June 19, 2012 St. Francis Prayer Group
V: O God, come to my
assistance.
R: Lord, make haste to
help me.
Sacramentum Caritatis
Psalm 40
I waited patiently for
the Lord;
he inclined to me and
heard my cry.
He drew me up from the
desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a
rock,
making my steps
secure.
He put a new song in
my mouth,
a song of praise to
our God.
Many will see and
fear,
and put their trust in
the Lord.
Blessed is the man who
makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to
the proud,
to those who go astray
after false gods!
You have multiplied, O
Lord my God,,
your wondrous deeds
and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with
you!
Were I to proclaim and
tell of them,
they would be more
than can be numbered.
Sacrifice and offering
you do not desire;
but you have given me
an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin
offering
you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold,
I come;
in the roll of the
book it is written of me;
I delight to do your
will, O my God;
your law is written
within my heart.”
I have told the glad
news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not
restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your
saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your
faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed
your mercy and your faithfulness
from the great
congregation.
Do not, O Lord, withhold
your compassion from
me,
let your mercy and
your faithfulness
ever preserve me!
For evils have
encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have
overtaken me,
till I cannot see;
they are more than the
hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to
deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to
help me!
*****
Day One: Novena
Sacramentum
Caritatis
(From
Treasures
Holy & Mystical Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP)
I.
Opening Prayer
II.
Day One:
Christ
Makes a gift of himself:
Reading
III.
Meditation:
What
do I find amazing in the Eucharist?
What
wonders do I experience?
What does it
mean for me to know Christ loves us “to the end”?
(take 10 minutes to meditate on
these questions, come back and discuss)
IV.
Closing Prayer
:-) Homework: Using
the book, Treasures Holy & Mystical, pray the Novena Sacramentum Caritatis.
Shepherd of Souls
O Sacrament Most Holy
*****
Anything to share?
Food, Glorious Food (chapter
1: Bread of Life, Cup of Salvation by Baldovin)
“ Ever since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner.”
-- Lord Byron
Eating: fundmental, without food – no life, without sharing
food – not much significance in life
Why bother with the Eucharist?
I
believe in God – why can’t I practice my faith at home, in nature, doing
service? Why must I go to church week
after week?
Easy answer:
Because Jesus
told us to, at the Last Supper “do this in memory of me”
(Jewish
idea of memorial)
The Liturgy Constitution:
From the liturgy, therefore,
particularly the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain;
the liturgy is the source for achieving in the most effective way possible
human sanctification and God’s glorification, the end to which all the Church’s
other activities are directed.
Mass is central to Christian living – goes right to the
heart of what it is to be Christian
“For Catholics the Eucharist is not simply a way of worshipping God, it is the privileged means of experiencing the
presence of Jesus Christ and participating in his work of redeeming the world.”
(3)
From what did Jesus save the world? Is there something about the human condition
that needs saving? (yes) We are trapped
in a sinful condition and cannot be united to God through our own efforts.
We are more than our bodies; we have difficulty dealing with
our limitations (need to eat, drink – grow old, die). We know there is more than this, but we cannot
escape our physicality: we cannot escape
this as we strive to be more. Outside the body, there is no salvation.(3-4). But we never consider enough to be enough
– there has to be more.
Origin of sin centers around eating – cannot live without
food, nor can we live without meaning.
This story combines eating and significance: they clearly have “enough”,
but they want more, and they want it their way, not God’s – so they get more by
eating what is not theirs to eat. So, if
eating is the form of the Fall it is
also the form of Redemption – the Eucharist is the powerful antidote to
original sin, the antidote to the “apple” taken in Eden.
Could we define sin as: “a radical turning away from God and
a turning in toward oneself in a desperate effort to achieve self-significance”?
(5-6) (selfishness….or better,
self-centeredness) We cannot let “God be
God” – consider: is this “first” sin
deliberate disobedience? Or a sign of immaturity?
So humankind “grasped” at being like God, and Christ came to
undo this.
See Phil 2:5-9
“If sin is grasping, then redemption is letting go. If sin means symbolically grabbing at food,
then redemption means sharing it and giving it away.” (6) The reality of the Mass is seen in the
process of divine self-emptying in ritual.
“Jesus makes himself literally the food of Christians. And
so what is potentially the source of sin and self-centeredness becomes the
source of reversing sin.” (7)
Eucharist (or Thanksgiving”) – sharing food and drink
signifies the sharing of oneself just as Jesus did – important to remember
Jesus gave not “something” but gave himself, and the only appropriate response
is our own self-giving.
The “Eucharistic sacrifice” – there is difficulty in the
idea of sacrifice – free self-sacrifice, for the sacrifice of Christ arose from
his own freedom and the same needs to be true of us. (Rom 12:1)
Jesus showed that true sacrifice is about offering oneself
freely to God, others – in faith, hope, trust.
Shared ritual meal – antidote to selfishness: sharing and
acceptance = true humanity; “communal sharing in the context of faith in God is
the true source of joy.” (9)
Reflection questions:
- What moves me or leaves me cold in the celebration of the Mass?
Why?
- What’s the connection between eating and drinking and the
celebration of the Eucharist?
- How does Jesus undo the sinfulness of the human condition?
- How does the Mass relate to Jesus’ person and activity?
Intercessions, closing prayer
