Morning of Reflection: Ministry to the Sick 3

This is the third and final talk of the Morning of Reflection for our parish's Ministers to the Sick.

Part 1 can be read here: Morning of Reflection - Part 1

and 

Part 2 can be read here: Morning of Reflection - Part 2

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In the Liturgy the Church teaches that God is present in many different ways.

First of all, He is present in us as we come together and process to His altar, joined as one in song and praise. This is what is so unique about that procession, for it is the gathering time, when all present come together for a single purpose. And as Jesus told us, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

God is present, too, in His Word, proclaimed from the ambo, for Jesus is the Word of God, the eternal Word, the Revealed Word.

And most importantly, God is present in the Eucharist, as the Church says, par excellence. The Eucharist is Jesus' Real Presence, His Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine.

I've always liked Pope Benedict's comment on this in his book, Called to Communion:

"Communion...is the event of gathering in which the Lord joins us to one another...The Eucharist, in which the Lord gives us his body and makes us one body, forever remains the place where the Church is generated, where the Lord himself never ceases to be found anew; in the Eucharist the Church is most compactly herself - in all places, yet one only, just as he is one only" [P.37].

Now, I'd like you to consider this multiple, yet one, manifestation of God's Presence in the Liturgy as it applies to your calling.

When you visit someone, and do so in Jesus' Name, you are called to share His revealed Word through Scripture, and finally to offer His Real Presence through the Eucharist. In truth, then, God's Presence follows you through that door to a home or hospital room. He is with you and those you serve in every way, for you are a "God-Bearer." You are a herald of Jesus Christ, of God's Word - His Revealed Word and His Incarnate Word. In fact those you serve can look at you as you enter and shout, "Here comes Jesus!" for you are carrying Him and you are carrying His healing Presence.

Let me tell you a story...a true story revealed to me by one of our parishioners.

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Not long ago she came to me after daily Mass to thank me for visiting her husband in the hospital a few days before he died.  Well, for me it was nothing special, something I'm often asked to do - a welcome part of what my wife, Diane, and I do as hospital chaplains .

But then she told me something about herself.

She had suffered from depression for years, an illness that had made her life extremely difficult. It often struck her suddenly, as if a heavy weight were lowered onto her shoulders followed by an almost overwhelming sadness that would bring her to tears.

As her husband's health deteriorated, her bouts of depression seemed to increase in both severity and frequency. It was all she could do to try to care for him while trying to fend off this monster attacking her.

One Sunday morning, a day when her husband was feeling a little better and had decided to join her at Mass, she said her depression was particularly severe. But they made it to Mass and as she settled into the pew next to her husband, she silently thanked God for letting her be there. The weight seemed to lift and she was able to listen to the readings and the homily.

The priest spoke about the Eucharist, the power of the Bread of Life, the power to lift up those in need. She then told me, "Approaching the ministers to receive Christ's Body and Blood, I could think only of Him. All I could do was thank Him and repeat those words from the day's Gospel, the words of John the Baptist: 'He must increase; I must decrease.'"

She went on to say that as she received her Lord she was suddenly filled with joy, and even her ailing husband recognized the change in her that morning. "It was as if God were forming me anew so I could deal with the challenges I faced. I now turn to Him in joy and prayer throughout the day, thanking Him for His Healing Presence, thanking Him for giving me the strength to go on. Even if my depression returns, with His Presence I can bear my sufferings, but in the meantime I praise God that He has offered me healing and an abundance of live-giving grace."

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Now, my question you all of you: Was this event in this one woman's life a miracle?

Maybe at this point it would be useful here to define a miracle. It's really any effect perceptible by the senses, produced by God which surpasses the powers of nature.
Most folks think only of physical miracles, like the healing miracles we encounter in the Gospel.

But there are also what the Church calls moral miracles. These are demonstrations of heroic virtue on the part of people like St. Maximilian Kolbe at Auschwitz.

And we also recognize intellectual miracles in which God seems to infuse knowledge in certain special people like St. Catherine of Siena, the illiterate Doctor of the Church whose writings, filled with worldly and spiritual wisdom, were read by popes and princes.

Yes, miracles abound, despite the fact that so many today don't even like to consider their possibility. Those who think this way tend also to deny the miracles we encounter in the Gospel. You see, they must deny the Gospel, because if Jesus Christ performed all those miracles during his earthly life, then as the Resurrected Jesus He must still be doing them.

After all, He's still with us, right here on earth, just as He promised: "I am with you always, until the end of the age." And if He's still with us, and indeed He is, then He's still doing the miraculous among us.

Going back to the Gospel, specifically John's Gospel, we find that John calls Jesus' miracles something else. He calls them "signs." And what does a sign do? It points to something else, something greater than itself.

We have a sign in front of our church that tells folks that the building on this property is St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. The sign isn't the church, is it? No, it points to something far greater than itself. And that's exactly what the miracles in the Gospel do.

Jesus associated those miracles, those signs, with His teachings. It was those signs that made what they pointed to believable.

If this property here were just a big empty lot, that sign out front wouldn't be very believable would it? Where's the church?

By the way, this is actually an article of our faith, something that as Catholics we are called to believe: miracles are necessary to make God's revelation credible. Did you get that? Miracles aren't just God having fun. They're not capricious acts designed to shock and surprise. Miracles are necessary because they make God's revelation credible.

It's also important to realize that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, worked these miracles through His humanity. His spoken word healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman. The touch of His human hands brought the dead daughter of the synagogue official back to life [Mk 5:41]. And even a touch of His garment healed the woman who had long suffered from hemorrhage [Mk 5:27-29]. Yes Jesus acts divinely but always through His human nature.

One thing to note: Jesus sometimes didn't perform miracles in certain places. Why? Because of the people's lack of faith.

And so to understand miracles we must recognize the importance of these two elements: faith and humanity. If all this is true, how does Jesus continue His miraculous work in the world? To answer that, we must turn to the Real Presence. What is it?

The Real Presence is Jesus Christ, true God and true man. It is the same Jesus Christ who fed the five thousand with only a few loaves and fishes; the same Jesus Christ who called the long-dead Lazarus from the tomb' the same Jesus Christ who calmed the raging sea with only a word.

I can recall my elder daughter, when she was just a teen, saying to me, "Dad, isn't it amazing that Jesus is still with us today, still in His human body, still with His wounds, still the same flesh and blood, still here with us? Isn't that amazing?" Yes, it is - the same Jesus Christ who told Thomas to touch His hands and His side and believe.

While He was on earth Jesus worked the miraculous for those who believed, for those who had accepted the gift of faith. The others, even those who had witnessed the miraculous, turned away in disbelief. And the same applies today. Those who believe in Jesus Real Presence on earth recognize this Presence in the Eucharist, in the fullness of His humanity.  And they also believe that His human nature is united with the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Those who witnessed Jesus Christ on earth had only to believe that this man they saw before them was the Son of God Incarnate. Today we are called to believe that what looks like bread and tastes like wine is the Son of God who became the Son of Mary through the work of the Holy Spirit.

And because faith is the condition for the miraculous work of Jesus Christ, is it any wonder that faith in the Eucharistic Real Presence should rewarded by miracles of every kind.

I think of the parishioner whose healing I described earlier, a healing that came to her through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Hers was by no means unique.

All that we find recorded in the Gospels about the miraculous cures performed by Jesus have been duplicated many times over by similar signs and wonders through the Holy Eucharist. And when it comes to moral miracles of the sort typified by so many saints and their heroic virtue, perhaps we don't pay much attention to those that occur around us today.

One of the real problems today is how many Catholics don't believe in the real power of the sacraments.  Too many go through the motions, but expect little or nothing.  They don't expect their prayers to be answered and don't really expect the sacraments to have any major effect in their lives.

This all stems from a lack of faith and obedience. But God, in His goodness and mercy, occasionally gives us glimpses of what He can and will do through the power of the sacraments. And when it comes to moral miracles, I have witnessed some miraculous conversions through devotion of the faithful to the Blessed Sacrament.

Let me give you just one example. Married for 50 years this faithful Catholic woman had an agnostic husband who despised the Church. I'll just call them Shirley and Ben. Because Ben was so hostile to all things Christian and especially the Catholic Church, Shirley avoided even mentioning religion in his presence.

The parish had a perpetual adoration chapel that she visited every day after morning Mass. There she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament for Ben's conversion. But Shirley died suddenly and Ben was devastated. But because he knew the depth of her faith and because of his love for her, he arranged for a vigil, funeral Mass, and cemetery committal.

At the vigil, our pastor and I were consoling him when our pastor simply said to him, "Ben, I think it's time. Do you want to become a Catholic?"

Ben seemed shocked by the question, but then wiped the tears from his cheek and said quietly, "Yes."

Six months later Ben also died, but by then he had been baptized and confirmed, and had received the Blessed Sacrament daily.

Whenever I think of that couple I realize the value of perseverance in prayer, especially prayer that stems from the deepest humility.

Shirley never asked that she witness Ben's conversion. No, her prayer was always for God's glory, not hers. It calls to mind those words that begin Psalm 115:

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name give glory" [Ps 115:1]

This too was a miracle, a moral miracle, but also a miracle of healing, for it healed a man of his brokenness, his broken heart and his broken soul. And it all happened thanks to the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Jesus Christ on earth, and the humble, prayerful intercession of a single person.

Do you see how much you and I need the power that Jesus Christ confers through His presence in the Holy Eucharist?
If we believe in the Eucharistic Presence and practice our faith as Christ demands of those who love Him, we will receive miraculous graces beyond the capacity of the human will to practice.

I look to Africa, the Middle East, East Asia and elsewhere through the world and am simply astonished by the depth of faith evidenced by the thousands who have given their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ and His Church.

We live in an age of martyrs, an age that rivals the first centuries of Christianity. As Tertullian said early in the third century: "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church."

Today's martyrs are beacons of hope, miraculous signs pointing to something far greater than themselves, pointing to the One they follow, the One who gave His life for the salvation of all humanity.

In Chapter 6 of John's Gospel, Jesus tells a very skeptical crowd:

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" [Jn 6:51].

In revealing this, Jesus proclaims His sacrificial act of redemption, His laying down of His life for us. And in doing so He offers us the gift of eternal life. In other words, He lays down His life so we can have eternal life.

The question for us, then, is do also we lay down our lives in willing sacrifice or do we lead lives of pleasure, pride, selfishness or willfulness? Paradoxically, our search for happiness in all these things leads only to grief. Our refusal to lay down our lives in sacrifice to God and others is the root of our unhappiness, anxiety, fear and despair.

This is why we need the Eucharist in our lives. When we receive Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, we receive the saving sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. That one, full, final sacrifice is made real and present for our forgiveness and healing.

Do you share this with those you serve, preparing them to expect God working in their lives? In this ministry of ours we carry the Eucharistic miracle to others. Do you believe that? Do you let those you serve know of the power of the Eucharist to heal bodies and minds and hearts and souls?

The one place on earth where our confused human minds can always be enlightened by the mind of God is in the presence of God incarnate in the Blessed Sacrament. How today's overly educated world needs to know this, a world that believes it is smarter than the God it no longer needs, in which it no longer believes.

How often in the Gospel did Jesus restore sight to the blind?  This was just a prelude to phenomenal miracles our Eucharistic Savior performs for those who come to Him and say, "Lord I am blind; help me see."

I suppose my last question to you is this: Do you expect Eucharistic miracles?

Lord Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament, teach us the wonders you want to work for us.  Lead us to your presence in the Holy Eucharist to work miracles of body of will and especially of mind because dear Jesus the Holy Eucharist is You and You are our God. And with God nothing is impossible. Amen.

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Here are a few question to mull over in your small groups:

1. What miracles have you witnessed or experienced in your life? Did the Eucharist play a role? How?

2. How have you addressed the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Jesus with those you serve?

3. How can you help those you serve deepen their faith in Christ’s Eucharistic Presence and their expectation of miracles?

4. Have you seen changes in those you serve as a result of their deepening faith in the Eucharist?

Homily: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15

As some of you know, Diane and I are pretty heavily involved with the Wildwood Soup Kitchen. And if there’s one thing that involvement has taught us it’s that God takes care of His people. It’s really remarkable, you know. Well, I suppose it’s really not all that remarkable because we should expect God to take care of His people. After all, He’s promised to do so again and again. And the history of salvation we encounter in Scripture is all about God fulfilling those promises.

Anyway, last year we served over 75,000 meals and this year we’ll serve even more, and do you know what? We always have enough. We never run out. Just like the crowd on the mountainside, everyone gets fed. Whenever we need something – whether it’s a few hundred pounds of frozen chicken, or money for a walk-in freezer, I don’t care what it is -- we don’t have to ask people for it. Someone just shows up on our doorstep with exactly what we need. Or a large check arrives in the mail. It just appears. And I’m not exaggerating. I don’t have to, because God takes care of his people.

And this is certainly one message that comes across loud and clear in today's readings. Not only does He feed them with food for the body, He also provides food for the soul, and everything else they need to live fully human lives in close union with God, the Source and Goal of all life.

So far this liturgical year we’ve been listening to Mark’s Gospel, but today, instead of hearing Mark tell us of the feeding of the 5,000, we hear John’s version, a Eucharistic version, an introduction to Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life. Indeed, we’ll stay with the 6th chapter of John's Gospel for the next five Sundays.

John begins by telling us that Jesus and His disciples crossed over to the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee. And as we heard in Mark, the crowds had gone before them on foot. What made people walk nine miles to see Jesus? Well, John tells us…because "they saw the signs that Jesus was doing for the sick". Like people everywhere, like us, they had a deep hunger and longing for healing and wholeness in their lives. Of course, some were simply curious, and wanted to see this Jesus perform one of the miracles they’d heard about.

You and I won’t be any better than these if we see this story only as a miraculous multiplication of a bread and fish. All gospel stories are steeped in symbolism and this is especially true of John.

We’re told first that Jesus "went up the mountain" – a reference to Moses on the mountain bringing God's Law to the people. But there’s a significant difference: Jesus is no mere intermediary; He speaks with the same authority as His Father. Unlike Mark, who has Jesus teaching the people first, in John the teaching, as we’ll see in the coming weeks, flows out of the multiplication experience. And, while Moses went up the mountain alone, Jesus brought His disciples with Him. They would be partners in His work, continuing that work after His resurrection. And just as Moses gave the Jewish people God's teaching in the form of the Law and later fed them with manna, so Jesus, the new Moses, will feed the bodies and souls of those who come to Him.

John also mentions that "now the Passover festival was near". Passover, the great feast of the Jews, celebrates their liberation from slavery in Egypt when God led them into freedom as his chosen people. At the Last Supper, just before his death, Jesus gave His disciples -- and the Church -- the great ongoing sign of a new Passover, the Eucharist.

And in today’s miracle, Jesus anticipates that Last Supper scene where He "took the bread, gave thanks, and distributed it to them all…" For in this new Passover Jesus is the central figure, and His suffering, death and resurrection will liberate us from sin and death.

But let’s step back a moment and look first at what leads up to today’s miracle. There is the dialogue with Philip, who always comes as across as rather naive and simple; the guy who takes things literally; who says the things the rest of us think of but are too embarrassed to say. Jesus sets the stage by asking Philip, “Where will we get food for all these people?" Philip looks at the crowd and says, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”

A little like our first reading, isn’t it? Elisha asks God, "How can I serve this to a hundred men?" "Give it to the people to eat," is the simple answer. How does the Gospel promise it? "Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” [Lk 6:38] Then Andrew breaks in to tell of a gift: "There is a small boy here with five loaves and two fish." And echoing the words of Elisha adds, "But what use is that among so many?" The next thing we know Jesus has taken those few loaves and fish, and, after blessing them, begins to distribute them.

Note that Jesus didn’t feed the people with nothing. He started with something that was already available. This miracle was made possible because a young boy was willing to share what he had with others, including thousands of strangers around him. You see, God gives life through what is already available to us. But someone has to be the little boy and start the ball rolling.

People are dying of hunger and malnutrition in our world, and it’s not because there isn’t enough food. In some instances they’re being intentionally starved because of hatred. They practice the wrong religion, or come from the wrong tribe or ethnic group. Others are starving because their governments are unbelievably corrupt…still others simply because of inefficiencies and selfishness on the part of others.

You and I can’t do much about some of these things, but we are called to do something, because just like the miracle on the mountainside, the Eucharist we celebrate today is also about giving and about loving. Jesus gave His life on the cross for our salvation, and in the face of such love, we are almost overcome. But He does even more. For the God of the universe makes Himself our food. He gives everything to us, even Himself.  And He does so day after day…and He does so miraculously.

For the bread and wine we offer here today will be consecrated, miraculously changed into Jesus’ Body and Blood, broken, divided, given out to many. But to benefit from this miracle, to receive the Eucharist worthily, we must reflect it in our lives. St. Paul has some harsh words for Christians who want to celebrate the Eucharist but refuse to help the needy members of their community.

There’s another detail worth noting here. In all three of the Synoptic Gospels, the disciples are told to distribute the bread and fish among the people. This of course is a sign of their future mission to bring Christ to the world. But here in John, it’s Jesus Himself who distributes. As we will see in the coming weeks, Jesus will proclaim Himself to be the Living Bread that gives life to the world. You see, John wants to emphasize that Jesus is the source of all spiritual and bodily nourishment. And even though He will use intermediaries, it is always Jesus who comes to us in Word and Eucharist.

In the end, what happened? After 5,000 people had their fill, the leftovers filled twelve baskets -- another sign of the liberality with which God cares for us. The people are so excited they want to make him King, declare Him the Messiah. And they’re right: He is King and Messiah, but they’re also wrong. They’re wrong because of what they missed. They saw the miracle, but missed the message. The only King they’ll see is one in nakedness and shame, a falsely convicted criminal among criminals, hanging on a cross. And where will these crowds be then?

No, the real teaching here is that Jesus is the true source of nourishment for our lives. And if we want that nourishment we must obey the Father who declared, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him". As St. Paul instructs us in the 2nd reading, we must “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”

Brothers and sisters, be prepared to enter totally with Jesus into the paschal mystery of His love-centered life, to mirror His self-giving as a way to life. For when we as a people listen to Him and trust in Him…well, as we’ve already seen, God takes care of His people.

God and Ears, Noses and Throats

I had two, that's right, two doctors' appointments today. This is very unusual for me, one who rarely visits doctors under the wise assumption that such visits lead only to further visits, more discomfiting tests, and worries that something might actually be wrong with me. I often go years without seeing a doctor, feeling wonderful the entire time. But not long ago I made the mistake of mentioning a few minor afflictions in the presence of Dear Diane. This proved to be the catalyst that began the current reaction, a seemingly never-ending series of consults and referrals that will undoubtedly lead to absolutely nothing. So, when your health insurance costs soar through the roof next year, you'll know who to blame (other than the president).

Today's first appointment was with my internist, a pleasant man near my age, who discussed the results of a recent MRI of my gimpy shoulder. I especially like him because he didn't simply refer me to a orthopedic surgeon who would no doubt meet me at the door of his practice with a scalpel or laser in his hand, a wild look in his eyes, and singing ala Monday Night Football, "Are you ready for some surgery?" No, my good doctor suggested that before agreeing to anything drastic, I might want to spend a few months doing some daily therapeutic exercises which he demonstrated for me in his office. I promised I would and will begin in the morning...too tired tonight.

He also informed me, very gently, that my bad cholesterol is too high and my good cholesterol too low. He then handed me a sheet listing all the foods I should eat and those I should avoid. For some reason bananas are okay but banana cream pie isn't. Go figure. And then he set up another appointment as well as another visit to the lab. Do you see what I mean? It never stops. And yet, he seems reasonably sensible and so I like him.

Unfortunately for me, this doctor has decided to take a new position in a nearby clinic that serves only the uninsured. That's the sort of man he is. I will miss hm and do not relish the idea of trying to find another primary care physician.

Today's second appointment was with a young ear, nose and throat specialist who examined me with the kind of strange instruments ENT doctors use. Finally, after speaking to his nurse in a technical language I could not understand, he informed me that I seemed to be fine, and then promptly declared I needed more tests to be sure. So now I must have a special X-ray of my throat next week, followed by, you guessed it, a follow-up appointment with the ENT doctor.

One appointment with my internist a month ago has now resulted in two lab visits, an MRI, a "special" X-ray, and four additional doctor visits. And I'm actually pretty healthy. Makes you wonder how the really sick people manage to squeeze in a normal life amidst all the medical stuff.

Enough! The really interesting experience occurred while I spent about thirty minutes sitting in the ENT examining room waiting for the doctor to arrive. Waiting patiently as one must, my attention was drawn to a poster taped to the wall next to my chair. It was really quite elaborate, a pictorial poster showing all the major and minor parts of the human ear, nose and throat. It was one of those Superman-like, X-ray vision posters in which you can see beneath the skin's surface and view all the little parts and pieces that you and I really don't want to see.

But it was fascinating, and I spent most of the half-hour looking at the human ear, nose and throat, examining each system, and captivated by the wonder of it all. I came away convinced that such complicated perfection could not come about by chance. These few micro-systems join hundreds of others and form a miraculous interconnected whole that we call the human body. And as I tossed these thoughts about in my even more miraculous brain, I overheard a doctor and nurse speaking in the hallway, discussing the kind of treatment a patient should receive. It was then I realized no chance collection of atoms could ever form out of the chaos of the universe and eventually think such thoughts and communicate them with another chance collection of atoms in a hallway of a building designed and built by yet another chance collection. For me, just that few minutes sitting in a chair in a young doctor's office was enough to convince me that we have a God who has done miraculous things to show us how great is His Love.

Toss that thought around in your miraculous mind the next time you visit the doctor.

God's peace...