paschalis v

Friend,

May this message find you in hope and good spirits.

The days started to blur since this past weekend; A project for my mother consumed me; It threw off my daily routine. But things seem to be almost regular--as normal a global pandemic can get. Local parishes started the transition out of shelter in place. It will be a while before we feel more confident. In the interim, I expanded my ministry. There a few more corners of the internet I visited. It’s the continuation of my re-education of social media. My interactions started to reveal the vastness of it all. And the amount of sorrow in the world.

My last post introduced Aquinas's remedies to sorrow. The hope was to connect the liturgy as that remedy. The meat of the divine office is the psalms. And the psalms remedy the sorrowful soul. They are a school of prayer. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. What He teaches is a re-education, as well. Like Christ, He shows us how to be human. The psalms confirm the need for joy and tears.

The liturgy relieves pain because we share in each other’s sorrow. This emphasis of “us” and “ours” is not a style choice. The inclusive nature of the liturgy is fundamental. Through the liturgy, Christ joins us to Himself; head to body. We thereby share our sorrows with Christ; both head and body. As Msgr. Charles Pope reminds us, “Woe to the solitary man, for if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up" (Eccl 4:10-11). Aristotle also wrote that a "sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.” This is how to pray; with the acknowledgement that we never pray alone. We may be 6 ft. apart. But in prayer, our souls touch; and share sorrow’s burden.

The liturgy also upholds and re-presents Truth. When we hold to this truth, our sorrow lessens. St. Thomas formulated that “Sorrow… is repugnant to the vital movement of the body; and consequently whatever restores the bodily nature to its due state of vital movement, is opposed to sorrow and assuages it. (I IIae 38.4)"

Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer. The lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.

CCC 1177

The liturgy reveals Truth. The content of the liturgy (scripture, texts from the Fathers) makes it catechetical. More than that; the divine office is an encounter. It is the pride of place where we meet Truth Himself.

The divine office reminds us of our body--and its usefulness to relieve sorrow. Baths and naps is how Aquinas concludes his list. This “rather charming remedy” (Msgr. Pope) reaffirms the Incarnation. The human condition is body and soul; amphibians. We do not prejudice one over the other. The incarnation celebrates that. The Son of God Became man (CCC 456-483).

The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our feelings externally.

CCC 2702

Sorrow may be a condition of our souls. But we can remedy it with our bodies. Prayer reminds us of our humanity; and the need to take care of our bodies alongside our souls. The liturgy encourages us to listen to God; in all His creation.

The world is thy ship, the Little Flower wrote. It’s easy to despair when we look around it. The People of God pray to combat that despair.

And that is my reason for hope.