Vocations to the priesthood

30^th Sunday of OT year B 2015:

            The readings this week focus powerfully on following the call of Christ.  In a way, all of us are the blind man in the gospel.  Bartimaeus is like an icon of every human being.  We were all born blind.  Maybe not physical blindness, but we all inherited the blindness of sin and selfishness.  We know that without Christ in our lives we are like Bartimaeus, sitting by the roadside and calling out to God: have pity on me.  Whether we realize it or not, we were made for a deep and lasting union with God.  Our hearts are restless without God.  We might even be blind to the fact that we need God.  How many people in our world are looking for the secret to happiness?  So many people offer an illusory path to fulfillment, but it won’t be found in money, power, pleasure, or success.  Fulfillment is found in Christ.  Once we realize that we are blind and helpless without God, then we need to call out to him like the blind man.  When we encounter Christ, the only viable option is to follow him. 

            As the Second Vatican Council stated so clearly, the vocation of all the baptized is holiness.  We are all called to follow Christ.  The vocation to holiness is lived in the concrete experience of our daily lives.  Each of us will live this call differently depending on our station in life.  If you are married, your call to holiness is lived by loving service to your spouse.  If you are parents, your call to holiness is lived by laying your life down in service of your children, your family.  If you are single, your call to holiness is lived by following Christ and sharing his Good News with others.  And, as we read in our Second Reading from the letter to the Hebrews, some are called to the priesthood.

            I would like to speak a little about the call to the priesthood.  Perhaps it has always been an issue in the Church, but we need more priests.  We need young men of good quality to hear the call from God and to have the courage to follow Christ like Bartimaeus.  I certainly believe that God continues to call men to serve as priests, but it can be quite difficult to hear his call in our world.  There are many distractions and false voices out there.  How can we help foster the call to the priesthood?

            First, we have to understand the vocation.  The letter to the Hebrews gives a great job description of the vocation to priesthood: every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices before God.  What a perfect description of the priesthood.  Priests are called to be the representatives of the human race to offer sacrifice of God, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the salvation of the world.  There is no better description of what is at the heart of the priestly life.  My call to the priesthood was born out of a powerful attraction to the Mass.  I started attending Mass daily, usually here at St. Jude.  I felt that the Eucharist was drawing me ever closer to the priesthood.  In the power of the Eucharist, I discovered that the center of the priestly vocation was the sacrifice of Christ.  Jesus laid down his life because of his love for all of us.  In a similar way, the Priest is called to lay down his life for Christ by serving his Church and by ministering to the people, especially through the sacraments.  It’s amazing to be a minister of God’s grace.  It’s unbelievable to celebrate the Eucharist, to forgive sins in the sacrament of Confession, to welcome new members in baptism, to comfort the sick with anointing.  The priest is a bridge connecting God and human beings, that’s the job description.  But, how did I know it was my vocation?

            I recently visited a classroom and the kids asked me questions.  One of the questions was: how did I know I wanted to be a priest?  I said, easy: God called me on my cell phone and told me to be a priest…  Wouldn’t that be nice?  Like I said, I found a powerful attraction to the Eucharist.  I wanted the Mass to be an important part of my life.  But, that is not why I became a priest.  Like the letter to the Hebrews states, no one takes this honor, this vocation, upon himself, but only when called by God.  Through my life of prayer I felt this calling that wouldn’t go away.  I felt God was inviting me to follow this pathway to vocation.  I felt the courage to explore this vocation because of the supportive environment in which I lived.  My family was extremely supportive.  No one thought I was crazy for exploring the call.  My friends said things like: I can see you doing that.  My employer told me to go for it, and if it didn’t work out I could get my job back.  I always tell people that the only reason I became a priest is that I thought God wanted me to be a priest.  But, I never could have responded to the call if I didn’t have the support and blessing of my family, my parish, my friends, and my community.

            This is what we need to do as a parish if we are going to help foster more vocations to the priesthood.  Men from our parish are being called to the priesthood right now.  Look around, it might be your son or nephew, it might be the young man sitting next to you in Church.  We are not the ones who call people to the priesthood, that is what God does.  But, our job, if we want more priests, is to be helpful and supportive.  Do your sons know that you would support them if they followed the call?  Do you pray for the young men in our diocese that are studying for the priesthood?   

            All of us are called to holiness, all of us are called to encounter Jesus and follow him.  This is the only pathway to happiness and fulfillment.  But, let’s pray today for those that God is calling to the priesthood.  Let’s support them with prayer, with encouragement.  Let’s make St. Jude a place that welcomes and supports the call of Christ.  Come follow me.

Humility:

25^th Sunday of Ordinary Time:

The apostles are great examples for us.  Think about the many wonderful things they did.  The traveled around preaching about Jesus Christ.  They suffered, many of them died for the faith.  Their lives of witness have been inspiring people for 2000 years.  But, sometimes in the gospel they are also examples of how to mess things up.  Take today for example.  In the gospel today they are arguing about who is the greatest.  Eventually these men would be known as the heroes of our Christian faith, humble servants of Jesus Christ.  But, in this gospel story, they were prideful and arrogant, arguing over who was the greatest.  I take comfort in this passage.  If there was hope for the Apostles to change there is hope for you and me.

Jesus tells us the first will be last and the last will be first.  In other words, Jesus is teaching us about humility.  St. Thomas Aquinas called humility the mother of all virtues.  We cannot grow in any virtue, without humility.  Humility is that fixed and firm disposition in our souls that allows us to approach God without pride or arrogance.  Humility is acknowledging that God is God and we are not God.  It is recognizing that we are sinners and that Christ is the savior.  Rather than trying to figure out who’s the greatest, humility tries to serve everyone as being greater than oneself.

So, that is your homework assignment this week: grow in humility.  But, that is easier said than done.  Humility is a strange virtue, it cannot really be gained by pursuing it.  If you went home today and just tried to be more humble, you would probably end up becoming quite proud of your humility: look how humble I’m becoming…  Rather, humility is gained by first looking at the truly humble.  We can think of examples in our own lives, or people like Mother Theresa.  The greatest example is Christ himself.  Though he was God, he died for our sake on the cross.  He continues to give himself to us in the humble appearances of bread and wine here at Mass.  Whenever we look at this cross, or this tabernacle, it’s like attending a school of humility.  Who am I to be proud, when the Son of God died for my sake?

Second, we grow in humility when we acknowledge our imperfections.  I, for one, know I’m a sinner.  I’m weak, sinful, and selfish.  That is why I go to the sacrament of confession.  Many of us might not like going to confession too much, but it is a great way to grow in humility.  When we confess our own sins it makes us less likely to stand in judgment of those around us. 

Today in the Gospel the Apostles had a long way to go in the pursuit of true humility.  Maybe we have a long way to go as well.  But, with Christ as their teacher, the apostles became humble servants of God.  With Christ as our teacher, may we become humble servants of God as well.

25th anniversary of stewardship

24^th Sunday of OT Year B:

            This year we are marking an exciting anniversary for St. Jude Parish.  This is the 25^th year of Stewardship here at St. Jude.  As you know, Stewardship is an important part of our parish identity.  Stewardship affects just about every aspect of our parish life.  When I first came here to St. Jude so many people commented to me about the fact that we are a stewardship parish, these people felt stewardship was one of the things that made our parish unique.  But, over the last couple years I have also had many parishioners approach me to ask me just what it means to be a stewardship parish.  Many of us were not a part of the parish 25 years ago when all of this started.  So, I thought that this 25^th anniversary would be a great way for us to reflect on stewardship and prepare for the next 25 years of Stewardship here at St. Jude.

            Stewardship had an interesting beginning here at St. Jude.  It began during the time of Fr. Bill Schooler, who is a great friend of mine.  I was asking him about Stewardship and he told me that during the first month of his time here as pastor he got a call from the diocese.  The finance department informed him that the parish didn’t have enough money in the bank to cover the upcoming payroll checks.  What a great way to start as a new pastor.  So, the diocese told him that they would loan the parish the money they needed, but that Fr. Bill needed to increase the collections.  So he started searching for programs.  He found this couple from Florida who would travel to parishes and talk about Stewardship.  So, Fr. Bill decided to invite them into the parish.  He told me: I was looking for a program, but what I got was a conversion.

            You see, Stewardship is not a program.  And Stewardship is not really about money.  Rather, stewardship is a way of looking at absolutely everything in our lives.  Stewardship is not a program but a philosophy of life.  I know that for many people, when we hear the word stewardship, we hear “asking for money.”  So, I’m sure that many people are probably a little bit leery about this year for Stewardship here at St. Jude.  You might be thinking “great, Fr. Jake is going to be asking us for money for a whole year.”  Don’t worry.  We will talk about stewardship of treasure and tithing during the course of the year, but that is only because treasure is a part of our lives.  Stewardship affects every aspect of our lives, not just our finances.  This year for stewardship is not a fundraiser or a capital campaign.  Rather, this year for stewardship is a chance for everyone here at St. Jude to experience the life-changing effects of a conversion experience in our lives.

            So, today I thought I would present the basic outline of what stewardship is all about.  Then, during the course of the next year, once a month we will have a stewardship Sunday where we reflect on some aspect of stewardship, especially the way that stewardship has benefited our parish over these last 25 years.  Also, during this year for stewardship we will have a banner hanging up here by the tabernacle, and we will also say a prayer for stewardship at all the masses.  If you think this sounds like a program, I would ask you to be open to the experience of conversion.  Embracing the stewardship way of life is a life-changing experience, but it is a conversion.

            Stewardship begins with discipleship.  Stewardship only makes sense if we are followers of Christ and if we believe in the message of the Bible.  By no means, however, is this easy.  Listen to what Jesus says in the gospel: you must pick up your cross and follow after me.  The pathway to Christian discipleship often leads through the cross.  Self-denial and self-sacrifice is the path that Jesus sets before us.  But, the life-giving message of Jesus continues to resound even in our day: whoever wishes to save his life must lose it.  The more we give of ourselves, the more we receive from God.  This is the basic message of the gospel.  But, Jesus doesn’t simply ask us to give of ourselves, he begins by giving himself for us.  On the cross, Jesus gave himself for us, he continues to give himself for us in the Eucharist. 

            The first principle of stewardship is recognizing the generosity of God.  The Bible begins with the story of creation.  God created the heavens and the earth, the sea, the dry land, the plants, the animals, and human beings.  God created everything.  Without God there would be nothing.  Without God we wouldn’t exist.  Because of God’s generosity, we have air to breathe, water to drink.  The generosity of God is responsible for everything we have.  But, also, responsible for everything we are.  Our gifts, our accomplishments, our families, our resources, all these things are gifts from God.  This is why stewardship is life-changing, because even in the midst of difficulty or suffering, we recognize that without God we would have absolutely nothing. 

            Once we recognize that everything comes from the goodness of God, the natural response is thanksgiving.  One of the best things we can do to grow in our spiritual life is to take 5 minutes a day and to thank God for the gifts he has given us.  Giving thanks really changes our perspective.  It reminds us of God’s goodness.  All too often it is easy to get bogged down by the difficulties of life, but if we take 5 minutes a day to give thanks, it really changes our perspective.  This is the second principle of Stewardship, we give God thanks for everything.

            So, first we recognize God’s generosity, then we give thanks for his blessings.  After that, comes the word Steward.  If God gave us everything because of his generosity, then we no longer see our time, talent, and treasure as belonging to us.  Rather, these things belong to God.  A steward is a person who manages the things of another person.  Everything we have and everything we are belong to God, yet he asks us to manage them for him.  Remember parable of the talents.  The master entrusted his possession to these stewards, but on his return he expected the stewards to use those talents to make an increase. 

            This is the final stage of Stewardship.  First, we recognize God’s generosity, second we give him thanks, third we recognize that we are stewards of God’s gifts, finally, we seek ways to use these gifts to advance God’s kingdom here on earth.  This is why stewardship is not a program, it’s a conversion.  It’s picking up our cross, it’s giving away our lives.  It’s a way of putting our faith into action.  For 25 years, this has been our commitment here at St. Jude.  For 25 years, this parish has tried to live in response to the generosity of God.  The results speak for themselves.  St. Jude parish has touched the lives of thousands of people not only here in Fort Wayne, but across the whole world. 

            Today in the gospel Jesus asks his disciples to pick up their crosses and follow after him.  That is what Stewardship is all about.  It’s giving our lives to Christ, because Christ gave his life for all of us. 

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

22^nd Sunday of OT Year B:

We hear an interesting set of readings today.  These readings get to the heart of something I think is very important: namely the difference between the rules and a relationship with Christ.  Christianity is not simply a set of rules and regulations.  Jesus does not set out for us a bunch of hoops to jump through, he wants us to follow him.  He is calling us by name.  He invites us to be his followers.  He tells us that he will lead us to his Father.  He promises to give us life eternal.  Jesus did not come to simply give us a new set of rules.  His criticism of the Pharisees shows that pretty well.  Jesus doesn’t want us to jump through hoops, he wants to change our hearts.

But, does this mean there are no rules?  No regulations?  No guidelines?  As you know, I just finished my degree in Canon Law and I was appointed as a judge for the diocesan tribunal.  I don’t think I would be a very good canon lawyer if I just threw out all the rules and regulations.  There are 1752 canons in the code of Canon law, and it is my job to uphold those laws, those rules.  But, why do those rules exist?  The law of the church helps to organize the outward structures of the church, it safeguards the rights of the faithful, it gives structure and coherence to the body of Christ.  The law of the church is never a substitute for faith in Christ.  Rather, the law presupposes a personal relationship with Christ.  Without faith in Christ, the laws of the church all seem pretty silly.  Law and faith, it seems to me, go hand in hand.  You really cannot have one without the other.  Canon law without faith is silly; faith without canon law would be anarchy and chaos. 

So, I think we always need to have a good mix between structure and spontaneity, between law and faith.  If it’s all one and none of the other things will go poorly.  A healthy life of faith is structured, but also spontaneously moved by Christ and the Spirit.  But, some people’s life of faith is nothing but rules and regulations.  For these people, there is mortal sin everywhere, and they are just trying to dodge it.  Here, the only reason we would go to church is to be sure we don’t end up going to hell.  Of course, I certainly don’t want to go to hell.  But, it seems like the life of faith is more than just the rules, just dodging sin.

But, we can go to the other extreme as well.  Some people say that all that matters is their relationship with God.  This extreme usually says: I’m a person of faith, but I don’t need religion.  I can talk to God any time I want to, but I don’t have to go to church.  I believe in God, but I don’t believe all those rules the church made up, etc.  A life of faith like this has no root, no foundation, no guidance, no anchor.  Without structure, human beings end up in anarchy.

So, there always has to be a good mix.  If you tend to be a more rule-driven person, spend time praying to Christ as a way to build up that relationship with him.  Ask him to fill your heart with the guidance of the Spirit.  If you have that spiritual relationship with Christ, make sure you learn more about the implications of this relationship.  Learn why the Church teaches what it does.  Make sure your life of faith is structured with sound teachings.  Faith without rules is anarchy, but rules without faith do not make sense either.  If we are going to grow in our life of faith, we need to grow closer to Christ, but also to learn the teachings and practice of the faith.

I would like to end today by talking a little bit about a new program that we will be offering here at St. Jude.  This program is called “Why Catholic?”  I think this is a great program to help us to make sure we have a good balance in our life of faith.  The program is designed to answer that simple question: Why are we Catholic?  I know there are people out there who know the rules and regulations, but could probably grow in their relationship with Christ and with others here at the parish.  Also, there are those that have that relationship with Christ, but don’t really feel like they know why the Church teaches what it does.  I think all of us could grow in our understanding of theology and church teaching.  So, you could go home and read the whole catechism, which might seem daunting.  Or, you could participate in why Catholic?  Why Catholic is based on the catechism and it explores the 4 sections of the catechism, the creed, sacraments, moral teaching, and prayer.  The first section that will be covered in Why Catholic is prayer.  So if you have ever wanted to learn more about prayer, this is the perfect thing for you to do.  I think Why Catholic? Will be a great program to help us all grow in our faith.  I will give some more information about Why Catholic at the end of Mass.

Jesus did not come to earth simply to give us a new set of rules, or hoops to jump through.  He calls us to a change of heart.  But, we will never be able to have that change of heart unless we listen to his voice, a voice that speaks to us through the teachings of the Church.

Canon law success

Hello everyone,

I'm noticing that I haven't posted here for quite a while.  That's because I was in DC finishing up my JCL degree.  I'm happy to report that I have earned the degree.  Bishop Rhoades appointed me as a judge for the diocese, so I am beginning my work as a canon lawyer.

Now, I'm back to St. Jude's and everything is going well.  I'll be back to the habit of posting my homilies here.

God bless,
Fr Jake

The storms of life

12^th Sunday of OT Year B 2015

Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth: who is this that even the wind and sea obeys.  I don’t know about you, but with all the rain the last couple weeks I have felt like the disciples: Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing?

This passage helps us to see that Jesus is who we say he is.  The disciples are starting to understand that there is something more here than just a simple man from Nazareth.  Even the apostles had to grow in their faith.

That is comforting for all of us.   We too need to grow in our faith.  Last week we talked about faith growing like the mustard seed.  The seed is a great analogy for faith, it starts out small, but grows over time.  Yet, why is it so important for our faith to grow?  Jesus says in the gospel: why are you terrified?  Don’t you have faith?  Faith takes away our fear.  Faith helps us to trust even when it is difficult.

As we all know, life is not all gumdrops and rainbows.  Pain, suffering, temptation, and hardship are a part of our lives.  Maybe not every day, but I do think that all of us have those difficult moments.  We have parishioners here going through all kinds of difficulties: physical ailments and diseases, the pain and grief of losing a loved one, the difficulty of losing a job, and just the stress and fatigue that seems to follow us wherever we go.  There is always bad news in the world around us too: think about the shooting this week, or ISIS or whatever.  It can be tempting to get cynical: everything is bad and that’s all there is to say about it.  Or even to doubt God: why would God let bad things happen to good people?  This is a question as old as humanity itself.  The story of Job from the first reading is probably 2600 years old.  What is the story?  How a man responds to evil being inflicted upon him.  He was a good person, but bad things befell him… really bad things.

So, if you have ever wondered why, you are in good company.  Now, I wish I had a great answer, but I don’t.  I know that a lot of people like to say that God has a plan when bad things happen.  But, something about that never seems quite right to me.  I don’t like the idea of God inflicting bad things upon us so that good things happen.  I like to think that God is more powerful than that.  He could just skip the middle and go right to the good things.  Also, we never want to say that God is the author of evil.  We know that he is all-good, there is no darkness in him at all.  Sure, God is all-powerful, so he could interrupt the natural world every time something evil is about to take place, but that doesn’t mean he causes evil.  Still, we are often faced with that question: why?  We might feel like the apostles: Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing.

But, stop for a moment and let Jesus answer that question: Lord, do you care?   Of course he does.  If Jesus didn’t care, would he have become one of us?  If Jesus didn’t care, would have shared with us the Good news?  If Jesus didn’t care, would he have died on the cross for us?  Would he have given us the Eucharist as his lasting presence?  Of course Jesus cares.  All too often, when we are faced with difficulties in our lives, we want to ask the question why.  But, there really isn’t a satisfying answer as to why we suffer, why there is pain.  But, there is a great answer to the question: what.  In other words, instead of asking God why this stuff happens, we should ask God what he did in response to the pain and suffering of the human race.  His answer: he sent Jesus.  As St. Paul says today: he indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves.  Jesus died, so that we might live. 

This doesn’t mean that the Christian life is a life without pain, suffering, or temptation.  We might experience those storms.  It might seem like Jesus is asleep below decks.  But, taking our cue from the apostles, we call upon him: Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing?  Asking that question in the midst of our difficulties is another way for us to grow in our faith.  When we ask that question during our difficult moments, we are inviting Christ into our daily lives.  He doesn’t always make the wind and rain stop that instant, but if we turn to him, he will always give us the strength to withstand whatever storms we might face in this life.

Faith, starts small...

11^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015:

Now that the Easter season is over we are back in Ordinary time.  But, ordinary does not mean “plain.”  Rather, ordinary means the counted Sundays between the liturgical seasons like Christmas and Easter.  The word “ordinary” comes from “ordinal” or numbered.  So, here we are wearing green vestments.  I once had a class where we were reading some poetry, the professor told us that the color green symbolized hope.  So, I love to think of ordinary time as our season of hope, where we joyfully wait in hope for the coming of our Savior.

As we wait in hope, we live lives as disciples of Jesus.  We try to follow him in our daily lives, we learn from his teaching, and we try to grow in our faith.  Today in the Gospel, Jesus gives us some interesting parables about the kingdom of God and about growing in our faith, and he uses farming imagery.

I grew up out near St. Louis Besancon and my house is surrounded by fields.  I always loved this time of year because I could see the plants growing.  My favorite was when corn was planted.  I always thought it was impressive to see these little green shoots turn into 8-foot tall corn stalks.  What starts out as little seeds, become these huge plants. 

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus makes this an analogy for our faith?  What starts out as a little seed, becomes something big.  And I don’t know about all of you, but I want a big faith.  I want faith like the great saints, who did amazing things.  But, I think it is helpful for all of us to think about faith in terms of this analogy.  Faith starts small, and it grows over time.  So, how do we make our faith grow?

The first parable in the gospel might seem a bit strange.  Jesus tells us that the farmer does not know why the plants grow.  I think that’s pretty true.  We know how plants grow, we know how to take care of them, but can any of us really say “why” a plant grows?  It grows because it is a living thing; it grows because it has this internal will to live, which we all know comes from God.  Our faith is the same way.

We don’t know exactly how we grow in our faith.  Faith is a gift that comes from God.  It has its own internal will to live as well.  Our faith grows over time because God is causing its growth.

But, thinking again about plants, we all know that we have to do many things to create the best environment for plants to grow.  I have a friend who always says that his favorite trees are palm trees, because they only grow where it is warm all the time.  Plants like that don’t survive our cold winters; so, plants need a proper home.  We know that plants need sunshine and water.  Plants need to be protected from animals that attack them, and weeds that can choke them.

I think these things can be applied to our faith as well.  Our faith needs a proper home where it can flourish.  Isn’t that what the Church is?  This is our home.  Being a faithful member of this amazing parish family gives us the proper home for our faith to grow.  Trying to live a life of faith without being firmly rooted in the Church is like trying to plant palm trees on the North Pole, faith simply cannot grow without a warm home.  Just like plants need sunshine and water, we need the sacraments to feed our faith.  Last week we celebrated Corpus Christi where we had a chance to remember the amazing gift of the Eucharist.  This Blessed Sacrament is like the sun that shines on plants, it nourishes our faith and allows it to grow.  I think of scripture like watering plants.  The more we read the Bible and let the word soak into us, the more faith can grow.  But, we also have to protect our faith from those things that can harm it.  There is a lot stuff out there that is simply not good for our faith: think about the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the stuff on the internet.  These things can be like the animals that attack our gardens.  Just like weeds can choke the life out of our plants, our sins and selfishness can also choke out our faith. 

Our faith grows because God causes it to grow within us.  We all want that big faith that will move mountains, but we all need to remember that faith starts out as a tiny seed and grows over time.  This season of Ordinary time is a great chance for us all to ask ourselves if we are giving our faith a great environment where it can grow.  Our faith might start out small, but through the grace of God it can grow like the mustard seed.

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi Year B 2015:

The body and blood of Christ.  This is the feast we celebrate today.  We celebrate with great joy.  Today we profess our belief in the Blessed Sacrament.  We believe and profess that the Eucharist is really the body and blood of Christ.  We believe that during the Mass the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.  He is really and substantially present, though the appearances of Bread and Wine remain.

However, I was doing some research this week and I found an interesting poll.  According to this poll, only 50% of Catholics surveyed were even aware of the Church’s teaching about the Eucharist.  Isn’t that interesting?  Only 50% even know that we teach and believe that Jesus is really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist.   Why would this be? 

First of all, I think that very often we just assume that everyone knows what the church teaches about a variety of issues.  Because of this assumption, I don’t know how often priests and catechists remember to talk about these fundamental beliefs.  So, I want to be sure that everyone this weekend hears this fundamental truth: the Eucharist is not simply bread and wine, it is not simply a representation of Christ, when we celebrate the Mass we don’t just “remember” what Christ did many years ago.  Rather, it is truly Christ, each Mass allows us to not only remember Jesus, but we enter into his story.  The precious gift of the Eucharist is Jesus’ lasting presence in our world.  The Eucharist should be an important part of our lives.  In fact, Vatican II called it the source and summit of our Catholic faith.

But, a second reason why many people are probably unaware of this teaching is because most of us stopped learning about our faith when we were in grade school.  I know that was the case for me.  I went to Catholic grade school at St. Louis Besancon till 6^th grade, then took CCD classes till confirmation.  That was about it.  But, that didn’t make my faith all that interesting or exciting.  I thought of my faith as something in the background.  Once I started learning more about my faith that it became so much more exciting.  I bought a book on the Eucharist and I was totally blown away.  I mean, I guess I always knew it was Jesus, but reading this book really opened my eyes to understand just how amazing the gift of the Eucharist really was. 

I remember running across a quote from the Cure of Ars who once said if we really understood the Mass we would die of joy.  That quote rocked my little world.  I was always going to Sunday Mass, but I never quite felt like I was going to die out of joy.  Maybe it’s the same for you.  But, once I started learning more about the Eucharist, all of a sudden I couldn’t get enough of the Mass anymore.  I started going to daily Mass.  It was a great and prayerful experience.  Then someone told me about the Adoration Chapel at St. Jude’s.  I started coming here.  I felt like a moth attracted to a flame.  I couldn’t get away from the Eucharist if I tried.

The rest, as they say, is history.  I started feeling a pull toward the priesthood.  The priesthood and the Eucharist are intimately connected.  If it wasn’t for the priesthood we wouldn’t have the Eucharist.  But, if it wasn’t for the Eucharist the priesthood would have no meaning.  Yesterday I went to the ordination of 4 men for our diocese.  Again, I felt that powerful call of the Eucharist.  I can’t tell you how happy I am that I found that renewed interest in the Eucharist all those years ago.  It changed the way I saw the mass, it changed the way I lived my life, it even led me to become a priest.  The Eucharist literally changed my life. 

The Eucharist can do the same in your lives as well.  Learn to love the Eucharist more and more.  If you do, you will see that it is the Eucharist that gives us the grace and strength we need to be faithful disciples of Jesus.  So, no matter what your vocation is, the Eucharist should be central.  The Eucharist makes you a better husband or wife, mother or father.  This is because the Eucharist gives us the presence of Christ in our lives, and it teaches us the great lesson of self-giving love. 

Become enamored by the Eucharist.  Fall in love with it.  During the homily yesterday, Bishop Rhoades had words for the newly ordained priests.  He said to them: don’t just say the words of Mass, really pray the words of the Mass.  I guess I would say the same thing to all of you today.  Don’t just say the words of Mass, really pray them.  If you draw near to the body and blood of Christ, Jesus himself will draw near to you.