New Mass prayers show us the true face of Christ

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 23, 2011
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: Matt. 22:34-40 “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Complete homily: Recently our religious community went on retreat. Our retreat director spoke to us of many aspects of discipleship and of following Christ as Catholic religious. In one of his talks he used the analogy of the artist Rembrandt and his search for the true face of Jesus. As many of us know, the Philadelphia Art Museum is holding an exhibit entitle “Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus” till the end of October.

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Rembrandt wanted to know how Jesus really looked. In the past, Jesus was placed within the context of different cultures and nationalities. He particularly was often seen as a European man who looked with piercing eyes at the viewer. These representations had their place and often lead many people to prayer. However, Rembrandt wanted to know the “real” face of Jesus as he was hundreds of years ago in the Middle East.

So he searched among Jewish people for a man fitting the criteria. Having found such a man he painted him gazing off to the side. This was so different. A Jewish Jesus who was being portrayed living his life looking off to the side in thought. Our retreat director gave us one of the Rembrandt photos to meditate as a unique portrait of the face of Jesus. What a difference it was to look at Jesus as a Jew pondering the world he lived in!

Looking at Jesus as He is

We can imagine this “Rembrandt Jesus” being confronted by the Pharisees in the Gospel today. They are trying to trick Him, but Jesus uses it as an opportunity to teach about the two greatest commandments: love God totally and love our neighbor as ourselves. How many times have we heard this same message, but we must clearly realize what Jesus is saying. There is a priority to loving the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind. Jesus is clear that this is the greatest and the first commandment. Looking at Jesus as He is will bring us face to face with our own human nature. It is difficult to face ourselves and this is why Jesus was such a controversial figure.

How honorable was Rembrandt’s search for the real face of Christ. Rembrandt went back into history to find Jesus’ face and to see Him as He is. We do not have the luxury of spending the time and the effort to find the real Christ, but we also do not need to. Jesus has told us before he acsended “I am with you always, even to the end of time (Mt 28:20)”. Jesus is with us in the Sacraments, especially in the Mass. The famous axiom of Pope St. Celestine I (422-32) holds true for us even today, “Legem credendi statuit lex orandi” (The rule of prayer determines the rule of faith). How we pray (especially in the Mass) determines what we believe.

Sunday prayers show our faith

What we pray each Sunday shows our faith and it must be directed to God as he really is. We know who God is by the Jesus and the revelation that comes from Him. He gave this teaching to His Body the Church. The Sacred Scriptures were put together by the living apostolic Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit has been promised to the Church who preserves the faith throughout the centuries. The prayers of the Mass have not changed much in hundreds of years. These Eucharistic prayers go back to the early Church. What a precious gift are these prayers of the Mass that show us the true face of Christ.

The new translation is the Church’s desire to go back into history, back to the Latin text, and bring us the truest translation of the same prayers Catholics have prayed for hundreds, even thousands of years. Many people remember some of these prayers from the initial translation that came after the Mass first went into English. Words such as “consubstantial with the Father”, “incarnate of the Virgin Mary” and “with your spirit” reveal to us the true revelation that we have received from Christ and his Body the Church. The face of Christ begins to be revealed in his teachings which we ourselves pass down from one generation to the other. This is much more precious than a painting; it is God’s revelation to His people.

What we pray becomes what we believe

The prayer of the Church, the Mass, shows us the Father and how to love in a way that is total, self sacrificing. Our relationship with God comes through prayer, and especially the Mass. What we pray becomes what we believe, which in turn becomes how we live. Truly living the Mass teaches us how to love others. We are created in the Image of God. To look at another as a follower of Jesus is to look at the face of God. To know God is to know that true love demands sacrifice and giving of ourselves.  We worship God who loves totally on the Cross. In our culture today, the focus is often on what can I get from another. Relationships are centered on the superficial. Naturally this love must be imitated by us in the way we speak to God in the Mass and God present in each person created in His Image.

The Mass will change us

Going to the Art Museum and seeing Rembrandt’s work helps us to appreciate one who searched sincerely for the face of God. Each one of us must search for God also, but it doesn’t have to be as complicated. Jesus is the revelation of the Face of God. He shows us who we were meant to be. We touch him in the Sacraments and listen to Him in the Sacred Scriptures. Words do matter, just as the nationality and culture of Jesus mattered to Rembrandt. The new translation offers us an opportunity to experience Christ as He is. Experiencing this weekly in the Mass will change us. It will change how what we believe, making it more pure and true. And ultimately, if we allow it, the Mass will change us into the one we worship. We will become the face of Jesus to a hurting world.