Beloved in Christ,
"Does this shock you? (Jn 6:61). If I were present when Jesus asked that question of his disciples after his intense and profound teaching on the heavenly bread of life, to be candid, I would be shocked. He just told Jewish listeners that his own body is real flesh, his blood is real drink, and invited them to eat and drink so that they might have life. What he offers them, his body and blood, are not familiar or natural food and drink; he gives them heavenly food, the source of divine life. The shocking teaching of Jesus inviting his disciples to eat his body and drink his blood led to disbelief and betrayal. Many of his disciples parted ways with him after this hard teaching, and others will betray him. The shocking and brutal teaching about eating the real body and drinking the real blood of Jesus did not increase the crowd of his followers; rather, it diminished it.
Yet, Jesus did not tweak or rephrase his words or his teaching. He meant exactly what he said: I will give you heavenly food, my body and blood, without which you will not have eternal life. What is our response to Jesus's teaching today? Are we shocked or unbelieving? Are we going to take Jesus at his word or refuse to believe? We need his grace to come to faith in Jesus' divine pronouncement on the Real Presence. Let's pray for the grace to believe as we continue, in the words of St. Anselm, "Fides quaerens intellectum"-to seek a deeper understanding of the mystery of faith that what we receive at Holy Communion is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We come to the end of our four-week journey through the Mass. The concluding rites end with the priest and congregation dialogue: "Ite, missa est. Deo gracias" (Go, you are dismissed. Thanks be to God). Let's reflect further on this consequential end to mass. In this last section of the homily, we consider the implications of being sent into the world by Jesus, whom we just received in Holy Communion. Jesus, in the words of the priest, sends us to bring to the world the Jesus we just received at the Eucharistic sacred meal. How do we put this into practice? In many diverse ways.
One way of thinking about giving to the world the Jesus we receive at Mass is to consider the presence of St. Peter's Church at the Elizabethtown fair this past week. The Catholic Women's Council and the Men's Club represented us well by giving sacrificially of themselves at the Fair. We evangelized at the Fair spiritually by being present there as members of the Church that feeds her members on Christ's sacred body and blood. However, on a human level, the men and women who served and volunteered at our stands were outstanding witnesses to the love of Jesus. I learned more about those I met and discovered so much good in the sacrifices everyone made. We carried on joyful conversations, laughed, and strengthened our fellowship. I am grateful to everyone who made it possible for another great St. Peter Church showing at the Fair this year. May God bless you all and your family.
On a liturgical note, let's not miss the opportunity to celebrate the memorials of two notable saints of the Catholic Church this week. Saint Monica's memorial is on Tuesday, and St. Augustine's, her son's, is on Wednesday. They are saints of exceptional importance for our time. Let's learn from their example and seek their intercession for the good of our families. I hope to see you at the daily masses this week.
In His Eucharistic Love,
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
"Does this shock you? (Jn 6:61). If I were present when Jesus asked that question of his disciples after his intense and profound teaching on the heavenly bread of life, to be candid, I would be shocked. He just told Jewish listeners that his own body is real flesh, his blood is real drink, and invited them to eat and drink so that they might have life. What he offers them, his body and blood, are not familiar or natural food and drink; he gives them heavenly food, the source of divine life. The shocking teaching of Jesus inviting his disciples to eat his body and drink his blood led to disbelief and betrayal. Many of his disciples parted ways with him after this hard teaching, and others will betray him. The shocking and brutal teaching about eating the real body and drinking the real blood of Jesus did not increase the crowd of his followers; rather, it diminished it.
Yet, Jesus did not tweak or rephrase his words or his teaching. He meant exactly what he said: I will give you heavenly food, my body and blood, without which you will not have eternal life. What is our response to Jesus's teaching today? Are we shocked or unbelieving? Are we going to take Jesus at his word or refuse to believe? We need his grace to come to faith in Jesus' divine pronouncement on the Real Presence. Let's pray for the grace to believe as we continue, in the words of St. Anselm, "Fides quaerens intellectum"-to seek a deeper understanding of the mystery of faith that what we receive at Holy Communion is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We come to the end of our four-week journey through the Mass. The concluding rites end with the priest and congregation dialogue: "Ite, missa est. Deo gracias" (Go, you are dismissed. Thanks be to God). Let's reflect further on this consequential end to mass. In this last section of the homily, we consider the implications of being sent into the world by Jesus, whom we just received in Holy Communion. Jesus, in the words of the priest, sends us to bring to the world the Jesus we just received at the Eucharistic sacred meal. How do we put this into practice? In many diverse ways.
One way of thinking about giving to the world the Jesus we receive at Mass is to consider the presence of St. Peter's Church at the Elizabethtown fair this past week. The Catholic Women's Council and the Men's Club represented us well by giving sacrificially of themselves at the Fair. We evangelized at the Fair spiritually by being present there as members of the Church that feeds her members on Christ's sacred body and blood. However, on a human level, the men and women who served and volunteered at our stands were outstanding witnesses to the love of Jesus. I learned more about those I met and discovered so much good in the sacrifices everyone made. We carried on joyful conversations, laughed, and strengthened our fellowship. I am grateful to everyone who made it possible for another great St. Peter Church showing at the Fair this year. May God bless you all and your family.
On a liturgical note, let's not miss the opportunity to celebrate the memorials of two notable saints of the Catholic Church this week. Saint Monica's memorial is on Tuesday, and St. Augustine's, her son's, is on Wednesday. They are saints of exceptional importance for our time. Let's learn from their example and seek their intercession for the good of our families. I hope to see you at the daily masses this week.
In His Eucharistic Love,
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
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