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funerals sacrament-based holidays holy days special occasions

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Exploring the word

14 Jun 2015 - Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The sower sows the seed. But the seed becomes grain by mysterious means. The sower can’t take credit for what happens once the seed pushes its first sprout into the soil. That’s the work of the seed’s Creator. And it merits praise. The liturgical year doesn’t really have a designated “Praise Sunday.” Praise is the forgotten sister of our prayer cycle. Most of us are eager to bring forth our petitions. There’s so much need, and we have nowhere else to turn! Intercessory prayer, AKA supplication, is a good thing, and we should pray “asking prayers” daily. Our Eucharist, although it contains many asking prayers, is itself a prayer of thanksgiving. If the story of the 10 lepers is statistically reliable, one in 10 of us remember to give thanks for the good that comes to us. But even if we forget gratitude momentarily in the rush of relief and celebration, our Eucharist stands in as the ultimate prayer of thanks. Then there’s lamentation. We don’t usually think of this mode of prayer as prayer. It’s so instinctual and doesn’t seem like a very holy attitude at all. While it’s neither holy nor unholy to lay down and weep, or to lift up a howl of rage or disappointment, the direction of our lament makes the difference. If we lift it up to God—even with its barbed edges and recriminations—it’s a valid prayer. Read Psalms 6, 10, 42, 55, or the famous 22 if this seems dubious. Contrition, often a component of intercession and lamentation, is the prayer of regret that admits wrongdoing. It’s built into the sacrament of Reconciliation as well as into the Penitential Rite of the Mass. Intercession, thanks, lamentation, and contrition have their place in the prayer life of the believer. So does praise, a component of the practice of Adoration. But we neglect this prayer for all sorts of reasons. Part of it could be pride. To offer praise requires humility. We have to bow and implicitly recognize our smallness. Also, in our competitive culture, we’re quick to criticize but slow to give the glory away. Another factor in neglecting praise may be our sense that our activity in prayer should accomplish something. Logging our petitions hopefully results in divine responsiveness. Thanks permits us to close the loop of obligation to a benefactor. Lamentation allows us space for venting. But praise? What does it do? What do we get for it, and frankly, what does God get out of it? Praise and adoration draw us deep into the heart of right relationship with God. As someone once said about Adoration: “I look at God. God looks at me.” Deepening the intimacy of that relationship is accomplishment enough! Related scripture links The harvest is ready: Joel 4:13; Rev. 14:14-20 Seed and sower: Eccl. 11:6; Isa. 55:10; 2 Cor. 9:10 Birds: Gen. 6:20; Dan. 4:10-12 Cedars from Lebanon: 1 Kgs. 4:33; Ezra 3:7; Psalm 37:35; 92:12; Ezek. 27:5; 31:3

Authors Alice Camille

Prayer intercession thanksgiving Praise contrition lamentation

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The inner word

22 Feb 2015 - First Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians that with Silvanus and Timothy he proclaimed “the Son of God, Jesus Christ” to them. It was a message he himself received as an apostle. The “amen” from them went through Jesus to God. The gospel the Corinthians knew, then, was the real thing and they should not equivocate about it; it was not a matter of “yes-or-no” but always “yes.” How is your life and work an “Amen” and a “yes” to God?

Saint Paul Amen

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Exploring the word

10 Aug 2014 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Whenever shocking events rock the world, many shake their heads and wonder what God is up to. Why would God cause an earthquake or permit a tsunami? Why does God do nothing while those two warring groups chop each other to pieces? Is there a God at all if we live in a world where children die of preventable diseases? Why does God give evil people such free reign to commit grave harm? Other people, just as naturally and a bit more optimistically, point to signs of God's presence and concern in the people who rush to rescue others in times of need. God is in the impulse of firefighters and law enforcement, aid workers and medical volunteers, peace keepers and chaplains who enter the arenas of danger to offer their help. God is not punishing in the storm but pulling souls from the wreckage. Is that where God is? Where else might God be? God is in the mother who holds the wailing baby and hush-hushes his fears in the middle of the night. God is in the church full of energetic believers praising the Lord, and God is in the silent church where one elderly man kneels to say his rosary. God is at the nursing home, visiting the aging relative who rarely responds with a few coherent words, and God is in the same nursing home, weakening on a bed and surrendering more of the former self every day. God is on the bus, making room for one more person to sit. God is in the monastery, praying for a world that has forgotten the Divine Name. God is in the kind offering, the kiss of peace, the forgiveness offered, the sacrifice cheerfully and invisibly made. God is in the promise kept between husband and wife and parents and children. God is in the mutual respect between teacher and student or boss and employee. Where people mourn, God is there. And when people comfort the mourners, God is there, too. And when you celebrate, God shares the joy with you. And when you seek to discern your course, God's wisdom seeks to illuminate the way. And if you're afraid, God bolsters your courage and gives you strength to proceed. And even in your doubts, the divine gift of faith provides you the grace to move forward into the darkness. God is in the sacraments and rituals of belief. God is in the routines and rhythms of domestic life. God shares the triumph and tragedy, the gains and the losses. God knows all about the crown and the cross. So when you find yourself on the stormy sea, and Jesus comes near your boat, you know you can trust him when he invites you to walk on the waves with him. You will never be stranded. Where you are, God is. Related scripture links Compare to original story: Mark 6:45-52 Divine rescue at sea: Pss. 65:8; 89:10-11; 107:26-30; Job 26:12-13 Drowning as personal metaphor: Pss. 18:5, 17; 69:2-3, 15-16; 107:23-30; Wisd. 14:2-4 Canaanite myth: Ps. 77:17-21; Job 9:8; 38:8-16; Isa. 43:16; 51:10; Hab. 3:16; Sir. 24:5-6 Prominence of Peter in Matthew: Matt. 16:17-19; 17:24-27 Catechism links Jesus and the storm: CCC 448; 2602 Salvation: CCC 55; 122-133; 161; 169

Authors Alice Camille

sacrament Tragedy

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Exploring the word

25 May 2014 - Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Jesus was around on this earth for about three decades, and then he wasn't. Some said he died on the cross and that was that. Some said he rose from the dead, stuck around another 40 days, and then returned to his Father. But those who believe accept two things simultaneously: that Jesus definitively went away, and that he also emphatically remains. So where is he? Jesus said he would be with his church always, to the end of time. So that's one good place to seek and find him: within the community of faith. Jesus also said he would send his Spirit, the Advocate, to be with us and dwell within us. So that's the second place you might seek Jesus: in the indwelling Spirit of God in each person. You profess that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine, which become Body and Blood of Christ at every Eucharist. So that makes three reliable places to find Jesus: church, Spirit, and communion. Jesus tells his followers that whatever they do to the least of their sisters and brothers they do to him personally. Number 4 location of Jesus today: in the lives of the poor. Jesus is the divine Word spoken into the world—and we still hear that Word proclaimed in our assemblies. So the Number 5 place to find Jesus is within the proclamation of scripture which is transformative when it becomes a word-made-flesh in people’s lives. The church has long called the priest alter Christos, “another Christ.” While most priests will blush to identify themselves so completely with Jesus, it is true that the ministry of the church is a definite sign of Christ-action in the world. So yes, both metaphorically and actually, the priesthood of the church is a place to look for Jesus. To the extent all share in the priesthood of the baptized, they participate in that reality, too. Theologians have termed Jesus as "the sacrament of God"—that is, Jesus both conceals divinity inhis person and reveals divinity through his person. In turn Jesus provides seven sacramental actions that both conceal and reveal God. So if you're looking for Jesus, look to sacramental signs of welcome, thanksgiving, reconciliation, testimony, healing, fidelity, and service. The sacraments point appropriately to the Number 7 way to find him. Three more places to find Jesus! Seek the Holy in the holy: Look to the lives of the saints, both living and gone before, who imitated Jesus until it was no longer they who lived but Christ who lived in them. The crucified Lord is the most familiar image of Jesus for a reason: You also find Jesus in the suffering of humanity. One more place to find Jesus? I leave that to you. Where do you most reliably discover him? Scripture links Stephen’s first (and last) homily: Acts 6:8-7:60 Philip and the magician, and the Ethiopian: Acts 8:9-13, 18-25, 26-40 The gospel to the ends of the earth: Matt. 28:19-20 Catechism links Spirit of Truth: CCC 243-248; 687-688; 692; 729; 733-741; 787-789; 2465-2503; 2615; 2671 Apostolic authority: CCC 1286-1289

Authors Alice Camille

Service Eucharist Community sacrament

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Exploring the word

02 Jun 2013 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Cycle C

Saint Luke calls it the breaking of the bread. Saint Paul calls it the supper of the Lord. Jesus termed it the new covenant in his body and blood. Most of us use "Holy Communion." But however you describe it, Eucharist is the centerpiece of the Catholic Christian experience. Eucharist is rooted in the Jewish tradition of keeping memorial: a ritual that makes the past present and resurrects the old into fresh life through communal memory. The church has long understood the Eucharist as a “sacrifice,” but this sacrifice is not only expressed through the surrender of Christ’s body and blood—on the cross or at the altar—for suffering, sinful humanity. The sacrifice of the Eucharist is meant to include the whole Christian life as well: We ourselves, as partakers of this Body and Blood, agree to participate in the sacrifice. Perhaps we overlook this detail, preferring to leave the price of the Paschal Mystery on the table, as it were. You might want to reflect on the cost of your participation in this sacrament before you quickly consume what’s held out for you. Even after the miracle of multiplication, it’s the disciples who are commissioned to distribute the loaves and fishes. Throughout history some have chosen to emphasize the mystery contained in the sacrament, focusing on the words “this is my Body, this is my Blood” as a reality to be wondered at, admired, and adored. Others have given more weight to the words “take and eat, take and drink,” acknowledging that it’s a privilege and responsibility to incorporate this Christ-life for the sake of a hungry world. Around the time of the Reformation, Catholics went one way, Protestants the other in the understanding of what’s most vital in the Eucharist. Catholics clung to the mystery, the Latin, the priest’s prerogative to the contents of the chalice. Only gradually did Catholicism appreciate the wisdom in softening the distinct devotional aspect of this sacrament to ensure that “full, conscious, and active” participation would be achieved by the whole assembly. Theologians like Johann Baptist Metz and Edward Schillebeeckx have warned about the “dangerous memory” implicit in our actions here—as well as the liberating contents of this sacrament. Sharing in Christ’s Body and Blood means offering testimony “against unjust suffering, [in] solidarity with the dead, and [in] desire for the transcendent,” as Oblate Father David Power put it. Be careful what you wish for, as our mothers declared. Desire for transcendence doesn’t simply take you to Mt. Tabor, but also to Golgotha. Withstanding unjust suffering may well take you to some lonely and difficult places. Keeping this dangerous memory alive in the Eucharist is more than recalling what happened to Jesus. It’s also about where this living memory seeks to take you today and every day. Scripture links Luke, Jesus, and mealtime: Luke 5:27-32, 33-35; 6:1-5; 7:33-34, 36-50; 9:10-17; 11:37-52; 12:37-48; 14:1-6, 7-14, 15-24; 15:23-24; 16:19-30; 17:7-10; 22:7-20; 24:29-32, 41-43 United in faith: Rom. 14:7-9; 1 Cor. 12:4-30; Eph. 4:1-6 Catechism links Eucharist: CCC 787-791; 1099; 1322-1405

Authors Alice Camille

Eucharist sacrament Bread mystery

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Sign & sacrament

02 Jun 2013 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Cycle C

Human need doesn’t get much more basic than food and drink. But our hunger and thirst go beyond the physical. We also have essential spiritual requirements: We hunger and thirst for God. To our eternal good fortune, God satisfies all of our needs through the Body and Blood of Jesus. The sacrament of the Eucharist is a living reminder that God is with us and provides us with abundance where there was scarcity; presence where there was absence; life where the shadow of death once fell. It sounds like a miracle, and it is. What more do we need? For more “Sign & sacrament” material, search the Prepare the Word database by today’s scripture reading, a particular theme, or a special occasion.

Eucharist sacrament

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Homily stories

19 Jun 2011 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Cycle A

Let God speak for himself. People erroneously caricature the God of the Old Testament as a punishing God. Here's how God introduces himself in today's first reading, "The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity." Paul urges the believers of Corinth to "encourage one another." If you stopped at the end of a typical day and analyzed all your conversations and interactions with others, how much of your behavior would fit easily in the "encourage others" column and how much would better fit the "discourage others" column? Sometimes habits we acquire run counter to our true beliefs and hopes. Take an honest look this week to see if you are building others up or dragging them down.

Old Testament encourage habits

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