The Church Of The Holy Communion

From the Curate's Desk
Reflections in the Middle of the Mass
The thoughts hereafter have been glancing off the corners of my mind (what there is of it) since I was ordained to the priesthood in December of 1999.  I have enjoyed these reflections only since then because I hadn’t had the experiences that included these particular reflections until I approached the Altar of this church some time soon after the imposition of hands by the Bishop.  What is more, perhaps only a priest can have these reflections—and probably only an Anglo-Catholic priest at that!  Not that we are a particularly holy bunch, or a bunch uniquely gifted with the mental powers to have these esoteric insights; this much is certain.  No indeed—we Anglo-Catholic priests can probably alone have these reflections, these esoteric insights, because we alone bend the way we do!

Now that you are totally fascinated, I can reveal to you that the reflections of which I speak are quite literally reflections, such as we all see on the surfaces of shiny objects.  The two thought-provoking reflections I can see, these in-sights, come to me glancing off the surface first of the dark red wine which has been poured into the chalice to be consecrated, and then second from the surface of that polished silver chalice as it is elevated for adoration after the wine has become the Blood of Christ.  Before you read farther, can you guess the reflections I see?

When a Catholic priest consecrates the host and the chalice, he bends forward holding each element in turn in his hands as he repeats the Savior’s words; and in the case of the chalice he rests his elbows on the edge of the altar and bends forward looking into the chalice at the wine as he recites the consecrating words “This is my Blood.”  The reflection I see there in the stillness of the wine, just as it becomes the Blood of Jesus, is of the altar cross which stands at the back of the altar.  It was upon the hard wood of the cross that the precious Blood of Christ was spilled for us sinners that first Good Friday.  The blood and the water from the side of Jesus poured out when the soldier pierced his side with a spear; and they signified to him who saw—Saint John the Evangelist—that the saving work of Jesus had indeed been consummated, finished, in Jesus’ offering of himself for the sins of the world upon the altar which that rugged wooden cross had become.  The precious Blood of Jesus makes the cross an altar, where the price of our at-one-ment with the Father is freely paid by a Man who lays down his life for his friends, by a God who lays down his life even for his enemies!  Greater love hath no man than this! Greater love hath no God than this!  The rugged cross and the precious Blood are together, therefore, the one and only refuge for sinners, the one and only means of salvation and life for the world.  All those of us who are sinners may gather together and hide ourselves in the shadow of the cross and plunge ourselves into the fountain of that Blood flowing from Christ’s pierced side; and there, as we drink, taste and receive the life everlasting offered to us there in that simple, polished silver chalice.  This cup is the Cup of the Cross.

When an Anglo-Catholic priest has consecrated the precious Blood of Jesus in the chalice, he kneels to adore Jesus, and then elevates the chalice (just as he has elevated the Host a moment earlier) so that the congregation may look up and adore the Blood which has bought them, won them, for God.  The reflection I see in the silvery light glancing off the side of the chalice is of the congregation gathered in the pews behind me for this Eucharist.  It is the precious Blood of Jesus Christ which has redeemed us, which has brought us salvation.  It is the precious Blood of Jesus which has drawn us together in one visible gathering, “which is the blessed company of all faithful people.”  This blessed company of the Church is knit together in one communion and fellowship, in fact into one community of the redeemed, known to Holy Scripture as the Body of Christ.  Drawn there by his Blood, you and I together to the cross and the altar actually become the Body of the Risen Jesus visible in this world today.  Right here in Charleston, the Body of Christ is called together, summoned up each Sunday morning, to drink from the silver chalice filled with his most precious Blood and to eat the sacred Host which is His body.  We drink so that our souls may be washed through his most precious Blood, that we may evermore dwell in him. We eat his Body so that we may be his Body visible to the world, where he may evermore dwell in us.  Just as we are all visibly reflected on the Cup of the Cross as one gathering, one Body, so in the spaces beyond our doors we may ourselves be a reflection of the Jesus we have received at the altar, as much an experience of his Real and Personal Presence for others outside as the Bread and the Wine have been for us here.

You may never be a ceremonious, plumb and pleasing Anglo-Catholic priest who bends just so and gets to see these rather heavenly reflections.  But we are all partakers of the heavenly mysteries they signify.  Go forth then, when your next Mass is ended, to be Christ’s Body in the world and to draw all whom you encounter into the Blood-bought fellowship of the Cup of the Cross.

AUGUST CALENDAR EVENTS

Sunday, August 3rd 5:00 PM
Evensong & Benediction

Wednesday, August 6th 5:30 PM
Low Mass, The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ

Thursday, August 14th 6:30 PM
Solemn High Mass, The Feast of the Assumption

Monday, August 25th 5:30 PM Low Mass
The Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle