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  On the Holy Mass: On Being Punctual at Mass “All of the Mass is important. Don’t be late!” Pope Francis. “It is not a good habit to look at the clock and say: I am on time, I will arrive after the sermon and with this fulfill the commandment,” he further said. Before Vatican II, there was a clear demarcation line defining tardiness. If one arrives after the Offertory Rite, Sunday obligation is not fulfilled and therefore must not receive communion. But after Vatican II, because of the importance of all parts of the Mass, we are told not to be late. I remember when I was still in the seminary, we were taught that to be late at Mass is a venial sin and it is a grave sin to miss a Sunday Mass. To be habitually late tells on how we value the Holy Mass itself. And if we continually say to ourselves, “It is okay to be late, God understands anyway,” we have to reevaluate the importance of the Holy Mass in our lives. If we can be punctual, even early at social functions, seeing movies

 

  On the Holy Mass: Receiving Communion Once when I was in third grade, our family attended the funeral of a relative. When my turn came to receive Communion, the priest, as he held the host, asked me: Ano ini?  (What is this?) I replied, “ Hostia ”. And he exclaimed, “ Layas! ” (Be gone!) and did not give me Communion. Canon 912 of the Code of Canon Law states, “Any baptized person not impeded by law can and must be admitted to Holy Communion.” The primordial requirement for receiving Communion is the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism because it is the doorway to all other sacraments. Secondly, a baptized person must have attained the use of reason for him/her to be admitted to Holy Communion. One must be able to distinguish from ordinary food that what he/she is receiving, is the Body of Christ. Needless to say, Communion is given to persons and never to animals. It is grave sacrilege to feed pets with the sacred species. There were cases that hosts were given to roosters (mano

    Ascension Press   and   Ascension Presents in collaboration with  Inspires give you this riveting magnum opus.‎.. Condensed Refelection By James Z. Carpio My late brother lawyer would always tell me when he was alive to play it by the ear when it comes to living my life. Little did I know that what he wanted to impart to me is to leave it all up to God. God is in charge so says my brother priest. Indeed, Father Mike is correct, in that we should like to surrender to God. 1. To say, "yes," to Him. 2. To trust in Him. 3. To let Him be our Lord. 4. To give our everything to Him, be it good and bad stuff of our lives. 5. To let Him have access to our lives. So, let us make Him the pilot of our rocket ship, metaphorically, and assume as the co-pilot of our shared destiny. May you be inspired by the Holy Spirit and God Bless!

  On the Holy Mass: Communion Rite The 3rd Part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the Communion Rite. We remember that the Holy Mass is a Banquet reminiscent of the Lord’s Supper and so the Communion Rite is where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Rite begins with the Lord’s Prayer wherein there is a petition made for daily food. And no other daily food is preeminent and efficacious than the Eucharist itself. The embolism follows prayed by the priest alone. This prayer expands the last petition of the Lord’s prayer “deliver us from evil” that is why it is also called Prayer of Deliverance. As we await the Parousia, the coming again of Jesus, we petition our Lord deliver us from all evil, to keep us free from sin and protect us from all distress. The prayer is concluded by the people with a doxology. When Jesus appeared to His Disciples in the evening of His Resurrection, His first words to them was “Peace be with you”. And so after the Prayer of Deliverance from ev

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  On the Holy Mass: The Liturgy of the Eucharist The Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the preparation of the gifts. Bread and wine, the material signs of the Sacrament that will become the Body and Blood of Christ, are offered and prepared at the Altar. The bread must be unleavened and the wine must come from grapes. The bread proper for the Mass is called “Host”. It is during the period of the preparation of the gifts too, that the offerings of the Faithful for the Poor and for the support of the Church are collected and brought to the sanctuary. The Prayer over the Offerings that petitions God to accept the humble sacrificial offering concludes this part. The Eucharistic Prayer, which is the center and summit of the entire celebration, now follows. The Priest, in persona Christi, begins with the Preface that invites the people to lift up their hearts to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving. We remember here that Eucharist primarily means to offer praise and thanksgiving to God

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  On the Holy Mass: The Liturgy of the Word “The Holy Mass, as it were, has two parts: The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. But they form just one act of worship” (GIRM 28). The Liturgy of the Word opens the treasures of the Bible and provides food for the faithful at the table of God’s Word (SC 51). When the Apostles and Disciples began gathering on the first day of the week, they usually began with recalling the life, works and teachings of Jesus before the breaking of the bread. This prefigured the rites of the Holy Mass we celebrate on Sundays. After the time of the Apostles, the early Christians in their gatherings included a reading of the memoirs of the Apostles and writings of the Prophets. These traditions were formalized in the Roman Missal as the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Word is primarily celebrated through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, the written Word of God. They must come from the official Canon of the Bible approved b

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