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Perpetual eucharistic adoration
by Richard McBrien on Sep. 08, 2009
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionThere was a front-page story in The Boston Globe last month signaling the return of perpetual eucharistic adoration to Boston.
In the 1940s a group of cloistered nuns began the practice of eucharistic adoration at St. Clement's Shrine, a former Universalist church that had been purchased by the archdiocese of Boston to accommodate the overflow crowds from St. Cecelia's parish in the Back Bay section of the city.
Soon there was a nocturnal adoration society formed. However, in the 1960s, with changes in the Catholic church and in the neighborhood, the practice of perpetual adoration at St. Clement's Shrine died out–only to be restored this year.
The Globe article provoked a few comments from readers some of whom are convinced of the paper's anti-Catholic bias. Letter-writers criticized the reporter's constant reference to the consecrated eucharistic host as a "wafer."
They also faulted him for failing to recognize the important doctrinal and theological difference between Christ's "sacramental" presence in the Eucharist and a "literal" presence, that in centuries past gave rise to charges of cannibalism against Catholics.
I happen to know the Globe reporter, Michael Paulson, and have been interviewed by him many times over the years. Although Paulson is an excellent reporter, he would never claim to be a theologian, but neither is he anti-Catholic. If there were any lapses in his article, they were made unintentionally and certainly without malice.
It was unfortunate, to be sure, that he constantly referred to the eucharistic host as a "wafer," "consecrated" or not. However, the distinction between a "wafer" and a "host," that some letter-writers were quick to insist upon, would be lost on non-Catholics (the Globe reporter himself is not a Christian), and indeed on most Catholics as well.
The constant use of the word "wafer" did lead some readers to conclude that the practice of eucharistic adoration is nothing less than a form of idolatry. How else explain why someone would sit or kneel hour after hour in adoration of a simple "wafer"?
It was also unfortunate that Paulson described the Catholic belief in the Real Presence (a technical theological and doctrinal term that did not appear in the story) as a "literal" transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus during Mass. The transformation (the medieval word was "transubstantiation") is sacramental, not literal or physical.
In other words, the bread and the wine retain the properties of bread and wine. They look like bread and wine and taste like bread and wine, but Catholics (and many other Christians as well) believe that the bread and wine have been sacramentally changed into the body and blood of Christ.
Thus, the bread and wine may still appear to be bread and wine, but in the course of the Eucharistic Prayer (formerly called the Canon of the Mass) they have been changed sacramentally, not literally or physically, into the body and blood of Christ. Paulson did quote Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley correctly on the "sacramental presence of Christ" in the Eucharist.
It should be pointed out that the church has always condemned devotional excesses that contradicted its official teachings. One of those excesses was the mistaken belief that, if the host were scratched, it would bleed.
Another excess that unfortunately perdured into the mid-20th century in some parishes was the practice of putting the consecrated host "to bed" following Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and accompanied by the singing of "Good Night Sweet Jesus," as the church lights were turned off, one by one from the back of the church to the front.
The practice of eucharistic adoration began in the 12th century, when the Real Presence of Christ was widely rejected by heretics or misunderstood by poorly educated Catholics. The church saw eucharistic adoration as a way of reaffirming its faith in the Real Presence and of promoting renewed devotion to it.
However, as time went on, eucharistic devotions, including adoration, drifted further and further away from their liturgical grounding in the Mass itself.
Notwithstanding Pope Benedict XVI's personal endorsement of eucharistic adoration and the sporadic restoration of the practice in the archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, it is difficult to speak favorably about the devotion today.
Now that most Catholics are literate and even well-educated, the Mass is in the language of the people (i.e, the vernacular), and its rituals are relatively easy to understand and follow, there is little or no need for extraneous eucharistic devotions. The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually.
Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward.
© 2009 Richard P. McBrien. All rights reserved. Fr. McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.
Why am I not surprised that
Why am I not surprised that Richard McBrien would refer to Eucharistic adoration as a step backward? Also, the Catholic teaching is that a real transformation takes place at the Consecration. The bread and wine despite its appearance is no longer bread and wine but the real body & blood of Christ. That's the bottom line on the Eucharist.
I am glad that Fr. McBrien
I am glad that Fr. McBrien articulated so well what has been bothering me about the reinstitution of Eucharistic adoration (and various other historical practices) that are sweeping the area in catholic churches where I live. It seems that much of today's emphasis in the church is return to the past???? What are we trying to recapture????
traditions like Dorothy
traditions like Dorothy Day?
our fine new President does speak much of social justice . . .
Social justice includes the
Social justice includes the mass MURDER of innocent children?
Actually what will happen is that Our Lady's Immaculate Heart will triumph bringing an end to the soul-destroying evil heresies of liberalism and modernism that have been afflicting the Church at its very core for much longer than even before Vtican II.
'Vatican II' folks! You lost. Move on.
-A proud F.S.S.P. attendee.
"The Mass itself provides all
"The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually...Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward."
I can't wait to see the comments posted on these two sentences. I don't believe either of them is quite as cut and dried as the good Father McBrien indicates.
I think it is an amazing act
I think it is an amazing act of charity to preface Fr. McBrien as "good", if what is meant by "good" means "holy".
For all of his scholarly accomplishments, Fr. McBrien is a leader in dissident
theology. He probably has some rationalism to explain the Divine phenomena of Eucharistic Miracles. I can only hope that, in this Year of the Priest, Fr. McBrien will come to understand what orthodoxy is, what it means, and what it does. An hour a day of praying his Divine Office in front of the exposed Holy Eucharist may go a long way in bringing about a deeper conversion in his intellect and will. I challenge him to try it for a year and see what happens.
All my love in the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Joan Haselman
www.familycatechism.com
Fr. McBrien is so right to
Fr. McBrien is so right to say, "The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually." Vatican II itself asserted: "For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch" [PO 5]. Naturally, this "whole spiritual good of the Church" cannot be confined or fully experienced in the space of an hour a week. "Literate and even well-educated" Catholics who understand the liturgy realize the need to extend the celebration beyond the rite itself. Adoration of the Eucharist outside of the liturgical celebration is one way to meet that need.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I am the author of a small book on Eucharistic Adoration (for children, no less!...
I generally enjoy Fr.
I generally enjoy Fr. McBrien's postings, but I have to disagree with him this time.
I do agree that the Mass is the center of our Catholic life, but Adoration provides a context for meditation and prayer that I find to be most helpful. I do not believe it to be an obsolete devotion, but one very relevant in today's hectic and off-centered world.
When the priest articulates
When the priest articulates the "dismissal", whatever the appropriate phrasing,"Go the Mass is ended" etc., it is time to go out as Christ in me to greet the Christ in others and God in creation. It is to make that connection, to further that relationship, not to theatrically "adore" or, likely more appropriately "idol-ize" the Eucharist. Move on from Christ for Christ awaits you, me....
You said: [The dismissal] is
You said: [The dismissal] is time to go out as Christ in me to greet the Christ in others and God in creation. It is ... not [time] to theatrically "adore" or, likely more appropriately "idol-ize" the Eucharist.
And yet, when Christ was lifted up into Heaven, where did the Apostles go? Back to the Temple to praise God. We should follow that example after Mass: before we high-tail it out of the church (not to darken its door for another 167 hours), we should spend just a bit more time in private prayer of thanksgiving. Doing so in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament is a praiseworthy practice.
And the majority of adoration that goes on is not, as you call it, "theatrical". Much adoration is done quietly and privately.
The Eucharist is in fact
The Eucharist is in fact Jesus Christ bodily present, substantial flesh and blood in every way except for appearance. This comment, sadly, suggests a disbelief in the teaching of the Church about the Eucharist. To my way of thinking, the only way someone could suggest that worship of the Eucharist is idolatry would be if that person does not believe that the Eucharist is the true body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Dennism, do you think that the Eucharist is mere bread?
Related to this, do you believe that Jesus' incarnation was real? Did He really become a true, historical, flesh-and-blood human being, raised in the first-century home of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth? Was his physical body scourged and crucified? Did he physically resurrect from the grave? I'm sorry, but you don't speak like a person who believes these things.
Do you believe in the value of spending time with someone you love? Is it important for husbands and wives to be together, to speak with each other and share their innermost lives with each other? Or should they just get out of the house and help others?
You imply that you are supportive of being a charitable presence for other people. But, what value do you place on cultivating relationships with those who are closest to you in your daily life? Do you see any value to prayer outside of the Mass?
"Idolize" the
"Idolize" the Eucharist?
-----------------------------------------------------------
To "idolize" is to worship as God someone or something that is not God.
If one believes in the Real Presence, it is not possible to "idolize" the Eucharist.
Please don't take a
Please don't take a minimalist approach to your Faith; I challenge you to go beyond your comfort zone.
You are right on the dismissal at Mass "Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord", which is the great commisson in the Gospel. However, we need more that just a "phrase at Mass" to spread the light of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. And just meeting our "Sunday obligation" won't sustain us for very long. We have to adore Christ if we want to radiate His love. Eucharistic Adoration helps us to be madly in love with Christ. It's like giving your spouse a kiss before leaving to work or saying I love you. Once a week isn't enough to show our love
The "true presence" of the
The "true presence" of the Eucharist eliminates the possibility that Adoration is Idolatry. And why should attending Adoration preclude that I am also actively bringing Christ to those around me in my daily life? Do BOTH!
It should also be noted that
It should also be noted that eucharistic devotions, like exposition and benediction, grew out of the defacto "excommunication" of the laity during medieval times when reception of the eucharist by the non-clergy was sparse and even discouraged. Gazing and adoring from afar seemed a far more suitable practice for those not raised to the exaulted clerical state. Vatican II attempted to clearly signal that such an approach to spirituality was at least not optimum and at most abusive of the equality of baptism.
It's noteworthy to point out that there is a total absence of any eucharist devotions in the Orthodox liturgical traditions which have identical Apostolic liturgical roots. Orthodox and Catholics hold just about the same theologies regarding the "real presence," yet no tradition of the host (or the mysteries as the Orthodox would say)as an object of adoration apart from its place in the Divine Liturgy ever developed. This fact alone should call into question the soundness of such practices.
While its true that the
While its true that the Eastern Orthodox Church does not practice adoration it should also be noted that they don't reserve the Eucharist following the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. So it would make sense that they wouldn't have a practice of Adoration.
However, it is not true that Adoration grew out of 'defacto excommunications'(whatever that means) of the middle ages. Nor was the reception of the Eucharist ever discouraged. Nor is it true that Eucharistic Adoration lacks Apostolic roots and magically popped up in the (dark) Middle Ages. There are numerous examples of Christians reserving the Eucharistic from the early morning service and taking it to the sick from the very earliest apostolic times. Furthermore, there was actually an instruction to hermits on how to reserve the Eucharist in their hermatige that dates back to the 3rd century (see The Development of Doctrine by John Harden s.j.) The life of St. Comgal (601) talks about him carrying the Eucharistic around his neck throughout the day.
This is a good example of Fr. McBrien's selective theology. But it keeps him employed I guess.
I suggest all readers of the
I suggest all readers of the blog read the life of this remarkable saint. I think his life and the order he founded which centred on Eucharistic adoration are testimony to the "soundness" theologically and spiritually of spending an hour in silence looking at Christ.
I'll have to pray for your
I'll have to pray for your exposure and acceptance of actual Catholic doctrine and beliefs. I know what you wrote is not Catholic.
So does the absence of
So does the absence of submission to papal authority in the Orthodox church call into question the soundness of THAT practice?!? There are many legitimate devotions in the church that took off in some regions but not in others. Just because they didn't catch on everywhere certainly does not invalidate them. The Church Universal had a profound devotion to the Eucharist before the East/West schism. Adoration developed in a certain context, as a result of certain circumstances. Its spiritual fruits prove it to be perfectly sound. That the Orthodox didn't embrace it proves nothing more than that the Eastern Church is insular and unwilling to conceded that anthing good can come out of the Western Church.
Be careful, the answer to
Be careful, the answer to your question might be an appalling "YES!", in regards to Papal authority.
Laity in the Middle Ages had
Laity in the Middle Ages had great respect for the Sacrament and many communicated monthly at the most. The problem with your post is that you make a distinction between the bad old Days and after Vatican II. Vatican II can only be rightky interpreted if it does not contradict the past. Exposition etc are devotions and ones which are meant to accentuate Christ's true literal presence in order to remedy the denial of his presence. The Eastern Orthodox have not had men like Wycliff and Protestantism to contend with...and the newer heresy called "Modernism" that uses the Council as trojan horse.
I thank you Reverend Father
I thank you Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien for an excellent (if too brief) explanation of the sacramental Presence, spoken as one who weekly indulges in such Eucharistic Adoration at our parish in Mexico in grateful (from my behalf towards them) company of the local parish, complete with Litany, etc. and all the trimmings. On the last Saturday of every month, the men of the parish gather for an all night vigil with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in a formal organization called the Oradores Nocturnos Mexicanos, or something like that.
I am very grateful to you, Father McBrien, for so well expressing the nature of the Presence, and have always discovered the Real Presence as much within the companionship and prayers of those gathered so weekly and monthly as in the "wafer." The presence and strength and above all the true Love of those gathered is the real Incarnation of Our Lord.
Wherever two or more of you are gathered in My Name, there is Love.
Frere Charles, you and I
Frere Charles, you and I finally agree on something, praise God! I also make a weekly holy hour before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I find that it, along with Sunday Mass, defines and frames my week. I love the time I spend before the Lord and I miss it if, for some reason, I cannot make it.
I suppose that, according to Fr. McBrien, you and I are both "backward". During your weekly visits with Our Lord, please remember me. I will remember you and your intentions in my weekly holy hour as well.
God bless.
My wife and I also try to
My wife and I also try to make it to weekly holy hour at our local parish, although frequently circumstances prevent us from doing so. whenever I miss it, I am reminded by our lord's words: "could you not spend one hour with me?"
I do wonder at fr. mcbrien in this. how could one call spending time with our dear lord in the blessed sacrament 'theologically backward'?
We spend time with our dear
We spend time with our dear lord by spending time in community.
We spend time with our dear lord by visiting the sick.
We spend time with our dear lord by loving with all our heart mind and soul our enemy.
We spend time with our dear lord by liberating the oppressed
We spend time with our dear lord by caring for widows and orphans in their distress.
We spend time with our dear lord in struggling with all our strength for peace, with justice, and an end to all violence, and for health care, housing, food and jobs for all.
Jesus said he will say not all who cry Lord Lord will come into the Reign of God, but those who do the will of God.
Do you believe in the Real
Do you believe in the Real Presence then?
if you disbelieve in the Real Presence, then i could see how you would believe it to be a waste of time.
if you do believe in the Real Presence, then why is praying before the Holy Sacrament a waste?
You do pray, I assume, Charles? (I do hope you have time between all the protest marches and Hans Kung studying you do to pray.) Afterall: "The prayer of the just man avails much" as it is said. does this suddenly become false if we are praying before our Blessed Lord in the Holy Sacrament?
Praying is also an act, one which Jesus very explicitly told us to do. Do His words not apply if we do so before His presence on the altar?
If it is good to pray in private, which I assume as a hermit you do, why is it wrong or wasteful to pray the same prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in adoration?
Traditionally within the
Traditionally within the Roman Catholic Church the Real Presence includes the person of the Catholic Priest, as we are reminded by Our Holy Father in Rome during this Annus Sacerdotalis.
How do you perceive and receive this Real Presence in the person of the great Roman Catholic theologian the Reverend Father Hans Kung, early mentor to Pope Beneditc XVI and who got him his first teaching position?
How do you perceive and receive this Real Presence in the person of the great American and Roman Catholic theoogian and Doctor, the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien?
Clearly you fail to do so. Review please your obligations under this papal Annus Sacerdotalis.
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT
i receive it the same way you
i receive it the same way you do, in the holy sacrifice of the mass. yet unlike you, i don't believe that prayer suddenly becomes wasteful if it is done in eucharistic adoration.
why you are so stridently against people praying in this regard is a mystery to me. do you really find simple prayer and reflection in the presence of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament to be that distasteful?
Dear Frere: Am I to
Dear Frere:
Am I to understand that your religion equates the physical presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament with Christ's statement that "what you do to the least of My people, that you do unto Me?"
To borrow one of your practices of asking for citations, please, my dear Frere, provide the source for your claim that "Traditionally within the Roman Catholic Church the Real Presence includes the person of the Catholic Priest..."
In Christ,
Smooches
P.S. You haven't addressed Fr. Richard P. McBrien's assertion that "transubstantiation" is a "medieval word"...Does a Priest, according to your religion, have the power to whisper the words of consecration over a piece of bread and have that bread change substance and become the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ?
All very good, indeed. But
All very good, indeed. But you left one out:
We spend time with our dear Lord by spending time with our dear Lord.
Pax
when we heal the sick and
when we heal the sick and feed the hungry.
Remember what Our Dear Lord HImself said, and warned, and taught, and did.
The Lord is everywhere. His
The Lord is everywhere. His Real Presence must be made real in the lives of the poor, the blind, the deaf, the needy, the oppressed, the voiceless, the marginalized, the powerless. Otherwise our sacramental devotion to him falls into the slippery slope of self-gratifying pietism or "idol-izing the Eucharist."
I, for one, hope and strive
I, for one, hope and strive for both; the vertical axis of the cross, which symbolizes a relationship between myself and God and the horizontal axis of the cross, which symbolizes the connection to all of human kind. If I can have private time with Jesus in Eucharistist adoration and then do all of the above that you mention, I would be very, very pleased. If I have one without the other, I would feel very lacking.
enough with the symbols
enough with the symbols already; get with the reality Whom we encounter in the poor, the homeless, the sick, the dying, the widow and orphan in their distress, the alien in our midst hiding from unjust laws.
"Whoever removes the Cross
"Whoever removes the Cross and its interpretation by the New Testament from the center, in order to replace it, for example, with the social commitment of Jesus to the oppressed as a new center, no longer stands in continuity with the apostolic faith. He does not see that God's commitment to the world is most absolute precisely at this point across a chasm." - Hans Urs von Balthasar
No. He reads the New
No. He reads the New Testament and the authentic teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ who commands us to heal the sick and feed the hungry ("I was hungry and you refused to feed me") and who says those who cry Lord Lord will not get into the Reign of God but those who do the Will of my Father.
And what is that will? Well, He tells us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, liberate the oppressed, receive the aline in our midst even though la migra is looking for them.
And to love our enemies, not kill them
Question: Is the OLD
Question: Is the OLD TESTAMENT useful for correction and instruction? Or just the NEW TESTAMENT?
Thanks veritas. And if I may
Thanks veritas. And if I may add: (a) the Cross (and the Resurrection) ought to be at the center of the Christians' social commitment to the oppressed; and (b) the Cross is Christless unless we followers of the Way put ourselves in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. Only then can the Cross become salvific.
from the 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippine local Church: "Eternal salvation depends on the living out of a love of preference for the poor because the poor and the needy bear the privileged presence of Christ" (Mt. 25:31-34; cf. GS 27; JW 31; EN 12; LE 8).
Would that the practice of Perpetual Adoration engender, not pull them away from - the Cross-centered commitment to social justice and global transformation required of Jesus' disciples in the minds and hearts of its devotees.
from the Synod of Bishops' "Justice in the Word" (1971): "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world appears to us as a constitutive element in the preaching of the Gospel...." Carrying Jesus' Cross in the here and now is preaching the gospel.
But I do not agree, with you,
But I do not agree, with you, Mr. Green, as you do not agree with basic tenets of our Faith, including your eagerness to send others off to rape, torture and kill for your materialist resources.
Thou shalt not Kill.
Isn't that scriptural?
Love thy enemy.
Is that not scriptural?
Upon this point, I tried to make it clear that I discover the mystery of the Incarnation unfold within the community which regularly gathers (this evening in fact) around the "wafer."
I regret that might be too subtle a point for you, as is Do unto others what you want them to do for you.
Please read the Rule for Monks in a timely fashion.
praying fervently for your conversion, I remain
frère charles du désert OSB
"those who marry the spirit
"those who marry the spirit of the age will find themselves widows in the next" G.K chesterton
GK was no Roman Catholic
GK was no Roman Catholic theologian but the pithy weaver of fashionable expressions which occasionally made some semblance of sense to someone among gullible. The reagan speechwriter of his time who still finds favor with his fortune telling.
The Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien on the other hand is our greatest and most scholarly (anglo) American Roman Catholic academe, formal theologian and priest, and we Catholics do very well to read him until we achieve some growing understanding.
One wove false yet fashionable fables long ago.
The Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien tells Truth now. Read him, and repent.
frère charles du désert OSB
Typical Charles, there is no
Typical Charles, there is no orthodox Catholic that he hasn't disparaged. For someone who preaches love and tolerance he spends alot of time spreading his bitterness and insults.
What a revealing comment. You
What a revealing comment. You really are old fashioned at heart This is the old attitude of the laity being an underclass spiritually and incapable of the spiritual insight of theologians.
Curiously Christ and His Blessed Mother do not appear to share your elitist views.
Remeber Jesus taught in parables. Would you label himm the "reagan" rabbi of His time?
Chesterton also said:
Chesterton also said: "Tradition is giving votes to the most obscure of all classes - our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead."
Wheres your charity Charles?
Wheres your charity Charles? You seem to lack the very qualities you insist that others have.You should pratice what you preach.
In the words of the recent
In the words of the recent and great social encyclical, my charity lies in the Truth, which we english speaking americans best understand through the writings of the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien.
Green most often misrepresents the truth and cannot provide any evidence for his claims, including regarding what Our Holy Father Saint Benedict "said." Most charitable we reveal to him the Truth. More charitably than I does the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien whose mighty opus we Roman Catholics do very well to read.
Wow, such humility and
Wow, such humility and fraternal charity. I also confess to a certain envy given that the Lord seems to have gifted you with such insight into my soul that you feel qualified to comment on my "eagerness to send others..." and can determine that I neither understand nor practice the Golden Rule. May I remind you, "judge not, and you shall not be judged", but I suppose for someone with such clarity of vision, who can, from vast distance, read the heart and soul of an individual based on his comments on a website, I suppose that caveat from the Lord does not apply. I can see from your posts here and elsewhere that not only have you read the Rule, but you must be expert in its application.
Nonetheless, I thank you for your prayers. Lord knows that I need them, the life of a Christian is one of daily conversion, daily turning away from sin and toward the Gospel. I will continue to pray for you as well, that God will bless you and grant you what strength and grace you need.
DEO GRATIAS
DEO GRATIAS
You are going to be in
You are going to be in trouble for those last two paragraphs! I don't think Jesus wants people to sit and be with him in the consecrated host. I think he'd rather we were being with him in his people. He was constantly seeing the holy in people and sacramental ideas such as the bread and wine becoming his body were meant not for adoration, but to show us the meanings of his harder to define teachings. If you look at all his teachings and miracles though, you will find nothing that comes close to him wanted us to sit and just adore him - he was all about service and sharing self and love with others.
Have you not read the story
Have you not read the story of Martha and Mary, where Christ chided the busy sister for criticising the adoration of the contemplative sister?
It wasn't that she wanted to
It wasn't that she wanted to "adore" Jesus but that she wanted to learn from him, sit in on his lessons to the disciples and Jesus said yes to her wanting to learn from him. He did not say yes, come and adore me.
What you say is true
What you say is true earthenvessel. Jesus is the Teacher and she wanted to learn from Him and she did learn from Him because she was listening to Him and He said she was doing the right thing. He serves us, more than we are able to serve Him as we grow and mature in our faith in Him, because He is Divine in nature and we are still human and we have spiritual needs that require His presence and our listening and open heart. If we listen to Him in the Gospels He is still serving us. We are to open our hearts to receive Him. He washed the feet of the disciples and served them, not the other way around, until they were nourished with His Holy Spirit. He also let His feet be washed by the woman and she did so because she was becoming like Him and understood Him, loved Him, and served Him and was present when He was crucified and saw Him Resurrected and Ascending into Heaven.
The presence of Jesus Christ is not only in the Eucharist. He is also present in the Gospels. Sitting or kneeling in the presence of the Holy Eucharist can be a beautiful, beneficial and healing experience. I can understand why people would want to be present before Christ in the Eucharist. It truly does have benefits for one's soul and spirit in their spiritual journey to Christ. It is a beginning, not an end, to a journey of faith in Christ.
I have to disagree with Richard McBrien when he says it is going backwards. I see it as part of the journey of faith to Christ. I see it as one step in a journey of faith that has steps in spiritual ascendancy in closeness to Christ. There are many other steps to take, but this can be included as a rich experience. Our relationship with Christ should be growing if we have a living faith and are willfully getting closer to Him and we will reach many plateaus on our journey to Him. Not all are on the same plateau. Jesus beckons us to His spiritual freedom in receiving what is Holy from Our Father. That which is Holy is Love.
Adoration of Jesus Christ is not going to benefit us if we perceive that we are doing a good work for Him by doing so. This will only serve to puff ourselves up. We cannot serve Christ until we are open to receive His Holy Spirit. Christ decides who will receive His Holy Spirit and when. We are to persevere in faith.
have you not read that Faith
have you not read that Faith without works is dead?
That even the devil believes, and trembles?
(Saint James)
Jesus orders us to go forth and to love our enemy.
Not to sit around the house.
As a desert hermit I get forth as much as I possibly can, to serve and succor the poor, to console the down-hearted, to cheer those abandoned, to feed the hungry, to visit the sick, to liberate the imprisoned, etc.
Go forth and sin no more.
Let's get busy!
"As a desert hermit I get
"As a desert hermit I get forth as much as I possibly can, to serve and succor the poor, to console the down-hearted, to cheer those abandoned, to feed the hungry, to visit the sick, to liberate the imprisoned, etc."
Your arm must get pretty tired from patting yourtself on the back, Frère Hermit. Good thing you're not a sinner like all these publicans, huh?
But how do you keep your phylacteries and tassels clean out there in the desert?
Mike Harrison
well, actually I am going now
well, actually I am going now to a laundromat in Mexico. It's a cold water wash but a wash . . .
And it was very difficult to share these things, but necessary within the present context. The Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien is absolutely correct, as always and everywhere and we must read him, in particular recently his brilliant and illuminating two part commentary on the Pope's recent social encyclical.
Jesus warns that not all who cry Lord Lord will be taken into the Reign of God. In fact, he will say Depart from me for I do not know you. I was hungry and you did not feed me; sick and you refused to give me health care; an alien and you refused to grant me sanctuary, etc., etc.
So.
Let's get busy.
Get off those knees and out there with transcendent love comforting the afflicted and liberating the oppressed. There is ever more work to be done, now.
In fact I have phylacteries to wash and while there some hungry children (and adults) to feed, to comfort, to smile.
frère charles du désert OSB
Regarding adoration of
Regarding adoration of Christ, you said: you will find nothing that comes close to him wanted us to sit and just adore him...
And yet when Jesus visited the house of Martha and Mary, and Martha was busy with the serving and Mary was occupying herself by sitting at the feet of the Lord and simply listening to him, what happened?
[Luke 10:40] Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." [41] The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. [42] There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
"Can you not spend one hour
"Can you not spend one hour with me"
Jesus asked his disciples at Gethsemene. For those who can spend an hour before the Blessed sacrament there come abundant graces which enhance discernment and strengthen them for their work in the world.
Mother Teresa's nuns spend time each day before the Blessed Sacrament and I am sure no one could accuse them of not being out there administering to the poor and needy,
You are totally wrong. Mary
You are totally wrong. Mary Magdelene choose the better part .. adoring Jesus,being with him and listening to him ( This is what happens during Perpetual Adoration) . Martha was all about service. It was our Dearest Saviour's who judged that Mary choose the better part.
Dude was the Martha and Mary
Dude
was the Martha and Mary story really with Mary Magdalene?
This might be a new interpretation.
So why does Jesus directly tell us directly in so many ways and warnings to feed the hungry ("I was hungry and you did not feed me") and Saint Peter three times after asking "Do you love me?" to feed his sheep.
"Could you not stay with Me
"Could you not stay with Me but an hour and pray?"
Why are these being presented as "this OR that" rather than "this AND that"? Why make the assumption that if I take an hour to sit with the Lord and pray in His Presence, I am not doing anything else besides? As is said elsewhere here, He praised Mary for sitting at His feet and adoring Him, while reminding Martha that business isn't the only thing in life, even when there is much to do.
Most of the people I know who consistently have a Holy Hour with our Blessed Lord, present in the Blessed Sacrament, are also some of the most active in our parish and with local charities. It's funny how, when you make time for the Lord - and that's what it takes - you also find it easier to make time for the Corporal Works of Mercy. And it's during these beautiful, peaceful Holy Hours that we also have time to concentrate on many of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
earthenvessel; Right on the
earthenvessel;
Right on the money. I'm starting to like you11
Actually, if you have read
Actually, if you have read the Scriptures, you will find ample places where the Lord withdrew with His disciples, or alone, just to pray and be in a quiet place away from everyone. When the Apostles came back, all excited, from their missionary trip, telling Jesus how they had driven out demons and worked miracles, the first thing the Lord said was "Come to a deserted place and rest awhile" (Mark 6: 31).
Jesus was NOT all about service and sharing self all the time. Even the Lord, Who is God, recognized that He needed time apart, and most especially His followers, not God but just human beings, absolutely needed time to refresh themselves, to pause and reflect.
One of the first lessons we should learn, one of the most important, is that we must care for ourselves first before we can care for others. If we are sick, tired, weighed down with worry or care, spiritually empty, we will not be of any use to anyone else. Further, if we spend all our time doing good, without ever reflecting on why we do that good, or Who gives us the grace to do that good, then all that good that we do amounts to little when it comes to our eternal salvation.
Finally, the only way we build a relationship with the Lord is by being with Him. The more time we spend with Him, the better our relationship. Yes, we encounter Christ through others, especially the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the dying. But, we also encounter Christ in the silence of Eucharistic Adoration. Adoration gives us the opportunity to clear our minds, to just be, and listen to Him.
St. Benedict said it well in his motto, Ora et Labora: Pray and Work. The Church has always taught that there are two equally important components to the Christian life: contemplation and service. One cannot have one without the other.
Mr. Green writes: "St.
Mr. Green writes: "St. Benedict said it well in his motto, Ora et Labora: Pray and Work."
As every Benedictine knows, Saint Benedict never said that, and never had a motto.
Read the Rule for Monks, and read the Gospels, and grow relieved of your misconceptions concerning the Father of Western Monasticism, and about Jesus, and thus relieved of the impulse to write such absurdities as: "Jesus was NOT all about service and sharing self all the time." What was then Calvary?
"One of the first lessons we should learn, one of the most important, is that we must care for ourselves first before we can care for others."
Caring for self first before others? Isn't that a tenet of the Republican faith in individual and corporate economy? HAsn't that yet run its inevitable and disasterous and unChristian course?
Jesus told the rich young man to go, sell all that he had, and give that money to the poor, and THEN come follow. The rich yong man went sadly away to care for all his really cool stuff, which he loved, first, above us and above Jesus. He took care of himself first, sad he could not add Jesus to his possessions.
Great post! The Dominicans
Great post! The Dominicans have a similar motto, Contemplare and contemplata allis tradere (contemplate and give to others the fruits of contemplation).
Most of my life I went to mass once a week, and behaved little like a Christian. Towards the end of college I began going every day (or several days a week) and noticed an increased ability to act as Christ commanded. However it was only after beginning adoration that I noticed a true surge in my spiritual life which bore fruit in the corporal works of mercy.
We are supposed to bring Jesus to the world, to the sick and downtrodden, but we cannot give what we don't have. It was through adoration that Jesus poured out his grace upon me, I wish I could go more than just once or twice a week. To compensate for not having perpetual adoration I'll often go and sit with the tabernacle, just to be near him and to learn from him so I can bring that knowledge to others.
Didnt Jesus on many occasions
Didnt Jesus on many occasions go off by himself to pray to the Father? Should we not follow his example and pray to Jesus by ourselves? And where better to commune with God than in His Presence? Adoration seems very Biblical to me.
I was under the impression
I was under the impression (mistaken perhaps) that those who sit for a time to comtemplate the consecrated host would do so as a means of gaining the will and ability to take with them what they have gained into the world and therefore be more of a servant to their sisters and brothers. Certainly, this is what Mother Theresa took from her prayers and adoration. Wouldn`t it be nice if more did as well. I would like to be optimistic and think this will happen.
The step back that Fr.
The step back that Fr. McBrien is warning his readers about is in his presumptions as to what all the needs are of Catholics today. If mass does indeed provide all that we need sacramentally and spiritually, then why take time for prayer, spiritual direction, retreats, scripture reading, and ongoing faith formation? The clericalism that Fr. McBrien so often writes about seems to be alive and well in all poles of the Church, not just those of one particular eccesiology.
"Now that most Catholics are
"Now that most Catholics are literate and even well-educated, the Mass is in the language of the people (i.e, the vernacular), and its rituals are relatively easy to understand and follow, there is little or no need for extraneous eucharistic devotions."
I'm sorry, but I've met Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who don't believe in the true presence. As a 36-year old, it is obvious to me that Catholics of my parents' generation (i.e. pre-Vatican II) are much more knowledgable about the basics of their faith than are those of us educated in the post-adoration age. Fr. McBrien's assertion here is ludicrous.
"The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually."
I can't believe that there is no qualification to this. Are all other sacraments unnecessary? The priest at my parish never says anything but the second Eucharistic prayer. If that is all that a parishoner hears every Sunday, his or her understanding of the mass will be severely limited. As a whole, we are no more knowledgable of our faith than people in the 1950's or 1250's. More importantly, there is less and less time in our lives to meditate, contemplate and adore, making our sacrifice of praise even more meaningful.
This sounds like heresy to
This sounds like heresy to me. The Catechism of the Catholic Church endorses Eucharistic Adoration. A sure norm for the faith according to John Paul II.
Heresy is a harsh word let us
Heresy is a harsh word let us give Father the benefit of the doubt and call it error or ignorance.
A little learning can be a dangerous thing I believe Father Richard needs to read more widely and more deeply and ask the Holy Spirit to guide his writing.
This article makes no mention of Peter Julian Eymard whose whole order was based around the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Nor does it mention Fulton Sheen who never missed an hour with the Blessed Sacrament throughout his priesthood.Odd that isn't it because Fulton Sheen was a very highly educated man and he led an extremely busy life.?