The Resurrection & The Eucharist

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.

If the prots can't be right the least they could do is be consistent.

Bernadine: …all gifts, all virtues, and all graces are dispensed by the hands of Mary to whomsoever, when, and as she pleases. O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace of salvation can ONLY come through thy hands, OUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON THEE.

Bonaventure: …the gates of heaven will open to all who confide in the protection of Mary. Blessed are they who know thee, O Mother of God, for the knowledge of THEE is the high road to everlasting life, and the publication of thy virtues is the way of ETERNAL SALVATION . Give ear, O ye nations; and all you who desire heaven , serve, honor Mary, and certainly you will find ETERNAL LIFE.

Ephem: …devotion to the divine Mother…is the unlocking of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Blosius: To the, O Lady, are committed the KEYS and the treasures of the kingdom of Heaven.

Ambrose: …constantly pray ‘Open to us, O Mary, the gates of paradise, since thou hast its KEYS.

Fulgetius: …by Mary God descended from Heaven into the world, that by HER man might ascend from earth to Heaven.

Athanasius: …And, thou, O Lady, wast filled with grace, that thou mightiest be the way of our SALVATION and the means of ascent to the heavenly Kingdom.

Richard of Laurence: Mary, in fine, is the mistress of heaven; for there she commands as she wills, and ADMITS whom she wills.

Guerric: …he who serves Mary and for whom she intercedes, is as CERTAIN of heaven as if he were already there…and those who DO NOT serve Mary will NOT BE SAVED.

Anselm: It suffices, O Lady, that thou willest it, and our SALVATION is certain.

Antoninus: …souls protected by Mary, and on which she casts her eyes, are NECESSARILY JUSTIFIED AND SAVED.

Rome looks to be saved the same way the Jews did.... They are lost and so is Rome ...

False, and if those who boast against the holy catholic apostolic church, and our elder brethren the Jews, are even grafted in, we have this reminder, lest they be wise in their own conceits: For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Romans, Catholic chapter eleven, Protestant verses thirteen to twenty two,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James.

I am trying to remember how many non answers this is... if someone does not know Gods purpose for the ten commandments...it will be a VERY LONG and hot eternity

The answer is life, and death.

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Deuteronomy, Catholic chapter thirty, Protestant verses one to sixteen,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James,

Shallow Bible Christianity is on full display here.

Without the Eucharist, everything else is useless. The Resurrection is now in the consecrated bread and wine of Christ. This is a belief of the early Church fathers based on scripture and the oral tradition. They are both based on the Word of God. John 21:25 does not mean to imply that the unwritten word of God got blown into the desert air.

Is the Bible the sole “teaching from God?” No. The Bible Itself states that their are “oral” teachings and traditions that are to be carried on to the present-day (2 Thessalonians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:24-25). These teachings are what the Catholic Church considers “Sacred Apostolic Tradition.”

The great stellar line-up of Catholic theologians, as well as pre-eminent Protestant theologians who converted to Catholicism understand this belief, except for the Moonies, the Billy Grahams, Creflo Dollars, Jimmy Swaggarts, Benny Hinns, David Koreshs, Jim Jones’, and Joel Osteens of this world.

Apparently Elsie is unembarrassed to be in the good company with these folks who recite parrot-like the same scriptural citations that are tossed out by hundreds of neighborhood corner street pastors of a variety of Foursquare Churches masquerading as First AME, First Methodist; First -—(whatever). The moment these folks accept Petrine authority, the coin in the collection plate dries up, they will have to fold up tent, and earn a real living.

Then we have a gem of absurdity that “before the Church there was Jesus.” This is what is taught at Protestant kids school.

Apparently Christ made a mistake by establishing a Church, and commanding His teaching be preserved by Peter and his successors till the end of time (all of his teaching: written and unwritten)

Did the early Christians have the Bible as we know it? No. The Bible as a whole was not compiled until the late 4th century and then it was compiled by a Catholic saint (St. Jerome) at the request of a Catholic pope (St. Damasus I).

So how were the early Christians saved if they did not possess the entire written “Word of God” to follow His teachings? Well, naturally, they were the Body of Christ and were taught through “oral” teachings by the Church, not by writings.

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, stated this the Bible. In his “Commentary On St. John,” he wrote the following: We are compelled to concede to the Catholic Church “that they have the Word of God, that we have received It from them, and that without them we should have no knowledge of It at all.”

Or maybe if you doubt Petrine authority, you should get yourself your own Bible and may be you may include what the Church excluded based on its infallible authority those apocryphal Christian writings such as the Gospel of St. James, the Acts of St. Paul, the Apocalypse of St. Peter, the Gospel of St. Mary Magdalene, the Gospel of St. Thomas and the myriad of other writings from the first and second centuries of the Christianity.

So rather than be given elementary instruction in Catholic theology and continuing to embarrass oneself perhaps you should take your concerns to those several Lutheran and Episcopalian theologians who after a whole lifetime of study, teaching, preaching, historical inquiry, and personal reflection converted to Catholicism.

Or, if you need more elucidation, you can attend a Joel Osteen Sunday gathering for a feel-good scriptural interpretation of the “prosperity gospel,” without need to encumber yourself in participating in the Sacrifice of the Mass (called the “perfect prayer” by the great Catholic convert, John Henry Newman) or any of the other sacraments.

Or, there is always a neighborhood Foursquare Church service for a vapid recitation of Scripture (from a Bible assembled by the Catholic Church) with songs followed by coffee, and doughnuts. No need to hear the great orchestral music played during a Mozart’s Mass.

At Easter, you do well to make it a picnic on the beach for “Sunrise Services” (so they call it) with guitar, picnic basket, and dog in tow for a nice kumbaya sunrise dance.

Perhaps Elsie may like to read the thesis of Dr. David Anders, Protestant historian who valiantly tried to prove Catholicism wrong and ended up converting! This is some of what he said:

“I thought there could be no better preparation for assaulting the Catholic Church and winning converts than to thoroughly understand the minds of the great leaders of our faith — Martin Luther and John Calvin”

He brilliantly demonstrates how utterly wrong, absurd, and internally inconsistent these Protestant beliefs are, the same nonsense tossed out like confetti with out of context scriptural quotations time and time again by shallow Bible Christians. You can understand now why Bible Christianity today is a caricature especially when mainline Protestant and Evangelical churches use scriptural warrant to justify ordaining married day and lesbian pastors.

So stay at home, or keep hopscotching from one foursquare neighborhood church to another until you can settle down in some First “this” or “that” and you can feel comfortable with it’s “pastor’s” interpretation of the Word of God. (No need to know about the received sacred tradition).

The moment the pastor shifts away from what “you” think is correct, then move on to another Foursquare Church. The Holy Spirit you tell us will guide you correctly. But that’s what those who do not switch with you and remain in that same church tell us as well. Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s congregants will tell you the Holy Spirit is not only with them, they can “feel” the Holy Spirit as well.

Perhaps Bible Christians need to speak of either “holy spirits” or get “their” own Bible.

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