Thoughts on Corpus Christi

 Be Who You Say You Are

(Feast of Corpus Christi)

 

On June 2 we celebrated the feast of the Body of Christ (Corpus Christi). The Corpus Christi celebration grew out of the reaction of the people of God and the Church to an erroneous teaching that began in the 13th century. This false teaching denied the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and instead said that the consecrated host was only a symbol of Jesus’ presence. This teaching was quickly condemned by the church, and as a result planted the seeds for the development of many modern-day Eucharistic practices, such as processions of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, 40 hours devotion, perpetual adoration.

 

Absent these practices one might wonder how the Christians in the first 1200 years of Christianity perceived and incorporated the Eucharist into of their faith life.

 

There was little questioning in the minds of the early Christians concerning the real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic. Moreover they also took very seriously how Christ was present to them. Through baptism they had become temples of the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Paul would not hesitate to refer to his communities as the body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12, 27) The early Christians were also very conscious of Jesus desire to be the food and drink, that is, the nourishment for the believers’ (our) faith journey.

St. Augustine’s appreciation of Christ presence to each Christian and thus their being the body of Christ led him to preach:

 

So if you want to understand the body of Christ, listen to the apostle (Paul) telling the faithful, “You, though, are the body of Christ and its members” (1 Cor. 12:27). So if it is you that are the body of Christ and its members, it is the mystery meaning you that has been placed on the Lord’s table; what you receive is the mystery that means you. It is to what you are that you reply Amen, and by so replying you express your assent. What you hear, you see, is The body of Christ, and you answer, Amen. So be a member of the body of Christ, in order to make that Amen true.

 

The feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the incredible gift of himself Christ has bestowed on us. In doing this he enables us to be his presence in our world today.  In the words of the Benediction hymn, Tantum Ergo, composed by St. Thomas, we sing and pray “Humbly let us voice our homage for so great a sacrament.” And may we ever more appreciate Christ’s great gift of himself to us.

 

Jim Blumeyer, S.J.

Thoughts on solitude

 

Solitude is the Place of Conversion

In order to understand the meaning of solitude, we must first unmask the ways in which the idea of solitude has been distorted by our world. We say to each other that we need some solitude in our lives. What we really are thinking of, however, is a time and place for ourselves in which we are not bothered by other people, can think our own thoughts, express our own complaints, and do our own thing, whatever it may be. For us, solitude most often means privacy. We have come to the dubious conviction that we all have a right to privacy. Solitude thus becomes like a spiritual property for which we can compete on the free market of spiritual goods. But there is more. We also think of solitude as a station where we can recharge our batteries, or as a corner of the boxing ring where our wounds are oiled, our muscles massaged, and our courage restored by fitting slogans. In short, we think of solitude as a place where we gather new strength to continue the ongoing competition of life.  But that is not the solitude of St. John the Baptist, of St. Anthony or St. Benedict, of Charles de Foucauld or the brothers of [the] Taizé [Community]. For them solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather, it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on the Holy Spirit

 

We Can Live Free, Joyful, Courageous Lives

The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to his followers, is the great gift of God. Without the Spirit of Jesus we can do nothing, but in and through his Spirit we can live free, joyful, and courageous lives. We cannot pray, but the Spirit of Christ can pray in us. We cannot create peace and joy, but the Spirit of Christ can fill us with a peace and joy that is not of this world. We cannot break through the many barriers that divide races, sexes, and nations, but the Spirit of Christ unites all people in the all-embracing love of God. The Spirit of Christ burns away our many fears and anxieties and sets us free to move wherever we are sent. That is the great liberation of Pentecost. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on compassion

 

Prayer Leads to Compassion

Prayer and action can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation. If prayer leads us into deeper unity with the compassionate Christ, it will always give rise to concrete acts of service. And if concrete acts of service do indeed lead us to a deeper solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying, and the oppressed, they will always give rise to prayer. In prayer we meet Christ, and in him all human suffering. In service we meet people, and in them the suffering Christ. . . . Action with and for those who suffer is the concrete expression of a compassionate life and the final criterion of being a Christian. Such acts do not stand beside the moments of prayer and worship but are themselves such moments. Why? Because Jesus Christ, who did not cling to his divinity, but became as we are, can be found where there are hungry, thirsty, alienated, naked, sick, and imprisoned people. Precisely when we live in an ongoing conversation with Christ and allow the Spirit to guide our lives, we will recognize Christ in the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden and will hear his cry and respond to it wherever he is revealed. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on the Solemnity of God

 Sunday we celebrate the solemnity of God. It kind of has a funny ring to it. Indeed we are celebrating the solemnity of who God is, the Most Holy Trinity! Three persons in one nature, all giving themselves completely one to another and each exalting the other... 

You and I are made in the image of that holy communion. How is the Lord calling me to receive his gift of self more completely and subsequently make a complete gift of my own life? The more I give myself, the more I live in his likeness. We can never lose the image of God, stamped in our being, which defines how we are made to give ourselves to others. But we can certainly lose the likeness (consistently acting like God). 

As we ponder this awesome mystery of who God is--infinitely wonderful Creator, splendid in his authority and goodness, let us take a moment to ponder how we might please God's Trinitarian heart and be more like him, loving others with his love. The reality of this call may shock us. To what noble heights we are called in imitation of our Trinitarian Creator! 

-Fr. Anthony Wieck, SJ

Thoughts on community

 

Community is Heart Calling to Heart

Friendship, marriage, family, religious life, and every other form of community is solitude greeting solitude, spirit speaking to spirit, and heart calling to heart. It is the grateful recognition of God’s call to share life together and the joyful offering of a hospitable space where the re-creating power of God’s Spirit can become manifest. Thus all forms of life together can become ways to reveal to each other the real presence of God in our midst.  Community has little to do with mutual compatibility. Similarities in educational background, psychological makeup, or social status can bring us together, but they can never be the basis for community. Community is grounded in God, who calls us together, and not in the attractiveness of people to each other. . . . The mystery of community is precisely that it embraces all people, whatever their individual differences may be, and allows them to live together as brothers and sisters of Christ and sons and daughters of his heavenly Father. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on the Pentecost

 

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost, celebrated on the 50th and final day of the Easter season.

 

After the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, the eleven remaining Apostles returned to Jerusalem. Acts 1:14 says, “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” During this time, the Apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot. They cast lots between two men, and the lot fell on Matthias.

After nine days of prayer, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. They heard a sound like a “mighty wind,” and “tongues as of fire” were resting on their heads.

Even though, just a few weeks earlier, Peter had denied Christ three times, he courageously proclaimed the Gospel. That day, three thousand people believed in Christ and were received into His Church.

 

We have a special page dedicated to the feast of Pentecost. We answer questions such as:

• What is the story of Pentecost?
• Why is Pentecost known as the birthday of the Church?
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost?

On the page, we also offer a free eBook, The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This eBook features the Novena in honor of the Holy Spirit, the oldest of all novenas. It was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His Apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

 

We hope this eBook and page help deepen your devotion to the Holy Spirit as you celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.

 

May God bless you!

 

In Christ,

Your EWTN Family

  

 

 

 

More thoughts on prayer

 

Something Has Happened

One of the experiences of prayer is that it seems that nothing happens. But when you stay with it and look back over a long period of prayer, you suddenly realize that something has happened. What is most close, most intimate, most present often cannot be experienced directly but only with a certain distance. When I think I am only distracted, just wasting my time, something is happening too immediate for knowing, understanding, and experiencing. Only in retrospect do I realize that something very important has taken place. Isn’t this true of all really important events in life? When I am together with someone I love very much, we seldom talk about our relationship. The relationship, in fact, is too central to be a subject of talk. But later, after we have separated and write letters, we realize how much it all meant to us, and we even write about it. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on meditation

 

“Waste” Your Time with God

John Eudes talked about that moment, that point, that lies before comparison, before the beginning of the vicious cycle or the self-fulfilling prophecy. That is the moment, point, or place where meditation can enter in. It is the moment to stop reading, speaking, socializing, and to “waste” your time in meditation. When you find your mind competing again, you might plan an “empty time” of meditation, in this way interrupting the vicious circle of your ruminations and entering into the depth of your own soul. There you can be with him who was before you came, who loved you before you could love, and has given you your own self before any comparison was possible. In meditation we can come to the affirmation that we are not created by other people but by God, that we are not judged by how we compare with others but by how we fulfill the will of God. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on love

  "Love one another as I love you." How amazing that we can actually do that: love each other with Divine Love! It is so much more than human love. And this Love is given to us as a fruit of Easter. The Holy Spirit is poured out ever anew upon Jesus' close friends (whom Jesus defines as those who follow his commandments) and the first two evident fruits of his presence are Divine Charity followed by Joy. Joy, we could say, is a "radiant belongingness." In joy we know to whom we belong and we radiate that belongingness to all around us.

As we continue this Easter season, preparing ourselves for Pentecost, we might ask Our Blessed Mother to teach us how to open ourselves more fully to the wholeness of God's Love. May this inflowing (and outflowing) Love--way beyond our human abilities--be coupled with an ebullient sense of belongingness which radiates from us as deep-down Joy.

-Fr. Anthony Wieck, SJ

Thoughts on silence

 

The Spirit of God Prays in Us

Silence means rest, rest of body and mind in which we become available for him whose heart is greater than ours. That is very threatening; it is like giving up control over our actions and thoughts, allowing something creative to happen not by us but to us. Is it so amazing that we are so often tired and exhausted, trying to be masters of ourselves, wanting to grasp the ultimate meaning of our existence, struggling with our identity? Silence is that moment in which we not only stop the discussion with others but also the inner discussions with ourselves, in which we can breathe in freely and accept our identity as a gift. “Not I live, but He lives in me.” It is in this silence that the Spirit of God can pray in us and continue his creative work in us. . . . Without silence the Spirit will die in us and the creative energy of our life will float away and leave us alone, cold, and tired. Without silence we will lose our center and become the victim of the many who constantly demand our attention. Henri Nouwen