THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
7 JUNE 2015
On the Sundays during the Easter
Season, our liturgy expressed the truth that we are members of the New Covenant
through our Baptisms. We began every
Mass by sprinkling the congregation with Holy Water. It is my favorite time of the year, watching
people remove their glasses and shielding their heads from the dousing of the water
which they know is coming.
If you are
glad to see the Easter Season gone because you are tired of being doused with
water, you can be glad that you were not part of the congregation when Moses
sealed the First Covenant at Mount Sinai.
During that liturgy, Moses took the blood of two young bulls and
sprinkled part of the blood on the Altar, and the other part on the
congregation. That is much worse than
being doused with water at Saint Pius!
Blood signified life. The blood
of sacrificed animals symbolized the life which God has now shared with his
people through the Covenant.
The Letter
to the Hebrews uses the image of this First Covenant Liturgy to help us
understand what Jesus Christ has done.
By shedding his blood on the cross, Jesus gave his entire life for us. He established a New Covenant, sealed in his
blood, which promises eternal life for those who participate. That perfect Sacrifice is made present every
time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist.
On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we rejoice that we have
been formed into the Body of Christ and nourished by the Body and Blood of
Christ at every Mass.
This is
also a perfect day for a new priest to celebrate his First Mass. Father Bill,
as a priest configured in a unique way to the person of Jesus Christ, you now
have the task of pouring out your very life in the service of the people to
whom you are assigned. As you pour out
your life, the celebration of the Eucharist will be central to everything you
do. It will be your greatest joy. It will be your greatest comfort. It will be your greatest strength as you
learn to live the implications of pouring out your life in humble service.
We, the
people of Saint Pius X, cannot tell you how happy we are that you have been
assigned to us. You are no stranger to
us. We know your wonderful strengths and
talents, and we love to make fun of those character quirks which you so prominently
display. We will have to figure out how
to distinguish two Father Bills. “Father
Bill the Greater, and Father Bill the Lesser!”
“Father Bill the senile and Father Bill the young one!” We’ll see!
But that
great joy of ours is balanced by the real sadness of losing Father Terry. He has been a much beloved priest here for
four years, and we will miss him. This mixture
of joy and sadness will be an integral part of your priestly ministry. You will help a family mourn the tragic and
unexpected loss of a young person at a Funeral Mass on one day. On the next, you will share the joy of two
families coming together to celebrate the wedding of their children. A couple will come to you for help, because
their marriage is falling apart. Within
an hour, another couple will approach you with the good news that they are
expecting a child. Fourteen people will
come to you after Mass to congratulate you on the great homily you just
gave. One person will criticize you, and
you will freak out for weeks!
In your
priestly ministry, trust the power of this Eucharistic Sacrifice. As you pour out your very lifeblood for your
people, the death and resurrection of the Lord will be made present to you in
the Eucharist. You will identify with
the dying of the Lord in the tough situations.
You will rejoice with the rising of the Lord in the joyous times. It is that Mystery which defines the New
Covenant sealed by the Blood of Jesus Christ.
It is that Mystery which you will proclaim in so many ways. May God bless you and keep you as you begin
this great ministry. May God bring to
completion the good work in you which he is beginning today!
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