7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn

RUN, do not walk, to http://www.catholicity.com/. It is a wonderful resource for Catholic faith formation. They have some amazing CDs available for very low prices. One of those CDs is Vinny Flynn's "7 Secrets of the Eucharist." This is a talk based on his book of the same name from Ignatius Press.

I've listened to the CD, and it is tremendously moving. You can order it at CatholiCity for $1. Flynn does a great job of bringing the subject alive, to get us thinking about how we approach the Lord in Holy Communion, examining our complacency. I'm in the process of reading the book. Flynn is especially fond of quoting St. Faustina, such as where Jesus said to St. Faustina:

Oh, how painful it is to me that souls so seldom unite themselves to me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls and they are indifferent toward me. I love them tenderly and sincerely and they distrust me. I want to lavish my graces on them and they do not want to accept them. They treat me as a dead object, whereas my heart is full of love and mercy.

In the CD, Flynn asks us to imagine a non-Catholic coming to mass, seeing everyone get up at one point, form a line, and go up to the altar to receive what appears to be a wafer. As Flynn says, do we think that the non-Catholic observer would ever come to the conclusion, based on the demeanor of these people, that what they are receiving is alive? Quoting Pope John Paul II, Flynn says that we must re-awaken a "Eucharistic amazement." We treat the Eucharist as something commonplace, forgetting that it is truly extraordinary.

A passenger on US Air Flight 1549, the "Miracle on the Hudson," tells of reading 7 Secrets of the Eucharist while waiting for the flight to begin. His name is Fred Berretta, and the letter he wrote to Flynn is available at Catholic.net. He said that Flynn's book gave him great comfort as they were going down.

Get the CD. Get the book. I'll be writing more on these and some other CDs from Catholic City in upcoming posts.

Processing through Time and the Scriptures - John 4:31-38

I wanted to follow up on the 175th anniversary of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. I was praying using lectio divina or "divine reading," which I have recently taken up. Although I do it quite poorly, it is still of tremendous benefit to me. I was reading John 4:31-38:

Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has any one brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

So much is here. So many times in his gospel, John gives us insights into the depths of the mystery of the Eucharist as we contemplate food in the material and in the spiritual senses. Like the apostles, we are often stuck solely in the material, missing the spiritual and the communion of the material and the spiritual. (John Paul II and Christopher West are helping me to see more the communion of the material and the spiritual.) It helps me greatly to contemplate Jesus' words: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." I need to "lift up my eyes" from the strictly material. I need to make his will my will.

I like, too, the reference here to the harvest. It echoes Matthew: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). The talk about one sowing and one reaping points to the procession of time that orders like the Sisters of the Precious Blood partake in. Earlier sisters sowed; later sisters reaped, and so it will continue as long as the order continues. And they can do so because their food is Christ; their will is God's will. And by so doing, they are accomplishing his work.

Processing through Time-175th Anniversary of the Sisters of the Precious Blood

It is beneficial to consider how we can conduct a kind of procession through time. We see this as the Sisters of the Precious Blood (CPPS) celebrate their 175th anniversary. They describe themselves this way:

We are an apostolic congregation rooted in Eucharistic prayer and motivated by the great gift of the Precious Blood of Jesus poured out for all.

The foundress of the Sisters of the Precious Blood was Mother Maria Anna Brunner:

She was a married woman, a mother of six children, a widow, and, at age 68, the foundress of a congregation of women religious.

Maria Anna had a deep love for the Eucharist and a great heart for the poor.

She had a special devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus and spent many hours in prayer and reflection. Her daily work of caring for orphans and feeding the hungry was built upon her prayer life.

Maria Anna’s dedication attracted other women to join her. Soon this little group became the nucleus of what was to become, in 1834, the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

Mother Maria Anna Brunner died in 1836, but her work continues. Today, on three continents, Sisters of the Precious Blood build on her vision, living their mission of Eucharistic prayer, simplicity, outreach to the poor and reconciliation.

For 175 years, the Sisters of the Precious Blood have been building on Mother Maria Anna Brunner's vision, following Jesus in the Eucharist, especially in his Precious Blood, through the years, decades, even centuries, as they process through time with their eyes fixed on Jesus. Their adoration takes them to the poor, to bring Jesus to them.

Let us pray that God will richly bless the Sisters of the Precious Blood during this 175th anniversary year, bringing them many new vocations. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. has written about the connection between the Eucharist and vocations, which you can find here.

Everyone is Searching for You

Simon Peter to Jesus:

Everyone is searching for you

(Mark 1:37)

Jesus to everyone:

Here I AM

Processing with the Saints - St. Paul Miki and Companions

Today is the feast day of St. Paul Miki and Companions. Miki and twenty-three companions were martyred in 1597 in Nagasaki, Japan. The martyrs included Jesuits (Miki among them) and Franciscans, as well as laymen. Arrested in Osaka, they were taken to Kyoto, where they were condemned to death by crucifixion and the lobes of their ears were cut off (as a mark of shame). Then they were forced to march to Nagasaki on a month-long journey. Although bystanders mocked Miki and his companions, they preached to the crowds. When they reached Nagasaki, they saw the crosses upon which they would be crucified. They began singing the Te Deum, a hymn of thanksgiving that is said on Sundays outside of Lent, the octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on solemnities and feast days in the Liturgy of the Hours. They were crucified, and as he hung on the cross, Miki said:

The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.

If we think of Miki's march with his companions as a procession, we learn some important things. They took evil (the mocking of the crowd) and turned it into good (preaching to them). Having had their ear lobes cut off as a mark of shame, their martyrdom was a mark of glory (staying true to the Jesuit motto, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam [For the greater glory of God]). As they processed to their death, they understood that they were drawing ever nearer to a more abundant life.

Looking upon the instruments of their torture, they could sing a song of thankfulness to God. The Te Deum was particularly appropriate for these martyrs; some of the lines include:

• the white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee (Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus)
• Thou overcame the sting of death and hast opened to believers the Kingdom of Heaven (Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum)
• We beseech Thee, therefore, to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood (Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti)
• Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory (Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari)
• Every day we thank Thee (Per singulos dies benedicimus te)

The English word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, meaning "witness." In a procession, we witness to Christ and his life, death, and resurrection. We say by our witness that we have a share in that life, death, and resurrection. And we are saying to those who see us processing, "You can have a share in that life, death, and resurrection too!"

St. Paul Miki and Companions, pray for us that we will be witnesses for Christ, regardless of the cost, and that we will be thankful to God every day.

Processing through the Scriptures-Isaiah 52:7-10

I wanted to reflect further on the nature and value of Eucharistic processions by looking at selected passages from Scripture. These passages may not be specfically about processions or the Eucharistic, but I believe they can give us some important insights into Eucharistic processions.

My thanks to Christopher West for bringing to our attention Isaiah 52:7-10:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Consider how this passage can help us look at a Eucharistic procession. How beautiful are the feet of the priest who brings "good tidings" or "good news." As Fr. John Corapi is fond of saying, the Good News isn't some thing; the Good News is some one. The priest brings Christ, the Good News, through the streets and thereby announces "Your God reigns." The Lord is "bared" in the Eucharist "before the eyes of all" who "shall see the salvation of our God." Those in the procession "lift up their voice, together they sing for joy." The Eucharist adoration brings us closer to Christ and thereby brings life to the waste places of our souls, brings comfort to our sorrows, and brings redemption to our sinfulness.

Why Have a Eucharistic Procession?

Before we talk more about the mechanics of having a Eucharistic procession, let's back up for a moment and look at why have one in the first place.

Here are my top 6 reasons for having a Eucharistic procession:

1. It reminds us that the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life." This comes from Vatican II's Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), no. 11. Our lives as Christians flow from the grace provided by Christ in the Eucharist, and the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass is the highest expression of our Christian lives on earth because it prefigures the wedding banquet of the Lamb in heaven as described in the Book of Revelation.
2. It enhances our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy) gives four modes of Christ's presence: a) the priest acting in persona Christi, b) the Eucharist, c) Scripture, and d) the assembly of the faithful (no. 7). While Jesus is actually present in all these modes, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1374) reminds us that "The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique" because, quoting the Council of Trent, there "the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained."
3. It emphasizes that we are not simply a community of like-minded people, like the Rotary Club, but we are quite specifically a Eucharistic community. The Eucharist brings us closer as a parish, monastery, convent, religious organization, etc. As in a wheel, the Eucharist is the hub and we are spokes.
4. It promotes a Catholic culture. As Catholics, our faith should be on view in the world, not hidden under a bushel basket. Our faith has sacraments, sacramentals, liturgies, rituals, devotions, etc. which mark us, which consecrate us, which set us apart. The more distinct we are from everyday life, the more attractive Christ's message will be to others. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. In addition, a vibrant Catholic culture nourishes the spiritual life of Catholics and keeps them Catholic, because they see why they should be Catholic.
5. It evangelizes others. When people see a priest holding the monstrance containing the Eucharist followed by a stream of the faithful, those bystanders take notice. They know something different is happening. They may have no clue as to what that something is. They may be indifferent to it, or they may deride it. But for at least a moment they have seen it. And because the Eucharist is Christ, we also believe that his mere presence can in his good time change the lives of those who are unconscious of his presence.
6. It is an important means of praying for vocations. Without priests, there is no Eucharist.

To be sure, there are other reasons for holding a Eucharistic procession. But these will do for now.