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Hospital and home visitation – an important part of the work
of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, but the parish-based charity also campaigns on behalf of the poor and disadavantaged in the cause of social justice
Mass shows us how to behave justly towards others, Kathleen Carmody writes
Too many Catholics treat the Mass and their work for social justice as separate compartments of
their lives according to the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC).
“The basic tragedy is that all to often we are unaware of, or just do not think about, the kind of life that participation in
the Eucharist entails, said Bishop William Brennan, Chairman of the ACSJC.
“When our lives are lived in compartments, the meaning of the Eucharist for the behaviours and attitudes we exhibit outside the
place of its celebration just slips past us.”
In his paper, The Eucharist and Justice, published by the ACSJC, well-known moral theologian, Fr Gerard Moore SM, addresses the question: Do the parts of the Mass
invite us to be a people of social justice?
By analysing the Gathering Rites, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Dismissals, Fr Moore explores the potential of aspects of the Mass
for developing our sense of justice, arguing that the Liturgy possesses “innate justice dimensions”.
Fr Moore points out that in the Gathering Rites, we come together, and stand together, as equals before
God. He suggests that there are clear social ramifications from our “standing” in prayer.
“Immediately we must ask what does it do to all the divisions we have put in place amongst ourselves? We look at the
gathered assembly and give different social ‘standing’ to rich, poor, old, young, educated, uneducated … Is not such divisiveness completely arbitrary since it is so foreign to the mind, heart and intentions of
God?” he asks.
“Male or female, Asian, African, European, Anglo, Celtic, Indian, Aboriginal; the collect prayer (the fact of standing and making petition itself) asks why do these differentiations mean so
much to us when they mean nothing to God?
“In fact they obscure God’s ways. And if the way we live out divisions between groups does not belong in the assembly, then should we not remove such prejudice from
our society and culture as well?”
The first action of the Eucharist is when the priest and congregation together make the Sign of the Cross. Fr Moore says that when we mark our bodies with the Sign of the
Cross, we are offering to stand where Jesus stood.
“In terms of social justice, do we not suggest that … where (Jesus’) cross is, there we will be? Jesus’ passion involved a violent, relentless stripping of
his identity as a human being. Scourged, mocked and naked, the path he took led him into solidarity with those in society who are outcasts and the recipients of our derision,” says Fr Moore.
“In the Sign of
the Cross we ask about the underside of our own society, the scapegoating, the violence, the cowardice. We declare that it should cease.”
Fr Moore also highlights other ‘justice aspects of the Liturgy. These
include the Liturgy of the Word and the General Intercessions, or Prayers of the Faithful.
Fr Moore says that while not all readings concern themselves with social justice, significant readings throughout the
year do. These include the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday when the call to justice is heard.
“The Gospel (for the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday – Lk 4:16-21) is especially dramatic. In his home synagogue, the
hardest of all places to preach, Jesus is reported to take the scroll and read the following from the prophet (Isaiah): ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’.
“He opens his teaching saying: Today this scripture
has been fulfilled in your hearing. It is a clarion call to each and every diocese across the world, bishop, clergy and people, to fulfill this text.”
Praying the General Intercessions properly is similarly
dependent on people being steeped in the needs of the world, with eyes open to see, ears cocked to hear, hearts ready to respond, says Fr Moore.
“… Every local community, in town, city or village, is urged on
Sundays to petition concerning those oppressed by any need. Every poverty, want or need is of concern to us as a Eucharistic people. They rate before our own local situation. If we, the priestly people do not pray
for the downtrodden, who will?
Fr Moore also sees the Liturgy of the Eucharist in terms of Australian history and current social concerns as well.
“The preparation of the gifts raises questions about
our gifts, our environment, and the violence that underpins our history. Our possession of bread and wine is a reminder of the dispossession of the people of the land.”
He also explains that the Liturgy of
the Eucharist should draw our attention to the poor, for it is they whom we are in communion with at the banquet of the Lord.
“The destitute and hungry should never be far from our minds as the bread and wine
are brought from the people to their new place on the altar,” says Fr Moore.
The prayer of thanksgiving that the celebrant makes over the gifts of bread and wine also relates to justice, says Fr Moore.
“Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God” – and our response to it – “It is right to give him thanks and praise” – is not only a gesture or act of thanks and hope, but an expression of lament for the tragedy and
despair that surrounds us.
“Christian thanksgiving, like the psalms, involves lament. It is the relationship of thanksgiving to lament that ensures that our praise is not simply an escape from taking
responsibility … Without lament we ignore the pain and suffering of the world, God’s world,” Fr Moore says.
“Our thanksgiving must hold our faith, challenge our beliefs to their core, face the nameless and
unthinkable, and retain hope.”
Similarly with the Sign of Peace.
We offer each other the Sign of Peace as an act of solidarity with God’s suffering poor, Fr Moore says.
“The unity that the
offering of peace implies leads us to reflect on the unity in communion.”
Then when we join together in Communion to share the body and blood of Christ, we celebrate our unity, but are also encouraged to be
mindful of those who cannot be with us – the elderly, the infirm and the abandoned.
Finally, in the Dismissal we are called to go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Fr Moore argues that the word “serve”
incorporates the invitation to worship but also to act ethically.
By participating fully in the Mass, Fr Moore says we are called forth in unity with the suffering and oppressed within our world. We should
strive to achieve this sense of unity, for it is in this way we will deepen our sense of the meaning and power of the Eucharist.
“We should have eyes for the blind, a heart for the foreign woman with the sick
daughter, a tongue on behalf of the silenced, a place at table for the hungry, and an aching that is able to lament. The destitute, the poor and the despised rightly hope that we have become a little more of what we
have prayed and heard. Those burdened by the unfair structures of our society, the selective memory of our history, and the greed and pettiness of our community should find reassurance in the promise of our Sunday
worship.”
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