Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Memorial Day)
Granted, there are a lot of things that I don't understand. But Jesus' teaching is so crystal clear in today's Gospel that I just don't get it when someone says they don't believe in the Eucharist.
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." If we read on in John's Gospel we see that a lot of Jesus' disciples didn't understand what He was telling them, and left Him. He said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." In other words, He didn't try to stop the ones who left because He wanted them to have faith and faith comes from God.
We know that at the last supper Jesus instituted the Eucharist, turning bread and wine into His Body and Blood, in effect completing the teaching He begins in today's Gospel. Again, we need faith to see past the earthly elements of wheat and fermented grape juice and understand that Christ is truly present.
There's a good column about this in this week's Review. Father Thomas Smith points out that nothing God does goes against our nature. We're not cannibals. If we were to hand you a piece of human flesh and offer you a chalice of human blood when you approach the altar, chances are there would be a very short line, even if you knew that they were Jesus' body and blood. So He makes Himself present in the form of something we don't mind consuming, bread and wine.
Those early disciples may have seen Him and heard Him speak, but we can actually make Him a part of us, eating His flesh and drinking His blood, just as He tells us to do.
[pause]
There are three necessary elements for this miracle to occur. Bread, wine, and a priest. You and I can stand over bread and wine and recite the words of consecration but all we'll have when we're done is the same bread and wine we started with. No priest--no Eucharist. It's as simple as that. When Jesus told the Apostles "Do this in memory of me." He was talking specifically to them and their successors. He was telling you and me to eat His Body and drink His Blood, but it was the Apostles and their successors who received the power to make it happen. If we're going to receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, we need priests.
Fortunately for us, Archbishop Burke ordained nine new priests for our Archdiocese (today) yesterday at the Cathedral Basilica. That's the largest ordination in St. Louis in 25 years and one of the largest ordination classes in the country this year. That's nine more men who have the unique ability to carry out Christ's instructions to do this in memory of Him. They come from a variety of backgrounds. One's almost 50 years old. One is almost 40. The other seven range in age from 26 to 32. Obviously, when we pray for vocations, we shouldn't limit our prayers to just young men.
[pause]
Pay attention to this because you've never heard me say it before and I may never say it again. There was a good article in the Post Dispatch last week. It was about this year's ordination class and what the future holds. Next year's class will be down to about five again, but beginning 1n 2010, we're looking at larger classes every year. There's so much interest in the seminary that plans are under way to expand. There are currently 112 students, the largest enrollment in twenty years and a 50 percent increase over last year. It's expected that 120 students will enroll next year, doubling the seminary population from ten years ago.
The article mentions a number of reasons for the increased interest in the priesthood, but there is one thing the writer left out. Next January marks the tenth anniversary of a unique event that happened in St. Louis, something that never happened before and may never happen again. A lot of us were there. Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis. Like I said, there are lots of things I don't understand, but I do understand this. The Pope's visit coincides with the beginning of the increased interest in vocations. Coincidence? I don't think so.
As the article points out, just months before his death, John Paul told Archbishop Burke and other midwestern bishops to do more to increase enrollment in the seminaries. He said, "No one can deny that the decline in priestly vocations represents a stark challenge for the church in the United States."
It's still a challenge but we've come a long way, baby. Here's the thing: A big part of the responsibility for the so-called shortage of priests comes right back to the parishes. The Archbishop can't address it by himself. According to the Post, one church study found that 80% of parents whose sons are considering the priesthood try to talk them out of it. 80%!!! Only two of every ten young men who feel the call never get past their own moms and dads! How sad is that? According to the study, parents are afraid their sons are setting themselves up for lives of "loneliness and unhappiness."
I know a lot of priests and none of them seem to be lonely and unhappy. I also know a lot of people who are lonely and unhappy and none of them are priests. I think that's just an excuse.
Look, I get it. I have three sons. Of course I'd have misgivings about them entering the priesthood, just as I have misgivings about the careers they have chosen. I also have a daughter who's still in school. If she were to announce that she's entering the convent, it would be a shock, (believe me, it would be a shock), but I wouldn't try to talk her out of it. I'd pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help me understand and encourage her vocation.
There are a lot of negatives for a parent whose son is considering the priesthood, especially if he's an only son: no grandchildren; no one to carry on the family name, no chance of having a rich kid to take care of you when you get old. But the pluses. They're beyond imagining. Only God knows what wonderful things will happen to and because of a man's vocation to the priesthood.
If you and I are going to continue to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, it's up to all of us to encourage young men to at least be open to God's call. That includes our showing the proper respect to our current priests and bishops. Kids are very perceptive. They study every move we make and every word we say from a very early age. How many of us can relate to trying to teach our kids to talk. "Say daddy. C'mon. Say daddy" We do it over and over. Then we hit ourselves on the thumb with a hammer and say "damn." The next thing you know the kid's running around the house, "damn, damn, damn." They listen. They learn. They emulate.
So how's it affect our kids and grandkids when they hear us bad-mouthing the pastor or ripping into the bishop? If they hear "Father So-and-So's a jerk" often enough, why would they want to do what he does? How do you think they feel when they hear that "all priests" are child-molesters? They see the news. They hear the jokes. Our jobs as parents, grandparents, godparents, even just friends of the family, is to show by our example that serving God, whatever vocation we've chosen for ourselves, is the most important thing we can do. And that only a very blessed few have been chosen to receive the gift of the priesthood.
It's easy to pray for vocations.... if we think that it's other people's kids who'll get the call. We do it at every mass. It's like praying that our neighbors will be generous in their cash contributions. Offering one of our own to serve God's Church is one of the most generous things a human being can do. Let's pray that He gives us the grace to be so generous. This Tuesday is the day set aside for Eucharistic Adoration here at St. Bernadette (in spite of what you may have heard last week). If you're one of our regulars, why not use part of your time to pray for vocations. That was the original purpose when we set up monthly adoration, to pray for vocations.
If you're not an Adoration "regular" maybe this week would be a good time to make the effort to spend some time in Christ's presence, praying for more workers for the vineyard. But even if you can't make it, adding vocations to your daily private prayer is certainly a good thing to do. God does hear and answer our prayers.
[pause]
Normally, that would be it. But, considering the history of our parish and so many of our current and past parishioners, I can't sit down without saying something about Memorial Day. I can't imagine a parish in the whole Archdiocese that's more connected to the armed forces than St. Bernadette. Even our church and rectory were once military buildings. Every time we come to church the sight of the National Guard base to our east is a reminder of the brave young men and women who are putting their lives on the line very day to help secure our freedom. We see them leave on their way to active duty and we see them come back. Sadly, there are always more leaving than returning. It's a constant reminder that freedom is never free.
To our south and east lie the remains of more than 100,000 brave military men and women and their spouses. Some of them have been there since the time of the Civil War and some of them have been there for a matter of hours. Some died from military action, some died of old age, but they all served our country.
It's great to have a three-day weekend. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional beginning of summer. We may be going to a barbecue or a ball game. I'm painting my house. Part of the freedom that our military has secured for us is the freedom to ignore them on the day set aside in their honor. But let's not do that. Even if all we do is pause on the parking lot after church, look their way, and say a silent prayer for all those buried at our national cemetery, that's something. If you can spend a few minutes visiting the cemetery, that would be even better. There are a number of events scheduled over there this weekend that you might want to attend.
I didn't serve in the military myself. Many of you did. Some of you have someone you love serving right now. Let's never forget the price that must be paid to keep our country the land of the free and the home of the brave.
God bless America!
posted by Mike at 5:55 PM
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