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Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 06-10-12, Solemnity, Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 06-10-12 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 06/09/2012 2:43:13 PM PDT by Salvation

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The Covenants and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for June 10, 2012, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Ex 24:3-9
• Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18
• Heb 9:11-15
• Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

It is difficult to choose the most ridiculous statement in Dan Brown’s novel, Angels & Demons, but I’ll choose this one, uttered by the “hero,” Robert Langdon: “The practice of ‘god-eating’—that is, Holy Communion—was borrowed from the Aztecs.”

However, the Aztec civilization didn’t develop until the thirteenth century in present-day Mexico, quite a distance from Palestine. Which means Dan Brown—er, Robert Langdon—was only off by 1,200 years and 7,700 miles. Not that I’m surprised, for Brown doesn’t seem to know much of anything about the Old Testament roots of the New Testament.

Unfortunately, even some Christians are equally unaware of the deep and significant relationship. Yet, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen” (par. 129). When this lights shines upon today’s readings, we can see more clearly the Old Testament roots and the biblical logic of the belief that the Holy Eucharist is the true Body, Blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Here are some of key features defined in that light:

• The prophet Moses was directed by God to lead the people of Israel out of slavery and he was given the Law in person by God on Mount Sinai. Jesus is the new Moses, who is not only sent by God to save his people from slavery to sin, but is God, the Incarnate Word. As author of the Law, he is able to perfectly fulfill the Law (Mt 5:17-18).

• Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. He spoke directly to God and, today’s reading from Exodus states, he “related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,” establishing a covenant between God and and the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus, being both God and man, is the perfect and everlasting mediator between God and all men. By his life, death, and Resurrection he established the new and everlasting covenant between God and the new Israel, the Church, which is signified by the twelve apostles.

• Moses’ work as mediator was also priestly. Having erected, as part of the covenantal ceremony, an altar and the twelve pillars representing the twelve tribes, he had the young men offer sacrifices “as peace offerings to the LORD.” Half of the blood of the sacrificed bulls was placed in bowls; the other half thrown on the altar. These actions sealed the covenant between God and the people; it was, in essence, a sacred oath of fidelity and familial love.

As the Epistle to the Hebrews explains in great detail, Christ is the new and everlasting high priest. Rather than offering goats and bulls as sacrifices, Christ shed his own blood. “For this reason,” the author writes, “he is a mediator of a new covenant.” While the sacrifices of the old covenant cleansed the people of their sins, the sacrifice on the Cross makes it possible for man to share in the divine life of God, transformed by the eternal Spirit through the work of the Son.

• The Israelites were freed from Egypt through the Passover and the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, whose blood was smeared on the doorposts and whose flesh was consumed (Ex 12). The Passover, for the Jews, was and is the great saving event in the history of Israel. “For Jews,” the Catechism says, “it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ…” (par. 1096). Jesus is the Lamb of God who blood is shed on the Cross and who flesh and blood is given in the Eucharist.

When Jesus, at the Last Supper, took the bread and wine, he drew together as only he could all of those many historical, religious, and spiritual elements. In giving the consecrated bread and wine to his disciples, he brought to completion the promises given to Moses. He fulfilled the incomplete work of the old covenant. He gives us his most holy Body and Blood.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the June 14, 2009, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)


41 posted on 06/10/2012 4:26:38 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Know Him in the Breaking of Bread



Know Him in the Breaking of Bread | Fr. Francis Randolph | From Know Him in the Breaking of Bread: A Guide To The Mass 

The First Mass

In the evening of the first day of the week, two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And one came up beside them and began to explain the Scriptures that told of Jesus the Christ, how he was destined to suffer and rise again. And as he spoke, the hearts of the disciples burned within them; they were stirred and enlightened by the new explanation of scriptural words they had heard so many times before. But it was not until they sat together, and he took bread and broke it, that they recognized that the person actually present with them was the same Jesus about whom they had been speaking (Lk 24:13-35).

From that day till this, Christians have met to hear the Scriptures explained and to know Jesus in the breaking of bread. These three elements are the essence of the Mass: Christians come together and discern the spirit of Jesus in each other. They listen to the Word of God, and their hearts burn within them as they hear it. And in the breaking of bread they recognize Jesus himself actually present, given for them.

The coming together is vital; it is only in the Church that the Mass can take place. This does not mean necessarily in a special church building, though that helps. Nor does it mean that many people are necessarily gathered on any particular occasion, though that is desirable. It means that the Mass is celebrated within the unity of the One Church, that the celebration is not a private, exclusive affair but is in conscious union with the Church throughout the world. One of the most moving descriptions of the Mass I have read is by the American Jesuit Walter Ciszek, who was a prisoner in the old Soviet Union. He managed to slip away into the forest with only one companion and celebrated Mass quietly and secretly, using a tree stump as an altar. And in so doing he was far from alone; he was one with millions of Catholics all over the world. The whole Church came into the heart of that forest; Christ was made present among a people who were unaware of his existence. That lonely Mass was very much the expression of Christians coming together, uniting in the one sacrifice. [1]

Listening to the Word of God is vital; unless we have heard about Jesus, how can we love him? There may be only a brief, whispered passage from the Gospel, or there may be a long, drawn-out sequence of readings, but in one way or other the message of Scripture must be proclaimed. The Church first expressed her faith in the words of the Bible, and the long centuries of developing tradition have deepened and enhanced those words. We do not hear them alone but within the Church that gave birth to them, and even now, even after they have been spoken so many, many times, they are still capable of awakening our hearts to burn within us.

The breaking of bread is the apex of the Mass. In the Consecration of bread and wine and the sharing of that Blessed Sacrament among the faithful, we know Jesus himself, directly, without intermediary. Still it is within the Church alone that we find him, for the Church herself is actually constituted by the sharing of Holy Communion. It is in receiving the Body of Jesus Christ that we become his Body, the Universal Church. That is why St. Paul warns of the risks at stake if we try to partake of that Body without recognizing the Body, if we imagine that we can receive Communion without desiring to be part of that Body which is the Church (1 Cor 11:29). Jesus Christ is not a tame lion; we approach him at our peril if we defy him; but if we come in love, open to his Word, recognizing his Body, then we shall be loved and welcomed indeed. We cannot impose conditions on him; we come to him to learn, to listen, to follow his guidance. And his message is always the same, the message of his love for us, his love for all our fellow creatures.

The Discipline of Secrecy

For some centuries after Pentecost, the Church remained very silent about the Mass. It was above all the "secret", the "mystery", the one thing known to initiated Christians that was on no account to be divulged to those outside the Church. Those prepar- ing for baptism knew that some great secret was to come, but it was not revealed to them until after they had been baptized. The union between God and his people was too personal, too intimate to display in public to a cynical and unsympathetic world. As a result, our knowledge about early Christian worship has to be gleaned from hints and allusions, tantalizing comments like "the initiated will know what I am talking about", and ambiguous references that even now can puzzle the commentator. Paintings and graffiti in the catacombs help to fill out the picture, but it remains true that we do not really know what Liturgy in "the early Church" was like.

St. Justin Martyr

This makes it rather a surprise to find one author who tears the veil of secrecy. The martyr St. Justin, in about A.D. 150, wrote a book called the Apologia, which is a simple explanation of what Christians believe and what they do, intended to persuade the emperor and other hostile powers to let Christians live in peace. In the course of this Apology, he describes the Mass and explains briefly what it means. It had not yet come to its modern form, of course, but the basic elements are recognizable. The faithful meet on Sunday, and the "memoirs of the apostles" or the writings of the prophets are read for as long as time permits. Then the priest explains the readings and exhorts the people. They rise then and pray in common for themselves and for all men everywhere, so that they may be recognized to be good, loyal citizens. At the end of the prayers, they salute each other with a kiss. Then bread and a cup of water mixed with wine are brought to the priest; he offers them, giving thanks. All present give their assent in the word "Amen". Then the deacons distribute the Eucharist and carry it away to those who are absent. The congregation does not disperse before a collection has been taken.  

As well as describing the actions of the Mass, St. Justin gives away the central secret of what it means: "We do not receive these things as if it were common bread and common drink, but just as Jesus Christ our Savior was made flesh through the Word of God, possessing flesh and blood to rescue us, in the same way the nourishment over which thanks have been given through the prayer of the Word who was with God, and which feeds our own body and blood as it is transformed, we have been taught to identify as the body and blood of that same Jesus who was made flesh." For this reason, he goes on to say, only those who are full members of the Church may receive the Eucharist.

My own copy of Justin formerly belonged to a Protestant college, and someone has written in a neat eighteenth-century hand "Is not this a little like transubstantiation?" It is indeed: St. Justin in the second century is saying, in a slightly convoluted and undeveloped way, exactly what the Catholic Church has been teaching ever since. The basic structure of Justin's Mass is still recognizable: the coming together as members of one Church, the reading and explanation of Scripture, the prayer of the faithful, the sign of peace, and the offering and breaking of bread, which the faithful receive as the Body of Christ. The collection also is a familiar element! [2]

After the conversion of the Empire, there was no further need for secrecy in a world where everyone knew what the Christian faith was about. But now arose the opposite problem: since everyone knew the truth, there was no reason to write it down! As a result, systematic writings about the Mass are not found until it first came to be doubted, many centuries later. It is the great medieval theologians, particularly St. Thomas, who first explored the meaning of the Mass in depth, not because the ideas were new in their time, but because it was only in their time that anyone had begun to question them.

Now that we again live in a pagan society that is hostile to the Church, like that of the ancient Roman Empire, it might seem a good idea to practice the discipline of secrecy again, but since the secret has been so widely published for so long it would be absurd to try to conceal it. All the same I often feel uneasy about the way in which the Mass is televised, filming the actual Consecration and the moment of Communion, as if the cameras were intruding on something too intimate for the public gaze. I am hoping at least that readers of this book will be sympathetic, will be trying to come to love our Lord, if they are not yet fully communicating members of his Catholic Church. In explaining what we mean when we talk of the presence of Jesus Christ, of transubstantiation, of the mystical union of Holy Communion, I am aware that I am treading on very delicate ground. I hope and trust that I am keeping firmly within the mainline tradition of the Church, to whose judgment everything I say is submitted. 

ENDNOTES:

[1] Walter Ciszek, He Leadeth Me (San Francisco: Ignatius Press; 1995), 37.

[2] Justin, Apologia Prima, 97-98; most accessible in Henry Bettenson,Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963), section VII, iv. 


42 posted on 06/10/2012 4:32:50 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Vultus Christi

Corpus Domini 2012

 on June 8, 2012 5:24 AM |
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Here, in English translation, is the Holy Father's homily at the Mass of Corpus Domini last evening in Rome.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Il culto dell'Eucaristia e la sua sacralità

This evening I would like to meditate with you on two interconnected aspects of the Eucharistic Mystery: the worship of the Eucharist and its sacredness. It is important to take it up again to preserve it from incomplete visions of the Mystery itself, such as those which were proposed in the recent past.

The "Beating Heart" of the City

First of all, a reflection on the value of Eucharistic worship, in particular adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is the experience that we will also live after the Mass, before the procession, during its development and at its end. A unilateral interpretation of Vatican Council II has penalized this dimension, restricting the Eucharist in practice to the celebratory moment. In fact, it was very important to recognize the centrality of the celebration, in which the Lord convokes his people, gathers them around the twofold table of the Word and the Bread of life, nourishes them and unites them to Himself in the offering of the Sacrifice. This assessment of the liturgical assembly, in which the Lord works and realizes his mystery of communion, remains of course valid, but it must be placed in the right balance. In fact - as often happens - the stressing of one aspect ends up by sacrificing another. In this case, the accentuation placed on the celebration of the Eucharist has been to the detriment of adoration, as act of faith and prayer addressed to the Lord Jesus, really present in the Sacrament of the altar. This imbalance has also had repercussions on the spiritual life of the faithful. In fact, concentrating the whole relationship with the Eucharistic Jesus only at the moment of Holy Mass risks removing his presence from the rest of time and the existential space. And thus, perceived less is the sense of the constant presence of Jesus in our midst and with us, a concrete, close presence among our homes, as "beating Heart" of the city, of the country, of the territory with its various expressions and activities. The Sacrament of the Charity of Christ must permeate the whole of daily life.

Jesus Stays With Us

In reality, it is a mistake to oppose celebration and adoration, as if they were in competition with one another. It is precisely the contrary: the worship of the Most Blessed Sacrament is as the spiritual "environment" in which the community can celebrate the Eucharist well and in truth. Only if it is preceded, accompanied and followed by this interior attitude of faith and adoration, can the liturgical action express its full meaning and value. The encounter with Jesus in the Holy Mass is truly and fully acted when the community is able to recognize that, in the Sacrament, He dwells in his house, waits for us, invites us to his table, then, after the assembly is dismissed, stays with us, with his discreet and silent presence, and accompanies us with his intercession, continuing to gather our spiritual sacrifices and offering them to the Father.

To Look at Him with Love

In this connection, I am pleased to stress the experience we will also live together this evening. At the moment of adoration, we are all on the same plane, kneeling before the Sacrament of Love. The common and ministerial priesthoods are united in Eucharistic worship. It is a very beautiful and significant experience, which we have experienced several times in Saint Peter's Basilica, and also in the unforgettable vigils with young people - I recall, for example, those of Cologne, London, Zagreb, Madrid. It is evident to all that these moments of Eucharistic vigil prepare the celebration of the Holy Mass, prepare hearts for the encounter, so that it is more fruitful. To be all together in prolonged silence before the Lord present in his Sacrament, is one of the most genuine experiences of our being Church, which is accompanied in a complementary way with the celebration of the Eucharist, listening to the Word of God, singing, approaching together the table of the Bread of life. Communion and contemplation cannot be separated, they go together. To really communicate with another person I must know him, I must be able to be in silence close to him, to hear him and to look at him with love. True love and true friendship always live of the reciprocity of looks, of intense, eloquent silences full of respect and veneration, so that the encounter is lived profoundly, in a personal not a superficial way. And, unfortunately, if this dimension is lacking, even sacramental communion itself can become, on our part, a superficial gesture. Instead, in true communion, prepared by the colloquy of prayer and of life, we can say to the Lord words of confidence as those that resounded a short while ago in the Responsorial Psalm: "O Lord, I am thy servant; I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid. / Thou hast loosed my bonds./ I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving /and call on the name of the Lord" (Psalm 115:16-17).

Christ Did Not Abolish the Sacred

Now I would like to pass briefly to the second aspect: the sacredness of the Eucharist. Also here we heard in the recent past of a certain misunderstanding of the authentic message of Sacred Scripture. The Christian novelty in regard to worship was influenced by a certain secularist mentality of the 60s and 70s of the past century. It is true, and it remains always valid, that the center of worship is now no longer in the rites and ancient sacrifices, but in Christ himself, in his person, in his life, in his paschal mystery. And yet, from this fundamental novelty it must not be concluded that the sacred no longer exists, but that it has found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, incarnate divine Love. The Letter to the Hebrews, which we heard this evening in the Second Reading, speaks to us precisely of the novelty of the priesthood of Christ, "high priest of the good things that have come" (Hebrews 9:11), but it does not say that the priesthood is finished. Christ "is the mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 9:15), established in his blood, which purifies our "conscience from dead works" (Hebrews 9:14). He did not abolish the sacred, but brought it to fulfillment, inaugurating a new worship, which is, yes, fully spiritual but which however, so long as we are journeying in time, makes use again of signs and rites, of which there will be no need only at the end, in the heavenly Jerusalem, where there will no longer be a temple (cf. Revelation 21:22). Thanks to Christ, the sacred is more true, more intense and, as happens with the Commandments, also more exacting! Ritual observance is not enough, but what is required is the purification of the heart and the involvement of life.

The Center of Our Life and the Heart of the World

I am also pleased to stress that the sacred has an educational function, and its disappearance inevitably impoverishes the culture, in particular, the formation of the new generations. If, for example, in the name of a secularized faith, no longer in need of sacred signs, this citizens' processions of the Corpus Domini were abolished, the spiritual profile of Rome would be "leveled," and our personal and community conscience would be weakened. Or let us think of a mother or a father that, in the name of a de-sacralized faith, deprived their children of all religious rituals: in reality they would end up by leaving a free field to so many surrogates present in the consumer society, to other rites and other signs, which could more easily become idols. God, our Father, has not acted thus with humanity: he has sent his Son into the world not to abolish, but to give fulfillment also to the sacred. At the height of this mission, in the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood, the Memorial of his Paschal Sacrifice. By so doing, he put himself in the place of the ancient sacrifices, but he did so within a rite, which he commanded the Apostles to perpetuate, as the supreme sign of the true sacred, which is Himself. With this faith, dear brothers and sisters, we celebrate today and every day the Eucharistic Mystery and we adore it as the center of our life and heart of the world. Amen.


43 posted on 06/10/2012 4:56:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Blessed John Paul II: An Adoring Silence

 on June 9, 2012 4:02 PM |
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On May 2, 1995, Blessed John Paul II gave the Church what is, to my mind, one of the most beautiful Apostolic Letters of his long pontificate: Orientale Lumen. Tomorrow, my beloved Oblate community in Tulsa will be meeting to reflect on the meaning and value of silence in their lives. I am posting the following extract from Orientale Lumen, confident that it will enrich their reflection and nourish their prayer.

The Most Holy Trinity: A Community of Love

The Most Holy Trinity appears to us . . . as a community of love: to know such a God means to feel the urgent need for him to speak to the world, to communicate himself; and the history of salvation is nothing but the history of God's love for the creature he has loved and chosen, wanting it to be "according to the icon of the Icon" - as the insight of the Eastern Fathers expresses it(34) - that is, molded in the image of the Image, which is the Son, brought to perfect communion by the Sanctifier, the Spirit of love. Even when man sins, this God seeks him and loves him, so that the relationship may not be broken off and love may continue to flow. And God loves man in the mystery of the Son, who let himself be put to death on the Cross by a world that did not recognize him, but has been raised up again by the Father as an eternal guarantee that no one can destroy love, for anyone who shares in it is touched by God's glory: it is this man transformed by love whom the disciples contemplated on Tabor, the man whom we are all called to be.

A Mystery Enveloped in Silence

Nevertheless this mystery is continuously veiled, enveloped in silence,(35) lest an idol be created in place of God. Only in a progressive purification of the knowledge of communion, will man and God meet and recognize in an eternal embrace their unending connaturality of love.

Let Yourself Be Taught An Adoring Silence

Thus is born what is called the apophatism of the Christian East: the more man grows in the knowledge of God, the more he perceives him as an inaccessible mystery, whose essence cannot be grasped. This should not be confused with an obscure mysticism in which man loses himself in enigmatic, impersonal realities. On the contrary, the Christians of the East turn to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, living persons tenderly present, to whom they utter a solemn and humble, majestic and simple liturgical doxology. But they perceive that one draws close to this presence above all by letting oneself be taught an adoring silence, for at the culmination of the knowledge and experience of God is his absolute transcendence. This is reached through the prayerful assimilation of scripture and the liturgy more than by systematic meditation.

Man, the Creature, Before the Triune God

In the humble acceptance of the creature's limits before the infinite transcendence of a God who never ceases to reveal himself as God - Love, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the joy of the Holy Spirit, I see expressed the attitude of prayer and the theological method which the East prefers and continues to offer all believers in Christ.

This Is What Man Needs Today

We must confess that we all have need of this silence, filled with the presence of him who is adored: in theology, so as to exploit fully its own sapiential and spiritual soul; in prayer, so that we may never forget that seeing God means coming down the mountain with a face so radiant that we are obliged to cover it with a veil (cf. Ex 34:33), and that our gatherings may make room for God's presence and avoid self - celebration; in preaching, so as not to delude ourselves that it is enough to heap word upon word to attract people to the experience of God; in commitment, so that we will refuse to be locked in a struggle without love and forgiveness. This is what man needs today; he is often unable to be silent for fear of meeting himself, of feeling the emptiness that asks itself about meaning; man who deafens himself with noise. All, believers and non - believers alike, need to learn a silence that allows the Other to speak when and how he wishes, and allows us to understand his


44 posted on 06/10/2012 5:01:06 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Vultus Christi

Corpus Domini

 on June 10, 2012 8:10 AM |
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The Octave of Corpus Domini, culminating on the solemnity of the Sacred of Jesus, is a time of immense graces for the Church and, in particular, for priests. Hail, Festival Day! Here is a meditation for Corpus Domini that I wrote and preached in 2006:

Hail, Festival Day!
Hail, Day of Sion's sweetest hymns!
Hail, Day of timeless adoration!
Hail, Day of lavish jubilation!
Hail, Day of our most fragrant incense!
Hail, Day of flowers strewn before their Maker!
Hail, Day of flames dancing in the presence of the Fire!
Hail, Day of a silence that is song!
Hail Day of a song become silence!
Hail, Day made radiant by the Face that shines like the sun in full strength!
Hail, Day made lovely by the Face of the fairest of the children of men!
Hail, Day rising to see the Face once hidden in the tabernacle of the Virgin's womb!
Hail, Day rejoicing in the Human Face of God concealed in bread and wine!

Hail, Eucharistic Face reflecting the Glory of the Father
and bearing the very stamp of His nature!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Living Icon of the Father!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Epiphany of the Father's Love!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Kindly Light amidst the gloom!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Crucified in the Sacrament of Your abiding presence!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of Life conquering death!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of Mercy rising in the night with healing in your rays!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, Sweetness leaving no bitterness!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Risen One,
filling earth and heaven with glory
from the rising of the sun even to its setting
in the offering of your pure and eternal Oblation!
Hail, Eucharistic Face raising the dead to life!
Hail, Eucharistic Face breathing peace into every troubled place!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, revelation of a Heart full of mercy and ready to forgive!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Ascended One!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the High Priest interceding for us beyond the veil!
Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Victim reconciling heaven and earth!
Hail, Eucharistic Face all ablaze with the Holy Spirit's fire!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the King who will return in glory!
Hail, Eucharistic Face hidden from the powerful, the clever, and the wise!
Hail, Eucharistic Face revealed to the pure of heart!
Hail, Eucharistic Face familiar to little children and to those like them!

Hail, Eucharistic Face of the Divine Wayfarer!
Hail, Eucharistic Face, unrecognized and unknown in the midst of men!
Hail, Eucharistic Face shrouded in silence,
and with us always, even unto the consummation of the world!

Hail, God-With-Us!
Hail, God-Turned-Toward-Us!
Hail, God who with immense yearning desire to share your Pasch with us!
Hail, God-in-Search-of-Those-Who-Hunger!
God-in-Search-of-Those-Who-Thirst!
Hail, O inexhaustible and precious Chalice!

Hail, Day of the Altar and of the Blood!
Hail, Day of the new and everlasting covenant!
Hail, Day that calls us anew to obedience:
"All that the Lord has spoken we will do,
and we will be obedient" (Ex 24:7).
"This is my Body which is given for you.
This Chalice poured out for you is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this in remembrance of me" (cf. Lk 22:19-20).

Hail, Day of the Blood without which there is no pardon!
Hail, Day of the Blood poured out for the refreshment of the weary!
Hail, Day of the Blood that flows, a river of mercy in the wastelands of sin!
Hail, Day of the Blood that vanquishes demons!
Hail, Day of the Blood that consoles in sorrow!
Hail, Day of the Blood that cleanses the entire world of sin!
Hail, Day of the Blood of Christ, Victim and Priest!
Hail, Day of the Blood presented in the sanctuary not made by hands!
Hail, Day of the Blood offered on earth as it is in heaven!

Hail, Precious Chalice lifted up for all to see!
Hail, Precious Chalice, thanksgiving sacrifice worthy of God!
Hail, Precious Chalice held to the lips of the martyrs!
Hail, Precious Chalice strengthening every witness!
Hail, Precious Chalice making pure the impure!
Hail, Precious Chalice containing the Fire of the Divinity!
Hail, Precious Chalice, the antidote for every poison!
Hail, Precious Chalice, the remedy for every ill!

Hail, Day of the Upper Room made ready for eternity!
Hail, Day of the Pasch without end!
Hail, Day of the Bread lifted up in Christ's holy and venerable hands!
Hail, Day of the blessing uttered by His sacred lips!
Hail, Day of the Body forever given and of the Blood forever poured out!
Hail, Day of the Cenacle opened to every nation on earth!
Hail, Day of the Mystical Supper open to the poor, the sick, the lame, and the blind!
Hail, Day of Heaven's open door!
Hail, Day of the Supper of the Lamb!

Hail, Day that sees us prostrate before the Eucharistic Face of God!
Hail, Day on which men do the work of Angels!
Hail, Day on which Angels stand amazed
before the Mystery set before the children of men!
Hail, Day that passes too quickly and never passes!
Hail, Day that begins in time the joys of eternity!
Hail, Day that fills the earth with a foretaste of heaven!
Amen. Alleluia.


45 posted on 06/10/2012 5:06:08 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Vultus Christi

Sit laus plena, sit sonora

 on October 3, 2012 8:00 AM |
Ben XVI Corpus Dni.jpg

A Meditation for Corpus Christi

Remember all the desert way
through which the Lord your God has brought you:
forty years of willful wandering.
Remember the affliction and the testing.
Remember the great and terrible wilderness
wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath,
and the scorpions.
Remember the thirsty ground where there was no water.
Remember who brought you water out of the flinty rock.
Remember who fed you in the wilderness
with manna which your fathers did not know (cf. Dt 8:15-16).
Remember, and out of your remembering
give voice to the Eucharistic amazement
that is what we have in common -- O joy! -- with all the saints.

Remember the sustenance in full ears of wheat, his gift to you.
Remember the honey dripping from the rock to your heart's content (cf. Ps. 80:17).
Remember, and out of your remembering
let praises spring high and sweet and clear.
Praises to fill full the church, but even that is not enough.
Praises pouring out the doors,
praises streaming in procession,
touching every blade of grass and every leaf.
Praises stretching into the vastness of the sky overhead,
praises sinking deep into the earth,
praises sent like sparks to the East and to the West, to the North and to the South,
praises to inflame the cosmos with Eucharistic fire.

Remember, Mother Church, the holy and venerable hands,
the hands that, taking bread, broke and gave it,
the hands that have strengthened the bolts of your gates,
the hands that blessed your children within you (cf. Ps 147:12).
Remember the voice of him whose word runs swiftly,
blessing and saying, “Take and eat, this is my Body”;
“This chalice is the new testament in my Blood” (cf. 1 Cor 11:24-25).
Remember the Crucified, the Risen One, the Lord of glory
whose Face alone plants peace in your borders,
whose Heart would save your souls from death,
and feed you in time of famine (cf. Ps 32:19).
Remember his hands, his Face, and his Heart,
remember his words on the night before he suffered,
and out of your remembering, let praise come to flower on your lips.
Praise to fill that Upper Room,
praise to fill the Church,
praise to fall like a balm on every heart that has forgotten
the language of the Great Thanksgiving.

Remember the chalice of blessing
and adore the Blood of Christ.
Remember the bread that we break
and adore the Body of Christ.
Remember the one Bread by which we, though many, are made one (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17).
Remember the chalice of the Blood
in which every tear of yours dissolves into joy.
Remember the broken Bread by which every brokenness of yours is made whole.
Remember the chalice offered to those who have nothing to offer.
Remember the Bread given to those who have nothing to give.
Remember, and into your remembering
welcome the immensity of a silence that seeks only to adore.
Tacere et adorare!

Adoring silence: liturgy of the angels, language of the prophets, poem of the saints.
Adoring silence: Eucharistic amazement too deep, too wide, too high for words.
Adoring silence spread like a mantle over the sighs and groans of a world
that has forgotten to be still in the presence of the Word.
Adoring silence, well-kept secret of a ceaseless jubilation.
Adoring silence, hidden from the learned and the clever.
Adoring silence cherished by the little ones.
“Yes, Father, for such is your gracious will” (cf. Lk 10:21).

Remember the living Bread which came down from heaven
and eating that Bread, be assumed even now into future glory.
Remember the Flesh of the Word given
in a mystery of word and Spirit, handed over in the Upper Room
Remember the Flesh of the Word lifted to the Father from the altar of the Cross.
Remember the Flesh of the Word drawing all flesh to itself
divine Flesh for the children of Adam,
healing Flesh for Eve’s sorrowing children,
God’s very Flesh for the life of the world.
Remember, and adore.

Remember the chalice that flows and overflows,
the chalice of salvation, the cup of your surpassing joy.
Remember the Blood gushing with the water
from the Open Side.
Remember the Heart’s Blood that to your hearts carries life.
Remember the Chalice that leaves on every tongue the taste of eternity,
and on your lips the lingering sweetness of the Kiss of the Mouth of God.
Remember the fire-filled Chalice,
the Chalice spilling Spirit into every open mouth.
Remember Him on whom you feed;
see him held before your eyes,
raised to the Father in the Holy Spirit,
held out to you, his hunger meeting yours.
Remember, and pronounce the “Amen” for which he waits.
The Amen of your amazement,
the Amen of your joy,
the Amen of your adoring silence.
And listen closely.
To that Amen of yours the Angels add their Alleluia.

Amen, Alleluia.
O Eucharistic adoration of heaven and of earth!
Amen, Alleluia.
Saying all that can be said.
Amen, Alleluia.
O Eucharistic song!

Amen, Alleluia.
Song of angels praising
and of archangels shining together with thrones;
song of dominations bowing low,
and of the awestruck powers;
song of the incandescent seraphim,
and of the heavenly hosts of every rank adoring.
Amen, Alleluia.

Song of the Church today.
Song of the saints dazzling with Christ-Beauty,
song of the least of his brethren
summoned today to stand in his presence,
driven by the Spirit to walk before him,
compelled by love to kneel and to adore.
Corpus Christi. Amen, Alleluia.


46 posted on 06/10/2012 5:14:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

The Feast of Champions
| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus´ disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ´The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"´ Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I renew my faith in your true presence in the Eucharist. I believe you come down from heaven to be present in the host at every Mass and remain with me in the Tabernacle. You are the source of my hope. I long to be more united to you through this gift of yourself.  

Petition: Lord, increase my appreciation and devotion to you in the Eucharist.

1. The Power of Love: As Jesus prepared to accept the cross, he showed the depth of his true love for humanity by giving himself. He promised to be with us until the end of time, and it was no empty promise. Christ, true God and true man, transformed bread and wine into his Body and Blood and gave the apostles and their successors the power to make Christ present in the Eucharist. Jesus’ love wasn’t just a passing love. His love makes itself present every day in the Eucharist. Lord, help me to grasp and be grateful for the depth of love you showed to us by giving us your Body and Blood as food.

2. It All Started with Yes: Sometimes it is easy to take words for granted. How many times do we hear the words “yes” and “no,” but take no notice? Imagine if God had decided to not become man and let us die in our sins instead. Imagine too if Mary had said “No”. The Eucharist begins with God’s “YES” to save mankind from his sin. Through his sacrifice, Jesus offers us the supreme gift of love: his own body and blood. But like any story of love, Jesus offers us his love and asks for our love in return. Our “yes” is what it takes to bring to completion God’s love in us. Yes, Lord, I truly believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist!

3. The Heavenly Banquet Awaits Us: Christ says that he will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the day he drinks it anew in the Kingdom of Heaven. What a privilege it will be to participate in this banquet of heaven. The Eucharist and Mass are a foretaste of that noble banquet. Let us resolve to inebriate ourselves with Christ’s love given us through the Eucharist. “If only you knew the gift being offered to you” (Cf. John 4:10).

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the Kingdom where you live forever and ever.

Resolution: Today I will receive Christ in the Eucharist and make a profound act of faith in his presence. If possible, I will also participate in a Corpus Christi procession.


47 posted on 06/10/2012 5:23:35 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Choose ‘Divine Love’

Choose ‘Divine Love’

Not too long ago I attended a Catholic funeral of a close friend.  Knowing that half of the family in attendance was of the Muslim faith I asked the non-ordained ‘funeral assistant’ of the parish to please ask the priest to announce the guidelines for whether or not a person in attendance should receive the Holy Eucharist.  He responded, “We leave that up to Jesus”.  I asked him a second time to please be sure that the announcement was made.  Unfortunately, my request was ignored and over 15 Muslims stood and got in line to receive the Body of Christ.  They were sitting a few rows in front of me and so I could not help but observe that one of the college-aged women did not consume the consecrated Host.  After I received Our Lord myself I walked over to her pew and gently put out my hand and said, “I will take the Host, please”.  A bit startled, she reached into her purse and retrieved the consecrated Host and gave it to me.  I consumed it immediately.  Knowing the kindness of this Muslim family, I truly think that they went to Communion out of a courtesy for the family of the deceased so not to offend them.  The reality is that they had no clue or understanding of the true presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.  Unfortunately, this extends to most Catholics who also fail to understand what constitutes a worthy reception of communion.

This experience highlighted for me the deep problem within our One, Holy, Catholic Church. In a world where young people are taught to question authority and everything that they are taught by parents and schools alike, it is clear that the Catholic Church has failed to properly prepare its members with the basic knowledge of this key spiritual weapon (the Eucharist) that is desperately needed to resist the twisted culture that seeks to consume them every day.   There is a widespread lack of understanding, lack of respect, and lack of teaching from the pulpit on the basic truths regarding the Holy Eucharist.   Do some of own priests not even believe in the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?  Do Catholics today even understand what sets the Catholic Church apart from the Mega-Church-bring-your-own-latte experience?  Do Catholics, both active and fallen away, grasp or understand what the “Transubstantiation” even is?

These questions and so many other key issues are penetrated by the new and timely book published by Catholic Action for Faith and Family called “Divine Love Made Flesh:  The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity” by Cardinal Raymond Burke.  In a sea of intellectually drowning Catholics who have been told for many years to ‘follow your conscience’ without having received the proper catechesis to have an ‘informed conscience’, Cardinal Burke has just thrown us all a lifeline to embrace and hold onto.  So many Catholics are too busy with their daily duties and the fast pace of their lives to read and research the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, worthy reception of communion, and the life-sustaining power of frequent communions.  In his first book ever, Cardinal Burke has provided great insight and summary on the Holy Eucharist while weaving in the teaching from two great Popes: Ecclesia de Eucharistia by Blessed Pope John Paul II and Sacramentum Caritatis, a Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Benedict XVIIn Divine Love Made Flesh Cardinal Burke shines further light upon the Church’s call to each of us to partake in “the new evangelization.” He enlightens us on the need to desire and receive the Holy Eucharist, a powerful grace to our souls that can transform us in the daily work of our individual vocations. He reminds us of the prophetic words of Blessed Pope John Paul II in saying:  “In the humble signs of the bread and wine, changed into His Body and Blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and He enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope.”

Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (photo credit: abbey-roads.blogspot.com

In chapter 6 of John’s Gospel Jesus says to a multitude of people:  “Amen, amen I say unto you:  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood you shall not have life within you….after this many walked no more with Him”.  Indeed, many walked away from Jesus as He revealed to them what we now understand as the ‘source and summit’ of our Faith some 2000+ years later.  He knew exactly what he was saying to them.  He did not call after them and say “Wait, let me explain”.  He spoke the truth and offered the words of salvation for those who would choose to hear, embrace, and follow.  Cardinal Burke gently yet firmly reminds us that this same divine roadmap to salvation is extended to all of us today.

Trusting and believing in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a willful act of Faith for all of us. We must have the discipline to choose it.   The temptation of the human spirit is to doubt.  Doubt leads to internal fear and it becomes easy to think, “Am I the only one who is struggling to believe that is truly Jesus when the Host is elevated at Mass?”

The answer is “no”.  I recall 22 years ago sitting in Church and hearing a powerful sermon on the Eucharist.  The late Fr. Ben Wolf, a very holy and pious priest who was an inspiration in his vocation to all who knew him, said the following:

“How do we understand and comprehend that it is truly Jesus in the Eucharist?  We don’t.  We trust and we believe.  In my entire life and in over 50 years as a priest I have only had two times that I received a very warm internal consolation of understanding and closeness to Jesus in the Eucharist.  That was a gift.  The rest of the time I believe and know that I can trust it to be true because Jesus, Himself, told me so.  That is all any one of us needs to know.”

This was a shocking revelation and a profound moment for all those who knew this special priest. Every Mass he celebrated was a very holy experience and he had a special way that he pulled those in attendance into the reverence for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Divine Love Made Flesh has the very same effect on those who read it. Cardinal Burke has provided a gift to the world on a subject that requires great devotion and faith from the depths of our souls. We so often hear that ‘love is a choice’.  Divine Love Made Flesh is a book that stirs the soul to realize that we must choose Jesus, who is divine Love made flesh, in our lives again and again. It educates the reader in a way which helps us to understand in both intellectual and intangible spiritual ways the grace and daily help that awaits us in the Eucharist.  This book will lift your eyes to heaven as you gain a deeper understanding of what is happening at the point of Transubstantiation when the bread becomes Jesus, truly present on the altar. For those religious and laymen who believe, for those who do not believe, and for those who struggle with what the Church teaches on the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the miracles that flow from it, Divine Love Made Flesh is gift wrapped and waiting for you just in time for the start of the “Year of Faith.”

How perfect that this beautiful labor of love is released to the public on the June 7, 2012, Feast of Corpus Christi.  Will you be open to hear, embrace, and follow?

“Increase my Faith, Dear Jesus, in Thy real presence here and make me feel most deeply that thou to me are near”. –from the hymn, Oh, Lord, I Am Not Worthy

For more information on how to order the book go to www.catholicaction.org

To read what the critics are saying go here.

Jenn Giroux has been a Registered Nurse and pro-life activist for over 25 years. She is the founder of "Speaking of Motherhood", an educational outreach to expose the harms of contraception and reveal the beauty of motherhood.  She is the former Executive Director of HLI America, a program of Human Life International, and she is the founder of Women Influencing the Nation (WIN), an organization dedicated to reclaiming traditional morals in our society with special emphasis on encouraging women to have more children once again in America.  A former radio talk show host with Salem Communications, Jenn has also been seen debating many political and religious issues on MSNBC, CNN, FOX, and COMCAST NEWS NETWORKS.  She and her husband, Dan, live in Cincinnati


48 posted on 06/10/2012 5:50:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
A Feast Day for the Eucharist

A Feast Day for the Eucharist

The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the communion wafer and the altar wine are transformed and really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Have you ever met anyone who has found this Catholic doctrine to be a bit hard to take?

If so, you shouldn’t be surprised.  When Jesus spoke about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6, his words met with less than an enthusiastic reception.  ”How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52) “This is a hard saying who can listen to it?” (v. 60)  In fact so many of his disciples abandoned him over this that Jesus had to ask the twelve if they also planned to quit.  It is interesting that Jesus did not run after his disciples saying, “Don’t go! I was just speaking metaphorically!”

How did the early Church interpret these challenging words of Jesus?  Interesting fact: one charge the pagan Romans lodged against the Christians was cannibalism.  Why?  You guessed it.  They heard that this sect regularly met to eat and drink human blood.  Did the early Christians say: “wait a minute, it’s only a symbol!” Not at all.  When trying to explain the Eucharist to the Roman Emperor around 155 AD, St. Justin did not mince his words: “For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Sav­ior being incarnate by God’s word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him . . . is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”

Not many Christians questioned the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist till the Middle Ages.  In trying to explain how bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ, several theologians went astray and needed to be corrected by Church authority.  Then St. Thomas Aquinas came along and offered an explanation that became classic.  In all change that we observe in this life, he teaches, appearances change, but deep down, the essence of a thing stays the same.  Example: if, in a fit of mid-life crisis, I traded my minivan for a Ferrari, abandoned my wife and 5 kids to be a beach bum, got tanned, bleached my hair blonde, spiked it, buffed up at the gym, and took a trip to the plastic surgeon, I’d look a lot different on the surface. But for all my trouble, deep down I’d still substantially be the same old baby boomer.

St. Thomas said the Eucharist is the one instance of change we encounter in this world that is exactly the opposite.  The appearances of bread and wine stay the same, but the very essence or substance of these realities, which can’t be detected by a microscope, is totally transformed.  What was once bread and wine are now Christ’s body and blood.   A handy word was coined to describe this unique change.  Transformation of the “sub-stance”, what “stands under” the surface, came to be called “transubstantiation.”

What makes this happen?  The power of God’s Spirit and Word.  After praying for the Spirit to come (epiklesis), the priest, who stands in the place of Christ, repeats the words of the God-man: This is my Body, This is my Blood. Sounds to me like Genesis 1: the mighty wind (read “Spirit”) whips over the surface of the water and God’s Word resounds. “Let there be light” and there was light.  It is no harder to believe in transubstantiation than to believe in Creation.

But why did Jesus arrange for this transformation of bread and wine?  Because he intended another kind of transformation.  The bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ which are, in turn, meant to transform us.  Ever hear the phrase: you are you what you eat? The Lord desires us to be transformed from a motley crew of imperfect individuals into the Body of Christ, come to full stature.

Our evangelical brethren often speak of an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus.  But I ask you, how much more personal and intimate can you get?  We receive the Lord’s body into our physical bodies that we may become him whom we receive!

Such an awesome gift deserves its own feast.  And that’s why, back in the days of Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi, the Pope decided to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio writes from Texas.  For his audio CD on “Getting More out of Mass” or other resources on the Eucharist, visit www.crossroadsinitiative.com.

Cover Image: “Corpus Christi Procession” by Amadeo de Souza Cardoso, 1913


49 posted on 06/10/2012 6:00:02 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Corpus Christi: Our Debt to St. Thomas Aquinas

Corpus Christi: Our Debt to St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas, saint and doctor of the Catholic Church, is perhaps best known for his scholarship and as patron saint of students and universities. His great works, the two Summas (Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles) are mainstays of classic Catholic theology, and popes from St. Pius V to Benedict XVI have praised his work. Beyond those works, however, and the foundation they provide for Catholic theology, St. Thomas Aquinas’ hymns for the great Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ are also influential works, as they have given us the language of worship and devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the liturgy for Corpus Christi when Pope Urban IV added the Solemnity to the universal Church’s liturgical calendar in 1264. He provided a great sequence, one of the great poems chanted or recited before the proclamation of the Gospel. At one time the Church had many sequences for different feasts and Masses (including the Dies Irae in the Requiem Mass), but now we have only three: Victimae Paschali Laudes (Christians, To the Paschal Victim) for Easter Sunday; Veni Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit) for Pentecost, and Lauda Sion Salvatorem (Sion, Lift Up thy Voice and Sing), for Corpus Christi:

Sion, lift thy voice and sing:
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.

Special theme of praise is Thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.

Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

This sequence urges us not only to praise God, but to do it well, with hymns and chants expressing joy and festivity.

St. Thomas also wrote a hymn for Vespers: Pange Lingua (Sing, tongue, the mystery of the glorious Body), from which we have the Tantum Ergo (Down in Adoration Falling) verses sung at Benediction. The English Catholic convert Father Edward Caswell translated those verses:

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! o’er ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father
And the Son Who reigns on high,
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might, and endless majesty.
Amen.

His hymn for Matins, Sacris Solemniis (Sacred Solemnity), includes the great Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels) meditation best known in the setting by Cesar Franck:

Panis angelicus fit panis hominum;
Dat panis caelicus figuris terminum;
O res mirabilis: manducat Dominum
Pauper, servus et humilis.

Te, trina Deitas unaque, poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita, sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas. Amen.

 

Lo! Angels’ Bread is made the Bread of men today:
The living Bread from heav’n with figures doth away:
O wondrous boon indeed! Though poor and lowly, may
The servant on his Master feed.

Thee, therefore, we implore, O Godhead, One in Three,
So may’st Thou visit us as now we worship Thee;
And lead us on Thy way, that we at last may see
The light wherein Thou dwellest aye. Amen.

From the third hymn, for Lauds, Verbum Supernum Prodiens (Word Descending from Above), we take the other Benediction hymn, O Salutaris Hostia (O Saving Victim), also translated by Caswell:

O saving Victim, op’ning wide
The gate of heav’n to man below!
Our foes press on from ev’ry side:
Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.

To Thy great name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, One in Three!
O grant us endless length of days
In our true native land, with Thee.
Amen.

Finally, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote a hymn of Eucharistic thanksgiving, Adore Te Devote (Devoutly I Adore Thee), which in the translation by the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins expresses the mystery and wonder of our reception of Jesus in Holy Communion:

Godhead here in hiding
Whom I do adore
Masked by these bare shadows,
Shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at Thy service
Low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder
At the God Thou art.

Seeing, touching, tasting
Are in Thee deceived;
How says trusty hearing?
That shall be believed;
What God’s Son has told me,
Take for truth I do;
Truth Himself speaks truly
Or there’s nothing true.

On the cross Thy Godhead
Made no sign to men;
Here Thy very manhood
Steals from human ken:
Both are my confession,
Both are my belief;
And I pray the prayer
Of the dying thief.

I am not like Thomas,
Wounds I cannot see,
But I plainly call Thee
Lord and God as he;
This faith each day deeper
Be my holding of,
Daily make me harder
Hope and dearer love.

In his 2003 encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Blessed John Paul II praised these hymns and poems of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi: “Let us make our own the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an eminent theologian and an impassioned poet of Christ in the Eucharist, and turn in hope to the contemplation of that goal to which our hearts aspire in their thirst for joy and peace”. Each of these hymns provides great doctrinal statements of the truths of the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, and the Eucharist while expressing devotion to Jesus Christ as Lord and Redeemer.

Stephanie A. Mann is the author of Supremacy and Survival: How Catholics Endured the English Reformation, available from Scepter Publishers. She resides in Wichita, Kansas and blogs at www.supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.com. Stephanie is working on a book about the English Catholic Martyrs from 1534 to 1681.


50 posted on 06/10/2012 6:03:56 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Mark
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Mark 14
12 Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Whither wilt thou that we go, and prepare for thee to eat the pasch? et primo die azymorum quando pascha immolabant dicunt ei discipuli quo vis eamus et paremus tibi ut manduces pascha και τη πρωτη ημερα των αζυμων οτε το πασχα εθυον λεγουσιν αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου που θελεις απελθοντες ετοιμασωμεν ινα φαγης το πασχα
13 And he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith to them: Go ye into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him; et mittit duos ex discipulis suis et dicit eis ite in civitatem et occurret vobis homo laguenam aquae baiulans sequimini eum και αποστελλει δυο των μαθητων αυτου και λεγει αυτοις υπαγετε εις την πολιν και απαντησει υμιν ανθρωπος κεραμιον υδατος βασταζων ακολουθησατε αυτω
14 And whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The master saith, Where is my refectory, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples? et quocumque introierit dicite domino domus quia magister dicit ubi est refectio mea ubi pascha cum discipulis meis manducem και οπου εαν εισελθη ειπατε τω οικοδεσποτη οτι ο διδασκαλος λεγει που εστιν το καταλυμα οπου το πασχα μετα των μαθητων μου φαγω
15 And he will shew you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare ye for us. et ipse vobis demonstrabit cenaculum grande stratum et illic parate nobis και αυτος υμιν δειξει ανωγεον μεγα εστρωμενον ετοιμον εκει ετοιμασατε ημιν
16 And his disciples went their way, and came into the city; and they found as he had told them, and they prepared the pasch. et abierunt discipuli eius et venerunt in civitatem et invenerunt sicut dixerat illis et praeparaverunt pascha και εξηλθον οι μαθηται αυτου και ηλθον εις την πολιν και ευρον καθως ειπεν αυτοις και ητοιμασαν το πασχα
17 And when evening was come, he cometh with the twelve. vespere autem facto venit cum duodecim και οψιας γενομενης ερχεται μετα των δωδεκα
18 And when they were at table and eating, Jesus saith: Amen I say to you, one of you that eateth with me shall betray me. et discumbentibus eis et manducantibus ait Iesus amen dico vobis quia unus ex vobis me tradet qui manducat mecum και ανακειμενων αυτων και εσθιοντων ειπεν ο ιησους αμην λεγω υμιν οτι εις εξ υμων παραδωσει με ο εσθιων μετ εμου
19 But they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one: Is it I? at illi coeperunt contristari et dicere ei singillatim numquid ego οι δε ηρξαντο λυπεισθαι και λεγειν αυτω εις καθ εις μητι εγω και αλλος μητι εγω
20 Who saith to them: One of the twelve, who dippeth with me his hand in the dish. qui ait illis unus ex duodecim qui intinguit mecum in catino ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις εις εκ των δωδεκα ο εμβαπτομενος μετ εμου εις το τρυβλιον
21 And the Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were better for him, if that man had not been born. et Filius quidem hominis vadit sicut scriptum est de eo vae autem homini illi per quem Filius hominis traditur bonum ei si non esset natus homo ille ο μεν υιος του ανθρωπου υπαγει καθως γεγραπται περι αυτου ουαι δε τω ανθρωπω εκεινω δι ου ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται καλον ην αυτω ει ουκ εγεννηθη ο ανθρωπος εκεινος
22 And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye. This is my body. et manducantibus illis accepit Iesus panem et benedicens fregit et dedit eis et ait sumite hoc est corpus meum και εσθιοντων αυτων λαβων ο ιησους αρτον ευλογησας εκλασεν και εδωκεν αυτοις και ειπεν λαβετε φαγετε τουτο εστιν το σωμα μου
23 And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it. et accepto calice gratias agens dedit eis et biberunt ex illo omnes και λαβων το ποτηριον ευχαριστησας εδωκεν αυτοις και επιον εξ αυτου παντες
24 And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many. et ait illis hic est sanguis meus novi testamenti qui pro multis effunditur και ειπεν αυτοις τουτο εστιν το αιμα μου το της καινης διαθηκης το περι πολλων εκχυνομενον
25 Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. amen dico vobis quod iam non bibam de genimine vitis usque in diem illum cum illud bibam novum in regno Dei αμην λεγω υμιν οτι ουκετι ου μη πιω εκ του γεννηματος της αμπελου εως της ημερας εκεινης οταν αυτο πινω καινον εν τη βασιλεια του θεου
26 And when they had said an hymn, they went forth to the mount of Olives. et hymno dicto exierunt in montem Olivarum και υμνησαντες εξηλθον εις το ορος των ελαιων

51 posted on 06/10/2012 6:08:41 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex
12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?
13. And he sent forth two of his disciples, and said to them, Go you into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.
14. And wherever he shall go in, say you to the good man of the house, The Master said; Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?
15. And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
16. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them: and they made ready the Passover.

CHRYS. Whilst Judas was plotting how to betray Him, the rest of the disciples were taking care of the preparation of the Passover: wherefore it is said, And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him, Where will you that we go and prepare where you may eat the Passover.

BEDE; He means by the first day of the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when they threw aside leaven, and were wont to sacrifice, that is, to kill the lamb at even. The Apostle explaining this says, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. For although He was crucified on the next day, that is, on the fifteenth moon, yet on the night when the lamb was offered up, He committed to His disciples the mysteries of His Body and Blood, which they were to celebrate, and was seized upon and bound by the Jews; thus He consecrated the beginning of His sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.

PSEUDO-JEROME; But the unleavened bread which was eaten with bitterness, that is with bitter herbs, is our redemption, and the bitterness is the Passion of our Lord.

THEOPHYL. From the words of the disciples, Where will you that we go? it seems evident that Christ had no dwelling-place, and that the disciples had no houses of their own; for if so, they would have taken Him thither.

PSEUDO-JEROME; For they say, Where will you that we go? to show us that we should direct our steps according to the will of God. But the Lord points out with whom He would eat the Passover, and after l His custom He sends two disciples, which we have explained above; wherefore it goes on, And he sent forth two of his disciples, and he said to them, Go you into the city.

THEOPHYL. He sends two of His disciples, that is, Peter and John, as Luke says, to a man unknown to Him, implying by this that He might, if He had pleased, have avoided His Passion. For what could not He work in other men, who influenced the mind of a person unknown to Him, so that he received them? He also gives them a sign how they were to know the house, when He adds, And there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water.

AUG. Mark says a pitcher, Luke a two-handled vessel; one points out the kind of vessel, the other the mode of carrying it; both however mean the same truth.

BEDE; And it is a proof of the presence of His divinity, that in speaking with His disciples,

He knows what is to take place elsewhere; wherefore it follows, And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them; and they made ready the Passover.

CHRYS. Not our Passover, but in the meanwhile that of the Jews; but He did not only appoint ours, but Himself became our Passover. Why too did He eat it? Because He was made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, and Himself give rest to the Law. And lest any one should say that He did away with it, because He could not fulfill its hard and difficult obedience, He first Himself fulfilled it, and then set it to rest.

PSEUDO-JEROME. And in a mystical sense the city is the Church, surrounded by the wall of faith, the man who meets them is the primitive people, the pitcher of water is the law of the letter.

BEDE; Or else, the water is the layer of grace, the pitcher points out the weakness of those who were to show that grace to the world.

THEOPHYL. He who is baptized carries the pitcher of water, and he who bears baptism upon him comes to his rest, if he lives according to his reason; and he obtains rest, as being in the house. Wherefore it is added, Follow him.

PSEUDO-JEROME; That is, him who leads to the lofty place, where is the refreshment prepared by Christ. The lord of the house is the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord has entrusted His house; that there may be one faith under one Shepherd. The large upper-room is the wide-spread Church, in which the name of the Lord is spoken of, prepared by a variety of powers and tongues.

BEDE; Or else, the large upper-room is spiritually the Law, which comes forth from the narrowness of the letter, and in a lofty place, that is, in the lofty chamber of the soul, receives the Savior. But it is designedly that the names both of the bearer of the water, and of the lord of the house, are omitted, to imply that power is given to all who wish to celebrate the true Passover, that is, to be embued with the sacraments of Christ, and to receive Him in the dwelling-place of their mind.

THEOPHYL. Or else, the lord of the house is the intellect, which points out the large upper room, that is, the loftiness of intelligences, and which, though it be high, yet has nothing of vain glory, or of pride, but is prepared and made level by humility. But there, that is, in such a mind Christ's Passover is prepared by Peter and John, that is by action and contemplation.

17. And in the evening he comes with the twelve.
18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.
19. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20. And he answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve, that dips with me in the dish.
21. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

BEDE; The Lord who had foretold His Passion, prophesied also of the traitor, in order to give him room for repentance, that understanding that his thoughts were known, he might repent. Wherefore it is said, And in the evening he comes with the twelve.

And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.

CHRYS. Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.

THEOPHYL. But how could they eat reclining, when the law ordered that standing and upright they should eat the Passover? It is probable that they had first fulfilled the legal Passover, and had reclined, when He began to give them His own Passover.

PSEUDO-JEROME; The evening of the day points out the evening of the world; for the last, who are the first to receive the penny of eternal life, come about the eleventh hour. All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, Is it I? One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, Is it I, Lord? as Matthew testifies.

THEOPHYL. But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him who knows all hearts, rather than themselves. It goes on: And he answered and said to them, It is one of the twelve, that dips with me in the dish.

BEDE; That is, Judas, who when the others were sad and held back their hands, puts forth his hand with his Master into the dish. And because He had before said, One of you shall betray me, and yet the traitor perseveres in his evil, He accuses him more openly, without however pointing out his name.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Again, He says, One out of the twelve, as it were separate from them, for the wolf carries away from the flock the sheep which he has taken, and the sheep which quits the fold lies open to the bite of the wolf.

But Judas does not withdraw his foot from his traitorous design though once and again pointed at, wherefore his punishment is foretold, that the death denounced upon him might correct him, whom shame could not overcame; wherefore it goes on: The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him.

THEOPHYL. The word here used, goes, shows that the death of Christ was not forced but voluntary.

PSEUDO-JEROME; But because many do good, in the way that Judas did, without its profiting them, there follows: Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

BEDE; Woe too to that man, today and for ever, who comes to the Lord's table with an evil intent. For he, after the example of Judas, betrays the Lord, not indeed to Jewish sinners, but to his own sinning members. It goes on: Good were it for that man if he had never been born.

PSEUDO-JEROME; That is, hidden in his mother's inmost womb, for it is better for a man not to exist than to exist for torments.

THEOPHYL. For as respects the end for which he was designed, it would have been better for him to have been born, if he had not been the betrayer, for God created him for good works; but after he had fallen into such dreadful wickedness, it would have been better for him never to have been born.

22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24. And he said to them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25. Verily I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

BEDE; When the rites of the old Passover were finished, He passed to the new, in order, that is, to substitute the Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, for the flesh and blood of the lamb. Wherefore there follows: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread; that is, in order to show that He Himself is that person to whom the Lord swore, You are a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec. There follows: And blessed, and broke it.

THEOPHYL. That is, giving thanks, He broke it, which we also do, with the addition of some prayers.

BEDE; He Himself also breaks the bread, which He gives to His disciples, to show that the breaking of His Body was to take place, not against His will, nor without His intervention; He also blessed it, because He with the Father and the Holy Spirit filled His human nature, which He took upon Him in order to suffer, with the grace of Divine power. He blessed bread and brake it, because He deigned to subject to death His manhood, which He had taken upon Him, in such a way as to show that there was within it the power of Divine immortality, and to teach them that therefore He would the more quickly raise it from the dead. There follows: And gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

THEOPHYL. That, namely, which I now give and which you take. But the bread is not a mere figure of the Body of Christ, but is changed into the very Body of Christ. For the Lord said, The bread which I give you is my flesh. But the flesh of Christ is veiled from our eyes on account of our weakness, for bread and wine are things to which we are accustomed, if however we saw flesh and blood we could not bear to take them. For this reason the Lord bending Himself to our weakness keeps the forms of bread and wine, but changes the bread and wine into the reality of His Body and Blood.

CHRYS. Even now also that Christ is close to us; He who prepared that table, Himself also consecrates it. For it is not man who makes the offerings to be the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ who was crucified for us. The words are spoken by the mouth of the Priest, and are consecrated by the power and the grace of God. By this word which He spoke, This is my body, the offerings are consecrated; and as that word which says, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, was sent forth but once, yet has its effect throughout all time, when nature does the work of generation; so also that voice was spoken once, yet gives confirmation to the sacrifice through all the tables of the Church even to this day, even to His advent.

PSEUDO-JEROME; But in a mystical sense, the Lord transfigures into bread His body, which is the present Church, which is received in faith, is blessed in its number, is broken in its sufferings, is given in its examples, is taken in its doctrines; and He forms His Blood in the chalice of water and wine mingled together, that by one we may be purged from our sins, by the other redeemed from their punishment. For by the blood of the lamb our houses are preserved from the smiting of the Angel, and our enemies perish in the waters of the Red sea, which are the sacraments of the Church of Christ. Wherefore it goes on: And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them. For we are saved by the grace of the Lord, not by our own deserts.

GREG. When His Passion was approaching, He is said to have taken bread and given thanks. He therefore gave thanks, who took upon Him the stripes of other men's wickedness; He who did nothing worthy of smiting, humbly gives a blessing in His Passion, to show us, what each should do when beaten for his own sins, since He Himself bore calmly the stripes due to the sin of others; furthermore to show us, what we who are the subjects of the Father should do under correction, when He who is His equal gave thanks under the lash.

BEDE; The wine of the Lord's cup is mixed with water, because we should remain in Christ and Christ in us. For on the testimony of John, the waters are the people, and it is not lawful for any one to offer either wine alone, or water alone, lest such an oblation should mean that the head may be severed from the members, and either that Christ could suffer without love for our redemption, and that we can be saved or be offered to the Father without His Passion. It goes on: And they all drank of it.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Happy intoxication, saving fullness, which the more we drink gives the greater sobriety of mind!

THEOPHYL. Some say that Judas did not partake in these mysteries, but that he went out before the Lord gave the Sacrament. Some again say that He gave him also of that Sacrament.

CHRYS. For Christ offered His blood to him who betrayed Him, that he might have remission of his' sins, if he had chosen to cease to be wicked.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Judas therefore drinks and is not satisfied, nor can he quench the thirst of the everlasting fire, because he unworthily partakes of the mysteries of Christ. There are some in the Church whom the sacrifice does not cleanse, but their foolish thought draws them on to sin, for they have plunged themselves in the stinking slough of cruelty.

CHRYS. Let there not be therefore a Judas at the table of the Lord; this sacrifice is spiritual food, for as bodily food, working on a belly filled with humors which are opposed to it, is hurtful, so this spiritual food if taken by one polluted with wickedness, rather brings him to perdition, not by its own nature, but through the fault of the recipient. Let therefore our mind be pure in all things, and our thought pure, for that sacrifice is pure. There follows: And he said to them, This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many.

BEDE; This refers to the different circumstances of the Old Testament, which was consecrated by the blood of calves and of goats; and the lawgiver said in sprinkling it, This is the blood of the Testament which God has enjoined to you. It goes on: Which is shed for many.

PSEUDO-JEROME; For it does not cleanse all. It goes on: Verily I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

THEOPHYL. As if He had said, I will not drink wine until the resurrection; for He calls His resurrection the kingdom, as He then reigned over death. But after His resurrection He ate and drank with His disciples, showing that it was He Himself who had suffered. But He drank it new, that is, in a new and strange manner, for He had not a body subject to suffering, and requiring food, but immortal and incorruptible. We may also understand it in this way. The vine is the Lord Himself, by the offspring of the vine is meant mysteries, and the secret understanding, which He Himself begets, who teaches man knowledge. But in the kingdom of God, that is, in the world to come, He will drink with His disciples mysteries and knowledge, teaching us new things, and revealing what He now hides.

BEDE; Or else, Isaiah testifies that the synagogue is called the vine or the vineyard of the Lord, saying, The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. The Lord therefore when about to go to His Passion, says, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, as if He had said openly, I will no longer delight in the carnal rites of the synagogue, in which also these rites of the Paschal Lamb have held the chief place. For the time of my resurrection shall come, that day shall come, when in the kingdom of heaven, that is, raised on high with the glory of immortal life, I will be filled with a new joy, together with you, for the salvation of the same people born again of the fountain of spiritual grace.

PSEUDO-JEROME; But we must consider that here the Lord changes the sacrifice without changing the time; so that we never celebrate the Caena Domini before the fourteenth moon. He who celebrates the resurrection on the fourteenth moon, will celebrate the Caena Domini on the eleventh moon, which was never done in either Old or New Testament.

26. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

31. But he spoke the more vehemently, If I should die with you, I will not deny you in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

THEOPHYL. As they returned thanks, before they drank, so they return thanks after drinking; wherefore it is said, And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, to teach us to return thanks both before and after our food.

PSEUDO-JEROME; For by a hymn he means the praise of the Lord, as is said in the Psalms, The poor shall eat and be satisfied; they that seek after the Lord shall praise him. And again, All such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped.

THEOPHYL. He also shows by this that He was glad to die for us, because when about to be betrayed, He deigned to praise God. He also teaches us when we fall into troubles for the sake of the salvation of many, not to be sad, but to give thanks to God, who through our distress works the salvation of many.

BEDE; That hymn in the Gospel of John may also be meant, which the Lord sang, returning thanks to the Father, in which also He prayed, raising His eyes to heaven, for Himself and His disciples, and those who were to believe, through their word.

THEOPHYL. Again, He went out into a mountain, that they might come to Him in a lonely place, and take Him without tumult. For if they had come to Him, whilst He was abiding in the city, the multitude of the people would have been in an uproar, and then His enemies, who took occasion against Him, should seem to have slain Him justly, because He stirred up the people.

BEDE; Beautifully also does the Lord lead out His disciples, when they had tasted His Sacraments, into the mount of Olives, to show typically that we ought through the reception of the Sacraments to rise up to higher gifts of virtue, and graces of the Holy Ghost, that we may be anointed in heart.

PSEUDO-JEROME; Jesus also is held captive on the mount of Olives, whence He ascended to heaven, that we may know, that we ascend into heaven from that place in which we watch and pray; there we are bound and do not tend back again to earth.



Catena Aurea Mark 14
52 posted on 06/10/2012 6:09:35 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex


The Last Supper

Fray Nicolás Borrás

1570s
Oil on panel, 49 x 46 cm
Private collection

53 posted on 06/10/2012 6:10:37 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: All

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

First Reading: Ex 24:3-8

Psalm: Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

Second Reading: Heb 9:11-15

Gospel: Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

Perhaps children find it difficult to get their heads around this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. A boy of three was intrigued by the Communion rite and watched every move of the priest until he finished wiping the chalice and ciboria at the end of the Mass. Then the boy turned to his mother and said, “Mom, the priest has finished doing the dishes. Can we go home now?”

Today’s feast may also cause many adults to scratch their heads wondering what it is all about. When this feast was originally presented to us it had a twofold intention. First, it was intended to focus on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Second, it was to focus on the Real Presence of Jesus in the world. As we trace the history of Eucharistic devotion we can see that we became over focused on devotion to the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. It is only in recent history that we have begun to move away from this lopsided devotion, to move away from a purely individualistic Eucharistic piety to a heal their communitarian understanding of Eucharist, to move away from unquestioned mystery to a fuller understanding of this sacrament.

In the early Church for several centuries before we got distracted by individual preoccupation with the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, Christians understood that the Real Presence was in the People of God, in their brothers and sisters. It was for this reason that St. Paul urged the early Christians to leave behind their former way of life and enter into an entirely new kind of life. They did this and their new life went against the culture of the time. It meant sharing material goods and the subtle riches of faith, hope and charity. This lasted up until about the fourth century, when there was a change toward individual private piety and the magical focus on the actions and words of the Mass.

After Vatican II, the Church in her teaching has been leading Catholics back to St. Paul’s ideal of what the Church should be. We recognize that the Eucharist is not just about the transforming of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is also about the transforming of the world about us, into the Mystical Body of Christ. We must not forget that the Exodus was a slave revolt by marginalized people who had been driven into servitude under great oppression. The Feast of the Passover with unleavened bread was instituted to commemorate this event of a new beginning for the Israelites. We must not forget that the unleavened bread of the Eucharist is a powerful sign of the poor man’s food and our breaking and sharing it is a call to us to be on the side of the poor. This Eucharistic gathering is a mirror held up to the world, a prototype of the solidarity, compassion and common effort that is intended in God’s call to be a person for others. Just as God was involved in a conscience-raising campaign with the Israelite people, so too must we raise the issues of injustice and prejudice in our own community. Just as God is on the side of the poor and oppressed, so too must we be on their side. Full communion with God and others is incompatible with any sort of injustice or exploitation. So, having received the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass, we should leave the Mass to bring about the transformation of the world we live in.

There is an inextricable link between what we celebrate during mass and social justice. Many of us when we think of the Body and Blood of Christ we think only of the consecrated bread and wine. And on one level, our thinking is true. If, however, our experience stops with this understanding and goes no further, then we miss something that is most significant, the need to love our neighbor. It is true, as that the consecrated bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Jesus but equally important so are we and our neighbor.


54 posted on 06/10/2012 6:10:48 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: annalex

Verse 31 is quoted after verse 26 in an editing error of mine.


55 posted on 06/10/2012 6:15:21 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 


<< Sunday, June 10, 2012 >> Body and Blood of Jesus
(Corpus Christi)

Saint of the Day
 
Exodus 24:3-8
Hebrews 9:11-15

View Readings
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

 

PAID IN COVENANT-BLOOD

 
"This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you." —Exodus 24:8
 

God made a graphic covenant with Abram. He had Abram split several animals in half and place each half on the ground with a walkway between them. In the form of a blazing fire, God passed between the split animals (Gn 15:17) to seal the covenant. By this act, God solemnly verified His covenant promises to Abraham, in effect saying: "If I am not faithful to this covenant agreement we have made, then let Me be split in half like these animals and let My blood likewise be poured out." God pledges His covenant with His blood.

Jesus has made a new covenant, also pledged with His blood. Instead of animals being split open, Jesus Himself was sacrificed (Is 53:7) and His blood poured out to solemnly verify the covenant (Jn 19:34). Jesus made this painful pledge to pour out His "blood of the covenant" (Mk 14:24) before we ever agreed to even have a part in it (see Rm 5:8). Through our sins, we poured out His blood (Catechism, 598). He was faithful to the covenant, we were not; yet His blood was spilled instead of ours. Jesus offered "His own blood" (Heb 9:12) to obtain eternal redemption for us. We get all the benefits; He gets all the pain and suffering.

How shall we ever repay Jesus? The return He greatly desires (Lk 22:15) is for us to take up the cup of salvation, the cup of his Blood, the Eucharist (Ps 116:12-13). He doesn't ask us to walk between bloody animals; instead He asks us to walk between the pews — up to the altar to receive His precious Body and Blood.

 
Prayer: Father, may Jesus' blood cover us always (Mt 27:25).
Promise: "How much more will the blood of Christ...cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!" —Heb 9:14
Praise: "O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine."

56 posted on 06/10/2012 6:18:10 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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18" x 24' Full Color Signs

57 posted on 06/10/2012 6:19:29 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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http://resources.sainteds.com/showmedia.asp?media=../sermons/homily/2012-06-10-Homily%20Fr%20Gary.mp3&ExtraInfo=0&BaseDir=../sermons/homily


58 posted on 06/17/2012 4:52:55 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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