+ We continue our “Summer Sermon Series” based on the Bread of Life Discourse which
is meant to give us an in-depth explanation of one of the central tenets of our
Catholic faith: the Sacramental Presence
of Jesus in the Eucharistic Bread that we partake of in this and every
Mass. As weak human beings we need a sustenance that only God can provide; and
knowing this, God sends his very Son as
Bread for our consumption – to
quench our spiritual hunger and thirst. But what is not to be overlooked,
is that this same food is the required diet for any who would come to the kingdom, who would enter the Heavenly
Banquet: for if we do not eat the “heavenly bread” here, on our pilgrimage,
then we will be unqualified to eat it there at the table prepared for us.
Any who have truly tasted and been satisfied with the
heavenly bread – which is the very reality of the Risen and Glorified Christ –
knows that there is nothing else like it, nor any substitute for it; it is true
spiritual nourishment, to give us the spiritual energy we need to do
spiritually, charitably motivated things, for love of God – in helping him to
build his Kingdom of Peace and Joy! – mostly one person at a time.
And since it is the very Holy
Spirit of God that brings about the transubstantiation
of the bread and wine into Christ’s own flesh and blood, it is his life within us too that is
fortified and strengthened by reception of the great Sacrament of Life.
Therefore, as St. Paul tells
the Ephesians, we ought not to grieve the
Holy Spirit of God with which we were sealed for the day of redemption –
all things that are not of the spirit: bitterness,
fury, anger, shouting and reviling must be removed from our midst along with
all malice – substituting rather kindness, compassion and forgiveness towards
one another.
If
we do not live “by the Spirit” and “in the Spirit,” then
the Communion we participate in – the eating of the One Loaf that is still
being multiplied day after day, year after year, century after century – is a lie – and we are no better than the pagans and all malcontents.
Taste
and see the goodness of the Lord, dear brothers and sisters,
and then let it affect everything about
how you live your life! And it will also qualify you for your everlasting
inheritance forever with God! in a land brimming with shimmering realities, eternal
participation in every kind of play, relaxation and feasting – it will be like,
well, one endless “wedding reception” – which, in fact, it is!
Blessed
Sunday to all! Have a fun day!
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