Preparation of the Gifts Part 4 Presentation Hymn

ABOUT THE MASS SERIES 

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PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS PART 4: PRESENTATION HYMN

 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The practice of accompanying the presentation of the gifts with song may have originated in Africa by St. Augustine in 4^th Century.  In Rome, however two alternating choirs sang the psalm verses with an antiphon occurring at the beginning and end of the psalmody. Since the purpose of the singing was to fill up the time occupied by the procession and the reception of the gifts, the gradual loss of the procession resulted in a curtailment of the text, leaving on most occasions no more than an antiphon sung by the choir.

St. Augustine’s ancient proverb ‘that to sing is to pray twice’ is a timely reminder of why we sing at Mass.  The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2007) quoted St Augustine ’Singing is for one who loves’... (p.20).  Of course, there may be many valid reasons why we may feel reluctant to sing at Mass- but perhaps, we can make an extra effort as a congregation, to join our hearts and voice together in praise of God.

CURRENT TRADITION.

Since Vatican 11, singing and/or instrumental music to accompany the presentation of the gifts is considered desirable, until at least the gifts have been placed on the altar.  The hymn need not necessarily speak of bread and wine or of offering, as its proper function is rather to accompany and celebrate the communal aspects of the procession.  However, the text may be an appropriate song of praise or rejoicing in keeping with the season.  Nevertheless, hymns or instrumental music should not end indiscriminately at the end of the procession, nor extend past the time necessary for the ritual. How well do you join in the singing at Mass and at this time?  

Let us keep up the universal and established tradition and sing to God as one voice.

  

The unfaithfulness of the disciples Mk 14:26-31

GOSPEL OF MARK SERIES.

The Bible: Gospel of Mark icon.

During 2019, each week, I will write a weekly post about the Gospel of Mark, as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. If you are following this series for the first time, you will find this series under Scripture- New Testament- Gospel of Mark. 

Click here to read the first post in the series. I have written this series in different years (2012, 2015, 2018) with some irregularity, but am determined to complete this series this year since I am more than half way through this Gospel.

My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark. I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season.  In today's post we explore chapter 14:26 -31 which is called The Unfaithfulness of the Disciples.

THE UNFAITHFULNESS OF THE DISCIPLES.

At the end of the meal, Jesus and His disciples sing a hymn of praise, and then depart together for the Mount of Olives. They leave the upstairs room probably in the south-western part of the city, and may have walked outside the city walls to a small country place nearby called Gethsemane on the lower part of the slop of the Mount of Olives, outside the eastern wall of the city.  Judas appear to have already left the group and tone to betray Jesus.

As they walk to Gethsemane, Jesus speaks of a desertion by all His disciples, and a public denial by one of them, Peter. Plots and infidelity formed the setting before and after the meal at Bethany. Now, before and after the last meal in Jerusalem, Jesus speak of unfaithfulness.

The words of the prophet Zechariah ( Zech 13:7-9), who lived in the fifth century BC after the time of the exile of the Jews in Babylon, give the setting. When the shepherd is struck down the sheep will be scattered, but after the times of testing they will all be gathered together once more in God’s people.

Again, Jesus briefly refers to His future vindication by God in resurrection (28).  He has done this already several times, on the mountain and in the three prophecies of His passion (9:9, 8:31, (:34 and 10:14).

Then Jesus tells His disciples that after He is raised, He will go before them all into Galilee, Galilee is the place of beginning for the disciples, where Jesus first called to be disciples, and where the followed Him and witnessed His first proclamations of the gospel.  The mention of Galilee hints of new beginnings for the disciples after Jesus has been raise by God.

The disciples reply confidently that they will never become deserters. Their rash confidence challenges us to look with honesty at our faithfulness.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS..

In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:

• Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?

• Imagine that you are the disciples- What do you see and hear and feel. What can I learn from this?

·            Imagine being the one of the disciples listening to Jesus about His teaching.
        What questions do I want to bring to Jesus? 

• What is reading the Gospel passage with the eyes and ears of disciple mean to me?
  
  
• How does Jesus make clear His teaching to me in this passage?
  
• Consider a situation in your life today where the teaching of Jesus needs to be applied. Why is it difficult to be challenged on a long-held view and be open to viewing it differently?
  
• Consider how much my faith means to me and what does my faithfulness/unfaithfulness to my church/parish mean to me and others?

• What are the areas in my life I need to bring to Jesus in the light of this teaching?
  
  
• Am I willing to look into myself with honesty and ask how much do I grasp what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus in the light of this teaching? 

Collect for 17th Sunday of Year

COLLECT SERIES.

 

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COLLECT

The Collect for the 17^TH Sunday of the Year C reads as follows:

O God, protector of those who hope in You,

Without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy,

Bestow in abundance Your mercy upon us and grant that with You as our ruler and guide,

We may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those than every endure.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS.

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.    Why do I hope in God and why will I hope in Him this coming week?

2.    How has/ is God my protector?

3.    What are the things in my life that have firm foundation and how are they connected to God?

4.    Why do we need to ask for mercy?

5.    How is God my ruler and guide and how will He be this coming week?

GOSPEL REFLECTION.

The Gospel is from St. Luke, 11:1-13 in which we hear Luke's rendition of the "Our Father" and Jesus' teaching on prayer.

The Our Father is certainly the most sublime formula possible and contains the whole essence of the most elevated mental prayer. However, Jesus gave it as a formula for vocal prayer: " When you pray, say. . . "

This is enough to make us understand the value and importance of vocal prayer, which is within the reach of everyone even children, the uneducated, the sick, the weary.... But we must realize that vocal prayer does not consist only in the repetition of a certain formula. If this were true, we should have a recitation but not a prayer, for prayer always requires a movement, an elevation of the soul toward God. In this sense,

Jesus instructed His disciples: "When thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret.... And when you are praying, speak not much as the heathens" (Mt 6:6-7). It is interesting to note that in St. Matthew these prescriptions concerning the exterior and interior dispositions necessary for well-made prayer immediately precede the teaching of the Our Father.

Therefore, in order that our vocal prayer be real prayer, we must first recollect ourselves in the presence of God, approach Him, and make contact with Him. Only when we have such dispositions will the words we pronounce with our lips express our interior devotion and be able to sustain and nourish it.

 Unfortunately, inclined as we are to grasp the material part of things instead of the spiritual, it is only too easy in our vocal prayer to content ourselves with a mechanical recitation, without taking care to direct our heart to God; hence we should always be vigilant and alert. Vocal prayer made only by the lips dissipates and wearies the soul instead of recollecting it in God; it cannot be said that this is a means of uniting us more closely to Him.

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Today marks the middle of Ordinary Time (33 weeks total). There are 5 months until Christmas and 4 months until the new Church year beginning in Advent.

This week therefore is an ideal time to make a stock take of our life- but particularly our spiritual life.  A few questions to get us thinking about it might be:

1.    Where do I want my spiritual life to be by end of the liturgical year?

2.    What areas of my spiritual life are working and which ones are not?

3.    Why are these areas working or not working?

4.    What areas do I need to change/grow/ nurture in my spiritual life.

5.    What steps can I realistically put into place to make the necessary changes.

The big question in my mind is Do I want to wake up on First Sunday of Advent and think – another liturgical year thank heavens because I wish I had not wasted this one.( current year).

We have 4 months to the start of the liturgical year. Do something worthwhile with these 4 months in our spiritual lives.  For example I know I tend to go through phases and when I watch too much TV, my spiritual prayer life suffers.  So for me, one simple and yet sometimes hard thing to do is pick up the remote and turn the TV off and spend that time in prayer instead and establish a better prayer schedule.

I encourage you to identiy the areas in our spiritual lives that need attention- need a make over or need extra care. Work out a plan and do something worthwhile with these areas. Then we will wake up on First Sunday of Advent knowing that we have been good stewards of our time this year and we will not regret the time we have wasted or ignored in pursuit of holiness.

Start your plan today.

Eternal Prince of Peace

REFLECTION AND PRAYER SERIES.

CHRIST THE REDEEMER:
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My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My Scripture reflection is 

I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God

who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”’ 
(Revelations 1:8)

My post is called:

                                                              Eternal Prince of Peace.

Empires rise and quickly fall, 

Kingdoms thrive, then ease.

God stands, unchanging, through it all,

Eternal Prince of Peace.

No 106 what do we learn from the temptations in the desert

COMPENDIUM SERIES

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No 106 What do we learn from the temptations in the desert? (538- 407,566)

WHAT DOES THE COMPENDIUM SAY?

Compendium states: 

The temptations of Jesu in the desert recapitulates the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel in the desert. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to His obedience to the mission given by Him by the Father. Christ, the new Adam, resists and His victory proclaims that of his passion which is the supreme obedience of His filial love. The Church unites herself to this mystery in a special way in the liturgical season of Lent.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

What does this mean for me?

• I can thank God for His obedience to His Father and try to imitate this obedience in my life through with Jesus.
• I can try to use my daily life to become holy through my daily acts of obedience, prayer, simplicity, work and family love.  
• I can ponder carefully what the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice means to me.
• I can enter into the mystery of this sacrifice more deeply every time I go to Mass and review my commitment to Lenten season.

·          

Questions to consider.

1.       What impact does the temptation of Christ have on me.
2.      How does this impact on how I live my life?
3.      How would I explain why Jesus was obedient to His Father?
4.      What steps can I take to embrace the benefits of  being obedient to God  in my life?
5.       Why was it important for Jesus to be numbered as a sinner like us when He was sinless?

Preparation of the Gifts Part 3 The Bread and Wine

ABOUT THE MASS SERIES VOL 2

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‘PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS: PART 3:THE BREAD AND WINE’.

BACKGROUND TO BREAD AND WINE USED AT MASS. 

 At the last Supper, Jesus had used unleavened bread, according to the Passover Ritual. The early Christian communities that celebrated the Last Supper not just once a year- like the feast of Passover, but every Sunday and even during the week, quite naturally used homemade bread.  This bread sometimes had the form of a crown, like a round braid or even the form of round bread.

In the 9^th century, unleavened bread was progressively substituted.   The round hosts that we know appeared towards the 12^th century, when they were cut in unleavened dough ‘in modum denarii’ in the form of coins.  The use of these wafers of bread stopped the practice of baking of the Eucharistic bread by the people, and its presentation at the altar by the congregation. 

BREAD AND WINE USED AT MASS TODAY'

So what about the hosts used today?

For many years, the hosts used at Mass since Vatican 11 in Melbourne archdiocese were made by the Blessed Sacrament Sisters, but since around 2000, they have been imported from America, with the Cistercians Monks at Tarrawarra Abbey being the supplier.  More recently, the Monks now make the hosts themselves. After they are appropriately packaged by the monks, they finally arrive in many parishes in the archdiocese by Australia Post.

There are a number of designs for the hosts, but the letters IHS monogram (meaning Jesus Christ) may be embossed on them.

The wine used at Mass is also special. It is a sweet altar wine, and it is produced and bottled with Ecclesiastical approval and complies with the regulations of Canon Law. Some parishes order it from Renmano’s in South Australia.

The Last Meal of Jesus Mk 14:12-25

GOSPEL OF MARK SERIES.

The Bible: Gospel of Mark icon.

During 2019, each week, I will write a weekly post about the Gospel of Mark, as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. If you are following this series for the first time, you will find this series under Scripture- New Testament- Gospel of Mark. 

Click here to read the first post in the series. I have written this series in different years (2012, 2015, 2018) with some irregularity, but am determined to complete this series this year since I am more than half way through this Gospel.

My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark. I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season.  In today's post we explore chapter 14:12 -25 which is called The Last Meal with His Disciples

THE LAST MEAL WITH HIS DISCIPLES. (14:12-25). 

Mark presents the last meal of Jesus with His disciples as a Passover meal of thanksgiving, and tells the story of its preparation as a way similar to the preparation for the entry intro Jerusalem. (11:1-6).  Marks says nothing explicitly of the killing of a lamb and the other things needed for a Passover meal.

In the evening when they take their places around the table, Jesus announces in strong language ‘’truly( amen), I say to you’, that one of the twelves eating with Him will betray Him.

This last meal of Jesus with His disciples is framed before and after, by their infidelity.  He speaks first of His betrayal by one of them and later of the public denial of Him by another.  Jesus is not threatening His disciples, but emphasising the unfaithfulness among His close followers who gather to eat with Him at the same table.

The last of meal of Jesus reaches its climax in the ritual actions of Jesus with bread and wine taken from the table.  These gestures of Jesus and His accompanying words have been recognised from the earliest years of Christ faith as the institution of the Christian Eucharist or thanksgiving meal.

Jesus took some bread from the table, said a prayer of praise to God over the bread, and then broke it for His disciples to eat.  He told them that this eating together was the visual embodiment of His own person in the world.  Then He did the same with a c up of wine, which He called own blood fo the covenant (ex 24:8) to be poured out by Him for all.

At the end of the meal Jesus emphatically assures the twelves that He will eat with them again in a new manner, when the Kingdom of God has come, that is, when God show the fullness of His power in glory.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:

• Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?

• Imagine that you are the disciples- What do you see and hear and feel. What can I learn from this?
• Imagine sitting at the table with Jesus and being told that you are going to betray Him. hat do you feel?
• Imagine being the one of the disciples watching and listening to the action of Jesus at the meal. What questions do I want to bring to Jesus? 
•  What is reading the Gospel passage with the eyes and ears of disciple mean to me?

• How does Jesus make clear His teaching to me in this passage?
• Consider a situation in your life today where the teaching of Jesus needs to be applied. Why is it difficult to be challenged on a long-held view and be open to viewing it differently? 

• Consider how much my faith means to me especially related to the Mass and what does my faithfulness/unfaithfulness to my church/parish mean to me and others?

• What are the areas in my life I need to bring to Jesus in the light of this teaching?
  
  
• Am I willing to look into myself with honesty and ask how much do I grasp what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus in the light of this teaching? 

Collect for 16th Sunday Year C

COLLECT SERIES. 

COLLECT

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The Collect for the  16^TH Sunday of the Year C reads as follows:

Show favour O Lord to your servants and mercifully increase the gifts of Your grace,

That, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,

They may be ever watchful in keeping Your commands.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS. 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.    Name the areas of your life/incidents that God has shown you favour?

2.    Have you thanked God for these areas of favour?

3.    What areas of your life need God’s favour?

4.    Why I do need the gifts of God’s grace?

5.    Do I know the commands/commandments of God?

6.    How will be ever more watchful in keeping the commands/commandments of God?

GOSPEL REFLECTION.

Today’s Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary.  It is not a story of either or but a story of both.  This is great news.  There is a Martha in all of us- one who gets things done, an organiser, one who makes things happen.  However sometimes that Martha forgets that she needs to be like Mary- to find balance and listen to Jesus.

Jesus is not saying of course that Mary should not help Martha and that she can sit back and do nothing.  So for the Mary in us who might wish for someone else to do the work, to volunteer to help as we sit back and watch others.  No, this is not what is meant here by Jesus.

However what Jesus is really saying is that we should not allow the work to be first in our lives- rather allow Him to be first and then by listening and being at peace with Him, we will then have things in right order- God first and then work/life but it will be work/life with Him not work/life without Him.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Maybe you can relate to this Gospel when you think of busy time at work. You are under pressure to meet a deadline. Your boss is pushing to get something done.  Maybe you get up early to do work on it. Maybe you  go to bed late working on it.  It may be necessary but if you stop to think- did you bring Jesus into this situation. Did you ask His help, His assistance- did you even mention this task that you need to do or that has to be done.  Sometimes, we can forget and get so distracted by the tasks that we do not stop to be like Mary and bring our concern, our task, our life to Jesus and allow Him to bring balance to it.

Let us be a Mary this week and sit before Jesus with our lives.

Allow Jesus to create right balance of God first and then us and our lives.