Waiting
Homily081824_20thSunOT
Our gospel acclamation gives us a stark statement! “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.” This year has been the year of Eucharist renewal and many of us have been listening and taking part in diocesan events. We have celebrated the reality of this statement. Christ resides in the tabernacle, right there, and in a few minutes, our priest will say the Eucharistic prayer at the altar, and ordinary bread and wine will become the body and blood of Christ. We will then receive Him. Christ will reside right here…within each of us-literally. Because of this belief, we may feel that others not sharing this belief will ridicule us and laugh…this is how it has always been. Regardless, we carry HIM…and take HIM with us into our ordinary lives. This is how the kingdom of God rolls forth into a broken world.
As Catholic convert, now going on 37 years, I can remember my limited understanding of the Eucharist and as I reflect on my understanding of the Eucharist now, I realize how much I have matured. A visible sign of how far I have come is the honor I get to serve at the Lord’s altar. A pivotal point in my journey came when a friend asked me if I believed that the Eucharist was the actual body and blood of Christ? My answer 30 plus years ago was “what does it matter?”
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus is introducing to his followers that he is the bread of life. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Their reaction becomes a pivotal moment, like I had with my friend’s question. Jesus is stating a fact, and his statement is clear. “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat?” In next weeks Gospel, we hear about how many of Jesus followers found HIS sayings hard and returned to their former lives.
What does it matter! No wonder my friend was alarmed by my answer. Because he had the courage, the Holy Spirit was prompting him to ask me this important question of whether I did or did not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Immediately after my friend’s question, I set out with determination to answer the question and soon was convicted of its truth. The Gospel of John, especially chapter 6…was my starting point. If Jesus did not literally mean that we are to eat his actual body and blood in the bread and wine…why did many of HIS followers walk away? Why did many quarrel amongst themselves? Even, today, many Christians have taken the easy route by saying that Jesus was talking metaphorically. It is just a symbol or reenactment of the last supper. Flannery O’Conner, a wonderful Catholic author has stated that if the Eucharist is just a symbol, then “the heck with it” except she used stronger language.
A note from my Bible says it beautifully:
“When the bishop or priest repeats the words of consecration during the Mass, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Only the appearance of the bread and wine remain. This mystery of Faith is known as the Real Presents of Christ in the Eucharist. This presence is called ‘real’…to indicate presence par excellence, because it is substantial and through it Christ becomes present whole and entire, God and man.”
For many years now my answer to my friend's question would be an absolute and confident yes. I do believe that “eating” the Eucharist is receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. It matters a lot! It is this belief of ours as Catholics that differentiates us from those in other Christian faiths. How blessed we are that our church has not buckled to outside pressures to see it as just another symbol. This is the beating heart of our faith-the source and the summit.
In our second reading from Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Paul tells us how we are to behave so that we can listen, hear, and respond to HIS presence with in us. We are called out of ourselves…the I no longer lives for self…but the Christ I receive in the Eucharist drives me to decrease so that He may increase in me.
In a book I happen to be reading in my preparation for another class called Ten Ways to Pray, Carolyn Pirtle says: “If our participation in the Mass does not transform how we live our lives throughout the rest of the week, we have failed to receive fully the graces Jesus offers us in his eucharistic gift of self.”
And in our transformation, we hear the call which always includes the mandate to “feed my sheep.”
What does feeding HIS sheep look like? It begins when we receive HIM in communion. Each of us are called to spread the Kingdom of God, in our ordinary and sometimes mundane lives. This Kingdom is most visible here and now as we worship together in community. The Kingdom spreads into the world when we leave through our church doors, and we take Jesus with us. May our lives reflect his “real presence” in all that we do and say.
Let us now prepare to receive Him.
Waiting
Homily081824_20thSunOT
Our gospel acclamation gives us a stark statement! “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.” This year has been the year of Eucharist renewal and many of us have been listening and taking part in diocesan events. We have celebrated the reality of this statement. Christ resides in the tabernacle, right there, and in a few minutes, our priest will say the Eucharistic prayer at the altar, and ordinary bread and wine will become the body and blood of Christ. We will then receive Him. Christ will reside right here…within each of us-literally. Because of this belief, we may feel that others not sharing this belief will ridicule us and laugh…this is how it has always been. Regardless, we carry HIM…and take HIM with us into our ordinary lives. This is how the kingdom of God rolls forth into a broken world.
As Catholic convert, now going on 37 years, I can remember my limited understanding of the Eucharist and as I reflect on my understanding of the Eucharist now, I realize how much I have matured. A visible sign of how far I have come is the honor I get to serve at the Lord’s altar. A pivotal point in my journey came when a friend asked me if I believed that the Eucharist was the actual body and blood of Christ? My answer 30 plus years ago was “what does it matter?”
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus is introducing to his followers that he is the bread of life. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Their reaction becomes a pivotal moment, like I had with my friend’s question. Jesus is stating a fact, and his statement is clear. “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat?” In next weeks Gospel, we hear about how many of Jesus followers found HIS sayings hard and returned to their former lives.
What does it matter! No wonder my friend was alarmed by my answer. Because he had the courage, the Holy Spirit was prompting him to ask me this important question of whether I did or did not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Immediately after my friend’s question, I set out with determination to answer the question and soon was convicted of its truth. The Gospel of John, especially chapter 6…was my starting point. If Jesus did not literally mean that we are to eat his actual body and blood in the bread and wine…why did many of HIS followers walk away? Why did many quarrel amongst themselves? Even, today, many Christians have taken the easy route by saying that Jesus was talking metaphorically. It is just a symbol or reenactment of the last supper. Flannery O’Conner, a wonderful Catholic author has stated that if the Eucharist is just a symbol, then “the heck with it” except she used stronger language.
A note from my Bible says it beautifully:
“When the bishop or priest repeats the words of consecration during the Mass, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Only the appearance of the bread and wine remain. This mystery of Faith is known as the Real Presents of Christ in the Eucharist. This presence is called ‘real’…to indicate presence par excellence, because it is substantial and through it Christ becomes present whole and entire, God and man.”
For many years now my answer to my friend's question would be an absolute and confident yes. I do believe that “eating” the Eucharist is receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. It matters a lot! It is this belief of ours as Catholics that differentiates us from those in other Christian faiths. How blessed we are that our church has not buckled to outside pressures to see it as just another symbol. This is the beating heart of our faith-the source and the summit.
In our second reading from Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Paul tells us how we are to behave so that we can listen, hear, and respond to HIS presence with in us. We are called out of ourselves…the I no longer lives for self…but the Christ I receive in the Eucharist drives me to decrease so that He may increase in me.
In a book I happen to be reading in my preparation for another class called Ten Ways to Pray, Carolyn Pirtle says: “If our participation in the Mass does not transform how we live our lives throughout the rest of the week, we have failed to receive fully the graces Jesus offers us in his eucharistic gift of self.”
And in our transformation, we hear the call which always includes the mandate to “feed my sheep.”
What does feeding HIS sheep look like? It begins when we receive HIM in communion. Each of us are called to spread the Kingdom of God, in our ordinary and sometimes mundane lives. This Kingdom is most visible here and now as we worship together in community. The Kingdom spreads into the world when we leave through our church doors, and we take Jesus with us. May our lives reflect his “real presence” in all that we do and say.
Let us now prepare to receive Him.