Why we Catholics do what we do with Holy Communion (Sunday homily)

 In the first reading, Wisdom says, come to a meal. 

For a lot of us, meals are eaten on the run, in the car, or at your desk. 

I’m guilty of that!  

Yet that’s not Wisdom’s meal. 

She is saying, set aside real time to focus on both the food and the company. 

Make the most of it. 

Just on the level of a meal, this can be a powerful experience, 

to give real attention both to preparing a meal with love 

and sharing it with others, 

where we focus not just on the food, but the company. 

And that is a prism for the whole of life.

Is the point of the Rosary to rush through as fast as possible? 

Or to be aware of your company: 

Being with Mary and the saints turning our gaze to Jesus, 

And being aware of our fellow pilgrims beside us in the pews?

Now let’s focus on Jesus’ words in the Gospel. 

He is True Wisdom, inviting you and me to the greatest of all meals. 

“The Bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

These are shocking words, and if you’re not shocked, 

I must ask: were you listening? “The Bread I will give is my flesh…”

People were listening that day, and they were shocked. 

Notice Jesus didn’t back down, he doubled down. 

Over and over, he says, “eat my flesh” and “drink my blood.” 

So, this is not a mere symbol, not a metaphor. 

This, right here, sets us Catholics apart from many other Christians. 

I do not say that to be superior or insulting – 

and I am aware there are those with us who aren’t Catholic, 

who are, in their own way, sorting out their beliefs. 

But it is actually disrespectful to minimize or wave away real differences.

There’s more we could explore here, if there were time, 

but for now, let’s just acknowledge the reality.

If people ask us why we Catholics take this so seriously, 

we can do no better than to point to this Gospel passage. 

You and I are remaining faithful 

to how Catholics have heard these words since the very beginning. 

One of the first to call us “Catholic” was the bishop Ignatius, 

about 70 years after the Last Supper. 

He spoke about the Eucharist as we do, today.

And more examples could be cited.

And it’s all connected to questions like, is the Mass a true sacrifice? Yes. 

Does there continue to be a true priesthood? Yes. 

And do we believe it is important to maintain continuity with those before us? Again, yes.

Still, we can get a panicky, not knowing how to explain 

our Catholic practice of only Catholics – in a state of grace – 

receiving the Eucharist.

If asked, you might answer that we believe receiving the Eucharist 

is not just one familiar rituals. 

Anyone can receive ashes or bless themselves with holy water.

But for Catholics, the Eucharist is the supreme moment of focus on Jesus himself. 

Since Jesus tells us the Eucharist 

is his whole self, Body and Blood, given for us and to us, 

it is necessary that you and I come prepared to give our whole selves to him.

Remember Lady Wisdom inviting us: take time to give yourselves wholly.

So: there needs to be a holistic act of faith on our part,

giving ourselves wholly to the whole Body of Christ;

Not just what the priest or distributor is holding up,

But the whole mystical Body of Christ – that is, the Church.

This is what it means to become Catholic. 

When people become Catholic a little later in life, this is clearer: 

they take time to understand the implications, to prepare, 

and then in a solemn way, they commit themselves publicly. 

Then: their first Holy Communion.

For those of us who were baptized as babies, 

it was our parents who had to make a solemn commitment, 

which they did on the day of our baptism. 

Then, as we mature, we grow into our own solemn commitment. 

What I’m describing is the origin of Lent: 

either for those entering the church to fast and prepare and convert; 

or for the already baptized to fast and renew our conversion. 

Then comes Easter when some are baptized and the rest of us renew our baptism. 

And this is relived each Sunday at Mass. 

Notice we recite the Creed each Sunday: a solemn profession!

If no one ever told you that all this is serious, solemn stuff, 

then I’m telling you now. Don’t just toddle along. Ask yourself: do I believe this?

And for those around us who want to receive the Eucharist,

The right answer is, “Yes, we want that too! But let us help you prepare. 

This is worth a lot more than a moment’s reflection, don’t you think?

'What happens in St. Mary Church...' (Sunday homily)

 Today we have a feast day special for just this church. 

That’s why the readings are different today, 

and apologies to anyone who expected something different.

Today we recall when this church was consecrated by Archbishop Schnurr.

The bishops consider such an occasion so important 

that it can be celebrated on a nearby Sunday, so that’s what we do; 

it was actually August 14, 2016, 

when this structure changed from merely a building into the House of God.

And that right there is what we celebrate:

God dwelling among his people.

And that makes this church, and every church so consecrated, holy ground.

A bit of heaven on earth.

You may think I’m speaking figuratively or using a metaphor, 

but I am speaking very literally. I mean my words with full force.

You and I live in a secular age, in which increasingly, 

people speak of God as if he is just a figure of speech.

And if he actually exists, we really can’t say anything definite about God.

God becomes kind of an ink-blot test, remember those?

Someone shows you an ink-blot 

and you say, “Oh, I see a bird” or “I see a tree.”

The funny thing is, humanity was supposed to be so much better off 

when science and reason prevailed, 

and any claims about faith and the supernatural 

were segregated off to be purely personal.

But that doesn’t seem to be working out.

Like it or not, some part of us seems to be oriented toward mystery, 

toward the transcendent, toward – dare I say – the spiritual?

And so, if you look around, you may notice more and more people who,

in declaring themselves not to be interested in religion, 

End up embracing a world-view that is not more rational, but less, 

grounded not in science but subjectivity?

How else to explain those who insist emotional experience 

is more real than objective biological facts – 

which is what the “transgender” issue boils down to?

So, let me return to what I said a moment ago.

This church is a bit of heaven on earth. God is here with us.

This is no more than an extension of the words we recite in the Creed:

“For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

This – God becoming what we are and becoming knowable by us – 

is the only remedy for our friends, neighbors, or any of us 

to avoid being lost in the abyss of our own subjectivity.

Of course, this feast day is not only about a sacred building.

It is about the consecrated people who are changed by what happens here.

That takes the matter to the next level:

This building’s holiness is demonstrated by our holiness.

People will believe God is here by what they see in you and me.

There’s a TV ad that says, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

That statement has many problems we can talk about another time, but: 

This cannot be true about this place. 

What happens in St. Mary’s church, if it’s real, 

cannot and will not stay in this church!

Through baptism, through confession, through prayer together, 

through the Holy Mass, through mourning and rejoicing together, 

The Holy Spirit is working to shape each of us into the likeness of Jesus.

What happens here pushes out from here:

In a readiness to forgive and seek peace amidst strife;

In a calm steadiness amidst the uncertainties of the world around us;

In an unrelenting generosity to those most in need.

As the hymn says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”;

And they’ll know God dwells here by meeting us.

'Food that endures' (Sunday homily)

 Last Sunday, the key idea was “signs” – 

that is, which point us toward Jesus Christ, who is the destination.

This Sunday, we hear the Lord Jesus say:

“Do not work for food that perishes

but for the food that endures for eternal life.”

So I wondered: how do these two types of food compare?

Let’s start with “food that perishes” – that is, natural, ordinary food.

This food you and I can grow or raise ourselves, or we buy. 

Although food is much easier to get than in Bible times,

It still costs real money and takes real work.

If we don’t eat it, we will die.

If we eat the wrong kind, we will get sick.

If you or I eat too much, we get fat.

But even if we eat the right food, in the right amount, 

You and I will still die, because this natural life cannot go on forever.

Such is the “food that perishes.”

Now, what about the enduring food Jesus offers us?

You and I cannot produce it; we cannot prepare it. It is simply given.

What does it cost? I was going to say it’s free, and that’s true.

Yet in another sense, no food is more costly,

because what we “pay” to receive Jesus is, simply, our whole selves. 

He gives himself entirely, and he demands the very same from us.

Our entire selves: let that sink in.

Many wonder why the Christian Faith is facing troubles in our time.

So many profess to be Christian, but don’t really live it. 

Many live compartmentalized lives: one part of me prays, 

one part of me believes, but another part of me cheats on my taxes,

or mistreats my spouse, or goes to dark places on the Internet, 

or depends on alcohol to make me happy,

or is envious or controlling, and so on and so on.

Meanwhile there are so many who simply ignore the claims of Christ.

They don’t think they are rejecting him; but he’s a figure on a cross, 

a picture on the wall, and maybe he gets a visit one or two times a year.

Why is this happening?

It is true that bad Christians – high or low – give scandal.

Nevertheless, the main reason people 

do not continue with their Christian Faith, or do not accept it,

is because Jesus simply asks too much.

We might be willing to give him a part of us; but he demands ALL.

And so, by the way, this is why when we commit a mortal sin, 

we must be reconciled – through confession – 

before receiving the Eucharist. 

Jesus is not content to have only part of us; he wants all!

So, yes, the “food that endures” is indeed costly.

What else about the food Jesus gives?

While natural food can only communicate natural life,

The food of Jesus provides supernatural life that never ends. 

But without Jesus, you and I will be eternally hungry and empty, 

and that is hell.

These are the two foods placed before us.

And Jesus says, you’re working hard for ordinary food; I understand.

Still, receive this Food; “work” for this Food I will give;

And the “work” we do for it, is to put our faith in Jesus; 

as I said, to give him our entire selves, nothing held back.

The bread and wine, used for Mass, is “food that perishes.”

It is ordinary.

In a few moments, before our eyes, 

through the unworthy hands of this sinful priest,   

Jesus himself will change these ephemeral, earth-bound elements, 

into that Food which he promised to give: 

His very self, his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Now, do you see something else? 

This food, this perishable food, this is us!

You and I, like the bread and wine, 

do not have supernatural life in ourselves; 

and if God had not acted and entered time to share it, 

we would spend eternity without supernatural life!

What Jesus does to the bread and wine on the altar, 

He is determined to do to you and me!

This is what it means to receive the Eucharist;

As Saint Augustine said, we become what we receive.

I’m going to end with two questions.

Don’t answer too quickly. 

Look deep in your own heart, confront yourself, 

and tell yourself the answer. 

Think hard about whether you truly mean it. 

Do you believe this change – from bread and wine, 

into Jesus’ Body and Blood, his true and real Presence – 

actually happens on this altar?

And do you believe that what Jesus does to bread and wine, 

He can and he will – AND WILL! – do to you?

Jesus is the Food that Endures: Become what you receive!