When the creator says this is ..... IT IS!!

[Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] morning so yesterday was June the 1st we had a wonderful Eucharistic procession and we celebrated St Justin Martyr and so we have begun on the month of Martyrs that's what June is for us Christians today we celebrate the uh we celebrate the solemnity of Corpus Christi the body of Jesus Christ the body and blood and we heard in the Old Testament reading today if you can remember that far back we heard about setting up 12 pillars of stone remember that and they splash the blood on the 12 pillars they splash the blood on the people and those 12 pillars they stood for they signified the 12 tribes of Israel and then the altar signified God and this Blood this Blood of the Covenant okay is showing this relationship between the people and God okay now the shedding of blood and this doesn't really work with our modern American mind as much as it would have understood be understood by the the the semetic people who under went through this ceremony is necessary for the Forgiveness of sins and so God is establishing a covenant with the people in the Old Testament for the Forgiveness of sins the old Covenant right we could also translate the old Covenant the Old Testament it's like the entire first half of the Bible is all about God reaching out to humanity to reestablish his relationship with us through covenant What is Covenant a covenant is an a agreement given to us that makes a new family okay that's the easiest way to remember it and again as I've said many times and I hope you all remember this kind of the most common understanding of Covenant that we experience regularly in our modern American culture is the Covenant of holy matrimony you come into the church as two families you leave out as one family because there has been a covenant and a new family has been made and so God is establishing in the old the old Covenant the 12 pillars and then the old Covenant was just it didn't work okay it left too much to us us human beings that we have a tremendous habit of breaking the Covenant and breaking the Covenant and if you will divorcing from the marriage between humanity and God so Jesus comes to establish a new and definitive Covenant in his blood the new and eternal Covenant you've heard those words haven't you and who did we have the 12 apostles right and we have in this church these 12 columns and these 12 columns represent the twel apostles and the TW Apostles take the place of the 12 tribes just as the church is the new Israel and has a new covenant in the blood of Jesus now Jesus goes to the last supper and we see in the words of the Gospel that I read just a moment ago it's Passover and Passover has this incredible significance in the first covenants and in the in the in the God's relationship with this the his chosen people the nation of Israel but it is Passover and Jesus is going to become our Passover Lamb and he is going to shed his blood for us and he is not just going to sprinkle his blood on us he's going to tell us to eat his body and drink his blood and this is a sign of how we are to be United to God how we are to enter into and stay in communion with God through this New Covenant the New Covenant restores man to communion with God by reconciling God through the blood of the Covenant poured out for many for the Forgiveness of sins the sacrifice of the shedding of the blood is anticipated at the Last Supper Jesus at the Last Supper says this is my body body which will be given up for you this is the blood of the new and eternal Covenant which be poured out for you which will be shed for you so the Last Supper anticipates the hill of Calvary but it's just as real his body and blood are there in an unbloody manner we say in a not in that sacrificial manner but under the sacramental signs of bread and wine then on the hill of Calvary his body and blood and then at the first mass and every Mass sense Calvary and the Last Supper are represented are made present and new in our lives this is my body when the creator of the universe and we do believe that Jesus is one with the father we believe in the Trinity we talked about that last week right when the creator of the universe says this is something you know what it is is it is that okay and it was just as easy for God to become present to us in the Bread and Wine of the Last Supper as it was for him to be present to us in a human body and so Jesus comes to us in the form of bread and wine and we celebrate this truth this fundamental reality of our faith and I want to make it as clear as I possibly can I want to make it so unmistakable that it's just impossible for you to understand what I'm saying the bread and the wine consecrated at Mass become the body blood soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ just as present in this church as he was in the womb of Mary just as present in this church as he was when he hung on the cross that is our faith and it takes Faith to believe that faith is that which we cannot see we believe in that the Unseen but it is our faith and that faith has a huge tail it calls for faith in the church it calls for faith in the priesthood calls for faith in the Bible and our faith culminates we call the Holy Eucharist the source and the summit Jesus Christ the New Covenant the Covenant is this means by which God reconciles Humanity broken by sin the very first sin divorced from God God reached out to humanity over and over and over again they all failed so God comes as a representative of humanity himself in Jesus Christ and he makes this Blood Covenant with us that we may be members of his body and that we may be part of the mystical family of the church you know when Jesus talked about the Eucharist the first time what was the reaction division this is a hard saying who can listen to it and people left him Jesus looked at the apostles and said will you leave me too when Jesus talked about his passion when Jesus talked about the fact that he was going to have to suffer and die that he was going to be the sacrificial lamb what did it cause division Peter himself said no way so these two things the passion the cross St Paul says the cross is foolishness to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews but the cross and the Last Supper the body and blood and the sacrifice of Christ fundamental reality of our faith made present to us here in this Mass that's what we're here for so the cross and the Eucharist divided and they unite us they Unite us because we share in the very body and blood of Our Lord when we receive Holy Communion we we renew our covenant with God we are united with a mystical body the Eucharist makes present Christ who dwells in us sacramentally so you got that right no mistak in what our fundamental faith is and I give that to you and the Holy Spirit works the gift of faith in a heart that is open to receive it I'm going to tell you a story I read I read a few Eucharistic stories in anticipation of this homy and so I meet in the words of this story a priest named father Nick lamp and father Nick lamp was teaching moral theology in the 1970s what happened in the 19 late 60s and 1970s there was absolute turmoil in the Catholic church this changes of the second Vatican Council ushered in a time in theological schools where there was tremendous upheaval in our understanding of almost everything and so father Nick was struggling as he was trying to teach moral Theology and yesterday he was teaching this and now somebody's telling him to teach that and he's going what what is going on it says it was a time when many many men left the priesthood Many religious sisters left their religious community were just now beginning to settle down from that time but father Nick lamp was asking himself have I lost my faith have I lost my faith he was really in this tremendous moment of of struggle and then he went to mass and this was something that was new too and he con celebrated the mass and as he was watch watching the Eucharist be consecrated and he himself was praying he said he was just overwhelmed by conviction and humble awe and found himself just saying over and over I believe I believe I believe and one of his friends one of his priest friend said you know theological controversies come and go but the Eucharist our faith remains so we believe this don't we this is our faith this is the fundamental reality of our faith and we have all these arguments about all kinds of different things now another story I read today we're going to have Eucharist under both kinds we're going to have the precious blood and we're going to have the hosts we don't do that very often Jesus is fully present fully present in every crumb of the host and every drop of the consecrated wine so when you receive the the host or you receive the precious blood you receive all of Christ but nonetheless as a richer symbol from time to time we will have communion under both kinds so I tell this story about a woman who went to receive the precious blood and as the ex the minister of communion handed her the Chalice she looked into it and it was empty and she said it's empty and the minister looked at and said no there's still a drop in there and so she looked out and there there was one little dropped out of the very bottom of the cup and so she turned it up and one drop you know one drop and she's walking back to her Pew and she's just overwhelmed by the sense that Jesus says I shed that drop of blood for you I shed that and you know what one drop of the blood of Our Lord was enough for the Salvation of the world cuz he is God from God and light from light and true God from true God and the last little story I'll tell about a priest a priest is could story could have been told about me but it wasn't okay who consecrating the host overwhelmed by a sense of why why have I been chosen for this what did I do to deserve this great gift you know and I do I don't think that all the time sometimes I think why did I get chosen for this but most of the time I'm thinking to myself what a tremendous gift how could I ever be worthy how could any of us ever be worthy we can't be and so so we say it Lord I am not worthy and we're not but thanks be to God in Jesus Christ who comes to meet us in the new and eternal Covenant of his blood to rescue us from the Exile of sin so we come here today to receive Holy Communion and and how should we receive Holy Communion a few things about fruitfully the fruit of the Holy Spirit Faith blossoming our life being transformed how should we fruitfully receive Holy Communion one we need to be Catholic we need to be baptized in the Catholic faith or have converted to the Catholic faith we need to be formally prepared to receive First Holy Communion and come to an understanding of our faith that it is the body blood soul and Divinity of Christ we need to be in a state of grace what is a state of grace that means that we're not aware of any mortal sins that we have committed that we don't have any unconfessed serious sins sins grave matter full knowledge deliberate consent that we are in a state of grace that we have fasted for one hour that we are humble that we truly are humble as we come forward aware of unworthiness but knowing that God has stooped to fill us with himself to be modestly dressed and at peace in our soul that's the way to to fruitfully receive Holy Communion there's a story about a man in the gospel and he comes up to Jesus and he says what must I do to inherit eternal life and Jesus his first answer to him might not be the answer that some people would think he would give he doesn't say believe in me what does he say keep the Commandments he says keep the Commandments how do we prepare ourselves to receive Holy Communion we keep the Commandments and then Jesus said the boy says the young man says I've kept them all my life and so Jesus says go sell your property give to the poor and come follow me and what did the young man do he walked away sad full of himself empty of Jesus we have to receive in humility we have to receive in generosity we have to receive our Lord in a sense of uh of humble gratitude for the gift of life and everything else that we have had truly truly I say to you unless you eat the Flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life I'm quoting Jesus from John chapter 6 unless you eat the Flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him so we must believe but we must also be in a state of grace whoever I'm quoting the Bible again St Paul 1 Corinthians whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord a person should examine himself examination of conscience so as to eat the bread and drink the cup for anyone who eats or drinks without Discerning the body eats and drinks judgment or condemnation on himself this is why many of you are ill and infirm and a considerate number are dying receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace is a great sign of Salvation and strengthens us on a journey receiving Holy Communion outside of a state of grace hardens our heart and turns us away so let us today renew our covenant with the Lord let us be grateful for the gift of Holy Eucharist let us understand the relationship between reconciliation and confession and humility and being lifted up so just in case I have not made myself clear the Bread and Wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ who gives himself to us to effect a eternal Covenant that he would rescue us from sin and put his very life in us and adopt us into the family of God a mystical marriage with God

Channel: Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church

Views: 9,004

Keywords: Abortion, Faith, Fr. Mike, Fr. Mike O'Connor, Fr. O'Connor, Gender Affirmaton, Gendor Disphoria

Id: pdf7jcQ7Exw

Length: 18min 42sec (1122 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 02 2024