Murph’s Multidimensional Gaze     (Nineteen Sunday in Ordinary Time)

 "Rubric” refers to decorative text or instructions in medieval documents that were penned in red ink. They are the directions, printed in red ink even today, that are interspersed with the text of the prayers in the Roman Missal (and other books of prayers used in our Church) which are printed in black ink. There is a rubric that appears in each Eucharistic Prayer used during the celebration of Mass that is easy to overlook. It reads: He shows the consecrated host to the people, places it again on the paten, and genuflects in adoration. A similar rubric appears immediately after the consecration of the wine. The reason I do not genuflect is my physical disability and not out of disrespect for the Blessed Sacrament. I believe that substitution of my profound bow before the Blessed Sacrament is also a symbol of adoration though certainly less reverent than kneeling in adoration.

Why would there be a rubric in the Mass directing the celebrant to show the consecrated elements to the people? What is implied by the display?

God is not the one who needs to see the consecrated bread and wine. We are. Some years ago now, as we sat down to supper on the sailboat, I watched Bishop Murphy, after we prayed, simply look at the meal before him for a few seconds in a way that seemed to imply that he was feeding his soul before feeding his body. It was the stare opposite of a child’s stare who is disappointed because the main course did not meet his expectations. Murph started enjoying the meal even before eating it.

This implies a mind-set that sees beyond the obvious. It sees more than the food on the plate. It sees a chain of trust from the farm and the hands that planted the seeds that would germinate under the gaze of a God of love and not be tainted by uncaring agents who put profit ahead of a nutritious and safe-to-eat product. It recognizes the benchmark of a God whose rains fall on the just and the unjust and invites both saint and sinner to grasp that, as the beneficiary of such divine solicitude, both gratitude and hope are appropriate responses. It is a gaze that demonstrates courage because the diner at the dinner has the heart put back into him. That is what the word “encourage” means. It is a gaze that proclaims wordlessly that this meal is far from a “Big Mack Attack.” It is an adoring gaze. It is the gaze of one who knows a love that is not dependent upon Oreos or ice cream as desirable as they are.

When the celebrant holds up the Blessed Sacrament and says “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world,” it is the invitation for all who are dining at the table of the Lord to participate in the multi-dimensional gaze with guests who are feeding their souls, and a few moments later, their bodies, with food that excites the heart, invites gratitude, encourages awe and enables all who see God present to attest, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,” but I sure am glad to be here to be healed, to be made whole and holy.

Fr. Dan

  ERIE GIVES

Saint Andrew Church

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

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at:  www.eriegives.org  or call 454-0843 between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

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Participating in ERIE GIVES is a blessed day to help Saint Andrew Church 

       Saint Andrew Church is participating in Erie Gives Day 2018. This day ( August 14th ) of giving has been brought to us through the Erie Community Foundation. Donations given through this campaign will enhance donors’ gift by providing a prorated match to each gift made to Saint Andrew Church.