We have now arrived
at the Consecration, the source and summit of the Mass. It is here that “the
curtain is torn in two” and heaven and earth are united through the transubstantiation
which now occurs. Ordinary bread and wine –life in the Old Testament- are now
transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ – life in the New Testament. We
need only listen to His words at the Last Supper to realize that Jesus would
leave His followers the greatest gift He could give them: Himself. We now have
the Bread of Angels, the Heavenly Manna, the Bread of Eternal Life. By eating
this bread and drinking this wine, by partaking of the Body and Blood of
Christ, we shall live forever. When it is time for the Consecration to occur,
we should be filled with awe and wonder. We should adopt a very reverent pose,
never taking our eyes off of the Host, over which the priest says the words of
Consecration, then elevates for all to see, to worship, to adore, and to love.
As the Consecrated Host is lowered, we bow our heads and say, “My Lord, My God,
and My All, I adore you.” When the cup is raised we do the same, saying, “My
Jesus Mercy.” We have just been part of the most holy moment on earth. What is
amazing is that we can do this every single day of our lives, anywhere that the
sacrifice of the Mass is offered. It is the Eucharist that unites us as
Catholics, forms us into one family, and gives us joy. And yet, so many of us
let that opportunity go by, as if anything in our lives is more important or
spectacular than being present at the consecration of the Mass. Here we have Jesus, present before our very
eyes, Jesus, raised before us and given up for us, Jesus, ready to enter into
us and change us forever: Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All. He says, “Come.” And what
do we say?
Matthew 26:26-28: While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a
blessing, He broke it and gave it to the
disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had
taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink
from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many for forgiveness of sins.
Pope Benedict XVI
tells us so beautifully: The Lord is near us in our conscience, in his
word, in his personal presence in the Eucharist: this constitutes the dignity
of the Christian and is the reason for his joy.
We rejoice, therefore, and this joy is expressed in praising God. Today
we can see how the closeness of the Lord also brings people together and brings
them close to each other: it is because we have the same Lord Jesus Christ in
Munich and in Rome that we form one single people of God, across all frontiers
united in the call of conscience, united by the word of God, united through
communion with Jesus Christ, united in the praise of God, who is our joy and
our redemption.
Prayer: Taken from Pange Lingua by St. Thomas Aquinas
On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He, the Paschal Victim eating,
first fulfils the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own Hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His Word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling,
This great Sacrament we hail,
O'er ancient forms of worship
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith will tell us Christ is present,
When our human senses fail.
To the Everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia
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