#mass of our lord's supper

[virtie333]

Holy Thursday 2023

[milksuu]

'Maid' in Heaven | Hiccup x Reader | Part 6

Pairings: Hiccup 'Horrendous’ Haddock III x fem!servant!reader

Chapter Content/Warnings: minor angst and fluff

Summary: After a hostile raid from The Hairy Hooligan Tribe, you were captured and forced into indentured servitude at a young age. Luckily, the God’s had blessed you to be the household thrall of the Haddock family; to serve your kind young Lord, Hiccup ‘Horrendous’ Haddock III. Oh Thor, what to do?

an: thank you for waiting! unfortunately, due to linking my ao3 on my master post, tumblr has hid all the linked parts before this + my masterlist (sad face). please click on the 'maid in heaven' tag for previous chapters, or view the pinned masterlist post on my blog. again, thank you to anyone whose taken the time to read, comment, like, and reblog! they make me so happy and motivated. any love is much appreciated.

There was a great discussion had within the Haddock residence later that evening. Supper was served at the single table, near to the crackling fire, and blazing with conversation about various topics. The first one attended to was the matter related to the unmissed trial of your questionable innocence. From the guilt that hung like a grey cloud above your head, Stoick sought to investigate the actual truth of the matter.

Hiccup spoke on your behalf. There were some truths, possible half-truths, and perhaps a frilly white lie in between. Whether Stoick believed the lipped wit of his son or not made no difference. The Chief’s admonishing response showed a mind already made. And the folk lesson long prevailed: it paid very little to argue with stone.

“I can’t have any more mishaps, regardless of whose fault,” Stoick said with a fistful of torn meat. “Our people are on edge, and for well enough reasons. And I’m not about to let one loose sheep, or another, cause further unrest. Do you both understand?” 

From your standing spot at the end of the table, a cinch of fault tightened your waistline. You bobbed your head and, with fingers coiled around the handle of a water pitcher, mouthed the word with a strained breath. Your attention crossed the table, catching your young Lord’s pinched features of rebellious reluctance. When your gaze met, you angled a chin and spoke through batted lashes for him to oblige. The request sent his eyes rolling backwards. Luckily, you didn’t need to pray for his life. To your relief, his father was too preoccupied with his plate to notice.

“Understood,” he said, and took a reproachful sip of his drink. You assumed he’d done so to keep him from taking back the word. 

“Good,” Stoick said with a satisfied grumble. “Tomorrow you’ll join me to pay a visit to the farmsteads. We’ll be needing a count of all the livestock and expected yield of crops before Winter. Consider the numbers for rationing. Always best to prepare for the worst.”

“Sure, doomsday prepping sounds like fun,” he said with a lop-sided pin of his lips. “But I was thinking, after we’re done counting with our fingers and toes, you’d talk with me and Gobber. We have some ideas to export new saddles.”

Stoick nodded and spoke in a tone of allowance rather than agreement. “Time will be made tomorrow, then.” 

The table quieted to small-talk, clinking tableware, and requests for another pour from your pitcher. When Stoick finished, he wiped his mouth clean with his fingers, and announced his retirement for the night. When the mass of his form disappeared beyond the aching stairs, you fetched yourself to attend the mess.

“Let me help you,” he said, taking a few hurried bites and tossing the cooked tail end of his fish to Toothless. He barely swallowed when he stood. “I just finished.”

“Although I’m grateful for your offer, I must decline you,” you said and seized his plate before he could. “You’ve done enough for me today, Lord Haddock. I’m sure the least I can do in return is my own job.” 

“I don’t think there should be a limit for helping anyone,” he said rationally, “unless you think I’m wrong?” 

“I think you’ll end up causing more trouble for yourself,” you punctuated your words with the lift of your nose. “Make no mistake. The road to Hel is paved with good-intentions. I don’t wish for you to end up there, of all people.”

He chuckled with a shake of his head. “Does that mean I’ll be in trouble with you?” 

“Not me.” You wiggled a finger in front of your nose. “But your father—no, worse yet—an entire village. I'm afraid your father's right. The scorn of a single man is enough to give courage to his like-minded neighbors.”

“If anything else happens, I’ll take care of it,” he said indulgently.

“That is exactly my point. I don’t want for something else to happen, and for you to have to do anything about it. You’ve worked too hard for your good reputation to be ruined. How could I ever sleep at night, knowing I should be the reason to have it questioned?”

“You like to worry more about my reputation than I do. At the end of the day, I just do what I think is right. Even if that means upsetting a few people who probably don't agree with me. Besides,” he fought to dismiss the quarrel with a boyish grin. “I’ve heard Hel has nice warm weather all year round. Wouldn’t mind paying a visit sometime. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be Chief there instead.”

“There you go again with your jests,” you muttered, digging your nails into the dish. “Ignoring every bit of my concerns for you. But what does what I think matter? I suppose it doesn’t. I’m only a servant, after all. Nothing about me deserves a second thought of consideration.”

“Come on, it’s not like that,” his eyes softened, cupping your tense hands.

The agonizing brush of his touch loosened your hold on the clay dish. It collided with the wood below, breaking into unmendable parts at your feet. You paled, bending to clean up your recklessness. Your Lord motioned to join and you thrusted a curt hand to stop him. “Don’t—” you choked on the shame. “Please, my Lord. This… this is all I have. If you respect me at all, then you’ll let me do it myself.”

“I’m sorry.” With pained regard, he placed a single broken chip in your palm and rose to take his leave. “I won’t bother you anymore.” 

He swept up the stairs, beckoning Toothless to follow. When the door of his bedchamber closed, you shut your eyes against a wave of remorse. Gods, you wished it would drown you. Perhaps then, the regret would no longer be tangible. You drew in a quivered breath, wishing to pick up more than the shattered fragments of a mere plate.

When morning came, you stood beside yourself, looking solemnly at the same dress and apron spread out on your cot. The same dull white smock, same plain brown kirtle, and the same serviceable apron. Stiff and ugly, you thought. All these same things punctuated how perfectly unpleasant you were on the inside. The display of your behavior the prior evening brought a taste of black licorice, which not even lye soap could rinse from your mouth. For your Lord’s sake, it would’ve served him to cut out your tongue with one of the sharper pieces of platter.

Even if deserved, there was never a sliver of imagination to conjure this—his kindness made no room for unbearable thoughts. 

  ⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

When the morning chores were completed without a word and, without complaint, you set off to the docks. With your new piece in tow, you trailed down the trodden path to a landscape filled with thatched roofs, until the hill steeped with long fisherman houses laden with crates of tackle and bait. 

“My, my, little miss! Seems fate and fortune have brought us to trade once again.” Johann raised his hands to indulge the sky, descending the boat ramp. “I take it you’re faring well, even after yesterday’s dire tribulations. Oh, you should have been there to witness it—Master Hiccup was positively vexed when he landed on my ship and requested for my immediate aid. Why, I had never seen him in such a state! Made me believe ‘twas a matter of life and death. Thank the stars it was not the latter of the two.”

This information did you no favors. It further troubled your features, tense and painted with dismal lines of fault. When strings of thankfulness for his help sprang from your lips, they resonated more as apologies. “I’m sorry—truly, I am. I hate to be more trouble than I’m worth.”

“Now, now, my dear. Let’s not sit idle in the past and wallow in it like a cold bath,” he dismissed it, beckoning you closer with his hands. “Let’s get on with business, shall we?”

“Of course.” You swallowed the hot lump in your throat, extending your tapestry.

“Absolutely remarkable,” Johann yammered on when he took the fabric. He twiddled with the coins in his hands before giving them to you. “This reminds me! Oh, you must listen to this. Whilst journeying from one trading dock to another, I came upon the most curious and wealthy buyer. So enraptured by your work, they were compelled for me to have a good word with you. They have offered quite an exuberant amount of coin for a commissioned piece, should you accept.”

“May I ask who this person is?” 

“The buyer has chosen to remain anonymous for the time being. I’m a respectable tradesman, and not inclined to give out customer details should it be personally requested of me not to do so. I assure you, I have a keen eye for scoundrels. This buyer is anything but.”

“It sounds like a gracious opportunity,” you trailed off, fiddling with the scant coins in your apron pocket. With someone of your luck, or rather misfortune, certain things were too good to be true. “May I think it over?”

“By all means,” Johann said. “We’ll remain in touch. I shall send a letter by mail tomorrow and eagerly wait for your response.”

A response would have to wait. Your mind wandered to the more pressing matters of keeping yourself in your young master’s good graces. How could you think of anything else when your conscience pricked at you insistently? There was only one remedy for this, and it was a whimsied gesture from childhood—surely, he would remember the meaning.

Picking up your feet, you scampered upward from the spindly dirt paths to pebbled roads. With allowance in hand, you passed through the open market, pinching your way to purchase the sweetest apple from a cart. You paid no mind to a flock of young women whispering curiously about you. The business of gossip would exist whether or not you gave credit to it. There wasn’t a need to give the webs spinning from their mouths any attention. You imagined being a curious fly was very tiresome. 

You came up to the Blacksmith, clanking with sounds of clashing metal, and pluming with smoke from the forge. From the open stall window, you rapped against the wood. When nothing but hammer to iron responded, you insisted with more egregious thumping. “Get outta the way, Grump!” A guttural curse or two struck the air. After a stumbling moment, Gobber’s rotund frame hobbled to view.

“Quit ye’r knockin’, I’ll be right there.” Gobber poked his eyebrows up at your small face peeking through the window. He cleared the indignation from his throat. “Sorry, lass. Didn’t expect ye’w of all people to stop by. What can I do for ya’h?” 

With a woeful face, you placed the apple on the counter. 

“The ol’ apology apple, eh?” He said with a scratch of his furrowed brow. “Can’t say I understand it myself, but the two of ye’w always had a way of managing. I’ll be sure ta’h give it to the lad when I see ‘em.” 

“Thank you ever so much.” You dipped your chin, turning to take leave.

“Hiccup’ll forgive ya’h,” he called out with sympathy. “Always does.”

Hope fluttered your heart, and you thanked the man twice over. 

Whisking back to the Haddock Residence, you took out your nerves in the form of extra sweeping and dusting. You did so until you were choking on the splinters raised from the floorboards. With your habit of carrying on with meaningless distractions, you hadn’t noticed the afternoon light spilling from the open window. You lamented on the time and hurried to simmer a pot of stew over the kindling hearth. 

A wind danced inside, grazing the back of your neck. A delicate reminder to shut the window before the cool of night waltzed in unannounced. 

You turned and spotted a sheen of red gleaming by sunset hue on the sill. When you went to greet it, you picked up the plump portion of a half eaten apple. You pressed a smile to the remaining flesh of it. Taking your own bite, you sighed against the burst of sweetness. The taste of licorice no longer soured your lips.

You leaned into the cheerful air, enriched with slopes of green and spiced with a dusky glow.  And as if the breeze could carry words, you spoke:

“I’m glad we’re still friends.” 

Reconciliation was a word you hadn’t thought of tasting so sweet.

[apenitentialprayer]

Even a theology oriented to the concept of [Apostolic] Succession, such as that which holds in the Catholic and in the Orthodox Church, need not in any way deny the salvation-granting presence of the Lord in a Lutheran Lord's Supper.

the future Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter addressed to Johannes Hanselmann, then-Bishop of Bavaria for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, from 1993.

Christ can still be present, in a really rich way, in a Lutheran Lord's Supper; just not in the same way that He's present in the Mass.

Joe Heschmeyer (Is Christ Present in Protestant Churches?)

The brethren divided from us also use many liturgical actions of the Christian religion. These most certainly can truly engender a life of grace in ways that vary according to the condition of each Church or community. These liturgical actions must be regarded as capable of giving access to the community of salvation. It follows that the separated Churches and communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church. Nevertheless […] it is only through Christ's Catholic Church, which is "the all-embracing means of salvation," that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God.

Unitatis redintegratio, §3b. Bolded emphases added.

[autistictortoise]

Church people in my country singing Czech translation of "The Last Supper": Oh Lord, please give us strength, we wanna start living according to your words, the world would be a desert without you, without you our lives wouldn't have a goal...

Me: It's a song about getting drunk while the supposed Messiah ugly breaks up with his boyfriend, why are we singing it during mass

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

28th November >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Luke 21:20-28): ‘Your liberation is near at hand’.

Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Luke 21:20-28 There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says must be fulfilled. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! ‘For great misery will descend on the land and wrath on this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over. ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’

Reflections (11)

(i) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Many of the responses we say or sing at Mass are drawn from the Scriptures, such as ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Lord…’ which comes from the prophet Isaiah. When the priest says just before distributing Holy Communion, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world’, it is drawn from the words of John the Baptist in the gospel of John as he points out Jesus to his disciples. When the priest goes on to say, ‘Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb’, it is drawn from today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation, ‘Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb’. The writer there was referring to the great feast in the kingdom of heaven, when the risen Lord, the Lamb of God, would gather people of every race and language who were open to his invitation. When the priest speaks of the ‘supper of the Lamb’, he is referring to the Eucharist at which we are gathered. The table of the Lord, the altar, from which we are fed by the Bread of Life looks ahead to that final banquet of eternal life to which we are all called. This is the hope that our faith gives us. We never lose that hope even when a great darkness comes over our world, our cities, our lives. Jesus refers to such great darkness in today’s gospel reading, but he goes on to say that he will come into this darkness with great power and glory, and, therefore, we should always stand erect, with our heads held high, full of hope. The Lord is always present at the heart of any darkness in which we find ourselves, and he is always at work to bring us to our final destiny, the banquet of eternal life.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel has a very dark tone to it. Jesus speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the terrible consequences for all who are living there. He goes on to speak of great disturbances in the cosmos that will bring fear to people everywhere. Yet, just when all is at its darkest, Jesus declares that the Son of Man will appear in all his power and glory bringing redemption, liberation, to all who welcome his coming. There are times in our lives when our own world can appear to be falling apart. Disturbing events happen over which we have little or no control; we can be left shaken and frightened. This morning’s gospel reading is reminding us that it is above all in such moments when we are most aware of our vulnerability and frailty that the Lord is closest to us. He stands by us in his risen power, giving us strength in our weakness. His presence has the power to liberate us from our fears and to give us the confidence to stand erect with our heads held high, in the words of the gospel reading. We can be tempted to let the darkness envelope us. We need to resist that temptation because the light of the Lord’s presence shines in the darkness and we are assured that the darkness will not overcome it.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading is full of the darker side of human experience. It makes reference to wars, to destruction, to great upheavals and to the fear they generate. Yet, the gospel reading also speaks about the coming of the Son of Man into the midst of all this darkness and it promises that those who are open to his coming will experience liberation. We all need to be liberated in one sense or another; we all need to be freed from whatever it is that is holding us back from doing what the Lord is calling us to do, from being the person the Lord is calling us to be. It is only the Lord who can free us to live as we are meant to live. Saint Paul speaks about the glorious freedom of the children of God that awaits us beyond this life. Yet, here and now, we can begin to taste the first fruits of that glorious freedom, to the extent that we open our lives to the coming of the Lord and to the coming of his Spirit. Saint Paul also says in another of his letters, ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’. We are only truly free when we are living in tune with the Spirit of the Lord, when the Holy Spirit is bearing rich fruit in our lives. As we come to the end of the church’s liturgical year and as we begin a new liturgical year, we pray, ‘Come Holy Spirit’.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading this morning paints a rather grim picture on this November morning. It speaks of the fall of the city of Jerusalem to her enemies, the destruction of its people and disturbing signs in nature. Yet, this grim time is also the moment when the Son of Man will appear in great power and glory. In the time of greatest darkness a light begins to shine. That was true of Golgotha also. This time of great darkness was also the time when the light of God’s love shone most brightly. The gospel reading assures us that there is a light at the heart of every darkness. In our own dark experiences the light of the Lord’s presence never ceases to shine. That is why, when the darkest times come our way, in the final words of the gospel reading, we can stand erect and hold our heads high. Next Sunday, in these dark days, we begin to light our Advent candle. We are being reminded that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the beginning of the chapter of Luke’s gospel from which we are reading this week Jesus spoke about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In this morning’s gospel reading he goes further and speaks about the destruction of the city of Jerusalem itself and of the land of Israel. ‘Great misery will descend on the land’, he declares, ‘and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans’. All of that happened forty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus when the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem with its Temple in response to the Jewish revolt against Rome which had begun four years earlier. Yet Jesus assures his disciples that this awful prospect is not the complete picture. He goes on to speak about the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory bringing liberation to those who are in need of it. For that reason even in the midst of the chaos and loss the disciples can stand erect and hold their head high. Even though there may not be much ground for optimism, we are called to be hopeful because the Lord is coming, not just at the end of time but here and now in the midst of time. We can let our heads drop when so much seems uncertain and the future seems bleak, but the realization of the Lord’s constant coming into our lives, into our church, into our world, inspires us to stand erect and hold our head high in hope and expectation.

And/Or

(vi) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel readings at this time of the year tend to be rather gloomy, at least on first hearing them. We are in the last days of the church’s liturgical year; the new liturgical year begins on Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent. As the church’s year end, we hear of cataclysmic endings in the gospel reading, the ending of Jerusalem, and, even, the ending of the cosmos as we know it. Yet, as well as talking about endings in our gospel reading, Jesus also speaks about comings. More especially, he speaks about his own coming as the glorious Son of Man, bringing liberation to those who await his coming. At the very moment when everything appears to be disappearing, a new reality begins to dawn. The final chapter will not be one of death and destruction but one of new beginning and a new liberation for all. This is but one expression of the basic message of the gospels, that the Lord works in life-giving ways in the midst of death and destruction. There may be great darkness in the world, the darkness of evil and suffering, but the Lord’s light shines within it and the darkness will not overcome the light. It is this conviction which keeps us hopeful even in the midst of pain, loss and death. That is why in the words of the gospel reading, we can always stand erect and hold our heads high, not in a spirit of arrogance but in a spirit of hopeful conviction that the Lord’s liberating coming is assured, no matter how dark and distressing the moment.

And/Or

(vii) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today we have another of those rather dark gospel readings that are typical of the concluding days of the liturgical year. Jesus depicts the disturbing scenario of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem with traumatic consequences for its inhabitants. We can think of cities that are being destroyed today, cities in parts of the Middle East. We are very aware of the suffering of their inhabitants at this time. We can be tempted to ask, ‘Is there life beyond all this destruction?’ In the gospel reading, the answer of Jesus to this question is a resounding ‘yes’. He speaks of the coming of the Son of Man in the midst of so much destruction and upheaval. He will come with power and great glory announcing that liberation is at hand. Death and destruction does not have the last word in the Lord’s purpose. He enters into the heart of every darkness with great power, always with a view to our ultimate liberation from all that diminishes and damages us. He has come that we may have life and have it to the full. He sheds tears when we chose paths that bring destruction and death to those he loves. He is passionately committed to our present and ultimate well-being. He is constantly coming to bring this to pass, to bring to earth the kingdom of heaven. If this is to happen, he needs us all to welcome his coming into our own lives and to allow him to work through us in all his liberating power.

And/Or

(viii) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Both of today’s readings speak of the fall of great cities. Jesus prophecies the fall of Jerusalem to the Roman armies with the terrible suffering that will bring for its inhabitants, ‘Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans’. The first reading from the Book of the Apocalypse speaks of, indeed celebrates, the fall of Babylon, ‘Babylon the Great has fallen’. Babylon is code for Rome. At the beginning of the sixth century before Christ, the Babylonian Empire had destroyed the city and temple in Jerusalem, resulting in the Babylonian Exile for the Jewish people. By the time the Book of the Apocalypse had been written just towards the end of the first century A.D., Jerusalem and its Temple had been destroyed again twenty five years earlier by the empire of Rome, the new Babylon. The churches for whom this book was written had also experienced the destructive power of Rome. The reading speaks about God’s servants that Rome has killed. Is there any light in all this darkness, any hope in all this destruction? It is a question that could be asked in many a war-torn situation today. Both readings, however, end on a note of hope. In the gospel reading Jesus assures his disciples that all this destruction is the prelude to his coming as Son of Man with power and glory. His power and glory are not the power and glory associated with worldly empires like Babylon and Rome. Far from being destructive, the Lord’s power is life-giving and liberating from evil, ‘your liberation is near at hand’. Even in the darkest of situations, the Lord’s coming with the liberating power of his love is always assured. His coming will be experienced by those who, in the words of the gospel reading, stand erect, holding their heads high. This is not an arrogant posture. Rather, it is a posture of trust in the Lord whose light and love no darkness or hatred can overcome, and who holds out to his faithful ways an invitation to his great wedding feast, in the words of the first reading.

And/Or

(ix) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus paints a very distressing picture of the future in today’s gospel reading. He looks ahead to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, resulting in its inhabitants being killed or taken into captivity. In those dark days for the holy city, nature itself will seem to share the anguish of the city and its inhabitants, with disconcerting signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. Jesus seems to be using a very dark pallet to paint this scene. Yet, a light emerges against the dark backdrop. Jesus declares that at that very moment when people are dying of fear, the Son of Man will come with great power and glory. His power is not a destructive power, like the power of Rome, but a liberating power, a power that frees people from all that threatens to destroy them, ‘stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand’. Jesus does not play down the dark, destructive forces that threaten God’s people, but he insists that these dark forces will not ultimately win out. There is a greater force at work among us, God’s force or power, present through his risen Son, the force of a love that liberates and makes whole. We are all called to be channels of that liberating force of God. We can allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the dark forces that stalk the land, or we can hold our heads high in confident hope, in the assurance that the Lord of all is in our midst and trusting, in the words of Saint Paul, that his power working among us can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.

And/Or

(x) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, there is a clear reference to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, which happened forty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jerusalem fell to the armies of Rome, under the general Titus, who went on to become Emperor of Rome. In the time of Jesus and the early church, the all-powerful Roman Empire must have been seen as eternal, as destined to last forever. Yet, in the first reading, written towards the end of the first century, the author declares, ‘Babylon the Great has fallen’, ‘Babylon’ being a code name for ‘Rome’. The author recognizes that even the great, invincible, Roman Empire would not last forever, and declares that it is God and his Son who will last forever, ‘Victory and glory and power to our God’. In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man who will come ‘with power and great glory’. Nothing lasts forever, not even the great and powerful empires of the world. Only God and his Son endure; they are the beginning and the end, yesterday, today and tomorrow. God’s relationship with us endures; Jesus’ love for us lasts forever and every day he says to us what is said at the end of today’s first reading, ‘Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb’. The Lord calls us to his feast, in the future kingdom of heaven, but also in the here and now of the Eucharist. You will recognize that beatitude from the text of the Mass. The Lord’s call to us to be in communion with him is the constant in the midst of all that is changing. That awareness can inspire us to always ‘stand erect’, holding our heads high, in the words of the gospel reading.

And/Or

(xi) Thursday, Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The language Jesus uses to speak of the coming destruction of the city of Jerusalem could apply to the destruction of many cities ever since. He speaks of the city surrounded by armies, a city laid desolate, people desperately trying to get out of the city, great misery descending upon the land and its people, a city trampled down as its inhabitants are killed or taken into captivity. It is a scene that has repeated itself in living memory, during both world wars and, more recently, in the Balkans, the Middle East and elsewhere Jesus takes no pleasure in describing such a scene; he had earlier wept over the city of Jerusalem, just as he must weep over every city and town that is brutalized by war. Having spoken of the suffering of the human city, Jesus goes on to speak of the suffering of creation - signs in the sun and moon and stars, the clamour of the ocean and its waves, the shaking of the powers of heaven – and the impact of creation’s suffering on humanity – people dying of fear as they await what menaces the world. We have all become much more attuned to the suffering of creation in recent times. Yet, against this dark human and cosmic backdrop, Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory, before whom we are invited to stand erect, with heads held high, awaiting full and final liberation. Jesus is assuring us that destruction and loss will not have the last word. As risen Lord, he is always coming as light into darkness; his loving power is always at work to liberate all of humanity and the entire cosmos from its enslavement to destruction. Our calling is to keep aligning ourselves with the Lord’s glorious, liberating and life giving coming and presence, so that we become agents of his light and life in our often dark world.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Roman Catholic Church insists that Jesus must be sacrificed every time mass is conducted and then some of them have the nerve to accuse Protestants of dishonoring the Lord's supper. How about insisting that Jesus's once for all sacrifice is not enough to save all the elect? Does that sound like it honors the death of our Lord and Savior?

[tpanan]

July 27, 2024 - REGARDING THE MOCKERY OF THE LAST SUPPER OF JESUS CHRIST

Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens, S.T.D., D.D.

Bishop of Crookston

Chairman of the Board of the National Eucharistic Congress

“If then my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chr 7:14)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

At the opening Holy Hour of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, on Wednesday July, 17, 2024, I prayed these very words, inviting tens of thousands in the stadium and thousands more watching virtually to join me in asking the Lord to pardon our sins and heal our land.

Then on Friday evening, July 19th, we all united around Our Eucharistic Lord again in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to make reparation for our sins. We humbled ourselves in the presence of Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. Recognizing that if one member of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer, we prayed together for healing and forgiveness. We were lead through a litany of healing and repentance in the Eucharist by Fr. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B. Many people told me that this moment of communal penance and reparation was a moment of great healing for them. It was amongst the most powerful experiences of grace for me personally during those holy days.

Just one week later, on July 26th in Paris, where the newly restored Cathedral of Notre Dame stands as an iconic reminder to our belief in the importance of the Mass, which makes spiritually present to us the Last Supper, nearly 1 billion men, women and children, in person and through live telecast, witnessed the public mockery of the Mass, the “source and summit of the Christian life” (LG, 11). During the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, the famous DaVinci Masterpiece The Last Supper was depicted in heinous fashion, leaving us in such shock, sorrow and righteous anger that words cannot describe it.

Brothers and sisters, we know that what the enemy intends for evil, God uses for good. We know that “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rom 5:20).

Throughout salvation history, the Lord and his prophets have called us—the people of God—to respond to the darkness of evil with the light that comes from the Lord. At the heart of this call are prayer and fasting. Jesus told us that some demons “can only come out through prayer [and through fasting]” (Mk 29:9). He modeled this for us when he spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his public ministry, praying and fasting, begging God the Father to prepare him for all that lay ahead—including his perfect gift of self through his death on the Cross.

We believe that the Last Supper is united with the death of Christ on the Cross and, together with the Resurrection, these events are all one in the Paschal Mystery. This passover, which begins at the Last Supper, is the most sacred moment in the life of Jesus. This is when Jesus offered his life for us so that we could share in his divine life forever.

Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed. As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer—in season and out of season—is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

As the Church throughout the world gathers tomorrow at the Lord’s Altar, let us do so with renewed zeal. Let us pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery. Let us commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin. Perhaps you could attend Mass once more this week or do an extra holy hour?

We may also be called upon to speak about this evil. Let us do so with love and charity, but also with firmness. France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper. Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus. Rather, through our prayer and fasting, we will ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ—our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist—for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls.

Let us, strengthened by Christ, be the Eucharistic Missionaries we are called to be.

+In Christ Jesus,

Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens, S.T.D., D.D.

Bishop of Crookston

Chairman of the Board of the National Eucharistic Congress

[fr-martin-gospel-reflections]

18th August - ‘Whoever eats me will draw life from me’, Reflection on the readings for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 6:51-58)

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of the verses in Patrick Kavanagh’s well-known poem, ‘A Christmas Childhood’, goes as follows, ‘A water-hen screeched in the bog, Mass-going feet Crunched the wafer-ice on the pot-holes, Somebody wistfully twisted the bellows wheel’. He is nostalgically looking back at the Christmases of his childhood in his native Monaghan. I have always been struck by the line in that verse, ‘Mass-going feet crunched the wafer-thin ice on the pot-holes’. There may be less ‘Mass-going feet’ these days that there were when Patrick Kavanagh wrote his poem. Yet, many of us still feel drawn to gather to celebrate Sunday Mass, as we are doing here this Sunday.

Why do we come to Mass on a Sunday when there are many other things we could be doing? Perhaps in the past, people went to Mass because it was something everybody did. There was an element of cultural and family pressure. That is certainly not the case today. You have come to Mass this Sunday because you have chosen to do so. In many ways it is a counter cultural choice. It is going against the general trend. People may ask you, ‘Why are you still going to Mass on a Sunday?’ It is a question that is worth asking and pondering over. Perhaps today’s gospel reading points us in the direction of an answer. There Jesus calls on us to eat his flesh and drink his blood and promises us that if we do so we will draw life from him. His language of eating his flesh and drinking his blood is quite startling and provocative. The question people asked in the gospel reading is an understandable one, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Jesus is clearly referring to what we have come to call the Eucharist. His words point ahead to the last supper, when he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘This is my body’, and when he took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘This is my blood of the covenant’. In speaking of his flesh and blood, his body and blood, he was referring to his whole self, who he was and what he stood for. He gave his whole self to us out of love for us on the cross. At the last supper he gave his whole self to his disciples under the form of bread and wine, in anticipation of the gift of himself he would make the following day on the cross. At every Mass, the risen Lord continues to give us the gift of his whole self. There is no greater gift he could give us. He gives us this gift of himself to nourish us spiritually, just as a baby is physically nourished their mother in the mother’s womb. As the unborn child draws life from the mother, so, in the words of Jesus in the gospel reading, when we receive him in the Eucharist we draw life from him, just as he draws life from God his Father. The life that we draw from him is not just physical life but the life of God, a life that endures beyond this earthly life.

Why do we go to Mass, especially on a Sunday? We go because the Lord has left us this wonderful gift through which he continues to give himself to us in love so that we may have life and have it to the full. We go because we recognize that we need this gift to sustain us on our journey of faith, just as the unborn child needs the mother’s flesh and blood for physical sustenance. The Lord gives himself to us in the Eucharist to nourish our relationship with him, to sustain that relationship in a world where that relationship is so often put to the test. He renews the gift of his whole self to us at every Eucharist so that we can renew the gift of our whole selves to him. In the words of the gospel reading, through the Eucharist he comes to live in us, so that we can continue to live in him. The only reason we come to the Eucharist is because we have personally chosen to be in relationship with Jesus and we want that relationship to be sustained and nourished. We gather at the Eucharist as a community of disciples, all of us at different stages of our faith journey. Our relationship with the Lord is personal and unique to each of us. Yet, wherever we are on that journey, we all have a place here. We are all welcome here. The Lord wants to give the gift of his whole self to all of us because we all need the spiritual sustenance that only he can give. Like the Woman Wisdom’s feast in the first reading, the invitation is extended to all from the city’s heights.

The Lord gives his whole self to us in the Eucharist to empower us to bring his whole self to others. We receive the Lord’s body in the Eucharist so that we may be his living body for others. We are sent forth from the Eucharist to live lives that redeem the present age, in the words of the second reading, lives that allow the Lord to be present to all whom we meet.

[natequarter]

[id: the our blessed homeland/their barbarous wastes meme edited to focus on religious conflict. the different descriptions of catholicism vs protestantism read: "our blessed beliefs/their barbarous heresies"; "our glorious pope/their wicked king"; "our great religion/their primitive superstition"; "our noble mass/their backward lord's supper"; "our heroic vulgate/their brutish vernacular bible". /end id]

pov you are a sixteenth century catholic

[kiragecko]

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Created by TumblrTop10

Of these posts:

5 are polls (or links to polls)

2 are story ideas

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[church-history]

Medieval Latin Hymn Lauda Sion

"Lauda Sion" is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi. It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas around 1264, at the request of Pope Urban IV for the new Mass of this feast, along with Pange lingua, Sacris solemniis, and Verbum supernum prodiens, which are used in the Divine Office

Sion, lift up thy voice and sing praise thy Savior and thy King, Praise with hymns thy shepherd true.

All thou canst, do thou endeavour yet thy praise can equal never Such as merits thy great King.

See today before us laid the living and life-giving Bread, theme for praise and joy profound.

The same which at the sacred board was, by our incarnate Lord giv'n to His Apostles round.

Let the praise be loud and high sweet and tranquil be the joy felt today in every breast.

On this festival divine which records the origin of the glorious Eucharist.

On this table of the King our new Paschal offering brings to end the olden rite.

Here, for empty shadows fled is reality instead here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated Christ ordain'd to be repeated in His memory divine;

Wherefore now, with adoration we, the host of our salvation consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear, what holy Church maintaineth that the bread its substance changeth into Flesh, the wine to Blood.

Doth it pass thy comprehending? Faith, the law of sight transcending leaps to things not understood.

Here beneath these signs are hidden priceless things, to sense forbidden signs, not things, are all we see.

Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine yet is Christ in either sign all entire, confessed to be.

They, who of Him here partake sever not, nor rend, nor break but, entire, their Lord receive.

Whether one or thousands eat all receive the self-same meat nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good eat of this celestial Food but with ends how opposite!

Here tis life and there tis death the same, yet issuing to each in a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain when they break the Host in twain but that in each part remains what was in the whole before.

Since the simple sign alone suffers change in state or form the signified remaining one and the same for evermore.

Behold the Bread of Angels for us pilgrims food, and token of the promise by Christ spoken children's meat, to dogs denied.

Shewn in Isaac's dedication in the manna's preparation in the Paschal immolation in old types pre-signified.

Jesu, shepherd of the sheep Thou thy flock in safety keep living bread, thy life supply strengthen us, or else we die fill us with celestial grace.

Thou, who feedest us below source of all we have or know grant that with Thy Saints above sitting at the feast of love we may see Thee face to face amen. Alleluia.

The Gregorian melody of the Lauda Sion is borrowed from the eleventh-century sequence Laetabundi iubilemus attributed to Adam of Saint Victor. The hymn tells of the institution of the Eucharist and clearly expresses the belief of the Roman Catholic Church in transubstantiation, that is, that the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ when consecrated by a validly-ordained priest or bishop during the Mass. Lauda Sion is one of only four medieval sequences which were preserved in the Roman Missal published in 1570 following the Council of Trent (1545–1563).

[momentsbeforemass]

A moment with God

(by request, my homily from Sunday) *

How do you and I approach the Eucharist?

Why do we get up to receive Holy Communion?

What’s going through your mind? What’s in your heart?

How do you and I approach the Eucharist?

Is it a reward for good behavior?

We went to Confession. We’re in a state of grace. Checked all the boxes, so it’s “good Catholic, here’s your cracker” time?

It is something we do because it’s expected of us?

If we don’t get up, will people think we’re big-time sinners? That we’re on our way out of the Church? That we’re trying to break grandma’s heart?

Is it just part of the stand-sit-kneel of Catholic calisthenics?

Another semi-random thing we do without really thinking about it. Because it’s on brand (like how we drag Mary into everything)? Because - Catholic stuff?

When you and I approach the Eucharist in any of these ways, what we’re really doing is missing out.

If we’re not calling to mind what – sorry, Who – the Eucharist really is? If we’re not opening our hearts to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist?

And you’re thinking, “Wait, what was that Who-the-Eucharist-really-is” stuff? What do you mean by ‘real presence’?”

Those are fair questions.

This unconsecrated host? It’s flour, water. And that’s it. That’s the recipe. Not even salt.

It is the most basic cracker on the planet.

And yet, during the Consecration, the most basic cracker on the planet becomes the body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

How is that possible?

I’m just going to say the quiet part out loud. It’s not popular. But it’s the truth.

It is a miracle. It is literally a miracle. You and I get a miracle at every Mass.

It’s a miracle that Jesus explains in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. What we call the bread of life discourse. Jesus gives us the reasons for this miracle, that’s why we do it.

It’s a miracle that happens for the first time at the Last Supper. All of the, “this is my body, this is my blood” stuff from the Eucharistic Prayer? That’s where it comes from. Jesus shows us how to do it.

The Last Supper is also where we get told to do it. We’re following His lead.

But it doesn’t look any different.

True. The consecrated host that you receive when you come up for Holy Communion won’t look any different than this unconsecrated one.

But at the consecration there’s a change, a movement. It’s the same movement that Jesus shows us over and over in today’s Gospel – moving from surface appearances to the deeper reality.

So that the consecrated host that you receive will in fact be radically different from that unconsecrated one.

How is that possible?

It’s like this. Think of your spouse, your significant other, someone you really love. Who really loves you.

Now think about the first time they told you that they loved you.

What was going on inside of you, when they told you they loved you? What did that feel like?

It’s hard to describe, isn’t it? Because for you, the world changed in that moment. Everything inside you, everything you thought, everything you felt, just lit up.

Do you know what you looked like to them in that moment? The moment after they told you they loved you for the first time?

Just the same as you did the moment before they told you they loved you for the first time. Same eyes, same nose, same goofy smile.

And yet, somehow everything about you was different.

It’s kind of like that with the Eucharist.

Only the love behind it? Is even greater.

Let that sink in for a moment.

 If we’re not calling to mind Who the Eucharist really is? If we’re not opening our hearts to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist?

Then we’re missing out. On the most intimate moment that you and I will have with the God who loves us on this side of eternity.

A moment with God that will change us, if we’re brave enough to let it.

If you’ve ever wondered why Fr. George is so big on us praying the Anima Christi together, this would be the reason.

So, what can we do, about how we approach the Eucharist?

Before receiving the Eucharist, remind yourself of Who is really present – of Who is waiting to be with you and wanting to be with you – in the Eucharist.

One of the best ways to do that is a prayer that comes from St. Blaise. You can find it at the end of my letter in the bulletin.

And it’s the perfect thing to pray while we’re in line to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist,

“Father of mercy and God of all consolation, graciously look upon me and impart to me the blessing which flows from this holy Sacrament. Overshadow me with Your loving kindness, and let this divine Mystery bear fruit in me.”

Sunday’s Readings

* If you’re thinking that this looks like a long version of something I recently posted, you are right. When I was praying (the Divine Mercy) before writing my homily for Sunday, God sent me back to that post. I don’t question His lead (at least not with this stuff - other parts of my life? let’s just say I’m a work in progress). I’ve learned that it means He’s got someone who needs to hear it. Besides, this is God’s thing, not mine.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

6th April>> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Maundy Thursday - Chrism Mass  (see also Evening Mass)

(Liturgical Colour: White: A(1))

(Here are the readings for the morning Chrism Mass:)

First Reading Isaiah 61:1-3,6,8-9 The Lord has anointed me.

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes a garland; for mourning robe the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise.

But you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord’, they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’ I reward them faithfully and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their race will be famous throughout the nations, their descendants throughout the peoples. All who see them will admit that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 88(89):21-22,25,27

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I have found David my servant and with my holy oil anointed him. My hand shall always be with him and my arm shall make him strong.

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

My truth and my love shall be with him; by my name his might shall be exalted. He will say to me: ‘You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.’

R/ I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

Second Reading Apocalypse 1:5-8 Jesus Christ has made us a line of kings and priests.

Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Isaiah 61:1(Luke 4:18)

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! The spirit of the Lord has been given to me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor. Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel Luke 4:16-21 The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me.

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

--------------------------------------

Maundy Thursday - Evening Mass 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A(1))

(Here are the readings for the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper:)

First Reading Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 The Passover is a day of festival for all generations, for ever.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18

R/ The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

R/ The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.

R/ The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.

R/ The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord.

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation John 13:34

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel John 13:1-15 Now he showed how perfect his love was.

It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was. They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’ When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[apenitentialprayer]

A Prayer for the National Eucharistic Congress

Lord Jesus Christ, You give us Your Flesh and Blood for the life of the world, and You desire that all people come to the Supper of the Sacrifice of the Lamb. Renew in Your Church the truth, beauty, and goodness contained in the Most Blessed Eucharist.

Jesus living in the Eucharist, come and live in me. Jesus healing in the Eucharist, come and heal me. Jesus sacrificing Yourself in the Eucharist, come and suffer in me. Jesus rising in the Eucharist, come and rise to new life in me. Jesus loving in the Eucharist, come and love in me.

Lord Jesus Christ, through the Pascal Mystery of Your death and Resurrection made present in every holy Mass, pour out Your healing love on Your Church and on our world. Grant that as we lift You up during this time of Eucharistic revival, Your Holy Spirit may draw all people to join us at this Banquet of Life. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit; God, forever and ever. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Eucharist, pray for us!

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

12th November >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Luke 17:7-10): ‘We are merely servants’.

Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Luke 17:7-10 You are merely servants.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

Gospel (USA) Luke 17:7-10 We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.

Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

Reflections (12)

(i) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

The short parable Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading reminds us that we never have a claim on God. After we have done all that God asks of us, we cannot then say to God, ‘I am due some recompense for all that I have done’. That would be usual in the world of human affairs. People expect to be recompensed in proportion to the work they have done. However, that is not how we are to relate to God. God is never in debt to us no matter how generous we have been towards God. This is because our good work on God’s behalf is itself due to God’s good working within us. All the good we do is of God. Without God’s loving initiative towards us, we could do nothing that is pleasing to God. Saint Paul speaks in today’s first reading of how God’s grace was revealed towards us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been greatly graced by God and all that is good in our lives is the fruit of that gracious initiative of God towards us. In faithfully serving God we are giving back to God what God has already given to us. Yet, elsewhere, the gospel makes clear that our efforts to serve the Lord well will always be met by further loving initiatives of the Lord towards us. The Lord’s love for us is a given; it doesn’t have to be earned. Our lives of loving service in response to the Lord’s love for us opens us up more fully to the Lord’s love for us. As Jesus says elsewhere, if we give to God, it will be given to us by God; a full measure, running over will be poured into our lap.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Giving with a view to getting was very much part of the culture of Jesus. Those who were in a position to give expected some kind of return. The patron who gave material assistance to his client expected that the client would give him in return some recognition and loyalty. Jesus formed around himself a community which was counter cultural in many ways. He did not want the prevailing ways of the culture to characterize this new kind of community, what came to be called the church. As a result, in Luke’s gospel Jesus says to his disciples, ‘if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much again’. In this morning’s gospel reading from Luke, Jesus speaks a parable that reflects the practice of slavery in his time. His disciples are called to be servants. Having served they are not to expect a reward for their service. They are not to look for some expression of gratitude. They are to give without looking for a return, because if they expect a return they are likely to stop serving when the return is not forthcoming. This was not the way of Jesus. His service, his giving, was at its most generous at the very moment when he was being shown the least possible appreciation, as he hung from the cross. He gave even when nothing was forthcoming except hostility. God ultimately responded to his generous self-giving, raising him from the dead. Jesus calls on us to follow his path of faithful service, trusting that in the end we too will receive far more from God than we have given.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

In the culture of Jesus’ time servants who did their duty did not expect to be thanked for doing what was expected of them. Their faithfulness to their task did not put their master under any obligation to them. Jesus seems to be saying that something similar can be said about our relationship with God. We are called to serve God by our lives. We serve God by our worship, our efforts to walk in the way of his Son, to love one another as Jesus has loved us. We try to be faithful to this calling as best we can, day in and day out. Our efforts to be faithful do not place God under any obligation to us. At the end of the day, we have no claim on God, even after we have done all God asks of us. In a sense, we always come before God with empty hands, in our poverty. No matter how well we have served God, we are always beggars in God’s presence. Yet, it is that awareness of our own emptiness and poverty that opens us up to receive from God’s fullness. It is in becoming like little children that we enter the kingdom of God. In the words of Mary’s great prayer, the Magnificat, God fells the hungry with good things, whereas the rich he sends empty away.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus often used the image of the servant drawn from the social world of his time to highlight the nature of his own ministry. In Luke’s gospel in the context of the last supper Jesus says, ‘Who is greater, the one who is at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves?’ Jesus identified more with the servant at the table than with those who were being served at table. In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus uses the same image with reference to his disciples. They are to think of themselves as servants rather than as people at table. Like servants, they must not look for or expect gratitude for the service that they render. Jesus seems to be saying that those who walk in his way serve others as he did, not for what is given in return but simply because it is the right thing to do. Service, in that sense, is its own reward. Jesus’ service of others was not dependant on how others related to him. He gave of himself regardless of how well or otherwise that was received. This was his way and it is also to be the way of his followers. We serve and leave the rest to God.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Pride is something we probably all struggle with. The more good we appear to be doing, the more we can be tempted to pride. The parable in this morning’s gospel reading warns against that tendency to pride on the part of those who do their duty and, indeed, do it well. In the gospel reading, Jesus declares, ‘When you have done all you have been told to do, say, “we are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty”’. In another parable Jesus spoke, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee displayed of the dutiful person; he boasted of the good life that he lived, and seemed to be of the view that his virtue gave him a claim on God. However, no matter how well we live, no matter how much we do what God asks of us, we never have a claim on God. The good news is that we don’t need a claim on God; we don’t need to score points to be sure of God’s favour. God has favoured us and keeps favouring us by giving us his Son. In response to that gift, we try to serve God faithfully, by doing his will, in so far as we can discern it. Our faithful service of the Lord will always be only a pale reflection of the Lord’s faithful service of us.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

The parable that Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading suggests that what really matters in our relationship with God is that we be faithful to what the Lord asks of us. The setting of the story is drawn from the culture in which Jesus lived. The servant in the story did what was asked of him; he dutifully kept to his routine day after day. He embodies faithfulness and reliability. In our relationship with God, we are called to be faithful, to stay the course. At times we may feel that God is very distant from us. We may consider that our religious practice has become something of a routine with little excitement; we may wonder if we are just going through the motions, with nothing much underpinning what we do. We may even suspect that we are losing faith. The parable assures us that God sees our faithfulness, even when we might doubt it, and that God values our faithful service, even when we are tempted to make light of it. Even though we may doubt our ability to stay the course, God will keep us faithful, if we ask him to do so. In that sense, faith, faithfulness, is more God’s doing than ours. Faith is always God’s gift to us, and it is given to all who desire it, no matter how small that desire may appear to us.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

It was Mother Theresa who said that the Lord does not call us to be successful but to be faithful. The image that Jesus puts before us in today’s gospel reading is that of the faithful servant. The servant’s primary concern is to do his duty, to be faithful to his task. He is not concerned with being thanked for what he does; indeed, he doesn’t expect to be thanked or to be rewarded. Jesus appears to be saying that in our relationship with God, our primary concern should be with serving God faithfully rather than with what God might give us by way of gratitude or reward. We are to do the right thing, the good thing, what God wants, because it is the good thing to do and not because of the reward or acknowledgement we might get for doing it. We all value being appreciated; we like what we do to be acknowledged in some way. Yet, this morning’s gospel reading suggests that our service of the Lord and of each other is not to be become dependent on such acknowledgement. The prayer of Saint Ignatius comes to mind, ‘Lord, help me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost… to labour and to ask for no reward’.

And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

The gospels suggest that Jesus was very observant of life as it was lived in his time. He observed what was happening and he was able to see how it could speak to us of our relationship with God. Slavery was part of the fabric of life in the time and culture of Jesus. People with a good supply of this world’s resources tended to have servants or slaves. There was an obvious inequality in that relationship; the servant was there to serve the master and not the other way around. The master would not normally express gratitude for the servant’s service, because such service was what was only to be expected. The master does not owe the servant gratitude; he is not in debt to the servant because the servant does what is expected of him. In the gospel reading Jesus seems to be saying that there is a certain parallel here to our relationship with God. God is never in debt to us; God does not owe us anything. Rather, we owe God our service. Jesus would stress that it is a service of love, in response to God’s love of us. Yet, this service does not entitle us to anything from God. Even after a long life of serving God, we have no claim on God. We always stand before God as beggars. This does not cause us any anxiety because we know from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that the God before whom we stand in our poverty is infinitely generous.

And/Or

(ix) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus draws on an experience of life that would have been current in his time, although somewhat alien to our time, and that is the scenario of a master of the household with servants. When the servant has done what is expected of him, the master is not in debt to him. He doesn’t owe his servant anything, not even gratitude. Jesus is simply drawing attention to a certain reality of his time, without necessarily approving of it. It is a parable and like all the parables its meaning is not immediately obvious. Parables have a way of teasing us into thinking for ourselves. Jesus may be suggesting that even after we have done what God asks of us, God is not in our debt in any way. God never owes us anything. We don’t serve God to put God under some kind of obligation to us. Rather we serve God because it is the right thing to do. We serve God out of love and gratitude for all God has done and is doing for us. After we have done what God asks of us we simply entrust ourselves to his generous love, knowing that God will bless us in ways that will far surpass anything we may have done for God.

And/Or

(x) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus draws on an aspect of human interaction that we are not as familiar with today, at least in this part of the world, the master-slave relationship. Jesus recognized all of human life as having the potential to speak to us about our relationship with God. When a slave had done all that was expected of him, he would not expect thanks from his master, because he was only doing his duty. People were thanked for acting over and beyond what was expected of them. Jesus does not explicitly draw out a lesson from this little image or parable. We have to reflect on the image ourselves and listen to what it might be saying to us about our relationship with God. Jesus seems to be saying that when we live the life that he calls us to live, and empowers us to live through his Spirit, we should not expect God to thank us for it as if we were doing God a favour. To serve others in response to the call of Jesus is a privilege. It requires no further reward. Our service of others is a response to the more wonderful service that God has given to us through his Son. At the end of the day, it is we who need to thank God and not God who needs to thank us.

And/Or

(xi) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, Saint Paul makes a distinction between worldly ambitions and the ambition to do good. Paul equates ‘worldly ambitions’ with ‘everything that does not lead to God’, which we are to give up. It can be good to ask ourselves the question, ‘Where is this leading me?’ ‘Is it leading me to God?’ We try to discern as we go through life what is leading me to God and what is leading me away from God, what is damaging my relationship with God and what is deepening my relationship with God. In the gospel reading, Jesus identifies one attitude which can be damaging to our relationship with God. It is the attitude of entitlement before God. It is the attitude which says to God, ‘I have served you well. I have lived a good life. Now it is your turn to serve me. You need to show your gratitude to me’. In contrast to such an attitude, Jesus puts before us the attitude of those who, after they have done all that God asks, simply say to God, ‘I am merely your servant; I have done no more than my duty’. In other words, ‘You owe me nothing’. Our ambition to do good, our good life, our service of the Lord, does not entitle us to anything from God. Before we did anything, God has already been generous with us. As Paul says at the beginning of the first reading, ‘God’s grace has been revealed’ in the life, death and resurrection of God’s Son. We have all been greatly graced by God, through Jesus. All the good we do, our service of God, is no more than our grateful response to God’s prior generous love towards us.

And/Or

(xii) Tuesday, Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus’ images and parables are always drawn from his own time, place and culture. In Jesus’ day, very wealthy people had many servants, and even reasonably well-off people had at least one servant. Jesus’ little parable simply reflects the reality that when such a servant had done his duty, he has no claim on his master’s gratitude and his master in under no obligation to thank him. Jesus seems to be suggesting that even after we have lived in the way God calls us to live, that in itself does not give us any claim on God. No matter how well we live, God is never in our debt. However, elsewhere Jesus makes clear that God does not relate to us as a master to his servants. God is more like the father in the parable of the prodigal son who lavishes his love on his undeserving son. That son certainly had no claim on his father, but he didn’t need to have any claim on him. His father gave to his son out of the enormous generosity of his love. Similarly, although we never have a claim on God, we don’t need to have such a claim. God will always be more generous towards us than we are towards God. The first reading from the Book of Wisdom declares that, in eternity, ‘grace and mercy await’ those who have been faithful to God. Jesus has shown us that God’s grace and mercy awaits us in this life too, indeed, every day of our lives. We may always be ‘unworthy servants’, in the language of the gospel reading, even after we have lived well, but God does not ask us to be worthy before showering his grace and mercy upon us.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[catenaaurea]

The Baltimore Catechism

Part Three: The Sacraments and Prayer

Lesson Twenty-Six: The Holy Eucharist

343. What is the Holy Eucharist?

The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received. (John 6:51-52)

344. When did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?

Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died. (Luke 22:19-20)

345. Who were present when Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist?

When Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist the apostles were present. (Mark 14:17)

346. How did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?

Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist in this way: He took bread, blessed and broke it, and giving it to His apostles, said: "Take and eat; this is My body"; then He took a cup of wine, blessed it, and giving it to them, said: "All of you drink of this; for this is My blood of the new covenant which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins"; finally, He gave His apostles the commission: "Do this in remembrance of Me." (Luke 22:19-20)

347. What happened when Our Lord said: "This is My body . . . this is My blood"?

When Our Lord said, "This is My body," the entire substance of the bread was changed into His body; and when He said, "This is My blood," the entire substance of the wine was changed into His blood.

348. Did anything of the bread and wine remain after their substance had been changed into Our Lord's body and blood?

After the substance of the bread and wine had been changed into Our Lord's body and blood, there remained only the appearances of bread and wine.

349. What do we mean by the appearances of bread and wine?

By the appearances of bread and wine we mean their color, taste, weight, shape, and whatever else appears to the senses.

350. What is the change of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ called?

The change of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ is called Transubstantiation.

351. Is Jesus Christ whole and entire both under the appearances of bread and under the appearances of wine?

Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the appearances of bread and under the appearances of wine.

352. How was Our Lord able to change bread and wine into His body and blood?

Our Lord was able to change bread and wine into His body and blood by His almighty power. (Matthew 28:18)

353. Does this change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continue to be made in the Church?

The change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continues to be made in the Church by Jesus Christ, through the ministry of His priests.

354. When did Christ give His priests the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood?

Christ gave His priests the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood when He made the apostles priests at the Last Supper by saying to them: "Do this in remembrance of Me."

355. How do priests exercise their power to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ?

Priests exercise their power to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ by repeating at the Consecration of the Mass the words of Christ: "This is My Body ... this is My blood."

356. Why does Christ give us His own body and blood in the Holy Eucharist?

Christ gives us His own body and blood in the Holy Eucharist:

to be offered as a sacrifice commemorating and renewing for all time the sacrifice of the cross;

to be received by the faithful in Holy Communion;

to remain ever on our altars as the proof of His love for us, and to be worshiped by us.