Day 183: The Mass of All Ages (1341-1347)

• It’s Day 183!!

• “DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME”

• THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

• THE MASS OF ALL AGES

• We are continuing to talk about the Great Gift, the Great Sacrament, of the Eucharist

• Jesus commanded us to do this in memory of Him

• To repeat His words and actions until He comes 

• Not only are we to remember what Jesus did

• We are to DO IT and PARTICIPATE in it

• We are also going to talk about a citation from St. Justin Martyr writing to the pagan emperor, Antoninus Pius in the year 155 AD

• It explained what Christians did and how Christians worshiped

• This was pretty early on in the Christian life

• So if you are an outsider and want to know what we believe?

• What are we doing when we come together and worship?

• This is what we are doing

• It’s going to be pretty important for us to understand this in order to know what is happening at the Mass 2,000 years later

• THE SAME THING

• THE SAME MYSTERY

• THE SAME PARTICIPATION in the most amazing gift that God has EVER given us

• So let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and thanks. We ask you in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, to receive our thanks. Receive our praise. Help us to receive you. Help us to receive your Son’s gift, the gift of your Son himself in the Eucharist-body, blood, soul, and divinity-at every Mass we ever attend. Help us to participate in the worship of you, Father, as we continue to offer up the great sacrifice, once-for-all sacrifice of your Son to you in the Power of the Holy Spirit that’s given to us to participate in an unbloody way at every single Mass. Lord God, help us to put our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength into worship of you so that we can love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. For you are love. And you are God. It all comes from you. It all goes back to you. You are all in all. May you be praised forever, Father. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• Jesus told us to do this in memory of Him

• We are not just repeating His actions and words

• We are not just remembering what Jesus did

• We are PARTICIPATING IN HIS ACTIONS

• THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY CRITICAL!!

• This started from the VERY VERY BEGINNING

• Paragraph 1342 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…”

• This is the marker of those disciples of Jesus

• From the very beginning the disciples of Jesus devoted their LIVES to these four things

• Apostles’ teaching

• Fellowship of the communal life

• Breaking of bread

• Prayers

• These are four markers of what it is to be a Christian from the VERY BEGINNING

• So what are the Apostles teaching?

• THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS YEAR!!

• We have been focusing on THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING

• GREAT JOB!!

• What is the fellowship or the communal life?

• They have been taking care of each other and the people around them who are in need-widows, orphans, etc.

• THAT IS OUR CALL AS CHRISTIANS TOO!!

• We are called to take care of those around us in need

• SEE A NEED FILL A NEED!!

• That is what it is to be a Christian

• What is the breaking of the bread?

• THAT IS CODE FOR THE EUCHARIST!!

• FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!!

• THIS IS SO CRITICAL THAT WE UNDERSTAND THIS!!

• From the very beginning, breaking the bread WAS NOT JUST HAVING A MEAL

• IT IS THE EUCHARIST!!

• And lastly we have the prayer life

• These are the markers of EVERY PERSON who is called to be a disciple of Jesus

• We are called to devote ourselves to the Apostles’ teaching

• THE MAGISTERIUM!!

• THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH!!

• We are called to the communal life, taking care of those around us-our families, our parish, those who are in need

• We are called to the breaking of the bread

• THE EUCHARIST!!

• THE MASS!!

• And the prayer life

• THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THESE THINGS!!

• Being a Christian is not simply being part of a club

• It’s not our “Tuesday group”

• It is not our “Sunday group”

• Being a Christian means we DEVOTE OUR LIVES TO THESE FOUR THINGS

• IT IS SO SO IMPORTANT!!

• WE DO THIS UNTIL THE LORD COMES!!

• This is important because people wonder why we have Mass on Sunday when the Sabbath is Saturday

• How did that shift?

• We talked about this before

• The ONLY reason is because JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD ON SUNDAY!!

• THIS IS THE LORD’S DAY!!

• This is His day that He triumphed over the grave and appeared to His apostles

• THIS IS SO CRITICAL!!

• We celebrate the first day of the week, Sunday, the day of the Lord’s Resurrection

• That’s when Christians will meet to participate in the Eucharist

• This extended quote from St. Justin Martyr is invaluable

• In the year 155 he describes the Mass that we have all been to

• People sometimes think the Mass is a medieval invention

• Or that it has been twisted over time

• THe reality is that in every one of the rites of the Catholic Church, they follow the SAME STRUCTURE that St. Justin is describing FROM THE VERY VERY BEGINNING

• He goes on to describe what we believe when it comes to the Eucharist

• St. Justin Martyr’s first apology says, “This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except the one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us, for we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink. But as Jesus Christ our Savior, being incarnate by God’s Word, took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the words of prayer, which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”

• Justin Martyr is giving us the structure of the Mass

• So we have EVIDENCE that this is the Tradition of the Church given FROM THE VERY BEGINNING

• BUT…

• Go read that long quote again…

• Some people think that we offer the Eucharist to anyone who wants it as an expression of solidarity and hospitality

• Obviously, God’s gift of salvation and Himself is for anyone who asks

• BUT…

• From the very beginning, there have always been some CONDITIONS

• There has to be INITIATION

• You have to BELIEVE what we have been believing

• We have to be UNITED

• Yes, Jesus Christ died for ALL

• He has given his Eucharist Himself for ALL

• AND YET…

• We do not believe that this is just ordinary food

• We believe that THIS IS TRULY THE FLESH AND BLOOD OF THAT INCARNATE JESUS

• So if someone does not believe that or if they are not united to the Church or not living as Christ taught us…

• For them to receive the body and blood of Christ is to be in danger of receiving condemnation on themselves

• This is what St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Corinthians

• It is not cruel for the Church to say that you have to be in union with the Church to receive Holy Communion

• That goes all the way back to 155 AD

• IT IS NOT CRUEL!!

• IT IS NOT EXCESSIVE!!

• IT IS AN ACT OF LOVE!!

• We do not receive these things as common bread or common drink (No grape juice here!! 😉)

• BUT…

• AS JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!!

• Being Incarnate by God’s Word, took flesh and blood for our salvation

• Go read the quote again because I’m not typing it all out again 🔼 🔼 🔼

• WHAT A GIFT!!

• We have the two parts of the one Liturgy

• The Liturgy of the Word, where we have the gathering, the proclamation of God’s Word, intercessions, and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist where we bring the bread and wine

• And we have the consecration and Holy Communion

• Those two parts of the Liturgy form ONE SINGLE LITURGY

• ONE SINGLE ACT OF WORSHIP

• That’s what we get to participate in all the time

• At the end of the Gospel of Luke, they have the disciples on the road to Emmaus

• They are downcast

• This is the first day of the week, Easter Sunday

• Cleopas and his companion are walking 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus

• Jesus appears to them, although they don’t recognize Him

• He says, “What are you talking about?”

• They say, “Don’t you know the things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene? We had hoped that he would be the one to redeem Israel.”

• Then Jesus points out, “Did you not know the Messiah had to suffer all these things to enter into his glory?”

• And then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He revealed to them all that spoke of him in the Scriptures

• THAT IS THE LITURGY OF THE WORD!!

• The proclamation of the Word

• They get to where they were going and they invite Him inside

• Then He takes bread, blesses it, and breaks it

• THEIR EYES ARE OPEN NOW!!

• They recognize Him in the BREAKING OF THE BREAD

• THAT IS THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST!!

• So on the Road to Emmaus, you have the Liturgy of the Word AND the Liturgy of the Eucharist

• PRETTY NEAT!!

• We have made it halfway!! (my fingers hurt a lot)

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!