Greetings in the Interim

Dear Friends,

The last month has been a time of transition – from one job to another via a summer in yet another job, from one residence to another. So, I’ve not been blogging for a while. But I miss it and so will be back at it as soon as I can.

The Lord’s faithfulness and kindness to me over these months has been constant, plentiful and unfailing. Pray always! Without him I – and we – can do nothing.

Fr Ben

Walking with Jesus during Holy Week

The genius of Catholicism is its ability to express our faith vividly and concretely through symbols and art: the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, the Sacred Heart, and above all the Eucharist are only a few.

In that spirit I hope these reflections will give you a vivid and concrete experience of Jesus’ life during the last week of his earthly life. These events give us the Eucharist. To walk with Jesus in Holy Week, especially the Easter Triduum, is to walk the reality of the Eucharist.

The Gospel of John Chapters 11 to 13, 14 and 15, and 18 and 19 is the text for this series. Please read as much of this Gospel as you can. It is a refined, elegant, dramatic piece of writing. And, since it is sacred Scripture, the Holy Spirit will certainly speak to you through the text.

You might want to read this series in order, since they follow the story line.

But if one verse or one section strikes you in particular, don’t hesitate to stay with it.

Move at your own speed, as the Holy Spirit seems to be leading you.

I. Jesus is “Greatly Disturbed in Spirit”

Please read Chapter 11 of the Gospel of John.

The first part of Chapter 11 narrates the raising of Lazarus, which we all know too well and so don’t really “hear.” So, read it slowly, letting the story unfold moment by moment as though you are hearing it for the first time.

Keep asking yourself, “Why is Jesus delaying his arrival?” The author gives us no clue.

Notice v33: Jesus is “greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” and begins to weep.

Why this reaction?

-- He delayed his own arrival, so he can’t be grieving Lazarus’ death.
-- Maybe he’s moved by other people’s grief,
but he knows what he is about to do, so why grieve?
-- “The Jews” say, “See how he loved him.” But “the Jews” are never portrayed positively in John, so their observation must be wrong.

Why would Jesus weep?

Each time Jesus performs a miracle, called a sign, in the Gospel of John, opposition grows. Some followers leave him. The religious leaders attack him. Even his family thinks he is mad.

So, what might he be thinking as he prepares to raise Lazarus from the dead?

“People have started to oppose me more and more, including the Jewish leaders. What will they do to me if I raise Lazarus from the dead? Their opposition could turn violent, and they might kill me.”

Ask yourself:

Have you ever been close to making a decision that you know will bring you criticism and opposition? A decision in your family or where you work?

Can you feel what Jesus must be feeling when he is “greatly disturbed in spirit”?

Now reread the remainder of the chapter.

What is happening? The Jewish leaders hear of the raising of Lazarus and decide to kill Jesus. Just what he was worried about!

In your prayer and reflection, be with Jesus as he is surrounded by Mary, Martha, and the other mourners. Feel his anxiety, yet also his sense that this is his mission.

Thank him for being faithful to that mission.
Ask him to help you be with him as he pursues his mission.

II. Jesus’ “Soul is Troubled”

Please read Chapter 12 of the Gospel of John.

So, Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, and “the Jews” have decided to kill him. A woman anoints him with oil, which he understands as anointing him for his burial, and he rides triumphantly into Jerusalem.

Notice that in v27 Jesus repeats a variation on his statement from Chapter 11:

“Now my soul is troubled.”

Why?

This time he gives a partial answer:

“And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour.’ No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”

The reason he has come is to glorify the Father’s name: to reveal himself as the Word and as God’s love for creation and to demonstrate God’s power over sin and death.

In the Gospel of John we do not see Jesus say in the Garden “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me...” as he does in Luke 22. But, we hear a similar idea in the above statements: he recognizes that doubt and anxiety could hold him back. But nonetheless, he renews his commitment to the Father.

Notice this two-fold movement:

1. “I am tempted to doubt and be afraid – and I have good reason to be afraid…
2. But I choose to be faithful to the Father who has been faithful to me.”

When have you had reason to be afraid, to want to escape?
Who or what threatened to betray you?
Enemies? Those jealous of you? Your own body falling sick and betraying you?

Can you feel the movement away from fear toward trust in God?

In your prayer and reflection, be with Jesus as he is afraid,
recalling the threats against him.

Feel him turn from the fear to be with the Father.

Thank him for his faithfulness to the Father.
Ask him for the grace to do the same with whatever confronts you.

III. Jesus is “Troubled” and “Disturbed” a Third Time

Now read Chapter 13, up to Judas’ leaving the Last Supper in v30.

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet as a sign of his love for them, while also feeling “troubled in spirit…” for a reason he will shortly tell them. (Remember he has felt “disturbed in spirit” in chapter 11, his “soul is troubled” in chapter 12, and in chapter 13 he is about to announce a similar feeling.)

Then, “Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me” (v21).

So, not only will “the Jews” betray him, but a friend will too!

Do you know the fear of realizing that someone you trust will betray you?
-- a co-worker who has become jealous of your gifts or “success”
-- a new supervisor who feels you’re one of the “old guard,” not to be trusted.

Do you know the fear that something will betray you?
-- your body that ages and declines in health, even turning ill unexpectedly
-- a storm approaching your home, your vacation site, the place where your children are camping.

Then, Judas leaves, and the author tells us that “…it was night.” In the Gospel of John night and darkness always symbolize a misunderstanding about Jesus or a failure to understand who he is. Nicodemus, for example, who couldn’t understand who Jesus was, came to Jesus by night in Chapter 3.

In Chapter 13 “night” takes on the additional sense of betrayal, evil, hatred, jealousy, and so on. “And it was night” signals us that with Judas’ departure from the Last Supper, the worst of human sin is now aroused against Jesus and will attempt to destroy him.

How must he feel?

In your prayer and reflection feel yourself at the Last Supper watching Jesus as he announces his betrayal by one seated at the table.

Jesus has begun his Passion.

Be his friend. Pray for him.

Ask him to be with you as you experience moments of your own passion.

IV. Jesus Isn’t Afraid

Please read Chapter 14 of the Gospel of John.

Jesus and his friends are still seated at the Last Supper. Jesus has expressed his own distress and has announced that one of them will betray him. But notice what he says to the disciples as Chapter 14 begins:

Let not your hearts be troubled.

What an extraordinary statement! He has every reason to be afraid, and he has said that his spirit is troubled. Nonetheless, he makes an essential statement of faith.

Notice the same two-fold movement we’ve seen already:

1. I am in the midst of trouble, opposition, and danger,
2. But I choose to remain faithful to the Father and not let my heart be troubled.

My human life may be threatened by those who don’t understand me, he says, but I feel the Father’s love poured constantly into my heart. And so, I’m not afraid, even though my spirit may be troubled.

This is easily said. Can it actually be done? Is it realistic? How can we do this?

We would need a trusting friend whose friendship fills us with strength and courage.

And in the next chapter Jesus offers his disciples just such a friend: himself!

This is a promise: Let not your hearts be troubled.

In your prayer and reflection, identify a circumstance in your own life when your spirit felt troubled.

How did you react?
Were you able to feel drawn to the Lord for strength and reassurances?

Based on this experience, how do deal – how are you dealing – with a troubled experience in your life?

Ask Jesus and the Father for courage and strength.

V. He Sustains Us at Every Moment

Please read Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John.

As the chapter begins, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower…I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing…abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

The vine, the main stem conducts a steady and reliable flow of nourishment to the branches. This nourishment? The love, the grace of God the Father flowing through Jesus that sustains all of creation in being.

And the relationship of the vine to the branch is that of abiding: a moment-by-moment, vital, dynamic, enlivening, nourishing relationship.

When we pray, we receive a renewed flow of divine nourishment into our hearts and our lives in every circumstance in which we find ourselves. As we are able to realize that we are being nourished and feel this flow of love, of grace into our lives, we are able to be courageous in the face of opposition and trouble.

This is the “secret” of Jesus’ confidence. His relationship with the Father conducts the Father’s love to him constantly. He receives courage and care from the Father and so has the strength to carry on his mission. And so he can truthfully say to his disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled.”

In your prayer and reflection, ask the Lord, ask the Father to abide in you.

Ask him to pour his love into your heart and life so you don’t have to be afraid in any circumstance of your life

Ask for constant nourishment, faith, courage, and strength.

Feel his care for you. Watch the events of your life for evidence of this care.

VI. We’re Friends of the Lord!

Notice v15 of Chapter 15:

“I do not call you servants any longer because the servant does not know what the master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father…”

Another extraordinary statement! Jesus calls each one of us his friends! And his relationship of friendship with us conducts the divine love into our hearts constantly. That’s what friendship is – a dynamic giving to the other, a desiring the good of the other (to quote Aquinas).

Abiding, exemplified by the relationship of the vine to the branch, is a moment-by-moment, vital, dynamic, enlivening, nourishing relationship. It lives, flows, grows, and transforms, like a mother and father loving a child, like a gardener nourishing a garden.

Abiding is the central dynamic of the spiritual life. When we pray our individual prayer, when we participate in the Eucharist, when we experience “coincidences” that can only have a divine origin, we are engaging with God who abides in us and in creation.

And when we do these things, we engage God in the person of Jesus Christ as our friend. And we engage him as we would engage a friend: spend time with him, converse with him, observe him active in our lives.

In your prayer and reflection, ask yourself where you have seen God active in your life as your friend. Ask him to abide in you. Ask him to be yet more your friend.

VII. Who is Judge? And Who is Judged?

Please read Chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel of John.

Picture in your mind’s eye the scene in Chapter 19: the soldiers have flogged Jesus and placed a crown of thorns on his head and a purple robe around him, and Pilate has led him outside his headquarters before all the people.

“Pilate brought Jesus outside and sat (Jesus?) on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement or in Hebrew Gabbatha.” v13

The Greek text is unclear on a vital point:

-- does Pilate himself sit on the judge’s bench? Or
-- does Pilate make Jesus sit on it?

When Pilate asks, Jesus makes no claim to being king or judge.

But Pilate unwittingly demonstrates Jesus’ kingship and judgeship by seating him on the judge’s bench for all the people to see.

And what do they see?

-- an innocent man who has been falsely accused and who has been beaten, tortured, ridiculed, and mocked as a consequence of their hatred, bitterness, resentment, and envy.

-- in other words, they see their own sinfulness made visible and concrete in Jesus’ own person.

-- they see Jesus who has taken the sins of the world upon himself – literally on his body.

In this important sense he is their judge, the one who passes judgment on their sin.


In your prayer and reflection, “see” and recognize Jesus seating on the judge’s bench as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” as John the Baptist called him in Chapter 1.

Ask him to take your sin away too.

Ask him to take the sin of the world that hurts you and everyone else.

VIII. Jesus Faces Ultimate Evil

In text that follows immediately on the above scene in Chapter 19, Jesus’ two antagonists – Pilate and “the Jews” – reveal who they really are: ultimate evil.

v14ff: “Pilate said to the Jews, ‘Here is your king.’
They cried out, ‘Away with him! Crucify him!’
Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your king?’
The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’”

Notice that the final statement comes not from “the Jews,” meaning, the Jewish people. It comes from the chief priests, the highest ranking of the Jewish leaders.

And, it is the height of blasphemy – denying God as their king!

The most important and influential of “the Jews” have committed
the worst imaginable sin: blasphemy.

The next verse: “Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.”

The Roman magistrate’s greatest responsibility is seeing that justice is carried out.

The highest ranking Roman official has committed
the worst imaginable sin: executing a man he knows to be innocent.

This is ultimate evil!

So, again Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken upon himself the sins of the world.

In your prayer and reflection, thank Jesus for having the faith in the Father and the courage to undergo such torment as the means of completing his mission.

Recognize that Jesus will be with you, will abide in you, especially when you are challenged, accused, and betrayed.

IX. Jesus begins his ascent to the Father

In his encounter with Nicodemus in Chapter 3 Jesus predicted that

“…just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so much the Son of Man be lifted up,…” v14, referring to Numbers 21:9.

And he has predicted that

“when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (12:32).

Once Jesus has been nailed to the cross, the cross, with him on it, is lifted into an upright position. He is literally “lifted up from earth.”

This movement upward, the Gospel implies, is the beginning of the upward movement toward the Father. (There is no ascension story in the Gospel of John.)

Jesus’ ascent is of course the action of the Father. As Jesus offers himself as the Lamb of God, the Father receives his offering and lifts his Son into new life.

As the Father does so, Jesus and the Father break the power of sin and death.

“Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life…”

In breaking the power of sin and death and in being the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus frees us from the power of sin – our own and the world’s sin imposed upon us. We are free to live fuller and more abundant lives and to experience the Lord’s complete joy.

“By your cross and resurrection you have set us free…”

In your prayer and reflection, “see” the cross being lifted, and “feel” the reality of your release from sin – your own and the world’s that you suffer – being lifted from you.

Thank him for what he has done for you.

See and feel this freedom inside yourself.

Nurture this freedom by seeing the many good things in creation, especially the blessings that come into your life. My human life may be threatened by those who don’t understand me, he says, but I feel the Father’s love poured constantly into my heart. And so, I’m not afraid, even though my spirit may be troubled.

Prepare to celebrate the greatest day of the liturgical year: The Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord!

Live Christ's Eucharist in Your Daily Life!

Christ died for us – really died for us. He did not die in the abstract world of theological ruminations. He died for us in the reality of our daily lives. Jesus of Nazareth had to die, and the Risen Christ had to rise. And this dying and rising make all the difference in the world to us as Catholic Christians.

“Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life…”

“By your cross and resurrection you have set us free…”

Once we experience this reality in the concrete events of our lives – that Christ destroyed death for us and restores us to life when the world tries to hurt us, constrain us, betray us – then our lives are richer, fuller, more meaningful, better. Once we experience this new freedom in the concrete events of our lives, then our lives are richer, fuller and more meaningful, better.

It is through His Passion, Death and Resurrection we can come into the fullness of life, the abundance of life, the complete joy that he promises us (see John 10:10; 15:11).

So, we need to understand and his Passion, Death and Resurrection and to live this reality in the concrete events of our daily lives.

The Eucharist embodies the fullness of this reality. His Eucharist is our resurrection from our own passion and death. His Eucharist is our Good News.

This set of nine reflections – divided into individual posts - offers you the chance to enter more deeply into the experience of Jesus of Nazareth so that you can appreciate what he did for us – for you! – and so come to live in that reality in a whole new way.

Ask in the Lord in prayer to help you understand more deeply the mystery of his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

And feel Him come into your life in a whole new way.

1. Jesus of Nazareth Knows Our Sufferings

Jesus of Nazareth was both fully divine and fully human, “like us in all things but sin.” So, Jesus of Nazareth experienced human life as we experience it. As the Risen Christ who sits in Glory at the Father’s right hand, he knows how human beings suffer at human hands because he suffered at human hands too. Scripture affirms this fundamental likeness between the Risen Christ and us and comes to an extraordinary conclusion:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who is every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin…Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).

As a good Jew, Jesus of Nazareth loved God, family and neighbor. He spoke out against injustice, unkindness and dishonesty. He gave hope to the poor, the disenfranchised, and the alien. He criticized religious leaders who not only failed to respond to injustice, but who only congratulated themselves on being “religious” and so superior. Jesus was a whistleblower, an activist, and animator, what Scripture calls a prophet.

Inevitably, people misunderstood him and failed to respond to him, took him for granted, and even deserted him. Religious leaders condemned him and plotted against him. And he responded as you and I might under the same circumstances:

He lost his ability to help people when confronted by their lack of willingness to be helped, their cynicism and skepticism. “He was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:1-6).

He was “grieved at the hardness of heart” of leaders who failed to respond to human need (Mark 3:1-5).

He was angry with the moneychangers in the temple who turned work of moral worth into self-promotion and self-satisfaction (John 2:13-17).

He felt fear at the prospect of his betrayal, passion and crucifixion (John 12:27; 13:21) and mostly notably in the Garden when he sweated drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

Now, translate the formal language of Scripture into the words of our own experience:

Have you become discouraged in your attempts to be helpful because people doubt your intentions or your ideas, say, in your family or your parish?

Have you seen official indifference to people’s suffering (think: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans)?

Have you seen powerful people hurt “average” people for their own gain (think: Enron)?

Have you been afraid to make a decision in your family or at work for fear of disapproval and threats?

Notice how similar our experience of human life is to his. This means that we can trust in him to “know our weaknesses” because he experienced weakness and opposition. “So let us approach the throne of grace with boldness,” because Jesus of Nazareth knows our sufferings.

2. We Walk Where Jesus Walked

The Risen Christ, who was Jesus of Nazareth, knows human suffering, because he suffered in his humanity. To enter into the mystery of his Eucharist, we must understand that there is a fundamental identity between Jesus’ experience of suffering and ours.

We must grasp this identity. Suppose in the place where you work, you recognize that something dishonest is being done, or that the company is discriminating against a person or group of people. You might decide to speak up, to be a whistleblower. That would be the right thing to do. But it could easily bring you opposition, anger, or resentment. People might talk about you behind your back and misrepresent what you said. Your speaking out might even cost you a promotion or your job. Your suffering in this case is an exact partner to Jesus’ suffering: you stand for justice and so are persecuted, just as he was. This mistreatment is what Jesus experienced when he was brought before the religious authorities and the Romans.

Suppose you need to make certain decisions in your family about finances, where and when to vacation, what curfew to establish for your children, or whether to challenge a parent on drinking too much. This decision might be bad news for the hearer: “We can’t take our usual, week-long vacation this year.” “You have to be home at midnight.” And you are anxious about the backlash when you announce this decision. Your anxiety is the same as Jesus’ anxiety in the Garden: “I must do what is right, but I will suffer if I do.”

Suppose you lose your job because you’re a whistleblower, or your husband leaves you without an income to marry a much younger woman, or if your children stop talking to you for a while, then they have crucified you. You are innocent, but they mistreat you.

(Remember too the converse: if you are the husband leaving an older wife, or a spouse having an affair, or a child snubbing a parent, you have crucified them.)

In these cases your suffering is the same suffering Jesus endured. And the remedy is the same: don’t be tempted to give up on God (next post); yield to the Father’s love (following post); and meet Jesus in his Eucharist where his broken body and blood poured out brings an anointing of the Father’s love on all who are gathered together.

We live Jesus’ Eucharist in our daily lives as we act rightly and justly, take on the suffering that right acting evokes, and receive the Father’s love that carries us into new life.

3. Don't Give Up on God

When we are treated unjustly or disrespectfully or maliciously, a natural reaction is to feel hurt and angry. The hurt and anger make us want to give up or to run away from human tormentors. We can also be tempted to blame God, to give up on God, and to run away from God.

“Why did God let this happen?”
“I’ve been a good person, so God should take care of me.”
“How can God claim to love me if he lets this happen?”

In Luke 22:42 Jesus is tempted to give up: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.” He has worked hard at his ministry, but the opposition has grown intense. “As a matter of my own personal, preference, I don’t want to face the savagery of those who hate me,” he seems to say, “so if it is up to me, I want to walk away from all this.”

In “The Passion of the Christ” Mel Gibson emphasizes this temptation by showing us Satan lurking in the shadows of Gethsemane. Jesus felt this temptation acutely, and his anguish caused him to sweat drops of blood.

But Jesus lived in a fundamental relationship of love and trust with the Father and had committed himself to the Father’s project of Building the Kingdom. He knew that he had a unique role in this project, one that only he could play. “And what should I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.” (John 12:27). So, Jesus resisted the temptation to run away, to give up on his followers, and to give up on God.

We too must resist the temptation to give up on God. We must come to realize that when we suffer, we are Jesus’ partner in his suffering, and he is our partner in ours. We are never alone in these sufferings. Jesus is with us, and he asks us to be with him. He will be faithful to the end. But we must not give up on God.

When we remain faithful in our trials, we live Jesus’ Eucharist – his body broken, his blood poured out – even as we face those who would break our bodies and spill our blood.

4. Yield to the Father's Love

In the face of the temptation to run away, to give up on God and humanity, Jesus of Nazareth recommitted himself to the Father and the work the Father had given him to do. “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). “Not my personal, immediate, and individual preference, but your cosmic program of Building the Kingdom,” he readily acknowledges.

At this moment “an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength” (Luke 22:43). The Greek word for angel – “angellos” – is also translated “messenger.” The Father sent a messenger to the Son to give him strength and courage to face the hatred, anger, envy and resentment of his religious opponents and the cowardice and corruption of the Roman officials.

Remember: The Risen Christ knows our sufferings. We walk where Jesus walked. In our times in the Garden, the Risen Christ sends us angels, messengers from himself to strengthen us.

In the Penitential Rite at the beginning of mass the priest says, “Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength. Lord, have mercy!” We all respond, “Lord, have mercy!” And so the Lord does have mercy on us - in the concrete events of our lives and in the Eucharist.

St Teresa of Avila understood that God had asked her to create new, reformed Carmelite houses of her day. Her taking on this work generated intense opposition.

“Sometimes it seemed that everything was going wrong. This was particularly so one day, before the arrival of the Provincial, when the Prioress ordered me to have no more to do with (the new convent) and to give it up altogether. I went to God and said, ‘Lord, this (new convent) is not mine; it has been founded for Thee; and now there will be no one to carry on the negotiations, so Thy Majesty must do so.’ This calmed me and left me as free from worry as if I had had the whole world carrying on the negotiations of me. From that moment I left quite sure (it) would prosper.”

From The Autobiography of Teresa of Avila.

In her distress St Teresa remained committed to the work the Lord had given her, but asked for his help in carrying it on and consoling her in her distress. And the Lord clearly did so.

We live Christ’s Eucharist in our daily lives as we see him act on our behalf and as we feel him giving us strength and courage to face the difficulties and challenges of our lives.

5. Jesus and the Father Break the Power of Sin and Death

So Jesus of Nazareth has resisted the temptation to run away or give up on God and has yielded to the Father’s love. Now comes to the moment when his opponents accuse him, torture him, and humiliate him, causing him to suffer the worst punishment the Romans could imagine. In the Gospel of John we see him presented to his enemies, beaten, robed in scarlet with the crown of thorns. In the Gospel of Mark we see him feeling so alienated even from the Father that he can only quote Psalm 22: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

But then, in Mark and most dramatically in Matthew, “darkness came over the whole land…the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:45, 51-52).

What is happening? Jesus of Nazareth is dying, of course. But, much more importantly, as Jesus of Nazareth dies, the Father reaches down into the physical darkness and the moral darkness of the worst of human sin – and pulls his son through sin and death into new life as the Risen Christ in Glory. As the Father pulls the Son through sin and death, he breaks the hold that sin and death have over Jesus of Nazareth. The now Risen Christ is triumphant over sin and death forever.

“Dying you destroyed our death! Rising you restored our life…!” we say in the mass when the priest asks us to “proclaim the mystery of our faith.”

This was a mutual action of Father and Son – Jesus of Nazareth giving up his human life to sin and death, and the Father leading his Son beyond the reach and power of human sin and death. By this mutual action the Father and Son have destroyed the power of sin and death, of human hatred, envy, and resentment to have lasting and ultimate power over us.

A key moment in the Eucharist is the Fracture Rite, the moment when the priest holds up the consecrated Host and breaks it, and the assembly sings “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, grant us peace.” The Fracture Rite, the breaking of the consecrated Host enacts yet again Jesus’ body being broken on the cross. The pouring of the consecrated Wine enacts yet again Jesus’ blood being spilled.

At this moment the Father reaches down into the midst of the assembled congregation and breaks the power of sin and death to hurt us who participate ultimately. The sin that wounds each of us in the concrete details of our daily lives and the death that threatens us in our daily lives – the power of this sin and death is broken again at that point in the mass.

We live Christ’s Eucharist in our daily lives as we face the challenges and encounters that confront us, knowing that the sin done to us and the death that threatens us cannot hurt us ultimately because of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. “…Lord Jesus, come in glory!”

6. We Don't Have to Be Afraid!

Jesus of Nazareth, the Risen Christ in Glory, and the Father, working together in the power of the Holy Spirit, have ensured that sin and death have no ultimate power over us, no matter what we may face in our lives. As we participate in the Eucharist and engage God in the actions of our lives, God places his own awesome power over sin and death at the center of our lives.

Once you and I can feel assured that God is truly Emmanuel – God with us – and that his love pours this power into our lives, we can come to realize that we don’t have to be afraid. We can face the challenges of each day in the assurance of God’s love and power at the center of our lives. “By your cross and resurrection you have set us free…!” we say in the mass when the priest asks us to “proclaim the mystery of our faith.”

This does not mean, of course, that we will never face opposition or challenge again. Quite the contrary. Our lives, spent building his Kingdom, will always attract opposition from those motivated by envy, self-importance, and personal gain. The more dedicated to the Kingdom we become, the stronger this opposition can be.

But as we make the cross of Christ and sacrifice of Christ central to our own lives, we can receive God’s sustaining help in the face of trial.

The Good News of Christ is that his Resurrection is also central to our lives. And so we can count not only on his presence in the face of trial but also that he will pull us through these trials into fuller and more abundant life. The Lord does this for us, just as the Father pulled the Son through sin and death into the fullness of resurrected life.

My father always feared death and so always contemplated suicide. But in his hour of trial his attempt at suicide failed on a dark, cold, forbidding January day. Nonetheless, he entered into death with ample pain-relieving medication and his family around him. The next morning the sun shone brightly, the cold air was crisp, and the feeling was one of renewal and rebirth. And so it was. The Lord in his love had led my father through death into new life, just as he had led my family and me through the death of our father into new life. The brilliant sunlight was the Lord’s testimony to us that he – the Lord of Heaven and Earth – had triumphed once more over human fear, limitation, and death.

So, it is as we celebrate the Eucharist. “Lord, I am unworthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” And so we are.

7. Jesus Shares a Sign of Hope with His Friends

“(Jesus) always loved those who were his own in the world. When the time came for him to be glorified by you, his heavenly Father, he showed the depth of his love” (Eucharistic Prayer IV).

As he approached his last days Jesus wanted to leave his followers a sign and symbol of what he was going to do for them through his Passion, Death and Resurrection. And so, “on the night he was betrayed, he took bread and gave you thanks and praise…When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise …”

Why bread? Why wine? Because they were simple, ordinary things there on the table that could represent something broken and spilled. Breaking bread looks like breaking a body. Pouring wine looks like spilling blood.

At the Last Supper Jesus made these simple things and these simple actions the centerpiece of a ceremony that portrayed his suffering and death ritually. He wanted to keep this ceremony simple so that his friends could easily remember the actions and meaning of what he was doing and so repeat it when he was no longer with them: “Whenever you do this, do this in memory of me.”

Of course, we believe that the Eucharist is not only sign and symbol but also the reality of what he did for us, Jesus Really Present each time we celebrate the Eucharist together. As we participate in the Eucharist, it is important to remember these core actions and their meaning, to watch for them, and engage our imaginations and hearts as the bread and wine are consecrated, broken and poured, and distributed to those present. In particular, remember that this sign of hope gives each one of us hope in the concrete details of our daily lives.

8. The Church is Born as Jesus Dies

At the crucifixion, according to the Gospel of John, we find Jesus’ Mother and the Beloved Disciple standing at the foot of the cross (John 19:25b). This scene presents us several essential themes.

First, recall that in the Gospel of John the Beloved Disciple is never given a name. Why no name? The author of the Gospel may have wanted us each to realize that we are Jesus’ Beloved Disciples. Remember at the Last Supper Jesus says that his followers are his friends, not his servants (John 15:15). So, we stand as friends, the Beloved Disciples of Jesus, at the foot of the cross.

Second, Jesus on the cross gives his Mother into the Beloved Disciple’s care. “Woman, here is your son…Here is your mother…” (John 19:26ff). So, not only do we stand at the cross as his friends, but we also stand with his Mother, whom he has given into our care.

Third, in the first chapter of the Gospel, John the Baptist says twice as Jesus approaches, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The crucifixion (John 19) occurs just at the time when the lambs were being slain in the Temple for the Passover, underlining the Baptist’s early prediction that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.

Fourth, “But when (the soldiers) came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out” (John 19:33-34).

In Catholic tradition this is the moment at which the Church is born. Notice how these four themes merge in this scene: the Son – the Lamb of God – who has died for his Beloved Disciples and is being raised to new life by the Father; the Mother of God given into the care of the Beloved Disciples who are the friends and followers of Jesus; and Jesus’ body broken and his blood poured out for us, his friends.

These Eucharistic symbols – Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1), the bread of life and his blood as living food (John 6), the Living water (John 7), the community of Beloved Disciples gathered at this place and time with his Mother – were present at the crucifixion and are present at every Eucharist as the realities of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

In Catholic tradition the Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is the People of God. And the Church is most visible when the People of God are gathered for the Eucharist. Catholic tradition bases this teaching on the scene at the crucifixion. As we gather for the Eucharist we relive that scene with all its saving power, the power of his Real Presence at the center of his people, the Church, who are sustained as well by his Blessed Mother.

“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again!”

9. I Shall Be Healed!

In the Eucharist we celebrate the reality that Christ, who is Really Present, breaks the power of the sin and death in our lives, and the Father, in raising his Son into new life, pours yet new love upon his people, the Church, to give us peace.

We need Christ to save us from the power of sin and death because we cannot do this for ourselves. And so at the beginning of the Eucharist we ask for the Lord’s help: “Lord, have mercy…” Then, just as Jesus’ body is broken one more time and his blood poured out (“Lamb of God,…”), we admit one more time to the Lord how much we need his help: “Lord, I am unworthy to receive you...”

In other words, we are saying, “Lord, the sinfulness of the world that has hurt me so much keeps me from loving you and loving those who have hurt me. I can’t love, I can’t act justly, I can’t forgive, because I am too hurt, I am in too much pain.”

And, “Lord, not only can I not love nor act justly nor forgive, but I act in anger, I act unfairly, and I hate those who have hurt me. I don’t want to behave this way, but my own emotion is so intense.”

Having recognized that we suffer from sin done to us and sin we committed, we then make a statement of faith in Christ’s love for us and our belief that he will help us if we ask in faith: “…only say the word, and I shall be healed.” “I believe, Lord, that you desire to heal me and will heal me when I ask. So I am asking you now.”

The healing we ask for at this point in the Eucharist is the remedy for the damage created in us through the sin done to us and the sin we do. If we have trouble forgiving, the Lord’s healing helps us forgive. If we have trouble acting justly, the Lord’s healing helps us act justly. If we have trouble not responding in anger, the Lord’s healing helps us respond in peace.

Notice how concrete this healing is. We can begin the healing process even as we receive the Eucharist. As we continue this process, we can discover subtle changes in our interior selves if we are attentive. This healing not only can moderate our immediate anger, but the healing can moderate and drain away anger and other troublesome emotions that cling to our memories. Memories of childhood hurts, mistreatment, and sorrow can lose their sting, and we can come to leave in greater interior peace.

So, as we leave the place where we have celebrated the Eucharist, we have received a blessing from the Lord that can remain with us, especially as we renew that blessing through regular participation in the Eucharist, personal prayer, and spiritual conversation.

The Last Word - and The First Word

Christ died for us – really died for us. He did not die in the abstract world of theological ruminations. He died for us in the reality of our daily lives. Jesus of Nazareth had to die, and the Risen Christ had to rise. And this dying and rising make all the difference in the world to us as Catholic Christians.

“Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life…”

“By your cross and resurrection you have set us free…”

Once we experience this reality in the concrete events of our lives – that Christ destroyed death for us and restores us to life when the world tries to hurt us, constrain us, betray us – then our lives are richer, fuller, more meaningful, better. Once we experience this new freedom in the concrete events of our lives, then our lives are richer, fuller and more meaningful, better.

It is through His Passion, Death and Resurrection we can come into the fullness of life, the abundance of life, the complete joy that he promises us (see John 10:10; 15:11).

So, we need to understand and his Passion, Death and Resurrection and to live this reality in the concrete events of our daily lives.

The Eucharist embodies the fullness of this reality. His Eucharist is our resurrection from our own passion and death. His Eucharist is our Good News.