During Lent, as you might expect, we have more and more folks coming to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Many folks carried with them one of the various Examinations of Conscience, most are based on the 10 Commandments – something we heard about in the first reading today. I wonder if our gospel might be a better model for examining our lives especially in this Lenten season. Continue reading
This series of posts has attempted to give an overview of the history and place of the practices of reservation, adoration, exposition, and benediction as associated with the Holy Eucharist. In part, the genesis of the series was the occasional question asked on “the sidewalk of the church” whether our church offers Eucharistic Adoration. What they are really asking is whether the parish has Eucharistic Exposition ending with Eucharistic Benediction. Continue reading
The scholar Gail R. O’Day provides us with a final thought [John in the New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, ed. Leander E. Keck (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996) p.545]
John 2:13–22 is popularly interpreted as an example of Jesus’ anger and hence his humanity. Jesus’ actions of taking the whip, herding out the animals, and overturning the tables are pointed to as evidence that Jesus could get angry. Such attempts to amass evidence to prove Jesus’ humanity actually undercut the power of the incarnation, however. To focus on isolated attributes or emotions as proof of Jesus’ humanity is in effect to seek after signs, to base one’s faith on the surface evidence without perceiving the deeper reality. The underlying reality of the Fourth Gospel narrative is that “the Word became flesh” (1:14). Jesus’ humanity thus pervades everything he says and does in his ministry. The scandal of John 2:13–22 is not Jesus’ anger as proof of his humanity, but the authority this human being claims for himself through his words and actions. Continue reading
Today some churches are able to have a chapel where perpetual adoration (latria) is available to the faithful. In the liturgical regulation “perpetual” does not necessarily mean 24-hours per day, but there are parishes where that is a possibility. The one inviolable requirement is that the exposed Eucharist not be left alone. Thus, some parishes have extended periods, e.g. 12 hours per day, when the Eucharist is in exposition. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday in Lent. 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. Continue reading
There has been reservation and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament since the early days of the Church. But it was only in the 13th century that instructions and norms for tabernacles were established. But with the 16th century Council of Trent, a new era began in the devotion of the faithful to Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday in Lent. 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” The cleansing of the Temple was a startling act. It had its implications not only for the condemnation of the Temple traders, but also for the Person of Jesus. It was a messianic action. The Jewish leaders demanded that Jesus authenticate his implied claim by producing a “sign” (sēmeion). Interestingly they did not dispute the rightness of his action. They were not so much defending the Temple traffic as questioning Jesus’ implied status. Continue reading
I am a bit troubled by today’s readings. The gospel is this uncomfortable sequence in which Jesus, for the third time, has told his disciples “Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified.” At least this time Jesus lets them know he will be raised from the dead… not that they understand what he is telling them – or maybe they weren’t really listening. Continue reading
The title of this post might strike you as odd but there is a history. There was a trend in the history of the Church, some point to periods as early as the 4th century, when the reception of the Eucharist began to diminish. There was not a corresponding diminishment of faith, orthodoxy or rejection of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, rather it was a growing sense of not being worthy. The history and scholarly opinions on the underlying reasons are subject of much ink and debate, but from that period of history up into the middle ages, various synods, local councils and Church councils directed that there was a minimum for the reception of the Eucharist. We see that legacy today in the “Easter Duty,” the reception of the Holy Eucharist at least once during the Easter Season. This trend seems to have been consistent up to the 9th century when another issue arose. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday in Lent. 13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. The “temple” signifies the whole of the Temple precincts, including the various courts as well as the holy place. It is most certain that the area of action occurred in one of the courtyards. It is certain that the selling mentioned took place in the outer courtyard, the court of the Gentiles. The reason for the practice was, of course, the convenience of having at hand a supply of animals required for the prescribed sacrifices. Continue reading
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