Dove and Glory Cloud

January 2015 FGO, audio based on this Annunciation by Matthias Grünewald and this text. 

I was drawing as well- this photo shows what I was sketching:

Food Pyramid Podcast

A Food Miracle Pyramid.

Eating God Podcast

About 4 minutes: Whole Lotta Eatin' Goin' On, a version of Eat x 10 x 2 = ?

On the Liturgy of the Word

   July 2014 talk by Bro. Dan Grossano,  Lector at Council 4524, St. Joseph's Parish, East Rutherford, NJ, Archdiocese of Newark. Click to access handout.

                                                          

                Before addressing tonight’s topic, I hope you brothers were able to follow through on the challenges from the last time of reviewing the handout I gave previously on the introductory rites of the Mass and tried to utilize its insights as you attend Holy Mass.  Brothers I do not give these talks to entertain myself, but rather to help enliven, educate and challenge you all.  Tonight we will be addressing the Liturgy of the Word.  First, we need to remember that Holy Scripture these are God’s own Words; the Scripture is literally God-breathed, theopneustos (pronounced thee-o-new-stos) in the Greek meaning that they are inspired by the Holy Spirit.  The Scriptures are similar to Christ in that He was both fully human and divine so with the Scripture, which was inspired by God, the divine element, but He also used the sacred authors’ own volition and gifts to proclaim this Word, the human element (Sri 2011, p. 53).  Know that there is a power to God’s Word even regardless of our complete grasp of it (Origen as cited in Crean 2008, p. 59).  Thus there is more power on a metaphysical level to God’s Word, even the most seemingly dull passages, when compared to the most rousing poetry.  This is because when God’s Word allows us to commune with the divine (Hahn 1999, p. 99).  Similar to the Jews when we read Scripture we remember God’s past wondrous deeds as signs that point to our hope in the blessings that He wants to give us in the future (Hahn 2005, p. 90).  For example, we recall the Exodus of the Jewish people from slavery from Egypt knowing that it points to our freedom from slavery from sin that our Lord desires to give us on our way to the true Promised Land which is Heaven.  In the liturgy one is drawn not as an outsider, but mysteriously is a participant in the history of salvation that we read about in the Liturgy of the Word (Hahn 2005, p. 93).  The liturgy makes present the events of the liturgy in the here and now even though they occurred long ago in history (St. Augustine as cited in Hahn 2005, p. 96).  Again, so it is not just God drawing Israel out of Egypt, but it is God drawing me away from my idols of lust, pride, laziness, etc. 

            

                 Now to get more practical, the readings on Sundays come from a three year lectionary indicated by years A, B and C.  The weekday liturgy follows a two year cycle (Sri 2011, p. 55).  There is some evidence that this practice even went back to the Jews (Sri 2011, p. 54 & 55).  What is great about the lectionary is that it covers most of the Bible and not contingent on the particular passages that a priest might like to preach on (Sri 2011, p. 55).  Also the Church give us different liturgical seasons so that we can reflect on different aspects of Christ and the Catholic faith.  Being that we are human we can not comprehend all of these mysteries all at once (Sri 2011 p. 56).  Think about appreciating family members every day though we still celebrate certain anniversaries and birthdays to particularly celebrate what they mean to us (Sri 2011 p. 57).  As we go through the liturgical cycle we hopefully grow deeper and deeper into these mysteries and come to appreciate them more (Sri 2011 p. 57).    The first reading at Mass is usually taken from the Old Testament, then a selection is read from the Psalms, the second reading is from one of the New Testament epistles, the book of Revelation or the Acts of Apostles and the Gospel is the climax as all of salvation history which pointed to Christ (Sri 2011, p. 55 & 64).                                                                                     

We treat listening to the Word of God as something everyday and commonplace, but know that the Israelites prepared for three days until they were ready to listen to God declare the words of the covenant . . .wow what reverence and awe (Sri 2011, p. 53&54)!  That is why in the New Covenant in Christ we have to prepare for His word through the introductory rites of the sign of the cross, the penitential rite and the Gloria.  Through this we show how are unfit to be in the Lord’s presence, ask for His mercy and sing his praises (Sri 2011, p. 54).  We sit to listen to God’s Word because sitting in the ancient world was the posture for learning and listening to a teacher.  In the early Church sitting was seen as that position of a student or mentee (Barron 2011, p. 178).  The Word of God invites us into a world in which we are challenged to talk, behave and think differently, but we have to be open to it (Barron 2011, p. 179).  Through being open to this Word we are also agreeing to hold fast to it.  Hearing the law in the Old Testament was to put it into practice because if one was disobedient one would be punished.  The covenants that God made with the Israelites carried with them blessings and punishments or curses (Hahn 1999, p. 49).

                          

The reader stating “The Word of the Lord” should help move us to amazement that God is actually speaking to us and we respond by saying “Thanks be to God” (Driscoll 2005 p. 40-41 as cited in Sri 2011, p. 59).  Then there should be some time of silence for us to ponder this word for our lives as well as to stand in awe that the Lord has just spoken to us (Sri 2011 p. 60).  The Responsorial Psalm comes from the book of Psalms in the Old Testament which is comprised of 150 psalms that were used privately as well as in public worship in the Temple liturgy (Sri 2011 p. 61).  We can see the use of a call and response style use of the psalms going back to the third century and that probably was similar to how the Israelites also used them in worship (Sri 2011 p. 63).  The Second Reading is usually from one of the New Testament epistles, the book of Revelation and the Acts of Apostles (Sri 2011 p. 64).                  

In the Gospel we stand to welcome Jesus who will speak to us (Sri 2011, p. 65).  When the Gospel is proclaimed we stand to indicate that we are prepared to receive His Word and carry it out.  One way to help us prepare our hearts would be to say to ourselves “‘Jesus Christ was made obedient unto death, even the death on the cross’” (St. Francis deSales as cited in Crean 2008, p. 68).  We say Alleluia which means “Praise Yahweh” or “Praise the Lord” and is used to praise God for His work of salvation through Christ especially the coming of Christ depicted in the wedding supper of the Lamb in the book of Revelation (Revelation 19:1-9 as cited in Sri 2011 p. 65-66).  We make the sign of the cross on our mind, lips and heart so that we might be open to the Word that is proclaimed in the Gospel as well as sharing it with others (Kocik 2007, p. 51).  We also say “Glory to you, O Lord” because this is the climax of the Liturgy of the Word when Christ becomes present similar to the climax of the Liturgy of the Eucharist (Hahn 1999, p. 121).  In the Words of the Gospel, Christ is speaking to us individually so He does not merely say long ago “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17) rather He is speaking to you, Eugene . . . Joe . . .Pat individually today (Sri 2011 p. 67).  We should hear the words of the Gospel as spoken to us personally by Jesus and we should ask Him for the help to put these words into practice (St. Alphonsus as cited in Crean 2008, p. 70).  The homily should help us comprehend the readings and make it applicable to our lives.  In Greek the word homily means “explanation.”  Also having an ordained minister, one having valid apostolic succession, read the Gospels points to the fact that all of Scripture needs to be interpreted in the light of the faith of the apostles, which has been preserved through the Church.  This is also the reason why only an ordained minister can preach a homily even though a lay person may have great gifts of preaching.  Having an ordained minister should in a sense guarantee that what he is preaching on is in line with the apostolic faith faithfully preserved through the Church and not just his own opinions or experiences (Sri 2011 p. 68).  In closing, I want to issue you three challenges which I have indicated on the handout.  The first is to start reading the Bible more frequently, at least twice a week.  Start just reading the Gospel of Mark as it is a simple Gospel.  Reading the Gospel will help you to become more familiar with the Scripture as it is proclaimed at Holy Mass.  The second is to ask the Holy Spirit before Mass to open your heart to God’s Word as it is spoken to you today, amidst your joys, sorrows, struggles and hopes and that you would put its truth into action.  The third is to review the handout that I have left for you and try to remember its insights as you actively participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Remember brothers we are called to continue to enter more deeply and with greater appreciation into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass not just as passive participants.  Vivat Jesus! 

Works Cited

Crean, T. (2008). The Mass and the Saints. San Francisco: Ignatius.

Driscoll, J.  (2005). What Happens at Mass. Chicago, IL: Liturgy Training Publications.   

Hahn, S. (1999). The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. NY: Doubleday.

Hahn, S. (2005). Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy.  New York, NY: Doubleday. 

Kocik, T. (2007). Loving and Living the Mass.  Bethesda, MD: Zaccheus Press.

Sri, T. (2011). A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in     the Liturgy. West Chester, PA: Ascension Press.

Christ, Truly Present

February 2014 FGO by Bro. Jason Rhoad

One of the documents from the Second Vatican Council is named Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. While there is much to be learned from entire document, for this month’s discussion, I am only going to focus on one small aspect of it, paragraph seven. In that one small section, we get a very key catechesis on the liturgy. There we are reminded of the four ways Jesus Christ is present at each and every mass.

Given recent poll numbers concerning how many Catholics actually attend mass regularly, and how many of those that either don’t know or don’t believe in the real presence of Christ at mass, part of the new evangelization has to be focused on helping baptized Catholics understand just what a true treasure the holy sacrifice of the mass is. St. Padre Pio once said, “If we only knew how God regards this sacrifice, we would risk our lives to be present at a single Mass.” Paragraph 11 of CSL teaches that the full, conscious, and active participation by all the people at mass is the pastoral aim to be considered before all else. In other words, the most important thing is that we the faithful understand what the mass is, what is going on, and what our participation should be. So in that spirit, let’s take a look at one aspect of the mass that should capture our awe, Christ’s presence.

CSL 7 teaches us that there are actually four ways that Christ is present in the liturgy. First, he is present in the person of his minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross.” The Church teaches us that the priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. Christ is present then through the ministry of the priest. The priest participates in the priesthood of Christ, the true high priest. So when the priest performs the priestly functions during the liturgy, such as administering the sacraments, it is Christ who administers the sacraments.

Second, Christ is present in the sacraments themselves, most notably in the holy Eucharist. Christ is present in all the sacraments as each of them were instituted by Him in order communicate to us the grace that they signify. To receive a sacrament is to receive the grace of Christ. But the way we receive Him par excellence, the way that Christ’s presence trumps all other ways in which He is present to us, is in the holy Eucharist. When the priest consecrates the bread and wine, those ordinary elements which are condensed symbols representing the entire lives of all the faithful, become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The CCC tells us that Christ is really, truly, and substantially present. The smallest fragment of the host and the smallest drop of the precious blood contain the whole Jesus, so when we receive under either species, we receive the full Christ.

The third way Jesus is present at mass is in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. In John 1:1 we read that in the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We then read that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the logos, the eternal Word of God. Every word in the Bible can be condensed into one word, Jesus. St. John of the Cross said, “In the eternal silences of the Trinity, God only spoke a single word, the Eternal Word. He has nothing more to say.”

Finally, CSL 7 tells us that Jesus 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 (Mt. 18:20). Through this, Jesus shows us the importance of gathering together as a community to worship. While it is true that we can experience Jesus anywhere and in many different ways, He specifically tells us that if we gather together in His name, He is truly there with us.

CSL 7 sums it up this way: “From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of his Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.”

The document goes on to tell us how the earthly liturgy is a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy. The mass is truly heaven on earth. As one of the Eucharistic prayers tells us, God’s angel takes the sacrifice from the altar and brings it to the altar in heaven. We are entering into the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. We are at the foot of the cross. Through the earthly symbols of bread and wine, we are to offer ourselves, in union with Christ’s offering, to God the father. So we join our sacrifice to His, which accomplished the redemption of the entire world. Because of this, an infinite amount of grace is available at every single mass. The more we open ourselves to this grace, the more we cultivate our relationship with God and dispose ourselves to what God has ready and willing for us to experience, the more our capacity for the divine life increases. Let’s remind our brothers and sisters of this most awesome and sublime reality the next time we hear someone say “I don’t get anything out of the mass.”

Die Schutzmantel Madonna

Audio of the FGO at the December 12 Business Meeting of Council 13112.

Audio material is drawn from this post; and this one.

Multiplication vs. Transformation

Audio of the FGO from Council 13112's November business meeting, based on this text.

Abel, Abraham, Melchizedek

"Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim."

FGO from the September 10, 2013 business meeting.

Excerpt from July 2013 GK Workshop

About 5 minutes from my Lector lecture, very much like a typical one of my FGOs. It's a version of something I do in Catechism class, covered here.

FGO 11 June 2013

Link to the audio of the FGO delivered on 11 June 2013 at Council 13112 at St. Mary's in Greenville SC.

I Never Noticed

Here's a short FGO I presented a few months ago:

"I just noticed in Palm Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke, that at the Last Supper Jesus didn't eat or drink after the words of Consecration:

"And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15* And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16* for I tell you I shall not eat it * until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18* for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19* And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Nor in Matthew: 
 
  "When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples... Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; 28* for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
 
Nor in Mark:
 
"And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24* And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, * which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the 
kingdom of God."  
 
Having thought about this for several minutes (!), I believe this points to Transubstantiation. If Jesus were speaking symbolically when he said "This is my body...this is my blood," then why not share in the eating and drinking along with the Apostles? If nothing else, it would clarify that this bread and wine were no different from any they had consumed earlier in the evening; lest anyone erroneously suppose Jesus was speaking literally on this night, and also the day after the Loaves and Fishes miracle (John 6). 
 
On the other hand, if Jesus had indeed transformed the elements into his own flesh and blood, then it would be appropriate that he not partake in consuming himself.

Time to Get Fired Up!

Hey y'all, I'm Brother Christian LeBlanc at Council 13112, St. Mary's in Greenville, SC. Welcome to the South Carolina Knights of Columbus Clearinghouse for All Things for the Good of the Order. I anticipate this blog will be a collaborative effort among the Lectors of the Knights of Columbus of South Carolina (and beyond!) to share and improve our 'For the Good of the Order' presentations given at our monthly business meetings. To that end we'll be posting texts, notes, or outlines of our FGOs, plus links to mp3 recordings of them as well.

To kick things off, here's the text of one of Brother Jason Rhoad's (Council 8123 in Hartsville) recent FGOs:

THE NECESSITY OF BEING “SENT” 

"A friend of mine I went to high school with, grew up to become a Baptist preacher. Recently he stepped down as pastor of his church and it got me to thinking about the notion of being sent. You see, his old church will now go through the same process it went through before he got there. They will go about searching for acceptable candidates and will eventually hire someone to be their new preacher. There has always been something not quite right to me about the sheep choosing their shepherd. How is it supposed to work? Let’s take a look.

Romans 10:14-15

“But how are men to call upon him in who they have not believed? And 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?”

From the beginning, the Church has always understood the necessity of being sent. In fact, the term “Apostle” means, “one who is sent”. Christ came and chose twelve Apostles. He sent them forth with His mission. They in turn sent others. To this day, the Catholic faithful worldwide are sent priests by their bishops.

All Catholic priests and bishops trace their ordination back to the Apostles. To make sure that the Apostles’ teachings would be passed down after their deaths, Paul told Timothy, “What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Here, Paul refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession – his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach.

Why is all this important? Well, if followed to its logical conclusion, it leads to some very uncomfortable realities for non-Catholic clergy. What makes an ordination valid? We have already seen that preachers must be “sent” (Rom 10:14-15). In the Catholic Church, we can see an unbroken line of succession, through the laying on of hands, from Christ, to the Apostles, to their successors, down to the present day. What happens if someone outside of this chain of authority decides to send himself? Is it valid? By what authority does he send himself?

The answer usually given is, “God sent me”. While I cannot be the judge of claims of those who profess such, I can see how simply making such a claim can be made by anyone to justify almost anything. In the Catholic Church, we don’t have to rely on someone’s subjective “feeling” that they have been sent. A feeling that may or may not be from a valid encounter with God.  We can see objectively that a priest has indeed been validly sent. How? Let’s go back to the question of what makes an ordination valid. Only someone validly ordained can validly ordain someone else. Christ ordained the Apostles. They ordained others, who ordained others, etc. etc. down to the present day. In all Protestant faiths, if a minister were to trace his or her ordination, he would eventually have to admit that at some point, their denomination was started by someone who broke away from the authority of the Apostles and ordained himself. By what authority could that be done? Who “sent” that person?

This really goes to the heart of discovering the one true faith of the Catholic Church. Some Protestant ministers may be able to trace their ordination back 500 years to the Reformation. Some may only be able to trace their ordination back a much shorter time when they ordained themselves. But only in the Catholic (and Orthodox) Church can we see the lineage all the way back to the Apostles – those who were the original ones sent by Christ, and given His authority to send others.

I’m sure my friend’s old church will hire themselves a new preacher soon and will continue on without much thought of valid ordinations, apostolic succession, or the consideration that the sheep just hired a new shepherd."

************************************

Y'all feel free to borrow from what we post here; if you do, please post a comment, ask a constructive question, let us know how an FGO was received in your council, etc. Let us know your name and council while you're at it. Help us to prepare our Brother Knights to vigorously participate in the New Evangelization. I ain't kiddin'!  Get fired up!