Sunday is Our Sabbath Day

Easter is the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most important feast of the Christian year. It is a time of great joy for all Christians as Christ defeated death by his own death. Easter is the primary act that fulfils the purpose of Christ’s ministry on earth - to defeat death by dying and to purify and exalt humanity by voluntarily assuming and overcoming human frailty. It also marks the end of forty (fifty - in the Malankara Catholic tradition) days of Lent, a period of fasting and prayer in preparation for this great feast.

The resurrection of our Lord on Sunday made the Christians of the first century celebrate Sunday as the day of worship instead of the Jewish Saturday.  The noun shabbāt is derived from the root shavat which means “to cease or stop (work), rest.” This Easter Sunday I am trying to explain our need of separating one day for the worship of the Lord based on its original meaning.

It was not for any humanitarian reasons that people refrained from work, but Sabbath was a sign of God’s covenant with the people. We can see two versions in the Torah regarding the command of the Lord to keep the Sabbath: Exodus 20: 8- 11 and Deuteronomy 5: 12 -15. (You may have to read it from the Bible to understand the two accounts) Exodus 20: 11 grounds Sabbath in the creative work of God. People are asked to “remember” the Sabbath, to participate again in the creative work of God, and be created anew every week. It makes one to look back and pronounce that the week’s work was “very good,” just like after creating everything: “God saw how good it was.”   It also reminds the people of the relationship God started even at the time of creation.  The negative aspect of refraining from work also has a positive feature. This is with the intention of worshiping God as a people of covenantal relationship. Lev 23: 32 we read, “from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

Deuteronomy 5: 12- 15 brings the humanitarian aspect of the Sabbath celebration. The servants and animals are given the opportunity to rest from the labors. People are to remember their liberation from slavery to freedom. As they were slaves once, they have to show mercy to everyone under their care. Remembering the past will lead them to the future when God will abolish all social inequalities, creating a free people worshipping him. Thus, both God’s redemptive work in creation and creative work in redemption are expressed in the two traditions.

In celebrating the Easter mysteries every Sunday we are also participating in the creative and liberative act of Christ.  “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5: 17).  Every Sunday when we celebrate the Liturgy, we are being reminded of being created anew in Christ. It is our way of acknowledging God’s creation by praising God for making us a part in the creative work of God.

Easter is also a celebration of liberation - liberation from the power of death. It is the primary act that fulfils the purpose of Christ’s ministry on earth - to defeat death by dying and rising (and to purify and exalt humanity by voluntarily assuming and overcoming human frailty). Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8: 34) But who then can really free us from this slavery of sin? Jesus has the answer: “So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free” (v. 36). In order to appropriate the liberation achieved by Jesus, we need to follow his commands: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death” (v. 51).

Our negligence in avoiding the Sunday celebration is actually an avoidance of our participation in the creative and liberative work of God. Then we deliberately choose to be out of this great mission of God.

Visit ad limina of Our Bishops, Part III

Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the bishops, thanked His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis for his words on behalf of the bishops. He also asked them to convey his greetings and prayers to all the priests, religious and lay faithful of the Malankara Catholic Church. The Holy Father reminded them that the time together was a “privileged occasion to deepen the bonds of fraternity and communion between the See of Peter and the Syro-Malankara Church” which had been promoted to a Major Archiepiscopal Church by the Venerable John Paul II in 2005.

It is through the full communion with the universal Church that the apostolic traditions of the Malankara Catholic Church enjoy their full spiritual fruitfulness. Pope Benedict asked them to continue the work started by the Servant of God Mar Ivanios in this regard: “Like your forefathers, you too are called, within the one household of God, to continue in firm fidelity to that which has been passed down to you.” He also encouraged the bishops to foster affection among priests and people for the liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Malankara Church in communion with the See of Peter.  

Because of the ancient roots and distinguished history, Christianity has contributed much the Indian culture and society. “May your people continue to flourish by the preaching of God’s word and by the promotion of a fellowship based on the love of God,” the Pope said. The Malankara Catholic Church has to persevere along the path she has chosen when she tries to form the people in a deeper knowledge and love of the faith, aided by the grace of God and trusting in his providence.

The Pope concluded his address with these words: “I renew my sentiments of fraternal affection and esteem for you. Invoking the intercession of Saint Thomas the Apostle, India’s great patron, I assure you of my prayers and willingly impart to you and to those entrusted to your care my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Since my account of the address of the Holy Father is from the reading of the text, I am unable to add any personal touch to it. However, I am sure every bishop who goes through it considers it as a unique and memorable event.

We arranged a seminar at Angelicum University on the theme of “New Evangelization: The Vision and Role of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church”. It was also with the intention of introducing the spiritual heritage of the Malankara Catholic Church to those who are not familiar with it. Nearly 150 people attended and most of them were priests and religious. Besides all of our bishops, Archbishop Cyril Vasil’ SJ (Secretary for the Congregation for the Oriental Churches) attended and spoke on the occasion. Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios (Curia Bishop of SMCC) presented the thesis seminar paper. It is not possible to summarize the content of the paper here, but this is a theme close to the heart of the Church.

As most of you know, I have been studying the theme of new evangelization for a few years now. In fact, I proposed in 2007 in an article (The Future Missionary and Theological Scope of the Malankara Catholic Church) that SMCC has a great role to play in the evangelization and the re-evangelization work of the Church. This is part of what I wrote: “By applying these principles of the documents, the Malankara Catholic Church has to take up the challenge of evangelizing those who have not experienced Christ and also of re-evangelizing our own Church. To envision this noble mission, the Holy Synod of the Malankara Catholic Church may have to study the special circumstances in which we need to apply these principles and areas to which we could proceed with our evangelization efforts. Then, the Synod might come up with guidelines for the whole Malankara Church from parish to diocesan level with a concrete plan for evangelization. Serious studies should be made to evaluate our mission work as a Church until now, to find the pros and cons of all we have done in order to move forward with what needs to be done.”  

Now my Church leadership is vehemently engaged in this effort by responding to the call of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI for a new evangelization in the Church, thus ultimately trying to be faithful to the mission of Christ in bringing the Good News to everyone.  

Visit ad limina of Our Bishops, Part II

The ad limina visit of our bishops was a time for the Malankara Catholic community in Rome to share the joy of living the Catholic faith at the center of the Universal Church. Two of our Bethany Sisters serve in a parish in Selva Candida, Rome, where we gathered for Mass on Sunday, March 26.  The Major Archbishop was the main celebrant of the Mass and Mar Eusebius delivered the homily. All the Malankara Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and a few of the faithful joined the Mass with the bishops. After the Mass, we had lunch together at the convent. It seemed to me that everyone enjoyed the traditional South Indian food as if we hadn’t eaten it for a long time. It was a family gathering in the afternoon, and we used the occasion to celebrate the 25^th wedding anniversary of Mr. & Mrs. Chandy and Elsy Plammoottil  who got married here at St. Peter’s when some of the bishops there were students in Rome. We also congratulated the bishops who were newly consecrated and those who were celebrating their Jubilee, also.

Bishops' individual meetings with the Pope and meetings with the officials of the Roman Curia took place during the week.  It was on March 25^th that the bishops met with the Holy Father together after their individual meetings. In his address to the Holy Father, my Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis expressed the greetings of the Malankara Catholic Church to the Pope with sentiments of filial affection and allegiance.

Mar Baselios Bava also thanked the Holy Father for his spiritual and moral leadership today. The Syro- Malankara Church is very grateful for his constant support and generous patronage to us “in our attempt to safeguard and live our precious Apostolic tradition, to bear Christian witness through our commitment to the Gospel values, to grow in our service of ‘Diakonia’ to the world, and to flourish in Catholic communion.” The liturgical tradition of the Malankara Catholic Church is central to her ecclesial and social life and we are aware of our call to live and witness our ecclesial identity. We are aware of the responsibility placed on the Malankara Catholic Church “to be in continuous and constructive dialogue with other Eastern Christian brothers and sisters who have not yet been privileged to experience the grace of this communion.”

Baselios Bava also highlighted the multi-cultural and multi-religious context in which we live offer challenges and opportunities for the gospel, which is one of the reasons we are engaged in dialogue with the various religions and cultures around us. He also underlined the missionary mandate of the Malankara Catholic Church to everyone, as the Servant of God Mar Ivanios has perceived it ever since he came into communion with the Universal Church. In order to equip the entire Church for this missionary task, the next General Assembly of the Church in September is to discuss the topic ‘The Missionary Malankara Catholic Church’.  

As a believing community gathered and sustained by the love of Christ, we are deeply aware of our special mission to our brothers and sisters who are less privileged than we are; those who are the victims of poverty, violence, solitude, discrimination etc. The challenge of Christian charity impels us to be positively sensitive to them and to do all that is within our resources to allow them to live in the dignity of the Children of God.

Baselios Bava also brought to the attention of the Holy Father the longstanding dream of the Oriental Churches in India. It is the dream of having jurisdiction over all of India to take care of the spiritual needs of our faithful, which is to “bring in a new atmosphere of proper Catholic communion in the entire nation, and enhance the work of evangelization in the sub-continent.” On behalf of the Episcopal Synod, he also invited the Holy Father to visit India. Bava’s address concluded by expressing our gratitude once again and then offering our love, support and prayers for the Holy Father so that he may continue to exercise his ministry as the Chief Shepherd for the good of the Church also to the people all over the world.   

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I will talk about Pope Benedict’s address to the bishops next week. I had at least one suggestion to write about Lent and then thought of doing it even if we are already half way through Lent.

Lent

The purpose of Lent is to prepare us to participate in the Paschal Mystery of Christ to receive the spiritual benefits from God. The success of any important event in our life depends on the kind of preparation we undertake for it. The joy of the resurrection might better be experienced by observing the true spirit of Lent. It is a period of purification for the Church as a community and at the same time preeminently a period of personal purification.

In Scripture we read: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and he fasted forty days and forty nights” (Mt. 4: 1-2). Those days in the wilderness were the time for preparation for Jesus for the impending intense public ministry. Our forty-day observance has its origin in the Sacred Scripture. In the book of Genesis, it rained forty days and forty nights in order that the world might be purified from its sinfulness. Moses had to be on Mount Sinai forty days and nights fasting and praying to receive the Ten Commandment from God. He has seen and reflected the glory of God because of his selection and preparation. Elijah had to prepare and travel forty days and nights before reaching Mount Horeb to encounter and eliminate idol worshippers from Israel. The people of Israel were in the wilderness forty years preparing to reach the Promised Land. As the new Israel of God, we prepare to reap the benefits Christ has gained for us through his passion, death and resurrection.

The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting and alms giving. At this time, we give special attention to our prayer life, drawing us closer to God. Prayers, directed to the passion of Christ, help us to understand the meaning of the mystery of the cross. We may not consider reading Sacred Scripture as an option, but a requirement for us to understand what God has revealed to us through the Word of God. Fasting is one of the ancient practices linked to Lent. Even at the basic level, it helps us to know how it feels to be hungry. We spend most of our time on our material needs. As we give up food for few hours it has to remind us to think about our spiritual life which is more important than material things. Often Lent’s meaning is reduced to the level of giving up something for the sake of doing it. Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of economic and political structures and those who are in need for any reason. God speaks to us through prophet Isaiah: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (Is 58: 6 – 7). Almsgiving is a sign of our care for those in need and also an expression of our gratitude for everything God has given to us. Whatever we have, we received as a gift from God. It is our responsibility to share those material riches with those who cannot afford to have the basic needs of human life. 

We should not have the misconception that these spiritual exercises are just for the season of Lent. We are always preparing for our final journey to encounter God in heaven, and our life here is a short stay in the wilderness of the earth. Let us try to practice a life of love and charity, being generous with others, visiting the sick and lonely, feeding the poor, studying the Scripture, attending the stations of the Cross, praying the rosary, and practicing self-control- to make our observance of Lent more meaningful.

Visit ad limina of Our Bishops

It had been a hectic and enjoyable week for the priests, sisters, seminarians and the faithful of the Malankara Catholic Church in Rome because of the visit ad limina of our bishops. Before talking about the Malankara Catholic Bishops’ visit ad limina, I owe my readers a brief explanation of what the visit ad limina actually means.

The quinquennial visit ad limina apostolorum or simply ad limina visit is an obligation of each bishop (members of the hierarchy) of the Catholic Church to the “thresholds of the Apostles” (ad limina apostolorum) – to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and also a visit to the successor of St. Peter, the Pope. The visit is required of all diocesan bishops once every five years and is made up of three basic parts: 1) a visit to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 2) a private and personal meeting with the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, and 3) visits to the various dicasteries (offices of the Roman Curia).

Even though there are several rules by the Popes which led to the current form of ad limina visits,  it was in 1585 by a Constitution “Romanus Pontifex” when  Pope Sixtus V formed the main rule and norm for visits ad limina.  In a Decree for the Consistorial Congregation  Pope Pius X made it mandatory for the bishops to render an account of the state of the diocese once every five years.  At present it seems to be extremely difficult to keep up with the five year mandate because of the increased  number of bishops (more than five thousand) and the busy schedule and health reasons of the of the Holy Father. The basis of this visit is found in the Scripture itself. The first documented visita ad limina is contained in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (1:18):  “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.” The current requirements for the ad limina visit is the subject of can. 399 - 400 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and can. 208 of the 1990 Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches.

The visit has a highly spiritual dimension when the bishops visit the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul, offering mass and renewing their Profession of Faith. The tomb of St. Peter is in St. Peter’s Basilica and the tomb of St. Paul is located at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside - the - Wall. I felt blessed to be part of the Eucharistic celebration of the bishops along with other priests in a chapel at St. Peter’s adjacent to the tomb of John Paul II.

The personal dimension of the visit of the bishop is the 10 – 15 minutes meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father, when apprised of the state of the diocese by each bishop might ask questions and clarifications, which the bishop is prepared to answer. This meeting is very personal creating an intimate relationship with the head of the Apostlic College.

The official dimension of the visit is again expressed when the bishops visit various offices of the Roman Curia. Various matters related to the life of the dioceses are discussed with the heads and staff of these offices. I accompanied my bishops when they visited the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith as an  “official photographer.”  The Prefect of the CDF addressed the bishops and then listened to what they had to say. I also used the opportunity to talk to the Cardinal telling him that I had been to his diocese in the United States and mentioned  my studies at Sacred Heart Seminary.  He told me that he also has high regards for my alma mater.

Each bishop has to submit multiple copies of a detailed report (the quinquennial report) on the state of the diocese.  The report also is the basis of the discussion in various dicasteries.  At the group audience of the bishops, my Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis addressed the Holy Father. Then the Holy Father addressed the bishops (I will write about it later). They all present some kind of traditional gifts to the Holy Father and the Pope normally gives each bishop a pectoral cross.  It has a Corpus of Crucified Christ, surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists.