St. Joseph of the Lakes

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. (1Cor.12:5-6)

Last Sunday we heard these words of Saint Paul proclaimed in the second reading. They continue today as Saint Paul talks about the singular body with its various parts. The whole point of his exploration is to encourage the Corinthian community (and us) to realize that Jesus comes to establish his Body here on earth for all time. The Corinthians were sparring with each other over several different issues, best characterized by their division over who was the best and most important. Instead of seeing their differences as an asset to be built on, they argued that one way was better than another. This caused friction and scandal not only within the community, but it overflowed as a public manifestation that even the non-members of the community could witness.

Almost as a single voice the early Church Fathers taught that unity was the strongest sign of the presence of God both within the community and in the world. We are hearing Paul’s admonition to this significant community that they need to lay aside their differences and seek unity. He is not telling them to all walk in lock-step with each other, but instead to appreciate the differences that each member has and to understand it all flows from a single source: the Holy Spirit, as it seeks to build up the body of Christ.

Nowadays there has been a discussion about how we as Catholics celebrate Mass. At the second Vatican Council the Church Fathers embraced a liturgical renewal that had been explored for sixty years prior to their meeting. Many of us older folks experienced the shift from the pre-conciliar Mass to the post-conciliar Mass. There were radical shifts in the language and in the ritual actions within the Mass. (We began using English and the priest turned to face us, the congretation). The liturgy became the work of the people, not just the action of the priest. There are those within the Church who are troubled by this and seek to go back to the “traditional” way; Often they are pious and well-practicing Catholics. It has become a source of division between groups within the Church. Thus the Pope recently published a directive which severely limited the use of the extraordinary (traditional) Mass with the encouragement that all of Catholics make use of the “Novis Order” (the post-Conciliar) Mass to encourage a stronger showing of our unity as members of Christ’s body.