I went to the ordination liturgy at the cathedral on Tuesday and joined a very large crowd in praying for Father Patrick Neary as Archbishop Hebda ordained him for the office of bishop. Then Archbishop Hebda presented our new bishop with the signs of his office: a special ring, a miter, a pectoral cross and a crosier. After we prayed for two and a half hours, Bishop Patrick was finally allowed to speak. Bishop Patrick said, “I am moved by the motto of the Diocese of St. Cloud: ‘Heart of Mercy, Voice of Hope, and Hands of Justice’.” “I really like those first three words.” he said. “Heart of Mercy. I belong to the Congregation of the Holy Cross and our founder placed us under the patronage of the Sacred Heart. So the theme of the heart of mercy really resonates with me.”
Bishop Patrick also said that he keeps his life centered on the Holy Eucharist and that he encourages our diocese to participate in the Eucharistic Revival that is being promoted by all of the American bishops this year. With that in mind, I wish to talk about the Eucharist today.
The Mass has two parts to it: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word is a Christian version of the Jewish synagogue service. The early Christians used the format of the synagogue service when they gathered for prayer. That means that they had readings from the Hebrew Bible, and they sang the Psalms which are found in the Hebrew Bible. And then the early Christians added Christian writings, namely epistles and gospels from the New Testament.
Looking at today’s liturgy we heard Moses speak to us in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus. He says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And then we sang Psalm 103 which says that God is kind and merciful. God is like parents who have compassion for their children.
Then we switched over to the New Testament. Saint Paul told us that we are holy because we are temples of the Holy Spirit.
In today’s gospel Jesus takes up the Old Testament law of retaliation: “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (taken from Exodus 21:24). That sounds harsh to our ears, but in the context of the ancient Middle East, it was actually a big improvement over the prevailing practice that allowed you unlimited retaliation if someone hurt you. But Jesus goes even further by speaking against the practice of retaliation.
Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek and pray for your enemies.” The importance of Sacred Scripture is stated clearly in paragraph 103 of the Catholic Catechism, and I quote: “The church venerates the scriptures just as she venerates the Body of Christ.” Yes, the church venerates the presence of Christ in sacred scripture.
Now we turn our attention to the altar and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
To understand the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we need to realize that it is based on the Passover meal and other Jewish ritual meals like the Seder. At such meals, the head of the family says a prayer giving thanks to God for His actions in the world: for creating all things, for liberating His people from Egypt, for making a covenant with His people, for sending the prophets, etc.
The Jewish meal prayers and the Christian Eucharistic Prayer always begin with a Thanksgiving Prayer. Every Eucharistic Prayer begins with Thanksgiving. We thank the Father for sending His beloved Son to teach us how to live and to take away the sins of the world. Then we ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to bring about several most important changes.
During the Eucharistic Prayer, the Holy Spirit changes the bread into the Body of Christ. And the Holy Spirit changes the wine into the Blood of Christ AND the Holy Spirit changes us into the Body of Christ.
Saint Paul says, “Even though we are many parts we are one body.” First Corinthians, Chapter 12, verse 12. We are “one body.” That means that we work for unity and harmony and peace…Unity within our family and within our church and within our schools and within our community and within our nation. We work for unity and harmony and peace.
I really like these words from St. Augustine: Quote “Notice the double meaning of what is happening when you receive communion. You hear these words: “Body of Christ” and you say Amen. Amen means Yes. You are saying, “Yes, this is the Body of Christ.” But you are also saying, “Yes, we are the body of Christ.” End of quote. The Body of Christ that we receive at communion time helps us to be the Body of Christ in our daily lives.
I will close with this summary: Whenever we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, we experience the presence on Christ in the proclamation of His Holy Word. We experience the presence of Christ in the bread which has become His body and in the wine which has become His blood. And we experience the presence of Christ in the faith community which has become the Body of Christ.
Commentaires