Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi 2019:

As I mentioned last week, this is one of the doctrinal Sundays.  Last week we reflected on the doctrine of the Trinity, the heart of our faith because it’s our very belief in God.  Today we reflect on the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, corpus Christi.  The belief in the Trinity is the heart of our faith.  But, the belief in the Eucharist is the heart of our worship.  

I think it’s really beautiful that we celebrate these two feast days in successive weeks, because it really shows the connection between faith and worship.  What we believe affects the way we worship.  The way we worship affects the way we believe.  Worship is like our faith in action.  Yet without the firm foundation of our faith, our worship becomes empty.  The two are intimately connected.  

It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of the Eucharist in our Catholic life of faith.  The Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the source and summit of our Catholic life.  Source and summit.  So, for the feast of Corpus Christi, I thought I would reflect a little bit on these two terms: source and summit.

What does it mean to say that the Eucharist is the source of our Catholic life?  First, it’s important to state boldly and unapologetically what we believe at the Eucharist: it is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ himself.  The Blessed Sacrament is the true presence of Christ. We believe that Bread and Wine are transubstantiated into the very body and blood of Christ.  Not a mere sign or symbol, but the true presence of Christ. This is why we genuflect on our way into mass and on our way out of mass.  We reverence Christ who is truly present in the Eucharist.  So, of course, the Eucharist is the source of our Catholic life.  It’s the presence of Christ.  Christ is the source of all Christianity.  Everything comes from him.  Without him we would have nothing, we would be nothing.  He is the source of all that is.  Since the Eucharist is the true presence of Christ, the Eucharist is the source of our Catholic life.  Practically, how would this make an impact in our lives?  What would happen to a river if it was cut off from its source?  It would shrivel up and die.  It would no longer be a river.  It could even turn into a stagnant swamp.  What happens to us if we are cut off from our source?  We can dry up too.  By our faithful participation here at mass we stay connected to Christ, our source.  

Summit.  The peak, the top, the pinnacle of our Catholic life is the celebration of the Mass. Think about the Church year.  It’s full of many feast days and big events. This past week I finished my first year here at the Cathedral.  It’s been a great experience.  But, it has also seemed like a wild ride sometimes.  We have the big events like Christmas and Easter.  But, being the Cathedral, we also have big events like ordinations, baccalaureate masses, confirmations, etc.  All these big events celebrate important moments in Christ’s life or important moments in the faith lives of people from our diocese.  What do all these events have in common?  The mass.  At our most important events, we celebrate the Mass.  At our biggest celebrations, we celebrate the mass. Why?  The Eucharist is the summit of our life of faith.  This is the biggest thing we do.  The best activity of prayer and worship to God is to celebrate the Mass, the Eucharist.  There are lots of ways for us to pray.  There are lots of ways for us to worship God.  But, nothing compares to the Mass.  It’s the very summit.

Another goal I had this weekend was to reflect on the mass as the source and summit so that all of you might have some talking points for family members.  I know that so many of our friends, family, and loved ones do not attend Mass.  Maybe use these images of source and summit as beautiful ways to share with them the glory of the Mass.  Personally, I can’t imagine life without the Mass.  It’s the source and summit of our Catholic life. So, let us give thanks to God for this amazing gift.  But, let us also ask God to help all his people to grow in their love and amazement for the Mass, for the Holy Eucharist.  May it be the source and summit for everyone’s life of faith.

Communion

Trinity Sunday 2019:

The first Sunday of Ordinary Time after Pentecost is always Trinity Sunday.  We celebrate God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Now, you might say: don’t we always celebrate the Trinity?  It’s true.  Every mass is offering the sacrifice of Christ to the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  So, each and every mass is a mass to, for, and with the Trinity.  But, today gives us a chance to reflect on this doctrine, this teaching.  We firmly believe and profess our faith in One God.  And, this one God is a loving communion of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We might be tempted to think that this teaching of the Trinity is not all that essential to our human lives.  This teaching can seem somewhat distant and remote.

But, we should remember that we are made in God’s image and likeness.  So, reflecting on the doctrine of the Trinity can teach us about how to live out our human lives.

One of John Paul II’s greatest contributions to the Church was his great Theology of the Body.  If you are unfamiliar with this work, you really owe it to yourself to become familiar with it.  Now, I’ll tell you, the talks themselves can be quite difficult to get through.  JP 2 was an immensely brilliant theologian and philosopher.  So, I would recommend Christopher West.  He has books, tapes, videos online, and other resources that make the Theology of the Body more accessible to all of us.  

The part I wanted to mention today was the notion of communion. Since the Trinity exists from all eternity as a loving communion of persons, and we are made in God’s image and likeness, then JP 2 states that human beings are made for communion.  In the heart of every human being there is a longing for communion.  Ultimately, this longing will only be satisfied by our eternal communion with God in heaven. But, our human relationships should provide a foreshadowing of this communion even here on earth.  JP2 points to marriage as being the preeminent sign of the loving communion of persons.  But, even the Church itself is called to reflect this notion of communion. All of us, as Christ’s disciples, called to live in love and friendship with each other.  Human beings are made for communion, and it will lead us to our ultimate happiness of communion with God.

However, this is not so easy to achieve.  We have many things conspiring against us.  First, there is sin.  Selfishness is pretty much the root of all sin.  Rather than choosing communion, when we choose ourselves it leads us away from happiness.  Also, our society is increasingly putting the emphasis on the individual and not on communion.  I read an interesting article this week that states that our society is become increasingly atomized.  This means that each individual is becoming like a separate atom.  I really find this to be true.  So many people feel isolated, disconnected.  And this does not lead to our human flourishing.  Even in the Church itself, we can experience tensions and disagreements instead of communion.

So, as we celebrate this Trinity Sunday, let’s try to reflect on the concept of communion.  The word means something like union with another.  It’s essential to our human flourishing that we establish union with others.  And, of course, union with Christ.  Maybe call a friend you haven’t seen in a while.  Maybe make time for your spouse and share an evening together.  Spend time with your kids.  I think we need to be a bit more proactive in seeking communion, especially when our culture is trying to atomize us all.  

Today we celebrate this Holy Mass.  When we come forward, we call it “communion.”  The Eucharist is communion with God, it’s also communion with one another.  We were made for communion, because we were made in the image and likeness of God: a loving communion of persons.   May this Blessed Sacrament help us to increase our sense of Communion with God and one another.

Pentecost 2019

Pentecost 2019:

Today is the joyful celebration of Pentecost.  We not only remember that first outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  But, we also implore the Lord to send a fresh outpouring of his Holy Spirit.  May the same Spirit that empowered the Apostles empower us to live out own baptismal vocation to holiness.  When the Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they went out into the world and proclaimed the gospel to everyone they could find. My hope and dream is that each one of us will receive the same power of the Holy Spirit and that we too will go out to proclaim this Good News to all the world.  

Today, I want to talk a little bit about this candle. This is the Easter candle.  It is sometimes called the Paschal candle.  It’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  It’s 51% beeswax.  When it was brand new you could smell the honey in the wax.  This candle began the solemn Easter Vigil.  It’s the very first part of the celebration of Easter. The Easter fire was lit and blessed. The fire became an image of Christ, who is the light of the world.  That fire was transferred to this candle and it has burned brightly now these last 50 days. Well, at least symbolically, we do blow it out after mass…  But, today is Pentecost, and the candle will be extinguished and placed by the baptismal font at the end of the last Mass today.  So, this candle is like a living symbol for the entire paschal mystery.  Thing about everything that we have celebrated including today: The Lord’s death and resurrection, his glorious ascension, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Just as the Holy Spirit came down in tongues of fire, it continues to be symbolized by a tongue of fire right here in this candle.  So, this candle is a symbol for Christ the Light of the World, a symbol for Easter, a symbol for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But, this isn’t the last time we will use this candle. There are two other events where we use the Easter candle.  The first is at baptism.  After a person is baptized, he/she is given a candle which is lit from this candle. The prayer that goes with it says: receive the light of Christ.  You have been enlightened by Christ, walk always as children of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts.  The giving of the candle is symbolic for the gift of the Holy Spirit that is poured out upon us at baptism.  There is a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the Sacrament of Confirmation as well. But, the first gift of the Spirit we receive takes place at our baptism.  Each of us has received our own tongue of fire.

The second event where this candle is used is at funeral masses. Isn’t that interesting?  When we are born in Christ, the candle is given to us. When we return to Christ, the candle shines forth one last time.  It’s particularly powerful to see the light of Christ burning brightly in the midst of the sadness the comes with loss and mourning.  Death may have affected us, but the darkness does not get to win. Rather, the light of Christ shines even in the midst of suffering and sadness.  So, this candle burns during our entire life of faith.

This candle symbolizes the light of Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit.  But, even though it stops shining at every mass.  The light of this candle lives on in each one of us.  The light of this candle was entrusted to each one of us at the day of our baptism.  It is our job to keep this light burning brightly in our lives, in our hearts, until our very last moment on earth.  So, while this candle will be extinguished today, it should shine brightly in each one of us.  Let’s pray together, then, for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Through his power may we keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts.