Introduction to the Liturgy of the Eucharist

 Wonderful explanation by Archbishop Durocher.

Conference Spiritual Reading - December 14, 2020

 

Image credit: Melani Pyke - https://www.melpyke.com/

“O’ Adonai, God of the Covenant, and King of Israel, You appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and you gave the sacred law on Mount Sinai. Come now! With an outstretched arm, redeem us! - O Antiphon from Vespers, 18 December

Christ, the Lord, who is God Most High and Son of God, was at work with the Father during the early days of Israel, in the time of the first Covenant. He comes to us now, establishing a New Covenant in our hearts, with the task of delivering us from the power of Satan and bringing us into His kingdom.  

To Moses, God appeared in a flaming bush in the desert and as thunder and lightning on the mountain. To us, He appears in a humble piece of bread – the Eucharist. Do we realize the fire and flame that comes to us?

We are called to accept this fire and flame into our being, so that we can go forth and, in every step of ours, shed this flame, this fire of love, upon all the earth so that it may be renewed. For that is the desire of Christ the Lord!”

Catherine Doherty, “Donkey Bells: Advent and Christmas,” Madonna House Publications, Combermere, Ontario

A Special Solidarity - Fratelli Tutti of Pope Francis

 

Here is an excerpt from 'Fratelli Tutti', the latest encyclical letter of Pope Francis on fraternity and social friendship. This excerpt speaks directly to the values and mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Indeed, our Society is one of the 'popular movements' referred to at the end of this except. The numbers are paragraph numbers in the encyclical.

I recommend reading this excerpt a number of times - at least three or four times - slowly, silently and aloud. Set aside some time to reflect and pray over these words from a pope who clearly has a heart for the poor. There are a few technical or 'key' words to consider as you reflect: solidarity, service, vulnerability, community.

115. At a time when everything seems to disintegrate and lose consistency, it is good for us to appeal to the “solidity” born of the consciousness that we are responsible for the fragility of others as we strive to build a common future. Solidarity finds concrete expression in service, which can take a variety of forms in an effort to care for others. And service in great part means “caring for vulnerability, for the vulnerable members of our families, our society, our people”. In offering such service, individuals learn to “set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, before the concrete gaze of those who are most vulnerable… Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, ‘suffers’ that closeness and tries to help them. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people”.

116. The needy generally “practice the special solidarity that exists among those who are poor and suffering, and which our civilization seems to have forgotten or would prefer in fact to forget. Solidarity is a word that is not always well received; in certain situations, it has become a dirty word, a word that dare not be said. Solidarity means much more than engaging in sporadic acts of generosity. It means thinking and acting in terms of community. It means that the lives of all are prior to the appropriation of goods by a few. It also means combatting the structural causes of poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labour rights. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money… Solidarity, understood in its most profound meaning, is a way of making history, and this is what popular movements are doing”.