Father Paul Weinberger
Saint William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
Feast of Corpus Christi
June 10, 2007
Jesus said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
There appears to have been a mistake; recently I was informed that we were having our 30th High School Class Reunion. That is impossible; I graduated in 1977…that is not thirty years. [Laughter] I remember that on May 25, 1977, I turned 18 years old and graduated on the same day. It wasn’t long after that I had to have a talk with the Lord, which went something like this.
“Lord, I have just finished eight years of grade school with the Sisters and they were good and holy Sisters. I have just finished four years with the priests at Bishop Lynch and they were good and holy priests. I am Catholic, but I don’t know why I am Catholic. Is it because my great grand parents, grand parents, and parents were Catholic? Is it because of the good Sisters and priests? It is going to have to be more than that. I don’t understand why I am a Catholic if those are the only reasons why. It is kind of like momentum and staying Catholic because of family peer pressure.
I’ll do this, Lord. I will continue going to Mass every week and sometimes during the week. I will go to Confession and Holy Communion regularly; but Lord, You are going to have to help me. I need some answers.”
Well, you can kind of figure out the rest. [Laughter] the Lord did teach me a lot.
This Feast of Corpus Christ is connected to last Sunday’s Reading.
Jesus said to His disciples, “I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all truth.”
Step by step the Lord had been teaching me things and is teaching me things to this day. I pray that ever day in the future, He will be teaching me. I know He is teaching me if I am listening and learning.
Now what I did when I was eighteen years old, I did not put the Lord to the test. At the time of Jesus there were many people, who are described in the Gospels as putting Jesus to the test. They had no faith in Jesus and instead told Him that since is He is God, why not just perform this or that miracle, because they need this or that. It is kind of like the circus and getting dogs to jump through a hoop.
“Why don’t you do that and THEN I will start believing in You.”
Or, like the temptation in the desert, where the devil says to Jesus,
If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.
The devil is quoting scripture to Jesus and telling Jesus what to do but Jesus isn’t learning from the devil. The fact is, in this Gospel today Jesus very eagerly performs a miracle. There are also other times when Jesus performs a miracle, such as multiplying bread and fishes. But, in looking at this Gospel, I need to make one thing very clear. Jesus did not give these people Holy Communion. Thank You Lord!” Can you imagine the Offertory Procession, bringing the wine and the bread and the fish down to…oh gee! I am so glad that this is not the case.
Jesus was performing a miracle, anticipating the evening when Jesus would give us His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. On Holy Thursday He established the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, and Holy Communion. You can call the Eucharist by all those names. If you have time today…of course you have time today because it is the Lord’s Day; look up the 6th chapter of St. John’s Gospel. Jesus is saying again and again to the people, who believe in Him,
I AM the Bread of Life. I Am the Bread come down from Heaven. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has life within him.
Again, Jesus kept underlining, bold, underlining, bold, and there were people that had followed Him up to that point and heard this and asked how He could do this. It was too much for them so they turned their backs on Jesus and walked away. Jesus did not run after them, imploring them and promising to change that part. This is the central mystery and teaching of our faith, and today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ.
During the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus is not giving these people Holy Communion, He is teaching them and preparing them for the day when He would give us the greatest of miracles, the supreme gift of all gifts…Holy Communion.
Look at the first line of the Gospel.
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God and He healed those who needed to be cured.
So, He spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God. I am holding Pope Benedict’s new book, Jesus of Nazareth. This is an excellent book and addresses so many of the errors that complicate our faith today. He simplifies things as he teaches. One area that he teaches about in the first few chapters is this Kingdom of God business.
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God.
Down through the centuries, some people have said that the Kingdom of God was the Roman or Byzantine Empire or, this country or that one, and this church or that church. The Holy Father, who is a Biblical Scholar and the Successor of St. Peter, shows us that Jesus is the Kingdom of God.
”Father, that doesn’t make any sense.”
Yes it does. Again and again Jesus spoke to people and said things like,
You are very near the Kingdom of God.
Jesus Himself is the Kingdom of God. Even though we may try to apply that title to an empire, country, or church, Jesus Himself is the Kingdom of God. Jesus spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God; Jesus spoke to the crowds about Jesus. In fact, one of the most eloquent points that the Pope makes in this book, is he states that if Jesus didn’t come to bring us world peace…(and I checked the paper today; there is not world peace)….if Jesus did not come to bring us prosperity…(I checked this morning an there are still poor people and rich people)…if Jesus did not come to bring us a better world, what did He come to bring us? Glad you asked! The pope answers the question.
Why do you think he cured those who needed to be cured? They saw His Face; they heard him and they called upon Him. Jesus brought us God and Jesus is the Kingdom of God and He is very near to us. This is something, which the pope develops in a marvelous way.The answer is very simple, God. He has brought God. He has brought God and now we know His Face; now we call upon Him.
Notice that the First Reading today is from the Book of Genesis. Later on you can go to the Book of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 8. After God created Adam and Eve, God enjoyed strolling with Adam and Eve in the garden. I remember as a kid, every Sunday after Mass we would go to my grandparent’s house and spend the day. We would watch a ball game, eat a great meal and usually we would talk about the same thing. I look at it different now. I am sure my grandmother was thinking,
“What is he going to break now?”
Right?
“Hi Grandma…do you have anything else for me to break? I’m here like a faithful soldier.”
One of the components of that Sunday meal was taking a stroll after. I always thought that grandma was trying to lose me but I always found my way back home somehow. That was so enjoyable.
I was in the seminary for seven years; I was here in Irving for four years, and three years in Houston. Anyone who says they “like” the seminary, just say to them,
“That’s nice!”
Then… back away and turn and RUN! There is nothing there to enjoy. It is like college; if someone says they love being in college, you need to do the same thing…run! Right? College and the seminary are places where one has to get down to work. But, one thing I do look back on with fondness concerning my seminary days is, every chance we could GET AWAY for a stroll. No, we were not chained to the walls or pinned up, but after we’d done the millionth thing that day it was very enjoyable to go out for a walk to get away. We’d walk to the University of Dallas or stroll to the Cistercian Monastery. We did the same thing in Houston.
Anyway, this business about strolling…we don’t do that anymore; we don’t take a walk. If you need bread and milk from the store, which is a block down the street, you get in the car and drive the block. I am the biggest offender, ok? We have progressed. Progress has come in and so many things we love have gone out. Progress means that we can’t appreciate a stroll, like God strolling in the cool of the evening with Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve committed the Original Sin, the first sin, they no longer stayed in Eden; they were driven out of the garden. This appears to us as a zero.
“Oh that is nice; it is just part of the story.”
It is as if God was not affected! God enjoyed and took pleasure strolling with and speaking to Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. How jealous I am when I think of this. Read Genesis, chapter 3. If I remain jealous after this Feast Day then I am ignorant because what happens and what is possible for you and me surpasses even what Adam and Eve had.
A soul, in which the Most Blessed Trinity has been admitted through the Sacrament of Baptism, is indeed a paradise in which God enjoys to stroll. In the pope’s book, Jesus of Nazareth, he comments beautifully when he quotes Origen, who was one of the Church Fathers centuries ago, just a little after the coming of Christ.
So if we want God to reign in us, His Kingdom to be in us, then sin must not be allowed in any way to reign in our mortal bodies. Romans, chapter 6, verse 12.
Here the pope quotes Origen.
He says,Then let God stroll at leisure in us as in a spiritual paradise and rule in us alone with His Christ.
Of course, what does the pope know? A lot! That is a very beautiful way to talk about today’s Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ.The Kingdom of God is not to be found on any map. It is not a kingdom after the fashion of worldly kingdoms; it is located in man’s inner being. It grows and radiates outward from that inner space.
Receiving Holy Communion…if you and I receive Holy Communion and we do not have mortal sin on our soul, then to God, our soul is a paradise. Yet, people do not understand paradise when it is right in front of them; they fail to understand innocence.
Last Saturday a family in our parish had their ninth child. She lived just over and hour and passed away. Eliza Beatrice Marie, just after being born and her father ready in the operating room, Baptized her. Anyone can Baptize by pouring the water and saying the words that are spoken. The doctors told the parents that the baby would be born with disabilities and told them what they would be. I am glad you are sitting down. So many of their friends, even catholic friends asked them why they were doing this. They asked these parents why they didn’t do “the right thing” You see, today the right thing is the wrong thing that is labeled, “the right thing.” Abort the child is what they mean. Or, deliver the baby months before the child should be delivered. No, that is not possible.
The parents decided from the very beginning to accept life. Eliza was born and lived for a little over an hour and each of the siblings came in and were able to say goodbye to their sister. That sister is now in Heaven. People throw heaven around to quickly.
“Oh, she/he is in heaven! So and so is an angel now!”
No, she is not an angel. Saints are above angels. Anyone who has been Baptized and has not committed a sin is a saint in heaven. The weakest newest member of that family is now a saint interceding for them in Heaven because they suffered, and there was a lot of suffering those last three months, putting one foot in front of the other and putting both feet up because it was a difficult pregnancy. Speak to women; there is no such thing as not having a difficult pregnancy. Pregnancy that is not difficult is a pregnancy someone else is experiencing. Right? It is kind of like an operation.
So, God was able to walk in the soul of Eliza Beatrice Maria for just over an hour. Many people have asked why God would permit this. God was able to walk in the Paradise of that soul for just over an hour before He called that innocent to Himself. Do you think God’s reasons aren’t good enough? Take it up with Him when you see Him face to Face.
The beauty of this is that, God wants our souls to stay in the state of grace so that at any moment of any day you and I can receive His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The beauty of this is to contrast the arguments at the time of Jesus.
“Show us a miracle! Give us a sign! Then, we will have faith in You and believe in You!”
Why did Jesus perform the miracle spoken of in this Gospel but those other times He absolutely refused? He could have preformed a miracle and those non-believers could have been turned around. The pope answers that question on page #32 of his new book.
I am going to stop right there. I am going to read those lines again and you should hear in those words what you are doing right now. I will also continue with what the pope said.Why does Christ now do the very thing He had rejected as a temptation before? The crowds had left everything in order to hear God’s Word. They are people who have opened their hearts to God and to one another; they are therefore ready to receive the bread with proper disposition.
Like Saint Anslem of Canterbury would say,The crowds had left everything in order to hear God’s Word. They are people who have opened their hearts to God and to one another; they are therefore ready to receive the bread with proper disposition. The miracle of the loaves has three aspects. It is preceded by the search for God, for His Word, for the teaching that sets the whole of life on the right path.
There are people who don’t believe in God and say that when you prove it they will believe. There is zero faith, or I should say that they have absolute faith that there is no God. That is a religion. I will continue with the quote from the Holy Father.Faith seeking understanding, not skepticism seeking faith
I don’t know if you have seen it or not but, it is amazing how the lack of courtesy reigns when you go to a restaurant, or in public where there are servants waiting on people. You can hear patrons say,Furthermore, God is asked to supply the bread.
“Hey! Give me that! How much is this?”
Excuse me! This is Texas.
“Excuse me please; how much is this?”
I was born here and I know what Texas is like. People say, “please” and “thank you.” People should be courteous to each other. I hear children order someone to give them something. If I ever did that to my father I would wake up and ask the nurse what hospital I was in. [Laughter] When parents say something to children you hear a “NO” from the child. We were given one of those in our lifetime and then after that it was, “No sir, No Ma’am”; even to strangers, adults we didn’t know.
God is asked to supply the bread. One of the reasons I dislike the translations of the prayers that we have at Mass. Is because so many of the prayers are like,
“GOD, give me joy! Amen”
I guess if I want a lot of joy I add to the prayer,
“Super size it!”
[Laughter]
God is not asked anymore, He is my servant?
“Listen, don’t try that! God, where are You going?”
Right? The words we use to address God are terrible but the pope is pointing out that God is “asked” to supply the bread. The pope goes on to the third point.
The faith that the people had in Jesus brought them this miracle, and this miracle anticipates that miracle, which will occur at the Consecration. Faith led them to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and faith leads to love. Remember what the Holy Father named his most recent Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation? Sacramentum Caritatis, which translates to “The Sacrament of Love.” Faith in Jesus in this crowd leads to giving us the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, which is the Kingdom of God, Jesus, and love itself.Readiness to share with one another is an essential element of the miracle. Listening to God becomes living with God, and leads from faith to love, to the discovery of the other.
The pope writes so beautifully. He quotes a fellow German, a Jesuit Priest named Fr. Alfred Delp on page #33 of his book. This is something written by a man that the Nazis singled out and he was executed. Of course there were millions executed. Fr. Delp said,
Bread is important and one cannot exist without eating, but let us throw in bread, power, money, and desire or sex. These are drives that we all experience in life. These are very important drives but freedom is more important. Most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration. Again, going back to the first sentence of this Gospel.Bread is important, freedom is more important, and most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is Jesus.
Now what in the world is “unbroken fidelity?” It sounds really nice and beautiful but what is it? Well, it is not a “what” but a “Who.” Unbroken fidelity is Jesus Christ, Who is the only One to be faithful from the beginning. Yes, the Blessed Virgin Mary was without Original Sin and never sinned but Jesus goes back to the beginning. Jesus is unbroken fidelity as He is the Kingdom of God. What is most important is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration. Adoration of what? Adoration of “unbroken fidelity.”
The pope points out the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament, where it is quoted that we do not have a High Priest like Melchesidec in that First Reading. The High Priest in the temple had to offer sacrifices everyday for his own sins and the sins of the people. The Letter to the Hebrews says that we do not have a High Priest like that but a High Priest, Who was unbroken in His fidelity; He has always been faithful. Someone so faithful demands faithful adoration…my adoration.
To tie this up and tie it in with the Feast of Corpus Christi; we had a Corpus Christi Procession today. Progress has taken the Corpus Christi Procession from parishes. People say all the time that they used to love the Corpus Christi Processions. I respond by saying that everyone loved them and participated in them so we got rid of them. Where is the logic? Right? Everybody loved and cherished them so we got rid of them. We could say the same thing about cell phones and TVs. Tomorrow you wake up and there is no TV and you don’t have a phone to call them and complain, right? No…we cherish them!
“You are not getting my cell phone or TV.Ok, take the Corpus Christi Procession”
Progress has taken that from us but, what happened today was, we took the Blessed Sacrament out of the Tabernacle and placed Him in the Sacred Vessel called a Monstrance, and Fr. Andrew led the procession out of the Church doors to four Altars, signifying the four corners of St. William parish and everyone associated with the parish such as, the benefactors, parishioners and associates. At each Altar the Most Blessed Sacrament was adored and then we received a blessing with the Eucharist. We went from one shady spot to another shady spot, to another and then to the last shady spot and then back to this air-conditioned Church. We’re not crazy.
What we did was the reverse of what we do when we go to Holy Communion; we took Jesus out and strolled with Him in the manner of God in the Book of Genesis as He strolled with Adam and Eve. We must see how important this is. We had graduates in the Corpus Christi Procession, those from grade school, high school, and college. How many people had the same experience? They graduate high school and go off to college and leave the practice of their faith. Eventually, they come back. This happens so much that you and I don’t hear the alarms going off anymore.
“Oh well, they may never come back or enjoy heaven and the Beatific Vision, but oh well…. what can you do?”
I am sorry; we don’t give up things we cherish so lightly. We can pray that they come back but the reason they leave, in my opinion, is that they have no idea that what happens in Holy Communion is, allowing God fifteen minutes to stroll about in their souls. At that time it is more intimate than what was experienced by Adam and Eve. Recall the prayer in the bulletin, taken from the Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.
Jesus, my Living Lord, I know that You have just entered my Soul - my Heart. Thank You! I surrender myself to You! Please raise me up AND transform me!
Amen.
I added the “thank you”. Speaking to Our Lord, Who is in our soul at that time, is acknowledging that the Kingdom of God is very near. Jesus said many times “The kingdom of God is very near you, in your hearts and on your lips.” We don’t recognize that the Kingdom of God, love Himself, who is unbroken fidelity, has arrived.
The Church teaches that for about fifteen minutes the Sacred Host remains with us, and those are the most important fifteen minutes of the day or the week. Over the next several weeks I want you to think about something and if you don’t think about it I want it to pick at you and if it doesn’t pick at you, I just want it to keep you up at night and gnaw at you, but I don’t want to force this on you. [Laughter] Think about trying something different; after having received Holy Communion we do have minutes of silent prayer. After Mass is over, go outside and say hello to your friends and then if you can, return to Church and speak with the Lord. How many people have asked for your prayers? You tell them you will pray for them but if you don’t mean it, don’t say it. Those who have asked for your prayers are depending on your prayers and here you have the Kingdom of God in your very soul; unbroken fidelity, the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is love Himself.
Did you notice what Jesus said to the Apostles when they told Jesus the crowd was hungry? He said to give them food “themselves.” That is what He is saying to you and me; give them some help with prayer.
In this Food that comes down from Heaven, every grace and blessing is placed in our mouths when we receive Holy Communion. Nothing is lacking and so we have to do a better job. I am not expecting a change in behavior the first week or the next week, but by the third week it better be changed. No, I can’t force it on you, but I want you to consider what an opportunity is being passed on and what opportunity is present for us.
Jesus said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen