From the Pastor – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the Pastor – 25 ^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

After today’s readings, we can’t say we have not been warned about the dangers of mixed up priorities. God’s Word is so very clear today on the necessity of putting Him first in all areas of our lives.

We see this in the First Reading from Amos. The Lord has harsh words for those who would take advantage of the poor, and whose priorities are not aligned with God’s.

In the Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul gives us the antidote to the self-centeredness condemned in our First Reading. The antidote is to imitate Christ, “who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Rather than thinking of Himself and how to “get ahead,” Christ gave Himself away — completely — for our sake. That is how we are to live.

In our Gospel passage from Luke, the Lord shows us how to bridge the gap between worldly thinking and priorities, and eternal thinking and priorities. Jesus tells the parable of the corrupt but clever steward who is about to get fired when the master discovers the steward has been squandering his property. Realizing his imminent unemployed status, the clever steward reaches out to the various debtors of his master to wheel and deal with them, making friends who would look out for him when he became jobless.

What if we put that kind of effort into our own tasks as good stewards of all God’s gifts to us? Into our ministries and apostolates, into the ways we could make more time for prayer as individuals, as couples, as families and as a parish? What if we got as creative as the “bad steward” in the use of our finances so that we could give more generously to the poor and to the advancement of God’s kingdom on the earth?

That’s our lesson and our challenge. ©Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Pastoral Pondering

As I am writing this, we just concluded our 15 ^th Eucharistic Congress in the Diocese of Charlotte. I have been on the Steering Committee of the Congress since the beginning, and it seems strange that so many years have passed. There was a tremendous participation this year with about 7,500 people assisting at the Closing Mass on Saturday. The estimates are much higher than that for the procession and the average for the event overall.

In recent weeks there has been in various news and social media outlets a discussion of the lack of belief in the Eucharist among those who identify themselves as Catholic based on a recent Pew Research Center Survey. The survey found that 69% said that they personally believe that the bread and wine are only “symbols of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.” Just 31% (one-third) affirmed their belief in the Church’s perennial teaching. The survey also found that the 69% noted above, also believe that the Church teaches that the bread and wine are only symbolic, and 22% know the Church’s teaching on transubstantiation and still reject it.

The Church teaches clearly and authoritatively that at the consecration the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Their appearance remains unchanged, but their substance is transformed. This is central to our understanding of who we are. In fact, for those who know the Church’s teaching and reject it, they cease to be Catholic, and their reception of Communion would be a sacrilege.

While the results of the survey are certainly upsetting, it should be a wakeup call for all of those who have responsibility for formation and catechesis. It also highlights the utter failure over the past several decades to pass on authentic Catholic teaching on this essential matter. While some of the blame rests with parents and guardians who have not passed on the faith to their children, the Lion’s share of the blame can be lain at the feet of Bishops, priests, deacons and religious who have failed to teach authentically and have often played “fast and loose” with the Sacred Liturgy.

Our Eucharistic Congress is one response to this crisis, but it is incumbent on every parish to respond as well. Bishop Jugis, a number of years ago, issued liturgical norms for the Diocese to bring the parishes into conformity with the liturgical laws of the Church. The obligation to implement these norms is entrusted especially to pastors but also to all of those entrusted with pastoral care and faith formation.

At Saint Mark, we have been intentional in our desire to celebrate the Mass reverently and faithfully to what the Church expects. At times, this has resulted in complaints and opposition from some corners. Nonetheless, our commitment is to be faithful to who we are and what we believe as Catholics. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates in #1333:

At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . .." "He took the cup filled with wine. . .."

With this in mind, we ask the Lord to renew within us and within the Church throughout the world, belief in this fundamental teaching so that we might never be separated from Christ who comes to us in every Mass hidden in the small white host.