Running Towards Him and Taking it Slow

Hi Everyone ... my apologies for not posting for a bit.  Thank you all for your well wishes during this time.  

I witnessed two different actions at Mass this month that really made me think.

The first action happened right before the Readings.  The church I was at has a practice of calling up all the kids in attendance before the first Reading.  The priest gives one of the children a big book of readings, and that child leads the procession out of the church and to the classrooms where they learn the Gospel in their own terms.  Now, normally, the children are reluctant to be the "book carrier".  For one, it calls attention to them, and they are usually quite shy.  Second, the book is rather large for them and, I imagine, not the easiest thing to carry a decent distance.

But on this day, a lad who looked to be all of 5 years old, came sprinting to the priest to grab the book ... and then proudly held it high over his head as he attempted to proceed back down the aisle.  (He didn't make it far before he had to get some assistance carrying it, but it was definitely an A for effort!)

That action had an immediate impact on me.  What if we all "raced to God's word" as quickly as that little boy did??

The second action that gave me pause was at a different church the following week.  I don't know about churches near you, but when most of our priests perform the Consecration, they hold the body and blood up in the air for about three to five seconds.   Ten at the most. The priest that was residing over this particular Mass held each in the air for a full sixty seconds!

I must admit, relative to the normal actions, those sixty seconds felt like ten minutes.  And what felt a bit awkward at first, turned into something quite beautiful.  

I wondered to myself ... shouldn't we always take an extra minute or two to fully reflect on that most beautiful part of Mass?
 

God Bless all of you. 


 

Overturning Tables and Loving One Another

My church is celebrating First Holy Communions this month.  Since we have a relatively smaller church, each mass has about 10 children receive their first Eucharist.  This goes on for about 3 weeks or so.  

I must admit, these masses bring out the best in me, and, unfortunately, the worst in me. 

On the bright side, seeing these little children of God receiving Christ for the first time is such a beautiful, and promising, thing.

On the other hand, events like these fill the church with lots of visitors.  Visitors who park their cars in fire lanes or the middle of our exits so they can make a quick getaway as soon as Mass ends.  Visitors who talk so loudly before mass that the congregation cannot hear the greeter (who is using a microphone) welcome everyone.  Visitors who do not show any kind of respect for the Eucharist, other than getting close enough to it so they can take a photo.

This frustrates me.  

Part of me thanks God for bringing these people to Mass to begin with.  And I often pray that some of them return based on their experience.  

The other part wonders what Jesus would do in these situations.  

Would He "overturn the tables", as He did in Jerusalem, and tell them that His Father's House should be a House of Prayer?

Or would he softly remind me of what He said in today's Gospel, namely that we should love each other as He loves us?

What do you think?

God Bless you.

Crying over the Eucharist

At mass this week, a gentleman started crying after receiving the Eucharist.  Loudly.  All the way toward the back of the church and through the back doors.

I lifted my head from prayer when I heard the sobbing, and was moved as I saw this poor man in tears.  

Truth be told, I do not know why he was crying.  I don't even know if they were tears of sadness or joy.

But the fact that it came right after he received the Lord made me wonder why we all don't cry after Communion. 

Whether tears of sadness for His sacrifice, or tears of joy and thankfulness for His love, perhaps we should all be getting a little more emotional in His presence?  

God Bless you.

Nourishment for the Week Ahead

I had a subtle change of perspective after this weekends first reading about Elijah.

On the surface, it feels like Elijah had to eat the hearth cake and drink the jug of water.  After all, the angel of the Lord does not ask him if he wants to eat or drink, he tells Elijah to eat and drink.  Twice.  

Sometimes, I must admit, I subconsciously receive Communion each Sunday because Jesus told me to.  And quite frankly, that is a good enough reason!  But there is more to it than that. 

As I thought more about Elijah, I realized that, yes, while the angel did command Elijah to eat and drink, he did so so that Elijah would be nourished for the road ahead.  

Likewise, we need to receive the Eucharist each week (or day) so that we are nourished for the week (or day) ahead.  

I must admit, I don't often focus on the Eucharist as nourishment for my week ahead.  Yes, I use the word nourishment, etc when explaining the Eucharist, but I don't usually think about it as I do the hearth cake and water that Elijah needed for his journey.  

Now that I have this slightly new perspective, I have another beautiful image to think about when I receive Jesus each week.

God bless you.

The Road to Emmaus ... The First Mass?

Was the Road to Emmaus the first Mass as we know it?

It might just have been.

For starters, there are two disciples gathered together.  

Second, along with the unrecognized Christ, they discuss the Old Testament and the events of Jesus' life, including His death and Resurrection.  We obviously do that in our first and second readings, and our Gospel. 

Third, it is clear that Jesus is interpreting these events for the disciples, which is akin to the homily our priests give.

Fourth, the disciples do not realize they are in the presence of Jesus ... just like some people at our Masses today!

Fifth, and most powerful, Jesus breaks the bread with them.  This is the highlight of their journey, and is also the highlight of our Mass.

And lastly, after their encounter, the disciples go forth and proclaim the Resurrection of the Lord ... which is exactly what we are supposed to do after our Mass!

I hope you are all having a joyous Easter season!  God Bless you!

 

What do Aspirin and the Eucharist have in Common?

What do aspirin and the Eucharist have in common?   

Unfortunately, most of the time, not much.

You see, we take aspirin consciously thinking about the effect it will have on us.  We have great confidence that it will change something within us.  Ease pain.  Reduce fever.  Etc. Etc.

But how often do we think about the Eucharist with that same confidence and expectation?

How often do we truly think about how it will cleanse our soul, strengthen our spirit, and fill us with Christ?


God Bless you.

And He Waits

We drive past Him to work.  

And He waits.

We drive past Him on the way home.

And He waits.

We jog past him during our morning runs.

And He waits.

We bring the kids to school, practice, camp, friend's houses.

And He waits.

We pass Him as we go to dinners, parties, functions and stores.

And He waits.

And here is the irony....

If someone told us Jesus was sitting in our Church waiting for us, we would no doubt drop what we were doing and drive like mad to get there to see Him.  

And yet, one of the unique things about our faith as Catholics is that we believe our Savior is present in the Eucharist.

Truly present.

Which means He sits in the tabernacle every single day except Good Friday.  

Waiting for us to visit Him as we go about our daily lives.

God Bless.