Today we Celebrate the Crux of Human History

My father, Ben Williams, was the Sunday School Superintendent of the Ferndale Free Methodist Church for many years from 1930–1950. During that time he also taught an adult Bible class based on a monthly periodical called The Sunday School Times.

The Sunday School Times published from 1859–1966. In 1859 and was the size of a regular newspaper.  After the turn of the century it was reduced to the size of a magazine, although very thin. It ceased publication in 1966 (https://www.loc.gov/item/sn97067021/)

My father had stacks of these valuable periodicals around the house. Their gold mine was the expository teaching of the weekly and daily Bible readings. Included were DAILY lesson readings that led up to Sunday.  Included were Lesson Plans, a Lesson Story, Teaching Points, Illustrations, Teaching Hints, Lesson Analysis, and notes by scholars, etc.  (On-Line Google Books has the older issues on line for viewing.)  The lessons were on a 3 year cycle, meaning that every 3 years a teacher would teach on the same Bible passages, but from a different perspective, particularly as it related to current events.

Vol 67 Issue 33, August 15, 1925

As a child I knew that the Bible lessons had been pre-established years before and that they were repeated in a cycle to reinforce Biblical truths. Dad was “religious” in his application of the strategy. 

What I don’t remember, but was true, is that four Bible Readings were included, from:

• Old Testament
• Psalm
• New Testament Epistle
• Gospel.

These were not randomly selected, but were interrelated. Today they’re collected in a book called the Lectionary.  Most denominations have a lectionary. The idea comes from the Jewish community which had a standardized schedule of readings from the Torah. We read of Jesus reading from this selection in Luke 4:16-21 when He began his public ministry.

14th century Lectionary giving the prologue of 

John in Greek and Arabic followed by a commentary

That practice carried over to the Christian Church. There are ancient lectionary lists of readings. But until there were printed Bibles and a literate population (beginning in the 15th century), the Lectionary Readings were known only to the well-educated and those who had access to a Bible, which were rare and expensive. 

Today’s Lectionary Readings was amazing to me, especially their interrelationship. Each morning before I get out of bed I listen to several devotion audio. The daily Mass Readings come from Augustine Institute's AMEN app. Then I listen to Dr. Tim Gray's reflections on those readings. Fascinating insights.

Here are today's readings and Gray's insights (abbreviated)

But, first you need to know that today is March 25…exactly nine months (per the Gregorian Calendar) before the Birth of Christ. It is the solemn celebration of the Annunciation of the Lord. It is the curx of history, the INCARNATION, when God became man. 

Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10

The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”

Psalm 40:7-11

Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave ME (Jesus is referenced here). Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, “Behold I come.” 

The response to this Psalm (said antiphonally by the congregation is “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

WHAT I MISS IN THIS RESPONSE AND PSALM IS THAT THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME OR YOU SAYING TO GOD "I WILL DO YOUR WILL," but THESE ARE THE WORDS OF JESUS SAYING TO GOD, “HERE I AM LORD; I COME TO DO YOUR WILL.”  Jesus says to God, “I will do your will and become a human being.”  This interpretation is clear in the next reading.

Hebrews 10:4-10

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins: Therefore when Christ came…he said….Here I am, I have come to do your will.

Luke 1:26-28

This is the story of Gabriel appearance to Mary, and Mary saying “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”  THE INCARNATION HAPPENS. BANG! HISTORY WILL CHANGE DRAMATICALLY, FOREVER AND EVER. 

Here’s what caught me by surprise.

In these readings we have TWO Fiats.  (I don’t mean Italian cars). Fiat is a Latin word that means “LET IT BE DONE” as an authoritative order or decree.

Yes, we’ve all heard of Mary’s FIAT, “Let it be done unto me…..” but I never realized until this morning that just as Mary gave her FIAT to God, Jesus does the same in Psalm 40 as interpreted in Hebrews 10… “I will come to do your will.”  There is Jesus’ FIAT to God.

Not that we, as Christians, would expect anything else, but that these FIATS which changed all of human history are together in the readings for one day, March 25…a day in the middle of Lent when we suspend our fasting and celebrate  the Incarnation.

The INCARNATION is so important, that many Christians around the world pray the Angelus every weekday at Noon. If you’re in many European cities at noon, and here the church bells, it’s not to mark midday, it’s to mark the Incarnation. Look around you. You’ll see people kneeling in the middle of the street, bowing their heads and praying the Angelus.  I had one friend who did this all the time, even in a public restaurant. It was shocking at first, but when taken against the backdrop of eternity, it is very meaningful. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus

Finally, below (the image) is a 3 min clip I produced a while back based on a short segment of Stan Walter’s Basic Christianity Lecture No. 4 Getting Information About God. This 3 minutes is excerpted from the longer lecture that is linked here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zty5cyR_OdM

Click image for 3 min excerpt

The Latin Mass - My Story

Actually, my story is not important, although the short essay below is how I came to discover an extraordinary documentary series on YouTube. So, skip my story and link here to the documentary. Discover what makes the Latin Mass unique, why everything changed after Vatican II, and how Catholics worldwide are striving to restore Tradition.

I resisted Catholicism for the first half of my life, and the Latin version of it for years after I became Catholic.

Yet, long before I became Catholic I had two close professional friends who were Latin Catholics. Ray Long Jr. was a writer/producer on my staff, and after we parted he often freelanced for my production company. Ed Wolfrum was the token white engineer at MoTown Records and a genius in all things audio. As a freelancer, Ed often was the sound engineer and recordist on my film crews. 

Assumption Grotto C.C. - Detroit

But Ray and Ed had another thing in common. They were what I called Latin Catholics. They attended Assumption Grotto Catholic Church in Detroit, where Fr. Eduardo Perrone was pastor. Perrone was unique among Catholic priests, at least in Detroit. Not only was he a weekly celebrant of the Tridentine Latin Mass in the basilica-plan Neo-Gothic limestone and marble church, but he's a world-class composer and conductor, having occasionally directed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and having composed many sacred, classical, modern, and Mass compositions. Several times a year he will conduct DSO musicians, professional soloists, and the Grotto choir and organ in one of the world famous Mass settings by Mozart, Bach or his own Mass compositions, while at the other end of the church a High Solemn Tridentine Mass is celebrated, complete with bells, incense, 14 altar servers, candles and sacred altar choreography. These were/are heavenly experiences not to be missed.  Ed often made professional recordings of the music which today are available on CDs, of which I have five. 

Ed was my sponsor when I came into the Catholic Church, although it was not at Grotto but at St. James of Novi, miles to the West. Ray was a close friend, and between the two they occasionally corralled me to Latin Masses, especially if the orchestra was present. I loved the mystery and aesthetic of the Latin Mass with the dramatic classical, live orchestra, Gregorian chant and organ. 

I claimed that the Novus Ordo (New Order) Mass (aka the English Catholic Lite Mass) was instrumental in bringing me into the Catholic Church because of its emphasis on Scripture, it's orientation to the people (like Evangelical churches) and that I could understand the liturgy. But there was always an attraction to the mystical Latin worship of God that took me out of my everyday environment and forced me to focus on God and not the personalities of the priest, deacon, cantors, or readers.

Christmas High Mass at Grotto

I came into the Catholic Church in 1998. Now, 26 years later, the mystical, and historic Mass of the ages is attracting me with its mystery, history, and intellectual fervor. Lately, I've been attending, but not understanding, except for the subjective sense of worship that accompanies the reverence shown about the altar and the Gregorian chant and organ that comes from behind in the balcony. So, I purchased a 1962 Daily Missal, and spent a half day understanding how it works. 

Roman Catholic Daily Missal (English/Latin) - 1962

Many people at Latin Masses use these thick interlinear (Latin & English) books throughout the Mass. I'm looking forward the my first Sunday with the Missal in hand and following along with the priests, attendants, choir, and organ. 

Then I discovered something extraordinary, on YouTube of all places.  Cameron O'Hearn's three documentaries (48m, 71m, & 88m) tracing the history of and details of how the Traditional Latin Mass was sidelined (mostly, but not entirely) by Vatican II modernists in favor of the newly created Novus Ordo Mass that jettisoned 2/3rds of the Traditional Latin Mass developed over the centuries from the time of the Apostles. Although I consider the changes sad, if not scandalous, the message at the end of Episode 3, draws hopeful parallels to the story of Jesus sleeping in the back of Peter's boat during a storm. It has convinced me that Satan has infiltrated the Church and continues to attempt to marginalize and dumb it down so fewer and fewer people will embrace the historic truth of Christianity. I encourage all to watch the series and start attending the Latin Mass.