Interior Catholic

  • A Change of Plans

    Originally posted at Behold on 4.8.23

    “very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” —Mark 16: 2–3

    I got married at thirty-eight. For a big, Italian family where women became grandmothers at that age, I was something of an anomaly. Despite my insisting, this wasn’t actually part of my plan. I’d been engaged fifteen years earlier, to a different man, at the age I thought one was supposed to do those things. Get married young, give the parents grandbabies, pinch pennies to save for a nice house. But that wasn’t the right person. It wasn’t the right time.

    It’s been said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. The women going to the tomb had the best intentions: the annointing of the Lord’s body. It was probably an ordeal to get everything together: wake early; acquire the anointing spices; and, when they got there, find someone to roll away the stone. They likely noticed something was amiss before they reached the tomb. It was a large stone, and it wasn’t where it was supposed to be. In that moment, their plans had changed.

    I love a good checklist. Whether it’s a recipe for banana muffins or major life experiences, checking items off the list helps make sense of it. Bananas, sugar, flour? Check. Do well in school, land a good job, get married? Check… or so I thought.

    I accepted God’s “No,” though it didn’t make sense at the time. It had been my plan. When I did meet someone, years, later, I thought it was too late. I was supposed to be married in my early twenties, not nearly forty.

    But the women at the tomb strike something in me. This wasn’t something comparatively simple, like getting married (supposedly) late. This was a major upheaval. Jesus had died, and they were doing the only thing they could feasibly do. They mustered all their emotional strength to enter the tomb and encounter His lifeless body. But Jesus had other plans for them that day, and He had other plans for me.

    We all have things that don’t go as planned. I don’t understand God’s plans, but I trust that it’s the right one. When the women approached the empty tomb, they were scared out of their wits. They fled, not even telling anyone at first. But eventually they spread the good news. Jesus had come personally to give them direction: Go. They didn’t know what would happen, but they listened.

    I have no idea what God’s plans are for my (not-as-young-as-I-wanted) marriage. But He says the same thing to me now, as He says to us all: Go. After witnessing the gruesome death of their Lord, I imagine the women thought it was over. Death had won; there was nothing left now.

    But they were wrong. They couldn’t be more wrong.

    Even in our best intentions, even when we think we have everything under control, Jesus has something greater for us. It’s often not what we planned. Sometimes, it’s nothing like we planned. We see the stone rolled away—our plans uprooted—and it’s terrifying. What now?

    In the empty tomb, there is hope. It’s not over because things didn’t go as we expected. We are not dead, as He is not dead; He lives, so we may have life. The women didn’t know what that life looked like, and I certainly don’t know what my life will look like. But He’s telling us to Go, so I trust that I should listen.

  • Vatican II Collection: Sacrosanctum Concilium

    Sacrosanctum Concilium, or Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is the document I most looked forward to reading: it covers the liturgy itself and its reformation. The number of practicing Catholics has dropped dramatically since Vatican II, including attending Mass at all. What happened?

    It begins with the most basic truth, that Christ is always present in His Church—in the Mass, the sacraments, the Word, and when we come together in prayer and song. “In the liturgy the sanctification of the man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses” (1.7), a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy that is to come, as it is celebrated by Christ and with His people, the Church.

    We’re instructed to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), in both private prayer and with our Christian brethren. The latter can and should be accomplished through the Mass. We’re called to participate in Mass, rather than merely observe, to come joyfully and with the proper disposition for worship. “From the liturgy… as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us.” (1.10)

    This is a vast change from the pre-Vatican II liturgy. Some notable changes include: increased reading of scripture; use of the language of the local people, rather than Latin alone; and adaptations based on culture, especially in the mission field. Scripture is the heart of the Mass, not only in the readings, but hymns and prayers are inspired by it. The homily is also an important part of the liturgy. It ties the two portions of the Mass together, linking the readings and the Eucharist. In the Eucharist also, the people should be active participants, fully aware of what is happening both externally and within themselves. Its rituals were simplified to allow better understanding and participation. The rites for sacraments and sacramentals were to be updated similarly.

    The Liturgy of the Hours also underwent updates, removing some aspects and expanding upon others. Its content, too, was updated, revising the readings themselves and restoring hymns to their original form. The liturgical year was refreshed as well, emphasizing the cycles of the year and putting special emphasis on Sunday, the apex of the week. The role of saints’ feast days was minimized, ultimately removing several from the calendar that were of less “universal importance,” but are permitted to be celebrated locally if desired.

    It then discusses sacred music, which I’ve discussed in detail previously. Sacred art, too, falls under similar subjective scrutiny. Only the beautiful is permitted, and works that are “repugnant to faith, morals, and Christian piety” (VII.124) must be removed. In both music and art, the council encourages proper education for both its creators and liturgical leaders.

    In whole, Sacrosanctum Concilium aims to simplify the sacred liturgy while also maintaining its holiness and beauty. But much of this is vague, opening it to misinterpretation. With the number of practicing Catholics going down, I would argue this came as a detriment to the worship itself.

And they said to him, “Inquire of God, we pray thee, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.”

And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

—Judges 18:5–6

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