Grassroots Liturgist

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...

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...