April 2010 A.D.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
During our last discussion we saw how the memorial (anamnesis) and the invocation (epiclesis) are connected is a special way that helps us remember what God has done for us and we are confident to make our requests to God in prayer. These petition prayers draw us deeper into God’s memory – and our own – to recall our Christian ancestors and our heritage. Our heritage and our future are part of the prayer we offer to God. In these prayers we are in communion with God, with one another, with our ancestors, with our neighbors, with our future. Communion with God means communion with one another (the image and likeness of God within us). We are called to, participate in, and are made for, this dual communion. This dual communion is directly connected to our salvation (the cause of our joy). Saint Augustine expresses it this way. “The true peace of rational creatures, which is the only peace of the heavenly city, consists in a perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God” (City of God 19, 17). Our enjoyment of one another and God is expressed in the Doxology and the Great Amen.
We taste this enjoyment, this praise, in the Eucharistic feast. The technical term for this enjoyment or praise is doxology. This sense of praising and glorifying God has been consistent in the Eucharistic prayer from the beginning. Because it is at the end of the Eucharistic prayer and reminds us of our beginning, it brings us full circle.
We are back at the prayers “Blessed are you Lord God of all Creation…”; and our response, “Blessed be God for ever.”
The doxology is the Priestly prayer of praise and glorification that reminds us of our communion with Jesus, The Christ, and God the Father, in the Holy Spirit. The priest lifts the bread and wine – the bread and wine we brought as sacrifice – bread and wine now the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, & DIVINITY of Jesus – our Eucharistic Lord, which we will soon consume – and lifting them up he presents them to God the Father as the ”perfect offering made to the glory of your name.” The words of the doxology say it better than I. “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in unity with the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father, forever and ever.” The doxology then, is the Eucharistic prayer’s final thrust of our hearts toward God.
At this very moment, The Church is doing what Christ did and does into eternity; she offers his one body, which is joined to the church, to the Father for the Glory of His name and for the salvation of the world. Our communion in this sacrifice of Christ is perfect praise.
The doxology has a Trinitarian formula that clearly recalls the Holy Trinity that God has revealed to us. The prepositions in the prayer offer us a summary of the Faith. TO the Father, THROUGH the Son, IN the Holy Spirit, WITH Mary and the Saints, are all reminders of our Communion with God and one another.
We have remembered (anamnesis) what we asked for (epiclesis) and ended that memory with a perfect act of praise and glory to God (doxology). The Priest has lead the Eucharistic prayer, speaking in the name of the Church, and acting in the person of Christ. Through the priest’s leadership, the congregation experiences the indispensable and unfathomable mediation of Christ before the Father. To all of this, we reply with a resounding AMEN.
This “Great Amen” is the biggest Amen of the Mass and everywhere on earth. All the other Amens in the Mass have been a warm-up for this one and, in fact those Amens are included in this “Great Amen.” The Amen after the Creed is here. All 12 articles of the Creed are here. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are here. The Great Amen is THE AMEN that agrees to all that has gone before, seeks to understand all that has gone before, and desires it to be so. The Great Amen, like the Mass containing it, is heard and echoed around the world, through the centuries, to the heights of heaven, and never ends. May it be ever on our lips as we sing AMEN.
Next time we will discuss our participation in the Communion Rite within Holy Mass. May God draw us closer to Himself as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord during the eight glorious weeks of Easter.
Monday, April 26, 2010
March 2010 A.D.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Our last discussion served to refresh our memories on the parts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we have discussed thus far. The review helped us recall some of the liturgical terms we have learned and how those terms describe specific parts of the sacrifice we offer to God through His priest.
We continued our series by learning about the Memorial and Offering. When the priest offers the words “…look with favor on your Church’s offering and see the Victim…” he makes us part of the memorial and offering. We offer our gifts – we sacrifice to God. Saint Paul encourages us in our sacrifice with these words; “I urge you, therefore, by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). We ask God to help purify our bodies so they are a suitable sacrifice and join our bodies to Christ’s on the Cross – our memorial – our offering – our sacrifice. Through the memorial we become “one body one spirit in Christ.”
The memorial (anamnesis) and the invocation (epiclesis) are connected is a special way. By remembering what God has done (anamnesis) we have confidence to ask and expect God to answer our prayer (epiclesis). This leads us to the Petitions we offer in the Eucharistic prayers. Our petitions involve both memorials and invocations. We use specific names that make our prayer personal and the names help us remember those we mention. Mary, Peter & Paul, the martyrs, and saints are examples of our memorial prayers. The Pope, bishops, clergy, and ourselves (“those for whom we now pray”) are part of the invocation prayers.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Melchizedek are examples of why we use names in our memorial prayers, the names remind us of events surrounding that person. Abram becomes Abraham, “our father in faith.” His son Isaac is a type of Christ and carries the wood for the sacrifice. Abram wins a battle and offers “a tenth of everything” to Melchizedek (Genesis 14). Melchizedek, the priest king of Salem, “offers bread and wine” to “the living God” as a celebration of Abram’s victory made possible by God. This is why we need to know the people named in the petitions and should put forth some effort to learn their story - - - after all - - - their story - - - is our story.
These petitions also remind us of the Church’s universal nature; a nature that stretches beyond time and space. Past, present, and future are all present in the Mass. Heaven and earth are joined on the altar with the sacrifice we have brought to the celebration. The priest offers them to the Father, on our behalf.
The petitions also remind us of the three fold communion of saints. The Church triumphant and suffering (heaven & purgatory) are the memorial, while the Church militant is the epiclesis part of the petitions. We become more aware of who we are - - who we were intended to be - - and whose we are. Our name becomes part of the petitions we offer to God in the Mass. Our names become part of the story.
Listening to and learning the stories of the names in the Eucharistic prayers will help us understand our relationship with God and strengthen our relationships with one another. We are part of salvation history and our Christian example will help others return to God.
We learn more about our participation next time when we discuss the Doxology and the Great Amen. May God help each of us grow closer to Him during the Holy Season of Lent.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Our last discussion served to refresh our memories on the parts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we have discussed thus far. The review helped us recall some of the liturgical terms we have learned and how those terms describe specific parts of the sacrifice we offer to God through His priest.
We continued our series by learning about the Memorial and Offering. When the priest offers the words “…look with favor on your Church’s offering and see the Victim…” he makes us part of the memorial and offering. We offer our gifts – we sacrifice to God. Saint Paul encourages us in our sacrifice with these words; “I urge you, therefore, by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). We ask God to help purify our bodies so they are a suitable sacrifice and join our bodies to Christ’s on the Cross – our memorial – our offering – our sacrifice. Through the memorial we become “one body one spirit in Christ.”
The memorial (anamnesis) and the invocation (epiclesis) are connected is a special way. By remembering what God has done (anamnesis) we have confidence to ask and expect God to answer our prayer (epiclesis). This leads us to the Petitions we offer in the Eucharistic prayers. Our petitions involve both memorials and invocations. We use specific names that make our prayer personal and the names help us remember those we mention. Mary, Peter & Paul, the martyrs, and saints are examples of our memorial prayers. The Pope, bishops, clergy, and ourselves (“those for whom we now pray”) are part of the invocation prayers.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Melchizedek are examples of why we use names in our memorial prayers, the names remind us of events surrounding that person. Abram becomes Abraham, “our father in faith.” His son Isaac is a type of Christ and carries the wood for the sacrifice. Abram wins a battle and offers “a tenth of everything” to Melchizedek (Genesis 14). Melchizedek, the priest king of Salem, “offers bread and wine” to “the living God” as a celebration of Abram’s victory made possible by God. This is why we need to know the people named in the petitions and should put forth some effort to learn their story - - - after all - - - their story - - - is our story.
These petitions also remind us of the Church’s universal nature; a nature that stretches beyond time and space. Past, present, and future are all present in the Mass. Heaven and earth are joined on the altar with the sacrifice we have brought to the celebration. The priest offers them to the Father, on our behalf.
The petitions also remind us of the three fold communion of saints. The Church triumphant and suffering (heaven & purgatory) are the memorial, while the Church militant is the epiclesis part of the petitions. We become more aware of who we are - - who we were intended to be - - and whose we are. Our name becomes part of the petitions we offer to God in the Mass. Our names become part of the story.
Listening to and learning the stories of the names in the Eucharistic prayers will help us understand our relationship with God and strengthen our relationships with one another. We are part of salvation history and our Christian example will help others return to God.
We learn more about our participation next time when we discuss the Doxology and the Great Amen. May God help each of us grow closer to Him during the Holy Season of Lent.
20100201
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Back in December of 2008 Monsignor Lamonde asked me to write a series of articles that explain the many parts of Holy Mass. His hope and prayer was – and is – that these meager efforts have and will increase our Faith in God through a better understanding of what is happening at Holy Mass, our role within it, and encourage us to be better Christians in our daily lives after we participate in Holy Mass each week.
January of 2009 began the series and since that time we have covered most of the parts of Holy Mass. We began with a brief discussion about The Church, the source of her authority (Jesus), and the most recent Church documents that tell us how to celebrate Holy Mass. Following that, we discussed “The Liturgy of the Word” and “The Liturgy of the Eucharist.” These two major parts of the Mass, and their sub-parts have been the heart of the series. We have completed our discussion of “The Liturgy of the Word” and are almost through our discussion about The Liturgy of the Eucharist.” Our last discussion was about the Mystery of Faith.
At this point in the liturgy, we have gathered in prayer, heard the Word of God proclaimed in the Liturgy of the Word, given our offerings to God at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We are on our knees in adoration before God who is about to come upon the altar. The priest, acting in persona Christi, prays the words of consecration (institution) and we join the priest in proclaiming the Mystery of Faith. Those ten words connect Jesus’ past, present, and future with ours.
We continue our discussion about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the Memorial (Anamnesis) and Offering. The Greek word Anamnesis summarizes the last words Jesus spoke over the bread and wine, “Do this in memory of me.” and literally means memorial. Praying the Mystery of Faith leads us to anticipate what the priest says and does next in the Mass. We are still on our knees adoring the Lord who is present in the form of bread and wine. The priest says; “In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank you for counting us worth to stand in your presence and serve you.”
Once again the priest, acting in persona Christi, addresses the Father on our behalf. He, acting as another Christ (alter Christus), leads us to the Father with our precious gift – the gift of ourselves – the gift of Jesus himself – in the form of bread and wine. The Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus is made present on the altar of sacrifice by Jesus himself through his priest. All of this is “in memory of his death and resurrection” for our salvation and participation in eternal life.
The “memory” has a divine purpose; it draws us deeper into the sacrifice and is intended to strengthen our participation. We are called to be present in the upper room, in the garden of Gethsemane, at the pillar, on the way to Calvary, and at the foot of the Cross. We are called to go beyond just recalling a past event but to actually be present there and participate.
We learn more about our participation next time when we discuss the petitions within the Eucharistic prayer and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May you have a wonderful and Holy Lenten season preparing for Holy Week and Easter. Please remember to pray for our priests during this Year for Priests.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Back in December of 2008 Monsignor Lamonde asked me to write a series of articles that explain the many parts of Holy Mass. His hope and prayer was – and is – that these meager efforts have and will increase our Faith in God through a better understanding of what is happening at Holy Mass, our role within it, and encourage us to be better Christians in our daily lives after we participate in Holy Mass each week.
January of 2009 began the series and since that time we have covered most of the parts of Holy Mass. We began with a brief discussion about The Church, the source of her authority (Jesus), and the most recent Church documents that tell us how to celebrate Holy Mass. Following that, we discussed “The Liturgy of the Word” and “The Liturgy of the Eucharist.” These two major parts of the Mass, and their sub-parts have been the heart of the series. We have completed our discussion of “The Liturgy of the Word” and are almost through our discussion about The Liturgy of the Eucharist.” Our last discussion was about the Mystery of Faith.
At this point in the liturgy, we have gathered in prayer, heard the Word of God proclaimed in the Liturgy of the Word, given our offerings to God at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We are on our knees in adoration before God who is about to come upon the altar. The priest, acting in persona Christi, prays the words of consecration (institution) and we join the priest in proclaiming the Mystery of Faith. Those ten words connect Jesus’ past, present, and future with ours.
We continue our discussion about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the Memorial (Anamnesis) and Offering. The Greek word Anamnesis summarizes the last words Jesus spoke over the bread and wine, “Do this in memory of me.” and literally means memorial. Praying the Mystery of Faith leads us to anticipate what the priest says and does next in the Mass. We are still on our knees adoring the Lord who is present in the form of bread and wine. The priest says; “In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank you for counting us worth to stand in your presence and serve you.”
Once again the priest, acting in persona Christi, addresses the Father on our behalf. He, acting as another Christ (alter Christus), leads us to the Father with our precious gift – the gift of ourselves – the gift of Jesus himself – in the form of bread and wine. The Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus is made present on the altar of sacrifice by Jesus himself through his priest. All of this is “in memory of his death and resurrection” for our salvation and participation in eternal life.
The “memory” has a divine purpose; it draws us deeper into the sacrifice and is intended to strengthen our participation. We are called to be present in the upper room, in the garden of Gethsemane, at the pillar, on the way to Calvary, and at the foot of the Cross. We are called to go beyond just recalling a past event but to actually be present there and participate.
We learn more about our participation next time when we discuss the petitions within the Eucharistic prayer and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May you have a wonderful and Holy Lenten season preparing for Holy Week and Easter. Please remember to pray for our priests during this Year for Priests.
20091201
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Our August discussion on the Institution Narrative or Consecration was reprinted in the November edition. We learned about the priest retelling the story of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, the story shifting from the past to the present at the Consecration, and Heaven touching Earth on the Altar. The Eucharistic mystery, the bread & wine have become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, The Christ. We are fully immersed in the mystery that is the Holy Trinity. This mystery takes Faith, the focus of this month’s article; “The Mystery of Faith.”
Mystery – the word tells us that we cannot understand the Divinity hiding beneath the Bread and Wine. Our five senses cannot penetrate the Mystery or comprehend its creation. Our eyes, touch, and taste tell us that the bread is still bread and the wine is still wine. Our ears and nose also tell us there is no change – and yet – we KNOW there is. In our hearts, we know. We know, and the Mystery of the infinite God, contained in humble bread & wine, starts to make sense. Faith perceives it – Faith knows it is True.
Faith – the great gift of God that allows us to see The Truth that our sinful nature cannot see. “Flesh and blood” do not reveal this great mystery to us. We, just like Peter and his confession that Jesus is “the Christ,” are given this ability by the Holy Trinity, especially the Holy Spirit.
After the priest genuflects before our Eucharistic LORD in the species of Bread and Wine he invites us to proclaim the Mystery of Faith. This invitation is more than a rubric of the Mass; it is an invitation to express our wonder and awe at God’s presence on the altar. This climax of the Sacred Drama is punctuated by the words in the Mystery of Faith. The congregation joyfully exclaims what it perceives through the eyes of Faith – “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” The story of our Salvation is summarized in these 10 simple words.
Ten words that speak of our Jesus’ past, His death; His present, risen from the dead; and His future, He will come again. These same ten words speak to our past, our death to sin through Baptism; our present, our new life in Christ; and our future, eternity with God, if we are loyal to His precepts. All of this lies on the altar of sacrifice in the form of bread and wine. Past – Present – Future --- Father – Son – Holy Spirit --- The Mystery of Faith perceives it and proclaims it. May God renew “The Mystery of Faith” within us.
Next time we will continue our discussion on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May you have a wonderful and Holy Advent and a Merry Christmas. Please remember to pray for our priests during this Year for Priests.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Our August discussion on the Institution Narrative or Consecration was reprinted in the November edition. We learned about the priest retelling the story of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, the story shifting from the past to the present at the Consecration, and Heaven touching Earth on the Altar. The Eucharistic mystery, the bread & wine have become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, The Christ. We are fully immersed in the mystery that is the Holy Trinity. This mystery takes Faith, the focus of this month’s article; “The Mystery of Faith.”
Mystery – the word tells us that we cannot understand the Divinity hiding beneath the Bread and Wine. Our five senses cannot penetrate the Mystery or comprehend its creation. Our eyes, touch, and taste tell us that the bread is still bread and the wine is still wine. Our ears and nose also tell us there is no change – and yet – we KNOW there is. In our hearts, we know. We know, and the Mystery of the infinite God, contained in humble bread & wine, starts to make sense. Faith perceives it – Faith knows it is True.
Faith – the great gift of God that allows us to see The Truth that our sinful nature cannot see. “Flesh and blood” do not reveal this great mystery to us. We, just like Peter and his confession that Jesus is “the Christ,” are given this ability by the Holy Trinity, especially the Holy Spirit.
After the priest genuflects before our Eucharistic LORD in the species of Bread and Wine he invites us to proclaim the Mystery of Faith. This invitation is more than a rubric of the Mass; it is an invitation to express our wonder and awe at God’s presence on the altar. This climax of the Sacred Drama is punctuated by the words in the Mystery of Faith. The congregation joyfully exclaims what it perceives through the eyes of Faith – “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” The story of our Salvation is summarized in these 10 simple words.
Ten words that speak of our Jesus’ past, His death; His present, risen from the dead; and His future, He will come again. These same ten words speak to our past, our death to sin through Baptism; our present, our new life in Christ; and our future, eternity with God, if we are loyal to His precepts. All of this lies on the altar of sacrifice in the form of bread and wine. Past – Present – Future --- Father – Son – Holy Spirit --- The Mystery of Faith perceives it and proclaims it. May God renew “The Mystery of Faith” within us.
Next time we will continue our discussion on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May you have a wonderful and Holy Advent and a Merry Christmas. Please remember to pray for our priests during this Year for Priests.
August 2009 A.D.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Last month we discussed the Epiclesis and the Holy Spirit’s role in the Mass. This is the same Spirit that hovered over the water at creation, the same Spirit that was with the Israelites throughout their history, the same Spirit that was with Mary at the incarnation, and the same Spirit that was with Jesus during His work on earth. The Trinitarian God is present at every Mass, at every hour, throughout the world. This Holy Spirit will change our offering – the bread and wine – into the Body and Blood of Jesus. This mystery becomes a reality when the priest speaks the Institution Narrative, also known as the Consecration.
The Institution Narrative brings the Jewish Passover meal to its fulfillment in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The apostolic priesthood joins the earthly man, a creature of God, with Jesus the God-man and creator of man. This union, accomplished through the Holy Spirit, lets the priest act in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) and as alter Christus (another Christ). The priest can then speak the Eucharist into existence just like God spoke the universe into existence. The words are those of Jesus. The words he spoke at the Last Supper, but not all of them. We focus on the words about bread and wine; the words that instituted the Eucharist. Let’s explore these words and what happens when they are spoken by the priest.
These words come to the forefront as the priest continues his role as our mediator before God the Father. The Eucharistic prayer tells the story of the Last Supper and brings it to life by re-presenting the Calvary sacrifice using Jesus’ words and actions by the priest. Heaven and earth meet on the altar during this perfect prayer by raising oru hearts and minds to God and God comes closer for us to hear, see, feel, touch, & taste.
The priest recounts the story to God the Father for our benefit. The priest takes the role of Jesus and acts out the story to help us live the moment with Jesus. The priest’s gestures include things like picking up the bread when he tells us that Jesus “took the bread.” When he tells us that Jesus looked up to heaven, he looks up to heaven just as Jesus did. Soon the priest comes to the words Jesus spoke; when he does, he bows slightly and speaks the words of Jesus. This is a major shift because the story has shifted from taking place in the past to happening now – in the present – and we are there while it happens – we are part of the sacrifice. The priest speaks the words of Jesus “Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.” The priest is then silent; he elevates the Eucharist before God the Father as our offering. We look at the Eucharist while he elevates it and are in awe of what just happened – we adore and worship our God who is now before us. The priest then genuflects in adoration and as a sign of The Church’s faith in this miraculous moment. We contemplate the mystery that has just unfolded for our salvation. These actions are repeated with the wine so that it becomes the blood of Jesus and we repeat our adoration and contemplation.
Consider it; God has come down from heaven and we have been lifted up to heaven. Bread and wine have been changed to the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus our Savior. God becomes man, sacrifices himself and dies for our sins, makes us part of that sacrifice during each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and all under the little form of bread and wine. God puts forth all of that loving effort so that we can return to the garden where we were created and to way he created us – sinless. What a wonderful mystery and miracle God creates for us through Holy Mother Church.
Next time we will discuss the “Mystery of Faith.” Please pray for our priests during this Year for Priests and check the link at www.usccb.org for more info on what others are doing for their priests. August 15th is the feast of Mary’s Assumption. Pray a Rosary on that day and ask Mary to send us many holy priests. Remember to check Thank God for the rain and enjoy the summer.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Last month we discussed the Epiclesis and the Holy Spirit’s role in the Mass. This is the same Spirit that hovered over the water at creation, the same Spirit that was with the Israelites throughout their history, the same Spirit that was with Mary at the incarnation, and the same Spirit that was with Jesus during His work on earth. The Trinitarian God is present at every Mass, at every hour, throughout the world. This Holy Spirit will change our offering – the bread and wine – into the Body and Blood of Jesus. This mystery becomes a reality when the priest speaks the Institution Narrative, also known as the Consecration.
The Institution Narrative brings the Jewish Passover meal to its fulfillment in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The apostolic priesthood joins the earthly man, a creature of God, with Jesus the God-man and creator of man. This union, accomplished through the Holy Spirit, lets the priest act in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) and as alter Christus (another Christ). The priest can then speak the Eucharist into existence just like God spoke the universe into existence. The words are those of Jesus. The words he spoke at the Last Supper, but not all of them. We focus on the words about bread and wine; the words that instituted the Eucharist. Let’s explore these words and what happens when they are spoken by the priest.
These words come to the forefront as the priest continues his role as our mediator before God the Father. The Eucharistic prayer tells the story of the Last Supper and brings it to life by re-presenting the Calvary sacrifice using Jesus’ words and actions by the priest. Heaven and earth meet on the altar during this perfect prayer by raising oru hearts and minds to God and God comes closer for us to hear, see, feel, touch, & taste.
The priest recounts the story to God the Father for our benefit. The priest takes the role of Jesus and acts out the story to help us live the moment with Jesus. The priest’s gestures include things like picking up the bread when he tells us that Jesus “took the bread.” When he tells us that Jesus looked up to heaven, he looks up to heaven just as Jesus did. Soon the priest comes to the words Jesus spoke; when he does, he bows slightly and speaks the words of Jesus. This is a major shift because the story has shifted from taking place in the past to happening now – in the present – and we are there while it happens – we are part of the sacrifice. The priest speaks the words of Jesus “Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.” The priest is then silent; he elevates the Eucharist before God the Father as our offering. We look at the Eucharist while he elevates it and are in awe of what just happened – we adore and worship our God who is now before us. The priest then genuflects in adoration and as a sign of The Church’s faith in this miraculous moment. We contemplate the mystery that has just unfolded for our salvation. These actions are repeated with the wine so that it becomes the blood of Jesus and we repeat our adoration and contemplation.
Consider it; God has come down from heaven and we have been lifted up to heaven. Bread and wine have been changed to the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus our Savior. God becomes man, sacrifices himself and dies for our sins, makes us part of that sacrifice during each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and all under the little form of bread and wine. God puts forth all of that loving effort so that we can return to the garden where we were created and to way he created us – sinless. What a wonderful mystery and miracle God creates for us through Holy Mother Church.
Next time we will discuss the “Mystery of Faith.” Please pray for our priests during this Year for Priests and check the link at www.usccb.org for more info on what others are doing for their priests. August 15th is the feast of Mary’s Assumption. Pray a Rosary on that day and ask Mary to send us many holy priests. Remember to check Thank God for the rain and enjoy the summer.
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