To be read at all Masses on Sunday 23/24 July 2005
A few days after you hear or read this, 850 members of the diocese will be heading off for Lourdes in the south of France, by train, plane, car or even bike.
When we get there, we take part in some sort of celebration each day. Sometimes this is our own diocesan celebration, like the Mass of anointing of the sick. Others are shared with groups from other English and Welsh dioceses, and a few are international events, shared by anyone in Lourdes who wants to join in.
Two of these are processions. One is the torch-light procession, which begins at dusk and ends in the dark. There is a beautiful image from outside the old basilica as the thousands of candles (not torches) literally wind their way into the square below. At the head of the procession a statue of Our Lady is carried. The statue is surrounded by flashing lights, more Disneyland than Walsingham. The rosary is recited along the way, interspersed with the Lourdes hymn.
The other is the Blessed Sacrament procession, done in the afternoon, often in the humid heat that is common in Lourdes. The feel of the two processions is quite different, for me at least. The torch-light procession somehow seems more relaxed. Some people chat as they walk along - not loudly, but the rosary is recited in a number of languages and so it's difficult to join in. And they chat as they wait for the rest of the procession to fill the square before the closing blessing.
But the Blessed Sacrament procession seems more reverent. People seem much more conscious of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and there is little of the chatter of the torch-light procession. That reverence is something that some people say is now absent from our churches. People tend to chatter as they come into church, in a way that they wouldn't have done when I was a child. People seem less conscious of the presence of the tabernacle in church, and what that means. Benediction is rare now, and processions of the Blessed Sacrament are now a thing of the past. I suspect that a public procession now would probably draw abuse and ridicule from some people who would regard it all as superstition. We live in age where organised religion is a minority pursuit.
Our faith teaches us that Christ is really present in the consecrated bread and wine, and that this presence continues after Mass. The consecrated hosts that are preserved in the tabernacle after Mass are there for two purposes: one is communion for the sick and housebound. The other is for personal prayer and adoration, and I would commend this to you. It is often difficult to find time to sit and do nothing, and it would do all of us good (me included) to sit before the Lord more and just share with him what is happening in our lives.
But like anything, excess or extremes can be unhelpful or even damaging. It is possible to have a distorted and exaggerated piety that can insist on only one aspect of our faith. To want to pray constantly before the Blessed Sacrament is a wonderful aspiration, but not if it becomes a way of cutting ourselves off from other people and our other responsibilities. The word we use most commonly for the Eucharist is communion, and communion is precisely that, bringing us into union with one another. That is why Jesus brought his disciples together to institute the Eucharist in the context of a meal. Communion calls us into intimate union with God and into relationship with one another, and not just those with us in church at the time. In his encyclical letter of 2003 on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II expresses this in these words:
"We can say not only that each of us receives Christ, but that Christ receives each of us. He enters into friendship with us."
Next Sunday's gospel is the feeding of the five thousand. There seem to be two important elements in the story. One is the abundance of God's goodness, that Jesus is able to feed so many people with so little. And the other is the social dimension of the scene, that they all sit down together and eat. Again, Pope John Paul II speaks of the gift of Christ and his Holy Spirit in communion abundantly fulfilling "the yearning for fraternal unity deep rooted in the human heart." Before we receive communion, we exchange with one another a sign of peace, a gesture that must be genuine and freely given, so that our receiving of the body and blood of Christ does represent an authentic desire to be in communion with all people.
But how can we have a profound experience of Christ's presence to us if our celebrations are unworthy of the Saviour whose sacrifice we celebrate? How does the notion of a 'quick Mass' fit in with this? And does the search for a convenient Mass time really represent a desire to be united with Christ, or are both of these things more to do with a sense of obligation and habit? I know that it's difficult to do something repeatedly and at the same time keep alive a sense of occasion and importance, but this would be greatly helped if great care were given to each celebration. The new General Instruction for the Roman Missal makes particular suggestions regarding the dignity and care of the celebration of Mass, but these particular observations are more to do with trying to instil a general sense of reverence and proper dignity in our celebration of the Mass. Over the next three years the Liturgy Office at Crawley will be working on programmes for parishes and deaneries to help us implement properly the true spirit of the new Missal when it is finally published.
That sense of the importance and understanding of what we do explains the Church's careful concern for who is allowed to take communion. Some would see the Church's restrictions as harsh and narrow, but again Pope John Paul speaks of the need to avoid confusion and ambiguity in what we are doing and saying. While there are divisions between the churches they are a source of regret and sadness, but some of the most profound differences are around what we think the Eucharist is. It is only right and honest to acknowledge this and reflect it in our practice.
It was left up to each Deanery to discuss how they might celebrate the Year of the Eucharist, because it was felt that a great celebration in the Cathedral might not work well. I hope that there has been or will be a chance to reflect on what the Eucharist means for you in all its complexity and that you will find genuine spiritual renewal and refreshment this year.
With my prayers and good wishes,
Rt. Rev. Kieran Conry
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
