Corpus Christi

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Christ waits for us. Christ waits for us as we work, as we play, as we sleep, He is ever there, patient and at the ready.  There is never a time in our lives that Christ is not present for us to turn to even in our darkest of times.  The Lord is faithful the Lord is true to His promises and the Lord is persistent in His search for His prodigal people.  We have but to turn to Him even in our sinfulness and He will be there for us.

The presence of Christ in our lives never takes a more meaningful form than that of His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity that we receive in the Holy Eucharist. The Communion line offers us a wonderful analogy of how Christ abides with His people in our lives.  The procession that we partake in on our way to receive the Eucharist should be a time of prayer, praise and worship.  We reflect on the areas of our lives that need more Christ in them.  We celebrate with our fellow worshipers the life giving food that we are about to receive, the food that gives us life eternal.  We receive the Eucharist with a reverence and awe due to our Creator and King, and we do all of this together as that other body of Christ, His Church, His people.  After the Mass is completed the words “go in peace” reach our ears, urging us to take Christ out into the world and for us to be Christ for all of those that we meet on our path.

This celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ is the celebration of our faith at its pinnacle, in what Vatican II called, “the source and summit” of our spiritual lives. May we be worthy of such a gift and may we be thankful to God for this treasure.  Amen.

Your servant in Christ

Deacon Bill

Catholic Sacramental Marriage, I Do….WHAT?

WHAT CONSTITUITS A SACRAMENTAL MARRIAGE WITHIH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

A Sacramental Marriage, in the Catholic Church is defined as follows, according to Canon Law:

Can. 1055 §1 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life, and which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children, has, between the baptized, been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.

• 2 Consequently, a valid marriage contract cannot exist between baptized persons without its being by that very fact a sacrament.

Can. 1056 The essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility; in Christian marriage they acquire a distinctive firmness by reason of the sacrament.

Can. 1057 §1 A marriage is brought into being by the lawfully manifested consent of persons who are legally capable. This consent cannot be supplied by any human power.

• 2 Matrimonial consent is an act of will by which a man and a woman by an irrevocable covenant mutually give and accept one another for the purpose of establishing a marriage.

In other words a Sacramental Marriage, in the Catholic Church, is a marriage between a baptized man and a baptized woman who are consenting to a marriage covenant that entails that they will be faithful to each other until the death of the spouse, that they will be fully open to the procreation of children and that they will live their lives for the good of the other “until death do they part.”

This means that a Sacramental Catholic Marriage exists for the good of the husband, the wife and the children. So when we think about what the Catholic Church believes is the “ultimate good,” one would have to say ones eternal salvation.  It would naturally follow that the Sacrament of Marriage was instituted by Christ so that the husband and the wife can love each other and their children into heaven.  When one takes this approach and realizes how Christ offered Himself on the Cross to love us into heaven by giving His very life for our salvation, it places a mighty standard for us to imitate.  Though we, most likely, will not have to hang on a cross for our spouse, we often do have to bear the crosses of our everyday lives, and do so with a cheerful heart knowing that we are doing so for those who we love most in this world!

Your servant in Christ.

Deacon Bill

Have You Hugged a Stranger Today?

Mark 12:28-34

The scribe who asks Jesus the question in the Gospel is obviously a good man who is sincerely seeking the truth. Jesus sees in this man not just a scribe but a person who is trying to make his life in union with the will of God. Jesus informs the man that the whole law can be summed up in two commandments: love of God and love of neighbor.  Note that the kind of love spoken of here is freely chosen and freely given, this is not the kind of love that is emotional but a love that is the giving of one’s self freely for the other without thought of return.  The relationship that we have with God, in the view of Christ, should be the most important thing in our lives.  When we think back on our last few days or even weeks, how many of us can say that our priority during this time was our relationship with God?  Jesus does, however, pair the command to love God with that of the love of neighbor.  The implication of this aspect of the interrelatedness between the love of God and the love of neighbor gives us great hope.  It seems that our love of God expresses itself in the love that we show to our neighbor who is our brethren in the creation of God.  This situation enables us to demonstrate our love of God in every act of kindness and charity that we show anyone who we meet on a day to day and week to week basis. So while we may find it difficult to keep God in mind throughout the course of the whole day, we do have His creation before us constantly and we can act out of love to all humanity thereby demonstrating our love for our mutual Creator.

Your Servant in Christ,

Deacon Bill

That’s a Good Question!

Mark 10:17-27

The young man in today’s Gospel comes up to Jesus and asks Him the question that would be the most important question that can be asked of God; “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This question is answered by Jesus with a review of the commandments asking the man if he has kept them.  The man responds that he has kept these commandments from his childhood.  At this Jesus is said to have looked at him and loved him.  Jesus saw the good in the young man and then He invited the man to come and follow him with the stipulation that he sell everything that he has and give the money to the poor.  Jesus is requesting a radical response from the young man because He knew that he had an attachment to his wealth.  When the young man heard the command of Jesus his “face fell” and he “went away sad” because he could not bear to part with his possessions.  It would seem that the man’s things possessed him more than he possessed them. In this story we see the first time that Jesus calls someone to follow Him and gets a negative response, all the previous times that Jesus asks someone to follow Him He gets an immediate response but not with this young man due to his attachment to his wealth.  He sought out Jesus and wished to be accepted by him but could not pay the price for admission.  This should cause one to reflect on what possesses us, what is keeping ourselves from that radical acceptance of the call of God in our lives?  What do we need to let go of in order for us to grasp that which should be the most important goal of our lives, our eternal life in the Heavenly Kingdom?

Your servant in Christ

Deacon Bill

Prideful Will or Humble Service

25^th Sunday OT cycle B

In today’s second reading James states that “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.”  It is very evident that this statement describes the situation that the world finds itself in today.  Through the prideful will of selfish ambition we see the results of financial upheaval, uncontrolled health care costs resulting in the poor going without, abortion, euthanasia and numerous other evils.  The Church through the direction of the Holy Spirit asks us today to turn from selfish and ambitious behavior and to hear the call of Christ.  This call is to become one who is the “last of all and the servant of all,” one who does not seek glory and riches but seeks to be enriched in the graces of God by the good that one can do for their neighbor.  The same is true within the Church itself, it must remove from ministry those who are harmful sinners and those who allow them to stay in ministry. So as we reflect on the readings of today let us ask God to help us develop a true sense of humble service to Him and our neighbor through the love that is the essence of God and He so generously allows us to participate in through the Holy Spirit.

Hurt from our Heart?

Mark 7:1-23

The Gospel today speaks of cleanliness. While the Scribes and Pharisees worry about ritual washings and purification rituals, Jesus points to the truth that it matters more what a person has within them, in their hearts, which makes them unclean.  All of the rituals that the Jews were forced to perform were just outward motions with no true meaning.  The matters of sinful inclinations and evil within men were of much more concern to Jesus than wither someone washed their hands before eating or not.  Outward signs were merely to impress those around someone, showing them that they were good Jews and were obeying the “law.” Jesus wants us to understand that it is the things that we do to one another that is the real test of what defiles one.  If we do evil to another that is the true defilement, that is what makes a person unclean.  In our world today people feel free to pretty much say what they want to others without regard to the feelings or the situation of the other person. We speak easily and freely of each other’s issues and shortcomings.  I think that our use of pretty much anonymous communications over our numerous devices makes us loose a bit of restraint that we would normally have when dealing with people face to face.  This can be a kind of defilement of ourselves, hurting the feelings of others and maybe even causing issues that could be avoided.  So let us take care and strive to make our communication to one another as civil and Christian as possible to avoid having hurt come out of our hearts.

Your servant in Christ

Deacon Bill

God is Calling Who is Answering?

John 6:41-51

In today’s Gospel Jesus makes this statement, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.” The personal call of God to the individuals whom He chooses is very evident in this statement and, I believe is still true to this day.  The notion that each one of us has been called by God into a personal relationship with Him boggles my mind.  To think that the Creator of the entire universe cares for me as an individual person and that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die for my sins is a hard stretch for my imagination.  Even so, this is precisely what the Bible says and what our faith teaches us.  So if we have been called by God to be His people then we have a responsibility to respond to that call.  This involves being active in our spiritual life, our response to God involves not simply going to Mass once a week, to be sure we should attend Mass and receive the Eucharist on a regular basis, this gives us the spiritual nourishment that we require.  We require this spiritual nourishment in order to exercise our “spiritual muscles” in order to pray, to praise, and to respond to the will of God for our lives.  Let us not forget that he who God calls is also sent, so we should also always be in a discernment mode as to whom God is sending us to in order that we can help God call others to Himself.

 

It is really pretty easy; Respond, Mass and the Eucharist, Pray, Evangelize and…………..REPEAT!

Summer and God

How is your summer going?  Did you go on that trip you had been planning or go on a staycation?  Have you done that project at home that your spouse has been trying to get you to do or read that book that you wanted to read?  My point here is have you made your summer productive either in relaxation or in things that needed to get done, either way you will have accomplished something for yourself.  How about your eternal life, have you done anything this summer to insure that it will be a good eternity for yourself?  The heat that we have been experiencing lately may give you some motivation to not want to be in a place, for all of eternity that would be much much hotter than Florida in August.  How about your worship life, have you ensured that you and your family take at least one hour a week to let God know that you love Him and appreciate all the good He has done for you?  It is very important for us to take a look at ourselves every now and then and evaluate if the way that we are living our lives is in accordance with what we profess to be true every time that we recite the Creed at Mass.  Remember that our actions do speak louder than words and that we must give one another good examples, especially to our families, concerning our lives of faith.  There is a bit of summer left, so let’s make the most of it.  So get that project finished, take that trip, allow for some extra rest, read that book but above all thank God for everything and show Him a bit of appreciation by loving Him and our neighbor through our actions and our words.

Your Servant in Christ,

Deacon Bill

Where Do You Turn?

Mark 6:7-13

In the Gospel last Sunday Jesus sent the Apostles out on a mission to preach the Good News to heal the sick and to free people of unclean spirits. Today, a bit later in the Gospel of Mark the Apostles have returned and are telling Jesus all that they did and said on their mission.  Jesus sees the need for them to rest after their successful journeys so He gets them to go to a secluded place with him. Jesus is “tending to His flock” here, He is seeing to the needs of His closest followers making sure that they have food and rest after their labor.  Next we see this crowd of people who have followed Jesus and His disciples to this isolated area “like sheep without a shepherd.”  Jesus then turns his attention to this “flock” and tends to their needs, teaching them the Good News.

In this Gospel Jesus recognizes the needs of the people around Him, His disciples need for rest and the crowds have need for the message of the Gospel.  Jesus also recognizes our needs and is still active in the world, through the Church, strengthening us through the sacraments, especially through the Eucharist in which we receive Him as the food that gives everlasting life.

We all have needs to be met, but when we only look to the world to have our needs met we are missing the mark. Let us take the example of the Apostles and the crowd in the Gospel, let us take our needs to our Lord and Savior who gives us what we truly require.

Your servant in Christ,

Deacon Bill

The Fire Burns Within

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23  5th week ordinary time, cycle B

In today’s reading from St. Paul to the church in Corinth he states that he preaches the Gospel not for pay but because he has a divine commission that he has to fulfill and woe to him if he does not preach it.  Paul understands the importance of his mission he does not preach the Gospel as a job to do and be paid for, he preaches the Gospel because he has been commanded by God to do so, this is the compulsion of a prophet.  There is nothing for Paul to do than to preach the Gospel and that the reward for preaching is that very thing, to preach the Gospel without payment!  It is as if there is a fire burning within Paul which compels him to preach the word of God and that the only way to gain any relief from this fire is to do that which he is compelled to do, preach that word!  Paul, here, sets a very high standard for following the will of God in his life but God does not want everyone to be a Paul.  We are all, however, called by God to discern what His will is for us at this point in our lives, no matter what age we are or what our station in life is.  We must always pray that we are doing our best for ourselves and our families in keeping with our responsibility to love our God and neighbor as best we can, and to change the things in our lives that prohibit us from doing so.  As brothers and sisters in Christ we can always implore our Father in Heaven for direction in life and ask that the Holy Spirit within each of us gives us the strength and courage we need to go where ever we are called.

Your Servant in Christ,

Deacon Bill,