Sept 18, 2022
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091822.cfm
-The Communion Rite-
Last week Father Matt brought us through the Eucharistic prayer and to the great Amen and now, we stand. Why stand? Well, as Father said last week: Liturgy equals work and we have work to do right now. Our work is to prepare our minds, and our souls to receive our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the most intimate way possible, we will consume Him - but first things first.
At the Savior's command, we will dare to say the Lord’s prayer. We will dare to call God our Father, Abba - similar to our kids calling us Daddy! It’s a very intimate address for someone who is omniscient and all-powerful but, God the Son commanded it so we dare to say it!
Another thing will dare to ask God is to forgive us our sins just like we forgive those who sin against us. This part means if we want to be forgiven we must also be forgiving. It’s how we can enter into a more perfect communion. All of us here today, celebrate together, in communion, this Mass, this Eucharistic feast, this sacrifice.
We then move to The Rite of Peace. It’s a way in which we can truly express our readiness to share in communion with our neighbors around us at Mass. It’s a way to show unity in the Church and not just our Holy Family here but the whole human family. We pray for a peace that is not Earthly, not based on our material possessions, not based on our appliances functioning properly, but instead for a Heavenly peace. We pray for peace from evil, peace to be free from sin, and peace from all distress as we await the return of Jesus Christ to earth.
Father then breaks the bread quietly without much fanfare during The Fraction Rite. Remember the story on the Road to Emmaus and when those two disciples were walking along with a “stranger” and then sat down to share a meal with Him.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
We will all share this bread. Father will put a small piece into the chalice and quietly say:
May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.
This is called the comingling. Christ’s Body and Blood work together toward our salvation. This is also done as a symbol of unity in our Church.
It’s time to sing or perhaps say the Agnus Dei - Lamb of God. Jesus was first called the Lamb of God by his cousin John the Baptist. In the first book of John’s Gospel, verse 29 reads:
The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
The Jewish people of that time would have heard the Baptist's profession and instantly thought of the Exodus when they had to slaughter a lamb, an unblemished perfect lamb, then they had to take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts of the houses in which they were to eat it. The blood of the lamb would save them from the angel of death. Sound familiar? Apart from the blood on the doors of the Church, it’s what we are doing today. We will eat the unblemished perfect lamb.
Before we receive Jesus we should adore him, take this short moment to do just that, as Father holds up the Eucharist adore Jesus for who he is, the Word made flesh, the unblemished perfect lamb, the Son of God, and most importantly, our Savior.
Are we now worthy? In the Gospel of Matthew, we met a centurion who had a servant who was suffering in his house. He approached Jesus to ask for help. Jesus said he would come over and heal him and today we still will echo the words of the centurion as we say:
”Lord I am not worthy to that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my ssrvant shall be healed”.
…
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith”.
Who of us has such faith? Who is worthy to receive Jesus in such an intimate way? None of us, not a single one of us. You’re probably thinking, “So Deacon Kevin, why do we do this, I’ll just get up and leave now” NO! Wait! Don’t go! We do this because God gives us His grace and His grace is what makes us worthy. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians “His grace is sufficient for you”. This is why we should examine our conscience and ensure we are not in a state of Mortal Sin when we receive the Eucharist. Being in a state of Mortal Sin blocks that grace that we need to be worthy to receive Jesus.
Finally, it’s here, the moment we get to receive Communion and we must do it properly! We should reflect what we believe by how we receive! It’s not just a small wafer of bread! We can’t focus on who is and who is not receiving communion, how they are receiving, and how they are dressed. We now MUST focus inward, on ourselves. I said in my homily a few months ago, that I used to tell people as Catholics we believe that we receive the Body of Christ at every Mass but it doesn’t matter what others believe, it IS the body of Christ. In a few moments, Jesus Christ, through Father, will transubstantiate that simple bread and wine into His true and divine flesh and blood. I don’t know about you but this is indeed a major reason why I am still Catholic, if you really believe this how could you walk away?
St. Padre Pio thought the same as he said:
"Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace."
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