THE
P RTAL
September 2018
Page 19
upon the cross. Nails are hammered into those precious awful events of the Reformation cast their shadow this
hands; those hands that had touched children, Peter’s far. To pretend that ‘we are all one really’ is to ignore
mother-in-law, the sick, the lame, the possessed.
the obvious fact that we are not! Such communion is
the fruit of Ecumenism, not the means of getting there.
Finally he is shared. With the glory of the sacrifice
upon the cross comes the great victory. The
Offered, blessed, broken and shared refer to Our
Resurrection is not something that is there to put Lord’s earthly life, and the great sacrifice of the Mass;
right what had gone wrong three days before. The but they also refer to us. In our baptism we were offered
Resurrection is, if you like, the declaration of the once- to God, by our parents if we were infants, by ourselves
for-all victory.
if as adults. But offered we were and sealed with the
sign of the cross as an everlasting sign of that offering.
It is in the Resurrection that he is shared among For not only were we offered, we were also accepted,
us all. During his life his arms could only reach one accepted by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
person at a time, and then only a few in the three short
years he had here. But now after the cross, having been
In every sacrament we are blessed. At our
pinned to that horizontal arm, he can touch us all: and confirmation we were blessed. Every time we assist
all at the same time. The Resurrection sets him free.
at mass, we are blessed. Every reception of Holy
Communion is a blessing. In the reception of the other
When we assist at mass (I prefer that term rather sacraments, we are blessed. Every time of personal and
than “go to” for it emphasises our participation in the private prayer is a blessing.
sacrament) we too see these four words played out
before our eyes and ears.
We are also broken. As we kneel in the confessional, our
pride, our selfishness, our greed, our thoughtlessness;
The bread and wine are offered upon the altar. all our sins are broken. They are broken that he may
Ordinary bread and ordinary wine, such as are found heal them and put us back together again.
in almost every home in the country. This is what is
offered upon the altar. It is offered to the Father with
We are, of course, shared: among our friends and
great solemnity as befits the meeting of heaven and family, our acquaintances, our work colleagues and all
earth.
whom we meet. It is our calling, our job, our privilege
to share with them the wonderful joys of the Gospel,
Next that bread and that cup of wine are blessed, the life giving waters of the Catholic faith.
but not just blessed as would be a crucifix to hang
around our necks. This bread and wine are blessed
Offered; Blessed; Broken; and Shared: these are the
with Christ’s own words, “This is my Body: This is my words of the Mass. These are words that will be on my
Blood: Do this in memory of me.”
mind at the Eucharistic Congress this month. May we
all receive Eucharistic blessings from the conference,
Notice the force of the words. It is not that they are whether we attend or not.
symbols, or badges, or tokens, the ARE his body and
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
his blood. They are his risen body and his risen blood.
Here upon the altar in our parish churches, in our
cathedrals, on the dining room table at a house mass,
D ivine W orship : T he M issal
he is present, body and soul. How can we possibly treat
in accordance with the R oman R ite
this with contempt? We may only be deeply reverent
in such company.
Ordinariate Mass cards with the
THE ORDER OF MASS
Associated with the Agnus Dei, is the fraction.
The priest holds up the sacred host, and breaks it in
two. Remember what we have said in the previous
paragraph, and sink to your knees. The Blessed
Sacrament is broken, just as he was broken. Our only
response can be the words of the Agnus Dei, “Have
mercy on us”.
Finally the Sacrament is shared among those present.
It is a great sadness that it is not possible to do this with
all Christ’s friends, for we are not in communion. The
Order of Mass from
D ivine W orship : T he M issal
are now available
Prices including UK delivery:
£1 for a single copy, £3.50 for 10,
£14 for 50, £26 for 100, £48 for 200
Overseas enquiries please email:
[email protected]
for postage costs
To order, please send your name and address with your
cheque, made payable to Ordinariate OLW to:
Mass Cards, Ordinariate OLW, 24 Golden Square, London W1F 9JR