Episode 13 - The First Mass, How We Receive Communion and Jesus' Trial

In this episode, Father Mark Stoll answers questions about First Mass, which Eucharistic Prayer is used, how we are to receive communion, and the timeline of Jesus' trial.

Tune in so we may discover, learn and engage our hearts, souls and minds so we may be illuminated, informed and inspired. Please send your questions to fatherknowsbestshow@yahoo.com.

The program is sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? That's number one I learned in the school. What does the church really teach? Welcome to Father Numbers Bells from the studios of 88.1 FM, K-F-A-C, Pankasu City, and K-O-I-A Storm Lake. Brought to you by the St. Augustine Indian Mission Minobago. We all have questions and curiosity about matters of faith as it is normal for humanity to ask questions and seek answers in the timeless quest for understanding regarding matters of faith in the church. We believe that there is no such thing as a foolish or dumb question. Only opportunities to learn and to connect. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are like questions others have, and so it is good to ask. Sometimes an answer leads to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Sudan Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Up Point South Dakota to Stromic Iowa. And everywhere in between and beyond, send your questions to us at FatherKnowsBest Show at Yahoo.com. Or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sudan Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa 51103. During this time, once a week, I or another guest will do our best to answer some of the questions I've received here at the studio so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts and souls and minds, so we may be illuminated, informed, and inspired. So I thank you for tuning in. We invite you to open your mind, let the questions begin, and let your curiosity find its voice. I'm Father Mark Stoll, priest of the Dysou City, with you again. Joining me again is Tim Swedeen, Executive Director of Sioux Line Catholic Radio, presenting some of the questions that I've received from you, our listeners. Tim, how are you doing? I am doing wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

You know, Father, as I think of this, this is like education for me. I feel like I'm back in college, but I'm not taking accounting classes, which was my discipline, but I'm taking theology classes. You can audit it. There you go. This is an audited class. I love that analogy.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

And again, I love it too, because again, it's a learning process for me, too, to dive in deeper to some of these questions and it's like, what's the history of this? It's like, yeah, I've always done it this way, but why are we doing it this way? And so what an opportunity for all of us to learn more about our faith. So speaking of, let's talk about, you know, something. One of our listeners asked a question. What would what's your question?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

A faithful at listener asks, When was the first mass celebrated?

SPEAKER_00 2:30

You know, again, that is a very interesting question. Um, and again, I thank you for that wonderful question. I would say that the very first mass that was celebrated, of course, took place at the Last Supper. And that, of course, on the night before Jesus died, when we, as we hear in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and also in the in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11 to 23, excuse me, chapter 11, verse 23 to 26, which of course is the first and earliest account of the first mass, St. Paul writes, For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often you drink it in remembrance of me. This, of course, at the last supper, Jesus sat down with his apostles, is the first time bread and wine were changed into the body and blood of Jesus, and given to the apostles for their first Holy Communion, and of course, is also their ordination of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Now, of course, the very first Mass at the Last Supper, I would say, of course, was different than how we celebrate it today. For today, you know, this first Mass, you know, took place at the Last Supper, was celebrated a Jewish Passover meal. It was done to celebrate the night that the Jewish people celebrate the freedom from slavery in Egypt, as is recounted in the book of Exodus, chapter 12. However, at this Passover meal, you know, the Last Supper, Jesus, of course, on the night before he was betrayed, put on trial, and crucified, Jesus gave us the sacrament of the Eucharist. It was at this Passover meal, this last supper, of course, the story of the Exodus would have been told and shared, and a meal shared. Now, of course, this telling of this story of the Exodus, you know, from Exodus chapter 12, would have been what we consider today the liturgy of the Word, the sharing of the Scriptures. And of course, the meal that was shared, the body and blood of Christ, was of course the liturgy of the Eucharist. And this had all been as the very earliest primitive forms. And again, it's interesting to note that the holy communion that the apostles would have received that night would have been the pre-crucified Jesus. I go on and say the second Mass, I would say, had been celebrated, was on the evening of the first Easter Sunday, as described in Luke chapter 24. And we may recall that there are two disciples there on that Easter day, that afternoon, walking from uh Jerusalem to the little village of Emmaus. They're talking about the events of Good Friday and all the way to Easter morning and how they found Jesus' tomb was empty. And Jesus joins them and begins to explain the scriptures to them. Again, we see here along the road this is the liturgy of the word, being celebrated, the sharing of the story, with Jesus, in a sense, giving a homily, explaining the meaning of the story. And then, of course, the disciples invite Jesus to a meal, and Jesus breaks bread. And this we can see is the liturgy of the Eucharist, with Jesus revealing himself in the breaking of the bread, otherwise known as Holy Communion. When the disciples received that bread, they would have received then the crucified and resurrected Jesus. And this second mass concludes with the disciples departing to share the good news with the apostles and the other disciples in Jerusalem as they were sent out at the end of Mass, you know, to share that good news. The third Mass, I would say we don't know when that was celebrated, but when you look at the scriptures in the New Testament, the letters of St. Paul and the others, the Acts of the Apostles, the Book of Revelation, we know that after the ascension and after the Pentecost, that the Mass was being celebrated. The Sacrament of Eucharist was being celebrated. At that time, of course, the Mass would have been in very primitive forms. The apostles, the disciples, the newly new Christians would be gathering, sharing the stories of the experience of Jesus and his teachings. And then they would have the breaking of bread, which of course would be the consecration of the bread and wine and the sharing of Holy Communion. And of course, that meant at that time, after the Pentecost, they've been receiving the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Jesus as we do today. Now, over the centuries, of course, we know that the Mass has developed with additional prayers, formalities, and to all how we celebrate today. Yet I would say, despite all these changes we've celebrated, all the changes have taken place over the centuries, we still celebrate much as we did the first Mass. We gather around a table known as the altar with Jesus. We're sharing our stories of faith from the scriptures, and we're breaking the bread that is sharing in the Holy Community to receive the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Jesus Christ. In short, I would say that when we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, if every time we gather, we are actually still participating in the very first Mass and what took place at Last Supper. It's a wonderful reality that we celebrate. And again, I hope this answers your question as this most august and essential sacrament for our life in Christ. Very good. So do we have another question? We do. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Lisa from Sioux City asks, What differentiates which Eucharistic prayer is used at Mass by the priest? Is it based on the time of year or a season?

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Thank you very much for that. Again, very interesting question. Again, just brief refresher. The Eucharistic prayer, of course, is that prayer that is prayed by the priest during the year of the liturgy of the Eucharist that begins after the Holy Holy, concludes with a great amen just before the Lord's Prayer. This prayer, of course, contains a number of intercessions, which includes an intercession to the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit may come upon the gifts of bread and wine and change them into the body and blood of Christ. There are actually ten, ten Eucharistic prayers for the new or new novus oral of Mass that the priest may choose from at his discretion, depending on the particular celebration of the Mass. And just briefly, those ten prayers are Eucharistic prayer one, which of course is known as also as the Roman canon, which is uh old prayer that preexisted pre-existed Vatican II. There's of course prayer, Eucharistic Prayer II, Eucharistic Prayer III, Eucharistic Prayer 4. Then there are two Eucharistic prayers for reconciliation, one and two, and then four Eucharistic prayers for various needs and occasions, one, two, three, and four. Now, which one does the priest choose at Mass? Let me begin with Eucharistic Prayer 1, the oldest prayer and the longest of the prayers. This is the only Eucharistic prayer that I would say has some preferred and recommended times for use. And namely, especially during the seasons of Christmas and Easter, and on various key days of those seasons, especially because there's some additions that are part of that prayer that are added for those particular days, such as for the Nativity of Jesus, for the epiphany of Jesus for the Lord, the resurrection of Jesus, the ascension of the Lord, and then also for, of course, the sacred day of Pentecost. And also it's interesting to note that this Eucharistic prayer, number one, is actually placed within the prayers of the Mass on Holy Thursday in the Roman Missal. Again, the Roman Missal is that big red book that the priest uses. Eucharistic prayer one is placed right in those midst of those prayers, really saying this is the prayer you want to use for Holy Thursday Mass for the celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Again, because it's the oldest of the prayers and also has a specific edition that's included, says this most sacred day in which our Lord Jesus Christ was handed over. This Eucharistic prayer, one, again, is encouraged to be used too on feast days, such as for great saints and apostles and martyrs, especially those mentioned within this prayer. There's uh two lists, uh litanies might say, of various uh saints. And of course, this prayer is often used at high big ported celebrations such as ordinations and the chrism mass and and the like, such as you might be at the cathedral. Now the other options are basically up to the priest's discretion. And I just want to share what I like to do. For Eucharistic Prayer 1, I like to use Christmas Eve, Holy Thursday, Easter Vigil, and then some other occasions such as my big solemnities. Eucharistic prayer two, um, I use most often for Masses during ordinary time when there's no feast and no memorial being celebrated. Eucharistic prayer three, I'll use for uh during the Christmas and Easter season and for solemnities and feast days and memorials. Eucharistic four, Eucharistic prayer four, I should say, is occasionally used on weekdays and maybe, you know, rarely on Sundays, because it's interesting, it's one of those Eucharistic prayers that has its own preface, so it's kind of tied together. And so again, that preface is that prayer that's prayed right before the Holy Holy. Eucharistic prayer for reconciliation number one, I usually use during the season of Lent because it has a great theme of reconciliation, and I have a it has a wonderful line talking about before his arms were outstretched between heaven and earth. Again, really tying us into what was going on, you know, as we pray for Holy Week. Eucharistic prayer for Reconciliation Two, again I use during the Advent season because it has a nice theme, again, reconciliation, which is part of Advent. Eucharistic prayer for various needs and occasions, one, two, three, and four. Again, I'll use on very Sundays and weekdays in ordinary time because it has themes of unity, way of salvation, way to the Father, and about what good Jesus did. And I would say for most priests, including myself, Eucharistic prayers two and three are most commonly used. But in short, the priest may basically may choose at his discretion, depending on the particular celebration of the Mass, one of those ten Eucharistic prayers, you know, to offer it during that Mass. So again, I hope that answers your question.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

On specific events, such as funerals and weddings, is there a preferred Eucharistic prayer?

SPEAKER_00 12:27

There is not again. Again, that priest could uh choose which one he wants to use. Sometimes I'll ask a bride and groom what prayer they want to use, and usually they pick two because it's shorter. But those prayers also have little inserts that we can add to the uh to the prayer talking about the uh uh the couple getting married there.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Very cool.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Excellent. So if you're just tuning in, you're listening to Father Knows Best here on Sioux Line Catholic Radio as I answer your questions about faith in the Catholic Church. I'm Father Mark Stowe, joined by Tim Soudin, who is present here presenting the questions I have received from you, our listeners. And so let's uh try another one. Let's try a third question.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Another faithful listener asks, I see most receive communion in the hand, some on the tongue, and some kneel down and receive on the tongue.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

How should we receive communion? Thank you for this question about you know how we need to receive holy communion. And the truth is, of course, there are several options that are available to people for receiving holy communion, again, depending on location, our accommodations, or even the circumstances, you know, of the time of receiving holy communion. For this answer for this question, I'm going to just simply speak about the options of receiving holy communion during the holy sacrifice of the Mass. So, again, first question do we receive in the hand or in the tongue? So let's talk a little bit about the history of hand and tongue reception. Communion of the hand originated as really the normative practice in the early church. Then it was gradually replaced by reception only on the tongue, starting in the Middle Ages, and then it was been repermitted again in the hand in the last, in about the end of the 1960s, early 1970s. We'll dive in a little more deeper loops a little bit. Again, in the very early church, it was typical the faithful would receive communion in the hand. And it was interesting, men would take the consecrated bread directly into their hands, while women would commonly receive it on a white cloth known as a dominical. And this custom then receiving in the hand prevailed alongside even communion under both species. And then this is early church. Again, the body of Christ would be administered by the priests, and deacons would administer the blood of Christ. And of course, as always, the communicants respond, Amen, to affirm the faith in the presence of Christ there. Reverence is always, of course, emphasized in however we receive Holy Communion. And even in early church, when receiving in the hand, again, uh, there were efforts made to avoid any particles falling onto the ground. By the ninth century, reception on the tongue started to become the standard in the Western Church. And this coincided with the use of unleavened bread with a synod in a town called Ron in the year 878, which explicitly prohibited the giving of Eucharist to the hand to the laity, which really mandated then oral reception only by the laity. By the 12th century, communion under one species was uh became the norm. And again, the priests would then place the host on the communicants' tongues. What was at the place was known as the chancel rail, also known as the sanctuary guard or the altar rail. And then by the 15th century, kneeling became common. And this was an adaptation that uh took place with the communicants then kneeling at the sanctuary guard of the altar rail, which of course became known as the communion rail, and rather than standing in front of this barrier. After Vatican II, in 1965, the liturgical renewal revived this ancient practice of communion in the hand amid broader reforms, including changes to the church furnishings, in which some people realize you know sometimes communion rails have been removed. This came about when the Congregation of Divine Worship issued some instructions permitting communion in the hand. First in May of 1967, an instruction was given to all Episcopal conferences that'd be like groups of bishops in each country, such as the UCCB here in the United States, where they could request to permit receiving communion in the hand. Then in June of 1970, further norms were then issued again regarding implementation of this ability to have people receiving their hand. Me personally, I remember my first Holy Communion was on the tongue. And then just a year later, 1974, we were permitted to receive in the hand. So that's basically when I remember when this took place. But in short, it's at each person's decision which option they might choose, receive the body of Christ in the hand or on the tongue, again with reverence. Now, then do we stand or we kneel? Again, I've just uh mentioned in the early church communicants received Holy Communion standing. And of course, at the very first Mass, at the Last Supper, it is likely the apostles actually were reclining, sitting down as they received their first Holy Communion as the first priest of Jesus' new church. Then later by the 15th century, kneeling at the altar or the communion railing became the norm until, again, as I said earlier, the 1960s and early 70s, when standing became then the norm and the use of the communion rail ceased. In paragraph 60 of the general instruction of the Roman Missal, again, it's a document issued by the Vatican. It's found in the beginning of the big red book, known as the Roman Missal, the priests use it at Mass. That paragraph 160 says the following The priest then takes the patent or saborium and goes to the communicants who, as a rule, approach in a procession. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves, and still less to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the diocese of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally by providing the faithful with proper instruction catechesis on the reasons for this norm. It continues When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the sacrament as a gesture reverence and receives the body of the Lord from the minister. A consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand at the discretion of each communicant. When holy communion is received under both kinds, a sign of reverence is also made before receiving the precious blood. End of that quote from Paragraph six one sixty of the General Instructional Roman Missal. So again, in short, it's the person's decision, their discretion, which option they choose to receive the body of Christ, or even the blood of Christ, again, doing it so with reverence. And speaking personally as a priest, and I know as many communion ministers would say, you know, it's uh easiest for us if most communicants, everyone receives Holy Communion basically in the same way, especially standing. It really doesn't make a difference between the hand or the tongue. However, we also train our ministers to communicate the person no matter which option or options they choose. And so I would also kindly note that when kneeling, it's probably best to receive on the tongue because you know it's you're kneeling, it's like how do we receive in the hand and and then stand up because sometimes people are not able to stand up. So again, if you're gonna kneel, make sure you're also able to stand back up. So just a common, you know, courtesy, polite reminder, and that. But in short, the church gives each communicant the option, in the hand or on the tongue, standing or kneeling, just as long as Holy Communion is received with reverence. I hope this answers your question. It's a great question.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

I understand that. That's very good.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

So, should we have time for another one?

SPEAKER_01 19:58

I think we do. Another loyal listener. Boy, we have so many of those.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

Oh man, I love these loyal listeners.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

From Sioux City asked the question. I've struggled with the timeline for Christ's passion. How was he able to go from meeting with Pontius Pilate to Herod and back to Pontius Pilate in a timely manner? Wasn't Herod in another community?

SPEAKER_00 20:21

That is a very good question, very interesting question. And you don't know a little about your history of that time, of you know, we're about King Herod. But let me just first assure you that 2,000 years ago, there would not have been any public transportation, no Uber to get Jesus one place to another, let alone no military, even a prison bus. And when we look at the Gospels, we know that these trips back and forth, even to the high priest, would have been done on foot and all in Jerusalem. Again, down in Jerusalem where Pontius where the high priest lived and the Sanhedrin uh were resided, uh, in Jerusalem where Pontius Pilate was stationed, and where King Herod would have been for the celebration of Passover. Now, when we look at the Gospels, the trial of Jesus before the high priest, the Sanhedrin, Pontius Pilate, King Herod is described in the Gospels. Matthew chapter 26 to 27, Mark chapter 14 to 15, Luke chapter 22 to 23, and John chapter 18 to 19. And what we see in these Gospels portrayed is that this trial unfolds in Jerusalem during Passover. And the trial again begins before the chief priests and the elders, the Sanhedrin, at the high priest's residence, and then transfers to uh Jesus transferred to Pilate's Praetorium, where he's questioned by Pilate. And then Pilate sends him to Herod, who has a brief trial or questioning of Jesus, who then is mocked, before he returns back to Pilate, who then condemns Jesus. So we have church fathers such as St. Augustine who harmonized the gospel and noted that Herod's presence in Jerusalem at that time, as we Explicitly see in the Gospel of St. Luke. Luke chapter 23, verse 6 to 7 says that Pilate, or excuse me, that Herod was in Jerusalem at that time. And so this provides what we call a canonical account that Pilate did send Jesus to Herod. It states in Luke when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. So this is a brief statement, just very quickly overlook it. But King Herod, also known as King Herod and Tippus, who's often called King Herod in the New Testament. And again, this is a different King Herod than we find earlier in the Gospel of Luke, where King Herod is visited by the Magi at the time of Jesus' birth and orders the killing of all the boys under age two in Bethlehem. This King Herod, King Herod of Tippus, was the Tetarch of Galilee and Perea. And this is again a northern region of Israel. King Herod normally resided in a city called Tiberias, which was the capital city that he founded on the western shore of the city of Galilee, which he named after his friend Emperor Tiberius. However, at this time of when Jesus is arrested and tried, he is in Jerusalem. So Jerusalem is not his usual location, as you kind of indicate in your question. And so it's very likely that with the Passover going on in Jerusalem, and maybe even heard that Jesus would be in Jerusalem, Pilate, or excuse me, King Herod would have gone to Jerusalem, and he would have been residing someplace in Jerusalem within walking distance of the high priest's residence and walking distance to Pilate's Praetorium. And so these trips between high priest residence to Pilate's Praetorium to King Herod and back to Barthorium would have easily taken place throughout the night, from the time of Jesus' rest on late Holy Thursday evening until early morning of Good Friday when Jesus was then condemned and then sent on his way to the cross. And so even just thinking about this, reflecting on this, it seemed like Jesus had a very long night, probably no sleep since the morning of Holy Thursday. And if I could say this, his first rest came when he gave up a spirit on Good Friday, and it's no wonder he slept for three days in the tomb. And so I hope this answers your question because you know Aherod would have been in Jerusalem at this time.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Obviously, I've never been there. You may have in the course of your lifetime. How long is Jerusalem from one end to the other? Is it is it a very large city?

SPEAKER_00 24:36

I built you know, I've not visited, but from my my recollection, you know, of course, Jerusalem is a lot larger today than it used to be. Correct. And um and so, in fact, Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem. Okay. But if you look at the map of today, the crucifixion site is inside Jerusalem. So it would not have been a real big city. It'd been a big city at their time, but it's not like probably the size of Sioux City. Very interesting. I could be wrong, but uh it would have been an easy walk, but again, a very long night for Jesus. Very long night, for sure. That is an awesome question. So I'm really grateful for that. Um, any follow-up, Tim? Tim got everything covered?

SPEAKER_01 25:15

I think that really handles our questions for the evening. And I really get the diversity of what we address here. Oh, yes. They're so diverse from catechism to mass processes to how we handle different things. And I think I think you mentioned it in one of the previous responses. As long as we handle everything with reverence, exactly, we should be in the appropriate manner.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Exactly. Reverence is the key thing. And so when we go to mass, again, I think just pay attention how do we receive Holy Communion. And for some people think kneeling and receiving the hand is how I want to show it. But if we come standing and we hold out our hand, again, pay attention to how we reverently receive that host and carefully pick up that host and place it in our mouth and receive it. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

I think that's a wonderful way to look at it. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

Again, I really appreciate you tuning in to Sudan Catholic Radio as we offer both national and local programs, including Faith in Action with Joanne Fox, Dra Near with Fred and Kira, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, and the Divine Mercy Chaplain, of course, the Sunday morning mass. Please also check our Facebook pages for Student Line Catholic Radio and Father Knows Best for more information about this show, including more information about the questions and answers I've addressed, and more information about maybe things I've not addressed. But as we wrap up today's questions and answers session, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought-provoking questions. Your curiosity and engagement make this show possible, and we are always inspired by the incredible range of topics you bring to the table. We hope you'll find the answers both informative and enlightening as you'll carry some new insights with you as you go about your week. And if your question was not answered, we you may hear the answer to your question next week. If you missed this episode or would like to re-listen to this or other episodes, please visit our website, so linecatholic radio.com, and visit the programs drop menu and click on local programs to find this episode and other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. Again, if you have any questions, please send your questions to us at father knows best show at yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Line Catholic Radio 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. And thank you to our sponsor, San Augusta Indian Mission, Winnebago. Please join us again next Wednesday, 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. Until then, stay curious, stay faithful, keep your light shining, and keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stowe, your host, signing off. Wishing you a great week ahead. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.