Monthly Archives: July 2024

Bread of Life: What is God Doing?

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Dear Folks,Every three years our lectionary takes us through the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John. Having just finished the Eucharistic Congress, continuing the Eucharistic revival, we are presented with five weeks of following John chapter 6.I’m going to challenge everyone to take advantage of this time.1. Present yourself to God to be changed by this journey. You can imagine that the disciples were changed by this day. In the Eucharistic prayer, I pray for the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine, then I pray that the Holy Spirit will transform us.2. Reflect on the Gospel story throughout the week. All four Gospels relate the feeding of 5000 families with five loaves and two fish. Matthew and Mark also tell the story of feeding 4000 with seven loaves and a few fish. We are really familiar with thisstory. What would it be like for the disciples, who had no idea what was about to happen? The Gospels reveal special treasures when we look at them more closely, and this is especially true of the Gospel of John. I suggest that each sentence is importantand has a purpose. What might it be?3. Try to do some extra learning. If you have not yet read Brant Pitre’s book “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” Bishop Robert Barron’s “This is my Body,” Scott Hahn’s “The Fourth Cup” or “The Lamb’s Supper,” or any of Timothy O’Malley’s books, this might be an opportunity. On Formed.org there is great stuff.4. The talks from the Eucharistic congress are available on YouTube. There is so much that can be done so easily. Those of us who weren’t able to make it in person can participate to that extent. What if you and a group of friends watch a talk and then discuss it afterward?5. We remember that the Eucharist is about gift of self. The Lord gives Himself to us completely in this intimate encounter, and we are learning to give ourselves. What if we asked the question, “If Jesus could get whatever He wanted of me today, what might it be?” What if we let that question percolate in our minds for a while?6. What if we spent some extra time in front of the tabernacle or the monstrance. We remember that the Eucharist is not a thing but a person, the person of Jesus. As we focus on His presence, He is ever aware of our presence. He is watching you. Now. Yes, now.7. After we receive communion, let us go forth from Mass remembering that Jesus is within us. How does that awareness change how we act?I challenge you to do something different. Something. Anything. How can we open a new door in our minds and hearts to let Jesus in more deeply?

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Out on Mission

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Persecution of the Christians at Rome by Nero. Illustration for The Pathway of Life by T Dewitt Talmage (Johnson, 1890).

Dear Folks,
Jesus sends the disciples out on mission, and they are minimally equipped. Sandwiched into the story of the mission of the twelve, between their being sent out (Mark 6:6-16) and
the return (Mark 6:30-33), is the death of John the Baptist. As with the two healings a couple weeks ago (Mark 5:21-43), when one story is sandwiched into another, it is a hint to look at them together.
The mission of the disciples: depending on whatever people would give them, they would heal the sick and drive out demons. That is a pretty challenging assignment, but one that would not make them enemies (except for the demons). However, they would later be sent out when they would encounter persecution of all kinds, even though they were only doing good. The death of John the Baptist is a foreshadowing of what lies ahead.
John had been imprisoned for calling out Herod on his behavior, and Herod’s wife Herodias saw him as a threat, so she conspired to get him killed. Throughout Christian history, standing by the truth can get one in trouble. In the early Church, there were persecutions
in which Christians would be given a choice: either worship the emperor and be set free, or refuse and face horrible, agonizing death. Many faced death. Worshipping the emperor did not require anything elaborate, just putting a pinch of incense on hot coals and saying, “Caesar is Lord.” They didn’t have to mean it, and they could tell all their friends they didn’t mean it. Still, they refused. Why make such a fuss about such a little thing? First, it was witnessing to a lie. Witnessing to the truth is central to being a Christian. Second, and more sinister, it is a form of grooming. Tyrants and predators know that shifting people’s behaviors, their consciousness in tiny, incremental steps, can lead people to all sorts of terrible places before they realize what is happening. We remember the enemy is very clever (Gen 3:1).
These days, if someone refuses to participate in same sex union ceremonies, or uses the pronouns that we were taught in school, there will be people who will try to destroy him. Some say that not going along with certain theories about marriage and gender does great harm to some people. I say, let’s have that conversation. Let’s talk about what the truth really is, and how we can best help people. Many are not willing. Many would shout you down, assault or harass you, destroy your livelihood, in general try to destroy you instead.
I recommend Matt Walsh’s documentary, “What is a Woman.” It shows people acting like the question itself is out of bounds, inappropriate, somehow mean. People cut off the conversation when he pushes the question. When I got my rudimentary studies in science, math, and philosophy in preparation to study theology, I learned the importance of rigorously define key terms. If we are going to help people, it sure would be good to know what
we are talking about.
Jesus sends us forth to be healers, not usually with miraculous powers, but with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). We must remember that we are being “sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be as clever as serpents and innocent as doves (Mat 10:16).
Blessings,
Fr. Jim 

Do We Really Know?

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Dear Folks,
Today in our Gospel (Mark 6:1-6) we see people who don’t learn who Jesus is because they think they already know. They apparently figured that since He grew up there, they knew all there was to be known about Him, and so their minds were closed. I find one of the great obstacles to learning is the assumption that we already know. Have you ever started to talk, and before you were done, someone assumes (incorrectly) that they know what you are going to say and so starts responding to this imagined point of view? Isn’t it frustrating? Have you ever been caught doing that to someone else? Sometimes we can say what we wanted to say, but their voices are so loud in their heads that they hear what they expected and not what you said.
What some people say about what Christianity is shows a terrible lack of understanding, but they are sure they understand. Several have said that Christianity is just a matter of being good to others. I start to react, and they say, “That’s what it boils down to.” No, No,
No. I heard people say that Christianity and Hinduism teach essentially the same thing, just use different words, so they do both. In the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “No. A thousand gallons of ‘No.’” Christianity is a love relationship, a deep friendship, with a God who loves us deeply, tenderly, and faithfully, and has been willing to pay the ultimate price for us. There is not, nor could there ever be a love story equal to that.
Many people are walking around with the notion that what they learned about the faith as children is all they need to know. I think this has a lot to do with why the Church is having so much trouble now. Even if your faith formation as a child was super-excellent (and for many, many people it was not), what would your life be like if you stopped learning about things in general after eighth grade? Many have left the faith, and many remain in a superficial manner, but get their perspectives more from the world than from the faith. If they have adult questions and only a child’s answers, how could that not happen?
I think many were taught the faith in such a way they didn’t get the sense that it made much difference, so why learn more? I suggest there are several reasons:
1. It enriches our encounters with God. In any love relationship, learning about our beloved helps us connect.
2. It helps us understand how to please God.
3. It pushes us out of our comfort zone. No relationship develops if we are not willing to get out of our comfort zone.
4. It helps us function as members of the Church. Church will still be frustrating because it is so full of us sinful people, but how it works will make more sense.
5. It enables us to witness to the faith better, so more people will want to come and fewer will want to leave.
6. It is just so fascinating! The more I learn, the more amazing it seems and the hungrier I get to learn even more. A thousand lifetimes would not be enough.
7. I suggest our strength as a church in the future will depend a lot on how much people keep learning about the faith.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim