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Sr. M. Ceceliatook her perpetual vows on July 9th, 2011 at Most Holy Trinity Parish Church in San Jose, California. View the gallery. |
A Pauline Centenary Pastoral Tool: Pauline Spirituality and Mission n. 3
PAULINE SPIRITUALITY AND MISSION ***
THE EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: THE DISCIPLE AT THE SCHOOL OF THE DIVINE MASTER
INTRODUCTION
It was a beautiful day in May 1970. I was 18 years old. I was with another young lady who was also interested in religious life. Fr. Peter Barisoro, SSP, brought us to the PDDM Sisters at their convent in the verdant hills of Antipolo, a Manila suburb. Everything was fascinating: the bougainvillea blooming in splendid glory, the swaying coconut trees, the deeply-hued Bermuda grass, the fruit-laden mango trees, the chirping birds, the neatness and orderliness of the place. That remarkable impression however was simply a preparation for the most fascinating vision of all: two Sisters wearing a blue mantle, kneeling in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar. There was something sacred, peaceful, ineffable and awesome in that sight! It was a "Come, stay with me" experience.
In May of 1971 I entered the convent. The ritornello that I heard from the other aspirants and postulants was that the Eucharistic Adoration was for them the great fascination and attraction. Soon I was learning the Pauline method for the Eucharistic Adoration. I was getting familiar with its important elements: spiritual reading, examination of conscience and intercessory prayer. I was greatly impressed by the Prologue of Saint John, the Beatitudes and the Priestly Prayer. How abundantly these prayers have nourished my budding spiritual-apostolic life!
I. THE ADORATION AND ITS INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EUCHARIST
In my early formative years in the convent, I saw the intimate connection between the Adoration and the Eucharist. Right after the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for Adoration. Placing the monstrance on the altar helped me to perceive that the Adoration is linked with Christ's sacrifice originally offered on the Cross, but now made present in a sacramental form on the altar. The Sisters also gently reminded our chaplains that if exposition follows the Eucharist, the final greeting, blessing, and dismissal are omitted. The Mass at the PDDM convent in Antipolo was not ended; it was continued in our ministry of perpetual adoration. Since we had day and night adoration, it was very easy to see that the Adoration flows into the Eucharistic celebration and is derived from it. Indeed, the celebration of the Eucharist is "truly the origin and purpose of the worship that is shown to the Eucharist outside Mass" (cf. Eucharisticum Mysterium, n. 3c).
The Adoration, or the "Visit", is thus a privileged moment of encounter with Jesus Master in the Eucharistic Mystery. Our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, remarks about the Eucharistic Visit: "It is the meeting of our soul and of all our being with Jesus. It is the creature meeting his Creator; the disciple before the Divine Master ... One approaches Jesus as the Mediator between God and humanity, as the Priest of the Father, as the Victim of expiation, as the Messiah come to earth, as the Word of God, the Shepherd, the Way and Truth and Life, the Savior of the world." For the Pauline Family, the Adoration or the "Visit" is to be "at the school of the Divine Master".
II. THE WAY-TRUTH-LIFE METHOD OF ADORATION: A "MYSTAGOGY"
There are many ways of doing the Adoration. When I receive some tragic news that involves me deeply and personally, for example, a serious illness of a dear one, I would sit in stunned silence before the Blessed Sacrament. The whole "Visit" is bereft of words ... of sounds ... of songs ... of music. The "Visit" becomes a silent act of faith ... a leap in the dark ... a moment of surrender to the almighty God who guides the universe and directs everything to our immense good. When I am privileged to be the recipient of a special grace, I would adore the Blessed Sacrament exhilarated with joy and I would even imagine myself dancing with God's beloved creation. The "Visit" becomes a grateful encounter with God, the font of all good. The "Visit" may or may not include audible words of praise and thanksgiving, but definitely, my heart would be bursting with the "sound of music".
There are many options regarding methods for Eucharistic Adoration. But our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, counsels preferentially the Way-Truth-Life method of Eucharistic Adoration. This system of adoration, devised by him, is a "mystagogy". A mystagogy is a special kind of learning process. Through mystagogy, we are guided or "led" (agogos) into the Christian "mystery" (mysterion), that is, God's saving plan, till then hidden, but now fully revealed in Christ. In other words, mystagogy is an efficacious "catechesis"--an ongoing formation in the "mystery of Christian faith".
The Way-Truth-Life method of Eucharistic Adoration helps the total person to be formed more fully in the school of the Divine Master. The first part, in honor of JESUS TRUTH, is meant to obtain an increase of spiritual knowledge and faith. The second part, in honor of JESUS WAY, is meant to obtain help in the practice of virtue. The third part, in honor of JESUS LIFE, is meant to obtain the graces necessary for our spiritual work or for particular needs. In the first part, we listen to the Word of God and are able to perceive the daily occurrences and world events in the light of salvation history. In the second part, we make an examination of the heart in the light of the Word that summons us to conversion and are strengthened to make options for God's gracious will. In the third part, our heart is inspired by the spirit of love toward the realization of the God's Kingdom and we reach out to the needs of the Church, the world, the entire humanity and the whole creation.
As PDDM Sisters, especially dedicated to the Eucharistic-Priestly-Liturgical apostolate, we have promoted this method of adoration all over the world. Some of our liturgical publications are meant to help the faithful celebrate the adoration in the spirit of the liturgical year. The following pastoral tools use the Way-Truth-Life method, e.g. Eucharistic Adoration for Advent, Eucharistic Adoration for Christmas, Eucharistic Adoration for Lent, etc. Moreover, we prepare the weekly "Adoration through the Liturgical Year and we put it online on our website: www.pddm.us. This pastoral aid is now in its 10th year. We have also used this Pauline method in prayer services with the laity during the preparation and celebration of the Great Jubilee Year, and in the "Forty Hours of Adoration" we have organized for various ecclesial communities and youth groups. The Way-Truth-Life of Adoration is simple and accessible, but integrally formative. A friend who attended the Eucharistic Adoration at our General House in Rome during the feast of Epiphany had great words of appreciation for that spiritual experience. Indeed, in the Adoration, we become deeply imbued with the thoughts, the sentiments, and the desires of Jesus Master, whose loftiest expression of "magisterium" or teaching is in the Eucharist.
III. THE ADORATION IN THE LIFE OF THE PAULINE FAMILY
When we were in the initial formation, we looked forward to being assigned at the seminary of the Society of St. Paul in Makati, Metro Manila. I was thrilled when Mother Superior gave me a chance to help our Sisters there for two weeks. What impressed me deeply was the Adoration of the SSP community at the end of the day. The priests, brothers and seminarians were joined by the PDDM Sisters in this community prayer. The beauty and vigor of the songs and prayers that they offered before the Blessed Sacrament live on in my memory. Equally memorable is the Pauline Family gathered together for the Eucharistic Celebration and Adoration at the Shrine of St. Paul in Makati during the great Jubilee Year at the turn of the new millennium.
These experiences evoke that of the young Alberione before the Blessed Sacrament at the cathedral of Alba at the turn of the 20th century, as well as affirm the centrality of the Eucharist and the importance of the "Visit" to the Pauline Family. Our dear Founder reminds us: "Our piety is first and foremost Eucharistic. Everything flows from the Teacher in the Eucharist, as from a life-giving spring. Born from the Tabernacle, it is here that the Pauline Family finds its nourishment, its life, its way of working, its sanctification. Everything--holiness and apostolate--comes from the Mass, Communion and the Eucharistic Visit."
As we celebrate the centenary of the Pauline Family foundation, we are reminded of our "Eucharistic identity". The Eucharistic Adoration is a fundamental element of our spirituality and mission to give Jesus Christ Way, Truth and Life, to the world. In an annual retreat that I attended in Camaldoli, Italy, the preacher attributed these words to Martin Luther: "I am so busy today: therefore, four hours I need to pray." The words of our Founder and the experience of other spiritual masters inspire us to a greater fidelity to our life-giving practice of the Adoration. For us Paulines, the "Visit" is to be at the "school of the Divine Master". Blessed Alberione's meditation to the PDDM Sisters in 1947 is applicable to the whole Pauline Family: "In going to school, the more the student grasps the knowledge of the Teacher, the more she learns. The Disciple is really such, when she allows that which the Divine Master possesses to enter her head and heart."
IV. THE PDDM ADORATION: IN CHRISTO ET IN ECCLESIA
It was my first year in Italy: 1981. It was Saturday--during the first week of Advent. Pope John Paul II celebrated the Mass at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. After the post-Communion prayer, there was the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the Pope inaugurated the Eucharistic Adoration at the Vatican with a beautiful Advent prayer. That was an eventful day for me! I not only received communion from the Pope, but Sr. Maria Pia Yamaguchi and I were privileged to start the turns for Eucharistic Adoration at Saint Peter's Basilica. After Pope John Paul II finished his inaugural prayer, Sr. Maria Pia and I knelt before the Blessed Sacrament. Wearing the blue mantle, sign of the mission of mediation entrusted to us, I really felt the significance of doing the Adoration "in Christ and in the Church".
In a 1947 meditation our Founder addressed to the PDDM Sisters, he asserts: "Adoration is your main duty and apostolate: all the graces are gathered here for you ... The Adoration is the principal means for you to obtain every grace and to make it bear fruit. Adoration is made in Christo et in Ecclesia (in Christ and in the Church). In Christ ... As much as possible, get into Christ, in his thoughts, in his perfect Adoration, in the praise he gives to the Father, until you can really say: Vivit in me Christus (Christ lives in me). Christ, God-Man offers all that pleases the Father from the Tabernacle. Your Adoration shall be more perfect, the more you conform yourself to him ... In the Church ... When you make your Adoration, you are representatives of the Church; pray in the name of the Church. Put on your special habit for Adoration, in order to represent the Church better. Feel united with the Pope and the Hierarchy, of being in the heart of the Church. Understand their needs, their desires. What nobility; what an election! (...) Recognize your dignity, your sublime duty! Woe to you if you do not accomplish it well!"
V. THE SACRAMENT OF PRESENCE AND THE RESERVED SPECIES: TOWARDS AN INCULTURATION
The sacred practice of the "Visit" is intimately linked with the reality of the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharistic species. In his Christmas meditation to the PDDM in 1946, Blessed Alberione remarks: "Jesus Christ is not only present in the world in his Mystical Body, but is physically, truly, really, substantially present in the Tabernacle. Every good present in the Church and in souls comes from the Mass, the Real Presence and Communion; all the water as from a font that pours forth all the life-giving nourishment that flows in the sacraments and sacramentals. Persons must reach this source, this union with Jesus; everything else is a means. Together with the Eucharistic soul of Mary, we must ask everything from Jesus, the Divine Master present in the Sacred Host."
One rewarding moment of my life as a professor of liturgy was when my student, Sebastian Luistro, a professed member of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, presented to our class a cultural symbol of the conservation of Eucharistic species. His classmates and I listened to him with delight as he tried to "inculturate" the meaning of the reservation of the Eucharist in the Filipino context.
Brother Luistro asserts: "Though the Eucharist is universal, every particular culture must capture its dimensions, otherwise its meaning might be lost or simply degenerate into a meaningless ritual, without life. One of the means of understanding the reservation of the Eucharist in the Filipino context is the element of "pagtatabi", that is, reserving food for those unable to attend the family meal or a special dish shared. Since the early practice was in fact "pagtatabi", let us look into some aspects of this concept. When we reserve food, in a sense, we make ourselves present to the others, even if physically we are not. When, for example, a mother takes special care to reserve food for her husband or child, it is an act of love and remembering, indeed an active externalizing of the deep love and concern she has for that other. In the same way, Christ who wishes to be memorialized in the Eucharist becomes present to and in the assembly through the reserved Eucharistic species. In a way, while the species themselves makes Christ present to the Church, the reserved species makes present not only Christ, but the Church which may not be present, either in the particular sense of the local Church, or physically as the universal Church."
CONCLUSION
Our convent in Mumbai (formerly, Bombay) is beside the sea. One nice old lady, whom we call "Granny" and who belongs to a fishing tribe, used to come to the convent for breakfast. The Sisters would serve a plate of delicious lentils and a loaf of bread. Granny would look at the Sisters with gratitude, kiss the bread and gaze prayerfully up above. If that is how Granny reacts to the gift of material bread, you would have an idea how she responds to the gift of the Eucharistic Bread on the altar. She would approach the Sacred Host on her bended knees with exquisite reverence and loving gaze. Her face would be radiant as she contemplates the Bread of Life. I am deeply awed to witness a person in Eucharistic "ecstasy". It anticipates the perfect communion of love with the Master in Paradise!
Granny's contemplative stance before the Eucharistic Mystery challenges me as the following words of Blessed Alberione challenge me: "In Paradise, the Pious Disciples are to fulfill what they must do while still on earth: contemplation of God, vision of the Eucharistic Mystery, of the Most Holy Trinity. (...) If you have been Eucharistic souls, the more you will continue to be so in Heaven, wherein the bond shall be more intimate, the vision more profound. Love will be more intense, the joy more similar to that of Jesus himself."
***
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang, PDDM
3700 North Cornelia Avenue
Fresno, CA-U.S.A.
Tel. (559) 275-9978
