Holiday Reflections!
Bouquets and Flowers For Every Event...
This information is intended for parents of school-age children and teachers who are imparting Religious Education within a Catholic school environment.
PASTORAL NOTES FOR AUGUST
The contents of these documents are related to the present day teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to Doctrine, Liturgy and Catholic practices. There are also special sections on Catholic Marriage and arranging a funeral in the Catholic Church.
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TRANSFIGURATION (August 6th)
Sometimes when things are not looking too good we get a boost that lifts us from the gloom and sets everything into the right perspective once more. This is what happened to the three apostles on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. Jesus had been preparing them for his impending suffering and they were finding it hard to take. When they saw him transfigured as white as white and talking with Moses and Eiljah, they were privileged to glimpse on earth something of his heavenly glory. For us too, as we wander through the humdrum of life, there are signs of Christ's grandeur if only we set our sights high enough.
EDITH STEIN (St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)
Edith Stein was born at Breslau, Poland, in 1891, the youngest of seven children of a rich Jewish family. Brilliantly gifted, she became a philosopher with an interest in phenomenology. She was converted to Catholicism and was baptised in 1922 in Cologne Cathedral, entering Cologne Carmel in 1933. Due to the rise of National Socialism, she was transferred to the Carmel in Echt, Holland. Arrested by the Nazis, she was sent with her sister Rosa to Auschwitz in 1942, where she was gassed. She was a great daughter of Israel and the Church. She is co-patroness of Europe and her feast is on August 9th.
BARTS AND BARTHOLOMEW (August 24th)
There is an island in the middle of the river Tiber in the heart of Rome that has long been connected with offering refuge to the sick. On this island is the Church of St Bartholomew built in the 900's and connected to the hospital complex run by the Fatebenefrattelli Brothers.
St Bartholomew's Hospital in London was founded in 1123 by Rahere, a favourite courtier of King Henry I. Rahere was said to have loved the high life until he fell ill with malaria while on a pilgrimage to Rome. Having vowed to build a hospital for the 'recreacion of poure men' if he recovered, he then saw a vision of St. Bartholomew who commanded him to build a priory church as well as a hospital, both to be named in his honour, on a site that he would indicate.
Of course, the original saint was one of the apostles and a great friend of St Philip. In the gospels he is sometimes known as Nathaniel and was praised by Jesus for his sincerity.
MOTHER AND SON
Monica and Augustine, who were mother and son, have their feast days on August 27th and 28th respectively. Augustine was wayward in his youth but his mother Monica never ceased to pray for his conversion and was tireless in her efforts to bring him to Christ. Augustine eventually became Bishop of Hippo and one of the most influential of Christian teachers, being named a Doctor of the Church. In his book the Confessions, Augustine describes what it felt like to return to God:
You called and cried to me and broke open my deafness: and you sent forth your beams and shone upon me and chased away my blindness: you breathed fragrance upon me, and I drew in my breath and do now pant for you: you touched me, and I have burned for your peace.
Major Feast in August
The Assumption is Mary's feast of feasts. It takes all of her achievements, all of her sorrows and triumphs, and celebrates them in one liturgy of victory.
The woman we see in the Assumption is the model disciple, the pattern for our response to God in faith. Early on in her life we have already met the woman who is confused by the angel's announcement, shamed by the response to her pregnancy and traumatised by having to flee for her life and that of her Son and husband.
What we find in Mary is a woman who is always anxious for the world to see her Son, a proud mother who wants others to rejoice in Jesus. And so it is that she goes off to compare notes with her cousin Elizabeth...to delight in showing the child to the shepherds at Bethlehem…to accept the gifts that the Magi present to her new-born baby…to tell the guests at the Cana wedding that there is something special about her Son…
And when the going gets tough we glimpse a strength of character that does not give up in adversity. Mary stands by her Son when his audience think he has gone mad; she stands by the foot of his cross as he is executed on Calvary; she joins in solidarity with the disciples after the resurrection and is present with them on the first Pentecost.
Yet we need to go back even further to the nine months before her own birth, to her Immaculate Conception when she was conceived free from original sin, free from the stain that tarnishes every other human being. Specially chosen by God to bear God's Son, her life was to be a pattern and model of faith.
The Assumption proclaims that Jesus' promise to us of eternal life, of sharing in the resurrection of the body and being glorified has already been anticipated in Mary because of her exceptional circumstances. Where she has gone we hope to follow.
Mary offers us hope and moves us by example and prayer to grow in God's grace, to be receptive to God's will, to convert our lives through sacrifice and penance, and to seek that everlasting union in heaven that she already enjoys.
STRESS
Good and Bad Stress
It's all a far cry from the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve could wander around at their leisure doing exactly what they wanted without any worries or fears. Today more and more people complain that their lives are plagued with stress.
Some stress is necessary for all of us otherwise we would be zombies. Positive stress keeps us on our guard when crossing the road, leads us to keep paying the mortgage and causes us to anticipate the next move of a toppling toddler. Without this kind of stress we simply would not function.
But there's a negative type of stress that does us more harm than good. More often than not this comes from outside influences over which we have little or no control: loss of job, bereavement, marriage problems, failure, money worries. We feel under attack and defenceless. The way we respond to this stress is important. Health experts tell us to avoid alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and sugar as these all cause reactions that make our stress worse. But others connect stress relief and faith.
Faith
When things overwhelm us we are brought to our knees and find ourselves asking what we really want out of life, what the point of things is, how we can get out of the mess we're in. It's important to talk to others in order to release the tension within us and to share things with others who know what we're going through because they've been there themselves. And it's also important to talk to God. Prayer is a mighty reliever of stress.
God made us to "know, love and serve him and to be happy with him in this world and the next". So goes the old catechism answer. It's important to realise that God wants us to be happy "in this world".
God knows what stress is: Jesus had his fair share of it here on earth. At times of crisis Jesus talked intimately with his Father in order to get the strength and confidence to do what he knew he had to do. And Jesus had a strong understanding that his Father held all things in the palm of his hand. Whatever might happen, God is able to bring good out of bad, hope from despair, life out of destruction.
When we pray for our daily bread we are really praying for that all-surrounding love of God that will never let us be totally crushed and defeated by evil. We are praying trustfully in the knowledge that God will never take us beyond our limits. For God knows of what we are made and wants only that we prosper and become signs of his loving presence in this world. God will never allow us to suffer more than we can take. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was frightened by his impending suffering and would rather not have gone through it. But he knew that his Father would be able to turn all things to the good. It is really only this type of faith that can triumph over stress. Otherwise the only option is to give in or settle for third best.
What's in a Eucharistic Prayer?
Most Eucharistic Prayers have a number of standard ingredients that are arranged in different orders according to the individual prayer itself. The main ingredients are:
1. Preface: The word "preface" here means speaking out about God. Beginning with a dialogue between priest and people who are invited to lift their hearts up to God, in praise and thanksgiving the preface usually recalls the goodness of God in creating us and in redeeming us in Jesus Christ. If a preface relates to a season, like Advent or Easter, then the reasons for praising God differ slightly as we remember the promise of a Messiah or the fulfilment of God's promises through the resurrection. Similarly, if we are celebrating the feast of a saint then further reasons for praising God are given.
2. Acclamations: There are three main acclamations that occur throughout the usual Eucharistic Prayers. They come as the response of the assembled people to what has just been proclaimed by the priest. So the Sanctus (or Holy, Holy, Holy) acclamation is sung by the congregation as a sign of assent to the Preface. It acknowledges God's holiness and echoes the song of the angels that is found in Isaiah 6:2-3. The second acclamation, usually known as the Memorial acclamation, proclaims the Paschal Mystery whereby Christ died and rose for us. In some prayers, particularly those for use with children, there are further such acclamations to be sung throughout the prayer. The Great Amen is the final acclamation sung by the congregation and comes as the climax of assent to all that has been said and done in the prayer.
3. Epiclesis: This is a Greek word that means "calling down upon". We call down the Holy Spirit. There are two main types of epiclesis used in the Eucharistic Prayer. The first calls the Spirit down upon the bread and wine so that by the Spirit's power it may become for us the body and blood of Christ. The second calls the spirit down upon those who take part in the celebrations so that they may become united as one body in Christ.
4. Narrative: In the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer comes the Institution Narrative. This tells the story and recalls the action of Jesus at the Last Supper when he took the bread and wine, blessed and broke it and then gave it to his disciples to eat and drink. In fact, those four things are precisely what we are doing at the eucharist (taking, blessing, breaking and eating/drinking) in obedience to Jesus' command. We do this is memory of him to make him really present.
5. Anamnesis: This is another Greek word and it means "remembering". According to the particular prayer we recall Jesus' death, his resurrection, his ascension and his coming again at the end of time. Christians believe that this remembering is not simply about the past. In the power of God's Spirit this type of remembering makes the mystery of Christ really present among us here and now.
6. Offering: Although most people talk about the "offertory" as being the part of the service when the bread and wine are brought up and put on the altar, in fact the actual offering takes place within the Eucharistic Prayer ("we offer you this life-giving bread, this saving cup"), just as we ourselves make an offering of our lives here so that they too may be transformed.
7. Intercessions: At various points within the prayer we pray directly to God for our own needs, for the living and the dead, conscious that this prayer is being made in communion with the whole Church and is being offered for all those who share our faith in Christ.
8. Doxology: Yet another Greek word. This time it means a solemn statement of praise and thanksgiving to the glory of God that is sung by the priest at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer ("Through him, with him, in him…"). As stated earlier this is answered by the Great Amen that the congregation sings as its assent (or "let it be") to all that has been said and done in its name during the Eucharistic Prayer.
OTHER FEAST DAYS
St John Vianney, 4th August
St Clare, 11th August
St Pius X, 21st August
