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From the Pastor's Desk: August 22, 2021
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Today we arrive at the conclusion of the five week long reflection on the Bread of Life Discourse. In the last four weeks of our reflections on the Sixth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel, we were offered opportunities and were challenged in the ways we live.
At first, we reflected upon the gift of generosity, the need of profound faith and belief. The last two Sundays, we spoke about acceptance of the call God gives us and the need of special divine wisdom that we need to embrace the message Jesus teaches us these weeks. Today, however, we need to respond to the entire message of Jesus as the true Bread of Life and make a choice – a choice that is a deep and profound sign of loyalty to Jesus.
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Choosing Jesus and His teachings requires letting go of ourselves and allowing God to act in a whole new way towards us. Choosing Jesus and to partake in His life is extremely demanding because it requires our deep and intimate relationship with Christ in faith and truth. In our lives today, just as for first followers of Jesus, we greatly struggle. It is difficult to let it go of ourselves and we would rather compromise a lot, to set new terms, to reason our own form of loyalty to Christ. Perhaps to even convince ourselves that there is some other way to have a happy life within us and enter eternal life. There is no other way and we know the message. The message of Jesus is Spirit and Truth. The challenge for us today remains – are we willing to accept the Truth of Jesus’ gift of faith or “do we also wish to go away” from the loving and life giving encounter with the Lord?
The question touches one of the great mysteries of our existence: human freedom. Somehow, in the depths of the human heart, God leaves us free to accept or reject the gift of faith. No one can manufacture faith in God, it is a gift that always begins with God, comes from God: "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." But the choice to accept or reject that gift, to follow Jesus or turn one's back on Him, remains with each individual: "Do you also want to leave?"
Jesus Christ is the Lord of life and history, but He refuses to impose His rule on hearts that want to "stop accompanying Him" and return to their former way of life. God gives us the gift of life, but He leaves us free to administer it as we wish, either in communion with Him, or not. “Every man and every woman needs to find a deep meaning for their own existence. And for this, books are not enough, not even Sacred Scripture. The Child of Bethlehem reveals and communicates to us the true 'face' of the good and faithful God, who loves us and who does not abandon us even in death." (Pope Benedict XVI, Christmas homily, 6 January 2009). The significance of our loyalty to Jesus challenges us to respond with faith, to repeat after St. Peter that we have come to believe that Christ is indeed the Holy One of God.
I want to thank the Pastor’s Advisory Team for their leadership and everyone who participated in the 40 Hours Adoration last week. It was such a wonderful witness to gather as a community before the Blessed Sacrament and to pray before the Lord in Solemn Adoration. It fills my heart with profound hope that this time of adoration in connection with the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit allowed us to deepen our appreciation of the importance of the mystery of the Eucharist in our lives. Thank you and may the blessing of the Lord be upon you!
I pray that our everyday life will reflect the gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus we celebrate every time we come together for Mass. May our Christian living expressed in our faith in the Eucharistic Jesus renew our lives so we can forever, so we can proclaim the joy of the One whom we believe: "Lord, to whom else shall we go? You are the Lord of my life" and do something beautiful for God with our lives. “Our lives have to constantly feed on the Eucharist. If we were not able to see Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, neither would it be possible for us to discover Him under the humble appearances of the bruised bodies of the poor.” (St. Mother Teresa)
I wish you a blessed week!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
