The Jewish heart of Christian prayer, Sermon of August 14th

The Jewish heart of the Mass

20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

August 14^th, 2011

Romans 11:13-15,29-32

For if their [i.e. the Jews’] rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

The three readings of today’s Mass bring to the fore this relationship between the Jews and the Gentiles. In the first reading from Isaiah, the Lord tells us my house will be a house of prayer for all peoples. He asserts that all nations and all peoples (that is, the Gentiles) will be incorporated into the covenant which God has formed with the Jews. Again, in the Gospel, our Savior heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman – and we have to recall that the Canaanites were not Jews, but were pagan Gentiles. Here the good Jesus first says that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but then he grants the prayer of this Gentile woman. The Lord is helping us to learn that the Gentiles will be united to the Jews and become one chosen people with them.

The Letter of St. Paul to the Romans is certainly one of the most theologically complex portions of the Scriptures, and this is seen especially in his discussion of the relation between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Apostle tells us that the Gentiles will not be saved without the Jews – that the Jewish people have, for a time, stumbled; but that they will not fall and be left behind. No, rather, the Jews (as a people) will turn again to the Lord, and this will bring about the final redemption of the whole world.

In a very real sense, Gentile Christians are “spiritual Semites” or “spiritual Hebrews”, as Pope Pius XI stated. We are “spiritual Semites” in the sense that we have been incorporated into the covenant which God established with Abraham and which he made new in Christ Jesus.

Remember, the Savior did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill it. And so, the Old Covenant is not so much thrown out, as it is made New!

The Christian faith comes from Judaism and is the fulfillment of that Covenant which God had made with his Chosen People.

So, this is the cosmic dimension of the relation between the Jews and the Gentiles; but what does it mean for us on a more personal level? We can say that Christianity ought to have a Jewish heart. In particular, I would like to point out that all true Christian Prayer has a Jewish heart.

Now, you might be thinking to yourselves – “How can my prayer have a Jewish heart? I don’t speak any Hebrew? What is Jewish about my prayer?”

To that I would respond that we might not even just how Jewish our prayer already is.

The Rosary, it seems to me, is the best example of a common Christian prayer that has a Jewish heart. Many don’t realize it, but the Rosary is a deeply Jewish prayer.

Consider that there are three sets of mysteries and that each set is made up of five decades. That means that, in the core of the Rosary, there are one-hundred fifty “Hail Mary” prayers said. And why do we have this number, one-hundred fifty? It is a commemoration of the one-hundred and fifty Psalms which the Jews would pray every week.

The Psalms were the heart of Jewish prayer, they were at the heart of Jesus’ own prayer – and the Rosary is one very important way that we recall the Jewish roots of our prayer.

What is more, the mysteries of the Rosary are extremely “Jewish” insofar as they remind us of the simple historical fact that Christ was a Jew. Consider the “presentation of Jesus in the Temple” or the “finding of Jesus in the Temple” – these mysteries remind us that our Savior was born a first century Jew.

If we all prayed the Rosary every day – something we most certainly should be doing, especially this month which is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – if we all prayed the Rosary every day, we would be much more mindful of the Jewish heart of our prayer.

Now, today, there are certain forms of “Eastern Mysticism” which have become popular even among Catholics – I refer especially to things like “centering prayer” and “yoga”. What should we say about these things?

This is what I will say: These “eastern” forms of prayer are not Christian, they’re not even Jewish. What is more, they are not Christian, precisely because they are not Jewish!

Enough of all this fascination with “eastern” prayer or with “nature worship” – we simply must return to our Jewish roots, and this means especially the Rosary and meditation on the Scriptures.

We also should point out that our public prayer in the Liturgy, should have a Jewish heart. The Mass has a deeply Jewish heart.

When people today, and even some Catholics, try to make the Mass more about “community” than about worship; they are denying the Jewish roots of the Mass. The Jews understood worship to be primarily a matter of offering sacrifice, and the traditional Catholic approach to the Mass emphasizes this point. The Mass is a sacrifice; first and foremost, the Mass is a sacrifice of worship, the sacrifice of the Cross.

A first century Jew would be scandalized by the way many Catholics approach the Mass today – as though it is a casual meal. Not at all! Let it not be so! We are losing the Jewish roots of the Mass.

Let’s look at a couple of particulars: Almost everything we do at the Mass comes from the Jewish worship. Consider the whole structure of the Church – there is the nave (the part of the church building where the people sit) and there is the sanctuary (where the altar is, where the Mass is offered). This corresponds to the structure of the ancient Jewish Temple. There was the place of the people and there was the Holy of Holies which was set apart by a wall and a veil. There was a clear distinction between the place where the people gathered and the place where the altar was – and yet, both priest and people were united in one common prayer.

Now, I know this might be a bit controversial, but it must be said: It was a mistake to remove the altar rails from the churches.  Taking out the altar rail was one step in utterly destroying the Jewish roots of the Liturgy, because it denies the connection between the Jewish “Holy of Holies” and the Catholic sanctuary.

Again, there was a time when people wanted to make the altar in the church look more like a table – removing the beautiful stone altars and replacing them with altars that looked more like wooden dinner tables. This was a mistake, it was a denial of the Jewish roots of the Mass. There wasn’t a wooden table in the Jewish Temple, there was a stone altar! It is a place of offering sacrifice, and a sacrifice requires an altar.

Now you might say, “But, Father, the Mass is a supper and a meal!” And I say, “It is no mere supper, it is the ‘Wedding Feast of the Lamb’ – happily, the new translation will correct this common error.” The Mass isn’t a casual meal or a common supper; it is a feast, a wedding feast! This is the difference between a lunch and a feast: A feast if filled with all sorts of solemnity, everyone has their proper roles and all respect the traditions. The Mass is a feast and a sacrifice, and the only way we are going to understand the Jewish heart of the Mass is if we regain the sense of the sacred and the sense of solemnity which was so honored in our tradition.

Remember, Jesus was not born as the son of a Roman Emperor, and he was not born as a 21^st Century American; no, he was born a first century Jew. It is far time for us to recall this fact, to return to the Jewish heart of worship – then we will come to understand that all of history rests with the Jews.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross - The woman who defeated Hitler

Though it is only a weekday sermon, I have posted my homily for St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She has long been for me a dear spiritual friend and guide. [see the Vatican press release about this great saint]

August 9^th, Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

[Moses said to the children of Israel:] It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

The portion of the Lord is his people. (Response for today’s responsorial)

[Jesus said:] What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? (Matthew 18:12)

Edith Stein, who lived from 1891-1942, was a woman of Jewish descent who first became an atheist and then a great philosopher. Together with Heidegger, she was the greatest student of Edmund Husserl – the founder of the philosophical school called “phenomenology”. Edith Stein was quickly recognized for her talent and insights, and her philosophical writings were influential on the thought of Bl. John Paul II – in fact, it was our great hope that he would make her a Doctor of the Church, but alas it looks like we will have to wait and see.

Again, Edith Stein was a German of Jewish descent and, when she eventually converted to Catholicism, she saw this very much in line with her heritage as an Israelite. John Paul II said of her, “She was a true daughter of Abraham, and a daughter of the Church.” Indeed, on a personal note, I can say that Edith Stein had a particularly strong influence on my own understanding of the relation of the Jews to the Church – perhaps some day the world will come to understand what our Savior meant when he said, Salvation is from the Jews.

Not only did Edith Stein become Catholic, but she entered the order of the Discalced Carmelites and took the religious name, “Teresa Benedicta of the Cross”. Her spiritual writings are particularly inspiring.

During the persecution under Hitler, Teresa Benedicta was arrested and taken to Auschwitz where she died in the gas chambers in the year 1942.

Thus, she remained united to her people, the Jews, and through her death gave witness to the love of Christ.

As we think of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, we are particularly mindful of the special role which the Jews have in the history of salvation. How can we not be moved when we hear the words of Moses in the first reading from Deuteronomy: It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.

Indeed, even in the horrible atrocities of the Holocaust, the good Lord did not fail or forsake his chosen people. St. Teresa Benedicta knew this well, for the Cross is the only means of union with the Messiah of the Jews.

Likewise, when we consider the parable of the lost sheep and hear how the Lord will leave the ninety-nine to go in search of the one, do we not think of the Jews and the Gentiles. Indeed, we Gentiles who have entered the household of the faith are far more numerous than the Jews – we are those ninety-nine. But Jesus will surely go out in search of the one sheep which has gone astray and, when he brings the Jewish people into his flock, then will be accomplished the redemption of the whole world.

All of history rests on the Jews – they are the chosen people of God, and he will never forsake them.

Finally, just a word about the circumstances of St. Teresa Benedicta’s death. She was in the convent and she knew that her life was in grave danger – for Hitler had a particular hatred for Catholics as well as for Jews, and she was both. And I should mention that, although most of her family remained Jewish, Edith’s sister Rosa did convert to Catholicism and also entered the Carmelite Order as a nun.

At the time of her death, Teresa was writing her autobiography, and she probably knew that this would be the last book she would write. As we read the autobiography, it ends very abruptly, almost mid-sentence. There is just a “…”, and that is it.

Teresa Benedicta had been working on her book in the morning, but then the bell rang for the mid-day prayers. So, she put down her pen and went to the chapel to join the sisters in the recitation of the Breviary.

It was while they were gathered in prayer that the Nazis came to the door of the convent and forced their way in. They took both Teresa and her sister. And, when Rosa (Edith’s sister) was fearful, our Saint said: “Come, we are going for our people.”

“Come, we are going for our people.” These were the last words that St. Teresa Benedicta would utter in the convent. Do we not hear Christ himself, speaking through her? Is this not the very Spirit of the Messiah who speaks? He who offered himself up to death for the sake of us all – we who had become “his people”, when he deigned to take on our human nature.

The arrest occurred on August 2^nd, and little more is known of St. Teresa. She was taken to Auschwitz and died in the gas chambers, probably on August 9^th. She simply disappeared, completely hidden and obscured by the inhumanity, the brutality, the sin of the Holocaust.

But, I say, do not feel pity for St. Teresa Benedicta! No, do not weep for her! She was not defeated, she is the victor. Again, I say, if you must shed a tear, weep before this most wondrous example of love! Be moved to tears, not of sorrow but of joy – for this little Jewish woman, this great Carmelite Saint has today defeated Hitler!

You know that, don’t you? Edith Stein is the victor. Together with St. Maximilian Kolbe, she is the conqueror who triumphed over the Nazis, who triumphed over the world, through Christ who strengthened her.

This was not the day of her death – no, I tell you, it was the day of her birth! For through her great victory, she was born this day into the glory of life everlasting.