Shepherd’s Letter

Abstract

Shepherd’s Letter

“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread…” (Acts 2:42)

Dear Fathers and Religious,

The evangelist Luke narrates the life of the early Christian community, showing that the People of God lived by one single source of life expressed in two dimensions: “the Word of God and the Sacraments” (Acts 2:42).

In the liturgy of the Dedication of a Church, the Prayer of Dedication proclaims: “Lord, you are the source of holiness and the ruler of your Church. With joy we honor your holy Name, for today your faithful dedicate this house of prayer to you for all time, where they will worship you in spirit, listen to your Word, and be nourished by the Sacraments.”

Throughout human history, God has “never grown weary” (to use the words of Pope Francis) of pouring His mercy upon the fragile condition of humankind. This mercy is “the Word and the Sacraments.” The Word and the Sacraments are divine gifts of life within each person, like the sap of the vine flowing to nourish its branches. The entire People of God live by this one source of life in two dimensions: Word and Sacrament. Neither clergy nor religious have any other nourishment, nor is the silent faithful deprived of anything.

I. The Word and the Sacraments

The Shepherd’s Letter for September reflected on the Word of God. The Word stands at the very center of Christian faith: the Written Word (Verbum scriptum), the Incarnate Word (Verbum incarnatum), and the Proclaimed Word (Verbum praedicatum).

The Shepherd’s Letter for October now turns to the other dimension: the Sacraments.

“On the day of Pentecost, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Church was manifested to the world. The gift of the Spirit inaugurated a new age in the ‘dispensing of the mysteries.’ Through the liturgy, Christ now lives and acts in and with His Church in a new way… He acts through the Sacraments, fruits of His Paschal Mystery.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1076)

II. The Meaning of “Sacrament”

The term “Sacrament” comes from the Latin Mysterium or Sacramentum (Eph 5:32). In the Old Testament, the word appears only rarely (about 15 times, in apocalyptic and wisdom literature), referring to divine revelation, but it is more frequent in the New Testament.

The Apostles were chosen to receive the revelation of God’s “mystery” in Jesus Christ for the world. Paul identifies “the mystery of Christ” with “the mystery of God” (Col 2:2; Eph 4:3), with “the mystery of the Church”—the community united with Christ—and with “the mystery of the gathering of all peoples at the end of time,” the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. The “mystery kept hidden for ages” is “Christ,” entrusted to the Apostles to proclaim (Col 1:26–27). St. Paul calls this the mission of “making known the mystery of the Gospel” (Eph 6:19).

The “mystery-sacrament” is God’s grace essentially bound to Christ and His Body, the Church. From the beginning, the Church celebrated the sacraments as rooted in the words and actions of the Lord. St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine saw in the “water and blood” flowing from Christ’s pierced side as He “slept” on the Cross the source of Baptism, the Eucharist, and the Church itself.

“The sacraments of the New Covenant were instituted by Christ. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. These seven sacraments touch all the stages and important moments of Christian life: they give birth and growth, healing and mission to the life of faith. There is thus an analogy with the stages of natural life and the stages of spiritual life.” (CCC 1210)

Apostolic succession signifies and guarantees communion in faith, unity amid diversity, and the faithful transmission of the sacraments handed down by the Apostles. “The sacraments form an organic whole in which each sacrament has its vital place. In this structure, the Eucharist occupies a unique position as the ‘sacrament of sacraments’: all the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end.” (CCC 1211)

III. The Eucharist

The Second Vatican Council teaches: “The Most Holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself, our Passover.” (Presbyterorum Ordinis 5)

The term eucharistia in Luke and Paul refers to “the Lord’s Supper,” the “breaking of bread.” In Acts, it is tied to “the Last Supper,” when “the hour came, the night Jesus was betrayed.”

In ordinary usage, eucharistia means thanksgiving or gratitude. Before God, human gratitude for His blessings is expressed in prayer: “Give thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light”(Col 1:12). Gratitude recalls the memory of “the marvelous works” of God: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign” (Rev 11:17). Paul uses this sense when he speaks of “the Lord’s Supper” (1 Cor 11:20) in the early Church.

IV. Two Foundational Sources of the Eucharist

The Synoptic Gospels and Paul preserve the living liturgical tradition through the texts of the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus gives His very Body and the Blood of His covenant to impart life. The liturgical tradition also points to a “memory of the future”—a communion that gives life. This tradition has three poles: Jesus with God, Jesus with the Apostles, and the present oriented toward the future.

The second foundation is found in John’s Gospel, which has the character of a farewell testament. John recalls Jesus’ total self-gift for the many. Chapter 6 portrays the liturgical life of a community, while at the Last Supper John replaces the words of institution with Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet and His heartfelt farewell discourse, as a solemn testament.

V. Three Dimensions of the Eucharist

The Eucharist as Nourishment:
In biblical revelation, food and meals signify communion with God. In the desert, under blazing heat and shifting sands, the Israelites were nourished by manna—prefiguring the true food from God’s Word, “Jesus the Word made flesh, the Bread of Life who came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51). In the Upper Room, Jesus relived this experience, instituting the hope of future nourishment for the eschatological journey. Over bread and wine, He did not explain but transformed them: “This is my Body… This is my Blood.”

The Eucharist as Sacrifice:
“This is my Body, given for you… This is the cup of my Blood, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” The Body and Blood, separated on the altar, signify the blood flowing from His wounds and pierced side. Jesus is the Paschal Lamb sacrificed, fulfilling the covenant sealed at Sinai (Ex 24:5–8). He is the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah, who “offers His life,” “bears the sins of many,” becomes “ransom” and “light to the nations” (Is 42–53).

The Eucharist as Eschatological Banquet:
The end time is the age of true and everlasting life. The Lord’s Supper anticipates the final banquet when Jesus will meet His disciples again after the Cross. His redemptive death opens the way to resurrection and eternal communion in the Father’s house. The Paschal mystery is fulfilled, and the “new wine” will be shared in the Kingdom of God. Christ, the High Priest of the universe, sits at the right hand of the Father (Heb 8:1), living forever to intercede for us (Heb 7:25).

Reflection

Dear brothers and sisters,
Is the liturgy I celebrate still filled with holiness?
Does it help the faithful encounter the Risen Lord?
Do I still feel awe and wonder before the Paschal Mystery?
What do I think of Jesus’ longing: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15)?

The way we live the sacred liturgy is the measure of the integrity of a priest or religious.

† John Đỗ Văn Ngân
Bishop of Xuân Lộc Diocese