In reserving the Blessed Sacrament we are essentially seeking to honour Christ. His presence among us under the veils of bread and wine is the most precious thing in any local Church. By reserving the Consecrated Host in the Tabernacle and placing it in a place of honour for all to see we are bringing honour to God. The Tabernacle is a witness to those who enter the Church that Christ reigns as King in this House. There is a true story of a Bishop who told a Parish Priest that he would not visit the Parish Church unless the priest “removed that” (meaning the Blessed Sacrament) from the church. The priest, quite rightly, replied, “Bishop, if I have to remove Jesus from this church for you to feel welcome don’t bother coming.”
That in a nutshell is what reservation is about; it’s about Jesus being present among us. It is often remarked that you can tell a church that doesn’t reserve the Blessed Sacrament because it feels empty. So many people are crying out for the presence of Christ and when they visit this House of Prayer we want them to know that God is present – and to know that we honour him enough by not bundling him off out of sight.
Honouring God is something that we are all called to do throughout our lives. In the Gospel reading today we heard of the preaching of the Gospel and the call of the first disciples. A disciple is one who follows his or her Master and follows their teaching and hands it on to others as they have received it. This calls for obedience to their Master and to the teaching they have received, it is this obedience that brings honour to Christ. From earliest times the Blessed Sacrament was reserved by Parish Priests safely and securely for taking to the Sick and Dying. Justin Martyr, St Ireneaus, Eusebius, Tertullian, Cyprian, St Basil and many, many others wrote about the practice of reservation. St Basil, who died in 379, divided the Eucharistic Bread into three parts when he celebrated Mass in the monastery. One part he consumed, the second part he gave to the monks, and the third he placed in a golden dove suspended over the altar.
The Council of Nicea even laid down that the Blessed Sacrament should be reserved so that no one who was dying should be denied it. At the turn of the first century, Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, had to warn the Christians not to be taken in by the Gnostic heretics who denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. St Ignatius said these people abstained from the Eucharist because they did not accept what true Christians believe, that in the Eucharist is the same Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose from the dead for our salvation. This belief in the real, physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist grew out of the teaching of the evangelists and St. Paul. They made it plain to the apostolic Church that the Eucharistic elements were literally Jesus Christ continuing His saving mission among us. I mentioned in the last Homily of how many could not accept Jesus’ teaching on this, but St Paul also rebukes those, who in Corinth, had made the Lord’s Supper, which should have been a beautiful sign of unity, into an occasion of discord. He reminded them that the Eucharist is no ordinary food. It is actually the Body and Blood of Christ according to "the tradition which I handed on to you that came to me from the Lord Himself" (I Corinthians 2: 23-26).
It seems that at first the Blessed Sacrament was often kept in private houses, but at the Council of Toledo in 480, which denounced those who did not immediately consume the sacred species when they received them from the priest at the altar, very possibly marks a change in this regard. Various synods required parish priests to reserve the Blessed Sacrament for the use of the sick and dying, and at the same time required them to keep it reverently and securely, at the same time laying down rules as to how frequently it was to be renewed. Special containers in the form of a dove or of a tower, usually made of precious metals, were commonly used. It seems that after the tenth century the in England the customary practice was to suspend the Blessed Sacrament in a dove-shaped vessel by a cord over the high altar – what are usually called: Hanging Pyx’s. However, fixed and locked tabernacles were also in use and some bishops required them. Interestingly, our Tabernacle used to be a Hanging Pyx, and was suspended over the altar in the south aisle and was subsequently converted into the Tabernacle we have today.
In the Collect for Holy Thursday we hear: “grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries of his body and blood”. What does it mean to reverence? “Hold in deep religious respect” is one definition, but the dictionary also shows that it “usually involves some physical sign of respect.” How then do we behave in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? Perhaps the words of a well-loved Communion hymn may help us with a first attribute: “Let all mortal flesh keep silence.” There is something rather wonderful about spending time in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, and we will be fostering this practice here as people visit this House of the Church
However, there is also that dictionary definition about “some physical sign of respect” to think about. We are all used to bowing to the altar before we take our seats in church, but what do we do when the Blessed Sacrament is upon the altar? Of course, we genuflect: that is, we go down on the right knee and then rise again. Those who are infirm and are unable to genuflect usually make a profound bow. What is a profound bow and what is not a profound bow, and when do you do them some of you may be thinking? The bow we make to the altar is with the head and neck, but the profound bow we make to the Blessed Sacrament, when incapable of genuflecting, is a bow from the waist. It is customary to genuflect or make a profound bow when entering the aisle before going forward to receive Holy Communion, and also before returning to one’s place doing the same in the direction of the chalice, being careful not to knock anyone. Similarly, when entering a church in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved it is Christian practice to genuflect towards the Tabernacle and to do the same before departing. These are simple ways of showing that we venerate the Lord’s Presence and at the same time acknowledge the kingship of Jesus in our lives. They are ways in which we honour Christ and venerate his presence among us.
In today’s First Reading we see the outcome of Jonah being obedient to God. Initially Jonah was disobedient. God wanted him to go to Nineveh and preach his message to the people there in order that they might repent and honour him. But Jonah didn’t want to go and tried to avoid God’s call to him and those of us who know the Book of Jonah in the Bible will know that he tried to sail across a sea to get away from God’s call and ended up being swallowed by a great fish. It was only when he decided to obey God’s call that he was spat out onto a beach. He then went to Nineveh and preached God’s message and in so doing he honoured God before the people of Nineveh and they in turn came to honour and venerate the Lord. The story is not literally true – it is an outlandish story which illustrates something quite profound about what was lacking in ancient Israel and that was its failure to draw other nations into the circle of God’s live. Israel after the exile became a nation that wanted to keep itself pure and uncontaminated by the nations and the peoples. In failing to draw other nations in Israel denied other people the knowledge of the Presence and the love of God, and his call to them.
As Jonah came to realise it was not for him to say who should or should not worship God. In restoring the Blessed Sacrament to the main body of the Church we are seeking to draw others into the worship of Christ that they may know his Presence, his love, and his call to them.
Like the disciples in the Gospel we are called to follow Christ. It may not mean leaving nets, or our present job, or our family and friends, but it will be with the intention of honouring him and venerating him. As we seek to honour him and give proper veneration to him in his Blessed Sacrament we will find ourselves impelled to witness to him before others with our lives to the fact that he is our King and that we love and adore him.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.
That in a nutshell is what reservation is about; it’s about Jesus being present among us. It is often remarked that you can tell a church that doesn’t reserve the Blessed Sacrament because it feels empty. So many people are crying out for the presence of Christ and when they visit this House of Prayer we want them to know that God is present – and to know that we honour him enough by not bundling him off out of sight.
Honouring God is something that we are all called to do throughout our lives. In the Gospel reading today we heard of the preaching of the Gospel and the call of the first disciples. A disciple is one who follows his or her Master and follows their teaching and hands it on to others as they have received it. This calls for obedience to their Master and to the teaching they have received, it is this obedience that brings honour to Christ. From earliest times the Blessed Sacrament was reserved by Parish Priests safely and securely for taking to the Sick and Dying. Justin Martyr, St Ireneaus, Eusebius, Tertullian, Cyprian, St Basil and many, many others wrote about the practice of reservation. St Basil, who died in 379, divided the Eucharistic Bread into three parts when he celebrated Mass in the monastery. One part he consumed, the second part he gave to the monks, and the third he placed in a golden dove suspended over the altar.
The Council of Nicea even laid down that the Blessed Sacrament should be reserved so that no one who was dying should be denied it. At the turn of the first century, Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, had to warn the Christians not to be taken in by the Gnostic heretics who denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. St Ignatius said these people abstained from the Eucharist because they did not accept what true Christians believe, that in the Eucharist is the same Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose from the dead for our salvation. This belief in the real, physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist grew out of the teaching of the evangelists and St. Paul. They made it plain to the apostolic Church that the Eucharistic elements were literally Jesus Christ continuing His saving mission among us. I mentioned in the last Homily of how many could not accept Jesus’ teaching on this, but St Paul also rebukes those, who in Corinth, had made the Lord’s Supper, which should have been a beautiful sign of unity, into an occasion of discord. He reminded them that the Eucharist is no ordinary food. It is actually the Body and Blood of Christ according to "the tradition which I handed on to you that came to me from the Lord Himself" (I Corinthians 2: 23-26).
It seems that at first the Blessed Sacrament was often kept in private houses, but at the Council of Toledo in 480, which denounced those who did not immediately consume the sacred species when they received them from the priest at the altar, very possibly marks a change in this regard. Various synods required parish priests to reserve the Blessed Sacrament for the use of the sick and dying, and at the same time required them to keep it reverently and securely, at the same time laying down rules as to how frequently it was to be renewed. Special containers in the form of a dove or of a tower, usually made of precious metals, were commonly used. It seems that after the tenth century the in England the customary practice was to suspend the Blessed Sacrament in a dove-shaped vessel by a cord over the high altar – what are usually called: Hanging Pyx’s. However, fixed and locked tabernacles were also in use and some bishops required them. Interestingly, our Tabernacle used to be a Hanging Pyx, and was suspended over the altar in the south aisle and was subsequently converted into the Tabernacle we have today.
In the Collect for Holy Thursday we hear: “grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries of his body and blood”. What does it mean to reverence? “Hold in deep religious respect” is one definition, but the dictionary also shows that it “usually involves some physical sign of respect.” How then do we behave in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? Perhaps the words of a well-loved Communion hymn may help us with a first attribute: “Let all mortal flesh keep silence.” There is something rather wonderful about spending time in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, and we will be fostering this practice here as people visit this House of the Church
However, there is also that dictionary definition about “some physical sign of respect” to think about. We are all used to bowing to the altar before we take our seats in church, but what do we do when the Blessed Sacrament is upon the altar? Of course, we genuflect: that is, we go down on the right knee and then rise again. Those who are infirm and are unable to genuflect usually make a profound bow. What is a profound bow and what is not a profound bow, and when do you do them some of you may be thinking? The bow we make to the altar is with the head and neck, but the profound bow we make to the Blessed Sacrament, when incapable of genuflecting, is a bow from the waist. It is customary to genuflect or make a profound bow when entering the aisle before going forward to receive Holy Communion, and also before returning to one’s place doing the same in the direction of the chalice, being careful not to knock anyone. Similarly, when entering a church in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved it is Christian practice to genuflect towards the Tabernacle and to do the same before departing. These are simple ways of showing that we venerate the Lord’s Presence and at the same time acknowledge the kingship of Jesus in our lives. They are ways in which we honour Christ and venerate his presence among us.
In today’s First Reading we see the outcome of Jonah being obedient to God. Initially Jonah was disobedient. God wanted him to go to Nineveh and preach his message to the people there in order that they might repent and honour him. But Jonah didn’t want to go and tried to avoid God’s call to him and those of us who know the Book of Jonah in the Bible will know that he tried to sail across a sea to get away from God’s call and ended up being swallowed by a great fish. It was only when he decided to obey God’s call that he was spat out onto a beach. He then went to Nineveh and preached God’s message and in so doing he honoured God before the people of Nineveh and they in turn came to honour and venerate the Lord. The story is not literally true – it is an outlandish story which illustrates something quite profound about what was lacking in ancient Israel and that was its failure to draw other nations into the circle of God’s live. Israel after the exile became a nation that wanted to keep itself pure and uncontaminated by the nations and the peoples. In failing to draw other nations in Israel denied other people the knowledge of the Presence and the love of God, and his call to them.
As Jonah came to realise it was not for him to say who should or should not worship God. In restoring the Blessed Sacrament to the main body of the Church we are seeking to draw others into the worship of Christ that they may know his Presence, his love, and his call to them.
Like the disciples in the Gospel we are called to follow Christ. It may not mean leaving nets, or our present job, or our family and friends, but it will be with the intention of honouring him and venerating him. As we seek to honour him and give proper veneration to him in his Blessed Sacrament we will find ourselves impelled to witness to him before others with our lives to the fact that he is our King and that we love and adore him.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.
No comments:
Post a Comment