In the midst of two living creatures you shall be known: as the years draw near you shall be recognised— when the time has come you shall be shown forth.” See, I pray you, the exceeding accuracy of the Spirit. He speaks of knowledge, recognition, showing forth. As to the first of these: “In the midst of two living creatures you shall be known,” Habakkuk 3:2 he refers to that overshadowing of the divine glory which, in the time of the law, rested in the Holy of holies upon the covering of the ark, between the typical cherubim, as He says to Moses, “There will I be known to you.” Exodus 25:22 But He refers likewise to that concourse of angels, which has now come to meet us, by the divine and ever adorable manifestation of the Saviour Himself in the flesh, although He in His very nature cannot be beheld by us, as Isaiah has even before declared. But when He says, “As the years draw near, you shall be recognised,” He means, as has been said before, that glorious recognition of our Saviour, God in the flesh, who is otherwise invisible to mortal eye; as somewhere Paul, that great interpreter of sacred mysteries, says: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4:4-5 And then, as to that which is subjoined, “When the time has come, You shall be shown forth,” what exposition does this require, if a man diligently direct the eye of his mind to the festival which we are now celebrating? “For then shall You be shown forth,” He says, “as upon a kingly charger, by Your pure and chaste mother, in the temple, and that in the grace and beauty of the flesh assumed by You.” All these things the prophet, summing up for the sake of greater clearness, exclaims in brief: “The Lord is in His holy temple; ” Habakkuk 2:20 “Fear before Him all the earth.”

V. Tremendous, verily, is the mystery connected with you, O virgin mother, you spiritual throne, glorified and made worthy of God. You have brought forth, before the eyes of those in heaven and earth, a pre-eminent wonder. And it is a proof of this, and an irrefragable argument, that at the novelty of your supernatural child-bearing, the angels sang on earth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men,” Luke 2:14 by their threefold song bringing in a threefold holiness. Blessed are you among the generations of women, O you of God most blessed, for by you the earth has been filled with that divine glory of God; as in the Psalms it is sung: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen. Amen.” And the posts of the door, says the prophet, moved at the voice of him that cried, by which is signified the veil of the temple drawn before the ark of the covenant, which typified you, that the truth might be laid open to me, and also that I might be taught, by the types and figures which went before, to approach with reverence and trembling to do honour to the sacred mystery which is connected with you; and that by means of this prior shadow-painting of the law I might be restrained from boldly and irreverently contemplating with fixed gaze Him who, in His incomprehensibility, is seated far above all. For if to the ark, which was the image and type of your sanctity, such honour was paid of God that to no one but to the priestly order only was the access to it open, or ingress allowed to behold it, the veil separating it off, and keeping the vestibule as that of a queen, what, and what sort of veneration is due to you from us who are of creation the least, to you who art indeed a queen; to you, the living ark of God, the Lawgiver; to you, the heaven that contains Him who can be contained of none? For since you, O holy virgin, hast dawned as a bright day upon the world and hast brought forth the Sun of Righteousness, that hateful horror of darkness has been chased away; the power of the tyrant has been broken, death has been destroyed, hell swallowed up, and all enmity dissolved before the face of peace; noxious diseases depart now that salvation looks forth; and the whole universe has been filled with the pure and clear light of truth. To which things Solomon alludes in the Book of Canticles, and begins thus: “My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feeds among the lilies until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” Song of Songs 2:16-17 Since then, the God of gods has appeared in Sion, and the splendour of His beauty has appeared in Jerusalem; and “a light has sprung up for the righteous, and joy for those who are true of heart.” According to the blessed David, the Perfecter and Lord of the perfected has, by the Holy Spirit, called the teacher and minister of the law to minister and testify of those things which were done.

VI. Hence the aged Simeon, putting off the weakness of the flesh, and putting on the strength of hope, in the face of the law hastened to receive the Minister of the law, the Teacher with authority, the God of Abraham, the Protector of Isaac, the Holy One of Israel, the Instructor of Moses; Him, I say, who promised to show him His divine incarnation, as it were His hinder parts;Exodus 3:23 Him who, in the midst of poverty, was rich; Him who in infancy was before the ages; Him who, though seen, was invisible; Him who in comprehension was incomprehensible; Him who, though in littleness, yet surpassed all magnitude— at one and the same time in the temple and in the highest heavens— on a royal throne, and on the chariot of the cherubim Him who is both above and below continuously Him who is in the form of a servant, and in the form of God the Father; a subject, and yet King of all. He was entirely given up to desire, to hope, to joy; he was no longer his own, but His who had been looked for. The Holy Spirit had announced to him the joyful tidings, and before he reached the temple, carried aloft by the eyes of his understanding, as if even now he possessed what he had longed for, he exulted with joy. Being thus led on, and in his haste treading the air with his steps, he reaches the shrine hitherto held sacred; but, not heeding the temple, he stretches out his holy arms to the Ruler of the temple, chanting forth in song such strains as become the joyous occasion: I long for You, O Lord God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast deigned, of Your own glory and goodness, which provides for all, of Your gracious condescension, with which You incline towards us, as a Mediator bringing peace, to establish harmony between earth and heaven. I seek You, the Great Author of all. With longing I expect You who, with Your word, embracest all things. I wait for You, the Lord of life and death. For You I look, the Giver of the law, and the Successor of the law. I hunger for You, who quickenest the dead; I thirst for You, who refreshest the weary; I desire You, the Creator and Redeemer of the world.Isaiah 43:10 You are our God, and You we adore; You are our holy Temple, and in You we pray; You are our Lawgiver, and You we obey; You are God of all things the First. Before You was no other god begotten of God the Father; neither after You shall there be any other son consubstantial and of one glory with the Father. And to know You is perfect righteousness, and to know Your power is the root of immortality.Wisdom 15:3 You are He who, for our salvation, was made the head stone of the corner, precious and honourable, declared before to Sion. For all things are placed under You as their Cause and Author, as He who brought all things into being out of nothing, and gave to what was unstable a firm coherence; as the connecting Band and Preserver of that which has been brought into being; as the Framer of things by nature different; as He who, with wise and steady hand, holds the helm of the universe; as the very Principle of all good order; as the irrefragable Bond of concord and peace. For in You we live, and move, and have our being.Acts 18:28 Wherefore, O Lord my God, I will glorify You, I will praise Your name; for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth; You are clothed with majesty and honour. For what is more splendid for a king than a purple robe embroidered around with flowers, and a shining diadem? Or what for God, who delights in man, is more magnificent than this merciful assumption of the manhood, illuminating with its resplendent rays those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death?Isaiah 42:7; Luke 1:79 Fitly did that temporal king and Your servant once sing of You as the King Eternal, saying, You are fairer than the children of men, who among men art very God and man. For You have girt, by Your incarnation, Your loins with righteousness, and anointed Your veins with faithfulness, who Yourself art very righteousness and truth, the joy and exultation of all.Isaiah 11:5 Therefore rejoice with me this day, you heavens, for the Lord has showed mercy to His people. Yea, let the clouds drop the dew of righteousness upon the world; let the foundations of the earth sound a trumpet-blast to those in Hades, for the resurrection of them that sleep has come.Isaiah 45:8 Let the earth also cause compassion to spring up to its inhabitants; for I am filled with comfort; I am exceeding joyful since I have seen You, the Saviour of men. 2 Corinthians 7:4

VII. While the old man was thus exultant, and rejoicing with exceeding great and holy joy, that which had before been spoken of in a figure by the prophet Isaiah, the holy mother of God now manifestly fulfilled. For taking, as from a pure and undefiled altar, that coal living and ineffable, with man’s flesh invested, in the embrace of her sacred hands, as it were with the tongs, she held Him out to that just one, addressing and exhorting him, as it seems to me, in words to this effect: Receive, O reverend senior, you of priests the most excellent, receive the Lord, and reap the full fruition of that hope of yours which is not left widowed and desolate. Receive, you of men the most illustrious, the unfailing treasure, and those riches which can never be taken away. Take to your embrace, O you of men most wise, that unspeakable might, that unsearchable power, which can alone support you. Embrace, you minister of the temple, the Greatness infinite, and the Strength incomparable. Fold yourself around Him who is the very life itself, and live, O you of men most venerable, Cling closely to incorruption and be renewed, O you of men most righteous. Not too bold is the attempt; shrink not from it then, O you of men most holy. Satiate yourself with Him you have longed for, and take your delight in Him who has been given, or rather who gives Himself to you, O you of men most divine. Joyfully draw your light, O you of men most pious, from the Sun of Righteousness, that gleams around you through the unsullied mirror of the flesh. Fear not His gentleness, nor let His clemency terrify you, O you of men most blessed. Be not afraid of His lenity, nor shrink from His kindness, O you of men most modest. Join yourself to Him with alacrity, and delay not to obey Him. That which is spoken to you, and held out to you, savours not of over-boldness. Be not then reluctant, O you of men the most decorous. The flame of the grace of my Lord does not consume, but illuminates you, O you of men most just. Exodus 3:2 Let the bush which set forth me in type, with respect to the verity of that fire which yet had no subsistence, teach you this, O you who art in the law the best instructed.Daniel 3:21 Let that furnace which was as it were a breeze distilling dew persuade you, O master, of the dispensation of this mystery. Then, beside all this, let my womb be a proof to you, in which He was contained, who in nought else was ever contained, of the substance of which the incarnate Word yet deigned to become incarnate. The blast Exodus 19:16 of the trumpet does not now terrify those who approach, nor a second time does the mountain all on smoke cause terror to those who draw near, nor indeed does the law punish relentlessly those who would boldly touch. What is here present speaks of love to man; what is here apparent, of the Divine condescension. Thankfully, then, receive the God who comes to you, for He shall take away your iniquities, and thoroughly purge your sins. In you, let the cleansing of the world first, as in type, have place. In you, and by you, let that justification which is of grace become known beforehand to the Gentiles. You are worthy of the quickening first-fruits. You have made good use of the law. Use grace henceforth. With the letter you have grown weary; in the spirit be renewed. Put off that which his old, and clothe yourself with that which is new. For of these matters I think not that you are ignorant.

VIII. Upon all this that righteous man, waxing bold and yielding to the exhortation of the mother of God, who is the handmaid of God in regard to the things which pertain to men, received into his aged arms Him who in infancy was yet the Ancient of days, and blessed God, and said, “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word: for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32 I have received from You a joy unmixed with pain. Receive me rejoicing, O Lord, and singing of Your mercy and compassion. You have given unto me this joy of heart. I render unto You with gladness my tribute of thanksgiving. I have known the power of the love of God. Since, for my sake, God of You begotten, in a manner ineffable, and without corruption, has become man. I have known the inexplicable greatness of Your love and care for us, for You have sent forth Your own bowels to come to our deliverance. Now, at length, I understand what I had from Solomon learned: “Strong as death is love: for by it shall the sting of death be done away, by it shall the dead see life, by it shall even death learn what death is, being made to cease from that dominion which over us he exercised. By it, also, shall the serpent, the author of our evils, he taken captive and overwhelmed.” Song of Songs 8:6 You have made known to us, O Lord, Your salvation, causing to spring up for us the plant of peace, and we shall no longer wander in error. You have made known to us, O Lord, that You have not unto the end overlooked Your servants; neither have You, O beneficent One, forgotten entirely the works of Your hands. For out of Your compassion for our low estate You have shed forth upon us abundantly that goodness of Yours which is inexhaustible, and with Your very nature cognate, having redeemed us by Your only begotten Son, who is unchangeably like to You, and of one substance with You; judging it unworthy of Your majesty and goodness to entrust to a servant the work of saving and benefiting Your servants, or to cause that those who had offended should be reconciled by a minister. But by means of that light, which is of one substance with You, You have given light to those that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, in order that in Your light they might see the light of knowledge; and it has seemed good to You, by means of our Lord and Creator, to fashion us again unto immortality; and You have graciously given unto us a return to Paradise by means of Him who separated us from the joys of Paradise; and by means of Him who has power to forgive sins You haveMark 2:10 blotted out the handwriting which was against us.Colossians 2:4 Lastly, by means of Him who is a partaker of Your throne and who cannot be separated from Your divine nature, You have given unto us the gift of reconciliation and access unto You with confidence in order that, by the Lord who recognises the sovereign authority of none, by the true and omnipotent God, the subscribed sanction, as it were, of so many and such great blessings might constitute the justifying gifts of grace to be certain and indubitable rights to those who have obtained mercy. And this very thing the prophet before had announced in the words: No ambassador, nor angel, but the Lord Himself saved them; because He loved them, and spared them, and He took them up, and exalted them. And all this was, not of works of righteousness Titus 3:5 which we have done, nor because we loved You—for our first earthly forefather, who was honourably entertained, in the delightful abode of Paradise, despised Your divine and saving commandment, and was judged unworthy of that life-giving place, and mingling his seed with the bastard off-shoots of sin, he rendered it very weak—but You, O Lord, of Your own self, and of Your ineffable love toward the creature of Your hands, hast confirmed Your mercy toward us, and, pitying our estrangement from You, hast moved Yourself at the sight of our degradation John 4:9 to take us into compassion. Hence, for the future, a joyous festival is established for us of the race of Adam, because the first Creator of Adam of His own free-will has become the Second Adam. And the brightness of the Lord our God has come down to sojourn with us, so that we see God face to face, and are saved Therefore, O Lord, I seek of You to be allowed to depart. I have seen Your salvation; let me be delivered from the bent yoke of the letter. I have seen the King Eternal, to whom no other succeeds; let me be set free from this servile and burdensome chain. I have seen Him who is by nature my Lord and Deliverer; may I obtain, then, His decree for my deliverance. Set me free from the yoke of condemnation, and place me under the yoke of justification. Deliver me from the yoke of the curse, and of the letter that kills; 2 Corinthians 3:6 and enrol me in the blessed company of those who, by the grace of this Your true Son, who is of equal glory and power with You, have been received into the adoption of sons.

IX. Let then, says he, what I have thus far said in brief, suffice for the present as my offering of thanks to God. But what shall I say to you, O mother-virgin and virgin-mother? For the praise even of her who is not man’s work exceeds the power of man. Wherefore the dimness of my poverty I will make bright with the splendour of the gifts of the spirits that around you shine, and offering to you of your own, from the immortal meadows I will pluck a garland for your sacred and divinely crowned head. With your ancestral hymns will I greet you, O daughter of David, and mother of the Lord and God of David. For it were both base and inauspicious to adorn you, who in your own glory excellest with that which belongs unto another. Receive, therefore, O lady most benignant, gifts precious, and such as are fitted to you alone, O you who art exalted above all generations, and who, among all created things, both visible and invisible, shinest forth as the most honourable. Blessed is the root of Jesse, and thrice blessed is the house of David, in which you have sprung up. God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be moved, for the Most High has made holy the place of His tabernacle. For in you the covenants and oaths made of God unto the fathers have received a most glorious fulfilment, since by you the Lord has appeared, the God of hosts with us. That bush which could not be touched,Exodus 3:2 which beforehand shadowed forth your figure endowed with divine majesty, bare God without being consumed, who manifested Himself to the prophet just so far as He willed to be seen. Then, again, that hard and rugged rock,Exodus 17:6 which imaged forth the grace and refreshment which has sprung out from you for all the world, brought forth abundantly in the desert out of its thirsty sides a healing draught for the fainting people. Yea, moreover, the rod of the priest which, without culture, blossomed forth in fruit,Numbers 17:8 the pledge and earnest of a perpetual priesthood, furnished no contemptible symbol of your supernatural child-bearing. Hebrews 9:4 What, moreover? Hath not the mighty Moses expressly declared, that on account of these types of you, hard to be understood,Exodus 25:8 he delayed longer on the mountain, in order that he might learn, O holy one, the mysteries that with you are connected? For being commanded to build the ark as a sign and similitude of this thing, he was not negligent in obeying the command, although a tragic occurrence happened on his descent from the mount; but having made it in size five cubits and a half, he appointed it to be the receptacle of the law, and covered it with the wings of the cherubim, most evidently pre-signifying you, the mother of God, who hast conceived Him without corruption, and in an ineffable manner brought forth Him who is Himself, as it were, the very consistence of incorruption, and that within the limits of the five and a half circles of the world. On your account, and the undefiled Incarnation of God, the Word, which by you had place for the sake of that flesh which immutably and indivisibly remains with Him for ever.Hebrews 9:4 The golden pot also, as a most certain type, preserved the manna contained in it, which in other cases was changed day by day, unchanged, and keeping fresh for ages. The prophet Elijah 2 Kings 2:11 likewise, as prescient of your chastity, and being emulous of it through the Spirit, bound around him the crown of that fiery life, being by the divine decree adjudged superior to death. You also, prefiguring his successor Elisha, Sirach 48:1 having been instructed by a wise master, and anticipating your presence who wast not yet born, by certain sure indications of the things that would have place hereafter, ministered help and healing to those who were in need of it, which was of a virtue beyond nature; now with a new cruse, which contained healing salt, curing the deadly waters, to show that the world was to be recreated by the mystery manifested in you; now with unleavened meal, in type responding to your child-bearing, without being defiled by the seed of man, banishing from the food the bitterness of death; and then again, by efforts which transcended nature, rising superior to the natural elements in the Jordan, and thus exhibiting, in signs beforehand, the descent of our Lord into Hades, and His wonderful deliverance of those who were held fast in corruption. For all things yielded and succumbed to that divine image which prefigured you.

X. But why do I digress, and lengthen out my discourse, giving it the rein with these varied illustrations, and that when the truth of your matter stands like a column before the eye, in which it were better and more profitable to luxuriate and delight in? Wherefore, bidding adieu to the spiritual narrations and wondrous deeds of the saints throughout all ages, I pass on to you who art always to be had in remembrance, and who boldest the helm, as it were, of this festival.

Blessed are you, all-blessed, and to be desired of all. Blessed of the Lord is your name, full of divine grace, and grateful exceedingly to God, mother of God, you that givest light to the faithful. You are the circumscription, so to speak, of Him who cannot be circumscribed; the root Isaiah 40:1 of the most beautiful flower; the mother of the Creator; the nurse of the Nourisher; the circumference of Him who embraces all things; the upholder of HimHebrews 1:3 who upholds all things by His word; the gate through which God appears in the flesh;Ezekiel 44:2 the tongs of that cleansing coal;Isaiah 6:6 the bosom in small of that bosom which is all-containing; the fleece of wool,Judges 6:37 the mystery of which cannot be solved; the well of Bethlehem,2 Samuel 23:17 that reservoir of life which David longed for, out of which the draught of immortality gushed forth; the mercy-seat Exodus 35:17 from which God in human form was made known unto men; the spotless robe of Him who clothes Himself with light as with a garment. You have lent to God, who stands in need of nothing, that flesh which He had not, in order that the Omnipotent might become that which it was his good pleasure to be. What is more splendid than this? What than this is more sublime? He who fills earth and heaven, Jeremiah 23:24 whose are all things, has become in need of you, for you have lent to God that flesh which He had not. You have clad the Mighty One with that beauteous panoply of the body by which it has become possible for Him to be seen by my eyes. And I, in order that I might freely approach to behold Him, have received that by which all the fiery darts of the wicked shall be quenched.Ephesians 6:16 Hail! Hail! Mother and handmaid of God. Hail! Hail! You to whom the great Creditor of all is a debtor. We are all debtors to God, but to you He is Himself indebted.

For He who said, “Honour your father and your mother,” Exodus 20:12 will have most assuredly, as Himself willing to be proved by such proofs, kept inviolate that grace, and His own decree towards her who ministered to Him that nativity to which He voluntarily stooped, and will have glorified with a divine honour her whom He, as being without a father, even as she was without a husband, Himself has written down as mother. Even so must these things be. For the hymns which we offer to you, O you most holy and admirable habitation of God, are no merely useless and ornamental words. Nor, again, is your spiritual laudation mere secular trifling, or the shoutings of a false flattery, O you who of God art praised; you who to God gavest suck; who by nativity givest unto mortals their beginning of being, but they are of clear and evident truth. But the time would fail us, ages and succeeding generations too, to render unto you your fitting salutation as the mother of the King Eternal, 1 Timothy 1:17 even as somewhere the illustrious prophet says, teaching us how incomprehensible you are. How great is the house of God, and how large is the place of His possession! Great, and has none end, high and unmeasurable. For verily, verily, this prophetic oracle, and most true saying, is concerning your majesty; for you alone hast been thought worthy to share with God the things of God; who hast alone borne in the flesh Him, who of God the Father was the Eternally and Only-Begotten. So do they truly believe who hold fast to the pure faith.

XI. But for the time that remains, my most attentive hearers, let us take up the old man, the receiver of God, and our pious teacher, who has put in here, as it were, in safety from that virginal sea, and let us refresh him, both satisfied as to his divine longing, and conveying to us this most blessed theology; and let us ourselves follow out the rest of our discourse, directing our course unerringly with reference to our prescribed end, and that under the guidance of God the Almighty, so shall we not be found altogether unfruitful and unprofitable as to what is required of us. When, then, to these sacred rites, prophecy and the priesthood had been jointly called, and that pair of just ones elected of God— Simeon, I mean, and Anna, bearing in themselves most evidently the images of both peoples— had taken their station by the side of that glorious and virginal throne—for by the old man was represented the people of Israel, and the law now waxing old; while the widow represents the Church of the Gentiles, which had been up to this point a widow—the old man, indeed, as personating the law, seeks dismissal; but the widow, as personating the Church, brought her joyous confession of faith and spoke of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem, even as the things that were spoken of both have been appositely and excellently recorded, and quite in harmony with the sacred festival. For it was fitting and necessary that the old man who knew so accurately that decree of the law, in which it is said: Hear Him, and every soul that will not hearken unto Him shall be cut off from His people, should seek a peaceful discharge from the tutorship of the law; for in truth it were insolence and presumption, when the king is present and addressing the people, for one of his attendants to make a speech over against him, and that to this man his subjects should incline their ears. It was necessary, too, that the widow who had been increased with gifts beyond measure, should in festal strains return her thanks to God; and so the things which there took place were agreeable to the law. But, for what remains, it is necessary to inquire how, since the prophetic types and figures bear, as has been shown, a certain analogy and relation to this prominent feast, it is said that the house was filled with smoke. Nor does the prophet say this incidentally, but with significance, speaking of that cry of the Thrice-Holy, uttered by the heavenly seraphs. You will discover the meaning of this, my attentive hearer, if you do but take up and examine what follows upon this narration: For hearing, he says, you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and not perceive. When, therefore, the foolish Jewish children had seen the glorious wonders which, as David sang, the Lord had performed in the earth, and had seen the sign from the depth and from the height meeting together, without division or confusion; as also Isaiah had before declared, namely, a mother beyond nature, and an offspring beyond reason; an earthly mother and a heavenly son; a new taking of man’s nature, I say, by God, and a child-bearing without marriage; what in creation’s circuit could be more glorious and more to be spoken of than this! Yet when they had seen this it was all one as if they had not seen it; they closed their eyes, and in respect of praise were supine. Therefore the house in which they boasted was filled with smoke.

XII. And in addition to this, when besides the spectacle, and even beyond the spectacle, they heard an old man, very righteous, very worthy of credit, worthy also of emulation, inspired by the Holy Spirit, a teacher of the law, honoured with the priesthood, illustrious in the gift of prophecy, by the hope which he had conceived of Christ, extending the limits of life, and putting off the debt of death— when they saw him, I say, leaping for joy, speaking words of good omen, quite transformed with gladness of heart, entirely rapt in a divine and holy ecstasy; who from a man had been changed into an angel by a godly change, and, for the immensity of his joy, chanted his hymn of thanksgiving, and openly proclaimed the “Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Not even then were they willing to hear what was placed within their hearing, and held in veneration by the heavenly beings themselves; wherefore the house in which they boasted was filled with smoke. Now smoke is a sign and sure evidence of wrath; as it is written, “There went up a smoke in His anger, and fire from His countenance devoured; ” and in another place, “Amongst the disobedient people shall the fire burn,” which plainly, in the revered Gospels, our Lord signified, when He said to the Jews, “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” Also, in another place, “The king sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city.” Of such a nature was the adverse reward of the Jews for their unbelief, which caused them to refuse to pay to the Trinity the tribute of praise. For after that the ends of the earth were sanctified, and the mighty house of the Church was filled, by the proclamation of the Thrice Holy, with the glory of the Lord, as the great waters cover the seas, there happened to them the things which before had been declared, and the beginning of prophecy was confirmed by its issue, the preacher of truth signifying, as has been said, by the Holy Spirit, as it were in an example, the dreadful destruction which was to come upon them, in the words: “In the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord”— Uzziah, doubtless, as an apostate, being taken as the representative of the whole apostate body— the head of which he certainly was— who also, paying the penalty due to his presumption, carried on his forehead, as upon a brazen statue, the divine vengeance engraved, by the loathsomeness of leprosy, exhibiting to all the retribution of their loathsome impiety. Wherefore with divine wisdom did he, who had foreknowledge of these events, oppose the bringing in of the thankful Anna to the casting out of the ungrateful synagogue. Her very name also pre-signifies the Church, that by the grace of Christ and God is justified in baptism. For Anna is, by interpretation, grace.

XIII. But here, as in port, putting in the vessel that bears the ensign of the cross, let us reef the sails of our oration, in order that it may be with itself commensurate. Only first, in as few words as possible, let us salute the city of the Great King together with the whole body of the Church, as being present with them in spirit, and keeping holy-day with the Father, and the brethren most held in honour there. Hail, you city of the Great King, in which the mysteries of our salvation are consummated. Hail, you heaven upon earth, Sion, the city that is for ever faithful unto the Lord. Hail, and shine Jerusalem, for your light has come, the Light Eternal, the Light for ever enduring, the Light Supreme, the Light Immaterial, the Light of one substance with God and the Father, the Light which is in the Spirit, and in which is the Father; the Light which illumines the ages; the Light which gives light to mundane and supramundane things, Christ our very God. Hail, city sacred and elect of the Lord. Joyfully keep your festal days, for they will not multiply so as to wax old and pass away. Hail, you city most happy, for glorious things are spoken of you; your priest shall be clothed with righteousness, and your saints shall shout for joy, and your poor shall be satisfied with bread. Hail! rejoice, O Jerusalem, for the Lord reigns in the midst of you. That Lord, I say, who in His simple and immaterial Deity, entered our nature, and of the virgin’s womb became ineffably incarnate; that Lord, who was partaker of nothing else save the lump of Adam, who was by the serpent tripped up. For the Lord laid not hold of the seed of angels — those, I say, who fell not away from that beauteous order and rank that was assigned to them from the beginning. To us He condescended, that Word who was always with the Father co-existent God. Nor, again, did He come into the world to restore; nor will He restore, as has been imagined by some impious advocates of the devil, those wicked demons who once fell from light; but when the Creator and Framer of all things had, as the most divine Paul says, laid hold of the seed of Abraham, and through him of the whole human race, He was made man for ever, and without change, in order that by His fellowship with us, and our joining on to Him, the ingress of sin into us might be stopped, its strength being broken by degrees, and itself as wax being melted, by that fire which the Lord, when He came, sent upon the earth. Hail to you, you Catholic Church, which has been planted in all the earth, and rejoice with us. Fear not, little flock, the storms of the enemy for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom, and that you should tread upon the necks of your enemies. Hail, and rejoice, you that wast once barren, and without seed unto godliness, but who hast now many children of faith, Hail, you people of the Lord, you chosen generation, you royal priesthood, you holy nation, you peculiar people— show forth His praises who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; and for His mercies glorify Him.

XIV. Hail to you for ever, you virgin mother of God, our unceasing joy, for unto you do I again return. You are the beginning of our feast; you are its middle and end; the pearl of great price that belongest unto the kingdom; the fat of every victim, the living altar of the bread of life. Hail, you treasure of the love of God. Hail, you fount of the Son’s love for man. Hail, you overshadowing mount of the Holy Ghost. You gleamed, sweet gift-bestowing mother, of the light of the sun; you gleamed with the insupportable fires of a most fervent charity, bringing forth in the end that which was conceived of you before the beginning, making manifest the mystery hidden and unspeakable, the invisible Son of the Father— the Prince of Peace, who in a marvellous manner showed Himself as less than all littleness. Wherefore, we pray you, the most excellent among women, who boastest in the confidence of your maternal honours, that you would unceasingly keep us in remembrance. O holy mother of God, remember us, I say, who make our boast in you, and who in hymns august celebrate the memory, which will ever live, and never fade away. And also, O honoured and venerable Simeon, you earliest host of our holy religion, and teacher of the resurrection of the faithful, be our patron and advocate with that Saviour God, whom you were deemed worthy to receive into your arms. We, together with you, sing our praises to Christ, who has the power of life and death, saying, You are the true Light, proceeding from the true Light; the true God, begotten of the true God; the one Lord, before Your assumption of the humanity; that One nevertheless, after Your assumption of it, which is ever to be adored; God of Your own self and not by grace, but for our sakes also perfect man; in Your own nature the King absolute and sovereign, but for us and for our salvation existing also in the form of a servant. yet immaculately and without defilement. For You who are incorruption have come to set corruption free, that You might render all things uncorrupt. For Yours is the glory, and the power, and the greatness, and the majesty, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

The Tomb of Blessed Maria Gabriella of Unity
Located in the Trappistine abbey of Our Lady of Saint Joseph at Vitorchiano

In his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One), Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote the following words:

Praying for unity is not a matter reserved only to those who actually experience the lack of unity among Christians. In the deep personal dialogue which each of us must carry on with the Lord in prayer, concern for unity cannot be absent. Only in this way, in fact, will that concern fully become part of the reality of our life and of the commitments we have taken on in the Church. It was in order to reaffirm this duty that I set before the faithful of the Catholic Church a model which I consider exemplary, the model of a Trappistine Sister, Blessed Maria Gabriella of Unity, whom I beatified on 25 January 1983. Sister Maria Gabriella, called by her vocation to be apart from the world, devoted her life to meditation and prayer centered on chapter seventeen of Saint John’s Gospel, and offered her life for Christian unity. This is truly the cornerstone of all prayer: the total and unconditional offering of one’s life to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. The example of Sister Maria Gabriella is instructive; it helps us to understand that there are no special times, situations or places of prayer for unity. Christ’s prayer to the Father is offered as a model for everyone, always and everywhere.¹

Maria Sagheddu was born at Dorgali in Sardinia in 1914, the fifth in a family of eight children. Maria’s sister younger by one year was often sick, and Maria would regularly care for her. When Maria was still sixteen, this sister died. Through this event, Maria came to know Christ personally, and take her faith seriously. She read St. Francis De Sales’ book Introduction to the Devout Life, and began to consider whether Christ was calling her to religious life. In 1935, at the age of twenty-one she told her priest, Don Meloni, that she believed Christ was calling her to religious life. Don Meloni asked her which convent she wished to enter. She replied, “Send me wherever you want,” because her desire was not to belong to some particular order or convent, but to give herself entirely to Christ. He decided to send her to the Trappist convent in Grottaferrata, near Rome, where she took the name Maria Gabriella.

On Easter, Monday, April 13, 1936, she was clothed in the monastic habit. She wrote to her mother,

Although I am a miserable and unworthy creature who has done nothing but offend Jesus, He has not rejected me, but has welcomed me into His Heart. He, my Creator, has deigned to call me His spouse… He has wanted to make me the object of His mercy. When I think about this, I am overwhelmed, seeing the great love of Jesus and my ingratitude and my failure to respond to His favor….²

Bl. Maria Gabriella of Unity

In 1938, her convent received a booklet for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, published by Father Paul Couturier. In this booklet Fr. Couturier asked nuns to prayer for the unity of Christians. Sister Maria Gabriella learned that an elderly nun had offered her life to the Lord for this intention, and had died a month later. Just as we speak of offering up our sufferings or persecutions for particular intentions, this nun had offered her whole life to the Lord, for the reunification of Christians. Sister Maria Gabriella recognized that this intention is at the center of Christ’s sacred heart, and discerned that prayer and spiritual sacrifices were necessary for its realization. She requested of her Abbess that she be allowed to offer her life to Christ for this intention. After some time, her Abbess and the chaplain gave her permission, and she did so during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Apparently later that same day, she experienced some pain in her shoulder, and a medical investigation revealed that she had tuberculosis.

During the next fifteen months of suffering she gave many hours to prayer and to the study of Scripture. The pages of the Bible she used are yellowed from chapters 12 through 20 of St. John’s Gospel, and especially chapter 17, in which Jesus prays that all His disciples would be one. One day, stretched out on her bed, and in a very weak condition, she said to Jesus: “Lord Jesus, I love You and I would like to love You very much, to love You for the whole world.”³

Dom Antoine Marie describes her last day in this way:

Sister Maria Gabriella’s last night was passed alternating between calm moments and ones of intense suffering. At one point she moaned, “I can [take] no more!” Mother Abbess asked her, “Do you want to offer what is left of your life for Unity?” — “Yes!” she replied clearly. Finally, after the vespers of that Good Shepherd Sunday, April 23, 1939, she breathed her last with a smile. By mistake, instead of tolling the death knell, a festive peal of bells rang, to which the bells of the parish church instantly responded in a concert of joy.⁴

The gospel reading on the day she died was “There will be one fold and one Shepherd.” (St. John 10:16) As you can see from the photo above, on her tomb are the words “Unum Sint (may they be one), followed by her name “Maria Gabriella Del Unita” (Maria Gabriella of Unity).⁵

When Blessed Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Maria Gabriella of Unity on this day, in 1983, he noted that her life was marked by conversion, sacrifice, and prayer. He said,

Besides, the whole chapter 17 of John – that chapter whose pages were found yellowed from everyday wear and tear in the small personal gospel of Sister Maria Gabriella – what else is this prayer which rises from the priestly Heart of Christ, who, in the looming prospect of the Cross, prays for those who believe in Him if not a change of heart? … Conversion of heart is the true and primary source of unity.

From the moment the girl willful and impetuous, coming in contact with the cross of Christ through the death of her favorite sister, decided to surrender to Him, she resorted to the meek and humble guidance of a spiritual father, and agreed to join in the life of the parish by enrolling in the female Youth of Catholic Action, by giving to children in catechesis, making them serviceable to the elderly, spending hours in prayer, then that began the “conversion” that took her from day to day, to accommodate the vocational call, and leave behind – at just twenty-one – her beloved land and loved ones of her native Sardinia, to present herself, ready to hear the voice of the divine Bridegroom, at the gates of La Trappe.

It is precisely this that marks her conversion to God, to His need for unity in love, which is the premise and the fertile ground on which the Lord shall descend, the call to total self-giving for others.

Bl. Maria Gabriella of Unity

Her offer of her life for unity that the Lord inspired in her during the week of prayer in these same days in 1938 – forty-five years ago – and which teach us to appreciate how fragrant is the holocaust of love, were not the beginning, but the fulfillment of the spiritual race of the young athlete. The union reached with the voice of God, comes from the prompting of the Spirit to open up to others. …

It is from this premise that the heroic gesture of Sister Maria Gabriella rises to the heights of a great ecclesial event. Precisely because it comes from a sublime act of conversion to the Father, her openness to her [separated] brothers and sisters identifies herself with the crucified Christ, reaches historical value, assumes ecumenical significance.

So the Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, which combines nicely with the name of the Angel of the announcement to the Virgin of, is a sign of the times and model of that “spiritual ecumenism”, which reminded us of the council. She encourages us to look with optimism – over and above the inevitable difficulties of our being human – to the wonderful prospects of ecclesial unity, whose gradual emergence is related to the deeper desire for conversion to Christ, to make active and effective his desire: “Ut omnes unum sint“!
Yes, Lord, that everyone will soon come to be one. You ask, the new Blessed, together with us, that the flame of your divine longing may be consumed in this joyful sacrifice of their young lives.
“Omnes. . . unum. ” Amen!⁶

The conversion of which Blessed Pope John Paul II speaks is one in which the heart of Jesus Christ becomes also our own heart, and His longing and prayer become our own longing and prayer. That for which He sacrificed Himself, becomes also that for which we sacrifice ourselves in loving union with Him. The theme for this last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, is “walking in celebration,” not a celebration marking the successful attainment of the full visible unity of all Christ’s disciples, but a celebration of the progress that has been made, and of lives such as that of Blessed Maria Gabriella of Unity, whose heroic witness inspires us to imitate her example for the sake of Christ’s sacred heart.

Among her words are these:

In simplicity of heart I gladly offer everything, O Lord.
The Lord put me on this path, he will remember to sustain me in battle.
To His mercy I entrust my frailty.
I saw in front of me a big cross…,
I thought that my sacrifice was nothing in comparison to His.
I offered myself entirely and I do not withdraw the given word.
God’s will whatever it may be, this is my joy, my happiness, my peace.
I will never be able to thank enough.
I cannot say but these words: “My God, your Glory.”

Jesus Christ, join our hearts to yours, that your longing and prayer may be truly ours, and that together with You, we may be willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the unity of Your disciples. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Biblical Reflections and Prayers for the Eight Days

Day 8	Walking in celebration
Readings
Habakkuk 3.17-19	Celebrating in a time of hardship
Psalm 100	The worship of God through all the earth
Philippians 4.4-9	Rejoice in the Lord always
Luke 1:46-55	The Song of Mary

Commentary

To walk humbly with God means to walk in celebration. The visitor to India is struck by the hardships and struggles endured by Dalits, but at the same time by their sense of hope and celebration.

Hope and celebration occur together in today’s biblical readings. The prophet Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord at a time of drought and crop failure. Such testimony that God will walk with his people in their difficulties is a celebration of hope. The Blessed Virgin Mary walks to her cousin Elizabeth in order to celebrate her pregnancy. She sings her Magnificat as a song of hope even before the birth of her child. And from prison, Paul exhorts the Christian community at Philippi to celebration: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” In the Bible, celebration is linked to hope in God’s faithfulness.

The celebratory aspects of Dalit culture bear similar testimony to a gospel of faith and hope, forged out of the crucible of the Dalit experience of struggle for dignity and resilient survival. As we pray for Christian unity this week, we turn to the celebration of life that we see in India with focus on the faithfulness of Dalits to their Christian identity in the context of their struggles for life. Our celebration for a unity among Christians which has yet to be achieved likewise occurs in hope and struggle. It is grounded in hope that Christ’s prayer that we may be one will be achieved in God’s time and through God’s means. It is grounded in gratitude that unity is God’s gift, and in recognition of the unity we already experience as the friends of Jesus, expressed in one baptism. It is grounded in the conviction that God calls each of us to work for that unity, and that all our efforts will be used by God, trusting with St Paul “in everything by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The walk towards Christian unity requires that we walk humbly with God in celebration, in prayer, and in hope.

Prayer

Gracious God, may your Holy Spirit fill our communities with joy and celebration, so that we can cherish the unity we already share, and zealously continue in the search for visible unity. We rejoice in the faith and hope of peoples who refuse to allow their dignity to be diminished, seeing in them your wonderful grace and your promise of freedom. Teach us to share in their joy and learn from their faithful endurance. Rekindle our hope and sustain our resolve, that in Christ’s name we may walk together in love, raising a united voice of praise, and singing together one prayer of adoration.

God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Questions

• What are the struggles towards justice in your community? What are the causes for celebration on the way?

• What are the struggles towards Christian unity in your community? What are the causes for celebration along the way?

(Source)

1. Ut Unum Sint, 27.
2. Dom Antoine Marie osb, Spiritual Newsletter of the Abbey of Saint-Joseph de Clairval, July 22, 2008.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. According to SPQN.com, in 1957 her body was found to be incorrupt, though I have not confirmed this claim.
6. Source. The errors in the English translation are my own.

Today’s readings have us considering the importance of solidarity for achieving Christian unity. The word solidarity refers to the unity of purpose or the bonds of fellowship between members of a group of people. To be in solidarity with someone is to be united to that person’s intentions or needs, as well as to others similarly situated. While the term has picked up a modern connotation within the field of social philosophy (one can recall the Polish “Solidarity” trade union, for instance), it is perfectly politically neutral in the realm of Christian ethics.

“We band of brothers…”
Henry V (1989)

The difficulty of achieving solidarity depends largely on the composition and size of the group of people with whom we mean to have a unity of purpose. Solidarity with our set of siblings, in most cases, is relatively easy. Generally speaking, the members of the group have a common background and historical frame, have been instilled with the same set of values, and often share common ambitions. To take another example, solidarity is easily achieved by those facing common adversity, such as soldiers in battle. They are powerfully bonded by complex common purposes: survival, defeat of the enemy, proving courage, and pride. The St. Crispin’s Day speech of Shakespeare’s King Henry the Fifth evokes the depth of this solidarity felt between fellow soldiers:

This story shall the good mean teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered,–
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurst they were not here;
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. (Act IV, Scene III.)

But when we expand the size of the group, strains on the bonds of solidarity begin to appear. That is because a larger pool of people — besides being more likely to have its oddballs and malcontents — will have persons harboring individual ambitions that do not quite match the group’s common purpose. So of course we expect Easy Company to be more closely knit than the entire 101st Airborne Division. Similarly, when we eliminate the common purpose (like by removing a group’s common adversity), solidarity is lost. Here we expect Easy Company on D-Day to have more unit cohesion than an infantry company facing a shapeless enemy and an incongruous strategy.

A “Good Samaritan.”
Jennifer Foster via Facebook

This is precisely why the parable of the Good Samaritan, today’s Gospel reading, is so striking. Many of us learned from a very young age in Sunday School that Samaritans and Jews did not get along — hated each other even. They lacked solidarity. With this well-known parable, Jesus stretches wide open the scope of our obligation to love our neighbor. He is not tricked by the questioning lawyer, the one seeking to whittle away at his own moral responsibilities. We must love our neighbors, even our enemies, as we love ourselves.

So what does solidarity have to do with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and its theme question, “What does the Lord require of us?” If we are to be in solidarity with our enemies, it follows, a fortiori, that the Lord requires us to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, after reading Jesus’ expectation for love of neighbor as explained in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we could almost anticipate the close solidarity of the early Church as recorded in Acts 2: 43-47. This is the beautiful and inspiring “koinonia” passage:

And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The early Church was “together and had all things in common” because of the depth of their solidarity. Outcast from their Jewish roots, and facing mortal persecution at the hands of the state, they faced the gravest of adversities. They were bonded by the Holy Spirit, given at Pentecost. They were united in purpose as well: propagating the Gospel for the salvation of souls and the redemption of the whole world.

How different this seems from the divided Christians today. We are no band of brothers, hardened and ready for battle. We lack a common purpose, and do not stand with each other through adversity. I am not suggesting that we achieve the solidarity of the early Church by ignoring our differences, of course. But by identifying our common purpose, and by committing to face adversity shoulder-to-shoulder, we can develop bonds of unity with each other strong enough to face the prince of darkness himself.

BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS AND PRAYERS
 FOR THE ‘EIGHT DAYS’

Day 7	Walking in solidarity
Readings
Numbers 27: 1-11	The right of inheritance to daughters
Psalm 15	Who shall abide in God’s sanctuary?
Acts 2: 43-47	The disciples held all things in common
Luke 10: 25-37	The Good Samaritan

Commentary

To walk humbly with God means walking in solidarity with all who struggle for justice and peace. This poses a question for those who pray for the unity of Christians this week: what is the unity we seek? The Faith and Order Commission, which includes the members of the fellowship of the World Council of Churches as well as the Catholic Church, understands unity as “visible unity in one faith and in one Eucharistic fellowship.” The ecumenical movement is dedicated to overcome the historic and current barriers that divide Christians, but it does so with a vision of visible unity that links the nature and mission of the Church in the service of the unity of humankind and the overcoming of all that harms the dignity of human beings and keeps us apart. As Faith and Order has said:

The Church is called and empowered to share the suffering of all by advocacy and care for the poor, the needy and the marginalised. This entails critically analysing and exposing unjust structures, and working for their transformation… This faithful witness may involve Christians themselves in suffering for the sake of the Gospel.The Church is called to heal and reconcile broken human relationships and to be God’s instrument in the reconciliation of human division and hatred (Nature and Mission of the Church).

There are many examples of such acts of healing and reconciliation by the Indian churches. Until very recently, Christian inheritance laws in India disempowered daughters. The churches supported the demand for a repeal of this archaic law. The story of the daughters of Zelophehad, in which Moses turned to God for justice in support of the rights of the daughters, was invoked to demand justice for women. Thus, Dalit Christians have been moved in their struggles for justice by such biblical witness.

A biblical image of Church united in solidarity with the oppressed is Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan. Like the Dalits, the Good Samaritan is from a despised and outcast community, who is the one in the story who cares for the man abandoned by the wayside, and who proclaims by his solidarity in action, the hope and comfort of the Gospel. The walk towards Christian unity is inseparable from walking humbly with God in solidarity with any and all in need of justice and kindness.

Prayer

Triune God, in your very life you offer us a unique pattern of interdependence, loving relationships and solidarity. Unite us to live our lives in this way. Teach us to share the hope that we find in people who struggle for life all over the world. May their endurance inspire us to overcome our own divisions, to live in holy accord with one another, and to walk together in solidarity. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Questions

• Who in your community stands in need of the solidarity of the Christian community?
• What churches are, or have been in solidarity with you?
• In what ways would more visible Christian unity enhance the Church’s solidarity with those who stand in need of justice and kindness in your context?

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