A great motet for today’s Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul!
Latin:
Tu es Petrus
et super hanc petram ædificabo ecclesiam meam
et portæ inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam.
Et tibi dabo claves regni cælorum.
English:
You are Peter,
And upon this Rock I will build My Church:
and the gates of hell shall not overcome it.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Remember the gospel from last Sunday – the one about the woman anointing Jesus’ feet? There are many layers of meaning to this gospel passage, and while we have already reflected on it, I’d like to look at it more closely. Often as Catholics, we do not always study the layers of meaning in our Scripture readings, often because we do not spend the time to study Sacred Scripture at all! This week I would like to take a moment to delve deeper into that particular reading.
One important aspect of this gospel reading, sometimes overlooked, is the great significance of the act of anointing itself, which is just one of the indicators we have from the Old Testament that this is the Christ, the Messiah! Christ, in this moment, prophesies his own burial (“She has prepared me for burial.”) While the woman was not anointing him a priest, as Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit, the very act of anointing itself hearkens back to the anointing of Aaron, which we read about in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. This anointing consecrated Aaron for his “holy duties”, that is, his priesthood. In this gospel, the symbolism in the act of anointing Jesus is to prepare him for his holy duties, his priesthood, his sacrifice on the cross. Leviticus (21:10) says that the high priest is anointed with oil and is ordained to wear the priestly garments. The one who is anointed is dedicated to God. Jesus is THE ULTIMATE high priest. He is anointed not only with oil, but with the Spirit.
We also read about the anointing of David as King in 1 Samuel 16, where Samuel anoints David with the “horn of oil” and the Spirit of the Lord rushes down on David. The psalms serve as further reminder that David is anointed as the Lord’s servant (see Psalm 89) This is important to keep in mind when reading our gospel passage also, as Jesus is not only anointed priest, he is also King. This is one of the reasons we hear in the baptismal rite of anointing that we are anointed just as Jesus was, “Priest, Prophet and King”. Of course, Jesus did not need to be anointed with oil, since he was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10), but this is one of the many signs of the Messiah.
While we could examine anointings in the Bible for a very long time (I am not intending to be comprehensive!), it comes down to one thing. This gospel reminds us who Jesus is – the Christ. The very word “Christ” comes from the Greek “Khristos”, meaning: The Anointed One. He is the Messiah!
The Gospel from yesterday morning, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, (Luke 7:36-8:3) has a very pertinent application to the liturgical life of the Church. The sinning woman in the gospel brings an expensive alabaster jar filled with ointment (costly perfumed oil in Matthew, or “spikenard” as Mark). She washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and anoints them. In the three other accounts of this gospel, the disciples become indignant and say this is a waste, even mentioning that it is worth 300 days’ wages (that’s almost a year! What, like, $30,000 or more today?). Why spend this nice oil washing some dirty feet? Wouldn’t it be better to sell the oil and give the money to the poor? Jesus tells them to leave her alone, that she has done a good thing, and forgives her sins. He also adds, “The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me.” (Mt. 26:11)
What does this mean for us in the celebration of the Liturgy? Many ask, “Why doesn’t the Church sell everything and give the money to the poor?” What Jesus could be saying is even if you sell this stuff and feed people for a day, a week, a month… you will still have the poor. Then what? How do you feed them after that? Thankfully we DO still have Jesus with us in the Eucharist. We honor him with what we have to give, and he can feed us for an eternity. The use of “nice things” in the Liturgy does not mean the Church is against giving to the poor. For centuries, even the poorest have given what they could to the Church to honor God. That is why we use vessels made of precious metal – Jesus is the Christ, our King, and we would give the best we have to honor him if we truly believe that! The beautiful celebration of the Liturgy is not at odds with caring for and serving others. We come to the Eucharist to be nourished ourselves before we can go out and feed others. However, the Liturgy is not about “getting” – it is not about just coming to get fed so we can go out, it is about giving of ourselves to glorify God. Blessed Theresa of Calcutta is one example of a total servant who recognized the importance of being nourished herself by the gift of Christ present in the Eucharist and giving glory to God, which then enables us to go out and serve him more faithfully.
More on this next time, as this gospel is so rich: it has great connections to the Old Testament and to the Sacraments of the Church! In the meantime, reflect on what you give to honor God. It doesn’t have to be money. Have you ever done anything for Christ as extravagant as this woman? What do you give in your own way?
I couldn’t have said it better! We really do need to recover the meaning of the sacred!
http://www.ccwatershed.org/video/10322990/?return_url=/liturgy/
“Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea, quem timebo? Dominus defensor vitae meae a quo trepidabo? qui tribulant me inimici mei, infirmati sunt, et ceciderunt.
Ps. Si consistant adversum me castra: non timebit cor meum. Gloria Patri…”
The Lord is my light and my salvation…
(Thanks to CCWatershed for practice videos for Gregorian chant…please go check out their site.)
“Gregorian Chant Will Save the World…
I turned to see my two-year-old, standing, staring at the computer, eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape. He took a few steps forward, and then said, breathlessly: ‘Dada…that’s Jesus music.'”
I ran across this story over at Father Z’s great blog: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2013/06/guest-post-gregorian-chant-will-save-the-world/
Here is the original story: http://backoftheworld.com/2013/06/03/gregorian-chant-will-save-the-world/
I would add my own experience: my 2-year old daughter also has such desire and fervor for sacred music! Last week while waiting in the car, my brother and I (both super nerds of course) were singing soprano and bass parts along with a youtube video of Sicut Cervus, my daughter began singing along with a great “u” vowel sound, and a super-serious look on her face! She was so proud! There just is something to the truly sacred that is captivating to the innocent child.
It makes you think, as the author of the story says, Gregorian chant WILL save the world!!
An excellent article on the proper understanding of inculturation and music at Mass.
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, often known as “Corpus Christi”. You might be thinking, gee, don’t we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ at every Mass? Sure, but just as with the Lord’s Resurrection, a particular day is set aside to celebrate and reflect on this aspect of the mystery and saving work of Christ!
The Catechism, no. 1374, quotes both St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope Paul VI in teaching us about the presence of Christ in the Eucharist:
“The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as ‘the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.’ In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’”
So, to repeat it, BOTH the Body and the Blood of Christ that we receive contain ALL of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Christ is not just there “beside the bread” (which is a Lutheran belief, consubstantiation – not to be confused with the word consubstantial in our Creed, which is not applied to the Eucharist). The word that we use for this is TRANSUBSTANTIATION. The substance of the bread or wine has changed – it is no longer bread or wine! It only retains the “appearances” (physical qualities) of bread and wine, but it is not bread and wine.
This is a great time to focus on how we approach for the reception of Holy Communion. Do we show respect for the Eucharistic species? How do our actions reflect our beliefs?
A couple of reminders on the reception of Holy Communion:
1) Bow, before both the Body and Blood of Christ. This still applies even if you are not receiving! (So don’t just walk past the Blood of Christ like it’s not there. Is that how you would pass Jesus in the street??)
2) If you are receiving in the hand, consume the consecrated Host immediately. Do not walk anywhere with the sacred species. If you drop Him, pick Him up and consume!
3) The reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue is always permitted!
Finally, another reminder – go to confession! To receive the Most Holy Eucharist, one should be in a state of grace. If it is not possible to get to confession, make a perfect act of contrition before reception, and then go to confession! How amazing and awesome the endless mercy of God…
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Random musings of a Catholic musician and liturgist
Oh, for the love of chant! 