Dear Parishioners,
Schools throughout the valley, including our own OLPH School, have either just begun the new academic year or will be doing so in the coming days. We wish blessings upon all the students from pre-school through those studying for advanced degrees, praying that this may be a year of growth in knowledge, but also in grace, goodness and wisdom for each one. At our Masses this weekend we will have a special blessing for students and for teachers. This weekend we continue to reflect on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. In today’s passage (verses 51-58) the murmuring against the teaching has deteriorated into quarreling. Those shocked by the words of Jesus ask: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” It is a good question. If Jesus were an ordinary man, he could not do this – period! If Jesus were one of the great prophets, he could not do this. But Jesus is much more. Thus, in this teaching Jesus is not only speaking about the Eucharist; he is also revealing the depth of his identity. He would continue revealing his identity more fully a few chapters later when he again shocked his contemporaries by saying, “… before Abraham came to be, I AM” (John 8:58, the context is a fascinating passage from verses 31-59 of chapter 8). In this statement, he attributes to himself the same identity that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15). This claim of Jesus was blasphemous to the ears of many. Then another two chapters later, Jesus makes the mind-blowing claim, “the Father and I are one” (John 10:30). These claims would eventually be vindicated in his death and resurrection! Thus, Jesus can indeed offer us this gift of his flesh to eat, of his very Self because he is the Word made flesh dwelling among us (John 1:14)! He is truly God and truly human. He is the Lord of all creation and, because he is, Jesus can transform that deepest substance of bread and wine into his very Self. He continues: -- Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. -- Here Jesus reveals his purpose. The gift of the Eucharist is so that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The bread and wine that are transformed to become the Eucharist are a gift meant in turn to transform you and me. We receive Holy Communion precisely to enter communion with the Lord – so that we may grow more fully into his likeness. We do indeed offer adoration to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but Jesus wants far more. We can and should adore our marvelous God in the Eucharist and in countless different ways. The deepest dimension of the Eucharist is that invitation from Jesus to our personal transformation. Christ invites us to communion to be united with him, gives us the opportunity to be renewed with him and conformed to him in and through this great Sacrament. As St. Augustine (as well as many of the great patristic fathers) said, we are to “become what you eat.” (Augustine, Sermon 272). Or as a more contemporary theologian recently put it: “When we say ‘Amen’ to the host, we are not saying ‘let this bread be the body of Christ’ we are saying ‘let this body of Christ make me into the body of Christ’ – we are saying let this Communion re-make me” (Fr. Edward Hauschild, Sursum Corda, April 23, 2023). This requires of us the “proper disposition,” the state of mind and heart in which we want to be transformed. My hope and prayer are that each of us will develop that disposition, and that as we eat Christ’s flesh and drink his blood, we will open ourselves to the transformation which Jesus intends and to which he invites us! Jesus, Bread of life, renew our spirits. Holy Mary, who gave flesh to Jesus, pray that we will allow your Son to transform us! Father Craig Dear Parishioners,
This week we continue reflecting on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. As you recall at the end of last week’s passage, Jesus realized some would try to make him king so he withdrew from the crowd. In the passage we hear today, the crowds track down Jesus and the disciples. Jesus, knowing that so many were preoccupied with merely earthly matters, went straight to the point and challenged the people: -- Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. -- Note that in his Gospel, John always emphasizes that sign value of the miracles Jesus works. For John, each of these mighty and loving deeds of the Lord points to a deeper reality, to a deeper blessing and purpose and meaning than the simple fact of the miracle itself – as wonderous as they were. Jesus realized that the crowd was missing the sign, was missing the fact that his primary mission is to nourish our spirits, to fulfill those deeper needs that transcend our bodily reality. The dialogue between Jesus and the crowd continues with a reference to the miracle of Moses in providing the food of manna during the time the Chosen People wandered in the desert. The people wanted Jesus to replicate this gift and to care for their physical hunger. Jesus again strove to shift their focus from physical to spiritual hunger, to help them see that manna was also a sign that merited deeper reflection. Rather than manna for our stomachs, Jesus indicated that the true “bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” This is the much greater gift he intends to provide. When the people urged, “Give us this bread always” the response of Jesus surprised and stunned them. His reply opened up a whole new and deeper level of being for them as he proclaimed: -- I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. [my emphasis] Jesus is the food God provides for our famished spirits. He is the nourishment that brings us the fullness of life. As we see later in John’s Gospel, Jesus reveals to us that he is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). Our Catholic faith is first and foremost about union with Jesus, about developing friendship with him, about recognizing that he is our Brother and Lord, our Savior and Friend. Our Catholic faith centers on the truth that God created us and loves us and manifests this Divine Love most powerfully in Christ’s death and resurrection. Our Catholic faith, then, is not a matter of pope and bishops – as graced that we are that Jesus provides us this leadership from the successors to the apostles. Our Catholic faith is not primarily about our moral teachings, as important as they are in keeping us on the right track. Our Catholic faith is about communion – “union with” Jesus, and through with and in Him with the Father and Spirit. All the rest flows from this primal source of life and love. In the coming two weeks, the gospel will explore more fully this amazing reality. Let me add a brief note about the horrible parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. We are right to feel revulsion at this mockery of the Eucharist. Jesus did warn us that following him will at times involve ridicule and persecution, so we need not be surprised. Jesus asked that we pray for our persecutors (Matthew 5:43-48). Let us take his counsel to heart and pray for those who engage in mockery of the sacred. Even if they do not come to share our belief, may they come to respect for the beliefs of others. Jesus, Bread of Life, nourish our spirits. Holy Mary, dearest Mother, pray for us that we may always appreciate your Son as the way, the truth and the fullness of life. Father Craig |
Fr. EnriqueOur associate pastor, Fr. Enrique Piceno, Archives
January 2025
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