The Nexus

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“Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the
wise man who built his house on rock.”

The gospel for the 9th Sunday of the Year speaks of a very important
parable that reveals a wisdom that not only we Catholics believe as true
but also the majority of humanity.  In the first paragraph of the gospel,
Jesus speaks of the importance of doing the will of the Father in heaven.
Then in the second paragraph, we read His teaching about the importance
of building one’s house on a sure foundation - one solidly set on rock,
rather than one on shifting sand.  When we reflect how the two parts
of this passage of the gospel convey a serious message, we discover
that the gospel wanted to impart the importance of heeding the Father’s
will to build our lives on a sure foundation.  And this may mean in
our present Catholic generation, the hope we have in God as the source
of all security and stability in life.

We often fail to make our hope in God as the solid rock on whom our
life has its sure foundation.  We just realize it only when something
bad happens to ourselves or to members of our family or clan.  But God
always reminds us to place our hope in Him.  Every Sunday as we gather
with other families to celebrate the Eucharist, we are reminded of this
truth throughout the whole liturgy.  When we receive communion, we accept
Jesus as the center and foundation of our family life.  He is the Most
Sacred Heart who wishes to place our trust in Him more than in anything
else.  And as the Eucharist ends, and we are sent on a mission of peace,
we bring this spirit of Jesus back to our ordinary family life, work,
business, or profession.  The more we root and anchor ourselves on the
sure hope we have in God, He will surely save and preserve us from any
destructive force that can unsettle us.  That is why the Church obliges
us to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist regularly.  For in the Eucharist,
we are assured that our hope is in God alone and if we live out the
will of the Father in heaven, our Catholic family will be built on
solid rock.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/corpus-christi-a.html

“This is the bread that came down from heaven.”

In the gospel for the solemnity of Corpus Christi, Year A, we read a
passage from the gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 51-58.  The passage
tells us of Jesus who said to the crowds of Jews: “I myself am the
living bread come down from heaven.  If anyone eats this bread he shall
live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the
world.”  The reaction to this teaching by Jews was a quarreling among
themselves, for if indeed the saying were to be taken literally, how
can Jesus give his flesh for them to eat?  Despite this disquiet among
the Jews, Jesus continues with His discourse and solemnly assured those
who were present that [his] “flesh is real food and [his] blood is
real drink.” If the Jews had a foreknowledge of what would happen to
Jesus - that He would sacrifice His life on the Cross so that their
sins would be forgiven, then this teaching and saying of His would be
easy to understand.  However, Jesus often speaks in veiled language,
as He did with His parables, and with many other sayings that are filled
with deep meaning and truths.  Jesus would only then reveal what He
meant to His inner circle - the apostles and those who were close to
Him.

This passage from the gospel of John clearly speaks of the Eucharist,
the sacrament we receive when we celebrate the Sunday Mass or any Mass
on a weekday.  Since we know that the sacred host is the very body and
blood of Christ Jesus, then we understand how His flesh and blood that
we receive in the Mass gives life to us - a life that is centered on
eternity and heaven.  When Jesus says that He is the bread that came
down from heaven, we can easily relate to this as we know that the
Eucharistic bread that we consume is Jesus Himself: the Bread of Life
and the Bread that came down from heaven.  Acknowledging this truth is
a great gift from God.  And if we do believe in it, then we will truly
see the Eucharist as a gift from God and something that is very vital
to our daily living.  It is a gift of life that nourishes our soul and
strengthens our spirit that we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus
and serve our brothers and sisters - most especially those who are
closest to us: our family, loved ones and friends.

The feast of Corpus Christi reminds us to be thankful to the Lord for
the gift of His Son, who instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist,
so that we may share in His life and be directed towards what is of
the essence: eternal life and heaven.  By our participation in this
great sacrament, we are connected with the mystery that was enacted
on Calvary and onward to the glorious event of the Easter life with
Jesus.  The more we immerse ourselves in a Eucharistic life, the more
we shall receive the Spirit of Jesus and do what He commands us to
do: to love God with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our
souls, and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself.
The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is a mystery of Life from
God - the mystery of God’s only Son, who was sacrificed on Calvary and
then raised up again to life after three days to be victorious against
sin, evil and death.  Let us therefore be thankful for this gift of
the Eucharist in our lives.  And let us pray also for those people who
live in war-torn and terror-stricken areas where the celebration of
the Eucharist is hampered and prevented.

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“Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that
whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.”

In this Sunday’s gospel, the gospel for Trinity Sunday, Year A, we read
a passage that tells about Jesus - teaching one of the Pharisees, whose
name was Nicodemus, about the love of the Father for mankind.  If we
read the beginning of chapter 3 from which this passage was taken, we
will find that Nicodemus went to Jesus by night (which bible scholars
interpret as a discrete move by Nicodemus so that he would not be seen
in a bad light by his fellow Pharisees) to learn more of Jesus and
His teaching.  And one of the teachings that Jesus emphasized to this
searching Pharisee is how God wanted the world to be saved through His
Son.  Whoever believes in the Son will be saved and merit eternal life,
while those who do not believe in the Son will be condemned by their
lack of belief.

From this passage in the gospel of John, we see the relationship between
the Father and Jesus - Jesus as the Son who was sent by His Father to
save the world from sin.  Last Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, we read about
the resurrection appearance of Jesus to His apostles and wherein He
“breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit”.  We can thus learn
from these passages how God redeems us through His Fatherhood, His
Sonship, and His Most Holy Spirit.  Just as the apostles received the
Holy Spirit, we who are members of the Church Jesus founded, receive the
same Spirit through them.  And when we are called to reflect who God is
for us, one of our responses is: “God is Father, Son and Spirit”. Thru
this triune relationship, we are saved from our sins and will be rewarded
with eternal life, if we continue to believe in God-in-Jesus, who sends
His Spirit among us, so that we can also participate and continue the
mission of redemption which Christ commissions us to do through our
baptismal consecration.

We believe in one God in three persons whenever we make the sign of the
cross on our forehead, shoulders, and chest.  We also profess this faith
whenever we recite the Apostles Creed in the Sunday Eucharist.  God in
three persons is a mystery that we are called to believe and live out
in our daily lives.  It is a relationship of love and community that
seeks to dwell in our heart and soul so that we too may share this spirit
with others.  We are lucky to profess this faith simply in our Christian
lives whereas in the early centuries, many saints have struggled so that
this truth of one God in three persons and three persons in one God may
be proclaimed in our Catholic Church.  As we now celebrate the mystery
of the Trinity this Sunday, let us pray to recognize the triune mystery
that pervades through the whole Eucharistic liturgy beginning with the
sign of the Cross at the start of the Mass and ending also with the sign
of the Cross when the priest dismisses the congregation for a mission of
peace.

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“Then He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit…’”

The solemnity of Pentecost reminds us of the birth of the Church.
In today’s lectionary readings, the vivid account of what transpired
on that day is given in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The
passage tells us that in the place where Mary, the apostles, and
other disciples were gathered, “suddenly from up the sky there
came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all
through the house where they were seated…tongues as of fire
appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them…all were
filled with the Holy Spirit.”  After this manifestation of the
presence of the Holy Spirit, the apostles then preached to the
people in different tongues and native languages about the
marvels God has accomplished.

In the gospel account, we are then given a passage of one of
the resurrection appearances of Jesus to His apostles.  In this
account for the feast of Pentecost, we read that “though the
disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them…[and
said] Peace be with you”. At the sight of Jesus, the disciples
rejoiced.  And then Jesus “breathed on them and said: ‘Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven
them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.’”

Devotion to the Holy Spirit was not popular during much of
the history of the Catholic Church.  However, the devotion to
Him became more prominent as a charismatic renewal movement
swept the Catholic Church in the middle of the twentieth
century.  The second ecumenical Vatican Council, under the
leadership of Pope John XXIII had the Holy Spirit much in
mind in the renewal of the Church according to the “signs of
the times” - the present situation of the world.  But even
before this Council was convened, many Catholics around the
world were already participating in the charismatic renewal
movement - a movement inspired very much by the Holy Spirit.
Through this movement, those who formerly were lukewarm in
their practice of the faith, suddenly became ardent in their
Christian life and much inspired to prayer and community
worship because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their
life and among their friends, family and loved ones. Many
were converted also because of this charismatic movements.

The feast of Pentecost can help us to reflect on the many
gifts the Holy Spirit gives us.  We receive these gifts
through the sacrament of baptism and confirmation and also
through our regular attendance of the Mass and practice of
the sacrament of reconciliation.  The gifts of wisdom,
knowledge, counsel, understanding, piety, courage or
fortitude, and fear of the Lord are given to us as
individuals so that we may do the Lord’s will and serve
our brothers and sisters in Christ. Through the Holy
Spirit, we are able to pray well and practice the virtues
of strength, justice, prudence and temperance.  Not only
this, by our docility to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and
our attentiveness to the Word of God and reception of
His Sacrament, we shall bear spiritual fruits: joy, peace,
faith, charity, goodness, kindness, patience, generosity,
chastity, modesty, gentleness, and self-control.  And as
a community, some of us may be gifted with the Holy Spirit
to teach, to preach, to heal, to give words of wisdom,
to counsel and to be instruments of God’s miracles to
others.

We receive so much from God through the Holy Spirit that
we are called to be really thankful and grateful for all
God’s goodness, mercy and kindness.  Pentecost is a time
for us to thank God for the gift of prayer, for the gift
of community through our loved ones and through our
co-workers, and most especially for the gift of the Church
- from whom we are nourished daily or every Sunday with
the Body and Blood of Christ - a sacrament that strengthens
us to do God’s will, obey the Church, and serve our brothers
and sisters in Christ.  Let us praise and thank God always
for the gift of Himself through His Most Holy Spirit.