17th Sunday in Ordinary Time year B
Given at St. Patrick's in Wareham
By: Fr. Ron Floyd
Turkey, cranberry sauce, pumkin pies, and sweet potatoes? Mmmh! Friends can you guess what I am thinking about?
Food is such an integral part of our lives as humans. We need it for nourishment and energy,
but unlike animals, for humans, food is also a means to an end and not just the end itself.
You all might remember the famous scene from the movie, Lady and the Tramp, where Tramp offers Lady the last meatball and a shared piece of spaghetti becomes an occasion for a kiss.
Living with Fr. Sullivan, or rather should I say, living with his golden retriever Mave I know for a fact that dogs don’t share this unique human ability to make food an occasion for communion. Mave has a one track mind when it comes too food: MORE!! Give me More! But as people, we often eat for more profound reasons!
Think about all the occasions that are touchstones in our lives that focus on food: 1st dates, weddings, birthdays, baptisms
For most of us, the shared meal, no matter how good, or bad, it is, is only an excuse to be with the ones we love and share fellowship with them! This is why Jesus chooses food and drink to be the center and heart of the Faith He reveals to the Apostles, and to us.
John’s famous 6th chapter on the Eucharist. Begins today with the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In the Gospel today Jesus starts, as always, with what we know, and then uses the things of this world to point us toward the mysteries of God, to what lies beyond!
Jesus goes off with His Apostles to a secluded place to rest a while, but the people don’t let Him get away, realizing they had found something special in Jesus.
They follow Him, and so He sits down among them and begins to teach them. He begins to reveal the word of God to them to reveal, Himself, who He is, and who God is for us. And the people are captivated by Him, so much so that they go all day without eating.
Naturally they finally get hungry, and so in the midst of this encounter with Jesus! The Word of God, which has been feeding them spiritually feeds them physically, with a food, that seems to come from nowhere, so that we can prolong this experience, this encounter with God!
Notice how closely this multiplication of the loaves resembles the Mass, which is the perpetual celebration of the Eucharist! This is no accident, because the Mass has always been at the center of our faith. It is a singular key to interpreting scripture
Jesus starts His public life by turning water to wine, and today He ends this first part of His public life by feeding thousands with a few loaves. This miracle and the subsequent teaching about the bread of life marks a turning point in John’s Gospel, a turning point which ultimately leads to the Cross. After the discourse on the Eucharist, the crowds turn away from Jesus and Jesus’ relationship with the leaders of the people becomes increasingly more adversarial.
Jesus feeds the crowds and in doing so reveals Himself as the only Son of the Father, the source of all nourishment, and the only Way to the Father.
This will become clearer and clearer as we make our way through Chapter 6 of St John's Gospel, and as Jesus reveals His life, His Body and Blood, as the bread of Life.
The result of Jesus’ teaching about the Eucharist, then, as today, was disbelief! Disbelief based on a fundamental rejection of Jesus’s Divinity! Jesus is not just giving the crowds a free lunch to show them God's generosity and concern; he is also getting them ready to understand his coming discourse about the Eucharist. Jesus gives us the Eucharist because we need it, for the same reason that He feeds the crowds today!
We need it to be fed, we need it to grow, and ultimately we need the Eucharist to be the occasion for encountering, knowing, loving, and servering God! This is our ultimate purpose in this life!
In the Eucharist, our lips touch the lips of God in a kiss! In an embrace, that is meant to satisfy our heart, and eventually last forever!
Today, our God is here, through me His unworthy servant and through the holy Gospel. He is teaching you just like he taught the crowds. When He tells us—I am the bread of Life. Unless you eat by flesh and drink my blood you will not have life within you.
How will we react?
Will we be scandalized like the crowds and abandon Jesus? Or will we become angry, and persecute Him. Or will we say with the Apostles: Lord You have the Words of ever lasting life and we belief and are convinced that You are the Son of God!
As we go to the Altar of God and approach our Eucharistic Lord let's make an effort to live this reality more deeply:
• by paying attention to the sacred words of the liturgy,
• by stirring up sentiments of gratitude and faith in our hearts,
• and by remembering the reality that what we eat and drink is the Body and Blood of Christ, that unites us to Catholics throughout the world and throughout history who have gathered around the same altar and received the same Holy Communion, obeying our Lords' command: "Do this in remembrance of me."
What Recompense can I give to the Lord?
Ordination to the Diaconate
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Rest with Jesus
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B
Given at St. Patrick's in Wareham
By: Fr. Ron Floyd, P.V.
My brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, many people don’t really understand
what it means to be a Christian.
What it means to be a Catholic! They think:
- That being a Catholic means being a “good person”
- That it means following the rules
- That it means lots of prohibitions
In general they think that being a Catholic is hard work! And in a sense it is, because being a Catholic always means being counter-cultural. Even in the best culture there are always things that can be improved and made more perfect.Christians must accept the good but also always work hard to resist and reform the world around them. However in Christ even this can become easy for us if we know and understand what it really means to be a catholic, because being Catholic, being Christan, as the Church was first called in Ephesus means being with Christ.
In the Gospel today Jesus invites his Apostles "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." Jesus understands that the work of being a follower of the Way: The Way the Truth and the Light of Jesus Christ can be tiresome, not because of the burden of our own faith
But because our faith requires us to help lift the burden off the shoulders of our neighbors: friends and enemies alike.. It is the way of the world that is truly difficult characterized as it is by selfishness, greed, and malice.
Its difficult to be a pagan, unbeliever, or even a half-hearted believer, because a life without God, without Christ, is a life dominated by fear and insecurity, which begets frustration, envy anger, and wrath. In contrast Jesus tells us in the Gospel that: my yoke is easy, my burden light!
Being a Christian is not primarily about following rules and regulations
Its not about being “a good person,” its not about fearing God’s wrath and retribution—its primarily about resting in Jesus. Its about being close to Jesus who is both Love and Truth
When we are close to Jesus, as we are whenever we read the scriptures, or pray in his name
and especially when we gather together to offer His Sacrifice of Praise—the Mass.
Jesus shows us the truth about ourselves. He shows us the truth about what is good and the truth about what it means to love and how to do it. If we are active listeners, if we have open ears, and hearts, and minds just the grace of being with Him will be enough to free us from our world of sin and teach us to Love.
This is why St. Augustine can say: Love and do what ever you will. When we truly learn the way of Jesus the way of love—then we don't have to worry about sin because in true love there is no room for sin! Love permits no evil! When we are loved by Jesus, by God, we have nothing more to fear from the world. And so we are free from all its traps.
As St. Paul says: He is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.
If you have ever been around someone who made you feel safe, and want to be a better person, then you have experienced what it means to be a Christian, only with Christ this effect is infinitely more powerful.
As we turn to the Altar then, pray for the grace to be able to rest with Jesus in this great Sacrament. Let Jesus into your heart and let him transform you into another Christ; into a person that make those around them want to be a better persons!
Lord Jesus send down your spirit and renew the face of the Earth.
Given at St. Patrick's in Wareham
By: Fr. Ron Floyd, P.V.
My brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, many people don’t really understand
what it means to be a Christian.
What it means to be a Catholic! They think:
- That being a Catholic means being a “good person”
- That it means following the rules
- That it means lots of prohibitions
In general they think that being a Catholic is hard work! And in a sense it is, because being a Catholic always means being counter-cultural. Even in the best culture there are always things that can be improved and made more perfect.Christians must accept the good but also always work hard to resist and reform the world around them. However in Christ even this can become easy for us if we know and understand what it really means to be a catholic, because being Catholic, being Christan, as the Church was first called in Ephesus means being with Christ.
In the Gospel today Jesus invites his Apostles "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." Jesus understands that the work of being a follower of the Way: The Way the Truth and the Light of Jesus Christ can be tiresome, not because of the burden of our own faith
But because our faith requires us to help lift the burden off the shoulders of our neighbors: friends and enemies alike.. It is the way of the world that is truly difficult characterized as it is by selfishness, greed, and malice.
Its difficult to be a pagan, unbeliever, or even a half-hearted believer, because a life without God, without Christ, is a life dominated by fear and insecurity, which begets frustration, envy anger, and wrath. In contrast Jesus tells us in the Gospel that: my yoke is easy, my burden light!
Being a Christian is not primarily about following rules and regulations
Its not about being “a good person,” its not about fearing God’s wrath and retribution—its primarily about resting in Jesus. Its about being close to Jesus who is both Love and Truth
When we are close to Jesus, as we are whenever we read the scriptures, or pray in his name
and especially when we gather together to offer His Sacrifice of Praise—the Mass.
Jesus shows us the truth about ourselves. He shows us the truth about what is good and the truth about what it means to love and how to do it. If we are active listeners, if we have open ears, and hearts, and minds just the grace of being with Him will be enough to free us from our world of sin and teach us to Love.
This is why St. Augustine can say: Love and do what ever you will. When we truly learn the way of Jesus the way of love—then we don't have to worry about sin because in true love there is no room for sin! Love permits no evil! When we are loved by Jesus, by God, we have nothing more to fear from the world. And so we are free from all its traps.
As St. Paul says: He is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.
If you have ever been around someone who made you feel safe, and want to be a better person, then you have experienced what it means to be a Christian, only with Christ this effect is infinitely more powerful.
As we turn to the Altar then, pray for the grace to be able to rest with Jesus in this great Sacrament. Let Jesus into your heart and let him transform you into another Christ; into a person that make those around them want to be a better persons!
Lord Jesus send down your spirit and renew the face of the Earth.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Schema Israel: Hear the Word of God!
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B
Given at St. Patrick's in Wareham
By: Fr. Ron Floyd, P.V.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Today Jesus is standing at the door, and knocking, and calling out to each of us asking us to let him in. Imagine him standing there waiting for you on your doorstep Would you let him in?
I think most of us want to see Jesus. Most of us want to talk to him, ask him questions, to learn what we need to do to be truly happy. So, if Jesus came and knocked at our door and sat down in our living room, we would probably listen carefully to what he had to say.
At least, that's what we would like to think. However, despite our desire to see God, there is an equally strong fear in our heart of doing so. A fear of what hearing God’s word might mean. Listening to God's word isn't always easy because while many of us like the notion of having the Son of God in our house the reason why the book of Revelation paints a picture of Jesus standing at the door and knocking is because many of us don’t like the reality of what Jesus’ presence means!
And so we often keep him outside just as in the first reading today the Israelites banish Amos, forcing the bearer of God’s word, outside the kingdom of Israel.
• Amos had been telling the people of Israel that they needed to return to the basics of their faith, following the commandments and giving up their self-indulgent idolatries.
• You would think that with God's authority and power behind him, everyone would simply hear and obey.
• But the message wasn't comfortable for them, and so they rejected it, exiling the bearer of God’s word from Israel.
In the Gospel today Jesus warns his Apostles that like Amos they too will be despised and rejected by some, for knocking on the doors of hearts and trying to bring Jesus in.
Jesus is preparing them for rejection because he knows that fallen human nature doesn't like to be pushed outside of its comfort zone. But his message of salvation does just that; it pushes us out of our comfort zone.
The Gospel is always a two edged sword, always able to both wound our enemies and ourselves.
And so today the Gospel not only tells us what to do when inevitably we are rejected for being Christians. But it also indicts us for all those times that we have shut the doors of our hearts and our homes to the Word
Today we must ask ourselves if we truly let Jesus into our heart? When we hear him knocking how well we listen to God's words? Are we selective listeners, picking and choosing according to what fits our comfort zone? Do we open the door just a crack for Jesus, make sure the chain is still on the door so Jesus can’t truly get in? Or are we true followers of Christ, willing to love and obey him even when it means carrying our piece of the cross, willing to say with today's Psalm: "I will hear what God proclaims"?
It's an important question, because our hearts are like the house Jesus mentions in the Gospel. If we welcome God's word, his grace will come and stay there, bringing peace, wisdom, and salvation, but if we don't, God's word will shake the dust from its feet and move on.
Each time Jesus knocks on our door we are given a chance, a momentary occasion, to enter more deeply into the life of God, and while God is merciful we must Beware,
as St. Augustine warns of the grace of God that passes by, never to return again.
Of course, when we keep Jesus out of our life we save ourselves a lot of trouble. I mean, if you are really living your Christian life you know that it is not easy to be a follower of Jesus. God’s word demands that we change the way we live! It demands that we live as God Created us! It demands that we live sacrificially and it demands that we ultimately die for love of our neighbors. God’s word forces us to confront the difficult reality of who we are and what we were made for and how we have utterly failed over and again!
But the question we must ask is whether it’s better to live a comfortable lie or a difficult truth?
This question, which is not new to man, but has plagued us since the Garden of Eden is captured perfectly in a scene from the blockbuster movie: the Matrix.
At the beginning of that movie the main Character Neo is confronted by a choice, symbolized by two pills, one blue, one red.
Choose the blue pill and he will forget that he was ever confronted with a choice returning to a computer generated prison, a lie, but a pleasant lie.
Choose the red one however and we will awaken to the reality of a post-apocalyptic nightmare and a war for the future of mankind.
When Jesus knocks on the door of our heart, we too are confronted with the same choice as Neo,
a name which coincidentally means new—suggesting that he is a symbol of a new or a renewed humanity.
If we let Jesus into our heart He will remain with us and feed us we will become new creature, new men and women in Christ, but we will also be faced with the unpleasant reality that our modern life is based on so many lies and half truths.
In contranst if we ignore him, we will remain the same, undisturbed but also unchanged.
What’s at stake? Truth, and with it true happiness, fulfillment, and love.
What’s at stake is our salvation.
Listening to God can be uncomfortable – there's no escape from that. God loves us too much to let us vegetate in our comfort zones. Rather he is always leads us further along the path of spiritual maturity, further up the mountain of wisdom, courage and holiness—even though it is difficult! Today God is inviting us to renew our commitment to be good listeners, to let Jesus in and thus be changed. He reminds us that He is worthy of such a commitment at the Altar where He gives up His life for us in the Eucharist.
Part of the difficulty, however, of allowing Jesus into our heart and receiving Him in the Eucharist, is that its not enough for us to be changed. We who are filled with the Word and Spirit of God, must in turn bring the Word of God with us into the World to all those who are not here today.
God wants to speak to them too, to convince them that his commandments and counsels are the real path to lasting happiness now and forever. Therefore we must reminded our families and friends who are afraid to swim against the current of popular opinion that Jesus is knocking, speaking also to them today!
Remember each momentary encounter with the Word of God in the events and encounters of our life is a priceless, irrepeatable gift. While we may have other opportunities to answer Christ’s call and to bring it to others, we never know what graces we will miss if we fail to let Jesus in and listen to His Word today!
Pray that we be given the strength to open the door to Jesus and to invite Him into the lives of those around us.
Given at St. Patrick's in Wareham
By: Fr. Ron Floyd, P.V.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Today Jesus is standing at the door, and knocking, and calling out to each of us asking us to let him in. Imagine him standing there waiting for you on your doorstep Would you let him in?
I think most of us want to see Jesus. Most of us want to talk to him, ask him questions, to learn what we need to do to be truly happy. So, if Jesus came and knocked at our door and sat down in our living room, we would probably listen carefully to what he had to say.
At least, that's what we would like to think. However, despite our desire to see God, there is an equally strong fear in our heart of doing so. A fear of what hearing God’s word might mean. Listening to God's word isn't always easy because while many of us like the notion of having the Son of God in our house the reason why the book of Revelation paints a picture of Jesus standing at the door and knocking is because many of us don’t like the reality of what Jesus’ presence means!
And so we often keep him outside just as in the first reading today the Israelites banish Amos, forcing the bearer of God’s word, outside the kingdom of Israel.
• Amos had been telling the people of Israel that they needed to return to the basics of their faith, following the commandments and giving up their self-indulgent idolatries.
• You would think that with God's authority and power behind him, everyone would simply hear and obey.
• But the message wasn't comfortable for them, and so they rejected it, exiling the bearer of God’s word from Israel.
In the Gospel today Jesus warns his Apostles that like Amos they too will be despised and rejected by some, for knocking on the doors of hearts and trying to bring Jesus in.
Jesus is preparing them for rejection because he knows that fallen human nature doesn't like to be pushed outside of its comfort zone. But his message of salvation does just that; it pushes us out of our comfort zone.
The Gospel is always a two edged sword, always able to both wound our enemies and ourselves.
And so today the Gospel not only tells us what to do when inevitably we are rejected for being Christians. But it also indicts us for all those times that we have shut the doors of our hearts and our homes to the Word
Today we must ask ourselves if we truly let Jesus into our heart? When we hear him knocking how well we listen to God's words? Are we selective listeners, picking and choosing according to what fits our comfort zone? Do we open the door just a crack for Jesus, make sure the chain is still on the door so Jesus can’t truly get in? Or are we true followers of Christ, willing to love and obey him even when it means carrying our piece of the cross, willing to say with today's Psalm: "I will hear what God proclaims"?
It's an important question, because our hearts are like the house Jesus mentions in the Gospel. If we welcome God's word, his grace will come and stay there, bringing peace, wisdom, and salvation, but if we don't, God's word will shake the dust from its feet and move on.
Each time Jesus knocks on our door we are given a chance, a momentary occasion, to enter more deeply into the life of God, and while God is merciful we must Beware,
as St. Augustine warns of the grace of God that passes by, never to return again.
Of course, when we keep Jesus out of our life we save ourselves a lot of trouble. I mean, if you are really living your Christian life you know that it is not easy to be a follower of Jesus. God’s word demands that we change the way we live! It demands that we live as God Created us! It demands that we live sacrificially and it demands that we ultimately die for love of our neighbors. God’s word forces us to confront the difficult reality of who we are and what we were made for and how we have utterly failed over and again!
But the question we must ask is whether it’s better to live a comfortable lie or a difficult truth?
This question, which is not new to man, but has plagued us since the Garden of Eden is captured perfectly in a scene from the blockbuster movie: the Matrix.
At the beginning of that movie the main Character Neo is confronted by a choice, symbolized by two pills, one blue, one red.
Choose the blue pill and he will forget that he was ever confronted with a choice returning to a computer generated prison, a lie, but a pleasant lie.
Choose the red one however and we will awaken to the reality of a post-apocalyptic nightmare and a war for the future of mankind.
When Jesus knocks on the door of our heart, we too are confronted with the same choice as Neo,
a name which coincidentally means new—suggesting that he is a symbol of a new or a renewed humanity.
If we let Jesus into our heart He will remain with us and feed us we will become new creature, new men and women in Christ, but we will also be faced with the unpleasant reality that our modern life is based on so many lies and half truths.
In contranst if we ignore him, we will remain the same, undisturbed but also unchanged.
What’s at stake? Truth, and with it true happiness, fulfillment, and love.
What’s at stake is our salvation.
Listening to God can be uncomfortable – there's no escape from that. God loves us too much to let us vegetate in our comfort zones. Rather he is always leads us further along the path of spiritual maturity, further up the mountain of wisdom, courage and holiness—even though it is difficult! Today God is inviting us to renew our commitment to be good listeners, to let Jesus in and thus be changed. He reminds us that He is worthy of such a commitment at the Altar where He gives up His life for us in the Eucharist.
Part of the difficulty, however, of allowing Jesus into our heart and receiving Him in the Eucharist, is that its not enough for us to be changed. We who are filled with the Word and Spirit of God, must in turn bring the Word of God with us into the World to all those who are not here today.
God wants to speak to them too, to convince them that his commandments and counsels are the real path to lasting happiness now and forever. Therefore we must reminded our families and friends who are afraid to swim against the current of popular opinion that Jesus is knocking, speaking also to them today!
Remember each momentary encounter with the Word of God in the events and encounters of our life is a priceless, irrepeatable gift. While we may have other opportunities to answer Christ’s call and to bring it to others, we never know what graces we will miss if we fail to let Jesus in and listen to His Word today!
Pray that we be given the strength to open the door to Jesus and to invite Him into the lives of those around us.
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