Divine Intimacy

FATHER GABRIEL OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN, O.C.D.

DIVINE INTIMACY

Volume III

Ninth Sunday through

Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time

IGNATIUS PRESS    SAN FRANCISCO

This enlarged and revised edition was

previously published by Dimension Books, Inc.

Translated from the Sixteenth Italian Edition

Carmelite Monastery of Pittsford, N.Y.

With ecclesiastical approval

© Carmelite Monastery, Pittsford, N.Y. 14534

All rights reserved

Reprinted with permission of Dimension Books, 1987

ISBN 9780898701449 (PB)

ISBN 978-1-68149-138-7 (EB)

Library of Congress catalogue number 86-83132

Printed in the United States of America

Meditation

206. NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

207. Prayer in General

208. Liturgical Prayer

209. The Sacred Liturgy

210. I Shall Go Up to the Altar of God

211. Eucharistic Prayer

212. Everlasting Praise

213. TENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

214. The Real Presence

215. Mystery of Faith

216. Mystery of Hope

217. Mystery of Love

218. Mystery of Unity.

219. Eucharist and Life

220. ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

221. Understanding the Mystery of Christ

222. You are My Friends

223. Gentle of Heart

224. Humble of Heart

225. He Has Washed Us with His Blood

226. Through Christ to the Father

227. TWELFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

228. O Blessed Trinity

229. The Mystery of the Living God

230. We Shall Dwell in His House

231. We Will Come to Him

232. In the Name of the Father

233. Praise of His Glory

234. THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

235. I Am with You Always

236. Persevering in Prayer

237. Toward Dialogue with the Father

238. Listen to the Voice of the Lord

239. Lord, Who Is Like You?

240. He Who Is

241. FOURTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

242. God, Supreme Simplicity

243. God Does Not Change

244. His Love Endures Forever

245. God’s Goodness Is Diffusive

246. Unfathomable Wisdom

247. God Is Love

248. FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

249. God Merciful and Compassionate

250. The Lord is Just

251. He Orders All Things Well

252. All Is Possible to God

253. Faith: the Gift of God

254. He Who Believes Has Eternal Life

255. SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

256. Unhesitating Faith

257. Increase Our Faith

258. The Just Man Lives by Faith

259. Called to Hope

260. Christ Our Hope

261. The Hope of Glory

262. SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

263. Hope Does Not Disappoint

264. The Father’s Love

265. He First Loved Us

266. The Friend of Man

267. The More Excellent Way

268. Rooted in Charity

269. EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

270. The Great and First Commandment

271. The Second Is Like to the First

272. The Foundation of the Law

273. Who Is My Neighbor?

274. Again, the Neighbor

275. As I Have Loved You

276. NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

277. Conquer Evil with Good

278. Charity is Magnanimous

279. Charity is Kind

280. Love Is Not Boastful

281. Charity Is Not Selfish

282. Charity Is Not Resentful

283. TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

284. Charity and Justice

285. Charity and Truth

286. Charity Bears All Things

287. Charity Endures All Things

288. That They May Be One

289. The Sure Sign

290. TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

year A

year B

year C

291. My Lord and My God!

292. Father!

293. I Will Adore the Lord My God

294. Let Us Give Thanks to God

295. Ask and It Shall Be Given You

296. Be Sober and Be Watchful

297. TRINITY SUNDAY

year A

year B

year C

298. CORPUS CHRISTI

year A

year B

year C

299. THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

year A

year B

year C

300. SAINTS PETER AND PAUL (June 29)

301. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL (July 16)

302. ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (August 15)

303. MARY OUR QUEEN (August 22)

INDEXES OF ABBREVIATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

206. NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

YEAR A

Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me (Ps 31:2)

I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God;. . . the curse if you do not obey (Dt 11:26-28). Israel’s whole perfection was contained in the law and was expressed in its observance. God blessed and cursed man according to whether he obeyed or disobeyed the law. The New Testament established a new order: God blesses and therefore saves man, not for keeping the old law, which is now no longer in force, but through faith in Christ the Savior. St. Paul strongly supports this: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law . . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Rom 3:21-22). This is a great change: Jews who faithfully observe the Mosaic law have no greater right to salvation than those who are ignorant of this law; for both the one and the other, salvation is a free gift offered by God’s infinite goodness to all those who believe in Jesus Christ. Likewise we read in John’s Gospel  . . . that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (3:15). And St. Paul states specifically: For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom 3:28). It must be understood, however, that the works which are excluded are only those of the Mosaic law, not the good works which are the fruit of faith in Christ. For, indeed, the same Apostle explains elsewhere that for salvation, all that counts is faith working through love (Gal 5:6), that is, faith which is not just an adherence of the intellect to Christ, but an adherence of the whole person: intellect and will, thought and works.

This is exactly what Jesus was teaching when he declared Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Mt 7:21). Faith must encompass the whole of life, and lead, not to a simple abstract recognition of God’s existence, but to a practical acknowledgement which brings with it the submission of our own will to God’s, and behavior that is regulated by his commandments. Therefore those who reduce their profession of faith to prayer, to the apostolate, or even to the simple practice of the ministry—did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons. . . (ib. 22)—but who do not extend it to every sector of personal life through accomplishing God’s will, will one day hear him say: I never knew you (ib. 23). Only faith which is made concrete in full adherence to the will of God enables us to build our house upon rock, without fear that it will be knocked down by winds or storm. This house is Christian life, which, founded on faith in Christ and on carrying out his words, can defy any hurricane and even time and death as they change at last into eternal life.

The soul of the just yields to no temptation, because it rests upon rock, that is upon the firmness and stability of your teaching, O Lord Jesus. Indeed your precepts are more solid than rock. Any one who practices them is raised above all the unexpected disasters of this world. What happier situation in life can there be than this? Neither wealth, nor physical strength, nor glory, nor power, nor any other privilege can secure for us an interior steadiness like this. Only the possession of virtue can make all this possible. . .

O Lord, you spur me on to virtue, not only by the promise of future realities by making me remember the kingdom of heaven, with all the inexpressible rewards and consolations and other endless blessings to be enjoyed there, but also by showing me the unshakeable steadiness and stability which virtue confers upon me in this life.

St. John Chrysostom, Commentary upon Gospel of St. Matthew 24:2-3

O Jesus, with a strong faith I get as near you as I can, in order to know God in you and through you, and to know him in a manner that is worthy of God, that is in a way that makes me love and obey him, according to what your beloved disciple says: He who says ‘I know him,’ but disobeys his commandments is a liar; and you yourself said: "If you love me, keep my commandments."

So my whole reason for wanting to know you is to love you; and I want to know and love you in order to force myself to do your will, for I am convinced that I will not be able to know you well except by being united to you by a love that is pure and chaste. . . . May the light of faith enlighten and guide me so that I may succeed in loving you, since it is really through faith, according to St. Paul, that we "work and act out of love."

cf J.B. Bossuet, Elevations

YEAR B

Let us sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to our God (Ps 81:2)

Keeping holy the Lord’s day holds a special place in Sacred Scripture. We read in Deuteronomy: Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is the sabbath to the Lord, your God (5:12-14). To keep holy the sabbath means to separate it, distinguish it from the other days to devote it to God. Further on (ib. 15), the sacred text suggests how this is to be done: by remembering God’s great favors to his people, among which the passover holds first place, for it was their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Remembering this should lead them to thanksgiving and to a renewal of their promise of loyalty to God.

In the New Testament, the old passover is replaced by the new: Christ’s paschal mystery; the old sabbath, Saturday, yields place to Sunday, the blessed day of the resurrection. For the Christian the Lord’s day is meant to be a memorial of the pasch of Jesus, the mystery of love and salvation, the center and supreme act of worship. Abstaining from daily labor does not suffice to fulfill the precept of keeping this day holy; that is simply a preliminary step to free us from the bustle of everyday life so that we can engage more easily in dialogue with God, recall his love and favors, rekindle our desire and hope for eternal blessings, strengthen our soul by meditation on the divine word, and catch our breath again on the road to our heavenly homeland. When Sunday loses this religious meaning it is no longer the Lord’s day, but frequently becomes the day on which men give free rein to pleasure; or the feastday rest may be reduced to a petty formalism as had happened with the Jewish sabbath.

In thus renewing the old law, Jesus affirmed his authority in regard to the sabbath. When the disciples had gathered and husked corn on the sabbath to satisfy their hunger, Jesus defended them, saying: The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mk 2:27). Its purpose is especially man’s spiritual benefit, attained through a more intense relationship with God in acts of worship which are not only individual but communitarian; and also his material welfare by its procuring him justified repose and giving him time for works of charity on behalf of his neighbor. By declaring himself Lord of the sabbath (ib. 28), Jesus freed the sabbath from the narrow interpretations of the Pharisees; at the same time he admonished his disciples to use it with suitable freedom, but always in conformity with his teaching and example. In fact he did not hesitate on the sabbath itself to cure the man who had a withered hand (Mk 3:1). He did it in spite of the malevolent attitude of the Pharisees in order to demonstrate that not only is it lawful to do a good deed on the sabbath (ib. 4), but that good deeds for the relief of our suffering brethren should complete the sanctification of the Lord’s day.

We call upon you, Lord God. . . You desire to save all men and to make them know the truth. All together, we now offer you praise and hymns of thanksgiving to glorify you with all our hearts and voices. You deigned to call us, to teach and invite us, to grant us wisdom and understanding of truth, for eternal life. You have redeemed us with the precious and immaculate blood of your only Son, from all corruption and slavery. . . . We were dead and you have given us new life, body and soul, in the Spirit. We were dirty and you made us clean.

Therefore we beg you, Father of mercy, and God of every consolation: strengthen us in our vocation, in adoration and fidelity. We consecrate ourselves to your divine words and to your holy law. We desire to come closer to you today. Enlighten our souls so that we may know and serve you. We pray you to give us strength to achieve our holy purposes, and do not remember the sins which we have committed and continue to commit. . . . Remember, Lord, that we fall so easily: your creatures are weak by nature and in their resources: our ills are hidden. . . .

Help us to consider, to seek, and to contemplate the good things of heaven and not those of this world In this way, through the strength of your grace, glory will be given to your almighty power, so holy and worthy of all praise, in Christ Jesus, your beloved Son, with the Holy Spirit, world without end! Amen.

Sabbath Prayer from Early Christian Prayers, 94

YEAR C

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples (Ps 117:1)

After Solomon had built the temple in Jerusalem, he offered this prayer to God: Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, but comes from a far country for your name’s sake . . . when he comes and prays toward this house, hear (him) in heaven your dwelling-place . . . that all the peoples of the earth may know your name (1 Kings 8:41-43). It was a beautiful prayer, characterized by the prophetic spirit which saw in Yahweh not only the God of Israel, but the Lord of all peoples, to whom every man could turn to obtain grace.

There is an episode in the Gospel which could be considered a verification of this prayer. At Capharnaum a Roman centurion had heard people talking about the miracles performed by Jesus and would have liked to ask for the recovery of a very dear servant of his, but because he was a pagan he did not dare approach Jesus and so sent a message through some of his Jewish friends. These remarked to the Lord: He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue (Lk 7:4-5). Although a foreigner, the centurion was a friend of the Jews, and admired their religion—perhaps even practiced it—so much so that he had had a synagogue built at his expense; still he did not feel that this gave him the right to deal directly with the Master; rather, when Jesus was on the way to his house, the centurion sent him word: Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. . . . But say the word, and let my servant be healed (ib. 6-7). His humility was great, but his faith greater still, so that when Jesus heard this he marvelled at him. . . and said: ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’  (ib. 9). He answered this faith with a miracle performed from afar; and thus was heard the prayer of a foreigner who turned to the God of Israel made present in the person of Christ. The centurion’s goodness of heart, his anxiety over his sick servant, his humility, and his faith, prepared him for receiving the grace of the Savior more than many who belonged to the chosen people. Jesus is the universal Savior: his salvation is for every one, he makes no distinction between Jew or pagan; where he finds humility and faith he gives of himself, even from afar, even when he is still not well known, just as he had done with the centurion.

Moreover, for all mankind there is but one Savior, but one faith, and one gospel, and it is impossible to find salvation elsewhere. For this reason St. Paul warned against those who want to pervert the gospel of Christ and he did not hesitate to say: Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed (Gal 1:7,9). The apostle was not afraid that his intransigence in defense of the gospel might bring him enemies, but declared with courage: If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ! (ib. 10).

Eternal Savior, King of heaven, you alone are all-powerful and Lord, God of all creation, all-holy God of our holy fathers who lived before us, O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, full of pity and compassion, of goodness and forbearance. Every heart is laid bare before you, and the most secret of thoughts does not escape you. The souls of the just call upon you and put their trust in you. Father of the just, you hear those who pray to you with uprightness, you also hear silent appeals; your providence penetrates even to our deepest depths, your knowledge searches the will of each of us. From every corner of the earth the incense of prayer and petition rises up to you.

Early Christian Prayers, 174

O my Savior, after being called to your faith and to being your son through grace, do not permit me to lose this gift through my own fault, and be disinherited from your kingdom and thrown into the darkness outside your light and your friendship. . . . Oh grant that many may come to your faith . . . so that your kingdom may be peopled by a multitude of just souls! But Lord, do not permit the faithful who are already in your church to become estranged and be cast out from the kingdom to which you have called them.

L. De Ponte, Meditations III 30:3

207. PRAYER IN GENERAL

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. . . . For you I wait all the day long (Ps 25:1,5)

1. A Christian is by vocation one called to communion, to dialogue with God: a communion and a dialogue which are an exchange of life and of love, an outpouring of man’s heart into that of God; an intimate, silent prayer, yet a voice raised to heaven; a desire and a search for the Lord; a supplication, a sigh, a groan, a song of praise and thanksgiving, an entreaty for forgiveness. There can be nothing more personal, free, and spontaneous than prayer, which becomes progressively the habitual breath of Christian life, thus fulfilling the great admonition: we ought always to pray and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). Already in the psalms of the Old Testament we have some beautiful examples of this continual raising of the heart toward God: O God, you are my God, whom I seek. . . I think of you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night (Ps 63:1,6). But I call upon God. . . Evening, and morning, and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice (Ps 55:17). To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, my God, in you I trust (Ps 25:1-2). Jesus himself was accustomed to pray in phrases taken from the psalms which he habitually recited according to the Jewish custom; he did so even on the cross, adding his own personal stamp by his tender appeal to the Father: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Lk 23:46). Jesus repeatedly inculcated the necessity of continual prayer: Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down. . . with the cares of life; . . . watch at all times and pray (Lk 21:34,36). Will not God vindicate his elect who cry to him day and night? (Lk 18:7). St. Paul had deeply absorbed this teaching, and in his turn handed it down: Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. . . Keep alert with all perseverance (Eph 6:18). Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:16).

We must not be content to pray just in our own name; it must also be in the name of all creation. Since man was appointed (by God) as master of all earthly creatures that he might subdue them . . . to God’s glory (GS 12), we have the duty to take them into our prayer, so that the entire universe may become one hymn of praise to the Lord. Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord. . . . You heavens, sun and moon, rain and dew, fire and heat, frost and chill, nights and days, light and darkness, ice and snow, lightnings and clouds . . . bless the Lord (Dan 3:35-51).

Instead of looking upon creatures with an eye greedy for possession and an unrestrained desire of enjoying them selfishly, a Christian should receive them from God, and respect and reverence them as flowing constantly from the hand of God (GS 37). Then all creation becomes a precious help to prayer, both because it continually speaks to us of God and because it urges us to thank and bless and love the Giver of so many blessings. St. John of the Cross comments: This reflection on creatures, this observing that they are things made by the very hand of God, her Beloved, strongly awakens the soul to love him (Sp 4:3). A Christian respects creatures and uses them in the measure willed by God, and they reciprocate by revealing God’s presence and infinite goodness. It is the full realization of what St. Paul affirms: His invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made (Rom 1:20). The more we approach creatures with a pure heart and an eye enlightened by faith, the more we shall be able to understand their mute language, and transform it into prayer, becoming thereby the voice of every creature. Thus we perform our priestly function in respect to creation, directing every earthly reality toward the worship and praise of God, in a kind of universal liturgy through which creation begins to share in the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:21).

Grant, O Lord, that my heart may rise up to you and think constantly of my faults with sorrow and determination to correct myself. . .

Lord, give me a heart so watchful that no vain thought can distract it from you, a noble heart that no unworthy passion can seduce, an upright heart that no evil intention may contaminate, a sturdy heart that is not crushed by tribulation, a free heart that does not let itself be overcome by troubled passion.

Grant me, O Lord my God, an understanding that knows you, a love that seeks you, a wisdom that finds you, conversation that pleases you, perseverance that waits for you with confidence, and hope that will finally embrace you.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Prayers

Father in heaven, it is right to give you thanks and glory. You alone are God, living and true. Through all eternity you live in unapproachable light.

Source of life and goodness, you have created all things to fill your creatures with every blessing and to lead all men to the joyful vision of your light.

Countless hosts of angels stand before you to do your will, looking upon the glory of your face and singing your praises day and night. United with them, and become the voice of every creature, we too, exultingly sing: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest heaven.

Roman Missal, Preface Eucharistic Prayer IV

208. LITURGICAL PRAYER

O Lord, let my prayer be counted as incense before you (Ps 141:2)

1. Prayer, even most personal prayer, is always a communion with Christ and with his Church, for a Christian is always a member of Christ and of his Church; in this we are treating of prayer as an interior and intimate communion which takes place only between God and the soul. There is another kind of prayer in which this communion has also a dimension that is external, visible, and communitarian: this is liturgical prayer, through which the Church, united to Christ, her Head and her Bridegroom, offers God complete worship.

Man is not only spirit, but an incarnate spirit; therefore, for him prayer must involve not only his spiritual faculties: intellect and will, but also his affective powers: his heart and sensitive faculties, and even the imagination, the senses, and also external behavior. The whole man must pray. This is exactly what is accomplished in liturgical prayer, which is not only an interior worship, but also an exterior one, expressed in common prayer, in singing, gestures, and ceremonies. Although interior worship is essential, for without it external worship would be formality and phariseeism, we must, nonetheless, be careful not to downgrade the external, whose purpose is to manifest our interior devotion in a public and tangible way. This not only corresponds to our nature but also to that of the Church; since the Church is a visible society, it cannot be without an external social worship. The sacred liturgy expresses precisely the real nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet invisibly endowed with truth, eager to act, and yet devoted to contemplation (SC 2).

Liturgical prayer is thus at the summit of the other forms of prayer, because it epitomizes them all and involves all our faculties, and also because it expresses not just the prayer of a single believer, but that of the whole community of the faithful, that is, of the whole Church in which Christ is present as Head and leader in prayer.

2. From the very beginning of the Church, the faithful began to gather in fellowship to the breaking of bread and prayers . . . praising God (Acts 2:42,47). These were the first ecclesial meetings, of which Christ, present in the Eucharist, was the center. In fact, the sacred Liturgy, wholly founded upon the eucharistic Sacrifice and on the sacraments, is the perfect worship that Christ himself offers to the heavenly Father for his glory and for the salvation of men. Christ indeed always associates the Church with himself in the truly great work of giving perfect praise to God and making men holy. The Church is his dearly beloved bride who calls to her Lord, and through him offers worship to the eternal Father (SC 7). By participating in the sacred Liturgy, we officially participate in the worship rendered to God by the whole Christ, that is, by Christ united to his Church and hence to her members. Hence liturgical prayer has an intrinsic and objective value which is derived from the infinite value of Christ’s sacrifice and prayer; liturgical prayer is thus the main support of private prayer, by supplying for its deficiencies and nourishing it with the grace which comes from the presence and life-giving action of Christ. When we suffer from the poverty of our own personal prayer, it is a great comfort to take refuge in liturgical prayer, the great prayer of Christ and the Church. On the other hand, liturgical prayer itself, from the fact that the faithful participate in it, needs to be accompanied by their personal prayer. Though it is true that liturgical prayer has an intrinsic value, through which it always continues to be the prayer of Christ and of the Church, even if the individual participant is distracted, it is likewise true that its benefit to the individual is in direct proportion to his faith, his devotion, and his personal attention. Therefore, liturgical prayer and personal prayer are never opposed nor separated from one another, but are always joined in such a way that one compenetrates the other, each animating and completing the other.

My God, how discouraged I should be because of my weakness and nothingness, if I did not have Jesus Christ, my only Good, to praise, reverence and glorify you, as he does so perfectly. I entrust my weaknesses to him and I rejoice that he is all and I am nothing. . .

O Jesus, I possess everything in you. You are my Head, and I am really one of your members. You pray, adore, humble yourself, and give thanks, in me and for me, and I do the same in you, for the member is entirely one with the head. Your holy, magnanimous life absorbs mine, which is so vile and mean.

You are super-eminently my gratitude. I will take the chalice of salvation and offer with you a host of praise, a sacrifice that is pleasing and worthy of God and superabundant.

Bl. M. Theresa de Soubiran

O Jesus, I adore you as center of the Liturgy; it is you who give unity to this Liturgy, which I may define as the public and official worship of the Church. . .

Everything in the Mosaic worship prepares for the Christian Liturgy of which you, O Jesus, are the center and the life. You alone are the perfect hymn, since you are the true glory of the Father; no one can glorify the Father worthily but through you. "By him, with him, and in him, all honor and glory are given to you, O God the Father."

O Christ, you are the link between the liturgy of earth and the liturgy of heaven in which you more directly associate your elect. Your incarnation has come to unite in a living, substantial manner, humanity and all creation in a divine liturgy. A God gives praise to God: a praise, full and perfect, which reaches its highest pitch in the sacrifice of Calvary.

G.B. Chautard, Soul of the Apostolate V:3

209. THE SACRED LITURGY

O God, may I offer you spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to you through Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5)

1. The Liturgy is not limited to being the perfect worship rendered to God, in union with Christ her Head. It embraces, expresses, and prolongs the whole mystery of Christ the Redeemer in its fundamental aspects of glorification of the Father and of the salvation of men. Jesus, the one mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5), the one eternal Priest, accomplished his work in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God . . . principally through the paschal mystery of his blessed passion, resurrection from the dead and glorious ascension (SC 5). This took place once for all at a definite moment of history, but in order to prolong his work throughout the centuries for the benefit of all men, Christ continues his priestly office without interruption both in the glory of heaven where he always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25), and here on earth where he exercises it through his bride, the Church, whom he has made the depository of his Sacrifice and of his sacraments. The Sacrifice and sacraments constitute the essential contents of sacred Liturgy, through which the Church, intimately united to Christ and through him, both continues to offer God perfect worship, and to bring about man’s salvation. Just as a Christian must associate himself with the liturgical actions and prayers if he wants to share in this perfect worship, so, in order to nourish the life of grace in himself, he must have recourse to the Liturgy which opens up the source of grace to him through the sacraments. Even when the sacraments are administered most privately, as is the case with penance, they are always liturgical acts which link the faithful to the mystery of Christ, and apply to them the fruits of his redeeming work. Moreover, this insertion into the mystery of Christ always takes place within the Church and by means of the Church. Hence living the liturgical life means living the mystery of Christ as he desired to extend and express it in his Church.

2. Christ is always present in the various liturgical acts by his action within his Church and by her means. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass . . . especially under the eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments. . . . He is present with his word since it is he himself who speaks when holy Scripture is read in the Church. He is present finally when the Church prays and sings, for he promised ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20) (SC 7). Thus it clearly appears that the Liturgy simply expresses in a tangible way and effectively carries out the two great and inseparable dimensions of Christ’s priesthood: the glory of the Father and the redemption of the world. In fact, in the eucharistic Sacrifice he renews his own self-sacrifice for that purpose. Then, through the sacraments Christ sanctifies believers by inserting them into his paschal mystery in such a way that in baptism we die, are buried, and rise again with him (Rom 6:4); in penance we are absolved and purified by virtue of his passion, and in the Eucharist we are nourished by his Body and Blood, given for our salvation. And while the sacraments regenerate and sanctify us in Christ, by that very fact they make us capable of participating in the perfect worship that he offers to his Father. Rightly then—says the Council—the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of man is manifested . . . and effected . . . by signs perceptible to the senses; full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members (SC 7). By participating in liturgical acts we are associated with the double function of Christ’s priesthood: glorification of the Father and the sanctification of men. It follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can match its claim to efficacy (ib.).

Before leaving the earth O divine Savior, you instituted the Sacrifice of the new law to renew your immolation; this is the source from which everything comes. You also instituted the sacraments to communicate the fruits of your Sacrifice to the faithful. But you left to your Church the care of surrounding this Sacrifice and these sacraments with symbols, ceremonies, exhortations, prayers, so that thus she gives more honor to the mystery of the Redemption, makes it easier for the faithful to understand it, and helps them to profit more from it. . .

With the love of the spouse, which the Church has for you, with the mother’s solicitude that your heart has put in her for us, she has performed this double task. . . . This praise and prayer of the Church, by being united with that of the God-man, becomes divine, and the liturgy of the earth mingles with that of the heavenly choirs in the Heart of Jesus, to make an echo to that eternal praise which flows from the furnace of infinite love, which is the Holy Trinity. . .

To be united with the Church to your Sacrifice, O Jesus, even imperfectly, by thought and intention—to mingle my prayer with the unceasing prayer of your Church—how great a boon is this already! The heart thus wings its way more surely to God, borne along by your praise, adoration, thanksgiving, reparation and petition.

But help me, O Lord, never to lose sight of the fact that all the resources offered by the Liturgy are only means . . . to put to death the old man, so that you, O Jesus, may live and reign in his place. May the Mass and the prayers and official rites of the Church help me to share more fully in your interior life and in your virtues, so that I may mirror them the more to the faithful!

G.B. Chautard, Soul of the Apostolate V 3

210. I SHALL GO UP TO THE ALTAR OF GOD

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path (Ps 119:105)

1. The Sacred Liturgy reaches its climax in the eucharistic Sacrifice, the supreme act of worship in which is renewed the one sacrifice of the New Testament, namely the sacrifice of Christ, offering himself once and for all . . . as a spotless victim (LG 28). Rightly then is the Church careful to surround the Mass with prayers, ceremonies, and doctrinal instruction that will make the participation of the faithful truly conscious and active (SC 14). The first part is dominated by the Liturgy of the Word whose purpose is to instruct the people in the truths of faith, in the mysteries of the life of Christ, and especially in the paschal mystery which the holy Sacrifice will make living and present amid the faithful. In the celebration of Mass—the Council teaches—the proclamation of the death and resurrection of the Lord is inseparably joined to the response of the people who hear and to the very offering . . . [of] Christ (PO 4). Through the reading of scriptural passages and especially those of the Gospel, inserted in the Mass, Christ is present through his word which is the light of Christian life and the nourishment of faith; the devout and attentive listening of the faithful is almost immediately followed by the common recitation of the Creed as their response and adherence to the word of God. Then, in this climate of renewed faith, the eucharistic mystery is accomplished, through which Christ himself becomes substantially present under the species of bread and wine. In this way, at one same altar, the faithful are nourished by the word of God and the Body of Christ. The liturgy of the word and the eucharistic liturgy are so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of worship (SC 56). The first makes Christ present in his word, the second in the Eucharist. Both the one and the other are directed toward the worship of God who is glorified by the people’s profession of faith and by the oblation of his divine Son. When Mass is over, the light which has been received from the word of God will be the guide of our daily life, just as our reception of the Body of Christ will be our sustenance and our strength.

2. From the very beginning of Mass the faithful are invited to share in the sacred mysteries and in order to become less unworthy they are urged to acknowledge their faults. The priest finishes by saying: May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. This is both the most suitable preparation for the eucharistic celebration that is about to begin, and at the same time its anticipated gift, for when we proclaim the death of the Lord, you continue the work of our redemption (RM II Sun. in the year). At every Mass the fruits of Christ’s offering are applied to the faithful: the remission of sins and the gift of eternal life which begins here on earth with the life of grace. But above all the eucharistic Sacrifice is a giving of thanks, and therefore the celebrant hastens to intone a joyful hymn of praise and thanksgiving taken up by all the faithful: Glory to God in the highest. It is significant that the first reason for this praise is not the wonderful gifts with which God overwhelms us; it is the greatness, the very glory of God in which the Church finds her joy: We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. The glorification of God is the primary purpose of the Mass and will be carried out in the most perfect way possible when, after the Consecration, the faithful are able to offer the Eucharist to the Father: the Christ-Victim for his glory.

After listening to the word of God in the readings of the Mass and in the living voice of the priest, there follow the offering of gifts and the presentation of the materials for the sacrifice. These are precious moments of recollection for readying ourselves for sharing most intimately in the sacred act in which we are all called to exercise our holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5). This involves our accompanying the offering of bread and wine with the offering of our own lives, our works, prayers, sufferings, weariness, sacrifices and resolutions, so that Christ may take them into his own offering and offer them to the Father, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Rom 12:1).

O divine Spirit, divest my soul of all worldly affections, cleanse it of every stain, and set it aflame with holy fervor, so that it may be worthy to take part in the adorable Sacrifice which is being prepared upon the altar. To obtain this grace I repeat with that most devout king, David: O God, create a clean heart in me; O Lord, and a steadfast spirit sustain in me. Take not your holy Spirit from me.

O Lord, pour out the Holy Spirit upon me, that he may make me ready and worthy of being perfectly united with the adorable Victim who comes down from heaven. . .

In this eucharistic Sacrifice, O Jesus, you immolate yourself as our Head and you immolate us as your members; I abandon myself wholly into your hands in order to have the happy fortune of being one same victim with you. . . . But I need to be filled by your Spirit for the sacrifice of myself, which I intend to offer you, to be acceptable to the eternal Father.

Bl. Elena Guerra, II fuoco che Gesu porto sulla terra

O Jesus, grant that your sacrifice, the holy Sacrifice of the altar, may be the source and model of my sacrifice, for my life must also be a holy sacrifice. It certainly is a sacrifice, for life is all interwoven with mortification, detachment and suffering. . . . But that my sacrifice be holy, like yours on Calvary and in the Mass, it must be vivified, offered and consumed by love. O Jesus, give me a great love which will give value to my sacrifice and make it fruitful for the glory of the Father,