In a recent video interview, Bishop Robert Barron discussed a New York Times article that asked, “Was Vatican Council II a failure?” In the discussion, Bishop Barron said the author had asked the wrong question. He suggested, “Why have we been resistant to Vatican II?” is a better question.
Pope Francis has asked Catholics across the world to read the four main documents of Vatican II this year as a preparation for 2025, a Holy Year. While I had read the documents before, I am reading them again. As I read, today’s Gospel looms large in my mind and heart: When Jesus said, “You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth,” what did he mean? Vatican II spoke a meaning to salt and light which was meant to refresh the Church and change the world. Of special interest in this is the laity.
The meaning given by Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, to salt and light for us laity is that we “seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God….The laity live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God, that, by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel, they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven.” (Lumen Gentium, 31)
The paragraphs that follow continue this theme. “Therefore, let the laity devotedly strive to acquire a more profound grasp of revealed truth, and let them insistently beg of God the gift of wisdom.” (paragraph 35).
“Moreover, let the laity also by their combined efforts remedy the customs and conditions of the world, if they are an inducement to sin, so that they all may be conformed to the norms of justice and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hinder it.” (paragraph 36)
With this sobering message of mission, let’s look at today’s readings.
Isaiah 58: 7-10
This reading from Third Isaiah, written after the Hebrews had returned to their Holy Land, is an admonition for them to live lives of justice. All through the prophets, there are reminders to the people that they must live lives that “share bread with the hungry” and “bring the poor into your houses.” Isaiah says, “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily.”
This passage ties with the Gospel. Mother Church puts it with today’s Gospel to show that Jesus’ calls to us in the Sermon on the Mount, though they seem radical and new, have been part of God’s Word and God’s will from the beginning. Indeed, in Genesis 4, when Cain killed Abel and said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God answered, “Your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10)
Interesting to me today, is the connection in Isaiah between DOING justice and BEING a light to the world. He first describes the call to justice, then he prophesies that the people WILL AFTER JUSTICE be a light to the world.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
I Corinthians 2:1-5
Just before this brief passage and just after it, Paul talks about the “wisdom of God.” The notes in my Didache Bible for today’s reading describe the wisdom of God as the teachings of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7 of Matthew, is considered a summary of the teachings of Jesus. So, the Church gives us this reading to again bring to our attention: what Jesus says is important—and has been important since the first days of the Church. It is what God shows us as the way to live.
Matthew 5:13-16
Today’s passage follows immediately after the Beatitudes. Again, the Didache Bible notes are very informative:
“Salt of the earth….light of the world. These elements describe the divine mission. Salt gives savor to food and preserves it from corruption. The role of a Christian in the world is to bring out the best in others by leading them to Christ. Through their personal witness, the faithful become the light of the world, enabling others to see the way from the darkness of sin to the splendor of Heaven. The candle lit at Baptism reminds the new Christian, having been enlightened by Christ, to be the light of the world.” It then references these paragraphs in the catechism: CCC 1243, 2044, 2821.
Applications
I am old enough to remember, back in the 1970s, when we were first learning to sing in church, the song, “We Are the Light of the World.” In those days, we sang it about every other week during communion. It’s still in our hymnals, but has mostly been replaced in our liturgies. Nonetheless, the words sing in me today.
The verses were the Beatitudes, followed by the chorus: “We are the Light of the world/Let our light shine before all/That they may see the good that we do/And give glory to God.”
Meditation now carries me back to Bishop Barron’s question: “Why have we been resistant to Vatican II?” I’ve been thinking about that question since I first saw the video, and the answer seems complex. But today’s Scriptures and Lumen Gentium bring up possible answers in my mind. What do you think of them?
- In the fervor of the 1960s and 1970s, many of us did seek to bring about justice and be the light of the world. We integrated schools, declared war on poverty, and brought about many changes in society. Many of those changes were done by individuals in the church, but they were mostly financed by secular government. That often brought about legislation and court decisions about “separation of church and state.” We could still witness with our joy and personal testimony, but we couldn’t command or preach. And so, too often, we gave out bread and did justice without, even to ourselves, doing it to bring about the Kingdom of God.
- Without the Gospel at the center, our efforts bore less fruit than we anticipated. In time, many gave up.
- At the same time, faith formation moved from memorized catechism to fluff for about 40 years while the levels of secular education increased.
- And, prosperity mostly continued for most of us in the church. We, our children, and now our children’s children are so separated from the Holy Spirit’s calls to us in Vatican II, that many have left the church, sometimes attend mass, don’t go to confession because they don’t even know what the church teaches, so they do not measure themselves regularly in comparison with an objective examination of conscience.
- So, now, we live in what a recent author called Catholic Discordance. Some even say Catholic Social Teaching is no longer needed. It was meant as an antidote to communism, which has been defeated. Others grimace that our concern for our brothers and sisters should include the unborn AND the immigrant AND the worker and farmer in developing countries.
Result: The salt, too often, has lost its savor, and our light of the world is more a candle in the dark flickering in the wind. We resist the necessary burning.
Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with your Love. Guide us with your Truth. Make us salt anew. Give us light. Help us practice justice and mercy—given to others, attributed to You. Lead me, guide me, Lord.
