The Hidden Depths of the Mass #5

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #5
Gestures

Before we enter our pew we genuflect.  When we come up for Communion we bow before we receive Communion.  Why?  Because our gestures mean something.  In this case, they signify our reverence for the presence of our Lord in int Tabernacle and in the Eucharist.

We genuflect to the presence of the presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle and when the Blessed Sacrament is in the monstrance on the altar.  We genuflect because we believe Jesus our King is present in the Eucharist.

We offer a bow of the head when naming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together and at the name of Jesus.  We do this in recognition of who they are, God!  We bow at the words, “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary”, and became man” because we know Jesus humbled himself to become human to save us.

You can read past articles in this series of bulletin articles on my own website at www.renewaloffaith.org/bulletinmass . 

The Speed of Change

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Some people love change. I’m not one of them but I do believe some change is natural and not necessarily something to be feared. Change can be good.

There is change we seek. It might starting a new job that we very much want. It might be starting a new relationship with a wonderful person. There is change we don’t want. It might the loss of a great job or a breakup of what we had thought was a wonderful relationship.

The world is full of change. Today I would like to talk about how fast change comes. Do we rush ourselves into something or do we take time to think it through?

Where is this coming from? Believe it or not, I came up with the idea for this article from reading an article about lightbulbs. Yes, lightbulbs (David Schechter, Haley Rush, and Chance Horner, “LED lights are erasing our view of the stars — and it’s getting worse.” September 1, 2023. cbsnews.com. https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/light-pollution-makes-stars-invisible/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h).

The article discusses how LED lights are changing our night sky and much more. The authors remind us that in 2007 Congress mandated that light bulbs become three times more efficient. This sounds good. It would save us electricity and save us dollars. We all like to save dollars and saving electricity is good for the environment (how good depends on how the electricity is produced; coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, etc.).

So, at first glance, this would seem to be a very good change. What happened? The news story discusses light pollution. According to the story, “the night sky is getting 10% brighter every year.” They call this light pollution.

They also talk about how the bright nights hurt our sleep cycle, which they say increases cancer risks and heart disease. They say the light pollution is resulting in a decline in insect population and more bird deaths as the birds fly into brightly lit buildings.

Where am I going with this? Congress started with a desirable change, saving electricity and saving money. However, there have been side effects. Did we know about the side effects but choose to ignore them? Or did we rush to find more efficient light bulbs and didn’t bother to consider potential side effects?

We need to consider side effects when considering change. Of course, the change I am most interested in isn’t the efficiency of light bulbs or its effect on insect population.

I’m interested in the speed of moral change in society. For example, in 1996 the U.S. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act which stated that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Twenty years later, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Support for same-sex marriage had been growing. My concern isn’t that we went from, say 40% to 60% supporting same-sex marriage (I don’t know the exact numbers. I use 40 and 60 to show a shift).

My concern is the flip of thought. Some of the same members of Congress who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act have switched from banning same-sex marriage to proactively supporting it without a definitive reason. Well, a reason apart from relativism that says there is no truth and people must be free to choose whatever they want. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I do not believe in relativism. I believe in truth, specifically God’s Truth, the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

We have been on a slippery slope. In recent years, many identify the beginning of the present sexual moral slippery slope as the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. The development of the birth control pill had an important contribution here. Sex became separated from procreation (which is what Pope Paul VI feared when he wrote Humanae Vitae and maintained Catholic teaching against the birth control pill).

The birth control pill started (for many) with a good idea, to help people not have more children than they could properly provide for. (One might ask in a country with a high standard of living, what does “properly provide for” mean but that is not our topic today). However, on the negative side, separating sex from procreation has made sex purely a matter of physical pleasure for many. They have lost the sense that sexual intercourse is meant to be an expression of a deep, caring, and committed unity between a man and a woman. I see this, our Catholic faith sees this, as a negative effect.

Looking at potential medical side effects of the birth control pill, studies find a higher rate of breast cancer among women who use the birth control pill.

The slippery slope of sexual morality that we have been on since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s has brought us to the gender ideology of today. Gender ideology is a topic for another day.

Morally speaking one of my greatest concerns following the introduction of the birth control pill is that the idea of sex without consequences (i.e. pregnancy/children) has led to the objectification of the human person. The “other person” in open sex is a means for physical pleasure rather than a person to be loved. I am concerned that those who see sex merely as for physical pleasure might even be objectifying themselves, only concerned with the physical pleasures and not seeing themselves as a person with deeper needs.

I would doubt (at least I hope) that the people at the beginning of the sexual revolution and/or the development of the birth control pill foresaw what was going on as leading to the objectification of human beings as means for physical pleasure. Here I should make clear that I do not want to place all the ills of society today on the sexual revolution and the birth control pill.

My point today is this. We need to slow down and consider both the positive and negative effects of the direction the world is going. We need to think about how we decide which effects are positive and which are negative. For me, my faith says God decides what is good and what is bad.

I pray that the world slows down and take some much needed time to reflect on where we are at and where we are going. God created us to be free. The question we must ask ourselves is “do we make good use of our freedom”.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27
September 3, 2023

Last week we heard Peter proclaim to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter got that right.  Jesus knows Peter’s proclamation is based on revelation from God to Peter.  Jesus then makes Peter first among the Apostles.

It was a good day for Peter.  Well, a good moment anyway.  It didn’t take long before Peter slipped up again. Today’s gospel scene immediately follows last week’s. 

Jesus began to teach his disciples about his coming Passion.  He told them how “He must go to Jerusalem” where He will “suffer greatly.”  He will be handed over by the chief priests and the scribes and be killed.

The fact that Jesus “must go to Jerusalem” would not have been a surprise.  That’s where Jews went for religious events and it has been the capital of Israel. 

It probably also won’t have been a big surprise that the chief priests and scribes would want to hand Jesus over.  They have already been trying to silence Jesus.

However, for Jesus to say that He would “suffer greatly…and be killed” left the disciples confused and wondering how could this happen to the Christ. 

What is Peter’s reaction?  He rebukes Jesus saying, “God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall every happen to you.”

He didn’t ask Jesus “How can this be?”  He essentially told Jesus He was wrong.

How did Peter go from proclaiming Jesus as the Christ to rebuking him so quickly?

The suffering of Jesus should not have been so shocking.  The Suffering Servant oracles in the Book of Isaiah speak of the one who suffers like Jesus.

Why did Peter get it wrong?  Because he was “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.  He wanted a great earthly king.

People continue to rebuke Jesus today.

Who rebukes Jesus today?  Anyone who denies that there is truth rebukes Jesus as the way and the truth and the life.  Anyone who teaches behavior contrary to what Jesus taught rebukes him.

People had been acting against God’s teaching long before Jesus became incarnate in the flesh.  Many of the prophets faced persecution from those who did not want to follow God’s Will.  Jeremiah was one of them.

Jeremiah faced ridicule and persecution for the messages he delivered from God.  Jeremiah felt duped.  Surely God would have known how the people would react!  Why did God tell to prophesize when God would have known that the people would make Jeremiah “an object of laughter” and mock him. 

Speaking the “word of the LORD” brought Jeremiah “derision and reproach.”

Have you ever felt like someone laughs at you for believing in God?

Have you ever had anyone say, “How can you believe that stuff in the Bible?  No one believes that anymore.”  Are you tempted to keep silent about our faith to avoid “derision and reproach”?

Jeremiah attempts to speak no more of God.  However, “then it becomes like fire burning in my heart” and he grows “weary holding it in.”

The people did not like what Jeremiah said.  They tried to silence him.  What they did not do was try to prove him wrong.  They disagreed but they did not make an argument against what God had taught. 

I think the same is true today.  People who reject God’s truth are becoming more and more vocal and tell us to be silent.  What I do not hear from them is a convincing argument from their side.  In fact, sometimes I think they don’t provide any argument.  They just say people must be free to choose for themselves.  I say to be free to choose, one needs to know what their choices are.

We are here because our souls thirst for God. 

Do our lips glorify the Lord in speaking his Truth or do we try to save our life by keeping silent?

Jesus tells us, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” 

We deny ourselves when we stop acting only for our own immediate pleasure.  We take up our crosses when we willingly accept suffering in the name of the Lord.  We follow him when we live as Jesus teaches.

Are you willing to offer your earthly life as a “living sacrifice” to God?  We make ourselves a “living sacrifice” when we give up earthly desires so that we may follow Jesus.

Do you follow Jesus’ ways or do you choose to conform yourself to current worldly thinking?  Here lies what might be one of our greatest challenges today as a church.  In becoming silent to avoid “derision and reproach” God’s Word is not heard.  If people do not hear God’s Word, they cannot follow it.  Then, the people conform themselves to the present worldly thinking. 

We need a renewal of faith.  The world should not dictate our faith.  It is our faith that should shape the world. 

Do you rebuke God’s teaching or do you accept your Cross, “offering your bodies as a living sacrifice”?

The Hidden Depths of the Mass #4

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #4
Preparation for Mass

What do we mean by preparation? It should include taking a few minutes before Mass to quiet our thoughts and to center ourselves on the Lord. This is often best done by spending a couple of minutes just before Mass begins in silent prayer in church. If something keeps you from being in church a couple of minutes before Mass starts, perhaps you can make the car ride to church a time of quiet prayer.

Preparation begins even before you leave home. How are you dressed? We no longer see suits and formal dresses in church but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to dress like we are on a day off. Does the way you dress for church say that you know that church is something important?

Lastly, when was the last time you went to confession? Our sins can block us from encountering God in the Mass. Do you need to go to confession?

We Need Bridge Builders

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Pope Francis recently encouraged a group of young Russians to be “bridge builders.” I think this is something we all need to think about.

Before I entered seminary, I literally helped build bridges. I worked for the New York State Department of Transportation as an engineer on projects designing, building, and reconstructing bridges. The bridges we built made it possible to cross from one side of a divide to another. Sometimes it was a small creek. In these cases it may have been possible to cross the creek, when the water was low, without a bridge. The bridge made it easier to cross the creek. There was one bridge I worked on that was over a gorge. The bottom of the gorge was 90 feet below the road surface and probably around 40-80 feet wide (I remember the exact height from the fear of falling. The width didn’t matter.). It would have been impossible to cross this gorge without a bridge.

Of course, my purpose here is not talking about physical bridges nor was it what Pope Francis was referring to. The world is full of people of varying faiths and ideologies. Sometimes the divisions between ideologies are small. In these cases we just need a small bridge based on some commonalities.

However, sometimes the divisions are huge. It is unfortunate that we live in a world of increasing polarization. The distance between the two sides is increasing. It can seem insurmountable to bring the two sides together in genuine dialogue. When we add relativism to the equation where there is no universal truth so each side is sure they are right, it might seem impossible to bring the two sides together.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Perhaps these divisions are most evident in secular politics. Unfortunately, we see the divisions even within our Catholic Church. There are those who wish to embrace worldly ways rather than embrace Jesus as the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

We need a bridge between the secular world that has embraced relativism where there is no universal truth and our faith that holds fast to the Truth that comes from God. Relativists seek to free themselves by saying there is no truth. In faith, we know that it is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

When the average person drives over a bridge, you see the road surface, generally a concrete deck. However, the bridge is much more than just the concrete deck you see. The concrete deck needs something to hold it up. This is generally steel or concrete beams.

In dialogue between secular society and our Catholic faith, the concrete deck is the immediate idea in conflict. The beams are the idea(s) that form the immediate idea.

Together the concrete deck and beams are called the “superstructure” of the bridge. The superstructure cannot stand on its own. It needs a substructure to hold it up and secure it in place. In a physical bridge, the substructure are the walls (generally concrete) upon which the superstructure rests. The substructure is designed to help hold the superstructure in place in the event of an earthquake or major flooding. Without a substructure, the bridge would wash away in a big storm.

The walls may be likened to our “belief” system. It is the basic ideas we may take for granted. As true Christian disciples this involves our faith. For secular society, in the past logic and common sense would have been important here. Also important would be observing and following the natural order of things that we observe in nature. You will have to ask the relativists what they use to form their belief system.

The walls are not the bottom of the bridge. Also part of the substructure, underneath the walls are concrete footers. The footer is secured to the earth below by piles driven into the ground or a keyway if the footer rests on solid rock. What is our foundation in faith?

Jesus speaks of our need for a solid foundation in Matthew 7:24-27 (cf. Luke 6:46-49). Jesus also says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Matthew 21:42, cf. Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17).

Jesus is our foundation. He is the cornerstone on which we build our faith. Without Jesus as our foundation and cornerstone, society will collapse. Modern western civilization had Christianity in its roots and as its foundation. Now, it is removing Christianity from its equation. Without Christianity, it is collapsing. Without Christianity we see more violence. We see more polarization and division. We see the loss of the value of life. I fear left to its own ways, secular society will collapse.

Is there hope? There is always hope when we have Jesus Christ as our foundation.

We need bridge builders. We need people who can help dialogue about ideas like what our faith says about what it means to be male and female. We need people who can speak about the dignity of life as created in God’s image. But first, we need people who can speak and demonstrate what it means to have Jesus as our foundation.

Does the way you live your life show that Jesus is your foundation?

Does the way you live your life show your faith is part of your whole life or that is it just one little piece off in a corner?

Is God your foundation, walls, beams, and concrete deck? Ask God to help you to know how to share our Catholic teaching in a way that brings everyone together. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you what to say to build bridges for others to come to believe and understand.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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God is the ultimate source of authority. During the days of Isaiah in our first reading, Shebna had been authority as “master of the palace.” He did not use his authority well, He became prideful and brought shame to the king.

So, the Lord declared to Shebna, “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.” If we use what God has given us for our own selfishness, He has every right to take back what He has given us.

The Lord selects Eliakim to take over, declaring, “I will clothe him with our robe, and gird him with your sash.” The robe and the sash symbolize the authority Eliakim has been given by God just as the vestments worn by clergy today symbolize the role that God has given them (just as He did at the ordination of Aaron in chapter 8 of the Book of Leviticus.

Eliakim does not use the authority he has been given for his own gain. He uses it to “be a father” to his people. What Eliakim does is pleasing to God. To complete the symbolism of his authority, the Lord gives Eliakim the “key of the House of David.” His authority is clear, “when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.“

Turning to today’s gospel, ‘Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?“‘ Their answer will say something about the authority they recognize in Jesus. The people are saying Jesus could be John the Baptist or Elijah or another prophet. As such, Jesus would have the authority do a prophet.

Jesus then asks his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” It is Peter who responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Prophets are special but Peter realizes that Jesus is not just another prophet. Jesus is the Son of the living God. Peter does not know this because others, “flesh and blood“, told him. Peter knows this because God has chosen to reveal it to him.

Jesus makes Peter the rock upon which He will build his church. He gives Peter the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Peter becomes the first among the Apostles. The Apostles are the first bishops. Peter is the first pope. This is the authority given to them by Jesus.

In some places where there are monarchies, the authority of the leader may come from heredity, passed down from parent to child. In democratic nations, formal modern authority comes from an election by the people.

In today’s modern society, informal authority is sometimes given to people whom we agree with while we choose not to recognize the authority of people we disagree with. Whether or not we agree with them should not be a determining factor of authority. It presumes we are right. If we presume we are right, on whose authority do we do this? In effect, we declare ourselves our own authority. This is a hallmark of relativism.

God is the one who is always right. His Will is always good for us by his very nature. Why should we listen to God? We should recognize authority to God because of the kindness He has shown to us. We should recognize his authority because He gives us strength to persevere. Please note that we recognize his authority, not that we give him authority. Whether we recognize it or not, God is the ultimate authority.

We can trust in God because Jesus is the one who lays down his life for us because of his love for us. God is the one who is all-knowing. As Paul writes to the Romans, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” Our wisdom is limited by our humanity. God’s wisdom is absolute. We can trust him as the authority. Thy will be done.

God continues to bestow authority on whom his chooses today. Please pray for all who are given authority, that they use it well.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Hidden Depths of the Mass #3

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #3

Can We Fully Understand It?

As we learn more about the Mass, an important piece to consider is that the Sacraments, including the Eucharist are rooted in mystery.  We are not going to understand everything. For example, how God changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus is beyond what human words can express.

We also need to think about why we come to Mass.  For many the answer is to feel good.  While our participation at Mass should “lift us up”, Mass is first meant to give praise and worship to God.  It helps us to grow in a deeper relationship with God.  When we open ourselves to the depths of the Mass, we are filled with God’s grace.  What do you do to prepare yourself for Mass?

You can find past articles in this series on my website at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/bulletin-series-on-the-mass-2023.html.  

The News of Late

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The national and world news has been a little different in the last week or two. First, I would like to mention the situation in Niger. Where is Niger? It’s in Africa. What happened? There was a coup by the military to take over from the democratically elected government. You might say why does that matter in the United States? (Or whatever country you live in. There are people from other countries who read this blog.) First, as Christians, we are called to be concerned for all God’s people. Secondly, while you may never (or seldom) have heard of Niger, the situation was brought to my attention by a parishioner couple who have a son in our U.S. military who is stationed there. The last I heard our military personnel there are safe but in a dangerous situation (I don’t see much coverage in the news). Let us pray for our military personnel and for the people of Niger.

Next, I would like to talk about two unusual things in the news. The first one is the wildfires in Hawaii. I have never heard of wildfires in Hawaii before. It is being called the worst natural disaster for deaths in over a hundred years. There were problems with the response to the emergency. We tend not to prepare for what we don’t expect to happen. The blame game has already started. There will be plenty of time later for blame. Right now, the focus needs to be on the people who are homeless or otherwise in need after the devastating fires. Sadly, the scammers have already begun falsely soliciting donations on behalf of those in need (If you want to make a donation, Catholic Charities USA has a donation button on their website at https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/ specifically for the relief efforts in Hawaii). Let us pray for the people in need in Hawaii, for an end to the scammers, and for positive changes to the emergency response efforts to come from this in the future.

The second unusual thing is the Hurricane in California. In a land used to drought and wildfires, a hurricane is almost unheard of. Fortunately, the hurricane lost intensity before reaching land but the remaining storm brought much more rain than they are used to in California and now Nevada. The region is built to handle earthquakes, not hurricanes. We pray for those in need.

Now, I turn to something that is not new in the news but has taken on a new local significance. Illegal crossings at the U.S. Border with Mexico have been a significant part of the news for some time. The issue is polarized between those who would like to wall off the entire border and those who want to help every single person without thinking of what that will take. Reality is in between. We need to ask ourselves why are so many people willing to make the effort to cross the border illegally. What can we do to help the situations in their home countries?

The border crisis has already had some local significance where I live (The Finger Lakes region of New York State) because there are people already living here who have family in the countries the people crossing the borders are coming from. The border crossings are certainly an issue for Texas and other states near the border. The issue of how to help the people crossing the border has been spreading across our country as they transport people to other places in the United States for help. Locally, asylum seekers have begun to arrive in Rochester (where our diocesan offices are). We pray for those who come from situations so bad that they make the difficult journey to the United States to find work and help. We pray for the government officials to stop the partisan politics and end the polarization between sides and focus on what matters, the people.

We pray for each of us, that our eyes and hearts be opened to what goes on the world. We pray that the Lord tell us what we can do to help. Some things seem so far away that we might think they don’t matter to us. They should matter to us. All are God’s children and, thus, our brothers and sisters. Someday we might be the parents with the son serving in Niger. Or things may move closer to us. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that shootings always seemed were something that happened someplace else. Now, it seems like Rochester is having shootings almost everyday. Elmira had been a calm place to live when I was there (2007-2010). Now there have been at least three shootings in the last year or two within a few blocks of the church I was at with many others shootings elsewhere in the city. Ithaca is now seeing more shootings. In Ithaca, some of the violence has been in their downtown area. Pray!

What types of bad situations do you see in your local area that you used to think would never happen where you live? How is the Lord calling you to help? We don’t need vigilantes. We need good police officers. We need good firefighters and emergency medical responders. We need people with a generous heart to offer assistance as the Lord directs.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (4)
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
August 20, 2023

Jesus entered the land of Tyre and Sidon.  There He encountered a Canaanite woman.  As a Canaanite, she would not have been a Jew.  She has heard of the miracles Jesus has been doing.  She has a daughter who was being “tormented by a demon.” 

Having heard that Jesus has driven out demons, with the love of a mother, she went to Jesus to ask him to help her daughter.  She is not a Jew but she called Jesus “Son of David.”  “Son of David” did not just say Jesus was a Jew.  It was not a description used by all Jews.  It was known as a messianic title. 

She was not a Jew but she understood Jesus to be the Messiah.

She cried out to Jesus, “Have pity on me, Son of David.”

Jesus “did not say a word in answer to her.”

She would not be discouraged.  She kept calling out for pity.

Jesus’ disciples became annoyed at her.  They asked Jesus to send her away.  They believed Jesus came only for the Jews.

Jesus said that He “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.“

What did the Canaanite woman do?  She offered homage to Jesus. 

Jesus then said, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” 

Jesus refers to her as a “dog.”  For the people of the time, dogs were not pets.  They were unclean.  To call her a dog would have been seen as a terrible insult.  Does she give up?

She had come as a mother seeking help for her child but she also came with faith.  Jesus recognized how great her faith is.  In recognition of her great faith, Jesus healed her daughter.

What happened to Jesus’ words that He “was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”?  Was Jesus breaking the rules in healing the Canaanite woman’s daughter?

To answer this, let’s take a look at our first reading.  Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord speaks of “the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD.”

The Canaanite woman would have been seen as a foreigner by the Jews. 

To join oneself to the Lord would include observing what is right and doing what is just.  It would include becoming his servant and holding to his covenant. 

If they did all this, the Lord would bring them to his “holy mountain.”  God wants everyone to be his people.  Through Isaiah, He says, “for my house shall be a called a house of prayer for all peoples.”  The psalmist wrote, “may all the peoples praise you!”

God has always wanted everyone to be his people.  He began with the Jews but He has always desired for all to receive the gift of eternal life.

Thus, when the Canaanite woman gave homage to Jesus, she sought to observe what was right and do what was just.  She sought to become his servant.  In faith, she sought to join herself to the Lord having been one of his lost sheep.

Jesus had spoken to her of “the food of the children.”  For us, the spiritual food that Jesus offers us as his children is the Eucharist. 

Is this food meant for everyone?

I think one of the teachings of our Catholic faith that is not understood by both Catholics and non-Catholics is our teaching that only Catholics can receive Communion.

Shouldn’t the Eucharist be for everyone?

God wants everyone to receive the Eucharist.  However, that does not mean everyone can receive in their present state.

If a Catholic is guilty of mortal sin and has not confessed it, they are not to receive Communion.  Paul calls us to examine ourselves before we receive Communion in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29.

What about those who are not Catholic?  Why are they not allowed to receive Communion?

This is not an invention of humans in the Catholic Church.  In chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus God gives the instructions for the Passover to the Israelites. 

It is the Lord himself “who said to Moses and Aaron:  This is the Passover statute.  No foreigner may eat of it” (Exodus 12:43).  The Lord continues in verse 48, “If any alien residing among you would celebrate the Passover for the LORD, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may join in its celebrate just like the natives.  But no one who is uncircumcised may eat of it.” 

To eat the Passover meal, one has to become an Israelite.

To eat of the Eucharist, one must become Catholic.  One becomes Catholic by being baptized.  If one is baptized in another Christian denomination, then they need to be received into the Catholic Church.

God wants every person to receive the Body of Christ but this is no casual thing.  One must learn what our Catholic faith teaches and be joined to our faith.

“The Hidden Depths of the Mass” #2

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The Origins of the Mass

 Initially, Christians gathered with Jews on the Sabbath for the Jewish worship that included readings from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and a sermon.  Then the Christians gathered on Sunday for the Eucharist. 

 As hostility developed between Jews and Christians, Christians stopped going to Jewish services and made Sunday their Sabbath.  At Sunday Mass, they shared the Word of God from the Old Testament and celebrated the Eucharist on Sunday at one service.  They began to include what we know today as the gospels and New Testament letters. 

 St. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (c. 155 AD),shows us the same structure to Mass as we have today (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1345). The Mass in the second century included Bible readings, a homily, prayers for the people, a kiss of peace, and Eucharistic Prayer.

 In 313 A.D., in the Edict of Milan, the emperor legalized Christianity.  Since then, Mass has been celebrated openly in public.

You can find past articles in this series on my website at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/bulletin-series-on-the-mass-2023.html.