Fr. Rick’s Homily: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 7/28/24

2 Kgs 4:42-44; Ps 145:10-11, 15-18; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15

This week we’ve noticed that we have switched from the Gospel of Mark to the Gospel of John in order to help us focus more closely on the ‘Bread of Life Discourse’ which is so strongly featured in Chapter 6 of John.  This is perfect for helping to accentuate the Eucharist Revival in its final months.  The Eucharist is the source and summit of our religious tradition and it’s that point where we as individuals and as a community of believers enter into that most transcendent state of union (Communion) with Jesus and each other.  This transcendent union is essential for us to faithfully follow Jesus over the entirety of our lives and to successfully accomplish the mission He has given us.  The mission of course, is ‘to go forth to all nations and teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded us’ (Mt. 28:19-20).

This five-week diversion into the Gospel of John is also accompanied each week by the second readings from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.  In this letter Paul eloquently blends the sacraments of Eucharist and Matrimony.  Most Catholics in fact eventually get married and can more readily relate to the bond of matrimony and its demands and benefits.  The deeper the commitment, the stronger the bond, the deeper the love, the more fruitful the relationship.  Both sacraments require a total gift of self and the ability to receive another’s total self-gift.  Our ‘Amen’ at the Eucharist implies our total self-gift to each other which in turn is returned to God during the Eucharist.  Only then are we prepared to fulfill the mission Jesus has given us.

In the second reading Paul tells us, “I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

We can take this exhortation from St. Paul seriously because Jesus has conferred onto the Church all the power and authority of Heaven.

Right in the middle of the Mass, I will say: “The Lord be with you.”

And you will say, “And with you Spirit.” And then I will say, “Lift up your hearts.”  And you will say, “We lift them up to the Lord.”  And then I will say, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” And then you will say, “It is right and just.”

‘Lift up your hearts.’  What does that really mean?

Prayer as covenant – from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

2563 The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.

2564 Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man.

Prayer as communion

2565 In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit.”12 Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ.13 Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ’s love.14

Basically, what this all means is that if we enter the Mass with the proper preparation and intention, we will be empowered to go into the world and act with God’s wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and strength.

“It is right and just”.  The biblical understanding of justice is ‘right relationship.  Right relationship with God, with each other and with all the rest of Creation.

When we lift up our hearts, we are having our consciousness lifted and we will be able to see with the eyes of our hearts.  We will see the need of others and act with wisdom and empathy. 

And this is actually the major point of the ‘’Bread of Life Discourse.”

To gather everything we have, offered it to God and God’s justice and there will be plenty for everyone with plenty left over.  Stewardship.  Real stewardship is real Justice.  We will know what to do and have the strength and the will to actually do it!!  We can only do this with the grace of the sacraments and the total self-gift of the community’s members.

What was your strongest experience of Communion with a community of believers?

How did this Communion animate or amplify your confidence in the mission of the Church?

How has the community of believers help you deepen your marital bond with your spouse?

If you are a single Catholic, how has the Eucharist brought you closer to the community and helped clarify your particular apostolate or mission in the Church.