Praying like the Mass

I recently had the very happy experience of visiting a beautiful local church that offered the “Novus Ordo Latin Mass,” something I have not attended in a long time. I was very moved by the Latin – which, I realized, I finally understand after many years – and felt transported to another time and place. It was very peaceful and my immediate feeling was one of being home.

I have no problems with the regular Novus Ordo Mass whatsoever, by the way. But I get why many flock to the Latin, and it was nice to be reminded with more clarity why the Catholic Church is different, and why what is on offer there, so to speak, will always be different. It takes work to find and make meaning in the highly secular world; at that Mass it seemed to be presented to one on a platter (and a golden one, at that).

The priest had an interesting and, for me, relevant homily about how to pray. Lately I have been contemplating, what is the best way to pray? I don’t believe there is only one way to pray – that would eliminate the truth that everyone has unique gifts and ways of being – but that there has to be a simple way, at least, to get started. I imagine many people would like to pray, but don’t know where to start, and I want to reach those people.

So, yes, there is the Ignatian way (to which I am partial), the Dominican way, the Benedictine way, and so on. But is there something even simpler than that?

Look out for my next articles on this topic later this month. I’m working on a part 1 and a part 2, with the first being directed at answering the question, “How do I pray for the world?” and the second, “How do I pray in a personal way that connects me to God?” So, the outer prayer, followed by the inner prayer.

This priest’s answer to the question of, “How do I pray?” in his homily was an interesting one: his advice was to remember the order of the Mass and mimic it. So: start with the sign of the cross, move to an acknowledgement of being in the presence of God, confessing your sins, giving glory to God, and listening to and praying over the Gospel. This seems just as about as good advice as can be given, don’t you think? The Mass is the highest form of prayer, and lo and behold, is also a handy guide for praying on one’s own.

Side note: this is one of the things I love and appreciate about the Church so much, that there are so many ways to pray. The Stations of the Cross! The Examen! The Rosary! Prayer alone, prayer with others! Just pray!

Identifying anti-life "misinformation"

On a recent episode of The Pillar podcast, Ed Condon made the good point that in the current stage of the fight for the culture of life, those on the opposing side will use the term “misinformation” or “disinformation” when discussing the pro-life position. However, we should recognize their claims to disinformation for what they are: lies. Here are three of the most common:

1. Women will be punished or jailed (some have even said “executed”) for having abortions.

2. Taking care of ectopic pregnancies is a form of abortion that will no longer be legal, endangering women’s lives.

3. That the Supreme Court ruling “overturned” a Constitutional right.

The first two are just lies, plain and simple. Nowhere in the country can a woman be prosecuted in any way for having an abortion. Abortion “doctors,” however, can. Also, the process for ending an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion, and is not illegal. Nothing has changed with regards to the availability of that procedure, called a salpingostomy, salpingectomy, or laparascopy.

The third one is also untrue. The ruling did not remove or take away a right. The ruling found that the Constitution does not grant the right, and that those earlier cases - Roe and Casey - were in error for imagining a right that does not exist in the Constitution. As I said on my recent appearance on Morning Air, indeed the ruling actually restores a right: that of life to the unborn. The ruling returns the ability to legislate on abortion back to the states. That’s what it does.

One big lie that has blown up in recent weeks is the apparent story of a ten year old rape victim who went across lines from Indiana for Ohio for an abortion. The president himself repeated this story which, it turns out, is completely unfounded. The bigger story here is why an abortion doctor would “treat” a ten year old, clearly a victim of sexual abuse, and not report it. Turns out the doctor promoting this story is known for not reporting cases of juvenile sexual abuse she sees in her clinic. Not reporting abuse is an offense serious enough to warrant losing one’s medical license.

So, misinformation - that is, lies - are rampant, and of course have been rampant, because that is the nature of our media and the powerful lobby that advocates for the culture of death. If you are looking for a patron saint of the truth right now, may I first suggest Jesus himself: the way, the truth, and the life. But I also suggest St. Michael the Archangel, defender of the Church and of life. We will need his help in this and all spiritual battles, but praise God, He is with us.

Latest Catholic Stand article

Last month I spoke and wrote about the Church’s 10 newest saints, and now I present to you a special article on this very topic! Meet the Church’s 10 Newest Saints

I do also like to call out my fellow CS writers when they’ve got a good article, and I particularly enjoyed this today from Cynthia Millen, When the Least of These Become the Most:

In my pride, how often have I decided to ignore the smallest and the least to implement what I feel are God’s plans? I am reminded of my constant need to pray Fr. Mychal Judge’s simple yet powerful prayer: Lord, take me where you want me to go; Let me meet who you want me to meet; Tell me what you want me to say; And keep me out of your way.

Truly, unless I become like the least myself, I will never be most useful to Him.

It is much like one of my favorite lines of scripture: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” (John 12:24-25). Similarly: “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30).

It is a profound truth of the spiritual life, and an extremely hard lesson. Not just because it’s hard from the ego perspective to “die to self” but it’s hard to even know what that means. If we’re called to co-create with God - to bring back to him our gifts - what does it mean to sort of annihilate the self? How do these two things work together?

Well, I think the best starting point is to not look at it as giving up what is good, from the eternal perspective, in our lives, but giving up what does not serve us from the ego perspective. One’s own will, plans, pride, need to control, need to be right. Let those false parts of self die, and let Him water the parts of you that are child-like, curious, creative, serving, willing, loving.

It is a painful image: the grain of wheat falls to the ground, dies, is cracked open, and becomes something else. But that something is so much more beautiful: tall, golden, soaking up sunshine, giving life to others.

Link it to today’s Gospel reading, from Matthew 9:14-17:

“…No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,

for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.

People do not put new wine into old wineskins.

Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.

Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Until you are ready for what God has to show you and fill you with, you will otherwise burst. It won’t work. This is why I think the process of becoming closer to God is life-long - He always gives us opportunities to grow and stretch and leave behind the old, if we are willing. And the way we do that is by dying to self, and seeking knowledge of God with a sincere heart.

One important note: when I say “die to self” I very much do not mean a literal dying of the body. Not at all. And, I do not believe in “enlightenment” as may be professed by those of a Gnostic system. Many today believe the body is a hindrance, something to be shed and overcome, at which point one achieves that coveted state of enlightenment. To be dramatic: this is a heresy. To be a little calmer: this worldview will bring you nothing but pain, as we see in so many people today struggling with identify. Your body is a gift; it has God’s own imprint in it. Christ himself had a body, and through this body achieved great things (the greatest of all things). Our body is a means to our own salvation, not the obstacle. This is, of course, a very large and sensitive topic, but I want to be very clear that to die to self does not mean to die or mutilate the physical body. Just the opposite - it’s about overcoming the pursuit of your own will.

Thank you to Cynthia for prompting these meditations! God is good in all he gives us.