The Time Has Come

From Inside the Vatican comes this editorial by Dr. Robert Moynihan which will appear in the November issue.

"The Holy Eucharist is the first, most important, and greatest miracle of Christ. All the other Gospel miracles are secondary." -- St. Ambrose of Optina

"The Seraph could not touch the fire's coal with his fingers, but just brought it close to Isaiah's mouth: the Seraph did not hold it, Isaiah did not consume it, but us our Lord has allowed to do both." -- St. Ephraim the Syrian

"How often is the holy sacrament of Christ's Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts!... How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him!... All this is present in his Passion. His betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer." -- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Good Friday Via Crucis Meditation, March 25, 2005

"And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves... And he taught, saying unto them, "Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer" But ye have made it a den of thieves." And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him." -- Mark, 11:15-18

"What miserable frauds you are, you scribes and Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence... Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! You are like white-washed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and all kinds of rottenness. For you appear like good men on the outside " but inside you are a mass of pretence and wickedness." -- Matthew, 23:25-28

In this [November, 2005] issue of Inside the Vatican our cover photo is a picture of one of the most holy places in the Christian tradition: the "Upper Room" in Jerusalem where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. The lonely cat in the photo happened to pass across the room just as our photographer visited the Cenacle. We found the empty room a striking image of the desolation of that holy place -- and of the Church's present crisis.

That Last Supper came just days after Jesus picked up a whip, overturned tables, and chased the money-changers out of the Temple, crying, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." (Mark 11:17) Jesus was filled with righteous wrath (as he was when he spoke of those who corrupt young children, crying out that it would be better for them if they had a millstone put around their necks and were cast into the depths of the sea).

Holy Thursday, the Last Supper, the first Eucharist, came just after this. Then Jesus was executed in the most humiliating way: following a mock coronation with thorns, a pitiless scourging, and a painful journey through the streets of the city carrying a massive beam of wood, on a criminal's cross.

So this is the setting for the last days of the life of Jesus: the Temple precincts, where he raised a whip in his zeal for God's house; the Upper Room, where he instituted the Eucharist, the mysterium fidei (mystery of faith), in which his own life, his very nature, entered into the bread and wine, and so into those who shared that food; and the Via Crucis, the "Way of the Cross," which led to his death...and Resurrection.

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It was reported in Rome in mid-October that Pope Benedict has already written his first encyclical, that the topic is the personal relationship of individual believers with Jesus Christ, and that the publication date will be December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. If true, this means that Benedict will use his first great "teaching moment" to direct the attention of all Catholics to the most central truth of the Christian faith: that to live fully is to be in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to "put on" Christ, to be "filled with Christ's Spirit"... to "become Christ." And it is precisely this process of "putting on Christ," of "becoming Christ," of "Christification" which is the essential purpose of that Christian community we call the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

But what if the men and women of the Church forget their mission? What if they -- and here each one of us has to look into the mirror -- become like the scribes and Pharisees, "whited sepulchers"? What if they turn the Father's house into a "den of thieves"? Then the house must be cleansed.

If one considers the life of Christ, one can see that his zeal for his Father's house led directly to his arrest and execution: "And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him." Benedict XVI, the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth, a man of brilliant intellect and profound holiness whom it has been our privilege to come to know over 20 years, has been almost silent for six months now. Throughout the Roman Curia, rumors are circulating about what decisions Benedict will announce. But no one knows what he is planning. He has kept his own counsel.

In this context, there is one thing the Catholic faithful of the world need to do, immediately and urgently: they must pray for Pope Benedict. Pray for his intentions. Pray that he be granted the prudence, wisdom, and courage to cleanse the Church as she urgently needs to be cleansed. And let him know you are praying for him. He needs your prayers and support.

Emphasis added. As Dr. Moynihan reminds us, we all should be praying more diligently for the Holy Father and his intentions. Likewise we should pray for all od our priests and bishops, especially those who are at odds with the Church.

You can visit Inside the Vatican here.