10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Read this week's bulletin to see the latest from St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.
Dear Parish Family,
Last week during my homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, I alluded to behaviors that help reinforce our belief. There is an old Latin adage, Lex orandi, lex credendi. “The law of prayer, is the law of belief.” In other words, the way we pray, the way we carry out our faith – the way we celebrate the Eucharist – either helps us to believe what we say is true, or it detracts from it. If the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as the re-presentation of the Paschal Mystery, is the most important thing we do each week – Heaven meeting earth, the Lord truly making himself present to us in the Eucharist – then how should we carry ourselves? Is it different from the way we carry ourselves the rest of the week?
There is particular law that governs the celebration of Holy Mass. A lot of that are things that I, as a priest, must be particularly attentive to. But there are some “unwritten” rules for the Faithful that can be a great help to reinforcing the belief of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist and his saving act made manifest at Mass. I will offer a few thoughts for our consideration. This will be the first of a few installments of reflections over the next couple of weeks. (Reminding myself too!)
First: posture, sacred silence, and prayer.
When I enter the church building, am I keeping in mind that I am coming into God’s presence in a most particular way with the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle? Do I genuflect as I enter the main part of the church out of reverence for the Lord? Do I watch my speech – the amount of talking, the volume, the content? Do I seek to maintain a reverential silence to allow my own heart to enter into prayer and respect for others’ desire to pray?
Stay tuned!
Peace.
-Fr. Kennell
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