Monthly Archives: April 2018

The Mass is Heaven on Earth

As I have mentioned in past newsletters, the Mass makes present on our altars the Sacrifice Our Lord made on Calvary now, in our time and in our place. One of the miracles of the Mass is that it “not only recalls the events that saved us, but actualises them, makes them present” to us NOW (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1104). Therefore, Calvary and the Mass are one and the same. Every Mass is also a participation in the eternal Liturgy of Heaven where the Sacrifice Our Lord once offered to the Father on the Cross is perpetuated. So the Heavenly Liturgy prolongs the Sacrifice of Calvary. The Catechism also explains that our participation on earth in the Heavenly Liturgy means we are united with the whole Court of Heaven – Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints (CCC 1090).

So consider the dialogue between the Priest and Congregation at the Preface of the Mass:

1. The Lord be with you. R. And with your spirit.
2. Lift up your hearts. R. We lift them up to the Lord.
3. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R. It is right and just.

We really are being invited to go to Heaven! The Priest then reads the Preface whose text varies according to the Sunday or feast, but it always ends with words like these: “And so with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the Hosts and Powers of Heaven, we sing the hymn of Your glory as without end we acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts…”

At that moment we are united in singing the “Sanctus” or “Holy, Holy” with all the Angels and Saints in the eternal Liturgy of Heaven. We are very blessed at St Mary’s that the beauty of our church does actually remind us we are in Heaven, because many modern churches simply don’t! Beautiful churches lead us to God. Think of the windows and statues of the Angels and Saints. Our Lord Himself is at the centre in the tabernacle which is why we genuflect to it. The altar, the candles, the incense, the Gospel book, the vestments and the kneeling before Our Lord are all mentioned in the book of the Apocalypse, the final book of the Bible which describes in detail the Heavenly Liturgy. Therefore, none of these details in the Mass are arbitrary or without reason. It is precisely because at every Mass Heaven and earth unite, that we hear and experience these Heavenly things in the Sacred Liturgy.

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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“One flock, One Shepherd”

After the first sin, God chose Israel to be the instrument through whom He would bring salvation to the whole world. Although Israel was His people, God was not content to save the Jewish people alone – He wants everyone to be saved. But it was from the Jewish people that the Messiah would be born. Hence Simeon declared JESUS at the Presentation in the Temple to be “the light to lighten the Gentiles (non-Jews) and the glory of His people Israel.” The Catholic Church which Christ founded on Peter is related to Israel and is the continuation of God’s chosen people. For this reason in today’s Gospel Our Lord says, “There are other sheep I have who are not of this fold.” Therefore, Christ is King of ALL the earth. The whole world is under His Sovereignty. But “the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep.” Think of the divisions in Christianity since the sixteenth century. Just as the wolf (Satan) attacked Our Lord Himself in His Passion, so he attacks His Mystical Body, the Church, sowing division and discord. And yet Our Lord says, “there will be only one flock and one shepherd.” In other words, there are other sheep who must be brought into, or brought back into this fold.

It was to the Catholic Church alone, founded on Peter the rock that Christ gave the Divine mandate to preach the Gospel and to make disciples of all nations. It was to the Catholic Church He promised the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. God wants everyone to be a member of this one flock. This is because “all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is His Body … He Himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door (Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 846).

It is a great grace for us to be members of Christ’s one flock, and because we possess this great gift we want to share it with others. Let us try to be ambassadors for Christ, and with God’s help by our prayer, word and example, seek to bring as many into the one flock as we can.

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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The Holy Eucharist IS God

As I mentioned last week, Bishop Patrick has asked that for the next four Sundays we preach on aspects of the Holy Eucharist in preparation for the Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Liverpool this coming September.

As Catholics we need to know that the Eucharist is JESUS. And JESUS is alive, because He is risen from the dead and He is the One True God. Therefore the Sacred Host we receive in Holy Communion is not just a wafer or a piece of bread. It is the living Flesh and Blood of JESUS Who is risen. The Eucharist is a living Person – JESUS Christ, fully God and fully man. This is one of the great truths of our Faith. JESUS, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity dwells in our churches in the tabernacle. The small red lamp which burns constantly beside it is a sign of His Real Presence. God is, of course, everywhere, but in the Eucharist He is there substantially AND in His humanity.

In 1916, the year before Our Lady appeared at Fatima in Portugal, an Angel who announced himself as the Guardian Angel of Portugal appeared three times to the seers Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco to prepare them. On the third occasion something truly extraordinary happened. The Angel appeared with a Chalice in his hand, holding over It a Host from which drops of Blood fell into the Chalice. He left the Host and Chalice suspended in the air and then prostrated himself before It, repeating the following prayer three times and teaching the children to do the same:

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of JESUS Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He is offended. Through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.”

An Angel from Heaven who lives constantly in the presence of Almighty God prostrated Himself before the Blessed Sacrament! This is a great reminder to all of us of the adoration and reverence we must always give to God present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and when we receive Him in Holy Communion. Our churches are truly sacred spaces. The Holy Eucharist is God Himself.

 Fr Paul Gillham IC

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Today is the Day of Mercy!

Today, the Octave day of Easter is also known as “Divine Mercy Sunday”. The Feast was instituted by Pope St John Paul II in response to Our Lord’s revelations to St Faustina, a twentieth century Polish nun, whom the same Pope canonised in 2000. The Divine Mercy image which Our Lord instructed St Faustina to have painted with the words “JESUS I trust in You” at the bottom, will be blessed at all Masses this weekend. Furthermore, Our Lord made the most incredible promise regarding this Feast of Mercy:

“I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened.” (Diary of St Faustina, 699).

Think about it. In the normal way, while confession forgives the guilt of our sins, the temporal punishment remains. This means we have to do penance and make reparation for our sins, even though they’ve been forgiven by a good confession and absolution. But on this Feast of Mercy, if you make a good confession (all mortal sins since your last good confession should be mentioned), and receive Holy Communion, all guilt and temporal punishment is removed. That is the equivalent of a second Baptism! Even if our sins be as red as scarlet, they will be made white as wool if we but turn to His infinite mercy and trust in Him.

On Monday this week, we celebrate our Patronal Feast of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would be the Mother God Who was going to take to Himself our human flesh. “Behold, I Myself will seek My sheep, and will visit them” (Ezekiel 34:11). God becoming man and dying on the Cross to save us from Hell is the ultimate act of His mercy. After this, how can we ever doubt His great love for us?

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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