BIBLE STUDY #96
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORIDNARY TIME
July 1, 2012
READING 1
WISDOM 1:13-15; 2:23-24
God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
2 CORINTHIANS 8:7, 9, 13-15
Brothers and sisters:
As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse,
knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,
but that as a matter of equality
your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,
so that their abundance may also supply your needs,
that there may be equality.
As it is written:
Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
MARK 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to Jesus,
"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child's father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child's father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
The Gospel today begins with Jesus returning from the Gentile side of the lake to the Jewish side. Being on the shore, or “close to the sea” is also the occasion for other important events, such as the call of the disciples in 1:16-20, the call of Levi in 4:1- 34, and multiple healings by Jesus in 3:7-12.
The words translated as ‘one of the leaders of the synagogue’ can also be translated as the ‘president of the synagogue’. This office primarily oversaw the physical condition and the financial well being of the synagogue. In Hellenistic literature, this term is also used for the leaders of the assembly. Jairus and Bartimaeus (see 10:46) are the only proper names used in the miracle stories in Mark’s Gospel.
Jairus kneels at the feet of Jesus. This is not an act of worship, but an act of petition. His request is for Jesus to heal her daughter of her illness. This also shows that not all Jewish leaders oppose Jesus.
Jairus asks Jesus to “lay your hands on her” which is a profound liturgical act, such as in the consecration at Mass where the priests stretches his hands over the gifts of bread and wine, when the priest lays hands on the sick during the anointing of the sick, and when the priest raises his hands in forgiveness during the sacrament of reconciliation. As we will see, both miracle stories will have something to do with faith and salvation, of being raised to eternal life as well as being healed.
As Jesus is going to the house of Jairus, he is interrupted by a “woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t brush her off because he is busy. People are always important to Jesus and he always takes time to assist those in need. This is a good lesson for us: no matter how busy we get, we should always make time for people, especially for those we love.
This woman would be considered ritually unclean and would be avoided by other people. She wouldn’t be able to go to the Temple or synagogue and most people would avoid her causing some loneliness to her. The reason for the hemorrhages is unclear, but she was probably in some kind of discomfort and/or pain: “She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.” This woman is unclean, suffering, and nearly poor. Neither her religion nor medicine offers any help, so she turns to Jesus. Her action in approaching Jesus shows initiative and courage since she is risking contact with others.
Healing by touch is a common theme in the ancient world, and this woman is healed by touching the cloak of Jesus, which shows his divine power. The woman felt she was cured at the same time Jesus felt the power go out of him. Jesus is so charged with power that healing occurs merely by touching him. His question about who touched his cloak is a way to set up what happens next.
She goes to him “in fear and trembling”, that is, in awe of his power. Jesus calls her ‘daughter’, which reminds us of 3:31-35 where those who do the will of God are members of Jesus’ family. She becomes an example for all of us.
It is her faith in Jesus that allows her to be healed. The same word translated as healing can also be translated as being saved. So, it is her faith in Jesus ability to heal that affected her cure of the hemorrhages, and it is her faith in Jesus that causes her salvation; in both cases, being saved from death.
He sends her away with a blessing of peace, which is both a blessing and a prayer that she may be blessed with wholeness and health (shalom).
We now turn our attention back to the first miracle story. Jesus is told that the little girl has died which heightens the drama of this story and seems like it puts Jesus in an impossible situation. Jairus is still with Jesus during the healing of the woman and the messenger from his household tells him, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Since she is dead, there is no hope left.
Surprisingly to those listening, Jesus says, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."
Fear often appears as a theme in miracle stories; this fear is a lack of trust and hope in Jesus.
He brings his 3 favorite disciples, Peter, James, and John go with him to Jairus’ house. These three are the first disciples called (1:16-20), are the first in the list of disciples (3:16-17), and are with Jesus at important moments in his life, such as the transfiguration (9:2) and in Gethsemane (14:33).
It was common in the ancient world to have elaborate rituals of mourning, which could include loud cries of sorrow, fasting, and laments, to name a few. Putting out the mourners from the house does seem to be a rejection of these elaborate mourning practices by Jesus.
Saying that she is only sleeping, Jesus contradicts the report of her death. Early Christianity used sleep as a euphemism for death. This hints about Jesus ultimate victory over death.
So, of course, Jesus is not believed. Who would believe him? Jesus grabs the girl by the hand (touching is common in miracle stories) which is the most severe of impurities and is another example of Jesus violating cultural codes for a greater good. He tells her to rise and she immediately gets up and walks around. She is resuscitated, brought back to life. This miracle is symbolic of Jesus victory over death by his own death and resurrection which brings us from death to eternal life.
Jesus gave strict orders that no one was to tell this story. Why not? You think he would want it known. This is a technique called the messianic secret. We can’t understand the life of Jesus without taking it in context with his death and resurrection. Jesus is more than just a physical healer. He is, first and foremost, a spiritual healer who heals us in the most important way – by offering us eternal life after our human life is over. Death is the ultimate healer, where we go to a realm (heaven) where we are freed from the brokenness of this world.
The woman is a great symbol of faith and trust. After everyone in the world failed her, took her funds, and left her to suffering, she approached the only one who could help. She has great courage considering the time period to go to Jesus for healing, and she has great faith that he can heal her. She doesn’t even want to bother him; she is so convinced of his power she feels that all she needs to do is touch his cloak and she will be healed. Her faith saved her because it was her great trust and faith in Jesus that not only healed her physically, but also brought salvation
Jairus is the same way. He tells Jesus, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He has no doubt about Jesus ability to heal her.
Both people are great examples of faith and trust. We need to learn and trust in the Lord in the same way and that he can also heal us in ways we can never imagine. Jesus always takes time for people. We need to learn to do the same.
Fr. Phil
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
BIBLE STUDY #95
THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
June 24, 2012
READING 1
ISAIAH 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said:
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am' I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet."
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
LUKE 1:57-66, 80
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?"
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
There are different readings for the Vigil Mass for this feast (Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1Peter 1:8-12, and Luke 1:5-17) , but I am reflecting on the readings for the Mass During The Day.
Elizabeth and Zechariah, like Joseph and Mary, are good Jewish parents, and have their son circumcised according to the Law of Moses (see Genesis 17:12 and Leviticus 12:3). John is thereby brought into the Jewish community, as will be Jesus (2:21) with his own circumcision. Luke will show that all the people that have a role in the beginning of Christianity to come from the people of Israel. In Luke’s second volume, Acts of the Apostles, Luke will argue that Christianity is a direct descendent of Judaism.
Elizabeth is “shown great mercy” by God because she was beyond child bearing years when she became pregnant. The role of a woman in those days was to bear children and take care of her husband and children. Being barren would have been a great calamity and a source of some embarrassment. Her neighbors would have rejoiced because God showed favor to her. Sounds a little like Mary, doesn’t it. There are some similarities between John’s birth and Jesus. Mary was also shown great mercy by God because she was allowed to conceive Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. The difference here is that even though John’s conception was miraculous, it was by natural means; Jesus’ conception was divine.
The naming of a child was of great importance in ancient days; it can tell us something of the newborn. It would have been expected that the child would be named after either the father of the grandfather. In any event, it would be a name chosen by the parents. However, in this case, the name was chosen by an angel of the Lord named Gabriel. Zechariah doubted and his punishment was to be made mute.
When Elizabeth and Zechariah went to circumcise John, they were asked what name they had chosen, and Elizabeth said ‘John’. They were astounded because no one in their family had that name. Note the deference to the father in a patriarchal society: they asked Zechariah about the name. He took a tablet and wrote that his name was John. He then regained his speech. Is first words are in praise of God.
This indicates that the prophecy of Gabriel was fulfilled despite human resistance. Some times we work at cross purposes with God, but in the end, God’s will prevails. This is important to remember whenever we are facing any trials: God is in charge, and He will prevail.
John is a name that means “God is gracious”. God is gracious to Elizabeth and Mary; he is gracious by sending his own Son for our salvation, and he is gracious in sending John as the prophet and forerunner of the Messiah.
All the people wondered what would become of John. The first reading from Isaiah could be of any prophet, but I think it apropos for John and reflects a lot of what John is about.
We’ve seen how John ‘was called from birth’ and given a name while still in the womb. John certainly was a ‘sharp-edged sword’. He was a fiery preacher, baptizing for the repentance of sins, and he paid the price of his life for his endeavors.
I also think (like many a prophet), that John felt like he toiled in vain. He didn’t see his prophesies concerning the messiah come to fruition in his life time, and he wondered (like many saints) if his life was in vain. Here is another reason to trust in God, that God’s will triumphs; sometimes our effort don’t pay dividends until long after our life time (like Abraham).
But in the end, John wasn’t looking, nor did he receive, recompense from others, but only from God. His meaning and strength came from God’s grace and peace. He didn’t need to see results; his satisfaction came from doing God’s will. Even though his life was difficult, it was blessed.
John followed his own vocation. As it says in the second reading, John came to herald Jesus as the Messiah through preaching and baptizing for the forgiveness of sins. John said he was not the Messiah. It seems that there were followers of John for centuries who felt that John was the one sent by God as the Messiah and that Jesus was the usurper. Luke has John proclaim his deference to Jesus by having John say, “Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet." It was John’s vocation to be the proclaimer of Jesus, the Good News of salvation.
Like John, we all have a vocation in life. We are all called by God through our baptism to be bearers of the Good News. We are all baptized to be priests, prophets and kings; priests in the sense of prayer; prophets in the sense speaking and teaching our faith; and kings in the sense of being servants of other people. What is our vocation? How are we carrying it out?
Fr. Phil
THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
June 24, 2012
READING 1
ISAIAH 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said:
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am' I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet."
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
LUKE 1:57-66, 80
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?"
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
There are different readings for the Vigil Mass for this feast (Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1Peter 1:8-12, and Luke 1:5-17) , but I am reflecting on the readings for the Mass During The Day.
Elizabeth and Zechariah, like Joseph and Mary, are good Jewish parents, and have their son circumcised according to the Law of Moses (see Genesis 17:12 and Leviticus 12:3). John is thereby brought into the Jewish community, as will be Jesus (2:21) with his own circumcision. Luke will show that all the people that have a role in the beginning of Christianity to come from the people of Israel. In Luke’s second volume, Acts of the Apostles, Luke will argue that Christianity is a direct descendent of Judaism.
Elizabeth is “shown great mercy” by God because she was beyond child bearing years when she became pregnant. The role of a woman in those days was to bear children and take care of her husband and children. Being barren would have been a great calamity and a source of some embarrassment. Her neighbors would have rejoiced because God showed favor to her. Sounds a little like Mary, doesn’t it. There are some similarities between John’s birth and Jesus. Mary was also shown great mercy by God because she was allowed to conceive Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. The difference here is that even though John’s conception was miraculous, it was by natural means; Jesus’ conception was divine.
The naming of a child was of great importance in ancient days; it can tell us something of the newborn. It would have been expected that the child would be named after either the father of the grandfather. In any event, it would be a name chosen by the parents. However, in this case, the name was chosen by an angel of the Lord named Gabriel. Zechariah doubted and his punishment was to be made mute.
When Elizabeth and Zechariah went to circumcise John, they were asked what name they had chosen, and Elizabeth said ‘John’. They were astounded because no one in their family had that name. Note the deference to the father in a patriarchal society: they asked Zechariah about the name. He took a tablet and wrote that his name was John. He then regained his speech. Is first words are in praise of God.
This indicates that the prophecy of Gabriel was fulfilled despite human resistance. Some times we work at cross purposes with God, but in the end, God’s will prevails. This is important to remember whenever we are facing any trials: God is in charge, and He will prevail.
John is a name that means “God is gracious”. God is gracious to Elizabeth and Mary; he is gracious by sending his own Son for our salvation, and he is gracious in sending John as the prophet and forerunner of the Messiah.
All the people wondered what would become of John. The first reading from Isaiah could be of any prophet, but I think it apropos for John and reflects a lot of what John is about.
We’ve seen how John ‘was called from birth’ and given a name while still in the womb. John certainly was a ‘sharp-edged sword’. He was a fiery preacher, baptizing for the repentance of sins, and he paid the price of his life for his endeavors.
I also think (like many a prophet), that John felt like he toiled in vain. He didn’t see his prophesies concerning the messiah come to fruition in his life time, and he wondered (like many saints) if his life was in vain. Here is another reason to trust in God, that God’s will triumphs; sometimes our effort don’t pay dividends until long after our life time (like Abraham).
But in the end, John wasn’t looking, nor did he receive, recompense from others, but only from God. His meaning and strength came from God’s grace and peace. He didn’t need to see results; his satisfaction came from doing God’s will. Even though his life was difficult, it was blessed.
John followed his own vocation. As it says in the second reading, John came to herald Jesus as the Messiah through preaching and baptizing for the forgiveness of sins. John said he was not the Messiah. It seems that there were followers of John for centuries who felt that John was the one sent by God as the Messiah and that Jesus was the usurper. Luke has John proclaim his deference to Jesus by having John say, “Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet." It was John’s vocation to be the proclaimer of Jesus, the Good News of salvation.
Like John, we all have a vocation in life. We are all called by God through our baptism to be bearers of the Good News. We are all baptized to be priests, prophets and kings; priests in the sense of prayer; prophets in the sense speaking and teaching our faith; and kings in the sense of being servants of other people. What is our vocation? How are we carrying it out?
Fr. Phil
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
BIBLE STUDY #94
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 17, 2012
READING 1
EZEKIEL 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
MARK 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come."
He said,
"To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
Today’s Gospel contains the only two kingdom parables in Mark’s Gospel. While it can be much more, a parable is a basically “comparison of two objects for the purpose of teaching” (The New International Dictionary of the Bible, 1987, p.750). The term “Kingdom of God” is hard to define, but to me, it contains 2 basic aspects: our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other.
We usually think of the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) as something we receive in the next life, as in getting to heaven. In this instance, we think that the purpose of Jesus mission was to suffer and die so we can be saved. While this is true, it is also incomplete. It also means that God is working effectively in our lives in the present to bring his grace, peace and love into the world through us. Whenever we love, God is present (because God is love) but when we love, the kingdom of God is also present.
In the first parable, a man scatters seed. The implication is that it was a random scattering of seed that went everywhere. It seems that this man sowed the seed but didn’t tend it, which was not a common practice for farmers. The seed grows on its own, without any help, and when the land bears fruit it is harvested. It is through God’s power that the kingdom grows, not because of anything we do. God uses us as his instrument, but it is through God’s power that people are converted. We never convert anyone; it is God working through us that affects conversion. The work of conversion and growing in God’s grace also takes time, and we need to be patient with ourselves and others. It takes time for the planted seed to grow. It takes time for God’s word to grow in our hearts.
Bearing fruit for the kingdom also necessitates repentance in our lives. This is not just asking forgiveness for our mistakes and sins, but also a change of heart, a change in how we think and act, a reorienting of our lives from what we want to what God wants for us and what God wants us to do.
The second parable is similar to the first, and compares the kingdom to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds that grows into a large bush. The seed is a small beginning, it mysteriously grows suggesting divine guidance, and implies a great conclusion. The seed of faith sown through Jesus in our hearts will grow mysteriously into something grand and wonderful. We move towards the fullness of God’s kingdom at God’s pace; his word will be accomplished in the world. The largeness of the bush suggests the universality of the kingdom, how it will spread far and wide. The birds nesting in the bush suggests that many people from far and wide will be a part of the kingdom.
The Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is the new Israel and is the place where God’s creatures find refuge.
Jesus speaks in parables to help explain his message, which is much deeper than words can express. Poetry does something similar. A poet tries to express beauty in words that evoke that sense inside of us, something we can’t always put into words. Poetry speaks to the heart, not the head, as music can. Parables try to evoke the mysterious and unexplainable, to touch something deep inside of us, to change us and help us grow.
In the first reading from Ezekiel, the people Israel are in exile in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Ezekiel is certain that God will eventually return the people to the Promised Land and that when they return, it won’t be religion as usual, but faith will be much deeper and stronger. God will take a shoot from the old tree (a cedar tree, a symbol of Israel) and “plant it on a lofty mountain” (Jerusalem is on a high in elevation). The exile and return of the people is a means to achieve the renewal of their faith.
In the second reading from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he is encouraging people to believe and be faithful in their journey of life. We “walk by faith, not by sight”: we do not ‘see’ perfectly what God wants of has in store for us, be we go on anyway with courage because someday we will appear before the judgment seat of God to be rewarded for the good or punished for our evil. That seed of faith has been planted in us, has grown, and it is God’s grace that helps us get through life.
We are all called to plant seeds of faith in others by what we say and do. We are not concerned about being successful, just to follow God in all that we do. We use our gifts and talents and let God work through us.
Following is an interesting story about planting seeds, from the June 2012 issue of Connections:
“Anna loved to do needlework. But painful arthritis made it impossible for her to manipulate the large needle. So the 80-year-old great-grandmother began to look for something else to occupy her time. She found that her old fingers could hold a small paintbrush much easier than a needle. So she began to paint. She thought the scenes she painted around her upstate New York farm and village were good enough to show at the local fair. While she continued to win prizes for her jams and canned fruit, her paintings received little notice.
Then one day a New York City art collector was traveling through the village. He noticed four small paintings in the window of a local drug store. The dealer inquired about the artist and bought the paintings for a few dollars. He then went to visit Anna at her farm nearby and was charmed by her humble, homespun manner and values.
The collector returned to New York and got three of Anna's works included in an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. An art dealer championed Anna's work, launching her on a quarter-century career that would make her an internationally known celebrity.
The combination of the farm wife's homespun personality, the simple, unpretentious wisdom of her years, and her simple but evocative portrayals of everyday farm life catapulted Anna to acclaim and fame. Her paintings were displayed in leading galleries in New York and around the world, as well being featured in books, cards and calendars. Amazingly, 25 percent of her 1,500 paintings were completed after she was a hundred years old!
In her autobiography, published just before her death at 101 in 1961, Anna Mary Robertson Moses - Grandma Moses - wrote:
"I look back on my life like a good's day work, it was done and I feel satisfied with it. I was happy and content, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."
[From "Grandma Moses Country" by Stephen May, Smithsonian, April 2001.]
Anna Mary Robertson Moses possessed the faith of the farmer in Jesus' parable: the conviction that whether needlework or painting, her talent and work - however insignificant it may have seemed to her - could be vehicles of joy and good for others. We may have no idea how or why it happens or harbor no expectation of any meaningful result; nurturing what we have planted may be a frustrating and demanding undertaking. Grandma Moses, refusing to yield to crippling arthritis, found new life as an artist, celebrating life in rural America and God's gifts of nature and the harvest. We all have opportunities of bringing forth new life amid the changes and endings we all experience; in our generosity, kindness, support and consolation to others, we can bring the life of the Risen One into our own hearts and homes. Christ asks us to embrace the faith of the Gospel farmer and the hope of the mustard seed: to readily plant seeds of kindness and joy wherever and whenever we can in the certain knowledge that it will, in some way, result in a harvest of God's life and love.”
Fr. Phil
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 17, 2012
READING 1
EZEKIEL 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
MARK 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come."
He said,
"To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
Today’s Gospel contains the only two kingdom parables in Mark’s Gospel. While it can be much more, a parable is a basically “comparison of two objects for the purpose of teaching” (The New International Dictionary of the Bible, 1987, p.750). The term “Kingdom of God” is hard to define, but to me, it contains 2 basic aspects: our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other.
We usually think of the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) as something we receive in the next life, as in getting to heaven. In this instance, we think that the purpose of Jesus mission was to suffer and die so we can be saved. While this is true, it is also incomplete. It also means that God is working effectively in our lives in the present to bring his grace, peace and love into the world through us. Whenever we love, God is present (because God is love) but when we love, the kingdom of God is also present.
In the first parable, a man scatters seed. The implication is that it was a random scattering of seed that went everywhere. It seems that this man sowed the seed but didn’t tend it, which was not a common practice for farmers. The seed grows on its own, without any help, and when the land bears fruit it is harvested. It is through God’s power that the kingdom grows, not because of anything we do. God uses us as his instrument, but it is through God’s power that people are converted. We never convert anyone; it is God working through us that affects conversion. The work of conversion and growing in God’s grace also takes time, and we need to be patient with ourselves and others. It takes time for the planted seed to grow. It takes time for God’s word to grow in our hearts.
Bearing fruit for the kingdom also necessitates repentance in our lives. This is not just asking forgiveness for our mistakes and sins, but also a change of heart, a change in how we think and act, a reorienting of our lives from what we want to what God wants for us and what God wants us to do.
The second parable is similar to the first, and compares the kingdom to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds that grows into a large bush. The seed is a small beginning, it mysteriously grows suggesting divine guidance, and implies a great conclusion. The seed of faith sown through Jesus in our hearts will grow mysteriously into something grand and wonderful. We move towards the fullness of God’s kingdom at God’s pace; his word will be accomplished in the world. The largeness of the bush suggests the universality of the kingdom, how it will spread far and wide. The birds nesting in the bush suggests that many people from far and wide will be a part of the kingdom.
The Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is the new Israel and is the place where God’s creatures find refuge.
Jesus speaks in parables to help explain his message, which is much deeper than words can express. Poetry does something similar. A poet tries to express beauty in words that evoke that sense inside of us, something we can’t always put into words. Poetry speaks to the heart, not the head, as music can. Parables try to evoke the mysterious and unexplainable, to touch something deep inside of us, to change us and help us grow.
In the first reading from Ezekiel, the people Israel are in exile in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Ezekiel is certain that God will eventually return the people to the Promised Land and that when they return, it won’t be religion as usual, but faith will be much deeper and stronger. God will take a shoot from the old tree (a cedar tree, a symbol of Israel) and “plant it on a lofty mountain” (Jerusalem is on a high in elevation). The exile and return of the people is a means to achieve the renewal of their faith.
In the second reading from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he is encouraging people to believe and be faithful in their journey of life. We “walk by faith, not by sight”: we do not ‘see’ perfectly what God wants of has in store for us, be we go on anyway with courage because someday we will appear before the judgment seat of God to be rewarded for the good or punished for our evil. That seed of faith has been planted in us, has grown, and it is God’s grace that helps us get through life.
We are all called to plant seeds of faith in others by what we say and do. We are not concerned about being successful, just to follow God in all that we do. We use our gifts and talents and let God work through us.
Following is an interesting story about planting seeds, from the June 2012 issue of Connections:
“Anna loved to do needlework. But painful arthritis made it impossible for her to manipulate the large needle. So the 80-year-old great-grandmother began to look for something else to occupy her time. She found that her old fingers could hold a small paintbrush much easier than a needle. So she began to paint. She thought the scenes she painted around her upstate New York farm and village were good enough to show at the local fair. While she continued to win prizes for her jams and canned fruit, her paintings received little notice.
Then one day a New York City art collector was traveling through the village. He noticed four small paintings in the window of a local drug store. The dealer inquired about the artist and bought the paintings for a few dollars. He then went to visit Anna at her farm nearby and was charmed by her humble, homespun manner and values.
The collector returned to New York and got three of Anna's works included in an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. An art dealer championed Anna's work, launching her on a quarter-century career that would make her an internationally known celebrity.
The combination of the farm wife's homespun personality, the simple, unpretentious wisdom of her years, and her simple but evocative portrayals of everyday farm life catapulted Anna to acclaim and fame. Her paintings were displayed in leading galleries in New York and around the world, as well being featured in books, cards and calendars. Amazingly, 25 percent of her 1,500 paintings were completed after she was a hundred years old!
In her autobiography, published just before her death at 101 in 1961, Anna Mary Robertson Moses - Grandma Moses - wrote:
"I look back on my life like a good's day work, it was done and I feel satisfied with it. I was happy and content, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."
[From "Grandma Moses Country" by Stephen May, Smithsonian, April 2001.]
Anna Mary Robertson Moses possessed the faith of the farmer in Jesus' parable: the conviction that whether needlework or painting, her talent and work - however insignificant it may have seemed to her - could be vehicles of joy and good for others. We may have no idea how or why it happens or harbor no expectation of any meaningful result; nurturing what we have planted may be a frustrating and demanding undertaking. Grandma Moses, refusing to yield to crippling arthritis, found new life as an artist, celebrating life in rural America and God's gifts of nature and the harvest. We all have opportunities of bringing forth new life amid the changes and endings we all experience; in our generosity, kindness, support and consolation to others, we can bring the life of the Risen One into our own hearts and homes. Christ asks us to embrace the faith of the Gospel farmer and the hope of the mustard seed: to readily plant seeds of kindness and joy wherever and whenever we can in the certain knowledge that it will, in some way, result in a harvest of God's life and love.”
Fr. Phil
Thursday, June 7, 2012
BIBLE STUDY #93
THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
June 10, 2012
READING 1
EXODUS 24:3-8
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
"We will do everything that the LORD has told us."
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his."
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
HEBREWS 9:11-15
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.
For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
MARK 14:12-16, 22-26
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus' disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
Today’s gospel reading is from the Last Supper, the night before Jesus died. It mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover: “The Passover commemorated the redemption from slavery and the departure of the Israelites from Egypt by night. It began at sundown after the Passover lamb was sacrificed in the Temple in the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan. With the Passover supper on the same evening was associated the eating of unleavened bread. The latter was continued through Nisan 21, a reminder of the affliction of the Israelites and of the haste surrounding their departure. Praise and thanks to God for his goodness in the past were combined at this dual festival with the hope of future salvation.” (From the footnote to Mark 14:1 in the New American Bible, revised Edition.)
Sending the disciples out to find a room for the Passover is very similar to the scene of finding the colt for his entry to Jerusalem, but Jesus prophetic ability is enhanced because they “found it just as he had told them.” Jesus is a prophet whose words will be fulfilled to the letter.
Jesus refers to himself as a teacher, as he is addressed throughout Mark by disciples, would-be followers, and even adversaries. It seems that Jesus was known to the master of the house referred to in the gospel.
The Greek word translated as guest room is the same word “inn” where Joseph and Mary were turned away because there was no room. This word also refers means a temporary shelter or resting place. During Passover, residents of Jerusalem were expected to make space available for pilgrims to celebrate the meal.
The dining area was usually on the second floor above the noise of the street. The designation of a large room suggests that more than the apostles were present. A furnished room suggests that the room was festive in nature with covered couches to recline on. The coverings on the couches remind us of the cloaks spread on the ground when Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Though this meal is in a Passover setting, no mention is made of eating the lamb which is the principle part of the Passover meal. The eating of bread recalls the feeding of the 5,ooo (6:41) and the 4,000 (8:6). The bread is presumably unleavened bread eaten at Passover. Blessing is an act of thanksgiving and praise of God and reflects the Jewish custom of blessing food at the beginning and end of meals. The breaking and sharing of bread is the custom of family members sharing a meal.
What we call the institution narrative (this is my body…this is my blood) are 2 ways of expressing the total self giving of Jesus. This has spawned many interpretations, from those who say the bread and wine is just a remembrance to those who teach real presence and transubstantiation.
The “blood of the covenant” refers to the new covenant that is sealed by the blood of Jesus on the cross, sometimes called the new covenant due to the influence of Luke 22:20 and 1Cor 11:25.
Not drinking, that is fasting, has many meanings: repentance, mourning, preparing for contact with the holy, petitionary prayer, and preparation for the day of the Lord. Fasting is a prophetic symbol of the bridegroom being taken away and indicates the imminent death of Jesus. Jesus will feast again at the messianic banquet of heaven.
In the first reading from Exodus, Moses has given the people God’s words and ordinances, and their sacrifices are the way they ratify their covenant with God. They wrote down God’s words as a sign of their permanence, and Moses offered holocausts and peace offerings, which solidifies the relationship between God and Israel.
In the second reading from Hebrews, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant because of his sacrificial death. His death delivered us from our sins, which did not happen under the Mosaic covenant. It is only under the new covenant that we obtain the eternal inheritance promised by God
Today’s feast day, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, dates from the 13th century. It’s had many names over the course of time, but you probably remember it as Corpus Christi. It was celebrated on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (Trinity Sunday). It has since been moved to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday.
This feast is largely due to Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon, who was born near Liege, Belgium in 1192. She was an orphan at an early age and was educated by Augustinian nuns. She later joined this order and became prioress. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament from an early age and always wanted a feast in its honor. She had a recurring vision since age 16: the appearance of a bright moon streaked by a dark band. In a dream, our Lord told her the black band denoted the absence of a feast for the Blessed Sacrament.
After she became prioress in 1225, she began to speak to John of Lausanne, a learned canon, and asked him to consult theologians about the feasibility of this feast. One of the men he consulted with was James Panteleon who later became Pope Urban IV who promulgated the Bull Transiturus on September 8, 1264 ordering this feast to be celebrated. Pope Clement V confirmed the Bull in 1312, and since then this has been a feast throughout the Roman Church. Blessed Juliana did not see this feast come into existence since she died in 1258. (Thanks to Butlers Lives of the Saints for this information).
Today’s feast celebrates the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist contains the “body and blood, soul and divinity” of Jesus, that Jesus is truly present in the substance of bread and wine.
The doctrine of the Real Presence asserts that in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus is literally and wholly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. Evangelicals and Fundamentalists frequently attack this doctrine as "unbiblical," but the Bible is forthright in declaring it (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16–17, 11:23–29; and, most forcefully, John 6:32–71); (from Catholic Answers, copyright 1996-2012, on the internet.
Following are several paragraphs form the Catechism of the Catholic Church concerning the presence of Christ in the Eucharist that you may find interesting and informative (the numbers are paragraph numbers in the catechism):
The presence of Christ by the power of his word and the Holy Spirit
1373 "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: in his word, in his Church's prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name, in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species."
1374 The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend." In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present."
1375 It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament. The Church Fathers strongly affirmed the faith of the Church in the efficacy of the Word of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit to bring about this conversion. Thus St. John Chrysostom declares:
It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.
And St. Ambrose says about this conversion:
Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed.... Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.
1376 The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
1377 The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.
1378 Worship of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."
1379 The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
1380 It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique way. Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the end,"[207] even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love:
The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.
Fr. Phil
THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
June 10, 2012
READING 1
EXODUS 24:3-8
When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
"We will do everything that the LORD has told us."
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites
to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his."
The Word of the Lord
READING 2
HEBREWS 9:11-15
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came as high priest
of the good things that have come to be,
passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle
not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
he entered once for all into the sanctuary,
not with the blood of goats and calves
but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes
can sanctify those who are defiled
so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works
to worship the living God.
For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place for deliverance
from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
The Word of the Lord
GOSPEL
MARK 14:12-16, 22-26
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus' disciples said to him,
"Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there."
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
Today’s gospel reading is from the Last Supper, the night before Jesus died. It mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover: “The Passover commemorated the redemption from slavery and the departure of the Israelites from Egypt by night. It began at sundown after the Passover lamb was sacrificed in the Temple in the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan. With the Passover supper on the same evening was associated the eating of unleavened bread. The latter was continued through Nisan 21, a reminder of the affliction of the Israelites and of the haste surrounding their departure. Praise and thanks to God for his goodness in the past were combined at this dual festival with the hope of future salvation.” (From the footnote to Mark 14:1 in the New American Bible, revised Edition.)
Sending the disciples out to find a room for the Passover is very similar to the scene of finding the colt for his entry to Jerusalem, but Jesus prophetic ability is enhanced because they “found it just as he had told them.” Jesus is a prophet whose words will be fulfilled to the letter.
Jesus refers to himself as a teacher, as he is addressed throughout Mark by disciples, would-be followers, and even adversaries. It seems that Jesus was known to the master of the house referred to in the gospel.
The Greek word translated as guest room is the same word “inn” where Joseph and Mary were turned away because there was no room. This word also refers means a temporary shelter or resting place. During Passover, residents of Jerusalem were expected to make space available for pilgrims to celebrate the meal.
The dining area was usually on the second floor above the noise of the street. The designation of a large room suggests that more than the apostles were present. A furnished room suggests that the room was festive in nature with covered couches to recline on. The coverings on the couches remind us of the cloaks spread on the ground when Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Though this meal is in a Passover setting, no mention is made of eating the lamb which is the principle part of the Passover meal. The eating of bread recalls the feeding of the 5,ooo (6:41) and the 4,000 (8:6). The bread is presumably unleavened bread eaten at Passover. Blessing is an act of thanksgiving and praise of God and reflects the Jewish custom of blessing food at the beginning and end of meals. The breaking and sharing of bread is the custom of family members sharing a meal.
What we call the institution narrative (this is my body…this is my blood) are 2 ways of expressing the total self giving of Jesus. This has spawned many interpretations, from those who say the bread and wine is just a remembrance to those who teach real presence and transubstantiation.
The “blood of the covenant” refers to the new covenant that is sealed by the blood of Jesus on the cross, sometimes called the new covenant due to the influence of Luke 22:20 and 1Cor 11:25.
Not drinking, that is fasting, has many meanings: repentance, mourning, preparing for contact with the holy, petitionary prayer, and preparation for the day of the Lord. Fasting is a prophetic symbol of the bridegroom being taken away and indicates the imminent death of Jesus. Jesus will feast again at the messianic banquet of heaven.
In the first reading from Exodus, Moses has given the people God’s words and ordinances, and their sacrifices are the way they ratify their covenant with God. They wrote down God’s words as a sign of their permanence, and Moses offered holocausts and peace offerings, which solidifies the relationship between God and Israel.
In the second reading from Hebrews, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant because of his sacrificial death. His death delivered us from our sins, which did not happen under the Mosaic covenant. It is only under the new covenant that we obtain the eternal inheritance promised by God
Today’s feast day, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, dates from the 13th century. It’s had many names over the course of time, but you probably remember it as Corpus Christi. It was celebrated on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (Trinity Sunday). It has since been moved to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday.
This feast is largely due to Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon, who was born near Liege, Belgium in 1192. She was an orphan at an early age and was educated by Augustinian nuns. She later joined this order and became prioress. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament from an early age and always wanted a feast in its honor. She had a recurring vision since age 16: the appearance of a bright moon streaked by a dark band. In a dream, our Lord told her the black band denoted the absence of a feast for the Blessed Sacrament.
After she became prioress in 1225, she began to speak to John of Lausanne, a learned canon, and asked him to consult theologians about the feasibility of this feast. One of the men he consulted with was James Panteleon who later became Pope Urban IV who promulgated the Bull Transiturus on September 8, 1264 ordering this feast to be celebrated. Pope Clement V confirmed the Bull in 1312, and since then this has been a feast throughout the Roman Church. Blessed Juliana did not see this feast come into existence since she died in 1258. (Thanks to Butlers Lives of the Saints for this information).
Today’s feast celebrates the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist contains the “body and blood, soul and divinity” of Jesus, that Jesus is truly present in the substance of bread and wine.
The doctrine of the Real Presence asserts that in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus is literally and wholly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. Evangelicals and Fundamentalists frequently attack this doctrine as "unbiblical," but the Bible is forthright in declaring it (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16–17, 11:23–29; and, most forcefully, John 6:32–71); (from Catholic Answers, copyright 1996-2012, on the internet.
Following are several paragraphs form the Catechism of the Catholic Church concerning the presence of Christ in the Eucharist that you may find interesting and informative (the numbers are paragraph numbers in the catechism):
The presence of Christ by the power of his word and the Holy Spirit
1373 "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: in his word, in his Church's prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name, in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species."
1374 The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend." In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present."
1375 It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament. The Church Fathers strongly affirmed the faith of the Church in the efficacy of the Word of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit to bring about this conversion. Thus St. John Chrysostom declares:
It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.
And St. Ambrose says about this conversion:
Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed.... Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.
1376 The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
1377 The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.
1378 Worship of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."
1379 The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
1380 It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique way. Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the end,"[207] even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love:
The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.
Fr. Phil
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