Bulletins

May 1, 2016

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Now we see dimly.

When we “see” the consecration we witness something invisible. After bread and wine turn into the Most Blessed Sacrament we are in the presence of Jesus Christ: His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He is immediately present to us and perfectly imperceptible all at the same time. Just as Our Lord two thousand years ago was suitably visible even though nothing about his appearance was divine, Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament would go unrecognized were it not for our already having faith through what we have heard, through what has been preached to us (Cf. Romans 10,17).

Even if the Apostles believed that Our Lord had risen from the dead, they would have run to see Him. St. Peter and St. John saw evidence of Jesus’ Resurrection and yet did not believe that Our Lord lived (John 20,9). They simply believed that His body was indeed no longer in the tomb (John 20,8). When later that day the Risen Lord visited them there would have been nothing obviously divine in His appearance. It was His being alive again that caused them to believe, as St. Thomas declared a week later: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20,27).

One of the most striking moments in the Sacred Liturgy of the Roman Rite is when the priest turns to the faithful and shows the Body of Christ, proclaiming the words of St. John the Baptist: “Ecce Agnus Dei!” Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world. Not as ancient as the Ecce but still indelibly part of the Roman Rite is the elevation of the Sacred Host and then the chalice after the consecrations. These glimpses of Him evoke spontaneous joy, gratitude and humility. “My Lord and My God!” we pray interiorly or perhaps “Hail sweetest Jesus!”

Belief eventually yields to vision. Faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11,1). Once we see God in heaven we will no longer have faith; we will have the knowledge of vision. “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (1Corinthians 13,12). After death our soul will be able to see God. After the Resurrection of the Dead our resurrected eyes will be able to behold His Majesty. What a moment it will be. What a vision to imagine!

Then we shall see clearly.

God bless you!

Fr. Christopher J. Pollard