Responses at Mass

Here was the Question:

I attended mass at Our Lady of the Rosary, in Union City. The parishioners we told we no longer say "and also with you" when the Father says "Peace be with you". What is the new phrase that we are to say?

Here is my answer:

The Bishops have been debating the translation of the Mass into English for some time now. There are many changes that have been proposed, but none have been approved yet.

So now when the Priest says, "The Lord be with you." our response is still, "And also with you."

It may change in the future, but it has not changed yet.

On a side note, it is not permissable for a priest to use the greeting "Peace be with you" in the liturgy. That greeting is reserved to the Bishop.

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Son of Man

Here is the Question:
In scripture I noticed that our lord refers to himself as the "Son of Man". Why?

Here is an answer:
Ok David, you win the prize for asking the most complicated question. The title “Son of Man” has been a source of great discussion and controversy over the centuries. My answer is not going to do justice to that discussion. Some have even used the designation to teach that Jesus was only human and not divine.

For a Catholic it can have several meanings. I think chief among these for me is that Jesus is the one who reveals to us what it truly means to be human, and that he is the one sent by God, the one who is to come.

“Son of Man” occurs in the New American Bible about 188 times. The most significant reference from the Old Testament is the passage from the Prophet Daniel.

Daniel 7:13-14
As the visions during the night continued,
I saw One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

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Adult Faith Formation

Here was the question:

What is the title of the book for the Adult Formation Class on Tuesdays (night). The ISBN number would help me locate it on the internet.

Here is the Answer:

You can purchase the book here.

The Schedule for Adult Faith Formation can be found here.

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Mary

Here is the question:

Did Mary have the right to say no to bearing Jesus? If she did have the right to say no, why would she have been born without sin? It seems that she was predestined to bear Jesus. If God knows everything that will happen to us are we not just predestined "puppets" (sorry lack of a better word)?

Here is my answer:

Each of us is destined for eternal glory. In order to rightly choose Heaven, we are dependant solely on Grace. Mary is the first disciple, and yes she was chosen by God for her role in salvation as each of us are. We believe that she was free. Grace is that divine relationship each of us who believe have with God. Sanctifying grace is God's divine life dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and prompts us to respond to God in love. But often we ignore God and fall into sin. For this, Jesus gave us the Sacrament of reconciliation. Mary was chosen by God, and by his grace alone was kept from sin. And she responded perfectly to that grace. Thus she is for us the model for what it means to be a follower of Jesus, his disciple. She is the one who listens to God's word and responds. That is what we want to do as well.

For more on Mary in the Catchism, you will find much to reflect on here.

I have a published paper on Mary and it can be found here.

An article I wrote on Mary, Woman of the New Covenant is found here.

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The Holy Eucharist

Here is the Question:

My question is regarding the Eucharist. I know that "Eucharist" means thanksgiving, and I also know that Jesus Christ after consecration is truely present body, soul and divinity in the form of bread.Question is: Why, do we refer to Jesus who has become bread for us after consecration as Eucharist? I know that we could call him by name, Jesus, but why would we want to refer to him by any other name that does not identify him as alive or real. Eucharist seems to be referring to him as an object instead of a person. Please explain.

Here is my answer:

First, you are correct in not treating the Eucharist as simply an object. Secondly, you are following some good insights in seeking to have a personal encounter with him in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist.

The Eucharist is both alive and real, and it is the church that teaches it is real presence. But this is more than a simple encounter with our neighbor. The Eucharist is also an action whereby Jesus gives himself, once for all time, as a living sacrifice to the Father. And we also. in him, give ourselves to the Father. The Eucharist is the whole paschal mystery, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, present to us in sacramental form.

For more on what this sacrament is called, please read this section of the Catechism here.

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Revelation and Purgatory

Carl had Three Questions:

#1. Why does there appear to be such a taboo against the book of Revelations? I noticed that it is never a part of the readings, nor is it ever mentioned. This leads me to my second question.

According to my Lectionary (the book of Readings for the Mass) the book of Revelation is part of the weekday readings during weeks 33 and 34 of Year II. We are currently in week 31 of Year I so we will not hear them during the weekdays this year, but we will hear them for two weeks around this time next year. This year the selections will come from the Book of Maccabees and the Book of the Prophet Daniel. The second Reading from the Chrism Mass is from Revelation. The Second Reading on Sundays during the Easter Season (Cycle C) are from the book of Revelation. We are currently in Cycle and a getting ready to start Cycle B, so those reading will not be next Easter, but will be read for seven weeks the year after next. The book of Revelation is read on the Feast of All Saints, and is one of the possible selections in the Rite of Funerals and in the Rite of Marriage.

Normally I preach on the Gospel Text, rather than on the first or second reading. If I see the Book of Revelation coming up, I may feel inclined to focus on it after your question. I have a series of six videos on the Book of Revelation. If you want to get a bunch of your friends together a watch them with me over a series of weeks, I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

#2. How literally should we take revelations? It says for instance in Revelations that on the Rapture, birds will fly from the sky and attack. Are we to take this as a literal statement, or as a symbolic statement? After all, how is a man from ancient times supposed to describe say an airplane, or other flying machine?

The Book of Revelation is a book of signs. Apocalyptic Literature was a kind of literature very popular in the Roman period. It was device used in a time of persecution to transmit writings without them being understood by the enemy if discovered.

For example it says in Revelations, Chapter five: (Rev 5:6) Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.

You know as well as I do that Lambs do not normally sit on thrones, especially dead ones, so we are dealing with a sign of contradiction. Seven is an ancient Hebrew number signifying completeness, or sometimes even being the number for God. So we are not to picture a lamb with seven horns or seven eyes, but a lamb with complete power that can see everything and everyone. This slain lamb, seated on the throne, all powerful, is Jesus, who once was dead but now is Risen and living and ruling.

The book of Revelation does not predict the future; it describes the present and provides catechesis and comfort in a time of great persecution.

It is the images from the book of Revelation that form an important part of the Mass. Did you know that the whole mass is from the scriptures and is based on the scriptures and that much of the words of the Mass come from the Scriptures? The Lamb of the book of Revelation is the same Lamb of God we sing of each time we break the bread. There is an image of this Lamb on the front of our altar. It is an embroidered Lamb seated on the Book with its seven seals.

By the Way, the word “Rapture” does not occur in the Book of Revelation or in the rest of the Scripture. It is not part of Catholic belief and basically displays and inaccurate interpretation of some of these signs from the book of Revelation.

#3. My last question deals with Purgatory. From the research that I have done, the Catholic Church appears to have made this concept up around the time when they made people pay money for their sins (during the medieval era). Are we to believe in Purgatory? Doesn't Purgatory contradict the idea that Christ will judge the good and the bad, thus not allowing for anybody in this "gray zone"?

Here is what the Catechism says on Purgatory, stating at Paragraph 1030

It appears that you have done some of your “research” in Fundamentalist Literature. It is classic Protestant device to claim that we made up some of what we believe. Certainly the Catechism mentions the Medieval Councils that took up the discussion of Purgatory, but there is a great deal of evidence in the early centuries that Catholics took belief in Purgatory for granted. In the fourth Century St. Monica was recorded to have asked her son, St. Augustine, to offer masses for her after her death. In The catacombs the inscriptions on the tombs remind other Christians to pray for the dead, and certainly the idea of praying for the dead is found in the scriptures.

When you go to the site where the Church’s teaching on Purgatory is, be sure to click on the footnotes to discover the sources, like St Gregory (9th century) and St. John Chrysostom (4th century), and the Scriptures, Corinthians and Maccabees. It is knowledge of these sources that reach into the earliest days of the Church that will show that the Church has been pretty consistent in its teaching and did not make up a bunch of stuff in the medieval period.

We have Adult Faith Formation every Tuesday Night and you would always be welcome to attend, to learn and to ask any questions. Here is a link to the class schedule.

Let me know if you have any questions about what I wrote here.