Eucharistic Spirituality-4

Eucharist as a Sacrament of Transformation and Healing

Theodore E.Dobson:

The Eucharist is, at its roots, a sacrament of transformation. The rite itself is speaking the language of renewal and transformation.

The Lord’s supper is the ultimate rite of ‘humanization”, that is, of becoming the best that a human being can be physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

(As Eucharist is a sacrifice, our participation it makes us sacrificial).To sacrifice …means to make something sacred by giving it to God, in such a way that it changes, and at least feels as if it were being destroyed. We are given the opportunity to make this kind of sacrifice in the Eucharist with all the parts of our human selves—to make them sacred by giving them to God so freely that we feel as if they were being destroyed.

( Here we try to find how our participation in different parts of the mass can be opportunities of transformation as well as healing for us).

To praise God…means that we focus on Him with our entire selves—body, mind and spirit. When we come together for worship, we are often caught up in the concerns of our own lives—our problems, our pains and illnesses, and our hurt feelings. Immediately, God begins to change us through praise. He draws us out of ourselves and out of our selfish concern to enjoy the wonder of Him…In praise we begin the work of self-sacrifice by giving to God concerns that keep our vision narrow and our faith weak.(P.25)

The Eucharist is God’s sign of His unconditional affection for us. It is the celebration of His victory over all that is destructive in this world. As such, it confronts all that would destroy or mutilate our human natures. Through the Eucharist, our isolationism, privatism, fear of people who are different from ourselves, and the loneliness that comes from all of these are themselves destroyed, for they bring psychological and spiritual death.(p.37)

The heart of the mystery of the Eucharist is this: as the bread and wine are transformed and made sacred, so are we transformed and made sacred, if we unite ourselves consciously and prayerfully with these symbols of sacrifice.

When we sacrifice we are giving away something that belongs to us without expecting anything in return. A sacrifice comes from a deeper love and commitment, and it expresses the true intentions of the heart.(p.45)

But even if after we give our gift to God, it is not a sacrifice if we are expecting something in return. Many times we sacrifice to God thinking we are buying His love or forgiveness for our sin.

Celebrating the Eucharist means being poor. It means giving our lives as a gift and not receiving anything back but a relationship. It means allowing the participation mystique to be broken, so that we see ourselves as we are…

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper encourages us into this kind of spiritual poverty through continuous sacrifice of our selfishness….making a sacrifice of ourselves, then, implies considerable self-knowledge. We have to find and own the entirety of ourselves…even those parts of ourselves of which we are unconscious…

At each Eucharist, Jesus calls us to celebrate with Him…he asks us to become conscious of various parts of ourselves we have not yet given to the Father, and to sacrifice them to Him.(p.51)

On Easter morning all that had looked and felt like suffering, death, hopelessnes, and despair was revealed as joy, life, hope, and the continuing promise of renewal.In every Eucharistic celebration, Jesus offers the same opportunity for transformation and renewal to us in every part of our lives that we choose to sacrifice with Him to our Father.

Our sacrifice becomes real because we are giving what means most to us—control over our own lives. When we sacrifice these parts of us, they are released from the darkness of our unconscious and they become conscious(p53).

To prepare ourselves for the Eucharist, then, we need to become aware of some element of our lives which we will sacrifice to God—some talent, quality, spiritual gift, relationship, weakness, illness, goal… and we give one part of ourselves to God each time we come to Him. Often the sacrifice we make to God on a particular day is determined by the most important goal we have at that time, or by the most pressing problem. Whatever it is,we bring it to God for transformation,healing,and renewal.

If we are going to celebrate the Eucharist for self-sacrifice,then, we will do best by determining a particular element of our lives we are going to give to God in each celebration. This part of our lives can be our personal theme for the Eucharist, and prayerfully we bring this part of ourselves to God each portion of it.(p.65)

We unite the physical aspects of our life-situation(our labor and the money we earn from it) with the bread, and the emotional and spiritual aspects(our attachment to our work,our feelings , the money earned from it etc.)with the wine.The bread and wine become vehicles for our sacrifice…Now our labor and its fruits are transformed and spiritualsed into something greater than they ever were before are joined with His sacrifice...(p.69)

Eucharist can be our healing service too…We need to sacrifice our weaknesses to God. When we speak of our weaknesses and illnesses we mean things like our darker emotions,our neediness, our painful memories, our emotional and spiritual confusion, our sinfulness, our broken relationships, our physical pain and diseases and all the parts of our personalities that we reject… He loves our weaknesses more, simply because they need His love more.(p.77)

God loves our weaknesses and He desires that His love will bring them into wholeness(healing).However, He wants and needs our trust to do it,and that is the great gift we give Him when we sacrifice our weaknesses to Him.When we sacrifice our weaknesses to God, we are trusting His love….When we give God our attachments to our weaknesses, then, we are giving Him the great gift of freedom to make of our lives whatever He wants them to be.Therefore,essentially when we give God our weaknesses we are giving Him the same gift as when we give Him our strengths,namely ,openeness to growth,maturity and grace. (We bring this weakness as our personal theme.p.82)

If we are praying for people with whom we are not in good relationship, the Eucharist can be a powerful prayer of forgiveness…The Eucharist becomes a means of putting aside our conditions for accepting them and simply receiving them into our hearts, appreciating them the way they are…

Through the Eucharist we can pray that God bless them and make them happy in the way that would please them the most, whether or not they ever make us happy.

An Outline of Participation:

1.Become quiet within, and center on the power of Jesus in your life.

2.Decide on your personal theme for the Eucharist

3.Bring to mind all the aspects of this issue that you can think of, both physical and interior

4.Prayefully and intentionally , unite the physical aspects of this issue with the bread

5.Unite the psychological and spiritual aspects with the wine

6.Be aware of how much your gift means to you and give it to God precisely because it means so much to you.

7.At the Words of consecration, believe that what you have prayerfully united with the bread and wine enters into the heart of Jesus

8.Continue to give control of this issue to Jesus,so that His love can permeate it and transform it

9.During the Our Father, sacrifice your ego as you allow His values preeminence in your life

10.At the communion, believe that Jesus can bring the renewal you need, physically and emotionally.

11. As you pray after communion, ask God to reveal to you what he is doing for the renewal of your personal theme so that you can cooperate with Him as He does it.

12.At the dismissal, thank God for what he has done

13.Gratefully receive His commission to give Eucharistic love to others(p.127)

Eucharistic Spirituality-3

Eucharist as a Sacrifice

In the first post biblical writings, Eucharist was seen not only as a meal but as a sacrifice. Saints Justin, Irenaeus, Origen and Cyprian make the same statement.

In the Eucharistic sacrifice, Christ himself is offered. It is Christ who offers himself.The involvement of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice is not inferior to his involvement in the sacrifice of the Cross, because the same one makes the offering just as the same one is the victim.

The sole difference between the two consists in the “ manner of offering.” The sacrifice of the Cross was a bloody immolation,while the Eucharistic sacrifice is of a ritual order and excludes any shedding of blood. Besides, the Eucharistic sacrifice has the distinctive element of an offering of the body and blood of Christ under the species of bread and wine, which are sacramental signs. Thus we can define the Eucharistic sacrifice as a sacramental sacrifice; and in this it differs from the sacrifice of the Cross. The Church’s worship multiplies the sacramental sacrifice, while that of the cross is unique. On Calvary, the sacrifice which obtains the salvation of the world was accomplished once and for all. It is no longer repeated as such. The sacramental sacrifice, on the other hand, is destined to be repeated to foster the growth of the Church.

In order to express the relationship between the Eucharisitic sacrifice and that of the Cross, the term “representation” is used, “re-presentation.” Represent here means, “render present” again the sacrifice of the Cross. It is not a “representation” that would be limited to remembering or celebrating the memory of an event in the past. The representation consists in a sacramental reproduction of the sacrifice of the Cross: it renders that sacrifice present in such a way as to apply its fruits to the Church.

Christ renews the offering of the sacrifice sacramentally through the ministry of the priest. In itself the sacrifice of the Cross was perfect and sufficed for obtaining all graces for salvation and the spiritual life of humanity .In its sacramental representation, it pours forth its fruits more widely.

The Christ who comes upon the altar is the risen Savior. And it is as risen Savior that he offers himself as food and drink in the Eucharistic meal. But it is true that he is the same Christ who was born of a virgin, that he lived a life on earth similar to ours, that he devoted himself to the discharge of his mission all the way to his raising up on the Cross.

This offering, considered simply in terms of the redemptive drama and with reference to the cruel sufferings undergone by the Savior, would have called for a climate of struggle; the memorial would have had to be essentially sorrowful. Instead, the contrary occurs.Because the offering is made by the glorious Christ, it implies the transformation of suffering into joy.

The Eucharist not only reproduces sacramentally the sublime, heroic offering on Calvary that changed the face of the world, obtaining the divine forgiveness in abundance. It is also nourished by the mystery of the Resurrection, which even today continues the work of creation of a new humanity.”(The Eucharist, Gift of Divine Life,p.93)

The Eucharist as a Meal

At the last Supper, Jesus’ fundamental intent was to give his disciples a meal that would continue forever to nourish them in his Church. With this meal , the Savior wished to communicate the fruit of his sacrifice in the ritual realization of the sacrificial offering…As Jesus wished to found a community animated by faith and love,it is understandable why he would have given a meal an important role in the formation and development of such a community.

The Eucharistic meal consists in his communicating his own life to human beings….the act of eating and drinking represents a deeper penetration of Christ’s life into the interior life of the individual, a more complete assimilation of one’s personal life to the higher life of the Incarnate Son.(Euch,Gift of Dv.Life,p.109)

Real Presence—Transubstantiation

St.Thomas Aquinas deals with the sacramental presence of the Body of Christ from the view point of the metaphysical nature of being….The Body of Christ contained in the Eucharist is not visible to any bodily eye, because visibility applies to the order of accidents, and not of substance.

The real distinction between substance and accidents is the philosophical datum that makes possible Thomas’ treatment of the Eucharist.(Mazza, P.204)

The starting point of the analogy that St.Thomas employed is the distinction between substance and accident in composite beings…what a thing is, is not identified with what moves the senses. Though it is generally known through sense perception, a reasoning process is necessary to come to this knowledge. Substance describes the core reality known to intellect, accidents whatever touches the senses.Aquinas uses this analogy to explain how the body and blood of Christ are known to faith and are indeed the reality present, though the sense perception points to bread and wine.(The Eucharistic Mystery,David N.Power,p.221)

The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (CCC.1376)

St.John Chrysostom:

“It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ,but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God’s. This is my body, he says.This word transforms the things offered.” (CCC.1375)

St.Ambrose:

“Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed…Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.”(CCC.1375)

Eucharistic Spirituality-2

EUCHARIST

The Eucharist as a Sacrifice

The sole difference between the sacrifice of the Cross and the Eucharist consists in the “ manner of offering.” The sacrifice of the Cross was a bloody immolation, while the Eucharistic sacrifice is of a ritual order and excludes any shedding of blood.

The Eucharistic sacrifice has the distinctive element of an offering of the body and blood of Christ under the species of bread and wine, which are sacramental signs.We can define the Eucharistic sacrifice as a sacramental sacrifice and in this it differs from the sacrifice of the Cross.

The Church’s worship multiplies the sacramental sacrifice, while that of the cross is unique. On Calvary, the sacrifice which obtains the salvation of the world was accomplished once and for all. It is no longer repeated as such. The sacramental sacrifice, on the other hand, is destined to be repeated to foster the growth of the Church.

In order to express the relationship between the Eucharistic sacrifice and that of the Cross, the term “re-presentation” is used. Represent here means, “render present” again the sacrifice of the Cross. It is not a “representation” that would be limited to remembering or celebrating the memory of an event in the past. The representation consists in a sacramental reproduction of the sacrifice of the Cross: it renders that sacrifice present in such a way as to apply its fruits to the Church.

Christ renews the offering of the sacrifice sacramentally through the ministry of the priest. In itself the sacrifice of the Cross was perfect and sufficed for obtaining all graces for salvation and the spiritual life of humanity .In its sacramental representation, it pours forth its fruits more widely.

The Christ who comes upon the altar is the risen Savior. And it is as risen Savior that he offers himself as food and drink in the Eucharistic meal. But it is true that he is the same Christ who was born of a virgin, that he lived a life on earth similar to ours, that he devoted himself to the discharge of his mission all the way to his raising up on the Cross.

This offering, considered simply in terms of the redemptive drama and with reference to the cruel sufferings undergone by the Savior, would have called for a climate of struggle; the memorial would have had to be essentially sorrowful. Instead, the contrary occurs because the offering is made by the glorious Christ. It, hence, implies the transformation of suffering into joy.

The Eucharist not only reproduces sacramentally the sublime, heroic offering on Calvary that changed the face of the world, obtaining the divine forgiveness in abundance. It is also nourished by the mystery of the Resurrection, which even today continues the work of creation of a new humanity.”(The Eucharist, Gift of Divine Life,p.93)

The Eucharist as a Meal

At the last Supper, Jesus’ fundamental intent was to give his disciples a meal that would continue forever to nourish them in his Church. With this meal, the Savior wished to communicate the fruit of his sacrifice in the ritual realization of the sacrificial offering…As Jesus wished to found a community animated by faith and love, it is understandable why he would have given a meal an important role in the formation and development of such a community.

The Eucharistic meal consists in his communicating his own life to human beings….the act of eating and drinking represents a deeper penetration of Christ’s life into the interior life of the individual, a more complete assimilation of one’s personal life to the higher life of the Incarnate Son.(Euch,Gift of Dv.Life,p.109)

Real Presence—Transubstantiation

St. Thomas Aquinas deals with the sacramental presence of the Body of Christ from the view point of the metaphysical nature of being….The Body of Christ contained in the Eucharist is not visible to any bodily eye, because visibility applies to the order of accidents, and not of substance.

The real distinction between substance and accidents is the philosophical datum that makes possible Thomas’ treatment of the Eucharist.(Mazza, P.204)

The starting point of the analogy that St. Thomas employed is the distinction between substance and accident in composite beings…what a thing is, is not identified with what moves the senses. Though it is generally known through sense perception, a reasoning process is necessary to come to this knowledge. Substance describes the core reality known to intellect, accidents whatever touches the senses. Aquinas uses this analogy to explain how the body and blood of Christ are known to faith and are indeed the reality present, though the sense perception points to bread and wine.(The Eucharistic Mystery,David N.Power,p.221)

The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (CCC.1376) St.John Chrysostom:

“It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ,but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God’s. This is my body, he says.This word transforms the things offered.” (CCC.1375)

St.Ambrose:

“Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed…Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before?

Eucharist as a Sacrament of Transformation and Healing

Theodore E.Dobson:

The Eucharist is, at its roots, a sacrament of transformation. The rite itself is speaking the language of renewal and transformation.

The Lord’s supper is the ultimate rite of ‘humanization”, that is, of becoming the best that a human being can be physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

(As Eucharist is a sacrifice, our participation it makes us sacrificial).To sacrifice …means to make something sacred by giving it to God, in such a way that it changes, and at least feels as if it were being destroyed. We are given the opportunity to make this kind of sacrifice in the Eucharist with all the parts of our human selves—to make them sacred by giving them to God so freely that we feel as if they were being destroyed.

( Here we try to find how our participation in different parts of the mass can be opportunities of transformation as well as healing for us).

To praise God…means that we focus on Him with our entire selves—body, mind and spirit. When we come together for worship, we are often caught up in the concerns of our own lives—our problems, our pains and illnesses, and our hurt feelings. Immediately, God begins to change us through praise. He draws us out of ourselves and out of our selfish concern to enjoy the wonder of Him…In praise we begin the work of self-sacrifice by giving to God concerns that keep our vision narrow and our faith weak.(P.25)

The Eucharist is God’s sign of His unconditional affection for us. It is the celebration of His victory over all that is destructive in this world. As such, it confronts all that would destroy or mutilate our human natures. Through the Eucharist, our isolationism, privatism, fear of people who are different from ourselves, and the loneliness that comes from all of these are themselves destroyed, for they bring psychological and spiritual death.(p.37)

The heart of the mystery of the Eucharist is this: as the bread and wine are transformed and made sacred, so are we transformed and made sacred, if we unite ourselves consciously and prayerfully with these symbols of sacrifice.

When we sacrifice, we are giving away something that belongs to us without expecting anything in return. A sacrifice comes from a deeper love and commitment, and it expresses the true intentions of the heart.(p.45)

But even after we give our gift to God, it is not a sacrifice if we are expecting something in return. Many times we sacrifice to God thinking we are buying His love or forgiveness for our sin.

Celebrating the Eucharist means being poor. It means giving our lives as a gift and not receiving anything back but a relationship.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper encourages us to immerse into this kind of spiritual poverty through continuous sacrifice of our selfishness…At each Eucharist, Jesus calls us to celebrate with Him…he asks us to become conscious of various parts of ourselves we have not yet given to the Father, and to sacrifice them to Him.(p.51)

On Easter morning all that had looked and felt like suffering, death, hopelessnes, and despair was revealed as joy, life, hope, and the continuing promise of renewal. In every Eucharistic celebration, Jesus offers the same opportunity for transformation and renewal to us in every part of our lives that we choose to sacrifice with Him to our Father.

When we sacrifice ourselves for the Eucharist, then, we need to become aware of some element of our lives which we will sacrifice to God—some talent, quality, spiritual gift, relationship, weakness, illness, goal… and we give one part of ourselves to God each time we come to Him. Often the sacrifice we make to God on a particular day is determined by the most important goal we have at that time, or by the most pressing problem. Whatever it is,we bring it to God for transformation,healing,and renewal.

We unite the physical aspects of our life-situation(our labor and the money we earn from it) with the bread, and the emotional and spiritual aspects(our attachment to our work,our feelings , the money earned from it etc.)with the wine.The bread and wine become vehicles for our sacrifice…Now our labor and its fruits are transformed and spiritualsed into something greater than they ever were before are joined with His sacrifice...(p.69)

Eucharist--the Sacrament of Healing:

Eucharist can be our healing service too…We need to sacrifice our weaknesses to God. When we speak of our weaknesses and illnesses we mean things like our darker emotions,our neediness, our painful memories, our emotional and spiritual confusion, our sinfulness, our broken relationships, our physical pain and diseases and all the parts of our personalities that we reject… He loves our weaknesses more, simply because they need His love more.(p.77)

God loves our weaknesses and He desires that His love will bring them into wholeness(healing).However, He wants and needs our trust to do it,and that is the great gift we give Him when we sacrifice our weaknesses to Him.When we sacrifice our weaknesses to God, we are trusting His love….When we give God our attachments to our weaknesses, then, we are giving Him the great gift of freedom to make of our lives whatever He wants them to be.Therefore,essentially when we give God our weaknesses we are giving Him the same gift as when we give Him our strengths,namely ,openeness to growth,maturity and grace. (We bring this weakness as our personal theme.p.82)

An Outline of Participation:

1.Become quiet within, and center on the power of Jesus in your life.

2.Decide on your personal theme for the Eucharist

3.Bring to mind all the aspects of this issue that you can think of, both physical and interior

4.Prayefully and intentionally , unite the physical aspects of this issue with the bread

5.Unite the psychological and spiritual aspects with the wine

6.Be aware of how much your gift means to you and give it to God precisely because it means so much to you.

7.At the Words of consecration, believe that what you have prayerfully united with the bread and wine enters into the heart of Jesus

8.Continue to give control of this issue to Jesus,so that His love can permeate it and transform it

9.During the Our Father, sacrifice your ego as you allow His values preeminence in your life

10.At the communion, believe that Jesus can bring the renewal you need, physically and emotionally.

11. As you pray after communion, ask God to reveal to you what he is doing for the renewal of your personal theme so that you can cooperate with Him as He does it.

12.At the dismissal, thank God for what he has done

13.Gratefully receive His commission to give Eucharistic love to others(p.127)

Different forms of the Eucharistic Prayer

In the beginning of the Christian Church, we find the development of several Eucharistic prayers and they were all associated with the major cities where the Church took deep roots. Different rites arose, hence, as a result of these various ways of offering the Eucharistic prayers.

Early Eucharistic prayers were associated with Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople (J&C). Four of these cities –Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople –were the birthplaces of major liturgical families within Christianity. Jerusalem did not give rise to a major liturgical family. Outside of the Roman empire was another important center, Edessa in East Syria. It became a great center for Syriac-speaking Christians. Edessa as a kingdom was founded by the generals of Alexander in about 130 B.C. and continued up to 214 A.D.

The major liturgical rites of the Christian East developed at Antioch,Alexandria,Constantinople and Edessa.

These centers gave rise to the following rites in the Church:

Edessa(Syriac influence)—East Syrian:Syro-Malabar(India) and Maronite

Antioch(Gk influence)—West Syrian: Syro-Malankara(India)

Alexandria(Gk)—Coptic and Ethiopian

Armenia(Gk)—Armenian

Constantinople(Gk)—Byzantine:Gk and Melkite (East.Cath.Churches,p.11)

The Pattern of the Anaphora:

“By the end of the fourth C., the pattern of anaphora( Eucharistic Prayer) has been standardized as follows:

Sursum Corda,Preface,Pre-sanctus,Sanctus,Post-Sanctus,Institution Narrative,Anamnesis,Offering,Epiclesis,Intercessions and Doxology.

This pattern is now usually called “West Syrian” though sometimes, “Antiochene”.It is found in St.John Chrysostom,St.Basil,St.James, and the Apostolic Constitutions.

The two main variations are the East Syrian (Chaldean) which places Epiclesis(Invocation of the Holy Spirit)after the intercessions and the Egyptian which places intercessions after the Preface.(J&C,p.5)

St.Justin, who was martyred in Rome in 165 gives the following structure of the eucharistic prayer in his book Apology(150 A.D.):

Readings from the Apostles or Prophets; Discourse on the readings by the President; Common Prayers; Kiss of peace; Presentation of bread and wine; Prayers and thanksgiving by the President and Distribution (J&C,p.20).

The Roman Canon:

The Eucharistic prayer of the Roman Church—the Roman Canon—is attested for the first time in the fourth c, in De Sacramentis of Ambrose, the bishop of Milan. Even though it seems that the Roman Canon had no affinity with any of the liturgical families, on a deeper reflection, it becomes clear that it has similarities with the Alexandrian anaphora(Mazza,62)

The Roman Canon appears as one of the most venerable witnesses of the oldest tradition of the eucharistic prayer, at least contemporary in its totality with the most archaic forms of the Alexandrian eucharist.(Bouyer,p.243)

The Roman Church had known but a single Eucharistic Prayer, the Roman Canon, a text which had received its definitive formulation between the end of the fourth c. and the seventh c.and which had undergone no significant change since the time of Pope Gregory the Great(d.604)(p.269)

Reform of the Eucharistic Prayer after the 11Vat.Council (Pope PaulV1):

The text was left unchanged except a shortening of a few of the prayers. The text lacks a thanksgiving of its own and the preface is variable. The Roman canon in its entirety is a lengthy intercession, based entirely on the themes of offering and sacrifice(p.270).

Eucharistic Prayer 11:

This prayer derives verbatim from the anaphoral text in the Apostolic Tradition(Hippolytus).The model is the Antioche anaphora.The first epiclesis since it comes before the account of the institution is called a consecratory epiclesis.The second epiclesis is taken directly from the epiclesis in the anaphora of Hippolytus and is built on the theme of unity.

Eucharistic Prayer 111:

The authors of this anaphora , while following the usual pattern of the Antiochene anaphora composed the text using the sacrificial themes proper to the Roman canon.The epiclesis is sanctificatory in the sense that Holy Spirit is invoked to bring those who receive communion into unity.

Eucharistic Prayer1V:

The thanksgiving gives way to the first epiclesis which is constructed in the usual manner and this in turn leads to the account of the institution by way of a citation of John 13:1.

This is entirely a new composition.

The Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari

R.C.D.Jasper and G.J.Cuming:

This liturgy originated in Edessa(a city of northeastern Syria, near the frontier between the Roman Empire and Persia)— which is one of the earliest centers of Christianity.

After the Council of Ephesus (A.D.431),the area became Nestorian, and was later occupied by the Arabs. The anaphora is one of those still in use among Nestorian Christians, the others being Theodore the Interpreter and Nestorian. Portugueese explorers found Addai and Mari still in use in the 16^th c. in Kerala, South India.

This anaphora is closely related to the third anaphora of St.Peter which is also known as the Sharar (Maronite).The present form dates from about the 6^th c. This would be among the oldest surviving Eucharistic prayers.

Louis Bouyer:

Everything leads us to believe that this prayer is the most ancient Christian Eucharistic composition to which we can have access today. It is molded after the pattern of the Jewish prayers for the last cup of the meal.(p.147)

The redundancies we observe, and the accumulation of synonyms called for by parallelism, are characteristic traits of Jewish prayers.

But the most primitive trait of this Eucharistic prayer is the fact that we do not yet find in it any technically sacrificial formula. There is no mention of either sacrifice or offering.

The Eucharist of Addai and Mari is basically Semitic, in that it is obvious that its wording is not a translation from Greek into Syriac,but a composition that was originally produced in a Semitic idiom. The Eucharist of Addai and Mari remains based on the Jewish meal berakoth ,to the point that like them it is still composed not of one but three prayers.

The Structure of the Anaphora:

Gahanta 1(a prayer said in a low voice and with an inclined head): the first prayer of praise and Thanksgiving.

Sursum Corda dialogue

Kusappa(a private prayer of the celebrant said kneeling and in a low voice): asking the Lord to free the celebrant from all evil thoughts)

Gahanta 2: Second Thanksgiving prayer—emphasizing the works of the Holy Trinity—praising God for creation—Sanctus--Kusappa: acknowledging one’s impurity

Gahanta 3:Emphasizing the redemptive work of the Son—Institution Narrative, Anamnesis, Intercession:Gahanta 4: Economy of the Spirit—Epiclesis, Doxology, Kusappa., Peace and Communion

Eucharistic Spirituality

The following series of talks will make an attempt to explore the historical development of the different forms of the Eucharistic Prayers, their relationship with Jewish forms of prayer and the differences that exist in the Eucharistic Prayers used in the different rites of the Catholic Church.

These will help us to understand how the different forms of prayers came into being and how they are related to one another. Understanding of the development of Eucharistic prayers will help us to participate more intensely in the celebration of the Eucharist.

As Eucharist is also a sacrament of transformation and of healing, the talks will also focus on the ways of inner healing through Eucharistic participation.

March 9. Historical Development of the Eucharist

March 16. Different Forms of the Eucharistic Prayer

March 23. Eastern and Western Rites—Invocation to the Holy Spirit

March 30. Eucharist as a sacrament of Transformation and of Healing.

(Thursdays,MLK Library.Rm.A-5)

Abp.Fulton J.Sheen-5

The following are the excerpts from the autobiography of Fulton J.Sheen.As he is one of the great Catholic apologists, his words in the autobiography are very inspiring and faith-filled.His words are filled with his intense love for Jesus and the Church.What is so telling about his life is that he used all his resources intellectual,administrative and financial for the spread of the Gospel.

Excerpts:

I know that I am not afraid to appear before Him. And this is not because I am worthy, nor because I have loved Him with deep intensity, but because He has loved me. That is the only reason that any one of us is really lovable. When the Lord puts His love into us, then we become lovable.(39)

All my sermons are prepared in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament….the most brilliant ideas come from meeting God face to face. When the general plan of the sermon has been formulated, I will then talk my thoughts to Our Lord, or at least meditate on it, almost whispering the ideas. It is amazing how quickly one discovers the value of the proposed sermon.

I am convinced that preaching and lecturing are impossible without much studying and reading. This perhaps is one of the weaknesses of the modern pulpit and lecture platform—the neglect of a continuing education. Books are great friends; they always have something worthwhile to say to you when you pick them up….When the intellectual larder is empty, it is difficult to prepare a homiletic meal.(76)

Evangelization is inseparable from professional teaching ever since the Word became flesh….Almost everything in the universe was made to be spent. Wealth hoarded makes its keeper a miser. University professors desiccate by never making their knowledge available to those who do not sit at desks.(105)

The world, to me, was suffering from two kinds of hunger. Our Western world, with its affluence, was suffering from hunger of the spirit; the rest of the world from hunger of bread.

On the day of my ordination, I made two resolutions:1. I would offer the Holy Eucharist every Saturday in honor of the Bl. Virgin Mary to solicit her protection on my priesthood. 2. I resolved to spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament….Looking at the eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain….the purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage deep personal encounter with Christ…neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with him….It is impossible for me to explain how helpful the Holy Hour has been in preserving my vocation.(192)

The Holy Hour kept my feet from wandering too far. Being tethered to a tabernacle, one’s rope for finding other pastures is not so long….Even when it seemed so unprofitable and lacking in spiritual intimacy, I still had the sensation of being at least like a dog at the master’s door, ready in case he called me….Making a Holy Hour every day constituted for me one area of life in which I could preach what I practiced.

Celibacy and marriage are both signs of God’s covenant with man. Each has its call to perfection. They are complementary, not competitive careers.(202)

If I had to select any scene in the Scripture which best depicts the struggle that goes on in the soul of a priest, it would be that of the spiritual experience of Jacob….We are at odds with ourselves and at odds with Him. We grope around in the darkness and forget that even in the darkness He is wrestling with us bidding us to return. When the conscience wrestles with the priest it is always in the form of Christ; He meets us in our silent hours; He speaks even amid the noises; He confronts us with the spectacle of what we might have been….The preservation of celibacy is a lifelong labor, partly because of the weakness of human nature.

The more we love Christ the easier it is to be His alone….The journey of a priest’s life is not to quagmire and the swamp, but to the ocean of love. I detect all the discords of my life, hearing the music of His voice. He folds me in his arms and I know the depth of my contrition. It is His beside His waters that I thirst. It is at the sight of His Eucharistic Manna that I hunger. And it is before His smile that I weep. It is because of His love that I loathe myself….I trust in His mercy and I love Him above all loves, and I can never thank Him enough for having given me the grace of priesthood. I came into it with a deep sense of unworthiness. I end it with a still deeper sense of unworthiness; and though I come in rags, I know that the prodigal son was clothed with the robe of righteousness.(213)

All of my retreats centered in one general resolution—namely, to make a continuous hour of meditation in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament every day.

(With regard to the conversions he has brought about): I am only a porter who opens the door; it is the Lord who walks in and does the carpentry and the masonry and the rebuilding on the inside. I have merely narrated cases where for the most part I had some success as a porter.(278)

(The Lighter Side):

His conversation with the Episcopalian clergyman: Remember,Bishop Sheen, I can do anything you can do…

“Madam, do not worry, the child is not disturbing me.” She said:“ No, but you are disturbing him.”!

“ How does a man get diabetes? I said: “ Oh, by getting drunk and paying no attention to his wife and children.” “Why did you want to know how a man got diabetes?” He said: “ I was just reading that the Pope had diabetes.!!

If we are right in a conflict, the Lord bids us absorb any wrongs like a sponge; if we are wrong, we are to see others as the instruments of working His Will.(312) If the stones are not due to us while they are being thrown, or for a particular act, they may be for something else we have done or will do at some other time.(314)

He will look at our hands to see if they have been scarred from giving, our feet to see the calluses from travel to preach His Gospel, and our side to see if we have loved to a point of sacrifice. Woe to us who come down from Calvary with hands unscarred and white.(338)

(Referring to the Look of Jesus at Peter): the experience of the Second Look is not unique in life; it happens many, many times, for we are always falling down and picking ourselves up. The Second Look meant to me what it always meant to all my brother priests—the joy of beginning again. Seventy times seven, you can always begin a new chapter, start a second mile, catch a second wind, launch out into the deep, excavate new layers for untold spiritual wealth. There is always, in the Church, that wonderful Land of Beginning Again. These prodigal robes can be thrown into the pile of our spiritual nakedness, our spiritual nakedness clothed and new trails found.(343)

The keeping of the scorecard of past wrongs, the chewing of a cud of resentment, licking of the wound, and the memories of how we received them, the playing of the tapes of injustices real or imagined, were so many proofs that I had not thoroughly digested what my Faith taught me and my lips confessed, that all trials come from the Hands of the Loving God.(345)

The crucifix, to me, is not something that happened; it is something that is happening, for Christ is crucified in every age by every one of us who sin. But it is also a Promise, for Our Lord never once spoke of His Death without speaking of His Resurrection.(350)

St.Paul-3

Letter to the Galatians

This was written from Ephesus during the third journey (AD 5or 55). Here St.Paul speaks against the errors spread by the Judaizers.He emphasizes the Redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ch.1

8. (Only one gospel is to be preached.) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accused.

(He now speaks about his visit to Jerusalem, 14 years after his conversion to explain to the elders the contents of his preaching and that faith is independent of the observance of Jewish customs. Paul later speaks of his opposition to Peter’s practice in Antioch.)

16. We know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.

20. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

Ch.3

7.It is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

25. In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith.

28.There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ch.5:

16. But I say walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.

23

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

(On flesh-spirit: St.Augustine: If some one lives according to the flesh when he lives for himself.)

Ch.6

3 For if any one thinks he is something, then he is nothing.

10.Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Ephesians

(This epistle is more about the nature of the Church. Written while imprisoned in Rome (61-63)

Ch.2

3. All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh. But God in his mercy brought us to life with Christ.

13 But in Christ Jesus you (gentiles) who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.

Ch.4

1. I, then a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received with all humility and gentleness…one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

25. Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor…Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger…. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Ch.5

1. So be imitators of God and live in love…no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk…but instead, thanksgiving.

8.Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth...

21. (Advice to husbands and wives—obedient.loving; children and parents.) Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil

Philippians

Paul established the church at Philippi during his second missionary journey. Written from his confinement in Rome (59-63). Emphasizes the need for humility and unity in the Christian community.

1. 21.For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.

Ch.2 (he asks them to be united in heart)

3.Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.

5. (Christ emptying himself, taking the form of a slave…God exalting him.every knee bending)

14 Do everything without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent…

Ch.3

(Admonitions against false teaches—Speaks of his Jewish origin…)

7. Whatever gains I had, there I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.

Ch.4.

1.Rejoice in the Lord always…Have no anxiety, at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Colossians

(for the church at Colossae in Asia Minor—Written while imprisoned in Rome)

1. Asserts the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ. He is before all things

Ch.2.Speaks against the Judaizing tendencies

Ch.3

2. Think of what is above , not of what is on earth

5.Put to death the parts of you that are earthly…Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision…but Christ is all in all.

14.Put on love, that is the bond of perfection

15.Let the peace of Christ control your hearts

Ch.4

2.Persevere in prayer…Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.

St.Paul-2

(Paul founded the community at Corinth and looked after it as a father. He established it about the year 51 on his second missionary journey. After his departure, Apollos, an Alexandrine Jewish Christian worked there. When Paul was in Ephesus on his third journey, he received very disquieting news about Corinth. Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus about the year 56.)

Ch.1

Discourages divisions. Considers him to be sent by Jesus as an Apostle. He was sent not with the wisdom of human eloquence so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.(22)

Ch.2

No one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.

Ch.3

I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused growth. (6)…Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that he spirit of God dwells in you? (16)…. The wisdom of this world is foolishness in he eyes of God (18).

Ch.4

We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong…When we ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like world’s rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment.

Ch.6

(People are urged to bring their cases to the elders and not to the secular courts.)

You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within—the Spirit you have received from God. (19)

Ch.7

(Advice to the married) the general rule is that each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned him . . .Circumcision counts for nothing…what matters is keeping God’s commandment.

Ch.9

Although I am not bound to anyone, I made myself the slave of all so as to win over as many as possible (19)…What I do is to discipline my own body and master it, for fear that after having preached to others I myself should be rejected.

Ch.10

For all these reasons, let any one who thinks he is standing upright watch out lest he fall. (12) He will not let you be tested beyond your strength. (13)…. Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we many though we are, are one body. (16)…Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Ch.11

(Dealing with the headdress of women…Institution of the Eucharist.

Ch.12 (Spiritual gifts)

There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord…. But it is one and the same spirit who produces all these gifts (11).

Ch.13

If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging symbol (1). Love is patient; love is kind. . Neither does it brood over injuries (8)…. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love.

Ch.15

Christ’s Resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Speaks about the manner of resurrection.

Not all bodily nature is the same. Men have one kind of body…A natural body is put down and a spiritual body comes up.

O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?

Ch.16

O Lord come…Maran atha

Second Epistle

(Written in Macedonia around 57 AD during the course of his third Journey

Ch.4

This treasure we possess in earthen vessels…

Ch.5

The lives of all of us are to be revealed before the tribunal of Christ so that each one may receive his recompense, good or bad, according to his life in the body.

Ch.12

I was given a thorn in the flesh …three times I begged the Lord that this might leave me…He said to me: “ My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.”(9)

The Sprituality of St.Paul

When Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans, the Church in Rome was a mixed group of Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians, with the Gentile Christians forming the majority. The Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews including the Jewish Christians from Rome in AD 49. During the time of their expulsion and return (49-54), the Gentiles ran the Church in Rome. After the return of the Jewish Christians, there arose a tension in the Christian community.

Paul addresses this question at the beginning of this letter showing how faith in Jesus Christ is beyond the Jewish customs and Gentile boastings.

Paul shows extreme concern about the disputes existing between the Gentiles and the Jewish converts who wanted to retain the Jewish customs among the Christians. Paul tries to point out how the observances that rose from the Law are becoming irrelevant and that Law is now superseded because of the faith in Jesus.

It is the faith in Jesus that is important and not the observances of the Law or anything that comes from the Law. That is why there is a lot of emphasis at the beginning of the epistle on works, Law and Faith.

Paul points out that faith is the most important element. Even Abraham was recognized as the Father of the great progeny by his faith. Circumcision is not the most important element in one’s practice of faith. Circumcision came after Abraham’s profession of faith. After showing the essential difference between Judaism and Christianity, Paul dwells on the different aspects of faith.

One word that comes very often in his discussion is the righteousness of God. According to Paul, righteousness means the redemption of mankind accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“The most favored view is that the phrase means God’s activity to save His people.”(Rev.William Most,The Thought of St.Paul,p.167).The Hebrew word behind the Gk dikaiosyne(righteousness) is sedaquah which means God’s concern for what is right.(168)

By the atonement wrought by Jesus, God shows His concern for righteousness. For in the time of His patience, the Old Testament, He passed over sins(in that He did not provide a complete rebalance for them).But now His righteousness is apparent(for He has provided for the full rebalance of the objective order). So He is seen as righteous, and makes righteous those who depend on faith in Jesus.(p.180)

“The expression “righteousness of God” refers to the state of righteousness or justice(justness)in which a person is placed when God gives him grace. It is called the righteousness of God because man cannot attain it through his own efforts: it is a free (gratuitous) gift of God.”(Romans and Galatians, Navarre edition, p.70)

Paul also makes the distinction between faith and works, but that distinction is made in the context of the Mosaic Law. “For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.” (3,28)

“This means that no one- not even the Jew –is justified by the works of the Law. What justifies a person is faith-not faith alone, as Luther wrongly argued, but he faith which works through charity; faith which is not presumptous self-confidence in one’s own merits, but a firm and ready acceptance of all that God has revealed, faith which moves one to place one’s hope in Christ’s merits and to repent of one’s sins. Therefore it will be by “faith”-not by circumcision-that the Jews will be justified, and it will be through their faith that the uncircumcised will attain salvation.” (Navarre edition,p.90)

“Justification is given without charge(without being earned)by grace, through the redemption worked by Christ Jesus. By this atonement wrought by Jesus, God shows His concern for righteousness. But now His righteousness is apparent(for He has provided the full balance of the objective order).So he is seen as righteous, and makes righteous those who depend on faith in Jesus. In view of this , who is there who can boast that he has earned his salvation? No one. Boasting is made impossible since we are not in the regime of works where people tried to earn.No we are in the regime of faith. For it is through faith that one becomes justified , without the works of the law.(William Most, 182)

After going through the importance of faith in one’s salvation, Paul touches on original sin which is the cause of moral weakness and fragility of man. But the damage done by Adam is offset by the redemption accomplished by Jesus. The abundance of grace poured over mankind through the death and resurrection f Jesus is more powerful and effective to offset the imbalance created by the sin of Adam.

The spirit present in us makes us call God “Abba”. The spirit dwelling in us helps us to pray. In fact the whole universe has been groaning for this redemption.

Paul also shows how every one is battling with the innate tension in one’s life—it is not the good that I want that I do…Paul then speaks about his irrevocable union with Jesus.

The intense power of his faith and confidence in God’s protection are beautifully etched out in his words: “ If God is for us, who is against us?” This is the confidence that every Christian should carry in his heart. Paul speaks from his experiences. He was attacked, beaten to death, and thrown out of the city. But he didn’t lose his hope or faith. He carries in his heart the feeling that as long as God is with him, nothing can destroy him.

He asserts with all the power of his eloquence at his command that no power on earth will be able to separate his from the Lord. “ For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels…nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come …will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It shows how every fiber of his being is totally committed to the Lord. After reading the Epistle, we come away with this powerful feeling of identity with Jesus. It gives us the confidence to face the trials of life and to overcome the hardships that we experience in our journey of faith. We also should never feel intimidated by our weaknesses and failures as St. Paul very vividly asserts how every one is subject to this moral dichotomy in the depths of one’s being. We should not be frightened by our falls. There is always an opportunity to rise up and walk with Jesus.

Paul’s life of love and compassion is reflected in his advice to the Romans that they never should judge one another . He asserts the unity of all Christians: “We, though many, are one body in Christ.” He also points out that each one of us is gifted in one Charism or another. We should not be using it for our glory or advantage, but for the good of the whole community nor should we become envious of the talents of others. All are gifts given by God for the community, for the welfare of all. The gift of teaching of service, of prophesying, of giving etc is given to each individual, but not to increase his glory or power but for the good of the whole community.

How kind and generous should we be to one another? Without any limit at all.: Love one another with brotherly affection; out do one another in showing honor.”

The last part of chapter 12 is a powerful piece of advice to a right Christian living. If we look for any guidance to live the teachings of the Lord, we have to read this passage again and again. If we want to Live the Lent in its full spiritual sense , we have to live by these words of St. Paul. They come from his heart , from his love for the people who want to live as Christians : “ Bless those who persecute you..Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep…Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all…Beloved, never avenge yourselves…If your enemy is hungry, feed him…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Letter to the Romans

(AD 56-58)

Ch.2

True circumcision is not outward, in the flesh. Rather one is a Jew inwardly, and the circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit. (29)

Ch.3

The righteousness of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (21)

For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. (23)

For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. (28)

Ch.4

Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal on the righteousness that comes from faith.

Promise was made to Abraham not through the law but through the righteousness that comes from faith (13)

Ch.5

Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (8)

Through one person sin entered the world and through sin, death…. Just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners so through the obedience of one, the many were made righteous. (15)

Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.

Ch.6

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him n the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him…If then we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. (5) If then we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin, and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires.”(12)

But now that you have been freed from sin…the benefit you have leads to sanctification. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God id eternal life in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Ch.7

You were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead.

Apart from the law, sin is dead.

For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.

For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.

Ch.8

For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, with things of the spirit. (5)

You received a spirit of adoption through which we cry “Abba”…. Creation awaits with eager expectation…we know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now…we also groan within ourselves as we await for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

The spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings…We know that all things work for good for those who love God (28). And those who predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified and those he justified he also glorified.

If God is for us, who can be against us? What will separate us from the love of Christ? (31)

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities…nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ch.9

(Salvation comes from God’s free choice. Paul feels sorry for Israel. Not all who are of Israel are Israel. It is not the children of the flesh who are children of God. Citing the prophets Hosea and Isaiah to prove the his point that God’s call extends to people outside the flock of Israel…the Gentiles attained righteousness through faith…Israel who pursued righteousness through the law did not get it.)

Ch.10

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (9)…For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all…for every one who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Ch.11

(But God has not rejected Israel…through their transgression; salvation has come to the Gentiles…Paul glories in the fact that he is an apostle to the gentiles. Gentiles… a wild branch grafted on to the trunk of Israel…hence should not be boasting).

Ch.12

He urges his brothers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Reminds his readers that no one should think himself superior to others. All are important. We though many, are one body in Christ…Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good (9)…Rejoice in hope …endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.

Ch. 13Respect for authority is emphasized.

Ch.14

None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord. (7).Then let us no longer judge one another, but rather resolve never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.(13).The kingdom of God …is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy. Ch.15.We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak.

Abp.Fulton J.Sheen-4

Frustration:

Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved; there can be no world peace unless there is soul peace. World wars are only projections of the conflicts waged inside the souls of modern men and women.

Modern man is impressed less with the order of nature than he is with the disorder of his own mind.(p.1)

The old theological division, of those who are in the state of grace and those who are not, has given way to the political separation of rightists and leftists. The modern soul has definitely limited its horizons.(p.3)

Modern man is characterized by three alienations: he is divided from himself, from his fellow human beings, and from his God.(p.7)

Nothing is more tragic in an individual who once was wise than to lose his memory, and nothing is more tragic to a civilization than the loss of its tradition….Once a person ceases to be of service to neighbors, he or she begins to be a burden to them.(9)

Peace of soul cannot come from the person, any more than the person can lift himself by his own ears. Help must come from without; and it must not be merely human help, but Divine help.

Modern man has locked himself in the prison of his own mind; and only God can let him out, as He let Peter out of his dungeon. All that a person must do is contribute the desire to get out. God will not fail; it is only our human desire that is weak. There is no reason for discouragement. It was the bleating lamb in the thickets, more than the flock in the peaceful pastures, that attracted the Savior’s heart and helping hand.

The PHILOSOPHY OF ANXIETY:

In other days people were anxious about their souls, but modern anxiety is principally concerned with the body; the major worries of today are economic security, health, the complexion, wealth, social prestige etc.(15)

The philosophy of anxiety looks to the fact that a human is a fallen being composed of body and soul. He is in a constant state of suspension between mater and spirit ….the anxiety underlying all modern anxieties arises from someone’s trying to be himself without God or from his trying to get beyond himself without God.(17)

The basic anxiety of life is transcended in three ways, each of which brings a peace of soul that only the God-loving enjoy: 1. By controlling desires,2.by transferring anxiety from body to soul; 3.by surrender to the will of God.

Peace of soul comes to those who have the right kind of anxiety about attaining perfect happiness, which is God….the fundamental anxiety of the soul cannot be cured by a surrender to passions and instincts; the basic cause of our anxiety is a restlessness within time that comes because we are made for eternity.(31)

The origin of Conflicts and their Redemption:

Humanity’s conflict is deep-seated; psychology touches only the shallow part. It springs not only from a revolt against the moral law but, more fundamentally, from the unwillingness of man to accept his position and role in the order of being.

When a person is tempted to evil, he must not think there is anything abnormal about him. A person is tempted, not because he is intrinsically evil , but because he is fallen man.(47)

Is God hard to find:

The added tragedy of sin is that after we do wrong we may not let God help us do what is right and good. We smash the bow so that He cannot play on our violin. We keep him at arm’s length because we refuse to be loved….The truth of the matter is, not that God is hard to find, but rather that we are afraid of being found.(54)

The world is full of scholars who speak about extending the frontiers of knowledge but who never use the knowledge that has already been acquired; who love to knock at the door of truth but would drop dead if that door ever opened to them.(56)

Persons who say, “ I will serve God in my way, and you serve God in your way,” ought to inquire whether it would be advisable to serve God in God’s way.

Morbidity and Denial of Guilt:

There has been no single influence that has done more to prevent man from finding God and rebuilding his character than the denial of personal guilt.

Some psychiatrists would make all people nice people, complacent in their freedom from guilt or sin. By one magic stroke, the world would be rid of nasty people , or those who recognize they are sinners.(68)

And the people who chose to make war against Our Lord were never those whom society had labeled sinners….Why did they hate him? Because, all His during his life, He had been tearing the masks of false goodness from nice people, exposing the evil of men and women who lived in accordance with the conventional standards of His time.(74)

Because sin is the breaking of a relationship with Love, it follows that it cannot be treated exclusively by psychiatry….Sin is not in the understanding alone, nor in the instincts; sin is in the will….If the sense of guilt is an estrangement from God and sorrow at having wounded someone we love, if the ache of self-reproach is a symptom of our rejection of love’s invitation , then our emphasis must be not so much on the guilt as on the way to remove it and find peace. Nice people must see themselves as nasty people before they can find peace…. The nasty people are the convertible people, aware of their own imperfections…(82)

Examination of Conscience:

There is a profound difference between Freudian psychoanalysis and the Christian examination of conscience. For psychoanalysis is supposed to reveal or unveil something not even the most searching examination of conscience could discover….There may be times when it is necessary to analyze unconsciousness to find out whether an idea has been suppressed or repressed; but it is always necessary for us to examine conscience to find out whether the motive that prompted an action was right or wrong.(92)

Sinners may need self-analysis; but they surely need help from beyond themselves to make them well. In the examination of conscience, one gets outside self by letting the light of God shine in….There are thousands of patients on their backs who would be made better today if they were on their knees instead.

There are many people suffering from physical disorders, finding it difficult to maintain normal relations with one another, nervous and unstrung at home and in the office, simply because they have a repressed guilt.(102)

The examination of conscience brings to the surface the hidden faults of the day; it seeks to discover the weeds that are choking the growth of God’s grace…

We often justify ourselves by saying that we are following our consciences, when we are following our desires. We fit a creed to the way we live, rather than fit the way we live to a creed; we suit our religion to our actions, rather than actions to religion.(108)

In the examination of conscience a person concentrates less on his own sin than on the mercy of God—as the wounded concentrate less on their wounds than on the power of the physician who binds and heals the wounds.(109)

Repentance is not self-regarding , but God-regarding. It is not self-loathing ,but God-loving. Christianity bids us to accept ourselves as we are…It bids us stop worrying about ourselves, stop concentrating on our faults and failings, and thrust them upon the Savior….Every soul that examines itself looks at a Crucifix and sees a personal relationship between itself and our Divine Lord….the figure upon the Cross is a Divine Physician, who only asks that we bring our wounds to Him in order that He may heal them.

Psychoanalysis and Confession:

A few decades ago , nobody believed in the confession of sins except the Church. Today every one believes in confession, with this difference: some believe in confession their own sins ; others believe in confessing other people’s sins.(118)

Sex and Love of God:

The principal reason for sex deification is loss of belief in God….the modern tragedy is not that human beings give way more often to their passions now than in previous ages, but that , in leaving the right road, they deny that there is a right road.

The Church does, of course, speak of sin in the domain of sex, as it speaks of sin in the domain of property or sin in the area of self-love. But the sin does not lie in the instinct or the passion itself. Our instincts and our passions are God-given; the sin lies in their perversion. Sin is not in hunger, but in gluttony….Sin is not in the love or the use of the flesh, but in lust, which is its perversion.

To use sex as a substitute for the absolute is a vain attempt to turn the copy into the original , to make the shadow become the substance, and the conditioned the absolute….Sins do not become virtues by being widely practised. Right is still right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong.(163)

They who would separate the earthly sound from the heavenly harp can have no music; they who believe that love is only the body’s breath soon find love breathes its last and they have made a covenant with death.(167)

Repression and Self-Expression

Christianity says that repression of evil thoughts and desires… is good for the soul. And it states that the repression of actual graces and the urge to sacrifice self for neighbor is bad for the soul(176)

The truth of the matter is that humanity has lost control over itself at he very moment when it has gained control over nature. …Every gain in mastery of the forces of nature becomes a potential danger unless it is matched by an equal gain in man’s mastery over his animal impulses.

The principal cause of all unhappiness is unregulated desire –wanting more than is needed… Our desires are infinite; the supply of any good on earth is finite.

Christian self-discipline is really self-expression –expression of all that is highest and best in self…Our passions , instincts, and emotions are good, not evil; self-control; means only curbing their inordinate excesses.

It is not the wrong things one has already done that keep one from God; it is present persistence in that wrong.(185)

The secret of peace of soul is to combine detachment from evil with attachment to God, to abandon egotism as the ruling., determining element in living and to substitute Our Divine Lord as the regent of our actions.

Fear of Death:

The Christian begins his life by contemplating his death; knowing that he will die, he plans life accordingly, in order to enjoy eternal life.(217)

The Christian principle for conquering death is twofold:1.Think about death 2. Rehearse for it by mortification now….meditation on death has something of that effect on the spiritual system. It breaks the spell that made us think that pleasure is everything….Death can be robbed of its greatest fearfulness if we practice for it. Christianity recommends mortification, penance, and detachment as a rehearsal for the great event….When we die to something, something comes alive within us. If we die to self, charity comes alive; if we die to pride, service comes alive; if we die to anger, loves comes alive.

The basic spiritual principle is this: Death must be conquered in every thought and word and deed by an affirmation of the eternal. Spiritual writers advise us that everything should be done as if one were going to die in the next moment. If we treat the living as though as though they were dying, too, then the good in them will come to the surface….Death is meant to be our true birth, our beginning.

(In the last three chapters , Sheen speaks about the different aspects of conversion: the psychology, theology and the effects of conversion.)

According to Sheen , “ true conversion has nothing to do with emotional uplift or with a moral veneer of social action; it is a hard game, an arduous battle, a travail of soul from which emerges a new dedication of self.

“Curiously people fear how grace will change and improve them and it is that fear that keeps many souls away from God. They want God to take them as they are and to let them stay that way. They want him to take away their love of riches, but not their riches—to purge them of the disgust of sin , but not of the pleasure of sin. But the things they ask are the marks of a false religion: it promises salvation without a cross, abandonment without sacrifice, Christ without His nails.

He alone is our way. Flee Him, and we are lost. He alone is our light. Depart from it, and we are blind. He alone is our life. Leave Him we must die….But if we cannot bring goodness to Him, we can bring Him our sins.(244)

Conversion brings the soul out of either chaos or the false peace of mind to true peace of soul….the true peace that follows conversion is deepened, not disturbed, by the crosses, checks and disquietudes of the world, for they are all welcomed as coming from the hands of the Loving Father. This true peace can never come from adjustment to the world, for if the world is wicked, adjustments to wickedness make us worse. It comes only from identification of one’s own will with the Will of God.(p.276)

The peaceful soul does not seek, now , to live morally, but to live for God; morality is only a by-product of the union with Him. This peace unites the soul with his neighbor, prompting him to visit the sick, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; for by loving another soul one gives to God.(276)