Probably all of us have had the experience of finding ourselves halfway through a meal and realizing that we hadn’t been paying attention what we were eating: how it tasted, how it went down, or even necessarily what it was. Sometimes even with things I gave up for Lent, like my favorite tea, I can easily gulp down without really attending to how good it is. For some reason that usually doesn’t happen if I go out to eat. Maybe it’s partly because at a restaurant people often ask each other “How’s your dinner?” Even if they don’t, hopefully the server comes by and asks how everything is.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples that the one seated at table is greater than the one who serves, adding, “I am among you as the one who serves.” Our Lord is still among us, even now, as one who serves—and we seated in church have come for what today’s Gospel, the Gospel of the two disciples on the Emmaus road, reminds us is a two-course meal, a meal served literally from two tables.
In the Gospel reading there’s only one literal table. Jesus is with the two disciples at table when he takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks it, and gives it to them. That table is…the altar at Mass. The bread we break and eat from the altar is the bread that Jesus broke with his disciples, the bread of life that is his own body; and, just as they recognized him in the breaking of the bread, we recognize our Lord at Mass.
But there’s another table in the church, corresponding to the disciples’ journey with Jesus as he interpreted Moses, the prophets, and all the Hebrew scriptures for them, showing how the sacred words written centuries earlier pointed forward to the Messiah.
Many of us have wished that St. Luke had given us some examples of the passages Jesus cited and how he interpreted them! But then, much of what Jesus said we probably already know from the many examples of how the Hebrew scriptures, the Old Testament, is interpreted in the books of the New Testament . Take today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, also by St. Luke, from the very first Christian sermon, preached by St. Peter on Pentecost. Peter quotes the following from Psalm 16, a psalm of King David (not coincidentally, today’s Responsorial Psalm):
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
Perhaps these words were originally inspired by a particular crisis that King David was confident God would get him through. Perhaps the original thought was “God isn’t going to let me die here.” But Peter’s hearers knew about God’s promises to King David, and his offspring—promises that would come to final fulfillment in the Messiah.
For instance, God tells King David through the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 7, “You’re not going to build me a house…your offspring will build me a house, and I will establish his kingdom forever.” He’s talking about David’s son, King Solomon, who built the original Temple in Jerusalem. But then God says, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” Now, he’s still talking about Solomon; all the Davidic kings were metaphorically called “sons of God.” But then we start asking questions like, “Was Solomon’s kingdom established forever?” It seems not! The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple and took the Judeans into exile. So God’s people realized that the divine promises to David and Solomon awaited a deeper fulfillment to come. There would be another son of David—a greater son of David; a greater Son of God—whose kingdom truly would last forever.
This is how St. Peter, in the first reading from Acts, interprets Psalm 16. David wrote that God would not abandon his soul to the netherworld or allow his “holy one” to undergo corruption. Is the meaning of these divinely inspired words exhausted by whatever crisis David was going through at the moment? Peter says no. The divine promises made to David and Solomon were true enough for them, but more deeply, ultimately true of the “holy one,” Jesus the Christ.
This is how the Hebrew scriptures are interpreted throughout the Gospels, St. Paul, and the rest of the New Testament. In fact, this is how Jesus does it debating with the Pharisees in Matthew 22: “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” the Pharisees answer—and Jesus responds by quoting David writing in Psalm 110: “The Lord [God] said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies beneath your feet.’” Why, Jesus asks, would King David call his own son “my lord”? The Pharisees had no answer for that. They didn’t understand that the ultimate son of David would be God’s Son in a way much greater than King Solomon.
This is the kind of interpretation that we can be pretty confident Jesus shared with the two disciples on the Emmaus road. This is the way the Old Testament readings are meant to be understood in Mass as they are proclaimed from the table of the Word of God—the ambo or pulpit. These are the two tables of the Mass: the table of the word of God and the table of the body and blood of Christ. Our meal’s first course is sacred scripture, God’s holy Word; the second course is our Lord himself, body and blood, humanity and divinity. Two courses, two tables, but one meal, one liturgy. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal says,
The Mass is made up, as it were, of two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. These, however, are so closely interconnected that they form but one single act of worship. For in the Mass the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s Body is prepared, from which the faithful may be instructed and refreshed.
Do we ever find ourselves halfway through this meal realizing that we haven’t paid attention to what our Lord has set before us for our instruction and refreshment? When we hear the acclamation “The Word of the Lord” and reply, “Thanks be to God,” are we clear in that moment what it is that we’re thankful for? Are we too often late for Mass, perhaps after the readings have begun? Do we follow the verses of the Responsorial Psalm or just wait for the refrain? “Lord, you will show us the path of life,” we sang. Do we want to follow that path? In the liturgies of the Eastern Churches the readings may be accompanied by an exhortation from the deacon that we would all do well to proclaim in our own hearts throughout the Mass: “Let us be attentive!”
As the liturgy of the Eucharist begins and the celebrant urges us, “Lift up your hearts,” do we? Do we lift them up to the Lord? When we reply “It is right and just,” do we give thanks to the Lord our God? As we sing the Sanctus, the “Holy, Holy, Holy,” are we aware that we “sing together” with “the heavenly powers and the angelic hosts,” in the words of today’s Preface?
At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, after the words of the doxology (“Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever”), does our “Amen”—the “Great Amen,” this is called—express, as it should, our assent of faith to the entire Eucharistic Prayer through which we have just knelt? Many of you are aware of the importance of our individual “Amen” when we come up for communion. The minister says, “The Body of Christ,” and we respond “Amen”; that is, “I believe—this is, indeed, the Body of Christ!” That’s your individual “Amen.” But even more important is the “Great Amen,” our affirmation that we recognize our Lord, not just in receiving communion, but in the breaking of the bread.
Lord, give us all the grace of “fully conscious and active participation in the liturgy,” as is “our right and duty by reason of our baptism” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 14). Let our hearts burn within us for the truth of your Word. Let our hearts plead with you to “stay with us.” And may we take with us what we have heard and received, and go out into our world as our Lord goes among us: to serve. Amen.
Let us be attentive!
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We…we…us …we …we…us…us…we…we…we…us…us…we. This article summarizes exactly why I have finally stopped attending the Novus Ordo, after decades of hoping something Catholic would eventually emerge from it.
I agree, it’s indicative of the intention of the new Mass. This is not a criticism of Steve. It can’t really be helped because the optics aren’t there. The new order of the Mass doesn’t lend itself to what is actually happening. The word Meal appears six times in Steves article, I didn’t notice the word Sacrifice once.
FWIW, Kev, I try to observe a discipline of not defending my homilies against most forms of criticism. I do appreciate your charitable tone and your comment that your criticism was not intended directly to criticize me. So I will venture to offer a few quick notes that I hope you will appreciate.
It is true that I did on this occasion repeatedly refer to the Mass as a whole as a “meal.” I did this, I believe, inspired by the Gospel of the day, drawing on a patristic image of the the two “tables” of the Word and the Eucharist. It’s also true that I did not on this occasion speak of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
On the other hand, over the course of the 70-odd homilies I have preached since my ordination, I have spoken many times of the Eucharistic sacrifice and almost never of the Eucharist as a meal. For example, in an unpublished homily from last year, I said:
For a published example, see my Corpus Christi homily from 2018.
P.S. As it happens, my father, a former Protestant pastor who became Catholic two years after I did, died two years ago today. For anyone who may be interested, here is the homily I preached at his funeral, for a congregation that included both Catholic and Protestant friends and relatives. I link it here because the sacrifice of the Mass is among the things I talked about.
Exactly my reaction as well, Timothy. Thank you. And I say that as a cradle Catholic who, at age 74, is one of the “modern men” for whom Paul VI imposed his Novus Ordo monstrosity and who has had to suffer under it virtually my entire life. I can also see from the article that Mr. Greydanus approaches the sacred liturgy with the same banal superficiality that he does his flatulent movie reviews.
A good analogy by Deacon Greydanus showing us his diaconate side. Although movie critique does have a moral dimension. Of course, it’s no mystery that it all centers on Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, and the integrity of what we believe.
Today’s Office of Readings cites Justin Martyr, Father of the Church in an exhortation that says no one can enter the Christian community and receive the Eucharist unless they believe and observe Christ’s teachings in their lives. Justin describes the early 2nd century offer of the Eucharist in its early, simple form with reverence, a form of attentiveness to the reality.
Attentiveness is certainly vital. A reason why the TLM draws people with its focus on the Eucharist. Whereas the Novus Ordo that I practice has the drawback of focusing on the priest. That would be a positive if priests were themselves focused on Christ’s presence rather than themselves, concerned about how they’re perceived.
A very positive phenomenon is that new candidates, young priests although they are few, are more attentive [you’ve got me affixed on this word] to the real presence and traditional Church doctrine. Surveys show none of them were influenced by Pope Francis. A few good men can change the sad scenario we’re in. Especially when the vast majority of elderly clergy are no longer functional, these younger, apparently more devoted men are a real hope for spiritual renewal. Even if it becomes necessary to reduce the number of services and have priests travel from community to community. Not to overlook the benefit that deacons well acquainted with Eucharist theology can have in education of laity.
An uplifting message of hope. It must be an exhausting time for faithful priests and bishops. We know Jesus wept and yet, He completed His vital mission for the benefit of mankind.
As you point out, with Christ, men can accomplish much. Let the faithful be in prayer to encourage the priesthood to bring Christ’s plan for humanity.
After almost sixty years of “active participation” I frequently find myself asking why I am participating in a desecration. The very term “active participation” is repugnant. We are suppose to be engaged in the worship of Almighty God, not enduring simply stupid “music” poorly rendered lectoring and homilies which more frequently than not are nothing but babble.
These examples merely scratch the surface.
“Active participation” has diminished any sort of participation to a fraction of what it was before “the” council.
Let’s all wake up from this nightmare.
Sorry, I can’t HELP BUT BE ATTENTIVE when Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar is on the main axis of the church and ALL EYES AND ACTIONS are intentionally designed to give HIM THE HONOR, LOVE and RESPECT He rightfully deserves within the offering of the holy mass! What? That doesn’t describe YOUR mass???? My heart aches for you because that epitomizes mine which is nothing other than THE CATHOLIC MASS, the Vetus Ordo, the Mass of the Ages, where “i” am tiny and HE IS MAGNIFICENT and LARGE. If you’re Catholic, you owe it to yourself to attend a Catholic Mass – not one that has been designed to “remove all stumbling blocks to our separated brethren, the protestants”. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE seek out and being attending a Traditional Latin Mass. You really do NOT know what you are missing!
Mark: ” to remove all stumbling blocks to our separated brethren…” Actually the Church Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had in mind the call to Christian unity and to ardently strive for ecumenism yearning to heal the wound of division of believers in Christ and desired to practice the Novus Ordo as SACRED SIMPLICITY as at the beginning of Christianity and building up the Church in Christ evangelizing all nations to the end of the earth. If attending the TLM you feel closer to Christ Jesus that is wonderful. However, do not put yourself into a sterile corner of good feelings stemming from abhorrence of any other Catholic rites and exulting yourselves as the only holy ones by possibly judging and condemning 3 billion Catholics or the experience of one parish. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual, and Jesus Christ looks at the heart for love and life commitment. Yes, all attention to Jesus Christ at mass and all day and every day following Christ Jesus in charity.
“do not put yourself into a sterile corner of good feelings stemming from abhorrence of any other Catholic rites and exulting yourselves as the only holy ones…” You have just described the prevailing attitude of Church leaders who are trying to force all of us to abandon the Traditional Latin Mass.
Thank you, dear Deacon Steven D. Greydanus. Such an essential & necessary article.
The highpoint for me of congregational participation in Holy Mass was in 1966, at Isoka, in Zambia, with Fr Pierre Lalonde WF celebrating. I’m sure people 5 miles away could have heard our joyful singing of God’s praises and the wholehearted responses of the people to the prayers. Holy Mass like that is truly lifechanging.
What we see as worship; God sees as faith. It is FAITH that pleases our Lord, not a repetitive ritual done as a reluctant obligation . . . Heaven help us!
In Brisbane, Australia, we too also need a few sermons on Revelation 3:16. That is, reminders that King Jesus Christ will vomit out all the halfhearted!
Two points: No one can escape God’s clear instruction – “For My Flesh is real food and My Blood is real drink.” John 6:55. To be indifferent to this supreme honor, or to think or behave as if it is not true, is blasphemy.
Then: Our Catholic teachers have largely misconstrued: “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in them.” John 6:56, as our consuming of a nutrient or a medicament. In fact, Jesus Christ teaches us that in receiving Holy Eucharist, we are incorporated in His Person.
Christ’s Person is enormous in every good way. Billions of years old, larger than this universe, the author of all material, biological, & spiritual reality; whose sacrificial death and resurrection destroyed the power of evil, sin, & death. He is the Perfect Image of The Father, the One who baptizes us in The Holy Spirit, The Head of The Church that is His Body, and we, through eucharistic good faith, become part of His Flesh and Blood.
Incorporation in the Body of King Jesus Christ – is our salvation & resurrection. That IS dwelling in the love of God. That equips us to love one another; even to the laying down of our lives for one another. That is our everything, eternally!
The Lord’s emphasis is on us being taken into HIM. Sadly, most Catholic eucharists (out of about 4,000 I’ve participated in, in many countries) major exclusively on the idea of Christ being taken into US.
[Are there clericalist reasons for that error of emphasis . . .]
It’s true that incorporation into the enormous majesty of the risen, reigning Christ is signified by our swallowing the consecrated bread & wine (that are then mixed with our microbiome & digested with all our other food & drink). St Augustine records the Lord’s correction over his misconception of this.
Eucharistic celebrants need much better training in explaining the glory of the One into whose Flesh and Blood we are incorporated, and the massive significance of that in terms of our personal and collective self-image and behavior.
This is not a small matter, for one might wonder if the horrors of the splits in Christianity are partly caused by clericalist over-emphasis on the Body & Blood of Jesus in US; and a subordination or neglect of the Lord’s own emphasis on us being in HIM. It might even be that a self-serving clericalist skewed exegesis of John 6:56 presents a stumbling block to many who would otherwise be excellent members of our Church.
Is it too late to begin to emphasize that our Holy Eucharist is more about our incorporation in Christ than it is about Christ’s incorporation in us? Let’s think of the tension between a skewed Eucharistic understanding and John 14:23 – “If you love Me you will obey My teaching. My Father will love you and We will come to you and make Our home with you.”
For Catholics [and other Christians], who through loving obedience already have The Father & The Son living in them, their receiving of the Holy Eucharist is manifestly more about celebrating our incorporation in Christ’s Flesh & Blood, than about consuming Him as a nutrient or a medicament.
One longs to hear sermons emphasizing that our Eucharist is a sacramental incorporation in Christ’s Flesh & Blood Body, with Him in Glory as our Head.
Then, with Him as our Head, we in His body are all One. We no longer live; it is Christ who lives in us. From that most holy divine reality stems our obligation to love one another as He loves us, even to the extent of laying down our lives for one another. This is a great healer for divisions in a parish.
Thanks again, dear Steven, for such an important article.
Always in the grace & mercy of Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
I am a Lector in my parish. If I were looking to encourage more attentive participation, I would suggest the following to my flock:
1. Come early to get your heart and mind in the proper disposition. Between the time I process up the aisle with the priest and step into the ambo to read, the number of folks in the pews have tripled. This means most were rushing in late. Its hard to position oneself to talk to God in that manner.
2. Come to adoration at your parish and spend some time in silence, listening to the Lord. And then tell him what is in your own heart.This draws you closer to Him.
3. Consider confession if it is not a regular part of your routine. Most Catholics get a case of nerves prior to confessing. However the feeling in your soul afterwards is exhilarating, and the sense of forgiveness is a unique one which again draws you closer to the Lord.
4.LISTEN to the readings. Sometimes the reading at a given Mass is intended by the Lord to be especially for YOU. You dont want to miss it.
5. Attend daily Mass once in a while. Sunday Mass is often crowded and noisy and retreating to a less attended daily Mass for a brief time might enable one to find the quiet beauty of Mass in a smaller congregate setting.
Great pointers to deeper communal participation, dear LJ.
Catechetics today is not what it used to be. How many (of the few) regulars at Holy Mass recall what we used to all understand?
For us the Holy Eucharist is a place where we regularly renew our covenant with God, valuing the promises of the One who enables us to have a New Covenant in Christ. Awesome indeed are these New Covenant promises to the New Israel of God: “I will put my laws into your minds and write them on your hearts: and I will be your God and you shall be My people . . . you will all know Me from the least to the greatest.” Hebrews 8:10-11. The apostolic author then reminds us of God’s assurances: “I will not fail you or desert you,” enabling us to say with confidence: “With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing: what can anyone do to me?” Hebrews 13: 5-6.
In Christ, at last we see the fulfillment of God’s long-standing promise: “A new heart I will give you, and a new Spirit I will put within you . . . and make you to follow My statutes and be careful to observe My ordinances.” Ezekiel 36: 25-27.
The blessings of God’s New Covenant are sealed by the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His poured-out blood. God’s side of this incredibly gracious, life-giving treasure could not be more transparent, complete, and eternally robust. What, then, is required of us humans by the New Covenant? Having found The Pearl of Great Price, we are to cooperate by doing our best to lovingly keep God’s commandments.
For Catholic Christians that’s more than was given to Moses at Mt Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:1-22), since for the last two millennia we’ve had privileged access to the divine edition of these commandments, as exegeted by Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Matthew 5:17-48). The Jesus-refurbished 10 commandments, like their Jewish antecedents, can be easily memorized on our fingers.
HAND ONE. Thumb: With all my heart, mind, body, & soul I will worship the One revealed by Jesus Christ: Father/Son/Holy Spirit; Index Finger: I will have no other god nor any idol; Middle Finger: I will not use God’s name profanely nor swear oaths, my yes will be “Yes” & my no will be “No”; Ring Finger: I will keep the Sabbath Day holy, as Jesus taught us; Little Finger: I will honour my mum and dad.
HAND TWO. Thumb: I will love every person & will not hurt or kill anyone, nor hate, nor think evil; Index Finger: I will maintain sexual purity & faithfulness in thought, word, & deed; Middle Finger: I will not steal but follow Christ in giving not taking; always forgiving, never revenging; Ring Finger: I will tell the truth & not lie nor deceive nor slander; Little finger: I will not covet, for God in Christ is providing all I need.
(please, ask your children & grandchildren if they learned these at RE . . .)
At holy communion we Catholics symbolize our New Covenant participation by stretching out both hands, with 10 fingers, to meet God stretching out His Body and Blood for us.
Simple as they are, ‘finger commandments’ can give us lifelong confidence in our personal and collective, ever-evolving love affair with God in Christ Jesus.
It is a lie that any-old religion will do! When the Catholic Church lives in loving obedience to God, then the whole world will flourish. The inescapable spiritual principle is that when The Church flouts her covenant, the world itself loses its way.
The world depends on a covenant-keeping Catholic Church FAR more than the Church depends on the world.
Can we see: It’s no small thing to be a Catholic Christian, comprehending and joyfully engaging with all we are blessed to receive of God in Holy Mass.
Of course – without correct understanding of the incomparable significance of what we are doing, Holy Mass becomes mechanical & insipid. Of course – numbers then dwindle.
Always in the love of The Lamb; blessings from marty
This is an excellent article; for myself, I could not help but think of the elements of the recipe (“fully conscious and active participation”) correspond to the elements of the Greatest Commandment: Loving God with one’s whole heart (full), mind (conscious), strength (active) and soul (… such participation leads to the reception of the Sacraments, which is worship with one’s soul).
We can always do more to take in the exterior elements, know the readings, pray internally alongside the priestly prayers, and be conscious of how the songs are chosen to bless the liturgical proceedings for that particular week in the liturgical calendar. We can always set aside our own worship times, perhaps at adoration, in advance, that can assist us toward fully immersing ourselves with the Scriptures, how they correspond with the Catechism, and in turn, how the Saints, official documents and Papal encyclicals can enter the moment that renders the readings timeless and pertinent to today. And it is with great hope that, assisted with Eucharistic power, one can be strengthened by this worship to go out to the world and being a light for Christ.