And likewise, Christians who reject 2000 years of liturgy likewise without realizing it, employ relativism to reduce Christ to symbolism rather than concrete reality who died on the Cross, rose from the dead, broke the power of sin and death, and was glorified into heaven, where He stands, wounded but triumphant before the Heavenly Father, and unites Himself, present to us through the Holy Spirit at Mass.
Christ said, ‘Do this in memory of Me’. You have to understand Jewish history of liturgy to understand and see the connection. The Be’kaa…the memorial, a Jewish custom of remembering and ritual re-enacting and making present now what happened in the past.
When Christ said, ‘Do this in memory of Me’…this is now the new liturgy, the new form of worship…God given, not created by man. This is divinely ordered worship…The Lord is asking us to worship in through the Memorial.
And if you study Judaism, there is this ancient custom of breaking of bread, and giving God thanks for one’s daily nourishment.
Going back to Adam and Eve, there were two trees that were named in the garden, one forbidden, and one good. One was called, ‘The tree of knowledge of good and evil’ that was forbidden, The other was called, ‘The Tree of Life’. Satan tempted Eve by saying if she ate of the fruit she would be like the gods.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, but in front of them stood the Tree of Life always in front of them…to be fulfilled in some way, to bring life back to humanity in God’s time. There was an angel with a sword of fire preventing them from approaching the Tree of LIfe.
Later, Jesus would die on a tree…that is, wood taken from a tree…to become life for us.
Likewise, Jesus fulfilled the custom of the breaking of bread, He fulfilled Melchizedek as High Priest, who instead of bringing blood gifts, brought bread and wine to the king after battle…
Jesus revealed to us this new concept of heaven…that it would be as a banquet table, and Revelations really is reflecting the Mass, the New Jerusalem…
It is not human power that one is witnessing in the Catholic church. Ask any priest or ecclesiastic, and they are helpless without God.
The power and authority one is witnessing in the Church, because we have remained faithful, more or less, to the witness of St Peter and the apostles, that we are actually recipients of Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
It is Jesus Christ Who is the life of the Church. When we are in grace and being nourished by the sacraments and the summit of the Eucharist, we are drawing on supernatural means of nourishment.
Our main mission in life as Catholics is holiness. When we go to Mass, we are leaving this world and entering God 's place, His time – the eternal present, we stand still in the pews…but the Holy Spirit is carrying all of us together closer every day we are alive to the altar of the Heavenly Father through Jesus in heaven.
Our particular calling in the growth of holiness is our daily growth into communion with the Holy Trinity. When we are in communion with the Holy Trinity, in spite of our imperfections, as Church, we cover each other’s sins with charity. Together we experience communion with the Holy Trinity, and subsequently, we experience communion with all creation around us.
No matter our personal sufferings and the world’s lack of faith, this nourishment of Christ is our source of happiness and peace, and it causes us to be ready to serve Him in our neighbor, to express our faith in Him in beauty and truth.
This is the effect of belief in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. To outsiders this is cannibalism. But in the Mass, all is transcended into basic representations of our daily bread and drink but heavenly food that unites with heaven.
God is so beautiful, God is so much of Love and kindness and majesty!
