Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:02 The concept of trend is commanded priest. Occasionally explain the mystical significance of our ceremonies. So this morning we'll start by considering why we traditionally veil across the statues during passion tight, to get a clear grasp on this. We'll take just a moment to review by considering a few reflections from a German theologian as usual, just cut and paste the quotes today. Quote, the altar is a place where heaven is opened up, does not close off the church, but opens it up and leads it to the eternal liturgy close quote. Now we've considered that many times of, for that to alter is the very threshold of heaven. So the alters the place where heaven is opened up, but does not close off the church, but opens it up and leads it into the eternal liturgy. The altarpiece is like a window through which the world of God comes out to us.
Speaker 0 00:00:53 The curtain of time has raised, and we are allowed to glimpse into the inner life of the world of God. This art is intended to insert us into the liturgy of heaven. The image of Christ and the images of the saints are not photographs. Their whole point is to lead us beyond what can be apprehended at the merely material level to wake a new senses in us and to teach us a new kind of scene, which perceives the invisible in the visible, the sacredness of an image consists precisely in the fact that it comes from an interior vision and thus leads us to such an interior vision. It must be a fruit of contemplation of an encounter and faith with the new reality of the risen Christ. And so it leads us in turn into an interior gazing and encountering pro the Lord. The image is that service of the liturgy close quote, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
Speaker 0 00:01:49 Okay. So what is the Holy father telling us? He's telling us that the altar is the edge of heaven. It doesn't close the church, but actually mystically opens a church up. And it's our point of contact with eternal liturgy and heaven. The eternal energy and heaven was exactly what Saint Paul's referring to in today's epistle. When he talks about Christ entering once for all into the heavenly sanctuary. And of course, during the Holy sacrifice of the mass, we're regularly reminded of this stupendous fact, the absolutely astonishing fact that right here in this place right there, when we celebrate the Holy mysteries, we're actually really and truly in contact with and in union with the eternal liturgy of heaven, just consider what the priest will sing today in the preface and what we'd sing in the song, twos here's excerpts, just from today's preface. The preface is the part he's got that little, a back and forth.
Speaker 0 00:02:45 And then, and then he starts seeing very digging. It used to mast. Okay. Think about this. This is the translation is truly right and just proper and helpful and to salvation that we always never give. Thanks under the old Holy Lord father almighty eternal God dot, dot dot through Christ. Our Lord through the same Christ, the angels praise, I majesty the dominations adore thee in the power's trembling off through him. Also the heavens and the virtues of heaven joined the blessed had Sarah fem in celebrating their choice. Praise we've begged the to let our voices blend with theirs. Everybody catch that. We begged the to let our voices blend with theirs, whose voice had already begging God to blend with the angels. He went through a whole series of choirs, the angels, all those choirs angels. We begged him to let our voices blend with theirs.
Speaker 0 00:03:36 As in humble praise, we say, Holy, Holy Lord, God of hosts. That's the song twos. There's a song COOs. And nothing could be more clear that during the song twos through our union with Christ and in Christ, we've actually been taken up as it were by the divine liturgy. So we're now United. Our voices are United with theirs actually, and real United with their voices in the eternal liturgy going on in heaven. That's what's going on in the Holy sacrifice of the mass. It's our ability to come in contact with these mysteries and heaven. Okay, so we've seen the altarpiece is like a window that allows us to catch a glimpse into heavenly realities by the means it's art and beauty. The altarpiece is meant to link us with the liturgy of heaven. We've seen the whole point of the crucifix, the whole point of the statues and the images of the saints is to lead us, to see spiritual realities, to lead us, to penetrate beyond the images themselves, to penetrate beyond what we can see with the eyes of our head.
Speaker 0 00:04:34 So we can see Christ in the saints with the eyes of faith. All this has to lead us to a deeper faith, to a deeper relationship with the Lord. Okay. That's what the function of those are. We already know all that, but we reviewed it just now in order to better appreciate just why we traditionally veiled the cross and ideally the statues during passion tide. So why do we veil them as one spiritual writer explains this will be a long quote quote. The one feature passion Thai known to all Christians is a purple Vale placed over all the images in the church, especially over the crucifix, the crucifix and the drama of the cross seemed to be hidden now that they might stand out in a more striking relief on the day of the crucifixion itself, the origin of the custom hover reveals a deeper significance.
Speaker 0 00:05:25 The devotion of the early church always regarded the cross as a symbol of victory. Consequently, the cross was adorned with jewels and precious stones. The church first veiled, the glorious emblem during the period of her morning that it might appear more glorious on Easter day. Today, we failed the crucifix to bring a clear realization of the objective devotion to our Lord in his sufferings. True mind is the picture of human agony is in fact the emblem of our King's final victory. There's also an element of mortification. This practice, this veiling and the crucifix and statues reminds us that even from these images, we must be detached that finally, we make it other more fruit from an intellectual insight into the last days of our Lords, more to life than from the physical side of the cross, the veil, mortifies the eyes that we may concentrate.
Speaker 0 00:06:22 All our powers on the interior, meaning of the lessons of passion tied, close quote for a long quote, but it sums up the whole reason. This same point is made by that great doc to the church st. John lacrosse. When he teaches that when we see a Holy image, like a crucifix or statue, the church wants us to move from the visible image before our eyes, to considering the invisible, spiritual realities, they represent st. John and the cross quote, let the faithful soul take care. They will contemplating the image. The census not be absorbed in it, whether that image is material or in the imagination of beautiful workmanship or of rich adornment. And whether devotion excites is spiritual or sensible, let him not regard these outward accidents or dwell upon him, but venerate the image as a church commands and lift up his mind at once from the chili image to that, which it represents with the sweetness and joy of the will resting on God close, quote st.
Speaker 0 00:07:22 John and the cross doctor the church. So during passion tide, when we see the veil crucifix, that very veil should draw attention to the fact that hidden under that veil is something precious that under that veil is something worthy of contemplation. It should draw our attention, deeper consideration of the spiritual realities. The crucifix honor the veil, but that's not just true about passion tied veils. It's true of every veil we've seen the divine liturgy. For example, the chalice is veiled. Obviously it's something precious. It holds the very blood of God, the precious blood Saint Paul's alluding to that. Our Lord is passing into the Holy of Holies in heaven with it holds the precious blood of God. Talk about spiritual realities. We see that veil, we should think about what's behind it or the tabernacle. The tabernacle is veiled. There's a living God, right there, he's alive.
Speaker 0 00:08:23 That veil draws our attention to it. If we just take a moment to consider spirituality with the eyes of the faith, what do we see? All the angels in heaven gathered here around that tabernacle prostrate crying out SOC two, SOC two Santas adoring the lamb. When we sing the song today, that's when we intersect with what they're doing right now, we're lifted up into that level at that point in time, right there, that's going on right there. Our Lord is alive. The great mysteries and the veil is a sign of these great mysteries, the mystery of the cross, the mystery of the precious blood shed for our redemption, the mystery of the real presence of our LOR body, blood soul, and divinity, most busted sack and alter the mystery that God is here. Living among men and the veils we see every day, day in and day out, speak to us of these mysteries.
Speaker 0 00:09:17 They're so great. These are things that are so profoundly, Holy. They can't even be handled. These are mystery. So profiling, Holy that can only be handled by men specifically set aside and consecrated to do so. We see a, in the divine liturgy, it ought to just stop us dead in our tracks and draw our attention to the fact that hidden under that veil is something precious and really worth pondering. Now without intending to single anyone out we'll touch on another great mystery. Obviously here, traditional mass, some of the most obvious fields are those covering the head of the women. We've talked about the meaning of the bridal veil before. Remember that on one level, as everybody knows, and as Saint Paul makes clear in first Corinthians, the veil is a visible sign that the woman is under the authority of her man. These days, the idea of submission to the authority of the husband tends to be frowned upon to put it mildly, but it shouldn't be once we realize that the bridal veil signifies the submission of this particular woman to the loving care of her husband, it signifies her trust and her confidence in his Christ like leadership.
Speaker 0 00:10:26 It signifies that she has chosen to follow him as a loving partner and companion, and also signifies. It has been specifically consecrated to handle that sacred vessel, to safely touch that arc. And that's something mysterious and beautiful, but that doesn't explain why little girls would wear avail. Does it? It doesn't explain why profess virgins nuns religious sisters would way of fields. Does it obviously the mystical symbolism of available is far far beyond the relationship of one particular woman to one particular man, what does it mean? What sort of a mystery is being presented to us? When we see a woman failed before the altar, it's a very great mystery. Like our lady, every Catholic woman, as a woman, as a woman, as a living icon of the church, every Catholic woman is a woman is a living icon of the church. So when she fails herself here in the presence of our Lord, it's a visible reminder for all of us of this spousal relationship, the brighter relationship between the church and Christ that relationship between the church and Christ is a very great ministry.
Speaker 0 00:11:41 Indeed. So whenever we see a veiled woman here before the altar Vichy 60, it's a visible reminder for all of us of this spouse or this bridal relationship between Christ and his church. And because of avail also signifies the submission of the bride to the loving care of her husband. It means the veil of a Catholic woman is also a visible reminder of the perfect submission of the church to the loving rule of Christ. The veil is a visual sermon. It's a visual statement. It's a public proclamation before the Lord that he is the Lord and that we love them and we're ready to obey him. It's a totally counter-cultural statement, proclaiming obedience in the midst of a culture. That's totally permanate with this attitude of, I will not serve that in any age, but especially in ours is a very great mystery. Indeed. What about a religious sister?
Speaker 0 00:12:47 Of course, a nonreligious sister always keeps her head veiled wherever she is. Why? Because she's been consecrated to be always an everywhere. A living icon of the church, her avail is a constant, visible reminder to all of the spiritual eyes, to see of the spouse relationship between the church and Christ. Okay. Like our lady, but she's taken that wherever she is. Not just before the Lord, but wherever she's before the Lord in a different way, all the time, that's one of her missions to the world. Veils mean something. Now that we have an idea what they mean let's close with something worth pondering, as everyone knows what we do here before the altar means something, it really means something. So let's do a thought experiment. Let's imagine a time would happen with massive numbers of Catholic women throughout the entire world would come into church and present themselves before the altar, without avail individually, subjectively, that might not signify anything in particular doesn't necessarily for any individual.
Speaker 0 00:13:49 We're not saying that, but collectively, that would definitely mean something for anyone who had the spiritual eyes to see it would definitely mean something. Okay. So what would it mean keeping in mind, we're not talking about any particular woman at all. We're pondering a situation of all the massive, massive numbers of women. What would it mean spiritually speaking? If there ever should come such a time, which massive numbers of Catholic when we present themselves before the alternate veiled or worse, yet, if we ever had a time when massive numbers of religious women would present themselves anywhere without their veils. Given the fact that here before the altar, the Catholic woman is a living icon of the church and the veil on a Catholic woman, be she six or be she 60 is a public and visible reminder of the perfect submission of the church to the loving rule of Christ. This time should ever come. Who'd be a visible sign to all have the spiritual eyes to see the church inner human element was not living in submission to loving rule of Christ. It'd be a visible sign that the church or human element was in fact, in a great rebellion against your spouse.
Speaker 0 00:15:11 And the Greek word for rebellion is apostasy in a situation like that would be a sign of another thing too, for all who have the spiritual eyes to see Jess, what would that be? Well, it would be a sign of unveiling, a visual prefigurement of unveiling, obviously the sign unveiling. What's that supposed to mean? Well, the woman is icon of church, the bride of Christ. So if massive numbers of Catholic women have began to appear for the heavenly spouse without their veils, it be certainly a visual for shadowing of the unveiling. That's probably a whole lot easier to understand if we use the word a term derived from the Greek, the Greek derivative for the unveiling of a bride is the apocalypse.
