Eucharist, Prayer group Pt II

June 25, 2012 St Francis Prayer Group

V:  O God, come to my assistance.

R: Lord, make haste to help me

St. Padre Pio – Stay With Me Lord

Precious Lord, Take My Hand 702

Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus page 113 Treasures Holy & Mystical

O Sacrament Most Holy 325

Sharing?

Eucharist Continued:  More about the meal aspect

(from Bread of Life Cup of Salvation, John Baldovin, SJ)

(disclaimer:  one must always read the NT in light of the OT; consider that Christianity and Judaism are “siblings”, not parent-child; it is possible to claim Christianity as the older religion since Rabbinic Judaism did not come about until 70AD, BUT we must remember and re-affirm Jesus’ Judaism)

*Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 47  (pg. 12)

*What does the NT tell us about how to celebrate the Eucharist?

            No detailed rules; St Paul, 1 Cor 11-12 assumes they already know how.

*Eating and drinking in the ancient world:

            -food and with whom you share it was very important

            -Ritual Purity (ritual impurity = inability to offer sacrifice at the Temple): touch,  

            under same roof, eat meal

            -Scarcity of Food: particularly meat – usually only shared after sacrifice;  “we

            need to remember that Jesus’ teaching and actions took place in a world of

            poverty where a banquet would be truly extravagant because people were hungry

            most of the time.” (18) and there was little separation btwn religious and social, so

            feasts would inevitably have a religious character.

            -Jewish meals were framed by formal blessings:  (1)recognize how God blesses

            people/things (“the Lord bless you and keep you….”; (2)God is blessed for

            something, to “bless God” – we adapt this notion: “Blessed are you, Lord God of

            all creation….”.  Pious Jews blessed God continually, morning, noon & night.

            “…nothing seems to be accessible to men and women unless God is blessed for it.

            There is a profound spirituality here and it lies at the basis of the Mass:  things are

            good and holy for us only when we put them in the proper perspective – when we

            recognize God as their source.” (19)

*Formal Jewish meals were framed by blessings:  first cup of wine – for bread broken and shared and the second cup of wine at the end of meal (cup of blessing), this most likely being the major blessing. (berakah – to bless).  “One cannot understand our Eucharistic prayers without recognizing that they have their origins in Jewish formulas of blessing and prayers of thanksgiving for favors that God has granted.” (19)

Take a look at the Last Supper narratives:

Matthew 26:26-29  (Palestinian tradition)

Mark 14: 22-25, Luke 22:15-20; 1Cor 11:23-26 (Antiochene tradition)

*was it a Passover meal?  (the evening of the first full moon of the first spring month of the year) – discrepancy among the Gospels: Mt, Mk, Lk all place the meal on the evening after the Passover lambs are slaughtered, but in John Jesus dies at the same time as the slaughter of the lambs – still debated! So it took place at the time of /atmosphere of the Passover: “For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1Cor 5:7)

*Pray the Novena Sacramentum Caritatis, pg 14 Treasures Holy & Mystical (start Tuesday to end on July 4)