Who do people say that I am?
By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Two Princes of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, two very different people from very different backgrounds who were thrown together in the adventure we call Catholicism. Indeed, it’s quite amusing how different they were.
In Naples, Italy, where I have been assisting as a Deacon at the US Navy base for the past year I know a sailor who reminds me a lot of Peter. He is humble and kind, a hard worker, but also a little rough around the edges A simple man, but wise in the school of life.
I think Peter had a similar personality. He was loyal and good hearted and yet at the same time he was often rash putting his foot in his mouth more than once.
My name sake and patron, Saint Paul on the other hand, reminds me more of myself—he was a little bit more stuffy. A zealot and occasionally an ideologue. A man who lived an academic life.
Both Peter and Paul, however, were ordinary men, comfortable with their lives as they were before they met Jesus. They were comfortable with their identity and place in life. Today, we celebrate Jesus shaking things up a bit.
Like Peter and Paul, most of us become very comfortable with the way the world is, we become engrossed in our work, our families, and our hobbies and we become distracted by so many comforts, responsibilities, and concerns. WE GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WORK-A-DAY WORLD and forget that we were made for something better, that as Paul tells us, we are strangers and sojourners in this world, Pilgrims on the way to our true home, to true happiness and peace! WE forget the bigger picture and we forget to ask the bigger questions.
We are told: You must have the heart of a Child to enter Heaven, precisely because children ask theses questions—unceasingly—that is, until they become discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm shown by adults, for, at least, the pursuit of, answers. But these are the same great questions that the great thinkers of every culture and age have asked in the masterpieces of theology, philosophy, and mysticism. As Pope John Paul II, observed in his Encyclical Fides et Ratio:
a cursory glance at ancient history shows clearly how in different parts of the world, with their different cultures, there arise at the same time the [same] fundamental questions which pervade human life: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? These are the questions which we find in the sacred writings of [all cultures]. They are questions which have their common source in the quest for meaning which has always compelled the human heart.
These are the questions which ordinary often forget to ask! Today Jesus suggest these questions to Peter and the twelve when he asks: Who do people say that I am,
Today Jesus asks an important question, because by asking “who do people say I am,” Jesus is really asking the Apostles DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? And DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?
Who am I? This question of identity is a question that we all ask ourselves, from the beginning of our lives until the day that we die, and since the circular answer: “I am me” is unsatisfing we are all forced to turn outwards—to other people—for answers. Know theyself—the famous inscription at the Oracle at Delphi, reminds people that the question of identity is a life long human task of self-discovering, essential to our self-fulfillment and happiness. Today Jesus, in asking who others say he is, is really reminding Peter and the twelve of this task.
We ask, who do people say that I am, because from the first days of life, we realize that the answer does not lie in our self, but rather in our relationships to the other. Just as a sailor plots his position based on known landmarks and stars so also we chart our identity based on our relationships with others. First with our mothers, then our fathers, then our siblings, and friends and eventually even based on our relationships with strangers… We ask: who do people say that I am? Because just like the sailor, to affirm, “I am here,” means nothing if you don’t know where here is.
For Jesus, however, hearsay did not suffice, while it is true that we need all of those other reference points to plot a relative location or identity. When we really think about it, tn reality, these reference points fail to tell us anything absolute about ourselves. Einstein sums it up well in his theory of relativity—you can’t judge things based on points themselves in motionvand expect an answer that is not relative itself to those reference points.
In Italy we joke that when you ask for directions the Italians, always say: Sempre Dritto, straight ahead, refusing to admit that in reality they don’t know where they are or where you are going. You can ask, who do people say that I am? To as many people as you want, but if, as I have suggested, in truth, none of them truly know who they are, then none of them can tell you who you are.
People in Jesus’ time, said Jesus was—from Nazareth, the son of Mary, the Carpenter’s son—and others, seeing his signs and miracles began to say he was—a prophet, the reincarnation of John the Baptist or Elijah. Today some people say similar things: They say he was a great teacher, a guru, a political & social activist. In response to these misconceptions, Jesus asks his closest disciples—those He had chosen to lead and build His Church: And who do you say that I am?
And again Jesus is not asking who they think he is, relative to them but who he is in reality. Because if in reality Jesus is just another man, no different from Buddha, Mohammed, or Gandhi then Jesus can be only a relative reference point for the world.
To Jesus’ question: who do you say that I am? Peter gives two answers: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. As Pope Benedict notes, Peter’s answer, which was not revealed to him by ‘flesh and blood’ but was given to him by the Father… contains as in a seed the future … faith of the Church. (The Apostles, 48)
He is the Son of the Living God—and this identity comes from the unmovable source of all creation—God Himself. It is only because of His identity as the Son of God that Jesus says: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light because of the reality of his identity as Son of God he is the Savior of the World.
Each of us is a mystery to ourselves and to others. Although we live in ourselves, we really don’t know who we are talking about when we say “I.” Who is this I? How do we define ourselves?
Simon was a fisherman, a father, a husband, an ethnic Jew, but none of these things defined him. One day while cleaning his nets he encountered Jesus and leaving all these things behind, he followed him. He followed Jesus because by His preaching Jesus had awakened in Simon’s heart the desire for meaning, for a meaning that his life as a fisherman couldn’t provide.
Today Simon receives his answer from God. Replying to Jesus’ question, Simon finally finds a point of reference that is unmovable and certain, and confessing—you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God Simon finds his own meaning, his own identity—You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
For Saul it was the same— when Jesus appeared in a blinding light, prompting Saul to ask: who are you Lord? …And accepting the identity of Christ, Saul, the greatest persecutor of Christianity becomes one of its greatest missionaries,
SO HERE IS THE POINT…
What we must realize is that Jesus is God, when we see Jesus we see God. This is what Peter and Paul came to accept, and accepting it Jesus became for them a mirror of truth
Jesus became man, so that we could regained access to God and because God is Truth, when we open our eyes and see Jesus, we see God and we see the truth, the truth about ourselves!
This was my own personal experience! Born and raised a Catholic: I was always taught to believe in God, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but like most Catholics today, I did not let this faith transform my life, and so I spent years looking for who I was. Trying to define myself by my intelligence and grades at school, by my occupation and hobbies, by my ideology and political activism. But all of this was un-satisfying to me. Because we humans are not what we do, what we believe, or what we are capable of.
Rather, we are what God made us to be! This is the realization I reached in College. That faith in God the Father, Son, and Spirit requires change and reformation of who I think I am into who I really am, the person God created me to be. I wasted so much time, avoiding the question that we all must ask. Not who do people say that I am, but rather, who does God want me to be? But God, who is so patient, allowed me to try so many other things, in order to show me through them that He had a different plan for me.
The fact of the matter is that when we see and come to know Jesus we see God, and seeing God we begin to understand the nature of creation: that God made us, that we continue to exist Only because He loves us, and that He who knit us together in our mothers womb, has a plan for us!
God’s plan and His plan alone, is our one path to happiness, fulfillment, and knowledge of who we truly are. In seminary, I knew I was on the right path, because I was more content and happy than I had ever been. Today, my first day as a priest, I can say the same, and while I remain still a mystery to myself I know today that an intergral part of who I am is a Priest of Jesus Christ. Like for Simon and Saul, it is only in seeing the reality of who Jesus is, that we can find a constant point of reference for our own identity and start to become who we were made to be.
As St. Catherine of Siena says beautifully in her mystical writings: If you would be happy remember, you are she who is not and He is He who is. To know that God is God and you are not, to know that He is in Charge and that all things are in reference to Him; this is the beginning of Wisdom and of Self-knowledge.
My friends, today we gather here as a community of Faith. To confess our belief in God and in Jesus Christ who he sent
In doing so we acknowledge our own identity as His people and together with Christ offer him the perfect Sacrifice of praise—the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
This is the source of our communal and personal identity, this act in which acknowledging our poverty we receive God’s goodness, and in Jesus make recompense to God for all the goodness God has shown us.
Thus as we enter into the sacred mysteries Jesus asks each and every one of us today: Who do you say that I am?
When I, with you, pray using Christ’s words—this is my body, this is my blood, do this in memory of me—Jesus gives us the chance to say with Peter: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and in doing so to learn who you are and who God wants you to be.
Ss. Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Given the 29th day of June in the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ 2008
On the Solemn Feast of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul
In the first year of priesthood
What Recompense can I give to the Lord?
Ordination to the Diaconate
Monday, July 28, 2008
One Month Anniversary of Fr. Floyd's first Mass
Vocation Series
The Bishop of Fall River, the Most Reverend George Coleman, has assign me to travel around my diocese preach the good news about vocations. This weekend I began that assignment at St. Mary's in New Bedford. Next week I head to Fall River to Sacred Heart Parish. Below you will find the text of my vocation homilies.
Please pray for me in this apostolate and pray that the young men and women who hear the word of God through my preaching might be open to it and act on it--and ask the Master of the Vineyard to send more laborers!
Please pray for me in this apostolate and pray that the young men and women who hear the word of God through my preaching might be open to it and act on it--and ask the Master of the Vineyard to send more laborers!
Finding the Treasure God has prepared for you!
Vocation Series: St. Mary's in New Bedford
17th Sunday
By: Rev Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd
When I was a young boy, not all that long ago, I used to be convinced that buried treasure lay around every corner and under every rock. The result of this thought was that I always kept my eyes open looking for the treasure that I was sure I was destined to find one day. I even dug a few wholes in our back yard much to my mothers dislike—looking for that treasure. Though my attentiveness did reward me, over the years, with the discovery of a few dollars of lost change on the street, I never did find the treasure that I had imagined.
Today the Lord too speaks of treasure, of pearls and gold found in a field. Of course he is not speaking a physical treasure, which elsewhere in the Gospel he warns will corrode, tarnish, and be left behind when we die, rather he is speaking of the Kingdom of God. And while the Kingdom of God—often refers to Heaven that is ultimate reality beyond our wildest dreams; the Kingdom of God is not just the resurrection, the eternal reward we pray for after death. The Kingdom of Heaven is also a reality here and now. In the Gospel of Mark our Lord declares: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
You see the kingdom of God is nothing less than true happiness, the true happiness that can only come from our eternal relationship with the Father .
The kingdom of God is the realization that we are sons and daughters of God by virtue of our Baptism; that our Father has his hand on us; that our life matters because our God has a unique plan for me; and most importantly, that we are loved by our creator. To love and be loved by our God and to become co-workers, cooperators in the work of God this is the Kingdom of God, available to us even in this life. On Heaven or on Earth—this relationship with God promises and truly is the only way to Happiness!
That’s why our Lord tells us today that the Kingdom is like a treasure found in a field. If you found a great treasure buried in a field, he tells us, you would trade all that you have to possess it. However, the problem with a buried treasure is not obtaining it once we have found it, the problem is finding it! People hide and bury treasures in the hope that distracted by other things no one will notice the great wealth hidden beneath your feet in the simple earth of a field.
This is true in life too! The great treasure of the Kingdom of God—that is given to us at baptism is too often buried and forgotten under the sands of time lost in our every day mundane life. And when we realize that our happiness is missing, and we start to look for it, we are too often distracted by lesser treasures
It’s like the math brain teaser that many of your kids bring home: Offered a million dollars or a penny doubled for a month which would you choose?
Many of us choose the lesser treasure of a million dollars over the seemingly insignificant treasure of that first penny. But like the treasure of Heaven—the penny bears with it a promise of things to come. For those of you taking notes for Math class a penny doubled for a month is worth almost $11 million dollars in an average month and $2.6 million in the month of February!
Which sounds better to you 1 or 11 million?
Sadly, offered the choice between the immediate gratification of a Megabucks win and true happiness with God now and forever most people today would choose the Megabucks. That’s where the disappointments begin! First you will find that whatever your winnings might be Uncle Sam always gets his cut. And even with the seemingly endless money that remains; the odds show that most end up less, not more happy.
And its not just money that people choose over a right relationship with God: Sex, Drugs, Power, Fame, Popularity—all fading, all short-lived, are all frequently chosen before that Treasure in the field.
This was my own experience in life. Born a Catholic, and raised in a devout family I grew up taking my Catholic faith for granted. I allowed my childhood thoughts of becoming a priest to be eclipsed by thoughts of lesser treasures.
At 12 I wanted to become a doctor—because doctors where rich. When I learned that I didn’t care for the sight of blood my mind turned to law and government. At the age of 16 I had worked on my first campaign and by the time I was 20 I had begun to be paid for my efforts. Volunteer work quickly landed me a position working for the US Senate, as one of the youngest paid staff members. I was living in Washington, DC, working closely with members of Congress on Legislation and by the time I graduated college I had already been offered a mid-level job in the executive branch of Government. This was my dream, my goal in life thus far, I had my foot in the door, and was ready to begin the life of public service that I had mapped out for myself.
None of these goals were bad, immoral, or sinful in themselves and yet having attained so many of my goals and being on track for fulfilling my dreams I found my heart heavy I wasn’t satisfied by the treasures that I had chosen. It was at this time in my life that the Lord brought a saintly priest into my life. A priest who helped me to see that we can never be happy if we are not doing the work that God made us for. Examining my life more closely, I began to rediscover
The treasure of my vocation, that had been hiding all along beneath the surface of my heart.
Today I have found that treasure and sold all of my possession, all of my old plans and goals, to obtain it. Since I enter seminary five years ago I have found that peace, contentment, and happiness that can only come from doing God’s will. And I am hear to tell you that despite the sacrifices and difficulties, it is great to be a priest.
And so today I have been sent here today by the Bishop of Fall River to preach to you the good news about vocations. So here it is!
God has a plan for you, [and you, and you]! He has a unique vocation for all of us! It doesn’t matter if you get married, or become a priest, or dedicate your life to God as a single person. What matters is that you listen to the voice of God speaking to you in your heart, showing you the way he has planned for you. Your happiness depends on it because your vocation is the gateway to holiness, it is the entrance into the Kingdom of God, and the map to that Treasure God has buried just for you.
Please God, some of you young men will be called to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, God knows how much the world needs good men to teach, sanctify, and govern His people; andto heal the wounds of the world, with the blood of Christ that comes to us through this Altar! But, what’s most important is that you seek and do God’s will. This is the sure path to the treasure of eternal happiness.
17th Sunday
By: Rev Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd
When I was a young boy, not all that long ago, I used to be convinced that buried treasure lay around every corner and under every rock. The result of this thought was that I always kept my eyes open looking for the treasure that I was sure I was destined to find one day. I even dug a few wholes in our back yard much to my mothers dislike—looking for that treasure. Though my attentiveness did reward me, over the years, with the discovery of a few dollars of lost change on the street, I never did find the treasure that I had imagined.
Today the Lord too speaks of treasure, of pearls and gold found in a field. Of course he is not speaking a physical treasure, which elsewhere in the Gospel he warns will corrode, tarnish, and be left behind when we die, rather he is speaking of the Kingdom of God. And while the Kingdom of God—often refers to Heaven that is ultimate reality beyond our wildest dreams; the Kingdom of God is not just the resurrection, the eternal reward we pray for after death. The Kingdom of Heaven is also a reality here and now. In the Gospel of Mark our Lord declares: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
You see the kingdom of God is nothing less than true happiness, the true happiness that can only come from our eternal relationship with the Father .
The kingdom of God is the realization that we are sons and daughters of God by virtue of our Baptism; that our Father has his hand on us; that our life matters because our God has a unique plan for me; and most importantly, that we are loved by our creator. To love and be loved by our God and to become co-workers, cooperators in the work of God this is the Kingdom of God, available to us even in this life. On Heaven or on Earth—this relationship with God promises and truly is the only way to Happiness!
That’s why our Lord tells us today that the Kingdom is like a treasure found in a field. If you found a great treasure buried in a field, he tells us, you would trade all that you have to possess it. However, the problem with a buried treasure is not obtaining it once we have found it, the problem is finding it! People hide and bury treasures in the hope that distracted by other things no one will notice the great wealth hidden beneath your feet in the simple earth of a field.
This is true in life too! The great treasure of the Kingdom of God—that is given to us at baptism is too often buried and forgotten under the sands of time lost in our every day mundane life. And when we realize that our happiness is missing, and we start to look for it, we are too often distracted by lesser treasures
It’s like the math brain teaser that many of your kids bring home: Offered a million dollars or a penny doubled for a month which would you choose?
Many of us choose the lesser treasure of a million dollars over the seemingly insignificant treasure of that first penny. But like the treasure of Heaven—the penny bears with it a promise of things to come. For those of you taking notes for Math class a penny doubled for a month is worth almost $11 million dollars in an average month and $2.6 million in the month of February!
Which sounds better to you 1 or 11 million?
Sadly, offered the choice between the immediate gratification of a Megabucks win and true happiness with God now and forever most people today would choose the Megabucks. That’s where the disappointments begin! First you will find that whatever your winnings might be Uncle Sam always gets his cut. And even with the seemingly endless money that remains; the odds show that most end up less, not more happy.
And its not just money that people choose over a right relationship with God: Sex, Drugs, Power, Fame, Popularity—all fading, all short-lived, are all frequently chosen before that Treasure in the field.
This was my own experience in life. Born a Catholic, and raised in a devout family I grew up taking my Catholic faith for granted. I allowed my childhood thoughts of becoming a priest to be eclipsed by thoughts of lesser treasures.
At 12 I wanted to become a doctor—because doctors where rich. When I learned that I didn’t care for the sight of blood my mind turned to law and government. At the age of 16 I had worked on my first campaign and by the time I was 20 I had begun to be paid for my efforts. Volunteer work quickly landed me a position working for the US Senate, as one of the youngest paid staff members. I was living in Washington, DC, working closely with members of Congress on Legislation and by the time I graduated college I had already been offered a mid-level job in the executive branch of Government. This was my dream, my goal in life thus far, I had my foot in the door, and was ready to begin the life of public service that I had mapped out for myself.
None of these goals were bad, immoral, or sinful in themselves and yet having attained so many of my goals and being on track for fulfilling my dreams I found my heart heavy I wasn’t satisfied by the treasures that I had chosen. It was at this time in my life that the Lord brought a saintly priest into my life. A priest who helped me to see that we can never be happy if we are not doing the work that God made us for. Examining my life more closely, I began to rediscover
The treasure of my vocation, that had been hiding all along beneath the surface of my heart.
Today I have found that treasure and sold all of my possession, all of my old plans and goals, to obtain it. Since I enter seminary five years ago I have found that peace, contentment, and happiness that can only come from doing God’s will. And I am hear to tell you that despite the sacrifices and difficulties, it is great to be a priest.
And so today I have been sent here today by the Bishop of Fall River to preach to you the good news about vocations. So here it is!
God has a plan for you, [and you, and you]! He has a unique vocation for all of us! It doesn’t matter if you get married, or become a priest, or dedicate your life to God as a single person. What matters is that you listen to the voice of God speaking to you in your heart, showing you the way he has planned for you. Your happiness depends on it because your vocation is the gateway to holiness, it is the entrance into the Kingdom of God, and the map to that Treasure God has buried just for you.
Please God, some of you young men will be called to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, God knows how much the world needs good men to teach, sanctify, and govern His people; andto heal the wounds of the world, with the blood of Christ that comes to us through this Altar! But, what’s most important is that you seek and do God’s will. This is the sure path to the treasure of eternal happiness.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Feast of St. James the Greater
Can you drink from the cup from which I must drink, our Lord asks St. James?
He says yes—but he really doesn’t understand what he is agreeing to.
Its only years latter when he becomes the first of the twelve to lay down his life for his friend and master, Jesus, when he becomes the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom, that he begins to understand what he is being asked for. He begins to understands what the Cup that Christ pours out and drinks really means.
Today on the Feast of St. James, [the patron of this Church], I invite you to consider this cup. After all what is the cup about which the Lord is speaking if not the same chalice from which we drink each Mass—the chalice of the saving blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ?
As Catholics we believe that when we receive the body we receive the blood and when we receive the blood we receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. So whether or not we actually receive from the cup of salvation we who are called to the Altar of God—by virtue of our baptism do indeed drink from this Cup, this Chalice of which our Lord speaks today.
So what does it mean, to drink from this cup and to receive from this altar?
Christ is quite dire about the significance of the cup from which He drinks, alluding to the offering of the last supper and the sacrifice of the Cross which it entails. The cup which Christ drinks from is the cup of sacrifice the sacrifice of all His sufferings, all His persecutions, all His disappointments, loneliness, and pains. It is the cup which symbolizes and then actually becomes the gift of His whole life in thanksgiving to the Father. And so to drink from the Cup of Christ means to participate in his priestly ministry.
To offer a sacrifice to God, not of rams or goats not of material goods but a sacrifice of your very self. As Christians each one of us is called to be a priest to offer sacrifice to God. I think we often forget this, so I will say it again, each one of us is called to be a priest! This is the vocation and responsibility
that we all receive at baptism. Each and every one of us is asked by our God to offer with Christ our trials and tribulations, our crosses together with the passion and death of Christ for the sanctification of the whole world.
This is what we are doing when we receive communion, we are giving this gift of thanksgiving and love to the Father. In turn we drink from the Cup—completing the sacrifice and receiving from God the strength and courage we need to offer ourselves in Love more fully each day of our life.
In the Gospel the mother of the sons of Zebbedi asks that her sons sit at the right and left hand of Jesus at the places of honor in God’s kingdom. Jesus replies asking, can you drink from my cup? Thus He is teaching us that honor and eternal happiness in Heaven—as well as happiness on earth as far as it is possible comes from following the vocation and path that God calls us to, it comes from being a priest and offering sacrifice
But this vocation takes different forms in the lives of different people. All of us are called to a baptismal priesthood, all of us are called to offer our own sufferings and sorrows as sacrifices to the Father. But we do this in different ways:
Some as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers sacrificing so much for the good of the family, for the good of our spouse and of our Children. Anyone who has been married or had children will tell you that there are great joys that come from family life but also great sorrows and difficulties. It is in these joys and sorrows that the Lord calls married people to exercise their baptismal priesthood. He invites them to offer up both the good and the bad joys and sorrows, of family life, as a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
Likewise, those who are single, especially those who make a commitment to live their life in celibate chastity for the sake of the Kingdom. Are not so much spared from the difficulties of family life but invited to offer up the difficulties that come from celibacy for those around them—to become spiritually fruitful. In this way they bear spiritual children as the fruit of their prayer and work in the world.
Finally some, a select few, are called to serve the people by offering up as a sacrifice not just their own sacrifices But by collecting up the sacrifices of the whole Church and combining our sacrifices with the one sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, as priests.
As we hear in the Epistle letter, St. Paul tells us we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Our own sacrifices are gifts we offer to God, but they are gifts made out of the clay of this world, the clay of our lives and so our savior gives his life, to us, so that together with the earthen clay gift of our self we can give God a truly fitting gift, the gift of His Son.
This is what the priest does for the people of God, he blesses and sanctifies, purifies and prepares the people of God, by means of the sacraments of Jesus Christ so that each day, and most especially at the end of our life we can offer our self to God, bound together with the sacrifice of His Son as a truly fitting gift to the Father.
So what is the point of all this talk of sacrifice? What is the point of the cup of Jesus Christ which we are invited by our Lord to drink today?
The point is this—we are all called to know, love, and serve God here and this world for a time, so that we can love and be with him and forever in heaven. Just as the mother of James desires for her sons. However, to love God means to have a grateful heart, to take everything, both the good, and that which seems bad, from God humbly and in a spirit of gratitude.
Accepting it in love however, we necessarily desire to thank our God. Sacrifice, is the way we do this, it is the way we say thank you to God for all he has done for us. When we drink the cup of Christ, when we offer the Father our whole life, we fill ourselves up with love for the Father, and we draw ourselves closer to Him, in joyful expectation of that day when he will draw us to Himself.
Our sanctification, and our happiness both in this life and in the life to come depends on priests. It depends on our High Priest Jesus Christ, who transforms us, by the ministry of his annointed priests and bishops, giving each of us a priestly heart that will one day merit salvation and eternal life with God. We are a priestly people, thus as we approach the cup of Jesus Christ, let’s ask the Lord to give us a grateful heart a priestly heart. Let’s ask him to show us, and to help us accept His plan for us. And with a priestly heart, let us pray in the words of the Psalmist
What recompense can I make to the Lord
For all the good things He has given me.
The cup of Salvation I will raise
And I will call upon the Name of the Lord.
St. James, Apostle and Martyr, pray for us!
He says yes—but he really doesn’t understand what he is agreeing to.
Its only years latter when he becomes the first of the twelve to lay down his life for his friend and master, Jesus, when he becomes the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom, that he begins to understand what he is being asked for. He begins to understands what the Cup that Christ pours out and drinks really means.
Today on the Feast of St. James, [the patron of this Church], I invite you to consider this cup. After all what is the cup about which the Lord is speaking if not the same chalice from which we drink each Mass—the chalice of the saving blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ?
As Catholics we believe that when we receive the body we receive the blood and when we receive the blood we receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. So whether or not we actually receive from the cup of salvation we who are called to the Altar of God—by virtue of our baptism do indeed drink from this Cup, this Chalice of which our Lord speaks today.
So what does it mean, to drink from this cup and to receive from this altar?
Christ is quite dire about the significance of the cup from which He drinks, alluding to the offering of the last supper and the sacrifice of the Cross which it entails. The cup which Christ drinks from is the cup of sacrifice the sacrifice of all His sufferings, all His persecutions, all His disappointments, loneliness, and pains. It is the cup which symbolizes and then actually becomes the gift of His whole life in thanksgiving to the Father. And so to drink from the Cup of Christ means to participate in his priestly ministry.
To offer a sacrifice to God, not of rams or goats not of material goods but a sacrifice of your very self. As Christians each one of us is called to be a priest to offer sacrifice to God. I think we often forget this, so I will say it again, each one of us is called to be a priest! This is the vocation and responsibility
that we all receive at baptism. Each and every one of us is asked by our God to offer with Christ our trials and tribulations, our crosses together with the passion and death of Christ for the sanctification of the whole world.
This is what we are doing when we receive communion, we are giving this gift of thanksgiving and love to the Father. In turn we drink from the Cup—completing the sacrifice and receiving from God the strength and courage we need to offer ourselves in Love more fully each day of our life.
In the Gospel the mother of the sons of Zebbedi asks that her sons sit at the right and left hand of Jesus at the places of honor in God’s kingdom. Jesus replies asking, can you drink from my cup? Thus He is teaching us that honor and eternal happiness in Heaven—as well as happiness on earth as far as it is possible comes from following the vocation and path that God calls us to, it comes from being a priest and offering sacrifice
But this vocation takes different forms in the lives of different people. All of us are called to a baptismal priesthood, all of us are called to offer our own sufferings and sorrows as sacrifices to the Father. But we do this in different ways:
Some as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers sacrificing so much for the good of the family, for the good of our spouse and of our Children. Anyone who has been married or had children will tell you that there are great joys that come from family life but also great sorrows and difficulties. It is in these joys and sorrows that the Lord calls married people to exercise their baptismal priesthood. He invites them to offer up both the good and the bad joys and sorrows, of family life, as a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
Likewise, those who are single, especially those who make a commitment to live their life in celibate chastity for the sake of the Kingdom. Are not so much spared from the difficulties of family life but invited to offer up the difficulties that come from celibacy for those around them—to become spiritually fruitful. In this way they bear spiritual children as the fruit of their prayer and work in the world.
Finally some, a select few, are called to serve the people by offering up as a sacrifice not just their own sacrifices But by collecting up the sacrifices of the whole Church and combining our sacrifices with the one sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, as priests.
As we hear in the Epistle letter, St. Paul tells us we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Our own sacrifices are gifts we offer to God, but they are gifts made out of the clay of this world, the clay of our lives and so our savior gives his life, to us, so that together with the earthen clay gift of our self we can give God a truly fitting gift, the gift of His Son.
This is what the priest does for the people of God, he blesses and sanctifies, purifies and prepares the people of God, by means of the sacraments of Jesus Christ so that each day, and most especially at the end of our life we can offer our self to God, bound together with the sacrifice of His Son as a truly fitting gift to the Father.
So what is the point of all this talk of sacrifice? What is the point of the cup of Jesus Christ which we are invited by our Lord to drink today?
The point is this—we are all called to know, love, and serve God here and this world for a time, so that we can love and be with him and forever in heaven. Just as the mother of James desires for her sons. However, to love God means to have a grateful heart, to take everything, both the good, and that which seems bad, from God humbly and in a spirit of gratitude.
Accepting it in love however, we necessarily desire to thank our God. Sacrifice, is the way we do this, it is the way we say thank you to God for all he has done for us. When we drink the cup of Christ, when we offer the Father our whole life, we fill ourselves up with love for the Father, and we draw ourselves closer to Him, in joyful expectation of that day when he will draw us to Himself.
Our sanctification, and our happiness both in this life and in the life to come depends on priests. It depends on our High Priest Jesus Christ, who transforms us, by the ministry of his annointed priests and bishops, giving each of us a priestly heart that will one day merit salvation and eternal life with God. We are a priestly people, thus as we approach the cup of Jesus Christ, let’s ask the Lord to give us a grateful heart a priestly heart. Let’s ask him to show us, and to help us accept His plan for us. And with a priestly heart, let us pray in the words of the Psalmist
What recompense can I make to the Lord
For all the good things He has given me.
The cup of Salvation I will raise
And I will call upon the Name of the Lord.
St. James, Apostle and Martyr, pray for us!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
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