Homily for November 2017 Holy Hour \u2013 Year of the Eucharist
\nDeuteronomy 26:1-11
\nPsalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
\n1 Corinthians 11:23-26
\nMatthew 15:32-39<\/p>\n
We come tonight for our monthly hour.\u00a0 The timing of starting our holy hours comes from our Year of the Eucharist but our turnout has been good and so I hope to continue these hours indefinitely.<\/p>\n
So, we come tonight with the Eucharist in Mind, the Eucharist that is Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament on our altar even as I speak.\u00a0 That is our focus.<\/p>\n
However, I also have our national holiday of Thanksgiving in mind.\u00a0 We will celebrate it one week from tomorrow.\u00a0 It is a secular holiday but it is a holiday that fits very nicely with our faith.\u00a0 In fact, do you know that the word \u201cEucharist\u201d comes from a Greek word meaning \u201cThanksgiving\u201d?<\/p>\n
We are to live with an attitude of gratitude for all that God has given us.\u00a0 We will end tonight with a song familiar to many, \u201cNow Thank We All Our God.\u201d<\/p>\n
In that song, we give thanks \u201cwith heart, and hands, and voices.\u201d\u00a0 These words reminded me of Jesus\u2019 words a couple of Sundays ago when he said, \u201cYou shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n We are to give thanks to God for the \u201cwondrous things\u201d he has done for us.\u00a0 God \u201chas blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love.\u201d\u00a0 Thinking of the line \u201ccountless gifts\u201d I firmly believe that God gives numerous gifts throughout our lives that we never see let alone the ones we do see.<\/p>\n The greatest gift that God gives us that we can \u201csee\u201d but often is not fully appreciated is the Eucharist.\u00a0 In the Eucharist, we receive Jesus and as we celebrate Mass, we celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus giving his life for us on the Cross.<\/p>\n How do we show our appreciation, our gratitude?<\/p>\n One way is what is reflected in our first reading from Deuteronomy.\u00a0 These are the words of Moses to the Israelites as they are about to enter the land given to them by God.\u00a0 Moses speaks of the harvest they will receive and the first fruits<\/em><\/strong> they are to give.<\/p>\n If we are to be thankful for what God gives us the word \u201cfirst\u201d in \u201cfirst fruits\u201d is very important.\u00a0 God gives us the greatest gift ever.\u00a0 We need to respond with gratitude.\u00a0 Our response also needs to be at the top of our list.\u00a0 We are not to give of what we have leftover but to give to God first.<\/p>\n This does not mean we give more than we have.\u00a0 God just needs to be at the top of the list of our priorities.\u00a0 For giving to God is not a simple matter of giving things.\u00a0 Should we give financially to the church?\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 We need your financial support but what is the most important giving to God is the giving of our heart and soul.<\/p>\n This leads to our psalm today, which is the psalm that we use on Good Friday.\u00a0 \u201cFather, into your hands, I commend my spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Even Jesus, who is consubstantial with the Father, gave thanks.\u00a0 We see it in the feeding of the multitude in the gospel.\u00a0 Jesus \u201ctook the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks<\/strong><\/em>\u201d and the crowd was satisfied.\u00a0 In fact, there was more leftover than they started with.<\/p>\n Are we thankful for the physical food God gives us?\u00a0 It takes less than a minute to say a simple grace before our meal but to do so is pleasing to God and it helps us recognize and appreciate what God has done for us.<\/p>\n As Paul reminds us of what Jesus did at the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist he \u201cgave thanks.\u201d\u00a0 Our second reading ends with the words, \u201cFor as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are \u201cproclaiming\u201d Jesus\u2019 death on the Cross for us.\u00a0 I see our regular attendance at holy hours as \u201cproclaiming\u201d our belief in the Real Presence.\u00a0 We must proclaim the \u201cReal Presence\u201d to the world, not just during our Year of the Eucharist but always.<\/p>\n Paul wrote, \u201cFor I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.\u201d\u00a0 In this particular passage, Paul is speaking about the Eucharist.\u00a0 Where might we be in faith in the Real Presence was not handed on to us?\u00a0 Where will the future end up if we do not hand on the faith to others?<\/p>\n We show our gratitude for the gift of the Eucharist by coming for Mass often and by coming to our holy hours.\u00a0 In coming, we say we believe it is Jesus.\u00a0 The next best way to show our gratitude and appreciation for what God has given us is to share it with others.\u00a0 To put our faith into action.<\/p>\n So, as we enter into our quiet time ask yourselves these questions:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Homily for November 2017 Holy Hour \u2013 Year of the Eucharist Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Matthew 15:32-39 We come tonight for our monthly hour.\u00a0 The timing of starting our holy hours comes from our Year of the Eucharist but our turnout has been good and so I …<\/p>\n\n