Aug 26 - Sunday 21st Week in Ordinary Time

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 26, 2018

I –We will serve the Lord, for his is our God.

R –Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

II – This is a great mystery, regarding Christ and the Church.

A – Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

G –To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.    

                          

+ We reach the grand conclusion of the great Discourse on the Most Holy Eucharist today, as it is related to us in the Gospel of St. John. This doctrine and reality are central and essential to Jesus whole mission. He came into the world to redeem it and to give it the “key to life.” The Eucharistic presence of his own real Body and Blood in transubstantiated elements of bread and wine is that key! It is not a secret key, nor an invisible key, but it does take something very special in order to see it, use it and operate it: it takes faith, simple faith! Faith being the gift of God and our cooperation with it, which gives the ability to see all things as God sees them, as they really are; and to use them the way he intends for them to be used.

It is quite apparent that many of Jesus’ disciples did not accept the gift of faith, and so they could not use it; and therefore their only course of action was to murmur about his insistence that they eat his real flesh and drink his real blood, and so they walk away confused and probably a bit annoyed that following Jesus around for so long a time ended with this impasse. Jesus then makes reference to how things are seen with the eyes of faith, rather than the human eyes: all things, but especially religious things must have something to do with “Spirit and life” – these things are “super-natural” – these things are the fruit of the activation of a simple and real faith! 

And so, Jesus says to those who wander away, then “go, go, but remember I told you that no one can come to me and remain unless it is granted him by my Father,” apparently, for the time being, it has not been granted to you – but maybe, in time; I will pray for you for a time in the future when you will be more pliant to the action of the Spirit in your life.

And you, he then turns to the Apostles and says, do you want to go too? After I have very carefully given you the benefit of countless hours of “private lessons” and practical experience even on difficult matters to understand – do you want to leave me too? But then Peter, speaking for the rest, as he always did said to him: Lord, to whom shall we go (quo vadis?), you have the words of eternal life; we have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God. How relieved Jesus must have been, we can see him smiling at Peter now, and the others, and saying to them: thank you, for your sakes, thank you, and you shall see and hear even greater things in the very near future!

The first reading today, in a sense gives us another decision made for God, rather than against him, a walking away: Joshua, addressing the elders of the tribes of Israel said: decide who you will serve from now on (which way are you going to go?); but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Any other kind of life, such as the kind the other tribes were involved in, just did not seem right to Joshua – and so he made his choice and God was very pleased. And, because of Joshua’s example, the rest of the tribes chose the Lord too.

Sometimes, it takes a simple straightforward statement in favor of God and his ways for others to activate faith, to “get onboard” – like Joshua, like Peter, like all the Apostles and their successors – and billions of disciples of Christ throughout the ages – we too can influence others to set their sights on heavenly goals, and to modify their earthly sojourn in order for it to end up in the right place at the right time!

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord, and then tell everyone you can about it, and let them know that it is for them too!

For the first time in my 43 years as a priest I would like to end my homily with a brief “teaching session” – a “fireside chat” if you will:

          Dear Brothers and Sisters – we are at a very critical turning point in both Church and American History. Now neither is something new or unexpected or without some precedent. But what is new, in the here and now, is your response and my response to what is happening. And the time for deciding how we will respond is here and now.

          I do believe that the international credibility of the Catholic Church is all but destroyed: especially, in the wake of Pope Francis’s pathetic visit – which is currently underway – to Ireland. To spout out words of “atrocities” and “we will get to the bottom of this” with no concrete plan as to how to do that: shows a fatal flaw in the episcopacy of the Bishop of Rome, and the Pope of the world. And, what is more tragic and unforgiveable – at this point – is that the Pope himself is now a proven part of the coverup, and should resign immediately from his office as Chief Shepherd of the Flock of God – which includes vast numbers of children.

It is our own former Papal Nuncio: Archbishop Vigano, who reported to Pope Francis 5 years ago, for example, the truly abhorrent sexual activities of Archbishop of Washinigton Cardianl McCarrick – and nothing was done – until the Pope’s hand was forced by surfacing and reporting in the secular press. This is unconscionable. But not undprecedented as a pope. St. Paul John Paul II – was thick in the coverup for years, most especially with Fr. Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ – who committed “reprehensible actions” with seminarians in his own seminary. Pope John Paul II refused to believe the reports – while many of the victims wrote a book years ago telling what actually happened to them.

And if that is not enough, Pope Benedict XVI, who was Joseph Ratzinger at the Time and head of the Office of the Doctrine of the Faith altered canon law to soften punishment for Maciel.

The time has come for the FLOCK TO BAH!! and bah relentlessly until some really is done – the entire Church needs restructuring from the top down – we need a pope who, while not a saint, while a sinner like the rest of us – has at least CONVERTED AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE TO THE PERSON OF JESUS – who is very angry, along with his Blessed Mother – and can lead us out of this, our most likely, darkest hour of despair that Church has known for centuries.

The best way to fix the ill and woes and atrocities in both the World and the Church is for Christ to come Again and fix it himself. This is my vote! and so I pray: Come Lord Jesus Come, and bring at last salvation for your faithful people!

And may God have Mercy on us all!