My Thoughts On The Harrison Butker Commencement Speech

Sitting With Mary, the Mother of God

I was spending my night with some dear Catholic brothers and sisters examining some historical divisions between us Protestants and Catholics. After we had looked at the issues, we looked at and discussed our common foe(s), had a beer, and told some stories. One brother took me home when all was concluded, and he asked me if we could listen to a CD of the Rosary, as he said he wanted to finish it (it takes a good deal of time to do it right). "Of course," I said. Now, I should say, despite my current openness to Catholicism for reasons discussed previously on this blog, I do not venerate the mother of the Lord for conscience's sake. I joined in where most creedal Protestants would: the 'Our Father,' the 'Glory Be,' and the Apostles' Creed. I'd have to say, we should give real thought to praying the Rosary with Catholics (excepting the Marian parts if need be). The creedal unity therein expressed is indeed imperfect still, given the original context and the Catholic implications for ecclesial union, but it would be significant in any case. One may protest that justification is so significant that truth would be sacrificed on an altar of good feelings by doing it. (I grant the possibility that the Protestant doctrine of justification is correct.) Were one to take precisely this stance, however, it would actually undercut the Protestant understanding of the visible church. By essentially stating that the Protestant and the Catholic are confessing different faiths in the Creed because of justification, the Protestant leaves no room for the very 'Mere Christianity' reflected in his use of the creeds. I digress. This particular Rosary CD featured along with the recitations a man reading the Scripture that went along with the Mysteries. I let the words wash over me, reminding myself that A) at least I despise Nestorianism too, and 2) a large chunk of the Hail Mary is simply lifted from Luke 1. Given how many Hail Marys one would actually say (53?) during a Rosary, one would expect that one's thoughts would begin to fixate upon Mary. But that isn't what happened. Let me repeat: I did not ask Mary to pray for me or any such thing. But it my mind's eye, I saw the Lord in his Passion; I felt his love for us all. I heard the Scripture echoing in my head. I sensed mercy raining down. The weight of the heavy things that two men discussed before it began might as well have been a feather. As with anything, if you invite Jesus, He will come and take his place of pre-eminence, as is his right. If I sensed the danger of idolatry, I would tell you. I did not. Jesus took over; it was not possible to worship anything or anyone else. It was ironic, that. My friend spent most of his oxygen referring to Mary, but to me, she seemed to recede with each passing word. Her beloved Son wanted me to know He was there. Or that's the way it seemed. That's how it felt.

Let all historical investigations continue; let the Roman Catholic Church make her case as the one to which we all must return. But I think it is clear: if I made a rash decision based on feelings, it would have been decided long ago. I continue to be amazed at the realization that most of the American Catholic Church stands aloof at all this, either by sin or ignorance. As we say, "You're sittin' on a gold mine, Trebek!"