+Corpus Christi

A priest who worked in Siri Lanka for years wrote a book, Eucharist and Human Liberation. Hear some of his challenging words: “What began as a covenant meal of people struggling and powerless has instead been used as a sacred legitimation of the powers that be... The repetition of Eucharistic celebrations has not, in fact, led to the formation of a committed people–committed that is, to anything beyond the ritual observance itself... Our Eucharistic spirituality is not interior in the better sense of the word: of being deep, personal, reflective and formative. Nor is it external in the good sense of being active, committed and transformative of persons and society... The church is behaviorally living one way and ritually celebrating another. We proclaim the sacrificial victim we raise up the suffering Servant and yet live a long-lasting love affair with power, wealth, dogmatism and triumphalism. ...liturgical rituals are mask that cover instead of reveal.”

Corpus Christi (Body of Christ)

The Body and Blood of Christ C

Wonder of Wonders

Matthew and Luke have two different feeding accounts. Luke and John each have only one feeding account. But the accounts of the feeding of the five thousand is one of the few stories that appear in all four Gospels.

In this account of the feeding of the five thousand the first hearers of the Gospel familiar with the Old Testament, would have heard echoes of other parts of their tradition: 1) the feeding of the Israelites in the desert; 2) Elisha’s feeding of a hundred men with twenty loaves; and 3) the language of the eucharist.

Jesus did the following: “Then taking the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.” Looking up to heaven was a common posture for prayer. But the other actions are practically the same as the early Church’s Eucharistic formulas.

After his death, Jesus walking with the Disciples toward Emmaus, was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. Luke clearly ties together the Last Supper account of the institution of the Eucharist with the meals that Jesus celebrated with outcasts and hungry multitudes. At the end of his Gospel Luke has a series of Post-Resurrection meals when Jesus makes himself known.

Luke tells us: “They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.” Earlier Jesus had given the beatitude” Blessed are you who are hungry now,/ for you will be filled.” In the abundance of food in the number who were fed and the abundance of twelve baskets leftover people should have seen a fulfillment of the presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said he had come to bring good news to the poor. The predominant group in those who were fed would have been the poor. Jesus also was fulfilling the vision of Isaiah.

It would almost seem that the Catholic Church wishes to elevate our sense of the Eucharist by establishing this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. During Holy Week, Holy Thursday clearly celebrates Jesus giving us the Eucharist and the importance of a priesthood of service. But this feast gives us another occasion to reflect on what the Eucharist means for me in my life. It clearly means more than Corpus Christi processions and Eucharistic Adoration. The Eucharist missions us to act. Micah calls us to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with out God.

The dismissal at the end of the Eucharist is "The Mass is ended, Go in Peace." The "go" seems to me to include "go and do something according to what you have celebrated and heard."

Trinity Sunday

TRINITY SUNDAY

Mystery to be mystified by.

Introduction: We as Catholics have a rich tradition of using

symbols in our Church. You may have seen a fish on the back of a car or

on a plaque in a house. Do you know why this is a symbol for

Christians? The Greek word for Fish is IXTHOUS: Iesus, Christos, Theou, Huios, Soter. Jesus Christ Son of God Savior. For the Trinity we also employ symbols: Three intertwining circles, triangle, shamrock (trebol).

God as Father: Creation. Here in the valley we get something of

the generosity and abundance with which God gifts us. Nature is

speaking to us of God: We are reminded that God is as certain as the dawn. We go to South Padre Island and watch the sun rise and the sun set. But wherever we are the sun is rising and setting. The abundance of crops in the sorghum and cotton

and corn fields. The flowers around the church: the hibiscus just

keeps blooming. Two Sundays ago after a rain shower one was so gently

blushed by a rain drop in the form of a tear. I wished I had my camera.

Even the human act of procreation speaks of the prodigality of our God.

In one ejaculation of sperm there are literally thousands of seeds.

Only one must unite with the egg to begin a life.

We know that God is neither Father or Mother. In Genesis we are

told that we are created in the image and likeness of God: male and

female.

God as Jesus. I used to belong to the Priests of the Sacred Heart. This

month of June is the month of the Sacred Heart. We honor Jesus under

his title as the Sacred Heart. Heart speaks of love. For me Jesus is

a passionate lover who calls me to receive his love and then in turn

pass it on to others. Marcus Borg in his popular book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time,

sums up Jesus this way: " I have since come to understand as the key truth about Jesus: that in addition to being deeply involved in the social world of the everyday, he was also grounded in the world of the Spirit.", p.15 He sums up that Jesus was a Spirit person of compassion. p. 58 "For Jesus, compassion had a radical sociopolitical meaning. In his teaching and table fellowship, and in the shape of his movement, the purity system was subverted and an alternative social vision affirmed. The politics of purity was replaced by a politics of compassion." Borg also describes Jesus as a "Teacher of Alternative Wisdom."

God as Spirit. The feast of the Holy Spirit is Pentecost. Two

emphases of that feast were: fear and gifts. What fears do you have?

What fears do people have? The promise of Jesus is that we can overcome

our fears as did Peter, from locked in for fear, to preaching on the

rooftop and converting 3000 that day. Peter was led to action by the Spirit. What action is the Spirit trying to get me to do?

What gifts to people have? The gift of friendship was told me by a young boy of about l0 years old.

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Practise: one minute going over the high point of my day, share and

thank the Father. One minute with the low point, share and thank Jesus

and ask for help, forgiveness, etc. One minute with tomorrow and ask

Holy spirit for guidance.

We were baptized and are blessed in the Name of the Father and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Pentecost

PENTECOST

From fear to faith.

Introduction: Pentecost is a feast of fear and gifts, from locked in to fearless and zealous. We might listen to the readings to get in touch with our fears and gifts, where we feel locked in and what we want to be released from.

Jesus Resurrection words to his followers were, “Peace be with you.” To this very day we use these words every time we gather to celebrate our Eucharistic meal.

These words of Jesus have power and promise. For the apostles the words of Jesus turned their fear into faith. From anxious and doubting followers they were transformed into believers and proclaimers. They are a reminder to us that Christ still turns our fears into faith.

To Jesus locked doors were no obstacle. He became present, “Peace be with you.” “They locked the doors of the place where they were...” They were in hiding, afraid, confused, some may have been hopeless. Jesus comes and says, “Peace be with you.” In the Acts they were again all gathered in one room and through wind and fire God makes his presence known. We call this presence the Holy Spirit. Again God calls them from fear to faith. He moves them to be able to preach “the marvels of God.”

The promise of Pentecost is ours too. God calls us from fear to faith. He wishes to move us to be able to preach about the “marvels of God.” One of the marvels of God is the giftedness of each and every person. Ours is a call to a church in which there is cooperation of gifts not competition. Today we are called to reflect on our fears but also on our Gifts. In the past I have asked a group to identify their gifts. The response was slow in coming. Than I asked them to identify their fears, they came fast and furious. Our promise is that Jesus and the Holy Spirit will do for us what he did for the early church. The Holy Spirit wishes to help us to get loosed where we are stuck. The Spirit helps us to get released when we feel locked in. God is calling us too from fear to faith. To what use of my gifts in action is God calling me?