Today is a beautiful, joyous and important day in the liturgical life of the Church. Today we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist itself. Of course, every time we go to Mass we celebrate the reality of the Eucharist, but today the Church turns a very bright light on this awesome gift and urges us to think clearly about the reality before us, to not have our faith blurred by habit, but rather to concentrate on what Jesus did and is doing to his followers.
The theme that runs through the three texts is bread. Bread in one form or another is the most common staple food utilized across the world and throughout history. Bread is the very symbol of sustenance and life. The first reading presents us with that intriguing picture of the King of Salem coming out to meet Abraham and offering bread and wine as a gift to the Most High God. Christian tradition has utilized this text as some type of prefiguring the Christian celebration of the Eucharist and that leads us to the second reading.
The second reading is absolutely one of the most important texts for Christians in the entire Bible. It is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he clearly describes the institution of the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi. Let’s look at the words again.
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Does he love us? Infinitely. Is he with us? Eternally.

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People with deep faith in Jesus Christ feel very close to him and, of course, they are close. Believing in Jesus, they believe also in his presence made possible by reception of the Eucharist. When we turn our attention to our Lord’s first followers, I think that they tend to become a little more remote. Maybe that is just my opinion but Peter and Paul worked in a different culture, a different economy, all in all a very different world. Even though we study their sections of sacred scripture they still at times seem remote.
Let me make this suggestion. Go your copy of the New Testament and look at three very short letters written by two bishops, Timothy and Titus. We are used to bishop’s letters. Most of them write to the faithful of their dioceses with some regularity. Regretfully, the need for this or that annual collection somehow dominates the list of topics. Maybe the bishops themselves should go back and read these short letters of their predecessors. If you, yourself, will take the time to read them you will see that they are very simple, down to earth and very centered on problem solving, including conflict within the faith community, which was already present in that first generation. In Timothy, both letters have something to say about how the local Church should be structured and how the big concern must be given to correcting false teachers, good Christian moral life must be practiced and the faith must be taught with great clarity.
I really urge you to read these three very brief documents. They may help you to leap over those 2,000 years and realize that these two early bishops, Timothy and Titus, are in a very real way still with us.

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Believing Catholics know full well that God is acting in our lives. While bringing us into existence, he has given us an infinitely loving invitation to share his life for all eternity. We are very conscious of God’s closeness when we receive the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. There we are on Sunday morning. We have just returned to our pews and have received the bread of life. Jesus is here. Jesus is within us. He loves us and will sustain us in our faith.
That is true of the Eucharist. It is true of all of the Sacraments. Through baptism, we are made brothers and sisters of Jesus and adopted children of God the Father. With matrimony, we receive the grace necessary to sustain a holy and faith-filled marriage. The Sacraments spiritually parallel to our material lives. Our faith enables us to see that our Lord is always with us.
But God’s love and help is not limited to the Sacraments. With eyes of faith, we can see that we are sustained time and again throughout the day and always while our lives unfold of special gifts. An unexpected telephone call that clarifies our thinking on a particular issue, seeing a very ill friend on a trip to the hospital, looking at an suddenly stunning sunset in the western sky, these opportunities that make us conscious of God and his love for us are countless. However, we must be careful that we do not take them for granted. God loves us. God is with us. Our challenge is to respond knowingly and joyfully to the fact that he touches our lives day by day and sometimes minute by minute.
We are more conscious of God’s goodness to us when we are aware of his actions in our lives.

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Two weeks ago, I wrote with shock in this space about my disbelief that the German bishops had issued a decree refusing the sacraments to Catholics who stopped paying a Church membership tax. I was not the only one who was incredulous. That reaction has spread across the world. Global media coverage has brought into clear focus the unique situation in Germany that most people knew nothing about until this issue arose.
Since the middle of the 19th century, the German central government has collected a small tax on both the Lutherans and the Catholics in Germany, transferred the funds to the churches for use in providing schools, hospitals, youth centers and other excellent programs. Today in Germany many Catholics are angry with the Church and don’t like the tax and they have signed documents taking themselves out of the Church. So much for that but now the bishops say that such persons can be denied the sacraments!
I have no doubt that this situation creates a real financial problem. In a short period of time, the Church has to do a better job of raising its own money but it is hard to imagine the Catholic Church denying someone baptism, the Eucharist or a funeral because of a failure to pay a government tax. Something is wrong and I hope that it will be corrected very quickly. Until then, I pray with all my heart for the German Church which is truly a great Church but faced with organizational difficulties.
Luther, there is still tension on the Rhine!

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August 26th, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today, when you hear the word “scandal” we almost always connect it with disappointment or a letdown relating to some religious person or program. We are scandalized when the pastor marries the church secretary but the original meaning of the word is quite simple. A scandal is something that causes you to stumble, to falter, to not be able to go forward. In today’s Gospel as we are winding down the 6th chapter of
St. John, we have a classic act of stumbling.

Jesus has been talking at great length about the fact that he will continue to abide with us in the mystery of the Eucharist and that he himself will be the food that will bring us to eternal life. This shocked many of his listeners. Jesus does not back down. Six times he repeats the basic thesis that he is the bread of life and that he will nourish us as we continue to journey after him.

The sentence reflecting the scandal is really sad.

“From this time on many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company.”

Our Lord does not apologize. He does not say they misunderstood. He just keeps repeating the truth of his continued presence among us. There are two things: that it is some of his disciples who are leaving and then Jesus turns to the apostles and says, “Will you also go away?” And Peter replies,

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We are convinced that you are God’s holy one.”

Let us stand beside Peter each day of our life.

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August 19th, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
For several weeks we have been walking with our Lord through the 6th chapter of
St. John where he is revealing that he is not going to leave us alone in this valley of tears. He gives us the infinite gift of his continued presence, the gift of the Eucharist. This will still continue next week when we see the negative reaction of many of his listeners. It is a dramatic moment in the public teaching of our Lord.

But today I would like to look at the second reading from the 5th chapter of Ephesians where Paul gives us the results of walking in the footsteps of Jesus and being nourished by his continued presence through Communion. It is a short excerpt but it is joyful, optimistic and triumphant.

“Act like thoughtful men.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Make the most of the present moment.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Return to the will of the Lord.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Avoid getting drunk.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Be filled with the Spirit.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sing praise.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Give thanks to the Father.”

Most of us are committed to doing one or another of those things. We know their importance but what St. Paul is challenging us to do is to let these qualities dominate our day-to-day life. Let us go forward with positive, confident, hope-filled and ultimately triumphant actions in our spiritual journey.

Finally, let’s go back to the first reading from Proverbs in which the sacred author invites us to blend wisdom and horse sense in our lives. Wisdom has built a great house and invites passersby to come and partake of its blessings. Each one of us gets those invitations day-by-day. Regretfully, most of us fall or stumble one time or another. The continued presence of the Lord in our lives will give us the power to go forward successfully.

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August 12th, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For several weeks, we are in St. John’s Gospel, especially the 6th chapter where he talks in great length about Jesus himself being bread from heaven and that this bread is the key to everlasting life. But if Jesus is giving himself to us as the nourishment for our souls, what should come from that? What should be the results?

They are clearly stated in the excerpts from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

“Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, malice of every kind. In place of these things, be kind to one another, compassionate and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.”

Once again, these are not just words. They are something of a job description for those who strive to walk in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. We are all aware of the fact that there is a lot of pain around us, a lot of hurt, a lot of disappointment. In a moment of honesty, we could admit that we ourselves cause a certain amount of that pain. But if we are receiving the Eucharist on a regular basis, if we prepare for Communion properly, and we meditate on its constancies, we should become far more gentle. We should strive for the opportunity to be kind to people and patient. Patience – ah – there is the word.

It is easy enough to be patient with the people around us who are extraordinarily polite, generous and sensitive, but what about that obnoxious jerk? He was malformed in his growing process and does little to endear himself to the people around him. Aren’t we challenged to be patient with him as well?

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July 29th, 17th Sunday of the Year
Today is for me one of those delightful Sundays where the three scripture readings coalesce into a beautiful collage bringing forward an important message that the Church wants us to absorb. Spread over 2,000 years, the texts mesh together into a beautiful collage.

The Gospel is from the chapter of John and it creates a situation which enables Jesus to begin to tell his people that he is going to give HIMSELF as the nourishment for our souls in order that through him we can be united to God the Father. The first reading from the second Book of Kings frames today’s Gospel because it is a situation where the prophet Elijah is with a large group of followers, has no food and then miraculously produces enough food for all of them.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul beautifully gives the reason for all of this. He challenges his readers from the first century and from the 21st century to live a life worthy of our calling, that is such an important sentence and an amazing challenge to each and every one of us who claims to be a Christian. Life calls for humility, meekness, patience, helping those around us. Paul teaches us that if we do live a life worthy of our calling, we shall bring peace and have peace. We shall be united together in a way that was unimaginable apart from the Eucharist. Paul reminds us that if we live a life worthy of our calling, we become part of a new entity, a unity made possible by the actions and infinite power of Jesus, “This is my Body…this is my Blood.” That unity results in one body, one spirit, one hope…there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and God our Father.

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The Feast of Corpus Christi
Everything that we have is a gift from God. Most of us know that but in the hectic lives that we live we are not always as conscious of that reality as we should be. Among the gifts that God has given us, the greatest is his Divine Son who assumed human nature in order to deal with us in a way that we could grasp and understand. His Son, our Savior, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, whom we call Jesus of Nazareth, continued the process of giving when, on the night before he was to die, he gathered with his apostles in the upper room. In that upper room, he gave the apostles and all who would come after them in faith the gift of his continued presence, the Body of Christ, the Holy Eucharist.

Simple words, simple actions, awesome and unbelievable implications. Taking a loaf of bread and then a goblet of wine, Jesus of Nazareth looked around at those that followed him for the last three years and said THIS IS MY BODY. A moment later, with the goblet, he said THIS IS MY BLOOD. With those words, from his infinite presence, he gave first to the apostles, and then to all who would come after them, a way of intimacy and continued presence that was unimaginable before.

Did you receive communion the other day? When that occurred you were one with Jesus and you can say with St. Paul, “I live not I but Christ lives in me.”

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Last week, the Universal Church celebrated Holy Thursday. That day is especially important in the Church because on this day we mark both the institution of the Eucharist and the ordained priesthood. Pope Benedict XVI chose this day to chastise those priests who have called for the ordination of women and the end of priestly celibacy. There is little doubt that his remarks were occasioned by an organized call for disobedience in these areas in a number of countries, especially Austria.

No one should be surprised that the pope would take such a stand in view of the long established Church law regarding these issues and while the pope has ever right and even a duty to maintain long-established traditions in the Church, we still have the problem that somebody has to come up with a solution. The number of priests being ordained has been declining for half a century. In those five decades, we were shored up by short-term pastoral solutions – the diaconate, increased utilization of laity in leadership and pastoral roles, merging the parishes so that one priest could cover two or three parishes, etc., etc.

It seems, however, the tragic priest shortage in Europe and North America is of recent origin and the decline continues. Of more grave consequences was the failure to ever develop an adequate clergy in Latin America. With priests as the kingpin of the Church’s pastoral structure, their absence in adequate numbers leads to a failure of proper development and the lessening of membership. This has certainly been going on for years. A number of countries, such as Guatemala and Brazil, have lost a huge percentage of their Catholic members to Pentecostal and other groups. This is truly tragic.

This may be the largest issue facing the Church in the 21st century. In one way or another, a solution must be found.

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