THE GREETING IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST
AFTER
VATICAN II[1]
When we attend different liturgical
celebrations, we are used to respond to greetings uttered by the celebrant. The
celebrant greets the congregation in a proper manner and the congregation
responds in an appropriate way as prescribed by rubrics. This greeting has its
proper place at the beginning of every celebration. The dialogue between the
celebrant and the congregation show the presence of Christ who calls people and
transform a group of individuals into an ecclesiastical assembly, a celebrating
community.
The traditional greeting is “The
Lord be with you”. There are other two options: “Peace be with you” (Pax vobis)
and “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first formula of
greeting (The Lord be with you) was already present in Eastern anaphora. It was
said at the beginning of the preface. The answer to these greeting is: “And
with you spirit” which alludes the Spirit received through the sacramental imposition
of the hands. It is said that it can be replaced when the third formula is
used. Let us look at the Pax vobis.
“Peace be with you” is normally the
greetings by bishops to the Christian congregation. Here also, we see the Risen
Lord’s[2]
peace bestowed or wished to the gathering assembly. We note how important our
world needs peace. This is the gift or the grace we can only ask and get from
God. This peace is what we expect to get after the celebration and go with it home
to serve. That is why some deacons dismiss by saying “Go in peace”. Yes, it is
God who bless for he is the blessed. This is reason of the third formula. It
takes root in Jewish prayer of berrakat (blessing).
Also in the Roman Missal, the greeting is preceded
by the sign of the cross. The celebrant pronounces it in the name of the
persons of the Trinity. People answer Amen. Martimort say it is a regrettable
alteration when the greeting is not the first word uttered by the assembly.
Some Episcopal conferences prefer to say the Amen themselves to allow people to
say the first word while responding to the greeting.
Still in the introduction of mass of
the day, the celebrant can prolong the greeting by giving brief remarks in
order to introduce the faithful in the mood of the celebration of the day. This
is not meant to give a homily or a detailed presentation of the saint of the
day but to help people who made that effort to come to celebrate so that they
may really make an authentic assembly. The Eucharist is the source and summit
of life. As a greeting is the opening for such wonderful happening, the
greeting is very important when we want to encounter Christ.
[1] The whole reflection I owe it to A.G. MARTIMORT, The
church at prayer, II, The Eucharist,pp194-195
Adoration
of the Holy Eucharist as done in Clerics Regular Minor Communities
Looking at the document of the Constitutions and Rules of the Clerics
Regular Minor[1],
one is impressed by the fact this Order puts Eucharist on the center of its
life.[2]This
particular number of the constitution put clearly what is to be the life of the
Cleric Regular Minor. It says that the founders “wished to place at the center
of the life of the new Order the Eucharist, as source and summit of
sanctification and apostolate”. The close continues saying that “this
centrality of the paschal Mystery of Christ (...) is expressed in a faithful
and worthy celebration of the liturgical actions, especially of Holy Mass, of
the liturgy of Hours, of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and through
Eucharistic Adoration and preaching the word of God”.
It is in the sacrifice of Christ is
celebrated that the Clerics Regular Minor renew their commitment to God, to the
church and their life dedicated for salvation of souls and for charity for the
less fortunate: the poor and sinner. Fetching strength from the Eucharist, they
are obliged and called to come back in a kind of circular way in front of Chris
in the Most Holy Sacrament.
Where brothers are enough, in front
of the Sacrament exposed, they rotate and every one spends at least 30 minutes
praying for the various needs of humanity and representing brothers who cannot
make it for apostolate or health reasons. Mental prayer is done helped by pious
readings. Adoration becomes now for them a source where they go from and come
to.
The
worship of the Eucharist outside or within mass is a special privilege to the
Clerics Regular Minor. This is also true of the whole people of God to whom
they all belong. No doubt, we are all in the Church and breast fed by the Word
and Eucharist. Yet, a particular attention or emphasis on a common element
brings new inspiration on the attitude of prayer and life.
Having
exposed the Holy Sacrament from around 3 pm, at 6.30 pm, they say Rosary as
provided in the document issued by John Paul II.[3]
Then, follows evening prayers and blessing by the Holy Eucharist in the
Monstrance.
To
conclude, this exercise is of importance for personal improvement. Also it
energises the brothers in their daily dedication for apostolate where they are
to carry Christ and no thing else and become a true sacrifice for their
brothers and sisters.
[1] Clerics Regular Minor is a religious Order founded by Adorno, Saint
Francis Caracciolo and Fabricius Caracciolo in the 16th century. It
was approved by Pope Sixtus V on 1rst July, 1588.
[3] Rosarium Virginis Mariae
EUCHARISTIC CULT
In the common understanding,
Eucharist is the bread and the wine blessed trough the anaphora. Yet, though
this is true, we note that the whole celebration of the liturgy called Mass is
referred to as Eucharistic celebration. This celebration does not end within
the church edifice just as one may think when the deacon dismisses people. We
witness the power which has the Eucharistic celebration in form of devotions. We
can name: Eucharistic congresses, adoration and procession. These constitute
elements of the Eucharistic cult. Ours is to look at what the relevance these
extra-mass celebrations. Do they value the same as the Eucharistic celebration?
We cannot discus that these elements bring high the life of the Church.
The Eucharistic congress is large
gathering of Christians (priests, lay and religious) in front of the real
presence of Christ: the Eucharist. The ceremonies are sponsored by the Church
and celebrated trough mass, adoration and many other forms of devotions. This
may take many days. They are either national or international. Such gatherings
help for the revival of the faith in all sectors of Christian life and the
confidence into the real presence of Christ. Adoration has a special place in
such gatherings.
The cult of adoration according to
Martimort (245) goes back to the very beginning of the Christian Church though
the expansion of this practice came to be more expressed in the Middle ages
when in interpreting the words of Jesus: “ This is my Body”, “ This is my blood”
came to be given attention to. The Eucharist has always enjoyed the profound
veneration either in the mass or outside it. We think of all the bodily
attitudes which are done while in front of the Most Holy Sacrament:
genuflection, prostration, etc. We can recall that in ancient time, the altar (even
now) was worthy of the reverence for it is there where the miracle of the
Eucharist take place. Thus, with evolution of the understanding of the
Eucharist, the sacrament of the invisible God gained more awareness. Without
overlooking the Trinitarian prayer, in adoration people feel themselves more in
the presence of our Brother who understands us in his humanity. We contemplate
the face of the Redeemer and feel more in intimacy with him. The lord is nearer
to us. Christ is the triumphant Lord who leads us into procession to the
Father.
One of the, major event where the
Eucharist is venerated (adored), is the Feast of “Corpus Christi”. In splendid
procession, Christ is held and if possible procession is done in the city or
village with different stations for Adoration. In the monstrance, Christ
blesses those whom he meets of his way. This devotion outside mass adds more to
the meaning of Mass which is the Eucharist itself and brings faithful to really
understand how Christ is present among them.
To end, we can say that despite the
origins of the worship of Eucharist outside mass which took place during the
period when mass was losing its meaning, this devotion allows people to keep the
awareness of how there is no other element in our faith greater than the Body
and blood of our Lord himself. The Eucharistic cult is in the prolongation of
the Holy Mass.
IRAGUHA
HATANGIMBABAZI PATRICK
****
EUCHARIST: SACRAMENT OF
UNITY
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The
Eucharist is the real presence of Christ. Its celebration is done in unity and ordered
for that same unity by those who share the same Body of Christ in the Holy
Communion. Communion is the mark of Christian assembly. Around the bishop of
that particular church, the Eucharist finds its expression of that union in
Christ (L.G. 23). In it is reality the Trinity who calls us together around the
table of the word and the table of the Eucharist (Cf. Ronzani, 7). The end of
the Eucharistic celebration is therefore the unity, peace and harmony towards
our brethren calling us for charity.
Christians
celebrating in unity show forth in clear way the presence of Christ. His
presence is made clearly visible in such gathering of his will as it is said in
the gospel according to Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are come together in my name,
there am I among them”. Really, Christ is present in the community celebrating.
Despite differences of sex, age, color and social status, all
the people of God are gathered to celebrate in unity the same mystery of their
salvation. This is a miracle that occurs on every Eucharistic celebration (Cf. Ronzani,
7). Trough out the mass, the call for
unity comes more and more often. Just from the beginning of the mass we are
reminded that our unity is to be anchored in that of the Trinity. God gathers
us. He makes us share one meal, the Body of Christ. This calls us to remain in union
with Christ who is our very life and model.
Celebration
makes us grow in unity with Christ. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me,
and I in him”(John 6:56). With these words, we see the condition of being in
Christ. Sacraments symbolize our life in Christ. In fact, the Word in the
church summons to the encounter with Christ in the Eucharist (Hahn, 54). In the
breaking of the break we are opened to his knowledge (Luke 24:30). In this account
of Emmaus, the Eucharist moves one to go and share the experience of the Risen
Lord.
The way we live and regard our
fellow brethren is a clear sign that we have known the Lord and a challenge for
Charity and Unity which we never cease to ask for a confirmation during Consecration
(Eucharistic Prayer III). If Eucharist calls the awareness of the faithful who
receive communion, divisions in our world would be of no-event.
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