Grassroots Liturgist

The 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, this Sunday, is also the Sunday of the Word of God, instituted by Pope Francis on 30th September 2019 and first observed on 26th January 2020. Pope Francis wanted Catholics to deepen and appreciate God's Word and to deepen our familiarity with Sacred Scripture. To this end, the Congregation for Divine Worship (as was) made some suggestions as to how we might mark this day.  This isn't a long document and is worth a read. Follow the link below. The Sunday of the Word of God

We have already considered the connection of both the Passover and the Manna from heaven with the Last Supper and the Eucharist.   Let’s look at one more Old Testament connection. While the Jews were in the desert searching for the promised land, their worship centred on a sanctuary called the Tabernacle - a tent that served as a portable temple. In the Tabernacle were three key symbols: the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Commandments given by God; a golden lampstand with seven branches, each lit, called an Menorah; and a golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence or ‘lehem ha pannim’ in Hebrew.   (Exodus 25) Incidentally, Christians can see in these three symbols a representation of the Triune God: the Ark of the invisible God, the tongues of flame and the Bread of the Presence. There were 12 cakes of this bread on the table, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and these were offered by the priests on each Sabbath day; so, the bread was a...

We have already reflected on how New Testament mysteries are often prefigured in the Old Testament – the Old Testament shines a light so that we can better understand our celebration of holy Mass.   Let’s look at some more of these and how they relate to the Eucharist. After the Jews had escaped from Egypt, they very quickly began to complain that they had no food; whereas, even as slaves, their bellies were full.   So God performed the twofold miracle in the wilderness – they collected manna in the morning and quail in the evening, both of which God provided.   In other words…bread from heaven and flesh from heaven. We are told that the manna tasted like wafers made with honey.   This detail is significant for they were heading for a land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 26:9) – the manna from heaven can be seen to be a foretaste of the Promised Land. The Jews took some of the manna and placed it in the Tabernacle, the portable temple in which they wor...

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) This passage, written by Paul, tells us more about the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Jesus than we may at first imagine. We read in Exodus that the Jews were to sacrifice an unblemished lamb, and use the blood of that lamb to daub the doorposts and lintel of their house as a sign to the Destroyer not to slay the firstborn of that house.   They were then to roast the lamb and eat it during the Passover meal. In the Last Supper, Jesus renewed and transformed this Passover meal.   He introduced some changes that made it much more than just the Passover with which the apostles were familiar.   The lamb that was sacrificed for the original Passover meal, that delivered their firstborn from death and led to their leaving behind a life of slavery, is replaced by Jesus himself; his body and blood, which Jesus tells us unequivocally is the bread and wine .   Our sin alienates us from God ...

What is a memory? That may seem an elementary question, but I suspect that it may be a deeper question than it first appears. Some memories are trivial with no potency, having little or no effect on us in the here and now.   Yet other memories can be very powerful indeed and, even many years later, affect us viscerally.   The trauma of PTSD is caused by the re-living of a traumatic memory – the sufferer is re-entering the very events that caused their condition.   That memory is alive in the present, re-lived and embodied in the symptoms of PTSD. For a more positive example, I recall watching a film where a couple who were going through marital difficulties attended a wedding ceremony of mutual friends.   As the ceremony progressed, they were both reminded of their own wedding – they re-entered and re-lived their own wedding and the vows that they made.   Unnoticed to others, one reached down to the left hand of the other, and caressed their wedding ring...