A Vain Attempt
Almost 300 years later, the Roman Emperor Julian set out to refute Christ and His New Covenant. He had developed a burning hatred of Christianity, apparently initiated at age six when a previous Christian emperor had directed the killing of most of the male members of his family. The young man subsequently repudiated Catholicism and thus became known in Roman history as “Julian the Apostate.” As emperor, Julian decided to discredit Jesus Christ and His Catholic Church once and for all. His plan? Rebuild the Temple and re-institute its Old Covenant sacrifices, thus nullifying Christ’s words in Matthew 24:1-2. The “gates of hell” would thereby not only prevail against Christ’s Church (cf. Mt 16:18), but against Christ Himself.
As the Jesuit historian Giuseppe Ricciotti describes the emperor’s attempt in his book Julian the Apostate, “The high priest of the Hellenes would embarrass the God of the Galileans on His own terrain, making Him out to be a charlatan.” The Church could do nothing but invoke God’s aid. How many troops does the pope have? A rather omnipotent army of One, as Julian would learn. Historian Giuseppe Ricciotti retells the dramatic story as it unfolded:
After he made his decision, Julian entrusted its execution to Alypius, a trustworthy individual…. The events which followed would be almost incredible if they were not attested with substantial agreement by Julian’s pagan friend Ammianus, by the Arian Philostorgius, and by orthodox Christians such as Rufinus, Socrates, Theodoret, [and the Church Father] Gregory Nazianzen and others. According to Ammianus, Julian allotted enormous sums for the enterprise….
Toward the close of 362, however, violent earthquakes occurred along the Palestinian coast [and elsewhere]…. Jerusalem also suffered from these great tremors. Recently cleared portions of the temple area were at times littered with ruins caused by the earthquakes. On one occasion a violent tremor caused the collapse of a portico upon a large number of workmen, some of whom were killed, though others found refuge in a neighboring Church.
Despite this, the project was pursued vigorously. Here we must leave the account to our neutral witness, Ammianus: “But though Alypius pushed the work forward energetically, and though he was assisted by the governor of the province, frightful balls of flame kept bursting forth near the foundations of the temple, and some were even burned to death. And since the elements persistently drove them back, Julian gave up the attempt.”
Profiting from Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters
The events of 70 and 362 AD serve as covenant exclamation points that the New Covenant had indeed fulfilled the Old (cf. Catechism, no. 66). Yet Catholics should not view these events as reason to celebrate Israel’s downfall, lest they endure a much harsher divine judgment themselves (cf. Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 14). Nor should they invoke events of nearly 2,000 years as justifying virulent prejudices today. Anti-Semitism and Anti-Judaism are, in fact, invariably anti-Catholic. As Pope Pius XI noted about Jews and Catholics, “Spiritually, we are all Semites,” the beneficiaries of God’s covenant plan to make a universal blessing of the nation of Israel (Gen 12:1-2; 22:18; cf. Acts 3:25-26) through His Jewish Son (Mt 1:1). Jesus Himself reminds us that “salvation is from the Jews” (Jn 4:22), and the biblical story of the Mass incontrovertibly testifies to the privileged role that the Jewish people have played in salvation history (cf. Rom 9:3-5).
While the Church speaks of herself as the restored “Israel of God” (Gal 6:11-16), God has certainly not abandoned those Jews who continue to profess the Old Covenant (cf. Catechism, nos. 839-40), even though its sacrifices cannot be offered. He desires them, as He desires all men and women, to embrace freely Christ and His New Covenant as members of His Catholic Church (cf. Catechism, nos. 816, 836). The Messiah came to save all mankind, particularly those who share His heritage as an Israelite (cf. Mt 1:21; 10:6, 15:24; Catechism, nos. 438, 528). To participate fruitfully in this saving mission to both Jews and the world in general, Catholics en masse must make knowing, living, and sharing their faith the unambiguous number-one life priority it should be. They must truly seek God’s kingdom first in their lives (Mt 6:33), setting aside soul-sapping modern distractions so that they can understand well and passionately convey the biblical story of the Mass. While Mary, the pope and the Eucharist are typically the three major obstacles that prospective converts must overcome, the roles of the Mother of God and the Vicar of Christ are more easily negotiated when seen in light of the foundational, saving work of our Eucharistic Lord. As Pope John Paul II reminded us in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, the mission of Christ and His Church is primarily conveyed and carried out in the celebration of the Mass:
From the perpetuation of the sacrifice of the Cross and her communion with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, the Church draws the spiritual power needed to carry out her mission. The Eucharist thus appears as both the source and the summit of all evangelization, since its goal is the communion of mankind with Christ and in Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit. (no. 22)
Worship: Reverent, Not Casual
If people come to know and believe in Jesus Christ, and how His saving work is profoundly continued in the Mass, the rest of the doctrinal dominoes will follow. Yet, testifying to the Truth in word must be coupled with witnessing to the Word in deed. The example of ancient Israel bears emulating. Ancient Israelites yearned to pierce the veil of the Temple’s most holy place, always approaching God with reverential fear. Today, Catholics pierce that veil on a regular basis, yet frequently commune with the Presence of God in the Eucharist in a casual and sometimes irreverent manner. As Pope John Paul II exhorted, Catholics must become more like the One they worship, reverently offering themselves with Christ’s Sacrifice to the Father at Mass; receiving frequent Holy Communion; spending time with their Beloved in Eucharistic adoration; and making regular spiritual communions (cf. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, nos. 10, 13, 25, 34, 42), so that the world might better know that Jesus is truly Lord. If Catholics begin to see the Mass as the most profound and intimate communion with almighty God that is possible on earth, unworthy reception of the Eucharist will end overnight, liturgical abuses will cease; and the world will be won over to Christ, who will lead us to our ultimate and everlasting Communion in the heavenly sanctuary, when the sacramental veil will be removed and we will love our Lord, face to face, forever:
Almighty God, help us to live the example of love we celebrate in this Eucharist, that we may come to its fulfillment in your Presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen (Roman Missal — 2nd Edition, Prayer after Communion, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time).
Thomas J. Nash is Director of Special Projects at Catholics United for the Faith. He is the author of Worthy Is the Lamb: The Biblical Roots of the Mass (Ignatius Press) from which this column is excerpted and condensed with permission of Ignatius Press. He is also a co-author of Catholic for a Reason III: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mass (Emmaus Road Publishing).
