Pope Francis holding the monstrance on Corpus Christi (May 30 in Rome)
Posted on 06/02/2013 11:49:33 AM PDT by NYer
On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, it’s good to remember the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas:
Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick I come to the Physician of life; unclean, to the Fountain of mercy; blind, to the Light of eternal splendor; poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore, I beg of You, through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul’s salvation.
This is the humble attitude with which we should both enter the church building (because the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there) and approach the Blessed Sacrament at Holy Communion.
The reason for our humility is that the glorified and risen Lord is present here in the Bread of Angels. The Eucharist is not a manmade symbol for an absent reality, a mere reminder of times past.
Rather, as Saint Thomas prayed in his Prayer after Communion: “I thank You, Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting God, for having been pleased, through no merit of mine, but of Your great mercy alone, to feed me, a sinner, and Your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Blessed Eucharist is the Body and Blood of the Son of God. It is the only thing worthy of the worship that is given to God alone for that very reason.
How different would the attitude be in our churches if Christ’s Real Presence were taken seriously? Rather than trying to make our churches like movie houses or secular meeting spaces or – worse – copying other religions, perhaps we could make them houses of the Blessed Sacrament, oases of the guaranteed presence of Christ in a secular world.
Pope Francis holding the monstrance on Corpus Christi (May 30 in Rome)
The celebration of the Eucharist is not a closed, feel-good moment, private to our parish or even to our family. Eucharistic Prayer I says very clearly: “by the hands of your holy angel this offering may be born to your altar in heaven in the sight of your divine majesty so as we receive communion at this altar. . .we may be filled with every grace and blessing.” We join the liturgy of Heaven that showers its grace upon earth.
We need to be personally close to Christ for our spiritual survival, but this is not at all an individualistic concept. As John Paul II exhorted us: “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith and open to make amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world.”
So alongside our reaching for an ever deeper appreciation and awe for the Body and Blood of Christ – which is already countercultural in our confused time – we have to learn something about the effects of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
One of them is that “our unity is the fruit of Calvary, and results from the Mass’s application to us of the fruits of the Passion, with a view to our final redemption.”(Henri de Lubac) So being Christian depends on our actually being open to the mystery at the heart of our redemption, the life, death and resurrection of Christ. In fact, our whole approach to the Body and Blood of Christ will be a good indicator of whether we even grasp the central mystery of our faith in love.
Relearning our faith so that it is not individualized (the Protestant position), but rather something that, as Christ’s own Church, joins us more deeply to Christ and each other is predicated on our approaching the Blessed Sacrament as Thomas Aquinas did. The individualism that we have been schooled in for years – and that comes to us in TV shows, in the speeches of politicians, in how we conceive of school and work – will take serious effort to overcome.
It represents a grave distortion of the social way of life for which we were created. Vatican II taught the simple truth that: “God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
We cannot expect to steep ourselves in the individualism of the culture and then regard our subsequent attitudes as Catholic. These are two irreconcilable realities. And to think otherwise is to imagine that there is no particular truth in Catholicism.
To deny the Church as the Body of Christ is to deny who Jesus Christ is, the one who is God incarnate and present among us in a special way, as we celebrate today.
And so the priest does. Much like the Jewish people have a meal of remembrance at Passover time.
Christ in the past who died on the Cross, is united with Christ in the Mass -- the consecrated Bread and Wine -- the Body and Blood of Jesus, and Christ in the future, who will come again, are all united in that one moment of consecration. Remember that with God there is no time.
In the last two lines of this St. Paul quote to the Corinthians, Paul says virtually that.
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Sorry to disappoint you, but the Catholic Church does NOT change all the time.
Remember that the Pope speaks infallibly only on issues of faith and morals.
Excellent post. Thank you.
LOL More like the sunburst symbol to the sun god of Babylon where it came from
I guess you have forgotten that God can do all things. Read about some Eucharistic miracles that have happened. Both while the priest was celebrating Mass and at other times. Especially read the one about Lanciano -- 1100 years old and has been scientifically tested -- it is completely heart muscle that matches the blood type on the Shroud of Turnin.
‘Bleeding’ Eucharist at Primary School in Moruga [Trinidad]
The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy (The Body and Blood of Christ) [Catholic Caucus]
Do You Believe in Eucharistic Miracles?
Eucharistic Miracle at St. Stephen's in New Boston MI.(Catholic Caucas)
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS]'Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity': The Miracle and Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist
Looking After a Eucharistic Miracle (Franciscan Recounts His Special Mission in Siena)
Eucharistic Miracle: 2009?
Possible Eucharistic Miracle in Poland
The Eucharistic Miracles(Catholic Caucus)
Vatican display exhibits eucharistic miracles
Eucharistic Miracle - Bolsena-Orvieto, Italy
Physician Tells of Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano -Verifies Authenticity of the Phenomenon
BLOOD TYPE FOUND IN ICONS IS SAME AS IN SHROUD OF TURIN AND 'LANCIANO MIRACLE'
Eucharistic Miracle: Lanciano,Italy-8th Century A.D.
"YE SHALL KEEP IT a FEAST to the LORD Throughout Your Generations; ye shall keep it a FEAST by An ORDINANCE FOREVER. "
Remember God's reply to Moses. "I Am" He is in the Eternal present. We are not. We were not there at the Cross. We are in the time space continuum of creation. Time is created from the movement of Planets. The earth moves around a full day(24 hours) then 365 days are a year. A decade is 10 years. Then 100 years is past. 1000 years are past too. So on and so forth.
While all this is happening God is still not bound by time like we are. He is outside of his creation. So when he declares "I Am" he is constant there is no beginning, middle or end. He is the Alpha and Omega as in the Book of revelation.
The bloody sacrifice has been done.
"Christ is not recrucified; the Sacrifice of the Mass is unbloody -- after the order of Melchizedek. Christ died once at a FINITE POINT IN HISTORY; but God is Outside of Time and His offering of Himself is eternal. The Grace Christ offers in the Divine Liturgy and what He offered on the Cross are of the same sacrifice; therefore, in no way can the liturgical Sacrifice be a "repetition" of the Crucifixion. His sacrifice is re-presented ("made present again in some way"). As the Council of Trent put it, "The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it is well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former."
Also remember Moses reminded the Israelites that the passover which contains eating the lamb forever decreed by God. Exodus 12
Exodus 12:1-14 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall EAT THE FLESH in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ............... it is the LORD's PASSOVER................................................And this Day Shall Be Unto You for a Memorial; and YE SHALL KEEP IT a FEAST to the LORD Throughout Your Generations; ye shall keep it a FEAST by An ORDINANCE FOREVER.
"YE SHALL KEEP IT a FEAST to the LORD Throughout Your Generations; ye shall keep it a FEAST by An ORDINANCE FOREVER. "
Gee How is it still going on as promised. Never ending.
Christ introduced on the FEAST OF PASSOVER the everlasting body and everlasting blood. He just by chanced put this at Passover where it is promised by Moses that we will eat the Lamb forever? HMMM....
Moses is not a liar. The Jewish today do not have sacrifices so what in the world is going on with this promise by MOSES. HMMM.....
Could it be that CHRIST REPLACED IT with THE TRUE LAMB WITHOUT Taking away the Eating the BODY the LAMB by BENIGN PRESENCE. HMMMM.....
Otherwise we make Moses a LIAR. HE is not a Liar.
There is no more evidence of this promised continuum except for the Mass.
http://www.fisheaters.com/mass.html
Not only does it indicate He did drink but indicated it was not His real literal blood.
Matthew 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
The Body of Christ
God’s Solidarity Never Ceases to Amaze Us (Pope Francis on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi)
The Blessed Sacrament: It's either All or nothing
WDTPRS: Corpus Christi – I affirm my subjugation to Christ vanquisher of hell and my sins.
On Corpus Christi, The Sacred Teaches
Pope celebrates feast of Corpus Domini
The Mystic, the Doubter, the Pope and the Dumb Ox: The Fascinating Origins of Corpus Christi
The Early Christians Believed in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
Best Ever Homily on The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Corpus Christi: The Body and Blood of Christ (Procession) [Catholic Caucus]
Corpus Christi (by St. Peter Julian Eymard)
Beginning Catholic: The Eucharist: In the Presence of the Lord Himself [Ecumenical]
Christ the Miracle Worker in the Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures - Lecture XXII on the Body and blood of Christ
Transubstantiation—Hard to Believe? [open]
On Daily Bread [OPEN]
The Meal of Melchizedek (what is meant by Christ’s words, "This is my body; this is my blood")
The Eucharist: The Lord's Supper
Pope Benedict--Jesus' Incarnation and Presence in the Eucharist confounds the wisdom of men
Corpus Christi Quiz
Pope leads Corpus Christi observance
This is My Body, This is My Blood
Feast of Corpus Christi - Sacrifice, Fellowship Meal or Real Presence?
The Eucharist and the Mystery of Fatherly Love
The Consecrated Host truly is the Bread of Heaven
Corpus Christi Around the World
Corpus Christi
HOMILIES PREACHED BY FATHER ALTIER ON CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY FROM 2001-2005
Back to the Future: Reviving Corpus Christi Processions
Homily of Pope Benedict XVI for the Feast of Corpus Christi
The Banquet of Corpus Christi - "Why did Jesus give us His Body and Blood?"
A Reflection on Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi celebrations in Poland (gallery)
Pope Leads Corpus Christi Procession - "We Entrust These Streets to His Goodness"
Day 37 of Pope Benedict XV's Reign - Feast of Corpus Christi
Heb 9:8-10 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: (9) Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; (10) Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
It does not follow that that which stood only as a shadow of things to come, should simply be reformulated and carnally practiced for all eternity. We eat and drink the body of Christ not through carnal practice; we do not literally become a part of His physical body; we have faith in Him, and in so doing we eat and drink Him already. See post #35
This is just plain stupid...It's stupid to believe it and even more stupid to repeat it...
There is no connection whatsoever between someone's stomach and their soul and spirit...
You guys claim Jesus IS the cracker...So when the cracker gets digested, either Jesus leaves the cracker and the physical becomes spiritual and passes thru your stomach into where ever your soul is, and the cracker ends up in the toilet...
Or, Jesus doesn't leave the cracker, both Jesus and the cracker who are one according to you guys goes into the toilet...
Or the final one: the cracker goes into your stomach and doesn't come out the other end...All of it since it really isn't a cracker after all passes thru your stomach into your soul...
So which one are you claiming???
Live sources? Did you forget?
Sorry about the formatting there. I will remember not to take things from that website.
Hey, Dude!
Comparing the ‘Host’ consecrated by a priest to a ‘cracker’ is more than rude.
Pray for the UNITY of all Christians.
Tell me about it. So, why does the priest call a cracker Jesus?
Supremely rude.
Why do non-Catholic Christians attack their Catholic Christian brothers and sisters?
This is SO WRONG.
This is foolishness beyond belief. It’s not “You guys” who said this. This is what Christ did at the Last Supper and sent Peter and His Apostles to do likewise. It is the belief of the very early Christian community. You folks are the type of “Sola Scriptura” idiots whose “reasoning” tries to trump the actions of the Christ, his Disciples, the early saints and martyrs, and the learned doctors of the Church and the 2000 year unbroken history of the One, True, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. And we are told to go search the tens of thousands of wild mushrooms and their beliefs. Go figure!
“Pray for the UNITY of all Christians.”
Pray for the unity of Christians in the Gospel as handed down to us by the Apostles, not a perversion:
Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
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