Gospel:
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.” They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.
Gospel Trivia:
What happens during consecration?
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. The bread and wine does not change in the molecular level.
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 (CCC)
- Patambang, Myra A., Salibay, Esteban T., Jr., and Valera, Felinore Angelica H. Sacraments, Marriage And Family Life. Manila: Navotas Press, 2001
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
What is the Holy Trinity?
This aims to explain this "central mystery of the Christian faith," a mystery not too many Catholics understand, much less able to explain to others.
But before you start reading, I suggest you get a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair because this is not an easy read, but may be worthwhile in trying to understand what "three persons in one God" means.
Can you explain the Holy Trinity to others?
The mystery of the Holy Trinity “is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truths of faith” (CCC 234). How would you explain this mystery to a Muslim, for example?
When asked by our fellow Christians, our response is usually “it means there are three persons in one God.” When probed what exactly that means, we are likely to say “I can’t really explain that, that’s why it’s a mystery.”
There are religions who recognize their God as creator of all things and source of all life. But these religions depict their God as “one-person.” Unlike this “one person” concept of God, the God revealed to us (by God himself) is a God who is Trinitarian, i.e. “three persons in one God.”
Our God is a communicating God. God wants to make Himself known to us. God does not want to be mysterious and unknown. On the contrary, God knows that when we truly know him, we will fall in love with him. Thus, the whole Bible is about how God continually communicates himself to us.
So how does God reveal himself?
Answer: God first revealed himself as Yahweh.
Very early in the bible, there was a point when God communicated to men and women the name by which he wanted to be known: Yahweh. It means “I am who am.” It means that God is simply being, being in its fullness, or unlimited being.
Biblical scholars who study the nuances of language believe that the more accurate translation of Yahweh is “I am who will show myself to be by the actions, which I will do on your behalf.” This translation suggests two things:
- God wants to be known progressively, not in a one time kind revelation. This means that the God of the Old Testament must be known also through what is revealed by God in the New Testament.
- Secondly, the translation suggests that God will be known by the actions that he will do for his people.
What do we know about who God is and the nature of God based on the actions that God has done?
Answer:
- God liberated the Jews from slavery. The Jews could not help but marvel at what Yahweh has done. Imagine, they were previously a bunch of slaves oppressed by the Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they became a people with their own king and land!
- However, the Israelites frequently disobeyed and turned away from Yahweh many times in their history as a nation. They would worship other gods, commit acts of injustice to their own people especially the poor, widow and orphans, and disobey the laws given to Moses. But despite all these, Yahweh never gave up on them.
Through these actions, Yahweh became known not just as a powerful God, but a God “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” His justice is tempered with mercy. It is not a vindictive kind of justice, but a saving kind of justice.
The people would backslide, yet Yahweh never gives up on the sinner. “For a brief moment I have abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will gather my people. For a moment, in an outburst of anger, I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I have had mercy on you, says Yahweh, our Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:7-8)
The disobedience continued; but Yahweh’s persistent love also prevailed. Then, one day Yahweh did the most unexpected and undreamed of action of all time. Yahweh no longer spoke through signs, but through a Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
“God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
What did the words and actions of Jesus reveal about who God is?
Answer:
In his ministry, Jesus speaks of Yahweh in a very unusual way. He calls Yahweh: “Father.” This is a radical idea since this invokes an intimate relationship with God, something akin to the relationship of father and child, and not king and subjects as the Jews were used to. In fact, Jesus says that we should use the word “abba,” which is the way a little child endearingly calls its father. Throughout his life, Jesus speaks and acts in a way which suggests a personal and intimate relationship with God as Father.
Jesus also reveals the Spirit of God which came down upon him during baptism. He promises the Spirit to his disciples at the Last Supper, saying that the Father will send him, and that he (Jesus) himself will send him (John 14:16-17, 25; 15:26; 16:7-14). But the Spirit is given only after Jesus has been glorified (John 7:39). Then Jesus gives the Spirit on the day of the Resurrection to the disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). And in Pentecost, there is the outpouring of the Spirit to Mary and the disciples gathered in the upper room.
Through the words and actions of Jesus, the name of God has changed. It is no longer “Yahweh,” (the God who will reveal who he is through the actions he will do for his people). After God becomes man in the person of Jesus, and the sending of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost, God’s name is now: “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
So what is the Holy Trinity?
Answer:
Through his actions and words, we now know that God has a Son, who was with him in the beginning, and who was God like him. It is this Son who became flesh and lived among us. God does not only have a Son, but also a Spirit. This Spirit is the one who pours out the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
Can you tell us more about the Holy Spirit? I don’t have a mental picture of the Holy Spirit, unlike the Father and the Son.
Answer:
This Spirit is not the Father nor the Son but is sent by them both not as another spirit like an angel, but as their common Spirit, and thus God like them.
The Spirit is first of all, a spirit and is a person. He does not have a material body, and yet he is someone. He is someone who performs spiritual functions, acts of the intellect, for example. Christ said that the Spirit would lead the disciples to all the truth (John 16:12), that the Spirit would also bear witness regarding him (John 15:26), and would speak for the disciples when they faced the tribunals (Matthew 10:19-20).
The Holy Spirit is Love in Person. It is because he is Love in person that the Holy Spirit can pour forth into our hearts the love of God when he is given as gift to us. (Romans 5:5)
(My own mental picture of the Holy Spirit is a “spiritual presence” who is with me wherever I go).
So God changed his name from Yahweh to the Holy Trinity?
Answer:
Yes, the name of God is now Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is in that name we are baptized. We enter into the life of one God-Community of Persons.
In other words, the one God really exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From all eternity God is a Trinity of Persons, but this truth was revealed only through the sending of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. So in God, there is one What and three Who’s.
What is the implication of the Holy Trinity in my life?
The fact that now we are told by God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, that God is a communion of Persons bonded together by love, means that we human beings are called to live in a communion of love with each other.
Reference:
The two main sources used in this article are the Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) and the book of Bishop Teodoro Bacani entitled From Yahweh to the Trinity (Manila: Gift of God Publications, undated). In many parts of my article, I quoted complete sentences verbatim from Bishop Ted’s book without citing them in footnotes. I am hoping that this citation will suffice in acknowledging his ideas)
Gospel:
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.” As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Gospel Trivia:
This gospel account for Pentecost Sunday does not jive with what we recall as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. It was supposed to have happened fifty days after the Resurrection when the disciples were gathered in the upper room.
In today's Gospel, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit" and, according to John the evangelist, this took place on the night of Easter Sunday.
Is there a conflict in the recording of the events? Or are these two events: one is the sending of the Holy Spirit right after the Resurrection (according to John's gospel), and another time when the disciples were in the upper room (according to the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke)?
Biblical scholars interpret these as the same event, but reflect two different theological perspectives of the two authors.
What, then, is John's intended message in his gospel account of the sending of the Holy Spirit? There are three:
- The coming of the Holy Spirit marks a new creation. Jesus BREATHES on the disciples as he says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." The word used for "breathes" is reminiscent of the creation of humankind in Genesis: "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and BLEW into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and so man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7). Soon, Jesus will disappear physically; but his presence remains with the disciples through the Spirit that will guide them in their mission of proclaiming a new way of life and relationship with God.
- The Holy Spirit brings peace. "Peace be with you" is the traditional Jewish greeting. In this account, Jesus says this greeting twice; thus, the close association between the Spirit and the peace that it brings.
- The sending of the Holy Spirit coincides with the sending of the disciples. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you," Jesus says. The disciples' mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission and, and they will be accompanied by Jesus' continuing presence in the Spirit. It will bring them sustenance and peace despite the travails and trials they will face.
We may have been baptized in the Holy Spirit -- whether in baptism and/or again in a Life in the Spirit Seminar -- but receiving the Spirit means you have a mission. What is your mission?
Other Trivia (Supplement):
What about the event described in Acts of the Apostles, where the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in "tongues of fire" and the disciples began to speak in a manner that "each one heard them speaking in his own language"?
The following may help us understand the intended meaning of Luke in writing this account:
- In Acts, the sending of the Holy Spirit happened on the feast of Pentecost, a major Jewish feast. (Note: Pentecost is not an original Christian or Catholic feast). This feast is a significant one for Jews to travel all the way to Jerusalem and visit the Holy Temple. The disciples may have been doing just that when the event described took place.
- The Pentecost feast was originally an agricultural celebration of a good harvest, but since it occurs around seven weeks (or roughly 50 days, hence "penta") after the Passover feast, it also evolved as a thanksgiving feast for Yahweh's intervention in saving the Jewish people from the slavery of the Egyptians.
At the same time, the Pentecost feast also recalled the Sinai covenant (Ten Commandments) between Yahweh and the Jews after they were liberated from the Egyptians (which is the reason for the Passover feast).
Hence, the Pentecost feast, which was celebrated after the Passover (which coincided with the Last Supper) began to acquire different layers of meaning.
- Luke then adds the "Christian layer" to the meaning of this Jewish feast through his narrative of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles:
a. It includes "tongues of fire" which is reminiscent of how Yahweh manifested himself in the Sinai event: "Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire." (Exodus 19:18).
b. In the Sinai event, the Jews become Yahweh's chosen people, to the exclusion of every other people; in the Christian Pentecost, "every nation under heaven" understood the message of the disciples -- a more inclusive definition of the Christian faith.
c. The disciples were perceived as if "drunk" (Acts 2:15), suggesting they were ecstatic, joyous, and highly enthusiastic, which is characteristic of the early church as they spread the good news.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Manila: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 255-259.
- Raymond E. Brown, SS, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), pp. 283-285.
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Gospel Trivia:
It is not possible to determine exactly what happened during Ascension day. Luke describes Jesus as being "taken up to heaven." Mark, in his version, adds that Jesus "took his seat at the right hand of God." Matthew and John do not have an account of the ascension. There is also no mention of "clouds" during the ascension event in the gospel accounts; "clouds" is mentioned only in the Acts, which is also written by Luke.
These would suggest that the significance of the Ascension lies not only on what ACTUALLY happened, but the intended meaning of WHATEVER actually happened.
The Ascension refers to the "LIFTING UP" of Jesus, and these words are used to refer to his:
- Crucifixion - Jesus' supreme sacrifice for the Father,
- Resurrection - his justification and glorification by the Father,
- Ascension - his return to the Father.
Secondly, we should note that Jesus' return to heaven should be taken in the context of heaven NOT as place, but as a "condition of being with the Lord" (Catechism for Filipino Catholics, 2068) or as the beatific vision, i.e. a vision of ultimate happiness (CFC, 2069). More on the Catholic and Scriptural meaning of heaven here.
The Ascension marks the transition from the presence of Jesus in his Resurrected and glorified body to his pervasive and effective presence in the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit, as the gospel says, which brings "great joy."
Reference:
Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC)
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
Gospel Trivia:
In this meeting with his disciples, Jesus shared what will happen at the "end of the world," or in the final judgment when God will come to rule all of humanity. It is very different from the dramatic scenes of the apocalypse that the Jews were nourished with by the Old Testament.
Instead, Jesus tells them:
- That the Trinitarian God (the Father and Jesus through the Spirit) will dwell on ALL who believe, and that such a relationship is available to anyone through faith;
- That this appearance of God refers to an immediate presence of intimacy and love between humanity and the divine; it is a personal presence and relationship, accessible to all, and made possible only through love, faith, obedience and forgiveness; and
- That this union brings peace -- not the OT definition of peace of receiving all of Yahweh's gifts including material prosperity -- the peace of Jesus which is the absence of inner turmoil in the midst of the worst storms and most difficult challenges.
The peace that we have is a measure of God's presence in our life. It is the "end of the world" in the sense that this is the destination meant for all of us.
References:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 197-199.
