Grace that Drops from Above

This week of Christian Unity, on January 25, the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul,  at 6 PM at the UP Parish, I am asked by the Catholic Chaplain of the students of the University of the Philippines, Fr Mike Ty to talk about where I came from in my pilgrimage.

This is an act of God's grace which comes to me from above. Almost exactly a year before we said the First Anglican Use Evening Prayer in the same Roman Catholic Church.

I am so busy with mundane things of the world, that sometimes I can't move on my continuing pilgrimage but I recall a poem of George Herbert, the Anglican Mystic and priest

The Temple (1633)

Grace

"O come! for thou dost know the way:

Or if to me thou wilt not move,
Remove me, where I need not say,
                                       Drop from above."

Anglicans and Contraception

Filipino society is probably the last on earth to seriously debate on artificial contraception as part of the 2011 Reproductive Health bill (RH). However, debate on this is more than a hundred years old when as a result of worsening living conditions in England as a result of migration and the Industrial Revolution, in a classic Malthusian sense birth control was seen as a way to solve the problem.


The Anglican Communion at first opposed artificial contraception as stated in Resolution 68 of the 1920 Lambeth Conference


"We utter an emphatic warning against the use of unnatural means for the avoidance of conception, together with the grave dangers - physical, moral and religious - thereby incurred, and against the evils with which the extension of such use threatens the race. In opposition to the teaching which, under the name of science and religion, encourages married people in the deliberate cultivation of sexual union as an end in itself, we steadfastly uphold what must always be regarded as the governing considerations of Christian marriage. One is the primary purpose for which marriage exists, namely the continuation of the race through the gift and heritage of children; the other is the paramount importance in married life of deliberate and thoughtful self-control."


Then the Anglican bishops held on to the traditional belief on fertility regulation. However in the 1930  Lambeth Conference (Resolution 15), Anglicans approved contraception in particular cases.


"Where there is clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, the method must be decided on Christian principles. The primary and obvious method is complete abstinence from intercourse (as far as may be necessary) in a life of discipline and self-control lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless in those cases where there is such a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, and where there is a morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence, the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of the same Christian principles. The Conference records its strong condemnation of the use of any methods of conception control from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience."


One hundred ninety three bishops voted "yes" and sixty seven voted "no".


The Anglican Communion was the first of the non-Catholic churches to allow contraception. Since then most non Catholic churches have allowed artificial contraception. A few small Protestant churches  more or less still hold the Roman Catholic position on the matter. The Orthodox churches hold varying views on the matter with some bishops lauding Humanae vitae and some allowing for a more liberal view. The Roman Catholic Church remains vehemently opposed to artificial contraception on moral grounds even if a sizeable number of Catholics do not agree with her.


However many Anglicans at the time opposed the resolution. You can find various positions opposing it here. Those opposed were mainly from the Anglo Catholic wing with some from the Evangelical wing of the Church of England. It is notable that in all these essays, the writers appealed to the unchanging practice of the Holy Catholic Church.


This opposition crosses into the history of Anglicanism in the Philippines. Father John Staunton of St Mary's Sagada was resolutely against the Lambeth decision and he became a Roman Catholic priest afterwards.


The Anglican Communion has based its stance on the practical difficulties of married couples and that by 1958, the bishops had accepted that many Anglicans use contraception and left the decision to use it on the couples themselves.


Today this is the general position of the Anglican Church. Many Orthodox churches hold a similar position to that of the 1930 Lambeth resolution. Many Roman Catholic laity, priests and even bishops and cardinals privately or publicly hold similar positions to that of the Anglican one.  The Episcopal Church in the Philippines has recently published its position on the RH bill. The ECP's support of the bill is consistent with the Anglican Communion's 1958 stance on the matter that the decision on what contraceptive to use lies with the married couple. This is also the general position of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) which the ECP is a founding member.


Nonetheless in the debates on the RH bill in the Philippines one of the Anglican divines in 1930 asks a question that is valid and relevant for us today.


"How far will the argument for contraceptives logically carry us?"

This same theologian also anticipates the Blessed Pope John Paul II's challenge on his election as pope. "Be not afraid"!

"The Church is right after all; we may not put asunder ends which God has joined together. And, if we think, with some timid persons of long ago, that "if the case of a man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry," we must leave the joy and the pain, the laughter and the tears, of home to those who are not afraid of them."

This is something Roman Catholics in the Philippines have lost in the debate on RH. We may be afraid to live and so we look for the easy way out!


The Anglo Catholic wing of the Church of England in 1930 even had a collect for pro life and against artificial contraception!


O Holy Father, enable us always to think and pursue such things as are pure, lovely and of good report; that by Thy grace we may become fit to glorify and enjoy Thee forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. This year it falls on my birthday, March 9!  In the Western Church it is the Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday or the Sunday fifty days before Easter day. The ashes used in the rite comes from the burning of the palms from last Palm Sunday. Thus the continuity of the remembrance of Jesus' passion.

Now with the loss of Latinity in the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, the meaning of Quinquagesima will be met by an unexpressed but polite "duh" among most Catholics. However the last generation of Filipino Catholics to know what that means were your grandparents, who knew what the Latin Mass was all about. During Quinquagesima Sunday, the priest wore violet vestments as the liturgical colour was violet.

In the earliest Catholic tradition, this Sunday marks the beginning of the Lenten fast. In Medieval England, the pious English trooped to the churches to say their confessions to the priest. The English being not that rowdy compared to the Latins, called that Sunday "Shrove Sunday" and the following Tuesday, "Shrove Tuesday", Shrove is a old English word meaning "repent". Now on these days, it was customary to make pancakes and in the USA the day is called "pancake Tuesday". Among the Latins, it is known as "Fat Tuesday" and this is day of the Mardi Gras, which means the same thing! The consumption of animal products is prohibited in Lent and this included pancakes which have eggs!

All these are almost lost to a secular world except perhaps in New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro. In many cities Mardi Gras has taken a "gay" reputation as sort of coming out, when the original idea was to get inside one's conscience, examine it for sins and make a confession!

Fortunately the Anglican Church for the benefit of the whole Catholic Church (which has almost lost its sense of Latin!) has preserved much of the original meanings of these days. The Book of Common Prayer still emphasizes the fasting and penitence aspect. Thus the collect for the day is

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou has made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The 1928 BCP readings and Gospel are identical to that in the old Roman Missal for Ash Wednesday ( Joel 2:12 and St Matthew 7: 16). The collect's meaning is really taken from the Gospels and the Epistle for the day.

The ashes are imposed by the priest as the Sign of the Cross saying the traditional Genesis 3: 19 "Remember man, that thou art dust and into dust shall you return". The Roman Rite reforms give the priest an option taken from St Mark 1:15 "Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel" In the Philippines, a properly deputized extraordinary minister of Holy Communion ofter administers the ashes. But this is contrary to the old tradition even if the ashes are not a sacrament but a sacramental. The Anglican Church still uses the traditional Genesis verse which is a strong reminder of a man's mortality.

The question is how long must one wear the ashes. While the Gospel of the day suggests that one must wash it after leaving the church, Christ's directive must be taken in its proper context for he was really referring about the hypocritical wearing of signs of devotion.  While the Church does not have a rule about it, it is sensible to wear it until it fades away on that Wednesday. This is the only time the Christian is to wear the Sign of the Cross visible to all. People have died for the Sign of the Cross, in ancient Rome and even to this day! The wearing of "dirt" on the head is a minor inconvenience!

As it falls on my birthday, Ash Wednesday is an apt reminder that only God knows the length of my days and I must live these days in charity and service for others.

Also this Ash Wednesday is when our good friend Fr Joe Frary has a date with the surgeon. I will pray for him too.

The gifts of Anglican spirituality

So much has been discussed in blogs about what the Anglican patrimony will bring (or for a better word "restore") to the Catholic Church. We list 1) Evensong, 2) The Book of Common Prayer made Catholic, 3) A choir tradition, 4) A monastic take a parish life among others. While attending Evening Prayer at Singapore's Anglican Cathedral of St Andrew last week, I among the pews and embroidered kneeling cushions, reflected on the what kind of spirituality Anglicanism will restore in Roman Catholicism. Anglicanism in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia (except the Philippines) is more evangelical and low church and true to its evangelical orientation, refuses to ordain women.  The Singapore cathedral is the seat of the Primate for Southeast Asia, who is at present Dr John Chew. The Anglican cathedral regularly holds worship services for the Filipino community.


In the 500 years or so after Henry VIII's break with Rome, the Roman and Anglican Churches have faced crises to its existence . Rome had to reform in Trent to face the continental Calvinist challenges while Canterbury had to settle with Elizabeth I's  via media to deal with Puritanism and a resurgent Roman Catholicism. While Elizabeth I was broadly Protestant, she was also broadly Catholic. And her Book of Common Prayer became a norm for Anglicanism and its expansion. In the 21st century the Roman and Anglican Communions are also facing the challenges of a more secular global society. Anglicanism is agonizing in its response faced with tensions from a sociological approach and an approach consistent with Biblical teaching while Roman Catholicism will stand by Apostolic teaching but is still finding a way to engage in a constructive manner in a church which is as polarized as the Anglicans are.

What then can Anglican spirituality contribute in this tension filled atmosphere? Not a few "freethinkers" have predicted the demise of the Church (Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant).

One of the major graces of Anglicanism is that its spirituality is very interior, sacramental and incarnational. It nourishes a liturgical piety which the focus of  is the Book of Common Prayer which was held up as the standard of the Anglican divines and mystics, a favourite of mine is John Donne. The BCP is not just a Mass book, a novena or a Bible, but a prayer book that families have kept throughout the generations. Their copy of the BCP may battered as it is brought from home to church. The BCP is used in the baptistry, during the wedding rites, in the dining room, to the bedroom for prayers at bedside, the sickbed for prayers of healing and to the final commendation at the graveyard. The BCP and its "Cranmerian" language to Anglicans was in a sense like the Tridentine Mass to Roman Catholics until the Vatican II liturgical reforms resulted in a vernacular Mass. An Archbishop of Canterbury even said that if anyone attends a BCP service in any part of the world, it proclaims the Catholicity of the faith. Right from the start Anglican spirituality was impelled to a Catholic unity and John Donne's mysticism was witness to that future reality. That reality is now with us, if we accept the added graces of the Holy Spirit.

And that spirituality prizes moderation. This is I believe is interior too in the spirituality of Pope Benedict XVI. He is not Anglican but I daresay he is the most Anglican of the Popes. Moderation is a leaven in a society that is pulled apart by polarization and its medium is a return to the older liturgical forms. This I believe is Anglicanism's grace to the Catholic Church.

On "viruses" and my experience with a nasty one, memorable Septembers

The monsoon  or rainy season in the Philippines is a public health concern for the Department of Health, aside from the usual colds and flu that people catch, they especially the young , may catch nastier viral diseases such as dengue. The hospitals and clinics have recorded 54,000 cases of dengue as of this writing and 454 deaths have been recorded.

Dengue is  the major public health concern now. The worst hit regions are Western Visayas and the Cordilleras. The mountainous Cordilleras were once considered unlikely dengue hotspots since the mosquito vector is intolerant of cool climates. But with a warming and wetter climate, even the Cordilleras are no longer immune. The problem is that we have no vaccine against dengue or even a cure. Doctors can offer only what they call "supportive therapy". I know this from first hand experience since 9 years ago on this day, I was rushed to St Luke's Hospital in Cathedral Heights, Quezon City with a bad case of dengue that went from bad to worse. It was so bad that my prognosis was poor. I thought that I was about to "kick the bucket" that I asked for a priest. The Episcopal chaplain ministered to me. I did not get his name. The next day, I was much weaker, and the Roman Catholic chaplain came and gave viaticum. In the afternoon an ex student of mine who was a Jesuit seminarian came and said the prayers. He asked the intercession of the Virgin of Piat and he asked me to ask the intercession of the saint that first crossed my mind. And that saint was John Henry Newman! The seminarian left me with an apple and he went back to the Ateneo in the rain.

And the next day, I was up and about, walking! The doctors were amazed. The scientist that I am hesitated  to proclaim it was a miracle.

When life seems to ebb, we then acutely realize that we are at the mercy of God. [Of course when we are hale and strong and can do it, all we are at God's mercy but we don't realize it] What is the meaning of all that we have and done? I'd say not much without that meaning in God. I stayed in the hospital for more than a week and on September 11,2001 the world changed. I was in hospital still about three days before final discharge when I couldn't believe what just happened live on CNN. Even the doctors with me can't believe it too.

Septembers are memorable for me. One for that nasty viral episode, second for typhoon Ondoy by which all my expensive hi tech gadgets went swimming to techno-heaven and of course the Nativity of the Virgin. These things are somewhat related. We have to have God a go with our lives like what the Virgin did.

And writing about viruses, I can't help but recall Rev Staunton's "pan-Protestant virus" infecting Anglicanism. Rev Staunton was discouraged by events so he writes this. But an Episcopal priest told me that there is also an "Anglican virus" infecting Roman Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Orthodox, even Atheists etc. What does this all mean?

Maybe God thinks that a viral infection while bad for the body, is good for the soul!

And BTW, this September will be memorable too for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain to beatify John Henry Cardinal Newman. Remember he was the saint that first crossed my mind as I prepared to meet my Maker?

I did send an email to the Oratory in London telling the Fathers there of my tale at St Lukes. I got an automated reply. But that matters not.  Of course my tale is not as that miraculous as the permanent deacon who upon asking Newman's intercession got healed of a disease for which he had no chance of survival. (people regularly pull out of dengue!) But Newman to me brought my prayers to God.  That is all that matters really!