Posted on 04/04/2015 1:59:27 PM PDT by Steelfish
The Resurrection & The Eucharist by Fr. Rodney Kissinger S.J. (Former Missouri Synod Lutheran) http://www.frksj.org/homily_ressurection_and_the_eucharist.htm There is an important connection between the Resurrection and the Eucharist. The Eucharist IS the Risen Jesus.
Therefore, the Eucharist makes the Resurrection present and active in our lives and enables us to experience the joy and the power of the Resurrection. The Resurrection is the reason for the observance of Sunday instead of the Sabbath. According to the Gospel it was early in the morning on the first day of the week that the Risen Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene.
It was also on the evening of that first day of the week that the Risen Jesus appeared to the Apostles when Thomas was not present. Then a week later, on the first day of the week, he appeared again when Thomas was present.
So the Apostles began to celebrate the first day of the week, Sunday, as the beginning of the re-creation of the world just as they had celebrated the Sabbath as the end of the creation of the world. Originally the Liturgical Year was simply fifty-two Sundays, fifty-two celebrations of the Eucharist, fifty-two celebrations of the Resurrection. Today the Eucharist is still the principal way of celebrating the Resurrection and proclaiming the Mystery of Faith: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
As we have seen the joy and the power of the Resurrection is not found in the empty tomb or in the witness of some one else it is found only in a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus. The Eucharist, the Risen Jesus, gives us an opportunity for this personal encounter. Will all who receive the Eucharist have a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus? Yes they will. Unfortunately, not all will recognize the Risen Jesus. Mary Magdalene had a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus but did not recognize him. She thought it was the gardener. It was not until she recognized Jesus that she experienced the joy and the power of the Resurrection. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus and thought that it was a stranger. It was not until they recognized him in the “breaking of the bread” that they experienced the joy and the power of the Resurrection.
The Eucharist is also a pledge of our own resurrection. “I am the living bread come down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Eucharist tells us that in death life is changed not ended. It is not so much life after death but life through death. Death is the door to life. This takes away the fear of death and gives us consolation at the death of a loved one.
The Eucharist also continues the two fold effect of the Resurrection which is to confirm the faith of the Apostles and to create the Christian Community. These are two sides of the same coin. To believe is to belong. Community was an integral part of the life of the first Christians. They were of one mind and one heart. When the Apostles asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, he taught them the “OUR Father.” In the Creed we say, “WE believe.” It is a personal commitment made in the community of believers.
The Eucharist also confirms the faith of the recipient and is the principle of unity and community. Without the Christian Community we lose our roots and our identity and our ability to survive in our culture which is diametrically opposed to Christ.
Through the Eucharist the Risen Jesus continues his two fold mission of proclaiming the Good News and healing the sick. Every celebration of the Eucharist proclaims the Good News and heals the sick. The Liturgy of the Word proclaims the Good News and the Liturgy of the Eucharist heals the sick. If people were healed simply by touching the hem of His garment how much more healing must come from receiving His Body and Blood?
How ridiculous it is then when people ask, “Do I have an obligation to go to Mass on Sunday?” If obligation is going to determine whether or not you go to Mass forget the obligation. You have a greater problem than that. Your problem is faith, you don’t believe. You don’t believe that the Eucharist IS the Risen Christ.
You just don’t realize the connection between the Resurrection and the Eucharist. In just a few moments we will receive the Eucharist and once again have an opportunity for a personal encounter with the Risen Jesus.
Let us ask for the faith to recognize him in the “breaking of the bread” so that we are able to say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God,” and in so doing experience the joy and the power of the Resurrection.
Claiming that the Catholic church gave us Scripture is blasphemy.
The RCC taking credit for the work of God is not going to end well for any involved with that.
To GOD be the glory, only.
From a dropout member of the church of whats happening now.....that is rich!!!!!!!
and this from one of the zillions of protestant denominations all of who are correct....or something!!
No rare steaks nor blood sausage for you!!!...and check your bloody mary...who knows!!
God needed a subject for a large upcoming movie....
it's brilliant statements like that which give us deep insight into protestant thinking....Catholics wrote the new testament so only protestants could misinterpret it....O.K. I guess.....PATHETIC
It never ceases to amaze me how many times certain people claim the Roman Catholic church "gave" the world the Holy Bible as if no one could have been aware of the body of sacred Divinely-inspired writings until "their" guys came along - usually centuries after the last Apostle died. I often wonder how they explain what Jesus could have meant when He spoke of "Moses and the Prophets" and explained "from the Scriptures" the things concerning Himself if no such body of recognized writings existed until the RCC came along three centuries after Christ and magnanimously gave it to the world?
Also, what could Peter have been talking about when he referred to Paul's writings as "Scripture"? Or when Paul warned believers to hear and obey the instructions being given them in word OR in writing?
It makes me laugh out loud to imagine the picture some would have us believe that their guys sat around with a big ol' pile of writings and had to rely upon their gift of infallibility to sort out and determine which writings really came from God and which ones didn't - as if Paul's warning meant nothing to anyone or God's teachings weren't "official" until men decided they were. Hubris is too mild a descriptive of such inanity! We have the Word of God because GOD determined we should. He holds each of us accountable to every word He said and for every command He gave us. What so many fail to comprehend is that the indwelling Holy Spirit within a believer opens and illuminates the word of truth into our hearts and minds. Certainly, having leaders/pastors/teachers who are faithful to the truth and who have the gift of teaching are of great benefit to every Christian and should be cherished, but it is a grave mistake to just swallow everything that comes out of their mouths without testing first to see if these things be so. Many a gullible person has been caught in the web of deceit by glib, smooth talking false prophets. Our ultimate guide and authority IS the sacred Scriptures, the word of God, it alone is infallible. And it is infallible because it comes to us from Almighty God - not the minds of men.
Stealing the glory that belongs to God alone is a HUGE error and can lead to dire consequences. I'd advise people to get their facts straight and stop relying upon so-called intellectual theologians. Many a false prophet and heretic were of such.
The Catholic Church already changed the ten commandments by eliminating making any graven images.
God will not be mocked.
The prohibition is not my idea.
You’re treading on thin ice.
just......
wow......
So it's your addition to the meaning of a Koine Greek word! Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Taking the credit for what God does isn’t going to turn out well for you.
When mercy fails, it can logically fail either on the side of the giver or on the part of the receiver. We already know from other Scriptures that there can be no failure on God's part: there is no limit or no defect in His mercy, which is infinite and endures forever. Therefore the defect must be on the part of the receiver.
And the connection with blasphemy? A person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit so disposes his soul that he does not receive mercy or the Source of Mercy: he rejects it.
So we can see that the Unforgivable Sn is unforgivable because of final impenitence (on the part of the sinner) and not mercy-deficiency (on the part of the Holy Spirit.)
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
It was defined BEFORE they ever were chiseled in stone.
Eve and Adam chomping down...
Wickness leading up to the flood...
Genesis 13:13
Greek - blasphēmēsanti - I speak evil against, blaspheme, use abusive or scurrilous language about
Simply not accepting Christ is not one of the meanings.
Oh??
Sure!!!
... if you're a Jew that has NOT accepted Chrsit as your Savior.
That's all they've GOT!
REMEMBER...
John 6:67-69
So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
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