THE
PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land is offered to us, but we often sit at its borders
murmuring and failing to enter into it...We need to have our eyes opened and our faith
extended until we see ourselves walking in God’s world and doing his will, until we
recognize the presence that is always with us, offering us freedom and life eternal. We
need to move forward into this new awareness and new life.
Alleluia to our God:
To you, O Christ, for you are risen:
By your death you have conquered death:
By your rising you have opened the way to glory:
Though you entered the desert of darkness and death,
You have opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
You, Lord, have destroyed the powers of the evil one:
You have freed us from the slavery of sin and death:
You have brought us to the edge of the Promised Land.
Lord, in your risen power, may we rejoice in your kingdom:
Serving you, whose service is perfect freedom.
Praise and thanksgiving are yours, radiant Christ:
You have won us the victory. Alleluia
-David Adam
THE SIGN OF PEACE
by Paul Turner
At the sign of peace, worshipers are invited to show their peace and
love before receiving the Eucharist, which accomplishes their unity most perfectly. The
nature of the sign is to be determined by the culture of the people who express it. In the
United States, the bishops let local communities determine the actions and words. We have
no set formula or gesture for extending this sign. Most often worshipers will shake hands
and say, "Peace be with you." But you may also see them kiss or embrace, wave or
flash a two-fingered sign of peace. Although today it would seem cold to omit the sign of
peace, it is optional. Introduced in the 1960s to a bashful church unaccustomed to
speaking to one another at worship, it broke the silent mood before communion. Now it has
become a welcome expression of unity among those preparing for communion together in
Christ.
The invitation to extend the sign of peace comes from the deacon. The
deacon directs posture, gesture, and action in the liturgy. He tells us when to stand or
sit, when to leave and when to show peace.
The placement of the sign of peace still confuses some who think it
comes too late to say hello and too early to say goodbye. However, the purpose of the sign
is not to extend a greeting. It is to express our love; it foreshadows our communion.
It’s like an all-for-one huddle before the team charges into play. The team should
have said hello to each other long before. In fact, some communities take a few moments
before Mass begins precisely to encourage worshipers to greet those near them. Such a
greeting allows people to feel at home, and it can also be shared by catechumens, who will
be dismissed after the homily. The sign of peace has a purpose deeper than a greeting
— it expresses the unity of those baptized in Christ.
When extending the sign of peace, attentive worshipers resist turning
it into a break. This is not the time to congratulate someone on their anniversary, to set
up an appointment, or to exchange messages with the servers. It is the time to express
peace and love.
Taken from "Modern Liturgy", October, 1998. Paul
Turner, pastor of St. John Regis Parish in Kansas City, MO, holds a doctorate in
sacramental theology from Sant’ Anselmo University in Rome. © 1998 Resource
Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
Cardinal Basil Hume
The Church is nourished and sustained principally by the Word of God,
by the Eucharist and by prayer.
By the Eucharist I do not mean only the celebration of Mass, but also
our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. A Catholic church is a place where the
people of God gather, but it is also a place where Christ is truly and sacramentally
present. It is this presence which gives a Catholic church its special character. We must
do all we can to to enhance our awareness of this abiding presence of Our Lord. We need in
our Church today to recapture our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
It is a wonderful practice just to sit or kneel in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament, and in a marvellous way a kind of "presence" begins to reveal
itself to us - just being in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, mind open, heart open,
trying to experience something which is unique and which lies beyond our capacity to
explain or understand. It requires prayerfulness, it requires humility. It requires us to
admit our own deficiencies and limitations, to be able to say in the presence of Our Lord
in the Blessed Sacrament: "I do believe. Help thou my unbelief." It does work.
We need just to be with Christ and to pray. Some may be as Peter, James
and John when Our Lord was transfigured on Mount Tabor: hearts full of admiration and joy.
But your mood might be quite different, more at ease to be with him as he was in the
Garden of Gethsemane, bringing your pain, suffering and anxieties. Whatever your mood,
whatever your concerns, you can in his presence enjoy being with him on Mount Tabor, or
suffer with him in Gethsemane. Your mood may be in between those two, a mixture of both.
But just being with him, allowing your thoughts and affections to unfurl in prayer in his
presence, this will allow those concerns of mind and heart to be blessed and sanctified by
him. |
