|
Services Our Philosophy Calendar Parish News Minneapolis
Star and Tribune Article 1998 Minneapolis
Star and Tribune Article 1989 Links
|
 |
|
The Edifice as Created by the Holy Eucharist
On the Mass.... "Unquestionably the greatest of the many aids which Christ has provided for His people is the Sacrament of the Eucharist, commonly called the Mass -- the most beautiful, the most wonderful, the most uplifting of the Christian ceremonies. It benefits not only the individual, as do the other Sacraments, but the entire congregation; it is of use not once only, like Baptism or Confirmation, but is intended for the helping of every churchman all his life long; and in addition to that, it affects the whole neighorhood surrounding the church in which it is celebrated... ...Through the ceremony of the Eucharist, each time it is celebrated, there passes forth into the world a wave of peace and strength, the effect of which can hardly be overrated, and we can scarely be in error in regarding this as the primary object of the Service, for it is achieved at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist... " On Baptism.... "To quote from the Liturgy: "Baptism is a Sacrament by which the recipient is solemnly admitted to membership of Christ's holy Church and grafted into His mystical body"." The following is the priest's address to the congregation, which further explains the Sacrament: Brethren, our fair Father Christ, in His great loving-kindness, hath ordained that His mystic Bride, our Holy Mother the Church, shall guide and protect her children at every stage from the cradle to the grave. To this end is the Sacrament of holy Baptism ordained, that in His Name the Church may give welcome and blessing to him who is newly come into this world of pilgrimage, and that the soul may dwell in a body purified from the taint of evil, sanctified and set apart for the service of Almighty God. Therefore, brethren of Christ's catholic Church, I pray you to join with me in this our holy rite, whereby this child shall be made partaker of these heavenly gifts and a member of His mystical body." This is a quote from Baptism for Infants; there is closely related ceremony for older children and adults. On Confirmation... The next level of help after Baptism is Confirmation, as this charge from the Bishop reveals: "My beloved children; on your entry into this mortal life you were brought into the house of God, and our holy Mother the Church met you with such help as then you could receive. Now that you can think and speak for yourselves, she offers you a further boon-the gift of God's most Holy Spirit. This world in which we live is God's world, and it is growing better and better day by day and year by year; but it is still far from perfect. There is still much of sin and selfishness; there are still many who know not God, neither understand His laws. So there is a constant struggle between good and evil, and, since you are members of Christ's Church, you will be eager to take your stand upon God's side and fight under the banner of the Lord…. But if you enter His most holy service, take heed that you are such soldiers as He would have you be. Strong must you be as the lion, yet gentle as the lamb, ready ever to protect the weak, watchful ever to help where help is needed, to give reverence to those to whom it is due, and to show knightly courtesy to all. Never forgetting that God is Love, make it your constant care to shed love around you wherever you may go; so will you fan into living flame the smouldering fires of love in the hearts of those in whom as yet the spark burns low. Remember that the Soldier of the Cross must utterly uproot from his heart the giant weed of selfishness, and must live not for himself but for the service of the world; for this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Remember that the power of God, which you are now about to receive by my hand, will ever work within you for righteousness, inclining you unto a noble and upright life. Strive therefore earnestly, that your thoughts, your words, and your works shall be such as befit a child of Christ and a knight dedicated to His service. All this shall you zealously try to do for Christ's sweet sake and in His most Holy Name." On Absolution (Confession).... "…to quote some sentences of what is written upon the subject in our Liturgy. It is strictly forbidden to the Priest and the suppliant for absolution respectively to ask and disclose the identity of others implicated in any wrongdoing confessed. The suppliant comes to confess his own faults, not those of others. The Priest should be as sympathetic, natural and humane as possible with those who come to him to receive absolution. Children under seven are not subjects for confession, since it is the tradition of the Church that they are not capable of serious and responsible sin. Above that age and until they are responsible agents they may, in the Liberal Catholic Church, make auricular confession (save in emergency) only with the consent of one ..of the parents. The Priest hears the confession without interruption, unless that be necessary. He then gives such counsel as he may think well. In the Liberal Catholic usage he does not impose a penance, but may suggest that the suppliant should attend the Holy Eucharist, with the desire that the power which then comes to him shall be used against some particular fault or set of faults" On Holy Orders.... "The plan adopted by the Christ with regard to this religion is that a special compartment of the great reservoir of spiritual force is set apart for its use, and that a certain order of officials is empowered, by the use of appointed ceremonies, words and signs of power, to draw upon it for the benefit of mankind. The scheme chosen for passing on this power is the Sacrament of Ordination..." On Holy Matrimony.... "The general intention of the marriage Service is to open the natures of the bride and bridegroom towards each other, especially at the astral and mental levels; and then, having done this, to draw a ring round them, separating them to a certain extent from the rest of the world. From the point of view of the inner life matrimony is a tremendous experiment, in which the parties agree to make certain sacrifices of individual freedom and preferences, in the hope and with the intention first, that through their mutual reaction each will intensify the inner life of the other, so that their joint output of spiritual force may be far greater than the sum of their separate efforts would be, and secondly, that they may have the privilege of providing suitable vehicles for souls who desire and deserve a good opportunity of rapid evolution"
"Again I quote from our Liturgy: The purposes of the Sacrament of Holy Unction are:
(a) to aid in the restoration of bodily health, (b) to prepare the
man for death, (c) to which may be added remission of sin, since
it also involves a form of absolution. Notwithstanding the trend
of custom in the Latin Church which has been to limit the administration
of this rite to those in grave danger of death, it is desirable
that the rite should be more generally employed as an aid to recovery
from any serious sickness. For this reason it is among us called
"Holy Unction" rather than "Extreme Unction",
though the latter name is sometimes said to originate from the idea
that it is the last of the unctions given to the ordinary Christian,
those of Baptism and Confirmation preceding it. Holy Unction is
not to be regarded as having in ordinary circumstances any quasi-miraculous
effect. It is intended simply to aid the normal processes of nature
by freeing the body from lower influences opening it to spiritual
influence." |
