THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

April 1, 2007

The Good News

...Holy Week, Christ With Us

For many Christian people (even some Catholics), Easter has become just another passing holiday. Yet the reality is that Easter, along with Christmas, is a celebration of the most important events of our Catholic beliefs. Moreover, it is not just an historical recollection of past facts, but a proclamation of the ongoing reality of faith.

Jesus came among us. He lived here, suffered and died for us. He then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. But He ascended with a strong assurance that He would not leave us as orphans. He said He would truly remain with us. Indeed, He has and He does and principally through the Catholic Church which He established.

When two or more faithful people gather in His Name to pray, Jesus says: “I am in your midst.”  When a person of faith reaches out to help someone in need in the Name of Jesus, He is with that person. Jesus is present in the Sacred Scriptures and in the sacramental actions of the Church, especially the Eucharist.

The Church teaches (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1374) that “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained. This presence is called ‘real,’ by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes Himself wholly and entirely present.”

The changing of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, promised in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel and  fulfilled at the Last Supper, is called Transubstantiation.  “Substance,” as Cardinal Avery Dulles put it, “denotes the basic reality of the thing, i.e., what it is in itself.” A change in appearance does not affect the substance of the thing. When the Angel Raphael stood before Tobiah, his appearance was that of a “young man,” but his substance was that of an angel.  (Tobit 5:5, 12:15)

So it is with the Eucharist.  This is really Jesus, the eternal  Son of God “hidden” under the appearance of bread and wine.

Christ is the eternal Son of God.  He is true God. Therefore, by His own dynamic power and action, He is really, truly and substantially present in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

The Person of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our Catholic faith.  It is He Who founded the Church and He Who enlivens it and He Who guides and guards the Church on its pilgrim journey. Jesus and Jesus alone is Lord and Savior. As the Scriptures say, “There is salvation in Him and in Him alone.”

The principle events in the life and mission of Jesus are celebrated and re-enacted during Holy Week.  Thus Easter and the days leading up to it (Holy Week) cannot be considered mere commemorations or historical remembrances. They are dynamic realities, established by Providential inspiration that require us to accept and celebrate in faith and with love.

Today, as you participate in the Palm Sunday ceremonies in your parish church, listen most  attentively to the proclamation of the Passion account of Jesus as recorded by Saint Luke. Let that stirring account of God’s great love for you motivate you to commit yourself to daily attendance at Mass during Holy Week. I especially urge you to participate in the Triduum services of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil at your parish church. May you, your families and fellow parishioners then enjoy a most blessed and happy Easter because the Risen Lord is truly with us!