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Here is a beautiful hymn. This translation is from my Angelus Press 1962 missal:
The beauteous light of God’s eternal majesty
Streams down in golden rays to grace this holy day,
Which crowned the princes of the Apostles’ glorious choir,
And unto guilty mortals showed the Heavenward way.The Teacher of the world, and Keeper of Heaven’s gate,
Rome’s founders twain, and rulers, too, of every land,
Triumphant over death by sword and shameful cross,
With laurel crowned are gathered to the eternal band.O happy Rome! who in thy martyr princes’ blood,
A twofold stream, art washed and doubly sanctified:
All earthly beauty thou alone outshinest far,
Empurpled by their outpoured lifeblood’s glorious tide.All honor, power, and everlasting jubilee
To Him Who all things made and governs here below,
To God, in essence One, and yet in Persons Three,
Both now and ever, while unending ages flow. Amen.
Beautifully captured in this editorial from the National Catholic Register.
My favorite line:
Thank you, priests, for sacrificing the fulfillment of “making it in the world” in order to give us a chance to make it in the next world.
Indeed, I don’t even know how well I would make it in this world without the care, guidance, and inspiration of our priests… much less the next world!
Deo gratias for all our priests! Go read the whole article.
HT: one of my favorite blogging priests, Father Z!
[UPDATE]: Reading this also made me realize something important. Namely, that I don’t think I’ve ever properly thanked my own parish priest for all he does! Duh!
So, I sent him a little letter via email. I know that’s maybe not the most personal thing… but I’m not very good at speaking, especially when it’s something really important that I want to say. And anyway, I just felt strongly compelled to say something right now.
I let him know that he helped spark my interest in the Dominican Order. I heard him speak of it one time, a few years ago, really just in passing. But it stayed with me and, unexpectedly enough, it opened a door for me that I might not have found otherwise, or at least, not as easily. Funny how such small things can have such a huge impact! He really does deserve thanks for helping me find my vocation.
I should probably send something to the priory as well. How can I so easily overlook those closest to me? Chalk it up to my being a total scatterbrain. [END UPDATE]
I began my day by attending the TLM at my parish. The TLM is always a transcendent experience, but this morning was even more so because of the chanting! Usually, we have a simple, very quiet spoken Mass, but today, parts were chanted, and it was so… captivating! I felt that my senses were lifted to a completely different sphere. It made the Mass even more other-worldly.
It’s no wonder that the Second Vatican Council reaffirmed Gregorian chant’s pride of place in the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium 116). It’s a shame that that little declaration of the Council’s is often overlooked or disregarded. As with so many liturgical treasures, many, if not most, Catholics have no idea what they are missing… or being deprived of.
Once again, I count my many blessings! To be able to enter into another world without leaving my city–that is something truly amazing.
And yes, I realize that it happens at every Mass, simply because the Mass is the Mass. But without the liturgy to fully direct us and transport us into the other world, to break the chains of the ordinary world, to liberate and enlighten mind, soul, and senses–without proper liturgy, the Mass can seem empty or boring, or else it can seem like a chore because we have to work so hard to find our own way into the other world, while being snatched at or pummeled over the head with distractions. That’s assuming that we already know what that other world is like–if we don’t, then we might never find it. We might be led to mistake the Mass as a place to socialize and be entertained. Or we might just leave altogether because there is far better socializing and entertainment to be had elsewhere.
I remember back when I was first starting to consider returning to the Church. I had begun doing a little exploration at Catholic Answers and other Web sites and radio programs. I read and heard people exclaim how the Mass is Heaven on Earth, an entry into eternity and another world. I remember thinking to myself: “Are these people really talking about the Mass?” I was skeptical… I had never experienced the Mass as something earth-shaking and other-worldly. But I was also intrigued… and after just a couple of times attending Sunday Mass at my parish, with my parish priest, I was utterly convinced!
I thank God always for bringing me to the right parish, and the right priest, at the right time. And I also thank Him for nudging me on to the TLM! I know I still have a lot to explore and learn and soak in! It is so unreal that I ever considered the Mass, or Catholicism in general, to be boring!
I’m not being a very good blog hostess.
This has been a crazy month, and an especially crazy week. I’ve been trying to work on some posts, but various aches, pains, stresses, and griefs have gotten me all in knots.
Prayers would be most welcome.
I’ll get back to blogging this weekend!
First, a very happy Father’s Day to all our dads and to all of our priests too! I hope all have been having a much-deserved happy and relaxing day!
It is the longest day of the year here in Earth’s northern hemisphere–the Summer Solstice.
Of course, here in Texas, it has felt like summer for a couple of weeks now. Triple-digit temps and no rain. Not my favorite season… but thanks be to God all the same!
Today we celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It follows the solemnity of her Son’s Sacred Heart because her heart is second only to His in its love for us. He personally gave her to us to be our loving mother, just as she is His.
Her love for Him is second to none. For love of Him, she shared in His sorrows and sufferings. For love of Him, her heart was pierced with a sword.
Are we willing to have our hearts pierced so? The Saints and Martyrs have been so willing. Most of us “ordinary” Catholics have our moments too, when we lay ourselves open to suffering. Though it may not seem like it at the time, these are usually our best moments, so closely do they bind us to our Lord and our mother.
At the same time, while Christ’s heart is wreathed with thorns, Mary’s heart is wreathed with blooming roses. In Scripture, Mary is described as keeping things in her heart and pondering them: she does so as she adores her Son lying in the manger and again when she and St. Joseph find the child Jesus in the Temple after having searched for Him for days. While her meditations are mentioned twice, they were no doubt a constant habit. No wonder her heart blooms!
Are we willing to hold and ponder our Lord in our hearts as Mary did? Do we often meditate upon Him and His life? Do we spend time reading Scripture, praying the Rosary, adoring Him in the Blessed Sacrament? The very name “rosary” means a garden or garland of roses. Our hearts too can be adorned with roses that bloom with the life and love of our Lord.
Let us strive to make our hearts resemble Mary’s.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The image of the Sacred Heart is the quintessential emblem of divine love. Wrapped in thorns, divine love suffers and sacrifices. Ablaze with fire, divine loves is ardent and unquenchable.
Today is also the first day of the Year for Priests that has been declared by Pope Benedict.
There couldn’t be a more appropriate feast day for launching the Year of the Priest? Are our good shepherds not one of the greatest signs of divine love and divine providence? They ardently devote their lives to the Church–to each one of us–in a spirit of service and sacrifice.
I pray for our priests every day, especially those close to me–those who serve my parish, those at my local Dominican priory, our local FSSP chaplain who provides the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
But I pray for all of them. I pray for those who are struggling, those have gone astray or are in danger of going astray. Those in danger of losing their immortal souls. Those who suffer in Purgatory for their failings in bearing their immense responsibilities. To whom much is given, much is expected. We may find it easy to imagine the privileges of priesthood… few of us can fathom the great responsibilities, and the great penalties incurred for lapsing in those responsibilities.
This year, let us be especially mindful, especially grateful, especially supportive, and especially merciful toward our priests! May our Lord Jesus Christ bless them and keep them close to His Sacred Heart, now and always!
Here is a prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore You, I love You, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflications; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
One thing that inspired my post about the Eucharist was talking with my friend Julie about how one local parish around here tries to explain away Eucharistic Adoration. With a form letter, no less.
I’ve been thinking about the Eucharist a lot lately, between the recent celebration of Corpus Christi and some other things that have come up. Nothing defines Catholicism more fundamentally than our belief in, and reverence for, the Eucharist.
So, what does it mean, this “Eucharist”? This is not a question that should be asked only by non-Catholics. It should also be asked and meditated upon often and deeply by Catholics, because it is the “source and summit” of our lives as Catholics.
One thing I have found helpful since the time of my reversion to the faith is this definition from Father John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary:
EUCHARIST: The true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, in order to offer himself in the sacrifice of the Mass and to be received as spiritual food in Holy Communion. It is called Eucharist, or “thanksgiving,” because at its institution at the Last Supper Christ “gave thanks,” and by this fact it is the supreme object and act of Christian gratitude to God.
Although the same name is used, the Eucharist is any one or all three aspects of one mystery, namely the Real Presence, the Sacrifice, and Communion. As Real Presence, the Eucharist is Christ in his abiding existence on earth today; as Sacrifice, it is Christ in his abiding action of High Priest, continuing now to communicate the graces he merited on Calvary; and as Communion, it is Christ coming to enlighten and strengthen the believer by nourishing his soul for eternal life. (Etym. Latin eucharistia, the virtue of thanksgiving or thankfulness; from Greek eucharistia, gratitude; from eu-, good + charizesthai, to show favor.)
See Also: SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR
SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR: The Eucharist viewed as the body and blood of Christ, which are offered on the altar in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Also the Eucharist as reserved on the altar for adoration by the faithful.
This definition of “Eucharist” has so much in it. I love the way Father Hardon describes it as a three-fold mystery (much like God Himself is). I remember reading this definition for the first time several years ago and realizing with some horror that in my whole life, I had never really understood the Eucharist. If I had, I really don’t think I ever would have left the Church! These years later, it still gives me plenty of food for thought.
If anything, I had always heard “Eucharist” used as a synonym for “Holy Communion.” Nothing more. That’s an error, and I can tell you that it’s still being made. This conflation of Eucharist and Communion can have serious consequences. It can lead to the abandonment of adoration and the dilution of the doctrines of the Real Presence and of the Mass as Holy Sacrifice. Without the Real Presence and the Holy Sacrifice, Communion means nothing! And neither does Catholicism.
There’s no reason to be Catholic if Communion is just a bread-and-wine party… which is what it logically must become if we lose sight of the full meaning of the Eucharist. Catholicism is much too difficult to bear unless in Communion we are receiving the “true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine,” unless Communion “is Christ coming to enlighten and strengthen the believer by nourishing his soul for eternal life.”
Without the Real Presence, adoration really is just “cookie worship.” And Catholics are all a bunch of lunatics sharing in one huge mass delusion. And if Christ isn’t the one truly acting in the Mass as our High Priest, then the Mass is just a show with some guy in some fancy anachronistic get-up spouting a bunch of hocus pocus. Oh, but those crazy Catholics think they’ll risk hellfire if they skip a single Sunday! The ordained priest has no purpose whatsoever if he is not acting in persona Christi. He’s just another one in a wide variety of Christian ministers–namely, the crazy one who gave up everything to gain some kind of magical powers over bread and wine.
Maybe that’s all over the top, but not by much. When you think about it for just a little while, pretty much everything about Catholicism becomes absurd and grotesque if we don’t understand the Eucharist. It becomes a real live Jack Chick tract.
Catholics must understand the Eucharist in order to understand ourselves and to be authentically Catholic. As opposed to being heretics, protestants, and/or people who mindlessly do and believe things without knowing why. Being Catholic doesn’t mean being mindless, and it definitely doesn’t mean not asking “Why?”. The long and venerable tradition of Catholic meditation and contemplation has been built upon ordinary Catholics asking questions. To some extent, I’d say all prayer is based on asking questions. The development of our theology and doctrine has been fueled by burning questions. Christ said, “Ask and you shall receive.” God blessed Solomon because all Solomon desired was wisdom. God similarly blessed St. Thomas Aquinas because all Thomas desired was God Himself. God does answer, He does give wisdom, and He does give us His very Self, when we ask.
Let us ask often to understand the Eucharist in all of its great mystery, power, and glory. Let us ask to understand it as our Lord and King truly with us on this earth. Let us ask for the faith and understanding to adore Him, to bear witness to His Sacrifice, and to receive Him into our bodies and our entire lives. And let’s do it in that order. Let us place ourselves before Him, let us open our hearts and minds before Him, let us bend our knees before Him, before we even think of receiving Him. He will give Himself to us. Let us also give ourselves to Him, mind, heart, soul, and body. He is far more deserving to receive us than we are to receive Him.
I happened to come across this, posted by one of my Facebook friends. I needed to read it today:
“God in His infinite goodness sometimes sees fit to test our courage and love by depriving us of the things which it seems to us would be advantageous to our souls; and if He finds us earnest in their pursuit, yet humble, tranquil and resigned to do without them if He wishes us to, He will give us more blessings than we should have had in the possession of what we craved.” ~St. Philip Neri
Actually, I think I need to read it every day!
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