Chapter 16 – The Word Became Flesh – Liturgy of The Word, Liturgy of The Eucharist, Liturgy of Hours
Bible verses taken from New American Bible (revised edition) – CCC is The Catechism of The Catholic Church, second edition.
John 1 – The Liturgy of The Word
The Word Became Flesh
John – Chapter 1
1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be 4 through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
5 the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 6 – The Liturgy of The Eucharist
53 Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
1 Corinthians 11:23-29New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Tradition of the Institution. 23 [a]For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, 24 and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.[b] 28 A person should examine himself,[c] and so eat the bread and drink the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment[d] on himself.
Footnotes:
- 11:23–25 This is the earliest written account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. The narrative emphasizes Jesus’ action of self-giving (expressed in the words over the bread and the cup) and his double command to repeat his own action.
- 11:27 It follows that the only proper way to celebrate the Eucharist is one that corresponds to Jesus’ intention, which fits with the meaning of his command to reproduce his action in the proper spirit. If the Corinthians eat and drink unworthily, i.e., without having grasped and internalized the meaning of his death for them, they will have to answer for the body and blood, i.e., will be guilty of a sin against the Lord himself (cf. 1 Cor 8:12).
- 11:28 Examine himself: the Greek word is similar to that for “approved” in 1 Cor 11:19, which means “having been tested and found true.” The self-testing required for proper eating involvesdiscerning the body (1 Cor 11:29), which, from the context, must mean understanding the sense of Jesus’ death (1 Cor 11:26), perceiving the imperative to unity that follows from the fact that Jesus gives himself to all and requires us to repeat his sacrifice in the same spirit (1 Cor 11:18–25).
- 11:29–32 Judgment: there is a series of wordplays in these verses that would be awkward to translate literally into English; it includes all the references to judgment (krima, 1 Cor 11:29, 34;krinō, 1 Cor 11:31, 32) discernment (diakrinō, 1 Cor 11:29, 31), and condemnation (katakrinō,1 Cor 11:32). The judgment is concretely described as the illness, infirmity, and death that have visited the community. These are signs that the power of Jesus’ death is not yet completely recognized and experienced. Yet even the judgment incurred is an expression of God’s concern; it is a medicinal measure meant to rescue us from condemnation with God’s enemies.
Liturgy of Hours-
We, on our part, have unceasingly remembered you in the sacrifices and prayers that we offer on our feasts and other appropriate days, as it is right and proper to remember brothers.
Thanksgiving for Their Faith. We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly.
This chapter is devoted to the way we practice as Catholics for some 2000 years and why. The verses above are taken directly from the Bible. In addition I encourage you to read from the CCC 1174-78 on The Liturgy of The hours, from 1322-1420 on The Liturgy of The Eucharist and from 1100, 1103, 1154, 1346, 1349 and 2183 on The Liturgy of The Word.
From the earliest days of the Church as the Apostle St. Paul so eloquently writes above in 1 Corinthians we have celebrated the Eucharist daily. Jesus Himself, the word made flesh commanded us to. From the earliest days of the church the word was handed down by word of mouth. Just like we tell family stories, each generation was handed the story of Jesus, the greatest story ever told, starting with the Apostles who lived daily with Him, then from the next generation who listened and learned at the feet of The Apostles. They celebrated the Mass every day like we do today by first telling the stories of Jesus and later writing it down (The Bible), breaking the bread and drinking the wine (The true presence of Jesus with us) which actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus (Transubstantiation). The early church also prayed unceasingly again commanded by Jesus (hence the Liturgy of hours or prayers of the church we read, pray, sing and recite daily morning, noon, evening and night). There is such order in The Catholic Church from the mass to the prayers to the way we do everything. This order is so important in a disordered world!
The Emmaus story really says it all about The Eucharist and how it opens our eyes and why we need to sit quietly with Jesus alone in Adoration in front of The Exposition of The Most Blessed Sacrament. Jesus speaks to us through His Word, feeds us through His Body (The Eucharist) and never abandons us through unceasing prayer.
Luke 24-
The Appearance on the Road to Emmaus.[e] 13 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles[f] from Jerusalem called Emmaus,14 and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. 15 And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, 16 [g]but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. 22 Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. 24 Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer[h] these things and enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.28 As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. 29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. 31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. 32 Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” 33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them 34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
How our hearts burn within us when we hear the spoken Word during Mass, which can bring tears, and then we get to receive the body and blood of Jesus The Christ, which is so sacred, we should be crawling on our hands and knees when we get to receive Him, take Him into our bodies and let Him transform us! Penetrating our hearts, minds, souls and every fiber of our being! “If we become what we should be, we can set the world on fire” – St. Catherine Siena.
Then we pray the Liturgy of hours throughout the day in song, psalms, more of the word and meditation. There is no greater joy and ecstasy than pouring your heart and soul into Jesus and letting Him pour His heart and soul into you and me!
This is the greatest excitement we can achieve! This is the WAY, this is the path to purity and chastity and holiness. No other feeling in the world can top this, yet faith is not a feeling, it is daily commitment through good times and bad, sickness and health, suffering and pain. Offer up all of this in reparation for sins! First your own sins, next your families sins, finally the sins of the world. Do it joyfully! It brings great peace. Pray for the sick and dying, pray for all sinners, pray for our Pope and all religious and an increase in religious vocations, pray for families and married couples, pray for the protection of life from the moment of conception to natural death and everywhere in between, pray for peace on earth and an end to war, hatred, violence and strife, pray for your enemies! Pray for the dead! Who may be on their way to heaven but not there yet! Do it all with Love and Mercy but always stand up for the truth of Church teachings! Total surrender to the will of our Heavenly Father is the only way to lasting joy and peace. Jesus totally surrendered to the will of the Father, and we need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, all the way! Artificial contraception does not bring peace, and does not bring the will of The Father. Read and study NFP (Natural Family Planning). Read and study the writings of the Popes and church documents, starting with Pope Paul VI Humana Vitae, written in 1968 and prophetic. Read Pope Saint John Paul II Theology of the body. If you want to go deeper in faith and grow into Jesus The Christ you have to read and study. It will bring unsurpassing joy and peace. Put away sexual immorality. Be totally pure in what you watch, listen to, read, how you dress and everything you do, even what you eat. Get enough sleep. Don’t drink alcohol, or keep it to very little. Don’t smoke or harm your body in any way, as it is the temple of The Holy Spirit.
December 8, 2015 (Feast of The Immaculate Conception) marks a jubilee year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis. It will end November 30, 2016. On average over the last 800 years jubilee years have been recorded they only take place every 50 years. It will be an opportunity to receive God’s grace poured out on us His children. It is a great opportunity to grow in your faith, don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Get right with God now. Philadelphia is blessed to host The World meeting of families in 2 months and receive great graces and blessings from God, signal graces will abound. Meet God where you are. Thank Him, adore Him and glorify His Holy name as he sits on His heavenly throne forever and ever. May God keep you in the palm of His Hand. God’s many blessings on you and your’s.
Peace!!!
Charles DeFeo: Catholic Blogger and Useless Servant of Christ 