“I Gave My Flesh for The Life Of The World” by Beth DeCristofaro

“I Gave My Flesh for The Life Of The World” by Beth DeCristofaro

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage; he proclaimed Jesus to him. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:48-51)

Piety

Loving Father, I did not know you, but I was yours.  And they do not know me, and I do not know them, but they are mine, and I am theirs.

Let no chasm, no river, no drought or storm, no war, no exodus, no border, natural or constructed, no device of man nor devil come between us or halt the love that burns within me, the grace that flows from you.

Let me think on no man unless I think joyful thoughts of brotherhood.

Let me think on no woman unless I think tender thoughts of sisterhood.

Friend and stranger, ally and enemy, brothers, sisters:  They are mine. And I am theirs because we are yours. (Catholic Relief Services)

Study

“Pieces of April” is a movie based around Thanksgiving.  It is a surprisingly touching, although irreverent, look at the family from the vantage point of a “black sheep” daughter.  April, who gladly lives away from her family, invites them to Thanksgiving dinner in her cramped, rundown apartment when she learns of her mother’s cancer diagnosis.  She is not a cook, not a team player, not even a dutiful daughter, but hilarity, reconnection, and ultimately love ensues as she finds herself forced to ask for help from neighbors and even her own family.

The movie comes to mind as Jesus explains the gift he gives of himself. Using such humble elements as bread and wine, he lifts them above nourishment and hospitality. Jesus elevates them to the mystery of Eucharist, visible, and tangible presence of himself.  And the meal becomes more than human need or enjoyment with friends but a sign of Church, Body of Himself, the community of believers.  As we are invited and share in the living bread, we go forth from the Eucharist to share our belief in Jesus, Flesh for the life of the world.  April’s divided family comes together in a messy, incomplete way but reunion and new life.  Christians individually share the mystery and the community, even with those who do not believe, cannot understand and reconciliation, unity, love prevail with our small, apartment-sized worlds.

Action

The Eunuch in Acts asked, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” What stops us from taking the mystery of the Eucharist out into the world with us as if we still sit at the table with our Lord?  Ask for the grace to enter deeper into this mystery, which is unbounded by the lack of physical attendance at Mass.  How might we share the plenty of Jesus’ table with the life of the world?

Illustration: The Allegory of the Long Spoons by Sofo Archon,  https://denitsarp.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/irvin-yalom-on-group-psychotherapy/

“Have Trust in God” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“Have Trust in God” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church

There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.  Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.  Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.  Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.  Thus, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.  With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.  For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.  There was great joy in that city.   (Acts 8:1b-8)

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,

sing praise to the glory of his name;

proclaim his glorious praise.

Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”  (Psalm 66:1-3a)

Piety

Lord, help us to place our trust in You when everything around us seems to be at sixes and sevens.

Study

Jerusalem was a downright frightening place to be in the early days of the Church.  Saul could have been nicknamed Persecutor-in-Chief.  He had people seized in the streets, suspected of being followers of the Way.  Hiding at home did no good.  Brutal home invasions were the order of the day.  People were thrown into jail for their beliefs.  Just before today’s first reading, Saul had stood by while Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Despite Jesus’ warnings about future suffering and persecution, this was not at all what the disciples envisioned, especially not James or John or their mother.  She wanted seats of honor for her sons and had no idea what it would mean to drink of the cup Jesus drank.  Yet here they and their friends found themselves, despised and hunted, at the mercy of a storm of gigantic proportions.

The situation grew so dire that the Apostles decided they should be the only ones to remain in Jerusalem.  They urged everyone else to run for their lives, which they did.  They ended up in the countryside, far from the city streets they had known.  And then a strange and unexpected, but wonderful thing happened!  Amid all the chaos, Philip made his way to the city of Samaria, where he began to preach and teach, to rid people of demons and to heal the sick.  Suddenly, people began to see and hear the Truth in their midst.  They, too, began to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior! 

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the fledgling church, whose existence had seemed so fraught with peril, began to grow and expand far beyond anything the disciples had envisioned!   God brought forth something good from the swirling storm that had so frightened all in Jerusalem such a short time before. 

We find ourselves amid a storm of gigantic proportions, so big it extends to almost every corner of the earth.  It boggles my mind that in December, I could have been on such a wonderful vacation with my sister in Berlin and the Bavarian Alps.  I’d never heard of Covid-19, and, I must say, ignorance was indeed bliss.  I would have looked at anyone who told me then where we would be today as though they had two heads. 

But here we are.  The closest many of us can get to family members is to visit via FaceTime or Zoom.  Or if you’re quarantining with family, maybe you wish you could have a little alone time.  Every day the news is full of stories about coronavirus, its victims, and their caregivers.  We’re awash in statistics about how many people are sick, how many have recovered, and how many have died.  We have no idea whether this paints an accurate picture or not because many people have been sick and not been tested.  It’s scary that people may be walking around, appearing healthy, and yet are silently infected with this virus.  It’s also heartbreaking to think of all the patients who’ve lost their lives without family or friends at their side and all those who have to be buried without funerals.

The immediate future seems like a big question mark.  When will it be safe to open up for business?  When can kids get back to school with other kids?  Can people get reinfected?  How many more will die before this is over?  Will it ever be over?  I am sure that it will be over at some point, and I am equally sure that what we know about this virus today will be a drop in the bucket compared to what we will know and understand about its years in the future.

The other thing I am sure of is that just as God brought something good out of the persecution of the earliest Christians in Jerusalem, so God will, at some point, still the winds and waters raging around us and bring something useful from this.  I am hopeful that all the goodwill and caring I am seeing exhibited by people in my neighborhood and church groups will continue long past the end of this Covid-19 outbreak.  

Action

Please continue to pray for those who’ve been affected in any way by this pandemic.  Some people have lost incomes and can’t pay their bills.  Right here in “affluent” Northern Virginia, there are growing numbers of people who can’t buy food and don’t know how they will feed their families.  In our neighborhoods, some people are sick with this virus and family members who are worried out of their minds for their loved ones.

There are many things we can do to help, the first of which is to respect the stay-at-home and social distancing orders in place.  Getting sick or infecting someone else will simply prolong the situation.

Offer to help your neighbors, whether it’s doing their grocery shopping when you do yours or merely giving them a call to let them know you are thinking of them. 

Drop off food to food pantries in the area or make a monetary donation.

And never forget to put your trust in God, who calms our fears when we hit stormy weather.

“Bread of Life” by Melanie Rigney

“Bread of Life” by Melanie Rigney

Tuesday in the Third Week of Easter

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.” When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. (Acts 7:51-54)

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. (Psalm 31:6a)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)

Piety

Jesus, I humbly request Your help in building my faith and trust in You.

Study

He is the Bread of Life. He tells the crowd. Stick with Him, and you will never lack food or water, not ever.

It’s a great promise, a promise even the most unscrupulous of politicians and businesses likely would stop short of making. Because there’s always a dependency as they say in the project management world, a manufacturing or delivery or execution link that could break down. There’s still something beyond their control.

There’s something beyond Jesus’s control too, which makes this promise all the more audacious.

To be fed by the Bread of Life, we have to not only come to Him. We have to stay with Him.

We have to stay with Him when we haven’t had the Eucharist for weeks. We have to stay with Him when the kids, spouses, and others with whom we live are working our last nerve. We have to stay with Him when Dad died a good death at a ripe old age, and there’s no way to have a funeral.

We have to stay with Him.

Jesus fulfills his promise of nourishment if, and only if, we do that. And perhaps what’s an even more audacious leap of faith, He believes we can.

Action

Read the Bread of Life passage in John 6 aloud, pondering each word. Be fed.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/cover-bread-wine-breadbasket-1196154/