When I was a little girl, my mother carefully taught me to bow my head immediately after gazing upon the True Body and Blood of Christ, elevated at the moment of Consecration. As I bowed, she instructed me to utter the words “My Lord and My God.”
Not much can be found on the internet regarding this older tradition, yet it has stuck with me after all these years. Today, you can still cop a peek to see if the elderly are bowing their heads at that moment of Mass when the Host is elevated. Now that the bells are ringing again these days in true triune fashion, there also are heads bowing everywhere. This tradition is enjoying a revival, and today even the young are once again uttering “My Lord and My God.”
As I have meditated upon these words, a most profound proclamation from the lips of a Doubting Thomas, I have found a new and deeper meaning in their use by all of the faithful at Mass. For it was Thomas, who in a most disgruntled manner, declared that he would not believe that his Lord had risen until he physically placed his hands into the wounds of Christ. Thomas did not initially believe in the physicality of his risen Master. Perhaps he wanted to believe that Jesus had physically been present in the room, but Thomas needed to touch the Flesh of Jesus. Is it not fitting for us now to proclaim in silent prayer the exact same words of Thomas as we kneel before the very Flesh and Blood of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist? Isn’t it true that we also want to believe in the physicality of Our Risen Lord, in both the matter of Flesh and Blood? Within minutes of our own proclamation, it is this gift that we will receive, the same gift that Thomas received, the same gift that all have been given at each and every Mass, to touch the Flesh of Christ. This gift which we consume with proper and correct disposition is the Eucharist, both Source and Summit, and the true promise of Eternal Life.
Caravaggio's 'Doubting Thomas'
During this season of first sacraments, it is a good time to teach our children this profound proclamation, to utter silently the words of St. Thomas, “My Lord and My God.” There is comfort in knowing that for years, Catholics have bowed their heads and silently uttered these words in a devotional tradition passed on from generation to generation.
The liturgical treasury of our Church has given rise to many popular devotional traditions, some seemingly long-lost but now returning. Many churches are again providing prayer cards in the pews, as they did half a century ago, suggesting traditional prayers to be said before Mass (such as the Prayer of St. Ambrose), prayers to be recited before and after receiving Holy Communion (like the ‘Anima Christi’) , and a prayer of Spiritual Communion for those unable to receive. These prayers all possess a deeply rich language that better prepares us for and properly disposes us to a humble presence before the Lord.
Hymns like “Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All” are also returning, bringing back memories of a time when all hymns spoke of a deep love of Christ. Who could resist these lyrics? “Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore! O, make us love thee more and more! O, make us love Thee more and more!”
As we remember that many of the traditional prayers now making a comeback were once uttered by the glorious Saints in Heaven while praising God here on earth, let us continue the tradition, voicing them today in praise and thanksgiving. And may we always remember to humble ourselves, as St. Thomas did, profoundly proclaiming at each moment of Consecration, “My Lord and My God!”
