Why didn’t someone tell me that grad school is so busy? Thank you all for your patience; I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time to actually write up a blog. Fortunately, however, some of you seemed to like that story I posted a few weeks ago, so for the time being I will post another story I wrote, one section at a time. I hope you enjoy it as well! It is the story of the courtship of a man named Erov (air-ove) and an Elven woman named Annaléa (ah-nah-lay-ah). God bless all of you!

 

Chapter One: Erov Seeks the Hand of Annaléa

 

One night while Erov was walking in the woods he came upon a clearing. Within the embrace of the darkened trees was a multitude of white flowers all swaying in a light wind, shining brightly in the moonlight. It was his birth moon, full and brilliant (for Erov was born under the light of such a moon, hence his pale skin, bright eyes and courage in the darkness whereas his siblings would cower near the fire), and it was on this night he received his greatest gift—for amongst the moonlilies lay Annaléa, an Elvish princess of the forest.

Quietly Erov approached, his greatest fear being that of waking her, for she was so very beautiful while sleeping that the very night was like to shatter into day were her rest interrupted. Elves however hear much better than men and though his feet made no noise, his pounding heart may as well have been a thunderstorm. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw Erov standing over her.

Erov’s gaze met her own and in that moment found his feet to be fixed in place, for so deep was her beauty that he could not escape it, nor did he wish to. She was wearing a dark blue dress and her feet were bare, the bottoms stained from the rich soil of the forest and the bruised grasses that yielded joyfully to her every step. Her skin was lightly tanned, kissed so by the sun, and her hair was light brown and streaked with honey-blond strands, here and there being small braids twined with blue ribbons to match her raiment. Though above all it was the eyes of Annaléa which enchanted him the most, for never before had he seen such large and beautiful jewels of sea-green, and the way they looked at him in the moonlight made Erov wish dearly that he could look upon them for the rest of his days.

“Why are you here, son of man?” the elf asked in her soft, sweet voice, still lying upon the grass.

“I cannot help myself, for my lonely heart was drawn to your beauty as a thirsting deer to the spring! Oh if I had but one wish it would be to know of the name Beauty goes by!”

She was touched by his words and rose to her feet, brushing away a few blades of grass that clung to her dress, unwilling to let go of her.

“My name is Annaléa, daughter of the Forest King, steward of all these trees among which you and your family dwell.”

“Annaléa!” Erov cried, “Surely that name is the child of Heaven’s very breath! Annaléa; the trees whisper it! Annaléa; the creatures dance to it! Oh that the stones could speak such a dear word! Annaléa!”

For a whole moon they met there amid the white flowers, Erov always bringing her carved things and poetry, and soon he had the courage within him and the blessing of his father and mother to seek the King of the Forest and ask for the hand of fairest Annaléa. It was that Erov followed a path of white petals, left by his dearest love, all the way to the King’s secret court. When the son of man arrived at the great grove of the king’s hall he came upon a merry scene, but soon mirth gave way to silence and stares. Here a musician ceased and there a courtier held their tongue, for all were amazed that a man stood in a place none other than Elves dared to seek.

“Who is this man that stands uninvited here within my great hall?” the king demanded, rising to his feet. The silence became even more quiet and it seemed as though the cottonwood fluff drifting down like snow had come to a standstill in midair.

“It is indeed a great hall, mighty king, and its majesty humbles this man to his very core. My name is Erov, son of man, and I come to ask for your fair daughter’s hand in marriage.”

The king laughed at him, “I have many daughters, all of them fair, Erov son of man. You may as well have asked for a star from the night sky!”

The whole assembled court chuckled at the king’s saying, but Erov boldly rose above their laughter with a great exclamation.

“But I ask for the sun!” he cried out. All gasped and were hushed, even the king, and his eyes grew wide, growing pregnant with the knowledge of which daughter it was that the son of man sought.

“Annaléa? You seek my daughter Annaléa?” the king almost whispered. He strode up to Erov, causing the heart of the young man to shrink though he tried to stand as tall as he could. Try as he might, the king towered over him, looking down into his eyes as if from the top of a mountain. Erov yet found the courage to speak.

“Oh Majesty, yes! I would seek her amidst all the desert sands even if she were only so large as a single grain!”

The king’s eye closed to a squint, suspicion burrowing deep into Erov’s every word in search of guile and, finding none, he returned to his great throne. All the court sat in their place, be it upon the ground or on long plank benches, leaving Erov to stand alone.

“Annaléa my daughter, do you wish for the heart of this man?”

She nodded her head eagerly, coming to recline at the king’s feet, placing her hands within his own.

“Very well, son of man. You must perform three tasks to prove yourself worthy of so great a gift. Fail at any one of them and you will never see her again. I will spirit her away to such a place that you would not find her if you looked everywhere upon the earth three times in the same moment. Do you accept this?”

Erov beat his chest and said proudly, “I cannot fail, for love is my guide! I accept your tasks, whatever they may be.”

The king looked at him thoughtfully saying, “We will see, bold one, for you know not what is to be requested of you.”

He clapped his hands once, shattering the stillness, and the cottonwood fluffs continued to rain again. A scribe then came forward, being then instructed to write in the language of men everything the king spoke.

“You must wrestle with a demon and win. You must drink from the Bitter Cup and gain strength. You must seek the greatest treasure in the world and lay it at my feet. Do these things and you may wed my daughter; do them not, and you will be eternally separated from her. Take with you this scroll, lest you forget the price of your courtship.”

Erov took the scroll and was dismissed, immediately embarking upon his quest. To find a demon, he thought, he must find a cave (for demons shun the light and dwell in the bowels of the earth). He knew that the nearest cave was a day’s journey away, so he chose for himself a soft spot of earth and slept to calm and strengthen himself for the time ahead.

 

Everyone, quick, go to http://maje-charis.xanga.com/ and tell her goodbye; she’s my best friend and she’s entering the convent TOMORROW!!!!!!!

 

Edit: earlier the title to this post was simply “Goodbye.” Sorry if I made some of you think that I was leaving Xanga!!!!! I’m not!!

While I might not be able to update for another week (classes start tomorrow!), I thought that before I try updating I would see if there is anything y’all would like me to write a post about? Otherwise I’ll come up with something, I’m sure! So be patient, and pray for one another!

Princess Larayna wove through the revelers like a lithe needle through the festive fabric of flesh and finery, though they were not so much reveling but swaying as though soon to fall with the weight of death; but so was the way of the Gravehill dance, as well as the natural result of many successive hours of dancing and too much wine. She wished that she knew the identity of the prince with whom she had wagered her last dance; perhaps then she could guess his taste in women. But all men are alike it seemed to her, so she needed merely to find the woman she was most envious of and go to claim her prize. So it was that Larayna searched the entire ballroom, and as the music began to slow to even more dreadful a tempo, signaling its near end, she began to panic, for she could not decide upon a single woman of the many hundreds present, even with the generous amount of time afforded her. Surely this woman was not too old, and neither was she too young. The princess cursed herself for taking such a wager at a masquerade ball, of all places, for the masks precluded the possibility of viewing the face of any woman present; how could she judge a woman if she could not see her face?

Finally, just before it seemed as though every dancer would drop dead, the music breathed its last, echoed by a collective sigh. A brief recess was called during which time all could avail themselves of food, drink and time upon a bench. Even as those in attendance dispersed  her task was made no simpler, and with only a few minutes before the final dance began Larayna returned to the anonymous nobleman who awaited her near the corner of the room.

“You return empty handed, My Lady.”

“You, Sir, have deceived Your Lady, or something to that effect; you have set her to an impossible task. Therefore, you shall neither tell her your name, nor shall you have her last dance.”

The man smiled. “My Lady you are correct; I have deceived her, but not in the manner which she accuses me of. You see, when we first began I asked if from this vantage point she could view before her the same people that I could, and she answered in the affirmative. I, however, could see one woman here present that she could not.”

“Pray tell,” Larayna said, a heat stirring in her stomach as she began to feel that she had fallen into a prank for this man’s amusement, “Who is this woman that you could see what Your Lady could not, though she searched every dancer for this one flower amongst an entire garden? She should like to see if this beauty was worth all this trouble, as well as your disappointment.”

“As you wish,” he said, extending his hand to lead her. She accepted it and, before she could react, he spun her around to where they both could face the mirror. Gasping at her own reflection, feeling as though she had suddenly been stripped naked to her skin, she covered her gaping mouth with her hands. In that moment the truth of the day’s strange events struck her heart as though an arrow and Princess Larayna, daughter of a king, destined to rule over some realm of her own one day, regal and strong, could no longer stand by her own strength and leant upon this unknown nobleman for support.

“You see, My Lady, this is she; you, the Princess Larayna. The truth is that, from where we stood, there was indeed one woman in this room that I could see and you could not, a woman you could search your whole life for and never find unless it was that a man who sees your beauty not merely for what it is, but who it is, helps you to see it. I offer you, My Lady, this truth in exchange for the simple favor of your last dance, in the great hope that while I enjoy in memory that simple moment of music and movement you will enjoy the rich blessing of knowing the beauty of your being, that beauty of yours that has always been, that is, that will be. I tell you nothing new but what we both know in our hearts to be true, and I do so that you will accept the truth now brought into the light—you are beautiful, and you cannot deceive yourself any longer, nor let yourself be deceived by any other.”

She searched in the mirror those eyes again for deceit; surely he is merely a clever poet wishing to win something worthy of a public house’s brag! But again she found only a tranquil, liquid honesty that flooded every word of his with truth. In that moment a new strength was kindled in her, the strength that begins to assert itself when a person first opens their heart to the truth of their soul. A single tear grew fat upon her joy and began its slow, triumphal march down her face to bring its tidings to the very earth which Larayna felt slowly falling away as she seemed to soar. Thinking quickly, however, she reached out with her kerchief to catch it and watched as it spread itself across a small span of the white fabric.

Larayna turned to look upon the nobleman, and Grey’s heart stopped in the face of her gaze, large green eyes open wide and trembling, brimmed in liquid glass, long lashes dew-laden. Terror gripped him, yet so too did delight, and the two emotions grappled like titans and shook his very soul.

“You Sir…most kind Sir…you have done me such a service…your words have pierced me as an arrow swift and true…you knew precisely where to aim…so true that it missed flesh and blood and death and instead struck my soul, inspiring it to new life…I cannot…”

“Milady,” Grey said, without considering his folly in employing this familiar greeting, “this message comes not from my own quiver, as though I were some clever poet who crafts his speech as a fletcher of words, but comes from a higher place we have no words for at all; I am but the bow.”

With that his delight won out over his terror, but it would quickly have faltered if he knew the chord of recognition his employ of milady had struck in the attentive mind of the princess. She then began to hope secretly, truly against hope, that perhaps, somehow, there was yet another man in the world so simple and true as the servant Grey?

Alas, what tragedy that the truth lay before her, though behind a mask!

            “Well, Sir Truebow, in thanks for this gift I give you this tear, wrought by your arrow, blood from my heart wounded yet made more whole. May it serve to remind you always of the moment you humbled the highest lady in the Twelve Kingdoms and stole a dance from their highest prince.”

            “Milady?”

            As though the word were a new music to her, Larayna closed her eyes a moment as she smiled, extending her hand to him, “Yes, you are victorious, Sir; may you enjoy your victory, and may the Prince Malagyrn be too drunk to remember our previous arrangement.”

            Grey tied the kerchief thoughtfully around his upper arm and joined her in the final dance, a lush traditional tune of Highills that drew a cheer from the crowd. He drank in every precious moment of the dance’s duration, the only time he would ever feel as a prince. Larayna too drank heavily of the sweet draught of the dance, for it was the first time she felt not merely a princess or even a queen, but truly herself and beautiful. No crown would now suit her, no dress adequately frame her, no jewel adorn her; nay, ‘twas she that now adorned the jewel.

 

 

And so it is that there is nothing so beautiful in the world under Christ, nothing so moving, so humbling, so powerful in presence nor deep in meaning, than a woman who knows, truly, that she is beautiful, and accepts it. I hope that you have enjoyed my little story! God bless you all, and pray for me while I am on retreat until Thursday evening; I’ll be praying for you!

 

Grey, clothed from neck to foot in fine attire like unto the trim and color of some distant land’s noble line, peered out through his mask at the large ballroom where hundreds of couples swirled about as water lilies caught in a gentle current. Should any one of them recognize him, he would surely be exiled to the desert. He had intentionally arriven toward the end of the evening’s events, that he might not have to defend his disguise too often against too many, all that he might offer the second part of the day’s previous gift to Princess Larayna.

Walking casually along the wall of the ballroom, he made his way to the tables laden nearly to breaking with fruits, meats and pastries; a diverse cornucopia representing the culinary traditions of the Twelve Kingdoms. There was also a large, marble fountain fashioned as a bouquet of twelve flowers, each blossom pouring out wine into a large basin within which a guest could dip their chalice and drink their fill.

The room itself was cavernous, the ceiling undulating with the colorful banners of all the noble houses of the world, some of them square and heavy, some of them light and serpentine, all of them colorful and rich with hidden meaning buried in heraldry. The windows along the wall opposite the entrance were dark with the midnight hour, all things being lit by chandeliers of candlesticks, candelabras, and a roaring fire before which sat the King Wayrmyrd and Queen Thelaylia and their guardsmen. Afar off on the opposite end in a loft was a grand chamber orchestra of strings and winds and some cymbals, drums and other things that carried the feet of all present upon lovely tunes from the different realms, that they might dance according to the style of their folk. The current song was a dirge from the Kingdom of Gravehill, as those who dwell among the tombs of kings long dead are wont to enjoy, though most other dancers would prefer something, quite literally, of a livelier sort.

It was just before this number, as Grey was walking in, that an announcement was made: following the dirge would be the last dance. His timing was perfect, but now he had the near impossible mission of finding the only partner he desired…and lo! he spotted her, a rose among weeds. As a sunrise above a green forest frosted silver in the early autumn was the long, flowing hair of Princess Larayna, her maskless face feigning a smile as another noble no doubt bored her with tales of his exploits. Having no time, no patience and no regard for self-inflated men who merely tell the tales of the things they order their soldiers to do, claiming such deeds as their own, Grey did one thing disguised as a prince he could not do as Grey the serving man: he interrupted.

“So you see, My Lady, when one is surrounded on all sides by servants of evil, one must not rely upon his sword alone, but by two swords! Thus it was that I…”

“Pardon me, Sir, but the night is casting an even longer shadow than your nose,” Grey said, completely dismayed that such a statement came from his own mouth. An expression of sheer delight played across the Larayna’s face as the nobleman sputtered, groping at his nose unconsciously as he sidled off, not knowing quite how to respond.

“You, Sir,” she said, seeking to restrain what would surely have been a beautiful laugh, “are quite bold. You are, however, most welcome here for the moment, though Your Lady will be dancing once this dreadful elegy has ended.”

“It is of dancing, My Lady,” the forced usage of the common phrase was like bile on his tongue, but he could not risk Larayna discovering his identity, “that I wish to treat. May I have the honor of her last dance this evening?”

The princess looked upon the bowing man in disbelief. Bold indeed!

“You may not!” she responded in nearly a gasp, “Prince Malagyrn arranged for that pleasure months ago by correspondence and would be most cross were she to grant such a favor to you on a whim. Be off, and dance with another.”

Knowing that his first asking would likely fail, Grey searched himself for a deeper courage, found it, and embraced it, “Then I would like to make a wager for her last dance, since it is known to me that My Lady is both clever and a lover of guessing games.”

“You are well informed, Sir…”

“My name shall be your prize, should you win.”

A thrill of curiosity shot through her, and before she could process his request rationally Larayna found herself accepting the wager and eagerly awaiting the details. He took her gently by the hand and led her to a wall upon which hung a large mirror. From their place near to the corner of the room they could see the whole of the crowd.

“Would My Lady,” he said, close to her ear, “say that, from where we stand, she can see only the same people that I can?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“In all my time this evening I have seen one woman who is in my eye the most beautiful of all present. My challenge to My Lady is that, by the end of the current song, she must seek this woman out and bring her to me, that I may have the dancing partner I desire, if I cannot have the Princess Larayna.”

She laughed. “What a fascinating challenge! And tell Your Lady, Mysterious Sir, what she shall win, besides the satisfaction of knowing your name? For if she fails you win not only her last dance, but too the ire of a powerful prince.”

“You will win nothing more than my name for were My Lady to know it, she would find it worth her every effort.”

Eyebrows raised as a falcon’s upheld for imminent flight, she looked into the eyes behind the mask, seeking deceit should it be there and, upon finding none whatsoever Latayna smiled and vanished into the dancing crowd in a green-gold swirl that robbed Grey of his very breath. Heart pounding, forehead sweating beneath the leather of his mask, he uttered a prayer and hoped with his very life that this gamble would succeed, for he stood to lose far more than this evening’s anonymity; he could lose his very way of life.

 

Yes indeed; you may have caught another invented word, albeit a more subtle one- arriven! I just think it sounds better than “arrived,” don’t you? Return in a few more days for the conclusion!

 

Now that my series on the Catholic Mass is ended and available for any who want to go back and review it, I thought I would offer something a little different. It is a scene from a longer work I have been wanting to write for the last few years, but since God always has other plans, it always takes a backseat. But I do a little here and there, as I am able. It wasn’t until I read a post by freebirdheart that I thought I should do a post on something I see both in the “real world” and on Xanga: women who struggle to see themselves as beautiful. This is something I am very, very passionate about, so I will never hesitate to take the opportunity to remind women of the truth of their beauty! While I have touched upon the subject throughout my blogging history on Xanga (here is a popular example), I wanted to try something a little different. Please enjoy a little story, and I hope that the allegory and all that is well understood by everyone who reads it. To you women of Xanga, especially those with whom I am most in touch, who struggle to accept the raw and resplendent truth of who they are, this little tale is for you. May God, the Perfect Beauty who created you in His image and likeness as beautiful also, bless you all the days of your life.

“Beauty Unmasked: Part One”

Princess Larayna stood before a full-length mirror, the ends of her long hair dripping onto the furs that held at bay the chill of the stone floor beneath. Warm air blew in from the balcony window, and firelight from the dying day caressed her skin until all the gooseflesh vanished. Soon her handmaid returned after emptying the bath and, first toweling her off, began to gently comb out Larayna’s renowned locks of gold.

            “Has My Lady chosen a dress for the evening’s festivities?” the servant asked.

            “Yes, she has,” came Larayna’s reply, “being the green velvet with the silver brocade. Her hair shall be worn loose, with a golden circlet upon her crown, and silver slippers.”

            Without missing a stroke of the comb, the girl asked, “She wishes to wear her hair down? Unbraided, without adornment? I do not question My Lady, but only wish to understand her perfectly.”

            “Precisely; you have understood her.”

            As every tangle was expertly undone and each split end bitten off and spit out into the fire, Larayna recalled the curious incident regarding the King’s servant, Grey, and his “gift.”

 

“Milady,” he had said, using the word not as a statement of fact but as her name, because he did not feel worthy to address her by her true one, “you are concerned with many things that amount, in the end, to nothing except that these worries rob us of the pleasure of your company.”

            How dare he? she had thought, bristling at his judgment of her concerns as amounting to nothing! “I shall consider this,” is what she had said aloud, however.

            “Please find no insult in my words; I am a man of poor learning, but I mean well. I come to you today bearing a gift that has been years in the making. You see, Milady, I once was a craftsman before entering into His Majesty’s service, and I am made to understand that there is a masquerade this eventide and you have not a mask to wear and were preparing to go out and seek one. Is this true?”

            “Yes, it is, though I do not see how such a thing is any concern of a serving man.”

            “I beg Milady to consider this, that she may not weary her feet in traveling about the city.”

            He then held forward a small wooden box tied shut with scarlet ribbon, a sealed note held fast beneath. Without another word the serving man left, and though he was indeed handsome and of her own age, and though normally she enjoyed his company, that meeting stirred within her a sense of being cornered, as though she were being chased and had nowhere left to run. Something within his pure, open honesty terrified her; all this before Larayna had even opened the letter.

 

            The comb came upon a surprise knot and the sudden jerk of it snapped the princess back to the moment at hand. The servant girl apologized profusely before continuing on, and soon Larayna’s hair was finished being combed out and oiled very lightly with balsam. Once another girl had come to assist her into her dress, she dismissed all company and retired to her chamber. While sitting at her reading desk she looked upon the open note from Grey, there sitting open like a squared blossom etched with dark blue lines. It began, as the serving man always did, with “Milady.”

            Something about the way he employed that word was different from everyone else, as though he was not taking from her, but giving. Even her closest servants were always speaking to her as though she were someone else in a different room: What would My Lady like to eat? How is My Lady feeling?

            “She would like fresh-baked bread with cold wine; she is dreadfully alone.” But never did Larayna voice what she herself desired; always this separate Lady elsewhere expressed its whim and won it. Yet when Grey addressed her, he addressed her; he did not know of the Other to whom she felt a slave, bound up in the chains of Expectation to where she could hardly breathe.

            Now, for the seventh time since receiving it, Larayna read his note and felt again the swelling in her heart as each word seemed upon it like a warm rain, and after each had fallen she felt that much more filled as no food or drink could accomplish.

 

Milady,

            I have for some time observed you from afar, as one does the sun from here upon the lowly earth, yet I notice how cold you have become in these years past. It is as though I see Milady, but do not see her, as though I am turned toward a mirror and see only your reflection cold but just as brilliant. If the sun were similarly, then all the day would be as night, for is not the moon but a reflection of its rays? As the grass would wither and die, so do I wilt a little in your sadness, and I cannot bear it a moment longer. For what I hope will be your joy I have painstakingly crafted a mask for you to wear this night; a mask you were born to wear. This is no jest! I swear to this; no humiliation or lie is intended, though should you be unconvinced I would gladly hang for it. This mask, unlike any other in the realm, will send out from among all present the question, “Who is she?” as any mask is wont to elicit, and though it may lay bare many things it will only serve to deepen the mystery of your true self. I beg Milady, with all that I am, to choose this mask above all others and wear it without fear of ridicule, without shame for what is hidden beneath.

 

Yours in His Majesty’s service,

 

Grey Thilvayn

 

            Also for the seventh time Larayna opened the simple little box and gazed upon its emptiness, and the truth of the note’s contents filled her at once with gratitude and terror. Would she accept what was offered her; would she don the truth and bravely endure whatever the Kingdom of Highills might think of her?

            Closing the lid of the empty box, wondering again if she would end up a jester instead of a princess, she walked quickly from her chamber to the hallway that led to the ballroom. A servant girl sitting in a chair and sewing looked up and lost her smile as it fell from her face.

            “Where is My Lady’s mask? Shall I fetch one?”

            “My Lady is wearing a mask!” Larayna replied in frustration, not missing a single stride, balling up her fists as she forced herself to walk farther and farther from her only chance at saving herself from what was like to be the fashion faux pas of the year. Later, when she had answered the incredulous inquiries of exactly three guests she simply ignored the rest, and soon many thought that not only had the princess forgotten her mask but she had become deaf as well.

            A dreadful thing, they muttered gossipaciously to one another, to lose both ones hearing and fashion sense in the same season!

 

(Yes, my dear readers, I invented a word there! Gossipaciously: to speak in a gossip-like manner. And I don’t ask this often, but feel free to rec the post so that, if you feel it has something worthwhile to say, the message gets out to all who need to hear it!)

 

And so, for the grant finale! I hope that you have enjoyed my series on the Mass; as always, any questions about the Mass or Catholicism are always welcome here or via message. Happy Feast of the Transfiguration!

 

Pater Noster

The priest then invites us to pray the prayer that Christ taught us, the one prayer that all Christians throughout the world hold in common, one part of every Christian’s Catholic heritage that has not been done away with. This is the prayer written on the hearts of every child of the Most High…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The celebrant prays: “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

We respond: “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever.” (Rev. 11:15 anyone?)

 

Here we have gone from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane, when we pray like Christ that God’s will, not our own, be done. And just as it was in the Garden, though it was then as a betrayal, we are given some hope and encouragement as we then have a moment to be angels for one another.

The Sign of Peace

The celebrant says, “Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.”

“Amen!”

“The Peace of the Lord be with you always.”

“And also with you.”

“Let us offer each other a sign of peace.”

And so we do, following again the teaching of Christ when He teaches us: “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24) We recall that reconciliation which we sought near the beginning of the Mass with the Penitential Rite; now we express that reality with a handshake, a hug, a kiss; whatever is culturally and relationship appropriate. The only time of year when the Sign of Peace does not take place is on Good Friday, to remember that Christ was betrayed by the kiss of peace. At all other celebrations of the Mass (since technically there is no Mass on Good Friday), the sign of peace is a sign of joy, that though we will soon recall and participate in the Passion and Death of Our Lord, we already know that He will not be taken from us; He in fact has come to be with us even more closely than ever before!

Agnus Dei

“Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the (seven) spirits of God sent out into the whole world.” (Rev. 5:6)

“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9-10)

This for me is the most solemn part of the Mass, especially if the following words are sung to a particularly moving arrangement:

“Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace…”

While the congregation proclaims this, generally while kneeling, the celebrant is breaking up the Host. I remember during the third week of my silent retreat, while we were being encouraged to contemplate for several days the passion and death of Christ, I was at Mass and because the Host is very thin and dry, it makes a cracking sound when it is broken. It was all I could do to not weep when I heard that noise during Mass and imagined the huge nails going into His hands and feet, cracking through ligaments and bones…

Not long ago we sat with Him at table, we prayed with Him in the Garden, we came offering a sign of peace (though unlike Judas, ours is hopefully genuine!). Now we stand at the foot of the Cross, beholding the Lamb that was slain, seeing the wounds that will heal us; the priest holds up the broken Host above the chalice that contains His Precious Blood, saying, 

“This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.”

Unlike those brave few who followed Him all the way to Golgotha, we have been consoled in knowing already that He is risen; thus we can truly understand the words of the angel in Revelations 19:9 that say, “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb!” Yes, for “These words are true; they come from God.” (same verse) Still, we are humbled, for though Christ died once and for all, He has never ceased to make of Himself an offering (remember the two-fold aspect of sacrifices). For “we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23), hence the tradition of the crucifix and not merely an empty cross. We do not crucify Him anew; we recall His constant self-offering for our constant sinning, His labor until He comes again to finish what He started. Who are we to receive such a gift? Well, we may as well say it, all of us , in the words of that centurion with the amazing faith that surprised even Christ. The congregation says together:

“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” (Matt. 8:8, Luke 7:6-7)

Unlike the centurion, however, Christ will enter into the very temple of our bodies and not merely heal us, but remain to dwell within us always.

Remember, too, that the Mass is the fulfillment of the Passover that was celebrated for centuries by our Jewish ancestors, and by many today. Like them, we have been given a Lamb to offer as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole household–the Church. Like them we have unleavened bread, we have wine and, like them, we must eat the Lamb.

“Consummatum Est.” 

In John 19:30 Christ, just before He dies, says, “It is finished.” It makes sense, then, that many non-Catholics would see the Eucharist as not being a participation in the passion and death of Christ, as though He were continuing to offer Himself, but as a reenactment, a memorial, or something otherwise symbolic, though nothing “actual” as we Catholics believe. His passion and death was all wrapped up on the Cross, as He states in the quoted verse. 

But John in Revelations (the evangelist’s other book!) he is always talking about the “Wedding Feast” of the Lamb. Even his Gospel begins Christ’s public ministry with a wedding feast at Cana, and after that St. John the Baptist is talking about Christ as the Bridegroom (3:29). Clearly, St. John the Evangelist was trying to tell us something.

We read about the creation of Adam in Genesis and how his bride, Eve, was taken from His side. St. John Chrysostom, writing in the 4th century, writes similarly about the creation of the Church, with the sacraments of Baptism (water) and Eucharist (blood) coming from His side. Is not the Church “flesh of His flesh,” His Mystical Body, brought into His life through Baptism and nourished by His Body and Blood? As St. John Chrysostom continues, “Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and are nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish us with his own Blood those to whom he himself has given life.”

You see, Christ did not finish something with His death on the Cross (except, perhaps, Death itself!) but began something; I think the Latin translation of John 19:30 relates this far better by offering, “Consummatum est”–”It is consummated”–instead. In Jewish tradition, as continues in Catholicism, a man and a woman are not married until “the two become one flesh,” if you know what I mean. So sure, the wedding may be over, but the marriage has just begun. Likewise upon the Cross, when Jesus says, “It is finished,” He is saying that the two, Man and God, Christ and His Bride, have become one. The marriage has begun, and each time we come to Mass and partake in the Eucharist, we are celebrating that momentous occasion, renewing as a whole Church our vows and our covenant in Christ’s blood. And then, when all is reconciled and everything has been prepared, each person walks up one-by-one to the Bridegroom who is presented to them with the simple, declarative statement:

“The Body/Blood of Christ.”

Imagine, if you will, you who approach our Eucharistic Lord. What you see is a minister holding before you what appears to be a small piece of bread, but you know it or at least accept it to be more than that; the very living Body of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, broken for you, the eating of which will bring you eternal life. What you hear is “The Body/Blood of Christ,” but what you know is being said is, “Do you accept me as your personal Lord and Savior? As I am? Will you do for me as I have done for you? Will you join with me and serve me, will you be faithful to me? Do you believe what I have taught regarding this bread, what so many of my first disciples could not accept, but St. Peter and my closest friends did?”

And thus the Catholic, by grace and faith, says, “Amen,” which means, “So be it; this I believe.” Do you see also, with this understanding, why only Catholics and those in communion are permitted to receive the Eucharist? Otherwise a person who does not hold these beliefs would stand before the Eucharistic Lord, be presented with what the Church believes, and would receive the Eucharist with lies in their heart; those not in communion with the Church do not say with their “Amen,” whether by word or by action (consuming the Host), “So be it; this I believe.” We do not exclude because we hate; we protect you from making a mistake!

We hear in Galatians 3:28 that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Truly in the Eucharist we see this reality lived out, for all people, regardless of gender, age, race, nationality, rich or poor, all are reduced to beggars coming to receive their daily bread. The Eucharist, especially when we all come forward to receive, is the moment when the marriage between Christ and the Church is consummated anew, for when we eat and drink that which sustains us, does it not become one with our flesh? And this “bread” that we eat, this “blood” that we drink, these are truly the Flesh and Blood of Christ; thus in this Sacrament the two become one flesh; Bridegroom and Bride are one. Yes, the Church is made up of men and women, male and female, but because we receive the Eucharist as a Church, united in our belief and our confession, this difference vanishes in the brilliant light of the union of Heaven and Earth. 

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept Him…

There is normally a song or at least prolonged silence during and after communion. Once all who will receive have received and the vessels (paten and chalice) have been purified, the priest offers a short prayer before inviting everyone to stand.

“The Lord be with you.”

“And also with you.”

Here the presider may offer a special blessing, but generally it is: “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” We all make the Sign of the Cross while he says this, answering with “Amen!” We have ended where we began, in His name. Then:

“Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.”

“Thanks be to God!”

Finally, after we have made peace with our brothers and sisters, after we have gone to the Apostolic School of the Heart (Liturgy of the Word), after we have confessed our faith (the Creed) and brought our petitions to the mercy of God the Father (intercessory prayers), after we have brought a fitting sacrifice and offering to God in the Eucharist, after we have renewed our covenant and union with each other and with God through Christ, we find ourselves in a similar place as were the followers of Christ gathered in Galilee when Jesus Christ, here represented by His minister, the priest, says, “Go out to all nations…” Truly, as Christ says in John 17:18 “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.”

The word “Mass” comes from the same Latin word that our word “mission” comes from. The Mass is an opportunity for each follower of Christ to immerse their whole being in an experience of salvation history, of the Church of the Apostles, the Church that “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles…” (Acts 2:42-43)

 

Really, then, on Sunday it is not a matter of coming to Church and then going home. I encourage all my Catholic brothers and sisters–really, all Christians–to realize that when you come to your parish to celebrate the Eucharist, you are coming home from the vineyard. Here is where you come to be with your family, for who is your mother? Who are your brothers? As Christ said in Matthew 12:49-50 ”Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” With God as Our Father, our Bread-Winner with Christ as our Bread, where we live not by bread alone but by the very Word of God that becomes our Bread, the Church is truly our home from where we are sent back into the world to live out faithfully all that we have been taught by the apostles, in the hope that more and more will desire to become a member of the family, that Christ’s great desire may be fulfilled in us, “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:21…actually, read all of John 17 from the perspective of the Eucharist; it makes a lot of sense!) 

So this FINALLY wraps up my epic series on the Catholic Mass (again, the Latin Rite; there are many ways by which the Church celebrates the Eucharist!). I hope that it has proven helpful, and please do feel free to always ask questions about the Mass, about any of the thoughts I have offered, or really anything Catholic in general. God bless all of you, and may all Christians indeed be one Church again one day!

 

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS (MY ORDER)!

At Mass this morning I began thinking about this post, the part I’ve been most looking forward to. Now, the Eucharist is my favorite thing (person, rather!) to think about, to ponder and consider. I don’t say this to boast, but just to let you all know that if I am not careful, I could just go on and on about the subject! So if you’d like to read a couple of other past posts about the Eucharist, you can find them here:http://ancient-scribe.xanga.com/683736487/thanksgiving/ and http://ancient-scribe.xanga.com/686270764/take-this-all-of-you-and-eat-it/ and http://ancient-scribe.xanga.com/710689228/miracles/ and http://ancient-scribe.xanga.com/708258537/i-want-to-see-his-body/  OK that’s probably enough!

 

For Part Four of my mini-series on the Mass, we arrive at last at the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the most important part not only of the Mass, but also of the whole life of the Catholic Church. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith; it is through the Eucharist that we are united across any distance, be it in miles, in time or the difference between heaven and earth. As St. Paul writes, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor. 10:16-17). When we participate in the Eucharist that is the living Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, when we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we become united to Him; the Bride (we, the Church!) become one flesh with Christ, the Bridegroom. Because we each are united to the same Christ, we all become united to each other. Those who have preceded us in faith, that “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) praying and waiting for us in heaven…all these people, together with all the angels in God’s service, are united to Christ as well, He who is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Thus, through Christ, especially in the Eucharist, we are united to them as well. For example my grandfather, who passed away when I was 5 years old, is united to Christ in heaven. When I go to Mass and partake in the Eucharist, I am closer to my grandfather than I ever was here on earth. When my mother passes away one day, the Eucharist will united us more closely than even that time when I was united to her via an umbilical cord. I suppose what I am trying to say is this: through the Eucharist, which the other six Sacraments lead us to and ever point towards, restores between God and Man what was torn asunder in Eden. Not only did God dwell with Adam and Eve in Eden, He was intimately united to us. We see this in all the suffering that came of the Fall; we cut ourselves off from God, the very source and sustenance of our life. In the Eucharist, in a manner by which we are accustomed now to receiving nourishment for our bodies, we receive nourishment for our soul, for God became Man to redeem both.

Through the Eucharist, then, we are reminded that we are meant to be united, intimately, with God, and we are also reminded that He is the source of life itself and the one who sustains us. “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus tells us. In the Catholic Church we not only hear this in the Liturgy of the Word, and we not only see it in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but we live it as well! So let’s continue on our way and explore the last part of the Mass, beginning with the Offertory and ending with the Dismissal, using the Bible as a guide to how the earliest Christians practiced and believed. 

Offertory

This is the part of the Mass following the intercessory prayers, when the nice men from the Knights of Columbus, or merely some nice men of the parish, go up and down the aisles with baskets. Free-will offerings are placed within; some churches tithe, but as far as I know the Catholic Church, while it reminds the faithful of their duty to support the Church however they can, makes no specific demands. Some people drop a few bucks, a twenty, a check of some other amount, some people mail their monthly contribution at once. Some people, particularly the poor, might drop in a handful of change, or perhaps they save up what they can over the course of a year and bring their gift at Easter. Some people cannot or choose not to offer anything at all but, really, I find their presence with me at the Eucharist to be gift enough. And parents: that you have brought your children to the Mass! I cannot thank you enough, and for having them baptized, for raising them in the faith…if a price could be affixed to that and such an amount could be secured…but so often, as St. Lawrence attested to with his very life, the poor, the sick, the lame are the true riches of the Church. We do not “buy in” to the Eucharist, for as the prophet Isaiah writes: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant…” (Isaiah 55:1-3) Yes, the Eucharist is free for those who have entered into the covenant, as it is understood by the Catholic Communion. Not only is the Eucharist symbolic of divine unity, but ecclesial unity as well!

Besides the money offered for the support of the Church, many parishes have families that will bring up the bread and the wine that will be used at the altar. By their simple ministry we all participate in the ancient rite demonstrated by “Melchizedek, king of Salem, [who] brought out bread and wine…” (Genesis 14:18) By our baptism we, too, are priests of a sort, and here in this moment we exercise it. We are also reminded of the ancient tradition of our Jewish forefathers who brought offerings to the priests at the temple; bread and wine are the offerings Christ asks of us when we celebrate the Eucharist.

Personally, I am reminded of Cain and Abel. It was Cain who offered cereal (grains and other fruits of the earth) and it was Abel who offered his finest lamb. God was pleased with Abel’s offering, and Cain took offense, killing Abel in a mad fit of envy. As we make the offering of bread and wine, so much like Cain’s offering, we do so as sinners, marked by our wounded nature and identifying with him. Did we not crucify the innocent Christ by our sins, much like Cain killed the innocent Abel? But praise God, He will take our meager offering and transform it into one that is acceptable, one that is similar to Abel’s offering but far surpassing in glory, for the bread and wine will become not merely a lamb, but the very Lamb of God! 

Truly, we have brought the wood, the fire and everything necessary to offer sacrifice; but where is the lamb? Just as in the case of Abraham and Isaac, God Himself will provide one for us, His head tangled in thorns…

Preparation of the Gifts

The priest, concelebrants and altar servers receive the donations as well as the bread and wine, and perhaps the chalice and paten as well. The bread and wine are then taken to the altar and the priest holds up the bread first, saying, “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life,” after which the people say, “Blessed be God forever!” Likewise with the wine, after the priest pours a small amount of water in it and prays quietly “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity,” he then prays, “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.” The people reply as before. Then the priest says, reminding us all of our priesthood and that he offers the bread and wine on behalf of the whole Church, “Pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” We say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.”

There are many non-Catholics who see the Mass as Catholics crucifying Christ all over again, and for those that do they might see this latest exchange between the priest and the people as the beginning of it. But if we recall the way that sacrifices were conducted in the Old Testament, which was not abolished but fulfilled by Christ, we know that there are two parts of any living sacrifice. First, the animal is killed in a certain way. Then, the flesh, the blood, certain organs, etc. were offered up. Christ, the Lamb of God, was slain upon the cross. For the rest of time, as He established at the Last Supper the priests of the Church, sharing in the High Priesthood of Christ Himself, offers up the Body and Blood of Christ for the sins of the world, time and time again, every hour of every day.

Prayer Over the Gifts

The priest then says “Lord God, we ask you to receive us and be pleased with the sacrifice we offer you with humble and contrite hearts.” The acolyte or deacon then brings forward a bowl and a small cruet of water, and the priest washes his hands saying, “Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin.” The priest, on behalf of the whole people, prepares himself to enter into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God to speak on behalf of his people, one-on-one with God. He is reminded that he is not a priest on his own, but shares in the high priesthood of Christ. He admits his own unworthiness but, nevertheless, there is work to be done. The priest says to everyone, “Pray, brethren, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” We say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.” He then offers a prayer that differs each day; if it happens to be a feast day, usually it pertains to the saint or the event celebrated. Afterwards we all say, “Amen!” and stand.

The Eucharistic Prayer pt.1

Now things are getting very serious; we are entering into the Upper Room and taking our seat around the table of the Last Supper. 

Priest: “The Lord be with you.”

All: “And also with you.”

Priest: “Lift up your hearts.”

All: “We lift them up to the Lord.”

Priest: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”

All: “It is right to give Him thanks and praise!”

Then comes the preface, the first part of the Eucharistic Prayer. Here is the preface of Eucharistic Prayer IV:

“Father in heaven, it is right that we should give you thanks and glory: you are the one God, living and true. Through all eternity you live in unapproachable light.

Source of life and goodness, you have created all things, to fill your creatures with every blessing and lead all men to the joyful vision of your light. Countless hosts of angels stand before you to do your will; they look upon your splendor and praise you, night and day.

United with them, and in the name of every creature under heaven, we too praise your glory as we say:”

 

Before we continue that thought, what have we done here? First we brought bread and wine, as Christians have done for ages. Just as our Jewish ancestors of old, we bring an offering to the temple priests for sacrifice, for the forgiveness of our sins. Here we make a second offering, an offering that I imagine many Catholics don’t consider. Did we not, just moments earlier, see the priest lift up the offerings of bread and wine, blessing God for these gifts? Here the people are encouraged to lift up their hearts, giving God thanks for our very lives, which we also offer as part of the sacrifice of the Mass. Not only will we witness the transformation of lowly bread and wine to the divine Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ, but we pray that by His sacrifice we may also be transformed, our lowly, fallen lives being exalted and raised to glory in His own Risen Body, which becomes our own body in the Eucharist. Lift that heart high, and rejoice! Don’t you just want to sing? I hope so…

 

Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus!

“Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory!
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!”

This is such a powerful moment in the Mass, especially if you are worshiping with a particularly large body, with an organ and an awesome choir, and singing a great arrangement of the song. When we sing this, or even if we recite it during the Mass, we are joining in harmony with the angels in heaven (“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” they cried one to the other. “All the earth is filled with his glory!” Isaiah 6:3), with the Apostles and the saints in heaven (The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” Revelations 4:8) and the faithful people of God all over the world…”The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9-11) Yes, someone is coming, Jesus Christ, coming in peace (the Holy Spirit, peace Himself!) to be among us, the New Jerusalem. He will again come within the gates, to our great joy, and we lay our lives down before Him like palm branches as He walks that lonely way to Golgotha to offer Himself yet again for our sins. Prepare the way!

Eucharistic Prayer pt. 2

“Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise (see Rev. 4:11). All life, all holiness comes from you through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit. From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name. (Malachi 1:11, you might think!)

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts. We ask you to make them holy by the power of your Spirit, that they may become the body (the priest makes a sign of the cross over the bread and wine) and blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate this eucharist.”  (from Eucharistic Prayer III)

Just as the Holy Spirit overshadowed the pure and simple Virgin Mary and worked the greatest miracle that mankind will ever know, the Holy Spirit, invoked by Christ through the priest, descends upon our pure, simple gifts and Christ is again made Flesh and Blood in our midst. But how do we know this change has occurred? They still look, feel, taste, and smell like the bread and wine we started with. 

Isaiah of the coming Messiah, “There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him…” (53:2) People did not look at Jesus and realize that He was the Son of God; it was a matter of faith. A person, responding to the grace of God, makes the choice to believe and accept that Christ is the Messiah, that by some unfathomable way the invisible, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, spirit God has become a human being. Our senses cannot confirm this. Even St. Peter is asked by Christ, “Who do you say that I am?” and St. Peter responds, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus tells him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 16:15-17) Yes, God reveals the truth of the Eucharist to us; not flesh and blood, and it is upon this faith that Christ builds His Church, starting with St. Peter (Matthew 16:18-19). In the Eucharist Christ comes to us in yet another mystery, not to hide from us but to invite us in, granting us the opportunity to make the same flying leap of grace-moved faith that St. Peter made. God Himself tells us ”my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:55), that “This IS my Body…this IS my Blood…” (Mark 14:22-24, for example). God reveals the truth; shall we accept it, though our sense fail us? Did not the Apostles recognize Him in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:30-32)?

Here we are, at every Mass, approached by the Word of God who says that this bread and wine, these unassuming, common things with no stately bearing, is His Body and Blood that we must eat to have life within us (John 6:53). Will we join those who admitted that it is a hard teaching and walk away (John 6:60), or will we stand by St. Peter and declare to the world alongside all the martyrs throughout the ages who died in witness to this truth, testifying by their own blood and crying out “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69)? 

In case we need a reminder, the priest says:

“On the night he was betrayed, he took bread and gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you.

When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”

We can almost imagine those early disciples in John 6, hearing our Lord’s teachings regarding His Body and Blood and saying, “This is hard!” It is so far beyond our own understanding yet, when the Apostles were gathered there at the Last Supper and Jesus was saying, “Take and eat/drink, this is my body/blood,” only Judas left; the others remained and ate/drank according to His command. This is a great mystery, the Eucharist, but mystery is a part of our reality…

Mysterium Fidei

The celebrant then says/chants, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.”

Several versions of this great Paschal Mystery, the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, can be offered here, usually at the prompting of the celebrant, the cantor or the choir.

“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
“Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.”
“When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.”
“Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the World.”

Here we are reminded of what is going on, what we are partaking of; we are present in the continuum of salvation, witnesses to Christ’s death, participants in the aftermath of His rising, proclaiming both and carrying out His command to “Do this in remembrance of me” until He comes again.

Eucharistic Prayer pt. 3

“Father, calling to mind the death your Son endured for our salvation, his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet him when he comes again, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.

Look with favor on your Church’s offering, and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself. Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ.

May he make us an everlasting gift to you and enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints, with Mary, the virgin Mother of God, with the apostles, the martyrs, and all your saints, on whose constant intercession we rely for help.

Lord, may this sacrifice, which has made our peace with you, advance the peace and salvation of all the world. Strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth; your servant, Pope {Benedict}, our Bishop {name of local bishop}, and all the bishops, with the clergy and the entire people your Son has gained for you. Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered here before you. In mercy and love unite all your children wherever they may be.

Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters, and all who have left this world in your friendship. We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory, through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come.”

Here we are reminded too of the Eucharistic reality we partake in. The priest, speaking on our behalf, tells our Father that yes, we recall what Christ has done for us (we just confessed it out loud!) and we stand ready to meet Him when He comes again. Here we are keeping vigil, our lamps alight, ready to enter His house and take part in the great Wedding Feast. 

For our sins we offer the perfect gift: the Body and Blood of the Spotless Lamb. How could God possibly spurn His own Son? Therefore, so long as the Church continues to offer Him, there will always be a perfect and acceptable sacrifice made to God, the Lamb that was slain upon the Cross, perpetually offered in the temple of His Church now and forever, until He comes again. As we “eat His flesh and drink His blood,” as He taught we must do in John 6 as well as at the Last Supper, we are not only nourished for our heavenward journey but also united with Christ, through Him with the whole Trinity and the rest of heaven. Also, because there is but one Christ, one Eucharistic Lord, those who partake in the one Bread and one Cup are united to each other; each member of the Catholic Communion who partakes in the Eucharist need never be alone or separated from their Catholic family; we are made one in the Eucharist! To those in the Communion reading this who go to Mass and partake in the Eucharist: thank you for being with me in the past, and I look forward to being with you this Sunday and all afterward! To those not in Communion: how I long to be at this Feast with you!

But just read this litany of communion; we are one with all the saints of heaven, the Pope, our local bishop and all other bishops, all the clergy, everyone in communion with the Church, everyone present at Mass with you in your particular location, and all your loved ones who have died in Christ. Truly, no Catholic should ever feel alone; you never are!

And all of this made possible through Christ. Can I get an amen?

The Great Amen

The celebrant says/chants, while holding up a large Host and the chalice: “Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.”

At that, the whole Church throughout heaven and earth shakes as throngs of people, as choirs, as organs and orchestras cry out, “AMEN!”

Does this not evoke the amazing scene from Revelations 5:13-14 when we read, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: “To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” The four living creatures answered, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Yes, AMEN!!!!

 

Again, it looks like I will have to split this post! Fortunately for you, I already have the second half completed, so I will be able to post it next Sunday; no long wait for the conclusion! I hope this again has proven enlightening and useful, and feel free to ask any questions you wish! God bless ALL of you!

I have spent a couple of weeks thinking and praying about how I want to wrap up this series and, being inspired by Scott Hahn’s book “The Lamb’s Supper,” I decide to go through the Book of Revelation line-by-line to try and show the parallels between how the Church celebrates liturgy, and how that is inspired by the heavenly liturgy described by St. John. What? Yes indeed; there is rhyme and reason to the way the Church celebrates the Mass! But as I went through all twenty-two chapters of the beautiful final chapter of the Bible, I realized that there was too much to do in one blog, so please consider this Part III.I haha. This one will have lots of pictures for those who haven’t been to a Catholic Church or a Catholic Mass, with the hope that this will help illustrate the “setting” of the Mass. Part of what non-Catholics (and some Catholics, I’m sure) find confusing is all the imagery. While I can’t explain everything one sees at the Mass or in the artwork and architecture of every church building, hopefully the soon-to-be-quoted passages from Scripture, accompanied by pictures, will help define the universal basics you would find, wherever you go in the world.

 

“Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said: “Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, (our) God, the almighty. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment.” (Rev. 19:6-8)

Here we are, after the Liturgy of the Word, and “Blessed is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near!” (Rev. 1:3) Yes, the Lord is coming, for the Liturgy of the Eucharist will soon begin! We have heard the Word of God (He has given His Word, His promise!), we have been taught by those who belong, truly, to His apostles, that we may not be misled by “those who call themselves apostles but are not,” (Rev. 2:2). “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” what the Spirit of God tells us through those He has chosen to speak for Him, that we may be given by Him “the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God,” the Eucharist. (Rev. 2:7) 

For “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20) He has knocked and we, listening to His voice, have opened our hearts to receive His word, and soon He will enter the temples of our bodies and dine with us, and us with Him. Can you even wait? Can you even believe that in mere moments the Lord of Lords will invite you to table, that He will say to you, “…[S]it with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne?” (Rev. 3:21) Truly, “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches!” (Rev. 3:22)

But what does this meal, this time of victory, look like? St. John paints an incredible picture in his prophetic writing, but he isn’t just writing about some future event; he was writing about the “there and now” of his own time, and the “here and now” of our own, for when you go to a Catholic Mass, you are witnessing the “Word Made Flesh,” the very Book of Revelation lived out, the Promise of God made True in the Eucharist, and an earthly anticipation of the eternal banquet to come in Heaven. There is no longer one temple made of stone in Jerusalem that is the only place fit for worship, for now His temple is the human race, and “for this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple.” (Rev. 7:15) Being human we are temporal, and thus we gather in certain places for this worship, but the Catholic Church exists throughout the world, as one temple of humanity.

Lord Jesus, “you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)

Truly His Church is Catholic, universal! Yes, reader, even now as you look at these words the Wedding Feast of the Lamb is being celebrated somewhere in the world by Catholic faithful, some in beautiful and ancient cathedrals, some in hidden basements away from persecuting governments, some in humble chapels of cinderblock, some on the battlefield in the scorching sun, some in the privacy of a sick person’s home. All for Christ, all for His people. “They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them,” (Rev. 7:16) for He will feed them all with His very Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist. Is there any gift so great in all this earth?

 

Come on in; the Water Saves!

Rev. 4:6 “In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal.”

The baptismal font is normally at the entrance of the Church, to remind us that it is through Baptism we come to be part of the Body of Christ. Some fonts are large, of sufficient size to baptize an infant; some are very large, enough to baptize an adult. Some are such as the one on the right, large enough to dip ones fingers into and make a sign of the Cross, to renew ones commitment to their baptism and to remember Christ’s saving act in their lives. It also is a reminder of the purification ritual of our Jewish ancestors in the faith.

The Priests, Deacons and Acolytes

Rev. 4:2-4 “A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald. Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.”

While a bishop may not always be present when you go to Mass, there is always at least a priest sitting “on a throne,” reminding us of the sovereignty of Christ who is truly presiding, through the celebrant.

Candles

Rev. 4:5 “Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.”

One of the strongest memory/scent associations I have is whenever I smell a candle being lit or a candle burning, I always think of Mass!

The Four Evangelists

Rev. 4:6-8 “In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight. The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming…”

Oftentimes you will see the Four Living Creatures, representing the four Gospel writers, adorning the pulpit/ambo as well, and even the altar, or even statues of the men themselves holding up the pulpit, the altar, or adorning the four corners of the sanctuary.

St. Matthew and his Gospel are represented by winged man because his account starts with the geneology of Jesus, emphasizes His human nature and incarnation, and encourages us to embrace our own humanity, especially our reason, during our Christian journey. 

St. Mark and his Gospel are represented by a winged lion because his account begins with St. John roaring like a lion, reveals a very kingly and authoritative Christ, and it was once thought that lions slept with their eyes open; we are likewise told to be watchful for the return of Christ, and to be brave on our journey to Him.

St. Luke and his Gospel are represented by a winged ox because his account begins with Zechariah and his priestly duties in the temple, a site of constant sacrifice. We also read of Mary’s sacrifice, as foretold by Simeon, and the rest of the Gospel emphasizes Christ’s sacrifice and His role as High Priest. We are also reminded of the many sacrifices and offerings we must we willing to make.

St. John and his Gospel are represented by an eagle because his account expresses a very high theology and focuses on the divinity of Christ. Eagles were once though to be able to look directly into the sun, so we are encouraged to look up to heaven without turning away and to seek Christ.

Music and Incense

Rev. 5:8 “When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.”

Many churches have a loft in the back for the choir. I’ve always seen this not only in a practical sense (where else do you put an organ and a choir?!) but also because when a choir sings at Mass it is not a performance, but a ministry; it is not about the choir! Rather their music helps us to pray; it doesn’t matter what choir is doing that. Having the choir out of sight helps us maintain our focus on what is truly most important: the worship of Jesus Christ! And the music, the instruments will be different depending upon the culture of the Church. Everything from organs and pianos to violins and drums, from choirs and cantors singing magnificent works to soloists chanting in haunting simplicity, in every language you can imagine. We have traditional choirs, contemporary choirs, praise and worship groups, gospel choirs… diversity, without division.

Incense is another powerful memory/scent kind of thing; smelling it always makes me think of Mass, especially the bigger feast days! Not every church and not every liturgy will have incense, but it certainly adds another level of solemnity to the celebration, and also connects us back with our ancient Jewish roots and the use of incense and burnt offerings as prayers and sacrifices to God. There is also something very mysterious and powerful seeing the heavy, scented smoke hovering around the altar during the opening part of the Eucharistic Prayer…

Relics

Rev. 6:9 “When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the witness they bore to the word of God.”

In most altars there is built in, such as demonstrated in the portable altar above, a relic of a saint. Sometimes they are encased below the altar as on the right. This is a tradition that goes all the way back to the earliest beginnings of the Church, during the times of persecution when Christians would gather, before dawn, at the burial sites of their martyred brothers and sisters to celebrate the Eucharist, being strengthened and encouraged by the martyr’s witness and also as a reminder that through Christ in the Eucharist, their loved one is still with them in their own trials. I think this is beautifully explained in the ancient writing “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” who died around 155 AD. The following is written after the account of the martyr’s death:

“17:2 So he put forward Nicetes, the father of Herod and brother of Alce, to plead with the magistrate not to give up his body, ‘lest,’ so it was said, ‘they should abandon the crucified one and begin to worship this man’–this being done at the instigation and urgent entreaty of the Jews, who also watched when we were about to take it from the fire, not knowing that it will be impossible for us either to forsake at any time the Christ who suffered for the salvation of the whole world of those that are saved–suffered though faultless for sinners–nor to worship any other.
17:3 For Him, being the Son of God, we adore, but the martyrs as disciples and imitators of the Lord we cherish as they deserve for their matchless affection towards their own King and Teacher.
17:4 May it be our lot also to be found partakers and fellow- disciples with them.
18:1 The centurion therefore, seeing the opposition raised on the part of the Jews, set him in the midst and burnt him after their custom.
18:2 And so we afterwards took up his bones which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place;
18:3 where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy, and to celebrate the birth- day of his martyrdom for the commemoration of those that have already fought in the contest, and for the training and preparation of those that shall do so hereafter.”

Notice it speaks also of the custom of celebrating the day of someone’s martyrdom, a tradition that the Church still upholds. This Saturday, July 17th, for example, is the Feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne, sixteen Carmelite nuns who were killed during the French Revolution.

The Dome

Rev. 7:1 “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on land or sea or against any tree.”

Just makes me think of some church architecture! Not every church has a splendid dome held up by angels, but it certainly produces a nice effect…

Sealed in the Spirit

Rev. 7:3-9 “Then I saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, ”Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites: twelve thousand were marked from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, and twelve thousand were marked from the tribe of Benjamin. After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.”

At Baptism we are anointed with chrism, with blessed oil, as a sign of strength and symbolic of our being anointed by the Holy Spirit, as Christ was at His own baptism, reminding us that we are now participating in His own life; we are a part of His Body. At Confirmation we as Catholics, many of us having been baptized as infants, confirm our parent’s choice and choose the faith fully for ourselves. Oftentimes, as with the girl above having chosen “Esther,” the confirmand chooses a patron saint to be their spiritual rolemodel and friend throughout their life. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit against so much; we receive so many gifts and graces by Him. These Sacraments are normally celebrated in the context of the Mass, so you may see this from time to time as well. Yet another ancient tradition, and as the quote reminds us, the Church encompasses all tribes and all nations; truly catholic!

 

“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

Rev. 7:14 “I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

If you arrive early enough, you may notice people waiting in line to step into the confessional. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are strongly encouraged (1 Cor. 11:28-29) to examine our conscience and, if we find our white garments to be a bit dirty, we should go to confess our sins, washing them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This is also, as explained in Part I of this series, why we have the Penitential Rite built into the Mass. Then when Christ asks us, “Who are these people in white?” we can answer, “You know us, for you have made us clean!”

The Tabernacle

Rev. 7:17 “For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

Front and center, in most churches, you’ll find the tabernacle, within which is kept the Living Christ, as He comes to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. If you ever want to spend time in His Presence, why wait until the Second Coming, especially since He promised to be with us until the end of the age?

Rev. 11:19 “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.”

Rev. 12:1-2 “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child…”

I’m sure this image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is quite familiar. This is a miraculous image; it appeared without any human making it (there are no brush strokes to be found!). Anyways, the convention of the chapter/verse aspect of the Bible did not come about until over a thousand years after Christ’s death, so it may seem initially that the verse at the end of Chapter 11 and the verse at the beginning of Chapter 12 are referring to two different things. But let’s think about the Ark of the Covenant; what was it?

-a sign of God’s abiding presence with His chosen people.

-a pure vessel within which God dwelt, within which was also kept the Ten Commandments (God’s Law), manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, a sign of his priesthood.

This is the Ark of the Old Covenant, that was built by human hands and then, when ready a “cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling.” (Ex. 40:34)

Mary, as has long been believed, is the very living Ark of the New Covenant. She is:

-a sign of God’s abiding presence with His chosen people, for the Lord asked Ahaz for a sign, saying, “Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” and when Ahaz would not dare, God said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel,” (Isaiah 7:11, 14) which means “God With Us.” (Mt. 1:23)

-a pure vessel within which God dwelt (a perpetual virgin, holy and pure), within whom was kept the Living Law, the Bread From Heaven, and our High Priest.

Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, created by God and then, when all that He had prepared throughout history was ready, she was told by an angel that, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35) Furthermore, the Church believes and teaches that Mary was taken body and soul, like Elijah and Enoch, into heaven. Truly, then, the Ark of His Covenant can be seen in His temple!

Followers of the Lamb

Rev. 14:1-5 “Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. They were singing (what seemed to be) a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women; they are virgins and these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the firstfruits of the human race for God and the Lamb. On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.”

Aren’t they beautiful?

Following the Lamb, wherever He goes… pray for your priests, your brothers, your sisters, who devote their lives to working alongside Christ in the world, who uphold you all in prayer every day. Pray for vocations; pray for me!

I promise that the next part of the series will be the final part; could you imagine this entry if I also went into the Liturgy of the Eucharist? Goodness!

 

Welcome to Part II of my blog on the Mass! I hope that my first one was helpful; again, I am offering my own thoughts and reflections on things and they should be taken or left as such. My main goal is to try and help those who go to Mass and feel disengaged or have no idea what is going on, or even to help non-Catholics understand the Mass a little better, to try and dispel some of the many myths and misconceptions out there. 

This entry in particular will cover the part of the Mass just before the Liturgy of the Eucharist (part III eventually), so the homily will be mentioned, then the Creed, and the Prayers of the Faithful.

 

 

12. The Homily

This is the part of the Mass that either helps people, or really annoys them! There are many different opinions regarding what a homily should and shouldn’t be (feel free to express your own in the comments!), but for me, I feel that the homily must help to break open the readings of the day, for the benefit of all present. What is the point of reading from Scripture if no one can understand it? Certainly, those who do study their Bible on their own may have their own thoughts and feelings about what they read, but what does the Church teach, the very Church that assembled the Bible, authored the New Testament, has prayed, studied and reflected upon the writings for nearly two thousand years? 

The homily may be seen as a time when the priest finally gets to speak his mind, but I don’t believe this is so. I see the priest during the homily as being in the role of St. Philip in Acts 8:27-40. We can all liken ourselves to the Ethiopian eunuch (not TOO literally though; yikes!) who was in his chariot reading a scroll from the Old Testament:

30. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31. He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”

What makes St. Philip so qualified to tell this man what the Scripture means? He was an apostle of Jesus Christ; he himself learned what the Scriptures mean from the True Author of them! He also was given authority (as were all the apostles) to teach and proclaim Christ to the world. While there certainly is a role for personal interpretation, inevitably this will lead to division, for Scripture may hold one meaning to one person and something slightly or entirely different to another, and division ensues. But the Body of Christ is meant to be one, and just as our body is one under the head, kept well and in harmony by the will and direction of the soul, the Body of Christ is kept together by Christ the Head, who expresses His will for the Body through those He has chosen to be His instruments, namely the apostles. Only they have the experience and understanding capable of teaching the truth. Even St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that apostles are first in the Church; they have been given the authority to lead so that the people may know what they are being taught is trustworthy (an item of great concern in his first letter to Timothy in which he notes that “Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, wanting to be teachers of the law, but without understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with such assurance.” (1 Tim 1:6-7) Note also how often in that letter St. Paul assures Timothy that what he says is trustworthy; Christ has given him the authority as an apostle to speak in His name. 

So I see the priest, who is always ordained by a bishop (successor to the Apostles and thus given authority to teach in the name of Christ) to assist him in his ministry, as part of that apostolic teaching body. When the Church issues a document expressing its teaching on this or that matter, or the local bishop writes a letter explaining something, or when we are all wondering what the prophet X or St. So-and-So means when he writes Y, the priest is responsible for boiling that all down so that we can understand it, and always drawing his own understanding from that of the Church; not merely his own opinion. What an enormous responsibility! It is so sad to come across a priest that takes this lightly! 

This part of the Mass also connects me to the early Church in a deep way. In Acts 2:42 we get a glimpse into the life of the very early Church, which still serves as a description of the Mass in a nutshell: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” You see, during the Liturgy of the Word we read not only the Scripture (Old Testament) that the Apostles used in teaching (“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” 2 Tim. 3:16… St. Paul is talking about the Old Testament; the new one wasn’t written yet!!), but we read the trustworthy accounts of Christ’s life as written by those in the apostolic train, as well as some of their own letters. After reading from the teaching of the first apostles, we hear from one of their living successors, and hopefully they responsibly practice their office for the benefit of the People of God and not merely for their own moment in the spotlight!

 

13. The Creed

What did we learn? We have spent part of the morning in the classroom, in the School of the Heart; can we articulate those lessons? Since, like St. Philip, the priest “…opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to [us],” (Acts 8:35), the result is (hopefully) the same: we have come better to understand and know Christ. Christ is the same as He was, is now and will ever be, so let’s proclaim Christ as we know Him! There is so much history about the Creed (the one used most often in the Roman Rite is the Nicene Creed, first used in 325 AD!) which I won’t go into, but every Sunday the Church throughout the world proclaims it in each place’s language, and the meaning has stayed pretty much the same over the past 1700 years or so!

 

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

one in Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. (during this line many people bow their heads in honor of the Incarnation)

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered, died, and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. (There’s that word again!)

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

Did you remember all of that? Do you believe it? A+! Yes, this is the faith that hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters died for and suffered terribly for. When we look at a mosaic of some young Roman virgin who was slaughtered for refusing to renounce her faith, when we see mug shots of Blessed Rupert Meyer, or the last photos of Blessed Miguel Pro and wonder, “What does this mean?” we need merely remember the Creed and we begin to understand what their martyrdom (from the Greek word for “witness”) means.

For a more in-depth study of the creed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church does a beautiful job of breaking it down statement-by-statement.

 

14. We Pray to the Lord

Next we transition into the Prayers of the Faithful. The formula is normally such that one of the lectors, the deacon, a concelebrating priest or the presider will offer a prayer, like “We pray that all those who find themselves in need will be cared for by the God who loves them…” or something along those lines. At the end of it is said, “We pray to the Lord…” to which all present respond, “Lord, hear our prayer.” I personally find this so profound; to think that I am present not only to offer my own prayers and concerns, but here I am participating in the priesthood of Christ (which is shared with all of us through our baptism) by lifting up the prayers of the entire Church and all present. To hear the assembled Body of Christ, whether it is a small rural parish of a few dozen or a packed cathedral of over a thousand, say in one voice, “Lord, hear our prayer.” Our prayer. During Daily Mass here at my community, where there may be less than ten people, we often will open the time after the “formal” prayers are offered to the prayers of anyone present. You might here, “My father is having surgery today, so I pray that it is successful and that he heals quickly. We  pray to the Lord…” Even the individual prayer of one person becomes the prayer of the entire Church; that is part of what Catholic means, what it means to be part of a unified Body.

This universal reality of prayer, this priesthood of all the baptized, is further reflected in a tradition called the Liturgy of the Hours, which is prayed every hour of the day in every part of the world by every priest and religious, that the Body of Christ may indeed pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). The prayers of each member of the Body are swept up into the One Heart of the Church, the very Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, and all of this through the Eucharist. Whoever you are, wherever and however you are, Catholic or not, the Church is praying for you every moment of every day, “on earth as it is in heaven!” Whenever you feel like God is distant or has abandoned you, whenever you feel alone and that no one cares, remember this truth. For Christ is alive and He is in the world not only spiritually, but physically in His Church, especially through the Eucharist. That same Eucharist, His living Body and Blood, is embodied in the Church, whose mission it is not only to teach the world about Christ, but to evidence His presence. As He is constantly interceding for us at the right hand of God, so the Church is constantly praying for the whole world and interceding for each person and whispering its every prayer into the wound at Christ’s side that they may enter directly into His Heart. I suppose, then, I will stop here for now by telling all of you, Catholic or not, that the Church loves you!

 

So here we are, gathered in the Upper Room with a member (or more!) of the Apostolic body, with the myriad disciples of Christ, devoting ourselves to the teaching of the Apostles (who have received their teaching from Christ Himself), and now we await the breaking of the bread as we continue to pray (without ceasing!). Do you find yourselves hungry, the yearning of your souls listening to the Word of God and sympathizing with the woman at the well in thinking, “Give me some of this of which you speak!” Well I would repeat the words of the prophet Isaiah and tell you, “You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3) This is what Christ is telling us throughout the whole Liturgy of the Word, for we know that “man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4, Deut. 8:3) Is not Christ the Living Bread come down from Heaven (John 6:51) and also the living Word of God (John 1:14)? Yes indeed, and by the end of the Prayers of the Faithful, I am starving!