Jesus 102 - THe Gospel of John

For many Christians, this beloved passage from John is where they get their first taste of Christianity.  John the Apostle was the last of the apostles to be called home to heaven.  His Gospel is different than that of the other three evangelists. I believe that his Gospel is Jesus 102.  By this, I mean that the Book of John has to be read after you have a familiarity with the Synoptic Gospels. I do not mean that it does not stand on its own, it does.  I mean that its lessons are better understood after reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke and becoming conversant in the story of Jesus.  For example, you would not tell a new Christian to begin his journey with Christ by reading Revelation, would you? The symbolism would be beyond what they could understand. 

A reader could spend the rest of his or her life studying the Gospel of John and daily come up with fresh ideas to inspire their life.  The one chapter that gets the least amount of attention is John Chapter Six.  Protestant preachers just do not know what to make of this chapter that discusses in great detail Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. 

I've never understood why people who read Genisis and claim that the world was created in six days because it says so, do not believe that Jesus meant what He said about eating his Body and drinking His Blood.  Reading John 6 leaves no doubt as what the intent of Jesus was at the Last Supper when he took bread into His sacred hands and He blessed it and broke it and gave it to His disciples saying, "This is my Body."  He then took the cup filled with wine and passed it to them saying "This is my Blood."  He then said, "Do this in memory of me."  The word "this" refers to the action Jesus had just completed, changing the ordinary bread and wine into His Body and Blood.  The apostles were to do this over and over again. This was to be how Jesus would remain with His people through all generations until He returned at the end of time. 

It is in the Body and Blood that God demonstration how much He really loved his errant children on earth.  Not only would His Son take upon himself all of the sins of the world, but He would make Himself available to all of His people in the Eucharist.  To take the Eucharist is to absorb the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus into your body. In a most intimate way, Jesus is physically present in you!  It is difficult to understand why Jesus would choose to do this except that He loves us without end and it is his fondest desire to do this for us. 

May Jesus be adored, praised, and loved, in all of the tabernacles in the whole world and especially when He is with me as I receive him in the Bread and Wine at the table of the Lord.  Amen.  

It's good to be a Catholic! 

Knowledge Ain't Enuf

I often have to remind myself that knowledge about God is not the same as a relationship with God.  I have a good knowledge about the things my church teaches about God.  I was involved in RCIA, that is the training of people looking to join the Church after they have become adults so I have had to study and learn about my religion.  This is certainly okay as far as it goes.  This knowledge was hard won and certainly useful for the people I imparted it to.  Take for example the simple Bible verse, "God is love."  To teach that to someone coming into the Church is a great good.  If I leave this nugget of truth about God in someone else's heart and do not take it into my own, then it does me no good. 

Paul tells us this in 1 Cor. 1 -3.  He says that no matter what if we do not have love in our heart, we are nothing more than a noisy gong or a cymbal making a senseless racket.  In other words, without taking the scriptures to heart, they do us no good at all.  We can memorize the whole Bible but if we do not put the knowledge into practice, it is useless to us.  So it is with God.  We can know all about Him, we can preach His wonders but if we do not have an intimate relationship with Him, well, then, so what?

For us Catholics, we have so many opportunities to unite ourselves with Christ.  Think about what you do every week at mass.  You worship God publicly and you receive God Himself into your body in the Holy Eucharist.  Is it just bread you eat?  If so, I can tell you where you can get better tasting bread and in a larger slice.  No, it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Himself that you receive.  Do you take the host, return to your place and read the church bulletin or talk to your spouse?  Don't waste the chance to pour out your heart to the One who loves you. 

We Catholics can also meet Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Christ wants us to trust Him and He also wants us to come to Him and relate to Him where we have failed so he can cure us of our spiritual ills and make us stronger in the faith.  This sacrament scares many people because they think that the priest who is acting in persona Christi will remember what they confess and hold it against them somehow.  We also think that our sins are somehow unique, that father has never heard someone confess what we did before.  Do you want to bet?  Reconciliation is an opportunity to begin a relationship with Christ even before you enter the confessional because you can prayerfully examine your conscience after asking the Lord to help you recall your sins.

There are so many ways in the Catholic Church to meet Christ.  There is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, there are ministries that need your particular talent.  Just seek and you shall find.  Getting to know about Christ is a good first step.  Getting to know Jesus as a personal friend should be your goal because this friendship will last an eternity.  

Things That Protestants Don't Understand About The Church - The Mass & The Eucharist

Well, here we have another two for one special because the Mass and the Holy Eucharist are so intertwined that I cannot discuss one without the other.  Unfortunately, this means that this post will be somewhat longer than the others in this series, but, I promise you it will be one that I am proud, pleased, and passionate to write about.  So, put on your seatbelts and let us begin. 

One of the things that we Christians do and are famous for is that we gather on Sunday, the Lord's Day, to worship our God.  We worship on Sunday because it commemorates that day when Jesus defeated the arch-enemy of mankind (to include womankind LOL) death by rising from the dead.  So, in accordance with the commandment to keep holy the sabbath day we gather together to sing the Lord's praises.  We pray for one another, for the Church and we sing hymns and we hear the written word of God, the Bible. Sunday should be a day of joy for all Christians.  Sunday is such a joyful day that it is not counted in the forty days of Lent so that any Lenten disciplines you may have assigned yourself can be foregone on Sunday.  So, for Christians, Sunday is a special day indeed.  In the Catholic Church, members are obligated to attend Mass every Sunday and on certain specific Holy Days.  It is considered a sin if you miss Mass without good cause. That is how important we Catholics consider our worship. 

At the Protestant services, I have attended it appears to me that they go something like this.  First, there is some singing, followed by an opening prayer, and then perhaps a Bible reading followed by a half an hour or so where the minister preaches his(or her) sermon. There may follow a Lord's Supper service where crackers and grape juice are passed around and people remember the Last Supper of Jesus. Then there may be more singing and finally, a benediction (blessing) and everyone departs for home.  Some Protestant denominations have the Lord's Supper once a month, others have it four times a year.  It generally does not form a very important part of the weekly service. 

For a Catholic Christian, the Mass follows pretty much the same pattern.  As the priest enters, we sing a song. The priest or deacon leads us in a prayer of repentance and we next express our joy by singing or reciting a prayer called the Gloria in which we praise God for being God. After an opening prayer, we sit and hear a reading taken from the Old Testament.  We then recite or sing one of the Psalms of David and then we hear a reading from the New Testament, the Epistles of Paul for example.  Then we rise from our seats and sing a hearty Alleluia and then the priest of deacon reads to us from the Gospel.  After the reading, the priest or deacon will spend five or ten minutes explaining the reading and helping us to integrate them into our lives. Next, we recite the Nicene Creed which is familiar to many denominations, it spells out what we believe.  We next pray for each other in a prayer called "The Prayer of the Faithful."  In this prayer, we pray for the Church, for our country, for fellow Christians, for our friends, and any other special intentions.  It is at this point where the normal Protestant service and the Catholic Mass part ways.  At this point, all of the things done at a normal Protestant service have been accomplished.  At the Catholic Mass, there is more, much more to follow. 

The first part of the Catholic Worship Service, aka the Mass, is called the Liturgy of the Word.  It extends from the beginning of the Mass to the end of the Prayer of the Faithful.  What follows next is the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is Holy Communion.  It begins with the collection of gifts, the basket is passed around and we place money into the basket for the upkeep of the church and its ministries. The money collected is placed into one large container and a member of the congregation brings it up to the altar where it is accepted by the priest and placed before the altar.  Behind this gift of temporal things are members of the congregation that brings up the bread and wine that will be consecrated by the priest.  There are some preparations that the priest makes including making sure that there are enough hosts (pieces of bread) and wine to distribute to the congregation.  Then he symbolically washes his hands and invites us to pray.  He says:

"Pray brothers and sisters that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father."  The congregation responds; May God accept the sacrifice at your hands for our good and for the good of His holy church."

Here I see the first real bone of contention between Catholics and Protestants.  How can we Catholics sacrifice Jesus again and again and again and again on the cross when he died once to save us?  Good point, and I am glad you asked.  Catholics call their worship the "Sacrifice of the Mass" not because we sacrifice Christ over and over again on the cross, no, we rather present again the sacrifice Jesus made once to the Father, and the Father who see this finds this pleasing. 

At this point after a preliminary prayer, we raise our voices in song with the angels and saints in heaven and sing the hymn that we find in the book of Revelations, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your Glory, hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest."   The most sacred part of the Mass follows.  The priest prays the prayer of consecration, using the words that Christ spoke at the Last Supper.  "Take this all of you and eat of it, for this is My Body."  The priest then raises the host so everyone can see it and we worship it because we believe it has been transubstantiated, that is changed, into the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  Now stay with me here.  Next, he raises the chalice filled with wine and says the words of Christ, "Take and drink for this is the chalice of my Blood which has been shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in memory of me."  The priest then raises the chalice which now contains not wine, but the very blood of Christ.  The priest then invites us to recite the Mystery of Faith.  We respond with one of four possible formulas, the one that is used on most Sundays is; "When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death O Lord until you come again."  We are then invited to come forward and receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Holy Eucharist that was consecrated by the priest.  We approach the communion minister and he or she will say "Body of Christ." and we will respond, "Amen."  This "amen" means a whole lot more than you might think.  It means: I believe that this is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  I believe Christ is physically present in me as I consume this sacred meal."   

I hear some Protestant's gasping in unbelief that we Catholics could be so ignorant as to think that a small round piece of bread and some common wine could contain the God of the Universe!  That's okay, let's finish Mass and we will discuss the Eucharist in some detail.  If you were at a Catholic Mass you would see some people taking only the bread while others take both the bread and wine.  The ones that don't take the wine, therefore, are not receiving the body and blood of Christ, they are receiving just His body.  Well, that sounds logical but it is not.  If you separate someone's body and blood you have what is known as a corpse and the Eucharist is a living thing, not a dead thing.  It is the Resurrected Christ as He is now, today, in Heaven.  

At this point in the Mass, we spend a few moments in silent prayer. Then the priest gathers all of our prayers together in a closing prayer and he gives us God's blessing.  The deacon tells us to go and spread the Good News.   We sing a closing hymn as the priest leaves the altar and then, some would say, all too soon we depart and go back into our mundane world.   So that is what the Catholic Mass is.  As you can see, you cannot separate it from the Eucharist. The Eucharist is considered so important that leftover hosts are kept in the tabernacle for those that are too sick to come to Mass. The Church dispatches ministers of communion to homes, nursing homes, and hospitals in the area to serve the Catholics that could not attend.   There must be a reason why Catholics consider the Eucharist so important.  Let's talk about the very Bread of Life next. 

There is one reason that I would never forsake the Catholic Church. That is because when I go to Mass, I receive the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.  "Yeah, sure, that is what you believe, but just believing in something does not make it true.  "Excellently spoken. grasshopper! it shows you are a person that thinks things through."  I have scant minor proof to show you that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus.  I have the words of Jesus, I have the words of Paul, I have the words of the first century Christians, I have the fact that the reality of the Presence was believed by all Christians, everywhere, for the first fifteen centuries of Church history.  

The first task is to consider just who this Jesus was.  For that let us go to the beginning of the Gospel of John, 

John 1: 1-5
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without him, nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life and this life was the light of the human race and the light shines in the darkness.

We know from the above passage that Jesus, the Word of God is God, the maker of all things.  It is He that made the universe and set all things into motion. In His time outside of his immediate family he was recognized as the Promised One by John the Baptist: 

John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World."

There are more passages where Jesus proves his bona fides, but I think we can see from these two passages that Jesus was and is the Son of God, the Savior promised to us.  As God, He is all-powerful and can do anything. Need more proof?  Well let's look at the following: 


John 6: 16-21

16 When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea * and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. 20 But he said to them, "It is I. * Do not be afraid." 21 They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake approximately 33 miles around, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  At 209 meters below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake in the world and only the only body of water that is lower is the Dead Sea, which is a saltwater lake.  Jesus and his companions were about in the middle of the lake when the storm blew up and they saw Jesus walking on the water. They thought it was some sort of ghost.  He told them to not be afraid and suddenly the boat was on the other shore.  Jesus can control the nature of objects, i.e. he can walk on water and he can control motion because they immediately arrived at the other shore.  So we can see Jesus has many powers. 

 
We next move to Jesus in arguably the most important chapter in the Bible, John, Chapter 6.   First, we have the feeding of the multitude.

John 6: 1-14

1 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed him because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" 6 He said this to test him because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little ( a bit)." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." 13 So they collected them and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king. He withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Do you remember the story of the wedding feast at Cana? Recall how Jesus changed water into wine and not just ordinary wine but the finest vintage and not just a little, he produced gallons of the stuff so that the party could continue.  This was the first sign that Jesus was the messiah promised because it was believed that when the messiah came that there would follow an abundance of food and wine.  When Jesus fed the multitude he fed them not just a little bit, he fed them abundantly and there were twelve baskets full of leftovers.  The symbolism is easy to interpret, the twelve baskets represented the twelve tribes of Israel, or more exactly, everyone! Jesus was showing that He would be able to feed everyone abundantly! 

We now move to the heart of the matter. Jesus is asked for a sign so that the crowd would believe in Him.  

John 6: 30-35

30 So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

The crowd sees something good here.  Food forever, drink forever, they could quit work and rest and play forever.  They ask for this bread and Jesus says HE is the bread of life.  The crowd now says what is he talking about?  Jesus does not retreat.

John 6 49-69

49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." 52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" 53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 And he said, "For this reason, I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." 66 As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Jesus tells the crowd that they have to eat the flesh of the Son of Man or they will not have eternal life.  The crowd shrinks back and are sickened by what He told them.  There is no way Jesus is speaking figuratively here.  The word being used for "eat" is the word that means "chew, or rip, or tear flesh."  That is why the crowd was taken aback. Then we have the saddest verse in all of the scriptures, John 6:66, "As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him."  Jesus did not call them back saying, I am only speaking figuratively.  He let them go.  He then asked His apostles if they too wished to leave.  Peter answered for them all and answered by saying "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy one of God." 

I have often wondered if Protestant pastors cringe when they read this passage?  One of the tenets of Protestantism is the Bible above all. Here the Bible says we must eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His Blood or we will not have life within us.  I would imagine that most Protestant pastors skip this passage.  

Finally, let's look at the Last Supper. Did Jesus really give us His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity then?  Did he also make it possible for His apostles to imitate Him and do this time after time through the ages?   Recall what the Last Supper was recalling.  It was the prescribed ritual that the Hebrew people practiced to recall the Exodus where God saved them from the Egyptians.  At this meal, they ate lamb. That lamb had to be spotless, have no imperfections and it was sacrificed at the temple.  The lamb had to be roasted without any of the bones being broken.  They ate this meal standing with their staff in hand and ready to travel. Along with the lamb , they ate unleavened bread and wine.  Four cups of wine were to be consumed at this meal. The feast went along following the ritual right up until the third cup wine. It was then that Jesus took bread and passed it around and told His apostles to eat it as it was His body.  Then he passed the wine around and told them it was His blood.  He then told them to do this in remembrance of Him.  The important word in that sentence is the word "this."  The word refers to the actions that Jesus had just performed.  He had given the Passover meal a new and permanent meaning.  They then sang a Psalm which was supposed to be followed by the fourth and final cup of wine.  But they did not drink that fourth cup.  Instead, they all left and went out into the night, to the Garden.  The fourth cup of wine was never drunk. The Passover was never finished.  Later that evening, Jesus was arrested and eventually after being tried, convicted, tried, found innocent, tried and found guilty, he was taken and scourged with a cruel whip tipped with bone. He then carried his cross, was crucified.  It was a tradition that those who were to be crucified were offered a cup of wine with a bit of incense in it.  It was thought to dull the senses and thought to be a mercy.  It did not do much but mostly the criminals drank what was given to them.  When this cup was offered to Jesus, he refused it.  That was very surprising because he had nothing to eat or drink since the previous evening.  He was then crucified and He did fare well on the Cross.  Remember, he had been cruelly scourged by Pilate in a bid to capture the sympathy of the crowd so that Pilate could let Jesus go.  This plan failed because Jesus was just too big of a thorn in the heel of the high priest.  Right before the end, Jesus cried out, "I Thirst."  Very funny! He was there to die not to drink.  But one man lifted up a sponge soaked in wine to Jesus, and this time Jesus took the wine and then in a loud voice, it was not possible to shout when you were nailed to a cross but in spite of this irrefutable fact of human physiology, he yelled, "It is finished." He had concluded the new Passover, he had drunk the fourth cup. 

The evidence for the Real Presence is strong. Paul cautions us to not receive the Body of the Lord in vain.  Would he do that if the bread and wine were just a mere memorial?  Would Jesus have let followers walk away if he wasn't serious?  Why did Jesus not finish the Passover the night before He died? How can millions of Protestants ignore the evidence right in front of their eyes in John Chapter Six?  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a rich source of information on Catholic belief and it is available for free, online.  If you want to burn down the Catholic Church and all she stands for then why not do it with her own words?  People that hate the Catholic Church do so because they hate what they think the Catholic Church is, not what she actually is.  Our beliefs, our doctrine have not changed from the beginning of the church until now.  Why are there so many denominations?  Is God a god of confusion?  Argue from a position of strength.  You will be surprised once you read what we believe and why we believe it how intelligent and logical our beliefs are. 

Change The Mass - An Ex Catholic with a Bad Idea and Lets Play Spin the Bottle Spin The Priest

Proposal By A Fallen Away Catholic

This week I skimmed over an article written by a young lady that styles herself as a former Catholic which in the olden days we would have called "fallen away."  She decided to take it upon herself to recommend to Pope Francis that the Catholic Church remove from the Mass the words of the Roman soldier, "Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, only say the word and my soul shall be healed."  Like many fallen away, excuse me, former Catholics she has suddenly become an expert on the Bible, sacraments, and the liturgy.  In her treatise she says that Jesus died for all and His death made us worthy so we should not say these words as they are not true and an affront to our humanity.  As many former Catholics, she has become blind to the beauty of the moment of when those words are said in the Mass.  She obviously does not or perhaps she chooses not to remember that this prayer is said as part of the communion rite, right before we receive.  She obviously has no respect for the Eucharist. I am sure that in her denomination any remaining grape juice and saltines are simply disposed of along with the stale cupcakes and used Styrofoam coffee cups used in the fellowship after their preacher finishes his sermon.  She should remember that in the Catholic Church the Eucharist is the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ who enters into us in the form of transubstaniated bread and wine.  The words of the soldier are very apt for each one of us. Because while it is true that we are saved by the Cross of Jesus, each one of us falls short, misses the mark, in some ways.  So the words confess that we are but a shack of a temple with a leaky roof and mud floors and in faith it shouts that when Jesus enters us in this most intimate way we become greater than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome because Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, the Triumphant Jesus, the Very Word of the Father  is physically within us.  This makes me just a bit on the humble side, as it should. 

SPIN THE PRIEST AROUND?

Since the reforms of Vatican II the priest has lead us in prayer by facing the congregation.  Prior to this the presider would face the altar with his back to the people.  First of all, let me say that whatever way the priest faces makes no difference to me.  But, if I had my choice, if the Church left it up to me, I would keep the priest facing the people, sharing prayer and better able to communicate with the people.  Some conservatives want to go back to the old way.  This week the Pope said that while it is permissible to face the altar instead of the people, it is not mandatory that the priest do so.  With Christians being slaughtered in the Middle East I think we should have more to worry about than this.  I will take what comes.  I have to confess that I was a bit put out when Pope Benedict vetoed using the name of God, "Yahweh" in our worship because I love the song "You Are Near" and really got into it when it came up as part of the music selected for worship, I put this in its place and realized that in the long run, this was something that does not matter.  I classify the position of the priest in the same way.  I would not be pleased if I started to have to watch the priest from behind, but I certainly would not stop going to Mass or give up the Catholic Church because of it.   What I say now, I say with all due respect to the Pope and to the Magistarium, but sometimes I think that breathing that holy rarefied air that seems to fill presidential offices, board rooms, and executive meeting chambers the world over sometimes makes those who inhale it lose sight of the little people below them that do not really care one way or the other.  So let's play spin the priest if we must but my fellow little people, let us not get caught up in a minor change in ritual that only makes a real difference to the Pope, the Cardinals, and the Bishops who make their living in and through the Church. Now, changing the words of songs to make them "inclusive," well, don't get me started on that...........

Holy Thursday / Maundy Thursday

DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper looks nothing like the one at the left. He has the apostles and Jesus sitting at a very ordinary table  that  you might find in a well appointed home perhaps in Italy in the middle ages. But our picture shows how the Jews were to eat the Passover meal. They were to eat like free people, reclining at table. The Seder was a meal that was to celebrate the freedom from slavery that God gave to his chosen people.  One of the most important lessons that was given to us at this Last Supper took place before the more solemn moments we will talk about later, but it too was a solemn moment. 

The people of Judea lived in a dusty climate. They wore sandals and the dust and dirt of the street would dirty their feet. The lowest servant of the house would be tasked to wash the feet of the guests as they arrived. It was both a thoughtful gesture and it served to keep the house clean.  A lad did not go and tell his father that his ambition was to be a foot washing servant.  This was not a job that one would aspire to. So imagine their surprise when Jesus took up the pitcher and bowl and towel and began to wash the feet of his disciples.  To them Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah that the nation had been waiting for.  He was their teacher and their lord.  For him to was their feet was am affront to his dignity. But Jesus often did things that they did not understand so they meekly acquiesced to this strange thing.  The Jesus got to Simon Peter, the appointed head of their merry little band.  Peter had a lot of faith in Jesus.  He got out of a boat and walked to Jesus on the water and he was fine until his faith kind of left him for a moment and Jesus had to rescue him.  Today, at the most holy meal of the year for the ancient Jews, Jesus was stepping down, in Peter's opinion from a place of prominence to the lowest place a person could be, from God to a foot washing servant.  When Jesus came to Peter, he refused to let the Lord wash his feet. Jesus said to him that what he was doing Peter would understand later. Peter for his part stayed obstinate and kept his feet tucked behind him.  Jesus then told Peter if he did not allow this, Peter would no longer be a disciple. Peter, you have to love him for his exuberance, realized what he had to do and allowed Jesus, God on earth, to wash his feet. Jesus then delivered his mandate that we should wash the feet of others and that the greatest among them should serve as the least just as Jesus, the Son of God had done.  The meal continued. 

Then Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it and said, "This is my Body." They took and ate it  He then took the cup of wine and said, "This is my blood."  They each drank from the cup.  He then said "Do this in memory of me."  They now understood what Jesus had done. They gave us the New Passover which would be their legacy to pass on to all other believers.  The things they had heard along the Sea of Galilee now made sense. They would have the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ to feed them and keep them through the countless generations that would pass before Christ returned in glory. 

The ritual of Passover mandated that four cups of wine be shared. After the third cup a song was sung, the Great Hall El - which was Psalms 113 to 118.  After that a fourth cup would close the Seder but it was at this point that Jesus changed things. He arose and they went out into the night , heading for the Mount of Olives.  We will cover more of this tomorrow when we discuss what happened of Good Friday. 

Catholics call today Holy Thursday and Protestants call it Maundy Thursday. Maundy means Mandated. Jesus on this date mandated that we Christians wash each others feet. It also means that we are to be loving and kind.  We should fall over each other not to get to the position of power but we should fall over each other in doing acts of kindness to one another and to those outside of the Christian community.  

Today, as we enter into the Sacred Mysteries of Holy Thursday let us remember Jesus, the Son of God, stooping low to wash the dirty feet of the Apostles.  With this example we should be proud to serve one another.

The Holy Eucharist - You don't have to wait for the second coming.! ! !

For fifteen hundred years there was no conflict when it came to the Holy Eucharist.  The Church believed that it was the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Some of the "reformers" took issue with this, notably not the prototype heretic Luther who maintained that it was a sacramental union between Jesus and man.  Other reformers such as Calvin and others believed it was only a symbolic memorial.  The Council of Trent at that time confirmed what everyone up until that time believed:

 Christ “instituted this Sacrament, in which He poured forth as it were the riches of divine love towards man” so that the Eucharist would be:

1.       A remembrance, “to venerate His memory” and “show forth His death until He comes to judge the world.”

2.       the “spiritual food of souls, whereby” He feeds and strengthens “those who live with His life.”

3.       An “antidote, whereby we may be freed from daily faults [venial sins] and be preserved from mortal sins.”

4.       a “pledge of our glory to come, and everlasting happiness”

5.       a “symbol of that one body whereof He is the head, and to which He would fain have us as members be united by the closest bond of faith, hope, and charity…   Source: Laura McAlister

The Council of Trent like many councils was a reactionary council called to combat issues that came to because of the rebellion of Luther and the others.  Contrary to what some critics of the Church say the Council of Trent did not invent transubstantiation but rather codified what up until that time had been believed by everyone, everywhere.  I can see why today's Protestants would have trouble with the concepts codified by Trent.  The Council rightly defined the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  This position taken to its logical end proves the Catholic point and thus was bitterly contested by the "reformers."  But for the sake of this blog let us suspend the tenants of the Council of Trent and go to what the "reformers" claim is the only source of Christian Doctrine, the Bible itself.  Let us also restrict ourselves to what the founder of the Catholic Church, Jesus, Himself said about the Eucharist.  (Please supply quotation marks where you think they should go,,,)

While they were at super, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave to his disciples and said; Take and eat. This is My Body, And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them saying: Take and drink this.  For this is My Blood of the New Testament which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins.  (John 26: 26-28)

Amen, Amen, I say to you; Moses gave you not bread form Heaven, but my Father gives you the true Bread from Heaven.  For the Bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.

John 6:32, 33

I Am the Bread of life: He that comes to me shall not hunger and he that believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:35

I Am the Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert and are dead. This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.  I Am the living bread which came down from Heaven.  If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the Bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.

John 6: 48 - 52

Amen, Amen I say unto you: Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you.  He that eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.

John 6: 54-55

For my Flesh is food indeed and my Blood is drink indeed.  He that eats my Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in Him.  As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me, the same shall live by Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Not as your Fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats this Bread, shall live for ever.

John 6:56-59

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him.

John 14:23

From the above we can see that Jesus considered the gift of His Body and Blood essential to salvation. The Doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a hard thing for some people to believe. It was hard for the people in the time of Jesus.  In John chapter 6 verse 60 we read: " After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus does not say that He is only kidding, or what he said before should be taken as a symbol.  When he refuses to compromise or place a spin on what he said, the saddest moment of His life up until that time occurred because the people turned away and John says " After this, many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more."  (John 6: 66) This too is what the "reformers" did.  They rejected the great gift of Jesus and just walked away,

So, there you have it. The Blessed Sacrament is a gift that is misunderstood by some, laughed at by others, seen as a symbol, seen as a rite of passage, seen as something "you do."  The Blessed Sacrament is the union of Jesus and the recipient. You cannot get closer to God in this life than by receiving Him, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity into yourself.  If God can create the world in seven days from nothing, can He not also give us Himself in the form which appears to our senses as being bread and wine?  Does He not have the power and the will to do this?  If you say no then your God is too small.

I welcome questions about the Catholic Faith from anyone.  No question is too simple or hard for me to answer.  You can leave your question as a comment or if you would prefer a private answer you can email me at michaeljspoula@outlook.com   All questions will be responded to. Hate mail will be deleted without being read. I will pray for all.

May the Light of Christ shine brightly in your life today.  God Bless.

The Bread of Life - Required Reading - Required Eating

Required Reading

The past four weeks at church we have been treated to an explanation of what the Eucharist is and how it affects the life of a Christian.  The readings have been all about bread and feeding many and how important it is.  Actually, important is not the word, essential would be the appropriate here. 

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is the Word of God and in there is found the wisdom needed to live a good Christian life.  But nowhere in the Bible will you find it stating that it is the sole source of Christian belief.  Keep in mind that like it or not my Protestant brothers and sisters have had to rely on the Catholic Church to provide them with their Bible.  It was the Church that kept the book whole and pure.  It was the Church that decided that the Book of Revelation was canonical and the Gospel of Thomas was not. Why am I making this point?  Simply said the Catholic Church is not Bible centered, no, it is Christ centered.  We use the Bible as intended by it's ultimate author, the Holy Spirit but we also depend on the Holy Spirit and Sacred Tradition.   That being said you still may be wondering why I have mounted the soap box. Read on young warrior.

If sola scriptura be true and the Bible is the only source for what is required to be a Christian, then I would like a clear explanation from a Protestant, backed up by quotes from scripture, on why they do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament?  What did Martin Luther, the "prime reformer" think about the Holy Eucharist?  Here is what he thought (emphasis added): 

     "If any person could persuade me that there is nothing 

       in the sacrament but bread and wine, he would do me

       a great favor.  I have trued to extricate myself from the

       belief in the Real Presence, for I know that thereby I 

       would greatly annoy the Pope; but the text of the Gospel

       is too plain."   

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is the place to go if you want to learn about the Eucharist and it's absolute place in the life of a Christian.  Jesus plainly says that if we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we cannot enter heaven. 

" Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. 54 Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." 

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is an inexhaustible source of the positive proof of the Real Presence of Jesus, the Son of God, triumphant as He is in heaven today.  How sad that because of the so called reformation that so many thousands of people have gone their whole life without the many graces that this wonderful Gift supplies.  Sad too is that they have not experienced the joy be being one with Christ as He Himself enter physically into you and you become one.  You cannot get closer to Jesus this side of heaven! If the angels were capable of jealousy then they would be jealous because the Eucharist is not for them.  Jesus chose this wonderful gift so that we would not be orphans and it is in this way that He will remain with us until the day of His return.  For the sake of your soul I urge everyone, Catholics too, to read, meditate on, believe and act on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. 

God bless you young warrior, pray for the Light of Christ and that light will shine brightly and show you the path you should walk on. 

The Body and Blood of Christ

Today is the feast of Corpus Christi, or in English, The Body of Christ.  I've already written about the Eucharist in a previous blog page but today is a special day and I have to take a moment and express my love for the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus that we receive in a real way in Holy Communion.  


The Catholic Church, in fact the whole world up until the 1500's acknowledged that Jesus was present in the Eucharist in a real way and that the Mass was where Christians would gather and unite with the Lord in a very intimate and special way.  


Where do we get the idea that Jesus is really present in the sacred species?  We get it from John who wrote down the very word of Jesus:

"I am the bread of life; whoever

comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will

never thirst."

Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless

you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do

not have life within you.

 Whoever eats  my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal

life, and I will raise him on the last day.

 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me

and I in him.

The words of Jesus convey the necessity of eating His Body and drinking His Blood as a requirement for having His life within you, He could not have made it any clearer. 

The Christ of the Eucharist is the Resurrected, Triumphant Christ who will reign forever.  In greatest humility, I thank the Lord for becoming bread for me so that I might have his life within me.  At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, when we Catholics sing that age old song;

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

A veil is removed and we actually sing with the Angels and Saints as they glorify God, in effect, heaven comes to earth and we, through the Blessed Sacrament are One in Christ - we offer true worship, that is, worship in spirit and truth. 

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!