2026/05/11

247. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Lord's Prayer and the Seven Blessedness V

Continuing from our previous reflection. As in the Book of Revelation, where the angel says to the writer, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9), it is impossible to overemphasise the blessedness and importance for us believers, during the Mass, of calling the Eucharist we receive by the name "Messiah, Son of God, Jesus," and of linking the Eucharist with this name each time, inscribing it in our memory. This method is a formula for assimilating matters that cannot be grasped intuitively. However, Roman Catholic believers throughout the world respond with the centurion's words when the priest presents the Host. This is because the Blessed Sacrament and the centurion's words of humility are easily linked. Yet, Jesus praised the centurion's faith because he believed in Jesus' authority and accepted Him, drawing upon his own experience of exercising authority over soldiers. It was not his human humility that Jesus praised. 

Rather, the centurion’s humility—when, in response to Jesus' offer, "I will come and heal him", he said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Mt 8:8), and thus declined His visit—resulted in his servant being deprived of the opportunity to meet Jesus. Similarly, when Peter, out of human humility, refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet, Jesus rebuked him sternly, saying, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me" (Jn 13:8). The humility and humbleness that Jesus demanded of His disciples consisted of becoming servants (cf. Mt 23:11–12), taking the lowest seat when invited (cf. Lk 14:10–11), and, before God, honestly asking for one's desires, just as the tax collector who was justified and returned home did (cf. 18:13–14). 

Considering these points, we must conclude that the reason Roman Catholics throughout the world have consistently recited the centurion's words before the Eucharist each time at Mass is that they mistakenly believe these words express reverence and humility towards the Eucharist. Yet these are words that seem utterly out of proportion when set against the humility of God, so great that he hides himself in the form of bread and wine. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mt 11:28–30). For the believer, to imitate the divine humility of Jesus, the Son of God, lies in making the decision to take up Jesus' yoke and bear His burden. 

That is something no human being can do without the collaboration of the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus. For this reason, it is a great blessedness for those who participate in the Mass that, by calling the name of the Eucharist received "Messiah, Son of God, Jesus" and inscribing that name in their memory each time, this revelation becomes tacit knowledge and remains in their memory. This is the most effective way to assimilate matters that cannot be grasped intuitively. However, here we encounter another pitfall: the believer’s dependence on the Old Testament. The mission of the Old Testament ended when it was quoted by Jesus in the Gospels. It became linked to Jesus, was completed by Him, and came to live as the new Word within the Gospels. Therefore, it is sufficient for it to be explained as necessary. 

Nevertheless, during Sunday Mass, when the faithful enter the Liturgy of the Word, except for Eastertide, the Old Testament is read first, followed by the singing of the Psalms. Only then are the Epistles and the Gospel read. Consequently, the words of the New Testament read at that point are placed into the faithful’s memory, which has already been attuned by the readings from the Old Testament and the Psalms. They are, so to speak, new wine poured into an old wineskin. Among the faithful who come to the Mass, there are those who are burdened with worries and suffering, and those whose hearts have been weakened by the burdens of daily life. For such believers, it is easy to empathise with the words of the Old Testament and the Psalms and to entrust themselves to them. These texts evoke deep emotion and may even bring a momentary sense of peace. Thus, Jesus' people of the New Covenant are left exposed to the danger of being immersed in the worldview of a people who still await the Saviour, alongside the Old Testament prophecies. 

Even within this atmosphere of the Mass, the Word—read by the priest and brought to life by the Holy Spirit—becomes a sharp sword that enters the believer's memory, seeking to cut away the ingrained "human information." This "human information" is the true form of the "ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world" (Rev 12:9), which Jesus taught His disciples to distinguish from themselves and which He continued to reveal through His Passion and death on the cross. In Revelation, the angel standing in the sun calls the "human information," cut away from individual believers, "flesh," and commands all the birds flying in midheaven to devour it (cf. Rev 19:17–21). That is just as Jesus washed and dried His disciples' feet to purify them before the Last Supper, which was an act by which Jesus, realising that the hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, "loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (Jn 13:1). 

Yet we, who celebrate the Mass in this manner, will surely, before Jesus with human humility, say, "You shall never wash my feet" (Jn 13:8). And even if we offer a prayer of repentance before the Liturgy of the Word, the day when the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer—"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"—is fulfilled remains far off. Furthermore, the reality of the fifth blessedness in Revelation, to which this petition should lead—"Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:6)—lies even further away. 

Maria K. M.