Lenten update & the Eucharist

It has been only a little bit over two weeks since Lent started, but this year it felt like forever to me. There are many things happening at work, in my family and in my spiritual life. I wish sometimes I could blog it, but I realize now that most of them should be kept private, so I'm not planning to blog any major reflection, at least not until Lent is over.

As for me, my only wish is to draw closer to our Lord this Lent. As cliched as this may sound, it hasn't been easy. For a start, daily mass—more reverent & attentive daily mass—is in order. And there is no better example to follow than that of the saints when it comes to adoring our Lord in the Eucharist, especially during the Mass. This website is one of my favorites, and I shall try to feature several 'eucharistic' saints (a euphemism, I think, since how can one be a saint without being eucharistic???) during Lent to learn how to love the Eucharist more deeply. Coming soon...

Graces from attending Mass

This being the first Friday of the month, I'd like to post a short note about going to Mass. Specifically, for those who are struggling to go to Mass more regularly. Three years ago, I read this devotion to the Sacred Heart in which the faithful are asked to attend 9 First Friday masses for 9 consecutive months. How I found it difficult to be faithful to such schedule.. for once you've missed a first Friday mass, the 'cycle' is broken and you have to start anew... but nothing is ever lost! Years later, I'm stil struggling, but now, to attend the Mass daily.

Just yesterday, I struggled to tear myself away from my work to make it in time for Mass. Many excuses played in my head (I'm sure some of you are familiar with them!) about why I don't have to go to Mass that day...
1. It's not an obligation
2. So what if you miss one, there's another one tomorrow...
3. Perhaps prayer is sufficient in place of going to Mass?
4. Your disposition isn't good enough for mass...
5. The bus has just left and the next one will get you to the Church late!

Then I remembered something I read just the day before about how the Mass went on in a church after a parishioner died of heart attack. While I think it's perfectly logical to carry on the Mass, the article seems to carry an indignant tone that it was not stopped to 'respect the dead'. That same blog post then copied 15 GOOD REASONS for attending Mass:

1. The Mass is Calvary continued.
2. Every Mass is worth as much as the sacrifice of our Lord's life, sufferings, and death.
3. Holy Mass is the world's most powerful atonement for your sins.
4. At the hour of death, the Masses you have heard will be your greatest consolation.
5. Every Mass will go with you to judgment and plead for pardon.
6. At Mass, you can diminish more or less temporal punishment due to your sins, according to your fervor.
7. Assisting devoutly at Holy Mass, you render to the sacred humanity of Our Lord the greatest homage.
8. He supplies for many of your negligence and omissions.
9. He forgives the venial sins which you have not confessed. The power of Satan over you is diminished.
10. One Mass heard during life will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death.
11. You are preserved from dangers and misfortunes which otherwise might have befallen you. You shorten your Purgatory.
12. Every Mass wins for you a higher degree of glory in Heaven.
13. You receive the priest's blessing which Our Lord ratifies in Heaven.
14. You kneel amidst a multitude of holy angels, who are present at the adorable Sacrifice with reverential awe.
15. You are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.

So remember good people, every Mass counts! Every Holy Mass that we miss cannot be repeated again in terms of the graces we received. I'm posting this just in case it can help anyone of you attend ONE more Holy Mass in your life :)

Corpus Domini in Rome

(All photos from Yahoo)
Pope Benedict XVI on Corpus Domini, celebrated yesterday, on Thursday: The procession would be made "as if to bring ideally the Lord Jesus through all the streets and neighbourhoods of Rome. We will immerse Him, so to speak, in the ordinariness of our life, so that He may walk where we walk, so that He may live where we live."

On the wonder that is the Eucharist

Coming back from the first Triduum mass in which Fr Pereira gave a lively homily on the Eucharist, that wonderful Bread of Life, words fail me when it comes to this topic & I could only quote some of the beautiful writings of the saints, who found themselves lost in the Love that incarnates itself in the Eucharist:

"How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."
— St. John Chrysostom

"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master."
— St. John Vianney

"If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the thought of Christ's love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude."
— St. Angela

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart... don't listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love...
"Receive Communion often, very often... there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing..."
"The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us - that is all He asks."
— St. Therese of Lisieux

"In one day the Eucharist will make you produce more for the glory of God than a whole lifetime without it."
— St. Peter Julian Eymard

AND, AND, to encourage all to attend the Eucharistic procession:

"I especially loved the processions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. What a joy it was for me to throw flowers beneath the feet of God! ... I was never so happy as when I saw my roses touch the sacred Monstrance..."
— St. Therese of Lisieux: Story of A Soul

Also, I was very touched to read this: what the Eucharist meant to the Church's latest martyr, Fr. Ragheed Ganni, a priest in Mosul (Iraq), who was shot along with three other deacons after celebrating Mass last Sunday, in a Eucharistic Congress in Bari (Italy), in 2005: (emphases mine)

Mosul Christians are not theologians; some are even illiterate. And yet inside of us for many generations one truth has become embedded: without the Sunday Eucharist we cannot live.

This is true today when evil has reached the point of destroying churches and killing Christians, something unheard of in Iraq till now.

On June 2004 of last year, a group of young women was cleaning the church to get it ready for Sunday service. My sister Raghad, who is 19, was among them.

As she was carrying a pail of water to wash the floor, two men drove up and threw a grenade that blew up just a few yards away from her.

She was wounded but miraculously survived. And on that Sunday we still celebrated the Eucharist. My shaken parents were also there.

For me and my community, my sister's wounds were a source of strength so that we, too, may bear our cross.

Last August in St Paul Church, a car bomb exploded after the 6 pm mass. The blast killed two Christians and wounded many others. But that, too, was another miracle—the car was full of bombs but only one exploded. Had they all gone off together the dead would have been in the hundreds since 400 faithful had come on that day.

People could not believe what had happened. The terrorists might think they can kill our bodies or our spirit by frightening us, but, on Sundays, churches are always full. They may try to take our life, but the Eucharist gives it back.

On December 7, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, a group of terrorist tried to destroy the Chaldean Bishop's Residence, which is near Our Lady of the Tigris Shrine, a place venerated by both Christians and Muslims.

They placed explosives everywhere and a few minutes later blew the place up. This and fundamentalist violence against young Christians have forced many families to flee. Yet the Churches have remained open and people continue to go to mass, even among the ruins.

It is among such difficulties that we understand the real value of Sunday, the day when we meet the Risen Christ, the day of our unity and love, of our [mutual] support and help.

There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say 'Behold the Lamb of God Behold, who takes away the sin of the world', I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.

In normal times, everything is taken for granted and we forget the greatest gift that is made to us. Ironically, it is thanks to terrorist violence that we have truly learnt that it is the Eucharist, the Christ who died and risen, that gives us life. And this allows us to resist and hope."

May you find Him in the Eucharist always!

UPDATE: I realized that Corpus Christi is meant to be celebrated on a Thursday, that is tomorrow, but some of us will get to celebrate it only this Sunday! So for all of you out there who celebrate this solemnity tomorrow, here's wishing you a happy solemnity in advance!

Visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

A short plug on the Blessed Sacrament as First Friday is around the corner...

But just as He stood quietly among His apostles in the amazing beauty of His resurrection, and said, handle Me and see, so does He abide with us in the Blessed Sacrament, that we may get to know Him, to outlive our tremulous agitation, and the novelty of our surprise, and to grow familiar with Him, if we can, as our life-long Guest. There we can bring our sorrows and cares and necessities at all hours... We can choose our own time, and our visit can be as short or as long as duties permit or as love desires. There is an unction and a power in the mere silent companionship of the Blessed Sacrament which is beyond all words... The ways of visiting the Blessed Sacrament must be as various as the souls of men. Some love to go there to listen; some to speak; some to confess to Him as if He were their priest; some to examine their consciences, as before their judge; some to do homage as to their king; some to study Him as their Doctor and Prophet: some to find shelter as with their Creator. Some rejoice in His Divinity, others in His Sacred Humanity, others in the mysteries of the season. Some visit Him on different days by His different titles, as God, Father, Brother, Shepherd, Head of the Church, and the like. Some visit to adore, some to intercede, some to petition, some to return thanks, some to get consolation; but all visit Him to love and, to all who visit Him in love, He is a power of heavenly grace and a fountain of many goods, no single one of which the whole created universe could either merit or confer.

from The Blessed Sacrament
Fr. Frederick William Faber, D.D.

"How was the Procession?"

I haven't set aside time to enthuse about the Corpus Christi Procession last Sunday at the Cathedral (This week Communicasia Exhibition is going on—our hands are full). It was the first procession I attended here, and both mass and procession were beautiful! I missed the Vespers.

We had a short sequence and traditional Corpus Christi songs all beautifully sung by Peter Low's choir. Unfortunately, not many of those who attend seem to be familiar with Panis Angelicum, Tantum Ergo, Pange Lingua, O Salutaris Hostia, Te Deum, Adore Te Devote in either English or Latin; so following the mass involved a lot of page-turning of the mass booklet to search for the hymns' lyrics—only some of which were printed. Msgr Francis Lau's homily was a condensed catechesis on the feast history, as well as an exhortation for the faithful to revere the Eucharist more.

The Procession started off slowly, with lots of other parishes' representatives and the choir in tow. Little girls dressed in Korean traditional costume threw flowers on the path of the procession. We made just one solemn round around the Cathedral while saying the Luminous Mysteries. It was solemn in spite of the balmy evening, with added smoke from the incense, and the road outside the Cathedral is uneven because of huge trees' roots uprising. I am not aware whether there were precedents of Corpus Christi processions in Singapore; but it seems that some kind of 'public gathering' license is required to carry out the procession outside the Cathedral grounds. Quite a fair bit of onlookers saw the procession and stopped to see.

"In your midst stands one whom you do not know!"—St John the Baptist

Wouldn't it be great to have a procession every year: bringing Jesus to the streets for everyone to look at, like here?

Elsewhere, Amy Welborn has a lot of her readers posting about Corpus Christi procession all over the world. I took some pictures—not very clear because it was dark—but I have already changed mobile phone again before I could extract them. My friend Bravo might have some too.

UPDATE! Bravo's Photos are here. He's a much better photographer than me!

Mystery of the Eucharist

Corpus Christi, a relative late-comer in my acquaintance with the Church feasts, is one of my favorite feasts in the Church liturgical year.

Yesterday was the first Procession I ever saw and took part in Singapore. It was just a walk around the Cathedral, but it was good to see so many people—including young people—faithfully following the Blessed Sacrament in prayer. Even passers-by stopped and looked with wonder.

Mysterium Fidei
That little humble bread that is Jesus has intrigued me since the days when I was a child (from a not-yet-Catholic family), made to go to frequent Masses in the convent school I attended. When my friends went for communion prep classes, the non-Catholic kids were left behind in our classrooms to play on our own. When we went for Masses, the non-Catholic kids would be left behind in the pew during Communion. When we went through religious classes, several things/teachings were simply incomprehensible to the non-Catholics because we did not attend catechism. But the most intriguing part was when I saw my Catholic friends, teachers bow and kneel to receive the little white Host with reverence. It was mindblowing to see grown-up, imposing and strict teachers as well as my naughty classmates, humble themselves before a tiny piece of bread. I felt a curiosity, which grew into a longing for Somebody they told me was in the bread.

In religious ed classes, we were taught that in the Eucharist is the real body of Christ. It was one of 'opaque' things we non-Catholic kids encountered; just another teaching of the Church my teacher said was inspired by God. How can it be? How could the logical mind ever ascertain whether the transubtantiation taught by the Church really happened? There were Eucharistic Miracles, yes, but it was long after I believed that I heard about those miracles. The real miracle was the gift of Faith which made me believe in the Eucharist, and the ever growing love for it.

I once read somewhere somebody said that Jesus humbled himself to be present in a substance that is known to mankind as a staple nourishment. Another said that no, God made bread such that even a little child could instinctively know God by identifying Him as the ultimate nourishment, without which we'd die a death that is as certain as actual death.

In the Eucharist, God entrusts His body to weak men and women, subject to the elements and abandonment as well as abuses. Two years ago, I discovered the practice of Eucharistic adoration. It was not as instinctive as recognizing God in bread that we eat. Amazed by the stories of saints who kept themselves close to and drew strength from the Eucharist, I was slowly drawn and I am hooked!

I don't know how the exact process was; it seemed to start as simply as being more reverential to the Eucharist while receiving the Communion and a short visit to the Eucharist after masses. And almost without my participation, I became ever more conscious of the unworthy things these hands of mine have done. And through that fear and trembling whenever I approach the table of the Lord, I am slowly learning to overcome my reluctance of going to regular confessions because again, I get reminded what a wretched sinner I am at every Mass and how my sins defile the Body of Christ.

Stopping to reflect, it's been an amazing journey seeking for God in the Eucharist. In the eucharist we see God empty Himself; it is in the eucharist we learn about the God who gave all, and we aspire to give a little better in our daily work, a little more generous, a little more patient, a little more loving until the day where we can truly become What (and one with Whom) we ate.

With fear and trembling we approach the altar of grace, always sure we are not worthy, but trusting that our Lord gives strength to recognize Him in our daily work and to go through this exiled life until we are truly reunited with Him in our true patria.

Thank You, Lord, for the most wondrous gift of the Eucharist. Lord, I believe, do Thou increase my faith!

Update: Two wonderful articles reflecting on the gift of Eucharist.

Corpus Christi at the Cathedral

I've been wanting to post this and invite everyone, everytime I saw the notice on the Cathedral door after weekday mass.

This year, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd celebrates its 160th year, on the Feast of Corpus Christi. A triduum of healing (as all masses are!) Masses is planned from Friday evening until Sunday, and this Sunday's evening Mass will have Eucharistic Procession. There is also food fair all day.

I forgot the exact times, will post again with more precise information. Don't miss this... we can never have enough of eucharistic adoration!

On receiving communion host

Since reading about receiving communion host on the tongue from Angry Twins, I've found out more about the practices of communion over the years and believe that between receiving our Lord on the tongue and on the mouth, the latter is definitely more reverential. (Also, not to mention, we will avoid scandals like selling of John-Paul-II-consecrated-host sale on eBay!)

So, in my effort to draw closer to Him, I started receiving the communion host on the tongue. It was awkward the first time; but I believe it to be a more reverential attitude and stuck by it. Some few weeks ago, however, the eucharistic minister at the Church of the Holy Cross began denying this practice, forcing me (and perhaps a few others) to receive the Lord on our hands. It was upsetting, but I thought better than to raise a scene (or I was just being a wimp!). So that's just one guy. The next mass I went, another eucharistic minister placed the host on my tongue. The next one, another one denied me. And the next one, the priest himself forced me to take the host on my hand. I did not understand and went for mass at the Cathedral instead.

Today, the parish priest announced that the "ban" on receiving communion host on the tongue has been lifted. I do not understand how could such thing be subject to a ban! I am puzzled, indignant but relieved nevertheless!

Mane nobiscum, Domine

In my semi-regular prayer meeting with people of the CHOICE weekend community, I heard the sharings of many Catholics about Easter: how they celebrate Easter and what it means to them. For the first time, I learnt about my fellow 'journey-ers' and the different 'moods' of faith they experience.

Tonight we meditated over today's Gospel, one of my favorite Post-Passion Gospel passages about the two disciples meeting Jesus on their way to Emmaus, as well as this coming Sunday's Gospel, about Jesus appearing to doubting Thomas in the upper room.

Abraham Bloemaert "The Emmaus Disciples"-1622

Luke 24 29 but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?"

As much as the annual 40 days of Lent are supposed to prepare all the faithful, individually and communally, to die to our sins and rise anew in Christ, most of us are trapped our own 'cycles' of giddy joy and lowly blues in our relationship with God. And as such, some of us find that the Church's "peak" over Easter does not coincide with our own peaks.

I heard some sharing how touched they have been this Easter, how they reflected anew the meaning of resurrection in their own lives, and how some did not even attend Masses for any of the solemnities. It is with sadness that I heard how for some, Easter Sunday feels just like another mass, and with remembrance of how lukewarm I too had been in my celebration (or non-celebration) of Easter in the past.

As for 'sync-ing' my mood cycles with the solemn mood of the Church, I think right now it's a bit like the stock market graph—lots of daily & weekly fluctuations—but in general, thanks be to God, it's on the upward trend.

This Easter though, I felt something special; as if there's something joyful inside that's bursting out. A reader might give a wry comment that a Christian life should be lived with that kind of joy all the time ;) Honestly it has not been that way for me and I'm working on it!

Those who have read several of my posts in the last few months probably realized I'm in some kind of discernment period. This year's Lent was different precisely because I never had to, never felt the need to discern before, and this year I had to. I identified very much with the two disciples who met Jesus on the way to Emmaus, save for the bit where they saw the Lord breaking bread. They must have felt frustrated and desolate when Jesus died being crucified and then his body went missing by Sunday morning. I too felt frustrated in my discerning process because though I know and believe Jesus is the Messiah, my acknowledgement of this did not seem to set my life on the 'right track'.

Although my eyes of faith know that Jesus is with us always, there were times when, like the two disciples, my feeble senses could not quite believe or recognize Him in my daily situations. I remember reading reflections after reflections, writings of saints and bishops on Catholic websites, wanting so badly to perceive, to recognize, to feel, but could not, some kind of signs that would guide me to be immersed in God's presence, and ultimately, to know His will, and to will His will to be mine and to do it.

For many months I had struggled on my own strength, to discern and almost despaired in the hope of finding it. These last few weeks of Lent, I realized that one requires an attentive prayer life (that I do not yet have) to discern properly and lots of support from people I trust. My search for an answer had been reduced to something akin to finding Jesus' body: is it in the tomb, or is it somewhere outside? I missed the big picture: He is risen! My question now has become, what is God's will for me right here and now? Like the two disciples, I felt my heart burning when I recognized the desire to find the Truth; but as yet unable to make it out. Like the two disciples, I could only feel certainty when in the breaking of the bread, Jesus gave Himself for all of us, in communion, to eat.

This Easter, I resolve to say Yes to whatever He wills, although I don't know what it is as of now, trusting that in His time and His mercy, it will be done. Pray for me that I may gradually recognize God's promptings in every little situation and faithfully choose to carry them out.

John 20
²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing."
²⁸ Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
²⁹ Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

Year of the Eucharist concludes

Some useful document links:

Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at Close of Year of the Eucharist

Message of Synod on the Eucharist:
"Living Bread for the Peace of the World"

Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 31-36:
"Celebrations of the Word of God Are Also of Great Importance"
Propositions of the Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 26-30:
"Promotion of Greater Inculturation"
Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 21-25:
"Suggested That New Dismissal Formulas Be Prepared"
Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 16-20:
"Intrinsic Bond Between the Word of God and the Eucharist"
Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 11-15:
"Urging Pastors to Promote Priestly Vocations"
Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 5-10:
"Recognizing the Manifold Fruits of Eucharistic Adoration"
Propositions of Synod on the Eucharist, Nos. 1-4:
"Jesus Created a Radical Novelty"

I haven't read them yet; will find time to sit and read soon!

Corpus Christi procession.. belated!

Pope Benedict leading the procession

Corpus Christi

In this year of the Eucharist, on the feast day of Corpus Christi, I found myself reflecting once again on the Body and Blood of Christ. This subject never ceases to amaze me, so great a mystery, yet so central to our Christian faith.

I was enrolled at a convent school until the 7th grade. Catholic Religious Education was enforced strongly, and I marveled (and still do!) at the overflowing grace that has been given to my family—my sisters and I in particular—that beckons us to embrace the Catholic faith long after we left the school, despite the heavily theoretical catechical lessons and corrupt nepotist practices abound.

It is in a crowded classroom of forty, under the guidance of an eccentric religious education teacher, that I first was taught what the Eucharist is: that it is Christ's own body and blood visible to the mortal eyes as bread and wine. We learned the facts of the Catholic teachings by rote, often not understanding the meaning of this doctrine, frustrated at this teacher's peculiar answer, and finally, resigning to the fact that either we must think with two minds—one for faith and one for the world, or to the conclusion that this is a mystery that my huble mind cannot fathom. Many many years later, upon hindsight, it was an occasion of grace. It marked the beginning of cultivation of my eyes of faith.

Year after year, in my journey the meaning of Eucharist was revealed to me bit by bit, splendor by splendor. I recall listening to a homily some years back, about the Mother Church knowing what is best for her children—that despite not understanding how the Eucharist truly came to be—it is necessary to attend Mass. There was a time when I went to Mass out of obedience, trusting that the Eucharist, born out of a sheer act of total love, feeds us during our spiritual journey, and that without this supernatural nourishment we can never hope to reach home safely.

Eyes of faith led me to 'discover' adoration; only eyes of faith could assert that truly, contemplating the Eucharist is the closest we could get to contemplating His Face while still one earth. Eyes of faith led me to seek what it means to be in Communion with the Body of Christ: (and I quote St. Thomas Aquinas the Poet)

A sumente non concisus, Non confractus, non divisus Integer accipitur. Sumit unus, sumunt mille; Quantum isti, tantum ille: Nec sumptus consumitur.	They too who of Him partake Sever not, nor rend, nor break, But entire their Lord receive. Whether one or thousands eat, All receive the selfsame meat, Nor the less for others leave.
from Lauda, Sion

The Eucharist led me to re-discover Sacrament of Penance:

Sorte tamen inaequali, Vitae vel interitus. Mors est malis, vita bonis: Vide, paris sumptionis Quam sit dispar exitus.	Both the wicked and the good Eat of this celestial Food; But with ends how opposite! Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death; The same, yet issuing to each In a difference infinite.
from Lauda, Sion

And finally, when everything has been said,

Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius: Nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius. In cruce latebat sola Deitas, At hic latet simul et humanitas; Ambo tamen credens atque confitens, Peto quod petivit latro paenitens.	What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true. On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men, Here thy very manhood steals from human ken: Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.
from Adoro Te Devote

Deus, qui nobis sub Sacraménto mirábili passiónis tuae memóriam reliquísti:
tríbue, quaésumus, ita nos Córporis et Sánguinis tui sacra mystéria venerári,
ut redémptionis tuae fructum in nobis iúgiter sentiámus
Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus per ómnia saécula saeculórum. Amen.

O God, who in this wonderful sacrament hast left us a memorial of Thy passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within us the fruit of Thy redemption. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost. World without end.

Truly, it is the Source and the Summit of our life!