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The Most Holy Body and Blood
of Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi)

Scripture:

Exodus 24:3-8
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

Reflection:

We are connected through God in ways we do not understand and cannot comprehend. St. Paul tried to explain that to the Corinthians in eloquent letters comparing our inter-connection to an actual human body, but I wonder whether the message sunk in then or whether it has yet sunk in 2000 years later. 

WE are the Body and Blood of Christ. Therefore, when we receive communion we receive Christ and we also become more deeply a member of Christ’s Body and  Blood, which includes everyone else  – living and dead, whatever ethnicity, class, gender, age, or status, whatever degree of sinfulness or grace. We visibly remember and enact the understanding that everyone God created and loves is integral to our very body and flows with our very lifeblood. And when Mass ends we are sent out to live in the world as if we actually believe it.

The sacrificial blood that sealed the first covenant pales in comparison to the sacrificial blood that seals the everlasting covenant. The first covenant was one of obedience; the everlasting covenant is one of self-sacrificial love.  The first covenant drew boundaries and cast unbelievers out; the everlasting covenant draws people in, serving and forgiving everyone. The first covenant embodied the letter of the law; the everlasting covenant embodies the Spirit.

We too often live under the first covenant. For instance, Jesus was never one for strict purity, yet we have turned the consecrated elements into strictly pure objects that can only be received by those in a state of grace. Did Jesus’ life model that for us, or did his words, actions, and sacrifice of his own body and blood indicate that God’s desire for purity is an unending desire for pure love? At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist we celebrate, there was no litmus test for a state of grace or worthiness to receive. Jesus offered his precious Body and Blood to Judas who betrayed him, Peter who denied him, Thomas who doubted him, Matthew the publicly despised tax collector, and James and John who were sometimes far more interested in their own status in the heavenly kingdom  than in bringing God’s reign to earth.  In fact, the early church taught that receiving the Eucharist was an opportunity to be cleansed of offenses and a means of healing the soul (a belief we proclaim at every Mass before we come to the table).

God’s passion is for inclusion, for reaching out to the margins, the broken, the impure, and those whom the powerful deem unimportant. To use Jesus’ images, God longs to gather her chicks under her wings like a mother hen, bring every sheep into the fold, drop the first stone before throwing it, and extend profound compassion and forgiveness without condition. Our highest calling as members of the Body and Blood of Christ is to live the self-sacrificial love that membership entails. For it is love that saves, love that redeems, love that unifies, and love that defines us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We only imperfectly participate in the sacrifices that Jesus’ brand of love demands. 

Jesus asked his disciples whether they were willing to drink of the cup from which he drinks. In trembling and fear, I fall on my knees and admit that too often, I am not. May God increase my capacity for pure love, my vision to see all people in the communion I receive, and the courage to go live it out despite the cost it will inevitably exact.

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s  website: http://www.amyflorian.com/.

 

 

Scripture:

2 Timothy 4:1-8
Mark 12:38-44

 

 

 

Reflection:

A Little Stone Rejected

Today’s gospel from Mark concludes our yearly reading of Mark in the weekday lectionary. We have ended on a very profound note. We can see this past week’s readings as a reflection on love. Beginning with the parable of the vineyard owner’s son who is put to death, to the answer that we ought to render to God what is God’s, and the Greatest Commandment, the theme of love runs through them and our generous widow includes them.

The widow today is a visual example of love. Her two coins, all she possesses, are her offering to God. It shows us where her treasure lies, to what her heart is directed. If all belongs to God, as we heard questioned in the ‘what goes to Caesar/God discussion’, we see that she knows with her heart the answer. Poor she might be, but she loves God with her whole heart.

Mark may also be telling us something this woman’s strength. Our week began with the parable of the love of the father who sends his son. Why this persistence on his part? Could it be the desire to open up communications? So far in the parable there has been no sharing. But the son is killed and they dragged him outside the vineyard. This stone, rejected becomes the cornerstone. It is marvelous! So we can see the love of the Passion.

But the one killed is dragged outside the vineyard. What was dearer to God than the place where the Vine of David was nourished, Jerusalem, the place of the temple in which was housed the Holy of Holies. We see our widow also in the temple, there showing us herself as woman radiant with love for God. She stands against the scribes who like to parade around in their robes and who devour the savings of widows. Like Jesus she is also a target in the holy place.

As we end Mark today we have a heroine to remember. She is a lover who has given her heart to God; it is visible in what she does. And she imitates Jesus; she is a suffering servant. Recognized by Jesus, she is not nourished or cared for in the vineyard of the Lord as she should be. She is maybe just a little stone, but none the less a foundation that helps us all today. May we draw strength from her example of love and join the many little stones to be foundation for the feet of fellow pilgrims. 

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP, is pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery parish in Baltimore, Maryland.

Scripture:

2 Timothy 3:10-17
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

Both readings tell us that the Scriptures are "inspired by God." The Word of God that comes through the Bible has been so crucial in my own conversion and ongoing growth as a disciple.

For the past ten years, I have boxes of The Word Among Us Mass devotional with daily Scripture readings sent to each parish mission that I preach. I distribute these booklets free of charge to all the people who attend the retreat. I want all to read the Bible. I think the daily Mass readings are a good place to start.

My parents used to have a machine commonly referred to as a treasure finder. Perhaps you’ve seen people scour the beach with these hand-held devices looking for buried coins, rings, and even paper money. (Some machines are sensitive to the metallic ink on the paper money.) When the machine is directly above something metallic, it emits a loud sound. Through this method, it lets you know there is something underneath. Hopefully a ring or silver dollar, not a bottle cap, will be found after digging.

Most of the time is spend in patient, silent sweeping with this instrument. Then, suddenly and inevitably comes the "urrrt" sound followed by excitement and digging.

Reading the Bible is a treasure hunt. We are on a quest searching for something of worth and value. We hunt for encouragement, comfort, inspiration and direction. Most days are spent in silent sweeping (reading) with not much happening. But every once in awhile the "urrrt" sound comes. Something touches us and jumps out at us. God speaks to us through a word, a phrase, or story. This touch can encourage and even change our life. When we keep sweeping, moments of grace will eventually come.

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 16books and creator of television and radio programs airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org  

 

Scripture:

2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18
Mark 12:13-17

Reflection:

There is a line in today’s Gospel that is frequently quoted: "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." It is often interpreted as a guide for how a Christian should relate to civil authority. But when the Pharisees and the Herodians asked Jesus, "is it lawful?," they were asking, "Is this right in the eyes of God?" For the law they were referring to was not civil law but the Law of Moses. This law was given to bring the Hebrew people closer to God and repair humankind’s relationship with Him.

So when Jesus says, "Repay to Caesar what is Caesar’s," is He just talking about paying your taxes?

Perhaps He was giving us a way to order our lives. There are times when I agree with the psalmist–"Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong, and most of them are fruitless toil, for they pass quickly and we drift away." I often find myself running through my day, constantly reviewing the many to-do lists in my head, revising and reordering them based on shifting circumstances and my energy level. I operate under the illusion that if I can just get the order correct, if I can clear all of today’s lists and set up tomorrow’s before I drop off to sleep I will be as Peter suggests, "Found without spot or blemish before Him, at peace." However, when I am only focused on clearing my lists, that peace evades me. Jesus in this lesson points to the solution.

Keeping the ordinary details of my life in order seems to me to fall under ‘repay to Caesar.’ Jesus says we are to do these things. But we are also to pay to God what is God’s. I wonder if Jesus isn’t telling us to go about our lives, do those things required of us by this world, but remember that just doing them doesn’t elevate them to the level of grace. Grace comes about when I tend to my relationship with God, whether in quiet prayer alone or in the interactions with other people that come about while ‘paying my taxes.’

 

Talib Huff is a volunteer at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California.

 

Scripture:

2 Peter 1:2-7
Mark 12:1-12

 

 

 

Reflection:

Responsible Stewardship & Discipleship

Today’s Gospel parable of the vineyard and the tenant farmers is familiar:  a vineyard is planted, leased to tenant farmers who tried to take over the vineyard for themselves alone.  Repeated efforts were made to collect some of the produce of the vineyard; each attempt was met with rejection, and ultimately the owner’s son was killed in a far-fetched plot to obtain the vineyard.  Jesus’ immediate audience for the parable was  the scribes and elders.  As they realized that they themselves were the focus of the parable their contempt of Jesus continued to build!  For Jesus, another step on the road to Calvary…

There’s another dimension / angle to the parable:  the beginning of the parable has many interesting details.  Jesus could have simply said, "a man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and left on a journey."  Instead, Jesus included the words "put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower."  Why did Jesus include these details?

These parable details can provide insight about Jesus’ relationship with his Father, and Jesus’ hopes for us as well.  Today the Father provides us with the theoretical equivalents of a hedge, a wine press and a tower as we "work" the vineyard of Christian life in the 21st Century.  God loves each of us, and walks with us in all the aspects of daily life.  We are blessed with the Scriptures, with the Sacraments, with the tradition of the Church, with the example of one another, etc.  These many helps (the hedge of protection from harm and limitations, the wine press of personal and institutional resources, and the tower of a global connection with the Church universal) encourage us to labor enthusiastically and tirelessly in proclaiming the Good News today.

Perhaps these days of Ordinary Time in the Church can help us wake up and take notice of our labors in the Lord’s "vineyard" of our daily lives.  Do we notice and gratefully use the gifts God provides us?  As we face the challenges of life as responsible Christians, are we humble and responsible – or greedy, power-hungry and mercenary?  Are we good stewards?  We can all-too-easily reject God as did those represented by the tenant farmers in the Gospel parable…

Today, God loves us dearly in Jesus Crucified; we are called to credibly and generously share that love in word and deed.  May we be blessed.

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20

Reflection:
"Fix in your heart that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other."      

A "fixed heart" tells me that I am convicted about a relationship with God, of which the choice to be in relationship with this loving Creator is primarily God’s! I seek to "pay attention," which is primary for a "yes." In this Trinitarian relationship I have three-fold  benefits. First, of "being myself," I am my own man, because I have the confidence of a loving Father.  Second, that I can face the greatest threat to my ego, (what I feel like being and doing rather than the right choice) and do the right thing, because I have a brother, by adoption, who happens to have overcome, once and for all, the fear of death. And, third, even with that kind of understanding, I can lose it, when I know not what to do next. Then, there is a guidance system through the Holy Spirit that is with me, even if it is not humanly detectable.

For me that is living a "Trinitarian life." This is not magical but it contains a lot of mystery. And mystery is basically truth not revealed yet. This mystery of truth and love unfolds when I make a choice over feelings not to quit, not to give in, not to let popularity, power or perceptions fool me into conformity or mediocrity.

The word "adoption" assumes we know what it is to be lonely, or feel disconnected, abandoned or directionless. This is in the normal running of the "human race." When I review my relationship with the Most Holy Trinity, I find "it" in the very areas where I am striving to be honest, where I am seeking to persevere through a commitment, or have chosen, over feelings, to forgive again.

I believe I am on this path of relating to the Trinity in this three-fold way in order to accompany those along the way who are searching, trying to figure out the path upon which they find themselves. I am talking, especially, of those within my own family. The Trinitarian life is about constant healing, which I address constantly in so far as I make every effort to maintain relationships with those who are so abandoned themselves. I don’t worry about the outward signs that I am doing the right. I attempt to stay focused on being faithful to this three-fold relationship from which God’s Plan gets revealed.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:

Jude 17, 20B-25
Mark 11:27-33

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel reading is a selection that is situated in the days leading up to the Passion and death of Jesus.  The events of Palm Sunday are related in Mark’s Gospel at the start of Chapter 11.  The next day, Jesus comes back to Jerusalem and "cleanses" the Temple of its merchants.  Now, a day later, Jesus once more comes back into the environs of the Temple, and continues his teaching (something routinely done at that time by walking among the porticos and passages of a public space).

With time running out for him to personally engage his followers, he takes the perilous but necessary step of affirming his right to teach.  However, the religious leaders challenge him, they question his authority to teach.  Jesus does not back down from their challenge; instead he shows how well he knows their minds by reminding them of John the Baptist, whom the people considered a prophet, and whom the religious leaders rejected.

Woven throughout this episode of Mark is the question of authority.  Authority belongs to the religious leaders.  Authority belongs to Jesus.  Authority belongs to the Prophet, John the Baptist.  When authorities clash, the outcome is not necessarily a validation of one’s authority.  When Herod sought to kill the Child Jesus, innocent children were slaughtered in vindication of Herod’s hope to continue ruling.  When the religious leaders of Jesus’ time decided that it was better than one man should die for the sake of the nation, it was an abuse of authority that sent Jesus to his death.

On the other hand, the authority of Jesus is not like that of religious leaders of his time.  His authority is based on his divine and pre-eminent respect for the human person.  His authority is the engine that drives his mission on earth.  His authority is not diminished by the sinfulness displayed among his followers.  The authority of Jesus invites others to follow him and carry on his mission. 

The exercise of authority in the Church is both the expression of Christ’s abiding presence in the Body of the Faithful, and a reminder of the very fallible human nature that abides in Christ.  When we have crises of authority in the Church, we should not be surprised.  The leadership and authority exercised by some United States Bishops when presented with knowledge of sexually abusive priests appears to have little in common with the leadership of Jesus over his flock.

On the other hand, we sympathize with and pray for the Religious Women whose Leadership Conference appears to many of us to have many of the attributes of Jesus’ authority and leadership.  Authority is a charism in the Church.  Authority is not created by the Church’s hierarchical structures, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  Authority in the Church is a sharing in the parenthood of God, and the obedience of the Son. 

Religious Communities are a charism, a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church.  They are usually born outside of the hierarchical structures of the Church, and they recognize the need to incorporate themselves into the hierarchical structures once they have proven their viability.  They are not just one more department in an ecclesiastical bureaucracy, nor should they be treated as such.

We have worked hard these last ten years to raise the level of understanding and responsibility that we need to show for young persons in the Church.  Let us work as hard to raise the level of understanding and responsibility that we have for the charismatic life of the Church that is Religious Life. 

 

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P. is the director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:8-15
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

When I was a young undergraduate at DePaul University in Chicago, I was accused of being a willy-nilly idealist. I suspect the person(s) who called me that thought it demeaning. I didn’t then (1960’s) and I still don’t today. I further believe this idealism puts me squarely with Jesus when he responds to the Scribe in today’s scripture passage that the second greatest of all commandments is:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus wasn’t the first to suggest such a commandment. Confucius (551-479 BCE) as well as Buddha (c. 470 – 390 BCE) also taught this. Luckily, there are people around today who live this command. I was just reading about Jeff Skoll, the first president of Ebay who received Canada’s highest civilian award, the Order of Canada. When asked why he cared about inner city school children, he responded:

"It’s because these neighborhoods affect everybody, whether it’s crimes or poverty or drugs or prison populations. We’re all better off if these neighborhoods are better off."

Personally, it’s been easy for me to profess such a belief. It has not been easy for me to live it out. While I professed such altruism in the 1960’s, I’ve spent my entire life trying to live up to that simple statement, to love my neighbor as myself.

I made some pretty good progress in the mid 1980’s when I learned that one way of accomplishing this was by seeing how I was like other people, and not constantly seeing how I was different. This didn’t come easy. I had to hear this old retired Chicago policeman, Mike L. constantly repeat his mantra: "See how you are like others, not how you are different". Luckily I heard him say that once a week for a couple of years, while attending the Monday, noon meeting at the Pittsfield Building in downtown Chicago. After hearing that week after week I finally started identifying with others. Today instead of thinking that the person who says they are hurt by something someone else says is thinned-skinned, I try to realize that I could and often am hurt by what another person says. When a person shares that they are afraid of not being up to the task at hand, instead of thinking they are a wimp, I try to realize that I often feel the same..

Today I also struggle with loving those who think differently-those dummies who are on all the wrong sides of current issues. I find it extremely difficult to listen to their rhetoric, yet that’s just what I want them to do for me, listen to my side.

Thank you God for the likes of Jeff Skoll and help me listen today to those who think differently and to treat them with the same respect I want for myself. Of course, that doesn’t mean I have to agree.

 

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois.