Wonder at the Offertory, here's Farrer:
THE alms for which your generosity is asked are nothing exterior to the sacrament, but a part of it. If you were living in the days of the ancient church, you would be bringing not money, but cakes of bread and flasks of wine. All would be placed upon the altar; part would be consecrated for the eucharist, the remainder would be given to the sick and poor. Now you bring money. But your money is still presented along with the bread and wine, and it still means the same thing. The offering is your offering; it is you yourselves who are laid on the altar to be consecrated, and to be made the body of Christ. Your gift is a token of yourself. I break the bread for the death of Christ, and we are all sacrificed to God in Christ's death, dying in him to our own will, and receiving Christ our true life in communion.
...it is you yourselves who are laid on the altar to be consecrated, and to be made the body of Christ. Reflect on that, dear readers, all three of you, as you approach the altar with altar with joy and gladness, to say nothing of fear and trembling before the living presence of God.
If you think, in your vain, worldly conceit that you can somehow ignore this and come out smiling like a gilded loon at the other end you are sadly mistaken. I'll put it another way. God will not be mocked, not least by the risible Rainbow Cult which is a mockery in itself. Homily over and mind how you go.
LSP
6 comments:
But what is the altar and the gifts? Is it the consecrated stone of a consecrated church, and the gifts money or other things? Or is it the love and care one gives to a bedbound spouse?
That's the question. What if the church is a false church, but the parishioner is fully with God?
And what happens to the prelate when the altar donations are used inappropriately?
Questions, and, in the post-excommunication of Vigano, can the Catholic Church claim to be the one true church and thus accept altar gifts?
The Holy Roman Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ. No mere man, including the Pope, can change that.
The Romans have a saying that 'Popes come and go'. You can see the future of the Church at any Vetus Ordo Holy Mass, with young families and lots of children. Or, closer to home here in God's Country, the priests that have been ordained in the last 15-20 years are a much more traditional lot. No impromptu Eucharistic Prayers or Puppet masses or felt banners with the kumbaya 1960's music.
Long after the current occupant of Peter's Chair is gone along with the Spirit of Vatican II crowd, the Church will be motoring along.
Good questions, Beans!
What is the Altar? It is, absolutely speaking, the Cross, on which the perfect oblation was offered and which obtains to eternity. Our altars, where the Word of God is taught and the Sacraments administered, are one with that along with the offerings presented on them. Bread and wine - our work and leisure, our life, and the money which represents that.
Of course a sacrifice made in arrogant pride contradicts that, it's a blasphemy, whereas love and care for a housebound wife is the reverse. As we're told, God desires a humble and contrite heart, that he will not despise, as opposed to "sacrifice," the smoke of bullocks and all of that. But what if a Church, with all her altars and offerings is a false church? What if it's a "conventicle of satan"?
Good question. Surely sacramental grace isn't or is hardly present in such a beast, though innocent individual members still benefit, and sometimes tremendously, from simple faith. I'm thinking of protestant sects which deny the Altar, sacramentally, but whose members genuinely love the Lord.
I'd say such Christians get into heaven far sooner than hypocritical, pharisaical, traitorous, evil prelates who go through the outward form but are, in reality, whitewashed sepulchers.
Now, is the Catholic Church the OTC? It is, as founded by Christ on the rock of Petrine faith, but I'd argue its spread isn't limited to the Eternal City. Of course RC trads might want to fight me on that!
Forgive the ramble.
PS. Let's not fall into Donatism... bad heresy.
"The Holy Roman Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ. No mere man, including the Pope, can change that."
Well said, DOS, but is the Church exclusively Roman? Yes and no - remember, the Eastern Churches have sacramental dignity, no small thing. And, let's be honest, they're clearly catholic and so part of what Chesterton called "The Thing."
Then there's, ahem, Anglicanism.
Which is a muddied, sadly failing, gentleman's agreement to be catholic. And is was so close to sacramental communion with the Holy See! But then what'd we do, ordain wymxn.
Kyrie Eleison.
I won't bang on.
Ah, Donatism. What is donated in good faith is what matters. A poor person giving 1% willingly with no motive other than to do God's Work is much more important than some rich jerk who thinks of buying ones way into Heaven.
Heck, a poor person doing good work matters far more than cash.
Sigh.
I hope Mother Church survives. I do see that there is a conservative pushback here in America and in some other locations, pushing back against the socialist/marxist church from the 60's.
Double sigh.
Triple sigh.
I do think excommunicating Vigano was a bridge too far. The pushback hopefully will be epic.
Very good points LSP. No offense intended.
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