The Bread of Life

Dali's Sacrament of the Last Supper

In the Gospel, the miracle of the loaves and fish prefigures the Eucharist, a sacrificial meal of thanksgiving for the gift of God’s eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Eucharist nourishes the life of God in us. Jesus Christ, gloriously alive, is truly present in the bread and wine.

The word of God in Sunday’s liturgy first takes us back to sixth century Israel. “Come to me,” God pleads. I will give you the basic needs of life.

Paul, in his letter to the Christian community at Rome poses the question, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Nothing! God loves us unconditionally.

In the Gospel, Jesus hears about the tragic death of John the Baptist, and seeks to be by himself. But the crowds follow him. He cures the sick and satisfies the hungry crowd. People have many hungers. Some hunger for bread; others for justice and freedom; and still others for peace.

To understand the liturgy of the Eucharist, contemplate Jesus’s Last Supper.

Jesus had to leave us, and yet he wanted to stay with us. How did he solve this? Listen to his words: “This is my body; this is my blood.” The bread and wine look and feel and taste like bread and wine, but they become the real presence of the risen Christ.

The second challenge Jesus faced was he wanted to die for each one of us, and yet he could die only once as a human being. How did Jesus solve this? Listen to his words: “Do this in memory of me.” The same victim who was crucified once outside Jerusalem centuries ago returns whenever we celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The third challenge was that Jesus wanted to be one with us, and yet this was impossible this side of heaven. How did Jesus solve this challenge? Listen to his words: “Take and eat; take and drink.” Jesus invites us to become one with him in Communion.

Yes, Jesus left us and stays. The Victim (the lamb, the sacrifice) returns to us today and every day. He gave us Communion.

What is the purpose? To form us into a faith community. Paul wrote, “Because the bread is one, we, though many, are one body.” This bread we eat and this blood we drink should not only form us into a more loving faith community but also should empower us to reach out compassionately to others with a helping hand.

At a family meal, perhaps this may be our prayer:
O God, bless this faith family of yours.
May you always remind us of the strength we have
united in faith, hope, and love with you, O God.
Help us to open our hearts, to listen, to extend a helping hand,
and to rejoice when one of us has cause for celebration.
O God, we pray that we always will live in your presence,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Going Out to Do All the Good We Can Do

Dali's Sacrament of the Last Supper

Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, in Greek the Eucharist, in Latin Corpus Christi.

There have been many impressive meals in the course of human history. At the first meal, so the Book of Genesis says, the appetizer was forbidden, and that turned into a catastrophe. Then there are the lavish banquets where heads of state toast themselves. And there’s the Passover/Seder, remembering God bringing the Jews “out of the house of slavery.”

The meal table often is the center of family life. Memorable things take place. Families celebrate holidays and important transitions.

The altar or table of the Lord is the center of our faith community. We gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, to re-enact the mystery of the dying and rising of Jesus Christ, so that we can re-experience our salvation and nurture the life of God within us. Remember the powerful words of Jesus: “do this in memory of me.”

What did the word of God say to us Sunday?

Moses experienced the presence of God at Mt. Sinai and renewed the covenant God made with their forebears. The author of Deuteronomy notes their hunger: not only for food but for God.

Think of the hunger of so many people: for bread, for justice, for peace, for truth and for God. I especially think of the clear view Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had for legal justice: “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”

As we reflect on God’s care for us, we ought to give thanks to God and consider how we may share our blessings with one another.

Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth speaks about the presence of the Risen Christ not only in the bread we break but also in one another.

We are all one human family. The Eucharist symbolizes our oneness.

Sadly, things often appear otherwise, with focus on superficials: on color rather than on character or unity. And yes, we mourn the loss of all who recently lost lives to violence. A Congressional committee last week heard from the brother of George Floyd, and in the same session the sister of Patrick Underwood, a slain law enforcement officer, one of many.

In the Gospel, Jesus says that he is the bread of life, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life.

The word of God Sunday embodies three historic moments: each an exodus or going forth.
First, the Hebrews’ prototype of passage from slavery to freedom, from tyranny to democracy. In the Seder service, Jewish families proclaim: “Therefore it is our duty to thank, praise … and adore the God who did all of these miracles.” Each Passover then becomes a feast of hope.

Next, the exodus of the first century. St. Paul speaks of a tradition handed on. The lamb that the Hebrews ate prefigures “the lamb who takes away the sins of the world,” Jesus Christ. The bread and wine are the real presence of the living Christ, given for and to us. Jesus’s last supper begins his exodus from earthly life back to his heavenly Father. To eat and drink is to proclaim his death until he comes again. Each Eucharist is a feast of hope.

Third, our exodus today. In another passage of John’s Gospel, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and says: “What I just did was to give you an example.” Service is the essence of the Body of Christ. The purpose of Eucharist is to form us into a vibrant community, to go forth and do good. The God who dwells in us will grace us so that we can bring the God of hope and love to others.

Seize Every Opportunity to Do Good

Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Isaac

It’s “back-to-school time.” I’m going to give you a brief two-part quiz.
Part one: Name the last two movies to win the Oscar for best picture.
Part two: Think of a teacher who made a positive difference in your life, and a friend or mentor who helped you learn something worthwhile.

The point is simple: we often forget “headlines.” However, “heroes and heroines” like teachers and mentors, family and friends, can truly make a difference for the better.

The word of God heard today recalls the first Passover meal, when the ancient Hebrews celebrated liberation from their oppressors, and notes: That same provident God, always faithful to his promises, eventually will send the Messiah who will usher in God’s kingdom of peace and justice and truth and freedom.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus says that we are to be like servants who await their master’s return, ready to welcome him. Be alert; be prepared; focus on what truly matters—eternal life with God. We will be accountable for the person we become with the time and talent God gives us.

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be fundamentally a man or woman of faith, someone who trusts completely in God throughout all the opportunities and threats and disappointments of life, someone who desires to do what God wants even though we can’t always precisely figure out what that is.

The letter to the Hebrews tells of two faith-filled people, Abraham and Sarah: trusting completely in God, in a foreign land, among strangers, in shelters, believing that Sarah would at last have a child. They are models of faith.

The story invites us to reflect upon the dimensions of our own faith: a gift from God whereby we begin a right relationship with the triune God, nurtured through prayer and especially through the Eucharist, the source and summit of Catholic life. It is the acceptance of God’s promises as true and a commitment to live accordingly. Faith includes the essential truths we profess every Sunday in our Nicene Creed, from the fourth century.

Faith is living in a right relationship with God. And there can be various stages in our faith development. We either grow into a relationship with God, or we fall out of it.

This faith compels us to be missionary disciples. Many of us share our faith even though we may not realize it, teaching the virtues of prayer, generosity, fairness, honesty, and service. Teachers develop virtues or habits of heart and skills of mind that will enable students to become good citizens. So do medical professionals. And, so do citizens when they urge their elected officials to set legislation that promotes human dignity.

We especially share our faith when we do our best to stand up for what is right and true and good. Never forget that the only “Gospel” some people may ever see is ourselves. Every day, we have so many little opportunities to be fully awake, to do good for others.

Jesus Christ Lives and We Live

Rubens' Resurrection of Jesus

Happy Easter! Felices Pascuas! Joyeuses Paques! Buona Pasqua! Frohe Ostern!

We call Easter the Paschal mystery: paschal relates to the “paschal lamb” of Passover, which Jewish communities celebrate during our Easter celebration this year.

Easter is about the daybreak, starting over. Jesus’s resurrection is a new day. This is a time to be joyful, happy, enthusiastic about life. We have so much to be grateful for, especially the gift of faith in Jesus Christ who is our way, our truth and our life.

Every morning, we awaken to begin again. Perhaps the night before, we carried burdens: things undone, bad things said, good things unsaid. In the morning all is possibility, opportunity. Who among us is content with things as they are? Who does not want to be more loving, more generous, more tenderhearted, more thoughtful, more helpful? This Easter, God wakes us up again, to rediscover the extraordinary graces transforming our lives TODAY.

In the Gospel according to John, chapter 20, we hear the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty. Shortly thereafter, Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb, to the disciples in the upper room, and on the road to Emmaus. Jesus is not among the dead. Jesus is risen. He is alive. He has passed through this earthly life – as we do --- and then through the mystery of death into a new, transfigured reality. This heavenly reality is ours as well. That is the Easter message!

Jesus said, I live, and because I live, we also live.

How? We are born in the flesh and reborn in the Spirit. Water is poured upon us in the rite of baptism, and in these waters the Spirit of God is poured upon us, and the triune God lives within us, and we live within the triune God.

As we grow into adolescence, the bishop anoints our forehead with oil in the sign of the cross—and God pours out more fully the gifts of the Spirit so that we might practice more faithfully all of the fruits of the Spirit: patience, generosity, faithfulness and love.

And at the Eucharist, where the living Christ sacramentally presences himself to us in the signs of bread and wine, and becomes one with us in Communion,; the living Christ feeds us with his life so we can continue our journey. If we should stumble on our journey, the living Christ lifts us up in the rite of penance where we celebrate God’s mercy.

Yes, through the sacraments, we experience the living Christ and we go forth to love and serve one another. The exchange of wedding promises, the anointing of the sick, all the sacraments are indeed signs of God’s care.

Eternal life in relationship with God and one another—that is our ultimate purpose. Easter is about getting our priorities straight, about asking, “How can we become more godlike, more loving, more generous, more thoughtful, more helpful?”

Easter is indeed about a new day, a fresh start.  Why. Because Jesus Christ lives. And because He lives, we live.