Dear folks… Perhaps I should introduce myself… No, I’m not the new seminarian here for the summer….I am your aged deacon and I’ve asked our pastor for permission to preach today and tomorrow. There is a different reason for choosing these two days. So here goes.
I was ordained June 12th, 2004 by Archbishop Charles Chaput, who was, at that time, the head of the Denver Archdiocese. He was a most wonderful bishop… I’ll come back to that in a minute. But today is June 11th — and it is, therefore the last day of another year of my diaconate experience… although you likely know I’m more retired than active….
Archbishop Chaput took over the diocese when there wasn’t an active seminary… and during his tenure in Denver, he successfully opened two seminaries and the bishop really activated the dramatic growth of the permanent deacon program. He put us through four years of studies… philosophy, scripture, Church history, logic… and we had the best… the very best, dedicated, orthodox professors.
I have a story to share about being a deacon under Archbishop Chaput…. When we finally made it to the finish line… the bishop invited us candidates and our wives to a breakfast in the basement under the cathedral… it was just the candidates and the bishop… no deacon management staff … no hierarchy… and the bishop came around to each table.. I think there were three of us candidates and our wives when the bishop came up to our table. He said… do any of you feel you are unworthy for the ordination that’s going to happen in a few hours upstairs? Now how do you react to a question like that? I sort of wanted to put my hand up… but I didn’t. The bishop said… if any of you feel that way — GET OVER IT!!! He said, I’m the bishop and I’m not worthy… but the Church has formed you, they’ve watched you, they’ve educated you… and they have decided you should be a good and holy deacon in the Catholic Church. A beautiful, uplifting shot of vitamin confidence before going up to be ordained.
Upstairs… I remember lying prostrate on the floor as the choir and congregation sung and prayed the liturgy of the saints asking for their intercession for us who were to be ordained shortly after. They had us stand up… turn and face the attendees… and I remember one of my sons had tears streaming down his face… he wasn’t a practicing Christian of any kind… but he was aware of the beauty of what was happening.
Those of you who know me somewhat know that I have been a mixed bag of weakness and good intention… But I wanted to share these couple moments to remind you of the beauty… the history and beauty of what we have been given… it’s all found in the Mass and in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist… it isn’t found in the flawed or the broken clergy…
But my journey of rebirth to meaningful faith was started by an Irish priest … and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at Father Vieira and been grateful for his day-after-day witness with little time off… little time away. We need his witness. He needs our prayers.
Today, I’ve completed 21 years as a deacon. Tomorrow I start year 22. God willing. Can I get an Amen?
HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
From a 2016 homily on the Eucharist… delivered to the Boy Scouts in North/Central AZ
I know I’ve posted this before, but I’m struck at how beautifully Flannery O’Connor expressed herself regarding both the Eucharist and Church history. First, she famously had this to say about the Eucharist, as recounted in a letter she wrote in December of 1955:
Flannery O’Connor
“I was once, five or six years ago, taken by some friends to have dinner with Mary McCarthy and her husband, Mr. Broadwater. (She just wrote that book, A Charmed Life). She departed the Church at the age of 15 and is a Big Intellectual. For hours, I hadn’t opened my mouth once, there being nothing for me in such company to say. The people who took me were Robert Lowell and his now wife Elizabeth Hardwick. Having me there was like having a dog present who had been trained to say a few words but overcome with inadequacy had forgotten them.
Well, toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the ‘most portable’ person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, ‘Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.’ That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”
Before beginning the main subject of today’s homily, I’d like to teach a few things concerning what is called Public Revelation as opposed to Private Revelation. Public Revelation is the action of God as contained in Holy Scripture. Both the Old and New Testaments make up what we refer to as Public Revelation, and it includes everything up through and including the life, death and resurrection of Christ, our Savior. When we come to a Sunday Mass - we always start the Liturgy of the Word with three readings from Holy Scripture. These readings are a part of Public Revelation. It won’t change and it is complete and will last until the end of the world. We should do our best to read, study and meditate upon God’s Word given to us in the Bible.
Now -- because today is the feast of the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, I want to teach a bit about this area called Private Revelation. Private revelation is composed of visions, locutions and revelations. It may be accompanied by miracles or extraordinary events. Private revelation will never supersede or replace the covenant we’ve been given by God in Scripture. One scholar named Jimmy Akin tells us that "The value of private revelations is essentially different from that of the public revelation: the latter demands faith. . . . But private revelation is an aid to this faith, and it demonstrates its credibility precisely because it refers back to the one public revelation. That’s a little bit technical but necessary for today.
Now Scouts -- today let me share a couple examples of events -- spectacular events that have happened associated with Private Revelation. Back in the early 1900’s -- three shepherd children began seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary during her appearances in Fatima in Portugal. One of the things that happened... I mean really happened because it was seen by over 70,000 people was called the Miracle of the Sun... the sun danced in the sky, people’s clothes which had been wet because of being out in the rain -- their clothes instantly became dry. These are extraordinary events which happened and were documented by newspapers on October 29th, 1917.
I tell you about that one incident related to private revelation so you will know that there are many things which we cannot see nor fully understand that are not only possible, but which can and do happen. The Eucharist becoming the Body and Blood of Jesus is one example of a mystery of our faith but which we must and can fully believe in.
I am reading a book called Miracles of the Eucharist by Bob and Penny Lord. There are dozens... dozens of stories of Miracles of the Eucharist. For example, there is a saint in our Church called St. Anthony of Padua... a good and holy priest in Italy ... it is reported that he preached to the fish one day in a port city, and the fish, for their part partly raised their bodies out of water.
But there was a real unbeliever - a skeptic - a heretic who wasn’t impressed by what he thought was a magic trick. He said, “You who hold fish spellbound, see if you can do the same to my mule.” A challenge was made. The heretic would starve the mule for three days, and at the end of that time, St. Anthony would stand on one end of the town square holding a consecrated Eucharist - a host from the Mass. At the other end, the heretic would hold a bucket of favorite food for the mule.
The beast was indeed starved for three days -- St. Anthony celebrated Mass and brought the Eucharist with him. The square was packed with believers and heretics alike. The owner brought the animal into the square... he tempted the mule with a pail of favorite food that was to be the bait. At the given time, Anthony went to his corner with the Eucharist in his hand. The heretic went back to his animal and tried to tempt him to eat.
St. Anthony said to the animal this sermon: “Creature of God, in His name, I command you to come here and adore Him. If you do this, it will give truth to the Real Presence of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.” The mule ignored his owner and the food and went instead to Anthony where the animal lowered himself on his front knees and bowed his head in reverence. When all were convinced that the Lord had won out over the heretic, St. Anthony blessed the mule who then go up and proceeded to eat all the fodder in the pail.
The heretic followed the example of the mule and knelt down on his knees and bowed his head to the ground in adoration. And in fact, when St. Anthony left the town of Rimini, he had converted all the heretics in that region.
Why God sometimes and in some places gives us miracles and private revelations is beyond us to know. But on this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, I want you Scouts to know that those who are Catholic and who are in union with our Church and in a state of grace - you are ... you will receive the true... the holy... the awesome Body and Blood of Jesus Christ... may He be praised by us all. Amen and Amen.
Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae observed that Christ is not quoted as saying, “This bread is my body,” but rather, “This is my body.” Christ telling us in recorded Scripture that the entire Christ is present. This is so important for us who believe in this and understand it…
Our catechism says that when we celebrate the Eucharist, we unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy – and we anticipate eternal life when God will be all in all… Imagine – 1,000’s of angels surrounding this altar this morning – joining in this foretaste of eternity.
Now – another point of theology about the Eucharist is found in the word itself… Eucharist comes from the Greek words EUCHARISTEIN – this word recalls the Jewish words of blessing during a meal. The word – and our action proclaim God’s works: creation, redemption and sanctification. When we break bread, we must do it as a part of God’s people – it is not JUST JESUS AND ME and FORGET ABOUT THEE… This liturgical action takes place amid the assembly of the faithful. It is a communion in which we become one body. A Holy and Living Body united in Him who created us.
A Catholic visionary once said, “If I had a choice between a divine vision and the Eucharist, I would choose the Eucharist.” Now there is a joy-filled person who inspires faith and the kind of understanding we all should hope for.
St. Cyril of Alexandria spoke once in a sermon concerning the mysteries of our faith. Near the end, he said: “That which seems to be bread is not bread, though it tastes like it, but the Body of Christ. And that which seems to be wine is not wine, though it too tastes as such, but the Blood of Christ. Draw inner strength by receiving this bread as spiritual food and your soul will rejoice.” There you go again – joy. Do you feel healing and joy when you receive Jesus?
I spoke the other morning about reverence… reminding us to genuflect or make a profound, deep bow when we pass before the tabernacle. Do we approach Holy Communion with reverence and devotion? St. Hippolytus cautioned the faithful, “The Body of Christ is to be eaten … not to be treated with irreverence.” Some have become so casual in their worship that they approach this awesome feast as if they were walking into a high school gymnasium. What has happened that these people don’t know or have forgotten the words of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Down in adoration falling, this great Sacrament we hail; Faith will tell us Christ is present, when our human senses fail?”
Going back to the mid 2nd century – Justin Martyr said that ‘we have been taught that the food made Eucharist is both the flesh and the blood of Jesus.’
And if we jump into the mid 300’s – St. Cyril of Jerusalem said that we “do not regard the bread and wine as simply that. For they are the Body and Blood of Christ – even though the senses suggest to you the other – let faith make you firm.”
Not too long ago, we celebrated the memorial of St. John Chrysostom – do you remember that his nickname was Golden Throat? Of the Eucharist, Chrysostom wrote: “How many there are who still say: ‘I want to see his shape, his image, his clothing, his sandals.’ Behold, you do see him, you touch him, you eat him. He gives himself to you not just to be seen – but to be touched, to be eaten, to be received within.”