Presider: Fr. Patrick Heppe
Parish: Catholic Community of Waukesha
Choir: Heart of the Nation
TEXT FROM THE HOMILY
One of my favorite summer past times is cutting the lawn. Now don't ask me to come to your house. I've been asked a number of times and I don't think it's going to fit into the schedule but I love cutting the lawn. I was cutting the lawn recently enjoying myself, I call it contemplative mowing because it gives you a chance just to think and to bring God into this whole situation. So, I was cutting the lawn and all of a sudden the mower stops. Well, you kind of know what it is. I ran out of gas. So, I went up to the garage to get the gas can which of course was empty so I put it in the car, went to the gas station, got everything taken care of and yes, the lawn mower started. So, it was a good thing, but it runs out of gas. Mechanical equipment, engines, will do those kinds of things if you're not careful. Our bodies too will oftentimes run out of gas. When I go to the grocery store, I see a lot of people checking the labels on the cans and the boxes to make sure their nutrition levels are properly taken care of. So mechanical things run out of gas, our bodies run out of gas, and I think our spiritual lives run out of gas too. And as we reflect on this Sunday with John's gospel, Jesus the bread of life, we realize how absolutely significant it is to be fed by Jesus the bread of life because it's easy for us to spiritually run out of gas. We become frustrated, we become angry, we lose direction and we sometimes become even lethargic unless we are fed by the very best. Jesus said that he was the bread of life and when we feed on Jesus we no longer have to ask where the true bread is on our journey of life, we are called to feed on the very best. We in our catholic tradition have wonderful things to celebrate as we talk about Jesus the bread of life. As Jesus at the last supper said, this is my body, this is my blood so the priest at Mass says the same thing. This is my body, this is my blood. And we believe that the bread and wine become his physical presence, that the bread becomes his body and the wine becomes his blood. For those older Catholics I bet you remember the word transubstantiation. It's one of those words that tells us about the real change that happens in the bread and wine, so when Jesus says he feeds us, he feeds us with the very best and he feeds us with himself and he asks us to share the good news and to go out and to feed others as well. We share the bread of life and we make sure people are not lost on their journey. Sometimes in those final days, final weeks of life, we get fed by the very best from our homes and we call that viaticum it's food for those last months or last weeks or last days of that journey of life. Viaticum food for the journey the final lap of that journey. So we have ways of being fed ways of being nourished. And our job is to make sure that we stay tuned and we are fed and open ourselves up to that very real presence of Christ. Because Christ's real presence dwells in us and once we're aware of that, even moreso we can make the world a better place by transforming and being the presence of Christ I love what nutritionists say, you are what you eat. When we eat the bread and wine the body and blood of Christ, we become Christ and we become that transforming presence of Christ, making the world different because we are indeed the body and blood of Christ.
Entrance: Holy, Holy, Holy
Contributors: Public Domain
Tune: John B. Dykes, 1823-1876; Text: Reginald Heber, 1783-1826
Psalm 78: The Lord Gave Them Bread From Heaven
Text © 1969, 1981, 1997, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music © 2016, Steve Angrisano. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Preparation: Instrumental
Communion: Eat This Bread
Tune: Jacques Berthier, © 1984, Les Presses de Taizé, GIA Publications, Inc., agent Text: John 6; adapt. by Robert J. Batastini, © 1984, Les Presses de Taizé, GIA Publications, Inc., agent
Sending Forth: Joyful, Joyful We Adore You
Tune: Ludwig van Beethoven, Arr. by Hodges; Public Domain Text: Henry van Dyke
Mass Setting: Christ the Savior
Text © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music © 2007, 2009, Daniel L. Schutte. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this liturgy obtained from ONE LICENSE, License No. A-718591
www.HeartoftheNation.org
24 сен 2024
