Fr Peter's newsletter notes - June 2007

Corpus Christi Sunday - Sunday 10th June 2007

The Christian life is to live according to the Lord’s Day.

There is always something faintly odd listening to a priest berating his mass-going congregation over those who do not fulfil their Sunday obligation through a combination of torpor and indifference. It is an easy trap for anyone to fall into, to denounce the sins and lapses of others, and this is an activity certainly not restricted to the clergy! All this is far from Pope Benedict XVI’s thoughts when describing the Eucharist as ‘a mystery to be lived’. The final chapter of ‘Sacramentum Caritatis’, his recent publication, contains some beautiful passages about the Sunday obligation being seen in terms of conscience that itself becomes formed through participation at Mass. Everything authentically human finds its full expression in the offering of Christ and, through Him, the believer offers himself or herself to God. The obligation remains but the emphasis is more on the inner call of conscience, ‘do you want to go to Mass?

The sad fact is that the answer is a resounding no. It is an unfortunate answer for a Catholic to give and it is an answer all too often heard from those about to be married. The authentic human life modelled on Jesus Christ cannot be extracted from the practice of attending Sunday Mass, because grace is a gift from God, not a product of human wishful thinking.

The ancient description of the Christian life, as ‘living in accordance with the Lord’s Day’, says everything. There is something radical about the love expressed by Jesus through His self-offering. It cannot be restricted to the categories of fallen human nature. Consequently there exists a profound difference between the digestion of the food of everyday, which is turned into energy and fat, and the Eucharistic food which remains the same but which transforms the believer from within. As Jesus told his listeners, ‘anyone who eats this bread will live forever’ (John 6:51). The Eucharist makes Jesus Christ sacramentally present and with that His unique form of love in dedication, charity and service.

This transformation of the recipient of communion is a gradual process. No-one becomes holy overnight, but the participation at Sunday Mass does frame the week. The Church speaks of Sunday as possessing four interconnecting levels. First, it is the Day of the Lord signalling a day of rest just as God rested after all He had made; secondly, it is the Day of Christ, with regard to the new creation of Easter. Third, it is the Dies Ecclesiaie when communities gathered together to worship and, finally, it is the Dies Hominis, a day of joy, rest and friendship for humankind. Sunday contains the meaning to all of life because it brings the individual into contact with fellow believers as well as with the living God. An hour on a Sunday frames the week ahead, and gives greater direction and meaning over the tidal wave of instant demands, minor crises and conflicting views at home and at work. No-one is going to be attracted by the command to go to Mass each week, unless the voice of the Church and the distant echo of internal conscience have something on which to grasp, the joyful life of the Mass-attending Catholic.

The Anointing of the Sick (CCC 1514-1532)

The Church has always recognised the Anointing of the Sick as one of the seven sacraments. The final conversation of the risen Jesus to the disciples alludes to the anointing of the sick, and this was a practice of the earliest Church as testified by St James. The sacrament is given to those who are seriously ill or who are reaching an advanced age. The sacrament may be repeated, especially if the illness becomes more acute or if frailty becomes more pronounced.

The priest is the minister of the sacrament, and therefore he should be called by the family to give the anointing. Whether just the sick person is present, or a group of sick people together with the priest, or if family and friends are in attendance, the celebration of the sacrament is always a liturgical action that must follow a certain form. The normal form is to begin with the sacrament of penance, the anointing and finally the distribution of the Eucharist as viaticum, the sacrament of passing over to eternal life. If Confession is not possible then an act of repentance followed by the apostolic pardon opens the sick person to the blessing of Christ, which is called down by the priest during the prayer over the sick person.

The effect of the sacrament is to strengthen the sick person through the gift of the Holy Spirit to overcome the difficulties of illness and old age. It renews faith and trust in God, and guards against the temptation to discouragement and anguish. This is the healing of the soul, and might include the healing of the body should it be God’s will. The sacrament unites the sick person more closely with the Passion of Jesus Christ, and thus by participating in His saving work will benefit from His resurrection. In so doing the sanctification of the Church is aided. This is a silent witness that exists in every parish, which is unbeknown to most parishioners, but is a powerful force in the economy of prayer. Lastly the sacrament is a preparation for the last journey. It completes the believer’s conformity to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a process begun many years earlier at Baptism.