Like Sheep Without A Shepherd

 

Deacon Dave · Like Sheep Without A Shepherd

Homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 21, 2024. Gospel: Mark 6:30-34. Theme: Like Sheep Without A Shepherd 

Jesus’ comment at the end of today’s Gospel about the crowd being like a flock of shepherdless sheep is based on the everyday experiences of people in ancient Palestine. They were extremely familiar with sheep and knew that these animals are quite vulnerable without a shepherd to guide and protect them. Sheep learn to recognize the voice of their own shepherd, so when strangers attempt to herd them, they become bewildered and confused; they wander and are easily misled. They become easy prey for predators such as wolves and thieves. 

 The people of Jesus’ time were without leaders who were truly concerned for their ultimate good. An oppressive Roman governor and a treacherous half-Jew named Herod were their political rulers. Their religious leaders were the Jewish Sanhedrin (which was much like a supreme court) who as a group were more dedicated to maintaining their own status than in providing spiritual direction. The Sanhedrin were so strict and demanding about observing the Law of Moses that the people found their teachings to be oppressive and burdensome. 

This is why our Gospel passage says that Jesus’ heart “was moved with pity” for the people. Actually, the word “pity” is a bit lacking. What it really says in Biblical Greek is that Jesus was “moved deep within his gut”, which better conveys the profound compassion and empathy of Jesus for the people who were being spiritually abused. Their religious leaders failed to act as humble servants, as true ministers of God. They withheld the nourishment of spiritually healthy food that could uplift the people’s spirits and strengthen their hearts to keep pressing forward under their difficult political and social situation. 

I think we find ourselves in a similar situation today. We also have social, political and religious leaders who do not act in our best interests. They seem and act more obsessed with preserving their power than in serving our needs. They expend great energy and money (our money actually) in promoting their self-interests, in protecting their prestige and maintaining their positions. And when they speak so many of them engage in the corruption of truth. So many false voices…so many fake shepherds…so many confused and misled sheep! And so, like sheep without a shepherd we too can easily become bewildered and confused. 

 And so it is that today’s Gospel places before each one of us an important question: Who is my shepherd? That is, who is it that I listen to and follow? To whom do I look as a pattern for the way I want to shape and live my life? Whose words and wisdom give meaning and direction to my existence? For those who call themselves Christian, the answer must be Jesus, but then this leads to an even more deeply vital question: Why? Why do we follow Jesus? Why do we believe he is the Son of God and Messiah? Is it because we were told these things as a child by our parents and grandparents? Faith passed on in the family is indeed a beautiful gift, but it is not enough! 

 Faith in Jesus must become a personal conviction, a matter of one’s own choosing. If it does not reach this level it will not be enough to identify and reject false shepherds. In order to become deaf to the lies and chatter that echo all around us, every Christian must become personally convinced that Jesus was who he said he was; that he did miracles that the disciples testify that he did; that he is the Messiah who fulfilled the Jewish prophecies; that he intentionally established an organized Church with authority to teach and interpret the Bible in his name; and that he is, indeed, risen from the dead, alive and present among us today. It is only this kind of faith, built upon the solid rock of truth, that will be able to recognize and reject false messages and false shepherds. 

But this kind of maturation in faith doesn't “just happen”. We need to study so that the mind is fed spiritually by the words of Jesus and the intellect is enlightened by his teachings. To help in this regard, St. Sebastian’s offers Sunday morning Bible Study, sends out several Flocknotes every week on the Liturgy and various aspects of the Faith, and stocks our pamphlet rack in the vestibule of the church with free material that teaches sound doctrine. But while feeding the mind is indeed important, it is not enough! It is not sufficient to simply know (even a lot) about Jesus and what he said. We have to know Jesus himself, to grow to know him in relationship as a Person, Risen and Alive. 

 And this can only be done by the grace of God by the action of the Holy Spirit, working in us through prayer and the sacraments. We need to converse daily with Jesus from the heart and in our own words, sharing honestly and openly what is on our minds as we would with any close friend. We need to do this in an atmosphere of silence so that we can hear his response. If we listen carefully, we will hear from deep within us his gentle voice inviting us to build a personal relationship with him whose heart is moved to pity for love of us. Without this kind of intimate familiarity with our Good Shepherd, we will become wandering sheep who are easy prey for the false shepherds who are all around us.

Called & Chosen!

 

Deacon Dave · Called & Chosen!

Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 14, 2024. Amos 7:12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Gospel of St. Mark 6:7-13. Theme: Called and Chosen! 

 Have you ever wondered why out of the billions of people who inhabit planet Earth, you and I have been freely gifted with the Christian Faith? How is it that we are among the 32% of the world’s population that has received the grace of salvation through Baptism? It’s certainly not as if any one of us has done something spectacular to grab God’s attention. And it’s not like we stand head and shoulders above the rest of humanity as more worthy or less sinful. It’s a great mystery to be called by God, to be chosen, to become part of a people uniquely His own. Yet this is what today’s readings are all about. 

In the first reading we encounter the prophet Amos, who lived about 700 years before Christ. He was just an ordinary shepherd and gardener, but God called and chose him, then sent him out on a mission. In the second reading, we hear from St. Paul, another ordinary guy who, although he was at first a fierce persecutor of Christians, was called and chosen by Christ, who then sent him on a mission to the Gentiles. Lastly, the Gospel tells us about the Twelve Apostles who were all just ordinary guys with ordinary families working in various ordinary occupations. But then Jesus called and chose them, sending them out as missionary disciples of the Kingdom of God. 

 Are we seeing the pattern here? God calls and chooses whomever he wishes with a special delight, it seems, in calling and choosing those whom the world finds to be rather ordinary and unimportant. And since the Church teaches that God is unchanging and his ways are perfect, we can be pretty sure that he will act towards us as he did towards those we read about in the Scriptures. This mystery of God’s manner of calling and choosing is exemplified for me in a powerful experience from my childhood that is still quite vivid and meaningful. 

 If you were like me, growing up in a small town, then you might recall how the neighborhood kids (and there were tons of us back then) would often gather in a local field for a game of ball. The older guys, the jocks of the neighborhood, were of course always the captains. The rest of us wannabes lined up for the ritual of choosing sides where your talents and abilities (or lack thereof) were publicly acknowledged. Now, I could hit the ball pretty well but I just couldn’t run to save my life. While my typical at bat could send the ball far into the outfield, I’d be lucky to pull a single out of what most guys could turn into a double. And so, I dreaded those line-ups before my peers for I knew well where I stood in the rankings. 

 But there was this one guy named Charles, who even at our young age stood head and shoulders above the rest of us. No one dared to question his choices or doubt his selections. But whenever I saw Charles take up a captain’s spot my fear of humiliation diminished and I would get a kinda smile on my face. Because you see, I knew that whenever Charles was captain I was safe from total and utter embarrassment before my peers. No, he wouldn’t pick me in the first couple rounds because he was after all a jock and wanted to win! But I knew also that I wouldn’t be standing there as the last choice of the day either. Why did he pick me so often? Why did he potentially risk the game by choosing me? Since I really had no extraordinary talent that would merit my selection the only answer I could come up with was that he was just that kind of guy. Within his towering athletic frame was a tender heart as big as his muscles. His action was and remains a mystery to me. But it also has become for me a reflection of Christ who also had a big tender heart and who also chose those who didn’t seem to have a lot to offer for the making of a “winning team”. It seems that like Charles, Jesus has a “soft spot” for the underdog. 

 I think this is how the Twelve Apostles must have felt when Jesus selected them to become his daily companions and share in his ministry as we hear in today's Gospel. They were a real mix and a ragtag group of ordinary guys who must have been amazed that the Messiah had called and chosen them! There was nothing special or outstanding about any of them. Simon-Peter, was a shrewd impetuous fisherman; the brothers James and John were so emotionally explosive that Jesus nicknamed them the “sons of thunder”; Simon the Zealot was a vengeful guerilla freedom-fighter. And we sure can’t forget Matthew the greedy turncoat tax-collector and of course the infamous traitor, Judas Iscariot. But as unlikely as any of them were to become companions of Christ and sharers in his ministry, they were each called and chosen on no merit of their own. And then they were sent out by Christ on a mission. 

 So as I said in the beginning, I’ve never outgrown the memory of Charles and his mysterious graciousness in calling and choosing. And for me this experience from childhood has become a kind of meditation on the mystery of Christ’s calling and choosing. Just as Charles’ kindness helped to boost me up and feel a bit less unworthy, so being called and chosen by God tells us that the Lord sees more about us than we can see or that we imagine could be true. So we must never ever forget that being called and chosen means that we no longer have to wonder if we are loveable or fixable. We no longer need to doubt as to if we have some value and mission in this world. God’s gracious and mysterious selection of each one of us has proven our worth! So let’s thank God for Calling us and let’s praise him for counting us among the Chosen!

Patriots & Prophets

 

Deacon Dave · Patriots & Prophets

Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 7, 2024. Ezekiel 2:2-5; Gospel of St. Mark 6:1-6. Theme: Prophets & Patriots 

 It’s so appropriate that today’s Liturgy follows closely on the heels of Independence Day, because our readings have some important things to say about our Christian identity and mission as prophets, as messengers of God. Throughout the Scriptures, being a prophet like Ezekiel in our first reading was considered to be a most noble form of service to one’s country. And I think that’s also valid for us today. True patriotism, as shown in the Bible and reflected in our Declaration of Independence, finds its highest expression in calling others to worship and honor God, who is the Foundation and Source of our rights and our freedom. 

 In ancient times, prophets were anointed with holy oil as a symbol of being consecrated to God and fueled for their mission by the Holy Spirit. The early Church kept this custom as part of our sacramental rituals, and so each one of us were anointed with Sacred Chrism at Baptism and again at Confirmation as a sign that we too are dedicated as prophets of God. And that we, too, like Ezekiel, St. Paul and most of all Jesus himself, are anointed with the Holy Spirit and sent out as prophets. It might be helpful to recall that a prophet is not primarily someone who foretells the future as many think (although that can indeed happen if God wills it). Rather, a prophet is someone whom God chooses to be his spokesperson, his mouthpiece so to speak, so that people can come to know him, hear his Word and be transformed by his grace from the inside out. 

Now, our mission of bringing Christ and his Good News to an entire nation from coast to coast may seem totally overwhelming. But we don’t look at it that way. We break it down into smaller, doable parts by following Jesus' example. You see, when he began his public ministry he didn’t reveal himself as the Messiah to the entire Israelite nation all at one time. No, he began by calling his disciples individually. Then each of them in turn witnessed to their family and friends about what Jesus meant in their lives and this interpersonal cycle continued so that the community of disciples grew and grew. Within 400 years that original band of just 12 Apostles became 35 million Christians whose influence totally changed the entire Roman Empire and eventually gave birth to a whole new culture and world. 

 But once again, we need to remind ourselves…how did it all happen? Very simply through person-to-person contact. One introduces Jesus to another who, in turn, brings the Lord to yet another and so on. We are each to be like yeast in a batch of dough, as Jesus once said, influencing others by our words and behavior. This means we are to bring Jesus and his Gospel into our homes and workplaces; into our social lives and into our politics. We are to share our faith in Jesus in a positive way as opportunities arise in our normal everyday conversations. And most of all, we are to be credible witnesses to Christ who back up what we say by the way we live our lives. 

 Now, in carrying out our anointed mission as prophets we may very well be treated like Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth as we heard in today’s Gospel. At first the villagers were impressed by his reputation. But then they began to reminisce about how he grew up among them and was simply just one of them, and his ordinariness began to offend them. Their criticism grew and they became more stubborn in their refusal to believe that he could be anything more than they were; that he could be a prophet or even the Messiah!. And they began asking out loud just who in the world he thought he thought he was! We too might experience this same kind of scenario to some degree. Our good intentions and sincere efforts might be misunderstood or even ridiculed by those who know us best. And because they know us best, this means that they have also seen us at our worst, and so they might throw that back in our faces saying, “just who do you think you are?” But ridicule and rejection didn’t deter Jesus from carrying out His mission and it shouldn’t stop us from carrying out ours, either. 

 Today’s readings teach us that being a prophet does indeed mean speaking out when necessary. And this is never an easy thing to do. It requires us to be the conscience of our nation, identifying the lies and evils that others are blind to or are willing to ignore. But as both patriots and prophets we are impelled to give voice to the fact that the further our nation drifts from God, the further away it will find itself from upholding justice, promoting peace, assisting the poor and defending the value of all human life. We are called to warn our nation that when God is exiled from public life and when the light of Christ is not allowed to shine, then all that will be left will be the darkness of fallen human nature, still in the grips of Satan and sin. Recent world history just within the past 100 years proves the sad truth that even Christian nations can decline into this darkness when their governments disregard God, ignore human dignity and trample upon civil and religious rights. 

 But even in all of this, we are not prophets of doom and gloom. We are and must always remain messengers of joyful hope for we know that nothing at all is impossible for God. Both Scripture and history show us that when a straying nation returns to God, he will bless and revive it. And so people need to hear what God wants to say to them through us. They need to know that God’s grace will never fail them, that Christ’s help is always available to them, and that they do not have to be held prisoner to their past nor be defined by their present choices. They need to know the awesome truth that anything they have done can be forgiven and that all can be forgotten by the tender mercy of God who is their loving Father. And most of all they need to be told that death has been conquered once and for all by Christ, that he is alive and eager to give the gift of eternal life to anyone who desires it and trusts in him. There truly are people all around us today who have never heard these things and it’s up to each one of us to be messengers of this Good News. And if we do not speak up, then God will ask us why we did not tell them when we had the opportunity.

Faith = Trust

 

Deacon Dave · Faith = Trust

Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 23, 2024. Gospel of St. Mark 4:35-41. Theme: Faith = Trust 

 Not everything that Jesus said or did was recorded for us in each one of the four gospels. You see, each evangelist (gospel-writer) passed on the meaning and message of Jesus with a particular emphasis that spoke to the needs and and circumstances of his particular Christian community. 

• Matthew’s version, composed for Jewish converts to Christianity, makes significant reference to the Old Testament and includes a comparison of the Jewish Torah to the teachings of Jesus, As a teaching document it is the longest of the four. 
• Mark, on the other hand, is a fast-paced retelling of the story of Jesus. He omits the Lord’s birth and childhood, focusing instead on the adult Christ's power and divinity. He was writing for a Roman community that was on the move and under persecution and so his version is short and to the point. 
• Luke, a highly educated man, approached his gospel with the dedication of an investigative journalist and he tells us this right at the start. He was also the only Gentile evangelist and so he highlights how Jesus came as Savior for all people and not just as the Messiah for Israel. His beloved stories and parables feature those who were looked down upon in Judaism such shepherds, lepers, women, Samaritans and public sinners. 
• John composed his gospel long after the other three, finishing it towards the end of the first century AD. This gave him many decades during which to meditate on Jesus' words and miracles and so delve deeper into their message and meaning. And since he lived long enough to see the liturgy develop, his gospel teaches us about the spiritual gifts of Baptism, Eucharist and Confession. 

 And so it is that we find some teachings and stories about Jesus in this or that Gospel, and other words and miracles of his in another. Once in a while we find the same event in all four and when we do, it means we really need to pay attention and learn from it. And that’s exactly the case in today’s Liturgy which recounts for us the miracle of Jesus calming the stormy sea. Now, why was it that this story became of such great meaning and importance? Because at the time the gospels were written (60-90 AD) the fledgling Christian community was being harassed and persecuted in various ways. The deacon St. Stephen had been martyred by militant Jews and the apostle St. James the Greater had been beheaded by order of King Herod. The Jerusalem Christians were migrating to other parts of the Empire but then bloody persecution broke out in Rome itself and there were few safe places to hide or live. And so the various Church communities needed assurance that the Risen Lord Jesus was not “asleep in the boat” but still in charge and would rescue them from all the dangers swirling around them. 

 They found comfort and hope in the words that Jesus spoke to the frightened disciples in today’s Gospel, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” He is in effect asking them if they still do not yet recognize who he really is? And if they do, don’t they realize that they can trust in him? The disciples believed that Christ could do all sorts of amazing and powerful things for they had seen him expelling demons, cleansing lepers, restoring sight to the blind, and even raising the dead. And yet...they panic and falter. It hasn’t all really sunk in yet. They haven't opened their hearts to trust in him but only their minds to be amazed by him. Aren't we like that as well? Even though we have experienced how God powerfully has worked in our lives and helped us in so many ways don’t we too...panic and falter? Jesus is basically asking them - and through this story asking us as well - to make the transition from belief to faith. 

 Faith and Belief are related but not they are not identical. We have faith in a person based on how well we know them and the positive experiences we have had with them. We describe this kind of faith with the word, "trust". Belief, on the other hand, is not at all personal or relational. Rather, it’s the assent of our intellect to things that have been proven to be logical or at least simply accepted-as-true. So we can say that while belief is a matter of the mind, faith is a matter of the heart. But often we mistakenly use these words interchangeably. And doing so can mislead us into thinking that we have a faith-relationship with Christ when what we might really have is simply an intellectual assent to some basic facts about him. It's a matter of “knowing Jesus” (faith) or just “knowing about Jesus” (belief). 

 Let’s use the Creed at Mass for an example. When we stand to "profess our faith" by reciting a series of Christian doctrines we are vocalizing our belief in what we have been taught about Jesus and Christianity. If that is the extent to which the Creed makes an impression in our lives then we’re simply reciting religious statements and nothing more. Anyone can say those words. But, if the Creed flows from the conviction of our hearts that Jesus is indeed risen and alive, that he is active and present in our lives today, then these words become an outward expression of interior faith. And in such a case the Creed becomes a privileged moment when both our head and our heart embrace to give praise and worship to God. 

 No matter who we are, where we live, or what our situation might be, stuff happens in life that threatens our happiness and can challenge our relationships. Situations arise that can cause us to panic and falter. And so we all need to know the love and power of Christ from lived-experience in order for our intellectual belief to mature into a trusting faith. Like those disciples we, too, need to personally rediscover and experience Jesus as alive and present to us NOW and he wants us to have this experience, but we need to first give him permission to do so in our lives. It is ours for the asking IF we truly want it. We just need to ask with expectation, which is another form of trust, and it will be ours, for Jesus himself said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you..." (Mt 7:7)

The Seed of the Kingdom of God

 

Deacon Dave · The Seed of the Kingdom of God

Homily for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 16, 2024. Gospel: Mark 4:26-34. Theme: The Seed of the Kingdom of God 

 In today’s gospel Jesus refers to the “Kingdom of God”, a phrase that’s used 122 times in the New Testament, with 90 of these coming from the lips of Jesus himself! I am not saying this just to throw out some kind of Bible-study stats but to emphasize and re-emphasize that the Kingdom of God was Jesus’ primary focus and theme in all of his preaching, teaching and miracles. And so it should also be extremely important to us who follow him and bear his name as Christians. 

 And so we need to ask: what is the "Kingdom of God''? It’s a concept rooted in the Old Testament that God’s royal authority, that is, his reign or rule of justice, peace and blessing for all people will one day be manifested on planet Earth. The prophets foretold that this would happen most powerfully and perfectly when the Messiah arrived. This is why the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth when he began his public mission were these, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15) This was a way of declaring that he was indeed the Messiah, that the time had finally arrived for the prophecies to be fulfilled. Through him, God was personally breaking and bursting into human history, and inaugurating his Kingdom of love, peace and justice. 

 Jesus calls everyone he encounters to enter into this Kingdom. And in his words which I quoted above, he informs us that the way we do so is by first of all repenting of our sins. You see, our sins are tangible signs or proof that we are not living under the royal authority of God but according to our own authority. We have to dethrone ourselves so that God can have that primacy of place in our lives. The next step then is to believe or trust in the Gospel. Trust is a sign and fruit of a confident relationship, so believing in the Gospel means that we trust in Jesus because we believe he only wants what is good for us. 

 So you see, the phrase, “Kingdom of God'' doesn't refer to a place but to an attitude of loving submission to God and the acceptance of his reign within us and over us. To live in the Kingdom of God means to encounter Jesus Christ and receive from him a renewed and transformed inner state of being. This spiritual experience first happens for us at Baptism and is deepened at Confirmation. Jesus himself taught us this when he said, "No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (Jn 3:5) Water and the Spirit. Baptism and Confirmation. And he called this spiritual rebirth in the Kingdom being “born again” because it gives us a new beginning. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the grace of God changes us from the inside out and transforms even the most wrecked and devastated of lives. This is because God doesn’t hold grudges nor keep us locked in the box of who and what we once were. God looks at what we are now and sees what we want to become. 

 So, if having been baptized and confirmed doesn’t seem to have made us any different from non-baptized people, does this mean that the seed of the Kingdom was not planted within us? Not, not at all. But what it might mean is that the seed has not received the proper care and feeding it needs to be activated and begin sprouting a noticeable Christian life. However, it is still there deep within us, waiting for the attention it needs. You see, most of us were baptized as infants and so Confirmation was our opportunity to reaffirm that Baptism and claim its grace in our lives. But it’s quite possible and probable that we went to our Confirmation without any awareness of or real desire for what it offered us. 

 But that can change and the seed of the Kingdom can still be activated! Once we realize that we truly need God and submit our hearts to his royal authority in our lives, the Kingdom-seed of new life planted within us can begin to germinate and grow. If we water it with prayer, fertilize it with the Word of God, and feed it with the Eucharist, it can become like the mustard seed mentioned by Jesus, which goes from being an almost insignificant seed to becoming a large impressive tree. 

 So anyone who has been baptized and confirmed can make a conscious and deliberate choice to activate this growth. At any time in their lives they can begin experiencing the spiritual joy of what it means to be born again! This experience will lead us to enthrone Jesus as King of our hearts and Master of our lives. It will allow and enable Christ to establish his reign of peace, his rule of love and his realm of justice within us, through us and to those around us.

All in the Family

 

Deacon Dave · All in the Family

Homily for the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 9, 2024. Gospel of St. Mark 3:20-35. Theme: All in The Family 

 Quite often when people start reading the Gospels on a regular basis they come upon today’s passage about Jesus’ family conflict and it makes them stop and think. Perhaps they have never really reflected on the fact that Jesus was part of a regular ordinary everyday extended family and that just like the rest of us, his was made up of all kinds of characters and personalities. They had their own firm set of ideas and their own preconceived judgments. The Gospels make it very clear in a few places that Jesus’ relatives (called brothers, and we’ll get to that in a minute) were definitely not members of his fan club! With the known exception of his mother, Mary, they pretty much thought that he was out of his mind. I feel sorry for what the Blessed Mother must’ve had to hear from her kinfolk concerning what they thought about her Son. 

 The mention of Jesus' brothers often confuses people because we are taught that Mary was ever-virgin and that Jesus didn’t have any blood-siblings. Yet, St. Mark and other gospel-writers mention his brothers and sisters…so, what’s up with that? The answer is actually quite simple if we step out of our 21st century American mindset and go back to ancient Palestine. You see, in that culture there was no strict designation made between various degrees of kinship. Apart from parents and grandparents, basically all relatives were simply referred to as one’s brothers and sisters. And this is how Christians have always understood that verse of Scripture. However, as a result of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, those who sought to contest all Catholic teaching also tried to undermine this ancient belief about the perpetual virginity of Mary. Sadly, their efforts persist to this day and cause confusion for some people. 

 But going back to Jesus’ family conflict, I bet many of us can relate to this in our own lives in one way or another. Quite often when we find ourselves being among the few, or maybe even the only one, in our extended family who has a real faith in Jesus, it can become rough going. Our commitment to daily prayer, to reading the Scriptures, to going to Confession when needed, and to faithfully attending Mass can be met with misunderstanding. Our refusal to participate in gossip or other immoral behaviors can become an occasion for ridicule. At times like that we need to think of how Jesus was hurt by his family’s words and actions and ask him for the strength to follow his example of returning only kindness towards those who misunderstand us. 

 Because Jesus’ relatives and villagers were the people he grew up with, they simply could not believe that he was who and what he said he was. They had closed their hearts and minds to the possibility that Jesus, the son of Mary, the village carpenter, their cousin, the guy they grew up with, was the long-awaited much-promised Messiah of God. They just could not perceive that he could be anything more than they were. I think it’s a witness to the truth of the saying that “familiarity breeds contempt”...and if not contempt, then I would certainly say that at least, familiarity breeds apathy. And this is where I think we arrive at a very important and personal question that today’s Gospel is asking each one of us to honestly ponder. 

 Have we, perhaps even unintentionally, become infected with some of that apathetic familiarity virus? Are we so used to hearing and talking about Jesus that he has become kind of like the guy-next-door? What I mean is…when we hear a Gospel story at Mass do we run ahead of it in our minds and finish the story without giving it a chance to really sink in? Are we no longer impressed by the miracle stories because we’ve heard them so many times? Does the drama and intrigue of the Passion no longer move us because we know how it all ends? Has Jesus and the Gospel become an all-too-familiar matter for us? 

 If so, then we need to nip it in the bud and ask the Holy Spirit to reignite the flame of love within us. You know, Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “power from on high” and in its original Greek this is the same word that we use for dynamite! We need to ask the Spirit of the Living God to blow our apathy out of the water and cause an explosion of faith to erupt within us once again. We need to make time to re-personalize and rekindle our relationship with Jesus, like two friends who make a point of getting together regularly to keep the friendship growing. If we are faithful to intentionally re-discovering the specialness of Jesus, he will bless our efforts, deepen our faith and work many mighty wonders in our lives. 

 Oh, and don’t ever give up hope over any family members who may be in conflict with you about faith in Jesus. James and Simeon, two of the Lord’s relatives who originally tried to stop him from making a fool of himself and the family, ended up becoming disciples and saints. Both of them became in succession the first two bishops of Jerusalem and each gave up their very lives in martyrdom for their cousin, Jesus. Just another reminder of what Jesus used to say…”nothing is impossible to God!”

Looking Beyond the Senses

 

Deacon Dave · Looking Beyond the Senses

Homily for Corpus Christi Sunday, June 2, 2024. Gospel of St. Mark 14:12-26. Theme: Looking Beyond the Senses 

 Today’s celebration of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, became a special liturgy in the Church in a very unusual way back in the 13th century. At that time, a priest from the Czech Republic, known today only as Fr. Peter was on a pilgrimage to Rome. Along the way he stopped in Bolsena, Italy, to celebrate Mass. He had been struggling with questions about the Eucharist, debating within himself as to whether it was simply specially blessed bread and wine or in fact the Flesh and Blood of Christ. Such thoughts as these were troubling his mind as he began Mass that morning. Then during the consecration when he repeated Jesus’ words from the Last Supper, crimson red blood started dripping from the Consecrated Host in his hands and fell upon the altar cloth! 

 Fr. Peter wrapped the Host in the blood-stained linen and, along with those who had witnessed the miracle, brought it to Pope Urban IV who happened to be in the nearby town of Orvieto. After a detailed investigation into the alleged miracle the Holy Father concluded that it was genuine and had the sacred altar cloth enshrined in the cathedral of Orvieto (where it can still be seen and venerated). He established the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in thanksgiving for the gift of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and he commissioned the great St. Thomas Aquinas to compose prayers and Eucharistic hymns for its celebration that we still use today. 

 But this Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena was not an isolated event in Church history. There have been about 130 documented and scientifically examined similar experiences, all of which point to the fact that what our senses tell us about the Eucharist is not the whole story. Or to put it more simply, when it comes to the Blessed Sacrament what we see is not what we get! The most recent and amazing of these eucharistic miracles happened in Buenos Aires in 1996 and the bishop who investigated it is now Pope Francis. In that particular case, the Host did not just bleed as in Bolsena but part of it actually turned into tangible human flesh while the remainder of it retained its usual appearance. 

 Without revealing anything of its backstory, Church authorities sent a specimen of this transformed host to the most well-respected and state-of-the-art research lab in New York. The forensic results concluded that it contained blood type AB+, which is the same blood type that has been discovered in lab tests of other eucharistic miracles. Curiously, it is also the same blood type that was found on the famous Shroud of Turin. In addition, the tissue sample was assessed as coming from the heart of a Middle-Eastern male, which shouldn’t surprise us because Jesus was a Galilean Jew and the Eucharist is often referred to as a gift of love from his Sacred Heart. But most astounding is that even though the specimen was 3 years old at the time of its examination, the researchers concluded that it was taken from a living person because of the microscopic presence and behavior of active white blood cells. This discovery reminds us that in Holy Communion we do not receive the Body and Blood of a dead and long-gone Savior but rather that of a Risen and Living Lord. This is why our cantor today sang Jesus’ words during the Alleluia that proclaim: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…”. 

The Living Bread. I think most of us can honestly admit that at one time or another we have had our own questions about the Eucharist. After all, it's only natural that such thoughts should eventually come to mind. And we may have also wondered why Jesus didn't just do it differently so that the full reality of this Sacrament could be beyond any question or doubt. But when you really think about it, it makes sense that the externals of bread and wine remain unchanged, because who of us would want to receive Holy Communion if they visibly became what they really are? Who among us would approach this Holy Sacrament if the reality of flesh and blood was tangible to our senses? 

 The tension that exists between what our human senses perceive and what our faith tells us is really nothing new about Jesus. After all, when he lived on planet Earth the full reality of who he really was couldn’t be experienced by the senses either. What I mean is that when people looked at the man they called Jesus of Nazareth, what they saw and smelled and touched and heard was an ordinary Jewish man, in his 30’s, fit and strong from his work as a laborer, speaking with a heavy Galilean accent, and having the smell of many days on the road without a bath. However, what their senses could not tell them was that the Eternal Son of God, the Lord of Glory, was standing right there in front of them! This truth was hidden from them by the outward appearances of flesh and bone just as the truth about the Eucharist is hidden from us by the outward appearances of bread and wine. 

 And so, recalling the words of Jesus and reaffirming what the Catholic Church has always taught about the Eucharist, we have to look beyond what our senses tell us. We have to admit that there is so much more to reality than only what we can see and touch and understand. We need to trust, to make an act of faith, knowing that God would not and could not deceive us. And so we must look beyond the appearance of the Consecrated Host held up before our eyes at Holy Communion and remember that Jesus said, “This is my body given for you…”. We must look beyond the Consecrated Wine in the chalice and remember the words of Christ at the Last Supper: “This is my blood, poured out for you.”

Photos of Some Authenticated Eucharistic Miracles 

where the Host turned to Flesh & Blood.