July 27, 2025 - Pastor Message
July 31, 2025JUBILEE 2025 SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM (cont.)
JUBILEE 2025
SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM (cont.)
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
Besides the call to full and active participation of all people in the liturgy, Sacrosanctum concilium (SC) also points out the many ways Christ is present for us in the liturgy. Continuing our reflection on Vatican Council II’s constitution on the liturgy, we look this week at how SC made clear that Christ is present for us in many ways in the liturgy: “He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass both in the person of his ministers…and most of all in the eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his Word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in church. Lastly, he is present when the church prays and sings…Christ, indeed, always associates the church with himself in this great work in which God is perfectly glorified and men and women are sanctified” (SC, 7).
Christ is present for us at Mass and the other sacraments through the ordained ministers, who are sacramentally joined to him in a unique way by the sacrament of Holy Orders and are thus empowered to offer the sacraments in his name. He is present in the “eucharistic species”, that is, the bread and wine that become his Body and Blood, what we call the “real presence”, not that he is not truly present in all the other ways, but we call it the “real presence” to counter the claims of those who believe that his presence in the eucharistic species is only symbolic or somehow less than real. As the living Word of God, through whom all things are made, he is present in and through his written Word in the scriptures, which is why Vatican II stressed a fuller celebration of the Word in the sacraments, particularly at Mass, which we will discuss in a future column. And finally, he is present within the community of believers itself, his Body, the Church, as mentioned in the scripture passage above. Through the power of his Holy Spirit, which he gifted to us through the apostles, he promised to be with us always, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), so our gathering at Mass itself is an experience of the presence of Christ.
That is why coming to Mass is so important. People argue that they can pray anywhere, anytime, and that is 100% correct. We should pray outside of church, as often as we can and in all the ways that help us draw closer to God. But we encounter Christ in a unique and singular way that we can do in no other by coming to Mass. He is here in all the ways mentioned above, regardless of whether we recognize him or not. But if we fully and actively participate in Mass, as discussed in last week’s column, we cannot miss him, and his presence will transform us to be more like him as we strive to live out our mission as his disciples. So let us renew our faith in his presence at Mass here at St. Boniface as we gather together in his name, listen to his Word, and receive him in the Eucharist, and may our full and active participation lead us to fuller Christian discipleship.
Fr. Marc Stockton
-
Current News