In This Issue:
September, 2007
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church
100 Oak Dr. South
Lake Jackson, Texas
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
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In This Issue: |
The Eucharist, Part Two: Meal Becomes Ritual Worship
The Eucharistic celebration that we know today was gradually developed over time, first by the apostles and then by their successors. As the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and because Jesus used this familiar rite during the Last Supper, the early Christians used this name -"Breaking of the Bread" to designate their Eucharistic assemblies.
Because Eucharist began at a Passover meal, in trying to obey the command of Jesus to do this in memory of him, a meal setting was maintained. However, the Jewish Passover was celebrated only once a year in Jerusalem, and the Christians, guided by the Holy Spirit, realized their celebration should be held on a weekly basis wherever they could gather. Instead of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), they chose Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection and the weekly remembrance of God’s creation of the world. Jesus also sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost - formally beginning the Church – which was a Sunday; and so Sunday had a Trinitarian symbolism.
While there were special prayers for the Passover meal, all Jewish meals included prayer, so, together with Synagogue services, there was a firm foundation of prayer for the Christian followers of Jesus to build a Liturgy of the Word that included readings from Scripture, the singing of psalms as well as instruction. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers”.
As time passed, and because of some abuses – as reported by St. Paul - they began to separate the Eucharist part of the assembly from the meal and focus on the sacrificial meaning given by Jesus on Holy Thursday. “The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated, and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s Body and Blood”. (CCC #1382a). St. Paul said, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)
As previously noted, St. Justin Martyr wrote of the basic structure of the Mass being in place by the year 150. Because of persecution, and because Christian communities were small, these celebrations were held in people’s homes, usually large enough to devote a room for the purpose. Before the Christian Jews had been expelled from the Synagogues in the 80s (the Temple had been destroyed in AD70) they still practiced their Jewish traditions as well as their Christian faith. Acts 2:46 says, “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home. Other New Testament references to house churches can be found in Romans 16:3,5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; and Philemon 1,2. The seven churches mentioned in Revelations were communities in the seven cities and the houses where they gathered.
Pericope [Pur-IC-op-ee](From the Greek word for “cutting out, or around”)
A section taken from a text from a book or document. It has been “cut around” and identified as a literary unit. Classically, the term was used in synagogue and church liturgies to designate a selection from a biblical text assigned for public reading.
Modern biblical scholars generally use the term to refer to the small self-contained units from which a book was originally composed, and may be as short as a single line aphorism (a concise statement of a principle) or proverb, or as long as the Sermon on the Mount (111 verses) or the Passion Narrative (127 verses in Luke). Occasionally a verse or two may be omitted from the Biblical passage when chosen for the Lectionary.
Lectionaries are normally composed of pericopes containing the Epistle and/or Gospel readings for the Liturgical Year and which are to be read for the Liturgical services of the day.
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q.
A lector may have the liberty to change the words of the Scripture Readings by eliminating all
exclusive male references.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
That since the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, the revised lectionary of the Roman Catholic Church has been a foundation-block upon which many contemporary lectionaries of other Christian denominations have been based?
The roots and history of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) as well as the Roman Catholic Lectionary originated in the Roman Catholic Church, where it generally goes by the Latin name Ordo Lectionum Missae. The RCL (and its derivatives) was organized by the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) organization located in Nashville, Tennessee. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States and many traditional mainline American Protestant denominations are members. The CCT thereby represents the majority of American Christians.
Most of the current lectionaries used by western Christian denominations organize the scripture passages to be read in worship services for each week of the year into 3 readings in a 3-year cycle.
Thus, the same readings are read in Catholic and mainline Protestant churches except on those Sundays when the Catholic readings were taken from a book that is not found in the Protestant Bible editions.
“Holy communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven”.
Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914)
Pope Pius X was born June 2 in Italy, the second of 10 children and was ordained in 1858. He succeeded Pope Leo XIII in 1903. He urged frequent reception of Holy Communion, especially by children. He died in Rome on August 20 and was canonized in 1954 by Pope Pius XII, the first Pope to be so honored since the canonization of Pope Pius V in 1712.
THE LITURGICAL YEAR
THE LECTIONARY: PART ONE
The Lectionary is a book containing a collection of Scripture readings (perciopes) appointed for Christian worship and arranged in order of the liturgical calendar. All of the readings used at the Eucharist and other liturgies are proclaimed by a priest, deacon, subdeacon, or a lector. (They could also be chanted).
A Missal has all the texts needed for Mass, including instructions for the presider (called Rubrics because they were printed in red), prayers, readings, some music, etc. But the Lectionary only has scripture readings.
Since the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Missal is usually published in two parts: the Sacramentary (texts and prayers spoken by the priest at the altar or presider's chair, but not including the readings) and the Lectionary for Mass (all readings proclaimed from the ambo or lectern). In addition, The Gospel Book contains only the Gospel readings that will be proclaimed at Mass.
In biblical times, the Jews created a schedule of Scripture readings assigned to be read in the synagogue. Jesus likely read one of these pre-assigned readings when he read from Isaiah as recorded in Luke's Gospel 4:16-21. The early Christians adopted the Jewish custom of reading extracts from the Old Testament on the Sabbath. They soon added extracts from the writings of the Apostles and the Evangelists.
Christian lectionaries developed over the centuries, and not all of the Christian Church used the same lectionary, and throughout history, many varying lectionaries have been used in different parts of the Christian world. Before the Second Vatican Council, in the lectionary used in the Roman Mass, the Scripture readings were the same year after year, with bits and pieces from all four gospels, so that it was impossible to get a sense of the character and viewpoint of each of the four, and the first reading was taken from the Epistles, so that the Old Testament was hardly ever used. The various pre-Vatican II editions of the Roman Missal were based on the one from Pope Pius V from 1570. Most weekday masses did not have proper readings, but used readings from the prior Sunday or Saints Day.
Vatican II called for a new emphasis on Scripture, recognizing the close bond between the Bread of the Word and the Body of Christ; the Word of God listened to and reflected upon in faith should prepare one for participating in the Lord's Supper. The revision for the lectionary was mandated by the second Vatican Council in 1963; the Latin edition was published in 1969, and the USA edition in 1970 beginning on the first Sunday of Advent.
The lectionary is organized into a three-year cycle of readings. The cycle is denoted by letter as A, B., or C. The year A cycle begins at Advent, near the end of those years whose number is evenly divisible by three, e.g.. 2007, 2010, 2013. But because the Church Year begins at the end of the secular calendar year, cycle A will be proclaimed through most of the calendar years 2008, 2011, and 2014 etc. The Gospel reading was chosen first, being the characteristic feature.
By using this division, the church makes it possible for us to hear each Gospel in the sequence in which it appears in the New Testament. (Although Mark is thought to be the oldest written Gospel, Matthew is placed first in the New Testament).
The Gospel according to John does not have its own year, but because he focuses on the divinity of Jesus, John is read during the season of Lent and the Easter season. Because the Gospel according to Mark is short, parts of John's Gospel also fill out year B, mostly during the summer (August), when the "bread from heaven" (Ch. 6) passages are read, and on some special feasts.
Part Two on the Lectionary will appear in next month’s issue.
Main Feast Days of Saints
September 2007
Sept. 3, Pope Gregory the Great
Sept. 8, Birth of the Virgin Mary
Sept. 13 St. John Chrysostom
Sept. 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
Sept. 17 St. Robert Bellarmine
Sept. 20 St. Andrew Kim Taegon & St. Paul Chong Nasang & Companions
Sept. 21 St. Matthew, Apostle
Sept. 27 St. Vincent de Paul*
Sept. 29 St. Michael, St. Gabriel, & St. Raphael, Archangels
*St. Vincent de Paul was born in France to peasant parents on April 24th 1580, one of six children. He was ordained a priest in 1600. In 1605, while returning from Marseille, where he had gone to claim a legacy left him, he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave in Algeria. Two years later, he escaped to Avignon, and went to Rome for further studies. In the following years, his work with the poor and his preaching attracted widespread attention. After meeting St. Francis de Sales in Paris in 1618, he became his disciple. He began ministering to Galley slaves and in 1619 he became chaplain of Galley slaves waiting to be shipped abroad. In 1625, he founded the congregation of the Mission (known as the Vincentians and Lazarists) and was devoted to missionary work among the peasants. He established hospitals and orphanages and spent his whole life trying to relieve human suffering and misery. He helped to better priest formation by founding new seminaries and sending his priests abroad to preach missions; he organized far-flung relief among victims of war and wrote widely on spiritual topics. He died September 27, 1660 and was canonized in 1737 by Pope Clement XIII. In 1885, he was declared patron of all charitable groups by Pope Leo XIII. His feast day is September the 27th.
ANSWER:
A.
False-No one is permitted to change gender-related language or eliminate male references while
reading the Scripture chosen for the Lectionary. (Code of Canon Law 838, 846)
Q: In the Prayer of the Faithful – or General Intercessions - during Mass,
should the response be “Lord, hear our prayer”, or “Lord, hear our
prayers”, and why?
A: The General Instruction to the Roman Missal #69 says ”the people…exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all.” It goes on to say “petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civil authorities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.” In a particular celebration, such as a Confirmation, the intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.
The “Today’s Missal” used at Mass reminds us that “As priestly people we unite with one another to pray for today’s needs in the Church and the world, responding in these or similar words”… and one of the choices is “Lord, hear our prayer.”
To intercede for others is a priestly function, and although the priest presides at the prayer, it is the prayer of the faithful and the intercessions serve to link the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The priest opens the prayer, addressing it to the people, inviting them to pray, but a Lector, Deacon or Cantor reads the petitions in the form of a litany. The priest concludes with a prayer addressed to the Father asking that He hear our requests.
We are asked in scripture to pray always, and we pray in faith that God hears all prayers, but because a response is made after each petition, we ask the Lord to hear that particular petition and we respond in the singular – Lord, hear our prayer.
(To submit any question on the Mass (Liturgy)
or Eucharist (Sacrament),
click here:
Questions will be answered in next
month’s issue)
Featured
book of the month
THE EUCHARIST YESTERDAY AND TODAY
M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O.
BX22152.P43 140 pgs. Hardcover
Father Pennington invites and helps us to enter fully into the challenge of the Eucharistic celebration. He seeks to bring forth in a living way, the heritage of the past while suggesting ways in which this heritage, this living tradition, can be lived in us, enfleshed, handed on to the next generation as something living and life-giving.
Brought to you monthly by The Envision Priority Area Team:
Understanding The Mass and Eucharist