Introduction
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.
As we conclude the summer school, it is good to recall how you started it last
Tuesday with a reminder of baptism. My week has also focussed on baptism through
taking part in a conference on how we become Christians through baptism, confirmation
and Eucharist -in particular we reflected on the journey that takes adults from
perhaps a simple enquiry to a period of formation in what we call the catechumentate
and then to baptism and Eucharist.
Gathering at Mass is our constant renewal of our baptismal commitment to follow Christ. Gathering together at Mass brings us into Christ's presence; our Mass immerses us -to use the language of baptism- into the saving mystery of his death and resurrection.
Conscious of our need of God's mercy, let us prepare ourselves for this celebration by confessing our sins.
I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Kyrie -sung
Glory to God… -sung
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you gave us the eucharist
as the memorial of your suffering and death.
May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood
help us to experience the salvation you won for us
and the peace of the kingdom
where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Conclusion
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ,
You give us your body and blood in the eucharist
As a sign that even now we share your life.
May we come to possess it completely in the kingdom
Where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.
Thanks to Olive Matthews and the council, not only for the invitation to celebrate
this Mass with you but also for their work this week and throughout the year.
Thanks to the guest director, Orla Barry and to the team of organisers and tutors.
Thanks to all of you for this week, which gives us so much hope. Thank you for your ministry of music.
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are the household of the Lord. We give God thanks. Be joyful, exult. Go in
the peace of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
This summer school began with a reminder of baptism and ends with the celebration of the Eucharist. Baptism and Eucharist --the sacraments of healing and hope. These words have been etched into this week -spoken often and written on our music books. Healing -we stand in constant need of forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation, healing. Each of us must be a minister of healing in our homes and parishes, in our families and choirs, in our Association and in its gatherings. Let our music be a source of healing and comfort and never a cause of division or dispute.
Hope is the other word that has been set before us this week. We live in a world
and in a Church that need a message of hope, that need people who have hope
and courage to look forward, to look beyond. Indeed, our liturgy always reminds
us to look beyond -even to the return of the Lord in glory. "Until the
Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
are proclaiming his death."
Our Eucharist is a powerful source of healing and hope. Celebrating this Mass
is our best way of concluding our summer school.
Through the week your music and liturgies have picked out themes leading to
this celebration which focusses on "the institution of the Eucharist, in
which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and
wine, and testifies 'to the end' his love for humanity, for whose salvation
he will offer himself in sacrifice." This is, of course, the fifth mystery
of light, suggested by our Holy Father in his letter last year on the rosary.
Pope John Paul took up that description of the rosary as a gospel prayer, so
stressed by his predecessor, Pope Paul VI. He proposed that we might add five
new mysteries, the mysteries of light, five significant moments in Christ's
life which are a "revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person
of Jesus." You have celebrated those mysteries each day -Christ's baptism
in the Jordan, the wedding feast of Cana, the proclamation of the Kingdom -the
call to conversion and the forgiveness of the sins of all who draw near to him
in humble trust, the transfiguration and the institution of the Eucharist.
Pope John Paul has more recently on Holy Thursday given us his reflections on
the Eucharist. This letter, called Ecclesia de Eucharistia, is a call to rekindle
what Pope John Paul calls "a Eucharistic 'amazement.'" As we began
the new millennium, Pope John Paul called us to put out into the deep on the
sea of history -duc in altum, step out into the deep- with the enthusiasm of
a new evangelisation. Now he calls on us to treasure the gift of the Eucharist
since "the Church draws her life from Christ in the Eucharist; by him she
is fed and by him she is enlightened." "Amazement" is a Christian
response to this gift.
Constantly come to the Eucharist and go from it as the source of grace and inspiration,
as the reason for our work in the ministry of music. Let our music be a servant
of the liturgy and let us serve the assembly that celebrates the Eucharist.
Always include people, never exclude. St Paul in writing to the people of Corinth
in the year 57 had to warn them of the divisions that existed even while at
Eucharist. Therefore have the standard set in our gospel today: "Jesus
made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he
cured those who were in need of healing." Always remember what you can
give. The disciples saw so many people and suggested sending them away. But
Jesus asked them to look to their own resources. Not great but with his help,
sufficient -indeed, there were twelve baskets left over after all ate as much
as they wanted.
Learn more and more about the liturgy. And always be faithful to its celebration,
especially the Mass. As Pope John Paul concludes in his letter: "In the
humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks
beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and he enables us to
become, for everyone, witnesses of hope, If, in the presence of this mystery,
reason experiences its limits, the heart, enlightened by the grace of the Holy
Spirit, clearly sees the response that is demanded, and bows low in adoration
and unbounded love."