15-Jun-2014 Dear Friend,
One of the preoccupations of human beings is food. While some wonder where their next meal will come from, others are wondering which foods will tickle their palate. Most people will acknowledge that there is more to life than just eating. There are hungers and needs that food cannot satisfy. Can we recall something that satisfied the deep hunger within? May His Word awaken a hunger within us! Have a nourishing weekend! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Corpus Christi - Receiving and becoming the Body of Christ 22-Jun-14 Readings: Deut. 8: 2-3, 14-16; 1 Corinthians 10: 16-17; John 6: 51-58; Today's first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy attempts to remind us of something that was fundamental to our very existence: the remembrance of all that God has done for us. Moses wishes to let the ancient traditions speak to the people of Israel, in the hope that remembering the past would help them cope with the present crises. Re-learning from the past can help the Israelites to be on guard against former failures. Remembering what God has done can be a stimulus to renewing our life at the present. Remembering was an important part of Jewish worship. In prayer they remind God and themselves of the promises of God, thus keeping alive their memory and their faith in God. Moses, as he exhorts them to remember God's action is in fact reminding them that they need God. They might satisfy their bodily hungers and needs but only God could satisfy their deepest desires. Two fundamental needs Ethiopia suffered a terrible famine during the years 1984 to 1986. Cardinal Hume of Westminster tells us about an incident that happened when he visited Ethiopia in the middle of the famine. One of the places he visited was a settlement in the hills where the people were waiting for food which was likely to arrive. He was taken there by helicopter. As he got out of the helicopter a small boy, aged about ten, came up to him and took his hand. He was wearing nothing but a loincloth around his waist. The whole time that the cardinal was there the little child would not let go of his hand. As they went around he made two gestures: with one hand he pointed to his mouth, and with the other he took the cardinal's hand and rubbed it on his cheek. Later, the cardinal said, "Here was an orphan boy who was lost and starving. Yet by two simple gestures he indicated two fundamental needs or hungers. With one gesture he showed me his hunger for food, and with the other his hunger for love. I have never forgotten that incident, and to this day I wonder whether that child is alive." Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies' In the Gospel we have the discourse of Jesus on the Bread of Life, which itself follows the feeding of the five thousand and the journey across the lake. All these events form part of the remembrance of the Exodus and the covenant. Memories are a wonderful stimulus for growth in faith. The Eucharist is a memorial sacrifice, which Jesus asked us to celebrate. "Do this in memory of me." In the Eucharist we can remember how God has saved us from some particular catastrophe or blessed us in un-thought-of ways. The Eucharist can also jog our memories into realization of our failures. It is frightening to remember that many of the Nazis who committed atrocities were Christians and also Catholics. Many who participate in wars and brutal acts of terror do so in the name of God. Memories can be dangerous because they force us to take a stand that we otherwise might not do. The Eucharistic is not something that we have to understand and grasp but something that we have to believe and live. How can God be present in a tiny host? Some time ago, a street-corner preacher who knew how to make religious truths come to life, was faced by a hostile crowd. "How," one of them demanded, "is it possible for bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ?" The preacher looked calmly at the stout questioner for a moment and answered, "You have grown somewhat since you were a child and have more flesh and blood than you had then. Surely, if a human body can change food and drink into flesh and blood, God can do it too." "But how," countered the heckler, "is it possible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a small host?" The preacher glanced up at the sky and down at the street before them and answered, "This city scene and the sky above it is something immense, while your eye is very small. Yet your eye in itself contains the whole picture. When you consider this, it won't seem impossible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a little piece of bread." Once more the heckler attacked. "How, then, is it possible for the same body of Christ to be present in all your churches at the same time?" The preacher's answer: "In a large mirror you see your image reflected but once. When you break the mirror into a thousand pieces, you see the same image of yourself in each of the hundred fragments. If such things occur in everyday life, why should it be impossible for the body of Christ to be present in many places at once? Just tell me, what isn't possible for God? Harold Buetow in 'God Still Speaks: Listen!' What 'bread' are we looking for? As human beings we cannot live on bread alone. We need more than food to live. Jesus offered different kinds of 'bread' to people satisfying their many hungers. To people who followed him in to the desert, and who were starving, he offered ordinary bread and so satisfied their physical hunger. To the leper whose body was falling apart, he offered the only bread that mattered -the bread of physical healing. To the lonely woman at Jacob's well, he offered the bread of human kindness and acceptance. To sinners he offered the bread of forgiveness. To the rejects and outcasts, by mixing with them, he offered the bread of companionship. To the widow of Nain, and Martha and Mary, who had lost someone dear to them, he offered the bread of compassion. To the thief who died by his side, he offered the bread of reconciliation with God. Only Jesus can offer us that bread. Fr.Donald Gelpi in his commentary says that "by eating the food of the Eucharist we show in effect that we no longer draw our life simply from the things of this world - no longer do we live by bread alone, or by beer, or by television, or by cars, or by balanced budgets, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Not only that, but the people of God show that it is a people sharing its bread with others -bread for the hungry by helping the poor; bread for the oppressed by fighting for justice; bread for the lonely by offering friendship; bread for the despairing by giving encouragement." Bringing heaven down to earth Saint Francis de Sales tells us the story of a man who went to visit the Holy Land. He went to Bethlehem and said, "Oh Lord here is the place where the Son of God became man." Then he went to Nazareth and said, "Here the Son of God spent thirty years doing his ordinary duties." Then he went to Calvary and said, "Here is the place where the Son of God died on the cross for our sins." Finally he reached Mount Olivetti and said, "From here the Son of God ascended into heaven, I wish, I too ascend into heaven like Jesus." Immediately he heard these words, "In order to make this world a heaven, I came down from heaven." -There are many people who speak about heaven. A few show us the way to heaven and a very small number bring heaven down into our hearts. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life who came down from heaven" so that you may have heaven in your hearts and in the world. Elias Dias in "Divine Stories for families" May we realize that without God we cannot live! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
