The Mass: The Holy Food

This is the hard one.  This is the one teaching that Christians have the most trouble with.  However, I am here to, at least explain how I came to believe.  

As a cradle Catholic, one would think that my faith was simply drummed into my head and that today I robotically attend, pray, and receive this bread offered in the Mass as I should.  One would understandably think this.  Well, that's not the case any more.  As a young Catholic, I never thought anything about it, it was the thing we did and I didn't question it.  As a young Catholic mother, it was important to me to make sure my children received their sacraments, including First Communion, so that they could be part of our thing we did together.  Well, not really, I made sure they made their sacraments because that was what was expected of us....and that was the thing we did together.  Well, no, it was because I believed in the Holy Roman Catholic Church, her teachings, and that Jesus Christ was our redeemer who came down and humbled himself and took the role of a human to teach us about love and forgiveness and bring us to our eternal reward undeservedly.    Yes, all three reasons!  That's why, and seriously speaking, after marrying my husband, who is not Catholic, I realized that if I don't know my faith well enough to answer his questions, I won't be doing my best to lead my family to God.  After a few years of taking local and online courses, I became a master catechist.  So, yes, I do believe in the real presence in the Eucharist not because I am supposed to, or that it was drummed into my head, but because I took the time to do my own research and learning.

But here's another take, from a master mind who never became a Catholic, but respected it and probably believed in her.

"And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral.  When they speak of being "in Christ" or of Christ being "in them," this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him.  They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts--that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body.  And perhaps that explains one or two things.  It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion.  It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution--a biological or superbiological fact,  There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God.  God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature.  That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us.  We may think this rather crude and unspiritual.  God does not:  He invented eating.  He likes matter.  He invented it."

           CS Lewis, Mere Christianity 

Wow, talk about putting it down!  Our humanness cannot explain our Creator and Heavenly Father.  We cannot and were not consulted in how he was to come down to meet us where we are and bring us up to where he is.  BUT, he gives us a way to be changed, forgiven, and loved.   Loved enough to then, in turn, desire to be wanted.  The desire to be wanted by Christ, to have him "in us" and dwell in our hearts as we live our lives here as militant people fighting against the dark one.  Through this  holy food that God has given us to nourish our souls and empower our hearts we can be Christ in this world around us.

This is what Holy Communion is, this is what saves humanity.  By realizing that God designed the Eucharist to be physical food that we receive in our mouths and are nourished within our mortal bodies, God gets in close and is able to inspire us.  Only if we accept this sacrificial grace in the Eucharist can we take it to the streets, only if we realize that not only is it what we do as the body of Christ, but what we do for Christ, enabling to be his fingers and muscles, the cells of his body in the world.  No change is ever easy to be sure, perhaps if we took a second look at what we do during Mass and listened carefully to the prayers can we then appreciate this sacrament of communion so much more for what it truly is:      The Holy Food.

The Mass: The RITE to Have Peace!

The Rite of Peace

Otherwise called the sign of peace, by which the people turn toward each other and offer a sign of unity and charity.  Biblically speaking, this is where we symbolically show what Jesus told the apostles in Matthew 5:23-24 which says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave  your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

The GIRM describes it this way:

“The Rite of Peace

82. There follows the Rite of Peace, by which the Church entreats peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial communion and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament."

The sign of peace is a rite that is and always has been included in the Mass prior to the Eucharist being distributed to the faithful.  The reason this is, is because we must be prepared in good faith and spiritually to receive the body of Christ, the most sacred and holy food.  

When the resurrected Jesus appeared to the apostles, the first thing he said was “Peace be with you.”  In the introduction to this rite within the liturgy of the Mass, the priest says, “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles:  Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.  Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.”  So it is during this rite that we the people of the Church, the Body of the Christ, share in the passing of the peace which is from Christ himself.

In preparation for receiving the Eucharist, we must be aware of our sinfulness and the need for forgiveness. So in the Introductory Rites, we pray the penitential Act where we confess our sinfulness and ask for prayers, then pray for mercy in the Kyrie.  During the Communion Rite we pray the Lord’s Prayer as our Savior commanded to reach out to our Heavenly Father.  Within this prayer, we tell God that we will forgive each other as we are forgiven.  This is where the sign of peace comes in.  In the next moment, we turn to one another in a peace that can only come from forgiveness and extend it to each other.  Again also, going back to Matthew 5:23-24 where we must reconcile with our brother before offering our gifts to God.

The sign of peace is an important part of the Mass, it is part of the process of preparation for receiving the holy Eucharist.  Preparing our hearts to receive the holy food of salvation.  So we must fully be aware of all that needs to take place in order to receive the sacramental graces that accompany the heavenly food.

There are times, I must admit that I will be sitting next to someone I don’t want to shake hands with, or times when I have been sick, not sick enough to not attend Mass, and refuse an extended hand with a kind word that I have a cold.  Still that kind word is the peace I wish to give anyway without the consequence of giving them the cold.  There are times, when I make the effort to shake someone’s hand that I am not necessarily keen on or had words with.  This is another way to share peace that otherwise would not be extended. The sign of peace gives us the opportunity to soften our hearts and desire peace for others in our community that otherwise would not be given.

So if we are attending Mass, offering our gifts of thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Father, we must also be peaceful people, forgiving people, wishing each other, as Christ commanded, peace.  We must reconcile with each other during before, and after Mass the peace of Christ.

Mass Manners: PREPARATION

Celebrating Mass together is the most important activity we do in our lives, and yet it is the most misunderstood and under-appreciated. From the moment we wake up we have a list of things that fill our calendars and day planners, leaving the Mass barely surviving on Sunday mornings. When we finally get there, we are burdened with thoughts of all the activities and responsibilities waiting for us outside the Church doors. Yet sitting together with those next to us, we are called to be the Church, the body of Christ. Not one meeting, not one ballgame comes close to what we do as we gather as God’s people at Mass.
To quote Dr. Scott Hahn from his book, The Lamb’s Supper, the Mass as Heaven on Earth,”

To go to Mass is to go to heaven, where “God Himself…will wipe away every tear” (Rev 21:3-4). Yet heaven is even more than that. Heaven is where we place ourselves under judgment, where we see ourselves in the clear morning light of eternal day…

To go to Mass is to renew our covenant with God, as at a marriage feast – for the Mass is the marriage supper of the Lamb. As in a marriage, we take vows, we pledge ourselves, we assume a new identity. We are changed forever.

To go to Mass is to receive the fullness of grace, the very lift of the Trinity. No power in heaven or on earth can give us more than we receive in the Mass, for we receive God into ourselves.”

Mass is a Prayer
The Mass is a prayer in itself not just the priest standing up at the altar praying, we are praying as well with our bodies, minds, and hearts. It is truly a gift of us in prayer offered in the Mass. Not only are we bringing our time, talent (the choir, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, lectors), and tithing, we bring our troubles, sins, and thanksgiving to the altar. So we must be prepared for this time.

Preparation
Preparation is key and there are some small things families and individuals can do to accomplish this. Nearly everything we do needs some kind of preparation, attending Mass is no different. Each day the readings are different with a different message. For this reason alone preparation is key for full participation to be possible, and it’s easier than ever with online information available in every form from email alerts, to iPhone apps, we have the readings at our fingertips. Even those not online can find the readings in magazines; a couple of offerings are “The Word Among Us” and “Magnificat”. Not only do these monthly periodicals provide the readings for each day, they also contain meditations, lives of saints, and prayers to use as added spirituality growth.

Attending Mass with a little advanced preparation can avoid being distracted. A distracted person can be distracting in itself.

It is a celebration, not a Play
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the Mass is the most important activity we do in our lives, and it is a celebration bringing all the angels and saints, Church fathers, martyrs and the Blessed Trinity together with us for this celebration. It is hard to believe that this actually happens that all the blessed join us in reality, so we need to have the grace of faith to embrace this aspect of the Mass celebration. We are not alone during this time hence we are closest to heaven than any other time in our earthly lives. The Mass order is the same each time and where ever one attends. This doesn’t change, only the readings change and the message. The Mass is called a Celebration and the priest is called the celebrant and we are co-celebrants in the Mass. Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper during the celebration of Passover,

Mass manners are imperative for all and for a renewed appreciation of this sacrificial celebration. This column will discuss the many aspects of how manners can help with the appreciation and respect the Mass deserves with tips on how small changes can make a big difference along the way.


See you at Mass!

Christian Unity Week: We have so much in common!

Christian unity week, January 18-25 is a shared prayerful week by many denominations around the country desiring unity among all those believers of Christ Jesus and His teachings.  This year they have chosen a theme  "One in the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer," a reference to Acts 2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."


Actually each day has its own theme for prayer:



•January 18: The Church in Jerusalem.

•January 19: Many Members in One Body.

•January 20: Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching Unites Us.

•January 21: Sharing, an Expression of Our Unity.

•January 22: Breaking the Bread in Hope.

•January 23: Empowered to Action in Prayer.

•January 24: Living in Resurrection Faith.

•January 25: Called for the Service of Reconciliation.

What a beautiful way to spend a week!  Look at these themes, today is "Many Members in One Body", Believers and kindred spirits separated, but living as the Body of Christ on one planet.  How can we talk with each other about Jesus?  By knowing who Jesus is, what He has done for all of us, and what He wants for us as Children of God.  Wow, isn't that enough to bring people together in song and supplication?

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is: Devotion to the Apostles' Teaching Unites Us.  With the New Testament deemed the teaching and instruction manual by so many believers, how can we stay divided over this?  By interpretation, yes, but we still firmly belief the apostles were the authors with God's inspiration.  We can come together in discussion about the ministry Jesus called the apostles for and how amazing His teachings and healings were.  We can share our favorite scriptures and share our insights from the Word, both inspiring each other and encouraging fellowship this week and every week.

Thursday's theme is: Sharing, an Expression of Our Unity.  As mentioned above, we can share our favorite references in the Bible, favorite prayers, and believe it or not, the rosary is respected by many non-Catholics.  I recently learned this for myself as a small group of moms met to pray the rosary for our new Catholic high school and one of the moms is not Catholic, but wanted to sit and listen to the prayers.  She teared up as she told us later that her daughter was planning on coming into the Catholic Church this Easter and she was so proud of her.  We all teared up and hugged her!  The rosary made her feel closer to how her daughter felt about the Church.  Wow.


Friday's theme is "Breaking the Bread in Hope" do you see a thread connecting these themes by now?  We found a sign of hope in praying the rosary in our little group the other day, hope that we can all respect each other, love our sameness and respect the differences.  All we have to do is find the two and begin to know each other as believers of Jesus Christ and our Triune God!

Saturday's theme is:  "Empowered to Action in Prayer" Prayer, don't we all pray some way?  Beit rote prayers, supplications, meditation, just off-the-cuff conversations, or on our knees in a secret moment alone with our Lord we all pray, acknowledging that He is our God and we love and need Him.  We can certainly have a discussion about this, can't we?

Sunday's theme is:  "Living in Resurrection Faith"  Jesus was the first to overcome death, giving us hope of salvation and eternal life, with this hope, faith grows.  Everyone who believes that Jesus rose from the dead and will come again has something to share with others.  Last year, I attended the "March for Life" in Washington, DC with my oldest daughter, during Mass with our diocese, I was caught up by the mozaic behind the altar called , "Christ in Majesty".  My breath was taken away as I realized how strong and powerful he was portrayed as newly risen and glorified after the horrific torture and death He endured for us.  Surely we have this in common with believers worldwide!

Monday's theme is:  "Called for the Service of Reconciliation"  Forgiveness is a tough one for many of us, but we are asked to forgive our trespasses(debtors) as we forgive those who trespass against us, aren't we?  In the most perfect prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, we are called to forgive.  God tells us that our sins are thrown into the sea, so why should we think we are ammune to this task?  Maybe the first part of this task is to forgive ourselves.  As Catholics we have the sacrament of reconciliation to our avail.  We can go every week (like they used to!!) and continually work on being forgiven, so that we will be able to forgive others.  It is far easier to smile than frown, bitterness and anger grow deeper and stronger with the lack of forgiveness.  Prayer, once again and a good conversation with Jesus can help us reach forgiveness.

Spend some time in prayer and conversation with a brother or sister in Christ this week, you may have more in common than you know.   It all starts with a smile and 'hello.

HT:  Scott at Catholic.about.com