{"id":2295,"date":"2017-10-15T13:35:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-15T17:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2295"},"modified":"2017-10-15T13:35:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T17:35:27","slug":"28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily-on-the-eucharist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/28th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily-on-the-eucharist\/","title":{"rendered":"28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily on the Eucharist"},"content":{"rendered":"

28th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A<\/a>
\nIsaiah 25:6-10a
\nPsalm 23;1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
\nPhilippians 4:12-14, 19-20
\nMatthew 22:1-14<\/p>\n

Throughout our readings today we hear of feasts \u201cof rich food and choice wines<\/em>,\u201d how the Lord will spread the table before us, and supply whatever we need.<\/p>\n

Isaiah speaks of \u201cGod to whom we looked to save us!\u00a0 This is the Lord for whom we looked<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus speaks in the context of a wedding feast.\u00a0 The context of the wedding goes with the image of Christ as the bridegroom who marries his bride, the church.<\/p>\n

Going back to what Isaiah said about the \u201cLord to whom we looked<\/em>,\u201d the Israelites were waiting for a messiah.\u00a0 Jesus is the Messiah and the bridegroom.\u00a0 Now is the time for the wedding feastbut not all accept Jesus.\u00a0 Some of the Israelites simply seem to \u201cignore<\/em>\u201d Jesus while others attack him.<\/p>\n

So, in turn, God invites \u201cwhomever<\/em>\u201d his servants can find to the feast (but we still need to be ready).<\/p>\n

The Book of Revelation provides imagery of a great banquet in Heaven.\u00a0 One day we will share in that banquet but we do not have to wait for Heaven to receive \u201crich food and choice wines.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 The Lord provides a feast for us right now, a feast that strengthens us with the Bread of Life.<\/p>\n

This feast is, of course, the Eucharist!\u00a0 It is the gift we celebrate in our Year of the Eucharist.\u00a0 It is the bread and wine that become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus.\u00a0 As a little piece of bread, it offers little earthly nourishment.\u00a0 As a sip of wine, it does little to quench our earthly thirst.\u00a0 Yet, as the Body and Blood of Jesus it gives us grace in abundance.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t see the bread and wine change but we know it to be so because of the words of Jesus at the Last Supper that we hear every time we celebrate the Eucharist, \u201cTHIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD<\/em>.\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What we celebrate in the Eucharist is not just a play that remembers a historical event nor is it a new event.\u00a0 It is God making present today in a way only he can, what Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago as he celebrated the Passover together with the sacrifice of his life on the Cross for us<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the sacredness of what is going on, we celebrate the Eucharist with a reverence that shows our recognition of the sacredness of what we celebrate in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

We kneel throughout the Eucharistic Prayer to show our recognition of the sacredness of the sacrifice<\/strong> we celebrate as the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus.<\/p>\n

We stand during the Lamb of God as a sign of how we are raised up by the sacrifice that Jesus makes on the Cross for us.<\/p>\n

Then we again kneel to show our humility and surrender before God as we say \u201cLord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof<\/strong>, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then we stand to come forward for Communion.\u00a0 Our physical action of coming forward indicates our desire to come to Jesus.<\/p>\n

Then, we bow just before we receive Jesus as one final sign that we recognize it is Jesus our King that we receive.<\/p>\n

The minister holds up the consecrated host and says, \u201cThe Body of Christ.\u201d\u00a0 We reply \u201camen.\u201d\u00a0 The word \u201camen\u201d means \u201cI believe\u201d so we are professing that we believe it is the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n

To receive we hold our hands one over the other to make a throne to receive Jesus.\u00a0 Receiving on the hand was not new with the changes of the Second Vatican Council.\u00a0 It is the way the early church offered Communion.\u00a0 The symbolism of making a throne with our hands to receive Jesus is found in the writings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If one chooses to receive on the tongue, one shouldn\u2019t just open their mouth a little like one might to receive medicine that we can\u2019t stand the taste of.\u00a0 One is to open their mouth wide to welcome Jesus in.<\/p>\n

Whether we receive on the hand or the tongue, we consume the consecrated host immediately without taking any steps to help ensure we don\u2019t drop the host or any crumbs.<\/p>\n

Then, the Blood of Christ is offered in the chalice.\u00a0 The minister says, \u201cThe Blood of Christ\u201d to which one receiving says \u201cAmen\u201d again signifying belief that it truly is the Blood of Christ.\u00a0 We do so carefully so as not to spill any of the Precious Blood.\u00a0 The cup minister wipes the cup after each person with a purificator, a cloth that is used for this alone and no other purpose (again recognizing the sacredness).<\/p>\n

Recognizing our desire to avoid dropping any of the Precious Blood is why we do NOT intinct.\u00a0 Intinction is to lower the consecrated host into the consecrated wine.\u00a0 This can result in spillage of the wine.\u00a0 There are Eastern Rite churches that receive by intinction but it is the priest who does the intinction and then gives Communion on a spoon in the mouth.\u00a0 (Incidentally, it would also mean anyone who can\u2019t receive the gluten in the host would not be able to receive the wine for fear of a small piece of the host remaining.)<\/p>\n

Then, we return to our pews and kneel, humbly offering a prayer of thanksgiving.\u00a0 It is important for us to take this time (avoiding the temptation to leave immediately to rush off somewhere else) to offer our gratitude for what God gives us in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

Then, we sit after the distribution of Communion before standing (rising) for the final prayer, recognizing how God lifts us up in what we receive in the Eucharist.\u00a0 Then, we have the final blessing as we are sent out into the world to glorify the Lord by our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 25:6-10a Psalm 23;1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Matthew 22:1-14 Throughout our readings today we hear of feasts \u201cof rich food and choice wines,\u201d how the Lord will spread the table before us, and supply whatever we need. Isaiah speaks of \u201cGod to whom we looked …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily on the Eucharist’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[113,82,302],"tags":[352,24,353,348,304],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-B1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2295"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2300,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions\/2300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}