3/23/2018

STEUBENVILLE — Students in kindergarten through 12th grade in the Diocese of Steubenville “Ask the Bishop” Jeffrey M. Monforton.

Q: Why do Catholics call the church the body of Christ?

Jacob Perry

St. Clairsville

   A: It seems to me we could do a better job communicating to others the very reality that the Catholic Church is the body of Christ, also termed the mystical body of Christ. What does this mean? St. Paul of Tarsus, especially in his Letter to the Ephesians, instructs quite well how the church is the body of Christ, with Jesus Christ as its head.

   The church, as Christ’s body, lives out the instruction received by its head, namely, Jesus Christ himself. The church continues the ministerial work begun by Jesus in his ministry here on earth.

   Moreover, the church does not simply imitate what Jesus did, for that would render the Bible to a history book full of instructions. Even now, Jesus Christ continues to guide the church “in real time” through Pope Francis (the vicar of Christ), the successors of the apostles (bishops), the clergy, the consecrated men and women and the laity. Together we compose the body of Christ for Jesus Christ has made it so.

   As we approach Holy Week, perhaps you and I can take time to meditate on the very words of Jesus, as he hung upon the cross, to his mother Mary and the disciple John. In the disciple John, Jesus entrusted the church itself to the care of his mother Mary, who becomes our mother.

Q: How often should you be going to church?

Lynn Cai

Steubenville

   A: This is an excellent question as we approach the solemn day of Holy Thursday and the great celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The establishment of the Eucharist and the foundation of the priesthood were at the Last Supper. Each time we attend the celebration of the Mass we are doing more than simply remembering a certain point in history. No, we are there. The paschal mystery of Jesus is present at each and every sacrifice of the Mass.

   This leads us to the critical importance of each Mass in the life of a Catholic. This being said, the church teaches that each Catholic should attend Mass on every holy day of obligation, namely, Sunday Masses as well as those solemnities stipulated as holy days of obligation, such as, in the United States, the solemnities of Mary Mother of God, the Assumption of Mary, and the Immaculate Conception. 

   At each celebration of the Mass, we hear God’s word in the Liturgy of the Word, in which the pinnacle is the proclamation of the Gospel, when we hear of the life of Jesus and listen to his very words. At the Liturgy of the Eucharist, before our very eyes Jesus changes the bread and wine at the altar to his body and blood. As fellow believers we then receive the body of Christ. The very gravity of our salvation plays out at each and every Mass and should be reason enough for us to attend Mass on the holy days of obligation.  

   Many of us, of course, “go to Mass” daily or attend daily Mass. How best to grace each day than being present at the celebration of Masses?

Q: Do you say a Mass every day?

Karlie Nese

Steubenville 

   A: The short answer is yes. I was ordained to celebrate Mass and my apostolic or ministerial work has its foundation in the person of Jesus Christ himself.

   As I celebrate Mass, I am acutely aware of God’s presence, both in the word proclaimed, in the altar of sacrifice and to be an instrument of God’s grace. At this celebration, in particular as one who participates in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, I have complete confidence and joy in how God’s work in the church has its foundation in the Eucharist itself. For my part, I am grateful to represent both Jesus Christ and the people of God at the altar of sacrifice.

   Jesus Christ gave us himself in order that we may become like Jesus. For me to begin the day, or to at least have each day defined by the celebration of sacrifice of the Mass, deepens my encounter with the one whom I serve and whom I unreservedly share with each person I encounter: Christ himself.

            With the arrival of Holy Week, may your encounter in Christ, as well as your family’sencounter with the Lord, intensify these holy days as we together approach the pinnacle of the season itself at the Easter celebration.