Posted on 11/17/2010 11:38:55 AM PST by Alex Murphy
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following address was given Aug. 8 at the second Knights of Columbus Eucharistic Congress, which was dedicated to Pope John Paul II's encyclical on the Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. It is on "At the School of Mary, Woman of the Eucharist," the sixth chapter of the encyclical. Ecclesia de Eucharistia can be read in its entirety at the Vatican Web site: www.vatican.va.
In an episode of the old TV show "All in the Family," Archie Bunker, a great contemporary theologian, was having an argument with his son-in-law, Meathead. Archie made one of his anti-Semitic remarks and Meathead immediately reacted by saying, "Archie, remember that Jesus was Jewish." To which Archie retorted: "Yes, but only on his mother’s side."
Indeed, Jesus' humanity comes from Mary's humanity. One of the popes wrote the beautiful prayer, Ave Verum Corpus natum de Maria Virgine. "Hail true body (of Christ) born of the Virgin Mary." It was originally to be prayed at the elevation at Mass as people contemplated the host, recalling that the body of Christ we receive in Communion is the same body of Christ that Mary gave to us at Bethlehem.
Often at Christmastime I point out the eucharistic meaning of the occasion. Jesus is born at Bethlehem, which means, "House of Bread." And Jesus is laid in a manger that is the feed box where the flock comes to be fed.
Pope John Paul II has given us the magnificent encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia in which a whole chapter is dedicated to the profound relationship that Mary has with the mystery of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the mysterium fidei, the mystery of faith that "so greatly transcends our understanding as to call for a sheer abandonment to the word of God," he writes (54.1). At the Visitation, Elizabeth, moved by the Spirit, gives us the first beatitude in the Gospel directed at Mary: "Blessed are you because you believed" (Luke 1:45). Just as Abraham, our father in faith, stands at the opening of the Old Testament, Mary, great woman of faith, stands at the opening of the New Testament.
Saying Yes to Jesus
At the Annunciation, Mary's consent was one of the most important moments in the history of salvation and in the unfolding of the eucharistic mystery. We call that moment her fiat, the first word in a Latin phrase that means "Be it done unto me according to your word." When we say yes to God, we allow his grace to be fruitful, to break into our history. When we say no, his plan is thwarted, the world is deprived of grace and creation is impoverished. What would have happened had Mary said no to God’s invitation? Would we still be awaiting a Messiah?
Pope John Paul has a beautiful paragraph in which he relates Mary’s fiat to the Amen every believer says when receiving Communion. Mary was asked to believe that the one whom she conceived "through the Holy Spirit" was "the Son of God." In the eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the one whom she conceived is Son of God and son of Mary. We are asked to believe that Jesus is present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine.
John Paul says that Mary anticipated in the mystery of the Incarnation the Church’s eucharistic faith. He writes, "When, at the Visitation, she bore in her womb the Word made flesh, she became in some way a tabernacle in which the Son of God, still invisible to our human gaze, allowed himself to be adored by Elizabeth, radiating his light as it were through the eyes and voice of Mary" (55.3).
The pope gives us a "re-reading" of the Magnificat in a eucharistic key. The Eucharist like the Canticle of Mary is first and foremost praise and thanksgiving. When Mary exclaims: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," she already bears Jesus in her womb (like a living tabernacle). She praises God through Jesus, but she also praises him in Jesus and with Jesus. This is itself the true eucharistic attitude. At the same time, Mary recalls the wonders worked by God in salvation history in fulfillment of the promise once made to Abraham and our spiritual ancestors.
She proclaims the wonder that surpasses them all, the redemptive Incarnation. Lastly, the Magnificat reflects the eschatological tension of the Eucharist. Every time the Son of God comes to us in the “poverty” of the sacramental signs of bread and wine, the seeds of that new history wherein the "mighty are put down from their thrones and those of low degree are exalted," take root in the world. The Magnificat expresses Mary's spirituality, and there is nothing greater than this spirituality for helping us to experience the mystery of the Eucharist.
The Joyful Mysteries
Allow me to share with you some of my personal meditations on the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary. These are the mysteries I like to use when I am praying the rosary during a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
The Annunciation to me is the little Christmas, the moment when the Word becomes flesh, takes on a body and becomes Jesus Christ. I associate Mary's fiat with the words of consecration at Mass. As soon as Mary says "Be it done unto me according to thy word," Jesus becomes present. In like manner, when the priest takes the bread and says, "This is my body," Jesus becomes present at the altar.
For the mystery of the Visitation I always associate Mary with the Ark of the Covenant. In the Old Testament God is present to his people whenever the ark is with them. In the ark were the spiritual treasures of Israel, the tablets of the law, Aaron's staff and some of the manna that fed Israel in the desert. In the Book of Chronicles the Israelites take the ark to the house of Obededom, where it remained for three months (1 Chr 13:14). In Luke's Gospel Mary arrives like the Ark of the Covenant carrying Jesus, the new manna, and stayed with Elizabeth for three months (1:56).
As I alluded to earlier, the Third Mystery, the Nativity of Jesus, also has strong eucharistic symbolism beginning with the name Bethle-hem, "House of Bread."
In the Fourth Mystery, the Presentation, Mary and Joseph offer the Son to God the Father. Mary gives the body of Christ to the priestly figure of Simeon who receives Christ, as if in Communion, in his arms.
The Fifth Mystery is the finding of Jesus in the temple. We can always find the true presence of Christ in the tabernacles of our Catholic churches. He is waiting to be discovered and reunited to those who have sought him sorrowing.
'Do Whatever He Tells You'
Pope John Paul opens the chapter on Mary by saying, "In my Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as our teacher in contemplating Christ's face, and among the Mysteries of Light I included the institution of the Eucharist. Mary can guide us toward this most holy sacrament, because she herself has a profound relationship with the Eucharist” (53.1).
In repeating what Christ did at the Last Supper we also accept Mary’s invitation to obey Christ without hesitation: "Do whatever He tells you!" In the Acts of the Apostles we find Mary at the heart of the Christian community helping those disciples to persevere in prayer. The pope affirms that Mary must have been present at the eucharistic celebrations of the first generation of Christians, who were devoted to the Mass which they called : "the breaking of the Bread."
The pope elaborates on the Calvary experience of John, who accepts Mary as his Mother. Accepting Mary as our Mother is a commitment to be conformed to Christ, "putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us" (57.2).
I will close by tying together three things we love as Catholics: the Blessed Mother, the pope and the Eucharist. These aspects of our Church distinguish us from other Christians.
The pope's many journeys have made him present to so many Catholics. Despite personal challenges he keeps exerting himself so that the ministry of Peter can continue in the Church uniting us in our following of Jesus and encouraging us to be faithful to the Gospel entrusted to us.
The Blessed Mother is beloved of our Catholic people. Since the Second Vatican Council the Church has stressed the fact that Mary is not only an intercessor and protectress, she is above all a model of faith and fidelity. In the center of her life is Jesus. She leads us to him and says, "Do whatever he tells you."
It is impossible to conceive of the Church without the Eucharist. The Church springs up around the Eucharist. We gather at the altar and are no longer strangers and rivals; we are brothers. It is to house our eucharistic altars and tabernacles that we build churches and chapels where we can come and be united to the Lord and to our brothers and sisters. The sacrament is the body and blood of the Lord that has come to us through Mary’s body and through her saying yes to God.
In this encyclical the great features of our Catholic faith intersect: Mary, the Eucharist and the Holy Father. Each is a treasure we cherish. Each is connected to the other and are signs of God's enduring love for his Church and for us who are proud to call ourselves Catholics.
I don't really understand the point of your cross-examination.
Would it be fair to say that your mother is responsible for you, but she is not present in you?
The more you layers one peels back [sic] from Protestantism, the more atheist it becomes.
What did the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston say? And when do all the sayings of all the different leaders of all the different churches come together and come up with a single saying? This happens time after time, with each question regarding Catholic doctrine. One says one thing, another claims something else, some just laugh at the questions, and eventually someone comes forward with official Catholic doctrine. So I’m asking you, is Cardinal Archbishop of Boston’s opinion the doctrine of the Catholic Church? Or has this particular question not be officially settled yet?
I’m sorry, let me make it a little clearer. Mary is responsible for carrying in her womb the body of Christ who is the Eucharist, but she herself is not present in the Eucharist?
“It’s not the accuracy of the evidence, but the seriousness of the charge” :-)
I wish this analogy had been brought to light a gazillion threads ago.
It's at the top of the thread.
What he didn't say was that we receive Mary in the Eucharist. He did said that Mary was present at the Eucharistic liturgy in the early church (well obviously: she was alive). He did say that Mary gave the body of Christ (not her own body) to Simeon. (I believe that's in your Bible.)
So I’m asking you, is Cardinal Archbishop of Boston’s opinion the doctrine of the Catholic Church?
One bishop does not determine doctrine any more than one layman does. But, as I said, I would trust his opinion more than that of a supposed priest I have never heard of supposedly recorded in a book I have never heard of.
Or has this particular question not be officially settled yet?
The church generally teaches something definitively only when there is a disagreement about it. I don't see much disagreement about this, therefore, no need for any infallible teaching.
If you look at perhaps the greatest Marian theologian the Catholic church has produced, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, he says nothing about us receiving Mary in the Eucharist, and lots about us receiving the Eucharist with Mary -- that is, Mary is not the One being received, Mary is the one doing the receiving with us. His point is that communion is our participation in the Annunciation; just as "Mary received the Word of God in her heart and her body" we are to do the same.
In case you think that doesn't do much to advance the (false) notion that Mary is a goddess or her son's equal, you're right. I expect it will be ignored.
It's in my Bible, is it in yours?
but she herself is not present in the Eucharist?
I don't think that's a particularly helpful way of understanding things, no. See my preceding post for something that makes more sense, IMO.
There is very much to learn about Catholicsm, obviously. And depending on the person you ask, the answers probably will differ. Why I don't understand. And I mean from one Catholic to another. Not a rude statement, just an observation, from the outside looking in.
Yes, I did a search on this and Catholics now believe that Mary is part of the Eucharist. I find in reading the early church fathers that you have to have a perspective of where they were coming from. Many of the Greek fathers like Augustine came from pagan cultures with multiple gods. It wasn't surprising that many of them held an unnatural high regards for Mary. However, the sacred scriptures does not attribute any special level to Mary except that she was looked upon by God and blessed.
As Gamecock said, this infatuation and devotion to Mary is simply pagan-nothing else can describe it.
Let’s compare and contrast:
Catholics pray to dead people.
Prods pray to God.
Catholics pray to Mary.
Prods pray to God.
Yup, Catholicism is sounds more and more pagan.
Dr. E, please reread my conversation above with smvoice.
Mary’s mystical presence in the host is obvious for exactly the same reasons you saw laid out in the quote. Christ’s body came from the body of Mary. It was literally pieced together cell by cell, organelle by organelle, molecule by molecule in her womb.
So her body is present, mystically, in a certain way wherever His is. But mystically, NOT substantially. It is an entirely different mode of presence.
The Eucharist is not only body and blood but also SOUL and DIVINITY of our Lord. Our Lady does not share her son’s soul. She does not share His divinity. There are not two persons in the Eucharist, not two souls. We adore the Eucharist because it is God. Mary is not God.
You are taking what is described as a mystical presence and assuming that the authors mean a literal presence. Very very bad idea—and it’s no wonder that you think the concept ridiculous.
Ha! Yeah, yeah, Augustine, well, he just didn't know what he was saying, poor dimwitted pagan holdover. Thank goodness Luther and Calvin corrected him on that score. Oh no, wait a second, no they didn't: they had unnaturally high regard for her too. Hm....they must be dimwitted too!
Let me paint you a different picture. And that is that devotion to the Blessed Virgin was *there from the very beginning* as is attested in Augustine and the Greek and Syriac Fathers the martyrs and the murals in the catacombs and everywhere else. It's the modern squeamishness about it that needs explaining.
Then if Mary is present so must Mary’s parents and if they are present so must their parents and if......
I think it’s all clear now.
Your fundamental error here is that you think "pray to" is some kind of unmistakeable marker for adoration. Where did you get that idea?
"I pray thee..." Remember that from Shakespeare? Does that mean "I adore thee"..."I worship thee as God"?
Nope. Just means "I ASK you."
Prayer is not adoration.
Adoration involves *offering sacrifice* to deities, which, if you'll remember, was what the Romans tried to do to the early Christians.They tried to get them to *offer a pinch of incense* to Minerva or the emperor or whoever.
You know enough of Catholicism, I think, to know that we hold the highest form of prayer to be the Mass--which we hold to be a real and true sacrifice. Now go look through any Missal you can get your hands on. Show me where it says anything about offering that sacrifice to anyone else besides God.
But that sounds eminently reasonable from the logic of Judeao-Christian belief. You lot believe Jesus was human in body, yet fully God also, yes? So it would be natural that the DNA would be human DNA stretching right back to Adam and Eve.
“You lot believe Jesus was human in body, yet fully God also, yes?”
No. Jesus is always spoken of as subordinate to the Father in the Scriptures.
Or so it seems to me.
Thanks - I don’t know much Christian theology, so I’m trying to follow the arguments here.
OK, thanks - that’s interesting. I thought if the Host literally became a body, then that would contain human DNA which would link it to every other human in existence, let alone just one woman.
Yes, but the problem with that in the RCC is that if anyone else is present in the Eucharist but Christ, then it becomes idolatry. If no man can be worshipped, and Mary is in the Eucharist, and the Eucharist is worshipped (and it is), then Mary is worshipped. A real catch-22. If Mary is not in the Eucharist, then Christ is not fully in the Eucharist, and the Catholic doctrine that the Real Presence of Christ, the true body of Christ, that was born of Mary, in the Eucharist becomes a lie.
Yes, and its worse if Mary's Mom and relatives, all the way back to Eve (made from Adams rib) are also mystically present then hold the phone!
Wow, So Adam/Eve and Noah would also mystically present in my body too!
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