tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31863441871493066912023-11-16T11:42:42.943-05:00Teaching by Fr. JohnTeachings on the Catholic Faith and Culture for every Friday of the weekUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-12564139658541501422015-08-27T19:42:00.002-04:002015-08-27T19:42:26.977-04:00Time for a...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fall semester is going to be incredibly busy. I'm going to take a break from this blog for awhile. Thanks for your interest...Fr. JohnUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-43291682159337239992015-08-18T20:34:00.001-04:002015-08-19T11:15:52.525-04:00#51 Afterword. The Liturgy after the Liturgy. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<br />
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As I wrote last week, when the Mass is ended, , we are blessed
and sent on mission to take what we have received in Mass out into the world.
There is a term, mostly seen in Orthodox Church literature, which calls this
going forth to share the love celebrated in the Mass as <i><b>the </b></i><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>A</b></i></span></span><i><b>liturgy after the Liturgy.</b></i><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>@</b></i></span></span></div>
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The word <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>liturgy<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span> is usually a term that means the
public worship of the Church. It is a word used from New Testament times and
it designated <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>a work
done on behalf of the people (the public)<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span>.
In English the word <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>A</b></i></span></span><i><b>service</b></i><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>@</b></i></span></span> is analogous to the original Greek meaning
of <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>A</b></i></span></span><i><b>liturgy.</b></i><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>@</b></i></span></span>
Even today,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Church worship is sometimes
called <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>The
Service.<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span> </div>
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Thus, the <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>liturgy
after the Liturgy<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span> is <em><strong>the <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>service after the Church Service<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span></strong></em> or worship.</div>
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<em><strong>In starting this series on the Mass more than a year ago, I
did not expect to write 51 weeks of commentary and explanation on the Mass!</strong></em>
Perhaps I went into too much detail, but I wanted to open up the estimable
treasures found in even the most simple parts of the Mass. </div>
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All has meaning and the Mass forms us into the life of
Christ because the entire life of Christ is contained in the Mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Catechism (#1327) states: <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">A</span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and
summary of our faith: </span><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">></span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Our
way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms
our way of thinking.</span><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">=</span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">
[St.Iranaeus]</span><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">@</span> </span></span></div>
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I began this series noting that there are four basic <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>movements<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span>
of the Mass: (1) The Gathering, (2) The Liturgy of the Word, (3) The Liturgy of
the Eucharist, and (4) The Blessing and Dismissal. As a way of summarizing what
we are meant to bring to the world after the Mass is ended, we can refer to these Four dimensions of the Eucharist.<br />
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(1) <b>The Gathering.</b> To live a Eucharistic life is to create,
celebrate and build community together. From our human family we are initiated
(baptized) into God<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s Family,
the Church which is the Body of Christ Jesus, God<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s
Son. <i><b>A strong Catholic value ids the belief that you cannot have Jesus without
his Body the Church.</b></i> The Body, this Family, this People gathers on Sunday to
make this reality visible for all to see. Then being sent from the Sunday gathering,
we should work for community and loving relationships wherever God has put us.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbzDva5RDYpZx-abha7GQ7k8zFepsgqoPFoPVv_IkHjNlywzZUCFZr-Y8BUXcCElV015THKs_SPo9tn1Euun1Dzm4tHMjRDplcIR35UU__J0xG5Qoa5ytPWOuj-i4cjOYLmAk1l7lH0SL/s1600/reader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbzDva5RDYpZx-abha7GQ7k8zFepsgqoPFoPVv_IkHjNlywzZUCFZr-Y8BUXcCElV015THKs_SPo9tn1Euun1Dzm4tHMjRDplcIR35UU__J0xG5Qoa5ytPWOuj-i4cjOYLmAk1l7lH0SL/s320/reader.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(2) <b>The Liturgy of the Word</b>. God has revealed himself to us;
God has spoken to us. This is recorded in the letter to the Hebrews:</div>
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<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">A</span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">In times
past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the
prophets; </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">in these last days, he spoke to us through a Son, whom he
made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the
refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and who sustains all things by his mighty word.</span><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="color: #0b5394;">@</span></span></span> (1:1-3)</div>
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<i><b>God speaks to us a Word: his Son</b></i>, who became human and lived
among us, dying for our sins and rising to a new life, a new creation. Jesus
came among us to initiate the Rule of God<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s
Love among us, which is called <i><b>the Kingdom of God</b></i>. The deeds and words of Jesus
are recorded in the Scriptures and taught us from the Church<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s Tradition. <i><b>To be a Eucharistic people
we should take God</b></i><span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><i><b>=</b></i></span></span><i><b>s Word
into the world and also study the Scriptures and Tradition for our inspiration.</b></i></div>
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(3) <b>The Liturgy of the Eucharist</b>. As a Eucharistic people we
come to the Liturgy in order to give Thanks, proclaim the Paschal
Mystery of Christ<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s Dying
and Rising, and join our gifts and our lives to the One sacrifice of Christ,
for the service of his sacrificial love.</div>
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In our service to the world, we bring gratitude, generosity,
a willingness to die to self and rise to the new life of Christ, and serve
others in sacrificial love: in our homes, families, friendships, work, school,
city, world. <i><b>The Holy Spirit given to us in Baptism and renewed in the
Eucharist helps us live this life of Christ in the Kingdom of God.</b></i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywT3H_rA05lqtQW7aUspdO6yvk3qDFEJLlqxFQj39EfsAHAYUncxT-J-v5YfoeCrDFvzA54-U3RfEs7YjIz6MeNT0AnRDGQRXQOU9Vh4YWc1IpvV87SbrBoHCbmLvJB3S34nbTbGK_KCT/s1600/leaving+after+mass+the+return.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywT3H_rA05lqtQW7aUspdO6yvk3qDFEJLlqxFQj39EfsAHAYUncxT-J-v5YfoeCrDFvzA54-U3RfEs7YjIz6MeNT0AnRDGQRXQOU9Vh4YWc1IpvV87SbrBoHCbmLvJB3S34nbTbGK_KCT/s400/leaving+after+mass+the+return.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Sent Forth</strong></td></tr>
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(4) <strong>Blessing and Dismissal.</strong> Finally, given so many
blessings, we are blessed so that we may share God<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s
blessings with others. <i><b>We are sent from the Mass to bring the life of Christ to
others</b></i>.</div>
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A Hymn captures this mission, <span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">A</span></span>Sent
Forth By God<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">=</span></span>s
Blessing<span style="font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "WP TypographicSymbols";">@</span></span>: (Listen to the Hymn <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLp85eLlaIM" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Sent forth by God's blessing,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">our true faith
confessing,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">The people of God
from his dwelling take leave.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">God's sacrifice
ended,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">O now be extended.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">The fruits of this
Mass in all hearts who believe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">The seed of his
teaching our inner souls reaching,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Shall blossom in
action for God and for all.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">His grace incite us,
his love shall unite us</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">To further God's
kingdom and answer his call.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">With praise and thanks giving,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">to God who is living,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">The tasks of our
ev'ryday life we embrace.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Our faith ever
sharing,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">in love ever caring,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">We claim as our
neighbour all those of each race.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">One bread that has
fed us,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">one light that has
led us</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Unite us as one in
his life that we share.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Then may all the
living with praise and thanks giving</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Give honour to Christ
and his name that we bear.</span> </div>
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I hope I have helped some with these reflections to
appreciate the rich treasure given us in the Mass. </div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-22932546571997634232015-08-13T17:00:00.000-04:002015-08-13T17:00:35.679-04:00#50 The Concluding Rite of the Mass. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Mass is ended. The People of God are sent out in mission.</span></b></strong></td></tr>
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Recall the Four organizing Rites of the Mass: The Introductory Rites, The Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist with the Communion Rite, and the Concluding Rite.</div>
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<em><strong>The Concluding Rite prepares to send the people out of the Mass on mission, to bring the blessings of the Kingdom of God into our world, "on earth as it is in heaven."</strong></em></div>
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The first part of the Concluding Rite may be <em><strong>the Announcements</strong></em>. These are optional (for example, there are rarely announcements at a daily Mass); however, the announcements are an indication of what the parishioners, the faithful, are doing <em><strong>to serve others in the parish and in the world.</strong></em> Like a homily, the announcements should not be too long!</div>
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At this time, occasionally a Second Collection may be taken up, again for some Christian work or need in the community or in the world. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians mentions just such a collection, not for the Corinthians themselves but for the Jerusalem Church experiencing poverty. (See 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+16%3A1-4&version=NABRE" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>).</div>
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Then <em><strong>the Final Blessing</strong></em> is given. The Priest will say: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Lord be with you."</span> </div>
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And all respond: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"And with your spirit."</span></div>
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Like at the beginning of Mass this blessing is in the Name of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: </div>
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Priest: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"May almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."</span></div>
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While giving the blessing the Priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the People and the People make the sign of the Cross themselves. <em><strong>Implicitly we recall our Baptism into the Triune God and the mission of our Baptism to bring the blessings of God’s Kingdom of Love into the world.</strong></em></div>
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Occasionally a series of blessings may be given at this time. Then the Priest or a Deacon (when present) will say: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Bow down for the blessing,"</span> meaning 'bow your heads." Then usually three blessings are given to which the People respond <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Amen"</span> to each one and then the usual Final Blessing is given. In this case the Priest extends his hands in the gesture of Blessing and then makes the Sign of the Cross over the People.</div>
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There is even a special form of Blessing given when the Bishop is present. After greeting the People the Bishop says: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Blessed be the name of the Lord."</span> </div>
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The People respond <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Now and forever."</span> </div>
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Then the Bishop says <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Our help is in the Name of the Lord."</span> </div>
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The People respond <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Who made heaven and earth."</span> </div>
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Then the Bishop gives the Final Blessing.</div>
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<em><strong>After the Blessing the congregation is dismissed, sent on mission</strong></em>. The four options of this dismissal are :</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Go forth, the Mass is ended."</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">or</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Go announce the Gospel of the Lord."</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">or</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life."</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">or</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Go in Peace."</span></div>
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The People reply: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Thanks be to God."</span></div>
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In Latin, the traditional dismissal is "<em>Ite missa est</em>" meaning "Go, it is the dismissal." But an alternative meaning has been given in the Catechism which goes further than the original Latin word for "dismissal":</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"[The Eucharist is called ] <i>Holy Mass (Missa)</i>, because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (<i>missio</i>) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God's will in their daily lives."</span> (#1332)</div>
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A certain number of people leave Mass right after Communion or before the Final Blessing and Dismissal. <em><strong>This is just plain wrong</strong></em>. As humble as it may seem, the Final Blessing and Dismissal have great significance. Now that we have been united to the One Sacrifice of Christ which we offered in the Mass and received Communion with Christ and his life, as lived in his Body the Church, <em><strong>we are given a blessing and a task to carry into the world for that week</strong></em>. Imagine an army leaving the Commander before receiving marching orders; or a class leaving before the Teacher has given the homework to be done until next time; or to leave Mass before Christ dismisses us when we have no good reason to leave early except our convenience!</div>
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<em><strong>Technically after the Dismissal, the Mass is indeed ended</strong></em>. The Priest does reverence the Altar with a kiss as he did at the beginning of Mass. He then bows to the Altar and the Recessional begins, led by the Cross and servers. A Recessional Song is usually sung.<br />
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A question we ask ourselves: do I have a sense of mission as I am blessed and sent forth from the Sunday Mass? What is that mission? (See "The Eucharist as Direction" <a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/father-john-main/directions-for-the-journey#The Eucharist as Direction - Fr John" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<em><strong>Next Week: </strong></em>"The Liturgy after the Liturgy"</div>
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<strong><em></em></strong> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-23491641174862478972015-08-06T11:18:00.000-04:002015-08-06T11:18:07.172-04:00#49 Concluding the Communion Rite. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While receiving Holy Communion during Mass, the Assembly of the Faithful process to the altar of the Church singing a Communion Song. <em>The General Instruction for the Roman Missal</em> states:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly <em><strong>the ‘communitarian’ character</strong></em> of the procession to receive the Eucharist. <em>The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful</em>."</span> (GIRM #86; emphasis added)</div>
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Here it is clear that <em><strong>all</strong></em> should sing the Communion Song(s) <em>until all have received Communion</em>. This has normally been ignored by many Catholics who in general refuse to sing at Mass and thereby do not participate as fully in the Mass as required.</div>
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The implication of this instruction about singing until the distribution of Communion is finished is that one does not observe silent prayer while the Communion Song is sung (one cannot be silent and singing at the same time! However, one can pray and sing at the same time). There was, however, the custom from earlier times (prior to Vatican II) where after receiving Holy Communion one returned to one's seat and knelt in silent prayer. <em><strong>One can be singing and still meditate upon the great act of Communion occurring at the time</strong></em>. In summary, <em>The General Instruction of the Roman Missal</em> envisions persons singing <em><strong>during</strong></em> Communion <em><strong>and then</strong></em>, <strong><em>after</em></strong> all have received Communion<strong><em>, there may [or perhaps there should] be a time for silent prayer</em></strong>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"When the distribution of Communion is over, if appropriate, the Priest and faithful pray quietly for some time. If desired, a Psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the whole congregation."</span> (GIRM #88)</div>
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Occasionally a Song of Praise is sung after Communion and it generally follows a period of silence (otherwise, how would one distinguish it from a Communion Song except the distribution of Communion has ended?). The Instruction does not say what the posture should be during this Song of Praise. I would suggest it be done standing.</div>
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Finally, the Instruction says:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"To bring to completion the prayer of the People of God, and also to conclude the whole Communion Rite, the Priest pronounces the Prayer after Communion, in which he prays for the fruits of the mystery just celebrated."</span> (GIRM #89)</div>
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This prayer is properly titled <em><strong>"Prayer After Communion."</strong></em> It is not "the Final Prayer" in the sense that it is not part of "the Concluding Rites." Also, as we shall see, the Concluding Rites permit announcements as an option. A mistake is made by the Presiding Priest if after Communion has been distributed he has the announcements read or as one sometimes sees a Second Collection is taken up <em><strong>and then</strong></em> the Prayer after Communion is done. No. After the distribution of Communion and any time of silence and/or Song of Praise, <em><strong>then</strong></em> Prayer after Communion is said, and announcements or a Second Collection, etc. is next conducted.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Communion Rite ends with the Prayer after Communion which asks that the benefits of the Eucharist will remain active in our daily lives."</span> (USCCB) Here are some examples from the Roman Missal of Prayer after Communion:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Pour out on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love,</span></div>
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and in your kindness make those you have nourished</span></div>
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by this paschal Sacrament</span></div>
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one in mind and heart.</span></div>
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Through Christ our Lord."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Humbly we ask you, almighty God,</span></div>
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be graciously pleased to grant</span></div>
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that those you renew with your Sacraments</span></div>
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may also serve with lives pleasing to you.</span></div>
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Through Christ our Lord."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love,</span></div>
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and in your kindness</span></div>
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make those you have nourished</span></div>
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by this one heavenly Bread</span></div>
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one in mind and heart.</span></div>
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Through Christ our Lord."</span></div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> Concluding Rite of the Mass</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-81661582481697889532015-07-23T12:28:00.003-04:002015-07-23T12:28:46.350-04:00#48 The Communion Rite Part 8: Communion in the Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven. Undertanding the Mass and Its Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong>"Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"</strong></span> (Luke 14:15)</div>
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Scripture scholar Fr. Eugene Laverdiere wrote a very fine book titled <i>Dining in the Kingdom of God</i>. He writes about the meals that Jesus had with his disciples recorded in the Gospel of Luke with, of course, the supreme example of meal-sharing being the Last Supper.</div>
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So many of these meals had a significance that we don’t readily appreciate today. <em><strong>To share a meal with someone in the culture of Jesus was often to be bonded to them</strong></em>. Meals often had a religious significance. Jesus, a recognized man of God, shared meals not only with his disciples but especially with the poor and lowly, including sinners. He the Son of God was saying by this that God’s table and family were now open to the poor and marginalized. (See, for example, Luke 14:15-24 <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2014:15-24&version=NRSVACE" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) </div>
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This was something revolutionary! <em><strong>It also signified the coming of the Kingdom of God, which everyone understood in Jesus’s day would involve a great feast and was symbolized as a meal</strong></em>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples</span></div>
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a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,</span></div>
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of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And he will destroy on this mountain</span></div>
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the sheet that is spread over all nations;</span></div>
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he will swallow up death forever."</span> (Isaiah 25:6-8)</div>
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We see that this great feast described by the Prophet Isaiah occurs when God destroys death forever. It was recognized that when the Messiah came, there would be a great feast forever. We see that this feast is described in the Book of Revelation as <em><strong>"the Wedding Feast of the Lamb"</strong></em>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Then I [John] heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">l</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">ike the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunder-peals, crying out,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"‘Hallelujah!</span></div>
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For the Lord our God</span></div>
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the Almighty reigns.</span></div>
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Let us rejoice and exult</span></div>
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and give him the glory,</span></div>
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for the marriage of the Lamb has come,</span></div>
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and his bride has made herself ready;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to her it has been granted to be clothed</span></div>
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with fine linen, bright and pure’—</span></div>
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"for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">‘These are true words of God.’"</span> (Revelation 10:6-9)</div>
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The Lamb is of course the Risen Christ, the Lamb of God. His Bride is the Church. There will be everlasting joy and celebration when Christ comes again and <span style="color: #0b5394;">"the Lord our God the Almighty reigns."</span> Then it will be said: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever."</span> (Revelation 11:15)</div>
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<em><strong>The Eucharist, then, could be called a sacrament of "dining in the Kingdom of God"; it is a communion in the Kingdom of God on earth and in Heaven; it is a participation in the now and future Kingdom of God.</strong></em> </div>
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As we pray in the Lord’s prayer: "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." The Kingdom of God is the Rule of God’s love. In heaven, in the Communion of Saints, this Rule of love reigns supreme; <em><strong>we pray and hope for this Kingdom to be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is our hope and our task for this world.</strong></em></div>
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The Eucharist, then, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem."</span> (Catechism#1329) <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The</span> <span style="color: #0b5394;">coming Kingdom [is] anticipated in the Eucharist"</span> (Catechism #2861) and the <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Kingdom of God has been coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst."</span> (Catechism #2816).</div>
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<em><strong>The Feast of Heaven is already begun in heaven</strong></em>. <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Those who even now celebrate it [the liturgy] without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where celebration is wholly communion and feast."</span> (Catechism #1136).<span style="color: #0b5394;"> "Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him."</span> (Catechism #1419) It is the Risen Christ who comes to us in the Mass and <span style="color: #0b5394;">"our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's transfiguration of our bodies [in the Resurrection]."</span> (Catechism #1000).</div>
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We recall how the Mass proclaims the Paschal Mystery, which includes the Second Coming of Christ:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, O Lord, we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of your Son, </span></div>
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his wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, </span></div>
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<em><strong>and as we look forward to his second coming</strong></em>, </span></div>
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we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice."</span> </div>
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(Eucharistic Prayer III emphasis added)</div>
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Orthodox Priest and Liturgist Fr. Alexander Schmemann writes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Liturgy of the Eucharist is best understood as a journey or procession. It is the journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom, our sacramental entrance into the Risen life of Christ."</span> (<em>For the Life of the World</em>, p.26)<br />
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The Mass helps us come into the Rule, that is, the Kingdom of the God who is love. It both celebrates this love now present to us and looks forward to when this love will rule the earth as it does heaven.</div>
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<em><strong>When we receive Holy Communion we are being united to the present Kingdom of God "in our midst" as well as the future coming of the Kingdom, as Feast and Transfiguration in the Risen Christ. </strong></em></div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> Concluding the Communion Rite</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-48074380379325745912015-07-16T12:50:00.002-04:002015-07-16T12:50:12.421-04:00#47. The Communion Rite Part 7: Communion with Creation. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHRL2-deIweVa-6xdsI2AjYaEp9JLK-1NR0TBsKBRkN70IVJ4sYH1pthrB7G24ORZgw9pvIgFtVMhdQHDRCCc0dZY3F2IyAnYY0u9PYNDfhskSaHQYug_rjOevSAusM08Ya6RQ3ofh345/s1600/creation-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHRL2-deIweVa-6xdsI2AjYaEp9JLK-1NR0TBsKBRkN70IVJ4sYH1pthrB7G24ORZgw9pvIgFtVMhdQHDRCCc0dZY3F2IyAnYY0u9PYNDfhskSaHQYug_rjOevSAusM08Ya6RQ3ofh345/s400/creation-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We have been looking at the implications of receiving Holy Holy Communion in the Mass. <em><strong>Holy Communion also puts us in a communion with the creation</strong></em>. Recall that "communion" is a sharing of a deep relationship with another or, in this case, with creation. Fr. Teilhard de Chardin wrote:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"There is a communion with the earth, and a communion with God, and a communion with God through the earth."</span></div>
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That last point, "a communion with God through the earth," is one way to express <em><strong>the sacramentality</strong></em> of the Catholic Tradition. By this is meant that creation and human relationships can reveal God’s Presence to us. Or to put it another way, <em><strong>God’s life is mediated to us through the creation and human relationships,</strong></em> the supreme revelation being the Son of God who entered creation in human flesh as Christ Jesus (sometimes Christ is described as <em>the</em> Sacrament of God). The Church takes some of these ways of mediation and names them as Sacraments of the Church," "visible signs of the invisible God."</div>
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Recall that in the Offertory we bring bread and wine to the altar and these will be used in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Risen Christ will become Really Present through these created signs.</div>
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In offering the bread and wine, <em><strong>we are offering creation and human work for the purposes of God’s communication of salvation to us</strong></em>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,</span></div>
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for through your goodness we have received</span></div>
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the bread we offer you:</span></div>
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<em><strong>fruit of the earth</strong></em> and <em><strong>work of human hands</strong></em>,</span></div>
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it will become for us the bread of life."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,</span></div>
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for through your goodness we have received</span></div>
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the wine we offer you:</span></div>
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<em><strong>fruit of the vine</strong></em> and <em><strong>work of human hands</strong></em></span></div>
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it will become our spiritual drink."</span></div>
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Reflecting on the role the things of earth play in the Eucharist, a priest and liturgical theologian, Fr. Kevin Irwin, who has written about the subject of sacramentality and ecology, puts it very simply:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"For me the earth is brought into the act of worship and the act of worship sends us back to life on this good earth."</span> ( From Interview <a href="http://catholicecology.net/blog/interview-monsignor-kevin-w-irwin-god-nature-and-liturgy" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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One of the gifts that modern ecology gives us is an understanding of how everything in our world is "inter-connected" and "inter-related." This is also the insight of the sacramental view espoused by the Catholic Church, especially in its teaching about creation:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other."</span> (Catechism #340)</div>
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This truth also applies to the human person. <em><strong>We were created from the earth and we do not live apart from the earth.</strong></em> We exist within creation. We are in relationship with creation. </div>
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The Eucharist and especially Holy Communion can express this Communion with Creation and, of course, with Creation’s Creator.</div>
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Pope Francis, in his recent Encyclical on the care of creation, <em>Laudato Si</em>, relates such care to the Eucharist:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes <b><i>that we might find him in this world of ours</i></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living centre of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life. Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: ‘Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world’. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><b>"The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation</b></i>. The world which came forth from God’s hands returns to him in blessed and undivided adoration: in the bread of the Eucharist, ‘creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards unification with the Creator himself’.<b><i>Thus, the Eucharist is also a source of light and motivation for our concerns for the environment, directing us to be stewards of all creation</i></b>."</span> (#236; emphasis added)</div>
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Denis Edwards writes in <i>Ecology at the Heart of Faith</i>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Tony Kelly has said, that the ‘most intense moment of our communion with </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">God is at the same time an intense moment of our communion with the earth.’ By being </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">taken up into God, we are caught up into God’s love for the creatures of our planetary </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">community. This begins to shape our ecological imagination: ‘The Eucharist educates the </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">imagination, the mind, and the heart to apprehend the universe as one of communion and</span></div>
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connectedness in Christ.’"</span> </div>
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<em><strong>Certainly this sacramental view of creation and our relationship with creation is celebrated in the Mass and deepened by our Communion with creation in God’s care of the world.</strong></em></div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> Communion Rite Part 8: Communion in the Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth</div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-77424593451217674882015-07-09T10:14:00.000-04:002015-07-09T10:14:10.792-04:00#46 The Communion Rite Part 6: Communion in the Love of God. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em><strong>The receiving of Holy Communion in the Mass is a communion and participation in God’s love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit</strong></em>. The Scriptures tell us that "God is love" (1 John 4:16) I have noted previously the magnificent passage in the Catechism which teaches us the implications of this:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"St. John goes even further when he affirms that ‘God is love’: God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange."</span> (#221)</div>
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This "eternal exchange of love" between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is the Communion of Love which is the Holy Trinity. Our receiving Holy Communion in the Body and Blood of the Risen Christ is "to share in that exchange." The Catechism also teaches:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The sacraments are ‘of the Church’ ...[they] manifest and communicate to men, above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of communion with the God who is love, One in three persons."</span> (#1118)</div>
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This manifestation of God’s love in the Eucharist inspired St. Augustine to say about the Eucharist: <br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">"O sacrament of devotion! O sign of unity! O bond of charity!"</span></div>
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The Greek word <em>agape</em> is used to name God’s love for us and this divine love shared among us for one another. It was translated into Latin by the word "caritas" </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"It is not easy to translate [the Church] Latin's sense of <em>caritas</em> with just one word; it means ‘spiritual love’, or ‘love in action’, the love which is born from a profound respect of the other (or the Other)...and we obtain the English word charity from caritas."</span> (<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~cantanima/Cantus/UbiCaritas.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Link</span></a>) </div>
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<em>Caritas</em> is God’s kind of love, and its link with the English word "charity" reminds us that <em><strong>God has a profound love for those in need, especially the poor.</strong></em> God’s love is more than charity, but it also is not less than charity for the poor.</div>
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So, in Holy Communion, the Church teaches that <span style="color: #0b5394;">"the Eucharist [in Communion] strengthens our charity [<em>caritas</em>]..."</span> (Catechism #1394) The Church goes on to make (in my opinion) a remarkable connection between the poor and Holy Communion:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<i>The Eucharist commits us to the poor</i>. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren..."</span> (Catechism #1397)</div>
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This teaching is restating what Jesus himself said about recognizing him in the poor and those in need and assisting him (See Matthew 25:31-46 <a href="http://biblia.com/books/rsvce/Mt25.31-46" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> ). With this criteria will we be judged. <strong><em>But here the Church is also saying that if we neglect to recognize Christ in the poor and not help them, then we are not receiving the Body and Blood of Christ</em> "in truth."</strong> I would interpret this to be about the objective and subjective dimensions of receiving Holy Communion. Objectively speaking, Christ is absolutely Real in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood regardless of any action or lack of it on our part. <em><strong>However, if our reception of Holy Communion doesn’t affect us—indeed, change us—to be more like Christ, then we have not truly received the full grace of the Sacrament in our lives.</strong></em> A person who is a devout Communicant and yet has a hard heart toward the poor is in a contradictory situation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9zBmXMEUTSAGm5UjoLhQanliqFYiGDOMIwNGhqMHDLfRVhb-uLsOqBSnIiEyd2NlXQipc4lHf_rIvPyF7VoN2ZSVtY1l7I35KAbrBn9xUaWdbKFTdZLL19ohS-LioqSMqtbz3e7F_Rr0/s1600/Blessed-Mother-Teresa-of-Calcutta-best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9zBmXMEUTSAGm5UjoLhQanliqFYiGDOMIwNGhqMHDLfRVhb-uLsOqBSnIiEyd2NlXQipc4lHf_rIvPyF7VoN2ZSVtY1l7I35KAbrBn9xUaWdbKFTdZLL19ohS-LioqSMqtbz3e7F_Rr0/s200/Blessed-Mother-Teresa-of-Calcutta-best.jpg" width="163" /></a>Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose mission was to serve the poorest of the poor, once said:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Like Mary, let us be full of zeal to go in haste to give Jesus to others. She was full of grace when, at the Annunciation, she received Jesus. Like her, we too become full of grace every time we receive Holy Communion. It is the same Jesus whom she received and whom we receive at Mass. As soon as we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us go in haste to give Him to our sisters, to our poor, to the sick, to the dying, to the lepers, to the unwanted, and the unloved. By this we make Jesus present in the world today."</span> <br />
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<em><strong>Next time you receive Holy Communion think how you are receiving the love of God as a gift which softens our hearts to be changed into his loving children and the result of that love is to make us more loving, especially for those in need and the poor.</strong></em></div>
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<strong>Next Week</strong>: The Communion Rite Part 7: Communion with Creation.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-48641104237868442792015-07-02T08:34:00.000-04:002015-07-02T09:03:39.815-04:00#45 The Communion Rite Part 5: Communion in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have already discussed the celebration of the Paschal (Passover) Mystery in the Mass (<a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/32-memorial-of-passover-of-christ.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). But again briefly, <em><strong>Christ calls us to "pass over" from sin and selfishness to a new life of sacrificial, self-giving love.</strong></em> He has made this passover from Death to Resurrection for us and this we call his Paschal (Passover) Mystery. <em><strong>The heart of this Mystery is the Dying and Rising of Christ. </strong></em><br />
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"<span style="color: #0b5394;">The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life."</span> (Catechism #645)<br />
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<em><strong>We are immersed in his Paschal Mystery at our Baptism</strong></em> and the pattern of our Christian life is to die to sin and selfishness and rise up to live a life of sacrificial love. (The word "Baptism" means "immerse" or "wash" in the original Greek)<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."</span> (Romans 6:3-4)<br />
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Now we are unable by our own power to live the Paschal Mystery. We find it very hard to die to sin and selfishness. But the good news is that living the Dying and Rising of Jesus is not meant to be accomplished on our own. <em><strong>Baptism unites us to Christ and the Holy Spirit is given to us to empower us to live the life of Christ.</strong></em> As the Catechism reassures us:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us... We are called only to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus' life and his mysteries and often to beg him to perfect and realize them in us and in his whole Church. . . For it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. This is his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us."</span> (#521)<br />
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<em><strong>The life of Christ is both a gift and a task given to us</strong></em>. A gift in that Christ lives <em><strong>in us</strong></em>. A task on our part to be continually cooperative with his life in us. Even in this "the Spirit helps us in our weakness." (Romans 8:26)<br />
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Now it makes sense that when we receive the Crucified and Risen Christ in Holy Communion, we are also receiving his life, his Paschal Mystery within us. As quoted already, the Catechism associates the Paschal Mystery with the liberation of sin and the opening up of a new life. (Catechism #645) In the words of Consecration over the wine, recall that the blood of Christ is "poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." This is one of the "fruits" of Holy Communion, as taught by the Church:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<i>Holy Communion separates us from sin</i>. The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink 'shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins.' <em><strong>For this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins:</strong></em></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">" ‘For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his blood is poured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins, I should always receive it, so that it may always forgive my sins. Because I always sin, I should always have a remedy.’(St. Ambrose)"</span> (Catehism#1393)<br />
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<strong>Note:</strong> If one is in serious sin, one should go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion." (For more on this go <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5403930622462704838#editor/target=post;postID=4426894497005942535;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0WlOf7RmznPzu8GspUEf7-EevHdc9pFwkmrQqS1tnWo_87lBm0YiWyJeIycDS8FlF7sbTD_WRzyMEgMaLScH39xNNvCCq9fbCitvU2tqdxUIMmHqMoCLf4hljcIHayNZjjeXGfIhQbFO/s1600/easter_cross2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0WlOf7RmznPzu8GspUEf7-EevHdc9pFwkmrQqS1tnWo_87lBm0YiWyJeIycDS8FlF7sbTD_WRzyMEgMaLScH39xNNvCCq9fbCitvU2tqdxUIMmHqMoCLf4hljcIHayNZjjeXGfIhQbFO/s320/easter_cross2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we receive Holy Communion, therefore, we can call to mind that we are being put in communion with the Dying and Rising of Christ, his Paschal Mystery, which includes the forgiveness of sin and the beginning of the new life, the Risen life, of Christ in us.<br />
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<strong>Next week</strong>: The Communion Rite Part 6: Communion in the Love of God.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-29382439237086158782015-06-25T19:43:00.002-04:002015-06-25T19:43:54.011-04:00#44 The Communion Rite Part 4: Communion in the Trinity. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsOsmiHVgvaTDcRpEYkeqM_hpGrkCwts5WTvfLIn3k9ylVPCcVUlSjveyjEOc_nbdVQ9cNlvyda1-JZ0g-IKLlWldcpHTahKtNDBQp945G1Efg_ViLgclP21kHJJc-6sbYBGwBLwbtaCA/s1600/church-of-the-holy-trinity-budva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsOsmiHVgvaTDcRpEYkeqM_hpGrkCwts5WTvfLIn3k9ylVPCcVUlSjveyjEOc_nbdVQ9cNlvyda1-JZ0g-IKLlWldcpHTahKtNDBQp945G1Efg_ViLgclP21kHJJc-6sbYBGwBLwbtaCA/s640/church-of-the-holy-trinity-budva.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mosaic of the Three Angels Who Appeared to Abraham at Mamre</strong><br />
<strong>Often used to depict the Holy Trinity</strong></td></tr>
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Having said that Christ and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable, and so both are received in Holy Communion (see last week's entry <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/06/43-commuinion-rite-part-3-communion-in.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>), <em><strong>what about God the Father</strong></em>? The Father is also inseparable from the Son and the Holy Spirit, though each of the Divine Persons are still distinct from One another:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do."</span> (Catechism #267)<br />
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We can recall from the Gospel of John: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him <b><i>and make our dwelling with him.</i></b>’"</span> (14:23; emphasis added) So for the sake of fullness, <em><strong>we see that our Communion is with the Holy Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</strong></em> This is called <em><strong>the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity</strong></em>, i.e., the Three Divine Persons, One God, dwell in the soul of the Baptized. </div>
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Recall that the entire Eucharist is begun <span style="color: #0b5394;">"In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."</span> The conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer is also a doxology to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are finally blessed and dismissed from the Mass in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. <em><strong>The entire Eucharist is a work of the Triune God, a mystery and sacrament of the Trinity</strong></em>. As one Orthodox Christian source states:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Finally, the 'mystery of mysteries,' the <strong>Holy Eucharist</strong>, is the actual experience of all Christian people led to communion with God the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ the Son who is present in the Word of the Gospel and in the Passover Meal of His Body and Blood eaten in remembrance of Him. The very movement of the Divine Liturgy—towards the Father through Christ the Word and the Lamb, in the power of the Holy Spirit—is the living sacramental symbol of our eternal movement in and toward God, the Blessed Trinity." </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyfOj_7akMRCRiuxoZ5CMVDInpRpC2EFdkZZT2y5J6GpCCeawX1VjD_Hw5pi_kTKniLdoT64RNPSvVczC5Oc43K-GXSnnSSYjGueVjF2u7tpmZqpCYQqaQP4F9iM8CcgKGOi7J-Pez4m_/s1600/san+vitale+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyfOj_7akMRCRiuxoZ5CMVDInpRpC2EFdkZZT2y5J6GpCCeawX1VjD_Hw5pi_kTKniLdoT64RNPSvVczC5Oc43K-GXSnnSSYjGueVjF2u7tpmZqpCYQqaQP4F9iM8CcgKGOi7J-Pez4m_/s400/san+vitale+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Angels at Mamre from Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy</strong></td></tr>
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<em><strong>Now we can also add that the very act of Holy Communion in the Mass is also Communion in the Trinity</strong></em>. The Catechism has this to say about the personal Communion of the Triune God:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"But St. John goes even further when he affirms that ‘God is love’: God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange."</span> (#221)<br />
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<em><strong>This "exchange of love" is another way of saying that God is a "Communion of Love"</strong></em> and the divine love "circulates" between the Three Persons. Moreover, we are destined to be in this Communion of Love shared by the Holy Trinity! If God is a Family, we are called to be part of that Family! We know the Church is born from the Font of Baptism, when we were immersed into the Holy Trinity, into that Communion of Love, in the very Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus the Catechism also teaches that the Church <span style="color: #0b5394;">"is the sacrament of the Holy Trinity's communion with men."</span> (#747)<br />
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We are also created in the image of God, who is One yet Three in a divine Communion and Community of Love. <em><strong>Anytime that we live in communion and community with others we are living according to the image of God within us, being "like God."</strong></em> The Church teaches us that we have a vocation to be in communion with other persons (See Catechism # 2419 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2419.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)<br />
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The next time you receive Holy Communion, think about how Christ brings the Holy Spirit and God the Father in love to dwell within you. <em><strong>You are receiving Communion and you are to build communion in this world, to the glory of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit</strong></em>.<br />
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<strong>Next week:</strong> The Communion Rite Part 5: Communion in the Paschal Mystery of Christ.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-74851228713700693282015-06-18T16:29:00.000-04:002015-06-18T16:29:42.508-04:00#43 The Commuinion Rite Part 3: Communion in the Holy Spirit. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em><strong>By receiving Holy Communion we also receive the Holy Spirit along with Christ</strong></em>. We know that it is the Risen Christ that we really receive in Holy Communion in the signs of the Consecrated Bread and Wine. We are not so familiar that we also receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit with Christ. In a beautiful passage from the Catechism we are taught:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable."</span> (#689)</div>
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The Word is the Son of God (see John 1) and the Breath of God here means the Holy Spirit. <em><strong>The Son and the Spirit are always working together.</strong></em> Recall it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Son took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mother to become Jesus the Christ. His very title means "The Anointed One" (in Greek, <em>Christos</em>, in Hebrew <em>Messiah</em>); the One who ‘anoints" him, i.e., consecrates him for his mission is the Holy Spirit. The Son and the Spirit are distinct but they are inseparable. <em><strong>Therefore we receive the Holy Spirit with Christ in Holy Communion</strong></em>.</div>
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We first received the Holy Spirit in our Baptism. From the Rite of Baptism for Children:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"We pray for this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her)."</span></div>
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<em><strong>And the grace of the Holy Spirit is increased in us through the Sacrament of Holy Communion</strong></em>.</div>
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I like to recall here the teaching of the Gospel of John that the Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the Helper. The Holy Spirit is "the Best Friend" of the Son and of his Body the Church. As "best friends" are inseparable, so with the Son and the Spirit. (See my entry on this <a href="http://hfccfatherjohn.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-holy-spirit-as-friend.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) The Holy Spirit is our Helper, our Advocate, our Counselor, our Comforter, our Defender, our Friend. As St. Paul reminds us, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us."</span> (Romans 5:5)</div>
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<em><strong>The Holy Spirit is at work with Christ in the celebration of the Mass</strong></em>.</div>
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The Catechism teaches that <span style="color: #0b5394;">"In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. The liturgical assembly derives its unity from the ‘communion of the Holy Spirit’ who gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ.</span>" (#1097)</div>
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Recall that the first act of the Eucharist <em><strong>is to gather together</strong></em> the Body of Christ, the Church. Also in the Eucharistic Prayer (at the <em><strong>Epiclesis</strong></em>) we saw how the Holy Spirit <em><strong>is invoked to come</strong></em>, with the Word of Christ, <em><strong>to transform</strong></em> the Bread and Wine into the true Body and Blood of the Risen Christ, the whole Christ. (See Epiclesis <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/02/27-epiclesis-and-consecration.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>, Catechism #706 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/706.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<em><strong>Every celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, is an outpouring (epiclesis) of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, the Mystical and Spirit-filled Body of Ch</strong></em>rist. (See Catechism #1104 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1104.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) Yet we become what we receive in the Eucharist by receiving the Spirit-filled Body and Blood of the Risen Christ in Holy Communion. We are given "Spiritual Food," i.e., the Spirit-filled and Consecrated Body and Blood of Christ."</div>
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Catechism #1392: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh ‘given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit,’ preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism."</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong>Next Week:</strong> The Communion Rite Part 4: Communion with the Trinity</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-77469177279927964322015-06-11T09:52:00.001-04:002015-06-11T09:52:11.726-04:00#42. Receiving Holy Communion Part 2: The Body of Christ. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<br />
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When we receive Holy Communion we know that we receive the Body of Christ in the sign of the Consecrated Bread and the Blood of Christ in the sign of the Consecrated Wine. There is, however, a wonderful "multilayering" of the different meanings of the term "Body of Christ" which we receive in Holy Communion. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">The Three Ways the New Testament Uses the Term "the Body of Christ":</span></div>
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1. As the human Body of Christ which is now Risen</div>
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2. As the Eucharistic Body of Christ</div>
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3. As the Mystical Body of Christ, i.e. the Church</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>The human Body of Christ which is now Risen</strong>.</span> The great revelation of our Christian Faith is that God is One yet Three Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (the Most Holy Trinity). Out of love for us God the Father sent his only Begotten Son to us. The Son became human by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Son of God became flesh–a human being–and dwelt among us. <em><strong>He had all the qualities of a human being except he knew no sin</strong></em>. He got tired, hungry, thirsty; he was limited in his humanity by time and space; he was mortal and could suffer and die. He was fully human, the Church teaches, and yet also fully God.</div>
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<em><strong>The Son of God did stop being God when he became human</strong></em>.</div>
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Of course, we know he did suffer and die for us on the Cross and on the Third Day he rose from the Dead. Now he dies no more. Catechism #645 states that the Risen body of Christ is the same body in which he was crucified, <em><strong>but it now possesses </strong></em><span style="color: #0b5394;"><em><strong>"the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills."</strong></em> <span style="color: black;">It says the Risen body of Christ is no longer confined to this earth but belongs </span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;">"to the Father’s divine realm."</span></div>
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Catechism #646 states <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Christ's Resurrection <em><strong>was not a return to earthly life</strong></em>...In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus' Resurrection his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life <em><strong>in his glorious state</strong></em>, so that St. Paul can say that Christ is ‘the man of heaven’."</span></div>
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I have written elsewhere about the state of a Risen Body (See <a href="http://hfccfatherjohn.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-kind-of-body-do-we-receive-in.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). It is more spiritual than physical and yet it is still physical, a transformed type of physical with no limitations and such a "spiritualized body" is quite mysterious to us in this life.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>The Eucharistic body of Christ.</strong></span> <em><strong>Now the Body of Christ that we receive in Communion is the Risen Body of the Crucified Christ.</strong></em> We do not receive ordinary, mortal flesh and blood in the Eucharist. What I mean, is that we receive the risen flesh and blood of Christ. We are not cannibals who eat mortal, dead flesh; <em><strong>we are communicants in the Risen Body of Christ</strong></em>.</div>
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But we also receive the Risen, glorified Body (and Blood of Christ) "under the signs" (sacrament) of the Consecrated Bread and Wine of the Eucharist. We eat this Bread and Drink this Wine, <strong><em>but the very </em>essence<em> (equivalent to the "substance") of the bread and wine is totally changed to actually be the Risen Body and Blood of Christ. He comes to us in this form of </em>Food<em> so that we may indeed receive him within ourselves</em></strong>. The Risen Body of Christ in the Sacrament of the Consecrated Bread is called Christ's <em><strong>Eucharistic body</strong></em>. (The same applies to the Blood of Christ).</div>
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It should be noted that when we say we receive the Risen Body and Blood of Christ, <em><strong>we are receiving actually the entire Person of Christ, the Son of God as human and Risen.</strong></em> We don't, in other words, receive parts of Christ but as the Catechism teaches, in Communion is <span style="color: #0b5394;">"the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained."</span> (#1374)</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>The Mystical Body of Christ, the Church</strong></span>. Now the Church has a most marvelous teaching which is thoroughly Catholic in its "pedigree." It concerns what is termed <em><strong>the "Whole Christ."</strong></em> Quite simply it is the Risen Christ united to his disciples by their Baptism "into him." All who are baptized are united to him who is the Head of his Body the Church. (See Colossians 1:18 <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%201:18&version=NRSVCE" target="_blank">HERE</a>) <em><strong>This Mystical Body includes the living and the dead who are now alive in Christ, the Communion of Saints.</strong></em></div>
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Catholics therefore believe that since the Resurrection of Christ, Christ is not solely "an individual" but he is a "corporate being." This teaching is often referred to by its Latin term "<em>Totus Christus</em>" or "the Whole Christ." ("<span style="color: #0b5394;">Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ" (<i>Christus totus</i>). The Church is one with Christ."</span> Catechism #794)<strong><em>We believe that you cannot have Christ without his Body the Church, because his Body the Church is united to him, really and spiritually.</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>This meaning of "the Body of Christ" as Church is called "the Mystical Body of Christ." </em></strong></div>
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The word "mystical" is used with a number of nuances: <span style="color: navy;">"it is called mystical body, because it is neither a purely physical nor a purely spiritual unity, but supernatural...The relation of the faithful with Christ is mystical, not physical." </span>(See wikipedia article on "Mystici Corporis Christi" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystici_corporis_Christi" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) It also refers to a union which is sacramental and involves the sacraments, also called "the mysteries": </div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called ‘mystical’ because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments—‘the holy mysteries’—and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him..." </span>(Catechism # 2014)</div>
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One implication of this is that when we therefore receive Christ in Holy Communion, we also are given one another as the Church. <strong><em>We are bonded to one another in Christ which is why this act of receiving the Whole Christ in the Eucharist is called</em> Communion</strong>. We are placed in Communion with Christ and also in Christ with one another the Church.</div>
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St. Augustine famously preached:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"If, therefore, you are the Body of Christ and His members, your mystery is presented at the table of the Lord, you receive your mystery. To that which you are, you answer: `Amen’…Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth."</span> (Sermon 272)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"There you are on the table</span> [the altar], <span style="color: #0b5394;">there you are in the cup."</span> (Sermon 229)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"If you receive them well</span> [i.e. the Body and Blood of Christ in the form of Bread and Wine], <span style="color: #0b5394;">you are that which you receive."</span> [the Body of Christ the Church] (Sermon 227) </div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> Communion and the Holy Spirit</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-25764354099558087032015-06-04T22:09:00.000-04:002015-06-04T22:09:18.077-04:00#41 Receiving Holy Communion: The Ritual. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The act of receiving Holy Communion in the Mass is the conclusion of <strong><em>the Sacrifice-meal</em></strong> (see discussion on "Sacrifice-meal" <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/search/label/Sacrifice" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) which is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. All that is left after Holy Communion and its concluding Prayer, is the Dismissal Rite, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"the Mass is ended."</span><br />
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<em><strong>As we will see, the act of Holy Communion sums up many of the themes and the purposes of the Mass</strong></em> which I have been discussing throughout this series. Themes such as being gathered as the Church, the Body of Christ; the Eucharist making the Church visible; Communion in the life of the Triune God (the Trinity); Christ living in us and we living in Christ; sharing in the Dying and Rising of Christ (the Paschal Mystery); the renewal of our Baptism; the ceelbration of the New Covenant; the offering of ourselves in the One Sacrifice of Christ; and the Real Presence of the Risen Christ’s Body and Blood.</div>
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<em><strong>Therefore, I will deal with Holy Communion in the Mass in several parts over the next few weeks.</strong></em> </div>
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First, let us look at the ritual actions which occur after the Sign of Peace and the Breaking of the Bread:</div>
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The Priest genuflects at the Altar, takes a portion of the Consecrated Host and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice, while facing the people, and says aloud: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JRUB4wopD1FMmGq0LJdShHj3GY3UBO8Jzf-VCPJP3EZ34cNKFfR8grKez6xGd-UUHPF3hs_1zGsyXVOc0_-d_-90l7L9XhcuIWFoPb9FIY4OVvaw1RlUhBriTe_MX51DANC8wMwRLCUQ/s1600/behold+the+lamb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JRUB4wopD1FMmGq0LJdShHj3GY3UBO8Jzf-VCPJP3EZ34cNKFfR8grKez6xGd-UUHPF3hs_1zGsyXVOc0_-d_-90l7L9XhcuIWFoPb9FIY4OVvaw1RlUhBriTe_MX51DANC8wMwRLCUQ/s200/behold+the+lamb.png" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">"Behold the Lamb of God, </span></div>
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behold him who takes away the sins of the world. </span></div>
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Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb."</span> </div>
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(There is a reference here to Revelation 19:6-9 See <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+19%3A6-9&version=NRSVCE" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>. The Church is the Bride of Christ and the Eucharist is being compared here to a wedding feast, a celebration of union and communion)</div>
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And together with the people pray:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Lord, I am not worthy </span></div>
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that you should enter under my roof, </span></div>
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but only say the word </span></div>
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and my soul shall be healed."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">(This is another Scriptural reference from Matthew 8:8 </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+8%3A8&version=RSVCE" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: black;">; we are not worthy to receive Christ by our own merits, but by his grace he gives himself to us to dwell "under our roof," i.e. within us. This is not to sya we are worthless but to recognize that Communion with Christ is a gift not based on worthiness or its lack)</span></div>
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The Priest, facing the altar, says quietly: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"May the Body of Christ </span></div>
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keep me safe for eternal life."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span> </div>
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And he reverently consumes the Body of Christ. </div>
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Then he takes the chalice and says quietly: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"May the Blood of Christ </span></div>
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keep me safe for eternal life."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span> </div>
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And he reverently consumes the Blood of Christ. </div>
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After this, he takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the ministers who will help with distribution of Holy Communion (the Deacon, if present, and the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. See note <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_minister_of_Holy_Communion" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). The Priest raises a host slightly and shows it to each of the ministers, who in the United States show reverence by a bow of the head, and the Priest says:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcRLu2FX4J9ZNE1oaI5hxUGGIKemZpZLt1lp5W8BpcwfXe77lnQK_ED0eP-C8BHluv214uYG1A7V6I3WDPS93DALYdsFxLH_eKg310yXdX2W0NfDsMfeEFOpRFtD7uBOQIheGXBeCiN-I/s1600/8Communion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcRLu2FX4J9ZNE1oaI5hxUGGIKemZpZLt1lp5W8BpcwfXe77lnQK_ED0eP-C8BHluv214uYG1A7V6I3WDPS93DALYdsFxLH_eKg310yXdX2W0NfDsMfeEFOpRFtD7uBOQIheGXBeCiN-I/s200/8Communion.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Body of Christ." </span></div>
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The minister replies: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Amen."</span> </div>
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(recall that "Amen" means "it is true." Our "Amen" is a profession of our faith that it is the Body of Christ in truth that we receive.)</div>
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And the minister receives the host. <em><strong>In the United States one receives standing</strong></em>. Commnicants may receive in the hand or on the tongue.</div>
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The Priest or Deacon then gives the Chalice to each saying:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Blood of Christ."</span></div>
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The minister bows his or her head says <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Amen"</span> and receives the Chalice and drinks.</div>
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The ministers with the Priest then take the Body and Blood of Christ to the Assembly. The Assembly forms <em><strong>a Procession</strong></em> to the various Communion stations, receiving the Body of Christ and they may receive the Blood of Christ from the Chalice if they wish.</div>
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(<em><strong>This act of processing expresses our journey together as the Body of Christ, the Church, to receive the Eucharistic Body of Christ</strong></em> under the appearance of bread and wine. Communicants receive both the Body and Blood of Christ in each element, since they are receiving the Whole Christ in either element. <em>The sacramental sign</em> is more complete by receiving both the Host and the Chalice; but it is the Communicants' choice as to whether to receive from the Chalice or not)</div>
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While the Priest is receiving the Body of Christ, the Communion Chant begins. This accompanies thePprocession until all receive Communion who are able.</div>
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(<em><strong>The singing of the Communion song with one voice signifies our communion togetehr, our unity in Christ. The Church desires us to sing this song</strong></em>)</div>
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When the distribution of Communion is over, the Priest or a Deacon or an acolyte purifies the paten over the chalice and also the chalice itself. </div>
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Any remaining Hosts are reserved in the Tabernacle. Chalices used for Holy Communioncan be purified after Mass as permitted.</div>
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The Priest returns to his chair. If appropriate, a sacred silence may be observed for a while, or a psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may be sung. </div>
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Then, standing at the altar or at his chair and facing the People the Priest says: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Let us pray."</span> </div>
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All pray in silence with the Priest for a while, unless silence has just been observed. </div>
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Then the Priest, with hands extended, says the Prayer after Communion, at the end of which the people acclaim:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Amen."</span> </div>
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<strong>Next week:</strong> Understanding the Meaning of Holy Communion </div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-84813746459206092015-05-28T13:54:00.000-04:002015-05-28T13:54:33.213-04:00#40 The Communion Rite: The Breaking of the Bread and the Lamb of God. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEao93wBCa4hC0HIxnQuFtk2LS6dXRpn6tjLJm7PdJ3yaqfvBqR27LcUWVJxmHn3Lrhuj3phT3z4hBUtMYhfRgRdNkI_TzgjEmLNXyNtE50TipcHEaPmB4RpMFBPIuRIQ2AjJPAH7Gmsme/s1600/at-emmaus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEao93wBCa4hC0HIxnQuFtk2LS6dXRpn6tjLJm7PdJ3yaqfvBqR27LcUWVJxmHn3Lrhuj3phT3z4hBUtMYhfRgRdNkI_TzgjEmLNXyNtE50TipcHEaPmB4RpMFBPIuRIQ2AjJPAH7Gmsme/s400/at-emmaus.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
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After praying the Our Father together and having exchanged the Sign of Peace, the Priest Celebrant breaks the Consecrated Bread and the Lamb of God is sung during the fraction.</div>
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The early Church called the entire Eucharistic celebration <em><strong>"the Breaking of the Bread."</strong></em> (See Acts 2:42 <a href="https://biblia.com/books/rsvce/Ac2.42" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>; the Disciples from Emmaus testify that they came to know the Risen Christ in the Breaking of the Bread; see Luke 24:35 <a href="https://biblia.com/books/rsvce/Lk24.35" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> )</div>
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Naturally, there were no small individual hosts used in Holy Communion as we do today. There was at least one large loaf of bread or several as the Church grew. The loaf of bread was offered and consecrated. <em><strong>Then in order to share it for Communion, it had to be broken into smaller pieces</strong></em>. </div>
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The spiritual significance of this act of breaking the Consecrated Bread <em><strong>for the purpose of sharing</strong></em> in the Body of Christ was not lost upon the early Church. Inasmuch as we are identified with the Body of Christ as the Church, <em><strong>we are called to share our gifts and ourselves with others</strong></em>. In the Eucharist, especially in the act of Holy Communion, we share in the One Body of Christ and the Cup of Salvation. And we must share what we have for the common good. This sharing typified the Church as described in the Acts of the Apostles. (See Acts 2:43-45<span style="color: red;"> </span><a href="https://biblia.com/books/rsvce/Ac2.43-45" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<em><strong>Many spiritual writers and preachers have also found significance in thinking about the significance of brokenness in the life of Christ and the breaking of the Bread, and our own brokenness</strong></em>. For example, Fr. Austin Flemming preached these words:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"As individuals and as the whole church</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we receive the gift of the Lord’s brokenness into our own:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">into the brokenness of our sins,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">into our broken hearts, broken memories, broken promises,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">broken spirits, broken relationships, broken bodies,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">into our broken hopes and dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Is there anyone among us who does not bring some brokenness today</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to the Body of Christ broken for us?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">We who are broken come to the One who was broken for our sakes,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to share in this simple bread, broken in his memory,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">that our brokenness might be healed."</span> (See Homily <a href="http://www.holyfamilyconcord.org/pdf/homilies/homily6-26-11.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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Today, we do have many small round hosts of unleavened bread that are consecrated in the Eucharist. But also there is called for a larger Host which can be broken at the time of the Breaking of the Bread, still continuing that action of Jesus and his Church of almost 2000 years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA1nubKHrs0-XRgMF-YCcGIReWCVj_YfZiMOGakcoHpJmub33fl2xHzrtdRaQ8pXPJUIQnHXraqwM085GO25kpS_BYwDH0OHu6SRMq04LBNVGc53TFG8VVBs2D_idh2pzIBtBOUkJlr6W/s1600/host-and-chalice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA1nubKHrs0-XRgMF-YCcGIReWCVj_YfZiMOGakcoHpJmub33fl2xHzrtdRaQ8pXPJUIQnHXraqwM085GO25kpS_BYwDH0OHu6SRMq04LBNVGc53TFG8VVBs2D_idh2pzIBtBOUkJlr6W/s320/host-and-chalice.jpg" width="178" /></a>When the Priest first breaks the consecrated Bread, he performs a small act with words which the Assembly do not hear. He takes a very small fragment of the Bread/Host and drops it into the Chalice. He prays inaudibly: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it"</span></div>
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This ritual action is called the <em>Fermentum</em> (literally "leaven." Why it was called this is uncertain, but compare to Matthew 13:33 <a href="https://biblia.com/books/rsvce/Mt13.33" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Here</span></a>). In the Church of Rome (by the 5<sup>th</sup> century at least) The Pope sent a fraction of the Eucharistic bread from his Mass to the parishes in the city <em><strong>as a sign of unity</strong></em> of those parishes with his Eucharist. Pope Innocent wrote in 416, </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"As to the 'fermentum' which we send on Sunday into the various titular churches, it is superfluous for you to consult us on this topic: here all the churches are built within the city. The priests of these churches, being unable to celebrate with us on this day because of the people entrusted to them, thus receive from the acolytes the ‘fermentum’ confected by us so that they, especially on this day, do not feel separated from our communion." </span></div>
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At some point the <em>Fermentum</em> was no longer sent to the parishes (their number increasing). In Rome and outside Rome, the custom was imitated however within the individual parishes by the Priest Celebrant, who did not send the fragment anywhere but dropped a fragment of the Host he had consecrated into the Chalice as had been originally done.</div>
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<em><strong>Obviously, some spiritual significance was seen in this act and it was seen to be a representation of the Resurrection of Christ when his body and blood were reunited in his Risen Body</strong></em>. Some say the Sacrifice of Christ is sacramentally represented <em>by the separation of the Body and Blood of Christ in the seprately consecrated Bread and Wine</em>. Puting the Bread and Wine together through the Fermentum reunites the sacramental Body and Blood so to speak. Thus the prayer about eternal life.</div>
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While the Bread is being broken, the choir and People immediately begin singing (or saying) <em><strong>the "Lamb of God."</strong></em> John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus as <span style="color: #0b5394;">"the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"</span> (Jn 1:29). The text is familiar:</div>
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Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.</div>
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Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us</div>
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Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.</div>
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One liturgical resource (for entire article see <a href="https://www.ndvsf.org/church/pdf/Reproducible_LambofGod.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) states:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"This prayer text, which is often sung, is a direct prayer to Christ who is the‘Lamb of God.’ Christ Jesus takes ‘away the sins of the world.’On the surface level, it may seem a strange text for the Fraction Rite. However, Christ Jesus was the Lamb slain on the Cross at the time of the Jewish Passover when lambs were slain. Three days later, God resurrected Christ Jesus, and in so doing, he took ‘away the sins of the world.’ <em><strong>Sin prevents union and communion with God and one another. Therefore, through Jesus’ death and Resurrection he establishes communion and union with us</strong></em>. Sin fractures relationships between us and God, but God in Christ Jesus unites our brokenness, our division into one, into the body of Christ. In our wounded and brokenness, Christ Jesus heals, reconciles, and brings us into communion with his very being." </span><span style="color: black;">(emphasis added)</span></div>
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At Holy Faith, during Advent and Lent, and on the Fridays of the year, we sing the "Lamb of God" in Latin. This is to indicate the penitential nature of the Season or day, and to keep in contact with the ancient Roman Mass which was celebrated in Latin. The Latin text is:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem."</span></div>
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<strong>Next Week</strong>: The Act of Receiving Holy Commuion</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-36710716613568113842015-05-21T11:03:00.001-04:002015-05-21T11:03:32.328-04:00#39: The Communion Rite: The Our Father and the Exchange of Peace. Understanding the Mass and its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em><strong>The Communion Rite is designed to prepare us to receive Holy Communion</strong></em>. The Rite consists of praying together the "Our Father," sharing the Sign of Peace, the Breaking of the Bread accompanied by the <em>Agnus Dei</em> ("Lamb of God"), then a prayer of unworthiness and confidence in the Lord’s healing, and the receiving of Holy Communion while the Assembly sings together. After a brief silence, the Communion Rite concludes with the Prayer after Communion.</div>
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In the Communion Rite we begin by praying the "Our Father" and then follows Exchange the Sign of Peace with one another. <em><strong>Both of these activities express our Communion with God and one another</strong></em>. We say "<b><i>Our</i></b> Father," not "<b><i>My </i></b>Father." As we belong together to God we also belong to one another as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. We will have occasion to return to this point later in explaining the Communion Rite within the Mass.</div>
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The "Our Father" is seen as a worthy prayer of preparation before receiving Communion. It mentions the "daily bread" which a number of Church Fathers said referred to the Eucharist. It mentions forgiveness of trespasses (sin). </div>
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The Lord’s Prayer ends with the petition <span style="color: #0b5394;">"but deliver us from evil."</span> Then the Priest prays:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> graciously grant peace in our days, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> that, by the help of your mercy, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> we may be always free from sin </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> and safe from all distress, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> as we await the blessed hope </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Then the Assembly says this doxology:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"For the kingdom, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> the power and the glory are yours </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> now and for ever. " </span></div>
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In the Exchange of Peace, the Priest next prays:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Lord Jesus Christ, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> who said to your Apostles, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> look not on our sins, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> but on the faith of your Church, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> and graciously grant her peace and unity </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> in accordance with your will. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen." </span></div>
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It is interesting to note that in most of the Mass it is God the Father who is addressed through Jesus Christ. Here Jesus himself is addressed.</div>
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<em><strong>The Exchange of Peace (also called "The Kiss of Peace" from an ancient practice of sharing peace) is also an expression of our Communion with one another</strong></em>. <em>The General Instruction of the Roman Missal</em> notes: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"There follows the Rite of Peace, by which the Church entreats peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other <em><strong>their ecclesial</strong></em><span style="color: black;">[church]</span><em><strong> communion</strong></em> and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament."</span> (#82; emphasis added) </div>
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The Priest says or sings: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The peace of the Lord be with you always"</span>, </div>
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to which the people respond:<span style="color: #0b5394;"> "And with your spirit."</span> <br />
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Then, as stated in the <em>Roman Missal</em>, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"if appropriate, the Deacon, or the Priest, adds: 'Let us offer each other the sign of peace.'"</span> (Roman Missal, Order of Mass, 127–128) The Exchange of Peace by all present at Mass was restored after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Before, the ancient practice of everyone sharing a Sign of Peace became restricted over time to just the clergy.</div>
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<em><strong>The receiving of Holy Communion in the Eucharist is always seen as both communion with God and communion with the Catholic Church.</strong></em> This is the most ancient understanding of Communion which originates in the Scriptures. <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread."</span> (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)</div>
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St. Paul writes about a participation (in Greek "<em>koin<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">ó</span>nia</em>" which can be translated also as "communion") in the Body of Christ as [consecrated] bread which is broken (an ancient name for the Eucharist). We would say this is Communion with Christ himself. But Paul also speaks of the worshipers being of "one body" which would be the Church because they share the one bread (the Eucharist).</div>
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In a number of Protestant Churches, there is only one sense of "Communion" in the Lord’s Supper: i.e., the "vertical" relationship with God alone. One must be "right with God" and if one is, then you may receive Communion or whatever it may be called in that church.</div>
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<em><strong>But Catholics have an additional requirement for receiving Communion</strong></em> beside "being right with God" (not being in "serious sin"). You must also be in Communion with the Catholic Church, what is often referred to as the "horizontal relationship" explicit in Holy Communion. Protestants <em>de facto</em> are not in Communion with the Catholic Church. They do not believe all that the Catholic Church teaches as essential and they are not in communion with the Pope and Bishops of the Catholic Church. If they were they should become Catholic!</div>
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But when they hear that they cannot take Communion in the Catholic Church, it sounds to them as if we are saying "you are unworthy in God’s sight to receive." <em><strong>But that is not what the Catholic Church is saying.</strong></em> It is saying you are not in Communion with the Catholic Church, or more simply, you are not a member of the Catholic Church and you must be a member to receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church." To say this is neither a condemnation or judgement, it’s just a fact. It’s a sad fact due to splits in the Catholic Church over the course of history.</div>
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<em><strong>Catholics should not take communion in Protestant Churches because of our belief in the two-fold nature of Eucharisic Communion.</strong></em> Again, for us the act of receiving Holy Communion is a statement of our belonging to the Church in which we receive. We are not Protestants. We may believe much of the same beliefs but not all. We should be true to the Church's teaching on this matter and understand why.</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Communion Rite: The Breaking of the Bread and the Lamb of God</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-21584426336209107802015-05-14T17:33:00.001-04:002015-05-14T17:33:42.765-04:00#38: The Communion Rite: Sacrifice Revisted. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts<br />
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We consider now the Third Major Part of the Mass: the Communion Rite.</div>
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A passage from the Second Vatican Council on liturgy says that <span style="color: #0b5394;">"all who are made sons [and daughters] of God by faith and baptism </span><em><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">should come together to</span> <span style="color: #0b5394;">praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper</span></strong></em><span style="color: #0b5394;">."</span> (SC#10)</div>
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<em><span style="color: blue;">The Decline and Rise of Communion in History</span></em></div>
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<em><strong>To eat the Lord’s supper is of course to partake in Holy Communion in the Mass</strong></em>. This statement also mentions the sacrifice of the Mass (see my entry "Sacrifice of the Mass "<a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/02/26-sacrifice-of-mass-understanding-mass.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). As we shall see, in the early Church, <em><strong>the Sacrifice and the Communion of the Eucharist were complementary and unified</strong></em>. However, due to certain historical reasons (one of them being an over exagerated sense of the unworthiness of the laity to receive Holy Communion), the reception of Communion by the People declined over the centuries and the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass remained and <em>became more emphasized</em>.</div>
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If one were to attend Mass even 100 years ago, one would notice that very few people at Mass were receiving Holy Communion. The Pope around that same time, Pius X (d. 1914) issued a decree that First Communion should be lowered from age 14 or so to age 7, and that Communion should be taken more frequently if one was in a state of grace. Yet more frequent Communion as a practice came slowly.</div>
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Such a state of affairs of the past might surprise many Catholics today. The reception of Communion is very frequent today and the understanding of the Mass as the Sacrifice of Christ and his Church is currently less known or emphasized. <em><strong>If you asked most Catholics why they attend Mass on Sunday, they probably would say to receive Holy Communion, but nothing about offering the Sacrifice of the Mass.</strong></em></div>
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The purpose of the Second Vatican Council was in part a retrieval of "the best teaching and practices" of the early Church while still recognizing the development of Church teaching and practice over time. To understand the Church’s practice of Holy Communion it will be helpful to revisit the reality of sacrifice in Jewish, Christian, and pagan circles <em><strong>and appreciate how Sacrifice and Holy Communion go together.</strong></em></div>
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<em><span style="color: blue;">The Modern and Ancient Concept of Sacrifice</span></em><br />
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Most modern people think of sacrifice mostly in <em><strong>negative</strong></em> terms and usually involving the loss of something, especially involving death; we say that the death of a soldier in the defense of the nation is the "the ultimate sacrifice." This makes sacrifice a rather sad affair and even morbid.</div>
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We also see <em><strong>animal sacrifice</strong></em> practiced in the past or even today as repulsive. It seemed to focus only on the death of the animal and nothing more. </div>
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<em><strong>However, in the ancient world religious sacrifice was seen in a positive way</strong></em>. It was not only an offering to God but it was an occasion for celebration, because <em><strong>most religious sacrifices involved something one could eat</strong></em> (animal meat or agricultural produce) and so the offering usually included a shared meal together: with the gods or God and with fellow worshipers.</div>
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An animal sacrifice, if it were part of what is now termed <em><strong>a "Communion-sacrifice,"</strong></em> necessarily required the death of the animal and its preparation to be put to the fire on the altar; <em>but that cooked the animal so that it could be eaten</em>. Because the food now belonged to God, <em><strong>the worshipers shared God’s meal among themselves</strong></em>. This was a joyful celebration, then.</div>
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In a way, the religious sacrifices of old were like "sacred barbeques." We don’t usually concentrate today on the fact that the meat we are eating at a barbeque had to be butchered. We moderns suppress that. It is fair to say, then, that most (but not all) <em><strong>religious sacrifices in the ancient world were also sacred meals to establish communion with God and one another</strong></em>.<br />
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<em><span style="color: blue;">The Jewish Communion Sacrifice</span></em><br />
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The whole Jewish religious system involved such Communion-sacrifices among other types:</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">1.</span> First a person (usually with his family) brought a choice lamb or cattle to offer in the Temple. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">2.</span> The Jewish priest accepted the offering if it was worthy (you didn’t give God second best). The one offering then killed the animal and dressed it. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">3.</span> He then gave it to the priest who was chosen to offer the sacrifice worthily to God on the altar and with fire. The blood of the animal was also offered, and it represented life. It also belonged to God.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">4.</span> The choicest part of the animal was left to God and was burned up releasing a sweet-smelling fragrance to God (Cf to Ephesians 5:2<a href="http://biblia.com/books/nrsv/Eph5.2" target="_blank"> <span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> ). Then the priests and the worshipers, the offerer and his family and any others, especially the poor, shared in the meal that was part of the sacrifice.</div>
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<em><span style="color: blue;">Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross</span></em></div>
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Of course the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross was one where he was killed and where he shed his blood. <em><strong>But his sacrifice changed all subsequent ideas of sacrifice in the Church.</strong></em> There was no fire or altar when he was sacrificed, but the Church would see the Cross as his altar. He was buried, not eaten! His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven are also part of his Sacrifice, for as our High Priest, <em>his offering of himself is eternally offered in heaven</em>;<em><strong> not</strong></em> that he is eternally dying on the Cross, but the act of his self-giving love, is taken up in the eternal "now" of God. The Sacrifice of Christ can be celebrated at all times and places. His One Sacrifice fulfills all others. He is also Really Present in the Sacrifice of the Mass where indeed we do eat and drink his Risen Body and Blood.</div>
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<em><span style="color: blue;">The Eucharist as Sacrifice</span></em></div>
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<em><strong>The way that the Church came to celebrate the Eucharist which Christ commanded us to offer, has much the same form as a Communion-sacrifice so prevalent in the religious and pagan cultures of the time:</strong></em> </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">1.</span> An offering was made <em><strong>by all present</strong></em> at the Eucharist, that of bread and wine. It was placed into the hands of the Priest.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>2</strong>.</span> The Priest[representing Christ] offered the bread and wine with the People at the Lord’s Table, which would soon be called also the Altar. The bread and wine became the Risen Body and Blood of Christ; what was being done on earth as a sacrifice is united to the sacrifice and worship of the Crucified and Risen Christ in Heaven. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>3.</strong></span> And then the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which re-presents (or makes present) the One Sacrifice of the Cross and Resurrection is consumed. Thus all had Communion through Christ with God the Father in the Holy Spirit and with one another as belonging to Christ.</div>
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Thus, we see that the One Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and in the Resurrection redefined many things: it abolished the animal sacrifices, but the Church also retained <em><strong>the pattern</strong></em> of the Communion-sacrifice because it fitted the celebration of the Eucharist as a sacrifice. <em><strong>The Eucharist is a Communion-sacrifice which served as a sacrament of the One Sacrifice of Christ.</strong></em><br />
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<em><strong>I hope you see, now, why in the Eucharist the concept of Sacrifice should not be separated from the concept of Holy Communion</strong></em>. We are sharers in Christ’s Sacrifice of love for us. By celebrating the Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving that Sacrifice in Communion, we should gradually become a People who make sacrifices regularly to show the sacrificial love of Christ. Our sacrifices arise from the Sacrificial love of Christ and witness to his Sacrifice. This is a joy, not a sad thing, and it is for the salvation of the world.</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Lord's Prayer and the Exchange of Peace in the Communion Rite<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-11173537753053170222015-05-06T20:55:00.002-04:002015-05-06T20:55:40.952-04:00#37 The Great Amen. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Eucharistic or Final Doxology concludes with the people responding "Amen!." This is often referred to as the "Great Amen."<br />
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Christian prayer and worship originated from our Jewish roots of Temple and Synagogue worship. Three words in the original Hebrew are found in Christian liturgical prayer: <em><strong>Alleluia, hosana</strong></em>, and <strong><em>amen</em></strong>. The word "Amen" means "It is so," "it is true," "So be it." It is an affirmation that comes at the end of blessings and prayers and signifies that the listeners agree with the prayer and desire it to be answered and done according to God’s will.</div>
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<em><strong>The Great Amen is significant at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Doxology</strong></em>. Last week I pointed out that this Doxology sums up the entire Eucharistic Prayer. It directs the Eucharistic Prayer Godward, praying that all glory and honor be given to God through the One Sacrifice of Christ offered in the Eucharist.</div>
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The Priest sings or says this Final Doxology and it is <em><strong>the People’s role</strong></em> to proclaim the "Amen!" Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, in his book <em>What Happens at Mass</em>, notes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"To this doxology--to the entire Eucharistic Prayer-- the assembly sings ‘Amen!’ It is no wonder that this is often called the ‘Great’ Amen, because ‘This is the biggest Amen of the Mass and so is the biggest Amen in the world’ .... This Amen contains all the others. ...In the Mass, from our own place and time, we are spliced into this <em>eternal Amen</em>, and we shall sing forever what we are singing now. Amen!"</span> (pp. 107-108; emphasis added).</div>
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The "eternal Amen" of which Fr. Driscoll speaks is <em><strong>the "Amen" of the Heavenly Liturgy of Christ</strong></em> with his Angels and Saints, and with Mary his Mother. As Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene writes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Saints...never cease giving thanks to God and with a loud voice they sing: 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!' [Revelation 7:10]. This is answered in heaven by the eternal 'Amen' of the angels, prostrated before the throne of the Most High [Revelation 7:11-12]; and should be answered on earth by the 'Amen' of the whole People of God as they journey toward their heavenly homeland, striving to emulate the holiness of the elect."</span> (Meditation # 398. All Saints in <i>Divine Intimacy </i>vol. 4)</div>
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In the Book of Revelation the heaven liturgy is described with a number of doxologies sung by angels, saints and the blessed of heaven. And a number of those doxologies result in a glorious response of "Amen." (See examples <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5403930622462704838#editor/target=post;postID=370048074104439499;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</div>
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Some scholars believe that the Book of Revelation was describing elements of early Christian worship mirroring the worship of heaven. Certainly the Church’s liturgy would pick up elements of the Book of Revelation in her worship. </div>
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One of the earliest accounts we have of a the Eucharist as celebrated around 150 AD is by Justin Martyr. It could be written today. He writes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"As soon as the common prayers [the General Intercessions] are ended and they (the Christians) have saluted one another with a kiss, bread and wine and water are brought to the presider, who receiving them gives praise to the Father of all things by the Son and Holy Spirit and makes a long thanksgiving [Greek: <em>eucharistia</em>] for the blessings which He has vouchsafed to bestow upon them, and when he has ended the prayers and thanksgiving, all the people that are present answer with the acclamation 'Amen'".</span> ( Apol., lxv, P.G., VI, 428). </div>
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Hopefully, what may have been for you a simple response of "Amen" at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer can now be more fully appreciated for its significance, meaning and importance for what we do in the Mass. At Communion we say "Amen" ["it is so"] when receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, so we make a personal and communal acclamation of faith to what has happened during the Eucharistic Prayer to the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.</div>
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To listen to a magnificent "Amen" set to music, go <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlfxe8ujn7M" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> for the "Amen" from Handel’s <em>Messiah</em>.</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Communion Rite: Revisiting the Sacrifice of the Mass. </div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-90315443195013454722015-04-30T19:36:00.003-04:002015-04-30T19:36:59.969-04:00#36 The Conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer: The Final Doxology. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<br />
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The Eucharistic Prayer ends with the Final Doxology and the Great Amen.There will then be 2 more parts of the Mass to examine: the Communion Rite and the Final Blessing and Dismissal.</div>
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<em><strong>A doxology acclaims the glory of God </strong></em>and often comes at the end of a longer prayer. It is different from the "Glory to God" hymn that is in the Introductory Rite of Sunday except in Lent and Advent. (See my previous discussion about glory <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/search/label/glory" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) The early Church adopted adding a doxology to the end of psalms and certain prayers based upon Jewish Synagogue practice.</div>
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The word "doxology" is derived from two Greek words: "doxa" meaning <em><strong>"glory"</strong></em> and "logos" meaning <em><strong>"speaking" or " word,"</strong></em> <em><strong>Thus, a doxology speaks words of glory about God</strong></em>.</div>
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The Intercessions of the Eucharistic Prayer (examined last week) usually end with some reference to Christ that is then taken up in the Eucharistic Doxology. For example, in Eucharistic Prayer III, the final Eucharistic Intercession mentions the deceased, saying:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord through whom you bestow on the world all that is good."</span></div>
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Then the Priest raises with one hand the ciborium with the Consecrated Hosts and with the other hand raises the Chalice with the Consecrated wine above the altar and says or chants:</div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>"Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, </strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever."</strong></span></div>
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<em><strong>This Final Doxology in many ways sums up our worship and prayer at Mass</strong></em>. The Catechism says: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"...the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly..."</span> (#1199)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Icon of the Three Angels who visited Abraham:</strong><br />
<strong>Traditional Depiction of the Trinity</strong><br />
<strong>Icon by Peter Murphy</strong></td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue;">The Eucharistic Doxology is Trinitarian</span></div>
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We can note that this Final Doxology is Trinitarian: it hymns the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We began the Mass invoking the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. <em>This also recalls our Baptism in the same Triune Name.</em></div>
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The Catechism highlights the significance of the Trinity in our life as the People of God:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"But St. John goes even further when he affirms that ‘God is love’ [1 John 4:16]: God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange."</span> (Catechism #221)</div>
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<em><strong>The Church "is the sacrament of the Holy Trinity's communion with men" and women</strong></em>. (Catechism #747) The Trinity reveals that God is loving relationship between the Three divine Persons who are one God. We are called personally and as members of the Church to foster the same kind of loving relationships in this world.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">The Ancient Pattern of Prayer</span></div>
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This Final Doxology also reveals the ancient pattern of prayer that is still reflected in the Mass today. <em><strong>We give glory to God the Father, through–with–and in the Son and in the union (the unity) of the Holy Spirit.</strong></em></div>
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Time does not permit an extensive discussion of this, but <em><strong>God sent his Son to be our Mediator and High Priest between the Father and the Church</strong></em>, <em><strong>God’s People and the Body of Christ</strong></em>. God the Father wants to have communion with us <em>through the Son made human</em>, with the Son and in him. The Holy Spirit "facilitates" this communion. <em><strong>Our relationship with God is one of union, not just imitation.</strong></em></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Liturgical Prayer is Christ and His Body the Church at Prayer</span></div>
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This Doxology also underscores the teaching that at Mass it is <em>first of all</em> the Crucified and Risen Christ who worships the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit. <em><strong>Only Christ alone is worthy and able to worship God in an eternal act of total self-giving love.</strong></em></div>
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Now we are united to Christ in our Baptism, and given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. In the Mass this union makes us one with Christ in his worship, the supreme expression of his love. Does it seem strange that the Son would worship the Father when both are equally God? The worship of Christ is his worship <em><strong>in our human nature</strong></em>. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">The Meaning of the Glory of God</span> </div>
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Finally, what is this glory of God the Father through the Son and in the unity of the Holy Spirit? In the Old Testament <em><strong>the glory of God is revealed as God’s Presence in his actions to save us</strong></em>. This glory is often represented by <em><strong>radiant light</strong></em>: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"> the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."</span> (Isaiah 60:1)</div>
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In the New Testament, this glory of God is revealed in the saving Presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God in his humanity and divinity. <em><strong>God is revealed to us in Christ’s humanity</strong></em> and as St Paul writes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."</span> (2 Corinthians 4:6)</div>
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Jesus reveals the glory of God to be God’s love, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"for God is love"</span> (1 John 4:16), and this love shines forth in goodness, beauty and truth. Jesus prays:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Father, I glorified You on the earth, </span></div>
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having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. </span></div>
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Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, </span></div>
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with the glory which I had with You before the world was...</span></div>
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so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, </span></div>
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for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."</span> (John 17:4-5,22)</div>
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<em><strong>To glorify God, then, is to acknowledge that all glory belongs to God the Father and to live in that glory in union with Christ and the Holy Spirit. It means to "shine" with the love of God, with God's beauty, truth and goodness.</strong></em></div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Great Amen & a Summary. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-66358188001173976112015-04-23T20:16:00.000-04:002015-04-23T20:16:35.349-04:00#35 The Intercessions of the Eucharistic Prayer. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts<br />
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Stretching back to the beginning of this series, I wrote that the first act of the Mass is the gathering of the Body of Christ, the Church on Sunday and at other times, as well. I wrote:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Our life in Christ is not meant to be lived in isolation from others. That’s why Jesus gave us his Church. <em><strong>The whole Church is supposed to be visible on Sunday</strong></em>. We can’t make the Church visible by ourselves or alone; thus the whole Church is called to worship on Sunday</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"God calls us together on Sunday to give witness that we are saved and called to be God’s family <em>together</em>, to be God’s People, to be the Church of Christ, the community of disciples. We cannot give witness to this alone, but we do it by gathering together on Sunday. Then we worship together, which is our higher purpose in life."</span> (<a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2014/09/3-gathering-on-sunday-series-on.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">CITATION</span></a>)</div>
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Last week I wrote about the Prayer for Unity in every Eucharistic Prayer. The Church gathers and is made visible in a given place, and we pray that through our union with Christ’s Sacrifice and receiving his Body and Blood we may become truly one as Christ’s Body the Church.</div>
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What follows as a result of this Prayer for Unity are Intercessions for the Church. If we are united to one another, then we show our concern and care for the members of the Church, first through prayer. As Catechism 1354 teaches us: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"In the intercessions, the Church indicates that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the whole Church in heaven and on earth, the living and the dead, and in communion with the pastors of the Church, the Pope, the diocesan bishop, his presbyterium [body of priests] and his deacons, and all the bishops of the whole world together with their Churches."</span></div>
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These Intercessions should not be confused with the General Intercessions or Prayer of the Faithful (See previous entry <a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/%20%20http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2014/12/16-general-intercessions-in-liturgy-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) which occur after the Liturgy of the Word (following the Creed on Sunday). Those Intercessions can be and are very specific in what is petitioned while following a general pattern for what should be prayed. They are part of and a response of the Liturgy of the Word. They are opened and closed by the Priest (or presiding Bishop), but the petitions are prayed by a Deacon or a member of the laity.</div>
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The Intercessions of the Eucharistic Prayer itself are much more global. <em><strong>They are usually not very specific except to mention various members of the Church</strong></em>. As part of the Eucharistic Prayer they are prayed by the Priest in the name of the entire Church.</div>
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<em><strong>For whom do we pray in these Eucharistic Intercessions?</strong></em> As the Catechism indicates we pray with the Church in heaven (with the Intercessions of the Saints) and on the Church on earth. We pray for the living and the dead (especially those in Purgatory being purified for heaven. For a lengthy reflection on Purgatory see <a href="http://hfccfatherjohn.blogspot.com/2012/10/reflections-upon-purgatory.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">HERE</span></a>). We also pray for the ordained and the lay members of the Church on earth. And usually there is a prayer for all people, even those not formally part of the Church.</div>
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Let us look at an example of these Intercessions. Eucharistic Prayer III, used the majority of the time for Sunday Mass, prays:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"May he make of us an eternal offering to you, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">especially with the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">with Blessed Joseph her spouse, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">(with Saint N.: the Saint of the day or Patron Saint) and with all the Saints, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">advance the peace and salvation of all the world. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">with your servant N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">the Order of Bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained for your own. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom you have summoned before you: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">in your compassion, O merciful Father, gather to yourself all your children </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">scattered throughout the world. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"To our departed brothers and sisters </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">give kind admittance to your kingdom. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">through Christ our Lord through whom you bestow on the world all that is good."</span></div>
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This set of Intercessions is particularly exemplary in its rich content. We see the Communion of Saints mentioned. (Pope Francis added the mention of the spouse of the Virgin Mary, blessed Joseph) The Intercession of the Saints is mentioned.</div>
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Notice that the advance of "the peace and salvation of <em><strong>all the world</strong></em>" is asked of God. The "pilgrim Church on earth" is mentioned, with the obligatory prayer for the Pope and the Bishop, as well as for the clergy (Priests and Deacons). A beautiful prayer in Eucharistic Prayer III asks the merciful Father <span style="color: #0b5394;">"to gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world."</span></div>
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Finally in this Eucharistic Prayer we pray for our departed brothers and sisters to enter the kingdom of God (inferred to be in heaven).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMH-Ozvi_lUSgVTfRt3kcxwEEGM58yCvwCuMKgLMGQtVhAzi0OBqQl8WgbsQ1xK-Ov7QDn06PJzGGadhZOWxavurqDSjy-ZDH1aJx0w1q8iQ9OxUqcVzKgYdfUoBg_q16X6Z9cNkYnUTI/s1600/christ+intercedes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMH-Ozvi_lUSgVTfRt3kcxwEEGM58yCvwCuMKgLMGQtVhAzi0OBqQl8WgbsQ1xK-Ov7QDn06PJzGGadhZOWxavurqDSjy-ZDH1aJx0w1q8iQ9OxUqcVzKgYdfUoBg_q16X6Z9cNkYnUTI/s1600/christ+intercedes.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Christ Intercedes:</strong><br />
<strong>Note in this image he is dressed as a Priest</strong><br />
<strong> and has his hands lifted in prayer like a Priest at Mass</strong></td></tr>
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As the Catechism teaches <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The whole Church is united with the offering and intercession of Christ."</span> (#1369) As our High Priest <span style="color: #0b5394;">"he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."</span> (Hebrews 7:25) The Church, as the Body of Christ is united to Christ our Head and Priest to intercede in the Mass. </div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Great Doxology.</div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-85371667956519004112015-04-16T14:22:00.002-04:002015-04-16T14:22:52.110-04:00#34 Prayer for Unity in the Eucharistic Prayer. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After the explicit offering of the One Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass, there follows in all the Eucharistic Prayers a petition that the Holy Spirit make all participants <em><strong>one in Christ and his Body the Church</strong></em>; however in the Roman Canon, i.e., Eucharistic I, this is implicit.</div>
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Here are some examples of this prayer for Unity in the Body of Christ:</div>
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Eucharistic Prayer II</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Humbly we pray</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit."</span></div>
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Eucharistic Prayer III</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Grant that we,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and filled with his Holy Spirit,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">may become one body, one spirit in Christ."</span></div>
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Eucharistic Prayer IV</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">which you yourself have provided for your Church,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and grant in your loving kindness</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">to the praise of your glory."</span></div>
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Here is the Prayer for Unity in Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation I which we use for Lent and the Easter Season at Holy Faith:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Look kindly, most compassionate Father,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">on those you unite to yourself</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">by the Sacrifice of your Son,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and grant that, by the power of the Holy Spirit,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">as they partake of this one Bread and one Chalice,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">they may be gathered into one Body in Christ,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">who heals every division."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpEDYpUz3NIJDsDM9v9OJil8JB_HiudU8OpTrug2pTAoxp4GsnG2ofCt4OhC3tnDd9sPvFMWwMTUC8BAvw2uQH6rW-IzO62XmG-fteruCLEoq0G3507sgz88oU0HmC2gSvLxzoTTvHmwV/s1600/Unity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpEDYpUz3NIJDsDM9v9OJil8JB_HiudU8OpTrug2pTAoxp4GsnG2ofCt4OhC3tnDd9sPvFMWwMTUC8BAvw2uQH6rW-IzO62XmG-fteruCLEoq0G3507sgz88oU0HmC2gSvLxzoTTvHmwV/s1600/Unity.jpg" height="320" width="143" /></a>The first thing that we notice about these prayers and those in other Eucharistic Prayers like them, is that <em>the unity that the prayer is referring to comes from partaking of Holy Communion, so the prayer is anticipating that moment in the Mass</em>.</div>
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However, one can also see that the purpose of this Communion is that <em><strong>we can be the One Body of Christ, the Church</strong></em> (also referred to as the "Mystical Body of Christ"). I will have more to say about this when we come to the reflection upon Holy Communion.</div>
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<em><strong>The Eucharist brings about the unity of the Church and it also expresses the unity of the Church</strong></em>.</div>
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Revered theologian Henri de Lubac gave us the the saying, <span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Eucharist makes the Church, and [in turn] the Church makes the Eucharist."</span> Essential to the Church is her unity. "I believe in <b><i>one</i></b>, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" (from the Nicene Creed). In addition, it is the Holy Spirit who brings about this unity:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the soul, as it were, of the Mystical Body, the source of its life, <em><strong>of its unity in diversity</strong></em>, and of the riches of its gifts and charisms."</span> (Catechism #809)</div>
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Before his death on the Cross, Jesus prayed for his disciples, for the Church: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."</span> (John 17:21)</div>
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We can also recall what was written earlier about Covenant (see <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/30-eucharist-as-renewal-of-new-covenant.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). The "Classical Covenant Formula" is when God chooses a people and says <span style="color: #0b5394;">"I will be your God and you will be my People."</span> This involves a People united in the worship of the One God and who live in justice and peace with one another. (See for example Micah 6:8 <a href="http://biblia.com/books/nasb95/Mic6.8" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<em><strong>The same call to worship God and to serve others expressed as love is central in the teaching of Jesus</strong></em>: love God with everything we are and love neighbor as ourselves (See Mark 12:29-34 <a href="http://biblia.com/books/nrsv/Mk12.29-34" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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A final word about this unity expressed and brought about in the Eucharist through Christ and the Spirit: <em><strong>this is a unity in diversity, not an artificial uniformity in all things</strong></em>. As Pope Francis noted:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Spirit builds ‘the unity of the Church’ in the ‘diversity of nations, cultures, and people.’"</span> (Papal Mass on 10-24-2014) </div>
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At the same time we have a "common core" (if I may use this term) of unity in the teaching of the Catholic Church, in the liturgical worship, and in communion with the Pope and Bishops of the Church. <em><strong>It is a unity that comes from union with Christ though the Holy Spirit, which is with God the Father.</strong></em> This union is supernaturally fostered in the Eucharist.</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Intercessions of the Eucharistic Prayer</div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-86983315848107440772015-04-09T21:04:00.000-04:002015-04-09T21:04:41.938-04:00#33. The Offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSz08N0e33VvZBd9IuriZyHXUcGxBkOqG-9hO6efRxjKV0svDqp15bm9jLObOoowjureAb6D6vxT7Wtnoe7t1vpkr1zL3FKGrefXKXL2d2yzXvkxyhp2lAg7wPJme9dBoRpf_4bXtJtzS/s1600/Jesus-on-Cross-Light+of+Resurrection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSz08N0e33VvZBd9IuriZyHXUcGxBkOqG-9hO6efRxjKV0svDqp15bm9jLObOoowjureAb6D6vxT7Wtnoe7t1vpkr1zL3FKGrefXKXL2d2yzXvkxyhp2lAg7wPJme9dBoRpf_4bXtJtzS/s1600/Jesus-on-Cross-Light+of+Resurrection.jpg" height="306" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Now the Light of the Resurrection Illumines the Sacrifice of the Cross</strong></td></tr>
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After the Consecration of the Bread and Wine and their transformation into the Risen Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and after the Memorial Acclamation and Memorial Prayer (proclaiming the Paschal Mystery that Christ has died and risen), next comes <em><strong>the Offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass</strong></em>. This is referred to also <em><strong>the Oblation</strong></em> (from the Latin for "offering a sacrifice").</div>
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Recall that at the Consecration Christ is Really Present in his Crucified and Risen Body and Blood, that is, <em><strong>in his entire self</strong></em>. Present also is his Death and Resurrection which is proclaimed after the Consecration. <em><strong>We can say Christ himself is the Oblation</strong></em>: he offered his entire self, body and blood, soul and divinity on the Cross and was wholly raised from the dead in his Resurrection.</div>
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<em><strong>In the Mass as we offer what God has given us: the whole Christ, we as members of his Body the Church are also offered to God.</strong></em><br />
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The Sacrifice of the Mass is united to the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and his Resurrection. Or we may say, as the Catechism does: <span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice</i>"</span> (#1367)</div>
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The Priest acting <em>in the person of Christ the Head of his Church</em> is consecrated to make the One Sacrifice of Christ present on the Altar by the word of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. (See Catechism #1375 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1375.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">HERE</span></a>) But the People of God are also present as the Body of Christ the Church. <em><strong>They also offer the Sacrifice of Christ in offering themselves as a "spiritual sacrifice."</strong></em> (See Romans 12:1-2 <a href="http://biblia.com/books/nrsv/Ro12.1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">HERE</span></a>) </div>
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What this means is that the Priest makes present by the Holy Spirit <em><strong>the sacramental</strong></em> Sacrifice of the Eucharist (under the appearance of the Consecrated Bread and Wine). <em><strong>This sacramental Sacrifice is one with the Sacrifice of Christ</strong></em>. Thus the Priest can offer up this sacramental Sacrifice in the form of the Eucharist. <em><strong> The People of God are a Royal Priesthood in virtue of their Baptism through and with the Priest also offer their gifts and lives as part of this One sacrifice of</strong></em> <em><strong>Christ.</strong></em></div>
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So the Catechism states: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<i>The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church</i>. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. <em><strong>With him, she herself is offered whole and entire</strong></em>....<em><strong>In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his</strong></em> <strong><em>Body.</em></strong> The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering."</span> (#1368)</div>
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Is this not beautiful and awesome in its implications for each and all of us? We become part of Chrsit’s One Sacrifice made in love for us. <em><strong>We become part of his love, his self-giving, sacrificial love given for all times</strong></em>. He died once only on the Cross; but <em><strong>his sacrificial love is eternal</strong></em>.<br />
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This also why before the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, as is permitted, I make a brief exhortation for all present to remember and give thanks to God for all God’s gifts to us. And to offer those gifts and ourselves <em><strong>to be joined to the One Sacrifice of Christ in his Dying and Rising</strong></em>."</div>
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Again the Catechism states:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.<b><i> In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. </i></b>And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives."</span> (Catechism #901)</div>
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At the Mass, and especially at the Oblation Prayer, <em><strong>we are to offer everything we have and are and experience to be transformed and made part of this Sacrifice of Christ, an expression of love and self-giving in the Holy Spirit.</strong></em> Whatever we do that is not worthy of this Sacrifice, that is sinful and therefore unloving, must be repented and forgiven or healed. This takes most us a life-time. <em><strong>The Eucharist reminds us, Sunday by Sunday, the "standard" by which we are called to live</strong></em>: Christ Jesus who gave himself for us on the Cross in sacrifial love and in his Resurrection we see that this kind of love never ends.<br />
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<em><strong>Finally, we do not offer something apart from the Sacrifice of Christ as if we could somehow win favor or merit salvation on our own</strong></em>. No; Christ is the One who offers an acceptable sacrifice to God because he can offer himself totally in God’s love. Our offerings are because of this first love and perfect Sacrifice to which we are united in Baptism and which we express in worship in the Eucharist. Thus the Sacrifice of Christ is the fountain from which we draw the "living water" of the life of Christ and are able to make sacrifices and show love as a result.</div>
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Here, then, are examples of these Oblation Prayers in the Four Eucharistic Prayers I-IV in the Roman Rite:</div>
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Eucharitic Prayer II<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, as we celebrate</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">the memorial of his Death and Resurrection,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we offer you, Lord,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation..."</span></div>
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Eucharitic Prayer III</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, O Lord...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we offer you in thanksgiving </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">this holy and living sacrifice."</span></div>
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Eucharitic Prayer IV</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, O Lord...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we offer you his Body and Blood,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">the sacrifice acceptable to you</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">which brings salvation to the whole world."</span></div>
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Eucharitic Prayer I</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, O Lord...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">we, your servants and your holy people,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">offer to your glorious majesty</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">from the gifts that you have given us,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">this pure victim,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">this holy victim,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">this spotless victim,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">the holy Bread of eternal life</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and the Chalice of everlasting salvation."</span></div>
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<em><strong>A Note on the use of the word "Victim."</strong></em> The original meaning of the Latin word "victim" referred to a living being sacrificed to the gods (or later the One God). Thus a victim <em>in this religious sense</em> referred also to the oblation or the sacrifice itself. Christ, then, is this kind of "victim" in his sacrificial offering of himself.</div>
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Since the victim of such a sacrifice suffers death, it is easy to see how the word "victim" came to mean also a person who suffers at the hands of another, unwillingly and oppressed. Jesus was also a victim in this sense, though his act of offering himself was a free one, but the violence shown him was unjust and unwelcome (see HERE)</div>
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<strong>Next Week</strong>: The Prayer for Unity in the Eucharistic prayer. </div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page.</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-38208969058749566072015-03-31T18:33:00.000-04:002015-03-31T18:33:11.890-04:00#32 The Memorial of the Passover of Christ & the Offering of the One Sacrifice in the Mass. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>This reflection also includes descriptions of the</i><b><span style="color: #de3538;"> Three Paschal Holy Days </span></b><i>which we celebrate this week and which also celebrate the Passover Mystery of Christ.</i></div>
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The entire Mass celebrates <b><i>the Passover Mystery of Christ </i></b>(aka <b><i>the Paschal Mystery</i></b>; Paschal is the adjective of Passover and of Easter). You may read about the associations of the Jewish Passover which are fulfilled in Christ’s Passover in last week’s reflection (<a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/31-the-mass-jewish-passover-and-christs.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). The entire salvation that God offers to us in Christ Jesus is summed up the central reality of the Paschal Mystery:<b><i> the Dying and Rising of Christ</i></b>. Consequently, in union with Christ through Baptism and in following him, we are called to this dying an rising spiritually in this life, and physically in the life of heaven.</div>
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The Jewish Passover is <b><i>a "covenant meal," </i></b>celebrated once a year For more on "Covenant" see <a href="http://frjohnteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/30-eucharist-as-renewal-of-new-covenant.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). The Passover of Christ and his <b><i>New Covenant </i></b>are celebrated whenever the Mass is celebrated. The Eucharist is the "Paschal Banquet" of the Church. (see Catechism #1323 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1323.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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On the evening of <b><span style="color: #de3538;">Holy Thursday </span></b>Lent ends and the Three Paschal Holy Days begin. This celebration commemorates the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples and the gift of his Eucharist to us. The First Reading of this liturgy recalls the Passover of the Israelites. The Gospel proclaims: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come <b><i>to pass </i></b>from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end."</span> (John 13:1)</div>
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At the last Supper, which anticipates his Death and Resurrection. The Eucharist remembers how Jesus loves us, summed up in a new commandment: <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"Love one another as I have loved you."</span> </i></b>(John 13:34) <b><i>This is a sacrificial love and a love that serves </i></b>as Jesus demonstrates in washing the feet of his disciples, an act of a servant. The Church uses the details of John 13 to proclaim the meaning of the Eucharist for all times through the ministry of Priests and the participation of the entire Church.</div>
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After the Consecration at Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer has a Memorial Acclamation (the "Mystery of Faith") and continues with what is called <b><i>the Memorial of the Paschal Mystery </i></b>(technically called by its Greek name "<i>anamnesis</i>") and <b><i>the Offering of the One Sacrifice of Christ </i></b>in the Mass.</div>
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The Memorial is <i>the Spirit-filled remembrance that really makes present </i>the Death and Resurrection of Christ in the Eucharist. In a way this Memorial Prayer is revealing the meaning of the words of Jesus in the Consecration.</div>
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Every Eucharistic Prayer has a specific Memorial prayer of the Paschal Mystery. Every Eucharistic Prayer also has the Offering of the One Sacrifice on the Cross and Christ’s Resurrection made sacramentally present on the Altar. (This "offering’ should not be confused with the "Offertory" which occurs before the Consecration and is preparing the gifts of bread and wine for Consecration and Offering)</div>
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There are three options for the Memorial Acclamation, <b><i>the "Mystery of Faith</i></b>," after the Consecration:</div>
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1. <span style="color: #0b5394;">"We proclaim your Death, O Lord,</span><br />
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and profess your Resurrection</span><br />
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until you come again."</span><br />
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2. <span style="color: #0b5394;">"When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup,</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">until you come again."</span><br />
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3. <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Save us, Savior of the world,</span><br />
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for by your Cross and Resurrection</span><br />
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you have set us free."</span><br />
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The Memorial Prayer of Eucharistic Prayer III is quite good as a summary of what we are doing in the Mass:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Therefore, O Lord,</span></div>
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as we celebrate <b><i>the memorial</i></b></span><br />
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</i></b>of the saving Passion of your Son,</span><br />
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his wondrous Resurrection</span><br />
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and Ascension into heaven,</span><br />
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and as we look forward to his second coming,</span><br />
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<i><b>we offer </b></i>you in thanksgiving</span><br />
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this holy and living sacrifice."</span><br />
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Holy Thursday is actually a vigil for <b><span style="color: #de3538;">Good Friday </span></b>and calculating time in the Jewish manner, i.e. where a day is calculated as including the evening before, Holy Thursday and Good Friday make one day, the First Day of the Paschal Three Days.</div>
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It is fitting that the evening of Holy Thursday and Good Friday are linked together. The Lord Jesus gave us the new commandment to love one another on Holy Thursday evening at his Last Supper. <b><i>This love, which is sacrificial and all-giving, is demonstrated by his Passion and Death on the Cross</i></b>:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"[S]ince he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us ‘to the end,’ even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love..."</span> (Catechism #1330)</div>
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On Good Friday we have <em><strong>the Veneration of the Cross</strong></em> whereby we embrace the sacrificial love of Christ in our lives which the Cross represents, even if we may have to suffer as he did in this life. We would normally have this Veneration of the Cross at 3pm on Good Friday (the hour Christ died; see Matthew 27:45). However, so that more people can attend the Good Friday Service we have it at 7pm at Holy Faith.</div>
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The Son of God could not have suffered and died for us on the Cross if he had not taken our flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. He is thus fully God and fully human. He came to die for our sins and as a result of our sins. <b><i>Thus he suffered our greatest suffering</i></b>: our experience of death and its loss. Then he was buried in the Tomb.<br />
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The Second Day of the Paschal Three Days is <b><span style="color: #de3538;">Holy Saturday</span></b>. No Liturgy is celebrated on this day, except Morning Prayer, because on <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Holy Saturday the Church is, as it were, at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his passion and death, and on his descent into hell, and awaiting his resurrection with prayer and fasting." </span>(<i>Paschales Solemnitatis </i>#73) <em><strong>This is a day for deep silence and reflection</strong></em>, pondering all the times in life when everything seems "dead and buried."<br /></div>
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<i><b>There is no Cross without the Resurrection and no Resurrection without the Cross</b></i>. In times past the Church focused more on the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross present in the celebration of the Mass and not so much on the Resurrection of Christ. The Memorial of Christ’s Paschal Mystery after the Consecration is a constant reminder of the unity of Christ’s Death and Resurrection. </div>
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<i><b>What role does the Resurrection have in the Christian life? </b></i>It is the promise and experience of <b><i>transformation</i></b> in our lives. It is <b><i>a radical newness</i></b>, what St. Paul calls <b><i>"a new creation." </i></b>It is in the spiritual sense the promise that darkness will give way to light, death will give way to life, sorrow will give way to joy. Since the Cross tells us that Christ died for us out of sacrificial love,</div>
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<i><b>the Resurrection tells us that this sacrificial love never ends</b></i>, for Chris himself did not come to an end at his death, and neither shall we.</div>
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As one author asserts: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"And it is what Jesus’ resurrection means that really matters. For what it means is that if Jesus rose from the dead, so will we. If he overcame the trials, sufferings and hardships of his life, so will we. As he left his tomb, so too can we leave our tombs of sadness, loneliness, addiction, abuse, depression, anger, anxiety, worry, jealousy, envy, and whatever else weighs us down in our daily lives. As Jesus tells us in Scripture: ‘Have courage, I has overcome the world.’" </span>(From Catholic Webprofessor)</div>
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The Third Day of the Paschal Three Holy Days is the close of Holy Saturday with the night celebration of <b><span style="color: #de3538;">the Easter Vigil </span></b>and the start of <span style="color: #de3538;"><strong>Easter Sunday</strong></span>.</div>
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The Easter Vigil is unique of all the liturgies of the Church. It is reminiscent of the night vigils of the early Church when Christians would gather and light the night lamps and read Scriptures and await the coming of the Lord Jesus.</div>
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At the Easter Vigil we light <b><i>the Paschal Candle </i></b>which represents Christ our Light. We bring it into the darkened church and light the candles of the Assembly. An ancient hymn is sung (the <em>Exultet</em>) introducing this Vigil. We then hear a number of Scripture readings about creation and salvation, including about Baptism and then the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.</div>
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<i><b>On this night we baptize adults and older children </b></i>who have been preparing for this. We Confirm them and share the Eucharist with them for the first time. It is a night of joy, to say the least and of great beauty.</div>
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The following morning at dawn, the Mass of the Resurrection is celebrated. It was early before dawn that Christ rose from the dead. Other Easter morning Masses follow. As on the night before at the Easter Vigil, <b><i>the People gathered for the Easter Masses renew their Baptismal promises and also unite with the risen Christ in the Eucharist.</i></b></div>
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<b>Next Week: </b>The Offering of the One Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass in more detail.<br />
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-3339991667594075332015-03-26T21:56:00.000-04:002015-03-26T21:56:57.726-04:00#31 The The Mass, the Jewish Passover and Christ’s Passover. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As we pause to learn more about the Consecration of the Mass, we look at how the Jewish Passover influenced the early Church and its celebration of the Eucharist, instituted at the last Supper. This subject of the Passover will also be further examined in this series next week when we look at how <em><strong>the Mass proclaims and re-presents the Paschal Mystery for the life of each Catholic and the Church</strong></em>. </div>
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At present we can note that the Eucharist is described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as "a Paschal banquet," (#1323 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1323.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) i.e. a Passover banquet, Paschal being the adjective of Passover. The Eucharist is described as the "sacrament of Christ’s passover" (Catechism #1517 <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1517.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>) and its "memorial." As Catechism #1365 teaches us:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: ‘This is my body which is given for you’ and ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood.’ In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he ‘poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’"</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">It is Christ's Passover</span></strong></div>
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We should note that the Catechism continuously speaks about "<i>Christ’s</i> Passover" or "<i>his</i> Passover." The Jewish Passover was influential in the life of Christ and for the early Jewish Christians, but from the time of the New Testament the <em><strong>Christian</strong></em> Passover was distinguished form the Jewsish feast. Many of the ancient themes of the Jewish Passover were fulfilled by Christ who gave us a <strong><em>New</em></strong> <em><strong>Passover</strong></em> in the <em><strong>New Covenant</strong></em>. Just as the Jewish Sabbath has been superceded and fulfilled by Sunday, the Lord's Day for Christians, so the jewish passover has been superceded and fulfilled by Christ's Passover.</div>
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<strong>Meaning of the Jewish Passover</strong></span></div>
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What does the Jewish Passover celebrate and what is its meaning still today for the Jewish People? It begins with the Covenant that God made with the Patriarch Abraham (see Genesis 17:3-9 <a href="http://biblia.com/bible/nrsv/Ge17.3-9" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). God promised that Abraham and his future descendents would be given a land (the "Promised Land") and they would be chosen to bless all the nations.</div>
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After many generations the descendents of Abraham would become enslaved in Egypt and cruelly oppressed. God heard the cry of his People and saw their suffering and so raised up a leader who could take them back to the Promised Land.</div>
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First, however, Moses had to persuade Pharoah to let God’s People go free. Pharoah’s heart was hardedned againt the Hebrews. God sent plagues upon Egypt and finally the death of all the first-born sons of Egypt to persuade Pharoah. <em><strong>The Hebrew families were told each to slaughter a lamb and eat it in a religious meal, also marking the doors of their homes with the blood of the Paschal lamb so that the angel of death would "pass over" the Hebrews and spare their first-born sons.</strong></em></div>
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So the People of God were finally freed. They <em><strong>passed through</strong></em> the Red Sea as on dry land and entered the desert for 40 years. They came to Mt. Sinai where God made a Covenant and promised the Hebrews to be their God and they would be his People, and they would keep this Covenant through observing the Sabbath and the commandments of the Lord. Eventually, the People were led into the Promised Land (currently modern day Israel).</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong>Themes of the Jewish Passover</strong></span></div>
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<em><strong>The Jewish Passover celebrates a number of salvation themes</strong></em>: being <em><strong>saving from death</strong></em>; the <em><strong>freedom from the slavery</strong></em> of Egypt; the <em><strong>overcoming of darkness by light</strong></em>; <em><strong>the Covenant</strong></em> whereby the Israelites became <em><strong>a Chosen People</strong></em>; and their mission to the rest of the world <em><strong>to proclaim God’s mighty works to save</strong></em>. The Passover Meal celebrates all this with the recounting of the events of the Exodus while having a covenant meal together.</div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Examples of Paschal Themes in the New Testament</span></strong></div>
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The New Testament (= New Covenant) describes the salvation god gives us in Christ in many of these same "Paschal images": <span style="color: #0b5394;">"For you were formerly <em><strong>darkness</strong></em>, but now you are <em><strong>Light</strong></em> in the Lord; walk as children of Light."</span> (Ephesians 5:8); <span style="color: #0b5394;">“For <em><strong>freedom</strong></em> Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of <em><strong>slavery</strong></em>”</span> (Galatians 5:1); <span style="color: #0b5394;">"Christ is the mediator of <em><strong>a new covenant</strong></em>, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom <em><strong>to set them free</strong></em> from the sins committed under the first covenant."</span> (Hebrews 9:15); <span style="color: #0b5394;">"But you are a<em><strong> chosen people</strong></em>, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, <em><strong>that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light</strong></em>."</span> (1 Peter 2:9; compare to Exodus 19:5-6 <a href="http://biblia.com/bible/nrsv/Ex19.5-6" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<br /><em><strong>Certainly the early Church certainly interpreted Jesus death and Resurrection in Passover terms</strong></em> and we see parallels in the New Testament with the themes of the Jewish Passover <b><i>at the time.</i></b> For example one source notes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The Passover is an important foreshadowing in God’s plan of salvation. There are many parallels between the Passover and Christ’s saving work...In both cases God raises up a savior to lead [God’s people] to freedom: Moses and Jesus Christ. In both cases the people are given a new code of life: the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. In both cases they are saved by the shedding of innocent blood: the Paschal Lamb’s and Christ’s. In both cases the savior leads the people from one state to another: from being slaves in Egypt to being free in the Promised Land and from being slaves to sin to being free from sin [in Christ]."</span> (Form "Passover" © 2010 by Saint Mary’s Press in the <i>Living in Christ Series</i>.</div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Last Supper (and thus the Eucharist) has a "Paschal Character"</span></strong></div>
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<em><strong>I</strong></em><em><strong>t was with this background of the Passover, that Jesus celebrated a "farewell meal" with his disciples, the Last Supper</strong></em>. There is much debate about whether the Last Supper was a Passover meal or not. Part of the problem is that the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke can be interpreted as saying the Last Supper was a Passover meal; <em><strong>but the Gospel of John has Jesus dying on the Cross at the precise moment that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple</strong></em> (the "ninth hour" or 3pm). That would mean <em>according to John’s chronology</em> that it was impossible for Jesus and the disciples to have shared a Passover meal, since the Passover meal would have started the night of Good Friday (the lambs had to be sacrificed first in the Temple and then taken home by each family for the evening Passover).</div>
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To me a great deal of confusion can be avoided if we remember that Jesus was celebrating <b><i>his</i></b> Passover in the Last Supper meal, a meal that would be somewhat similar to the Jewish Passover meal but also different since it was the beginning of the Eucharist for all time. It was and is <b><i>the</i></b> <b><i>Lord’s</i></b> Supper, <b><i>his</i></b> Passover <em><strong>in the New</strong></em> Covenant. (If interested to read a scholaly discussion of the "problems" of whether the Last Supper was a Jewish Passover meal, see the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2011/03/02/pope-benedict%E2%80%88xvi-the-last%E2%80%88supper/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>).</div>
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In fact St. Paul writes to the Corinthian church: <em><strong>"For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed; Therefore, let us celebrate the feast."</strong></em> (1 Corinthians 5:7b-8a) <span style="color: #cc0000;">Listen attentively for how the Passover is referenced in the upcoming Palm Sunday liturgy and the Triduun for next week.</span></div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Paschal Mystery of Christ Proclaimed in the Triduum and in the Mass. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-81702188945756987392015-03-19T22:21:00.000-04:002015-03-19T22:39:41.106-04:00#30 The Eucharist as a Renewal of the New Covenant in Christ. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<br />
I continue to explore the meanings in the Consecration before moving on to other aspects of the Mass. Today I look at the whole concept of "Covenant" found in the Old Testament an continued in the New. I examine this to help us appreciate the meaning of the words of Jesus found in the Consecration of the wine in the Eucharistic Prayer:<br />
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The Priest (Taking up the Chalice of wine) says: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT</i>,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME."</span></div>
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<i><b>In the Scriptures a covenant establishes a relationship which is deeply committed, faithful and loyal</b></i>. It is similar to one party becoming related to another. Marriage is a type of Covenant. The word "Covenant" literally means "a coming together."</div>
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In the Middle Eastern culture of Biblical times , a king could establish a covenant between himself and his people. So it is for God and his people, but it is a relationship that is not legalistic but <b><i>deeply personal</i></b>. It sets up promises and obligations between God and God’s People.</div>
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Biblical studies mention what is sometimes called "The Classic Covenant Formula." It is expressed in any statement (explicit or implied) where God establishes his Covenant by saying: <b><i>"I shall be your God and you shall be my People." </i></b>For example, in the Book of Leviticus 26:12: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people."</span></div>
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In the case of the Book of Leviticus, God is saying this to the People of Israel, delivered from the slavery of Egypt through Moses. God establishes Israel and his Covenant with them on Mt. Sinai. </div>
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Signs would be given when a covenant was made: usually something involving <b><i>blood</i></b>. This was to signify that the covenant made the two parties like family, "the same blood" as we would say today. So we read in the Book of Exodus 24:6-8:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"And Moses took half of the blood [of sacrificed oxen] and put it in basins, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and half of the blood he threw against the altar [which represents God]. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And they said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<b><i>Behold the blood of the covenant </i></b>that the Lord has made with you </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">in accordance with all these words."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and they saw the God of Israel. ...And God did not lay his hand </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">on the chief men of the people of Israel; <b><i>they beheld God, and ate and drank</i></b>."</span></div>
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Note that the Sinai Covenant was ratified with blood and that there was also <b><i>a "covenant meal" </i></b>where the elders ate in the Presence of God. <b><i>Sharing a meal together was a sign of being ‘family." </i></b>So Israel is the family of God.</div>
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Throughout time, the People of Israel did not always keep the Covenant. <b><i>They did not act as God’s People</i></b>. They would either fall into <b><i>idolatry or into injustice</i></b>, not treating each other as God’s People. So God makes a further promise to his People through the Prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">when I will make <b><i>a new covenant </i></b>with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">after those days, says the Lord: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">and <b><i>I will be their God, and they shall be my people</i></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more."</span></i></b></div>
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Now let’s see what happens with <b><i>the New Covenant </i></b>that Jesus brings us. It’s actually a renewal of "the Old Covenant." <b><i>Jesus came to initiate us into a Covenant relationship with God</i></b>. We are to be in the deepest kind of personal and communal relationship with God, to be his People and he our God.</div>
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For the Israelites the "mark of the Covenant" was <i>circumcision</i>, a type of initiation into the People of God by all Jewish males. In the New Covenant, we are <b><i>Baptized</i></b> (which "marks" our soul), an initiation into Christ and his Body the Church. It is an inclusive sign of the Covenant, for men and women alike.</div>
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<i><b>The Eucharist is our "Covenant Meal," the renewal of our Covenant in Baptism</b></i>. We eat and drink together as the family of God. We are baptized only once; the renewal is in participating in the Mass continuously, each Sunday. </div>
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<strong><em>This new Covenant is established particularly in the "Blood of Christ.</em></strong>" This is a Covenant "for the forgiveness of sins," as the words of Consecration over the wine proclaim. It was sin with its disobedience that made the Israelites break the Covenant in the past. So Christ came to deliver us from the slavery of sin and empower us to live that "New Covenant" spoken of through the Prophet Jeremiah. A Covenant ‘written on our hearts,’ now in our souls.</div>
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The words of Consecration over the wine remind us of the "Blood of the Covenant," used in the Sinai Covenant to symbolize the deep and familial relationship of God with the People. It also reminds us of Jeremiah’s promise of "the New Covenant." So at the Consecration we hear:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><b>THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT</b></i>,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY</span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS</span></b></i>. </div>
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When we hear these words spoken by the Priest, representing Christ, we can recall all that the Covenant means. We have been made God’s People, his own beloved children and family. We are to love him and obey him and live in the forgiveness of sins. We can always claim our Covenant relationship with God, and live as his People in this world.</div>
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As 2 Corinthians 6:16 says: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."</span></div>
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(For an extensive treatment about the Covenant see this citation "Lesson One: The Master Key that Unlocks the Bible " <a href="http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/lesson/covenant_the_master_key_that_unlocks_the_bible#II." target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>)</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The Eucharist as the Christian Passover. </div>
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<a href="http://www.holyfaithchurch.org/" target="_blank">Return to Home Page</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-22773737477809150712015-03-13T07:54:00.002-04:002015-07-12T16:52:15.016-04:00#29 The Four-fold Action of the Eucharist. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have paused at the action of the Consecration to go deeper into the meanings of this central moment in the Mass. In the Consecration is the Institution Narrative, i.e. the account of how Jesus instituted the Eucharist until the end of time. Jesus takes bread and he takes wine; he blesses the bread and wine in an act of thanksgiving; he breaks the bread; and he gives the blessed bread and wine to his disciples, telling them that this is his Body and Blood. <em><strong>These actions can be summarized as a Four-fold Action of the Institution Narrative: (1) Take (2) Bless/give thanks (3) Break (4) Give.</strong></em></div>
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All four actions are mentioned in the New Testament. The breaking of the Consecrated Bread was especially significant and the whole Eucharist was called "the Breaking of Bread."All the ancient forms of the Eucharist (which varied by location) incorporate this pattern of the Eucharist. </div>
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Note the variations (in red) of each Institution narrative from the New Testament:</div>
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Mark 14:22-2: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"While they were eating, He <b>took</b> some bread, and after a <b>blessing</b> He <b>broke it</b>, and <b>gave it </b>to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body.’ And when He had <b>taken</b> a cup and <b>given thanks</b>, He <b>gave it </b>to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.’"</span></div>
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Matthew 26: 26-28: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"While they were eating, Jesus <b>took</b> some bread, and after a <b>blessing</b>, He <b>broke it </b>and <b>gave it </b>to the disciples, and said, ‘Take,</span> <span style="color: red;">eat</span>; <span style="color: #0b5394;">this is My body.’ And when He had <b>taken</b> a cup and <b>given thanks</b>, He gave it to them, saying, ‘</span><span style="color: red;">Drink from it, all of you</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many</span> <span style="color: red;">for forgiveness of sins.</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">’"</span></div>
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Luke 22:19-20: <span style="color: #0b5394;"> "And when He had <b>taken</b> some bread and <b>given thanks</b>, He <b>broke it </b>and <b>gave it </b>to them, saying, ‘This is My body</span> <span style="color: red;">which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">’ And in the same way He <b>took</b> the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘</span><span style="color: red;">This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">in My blood.’"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">1 Corinthians 11:23-25: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed <b>took</b> bread; and when He had <b>given thanks</b>, He <b>broke it</b> [<b>gave it </b>is implied] and said, ‘This is My body,</span> <span style="color: red;">which is for you</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He <b>took</b> the cup also after supper, saying, ‘</span><span style="color: red;">This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">’"</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></div>
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[See Matthew 14:13-21 <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5403930622462704838#editor/target=post;postID=2021705705390719771;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> which uses the "Eucharistic language" of the Four-fold Action]</div>
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What is useful to us about this Four-fold Action beyond liturgical studies is that a number of preachers and authors of spirituality use these four actions to describe <em><strong>a Christian life centered in the Eucharist.</strong></em> For example, Fr. Henri Nouwen in his book <i>Life of the Beloved</i> (a very good book) writes:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"To identify the movements of the Spirit in our lives, I have found it helpful to use four words: taken, blessed, broken, and given....These words also summarize my life as a Christian because, as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world: bread that is taken, blessed, broken and given."</span> (pp.41-42)</div>
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St. Augustine preached in his Sermon 57:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">“You are the body of Christ... You are to be taken; you are to be blessed, broken, and given; that you may be the means of grace and the vehicles of the Eternal love. Behold what you are. <em><strong>Become what you receive</strong></em>.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">This kind of reflection is found in a homily given by Fr. Andrew Budzinski as an example:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<em><strong>Jesus takes you. Another way of saying this is that Jesus chooses you</strong></em>. Think about that for a moment, Jesus chooses you! Jesus says, ‘It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.’ (Jn 15:16). Perhaps that’s a difficult thing for us to understand sometimes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"God chooses me? Yes. God loves you. Remember ... Jesus’ words at the Last Supper in the Gospel of John when Jesus said to His Father: ‘You loved them even as you love me.’</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"St. Peter says, ‘you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own.’ (1 Peter 2:9). St. Paul says, ‘he chose us in [Christ], before the foundation of the world."’(Eph 4:1).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">" Jesus takes you. He chooses you."</span></div>
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(Sunday, July 31, 2011 Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given Homily from the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time; emphasis added)</div>
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Another example is given by the Methodist liturgical professor Don Saliers: </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Just as bread and wine are taken, we are to offer ourselves into God's hands, to give ourselves to God's purposes; just as thanksgiving is raised up, we are to ‘live the thanksgiving’ in gratitude for the mighty acts of God that the eucharistic prayer narrates; just as bread is broken and wine poured out, we must be vulnerable to all that faith demands; and just as nourishment is shared, <em><strong>so we ‘must be prepared to be given for others.</strong></em>’"</span> (<em>Worship and Spirituality;</em> emphasis added)</div>
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Finally, I quote a particularly fine example of reflection upon the Four-fold Action in our lives from an Episcopal minister:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"Christians want to be taken and blessed … and stop right there, thank you very much! That’s the ‘feel good’ part of Christianity. Being claimed by God and blessed by God feels good. But if we stop there, Christianity can become dangerous – even toxic - because <em>if we only accept being taken and blessed, we will continue to encounter Christ on our terms and not on his</em> <em>terms.</em> We will still retain control. This is a sort of spiritual narcissism where I get to be claimed and blessed, but I still hold onto the right to interpret the Bible my way, use the Bible to uphold my own prejudices, and choose who I want to be in relationship with and who I want to exclude.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"This is the kind of spirituality the crowd exhibits. They want Jesus on their terms. They want to take him by force and make him a king. They want to know what they need to do to perform the works of God. They want this bread always. <em><strong>They like being taken and blessed … but they stop short of broken and given.</strong></em></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"And let’s be honest – none of us really wants to be broken do we? We don’t want to face our faults, our defects, our deficiencies, our weaknesses, our hurts, our suffering, our pain, the abuse we’ve suffered and the abuse we have in turn hurled at others. That doesn’t feel good, does it? It’s not fun. We’d rather be smug, self-sufficient, and self-righteous if given our druthers. We’d rather justify, minimize and flee from our brokenness. But that’s not the way of the cross – it is not the way of the Christian.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"<em><strong>We cannot be given for the sake of a broken and hurting world unless we allow our own brokenness to be what it is – and to face it honestly</strong></em>. Our brokenness is the place where the crucified One meets us and reminds us that even as we are broken, we are still taken and blessed. We don’t stop being taken and blessed … even when we are broken. It is in our broken state where we can be emptied of our spiritual narcissism and our false ego. It is there where we can find not just serenity but also the ability to connect with the sufferings of others so that we can be given for the sake of God’s people. <em><strong>We cannot be a gift to others until we accept we are broken</strong></em>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The shape of the Eucharistic life involves all four actions: being taken, blessed, broken and given. It was the pattern of Jesus’ life and ministry and for us to live authentically as Christians it needs to be ours too. We cannot claim to be Christian by having Christ on our terms and avoid being broken and given for others. If we do, our faith remains centered in ourselves and we will succumb to the temptation to harm others and cloak our actions with religiosity and "self-righteousness.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"When we are taken, blessed, broken and given, we find ourselves able to connect with the Other and see the face of Christ in them and in doing so we will promote the Body’s growth in building itself up in Love."</span> (Anjel Scarborough; emphasis added)</div>
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<strong>Next Week:</strong> The New Covenant Proclaimed in the Eucharist.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186344187149306691.post-3043121937545730552015-03-05T21:28:00.000-05:002015-03-31T18:33:34.821-04:00 # 28 The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>It is the Glorified and Risen Christ</strong><br />
<strong>in the Eucharist</strong></td></tr>
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Last week I wrote about the Epiclesis (calling upon the Holy Spirit) and the Consecration of the bread and wine in the Eucharist. I wrote:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">"The ancient understanding of the Mass is that the Risen and Glorified Christ is Really Present in the worship under the appearances of bread and wine that have been duly consecrated. There is a wondrous transformation of the ordinary bread and wine where the Risen Christ becomes present in a way he was not before the Consecration."</span></div>
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I also noted the teaching of the Catechism (#1333): <span style="color: #0b5394;">"At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood."</span> (#1333)</div>
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The sacramental presence of the Crucified and Risen Christ through the bread and wine after the Consecration is called his Real Presence. By this we mean it is <b><i>not</i></b> a symbolic presence only, or psychological (in our mind only), or an imagined presence, or present only spiritually, if by spiritually we<i> wrongly</i> mean "only figuratively, or ‘not quite really.’"</div>
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The Catholic Church teaches and believes that the Risen Christ <em><strong>is really</strong></em> <em><strong>and entirely</strong></em> present under the appearances of consecrated bread and wine: <span style="color: #0b5394;">"In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, <i>the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially </i>contained.’"</span> (<i>CCC</i>#1374)</div>
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Over the centuries, many in the Church have tried to explain how it is that the bread and wine are changed to become really the Body and Blood of Christ. The Church has favored an explanation called <b><i>"transubstantiation" </i></b>( a change, <i>trans-</i>, of substance). The term "substance" is used in a very philosophical way, meaning <b><i>"essence," </i></b>what a thing <b><i>is</i></b> (<i>esse</i>). One can see the challenge of saying the bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ when after the Consecration bread and wine are still there on the Altar.</div>
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But according to the idea of transubstantiation the <b><i>appearances</i></b> of the bread and wine, that is, <b><i>the physical properties </i></b>of bread and wine, do remain after the Consecration, <b><i>but the very essence or reality of the bread and wine are replaced (changed) by the essence and reality of the Crucified and Risen Christ</i></b>. The Eucharist is the only time such a thing happens, and ultimately, this is <b><i>a mystery</i></b>.</div>
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To say that Christ is also bodily present under the appearances of the Consecrated bread and wine has to also be understood carefully.<b><i> It is the Risen and glorified Christ who is Really Present</i></b>. In other words, his is not a physical reality like that in time and space here on earth (or throughout the universe). Some have proposed the word <b><i>"transphysical" </i></b>to describe the Risen Body and Blood of Christ (For an extensive reflection of mine on this go <a href="http://hfccfatherjohn.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-kind-of-body-do-we-receive-in.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>). The Body of Christ <span style="color: #0b5394;">"is present in the eucharist not in the usual, natural, visible, local ways bodies are normally present, but rather in a spiritual, non-visible, substantial and sacramental manner."</span> (Nathan Mitchell, <i>Real Presence</i>, p.100).</div>
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So what we see and taste in the Consecrated bread and wine are the physical properties of bread and wine, but the true reality we receive is not bread and wine but the Crucified and Risen Body and Blood of Christ. Also, we do not receive only part of Jesus in the Eucharist. <b><i>We receive the whole Christ, his whole reality, "body and blood, soul and divinity." </i></b></div>
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In the ritual practice of the Mass, it is only after the bread is Consecrated that the Priest shows the Host <b><i>for adoration </i></b>and <b><i>genuflects</i></b>, not to bread which would be absurd, but to Christ Really Present, and the same for the Consecrated wine. The elements which we now call the Body and Blood of Christ must be handled with the greatest care and reverence and will be given as Communion in the Mass. Some of the Consecrated bread will be reserved in the Tabernacle for the Sick and we genuflect whenever we pass by the Tabernacle. Thus we express our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.</div>
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<b>Next Week: </b>The Four actions mentioned in the Consecration.</div>
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