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anybody

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

June 15, 2020 by Holy Name Monastery 1 Comment

Have you ever met anyone, (or maybe been counted among those) who’ve found the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation to be a bit hard to accept?  Maybe just for a minute or two you may have wondered how Jesus could talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood?  At the words in this Gospel, so many of Jesus’ disciples abandoned him that Jesus asked the twelve if they also planned to quit.

So, how did the early Christians interpret Jesus’ challenging words?  History tells us that the pagan Romans made charges against the Christians for cannibalism.  They had heard that when these people met they ate and drank human blood.  Not many Christians themselves questioned the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist till the Middle Ages.  In trying to explain how bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ, several theologians went astray and needed to be corrected by Church authority.  Then St. Thomas Aquinas came along and offered an explanation that became classic.  In all change that we observe in this life, he teaches, appearances change, but deep down, the essence of a thing stays the same.

St. Thomas said the Eucharist is the one instance of change we encounter in this world that is exactly the opposite.  The appearances of bread and wine stay the same, but the very essence or substance of these realities, is totally transformed.  What was once bread and wine are now Christ’s body and blood.  A unique word “transubstantiation” was coined, and remains to this day, to an effort to explain the miracle of the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

At a Eucharistic celebration, the priest, repeats the words of Jesus: “This is my Body, This is my Blood.”  Doesn’t this remind you of the words in Genesis: “God said: let there be light and there was light.”  It is no harder to believe in transubstantiation than to believe in the miracle of Creation.

Such an awesome gift deserves its own feast.  And that’s why, back in the days of Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi, the Pope decided to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Pondering the significance of this feast it strikes me that with Christmas we are touched with joy and awe at the birth of the God-man Jesus.  Even in the midst of a pandemic, at Easter we explode with ALLELUIA at the resurrection of our Savior.  The Ascension leaves us quietly looking upward, outward waiting in expectation for “what’s next?”  Then, comes the solemnity of the Trinity – the mystery that baffles us … that God is so great, so awesome that only in three persons can all the divine manifestations be expressed.  And, today, the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ – this touches, awakens in us feelings we can hardly express – that our God, our Jesus, our Savior would choose to gift us in such a personal, intimate way!  Our Creator-God chooses to be “assimilated within the body of the creature.”  His body and blood become, over and over, absorbed into my body – His blood courses in my veins … invading every fiber of my being.  When the priest (or Eucharist minister) presents the host or chalice, looks us in the eye and says: “Body of Christ!”  “Blood of Christ” – we are overcome with the awesomeness of this gift –  words fail us.  All we can manage to say is “AMEN” – so be it – AMEN!

~Reflection by Sisters Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Front Page, Homily Tagged With: Alleluia, anybody, body and blood of Christ, Feast of Corpus Christi, God, St. Thomas Aquinas

Which One Are You?

October 3, 2016 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

cookieman-personal-touches-matter27th Sunday (October 2)

First Reading  Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4      Second Reading  2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14
Gospel  Luke 17:5-10

In this Gospel the disciples ask Jesus for an increase of faith. The faith that is being asked for is not to have a better knowledge of our catechism. What is being asked for is a much deeper and stronger trust and confidence that our God is near us – the firm conviction that God will always take care of his own.

Our participation in God’s plans is God’s grace to us—nothing more, nothing less. Even when God works wonders through us, with our mustard seed-sized faith, we must not seek praise.  When we are graced enough to cooperate with God, the work we do is nothing more than our obligation as faithful stewards of what God has given us.   And yet, our faith enables us to believe that what we have offered in service to God, as his servants, can be made to produce (like that mulberry tree in the midst of the sea) a hundredfold.

Our relationship with God is not about a bargaining agreement; a bartering or a buying and selling contract, about giving to God and getting in return. No, our relationship with God is one of total and unconditional love. The joy and satisfaction is not in what we can do to squeeze favors from God but in what we can give and share of ourselves.

The reason for this, of course, is that no matter what we do we are in God’s debt. The very energies with which we serve God are pure divine gift to us. We are “merely servants.” It’s not a 50/50 deal with God.  We can never do more than “our duty.” However much we give to God it is a small repayment for all that has already been showered on us.

We’ve heard many everyday heroes say something of this nature, haven’t we?  When they are awarded medals or accolades for a so-called heroic act, many say “I didn’t do anything special.  I just did what anyone in the same circumstance would do.”  But, would they?  Would we – jump into murky waters of an icy cold river, onto subway tracks in the path of an oncoming train, risk being attack by a vicious animal, rush into a burning building?  Would we respond to the need of the moment, let the Spirit, whom we sometimes call “adrenaline” kick in and come to the rescue?  Or, if we had the opportunity would we consistently perform  less noticeable actions like we’ve seen lately in the news: leaving a highly paid chef’s position to serve gourmet meals in a soup kitchen, insuring that 2000 poor families get Christmas gifts, spend our weekend to provide  free health and dental care to help make people smile and laugh.  We can hope that would not hesitate, and pray our faith would sustain us to respond: “we have done what we were obliged to do.”

Remember the story that goes: There were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.  There was an important task to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did.  Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job.  Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.  It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. Which one are you?

Jesus’ story today indicates that lack of faith is not really the issue when we fail to respond to the needs of others. Faith is not measured by its quantity, but simply by its presence. A mustard seed sized faith will accomplish impossible things. The real need, Jesus says is for more obedience and humility. We should view ourselves as God’s slaves who owe Him simple and unquestioning obedience. And, when we have done what He requires, we should not get puffed up with pride in our great obedience, but should simply say, “We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”  As Benedict says in his chapter on obedience: If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself.”  Keep before you Benedict’s admonishment: “Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are, but first be holy that you may more truly be called so.”

It reassuring to know we can rely on God to uphold his promises.  Recall the words of Psalm 89 that we prayed earlier this week: “God promises: I will never take back my love; my faithfulness will not fail.  I will never break my covenant or go back on my promise.”   Or take as your mantra this week the words of Jeremiah the prophet:  “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is God’s faithfulness.”  And perhaps spend some time contemplating whether, when there is a task to be done, you are a Somebody, an Anybody, a Nobody or one among Everybody….

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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Filed Under: Blog, Homily Tagged With: anybody, everybody, Faith, God, Jesus, Luke, Mustard seed, nobody, servants, somebody

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