Today we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus breaking bread with His disciples explaining to them that He is the bread of Life. Those who eat of this bread will never die. He instructs them to continue this sacred meal in remembrance of Him.
Our Catholic faith professes the transubstantiation. Jesus is sacrificed on the altars of our churches at every Mass, and at every Mass we are invited back to that solemn last meal of Jesus with His disciples. For us, it is more than bread and wine. We receive Jesus’s body, blood, soul and divinity in the exact way He intended, and in the manner shared with His disciples this day more than two-thousand years ago.
We, as partakers of Jesus’s body and blood, have the unique privilege of receiving the Lord intimately within ourselves. When received properly, we are giving God the chance to transform us by this encounter with Him. To heal us and to empower us to continue on our journey to Heaven. When we receive our Lord in communion we become that which we take in, the Body of Christ.
“I was wrong.” “My mistake.” “I should not have done or said that.” Are you a person who can easily admit a personal fault or failure? Do you often times find yourself making excuses for why you said or did something? If I’m being honest then I’d have to admit I fall into the latter category. Not all the time, but sometimes. It’s not easy quieting that little devil sitting on our shoulder who loves to whisper all kinds of sinful suggestions in our ear.
Hopefully this Lent has allowed you extra time to reflect upon growing closer to God. Perhaps you were encouraged by a friend, loved one, or pastor to seek out the sacrament of reconciliation BEFORE we were all quarantined! There’s no better way to start returning to the Lord then by asking for His forgiveness first. He meets us in the confessional with open arms. Instead of scolding retribution, He pours out His sanctifying grace, a homing device, if you will, that helps Him to follow us closely so that we are never too far from His help, love, and grace.
While most of us will not be able to attend Mass on Easter Sunday, or receive communion this year, we can still make every effort to prepare our souls to receive Jesus in whatever way we are able, including a spiritual communion. Examining our conscience is the way we can prepare. If it’s been awhile, don’t fret, the internet is filled with various forms of this exercise. Several religious orders such as the Franciscans and Benedictines have a version, handed down by their saintly founders. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has a few they publish on their website.
Saints Padre Pio and Sister Faustina also have guides as well. Browse through until you find one you like and then prayerfully do some interior reflection. Most priests are conducting the sacrament of reconciliation by appointment. If you are unable to schedule a time, then continue with the examination of conscience anyway. You can begin preparing yourself for whenever the time comes. Just as we are now making spiritual communions, you may make a spiritual confession of sorts, asking God for His mercy and His help to stay away from sin.
“In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the sacrament of penance.” St. Thomas Aquinas.
“Go with the angels.” This is how my favorite virtual priest closes out our prayer sessions every so often. I say virtual, but he is a real person, a Vincentian priest, who happens to have a daily prayer podcast. The podcast is called The God Minute and it is awesome. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a new way to pray.
This closing prayer I always find so surreal. The reminder we are in the presence of angels everyday is both encouraging and reassuring.
Angels are present throughout all of scripture. They served as messengers of God, warriors, and comforters. We are told in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus, knowing that His hour was at hand, wept bitterly and was in agony. Luke tells us that an angel was sent to Him. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.” Luke 22:42-43.
If the veil between Heaven and earth could be lifted, I imagine angels would have been visible alongside Jesus through his entire Passion, offering him encouragement and strength to follow through with God’s plan.
I believe that’s what we are being commissioned to do. To “go with the angels” is asking us to join them in offering encouragement and strength to one another in our times of trial. To bear God’s message of hope and love to others when they need it the most.
The resurrection of Jesus is meaningful to us on many levels. One of those being a great symbol of hope.
The Israelites had been waiting for God’s answer to their longing for salvation. Long had they kept watch in search of the messiah. Jesus was not at all what they expected and yet the miracles He worked, His teachings, and His knowledge of the Jewish law became for many devout Jews the obvious answer of God. Jesus was the physical embodiment of all they had hoped for. How joyous they must have felt being in His presence. His death challenged their belief in Him until His blessed resurrection was made known. This had to cement for them the certainty of their own resurrection, which in itself would give hope of an eternity shared with God.
We, as followers of Jesus, are able to share in this excitement of the promise of our own resurrection. Jesus was able to conquer death and in so doing open up the gates of Heaven. We are assured that if we live our lives according to the laws of God we too will experience eternity with Him. This hope in an eternity spent in Heaven enables us to persevere each day in living holy lives. The hope of eternal happiness fuels our commitment in following the laws of God. The hope of sharing an eternity with our loved ones motivates us to help others to follow the ways of God.
Hope as it turns out is a great catalyst for salvation.
This Holy Week let us be filled with hope. Hope in our own resurrections at the end of our earthly lives, hope that God’s people around the world will be moved to a deeper love of Him, hope that our world will heal during this pandemic, and that people will return to God in resounding numbers. Hope for an end to suffering, violence, poverty, suffering, and injustice.
We are people of hope, emboldened by the resurrection. May we spend this week thanking God for His tremendous gift of hope and to be with us on our faith journeys.
Palm Sunday We read The Passion narrative today from Matthew’s Gospel 26: 14-27:66. There are so many moving pieces to this story. I really felt drawn to two subjects in particular: Peter and Jesus.
Peter certainly seems to represent strength throughout Jesus’s ministry. We see Peter transform from the average Joe to the keeper of the keys. He has his faith tested when he steps out of the safety of the boat and into the sea, he is the first to declare Jesus “the Christ”, and he assures Jesus at the last supper of his fidelity in Him.
We know that Jesus is fond of him and that He entrusts him to not only lead the church on earth, but to be the literal gate keeper of Heaven. Even as we know these things we see Peter’s humanity revealed in our gospel. He is selected to accompany Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and he cannot stay awake, he is quick to react in violence when the guards come to take Jesus away, and he assures Jesus that he would never betray Him and then he denies knowing Him three times.
I find myself identifying with Peter. How often I am convinced of my commitment to God until something goes wrong or I feel threatened. I think of how many times I have denied knowing Christ when it wasn’t convenient, or because I was worried about what someone else would think of me. I, too, have deeply regretted times when I did not measure up in the eyes of God, ashamed as Peter was, in my denial of Jesus.
The other subject of interest of course being that of Jesus. He retreated to the garden to pray, desiring to speak to God in a time of great anguish and distress. Like us, Jesus wished to be with close friends until the last hour, to have someone to share in His pain and offer support and encouragement. The disciples made for poor companions, as scripture tells us. Jesus went to them three times and each time they were fast asleep. How little solace Jesus was offered in the face of His fear and anxieties.
As Jesus faces his captors and his judges, He shows no anger and protests not. Instead He allows it all to happen, quietly accepting each insult and injury unto death. We witness his heartfelt plea in the garden for the Father to take this cross away from him and at the same time we see him surrender to whatever God demands of him.
We can certainly identify with the humanity of both Jesus and Peter. Peter made choices derived from pure emotion, not stopping to consider what God would want or expect. In contrast, Jesus acted out of pure obedience to the Father, desiring for there to be another way yet surrendering to God’s plan no matter the cost.
We are called to respond as Jesus did in the face of life’s challenges. Saying “yes” to God no matter what and not allowing our emotions to govern us. May God bless us with courage in the face of trial. We ask for His forgiveness for the times we denied Him and our calling in this life. May this Holy Week strengthen our resolve to live lives worthy of being called His disciple.
Ordinarily my family and I would be looking forward to receiving our blessed palm branches tomorrow at Mass as we celebrated the beginning of Holy Week. This year is going to be a little different. I find myself disappointed to be missing out on this great liturgical celebration and I feel let down that I cannot be in the presence of Jesus at such a a poignant time.
Today’s scriptural selection, Ezekiel 37: 21-28, gave me some reassurance. Line 27 says, ” My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.” God is everywhere. Jesus Christ is sacrificed on the altar every single Mass and is made physically present to us in the words of the consecration. And while the priest places Him into the tabernacle after communion, He does not stay there. Having received Jesus sacramentally we bear Him out into the world wherever we go. We are the body of Christ. “My dwelling shall be with them.” God reassures us that we are never abandoned, never too far from His loving and watchful eye.
Reflecting on this reality afforded me the realization that I don’t have to be physically in front of the altar for God to be with me. He knows I deeply desire to be with Him there but He’s reminding me, reminding us, that He cannot be contained. As receivers of the sacraments we belong to Him. As long as we desire to be close to Him, He will not abandon us. If anything, He is closer to us now more than ever as He works to console us during our time of incredible need.
Let us not give in to the anxiety and fear swirling around us right now. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the joy of this season. Let us not forget the words of Jesus, “I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” MT 28:20.
Are you a person who thrives by them? Are you someone who prefers to “see” how something is done before you attempt it yourself? Are you someone who enjoys creating ‘How to’s’ for others? I am definitely dependent upon examples in my life. I find that I generally feel more confident beginning anything unfamiliar if I can see an example of how to do it first. From cooking or baking something unfamiliar, to installing a household appliance, the more examples I can get my hands on the better convinced I become that I can do it too.
I feel like if we have learned anything from history it’s that people tend to be really good at giving examples, whether by their instruction, their actions, or their lives. As children most of us were brought up very similarly to how our own parents were raised. Though we didn’t realize it at the time, we were learning how to act, behave, speak and think, molded around the examples our parents had been given.
Somewhere down the road of adulthood we find ourselves shell-shocked when we utter a familiar phrase or react or behave a certain way, recognizing that word or attitude to belong to someone else from the past. You may even catch yourself uttering, “Oh, no, I sound just like my ___.” Our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, neighbors, classmates, roommates, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. all taught us things by way of their examples. Much of how we live our lives comes from the influence of others and what they taught us, from how to fold our laundry to what political party we should vote for. What we chose to do with the examples of others has shaped who we are as individuals.
Do you know who else is really good at giving examples? God. Throughout the old testament He lead His followers through all sorts of calamities and sorrow by the example of His holy and chosen people. Great prophets who fearlessly led God’s people, often blindly at times, trusting their faith in God to see them through. Their example of faithfulness and fidelity to God inspired others to follow suit.
God gave us a more tangible example of His great love of us when He sent His son Jesus Christ. Everything about Jesus was meant to be our example. From His humble and lowly birth, through to His miraculous healings, miracles and ministry, and finally His death and resurrection. These were all examples of how we are to live our lives, with humility, trust in God, complete abandonment to the will of God, and commitment to follow God even through the biggest trials of our lives. Jesus’s resurrection furthered the example as to the reward God bestows on His beloved.
Our sphere of influence has always included God, even if some of us only ever knew Him as our conscience. Every Bible story, every Mass attended, every family rosary, every charitable activity, these were all the examples of God, working to inspire and influence us into deeper relationship with Him. Have we worked to cultivate these practices of attending Mass, praying, reading the Bible and performing charitable acts this Lent? Have we led anyone closer to Jesus by the examples of our lives? There’s still time, friends. We have just under 2 weeks left to close out this years Lenten journey. Let us open our hearts to God and invite Him to work through us for His greater glory.
REFLECTION: “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.” Pope St. Gregory the Great.
I love stories about treasure hunting. I especially love watching them in movies and on television. I am easily swept away by the adventure, uncertainty, danger, exotic locations, and of course, the treasure. One of my favorite TV shows is Expedition Unknown. The host of the show is an archaeologist who travels all over the world in search of various treasures. He is very energetic and charismatic and therefore entertaining to watch.
He has dove to incredible depths, in frigid cold waters as well as tropical, in search of pirate treasure. He has climbed multiple mountains, including Everest, looking for treasure. He has traveled to Central American in search of Incan and Mayan treasures. He has followed alongside Dr. Zahi Hawass, famed Egyptologist, where they unearthed the remains of an Egyptian priest near the Valley of the Kings. Name a place and he’s been there! I often dream about how amazing it would be to get to travel to some of these locations to look for precious ancient artifacts. How exciting it would be to have your hard work rewarded and to be credited with an historically significant find! But what are the chances I will EVER find real treasure? And how much of it could really be out there to discover in a world that feels so transparent? Perhaps treasures have been closer to us then we may have realized. Maybe this year we might discover or rediscover them.
During Lent we make use of the sacraments, especially that of reconciliation and communion. These help us to prepare ourselves to receive Jesus on Easter Sunday. When we partake in the Holy Eucharist, we indeed receive the greatest treasure on earth. For many of us, the journey to the Eucharist can feel uncertain, as we have to wrestle with our fears of going to confession and asking for God’s forgiveness. We may even find we don’t know the way and depend on someone to guide us there. For others, they may know the way but somehow find themselves lost and on a different path. But once we move past the stumbling blocks and back onto the clearly marked path, we rejoice in the finding of that treasure so deeply longed for, Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist.
Perhaps you have been on a treasure hunt this Lent. Seeking to find the treasure your heart and soul longs for. Could it be reconciliation with a loved one? Establishing peace within your homes? Coming back to Jesus fully through the sacraments of the church? Deepening and strengthening your relationship with your spouse? Overcoming a personal struggle? Wherever it is we find ourselves, whatever the problem or need may be, God is the answer. Through Him all good things come. With Him peace will be found. In Him our souls will find the answer to their longing. May we all come to value the treasures we have in our lives, especially that of our faith and of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Eucharist.
My mom and dad brought over some groceries for my family today. Despite my protests of them being out and about during this time, they insisted. As soon as they pulled into the driveway we went out to greet them, within 6 feet of distance of course. The first thing my mom hands me is a beautiful hydrangea plant, springtime pink, in full bloom. “To brighten things up in the midst of all this crazy,” she said. I was moved. It wasn’t enough to drive to the store in the early morning hours, battle the rain storm, gear up in makeshift hazmat attire, weed through people and heavily picked-through grocery shelves, check off items on a list, gather items, drive to our home and deliver them, she also wanted to add her special touch, her something extra, just to make us smile.
Have you ever been blown away by a sunrise or sunset? Do you enjoy the melodious sounds of birds singing in the trees as they greet the new day? Have you ever laughed out loud at something funny your kids have said? Your spouse? A friend? Have you ever been greeted with a warm hello from a neighbor or wished a sincere “take care” from a complete stranger? These are all “something extra” given to us freely in order to make our day brighter. These things happen to us more often then not if we only pay attention. A text message that lifts our mood, the front parking space close to the store entrance, your favorite song playing on the radio, the something extras.
What ‘extra’ has God blessed you with today? My beautiful plant was one of them, but I received many others. When we mentally recall our day, it should be easy to see multiple “somethings” were all around us.
God’s love cannot be contained. He pours it out for you and I every minute of every day. Our health, our possessions, our family, our earth, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, etc., etc. On top of all that, He sends out reminders for those of us able to stop and acknowledge His handiwork.
CHALLENGE: Spend a few moments tonight before you fall asleep recalling the events of your day. Is there a moment you can recall where you were in the presence of God via His “something extra”? Did He send you a messenger, like He sent me, delivered joy, hope, laughter, support, peace today? Was there a moment you were taken aback by the beauty of our natural world that you experienced today? Thank God for it and ask Him to help you be able to identify His presence in your life more and more each day.
