Holy Gimmicks

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 26, 2024

The word “gimmick” usually has pejorative connotations. A gimmick is a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or the business of a going concern. But not all gimmicks are unworthy of holiness. Jesus is the Master of holy gimmicks. His mighty deeds attract our attention and direct it to the “going concern” of our salvation.

The mighty deeds of God in the Old Testament are holy gimmicks. God rescues Noah and his ark of refugees from the Great Flood of God’s wrath. Going concern: Avoid wickedness that leads to destruction. Using Moses as his human instrument, God separates the Red Sea for the escape of the Israelites during the Exodus. Going concern: Trust God to bring us to the Promised Land. Elijah taunts the false prophets of Baal during their comical cultic gimmicks that come to no avail. Elijah conducts a gimmick of his own as he invokes fires from heaven to consume the holocausts in witness to his prophetic legitimacy. Going concern: Worship the one God.

The mighty deeds of Jesus have the same effect. His miracles—healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding the multitude—are holy gimmicks. He intends to attract our attention so that we recognize the authority of His words as our going concern.

Without subsequent events, the miraculous multiplication of the loaves in isolation is a special-effects gimmick. But the miracle marks the beginning of an extended narrative. Jesus explains the miracle during His Eucharistic Discourse. He is the Bread of Life. The Last Supper fulfills His words when mere bread and wine become His body, blood, soul, and divinity. His Bread of Life explanation did not persuade His Bread King skeptics.

When Jesus asks His intimates if they, too, would leave him, Peter responds with human uncertainty fortified by divine faith: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn. 6:68) The Apostles who recovered their faith after the Resurrection would enjoy the fruits of the holy gimmicks of Jesus. Indeed, even the Resurrection is the holiest of gimmicks that directs our attention to the enduring and eternal words and promises of Jesus.

The Church has mastered the delicate art of holy gimmicks to maintain her as a going concern. The Church is apostolic. Every priest and bishop can trace his holy orders back to the Apostles. During the ordination of a bishop, the consecrating bishop prays over the candidate and lays his hands on him. The “laying of the hands” is a bit of a gimmick. A bishop—and a priest—sense the dignity, uniqueness, and urgency of the laying on of the hands.

The physical touch of ordination extends back to the Apostles. The apostolic going concern of holy orders depends upon the continuity of tangible human encounters. After separating from Rome, the Church of England lost the validity of the priesthood because of breaks in the continuity of the laying of the hands. The gesture is a holy gimmick that guarantees the valid celebration of the Eucharist. The sacraments are not magic or ephemeral mysticism. The simple gesture reconciles prayer with a human touch and grace with nature.

Within the celebration of the liturgy, a series of holy gimmicks enhance the celebration of the Mass. Jesus teaches, “In praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them.” (Mt. 6:7-8) Every priest knows the pressure to recite a punctual and expeditious Mass. Not only does the priest honor the time constraints of his people—especially during the workweek—but the priest also needs a few gimmicks to restrain a lightning-fast recitation of the Mass.

The various pauses inserted after many of the prayers are holy gimmicks. After the priest leads the people in prayer with, “Let us pray,” he pauses to allow us to collect our thoughts. Maybe we do. The pause is also a gimmick to slow down the Mass lest we rush through our prayers in an unholy manner. (Persuading our lay readers to pause before announcing, “The Word of the Lord” is a difficult endeavor.) The recitation of the “Glory Be” after every Psalm we pray in the Divine Office is a symmetrical gimmick to force us to pause as we transition to the following Psalm.

Well-placed prayers are holy gimmicks to challenge the devotion of a priest. The Church inserts a particularly moving—and unnerving—private prayer of a priest before he receives Holy Communion:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
who by the will of the Father
and the work of the Holy Spirit,
through your Death gave life to the world;
free me by this, your most holy Body and Blood,
from all my sins and from every evil;
keep me always faithful to your commandments,
and never let me be parted from you.

Or:
May the receiving of your Body and Blood,
Lord Jesus Christ,
not bring me to judgment and condemnation,
but through your loving mercy
be for me protection in mind and body,
and a healing remedy.

In the silence of his heart, as the people chant the Lamb of God, the Church reminds the priest that the Eucharist frees him from evil and gives the grace to remain faithful to God’s commandments, but he risks eternal condemnation for an unworthy reception. Sobering prayers. Such prayerful gimmicks remind a priest of his duties in the Church’s going concern.

Family traditions are similar holy gimmicks that maintain family unity and belonging. Family prayer, Mass attendance, holiday travel, Thanksgiving, and Christmas family gatherings and activities become beloved memories for young and old. When a member goes off the rails like the Prodigal Son, these family memories may help him return to the familial going concern.

Holy gimmicks ensure we encounter the words of eternal life until we see God: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Mt. 24:35)