In his article, Fr. De la Costa presented the HOLY MASS as a SACRIFICE, a REMEMBRANCE, and a SACRAMENT. He said: As a SACRIFICE, “we offer God all that we are and do.” …”God then transmutes our sorry and bedraggled gift into the perfect Gift who is Christ Himself. Our offering remains our offering: what Our blessed Lord does is to make it acceptable by making it his own.” As a REMEMBRANCE, “we remember Christ who redeemed us on the Cross….It does not merely bring to mind a past event; it brings us into the very presence of that Event; of the Person who is the heart of that Event.”… It brings us to Christ, who “is no mere historical memory, no purely ideal being, but a living and undying person.” As a SACRAMENT, “it is the sign of Christ, and it contains the Christ whom it signifies….He is present under the appearances of bread….Bread has one purpose, to be eaten; and by being eaten to give life. But this sacramental bread is not like other bread. It does not pass into the substance of him who eats it; rather, he who eats of this bread becomes united to, one body with, him whom it signifies and is.”
Reflecting on these statements of Father de la Costa I more and more believe that the Mass is a very special event simply because God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, becomes present in a very mystical way. The Mass then is an opportunity to really encounter GOD, the all-powerful Supreme Being in this world.
I have been taught and have also taught others that the Holy Mass has two (2) main parts - the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. As I actually participate in daily Mass I experience that Part 1 is a preparation for the Special Actual Encounter with Christ, the Son of God.
Briefly, Part 1 gives one the opportunity to acknowledge his sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. Then, he is inspired to listen to God from scriptural writers in the Old and New Testaments. Later, he listens to Christ Himself in the Gospel and the homily by the Presider which follows. Finally, he renews his Act of Faith in the Blessed Trinity. Petitions from the faithful are then lifted up together with the Offering of one’s self to God.
Part 2 brings one the joy that only God can impart as, united with the Angels and Saints, he welcomes Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who becomes really present, under the appearances of Bread and Wine, when the Priest Celebrant pronounces the Words of Consecration: “This is My Body…This is the cup of My Blood”.
GOD, then, in the Person of Christ, is PRESENT in a very special way at the Altar. It is with the eyes of Faith that we can see this GREAT MYSTERY actually happening in our very midst. It is with the eyes of Faith that we can say together with the apostle, St. Thomas: “MY LORD AND MY GOD”.
The HOLY MASS or EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION is, therefore, a VERY SPECIAL ENCOUNTER with GOD IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.
by: Salvador 'Buddy' Cagurangan
June 19, 2011
June 19, 2011
