Homily originally presented on June 14, 2020
Fed by God … with God!
Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?
That was the name of an Adult Quiz Game Show that ran on TV for 4 seasons from 2007 to 2011 ... that asked adults questions taken from 5th Grade Text Books to see if they were as smart as children in the 5th Grade.
So, how about you? Do you think you’re smarter than a 5th Grader?
I can almost feel the blood-pressure of every adult in the room rise ...
as you feel your knowledge is about to be challenged by none other than a child.
So, Adults ...
How many of you can tell me the name of the process whereby the elements of bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus? What’s it called?
4 years ago, I happened to be speaking to some 40 children, ranging in age from
Kindergarten to 5th grade who were attending our Vacation Bible School.
One of the lessons was how Jesus identified Himself saying,
“I am the Bread of life.”
And the children readily came to understand that when Jesus said those words ...
He was not claiming to be a loaf of bread for our stomachs ...
but was claiming to be divine nourishment for our souls.
The children came to see that Jesus becomes this divine nourishment in every Mass where bread and wine are miraculously changed into His Body and Blood.
Well, after speaking of this, one little girl raised her hand and said,
“That’s called transubstantiation!” I about fell over!
Then she asked, “Would you like me to spell it?”
And before I could answer, she said, “T-r-a-n- s-u-b-s-t-a-n-t-i-a-t-i-o-n!”
Was this little girl a 5th grader? No, thank goodness! She was a 4th grader!
Actually, she’s just going to be a 4th grader this August at St. Rose Academy.
Wow! Did you know the name of the miraculous process whereby Jesus becomes truly present on the Altar at every Mass? Transubstantiation
Did you know how to spell it? What does this big word mean?
The prefix “trans” means across - like trans-oceanic voyage means across the ocean.
The root word “substantiation” is substance and refers to a change in substance.
So the word transubstantiation means a change across the whole of the substance.
In other words, transubstantiation means a total change in substance ...
such that while the accidents of bread and wine are still present ...
the substance is completely changed … into the body and blood of Jesus Christ!
Our children, your children, who attend Catholic School and VBS believe this.
The question is, “Do you believe it?”
Or do you think you’re smarter than a 4th Grader?
I’m sure that one of the reasons Jesus said we must become like little children ...
is because of the way they so readily believe the truth about God.
They are like little sponges and will quickly embrace as true everything
that we adults tell them is true.
Is it true that Jesus becomes truly and substantially present in the Bread and Wine!
Yes, it is absolutely true.
How do we know?
Jesus said so!
In the three Synoptic Gospels ... Matthew, Mark and Luke ... all recorded ...
that at the Last Supper ... Jesus took the elements of bread and wine ...
gave thanks ... said the blessing and gave them to His apostles saying,
“Take and eat; this is my Body. Take and drink; this is my Blood.”
The Catholic Church has preserved this truth ...
in both its teaching and its practice ... for 2000 years ...
revering the blessed elements ... that we call the Eucharist
as the source and summit of the Christian life!
Do you believe this?
Do you believe that Jesus, the Son of God, is truly present in the Eucharist?
You know, polls that are taken from time to time regularly show ...
that only 50% of Catholics really believe Jesus is present in Holy Communion!
Sadly, based on what I see, I’d have to agree with that low percentage of belief.
It explains why Mass attendance is so light.
If a person really believed that the Lord and Savior of the world ...
was truly present here every week …
they’d never ever miss the opportunity to be here.
And yet so many don’t come.
They rationalize that they’re doing just fine praying on their own.
And they fail to realize the huge privilege it is ...
to actually be in the presence of ... the one you’re praying to!
And they certainly don’t understand how essential it is to feed on Jesus Himself.
God knows that we need nourishment to live. And in his great love for us,
He wants to give us the very best nourishment there is … and that’s Himself!
How does He do that? He does it in a miraculous way.
Miracles are occurrences that defy natural explanation.
The Bible is full of the many miracles God performed throughout salvation history.
Moses referred to one of them in our First Reading from Deuteronomy when he said to the people. “Remember how for forty years now the Lord your God, …
fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers.”
In this we hear that God fed his people for a lifetime ... 40 years ... with manna ...
a food unknown to them ... a food that came to them miraculously, every day!
What was manna. The word “manna” means, “What is it?”
The Israelites called their food “manna” ... because they had no idea what it was.
It just miraculously appeared on the top of the desert sand every morning
and they went out and gathered it up to eat.
It was food. It was Bread from Heaven.
It was a recurring gift from God,
that nourished the people ... for all the years they spent in the desert ...
on their way to the Promised Land.
The Promised Land in the Old Testament was the Land of Canaan,
a place where they were going to live that they did not build themselves,
a wonderful place flowing with milk and honey.
But even that was a temporary destination.
God really wants to take us to ... the Promised Land of Heaven.
It’s also a place we did not build ourselves.
It’s also a wonderful place flowing with milk and honey.
But this destination ... Heaven ... is a permanent place. It is an eternal banquet!
As much as we long to reach this Promised Land, our journey through life
will likely include trials, temptations and distractions
that could take us off course and make us grow weary.
God knows this and so once again ...
He comes to our aid by offering us ... miraculous food.
This time it’s none other than the flesh and blood of His Divine Son, Jesus.
It’s there in the Eucharist that we can partake of food ...
- a food unknown to our Old Testament fathers ...
- a food that we didn’t make ...
- a food that shows up miraculously … every day …
- a food that is certain to nourish us on our journey.
So unbelievable is this miracle,
that Jesus disclosed it to the people fully one year in advance of it taking place.
In our Gospel today, that takes place at Passover the year before Jesus died ...
He tells the people:
that He is the Bread come down from Heaven, and
that they must eat this bread to have eternal life.
He declares, “For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”
Well, many were horrified to hear this and asked:
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
And then, one year later ... at the time of Passover ... at the Last Supper
Jesus revealed how they would indeed eat His flesh and drink His Blood.
It would take place in a Holy Meal where the elements of bread and wine
would be miraculously changed ... transubstantiated into His Body and Blood!
Today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is intended to heighten our appreciation for the True Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
It celebrates in a special way what Our Lord did for us at the Last Supper.
Not only was this:
the beginning of His Sacrifice that would be consummated on the Cross ...
It was also;
the beginning of The Eucharist ... supernatural food ... that is God Himself.
God made us to hunger for both physical food ... and spiritual food!
And the spiritual food He gives is His very self … the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Jesus began this practice at the Last Supper and commanded that it continue
by giving the power of transubstantiation to His Apostles and their successors.
He said, “Do this in memory of Me.”
Did this really happen? Did the Apostles go and do as Jesus commanded?
Well, in the 10th chapter of Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians just proclaimed, that he wrote 24 years after the Last Supper,
he reminds them of the miraculous change that takes place in the Mass, writing:
“Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the Blood of Christ?
And the bread we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?”
Indeed they are!
The Bread and the Wine of the Eucharistic Liturgy are not just symbols of Jesus.
No, they truly are Jesus ... giving us a participation in the Body and Blood of Christ.
How blessed we are to be fed by God with supernatural food ... food for the soul!
Just as God miraculously fed His Chosen People (marked by circumcision) with
manna, a bread come down from Heaven unknown to them or their fathers.
So today, God miraculously feeds us, His Chosen People (adopted by baptism) with the Eucharist, a Bread come down from Heaven that was previously unknown.
This Eucharistic Bread is ... the Bread of Life ...
it is nourishment that will carry us to Eternal Life.
So the question is, “Do you want to be as smart as a 4th Grader?”
If so, then you’ll come to know and believe in ... Transubstantiation!
It is the great miracle where God feeds us with Himself
in the wondrous Bread from Heaven ... the Holy Eucharist.
Let’s embrace this truth as would a little child ...
- by never missing the chance to pray before Jesus at Mass, and
- by joyfully partaking of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion.
For Jesus is the nourishment we need to arrive at our permanent home in Heaven!
Comments
There are no comments yet - be the first one to comment: