Poured Out with Bands of Love By Beth DeCristofaro
Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
it
was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks (Hosea
11:4-5)
that (the Father) may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. (John 19:33-35)
Piety
May I accept your yoke which is light, Lord Jesus, and pour myself out for others to your glory.
Study
In John’s Gospel, blood and water flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross, not only proving to the authorities and us today that Jesus was dead but also harkened back to theological teachings. Jesus spoke about joining the Kingdom by being born of the Spirit and water, a reference to Baptism. And Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper that by eating his body and drinking his blood at Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him, (John 6:56)
Fr Ed Foley said in a homily at Old St. Patrick’s Church, Chicago, “Every time we go to Communion, the Bread says to us ‘You be Jesus’. But the Cup says something different. No place in our theology have we ever been told to be the Blood of Christ. As one great French Theologian has taught, the bread teaches us what we are to be, the cup teaches us how we become the Body of Christ by pouring ourselves out in sacrifice; by pouring ourselves out in the small and the big projects, in the little things of our lives and the big things in our lives. Stepping aside so that somebody else can flourish. The cup was significant because for Jesus it made suffering salvific. And it allows us to remember that the only way we become the Body of Christ is by accepting that kind of salvific living in our lives. [i]
Fr. Foley went on to remind us that Eucharist fulfills our spiritual hunger for eternal food and God’s love. But partaking in Eucharist, particularly the Blood, commissions us to feed and provide drink to others. In this way, we are seen as the living Body of Christ. We blaze God’s glory even in our most menial tasks, done in love, to a world starving and thirsting for bands of love from a most merciful God.
Action
Our Baptism adopted us into the Body of Christ and obliged us to be good neighbors. Give thanks for the opportunities to shine God’s love today by pouring ourselves out in love to fill a need.
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