There were more than twelve apostles? What does it take to be an apostle?

June 11, Feast of St. Barnabas

St. Barnabas is honored in the Church and in the Scriptures as an apostle. While not one of the twelve, he is given this title (together with St. Paul) in Acts 14:13 – The apostles Barnabas and Paul.

In her liturgy, the Church commemorates St. Barnabas as an apostle, though not with the same solemnity with which she honors St. Paul and St. Matthias or any of the Twelve.

Can we say that St. Barnabas is truly an apostle? If so, how many apostles are there? And, is St. Barnabas an apostle like St. Peter? Is he an apostle like St. Paul?

When did the Sacred Heart begin to exist?

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father. Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost. Have mercy on us.

While there can be no doubt that the person of Jesus, who is none other than the Son of the Eternal Father, the very Word of God who was in the beginning with God, did not begin to exist but rather has always been; nevertheless, we may well question whether the Sacred Heart of Jesus came into being at any time.

Even though the Eternal Word has been from before everlasting ages, can we say that the Sacred Heart has always been? Or, rather, shall we hold that the Heart of our Savior only came into existence at the moment of the Incarnation? Or, even further, ought we to think that the Sacred Heart only began to exist sometime after the conception of our Lord, but before his birth, at the time that the human heart organ was formed in the womb of Mary?

This question will allow us to enter into a rather speculative point of theological inquiry: Is devotion to the Sacred Heart a devotion to the humanity of Jesus only, or also to his divinity?

If Jesus doesn't die, how is the Mass a sacrifice?

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

In the sacramental theology of the Church, we must recognize a threefold distinction. In Latin: Res, Sacramentum, Res et Sacramentum. In English: Reality, Sacrament, Reality and Sacrament. The reality is that invisible grace given by the sacrament. The sacrament is that visible sign which is used in the rite. And the reality and sacrament is an invisible reality which is yet a sign of something further (like, for example, the way the sacred character of baptism is a reality in the soul of the baptized but is also a sacrament of the individual’s participation in Christ).

To properly understand the manner in which the Mass is a sacrifice, we must understand how each of these elements relates to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This will make clear how it is that, even though Jesus does not die upon the altar but remains living and glorified in the Holy Eucharist, the Mass is yet the very self-same sacrifice of the Cross.

Transubstantiation: Model for family life

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

“Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and the wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.”

These words of the Council of Trent (DS 1642), which are taken up again in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1376), make clear the dogma of transubstantiation.

By this mystery, the substance of bread is converted into the substance of Christ’s Body. Further, the substance of wine is converted to the substance of Christ’s Blood. And, because (now, in heaven) Christ’s body and blood are united one with the other and both are further united to his soul and his divinity, the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ are present in each Eucharistic species and in all of their parts.

The dogma of transubstantiation rules out two other theories: Annihilation and consubstantiation. From this teaching, we may draw a helpful analogy for family life.

Why it is significant that the Eucharist could not have been given before the Incarnation

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

As we prepare to celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we do well to consider (in a number of shorter posts, and perhaps one longer) various points relative to the Blessed Sacrament.

We direct our reader to a number of previous posts on the Most Holy Eucharist and the Mass:

Why the bread of life discourse cannot be a metaphor [here]

Christ’s body in heaven and in the Eucharist [here]

The whole Christ is present under both species, but one is called the Body and the other the Blood [here]

Is the Host the flesh of the Sacred Heart? [here]

Does the real presence remain after a Eucharistic miracle? [here]

What makes the Mass to be a sacrifice? [here]

And now we turn to our current question – Could the Eucharist have been given before the Incarnation? And why is this question significant?

Were the Apostles confirmed at Pentecost?

Solemnity of Pentecost

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire: and it sat upon every one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. (Acts of the Apostles 2:2-4)

On the fiftieth day, the feast of Pentecost, which was a Sunday that year, the Holy Spirit came down in visible form upon the Apostles confirming them in the truth of the Gospel. Until this time, the Apostles were rather timid and fearful. They were not yet perfect, but were still growing in the faith.

While they themselves certainly believed in the truth of the Resurrection, the Apostles lacked the requisite strength to preach this truth openly and to defend the Gospel against every assault of the world and the devil.

In a word, we may say that the Apostles were not yet confirmed. Through the divine power and the external sign of tongues of fire, our Savior conferred upon the Twelve the reality of the sacrament of Confirmation.

Why was Matthias chosen by lots?

May 14^th, Feast of St. Matthias

And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:26)

After the fall of Judas from the apostolic college, it was necessary for a successor to be elected. However, it is most striking to note that the choice between either Joseph called Barsabas (surnamed Justus) and Matthias was not made by the people, nor by the eleven, nor even by Peter himself; rather, Matthias was chosen by lots.

If Matthias was selected in this manner, the critic might ask, “Why does the Church not employ this means in our own day for the selection of bishops?” The answer to this question reveals just how necessary Pentecost was.