Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 But he was so as a spirit for the spirit, he will reap life everlasting name of the father and the son and the Holy ghost. Amen. The first part of the sermon this morning was lifted from the work of the late great Catholic author, Frank sheet. So that's the source there. Let's start this morning with a question. If you were suddenly put on the spot right now, what answer would you give to this question apart from obeying the law of the church, avoiding a whipping from your parents? Is there any point in going to mass, besides it being a lot of churches, is there any point in going to mass? What is the point? What are we doing here?
Speaker 1 00:01:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 00:01:03 And we'll have the create right after the sermon in a creed, we hear the Christ is sitting at the right hand of the father. What is he doing there
Speaker 1 00:01:17 In
Speaker 0 00:01:17 Chapter nine? St. Paul is a pistol. The Hebrews, we read the Christ, entered heaven on our behalf, which means that he is doing something there for us. What is it? And the same pistol Hebrews, we read that Christ lives to make intercession for us Christ lives on to make intercession for us. So Christ is in heaven at the right hand of the father. He's making their session for us. His intercession for us is not a thing done in Calvary once and for all, but it's a continuous thing. A thing that never ceases. In other words, Christ is in heaven, unceasingly making intercession for us, but the basis for our Lord's intercession is calorie.
Speaker 0 00:02:27 That is what he's offering to his father. On our behalf, Christ in heaven is continuously offering his own death upon Calvary to his father. On our behalf, Christ in heaven is continuously offering his own death upon Calvary to his father and our behalf. Everyone needs to burn that Angela's mind. That's what our Lord is doing right now. Now the prayer of our Lord's body, his mystical body. In other words, for mystical bodies, the Catholic church is an earthly participation in Christ's intercession, the smallest individual prayer of each member of the mystical body. You and I, for example, the smallest individual prayer of each member of the body is joined with it flows into our Lord's continuous offering of Calgary. That's why so many of our prayers and with, through Christ, our Lord, where are you here to mass per dominant notion, the Asian Christian theme tune, uh, through our, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's a fixed in so many words to some of our prayers and it belongs in principle to all of them.
Speaker 0 00:03:54 So all our prayers, the individual prayers of every member of the mystical body flows into the participation in Christ continue intercession in heaven, but as it is with individuals. So it is with the prayer of the whole body. It's a joining up with a continuous offering of Christ and that prayer of the whole mystical body of Christ finds the time, highest point in the Holy sacrifice of the mass. The Holy sacrifice, the mass is the exact projection here on earth of Christ's continuous offering and heaven totally sacrificed. Mass is, is the exact projection here on earth of his continuous offering in heaven and heaven. Our Lord unceasingly offers himself the victim's slain upon Calvary for all men in the mass. Our Lord offers himself the victim's plan upon Calvary for all men.
Speaker 0 00:04:59 Now in the mass crisis, the chief priest, uh, he's offering himself by his own power. The priest and instrument of Christ offers for the people to sacrifice by virtue of a power that's been given to them by Christ and the people offer Christ's sacrifice through the priest. Again, Christ is the chief priests. He offers himself by his own car. He uses an instrument. That's the priest like me, who offers for the people by virtue of power, granted him by Christ and the people offer Christ sacrifice through the priest. So at mass, the priest is acting as an instrument of Christ that he offers Christ, really present body, blood, soul, and divinity. So on the alter Christ is offering himself the victim slain upon Calvary, but now living just as in heaven, he continually offers himself the victim's plan upon, but now living the mass is really heaven. As it were breaking through to earth to be seen of men. That's what mass is now. The priest, not only consecrates, but he also consumes. He receives our Lord whole an entire into his body, the living God and his body, just as the apostles did. And the congregation may likewise receiving the members of Christ mystical body. The members of the Catholic church have as their own proper food, nothing less than Christ himself. Now, other food gives life. This food is life
Speaker 0 00:06:41 Baptism by baptism were built, incorporating the body of Christ and his cells. His body were able to live with that life of his body. The condition of all life in God is prayer. That's a condition, the condition of all life, and God is prayer, our prayer and the mystical body culminates and Supreme prayer of the mass. And from the mass, we receive Christ himself to be the food of our life from the body. So communion is God's Supreme gift to us upon her. Now, all that is just a review of what we know from our catechism.
Speaker 0 00:07:23 Okay? So given that the mass is the exact projection here upon her as a continuous offering of Christ, our Lord in heaven. And given it to new mass Christ is the chief priest offered himself by his own power. The priest offers for the people by virtue of power, granted and by Christ and the people offer Christ sacrifice through the priest. And given that God communion is God's Supreme gift to man here upon earth. Let's give a few prep plants. There's two. The question we started with besides obeying the law of the church, is there any point in going to mass? What are we doing here?
Speaker 0 00:08:10 We'll briefly consider two very important practical things that everyone here can do and should be doing every time they go to mass first at the offertory. Now the offertory that starts right after the creed, as soon as it creates done, that's the offertory, that's the offertory. You need to fix your intention. Okay, great. But what does that mean? You need to fix your intention. Now, remember, as we just heard that the people offer Christ's sacrifice through the priest. So the intention is the thing you really, really want to offer up your mass. For, for example, when your grandparents could done, he went, offered up for his Holy death, or maybe you're struggling to grow in some virtue, overcome some place. You want to offer it up for that anyway, whatever it is, you take that intention and you mentally placed that intention on the host. When at the offertory he'll uncover, I'll go up there. I'll uncover take the cellist, Baylor. He set the chest, the side of the pattern on the top. So just it's just hood, right? And the priest picks up the patent. When he's uncovering and sending over there, you're putting mentally your intention on that host. Then the priest is going to offer up that host he's off ramp, that house. And part of the Prairie says when he offers up that host has received the Holy father, all muddy and God, this spotless host for all here, present
Speaker 0 00:09:43 The price is offering up for you. If you don't have an intention, come up with one right now and I'll make a suggestion, a Holy death, the most important thing, any one of us here is going to ever do is die. We have a Holy death. We're good to go. So that should be your default setting. If you don't have anything else, they always offered up for Holy death. If you don't have something else you could come up with, okay, but you want to have an attention. Make sure you get one right now. So you mentally place that intention on the host. And then when the priest, so you opposite the host and the priest takes the chest and he walks over to the pistol, a side of the altar and he pour some wine. And then he's blessed in the water that water stands for your intention.
Speaker 0 00:10:25 So he puts a little drop of water in the chest, put your attention in the child's. Then he goes back and he offers up the child's. Okay. So now you've fixed your intention. After offering up the cha the challenge he's you offered up the halls he's to the chest. Then the priest says an expert always bend over and I spend over like this. So he's got his hands together on all three spinners. He's symbolically grovelling before God, the father, and he's got his hands joined together, like a slave, right at the very threshold of heaven. He's interceding for everyone. So that's what he's doing. But what is it that he's saying, listen to this in a spirit of humility and with a contract heart, receive us, Oh, Lord, and grant for the sacrifice which we offer this day, a nice sight, maybe pleasing unto the old Lord, God. And that is not the Imperial week. That's for all y'all, it's just, he's praying for everybody.
Speaker 0 00:11:27 So we've United ourselves to the sacrifice by placing and fixing our attentions at the offertory, we should make a particular point then of uniting ourselves to the priest who was asking God on our behalf for truly humble spirit and a contrite heart. God has found himself to listen to the prayers of his priest. Now think about that. God almighty. The creator of heaven has bound himself to listen to the prayers of his priest. Since the priest is an official ambassador, who's been consecrated precisely to offer the sacrifice. And since he has that role, as long as he's doing everything right, and not getting creative up there, God has to listen to his prayer. He's found himself to do that. It's absolutely amazing when you step back from it and think of that. It's incredible.
Speaker 0 00:12:25 Now there's even sort of a last call. If you've been distracted, a daydream, because the preschool kiss, the altar turn around and you say errata Rogers. And he takes his hands and puts them together. And he goes in a circle and he's mystically gathering intentions. Cause as he's saying that he's telling her, I'd say pray brother, that my sacrifice and yours might be acceptable to God, the father almighty. So he does a turns all the way around. It's like your last chance to get, get your offertory intentions fixed, so to speak. Okay. So now we fixed our attention at the off call. You made a point of United ourselves to the priest, prayer for humility, nutrition, because God has bought himself to listen to his priest. As long as the priest is following the rubrics, God, the father looks down and except that host and that wine.
Speaker 0 00:13:16 So he accepts the offering. The preacher's made, but all he sees is a little piece of bread and a little bit of wine. But God, the father also sees all the intentions attached to him as long as we've made them. As long as we fix intentions, God, the father sees those intentions attached to the host and wine. Okay. But then it all comes together. The consecration, the priest, consecrates the host and the Charles, and holds him up on behalf of everyone to God, the father stop and think what that means suddenly by this Marvel of transubstantiation of bread and the wine are completely gone. Only the accidents remain only appearances remain, but the bread and wine are completely gone by the power of the priesthood. Jesus Christ is now really present body, blood, soul, and divinity. And now God, the father is looking down. What is he seeing? He seen his beloved son holding up those intentions. We've fixed at the off offertory tour. So that's the first practical. No, everyone here needs to fix his intention at the off tour. We have many things we need to pray for. Let us not neglect this.
Speaker 2 00:14:40 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:14:40 Second practical knob, given that communion is God's Supreme gift to us. Uponor let's talk a little bit about Holy communion. The concert Trent treat teaches, and I quote our Lord wished that the sacrament most bless the sacrum or the altar should be received as the spiritual food of souls. As an antidote, whereby we may be frayed from daily faults and preserve for mortal sins, close quote. So it's a song teaching of the church that one of the reasons our Lord instituted Holy communion was, is an antidote for our daily false.
Speaker 1 00:15:23 Okay.
Speaker 0 00:15:24 Okay, father, but I've been receiving community for years and I don't seem to have made much progress. Well, hold that thought for a moment.
Speaker 1 00:15:32 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 00:15:35 One community is sufficient in and of itself to make a succinct integrate saying there's no defect in our lore. If we're not saying after our first communion, it's because of our dispositions. Okay? So we need to make communions for specific purpose. For example, of conquering our faults. Suppose we're struggling with temptations against our neighbor. The guy just drives us crazy. Want to go over their yard and smack them around something like that. Okay. So we're having this kind of problem. Now we have a specific purpose that we're thinking about. When we go to call the community, we want to control our anger. This urge to go over and thrash our neighbor and so forth. If we were going to go ask her boss for a raise, we probably spent some time pondering exactly what we're going to ask him. And how are we going to go about talking about it? Huh? Well, this is God that we're going to be visiting with. And so for so careless about his visit, that we haven't been planning exactly what we want to ask for and how we're going to go about saying it. But we're saying if we don't even talk to him at all, after we receive him small, wonder if we've made little progress over the years, we shouldn't just shuffle up to communion and shuffle back. That's not going to help.
Speaker 0 00:16:58 Saint Teresa Alva says after Holy communion, cheeses remains in the soul is on a throne, upgrades and asks, what do you want me to do for you? It's extraordinary. See, he doesn't need anything. He's got, we need him. And that's precisely why he's coming to us in Holy communion to give us what we need. What do we need? We want to have a good answer to our Lord when he says, what do you want me to do for you? We want to have a good answer. We want to plan out exactly what we're going to ask him to do before we go to community. Now, obviously before we go to community, we have to kept the fast we have to be in a state of grace. Okay? That's a given, but we want to have it planned out. So an example, our struggle with anger, this temptation to go over and thrash the neighbor.
Speaker 0 00:17:47 We plan it all off and then we go to community and tell our Lord ports. This affect that community. Lord, thank you for coming. And Holy communion, you know, I have this terrible problem of anger. I'm having all this temptations against my neighbor. It's just crazy. The thoughts I'm having. I even wanted to go over there and thrash him. I'm trying to make me making calm, but I'm doing a terrible job of control of myself here. I'm having a hard time control myself, but I knew you can do it. So I'm turning that over to you. I'm inviting you to that part of my life. You take charge of that whole situation. You arrange rearrange my interior life in a way that's pleasing to you. You helped me keep a handle on my anger. Cause obviously I'm not pleasing. You have mercy on me rearrange my soul.
Speaker 0 00:18:34 So this has happened and so forth. You can see how this goes. You want to have this planned out, see we're sinners. But he came to save us. He wants us to be Saint, but we have to do our part. So we have to ask, we have to do our part. Say tree. Sabba says after Holy communion cheese remains, the soul is on a throne of grace. Now, what do you want me to do for you? Saint Teresa quote, after community, let us be careful not to lose so good. An opportunity of negotiating with God.
Speaker 0 00:19:17 His divine majesty is not accustomed to pay badly for his lodgings. If he needs with a good reception after communion, let us be careful not to lose a bit. An opportunity of negotiating with God. His divine majesty is not accustomed, paid badly for his lodgings. If he needs with a good reception, we've got to pray and prepare ourselves for Holy communion and then have a good reception visit with him. Just put yourself in his situation. In an imaginary situation, somebody is inviting you over all. Come on over. We're looking forward to your visit. So you knock on the door. They open up. Hey, it's great to see it. Can you just step in here for a sec? You stepped in the little room, the lock that you find yourself locked in the broom closet and they're going around their business. So you can hear him visiting, having coffee, doing that. How welcome would you feel? It's like, well, why didn't you invite me over? You know, let me out of here. Let's go.
Speaker 1 00:20:16 How often
Speaker 0 00:20:18 Do people receive communion like that? It's the Lord of Lord and King of Kings. And he comes into their heart. They don't have a thing to say. They can't wait to get off the doors. If there's a fire insurance,
Speaker 0 00:20:41 We got to prepare for communion. We've got to prepare a good reception from, and then we've got to spend time asking him to crush our sinful inclinations and whatever else we need. The saints are unanimous on this st. Peter, Julian AMR has a lot to say on this matter quote, the most solemn moments of your life are those. You spend it Thanksgiving when the King of heaven or your savior and judge is yours fully inclined to grant. All you ask of him, devote a half an hour, if possible to this Thanksgiving or at the very least 15 minutes, there is no more Holy, no more salutary Mala for you than when you possess cheeses in your body and in your soul. The temptation often comes to short our Thanksgiving. The devil knows its value in our nature. Our self-love shrinks from its effects. Determine there for what the duration of your Thanksgiving is to be and never subtract a moment there from, without a pressing reason. Thanksgiving is absolutely necessary if the act of communion. So Holy is not to generate into a mirror. Pious habit, close quote, st. Peter, Julian, Amy Saint Alphonsus says, quote, what treasures of grace do they lose? Who pray? But a short time to God after Holy communion close. Cool. What treasures of grace do they live?
Speaker 0 00:22:46 It's the basic idea is easy to understand. We have all kinds of problems. We need to take to the divine session who came to make all things new. And the basic technique is also easy to understand. We plan out exactly what we're going to ask for Lord to do before we go to communion. And then we spent 15 to 30 minutes talking with him about our problems and begging him for mercy. We started by asking why go to math? What is the point?
Speaker 3 00:23:22 What are we to be doing?
Speaker 0 00:23:25 There's things that we need from God that we can only get from God. And this is a precise beans set up by God, himself that we might receive them. Let's get serious today. And at every Holy
Speaker 3 00:23:46 Fix your intention at the offertory, make your communion for a specific purpose and make a good and long Thanksgiving. Then you're really on the path to holiness.
