The Trumpet Newsletter of Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services

        I  wonder how many of us are aware that the Holy Father has declared October, 2004 to October, 2005 as the time of celebration of the “Year of the Eucharist” in the Church. (I haven’t heard much about it yet from other sources other than The Observer, our diocesan newspaper, which has already carried information about it on several occasions.) But because we often have other things that are more pressing iissues for any particular time in our lives we sometimes tend not to put much emphasis on any particular event until the need arises. However, The Year of the Eucharist has already been upon us for three months; we need to begin, if we haven’t already, to become more aware of this most important call from Pope John Paul II and decide how we are called to respond.

Mane Nobiscum Domine is the pope’s apostolic letter to the bishops, clergy and faithful for the Year of the Eucharist. In one section of it the pope issued a particular call for our response to “take place on a deeply spiritual level.” Those words struck a resounding chord within me, so I began to prayerfully search for what this means for my life.

First of all it reminds me that our response must be a deeply interior one; our response must come first from our heart. Remember that giant leap that took place within us when we had our conversion experience? It broadened our relationship with God from the “knowledge” level to the “heart” level, the spiritual level of the relationship. I was again reminded of the importance of that at a recent prayer meeting. Although it is vitally important that we diligently study to learn as much as we can about our faith, it is even more important that our knowledge about Him and His mercy be internalized. Lots of knowledge about Him has little true value to our relationship with Him unless we experience Him on a deeper level, deep within our heart. I pray for those who know a lot about Jesus, but have not experienced their relationship with Him on an emotional, experiential level. Without that level of encounter it is not likely that they have come to really know Him.

Second, the pope’s words reminded me that any exterior action we take in our efforts to grow closer to Him must stem from a deep interior source, guided by the Holy Spirit. We must be careful that our efforts are not prompted by purely external acts of piety – even if they are well-intentioned. The Psalmist prayed, “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” (Ps 51:12) It is apparent that he was requesting interior change – a change of heart.

Third, the pope’s letter calls us to action. His letter includes a prayer for us all: “May the Year of the Eucharist be for everyone a precious opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church. May it encourage a more lively and fervent celebration of the Eucharist, leading to a Christian life transformed by love.”

He then extended a call to the priests to “celebrate Holy Mass each day with the same joy and fervor with which you celebrated your first Mass, and willingly spend time in prayer before the tabernacle.” I see this also as a call to the laity - to willingly spend time before the tabernacle and to participate in each Mass with a genuine joy and fervor.

To the Christian faithful (the laity) he said, “Rediscover the gift of the Eucharist as light and strength for your daily lives in the world, in the exercise of your respective professions amid so many different situations. Rediscover this above all in order to experience fully the beauty and the mission of the family.” He said “experience.” Does this sound to you like a call for action fueled by interior conversion? It does to me. He seems to be calling us to a realization that the Eucharist should be the center of and the empowerment of our daily activities, not merely a peripheral small piece of them. Has our clear awareness of that gift fallen complacent or become compromised by pressures of our daily lives?

I also see this “rediscovery” as a call that can help us become even more aware of the complete and true nature and depth of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus fully revealed himself to the disciples after his encounter with them on the road to Emmaus. “When he had seated himself with them to eat, he took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” (Luke 24:30-31) The pope pointed out that the disciples’ hearts were first prepared (intellectually) by our Lord’s words as he walked along with them, then they recognized him at table through the simple gesture of the “breaking of the bread,” (experientially). It required word and bread. Aren’t those the key elements of every Mass? His real presence is fully revealed to us at every Mass.

I encourage you to read the pope’s apostolic letter and prayerfully search for ways the Lord may be leading you to a “deeply spiritual” interior response. His letter is not long or difficult to read and it contains so much more than I can present here. During this Year of the Eucharist, let us all commit ourselves to searching for a more deeply spiritual, meaningful, interior understanding of the Eucharist and to help others do the same.V

    In our reading of the Gospels we come to know Jesus, His message to us and His call on our lives for conversion. Nowhere is this call of conversion more dramatic than in the life of St. Paul. As we recall St. Paul’s conversion story we see the song “Amazing Grace” come to life before our very eyes. Paul, a Pharisee was “set apart” (Pharisee means separated from) to study and strictly interpret the Jewish Law. But when Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he would be “set apart” for an entirely different mission – witnessing to the saving power of Jesus Christ. “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.’” (Acts 13:2) After this anointing by the Holy Spirit, Paul begins his evangelistic travels and writings.

    St. Paul’s theology covers these five points:

1.   1.    Christ our hope found in l and 2 Thessalonians.

2.   2.    Life in Christ found in the Letter to the Philippians and the two Letters to the Corinthians.

3.   3.    Salvation through Christ found in Romans. “St. Paul’s doctrine of salvation is at the heart of the Church’s teaching on Redemption. This Epistle contains the most beautiful and forceful summary of man’s condition in the World and his need for Christ.” (Jesus Christ, Mary, and the Grace of God. Rev. Christopher M. Buckner, Catholic Distance University. P. 10)

4.   4.    The Lordship of Christ found in Colossians and Ephesians.

5.   5.    Loyalty to Christ found in the Letters to Timothy and Titus.

        St. Paul wrote from his personal experience. He was familiar with man’s sinfulness and the need for God’s saving grace. He knew that Jesus Christ was the source of this grace because he experienced this grace himself. Despite some of the firm reproaches in these Epistles a “note of optimism pervades the writings of St. Paul and characterizes even those of his disciple Luke. The two go together. Paul should be read in the light of Luke, and Luke in Paul’s writings. If the latter gives the theology of man’s salvation the former recounts the history, which has been rightly called the Gospel of Mercy.” (The Catholic Catechism. John A. Hardon, S.J.)

    “As we read the letters of St. Paul we see conviction and faith in action.” (Buckner) We also see the powerful story of a sinful man saved by grace and belief in the Person, Jesus Christ, the God-Man. What Jesus did for St. Paul, He can do for us if we are willing to open ourselves up to His plan for our lives. We too can become a powerful force to witness Jesus to others. Ask yourself this question, “Does Christ mean as much to me as He meant to St. Paul?” (Buckner)V

Are We Prepared?            [back to top of page]

By Linda Daniel

Are you prepared? Am I prepared? Are we prepared? These questions were blazing in my mind as the editorial team prayed for this issue. I asked, “For what?” Then a stream of words came to mind – to evangelize, to know Jesus, to walk with Jesus, to face the world situation, to face the end times, to face judgment

       In the time since our meeting I haven’t been able to shake the questions. The biggest question for me is, “How do I prepare?”
       The daily readings as we approach the end of the liturgical year focus on the end of time and the return of Jesus as Lord and King. In the book of Revelation there are letters to seven churches. One is told, “I hold this against you, though: you have turned aside from your early love. Keep firmly in mind the heights from which you have fallen. Repent, and return to your former deeds. If you do not repent I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:4-5) Another is told, “Call to mind how you accepted what you heard; keep to it, and repent. If you do not rouse yourselves I will come upon you like a thief, at a time you cannot know.” (Revelation 3:3) Finally we read, “I know your deeds; I know you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were one or the other – hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth! You keep saying, ‘I am so rich and secure that I want for nothing.’ Little do you realize how wretched you are, how pitiable and poor, how blind and naked! ...Whoever is dear to me I reprove and chastise. Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent!” (Revelation 3:15-17, 19) In each of these readings, the Lord warns us to repent and to return to Him.

       Jesus said, “Be on guard lest your spirits become bloated with indulgence and drunkenness and worldly cares. The great day will suddenly close in on you like a trap.” (Luke 21:34) Have we grown fat and lazy? As we have faced the trials and difficulties of our lives, have we become distracted, worn out and discouraged? But Jesus is calling us to repent (Revelation 3:19), to return to Him (Hosea 14:2-5). He wants us to do it now (2 Corinthians 6:2) and not delay (Sirach 5:8; 18:21). I believe our time is getting short and God wants to use us to bring many more into His Kingdom, but we must be prepared. We must repent of our laziness, our distraction and our discouragement. We must return to our first love (Revelation 2:4-5) and be prepared to step out and speak boldly of our faith and our love for Jesus.

       How do we get to that place? Fr. Sherry of the Church of Holy Apostles in McHenry, Illinois, said at the Magnificat Prayer Breakfast, “To repent means to turn toward Jesus and align ourselves with Him.” We make a decision to repent and to open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit and be totally yielded to Him. This is a continuous decision because we are weak and we fall back into old habits. Once we have made this decision and yielded ourselves to Him, we can trust Him to follow through and work in and through our lives.

       He calls us to love one another. (John 13:34) He also works in us to enable us to obey this call. “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) “Now we are missionaries of God’s love, actively seeking to refresh the hearts of friends and enemies (Matthew 5:44) by our love.” (One Bread, One Body. October 1 – November 30, 2004. Presentation Ministries, Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio. Entry for November 11, 2004)

       Jesus is calling to us to repent and to love. Are we prepared? “Here I stand, knocking at the door. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself won the victory and took my seat beside my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:20-21) “Let him who has ears heed the Spirit’s word to the churches.” (Revelation 3:22)V