Malachi,
Chapter 3, verse 19-21
19 For
the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the arrogant and all
evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. 20 But for you who FEAR
my name, the sun of justice will arise with healing in its wings; And you will
go out leaping like calves from the stall 21 and
tread down the wicked; They will become dust under the soles of your feet, on
the day when I take action, says the LORD of hosts.
We should pray today for
those who use drugs, and we should pray for our country which is also in a drug
induced stupor. Likewise, today, I ask you to pray for the souls of those who
die from cancer and for their families. Our world nowadays is full of cancers in
our education, government, labor management, and in our media. Our Lord asks us
to not be afraid. He asks us to go out and proclaim His name. We can change the
world! We can all become bearers of Christ by becoming a Christopher.[1]
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
SECTION ONE THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
CHAPTER ONE THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE AGE OF THE
CHURCH
- Article 1 THE LITURGY - WORK OF THE
HOLY TRINITY
III. The Holy Spirit and the
Church in the Liturgy
1091 In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the
People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of
the New Covenant. the desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church
is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit
encounters in us the response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings
about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of
the Holy Spirit and the Church.
1092 In this sacramental dispensation of Christ's mystery the
Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation:
he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ
manifest to the faith of the assembly. By his transforming power, he makes the
mystery of Christ present here and now. Finally the Spirit of communion unites
the Church to the life and mission of Christ.
The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ
1093 In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what
was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ's Church was "prepared in
marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old
Covenant," The Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the
worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her
own:
-notably, reading the Old Testament;
-praying the Psalms;
-above all, recalling the saving events and significant realities which have
found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus
and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return).
1094 It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the
Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built, and then, that of the Apostles
and the Fathers of the Church. This catechesis unveils what lay hidden under
the letter of the Old Testament: the mystery of Christ. It is called "typological"
because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the
"figures" (types) which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols
of the first covenant. By this re-reading in the Spirit of Truth, starting from
Christ, the figures are unveiled. Thus the flood and Noah's ark prefigured
salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea.
Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna
in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven."
1095 For this reason the Church, especially during Advent and
Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events
of salvation history in the "today" of her liturgy. But this also
demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual
understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church's liturgy reveals it
and enables us to live it.
1096 Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge
of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now
can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For
both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their
respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to
this word, prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead,
invocation of God's mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the
Word originates in Jewish prayer. the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical
texts and formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers,
including the Lord's Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. the Eucharistic
Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. the relationship
between Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in
content, are particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year,
such as Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it
is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is
the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always
in expectation of its definitive consummation.
1097 In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical
action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an
encounter between Christ and the Church. the liturgical assembly derives its
unity from the "communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the
children of God into the one Body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial,
cultural, social - indeed, all human affinities.
1098 The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord
and to become "a people well disposed." the preparation of hearts is
the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its
ministers. the grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of
heart, and adherence to the Father's will. These dispositions are the
precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the
celebration itself and the fruits of new life which the celebration is intended
to produce afterward.
The Holy Spirit recalls the
mystery of Christ
1099 The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and
his work of salvation in the liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by
analogy in the other sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the mystery of
salvation. the Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory.
1100 The Word of God. the Holy Spirit first recalls the meaning
of the salvation event to the liturgical assembly by giving life to the Word of
God, which is proclaimed so that it may be received and lived:
In the celebration of the liturgy,
Sacred Scripture is extremely important. From it come the lessons that are read
and explained in the homily and the psalms that are sung. It is from the
Scriptures that the prayers, collects, and hymns draw their inspiration and
their force, and that actions and signs derive their meaning.
1101 The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the
Word of God to those who read or hear it, according to the dispositions of
their hearts. By means of the words, actions, and symbols that form the
structure of a celebration, the Spirit puts both the faithful and the ministers
into a living relationship with Christ, the Word and Image of the Father, so
that they can live out the meaning of what they hear, contemplate, and do in
the celebration.
1102 "By the saving word of God, faith . . . is nourished in
the hearts of believers. By this faith then the congregation of the faithful
begins and grows." The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it
elicits the response of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the
covenant between God and his people. Once again it is the Holy Spirit who gives
the grace of faith, strengthens it and makes it grow in the community. the
liturgical assembly is first of all a communion in faith.
1103 Anamnesis. the liturgical celebration always refers to
God's saving interventions in history. "The economy of Revelation is
realized by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each
other.... (The) words for their part proclaim the works and bring to light the
mystery they contain."22 In the Liturgy of the Word the Holy
Spirit "recalls" to the assembly all that Christ has done for us. In
keeping with the nature of liturgical actions and the ritual traditions of the
churches, the celebration "makes a remembrance" of the marvelous
works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed. the Holy
Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving and
praise (doxology).
The Holy Spirit makes present the
mystery of Christ
1104 Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved
us but actualizes them, makes them present. the Paschal mystery of Christ is
celebrated, not repeated. It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each
celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique
mystery present.
1105 The Epiclesis ("invocation upon") is the
intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the
Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and
that the faithful by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to
God.
1106 Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart
of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist:
You ask how the bread becomes the
Body of Christ, and the wine . . . the Blood of Christ I shall tell you: the
Holy Spirit comes upon them and accomplishes what surpasses every word and
thought . . . Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy
Spirit, just as it was of the Holy Virgin and by the Holy Spirit that the Lord,
through and in himself, took flesh.
1107 The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the liturgy
hastens the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of
salvation. While we wait in hope he causes us really to anticipate the fullness
of communion with the Holy Trinity. Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis
of the Church, the Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now,
the "guarantee" of their inheritance.
The communion of the Holy Spirit
1108 In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in
order to bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body. the Holy
Spirit is like the sap of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its
branches. The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church
is achieved in the liturgy. the Spirit who is the Spirit of communion, abides
indefectibly in the Church. For this reason the Church is the great sacrament
of divine communion which gathers God's scattered children together. Communion
with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the
Spirit in the liturgy.
1109 The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full effect of the
assembly's communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit" have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the
Eucharistic celebration. the Church therefore asks the Father to send the Holy
Spirit to make the lives of the faithful a living sacrifice to God by their
spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, by concern for the Church's
unity, and by taking part in her mission through the witness and service of
charity.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Binding
and suppressing the Devils Evil Works
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday
Devotion
·
Pray Day 4 of
the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday:
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] James Keller, You Can Change the
World!
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