Weekly Encouragement October 11th
Dear Friends,
My family and I attended the 9:30 a.m. Mass at Christ the King on Sunday, and we were blessed with a wonderful homily by our pastor, Fr. Tony. The Gospel passage was Matthew 21:33-43, where Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God belongs to those who take care of His vineyard and produce fruit on it.
In his homily, Fr. Tony reminded us that Eucharist means "thanksgiving," and coming to Mass is not just our duty, but also our joy. This week, I felt that joy particularly strongly.
After Mass, we made our way over to the Parish Center for Donut Sunday, hosted this month by St. Anne's Society. The room was packed, and everyone was cheerful. It was another good sign that our community desires the Kingdom of God. Again, more thanksgiving and more joy.
Keep reading for another reflection on the Mass, as we continue to participate in a time of Eucharistic Revival.
God bless you all!
In Christ,
Andrew Petiprin
Director of Community Life
Christ the King Catholic Church
Last week I encouraged you to remember that we are what we eat. We are spiritual beings, so we need spiritual food, which we receive in the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. This week I want to go further. We eat to live...but what are we living for?
The great English poet T.S. Eliot lamented, "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons." Material reality can be so all-consuming that we barely stop to reflect on the mystery of God that undergirds it all. In my own life, I get so bogged down driving kids places, worrying about broken stuff in my house, and taking care of my obligations at work that I forget what I was made for. Honestly, I forget God entirely.
Thank God, He doesn't let me stay in this forgetful state. When I go to Mass, I am not only given the food I need to survive, but I am awakened to real life, which is communion with God and everyone around me. I learn to measure out my life in portions of grace, and these portions are infinite.
There is a very good reason we also refer to the Mass or the Eucharist as Holy Communion. When we receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus, we are not taking a grace pill. Rather, we are living for that moment in perfect harmony with heaven. As we attend Mass week after week, day after day, we build grace upon grace upon grace, and we begin to see our whole existence as an opportunity for communion. We regularly experience a dropping of the veil between the world and the Kingdom of Heaven. In this way, even measuring out those coffee spoons becomes holy work.
Reflect this week on how your participation in the Mass can inspire deeper communion for you with God and your neighbors in day-to-day life. That's what we're alive for!
Prayer:
Father, give us grace to seek perfect, unhindered, uninterrupted, pure communion with you. Draw us closer to yourself in our daily tasks, we pray, that we would hold fast to hope amidst the effects of sin, evil, sorrow, and death in this fallen world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.