Posted on 12/30/2002 12:04:21 PM PST by NYer
Firstly, Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a term rarely heard today. Why use
that term? Before Modernism greatly influenced the Church, that was the term
understood for hundreds of years by every Catholic. This title explains fully
what the Mass really is - the very same Holy Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the
Cross made present to us today in time. Absolutely nothing on earth could
possibly be even remotely more important. Once you understand this, then the
importance of a proper Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will become clearer. Vatican
II Sacrosanctum
Concilium explains in detail:
#2: For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the
Eucharist, "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 Church.
#7. To accomplish so great a work 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 formerly 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"
(Mt. 18:20).
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.
The liturgy, then, is rightly seen as an exercise of the
priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man's
sanctification under the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its
accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In it full public
worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head
and his members.
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.
#8. In the earthly liturgy we take part 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 holies 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 the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until he our life shall
appear and we too will appear with him in glory.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church further explains:
#1330 "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 Church's 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."
#1366 "The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents
(makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:
[Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption.
But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper
'on the night when he was betrayed,' [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented,
its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily
commit."
#1367 "The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are
one single sacrifice: 'The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on
the cross; only the manner of offering is different.' 'In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who
offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody
manner.'"
#1368 "The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church
which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself
to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his
Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and
so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering."
Canon Law reconfirms the truth:
"The most venerable sacrament is the blessed Eucharist, in which Christ the
Lord himself is contained, offered and received, and by which the Church continually lives
and grows. The eucharistic Sacrifice, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the
Lord, in which the Sacrifice of the cross is forever perpetuated, is the summit and the
source of all worship and Christian life. By means of it the unity of God's people is
signified and brought about, and the building up of the body of Christ is perfected. The
other sacraments and all the apostolic works of Christ are bound up with, and directed to,
the blessed Eucharist."
Clearly then, the Mass is not a "meal." - it is a Sacrifice. This
is dogma.
God Bless!
<> It is both Sacrifice and Banquet<>
Good for you!! And it worked ... that's good news for me!
I have just written to the Albany Diocese for Divine Worship and Liturgy, the USCCB Office of Worship, EWTN, RCF, and copied the bishop regarding the introduction of Liturgical Dance into my parish. In fact, the diocesan newspaper ran a full length story, replete with color photographs, of another parish where this has become quite the norm. So much so, that they are planning to create videotapes and distribute them across the country, to motivate other parishes. Over my dead body!
According to everything I have read, Liturgical Dance was banned by a directive of the USCCB in 1982. It was included in Vatican II as a means of inculturating Polynesians, Africans and others who have traditionally danced as part of their liturgy. That is not the case in the US. It bothered me that the DRE was asking my Confirmation students to volunteer for the dance and she would teach them the movements ... using what guideline? Her own? The pastor's? The pastor had planned on incorporating it into the liturgy at the Christmas Eve mass ... it didn't happen. He is miffed ... since he felt it was a good idea.
You have made an excellent point ... WE are the church.
Once in my parish I went to a Parish Council meeting regarding the litergy. I suggested that after the mass everyone in the congregation say the prayer to St. Michael. You should have seen the looks on everyones face - you would have thought I had green hair and purple eyes!
Yes, I do believe that is a large part of the problem. At least, that is what I am discovering as I plow my way through the "small" abuses. These are like trial balloons intended to test the waters of the congregation. As you well know, many catholics rarely question change. Instead, if they are truly displeased or upset, they simply stop going to mass. They "assume" that the priest (and his bishop) are complying with doctrine. Not necessarily so!
The other part of this story is that a group of liberal thinkers have used VaticanII to promulgate their own wishes. Just wait til you see the story I post tomorrow. There is a new lawsuit against the Albany Diocese and this one extends to the Director of Counseling for the Laity. She is being used by the bishop to manipulate the "victims of sexual abuse" into accepting a one time settlement, instead of actually counseling them. She is rather well known across the US.
We always have a prayer for the "Respect for Life, born and unborn" in our Prayers of the Faithful.
You are free to say the prayer to St. Michael.
Why would you want to insist that everyone else in your parish take up your private devotion?
My brother in law, when celebrating Life Teen Masses in his Parish, will invite the teens to come up around the altar with the intention of being at the feet of Christ during His sacrifice, much like His mother Mary, and the Beloved Disciple. He is in no way giving them the impression that their presence is required for the Consecration; he is simply including them in a direct way so as to focus their attention on JESUS and the sacrifice He made for them. If I remember right, they kneel during the actual Consecration, only rising after the Memorial Acclamation. Not all the teens attending the Mass gather around the altar, but those who do are very reverent, and understand why they are there.
Holding hands during the Our Father has become commonplace, but it is an illicit addition to the Liturgy. Clarifications and Interpretations of the GIRM ["Notitiae" Vol. XI (1975) p. 226] explains:
". . .holding hands is a sign of intimacy and not reconciliation, and as such disrupts the flow of the Sacramental signs in the Mass which leads to the Sacramental sign of intimacy with Christ and our neighbor, Holy Communion."
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