hooray. tommorow is easter.
The beauty of
the liturgy is part of this mystery; it is a sublime expression of God's glory
and, in a certain sense, a glimpse of heaven on earth. The memorial of Jesus'
redemptive sacrifice contains something of that beauty which Peter, James and
John beheld when the Master, making his way to Jerusalem, was transfigured
before their eyes (cf.
Mk 9:2). Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but
rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute
of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize
the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate
splendour.
.......The
"subject" of the liturgy's intrinsic beauty is Christ himself, risen and
glorified in the Holy Spirit, who includes the Church in his work. (109)
Here we can recall an evocative phrase of Saint Augustine which strikingly
describes this dynamic of faith proper to the Eucharist. The great Bishop of
Hippo, speaking specifically of the eucharistic mystery, stresses the fact that
Christ assimilates us to himself: "The bread you see on the altar, sanctified
by the word of God, is the body of Christ. The chalice, or rather, what the
chalice contains, sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ. In
these signs, Christ the Lord willed to entrust to us his body and the blood
which he shed for the forgiveness of our sins. If you have received them
properly, you yourselves are what you have received." (110)
Consequently, "not only have we become Christians, we have become Christ
himself." (111) We can thus contemplate God's mysterious work, which
brings about a profound unity between ourselves and the Lord Jesus: "one should
not believe that Christ is in the head but not in the body; rather he is
complete in the head and in the body." (112)
-Pope Benedict XVI "Sacramentum Caritatas "
UPDATE 1:woot. i have surpassed 1000 footprints for the week!
Update 2:an interesting bit of information
Albigensianism-a form
of Manichaeanism-an ancient heresy that held that matter is evil;
Albigensians opposed the authority of the state and of the Church,
opposed the sacrament of matrimony, and practiced ritual suicide;
despite these tenets, many anti-Catholics believe Albigensianism was
the continuation of "real Christianity" during the Middle
Ages and was a forerunner of Protestantism
Update 3: 6:20 pm
6 Messages
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Comments (5)
Congrats on 1000 visitors. :>)
How much better we could behave if we only understood that we are vessels of the Holy, and the body and blood of Christ makes us such a part of Him......
way to go, footprints dude.
happy easter, friend.
Blessed Easter. I'll talk to you tomorrow I'm sure.