My wife and I had a simultaneous identical insight which is heavy and very worth sharing. What does the Divine Liturgy have to do with abortion?
Simply put, they both involve flesh and blood. If we consider that God is the author of life and that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, we can easily see the important relationship between all life and the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus.
There is much controversy regarding the display of abortion images as a tool to expose abortion for what it really is. Who should see these images? Some argue that the horror goes on and needs to be exposed in the same manner as other genocides. It is a powerful argument, but not without problems. However, if we momentarily step beyond the problem of actually solving this particular argument, and consider the power of images themselves, we can focus in on something very revealing and seemingly non-offensive..........at first.
There is a Latin saying: "Illigitimati non carborundum" which translates into English "Don't let the bastards wear you down". Bear with me for a second. You see, the great river valleys of the earth were not cut away by water in a day, a week, or even a year. If you wanted to see them form, you could not do so in a life- time. Yet there they are to look at. Some things change like that but even slower, some things change like that but faster.
On to the Roman Rite Liturgy. There it is. But it was not always like that. And here comes the power of the images. If we could look at a photo of the Grand Canyon prior to its formation, and compare it with a photo of it as it is today, we would scarcely believe that erosion could do this. If we could look at a photo of the Liturgy prior to its decimation --Oh, we can, and we ought to-- we can scarcely believe that it is the same thing as it is today -- because it is not.
The Eucharist is the source of our being. The Triune God is the author or life:
Yes, these are really harsh words, but I believe they are very true. How can the horror of abortion be going on around us? How can babies be murdered and then dumped into the trash can by the hundreds of millions? Hundreds of millions --look it up. How can a US President veto a bill that would prohibit a doctor from sucking the brains out of a partially born baby in order to kill it? It can happen because we first threw out the baby Jesus and denied him on our altars!
Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. John 6:53-55.
So here is a Lenten challenge: Go have a look at some images of the way the liturgy is celebrated in our time. Don't just go to Mass and say "Yeah, I'll do it there". No, because there you are in the river with the rest of the water. Get out of the river and go up on the bank and have a good look. Get some good images of the liturgy as it was celebrated a few short decades ago. Ask yourself what is due to the Triune God. Ask yourself how this erosion came about that the Holy Eucharist, the true body and blood of Christ, is ignored and profaned. Ask yourself what is more fitting to honor the Triune God truly present on the altar : Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, Gregorian chant, a Bach Chorale, or an electric guitar and drums playing some sappy pop-tune to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy? Ask yourself why the sacred vessels are treated with less respect than dishes from Wal Mart. Ask yourself why so few believe in the Real Presence.
We are really rather consistent as human beings. If we think something is valuable, we'll pay a lot of money for it. If we don't value a thing, we throw it in the trash. No! No! Recylce! Hmmm...can you recycle an aborted baby? Isn't that a horrific question? Would it not be better if there were no such thing as an aborted baby? Do we really value a used newspaper more than a pre-born child?! But I digress. And is that not also horrific, that I can digress from such a topic?
The first point is that we act as we believe. The Liturgy as it is celebrated (-not sure I even like the word "celebrate" -) is a true reflection of modern belief, ........or disbelief. And abortion is a reflection of the disbelief that life in the womb is human. Here we could go into a whole new topic. Is it belief, disbelief or denial? Let's move on for now.
The second point is -and here I invite you to consider that this seeming leap is no leap but rather an incredibly important connection- that until belief in the Real Presence returns, abortion can not end. It will not end because it CAN not end. Until we respect the Incarnate Flesh of the Son of God, how can we respect the life of mortal man? See the brilliance of Mother Teresa? She said that the fruit of abortion will be nuclear war.
Simply put, they both involve flesh and blood. If we consider that God is the author of life and that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, we can easily see the important relationship between all life and the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus.
There is much controversy regarding the display of abortion images as a tool to expose abortion for what it really is. Who should see these images? Some argue that the horror goes on and needs to be exposed in the same manner as other genocides. It is a powerful argument, but not without problems. However, if we momentarily step beyond the problem of actually solving this particular argument, and consider the power of images themselves, we can focus in on something very revealing and seemingly non-offensive..........at first.
There is a Latin saying: "Illigitimati non carborundum" which translates into English "Don't let the bastards wear you down". Bear with me for a second. You see, the great river valleys of the earth were not cut away by water in a day, a week, or even a year. If you wanted to see them form, you could not do so in a life- time. Yet there they are to look at. Some things change like that but even slower, some things change like that but faster.
On to the Roman Rite Liturgy. There it is. But it was not always like that. And here comes the power of the images. If we could look at a photo of the Grand Canyon prior to its formation, and compare it with a photo of it as it is today, we would scarcely believe that erosion could do this. If we could look at a photo of the Liturgy prior to its decimation --Oh, we can, and we ought to-- we can scarcely believe that it is the same thing as it is today -- because it is not.
The Eucharist is the source of our being. The Triune God is the author or life:
- We believe in one God,
- the Father, the Almighty
- maker of heaven and earth,
- of all that is, seen and unseen.
- We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
- .........................................Through him all things were made..........................
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life,...............................
Yes, these are really harsh words, but I believe they are very true. How can the horror of abortion be going on around us? How can babies be murdered and then dumped into the trash can by the hundreds of millions? Hundreds of millions --look it up. How can a US President veto a bill that would prohibit a doctor from sucking the brains out of a partially born baby in order to kill it? It can happen because we first threw out the baby Jesus and denied him on our altars!
I think that if we are going to ever see an end to abortion, we must first turn away from the sin against the First Commandment. The First Commandment is first for a reason.
Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. John 6:53-55.
So here is a Lenten challenge: Go have a look at some images of the way the liturgy is celebrated in our time. Don't just go to Mass and say "Yeah, I'll do it there". No, because there you are in the river with the rest of the water. Get out of the river and go up on the bank and have a good look. Get some good images of the liturgy as it was celebrated a few short decades ago. Ask yourself what is due to the Triune God. Ask yourself how this erosion came about that the Holy Eucharist, the true body and blood of Christ, is ignored and profaned. Ask yourself what is more fitting to honor the Triune God truly present on the altar : Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, Gregorian chant, a Bach Chorale, or an electric guitar and drums playing some sappy pop-tune to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy? Ask yourself why the sacred vessels are treated with less respect than dishes from Wal Mart. Ask yourself why so few believe in the Real Presence.
We are really rather consistent as human beings. If we think something is valuable, we'll pay a lot of money for it. If we don't value a thing, we throw it in the trash. No! No! Recylce! Hmmm...can you recycle an aborted baby? Isn't that a horrific question? Would it not be better if there were no such thing as an aborted baby? Do we really value a used newspaper more than a pre-born child?! But I digress. And is that not also horrific, that I can digress from such a topic?
The first point is that we act as we believe. The Liturgy as it is celebrated (-not sure I even like the word "celebrate" -) is a true reflection of modern belief, ........or disbelief. And abortion is a reflection of the disbelief that life in the womb is human. Here we could go into a whole new topic. Is it belief, disbelief or denial? Let's move on for now.
The second point is -and here I invite you to consider that this seeming leap is no leap but rather an incredibly important connection- that until belief in the Real Presence returns, abortion can not end. It will not end because it CAN not end. Until we respect the Incarnate Flesh of the Son of God, how can we respect the life of mortal man? See the brilliance of Mother Teresa? She said that the fruit of abortion will be nuclear war.
Just one or two pictures of a beautiful new-born baby next to some pictures of a dismembered and bloodied corpse of an aborted baby shows that we have wandered very very far from the love of God. Attendance at or pictures of the beautiful and fitting Eastern Rite liturgies (there are more than 20 Rites of the Catholic Church which are in union with Rome) compared to the very often abusive Roman Rite liturgies shows that we have forgotten that Jesus gave his flesh and blood for the life of the world and how we so easily forget the horror of abortion.
