Resources: Bible, “A Biblical Explanation of the Mass” By: Dr. Brant Pitre, Professor of Sacred Scripture Notre Dame Seminary, www.ourcatholicfaith.org, The Catechism of the Catholic Church
St. Thomas Aquinas Youth
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Cornerstone 10/30/11 - Lesson 7: Welcome
Resources: Bible, “A Biblical Explanation of the Mass” By: Dr. Brant Pitre, Professor of Sacred Scripture Notre Dame Seminary, www.ourcatholicfaith.org, The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Cornerstone 10-16-11 Lesson 5 : The Oldies
“Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.” – Eucharistic Prayer I, New Roman Missal |
Even in Genesis we can find types of the Mass. (The word “type” is used throughout to mean an Old Testament action or person prefiguring and superseded or brought to fulfillment by the New Testament e.g. Moses was a type of Christ because he led his people out of the slavery of Egypt, just as Christ leads us out of the slavery of Sin. Christ’s action is prefigured by Moses’ and it is larger.) Abel offers the “the firstlings of his flock” (Gen 4:4) just as we ask each Mass that “the Lord accept the sacrifice,” of our first fruit: the gifts of bread and wine and equally important our lives, hurts, joys, humiliations, pain, laughter, and our very selves. (USSCB Roman Missal). Each Mass the priest asks in the Eucharistic prayer that Lord would look upon our offering and it be acceptable to Him just as He “looked with favor on Abel and his offering” (Gen 4:4).
During the Easter Vigil the Priest or Deacon reads or sings aloud the Exsultet which speaks of salvation history and compares the Exodus of the Jews away from Egyptian slavery and into freedom. It calls Easter mysteries “the feasts of Passover, in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb, whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.”(Roman Missal) Christ becomes our Passover Lamb whose blood protects us from the death we deserve because of our sin. Continuing it further emphasizes the connection between the two actions in beautiful language:
Questions for Discussion:
- What is liturgy and why is it important to the Church?
- What similarities to the Mass do you find in the Old Testament?
- What other types (prefiguring people or things) of the Mass can you find in the Old Testament?
- Where was the Mass instituted in the bible? (Last Supper Narratives)
- How can learning about the Old Testament help you to understand what you do at Mass more fully?
- What part of the Mass do you understand the least? The best?
- How can you be a better participant in the Mass?
Take Home Message:
Friday, October 14, 2011
Cornerstone 10-9-2011: Lesson 4 - Care For The poor and Vulnerable
“I cannot fail to note once again that the poor constitute the modern challenge, especially for the well-off of our planet, where millions of people live in inhuman conditions and many are literally dying of hunger. It is not possible to announce God the Father to these brothers and sisters without taking on the responsibility of building a more just society in the name of Christ.” -Pope John Paul II |
From the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI: “On the Development of Peoples”
Catechism references concerning Caring for the poor and Vulnerable
Questions for Discussion:
Take Home Message:
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
STAY Lesson 10.2.11 - Liturgy
In the modern world and especially among our protestant friends and neighbors, it’s not uncommon for non-Catholics to question the rubrics, rules and prayers of the Catholic faith. Catholics must be prepared to defend their faith by understanding the purpose and design of Catholic Liturgy in order to evangelize and truly live a Catholic lifestyle.
Here's this week's STAY Lesson
Q. What is the definition of Liturgy?
A public service, duty, or work. In Scripture it refers to the religious duties to be performed by priests and levites in the Temple, especially those related to the Sacrifice… (Presently) liturgy is the official public worship of the Church and is thus distinguished from private devotion. It is the special title of the Eucharist, and the administration of the sacraments with the annexed use of the sacramentals… (Theologically) the liturgy is the exercise now on earth of Christ's priestly office, as distinct from his role as teacher and ruler of his people. Christ performs this priestly office as Head of his Mystical Body, so that Head and members together offer the sacred liturgy. Its functions are to give honor and praise to God, which is worship, and to obtain blessings for the human race, which is sanctification. (Etym. Latin liturgia; from Greek leitos, of the people + ergon, work: leitourgia, public duty, public worship.) (Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary)
A. Litugry is defined as three things:
1. Liturgy is the action of Christ within the Church to draw His people closer to Himself.
2. Liturgy is the public action of the faithful, fulfilling their obligation and desire to participate in the life of the Church for the purposes of worshiping God and sanctifying humanity. This action is administered by the clergy.
3. Liturgy is the special title of the Sacramental rites of the Church which continually lead the faithful to Communion with God, particularly the Holy Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Q. What is the purpose of Liturgy?
For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that "the work of our redemption is accomplished," and it is through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. (CCC 1068, Sacrosanctum concilium)
A. Liturgy exists for the purpose of reaching beatitude (heaven) by glorifying God, and sanctifying people:
While it may sound exclusionary to say that the Liturgy exists because there is a right way to worship God, the Catholic Church holds this statement to be true. The truth found in the liturgy of the Catholic Church is intended for all men and women, so that they may participate fully in a communal and individual relationship with God, in order to participate in a foretaste of heaven and move towards it.
Q. From where or whom does the Liturgy originate?
Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father. (CCC 1078)
In the liturgy of the Church, God the Father is blessed and adored as the source of all the blessings of creation and salvation with which he has blessed us in his Son, in order to give us the Spirit of filial adoption. (CCC 1110)
“In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” (Eph. 1:6)
"Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (Jn. 6:32-33)
Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:5-6)
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” (Jn 15:26)
A. The Catholic Church teaches that her Liturgy comes directly from God, the Trinity.
The Liturgy originates in the desire of God the Father to lead His people to heaven. For that purpose, Christ was sent to fulfill the law (Liturgy, Mt. 5:17) of God by His gospel, passion, death and resurrection. All of this was made possible by the action of the Holy Spirit who remains among us to inspire and cooperate with the Church within the Liturgy. It is imperative to note that the Church believes in her fullness of truth - that is the belief that the greatest sum of God’s revelation resides and is distributed to man through the Catholic Church. The Church takes Jesus’ promise of the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) quite literally, believing that He is the primary force behind the Liturgy.
Q. When did Liturgy as we know it, begin?
The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the Promised Land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a "small remnant." The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings and at the same time respond to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving. (CCC 1081)
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered holocausts on the altar.” (Gen. 8:20)
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. (Mt. 5:17)
Thus the risen Christ, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them his power of sanctifying: they became sacramental signs of Christ… (CCC 1087)
"In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God…” (CCC 1090)
A. Liturgy, in some form, has been around since man’s first covenants with God in the Old Testament.
Liturgy, in the sense of man’s way of worshiping God, has been around since the time of Noah. The Old Testament is wrought with covenants, sacrifices and laws that amount to the liturgy of the Jewish people. As Catholics we must not lose sight of the harmony which Catholic liturgy shares with Jewish liturgy. Jesus, a perfect Jewish man, did not come to correct the Jewish liturgy in the New Covenant of His body and blood, but instead to perfect the sacrifice necessary for our salvation. It may seem as though the liturgy of God has changed or been rewritten throughout salvation history, but it is more accurate to say that it has been updated or completed to further our understanding of God and deepen our relationship with Him in the Blessed Trinity. Furthermore we believe that the liturgy we celebrate unites us to the eternal banquet of Heaven and is therefore ongoing as long as there is a Pilgrim Church on earth.
Follow up discussion questions:
What personal actions do you think are necessary to prepare to enter the Liturgy of the Eucharist or other Sacraments? (CCC 1098)
If someone asks you why Catholics have so many “rules,” what will you tell them?