On the Preparation of Altar Bread in the ciborium

I offered Mass in another parish and during communion, I discovered that there were a lot of broken pieces of the Sacred Species in the ciboria taken from the tabernacle. During the purification of the vessels, I decided to collect the broken pieces of the Sacred Species and all these filled one fourth of a ciborium (added to this would be the thick mound of Sacred Particles / "crumbs" for the uncatechized).

St. Therese as sacristan

I was saddened by this because such should show so much carelessness in the preparation of the gifts for the Mass. It seemed that the sacristan / some other minister in charge simply opened a plastic bag of altar bread and poured the contents into the ciboria without even bothering to check if the bread poured were broken or damaged. He might even have carelessly poured in the crumbs also.

Does the presence of the crumbs in the ciborium matter? So what if there were broken pieces of altar bread included in the gifts to be consecrated? I think proper attention should have been given to the preparation of the hosts not simply on account of some "pickiness" on my part but rather in the theology that goes with it.

I remember the Rev. Fr. Frederick Fermin, OP, our rector, once reprimanded me regarding the preparation of the altar bread. He insisted that the big host and the small hosts should be carefully selected. Care must be taken in the selection of the altar bread. The one in charge of this must make sure that there are no breakage in each piece.  This is because the lamb selected for the sacrifice must always be unblemished and uninjured. This is the reason why the shepherds kept watch during the night of the birthing season of the sheep. They have to make sure that each lamb born from the Temple flock would be wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep them from injuring themselves. The lambs born from the Temple flock had to be unblemished so that they can be offered in sacrifice during the Paschal feast.

If we keep in mind that the Mass is truly the Sacrifice of Christ, we will understand the necessity of carefully selecting the altar bread to be used. The "lamb" must be unblemished. The only time the Lamb is broken would be at the breaking of the bread. The ritual of the breaking of the bread is not done only to distribute and share the Body of Christ among those who take part in the sacrifice. The breaking of the bread is also the moment of destruction of the Sacred Victim. It is the moment when the Holy Sacrifice is consummated. Thus, the spotless, unblemished, uninjured Host is destroyed in an act of Sacrifice which renders God the highest act of worship.

Thus, the sacristans must be mindful of their job. I have offered Masses in convents of consecrated women and I truly appreciate how the altar bread are selected and neatly arranged in the ciborium. This care and attention for such details indicate true devotion and a real appreciation of what is about to transpire at Mass: the offering of the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

Christmas Midnight Mass: Christ the Priest, the Victim, the Bread of Life

CHRISTMAS MASS AT MIDNIGHT 2017

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

DECEMBER 25, 2017

Jesus, I trust in you!

Our Parish Belen for 2017

Tonight we return to Bethlehem as Joseph and Mary did as they sought to comply with the worldwide census declared by Augustus Caesar. They had to return to the city of David because Joseph was of the House of David. It was necessary for the Messiah to be born in the city of David because he is Son of David, the legitimate heir to the throne of his royal ancestor. But there is another reason for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The name “Bethlehem” means “house of bread.” Bethlehem is the fitting birth place for Jesus who is the Bread of Life. In fact the sign which the angels gave the shepherds was that of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying on a manger. The manger is the receptacle of animal food. On it is placed the hay for the feeding of the ox and the donkey and even of the sheep. The new-born baby of Mary was laid on a manger not because the hay was soft but because Mary’s child is our food: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. The food that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

It is rather remarkable that we celebrate today the birth of the Son of God in the flesh. And later on, he shall give his flesh as food for the life of the world. We cannot deny the Eucharistic character of this Holy Day that we are celebrating tonight. It is called “Christmas” and its name is derived from two words: Christ and Mass. The Church, even from ancient times, has understood the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation in the mystery of the Eucharist. In fact, St. John Paul II himself said that the Eucharist is the continuation of the mystery of the Incarnation to our times.

And it is in this light that we have a renewed appreciation of the mystery of the Priesthood. We are celebrating this Christmas in the Year of the Clergy and the Consecrated People. As Mary brought forth the birth in the flesh of God the Son, so also the priest, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the words of Christ, brings about the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Mass, presided by the priest, is not only our encounter with the Paschal Mystery. It is also our encounter with the mystery of the Incarnation: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. The Incarnation took place in Mary’s womb. The Transubstantiation takes place in the hands of the priest. The priest may not be as pure and sinless as the Virgin Mary. But nevertheless, the Son of God humbles himself to take flesh in the bread and wine offered on the altar during Mass.

In fact, we cannot miss the fact that the angels appeared to shepherds who were keeping watch over their flock at night. The sheep they were tending were the Awassi sheep, the only breed of sheep that is indigenous in Israel. The Awassi sheep breed in the summer and drop lambs in the winter. Thus, in Israel, the principal lambing season runs from December to January. These shepherds to whom the angels appeared were Levitical shepherds who were tasked to keep watch over the temple flock. The reason why the shepherds kept watch at night was that they were attending to the dropping of the lambs. Once a lamb is dropped, they bring it into the cave where it is wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep it from being injured at birth. The lambs they watch over were destined to be the Passover lambs that are supposed to be unblemished. Thus, the shepherds understood what the angel’s message meant: the one born on this night is the unblemished Lamb of God who would be sacrificed on Passover. Christ born today is not only the Bread of Life. He is also the Paschal Lamb, the Victim who would render God the most perfect and the highest act of worship. This Lamb of God is also the High Priest of the new covenant. Being the first-born of creation, he is the head of the household who offers the sacrifice of the family of humankind. He will offer not the blood of animals or of other human beings. He will offer his own flesh and his own blood for the redemption of the world.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us not look at him simply as a cute new-born infant. The one who rests on the manger is the Bread of Life. The one who is wrapped in swaddling clothes is the unblemished Lamb of God. The first-born of Mary is the first-born of creation, the High Priest of the new covenant. This great mystery is renewed every day during Mass. In the Mass, the priest acts in the person of Christ the High Priest. In his hands the incarnation takes place so that the Lamb of God may be offered to the Father and he be returned to us as the Bread of Life that we must eat to enter into communion with God and so receive access to the Divine Life. Truly, this is Christ’s Mass where Jesus comes both as Priest and Victim. Come, let us adore him.   

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Tunay na Katawan at Dugo ni Kristo

Hesus, nananalig ako sa iyo!

Walang kaduda-duda na lubhang napakalinaw, klarong klaro, ang sinabi ni Hesus kung ano ba itong pagkain na ibinibigay niya para sa ikabubuhay ng mundo. Ito ay walang iba kundi ang kanyang laman. Ano daw? Laman daw? Sa sobrang linaw ng kanyang sinabi, nagtalo ang mga nakikinig sa kanya. Hindi nila pinagtalunan kung totoong narinig nila na laman daw ni Hesus ang kanyang ipakakain. Ang pinagtalunan nila ay “Paanong maibibigay sa atin ng taong ito ang kanyang laman upan kanin natin?”  At para maging maliwanag sa lahat, apat na ulit na ginamit ni Hesus ang mga salitang laman at dugo: 1. Malibang kanin ninyo ang laman ng Anak ng Tao ay inumin ang kanyang dugo, hindi kayo magkakaroon ng buhay; 2. Ang kumakain ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay may buhay na walang hanggan; 3. Ang aking laman ay tunay na pagkain, at ang aking dugo ay tunay na inumin; 4. Ang kumakain ng aking laman at umiinom ng aking dugo ay nananahan sa akin, at ako sa kanya.

Malinaw na malinaw na “ang tinapay at alak ay nagiging katawan at dugo ni Kristo kaya masasabi na si Hesus ay tunay na naririto sa sakramento.” (CCC, 1375) Itinuro ni San Juan Chrysostomo: “Hindi ang tao ang nagdudulot ng pagbabago kaya ang iniaalay ay nagiging katawan at dugo ni Kristo. Ang nagdudulot ng pagbabagong ito ay mismong si Kristo na ipinako para sa atin. Ang pari na gumaganap sa papel ni Kristo ang siyang bumibigkas ng mga salitang ito, subalit ang kapangyarihan at biyaya ay sa Diyos. Ito ang aking katawan, ang wika niya. Ang salitang ito ang nagdudulot ng pagbabago sa mga alay.” Sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo at sa bisa ng salita ni Kristo, ang tinapay at alak na dinala sa altar ay nagiging katawan at dugo ni Hesus. Ang katawan at dugo, pati na ang kaluluwa at pagkaDiyos ng ating Panginoong Hesukristo ay tunay na tinataglay ng kabanal-banalang sakramento ng Eukaristiya. Sa madaling salita, ang buong Kristo ay tunay na nilalaman ng sakramentong ito. (CCC, 1374) Bagama’t hindi nagbabago ang anyo ng tinapay at alak, nagbabago ang kalikasan nito: ito ay nagiging katawan at dugo ni Hesus. Buong buo si Hesus sa bawat uri (species) at bahagi ng banal na Sakramentio. Kahit hatihatiin pa ang anyong tinapay, hindi nahahati si Kristo. (CCC, 1376) Kung paanong naroroon si Hesus noong pinanganak siya sa Batlehem, kung paanong naroroon siya noong namatay siya sa Kalbaryo, kung paanong naroroon siya at naghahari sa langit,  sa Misa, tunay na naririto si Hesus sa anyo ng tinapay at alak. Naririto si Hesus upang ialay niya ang kanyang sarili bilang kalugod lugod na handog sa Diyos Ama. Naririto si Hesus upang makuha niya para sa atin ang kapatawaran ng ating mga kasalanan. Naririto si Hesus upang makamit niya para sa atin ang lahat ng pagpapala at biyaya. Sa madaling salita, naririto si Hesus upang maidulot niya sa atin ang mga bunga ng kanyang kamatayan at muling pagkabuhay.

Kaya nga nakapagbibigay ng buhay na walang hanggan ang sakramentong ito sa sinumang tatanggap nito ay sapagkat ang kinakain at iniinom natin ay si Hesus, ang Diyos Anak. Ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit buong paggalang natin tinatanggap siya sa banal na Misa. Hindi pangkaraniwang pagkain, hindi ordinaryong pagkain at inumin ang iniaalay at pinagsasaluhan natin sa Misa kundi ang katawan at dugo ni Kristo. Huwag natin pagdudahan ito dahil ang mismong nagsabi na kinakain at iniinom natin ang kanyang laman at dugo ay walang iba kundi si Hesus. Hindi siya marunong magsinungaling. Hindi siya maaring magkamali dahil siya ang Daan, ang Katotohanan, at ang Buhay.  

Ave Maria Purissima, sin pecado concebida!

Ang Halaga ng palagiang Pagsisimba

Hesus, nananalig ako sa iyo.

“Kumain siya at uminom at siya’y lumakas” – ito ang sinabi ng unang pagbasa tungkol kay Profeta Elias na sa simula’y halos mawalan na ng pag-asa dahil sa matinding pagod na kanyang nadama sa kanyang mahabang paglalakbay. Pinakain siya at pinainom ng isang anghel at dahil dito, nakapaglakbay pa siya nang mahaba patungo sa Horeb, ang bundok ng Panginoon. Kung paanong nagdulot ng pambihirang lakas kay Elias ang ipinakain at ipinainom sa kanya ng anghel, gayon din ang idinudulot ng pagkaing ibinibigay ng Panginoong Hesus sa atin: “Ang sinumang kumain ng pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit ay hindi mamamatay. Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit. Mabubuhay magpakailan man ang sinumang kumain nito. At ang pagkaing ibibigay ko sa ikabubuhay ng sanlibutan ay ang aking laman.”

Pinalalakas tayo ng kinakain natin. Pinapawi nito ang ating gutom at uhaw hanggang sa susunod na kainan. Dahil batid natin ang kapakinabangang dulot ng pagkain at inumin kaya tinitiyak nating hindi tayo lumiliban sa oras ng pagkain…hindi tayo nagpapalipas ng gutom. Subalit kay dali para sa atin ang isantabi ang pagtanggap ng banal na Komunyon! Palibhasa, hindi natin kaagad agad nakikita ang idinudulot nitong pakinabang sa atin. Parang walang naidudulot na mabuti para sa atin ang pagtanggap sa katawan ni Kristo. At dito tayo nagkakamali. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, matutuklasan natin ang maraming kabutihan na idinulot sa atin ng mga banal na Misa na ating dinaluhan. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, ang mga Misa na taos puso nating dinaluhan ang siyang magdudulot sa atin ng aliw at pag-asa. Ang isang Misang dinaluhan natin habang nabubuhay tayo ay higit na makakatulong sa atin sa oras ng ating kamatayan kaysa maraming mga pamisang iaalay para sa atin matapos nating pumanaw.

Sinabi ng ating Panginoon kay Santa Gertrudes: “Makatitiyak ang sinumang taimtim na dumalo sa banal na Misa na ang dami ng mga Santo na isusugo ko sa kanya upang aliwin at ipagtanggol siya sa oras ng kamatayan ay magiging kasukat ng dami ng mga Misang taimtim niyang dinaluhan sa buong buhay niya.” Huwag nating kalilimutan na ang oras ng ating kamatayan ang magiging pinakamalaking laban natin sa buhay. Sa oras na iyon, ibubuhos ni Satanas ang lahat ng nalalaman niyang panlilinlang upang makuha niya ang ating kaluluwa. Kaya nga kakailanganin natin ang lahat ng makalangit na tulong para ipag-adya tayo mula sa lahat ng masama dahil diyan nakasalalay ang ating kaligtasan.

Sinabi ni San Juan Maria Vianney: “Kung nalalaman lamang natin ang halaga ng Banal na Misa, tiyak na magsusumikap tayo na dumalo at makinabang tayo dito.” At sinabi pa ni San Pedro Julian Eymard: “Kilalanin mo, O Kristiyano, na ang Misa ang pinakabanal na gawain ng Relihiyon. Wala kang magagawang anupaman upang higit na purihin ang Panginoon o higit na tulungan mo ang iyong kaluluwa  kaysa taimtim na pagdalo sa Misa.” Kaya nga nararapat lamang na ituring nating mapalad tayo tuwing may pagkakataon tayong makadalo sa Misa. Si Santa Maria Goretti, isang labindalawang taong gulang na bata, ay naglakad ng labinglimang milya para lang makapagsimba sa araw ng Linggo. Si Padre Pio ay nagdiwang ng Misa kahit na siya’y nilalagnat at dinudugo. Sa ating sariling buhay, dapat nating ituring ang banal na Misa na mas mahalaga kaysa iba pang mga bagay. Sabi ni San Bernardo: “Higit na pakikinabangan natin ang pagdalo sa isang Misa kaysa anupamang kawanggawa o paglalakbay sa buong mundo para lamang marating ang mga banal na lugar.” Dapat unahin natin ang pagsisimba kaysa iba pang mga libangan na pinag-aaksayahan natin ng oras ngunit hindi naman nakatutulong sa ating kaluluwa. (Nauubos ang oras mo sa COC…matutulungan ka ba niyan sa oras ng iyong kamatayan? Mabibigyan ka ba niyan ng buhay na walang hanggan?) Matuto tayong maglaan ng oras at magsakripisyo kung kinakailangan para makapagsimba at makapagkomunyon. Sinabi ni San Agustin: “Binibilang ng mga anghel ang lahat ng ating mga yapak kapag pumupunta tayo sa simbahan upang dumalo sa Misa at dahil diyan ay gagantimpalaan tayo ng Diyos sa buhay na ito at sa kabila.” Kaya kunin natin ang lahat ng pagkakataon para makapagsimba at tumanggap ng Banal na Komunyon. Mabubuhay kaylanman ang sinumang kumain ng Tinapay ng buhay!

Ave Maria Purissima, sin pecado concebida!  

Communion of will: the Maturity of Love

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Last Sunday, Jesus told us: “Remain in me as I remain in you.” And we heard that we will remain in him as long as we keep his commandments: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” Today, the Lord Jesus gives us his new commandment: “Love one another as I love you.” The Lord does not simply command us to love one another in any way we would like. He was very specific. It had to follow a pattern: “As I love you.” The pattern of our love for one another is his love for us. What does this mean? It means that even before commanding us to love, he first loved us. He first loved us because God himself is love as St. John said in the 2^nd reading: “Love us of God…God is love.” Pope Benedict said: “In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant.” (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 1.) here we find the novelty of Biblical revelation. The Bible reveals to us a new image of God: it is the image of one true God who loves man. God loves us with a personal love. It is comparable to the love of a husband for his wife. This love “is bestowed in a completely gratuitous manner, without any previous merit, but also because it is love which forgives.” (Deus Caritas Est, 10) On account of our “adultery” against God, God’s love goes beyond gratuity. His love is a forgiving love. God’s love “is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice.” (ibid.)  “In Jesus Christ, it is God himself who goes in search of the ‘stray sheep’, a suffering and lost humanity.” (Deus Caritas Est, 12) “His death on the Cross is the culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him. This is love in its most radical form. By contemplating the pierced side of Christ (cf. 19:37), we can understand (what the 2^nd reading told us): “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). It is there that this truth can be contemplated. It is from there that our definition of love must begin. In this contemplation the Christian discovers the path along which his life and love must move.” “There can be no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

God, who is love, first loved us even in spite of our infidelity against him. “In this is love:  not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son in expiation for our sins.” “Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere ‘command’; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.” (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 1) “The ‘commandment’ of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be ‘commanded’ because it has first been given.” (Deus Caritas Est, 14.) The experience of being loved by God changes us and makes our love mature to the point that we being to love what he loves and to reject what he rejects. Thus, we now learn to look at one another from the perspective of Jesus. “In God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know.” My communion with the will of Jesus affects even my feelings: “I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend.” I begin to look at my neighbors with that loving gaze of Jesus. I desire to lay down my life for my neighbor because he is my friend. And because I am willing to die for this neighbor, I will not deny him even the smallest act of service. How can I be expected to die for my neighbor if I am not even willing to serve him? If I cannot be faithful in little things, how can I be trustworthy of bigger things? Regardless of whomever it is who stands before me, I must be willing to look with loving eyes and extend my helping hand for I am loved by God and I desire to love like him.

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Remain in Him

Remain in me as I remain in you.

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

 “Remain in me, as I remain in you,” the Lord Jesus repeats these words again and again in today’s gospel reading. Using the image of the vine, the Lord demonstrates for us how he gives life to us and how he assures us of a fruitful life. The vine is the source of life of its branches. It is the vine which gets the nourishment from the soil and that nourishment is transmitted to its branches. Thus, so long as the branches are attached to the vine, they continue to live and thus bear fruit. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus is like that of the branches to the vine. We are alive and we bear fruit only so long as we are attached or connected to the vine. This relationship is called “communion”. So long as we are in communion with the Lord, so long as we remain in him as he remains in us, we are alive and the proof of life is the fact that we bear fruits. The Lord Jesus tells us: “Without me, you can do nothing.”

But this is really the question: How do we remain in him? St. John in the 2^nd reading tells us: “Those who keep his commandments remain in him and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” We remain in the Lord by keeping his commandments. It is easy to claim that we are in communion with the Lord because it is easy to deceive our own selves. It is easy to pretend that we are in communion with the Lord by saying that we get emotionally “high” during our prayers or claim that we feel “blessed na blessed ni Lord.” Just as it is easy to just say “I love you” to almost everyone as the artistas and politicians can easily say these words. But when can we say that we truly love the Lord? Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” And so, St. John tells us: “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them.” But what are these commandments? St. John tells us: “And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.”

We remain in Jesus if we believe in Jesus. “Whoever believes in him will not perish but will have everlasting life.” But this faith is translated into action for “faith without works is dead.” The works that manifest a living faith are works of love…not just words of love but works of love. Words of affection are cheap. They are given worth only when put into action. Thus, St. John says: “Let us love not just in word or speech but in deed and truth.” The Lord Jesus left us a new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Therefore, our love for each other becomes the sign that we belong to Jesus. it is the sign that we are his disciples. Among the fruits that the Holy Spirit produces in us, it is love that is the first. Thus, a person who truly belongs to Jesus is a loving person.

We remain in Jesus if we believe in Jesus. faith in Jesus is nourished by the Sacraments, by prayer, and by meditation on the Words of the Lord. A cellphone has to be charged in order to stay connected. In like manner, in order to stay connected to Jesus, we have to be charged with the Spirit whom we receive in the sacraments and also in prayer and in listening to God’s word. Only then can we increase in our faith in the Lord. Only then can we keep on loving him by loving one another. Let us remain in him as he remains in us. By remaining in Jesus, we glorify the Father. by remaining in Jesus, we bear much fruit and become his disciples.

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Entering into the Trinitarian Communion

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

In last week’s meditation on the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, we saw that God wills that all his creatures enter into the communion of his Trinitarian life: “The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.” (CCC, 260) He wishes us to have access into his Divine Life which is a Communion of life and love. We may ask: How? How are we to participate into the communal life of the Blessed Trinity. The Lord Jesus answers this in today’s reading: “Just as the living Father sent me, and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” Yes, you heard it right: he wants us to feed on him…to eat his flesh and drink his blood. It might sound odd to you, but do not worry, it also sounded the same way to the Jews who heard him. In fact they quarreled among themselves: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They thought they heard him say that Jesus wanted them to eat his flesh. They just wanted to be sure that they heard him right. And so Jesus confirmed what they heard: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have life in you.” As if it were not enough, he continued: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day.” Just in case you did not understand him, Jesus reiterated: “For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” And so that there would be no further misunderstanding, he repeats: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

The words of Jesus undeniably speak of the mystery of his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. In the Eucharist, Jesus is truly present: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Let there be no mistake about this. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Presence of Christ. But let it not be forgotten that the purpose of his Presence is to be offered as Sacrifice. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and said: “This is my Body which will be given up for you.” Likewise, he took the chalice of wine and said: “This is the Chalice of my Blood which will be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  His Body is given up…offered up. His blood is shed…poured out as a libation, a drink offering. And this is why he wishes us to eat and drink his flesh and blood: partaking of sacrificial food brings about the communion of the recipient with the God to whom the sacrifice is being offered. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles forbade the gentile converts from eating meat offered to idols. This is because eating the meat offered to idols would bring about communion between the eater and the false gods to whom the meat was offered. In like manner, eating the flesh of Jesus in Holy Communion brings about our communion with the Blessed Trinity to whom the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered: “Just as …I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” Understand that when we approach the Altar for Holy Communion, we are not receiving ordinary food. We will be eating the Body and Blood of Jesus himself. This is the reason why we kneel for communion. This is why we receive communion with great reverence and devotion. We are approaching Jesus himself truly present in the Holy Sacrament of the altar. And in doing so, we enter into communion with the Most Holy Trinity. Thus St. Pope John Paul said: the Eucharist “is at one and the same time a sacrifice-sacrament, a communion-sacrament, and a presence-sacrament.” (Redemptor Hominis, 20.) In the Holy Eucharist, we have the abiding presence of the Lord Jesus whose body and blood is offered and poured out for our salvation and in doing so, he brings us, the Church, into communion with the Blessed Trinity. “The Eucharist is the sacrament of sacrifice and communion. All of us who participate in it as sacrifice receive it in communion. At the same time, we receive God’s gift of himself in the Holy Spirit, whom Christ merited for us through his passion.” (John Paul II, Homily of Mass for the Sick, June 14, 1987.) 

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Sent to Gather What was Scattered

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

People oftentimes wonder why Jesus bid his disciples to go from town to town on a mission. Why can’t his disciples stay put like everybody else? The key to the understanding of the itinerant character of the work of the disciples is the message that they bring: “The Kingdom of God is at hand!”  What is the Kingdom of God? The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the ‘convocation’ of all men in Christ, and this ‘convocation’ is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things.” (CCC, 760). Communion in order to share in the divine life – this is the will of the Father for the world which he created. This communion with the Divine life is the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, sin destroyed the harmony in which human beings were created: “the control of the soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions…Harmony with creation is broken…” (CCC, 400). In other words, sin scattered the children of God.

And this is why God sent his Son into the world. “To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth. Now the Father’s will is ‘to raise up men to share in his own divine life.’ He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, ‘on earth, the seed and beginning of that Kingdom.’” (CCC, 541.) Christ came to gather into unity the scattered children of God. He was raised upon the Cross to gather all people to himself. It is for the sake of gathering the scattered children of God that the disciples are sent from town to town with the message that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The work of the disciples, our work is that of gathering. Thus, we have the image of the harvest: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” The fruits of the death of Jesus must be gathered by the workers – and we are the workers. We go from town to town in search for the children of God. The message that we bring is actually an invitation to draw near to the Lord Jesus so that they may gain access to the Divine Life. We cannot share in the Divine life apart from communion with Jesus. We have to gather around Jesus. And this gathering around Jesus is the Church. We go from town to town to collect people for Jesus. We go from town to town to gather the harvest. We go from town to town to bring people to the Kingdom of God, which is the Church.

We are part of this gathering of people around Jesus. For this reason, we rejoice that our names are written in heaven. And we should share this joy. We should share the blessing that we received. We should go from town to town. We should go from house to house with the invitation to come and join this gathering of people around Jesus. We should seek those who stay away from the Lord. Pope Francis keeps on saying: The Church must not wait for people to come to her. She should go and search for the lost. Let it be our mission to win people for Jesus. We are workers in the Lord’s harvest. Let it be our task to gather and not scatter.

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

The Measure of Authentic Faith in Christ

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The difficulty of our Lord’s teaching regarding the Eucharist has antagonized not only the Jews but his disciples as well: “This is hard: who can accept it?” They found it too much to bear that we should eat His body and drink His blood. The doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist was too difficult to accept. What prevented them from accepting what they called this “hard” teaching about the Eucharist? The Jews last Sunday have expressed their difficulty: “How could this man give us his flesh to eat?” They saw Jesus as no more than just a man. They did not see Jesus as God. For while it is impossible for a mere man to give his flesh to be eaten, for God, however, it can be done. God can assume human flesh and he can give it for us to eat. Nothing is impossible to God.

“Many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” The Eucharist is the litmus test of a Christian’s faith in Jesus. A Christian cannot really say that he believes that Jesus is Lord and God not until he believes that Jesus gives his flesh as food to be eaten. Thus, I really question the faith of “bible Christians” who claim that they have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. How can they say that they believe that Jesus is Lord and yet not believe that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink? They have turned their back on Jesus simply because what he said was too difficult to accept. And that is also why I am not at all surprised that in the 1960’s the same Christian communities also abandoned the Christian stand against birth control. If they could abandon Christ on account of the difficulty of the Eucharistic dogma, they could also abandon Christ on account of the difficult of the moral stand against birth control.

On the other hand, Jesus even challenged his 12 apostles to leave him if they found the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist unacceptable. Peter, the first Pope, answers the Lord: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” In spite of the big number of disciples who have abandoned the Lord, this humble band of apostles makes their stand on the side of Jesus. Thus, it comes as no surprise that even if the whole world, fellow Christians included, should turn its back to the Lord on issues like birth control, the Catholic Church will still stand by the Lord. If the Church did not abandon the Lord in spite of the difficulty of the Eucharistic dogma, she will not abandon the Lord now on account of a smaller issue like birth control. Even if they say that thousands of Catholics no longer listen to what the Pope and the bishops say…even if 190 Ateneo professors should abandon the Church’s stance against birth control, still, the humble number of Christ’s real faithful would stand by him for what is wrong and false remains to be wrong and false even if everybody does it and what is right and true will always be right and true even if nobody does it anymore. Like Joshua and the Israelites in the first reading, the small number of real faithful continues to say: “Far it be from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods…we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Like Peter, the first Pope, the Church continues to say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” “Decide today whom you will serve…As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!”

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

He could not have said it any clearer than this!

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The Lord could not have given the teaching in clearer terms than he does in today’s reading. He is not talking in some vague, symbolic language. He tells us in plain and simple language: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” His words are so clear that even his enemies murmured among themselves because they understood correctly what he was trying to say: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

The Jews were accustomed to sacred meals which they ate in the presence of the Lord as a sign of Divine favor. But what Jesus is saying is new for them. He goes beyond eating in the presence of God. Jesus gives his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. He himself is the meal. “In the Eucharistic meal, man feeds on God.” (John Paul II, General Audience on June 8, 1983.) The change of bread into his flesh and wine into his blood is not merely a change of perception, that is, a change in the way we look at what is on the altar. The change is ontological, that is, whether we perceive it or not, the bread, by the power of the word of Christ and by the Holy Spirit, becomes the flesh of Christ. In like manner, the wine, by the same power of Christ’s word and by the Holy Spirit, becomes the blood of Christ. It is a real, objective change – regardless of the perception of the onlookers. It is Christ truly present, body and blood, soul and divinity.

Christ is truly present so that the redemptive sacrifice can be made present. Bread and wine becomes his body and blood so that his sacrifice may be sacramentally renewed through the offering made by the ordained priest. And once his sacrifice is made present, the Lord makes accessible to us the fruit of his offering: eternal life. Eternal life is made accessible to us through this sacrificial meal. Eating his body and drinking his blood must not be understood in a metaphorical way for what we eat is truly his body and what we drink is truly his blood. As material food is necessary for the preservation and development of bodily life, so the Eucharist is necessary for the development of the Divine life in us. “Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me.” “The Father is the first source of life; this life he has given to the Son, who in turn communicates it to mankind. He who feeds on Christ in the Eucharist does not have to wait until the hereafter to receive eternal life; he already possesses it on earth, and in it he possesses the guarantee of the resurrection of the body at the end of the world: ‘He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (Ibid.) Truly, this is the food that does not perish. This is the food that “endures unto everlasting life.” “Wisdom has…dressed her meat and mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table…and calls out from the heights out over the city: ‘Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live, advance in the way of understanding.’”

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Listening to Christ's word Helps us Recognize Him

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

This Church is seldom filled to capacity but for 3 days this week, it was filled with people not really because of some religious event but because it became an evacuation site for flood victims. We had as much as 1,300 people but today, we are back to the usual little group. I just realized that it is easier to dispose relief goods than to distribute Holy Communion. I personally buy the hosts for the parish and I have been buying the same volume as when I was in Sikatuna. In my former parish, the supply of hosts has to be replenished every 2 weeks. But here, the replenishment of supply takes place every 1 and a half months. It only shows that very few receive Holy Communion here. If I distributed relief goods at every Mass, perhaps the supply has to be replenished every day. Remember the words of Jesus last Sunday: “You look for me not because you have seen signs but because you have eaten and were filled. Do not work for food that does not last. Rather, work for food that lasts unto eternal life.”

Why is it that most people do not appreciate Holy Communion? I think it is because most of us have not really listened to God. In the Holy Gospel, Jesus says: “They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.” “No one can come to me unless the Father draw him and I will raise him on the last day.” A person will not approach Holy Communion not unless he believes that what is being given is Christ’s flesh for the life of the world. But faith can be elicited only as a response to Divine Revelation. No one comes to Jesus without first listening to the Father and learning from him. And no one can have eternal life unless he believes in Jesus. Listening to the word of God enables us to recognize the Lord Jesus who is truly present in the most holy Sacrament of the altar. “In the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ himself intervenes to show, ‘beginning with Moses and all the prophets’, how ‘all the Scriptures’ point to the mystery of his person (cf. Lk 24:27). His words make the hearts of the disciples ‘burn’ within them, drawing them out of the darkness of sorrow and despair, and awakening in them a desire to remain with him: ‘Stay with us, Lord’ (cf. v. 29).” (John Paul II, Mane Nobiscum Domine, 12.)  “It is significant that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, duly prepared by our Lord's words, recognized him at table through the simple gesture of the ‘breaking of bread’. When minds are enlightened and hearts are enkindled, signs begin to ‘speak’. The Eucharist unfolds in a dynamic context of signs containing a rich and luminous message. Through these signs the mystery in some way opens up before the eyes of the believer.” (MND, 14.)

As the disciples of Emmaus were duly prepared by our Lord’s words to recognize Christ at the breaking of bread, so must we truly listen to God’s word so that we may also recognize the flesh of Jesus which is given to us at Holy Communion. Only by approaching the Lord can we have eternal life. “Whoever eats this bread will live for ever.”

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

John Paul II on the Bread of Life

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

After the miraculous multiplication of the loaves, Christ says to the crowds who were seeking him: “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you.” “How difficult it was for Jesus hearers to make this passage from the sign to the mystery it indicates: from the daily bread to ‘the bread which endures to eternal life!’ Nor is it easy for us.” (John Paul II, Homily on May 31, 1997.)

It is clear that Jesus does not eliminate normal concerns and pursuit of daily bread. Man has indeed need of food and drink if he is to live. The human body needs food and drink to live, grow, develop, and work. This is the food of temporal, transient life, which ends with death. But the Lord points out that the real meaning of our earthly existence lies in eternity. In fact, the human soul also has need of food and drink in order to persevere in the journey towards eternal life. Man needs the Bread of life in order to be able to life in eternity the life that comes from God. (cf. Homily on June 13, 1987)

And so Jesus declares with consoling clarity: “My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world…I am the Bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall not thirst.” Jesus refers to the manna which God gave to the Jews when they crossed the desert. “We, too, like the people of Israel,…live on earth the experience of Exodus: the ‘promised land’ is Heaven. God, who did not abandon his people in the desert, does not abandon man in his earthly pilgrimage either. He has given him ‘bread’ that is able to sustain him along the way: the ‘bread’ is Christ. He is first of all the food of the soul with revealed truth, and then with his very Person present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.” (Homily on August 5, 1979)

Proclaiming that the Heavenly Father gives us the true bread from heaven, Jesus “bears witness to God, who is not only Creator and Lord of creation, but is, at the same time, Father. And the Father feeds and nourishes his children. He feeds…and nourishes them with the food and drink of eternal life: the Most Holy Eucharist. The Church lives daily from the Eucharist; she lives unceasingly from it.”(Homily on May 29, 1986)

“In the Eucharist is inscribed the most profound thing in the life of every man…Here, the life of man, through the Eucharist, is inscribed in the mystery of the living God. In this mystery – as in the eternal Book of Life – man surpasses the limits of contemporaneity, proceeding towards the hope of eternal life. Here, the Church of the Incarnate Word, through the Eucharist, causes the inhabitants of the eternal Jerusalem to be born.” (Homily on May 22, 1983)

Mindful of Jesus’ promise: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven”, we ask God our Father before communion: “Give us today our daily bread.” This daily bread is the Body of Christ without which we have no life within us. As children of heaven, we urgently need the bread of heaven. When St. Catherine of Siena was not able to receive holy communion, her body suffered more than if racked by intense pain, and she would pray: “Father, I am hungry. For the love of God, give my soul food!” The Bread from heaven “is not less necessary to the development of the divine life in the faithful than material food is for the preservation and development of bodily life. The Eucharist is not a luxury offered to those who would want to live more intimately united with Christ: the Eucharist is a necessity of Christian life.” (General Audience of June 8, 1983)

Like the people who said to Jesus: “Give us this bread always”, so when we pray to the Father to “give us this day our daily bread”, we ought to ask above all for the living Bread come down from heaven with which the Father feeds his children. “From our first Communion until the day we die, may we have a deep yearning for Christ, the true bread which gives life to the world.” (Homily in Cardiff, June 2, 1982) (John Paul II and the Mystery of the Eucharist, 58-60)

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for 

Communion on one's knees

CNA has this article on His Eminence Antonio Canizares Llovera's recommendation that the faithful receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling:

Lima, Peru, Jul 28, 2011 / 01:56 pm (CNA).- Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera recently recommended that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling.

“It is to simply know that we are before God himself and that He came to us and that we are undeserving,” the prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in an interview with CNA during his visit to Lima, Peru.

The cardinal’s remarks came in response to a question on whether Catholics should receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue.

He recommended that Catholics “receive Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.”

Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, “is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”

“In fact,” he added, “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.”

“If we trivialize Communion, we trivialize everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving Communion, of recognizing the real presence of Christ there, of the God who is the love above all loves, as we sing in a hymn in Spanish.”

In response to a question about the liturgical abuses that often occur, Cardinal Canizares said they must be “corrected, especially through proper formation: formation for seminarians, for priests, for catechists, for all the Christian faithful.”

Such a formation should ensure that liturgical celebrations take place “in accord with the demands and dignity of the celebration, in accord with the norms of the Church, which is the only way we can authentically celebrate the Eucharist,” he added.

“Bishops have a unique responsibility” in the task of liturgical formation and the correction of abuses, the cardinal said, “and we must not fail to fulfill it, because everything we do to ensure that the Eucharist is celebrated properly will ensure proper participation in the Eucharist.”


Spanish cardinal recommends that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)