Gospel:
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Gospel Trivia:
Faith is the center of this episode.
The synagogue official is a member of the board of elders responsible for the management of the synagogue. He is an important and learned man, and a religious one; yet, at this point, he has no recourse but to turn to Jesus.
The official's faith is further tested by the people around him who have given up hope because the daughter is dead -- "your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Further, when Jesus says that the daughter is only sleeping, the people around "ridiculed him."
Then, Jesus performs the miracle. Death is not the end, but is only "asleep." The faith of the official sees through death.
We can probably identify with Jairus, a person with means, and yet his means cannot rescue him. When we are desperate, when it is most difficult to keep the faith, the gospel tells us that this is precisely the time to believe in Jesus.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), p. 46.
Gospel:
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Gospel Trivia:
We should note the following in interpreting Mark's message of this gospel passage:
- The gospels were written several decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus; in the case of the gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel to be written, biblical scholars estimate it was written between 60 to 70 AD. By this time, Christianity was beginning to spread and the early church was also beginning to face much challenge and persecutions.
- The sea was perceived as a place of danger and mystery. It is also not unusual that a squall (a sudden windy storm) to occur in Lake Galilee (the scene in the gospel), as the cold winds from the Mediterranean meet the winds from the Syrian desert.
Thus, Mark's intention in this gospel passage is to reassure the early Christians that Jesus, though no longer with them physically, continues to care for them; and that they should hang on to their faith.
Note that the phrase, "Do you not have faith?" is said AFTER Jesus calmed the storm; whereas, it is more logical to mention their lack of faith first, and then perform the miracle (as is done in Matthew's version of this same episode).
By mentioning if after the miracle, Mark's is able to more strongly emphasize the disciples lack of faith. The disciples panic, Jesus calms the storm, and then says, "there, couldn't you have trusted that I would protect you."
When we face the storms in our life, do we panic? Or keep the faith?
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), pp. 42-44.
Gospel:
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Gospel Trivia:
The gospel consists of two parables that teaches about the Kingdom of God. (However, it can be said that all parables tell us an aspect of the Kingdom).
These two parables follow the parable of the sower, thus the pattern of sowing, the waiting time, and the harvest. The parables were likely meant for disciples and Christian converts who were waiting for something magnificent to happen as a manifestation of the coming of the Kingdom of God; but were disappointed or discouraged.
The two parables were intended:
- in the case of the first parable, to reassure and require patience, because the growth of the Kingdom has started and will not be subverted, imperceptible though it may be amidst seemingly contradictory conditions;
- in the case of the second parable, to remind early Christians that the Kingdom is manifested not in the glorious, but in small beginnings which, over time, makes itself felt.
But what is the Kingdom of God? And where is it? How can we perceive that its reign has started? Click here.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1987), pp. 2 - 8.
What happens during consecration?
Our Lord Jesus Christ is really present in the Eucharistic celebration in many ways: in the assembly, in the person of the priest celebrant, in the reading of the Word, and most especially under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine.
But what does it mean when we say that the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ? We know that the bread and wine still looks, tastes, and smells like bread and wine. Do the bread and wine merely symbolize the body and blood of Christ (as non Catholic Christians believe), and that we should imagine that these are now Christ’s body and blood? The answer is no; the bread and wine do become the body and blood of Christ. If so, then does it mean that we are like cannibals that eat flesh and blood?
I hope this article will help you understand what happens during consecration, and be able to explain it to others.
The different ways that things change
First, let’s open our minds to the different ways that things change. We know that water can change from solid (ice) to liquid to gas. But it is still H2O. In other words, the outside form changes, but the invisible components of hydrogen and oxygen remain the same.
Another kind of change is when the outside form remains the same, but the inside (or invisible) changes. In philosophical terms, this is referred to as trans-substantiation, which is the term that our Church uses to explain the change that happens in consecration. In philosophical terms, the outside form is referred to as the “accidents” and the internal elements as “essence” or “substance.” In this way of explaining, the accidents (externals) of bread and wine do not change but the essence of its reality is no longer just bread and wine, but the body and blood of Christ.
What do we mean by the “body and blood of Christ”?
The “body and blood” of Christ is our way of saying the total person of Christ. Thus, we do not refer to the bread being “just the body” and the wine as “just the blood” of Christ. Both species, that is the bread and wine, contain the whole personal presence of our Lord.
However, the “body and blood” of Christ present in the bread and wine is NOT the physical body of Christ, but his glorified and Resurrected body. This points us to yet another kind of change.
The third kind is that of total transformation, where everything (both the inside and outside) changes. This is how we look at what happened to Jesus in his Resurrection.
What happened in the Resurrection?
An understanding of the Resurrection will help us understand what happens during consecration.
We regard the Resurrection of Jesus as not just resuscitation (as in the case of Lazarus, who eventually died), but that of transformation (Jesus lives forever). Resurrection refers not just to a physically risen Jesus, but to a spiritually Risen Jesus.
Our Risen Lord was no longer bound by time and space. He could walk through walls. In the account of the “doubting Thomas” in John 20:19-29, the evangelist emphasizes by saying twice that “the doors were locked,” and yet Jesus suddenly appeared to them.
In the story of the two men on the way to Emmaus in Luke 24:1-53, we learn other aspects about our Risen Lord. We know that the tomb was empty and so his body rose and changed (24:12). His body changed because when Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus, he was not readily recognizable (24:32), and yet he could be seen and touched, and he ate bread and fish. We also know that he was recognized when he started to talk about the Scriptures and when they broke bread (24:35), and that this encounter with him brought about much excitement and joy (24:33 and 41).
I’m afraid that is as much as we can know about Jesus Resurrected presence. (The disciples did not have a video camera then, so they could not be any more helpful). But one thing we do know, Jesus was not just resuscitated; he was transformed to a glorious presence.
The close analogy I can think of is that of a caterpillar that is transformed to a butterfly. It changes to something totally new.
The Resurrection and Consecration
During the consecration, we believe that the bread and wine changes into the “body and blood” of Christ, but NOT his physical body/blood but to his glorified, resurrected, and spiritually risen body/blood. (Again, think of body/blood as “total person”)
This is the same glorified, resurrected, and spiritually risen Jesus that is present “whenever we pray and there are two or three gathered in his name.” But we regard his presence in a very special way in the blessed Sacrament.
The different ways one or something can be present
Finally, I’d like you to be aware of how one or something can be present. There is the physical kind of presence, just as a computer is proximately near me as I type this article. Someone can also be next to me and be just physically present but his or her mind is somewhere else.
There is also the personal kind of presence where a person is present to another through sharing of knowledge, affection and love. It is this kind of presence that we refer to when we say that Jesus is present in the bread and wine.
The Church wants us to avoid two extremes in explaining the presence of Jesus in the eucharist:
- a crude, materialistic understanding of the change of bread and wine into Christ’s earthly “flesh and blood” which would make communicants equivalent to cannibals, and
- the opposite extreme of a merely symbolic interpretation of the change, which would reject the real eating and drinking of the Lord.
Implications in our daily life
We believe that Jesus (in his glorified, Resurrected and spiritual presence) is everywhere. Jesus is present when “two or three are gathered in his name,” when we perform works of mercy, when we preach the Word of God, and most effectively, when we celebrate the Eucharist.
We become intimately united with him when we receive him in communion. Christ is in us. We know we will share in this glorified, Resurrected and spiritual presence one day.
But we need not wait until that day. We live the way we live because Jesus himself is already in us.
In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” (John 14:19-21)
Sources:
- Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC)
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Patambang, Myra A., Salibay, Esteban T., Jr., and Valera, Felinore Angelica H. Sacraments, Marriage And Family Life. Manila: Navotas Press, 2001
