The o k e h is ou alta : Jozef Ca dij s u de sta di g of the ole of the Eu ha ist i the life of the o ke In this paper, I will argue that the Belgian priest, Jozef Cardijn, founder of the Young Christian Workers (YCW), used the Eucharist to develop a theology of work. The Eucharist is a recurrent theme throughout the speeches, letters, and homilies which comprise his writings; he emphasises both the importance of the Eucharistic centre of the life of prayer and the continuation of the Eucharistic offering through work done well. Joi i g o e s o k to the Eu ha ist, then, is a way of participating in and complementing the priestly sacrifice of the altar. It was in his homily for the consecration of the Basilica at Lisieux, during the French National Eucharistic Congress of 1937,1 that Cardijn clearly demonstrated the link between work and Eucharist, a link which underpins his whole theology of work. That he was invited to preach at this ceremony, presided over by the Bishop, Mgr Picaud, and the Papal Legate (Cardinal Pacelli, Secretary of State and future Pope Pius XII), gives the lie to his oft- epeated lai theologia , ot a a o la e, o a that he as not a teacher, nor a ite , ut a a of a tio .2 Admittedly Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-97) had been declared a patron of Catholic Action;3 and Cardijn was undoubtedly a gifted, powerful, charismatic speaker; but the sermon at such a momentous occasion would require a preacher who was also a well-regarded theologian. Joseph Cardijn, ‘Sermon lors des cérémonies de la consécration de la basilique à Lisieux’ (KADOC archives, Cardijn microfiche #1846 (1937)). 2 Joseph Cardijn, ‘Avant-Propos’ (1963), in Laïcs en premières lignes (Paris: Éditions universitaires, 1963), 9-14 (10-11). Unless otherwise stated, all translations of foreign-language works are my own. Note, too, that Cardijn was baptized ‘Jozef’ but published (in French and English) and ‘Joseph’. 3 As Cardijn pointed out, ‘Pope Pius XI himself gave [Thérèse] to be the special patron of the apostles of Catholic Action in their places of work…’ (‘Lisieux’, 2). 1 1 Introduction Jozef Cardijn was born in 1882 into a Flemish working-class family (although educated, like most of his generation, in French), and lived his life in and around Brussels. At se i a , he late said, he had li ed a dou le life: that of the stude t, and that of a o ke s hild, a d these t o o lds e e poles apa t. 4 Returning home on holiday, he was profoundly shocked at what had happened to his former classmates: Whe fift ea s ago I e te ed the ju io se i a … s hool ates e t out to work. They were intelligent, decent, God-fearing. When I came back for my holidays they were coarse, corrupted and lapsed from the Church – whilst I was becoming a priest. I started to make enquiries, it became the obsession of my life.5 This was reinforced by his fathe s ea l death, when Jozef dedicated his priestly service to the sal atio of the o ki g lass a d ou g o ke s .6 Post-ordination study in sociology at Leuven, followed by overseas research in the holidays from teaching in a junior seminary, enabled Cardijn to publish a handful of articles: on Jozef Cardijn, ‘Ten Huize Van... Monseigneur Cardijn’ (KADOC archive, Cardijn microfiche #1964 (1962)). 5 Eugene Langdale, ‘Introduction’, in Joseph Cardijn, Challenge to Action trans. E. Langdale (Chicago: Fides, 1955), 7-14 (8). 6 Cardijn, ‘Point du départ d’un cheminement’ (1963), in Laïcs, 19-28 (20). 4 2 working conditions in the textile industry in Germany; on single working-class women; and on Trades Unionism in Britain.7 Arriving as curate in the parish of Laeken in 1913, Cardijn found the dichotomy between work and religious practice (limited though it often was) to be as prevalent as ever among young workers. He initially established a study circle for young needle-workers, with the aim of forming them in their faith, and offering them education – many were illiterate, innumerate, or both. At the request of young men in the parish, a study circle was soon formed for them, too. By 1915, Cardijn had been appointed Di e to of “o ial Wo ks fo the dio ese, a post he held until 1925. After World War I, these parish study circles became more formalised, gradually morphing into the Young Christian Workers (male and female branches). The movement was approved by Pope Pius XI in early 1925.8 Key to the popularity of the Young Christian Workers, and to the support the movement received from the pope and bishops across Western Europe during the inter- a pe iod, as Ca dij s app op iatio a d de elop e t of Leo XIII s tea hi g in Rerum novarum on asso iatio s of o ki g- e .9 Leo was full of praise for those ho… ha e st i e … to ette the o ditio of the o ki g lass. … The ha e taken up the cause of the working man, and have spared no efforts to better the condition both of families and of indi iduals .10 Ca dij s i sight as to e su e that it Joseph Cardijn, ‘L’industrie à domicile en Allemagne’, Revue Sociale Catholique 11 (1907); Idem. ‘L’organisation ouvrière anglaise’, Revue Sociale Catholique 15/16 (1911); Idem. ‘L’ouvrière isolée’, Revue Sociale Catholique 17 (1913). 8 Cardijn states that ‘he had the providential grace to be received in private audience by Pius XI, who approved the YCW in its aim, method, and organisation’ (‘Point du départ’, in Laïcs, 26-7). This contrasts with the rather more extraordinary accounts in some of the quasi-hagiographic literature, according to which, after a public audience, Cardijn was to have sneaked into the Apostolic Palace, past the Swiss Guards, and entered the Pope’s study. 9 Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, # 54-56. 10 RN # 55. 7 3 should e, ot e of e i e e ,11 nor clergy, but the workers themselves, who [would strive] to ette the o ditio of the o ki g lass . Marking a definitive move away from the paternalism which had dominated nineteenth-century Social Catholicism, Cardijn transferred responsibility for improving working-class living and working conditions, and the apostolate of the working class, to members of this very group. Suddenly, the Church was listening to young workers, taking their concerns seriously, and encouraging them to take their place in the Church and in society. Lay apostles The work of the Young Christian Workers was thus two-fold: educating workers in their faith would bring them to realise their inherent dignity as children of God; and to accord themselves, their work, and their colleagues the dignity commensurate with this. It as to e a s hool of la apostolate , of t ai i g , hi h t a sfo s thei life of ou g o ke s i to a la p iesthood a d a la apostolate .12 This school would also form them to bring the Good News to their peers and friends; thus the workers would be the primary apostles of workers. This lay apostolate of like-to-like as to o ple e t, ot epla e, the apostoli must not, epla e la people i thei apostoli o k of the p iest: The p iest a issio .13 Such apostolic work required a strong faith: the young worker i hi self the se se of faith , a faith hi h 11 ust e o ti uall RN # 55. Cardijn, ‘The Y.C.W.’ (1938), in Challenge, 88-96 (91). 13 ‘Une nécessité vitale pour l’Église’ (1935), in Laïcs, 33-41 (37). 12 4 ot, ust de elop e e ed i ou minds by an apostolic spiritual life which is not that of a priest or religious, but working class and adapted to working- lass life. 14 Cardijn insisted that ordinary daily working life cannot be separated, even in its most profane aspects, from religious life … eligious p a ti es – sacraments, prayer, Mass, communion, liturgy, religious ceremonies – are but the sources, the beginnings, the channels of the divine life which must transform and divinise all aspects and manifestations of working-class life.15 Faith was to permeate daily life. Ea h morning, the young worker should be a le to offe to his C eato a d ‘edee e , ot the li es of othe s, ut his o the offe i g that is o th e o e eligious … life … ost i the sight of God. 16 I deed, the hole of life ust ust, like the Host, e o se ated to God .17 For the young worker, work was to become the hapel a d alta : he a ot ha dle his osa o his missal while he is in the factory; he has tools in his hands and work to do. [He] must change his work into a prayer, a prolonged Mass, u ited to the p iest at the alta . 18 In order to carry out the vital work of the lay apostolate, through and in their work, Young Christian Workers were to have a strong faith, which would seep into every aspect of their daily lives, particularly their work. In a very particular way, their workplace was to become the altar. This in turn required Cardijn, not only to ‘The Young Worker faces life’ (1949), in Challenge, 62-82 (79-80). ‘L’apostolat des laics dans une de ses realisations concrètes: un laïcat ouvrier’ (1935), in Laïcs, 4553 (47). 16 ‘The Hour of the Workers’ Mission’, in The Church and the Young Worker. Speeches and Writings of Canon Joseph Cardijn trans. E. Langdale (London: Young Worker Publications, 1948), 14-21 (20). 17 ‘The Hour of the Worker Missionaries’, in The Church and the Young Worker, 22-31 (22). 18 ‘The Young Worker faces life’, in Challenge, 80. 14 15 5 develop foundations for a theology of work, but also to ensure that the Young Christian Workers had a profound, and correct, understanding both of the centrality of the Mass, and of the Church and their place in and contribution to it. I will therefore now turn to his concept of the Eucharist and of the Mystical Body, before returning to the theme of work as eucharistic. The Eucharist Fo Ca dij , the Mass as the e t e a d su it of the litu g ,19 i deed, the sou e a d ul i atio of all Ch istia life avant la lettre.20 He followed the lead of Pius X21 in encouraging more frequent attendance at Mass and reception of Communion where this was realistic: the working day at YCW headquarters always began with Mass, which all were expected to attend. At the same time, he was hau ted the thought of the thousa ds of o ke s ho lea e thei ho es efo e the church is open in the mornings, and only come home in the evening once the hu h is losed ;22 effe ti el out of the uestio fo ea i g that dail Mass a d Hol Co u io [ e e] e ause of o k .23 He nonetheless emphasized the importance ou g o ke s of u de sta di g the Mass. How must they pray, be united to Ch ist? T to o ed… The ake the u de sta d the Mass. … Not u de sta di g it the get ust a t to go to Mass. 24 To this end, ‘La formation des laïcs à leur apostolat’ (1951), in Laïcs, 151-73 (159). LG # 11; Norman P. Tanner, SJ, Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils (London: Sheed & Ward, 1990), ii.857. 21 Pius X, Sacra Tridentine Synodus (1905). 22 Cardijn, ‘La formation’, in Laïcs, 158. 23 ‘The Young Worker faces life’, in Challenge, 80. 24 ‘Worker Missionaries’, in The Hour of the Working Class, 28. 19 20 6 Very often, when I was in parish ministry, I would replace the meetings of the first YCWs with a live demonstration of the Mass. We would gather in the evening in the church in Laeken, and there, with the young men or young women around the altar, I would show them the sacred vessels, explain the symbols, and carry out in front of them, and with them, the most significant actions of the eucharistic sacrifice. For most of them it was such an e t ao di a e elatio … that the ee a ked it fo life.25 The centrality of the Eucharist to the life of prayer was carried into the world of the la pe so . Ite, missa est. When Mass has ended, the lay person should know it is this very sacrifice of redemption which pushes them to action in the world: Go o , la people, go to ou issio , to ou o k, hi h is the o goi g sa ifi e of Christ! Your machine, your workbench is the altar .26 The Eucharist – sacrament and sacrifice – was, for Cardijn, absolutely t a sfo ati e of life, espe iall p iest ho a o ki g life, t a sfo i g ea h o ke i to a la - ake his o k, his o k e h… a altar, united with priests at the alta s of thei hu hes… 27 Ultimately, it was this link between Eucharist and work hi h e a led e e o ke to i g Ch ist to thei f ie ds at o k. 28 Furthermore, as Henri de Lubac (1896-1991) poi ted out, The Church makes the Eu ha ist, a d the Eu ha ist akes the Chu h. 29 The Church describes the Eucharist as a sacrament, but it is the Eucharist which builds up the Church ‘La formation’, in Laïcs, 160. ‘La formation’, in Laïcs, 160. 27 ‘Lisieux’, 4. 28 ‘Lisieux’, 4. 29 Henri de Lubac, SJ, Méditation sur l’Église, Théologie (Paris: Aubier, 1953), 113; also Paul McPartlan, The Eucharist Makes the Church. Henri de Lubac and John Zizioulas in Dialogue (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993). 25 26 7 community. Thei life [is to e o e] a di i e life, i o sta t u io ith Ch ist, so that their own life becomes the life of Christ in them, within that divine community … hi h is the Chu h. 30 Those who receive the Body of Christ at the Eucharist make up the Mystical Body of Christ, the community of Christians working in the world, continuing the eucharistic sacrifice the e. It is to Ca dij s u de sta di g of the Church as Mystical Body of Christ that I now turn. The Church: Mystical Body of Christ Fo 9 o a ds, fo the fi st ti e, [Ca dij s] e lesiolog as a ked the image of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, a concept which he had never efo e used. This positio as i spi ed i pa ti ula speeches, particularly Quadragesimo Anno 9 Pius XI s iti gs a d . 31 Pace Vos, this image was not simply due to Pius XI, but in fact formed a significant part of the theological Zeitgeist of the interwar period in Europe: du i g the 9 sa d 9 s , Hah e e g reminds us, Paul s o ga i i age fo the Chu h u st o to the s e e .32 The bibliography compiled by Bluett demonstrates a dramatic growth in studies in this field between 9 a d 9 7, o i gf o do t i al e positio s [a d e] egeti al studies to histo i al studies of the do t i e i the Pat isti a d Medie al pe iods .33 As well as Cardijn, theologians such as Romano Guardini (1885-1968), Karl Adam (1876-1966), Cardijn, ‘A Y.C.W. of the Masses to the Scale of the World’ (1945), in Challenge, 97-107 (98). Louis Vos, ‘La Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne’, in Emmanuel Gerard and Paul Wynants (eds), Histoire du Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien en Belgique, KADOC-STUDIES 16 (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1994), 424-95 (455). 32 Edward P. Hahnenberg, ‘The Mystical Body of Christ and Communion Ecclesiology: Historical Parallels’, Irish Theological Quarterly 70/3 (2005) 3-30 (3). 33 J. Bluett, SJ, ‘The Mystical Body: A Bibliography, 1890-1940’, Theological Studies 3 (1942) 262-89 (262). 30 31 8 Émile Mersch, SJ (1890-1940), and Sebastiaan Tromp, SJ (1889-1975), to mention but a few, studied the concept of the Church as Mystical Body – Tromp is widely acknowledged as the author of Pius XII s 9 e li al, Mystici Corporis Christi. Perhaps most famously, de Lubac investigated the question, initially in a series of articles for Recherches de Science Religieuse34 in the late 1930s, later published as Corpus Mysticum,35 in which he traced the use and understanding of that expression. He would develop a deeper theology of the Church as Mystical Body of Christ in M ditation sur l’Église.36 The image of the Church as Mystical Body a ks ot o l a et ie al of Paul s ecclesiology (Romans and 1 Corinthians describing the whole ekklesia as Ch ist s body, Ephesians/Colossians developing the motif of Christ the head of his body, the Church), but also the retrieval of patristic and medieval writings on Eucharist and Church. By taking up this important motif, Cardijn demonstrates that, despite his adamant claims that he was a man of action rather than a theologian, he clearly had his finger on the theological pulse, and intended to use it to support his beloved Young Workers. A key aspect of Mystical Bod e lesiolog , f o o Möhle s Symbolik37 a ds, is the u de sta di g of the Chu h as the o ti uatio of the I a atio of the “o of God. 38 For Cardijn, this fitted closely with the emphasis on work as a 34 RSR 29 (1939), RSR 30 (1940). Henri de Lubac, SJ, Corpus Mysticum. The Eucharist and the Church in the Middle Ages trans. Gemma Simmonds, Richard Price, and Christopher Stevens, ed. Laurence Paul Hemming and Susan Frank Parsons (London: SCM Press, 2006). This translation is from the second (1949) edition. 36 Paris: Seuil, 1953; ET, The Splendor of the Church trans. Michael Mason (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1999). 37 J. A Möhler, Symbolism: or, the exposition of the doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants as evidenced by their symbolical writings trans. J. B. Robertson (3rd edn) (New York: The Catholic Publication House, 1843). 38 Peter Riga, ‘The Ecclesiology of Johann Adam Möhler’, Theological Studies 22/4 (1961) 563-87 (562). 35 9 collaboration with God, to bring about the sal atio of the o ld: the di i e seal of vocation which makes every worker the immediate, personal, irreplaceable coo ke ith God i his o k of eatio a d of ede ptio . 39 It also reinforced the understanding that every worker – by which he meant, every person –, as a part of the Mystical Body, was to share in the apostolic work of evangelisation. The Mystical Bod fi ds its fo e ost a d full e p essio a d ealisatio i that apostolate, hi h confers on humanity all its value, and its supreme a d ulti ate sig ifi a e. 40 Cardijn offered Young Christian Workers the concept of the Church as Mystical Body, fo ed all hu a it , u ited to Ch ist ,41 as a foundation to underpin the apostolate the a ied out, a sha ed apostolate to all e e s of the Mystical Bod ,42 fo the hole M sti al Bod is to e apostoli .43 For, he insisted, only true unity will be a dynamic, transformative unity; this alone will bring about a o st u ti e ha it , the life a d soul of the M sti al Bod . 44 Workbench as altar Cardijn repeatedly told the Young Christian Workers that they were ot a hi es, o a i als, o sla es , ut athe the so s, the olla o ato s, the hei s of God ; this gave the easo fo thei u i ue, o l , a d t ue desti , thei raison d’ tre, reason for living, o ki g .45 It is e ause the Wo d e a e flesh a d d elt a o g us Cardijn, ‘Lisieux’, 1. ‘Dimensions de l’apostolat des laïcs’ (1951), in Laïcs, 103-117 (108). 41 ‘La mission terrestre de l’homme et de l’humanité’ (1951), in Laïcs, 67-75 (70). 42 ‘La mission terrestre’ in Laïcs, 75. 43 ‘Une nécessité vitale’, in Laïcs, 38. 44 ‘Un laïcat ouvrier’, in Laïcs, 52. 45 JOC (ed), Compte-Rendu de la Semaine d’Études Internationale de la Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (Brussels : Éditions Jocistes, 1935), 71-2. 39 40 10 [that] e e pe so s ete al desti a d e o es o is i a ate i te po al life, he e it de elops ete .46 For young workers, as indeed for every human person, the e is ut o e ete al desti … eithe to e sa ed o to e da ed fo all ete it . 47 All workers, as indeed, all human beings, bear the especial dignity of being created in imago Dei. Cardijn was careful to demonstrate that work, far from bei g a pu ish e t, a u se, sla e , as i fa t a olla o atio o k, the o ke is the p i a ith the C eato a d ‘edee e . At his i iste , God s i ediate a d i ti ate olla o ato . 48 The e is o dou t, fo Ca dij , that o k o ti ues the Ch ist the Wo ke ; that o ki g life is e essa ission of fo the ede ptio of the o ld. 49 But crucial to this is the role of the Eucharist. One of the difficult areas in the theology of work is the Pauline understanding of working for Christ – does it Ch ist; o does it Eu ha ist t a sfo ea , doi g o e s o k tent-making) for the glory of ea , doi g Ch ist s o k evangelizing)? Cardijn, arguing that the s hu a o k i to the o k of Ch ist 50 appears to be in favour of the former interpretation. This interpretation is supported by his subsequent state e ts that the Eu ha ist t a sfo o ki g egi e .52 Conclusion 46 Compte-Rendu, 72. Cardijn, ‘Scale’, in Challenge, 98. 48 ‘Un laïcat ouvrier’, in Laïcs, 46. 49 ‘Un laïcat ouvrier’, in Laïcs, 48. 50 ‘Lisieux’, 1. 51 ‘Lisieux’, 1, 5. 52 ‘Lisieux’, 7. 47 11 s the pla e of o k 51 a d o se ates the I o lusio , Ca dij s theolog of the Eu ha ist p o ides a fou datio al underpinning for his theology of work. A gifted orator, he was able to teach his Young Christian Workers the value of the Eucharist, the value of their work, and their own value, using his own, non-academic theological method. Underpinning his entire theology were two o i tio s: that ea h ou g o ke is o th o e tha all the gold i the o ld, fo the a e hild e of God ; a d that the Eu ha ist gi es human work the providential place that God has granted it in his plan for the world and in the economy of salvatio . 53 By raising work to the status of the eucharistic sacrifice, Cardijn was thus able to encourage the Young Christian Workers in their apostolate with their peers, truly enabling them to bring the Eucharist into their places of work, by ensuring that their workbenches were their altars. 53 ‘Lisieux’, 1. 12