The Eucharist… Mary, Mother of God

I entrust each of you and your daily ministry to Mary, Mother of Priests. During the recitation of the Rosary, the fifth mystery of light leads us to contemplate with Mary’s eyes the gift of the Eucharist, to marvel at the love that Jesus showed “to the end” (Jn 13:1) in the Upper Room, and at his humble presence in every tabernacle. May the Blessed Virgin obtain for you the grace never to take for granted the mystery put in your hands. With endless gratitude to the Lord for the amazing gift of his Body and Blood, may you persevere faithfully in your priestly ministry.

Mary, Mother of Christ our High Priest, pray that the Church will always have numerous and holy vocations, faithful and generous ministers of the altar!

Dear brother priests, I wish you and your communities a Holy Easter and to all of you I affectionately impart my blessing. + JOHN PAUL II

From: the Vatican, on 28 March, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, in the year 2004, the twenty- sixth of my Pontificate.

Where the Tabernacle Should Be

ROME, JAN. 27, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.

Q: How should we understand No. 1183 of the Catechism? It says: “The tabernacle is to be situated in churches in a most worthy place with the greatest honor.
The dignity, placing and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.”
It seems that not everyone agrees on that point. Many new churches have the tabernacle on the side. — S.G., Antigonish, Nova Scotia Why is this allowed?amf

A: This theme is also covered in Nos. 314-317 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal in a section entitled: “The Place for the Reservation of the Most Holy Eucharist”:

“In accordance with the structure of each church and legitimate local customs, the Most Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is truly noble, prominent, readily visible, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer.

“The one tabernacle should be immovable, be made of solid and inviolable material that is not transparent, and be locked in such a way that the danger of profanation is prevented to the greatest extent possible. Moreover, it is appropriate that, before it is put into liturgical use, it be blessed according to the rite described in the Roman Ritual.

“[315:] It is more in keeping with the meaning of the sign that the tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved not be on an altar on which Mass is celebrated.

“Consequently, it is preferable that the tabernacle be located, according to the judgment of the Diocesan Bishop:

“a. Either in the sanctuary, apart from the altar of celebration, in a form and place more appropriate, not excluding on an old altar no longer used for celebration (cf. above, no. 303);

“b. Or even in some chapel suitable for the faithful’s private adoration and prayer and which is organically connected to the church and readily visible to the Christian faithful.”

If the Blessed Sacrament is kept in a Eucharistic chapel, the tabernacle, or at least the location of the chapel itself, should be visible from the main body of the church. Neither the tabernacle nor the chapel should be hidden away in a corner; even less should it be separated from the main body altogether.

From a pastoral viewpoint, it appears preferable to maintain the presence of the tabernacle within the sanctuary except where the church is frequented by tourists or has a great number of other celebrations such as weddings and funerals.

Although liturgical norms indicate that no particular attention be rendered to the tabernacle during the celebration of a Mass, except at the beginning and end, the clearly visible presence of the tabernacle can contribute to an overall climate of prayer, especially in fostering a respectful recognition before the celebration begins and after it ends.

The local bishop is the competent authority for deciding which option to adopt in each case, as he is best able to weigh the various factors such as the architecture of each building, functionality, and above all the good of souls.

What if there were no last supper? As I looked upon this wall poster by Nestor P.S. the starkness and the reality of the empty room made me gasp in pain at the thought of a life without the Eucharist…adelamaria,
O, Sacrament Most Holy,
O, Sacrament Divine…
All praise and All thanksgiving…
Be every moment Thine!

The simplest way to express what Christ asks us to believe about the Real Presence is that the Eucharist is really He.

The Real Presence is the real Jesus.

We are to believe that the Eucharist began in the womb of the Virgin Mary; that the flesh which the Son of God received from His Mother at the Incarnation is the same flesh into which He changed bread at the Last Supper; that the blood He received from His Mother is the same blood into which He changed wine at the Last Supper.

Had she not given Him His flesh and blood there could not be a Eucharist.

We are to believe that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ - simply, without qualification.

It is God become man in the fullness of His divine nature, in the fullness of His human nature, in the fullness of His body and soul, in the fullness of everything that makes Jesus Jesus.

He is in the Eucharist with His human mind and will united with the Divinity, with His hands and feet, His face and features, with His eyes and lips and ears and nostrils, with His affections and emotions and, with emphasis, with His living, pulsating, physical Sacred Heart.

That is what our Catholic Faith demands of us that we believe.

If we believe this, we are Catholic.

If we do not, we are not, no matter what people may think we are.

Father John A. Hardon S.J .From: ttp://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/realpres/a12.html

What Is the Magisterium?
by Thomas Storck
________________________________________
The crisis that has afflicted the Catholic Church since the middle of the 1960s has been a crisis of both faith and morals, that is, a crisis that has made many Catholics no longer know what to believe or what kind of conduct God expects of us. What is needed as a remedy for this is a firm standard, a reliable guide or teacher who can tell us both what we must believe and what we must do. And, of course, in Christ’s true Church we do have such a reliable standard and guide. But even Catholics of good will can sometimes be confused about exactly which voices within the Church they are to follow.
In the past the average Catholic could depend on the word of his parish priest if he had any doubts about correct Catholic belief or conduct, or even on the example of the many good Catholics about him. But today one can no longer trust everything that is said by just any priest or theologian, and our fellow parishioners are likely to be totally confused about what the Church proclaims to have been revealed by God. And so it behooves us to understand a word and concept that is apt to be unfamiliar or confusing. This word is Magisterium. Now the Latin word magisterium originally meant the duty or office of a teacher, tutor, master, etc. And in the case of the Church it means simply the teaching authority or office of the Church. The Magisterium is the teaching office of the Church, accomplished by the Holy Father and the bishops teaching in union with him.
The rule of what we must believe as Catholics was defined by the First Vatican Council (1870) thus:
. . . Further, all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching [magisterium], proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed.1
This quotation brings up several points that must be explained. In the first place, the decree speaks of the “Word of God, written or handed down,” that is, recorded either in Sacred Scripture or in Sacred Tradition. Now at first it might seem as if Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are two separate sources of divine revelation.
But the Second Vatican Council explained that in fact, “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”
2 In other words, the truths which God has revealed to his Church come to us through two modes, but they constitute one body of truth, the Word of God.
Therefore the Protestant practice of equating the Word of God with only the written Bible is an error.
Moreover, as should be obvious from a little reflection and historical knowledge, Sacred Scripture is itself a product of the Church’s thought and activity, and in this sense a product of Sacred Tradition. This is true even though Scripture has God for its author and is itself a mode of revelation, for the human authors of the New Testament wrote from within the Church and took for granted the Church’s teaching and worship as they wrote.
The second point raised by the statement from the First Vatican Council is the distinction between the Church’s extraordinary Magisterium and her ordinary and universal Magisterium, that is between what is taught “by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching.”
Thus the Magisterium operates via two methods. The solemn or extraordinary Magisterium is seen in solemn definitions either by a pope, as for example, the definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven in 1950, or by one of the Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church ratified by the pope, as the definitions made by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) to reaffirm the Catholic faith against the Protestants or the definition of papal infallibility by the First Vatican Council in 1870.
The ordinary and universal Magisterium, on the other hand, is the ordinary teaching of the Church, accomplished via papal pronouncements, statements of bishops, catechisms, homilies, etc. This is not to say that everything that any pope, bishop or priest has ever said on any occasion is part of the ordinary and universal Magisterium, but that it is via such means that this teaching is generally made known to the faithful.
Note that the First Vatican Council speaks of it as both “ordinary and universal.” “Ordinary” means that it is accomplished via the ordinary means of teaching that the Church uses, but “universal” means that it is taught by the entire body of bishops, and usually over a period of time. For generally when a doctrine has been taught as authoritative over time and by many popes and bishops, this indicates that it is a teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium and must be received and believed as faithfully as teaching that is solemnly defined by pope or council
3. Much of the moral teaching of the Church is taught only by this ordinary and universal Magisterium. For example, abortion. There can obviously be no room for any legitimate dispute among Catholics about the moral evil of abortion. Yet there has never been a solemn definition accompanied by anathemas against this heinous practice. But there is no need for one, since abortion has been condemned in numerous documents of the Church, starting with the Didache, a very early Catholic writing probably dating from between 80 to 90 A.D., and continuing on to the numerous documents and sermons of John Paul II and of many other contemporary bishops throughout the world. And whether or not the encyclical Humanae Vitae of Paul VI (1968) was infallible of itself, as some have argued, its teaching clearly was, for the doctrine that contraceptive acts violate the natural law has always been taught in the Church. Thus Catholics must reject any minimalist understanding of doctrine that would reduce it to only those pronouncements that have been solemnly made….
The importance of the Magisterium is in fact the importance of our life as Christians. What is the good news which Jesus Christ has entrusted to His Church for our salvation? What is the saving faith which we need in order to attain eternal life? It is only because of the Magisterium, the teaching office and authority of the Church, that Catholics can know what they must believe and do, and thus live a life pleasing to Almighty God, in order to obtain eternal salvation…
From: http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Faith/2001-08/storck.html

The Roman Catholic Church has consistently held fast to the belief in the Real Presence. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all sacraments tend.” In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “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.” “This presence is called ‘real’ - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.”

- The Catechism of the Catholic Church: paragraph 1374
In many ways, Our Lord, is calling us to worship and receive Him in the Eucharist. He speaks this desire in many ways: through the Pope and the Magisterium of the Church, in the Bible (Jn. 6), through his Blessed Mother in approved Marian apparitions, through the testimonies of Saints and Martyrs, through Eucharistic miracles, through Church approved messages given by Jesus by Divine Revelation, through our souls who long for Jesus in Communion, and through our suffering world which is in much need of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Unfortunately many of us disbelieve or have grown indifferent towards Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The Early Christians Believed in the Real Presence
“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thes. 2:15)

“And what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2)

The Bible
The Didache
St. Clement of Rome

St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Justin Martyr
St. Irenaeus of Lyons

St. Clement of Alexandria
St. Cyprian of Carthage
Aphraates the Persian Sage

Serapion
St. Ephraim
St. Athanasius

St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Hilary of Poiters
St. Basil the Great

St. Epiphanius of Salamis
St. Gregory of Nazianz
St. Gregory of Nyssa

St. John Chrysostom
St. Ambrose of Milan
Egeria

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens
St. Jerome
Apostolic Constitutions

St. Cyril of Alexandria
St. Augustine
Marcarius the Magnesian

St. Leo I
St. Caesar of Arles
St. Fulgene of Ruspe

Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike think that the Roman Catholic Church invented the doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation means that the bread and wine presented on the altar at the Mass become the the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit at the consecration. The consecration is the time when the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. However, the Body and Blood retain the appearance of bread and wine.
The Roman Catholic Church, that is, the Latin Rite Catholic Church, and other Catholic Churches in communion with Rome believe that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity. The Orthodox Churches and most other Churches of the East do so as well.
Anglican [Episcopalian] and other Protestant denominations have interpreted Christ’s presence at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist to be either only spiritual, or symbolic, or non-existent.
Thus, I decided to research what the Early Christians believed on this issue. I searched the indices for “Eucharist” in many volume sets on Early Christian writings, and I was astonished at my discovery. The Early Christians actually took the Real Presence for granted. It doesn’t even seem as if there was much debate. I could not find anyone who denied the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament before the year 500 A.D. Following are the results of my search. Some Christians, e.g. St. Augustine, had very much to say about the Real Presence of Our Lord, so I did not include everything. Also, I want you to know that I did not include other Christians who believed in the Real Presence in this article because they later fell away from the Church for different reasons. Therefore, even though these Christians defended the Real Presence, e.g. Origen, Tertullian, Theodore of Mopsuetta, etc., I did not include their statements.
I pray that this research article will inspire lukewarm Catholics to become excited about their Faith which has faithfully been passed on for over 2000 years. I pray that the Holy Spirit will grant you Faith to believe in Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and to receive Him at Mass and visit Him in the tabernacle. He is patiently waiting for you because he loves you and wants you to come home.
Also, I pray that this research article will motivate non-Catholics to ask questions about the Blessed Sacrament to learn more. Our Lord is still with us in the flesh, and He is awesome! I pray that someday you will be able to experience the joy of receiving Him in the Mass and of praying at his feet… Fr. Burns K. Seeley, S.S.J.C., Ph.D.
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/a5.html Under Early Church

He was not called John Paul the Adequate. And so that was the challenge for Pope Benedict XVI in the first year of his pontificate: how to fill the shoes of the last man who filled the shoes of the fisherman.
Benedict’s first encyclical, issued on Christmas Day 2005, took some by surprise. It began with thoughts on … love. In his first words he quoted the Apostle John: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” With unself-conscious clarity, Benedict wrote, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” You shall love your neighbor as yourself, he is saying. Love brings—is—charity. Look to the Good Samaritan for how to live. Look to St. Martin of Tours giving his cloak to a beggar.
This is God’s Rottweiler? John Paul’s enforcer?
The man who bluntly told the Cardinals last year that they must clean the stables of the “filth” that had entered the church? According to those who have followed the work and life of Joseph Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict—this is the real him: the teacher, the thinker, the ponderer of deepest meanings. Benedict does not have the effortless theatricality and charisma of the young John Paul. But at his weekly audiences, Benedict, 79, has drawn larger crowds, and as John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter has noted, people came to “see” John Paul; they come to “hear” Benedict. From: TIME by Peggy Noonan
Long Live Papa Benedict