CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION OXFORD JUNE 2004
EUCHARIST and the CHURCH: + Vincent Nichols (Archbishop)
CORPUS CHRISTI: JOHN PAUL II & PAUL VI
Corpus Christi - Evening Prayer I and Morning Prayer
Corpus Christi - Preface of the Holy Eucharist
Corpus Christi - First Reading, Psalm & Second Reading
Gospel and preaching
Corpus Christi - Sequence Laudia Sion
Corpus Christi - Epiclesis, Memorial Acclamation & Intercess
Corpus Christi - ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA
Corpus Christi - Evening Prayer II
Corpus Christi - Triumph over Heresy
Benediction
Message Board
Guestbook
Mail Form
Where are from and your age range?
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Our Archbishop of Birmingham writes...
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The Mass makes present for us the words and actions, the death and resurrection of Christ by which we are saved. The Mass is the great ‘mystery of faith’ in every time and place. To take part in the Mass is to be drawn into the saving action of God in our world. It is unlike anything else in the world, beyond all other actions and different to any other celebration that takes place in church. The Mass is unique.
For the full text of this Pastoral Letter please click below
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Jesus offered himself...
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...to the Father for our sake. Once his sacrifice is made, then, in the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ can give himself entirely to us as our food and drink. So the sacrifice of the Mass becomes a true banquet. We too, who offer ourselves to the Father, can become servants of each other, brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
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The Mass is..
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... this true sacrifice and this real banquet because in it Christ is truly present. By the power of the Holy Spirit the bread and wine we place on the altar becomes the real presence of Christ, his body and his blood. Christ is held before us in the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass to which we all respond with the Great Amen. It is Christ whom we receive in Holy Communion. The appearances of bread and wine hide the truth. Their inner reality, their substance is changed. Now it is Christ who is truly present.
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So when we...
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... receive Holy Communion let us never speak of ‘the bread’ or ‘the wine’. Let us speak only of the body and the blood of Christ. This is the reality and the language of faith. This is our language, the one of which we are proud, and which we are to teach our children. When we are careful in what we say then we treasure and hand on our faith.
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The celebration of the Mass...
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.... builds up the Church. Week by week, day by day, as the sacrifice of Christ is renewed and as we are fed by his body and blood, so the Church grows. The Mass strengthens us in our bond to Christ. We are his people. As we receive him in Holy Communion, he takes us into himself, binding us together in our communion of faith, filling us with the grace of the Holy Spirit and presenting us to His Father.
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The Mass, then, is..
 | | ... the centre and source of unity in the Church. When we take part in the Mass we are drawn more deeply into the reality of the Church, both the spiritual reality of the Body of Christ and the visible reality of the world-wide Catholic Communion. To receive Holy Communion and share visibly in the sacrifice of Christ we need to be at one with the Church, both in a spiritual, inner way, and in our visible belonging to the Catholic Church. |
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This intimacy with Christ...
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.... which we are given in the Mass and in Holy Communion is a permanent gift for us. Our Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament is an abiding presence. It is good to spend time in his company in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. I am glad that the Adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is again becoming a widespread practice in our parishes. I hope it continues to do so, more and more.
(Extract from Pastoral letter)
+Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Birmingham
Given at Birmingham on the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and appointed to be read in all Churches and Chapels of the Diocese on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, 15th June 2003. |
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