Fr Billy Swan
Dear friends. For the last five Sundays, the Gospel has been taken from the sixth chapter of John where Jesus gives his famous teaching on Him being the Bread of Life. Today is the last of those Sundays and so I would like to make a final push to highlight the meaning and gift of the Mass in the life of every Christian and every faith community. This is offered by way of encouragement in our faith commitment – a theme that appears in both the first reading and the Gospel where one group pledge themselves to their faith in God in contrast to many in the Gospel who choose to walk away. So why then should we stay?
The Eucharist is God’s way of loving us. It is God’s way of inviting us, welcoming us into his presence where we are accepted and loved. At the Mass we step into God’s embrace and are enfolded into the life of the Trinity as a family. It is here where we gather together as friends. We all remember lockdown and the isolation. The Eucharist counters that and brings people together.
We come before God in need of his mercy and forgiveness. We ask for it at the start of Mass and receive it abundantly. Now we are ready to hear his Word. The readings tell the great story of God reaching out to his people. We hear stories of drama, betrayal, forgiveness, love, wisdom and meaning. Through his Word, God teaches us, affirms us, corrects us and leads us to the truth and to wisdom. It prompts us how to respond to the poor and needy.
After the priest tries to unpack what we have just heard in the readings, we then stand to profess our faith in the creed. Believing together unites us together. We then pray the needs of all humanity in the intercessions. And so today we pray for the people of Gaza, Israel and Ukraine. We pray for the sick, the dying and the many needs of our time. In doing so, we ponder how we might respond to them.
At the Offertory, we present our whole selves before God as a gift to Him with the bread and wine. It is an act of love to God in return for His love of us. We give ourselves to Him and He gives Himself to us. In the Eucharistic Prayer we offer thanks to God for the whole of creation. At the word of the priest, the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Here is the Bread of Life that comes down from heaven, just as Jesus promised – his real presence to his people in every time and space.
Then we stand for the ‘Our Father’. We come to God together as a family. If He is ‘Our Father’ then we are all brothers and sisters.
Then comes that sublime moment when we come forward and receive Holy Communion. We say ‘Amen’ to God’s gift of Himself through his Son. Here is a moment of love like no other when God intimately unites Himself to us and makes His home in us. His divinity unites itself with our humanity. We are no longer alone, no longer the same.
After communion, we have the final prayer and blessing. Then comes the dismissal: ‘Our Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord’. We are sent on mission out into the world again for another week to be his witnesses, to be salt, to be light. The strength we have received will sustain us. The love we have received, we will share until we come back again next week to be refreshed again.
Friends, over 80% of our parish stay away from the Eucharist. Do you want to walk away too? I believe that the decline of religious practice in our country is directly linked to an increase in depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, drug, alcohol, gambling and porn addiction. In the words of Jesus to the woman at the well: ‘If you only knew what God is offering’. Therefore, let us stand with the people of the first reading who said: ‘We have no intention of deserting the Lord our God…we too will serve the Lord’. May we serve the Lord and his people with joy and rejoice in the gift of the Eucharist.
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