Category: Sacrament

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Why do the readings change during some Sundays of Lent?

During the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent, some years the readings change from its corresponding liturgical cycle to readings from cycle A, why is this change? In order to answer this question, we must go back to two moments in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ where He leaves us a responsibility, one of them is on Thursday when he celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus, took bread, blessed it, broke it and distributed it to his disciples, saying to them “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:18-20), and it is because of these words that we celebrate the Mass, the readings of which our Holy Mother Church has established in three annual cycles.

Between these words and the following ones that we must evaluate, the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ occurs. His death and resurrection are the most important events in Christian theology. They form the point in Scripture where Jesus gives His ultimate demonstration that He has power over life and death, so He has the ability to give people eternal life.

The second moment comes from the words that our Lord pronounces after his resurrection: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), this is the call to our mission of evangelization.

When there are people who wish to enter the Catholic Church and receive these three sacraments, the church brings us readings from the Gospel of St. John during these Sundays, to focus on the spiritual journey of those who are preparing to be received into the Catholic faith, emphasizing themes of healing, conversion, and the promise of eternal life.

These readings are part of one of the rites of Christian initiation known as scrutinies. The first scrutiny focuses on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, which symbolizes the thirst for spiritual truth and the offering of Christ as living water.

The second scrutiny focuses on Jesus’ healing of the man born blind, emphasizing the gift of sight and overcoming spiritual darkness, since Christ is the light of the world.

The third scrutiny presents Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, representing Christ’s power over death and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Let us rejoice when we hear these readings outside of their liturgical cycle, for this means that we are fulfilling the mission that our Lord Jesus Christ entrusted to us before His ascension into heaven: to evangelize people of all nations and to make them disciples of our Lord.

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A reflection on the 10th Eucharistic Congress

There comes a time in one’s life when a series of events, or merely just a single event, has a profound impact on that individual.  The occurrence of these events initiates or contributes to the individual’s growth and is transformational. 

For some Woodstock, in 1969, was a nexus of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and other pressing social issues that sparked a cultural revolution whose effects continues to propagate to this day. 

For others it was 9/11, a “Call to Arms,” an event that surfaced the exacerbated discord in the world, precipitated wars, and resulted in the realignment and isolation of the earthly governing powers.  It changed our political thinking and how we perceive the other nations and peoples of the world community.

Another seminal event, with the Grace of God, just occurred July 17 through 21 in Indianapolis, Indiana; the National Eucharistic Congress.  

This Congress, a manifestation of the ongoing Eucharistic Revival, has happened to raise our consciousnesses and reenergize our souls, to the sacrifice made by Jesus to save us, and the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist.  It has grown and picked up momentum the past three years, coming to a well calibrated inflection point, a celebration, in the National Eucharistic Congress. 

This National Eucharistic Congress, again three years in its planning by the American Catholic Church, was preceded, over 60 days prior to the Congress, with Pilgrimages from the four corners of our Country culminating in Indianapolis.

The five-day Congress in Indianapolis was both visceral and cerebral with those in attendance; Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, Religious, Artists and over 50,000 of the Faithful, all on Fire with the Holy Spirit.  The joy and love present were intense, palatable in every corner of the city.  People of all ages and backgrounds communed together in perfect harmony.  The venue of events for the five days were all enthusiastically packed to the max and ranged from stadium filled Masses and Revivals to smaller breakout sessions, lectures, and workshops.

On the afternoon of the fourth day a Procession of the Eucharist filled the streets of Indianapolis for over three miles, from the city Convention Center to a Memorial Park, lasted several hours without incident, and ending in peaceful prayer and celebration.  That evening, Lucas Oil Stadium rocked with testimony and music in a final Revival that left everyone present with an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Sunday’s culminating Encounter Session and closing Mass at the filled Lucas Oil Stadium ended with the mandate to spread the Good Word with the “Walk With One” campaign (each attendee brings another person one step closer to the church).

The proclamation of the Good Word with this effort will enable our deepest Hopes to be realized.  It was announced that the next National Eucharistic Congress is targeted to be held in 2033; two thousand years since the redemption; passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Nothing is impossible with God.  May God be with you all.

Noelsch, Robert “A reflection on the 10th Eucharistic Congress”, 28 July 2024, Bay Shore , NY

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How should I receive Holy Communion?

The Eucharistic sacrifice, is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life (Lumen Gentium 11). The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist and are directed toward it. The Most Blessed Eucharist contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch and Living Bread (Prebysterorum Ordinis 5).

The Eucharistic Sacrifice is intrinsically directed to the inward union of the faithful with Christ through communion; we receive the very One who offered himself for us, we receive his body which he gave up for us on the Cross and his blood which he “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28) The Eucharist is a true banquet, in which Christ offers himself as our nourishment (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 16).

Knowing now the importance of such a sacred sacrament, how then should we receive communion? First of all, we must be free from sin, we must have confessed any mortal and venial sins we have committed since our previous confession, we must have fasted for at least one hour before receiving communion.

At the time of communion, process in an orderly manner and with respect for the priest or ministers to receive communion. When we arrive in front of the ciborium with the consecrated hosts, we must make a bow (Redemptionis Sacramentum 90), since we are in the presence of Christ, in body, blood, soul and divinity, at that moment the priest or the minister raising the consecrated host, will say to us: “the Body of Christ”, to which we will respond “Amen”, thus recognizing this truth of faith. We can receive the host either on the tongue, or in the hands, extending the hands one over the other at the height of the ciborium, taking care that they are flat as if presenting an altar where we will receive the Body of Christ, once the host is received, it must be consumed immediately.

If it is offered at Mass and it is our desire, we can also receive communion of the Blood of Christ, for which we approach the minister with the chalice, and we bow when we arrive before the chalice, since Christ is completely in the consecrated species, the minister will say to us “Blood of Christ” and we will also respond “Amen”, thus recognizing the presence of our Lord in the consecrated wine. The minister will then hand us the chalice for us to take a small sip, after which we hand the chalice back to the minister.

Having received the communion of Christ, we are to go to our places, and take advantage of this sacred moment that we are in communion with Christ to present our prayers to Him. It is tradition to pray on one’s knees and remain so until the priest stores the consecrated hosts that may have remained in the tabernacle.

Let us partake of the sacrament of Holy Communion with great faith, let us prepare our souls for this great mystery by going to the sacrament of reconciliation, and thus be one with Christ.

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Why is it important to receive Communion at Mass?

Communion is the moment towards which the whole Eucharistic celebration converges, since, on the one hand, the table of the Word asks to be completed with the table of the Eucharistic Bread and, on the other, the consecration of the gifts aims not only to make Christ glorify and give thanks to God, but also to the faithful to be united to Christ sacramentally.  eating the Body that is given and the Blood that is shed for the salvation of men. “The celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us” (CCC 1382).

Communion is first of all the culmination of the Mass, since it is “at the same time and inseparably the sacrifice in which the sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet, in which through the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the people share in the goods of the paschal sacrifice.  it renews the covenant between God and men, and in faith and hope it prefigures and anticipates the eschatological banquet in the Kingdom of the Father” (Eucaristicum Mysterium 3).

Sacramental communion with Christ increases our union with Him, separates us from sin, renews, strengthens and deepens our incorporation into the Church accomplished by Baptism.

Eucharistic communion is the most loving and profound, most certain and sanctifying spiritual encounter we can have with Christ in this world. It is an ineffable spiritual union with the glorious Jesus Christ. It is, in the order of love and grace, an ineffable mystery. Christ gives himself in communion as food, as “living bread that came down from heaven”, who transforms into him those who receive him. To these, who welcome him into communion with faith and love, he promises immortality, abundance of life and future resurrection. Indeed, he assures them of a perfect vital union with Him: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” (John 6:56-57).

Being such an extraordinary moment of grace, we must be ready to live it with intense faith, with a sense of adoration and complete surrender to his will. Only the grace of God, who acts through prayer, can adequately prepare us.

Communion is a pledge of future glory, it is a foretaste of heaven, where our whole existence will be to love and adore Christ. Once again, let us allow gratitude and amazement to be renewed in us at the love of a God who becomes the Eucharist to allow himself to be eaten, to unite us to him and to transform us into him.

Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, grant that we may receive your Son in the Sacrament of love with an open and pure heart, simple and obedient like yours, so that we may be transformed into a living sacrifice, into a “Body that gives itself” for the life of the world.

López, Félix “Explanation of the Mass – Communion”, Home of the Mother, accessed 11 June 2024,
https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/resources/eucharist/549-explanation-of-the-mass/2416-communion

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How important is the fraction of the bread in Mass?

From the beginning and for several centuries, the breaking of consecrated bread was a practical and necessary gesture to prepare the particles that were distributed in communion. As there were no small forms, it was celebrated with unleavened bread that then had to be broken to be distributed to the faithful. This gesture also had several symbolic meanings referring to the Eucharist. Everyone could see a clear relationship between this moment and the moment of the institution of the Eucharist where Jesus, like the Jewish paterfamilias, gives his disciples the nourishment of his Body and Blood.

Then, during this moment of the liturgy, the song of the Lamb of God was introduced. In this way, a new reality was emphasized, the sacrificial and salvific dimension of the Eucharist. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The food he distributes is his slain body. In this way, the sense of communion and the sense of sacrifice are presented together. The fraction prepares the food of Christians, which is the sacrificial Body of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of the new Passover (cf. Revelation 5, 6 and 13).

In this way, the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself as a sacrificed bread-body is clearly manifested. When the faithful receive it worthily, the Eucharist makes both Christ and the faithful one body. In this way, the Mystical Body of Christ is constantly renewed, and can thus live by His life (1 Corinthians 10:17).

A simple and important gesture at the same time is the conmixtio, which consists of the priest introducing a small particle of the Body of Christ into the chalice (GIRM 72). The union of the two species of consecrated bread and wine, which had hitherto been separated, symbolizes the one person of the glorious Christ, vivified by the Holy Spirit.

Then the priest, showing the people the consecrated host, repeats the words of John the Baptist: “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And he adds the words that, according to the Apocalypse, he says in the heavenly liturgy: “Blessed are those who are invited to the supper of the Lord” (Revelation 19:1-9).

The assembly then responds by repeating the words of the Roman centurion, who amazed Christ with his humble and bold confidence: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” (Matthew 8:8-10).

Without a doubt, knowing the meaning of the words and gestures of the liturgy helps us to enter into communion with the Lord. But living faith in those who participate in the Eucharist is essential. To discover the presence of the Lord, his love that becomes self-giving in order to enter into communion with us. “The Eucharist is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, manifesting God’s infinite love for every man” (Sacramentum Caritatis 1).

Let us ask Mary, the Eucharistic woman, to help us not to waste the treasure that God has given in the Eucharist, but that by loving and living the mystery of Christ we may be transformed into Him.

López, Félix “Explanation of the Mass – The Breaking of the Bread and the Lamb of God”, Home of the Mother, accesed 22 June 2024, https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/resources/eucharist/549-explanation-of-the-mass/2415-lamb-of-god

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Is Jesus Christ really present in the consecrated host and wine?

In order to understand why as Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the consecrated host and wine, we must go to Jesus’ own words in the institution of the Mass, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: «Take and eat; this is my body». Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: «Drink from it, all of you, this is my blood…” (Matthew 26:26-28), and then instructs us to repeat this formula in his memory (Luke 22:19).

It is when the priest pronounces these words that we usually hear the ringing of the bells fixing our attention on our Lord Jesus Christ, present truly, really and substantially in the Blessed Sacrament; and it is the time when some people out of devotion repeat the words of St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). It is worth mentioning that these words should be said instead, in the interior of our hearts; the consecration, being part of the actions of the one who presides at the Mass, must be pronounced in a clear and loud voice. Therefore, while the priest consecrates the offerings, there should be no singing, prayers, or music whatsoever (GIRM 32). The act of elevating the body and blood of Christ is part of consecration.

Now, why is it important to recognize the real presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated host, because it is the means by which we will have eternal life! Only by eating His flesh and drinking His blood, through consecrated bread and wine, can we attain the grace of eternal life (John 6:22-59).

That is why it is very important not only to attend Holy Mass but also to participate in the supper that our Lord has prepared for us. Our Lord has prepared a banquet where the main course He offers us is eternal life through His body and blood.

Let us then throw off the rags that are our sins (Matthew 22:1-14), let us get ready and share with Christ the great banquet that He offers us in the Holy Communion

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What does Jesus Christ give us at the Eucharistic banquet?

If the Eucharistic Prayer is the heart of the Mass, the words of consecration are the heart of the Eucharistic Prayer. The rest of the Mass is the sacred setting for this sacred moment.

Since the celebration of the Last Supper, the Church has faithfully maintained Jesus’ command: “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Through the Eucharistic celebration, the Church makes present that moment, those gestures and words that Jesus made and pronounced. In that Supper, Christ instituted the Paschal sacrifice and banquet, by means of which the sacrifice of the cross is continually made present in the Church when the priest, representing Christ, pronounces the words of Jesus. At that moment, those same words that Jesus spoke, somehow, resonate again because of the priest’s sacramental representation of Christ.

“For Christ took the bread and the chalice and gave thanks; he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat, and drink: this is my Body; this is the cup of my Blood. Do this in memory of me.” Accordingly, the Church has arranged the entire celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in parts corresponding to precisely these words and actions of Christ” (GIRM 72).

But we must ask ourselves: What did Jesus mean by those words of the Last Supper: “This is my body” (Luke 22:19)? The word body does not indicate in the Bible a part of man, which together with the other parts form the whole man. In biblical language, and therefore in the language of Jesus, “body” designates the whole man, man in his totality and unity. It designates man insofar as he lives his life in a body, in a corporeal and mortal condition. In the Gospel of John, instead of the word “body,” he uses the word “flesh” (John 6:54), and it is clear that this word found in chapter 6 has the same meaning as in chapter 1, where it says “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), that is, man. “Body” thus indicates the whole of life. Jesus, in instituting the Eucharist, has left us as a gift his whole life, from the first moment of his Incarnation to his last breath.

Then he adds, “This is my blood” (Matthew 26:28). What does he add with his “blood”, if with his body he has already given us his whole life? He adds His death!

After giving us his life, he gives us the most precious part of it, his death. The term “blood” in the Bible does not indicate a part of the body. Rather, this term indicates an event: death. If blood is the seat of life, its shedding is the symbol of death. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). The Eucharist is the mystery of the Lord’s body and blood, that is, it is the mystery of the Lord’s life and death. It is in this way that each one of us is called to give our body with Jesus at Mass: be it time, health, energy, capacities, affections; and our blood: humiliations, failures, illnesses, everything that mortifies us. In this way we offer our bodies as a living, holy host, pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1)

López, Félix “Explanation of the Mass: The Consecration”, Home of the Mother, Accessed 15 April 2024, https://www.homeofthemother.org/en/resources/eucharist/549-explanation-of-the-mass/2418-consecration

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Why is baptism important?

All human beings, as descendants of Adam, we all carry the stain of original sin at our birth, as Saint Paul tells us, “as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

It is therefore that, through baptism, we die to a life of sin and are resurrected in Christ to a new life, as children of God (CCC 1213) and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The baptism of our Lord in the Jordan by Saint John the Baptist was necessary, not because of His sins, because He did not have them, but because he made it possible for the material of baptism, water, to be made worthy of being able to cleanse our sins through said sacrament.

Just as Jesus Christ begins his ministry after his baptism (Matthew 3:13), with our baptism we begin the reception of the sacraments and our Christian life, we begin to form the body of Christ and we become more united to Him when we receive the sacrament of confirmation and communion.

The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation (John 3:5). He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them (Matthew 28:19-20). Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament (Mark 16:16). The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism (CCC 1257)

Let us always remember and evoke our baptismal promises, renounce sin and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

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My relative is about to die, what should I do?

The death of a loved one is always an event that moves us. We as Catholics should not see it as an end, but as a new beginning: it is the beginning of eternal life for our loved one. Therefore, we must prepare his soul for the encounter with our Lord. Thus, our relative must receive the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, and if circumstances allow, this can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist (CCC 1517).

After death, as human beings, we have a great need to say goodbye to our loved ones and entrust them to God. The rites of the Church reflect that need. A Catholic funeral is made up of three parts: the vigil, the funeral mass and the burial.

The vigil usually takes place the night before the funeral. Family and friends gather to accompany the body of the deceased. In addition to the solemn liturgical rites of the Church, the vigil is an opportunity to pray the holy rosary and honor the memory of the deceased. The vigil can be held at a funeral home, at the family home, or at the church.

The celebration of the funeral mass is in the Church, where the celebration of the Eucharist reveals the presence of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Just as he or she was received in Christ through baptism and nourished with the sacraments. It is now that the body of the deceased is brought into the Church for the last time, as the Church prays for the gift of eternal life.

As Catholics we believe that the body is sacred. For this reason, during the Rite of Burial, in a sacred place, the Church entrusts the body of the deceased to the earth, so that it can be kept until the day of the resurrection.

If for legitimate reasons the cremation of the body is chosen, the ashes of the deceased must be kept in a sacred place, that is, in the cemetery or, if applicable, in a church or in an area specially dedicated for this purpose by the competent ecclesiastical authority. (Ad resurgendum cum Christo 5)

After the burial, of the body or the ashes, it is meritorious to celebrate masses of honor for our deceased and thus collaborate with their purification and sanctification.

Let us give our deceased the respect they deserve as children of God, let us ensure that they receive viaticum before they die and let us ensure that their remains rest in peace in a sacred place.

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Why is it important to receive communion at mass?

To understand its importance, let us first read what our Holy Mother Church tells us: The Eucharist is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life (Lumen Gentium 11). The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist and are directed toward it. The Most Blessed Eucharist contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch and Living Bread (Prebysterorum Ordinis 5).

The saving efficacy of the sacrifice is fully realized when the Lord’s body and blood are received in communion. The Eucharistic Sacrifice is intrinsically directed to the inward union of the faithful with Christ through communion; we receive the very One who offered himself for us, we receive his body which he gave up for us on the Cross and his blood which he “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28). The Eucharist is a true banquet, in which Christ offers himself as our nourishment. When for the first time Jesus spoke of this food, his listeners were astonished and bewildered, which forced the Master to emphasize the objective truth of his words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life within you” (John 6:53). This is no metaphorical food: “My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (John 6:55). (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 16)

It is therefore very important not only to attend the Holy Mass but to participate in the banquet that our Lord has prepared for us, a banquet where the main dish He offers us is eternal life through His body.

Let us then get rid of the rags that are our sins (Matthew 22.1-14), let us get ready and share with Christ the great banquet that he offers us in Holy Communion.