Catholic Revelation

How is Christ present in the earthly liturgy?  This was a question on my homework for class on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  In paragraph 1088 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: “.. . He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of the minister, the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross, but especially in the Eucharistic species.  By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes.  He is present in his words since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scripture are read in the Church.  Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”

I think that Tim Gray’s book, Sacraments in Scripture, explains Christ’s presence in the Sacraments beautifully.

Tim Gray takes us back to the rock that Moses was instructed not to strike again.  The first time Moses strikes the rock, it yields water, but Moses is instructed not to strike the rock again, but to only speak the word and water would once again flow from the rock.  The salvation that God brought forth through Moses the first time he was instructed to strike the rock is made present through sign and word.  It did not need to be struck again.  Christ does not need to be sacrificed again.  Tim Gray explains it this way:

“  A sacrament makes present the saving grace wrought by God in the past.  For example, the Eucharist makes present the body and blood of Christ.  However, the Mass does not re-crucify Jesus.  In Mass, Jesus is not sacrificed another time.  Rather, the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross is made present through the words spoken over the elements of bread and wine by the priest.”

Two other paragraphs in the Catechism that I found especially enlightening were no. 1104, and 1092, but, these were only two of several great paragraphs.  In CCC 1104 we read,  “Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us, but actualizes them, makes them present.  The Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.  It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy spirit that makes the unique mystery present.  In CCC 1092 we read, “In this sacramental dispensation of Christ’s mystery, the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation; he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly.. . . .”

References:

Sacraments in Scripture

Catechism of the Catholic Church

After reading John 6, it becomes crystal clear that Jesus sees himself as the fulfillment of the Passover we read about in Exodus. This is such an important connection because it really ties the Old Testament to the New Testament and helps us to appreciate how the Eucharist is the center of Catholic life.

Jesus knew he was going to ascend into Heaven after his resurrection and that there would be those people who would not believe that he would make his presence available to us in the Holy Eucharist. I believe that the Bread of Life Discourse ( John 6:22-59) reveals this to us. We see those disciples part from Jesus because this was a hard teaching and it still is a hard teaching as many of our Protestant Brothers and Sisters in Christ cannot make the Holy Eucharist the center of their Christian faith and come to believe in the real presence and gift of Christ’s offering. I believe that Jesus is showing us in this discourse that this teaching would indeed be hard to understand and therefore, there would be division among us concerning this teaching. But Jesus didn’t expect us to understand, he just expected us to believe. This is what is revealed to me every time I read this discourse. Jesus knew of the trouble we would have with this truth which is the center of the Catholic faith, and he tries to tell us that even despite our limited ability to recognize his full presence, we only need to take Him at his word. Read more...

Question:

How would you respond the next time someone asks you,
“If God is a good God, how can He allow innocent people to suffer?”

Because we humans can’t completely understand the mystery of suffering we feel that a good God would not allow innocent people to suffer. But, do we really know what God, who is the only one who bears all wisdom, has in store for the person who suffers? Furthermore, can we be certain that the person who suffers doesn’t have the joy of God as well giving great meaning and purpose to his life? Is it the person who suffers who we should feel sorry for, or is it the person who has everything that earthly ways can obtain, but has no faith, who we must feel sorry for? Does God hand out suffering with no joy and only misery, or do we perpetuate our own misery when we decide we don’t need Him?

We need to always remember the special people in our lives who inspire us with their faith. These are the people who endure many different kinds of misfortune and still manage to hold the joy of God in their hearts. Many of these people offer their sufferings to God for the sake of the good of His Kingdom. Despite their suffering, they have joy because they have purpose. Mother Teresa willingly suffered for God and maintained her joy, but ordinary people suffer and have joy too. These are people who hold onto their joy of faith. These are people I work with, attend Mass with, go to Bible School with, etc. The person we really need to pray for isn’t the person who suffers, but it is the person who lacks the joy that comes from faith in God. In a sense, you could say that the person we need to pray for most is the person who can’t accept his sufferings because he lacks the faith to trust God in all matters of his life. Read more...