tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55686917921521396822024-03-14T10:27:52.261-07:00For Catholic Holy MassNot every Mass is going to be a great and deeply moving experience. Lifelong Catholics may have grown so used to the ritual that they aimlessly go through the motions and find that their minds often wander. We pray this ParishWorld blog can help you understand the Mass and learn to appreciate this most sacred gift from our Lord Jesus Christ. May you learn to embrace the gift of the Eucharist and share it with everyone you encounter.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-21711676946972719422011-06-27T13:37:00.000-07:002011-06-27T13:37:51.344-07:00Understanding the Mass, A Five Part Series<span style="color: maroon; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A Unique Sacrifice Made Present</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Understanding the Mass, Part I</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>By Marcellino D'Ambrosio</i></span><br />
<br />
Jun. 26, 2010 (<a href="http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/" target="_blank">www.crossroadsinitiative.com</a>) - Even Catholics who don’t know much about their faith have some vague awareness that they’re supposed to go to Mass on Sunday. Ask them to describe the Mass, though, and they might tell you that it involves an introduction, a conclusion, and a collection! The Mass (also called the Eucharist or the Divine Liturgy) has two main parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. But rather than analyze its parts, I’d like to examine the Mass as a whole in terms of its three principal aspects. Now and always, the Mass involves a sacrifice, the presence of Christ, and a meal.<br />
<br />
It’s important to know what the Church means by the "sacrifice" of the Mass. The term is easily misunderstood and has caused much strife among Christians.<br />
<br />
First of all, Church teaching reiterates what Scripture states very clearly: there is no other sacrifice except the one offered by Jesus on Calvary. Hebrews 10:12 says that Christ "offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins." That sacrifice cannot be repeated. The Mass, therefore, is not a repetition; it is a re-presentation of that sacrifice.<br />
<br />
Because Christ was a unique human being, the sacrifice He offered on the cross once and for all is a unique act. He was a human being, so it was an act that took place in history and is therefore past. He is God, who is outside of time: past and future are always present to Him. This means that His death and resurrection are eternal acts that can be made present by the power of the Spirit.<br />
<br />
This is exactly what happens in the Eucharist. The power of Calvary — the sacrifice that takes away sins, heals, and transforms — becomes present and available to us. It can be applied to our need.<br />
<br />
But that’s not all. The cross is incomplete without the Resurrection. You can’t understand what happened on Good Friday apart from what happened two days later on Easter Sunday. This means that the Resurrection, too, is made present every time the Eucharist is celebrated. When we go to Mass, we’re present at the foot of the cross, watching the Savior give His life for us. And we’re outside the open tomb with the risen Jesus and the women who greeted Him on that resurrection morning. "This is for you. I give My life to you," Jesus is saying. "Receive My power."<br />
<br />
Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice in order to bring us salvation and give us His Spirit. Pentecost is the fruit of the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the Resurrection. Thus, the Church teaches that every Mass is a new Pentecost, a new opportunity to receive the Spirit afresh (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 739).<br />
<br />
To sum up, the Mass is Christ’s sacrifice made present again. It’s not recalled, as if it had been absent or were merely a past event. It’s re-presented.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Links to the Series</span><br />
<a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=D29710E9-2219-2361-AC27260FF0CB33DF%3CBR%20/%3E20116&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1025061" target="_blank">Understanding the Mass - Part I</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=D29FD330-2219-2361-AC10C39BE95C22DA%3CBR%20/%3E20116&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1025062" target="_blank">Understanding the Mass - Part II</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=D26561F0-2219-2361-AC82E1B4CD11A543%3CBR%20/%3E20116&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1025060" target="_blank">Understanding the Mass - Part III</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=D2A3FF22-2219-2361-ACADF8778A8077A0%3CBR%20/%3E20116&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1025063" target="_blank">Understanding the Mass - Part IV</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=D2A79B47-2219-2361-ACC9182E97EACCF4%3CBR%20/%3E20116&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1025064" target="_blank">Understanding the Mass - Part V</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-13749055799548959342011-05-05T16:45:00.001-07:002011-05-05T16:45:44.697-07:00A Biblical Walk Through the Mass<span style="color: maroon; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><strong>A Biblical Walk Through the Mass</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Interview With Author on Finding Scripture in the New Translation</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>By Kathleen Naab</em></span><br />
<br />
LITTLETON, Colorado, MAY 5, 2011 (<a href="http://www.zenit.org/" target="_blank">www.Zenit.org</a>).- Many Catholics might not realize just how much an hour at church on Sunday mornings puts them in contact with the Bible.<br />
<br />
In addition to the readings and psalm, "practically everything in the liturgy has some roots in Scripture,” according to a scholar who has written a book to point out these connections.<br />
<br />
Dr. Edward Sri goes into the biblical roots of liturgy in "A Biblical Walk Through the Mass." And he says the forthcoming new translation of the Mass makes these roots even more visible.<br />
<br />
ZENIT: Will the new translation help us become more in tune with Scripture and see the links between liturgy and the Bible?<br />
<br />
Sri: From the opening Sign of the Cross to the closing “Thanks be to God,” the prayers and rituals of the Mass are permeated by the Bible. Indeed, practically everything in the liturgy has some roots in Scripture. Knowing more about that biblical background will help deepen our understanding of what we are really saying and doing in the Mass. <br />
<br />
The new translation of the Mass will help make the biblical background shine more brilliantly. It will convey more fully the rich biblical metaphors, images and allusions found in the Latin text of the Mass. <br />
<br />
ZENIT: Can you give some examples?<br />
<br />
Sri: In the prayer shortly before Holy Communion is distributed, the priest has been saying, “Happy are those who are called to this supper.” But in the new translation, the priest will say, “Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the lamb.” These new words more clearly recall a climactic moment of the Book of Revelation when Jesus, the Lamb of God, is depicted as a bridegroom joining himself to his bride, the Church. An angel announces this intimate union, saying, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb” (Revelation 19:19). The new translation more clearly echoes the angel’s invitation to the heavenly wedding supper of the lamb and reminds us that Holy Communion is an intimate loving communion with Jesus -- one that is likened to the union shared between husband and wife.<br />
<br />
Similarly, the people have been saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you …” But in the new translation, we will say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” The new words reflect the humility and trust of the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant at home (cf. Matthew 8:5-13). As a Roman officer who was in charge of a hundred soldiers oppressing the Jewish people, the centurion humbly acknowledges, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” Like the centurion, we, at this moment in the Mass, recognize our own unworthiness to have Jesus come sacramentally under the “roof” of our souls in Holy Communion.<br />
<br />
ZENIT: How did the history of this intertwining between liturgy and Scripture unfold? Masses were celebrated for decades before Scripture (the New Testament) was even written, so when did liturgical texts and Scriptural texts become so closely linked?<br />
<br />
Sri: One could say that the Bible and the liturgy always have gone hand-in-hand. The intertwining of the Bible and liturgical worship is older than the Mass itself, for ancient Jewish worship was filled with allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus’ words at the Last Supper also contained numerous allusions to Old Testament passages and images. It is not surprising, therefore, that when the Eucharist was celebrated in the early Church, the various expressions of Christian liturgical worship continued to be shaped by biblical themes. Over time, as the rituals and prayers of the Mass developed, the Scriptures remained a key source of inspiration for these liturgical rites and played an important role in helping shape the liturgy that has come down to us today.<br />
<br />
ZENIT: From blogs to books, happily there is a lot of information available on the new translation -- for anyone interested to find it. What about those Catholics who are not, perhaps, as interested as they should be. Are there practical ways the Church can take advantage of this catechesis opportunity?<br />
<br />
Sri: I think we have a unique opportunity to help the faithful reflect more on the meaning of the Mass and how it relates to their lives. People will need to learn new responses and new musical settings. As they are taken out of their routine in the liturgy and will need to learn the newly translated Mass parts, there is a wonderful opportunity to teach about the meaning of what we say and do in the liturgy and to catechize on the Eucharist and the Mass itself. Thus, I hope the preparation goes beyond mere mechanics -- simply training people to say new responses -- and leads to catechetical and spiritual renewal.<br />
<br />
ZENIT: You mention the importance of preparing ourselves, our families and children, for the transition to the new translation. What methods or resources would you suggest?<br />
<br />
Sri: First and foremost, we need to take time to educate ourselves about the upcoming changes so that we are able to understand them and enter into the newly translated prayers ourselves. I recommend that people take time to seek out articles and books on this topic. Attending a workshop offered by one’s diocese or parish or by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also could be very helpful. <br />
<br />
Moreover, by learning about the Mass changes, we can help others through the transition. Many people have questions about the various changes and about why we even need a new translation. Once we come to grasp the meaning of the changes, we will be better equipped to help explain the meaning behind the changes to others.<br />
<br />
We also want to prepare our children for the upcoming transition. In my home, we have just begun talking about the new translation -- albeit in very basic terms that a 10- or 8-year-old might understand. Yet, we should not be surprised at how much children can perceive. <br />
<br />
We recently discussed how the new words, “And with your spirit,” point to the unique action of the Holy Spirit working through the ordained priest to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Our children quickly saw, on their own, how the previous words, “And also with you,” did not convey that important point as clearly. But the key to having conversations like this -- whether it be with our children or friends or family -- is to educate ourselves on the meaning of the changes. The person who does not take time to learn about the new translation will not be able to help others. As the saying goes, “You can’t give what you don’t have.”<br />
<br />
ZENIT: Would you say that "A Biblical Walk Through the Mass" is an ecumenical tool?<br />
<br />
Sri: I have had a number of Protestant Christians express gratitude for this project. Some have noted how it has helped them appreciate the Mass more and how they never realized how biblical the Mass was. While the primary audience I had in mind was Catholic, I am hopeful that the book might be of service to our Protestant brothers and sisters, helping explain the Mass in Biblical terms that they may find more appealing.<br />
<br />
ZENIT: You say your book could be viewed as a "Bible study" on the Mass. Do you see it as a good tool for group sessions?<br />
<br />
Sri: The book is meant to be a biblical tour through the Mass parts, helping people understand the significance of all that we say and do in the liturgy. The book can be read on its own for one’s own personal study or devotion. But Ascension Press also has developed excellent supplemental resources that can accompany the book and be used in small group settings for catechesis. There are study workbooks for participants, easy-to-use leaders’ guides and DVD video presentations on the new translation and the Mass as a whole that go along with the "Biblical Walk Through the Mass" book. Parishes, schools and small groups around the country are using these additional components for adult education and to prepare people for the new translation. <br />
<br />
--- --- ---<br />
<br />
On the Net: <a href="http://www.ascensionpress.com/shop/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=159" target="_blank">"A Biblical Walk Through the Mass"</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-55552005254581369922010-10-18T16:31:00.000-07:002010-10-18T16:32:42.063-07:00The perfect prayer is holy Mass<div id="contArticleBody2col"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#800000;"><strong>The perfect prayer is holy Mass</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Sunday Readings for Oct. 17, 2010 (29C)</strong></span><em><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />By Father Cusick<br /></span></em></p><a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/101710.shtml" target="_blank">Sunday Mass Readings</a> <br /><a href="http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_17.mp3" target="_blank">Podcast of Readings</a> <a href="http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml" target="_blank"> Video Reflections </a><br /><a href="http://www.servicioskoinonia.org/biblico/texto.php?codigo=20101017" target="_blank">Lecturas y Comentarios</a> <br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/2fx3tdb" target="_blank">Sunday Readings Bible Study</a><br /><a href="http://universalis.com/today.htm" target="_blank">Prayer of the Hours</a><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/ykabz3t" target="_blank">Burning Question: What does "pray without ceasing" mean to you?</a><br /><br />For bodily weariness there is rest and upon arising from sleep one is able to rejoin the human race with renewed vigor. One may even go apart from work and home for an extended period. But in the task of prayer there can be no rest, for Christ commands us "Pray always". Prayer is the vigilance of one in battle, defending the stronghold of the soul against temptation and sin.<br /><br />In the Book of Exodus Israel is under attack; Moses, his hands aloft, is the figure of intercession and prayer on behalf of the people in the life and death struggle against Amalek. Only as long as he is able to hold his hands thus will the chosen people gain the victory over their enemies. That he may continue to pray and not grow weary he is seated upon a stone and his hands are supported with the help of Aaron and Hur. Aided thus he is steadfast and the chosen people are victorious.<br /><br />"The prayer of Moses responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of his people. It foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator, Christ Jesus." (CCC 2593)<br /><br />Moses’ prayer in the battle against Amalek is a sign only of the greatest warrior and the most awful struggle. Jesus Christ upon His cross holds his hands aloft with the help of the nails; His feet are supported not by a stone but by a piercing nail. His hands are held in place in the perfect prayer for the sake of victory over the most terrible enemy of death which entered the world through sin. Until the last drop of His blood is shed and until His last breath His hands are held thus. There is no rest; the battle is total. All must be given to defeat the enemy of all.<br /><br />The holy Mass is the experience here and now of this most glorious battle of God over the most fearsome enemy of death. But in order that His victory may be in us and that we may find life unending in Him we must pray always this prayer of victory. We must not lose the heart of sacrifice so that our sins may not tear us from His grasp.<br /><br />A superficial or trite celebration of the holy rites can mislead and deceive the faithful, lulling us into a lax and casual understanding. The liturgy can become a mere social gathering, an opportunity for friends to say hello or a venue for trotting forth the latest fashions. The crowding of the faithful into the sanctuary, making of it a mere stage, have undermined the truths of the Mass, displacing Christ as the actor who saves sinful man. The role of altar server is for many just another activity for the boys and girls to include on their list of social services in anticipation of applying for high school rather than an opportunity to encourage young men to associate with the work of the priest as an opening to a priestly vocation. These things most assuredly have nothing in common with the death of Christ on the cross, relived in each Mass, and undermine what is most necessary in the life of the praying Church.<br /><br />We have not been serious as a Church about what we say we believe about the Eucharistic Sacrifice. And we have paid the price. Attendance has fallen as uncatechised Catholics on the margins replace the Mass with sleep, shopping or other more satisfying social events. Young men have dropped out of service on the altar as young women, at such an age much more poised and socially at ease, have taken over their roles. Vestments, sacred vessels, and sanctuaries lack noble beauty. Lectors who have not practiced the reading of the Scriptures prior to Mass leave the people without a proper hearing of the Word. Priests replace prayer with banter and prescribed liturgical gestures are ignored.<br /><br />The family is the unique school of prayer where the most lasting lessons are learned.<br /><br /><em>"The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the sacrament of<br />marriage, the family is the 'domestic church' where God's children learn to pray 'as the Church' and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit."</em> (CCC 2685)<br /><br />Family prayer leads to and flows from the perfect prayer of the Church which is every holy Mass.<br /><br />At every moment, all over the world, the Body of Christ is at prayer. In churches, chapels, convents and monasteries, with soldiers in the field of battle or with the persecuted in hidden places, the hands of the faithful are raised aloft in union with the heart of the suffering and triumphant Lord. Our liturgy of the Mass is the upraising of the Lord’s hands on the Cross unto death, that He may then rise to give us life. We must never grow weary of a correct and dignified offering of the sacred rites. The Lord God has proved we are worth it with the payment of the most precious cost: His own Life Divine.<br /><br />(See also Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph number 695.)<br />-- <div id="editorialLink"><a href="http://parishworld.net/con_KnowingOurFaith.cfm?contentUUID=AC08E52A-24E8-690A-7A0CF10CA9A37389%7C201010" target="_blank" class="ul">Full Story...</a></div> </div>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-20353364195647423302010-09-30T14:58:00.000-07:002010-09-30T14:59:12.961-07:00What to do at Mass?<span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#800000;"><b>Mass Class</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><i>By Jeff Guhin, Jennifer Nestojko, Mike Hayes</i></span><br /><br />OCT. 3, 2010 (<a _fcksavedurl="http://www.bustedhalo.com" href="http://www.bustedhalo.com/">www.bustedhalo.com</a>) - So once you get to mass, what do you do? Well, it’s helpful to think of Mass as you would a dinner party. Here are five tips that will make it go well.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>1. Get There</b></span><br /><br />Try to arrive about 10 minutes or so before the start of the Mass.<br /><br />This allows you plenty of time to greet others and it gives you some time to center yourself and meditate. There may be some churches where parishioners are urged to greet one another and talk. Mass is about celebrating relationships both with God and with your fellow Mass-goers, so it’s nice to be able to catch up with people before you get started. Think of it like a birthday dinner for a good friend: you wouldn’t want to walk right in when the dinner starts. You’d want to come by early, wish your friend a happy birthday, and then chat with your other friends at the party before dinner starts. If you don’t come to Mass early, it’s like missing cocktails: sure, you can do it, but it’s a lot less fun.<br /><br />If you are a regular, be mindful of new parishioners and visitors. Welcome them into our larger family just as God welcomes every one of us.<br /><br />If you’re running late, you have a lot of options. First off, there are later Masses at just about every church. Check out your local diocese’s website or <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.masstimes.org" href="http://www.masstimes.org/">www.masstimes.org</a> to find out what times Masses start. However, if you’ve really got to go to this Church for this Mass, just be sensitive to the flow of the service-try to hang in the doorway or in the back of the Church until a convenient time to quickly find a spot. Again, it’s a lot like a dinner party: if the host is giving a speech, you don’t want to walk up to your seat and distract everyone.<br /><br />It’s always better to go to Mass than to not go to Mass, but sometimes it’s best just to reschedule. If you’re running late because of totally unavoidable delays-and this is the only Mass you can attend-then you can still receive communion even if you come to Mass after the Gospel is read (which happens about halfway through the service). If you could have come to Mass earlier and just didn’t though, Catholics consider it a sin, simply because you’re treating Mass like a job to get done and ignoring the importance of your relationship to God and your community. After all, if your friend were having that birthday party and you barged in 45 minutes late, shook her hand, gave her a hot dog you bought at the 7-11, and then stormed out again because you had something else to do, your friend would probably wonder why you came at all. The same is true for Mass.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>2. Getting in the Door</b></span><br /><br /><b>A) Walking into the church</b><br /><br />As you enter the church, a member of the parish may greet you, and someone might hand you a song sheet, encouraging you to sing. Any Christian community should welcome newcomers, but it’s just as important that you allow yourself to be welcomed. If you march into the rear pew, look really solemn, and then march right out again, you’re not exactly making it easy for people to get to know you. If folks don’t talk to you, check your breath, use a breath mint if necessary, and then shake someone’s hand and say hello. Mass is a lot more meaningful if you know the people you’re going to Mass with.<br /><br /><b>B) Holy Water</b><br /><br />The Baptismal Font or some dispenser of “holy water” is located near the entrance in most churches. Catholics dip their fingers in the water and make a sign of the cross. The water reminds them of the sacrament of Baptism and unites them with Christ, who said “all you who are thirsty, come to the water.” The water is called “holy” simply because it is blessed.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>3. Get Thee to a Pew</b></span><br /><br />Catholics are a respectful lot. So before entering your pew, be sure to bow or genuflect as a sign of respect for what’s before you. It might be a little odd, but just think of it like having to kiss your grandmother on both cheeks instead of just one.<br /><br />The rules are actually pretty simple:<br /><br /><b>A: WHEN TO GENUFLECT:<br /></b><br />1. When you pass the tabernacle, which is a box usually in the front of the Church that contains the Blessed Sacrament. This shows respect to the presence of Christ contained in the Tabernacle.<br />2. At the beginning of mass, as you sit down, directing your genuflect towards the tabernacle, if it contains the Blessed Sacrament. You will know if it contains the Blessed Sacrament because a candle will be lit right next to it, or because you asked someone, or because you are God. The candle thing is probably easiest.<br />3. At the end of Mass, as Mass-goers leave their seat, directing the genuflection towards the tabernacle if it contains the Blessed Sacrament. (There is no need to genuflect before or after receiving communion.)<br /><b><br />B: WHEN TO BOW</b><br /><br /> 1. When facing the altar, if there is no tabernacle behind it, or if the tabernacle does not contain the Blessed Sacrament.<br /> 2. If you have to cross in front of the altar as a lector or a speaker.<br /> 3. If you’re Catholic and choose to receive Communion, you also need to bow before receiving communion in most places.<br /><br />To genuflect, drop to your right knee to the floor in a solemn, slow way. Go as close as you can if you don’t think you can do that-while God may appreciate your sacrifice, fellow Mass-goers probably won’t enjoy the ambulance that will come to pick you up if you bust your knee out backwards.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>4. Wake Up and Smell the Incense</b></span><br /><br /><b>ACTIVE PARTICIPATION</b><br /><br />The mass is not like the movies, where you passively sit and watch, and it isn’t even like a melodrama, where you get to cheer and boo on cue. Even if some Masses, like Palm Sunday, may seem like a melodrama, Mass-goers are not an audience. They’re active participants who make the liturgy happen. At most masses, it’s important that a community of believers is present. A priest is necessary for a Mass, but so are the Mass-goers!<br /><br />The words and actions of Catholics at Mass are an active form of prayer, and a real chance to build a relationship with those around them and with God. For Catholics, Mass is a lot of things at once: it’s a re-enactment of Christ’s suffering and death, a celebration of community, and the chance to connect with the real presence of Christ’s body and blood. Not only is your participation vital to making all of that happen, but it also will make your experience of the Mass much more exciting.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>5. Mass Manners</b></span><br /><br />Mass is like any social event. It’s considered good form to be attentive to those around you and bad form not to. So, unless you expect a call from God, it’s a good idea to keep the cell phones and beepers turned off (or set to vibrate if you have an emergency situation). You might try leaving your cell phone at home, unless you’ve already become so addicted to it you’d shrivel up. If the room is available, you might take your crying baby to the “cry room” where you can see the Mass but not disturb others or simply take him or her outside. It’s just like if your friend were giving a speech at a big dinner, save for his retirement. Sure, you want to hear the speech, but if your kid is crying really loud it hurts it for everyone.<br /><br />Mass is actually not that hard. Just follow along with what other folks do, be respectful of traditions, and try to enjoy it. After all, the dinner party isn’t only for Jesus. It’s also for you.<br /><br /><i>WRITERS<br />Jeff Guhin, Jennifer Nestojko, Mike Hayes</i>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-57530138405944182562010-09-13T11:24:00.000-07:002010-09-13T11:25:57.686-07:00Virtues of the Newer Vernacular Mass<h2 style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Virtues of the Newer Vernacular Mass</h2> <span class="author">By: <a href="http://blog.adw.org/author/cpope/" title="Posts by Msgr. Charles Pope">Msgr. Charles Pope</a></span> <div class="post-inside"> <p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/16priest_span.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8290" title="Pries Saying mass" src="http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/16priest_span-300x220.jpg" alt="" height="278" width="342" /></a><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a priest I have been privileged to walk in the “wide Church.” That is to say, I have been able for all 21 years of my priesthood to say the Traditional Latin Mass while at the same time celebrating the newer, Ordinary Form of the Mass in some very dynamic parishes.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">I have always loved both forms of the Roman liturgy and this sometimes gets me in trouble since there are dynamics within the Church where, at times, people on both sides want me to choose sides. I have no problem that people have their preferences, but as a priest I think I am required to serve a very diverse Church. I thank God too for the gift to be able to do this and to really love the current diversity. I realize too that diversity has its limits and, thus, I stick to the rubrics in both forms of the Mass: “Say the black, do the red!”</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">I have discussed in the past why I like the Traditional Mass and the video at the bottom of this post is a PBS interview where I speak of my love for it. I would like to take a moment however and also say what I like about the newer Ordinary Form of the Mass and also my acceptance of the fact that the old Mass did have need for some attention. </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>1. Rediscovering the value of subordinate roles and ministries in the Mass</strong> – There was a tendency in the Traditional Latin Mass for the action of subordinate ministers such as the deacon, subdeacon, choirs and cantors, to be non-effectual. In other words, what they did, didn’t really count. The schola (or choir) might sing the introit, the Kyrie and Gloria, but what they did still had to be recited by the priest quietly as well. In effect, their singing didn’t really count. It might sound pretty and all but it was really only what the priest recited that mattered. The last version of the Traditional Mass in 1962 had begun to remedy this. Thus the priest was no longer required to read the Scripture readings quietly if the Deacon and Subdeacon were chanting them. It was OK for him to listen to what they were chanting. But the schola’s chant still had to be re-read by the priest to “count.” The newer, Ordinary Form of the Mass has restored the subordinate ministries to their own proper function. Hence, if the readings are read by a lector or deacon the priest does not have to re-read them. If the choir sings the communion verse or song, this suffices and it is not required that the priest re-read it. I like this about the new Mass.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">2. <strong>I love the cycle of readings in the newer Mass</strong>. It is rich in its sampling of Scripture. The three year rotating cycle means that most of the New Testament is read every three years along with a rich sampling of the Old Testament. The Traditional Latin mass usually offered only a brief reading from the New Testament epistles and a Gospel pericope. It is very limited compared to the richness of the current Lectionary which includes, on Sundays, an Old Testament passge, a psalm, a New Testament epistle and a Gospel passage. Further the sequential reading from one of the four Gospels along with a matching Old Testament reading is helpful. The readings from the Traditional Latin Mass tended to skip around and its logic was not always clear. As a preacher and lover of Scripture I have been richly fed by the new lectionary. I could wish for a slightly better translation than the current NAB we use here in the States but in the end I feel very well schooled by the newer liturgy when it comes to Scripture. </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>3. Restoration of the General Intercessions – </strong>There is a strange moment in the Old Mass when, after the homily and creed the priest turns and says to the people (<em>Dominus vobiscum</em> (The Lord be with you) and they reply<em> et cum spiritu tuo</em> (and with your spirit). He then says, <em>Oremus</em> (Let us pray). But there is no prayer. He simply turns back to the altar and the people are once again seated. Many centuries before there had been bidding prayers here similar to our current “Prayers of the Faithful” or “General Intercessions.” They had been composed by Pope Gelasius but were later suppressed by Pope Gregory since they prolonged the Mass. But somehow the call to prayer (that odd little “<em>oremus</em>“) stayed there all those centuries.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">There was need to attend to this. Either restore the prayers or drop the call to prayer. The current, Ordinary Form of the Mass has restored these prayers or general intercessions. I think this is a valuable aspect of the Ordinary Form of the Mass if it is done correctly. We ought to to pray for others as is so beautifully done in the Eastern Rites of the Church. It seems suitable that, after hearing and reflecting on God’s Word, we be drawn to pray for ourselves and the world.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">However there is a tendency in some parishes to misunderstand the nature of these prayers. They are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">general</span> intercessions, not particular ones. The prayers ought to be of a general nature not for every one’s sick cousin, aunt, or brother, mentioned by name with a full medical report included in the prayer. Rather we pray for the sick in general, for the poor, for Church leaders, Government leaders, for abundance of the fruits of the earth, for peace and so forth. Specific political and idiosyncratic prayers are wholly to be avoided.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">If these norms are observed, the general intercessions (or prayer of the faithful) is a beautiful and ancient practice restored in the ordinary and newer form of the mass and it also links us more to the practice of the Eastern Rites.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>4. The general rediscovery of the existence and role of congregation</strong> is a good part of the newer Ordinary Form of the Mass. In the Traditional Latin Mass, especially in its recited form the congregation had little to do but watch the Mass. The priest interacted only with the servers who made the responses on behalf of the people. Even when the priest turned to say something to the congregation he was instructed to look down.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">If members of the congregation did wish to interact and make Latin responses this was made more difficult by the fact that the Mass was largely whispered by the priest. In the 1950s attempts were made to remedy this by encouraging the people to learn their responses in the Mass and use missals to follow the Mass carefully. Permissions were given for the priests to say the Mass in a louder voice and microphones were even added to some altars. But the lengthier Latin responses were still difficult for many ordinary Catholics to make and keep up with.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">Today, in the newer liturgy the role of the congregation is respected and they are expected to play an active role in the Mass and make responses proper to them. It is true that there has been some obsession with this by overzealous liturgists. At times some of them demand that the people do everything and that there is never a place for a choir to sing a more advanced setting of something. But in general, the integral involvement of the congregation in the newer and ordinary form of the Mass is something I value highly.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>5. The Vernacular is also a positive development</strong>. I love the Latin Language but I also know that it is a great advantage to have many parts of the Mass in the local language. This has assisted in greater participationof the faithful in the Mass to an immense degree. It is difficult to expect the congregation to take a routinely active role if the Liturgy is almost wholly said in a language they do not know. Simple Latin responses are one thing, but try to get the whole congregation to say the <em>confiteor</em> (I Confess) well together. It can be done in some self-selected congregation where there is interest in Latin, but in more general settings it would be difficult.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">That said, it is a true loss that most of the faithful have become completely separated from any experience of the Mass in Latin. This is something not envisaged by the Council which permitted a wider use of the vernacular but also commended the use of Latin and foresaw it’s continued common use in the liturgy.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">A further point here is to lament how poor our vernacular translations have been for years and how good it is that a more accurate translation is on the way. Praise God.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>6. Flexibility and the wider possibility for inculturation</strong> is also something I appreciate about the newer Ordinary Form of the Mass. Careful balance is needed here and rubrics need to be followed but the greater allowance for wider forms of music and cultural expression has allowed the Liturgy to flourish in different settings. I have a vibrant African American Catholic Parish wherein gospel music and extended preaching along with a charismatic enthusiasm give real life to the Mass in an authentic manner.</p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;">It is true that not every experience of inculturation with the new Mass has been as successful. This is especially true in more suburban American settings where culture is more secular and ephemeral and too many worldly forms find their way into the Mass. But where is a sacred tradition to draw on, it is nice to have some flexibility to incorporate this.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">There is no doubt that the newer Ordinary Form of the Mass has some serious issues. It emerged in a time of great cultural tumult and emerged as if out of a whirlwind. We are still waiting for the dust to settle in many respects. But there are good and wonderful things as well. Pope Benedict is helping a great deal to reconnect us to tradition and to see both forms of the Liturgy as beneficial to each other.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">It is fine to have a preference but I am blest to love both forms and serve vibrant and passionate communities using both forms. Both communities love the Lord and are serious about the liturgy and deeply connected to it. What a blessing to look out each Sunday and see, not boredom, but engaged and passionate people, alive and aware that the Lord is ministering to them in the sacred liturgy. What a blessing, a double blessing!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></div>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-48487047338119122352010-09-07T13:49:00.000-07:002010-09-07T13:51:55.026-07:00The Biblical and Heavenly Roots of the Sacred Liturgy<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Biblical and Heavenly Roots of the Sacred Liturgy</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">By Msgr. Charles Pope</span></span><br /><br /><strong>Catholics are often unaware just how Biblical the Sacred Liturgy is</strong>. The design of our traditional churches, the use of candles, incense, golden vessels, the postures of standing and kneeling, the altar, the singing of hymns, priests wearing albs and so forth are all depicted in the Scriptures. Some of these details were features of the ancient Jewish Temple, but most all of these are reiterated in the Book of Revelation which describes the liturgy of heaven. <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>The liturgy here on earth is modeled after the liturgy in heaven</strong> and that is why it is so serious to tamper with it. The Book of Revelation describes the heavenly liturgy and focuses on a scroll or book which contains the meaning of life and the answers to all we seek. It also focuses the Lamb of God, standing but with the marks of slaughter upon it. Does this not sound familiar? It is the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>We do well to be aware of the Biblical root</strong>s of the Sacred Liturgy not only for our own edification but also as an answer to Protestant Christians who have largely set aside these rituals and, some of whom, criticize our use of them. Many people consider our rituals empty and vain, “smells and bells.” Some consider austere liturgical environments devoid of much ritual to be “purer,” and closer to the worship in “spirit and in truth” that Jesus spoke of in John 4.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">To such criticisms we must insist that these rituals, properly understood, are mystical and deeply biblical. Further, they are elements of the heavenly liturgy since almost all of them are mentioned as aspects of the worship or liturgy that takes place in heaven. In this light it is a serious mistake to set them aside or have a dismissive attitude toward them.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>With that in mind we ought to consider the Biblical references</strong> to the most common elements of Catholic and Orthodox liturgies. I place an ocassional note in Red where it seems appropriate.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Candles</strong> -</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 1:12-13 <em>Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man</em>. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In traditional catholic parishes there are six candles on the high altar and a seventh candle is brought out when the bishop is present</span>. </li><li>Rev 4:6 <em>Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne</em>.</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Altar -</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 9:13 <em>The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God</em>. </li><li>Rev 8:3 <em>Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne</em>.</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Chair -</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 4:1 <em>and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald….</em> </li><li>Daniel 7:9 <em>As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat</em>;… <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In the sacred liturgy the Chair of the priest is prominent. But, as he takes his seat we are invited not to see Father Jones, but rather the Lord himself presiding in our midst.</span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Priests (elders) in Albs:</strong> </p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 4:4 <em>the elders sat, dressed in white garments</em>…..</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Bishop’s Miter, priest biretta –</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 4:4, 10 <em>With golden crowns on their heads……they cast down their crowns before the throne</em>…. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In the Liturgy the Bishop may only wear his miter at prescribed times. But when he goes to the altar he must cast aside his miter. The priest who wears the biretta in the Old Mass is instructed to tip his biretta at the mention of the the Holy Name and to lay it aside entirely when he goes to the altar. </span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Focus on a scroll (Book) The Liturgy of the Word</strong> -</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 5: 1 <em>And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals</em>.” <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In the ancient world books, as we know them now, had not been invented. Texts were written on long scrolls and rolled up. </span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Incense, Intercessory prayer</strong> -</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 8:3 <em>another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God</em>…..</li><li>Rev 5:7 <em>and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints</em>; </li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Hymns –</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 5:8 – <em>And they sang a new hymn: Worthy are you O Lord to receive the scroll and break open its seals. For you were slain and with your blood you purchase for God men of every race and tongue, and those of every nation.</em></li><li>Rev 14:1 <em>Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads… and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.</em> </li><li>Rev 15:3 <em>And they (the multitude no one could count) sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship thee, for thy judgments have been revealed</em>.”</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Holy Holy Holy</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 4:8 <em>and day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty</em>,</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Prostration (Kneeling)</strong> -</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 4:10 <em>the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne.</em> …</li><li>Rev 5:14 <em>and the elders fell down and worshiped </em>- <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In today’s setting there is seldom room for everyone to lie, prostrate and flat on the ground. Hence, kneeling developed as a practical solution to the lack of space but amounts to the same demenor of humble adoration</span>.</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Lamb of God</strong> -</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 5:6 <em>And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain</em>,</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Acclamations – </strong> </p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 5:11 <em>Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing</em>!”</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Amen!</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 5:14 <em>And the four living creatures said, “Amen!</em>”.</li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Silence </strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 8:1 <em>When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour</em>. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(and you thought your priest paused too long after communion?)</span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Mary </strong>-</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 12:1 <em>And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery</em>. </li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Happy are those called to his “supper”</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Revelation 19: 6<em>Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;… And the angel said£ to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb</em>.”</li></ul> <p><strong>Golden Vessels, vestments - </strong></p> <ul><li>Rev 1:12 – <em>And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands</em>,</li><li>Rev 1:13 – <em>and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest</em></li><li>Rev 5:8 – <em>the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense</em></li><li>Rev 8:3 – <em>Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, at the golden altar before the throne</em>.</li><li>Rev 15:16 – <em>The angels were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests</em>.</li><li>Rev 15:17 <em>seven golden bowls</em></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Stained Glass -</strong></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Rev 21:10 <em>[The heavenly city] had a great, high wall, with twelve gates,… The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst</em>. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(The image of stained glass in our Church walls is hinted at here).</span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Here is but a partial list, drawn only from the Book of Revelation. I invite you to add to it.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">You might also read </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lambs-Supper-Mass-Heaven-Earth/dp/0385496591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283827356&sr=8-1"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">The Lamb’s Supper</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> </span>by Scott Hahn</span>, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Biblical-Peter-M-Stravinskas/dp/0879731656/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283827501&sr=1-1"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">The Mass: A Biblical Prayer</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">,</span>by Fr. Peter Stravinskas. </span></span></p> <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="640" height="385"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d9i-TfGREOY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></object><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.adw.org/2010/09/the-biblical-and-heavenly-roots-of-the-sacred-liturgy/">Full Story</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-45494527952737485522010-08-31T11:12:00.000-07:002010-08-31T11:20:48.355-07:00350,000 Catholic Masses a day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/TH1HeGDxGwI/AAAAAAAABgs/qeSbtyX0SsA/s1600/Last+supper.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 130px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/TH1HeGDxGwI/AAAAAAAABgs/qeSbtyX0SsA/s320/Last+supper.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511640101319416578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Now This is Communion</span></span><br /><br />AUG. 31, 2010 (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.fallibleblogma.com">www.fallibleblogma.com</a>) - There is an estimated (at least) 350,000 Catholic Masses celebrated every day on planet Earth. It is celebrated in every nook and cranny on the planet, by every race and nationality, and using every language. And each of these Masses is celebrated (generally) using the same scripture readings and the same prayers.<br /><br />Every single one of these 350,000 Masses is actually doing exactly what Jesus said to do in scripture (Luke 22:19, 1 Cor 11:23-29) when he said “Do this in memory of me.” Catholics live that out as a Church over 350,000 times a day. That means there are 4 priests saying those precise words, “Do this in memory of me,” every single second of every single day.<br /><br />Every one of these Masses is literally and continually making present Christ’s (once and for all) sacrifice on Calvary for all mankind. At any second you can join your own prayers to one.<br /><br />When you participate in a Catholic Mass, you are participating in the same celebration as these other 350,000 daily Masses all over the world (you wanna talk about a “mega-church”?). We are all joined in the same readings and prayers and we partake of the same, specific Eucharist. And the rest of the time, when we are living out our faith outside of Mass, there are (literally) a billion other Catholics around the world continually offering it up on our behalf.<br /><br />Now that’s unity (John 17:11). That’s communion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fallibleblogma.com/index.php/now-this-is-communion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FallibleBlogma+%28Fallible+Blogma%29">Full Story</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-41522908546760909572010-06-03T08:41:00.000-07:002010-06-03T08:46:36.169-07:00"Entering" into Holy Communion<p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#800000;"><b>"Entering" into Holy Communion</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Corpus Christi Sunday, June 6, 2010</b></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><b>(Corpus ChristiC)</b></span><br /><i><span style="font-size:78%;">By Fr. Charles Irvin<br /></span></i><br /><a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/060610.shtml" _fcksavedurl="http://www.usccb.org/nab/060610.shtml">Sunday Readings</a><br /><a href="http://www.servicioskoinonia.org/biblico/texto.php?codigo=20100606" _fcksavedurl="http://www.servicioskoinonia.org/biblico/texto.php?codigo=20100606">Lecturas y Comentarios</a> <br /><a href="http://universalis.com/today.htm" _fcksavedurl="http://universalis.com/today.htm">Prayer of the Hours</a><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/28mrdpn" _fcksavedurl="http://tinyurl.com/28mrdpn">Burning Question: Do you really believe in the True Presence at Communion?</a><a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/050209.shtml" _fcksavedurl="http://www.usccb.org/nab/050209.shtml"><br /></a></p> <br />Our celebration today brings welcome relief, relief from the flood of depressing attention we have been forced to give to our Church as an institution. The doleful accounts of our institutional failure to protect our children from sexual predators along with the inadequate responses on the part of our Church officials to recognize the crimes committed have kept us all under a dark cloud.<br /><br />Without diminishing our concerns about the failures and crimes of priests and bishops, today’s celebration of Corpus Christi brings us the joyful good news of God’s astounding gift of Himself to us in the Body of Christ, a reality that we encounter in celebrating the Eucharist, in receiving Holy Communion, and in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is a great mystery here – how is it that God’s love has brought Him to be so deeply immersed in our sinful humanity? We will never plumb the depth of that wonder. At the same time we should never cease rejoicing in the fact that He took on our humanity in its best and in its worst. Because of God’s love many priests, centering their hearts on the Eucharist, strive all the harder these days to be good and holy priests.<br /><br />There will be a lot of homilies preached around the world this Sunday that will center on the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel where we find Jesus declaring that He is the bread of life, that His flesh is true food and His blood true drink. I am the living bread that came down from heaven, He declared: Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. This led to a dispute among many who asked, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" To which Jesus declared: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Upon hearing these words of Jesus, many of His very own disciples left Him.<br /><br />Many Christians around us today do not accept the truth of Jesus’ words about His Body and Blood. For us as Catholics, however, along with Eastern Orthodox Christians, this teaching of Jesus is central to the very nature of the Church. Without the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church wouldn’t be what it is. The Eucharist makes the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist. Without Christ’s sacrifice of His Body and Blood there would be no priesthood. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is central to the very existence of the Church. Likewise it is central to our life as Catholic Christians. Because of it we can access heaven, whereas before Christ gave it to us heaven’s doors were closed. The Eucharist and the Church are God’s marvelous gifts to us. They are not of our making.<br /><br />Jesus Christ saves us from our sins by offering the totality of Himself to our Father in heaven, offering His body, blood, soul, and divinity. Jesus continues this one sacrifice of Himself down though the ages of human history in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the Mass, Jesus takes us into Himself. Through Him, with Him, and in Him He then returns us back home to our Father in heaven. It is a dynamic act, a continuing act, not something that happened only once over 2,000 years ago just outside the walls of Jerusalem.<br /><br />When we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass during the offertory prayers the priest takes a cruet of water and mingles a few drops of that water into the wine. As he does so he will pray, “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” Moments later during the Eucharistic Prayer the priest calls down the Holy Spirit, asking God to consecrate the mingled water and wine into the Blood of Christ. It is in our mingled humanity with Christ’s divinity that the life of God the Son comes to us in the Eucharist, in His Mystical Body. The Church is never more Church than in that moment. In the Eucharist, God’s life and our human life are fused together.<br /><br />Hopefully, when we spend time in Eucharistic adoration outside of Mass we make the proper connection between the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist with the Mystical Body of Christ that is present and active in the world. After all, when we receive the Eucharist in holy Mass the idea is to take the true and real presence of Christ within us out into the world. We celebrate Mass not simply as a private devotion to save ourselves and enliven individual holiness within us. Yes, we do that but with the greater purpose of carrying out our Father’s mission. He sent His Son into the world not to condemn it, but to save it. Christ’s mission is our mission. All Eucharistic devotion is quite central to that mission, a mission that is active, not passive, in the world, not separate from it.<br /><br />Many centuries ago theologians spoke of the Eucharist as the Mystical Body of Christ. The phrase is often used today to identify the Church. Once again we need to realize, to make real in our lives and in the lives of those around us, the reality that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ because the Eucharist constitutes the Church.<br /><br />In their Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught us: “…the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's supper.”<br /><br />The Body of Christ takes us into Jesus’ entire life, a life given over to God in every way at every moment. His death on the cross was the culmination of His life among us as Jesus of Nazareth. Christ’s resurrection was the beginning of His life as the Spirit-filled Christ risen in glory. This is what we mean when we enter into “the Paschal Mystery”. When we receive the Body of Christ we enter into His life – His life in its fullest extent. We do not enter it simply because we will to do so, we enter into it because we are called and empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit. Mass (the Eucharist) is not something we watch; it is something we do.<br /><br />God calls us to Himself not in some remote and distant heaven, but here on earth. His call is to us now; His call is present. Our response is not some future response; our response is now, here on earth. The bread and wine we offer at Mass symbolize the sacrifices of ourselves. Our giving thanks in the Eucharistic Prayer is our surrendering ourselves to God in Christ’s surrendering of Himself to His Father.<br /><br />We should never simply “get” or “receive” Holy Communion. We enter into Holy Communion; we enter into the totality of Christ’s incarnate life among us. There is an intrinsic interconnection between the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (which we call Eucharist), Holy Communion, and the Blessed Sacrament. In this sense, “receiving Holy Communion” is a dynamic reality: we receive Christ and in so doing, Christ receives us, and by the power of the Holy Spirit presents us to the Father.<br /><br />The intended result of our active participation in the whole offering of the Mass will be found in an ethic of life that participates in Christ’s active life in our world, a life that is sent into the world “so that the world might believe” in God’s caring love for us all as His children. We are here at Mass in order to be sent, sent with God’s enterprise, with God’s meaning and purpose for our lives. We come to Mass to join ourselves into Christ in His Mystical Body and into His mission among us.<br /><br />The purpose of Mass is not to be seen as an action wherein the priest simply consecrates hosts; some people think their participation in the Eucharistic Prayer is all about watching the priest and then receiving Holy Communion. Truly it is much more. Our Holy Communion incorporates us into the Body of Christ, but our incorporation is not something that we simply receive. We are taken up rather into the totality of what Jesus Christ is all about so that through Him, with Him, and in Him, all honor and glory will be given to our Father in heaven.<br /><br />May you fully, actively, and intentionally participate in that reality, a reality summed up in the dynamism of Corpus Christi. May the Body and Blood of our risen Lord Jesus Christ bring us together into eternal life.<br /><br /><a href="http://parishworld.net/con_KnowingOurFaith.cfm?contentUUID=FE76C8B6-24E8-690A-7A43C08574D3809B%7C201006">View this article</a> in ParishWorld.net.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-30111137246964248152010-05-07T09:24:00.000-07:002010-05-07T08:14:48.512-07:00The case for Catholic Mass vs. Protestant services<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5aFCy2qx3I/AAAAAAAABRg/fym5nDTTV0c/s1600-h/hands+raised+Christian+concert.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5aFCy2qx3I/AAAAAAAABRg/fym5nDTTV0c/s200/hands+raised+Christian+concert.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446687082408494962" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">"So Very Dry" Liturgy</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">The case for Catholic Mass vs. Protestant services</span></span><br /><br />Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.<br /><br />Q: <span style="font-style: italic;">Nowadays there seems to be a shift from the spirit of the liturgy to mechanical and ritualistic performance. Since our liturgy is so very dry, many Catholics in several parts of India are going to Protestant churches where the worship is spontaneous, meaningful and gives them a sense of involvement and satisfaction. Some of the questions put to you and your answers seem to be not appealing to the soul. Should we not think of promoting meaningful liturgy in the light of the local culture and its needs?</span> -- P.J., Dindigul, India<br /><br />A: We occasionally receive questions of this type which touch upon fundamental issues regarding the purpose and nature of liturgy.<br /><br />Over the years, this column has addressed many points of liturgy, some of which are admittedly technical and maybe even rarefied. But I always strive to give my readers the benefit of the doubt and presume that their inquiries stem from a sincere desire to celebrate the liturgy according to the Church's heart and mind.<br /><br />I do not believe that it follows that an exact and precise liturgical celebration is thereby a soulless and mechanical ritual. Nor is a cavalier attitude toward rubrics an inevitable proof of authentic Christianity. There can be both good faith and hypocrisy behind both attitudes, but these are the failings of individual human beings that do not touch the heart of the question.<br /><br />I strongly defend fidelity to liturgical norms because I believe that the faithful have a right to be able to participate in a recognizably Catholic liturgy, a liturgy that flows from Christ himself and is part of the great stream of the communion of saints.<br /><br />While not doubting the sincerity of my correspondent, I must take exception to his way of characterizing Protestant worship with respect to Catholic liturgy. I believe that we are before a question that goes much deeper than external forms. The crux of the problem is not that our separated brethren have more exciting performances but that we have failed to teach our faithful basic Catholics doctrine on the Mass and the Eucharist.<br /><br />Any Catholic who has the tiniest inkling of what it means to assist at Mass; to be present at the Lord's Passion, death and resurrection; to be able to unite his or her prayer presented to the eternal Father united together with Christ's supreme sacrifice; to have the possibility of sharing the Bread come down from heaven -- how could such a Catholic ever compare this privilege to any Protestant service, even though admittedly it might have better music and more able preaching?<br /><br />At the same time, the Church's liturgy is already endowed with flexibility and a richness that can readily respond to local characteristics as determined by the national bishops' conferences. Apart from the essential problem of lack of liturgical formation there is the question of the abandonment or lack of use of many treasures, both ancient and new, that can transform our liturgies into beautiful and deeply spiritual experiences.<br /><br />When the full possibilities of genuine Catholic liturgy are used, the celebration is not a tad less participative, spontaneous and meaningful than any non-Catholic service. The difference is that in liturgy, just as in sports, authentic spontaneity, participation and creativity are found within the rules and not outside of them.<br /><br />Apart from the liturgy Catholicism has a plethora of forms of prayer and associations, from historic confraternities and sodalities to modern charismatic prayer groups and ecclesial movements. I believe that these multifarious expressions can satisfy all forms of spiritual sensibility and desire for involvement much better than any individual group of Protestants.<br /><br />Therefore if some of our Catholic faithful are migrating to Protestant groups, I don't think we should be blaming the liturgy but rather double our efforts to celebrate it properly and proclaim the truth of the great mystery of faith.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=3CBC246F-2219-118E-D50E5F5119CFBA6A%3CBR%20/%3E200905">Full story from ParishWorld.net</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-58158070782655909112010-04-29T13:44:00.000-07:002010-04-29T14:26:22.271-07:00Why Celebrate Mass in Latin?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S9nwdFhFilI/AAAAAAAABcc/E5FpCzzGVBA/s1600/tridentine+mass+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S9nwdFhFilI/AAAAAAAABcc/E5FpCzzGVBA/s200/tridentine+mass+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465664005278632530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Why Celebrate Mass in Latin?</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">By Msgr. Charles Pope</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />APR. 23, 2010 (<a href="http://blog.adw.org/">http://blog.adw.org</a>) - Today beginning at 12:30 pm here in Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Solemn High Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated in the Great Upper Church. For those unfamiliar with all the Church jargon of the previous sentence let me decode. The “extraordinary Form” of the Mass is the form of the Mass as it was celebrated prior to 1965 when Liturgical changes brought about the Mass as we have it today.<br /><br />Prior to these changes the Mass was celebrated exclusively in Latin with only the homily (and sometimes the readings) in English or whatever the local language was. The celebrant also faced in the same direction as the people which some have wrongfully described as the priest “having his back to the people.”<br /><br />To say this is a “Solemn High” Mass means that all the ceremonial options are observed. There is incense, extra candle bearers, and many of the prayers and readings of the liturgy are sung. The celebrant is also assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. To say this is a pontifical Mass means that it will be celebrated by a bishop and will include two extra deacons and an assisting priest. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa is today’s celebrant. </span> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For those who are unfamiliar or unappreciative with the splendor of the Latin Liturgy in this form soem questions often arise. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>1. </strong></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Why pray in Latin or any language unfamiliar to the language of the people who attend?</strong> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Simply put, praying in Latin is to pray in what has been a sacred language for the Church. It is a common feature of cultures down through human history that they often prayed in a language other than the language of the home and streets. To pray liturgically is to enter heaven, a world apart from the every day world. To use another and more ancient language is a common way many cultures have underscored this. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">At the time of Jesus, the synagogue services and the Temple liturgy used ancient Hebrew. Jesus and his contemporaries did not speak Hebrew at home or in the streets any longer. They spoke Aramaic. But when they prayed they instinctively used the ancient prayers which were Hebrew. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In the early Church it appears that the earliest years saw the use of the Greek language for the Liturgy. It seems to have been used even though many people spoke Latin throughout the empire. But many did not think Latin was suited for the Liturgy which required a more elevated language than what most people spoke. By the 5th Century however Latin came to be introduced in the Western Empire as it became an older and more venerable language to them. Eventually Latin wholly replaced Greek in the liturgy of the Church in the Western empire (except a few remnants such as the Kyrie). It remained the language of worship until about 1965 when the local languages were allowed. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">However, it was not the intent of the Church that Latin should wholly disappear as it has largely done. Latin remains for the Church the official language of her worship. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">So, why pray in Latin? Why not? It is for us a sacred language of worship and there is an instinct in human culture that liturgy is world apart where we enter heaven. It is not wrong to pray in the local language but, truth be told, it is not the usual practice in human history. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>2. Why does the celebrant face away, or “have his back to us?”</strong> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It is really a wrongful description to say the celebrant has his back to us. What is really happening is that the celebrant and the people are all facing the same direction. They are looking toward God. On the center of every older altar was a crucifix. The priest faced it to say Mass and all the people faced it with him. He and they are turned toward the Lord. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In the ancient Church, they not only faced the cross, they also faced to the east to pray. An ancient text called the Didiscalia written about 250 AD says, <em>Now, you ought to face to east to pray for, as you know, scripture has it, Give praise to God who ascends above the highest heavens to the east</em> . In later centuries it was not always possible to orient the Church so that everyone could face east. But the Crucifix above the altar represented the east and the Lord. Hence everyone faced the Lord to pray. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The idea of facing each other to pray is wholly modern and was never known in the Church prior to 1965. Hence the answer is that the celebrant is facing the Lord to pray and so are we. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">3. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Why is so much of the Mass whispered quietly?</strong> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Not everything is whispered but the much of the Eucharistic prayer is. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Historically the whispered Eucharistic prayer (or Canon) developed in monastic settings where it was not uncommon for more than one liturgy to be celebrated at the same time at various side altars. In those days priests did not concelebrate masses as they do frequently today. Each priest had to celebrate his own mass. In monasteries where numerous priest might be in residence, numerous liturgies might be celebrated at similar times. In order not to interrupt each other, the priests conducted these liturgies with a server quietly. This practice continued into modern times. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Over time this monastic silence came to be regarded as a sacred silence. The whispering of the prayers was considered a sign of the sacredness of the words which “should not” be loudly proclaimed. (There are other more complicated theological trends that swept the liturgy too complicated to go into here that also influenced the move to a more silent liturgy) At any rate, the practice of a sacred silence came to be the norm eventually even in parish churches. Hence the hushed tones were not an attempt to ignore the faithful who attended or make their participation difficult but it was associated with a holy silence. People knelt, praying as the priest prayed on their behalf. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In the past century as literacy increased among the lay faithful it became more common to provide them with books that contained the texts of the liturgy and those who could read were encouraged to follow along closely. Through the 1940s and 50s these books (called “missals”) became quite common among the laity. By the 1950s there were also some experiments with allowing the priest to have a microphone or to raise the level of his voice so the faithful could follow more easily. These “dialogue Masses” were more popular in some place than others. Sacred silence was still valued by many and adjusting to a different experience was not always embraced with the same fervor, it varied from place to place. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; padding-left: 60px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Today, with the return in some places to the celebration of the Old Latin Mass (called officially the “Extraordinary Form”) this sacred silence is once again in evidence. For those who are not used to it, it seems puzzling. But hopefully some of this history helps us understand it. Once again we are faced with the dilemma of how loudly the priest should pray the Canon (Eucharistic Prayer) at such Masses. There are different opinions but a fairly wide consensus that the prayer should be generally said in a very subdued voice.</span></p> <div class="hidden" style="text-align: justify;"> The Solemn High Pontifical Mass was broadcast on EWTN ON aPRIL 23, 2010.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_TopStory.cfm?contentUUID=4B56A693-2219-2604-419A7E407C3911DC%7C201004">View this story</a> in ParishWorld.net.<br /></div>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-72676225386918810562010-04-21T13:51:00.000-07:002010-04-22T11:41:43.459-07:00Understanding the Spiritual Dimension of the Holy Mass<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;" >Understanding the Spiritual Dimension of the Holy Mass</span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">ParishWorld Editor's Note: The following is a reflection on the spiritual dimension of the Holy Mass, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is simple, pious, reverent and catechetically acceptable. ParishWorld.net presents it because of its solid description of the spiritual and devotional dimensions of the mystery of the Mass. We are not asserting that the source of the message is in fact the Blessed Virgin in an apparition to Catalina. That is for others to determine. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">APR. 21, 2010 (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.michaeljournal.org">www.michaeljournal.org</a>) - Catalina Rivas of Cochabamba, Bolivia, who now dwells in Mérida, Yucatán, México. She is said to receive Messages from Jesus, Mary, and the angels. She has the approval of her Bishop, René Fernández Apaza, who has given his imprimatur to her Messages. The following text is the reproduction of booklet, “The Holy Mass,” in which Our Lord and Our Lady explain to Catalina what is really going on during the Mass in the spiritual realm, and how we should be more concentrated on the great mysteries that are taking place.</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">Bo. Daniel Gagnon, OMI, of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Archdiocese of Mexico, wrote about this book: “I do not find anything against the faith or the customs of the Church. It is not my function to confirm its supernatural character; nevertheless, I recommend it for its spiritual inspiration.”<br /><br /></span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="center"><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >The Testimony of Catalina</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" ><b style="color: black; text-shadow: none;"><br /> </b><b style="">on the Holy Mass</b></span><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">In a marvelous catechesis, the Lord and the Virgin Mary have been instructing us first on how to pray the Rosary, that being to pray it with our hearts, and meditate and enjoy the moments when we encounter God and our Blessed Mother. They have also instructed us on the way to make a good confession and, in this document, a teaching on what happens during the Holy Mass and how to live it with our hearts.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">This is the testimony that I must and want to give to the whole world, for the greater Glory of God and for the salvation of all of those who want to open their hearts to the Lord. It is also given so that many souls consecrated to God will rekindle the fire of their love for Christ, some of whom are the owners of the hands that have the power to bring Him to our world so that He can become our nourishment. It is also given for others so that they break lose of the “routine practice” of receiving Him, and relive the amazement of their daily encounter with Love. And it is given so that my lay brothers and sisters from the entire world live the greatest Miracle with their hearts<b style="">: the celebration of the Eucharist.</b></span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">It was the vigil of the Annunciation, and the members of our group had gone to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some of the ladies of the prayer group had not been able to do it, and so they left their reconciliation for the next day before the Mass.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">When I arrived at church the next day, a little bit late, the Archbishop and priests were already coming out of the sacristy.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>The Virgin Mary said with Her soft and feminine voice that sweetens one's soul:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">Today is a day of learning for you, and I want you to pay close attention because of what you will witness today. Everything that you will experience today, you will have to share with all of humanity.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"> I was deeply moved without understanding why, but I tried to be very attentive. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">The first thing I noticed was a choir of very beautiful voices that was singing as if it was far away. For moments the music came closer and, then, it went further away like the sound of the wind.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">The Archbishop started Mass and, when he reached the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >Penitential Rite</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >, t</span></i>he Blessed Virgin said:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“From the bottom of your heart, ask the Lord to forgive your faults that have offended Him. In this way, you will be able to participate worthily in this privilege of assisting at the Holy Mass.” </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">I thought for a fraction of a second: “Surely I am in a state of grace of God; I went to confession last night.”</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">She answered: <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Do you think that since last night you have not offended the Lord?<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>Let Me remind you of a few things. When you left to come here, the girl who helps you approached to ask you for something and, as you were late and in a hurry, you did not answer her in a very nice way. There was a lack of charity on your part, and you say, you have not offended God...?</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“While on the way here, a bus crossed over your lane and almost hit you. You expressed yourself in a very non-advisable way against that poor man, instead of saying your prayers and preparing yourself for Mass. You have failed in charity and lost your peace and patience. And you say you have not hurt the Lord?</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“You arrive at the last minute when the procession of the celebrants is already coming out to celebrate the Mass...<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>and you are going to participate without previous preparation...”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA"><i style="">I replied, “All right, my Mother, say no more to me. You do not have to remind me of more things because I am going to die of</i><i style="color: black; text-shadow: none;"> </i><i style="">grief and shame.”</i></span><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should have arrived earlier to be able to pray and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit that He may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems, and your distractions so as to enable you to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the celebration is about to commence, and you participate as if it is an ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why? This is the greatest of Miracles. You are going to live the moment when the Most High God gives His greatest gift, and you do not know how to appreciate it.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">This was enough. I felt so bad that I had more than enough</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA"><i style="color: black; text-shadow: none;"> </i><i style="">to ask for forgiveness from God. It was not only for the offenses of that day, but also for all the times that, like so many other people, I had waited for the priest to finish his homily before entering the Church. It was also for the times that I did not know or refused to understand what it meant to be there, and for the times that perhaps my soul was full of more serious sins, and I had dared to participate in the Holy Mass.</i></span><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><img src="http://www.michaeljournal.org/images/Blsacrament.jpg" vspace="7" width="300" align="left" border="0" height="504" hspace="20" />It was a feast day, and the Gloria was to be recited. Our Lady said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >: </span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Glorify and bless with all your love the Holy Trinity, in your acknowledgement of being one of Its creatures.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">How different was that Gloria! Suddenly I saw myself in a far off place full of light, before the Majestic Presence of the Throne of God. With so much love I went on thanking Him, as I repeated: “For your immense Glory we praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we give You glory, we give You thanks, Lord, God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.” And I recalled the paternal face of the Father, full of kindness. “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world...” And Jesus was in front of me, with that face full of tenderness and Mercy... “For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the most High Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit...”, the God of beautiful Love. He, Who at that moment, caused my whole being to tremble...</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">And I asked: “Lord, deliver me from all evil spirits. My heart belongs to You. My Lord, send me Your peace so that I can gain the finest benefits from the Eucharist and that my life may produce the best fruits. Holy Spirit of God, transform me, act within me, guide me. Oh God, give me the gifts that I need to serve you better!” <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">The moment of the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >Liturgy of the Word</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" > </span></i>arrived, and the Virgin Mary made me repeat: “Lord, today I want to listen to Your Word and produce abundant fruit. May Your Holy Spirit clean the interior of my heart so that Your Word grows and develops in it, purifying my heart so that it may be well disposed.” <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">Our Lady said: <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“I want you to be attentive to the readings and to all of the homily of the priest. Remember that the Bible says that the Word of God does not return without bearing fruit. If you are attentive, something from all that you heard will remain in you. You should try to recall, all day long, those Words that left an impression on you.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>Sometimes it may be two verses, other times the reading of the entire Gospel, or perhaps only one word. Savor them for the rest of the day, and it will then become part of you, because that is the way to change one's life, by allowing the Word of God to transform you. </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“And now, tell the Lord that you are here to listen, that you want Him to speak to your heart today.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">Once again I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to hear His Word. And I asked Him for forgiveness for having had such a hard heart for so many years, and for having taught my children that they had to go to Mass on Sundays because it is commanded by the Church, and not for love and the need to be filled with God.</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">I had attended so many Eucharistic Celebrations mostly out of obligation and, because of this, I believed I was saved. But I did not live it and, much less, did I pay attention to the readings or to the priest's homily!<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">How much pain I felt for so many years of needless loss because of my ignorance!<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>How superficial is our attendance at the Mass when we go only because someone is getting married, or for a funeral Mass, or because we have to be seen by society! How much ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments!<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>How much waste in trying to instruct and enlighten ourselves about the things of the world, which in a moment can disappear, leaving us with nothing and, at the end of our life, not serve to extend a minute to our existence! <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >However, we know nothing of that which will give us a little of heaven on earth and, afterwards, eternal life. And we call ourselves cultured men and women! </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">A moment later the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >Offertory</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" > </span></i>arrived, and the Holy Virgin said: <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Pray like this:</span></b> (and I repeated after Her) <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >Lord, I offer all that I am, all that I have, all that I can. I put everything into Your Hands. Build it up, Lord, with the little thing that I am. By the merits of Your Son, transform me, God Almighty. I petition You for my family, for my benefactors, for each member of our Apostolate, for all the people who fight against us, for those who commend themselves to my poor prayers. Teach me to lay down my heart as if on the ground before them so that their walk may be less severe. This is how the saints prayed; this is how I want all of you to do it.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">Thus, this is how Jesus asks us to pray, that we put our hearts as if on the ground so that they do not feel its severity, but rather that we alleviate the pain of their steps.<b style=""> </b></span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">Suddenly some characters, whom I had not seen before, began to stand up. It was as if from the side of each person present in the Cathedral, another person emerged, and soon the Cathedral became full of young, beautiful people. They were dressed in very white robes, and they started to move into the central aisle and, then, went towards the Altar.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">Our Mother said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >: “</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord.”</span></b> <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">At that moment, I was completely astonished, because these beings had such beautiful faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very beautiful with almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very beautiful.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">Some of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something that shone a great deal with a golden-white light. The Virgin Mary said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >: “</span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >They are the Guardian Angels of the people who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of what this celebration means. They have something to offer the Lord.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" lang="EN-CA">“Offer yourselves at this moment; offer your sorrows, your pains, your hopes, your sadness, your joys, your petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in offering and in asking.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;" lang="EN-CA">Behind the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were coming empty handed. The Virgin Mary said: <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Those are the angels of the people who are here but never offer anything. They have no interest in living each liturgical moment of the Mass, and they have no gifts to carry before the Altar of the Lord.” </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >At the end of the procession came other angels who were rather sad, with their hands joined in prayer but with their eyes downcast.<span style=""> </span><b style=""><span style="color:black;">“These are the Guardian Angels of the people who are here, but do not want to be, that is to say, of the people who have been forced to come here, who have come out of obligation, but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. The angels go forth sadly because they have nothing to carry to</span></b> <b style=""><span style="color:black;">the Altar, except for their own prayers.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Do not sadden your Guardian Angel.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>Ask for much, ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your families, your neighbors, for those who ask for your prayers. Ask, ask for much, but not only for yourselves, but for everyone else. </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Remember that the offering which most pleases the Lord is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus, upon His descent, may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin. But the offering of oneself united to the merits of Jesus, that offering is pleasing to the Father.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >That sight, that procession was so beautiful that it would be difficult to compare it to another. All those celestial creatures bowing before the Altar, some leaving their offerings on the floor, others prostrating themselves on their knees with their foreheads almost touching the floor. And as soon as they arrived at the Altar, they would disappear from my sight.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The final moment of the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">Preface</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i>arrived, and when the assembly said, <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Holy, Holy, Holy”</span></b>, suddenly everything that was behind the celebrants disappeared. Behind the left side of the Archbishop, thousands of Angels appeared in a diagonal line, small angels, big angels, angels with immense wings, angels with small wings, angels without wings. As the previous ones, all were dressed with tunics like the white robes of the priests or altar boys.<i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i>Everyone knelt with their hands united in prayer, and bowed their heads in reverence. Beautiful music was heard as if there were many choirs with different voices, all singing in unison together with the people: Holy, Holy, Holy...<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The moment of the<i style=""><span style="color:black;"> <b style="">Consecration</b>, </span></i>the moment of the most marvelous of Miracles had arrived. Behind the right side of the Archbishop appeared a multitude of people also in a diagonal line. They were dressed in the same tunic, but in pastel colors of: rose, green, light blue, lilac, yellow, in short, in different and very soft colors. Their faces were also brilliant, full of joy. They all seemed to be the same age. You could note (I can't say why) that they were people of different ages, but their faces looked the same, without wrinkles, happy. They all knelt down as well at the singing of <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord...”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Our Lady said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“These are all the Saints and the Blessed of Heaven, and among them are the souls of your relatives who already enjoy the Presence of God.” </span></b>Then I saw Her, exactly to the right of the Archbishop, a step behind the celebrant. She was suspended a little off the floor, kneeling on some very fine, transparent but, at the same time, luminous fabric, as crystalline water. The Holy Virgin, with hands joined, was looking attentively and respectfully at the celebrant. She spoke to me from there, but silently, directly to the heart, without looking at me:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“It surprises you to see Me standing a little behind Monsignor</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"> [the Archbishop], <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >does it not? This is how it should be... With all the love that My Son gives Me, He has not given Me the dignity that He has given the priests of being able to perform the daily Miracle with My hands as they do with their priestly hands. Because of this, I feel a deep respect for priests and for the miracle that God carries out through them, which compels Me to kneel here behind them.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >My God, how much dignity, how much grace the Lord pours over the priestly souls, and neither we, nor perhaps some of them, are conscious of this. </span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <div align="right"> <table style="float: right;" width="330" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.michaeljournal.org/holymasspicture.htm"><img src="http://www.michaeljournal.org/images/Purgatory.jpg" vspace="7" width="300" align="center" border="0" height="437" hspace="17" /></a></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align="center"><i><span style="font-size:85%;">(</span></i><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>click on the picture<br /> for a larger version to print,<br /> or click <a href="http://www.michaeljournal.org/holy%20mass%20color%20picture.htm">here</a> for a color picture)</i></span></p></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Before the Altar, there appeared some shadows of people in a gray color with their hands raised. The Holy Virgin said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“These are the blessed souls of Purgatory, who await your prayers to be refreshed. Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you, but they cannot pray for themselves. It is you who have to pray for them, in order to help them depart so that they can be with God and enjoy Him eternally. </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Now you now see it; I am here all the time. People go on pilgrimages, searching for the places where I have appeared. This is good, because of all the graces that they will receive there. But during no apparition, in no</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"> <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >other place, am I more present than during the Holy Mass. You will always find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated; at the foot of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><i style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >To see that beautiful countenance of the Mother at that moment of the words “Holy, Holy, Holy...” as well as all the others with their radiant faces, with hands joined, awaiting that miracle which repeats itself continuously, was to be in Heaven itself. <b style="">And to think there are people who can, at that moment, be distracted in conversation. It hurts me to tell you, many men, more than women, stand with their arms crossed, as if paying homage to the Lord as one equal to another.</b></span></i><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The Virgin Mary said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">: </span></i><span style="color:black;">“Tell all people that never is a man more manly then when he bends his knees before God.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The celebrant said the words of the<i style=""><span style="color:black;"> <b style="">Consecration.</b> </span></i>He was a person of normal height, but suddenly, he began to grow, becoming filled with light, a supernatural light between white and gold that enveloped him and grew very strong around the face. And because of it, I could not see his features. When he raised the Host, I saw his hands, and on the back of his hands, he had some marks from which emanated a great deal of light. It was Jesus! It was Him Who was wrapping His Body around the celebrant, as if He were lovingly surrounding the hands of the Archbishop. At that moment, the Host began to grow and became enormous, and upon it the marvelous face of Jesus appeared looking at His people.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >By instinct, I wanted to bow my head, and Our Lady said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Do not look down. Look up to view and contemplate Him. Exchange your gaze with His, and repeat the prayer of Fatima: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love You. Forgiveness and Mercy... Now tell Him how much you love Him, and pay your homage to the King of Kings.” </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I told it to Him, and it seemed as if I was the only one He was looking at from the enormous Host. But I learned that this was the way He gazed at each person, with love to the fullest. Then I lowered my head until I had my forehead on the floor, as did all the Angels and the Blessed from Heaven. Perhaps for a fraction of a second, I wondered how Jesus was taking on the body of the celebrant and, at the same time, He was inside the Host. And as he lowered the Host, it returned to its normal size. Tears ran down my cheeks; I was unable to let go of my astonishment.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Immediately, the Archbishop said the words of the Consecration of the wine and, as the words were being said, lightning appeared from the heavens and in the background. The walls and ceiling of the church had disappeared. All was dark, but for that brilliant light from the Altar.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Suddenly, suspended in the air, I saw Jesus crucified. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of the chest. The cross beam of the Cross was sustained by some large, strong hands. From within this resplendent light, a small light, like a very brilliant, very small dove, came forth and flew swiftly all over the Church. It came to rest on the left shoulder of the Archbishop, who continued to appear as Jesus because I could distinguish His long hair, His luminous wounds, and His large body, but I could not see His Face.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Above was Jesus crucified, His head fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to contemplate His face, beaten arms and torn flesh. On the right side of His chest, He had an injury, and blood was gushing out toward the left side, and toward the right side, what looked like water, but it was very brilliant.<span style=""> </span>They were more like jets of light coming forth towards the faithful, and moving to the right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing out toward the Chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but not a single drop was spilled. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >At that moment, the Virgin Mary said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“This is the miracle of miracles. I have said to you before that the Lord is not constrained by time and space. At the moment of the Consecration, all the assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary, at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Can anyone imagine that? Our eyes cannot see it, but we are all there at the very moment that they are crucifying Jesus. And He is asking for forgiveness to the Father, not only for those who killed Him, but also for each one of our sins: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Father, forgive them, because they know not what they do.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >From that day on, I do not care if the world thinks I am crazy, but I ask everybody to kneel and try to live, with their heart and with all their sensibility that they are capable of, this privilege that the Lord grants us.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >When we were going to pray the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">Our Father</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="color:black;">,</span></i> the Lord spoke for the first time during the celebration, and said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Wait, I want you to pray with the deepest profundity which you can summon. At this moment, bring to mind that person or persons which have done you the greatest harm during your life, so that you embrace them close to your bosom, and tell them with all your heart: `In the Name of Jesus, I forgive you and wish you peace. In the Name of Jesus, I ask for your forgiveness and wish my peace.' If the person is worthy of that peace, then the person will receive it, and feel better for it.<span style=""> </span>If that person is not capable of opening up to that peace, then peace will return to your heart. But I do not want you to receive nor offer peace when you are not capable of forgiving and feeling that peace in your heart first. </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Be careful of what you do,”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"> continued the Lord, <b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“you repeat in the Our Father: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. If you are capable of forgiving but not forgetting, as some people say, you are placing conditions upon the forgiveness of God. You are saying: You forgive me only as I am capable of forgiving, but no more.” </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I do not know how to explain my pain, at the realization of how much we can hurt the Lord. And also how much we can injure ourselves by holding so many grudges, bad feelings and unflattering things that are born from our own prejudices and over-sensitivities. I forgave; I forgave from the heart, and asked for forgiveness from all the people whom I had hurt at one time or another, in order to feel the peace of the Lord.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The celebrant said, “...give us peace and unity...” and, then, “<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">the peace of the Lord be with all of you.”</span></i></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Suddenly, I saw that among some (not all) of the people who were embracing each other, a very intense light placed itself between them. I knew it was Jesus, and I practically threw myself to embrace the person next to me. I could truly feel the embrace of the Lord in that light. It was Him Who embraced me giving me His peace, because in that moment, I had been able to forgive and remove from my heart all grief against other people. That is what Jesus wants, to share that moment of joy, hugging us and wishing us His peace.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The moment of the celebrants' Communion arrived. There I once again noticed the presence of all the priests next to the Archbishop. When he took Communion, the Virgin Mary said:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“This is the moment to pray for the celebrant and the priests who accompany him.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>Repeat together with Me: `Lord, bless them, sanctify them, help them, purify them, love them, take care of them, and support them with Your Love.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>Remember all the priests of the world, pray for all the consecrated souls...'</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Dear brothers and sisters, that is the moment in which we should pray for them, because they are the Church as we, the laity, are also. Many times we, the laity, demand so much from the priests, but we are unable to pray for them, to understand that they are human, and to comprehend and appreciate the solitude that many times can surround a priest. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We should understand that the priests are people like ourselves and that they need to be understood, to be cared for. They need affection and attention from us because they are giving their life to each one of us, as Jesus did, by being consecrated to Him.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The Lord wants the people of the flock that God has entrusted to the priest to pray and help in his sanctification. Someday, when we are on the other side, we will understand the marvels that the Lord has done, giving us priests who help us to save our souls.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The people began to leave their pews on their way to Communion.<span style=""> </span>The great moment of the encounter had arrived. The Lord said to me: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Wait a moment; I want you to observe something...” </span></b>An interior impulse made me raise my eyes towards the person who was going to receive Communion on the tongue from the hands of the priest. <i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I should clarify that this person was one of the ladies from our group who the previous night was unable to go to confession, but this morning was able to do so before the Holy Mass. When the Priest placed the Sacred Host on her tongue, a flash of light, like a very golden white light, went right through this person, first through her back, then surrounding her from the back, around her shoulders, and then her head. The Lord said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">:</span></i></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“This is how I Myself rejoice in embracing a soul who comes with a clean heart to receive Me.” </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;">The tone of voice of Jesus was that of a happy person.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I was astonished to see my friend return to her pew surrounded by light, embraced by the Lord. I thought of the marvel that we miss so many times by going to receive Jesus with our small or large offences, when it should be a feast.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <div align="left"> <table style="float: left;" width="200" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <p style="margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="center"><img src="http://www.michaeljournal.org/images/ppio.jpg" width="180" border="0" height="234" /></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 12px;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><b>St. Padre Pio<br /> celebrating<br /> the Holy Mass</b></span></p></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Many times we say that there are no priests to whom to go to confess at any given moment. But the problem is not about confessing at each moment, but the problem resides in our ease of falling into evil again.<span style=""> </span>On the other hand, in the same way that we make an effort to search for a beauty parlor, or men search for a barber when we have a party, we have to also make an effort to seek a priest when we need to remove all that dirt from ourselves. We must not have the audacity to receive Jesus at any moment with our hearts full of ugly things.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >When I went to receive communion, Jesus told me: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“The Last Supper was the moment of the greatest intimacy with My own.<span style=""> </span>During that hour of love, I established what could be thought of as the greatest act of lunacy in the eyes of men, that of making Myself a prisoner of Love. I established the Eucharist.<span style=""> </span>I wanted to remain with you until the end of the centuries because My Love could not bear that you remained orphans, you whom I loved more than My life.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I received that Host which had a different flavor. It was a mixture of blood and incense that inundated me entirely. I felt so much love that the tears ran down my cheeks without me being able to stop them.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >When I returned to my seat, while kneeling down, the Lord said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Listen...”</span></b> A moment later, I began to hear the prayers of the lady who was seated in front of me and who had just received communion.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >What she said, without opening her mouth, was more or less like this: <i style=""><span style="color:black;">“Lord, remember that we are at the end of the<b style=""> </b>month, and I do not have the money to pay the rent, the car payments, nor the children's school. You have to do something to help me... Please, make my husband stop drinking so much. I cannot bear any more his being intoxicated so often, and my youngest son is going to repeat the year again, if you do not help him. He has exams this week... And do not forget our neighbor who must move. Let her do it right away.<span style=""> </span>I cannot stand her anymore, etc., etc.”</span></i><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Then the Archbishop said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Let us pray,”</span></b><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i>and obviously all the congregation stood up for the final prayer. Jesus said in a sad tone: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Did you take note of her prayer? Not a single time did she tell Me that she loves Me.<span style=""> </span>Not a single time did she thank Me for the gift that I have given her by bringing down My Divinity to her poor humanity, in order to elevate her to Me. Not a single time has she said: thank You, Lord. It has been a litany of requests, and so are almost all of those who come to receive Me.” </span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“I have died for love, and I am risen. For love I await each one of you, and for love I remain with you... But you do not realize that I need your love. Remember that I am the Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for the soul.” </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Do you all realize that He, Love, is begging for our love, and we do not give it to Him? Moreover, we avoid going to that encounter with the Love of Loves, with the only love who gives of itself in a permanent oblation.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >When the celebrant was going to give the <b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">blessing</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="color:black;">, </span></i>the Holy Virgin said: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“Be attentive, take care... You do any old sign instead of the Sign of the Cross. Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you will receive from hands of a priest. You do not know when, leaving here, if you will die or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing from another priest. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect, as if it was the last one of your life.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >How much we miss in not understanding and not participating every day at the Holy Mass! Why not make an effort to begin the day a half hour earlier and run to the Holy Mass and receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to pour over us? <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I am aware that, because of their obligations, not everybody can attend daily Mass, but at least two or three times a week. So many avoid Mass on Sundays with the smallest excuse, that they have a child, or two, or ten, and, therefore, they cannot attend Mass.<span style=""> </span>How do people manage when they have other important types of commitments? They take all the children, or take turns and the husband goes at one hour and the wife another, but they carry out their duty to God.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We have time to study, to work, to entertain, to rest, but WE DO NOT HAVE TIME, AT LEAST ON SUNDAY, TO GO TO THE HOLY MASS.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Jesus asked me to remain with Him a few minutes more after Mass had finished. He said<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">: “</span></i><span style="color:black;">Do not leave in a hurry after Mass is over. Stay a moment in My company and enjoy it, and let Me enjoy yours...”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><img src="http://www.michaeljournal.org/images/popemass.jpg" vspace="7" width="400" align="right" border="0" height="273" hspace="25" />As a child, I had heard someone say that the Lord remained with us for five or ten minutes, after Communion. I asked Him at this moment:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >“Lord, truly, how much time do You stay with us after Communion?” <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >I suppose that the Lord must have laughed at my silliness, because He answered: <b style=""><span style="color:black;">“All the time that you want to have Me with you. If you speak to Me all day long, offering Me some words during your chores, I will listen to you. I am always with you. It is you who leaves Me. You leave the Mass, and the day of obligation ends. You kept the day of the Lord, and it is now finished for you. You do not think that I would like to share your family life with you, at least that day.”</span></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“In your homes, you have a place for everything and a room for each activity: a room to sleep, another to cook, another to eat, etc. Which place have you made for Me? It should not be a place where you only have an image, which collects dust all the time, but a place where at least five minutes a day the family meets to give thanks for the day and for the gift of life, to ask for their needs of the day, to ask for blessings, protection, health. Everything has a place in your homes, except Me.” </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“Men plan their day, their week, their semester, their vacations, etc. They know what day they are going to rest, what day they will go to the movies or to a party, or visit grandmother or the grandchildren, the children, their friends, and to their amusements.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>How many families say at least once a month: `This is the day for our turn to go and visit Jesus in the Tabernacle,' and the whole family comes to talk to M<%18>e<%0>? How many sit down in front of Me and have a conversation with Me, telling Me how it has been since the last time, telling Me their problems, the difficulties they have, asking Me about what they need, making Me part of these things? How many times?</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“I know everything. I read even the deepest secrets of your hearts and minds.<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>But I enjoy your telling Me about your life, your letting Me participate as a family member, as your most intimate friend. Oh, how many graces does man lose by not giving Me a place in his life!” </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >When I remained with Him that day and on many other days, He continued to give us teachings. Today I want to share with you this mission that He has entrusted to me.<span style=""> </span>Jesus said:<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“I wanted to save My creature, because the moment of opening the door to Heaven has been impregnated with too much pain...”<span style="text-shadow: none;"> </span>“Remember that not even one mother has fed her child with her own flesh. I have gone to that extreme of Love to communicate My merits to all of you. </span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“The Holy Mass is Myself prolonging My life and My sacrifice on the Cross among you. Without the merits of My life and My Blood, what do you have with which to come before the Father? Nothing, misery and sin...</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="text-shadow: none;"><b style=""><span style="text-shadow: none;color:black;" >“You should exceed in virtue the angels and archangels, because they do not have the joy of receiving Me as nourishment like you do. They drink a drop from the spring, but you that have the grace of receiving Me, you have the whole ocean to drink.”</span></b><span style="text-shadow: none;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The other thing that the Lord spoke about with pain concerned<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> people who encounter Him out of habit, of those who have lost their awe of each encounter with Him. That routine turns some people so lukewarm that they have nothing new to tell Jesus when they receive Him. He also said that there were so many consecrated souls who lose their enthusiasm of falling in love with the Lord, and have made their vocation an occupation, a profession to which nothing more is given, except that which is demanded of one, but without feeling...</span></i></b><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Then the Lord spoke to me <b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;">about the fruits that must come from each Communion that we take.</span></i></b><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i>It does happen that there are people who receive the Lord daily but do not change their lives. They spend many hours in prayer and do many works, etc., but their life does not go on transforming, and a life that does not transform cannot bear true fruits for the Lord. The merits we receive in the Eucharist should bear the fruits of conversion in us and fruits of charity toward our brothers and sisters. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We the laity have a very important role in our Church. We do not have the right to be silent, because the Lord has sent us out, as all the baptized, to go forth and announce<b style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></b>the Good News. We do not have the right to absorb all this knowledge and not share it with others, and to allow our brothers to die of hunger when we have so much bread in our hands.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We cannot watch our Church crumble as we stay comfortable in our parishes and homes, receiving and receiving so much from the Lord: His Word, the homilies of the priests, the pilgrimages, the Mercy of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the marvelous union with the nourishment of Communion, the talks of preachers.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >In other words, we are receiving so much and we do not have the courage to leave our comfort zone and go to a jail, to a correctional institution, to speak to the neediest. To go and tell them not to give up, that they were born Catholic and that their Church needs them there, suffering, because their suffering will serve to redeem others, because that sacrifice will gain for them eternal life. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We are not capable of going where the terminally ill are in the hospitals, and by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, helping them with our prayers during that time of struggle between good and evil to free them from the snares and temptations of the devil. Every dying person has fear, and just taking their hand and talking to them about the love of God and the marvel that awaits them in Heaven next to Jesus and Mary, next to their departed ones, gives them comfort. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >The hour in which we currently live does not allow us to be indifferent. We must be an extension of the hands of our priests and go where they cannot reach. But for this, we need courage. We must receive Jesus, live with Jesus, nourish ourselves with Jesus.<span style=""> </span><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >We are afraid to commit ourselves a little more, and when the Lord says,<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i><span style="color:black;">“First seek the Kingdom of God, and the rest will be added onto you,”</span></b> He says it all, brothers and sisters. It means to seek the Kingdom of God, by all possible means and with all means, and to open your hands in order to receive EVERYTHING in addition! This is because He is the Master Who pays the best, the only One Who is attentive to your smallest needs.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Brothers, sisters, thank you for allowing me to carry out the mission that was entrusted to me, that of having these pages reach you.<b style=""><i style=""><span style="color:black;"> </span></i></b>The next time you attend Holy Mass, live it. I know the Lord will fulfill for you His promise that “your Mass will never again be the same.” And when you receive Him, love Him!<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Experience the sweetness of feeling yourself resting against the folds of His side, pierced for you in order to leave you His Church and His Mother, to open for you the doors to His Father's House. Experience this so that you are able to feel for yourself His Merciful Love by means of this testimony, and try to reciprocate with your childlike love.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >May God bless you this Easter.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Your sister in the Living Jesus,<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="right"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color:black;"><b style="">Catalina<br /> Lay Missionary of the</b><b style="color: black; text-shadow: none;"> </b><b style="">Eucharistic Heart of Jesus</b></span><o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <center> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><i style=""><span style="color:black;">Copyright © 2004 by The Great Crusade of Love and Mercy</span></i>. All rights reserved. This booklet is published in coordination with <i style=""><span style="color:black;">The Apostolate of the New Evangelization. </span></i>Translated from the April 2003 Revision of the original Spanish edition, published in Merida, Mexico. Permission is granted to reproduce this booklet in its entirety with no changes or additions and as long as the reproduction and distribution is done solely on a not-for-profit basis.<o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >This document is available at no cost online, and can be downloaded and printed from the following Web Sites: in English at: www.greatcrusade.org and Spanish at: www.grancruzada.org <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"><span style="text-shadow: none;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >For information on ordering printed copies of this booklet and other books and videos, please write to: The Great Crusade of Love and Mercy, Inc., P.O. Box 857, Lithonia, Georgia 30058 USA, or visit the ministry's Internet Site at: www.loveandmercy.org. <o:p> </o:p> </span></span></p> </center> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30px; margin-right: 40px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 6px;" align="justify"> </p> <span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><i><span style="text-shadow: none;"><a href="http://www.michaeljournal.org/holymass.htm">Click here</a> for the Full Story that was published in the August-September, 2005 issue of “Michael”.</span></i></span>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-25392412016735758902010-04-15T12:19:00.000-07:002010-04-15T12:23:42.569-07:00Rediscovering the Sacramental Sense<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S8dnlgdMCAI/AAAAAAAABaM/FMR6V3JwTkM/s1600/Mass+in+small+Bahamas+parish.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 118px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S8dnlgdMCAI/AAAAAAAABaM/FMR6V3JwTkM/s200/Mass+in+small+Bahamas+parish.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460446967275194370" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><br /><br />Rediscovering the Sacramental Sense</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >by Russell Shaw</span><br /><br /><br />FEBRUARY 21, 2007 (www.holyspiritinteractive.net) - A friend of mine tells this story: Not long ago he took some students and parents from the public high school where he teaches on a trip to Italy. There were twelve or 15 of them, and they shared the tour bus with others. The trip was a success. Everyone had a lovely time visiting some of the most beautiful places in a beautiful country.<br /><br />But after a while my friend realized that something strange was going on.<br /><br />Whenever they pulled into a town square and parked in front of the local cathedral, everyone piled off the bus and immediately started shooting photos of the church. "They began taking pictures before they even looked at it," my friend said. "What mattered was shooting those photos. They could see the cathedral later, if there was time."<br /><br />My friend thought that was odd. But I couldn’t help thinking that this behavior isn’t so different from what happens at a Sunday liturgy today. The two things may even be related. The emphasis at such a liturgy is on doing things, keeping busy, allowing little opportunity for reflective quiet. Seeing things—not just with the physical eyes, but with the eyes of the spirit—gets short shrift.<br /><br />In liturgical celebrations like this, the ideal of full, conscious, active participation that the Second Vatican Council spoke of has been externalized. This is liturgy for people more interested in taking pictures of the cathedral than in seeing it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Participation in the Liturgy</span><br /><br />Some time back I came across a remark by H. Richard McCord, the executive director of the laity office of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, that inadvertently suggests where this thinking comes from.<br /><br />Participation in the liturgy is a common means of spiritual formation. Though weekly Mass attendance has declined, laity are participating in worship more extensively and in greater depth through the ministerial roles of reading, singing, distributing communion, assisting at the altar, providing hospitality, and so on.<br /><br />I take this to be a typical statement of a viewpoint common today. There are several things to be said about it.<br /><br />First, the casual dismissal of the decline in Sunday Mass attendance by American Catholics, from two out of three 40 years ago to one out of three today, is happy talk. Second, to equate doing things—"reading, singing, distributing communion . . . providing hospitality, and so on"—with full, conscious, and active participation is seriously confused.<br /><br />Third, there is absolutely no evidence that this approach involves liturgical participation any deeper and more prayerful than the participation of the largely silent congregations several decades ago. Claims to the contrary are statements of ideology, not empirically verified fact.<br /><br />Fourth, even if one is willing to grant, for the sake of argument, that lay people who do these things at Mass are more deeply engaged in liturgical worship than people were 50 years ago, the number of those who do them is extremely small, compared with the vastly larger number who do not.<br /><br />And fifth and finally, what a comment like this mainly expresses is the mindless enthusiasm for lay ministries so common in official circles today. A rational, well-considered concern for full, conscious, and active participation by the laity wouldn’t concentrate on the ministries of a few but on the baptismal priesthood—the non-ordained priesthood of the faithful—in which all Christifideles participate.<br /><br />As the Catechism says: "Through Baptism and Confirmation the priestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy" (1138). How often these days do you hear homilies saying that instead of urging lay people to give Father Bob and Deacon Tom a hand by distributing Communion?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Loss of the Sacramental Sense</span><br /><br />But the fundamental problem—the problem of seeing the liturgical celebration with the eyes of the spirit—goes much deeper, operating on a very different plane. A lot more is involved than questions of liturgical translations and the structuring of liturgical rites.<br /><br />This is the problem of the loss of the sacramental sense in Western culture, and it’s that above all else that makes full, conscious, and active participation so difficult. Our immanent, externalized liturgical celebrations merely reinforce this underlying problem.<br /><br />In modern times, we see a pervasive loss of the sacramental sense and a concurrent hollowing-out of our understanding of what "sacrament" signifies, leaving behind only the shell of symbol. The difference between sacrament and symbol is crucially important.<br /><br />A symbol points to another reality extrinsic to itself; whereas, in the case of a sacrament, the other reality is embodied within the sacramental sign and intrinsic to what the sacrament is and does.<br /><br />Conventional symbols have a kind of radical arbitrariness: They are subject to being changed. When circumstances dictate setting aside one symbol for something, there is no difficulty about adopting another, as advertisers adopt new logos for products depending on which of their aspects they wish to highlight and which audience they mean to attract.<br /><br />It’s very different with a sacrament. The sacramental sign and the reality it signifies are inseparably joined. Fundamentally alter a sacramental sign, and the reality it signified is no longer there. For example: Substitute something else for bread and wine, and you no longer have the Body and Blood of Christ. And, as this suggests, the reality embodied by sacraments is itself unique.<br /><br />Pope John Paul II said in Crossing the Threshold of Hope:<br /><br />What else are the sacraments . . . if not the action of Christ in the Holy Spirit? When the Church baptizes, it is Christ who baptizes; when the Church absolves, it is Christ who absolves; when the Church celebrates the Eucharist, it is Christ who celebrates it . . . . All the sacraments are an action of Christ, the action of God in Christ.<br /><br />Where people suppose that sacramental liturgy is only a symbolic act to which those who perform it assign its meaning, the devising of liturgical settings naturally emphasizes values like novelty, ingenuity, relevance, experiment, excitement.<br /><br />Practically speaking, as then–Cardinal Ratzinger has pointed out, they aim to entertain. But the more entertaining the celebrations become, the more support they’ll lend to the belief that what is going on is symbolic, nothing more.<br /><br />By contrast, where it’s supposed that the central action is a sacramental act that is primarily Jesus’ rather than ours, the approach will be fundamentally conservative. It will stress values like dignity, gravity, decorum, reverence, devotion, piety, awe.<br /><br />The test of good liturgy will be a test of faith: whether the worshiping community grows in holiness by full, conscious, active participation in the action of Christ.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_TopStory.cfm?contentUUID=ECDC3CE9-1143-E0A9-599DB6E1CFC2647B%7C200702">View this story</a> in ParishWorld.net.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-70809714636038870132010-04-14T11:17:00.000-07:002010-04-14T11:18:20.973-07:00All Should Offer Their Bodies and Blood at Mass<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-size: 180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All Should Offer Their Bodies and Blood at Mass</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 130%;">Pontifical Household Preacher Explains Uniqueness of Christ's Sacrifice and Our Participation</span></span><br /><br />VATICAN CITY, MARCH 12, 2010 (<a href="www.Zenit.org">www.Zenit.org</a>).- What makes Christ the Priest unlike any other priest, either from the Old Testament or from any other cult, is that his priestly sacrifice is he, himself.<br /><br />But that uniqueness is also the calling shared by priests and laity, to "imitate that which is celebrated" every day at Mass.<br /><br />This was the reflection offered today by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Pontifical Household, in his second Lenten sermon of the year, given in the presence of Benedict XVI and the Roman Curia. The Capuchin is focusing his homilies on the priesthood in this Year for Priests. In Advent he meditated on the priest as servant of Christ, in the power and the unction of the Holy Spirit. During Lent, he is looking at the priest as steward of the mysteries of God.<br /><br />"To be a priest 'according to the order of Jesus Christ,' the presbyter must, like him, offer himself," Father Cantalamessa said. "On the altar, he does not only represent the Jesus [who is] 'high priest,' but also the Jesus [who is] 'supreme victim,' the two things being, moreover, inseparable. In other words he cannot be content to offer Christ to the Father in the sacramental signs of bread and wine, he must also offer himself with Christ to the Father."<br /><br />The preacher shared his own experience of this sacrifice: "As a priest ordained by the Church, I pronounce the words of the consecration 'in persona Christi,' I believe that, thanks to the Holy Spirit, they have the power of changing the bread into the body of Christ and the wine into his blood; at the same time, as member of the body of Christ [...] I look at the brethren before me or, if I celebrate on my own, I think of them whom I must serve during the day and, turning to them, I say mentally together with Jesus: 'Brothers and sisters, take, eat, this is my body; take, drink, this is my blood.'"<br /><br />Father Cantalamessa clarified that this mutual offering is necessary.<br /><br />"The offering of the priest and of the whole Church, without that of Jesus, would neither be holy nor acceptable to God, because we are only sinful creatures," he said, "but Jesus' offering, without that of his body which is the Church, would also be incomplete and insufficient: not, be it understood, to procure salvation, but because we receive it and appropriate it. It is in this sense that the Church can say with St. Paul: 'in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.'"<br /><br />And the preacher offered a simple example to illustrate his point.<br /><br />"Let us imagine," he said, "that in a family there is one child, the first born, most devoted to the father. He wishes to give him a present for his birthday. However, before presenting it to him he asks all his brothers and sisters secretly to add their signature on the gift. It then arrives in the hands of the father as the indistinct homage of all his children and as a sign of the esteem and love of them all but, in reality, only one has paid its price.<br /><br />"And now the application. Jesus admires and loves the heavenly Father. He wishes to give him every day, until the end of the world, the most precious gift he can think of, that of his life itself. In the Mass he invites all his 'brothers,' who we are, to add their signature on the gift, so that it reaches God the Father as the indistinct gift of all his children. [...] But, in reality, we know that only one has paid the price of such a gift. And what a price!"<br /><br />Laity, too<br /><br />Father Cantalamessa proposed that laypeople, too, are called to offer themselves with Christ in the Mass.<br /><br />"Let us try to imagine what would happen if also the laity, at the moment of the consecration, said silently: 'Take, eat, this is my body. Take, drink, this is my blood,'" he proposed. "A mother of a family thus celebrates her Mass, then she goes home and begins her day made up of a thousand little things. But what she does is not nothing: It is a eucharist together with Jesus! A [religious] sister also says in her heart at the moment of consecration: 'Take, eat ...'; then she goes to her daily work: children, the sick, the elderly. The Eucharist 'invades' her day which becomes a prolongation of the Eucharist."<br /><br />The Pontifical Household preacher called for two categories of people to particularly take to heart his message: workers and young people.<br /><br />"Do we teach the Christian laborer to offer in the Mass his body and his blood, that is, his time, sweat and toil," he reflected. Work in this way, he said, will not be confined to a Marxist focus on the product, but rather becomes sanctifying.<br /><br />And youth, Father Cantalamessa said, have a special need to offer themselves at Mass.<br /><br />He explained: "Suffice it for us to think of one thing: What does the world of boys and girls want today? The body, nothing else but the body! The body, in the mentality of the world, is essentially an instrument of pleasure and exploitation. Something to be sold, to squeeze while it is young and attractive, and then to be thrown out, together with the person, when it no longer serves these ends. Especially the woman's body has become merchandise of consumption.<br /><br />"Do we teach Christian boys and girls to say, at the moment of consecration: 'Take, eat, this is my body, offered for you.' The body is thus consecrated, becomes something sacred, it can no longer be 'given to eat' to one's concupiscence and that of others, it can no longer be sold, because it has given itself. It has become Eucharist with Christ."<br /><br />"The Apostle Paul," Father Cantalamessa reflected, made this exhortation to the Christians of Corinth: "The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord. ... So glorify God in your body.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-91763992804623540462010-04-08T12:11:00.000-07:002010-04-08T12:16:18.518-07:00The Hidden Mass on the Road to Emmaus<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S74rbfpAysI/AAAAAAAABZE/aoWBS0BsWkw/s1600/on+the+road+to+emmaus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 145px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S74rbfpAysI/AAAAAAAABZE/aoWBS0BsWkw/s200/on+the+road+to+emmaus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457847549769599682" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >Mass on the Move: The Hidden Mass on the Road to Emmaus</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >By Msgr. Charles Pope</span><br /><br />The Gospel of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (<a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/luke/luke24.htm#v13">Luke 24:13ff</a>) does more than present a resurrection appearance. It also presents the Mass in seminal form as I will show. In doing this Luke and the Holy Spirit teach us that the Mass is the essential and most vivid way that we encounter Christ now. The two disciples also learn this lesson for as soon as they recognize Christ “in the breaking of the bread” he vanishes from their earthly eyes. In effect Christ teaches them they will no longer see him in an earthly way but now they will see him with the eyes of faith in the Eucharist, the liturgy and, by extension, in all the sacraments. <p style="text-align: justify;">So for us to who to encounter the risen Lord Jesus, this Gospel teaches us that the Mass is the most perfect way and place we will encounter him. Let’s examine this resurrection appearance and see it for what it is, a Mass.</p> <ol style="text-align: justify;"><li><strong>Gathering Rite</strong> – The Curtain rises on this Mass with two disciples having gathered together on a journey: <em>Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus </em>(Lk 24:13). This is what we do as the preliminary act of every Mass. We who are pilgrims on a journey come together on our journey. It so happens for these two disciples that Jesus joins them: <em>And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them </em>(Luke 24:15). The text goes on to inform us that they did not recognize Jesus yet. Now for us who gather at Mass it is essential to acknowledge by faith that when we gather together, the Lord Jesus is with us, for Scripture says, <em>For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them </em>(Matt 18:20). it is a true fact that for many of us too, Jesus is unrecognized! Yet he is no less among us than he was present to these two disciples who fail to recognize him. Liturgically we acknowledge the presence of the Lord at the beginning of the Mass in two ways. First, as the priest processes down the aisle the congregation sings a hymn of praise. It is not “Fr. Jones” they praise it is Jesus whom “Fr. Jones” represents that they praise. Once at the Chair the celebrant (who is really Christ) says, “The Lord be with you.” And thereby he announces the presence of Christ among us promised by the Scriptures. The Mass has begun, our two disciples are gathered and the Lord is with them. So too for us at every Mass.<br /><br /></li><li><strong>Penitential Rite</strong> – The two disciples seem troubled and the Lord inquires of them the source of their distress: <em>What are you discussing as you walk along? </em>(Lk 24:17) In effect the Lord invites them to speak with him about what is troubling them. It may also be a gentle rebuke from the Lord that the two of them are walking away from Jerusalem, away from the site of the resurrection. Clearly their sorrow and distress are governing their behavior. Even though they have already heard evidence of his resurrection (<em>cf</em> 24:22-24), they seem hopeless and have turned away from this good news. The text describes them as “downcast” (24:17). Thus the Lord engages them is a kind of gentle penitential rite and wants to engage them on their negativity. So too for us at Mass. The penitential rite is a moment when the celebrant (who is really Christ) invites us to lay down our burdens and sins before the Lord who alone can heal us. We too often enter the presence of God looking downcast and carrying many burdens and sins. We too like these two disciples may be walking in wrongful directions. And so the Lord says to us, in effect, “What are thinking about and doing as you walk along. Where are you going with your life. And thus again we see in this story about two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Mass that is so familiar to us.<br /><br /></li><li><strong>The Liturgy of the Word</strong> – In response to their concerns and struggles the Lord breaks open the Word of God, the Scriptures. The text says: <em>Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures </em>(Luke 24:27). Notice that, not only does the Lord refer to Scripture but he interprets it for them. Hence the Word is not only read, there is also a homily, an explanation and application of the Scripture to the struggles these men have. The homily was a good one too for later, the disciples remark: <em>Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us</em>? (Luke 24:32) And so too for us at Mass. Whatever struggles we may have brought to the Mass, the Lord bids us to listen to his Word as the Scriptures are proclaimed. Then the homilist (who is really Christ) interprets and applies the Word to our life. It is a true fact that the Lord works through a weak human agent (the priest or deacon) but God can write straight with crooked lines and as long as the homilist is orthodox, it is Christ who speaks. Pray for your homilist to be an obedient and useful instrument for Christ at the homily moment. After the homily we usually make prayers and requests of Christ. And so it is that we also see these two disciples request of Christ: <em>Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.</em> (Luke 24:29) Is this not what we also say in so many words: Stay with us Lord, for it is sometimes dark in our lives and the shadows are growing long. Stay with us Lord and those we love so that we will not be alone in the dark. In our darkest hours, be to us a light O Lord that never fades away. Yes, this whole brief journey of Jesus and the disciples is surely familiar to us who attend the Catholic Mass!<br /><br /></li><li><strong>The Liturgy of the Eucharist</strong> – Christ does stay with them and then come the lines that no Catholic could miss: <em>And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them</em> (Luke 24:30). Yes, the Mass to be sure. Later, the two disciples will refer back to this moment as <em>the breaking of the bread</em>(Luke 24:35), a clear Biblical reference to the Holy Eucharist. The words of Mass come immediately to mind: “While they were at supper He took the bread, and gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said, take this all of you and eat it: this is my Body which will be given up for you.” A fascinating thing happens though: <em>With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight </em>(Luke 24:31). First note that it is the very act of consecration that opens their eyes. Is this not what Holy Communion is to do for us? Are we not to learn to recognize Christ by the very mysteries we celebrate? The liturgy and the sacraments are not mere rituals, they are encounters with Jesus Christ, and though our repeated celebration of the holy mysteries our eyes are increasingly opened if we are faithful. We learn to see and hear Christ in the liturgy, to experience his ministry to us. The fact that he vanishes from their sight teaches us that he is no longer seen by the eyes of the flesh, but by the eyes of faith and the eyes of the heart. So though he is gone from our earthly, fleshly, carnal sight, he is now to be seen in the Sacrament of the Altar, and experienced in the liturgy and other sacraments. The Mass has reached it’s pinnacle, for these two disciples and for us.<br /><br /></li><li><strong>Dismissal Rite</strong>- Not able to contain their joy or hide their experience the two disciples run seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell their brethren what had happened and how they encountered Jesus in the breaking of the bread. They want to, have to, speak of the Christ they have encountered, what he said and what he did. How about us? At the end of every Mass the priest or deacon says “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” This does NOT mean, “OK, we’re done here, go on home and haver nice day.” What it DOES mean is: “Go now into the world and bring the Christ you have received to others. Tell them what you have heard and seen here, what you have experienced. Share the joy and hope that this Liturgy gives with others.” Perhaps you can see the word MISSion in the word disMISSal? You are being commissioned, sent on a mission to announce Christ to others. The Lucan text we are reviewing says of these two disciples: <em>So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them…..Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread</em> (Lk 24:33,35). How about us. Does our Mass finish as well, as enthusiastically? </li></ol> <p style="text-align: justify;">So there it is, the Mass on the Move. For a Catholic this resurrection account is unmistakably a Mass. True it is in seminal form, but all the elements are there. The teaching is clear, the risen Lord Jesus is now to be found in the Liturgy and the Sacraments. It is for us only to have our eyes opened and to recognize him there.</p> <p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="425" height="344"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7ihzcHxP2_I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><embed style="visibility: visible;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7ihzcHxP2_I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-10445822479549962422010-04-08T11:52:00.000-07:002010-04-08T11:54:44.805-07:00The Mass Isn't Entertainment<span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#800000;"><b>The Mass Isn't Entertainment, Says Cardinal Arinze</b></span><br /><br /><br />VATICAN CITY, NOV. 16, 2005 (<a _fcksavedurl="http://www.Zenit.org" href="http://www.zenit.org/">www.Zenit.org</a>).- The Mass is a moment of reflection and encounter with God, rather than a form of entertainment, says Cardinal Francis Arinze.<br /><br />In an interview with Inside the Vatican magazine, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments made a comprehensive assessment of the recent Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist and of developments in liturgical practice 40 years after the Second Vatican Council.<br /><br />Regarding "music in the liturgy, we should start by saying that Gregorian music is the Church's precious heritage," he said. "It should stay. It should not be banished. If therefore in a particular diocese or country, no one hears Gregorian music anymore, then somebody has made a mistake somewhere."<br /><br />However, "the Church is not saying that everything should be Gregorian music," the cardinal clarified. "There is room for music which respects that language, that culture, that people. There is room for that too, and the present books say that is a matter for the bishops' conference, because it generally goes beyond the boundaries of one diocese.<br /><br />"The ideal thing is that the bishops would have a liturgical music commission which looks at the wording and the music of the hymns. And when the commission is satisfied, judgment is brought to the bishops for approval, in the name of the rest of the conference."<br /><br />What should not be the case, insists the Nigerian cardinal, is "individuals just composing anything and singing it in church. This is not right at all -- no matter how talented the individual is. That brings us to the question of the instruments to be used.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_TopStory.cfm?contentUUID=A0FB8BFC-1143-E0A9-59ED07AEA50CEA3A%7C201004">View this articcle in ParishWorld.net</a><br />--Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-6842178297931781472010-04-08T11:08:00.000-07:002010-04-08T11:10:07.595-07:00If Mass Is Boring<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S74b-Mx3dsI/AAAAAAAABY8/GttP_a7R6II/s1600/bored+boy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S74b-Mx3dsI/AAAAAAAABY8/GttP_a7R6II/s200/bored+boy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457830553815840450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">If Mass Is Boring</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Interview With Prelate of Opus Dei</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >By Jesús Colina</span><br /><br />ROME, APRIL 2, 2010 (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.Zenit.org">www.Zenit.org</a>).- Holy Mass is about love, reminds Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, prelate of Opus Dei, when asked for advice for those who are sometimes bored by the Eucharistic celebration.<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría, who together with Bishop Alvaro del Portillo was the person closest to St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, has dedicated his latest book, "Living the Holy Mass," to this sacrament.<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría is a member of the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes and the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature; he is a consultor for the Congregation for the Clergy and an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. His book is an attempt to rediscover love for the Eucharist, "which must be the center of our life," he explains in this interview with ZENIT.<br /><br />ZENIT: What would you recommend to Catholics who say they are bored at Mass?<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría: I would recommend that they participate with sincerity in the Mass, seeking and loving Jesus. In "The Way," St. Josemaría wrote: "You say the Mass is long and, I add, because your love is short."<br /><br />Feelings must not be given too much importance: enthusiasm or apathy, desire or lack of it. The Mass is sacrifice: Christ gives himself out of love. It is an action of God and we cannot fully understand its grandeur, because of our limited condition as creatures. But we must make the effort, not only to be at Mass, but to live it in union with Christ and the Church.<br /><br />ZENIT: When did you discover the mystery that the Eucharist conceals and reveals?<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría: Thank God, I try to rediscover it every day: in the Liturgy of the Word -- which helps to maintain conversation with God during the day -- and in the Eucharistic liturgy. We should always be ever more astonished before this reality that surpasses us, but in which the Lord allows us to participate, better said, invites us to participate.<br /><br />In the Mass, not only is a descendent communication of the redeeming gift of God fulfilled, but also an ascendant mediation, man's offering of himself to God: his work, his sufferings, his griefs and his joys, everything is united to Christ -- through him, with him and in him. I cannot be silent about the deep impact that St. Josemaría made on me when he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice, on contemplating his daily Eucharistic devotion.<br /><br />It profoundly moves us to think that in the presentation of the gifts, the priest asks God to accept the bread and wine, which are "fruit of the earth (or of the vine) and the work of men." Man can offer his work in any circumstance to God, but in the Mass, that offer reaches its full meaning and value, because Christ unites it to his sacrifice, which he offers to the Father for the salvation of men.<br /><br />When the Mass is the center and root of the Christian's day, when all his tasks are oriented to the Eucharistic sacrifice, it can be affirmed that his whole day is a Mass and that his place of work is an altar, where he gives himself fully to God as his beloved son.<br /><br />ZENIT: In his pontificate, Benedict XVI is stimulating a rediscovery of the enormity of this sacrament. What has most caught your attention in the words and gestures of the Pope on the Eucharist?<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría: Especially important, it seems to me at this time, is his insistence that the liturgy is God's action and, as such, it is received in the continuity of the Church.<br /><br />The Pope has written that the best catechesis on the Eucharist is the Eucharist itself well celebrated. Therefore, the first duty of piety for the priest that celebrates or for the faithful that participate in the Mass is the attentive, devout observance of the liturgical prescriptions: the obedience of pietas.<br /><br />Moreover, the Pope also insists that the Eucharist is the heart of the Church: God present on the altar, the close God, builds the Church, congregates the faithful and sends them to all men.<br /><br />ZENIT: Something more personal. According to your memories, what was the Eucharist for St. Josemaría? What role did it have in his day?<br /><br />Bishop Echevarría: I served Mass many times for St. Josemaría. At these times he would ask me to pray so that he would not get used to celebrating that very sublime and sacred act. In effect, I was able to verify something he once said: that he experienced the Mass as work -- at times an extenuating effort, such was the intensity with which he lived it.<br /><br />Throughout the day, he would recall the texts he had read, in particular the Gospel, and many times he commented on it, in a perfectly ordinary tone, as food for his spiritual and human life.<br /><br />He was conscious of the fact that in the Mass the protagonist is Jesus Christ, not the minister, and that the faithful fulfillment of the prescriptions enables the priest to "disappear," so that Jesus alone shines. Many people who attended his Mass -- also in the difficult circumstances of the Spanish Civil War -- commented later that his way of celebrating Mass had something that moved them profoundly, and that they felt invited to grow in their devotion to the Holy Sacrifice. I am convinced that what moved those who participated -- those of us who participated -- in his Mass was precisely that: that he let Christ appear and not his person.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-14119495028215224762010-04-03T10:22:00.000-07:002010-04-03T10:26:10.829-07:00Good Friday Mass<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S7d54dlmTjI/AAAAAAAABXU/Mtd2wq2VpyM/s1600/Jesus+-+crucifixion.angels.men.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 178px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S7d54dlmTjI/AAAAAAAABXU/Mtd2wq2VpyM/s200/Jesus+-+crucifixion.angels.men.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455963484504608306" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:180%;" ><b>Why there is no Mass on Good Friday</b></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><i>From The New Theological Movement</i></span><br /><br /><br />Many people are wondering today: Why is there no Mass on Good Friday? Of course, there is the Liturgy of the Presanctified, or the Commemoration of Our Lord’s Passion; but it is true that, although communion is distributed, Mass is not celebrated.<br /><br />So, why no Mass today (or Holy Saturday, before the Vigil)? This question is especially relevant on the day when we commemorate the reality of which the Mass is a sacramental figure: The suffering and death of Christ.<br /><br />This, like many other questions, was asked and answered a long time ago by a holy Dominican Friar named Thomas Aquinas. In the Summa Theologica, part III, question 83, article 2, reply to objection 2, St. Thomas tells us:<br /><br />“The figure ceases on the advent of the reality. But this sacrament is a figure and a representation of our Lord's Passion, as stated above. And therefore on the day on which our Lord's Passion is recalled as it was really accomplished, this sacrament is not consecrated. Nevertheless, lest the Church be deprived on that day of the fruit of the Passion offered to us by this sacrament, the body of Christ consecrated the day before is reserved to be consumed on that day; but the blood is not reserved, on account of danger, and because the blood is more specially the image of our Lord's Passion.”<br /><br />Yes, it is true that the Mass is the representation of the Passion, but as the figure passes away before the reality, so too the Church omits the celebration of Mass when she commemorates the Passion as it really happened in time.<br /><br />So while we do not celebrate Mass today, we celebrate something more than Mass; for the Mass represents the Passion as a figure, but the liturgy of the Commemoration of Our Lord’s Passion represents our Lord’s suffering and death as it was in reality. In omitting the Mass, nothing is lost; but the sacramental figure is perfected in the reality commemorated on Good Friday.<br /><br />But St. Thomas, good teacher that he was, does not stop there. Instead he anticipates another objection (ST III, q.83, a.2, ad 1): If any should say that—since the Commemoration of Good Friday is, in some sense, more perfect than even the Mass—we should then celebrate Good Friday many times and not only once per year; St. Thomas answers:<br /><br />“Christ's Passion is recalled in this sacrament, inasmuch as its effect flows out to the faithful; but at Passion-tide Christ's Passion is recalled inasmuch as it was wrought in Him Who is our Head. This took place but once; whereas the faithful receive daily the fruits of His Passion: consequently, the former is commemorated but once in the year, whereas the latter takes place every day, both that we may partake of its fruit and in order that we may have a perpetual memorial.”<br /><br />Since Christ died only once, we commemorate his Passion as it really occurred in history only once each year. But, since his suffering and death are infinitely efficacious unto salvation, Mass is celebrated every day in order that many people might rejoice in the saving fruits of his death.<br /><br />Look <a _fcksavedurl="http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2010/03/o-cross-of-christ-our-only-hope.html#more" href="http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2010/03/o-cross-of-christ-our-only-hope.html#more">here</a> for a consideration on the adoration of the Cross, which takes place in today’s liturgy.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-52341600191019023022010-03-19T19:44:00.000-07:002010-03-19T19:52:07.760-07:00The Priest in the Communion Rites<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S6Q4ULkjPRI/AAAAAAAABWw/01ZzxPRTpT8/s1600-h/receiving+communion.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 127px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S6Q4ULkjPRI/AAAAAAAABWw/01ZzxPRTpT8/s200/receiving+communion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450543368379776274" border="0" /></a><br /><h5><a name="10031908"></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Priest in the Communion Rites</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >Liturgy Prepares for Reception of the Eucharist</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">By Paul Gunter, OSB</span></span><br /></h5><div><br />ROME, MARCH 19, 2010 (<a title="http://www.zenit.org/" href="http://www.zenit.org/" target="_blank">www.Zenit.org</a>).- The priest approaching the Communion rites in the Mass is disposed by the Eucharistic prayer, which he has just completed, to know that "the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ's Body and Blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all."[1]<br /><br />Moreover, as the moment approaches when priest and people receive the Holy Eucharist; that is, as they prepare to eat the Lord's Body and to drink his Blood, we might turn to Jesus' speech at Capernaum which presents the reception of the Blessed Eucharist as both a coming and an encounter.[2]<br /><br />In the context of a coming, St. John's Gospel states: "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world."[3] As an encounter, the Eucharist is no less placed as an expression of the relationship within the Blessed Trinity and witnessed in the filial relationship of Jesus and his heavenly Father. Jesus explains: "Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life."[4] "As the living Father has sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me."[5] Consequently, personal and public preparation for the Blessed Eucharist, which the Communion rites so vividly amplify in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms, do not prepare the priest and others to receive a "thing" but a person. As Romano Guardini summed it up, "Not it but He, the supreme Person praised in all eternity."[6]<br /><br />In the ordinary form (or the missal of Paul VI), the people stand to begin the Communion rites, which are led by the priest. Symbolically, the image of the priest, centrally at the altar, with the people standing around, anticipates the Church standing with Christ in heaven at the end of time. The priest introduces the Pater Noster according one of a number of formulas before it is said or sung by all. Various authors comment on the words Jesus taught us to pray with confidence and which we use before approaching the Blessed Eucharist.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Our Father </span><br /><br />Texts from the commentary by St. Cyprian on the words of the Lord's Prayer are designated to the Office of Readings for the eleventh week of ordinary time in the Liturgia Horarum to catechize us into a greater appreciation of their meaning.[7] They counsel the priest to remember that every recitation of the Pater Noster is an ecclesial act that has its bearing on the lives of others. St Cyprian wrote: "Before all else the teacher of peace and of unity would not have us pray on our own and in private in such a manner that each prays only for himself. We do not say: 'My Father, who art in heaven', or, 'Give me this day my bread.' […] Our prayer is public and for all, and when we pray, we pray not for a single person, but for the whole people, because we are all one."[8]<br /><br />The Libera nos continues in a gentle way to expound the resonances of the Pater Noster and describes the human unworthiness and need for deliverance with which we approach the Eucharist. The priest, who prays on behalf of everyone, acknowledges, on the one hand, the compromises that mar our peace in lives blurred by sins and anxieties, and on the other, the joyful hope that the coming of the Lord brings. The people complete the prayer with a doxology that expresses expectancy that the Lord will fulfill his promise to be glorified in us. The prayer, Domine Iesu Christe, takes the focus from our sins and anxieties and places it on the faith of the Church that awaits the peace and unity of the kingdom in fulfillment of God's will. Then the priest extends his hands and exchanges the greeting with the assembly: Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign of peace</span><br /><br />The physical sharing of the pax is not an obligatory component of the liturgy. The deacon or the priest may invite everyone to offer a sign of peace.[9] Controversies about when the sign of peace might be deemed more appropriate in the liturgy remains a separate discussion from that which describes how it is done. The missal maintains ecclesiological distinctions. It is not a moment when formality gives way to informality but a moment when the human intimacy that is an intrinsic part of order reveals itself in just proportion. "It is a ritual exchange, not a practical greeting."[10] St. Thomas Aquinas expressed this relationship between intimacy and order in his beautiful hymn to the Blessed Sacrament "Pange Lingua" that is sung on Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi in the Roman liturgy.[11] Verse three illustrates: "On that night of the supper, reclining with the brethren, observing the fullness of the law."[12]<br /><br />The priest gives the pax to the deacon or minister. It is not envisaged he leave the sanctuary to greet the faithful in the nave, though the faithful exchange the pax with those nearest to them. The rubric distinguishes these parallel demonstrations of the pax that avoids the ecclesiological confusion that might arise from a purely horizontal model. Clear punctuation marks affirm the distinctions intended. "Everyone, according to their local customs, gives expression to communion and charity, the one to the other; the priest gives the peace to the deacon or minister."<br /><br />The fraction that follows is both a practical and a symbolic moment. Ritually, in many circumstances, the celebrant breaks the larger host that he alone consumes. However, this rite allows for a larger host to be broken into the pieces that will be distributed to the faithful, while a particle is placed into the chalice when the priest says secretly, "May the commingling of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Agnus Dei</span><br /><br />The Agnus Dei which accompanies this action asks for mercy and addresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb whose sacrificed body has poured out his blood for the forgiveness of sins. The image of Jesus as the Lamb is outstandingly portrayed by an altarpiece in the Ghent's Cathedral of St Bavo where a lamb who stands on the altar pours out his blood into a chalice.[13] The Agnus Dei is the same as that cited in the Book of the Apocalypse which proclaims the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain [14] and the blessedness of those invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.[15] The antiquity of the Agnus Dei in the Roman rite is such that many scholars accept that it was Pope Sergius I, 687-701, who introduced it in the Mass. The third invocation, Agnus Dei, asks for peace because the Blessed Eucharist is a Sacrament of Peace because it is the means whereby all who receive it are bound together in unity and peace.[16]<br /><br />The priest says secretly one of two personal preparatory prayers before Holy Communion. In the first, through the Body and Blood of Christ, he asks to be liberated from his iniquities and from any other evil, for the grace to keep the Lord's commands and that nothing may permit any separation from him. In the second, the priest prays that his receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ may not bring him judgment and condemnation but a defense and a cure for his mind and body.[17] The priest's communion, which precedes that of the faithful, always, consists in both species to complete the liturgical action of the Mass. He prays that the Body and Blood of Christ bring him personally to eternal life. However, at the purification of the vessels, he asks on behalf of all who have communicated, including himself, that what they have received with their lips may be received with a pure heart and that from being a merely temporal gift it may become for them an everlasting remedy. The sum of these words and actions announce that a great mystery has been celebrated where, in the Eucharistic celebration, kairos, the favorable time of the Lord, has intercepted chronos which is the time otherwise restricted by the successive events described around us. Nevertheless, before God, silence is ultimately the only appropriate personal response from the innermost part of our beings to express faith, reverence and loving communion in him whom we have received.<br /><br />The period of silence should be carefully protected. It should last minutes rather than seconds to provide a clearly defined space for prayer.[18] In the prayer after communion, which also envisages a period of silence after the call to prayer Oremus, especially if a period of silence was not observed previously, the priest leads the thanksgiving of the Church and prays that the gift of the Communion that has been shared may bear its fruit in us. The Amen with which the faithful answer this prayer made by the priest concludes the Communion rites that began with the priest's invitation to pray the Pater Noster.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Extraordinary form</span><br /><br />The priest in the Communion Rites of the extraordinary form performs more complicated gestures that no less indicate priestly identity and function in preparing for Holy Communion. As in the ordinary form, it makes coherent sense to consider its parameters as the same, namely, from the introduction to the Pater Noster until the conclusion of the Post-Communion prayer. However, allowing for the different mentalities of the forms that unite to construct the Roman Rite, certain differences are noteworthy.<br /><br />Since the Tridentine Missal envisages celebrations of distinct grades of solemnity, the assistants perform surrounding actions that a priest would fulfill himself at a Low Mass. The priest recites the Pater Noster alone and the server answers sed libera nos a malo. The Libera Quaesumus includes the intercession of all the saints in general but beyond mentioning Our Lady also includes St. Andrew presumably because of particular devotion to that apostle.<br /><br />When the priest prays "for peace in his day,"[19] he makes the sign of the cross on himself with the paten and kisses the paten at its upper inside edge prior to slipping the paten under the host before preparing to carry out the fraction. In his explanation of the prayers and ceremonies of the Holy Mass, Guéranger provides a commentary to describe the purpose of the Haec Commixtio at the commingling which is at once engaging even in its tendency toward allegory:<br /><br />"The priest then allows the particle which he had in his hand, to fall into the chalice, thus mingling the Body and Blood of the Lord, and saying at the same time: Haec commixtio et consecratio Corporis et Sanguinis Domini nostri Iesu Christi fiat accipientibus nobis in vitam aeternam. Amen. What is the meaning of this rite? What is signified by this mingling of the Particle with the Blood which is in the chalice? This rite is not one of the most ancient, although it is quite a thousand years old. Its object is to show, that at the moment of Our Lord's Resurrection, His Blood was reunited to his Body; by flowing again in his veins as before. It would not have sufficed if This soul alone had been reunited to His Body; His Blood must necessarily be so likewise, in order that the Lord might be whole and complete. Our Saviour, therefore, when rising, took back His Blood which was erstwhile spilled on Calvary, in the Praetorium, and in the Garden of Olives."[20]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lord, I am not worthy</span><br /><br />After the Agnus Dei, there are three prayers the priest says before Holy Communion with his eyes fixed on the Sacred Host and whose content is largely found in the Communion Rite of the ordinary form. Then holding the Host he says the Domine, non sum dignus three times when simultaneously striking his breast. As he purifies the paten into the chalice prior to consuming the Precious Blood he quotes from Psalm 115, "What return can I make to the Lord for all he has given to me. I will take the chalice of salvation and call on the name of the Lord" but adds "praising, I will call on the Lord for I will have been saved from my enemies."[21] During the purifying of the chalice, after the Quod ore sumpsimus, the priest prays that there remain in him no stain from his misdeeds and that the Body and Blood of Christ which he has received transform his entire being.<br /><br />It can be seen that any emphasis placed on priestly character and on the priest's liturgical actions in the Communion rites are overwhelmingly encouraging. While they do not hide a priest's awareness of his unworthiness, they highlight his unique dignity and remind him of how he must strive to become pure and holy like Christ. Then they are inviting; that is, immediately inviting to the sacrificing priest to enter into a closer union with Jesus Christ The High Priest and Victim, and inviting to the faithful that they may recognize with joy the ministry of the priesthood whose mystery is essential for the Eucharist, the 'Source and Summit of the life and mission of the Church'.[22] In those different aspects of that invitation, the Church glimpses at the wonder of the love of God who humbled himself to share in our humanity, renewing his invitation each time his Covenant of Love is made present on the altar when Christ draws our human existence ever more deeply into his Risen Life. As the author of the Book of the Apocalypse testifies: "Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him."[23]<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />[1] CCC 1353<br />[2] John 6<br /><br />[3] John 6:33<br />[4] John 6:46-48<br /><br />[5] John 6:57<br />[6] GUARDINI R., Meditations Before Mass, tr E.CASTENDYK, reprinted Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH 1993, 174<br /><br />[7] ST CYPRIAN., «De Oratione Dominica» 4-30, PL 3A, 91-113<br />[8] ST CYPRIAN., «De Oratione Dominica» 8<br /><br />[9] #128, 'pro opportunitate', Missale Romanum, Editio Typica Tertia, Typis Vaticanis 2002<br />[10] J. DRISCOLL, What happens at Mass, Gracewing Publishing, Leominster 2005, 123.<br /><br />[11] During the Solemn Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday and as the hymn at vespers on Corpus Christi.<br />[12] "In supremae nocte caenae recumbens cum fratribus, observata lege plene […]"<br /><br />[13] J. VAN EYCK., The Adoration of the Lamb, detail from the Ghent Altarpiece, 1432, St Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium<br />[14] Apocalypse 5:11-12<br /><br />[15] Apocalypse 19:7,9. The priest introduces the Domine, non sum dignus based on Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:6-7 with the image of the Feast of the Lamb.<br />[16] St. Augustine, 'O Sign of Unity, O Bond of Charity' In Jo. ev. 26,13:PL 35,1613; cf. SC 47.<br /><br />[17] #131 Missale Romanum 2002<br />[18] #139 Missale Romanum 2002 refers to sacrum silentium and temporis spatium.<br /><br />[19] da propitius pacem in diebus nostris<br />[20] P. GUÉRANGER, Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of Holy Mass, tr. L. Shepherd, Stanbrook Abbey, Worcestershire 1885, 61.<br /><br />[21] Laudans invocabo Dominum et ab inimicis meis salvus ero<br />[22] BENEDICT XVI., Sacramentum Caritatis, 3, AAS 98 (2006)<br />[23] Apocalypse 3:19-20<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />Benedictine Father Paul Gunter is a professor of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy Rome and Consulter to the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.</div>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-67198524480292471222010-03-11T11:23:00.000-08:002010-03-11T11:28:24.529-08:00Father Gagliardi Explains the Eucharistic Prayers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5lD7ZGlcYI/AAAAAAAABUc/rR49yvna3M0/s1600-h/Mass+-+priest+at+altar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5lD7ZGlcYI/AAAAAAAABUc/rR49yvna3M0/s200/Mass+-+priest+at+altar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447459911911174530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Priest and the Canon of the Mass</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Father Gagliardi Explains the Eucharistic Prayers</span></span><br /><br /><br />ROME, MARCH 5, 2010 (<a href="http://www.zenit.org/">www.Zenit.org</a>).- In this article, Father Mauro Gagliardi, a consultor of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, explains the importance of the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass.<br /><br />The article invites the faithful, and in particular priests, to recognized in the Canon of the Mass the heart and culmination of Christian life.<br /><br />***<br /><br />The heart and culmination<br /><br />The Eucharistic Prayer, known in the Eastern tradition as Anaphora ("offering"), is indeed the "heart" and "culmination" of the celebration of the Mass, as is explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[1] In the Roman tradition, the Eucharistic prayer has been known as "Canon of the Mass" (Canon Missae), a term that is found in the early Sacramentaries and goes back at least to Pope Vigilius (537-555), who speaks of "prex canonica."[2]<br /><br />The Anaphora or Canon is one long prayer has the form of thanksgiving (eucharistia), thus following the example of Christ himself at the Last Supper, when he took bread and wine and "gave thanks" (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23). St. Cyprian of Carthage (died 258), one of the most important witnesses to the Latin tradition, provided a classical formulation of the inseparable bond between the liturgical celebration and the institution event, when he emphasised that the celebrant of the Eucharist must imitate closely the acts and words of the Lord at the Last Supper, upon which the validity of the sacrament depends.[3]<br /><br />Pope Benedict XVI expressed this essential truth of the faith in a homily in Paris during his Apostolic Visit in 2008: "The bread that we break is communion with the Body of Christ; the chalice of thanksgiving that we bless is communion with the Blood of Christ. Extraordinary revelation, which comes to us from Christ and is transmitted to us by the Apostles and by the whole Church for almost two thousand years: Christ instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist on the evening of Holy Thursday. He wanted his sacrifice to be presented again, in a bloodless way, every time a priest repeats the words of the consecration on the bread and on the wine. Millions of times for twenty centuries, in the most humble of chapels as well as in the most grandiose basilicas or cathedrals, the risen Lord has given himself to his people, thus becoming, according to Saint Augustine's formula, 'more intimate to us than we are to ourselves' (cf Confessions III, 6.11)."[4]<br /><br />The actual words of Christ's "thanksgiving," by which he instituted the sacrifice of the New Covenant, have not been handed down, and so there developed within the Apostolic Tradition a variety of liturgical rites that are historically associated with the most important primatial sees, which are named by the sixth canon of the Council of Nicea (325), Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and, a little later, Byzantium.[5]<br /><br />Essential elements<br /><br />The essential elements of the Eucharistic prayer are presented succinctly in the Catechism:<br /><br />In the Preface, "the Church gives thanks to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, for all his works: creation, redemption, and sanctification. The whole community thus joins in the unending praise that the Church in heaven, the angels and all the saints, sing to the thrice-holy God."[6]<br /><br />In the Epiclesis, the Church "asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (or the power of his blessing) on the bread and wine, so that by his power they may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ and so that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit (some liturgical traditions put the epiclesis after the anamnesis)."[7]<br /><br />In the heart of the Eucharistic prayer, the Institution Narrative, "the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ's body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all."[8]<br /><br />After the Institution Narrative, follows the Anamnesis, in which "the Church calls to mind the Passion, resurrection, and glorious return of Christ Jesus; she presents to the Father the offering of his Son which reconciles us with him."[9]<br /><br />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 and his deacons, and all the bishops of the whole world together with their Church."[10]<br /><br />Since late antiquity until the liturgical reform following the Second Vatican Council, the Canon Missae was the only Eucharistic Prayer of the Roman rite, and this is still the case in its Extraordinary Form according to the Missale Romanum of 1962. In the 1970 editio typica of the Missal, the Roman Canon has been retained with a few minor modifications (and a reduction of rubrical gestures) as the first of four Eucharistic Prayers. The new compositions contain elements both of the Latin and of the Eastern traditions. Subsequently, further Eucharistic Prayers have been added to the Missal.<br /><br />The Canon Missae goes back to the second half of the fourth century, the period in which the Latin liturgy at Rome began to develop fully. In his De Sacramentis, a series of catecheses for the newly baptised that was held around 390, St Ambrose quotes extensively from the Eucharistic prayer employed at that time in his city.[11] The passages quoted are earlier forms of the prayers "Quam oblationem," "Qui pridie," "Unde et memores," "Supra quae," and "Supplices te rogamus" of the Canon found in the early Roman Sacramentaries.<br /><br />In the oldest Roman tradition the Canon begins with what we now call the "Preface," a solemn act of thanksgiving to God for his innumerable benefits, especially for his works of salvation. The Sanctus was introduced at a later stage and separated the Preface from the subsequent prayers. It is a characteristic of the Roman Rite that the text of the Preface varies according to the liturgical season or feast. The earliest Mass collections had many different Prefaces, which were greatly reduced already in the early Middle Ages, so that the Missale Romanum of 1570 only retained 11 of them. Subsequently, a number of Prefaces were added, and it was certainly one of the gains of the most recent liturgical reform to enrich the corpus of Prefaces by drawing on ancient sources.[12]<br /><br />Priestly prayer<br /><br />As Pope John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Letter "Dominicae Cenae" in the early years of his pontificate, the Eucharist "is the principal and central raison d'être of the sacrament of priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist."[13] The Eucharistic Prayer is indeed the priestly prayer par excellence, for, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, the ordained priest, "acting in the person of Christ, brings about the Eucharistic Sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people."[14] The priest, who through receiving the sacrament of Holy Orders has been conformed to Christ the High Priest, acts and speaks as representing Christ the Head. It is for this reason, writes John Paul II in his last Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia that "the Roman Missal prescribes that only the priest should recite the Eucharistic Prayer, while the people participate in faith and in silence."[15]<br /><br />In the consecration of the Eucharist, the ordained priest never acts alone but always in and with Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, whose members, through the infused virtues of faith and charity, participate in the action of Christ the Head as represented by the priest. Pope Pius XII states in his encyclical Mediator Dei, that the faithful too "offer the divine Victim, though in a different sense." This teaching is confirmed by reference to the writings of Pope Innocent III and St. Robert Bellarmine on the Mass. Pius XII also points to the fact that the liturgical prayers of offering are generally used in the first person plural, as in various parts of the Canon of the Mass.[16] The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy follows Mediator Dei when it proclaims that "Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith," which is the Holy Eucharist, "should give thanks to God [and], by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves."[17] As the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" teaches, "the faithful join in the offering of the Eucharist by virtue of their royal priesthood."[18] Through the indelible character they received in baptism, the faithful participate in Christ’s priesthood and hence also in his sacrificial offering of himself to the Father in the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />This teaching of the Church's Magisterium provides also the foundations for a renewed and more profound understanding of the "participatio actuosa" (active participation) of the faithful in the liturgy, which is not merely external, but also, and more importantly, internal. From this perspective one also understands better why from the Carolingian period to the reform of Vatican II, and also today in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, the celebrant priest prays the Canon in silence. As the then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger explained, thus communion before God is not denied: "It is not quite true that the uninterrupted recitation in a loud voice of the Eucharistic prayer is the condition for the participation of everyone in this central act of the Eucharistic celebration. My proposal then was: on one hand liturgical education must be such that the faithful know the essential meaning and the fundamental tendency of the Canon; on the other, the first words of the individual prayers should be pronounced in a loud voice as an invitation to the whole community, so that, then, the silent prayer of each one makes its own the intonation and can bring the personal dimension into that of the community, and that of the community into the personal dimension. Whoever has experienced personally the unity of the Church in the silence of the Eucharistic prayer has experienced what truly full silence is, which represents at the same time a deep and penetrating cry addressed to God, a prayer full of spirit. Here we truly pray all together the Canon, though in connection with the particular task of the priestly service."[19]<br /><br />For priests, the celebration of the Eucharist is the most important moment of every single day. All other activities, indeed all aspects of their sacerdotal existence, must be intimately connected to the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. Here we find the heart of the priesthood and indeed of the whole sacramental nature of the Church, as the theologian Joseph Ratzinger put it so well: "In order that an event that occurred in the past is made present, the words must therefore be pronounced: This is my Body -- This is my Blood. But in these words it is assumed that the I of Jesus Christ speaks. Only He can say these things; they are His words. No man can pretend to declare the I of Jesus Christ as his own. No one can say here r many communities can transmit, rather it can only be founded on the "sacramental" authorization given to the whole Church by Jesus Christ himself. [...] And this is exactly the 'Priestly Ordination' and the 'Priesthood.'"[20]<br /><br /><a href="http://parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=4EA99386-2219-2604-41796E3E8E934552%7C201003">Full Story in ParishWorld.net</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-80921827643242076492010-03-11T09:22:00.000-08:002010-03-11T09:25:21.208-08:00Watch Saint Padre Pio celebrate Mass<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">Watch Saint Padre Pio celebrate Mass</span></span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cqLxUExgZVQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cqLxUExgZVQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />An interesting video of Saint Pio in hjis later years.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-86752224435984204062010-03-09T14:57:00.001-08:002010-03-09T15:00:55.851-08:00Memorial and Presence in the Eucharistic Body of Christ<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5bTGQin9_I/AAAAAAAABSI/B3sleCPeKCc/s1600-h/Holy+Eucharist.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5bTGQin9_I/AAAAAAAABSI/B3sleCPeKCc/s200/Holy+Eucharist.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446772903824062450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Memorial and Presence in the Eucharistic Body of Christ</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">By Mark Shea </span></span><br /><br />Before I became Catholic, I was taught in my old Evangelical group that, of course, the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist was so much hocus pocus and that the whole notion of the Host and the Cup actually being the Body and Blood of Christ was a lot of superstitious hooey. So when Paul warned the Corinthians, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27), I was taught this referred, not to the Eucharist, but to the Church, the Body of Christ. Whatever you did to the least of the brethren, you did to Christ, etc.<br /><br />Now, to be sure, Paul is not happy with the Corinthians’ rowdy behavior. The Corinthians were being grade A bozos during their Eucharistic banquets. They were factional, they got drunk, and they routinely humiliated the poorest members of the Body of Christ. But it is also worth noting that absolutely nowhere in Scripture or Tradition is the Church referred to as “the body and blood of Christ”. This is language that plainly refers to what the bread and wine consecrated at the Last Supper and consecrated ever since in memory of him.<br /><br />In short, Paul warned the Corinthians that to sin against the body of Christ which is the Church is to sin against the body of Christ in the Eucharist. Conversely, to honor the body of Christ which is the Church is to honor the Body of Christ which is the Eucharist. The Eucharist is, for Paul, the beating heart of the Church. Indeed, it was what makes the Church the Church. Without it, we are a group of Christians who happen to pray together in the same room.<br /><br />The reality that the Eucharist is done “in memory” of Jesus has thrown a lot of Christians out of whack via the process known as “heresy”. “Heresy” doesn’t refer so much to false teaching as to half-true teaching. A heresy fixates on some small aspect of Catholic teaching and declares that it is the only part that matters.<br /><br />So some Christian traditions have fixated on the memorial aspect of the Eucharist and reduced it simply and solely to a memorial meal, as though Jesus instituted the Eucharist as a (very strong) audio-visual aid to remind us of his passion, death and resurrection. All we are doing, on this theory, is calling to mind the events that happened to Jesus during the Passion, two thousand years ago on the other side of the planet.<br /><br />On this view, the Eucharist is nothing more or other than a symbol (to which the puckish Flannery O’Connor replied, “If it’s a symbol, then the hell with it.” And, indeed, Christian traditions which have arisen after the reduction of the Eucharist to a mere memorial symbol have said likewise and radically minimized or even abandoned the celebration of communion altogether.<br /><br />My own church was living proof of this, concluding (quite logically given the premise) that Communion was unnecessary since it was a mere symbol and that truly spiritual people (such as ourselves, of course) did not require such symbols any more than Catholics felt required to engage in footwashing every week.<br /><br />What nobody knew or told me (till I started to learn about the Church) was that this notion of “memorial” was massively inadequate to the ways the New Testament writers though about the Eucharist. For the word used to describe the sort of memorial it is is “anamnesis”. It doesn’t speak merely of remembering something long ago as we might remember a fond Saturday afternoon in our childhood or a battle or some other historic occurrence in the remote past. Rather, it means a “making present”.<br /><br />It is the difference between remembering our childhood and remembering where we are right now. Precisely because the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ and not a mere symbol, we remember who Jesus is, what he has done and, most importantly, what he is doing right now in making himself present in our midst.<br /><br />This “making present” is exactly what is occurring on the altar every time the Eucharist is consecrated. It is the fullest presence of Christ. How can there be “more full” and “less full” presence of Christ. As an analogy, consider the disciples, lurking around in their hidey hole on Easter morning and trying to make head or tail of the burbling of Mary Madgalene after she burst in them with the news from the tomb. While they sat there listening to her and not believing a word of it, Jesus was right there, as present in the room with them as he is with you while you sit reading this. Yet after that, he became even more fully present to them: he appeared to them and they realized that there were different ways in which he could be present.<br /><br />The same thing happens now. Jesus is present in various ways: in his people, in his word, in the poor and needy and suffering, and in many other ways. But he is fully present in the Eucharist. It is, says Chesterton, the difference between saying “The spirit of God pervades the universe” and saying “Jesus Christ just walked into the room.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/memorial_and_presence_in_the_eucharistic_body_of_christ?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+%2540The+Daily+Register%2541#When:17:00:42Z">Full Story at National Catholic Register</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-85934236443057928112010-03-09T09:45:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:29:10.112-08:00"Why do we call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?"<span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><strong style="font-family: verdana;">Why do we call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>By Paul Dion, STL</em></span><br /><br />This morning I started a new curriculum about the relationship between the Bible and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I was quickly surrounded by 15 eager adults, wondering what I was going to say first. I did what I always do, I asked the persons in the group if they had any questions.<p>The first question was, "What is a sacrifice". We discussed that for about 10 minutes. The<br />definition that were given by the people in the room were very good, exact and correct in fact.</p><p>The discussion went over to the next question which was, "Why do we call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?" The person who formulated this question is a highly educated daily Mass goer with a high educational achievement and a strong spiritual life.</p><p>To this question, no one in the room had a really strongly acceptable answer. So I spent five minutes answering it. After saying all this, I invite you all to share your answer to the question:</p><p><strong><em>"Why do we call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?"</em></strong></p><em><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_NewsBulletins.cfm?contentUUID=B1FC7427-1143-E0A9-59BCE99F78C6FCBE%3CBR%20/%3E20038&IS_PREVIEW=true&CONTENT_ID=1008088" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a></em> to see the answer to this Burning Question.<em><a href="http://thisweeksburningquestion.blogspot.com/2007/10/burning-question-why-do-we-call-it-holy.html" target="_blank"><br />CLICK HERE</a></em> to leave your comments or to see what others are saying.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-6818442668712954472010-03-09T09:35:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:30:08.294-08:00The (Remarkable) Preface Dialogue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5aInUN5SUI/AAAAAAAABRo/KLZtWY0rEX0/s1600-h/priest+saying+Mass.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yL0pZmtJh0w/S5aInUN5SUI/AAAAAAAABRo/KLZtWY0rEX0/s200/priest+saying+Mass.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446691008374458690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />The Mass in Slow Motion</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">The (Remarkable) Preface Dialogue</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >By Msgr. Charles Pope</span><br /><br />A short dialogue happens in the Mass just after the prayer over the gifts and the before the singing of the Sanctus. It is called the “preface dialogue” and it is really quite remarkable in its sweeping vision and heavenly call. Part of the reason we miss it’s significance is that the translation of the Latin is difficult to accomplish in English. Allow me to give the current translation so you’ll recognize it and then render a more literal version of the Latin.<br /><br />* The Lord Be with you<br /><br />* And Also with you<br /><br />* Lift up your hearts<br /><br />* We lift them up to the Lord<br /><br />* Let us give thanks to Lord our God<br /><br />* It is right to give him thanks and praise<br /><br />A fairly familiar dialogue to be sure. But to some extent it fails to take wing because of the rather earthbound notion most moderns have of the Mass. Very few attending mass today think much of the heavenly liturgy. Rather they are focused on their parish Church, the priest in front of them and the people around them.<br /><br />But this is NOT an adequate vision for the Mass. In the end there is only one liturgy, the one in heaven. There is only one altar, the one in heaven. There is only one High Priest, Jesus in heaven. In the Mass we are swept up into the heavenly liturgy. There with myriads of angels and saints beyond number we worship the Father through Jesus, with Jesus and in Jesus. In the Mass we are swept into heaven!<br /><br />With this in mind consider a more literal rendering of the preface dialogue. Pay attention especially to the middle dialogue:<br /><br />* Dominus Vobiscum (The Lord be with you)<br /><br />* et cum spiritu tuo (And with your Spirit)<br /><br />* Sursum corda (Hearts aloft!)<br /><br />* habemus ad Dominum (We have, to the Lord!)<br /><br />* Gratias agamus, Dominio Deo nostro (Let us give thanks to the Lord our God)<br /><br />* Dignum et justum est (It is right and just).<br /><br />What is the celebrant really inviting us to do? After greeting us in the Lord he invites us to go to heaven! But remember the priest is in persona Christi. Hence when he speaks it is really the Lord Jesus who speaks making use of the voice of the priest. And what does the Lord really say to us in the magnificent dialogue and preface that follows?<br /><br />Allow me to elaborate on the fuller meaning of this text:<br /><br />“Let your hearts be taken up! Come and go with me to the altar that is in heaven where I, Jesus the great High Priest, with all the members of my body render perfect thanks to God the Father! You are no longer on earth, your hearts have been swept aloft into the great liturgy of heaven! Come up higher. By the power of my words you are able to come up higher! Since you have been raised to new life in Christ, seek the things that are above where I am at my Father’s right hand. Come up now and enter the heavenly liturgy. Hearts aloft!”<br /><br />The congregation’s response is meant to be a joyful acknowledgment and acceptance of the Lord’s action in summoning us to the heavenly liturgy. Here too allow me to elaborate:<br /><br />“We have our hearts lifted to the Lord. We have entered the Heavenly Liturgy by the power of your grace, for you our head have taken us, the members of your body there. We are in the heavenly realms with you, worshipping the Father and giving him perfect thanks and praise. It is right and just that we should do this through you, with you and in you!<br /><br />Then the celebrant sings or says the preface wherein some specific things for which we are thankful are enumerated. The text of the preface changes based on the season or the saint or feast of the day. But it always ends in this or a similar manner: and so with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven we sing the unending hymn of your praise: Holy, Holy, Holy…. And thus we are reminded that our worship is caught up into the heavenly liturgy where our voices join innumerable angels and saints in the glorious act of praise. We are in heaven! Our hearts (our very selves) are aloft!<br /><br />Hence the Mass is never just the “10:00 am Mass at St. Joe’s” It is the heavenly liturgy.<br /><br />Until recently Churches were designed to remind us that we were entering heaven. As we walk into older churches we are surrounded by windows and paintings that depict the angels and saints. Christ is at the center in the tabernacle. And all the elements that scripture speaks of as in the heavenly liturgy are on display not only in the building but in the celebration of the liturgy: Candles, incense, an altar, the hymns that are sung, the Holy Holy Holy, the scroll is brought forward in the Book of Gospels, the lamb on the throne-like altar, the prostrations and kneelings of the saints before the Lord.<br /><br />All these things are described in the Book of Revelation descriptions of the heavenly liturgy. None of these things are in our churches or the liturgy for arbitrary reasons. We are in the heavenly realms and the heavenly liturgy and so we see and experience heavenly things.<br /><br />Hearts aloft!<br /><br /><a href="http://parishworld.net/con_CatholicNews.cfm?contentUUID=04DB01BC-2219-2604-41919A525CBDAE50%3CBR%20/%3E201001">Full story from ParishWorld.net</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-25796146955646394042010-03-09T09:31:00.000-08:002010-03-09T09:33:45.735-08:00Is the Mass a Eucharistic Banquet or a Holy Sacriifice?<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the Mass a Eucharistic Banquet or a Holy Sacrifice?</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >By Paul Dion, STL</span><br /><br />1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:<br />2. a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,<br />3. a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,<br />4. a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,<br />5. a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,<br />6. a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,<br />7. a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,<br />8. a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace<br />(Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3)<br /><br />There is also a time for naming things and a time for remembering what the name was before the name we now use. I am giving you the opportunity to participate in this exercise in the following manner.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What is the name that defines our central act of worship, the Mass? </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Is the Mass a Sacrifice or is it a Banquet?</span><br /><br />Tell us what you think and please elaborate on your answer.<br /><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/yfnzavy">Cliock here</a> to post a comment and to see what others are saying.Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5568691792152139682.post-73137935256971848782010-03-09T09:14:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:31:01.039-08:00How to Participate More Actively in the Celebration of the Mass<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">From Spectator to Participant</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">How to Participate More Actively in the Celebration of the Mass</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >By Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., S.T.D.</span><br /><br />What does "active participation" at Sunday Mass mean for space-age Catholics—especially those who, on a particular Sunday, do not have a special ministry to perform? It is easy to see what "active participation" means for an usher, reader, server, choir member or special minister of the Eucharist. But what is the "activity" of the ordinary Christian in the pew? What does active participation mean for me when I am simply "going to Mass" like everyone else?<br /><br />The question needs to be answered by every Catholic. Why? Because participation is fundamental to all the changes we have experienced in Sunday Mass over the 20 years since the Second Vatican Council. At the outset of the Council the bishops made this a pivotal point of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. They declared that the "restoration and promotion of the full and active participation in the liturgy by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else" (#14).<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">From Spectator to Participant</span></span><br /><br />Baptism gives us a share in the priesthood of Christ. All of us pewholders—male and female, school kids and adults—exercise that priesthood in the liturgy, which is "the full, public worship of the Father performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ: the Head and his members" (#7). That's quite a challenge! If we are the Body of Christ, we can be mere spectators at the Eucharist no more than Christ himself could be a passive spectator at his holy sacrifice. The Council teaches that active participation is not only our right but also our obligation by reason of our baptism (#14).<br /><br />For 20 years "active participation" has been the aim of liturgical reform. Yet many educators, pastors and parishioners sadly admit that it is the hardest of all reforms to bring about. Changing languages, using a different style of music, changing the position of the altar—these were easy reforms when compared to the task of changing our posture at Mass from one of watching to doing. Doing not only requires more effort on our part than watching, doing also requires more understanding of what it is that we are supposed to do.<br /><br />The following suggestions for fuller participation in the liturgy will focus on the three major actions of our Sunday Mass:<br />1) We come together<br />2) to hear the Word of God,<br />3) and to share our Eucharistic bread and wine in obedience to the Lord's command: "Do this in memory of me."<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br />We Come Together</span><br /><br />1) Being there. The first action required of us is being present. We need to be there because of the importance of our presence as a sign of our faith to the other members of the congregation. The catechism taught that the sacraments were "outward signs," and we often thought of Eucharist in terms of the bread and wine as the signs of the sacrament. The Council has made us aware that the sign is larger: Christ is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the consecrated bread and wine but in the Word and in the assembly (#7).<br /><br />When we are present at Sunday Mass, you and I are part of the outward sign of the Eucharist. In recent years we have seen efforts to improve the signs of sharing the bread and the cup; we must also make an effort to improve the most basic symbol of all: the assembly.<br /><br />At Sunday Mass we "make visible and manifest to others the mystery of Christ's Body" (#2). The Council tells us that our coming together for liturgy is something like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The picture is there even when the pieces are not put together, but when the puzzle is assembled the picture is easily seen. So we, the Body of Christ, make the Church visible when we "put ourselves together" to form God's Holy People.<br /><br />Your presence makes a difference. Your presence is needed if the picture is to be complete. Your presence is needed not just to fulfill a moral obligation but to witness to the community that you care enough to get out of bed and come to church. Your presence says that you believe enough to plan your weekend so that you can be here with us to proclaim the death and resurrection of the Lord. This sign, this witness, strengthens the faith of those who see it.<br /><br />2) Being prompt. Being present on time and ahead of time says that we consider what we are going to do to be important to us—more important than the things that would keep us at home.<br /><br />3) Being friendly. Taking time before Mass to say hello, to greet others (not just our friends but especially visitors and people we do not know), to offer a handshake of welcome and a friendly glance—these acts are an essential part of our participation. When we assemble we make visible the Body of Christ, and we must make visible that Christ who welcomed all who came to him—even sinners.<br /><br />The ministry of hospitality can no longer be left to the priest greeting people at the door or to the appointed ushers. There are so many among us on Sunday who feel isolated and alienated, so many hungry for a sign of welcome. You and I know that when we pray God listens, God has time for us. Not all of our brothers and sisters believe this; they need signs in order to believe. We, the assembly, must be the sign and sacrament of God's hospitality. A friendly smile, a handshake can show our appreciation to others that they have come to give witness of their faith to us. "Mrs. Weston, how happy I am that you could come this morning...and with your husband being so ill...." We must not let our hello wait until the Sign of Peace.<br /><br />4) Being well located. Where do we sit? Do we find a place which facilitates our singing and our interaction with the other members of the community? Do we make it easy for those who come late to find a place?<br /><br />5) Being a singing believer. Singing gives witness to our faith. At most Sunday Masses one of the first things we hear is the invitation to join in the singing. We are not asked merely to sing as though taking part in an off-Broadway musical. We are being asked to give witness to our faith, to express that faith with the other believers around us by joining with them in the same rhythms and melodies. It is perhaps more important how we look when singing in church than how we sound. By our body language and by our voice we give witness to what we believe.<br /><br />Even if we feel that we cannot sing and our voice would hurt more than help, we must not let our not singing look like not believing. Picking up the book is a witness in itself. We should not put our attention on how we sound but upon the meaning of the text we are singing. We can make the thoughts and feelings of the hymn our own. More and more the faith content of the text and its relation to the Liturgy of the Word are becoming the criteria for the selection of the music we use at Mass. This will facilitate the participation of a large proportion of the faithful in the singing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >We Hear the Word of God</span><br /><br />Hearing the Word of God is an essential part of "doing" Eucharist. Our stance before the Word is not passive but an active, attentive listening. When God speaks we have an obligation to receive his message; we must prepare ourselves by knowing the language in which God speaks, that is, we must become familiar with the Bible and its expressions and symbols.<br /><br />1) Preparing to hear. Many Catholics never had the oppurtunity to learn how to read the Bible. However, since a recent Gallup poll indicated that one out of every four Catholics would join a Bible study group if one existed in their parish, more and more parishes are offering opportunities to learn about the Word of God and to pray together using the Scriptures.<br /><br />Even if such a group is not available in your parish, there are other ways in which you can prepare yourself for the Sunday readings. St. Anthony Messenger Press publishes Homily Helps, which gives an easy, one-page background and commentary on each of the Sunday readings. Share the Word, published free of charge by the Paulist Catholic Evangelization Center, gives not only commentary on each of the readings but includes materials to enable anyone to share their reflections with a group of friends or with the members of the family. In order to really hear the Word when it is read in church, we must have already read and studied and prayed with the Word at home. Many parishes print the readings for the following Sunday in the parish bulletin. We do well to take the time to look up the readings for next Sunday in the Bible and use these texts for our prayer during the week. What homily or sermon would we give on these texts? We might compare our homily with that we hear in Church and experience the various, multiple ways in which the Spirit speaks to us through the Scriptures.<br /><br />2) Receiving the Word respectfully, silently. During the reading we need an atmosphere of quiet, free from distracting movement. Silence doesn't just happen in church—it must be created. Before the reading starts we must prepare ourselves to be quiet, putting away things that are going to make noise. The sound of 700 missalette pages turning at once can drown out the Word of God. If someone has a tickle in the throat and feels a cough coming on, he or she can take a cough drop or a mint before the readings start. (This does not break our Communion fast, for our concern for the presence of Christ in the reading of the Scriptures and our concern for the ability of others to contact that presence balances our concern for the presence of Christ in Holy Communion.)<br /><br />Some members of the parish community may not be old enough to actively help create this silence, and the prish must provide ways for them to hear the Word according to their capacity, and also provide ways which enable their parents to hear the Word and be moved by it.<br /><br />If we come late, we ought to wait until the reading is over to be seated. This is another way in which we show our concern for the presence of Christ both in his Word and in the assembly.<br /><br />3) Being and looking attentive. There is a relationship between the effectiveness of the speaker and the attention of the listeners. A good listener makes the speaker want to do better. I can still remember the first time I was in a parish where the people really looked at me during my homily and told me by the look on their faces that they were hungry for the Word of God and wanted to be nourished by it. It is so much easier to really put myself into my preparation and delivery when there are people who show me that they want me to prepare and to really give them something to nourish their lives.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >We Share Our Bread and Wine</span><br /><br />Even before the Eucharistic Prayer itself, we should see ourselves as being actively involved in the preparation of the gifts:<br /><br />1) Identifying ourselves with the bread and wine. When we see these gifts being brought from the assembly to the altar, we see our food and drink—our very lives—being placed on the altar to be offered to God.<br /><br />2) Making the collection part of the action. Giving our hard-earned money in the collection is a very real element of our sacrifice—especially in those parishes where the collection, or a proportion of it, is given to needs outside the parish. Often priests, who do not put of their salary into the collection, do not realize how powerful a symbol this is for those in the pew.<br /><br />3) Participation in the Eucharistic Prayer. How to be active while the priest leading the celebration recites the Eucharistic Prayer is an especially important question. The Eucharistic Prayer is our central Christian prayer, the fullest statement of our belief. It is also a time when we can find our minds wandering.<br /><br />Our participation in the Eucharistic Prayer is not just a "listening" and "watching" but a "doing." Jesus told us: "Do this is memory of me."<br /><br />The first thing we do is to remember. The prayer begins by recalling the great saving acts of our God which culminate in Jeses. We must each recall God's activity in our lives. The test we can use to see if we are actively participating in this remembrance is a simple one. When participating well we should begin to feel gratitude, we should feel the need to give thanks. This is what Jesus did: He took the bread and wine and "gave thanks." It is this action that names our sacrifice: Eucharist comes from the Greek verb "to give thanks."<br /><br />We give external expression to these feelings when we join with the angels and saints and exclaim: Wow! What a God we have! Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory!<br /><br />We continue to gratefully remember the saving acts of our God. We recall how Jesus received everything from the hand of his loving Father. Even on the night before he died for us, he took bread and gave thanks. As we hear these words, we can place ourselves with the apostles at the table with Jesus. What were his attitudes and feelings and desires? Are they our attitudes and desires? In the second chapter of the Letter to the Philippians Paul tells us, "Your attitude must be that of Christ." What is the mind, the attitude of Christ?<br /><br />Jesus gave thanks even with his death imminent. He knew that whatever was to happen came from the hand of his loving Father. In placing ourselves at that table with Jesus we are led to the heart of the mystery of our faith: Remembering God's love for us, we can give ourselves to God confident that no matter what happens, we are loved. We offer ourselves to the Father with Jesus in his Spirit.<br /><br />4) Seeking the larger unity. I have learned from families who have taken me into their homes how it grieves parents when their children fight, when one refuses to share a toy, when kids refuse to compromise on which TV program to watch. From these human parents I can learn how God, who loves each of us with a parent's love, wants us to act as children of one family: not bullying the weaker ones, those not as smart, as powerful, as industrialized, as rich, as sophisticated.<br /><br />If we are to have the attitude of Christ we must pray the prayer of Christ: "May they all be one, even as you and I, Father, are one" (see John 17:21). The Eucharist challenges us to look beyond our human family and circle of friends to see the entire human family. The limited horizons of our love and concern must be broken even as the bread is broken. This is our petition at every Eucharist: "Gather all who share this one bread and one cup into the one Body of Christ, a living sacrifice of praise."<br /><br />5) Giving ourselves through the responses. The enthusiasm with whch we join in the responses and acclamations is an essential part of our active participation. Even though on a particular Sunday we may not feel like proclaiming, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Chris will come again!" we know that we are not prisoners of our feelings. In order for an action to be authentic, it does not have to flow only from our feelings. We know that the feelings often follow the action rather than precede it. We know that a child bored on a summer afternoon will feel differently when the child begins to play at something he or she enjoys. The feeling will come when the behavior is changed.<br /><br />Our participation in the acclamations is made easier for us when they are sung in true acclamatory fashion. Many ministers of music are aware of this and are providing acclamations that are "rhythmically strong, melodically appealing, and affirmative" (Music in Catholic Worship, #5).<br /><br />6) Sharing the Eucharistic bread and cup. Our active participation culminates in our reception of Holy Communion. We get up, go to the altar and share the bread and the cup. The importance we give these actions, and the devotion and reverence with which we perform them, speaks not only to ourselves and fosters our own feelings of reverence and awe, but also speaks to those around us. We are all concerned about passing on the faith to the generations that come after us. Whether we can explain to our friends and our children what the Eucharist means in our lives or whether we find it very difficult to put this meaning into words, the faith and reverence expressed in our reception of Communion speaks louder than any mere verbal explanation.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Out Into the World</span></span><br /><br />The ultimate in active participation is the renewed resolve at each Eucharist to go out into the world challenged by the Word that we have heard to share our lives, even as we have shared our bread and wine. The broken bread is the sign of how our lives are going to have to be poured out and "wasted" for the good of all men and women.<br /><br />This is the ultimate participation, because only if we are breaking and pouring out our lives for the good of others Monday through Saturday will the breaking and pouring out we do in church on Sunday be real for us. And when we have tried, really tried to express love for our families, to be honest at work, to break through our narrow-mindedness, to share our gifts, and when we bring that brokenness to the altar, we will experience what "active participation" really means. And we will never go away empty.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br />Full Participation From the Pews</span><br /><br />The Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people" (1 Peter 2:9) have a right and obligation by reason of their baptism.<br /><br />In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy the full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else, for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.<br /><br />Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (#14)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Taking Part in the Action</span><br /><br />The Church earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith [the Eucharist], should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action, conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God's Word, and be nourished at the table of the Lord's Body. They should give thanks to God. Offering the immaculate victim, not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, they should learn to offer themselves. Through Christ, the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and each other, so that finally God may be all in all.<br /><br />Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (#48)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Rising Above Our Feelings</span><br /><br />Celebrations need not fail, even on a particular Sunday when our feelings do not match the invitation of Christ and his Church to worship. Faith does not always permeate our feelings. But the sign and symbols of worship can give bodily expression to faith as we celebrate. Our own faith is stimulated. We become one with others whose faith is similarly expressed. We rise above our own feelings to respond to God in prayer.<br /><br />Music in Catholic Worship (#5)<br />U.S. Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., has a doctorate in liturgy and sacramental theology from the Institute Catholique de Paris. A popular writer and lecturer, Father Richstatter teaches courses on the sacraments at St. Meinrad (Indiana) School of Theology.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.parishworld.net/con_KnowingOurFaith.cfm?contentUUID=973D438E-1143-E0A9-59A82C8B0C7B171F%3CBR%20/%3E20067">Full Story in ParishWorld.net</a>Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.com1