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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!