For 2000 Years, Christ Has Been Waiting For You

~J.M.J.~

St Joseph Escriva once said, "Each time you approach the Blessed Sacrament, remember that Jesus has been waiting for you for twenty centuries for this personal visit from you."

Twenty centuries ago, Christ was at table. Longing to give of His very Presence to you and I, He took bread and wine, and invited us, saying, "Take and eat; This is My Body... This is My Blood." As such, receiving Holy Communion today is a response to this 2000-year-old invitation from Christ. It fulfils the Lord's longing to dwell in you, and you in Him, so that you may have eternal life, as we learn in John 6: 54-56. At Mass today, the priest acts in persona Christi as he repeats the actions of Christ Jesus, and gives you the Saving Host, bringing to fulfilment Christ's invitation to you. The beautiful thing about this invitation is that it is for today as much as it is for tomorrow. When you attend Mass tomorrow, it is still a fulfilment of this ancient invitation; Jesus beckons you to come as often as you wish to.

I was reflecting on this as I knelt at the feet of the Lord in the Adoration Room, reminiscing how our relationship has grown as I approach my 4th Anniversary with Him, which falls on Ash Wednesday. It took me a year to fall in love with His Real Presence, and have been longing to fulfil His invitation for three years. As I counted that there are 46 days before I receive the Easter Sacraments, I was amazed at how long I had been pining for Him. But I stopped in awe as St Escriva's quote flashed across my mind. If He had been waiting for me for 2000 years, another 46 days would get Him more excited than I am!

The Holocaust of Mass

~J.M.J.~

Among the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the sons of the Levites were chosen to be priests, as seen in Exodus 19:6. Their duty was to offer animal sacrifice to God upon the altar in what is known as "Holocaust". Along with these Holocausts, prayers are offered. Yet, these animal sacrifices were imperfect. Thus, the Father sent His Only-Begotten Son to be the Perfect Sacrifice.

Therefore, the duty of the Catholic priest is similar to that of the Jewish priest: to offer sacrifice to God upon the altar. However, this time, the sacrifice offered is not an animal, but the Perfect Sacrifice - Christ Himself. This is the celebration we call "Holy Mass". We learn that at Mass, bread and wine are transformed into the True Body and True Blood of the Lord, and Calvary is made present on the altar. While the crucified Christ is upon the altar, the most important prayers are said, which include prayers for the Church on Earth, the Church in Purgatory, with the Church in Heaven. This culminates in the Per Ipsum, where the priest raises the Host (another word for Sacrifice) towards Heaven, and exhorts, "Through Him, with Him, and in Him, O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is Yours, forever and ever." At this action, the angels bear the Perfect Sacrifice, and the prayers offered along with It, to the Heavenly Father.

Therefore, it is fitting that we join in to the Sacrifice our most important prayers, right after the Mystery of Faith, while the priest says his designated prayers. And as we see the priest lifting the Host towards Heaven, remember that our prayers, too, are offered with It, and therefore affirm the Per Ipsum with a sincere "Amen."

Host - What Does It Really Mean

~J.M.J.~

Very often, Catholics refer to the Eucharistic Bread as "Host", but some of us are unaware of the true meaning of the word. Yes, if you thought it was called as such because "the bread is a vessel which hosts Jesus," St Thomas Aquinas says you are wrong and the Church agrees with him.

In the Third Part of the Summa Theologiæ, Question 75, Article 2, St Aquinas says that the substances of bread and wine cease to exist after consecration. "Now a thing cannot be in any place, where it was not previously, except by... the conversion of another thing into itself". For example, if a person change for the better, he must cease to be bad. This means that substances of bread changes totally into the Body of Christ and wine into His Precious Blood, thus bread and wine must cease to exist.

This "Host" spoken of when referring to the Eucharist is also a different "Host" referred to in the Sanctus - "Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Hosts". These "hosts" may refer either to the ancient armies of Israel over which the Lord God gave protection as in Gen 2:1, the host of angels, or just the hosts of stars and consequently the entire universe. Whichever definition you accept, it still cannot be applied to the Blessed Sacrament.

When spoken of in a Eucharistic context, "Host" originates from the Latin word, "Hostiam", which means "Victim". Upon the altar, the sacrifice of Calvary is made present. Precious Body and Precious Blood are consecrated separately to mirror the separation of these two upon the Cross. When we receive the Host, we remember that It is His Precious Body, which was once broken but is now glorified.

The victimhood of Christ upon the Cross is recalled in invoking Jesus Christ as "Host". In the Host lies the promise of Christ - that our broken souls will be glorified for all eternity.

The Face of Christ in the Eucharist

~J.M.J.~

We know many things about Christ, few of which we can physically see in the Blessed Sacrament. Yet, there are some qualities of Christ which cannot be seen in His human form, but only under the veil of the appearance of bread. This is what I wish to discuss today.

Firstly, the white appearance of the Host tells us that Jesus is the pure, holy, and spotless Victim, just as mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I. He is pure because He is God Himself, holy because He was set apart for the mission of Redemption, and spotless because He was sinless and the epitome of goodness for He is God Himself.

Secondly, the Blessed Sacrament takes on the form of a circle. This points to His centrality in our lives, which should revolve around Him. The circle also reminds us of the sun, our source of life. The Eucharist is indeed our source of Christian life (CCC 1324), without which, the Church, as Pope Benedict XVI put it, "simply does not exist." The life we receive from this Sacrament is eternal, for Jesus promised us, "This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." (Jn 6: 58) Finally, the circular form also reminds us of the Communion we have with Him. When people gather and hold hands with each other, they tend to form a circle. This reflects of Christ, who gathers all to Himself as the Church and all her members are in communion with each other. Thus the Blessed Sacrament is also referred to as "Holy Communion".

Thirdly, the Eucharistic Bread is thin and fragile. This shows that Christ is vulnerable to us. Jesus opens Himself up to all possible abuses we can commit against Him, who is God. We have already heard of this in His Passion, where He let us spit at Him, crown Him with thorns, and nail Him to the Tree. Here in the Eucharist, we may also spit at Him, crown Him with our foot, and nail Him with our finger. Occult rituals often include committing sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament. Yet His love for us outweigh His pride. Since permitting these abuses opens up the floodgates of grace, He undertakes them willingly. Christ so loves us that He leaves His Precious Body at our total disposal.

Certainly, there are many things about Jesus we cannot learn of in the Eucharist. Nonetheless, we can never fully know Christ regardless of the physical form He assumes for He is God and God is infinite in mystery. To sum up the mystery of contemplating the face of Christ in the Eucharist, I leave you with the words of St Aquinas, the first verse of Adoro Te Devote.

Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas,

I devoutly adore You, O hidden God,

Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;

Who are truly hidden beneath this veil;

Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,

My whole heart totally submits to you,

Quia Te contemplans totum deficit.

And in contemplating You totally surrenders itself.

Listen to the chant here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xs67InkZ3A

Receiving Communion Kneeling as a Symbol of Salvation History

~J.M.J~

A catechumen myself, I have had many dreams about receiving Holy Communion - it is something I am eagerly looking forward to. I am bent on receiving the Corpus Christi on my knees for the rest of my life because I feel that that is due to my Lord. Recently, I reflected on each action I would have to take when making Communion on my knees, and slowly realised how each action spoke of a milestone in our Salvation History from the Fall of Man to eternal life.

As I fall to my knees, I recall the Fall of Man. Desperate, and in need of a Saviour. 

Then, the priest draws the Blessed Sacrament from the ciborium and brings it down to my tongue. With the ciborium representing heaven, and my tongue the earth, this action mirrors the Incarnation, when "He came down from Heaven" to dwell among us.

I retract my tongue and break the Host with me teeth. The breaking of the Eucharistic Bread signifies the crucifixion and death of Christ, just as during the Fractioning at the Agnus Dei. Therefore, I fulfil Jesus' command. "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is My Body, which will be given up for you." 

Then, I swallow the Host. Now in complete Communion with Christ, I rise to my feet - for just as Jesus rose from the dead, so too am I suppose to rise with Him. For Christ Himself promised, "I am the Living Bread come down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever, and the Bread that I give is My Flesh for the life of the world." (Jn 6:51) Thus witnessing how a sinner was saved by the grace of God.

And I awake from my sweet slumber, realising it was all a dream. But I look forward to time when I shall savour the Bread of Life for the rest of my days. For St John Vianney said, "Every consecrated Host is made to burn Itself up with love in a human heart."

Præsta meæ menti de Te vívere,
Et Te illi semper dulce sápere.

Three Manners of Receiving Communion (Corpus Christi Special)

~J.M.J~

I'd sat on this one for a long time, thinking of what to write as a special on this Feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). It's a day late, but I finally decided to write about the manners in which Holy Communion may be received: kneeling and on the tongue, standing and on the tongue, and standing and on the hand.

Kneeling and On the Tongue

On Corpus Christi 2008, Pope Benedict XVI asked that communicants kneel while receiving the Precious Body and Blood of Christ. Ever since, he had been administering Holy Communion only to the faithful who knelt at the altar rail until he retired from the Petrine Ministry. Currently, Pope Francis administers this Sacrament only to his priests, and they all kneel when receiving the Flesh of the Lord. There is only one message from these two popes: Holy Communion is preferably received kneeling. There are two reasons: reverence and Tradition.

Imagine the scene on the last day when you meet the Lord face-to-face. Would you be standing or kneeling? Most probably, the answer would be kneeling. Why? Because you wish to show your submission to the Lord your God, your respect for the Lord your King, your love for the Lord your Saviour. If you firmly confess in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, you would behave similarly before the Blessed Sacrament - you would kneel. After all, you have admitted that you are not worthy that He should enter under your roof.

The second reason is that of Sacred Tradition. For one-and-a-half millennia, since St Gregory the Great decreed so, the entire Latin Rite has been kneeling to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ, at least when they were not celebrating Mass. The countless saints have all humbled themselves before the Lord by kneeling to receive him. Therefore, in continuity of Tradition, Holy Communion should be received kneeling.

It has also been argued that receiving Communion standing was driven from the diocesan level towards the Holy See, which was then pressured to make the change in policy to permit, in certain dioceses, that practice.

Standing and In the Hand

For the first four centuries of the Church, Communion was received standing and in the hand. This means that three of the Four Fathers of the Latin Church, Sts Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome, received the Body and Blood of Christ in this manner. The only one who did not do so was St Gregory the Great, as he himself decreed that the Host be received on the knees. Therefore, receiving Holy Communion in this manner is more traditional than kneeling or on the tongue.

Theologically speaking, the Lord, who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, is risen. Thus, we should receive Him standing. As to why on the hand, it is because Jesus said, "Take and eat," which suggests the using of hands.

However, it may be argued that the Church continually renews herself to bring the people closer to God, thus newer teachings of kneeling should supersede the older teaching of standing. As to the argument about Jesus' words, they were probably uttered in Aramaic, then translated to Greek, and then to Latin, and then to English. Things could have been lost in the translation. St Jerome, who translated the Bible to Latin, may have been influenced to choose the word "accípite"(Latin for "take") by his current practices.

Standing and On the Tongue

What is not consecrated should not come into contact with the Precious Body. That is why the hands of a priest and vessels of the Eucharist are consecrated. Our hands commit sin, and therefore renders them impure, and should never touch the Sacred Host. 

In addition, fine crumbs of the Body of Christ will be inevitably stuck on the communicant's hands, and scattered all over the ground and trampled upon by the faithful. This is deep sacrilege to the Heavenly King. Only the priest washes his hands in holy water after administering Communion and consumes the entire mix of fine crumbs of the Precious Body, small drops of the Precious Blood, and the holy water.

However, there exists a hygiene concern as the tongue may occasionally touch the hands of the priest or extraordinary Communion minister (ECM). Also, no priest or ECM would consume the Sacred Host if it fell of a communicant's tongue and onto the floor. The communicant would have to pick it up and consume it, which would be rather foolish as they have to touch the Blessed Sacrament after all the trouble (s)he has gone through to avoid that.

Also, the Holy See prefers that Holy Communion be received on the tongue. For a diocese to receive the Eucharistic Bread on the hand, the bishops in a country have to vote and pass by a two-thirds majority that they want this practice to be enforced. After which, the findings are reported to the Holy See, and then approval may be granted at the Holy See's full discretion. That a two-thirds majority is required clearly demonstrates that the Holy See prefers that Communion be received on the tongue. It can be said that they have casted 2/3 - 1/2 = 1/6 of the votes against Communion in the hand. Watch this video for more information. It touches on the issue at 5:00. The rest of the video is informative too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap1KL2D5ae4

Conclusion

Personally, I prefer to receive Holy Communion kneeling, that is after my baptism of course. I see no difference between the Sacred Host held in the hands of a priest before me, and when I go before the Throne when I meet the Lord face-to-face. I feel that even kneeling cannot sufficiently express how much I respect and love my Lord, but that is the best I can do with my body to demonstrate my sincerity. 

If you say that you would stand before the Throne of the Lord, then I encourage you to stick to your beliefs and receive the Blessed Sacrament standing. For some local cultures, it may be more reverent to stand instead of kneel, and for others, receiving things on the hand may be very respectful.

Therefore, I offer only one piece of advice: Do whatever you feel best expresses your feelings towards the One in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Traditional Latin Mass Changed By Ecumenism

(Picture source: http://1969j.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/holymass2.jpg)

~J.M.J~

Today, on the Feast of the Pentecost, I attended a Traditional Latin Mass at the St Joseph's Institution (International) Chapel, Singapore. Yes, it did lose me on several occasions, but it did satisfy an untellable hunger for tranquility and reverence. After all, I believe that Communion is ideally received kneeling, and will do so after my baptism. As the Latin rolled off my tongue, I felt one in Christ with my brothers and sisters from all the corners of the earth, as well as those in Purgatory and the saints in Heaven.

How is it that so much of the Eucharistic celebration has changed? Ecumenism was one of the priorities of the Vatican II reforms, and so our worship became more similar to that of our Protestant brethren's, whom I respect and love. Their ideal, desirable in moderation, that the people should participate in everything, gradually exceeded moderation. It is prescribed by Vatican II that the priest can face the people at any time of the Mass as he deems fit, but nowhere did they say this was to be maintained throughout the celebration. Nor did they say that the Mass was to be celebrated exclusively in the vernacular tongue. In fact, they had explicitly stated, "Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 36.1).

If we explore the effectiveness of the reforms on Ecumenism, the results are obvious. Yes, the Anglicans are returning, but traditionalist groups have split from us. Overall, no progress has been made in Ecumenism, and we have diluted our Sacred Tradition in the process. I do not blame Vatican II for this situation, because they never foresaw it. It is some theologians who have misinterpreted the documents and propagated their erroneous views who, in my opinion, are at fault.

So Mass isn't about us? Well, if it were, we would be adoring ourselves. Do I prefer the Traditional Latin Mass? Not entirely. I find some actions superfluous and distracting from the focus on the all-important Eucharist. Although I understand the symbolism behind tracing 52 crosses over the Body and Blood of Christ, I find that the crossing after Consecration seems to imply that Transubstantiation is gradual, which does not conform to Doctrine. Am I condemning Protestant worship? No, it's fine and beautiful in its own way and we do mimic it outside of Mass, in what we call "Praise & Worship".

However, we understand Mass not as a form of participatory worship, but as the offering of the Perfect Sacrifice to God the Father. Hence, we should preserve it in its antiquity and catholicity.

Blessed Pentecost! Veni Créator Spíritus!

-------------------------------------------

Hi everyone, I have just came across the part of the Summa Theologica, 3rd Part, Q28, Art 5, which states this:

Objection 4. Further, the Apostle says (Hebrews 7:7): "And without all contradiction, that which is less, is blessed by the better." But Christ, Who is in this sacrament after the consecration, is much greater than the priest. Therefore quite unseemingly the priest, after the consecration, blesses this sacrament, by signing it with the cross.

Reply to Objection 4. After the consecration, the priest makes the sign of the cross, not for the purpose of blessing and consecrating, but only for calling to mind the virtue of the cross, and the manner of Christ's suffering, as is evident from what has been said (ad 3).

Hymn Analysis - Pange Lingua Gloriosi

~J.M.J.~

Disclaimer: I do not belong to any religious order. In fact, I should not even be called a Catholic, as I am not baptised yet. (I have signed up for the R.C.I.A after this Easter.) Nonetheless, at a recent Adoration, the Lord has instructed me to write about His Real Presence. If I have confused the my own perceptions with the Lord's wisdom by writing something contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, I firstly seek your forgiveness, and ask that you bring it up to me in the comments so that others may not be misled. Thank you.

Hi everyone. This is my first blog and as mentioned above, the Lord, at a recent adoration, bade me write about His Real Presence. So what better way to start than by discussing a hymn which calls my tongue to speak of the glorious mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ, Pange Lingua Gloriosi, by St Thomas Aquinas.

(Full credits to Steven's Blog)

-Uses of this Hymn-

On Holy Thursday, which is in about a week's time, you would most likely chant this hymn at the Eucharistic procession. So it is kind of fitting for me to write about this now. Otherwise, this hymn can be used any time to praise the Lord Jesus, especially in the Blessed Sacrament.

The last two stanzas of this hymn are often set apart as a separate hymn known as Tantum Ergo, and often used at Benediction. Personally, I open every adoration with Tantum Ergo to venerate the Lord. I usually throw myself down at the words "veneremur cernui" (vererate with faces to the ground), and raise my torso as I begin the last stanza, where the Holy Trinity is praised, crossing myself at "Procedenti ab utroque" when all three Members of the Holy Trinity have been honoured.

-Analysis-

This hymn begins with a call to praise the Blessed Sacrament, with the words "Pange lingua gloriosi Corporis Mysterium, Sanguinisque pretiosi" serving as a fitting introduction to the prayer. The rest of the hymn is nothing but praise of the Blessed Sacrament, with occasional reminders to the devotee who is praying this hymn. The highlight of this stanza is that the King of nations gave to ransom to the world. This means that His incarnation was simply to achieve one goal: to free the world (us) from eternal death which we deserved for our damning sins. 

Stanza 2 begins by emphasising that Jesus was given to, and born for us sinners. By becoming man, he shared with us all human traits, and this is truly humbling; He was to become hungry when He went without food for forty days, and felt pain when tortured during His Passion. 

That aside, He sowed the seeds of His word, and closed His life with great order. He closed His life with the Institution of the Eucharist. The next stanza reveals so. On what account then, was the institution of the Sacrament an ordered way of closing His life. Firstly, He knew that He was about to suffer, die, rise from the dead and ascend, body and soul, into Heaven. Desiring to continue dwelling among us physically, He performed this wonderful rite so that even today, we may surrender our concerns to Him, with Him before our eyes. Secondly, this rite allows that those of you who may receive Communion to have His body infused with yours. This is a privilege unavailable to those who lived in His time. In some sense, it is a compensation for us who cannot see his face as some others did 2000 years ago. 

Stanza 3 recalls the Institution of the Eucharist itself. The most striking part of this stanza is the last part, "Cibum turbae duodene, | Se dat suis manibus." To those of you who are baptised Catholics, recall how, at Communion, the priest (or extraordinary Communion minister) holds the Precious Body before you, proclaiming, "The Body of Christ." This paraphrases Jesus' words, "This is my body." This moment reenacts Jesus giving His body with His venerable hands to His apostles. 

This leads me to a question.

Do you allow these words to sink into before you sincerely declare "Amen", or do you say it out of routine? If your answer is the latter, you have committed mortal sin. "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgement on himself" (1 Cor. 11:27, 29) So even if you received Communion, then acknowledged His presence, you have already committed mortal sin. Therefore, be mindful of this and should you feel that you cannot give a sincere answer "Amen" to the Lord, do not commit yet another sin by lying with an "Amen". Instead, indicate that you wish to receive a spiritual communion (aka blessing) - at least you did not commit a mortal sin. After Mass, consult someone who may assist you in building up your Eucharistic faith.

Stanza 4 describes how by the words of the Word Made Flesh, bread is changed into His flesh and wine into His blood. (Verbum caro, panem verum, | Verbo carnem efficit) Poetic as these words sound, St Aquinas reminds us that Christ is the Word, so His words is the Word, which is the Truth. When He said, "This is my body", we are all to believe so. St Aquinas understood that this is a great challenge as His Real Presence is so unintuitive, and so consoles us by telling us to fall back on our faith in the Truth with the words "Et si sensus deficit, | Ad firmandum cor sincerum, | Sola fides sufficit."

Having justified that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, St Aquinas calls us to venerate Him. That aside, the "antiquum documentum" refers to Holocaust, and the "novo ritui" refers to the Eucharist, so he is saying that the Eucharist is the new rite which replaces the Holocaust. The Eucharist is perfect, because Christ, Who is sacrificed in the Eucharist is the Perfect Sacrifice. (Recall Eucharistic Prayer I: This pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim...) After all, no sacrifice of animals could appease the Father, so He had to send His Son to die for us on the Cross. Then, once again, the Eucharistic doctor beckons us to use our faith to supply for our limitations in sight.

Finally, like all other hymns written at that time, this hymn concludes by honouring the Trinity. Bear in mind that in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Son is truly present - body and soul, humanity and divinity. As the Trinity is undivided, the Father and Holy Spirit are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament too. So we should not forget to honour them.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that this attempt at explaining this hymn will help you find the Eucharistic procession on Holy Thursday more meaningful. Habemus Papam! God bless you this Lent.

Let our lives be focused on the Small White Circle - the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Hence, to the Devil will we never turn our eyes, and towards the present One shall we draw.