19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Aug. 11, 1985; Aug. 7, 1988
John 6:
41-51St. Joseph, Florida, N.Y.
St. Catharine, Pelham, N.Y.
This weekend
I’m at the Salesian retreat house in Haverstraw, N.Y. Here’s an old homily that I thought was good
enuf to give a 2d time 😊 (or was so pressed with obligations in 1988 that I resorted
to the desperate measure of recycling it ☹).
“The bread which I shall give for the life of the world is
my flesh” (John 6: 15).
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| Miracle of the Loaves & Fish (James Tissot) |
We’re right in the middle now of our 5 weeks of reading ch.
6 of St. John.
This chapter is critically important because it gives us
John’s Eucharistic theology. Jesus is
the bread of life. Like the manna which
God sent from heaven in the time of Moses, Jesus means life and sustenance to
those who receive him—receive his life-giving word, as we were told last week
and again this week; and receive even his very flesh, which he tells us for the
1st time today.
What is the Eucharist, this sacrament of the body and blood
of the Lord? It’s the sign by which the
living and risen Christ presents himself to us, making us present, by a sacred
mystery, at his crucifixion, when he poured out his blood for us as a lamb of
sacrifice, and at his resurrection, when he triumphed over death and over
death’s roots, sin. Thru the Eucharist,
we share in his life: now, by
anticipation; later, by a like resurrection.
“You are what you eat” is never truer than when we partake of the body
and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it important for us to eat? It’s essential. He himself commands us to “take and eat,” to
“do this in memory of” him. He himself
says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John
6:53-54).
Many people ask, how can what looks like bread be really the
body and blood of Jesus Christ? Listen
to the words of St. Ambrose in the 4th century:
We
see that grace can accomplish more than nature.... If the words of Elijah had power even to bring
down fire from heaven, will not the words of Christ have power to change the
natures of the elements? You have read
that in the creation of the whole world, “he spoke and they came to be; he
commanded and they were created” (Ps 148:5).
If Christ could by speaking create out of nothing what did not yet
exist, can we say that his words are unable to change existing things into
something they previously were not?[1]
And who would doubt the words of Jesus himself: “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke
22:19); “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark
14:24); “The bread which I shall give
for the life of the world is my flesh.
For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (John 6:51,55)?
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| The Last Supper (Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret) |
If we truly believe that the Eucharist is the body and blood
of the Lord Jesus—and we aren’t Catholics if we do not believe it—then
what? We must approach the table of the
Lord and share in his banquet, which is an invitation to the heavenly
feast. But we must approach worthily and
reverently.
St. Paul already had to warn the Corinthians,
Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily
sins against the body and blood of the Lord.
A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread
and drink of the cup. He who eats and
drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks a judgment on himself. (1
Cor 11: 27-29)
We cannot come to the Lord’s table with serious sin on our
conscience; we need 1st to be reconciled with him, restored to friendship with
him and with his whole body, which is the Church. (In fact, it’s good for us to confess even
our less serious sins monthly).
Most of us approach the Eucharist with reverence. Reverence begins with the Eucharistic fast
from all food and drink except plain water or medicine, a fast of at least an
hour before the time of communion.
In many parishes where I’ve been, there have been a few
people who need practical pointers on reverence in receiving the
Eucharist. In fact, it seems to be a
worldwide problem because the Vatican recently issued a letter just on this
topic.[2] Reverence means that you approach the
Eucharist respectfully; in fact, we keep a respectful and prayerful silence
thruout the church. You approach usually
with folded hands or with hymnal, singing.
When you reach the minister of Communion, you have the
choice of receiving in your hand or on your tongue. How do you receive reverently on your tongue?
(a) Come
close to the minister.
(b) Open
your mouth.
(c) Put
out your tongue.
(d) Don’t
lick or bite his fingers.
(e) Stand
still.
(f) Don’t
eat candy or chew gum just before Mass
[Comment on each point.]
And if you choose to receive Communion
in your hand,
(a) Put
out your hand as your approach the minister.
(b) Place one hand open upon the other,
making it, in the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, “a throne for … the
King.” For it is the King of the
universe whom you are receiving.
(c) Let the minister place the Eucharist in
your hand. The Vatican letter says, in
almost so many words, that the faithful do not seize the Eucharist from the
Church but receive it from the Church thru the Church’s minister.
(d) Step
aside and consume the host.
(e) It needs to be said, especially for
youngsters, that your hands have to be clean.
You may not be wearing gloves, and I’d advise against receiving in your
hand if you’re unfortunate enuf to have a cast on your hand.
As you come to Communion, the minister holds the host before
you and says, “The Body of Christ.” You
answer, “Amen,” affirming your faith that this is indeed Christ’s body, the
body in which he died and rose for your salvation.
“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” (Resp. Psalm). May we taste his goodness here and for
eternity.
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