January 5, 2014 - Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. Ephesians 4:2
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 3 Sec I pg 368
I. The Eucharist –Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life
The Eucharist is "source and summit of the Christian life." "The other sacraments, indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."
"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offered to Christ and through him to the Father and the Holy Spirit."
Finally, in the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all.
In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: "our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking."
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 3 Sec II
II. What Is This Sacrament Called?
The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes aspects of it. It is called:
Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. The Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim -- -- especially during a meal -- -- God's works: creation, redemption, and sanctification.
The Lord’s supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem.
The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection, and it is this expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; by doing so they signified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into communion with him and form but one body in him.
The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis), because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the faithful, the visible expression of the Church.
The memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection.
The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Churches offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, "sacrifice of praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.
The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of sacraments. The Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle are designated by the same name.
Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body. We also call it: the holy things (ta hagia; sancta) -- -- the first meaning of the phrase "communion of saints" in the Apostles Creed -- -- the bread of Angels, bread from heaven, medicine of immortality, viaticum….
Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God's will in their daily lives.
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December 29, 2013
- In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Hope you had a Merry and Joyous Christmas and I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 2 Sec IV pg 364
Who Can Receive the Sacrament
Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Since Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist form a unity, it follows that "the faithful are obliged to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time," for without Confirmation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete.
For centuries, Latin custom has indicated "the age of discretion" as the reference point for receiving Confirmation. But in danger of death children should be confirmed even if they have not yet attained the age of discretion.
Although Confirmation is sometimes called the "sacrament of Christian maturity," we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need "ratification" to become effective. St. Thomas reminds us of this:
Age of body does not determine age of soul. Even in childhood man can attain spiritual maturity: as the book of Wisdom says: "For old age is not honored for length of time, or measured by number of years." Many children, through the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received, have bravely fought for Christ even to the shedding of their blood.
Preparation for Confirmation should aim at leading the Christian toward a more intimate union with Christ a more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit -- -- his actions, his gifts, and his biddings -- -- in order to be more capable of assuming the apostolic responsibilities of Christian life. To this end catechesis for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the parish community. The latter bears special responsibility for the preparation of confirmands.
To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace. One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act.
Candidates for Confirmation, as for Baptism, fittingly seek spiritual help of a sponsor. To emphasize the unity of the two sacraments, it is appropriate that this will be one of the baptismal godparents.
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 2 Sec V pg 366
V. The Minister of Confirmation
The original minister of Confirmation is the bishop.
In the East, ordinarily the priest who baptizes also immediately confers Confirmation in one and the same celebration. But he does so with sacred chrism consecrated by the patriarch or the bishop, thus expressing the apostolic unity of the Church whose bonds are strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation. In the Latin Church, the same discipline applies to the Baptism of adults or to the reception into full communion with the Church of a person baptized in another Christian community that does not have a valid Confirmation.
In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop. If the need arises the bishop may grant the faculty of administering Confirmation to priests, although it is fitting that he confer it himself, mindful that the celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ.
If a Christian is in danger of death, any priest can give Confirmation. Indeed the Church desires that none of her children, even the youngest, should depart this world without having been perfected by the Holy Spirit with the gift of Christ's fullness.
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December 22, 2013 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 2 Sec II III p360
II - The Signs and the Rite of Confirmation
In treating the rite of Confirmation, it is fitting to consider the sign of anointing and what it signifies and imprints: a spiritual seal.
Anointing, in Biblical and other ancient symbolism, is rich in meaning: oil is a sign of abundance and joy; it cleanses (anointing before and after a bath) and limbers (the anointing of athletes and wrestlers); oil is a sign of healing, since it is soothing to bruises and wounds; and it makes radiant with beauty, health, and strength.
Anointing with oil has all these meanings in the sacramental life. The pre-baptismal anointing with the oil of catechumens signifies cleansing and strengthening; the anointing of the sick expresses healing and comfort. The post-baptismal anointing with sacred chrism in Confirmation and ordination is the sign of consecration. By Confirmation Christians, that is, those who are anointed, share more completely in the mission of Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit with which he is filled, so that their lives may give off "the aroma of Christ."By this anointing the confirmed receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an object. Hence soldiers were marked with their leader’s seal and slaves with their master’s. A seal authenticates a juridical act or document and occasionally makes it secret.
Christ himself declared that he was marked with his Fathers seal. Christians are also marked with a seal: "It is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has commissioned us; he has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." This seal on the Holy Spirit marks our total belonging to Christ, our enrollment in his service forever, as well as the promise of divine protection in the great eschatological trial. The celebration of confirmation
The consecration of the sacred chrism is an important action that precedes the celebration of Confirmation, but is in a certain way a part of it. It is the bishop who, in the course of the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday, consecrates the sacred chrism for his whole diocese. In some Eastern Churches this consecration is even reserved to the patriarch:
The liturgy of Antioch expresses the epiclesis for the consecration of the sacred chrism (myron) in this way: "[Father... send your Holy Spirit] on us and on this oil which is before us and consecrate it, so that it may be for all who are anointed and marked with it holy myron, priestly myron, royal myron, anointing with gladness, clothing with light, a cloak of salvation, a spiritual gift, the sanctification of souls and bodies, imperishable happiness, the indelible seal, a buckler of faith, and a fearsome helmet against all the works of the adversary."
When Confirmation is celebrated separately from baptism, as is the case in the Roman Rite, the Liturgy of Confirmation begins with the renewal of baptismal promises and the profession of faith by the confirmands. This clearly shows that Confirmation follows Baptism. When adults are baptized, they immediately receive Confirmation and participate in the Eucharist.
In the Roman Rite the bishop extends his hands over the whole group of the confirmands. Since the time of the apostles this gesture has signified the gift of the Spirit. The bishop invokes the outpouring of the Spirit in these words:
All-powerful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
The essential right of the sacrament follows. In the Latin rite, "the sacrament of Confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism on the forehead, which is done by the laying on of hand, and through the words: ‘Accipe signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti’ [Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.]." In the Eastern Churches of Byzantine rite after a prayer of epiclesis, the more significant parts of the body are anointed with myron: forehead, eyes, nose, ears, lips, chest, back, hands, and feet. Each anointing is accompanied by the formula Signaculum doni Spiritus Sancti’: "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit" The sign of peace that concludes the right of the sacrament signifies and demonstrates ecclesial communion with the bishop and with all the faithful.
III - The Effects of Confirmation
It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase in deepening of baptismal grace:
-- -- It roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!";
-- -- It unites us more firmly to Christ;
-- -- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
-- -- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
-- -- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross:
Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.
Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.
This "character" perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, received in Baptism, and "the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially (quasi ex officio)."
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December 15, 2013 - It is you who bless the upright, Yahweh, you surround them with favour as with a shield. Psalms 5:12
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 2 Sec I p358
The Sacrament of Confirmation
I - Confirmation in the economy of salvation
In the Old Testament prophets announced the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit and the father gives him "without measure."
This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim again “the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.
"From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the Sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church."
Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy Spirit." This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches called this Sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this Sacrament both confirms baptism strengthens baptismal grace.
Two traditions: East and West
In the first centuries Confirmation generally comprised one single celebration with Baptism, forming with it a "double sacrament," according to the expression of St. Cyprian. Among other reasons, the multiplication of infant baptisms all through the year, the increase of rural parishes, and the growth of dioceses often prevented the bishop from being present at all baptismal celebrations. In the West the desire to reserve the completion of Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal separation of the two sacraments. The East has kept them united, so that Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes. But he can do so only with the "myron” consecrated by a bishop.
A custom of the Roman Catholic facilitated the development of the Western practice: a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism. The first anointing of the neophyte coming out of the baptismal bath was performed by the priest; it was completed by a second anointing on the forehead of the newly baptized by the bishop. The first anointing with sacred chrism, by the priest, has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it signifies the participation of the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ. If baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation.
The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the unity of Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more clearly expresses the communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's church.
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December 8, 2013 - Yahweh will do all things for me. Yahweh, your faithful love endures for ever, do not abandon what you have made. Psalms 138:8
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 1 Sec VI VII p352
VI - The Necessity of Baptism
The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands
his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. 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. 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, but he himself is not bound
by his sacraments
The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the
sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death
for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings
about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament.
For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it,
together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation
that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.
“Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the the
same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all
the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal
mystery."
Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the
truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can
be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism
explicitly if they had known its necessity.
As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them
to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them.
Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved,
and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children
come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of
salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the
Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift
of holy Baptism.
VII – The Grace of Baptism
The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the
sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification,
but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are
purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.
For the forgiveness of sins...
By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as
all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would
impede their entry into the kingdom of God, neither Adam’s sin, nor personal
sin, nor the consequences of sin, the greatest of which is separation from God.
Yet certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering,
illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character,
and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence,
or metaphorically, "the tinder for sin" (fomes peccati); since concupiscence "is
left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but
manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ." Indeed, "an athlete is not
crowned unless he competes according to the rules."
"A new creature"
Baptism not only purifies us from all sins, but also makes neophyte "a new creature, "an
adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of
Christ" and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.
The most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:
-- -- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the
theological virtues;
-- -- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit
through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;
-- -- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.
Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.
Incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ
Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: "Therefore... we are members one of
another." Baptism incorporates us into the Church.
From the baptismal fonts is born the one People of God of the New
Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures,
races, and sexes: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body."
The baptized have become "living stones" to be "built into a spiritual house, to be
a holy priesthood." By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his
prophetic and royal mission. They are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, God's own people, that [they] may declare the wonderful deeds of him who
called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light." Baptism gives a share
in the common priesthood of all believers.
Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs no longer to himself,
but to him who died and rose for us. From now on, he is called to be subject to
others, to serve them in the communion of the Church, and to "obey and submit"
to the Church's leaders, holding them in respect and affection. Just as Baptism
is the source of responsibilities and duties, the baptized person also enjoys
rights within the Church: to receive the sacraments, to be nourished with the
Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church.
"Reborn as sons of God, [the baptized] must profess before men the faith they have
received from God through the Church” and participate in the apostolic and
missionary activity of the People of God.
The sacramental bond of the unity of Christians
Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those
who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: "For men who believe
in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect,
communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are
incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians,
and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic
Church." "Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing
among all who through it are reborn."
An indelible spiritual mark...
Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism
seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his
belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism
from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.
Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the faithful have received the sacramental character
that consecrates them for Christian religious worship. The baptismal seal
enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation in the holy
liturgy of the Church and to exercise their baptismal priesthood by the witness
of holy lives and practical charity.
The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord ("Dominicus character") “for
the day of redemption." "Baptism
indeed is the seal of eternal life." The faithful Christian who has "kept the
seal" until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be
able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," with his baptismal
faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God -- -- the consummation of
faith -- -- and in the hope of resurrection.
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December 1, 2013 - Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or
conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take
offence or store up grievances. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 1:6
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 1 Sec IV, V p349
IV - Who can receive baptism?
"Every person not yet baptized and only such person is able to be baptized."
The Baptism of adults
Since the beginning of the Church, adult baptism is the common practice where the
proclamation of the Gospel is still new. The catechumenate (preparation for
Baptism) therefore occupies an important place. This initiation into Christian
faith and life should dispose the catechumen to receive the gift of God in
Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.
The catechumenate, or formation of catechumens, aims at bringing their conversion
and faith to maturity, in response to the divine initiative and in union with an
ecclesial community. The catechumenate is to be "a formation in the whole
Christian life... during which the disciples will be joined to Christ their
teacher. The catechumens should be properly initiated into the mystery of
salvation and the practice of the evangelical virtues, and they should be
introduced into the life of faith, liturgy, and charity of the People of God by
successive sacred rites."
Catechumens "are already joined to the Church, they are already of the household of Christ,
and are quite frequently already living a life of faith, hope, and charity."
"With love and solicitude mother Church already embraces them as her own.”
The Baptism of infants
Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need
of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought
into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are
called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly
manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the
priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism
shortly after birth.
Christian parents will recognize that this practice also accords with their role as
nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them.
The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church.
There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on,
and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching,
when whole "households" received baptism, infants may also have been
baptized.
Faith and Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is
only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The
faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning
that is called to develop. The catechumen or the godparent is asked: "what do
you ask of God's church?: The response is:
"Faith"
For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow after Baptism. For this
reason the Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of
baptismal promises. Reparation for Baptism leads only to the threshold of life.
Baptism is the source of that new life in Christ from which the entire Christian
life springs forth.
For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents help is important. So too is the
role of the Godfather and godmother, who must be firm believers, able and ready
to help the newly baptized -- -- child or adult -- --on the road of Christian
life. Their task is a truly ecclesial function (officium).
The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the
development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism.
V - Who can Baptize?
The ordinary ministers of Baptism are the bishop and priest and, in the Latin
Church, also the deacons. In case of necessity, anyone, even a non-baptized
person, with the required intention, can baptize, by using the Trinitarian
baptismal formula. The intention
required is to will to do what the Church does when she baptizes. The Church
finds the reason for this possibility in the universal saving will of God and
the necessity of Baptism for salvation.
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November 24, 2013 - Then since the gifts that we have differ according to the grace that was given to each of us: if it is a gift of prophecy, we should prophesy as much as our faith tells us; Romans 12:6
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 1 Sec III – How Is the Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated? p346
Christian Initiation
From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a
journey and initiation in several stages. This journey can be covered rapidly or
slowly, but certain essential elements will always have to be present:
proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion,
profession of faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and
admission to Eucharistic communion.
This initiation has varied greatly through the centuries according to circumstances.
In the first centuries of the Church, Christian initiation saw considerable
development. A long period of catechumenate included a series of preparatory
rites, which were liturgical landmarks along the path of catechumenal
preparation and culminated in the celebration of the sacraments of Christian
initiation.
Where infant Baptism has become the form in which the Sacrament is usually celebrated,
it has become a single act encapsulating the preparatory stages of Christian
initiation in a very abridged way. By its very nature infant Baptism requires a
post-baptismal catechumenate. Not only is there a need for instruction after
Baptism, but also for the necessary flowering of baptismal grace in personal
growth. The catechism has its proper place here.
The second Vatican Council restored for the Latin Church "the catechumenate for
adults, comprising several distinct steps." The rites for these stages are to be
found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The Council also
gives permission that: "In mission countries, in addition to what is furnished
by the Christian tradition, those elements of initiation rites may be admitted
which are already in use among some peoples insofar as they can be adapted to
the Christian ritual."
Today and all the rights, Latin and Eastern, the Christian initiation of adults begins
with their entry into the catechumenate and reaches its culmination in a single
celebration of the three sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and
the Eucharist. In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also
begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist,
while in the Roman rite it is followed by years of catechesis before being
completed later by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the summit of their Christian
initiation.
The mystagogy of the celebration
The meaning and grace of the sacrament of Baptism are clearly seen in the rites of
its celebration. By following the gestures and words of this celebration with
attentive participation, the faithful are initiated into the riches this
sacrament signifies and actually brings about in each newly baptized person.
The sign of the cross, on the threshold of celebration, marks with the imprint of
Christ the one who is going to belong to him signifies the grace of the
redemption Christ won for us by his cross.
The proclamation of the Word of God enlightens the candidates and the assembly with
the revealed truth and elicits the response of faith, which is inseparable from
Baptism. Indeed Baptism is "the sacrament of faith" in a particular way, since
it is the sacramental entry into the life of faith.
Since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the devil, one or
more exorcisms are pronounced over the candidate. The celebrant then anoints him
with the oil of catechumens, or lays his hands on him, and he explicitly
renounces Satan. Thus prepared, he is able to confess the faith of the Church,
to which he will be "entrusted” by Baptism.
The baptismal water is consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis (either at this moment
or at the Easter Vigil). The Church asks God that through his Son the power of
the Holy Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will baptized in
it may be "born of water and the Spirit."
The essential rite of the sacrament follows "Baptism properly speaking. It signifies
and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most holy
Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ. Baptism is
performed in the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal
water. However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by
pouring the water three times over the candidate’s head.
In the Latin Church this triple infusion is accompanied by the minister's words:
“N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit." In the Eastern liturgies the catechumen turns toward the East and the
priest says: "The servant of God, N., is baptized in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." At the invocation of each person with the
Most Holy Trinity, the priest immerses the candidate in the water and raises
him up again.
The anointing with sacred chrism, perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, signifies
the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian,
that is, one anointed" by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is
anointed priest, prophet, and king.
In the liturgy of the Eastern churches, the post-baptismal anointing is the
sacrament of Chrismation (confirmation). In the Roman liturgy the post-baptismal
anointing announces a second anointing with sacred chrism to be conferred later
by the Bishop -- --Confirmation, which will as it were "confirm" and complete
the baptismal anointing.
The white garment symbolizes that the person baptized has "put on Christ," has risen
with Christ. The candle, lit from the Easter candle, signifies that Christ has
enlightened the neophyte. In him the baptized are "the light of the world."
The newly baptized is now, in the only Son, a child of God entitled to say the
prayer of the children of God: "Our Father."
First Holy Communion. Having become a child of God clothed with the wedding garment,
the neophyte is admitted "to the marriage supper of the Lamb" and receives the
food of the new life, the body and blood of Christ. The Eastern Churches
maintain a lively awareness of the unity of Christian initiation by giving Holy
Communion to all the newly baptized and confirmed, even little children,
recalling the Lord's words: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them."
The Latin Church, which reserves admission to Holy Communion to those who have
attained the age of reason, expresses the orientation of Baptism to the
Eucharist by having the newly baptized child brought the altar for the praying
of the Our Father.
The solemn blessing concludes the celebration of Baptism. At the Baptism of newborns
the blessing of the mother occupies a special place.
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November 17, 2013 - And my God will fulfill all your needs out of the riches of his glory
in Christ Jesus. Phillippians 4:19
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 1 Sec II pg 343
II. Baptism in the Economy of Salvation
Prefigurations of Baptism in the Old Covenant
In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil, during the blessing of the baptismal water, the
Church solemnly commemorates the great events in salvation history that already
prefigured the mystery of Baptism:
Father, you give us grace through sacramental signs, which tell us of the wonders of
your unseen power. In Baptism we use your gift of water, which you have made a
rich symbol of the grace you give us in the sacrament.
Since the beginning of the world, water, so humble and wonderful a creature, has been
the source of life and fruitfulness. Sacred Scripture sees it as "overshadowed"
by the Spirit of God:
At the very dawn of creation your spirit breathed on the waters, making them the
wellspring of all holiness.
The Church has seen in Noah’s ark a prefiguring of salvation by Baptism, for by it
"a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water":
The waters of the great flood you made a sign of the waters of Baptism, that make an
end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.
If water springing up from the earth symbolizes life, the water of the sea is a
symbol of death and so can represent the mystery of the cross. By this symbolism
baptism signifies communion with Christ to death.
But above all, the crossing of the Red Sea, literally the liberation of Israel from
the slavery of Egypt, announces the liberation wrought by Baptism:
You freed the children of Abraham from the slavery of Pharaoh, bringing them
dry-shod through the waters of the Red Sea, to be an image of the people set
free in Baptism.
Finally, Baptism is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan River by which the People of
God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham's descendants, an image of
eternal life. The promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled in the New Covenant.
Christ's baptism
All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He
begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in
the Jordan. After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles:
"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, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you."
Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for
sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness." Jesus' gesture is a
manifestation of his self-emptying. The spirit who had hovered over the waters
of the first creation descended then on Christ as a prelude of the new creation,
and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved Son."
In his Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already
spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a "Baptism"
with which he had to be baptized. The blood and water that flowed from the
pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the
sacraments of new life. From then on, it is possible "to be born of water and
the Spirit" in order to enter the kingdom of God.
See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of
Christ, from his death. There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you
are redeemed, in him you are saved.
Baptism in the Church
From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy
Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching:
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who believed in
Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans. Always, Baptism is seen as connected with
faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household," St. Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi.
And the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized at once, with all
his family."
According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with
Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we
too might walk in newness of life.
The baptized have "put on Christ." Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that
purifies, justifies, and sanctifies.
Hence Baptism is a bath of water in which the "imperishable seed" of the Word of God
produces its life -- giving effect. St. Augustine says of Baptism: "The word is
brought to the material element, and it becomes a sacrament."
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November 10, 2013 - 'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:4
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 Chap 1 Article 1 Sec I pg 341
Section Two – The Seven Sacraments of the Church
Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism,
Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders,
and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important
moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to
the Christian's life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the
stages of natural life and the stages of spiritual life.
Following this analogy, the first chapter will expound the three sacraments of Christian
initiation; the second, the sacraments of healing; and the third, the sacraments
at the service of communion and mission of the faithful. This order, while not
the only one possible, does allow one to see that the sacraments form an organic
whole in which each particular sacrament has its own vital place. In this
organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the "Sacrament of
sacraments": "all the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end."
Chapter One – The Sacraments of Christian Initiation
The sacraments of Christian initiation -- -- Baptism, Confirmation, and the
Eucharist -- -- lay the foundations of every Christian life. "The sharing in the
divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness
to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. The faithful are
born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and receive
in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of
Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of
the divine life and advanced toward the perfection of charity."
Article 1. The Sacrament of Baptism
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the
Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other
sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we
become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in
her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the
word."
I. What is this Sacrament Called?
This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out:
to baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into
the water symbolizes the catechumen’s burial into Christ's death, from which he
rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature."
This sacrament is also called "the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy
Spirit," for it signifies that actually brings about the birth of water and the
Spirit without which no one "can enter the kingdom of God."
"This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this [catechetical]
instruction are enlightened in their understanding..." Having received in
Baptism the Word, "the true light that enlightens every man," the person
baptized has been "enlightened," he becomes a "son of light," indeed, he becomes
"light" himself:
Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift.... We call it gift, grace,
anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and
most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring
nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism
because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as
are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing
since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard
and the sign of God's Lordship.
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November 3, 2013 - “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be alarmed, for I am your God. I give you strength, truly I help you, truly I hold you firm with my saving
right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 2 Sec 2 pg 338
Article 2. Liturgical Diversity and the Unity of the Mystery
Liturgical traditions and the catholicity of the Church
From the first community of Jerusalem until the parousia, it is the same Paschal
mystery that the Churches of God, faithful to the apostolic faith, celebrate in
every place. The mystery celebrated in the liturgy is one, but the forms of
celebration or diverse.
The mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its
expression in any single liturgical tradition. The history of the blossoming and
development of these rites witnesses to a remarkable complementarity. When the
Churches lived their respective liturgical traditions in the communion of the
faith and the sacraments of the faith, they enriched one another and grew in
fidelity to Tradition and to the common mission of the whole church.
The diverse liturgical traditions have arisen by very reason of the Church's
mission. Churches of the same geographical and cultural area came to celebrate
the mystery of Christ through particular expressions characterize by the
culture: in the tradition of the "deposit of faith," in liturgical symbolism, in
the organization of fraternal communion, in the theological understanding of the
mysteries, and in various forms of holiness. Through the liturgical life of a
local church, Christ, the light and salvation of all peoples, is made manifest
to the particular people and culture to which that Church is sent and in which
she is rooted. The Church is catholic, capable of integrating into her unity,
while purifying them, all the authentic riches of cultures.
The liturgical traditions or rites presently in use in the Church are the Latin
(principally the Roman rite, but also the rites of certain local churches, such
as the Ambrosian rite, or those of certain religious orders) and the Byzantine,
Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite, and Chaldean rites. In "faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully
recognized rites to be of equal right and dignity, and that she wishes to
preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way."
Liturgy and culture
The celebration of the liturgy, therefore, should correspond to the genius and
culture of the different peoples. In order that the mystery of Christ be "made
known to all the nations... to bring about the obedience of faith," it must be
proclaimed, celebrated, and lived in all cultures in such a way that they
themselves are not abolished by it, but redeemed and fulfilled: it is with and
through their own human culture, assumed and transfigured by Christ, that the
multitudes of God's children has access to the Father, in order to glorify him
in the one Spirit.
"In the liturgy, above all that of the sacraments, there is an immutable part, a
part that is divinely instituted and of which the Church is the guardian, and
parts that can be changed, which the Church has the power and on occasion also
the duty to adapt to the cultures of recently evangelized
peoples."
"Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment, but it can also provoke tensions,
mutual misunderstandings, and even schisms. In this matter it is clear that
diversity must not damage unity. It must express only fidelity to the common
faith, to the sacramental signs that the Church has received from Christ, and to
hierarchical communion. Cultural adaptation also requires a conversion of heart
and even, where necessary, a breaking with ancestral customs incompatible with
the Catholic faith."
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October 27, 2013 - Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him. It is good
to wait in silence for Yahweh to save. Lamentations 3:25-26
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 1 Section IV pg 334
IV. Where is the Liturgy Celebrated?
The worship "in spirit and in truth" of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to
any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men.
What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place,
they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house." For
the body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of
living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are
the temple of the living God."
When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted, Christians construct
buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering
places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the
dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.
A church," a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved,
where the faithful assemble, and where is worshiped the presence of the Son of
God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the hope and
consolation of the faithful -- -- this house ought to be in good taste and a
worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial." In this "house of God" the truth
and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present
and active in this place.
The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, from which the sacraments of the
Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the
sacrifice of the cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is
also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited.
In certain Eastern liturgies the altar is also the symbol of the tomb
(Christ truly died and is truly risen).
The tabernacle is to be situated "in churches in a most worthy place with the
greatest honor." The dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic
tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed
Sacrament of the altar.
The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the seal of
the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in a secure
place in the sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick may also
be placed there.
The chair of the Bishop (cathedral) or that of the priest "should express his office
of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer."
The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to have a
suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the people
may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the Word."
The gathering of the People of God begins with Baptism; a church must have a place
for the celebration of Baptism (bapistry) and for fostering remembrance of the
baptismal promises (holy water font).
The renewal of the baptismal life requires penance. A church then, must lend itself
to the expression of repentance and the reception of forgiveness, which requires
an appropriate place to receive penitents.
A church must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent
prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist.
Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of God,
we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by
sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church
is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God is journeying
and were the father "will wipe every tear from their eyes." Also for this
reason, the church is the house of all God's children, open and
welcoming.
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October 20, 2013 - ‘And teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.' Matthew 28:20
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 1 Section III pg 329
III. When is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Liturgical seasons
"Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving work of her divine
Spouse in a sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the
year. Once each week, on the day which she has called the Lord’s Day, she keeps
the memory of the Lord's resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year,
together with his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In
the course of the year, moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ...
Thus recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she opens up to the faithful the
riches of her Lord’s powers and merits, so that these are in some way made
present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving
grace."
From the time of the Mosaic law, the People of God have observed fixed feasts,
beginning with Passover, to commemorate the astounding actions of the Savior
God, to give him thanks for them, to perpetuate their remembrance, and to teach
new generations to conform their conduct to them. In the age of the church,
between the Passover of Christ already accomplished once for all, and its
consummation in the kingdom of God, the liturgy celebrated on fixed days bears
the imprint of the newness of the mystery of Christ.
When the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ, there is a word that marks her
prayer: "Today!" -- -- A word echoing the prayer her Lord taught her and the
call of the Holy Spirit. This
"today" of the living God which man is called to enter is "the hour" of Jesus'
Passover, which reaches across and underlies all history:
Life extends over all beings and fills them with unlimited light; the Orient of
orients pervades the universe, and he who was "before the daystar" and before
the heavenly bodies, immortal and vast, the great Christ, shines over all beings
more brightly than the sun. Therefore a day of long, eternal light is ushered in
for us who believe in him, a day which is never blotted out: the mystical Passover.
The Lord's Day
"By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very
day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every
seventh ay, which day is appropriately called the Lord’s Day or Sunday.” The day of Christ’s Resurrection is both the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation, and
the "eighth day," on which Christ after his "rest" on the great sabbath
inaugurates the "day that the Lord has made," the "day that knows no evening."
The Lord's Supper is its center, for there the whole community of the faithful
encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his banquet:
The Lord's Day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is
called the Lord’s day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father. If
pagans call it the "day of the sun," we willingly agree, for today the light of
the world is raised, today is revealed the sun of justice with healing in his
rays.
Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the faithful gather "to
listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind
the Passion, Resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God who
"has begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’
onto a living hope":
When we ponder, O Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday of your
holy resurrection, we say: "Blessed is Sunday, for on it began creation... the
worlds salvation... the renewal of the human race... On Sunday heaven and earth
rejoiced and the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed is Sunday, for on
it were opened the gates of paradise so that Adam and all the exiles might enter
it without fear.
The liturgical year
Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the Resurrection
fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on either side
of the source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy. It really is a "year of
the Lord's favor." The economy of salvation is at work within the framework of
time, but since its fulfillment is the Passover of Jesus and the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, the culmination of history is anticipated "as a foretaste," and
the kingdom of God enters into our time.
Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast of feasts," the
"Solemnity of solemnities," just as the Eucharist is the "Sacrament of
sacraments" (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter "the Great
Sunday" and the Eastern churches call Holy Week "the Great Week." The mystery of
the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful
energy our old time, until all is subjected to him.
At the Council of Nicaea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian
Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14
Nisan) after the vernal equinox. Because of different methods of calculating the
14th day of the month of Nisan the date of Easter and the Western and Eastern
churches is not always the same. For this reason, the Churches are currently
seeking an agreement in order once again to celebrate the day of the Lord's
resurrection on a common date.
In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfolds. This
is also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the
incarnation (Annunciation, Christmas,Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning
of our salvation and communicate to us the first fruits of the Paschal mystery.
The sanctoral in the liturgical year
"In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy Church honors the
Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special love. She is inseparably linked with
the saving work of her Son. In her
the Church admires and exalts the most excellent fruit of redemption and
joyfully contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself desires
and hopes wholly to be."
When the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the annual
cycle, she proclaims the Paschal mystery in those "who have suffered and have
been glorified with Christ. She proposes them to the faithful as examples who
draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for
God's favors."
The Liturgy of the Hours
The mystery of Christ, his incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the
Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time
of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, "the divine
office." This celebration, faithful to the apostolic exhortations to "pray
constantly," is "so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made
holy by the praise of God." In this "public prayer of the Church," the faithful
(clergy, religious, and lay people) exercise the royal priesthood of the
baptized. Celebrated in "the form approved" by the Church, the Liturgy of the
Hours "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It
is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the
Father."
The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of
God. In it Christ himself "continues his priestly work through his Church." His
members participate according to their own place in the Church and the
circumstances of their lives: priests devoted to the pastoral ministry, because
they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the service of the word;
religious, by the charism of their consecrated lives; all the faithful as much
as possible: "Pastors of souls should see to it that the principal hours,
especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the
more solemn feasts. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office,
either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."
The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the voice
with the praying heart, but also a deeper "understanding of the liturgy and of
the Bible, especially of the Psalms."
The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the
psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day,
the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from
the Word of God at each hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and
readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more
deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the
psalms, and prepare for silent prayer. The lectio divina, where the Word of God
is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the
liturgical celebration.
The Liturgy of the Hours, which is like an extension of the Eucharistic celebration,
does not exclude but rather in a complementary way calls forth the various
devotions of the People of God, especially adoration and worship of the Blessed
Sacrament.
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October 13, 2013 - Since the whole of the Law is summarised in the one commandment: You must love your neighbour as yourself. If you go snapping at one another and tearing one another to pieces, take care:
you will be eaten up by one another. Galatians 5:14-15
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 1 Section II. How is the Liturgy Celebrated? Pg324
Signs and symbols
A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols. In keeping with the
divine pedagogy of salvation, their meaning is rooted in the work of creation
and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully
revealed in the person and work of Christ.
Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place.
As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual
realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs
and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions.
The same holds true for his relationship with God.
God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented
to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator. Light and
darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God
and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.
Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of
expressing the actions of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who
offer worship to God. The same is true of signs and symbols taken from the
social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup
can express the sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his
Creator.
The great religions of mankind witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and
symbolic meaning of religious rites. The liturgy of the Church presupposes,
integrates and sanctifies elements from creation and human culture, conferring
on them the dignity of signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ.
Signs of the covenant. The chosen people received from God distinctive signs and
symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely celebrations
of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of
God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old
Covenant are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and priests,
laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. The Church sees in
these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant.
Signs taken up by Christ. It his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs
of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He performs
healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures.
He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to
the Exodus and the Passover, for he himself is the meaning of all these signs.
Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that
the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the
Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and
symbols of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and
figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation
wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven.
Words and actions
A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in
Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through
actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but
the word of God and the response of faith have to accompany and give life to
them, so that the seed of the Kingdom can bear its fruit in good soil. The
liturgical actions signify what the Word of God expresses: both his free
initiative and his people's response of faith.
The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish
the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be
emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its
veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation
(lecturn or ambo), it's audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily
which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations,
meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith).
The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and
instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify. When the Holy
Spirit awakens faith, he not only gives an understanding of the word of God, but
through the sacraments also makes present the "wonders" of God which it
proclaims. The Spirit makes present and communicates the Fathers work, fulfilled
by the beloved Son.
Singing and music
"The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value,
greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence
is that, as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary or
integral part of solemn liturgy." The composition and singing of inspired
psalms, often accompanied by musical instruments, were already closely linked to
the liturgical celebrations of the Old Covenant. The Church continues and
develops this tradition: "Address... one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." "He
who sings prays twice."
Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant
when they are "more closely connected... what the liturgical action," according
to three principal criteria beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous
participation of the assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn
character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the purpose of the
liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the
fatithul:
How I wept deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through
your Church! What emotion I
experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears, distilling the truth in
my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my
face -- -- tears that did me good.
The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive
and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who
celebrate. Hence "religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently
fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical
services," in conformity with the Church's norms, "the voices of the faithful
may be heard." But "the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity
with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should not be drawn chiefly from the Sacred
Scripture and from liturgical sources."
Holy images
The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot
represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son
of God has ushered in a new "economy" of images:
Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by
an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived
with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God... and contemplate the
glory of God, his face unveiled.
Christian iconography expresses in images the same gospel message that Scripture
communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other: We declare that we
preserve intact all the written and unwritten traditions of the Church which
have been entrusted to us. One of these traditions consists in the production of
representational artwork, which accords with the history of the preaching of the
Gospel. For it confirms that the incarnation of the Word of God was real and not
imaginary, and to our benefit as well, for realities that illustrate each other
undoubtedly reflect each other's meaning.
All the signs and the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred
images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the "cloud of witnesses" who continue to participate in
the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental
celebrations. Through their icons, it is man "in the image of God," finally
transfigured "into his likeness," who is revealed to our faith. So too are the
angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Following the divinely inspired teachings of our holy Fathers is in the tradition of the
Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who
dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like
the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of
our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother
of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted
or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy
churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, and houses
and on streets.
"The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes
and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God." Similarly, the contemplation
of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of
liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that
the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the heart’s memory and is then expressed
in the new life of the faithful.
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October 6, 2013 - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9
Part 2 Chapter 2 Article 1 Section I – Celebrating the Church’s Liturgy pg 321
I. Who celebrates?
Liturgy is an "action" of the whole Christ (Christus totus). Those who even now
celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where
celebration is wholly communion and feast.
The celebrants of the heavenly liturgy
The book of Revelation of St. John, read in the Church's liturgy, first reveals to
us, "A throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne": "the Lord God."
It then shows the Lamb, "standing, as though it had been slain": Christ
crucified and risen, the one high priest of the true sanctuary, the same one
"who offers and is offered, who gives it is given." Finally it presents "the
river of the water of life... flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,"
one of the most beautiful symbols of the Holy Spirit.
"Recapitulated in Christ," these are the ones who take part in the service of the praise of
God and the fulfillment of his plan: the heavenly powers, all creation (the four
living beings), the servants of the Old and New Covenants (the 24 elders), the
new People of God (the 144,000), especially the orders "slain for the word of
God," and the all-holy Mother of God (the Woman), the Bride of the Lamb, and
finally "a great multitude which no one could number, from every nation, from
all tribes, and peoples and tongues."
It is in this eternal liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to
participate whenever we celebrate the mystery of salvation and the
sacraments.
The celebrants of the sacramental liturgy
It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that
celebrates. "Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations
of the Church which is ‘the sacrament of unity,’ namely, the holy people united
and organized under the authority of the bishops. Therefore, liturgical services
pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects
upon it. But they touch individual members of the Church in different ways,
depending on their orders, their role in the liturgical services, and their
actual participation in them." For this reason, "rites which are meant to be
celebrated in common, with the faithful present and actively participating,
should as far as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual
and quasi-privately."
The celebrating assembly is the community of the baptized who," by regeneration and
the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a
holy priesthood, that through all the works of Christian men they may offer
spiritual sacrifices." This "common priesthood" is that of Christ the sole
priest, in which all his members participate:
Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full,
conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded
by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, "a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people," have a right and
an obligation by reason of their Baptism.
But "the members do not all have the same function." Certain members are called by
God, in and through the Church, to a special service of the community. These
servents are chosen and consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders, by which
the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the person of Christ the head, for the
service of all the members of the Church. The ordained minister is, as it were,
an “icon”of Christ the priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament
of the Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist
that the bishop’s ministry is most evident, as well as, in communion with him,
the ministry of priests and deacons.
For the purpose of assisting the work of the common priesthood of the faithful,
other particular ministries also exist, not concentrated by the sacrament of
Holy Orders; their functions are determined by the bishops, in accord with
liturgical traditions and pastoral needs. "Servers, readers, commentators, and
members of the choir also exercise a genuine liturgical function."
In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is
leitourgos, each according to his function, but in the "unity of the Spirit" who
acts in all. "In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who
has an office to perform, should carry out all and only those parts which
pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the norms of the liturgy."
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September 29, 2013 - Go round Zion, walk right through her, count her bastions, admire her walls, examine her palaces, to tell future generations that such is God; our God
for ever and ever, he is our guide! Psalms 48:12-14
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section III - The Sacraments of Faith 317
Christ sent his apostles so that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached
in his name to all nations." "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."
The mission to baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the
mission to evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the word of God
and by the faith which is assent to this word:
The People of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living
God... The preaching of the Word is required for the sacramental ministry
itself, since the sacraments are sacraments of faith, drawing their origin and
nourishment from the Word.
"The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ
and, finally to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct.
They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish,
strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called ‘sacraments of
faith.’
The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to
it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received
from the apostles -- -- whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or:
legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi, , according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th
century]). The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she
prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy living Tradition.
For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of
the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not
change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with
religious respect for the mystery of liturgy.
Likewise, since the sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in the Church,
the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to
restore the unity of Christians.
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section IV - The Sacraments of Salvation 319
Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify. They are
efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he
who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament
signifies. The Father always hears the prayer of his Son’s Church which, in the
epiclesis of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As
fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms
into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power.
This is the meaning of the Church’s affirmation that the sacraments act ex opere
operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action’s being performed"), i.e.,
by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows
that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant
or the recipient, but by the power of God." From the moment that a sacrament is
celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ
and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of
the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the
disposition of the one who receives them.
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are
necessary for salvation. "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit,
given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms
those who receive them by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the
sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in
the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section V- The Sacraments of Eternal Life pg 320
The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will be
"everything to everyone." Since the apostolic age the liturgy has been drawn
toward its goal by the Spirit’s groaning in the Church: Marana tha!
The liturgy thus shares in Jesus' desire: "I have earnestly desired to
eat this Passover with you... until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." In
the sacraments of Christ the Church already receives the guarantee of her
inheritance and even now shares in everlasting life, while "awaiting our
blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ
Jesus." The "Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come... Come, Lord Jesus!’ "
St. Thomas sums up the various aspects of sacramental signs "Therefore a sacrament
is a sign that commemorates what precedes it-- -- Christ’s Passion; demonstrates
what is accomplished in us through Christ passion -- -- grace; and prefigures
what that Passion pledges to us -- --future glory."
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September 22, 2013 - So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section IThe Paschal Mystery in the Church's
Sacraments pg 315
The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice
and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism,
Confirmation (or Chrismatio), Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy
Orders, and Matrimony. This article will discuss what is common to the Church's
seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms
of their celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is
distinctive about each will be the topic of the Section 2.
I - The Sacraments of Christ
"Adheringto the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the
consensus... of the Fathers," we profess that "the sacraments of the new law
were... all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for
they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared
what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of
Christ life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the
sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our
Savior has passed over into his mysteries."
Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the body of Christ, which is ever living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the
masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant.
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section II - The Sacraments of the Church pg 316
As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine
of the faith, the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her "into all
truth," has gradually recognized this treasurer received from Christ and, as
the faithful steward of God's mysteries, has determined its "dispensation." Thus
the church has discerned over the centuries that among liturgical celebrations
there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term, sacraments instituted
by the Lord.
The sacraments are "of the Church" in the old sense that they are "by
herer" and "for her." They are "by the Church," for she is the sacrament of
Christ’s action at work in her through the mission of the Holy Spirit. They are
"for the Church" in the sense that "the sacraments make the Church," since they
manifest and communicate to men, above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of
communion with the God who is love, one in three
persons.
Forming "as it were, one mystical person" with Christ the head, the
Church acts in the sacraments as "an organically structured priestly community."
Through Baptism and Confirmation the priestly people is enabled to celebrate the
liturgy, while those of the faithful "who have received Holy Orders, are
appointed to nourish the church with the word grace of God in the name of
Christ."
The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of
the baptismal priesthood. The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is
Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church. The
saving mission entrusted by the Father to his incarnate Son was committed to the
apostles and through them to their successors: they received the Spirit of
Jesus to act in his name and in his person. The ordained minister is the
sacramental bond that ties the liturgical action to what the apostles said and
did and, through them, to the words and actions of Christ, the source and
foundation of the sacraments.
The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer,
in addition to grace, a sacramental character or "seal" by which the Christian
shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the church according to
different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church,
brought about by the Spirit, is indelible; it remains for ever in the Christian
as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine
protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the
Church. Therefore the sacraments can never be repeated.
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September 15, 2013 - They pass away but you remain; they all wear out like a garment, like outworn clothes you change them Psalms 102:26
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 1 Section III – The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy pg 309
In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the
People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of the New
Covenant. The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that
we may live the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit encounters in us the
response of faith which he has aroused us, he brings about genuine cooperation.
Through it, the liturgy becomes a common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.
In this sacramental dispensation of Christ’s mysteries the Holy
Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation: he
prepares the Church to counter her Lord; he recalls a big Christ manifested the
fate of the assembly. By his transforming power, he makes the mystery of Christ
present here and now. Finally the Spirit of communion unites the Church to the
life and mission of Christ.
The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ
In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what was
prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ’s Church was "prepared in the
marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old
Covenant," the Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of
the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopted him as her own:
-- -- notably, reading the Old
Testament;
-- -- praying the Psalms;
-- -- above all, recalling the saving events and significant
realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise
and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and
return).
It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal
catechesis of the Lord is built, and then, that the Apostles of the Fathers of
the Church. This catechesis unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old
Testament: the mystery of Christ. It is called "typological" because it reveals
the newness of Christ on the basis of the "figures" (types) which announce him
in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this re-reading in
the Spirit of Truth, starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled. Thus the
flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the
crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual
gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true
bread from heaven."
For this reason the Church, especially during Advent and Lent
and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of
salvation history in the "today" of her liturgy. But this also demands that
catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual understanding
of the economy of salvation as the Church's liturgy reveals it and enables us to
live it.
Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge of the
Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can
help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both
Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective
liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word,
prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of
God's mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates
in Jewish prayer. The liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and
formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the
Lord's Prayer, has parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers also draw
their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. The relationship between Jewish
liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are
particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year, such as
Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the
Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the
Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in
expectation of its definitive consummation.
In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action,
especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter
between Christ and the Church. The liturgical assembly derives its unity from
"communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body
of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social -- -- indeed, all
human affinities.
The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to
become "a people well disposed." The preparation of hearts is the joint work of
the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. The grace of the
Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the
Father's will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of
other graces conferred in the celebration itself and the fruits of new life
which the celebration is intended to produce
afterward.
The Holy Spirit recalls the mystery of Christ
The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his
work of salvation in the liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by analogy in
the other sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the mystery of salvation.
The Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory.
The Word of God. The Holy Spirit first recalls a meeting of the
salvation event to the liturgical assembly by giving life to the Word of God,
which is proclaimed so that it may be received and
lived:
In the celebration of the liturgy, Sacred Scripture is extremely
important. From it comes the lessons that are read and explained in the homily
and the psalms that are sung. It is from the Scriptures that the prayers,
collects, and hymns draw their inspiration and their force, and that actions and
signs derive their meaning.
The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of
God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their hearts.
By means of the words, actions, and symbols that form the structure of a
celebration, the Spirit puts both the faithful and the ministers into a living
relationship with Christ, the Word and Image of the Father, so that they can
live out the meaning of what they hear, contemplate, and do in the
celebration.
By the saving word of God, faith... is nourished in the hearts
of believers. By this faith then the congregation of the faithful begins and
grows." The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it elicits the response
of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the covenant between God and his
people. Once again it is the Holy Spirit who gives the grace of faith,
strengthens it and makes it grow in the community. The liturgical assembly is
first of all a communion and faith.
Anamnesis. The liturgical celebration always refers to God's
saving interventions in history. "The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds
and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other... The words for
their part proclaim the works and bring to light the mystery they contain." In
the liturgy of the Word the Holy Spirit "recalls" to the assembly all that
Christ has done for us. In keeping with the nature of liturgical actions and the
ritual traditions of the churches, the celebration "makes a remembrance" of the
marvelous works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed. The
Holy Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving
and praise (doxology).
The Holy Spirit makes present the mystery of Christ
Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but
actualizes them, makes them present.
The Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.
It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration there
is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery
present.
The Epiclesis ("invocation upon") is the intercession in which
the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the
offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful, by
receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to
God.
Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of
the sacramental celebration, most especially of the
Eucharist:
You ask how the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the
wine... the Blood of Christ. I shall tell you: the Holy Spirit comes upon them
and accomplishes what surpasses every word and thought... Let it be enough for
you to understand that it is by the Holy Spirit, just as it was of the Holy
Virgin and by the Holy Spirit of the Lord, through and it himself, took
flesh.
The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the liturgy hastens the
coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of salvation. While we
wait in hope he causes us really to anticipate the fullness of communion with
the Holy Trinity. Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis of the Church, the
Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now, the "guarantee" of
their inheritance..
The communion of the Holy Spirit
In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to
bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body. The Holy Spirit is
like the sap of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its branches. The most
intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the
liturgy. The Spirit, who is the Spirit of communion, abides indefectibly in the
Church. For this reason the Church is the great sacrament of divine communion
which gathers God’s scattered children together. Communion with the Holy Trinity
and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit and the
liturgy.
The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full effect of the
assembly's communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" have to remain
with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic celebration. The Church
therefore asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to make the lives of the
faithful a living sacrifice to God by their spiritual transformation into the
image of Christ, by concern for the Church's unity, and by taking part in her
mission through the witness and service of
charity.
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September 8, 2013- ‘Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, the wine
runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine in fresh skins and both are preserved.' Matthew 9:17
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 1 Section I – The Liturgy – Work of the Holy Trinity pg 305
I. The Father –Source and Goal of the Liturgy
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before
him. He destined us before him in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which
he freely bestowed on us in the beloved."
Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his
blessing is both word and gift. When applied to man, the word "blessing" means
adoration and surrender to his Creator in
thanksgiving.
From the beginning until the end of time the whole of God's work is a blessing. From
the liturgical poem of the first creation to the canticles of the heavenly
Jerusalem, the inspired authors proclaim the plan of salvation as one vast
divine blessing.
From the very beginning God blessed all living beings, especially man and woman. The
covenant with Noah and with all living things renewed this blessing of
fruitfulness despite man's sin which had brought a curse on the ground. But with
Abraham, the divine blessing entered into human history which was moving towards
death, to redirect it toward life, toward its source. By the faith of "the
father of all believers," who embraced the blessing, the history of salvation is
inaugurated.
The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth
of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised
land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying
exile, and return of a "small remnant." The Law, the prophets, and the Psalms,
interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings
and at the same time respond to them the blessings of praise and thanksgiving.
In the Church's liturgy the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated. The
Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings
of creation and salvation. In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for
us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our hearts
the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.
The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of faith and love to the
spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us is thus evident. On the one hand,
the Church, united with her Lord and "in the Holy Spirit blesses the Father “for
his inexpressible gift” in her adoration, praise, and thanksgiving.
On the other hand, until the consummation of God’s plan, the Church never
ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to
send the Holt Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful, and
upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of
Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will
bring forth the fruits of life "to the praise of his glorious grace."
Part 2 Chapter 1 Article 1 Section II – Christ’s Work in the Liturgy pg 307
Christ glorified...
"Seated at the right hand of Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his body which
is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to
communicate his grace. The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions)
accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make
present efficaciously the grace that they signify.
In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ
signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal
mystery by his teaching and anticipated by his actions. When his Hour comes, he
lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is
buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father "once
for all." His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but
it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away,
swallowed up in the past. The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot
remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that
Christ is -- -- all that he did and suffered for all men -- participates in the
divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them
all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward
life.
... From the time of the Church of the Apostles...
"Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with
the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every
creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection has
freed us from the power of Satan and from death and brought us into the Kingdom
of his Father. But he also willed that the work of salvation which they preached
should be set in train through the sacrifice and sacraments around which the
entire liturgical life revolves."
Thus the risen Christ, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them
his power of sanctifying: they became sacramental signs of Christ. By the power
of the same Holy Spirit they entrusted his power to their successors. This
"apostolic succession" structures the whole liturgical life of the Church and is
itself sacramental, handed on by the sacrament of Holy Orders.
... Is present in the earthly liturgy..
"To accomplish so great a work" -- -- the dispensation or communication of his work
of salvation -- -- "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her
liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass not only in
the person of his minister,‘the same now offering, through the ministry of
priests, who formally offered himself on the cross,’ but especially in the
Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when
anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his
word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the
Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has
promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the
midst of them.’ "
"Christ, indeed, always associates the Church with himself in this great work in which
God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is his beloved
Bride who calls to her Lord and through him offers worship to the eternal
father."
... Which participates in the liturgy of heaven
"In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is
celebrated in The Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims,
where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a
hymn of glory to the Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for
some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await a Savior, our Lord Jesus
Christ, until he, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with him in glory."
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Today at Mass I received a message from Our Lord Jesus. He wants us to be diciples of faith. So please try to talk to family, friends and neighbors and ask them to consider turning or returning to Christ. You do not have to be a Crusader, just mention opportunities if the situation allows. God bless you.
September 1, 2013 - Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as done for the Lord and not for human beings, Colossians 3:23
Part 2 Section I The celebration Of The Christian Mystery
Why the liturgy?
In the Symbol of the faith the Cuurch confesses the mystery of the Holy Trinity and
of the plan of God's "good pleasure" for all creation: the Father, accomplishes
the "mystery of his will" by giving his beloved Son and his Holy Spirit for the
salvation of the world and for the glory of his name. Such is the mystery of
Christ, revealed and fulfilled in history according to the wisely ordered plan
that St. Paul calls the "plan of the mystery" and the patristic tradition will
call the "economy of the Word incarnate" or the "economy of salvation."
"The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude
to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to
God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed
Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby ‘dying he
destroyed our death, rising he restored our life." For it was from the side of
Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth "the
wondrous sacrament of the whole Cuurch." For this reason, the Cuurch celebrates
in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the
work of our salvation.
It is this mystery of Christ that the Cuurch proclaims and celebrates her liturgy
so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to it in the world:
For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that
"the work of our redemption is accomplished," and it is through the liturgy
especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest
to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Cuurch."
Section 1 – The Sacramental Economy
The Cuurch was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the
"dispensation of the mystery" -- -- the age of the Church, during which Christ
manifests, makes present, and communicate his work of salvation through liturgy
of his Church, "until he comes." In this age of the Church Christ now lives in
acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts
through the sacraments in what the common Traditions of the East and the West
calls "the sacramental economy"; this is the communication (or "dispensation")
of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church’s
"sacramental” liturgy.
It is therefore important first to explain this "sacramental dispensation" (chapter
1). The nature and essential features of liturgical celebration will then
appear more clearly (chapter 2).
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Dear readers and schloars. Very sorry about last week. Not exactly sure what happened. I think the pubish failed and I did not notice. This week has two lessons.
August 25, 2013 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.2 Timothy 1:7
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 12 Section V – pg 293
The Last Judgment
The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust," will precede
the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will
hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
judgment." Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him...
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, they will place the
sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left... And they will go away
into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's
relationship with God will be laid bare. The Last Judgment will reveal even to
its furtherest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during
his earthly life:
All that the wicked do is recorded, and they do not know. When "our God comes, he
does not keep silence."... he will turn toward those at his left hand:... "I
placed my poor little ones on earth for you. I as ther head was seated in
heaven at the right hand of my Father -- -- but on earth my members were
suffering, by members on earth were in need. If you gave anything to my
members, what you gave would reach their Head. Would that you had known that my
little ones were in need when I place them on earth for you and appointed them
your stewards to bring your good works into my treasury. But you have placed
nothing in their hands; therefore you have found nothing in my presence."
The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the
day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his
Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know
the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of
salvation and understand the marvellous ways by which his Providence led
everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God's
justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that
God's love is stronger than death.
The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving
them "the acceptable time... on the day of salvation." It inspires a holy fear
of God and commits them to the justice of the Kingdom of God. It proclaims the
"blessed hope" of the Lord's return, when he will come "to be glorified in his
saints, and to be marvelled at it in all who have believed."
VI. The Hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth
At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the
universal judgment the righteous will reign forever with Christ, glorified in
body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed:
The Church... will receive her perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will
come the time of the renewal of all things. At that time, together with the human
race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which attains
its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ.
Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity and the
world, "new heavens and a new earth." It will be the definitive realization of
God's plan to bring under a single head "all things in [Christ], things in
heaven and things on earth."
In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former
things have passed away."
For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human
race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been
"in the nature of sacrament." Those were united with Christ will form the
community of the redeemed, "the holy city" of God, "the Bride, the wife of the
Lamb." She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that
destroy or wound the earthly community. The beatific vision, in which God opens
himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing
well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual
communion.
For the cosmos, Revelation affirms the profound common destiny of the material world
and man: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons
of God... in hope because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage
to decay…. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together
until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.
The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed, "so that the world
itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles, should be
at the service of the just," sharing their glorification in the risen Jesus Christ.
We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man, nor the way
in which the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by
sin, is passing away, and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and
a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness will fill and
surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of
men."
"Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth, the expectancy of a new
earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family
grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come. That is why, although
we must be careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of
the kingdom of God, such progress is of vital concern to the kingdom of God, in
so far as it could contribute to the better ordering of human
society."
When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise... according
to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again,
cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when
Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom." God will then
be "all in all" in eternal life:
True and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, through the Son and in the
Holy Spirit, pouring out his heavenly gifts of all things without exception.
Thanks to his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inalienable
promise of eternal life.
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August 18, 2013 - Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:17
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 12 Section III IV – The Final Purification, or Purgatory pg 291
All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are
indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo
purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
heaven.
The church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which
is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated
her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and
Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture,
speaks of a cleansing fire:
As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment,
there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to
come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in
this age, but certain others in the age to come.
This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned
in Sacred Scripture: "therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead,
that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has
honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above
all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the
beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and
works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father’s
sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some
consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our
prayers for them.
IV Hell
We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot
love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against
ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother
is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the
serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in
mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining
separated from him forever our own free choice. This state of definitive
self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."
Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna," of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to
the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and
body can be lost. Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and
they will gather... all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire," and
that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the
eternal fire!"
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.
Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin
descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire."
The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man
can possess to life and happiness for which he was created for which he longs.
The affirmations of sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject
of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his
freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call
to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is
easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the
gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it
are few."
Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord
and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is
completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be
numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be
ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where "men will
weep and gnash their teeth."
God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a
mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the
Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church
implores the mercy of God, who does not want " any to perish, but all to come to
repentance":
Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life,
save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen.
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August 11, 2013 - For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor
powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 12 Section I – The Particular Judgment pg 288
I -
Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or
rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of
judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his
second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded
immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of
the poor man Lazarus in the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as
well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul -- -- a
destiny which can be different for some and for others.
Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of
his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either
entrance into the blessedness of heaven -- -- through a purification or
immediately, -- -- or immediate and everlasting damnation.
At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 12 Section II – Heaven pg 289
Those who die in God's grace and friendship are perfectly purified live forever with
Christ. They are like God forever, for they "see him as he is, it"
face-to-face:
By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the
general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints... and other faithful
who died after receiving Christ’s holy Baptism (provided they were not in need
of purification when they died,... or, if they then did or will need some
purification, when they have been purified after death,...) already before they
take up their bodies again and before the general judgment -- -- -- and this
since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven -- -- --
have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial
paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the
Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see
the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face-to-face, without the
mediation of any creature.
This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity -- -- this communion of life and love
with the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed -- -- is
called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human
longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.
To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." The elect live "in Christ," but they
retain, or rather find, their true identity, their own name.
For life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is life, there is the kingdom.
By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has "opened" heaven to us. The life of
the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the
redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly
glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will.
Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into
Christ.
This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond all
understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it as images: life, light,
peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the heavenly
Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."
Because of this transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up
his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it.
The church calls this contemplation of God and his heavenly glory "the beatific
vision":
how great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored
with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and
God,... to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with the
righteous and God's friends.
In the glory of heaven the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God's will in
relation to other men and to all creation. Already they reign with Christ;
within "they shall reign forever and ever."
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August 4, 2013 - Everyword of God is true. He guards those who come to him for safety. Proverbs 30:5
Section II Dying in Christ Jesus
To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at
home with the Lord." In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated
from the body. It will be reunited with the body on the day of resurrection of
the dead.
Death
"It is in regard to death that man's condition is most shrouded in doubt." In a
sense bodily death is natural, but for faith it is in fact "the wages of sin."
For those who die in Christ’s grace it is a participation in the death of the
Lord, so that they can also share his
Resurrection.
Death is the end of earthly life. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of
which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems
like the normal end of life. That aspect of death lends urgency to our lives:
remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in
which to bring our lives to fulfillment:
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth,... before the dust returns to the
earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Death is a consequence of sin. The churches Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of
the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the
world on account of man's sin. Even though man's nature is mortal, God had
destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the
Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin. "Bodily death, from which
man would have been immune had he not sinned” is thus "the last enemy" of man
left to be conquered.
Death is transformed by Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death
that is part of the human condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death,
he accepted it in an act of complete and free submission to his Father's will.
The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a
blessing.
The meaning of Christian death
Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: "For to me to live in Christ,
and to die is gain." “The saying is sure: if we have died with him, we will also
live with him." What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through
Baptism, the Christian has already "died with Christ" sacramentally, in order to
live a new life; and if we die in Christ’s grace, physical death completes this
"dying with Christ" and so completes our incorporation into him and his
redeeming act:
It is better for me to die in (eis) Christ Jesus and to reign over the ends of the
earth. Him it is I seek -- -- -- who died for us. Him it is I desire -- -- --
who rose for us. I am on the point of giving birth... Let me receive pure light;
when I shall have arrived there, then shall I be a man.
In death, God calls man to himself. Therefore the Christian can experience a desire
for death like St. Paul's: "My desire is to depart and be with Christ." He can
transform his own death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father,
after the example of Christ:
My earthly desire has been crucified;...there is no living water in me, water that
murrmurs and says within me: Come to the Father.
I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die. I am not dying; I am
entering life.
The Christian vision of death receives privileged expression in the liturgy of the
Church.
Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.
When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an
everlasting dwelling place in heaven.
Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God
offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan,
and to decide his ultimate destiny. When "the single course of our earthly life"
is completed, we shall not return to other earthly lives; "it is appointed for
men to die once." There is no "reincarnation" after death.
The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of death. In the ancient
litany of the Saints, for instance, she has us pray: "From a sudden and
unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord"; to ask the Mother of God to intercede for
us "at the hour of our death" in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St.
Joseph, the patron of a happy death.
Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before
the day is out. Death should have
no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience...Then why not keep clear
of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death
today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow... Praised are you, my Lord, for
our sister bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe on those who
will die in mortal sin! Blessed are they who will be found in your most holy
will, for the second death will not harm them.
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July 28, 2013 - But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your
reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to
the unthankful and evil. Luke 6:35
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 11– I Believe In The Resurrection Of The Body pg 279
Section I Christ’s Resurrection and Ours
The progressive revelation of the Resurrection
God revealed the Resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the
bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to
faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. The Creator of heaven
and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and
his posterity. It was at this double perspective that faith in the resurrection
came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:
The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because
we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and
to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him.
The Pharisees and many of the Lord's contemporaries hoped for the resurrection. Jesus teaches it firmly. To the
Sadducees who deny it he answers," Is not this why you are wrong, that you know
neither the scriptures nor the power of God?" Faith in the resurrection rests on
the faith in God who "is not God of the dead, but of living."
But there is more. Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: "I am
the Resurrection and the life." It is Jesus himself who on the last day will
raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body in drunk his
blood. Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by
restoring some of the dead to life, announcing thereby his own Resurrection,
though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the
"sign of Jonah," the sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to
death but rise on the third day.
To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "have eaten
and drunk with him after he rose from the dead." Encounters with the risen
Christ characterized Christian hope of resurrection. We shall rise like Christ,
with him, and through him.
From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension
and opposition. “On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition
than on the resurrection of the body." It is very commonly accepted that the
life of the human person continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how
can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting
life?
How do the dead rise?
What is "rising"?
In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body
decays and soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified
body. God, in his Almighty power, will definitely grant incorruptible life for
bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus'
Ressurection.
Who will rise?
All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
judgment."
How?
Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I
myself"; but he did not return to earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will
rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change
our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body":
But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they
come?" You foolish man! What you
sew does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which
is to be, a bare kernel... What is sown is perishable, what is raised is
imperishable…The dead will be raised imperishable….For this perishable nature
must be put on the imperishable and his mortal nature must be put on immortality.
This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith.
Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's
transfiguration of our bodies:
Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God's blessing has been invoked upon
it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one
earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the
Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of resurrection.
When?
Definitely "at the last day," "at the end of the world." Indeed, the
resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ’s
Parousia:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the
archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first.
Risen with Christ
Christ will raise us up "on the last day"; but it is also true that, in a certain way,
we have already risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian
life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of
Christ:
And you were buried with him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead... If then you
have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life
of the risen Christ, but his life remains "hidden with Christ in God." The
Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we
already belong to the body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we "also will
appear with him in glory."
In expectation of that day, the believer's body and soul already participate in the
dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should
treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other person,
especially the suffering:
The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord
and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ?... You are not your own; ... So glorify God in your body.
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July 21, 2013 - This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you.
I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call
you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and
to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.
My command to you is to love one another. John 15:12-17
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 10 Section I II – “I Believe In The Forgiveness Of Sins” pg 276
One Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized
will be saved." Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins
because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our
justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life."
"When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that
cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that
there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor
offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in
order to expiate them... Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the
weaknesses of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of
concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil."
In this battle against our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and
watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church has the power to
forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven received from Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to forgive
all penitents their offenses, if they should sin until the last moment of their
lives."
It is through the Sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God
and with the Church:
Penance has rightly been called by the holy Fathers "a laborious kind of baptism." This
Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after
Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet
been reborn.
II THE POWER OF THE KEYS
After his Resurrection, Christ sent his apostles "so that repentance and forgiveness
of sins should be preached in his name to all nations."
The apostles and their successors carry out this "ministry of
reconciliation," not only by announcing to men God's forgiveness merited for us
by Christ, and calling them to conversion and faith; but also by communicating
to them the forgiveness of sins in Baptism, and reconciling them with God and
with the Church through the power of the keys, received from Christ.
The church has received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins may
be forgiven through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's action. In this Church,
the soul dead through sin comes back to life in order to live with Christ, whose
grace has saved us.
There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. "There is no
one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness,
provided his repentance is honest." Christ died for all men desires that in his
Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away
from sin.
Catechesis strives to awaken and nourish in the faithful faith in the incomparable
greatness of the risen Christ’s gift to his Church: the mission and the power to
forgive sins through the ministry of the apostles and their successors:
The Lord wills that his disciples possess a tremendous power: that his lowly
servants accomplish in his name all that he did when he was on earth.
Priests have received from God a power that he has given neither to angels nor to
archangels... God above confirms what priests do here below.
Were there no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope of life to
come or eternal liberation. Let us thank God who has given his Church such a
gift.
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July 14, 2013 - And he said: "I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little
children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 6 Section I – Mary’s Motherhood with regard to the Church –p 273
Wholly united with her son...
Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly
from it. "This union of the mother with a Son in the work of salvation is made
manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is
made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:
Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully
persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping
with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his
suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and
lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given,
by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with
these words: "Woman, behold your son."
After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers."
In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her
prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in
the Annunciation."
... Also in her Assumption
"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the
course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into
heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she
might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of
sin and death." The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation
in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other
Christians:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the
world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the
living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.
... She is our Mother in the order of grace
By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to her Son's redemptive work, and
to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of
faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and... wholly unique member of the
Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus) of the Church.
Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a
wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning
charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this
reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace."
"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the
consent which he loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained
without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the
elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her
manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation...
Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of
Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix."
"Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures and diminishes this unique
mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin’s
salutary influence on men... flows forth from the superabundance of the merits
of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its
power from it." "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word
and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways
both by his ministers of the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is
radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of
the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation
which is but a sharing in this one source."
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 6 Section II – Devotion to the Blessed Virgin p 275
"All generations will call me blessed": "The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin
is intrinsic to Christian worship." The Church rightly honors "the Blessed
Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has
been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful
fly in all their dangers and needs... This very special devotion….differs
essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally
to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." The
liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the
rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," expresses this devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 6 Section III – Mary—Eschatological Icon of the Church – p 275
After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, destiny, we can find no better way
to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church
already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be
in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy
and Undivided Trinity," “in the communion of all the saints," the Church is
awaited the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.
In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and
soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be
protected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the
day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim
people of God.
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July 7, 2013 - As a tree gives fruit, healing words give life; but dishonest words crush the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 5 Section I – Communion in Spiritual Goods pg 269
In the primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples "devoted themselves to the
apostles’teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers"
Communion in the faith. The faith of the faithful is the faith of the Church, received
from the apostles. Faith is a treasure of life which is enriched by being shared.
Communion of the sacraments. "The fruit of all the sacraments belongs to all the faithful.
All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the faithful with one another and
binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter
into the Church. The communion of saints must be understood as the communion of
the sacraments... but the name ‘Communion’ can be applied to all of them, for
they unite us to God...... But this name is better suited to the Eucharist that
brings this communion about."
Communion of charisms. Within the communion
of the Church, the Holy Spirit "distributes special graces among the faithful of
every rank" for the building up of the Church. Now, "to each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
"They had everything in common." "Everything the true Christian has is to be regarded
as a good possessed in common with everyone else. All Christians should be ready
and eager to come to the help of the needy... and of their neighbors in want." A
Christian is a steward of the Lord's goods.
Communion in charity. In the sanctorum communio, "None of us lives to himself, and none of
us dies to himself." "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member
is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and
individually members of it." "Charity does not insist on its own way." In this
solidarity with all men, living or dead, which is founded on the communion of
saints, the least of our acts done in charity rebounds to the profit of all.
Every sin harms this communion.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 5 Section II – The Communion of the Church of heaven and Earth pg 270
The three states of the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels
with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him. But at
the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died
and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating ‘in full
light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is’ ":
All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways share in the same
charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the one hymn of glory to
our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have his Spirit form one Church
and in Christ cleave together.
"So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in peace of
Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the constant
faith of the Church, this union is reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods."
The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who
dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly and holiness... They do not
cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they
acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus....
So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."
Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you
then more effectively than during my life.
I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.
Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the
memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the
exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church and the spirit may
be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings
us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from
whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People
of God itself":
We worship Christ as God's son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and
imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king
and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples!
Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical
Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest
days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the
dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead
that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them." Our
prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their
intercession for us effective.
In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to join in
praising the Most Holy Trinity -- -- all of us who are sons of God and form one
family in Christ -- -- we will be faithful to the deepest vocation to church."
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June 30, 2013 - Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all
times. Romans 12:12
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 4 Section III – The Consecrated Life pg 262
"The state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical
counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church,
belongs undeniably to her life and holiness."
Evangelical counsels, consecrated life
Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple.
The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for
those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of
practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and
obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of
life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.
The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate"
consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God. In the
consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to
follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all
and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to
signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.
One great tree, with many branches
"From the God-given seed of the counsels, a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has
grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into various forms of the
religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different religious families
have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the
progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire body of
Christ."
From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow
Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the
evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way.
Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or
founded religious families. These the church, by virtue of her authority,
gladly accepted and approved.
Bishops will always strive to discern the gifts of consecrated life granted to the
Church by the Holy Spirit; the approval of new forms of consecrated life is
reserved to the Apostolic See.
The eremitic life
Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their
life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter
separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and
penance."
They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is,
personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of a hermit
is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply
because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the
desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.
Consecrated virgins of widows
From apostolic times Christian virgins and widows, called by the Lord to cling only
to him with greater freedom of heart, body, and spirit, have decided with the
Church's approval to live in the respective states of viginity or perpetual
chastity "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."
"Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are
consecrated to God by the diocesan Bishop according to the approved liturgical
right, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to
the service of the Church." By the solemn rite (Consecratio Virginum), the
Virgin is "constituted... a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church's
love for Christ, and an eschatological image of this heavenly Bride of Christ
and of the life to come."
"As with other forms of consecrated life," the order of virgins establishes the
woman living in the world (or the nun) in prayer, penance, service of her
brethren, and apostolic activity, according to the state of life and spiritual
gifts given to her. Consecrated virgins can form themselves into association to
observe their commitment more faithfully.
Religious life
Religious life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived
within institutes canonically erected by the Church, it is distinguished from
other forms of consecrated life by its liturgical character, public profession
of the evangelical counsels, fraternal life led in common, and witness given to
the union of Christ with the Church.
Religious life derives from the ministry of the Church. It is a gift she has received from
her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of life to the faithful called by
God to profess the counsels. Thus,
the Church can both show forth Christ and acknowledge herself to be the Savior's
bride. Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very
charity of God in the language of our time.
All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of
the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty. From the outset of the work of
evangelization, the missionary "planting" and expansion of the church require
the presence of the religious life in all its forms. "History witnesses to the
outstanding service rendered by religious families in the propagation of the
faith and in the formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic
institutions to the medieval orders, all the way to the more recent
congregations."
Secular institutes
"A secular institute is an Institute of consecrated life in which the Christian
faithful living in the world strive for the perfection of charity and work for
the sacification of the world especially from within."
By a "life perfectly and entirely consecrated to [such] sanctification," the
members of these institutes share in the Church's task of evangelization, "in
the world and from whithn the world," where their presence acts as "leaven in
the world." "Their witness of a Christian life" aims "to order temporal things
according to God and inform the world with the power of the gospel." They commit
themselves to the evangelical counsels by sacred bonds and observe among
themselves the communion and fellowship appropriate to their "particular secular
way of life."
Societies of apostolic life
Alongside the different forms of consecrated life are "societies of apostolic life whose
members without religious vows pursue the particular apostolic purpose of their
society, and lead a life as brothers or sisters in common according to a
particular manner of life, strive for the perfection of charity through the
observance of the constitutions.
Among these there are societies in which the members embrace the
evangelical counsels" according to their constitutions.
Consecration and mission: proclaiming the King who is coming
Already dedicated to him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God
he loves above all else thereby consecrate himself more intimately to God
service and to the good of the Church. By this state of life consecrated to God,
the Church manifests Christ and shows us how the Holy Spirit acts so wonderfully
in her. And so the first mission of those who profess the evangelical counsels
is to live out their consecration.
Moreover, "since members of institutes of consecrated life dedicate
themselves through their consecration to the service of the Church they are
obliged in a special manner to engage in missionary work, in accord with the
character of the Institute."
In the Church, which is like the sacrament -- -- the sign and instrument -- -- of
God’s own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of
redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more
clearly his self-emptying is to be more deeply present to one's contemporaries,
in the heart of Christ. For those who are on this "narrower" path encourage
their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness "that the world
cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the Beatitudes."
Whether their witness is public, as in the religious state, are less public, or in
secret, Christ’s coming remains for all those consecrated both the origin and
rising sun of their life:
For the people of God has here no lasting city,... [and this state] reveals more
clearly to all believers the heavenly goods which are already present in this
age, witnessing to the new and eternal life which we have acquired through the
redemptive work of Christ and preluding our future resurrection and the glory of
the heavenly kingdom.
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June 23, 2013 - Being respected is more important than having great riches. To be well thought of is
better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 4 Section I – The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church (cont)
"The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own
particular Churches." As such, they "exercise their pastoral office over the
portion of the People of God assigned to them," assisted by priests and deacons.
But, as a member of the episcopal college, each bishop shares of the concern for
all the Churches. The bishops exercise this care first "by ruling well their own
Churches as portions of the universal Church," and so contributing "to the
welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a
corporate body of Churches." They extend it especially to the poor, to those
persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout
the world.
Neighboring particular Churches who share the same culture form ecclesiastical provinces or
larger groupings called patriarchates or regions. The bishops of these groupings
can meet in synods or provincial councils. "In a like fashion, the episcopal
conferences at the present time are in a position to contribute in many and
fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegiate spirit."
The teaching office
Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel of
God to all men," in keeping with the Lord's command. They are "heralds of faith,
who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers" of the apostolic
faith "endowed with the authority of Christ."
In order to preserve the church in the purity of the faith handed on by the
apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own
infallibility. By a "supernatural sense of faith" the People of God, under the
guidance of the Church's living Magisterium, "unfailingly adheres to this faith."
The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant
established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium’s task to
preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the
objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the
pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God
abides in the truth that liberates.
To fulfill this service, God endowed the Church’s shepherds with the
charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this
charism takes several forms:
"The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in
virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful --
-- -- who confirms his brethren in the faith -- -- -- he proclaims by a
definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.
... The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops
when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium,"
above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme
Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," and as
the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the observance
of faith." This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.
Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in
communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, the bishop of
Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible
definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the
exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better
understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary
teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent" which, though
distinct from the assent of faith, is nontheless an extension of it.
The sanctifying office
The bishop is “the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,” especially in
the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose offering he assures through
the priests, his co-workers. The Eucharist is the center of the life of the
particular Church. The bishop and priests sanctify the Church by their prayer at
work, by their ministry of the word and of the sacraments. They sanctify her by
their example, "not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples
to the flock." Thus, "together with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain
eternal life."
The governing office
"The bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular Churches
assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations, an example, but over and above
that also by the authority and sacred power" which indeed they ought to exercise
so as to edify, in their spirit of service which is that of their Master.
"The power which they exercise personally in the name of Christ, is proper, ordinary,
and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately controlled by the supreme
authority of the Church." But the bishops should not be thought of as vicars of
the Pope. His ordinary and immediate authority over the whole Church does not
annul, but on the contrary confirms and defends that of the bishops.
Their authority must be exercised in communion with the Church under the
guidance of the Pope.
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June 16, 2013 - Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:29
HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL OUR FATHERS
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 4 Section I – The Hierarchical Constitution of
the Church (cont)
"The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own
particular Churches." As such, they "exercise their pastoral office over the
portion of the People of God assigned to them," assisted by priests and deacons.
But, as a member of the episcopal college, each bishop shares of the concern for
all the Churches. The bishops exercise this care first "by ruling well their own
Churches as portions of the universal Church," and so contributing "to the
welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which, from another point of view, is a
corporate body of Churches." They extend it especially to the poor, to those
persecuted for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout
the world.
Neighboring particular Churches who share the same culture form ecclesiastical provinces or
larger groupings called patriarchates or regions. The bishops of these groupings
can meet in synods or provincial councils. "In a like fashion, the episcopal
conferences at the present time are in a position to contribute in many and
fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegiate spirit."
The teaching office
Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel of
God to all men," in keeping with the Lord's command. They are "heralds of faith,
who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers" of the apostolic
faith "endowed with the authority of Christ."
In order to preserve the church in the purity of the faith handed on by the
apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own
infallibility. By a "supernatural sense of faith" the People of God, under the
guidance of the Church's living Magisterium, "unfailingly adheres to this faith."
The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant
established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium’s task to
preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the
objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the
pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God
abides in the truth that liberates.
To fulfill this service, God endowed the Church’s shepherds with the
charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this
charism takes several forms:
"The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in
virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful --
-- -- who confirms his brethren in the faith -- -- -- he proclaims by a
definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.
... The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops
when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium,"
above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme
Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," and as
the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the observance
of faith." This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.
Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in
communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, the bishop of
Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible
definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the
exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better
understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary
teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent" which, though
distinct from the assent of faith, is nontheless an extension of it.
The sanctifying office
The bishop is “the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,” especially in
the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose offering he assures through
the priests, his co-workers. The Eucharist is the center of the life of the
particular Church. The bishop and priests sanctify the Church by their prayer at
work, by their ministry of the word and of the sacraments. They sanctify her by
their example, "not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples
to the flock." Thus, "together with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain
eternal life."
The governing office
"The bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular Churches
assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations, an example, but over and above
that also by the authority and sacred power" which indeed they ought to exercise
so as to edify, in their spirit of service which is that of their Master.
"The power which they exercise personally in the name of Christ, is proper, ordinary,
and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately controlled by the supreme
authority of the Church." But the bishops should not be thought of as vicars of
the Pope. His ordinary and immediate authority over the whole Church does not
annul, but on the contrary confirms and defends that of the bishops.
Their authority must be exercised in communion with the Church under the
guidance of the Pope.
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June 9, 2013 – But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with
each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. 1 John 1:7
After reviewing todays section, check out the photo gallery.
A friend of mine sent me the slides and I so enjoyed them I thought I’d
share them with you. To start the show click on Play, you can click pause if you want to stop on a slide. To end the show just close the tab or exit the site as you normally do.
God bless!
Section
2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 4 Section I – The Hierarchical Constitution of
the Church pg 252
Why the ecclesial ministry?
Christ is himself the source of ministry in the Church. He instituted the Church. He
gave her authority and mission, orientation and goal;
In order to shepherd the People of God and to increase its numbers without cease,
Christ the Lord set up in his Church a variety of offices which aim at the good
of the whole body.
The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated
to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all belong to the People
of God... may attain to salvation. "How are they to believe in him of whom they
have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men
preach unless they are sent?" No one-- -- no individual and no community -- --
can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from what is heard." No one can
give himself the mandate and mission to proclaim the Gospel. The one sent by the
Lord does not speak and act on his own authority, but by virtue of Christ's
authority; not as a member of the community, but speaking to it in the name of
Christ. No one can bestow grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This
fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From
him, bishops and priests receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to
act in persona Christi Capitis; deacons receive the strength to serve the people
of God in the diaconia of liturgy, word, and charity, in communion with the
Bishop and his presbyterate. The ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they
cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the churches
tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.
Intrinsically linked to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is its character as
service. Entirely dependent on Christ who gives mission authority, ministers are
truly "slaves of Christ," in the image of him who freely took "the form of a
slave" for us. Because the word and grace of which there are ministers are not
their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others they must
freely become the slaves of all.
Likewise, it belongs to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a
collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus
instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the
sacred hierarchy.” Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their
fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal communion of all the
faithful; they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine persons.
For this reason every Bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal
college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and
head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the
presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop.
Finally, it belongs to the sacramental nature of the ecclesial ministry that it have a
personal character. Although Christ's ministers act in communion with one
another, they also always act in a personal way. Each one is called personally:
"You, follow me" in order to be a personal witness within the common mission, to
bear personal responsibility before him who gives the mission, acting "in his
person" and for other persons: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit...";
"I absolve you... "
Sacramental ministry in the Church, then, is a service exercised in the name of Christ. It
has a personal character and a collegial form. This is evidenced by the bonds
between the episcopal college and its head, the successor of St. Peter, and the
relationship between the bishop’s pastoral responsibility for his particular
church and the common solicitude of the episcopal college for the universal
Church.
The episcopal college and its head, the Pope
When Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a college or
permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among
them." Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the
apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman
Pontiff, Peter’s successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are
related with that united to one another."
The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave
him the keys to his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. "The
office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the
college of apostles united to its head." This pastoral office of Peter and the
other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the
bishops on the primacy of the Pope.
The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source
and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the
faithful." "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ,
and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over
the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."
"The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman
Pontiff, Peter’s successor, as its head." As such, this college has "supreme and
full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised
without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff."
"The college of bishops exercises power over the universal church in a solemn matter
in an ecumenical council." But "there never is an ecumenical council which is
not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter’s successor."
"This college, in so far as it is composed of many members, is the expression of the
variety and universality of the People of God; and of the unity of the flock of
Christ, in so far as it is assembled under one head."
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June 2, 2013 - But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. Matthew 5:44
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section III – The Church is Catholic
Missionary paths. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of
the Church's mission." It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths.
"This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of
Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the
Spirit of Christ must walk the road, Christ himself walked, a way of poverty
and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which
he emerged victorious by his resurrection." So it is that "the blood of martyrs
is the seed of Christians."
On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the "discrepancy existing
between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the
Gospel has been entrusted." Only by taking the "way of penance and renewal," the
"narrow way of the cross," can the People of God extend Christ's reign. For
"just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and oppression, so
the Church is called to follow the same path if she is to communicate the fruits
of salvation to men."
By her very mission, "the Church... travels the same journey as all humanity and
shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it
were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into
the family of God." Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the
proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in
Christ, continues with the establishment of Christian communities that are "a
sign of God's presence in the world," and leads to the foundation of local
churches. It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take
flesh and each people's culture. There will be times of defeat. "With regard to
individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches
and penetrates them, and so receives them into a fullness which is
Catholic."
The Church's mission stimulates efforts towards Christian unity. Indeed, "divisions
among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of
catholicity proper to her in those of her sons who, though joined to her by
Baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her. Furthermore, the
Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual life for full
catholicity in all its aspects."
The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept
the Gospel. Believers can profit from this dialogue by learning to appreciate
better "those elements of truth and grace which are found among peoples, and
which are, as it were, a secret presence of God." They proclaim the Good News
to those who do not know it, in order to consolidate, complete, and raise up the
truth and goodness that God has distributed among men and nations, and to purify
them from error and evil "for the glory of God, the confusion of the demon, and
happiness of man."
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section IV – The Church is Apostolic pg 247
The church is apostolic because she is having on the apostles, and three
ways:
-- she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles," the witnesses
chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself;
-- with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on
the teaching, the "good deposit," the salutary words she has heard from the
apostles;
-- she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until
Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of
bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the
Church's supreme pastor":
You are the eternal Shepherd who never leaves his flock untended. Through the
apostles you watch over us and protect us always. You made them shepherds of the
flock to share in the work of your Son...
The Apostles’ mission
Jesus is the Father's Emissary. From the beginning of his ministry, he "called to him
those whom he desired;.... And he appointed twelve, whom also he named apostles,
to be with him, and to be sent out to preach." From then on, they would also be
his "emissaries" (Greek apostoloi). In them, Christ continues his own mission:
"As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." The apostles’ ministry is the
continuation of his mission; Jesus said to the Twelve: "he who receives you
receives me."
Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As "the Son can do
nothing of his own accord," but receives everything from the Father who sent
him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him, from whom they
received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry out. Christ's
apostles knew that they were called by God as "ministers of a new covenant,"
"servants of God," "ambassadors for Christ," "servants of Christ and stewards of
the mysteries of God."
In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be
the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones of
the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to
remain with them always. The divine mission entrusted by Jesus to them "will
continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the lasting
source of all life for the Church. Therefore,... the apostles took care to
appoint successors."
The bishops -- -- successors of the apostles
"In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death,
[the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate
collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun,
urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed
them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly designated such men and
then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take
over their ministry area"
"Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles,
destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also
endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a
charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of the
bishops." Hence the Church teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution
taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that
whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them
despises Christ and him who sent Christ."
The apostolate
The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St.
Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin:
and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the church
share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of
its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an
apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the
Kingdom of Christ over all the earth."
"Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the church's whole apostolate"; thus the
fruitfullness of apostolate ordained ministers as well as for lay people
clearly depends on their vital union with Christ. In keeping with their
vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit,
the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the
Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate."
The church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, apostolic in her deepest and ultimate
identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God,"
already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. The kingdom has come in
the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated
into him, until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has
redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in love," will be gathered
together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the Lamb," the holy city
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." For "the
wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb."
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May 26, 2013 - But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is
like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section III – The Church is Catholic
The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common
origin and end of the human race:
All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock
which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a
common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs
extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy
city...
The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and
images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and
all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all
goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and
given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."
In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that
disfigure the image of God in them:
Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasoning, and
have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than
the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are
exposed to ultimate despair.
To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to
call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the
place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the
world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross,
by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to
another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's Ark, which
alone saves from the flood.
"Outside the Church there is no salvation"
How are we to understand this affirmation often repeated by the Church Fathers?
Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head
through the church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a
pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator
in the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He
himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby
affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through
Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the
Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse
either to enter it or to remain in it.
This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not
know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his
Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by his
grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates
of their conscience -- -- those too may achieve eternal salvation.
"Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own,
are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to
please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to
evangelize all men."
Mission -- --requirement of the churches catholicity
The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be
"the universal sacrament of salvation," the Church, in obedience to the command
of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality,
strives to preach the Gospel to all men": Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am
with you always, until the close of the age."
The origin and purpose of mission. The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately
grounded in the eternal law of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by
her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her
origin the mission of the Son and Holy Spirit." The ultimate purpose of mission
is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and
the Son in their Spirit of Love.
Missionary motivation.
It is from God's love for all men that the Church in every age
receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the
love of Christ urges us on." Indeed, God "desires all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth"; that is, God wills the salvation of
everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth.
Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of
salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to
meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God’s
universal plan of salvation, the church must be
missionary.
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May 19, 2013 - Depend on the Lord in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section III – The Church is Catholic pg 240 (cont)
Each particular Church is “catholic”
"The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of
the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also
quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament... In them the faithful
are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the
mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated….In these communities, though they
may often be small and poor, or existing in the dispora, Christ is present,
through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church is
constituted."
The phrase "particular church," which is first of all the diocese (or eparchy),
refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of faith and
sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession. These particular
Churches "are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in
these and formed out of them that the one and unique Catholic Church exists."
Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of them, the Church
of Rome "which presides in charity. "For with this church, by reason of its
pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must
necessarily be in accord." Indeed, "from the incarnate Word's descent to us,
all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is
here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the
Savior's promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her."
"Let us be very careful not to conceive of the universal Church as the simple sum,
or... the more or less anomalous federation of essentially different particular
churches. In the mind of the Lord the Church is universal by vocation and
mission, when she puts down her roots in a variety of cultural, social, and
human terrains, she takes on different external expressions and appearances in
each part of the world." The rich variety of ecclesiastical discipline,
liturgical rites, and theological and spiritual heritages proper to the local
churches "unified in a common effort, shows all the more resplendently
catholicity of the undivided Church."
Who belongs to the Catholic Church?
"All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God... And to it, in
different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe
in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to
salvation."
"Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the
Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church
together with her entire organization, and who -- -- by the bonds constituted
by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and
communion -- -- are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ,
who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff, and the bishops. Even though
incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is
not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but "in body" not "in
heart.’ "
"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by
the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or
have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter." Those "who
believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although
imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church." With the Orthodox Churches, this
communion is so profound "that it lacks a little to attain the fullness that
would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s
Eucharist.”
The Church and non-Christians
"Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various
ways.”The relationship of the Church with the Jewish people. When she delves
into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant,
discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God."
The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to
God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the
glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to
them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the
Christ"; for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."
And when one considers the future, God's people of the Old Covenant and the new
People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the
return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and
rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits
the coming of a Messiah whose features remain hidden until the end of time; and
the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of
misunderstanding Christ Jesus.
The Church's relationship with the Muslims.
"The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first
place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham,
and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the
last day."
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May 12, 2013 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God Philippians 4:6
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section II – The Church is Holy
"The Church... is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because
Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as "alone
holy," loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to
sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the
gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God." The Church, then, is "the holy
People of God," and her members are called "saints."
United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she
becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward
their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of
God." It is in the Church that "the fullness of the means of salvation" has
been deposited. It is in her that "by the grace of God we acquire
holiness."
"The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though
imperfect." In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired:
"Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful,
whatever their condition or state -- -- though each in his own way -- -- are
called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself is
perfect."
Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are callee: it "governs, shapes, and
perfects all the means of sanctification."
If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't lack the
noblest of all; it must have a Heart and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE.
And I realize that this love alone was the true motive force which
enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the
Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed
their blood. LOVE IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT’S A
UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE—IT’S
ETERNAL!
"Christ, ‘holy, innocent, and undefiled,’ knew nothing of sin, but came only to expiate
the sins of the people. The Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at
once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of
penance and renewal." All members of the Church, including her ministers, must
acknowledge that they are sinners. In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be
mixed with a good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time. Hence the Church
gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still on the way to
holiness:
The Church is therefore holly, though having sinners in her midst, because she
herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her
members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and
disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity. This is why she suffers
and does penance for those offenses, of which she has the power to free her
children through the blood of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
By canonizing some of the faithful, I.E., by solemnly proclaiming that they
practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church
recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope
of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. The
saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult
moments in the Church's history." Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and
infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal."
"But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection
whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still strive is to
conquer sin and increase in holiness.
And so they turn their eyes to Mary": in her, the Church is already the "all --holy."
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section III – The Church is Catholic
What does “catholic”mean?
The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality"
or "in keeping with the whole." The Church is catholic in a double sense:
First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ
Jesus, there is the Catholic Church." In her subsists the fullness of Christ's
body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him "the
fullness of the means of salvation" which he has willed: correct and complete
confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic
succession. The Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on the day of
Pentecost and will always be so until the day of the Parousia.
Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to
the whole of the human race: All men are called to belong to the new People of
God. This People, therefore, while remaining one and only one, is to be spread
throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of God's
will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the beginning and has decreed
that all his children who were scattered should be finally gathered together as
one... The character of universality which adorns the People of God is a gift
from the Lord himself whereby the Catholic Church ceaselessly and efficaciously
seeks for the return of all humanity and all its goods, under Christ the Head in
the unity of the Spirit.
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May 5, 2013 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23:4
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 3 Section I – The Church is One pg 233
The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this
mystery is the unity, and the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and Son
in the Holy Spirit." The Church is one because of her founder: for "the Word
made flesh, the Prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross,...
restoring the unity of all in one people and one body." The Church is one
because of her "soul": "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and
pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful
communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that
he is the principal of the Church's unity." Unity is of the essence of the
Church:
What an outstanding mystery! There's one Father of the universe, one Logos of the
universe, and also one Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also
one virgin become mother, and I should like to call her
"Church."
From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes
from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who received
them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and
cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are different
gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. "Holding a rightful place in the
communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own
traditions." The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church’s
unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift
of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace"
What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in
perfect harmony." But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible
bonds of communion:
-- -- profession of one faith received from the Apostles;
-- -- common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments;
-- -- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the
fraternal concord of God's family.
"The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection,
entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to
extend and rule it....This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the
present world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed
by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."
The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through
Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation,
that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the
apostolic college alone, of which Pe6ter is the head, that we believe that our
Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on
earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated
who belong in any way to the People of God."
Wounds to unity
In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose
certain riffs, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in
subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large
communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church -- --
for which often enough, men of both sides were to blame." The ruptures that
wound the unity of Christ's Body -- -- here we must distinguish heresy,
apostasy, and schism -- -- do not occur without human sin:
Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where
there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the
one heart and one soul for all believers.
“However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born
into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are
brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with
respect and affection of his brothers... All who have been justified by faith in
Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called
Christians, and with good reason or accepted as brothers in the Lord by the
children of the Catholic Church."
"Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible
confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace;
faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as
well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial
communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of
grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these
blessings come from Christ and lead to him and are in themselves calls to
"Catholic unity."
Toward unity
"Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe,
subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope
that it will continue to increase until the end of time." Christ always gives
his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to
maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is
why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying
to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As
you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one of us,... so that
the world may know that you have sent me." The desire to recover the unity of
all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.
Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call:
-- -- a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such
renewal is the driving force of the movement toward unity;
-- -- conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to
the Gospel"; for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which
causes divisions;
-- -- prayer is common, because “change of heart and holiness of life, along with
public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the
soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name “spiritual ecumenism; "
-- -- fraternal knowledge of each other;
-- -- ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;
-- -- dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different
churches and communities;
-- -- collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind. "Human
service" is the idiomatic phrase.
Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike." But
we must realize "that this holy objective -- -- the reconciliation of all
Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ -- -- transcends
human powers and gifts." That is why we place all our hope "in the prayer of
Christ for the Church, in the love of the Father for us, and in the power of the
Holy Spirit."
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April 28, 2013 - Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich; be wise enough to control yourself.
Wealth can vanish in the wink of an eye. It can seem to grow wings and fly away
like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 2 Section II – The Church – Body of Christ pg 226
From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the
mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and
sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him:
“Abide in me, and I in you….I am the vine, you are the branches. And he proclaimed a myserious and real
communion between his own body and ours:”He wo eats my flesh and drinks my blood
abides in me, and I in him.”
When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples
orphans. He promised to remain
with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit, As
a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense:
“By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body
those brothers of his who are called together from every nation.”
The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between
Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she I united in him, in his body.
Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more
specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of
their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.
“One Body”
Believers who respond to God’s word and become members of Christ’s Body, become intimately
united with him: “In that body the
life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the
sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and
glorification.” This is especially
true pf Baptism, wich unites us to Christ’s death and Resurrection, and the
Eucharist, by which “really sharing in the body of the Lord…we are taken up into
communion with him and with on another.”
The body’s unity does not do away with the diversity of its members: “In the
building up of Christ’s Body there is engaged a diversity of members and
functions. There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the
needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church.”
The unity of the Mystical Body produces and stimulates charity among the
faithful: “From this it follows that if one member suffers anything, all the
members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all the members together
rejoice.” Finally, the unity of the
Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions: “For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
“Christ is the Head of this Body”
Christ “is head of the body, the Church. ”He is the principle of creation and
redemption. Raised in the Father’s glory, “in everything he [is] preeminent,”
especially in the Churc, through whom he extends his reign over all things.
Christ unites us with his Passover: all his members mu strive to resemble him, “until
Christ be formed” in them. “For
this reason we …are taken up into the mysteries of his life….associated with his
sufferings as the body with its head, suffering with him, that with him we may
be glorified.”
Christ provides for our growth; to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in
his Body, the Church, the gifts and assistance by which we help one another
along the way of salvation.
Christ and his Church thus together make up the “whole Christ” (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ. The saints are acutely aware of this unity:
Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but
Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God’s grace toward
us? Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ.
For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we together are the
whole man…The fullness of Christ then is the head and the members.
But what does “head and members” mean? Christ and the Church.
Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has taken to himself.
Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.
A reply of St. Joan of Arc to her judges sums up the faith of the holy doctors and
the good sense of the believer: “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply
know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.”
The Church is the Bride of Christ
The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the
distinction of the two within a personal relationship.
This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of
the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the
Baptist. The Lord referred to
himself as the “bridegroom.” The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and each of
the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride “betrothed” to Christ the Lord so
as to become but one spirit with him.
The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb.
“Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might
sanctify her.” He has joined her
with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for
his own body:
This is the whole Christ, head and body. .one formed from many…whether the head or
members speak, it is Christ who speaks.
He speaks in his role as head (ex persona capitis) and in his role as
body (ex persona corporis). What does this mean? “The two will become one flesh. This is a great
mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church.”
And the Lord himself says in the Gosel: “So they are no longer two, but
one flesh.” They are, in fact, two
different persons, yet they are one in the conjugal union….as head, he calls
himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself “bride.”
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 2 Section III – The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit pg 230
“What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which
is the Church.” “To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be
ascribed the fact that all parts of the body are joined one with the other and
with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the
whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the
members.” The Holy Spirit makes the Church “the temple of the living God”:
Indeed, it is to the Church herself that the “Gift of God” has been entrusted….In it is
in her that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy
Spirit, the pledge of incorruptibility, the strengthening of our faith and the
ladder of our ascent to God….For where the Church is, there also is God’s
Spirit; where God’s Spirit is, there is the Church and every grace.
The Holy Spirit is“the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part
of the Body.” He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: by God’s Word“which is able to build
you up”: by Baptism, through which he forms Christ’s Body; by the sacraments,
which give growth and healing to Christ’s members; by“the grace of the apostles,
which holds first place among his gifts”; by the virtues, which make us act
according to what is good; finally by the many graces (called “charisms”),by
which he makes the faithful “fit and ready to undertake vrious tasks and offices
for the renewal and building up of the Church.
Charisms
Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which
directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building
up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.
Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all
members of the Church as well.
They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for the
holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of
the Holy Spirit and re used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this
same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true measure of all
charisms.
It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary.
No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church’s
shepherds. “Their office [is] not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test
all things and hold fast to what is good,”so that all the diverse and
complementary charisms work together “for the common good.”
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April 21, 2013 - Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always
giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 2 Section I –
The Church – People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit pg 224
“At all times, and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has
been acceptable to him. He was,
however, willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any
bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might
acknowledge him and serve him in holiness. He therefor chose the Israelite race to
be his own people and established a covenant with it.
He gradually instructed this people….All these things, however, happened
as a preparation for and figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be
ratified in Christ…the New Covenant in his blood;
he called together a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be
one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit.
Characteristics of the People f God
The People of God is marked by chracteristics that clearly distinguish it from all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in
history:
It is the People of God: God is not
the property of any one people.
But he acquired a people for himself from those who previously were not a
people: “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
One becomes a member of this people not by physical birth, but by being “born anew,”
a birth “of water and the spirit,”
that is, by faith in Christ, and Baptim.
This People has for its Head Jesus the Christ (the anointed, the Messiah). Because the same anointing, the Holy
Spirit, flows from the head into the body, this is “the messianic people.”
“The status of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of the sons of God, in
whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as n a temple.”
“Its law is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us.”
This is the “new” law of the Holy Spirit.
Its mission is to be salt of the earth and light of the world.
This people is “a most sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the
whole human race.”
Its destiny, finally,“is the Kingdom of God which has been begun by God himself on
earth and which must be further extended until it has been brought to perfection
by him at the end of time.”
A priestly, prophetic, and royal people
Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit nd established
as priest, prophet, and king. The
whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the
responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them.
On entering the People of God through faith and Baptism, one receives a share in
this people’s unique, priestly vocation:
“Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, has made this new
people ‘a kingdom of priests to God, his Father.’
The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are
consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood.”
“The holy People of God shares also in Chrst’s prophetic office,” above all in the
supernatural sense of faith that belongs to the whole People, lay and clergy,
when it “unfailingly adheres to this faith…once for all delivered to the
saints,” and when it deepens its understanding and beomes Christ’s witness in
the midst of this world.
Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ.
He exercises his kingship by drawing all men to himself through his death
and Resurrection. Christ, King and
Lord of the universe, made himself the servant of all, forhe came “not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.”
For the Christian, “to reign is to serve him,”particulary whenwhenn
serving “the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of
her poor and suffering founder.”
The People of God fulfills its royal dignity by a life in keeping with
its vocation to serve with Christ.
The sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ and the anointing of
the Holy Spirit consecrates them as priests, so that, apart from the particular
service of our ministry, all spiritual and rational Christians are recognized as
members of this royal race and sharers in Christ’s priestly office.
What, indeed, is as royal for a soul as to govern the body in obedience
to God? And what is as priestly as
to dedicate a pure conscience to the Lord and to offer spotless offerings of
devotion on the altar of the heart?
April 14, 2013 - Don't ever forget kindness and truth. Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your
heart as if on a tablet. Then you will be respected and will please both God and people. Proverbs 3:3-4
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 1 Section III – The Mystery of the Church
The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only "with
the eyes of faith" that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same
time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.
The Church --- both visible and spiritual
"The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy
Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as the visible organization
through which he communicates truth and grace to all men." The Church is at
the same time:
-- -- -- a "society structured with hierarchical organs and the mystical body of Christ;
-- -- -- the visible society and the spiritual community;
-- -- -- the earthly God and the Church endowed with heavenly riches."
These dimensions together constitute "one complex reality which comes together from a
human and a divine element"
The Church is essentially both human and divine visible but endowed with invisible
realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the
world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward
and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to
contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of
our quest.
Oh humility!" O sublimity! Both
tabernacle of cedar and sanctuary of God; earthly dwelling and celestial palace;
House of clay and royal hall; body of death and temple of light; and at last
both object of scorn to the proud and bride of Christ! She is black but
beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, for even if the labor and pain of her long
exile may have discolored her, yet heaven’s beauty have adorned her.
The Church --- mystery of men’s union with God
It is in the Church that Christ fulfills and reveals his own mystery as the purpose
of God's plan: "to unite all things in him." St. Paul calls the nuptial union of
Christ and the Church "a great mystery." Because she is united to Christ as to
her bridegroom, she becomes a mystery in her own. Contemplating this mystery in
her, Paul exclaims: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
In the Church this communion of men with God, in the "love that never ends," is the
purpose which governs everything in her that is a sacramental means, tied to
this passing world. "The Church’s structure is totally ordered to the holiness
of Christ's members. And holiness is measured according to the "great mystery"
in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the gift of the
Bridegroom." Mary goes before us all in the holiness that is the Church's
mystery as "the bride without spot or wrinkle." That is why the "Marian"
dimension of the Church precedes the "Petrine."
The universal Sacrament of Salvation
the Greek word mysterion was translated into Latin by two terms: mysterium and
sacramentum. In later usage the
term sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation
which was indicated by the term mysterium. In this sense, Christ himself is the
mystery of salvation: "For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ." The
saving work of his holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation,
which is revealed and active in the Church's sacraments (which the Eastern
Churches also call "the holy mysteries"). The seven sacraments are the signs and
instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head
throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church, then, both contains and
communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense,
that the Church is called a "sacrament."
"The Church, in Christ, like a sacrament -- -- a sign and instrument, that is, of
communion with God and of unity among all men." The Church's first purpose is to
be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God. Because men's communion
with one another is rooted in a union with God, the Church is also the sacrament
of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, since she
gathers men "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues"; at the
same time, the Church is the "sign and instrument" of the full realization of
the unity yet to come.
As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. "She is taken up by him also as
the instrument for the salvation of all," "the universal sacrament of
salvation," by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery
of God's love for men." The Church "is the visible plan of God's love for
humanity," because God desires "that the whole human race may become one People
of God, form one body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit."
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April 7, 2013 - Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 1 Section II (cont) –
The Church – foreshadowed from the world’s beginning
Christians of the first centuries said "The world was created for the sake of the Church.”
God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a
communion brought about by the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this
"convocation" is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things, and God
permitted such painful upheavals as the angels’ fall and man’s sin only as
occasions and means for displaying all the power of his arm and the whole
measure of love he would to give the world:
Just as God's will is creation and is called "the world," so his intention is the
salvation of men, and it is called "the Church."
The Church – prepared for the Old Covenant
The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed
the communion of men with God, and that of men among themselves. The gathering
together of the Church is, as it were, God’s reaction to the chaos provoked by
sin. This reunification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: "In
every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable" to God.
The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when
he calls Abraham and promises that he will become the Father of a great people.
It's immediate preparation begins with Israel's election as the People of God.
By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of all
nations. But the prophets accuse Israel of breaking the covenant and behaving
like a prostitute. They announce a new and eternal covenant. "Christ instituted
this new Covenant."
The Church ---instituted by Christ Jesus
It was the Son’s task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness
of time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent. "The Lord Jesus
inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the
Reign of God, promised over the ages in the Scriptures." To fulfill the Father's
will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church "is the Reign
of Christ already present in mystery."
"This Kingdom shines out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of
Christ." To welcome Jesus' word is to welcome "the Kingdom itself." The seed and
beginning of the Kingdom are the "little flock" of those whom Jesus came to
gather around him, the flock who shepherd he is. They form Jesus’ true family.
To those whom he thus gathered around him, he taught a new "way of acting" and a
prayer of their own.
The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the
Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the 12 with
Peter as their head. Representing the 12 tribes of Israel, they are the
foundation stones of the new Jerusalem. The 12 and the other disciples share in
Christ's mission and his power, but also in his lot. By all his actions, Christ
preparers and builds his Church.
The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation,
anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. "The
origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which
flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus."
“For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon
the cross that there came forth the ‘wondrous sacrament of the Church.’ " As Eve
was formed from the sleeping house side, so the Church was born from the pierced
heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.
The Church ---revealed by the Holy Spirit
"When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy
Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually
sanctify the Church." Then "the Church was openly displayed to the crowds
and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun."
As the "convocation" of all men for
salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all
the nations to make disciples of them.
So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit "bestows upon the Church
varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way he directs her."
"Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully
observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the
mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ
and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom."
The Church ---perfected in glory
"The church... will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven," at the time
of Christ's glorious return. Until that day, "the Church progresses on her
pilgrimage amidst this world’s persecutions and God's consolations." Here below
she knows that she is in exile far from the Lord, and longs for the full coming
of the Kingdom, when she will "be united in glory with her king." The Church,
and thru her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials.
Only then will "all the just from the time of Adam, ‘from Able, the just one, to
the last of the elect,’... be gathered together in the universal Church in the
Father's presence."
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March 31, 2013 – He is risen – Alleluia. HAPPY EASTER!
Tradition holds that Jesus walked from Pilate’s praetorium to Golgotha (The Place of the
skull) The devotion known as “the
way”,or Stations of the Cross (Via Crucis), originated with pilgrims who walked
the Via Dolorosa (the “way of tears”) in Jerusalem.
In 2001, the Congregation for the Discipline of the Scriptures issued a
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (DPPL) and, when referring to this
devotion, stated that “In the Via Crucis, various strands of Christian piety
coalesce: the idea of life as
being journey or pilgrimage; as a passage from earthly exile to our true home in
Heaven; the deep desire to be conformed to the Passion of Christ, which imply
that his disciples must follow behind their Master daily carrying their own
crosses (cf. Luke 9,23)” (DPPL 133)
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 1 Section I –
Names Images of the Church
The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to “call out of”))
means convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people,
usually for a religious purpose. Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old
Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their
assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established by God
as his holy people. By calling itself "Church," the first community of Christian
believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is
"calling together" his people from all the ends of the earth. The equivalent
Greek term Kyriake, for which the English word Church and the German Kirche are
devised, means "what belongs to the Lord."
In Christian usage, the word "church" designates the liturgical assembly, but also
the local community or the whole universal community of believers. These three
meetings are inseparable. "The Church" is the People that God gathers in the
whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical,
above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body
of Christ and so herself becomes Christ's body.
Symbols of the Church
In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which
Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken
from the Old Testament are variations on a profound theme: the People of God. In
the New Testament, all these images find a new center because Christ has become
the head of his people, which henceforth is his Body. Around this center are
grouped images taken “for the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of the
land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage."
“The church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is
Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the
shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are
unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd and the
Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep.
"The Church is a cultivated field”, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient
olive tree grows whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the
reconciliation of the Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be
brought about again. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the
heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness
to the branches, that is, to us, who through the Church remain in Christ,
without whom we can do nothing.
"Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. The Lord compared himself to the
stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the cornerstone. On
this foundation the Church is built by the apostles and from it the Church
receives solidarity and unity. This edifice has many names to describe it: the
house of God in which his family dwells; the household of God in the Spirit; the
dwelling-place of God among men; and, especially the holy temple. This temple,
symbolized in places of worship built out of stone, is praised by the Fathers
and, not without reason, is compared in the liturgy to the Holy City, the New
Jerusalem. As living stones we here on earth are built into it. It is this holy
city that is seen by John as it comes down out of heaven from God when the
world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
"The Church, further, which is called ‘that Jerusalem which is above’ and ‘our
mother’, is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless lamb. It is she
whom Christ‘loved and for whom he delivered himself up that he might sanctify
her.’ It is she who he unites to himself by an unbreakable alliance, and whom he
constantly ‘nourishes and churches.’ "
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 9 Paragraph 1 Section II – The Church’s Origin, Foundation, and Mission
We began our investigation of the Church's mystery by meditating on her origin in
the Holy Trinity's plan and her progressive realization in history.
A plan is born in the Father’s heart
"The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design
of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men
to share in his own divine life," to which he calls all men in his Son. "The
Father... determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe
in Christ." This "family of God"
is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human history, in
keeping with the Father’s plan. In fact, "already present in figure at the
beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the
history of the people of Israel and the old Alliance. Established in this last
age of the world and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will be
brought to glorious completion at the end of time."
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March 24, 2013 - For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 14:11
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 8 Section V – The Spirit and the Church in the Last Days Pentecost
On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter come to an end, Christ
passed over is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested,
given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord,
pours out the Spirit in abundance.
On that day, the holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the kingdom
announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: and the humility
of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the holy
Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to
enter into the "last days," the time of the church, the kingdom already
inherited though not yet consummated. We have seen the true light, we have
received the heavenly spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the
indefeasible Trinity, who has saved us.
The Holy Spirit----God’s gift
"God is love" and love is his first gift, containing all others. "God's love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Because we are dead or at least wanted to send, the first effect of the gift of love is
the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church
restores to baptize the final item is lost through sin.
He, then, gives us the "pledge" or "first fruits" of our inheritance: the very life
of the Holy Trinity, which is to love us as "God [has] loved us." This love (the
"charity" 01COR 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible
because we have received "power" from the Holy Spirit.
By this power of the Spirit, God's children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted
us onto the true vine will make a spare "the fruit of the Spirit;... love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
"We live by the Spirit"; the more renounce ourselves, the more we "wall by the
Spirit." Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the
kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God
"father" and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a
share of eternal glory."
The Holy Spirit and the Church
The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church,
which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint
mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in his communion with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with
his grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord
to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of
his Death and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ supremely in
the Eucharist in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God,
that they may "bear much fruit."
Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit,
but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is
sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the
communion of the Holy Trinity (the topic of the next article):
All of us who have received one and the same Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit, are
in a sense blended together with one another and with God. For if Christ,
together with the Father's and his own Spirit, comes to dwell in each of us,
though we are many, still the Spirit is one and undivided. He binds together the
spirits of each and every one of us and makes all appear as one in him. For just
as the power of Christ's sacred flesh unites those in whom it dwells into one
body, I think that in the same way the one and undivided Spirit of God, who
dwells in all, leads all into spiritual unity.
Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ, as the head of the
Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them
in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and
associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for
the whole world. Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy
and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body. (This will be the topic of
Part Two of the Catechism.)
These "mighty works of God," offered to believers in the sacraments of the Church,
bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit. (This will
be the topic of part three.)
"The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but
the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words." The Holy Spirit,
the artisan of God's works, is the master of prayer.
(This will be the topic of Part Four).
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March 17, 2013 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues
through all generations. Psalms 100:5
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 8 Section IV – The Spirit of Christ in the Fullness of Time
John, precursor, prophet, and baptist
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John" John was "filled with the Holy
Spirit even from his mother's womb" by Christ himself, whom the Virgin Mary had
just conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary's visitation to Elizabeth thus became a
visit from God to his people.
John is "Elijah [who] must come." The fire of the Spirit dwells in him and makes him
the forerunner of the coming Lord. In John, the precursor, the Holy Spirit
completes the work of " [making] ready a people prepared for the Lord."
John the Baptist is "more than a prophet." In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his
speaking through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by
Elijah. He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the
"voice" of the Counselor who is coming. As the Spirit of truth will also do,
John "came to bear witness to the light." In John's sight, the Spirit thus
brings to completion the careful search of the prophets and fulfills the longing
of the Angels. He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who
baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this
is the Son of God... Behold, the Lamb of God."
Finally, with John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to man of "the
divine likeness," prefiguring what he would achieve with and in Christ. John's
baptism was for repentance; baptism in water and the Spirit will be a new birth.
“Rejoice, you who are full of grace”
Mary, the all-holy-ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the
Son and the Spirit in the foremost of time. For the first time in the plan of
salvation and because his spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling
place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the
Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts of wisdom in relation
to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy has the "Seat of
wisdom." In her, the "wonders of God" that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ
and the Church began to be manifested:
The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. It was fitting that the mother of him in
whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" should herself be "full of
grace." She was, by sheer grace, conceived without sin as the most humble of
creatures, the most capable of welcoming the inexpressible gift of the Almighty.
It was quite correct for the angel Gabriel to greet her as the "order of Zion":
"Rejoice." It is the thanksgiving of the whole People of God, and thus of the
Church, which Mary in her Canticle lifts up to the Father in the Holy Spirit
while carrying within her the eternal Son.
In Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfills the plan of the Father's loving goodness. Through
the Holy Spirit, the Virgin conceives and gives birth to the Son of God. By the
Holy Spirit's power and her faith, her virginity became uniquely fruitful.
In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the
Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the
Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to
the poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known.
Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the object of God's merciful
love, into communion with Christ. And the humble are always the first to accept
him: shepherds, magi, Simeon and Anna, the bride and groom at Cana, and the
first disciples
At the end of this mission of the Spirit, Mary became the Woman, the new Eve
(“mother of the living"), the mother of the "whole Christ." As such, she was
present with the Twelve, who "with one accord devoted themselves to prayer," at
the dawn of the "end time" which the Spirit was to inaugurate on the morning of
the Pentecost with the manifestation of the Church.
Christ Jesus
The entire mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of time, is
contained in this: that the Son is the one anointed by the Father's Spirit since
his incarnation -- -- Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Everything in the second
chapter of the Creed is to be read in this light. Christ’s whole work
is in fact a joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here, we shall
mention only what has to do with Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit in the gift
of him by the glorified Lord.
Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified
through his Death and Resurrection. Nevertheless, little by little he alludes to
him even in his teaching of the multitudes, as when he reveals that his own
flesh, will be food for the life of the world. He also alludes to the Spirit in
speaking to Nicodemus, to the Samaritan woman, and to those who take part in the
feast of Tabernacles. To his disciples he speaks openly of the Spirit in
connection with prayer and with the witness they will have to
bear.
Only when the hour has arrived for his glorification does Jesus promise the coming of
the Holy Spirit, since his Death and Resurrection will fulfill the promise made
to fathers. The Spirit of truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the
father in answer to Jesus' prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus' name;
and Jesus will send him from the Father's side, since he comes from the Father.
The Holy Spirit will come and we shall know him; he will be with us forever; he
will remain with us. The Spirit will teach us everything, remind us of all that
Christ said to us and bear witness to him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all
truth and will glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin,
righteousness, and judgment.
At last Jesus’ hour arrived: he commends his spirit into the Father's hands at the
very moment when by his death he conquers death, so that, "raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father," he might immediately give the Holy Spirit by
"breathing" on his disciples. From this hour onward the mission of Christ and
the Spirit becomes the mission of the Church: "As the Father has sent me, even
so I send you."
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March 10, 2013 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he
shall live. John 11:25
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 8 Section III – God’s Spirit and Word in the Time of the inaugurates
the economy of salvation, at the culmination of which the Son himself will
assume the “image” and restore it in the Father’s“likeness” by giving it again
its Glory, the Spirit who is “the life.”
Against all human hope God promises descendants to Abraham, as the fruit of faith and of
the power of the Holy Spirit. In Abraham's progeny all the nations of the earth
will be blessed. This progeny will be Christ himself, in whom the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit will "gather into one the children of God were scattered
abroad." God commits himself by his own solemn oath to giving his beloved Son
and "the promised Holy Spirit... [who is] the guarantee of our inheritance until
we acquire possession of it."
In Theophanies and the Law
Theophanies (manifestations of God) light up the way of the promise, from the patriarchs to
Moses and from Joshua to the visions that inaugurated the missions of the great
prophets. Christian tradition has always recognized that God's Word allowed
himself to be seen and heard in these theophanies, in which the cloud of the
Holy Spirit both revealed him and concealed him m in its
shadow.
This divine pedagogy appears especially in the gift of he Law. God gave the Law as a
"Pedagogy" to lead his people towards Christ. But the Law's powerlessness to
save man deprived of the divine "likeness," along with a growing awareness of
sin that it imparts, enkindles a desire for the Holy Spirit. The lamentations of
the Psalms are witness to this.
In the Kingdom and the Exile
The Law, the sign of God's promise and covenant, ought to have governed the hearts
and institutions of that people to whom Abraham's faith gave birth. "If you will
obey my voice and keep my covenant,,... you shall be to me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation." But after David, Israel gave into the temptation of becoming
a kingdom like other nations. The Kingdom, however, the object of the promise
made to David, would be the work of the Holy Spirit; it would belong to the poor
according to the Spirit.
The forgetting of the Law and the infidelity to the covenant end in death: it is the
Exile, apparently the failure of the promises, which is in fact the mysterious
fidelity of the Savior God and the beginning of a promised restoration, but
according to the Spirit. The People of God had to suffer this purification. In
God's plan, the Exile already stands in the shadow of the Cross, and a Remnant
of the poor that returns from the Exile is one of the most transparent
prefigurations of the Church.
Expectation of the Messiah and his Spirit
"Behold, I am doing a new thing." Two prophetic lines were to develop, one leading to the
expectation of the Messiah, the other pointing to the announcement of a new
Spirit. They converge in the small Remnant, the people of the poor, who await in
hope the "consolation of Israel" and "the redemption of Jerusalem.” We have seen
earlier how Jesus fulfills the prophecies concerning himself. We limit ourselves
here to those in which the relationship of the Messiah and his Spirit appears
more clearly.
The characteristics of the awaited Messiah begin to appear in the "book of Emmanuel"
("Isaiah said this when he saw his glory," speaking of Christ), especially in
the first two verses of Isaiah 11:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
The Messiah's characteristics are revealed above all in the "Servant songs." These
songs proclaim the meaning of Jesus’Passion and show how he will pour out the
Holy Spirit to give life to the many: not as an outsider, but by embracing our
"form as slave." Taking our death upon himself, he can communicate to us his own
Spirit of life.
This is why Christ inaugurates the proclamation of the Good News by making his own
the following passage from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me o bring good tidings to the afflicted;
he has sent me to build up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lords favor.
The prophetic texts that directly concern the sending of the Holy Spirit are oracles
by which God speaks to the heart of his people in the language of the promise,
with the accents of "love and fidelity." St. Peter will proclaim their
fulfillment on the morning of Pentecost. According to these promises, at the
"end times" the Lord’s Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law
in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will
transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace.
The People of the "poor" -- -- those who, humble and meek, rely solely on their
God's mysterious plans, who await the justice, not of men but of the Messiah --
-- are in the end the great achievement of the Holy Spirit's hidden mission
during the time of the promises that prepare for Christ's coming. It is this
quality of heart, purified and enlightened by the Spirit, which is expressed in
the Psalms. In these poor, the Spirit is making ready "a people prepared for the Lord."
March 3, 2013 His anger lasts only a moment, but his kindness lasts for a lifetime. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5
Sorry this week’s publication is a little late but I attended a weekend retreat at the
Malvern Retreat House (www.malvernretreatcom). If you have never attended a retreat you
should consider it. It is a wonderful chance to get closer to Jesus.
There are conferences on faith and many special events.
I especially enjoy the private adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Those moments alone with just you and
Jesus are very special.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 8 Section II – (cont)
Symbols of the Holy Spirit pg 199
Water. The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit’s action in Baptism since after
the invocation of the Holy Spirit becomes the efficacious sacramental sign of
new birth: just as the gestation of our first birth took place in water, so the
water of Baptism truly signifies that our birth into the divine life is given
to us in the Holy Spirit. As "by one Spirit we were all baptized," so we are
also "made to drink of one Spirit." Thus the Spirit is also personally the
living water welling up from Christ crucified as its source and welling up in us
to eternal life.
Anointing. The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point
of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. In Christian initiation, anointing is
the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called "Chrismation" in the Churches of
the East. Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary
anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus. Christ (in Hebrew
"Messiah") means the one "anointed" by God's Spirit. There were several anointed
ones of the Lord in the Old Covenant, pre-eminently King David. But Jesus is
God's Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely
anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit established him as "Christ." The
Virgin Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Spirit who, through the angel,
proclaimed him the Christ at his birth, and prompted Simeon to come to the
temple to see the Christ of the Lord. The Spirit filled Christ and the power of
the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving. Finally, it
was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, fully established as
"Christ" in his humanity victorious over death, Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit
abundantly until "the saints” constitute-- -- in their union with the humanity
of the Son of God -- -- that perfect man "to the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ": "the whole Christ," in St. Augustine's
expression.
Fire. While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming
energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who
"arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from
heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire
of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes
"before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the
one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Jesus will say of
the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already
kindled!" In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the
disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. The spiritual
tradition has retained this symbolism of fire is one of the most expressive
images of the Holy Spirit's actions. "Do not quench the Spirit."
Cloud and light. These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy
Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now
luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of
his glory -- -- with Moses on Mount Sinai, at the tent of meeting, and during
the wandering in the desert, and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple.
In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes upon the
Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to
Jesus. On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and
overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came
out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ “Finally,
the cloud took Jesus out of sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension
and will reveal him as Son of man in glory on the day of his final
coming.”
The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on
Christ and also seals us in him. Because this seal indicates the indelible
effect of the anointing with Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism,
Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in
some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by
these three unrepeatable sacraments.
The hand. Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them.
In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the
apostles imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The Letter to the
Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its
teaching. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the
Holy Spirit in its sacramental epiclesis.
The finger. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law
was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from
Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of
the living God, not on tablets of stone, on tablets of human hearts." The hymn
Veni Creator Spritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's
right hand."
The dove. At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove
released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign
that the earth was again habitable? When Christ comes up from the water of his
baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove comes down upon him and remains
with him. The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the
baptized. In certain churches, the Eucharist is reserved in a medical receptacle
in the form of the (columbarium) suspended above the altar. Christian
iconography traditionally uses the dove to suggest the Spirit.
Dear friends in Christ. My apologies for last week. I am not sure exactly what happened but apparently the weekly update was not saved to the web site. I have included it in this weeks udate.
February 24, 2013 He protects those who are loyal to him, but evil people will be silenced in darkness. Power is not the key to success. 1 Samuel 2:9
Section 2 Chapter 3 Article 8 Section I – The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit
The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly
God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from
them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world.
in adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the
Church's faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends
his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the
Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen,
the visible image of the invisible God, but it is a spirit who reveals him.
Jesus Christ, "anointed," because the Spirit is his anointing, and everything that
occurs from the Incarnation on derives from his fullness. When Christ is
finally glorified, he can in turn send the spirit from his place with the
Father to those who believe in him: he communicates to them his glory, that is,
the Holy Spirit who glorifies him. From that time on, this joint mission will
be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of his Son: the
mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live
in him:
The notion of anointing suggests... that there is no distance between the Son and
the Spirit. Indeed, just as between the surface of the body and the anointing
with oil neither reason nor sensation recognizes any intermediary, so the
contact of the Son with the Spirit is immediate, so that anyone who would make
contact with the Son by faith must first encounter the oil by contact. In fact
there is no part that is not covered by the Holy Spirit. That is why the
confession of the Son’s Lordship is made in Holy Spirit by those who receive
him, the Spirit coming from all sides to those who approach the Son in faith.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 8 Section II – The Name, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit
The proper name of the Holy Spirit
"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father
and a Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in
the Baptism of her children. The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah,
which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the
sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of
him who is personally God’s breath, the divine Spirit. On the other hand,
"Spirit" and "Holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By
joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designates
the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation
with other uses of the terms "spirit" and "holy.”
Titles of the Holy Spirit
When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the
"Paraclete,” literally, "he was called to one’s side, " ad-vocatus. "Paraclete"
is commonly translated by "consoler," and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord
also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth." Besides the proper name of
"Holy Spirit," which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and
the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles "the Spirit of the promise,
the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the
Spirit of God -- -- and, in Saint Peter, the Spirit of glory.
February17, 2013 - God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person,
but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 6:7
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 7 Section I – He Will Come Again in Glory
"Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."
Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in
God's power and authority. Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in
heaven and on earth. He is "far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion," for the Father "has put all things under his feet." Christ is Lord
of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all creation are
"set forth" and transcendentally fulfilled.
As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven
and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his mission, Christ dwells on
earth in his church. The redemption is the source of the authority that Christ,
by virtue of the Holy Spirit, exercises over the Church. "The kingdom of Christ
is already present in mystery," "on earth, the seed and the beginning of the
kingdom."
Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into his fulfillment. We are already at
"the last hour." "Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal
of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain
real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is
real but imperfect." Christ's kingdom already manifests its presence through the
miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church.
Though already present in his Church, Christ’s reign is nevertheless yet to be
fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the king's return to earth. This reign
is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated
definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until
there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the
pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present
age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her
place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation
of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to
hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Marana tha! "Our Lord,come!"
Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious
establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel which, according to the
prophets, was t bring all men the definitive order of justice, love, and peace.
According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of
witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which
does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a
time of waiting and watching.
Since the Ascension Christ’s coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own
authority." This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even
if both it and the final trial that will precede it or "delayed."
The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his
recognition by "all Israel," for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in
their "unbelief" toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews in Jerusalem after
Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may
send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the
time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from
of old." St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means a reconciliation of
the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full
inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation, in the wake of "the full
number of the Gentiles," will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ," in which "God may be all in all."
Before Christ's second coming to Church must pass through a final trial that will shake
the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on
earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception
offering men and apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy
from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a
pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his
Messiah come in the flesh.
The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the
claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be
realized beyond history through the eschatalogical judgment. The Church has
rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under
the name of millenarianism especially the "intrinsically perverse" political
form of secular messianism
The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover,
which she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will
be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the church through a
progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of
evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over
the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final
cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 7 Section II – To Judge the Living and the Dead
Following in the steps of the prophets of John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment
the Last Day in his preachung. Then will the conduct of each one and the
secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the culpable unbelief that
counted the offer of God's grace as nothing to be condemned. Our attitude about
her neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. On
the last day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the
least of these my brethren, you did it to me."
Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works of
hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right
by his cross. The Father has given "all judgment to the Son." Yet the Son did
not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By
rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to
one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the
Spirit of love.
February 10, 2013 - God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same. Romans 3:22
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 6 –
He Ascended into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys. But during the 40 days when eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus' final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand. Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way wold Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born," in a last apparition that established him as an apostle. The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen Christ and of the Christ exalted to the Father’s right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension.
This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, his descent from heaven in the incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the Father: Christ Jesus. “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the “Father's house”, to God’s life and happiness. Only Christ can open to a man such access that we, as members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our Source, has preceded us. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands... but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." There Christ permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him." As "high priest of the good things to come" he is the center and the principal actor of the liturgy that honors the Father in heaven.
Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand Father: " By ‘the Father's right hand’ we understand the glory and honor of divinity, where he who exists as Son of God before all ages, indeed as God, of one being with the Father, is seated bodily after he became incarnate and his flesh was glorified."
Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of Man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." After this event the apostle became witnesses of the "kingdom that will have no end."
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 5 Paragraph 2 Section II –The Resurrection – A Work of the Holy Trinity
Christ's Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father's power "raised up" Christ the Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son's humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as "Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead." St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God's power through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus’ dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.
As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of Man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise. Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: "I lay down my life, that I may take it again... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." "We believe that Jesus died and rose again."
The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death: "By the unity of the divine nature, which remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited. For as death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is achieved by union of the two."
February 10, 2013 - God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is
true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same. Romans 3:22
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 6 – He Ascended into Heaven4 and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and
sat down at the right hand of God." Christ's body was glorified at the moment of
his Resurrection, as proved by the new supernatural properties it subsequently
and permanently enjoys. But during the 40 days when eats and drinks familiarly
with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled
under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus' final apparition ends with
the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the
cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right
hand. Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way wold Jesus show himself to
Paul "as to one untimely born," in a last apparition that established him as an apostle.
The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary
Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say
to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."
This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen
Christ and of the Christ exalted to the Father’s right hand, a transition marked
by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension.
This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, his descent from heaven
in the incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the
Father: Christ Jesus. “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from
heaven, the Son of Man." Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the “Father's house”,
to God’s life and happiness. Only Christ can open to a man such access that we, as
members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our
Source, has preceded us.
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." The lifting
up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension
into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and
eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands... but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." There Christ
permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make
intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him." As "high priest of
the good things to come" he is the center and the principal actor of the liturgy
that honors the Father in heaven.
Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand Father: " By ‘the Father's right hand’ we
understand the glory and honor of divinity, where he who exists as Son of God
before all ages, indeed as God, of one being with the Father, is seated bodily
after he became incarnate and his flesh was glorified."
Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's
kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of
Man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."
After this event the apostle became witnesses of the "kingdom that will have no
end."
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 5 Paragraph 2 Section II –The Resurrection – A Work of the
Holy Trinity
Christ's Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of
God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together
as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father's power
"raised up" Christ the Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son's
humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed
as "Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection
from the dead." St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God's power through the
working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus’ dead humanity and called it to the
glorious state of Lordship.
As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power.
Jesus announces that the Son of Man will have to suffer much, die, and then
rise. Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: "I lay down my life, that I may take it
again... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." "We
believe that Jesus died and rose again."
The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person
of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even when these were
separated from each other by death: "By the unity of the divine nature, which
remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited. For as
death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is
achieved by union of the two."
ASH WEDNESDAY 2/13/2013
The first day of Lent, a preparation for the celebration of Easter. On this day the pastor or priest blesses us
and makes the sign of the cross in ashes on each of our forehead's. It is meant to remind us of our sins
and the need for constant repentance. Wearing the ashes reminds us to be humble and recommit ourselves
to living a better life. Some of you may give up something for Lent, I choose to attend mass each day during Lent.
Whatever you choose do it with love of our Lord.
________________________________________________________
February 3, 2013 - All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:1
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 5 Paragraph 2 Section I – The Historical and Transcendent Event
The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were
historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about a.d. 56,
St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance
with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the
12..." the Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which
he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus.
The empty tomb
"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The first
element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb.
It itself is not direct proof of resurrection; the absence of Christ's body
from the tomb could be explained otherwise. Nonetheless the empty tomb was
still an essential sign for all.
Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the
very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with holy women, and
then with Peter. The disciple "whom Jesus loved" affirmed that when he entered
the empty tomb and discovered "the linen cloths lying there," "he saw and
believed." This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's condition that
the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had
not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.
The appearances of the Risen One
Mary Magdalen and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus,
which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good
Friday, were the first to encounter the risen one. Thus the women were the first
messengers of Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves. They were the
next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the 12. Peter had been called to
strengthen the faith of his brothers, and so sees the Risen One before them; it
is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: "The Lord has
risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles -- -- and
Peter in particular -- -- in the building of the new era begun on Easter
morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of
his Church. The faith of the first community of believers is based on the
witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still
living among them. Peter and the 12 are the primary "witnesses to his
Resurrection," but they are not the only ones -- Paul speaks clearly of more
than 500 persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also James and
of all the apostles.
Given all these testimonies, Christ’s Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something
outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an
historical fact. It is clear from the facts that the disciples’ faith was
drastically put to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross,
which he had foretold. The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at
least some of the disciples did not at once believe in in the news of the
Resurrection. Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation,
the Gospels present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad") and
frightened. For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and
had regarded their words as an "idle tale." When Jesus reveals himself to the 11
on Easter evening, "he unbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart,
because they had not believed him those who saw him after he had risen."
Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful,
so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In
their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering." Thomas will also
experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen
Lord's last appearance in Galilee "some doubted." Therefore the hypothesis that
the resurrection was produced by the apostles faith (or credulity) will not hold
up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action
of divine grace, from their direct experience with the reality of the risen Jesus.
The condition of Christ’s risen humanity
By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct
will contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that
he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he
appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it
still bears the traces of his passion. Yet at the same time this authentic, real
body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and
time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ’ humanity can no
longer be confined to earth and belongs henceforth only to the Father's divine
realm. For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of
appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to
his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith.
Christ's resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings
from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jarius' daughter, the young
man of Naim, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons
miraculously raised returned by Jesus’ power to ordinary earthly life. At some
particular moment they would die again. Christ's Resurrection is essentially
different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life
beyond time and space. At Jesus' Resurrection his body is filled with the power
of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life and his glorious state, so that
St. Paul can say that Christ is "the man of heaven."
The Resurrection as transcendent event
O truly blessed Night, sings the Exsultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone
deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of the
dead! But no one was an eyewitness
to Christ’s Resurrection and no evangelist describes it. No one can say how it
came about physically. Still less was its innermost essence, his passing over to
another life, perceptible to the senses. Although the Resurrection was an
historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the
reality of the apostles encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at
the very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and
surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the
world, but to his disciples, "to those who came up with him from Galilee to
Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people."
January 27, 2013 Enjoy serving the Lord, and he will give you what you want. Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you. Psalms 37:4-5
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 3 Paragraph 1 – Christ Descended into Hell
The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead"
presuppose that the crucified one sojourned into the realm of the dead prior to
his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to
Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in
his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as
Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits in prison there.
Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" -- --
Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek -- -- because those who are there are deprived
of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or
righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is
identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was
received into "Abraham's bosom": "it is precisely these holy souls, who awaited
their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he
descended into hell." Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned,
nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who hadgone before him.
“The gospel was preached even to the dead." The descent into hell brings the Gospel
message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus's
messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real
significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and
all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.
Christ went down into the depths of death so that “the dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Jesus, "the author of life,"
by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and
delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."
Henceforth to resent Christ holds "the keys of death and Hades," so that "in the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great
silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God
has fall asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since
the world began... He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, and for a
lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the
shadow of death, he hass gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve,
captive with him -- -- He who is both their God and the son of Eve... "I am your
God, who for your sake have become your son... I order you, O sleeper, to awake.
I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Ise from the dead, for I am the life of
the dead."
January 20, 2013 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29
Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's
disobedience many were being made righteous." But his obedience unto death,
Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering servant, who "makes himself
an offering for sin," when "he bore the sin of many," and who "shall make many
to be accounted righteous," for "he shall bear their antiquities." Jesus atoned
for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the father.
Jesus consummates his sacrifice on the Cross
It is love "to the end" that confers on
Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and
satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life.
Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one
has died for all; therefore all have died." No man, not even the holiest, was
ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself ats A
sacrifice for all. The existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who
at once surpasses and embraces all human persons and constitutes himself as the
Head of all mankind makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.
The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ's sacrifice as "the
source of eternal salvation" and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood
of the cross merited justification for us." And the Church venerates his cross
as it sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope."
Our participation in Christ’s sacrifice
The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men."
But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to
every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in
the paschal mystery" is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to "take up
their cross and follow him," for "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example so that we should follow in his steps." In fact Jesus desires to
associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be his first
beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was
associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his
redemptive suffering.
Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.
Paragraph 3 - Jesus Christ Was Buried
"By the Grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for everyone." In his plan of salvation,
God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our sins" but should also
"taste death," experience the condition of death, the separation of the soul
from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was
raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb
and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ,
lying in the tomb, reveals God’s great Sabbath rest after the fulfillment of
man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe.
Christ in the tomb in his body
Christ's stay in the tomb constitutes the real link between his passible state before
Easter and his glorious and risen state today. The same person of the "Living
One" can say, "I died, and behold I am alive for evermore": God the Son did not
impede death from separating his soul from his body according to the necessary
order of nature, but has reunited them to one another in the Resurrection, so
that he himself might be, in his person, the meeting point for death and life,
by arresting in himself the decomposition of nature produced by death and so
becoming the source of reunion for the separated parts.
Since the "Author of life" who was killed is the same "living one [who has] risen,"
the divine person of the Son of God necessarily continued to possess his human
soul and body, separated from each other by death:
By the fact that at Christ's death his soul was separated from his flesh, his one
person is not itself divided into two persons; for the human body and soul of
Christ existed in the same way from beginning of his earthly existence, in the
divine person of the Word; and in death, although separated from each other,
both remained with one and the same person of the Word.
“You will not let your Holy One see corruption"
Christ’s death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But
because of the union which the person of the Son retained with his body, his was
not a mortal corpse like others, for "it was not possible for death to hold
them" and therefore "divine power preserved Christ's body from corruption." Both
of these statements can be said of Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of
the living," and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul
to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption." Jesus' Resurrection "on the
third day" was a sign of this, also because bodily decay was held to begin on
the fourth day after death.
”Buried with Christ…”
Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously signifies the
descent into the tomb by the Christian who dies to sin with Christ in order to
live a new life. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so
that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might
walk in newness of life."
January 13, 2013 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Psalms 86:15
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 3 Paragraph 2 Section III – Christ Offered Himself to His Father for Our Sins
Christ’s whole life is an offering to the Father
The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of
him who sent him," said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your
will, O God." "And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." From the first moment of his
Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his
redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to
accomplish his work." The sacrifice of Jesus "for the sins of the whole world"
expresses his loving communion with his Father. "The Father loves me, because I
lay down my life," said the Lord, "for I do as the Father has commanded me, so
that the world may know that I love the Father." The desire to embrace his
Father's plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus’ whole life, for his redemptive
passion was the very reason for his Incarnation. And so he asked, "And what
shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come
to this hour." And again, "Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given
me?" From the cross just before "It is finished," he said "I thirst."
“The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world”
After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus
and pointed him out as the "Lamb of God, who comes to takes away the sin of the
world." By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering
Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the
sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's
redemption at the first Passover Christ’s whole life expresses his mission: "to
serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus freely embraced the Father’s redeeming love
By embracing in his human heart the Father's love for men, Jesus "loved them to the
end," for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends." In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect
instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men. Indeed, of
love for his father and for men, whom the father wants to save, Jesus freely
accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes my life from me, but I lay it
down of my own accord." Hence the sovereign freedom of God's son as he went out
to his death
At the Last Supper Jesus anticipated the free offering of his life
Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared
with the 12 apostles "on the night he was betrayed." On the eve of his Passion,
while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the
memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: "This
is my body which is given for you." "This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his
sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own suffering and bids them
perpetuate it By doing so, the
Lord Institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I
sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."
The agony at Gethsemani
The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the
Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony
in the garden of Gethsemani,”, making himself "obedient unto death." Jesus
prays: "My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me..." Thus he
expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his
human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly
exempt from sin, the cause of death. Above all, his human nature has been
assumed by the divine person of the "Author of life," the "Living One." By
accepting in his human that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as
redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree."
Christ’s death is the unique and definitive sacrifice
Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption
of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world," and the
sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by
reconciling him to God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins."
This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrafices.
First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son
over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself very at the same time it
is the offering of the son of God made man, who in freedom and low offered his
life to his father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for
disobedience.
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January 6, 2013 Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord
your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 3 Paragraph 2 Section I –
The Trial of Jesus among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the
Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples
of Jesus, but there was also a long-standing dissension about him, so much so
that St. John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ's Passion,
"many... believed in him," though very imperfectly. This is not surprising, if
one recalls on the day after Pentecost "a great many of the priests were
obedient to the faith" and "some believers... belong to the party of the
Pharisees," to the point that St. James could tell St. Paul, "How many
thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; and they are all
zealous for the Law."
The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about
what stance to take towards Jesus. The Pharisees threatened to excommunicate his
and followers. To those who feared that "everyone will believe in him, and the
Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation," the high
priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying: "It is expedient for you that one man
should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." The
Sanhedrin, having declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having
lost the right to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing
him of political revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas
who had been accused of sedition. The high priests also threatened Pilate
politically said that he would condemn Jesus to death.
Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus’ death.
The historical complexity of Jesus’ trial is apparent in the
Gospel accounts. The personal sins of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin,
Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial
on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd
and the global reproaches contained in the apostles’ calls to conversion after
Pentecost. Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following
suit, both accept "the ignorance" of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their
leaders. Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different
times and places, based merely on the crowd’s cry: "His blood be on us and our
children!" a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. As the church declared
at the Second Vatican Council:...-Nether all Jews indiscriminately at that time,
nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion...
The Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed
from holy Scripture.
All sinners were the authors of Christ’s Passion.
In her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of
her saints, the Church has never forgotten that "sinners were the authors and
the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured." Taking
into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself, the Church does not
hesitate to impute to Christians the greatest responsibility for the torments
inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often
burdened the Jews alone:
We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into
their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross,
those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God
anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt. And it can be seen that our crime in
this case is greater in us than the Jews. As for them, according to the witness
of the Apostle, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they
had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
We, however, profess to know him. And when we deny him by our deeds, we
in some way seem to lay violent hands on him. Nor did demons crucify him; it is you
who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and
sins.
Section 2 Chapter 2 Article 3 Paragraph 2 Section II – Christ’s Redemptive Death in God’s Plan of Salvation
“Jesus handed over according to the definite plan of God”
Jesus’ violent death was not the result of chance in an
unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God's
plan, as St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on
Pentecost: "This Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God." This Biblical language does not mean that those who
handed him over were merely passive players in a scenario written in advance by God.
To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When
therefore he establishes his eternal plan of "predestination," he includes in it
each person's free response to his grace: "In this city, in fact, both Herod and
Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together
against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and
your plan had predestined to take place." For the sake of accomplishing his plan
of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.
“He died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”
The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation
through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a mystery of
universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the
slavery of sin. Citing a confession of faith that he himself had "received," St.
Paul professes that "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures." In particular Jesus’ redemptive death fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of
the suffering Servant. Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life
and death in the light of God suffering Servant. After his Resurrection he gave
this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles.
“For our sake God made him to be sin.”
Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the
divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your fathers... with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a
lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world
but was made that we might be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son."
God takes the initiative of universal redeeming love.
By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his
plan for us is one of benevolent love,, prior to any merit of our part: "In this
is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
expiation for our sins." God "shows his love for us in that while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us."
At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that
God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in
heaven that one of these little ones should perish." He affirms that he came "to
give his life as a ransom for many"; this last term is not restrictive, but
contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person of the redeemer who
handed himself over to save us. The Church, following the apostles, teaches that
Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and
never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer."