lex vivendi: 27th week tuesday 2012 II

In our reflection on the liturgy we will use the age old principle which I discussed with you last week as our pattern of explaining what we do in the mass.  The principle is lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi - the way of praying lex orandi comes from our believing lex credendi and thus influence our way of living lex vivendi.  This is how we pray because this is what we believe and thus this is the way we act and live.
Let us start with the sign of the cross and the invocation of the Trinity.  Our Lex orandi is In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit while we make the sign of the cross from our forehead to our navel, then to our left shoulder and to our right shoulder.  This is how we pray.  Why?  Because of our Lex Credendi, the rule of faith.  By making the sign of the cross we are starting the mass by affirming two very important tenets of our faith.  Without these two tenets of the faith we cannot be called Christians.  And what are these two.  

First we believe in the Trinity - The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.  They are three persons - the Father created us, the Son redeemed us and the Holy Spirit sanctified us.  And yet they are one God.  And in saying this we make the sign of the cross.  We affirm that we are saved by the death of Jesus, we affirm that Jesus saved me, he died for me, that Jesus was made to suffer, he was shamed, he was spat on and finally they nailed him on the cross and he died.  Why did he die?  Because of me, because of you, because of love.  Thus on the third day he rose from the dead.  He conquered death, he conquered it for our sake.  Every time we make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the mass and at the beginning of every prayer we affirm these remarkable tenets of our faith - God the Father created me, God the Holy Spirit sanctified me, and God the Son redeemed me, he died for my sake, he died that I may live.  This is our lex credendi.

So how are we to live, what is our lex vivendi then?  Probably you have seen the movie exorcist where the priest shouts, in the name of God, I cast you out.  The Name is powerful, every knee shall bend in the heavens, on the earth and under the earth at the name of Jesus.  We are conquerors because of the Name, we are not easily discouraged because we are bearers of the Name; we may suffer for a time but we will not be crushed because we are bearers of the most powerful Name.  Yes we will get sick, we will one day die, but we will rise because of the Name we carry with us.  Sometimes in our discouragement we say, nobody loves me, nobody pays attention to me.  But you do make the sign of the cross - and you affirm that God is your Father, he created you, you are not an accident, for God created you on purpose because he loved you.  And more than this Jesus saved you - how can you say you are not loved, how can you even think that nobody pays attention to you when in fact Jesus died for you?

The second point, the priest then faces the people and greets them the Lord be with you.  It is a greeting.  But some priests probably wanting to be more up to date and understood would add good morning.  I hate that greeting good morning.  I hate it for the simple reason that I am not a morning person - I am arthritic and 80 percent of my mornings are not good.  More than this however is the fact that the Lord be with you is the best greeting one could ever say in the mass.  The Lord be with you is the greeting.  This is lex orandi.  Why?  Because of the lex credendi - we believe in the promise of Jesus to be with us all the days of our lives even until the end of time.

So what is our lex vivendi.  The Lord be with you is a greeting, a wish.  Of course the Lord is already with us because of our baptism, our communion, but most often we could not recognize him, most often we missed him.  The Lord be with you means, may you see the Lord more clearly each time.  The Lord be with you means, may the Lord reveal himself to you especially at those times when you feel he is absent. Sometimes you will miss the Lord, sometimes you forget him, sometimes you feel he is gone.  The Lord be with you means, look more closely and you will see him in your life. 

Martha, Martha you are anxious and worried about a lot of things.  Her sister Mary however was seated in the presence of the Lord Jesus.  Many times like Martha we will miss his presence.  The Lord be with you is a reminder that Jesus is with you, so stop whining.  And besides, it is better than saying good morning.