Reforming The Body Of Christ

In Ireland today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi.    The feast has added significance this year because we are preparing for the Eucharistic Congress next year, and the Church in Ireland held a mini Congress in Knock.  Having reflected on our martyrs, this feast gains even more significance since many of our martyrs were put to death for their devotion to the Mass - our priestly martyrs in particular.

Interestingly I am also reading Mark Dooley's new book, Why Be A Catholic? - I have to say it is a good read.   Dooley is a philosopher, and has held a number of positions in philosophy departments.  He is an expert on the "philosopher of beauty", Roger Scruton and has written a couple of book about him.  He has also written articles and columns for a number of newspapers, he is currently a columnist for the Irish Daily Mail.  It was in that paper that he exposed the inner life of the national seminary in Maynooth where he was working in the Philosophy Department.  His articles caused a stir, perhaps even a bit of a storm in the seminary.  Strangely, following the publication of the articles his contract with Maynooth was not renewed - a pure coincidence I'm sure.

Dooley's book is, in a sense, a response to his critics, although it was in pipeline long before he wrote the articles, and it is wider in scope.  I mention it today on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi because his writing reveals a real veneration for the Holy Mass and, indeed, a profound understanding of the Eucharist.   Asking the question, How may we reform the Church in these times? He sees the answer in the revitalisation of the liturgy as we see in the present Benedictine reform.  

Dooley points out that we need to come to understand what the liturgy is - that it is not ours but God's.  It is not a place for experimentation, but rather the place where we encounter God and enter more deeply into his life.   Refreshing stuff, but not original, Pope Benedict and many of the new reformers have been saying this for years.   He is correct when he maintains that the renewal of the Church begins with the way we worship because the way we worship reveals what we believe.  When we reorient our worship back to God, we give him precedence, and so we are more inclined to listen to him and more resolved to life lives conformed to his teaching.

At the moment, though many talk about reform, many fall into the trap which swallowed Marx and other ideological thinkers - thinking that reform will emerge from changing structures.  We see so many efforts, so many committees, so many policies and plans from thrusting the burden of the reform onto the laity, to spending thousands of euro on clustering and other such schemes. It will all fail if prayer and adherence to the Gospel are not put on top of the list.   If we look at the history of the Church we see that every reform (EVERY reform) began with personal, spiritual renewal.  

Recovering from the spiritual and religious stagnation of the last forty years will require the same plan.  So what should we do to reform the Church?  Ordain married men???? No.  Ordain women????? No.   Allow contraception and divorce so we can get the people back????  No - those things will only create an even greater rupture from Christ and his teaching.  The reform of the Church will begin when you and I get on our knees before Christ in the Eucharist and make the commitment to become holy.  That's what Dooley says and he is right, hence the importance of today's feast.