I have to recount an experience I had one Mass during the doxology.
The doxology is where the priest lifts up the Body and Blood of Christ, and the deacon in silence assists the priest to elevate the Sacred Chalice. The priest then intercedes for the people to the Father where He is glorified, "Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever."
It must have been some time in November where on the early morning before I was to assist at Mass, I pricked my middle finger looking for, of all things, a safety pin in the bathroom. It hurt.
Then, a couple hours later, I accidentally pricked my thumb. That hurt, too.
These hurts, however, were very small. In both instances, I turned it into an act of penance and offered these up as a very small Cross to make reparation for my sins.
I didn't put band-aids on them because the bleeding stopped after I washed the wounds.
So at that particular Mass, I had gone up to Father to receive the Chalice for the doxology. The elements had just been consecrated.
I lifted up the Chalice in the usual manner and remained silent as is proper to the deacon, and while the priest was praying the "Through him, and with him, and in him" prayer -- the doxology -- I saw that my thumb was naturally joined with my middle finger.
Here, with my thumb and middle finger joined, I saw residue of my own blood in my fingernails.
It reminded me of my early morning pricks and touched my heart. I thought of how very insignificantly little my little pricks were that morning compared to the sufferings and wounds of Jesus, whose Precious Blood I was holding, and I also thought about the Four Iraqi Boy Martyrs who were martyred for the Faith recently. When asked to renounce their Faith, they said no and "We love Jesus."
This was a previous gift from God.
Thank you, God.
The doxology is where the priest lifts up the Body and Blood of Christ, and the deacon in silence assists the priest to elevate the Sacred Chalice. The priest then intercedes for the people to the Father where He is glorified, "Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever."
It must have been some time in November where on the early morning before I was to assist at Mass, I pricked my middle finger looking for, of all things, a safety pin in the bathroom. It hurt.
Then, a couple hours later, I accidentally pricked my thumb. That hurt, too.
These hurts, however, were very small. In both instances, I turned it into an act of penance and offered these up as a very small Cross to make reparation for my sins.
I didn't put band-aids on them because the bleeding stopped after I washed the wounds.
So at that particular Mass, I had gone up to Father to receive the Chalice for the doxology. The elements had just been consecrated.
I lifted up the Chalice in the usual manner and remained silent as is proper to the deacon, and while the priest was praying the "Through him, and with him, and in him" prayer -- the doxology -- I saw that my thumb was naturally joined with my middle finger.
Here, with my thumb and middle finger joined, I saw residue of my own blood in my fingernails.
It reminded me of my early morning pricks and touched my heart. I thought of how very insignificantly little my little pricks were that morning compared to the sufferings and wounds of Jesus, whose Precious Blood I was holding, and I also thought about the Four Iraqi Boy Martyrs who were martyred for the Faith recently. When asked to renounce their Faith, they said no and "We love Jesus."
This was a previous gift from God.
Thank you, God.
No comments:
Post a Comment