The Living Bread Come Down From Heaven

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51). When Elijah laid down beneath the broom tree and prayed for death, he had been on the run. You see, Elijah had just put to death 400 prophets of the false god Baal following a tremendous sign. (It is in chapter 18 of the First Book of Kings if you want to read about it). In spite of the great sign of God’s presence among Israel and the powerful words spoken by the prophet, few people were convinced. They preferred to follow the false gods who were nothing rather than follow the true God, who could actually make a demand upon them to change. Elijah was sick of his failure and wanted to die. But God had other plans, and so the Lord bade Elijah to get up and eat, so as to have the strength necessary to continue speaking the Truth.
2. Today as in those ancient days, there seems to be a great number of those who prefer falsehood to truth. We must admit that the truth about ourselves can be frightening. Many Catholics do not make use of the Sacrament of Penance because they fear the what might be revealed in the examination of conscience. Often we are afraid to speak the truth to others either because we are afraid of what they will do, or because we have had the experience of suffering on account of saying what is right.
3. Even though we might not be guilty of this sin, many people’s view of Jesus Himself has little basis in reality. That is, Jesus is often considered to be a revolutionary whose words are really too hot to handle, or a nice guy who really did not say anything demanding all. Even though all Christians admit the stark reality of the Cross, most would prefer to think of the Cross as something in the past that should have no real bearing on how we live. After all, God does not really want us to be crucified, does He?
4. The truth about God, however, is true no matter how many or how few people believe it. When Jesus began His Bread of Life discourse as reported in John’s Gospel, He had healed many people, expelled many demons, fed thousands with just a few loaves of bread and had walked on the water. And yet, there were many who simply would not believe in Him. They preferred the comfort of their own thoughts that did not require any form of change on their part. “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42). They did not really know Him. They refused the evidence of truth placed before their very eyes and shut their hearts to Jesus’ words.
5. Unlike Elijah, Jesus was not dismayed. Rather He told them that faith comes as a gift from God. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him (John 6:44). Their preference for unbelief did not keep Jesus from announcing the truth about Himself- He is the Bread of Life come down from heaven. It is a theme which is common throughout the Gospels- that Jesus alone is Life. There is no other way to heaven, there is no other god, and if we want to truly live Jesus must be the center of our existence.
6. Elijah had to choose to serve God, whether or not he was “successful” in the world. It was either be faithful to God, or adhere to lies. In the Gospel Jesus is telling the truth about Himself and we must make a choice as well. Either we follow Jesus or we turn away from the truth.
7. The way in which Jesus makes His demand for our discipleship is not an easy path in the world. For example, when Jesus said we must eat the Bread come down from heaven to live, it appeared to the people that Jesus said they had to become cannibals. (Many of our Christian brothers and sisters reject the Eucharist on this very basis). Cannibalism is not what Jesus is really demanding. He will provide the means by which we can eat His body and drink His blood in an unbloody manner. But the commitment and trust that Jesus was demanding from His listeners in the Gospel was absolute, and it continues today. Will we follow?
8. Of course, the Lord is not going to leave us to our own power any more than the He left Elijah to die under the broom tree. He fed Elijah, and the Lord will feed us. But we have to trust in Him, commit ourselves to Him even when the world opposes us with all its might.

What Sign Can You Show Us?

See the Readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. What sign can you show us? (John 6:30). The signs which they did see were done by Jesus in response to faith (trust). Jesus healed those who trusted that He could and would do it. The trust of the boy who gave Jesus the five loaves and two fish resulted in the feeding of the multitude.
2. Even though the the people had experienced sufficient signs to warrant their trust in Jesus’ words, they demanded more signs. They were not really interested in believing. They wanted to be in control. They were saying you show us a sign, and then we will decide whether or not to believe. But belief or trust is precisely not being in control. The Letter to the Hebrews says Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Although our faith may begin by the evidence which we see or experience regarding the works of God, ultimately our faith must be able to withstand the lack of evidence that we can see and judge. (That is not to say that faith must do violence to our reason. It is just the old adage seeing is believing is not really true. Rather, it is the other way around, at least in the realm of the spirit. Faith gives illumination to the reason while reason for its part can bolster faith).
3. In spite of those skeptics demand for more signs, Jesus would not play their game. Whether they believed Him or not, Jesus would be true to the mission that God His Father sent Him on- Salvation. Like the Israelites in the wilderness needed to trust in God to lead them through the desert and so enter into the Promised Land, so do we need to trust in the Son of God, Jesus and so enter into our true home- the Home of God our Father.
4. Through faith in Jesus we have begun this journey to our true homeland. And it is not simply a journey which will occupy our minds or our hearts. Salvation is for the whole person- body, mind and spirit. Therefore we need food for the journey. And Jesus has every intention of giving us this kind of food.
5. The food that Jesus will give is Himself- the Bread of Life, the Cup of Eternal Salvation. In the wilderness, God fed the children of Abraham because He lovd them. But the Lord sent the Mannah not to satisfy the skepticism of those who constantly complained, but rather to test and eventually strengthen their faith and trust. At this point of Jesus’ ministry, it appears time for Jesus to test those who were following Him. Do we trust Him? Do we believe that Jesus is the Bread of Life and will fulfill all our hungers?

The Sign of the Loaves

John 6:1-15
1. Jesus knew that they were going to carry Him off and make Him king, so He withdrew to the mountain alone. Why did Jesus do that? We call Him the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It is right and just that Jesus rules in our hearts. If the people of His day wanted to declare Him to be King, why then did Jesus run away? It was not like He was one to escape His responsibilities.
2. It can be said that the people in those days after the multiplication of the loaves rightly identified Jesus as the King. But their reasons were not correct- they were thinking about filling their own stomachs with temporary food. That is, they were intent upon using Jesus for their worldly needs. On the other hand, Jesus was wanting to give them bread for life eternal- that is Himself.
3. Although the multiplication of the loaves was a phenomenal miracle, Jesus did not do it for its own sake, but as a sign. The miracle of the loaves recalls the reading from Second Kings. God fed a hundred people with a mere twenty loaves at the time of Elisha the prophet. That miracle was intended to confirm the prophetic authority of Elisha. So too does the multiplication of the loaves serve as a sign to confirm Jesus’ message. However it’s not a hundred people who are fed, but five thousand. And there are not twenty loaves, but only five loaves and a couple of fish. And there was not just some left over, but twelve baskets of scraps after everyone had eaten as much as they could. Clearly, Jesus is far greater than Elisha or any of the prophets.
4. The multiplication also recalls the mannah from heaven which fed the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness at the time of the Exodus. Each day, the people were to go out and collect enough to eat for that one day. They had to learn to trust God to care for them each day by giving them enough to eat. In the wilderness, God worked through His servant Moses, the Lawgiver. Because Jesus fed the multitude through His own power, Jesus is superior to Moses. It is a sign that Jesus is God. Therefore, the New Covenant given through Jesus is superior to the Covenant given through Moses.
5. The sign likewise points to the abundant generosity of God. Like the changing of the water into wine at Cana, the Lord does not simply give enough, He gives an abundance. We may take this abundance for granted when we breathe the air or drink water or bask in the warm sunshine unaware that things do not have to be like this. We have not even discovered another planet that has the same conditions as earth throughout all our explorations using telescopes and robotic probes.
6. Looking forward, the multiplication of the loaves was a sign of the sacred meal which Jesus would institute on the night before He died. When we eat the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, it does not matter how large or small we consume, it is all Jesus. Jesus can feed over a billion Catholics and Orthodox Christians every Sunday or even every day- as many as come before Him in faith.
7. The aspect of the feeding of the five thousand that always attracts my attention is the boy with the five loaves and two fish. He has what might have been enough food for himself, but which clearly is not enough for everyone. Yet only in giving up his lunch will everyone eat- a fact which he did not know until he trusted in Jesus and shared his food. So it may seem with the things we possess, whether treasures of talents, or time. They may appear to be insignificant and insufficient. And they will remain so until we give them back to Jesus.

Corpus Christi

1. We believe that the Bread and Wine offered on the altar, through the Invocation of the Holy Spirit, through the Words of Jesus Christ, through the ministry of the priest become the true Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. We did not invent this teaching, rather it was handed on to us from the Apostles themselves, who not only were present at the Last Supper when Jesus instituted this sacrificial meal, but also came to recognize Jesus in what they called at the time “the Breaking of the Bread.”
2. Jesus Himself, on the night He was betrayed, took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples saying “Take it; this is my body (Mark 14:22). And taking the cup Jesus said This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many (Mark 14:24). If we believe that Jesus is God, we cannot doubt His words. And it is not as if the Lord had not prepared His people for this moment. In the covenant the Lord made with the people when He rescued them from Pharaoh in Egypt, the people had to eat the flesh of the lamb of sacrifice, or they would have no part in His people. In the peace sacrifice of bulls made by Moses, the people were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificed animal in order to participate in the sacrifice. In like manner, we the People of the New Covenant, must partake of the sacrifice by which the covenant was established. But it is not with blood of bulls or goats or sheep, but with the Blood of Jesus.
3. In His power as God, Jesus has made it possible for everyone to share in His sacrificial offering of Himself for the sake of redeeming us from our sins. And we need this sacrificial offering of Jesus’ Body and Blood. Jesus said Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life (John 6:53). The body needs material food and the intellect is fed by thinking or study. But the life of Christ living within us, can only be nourished by Jesus Christ Himself. Without Christ nourishing us, we cannot live and grow as Christians. And since Jesus Christ is concerned about saving the whole person, our food cannot be simply spiritual but bodily as well.
4. We might ask: how is it possible that Jesus can give us His body and blood to eat and drink? How is it possible for us to believe in this sacrament? Where’s the proof? Ultimately the Eucharist is a Mystery of God- a miraculous feeding- a mysterious meal and sacrifice. But there are ways for us to grasp the mystery. One such way is the theological term transubstantiation. Now a substance in this explanation means that which makes a thing what it is- its true being. An accident is a quality that is accidental to the being of a thing, like color or shape or taste or location. We say that in the Eucharist, the substance or true being of the bread and wine are transformed into the substance of Jesus Christ. But the accidental qualities remain. By using this concept, our hearts and minds can know in truth and believe that which our eyes cannot see.
5. And through believing with all our strength, eventually the eyes of our understanding will see the Truth and we too will come to know Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread. And by eating His Body and drinking His Blood, we will gain life everlasting if only we keep His commands.

Holy Thursday

1. Do this in memory of me. In this one command, Jesus instituted two sacraments of the Church- Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders. These two sacraments are intertwined in such a way that if there is not one, then there is not the other. Unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, we have no life within us (see John 5:53). But without the Holy Priesthood, we cannot celebrate the Eucharist.
2. As Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Most Holy Eucharist. His presence is not merely recalled, but is actual. Since the Eucharist is indeed Christ, we recognize that the Eucharist is source of all grace in the Christian life. We depend on the Eucharist not just because we recognize Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread, but because we need Him for our food. For us to achieve the glory marked out for us, Jesus Christ must live in us. God is not content with feeding our minds and hearts with His words, but He has generously provided to feed our bodies with His Word- Our Lord Jesus Christ, so that our whole selves may be prepared for the Glory of the Resurrection.
3. The Eucharist is more than the source of all grace. Likewise it is the summit of our Christian worship. Jesus Christ is our True High Priest who has offered Once for All, the sacrifice of Himself on the Wood of the Cross. Yet in the celebration of the Eucharist, we are present for and participate in the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. By the Eucharist, Jesus has made it possible for us to be witnesses of His Passion Death and Resurrection. In an Unbloody manner, the Eucharist connects us to the greatest event in the History of the World- the Paschal Mystery of our Lord. Since Jesus is truly the One offering and the One offered, we rightly say that the Eucharist is the highest form of praise, adoration, and worship. Other devotions and practices are beneficial and commendable, but nothing equals the power and majesty of the Holy Mass because it is the prayer of Jesus Himself.
4. In order to continue our participation in this Divine Mystery, Jesus instituted the ministry which we call the Holy Priesthood, or the Presbyterate. As Jesus chose Apostles from the midst of His disciples, the Lord also chooses men to be priests to exercise authority and power in the celebration of the Sacraments. Let us not be amazed that God chooses to work in such a manner. Jesus uses Bread and Wine to become His Precious Body and Blood. Our Lord has chosen to use human agency for the procreation and population of the world. As Saint Teresa of Avila said Christ has no body now on earth but yours. God chooses men as the sacrament of His presence. These men are chosen to offer the sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments in persona Christi capitis- that is, in the person of Christ the Head. As priests, we do not celebrate sacraments on our own but rather we are instruments of Jesus for the benefit of the Body of Christ the Church.
5. Although the Ministerial Priesthood is a true share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, it does not exist for itself nor to lift its members on high above other Christians. The priesthood is for service to Jesus and service to His Church. When I say the words This is my body which will be given up for you, Christ is speaking through me. The words refer to the Consecration of the Gift of Bread. But I think they also refer to the priest. I mean that we too must offer up ourselves for others in union with Christ.
6. These days, most people view the priesthood, and in fact the whole of Christian faith from the point of view of lack. That is, many think "priesthood is not getting married," "marriage is not being free to go with anyone," "obedience keeps one from doing what they want to do," or "holiness is not having fun." In truth, doing God’s will is freeing. Freedom to commit one’s whole life, free to be what we are supposed to be.
7. This freedom is only possible because of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is made present each time we celebrate the Eucharist. And to think that the Eucharist and the Priesthood are pure gifts from God. All we have to do to receive is open our hands and our hearts.

Body and Blood

1. Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi- that is, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. In truth, every time we participate in the Holy Mass we are celebrating the Body and Blood of Christ. But today is a special day for us to focus our minds on this profound and mysterious truth: The bread and wine which we offer are transformed by the will of the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit and the Words of the Son into the true Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus’ flesh is real food and blood is real drink, and He has really offered us Himself in this Sacrament. Of course, His Body and Blood come to us under the appearance of bread and wine. But we do not doubt the power of God to make things new. When God said “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) what happened? There was light. When God commanded Lazarus to "Come out" (John 11:43), what happened? Lazarus came out of the tomb. So when the Son of God says "this is my Body which will be given up for you" (Luke 22:19), what happens? Can we doubt His words because they might be difficult to accept? Can we refuse to believe simply because we might be uncomfortable to eat His flesh and drink His blood? No, we really cannot refuse this belief in the power of the One who rose from the dead.
3. Nevertheless, the Eucharist nevertheless is a mystery. As children preparing for First Holy Communion, we learned the facts - the Eucharist is Christ’s Body and Blood. And each of us is required to give an intellectual assent of faith before receiving communion. When the priest or minister says Body of Christ, and we must answer Amen! In the seminary, we studied the Eucharist in many classes- Liturgy, History, Scripture, and Doctrine. But as important as it is for us to study the Eucharist in that manner, that is not where our intellect will grow in its understanding of this mystery.
4. True knowledge of the Holy Eucharist begins with faith. And it will grow only in acts of faith. We must believe before we see. To grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Holy Eucharist, we must believe, we must adore, we must participate, and we must receive. Only then will our knowledge and understanding grow. It is like love. We could study love and read books about it, but until we actually love and are loved, we will never really begin to get it.
5. Observe the audience of Jesus in the Gospel. Many complained about Jesus’ words because they thought He was talking about cannibalism. In fact, many of the disciples left Jesus’ company that very day because His words were too hard to accept. What did Jesus do? He turned to the Twelve and asked them if they wanted to leave also. Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Those who remained with Him did not understand. They were probably scared. But they remained because they believed in Jesus and trusted in Him. As they continued to follow Him, they eventually ended up at the Last Supper. And on the night of the Resurrection, their eyes of understanding were opened (see Luke 24:13-35).
6. The Eucharist is crucial to the structure of the Church- not just because bishops and priests are the principal celebrants of the Mass, but because the Eucharist makes us Catholic. Every one of us who receives communion today receives the same Jesus. In the world there are over a billion Catholics. So how many will receive communion? More than a million, more than a hundred million, maybe more than five hundred million or more will receive. And each of us receives the same Jesus, who is One. And by receiving the One, we become One. We become intimate with God Himself. Through our worthy reception of Jesus in the Eucharist, we place Jesus at the center of our worship instead of ourselves.
7. Finally, we need the Eucharist if we want to live- not just here on earth, but forever in heaven, which is our true destiny as the children of God. The life of God we receive in Holy Communion makes it possible that our Holy Religion is not just pious words or humble thoughts, but a radical transformation of our entire selves- body, mind, and spirit.

It Has Been One of Those Weeks

It has been one of those weeks. Or at least week-ends. I admit, Thursday was consumed by bike riding and bowling and homily writing. But Friday was First Friday. It was supposed to begin at 6:30am with Mass. Well, it began at 6:30am, when I realized that I was supposed to be awake and over at church. So I jumped up and ran over and we started a little late. Then there was a priest seminar at 10am downtown, then the priest luncheon with the obligatory speeches and what not (they were mercifully short and the meal was really very good).

I drove back to the little town to help someone move some of their belongings to a new apartment in the big city. They do not have access to a truck. I do not own one, but I have a little Subaru that carries a lot. Then I came back in time for 5:30pm confessions for some of the prospective First Communicants. Then Evening Prayer, then Benediction, then Mass at 7pm. Then there was Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (we have all night adoration on First Friday). Then there was confessions from 8pm until 11pm.

Saturday morning was Morning Prayer and Benediction at 8am. Then First Communion Mass at 10am, followed by pictures. Then a quinceñera at 1:30pm that actually began closer to 2. Then confessions at 3:30, then Vigil Mass at 5, the First Saturday Rosary. Then I drove into the city to my Uncle Leo and Aunt Carolyn's for their 50th wedding anniversary party. Now it is after 11pm and I am pretty tired.

Yesterday at the clergy luncheon, I heard someone say that "you are not real until you have eaten." It was said in the context of the activities of a fraternal organization. But it fits more most of us. Not just that we need to eat to live, but we celebrate most events of importance with a meal (such as my aunt and uncle's anniversary). Religion is no different. The Israelites had to eat the lamb while slaves in Egypt, or they would not have been rescued. The Christians had to eat the Eucharist (the Lamb of God) in order to fully participate in the mystery of Christ. The Eucharist - the Sacrificial Meal- is what makes us One with Christ in His Body and gives us the strength to fulfill the mission He has sent us on, that is to teach all nations. And we cannot fulfill that mission without the direct help of God and the strength the Lord gives us through the Eucharist.