Novus Ordo Seclorum: Roman Catholic Style

Today, December 8, was the day 50 years ago, back in 1965 that the Vatican II Council concluded.  It had been convened by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.

These proceedings happened long before I was born, so I've only read and heard things about what happened in those momentous days from those in the generation that included my grandparents.  I know that St. John XXIII, who was a person well along in years, and not expected do accomplish much during his papacy, really shook things up in the Roman Catholic Church by convening this council.

The council effected a series of changes that I feel ultimately made the Church more accessible to the faithful.  These changes were evident in liturgy, so that Mass is no longer in Latin, but in the vernacular language, and the way the priest and the congregation interact at Mass changed, too, to compel the faithful to more actively participate in the liturgy.  The council's proceedings also resulted in a whole new understanding of what it means to be part of the church, with a shift toward a more pastoral focus on the part of the leaders, a drive toward works of social justice, and a different understanding of how the Roman Catholic Church relates to other Christian denominations and religions, going so far as to acknowledge they all have some measure of goodness and truth.  Certainly, leaders like Pope Francis and Archbishop Cupich have really stood out in the short time they've been in their respective offices for the pastoral approach they take to their leadership roles.  They've shown it the way they reach out to people.  I can't help but think of this in Archbishop Cupich's going around to celebrate Mass at different ethnic parishes, and then at a suburban parish on Easter Resurrection Sunday.  And Pope Francis wanted to reach out to the people of localized church by having Cardinal Vigano invest Archbishop Cupich with the pallium at Holy Name Cathedral, which was a great opportunity for us in Chicago and all of Illinois to celebrate who we are as a Church, here, and in connection with the Church Universal.

Certainly my experience in the Roman Catholic Church has been a positive one, which I'm sure has been facilitated by these changes that made it more accessible, even as we, the faithful, continue to be called to hold firm to the Truth the Church teaches--a far different image that the Roman Catholic Church cast in the years before the 1960's.  I've certainly been blessed by the opportunities to serve in a variety of liturgical ministries at Mass, and have been challenged to make much of the weekly experience of Mass in my daily living.

Vatican II was a time when the Church thoroughly re-examined itself and produced some changes to reinvigorate itself.  It's certainly good to do this every so often, so we are continually keeping ourselves in right standing before God and living out that relationship meaningfully toward others.  And we always have room for improvement.  Father Bob, who is an assistant celebrant at Ascension Parish, has more than once noted in his homilies that statistics show people are leaving the Roman Catholic Church in large numbers, and he says it's because they are not encountering the Mercy of God through their experience in the Roman Catholic Church.  With the Jubilee Year of Mercy starting today, now is a good time to renew our commitment of faith to the God who has shown us such great mercy, and joyfully go forth to share that mercy to a world that desperately needs it.  I feel that's what it means to be Church.