Sunday. Ordinary Time 2013, Week 13.

ANTIPHON

All peoples, clap your hands. Cry to God with shouts of joy! (Psalm 47 :2)

COLLECT

O God,
Who through the grace of adoption
chose us to be children of light,
grant, we pray,
that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error
but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

You are my inheritance, O Lord. (Psalm 16: 5).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
 say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.”
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence because
you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord. (Psalm 16).”

REFLECTION

God’s holy word is always effective. The Letter to the Hebrews boldly announces: “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).” While this is always the case, sometimes there are those gifted moments when the Word of God and the grace of the Holy Spirit bless one with a ‘wow moment’ – an occasion of new insight and new connection or connections.

For example, this Sunday our Churches will chant Psalm 16: “You are my inheritance, O Lord.” As is the usual case with translations of God’s Word, we naturally understand the words, connotatively or denotatively, from the context of our present day life. From time to time, as often happens on this blog, when a given word or phrase is examined in its original usage, context and meaning it offers another insight useful for and ordered to salvation. As the Psalm is chanted this Sunday, what meaning will you and others give to inheritance? Perhaps you may recall a gift received after a loved one died. Perhaps you may recall the toil and drudgery involved in settling an estate in order to receive the inheritance. Perhaps you may recall how matters surrounding inheritance changed life and relationships, often not for the better.

In a ‘hair-scratching’ sort of way, the biblical word inheritance translates the Hebrew word חֵקֶל (cheleq). חֵקֶל (cheleq) emerges from a family of Hebrew words that mean ‘allotment,’ ‘share or distribution of goods due a person’ and ‘to smooth.’

‘To smooth’ – what possible connection exists between inheritance and smooth? In the biblical world of the Psalms, people played games of chance then just as we do now. The prize, often termed an ‘allotment’ or a ‘lot,’ could be the result of rolling a rock (the forerunner of the present dice) whose surface had been smoothed. The rock would be smoothed to have various sides (not just 9 as in our present-day ‘cubed’ dice) and engraved with various letters, Greek letters as was the custom in the days of Jesus’ ministry. The valued ‘lots’ were rocks that were ultra smooth to roll easily and hopefully provide a person with an allotment when the rock (lot) rested and people could ‘read’ the winning letter on the top facet.

So how might this background assist each of us today in responding to the Lord’s work of salvation within each of us? Psalm 16, in proclaiming the Lord as inheritance is, in essence, proclaiming the Lord as ‘the Smoother, the One Who does the smoothing of the rough edges of our lives.’ What happens with rough and jagged edges? Things get caught on them. If a surface is smoothed and polished, other things have a hard time clinging to that surface. Thus when life becomes smoother through the Lord’s grace, the jagged edges of our lives gradually diminish and sin has no place to hook onto and burrow into our lives. Recall other biblical images: the Suffering Servant who is a polished arrow, hidden in the quiver; the highway that Isaiah proclaims will smooth the rugged land and so make for the coming of God in our midst.

The Inheritance we sing today is an allotment – a gift given to us. Beyond a quantifiable ‘thing’ given, the gift we receive is the continuous work of the Holy Spirit smoothing each to have a surface that faces life and is able to repel sin by saying no to its deception.

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful (click here)

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful. Ordinary Time, Week 13.

Father in heaven, You are our inheritance. Your Spirit-inspired Word moves us to voice these petitions to You in the Name of Your beloved Son, Jesus.

1. Father, You are our inheritance. [PAUSE] Elisha and all the prophets proclaimed Your life-giving word. [PAUSE] For Pope Francis, Archbishop Charles and all who proclaim and teach the inheritance of Your sacred Word; [PAUSE] as well as for docile and receptive hearts to the Word of God in all people, we pray …

2. Father, You are our inheritance. [PAUSE] Saint Paul reminded us that we were “called for freedom” and cautioned not to misuse this gift. [PAUSE] Teach us in this and all countries to grasp freedom’s true meaning and to always exercise it wisely as an inherited gift from You. We pray …

3. Father, You are our inheritance. [PAUSE] Your Son proclaimed and did the work of Your Kingdom as a way of life. [PAUSE] We pray for our parish to seek only and to live only the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. We pray …

4. Father, You are our inheritance. [PAUSE] The gift of Your inheritance is lived in peoples of cultures throughout the world. [PAUSE] For an approach to immigration that reverences the dignity of all human beings created in Your image and likeness, we pray …

5. Father, You are our inheritance. [PAUSE] For the all sick to know that each is precious in the Lord’s eyes, especially … [PAUSE]
Receive into the eternal inheritance of Heaven all who have died, especially ... We pray …

God our Father,
Who gave one origin to all peoples and
willed to gather from them one family for Yourself,
fill all hearts, we pray,
with the fire of Your love and kindle in them a desire
for the advancement of their neighbor, that,
through the good things which You richly bestow upon all,
each human person may be brought to perfection,
every division may be removed, and
equity and justice may be established in human society.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Sunday. Ordinary Time 2013. Week 12

ANTIPHON

The Lord is the strength of His people,
a saving refuge for the one he has anointed.
Save Your people, Lord, and bless Your heritage,
and govern them for ever (Psalm 28 :8-9).

COLLECT

Grant, O Lord,
that we may always revere and love
Your holy Name
for You never deprive of Your guidance
those you set firm on the foundation of your love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. (Psalm 63: 2).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Once when Jesus was praying in solitude (προσευχόμενον, proseuchomenon),
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist;
others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them
and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it (Luke 9:18-24).”

REFLECTION

“Once when Jesus was praying (προσευχόμενον, proseuchomenon) in solitude (κατὰ μόνας, kata monas) …” The experience of prayer certainly holds a treasured place in any discussion of the spiritual life. As the ‘lights of the spiritual life’ come on and the heart becomes more excited about the Divine realities, prayer is one of those activities that ignites a ravenous appetite for discussion and study. ‘Am I praying correctly?’ is a question that is commonly posed by women and men seeking a mature spiritual life. While the question itself ‘Am I praying correctly?’ is born from a genuine desire to make one’s spiritual life a vital dimension of life, it is helpful to begin with Jesus’ experience of prayer as presented in the Gospels. After all, the ponderous question “Who you say that I am?” as well as His teaching about the Cross are grounded this Sunday in the ‘praying Jesus.’

προεὐχομαι (proeuchomai) is the Greek verb that translates into English as “to pray.” Not surprisingly, there are a handful of verbs in Greek that generically are rendered into English as “to pray.” A number of the verbs and related nouns are influenced naturally throughout time by a variety of factors and linguistic scholars note that it is difficult to draw absolute lines of demarcation among the various words. That said, it is important to note that the ancient words that form a ‘family of prayer words’ do have shades of meaning that are certainly worth exploring.

Generally speaking, the various ancient words that form a foundation for the verb “to pray” or the noun “prayer” appear to share a common element of ‘voicing a desiring, wish or some type of petition.’ What is unique about προεὐχομαι (proeuchomai) is that the voicing is clearly directed to God. Other verbs appear to suggest prayer as a ‘throwing it out there’ as if one did not know who or what to contact. ‘Praying,’ therefore, involved not only one’s wish or desire but equally a wish that someone or something, both unknown to the one praying, will respond! Jesus’ manner of prayer is quite different.

The Gospel use of προεὐχομαι (proeuchomai) to express the many facets of prayer is grounded in the Jewish experience of prayer. While there are a couple of words that historically ground the activity of prayer throughout the Old Testament, 1 point is noteworthy. Even when the words come to include the voicing of desires and petition, Jewish prayer is first and foremost a conscious awareness not only that prayer is definitely directed to God, but directed to God Who is One! The words offered to God, the petitions voiced, the sacrificed rendered, the silence accepted – all of this is done in the context of the God Who is One! Thus while I may ask for this or that, while I may have the Temple priest offer a particular sacrifice, while I may sit silently for a period of time, all is ‘colored,’ all is affected and effected by the reality that God is One! As I ask for a particular reality, implicitly I need to ask: ‘is this about the Oneness of God, or is it selfishly idolatrous?’ Is the sacrifice being offered because God is worthy of all, or are there other motives (e.g. bartering with God, feeling good about myself because I offered sacrifice)?

From this emerges a second point essential to prayer among the Israelites of Jesus’ day. “I” pray to God Who is One conscious that “I” am part of a community and as such prayer always involves my fellow Israelites. In other words, ‘saying MY prayers’ would be a phrase foreign to any Israelite of Jesus day and foreign to Jesus Himself. Notice the beginning of this Sunday’s proclamation: “Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with Him,” Jesus’ communing with His Father is an act of solitude, not individualistic privacy. Communing with God the Father is an act that is not about me, myself and I. Even as an individual is drawn into the life and love of the Divine Persons, it is not to the exclusion of others who are part of the Body as well.

The blessing of prayer that comes with discipleship in Jesus is a gift of the Holy Spirit that is a marvelous, splendid gift. Each disciple ‘knows’ God the Father is the One to Whom all prayer is addressed. No wonder St Teresa of Avila had ‘difficulty’ voicing the “Lord’s Prayer.” As soon as she mentioned “Our Father,” she was caught up in Divine Love, knowing the One love of God the Father. Jesus invites us to ask in prayer for all that we need. Each disciple voices those needs and sits silently all the while growing in what it means to live in union with the Oneness of God our Father and the Body of His Son energized by the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit.

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful (click here)

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful: Ordinary Time 12

Father of all graciousness, You sent Your Son Jesus to make all things new through His unique and all-embracing sacrifice. May the Gift of the Holy Spirit continue to awaken and to enlighten us with strength so that each of us may “pick up the Cross and follow” Your Son, Jesus.

1. Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Inspire Your Church, heavenly Father, to live the Cross of Jesus. May the Holy Spirit’s power keep Pope Francis and Archbishop Charles strong in proclaiming and living the selfless love Jesus manifested throughout His life especially in His suffering, passion and death. We pray …

2. Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Inspire all citizens of the world, heavenly Father, to model human living on the selflessness of Jesus “Who came to serve rather than be served.” May governments both home and abroad work to reverence religious liberty as a common good at the heart of all culture. We pray …

3. Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Inspire with the creative wind of the Holy Spirit, heavenly Father, all dimensions of parish life that we may become a “fountain to purify from sin” all who are in need of experiencing freedom from sin’s addiction as sons and daughters in the Son of God. We pray …

4. Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Inspire each of us as believers, heavenly Father, to acknowledge that we thirst for You more than for life itself. Remove the drowsiness and sleepiness that grips our spiritual lives and awaken us to the new life of union with your Son, Jesus. We pray …

5. Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Inspire all the sick and all who suffering any way, heavenly Father, to find comfort in Jesus Your Son, especially … [PAUSE] Raise up to Eternal Life all who have died, especially ... We pray …

God our Father,
Who willed that Your Only Begotten Son
should undergo the Cross to save the human race,
grant, we pray, that we,
who have known His mystery on earth,
may merit the grace of His redemption in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Daytime Prayer, Friday

PSALM 22 (click for full Psalm)

We saw Him despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with infirmity.

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for complete chapter)

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction. (Romans 3:21-22).”

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
at noon, when darkness covered all the earth,
You mounted the wood of the Cross
as the innocent victim for our redemption.
May Your Light be always with us
to guide us to eternal life in that Kingdom
where You live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday. Ordinary Time 2013. Week 11.

ANTIPHON

O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to You; be my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God, my Savior (Psalm 27 :7-9)

COLLECT

O God,
strength of those who hope in You,
graciously hear our pleas,
and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing,
grant us always the help of your grace,
that in following your commands
we may please you by our resolve and our deeds.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

Lord, forgive the wrong I have done. (Psalm 32: 5).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven
because she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith (ἡ πίστις σου, he pistis sou)
has saved (σέσωκέν, sesoken) you;
go in peace (εἰς εἰρήνην eis eirenen) (Luke 7:44-50).”

REFLECTION

One might contend that Jesus’ declaration to the woman: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” summarizes the words and deeds of His Public Ministry. Jesus proclaims and does the work of His Father’s Kingdom in such a way that the listener is offered a connection with Jesus that heals the brokenness of humanity and fills life with the creative love of the Father’s peace. All of this is grounded in and sparked by “faith (πίστις, pistis).”

For many, ‘faith’ is a vague dimension of living with Jesus. On one hand, many say that ‘faith’ has something to do with mystery and not being able to understand various elements of Christian teaching. On the other hand, some might echo a catechism definition: “Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 150).” Yet when faced with ‘unpacking’ the definition, a good number remain clueless.

Living in a Jewish milieu of the first century, Jesus’ followers would certainly have known the necessity of faith in terms of Covenant living. אָמַן (aman) is one of the rich Hebrew words that translate into English as faith. Grounded in the experience of parenthood (an appropriate connection for today – Fathers’ Day), אָמַן (aman) expresses ‘a connection between persons, originally a parent and child, that provides for all the essentials of life (especially food) so that one may be ‘built up’ and grow strong while connected to the other.’ In this vein, אָמַן (aman) was also used to express the relationship between a mother and her nursing child. In both cases, the ‘provider’ knows what s/he must do for the other: give the necessities for life to another. The ‘recipient’ comes to know the ‘provider’ as the source of life and trusts that s/he will give all that is vital for living and growing. For the Israelites, this tender imagery expressed the relationship between God and themselves.

The connection or relationship had another dimension: bonding or adherence. For the one who receives life’s necessities from ‘the provider,’ explicit in that experience is that one receives from no one else. Dependent as one is on the provider, that dependency forms exclusivity. One does not take from the provider while looking around at the same time for a ‘better’ or ‘tastier offer.’ No matter how good something looks, no matter how pleasing something sounds, אָמַן (aman) fosters the life connection to one and only one. This is the lesson of the Garden. So long as humanity listened to the Creator and only the Creator, life flourished. When humanity opened the door to dialogue with another, the fundamental relationship of life was dealt a severe blow to human nature.

It is no wonder then that Jesus calls forth אָמַן (aman) in the people He meets and continues to meet. All of humanity’s ills then and now are rooted in a divided existence that seeks a false autonomy that makes idols of everything thus enslaving our lives in and to sin. אָמַן (aman) – the connection of life to and with Jesus offers true freedom and health of body, mind and soul that each may live in peace.

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful (click here)

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful: Ordinary Time 11

Loving Father, You are almighty in forgiving our sins and freeing us from death. As Your Son Jesus voiced Your creative word with His life, death and resurrection, humanity is offered healing and wholeness in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

1. Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” May Your Church Loving Father, shepherded by our pastors Pope Francis and Archbishop Charles, nurture and promote the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. May the loving relationship of faith mature so that each of us may live in Christ Jesus who has loved us and given Himself up for all people. We pray …

2. Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” May all people, especially those in positions of civil leadership, know the gift of peace that Jesus has breathed into the world. May the ending of all conflicts be the prelude to experiencing Divine Peace as a way of living animated always by the Holy Spirit’s fire of love. We pray …

3. Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” May all dimensions of parish life be grounded in the faith of the Divine Persons Who desire the salvation of all people. Remove from our midst individual agendas that divide and form us as the One Body of Christ Who heals and reconciles us to God our Father and one another. We pray …

4. Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” May all dads living the sacred vocation of parenthood, be living examples in their families of faith and peace – availing themselves often of the Sacrament of Penance. May Jesus’ selfless love for Church form our dads to guide us – their sons and daughters – in living as citizens of the Kingdom of God. We pray …

5. Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” May the peace of Christ that flows from forgiveness of sin comfort the sick in our midst, especially … [PAUSE]
Raise up to Eternal Life all who have died, especially our departed fathers and ... We pray …

Graciously hear the prayers
of those who call upon You,
we ask, O Lord,
and forgive the sins of those who confess to You,
granting us in your kindness both pardon and peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Sunday. Ordinary Time 2013, week 10

ANTIPHON

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread? When those who do evil draw near, they stumble and fall (Psalm 27 :1-2)

COLLECT

O God,
from whom all good things come,
grant that we,
who call on you in our need,
may at your prompting discern what is right,
and by your guidance do it.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. (Psalm 30: 2).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity (ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, esplagchnisthe) for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, ”
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region. (Luke 7:11-17).”

REFLECTION

No one asks Jesus to do anything. The “large crowd” accompanying Jesus appears to act as silent observers. The widow herself, no doubt overcome with grief, says nothing to Jesus. Yet the site of a widow burying her only son hits Jesus in His gut (click for a previous reflection on biblical pity/compassion) and He acts decisively, resuscitating the young man. The once silent crowd erupts in jubilation with a characteristically Lucan response: “God has visited (ἐπεσκέψατο, epeskepsato) his people.”

One might say that “to visit (ἐπισκέπτομαι, episkeptomai)” is a rather neutral term: a ‘visit’ can raise positive and negative responses. A visit can be planned or spontaneous. No matter the ‘neutrality’ of the act, a visit often involves some type of meeting, some type of encounter between persons. The Greek root, however, is not foremost about ‘meeting,’ it is about ‘seeing.’

σκοπέω (skopeo), the Greek root for the verb “to visit,” means ‘to stare intently at an object or a person.’ σκοπέω (skopeo) involves a deliberate act, choosing clearly to view intently. In other words, σκοπέω (skopeo) is not a casual or accidental glance. When the prefix ἐπι (epi) is added, meaning ‘above or over,’ the word conveys a sense of ‘viewing the big picture,’ ‘getting a sense of the whole,’ or ‘seeing what things are about (incidentally, this is also the same root for ἐπισκοπος (episkopos, the Greek word translated ‘bishop’).’ In time, ἐπισκέπτομαι, (episkeptomai) came to mean “considering” as well as “caring about the good of another” because when one saw another, one potentially could see what another person needed. By the time of the Gospels, ἐπισκέπτομαι, (episkeptomai) had come to mean ‘to see another in need (sick, victim, imprisoned, etc) and thus acting to alieviate the burden.’

From a Gospel perspective, ἐπισκέπτομαι, (episkeptomai) is far more than simply meeting other people. It expresses how the Divine Persons act – ‘God visits and brings salvation.’ Jesus needs no one to tell Him what to do in this situation. In terms of Him ‘eyeing up the situation,’ He knows exactly what is lacking – life! As the author and source of life He pronounces the Word of life that conquers death.

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful (click here)

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful: Ordinary Time 10

God our Father, You visit us and through Your Son Jesus rescue us from sin and death. May that freedom, together with the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, move us to sing Your praises now and forever.

1. Father, You visit Your people and breathe life into us. May the breath of the Holy Spirit strengthen Pope Francis and Archbishop Charles to boldly proclaim new life in Jesus, risen from the dead. May the living of this Good News transform all life to sing Your praises now and forever. We pray …

2. Father, You visit Your people and breathe life into us. May the breath of the Holy Spirit create a culture of life that reverences life from conception to natural death. Form us as instruments of active charity to ease the burdens of the poor and all who find life burdensome. We pray …

3. Father, You visit Your people and breathe life into us. May the breath of the Holy Spirit be a mighty wind that builds unity among all elements of parish life. Give us a single vision that forms each of us as evangelizers to be a parish that works for the salvation for all people. We pray …

4. Father, You visit Your people and breathe life into us. May the breath of the Holy Spirit always renew Your divine life within us. Give to each of us the Holy Spirit’s Gifts that, like the prophet Elijah, all of our words may be voiced as Your Word of Life. We pray …

5. Father, You visit Your people and breathe life into us. May the breath of the Holy Spirit comfort and heal the sick in our midst, especially … [PAUSE] Raise up to Eternal Life all who have died, especially ... We pray …

Father of wisdom and love,
source of all good,
send Your Holy Spirit to teach us Your truth
and to guide our actions in Your path of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, 2013

ANTIPHON

He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied the with honey from the rock (Psalm 80 :17)

COLLECT

O God, Who in this wonderful Sacrament,
have left us a memorial of Your Passion
grant us, we pray,
so to revere the Sacred Mysteries of Your Body and Blood
that we may always experience in ourselves
the fruits of Your redemption.
Who live and reign with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (click for full Psalm)

You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110: 4).

SCRIPTURE EXCERPT (click for all readings)

“Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
“Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here.”
He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
“Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.
(Luke 9:11-17).”

REFLECTION

Jesus’ Gift of Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist is expressed properly as a mystery not because the Gift is unknowable but precisely because the Gift is a way of living. Too often the mere sounding of the word mystery shuts down any type of theological inquiry and pondering because from a practical point of view, ‘I can’t figure this out.’

Prior to sacramentum’s introduction into the theological vocabulary, Christians used the word mysteries (Mystery (singular) was reserved to the Most Holy Trinity) to describe Baptism, Chrismation and the Most Holy Eucharist. Borrowed from the initiatory experiences of the various Greek Oracle cults, mysteries expressed how one was inserted into a way of living. True, there was much about the way of living that was hidden but as one lived the mysteries, insights into mysteries’ meaning gradually unfolded and one began to see and to live life in an entirely new way. Living the mysteries formed one into a whole person, devoid of fragmentation and division.

As Christianity made deeper inroads into society, the Church recognized the need to engage the culture in order to present a ‘reasonable grounding for Her hope in Jesus Christ.’ A number of notable figures, predominately bishops who possessed a rare combination of holiness, sound pastoral praxis, sharp intellectual and theological acumen, rose to the task of evangelizing and catechizing the known world of the day. They were the Fathers of the Church. While much of their work was spent addressing Christological and Trinitarian concerns, there are some notable texts that addressed the Sacramental life of Christianity. One that bears consideration today comes from the late fourth century, penned by the bishop of Nyssa, Saint Gregory.

Shortly after the Council of Constantinople, Gregory wrote the Catechetical Oration (also known as The Great Catechism). It was Christianity’s first catechism, as we understand the word today. Much of the text reflects the theological and ecclesiological concerns of the day, as any catechism must do. What is interesting is that Gregory devotes an entire chapter in the Catechetical Oration to a theological reflection on the Eucharist. He begins this section by acknowledging humanity’s composition as a unity of body and of soul:

“Owing to man’s twofold nature, composed as it is of soul and body, those who come to salvation must be united with the Author of life by means of both. In consequence, the soul, which has union with him by faith derives from this the means of salvation; for being united with life implies having a share in it. But it is in a different way that the body comes into intimate union with its Savior. Those who have been tricked into taking poison offset its harmful effect by another drug. The remedy, moreover, just like the poison, has to enter the system, so that its remedial effect may thereby spread through the whole body. Similarly, having tasted the poison that dissolved our nature, we were necessarily in need of something to reunite it. Such a remedy had to enter into us, so that it might, by its counteraction, undo the harm the body had already encountered from the poison (Catechetical Oration, 37).”

The presentation of the Eucharist is not done apart from other Christian realities such as the Incarnation, a proper Christian anthropology, sin and the desire for wholeness and healing and eventually, the Resurrection and Most Holy Trinity. What makes his presentation noteworthy is the analogy he draws between the Holy Eucharist and medicine.

For Gregory, all sin is a poison and is often deceptively presented to resemble a good that has not only entered the body but has become one with the body. Despite its appearance, poison is poison and harm results. Because humanity has “tasted the poison that dissolved our nature,” the remedy for such a situation is “nothing else than the Body which proved itself superior to death and became the source of our life.” For this reason, “the remedy, moreover, just like the poison, has to enter the system, so that its remedial effect may thereby spread through the whole body.” This ‘remedy,’ termed by Gregory as “another drug,” is none other than the Most Holy Eucharist Who becomes present following the ‘blessing’ that “changes the elements (metastoichein)” of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ that we may be healed.

On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are drawn – we are pulled in love – to the Altar of Sacrifice to be nourished with a unique Food that heals. Jesus Himself is the Divine Physician Who makes a ‘house call’ to the home of our lives.

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful (click here)

PREFACE: THE FRUITS OF THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation
always and everywhere to give You thanks,
Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

For at the Last Supper with His Apostles,
establishing for the ages to come the saving
memorial of the Cross,
He offered Himself to You as the unblemished Lamb,
the acceptable Gift of perfect praise.
Nourishing You faithful by this Sacred Mystery,
You make them holy, so that the human race,
bounded by one world, may be enlightened by one faith
and united by one bond of charity.

And so, we approach the table of this wondrous Sacrament,
so that, bather in the sweetness of Your grace,
we may passover to the heavenly realities here foreshadowed.

Therefore, all creatures of heaven and earth
sing a new song in adoration, and we,
with all the host of Angels, cry out,
and without end end we acclaim:

Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Father most holy, in our hunger and thirst for all that You desire for us, fill us with the Holy Spirit’s fire of love that each may live the life of Jesus Your Son and witness to His life-giving presence in the world today.

1. Loving Father, Your Son Jesus took the bread of His disciples. Take the offering of Your Church. Continue to make Her the leaven that transforms the world through the Real Presence of Jesus, the Bread of Life and Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant. As the Body of Christ we pray …

2. Loving Father, Your Son Jesus blessed the bread of His disciples. Bless the world in which we live. Renew within the hearts of all people a deeper experience of reverence, sanctity and gratitude for human life. Help us to serve the needs of all, especially the hungry and impoverished. As the Body of Christ we pray …

3. Loving Father, Your Son Jesus broke the bread of His disciples. Break our attachment and addiction to sin and the desires of self. Through the Gift of Yourself in the Most Holy Eucharist, heal the brokenness of our lives that, as people made whole and complete, we may worship You in Spirit and in Truth embracing always the Cross of Your Son. As the Body of Christ we pray …

4. Loving Father, Your Son Jesus gave to the crowd the abundant bread He transformed. Give to our parish and each person a renewed reverence and hunger for Your Son’s Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. May our demeanor at Mass and lives outside of Mass witness clearly to all that Your Son is truly present – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – in the Most Holy Eucharist. As the Body of Christ we pray …

5. Loving Father, Your Son Jesus comforted and healed the sick. May His Eucharistic Presence comfort and heal the sick in our midst, especially … [PAUSE] Raise up to Eternal Life all who have died, especially ... As the Body of Christ we pray …

O God,
Who have called us to participate in this Most Holy Supper,
in which Your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand Himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of His love,
grant, we pray, that we may draw from so great a Mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.</div>