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Maundy Thursday   This day, Maundy Thursday (also "Holy Thursday" or "Shire Thursday"1) commemorates Christ's Last Supper and the initiation of the Eucharist. Its name of "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "command." This stems from Christ's words in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you." It is the first of the three days known as the "Triduum," and after the Vigil tonight, and until the Vigil of Easter, a more profoundly somber attitude prevails (most especially during the hours between Noon and 3:00 PM on Good Friday). Raucous amusements should be set aside... The Last...

Holy ThursdayThe Last Supper - Chartres Cathedral - stained glass window (detail)Family Activities | Stations of the Cross | Christian Passover Seder | Readings | Adoremus: Articles and Document on Footwashing Nos autem gloriari oportet in cruce Domini nostri Iesu Christi,in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra per quem salvati et liberati sumus. We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through Him we are saved and made free. (cf. Galations 6:14)-- Entrance Antiphon for Holy ThursdayHOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of...

THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS THE WHOLE CHRIST by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. The most fundamental question to ask about the Blessed Sacrament is, "Who is the Holy Eucharist?" And the correct answer is: The Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ. There is more behind this answer than many Catholics realize. When the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century defined the meaning of the Eucharist, it declared that "the Body and Blood, together with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole Christ, is truly, really and substantially contained in the sacrament of the Holy...

It is generally known, that, since Vatican II, much has changed in the Catholic Church with regard to this veneration of the Host (whic means "sacrificial gift" in Latin). Most of the forms of reverence I have described [such as kneeling for Communion] have disappeared. The liturgical reformers succeeded in convincing the faithful that reverence for the Host, worship of the Host as the real physical appearance of Jesus Christ, has been unknown in the Church of the Apostles and their early successors. This veneration of the Host was medieval, they said. The word "medieval" has an even more pejorative...

ROME, MAY 12, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Understanding the true presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated host and wine is difficult for Catholics. To this end, the Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum held a conference on miracles that are associated with the Eucharist as a way to help people comprehend the incomprehensible. The May 5 Conference also opened an exhibition entitled "Eucharistic Miracles," continuing through May 19, brings attention to these miracles that support the phenomenon of the truth of the faith. Giancarlo Casagrande, one of the event's organizers, and professor and dean of the Faculty of Science and Faith Studies, told me:...

by Fr. Paul Scalia Other Articles by Fr. Paul Scalia Truth or Consequences 08/26/06 Our Lord’s beautiful Bread of Life discourse does not end on a happy note. In response to His teaching, many “of [His] disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’” (Jn 6:60). It is the only instance in the Gospels of people rejecting our Lord’s teaching in such large numbers. “Many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him” (Jn 6:66). They left because they could not accept our Lord’s teaching on the Eucharist. More...

Sunday June 17, 2001 Feast of Corpus Christi Reading I (Genesis 14:18-20) Reading II (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Gospel (St. Luke 9:11b-17) In the first reading today, we hear about a figure by the name of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is an interesting character because his name is mentioned only twice in the entire Old Testament. He comes up in the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Genesis. He seems to come out of nowhere and then we never hear of him again. He comes up also in the psalms. Psalm 110, which is what we prayed together in the Responsorial Psalm today,...

by Jim Curley Other Articles by Jim Curley Opening Our Hearts to Ephesians 5 04/17/06 It has a reputation as a hard teaching; Ephesians, Chapter 5 — you know, that passage which many preachers dodge or avoid, (either because they can’t figure out what it means, don’t agree with St. Paul, or are afraid of backlash from the congregation). Yes, I am talking about “let women be subject to their husbands…” (Eph 5:22). We need to contemplate and embrace St. Paul’s teachings on marriage, and this is part of it. In This Article...Seeking UnderstandingOthers of SignificanceDignity and Service Seeking Understanding First,...

April 15, 2006 Easter SundayThe Resurrection of the Lord At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter Psalm: Saturday 17 Reading 1Gn 1:1—2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said,“Let there be light,” and there was light.God saw how good the light was.God then separated the light from the darkness.God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day. Then God...

The Eucharistic Mystery Calls For Our ResponseMany events in the Church in the last three years have in a special way oriented our attention to the Holy Eucharist. In April 2003, the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, gave to the Church the beautiful Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. At his direction, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued the Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum in March 2004. A special Eucharistic Year declared by Pope John Paul was celebrated by the whole Church from October 2004 to October 2005. The October 2005 Synod of Bishops has...

by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Other Articles by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr Christmas Presence, Lenten Gifts 02/25/06 Nine months after his election, Pope Benedict XVI issued his much-anticipated first encyclical letter, entitled "Deus Caritas Est" (“God Is Love”). No doubt it will provide Christ-centered wisdom and encouragement to a world that increasingly looks for true love “in all the wrong places.” In This Article...Papal TransitionThe Church Is Alive!Vatican II Today Papal Transition As we drink in "Deus Caritas Est" and the many other blessings that God desires to give us this year, I'd like to focus our attention on the first...

  by Thomas J. Nash Other Articles by Thomas J. Nash Worthy Is the Lamb? 08/16/05 Even among animals, a lamb is not a likely “leading man” for a Hollywood action-adventure. Mighty Mouse or Underdog could save the day, but not a lamb; lambs are known for needing help in times of trouble. Recall the wandering lamb that had to be rescued (Mt 18:12-13), or other lambs that needed protection from a menacing wolf (Jn 10:11-12). In This Article...An Untimely and Humiliating DeathFollow the LeaderThe Lambs Win in the End An Untimely and Humiliating Death What was God thinking when He...

Chicago Eucharistic procession draws nearly 10,000Chicago, Aug. 10, 2005 (CNA) - Archdiocesan officials estimate that nearly 10,000 people, bearing colorful banners and donning t-shirts emblazoned with pro-life phrases, were present in Chicago’s Grant Park Sunday for a Eucharistic benediction and procession through the streets of the city. Cardinal Francis George led the procession and benediction--the first outdoor liturgy of its kind in Chicago in five years--saying that the Eucharist is about change. He asked the crowd, “What needs to be transformed? What needs to be changed? . . . What makes us a society that is too often plagued...

by Grace MacKinnon Other Articles by Grace MacKinnonContact this Author Sign of Reverence 06/16/05 Dear Grace, Every Sunday at Mass, I see people going up to receive Communion and I notice that many of them simply step up to the minister and put out their hand or open their mouth so casually. Aren’t we required to show some kind of reverence when we receive Communion? Yes, indeed, we are to show reverence. After all, it is not a piece of bread we are receiving! Are we not aware that it is the Body of the Lord? I can well understand your...

Sash Wars V: The Archbishop Strikes Back 05/07/05 Four years ago, St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop Harry Flynn opened the cathedral’s doors to open homosexuals who desired to change Church teaching. Every Pentecost since, members of the Rainbow Sash Alliance have donned multicolored sashes for Sunday Mass and were given the Eucharist. This year that changes. In a move that surprised both members of the Rainbow Sash Alliance, and Catholics in the archdiocese and neighboring dioceses, Archbishop Flynn sent a letter to Brian McNeill, leader of the Rainbow Sash Alliance USA, a local affiliate of the international Rainbow Sash Movement —...

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - After another round of losses in the courts, Terri Schiavo's parents kept watch over their dying daughter Saturday, seeking permission to give her Easter communion as their attorneys acknowledged the fight to reconnect the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube was nearing an end. Attorneys for Bob and Mary Schindler decided not to file another motion with a federal appeals court, essentially ending their effort to persuade federal judges to intervene - something allowed by an extraordinary law passed by Congress. But at least three more appeals loomed by the Schindlers and Gov. Jeb Bush. Schindler attorney...

Is one obligated to take Communion from the cup in addition to the host? My husband and I have a disagreement about this. He thinks you must take it if it is offered, but I've been taught that you do not have to take it. I'm a post-Vatican II Catholic, so I'm not quite sure how things used to be in the Church, although my mother has told me that they never used to receive Communion from the cup--that the priest would consecrate and drink it and that it was not shared with the community. Quite frankly (and I'm sure...

   by Grace MacKinnon Other Articles by Grace MacKinnonContact this Author True Food and True Drink 12/14/04 Dear Grace, Some of my friends have questioned me about why and how I can believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Host which we receive at Communion in Mass. Sometimes I am not sure exactly how to explain it well enough so that it will be understood. Can you help? It is true that some people consider the Catholic Church’s belief about the Eucharist to be totally unbelievable and almost outrageous. Catholics actually believe that when a priest, during the Eucharistic...

------------- St. Basil (330–379 AD) considered Communion in the hand a “grave fault.” The Council of Saragozza (380 AD): “It was decided to punish with excommunication anyone who dared to continue the practice of Communion in the Hand.” Council of Rouen (650 AD): “Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layperson, but only in their mouths.” Council of Constantinople (695 AD): prohibited the faithful from giving Communion to themselves and decreed an excommunication of one week’s duration for those who did so in the presence of a bishop, priest, or deacon. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274): “Out of...

THE FOURTH CUP Scott Hahn The Sacrament of the EucharistI'd like to cover a lot, and I'd like to tell you in advance what I'm going to tell you. I'd like to move from one to another to a third area. The first area I'd like to focus on is how it is that Christ in the Last Supper and in the Eucharist offers himself up as the new covenant Passover, and how the Eucharist and the Old Testament Passover are in a sense two sides of the same coin. The second focus of our time will be on...