Bulletin column from August 14, 2022

Dear Friends at Saint Frances Cabrini Parish and Saint Mary’s Immaculate Conception Parish:

Praised be Jesus Christ! For several years now we have had a focus or theme for both parishes that guides us through formation year, kicking-off late in the summer. The annual focus is woven into our school and faith formation programing, our stewardship drives, our liturgies, and our various communication avenues across both campuses. One could think of it as the “heart” of each new formation year.

The theme for this coming year is “Lift Up Your Hearts!” This will sound most familiar to our ears from hearing it spoken by the priest at Mass, during what is called the “Preface Dialogue.” “Lift up your hearts!,” the priest says, or “Sursum Corda!” in Latin. “We lift them up to the Lord!” we respond. It is an ancient component of the Roman Liturgy and it is meant to capture succinctly a central disposition of Catholic worship: joyful praise of God. “Put your hearts where God is!,” put your entire selves into the heavens, into divine friendship, into the eternity of his face. Do so because it is clear that Christ has been crucified and risen for our sakes. Do so because it is clear that during the Mass, Christ himself is present and near us. Do so because our doctrines and teachings astonish us by their good news. “Lift up your hearts!” “Sursum Corda.” These ancient words are our own words and they are meant to be our identifier as people of worship and of the Gospel.

Interestingly, the expression “Lift up your hearts” is found in the Scriptures in what at first might seem an unlikely place: Lamentations 3:41: “Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands toward God in heaven!” This expression is given in the midst of a lengthy, prayerful acknowledgement of the infidelity of the Chosen People that led to the destruction of the Temple. Their place of worship is gone, and they are out of the Promised Land when these words are offered. The verse incorporates together two essential truths: that humanity’s fidelity is fickle leading to our woes, but also that God’s fidelity is flawless, leading us to lift up our hearts to him in gratitude and trust through all circumstances, good and bad. We come to him at Mass as sinners, mindful of what has been lost through our infidelity, but also mindful of what has been won for us by Christ’s sacrifice that is made present at the Mass. This leads us to repentance, and to joy, and to worship. It is a perfect verse in so many ways and shows, among other things, the genius of Catholic worship that is thoroughly Biblical, ancient, and also ever-new.

Our parishes continue to push for a return of all Catholics to Mass because of what the Mass is. The United States Bishops, and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, are launching us all into a multi-year formation push on the Eucharist. The world as we know it often feels to many of us as though we are living in the Book of Lamentations, with so many bedrock aspects of life teetering around us. Yet, we do know that even in the darkest of times we are called to lift up our hearts just as ancient, exiled Israel once did. God is always faithful, and God is always here. He is here supremely and beautifully in the Eucharist. He is here in the Church. He is here no matter what changes may come to our lives. Our theme for this year is providential and needed for our moment. “Lift Up Your Hearts!”