Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 8
Thursday, November 30, 2000
FOODFORTHOUGHT
we too are among the saints called to
the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Thus in that moment of reflection
and preparation before we receive
holy Communion, the church does
not remind us how happy we are to be
called to this supper. Rather, the
church rejoices at how happy all the
saints are to be invited to the wedding
feast of the Lamb in the kingdom of
heaven!
The moment of Communion, then,
is a moment which transcends time
and space, when all the members of
Christ’s body, both living and dead,
are united at the altar in receiving his
body and his blood.
That moment before Communion is
a window into and an identification
with that time when all tears will be
wiped away and we shall see our God
as he is, and we will be caught up in
the blessed life of the Trinity, which is
perfect praise forever.
This day reminds us of that day,
and urges us on.
(Father Moroney is executive di
rector of the U.S. bishops’ Liturgy
All contents copyright©2000 by CNS
All the saints and angels, martyrs
and apostles are called to this supper.
The unnamed saints who taught you
to pray and who led you to love Christ
are called to this supper. All the just,
all the blessed of God are called to this
supper.
And what of us?
If we are among the faithful ser
vants who have repented of our sins,
Jubilee of the Eucharist
By Father James P. Moroney
Catholic News Service
T:
he Eucharist is the most tan
gible of intangible mysteries, the most
visible experience of invisible sacred
realities.
The liturgy is likewise an experi
ence of the many dimensions of our
relationship with God:
—As individuals we seek commun
ion with Christ and pre
pare to receive his body
and blood.
—Gathered as his
brothers and sisters, “his
holy people,” we celebrate
the sacred mysteries.
Nowhere is the ten
sion between the indi
vidual and the commu
nal, the visible and the
invisible, more clearly
experienced than in the
moments before receiv
ing holy Communion.
The British have a
term for the moment be
fore the coming of the
night, those few mo
ments when the sun’s
fading rays prepare to
give way to the night
sky’s brilliant stars.
They call it the “gloam
ing.” Such a word cap
tures the sense of chang
ing, of letting go of what
has gone by in order to
receive the night’s rest,
comfort and beauty.
The moment of the
gloaming is a moment of
reflection and of prepara
tion as we stand on the
verge of a great mystery.
So too, there is a
gloaming to our Com
munion Rite at Mass. Be
fore we come forward in
procession to receive
Christ’s body and blood,
we stand together and
gaze at him. As individu
als and as his holy church, we turn
from this life’s distractions and gaze
only at him. As the host is held above
the chalice, the priest speaks words of
invitation and welcome:
“This is the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world. Happy are
those who are called to his supper.”
The priest is another John the
Baptist as he begins that acclama
tion. While John saw the Lord’s
body approach him across the Jor
dan, now the priest holds the Lord
in his hands for all to see.
This is the lamb of the Passover by
whose brokenness we are healed. But
this Lamb is something more! He is
the priest and the victim, the giver
and the gift.
Thus, the salvation he brings is not
just from the deadly waters of the Red
Sea and the wrath of Pharoah, but
from the very waters of death and the
darkness of sin.
Nor does this Lamb deliver us from
sage from the beginning of Chapter 19
can help us to answer that question.
The banqueters at this supper are “a
loud voice of a great multitude in
heaven” (19:1), and they sing as they
eat: “Alleluia! Salvation, glory and
might belong to our God” (19:1). As
they sing, they worship God, who sat
on the throne (19:4), singing a hymn:
■ ■ ■
“Alleluia! The Lord has estab
lished his reign, (our) God, the al-
VJ loaming. Such a word captures the sense of changing,
of letting go of what has gone by in order to receive the
night’s rest, comfort and beauty.... So too, there is a gloaming
to our Communion Rite at Mass. Before we come forward in
procession to receive Christ’s body and blood, we ... turn
from this life’s distractions and gaze only at him.”
CNS photo by Bill Wittman
some vague philosophical sense of sin.
He delivers us from “our sins,” from
the cruelty and selfishness, betrayal
and neglect which daily weigh us
down. This Lamb upon whom we gaze
takes away “the sins of the world.”
Then the priest adds the words
taken from Revelation 19:9: “The an
gel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are
those who have been called to the wed
ding feast of the Lamb.’”
What is this supper to which the
blessed are called? Reading this pas-
mighty. Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory. For the wedding
day of the Lamb has come, his bride
has made herself ready. She was
allowed to wear a bright, clean linen
garment” (19:6-8).
■ ■ ■
The supper of which the priest
speaks, then, is not just this Mass,
not just this holy Communion. No,
the priest proclaims the wedding feast
of the Lamb in the kingdom of heaven!
And who is called to that supper?
Face it, Advent is hard to do. There is a tendency to blame the pressures of culture’s “other season” for this.
After all, when the first Sunday of Advent arrives this year, the holiday shopping season will be well under way.
Rather than reawakening to God’s presence, we may be awakening to the realization that the number of shopping
days before Christmas is finite, as is the cash in our wallets.
Sometimes I think I’d like to relocate Advent to the days after Dec. 25; I’m sure that would “work” better for me.
But that won’t happen!
Advent anticipates Christmas — not just the day, but its impact on us.
The coming of Jesus makes life different. Now, as Pope John Paul II has said, we ought to share in the Lord’s joy
by sharing in “the love which pulses in his heart.”
The love the pope describes is active — the sort that follows in Jesus’ footsteps by waking up to the real needs or
hopes of others in our lives and our world. What is one way to do that in Advent?
41 David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive!