Traditional Catholic Teaching - Lesson 10

Lesson 10 - Supplement A

Comments

There are many spiritual treasures in traditional Christianity which Catholics love to talk about. One of these is Catholic ceremonial. (More about this later). Another is the Real Presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Sadly, this has been one of the most misunderstood of doctrines even from the time our Lord himself shared it with his disciples.

Catholics look upon our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as the same person (though crucifeid and risen from the dead) as the Jesus who walked all over Israel. They love to visit him in person, resident as he is in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle, which in traditional Catholic Churches is placed at the centre of the altar. (See Appendix: "Christ In the Blessed Sacrament Remains Among Us" following Supplement A.)

Often, non-Catholics who find this teaching a little too much to grasp immediately, will sometimes go and "rest a while" (one of our Lord’s favourite pieces of advice) in a church when the Blessed Sacrament is reserved on the altar. There they can reflect, pray, read, or just simply "be" in the presence of the Lord. Sometimes it is this quiet approach which brings the gift of understanding sooner than mere human reasoning. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament during the day are one of the favourite devotions of traditional Catholics. Everyone is welcome to visit a church or chapel and spend time with the Lord in their own personal way.

To help you understand better the place of ceremony in the life of our Lord, as well as the particular ways the New Testament writers recorded this in their Gospels or epistles, we have taken St Matthew’s account of the feeding of the 5000 as a meditation in Supplement B. In several respects it was a prelude to our Lord feeding the Church through the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. St Matthew, of course, wrote his account long after this particular ceremony had become the central act of Christian worship. He demonstrates in his account how the early Church, looking back after Pentecost loved to see these threads being woven by Jesus into his teaching and healing ministry.

End of Lesson 10 Supplement A

Appendix: "Christ In the Blessed Sacrament Remains Among Us"

Appendix: "Visiting Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament"

Supplement B: "Feeding the Five Thousand"

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