Letter from the Pastor
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March 5, 2023It is the shortest and most common response that we say at Mass. It is the most important in many ways. It is an act of faith, which expresses what and Who I believe. The simple yet meaningful word: AMEN.
Our Lord used the word often to emphasize His teaching. It appears 129 times in the New Testament. It comes from the Hebrew language, it generally means "verily", "truly", "it is true", and "let it be so.” The word was commonly used as a response to a blessing; also as an affirmation or acceptance of what is being said, “I agree.”
It appears very early in the Christian liturgy as well. It is solemnly proclaimed after the Eucharistic Prayer when the Holy Spirit is invoked over the bread and wine, which is then consecrated and becomes the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. In the great prayer we also remember both the living and the dead, we pray for our leaders and join with the angels and saints and acclaim God as holy, holy, holy.
The Eucharistic Prayer is the heart of the Mass. If you are not present for this prayer, you haven’t attended Mass. I say this because sometimes I see people leaving at this part of the Mass to go to the restrooms. Unless it is an absolute emergency, do not leave the Church. In fact, one should go to the restrooms before or after, not during the Mass. (That’s another topic for another time!)
In this Prayer, the priest acts in the person of Christ and prays to the Heavenly Father. It is worship offered to the Father by Christ as it was at the moment of His passion, death and resurrection. All the people at the Mass pray along with Christ and the priest. The entire Body of Christ prays the prayers. Then the Great Amen is prayed after the Eucharistic Prayer. At Mass we do not offer just Christ, we also offer our lives, our concerns, our needs and our individual efforts to grow more Christ-like we offer ourselves.
Another moment of great faith in the Mass is when we receive Holy Communion. It is the moment when we are presented the very Body and Blood of Christ; the priest says to us, “the Body of Christ”, the only proper response, in fact the only response that is acceptable is AMEN. Fr. Clarke and I have been noticing lately some people are saying “thank you” when they receive Holy Communion. Saying “thank you”, which is very polite; is not warranted at that moment, it is to be an act of faith, not manners. No other response is appropriate at that moment, not “thank you,” “My Lord and my God,” “I believe,” or any other variations. Simply say Amen.
Our “thank you” to God is the prayers of thanksgiving we offer Him when we return to our place in the pews. Our Lord is within our bodies and souls at that moment. It is the closest we will ever get to Christ this side of Heaven. It is a graced moment, a loving union of two. Your prayers are most powerful at that moment for you are in com-union with your Lord and God.
Receiving Holy Communion is such a sacred moment, we need to be free from grave or mortal sin. (Remember what constitutes a mortal sin? A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is seriously wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway. Mortal sins are “premeditated” by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.)
If we receive Holy Communion in the state of grave or mortal sin, we commit another grave sin known as “sacrilege”. Sacrilege is a misuse, violation, or injurious treatment of a sacred person or object.
So if one misses Mass simply because you don’t want to go, without a valid excuse (illness, impossibility, travelling, dependent on someone to bring you to Church, etc.), one needs to go to confession before they receive Holy Communion worthily.
Our Lord has entrusted Himself to us in the Eucharist, we need to take precious care of such a sacred and precious gift. Confessions are held on Friday evenings from 6:30-7:00PM and on Saturday mornings, 9:30-10:00AM and again 11:00-11:45AM.
Go to Confession this Lent!
