Eucharist and Vocations

Just a thought from Ecclesia de Eucharistia:

¶ 31. If the Eucharist is the centre and summit of the Church's life, it is likewise the centre and summit of priestly ministry. For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ, I repeat that the Eucharist “is the principal and central raison d'être of the sacrament of priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist”.

Priests are engaged in a wide variety of pastoral activities. If we also consider the social and cultural conditions of the modern world it is easy to understand how priests face the very real risk of losing their focus amid such a great number of different tasks. The Second Vatican Council saw in pastoral charity the bond which gives unity to the priest's life and work. This, the Council adds, “flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is therefore the centre and root of the whole priestly life”. We can understand, then, how important it is for the spiritual life of the priest, as well as for the good of the Church and the world, that priests follow the Council's recommendation to celebrate the Eucharist daily: “for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church”. In this way priests will be able to counteract the daily tensions which lead to a lack of focus and they will find in the Eucharistic Sacrifice – the true centre of their lives and ministry – the spiritual strength needed to deal with their different pastoral responsibilities. Their daily activity will thus become truly Eucharistic.

The centrality of the Eucharist in the life and ministry of priests is the basis of its centrality in the pastoral promotion of priestly vocations. It is in the Eucharist that prayer for vocations is most closely united to the prayer of Christ the Eternal High Priest. At the same time the diligence of priests in carrying out their Eucharistic ministry, together with the conscious, active and fruitful participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, provides young men with a powerful example and incentive for responding generously to God's call. Often it is the example of a priest's fervent pastoral charity which the Lord uses to sow and to bring to fruition in a young man's heart the seed of a priestly calling.

Sequence for Corpus Christi

For our prayer, I offer you the Sequence for Corpus Christi, written by St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sion, lift thy voice and sing;
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.
Special theme of praise is thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.

Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

At this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite;
Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead;
Here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
In His memory divine;
Wherefore now, with adoration,
We the Host of our salvation
Consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.
Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending,
Leaps to things not understood.

Here in outward signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things, are all we see:-
Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine;
Yet is Christ, in either sign,
All entire confessed to be.

They too who of Him partake
Sever not, nor rend, nor break,
But entire their Lord receive.
Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food;
But with ends how opposite!
Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death;
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before;
Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form,
The Signified remaining One
And the Same forevermore

Lo! upon the Altar lies,
Hidden deep from human eyes,
Angels' Bread from Paradise
Made the food of mortal man:
Children's meat to dogs denied;
In old types foresignified;
In the manna from the skies,
In Isaac, and the Paschal Lamb.

Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!
Thy true flock in safety keep.
Living Bread! Thy life supply;
Strengthen us, or else we die;
Fill us with celestial grace:
Thou, who feedest us below!
Source of all we have or know!
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the Feast of Love,
We may see Thee face to face. Amen

Year of the New Priest

Tim Drake has written an article for the National Catholic Register entitled Year of the New Priest. It's worth a read, too.

Heart of a Priest

The National Catholic Register (always a great read!) has a wonderful article on Heart of a Priest by Joseph Pronechen, reflecting on the priesthood in the light of the Sacred Heart and Year of the Priest.

"The day is a perfect reminder to renew this devotion to Jesus, while also remembering the “special sons” of his Sacred Heart."

Msgr. Stuart Swetland says, “We see that in the tenderness and mercy embodied in Jesus’ heart... He also reveals to us how we can be and should be, especially how we are to be tender and merciful to others.”

Jesus makes our vocation clear. “We see both the divine and human aspects,” says Msgr. Swetland. “We see God’s mercy shining through and God’s call for us to be merciful.”

The priest acts “in persona Christi to reveal the merciful love of the Father through the sacrament of reconciliation, through the Eucharist... In his pastoral zeal, he reveals God’s mercy.”

It’s the Year of the Priest. Have you commended to the Sacred Heart a priest close to your heart lately?

Vocations Views New Edition

I just posted the Vocations Views - Current Edition online. Either Option click to download or click to read online.

Trinity Sunday

This weekend, we celebrate the key doctrine of our Christian Faith: The Trinity. We are monotheistic - we believe in only one God. But our God is three Persons. Three persons perfectly united in one substance or existence. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God. Jesus Christ reveals Himself as God, and reveals the Father and the Spirit. These names are not simple names of modes - how God is revealed - but names of persons, and their internal relationship. It is not sufficient, as the Church has reminded us, to replace the 'traditional' names with other such Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier (to avoid 'patriarchal' language) because these reduce the Persons to activity, and when One Person is active, all members of the Trinity are active in their own way! The Father begets the Son eternally, and the Son is eternally begotten (but not made or created), and the Spirit proceeds from them both eternally. In love, they are one existence, three persons perfectly united.

This feast reminds us that God invites us into communion - we are created in the image and likeness of God. May we follow the example of the Trinity in loving others, and respond to His call in lives of service.

Boys' Summer Camp

We are pleased to be offering a summer camp for boys again this year. Fr. Timmerman and I are the directors. Held at the Youth Center south of Renville, it will begin at 9:30 am on the 18th of June and end on the 19th at 5 pm. Space is limited.

We have taken as our theme "Sword of the Spirit", and will focus on the year of St. Paul, and introduce the year for priests (which actually begins on the second day of camp. It will include prayers to the Sacred Heart, Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, and lots of play and good, solid conversation about our faith and what it means to be a true man.

Get the application here. You also need The Code of Conduct and medical forms.