Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ A
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
By now most of us are fed up with polls. Day after day our TV news give us the latest polls on those campaigning to be our next President. But politics are not the only concerns that affect many Catholics. In December the United States Catholic Bishops provided us with a report on the believes and practices of U.S. Catholics. Among the topics considered was the importance of the Mass and Holy Communion in the life of Catholics.
One of the findings of the poll was that the more frequent a Catholic attends Mass, the more frequently a Catholic will participate in other Church or religious activities. Also, Catholics who go to Mass on a regular basis will also know more about their Catholic religion, will know more about the Catholic church, and will follow more closely the teachings of our Catholic religion in regards to doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. These Catholics also stated that Holy Eucharist is the most important sacrament for them. When they go to Mass they feel the presence of God and they want to receive Holy Communion. These same Catholics stated that of much less importance are the style of the church and the decorations.
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. I mention this information today because this weekend we celebrate an important weekend Catholic faith weekend known as the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, formerly known as Corpus Christi. In some countries and even some parishes Catholics have outdoor parades with a gold container that holds a large host which we believe is Jesus Christ.
All of us will agree that food is a necessity for survival. A lack of food affects our physical and mental health. The quality of our thought processes and ability to learn depends on food. Yet, starvation of thousands is happening each day. Television brings us graphic pictures of starving people. However, for most people that is just news. Until you yourself replace the child or adult in Burma who has had no food for three weeks, and only dirty water to drink. It is only then that we can appreciate the food in our cupboards or on our table or in our public school cafeterias. Starvation of millions world wide should help us to think before we throw away good food.
If food is necessary for our physical survival, then it is logical for us to conclude that spiritual food is absolutely necessary for our spiritual survival. Jesus knew this. And so, the evening before he was to die on the cross he gathered together his twelve closest friends. He took some ordinary bread and wine, prayed over them, and then he said the very same words that I will say at this Mass over the bread and wine. And the Bread and Wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Before the Last Supper Jesus often used bread to teach a spiritual lesson. Jesus understands the hungers we have not only for nourishing our bodies, but also our minds and spirits as well. When he fed the 5000 people with bread and fish, Jesus recognized our need for physical nourishment. He said: I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Like many today those who sat down on the hillside did not believe what he said. Today Catholics who skip Mass regularly do not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. To them, the Body and Blood of Jesus is symbolic or a memorial rather than His real presence.
Jesus’ invitation to dinner is an intimate one. He is saying, “Be one with me!” Throughout Mass, we are called to this intimate relationship with Jesus, not in a symbolic way but in a real time experience. At Mass the Eucharistic Minister and the altar server bring bread and wine to the altar. But at each Mass you also bring your gifts to the altar. You bring your gifts of hardships, of family quarrels, of sickness, of unemployment, of doubts, of pains and hurts, of challenges in your life. These gifts are included with bread and wine and returned to you at communion into the life giving gifts of Jesus Christ.
Jesus understands our struggle with faith. He provides us in the Eucharist a way to be connected to Him, the source and summit of life itself. We have the promise of Jesus, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
In the very same way you and I are called to leave this communion table after being nourished by the Lord and return to our homes, neighborhood, work places and schools and, just as Jesus did, to offer our lives to nourish those most in need. He is calling us to be his hands, his ears and his voice in a world that hungers to find meaning and purpose. Our communion today cannot have full meaning unless we are willing to be the presence of Jesus in this broken world, unless we are willing to break the bread of our lives to nourish others.
Jesus assures us that if we feed on him, his word and his teachings we will have eternal life and he will raise us up on the last day. This is a powerful promise and gives us great hope. I think he is also saying, like him, we too, must be united to the Father, and like him, we too, must feed the people whose lives we touch. We as fathers, mothers, married, single, whatever our state in life must break the bread of our lives to nourish others. If a loaf bread is not broken and shared it becomes stale and hard and people go hungry.
On this day of the Body and Blood of Christ let us remember God, Our Father, who feeds us, who gives us life, who holds us, listens to us, journey’s with us, who forgives us and loves us without conditions.
The word Eucharist is a Greek word that means THANKS. Each of us have so much in life to be thankful for. As we continue our Mass today less us remember this feast by giving thanks. Each of us are thankful to:
a wide variety of people
our family events and situations that are part of our life
the gift of our Catholic faith
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Homily for May 18, 2008
The Holy Trinity, A
Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Deuteronomy 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18
Our daily lives are filled with mysteries or puzzles. The color of grass, an electric current, our genetic code, gravity, the workings of a computer-- all are mysteries to those of us who have little knowledge of the world of science. There are mysteries all around us. If we find mysteries in our day to day living, then it should not surprise us that there are mysteries in the SUPER-natural order. Also, very often we accept a truth on faith rather than on reason or experience. For instance we believe that Antarctica exists, even though we may have never been there; we believe that George Washington lived though none of us ever met him. We believe these things on the authority of human beings.
Today we focus on a supernatural mystery of the highest order -- the mystery of the Blessed Trinity -- that in God there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but there are not three gods, but ONE God. We know this because Jesus told us that it is true. And so we believe it because of Jesus. That there is a Holy Trinity, that there are three persons in one God, is a truth of Christians which was first written about in St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, our second reading for today. But we could never discover the truth of the Trinity by reason alone.
We believe it because God alone made it known to us. It is also for us to accept the fact that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, not different ways for us to know how God works. Yet we understand their roles in three different ways: We think of the Father as Creator; of the Son as Savior, and of the Holy Spirit as sanctifier or the one who helps us to become holy. Yes, this can be confusing.
Each of us should ask the question: WHO IS GOD FOR US? And we should make every effort to answer that question for ourselves. God for us should be a God with which we have made a personal relationship. This God cares about us individually.
Other religions like Judaism and Islam also believe in one God. This set them apart from other peoples like the Romans and Greeks who believed in many gods and goddesses. Today we often hear about the new atheists. These are a collection of writers who have come together recently to make fun of the very idea of God. They regard religion as superstition. They regard evolution as providing the best account of who we are, where we have come from and where we might go. They often describe religion as a virus. We, however, maintain that believing in a personal God is the basis for living as a good person. We believe that the purpose of human life is not the survival of the fittest, but the ability to understand and to love.
Trinity Sunday is more than a celebration of a matter of faith. It is a day that challenges us to consider God, who God is, and what part God play in our life. It is a day that challenges us to ask ourselves: am I a follower of Jesus Christ or merely an admirer. It is a day that leads us to ponder whether saying I BELIEVE IN GOD really makes any difference in how I live.
Our second reading is part of a letter which St. Paul wrote to those who lived in Corinth. Corinth was located on a narrow piece of land between the Aegean and Adriatic Seas in Greece. This location made Corinth a seaport with a population of about 700,000. It was famous for the temple of Aphrodite who was the goddess of love. It was also a city known for every kind of corruption and sin that you can imagine. Often those who lived rather loose lives were said TO BEHAVE LIKE A CORINTHIAN. Paul came twice to preach the message of Jesus to these persons. Paul kept telling the people that they must mold their behavior around their faith in Jesus Christ.
This feast of the Trinity is a celebration of God's love for each person. The first reading tells of the steadfast love and tenderness God has for the people of Israel. In the gospel, God as Father extends this covenant to all people who believe. The image which shows this love in its fullness is Jesus washing his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. Flesh touches flesh, a gesture which prefigures the emptying of Jesus in love for others, as he accepts death on the cross.
Faith overcomes doubt and is the gift which enables us to persevere, even in times of difficulty. The Trinity reveals a God who exists in relationships of love. God the Spirit helps us to love others more deeply. When the faces of others call out, whether at home or from the television, each one asks, "Where are you?" Our connection with other people calls for a deepening of solidarity, an increase in support, care, and love. In the midst of the horror of war, there were moments of tenderness where the wounded were cared for, the dying comforted, humor enjoyed and friendship shown. Love of neighbor and love of God united in these ordinary acts of love.
Each person has a favorite image of God. Different images help people to understand God at different times. In the past, it was often the statue of the Sacred Heart, which consoled people and reminded them of God's love and compassion. Often at a funeral, the image is that of Christ the Good Shepherd. Christian faith is a journey on which we are often called to let go of inadequate images of God and discover new ones. Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the third century AD, spoke of God as Father and Mother--Father as Creator and Mother as Compassion. For him, and maybe for some of you, feminine images of God help you understand the depth of God's love for humanity.
The mystery of God and of the human person are bound together, since each woman and man is created in the "image and likeness of God." If it is difficult to understand God, it is equally difficult to understand another person. If a human being is such a mystery, then to grow in accepting others is a great task. Do I cling to stereotyped images of others, which block me from seeing their goodness? Does my self-image prevent God deepening my faith? How might the face of another person be calling me to love?
We can never express or explain the mystery of the Trinity to ourselves or to others. Review your prayer life. It is important, however, that in prayer, you may at one time pray to the God as father, or to Jesus as brother, or to the Holy Spirit. They are not jealous. Whether you pray to one or another, they all listen, and all give you an answer in their special way.
The sign of the cross is the special prayer of the Trinity.
Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Deuteronomy 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18
Our daily lives are filled with mysteries or puzzles. The color of grass, an electric current, our genetic code, gravity, the workings of a computer-- all are mysteries to those of us who have little knowledge of the world of science. There are mysteries all around us. If we find mysteries in our day to day living, then it should not surprise us that there are mysteries in the SUPER-natural order. Also, very often we accept a truth on faith rather than on reason or experience. For instance we believe that Antarctica exists, even though we may have never been there; we believe that George Washington lived though none of us ever met him. We believe these things on the authority of human beings.
Today we focus on a supernatural mystery of the highest order -- the mystery of the Blessed Trinity -- that in God there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but there are not three gods, but ONE God. We know this because Jesus told us that it is true. And so we believe it because of Jesus. That there is a Holy Trinity, that there are three persons in one God, is a truth of Christians which was first written about in St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, our second reading for today. But we could never discover the truth of the Trinity by reason alone.
We believe it because God alone made it known to us. It is also for us to accept the fact that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, not different ways for us to know how God works. Yet we understand their roles in three different ways: We think of the Father as Creator; of the Son as Savior, and of the Holy Spirit as sanctifier or the one who helps us to become holy. Yes, this can be confusing.
Each of us should ask the question: WHO IS GOD FOR US? And we should make every effort to answer that question for ourselves. God for us should be a God with which we have made a personal relationship. This God cares about us individually.
Other religions like Judaism and Islam also believe in one God. This set them apart from other peoples like the Romans and Greeks who believed in many gods and goddesses. Today we often hear about the new atheists. These are a collection of writers who have come together recently to make fun of the very idea of God. They regard religion as superstition. They regard evolution as providing the best account of who we are, where we have come from and where we might go. They often describe religion as a virus. We, however, maintain that believing in a personal God is the basis for living as a good person. We believe that the purpose of human life is not the survival of the fittest, but the ability to understand and to love.
Trinity Sunday is more than a celebration of a matter of faith. It is a day that challenges us to consider God, who God is, and what part God play in our life. It is a day that challenges us to ask ourselves: am I a follower of Jesus Christ or merely an admirer. It is a day that leads us to ponder whether saying I BELIEVE IN GOD really makes any difference in how I live.
Our second reading is part of a letter which St. Paul wrote to those who lived in Corinth. Corinth was located on a narrow piece of land between the Aegean and Adriatic Seas in Greece. This location made Corinth a seaport with a population of about 700,000. It was famous for the temple of Aphrodite who was the goddess of love. It was also a city known for every kind of corruption and sin that you can imagine. Often those who lived rather loose lives were said TO BEHAVE LIKE A CORINTHIAN. Paul came twice to preach the message of Jesus to these persons. Paul kept telling the people that they must mold their behavior around their faith in Jesus Christ.
This feast of the Trinity is a celebration of God's love for each person. The first reading tells of the steadfast love and tenderness God has for the people of Israel. In the gospel, God as Father extends this covenant to all people who believe. The image which shows this love in its fullness is Jesus washing his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. Flesh touches flesh, a gesture which prefigures the emptying of Jesus in love for others, as he accepts death on the cross.
Faith overcomes doubt and is the gift which enables us to persevere, even in times of difficulty. The Trinity reveals a God who exists in relationships of love. God the Spirit helps us to love others more deeply. When the faces of others call out, whether at home or from the television, each one asks, "Where are you?" Our connection with other people calls for a deepening of solidarity, an increase in support, care, and love. In the midst of the horror of war, there were moments of tenderness where the wounded were cared for, the dying comforted, humor enjoyed and friendship shown. Love of neighbor and love of God united in these ordinary acts of love.
Each person has a favorite image of God. Different images help people to understand God at different times. In the past, it was often the statue of the Sacred Heart, which consoled people and reminded them of God's love and compassion. Often at a funeral, the image is that of Christ the Good Shepherd. Christian faith is a journey on which we are often called to let go of inadequate images of God and discover new ones. Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the third century AD, spoke of God as Father and Mother--Father as Creator and Mother as Compassion. For him, and maybe for some of you, feminine images of God help you understand the depth of God's love for humanity.
The mystery of God and of the human person are bound together, since each woman and man is created in the "image and likeness of God." If it is difficult to understand God, it is equally difficult to understand another person. If a human being is such a mystery, then to grow in accepting others is a great task. Do I cling to stereotyped images of others, which block me from seeing their goodness? Does my self-image prevent God deepening my faith? How might the face of another person be calling me to love?
We can never express or explain the mystery of the Trinity to ourselves or to others. Review your prayer life. It is important, however, that in prayer, you may at one time pray to the God as father, or to Jesus as brother, or to the Holy Spirit. They are not jealous. Whether you pray to one or another, they all listen, and all give you an answer in their special way.
The sign of the cross is the special prayer of the Trinity.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Homily for May 11, 2008
Pentecost Sunday 2008
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Bob Hope once talked about his birthday. You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake, he said. This is Pentecost. It is the birthday of the Catholic Church. We are close to 2000 years old. It would cost a lot just to buy that many candles at a nickel a piece, but the cake would have to be the size of a kitchen table. Luckily, we do not need a cake to celebrate this birthday. Rather than candles we have our flames of faith in our heart, and instead of the cake we have the Eucharistic bread of Holy Communion. Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the friends of Jesus. But how do we understand this event?
As we look around our daily lives, we see many things that we could describe to another person. But there are some experiences which are harder to speak of. Experiences like falling in love or having your first baby can be described, but no one can really feel what they are like until it happens to them. In the same way, we may describe a color to someone who has been born blind, but our best efforts will not give them a true idea of the green of a leaf or the gentle tints of a spring flower or a lilac bush.
Teachers of religion devote their lives to help us understand our faith that in God there are three persons, God the Father , God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. But there are not three Gods, but there is only one God. This is a mystery. Today's feast of Pentecost likewise recalls a revelation of God's power. It reminds us that the early Christians came alive only when they felt the power of Spirit as he breathed life into them.
On the first Pentecost Jews from all over were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after our Lord's Ascension, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary were gathered in the Upper Room. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was gone. It was now the job of his followers to tell others about the good news of Jesus. That day about 3000 people were converted and baptized.
The picture St. John unfolds for us is that of a collection of frightened individuals huddled together in fear of their lives. They have lost Jesus, their leader, and in many respects have lost their way. Thomas is not with them as the risen Christ comes amongst them. His first words are ones of reassurance: "Peace be with you." As the presence of Jesus brings them together, they begin to experience the joy of the Spirit. They receive the life-giving breath of God and feel a new sense of purpose.
The feast of Pentecost was initially a celebration of the gifts of the earth. Farmers gave thanks to God for the first fruits of their harvest, given by God to sustain his people. The early believers adopted the occasion to give thanks for the first fruits of the Spirit. Saint Paul explains to the people of Corinth that the gifts of the Spirit are at the very heart of the Church, and are an expression of the breath of God through different personalities. So even though we are one body, the Spirit works in a special way in each of us.
As we hear the word of God, we might be tempted to reflect that our community does not exhibit the remarkable gifts of the Spirit described in Acts. But we are unique and the Spirit comes to each of us in different ways. We may have already felt the breath of God; it's just that we don't always call it a "Pentecost" experience. We don't see the tongues of fire, or even feel the mighty wind. But as we know, some things cannot be fully captured by words.
When, in the name of Christ, we work for peace and reconciliation, we are moving in the Spirit.
When we hear the language of love spoken to us by someone we have hurt, the Spirit is working to make the gift of forgiveness a reality.
When we take the time to be there for the stranger in our midst, we are reaching out in the Spirit.
It is this unseen breath of God that keeps our community of faith together and alive; the same Spirit whom we worship as the love between the Father and the Son.
We are called into the community of faith by our Baptism, and empowered to spread the good news by our Confirmation. Through these two powerful sacraments we, like the early community, are anointed and chosen. Let us open the doors of our hearts, that we may invite others to share in the life of the Spirit.
No matter what our gift or quality it is always an expression of God working through you. Your gift of cooking, speaking, farming, learning, athletics, of teaching, parenting, gardening, of being a lector at Mass, is a way of doing God's work for the good of all. Whatever work you do, no matter what your job brings down to earth the spirit and breath of God. They are for the good of all, so really all that we have been given is to be used for the good of all.
And finally Jesus says: "Peace be with you." With these words he also gives us the most loving of all gifts by saying that he will forgive us our sins if we want them forgiven. Jesus invites us to be peacemakers, but to be peacemakers requires that we be at peace and harmony within ourselves. To do that requires forgiveness, Jesus says. We must forgive others much as we pray in the Lord's prayer: FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. We are willing to forgive each other of those secret grudges we hold, and we are able to heal ourselves of all that we have done to ourselves. May this Pentecost be the beginning of our peacemaking with ourselves, with God and with one another.
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Bob Hope once talked about his birthday. You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake, he said. This is Pentecost. It is the birthday of the Catholic Church. We are close to 2000 years old. It would cost a lot just to buy that many candles at a nickel a piece, but the cake would have to be the size of a kitchen table. Luckily, we do not need a cake to celebrate this birthday. Rather than candles we have our flames of faith in our heart, and instead of the cake we have the Eucharistic bread of Holy Communion. Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the friends of Jesus. But how do we understand this event?
As we look around our daily lives, we see many things that we could describe to another person. But there are some experiences which are harder to speak of. Experiences like falling in love or having your first baby can be described, but no one can really feel what they are like until it happens to them. In the same way, we may describe a color to someone who has been born blind, but our best efforts will not give them a true idea of the green of a leaf or the gentle tints of a spring flower or a lilac bush.
Teachers of religion devote their lives to help us understand our faith that in God there are three persons, God the Father , God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. But there are not three Gods, but there is only one God. This is a mystery. Today's feast of Pentecost likewise recalls a revelation of God's power. It reminds us that the early Christians came alive only when they felt the power of Spirit as he breathed life into them.
On the first Pentecost Jews from all over were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after our Lord's Ascension, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary were gathered in the Upper Room. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was gone. It was now the job of his followers to tell others about the good news of Jesus. That day about 3000 people were converted and baptized.
The picture St. John unfolds for us is that of a collection of frightened individuals huddled together in fear of their lives. They have lost Jesus, their leader, and in many respects have lost their way. Thomas is not with them as the risen Christ comes amongst them. His first words are ones of reassurance: "Peace be with you." As the presence of Jesus brings them together, they begin to experience the joy of the Spirit. They receive the life-giving breath of God and feel a new sense of purpose.
The feast of Pentecost was initially a celebration of the gifts of the earth. Farmers gave thanks to God for the first fruits of their harvest, given by God to sustain his people. The early believers adopted the occasion to give thanks for the first fruits of the Spirit. Saint Paul explains to the people of Corinth that the gifts of the Spirit are at the very heart of the Church, and are an expression of the breath of God through different personalities. So even though we are one body, the Spirit works in a special way in each of us.
As we hear the word of God, we might be tempted to reflect that our community does not exhibit the remarkable gifts of the Spirit described in Acts. But we are unique and the Spirit comes to each of us in different ways. We may have already felt the breath of God; it's just that we don't always call it a "Pentecost" experience. We don't see the tongues of fire, or even feel the mighty wind. But as we know, some things cannot be fully captured by words.
When, in the name of Christ, we work for peace and reconciliation, we are moving in the Spirit.
When we hear the language of love spoken to us by someone we have hurt, the Spirit is working to make the gift of forgiveness a reality.
When we take the time to be there for the stranger in our midst, we are reaching out in the Spirit.
It is this unseen breath of God that keeps our community of faith together and alive; the same Spirit whom we worship as the love between the Father and the Son.
We are called into the community of faith by our Baptism, and empowered to spread the good news by our Confirmation. Through these two powerful sacraments we, like the early community, are anointed and chosen. Let us open the doors of our hearts, that we may invite others to share in the life of the Spirit.
No matter what our gift or quality it is always an expression of God working through you. Your gift of cooking, speaking, farming, learning, athletics, of teaching, parenting, gardening, of being a lector at Mass, is a way of doing God's work for the good of all. Whatever work you do, no matter what your job brings down to earth the spirit and breath of God. They are for the good of all, so really all that we have been given is to be used for the good of all.
And finally Jesus says: "Peace be with you." With these words he also gives us the most loving of all gifts by saying that he will forgive us our sins if we want them forgiven. Jesus invites us to be peacemakers, but to be peacemakers requires that we be at peace and harmony within ourselves. To do that requires forgiveness, Jesus says. We must forgive others much as we pray in the Lord's prayer: FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. We are willing to forgive each other of those secret grudges we hold, and we are able to heal ourselves of all that we have done to ourselves. May this Pentecost be the beginning of our peacemaking with ourselves, with God and with one another.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Homily for May 4, 2008
7th Sunday, 2008
Acts 1:12-14
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8
1 Peter 4:13-16
John 17:1-11a
All of us at one time or other have been OVERHEARD. It could be when we are thinking out loud, or louder than we think we are. It could be when we are at a restaurant and realize that those at the next table heard our most personal conversations; it could be at school when we start complaining to ourselves about so and so and such and such, and then find another student has come into the room without our knowing. Sometimes we purposely want to be overheard! As a priest I am always conscious of being overheard especially when much of the time people come to speak to me about very personal or confidential situations.
Our Bible reading for today describes a situation when Jesus was being overheard. He was over heard praying. Whether Jesus intended it or not, he was being overheard by his chosen friends. It describes what has become known as Jesus’ Priestly Prayer. This prayer took place at the very end of his life at a very important time in his life; at the Last Supper. Jesus was about to leave this earth and return to God the Father. He was with his friends. But he was speaking directly to God who had sent him on earth to take care of us. Before he leaves this world, like many of us, he reviews his earthly life. How well did he do? Did he do all that God wanted him to do? Will his disciples follow him, and how well will they follow him? In this prayer Jesus also prays for his friends.
All of us, regardless of our background or our religious life pray from time to time. Prayer is like talking. When we were young we learned to talk by imitating someone else. Sounds and words gradually became ours. And then we strung together phrases and then sentences to express our thoughts. This process carries into prayer. Most of us probably learned to talk to God using someone else’s words. We learned those words by memory such as the Our Father or the Hail Mary. Perhaps many of us have never gone beyond the prayers we memorized. But, hopefully, as you matured many, many of you used your own words in prayer to express who you are, what you think, how you feel, and what you need.
Talking to God is prayer, but do you spend time listening to God too? Few of us can tolerate friends who do nothing but talk at us. Relationships are more than words. In addition to words, prayer involves our mind and our heart. It includes affection just like a good friendship. When you truly allow yourself to open your heart in friendship to God, you can hear God’s voice within you saying: I love you. This is the great power of prayer to heal us. And persons who never, never pray are never healed and feel loved.
Prayer is of the heart. Not the muscular organ that pumps blood through our body, but the hidden center, the place of decisions and truth made by God, and where we hear God speak to us. All of us have met persons who are hard to get to know. In some cases these persons are constantly trying to tell us what to do. They are always giving us their opinion on every thing. For a relationship to grow we need to relate with one another in openness. Humility meals we are honest about who we are.
Prayer, like any conversation we have with a friend, is both talking and listening. To pray means to sit open handed before God and give ourselves to God,and let God give himself to us. Prayer also means that we abandon ourselves to Jesus, giving Him all that we are and have, and then totally depending on his goodness. In such a way there is an exchange between ourselves God: we are given and we give back, the gift transformed by us and within us.
Prayer, like love, is a continuous process of giving, of letting go trusting that by so doing we might be more totally one with God. If we are to love another, it is absolutely necessary that we communicate with that person. So too with Jesus and God. Where there is no prayer, there can be little love.
How do we learn how to pray? We learn how to pray from those who do pray. As with all important things in our life, we do not learn prayer in school or from our neighbors, we learn how to prayer from our Mothers and Fathers whom we see and hear praying, and from whom we learn our prayers. Besides giving a child the gift of life, the greatest gift that a Mother or Father can give their child is the gift of prayer.
Jesus’ most famous prayer is the Lord’s Prayer or what is known as the OUR FATHER. The prayer was the answer to a request from one of his apostles who said to Jesus: Lord teach us how to pray. We have so very often used this prayer to the Lord when we were here in this church, or taking a walk in the woods, or driving the car by ourselves, or thinking and wondering what God wanted us to do, or feeling guilty about what we had done or had not done. It is no surprise, then, that the Disciples too asked their friend Jesus to teach them how to pray. Here we have men who were in daily contact with Jesus who still needed his help in how to pray.
Prayer was central to the life of Jesus. We are told that he prayed on the mountain, he prayed when he was alone; he prayed with others; he used the Psalms of the Old Testament as prayer. As faithful Jews the Psalms were the family prayer of Mary and Joseph from whom Jesus learned how to pray the Psalms. As a young child Jesus memorized these Psalms very much like young children today memorize the Our Father and the Hail Mary.
If Jesus prayed in order to know what God wanted him to do, then we cannot expect to be spiritual without prayer. A few days ago the TV news showed us two young boys, one 17 years old and the other 15, who had gotten lost at sea in their boat off the coast of North Carolina.
They were 100 miles off shore when they were found 7 days later. When they were interviewed at the hospital, they mentioned that they survived on jelly fish and salty sea water which made their tongues white and made them ever more thirsty. They were very much sunburned. They saw sharks in the water. But what impressed me most was their mention they prayed to God that they would be found. They said that it was their prayers that saved them. They prayed together that they would be found. They would pray out loud together and at times by themselves. After 6 days the 15 year old boy said he had given up, but MY FRIEND SAID WE MUST PRAY EVEN MORE. I have found the same faith in prayer with many of the young people I have known.
I believe that everyone prays at one time or other. But we want to pray better. Prayer is as important to our spiritual life and health as is breathing to our physical life. Tell me how you pray and I will tell you how you live.
Make prayer a regular part of your day. Besides the Rosary, a simple help is to find a quiet time and open your Bible. Find a passage. Calm yourself and ask God to help you. Read the passage and then sit quietly. Try not to think about anything. Just let the passage settle into you. Read it again. A word or phrase will jump at you. Take some quiet time to just think or feel that word. Don’t try to analyze it. Then ask God what he wants you to understand about the word or phrase. Then carry it around with you for the day or even a week. You can also do this with others.
Acts 1:12-14
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8
1 Peter 4:13-16
John 17:1-11a
All of us at one time or other have been OVERHEARD. It could be when we are thinking out loud, or louder than we think we are. It could be when we are at a restaurant and realize that those at the next table heard our most personal conversations; it could be at school when we start complaining to ourselves about so and so and such and such, and then find another student has come into the room without our knowing. Sometimes we purposely want to be overheard! As a priest I am always conscious of being overheard especially when much of the time people come to speak to me about very personal or confidential situations.
Our Bible reading for today describes a situation when Jesus was being overheard. He was over heard praying. Whether Jesus intended it or not, he was being overheard by his chosen friends. It describes what has become known as Jesus’ Priestly Prayer. This prayer took place at the very end of his life at a very important time in his life; at the Last Supper. Jesus was about to leave this earth and return to God the Father. He was with his friends. But he was speaking directly to God who had sent him on earth to take care of us. Before he leaves this world, like many of us, he reviews his earthly life. How well did he do? Did he do all that God wanted him to do? Will his disciples follow him, and how well will they follow him? In this prayer Jesus also prays for his friends.
All of us, regardless of our background or our religious life pray from time to time. Prayer is like talking. When we were young we learned to talk by imitating someone else. Sounds and words gradually became ours. And then we strung together phrases and then sentences to express our thoughts. This process carries into prayer. Most of us probably learned to talk to God using someone else’s words. We learned those words by memory such as the Our Father or the Hail Mary. Perhaps many of us have never gone beyond the prayers we memorized. But, hopefully, as you matured many, many of you used your own words in prayer to express who you are, what you think, how you feel, and what you need.
Talking to God is prayer, but do you spend time listening to God too? Few of us can tolerate friends who do nothing but talk at us. Relationships are more than words. In addition to words, prayer involves our mind and our heart. It includes affection just like a good friendship. When you truly allow yourself to open your heart in friendship to God, you can hear God’s voice within you saying: I love you. This is the great power of prayer to heal us. And persons who never, never pray are never healed and feel loved.
Prayer is of the heart. Not the muscular organ that pumps blood through our body, but the hidden center, the place of decisions and truth made by God, and where we hear God speak to us. All of us have met persons who are hard to get to know. In some cases these persons are constantly trying to tell us what to do. They are always giving us their opinion on every thing. For a relationship to grow we need to relate with one another in openness. Humility meals we are honest about who we are.
Prayer, like any conversation we have with a friend, is both talking and listening. To pray means to sit open handed before God and give ourselves to God,and let God give himself to us. Prayer also means that we abandon ourselves to Jesus, giving Him all that we are and have, and then totally depending on his goodness. In such a way there is an exchange between ourselves God: we are given and we give back, the gift transformed by us and within us.
Prayer, like love, is a continuous process of giving, of letting go trusting that by so doing we might be more totally one with God. If we are to love another, it is absolutely necessary that we communicate with that person. So too with Jesus and God. Where there is no prayer, there can be little love.
How do we learn how to pray? We learn how to pray from those who do pray. As with all important things in our life, we do not learn prayer in school or from our neighbors, we learn how to prayer from our Mothers and Fathers whom we see and hear praying, and from whom we learn our prayers. Besides giving a child the gift of life, the greatest gift that a Mother or Father can give their child is the gift of prayer.
Jesus’ most famous prayer is the Lord’s Prayer or what is known as the OUR FATHER. The prayer was the answer to a request from one of his apostles who said to Jesus: Lord teach us how to pray. We have so very often used this prayer to the Lord when we were here in this church, or taking a walk in the woods, or driving the car by ourselves, or thinking and wondering what God wanted us to do, or feeling guilty about what we had done or had not done. It is no surprise, then, that the Disciples too asked their friend Jesus to teach them how to pray. Here we have men who were in daily contact with Jesus who still needed his help in how to pray.
Prayer was central to the life of Jesus. We are told that he prayed on the mountain, he prayed when he was alone; he prayed with others; he used the Psalms of the Old Testament as prayer. As faithful Jews the Psalms were the family prayer of Mary and Joseph from whom Jesus learned how to pray the Psalms. As a young child Jesus memorized these Psalms very much like young children today memorize the Our Father and the Hail Mary.
If Jesus prayed in order to know what God wanted him to do, then we cannot expect to be spiritual without prayer. A few days ago the TV news showed us two young boys, one 17 years old and the other 15, who had gotten lost at sea in their boat off the coast of North Carolina.
They were 100 miles off shore when they were found 7 days later. When they were interviewed at the hospital, they mentioned that they survived on jelly fish and salty sea water which made their tongues white and made them ever more thirsty. They were very much sunburned. They saw sharks in the water. But what impressed me most was their mention they prayed to God that they would be found. They said that it was their prayers that saved them. They prayed together that they would be found. They would pray out loud together and at times by themselves. After 6 days the 15 year old boy said he had given up, but MY FRIEND SAID WE MUST PRAY EVEN MORE. I have found the same faith in prayer with many of the young people I have known.
I believe that everyone prays at one time or other. But we want to pray better. Prayer is as important to our spiritual life and health as is breathing to our physical life. Tell me how you pray and I will tell you how you live.
Make prayer a regular part of your day. Besides the Rosary, a simple help is to find a quiet time and open your Bible. Find a passage. Calm yourself and ask God to help you. Read the passage and then sit quietly. Try not to think about anything. Just let the passage settle into you. Read it again. A word or phrase will jump at you. Take some quiet time to just think or feel that word. Don’t try to analyze it. Then ask God what he wants you to understand about the word or phrase. Then carry it around with you for the day or even a week. You can also do this with others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)