St. Elizabeth Seton - Liturgy 101

Letters from Father Ernie Norbeck on Mane Nobiscum Domine [Stay with us Lord]

On June 10, 2004, during the Mass on the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ outside St. John Lateran Basilica, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II announced the Year of the Eucharist which is to be observed from October 2004 to October 2005. On October 8 of this year, the Holy Father promulgated his apostolic letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine" to assist and guide the Church to benefit as much as possible from the Eucharistic Year.

In the introduction to his letter, the Holy Father draws on the Gospel scene of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus [Luke 24: 13-35] and makes it the theme of the whole apostolic letter. He explains that the Year of the Eucharist follows in the wake of Vatican Councj1 II and the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 (Chapter 1.). The Pope then concentrates on the Eucharist as a mystery of light. (Chapter 2); as a source and manifestation of communion (Chapter 3); and as principle of mission (Chapter 4).

The Year of the Eucharist will commit the Church particularly to live the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus continues to walk with us, as He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and to introduce us in the mysteries of God, opening us to the profound meaning of the sacred Scriptures. At the culminating moment of encounter, Jesus breaks the "bread of life" for us.

Throughout this Year of the Eucharist, St, Elizabeth Seton Parish will focus on the great gift which Christ has given to His Church. There will be articles in the bulletin. Opportunities for our children in Religious Education classes, as well as their catechists and parents, will be given to learn for the first time or to renew our understanding of the gift that the Lord has left us "until He comes again," We will provide other opportunities to increase our participation in and devotion to the Eucharist which is the "source and summit of the Christian life," "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical [church] ministries and works of the apostolate [the faithful]t are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself, our Pasch," {Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Please note that on the First Sunday of Advent there will be a minor, but significant change in the ritual of the Mass. The Church, in her efforts to insure that no Precious Blood is spilled, has made this change in our ritual. The wine will now be poured into the glasses during the Preparation of the Gifts rather than pouring the Precious Blood after the consecration during the Lamb of God, The deacon or acolyte will bring the glasses to the altar during the Preparation of Gifts.

] pray that this Year of the Eucharist will be a time of great blessing to you and to the Church,

Last week I briefly introduced you to the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II~ "Mane Nobiscum Domine" [Stay with Us, Lord.) in which the Year of the Eucharist was promulgated. Over the next few weeks I hope to provide a brief overview of the Introduction, four chapters and Conclusion of the letter.

In the introduction, the Holy Father draws on the Gospel scene of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus after the resurrection of Jesus [Luke 24]. They are walking to Emmaus and Jesus joins them. They, however, do not know that it is Jesus. The disciples are downhearted because of the crucifixion. Jesus explains to them the Scriptures and how the Messiah had to suffer, die and rise again.. As it is nearly evening" the disciples invite Jesus to "Stay with us, Lord". He does and at the meal they recognize Him in "the breaking of bread. This becomes the theme of the whole apostolic letter.

The Year of the Eucharist will commit the Church particularly to live the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus continues to walk with us and to introduce us in the mysteries of God, opening us to the profound meaning of the sacred Scriptures. At the culminating moment of encounter, Jesus breaks the "bread of life" for us.

Many times during his pontificate, John Paul II has invited the Church to reflect on the Holy Eucharist, following the teaching of the Fathers of the Church the ecumenical councils, and his predecessors. He did so in particular last year in the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" which he promulgated last Holy Thursday. This current letter invites the Church to take up that letter again to reflect on the mystery and how we celebrate as Church.

Two important events shed light on and mark the beginning and end of the Year of the Eucharist: the 48tb International Eucharistic Congress, which was held in Guadalajara, Mexico, from October 10-17.and the 1.1 General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which win take place in the Vatican from October 2-29, 2005. The Year will also include World Youth Day, which will be held in Cologne from August 1. 6-21, 2005.

The Pope has entrusted the observance of the Year of the Eucharist to the pastoral attention of bishops. The profound nature of the Eucharistic mystery is such that the Year of The Eucharist not only will not interfere with the pastoral programs of each local Church or diocese but, in fact, will illuminate them effectively. The Eucharistic mystery is the root, foundation and secret of the spiritual life of each of Christ's disciples, as well as of every initiative of a local Church.

In Chapter 1 In the Wake of the Council and the Great Jubilee of his apostolic letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine" (Stay with Us Lord), our Holy Father emphasizes that the Year of the Eucharist intensely expresses concentration on Jesus Christ and the contemplation of His face, which is characterizing the pastoral journey of the Church, especially since the Second Vatican Council.. In Christ, the Word made flesh, not only has the mystery of God been revealed to us, but the mystery of humanity has also been unveiled to us. The Po~ remi11ds us of the enthusiasm with which the Second Vatican Council., quoting Pope Paul VI, proclaimed that Christ is "the goal of human history the focal point of the desires of history and civilization, the center of mankind, the joy of all hearts, and the fulfillment of all aspirations,"

Pope John Paul II developed this theme in his first encyclical, "Redemptor Hominis" (Redeemer of Man) and he has continued this theme until the present. He referred to it again in 1994 in "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" (On the Eve of the Third Millennium), to prepare the Church for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In that document, the Holy Father said that the Jubilee was an "intensely Eucharistic" year (No 55), In the Sacrament of the Eucharist the Savior, who took flesh in Mary's womb twenty centuries ago, continues to offer Himse.1fto humanity as the source of divine life. ‘In yet another letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte," the Holy Father encouraged the cultivation of a Eucharistic life. He stated, "In the twentieth century, especially since the Council, there has been a great development in the way the Christian community celebrates the Sacraments, especially the Sunday Eucharist and Sunday itself, experienced as a special day of faith. The day of the Risen Lord and of the gift of the Spirit~ the true weekly Easter," The Eucharistic theme continued in other documents from the Pope, as in the encyclical announcing the Year of the Rosary; Rosarium Virginis Mariae ", in which the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to "contemplate with Mary the face of Christ." This traditional prayer so dear to the People of God has a markedly biblical and evangelical character, focused on the name and the face of Jesus as contemplated in the mysteries and by the repetition of the "Hail Mary", It invokes in our hearts the same love that Mary bore for her Son,

Finally the Pope takes up his Encyclica1 Letter of last year, "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" which was intended to shed light. on the mystery of the Eucharist in the inseparable and vital relation to the Church. The faithful were urged to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice with due reverence, offering to Jesus present in the Eucharist. both within and outside Mass, the worship demanded by so great a Mystery. Above all the Pope encouraged a Eucharistic spirituality and pointed to Mary, "woman of the Eucharist" as its model.

The Year of the Eucharist takes place against a background which has been enriched by the passage of the years, while remaining ever rooted in the theme of Christ and the contemplation of His face.

Now that we are all back from Christmas holidays, I would like to continue with my articles on the Holy Father’s apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine [Stay with us Lord]. The Introduction and Chapter 1 dealt with the overview and the history from Vatican Council II, including the Holy Father’s other letters which have lead up to this Year of the Eucharist.

The second chapter of this letter is titled: The Eucharist, Mystery of Light. In it Pope John Paul draws on the teachings of Jesus wherein He describes Himself as “the light of the world” [John 8:12]. In the darkness of faith, the Eucharist becomes for the Christian a mystery of light, as it introduces us to the depths of the divine mystery. We are reminded that at Eucharist disciples of Christ are nourished at two “tables” that of the Word of God, and that of the Bread of Life. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our hearts should burn as we listen to the Word proclaimed and have it illustrated and adapted in the homily for the life of the Christian today. This in turn should lead us, like the disciples, to recognize Christ in “the breaking of the bread.”

The Holy Eucharist is a banquet. But it is, above all, a profound sacrificial banquet in which Christ makes present to us anew the sacrifice offered once for all on Golgotha. In our memorial acclamation we proclaim the Lord’s death and His resurrection as we await His return in glory. John Paul reminds us that all the dimensions of the Eucharist come together in one aspect which more than any other makes a demand on our faith: the mystery of the “real” presence. With the entire Church, we believe that Jesus is truly present under the Eucharistic species. This presence – as Pope Paul VI explained – is called “real” not in an exclusive way, as if to suggest that other forms of Christ’s presence are not real, but par excellence, because Christ thereby becomes substantially present, whole and entire, in the reality of His body and blood. Therefore, faith demands that we approach the Eucharist fully aware that we are approaching Christ Himself.

The Eucharist is Christ really and substantially present. This mystery, the pope says, must be celebrated with great faith, according to the established liturgical norms. The way in which we celebrate Mass must manifest our acute awareness of the real presence of Christ. Moments of silence must not be neglected. Long periods of adoration of Jesus present in the tabernacle will demonstrate our love for Him. Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament outside of Mass must be a special commitment this year in parishes and religious communities. In particular, emphasis must be placed on reparation, contemplation and biblical mediation. The rosary, when understood in the biblical and Christocentric form will prove a particularly fitting introduction to Eucharistic contemplation, a contemplation carried out with Mary as our companion and guide.

The solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, must also be celebrated with a procession, as a proclamation of our Eucharistic faith.

The third chapter of Pope John Paul II’s letter Mane Nobiscum Domine [Stay with Us Lord] is titled Eucharist, Source and Manifestation of Communion. You recall that the disciples on the road to Emmaus asked the Lord to stay “with” them (see Luke 24:29). Jesus gave them an even greater gift: through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, He found a way to stay “in” them. When we receive the Eucharist we enter into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). This “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Eucharistic Communion is an intimate sharing between Christ and the one receiving Communion. St. Paul said to the Corinthians: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:7).

The special “communion” which the Eucharist establishes between Christ and the individual cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial (church) communion. The Church is the Body of Christ: we walk “with Christ” to the extent that we are in relationship “with His body”. Christ provided for this unity by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Eucharist calls members of the Church to share their spiritual and material goods. This ecclesial communion is manifested beautifully in the bishop who celebrates with his presbytery (priests) and deacons in the cathedral church, with the full participation of the People of God.

It is the Holy Father’s desire that every effort be made this year to experience Sunday as the day of the Lord and the day of the Church. Special importance must be accorded to Sunday Mass in the parish. For as the Pope stated in another letter Dies Domini, “At Sunday Mass, Christians relive with particular intensity the experience of the Apostles on the evening of Easter, when the Risen Lord appeared to them as they were gathered together” (cf. Jn 20:19).

Yours in Christ,

Father Ernie

Continuing with our reflections on the Holy Father’s apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine we come to chapter four titled: Eucharist, Principle and Plan of ‘Mission’. When the two disciples of Emmaus recognized the Lord in the ‘breaking of the bread’, they “rose that same hour” and “set out immediately” (cf. Luke 24:33) to take the wonderful news to the apostles and other disciples. An encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist leads the Church and every Christian to give witness and to evangelize, that is, take the Good News to everyone we meet. We must thank the Lord and not be reluctant to show our faith in public. The Pope reminds us of the words of St. Paul, “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes” (1 Cor 11:26). The Apostle closely relates meal and proclamation: entering into communion with Christ in the memorial of His Sacrifice also means sensing the duty to be a missionary of the event made present in that rite. The Eucharist leads us to solidarity with others, making us promoters of harmony, peace and especially of sharing everything with the needy.

The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. In Jesus, in His sacrifice, in His unconditional “yes” to the will of the Father, is contained the “yes”, the “thank you” and the “amen” of all humanity. The Pope points out that the Gospel of St. John does not contain an account of the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the “washing of feet” (cf. Jn 13: 1-20): by bending down to wash the feet of His disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist unequivocally. St. Paul vigorously reaffirms the impropriety of a Eucharistic celebration lacking charity expressed by practical sharing with the poor (cf. 1 Cor 11: 17-22, 27-34).

Finally, the Holy Father challenges both the Diocesan Church and the local parishes to commit themselves in a particular way to respond with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world. As examples, he holds out the tragedy of hunger affecting millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. By our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ (cf. Jn 13:35: Mt 25: 31-46). This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations in judged.

Yours in Christ,

Father Ernie

Our Holy Father concludes his Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine, Stay with us Lord, by expressing what he believes would constitute a successful Year of the Eucharist, namely, if this Year were to result in a revival in all Christian communities of the celebration of Sunday Mass and an increase in Eucharistic worship outside Mass. He encourages us to set our goals for the Year high since we know that we can always count on God’s help.

Finally, he commends the Year to the whole Church. To priests he encourages us to celebrate Holy Mass each day with the same joy and fervour with which we celebrated our first Mass, and also to have a willingness to spend time in prayer before the tabernacle.

He commends deacons, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lectors and acolytes to become ever more aware of the gift you have received in the service entrusted to you for a more worthy celebration of the Eucharist.

Consecrated men and women [religious] who have been called to more prolonged contemplation are encouraged to never forget that Jesus in the tabernacle wants them to be at His side so that He can fill their hearts with the experience of His friendship, which alone gives meaning and fulfillment to their lives.

All the Christian faithful are asked to rediscover the gift of the Eucharist as light and strength for daily lives in the world, in the exercise of each person’s respective professions amid so many different situations.

Finally the Holy Father addresses young people, as he looks forward to their meeting at the next World Youth Day in Cologne. The theme of that meeting – “We have come to worship Him” – suggests how youth can best experience this Eucharistic year. Bring to your encounter with Jesus, hidden in the Eucharist, all the enthusiasm of your age, all your hopes, all your desire to love, says the Pope.

John Paul II reminds us of the nourishment that the saints received from the Eucharist on their journey towards perfection. The Blessed Virgin Mary, whose whole life incarnated the meaning of the Eucharist, is lifted as the model to imitate in her relationship with this most holy mystery. Sustained by Mary, the pope prays that the Church discover new enthusiasm for her mission and come to acknowledge ever more fully that the Eucharist is the source and summit of her entire life. To each of us, the Holy Father imparts his Blessing as a pledge of grace and joy.

St. Elizabeth Seton Parish
2220 Lisson Road, Naperville, Illinois 60565, 630-416-3325

"We shall strive to become more prayerful, peaceful people."
last updated February 04, 2005