Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 10, 2022 - Saturday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 10:14-22 and Luke 6:43-49]The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf. [1 Cor.]
Alarmed by a survey indicating that nearly two-thirds of the Catholics in this country do not believe that the bread and wine consecrated at Mass are the body and blood of Christ but just a symbol, the bishops of the USA have declared a three-year program of "eucharistic revival" to rekindle faith in what Jesus has asked us to do "in memory of me." Here in the Diocese of Lubbock (and elsewhere), there is an intensive effort to teach and inspire the People of God to renew their faith in what the Second Vatican Council called "the source and summit" of the life of the Church. I have been invited to give a series of First Friday presentations at the cathedral here in Lubbock on the Eucharist as part of their program. I began the first one earlier this month with a story I have told here before of the young woman whom I instructed in the faith so she could become a Catholic. At the end of the instruction, when she was ready, I asked her what was the most difficult thing for her to accept. She answered right away, "The Eucharist! If you accept that, the rest is easy!"
The words of St. Paul in the first scripture for today are testimony to the faith of the church from the earliest days. They speak not only to the reality of the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, but also to the "communion" that this sacrament is meant to foster. Pope Francis has made it clear that the Eucharist is not a "reward for the elite" but a "medicine for the sick and wounded." Love of God and love of neighbor are united in this continuing memorial of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The Eucharist is not an object but a person - the person of Jesus Christ. He promised to be with us always (Matthew 28:20) and that if we consume him we will have eternal life. (John 6:56-58). This is not "just a symbol" but the person of Christ summoning us to act in his memory and "to put skin on" the love that he showed for us. AMEN