THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

29 MAY 2016

          “In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine.”  We may not be Melchizedek.  But, we are the people of Jesus Christ, conformed to him as kings, priests, and prophets through Baptism.  And, we are about to do the same thing shortly (depending on how long I drag out this homily!).  At the Preparation of the Altar and Gifts, we will bring forward gifts of bread and wine, along with our sacrificial tithe (and on the first Sunday of the month, gifts of food for the poor).  Then we ask God the Father to accept our sacrificial gifts.

            Why did God choose these gifts to be an acceptable offering?  They are simple, consumable, and say something about us. The bread is composed of wheat and water.  The wine is made of grapes from the vine.  Wheat, grapes, and water are gifts to us from the earth and ultimately are gifts from God.  Through human effort, they take their present form.  When the priest pours a little water into the wine, he prays silently:  “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”  Through the Eucharist, the Lord draws us into his divinity, despite our flaws and failures to love.

Melchizedek had offered his gifts of bread and wine to express his gratitude for the victory God had given to Abram.  In gratitude for all God’s gifts to us, we offer our gifts of bread and wine.  Following the earliest tradition of the Last Supper which Saint Paul handed on to the Corinthians, we do what Jesus did in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  We take gifts of bread and wine.  The priest prays the blessing prayer (the Eucharistic Prayer), trusting that the Holy Spirit will transform these gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  We break the consecrated Bread at the singing of the Lamb of God.  And we give the Body and Blood of Christ when you come forward singing the Lord’s praises.           

We celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday (every day for some), because we are a grateful people.  Today’s Solemnity invites us to reflect on the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of all of our prayer.  The Eucharist calls us to conversion and repentance.  At the beginning of each Mass, we are invited to call to mind our sins.  We honestly admit that we have failed to love as God has loved us, and we open ourselves to the Lord’s invitation to turn more completely to the Lord and change what needs to be changed.  The Eucharist evangelizes us.  Through the Word, the Lord teaches us and invites us to connect his Word with the many words we hear throughout the week.  The Eucharist is reconciling.  Through his perfect Sacrifice, Jesus Christ has reconciled us with the Father.  In our liturgical remembering, that reconciling action is made present in a way that we can speak of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is about mission.  We are sent out to love and serve the Lord and each other.

            When the priest prays the Eucharistic Prayer (the blessing prayer) in the name of the assembled congregation, he invokes the Holy Spirit twice.  Before he prays the words of institution, he asks the Holy Spirit to transform our gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  After we have proclaimed the Mystery of Faith, he prays that the Holy Spirit transform us who receive the Lord’s Body and Blood more fully into our true identity:  members of the Body of Christ.  As members of his Body, we do what we can to make the Kingdom of God more visible.  Our efforts may be feeble and weak, and it seems that we cannot accomplish much.  That is the reaction of the Twelve in today’s Gospel.  But we learn the same lesson which they learned.  Our feeble efforts can be used by God’s incredibly abundant love to accomplish much more than we can imagine.

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

22 MAY 2016

          For ninety days, we had been reflecting on the mystery of our Salvation.  We spent forty days in Lent focusing on the work of Jesus Christ, sent by the Father to become the Suffering Servant, embracing his passion and death out of love for us.  We spent fifty days in the Easter Season celebrating his triumph over death, his ascension, and finally his sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Back in Ordinary Time, we focus our attention today on the Mystery of one God and three distinct persons.  Our Scripture readings assigned to this Feast provide the foundation for the Doctrine of the Trinity.  But it took the Church four centuries to describe this Mystery in words.  We pray this Creed, written at the Council of Nicaea in 325, at every Mass.

            There is always the temptation to presume that discussing the Trinity is reserved for academics and scholars.  Of course, we will never understand how God can be both one and three.  But we express this Mystery when we pray to the Father and through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.  Because of the Paschal Mystery, every one of us is being drawn into eternal life with the Trinity.  Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we are sent to show forth God’s unity on this earth.

            Our parish is composed of many different people with many different gifts and talents.  But we are one Body in Christ.  If we are willing to invest our individual personalities and put our many different gifts in humble service of the parish, the Triune God will be much more visible in our local community.  Knowing the peace that comes from our faith in Jesus Christ, we can provide real hope to those who come to us in need.

            You would expect FB2 and me to speak about the importance of giving yourself in some kind of humble service to the parish.  But, please listen to Melissa Pac, who has responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and has gotten involved in the life of this parish.

My name is Melissa Pac.

I would like to share with you today the importance of growing and nurturing my personal relationship with God through service of my community here at St Pius. In 1 Corinthians 4:1it says:“Let them regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

My husband, Brian and I have been members here at St Pius X for almost 3 years. We have 5 children ranging in ages from 4-11 who all attend St Pius X School. We were relocated here from Georgia in the fall of 2013. If you remember, that was the year it started snowing in November and thanks to the winter vortex it never melted and continued piling up through April. The kids and I had never seen that much snow! To help you understand how foreign this winter life was to me I remember asking Brian the first time I saw a snow mobile “What the heck happened to that jet ski?” I had never seen one.  We had gone from running through sprinklers on Thanksgiving one year to digging out of a foot of snow the next! This move was a rough adjustment for me. The cold, snow and grey skies had gotten to me. I felt lost and lonely. I remember calling my parents and saying “What have we done?” “I’m so unhappy here.” To which my father replied, “So what have you done about your unhappiness?”

Throughout my life, my dad was known for having a way of stopping you in your tracks with his questions and one-liners. He would often say to us, “kids remember”…“JOY! JOY! JOY!

J for Jesus, O for Others, Y for You.”Jesus, Others, You, its a motto and a way to approach life.  My dad was teaching us (even when we didn’t realize it) to always work to build Christian Community and to do so with a servant’s heart.

I had lost sight of what is important. I decided my dad was right. I needed to look outside myself for ways to reconnect with God and grow my own happiness. The first step, I opened the bulletin and signed up for the next Christ Renews His Parish retreat.My efforts were rewarded greatly. I met some truly wonderful and faith-filled women. I renewed my own faith and found courage to reach out and get involved in school and parish life. I began again to build a Christian Community here in our new home through service.  In addition to my involvement with Christ Renews, I am a classroom volunteer at the school, and I serve on HASA board. I volunteer through the parish with the Vacation Bible School and most recently was privileged to serve as a RCIA sponsor. A sacrifice and service that I had no idea would be so rewarding. I was nervous and concerned after making the commitment to this new challenge. “I’m still growing in my faith and have many questions myself, how can I sponsor and support someone in their journey to becoming Catholic?” Not only that but how I could fulfill such a lengthy commitment with 5 kids, all their many sports and activities, and husband who works out of town. It is thanks in part to my husband for helping to make this sacrifice of time beyond worth it. Being Nancy’s sponsor was the most amazing experience and my service in that role only strengthenedmy own faith.How did we do it? Proverbs 3:5-6   “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

The Lord is so gracious to me. I look forward to continuing on this journey and trusting that God will provide as long as I am willing to do something, to put in the work. Building Christian Community to me, means having a servant’s heart and sharing in communion with others. It is in this that we are rewarded. I pray that I continue in my life to remain focused on the Lord and to teach my children the way I was taught not so very long ago. Put your life in this order…Jesus, Others, You…JOY JOY JOY! I invite you to stop by the gym after Mass and learn of the many opportunities our wonderful parish offers for us to give back. After all who of us here couldn’t use a little more J.O.Y. in our lives?

PENTECOST SUNDAY

15 MAY 2016

          Toward the end of his papacy, Pope John Paul II did something unexpected and shocking to some.  He invited Bob Dylan to perform at a Eucharistic Conference in Bologna, Italy.  Many Catholics shook their heads at the thought of the Pope sharing the same stage as the “prophet of the counterculture.”  But, John Paul knew what he was doing.  He used Dylan’s song, “Blowing in the Wind,” as a common reference point to speak about the Holy Spirit.  The Pope said:  “A representative of yours just said on your behalf that the answer is ‘blowing in the wind.’  It is true!  But not in the wind which blows everything away in empty whirls, but the wind which is the breath and voice of the Spirit, a voice that calls and says: ‘come!’”

            Saint Luke describes the blowing of that wind in the Acts of the Apostles.  Reminiscent of the wind blowing over the chaos of creation in Genesis and the wind blowing around Mount Sinai when God entered into a covenant relationship with the people he had led out of slavery in Egypt, the Holy Spirit blows into that room where the disciples are gathered as a strong driving wind and tongues as of fire.  Then what had happened at the tower of Babel is reversed.  Instead being divided by different languages, everyone hears the disciples speak in their own language.  Emboldened by the presence of the Holy Spirit, those who are convinced of the Paschal Mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ proclaim the truth boldly and clearly. 

            That same Holy Spirit is given to us, who have spent forty days reflecting on the passion and death of the Lord and another fifty days basking in his resurrection and ascension.  We often associate the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives as a gentle breeze, soothing our anxieties.  And sometimes the Holy Spirit does comfort us in our afflictions.  But the image of the strong driving wind reminds us that the Holy Spirit sometimes afflicts us in our comfort.  Fifteen years ago, I was going about in my comfortable and happy role as pastor of Saint Jude in Fort Wayne.  I was just entering into my fourteenth year when Bishop D’Arcy’s secretary called and set up an appointment for me to “chat” with him.  In that little “chat,” he told me that he was assigning me to become the first diocesan priest to be pastor of this rapidly growing parish in Granger.

            What does a normal person do when his world is turned upside down?  He goes for a bike ride!  At the time, I was working on my homily for Pentecost Sunday, trying to explain the image of the Holy Spirit as a dove.  The “chat” with the Bishop forced me to examine that image from a different perspective, because the dove wasn’t doing it for me.  I was furiously pedaling on the bike path along the Maumee River when I must have come to close to a nest of Canadian geese.  Two geese came at me like a strong driving wind, furiously nipping at my legs and my heels, forcing me to pedal as fast as possible.  This was the Holy Spirit blowing me out of my comfort zone through my promise to obey and respect the Bishop and pushing me into new territory!

            As we reflect together on the presence of the Holy Spirit comforting us in our afflictions, please look for the possibility that the Spirit may be afflicting you out of your comfort zone.  Saint Paul describes the Church as the Body of Christ, containing different gifts of the Holy Spirit given for the common good.  What is your gift?  How can you move out of your comfort zone to put it in humble service of our parish?  Maybe the Spirit is blowing in the wind of your life to take a step of faith in service to the community.  Next weekend, we will be invited to listen to a witness talk about stewardship of service and attend the ministry fair after Mass.  Saint Paul is correct.  We speak the same language of love when we work together as very different people with very different gifts to proclaim the Paschal Mystery with the example of our lives.

ASCENSION OF THE LORD

8 MAY 2016

          The Ascension of the Lord is an integral part of the Paschal Mystery.  Whether we agree with our Bishops’ decision to move this Solemnity from the fortieth day of Easter to this Sunday, their motivation is clear.  They wanted as many practicing Catholics as possible to be exposed to this Mystery by celebrating the Solemnity. 

            The readings today provide a clue to the importance of the Ascension.  Saint Luke wrote two volumes about God’s intervention into human history.  We just heard the end of his first volume – the Gospel.  His Gospel focuses on Jesus Christ establishing the Kingdom of God.  At the beginning of the Gospel, the angels announce to shepherds the good news of the Savior’s birth.  John baptizes his cousin in the River Jordan, and a voice from heaven proclaims that Jesus is God’s Beloved Son.  Through his teaching and his miracles, Jesus reveals the truth that he has ushered in God’s Kingdom.  After his death and resurrection, those who have encountered him are convinced that he is truly the Messiah, sent to establish God’s Kingdom.  At the very end of the Gospel (today’s passage), Jesus ascends into heaven.  In other words, he leaves the reality of this world as we know it to enter the eternal place where God dwells.

            We also heard from the second volume of Saint Luke in the first reading – the Acts of the Apostles.  This volume focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit in spreading the Kingdom of God through his disciples.  Luke tells us that Jesus has spent forty days after the resurrection with the disciples – a symbolic way of saying that they had sufficient time to reflect on the resurrection.  This experience has convinced them that he will restore the kingdom to Israel.  But he tells them to trust the Father’s plan, because his Kingdom is not about overthrowing the Romans.  His Kingdom is about God dwelling now on earth.  He tells them to remain in Jerusalem, where they are in greater danger from the authorities and to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  As John had baptized him for his mission of establishing God’s Kingdom, they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit to spread that Kingdom.  Then, as he is taken up to where he had emptied himself in the Incarnation, those angels (the two men dressed in white garments whom they had encountered at the empty tomb) tell them to stop looking up at the sky and get to work. 

            Because of the Mystery of the Ascension, the physical body of the risen Lord is no longer present to his disciples.  But he is not absent from them.  He directs their mission from the eternal dwelling place by giving them the Holy Spirit.  But the Mystery of the Ascension is not confined to them. The Holy Spirit is also given to us.  Just as they were sent to proclaim God’s Kingdom, so also are we.  As we wait for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, we can also withdraw a bit and reflect on the ways in which we have the risen Lord in these last forty days.  To use the beautiful image of Saint Paul, these days have enlightened the eyes of our hearts to recognize more clearly the risen Lord’s presence in the Sacramental life of the Church, in our families, our schools, our communities, and our places of work.

            Our task is the same as the first Apostles.  We are sent to allow the risen Christ to dwell with us and live the Paschal Mystery, to die to ourselves and trust that dying in Christ will lead to rising with Christ.  Like them, we are tempted to escape to our own versions of Galilee, where life might be easier and safer.  But, with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we remain here.  That is why it is fitting to honor our mothers on the Ascension.  Mothers remain with their families and with their daily tasks to give us a glimpse of the Kingdom of God – God dwelling in our midst now.   Mothers know that they cannot do this on their own.  They depend on the grace of the Holy Spirit, showing the rest of us the way to continue the mission of the risen Christ.

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

1 MAY 2016

          We continue to hear the farewell speech of Jesus at the Last Supper.  In today’s passage, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his death, resurrection, and ascension.  This promised Holy Spirit is not given just to the disciples at the Last Supper.  The Holy Spirit is given to all who open their hearts to the Paschal Mystery.

            We hear about this gift of the Holy Spirit in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  The first great controversy facing the early Church was the issue of the Law of Moses.  All of the first disciples of Jesus were Jewish, who grew up learning and respecting the Law of Moses.  For them, circumcision was a bodily reminder of the Covenant God had cut with Abraham, their father in faith.  For them, dietary laws defined who they were as God’s people and set them apart as chosen and loved by God.  However, Paul and Barnabas had experienced great success in preaching the Paschal Mystery to the Gentiles, who knew nothing of Abraham or Moses.  Those who had been raised in the Jewish tradition are now insisting that anyone baptized into the Lord Jesus must also learn and follow the Law of Moses.  Even though Paul had been raised in this tradition, he argues strongly against this position, stating that grace had freed them from the Law.  Luke says that “there arose no little dissension and debate.”  They are fighting like cats and dogs!

            So, Paul and Barnabas take this issue to the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem.  Today’s passage skips the actual debate at the Council of Jerusalem (you can read it for yourself in Acts 15:3-21).  At the end of that debate, the Apostles and elders announce “the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us” that the Gentiles are not bound by the Law of Moses on most matters.  However, they need to pay attention to other parts of the Law and “abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.” Guided by the Holy Spirit, the earliest leaders of the Church resolved this issue.

            Over the next twenty centuries, the successors of the Apostles would convene Councils many times to address difficult issues, pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and speak in the name of Jesus to his disciples of every age.  In our own time, Pope Francis convened a Synod of Bishops from around the world to discuss issues surrounding marriage and the family.  If you followed the press coverage of the Synod, you know that there “there arose no little dissension and debate.”  Pope Francis allowed all participants to speak their minds.  After listening to all sides, he issued his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of Love, in April.  In that Exhortation, he reaffirmed Catholic teaching that the bond of marriage is indissoluble.  But he also encouraged a pastoral approach to those who have not quite reached the ideals and need pastoral care.

            As we hear the words of Jesus at this Memorial of the Last Supper, we need to trust the Holy Spirit working in our Church.  If you have not done so, read the Apostolic Exhortation.  If you are divorced, separated, or in another marriage and need an annulment, please do not hesitate to seek our help.  The Holy Spirit continues to work through the Church’s authentic teaching authority.  The Holy Spirit also works in his disciples’ lives.  Our eighth graders are receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.  They need to work hard at forming their consciences to follow the promptings of the Spirit in their lives.  The same is true for all of us.  With consciences form by Church teaching, we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, even when there will arise “no little dissension and debate.”  We may not experience now the perfect peace of the New and Eternal Jerusalem.  But we will get a glimpse of that perfect peace when we listen carefully to the Holy Spirit.  It is not a peace resulting from an end to war or conflict, but a gift from Jesus Christ himself.