The Eucharist: Sign of the Father s Extraordinary Mercy. by Mark E. Ginter, Ph.D. President, Institute for Catholic Studies and Formation

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1 The Eucharist: Sign of the Father s Extraordinary Mercy by Mark E. Ginter, Ph.D. President, Institute for Catholic Studies and Formation

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13 Where does the belief that the Eucharist is the sign of the Heavenly Father s extraordinary mercy appear in the words of Jesus himself?

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16 Praying to Our Father should develop in us 2 fundamental dispositions (CCC ). 1. First, the desire to become like him: though created in his image we are restored to his likeness by grace; and we must respond to this grace. 2. Second, a humble and trusting heart that enables us to turn and become like children (Mt. 18:3): for it is to little children that the Father is revealed (Mt. 11:25).

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19 CCC It is impossible to keep the Lord's commandment [about forgiveness] by imitating the divine model from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make 'ours' the same mind that was in Christ Jesus (Gal. 5:25; Phil. 2:1, 5). Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves 'forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave' us (Eph. 4:32).

20 CCC 2843 Thus the Lord's words on forgiveness, the love that loves to the end (Jn. 13:1), become a living reality. The parable of the merciless servant...ends with these words: 'So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart (Mt. 18:23-35).' It is there, in fact, 'in the depths of the heart,' that everything is bound and loosed. It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession.

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22 The Manna Brant Pitre, Ph.D., Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper (Doubleday, 2011).

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25 Give us this day = sāmeron (50 times) = today = timeless time. our daily bread = epiousios (2 times, Mt. 6:11, Lk. 11:3) = superessential = supernatural Give us today our supernatural bread.

26 Jhn 6:48 Jhn 6:49 Jhn 6:50 Jhn 6:51 I AM the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I AM the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

27 Exo 16:1 Exo 16:2 Exo 16:3 Exo 16:4 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day (hēmeron), that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

28 Exo 16:22 Exo 16:23 Exo 16:24 Exo 16:25 Exo 16:26 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers apiece; and when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay by to be kept till the morning.'" So they laid it by till the morning, as Moses bade them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today (sāmeron) is a sabbath to the LORD; today (sāmeron) you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none."

29 Ark of the Covenant: Tablets, Manna, Staff

30 PS 78:19 They spoke against God, and said, Can God spread a table in the wilderness? PS 78:20 True, when he struck the rock, water gushed forth, the wadies flooded. But can he also give bread, or provide meat to his people? PS 78:21 The LORD heard and grew angry; fire blazed up against Jacob; anger flared up against Israel. PS 78:22 For they did not believe in God, did not trust in his saving power. PS 78:23 So he commanded the clouds above; and opened the doors of heaven. PS 78:24 God rained manna upon them for food; grain from heaven he gave them. PS 78:25 Man ate the bread of the angels; food he sent in abundance.

31 Ps 78:29 They ate and were well filled; he gave them what they had craved. Ps 78:30 But while they still wanted more, and the food was still in their mouths,. Ps 78:36 But they deceived him with their mouths, lied to him with their tongues. Ps 78:37 Their hearts were not constant toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. Ps 78:38 But God being merciful forgave their sin; he did not utterly destroy them. Time and again he turned back his anger, unwilling to unleash all his rage. Ps 78:39 He remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passes on and does not return.

32 A Father s Uncommon Mercy

33 A Father s Uncommon Mercy

34 A Father s Uncommon Mercy

35 Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen

36 For discussion: The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy formally closes on the Solemnity of Christ the King (Sun. Nov. 20). How have you become a more merciful Christian during this Jubilee Year? In this penitential season of Advent, to whom could you extend forgiveness for wrongs committed against you or a loved one? What prevents you from being merciful to everyone all of the time? How can you draw the grace of the Jubilee Year into the rest of your life beyond the Solemnity of Christ the King?