| The Eucharist |
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Pope Paul VI stated beautifully how we must give importance to educating the faithful regarding the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He said:
"Yet we cannot fail to be filled with the earnest desire that this teaching on the Mass be explained over and over until it takes root deep in the hearts of the faithful. Our desire is founded on our conviction that the correct understanding of the Eucharistic Mystery is the most effective means to foster devotion to this sacrament, to extol the dignity of the faithful, and to spur their spirit toward the attainment of the summit of sanctity, which is nothing less than the total offering of oneself to the service of the Divine Majesty." (Mystery of Faith, Mysterium Fidei, 1965).
This presentation does not exhaust the whole teaching on the Holy Eucharist. This series serves only as an introduction to the Eucharist.
Pope John Paul II stressed that: "It is therefore very opportune and necessary to continue to actuate a new and intense education in order to discover all the richness contained in the new liturgy." (The Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist, Dominicae Cenae, 1980).
The dynamics of the celebration of the Mass are essentially receiving and giving. If we focus on these two points in the Mass, we can gain a lot of benefits from the celebration.
What Do We Receive and Give in the Mass?
One philosopher said: For man to be is to receive; for God to be is to give. An essential principle – we are primarily receivers, a point which most people miss.
Most of our psychological hangups are in the area of receiving. Receiving is perceived as weakness (we do not want to be perceived as needy). Jesus was needy – to Samaritan woman he said, "I need a drink." Everything is gift from God, except sin. We cannot save ourselves, only God can. God gives us many gifts to dispose us to receive Him and His graces G – Gifts of the Holy Spirit I - Infused Virtues (Faith, Hope, Love) F - Fruit of the Holy Spirit T - Tool Gifts – the Charismatic Gifts S - Spiritual Bliss of the Beatitudes
These gifts are interior dispositions which are part of the operation of actual grace. Actual grace protects the permanent bonding of our relationship with God, i.e., sanctifying grace –which helps us avoid sin.
What do we receive in the Mass?
Through the sacrament we receive the Author of Grace, God. Through this Sacrament we receive the effects of the mystery we celebrate.
Our salvation rests on three fundamental mysteries, i.e., graces and actions of God, that we celebrate in the Mass.
The Mystery of Incarnation (life-giving) – God gives us a share in His life (the Holy Spirit). The Paschal Mystery – God brings us to Passover (from death to life) to change our lives through Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. The Mystery of Pentecost – Christ’s continuing act of building His Body, the Church, His Bride.
These mysteries are intertwined in the celebration of Mass and take effect in our daily life.
What do we give?
The primary focus and attention of our heart is not what, but to whom do we give ourselves.
What is the purpose of receiving and giving?
To gain the grace of salvation and become part of the mutual exchange and self-giving of the Holy Trinity. To make us into one body with Jesus. To offer a sacrifice of praise acceptable to the Father, Jesus. To bring us to the fullness of communion and the power to mission (to fill the world with God’s fullness).
How do we receive and how do we give interiorly?
Open your Heart
The door of the heart must always be open to God. We must develop a well-oiled hinge on our heart. God gives to you, you open up to receive, then you open up to give back to God the gift He has given you – how? Through acts of love to your brothers and sisters.
Open your Eyes
The door of our eyes must always be open. You use your eyes to get close to the object you are looking at. Through the eyes you see signs and symbols of the celebration. We respond by giving and involving our heart into the action of the Mass by what is seen. Through seeing we interact, dialogue, communicate and send messages.
Open your Hands
The hands are extensions of the heart. Whatever the intention of your heart, your hands speak out through touch: Hands raised in praise – express our desire to touch God. Sign of the Cross – marks oneself with God’s love and protection. Three crosses when gospel is proclaimed: Anoint your forehead that you may open your mind to understand the Word. Anoint your lips – open them to proclaim the Word. Anoint your heart – open yourself to ponder it and live it.
Sign of peace – open yourself to accept the other as gift and give yourself as gift. Hands that carry offering gifts – represent the assembly. Interiorly in our heart our invisible hands must present our gifts to God. Priest extending his hands over gifts – Represents the assembly in giving ourselves and the whole of creation. Preface – priest stretches out his hands. He is interiorly preparing the faithful to do likewise. It’s also a preparation for the greatest explosion of offering that will happen in the doxology – the Grand Amen. During the Consecration as the priest extends his hands over the gifts, God is making history by giving us Jesus again in his gift of incarnation. It is the same hand that stretches out in giving communion.
Open your Mouth
We use our mouth to receive and give. When we bless, sing, praise, pray, teach, evangelize, heal, and cast out demons with the power of the anointed Word of God, miracles can happen; we give the Word out.
We receive from the mouth of God in His proclaimed Word or the words spoken by the priest. In our dialogue with God in the Mass we mutually exchange through the words of our mouth.
When we sing we praise three times (JP II). The CCC says: "The musical tradition is a treasure of inestimable value, greater than any work of art. (#1156)
Open your Ears
Your ear is center of your h-e-a-r-t. When you have a clean heart, you have a clean ear.
In the physical and spiritual sense, the ear is an organ of intimacy. We cannot listen well when we have many disturbances within us – unhealed emotions, unresolved conflicts, unforgiveness, and sin.
Faith comes through hearing, Paul says. Jesus speaks only the things he hears from the Father – same with the Holy Spirit.
Open your Body
To have proper circulation in the body we need a healthy circulation of oxygen and blood. When there is a blockage we get sick and can’t function well. To open the body means to be released from anxieties, fears, tensions and worries that freeze us. Of course the greatest blockage to the growth of our body is SIN.
Grace is passed hierarchically from the Head (Jesus), which means:
It is, first, through the head that the body grows. Then, through mutual contact. .e.g., the Mass, prayer gatherings, catechetical and bible teachings, regular formation seminars, fellowship. Through the interaction and support of members by works of charity.
Grace is first received from Christ, then it is transmitted to other members and to the whole Body of Christ. (When I am holy, I pass on holiness; when I sin, I pass on sin; when I delay my holiness, I delay the holiness of others.)
Christians grow, not in isolation, but as a single body. The greatest mark is unity. Disunity, factions and elementary education in the knowledge of our faith are marks of the body’s immaturity.
The most important grace we need to receive in the body of Christ lies in the power of the Paschal Mystery – do this in memory of me. Love one other as I have loved you can be accomplished because we have Christ in us.
Acts of the Body (symbols of our sacrifice of praise)
Sign of the Cross
Kneeling
Genuflecting and Bowing
Standing
Striking the Breast
John Paul II sums it up beautifully: the Church intention is that the faithful not only offer the spotless victim but also learn to offer themselves and daily to be drawn into ever more perfect union, through Christ the mediator, with the Father and with each other so that at last God may be all in all. (John Paul II, Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist #9)
Excerpt from Introductory Remarks in the book entitled, The Eucharist: An Encounter with God by Rev. Michael B. Semana, © 2002. For more complete coverage of the topic, refer to the book. |
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