Last night I was invited to give a talk entitled THE FOURTH CUP as part of the Lenten series hosted by Fr. Andre and the St. Francis Parish in Yona.
THE FOURTH CUP is a very profound and illuminating talk given several years ago by Dr. Scott Hahn on the sacrificial foundation of the Eucharist.
My talk was a summary of Dr. Hahn's with the aim to encourage listeners to explore Hahn's original talk which you can find on YouTube here or order the full version from St. Joseph Communications/Augustine Institute here.
Dr. Hahn's "call to action" with this talk is to investigate, appreciate and restore the sacrificial foundations of the Holy Eucharist as a means to true renewal.
I also shared some statistics which demonstrate the need for such a rediscovery and renewal.
Collapse of the number of priests and especially the number of religious sisters as well as a severe decline in baptisms.
A Gallup poll showing that only 30% of Catholics "believe they are actually receiving the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance of brad and wine."
I noted to the audience that we don't need polls to show that there has been a long exodus from our pews. And that we cannot blame "the world" for this, and that through Jesus Christ, His Church, and His Sacraments, have everything we need to bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth if we discover RIGHT WORSHIP.
One excellent and highly readable book on this subject is Brant Pitre's "Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist". Dr. Brant Pitre is a professor of Sacred Scripture at Notre Dame Seminary, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He does a great job in linking the Jewish Passover sacrifice to Jesus's actions at the Last Supper.
ReplyDeleteVery timely presentation Tim, perfect reminder to what we will be encountering in this season of lent.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent resource: If the single theme found in Sacred Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is "Jesus Christ". We should also be able to find the Holy Eucharist pre-figured throughout Sacred Scripture and culminating with the heavenly liturgy. Dr. Brant Pietre in his presentation "Lectio Eucharist" demonstrates the rich typology / prefiguration of the Holy Eucharist throughout sacred scripture and fulfillment in Christ in the NT account, and what the church is currently celebrating in relation to what St. John's vision of the heavenly liturgy entails. Truly a heaven on earth experience each time we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We gave this presentation to some CCD teachers last June, and had very good response, we are hoping to offer this presentation again soon. I agree with Tim, that the answer to many of our troubles lies in a deeper understanding of what it is we are celebrating at each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Catholics who deny the Real Presence are heretics of the worst kind. It is the foundation of our Faith. Bishops and priests who refuse to honor and defend the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist are worthless and they should be laicized. Adoration is very important in our parish. It continues to bring us many honorable vocations to the priesthood and cloister.
ReplyDeleteEven as a Catholic grammar school child who wasn't religious, I was always attracted to Benediction after the 10:30 Sunday Mass and to Adoration whenever that was scheduled.
Our very formal First Communion in 3rd grade caused as much commotion as a royal wedding, but we enjoyed every moment of it. I wore an insanely expensive, custom-designed dress and carried a sterling silver and mother-of-pearl rosary blessed by Pope Pius XII at a private audience with a family friend. She was also my Confirmation sponsor years later.
No one was traumatized by First Confession or by the required Fr. Stedman Latin-English missals in our uniform sweater pockets. A black and red one for Ordinary Time, a black and purple one for Lent. They made us feel grown up and like members of the parish. I still have my ancient paperback missals around here somewhere. They cost $0.50 new, but originals in good condition are selling for $25.00+ now. I won't sell mine. Too many happy memories are attached to them and they were probably blessed by our Pastor.
Your writing seems to show you're angry about the situation of the Church today. Have your children or other family left the faith? How do we get this message to them? Like Tim says, we can't rely on the priests or someone else.
DeleteMy whole hyperintellectual family left the Church. Since an archbishop-cousin died several years ago, I'm the only Catholic left. The rest of them are unchurched, atheists, agnostics, liberal Episcopalians, etc. No hope of getting them back.
DeleteThe fruit of Vatican 2. I too watched my very solid Catholic family (the one I grew up in), fall apart in the aftermath.
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