Eucharistic Revival

 

Five Steps to Making a Worthy Holy Communion

1. Approach the Sacrament with faith in the  Lord’s Real Presence and with the right intention. Come not out of routine, or because everyone else is approaching the altar.  Come to be nourished in order to strengthened to live the Christian life.
2. We should examine our conscience to determine if there is any grave sin for which we must be truly sorry and must confess before coming forward to receive. The sacrament of Penance removes the one obstacle that would block our receiving the grace of the holy banquet.
3. Approach the Holy Eucharist after praying to receive the graces we intentionally seek. This preparation can be long or short according to our situation, but it should be as careful and as intense as we can make
4. We should observe the Eucharistic Fast of one hour prior to receiving the Eucharist.   This means not taking any food or drink—water and medicine excepted.
5. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving after receiving.  We should refrain from leaving Church before the Mass is ended and use the time after communion to thank the Lord for the gift of Himself and to speak to him about all that is going on in our life.

 

Motivations for Mass

In our society filled with busy schedules, many treat Sunday like just another day. Catechists lament that their students do not attend Mass regularly. Many who do attend have no issue with “skipping” a few weeks. Yet, Sunday Mass is a weekly obligation and is based on the Third Commandment, i.e. divine law: “Remember the Sabbath day. Keep it holy” (Ex 20:8). All of the Commandments are serious matter, so to deliberately miss Sunday Mass without a just reason is a mortal sin. Church Law also obliges us to assist at Mass on certain Holy Days.  However, there are reasons that excuse us from this obligation; e.g. illness, unsafe weather conditions, caring for the sick or infants. We are also to keep Sunday by refraining from work so that it can be a day of rest and prayer. Going to Mass merely to fulfill a Church law alone does not suffice. Tom Hoopes on the Aleteia website provides eight other motivations to go to Mass and sees them as a means of evangelization:

1. Tell others how Sunday Mass transforms your life. A commitment to never miss Sunday Mass is transformative, providing a new, transcendent perspective to life.
    
2. Tell them about modern martyrs for Sunday Mass. The Mass is so precious a gift that even today, people are willing to die for it.
    
3. Mass is great family time. With everyone going in different directions throughout the week, families who go to Sunday Mass will appreciate the time spent together for worship.
    
4. Mass offers Bible guidance. The Scripture readings of Mass are packages of life-changing wisdom.
    
5. Tell them to do it for others. Going to Mass every Sunday helps lots of people through our prayer and witness.
    
6. Jesus is there. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and comes to us as a source of strength.
    
7. It was Our Lord’s desire. “Do this in remembrance of me,” Our Lord said at the Last Supper. We fulfill this command at every Mass.
    
8. Mass is better than mountains and trees. Christ’s Real Presence beats the awe at nature any day. Mass every week trains us to appreciate His Presence.

 

---

Magister adest et Vocat Te
“The Master is Here and is Calling You”


 

Practices at Communion

The Amen

Our “Amen” at Communion—Since apostolic times, it has been the custom to conclude our prayers with the Hebrew word, “Amen.” It is also the response the Church prescribes when we receive the Holy Eucharist. “Amen” is essentially an affirmation of truth or agreement, meaning something like ‘so be it’, ‘it is so’, or ‘it is true.’ So, when we respond “Amen” after the minister shows us the Sacred Host, saying the “The Body of Christ” or presents the chalice saying, “The Blood of Christ,” we are affirming our belief that they are so—Our Lord really and truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It is an act of faith.

Lately, we are noticing that many people are not making an audible “Amen.” Others are substituting other responses, e.g. “Thank you,” “Peace be with you,” “Yes, Lord,” or “I believe.” But the proper response is “Amen.” Why this Hebrew word and not another? We reply “Amen” to be in union with the Church’s ancient tradition and faithful to its liturgical norms. Canon Law also asserts that since the Liturgy belongs to the Church Universal, we may not “add, omit, or alter anything” in the rites on one’s own authority.

There is also a rather appealing reason we retain the use of “Amen.” “So frequent was this Hebrew word in the mouth of Our Savior”, observes the Catechism of the Trent, “that it pleased the Holy Spirit to have it perpetuated in the Church of God.” In the Gospels, St. Matthew attributes it to Our Lord twenty-eight times, and St. John twenty-six times. When “Amen” is used by Our Lord to introduce a statement, He seems especially to make a demand upon the faith of His hearers. The reception of the Eucharist is a moment that demands our faith. Let us be sure to respond in the word uttered so often by Jesus Himself—AMEN

In addition to the response “Amen” we say before we receive the Eucharist, the Church asks us also to bow our head as the minister presents the Sacred Host or Precious Blood to us.

Communion in the hand or on the tongue

If Communion Is Received in the Hand—The hands should first of all be clean. If one is right handed, the left hand should rest upon the right. The Host will be laid in the palm of the left hand and then taken by the right hand to the mouth. If one is left-handed this is reversed. It is not appropriate to reach out with the fingers and take the Host from the person distributing. One should never walk away carrying the Host to their place. Once the Host is placed in one’s hand, the communicant should step aside and consume it immediately before moving to his/her place. Whenever receiving from the chalice, a bow is made and the communicant responds “Amen.” It is never permissible to dip the host into the chalice.

This practice (receiving Communion in the hand) is cumbersome, if not impossible, for those holding a child in their arms and in such a case one should consider receiving on the tongue.

Sign of the Cross & Genuflection?

Making the Sign of the Cross at any time at Communion is not prescribed or necessary. It is also unnecessary to genuflect to the tabernacle after receiving the Eucharist, since the communicant carries the Lord in their very person.
 

What Does It Mean to Receive Communion Worthily?

In Canon Law (# 916) we are reminded that a person “conscious of grave sin” should not receive the Eucharist without previous sacramental confession.” We should examine our conscience before coming to Mass to discern whether we are aware of having committed a mortal (serious) sin. If so, we should have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance—the normal means through which sins are forgiven and we are reconciled with God—so that we may worthily share in the Eucharist.

This Canon is rooted in the Church’s tradition and in Sacred Scripture. We read in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.” (11:27-30)

Receiving Communion knowingly in a state of mortal sin is a grave sin in and of itself. Specifically, it is a sin of disrespect (sacrilege) for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist which is a wound to the soul. Of course, the Eucharist is such an awesome gift that no one could ever be considered truly “worthy” in the strictest sense of the word. But at the same time, it’s important to keep in mind that only those who are in mortal sin should refrain from receiving Communion.

The Church encourages those who are able to receive Holy Communion to do so as often as possible, even daily (CCC 1389). For those who are properly disposed, Holy Communion can “wipe away venial sins” (CCC 1394), and provide the strength to resist the temptation to mortal sin (CCC 1395). This is what is meant when we say that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” (cf. Amoris Laetitia footnote 351)

Reflections on the Eucharist

The Eucharist is the ultimate superfood for the soul loaded with grace to keep you spiritually healthy, give you the wisdom and strength to choose the right path, and fight off diseases like selfishness, and other related vices and bad habits. And that is just a tiny fraction of the power the Eucharist holds. Isn’t it time you allowed God to unleash the power of grace in your life?                                                                                                                        Matthew Kelly


The celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass, must be the center of our life. As the old wish goes, “Lord, help me make the Mass, not just a part, but the heart of my day.” Dominic Tang, the Chinese Archbishop was imprisoned for twenty-one years for nothing more than his loyalty to Christ, and his one, true Church. After five years of solitary confinement, in a windowless damp cell, his jailers came to tell him he could leave it for a few hours, to do whatever he wanted. What would it be? A hot shower? A change of clothes? Certainly, a walk outside? A chance to call or write to family? “What will it be?” asked the jailer. “I would like to say Mass,” replied Archbishop Tang.

~ Card. Timothy Dolan: Priests for the Third Millennium, p.240


We should present the Eucharist in such a way as to make today’s Christians say what the African martyrs answered to the Roman judge: “We cannot live without the Sunday celebration of the Lord’s supper!” No faithful Christian can return home from Sunday Mass without feeling that he or she, too, has been ‘born anew’ to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.


The most serious risk we run is to grow accustomed to the Eucharist, to take it for granted and, therefore, to trivialize it…Perhaps Jesus repeats what he said of his executioners, “They know not what they do.” In the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus did not lament so much the sins of the atheists of the time as he did the indifference and coldness of souls consecrated to him.

Card. Raniero Cantalamessa: This is My Body, pp. 50-51


Eucharistic adoration cannot be either from the liturgical and communal celebration of the sacrament or from commitment to the poor and to justice. One draws strength from the other.  We witnessed this in Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who in her life, gave Eucharistic adoration no less importance than service to the poor and who said that she found in the first the strength to attend to the second.   
     
 Card. Raniero Cantalamessa: This is My Body p.30
                                                            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“All of us realize that there is more than one way in which Christ is present in His Church…but there is another way in which Christ is present in His Church, a way that surpasses all the others. It is His presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is, for this reason, “a more consoling source of devotion, a lovelier object of contemplation and holier in what it contains” than all the other sacraments; for it contains Christ Himself and it is 'a kind of consummation of the spiritual life, and in a sense the goal of all the sacraments.”

(St. Paul VI: Mysterium Fidei, no: 35-39)

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

The liturgy will often be “ghastly” and “boring’, but then we must ask ourselves a question. Do we go to Mass in our parish church in order to be entertained or in some way to be fulfilled? Or do we go because it is important to be there, and to contribute our best to the praising and worship of God, and for his sake, and not ours?

Basil Cardinal Hume

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

“Be a Eucharistic Soul! If the center around which your thoughts and hopes turn is the Tabernacle, then my child, how abundant the fruits of your sanctity and apostolate will be.”

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

The Holy Eucharist acts in the same way as natural food—by conserving, nourishing, restoring, and fortifying our spiritual life…it erases venial sins from the soul and strengthens our ability to do good. By stimulating our supernatural life it serves as the remedy for our daily needs.
                     
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------

The Fathers of the Church have interpreted the bread in the Lord’s Prayer in a material sense, but also as the Bread of Life, the Holy Eucharist. This holy food is indispensable for our spiritual life…Communion is the Sacrum Convivium, the wonderful banquet at which Christ gives himself to us, and gives himself up for us…Jesus clearly states that his Body and Blood are food for the soul, the pledge of eternal life, the guarantee of the resurrection of the body.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with Go,. Vol 5, pp 229-230


Let us suppose that the last day has come and that our doctrine of the Eucharist turns out to be false and absurd. If our Lord now asks us reproachfully: “Why did ye believe thus of my Sacrament? Why did ye adore the Host?” may we not safely answer him: “Yea, Lord, if we were wrong in this, it was you who deceived us. We heard your word, This is my Body, and was it a crime to believe you? We were confirmed in our mistake by a hundred signs and wonders which could have had you only for their author. Your Church with one voice cried out to us that we were right, and in believing as we did, we but followed in the footsteps of all your saints and holy ones.      
    
~ St. Robert Bellarmine

Surely such a stroke of love should be enough to awaken anyone from the slumber of indifference. Let such a one reflect upon this Mystery and say to himself: “It is God Almighty who will come down upon the altar at the words of consecration; I shall hold him in my hands, and converse with Him, and receive him into my breast.”                                                                 
The Eucharist is a fire which inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar being made terrible to the devil.                     

From Card. R Cantalamessa: The Eucharist Our Sanctification

St. Francis of Assisi tells us: “Every day Jesus humbles himself just as he did when he came from his heavenly throne into the Virgin’s womb; every day he comes to us.” Therefore, we cannot receive him if not in a state of deep humility and repentance. Again, St. Francis says, “If it is right to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary because she bore him in her holy womb; if John the Baptist trembled and was afraid even to touch Christ’s sacred head; if the tomb where he lay for only a short time is so venerated; how holy, and virtuous, and worthy should not the one who receives him into his heart and mouth…Surely this is a great pity, a pitiable weakness, to have him present with you like this and be distracted by anything else in the whole world. Our whole being should be seized with fear, the whole world should tremble and heaven rejoice, when Christ the Son of the living God is present on the altar in the hands of the priest.”

 p. 33-34

The Eucharist makes the Church through contemplation. It is by staying still, in silence, and possibly for long periods, before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, that we perceive what he wants from us, put aside our own plans to make way for his, and let God’s light gradually penetrate the heart and heal it.
p.61

In a well-known discourse, St. John Chrysostom stressed the close connection that exists between Jesus present on the altar and Jesus present in the poor: “Do you,” he asks, “wish to honor the Body of Christ? Then do not allow it to be scorned in its members, in the poor, who have nothing to clothe themselves with. Do not honor him in the church with silk and then neglect him outside when he is cold and naked…What does Christ gain from a sacrificial table full of golden vessels when he then dies of hunger in the persons of the poor? First of all feed the hungry and only then dress the altar with what is left. Would you offer him a golden chalice and refuse him a glass of water? What need is there to dress the altar in gold, if then you fail to offer him some necessary clothing? …Therefore, while you adorn the place of worship, do not lock your heart to your suffering brother. This is a more precious living temple than the other.”

 p.74
 

From Bishop Robert Barron, Eucharist, Word on Fire

In his treatment of the Eucharist in the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas said that the sacrament has three names, each one corresponding to one of the dimensions of time. As we look to the past, we call the sacrament sacrificium (sacrifice) for it embodies the self-immolation of Christ on the Cross…As we look to the present, we call it communio (communion), since it realizes the coming together of the body of Christ here and now. Finally, as we look to the future, we call it eucharistia (eucharist) since it anticipates the great thanksgiving that will take place in heaven when we are in the company of the holy ones, at the eschatological banquet. It is this final feature that the liturgy emphasizes when it invokes so consistently the angels and saints.

p. 44

Just as food sustains, repairs, and delights the body, so the Eucharist sustains, repairs, and delights the soul. Without the Body and Blood of Christ, in other words, the spiritual life in us would be compromised by sin, become atrophied and flattened out, and finally would fade away altogether…Since it is Christ himself, who is nothing but divine love, the Eucharist reignites in us that lost fervor; in short; it remits venial sin.

 p. 97

From Fr. Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol. 5

The holy Curé of Ars points out that our fortune is even greater than that of the people  who lived with Our Lord during his life on earth, because they sometimes had to walk for hours or for days to find him, whilst we have him so close to us in every tabernacle. Normally we have to make very little effort to find Jesus himself. “Go perseveringly to the Tabernacle, either bodily or in your heart so as to feel safe and calm: but also, in order to feel loved…and to love.” [St. J. Escriva, The Forge, p 116]

pp 292-293


The saintly parish priest of Ars commented that the soul, when it leaves this life, will at last see the one whom he possessed each day in the Holy Eucharist, the one to whom he spoke, and to whom he poured out his sorrows when he could not bear them any longer.  At the sight of Jesus in glory, the soul that has but little love, that has but scant faith, will be forced to exclaim, ‘Jesus, what a pity I have only come to know you so late, having had you all the time so close to me!’

p 286-287

The Eucharist never exhausts the ways in which Jesus can be present among us…He is with us in many ways…Christ is present in the needy…He is present among us whenever we gather in his name. In a special way he is present in the divine Word. All these are real ways of being present among us, but in the Holy Eucharist, God is present among us in a way par excellence, given that in this sacrament Christ is there in his very person, in a true, real, and substantial way. This presence, Paul VI teaches, is called ‘real’ not in an exclusive sense as though the other forms of presence were not ‘real’ but by reason of its excellence. It is the substantial presence, by which Christ is made present here among us, whole and entire, without doubt, both God and man.

 p 280

“When we go to visit the Blessed Sacrament we can say, in the literal meaning of the words, ‘I am in the presence of Jesus, I am in front of God.’ We can say this in just the same way as could have done those people, who filled with faith, encountered him on the roads and streets of Palestine. We too can say, ‘Lord, I look at the tabernacle and my sight, touch, and taste are all deceived…but my faith pierces through the veils that cover this little tabernacle and finds you there, truly present, waiting for me to make an act of faith, an act of love, or an act of thanksgiving…just as you patiently hoped those people would do, on whom in your public life you poured out your power and your mercy. Lord, I believe, I hope. I love.”

 p 279
                                     _____________________________________

We need, in the Church today, to recapture devotion to the real and abiding presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Outside Mass that presence continues and is celebrated through devotion and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. We need to rediscover it. The Holy Father wrote in 1980: “Jesus awaits us in this Sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation, full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offences and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.’

Basil Cardinal Hume, The Mystery of the Incarnation, pp. 118-119

From Journeying with the Lord, by Carlo Cardinal Martini

Allowing one to be shaped by the Eucharist means making oneself receptive and open. The opposite of this is the attitude of one who refuses to listen or receive. We ought not presume that we know all that the Eucharist has to offer…The Eucharist is a gift which God gives us continually and it is God who continually instills in us the attitude of silence and of listening to the Eucharistic mystery.

p 223

The one who approaches the table of the Lord without being hungry and thirsty for Christ’s pardon, eats and drinks unworthily. The person who thinks he or she is in order before God and with people and has no need to be reconciled with anyone, eats and drinks unworthily. The one who thinks he owes nobody anything and almost believes that it is God who owes him something for coming to church and for making an effort to approach the Eucharistic table, eats and drinks unworthily. Presuming to think that one is worthy of the Eucharist opens the door to a self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction which makes the Eucharist almost useless because it no longer is seen as a uniquely, infinitely great gift before which we must always fall down in grateful adoration.

p. 222

"The mystery of love which we celebrate in the Mass and which we adore in its presence in our churches, must produce its daily fruits and must heal today’s most widespread ills. It must bring each of us to take an interest in and to help our neighbor and to change structures and situations which are gravely offensive to human dignity."

p. 208
                                     _____________________________________
                                                       
“If you are troubled, sometimes by doubts, and your mind cannot rise above the testimony of your senses, that is, if your faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist has grown weak, then try this: Kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and say, ‘My Lord and my God. I do believe; help Thou, my unbelief.’ It works. And, then reflect that it is in this, as in so many other things concerned with God, understanding comes with practice. We get involved first, and then we begin to see the point.”

Cardinal Basil Hume: To Be a Pilgrim, p 146
                                     ______________________________________

“That the real body and blood of Christ is present in this sacrament is something that cannot be perceived either with the senses or with the intellect, but only with faith, which is supported by the authority of God. Because of this, when commenting on the passage in Luke 22:19: “This is my Body which is given up for you,” St. Cyril says: “Do not cast doubt on the truth of this, but rather accept with faith the words of the Savior: because, he, being the Truth, does not lie.”

St. Thomas Aquinas

 

From Heart of the Christian Life, Benedict XVI

In taking flesh, the Son of God could become Bread and thus be the nourishment of his people, of us, journeying on in this world toward the promised land of heaven. We need this bread to face the fatigue and weariness of our journey. Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is a favorable opportunity to draw strength from him, the Lord of life. The Sunday precept is not, therefore, an externally imposed duty, a burden on our shoulders. On the contrary, taking part in the Celebration, being nourished by the Eucharistic bread, and experiencing the communion of their brothers and sisters in Christ is a need for Christians, it is a joy; Christians can thus replenish the energy they need to continue on the journey we must make every week.

p. 13

The Christ whom we meet in the Sacrament is…the same Christ who is present in the Eucharistic bread of every place on earth. This means that we can encounter him only together with all others. We can only receive him in unity. Is not this what the Apostle Paul said…”Because the loaf of bread is one, we, many though we are, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (I Cor. 10:17). The consequence is clear: we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another. If we want to present ourselves to him, we must also take a step toward meeting one another.”

pp. 15-16

“We cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another. If we want to present ourselves to him, we must also take a step toward meeting one another. To do this we must learn the great lesson of forgiveness: we must not let the gnawings of resentment  work in our soul but must be open to  the magnanimity of listening to others, open our hearts to understanding them, eventually to accepting their apologies, to generously offering our own. The Eucharist is…the sacrament of unity.”

p.16

“Dear friends! Sometimes our initial impression is that having to include time for Mass on a Sunday is rather inconvenient. But if you make the effort, you will realize that this is what gives a proper focus to your free time. Do not be deterred from taking part in Sunday Mass, and help others to discover it too. This is because the Eucharist releases the joy that we need so much, and we must learn to grasp it ever more deeply, we must learn to love it. Let us pledge ourselves to do this—it is worth the effort! ”

p. 25

“Because there is one bread, we, though many, are one body,” says St. Paul (I Cor 10:17) By this he meant: since we receive the same Lord and he gathers us together and draws us into himself, we ourselves are one. This must be evident in our lives. It must be seen in our capacity to forgive. It must be seen in our sensitivity to the needs of others. It must be seen in our willingness to share. It must be seen in our commitment to our neighbors, both those close at hand and those physically far away…”

p. 27

“Eucharistic communion includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn.  A Eucharist that does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented.  Conversely…the ‘commandment’ of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement.  Love can only be ‘commanded’ because it has first been given.”

p 41

“Dear parents! I ask you to help your children to grow in faith. I ask you to accompany them on their journey toward First Communion, a journey which continues beyond that day, and to keep accompanying them as they make their way to Jesus and with Jesus. Please, go with your children to church and take part in the Eucharistic celebration! You will see that this is not time lost; rather it is the very thing that can keep your family truly united and centered. Sunday becomes more beautiful when you go to Sunday Mass together. And please, pray together at home too: at meals and before going to bed. Prayer does not only bring us nearer to God but also nearer to one another. It is a powerful source of peace and joy. Family life becomes more joyful and expansive whenever God is there and his closeness is experienced in prayer.”

p 67–68
 

What is the history and meaning of the Gloria of the Mass?

The “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest) is a most ancient and venerable hymn by which the Church glorifies God the Father and Jesus, the Lamb of God. It is not permitted to replace this hymn by any other. It may be intoned by the celebrant, cantor, or choir. It is a hymn sung or said on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent and on Solemnities and Feasts.

No one quite knows who composed the Gloria but we can trace the hymn back to the third century. Tradition holds that it was first composed as a prayer in the East and translated to Latin by Saint Hilary of Poitiers around the year 360.

Historically, the Gloria is known as the “Angelic Hymn” because it contains the words sung by the angels on the night of Christ’s birth. (Luke 2:13). At first the Gloria was sung as an Easter hymn at dawn after morning prayer. By the 6th century it became part of the Papal Christmas Mass. Gradually it was incorporated into Masses at which bishops presided. Priests were permitted to include the Gloria only at the Easter Vigil. However, by the 6th century, the Gloria was sung at all Sunday and feast day Masses.

The Gloria is an ancient prayer that is meant to point our hearts towards a spirit of awe. It reminds us that we are called to praise and glorify the maker of our hearts and souls.

Symbolic Imagery During Mass
 

Why do the priest and deacon kiss the altar at the beginning and end of the Mass?

The kiss is intended as a sign of reverence for the altar as the place of sacrifice and as a symbol of Christ Himself. During the Middle Ages, it was also directed to the relics of confessors and martyrs that were enclosed in the altar.

Why is incense used at various times during the Mass?

The use of incense in worship started more than 2,000 years before Christianity even began. Incense is noted in the Talmud and is mentioned 170 times in the Bible. (e.g., Exodus 30: 1) It was a definite influence in the Church’s use of it in the liturgy. The burning of incense is an image of the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven. Incense is a sacramental, used to sanctify, bless, and venerate. The smoke from the incense as it rises upward is symbolic of the mystery of God Himself. The smell conveys the sweetness of Our Lord’s presence and the imagery reinforces how the Mass is linked to Heaven and Earth, ending in the very presence of God. At Mass incense may be used:

• During the entrance procession
• At the beginning of Mass to incense the altar and the cross
• Before the Gospel reading
• To incense the offerings of bread and wine, the cross, the altar, the priest, and finally the people.

Why do we begin Mass with an Act of Penitence?

An act of Penitence before Mass is appropriate because we are sinful. The invitation of the celebrant for all to acknowledge their sins should be followed by a brief period of silent reflection. This is followed by using one of the three forms of an expression of repentance. The rite is meant as a preparation to celebrate the mysteries and to draw down God’s mercy. This rite is not to be confused with sacramental absolution but should be seen as petitions for pardon. This rite may be replaced on Sundays with the blessing and sprinkling of holy water. It is a renewal of the memory of our baptism. It can rightly replace the Act of Penitence since Baptism is the basic repentance or change of heart.

 

Johannes Emminghaus: The Eucharist pp. 116-122

Reflections from Celebrating the Holy Eucharist by Francis Cardinal Arinze

At the Last Supper, the night before he gave his life for us on the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, gave thanks, and said to his Apostles: “This is my Body given for you.” He did the same with the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you.” Jesus gave to his Apostles his Body to eat and his Blood to drink. Then he added: “Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.”…When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she celebrates the memorial of Christ’s Passover, or Easter, which becomes present. The sacrifice that Christ offered once for all on the cross becomes actually present.…Jesus our Savior was already symbolized as victim in Isaac and the paschal lamb and as food in the manna given to the chosen people during their forty years in the desert. It is this Jesus who gives himself to us in the Holy Eucharist every day of our earthly pilgrimage … At Holy Mass Christ gives the same Body that he handed over for us on the Cross and the same Blood…poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore…the Eucharistic Sacrifice, or the Mass, is one and the same sacrifice as the sacrifice on the Cross … When therefore, the Lord Jesus gathers us around the altar for Holy Mass, we are like those disciples who stood at the foot of the Cross on Mount Calvary, together with the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

 pp. 13-14


In the most Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present. He remains with us. His words are clear. They are not ambiguous: “This is my Body…This is my Blood.” The way in which Christ is present in this sacrament is unique. It raises the Holy Eucharist above all other sacraments and makes it “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all sacraments tend.” (St. Thomas Aquinas) As the Council of Trent teaches us, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist…the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” (CCC 1374)…Of course Jesus is present in liturgical celebrations, in the person of the priest who is his minister, in the ministers of the other sacraments, in the Word of God proclaimed in the liturgical assembly…But the presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist surpasses all these other types of presence. It is therefore rightly called the Real Presence, not because the other forms of presence are not real, too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present…It is with the whole tradition of the Church that we believe that under the appearance of bread and wine, Jesus is really present. Faith demands that we approach the Eucharist fully aware that we are approaching Christ himself.

 pp. 16-17


Jesus nourishes us in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We absolutely need him in order to have life.  His teaching is clear and unmistakable. “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his body, you have no life in you…for my flesh is real food and my blood real drink.” (Jn 6: 53,55) When we receive Jesus in this sacrament, we abide in him and he in us. This is of crucial importance if we want to produce lasting fruit in the apostolate, in our mission for Christ.

 p. 17


The Holy Eucharist is the bread for our earthly pilgrimage symbolized by the forty years spent by the chosen people in the desert. When people prepare themselves well and receive Jesus in Holy Communion, he produces in them wonderful fruits. Holy Communion separates us from sin, cleanses us from sin, and preserves us from future sins by strengthening us against temptation and increasing our taste for the things of God. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Holy Eucharist strengthens our charity. The Holy Eucharist prepares us for entry into eternal glory.

, p. 17


The wonderful effects of Holy Communion are not automatic. They demand from the communicant adequate preparation. The most important form of preparation is that the person be in the state of grace. It would be a sacrilege to receive Jesus while one is in the state of mortal sin. A person in mortal sin should first repent, go to confess to a priest who will give absolution in the name of Christ and the Church, and only then come to the Eucharistic table…Pope Benedict XVI…also underlined the role of the sacrament of Penance even for people who have no grave sins because this sacrament strengthens our continued effort to follow Christ with growing fidelity. Saint Paul urges us to examine our conscience before we receive Holy Communion: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” (1 Cor 11: 27-29)

 pp. 21-22

The Church in celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice is very aware of doing so in union with the heavenly host. One Eucharistic Prayer after another confesses: “In union with the whole Church we honor Mary, the ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God. Then the following are named: Saint Joseph, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the confessors, the virgins, and all the saints…The angels are given special mention in the preface…these references to the angels are only natural, as the cry of “Holy, Holy, Holy” that we make our own immediately afterward is attributed by Scripture to them. The Church suffering in purgatory is not forgotten. The Eucharistic Sacrifice is also offered for the faithful departed who “have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified.” [Council of Trent] It follows therefore that at the Mass ‘our union with the Church in heaven is put into effect in the noblest manner when with common rejoicing we celebrate together the praise of the divine Majesty.

 pp. 26-27

The fact that the Eucharist brings us to long for, to strain or tend toward the world to come, must not be interpreted to imply a diminishing of interest in the improvement of this present world on earth...The Holy Eucharist commits us to undertake initiatives to promote development, justice, and peace. Solidarity and cooperation should replace competition and domination. Oppression, repression, or exploitation of individuals or of the poorer minorities or countries should be eliminated. The Christian who is coming from the Eucharistic celebration should examine his conscience on what can or should be done for the poor, the sick, the handicapped, and the needy in general. Christ washed the feet of his Apostles to teach that the Holy Eucharist sends us to love our neighbor actively. Saint Paul tells the Corinthians that their participation in the Holy Eucharist is defective if they are indifferent toward the poor. (see 1 Cor 11:17-22, 27-34)

 pp. 28-29


At the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we are fed at the two tables of the Word of God and of the Body and Blood of Christ. In the first part of the Mass the sacred Scriptures are proclaimed, then we should find our hearts burning within us. We should be better enlightened on the mysteries of Christ, on what God is saying to us, and on what he is sending us to do. The second table is that of the Body and Blood of Christ. This sacrament promotes our union with Christ, increases the life of God, or grace, within us, and thus puts us in a good position to carry out our share in the mission of the Church.

 p. 92

The tabernacle in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved is traditionally given special attention by the Church. The tabernacle should be in a part of the church that is really noble, distinguished, conspicuous, well decorated, and suitable for prayer. It should be placed either in the sanctuary, apart from the altar of celebration in the most suitable form and place, or even in a chapel suitable for adoration and the personal prayer of the faithful and which is integrally connected with the church and is conspicuous to the faithful. A sanctuary lamp, fed by oil or wax, should burn near the tabernacle to indicate that Jesus is present…It is a beautiful practice for people who are near a church or chapel where the august Sacrament is reserved to pay visits to our Lord, short or long as the case may be. There is also the praiseworthy habit of making the sign of the cross or bowing when one drives past such a sacred place.

, pp. 103-107

                     ____________________________________________________

Reflections from The Faith Explained, by Leo Trese

In saying that the Holy Eucharist is the greatest of all the sacraments, we are stating the obvious. Baptism of course is the most necessary sacrament. Yet, despite all the wonderful things that Baptism and the other five sacraments accomplish in the soul, they still are but instruments of God for the giving of grace; while in the Holy Eucharist we have not merely an instrument for the giving of grace—we have the actual Giver of grace himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, truly and personally present. The sacrament of Christ’s body and blood has had many names in the course of Christian history. Such names as Bread of Angels, the Lord’s Supper, the Sacrament of the Altar, are familiar to us. But the name which has endured from the very beginning, the name that the Church officially gives to this sacrament is that of Holy Eucharist. This name is taken from the account of the institution of the Holy Eucharist as it is given in the Bible. All four of the sacred writers, Matthew…Mark…Luke and Paul...tell us that Jesus, as he took the bread and wine into his hands, ‘gave thanks.’ And so from the Greek word, ‘eucharistia,’ which means a ‘giving of thanks’ we have the name of our sacrament: the Holy Eucharist.

  pp. 347-348
 

The Catechism points out that the Holy Eucharist is both a sacrifice and a sacrament. As a sacrifice, the Holy Eucharist is the Mass, that divine action in which Jesus through the agency of the priest, changes the bread and wine into his own body and blood and continues through time the offering which he made to God on Calvary—the offering of himself for mankind. It is at the consecration of the Mass that the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist comes into being (or is confected as the theologians say); it is then that Jesus becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine. As long as the appearances of bread and wine remain, Jesus remains present, and the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist continues to exist there. The act by which we receive the Holy Eucharist is called Holy Communion. We might say that the Mass is the ‘making ‘of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Communion is the ‘receiving’ of the Holy Eucharist. In between the two, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist continues to exist (as in the tabernacle) whether we receive it or not.

Exactly what did happen when Jesus at the Last Supper (and the priest this morning at Mass) said, “This is my body” over the bread and “This is my blood“ over the wine? We believe that the substance of the bread completely and totally ceased to exist, and that the substance of Christ’s own body replaced the annihilated substance of the bread. We believe that the wine entirely ceased to exist as wine, and that the substance of Christ’s own blood replaced the wine. We also believe that Jesus, by his almighty power as God, preserved the appearances of bread and wine, in spite of the fact that their substances were gone. By appearances of bread and wine we mean all those outward forms and accidentals which can be perceived in any way by our bodily senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smelling. The Holy Eucharist still looks like bread and wine, feels like bread and wine, tastes like bread and wine, smells like bread and wine, and if broken or splashed would sound like bread and wine…This change that takes place, by the words of consecration, is such a special kind of change that the Church has to coin a special word to describe it. The word is “transubstantiation.” It means, literally, a crossing from one substance to another; but in this case, a unique and unparalleled kind of crossing.

, pp 353-360

Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist, whole and entire, under the appearance of bread and wine. He is simultaneously present in every single sacred host on every altar throughout the world, and under the appearance of wine in every single consecrated chalice whenever Mass is being offered. Moreover, Jesus is present, whole, and entire, in every part of every sacred host, and in every drop contained in the consecrated chalice. If a crumb were to drop from the sacred host, or a drop were spilled from the chalice, Jesus would be present in that crumb and in that drop.

 p. 363

Jesus is not present in the sacred host in miniature, a tiny and shrunken Jesus. He is there in the fullness of his glorified Person, but in a spiritualized way, without any extension in space. He has no height nor breadth, nor thickness. Jesus does not multiply himself so that there are many Jesuses; nor does he divide himself up among the many hosts. There is but one Jesus, whole and undivided. His multilocation is not the result of multiplication or division; it is the result of the suspension of the laws of space as far as his sacred body is concerned. It is as though his himself stayed in one place, and all parts of space were brought to him, were pinpointed in him. It is easy to see why the Holy Eucharist is called—and is—the sacrament of unity. When we receive Holy Communion, we are where Jesus is; we and our fellow communicants all over the world. Space has dissolved for us, and we are there together—one in Christ.

, p. 363

How long does Jesus remain present in the Holy Eucharist? Only as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain. If a sudden fire were to destroy the sacred hosts in the tabernacle, Jesus would not be burned. The appearance of bread would be changed to the appearance of ashes, and Jesus would be gone. When, after Holy Communion, our digestive processes have destroyed the appearance of bread within us, Jesus no longer is bodily present, only his grace remains.

 pp. 363-364

In the early Church, adoration of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist was practiced by Christians only at Mass. Devotion to Jesus outside of Mass…developed gradually. It took some time for Christians to realize what a treasure was theirs in the Holy Eucharist. It is only in the 12th century that the custom originated of reserving the holy Eucharist for the adoration of the people. After that, it spread rapidly. Nowadays, in every Catholic Church there is a tabernacle…a cupboard-like safe marked by a burning light called the tabernacle or sanctuary lamp. Following ancient tradition, the use of a veil is also a fitting way indicating the presence of Christ.

, p. 367]
             ________________________________________________________________

Reflections from Divine Intimacy, by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen

Jesus is present in the Eucharist, with all his divinity and all his humanity. Although his humanity is not present in corporeal extension, it is whole and entire in the consecrated Host, body and soul. Therefore, Our Lord knows and loves us as God and as man. He is not a passive object for our adoration but is living, he sees us, listens to us, answers our prayers with his graces. It is true that in the Eucharist not only his divinity but even his humanity is hidden; however, faith supplies for the senses, it substitutes for what we do not see or touch. The Son of God…makes himself present in the Eucharist to be our companion on our earthly pilgrimage to be the viaticum of our journey.

[Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, Divine Intimacy, Vol III, pp. 24-25]

                  __________________________________________________________

 

Reflections from The Sacraments, by Fr. Matthew Kauth

What is the Holy Eucharist? If it is only a symbol, Flannery O’Connor once quipped, “well then to hell with it.” Far from being profane, this is perfectly precise. If it is bread, I, and everyone else have been fools, believing a ridiculous lie. I should no more genuflect before the host than I should the bread of my cupboard. But if it is what Christ said it is, then the only proper response is adoration. There is no adequate response that lies between these two poles. The only thing one cannot do when confronted with the reality of the Holy Eucharist is to be indifferent.
 p.63]

The Holy Mass is called a sacrifice not because Christ is crucified again. Rather, it is called this because you and I participate in his one and eternal sacrifice ‘re-presented’ (made present again)to us in an unbloody manner. The sacrifice of the cross and the sacrifice of the Mass are numerically one, present in different modalities. There is no new sacrifice in the Holy Eucharist but a different mode of the same sacrifice. Holy Mass is not a mere recollection but rather a re-presentation of the Passion. We now participate by acts of loving devotion in that which we previously only participated in by sinfulness. In other words, our sins were present at the cross. So too by the power of the Mass are our acts of sacrificial love. The one, eternal offering is applied to diverse times and places in fulfillment of his command to “do this.”

 p 67]

The reception of this sacrament [the Eucharist] has the effect…of changing us into that which is eaten, instead of what is eaten being transformed into the consumer. The love of Christ transforms the one who feeds on his Body and Blood into an active lover of Christ…But what if the recipient does not love? How many times we have seen someone (often ourselves) come straight from Mass with the same wicked behavior that preceded it? Did that person (we) receive the actual Body and Blood of Christ? What if the priest was wicked before and after? Did he truly confect the Body and Blood of Christ? Neither the priest’s piety, nor the fidelity of the recipient changes the objectivity of the Body and Blood. For our participation and reception to be fruitful, we must possess active faith and charity to receive.

 p 73-74]

Our Lord often spoke of a King who returns from a long absence. What will he find when he returns, Christ often asked. In some sense, every Mass is a dress rehearsal. He comes to us truly…We are to act from love’s volition, not from obligation. Our longing takes the form of preparation, of engagement, and of resting in his advent. If we come to Mass without such love for him, we should beg for it. We can receive him sacramentally in Holy Communion without sanctification. Another analogy Christ used…was that of a wedding feast. Recall that on one occasion, a man was asked to come…after others had refused. Another was censured for coming without the proper wedding garment. To be there was to be clothed in the friendship of his son; it is to be clothed with divine charity. Not only can we manifest a lack of love by refusing to come as so many did in the parable, we can also come without the baptismal garment of divine love. Furthermore, if we receive him in Holy Communion without reconciling with him first, we commit sacrilege. Holy Communion…is dependent upon an interior disposition of self-offering. We must receive Holy Communion spiritually as well as sacramentally, otherwise the latter is of no avail. Sacraments are not magic.

pp.76-78]

                         _________________________________________________________

Reflections from Understanding the Mass, by Charles Belmonte

It is a mistake to think that the Mass is a memorial service like that of Memorial Day, or a sort of imitation of the Last Supper, or a collection of prayers. he Mass is not just a collection of prayers, no matter how beautiful or moving they may be. Our Lord becomes present in the Mass, doing something deeply supernatural: performing a sacrifice. Before his passion, Jesus and his disciples were on the road to Jerusalem…He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him…Jesus was going to offer his life to God as a ransom for our sins…

While Jesus was talking about giving oneself to God for others, by contrast the disciples argued among themselves about who was to wield power in the future kingdom.

An ardent desire filled Christ’s heart: a desire to go through his passion and death and to leave a perpetual memorial of his sacrifice. On the night of the Last Supper, Christ instituted the Mass. He offered his body and blood under the species of bread and wine to God the Father.

 pp.3-4

The words of Jesus at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me,” command the continuation of his sacrifice in every Mass celebrated anywhere in the world until the end of time…Therefore, in obedience to her Founder’s behest, the Church prolongs the priestly mission of Jesus Christ mainly by means of the sacred liturgy. She does this most of all, at the altar, where constantly the sacrifice of the cross is reenacted…The Lord is immolated in an unbloody way in the Mass, and he re-presents (makes present here and now) the sacrifice of the cross and applies its salvific power at the moment when he becomes sacramentally present through the words of consecration. He becomes the spiritual food of the faithful under the appearances of bread and wine.

 pp.7-9


Whatever our senses perceive in the consecrated host, even with the help of scientific instruments, is always of the same sort—a quality: the whiteness of the bread, its softness, its roundness, its smell, etc. These are attributes. We call them in the language of metaphysics, accidents. These are all our senses perceive. But from them, our mind discerns a deeper reality, something that underlies these qualities or accidents as their subject: the thing itself, which we call the substance. We know that through Christ’s words, that in the eucharistic species, none of the substance of the bread and wine remains, Their accidents or sensible qualities—as bread and wine—remain, though not, of course as accidents of Christ’s body and blood. They are held up solely by the will of God, who keeps them in existence, without inhering to any subject. True, before the Consecration what we have on the altar are bread and wine; but as soon as the words of the Consecration are pronounced, the whole substance of the bread and that of the wine disappear, and they become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This change is called transubstantiation. Just as the words which God spoke in the Upper Room are the same as those that the priest now pronounces, so, too, the host is the same. Christ is really present.

 pp.12-13

Our Lord’s presence in the sacrament is called “real” not to exclude the idea that the others are “real,” too, but rather to indicate presence par excellence, because this presence is substantial and through it, Christ becomes present whole and entire, God and man. Thus, this presence is not merely intentional (i.e., in the mind only) or virtual (i.e., by power). And so it would be wrong for anyone to limit it to symbolism, as if this most sacred sacrament were to consist in nothing more than an efficacious sign “of the spiritual presence of Christ and of his intimate union with the faithful, the members of his Mystical Body…The Lord did not say, “This is a symbol of my body, and this is a symbol of my blood” but rather, “This is my body and my blood.”

pp.13-14
 

The Holy Eucharist acts in the soul in the same way that ordinary food nourishes the body. Life in the body begins with generation, and then our body grows to full maturity while we keep receiving food for our sustenance. Similarly, there is a spiritual generation into the life of grace…We need spiritual food…our food is the Eucharist. The external form of food is most appropriate to signify the union with Christ which is effected in this sacrament. However, there is a discrepancy in the comparison of the Eucharist with food.  Whereas food is assimilated by the person fed, in the case of the Eucharist the person receiving it becomes assimilated into Christ. The Eucharist also directs our eyes toward our last destination. The fullness of the New Covenant will reach its culmination in the new and everlasting Jerusalem, in heaven, where all the chosen ones shall be gathered in the eternal banquet.

pp. 16-17
 

---

 

Under both species?

During the past few years in our diocese, we have followed the custom of receiving Holy Communion “under both species,” i.e., both the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood. That is, until it was suspended when COVID struck. Since then, we have received only the Sacred Host. Was something lost with the reception of the Host alone?

While Holy Communion under both species provides a “fuller sign” of the Eucharistic mystery, the Lord Jesus is “fully present” under each species. This is called the doctrine of “concomitance.” St. Thomas Aquinas teaches: “Nothing is lost by the body being received by the people without the blood: because the priest both offers and receives the blood in the name of all, and the whole Christ is present under either species” (Summa Theologiae, III, q. 80, a. 12, ad 3).

The Catechism (1390) states: “Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace."

The U.S. Bishops remind us that “it should never be construed…that Communion under the form of bread alone or Communion under the form of wine alone is somehow an incomplete act or that Christ is not fully present to the communicant. The Church’s unchanging teaching through the ages has witnessed to a constant unity of faith in the presence of Christ in both elements. Even in the earliest days of the Church’s life, when Communion under both species was the norm, there were always instances when the Eucharist was received under only the form of bread or wine. Thus, the Church has always taught the doctrine of concomitance, by which we know that under each species alone, the whole Christ is sacramentally present, and we receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace.

We hope that at an appropriate time we can return to receiving Communion under both forms, but it is good to remind ourselves that even without the reception of Holy Communion by the chalice, no one is missing out on any part of the Eucharist. Remember the doctrine of concomitance!