20th Sunday "The Mass is not so much something we "do" as it is a gift we are privileged to receive along with the invitation to offer ourselves....

For the last couple of weeks we have been reading from the sixth Chapter of St. John on the Holy Eucharist. We are Catholics are the true fundamentalist, for we take these words of Jesus literally. There is in fact no other way to take them. Jesus says, “Amen! Amen!” To say Amen is to swear an oath that what I am about to say is the truth. To say Amen twice is to make sure you understand that I am not speaking symbolically. The word Jesus uses for eat the Hebrew word that is used when one eats flesh; it means to gnaw and grind with one’s teeth. No wonder why the early Christians were accused of cannibalism.
These readings should have then, moved us to beg our Lord for a deeper faith in the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist, a mystery that most of Jesus followers denied in his day, and most Christians still deny today. Let’s do a short recap what we heard thus far. We started this Chapter a few weeks ago with the miracle of multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We learned that Jesus gave them bread as a sign of a greater miracle to come, the miracle of Transubstantiation. But the crowd misunderstood and wanted to make him an earthly King, a political leader to fill their earthly bellies, their earthly desires, to give them economic security. So Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith, for not looking for Him in faith, he tells not to look for earthly food but for the bread of eternal life. Instead of believing Jesus in faith, they appeal to Moses as the one who gave them bread from heaven. Jesus tells them it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven but my Heavenly Father you gives you the real true bread from heaven. And then Jesus gives them the shock of their lives by telling them all that He, himself is the true bread come down from heaven-the Bread of Life sent by His Father for the for the life of the world, and that all who believe in him, meaning all that believe what He has just said, will have eternal life.
Last week, we heard the Jews murmuring amongst themselves, refusing to believe that Jesus Himself is the bread that satisfies our deepest hunger, which is for love. Our day is no different, there are still those who murmur amongst themselves and deny Jesus’ teaching of the Holy Eucharist. They deny that Jesus is the Holy Eucharist, believing instead that what we receive at Holy Communion is merely bread and wine instead of Jesus in His true resurrected and glorified body. They deny that the Holy Mass is that event which by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the ordained priesthood makes sacramentally present the true bread of life, which is Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist. As a result of their lack of faith, Jesus can do no great works in their lives.
With their lack of faith in the Holy Eucharist they also murmur and so deny the sacrificial nature of the Mass, that the Holy Mass makes present in reality Calvary to us; and so, is not only the source of our salvation, but also as the Second Vatican Council taught that the Mass is, “the source and summit of the Christian life.” Without the Mass and correct belief in it we cannot live a truly authentic Christian life. In His Encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, John Paul explained all of this saying, “The most Holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men. Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.”
We need to beg our Lord to increase our faith in the great gift of the Holy Eucharist. Maybe we don’t deny outright this main truth of our faith, but do we mummer against Jesus by taken the Holy Mass, the Holy Eucharist for granted, and so end up losing sight of its great mystery and sacredness. Do we fail to see that the Mass is primarily the work of Jesus the head, in which Jesus out of love for us offers Himself anew to the Father, not only for our Salvation, but that we might enter into a deep loving intimacy of love with Him and through Him with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, a union in which God literally weds our soul? And so, the Mass is not so much something we "do" as it is a gift we are privileged to receive along with the invitation to unite ourselves to the Lord’s sacred action, to His very self. Again, this is what the Vatican council really meant by full and active (it really used the word “actual”), participation in the Liturgy. What could be more active than offering ourselves to the Father, in union with Jesus through his sacrifice on Calvary?
How about our preparation for the Holy Mass? Do we come to Holy Mass dress for a day at the park or beach, instead of being dressed for a wedding, the wedding of our soul with God at the foot of the cross? We should dress for Holy Mass better than we dress for any event of our lives, for it is truly the most important event of our lives. Do we humbly prepare ourselves, our minds and our hearts for Mass in prayer? Or do we habitual show up for Holy Mass just in time or even late instead of coming early to prepare our hearts and minds, asking the Holy Spirit to help us to adore our Lord by adequately examining our conscience, asking for forgiveness? Do we pray the Mass or just say the Mass?
Do we then reverently receive Holy Communion, not only realizing what we are receiving, but more importantly Whom it is that we are receiving—Truly Our Lord and Our God? Our Holy Father, Benedict, is again calling for Catholics to again receive communion kneeling not only in body if they are able but also in mind and heart—humble before the Lord.
How about our thanksgiving after Holy Mass for receiving the Holy Eucharist? Do we sit around and visit and forget to thank Jesus for the total gift of himself to us in the Eucharist? Do we talk and murmur in Church after Mass interrupting those who are praying in thanksgiving and so fail to realize that this space is Holy and Sacred, that because Jesus is still truly present in the tabernacle that the Mass is still in a sense always going on. We all have to be reminded that this space is a house of prayer and adoration, not for visiting; that is done in the vestibule or outside. The Church in its General Instruction on the Roman Missal and in other recent documents is constantly reminding us of the silent reverence we need to restore and to maintain in the presence of the Holy Eucharist contained in the tabernacle, not to mention the wonder and awe we should have when approaching such an august Mystery.
In the last 40 years there has been some confusion over these matters, even sadly with some bishops and priest. However, now the Church is clearing up this confusion, so we all, including myself, must take a look at any bad habits we might have picked up and work to change them. As John Paul II the said in his encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, “The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and depreciation. Stripped of its sacrificial meaning, often it is experienced as if it were simply a fraternal banquet. Let us dispel all doubt and reawakening our wonder at the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.” (cf. JPII Ecclesia Eucharistia).
Let us in this Mass truly open our hearts to the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. We don’t have to be perfect in order to do this, we just need to become like little Children trusting in God for what we lack. We can come to the Mass in our brokenness and in our sinfulness in order to receive what we need to change and to grow in love, in intimacy with the Lord. What we need is Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. He is really there and He will change our unworthiness, heal our sinfulness and increase our love; and He will do so, by giving us His own Sacred Heart which is contained in the Holy Eucharist and still beats for love of us. But we must repent of our sinfulness, our stubbornness and our lack of faith; we must freely offer to Him at Holy Mass our hearts and our wills.
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us at this Mass and every Mass we are blessed to attend to lift up our hearts in adoration to the Lord; in others words, to offer our hearts in union through the Heart of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus and in the heart of Jesus in the unity and by the power of the Holy Spirit, giving all glory and honor to the almighty Father by offering ourselves along with Jesus in sacrifice of adoration and praise. Let us make this offering of ourselves to our Heavenly Father who gave us the great gift of the Eucharist in order that in thanksgiving we could give back to Him, the gift of our lives, the gift of our very self in order to be united with Him, along with all the angel and saints, in eternal happiness beginning right now at this Holy Mass and forever in the eternal Mass of heaven. Amen.

The Blessed Virgin is indeed the first fruits of Jesus truly raised from the dead.

Today we celebrate the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul into heaven. This dogma, this truth of our faith that every Catholic must assent to fully with intellect and will, was solemnly defined by Pope Pius the XII in the apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus on November 1st, 1950. This doesn’t mean however as some of our separate brethren think that the Church thought up this belief in 1950; no, it means that the Church solemnity proclaimed that which all believing Christian held to be true from the very beginning.
In their homilies and sermons on this feast, the holy fathers and great doctors (of our faith) spoke of the assumption of the Mother of God as something already familiar and accepted by the faithful. They gave it greater clarity in their preaching and used more profound arguments in setting out its nature and meaning. Above all, they brought out more clearly the fact that what is commemorated (today) in this feast is not simply the total absence of corruption from the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but also her triumph over death and her glorification in heaven, after the pattern of her only Son, Jesus Christ.
The Blessed Virgin is indeed the first fruits of Jesus truly raised from the dead. As Her Son truly rose incorruptible in body and soul from the grave, so too did His mother, who most perfectly followed Him in life, now follow Him into eternity in body and soul. And so one of the great fathers of our faith, Saint John Damascene, said, “It was necessary that she who had preserved her virginity inviolate in childbirth should also have her body kept free from all corruption after death. It was necessary that she who had carried the Creator as a child on her breast should dwell herself in the tabernacles of God. It was necessary that the bride espoused by the Father should make her home in the bridal chambers of heaven. It was necessary that she, who had gazed on her crucified Son and so was pierced in the heart by the sword sorrow which she had escaped in giving him birth, should contemplate him seated with the Father. It was necessary that the Mother of God should share the possession of her Son, and be venerated by every creature as the Mother and Hand Maid of the Lord.”
Perhaps, a simple way to look upon this feast and so on the Blessed Virgin Mary, is that Jesus her Son who Created her, simply didn’t not want His mother to be for one second in the power of Satan. So, He first gave her the privilege of the Immaculate Conception to preserve her from sin; and then as a result, He did not want the sinless body of His Mother to be subject to worms and decay, so He gave her the privilege of the Assumption. Think about it, if we could have created our own mother we would have, like Jesus, created her without sin; and if we could have, would we have, in order to show our mother our great love like Jesus, keep her body, after her death, from worms and decay. It’s only common sense to believe that Jesus did these things for His Mother in order to honor her and most especially out of His perfect love for her. Which one of us, wouldn’t have done the same for our own mother if we could have.
What joy for Jesus to welcome His Mother into His heavenly home! What joy for Mary to see visibly the face of her Son again, this time in glory! What joy for the angels and the blessed in heaven to greet their Queen, their Mother! What joy for the heavenly Father to receive His favorite daughter! What joy for the Holy Spirit to meet again the chosen woman who had cooperated to bring the Son of God to this earth as a man! What joy for St. Joseph to have the companion of his earthly days with him in heaven!
This great feast is really feast of hope for us all, for we too long to follow our Heavenly Mother, into heaven. We too long for the happiness of loved ones meeting them again and embracing them again those who have gone before us. On this Assumption day, because of Mary’s assumption, our hope is not a pipe dream, it is real. A creature, the first of all creatures, who is the Mother of God and our Mother as well, as made it to heaven, body and soul. And so on this joyful feast of the assumption, because of her, we too can look forward in hope to the day when we will enter heaven there to meet Jesus, His Mother and all of those who gone before us as friends of Jesus. We too can look forward to the day when we will be able to experience our loved ones not only with our souls, but with our souls again united to our bodies in order that we can again embrace them with our love now perfected. We don’t think of this enough.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary fills us with joy, and it encourages us in our struggle to leave sin behind and so convert and grow closer to our goal which is Jesus and union with Him, for He is our true goal and so our true hope. This feast doesn’t leave us complacent or presumptuous of our salvation; no it reminds us that we must, if we are to share in the joy of our Heavenly Mother, increase our struggle to be good and faithful sons and daughters of God; to increase our effort to keep our souls clean through frequent confession and the worthily reception of the Holy Eucharist. In this way we will reach heaven, not in the same way as the most Holy Virgin, since due to sin our bodies will experience corruption. But Nevertheless, if we die in God’s grace, our soul will go to heaven, perhaps by way of Purgatory first….And then at the end of the world at the resurrection of the dead our bodies too will join again our souls and we will then receive our eternal reward, joining in unending and unfathomable Joy, Jesus and His Most Holy Mother together with all the angels and saints…this is our true goal in this life and in the life to come; this is our true hope that we celebrate on this very special day!
Let us today, pray for an increase in devotion and love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us from this day forward pray her rosary daily and with a greater intensity, as a way of holding her hand as we contemplate the mysteries of her Son and so see Him through her eyes of love. And let us offer ourselves fully to her so that she may before the throne of God, present our hearts to her Son and through Him to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and so obtain for us the great gift and grace of final perseverance in order to be with her in body and soul in heaven united with the Blessed Trinity forever. Amen.

Happy St Philomena's day!
Today is St Philomena's Day so happy feast day to all those named after her and to all those who have a special devotion to her.

In the Year of the Priest it is appropriate to remember the great love that St John Vianney had for St Philomena. Here is a Litany to St Philomena composed by the Curé of Ars.

For many people, the only thing they know about St Philomena is that she "didn't exist", and therefore how silly it is to have devotion to her. The relatively recent scientific report shows that those who had the courage to doubt the blanket of doubt had good reason, and those who had devotion to her were not so foolish after all. As well as St John Vianney, these devotees include Bl Pope Pius IX, St Pius X, Bl Bartolomo Longo, and, of course, Ven Pauline Jaricot, founder of the APF.

Litany to St. Philomena
(Composed by St. John Vianney)

Lord have mercy on us.

Christ have mercy on us.

Lord have mercy on us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of Virgins,

St. Philomena, pray for us.

St. Philomena, filled with the most abundant
graces from your very birth, pray for us.

St. Philomena, faithful imitator of Mary, pray for us.

St. Philomena. model of Virgins, pray for us.

St. Philomena, temple of the most perfect humility, pray for us.

St. Philomena, inflamed with zeal for the Glory of God, pray for us.

St. Philomena, victim of the love of Jesus, pray for us.

St. Philomena, example of strength and perseverance, pray for us.

St. Philomena, invincible champion of chastity, pray for us.

St. Philomena, mirror of the most heroic virtues, pray for us.

St. Philomena, firm and intrepid in the face of torments, pray for us.

St. Philomena, scourged like your Divine Spouse, pray for us.

St. Philomena, pierced by a shower of arrows, pray for us.

St. Philomena, consoled by the Mother of God, when in chains, pray for us.

St. Philomena, cured miraculously in prison, pray for us.

St. Philomena, comforted by angels in your torments, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who preferred torments and death to the splendors of a throne, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who converted the witnesses of your martyrdom, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who wore out the fury of your executioners, pray for us.

St. Philomena, protectress of the innocent, pray for us.

St. Philomena, patron of youth, pray for us.

St. Philomena, refuge of the unfortunate, pray for us.

St. Philomena, health of the sick and the weak. pray for us.

St. Philomena, new light of the church militant, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who confounds the impiety of the world, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who stimulates the faith and courage of the faithful, pray for us.

St. Philomena, whose name is glorified in Heaven and feared in Hell, pray for us.

St. Philomena, made illustrious by the most striking miracles, pray for us.

St. Philomena, all powerful with God, pray for us.

St. Philomena, who reigns in glory, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V.) Pray for us, Great St. Philomena,

R.) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

We implore Thee, O Lord, by the intercession of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, who was ever most pleasing to Thy eyes by reason of her eminent purity and the practice of all the virtues, pardon us our sins and grant us all the graces we need (and name any special grace you may require). Amen.

Novena to St. Philomena

O great St. Philomena, glorious Virgin and Martyr, wonder-worker of our age, I return most fervent thanks to God for the miraculous gifts bestowed on thee, and beseech thee to impart to me a share in the graces and blessings of which thou hast been the channel to so many souls. Through the heroic fortitude with which thou didst confront the fury of tyrants and brave the frowns of the mighty rather than swerve from thy allegiance to the King of Heaven, obtain for me purity of body and soul, purity of heart and desire, purity of thought and affection.

Through thy patience under multiplied sufferings, obtain for me a submissive acceptance of all the afflictions it may please God to send me and as thou didst miraculously escape unhurt from the waters of the Tiber, into which thou wert cast by order of thy persecutor, so may I pass through the waters of tribulation without detriment to my soul. In addition to these favours, obtain for me, O faithful spouse of Jesus, the particular intention I earnestly recommend to thee at this moment. O pure Virgin and holy Martyr, deign to cast a look of pity from Heaven on thy devoted servant, comfort me in affliction, assist me in danger, above all come to my aid in the hour of death. Watch over the interests of the Church of God, pray for its exaltation and prosperity, the extension of the faith, for the Sovereign Pontiff, for the clergy, for the perseverance of the just, the conversion of sinners, and the relief of the souls in purgatory, especially those dear to me. O great Saint, whose triumph we celebrate on earth, intercede for me, that I may one day behold the crown of glory bestowed on thee in Heaven, and eternally bless Him who so liberally rewards for all eternity the sufferings endured for His love during this short life. Amen.

Prayer

O most pure Virgin, glorious Martyr, St. Philomena, whom God in His eternal power has revealed to the world in these unhappy days in order to revive the faith, sustain the hope and enkindle the charity of Christian souls, behold me prostrate at thy feet. Deign, O Virgin, full of goodness and kindness, to receive my humble prayers and to obtain for me that purity for which thou didst sacrifice the most alluring pleasures of the world, that strength of soul which made thee resist the most terrible attacks and that ardent love for our Lord Jesus Christ, which the most frightful torments could not extinguish in thee. So, that wearing thy holy cord and imitating thee in this life, I may one day be crowned with thee in heaven. Amen.

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The Saint Philomena Question Answered

4/17/2005 - 21:19 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Catholic PRWire

A conference was held in Rome to get answers for “The Philomenan Question”.

On April 9, 2005, a panel, of scientists, priests and devotees presented reports that offered resounding answers which will put to rest the years of questioning once and for all time.

It was a Blessed week in Rome, as many of us experienced the celebration of our beloved Pope John Paul II.

Also, it is a wonderful coincidence that the magazine, “Inside the Vatican” should have a large article about our Saint on the news stand the same week. Inside the magazine, there are lots of pictures and among other things, it reports about the great growth of the devotion world-wide to our Saint, estimating it to be around five million strong now. The Sanctuary wants to praise each of you in each Universal Archconfraternity. This is truly a testament to all of the very hard work you do to spread the devotion of St. Philomena.

The following is the statement released by the Rector of the Sanctuary of St. Philomena, Monsignor Giovanni Braschi:

2005 is a very special year for all us devotees of St. Philomena as it is the celebration of the 200th anniversary year of translation of her Sacred Relics from Rome to the Sanctuary of Mugnano del Cardinale. This journey itself is a story and you will be able to read of this and many other historical events surrounding our Saint in our newsletters this year, The Messenger of St. Philomena.

Two hundred years ago St. Philomena was placed in a special Altar at the Sanctuary, situated on the central left side as you walk into the Church. And from that moment she changed the lives of everyone who encountered her. Now, in these present days she touches the lives of many people worldwide and calls them to the Sanctuary in Mugnano del Cardinale.

Sadly, many devotees have reported to me confusion stemming from the St. Philomena controversy. I have been Rector of the Sanctuary for over twenty years and I have worked to correct any confusion or misunderstandings surrounding St. Philomena. Therefore, as Rector, I decided the most effective solution was to devote myself to engage the best minds available in the scientific world today to find out the truth about our Saint. From the onset of this effort, I was prepared to accept the truth as final no matter what the results of the scientific research revealed. My desire was to settle the controversy once and for all to relieve any anxiety devotees may have about our Saint.

We announced the results of the new and exhaustive scientific research at the Conference of the New Philomenian Studies on April 9, 2005, at the Catacombs of St. Pricilla in Rome, where the tomb of Saint Philomena was discovered in 1802.

There are two main parts of this investigation; the first is that of the tomb stones. They tell the story of the person buried there with specific symbols depicting the history of the sufferings and the death which occurred along with the name of the person.

The controversy was initiated when the case of St. Philomena was discussed and argued in the beginning of the 20th Century: using scientific methods only available in his time, the archaeologist Orazio Marucchi stated the theory that the tomb stones had been sealed more than once, which would have meant they were re-used.

Additionally, he postulated that the reason the order of the first and last tomb stone were reversed is because the tomb had been opened and then resealed.

The present-day scientific investigations using modern and technically advanced equipment has demonstrated clearly that the tomb stones were only sealed once.

More importantly, with these modern techniques, they are dated 202 A.D, which mean that St. Philomena is an earlier Martyr of the Church than first thought.

With the new scientific results of the tomb stones which originally were placed in the wrong order now have an explanation; With powerful modern tools a closer and more detailed examination of the three tiles revealed a surprise that no one previously had realized.

At the time of her burial, there where originally two tomb stones, but three were needed to completely close the tomb. The larger of the two stones was cut horizontally in half resulting in two separate stones out of it, which made the required three in total. The now three tiles were laid out and the inscription was applied across the total of them, PAXTE – CUMFI – LUMENA. Each of the three tiles had a portion of the message the first stone had, PAXTE, the second stone had CUMFI and the third stone, LUMENA.

After having done this, the mason worker realized that the tomb was taller at one end than the other. The stones were reversed to move the wider stone to the wider opening to accommodate the wider opening. Therefore, in order for the stones to be placed to properly fit the opening, it resulted in reversing the three sections of the inscription to the following order: LUMENA – PAXTE – CUMFI, placing the last original stone in the place of the first one, which by doing this, meant that the words on them were put in the wrong order.

The second part of the results of the new scientific investigation was regarding the glass vase which was found in the tomb with the Relics of Saint Philomena. It has been scientifically proven now to have blood in it and to our surprise a small fragment of bone was also found in it. This new discovery indicates that St. Philomena did have a violent death.

I sought to find the truth, again, regardless of the results, and happily, I am able to report now that the results dispel any confusion or misunderstanding that may have existed before about St. Philomena.

All the representatives of the worldwide Universal Archconfraternity centres of St. Philomena will receive a full transcript of the conference and scientific results soon.

They also have a full detailed list of the events which will be held at the Sanctuary for this special anniversary year.

For the 200th anniversary I ask you all to spread the word of St. Philomena to as many as you can, let her name be a common word in your community and encourage the joining of a local novena prayer circle. Form these little family and friends groups and pray to this powerful Saint who is very close and powerful with God.

Blessing you with the benediction of St. Philomena through the Sacred Heart of Our Lord and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Monsignor Giovanni Braschi
Santuario Santa Filomena
83027 Mugnano del Cardinale
Avellino, Italy
tel:+39 81 8257204
fax: 081-511 2733
e-mail: SantaFilomena@philomena.it
www.philomena.it

Contact: Santuario Santa Filomena
http://www.philomena.it , IT
Giovanni Braschi - Rector, 81 - 8257204
Keywords: Saint Philomena

19the Sunday in Ordinary Time. "The Mystery of our Faith".

For the last couple of weeks we have been reading from the sixth Chapter of St. John on the Holy Eucharist. These readings should have moved us to beg our Lord for a deeper faith in the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist, a mystery that most of Jesus disciples denied in his day, and most Christians deny today. Let’s do a short recap what we heard thus far.
We started this Chapter a few weeks ago with the miracle of multiplication of the loaves and fishes. We learned that he gave them bread as a sign of a greater miracle. But the crowd misunderstood and wanted to make him an earthly King, a political leader to fill their earthly bellies, their earthly desires. He confronts them for their lack of faith, for not looking for Him in faith, he tells not to look for earthly food but for the bread of eternal life. Instead of believing Jesus in faith, they appeal to Moses as the one who gave them bread from heaven. Jesus tells them it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven but my Father you gives you the real bread from heaven. And then Jesus gives them a shock by telling them all that He, himself is the true bread come down from heaven-the bread of life sent by his father for the for the life of the world and that all who believe in him will have eternal life.
Today, we hear that the Jews murmured amongst themselves, refusing to believe that Jesus is the bread that satisfies our deepest hunger, which is for love. Our day is no different, there are still those who murmur amongst themselves and deny Jesus teaching of the Holy Eucharist, that Jesus is the Holy Eucharist. They deny the Holy Mass is that event which by the power of the ordained priesthood makes sacramentally present the true bread of life, which is Jesus. Sadly, there are those even within the Church herself who murmur and deny this teaching trying to make the Holy Mass into a event where we built merely a human community (not a supernatural one) by coming together to remember what Jesus did for us and sharing in the bread and wine—a special action of course, but only in meaning not in reality, a mere human action. They, like the Jews, want Jesus as an earthly king, denying any supernatural action in the Mass and closing off their hearts and minds to Jesus’ desire to come truly and deeply into their hearts. They deny the sacrificial nature of the Mass, that it makes present in reality Calvary to us, and that the bread and the wine are transformed through the miracle of transubstantiation into the physical Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, his whole self. These folks fail to listen to the Holy Father when he correctly interprets the Second Vatican Council’s proclamation that the Eucharistic sacrifice is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” In the Encyclical on the Holy Eucharist John Paul explains this when he says, that, “the most Holy Eucharist contains the church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men. Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.”
We need to beg our Lord to increase our faith in the great gift of the Holy Eucharist. Maybe we don’t deny outright this main truth of our faith, but do we mummer against Jesus by being too familiar with the Mass and lose sight of its great mystery and sacredness, failing to see that it is the sacrifice of Jesus. Do we in our actions, in our hearts treat the Holy Mass more like a gathering of the community in a restaurant, gathering around the table and eating bread and wine, talking about ourselves and upcoming events instead of adoring Jesus by offering ourselves on the altar and then in return partaking in Jesus’ flesh and blood so that we may be one with him.
Do we mean the words of the preface we pray just before we kneel for the changing of the bread and wine into his flesh and blood, when the priest tells us to, “lift up your hearts, and we respond, “We lift them up to the Lord.” Lifting up our hearts means that we offer them to the Lord, we offer our whole selves- everything in sacrifice to God—this is what adoration truly means--this is what the Vatican council really meant by full and active participation in the Liturgy. What could be more active than offering ourselves in union with Jesus through his sacrifice on Calvary to the Father? This should cure us from boredom- our being too familiar with Jesus at Mass. Adoration is an offering of our hearts to God and a dying to self and our will; it is recognition that God is the source of our being and our goal in this life and the next, that we are absolutely dependent on him for everything.
How about our preparation for the Holy Mass? Do we come to Holy Mass dress for a day in the park instead of for Calvary? We should dress for Mass better than we dress for any event of our lives, for it is the most important event of our lives. Do we humbly prepare ourselves, our hearts for Mass in prayer? Or do we show up for Holy Mass just in time or even late instead of coming early to prepare our hearts, asking the Holy Spirit to help us to adore our Lord by adequately examining our conscience, asking for forgiveness? Do we pray during Mass or just let our minds wonder, failing to realize that we are truly present at Calvary at the foot of the cross? How would we act if we were present there two thousand years ago? Well the Holy Mass makes it possible for us to be at Calvary, not just by remembering what Jesus did for us, but by the power of the Ordained priesthood which makes present in reality the once and all sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation. Then do we reverently receive Holy Communion, not only realizing what we are receiving, but more importantly whom we are receiving--Our Lord and Our God?
How about our thanksgiving after Holy Mass for receiving the Holy Eucharist? Do we sit around and visit and forget to thank Jesus for the total gift of himself to us in the Eucharist? Do we talk and murmur in Church after Mass interrupting those who are praying and thus failing to realize that this space is Holy and Sacred, that because Jesus is still truly present in the tabernacle that the Mass is still in a sense going on. This space is a space for adoration, not visiting. Community, unity and family is not built by talking in Church but it is built by adoring Jesus in the Holy Eucharist firstly and primarily, then when we meet at the appropriate time and space for visiting with one another in the narthex or at coffee and donuts. We will never have true unity until we recognized that we must keep the sanctuary of our churches as places of adoration. This space is not the space to visit, it is the place to adore Jesus, offering ourselves to him, begging him to fill us with his love so that we can love one other, not just with our imperfect human love but with his perfect divine love. Then we can go out and truly visit, building a community in the love of God and become one family united in Christ. True community and family are only built through Adoring Jesus first. This is the first commandment, to love God with your whole heart, mind and soul so you can love you neighbor as yourself, with the very love of God. For those of you who read the article in the Northwest Herald, this is why the Church in its General Instruction on the Roman Missal and in other documents is reminding us of the reverence we need to have in the presence of the Holy Eucharist. In the last 40 years there has been some confusion over these matters, even with some priest. However, now the Church is clearing up this confusion, so we all, including myself, must take a look at any bad habits we might have and change them.
Let us in this Mass truly open our hearts to the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. We don’t have to be perfect in order to do this, we just need to become like little Children trusting in God for what we lack. We can come to the Mass in our brokenness and our sins in order to receive what we need to change, to grow in love. Jesus will change our unworthiness, increase our love, by taking our human hearts and replacing them with His Sacred Heart so we can love with a divine love and be truly happy. But we must repent of our sinfulness and our stubbornness; we must freely give him our hearts and our will. Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us lift up our hearts in adoration to the Lord, in others words to offer our hearts in union through the Heart of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus and in the heart of Jesus in the unity and by the power of the Holy Spirit, giving all glory and honor to the almighty Father by offering ourselves along with Jesus in sacrifice of adoration and praise. Let us make this offering of ourselves to our Heavenly Father who gave us the great gift of the Eucharist in order that we could give him back the gift of our lives, of our very self to be with him in eternal happiness beginning right now at this Holy Mass and for ever and ever. Amen.

Homily for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 2, 2009. They are still looking for food!

In today’s Gospel we read the account of the people looking for food. Again, we will continue to read from St. John, Chapter 6 for the next couple of weeks. If you recall, last week we read about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, this week, we join the crowds on the day after this great miracle; and they are still looking for food. It is a very enlightening passage- Jesus tries to teach the people that the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was really a miracle to help them and lead them to faith in the miracle of the Eucharist, the Food they are really looking for. All of the miracles Jesus performed on earth were to prepare the hearts and minds of the people for His teachings on the Holy Eucharist.
The people in today’s Gospel didn’t understand what Jesus was teaching them. They only saw the signs or the miracles Jesus’ performed in an earthly way. In the multiplication miracle, the people thought they recognized a sign pointing to a commonly held belief in those days, that the new messiah would bring bread, much like Moses had done in the O.T. In other words, they thought the messiah, when he would come would bring them economic prosperity and victory of their enemies. And so they ask themselves, “Could Jesus be the one?” Sadly, they only saw in Jesus the possibility that he was the one to fulfill their earthly bellies, their earthly desires, after all just the day before he filled their bellies with food produced from a miracle. They wanted Jesus to be an earthly king, one that would give them what they wanted instead of what they needed. They wanted Jesus to be the one that would give the economic prosperity, telling them how great and wonderful they were, all the while allowing them to remain in their sins.
Through the miracle of the multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, the crowds had had their earthly bellies filled with earthly food, but now the next day they are hungry again; they failed to see that the fulfillment of our earthly desires just leaves us starving in the end. And so, Jesus knowing of their true hunger, the hunger of their hearts, tells them to search not for the food of this world, the things of this world that will only leave you wanting for more, but instead no search for the food that would fill their deepest hunger the hunger for God and his love. Jesus was not to fulfill their earthly desire for a political leader, but he would go far beyond their earthly desires to the inner depths of man’s heart-to his deepest desire, which is to be love; to be loved by Jesus, the Love of the Father sent to be with us in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus desired to give them the gift of faith, to take away their sins which prevented them receiving God’s love and so which causes death by starvation.
Faith is the key; faith in Jesus, faith that Jesus is really, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. But, what really is faith? I think, too seldom do we consider our faith in a deep way. We can ask ourselves some questions to help us consider our faith, for instance; why do I come to Church on Sunday? What am I looking for when I come to Mass? Do I just come to feel good, to have my earthly belly filled with good feelings, instead being filled with the bread of Life—Jesus and His Truth. Do I come only to ask Jesus for something or so that he will bless me in an earthly way. Do I come so that nothing bad will happen to me in this life or so that I don’t feel guilty for missing Mass.
Do we come, but in the end do we just tolerate Mass? We look at our watch and think, when will this ever end- I have things to do and places to go. Will this homily ever end; I hope we don’t go a whole hour. I heard this new pastor even goes passed an hour sometimes?
For you young people here, why do you come to Mass. Do you come because your parents make you? I’d rather be home playing video games or watching television, or playing sports, at least I would not be so bored. By the way, boredom only occurs at Mass when you don’t understand the Mass. Was the Blessed Virgin Mary bored at the foot of the cross? Mass makes it possible for us to be at the foot of the cross and so we have no excuse to be bored. Mass is also literally heaven on earth, how can that be boring. We have to have faith to see what I cannot see, hear can’t not hear nor has it even entered into the mind of man what occurs at each and every Holy Mass.
One final question, “do we all truly come to Mass to pray; to spend time with Jesus; to be nourished by him, his whole self in the Holy Eucharist?” Spending time with Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist is never a waste of time. If it is, one should want to waste all of our time on Him. The time we spend is really an extremely important element of prayer—Because He loves us, Jesus, our Lord and our God, desires us to spend time with him. Perhaps we are very busy and praying at Mass seems just too hard. If this is the case, then let us simply come to give our burdens to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist in prayer during this Holy Mass and simply rest our tired head on his shoulder.
But there is something even deeper; a deeper reason why we come to Mass. With the multiplication of the Loaves and fishes, Jesus had awaken, in those he fed, their deepest hopes and longings. Thousands of people had followed Jesus and had been fed with the early food. They were so impressed that they wanted to make him their king. And so Jesus says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” The great Saint Augustine said what Jesus is really saying to the people filled with the loaves and fishes and to us is, “You seek me for world motives, not for spiritual ones. How many people there are who seek Jesus solely for worldly ends!... Far too many just Jesus for what he will do for them or for what they can get out of Him. Rarely does someone look for Jesus for the sake of Jesus.
Let us at this Holy Mass ask Jesus to be among the few that really seek Him alone. If we have not all ready done so let us go as soon as we can to confession and ask for His forgiveness for seeking other things before Him. Let us ask Him today, for the grace to help us not just seek something from Jesus but to seek Him alone. For today Jesus desires to give us, not only all his love but his very self for He is Love; He is the God who is Love. But to receive Him fully, we must give ourselves to Him in return and leave sin behind.
Let us pray for a increase of faith to realize that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus and desire this true food from heaven more than any food, anything, this world has to offer us. When we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist let us spend some time kneeling in our pew adoring and loving him, and asking him to help us to adore, love, trust and believe in him more. When we receive Communion , we receive Christ Himself with his Body, his Blood, his Soul, and his Divinity. He gives himself to us in an intimate union which, if we give ourselves to him, binds us to him in a real way. Our life is transformed into his life, if we but offer Him our lives in response to His great love for us. In Holy Communion Christ is not only God with us, but God in us.
(Often throughout our day, all throughout our week we should think about the next time we will be able to receive Jesus again into our souls. Then we should make spiritual communions asking Jesus to come spiritual into our souls by praying often, “I wish my Lord to receive you with purity, the humility and devotion with which your Holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.” These spiritual communions will increase our longing to receive Jesus sacramentally in Holy Communion during or next Mass, possessing and being possessed by Love incarnate.)
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin to help us. Holy Mary, Mother of the Holy Eucharist, help us to love Jesus in the Holy Eucharist above all things and to offer our love, our hearts and our whole self to him at this Holy Mass. Amen. O Lord I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. Amen.