Manna was replaced with the Eucharist

“Lo! over ancient forms departing / Newer rites of grace prevail” (Tantum Ergo)

In the book of Exodus, we find the story of Moses leading God’s people out of the hands of the Egyptians and towards the Promised Land. Along the way we find them stuck in the desert, wandering without food. But God takes care of this, giving them manna, bread from heaven. But this was only for their physical nourishment.

Today we find ourselves in a similar situation, traveling through this desert we call life on earth in search for Christ and eternal life. And we need food if we are to survive. So through the Paschal Mystery, Christ turned bread into himself for us to feast on and find nourishment. But this nourishment is not just for our physical body but also for our soul! We are offered this Bread from Heaven every day. Who could refuse it? Who could ever refuse the invitation to actually stand in the true presence of Christ and receive him physically into our bodies becoming him to others? Who could ever refuse the invitation to pray in his presence at Mass or in Adoration? I can’t seem to take my eyes off of him. And further, all I can think about is sharing him with others!

The rites of the Old Testament were never abolished. They have been fulfilled in the eternal action of one person—Jesus Christ.

Christ, the eternal sacrifice

“Lo! over ancient forms departing / Newer rites of grace prevail” (Tantum Ergo)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes Vatican II, who said: “…every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy (effectiveness) by the same title and to the same degree” (CCC 1070). Further on, the Catechism says:

His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is—all that he did and suffered for all men—participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life. (CCC 1085)

First, there were animal sacrifices—a lamb every Passover. But God found it fitting to assume our nature and offer himself as the eternal Lamb. And he did so in an act that would last for all time, outside of the confines of history, so that people of all ages would be able to participate in it, journeying towards eternal life! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!

We can do all we want to praise God and thank him for our life. We can worship God in our own ways all day. But all of that can only go so far if it is not connected to a participation in the one eternal event—the Paschal Mystery, made truly present for us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist—every Sunday (at the absolute least!).

Tantum Ergo

We Catholics believe in the true, complete presence of Christ in the Eucharist. So at adoration we don’t worship a piece of bread. Instead we pray in the physical presence of Christ. The below prayer (in it’s English translation) is sung at times during communal adoration. But it is not a piece of bread, or cookie, that we are adoring. Rather, it is Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, present in the Eucharist, celebrated at the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Mass, left for us through Christ’s own actions and his word (Sacred Scripture). Adoration is merely and extension of that Sacrament. So in praying the following prayer, we are worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!


Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! over ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.



For a more literal translation, thanks to wikipedia:

Let us, with heads bowed
Venerate so great a Sacrament,
And let the old practice yield
To the new rite;
Let faith, that which may fill the gap stand forward, to
Supply the defect of the senses.

To the Begetter and the Begotten,
Be praise and jubilation,
Salutation, honor, and moral excellence,
And blessing too,
And let equal praise be to Him,
Who proceeds from Both.
Amen.