4th Sunday of Easter
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today is Good Shepherd Sunday in which we are reminded that Jesus is this Shepherd, seeking the good for his sheep. Regarding his faithful disciples, Jesus says: ‘My sheep hear my voice and they follow me, and no one can take them out of my hand.’
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In all the Holy Gospels, Our Lord uses many different images and parables to illustrate his relation to us. He is seen as a Shepherd, who searches for the lost sheep and brings it safely home. Our Lord compares himself to a father, whose son goes off and get’s into bad trouble; but when that son changes his heart, the father is waiting to receive him home. Our Lord says he is like a doctor, who wishes to cure we, who are sick; he uses many images to convey his relation to us, but he speaks most directly in chpt. 15 of the Gospel of St. John, when he directly calls us his ‘friends.’ ‘No longer do I call you slaves, but I call you friends.’
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This dear Lord loves us even before we loved him. As St. John says, ‘We love – because he first loved us.’ (John 4:19) Fr. Joseph Schryvers says, Jesus is concerned about each individual soul, each person, more than the whole world. In fact, Christ on that cross, had – has, each and every individual person in his heart, in his concerns.
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Well if this is the case with everyone, what about the person who chooses to give their whole heart to Christ, who lives for him, tries to please him in their daily life – what about this person? If we think of a true friend, we will see that if we pour ourself out for that friend, the other will return the affection all the more.
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St. Catherine of Sienna had a number of mystical conversations with Jesus; on one occasion, he said to her: ‘Catherine, think of me, and I will think of you.’ By this he meant, if you give yourself to me, I will never fail you, I will be with you in sickness and in health, I will guide you on the path to salvation and to greatness. I will never leave you.
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This is the Lord’s attitude when one gives oneself totally to him; Jesus immediately assumes the obligation of helping this person, and he showers his favor on him. God is not miserly in returning love, he is way-generous!
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Speaking of those who give themselves to him totally, he says; ‘give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap.’ In the parable of the talents, the person who did the most with his talents – who gave his all for God – his talents were multiplied, and the master even gave the talent of the miserly man to him. The heart of God is wounded with love, when he sees that we give him our heart.
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A little boy had a game that was the most precious thing to him, and everyone knew it; but when he heard that his uncle was in trouble and very sad, he went to him and said: ‘I want to give you a present,’ and he gave him his game. I needn’t tell you the affect this had on the uncle’s love for his nephew. When someone gives their all to us, they then have our heart. But it takes trust to give our heart.
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During the time of famine, when the old widow gave Elijah the last morsel of her food, God made sure she never went hungry again. While we should be prudent and make plans in life, we should be reckless in our trust and love of God, because he will reward us.
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When Jesus was walking on the sea, Peter immediately wanted to do the same, and with child-like trust he did it, it was only after doubting, that he began to sink. For those who show confidence in the Lord, he feels bound to defend them. Against the envious, he shielded the new convert Zacheus; against cruelty, he defended the repentant adulteress; when his hungry disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath, he stood up to the Sadducees to defend them; and above all, he protected Mary Magdalene, the sinner.
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This woman of sinful fame, having decided to give her heart to Christ, enters a stranger’s house, goes to the dinning room, and in front of all the important guests, kneels down and washes the feet of Christ. For this humble act, this conversion of her heart in front of all, Jesus would never fail her. He would defend her against Martha who said she was lazy; he would defend her against Judas who said she was wasteful. And for her love, Magdalene would have the privilege of seeing him in the resurrection, even before the apostles. Jesus will always protect and reward those who give him their heart.
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Giving oneself to Christ means doing his will in every moment; as it is written: ‘this is love for God: to keep his commands.’ St. Augustine said[i]: All who do not love God are strangers and antichrists. They might come to the churches, but they are not among the children of God, the fountain of life does not belong to them. A bad person can have baptism, a bad person can receive Holy Communion, though unworthily; a bad person can have the name of Christ and be called a Christian. But to have love and be a bad person is impossible.
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Friends, it is not so popular to give away one’s heart these days; a type of cynicism has entered the world, a lot of distrust. But there is one Person who will never let us down. He is worthy of our heart, because he has already given His to us.
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We conclude by going to Mary. O dear Blessed Virgin, pray for us, that we will never count the costs, but give our heart entirely to Jesus Thy Son.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Margaret of Cortona]
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[i] Homily 7 on the 1st Epistle of St. John
Friends in the Lord, the gospel we’ve been reading these days, and tomorrow, is from the 6th chapter of St. John, and this is called the ‘Bread of life discourse.’ Our Lord is teaching about this miraculous ‘Bread’ that he will give. ‘This is the Bread that comes down from heaven, if anyone eats this Bread, he will live forever.’
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The Lord is of course speaking about the Holy Eucharist, and this is the way that he will remain with us as he promised. He teaches that this Bread is really his Flesh, it is he, himelf. But many of the Jews of those days could not accept this teaching. So too today, many other non-Catholic Christians cannot accept this teaching either, they are like the Jews of those days who reject what happens on our altars each day. ‘They quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Does Jesus respond by explaining to them that he only is speaking symbolically? No. He responds forcefully: ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you have no life in you.
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We continue to believe this teaching, given to us by Christ, and so today I thought we could consider the doctrine of Concomitance. Concomitance means, that when we receive even one particle of the Sacred Host, or one drop of the Precious Blood, we are receiving the whole, living, resurrected Lord Jesus.
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Sometimes there is a person at our parish with celiac disease who is not able to receive the Host. A tiny sip of the Precious Blood, and that person receives the entire Living Lord: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. In the Holy Scriptures Christ says you must ‘eat my Body and drink my Blood,’ but then later he says, ‘He who eats this Bread will live forever.’ This means that receiving only the Host or only the Precious Blood is the same as receiving all. Likewise, if we are running out of hosts due to an unexpected crowd, and we must break a Host into small pieces so that each person can receive a little, they certainly receive the whole, entire, living, resurrected Lord.
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Let us therefore stir up our Eucharistic faith.
That Christ has chosen to unite himself to us in this way, demonstrates his enormous love for us, and his promise to really be with us unto the end of the age.
Friends in Christ,
today is the Feast of Pope St. Martin I. Martin was Pope in the middle of the 7th century, and he is the last of the Popes who were martyrs – for now.
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Before he was Pope, Martin was a strong defender of the true Faith of Christ, and he spoke out against a heresy of the day called Monothelitism. Monothelitism was the teaching that there is only one Will in Jesus Christ, but this is false. Jesus is true God and true Man; as a man like us, he has a mind and will: he can choose to do good or evil, to do God’s will or not. But Christ is also Divine, he is God the Son. So Jesus has ‘two wills,’ his human will and his divine will, but they were always aligned. He said ‘I have come not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me.’ Unlike us, who often do something bad which is not God’s will, Jesus aligned his human will to the Divine will all the time.
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But the raging heresy in the East was that Christ had only one will – this would mean he was not truly Man, since a human being has free will. As we said, Martin spoke forcefully against Monothelitism, which was favored by the Emperor. He convened a synod and reaffirmed two wills in Christ. This immediately drew the anger of the Emperor.
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The Emperor sent his chamberlain Olympius telling him: ‘either kill the Pope or bring him into exile.’ Arriving there, Olympius hired a servant to murder the Pope while he was giving out Holy Communion at Mass. But as the servant neared Pope Martin, he was suddenly struck with blindness and could not see. Witnessing this marvel, Olympius instead captured Pope Martin and brought him to Constantinople.
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Already sickly, the Pope was subjected to humiliation and abuse on the 3 month voyage, in which he almost died of dysentery. After condemning him on trumped up charges, he was stripped in public and an iron collar was placed on his neck by which they dragged him through the streets. The horrified crowd watched all this, and ultimately Martin was sent to die in exile.
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Pope St. Martin lived his life entirely for the truth of Christ. We ourselves must also be ready to endure anything for the Truth of Christ, and like our Lord, we must always try to do God’s holy will.
Good Shepherd Sunday, Latin Mass
Friends in Christ, years back in my other parish, I visited an older lady who was nearing the end of life; as we spoke, some unsettling questions came up; I had reassured her that Jesus was with her in her discomfort, that she is not alone, Christ himself lives in her, with her. Her response: where is that in the bible, that Jesus is within me? I quoted her Galatians, chapter 2.
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Then she was asking how a priest can forgive our sins in confession, when that’s not in the bible. This was a Catholic! I explained to her where that also is in the Holy Scriptures, and as she seemed somewhat reassured, she confided, that her caregiver is an ex-Catholic, part of another denomination, and is always trying to pick apart her faith. She said, ‘Father, my previous caregiver was also this way!’ I said, that’s crazy, to have to deal with that when you are not feeling well.
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Friends, there are many voices out there trying to confuse good Catholics. For sure, secular voices try to lure us away from God, but there are also subtle voices that try to confuse, under the cloak of so-called-Christianity. The early church knew about this. St. Peter says there were people then, who are, as he says, ‘ignorant and unstable who distort the scriptures to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16) So, it’s not new.
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A young college woman in our parish was praying in the Adoration Chapel recently; she picked up some of the little books people leave around, to read and pray with. She says, ‘As I was reading it said that Jesus’ resurrection was only as a spirit-being, not bodily, and that there is no hell;’ ‘I was like, this seems totally wrong.’ Yes, I said, ‘totally wrong!’ It was a pamphlet put there by Jehovah witnesses. In our Adoration chapel! ‘I asked her, did you —– Yes Father! Into the garbage!
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Today in the gospel, Our Lord calls himself the Good Shepherd. In this passage of St. John’s gospel, the Lord, in teaching how he leads his sheep, he contrasts himself with hirelings and strangers. ‘The sheep hear my voice,’ he says, the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger, they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.’
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Many voices abound, these days. The person who grows up in a good Catholic home can often develop an instinct for following the True voice of Christ and is not easily led away by the voice of strangers. But the voices can be crafty. For myself, having grown up in a Catholic home, when I went away to college, a bit naïve, some friendly students invited me to a gathering for Christians. I said, ‘I’m a Catholic Christian; they assured me, I’d fit right in.’
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Well, there I met a lot of nice people – especially girls – but as the evening progressed and we listened to talks, warning bells started going off in my head. At first, a sense that this just didn’t feel right; then, outright wrong things being said against my faith. Time to go.
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We can’t listen to every voice that comes along, only the voice of the True Shepherd. ‘The sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice, but they will not follow a stranger.’ So, we want to keep the Lord’s true voice speaking to us.
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We’ve mentioned before the importance of spiritual reading each day, in addition to our prayers. But we can’t choose our books by browsing the ‘spirituality’ section at Barnes and Nobles. no way. Mostly problematic. And we have to know for example, that the History Channel makes up some wacky stuff about early Christianity, and then mixes it in with truth to feed us a delicious story.
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As parents, we carefully scrutinize videos and children’s books to be sure that they are faithful to the True Faith. Some materials not produced by Catholics might be useful, but they must be checked over. How many people are no doubt lost in hell because they allowed themselves to be led away by a stranger’s voice, and even lead children and others away from the Truth given to us by Christ. St. Paul warns again and again about deceivers: ‘Let no one deceive you in any way.’ (2 Thess 2:3) And again: Beware of people who are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. (2 Cor 11:13) And again, in Galatians: ‘There are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ….let them be accursed.
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Also, St. Jude says in his epistle: there are those who ‘deride what they do not know; woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain, and have rushed into the error of Balam; for them the storm of darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 1:10
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The True Shepherd is asking us to follow his voice, not that of strangers. St. Alphonsus says, ‘O loving Shepherd of Thy sheep! Thou hast spent, not all Thy riches, but all Thy Blood for them.[i] This is the kind of Shepherd we have.
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We have not always been good sheep of this loving Savior, at times we are the goats. Abbott William of Paris says, the goats, which are sinners, they are entrusted to Mother Mary, that she might change them into sheep. Mary, pray for us, that we will be sheep of Christ’s pasture, and listen always, to his sweet voice.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Luke]
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[i] Incarnation, p. 417
Friends in the Lord, to be a Catholic means to live a certain way of life – to live according to a moral code which, begins with the ten commandments but goes beyond that to the beatitudes. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, and even to pray for those who hurt us and hate us: to pray for our enemies. We are to be persons of integrity and honesty; and to be chaste and holy. So we have a moral code that God has given us.
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But our moral code is in many ways similar to other religions. Buddhists and Hindus would agree that we should be faithful to our spouses, to be truthful, and to be pure. And Muslims would agree for the most part. These religions would not agree however, that we should love our enemies, yet there ARE many similarities. For this reason, some say: all religions are about the same.
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But then they miss the point of our Faith. The Catholic Faith is not really about a moral code. Saint Paul hammers away at this: he says that we can’t think of our faith as just ‘keeping the law.’ The heart of our Faith is not a moral code, it is the Divine Person, Jesus Christ. God has come to earth, and has done a great thing to save us. He has revealed himself to the world, now he asks: who do you say that I am? Am I merely a good moral teacher? That is not the answer.
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Jesus is God made Man, who came to unite himself to us. Our salvation is through Faith in Jesus, the Divine Man. This claim therefore, makes our religion TOTALLY different from others. God has visited his people – he has taken on a Body, and he wants us to acknowledge him, love him, and praise him, and of course, follow him in a moral way of life.
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The gospel says: The Father loves the Son, and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
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If you want to hurt someone, refuse to acknowledge them. Refuse to speak to them or even about them. This is the worst sin against our Lord, to ignore him. Our Lord says: ‘He who acknowledges me, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father,’ ‘He who does not acknowledge me, I will not acknowledge before my Father.
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Our religion has a moral code. But what it’s all about, is Jesus Christ; He is God, whose Sacred Heart is aching for our love and our witness. This is central to our faith.
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We read today, the high priest said to them: ‘We gave you strict orders to stop teaching in that name. But Peter and the Apostles said in reply, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’
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So too, we ourselves are called to be witnesses, witnesses of Jesus Christ in the world.
Friends in Christ, in the gospel today, St. Mark tells us that when Mary Magdalene went to report to the disciples that she had seen the Risen Lord, they did not believe her. Part of their doubt may be due to her background.
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The gospels tell us that Jesus had once driven 7 demons out of Mary Magdalene. For good reason, she has been presumed to be a ‘woman of the street’ – the sinner, who washed Jesus feet and whom he forgave of her sins.
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She is a representative of the sinner who has been restored – redeemed by Christ and given a second chance. It is only some so-called modern scholars who try to insist that Mary Magdalene was not a sinner. But even St. Gregory the Great said she was the sinner who converted.
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The point is, here she is at the tomb, this former sinner who has been given the privilege by Our Lord to see him there, and bring the news of the Resurrection. Mary Magdalene is there in the gospel as a testament to the power of Christ’s redemption.
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Veneration and love of Mary Magdalene flourished for many centuries among the Catholic faithful, as well as in art and liturature. This is because of how much hope she gives us weak sinners, that nothing is ever hopeless.
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In 1871, English novelist Henry Kingsley wrote a little poem about Mary Magdalene. In the poem, she has come to the gate of heaven, which in this case is guarded by St. Michael. (here paraphrased)
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Magdalene at Michael’s gate,
she fumbled at the latch;
and on the thorn bush sang the blackbird, “Let her in! Let her in!”
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“Have you seen the wounds?” said Michael, the wounds to Christ?
“Do you woman, know your sin?”
“It is evening,” sang the blackbird, “Let her in! Let her in!”
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“I have seen the wounds,’ she said.
And I know my sin.”
“She knows it well,” sang the blackbird, “Let her in! Let her in!”
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“You bring no offerings,” said St. Michael, “Except your sins.”
And the blackbird sang, “She is sorry, she is sorry, Let her in! Let her in!”
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And when he had sung himself to sleep,
and night then did begin,
ONE came and opened Michael’s gate,
and Magdalene went in.
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That ‘One’ who opened the gate for her – that’s Jesus, he opens to all repentant sinners who come to the gate of heaven.
Friends in Christ, after the Lord’s resurrection on Easter day, we are told of a number of the different instances in which Jesus showed himself to the Apostles. We read of one such instance today; when the risen Lord appeared, it says that the Apostles thought they were seeing a ghost, but Christ insists that he has really risen, bodily. ‘Touch me, he says,’ because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ He asked for something to eat, and they gave him a piece of baked fish. Our Lord did this to demonstrate the reality of the resurrection. Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones, and they don’t eat baked fish! Only people do.
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In doing these things, being with the Apostles, resurrected – and even staying and living with them for 40 days before the Ascension – Our Lord was strengthening their Faith. He gave instructions to them for the good of the Church, and also, special graces: it says ‘he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.’
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As Bishop Knecht says, ‘it was not without reason that Our Lord wanted to convince the apostles by their senses that he had risen from the grave..he did this because they were to testify before the Jews and Gentiles to the fact of his resurrection.’
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This would allow Peter to stand up and teach: ‘The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. He then goes on to quote scripture left and right, this previously unlearned fisherman.
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Also, because the Lord demonstrated clearly to them his resurrection, St. John would be able to write: ‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, and seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled, the Word of life, Jesus Christ – we declare unto you….’
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Jesus made his apostles definitive witnesses of his resurrection for the good of the Church, that the gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth.
Friends in Christ, we read today this meeting of Jesus with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. It is interesting, that they did not at first recognize Jesus, as they walked and talked. Also, we read yesterday, that when Mary Magdelene first saw Our Lord, she did not recognize him, she thought he might be the gardener of that place. What gives?
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Well, when we are resurrected in our bodies on the Last day, we WILL rise in our own bodies, this is true. But they will be renewed, beautiful, even youthful bodies. In Ludwig Ott’s book on Catholic Dogma, he says ‘The bodies of the just will be transfigured to the pattern of the risen Christ.’ Of course this is from St. Paul, who says that our glorified bodies will be conformed to Christ’s body. He also says that we will reach the ‘measure of the age of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13)
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Now Our Lord resurrected at about age 33, which many think is the ideal physical age. Thomas Aquinas says that our physical age is not at it’s best when we are children, and it is weakening when we are old; consequently, he thinks we will be resurrected at that ideal physical age of 33. St. Augustine also thought we will rise at that youthful age, following the model, Jesus.
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Most important to remember however, is that this will be a beautiful renewal of ourself, the beauty of the soul shining through. And this is perhaps why those disciples on the road could not quite realize that this striking, youthful man who spoke to them on the way – was Jesus. So different from a crucified man – he was renewed and without blemish.
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But here, they experienced someone – whose splendor shone through his person – In fact, after the experience, they marveled, saying to each other: ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?’
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The radiance of the glorified Lord Jesus – this is a sign of our own destiny as well: beautiful and youthfully renewed – if we follow him.
Easter Sunday!
Beloved in the Lord: Jesus Christ is Risen! Happy Easter!
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Today is Easter, and if Good Friday was a day of sorrow, then today is a day of Victory. Christ has won the victory for mankind; for you and for me. This victory in which we bask today, is a victory over sin, and death, and Satan, and the story of this victory goes back to the dawn of the human race.
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The first man and woman were created in a state of happiness. But then came temptation by that fallen angel: ‘Follow me,’ he says, I will make you happier.’ So our race fell into the trap, and we became slaves to the Ancient Serpent. ‘You are mine now, you fools,’ ‘you are under my power,’ he says. and the devil was happy about it.
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Originally, death had been unknown to us, but now our race is subject to death. Satan became prince of this world, he is a heavy taskmaster. But the Good God did not give up on us. He promised a Savior, who would bring us back, out of this slavery. The Lord had a master-plan to overthrow the devil. And so he sent his own Son secretly into the world as one of us.
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From the moment Christ was born, the Ancient Enemy was suspicious: This Christ, just might be the promised Messiah, and that meant all out warfare. So he tempted the Lord in the desert – tried to figure out who he is. He whispered to King Herod: ‘kill the child. He whispered to the Pharisees: ‘he is a threat to you.’ To Judas: ‘get rid of him.’
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The devil was determined to destroy this Messiah, so that his slaves would be his forever. To Pontius Pilate, and to the crowds he whispered: ‘Jesus must die! And so Christ on Good Friday was nailed to the Cross. That day it seemed to be a defeat for Christ, but actually, it was a trap for the devil.
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An artist once painted the famous Merode alterpiece in Belgium. And in this painting, we see St. Joseph. Now St. Joseph in the scriptures, is a symbol for God the Father. And in this painting, St. Joseph, who is a carpenter – who works in wood – he is depicted, as making a special mouse-trap. He is making this mousetrap out of wood – to catch the Mouse. Who is the ‘Mouse, that he will catch? It is the devil.
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And so Joseph, or really, God the Father, is making a trap, to catch the Mouse. St. Augustine says this: ‘What is this trap, made by a Carpenter – who works in wood? ‘God’s Trap for the devil, is the Cross.
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And who is the bait, placed on the Trap? It is Jesus, he himself becomes the bait. As St. Anselm says, Jesus is the ‘sweet bait, by which He will catch the devil.
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And so, intoxicated with pride, the devil makes a huge mistake; he became reckless, and in his frenzy to condemn Christ, he put the sins of the entire world onto an innocent man – but he had no right, he had no rightful authority over the innocent Son of God. The devil took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.
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At the death of Christ, the devil jumped for joy. ‘I’ve won! ‘I’ve won.’ ‘The Christ is beaten, and these slaves are mine forever.’ But he would have a great surprise, on the 3rd Day – that is today. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. And the stone is rolled away! ‘What is this, says Satan?’ ‘Something is wrong.’ And Mary looks into the tomb – and no body. And the angel says: he is not here! He is risen!!
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‘Risen?’ And that word rings in the devil’s head: ‘Risen? That’s impossible? He was brutally crucified, I saw to that! ‘Risen? Then I have been defeated.
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Yes says Jesus. You have lost. Sin, and death, and you, have been conquered Now give me what I want! – What do you want? He wants us. ‘Give me now, my children!! All of them!’
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And as it is written… ‘The great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who leads astray the whole world; and he was cast down, and I heard a voice in heaven say, ‘Now has come the salvation, and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been cast down. And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb. Therefore rejoice O heavens. Rejoice.’ (Rev 12:9-12)
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Our sins are forgiven, and Christ has saved the world. So let us love Jesus and Mary and become saints for Christ; praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen. +
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Paul]
Holy Thursday
Beloved in Jesus Christ, tonight we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper; we commemorate that night, when Christ the Lord gave us the Holy Mass, his Sacred Body and Blood.
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Jesus said that he would be with us all days, even to the end of the world, and this is how he has done it, in Holy Communion.
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Our first reading today was of the Passover, when the perfect, unblemished Lamb was sacrificed, and then the people ate the Lamb – they participated in that sacrifice. As we know, this was a sign, pointing forward to the New Testament, to the Holy Mass; Christ is the True Lamb of God, offered for us; and when we eat the Lamb, we are participating in this Sacrifice, in the very life of God.
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The Passover foreshadowed the Holy Eucharist, but there are so, so-many places in the Scriptures, where this Holy Banquet is signified. In the Old Testament, we see that, Melchizedek offered Bread and wine; this was a sign of the Holy Eucharist some 2000 years before Christ, and we still recall it in Eucharistic Prayer I.
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The miraculous manna, that white, thin, bread-like food by which God fed his people on their desert journey – it was a sign of the coming Bread of Life.
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There was, at the time of Elijah, the miraculous bread, by which the woman and her son were saved from famine.
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The thin, round, bread used in the holy temple, along with wine, was changed by the priests every week; this too foreshadowed the Holy Banquet here on our altars, that Jesus would give us.
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In so many ways and signs, the Bible is literally loaded with references to this most Holy Sacrifice. If we consider also the New Testament – Look at when Christ multiplies the loaves to feed 5000 people, this is most certainly a Eucharistic Sign. It says, he ‘blessed, broke, and gave then to the disciples. These are special words: blessed, broke, and gave – these were the words used in the early Church to refer to the Mass. And notice, Our Lord did not himself give the miraculous bread to the people, he told his disciples, his first priests, ‘YOU give it to them.’ And His priests still do this today.[i]
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In the 24th chapter of the gospel of St. Luke, we see there that after Jesus had risen, he appeared to two disciples, and it says they finally ‘recognized him in the Breaking of the Bread,’ and then he disappeared. The ‘Breaking of the Bread’ was another phrase referring to the Mass in the early Church. Notice that Jesus disappeared – he is teaching that he is now with us in a new way: under the appearance of Bread, in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, and this is how he stays with us through all time.
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A final example, of images in Scripture: In Acts of the Apostles, we read that when St. Paul was on a boat, caught in a terrible storm, the men think they will all die, they want to abandon ship. But St. Paul says, ‘Unless you stay in the boat, you will all die.’ This means, you have to stay in the boat – in the Church; the boat is a symbol in the scriptures of the Church, the ‘Barque of Peter.’ Then what does St. Paul do? It says: He took bread, and giving thanks, broke it, and they ate. And in the end, they were all saved.
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Friends, the Great Sacrament we commemorate tonight, is to be found everywhere in the Holy Bible. Scripture was written in a special way, with lots of signs and images, so that those who do not have the True Catholic Faith, will not understand many of it’s profound teachings. But we DO understand, because we are of the Faith.
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The Holy Eucharist, the Mass, is the center of our life, it is our salvation, and that is why it is to be found, sometimes clearly, often hidden, throughout the Holy Text. Our Lord said that this is the Bread that has come down from heaven, he says ‘it is my flesh.’ Many did not believe, and they no longer walked with him. But we believe.
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Lord, help us to love Thee in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar; O Lord, give us this day, our daily Bread.
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[i] We can see also, that after multiplying the loaves, the apostles are in a boat, there is a storm, they are afraid. The boat is a sign of the Church. Jesus comes to them, walking on the sea, and when he gets into the boat the storm ceases. It says, they had not understood about the loaves of bread. The meaning is: when Jesus comes into the boat, into the Church, we are safe from the storms. Jesus comes into the boat in the miraculous bread, every Mass.
