Our Lady of Hope Blog

My Dear Friends,

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. We remember, as we do every year, that thanksgiving in Greek is the word eucharistia. From this word comes our word, Eucharist. We celebrate, as Catholics, thanksgiving every day of the year, not just the fourth Thursday of November. We are grateful to our Father who sent his Son into the world, taking on human flesh without losing his divinity, in order to free us from sin and open the gates of heaven, reconciling us with the Father, which was destroyed through the sin of Adam.

My Dear Friends,

We finish up the Eucharistic prayers today. As I mentioned in a previous bulletin letter, there are two Eucharistic prayers for Reconciliation. Many priests choose one of these prayers during the season of Lent, but they can be used at any time. There were three Eucharistic prayers for children, but mercifully they were left off the Third Edition Roman Missal in 2011. They were to be primarily used during Masses with children, but in my opinion, as well as the opinion of many other priests and theologians, these Eucharistic prayers were pitifully written and treated children as if they were not able to understand or comprehend eternal truths. It was dumbing down of the faith.

My Dear Friends,

Today we talk about Eucharistic prayer IV. The essential elements are the same as the other three Eucharistic prayers, but it also has differences. For example, this Eucharistic prayer has a set preface which has to be used whenever you use this Eucharistic prayer. The preface is the prayer the priest prays (or sings) before we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy. There are many preface options that may be used, but not with this Eucharistic prayer.

After spending a few weeks on the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), and having already mentioned Eucharistic Prayer II and how it was composed a Trastevere in Rome, I will move on to Eucharistic Prayer III.

My Dear Friends,

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains the role of a deacon in the Catholic Church. He is an ordained minister, hence a man who receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

My Dear Friends,

This Tuesday is the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II. We know that St. John Paul worked and preached tirelessly on the issue of life, which is why I am asking our parish to pray for 24 hours in our participation in the Forty Days for Life that Catholic parishes and dioceses promote every October.

My Dear Friends,

I will wrap up the first Eucharistic Prayer (the Roman Canon) with a few more examples of why this canon is venerable and worthy to be prayed at every Mass. Besides being the one Eucharistic prayer in our Roman Missal that is unabashedly sacrificial, it is also the most Catholic of all Eucharistic prayers for the reasons I have been writing these last few weeks.

My Dear Friends,

Last week we mentioned the list of 26 saints (Mary and Joseph, 12 apostles, and 12 martyrs) in the first section of the Roman Canon. Today we talk about the second list of fifteen names, beginning with St. John the Baptist. In the traditional Mass, John the Baptist is mentioned nine times (the same is for Saints Peter and Paul, who are also mentioned nine times).

My Dear Friends,

As we continue through the Roman Canon (the first Eucharistic prayer), we first must see that the Roman Canon is poetic, one of the great poetic compositions in Western Civilization. Since it is written in Latin, we don’t experience the richness of the poetry so much in the translation of the Canon into English.

My Dear Friends,

We begin with the first Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon. At the time of the Reformation, many who left behind the Catholic faith and joined with Martin Luther or John Calvin or Queen Elizabeth, or Ulrich Zwingli did all they could to rid their new liturgies of this venerable Roman Canon that was composed before the reign of Pope St. Gregory the Great and remained unchanged until the reforms of the post Second Vatican Council.

My Dear Friends,

For over 1,500 years the Catholic Church of the Roman Rite used exclusively only one Eucharistic prayer, which is the prayer the priest prays while you are kneeling and the prayer that brings forth the transubstantiation of the bread and wine which will become our Lord’s Body and Blood. It is called the Roman Canon, or Eucharistic Prayer I in our new Mass since 1970. It is a very ancient canon and is closely associated with the city of Rome itself as the Catholic Church was in the early centuries forming itself as the center of the Catholic world.

My Dear Friends,

We have three Marian feast days in the next eight days. Today, September 8th, we celebrate her birthday. Thursday, September 12th, is the Holy Name of Mary. And next Sunday, September 15th, is Our Lady of Sorrows. Three opportunities to honor our Blessed Mother, although liturgically this year, we only celebrate the Holy Name of Mary since her birthday and Our Lady of Sorrows fall on a Sunday.

My Dear Friends,

September 3rd is the feast day of Pope St. Gregory the Great. He reigned as pope from 590 to 604 AD. He was a nobleman destined for a career in civil government in Rome but soon became disillusioned with Rome and entered the Benedictine order. He wasn't to be in the monastery for long, though, as Pope Pelagius II sent him to Constantinople as a papal legate.