Layers - in the knowledge of God and the path to holiness
Learning about God is like unwrapping a head of lettuce, pealing back one leaf at a time. Always there is another leaf below. We will eventually reach the center of the head of lettuce; but we will never unwrap everthing there is to know about God.
The path to holiness is like pealing an onion. God shows us what is sinful and convicts us that we have sinned. No matter how sweet the onion, there are always tears in the peeling. No matter how sweet the grace of repentence, there are always the pain of letting go of the sin. As the peeling of the onion reveals another layer, so God shows us what we lack in holiness, drawing us ever closer to "be(ing) perfect even just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
What I Believe
Why I am and always will be a Catholic. "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Tthe living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." John 6:53-58 The words and actions of man cannot sanctify. Only the priest, empowered by his ordination, can invoke the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into Jesus so we can receive Him - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity into our bodies and souls. This is the core of the Catholic Church; without this there is no purpose or meaning to the Catholic Church. There are other ways to holiness, to grow in grace; there is no better way than union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
PADREGQ#286 – For the last 3 Sundays we have celebrated three special Sundays that are at the heart of our faith. Ascension (Jesus went up, the Holy Sprit came down and we go out to continue the Incarnation in our place and our time.) Pentecost – the last day of Easter, the Birthday of our church. (The Holy Spirit, the promised Advocate for us, came down to help us begin the second stage of the In...carnation.) Last week, we celebrated the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity – the mystery of God revealed to us by Jesus. Today is the fourth great feast in a row, Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of our Lord and Brother Jesus Christ. Thinking of these four great feast, I wonder how many families, who did not come to church, ever thought of or discussed their faith with each other. It goes back to a question that haunts me and should haunt everyone. Who is teaching our children? Who is passing on the treasure of our faith that was lived by our parents, grandparents and great grandparents? Is soccer or baseball or computer games more important than knowing and living the love story of Jesus? If each of us, clergy and lay, adults and children, do not know and live our faith, it is going to die in our families and communities. The Eucharist is Jesus dying gift to us. It is Jesus with us. It is pure gift. Historically, there is only one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Sacramentally, Jesus is sacrificed on the Cross as often as the Eucharist is celebrated. When the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated daily on the altar, we are mysteriously present at the death of Christ. When we approach Communion, we are greeted by the communion minister’s THE BODY OF CHRIST, we say Amen (YES) to one of the greatest mysteries of heaven and earth. The is the Christ that existed before existence, Christ the eternal Word who became flesh in womb of Mary and was born in Bethlehem, Christ whose flesh and blood was nailed to a cross, Christ whose body rose from the dead in a new form, Christ who left His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, Christ whose Body we are – this is the Christ that we proclaim. (Some of these thoughts were written down several years ago by Paul Turner). Some other thoughts to think about today….The Eucharist is not something – it is Some One….Jesus is totally present, as He was to His friends, in a different way….He is Son of God and Son of May…It started at the Last supper and it is the supper that last until the end of time…The Incarnation continues in the Eucharist….We enter into the timeless time of God….We are called to this supper not because we are worthy but because we are loved…. St Thomas Aquinas: “I can’t understand it in my head, but I know it in my heart” & “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”… St Theresa of Lisieux: “On the day of my First Communion, I knew I was loved and not alone.” Finally, I share a simple statement called MALNUTRITIONED: FORGIVE US, LORD, FOR SNACKING AT YOUR FEAST, NIBBLING AT YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, PICKING AT YOUR PROMISES AND SHOWING UP AT YOUR TABLE WHEN WE HAVE TIME…IF WE, YOUR OWN, ARE UNDERNOURISHED BY CHOICE, HOW CAN WE EXPECT TO FEED A LOST AND HUNGRY WORLD? SHALOM
