The Deeper Meaning of the Mass
The Deeper Meaning of the Mass
The greatest event in the history of the world is the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
By this event - called the Paschal Mystery He saved us from sin, death and the power of the devil
The Paschal Mystery means:
All the saving events that took place from Holy Thursday when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper
His suffering and death on Good Friday
His descent to the dead on Holy Saturday
His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday
And His Ascension into Heaven
In the Mass
The Holy Spirit makes those saving events from the life of Jesus present – RIGHT HERE
Not in our memory, not figuratively, not in our imagination but Truly Present
As the CCC teaches: In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ
.When we walk through those doors and Mass begins, we are at Calvary – united to the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross
The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are made present in the Mass so that His Victory over Satan, Sin and Death may continue in us and in the world.
Exchange of Hearts
The Mass is ALL about a relationship with God
· I give myself to God
· God gives Himself to me in the Eucharist
· The Mass is an Exchange of Hearts
Catherine of Sienna prayed to God:
Change my Cold – Stony Heart Full of Temptation; Lacking in Love. Jesus - Give me a new heart
Jesus appeared to Catherine opened her chest, took her heart and went away
She told her confessor - St Raymond
He explained it was impossible to live w/o a heart. She responded: Nothing is impossible to God
Not long after, Jesus again appeared to Catherine. He held out to her His bright red heart in his hand. He opened her chest and put His heart in place of hers.
“I took your heart that you offered to me, behold I now give you mine. From now on it will be in the place of yours.”
The Mass is an exchange of hearts
The Priest will invite you:
“Lift up your heart”
You will offer your heart to Jesus
“We lift them up to the Lord”
Then Jesus will give His Sacred Heart to you in Communion. See – the Mass is an exchange of Hearts
The Eucharist Really is the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Around year 700 there was a priest in Lanciano, Italy. He doubted the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist
When he pronounced the words of Consecration
This is My Body, this is My Blood, the bread changed into the Body of Christ, the wine changed into the Blood of Christ like it always does.
But this time the Host appeared as Human Flesh and Blood - so that everyone could see it!
They didn’t consume the Host because of this Miracle. They kept it, and it remained – and it remained – and it remained.
In 1971 a group of scientists tested it. Guess what they found ?
It was real human flesh – Heart Tissue – with nothing to preserve it.
Eucharistic Miracles continue to occur
· Buenos Aires 1996
· India 2014
· Poland 2016
The Eucharist is the Sacred Heart of Jesus
· He is inviting us to Mass, to offer our hearts to Him, that He may give His to us.
The Greatest Gift You Can Give
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist Jesus will make His sacrifice present on this altar
By His sacrifice Jesus offered Himself to the Father
Jesus makes his sacrifice present at Mass
· So that we can join in
· So that we can offer ourselves to the Father through Him
The Altar represents the Cross,
· It is there that His sacrifice is made present
· this is why we bow to the altar
When the gifts are placed on the altar
· we are mounting the Cross with Christ
· To offer ourselves to the Father through Him,
· through his sacrifice on Calvary which is made present here in the Mass.
When the bread and wine are placed on the altar our attitude ought to be one of:
· Father I give myself entirely to you:
· all of my prayer, work, joy and suffering,
· I unite it to the sacrifice of your Son made present here.
· I offer My Good and my Bad
Now your sacrifice is joined to Jesus and
· Takes on a new value – Infinite Value
The Greatest Good you can do for your family, friends and enemies is to Go to Mass and offer it for them
Giving Thanks
One thing that helps us to be disposed to receive the grace of Jesus in the Eucharist is Thanksgiving after receiving Jesus
Teresa of Avila: Be with Him willingly; don't lose so good an occasion for conversing with Him as is the hour after having received Communion. (Reflect that this is a most advantageous hour for the soul, during which Jesus is very pleased if you keep Him company. Take great care…not to lose it.)…This, then, is a good time for our Master to teach us, and for us to listen to Him, kiss His feet because He wanted to teach us, and beg Him not to leave.
But after having received the Lord, since you have the Person (of Jesus) Himself present, strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart. For I tell you, and tell you again, and would like to tell you many times that you should acquire the habit of doing this every time you receive Communion and strive to have such a conscience that you will be allowed to enjoy this blessing frequently. Though He comes disguised, (under the appearance of bread) the disguise does not prevent Him from being recognized in many ways, in conformity with the desire we have to see Him. And you can desire to see Him so much that He will reveal Himself to you entirely.