Then we moved on to talk about the epiclesis. This word is from the Greek, meaning "to call upon".
At this time the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit, and asks God to come over the gifts and bless them.
It becomes clear that the Mass is not a human thing, but a work of God.
St John of Damascus said "You will ask how the bread becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. I shall tell you: the Holy Spirit comes upon them accomplishes what surpasses every word and thought...Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy Spirit, just as it was of the Holy Virgin and by the Holy Spirit, that the Lord, through and in Himself, took flesh." (CCC n.1106)
We talked about how the Israelites had to eat the flesh of the lamb at the first Passover, and how Jesus told his disciples, that to have eternal life we have to eat His flesh and drink His blood, which is "real food and real drink".
We discussed the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how we share in the Eucharist and in the Mass in the Spirit. We talked about how important is it that we recognize the gifts of the Holy Spirit and ask for them.
There is a quote in the book that touched many of us:"He who stands at the altar does nothing, and the gifts that repose there are not the merits of a man; but the Grace of the Holy Spirit is present and, descending on all, accomplishes this mysterious sacrifice. We indeed see a man (the priest) but it is God who acts through him. Nothing human takes place at this holy altar."
A few books that were referenced during the discussion were:
St Joseph's Baltimore Catechism
St Joseph Picture Books by Fr Lovasik
Jesus of Nazareth-book 2 by Benedict XVI
The Lamb's Supper- The Mass in Revelation, by Scott Hahn
Father Jay gave us an excellent resource the week before. I have had a time pulling it into the blog, scanned or not, so I searched and found it online. I can't get the blog to pull it in, so I am just going to give you the link. It is excellent!
A Short and Basic Bibliography on the Mass
Go to the document and print it. You will have access to some very helpful information.
The question "How do you respond to the elevation of the Eucharist?" was answered with: "My Lord and My God", "Oh my God, I love you, I believe in you and I Hope in you.", "Jesus Mercy", "Jesus, I trust in You" It is a mini-adoration. Some people think about the Apostles, what the room was like, what they were thinking. Some think about the blood poured out on the altar of the cross. The last sacrifice.
One point that was made in "Jesus of Nazareth" book 2, is that during Passover the sacrifice of the animals and the sacrifice of Jesus, both happened at 3:00 on the same day. This is an excellent book!
The word Catholic means "universal" and has been used since AD 107!
Because Christ is present in the church always and everywhere, St Ignatius wrote "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church."
The Eucharist is the prayer of the whole church.
The "Our Father" was discussed as the prayer that unites us.
We dare to call God our Father, because we are a family!
We talked about how we are not worthy, and how we must be sure that we are properly disposed for Communion. We must not be aware of any serious sin, we must examine our conscience and go to reconciliation in order to receive the Lord worthily.
He is here...He is our God and Our King. We praise Him for His glory and we thank Him for the Grace to share in this precious sacrament.
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