June 23, 2019 - Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus

June 23, 2019 - The Feast of the Body and Blood                               of Christ - Year C

Reading I: 
Genesis, 14:18-20

Psalm:  110

Reading II: 
1 Corinthians
11:23-26

Gospel: 
Luke 9:11b -17

In this time of concern and anxiety about the future of our country and the world, the Hebrew Scriptures remind us of God's providing for the Hebrew people. They had no food and water in the desert. Without divine intervention, they would starve to death.

The only hope for the Jews was God himself. Because of their trust in him, the Lord provided water from a rock and manna (a type of bread) from the heavens.

In the Christian Scriptures, we learn of the time when Jesus had been preaching to a crowd of 5,000 men and curing people throughout the day. It was getting toward evening. His disciples had expressed their concerns and asked Jesus to dismiss them so they could find food and shelter for the night.  Jesus simply responded: Give them some food yourselves. The disciples tell Jesus that all the food that is available is five loaves of bread and two fish. There was no way that they could feed the 5000 men and probably some women and children.

The disciples have to put their trust in the Lord because it did not make sense to them. Jesus rewarded their faith by taking the five loaves of bread and two fish, lifting his eyes to heaven, offering a blessing and breaking them and giving them to the disciples to distribute. The food multiplied so that the disciples are able to feed the crowd and have twelve baskets of food left over. This prefigured what Jesus would do at the Last Supper and at every Mass since. 

In the Eucharist, we are blessed to have Jesus as our loving companion. Sometimes, when people receive the Eucharist during their last days, it is referred to as Viatecum. The word comes from the Latin: Via (on the way), te (you), cum (with). However, that word can be a comfort all the time because Jesus is with us all along the paths of our lives.

God wants us to know that he cares and provides for us. However, it is not always in the way we expect. Often it is only when we look back over our lives that we see how he provided and even carried us at times. I love the poem “Footprints” which illustrates that so well.

Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord

Scenes from my life flashed across the sky,
In each, I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints;
other times there was only one.

During the lowest times of my life
I could see only one set of footprints,
so I said, “Lord, you promised me,
that you would walk with me always.
Why, when I have needed you most would you leave me?”

The Lord replied, “My precious child,
I love you and would never leave you.
The times when you have seen only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you.”

Jesus invites us to participate in caring for ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Jesus knows that in difficult times, if we focus only on our own problems, we become weighed down. However, if we try to find solutions for ourselves and others, we are able to make it through.

I can recall my mother giving me similar advice. She told me: “If you ever find that you are feeling sorry for yourself,  remember there are others worse off than you are, and do for them.” In these stressful times, we see many people, and even children, helping others to deal with the tragedies and disasters so common today. Often they become more Christ-like people as a result.  

 Reflection Question:  Think of a time when you, or someone else who was having a difficult time, reached out to help others, and as a result helped yourself/themselves.

Spanish Translation of Reflection Above...

Fiesta del Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesús

En este tiempo de preocupación y ansiedad por el futuro de nuestro país y del mundo, las Escrituras hebreas nos recuerdan que Dios proporcionó a los hebreos. No tenían comida ni agua en el desierto. Sin la intervención divina, morirían de hambre.


La única esperanza para los judíos era Dios mismo. Debido a su confianza en él, el Señor proveyó agua de una roca y maná (un tipo de pan) de los cielos.

En las Escrituras cristianas, nos enteramos del momento en que Jesús había estado predicando a una multitud de 5,000 hombres y curando personas durante todo el día. Se estaba acercando a la noche. Sus discípulos expresaron sus preocupaciones y le pidieron a Jesús que los despidiera para que pudieran encontrar comida y refugio para pasar la noche. Jesús simplemente respondió: Denles algo de comida. Los discípulos le dicen a Jesús que toda la comida que está disponible son cinco panes y dos pescados. No había forma de que pudieran alimentar a los 5000 hombres y probablemente a algunas mujeres y niños.

Los discípulos tienen que poner su confianza en el Señor porque no tenía sentido para ellos. Jesús recompensó su fe al tomar los cinco panes y los dos pescados, alzando sus ojos al cielo, ofreciéndoles una bendición y rompiéndolos y entregándolos a los discípulos para que los distribuyan. La comida se multiplicó para que los discípulos puedan alimentar a la multitud y les queden doce canastas de comida. Esto prefigura lo que Jesús haría en la última cena y en cada Misa desde entonces.

En la Eucaristía, tenemos la bendición de tener a Jesús como nuestro compañero amoroso. A veces, cuando las personas reciben la Eucaristía durante sus últimos días, se la denomina Viatecum. La palabra proviene del latín: Via (en el camino), te (you), cum (with). Sin embargo, esa palabra puede ser un consuelo todo el tiempo porque Jesús está con nosotros a lo largo de los caminos de nuestras vidas.


Dios quiere que sepamos que él se preocupa y nos provee. Sin embargo, no siempre está en la forma que esperamos. A menudo, solo cuando miramos hacia atrás en nuestras vidas, vemos cómo nos proporcionó e incluso nos llevó a veces. Me encanta el poema “Huellas” que ilustra eso muy bien.


Huellas en la arena por Maria Stevenson

Una noche soñé que caminaba por la playa con el Señor
Escenas de mi vida cruzaron el cielo,
En cada uno, noté huellas en la arena.
A veces había dos series de huellas;
otras veces solo había una.

Durante los momentos más bajos de mi vida.
Solo pude ver un conjunto de huellas,
Así que dije: Señor, tú me prometiste
que caminarías conmigo siempre.
¿Por qué, cuando más te necesito, me dejarías?

El Señor respondió: "Mi niño precioso,
Te amo y nunca te dejaría.
Los tiempos en los que has visto un solo conjunto de huellas,
fue entonces cuando yo te llevé."

Jesús nos invita a participar cuidándonos a nosotros mismos y a nuestros hermanos y hermanas. Jesús sabe que en los momentos difíciles, si nos enfocamos solo en nuestros propios problemas, nos agobiamos. Sin embargo, si intentamos encontrar soluciones para nosotros y para otros, podemos lograrlo.


Recuerdo a mi madre dándome consejos similares. Ella me dijo: “Si alguna vez encuentras que sientes lástima por ti misma, recuerda que hay otros que están peor que tú, y hazlo por ellos”. En estos momentos estresantes, vemos a muchas personas, e incluso niños, ayudando a otros a lidiar con las tragedias y desastres tan comunes hoy en día. A menudo se convierten en personas más parecidas a Cristo como resultado.

 Pregunta de Reflexión:  Piense en un momento en que usted, o alguien más que estaba pasando por un momento difícil, buscó ayudar a otros y, como resultado, se ayudó a sí mismo.

Comments:

Pat Chiaffa, ASBS

The first thing that came to mind when I read your reflection question was, “Support Groups.” As I thought about it, I felt gratitude for the multitude of needs supported by so many gatherings facilitated by compassionate people who can hold the pain of others as precious because they experienced a similar event, situation, or circumstance.  I have participated in a few such groups and have always left the meeting feeling more hopeful than when I entered. The opportunity to tell one’s story and be heard, to listen to another’s story, shed tears and receive hugs, express anger, learn coping tips, all in a nurturing environment, is healing as well as renewing. The Holy Spirit is very active in such life-affirming spaces. 

Twenty-seven years ago, when my youngest child was just a toddler, my friend and I started a support group for separated and divorced women. We met twice a month in my living room. The gathering was the brainchild of my friend, a psychologist, who saw many women who were bitter toward men and, by focusing on perceived wrongs done to them, held themselves prisoners by their limiting belief that they were victims. The foundation of our group was to support and uplift one another to move forward with our lives as stronger and more self-aware women. We called our group Self-Empowerment. My friend was committed to inspiring women to claim their wholeness by acknowledging their accountability and responsibility for their own choices, decisions, and actions. The eye-opening techniques grasped were life-changing for many of us.

For individuals unable to get to meetings, the internet can be a window to beneficial supportive communities. Whether grieving the loss of a loved one, a relationship, marriage, or job, to feeling intense fear resulting from a devastating diagnosis, worry surrounding addiction, or fatigue resulting from caregiving – there is positive support available to guide us through life’s difficult experiences.

I became aware of Chris Wark, via the internet, when my friend, Jill, was diagnosed with cancer. Jill received the traditional treatment protocol – surgery, chemo and radiation, but she felt there was more she actively needed to do to regain her health. Chris Wark not only regained his health but is healthier now than before his diagnosis as a result of healthy lifestyle changes he personally made. His online community (chris@chrisbeatcancer.com) became a resource for Jill as she incorporated his tried and proven enhancements to nutrition, exercise, meditation, and rest. He developed twenty questions that every newly diagnosed patient should ask his or her oncologist prior to initiating treatment; he created a powerful docu-series on healing modalities, and he posts ongoing interviews with people who have successfully beat cancer! Positively healing, genuinely caring information to help others as they journey through cancer treatment is provided.  Helping cancer patients achieve wellness has become his passion and mission in life.

Jesus was the model support group leader. He drew diverse peoples together, and spent three years dispelling worldly fallacies, teaching spiritual principles, and introducing people to a higher level of living, caring and sharing for themselves and others.  Communion was his passion and mission. He died promoting it. However, the group, Christianity, continues His mission to this day as its members, individually and collectively, extend His love through ministering to others.

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D. Historian, Certified Archivist, Emerita

St. Katharine made a note to herself: “The Holy God is ever within me – the presence of God.” If God is within us, then He is with us whenever we meet someone. Do we ask ourselves how God would greet or respond to a person we meet? Do we consider how God would like us to greet or respond to anyone we meet?