Worship Resources For Everyone

The new Mass Schedule began in July
We are sad to announce the long-standing 5:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday evening is the casualty. This was a very difficult decision with many, many people weighing in on the decision. Let’s make sure we come together as a community to move forward, and please help get the word out (the full announcement is here).

Are you ready for full and active participation in the Liturgy? Read on…

August 19th, the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A link to the readings from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081918.cfm

A Reflection on the Readings

This Sunday we continue to hear from John’s Gospel, chapter 6. There is a lot to unpack in chapter 6. This week we begin with a bit of shock and awe! Jesus is done with the gentle bread metaphors and tells the gathered crowd “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, my blood is true drink.”  For the Jewish people, blood is forbidden, and animals are killed in a special way so that all the blood is drained out since the blood is the life-force and belongs to God. You were unclean if you came into contact with blood and now Jesus says you must eat my flesh and drink my blood. Imagine how horrified they were to be asked to eat human flesh. The murmurs from before must have turned into gasps and shocked outbursts of disbelief. They are fixated more on what Jesus was asking them to do rather than on what He wants to give them. But Jesus does not soften the bluntness of the image, he only reinforces it by repeating.“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”  Any other diet will leave you empty and hollow, hungry and mourning life. Imagine the frustration Jesus must have felt by sharing this revelation with a crowd that could not get over the thought of cannibalism. This straightforward approach was too much for them. What is truly shocking about Jesus as a leader is that he is humble, self-giving, selfless, sacrificing, forgiving and giving to all, including to those who insulted him.

As people who are “churched” we hear these words: take, eat, this is my body…take this drink, this is my blood of the new covenant. For us, these words may have lost their shock and awe. How can we regain some of the awe? How can we be more present in the Liturgy to fully appreciate what we are partaking in? In what parts of our lives do we need the nourishment of the Bread from heaven? How do we regain the appreciation of receiving both the bread and the wine at Mass each week? It wasn’t that long ago where it was just the bread consumed. Following Jesus means sometimes you need to say the hard thing. Sometimes you have to raise the issue. Sometimes there is no win-win situation where everyone goes home happy. Sometimes people get mad, and they leave, and they never come back. Ingesting the Eucharist does not turn us into cannibals; it’s meant to make us radicals, radically committed to all God’s people everywhere. Sometimes we are not ready to be radical. What do we need to let go of? When we participate in the Eucharist, we not only receive the body of Christ; we become the body of Christ. In the eating and drinking of Christ’s flesh and blood, he lives in us and we live in him. We consume his life that he might consume and change ours. We eat and digest his life, his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, his way of being and seeing, his compassion, his presence, and his relationship with the Father. We eat and drink our way to life. One of the many reasons we need to gather for Mass each week is so that more and more we will allow this story, the story of God’s faithful and saving love, to become the guiding narrative of our lives. This is what Jesus is talking about today. Believe him. Receive him. Taste him. See him. Become him.

Music as Prayer (Bis orat qui bene cantat)

A greater entrance into the prayer of the Liturgy is achieved by being familiar with the music. In particular, the Psalm functions best as a meditation on the readings when we know it well and the mechanics of singing it do not consume too much of our focus. Similarly, with the individual parts of the Mass Settings (the sung acclamations)

Psalm – YouTube link:
Taste and See – Marty Haugen

Mass Setting – YouTube link:
Storrington Mass – Marty Haugen

The Worship Calendar:

Nearby: St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church  (clustered with Corpus Christi)