Corpus Cristi: It is Accomplished

Today we celebrate another great solemnity in the Church, “The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.”  In a very special way we call to mind the Eucharist and its saving power.  As Catholics I would imagine we are all aware that the Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  The Eucharist is not symbolic or a spiritual presence of Jesus, the Eucharist also is not half bread and half Jesus, it is totally Him, in a supernatural sense, by that I mean the change happens supernaturally and one that can only be grasped by faith and love.  I want to just reflect on one thing today.  Originally I was going to ask the question, “Why do we receive the Eucharist in the first place and to look at two concepts anamnesis and epiclesis, we’ll hold off on that.”  Rather I wish to look at how our reception of the Eucharist has strong connections and parallels to marriage.

I am continually amazed and pleasantly reminded quite often that just when I think I know it all the Lord reveals to me that I know very little, and not so much just knowing little, but that the Lord in His goodness and wisdom reveals to us “truths” about himself, us, and the universe all the time.  It’s also reminder to remain humble before the Lord, sometimes we priests think we learned it all in seminary, when all we did was just scratch the surface.

Anyway, I was listening to the Bible Geek Mark Hart on Sirius XM.  He said, “The Bible begins with a marriage story and ends with a marriage story.”  Let’s take a look at that.

In Genesis Chpt. 2 the author writes,

“The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said:  “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.”  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” (Gn 2:18, 21-24)

From practically the very beginning of our story, of creation, God speaks of marriage, the coming together of one man and one woman, to be helpers to one another.  But, it is more than just being helpers to one another; it is also about intimacy, love, friendship, and even perseverance in holiness.

C.S. Lewis in his work “The Four Loves” points out that the first thing a baby knows is that it is alone.  Therefore, it cries out for its mother, father, for anyone to be in its presence, to feel its touch, to be touched, to hear a voice, to speak itself what it can speak.  All of us crave and have built into our very being the desire to be with others, we are social animals, that is why the toughest vocation is one of solitude, but even the strictest of monks, hermits, and cloistered still come together for meals, mass, and every so often to socialize.

Everything comes down to relationship.  Even the Trinity which we celebrated last Sunday in essence is relationship.  The Bible ends as it begins, with a strong concept of relationship,

"I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their God].  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.”

The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” He said to me, “They are accomplished.  I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water."  (Rev. 21:3-6, 22:7)

The phrase, “they are accomplished” refers to “it is finished or done”, as in, “it is consummated.”  The wedding of the Church to Christ began in Genesis and ends in Revelation, pretty powerful stuff.  When a man and a woman marry, they first exchange words, “their vows” to one another, the marriage has begun at that point, but “it is finished, it is done, it is accomplished, or it is consummated” happens when they join as one flesh in sexual union.  We are not comfortable with talking about sex, for a number of reasons, but sex and sexuality are biblical and God Himself in His marriage to us talks that way, we are one flesh with God and it happens in all the sacraments, but most profoundly and intimately in the Eucharist.

Let’s see what God says.  God explains His love for us as the groom when he leaves the bridal chamber after their marriage has been consummated.  In those days the bride and groom’s relatives would be waiting outside the bridal chamber because they wanted to see the groom’s and the bride’s happiness once the marriage was accomplished (consummated), that is uncomfortable for us because we have a 21^st century view of sexuality steeped in Puritanism, not the case with our ancestors.  Anyway God says the love I have for you is like when the groom leaves the bridal chamber.

You may be thinking what does this have to do with the Eucharist, well, everything.  A few things happened before a wedding, the groom would visit with the bride and make a contract (Covenant), he would then go and prepare a place for her (bridal chamber), then when the time was right He would take her to where he was (drink a cup of wine together) prior to entering the bridal chamber, then they would finish the marriage act (it is consummated).  Listen to Jesus’ life and what He did with us His bride.  He came to us and made a contract (covenant) then he drank the last cup at his crucifixion and then uttered the words “It is finished”  (consummated) then He went first to prepare a place for us (John 14 – dwelling place).  The parallels of marriage and our own relationship to God are unmistakable and clear.

And though Jesus is no longer here as He was when He walked the earth He made sure that in some way He always would be, so He left Himself here in a supernatural way in the Eucharist when we celebrate a mass.  Every time we receive the Eucharist we receive Jesus and we need to receive Him often because without Him we are weak and alone.  Each time we receive Him we renew our wedding vows to Jesus.  I say to you, when you receive, “The Body of Christ,” and you respond, “Amen.”  We exchange our vows with Christ and then when we receive Him the act is consummated, it is finished.

When the Church declares that going to mass is very important if not life saving she does so because she understands the implications of the Eucharist, the Eucharist has strong parallels to marriage and intimacy that no other relationship on earth can compare but only shadow or relate to the relationship we share with Jesus Christ.

Just like a husband and wife become one flesh when they first exchange vows (make a covenant) and then complete (consummate) the act we too become one with Christ when we exchange our vows and then bring to completion the act through reception of Jesus in the Bread and Wine, both of which are completely Him, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  To miss mass on a Sunday or Holy day is reprehensible to the true Christian because it is a denial of the marriage like intimacy we have with Christ.  That is why the Church says missing mass is a serious and possibly a grave sin, because Jesus invites us to His wedding with us and we tell Him, “No!”

Remember as we go through the Eucharistic prayer today and as you come up to receive that Jesus is asking to be your brother, friend, and even lover, as St. Augustine would say.  All of us renew our vows to Him when we receive Him, we need to pray that the Lord will strengthen us so that when we do receive we do so with the intent to leave all sin behind and start anew, for we are a new creation, we have been married to the Lord, it is accomplished.  AMEN! FJ

Trinity: Perfect Unity

Allow me to begin with a question.  Is there any verse in the Bible that uses the word, “Trinity?”  There is not.  Allow me to ask a second question, if the word Trinity is never used does that mean there is no Trinity?  There is a way to answer this seemingly difficult question.  As Catholics we believe that within Scripture some of our beliefs are explicit, they are plainly stated, i.e. Jesus is the Son of God, Mary is full of grace, etc.  Then there are other beliefs which we hold that are only implicitly stated in Scripture, they are within the text but one must put together varying texts that speak on the subject, i.e. the Trinity, God the Father is referred to as God, so too is Jesus, as well as the Holy Spirit.  Our beliefs also develop over time after much reflection on the original deposit of faith (Sacred Scripture) which we believe to be Sacred Tradition. Jesus told the Apostles, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But, when He comes the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all Truth.” (John 16:12-13)

Therefore as Christians we believe in the Trinity but I think we have to answer some misconceptions first.  We do not believe in three gods, nor do we believe in one God who manifested Himself differently in different ages, i.e. First as the Father in the Old Testament, then as the Son in the New Testament, and then after the Ascension as the Holy Spirit.  Plainly put the definition for the Trinity is we believe in one God who is three distinct divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It is also important to remember that the persons of the Trinity are referred to as persons, i.e. the Father, the Son, and even the Holy Spirit.  Jesus uses pronouns when referring to the Spirit, He uses the word, “He.”  So now that I have you all bogged down and confused with the deep theology regarding the Trinity allow me to simplify it.  St. Augustine described the Trinity as “God is love, Jesus is the lover, and the Holy Spirit is the love shared between them.”  It is a perfect and eternal relationship of love, “For God is love.”

If the Trinity is a perfect community of persons then that means that they are also perfectly one, there is no division or competition between them.  One is not less than or great than the other, perfect harmony as they say.  If you recall just a couple of weeks ago Jesus’ great prayer was, “Father I pray that they be one as you and I are one.”  So then, if we are made in the image and likeness of God (the ability to reason and to choose), and also given grace by God, are we not also required or called to be in perfect harmony with one another?  As I said, two weeks ago the Gospel reading was about us being “one.”  I did not preach on that because it was Mother’s Day and I wanted to keep it focused on mothers and on Mary, but this allows me to go back to that notion of “oneness” or unity.

The questions can go further and deeper.  Are we one in our own families, are we one in our parish, are we one in the Universal Church, and most important are we one with God.  Sometimes because of sin we are divided within our own families, usually over money, inheritance, issues of respect, etc.  In our local communities sometimes we are divided over the merges, the merge of our former parishes still has some people upset and doffing in their heels.  Some are upset and divided with the Church on a universal or institutional level because of disagreements over morality and other teachings.  On occasion we are also divided against God, those times when we are angry with Him, have given up, when we blame God for our situations, etc.

Jesus prayed knowing our human weakness asking the Father in advance to heal us and to never forget us even when we divide ourselves from family, Church, and God.  Jesus is too good to us.

I ask that  when you have the opportunity at home later today or sometime during the week that you reflect on the Trinity, not so much trying to figure it out theologically, rather reflecting on the perfect unity between Father, Son, and Spirit and asking God to help you to be perfect in your own unity with everyone.  Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  He did not mean only holiness, but perfect unity as well.  God bless you, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost: Remember, Remember, Remember

Pentecost Sunday is the moment of the Church’s birth in a special way, the Spirit descends on Mary, some of the other women, and the Apostles who are gathered in prayer.  The Holy Spirit endows them with gifts to go forth and take up Jesus’ call to spread the Gospel to all nations.  And yet, in some ways the Church has always existed, since Adam and Eve, for if we believe that anyone who is saved is saved by God’s grace then they belong to the Church, which is the Kingdom of God.  Anyway, the more important point is that Pentecost is not a onetime isolated event that happened long ago in the past and is forever lost to us; rather it is an event that is always present, especially when we celebrate mass, and today specifically remembering it in our celebration of Pentecost.

As Catholics we receive much of the foundation of our faith from our Jewish brothers and sisters.  There can be no denying this; the two though different have foundational characteristics that are very similar, i.e. circumcision – baptism, Passover – Eucharist, Ten Commandments – Beatitudes, etc.  One theological aspect we have taken from the Jewish faith is anamnesis, meaning to remember.  Jewish people do this when they celebrate Passover; they “remember” their history of enslavement in Egypt, the plagues, especially when the angel passes them over, their exodus from Egypt, and up until they reach the Promised land.  In a spiritual or supernatural sense when they celebrate Passover, those events are not only remembered but present and very much alive in their own celebration.  As Catholics we believe this especially for our Eucharistic celebration, but we also remember the entire passion right up until the Spirit descends upon all of those gathered in the Upper Room.

Just as our Jewish brothers and sisters we not only remember but the events are present, we are now living the Pentecost experience.  Do we not believe that the Spirit descends upon us when we celebrate this feast as well as every mass?  You bet we do, the event is right here – right now. 

Two weeks from now we will be celebrating “The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,” so please keep in mind that part of this reflection will repeat but with two other added concepts, one) epiclesis and two) why the Eucharist in the first place.  Stay tuned, same bat channel, same bat time.

Faith: Word and Action

The following statements or sayings are familiar to us, “put your money where your mouth is,” or “don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk.”  But phrases or sentiments refer to action backing up what we say.  If I tell you one thing but do another I make myself a hypocrite or if I am just all words with no action I am like a loud noise that is simple just annoying.

In our Catholic belief we understand that actions must accompany words otherwise that faith, which is all words is just a dead faith (c.f. James chapter 2).  In today’s Gospel from John, Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” I liken it to a spouse who tells his wife from the altar “I do” but then does very little or next to nothing to make that vow a reality.  That would not be love in any way shape or form; rather it would be an empty promise.

Other Christians have taken on the notion that faith and accepting the Lord Jesus is pivotal for one’s salvation and that once someone does that and if their conversion was real and true then naturally they will produce good works and try live by Jesus’ words, if the person is a complete opposite of what they proclaimed originally then they were never saved to begin with.  That is all nice neat, but what happens when it is someone who seems to have been good and holy and then falls from grace, i.e. Jimmy Swagart or Jim Baker (two former Evangelists), caught cheating on their wives?

I am not saying that they are not Christian, they may very well actually be and their fall from grace is no different than any other sinner, but it is perseverance through all my falls that proves my love for God and His love for me.  It is a relationship based on a journey of a lifetime, yes one that has high moments throughout, i.e. sacraments, reversion or conversion moments, etc. but it can never be just one moment or just one magical saying, it must be perseverance in God’s Word and commandments, especially the two greatest commandments.

Remember: Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever loves me will keep my Word . . . “