Denver Catholic

12 FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 8, 2019 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese 28 days of GIVING HOPE TO WOMEN IN NEED Join us for another year of celebrating 28 Days of Love this February. With your help, we can provide cheer and hope to the women who come to our doors. Women Experience Homelessness because they are: • Surviving an abusive homelife • Stuck in a cycle of poverty • Unable to find affordable housing • Lacking a supportive community Catholic Charities is the leading shelter service provider for women, sheltering 225 women each night. More than meeting their immediate shelter, food and clothing needs, we affirm dignity and provide hope. Please Give Online Today! ccdenver.org/28DaysofLove In February, fill your heart with Acts of Love. Help men, women and families in need by supporting your neighborhood food bank. Little Flower Assistance Center provides: • Food and clothing • Employment resources • Budgeting counseling • Other assistance to individuals and families in need Last year we assisted nearly 6,500 men, women and children in Aurora and northeast Denver. Did you know? $45 will feed a family of four for 10 days. Text to 50155 ccdenver.org/HaveAHeart HAVE A HEART DONATE TODAY! Little Flower Assistance Center 11149 E 14th Ave, Aurora, CO 80010 | (303) 360-9686 Q&A: Denver priest makes valuable contribution to understanding of Eucharist, Cross in Early Christianity BY VLADIMIR MAURICIO-PEREZ F ather Daniel Cardó, S.C.V., pastor at Holy Name Parish and pro- fessor at St. John Vianney Sem- inary, shared with the Denver Catholic his experience of publishing his most recent book The Cross and the Eucharist in Early Christianity with Cambridge University Press, and his contributions to current debates regarding the liturgy, some of which include the view of the Mass primarily as a meal, the Sign of the Cross in the Roman Canon and the use of an altar Cross. Holy Name Parish will host a book signing event March 5 at 7 p.m. with Father Cardó and Dr. Sean Innerst from St. John Vianney Seminary, in which discounted copies will be available. The interview has been edited for conciseness. DENVER CATHOLIC: What was the seed of this book, what led you to research the Cross and the Eucharist in Early Christianity? FATHER DANIEL CARDÓ: After I fi nished my master's thesis, which allowed me to work on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, I continued readi ng some of Ratzinger's books, particularly those on the liturgy. In doing that, I had a very profound personal expe- rience. I had a moment of fi nding my vocation within my vocation. I understood that what Pope Benedict said was absolutely true, and that I needed to take it seriously. One of the phrases that impacted me the most was: "The Church stands or falls with the lit- urgy." There's nothing more important than the liturgy. And I thought, "If this is true, I need to spend my energies as a priest mostly in trying to o• er contri- bution for the sacred liturgy." It was not just an intellectual experience, but a very per- sonal one. And the conse- quence was that maybe I needed to continue more technical studies in the Liturgy. So, I found a distance program at the Maryvale Institute in Bir- mingham, where I obtained my doctorate. This book was completed after three more years of rethinking and updating my dis- sertation, which studied the presence of the Cross in the Eucharist from the 4th to the 8th centuries, a decisive period of dogmatic and liturgical devel- opment. So, these are ideas that have developed over a period of eight years. DC: What are some of the contributions to current debates regarding the Eucharist and the Cross that you make in your book? FDC: I o• er three main contributions because I realized that in these many texts, you could say the Cross was pres- ent in three ways in the context of the Eucharist. The fi rst way, is the Cross as an idea — in homilies, catechesis, etc. I realized this idea of the Cross could o• er contribution to a common current debate, mainly whether the Mass is pri- marily a meal or a sacrifi ce. My solution is that the idea of the Cross present in the Eucharist brings a solution to that apparent contradiction. Because the Eucharist is the sacrifi ce of the Cross renewed for us, then we are fed from the Cross. There is a mention of a meal, but the priority is the sacrifi ce. The second contribution is related to the second way in which the Cross is Q&A with FR. DANIEL CARDÓ

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