Let the sanctuary speak

Church of the Holy Spirit, Ballyroan, Dublin

The sanctuary is the focal point of any Roman Catholic or Orthodox church. It is the area where the altar (or Holy Table in the Orthodox tradition) is located, together with the ambo for the proclamation of God's Word and the chair of the presiding priest. The reserved Eucharist is normally given a place of special honour, often within the sanctuary or in a prominent chapel associated with it.

Why can only priests say Mass?

Question: Why can only priests say Mass

Answer:  Catholics believe that the Mass links back, directly, to the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist and, commissioned the apostles to continue the commemoration of his Passover in the breaking of bread.  The Letters of St Paul and the Acts of the Apostles testify to the key importance of the Eucharist in the life of the early Church. Over time, practices became more ritualised and the person presiding at the breaking of bread was recognised as someone who had received authority through the apostles to preside on behalf of the Church.

A God of second chances

Sunday 19 July 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Wisdom 12:13-19 Psalm 86(85)

Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 The Last Judgement – fresco paining by Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). Source is here.

Meditatio:

‘Let anyone with ears listen!’  (Matthew 13:43)

Commentary:

In today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom - one of the books included in the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon - we encounter a God who offers second chances to those who stray. He is a God who never ceases to seek out people and invite them into his Kingdom. As the reading tells us about God, ‘you judge with mildness’ (Wisdom 12:18). Some translations render this phrase as, ‘you govern us with great lenience’.

What do you feel at Holy Communion?

Question: Do you have particular feelings or insights when you receive Holy Communion?  Have you ever had a mystical experience at Mass or Holy Communion?

Anwer: No.

Typically, I do not recall particular unusual or ‘other worldly’ experiences at Mass or Holy Communion.  Two or three, at least, in 1981/82 I recall a moment of what I might call lucidity or raised awareness of a higher power or love looking over a group of people. That lucidity was a moment of quiet peace and joy that is hard to put in words. However, this was not in the context of a celebration of Mass. Rather, it was during a meeting of Christians gathered in the name of Jesus – on one occasion to sing the Divine Liturgy of Vespers or Compline and the other during a meet of people to share experiences. Frankly, I am not what one might call a particularly outward person given to strong emotional expressions or someone who has had special ‘mystical’ experiences however that might be defined.

Since embracing or re-embracing Catholicism more than one in my adult life I have adhered to a very ordinary and unremarkable practice of participation. Speaking in tongues, having visions, being slain by the Holy Spirit and bursting into tears of joy or compunction is not my way. In no way, do I disparage or dismiss those who follow a different way of expression.

Of course, there have been times of particular consolation or even excitement such as when receiving during the Covid-19 period after being ‘locked in’ for a while.

All that said, I will confide that at least one of the seven sacraments has been the occasion, at times, of strong feeling and insight into God’s mercy – the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance. Therein, lies a jewel in Catholic practice and life and one that I have never let go of since 1981.

‘We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth’

Saint Vladimir of Kiev (963–1015) is commemorated today by the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches as a saint of the undivided, pre-schism Church.

He ruled the lands of Kievan Rus, centred on Kiev and encompassing territories that today form parts of Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia. The Christianisation of these lands came relatively late. Under Vladimir's rule, Christianity gradually supplanted the pagan deities and religious practices that had long held sway among the peoples of Rus.

Saint Vladimir used princely authority to promote the Christianisation of his realm. This process almost certainly involved varying degrees of coercion and compulsion, though historians continue to debate the extent to which conversions were forced.

Strengthened by Heavenly Food

Of the three ‘sacraments of initiation’ (Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist), the Eucharist is the only sacrament that can be repeated over and over again.  This is so because we need the heavenly bread for our journey and this is echoed or prefigured in the story of Elijah in the first Book of Kings (19:4-8):

Signs of the Eucharist in Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus

Abraham and Melchizedek - by Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante (1633-1670)

As discussed in an earlier post, An important work (Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist #1), and in the short series tagged Jewish roots, I have explored the specifically Jewish character of the Eucharist. Christians understand many of the language, symbols and rituals of the Old Testament as foreshadowing or prefiguring the Eucharist. This understanding arises in the light of Christ and the New Testament, rather than from the conscious intention of the ancient authors themselves.

In this post, I briefly consider several passages from the Pentateuch - the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible - that Christians have traditionally associated with the Eucharist.

In Genesis14:18 we read:

King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.

Catholic tradition has long seen Melchizedek's offering of bread and wine as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. These are the very elements used by Jesus at the Last Supper, when he speaks of the cup as the ‘new covenant in my blood’ (Luke22:20).  This connection is reflected in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), whose core elements are attested by the late fourth century and whose overall form was substantially fixed by the sixth century. Shortly after the consecration, the priest prays:

Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

The sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis22 is likewise regarded by many scholars as a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice and therefore, indirectly, of the Eucharist. Abraham is tested in his obedience to God, but God provides a substitute victim on the mountain, where Isaac had carried the wood for his own sacrifice.

In Exodus12, the institution of the first Passover centres on a lamb without blemish whose blood saves God's people. The lamb is then eaten in a ritual memorial of God's saving action. Christians have traditionally understood the Passover as a type of Christ’s sacrifice and of the Eucharist. Christ is the true Paschal Lamb who takes away the sins of the world and the Eucharist is our sacramental participation in his one sacrifice. When Jesus declares, ‘This is my body’ (Matthew26:26), he identifies himself as the true sacrificial offering. Through his blood we are delivered and redeemed, a reality foreshadowed in the Passover and fulfilled on the Cross. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we remember, celebrate and partake of this saving mystery.