Archive for the 'Eucharist' Category

The “Obligation” of Mass

theophilus October 20th, 2009

I finally did it this Sunday – my son was in RFY and the rest of my family was seated in the pew – before the procession began.  First time in a long time that I can remember preceding Father in on Sunday, instead of the other way around.

The great thing about getting to Mass before it began was that I actually got to settle myself down and pray.  And as I prayed, I observed my fellow parishioners coming into the worship space.  And I mused why the place, while crowded, wasn’t packed to the rafters.  After all, we have 3,000 families and 10,000 parishioners, and “only” four Masses.

And I recalled a conversation I recently had with someone who was about to go on vacation.  His wife was spending some time trying to figure out what Mass they would go to while they were out-of-town.  He couldn’t understand why she was doing so; after all, aren’t we excused from the “obligation” of going to Mass when we are on vacation.

I looked at him and said, “you know, some don’t consider Mass to be an obligation.”

And that’s the way I feel – now.  I used to feel that it was an obligation, one of which I could dismiss without good reason.  I didn’t have a clue about the Mass; I missed the whole point; I didn’t fully get what was going on.

Not anymore.

I go to Mass now with the fervent expectation that Christ is going to rock my world.  I know that when I leave, I am going to be healed, strengthened, emboldened, and – at peace.  I know that, at least for that moment, I am united with him and he with me.  He has a hold of me and he will not let go of me – unless I shrug him off and decide to go with my own plan.  I feel the Holy Spirit within me.  I know that the Blessed Mother and the communion of saints (living and dead) have my back.  I know that I have witnessed beauty and grace; I have seen first-hand the love of God.

How could I have been so blind for so long to what was occurring right before my eyes everytime I went to Mass?

How could I have permitted myself to be apathetic, distracted, even angry, while participating in this gift from God himself?

The celebration of the Eucharist is supposed to be the center of our lives.  Sunday Mass is the point in which all we are, all we have done, and all we are expected to be come together.

And I’ve also realized The Church is not the building in which we worship.  The Church is the body of the faithful – one, holy, catholic and apostolic.  As such, our faith and Christ’s gift to us cannot be confined to a physical structure.  After Mass, we must take Christ “out there” to the world.  We must show the face of Christ to all through our thoughts, words,  and actions.

We all must be apostles and win souls for Christ.

And I’m not necessarily talking about talking to people about Christ.  Yes, if approached about our faith, we need to be prepared with an accurate answer.  If we see someone in trouble, we can ask them to pray.  Rather, what I’m talking about is a more subtle approach.

Our parish has a program where parishioners offer to pray for the youth going through confirmation.  I am praying for ten of these kids.  There is a suggested prayer that has a great series of phrases in it -

Help them to live their lives so that others know they are yours.
Help them to spread their faith.
Help them to use words that bless.
Help them to have hands that heal.

Others know who we are by the way we live our lives.  Do you live your life so that others know you are Christ’s?  Do they look at you and see to whom you belong?  Do they look at you and say “I want some of what he is having”?

Participate in Mass with reverence and awe.  Allow Christ to summon you, blow your mind, consume your heart and awaken your soul.  It doesn’t matter whether you are angry, apathetic, disillusioned, or just don’t get it.  Pray to Holy Mary and your Guardian Angel to allow you to see the mystery and the truth unfolding before you each and every Mass.

May the churches be full.  And may we all truly worship God as one Church, with Christ as our head, and the Eucharist as our transforming and redeeming bond.

Holy Father’s Monthly Intentions

theophilus October 6th, 2009

It is a tradition for the Pope to express his Monthly Intentions for the Church.  There is a General Intention and a Missionary Intention.  If you pray a Morning Offering when you wake up, you probably offer your day in part for the special intentions of the Holy Father this month.

October’s General Intention is – that Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist.

I was thinking about this intention on the way to Mass this Sunday.  We pass a Protestant church on the way to St. Max.  This Sunday, I started to think aloud and said rather poignantly while pointing to the full parking lot – “hey guys, the real thing is down the street . . . come on and join us.”

My wife then looked at me with bewilderment, hushed me, and then rebuked me by reminding me that my little girl’s best friend attends that church and I shouldn’t be saying such things.  But then she got to the crux of the matter and said “what, do you think they’re going to go to hell because they’re not Catholic?”

“Whoa there honey – I said no such thing.”

I happen to believe that our salvation does not depend upon us being Catholic.  God is going to extend his mercy to us through his Son to more than those who have accepted his call to join in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.

But, it is only in that one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church that we can receive Him, come into communion with Him, experience the Real Presence of Him.  Even the good, holy Christians that attend the Church we passed last Sunday would agree that they do not acknowledge the Real Presence.  It’s only Catholics that accept that Christ, through the Holy Eucharist, is truly present with us and invites us to be one with him, to be one with each other through Him.

And that is what I do not get about those of the Protestant Christian faiths.  Why deny yourself this divine gift?  Why reject Christ himself?  There is a strength, a saving grace, a spiritual high that I get with communion. Christ gives us the gift of Him through Holy Communion; and we either accept it as part of our birthright and who we are, or we reject it.

In the Anima Christi, we extol the virtues of receiving communion -

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Separated from Thee let me never be
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

Sanctification, salvation, inebriation, cleansing, strengthening, listening, protection, union, defending – all from the Real Presence, all from Holy Communion.

There is a prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas that goes something like -

“O Sacred Banquet, where the body of Christ is received, the memory of his passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given to us.”

Again, why deny yourself this gift, dining at this sacred banquet.

Yet, other Christian faiths deny themselves this grace.  And I guess that is what the Holy Father is pointing out with his general intention this month. 

That Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist.

Let us pray for our fellow Christians this month.  We shouldn’t jump to “what, do you think they’re going to go to hell because they’re not Catholic?”  Instead, we should be grateful that they share our belief in the Risen Lord, while also praying that they may gather with us at the table of the Eucharist to truly celebrate Christ our Lord.

And we can pray that our fellow Catholics embrace this special grace that is there for the taking if only they will accept it.

Catholicism & Running Groups

theophilus September 7th, 2009

I am a Catholic and a runner, and I”m starting to see some similarities between the two.

I was six months into my forties when I issued myself a challenge – to run a half-marathon.  It didn’t matter that I had never run more than a mile at a time, ever.  I was struggling with being 40 and I decided I needed something to help me forget how fast my life was accelerating.

That was a couple of years ago.  It didn’t take long for me to catch the running bug (or addiction, as my wife calls it).

Now, after a handful of half-marathons, I’ve decided to step it up and try a full marathon this November.

In the past, I’ve always trained alone.  Unfortunately, it’s too often the way I undertake the challenges in my life, alone.  But this attempt at a full is going to be the third time I’ve committed to one, and the other two times I backed out.

So, to help with my training this time, I’ve joined a running group put together by a local running store.  Twice a week, 20-40 runners each time, all ages, all levels of ability.

And I’ve noticed that my mileage for each run has increased, my pace has improved dramatically, and my body is starting to look better than it did in my twenties.  I’m pushing myself harder and harder.  I’m not skimping on my runs.  There are no more excuses.  I’m persevering through more adversity because there is no give up when you’re running with others.

The best part of running groups is that there is always someone to chase, always someone to push you from behind.  Even on long runs (the other day was 16 miles), when I may lose contact with other runners, I know there is someone ahead of me and someone behind me, somewhere.  And that thought keeps me running.  There’s an accountability, a comradeship, a commonality, a connection, a universality . . .

a catholicism.

There is really only one way to run, putting one foot down and then the other.  There is really only one goal in running, to finish the run you’re on.  Whether you’re going it alone or in a running group, I have finally realized that there are hundreds of thousands of runners throughout the world, hitting the pavement or the treadmill at that moment in time, doing exactly what you are doing, putting one foot down and then the other, pushing to finish the run.

You know that the world-class athletes are out, and so are the plodders.  Every Saturday, there is a race somewhere with runners pushing themselves to their best, connecting to something deep inside of them.

Runners each run for their own reasons.  Some are running to something; some are running away from something.  Some are running because that is just what they have always done.

But for whatever reason you run, you eventually figure out that you do not run alone.  Even in the darkest hours of the dawn, you know there is someone else out, heart rate up, mind clearing out the sleep, ears listening to the wonderful sounds of the cadence of their footfall.

Sitting in Mass yesterday, I realized that our parish and Church are a lot like running.  Every Sunday, we know there are millions of Catholics throughout the world who are celebrating pretty much the exact Mass with the same readings and prayers.  While there are variations, the Mass is essentially the same throughout the world.  Christ is present in the consecration in every Mass, in every tabernacle, in the world.

We also know that no matter when we pray our traditional prayers, we know there is someone else somewhere in the world praying those prayers – the Hail Mary, the Our Father, the Glory Be.  When we profess the Creed, it is the same Creed, the same profession of our faith everywhere in the world.  Whether it’s the modest St. Joseph’s in rural Ohio or the Notre Dame, two strangers from the farthest reaches of the world can pull out their Rosaries and begin to pray together.

No matter our wealth, intelligence, job status, or achievements, we are all equal in the eyes of Christ and have a rightful place in front of his altar.  No matter our failings and sins, his home is our home and we are invited into it, wherever we are in the world.  Redemption, salvation, grace, consolation, healing, subsistence are available to each of us in the fullest of measure.

In the Church, we are never alone.  In Christ, we are united to our brothers and sisters, living and dead, in the faith.  We pray for them, knowing they are praying for us.  We may worship with them in community, or worship in the silence of our hearts and homes, but we are still worshiping together.  Our voice is a common, united, Catholic voice carrying itself to the eternal reaches of heaven.

In running, you are never alone, even though it may be the most solitary of sports.  In the Church, we are never alone, even in the deepest solitude of our worship, devotion and prayer.

That is one of the majestic mysteries of our faith; that is one of the enduring truths of  the Catholic Church.

In the Church, we are never alone.  There are a billion others in this with us, putting one foot down and then the other, trying to finish their run.

Holy Water, Precious Blood and Swine Flu

theophilus July 15th, 2009

Due to the Swine Flu, the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend John Gladwin, has banned the use of holy water and seems to be on the path towards doing the same for “the wine in the chalice” (his quote).

I don’t know much about the Anglican Church, except for some studies on King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, but I gather they tie themselves into some theological knots.

But, with all of the stories of the Swine Flu, we have some good questions to ask of ourselves in the Catholic Church.  Do we really believe that Holy Water is a divine reminder of our baptism and a sacramental that can heal the spiritually and physically sick, and do we believe that the “wine in the chalice” is the Precious Blood of Christ?  And, do we decline these gifts out of fear or indifference?

If someone is sick, it is probably prudent for everyone’s state of mind if they go to the priest for other arrangements in receiving the cup and holy water.  But, if we are not sick, are we still denying ourselves the Blood of Christ and Holy Water because we are afraid of what we might catch or because we just don’t care?

It’s a tough call in this age of pandemic alerts, but do we really believe what the Church teaches about Holy Water and the Precious Blood?

Do we deny ourselves the blessing of saying -

“By this Holy Water and your Precious Blood, wash away my sins, O Lord.”

As Catholic Online.org tells us -

St. Theresa of Avila on holy water: “From long experience I have learned that there is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have great value.”

Holy water is a means of spiritual wealth — a sacramental that remits venial sin. The Church strongly urges its use, especially when dangers threaten. The devil hates holy water because of its power over him. He cannot long abide in a place or near a person that is often sprinkled with this blessed water.

I’m not sure if Bishop Gladwin was too reactionary, but I can’t help but think that similar actions on the part of our bishops would call into question basic tenets of our faith.  In any case, we must remember that Holy Water and the Precious Blood are gifts from God; we should not decline them lightly.

Duty to Call Out Easter Catholics?

theophilus April 13th, 2009

Does a father have a duty to call out their children when they are doing something that is not within their best interests?

Of course, we do.  Fathers are always instructing, guiding, cajoling, pressuring their children to walk the right path.  And sometimes we have to take a rather direct and pointed approach.  It’s how we fulfill our responsibility to help our kids live the lives they are supposed to lead.

But, sometimes it appears to be different when the father is “Father” and the children are parishioners.  It especially appears to be different when the parishioners step inside the church twice a year.

Yesterday, my parish was so crowded that the gym was used as overflow, complete with a closed circuit projection screen.  In other words, the Easter Catholics were out in force.

And Father took the occasion to make it a teaching moment.  He poignantly stated that if the flock who showed up once or twice a year really believed in the Resurrection, they would come to Mass frequently.

Frank, straightforward, honest, to the point.

When I was at dinner, I heard an earful from my family as the story was told.  “We should just be glad they show up at all.”  “How does Father expect to get them back if he attacks them?”  “Our priest simply said that ‘I want to remind everyone that we are open on weekends.’”

So, which is it?  Should we just be happy they are there, or should we get in their heads that it’s not ok if they skip Sunday Mass?

I guess it depends on how you view Sunday Mass and your eternal life.

Is Sunday Mass just a spot on the calendar when your neighbors get together to sing and talk; or is it the center of your week when you are invited into the most intimate and holy communion with Christ our King and Savior?  Can you ensure the quality of your eternal life by thinking of God now and then, or are you supposed to make Christ the very essence of your life, living every moment in perfect tune with him?  And can you live such a life going to Mass once or twice a year?

Mass isn’t an event or appointment.  It’s not like our weekly management meeting, kid’s soccer game, or poker night.  It is the fulfillment of our lives when we gather the divine strength and wisdom needed to live our lives the way God intends for us to live it.  It is when we are renewed and recharged.

So, if we are missing out on something so important, so vital, so essential to our lives here on earth and our eternal life, shouldn’t our Father, who has been charged with not losing us, shouldn’t he call us out if we are missing out on something as important as Mass?

With Easter Catholics, I really doubt that the soft-glove approach works.  I really doubt that the Say-Nothing Approach works either.  True, the Holy Spirit may still spark a flame, but sometimes the Holy Spirit needs to use a knock alongside the head.

Yesterday, Father said what needed to be said.  He was a shephard leading his flock.

Let’s hope, someone took it to heart and will be back this Sunday.  I won’t mind sitting in the gym if they are there.

Noah & Our Culture of Death

theophilus February 19th, 2009

I love the story of Noah, especially the part about the rainbow.  It’s the perfect Old Testament story about redemption, mercy, salvation.  Noah shows us how to live as a real man of God; listening, following, obeying, trusting, not being afraid.

But I often miss key points of Noah’s story, specifically those that come after the flood waters have receded.  These points made by God to Noah (Genesis 9) shed some light on what God must really feel about our culture of death.

“For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting . . . from one man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.”

“For in the image of God has man been made.”

“Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.”

“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you.”

The sanctity of human life is paramount to God and he holds each of us individually accountable.  Why?  Because we have been made in his image.

Yet, we have a prevailing culture that cuts short life in the womb, with some wanting to cut it short at the other end as well.

God wants us to be fertile; yet we short-circuit our fertility, our very ability to allow God to act through us to create life.

God wants us to hold up our side of his covenant with us; yet too many of us want the trappings and pleasures of this world instead.

Unlike Noah, too many refuse to listen, follow, and obey God.  Too many refuse to trust God and not be afraid.  Too many turn our backs on the grace-filled, divine covenant that God seeks to renew with us each and every day, most notably through the Mass and confession.

In today’s gospel (Mark 8), St. Peter proclaims to Jesus, “You are the Christ.”  We cannot proclaim the same if we embrace (or even tolerate) our culture of death.  We must be strong men of God, like Noah, and take personal responsibility for our covenant with God; a covenant that finds a culture of life at its core.

Next time you see a rainbow, remember that God put it there as a sign personally to you; a sign of his love for you; a sign of his covenant with you; a sign that he expects you, yes you, to take personal accountability for promoting a culture of life.

Promoting life may go against the social whims of the time, but do you really think that Noah cared a whit of what the rest of society was saying about him as he went about building the ark?  He trusted God and did his job.  So should we.

The Most Meaningful Eucharist

theophilus August 11th, 2008

Fr. Dan is the pastor at St. Susanna’s in Mason, Ohio.  I don’t belong to this parish but I go there occasionally for weekday Mass.   Last night, my family went there for Sunday night Mass.  And I was part of one of the most meaningful liturgies of my life.

Fr. Dan has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  I see him about every other month, so I probably notice the differences in him more than those who may see him every week.  And the differences I witness are becoming more and more painful to watch.  I am watching this dreadful disease take hold of him and progress in him, function by function.

At yesterday’s Mass, he was totally confined to his motorized wheelchair.  His voice was audible only to those who focused with sonar intensity.  Every one of his movements were calculated, deliberate, slow.

But Fr. Dan preached a thoughtful homily, continued to be in his usual good cheer, and willed himself and his flock to celebrate the majesty of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.

And during the Eucharistic Prayer, I silently cried.   As Fr. Dan consecrated the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, I looked up at Christ crucified and fully understood the depth of his love in his bodily sacrifice for us all.  For the first time, I witnessed one of his chosen ones showing the same love and sacrifice for us, his flock.  Fr. Dan was showing us Christ through his own infirmity and perserverance.

Fr. Dan could be in a home, giving up.  But, he is fighting for his life and the sanctity of his flock with so much vigor and grace that he belongs in only one temporal place, and that is at the altar of St. Susanna’s.

His parish has invoked the intercession of Blessed (soon to be St.) Damian of Molokai for his healing.  I trust that it’s a good time to pray to Blessed Damian that Fr. Dan, this holy and faithful shepherd, be allowed to tend to his flock as long as God’s will be done.

Transfiguration

theophilus August 6th, 2008

I have often wondered what it was like to be an apostle following Christ.  The healings, miracles and profound daily wisdom must have had an incredible jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, did I just see that quality to them.

So what did Peter, James & John think of the Transfiguration?  They saw Moses and Elijah.  They heard our Father.  They saw the divinity of Christ in a way that must have just blown their minds.

Coming down from Mt. Tabor, they had to be transformed, energized, ready to engage.  They had to realize that their historic, saintly futures were set out before them.

Next time you go to Communion, imagine yourself on Mt. Tabor that day.  Imagine that you are coming face to face with the Holy Trinity.  Imagine that you are witnessing the glory of God and desire that he will say of you, “this is my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased.”  And let us say, like St. Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” 

WYD Sydney 2008 – WOW!

theophilus July 21st, 2008

1,000 . . . 200,000 . . . 400,000!

That’s 1,000 priests hearing confession at World Youth Day!

That’s 200,000 youth joining the Holy Father in silent, holy (and around the clock) Adoration of the Eucharist!

That’s 400,000 young pilgrims participating in Mass with the Holy Father (the largest crowd in Austrailian history)!

It’s a great day to be Catholic!

Now, how about those parishes who give only an hour a week for reconciliation (and on Saturday afternoon at that)?  How about those who give one, two or three hours a week (or a month) for Adoration?  How about those of our fellow Catholics who can’t get out of bed on Sunday morning on a consistent basis?

The Holy Spirit was everywhere to be found in Sydney this past week.  May this fervor spread to the rest of the faithful. 

The children have shown us the way to Christ.  This is the moment to follow with a renewed spring in our step.

It’s time to get our butts to Confession, Adoration and Mass.  It’s time to put in the time and effort to show Christ we are with him.

Sunday Morning Marriage Counseling

theophilus July 6th, 2008

Ah, so this explains my wife’s and my marital bliss -

“Churchgoing married couples happier, study says – Catholic News Agency

“Charlottesville, VA, Jul 5, 2008 / 08:03 pm (CNA).- A new analysis of three major national surveys claims that married couples who attend church together tend to be happier than couples who rarely or never attend services and are also less likely to divorce.

“University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS), the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), found that married churchgoing Americans, regardless of race or religious denomination, were more likely to describe themselves as “very happy” – more so than non-churchgoing married couples, Cybercast News Service reports.

“Professor Wilcox also found that couples who regularly attend church together are less likely to divorce.

“‘Attending church only seems to help couples when they attend together,’ Wilcox told Cybercast News Service. ‘But when they do, they are significantly happier in their marriages, and they are much less likely to divorce, compared to couples who do not attend church. I would say that church attendance is a beneficial component of marriage when it is done together.’

“Wilcox said that churches supply moral norms like sexual fidelity and forgiveness while also offering family-friendly social networks to support couples through high and low points of their marriages.

“Churches, he said, provide ‘a faith that helps couples make sense of the difficulties in their lives–from unemployment to illness–that can harm their marriages.’

“‘So, in a word, the couple that prays together stays together,’ said Wilcox.

Critics of Wilcox’s study say other factors may be at work.

“‘Some studies have reported a correlation between church attendance and successful marriages,’ Tom Flynn, editor of the secular humanist magazine Free Inquiry said to Cybercast News Service. ‘That may reflect the fact that males who are settled in their lives and are highly socialized are both more likely to succeed in their marriages and more likely to attend church.’

‘Flynn said other studies suggesting a link between church membership and better health or a longer life could also mask other factors.

“’Once again, it may mean that folks who have their lives together tend to avoid substance abuse, practice good health habits, and go to church,’ he said.

‘A 2001 Barna Research Poll showed that individuals who describe themselves as ‘born again’ were just as, if not more, likely to divorce than other Christians and non-Christians.

“‘A few studies have shown that seculars who do marry have a better track record at staying married than members of Southern Baptists and other conservative denominations,’ Flynn said. ‘Those seculars who bother to marry may be marrying more successful than very traditional, male-authoritarian Christians.’

“Wilcox responded by claiming that men and women with an active church life ‘do look different in the marital realm.’

“’At least in the marriage arena, faith alone doesn’t work,’ Wilcox said. ‘You’ve got to combine faith and works to enjoy a happy and stable marriage. You need the consistent message, the accountability, and the support a church community can provide to really benefit from religious faith.’

I love how Mr. Flynn tries to twist the studies around.  According to him, going to church doesn’t produce good married folks; it’s good married folks who go to church anyway.

These secularists just don’t get it.  I have a relatively happy marriage, because despite all of our ups and downs, my wife and I truly believe and are reminded each and every Sunday morning that our union is predestined by God and his gift to us.  Our covenant sworn on our wedding day is part of his covenant with us, his people.  His call to us has its foundation in those children of his whom he has entrusted to us as their parents.

My wife and I will love each other and remain committed to each other, not just because we truly love each other and are totally committed to each other, but also because we know deep down in our souls, we are part of God’s plan for each other and our children.

And when we forget this simple proposition, we are reminded each and every Sunday when we ask for mercy and forgiveness, look around us at all of the families like our’s, and exchange the sign of peace with each other. 

And then we walk up the aisle and partake of the consecrated host.  It is truly then when we are joined with Christ and remember why we are joined with each other.

Next »

Get your free Catholic Blog at StBlogs Catholic Blogs