Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign this is Sundays with Bishop Ken. Thanks for sharing some quiet time with the Lord today. We welcome guest reader Brenda Piazza. Brenda is a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mendon, New York, where she joyfully serves in a variety of ministries.
Brenda also shares her gifts with us each liturgical season, narrating our little book's reflections.
Here is today's Gospel and homily.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: A reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke Jesus spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close, the 12 approached him and said, dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions for we are in a deserted place here.
He said to them, give them some food yourselves.
They replied, five loaves and two fish are all we have unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people now. The men there numbered about 5,000.
Then he said to his disciples, have them sit down in groups of about 50.
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied, and when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled 12 wicker baskets the Gospel of the Lord the feast of Corpus Christi has been celebrated for more than 700 years.
It was established to emphasize two things about the Eucharist.
First, the Lord is truly present in the bread and the wine.
They do not just symbolize him.
The bread and wine become the body and Blood of Christ.
The second reason this feast was established was to emphasize the Eucharist is food.
In the 13th century, as a result of a drift away from tradition for 300 years, people had stopped going to communion, except very rarely. They came to Mass and watched.
The church wanted to help people rediscover the fact that Jesus gave us this gift as nourishment not for the elite, but food for sinners.
I looked back to the old Baltimore Catechism and found that there were two questions to deal with this.
First, what are the purposes for which Mass is offered?
Four are given to adore God as our Creator and Lord, to thank God for the many favors given to us, to ask God to bestow blessings on all people and to make up for the sins committed against God.
The second question is, what are the chief effects of a worthy Holy Communion, a closer union with our Lord and a more fervent love of God and of our neighbor, an increase of sanctifying grace, preservation from mortal sin and the remission of venial sin and the lessening of our inclinations to sin and the help to practice good works.
Now, I don't know what your reaction is, but a number of things struck me as I read these answers.
For example, in the Eucharist we ask God's blessing on all people.
Also, the Eucharist is meant to make us more fervent in our love of God and of our neighbor.
At the Eucharist we widen our concern for all people, for all creation.
Now I would like to single out just one of these effects of the Eucharist, one that is the most striking of all.
Did you notice how often sin is mentioned?
The word sin is used four times in the answers to those two questions about the Mass.
It is refreshing and consoling to realize our participation in the Eucharist cleanses us from sin.
In my mind I remember having the impression you were supposed to be cleansed before you came to the Eucharist.
But Church teaching is very clear and the Catechism emphasizes this even more.
It quotes St. Ambrose who in the 4th century said, if we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins.
If as often as his blood is poured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins, I should always receive it so that it may always forgive my sins.
Because I always sin, I should always have a remedy.
The penitential rite at the very beginning of Mass deals with sin.
We acknowledge our sinfulness and the Presider prays over us.
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
In the words of Institution over the cup at this very sacred time of the Mass, the Presider repeats the words of Christ, this is the chalice of my blood which will be poured out for you and for many in the forgiveness of sins.
Just before Communion we pray, lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
One of the striking things is how often the forgiveness of sins is part of the prayer set after Communion.
Here are some examples.
God of mercy, may this Eucharist bring us your divine help and free us from our sins by this Eucharist. Free us from sin and keep us faithful to your word.
Lord, in sharing this sacrament, may we receive your forgiveness.
In our normal day to day life we fail repeatedly.
We can look back upon any given week and see things we should not have done or things we should have done and didn't do we see our sinfulness.
It is a great relief, a wonderful refreshment, to go to the Eucharist and know these sins are forgiven, washed away, cleansed.
It is God's gift for us at the Eucharist. We enter into the Lord's own dying and rising, and we in communion receive food that cleanses us, strengthens us, nourishes us to live as true disciples of the Lord.
It seems strange to be talking about the forgiveness of sins on this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, but that is what Jesus came to do.
During his ministry. Jesus was accused of eating and drinking with sinners.
He still does it with us.
His response to the accusation was those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: Thanks for joining us today.
If you like this week's reflection, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
Sundays with Bishop Ken is a free broadcast from Little Books to help support our ministry. Please consider clicking the Donate button.
Sharing this podcast with a friend is another great way to help our ministry grow.
Our Little Books app features our Little Books daily reflections during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.
Here you can read, listen and journal in a prayerful digital environment.
Sundays With Bishop Ken is produced by Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw.
For more about Little Books and scripture based prayer resources for the whole family, visit littlebooks.org have a great week and pray with us again soon.
