A Proper Introduction

This post has been linked to Amazing Catechists and RAnn's Sunday Snippets

 In Wednesday Sunday School the subject matter may jump around from minute to minute. The kids' nimble brains like to flit about anyway; it's important to go sideways (not just up and down) when developing a concept; and it pays to connect Catholicism to the wider world across time and culture. If we're already developing a concept, e.g., the Eucharist as miracle food, I'll just say "new topic" to start a new direction that will tie back to the Eucharist within the next few minutes. But if we're going to go in a new direction and develop it, the kids should have a more thorough introduction than just hearing "new topic." They should see the new topic is connected to things they already know, not just an isolated idea floating out there in Catholic Space. I want them engaged in the new topic before they even know what it is, like so:

"Somebody tell me please, what's a fable? It's a story. Are fables true stories? No they're made up. Yes. Are all made-up stories fables? No, some are just stories. Yes. What's the difference between a fable and a story? Fables have animals. Well, yeah, usually....who can tell me the Tortoise & the Hare fable? Me! Go ahead, tell it. They had a race and the hare ran fast and then took a nap, but the tortoise won the race before the hare woke up. Yes, the slow animal won the race, why? Because he didn't quit when he was losing. Right. What's the point? The tortoise didn't give up, but the hare was lazy. I mean, what's the point for you? Don't give up? Yes. We say, "the moral of the story is 'slow but steady wins the race'." Most fables end like that: "the moral of the story is thus and so"...why is that? Because fables are about being good or bad. Yes. Jesus told fables too; we call them parables. The words 'parable' and 'fable' are cousins, they mean "to tell a tale"; and they teach moral lessons. Como se llama to speak in Spanish? Hablar! Yes. Hablar is related to fable and parable, too.

Y'all remember last class we discussed one of my favorite parts of the Mass, when the priest says "Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb." Tell me please, who is the Lamb? Jesus. Yes, and who is Jesus marrying? The Church? Yes, and is the Church male or female? What? Well, is Jesus the Lamb going to marry a man or a woman? Umm...a woman? Yes, that's why we refer to the Church as "she" or a "bride adorned for her husband." D'ya think I love my wife? Yes. And how about Jesus? What about him? Does he love his wife? Jesus didn't get married. Uh, I think the Lamb does get married, but not to an earthly bride....oh, the Church. Yes. Does He love the Church? Yes! Enough to die for her, as it turns out.

Speaking of wedding feasts, let's look at a parable Jesus told, which is called the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Matthew's Gospel says, "And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son..."

And off we go.

(I wouldn't have the Queen's job for all the tea in China)

Eclogue for Piano and Strings

This post has been linked to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

 In 1901 Gerald Finzi, a descendant of Italian-Jewish immigrants, was born in England. I thought his last name was 'Finsey' until I saw it written down. He's one of a batch of 20th century English composers that I'm fond of.

His 'Eclogue for Piano and Strings' is something I've returned to repeatedly over the last 20 years or so. It was written between 1925 and 1929; which is to say, after Britain's Pyrrhic victory in the First World War, and before the utter exhaustion of the Second.

I always hope to hear in a piece of music an echo of the time in which it was written. In the case of the Eclogue, I hear a traumatized nation hoping the world might be beautiful again; but also accepting that it might not.
Eclogue for Piano and Strings  (10 minutes)

Rembrandt & Wednesday Sunday School

Each year around Easter, our class discusses the state of Jesus's mind and body between the Resurrection and the Ascension. After having escorted the Old Testament saints from the waiting room of Sheol into Heaven, and in possession of his resurrected Easter body, Jesus just doesn't have much to do on Earth anymore. He says a few (important) things, flits in and out of dimensional reality, exhibits a langorousness that surely was not in evidence during his 3-year ministry. He's no longer at home in the sinful world. He may appear in it occasionally, but he belongs in heaven.

I like Rembrandt, especially his later work, which becomes more and more concerned with the message than the medium. For example, look at these two portrayals of the 'Supper at Emmaus.'

This one dates from 1628:

 

In 1628 Rembrandt was a 22-year-old hot hand, as we'd say in architecture school. Look at that dramatic rendering of the moment in Matthew's Gospel: "When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight." (Mt 24:30-31) The light; the darkness; the astonishment! It's very literal, and is a terrific illustration of the moment, perfect for engaging the kids, right?

Well...no. I wouldn't use that 1628 painting in class.

I'd use this one:

Here Rembrandt shows the benefits of twenty more years of reflection. I can use this portrait to deepen the kids' understanding as well.

First, the apostle's recognition of Jesus happens in the company of people who don't recognize him at all. This isn't so different from any number of people (thousands, I suppose) who saw and heard Jesus; and lacking faith, paid him no particular mind. This lack of recognition ties in well with a quick recap of one of Isaiah's Christmas prophecies: "The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's manger; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand." (Is 1:3)

Next, the recognition focuses more on spiritual recognition than physical. The apostle's bodily reaction is so muted that the others don't notice; but his face reveals his gradual realization that this is Jesus.

And this Jesus, what a gift. This Jesus is barely there, on the verge of vanishing, already disengaged from the fallen world. A heavenly Jesus who didn't want to be touched by Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. One whose attention is quite reasonably elsewhere, counting the minutes until he at last ascends to the Father.

This is the image to teach from.

Arks & Tabernacles

This post is linked to RAnn's Sunday Snippets


continued from Wedding Reception

Mass is almost over now that we have received Communion; in a few minutes the feast will be over. This is a good time to look at how a Catholic church helps the feast take place.

But first, does anyone know who Balaam [on the board] is? No? How about Balaam's Ass [on the board]? (giggles & snickers) No? OK then: Balaam was a pagan who lived when the Israelites were getting established in the Promised Land after their 40 years of wandering in the desert. He was famous for blessing and cursing people, and making it stick. Well, the Israelites had been whipping their local enemies in battle so thoroughly that Balak, the king of Moab, wanted to pay Balaam to curse the Israelites. He didn't want to be next on their whipping schedule. Y-H-W-H (don't say it!) told Balaam not to visit Balak, but the Book of Numbers says, "Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab."(more giggles & snickers)  OK, what's 'ass' mean? Donkey? Yes. Now this is your last chance to act like babies when I say 'ass'...ready?  Ass. (fewer giggles & snickers) Alright, that was it. No more giggling like 5-year-olds. "But God grew angry because he went; and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary." An angel blocked the way to Moab. "And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the ass, to turn her into the road." [I act all this out] "Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall, and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again." Poor donkey, she's doing Balaam a favor! "Then the angel of the LORD went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; and in anger Balaam beat the ass with his stick." Now I love this: "Then the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"  And Balaam said to the ass, "...I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you." Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face." Balaam decided to get himself some humility in a hurry. Trick question: why was Balaam riding the donkey with his eyes closed? His eyes weren't closed!  No? It says, "the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel." Doesn't that mean his eyes were shut? No, it means he couldn't see the angel until God let him. Oh. But the donkey saw the angel the whole time...how come? No guesses. Tell me, can we see water wash sins off a baby at Baptism? No. Can a saint see it happen? Yes. Why? No guesses? Put it this way: why can't we see it? 'Cause we're sinners! Yes, sin makes us...blind! Yes! So Balaam couldn't see the angel...'cause he was a sinner! Yes; but Balaam's ass could see the angel because...animals don't sin? Maybe so, the story doesn't say. But remember in one of Isaiah's Christmas prophecies, he said the people of Israel didn't know their master, but the the ox and ass did.

Now, back to the feast, listen again to another bit of Isaiah you've heard before: "And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations." Are 'all people' sitting under a giant blanket? No, it's not real. So what is covering them, what sort of veil is it? Is it sin? Yes, at Isaiah's feast the veil of sin will be "destroyed" so people will be able to see God clearly. And if sin is destroyed, where must the feast be? In Heaven. Yes.

Now let's look at this handout again, you've seen it before:

What's the first plan? Moses' Meeting Tent. Yes...did Moses design it? No, God did. Yes, God gave instructions about every detail of the Tent: "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it." God showed Moses the heavenly pattern of all the stuff that went in the tent, even including little things like the candlesticks. And if God "dwelled" in the tent, then it was...his house? Yes, he lived in a tent because his people, the Israelites, lived in tents.

Somebody tell me, what's a tavern? Is it like a bar? Yes. Up North, like in Pennsylvania, people will say 'tavern' when we say 'bar'; I think tavern sounds more civilized. Anyway, taberna [on the board] is a Latin word for house. Yes? Why does it have a b? Because b's and v's sound almost the same in some languages. Somebody digame, como se llama twenty in Español? Somebody say twenty in Spanish.  Veinte [on the board]! Yes. See, it's spelled with a v, but listen to the sound, please say it again. Veinte. Does it sound like a b or a v? Kind of in between. Yes.

So taberna means house, and a tabernaculum [adding to taberna] is a little house, or a tent or a log cabin. Where an English Bible says 'tent,' a Latin Bible will say tabernaculum. What word do we get  from that? Tabernacle. Yes. We have a tabernacle in church! Yes, good, we're getting to that. The whole meeting tent was the tabernacle, God's dwelling. Now look at the Holy Spaces where only the priests could go: what separates them? A veil. Yes. Is it a real veil? Yes!  Right, it was a beautiful curtain that prevented everyone from seeing what? The Ark!  Yes. Only one person could go behind the veil...who? The High Priest? Yes. The other priests could tootle around the rest of the Meeting Tent, but they couldn't go past the veil. So who would offer the most important sacrifices to Y-H-W-H? The High Priest. Yes; he offered sacrifices for the whole nation, all the people of Israel, right in front of God. Was God there physically? Well, God doesn't have a body. Right; but Y-H-W-H's presence was right above the Ark, between the cherubim. What's ark mean? A container! Yes, good. And what was in the Ark? Come on, y'all know this. Umm...the Ten Commandments? Yes, and...the miracle bread...manna!  Yes, a pot of manna; and Aaron's staff. Are those things God? Ummm, no? Right; God wouldn't live in a box. God's stuff is in the box. But the Israelites had super-respect for that box of stuff.

Now look at Solomon's Temple: it's bigger and nicer and more permanent than the Meeting Tent; but it has the same pattern as the Tent. Who designed the pattern? God! Yes. Is that a real veil? Yes!  Right; just like in the Tent. And look at the Church: tell me about the pattern. It's the same! Yes, almost.

In the New Testament there's an Epistle to the Hebrews...what's Epistle mean? Letter. Yes, so it's a letter written to Jews who had become Christians. I think they might've been worried about not going to the Temple in Jerusalem every year and sacrificing a Passover Lamb. The Epistle explains to them that it's not necessary anymore, because "we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God...who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man, but by the Lord." So where is the "true tent"? In Heaven! Yes; tell me, who is the High Priest in the church? Jesus. Yes, and where is the High Priest? In Heaven. Yes, he's the slain Lamb, a perfect Lamb, who offers himself right in front of the Father's throne in Heaven, in the true tent. So the Hebrew Christians didn't need the Temple priests to sacrifice and offer lambs for them anymore. And how long will Jesus be a High Priest? Umm...forever? Yes, at least until the Final Judgment in Revelations. The Epistle says we have "a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the veil, where Jesus [has] become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." What's the deal with Melchizedek? He offered bread and wine! Yes; like...Jesus! Yes, at...the Last Supper! Yes! Y'all are too smart!

At Mass, can we see Jesus offer himself in Heaven? No. Right; now tell me about the veil on the church plan. It's not in the church! Right; is it a real veil? No, it's sin! Yes, sin veiled Balaam's eyes from seeing the angel, and sin veils us from seeing what's in Heaven. But if we become saints, and free from sin...then we can see. Yes. So the pattern in a church stops at the veil of sin, and the rest of the offering of the sacrifice takes place beyond that veil, in...Heaven, yes which is the true tent, not an earthly copy.

Now tell me about the Ark in the church plan. There isn't an Ark, there's a tabernacle. Yes; what's the difference? No guesses? What's ark mean? Container! Yes, in this case, a box. And what goes in a box...people? No, stuff!  Yes. Is Jesus stuff?  No, a person! Yes, and if Jesus wants to dwell with us in church, would you have him live in a box? No!  What do people live in? A house? Yes, so Jesus...has to have a house. Yes, but he doesn't take up much room under the appearance of bread; he doesn't need a full-size taberna, but a...tabernacle! Yes, a "little house."  Why do tabernacles often look like little houses? Because Jesus lives there. Yes, as the Bible might say, Jesus dwells with us in the Tabernacle.

Now in the Tent and the Temple the Jews had great respect for the box of God's stuff. But what should get more respect: God's stuff in a box, or God himself in his little house? God in his little house! Yes, so always behave in church with the respect that Jesus deserves.

Now after people eat a feast, what needs to be washed and put away? The dishes? Yes; who does them...the guests? No, the person who invited them. Yes, the host or hostess. Well, after Communion, the priest does the dishes. When he's done, Jesus is put back into his little house, and we all sit down. Following a short prayer and any announcements, the priests blesses us and says, "Go forth, the Mass is ended." Somebody digame how to say Mass in Spanish. Misa! Yes [on the board]. It comes from this Latin word: missa [on the board]. At the end of Mass in Latin, the priest says "Ite, missa est" [on the board]. It means "Go, it's the dismissal." That's where we get the word Mass, from the dismissal. And the people say...thanks be to God! Yes. Then what happens? Well, we leave? Yes, the Mass is over.

And our year of 6th grade Wednesday Sunday School is over too, along with all your misery. I do hope y'all learned a thing or two while y'all suffered so dreadfully. And for the rest of your lives, if you have a question about being Catholic, or the Bible, or the Mass, or whatever, get a hold of me and I'll find you an answer.

Before class is "dismissed" I want to draw one last picture that pulls together a lot of what we learned this year. [I draw] What's this? The altar. Yes, which is also a...table...yes. It represents...Mass? Yes...and here's the priest, who stands in for...Jesus. Yes. Now around the Mass I want y'all to name six things we learned that tie into the Mass. The Last Supper! Yes, and? A man who offered bread and wine...Melchizedek! Yes, and...blood on the doorposts...Passover! Yes....miracle bread in the desert...Manna! Yes...miracle bread...Jesus...apostles...Loaves & Fishes! Yes, and last of all...we learned it tonight...wedding...Wedding Feast! of...the Lamb! who is... Jesus! Yes, good children!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Now and Forever!

Class over!

Res Ipsa Loquitur 3

This post is linked to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

 Here are the audio files of the class recounted in the post Manoah and the Angel. The written account is a condensation of this class, and classes from prior years covering the same material, so the audio and the post vary a bit in content & flow.

For more live classes, click on the Res Ipsa Loquitur label at lower right.

Altar Boys & Vocations

Some observations about my 2,000-household parish regarding vocations:

We have had a boys-only corps of altar servers for at least the last 10 years; currently there are 49 servers, ranging from 6th grade through college. To have ten at the 11am Solemn Mass is not unusual.

We had one ordination in 2005.

We had another in 2007.

We currently have two seminarians.

Two of our college-age men (including my youngest son) will live in the diocesan discernment house next Fall. That's 2 out of a total of 8 for the whole diocese.

And of course there are also highschool-age servers who are explicitly considering vocations; one of our senior servers plans to go straight from highschool into the seminary.

I do not suggest a direct cause-and-effect here; nonetheless, the boys-only approach has a positive influence on vocations, and is a critical part of an overall conscious intent in the parish to nurture them.

The corps in action (scroll ahead to about 2:00)

2013: Our third former altar boy was ordained  this summer.

2014: Our fourth former altar boy will be ordained this summer.

Wedding Reception

Hey y'all, Lent is over, and last Sunday was Easter. So instead of praying an Act of Contrition for Lent, we have an Easter season prayer, which I will sing because it's also a hymn to Mary that's about 900 years old. It tells her to be happy because Jesus isn't dead anymore:

"O Queen of Heaven, be joyful, alleluia.
For He whom you have humbly borne for us, alleluia.
Has arisen, as He promised, alleluia.
Offer now our Prayer to God, alleluia"

Ok, last week in our Mass class we stopped with the priest saying, "command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty," and referred to that great image of the angel going up to heaven in the Holy Tornado.

Moving forward in the Mass from there, the priest says, "Remember also, Lord [those] who have gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace." Who are these people? Saints? Yes. And the priest mentions some of them: "graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs:" John the Baptist, who y'all know; Stephen, who was the first...? He was stoned to death...the first martyr!  Yes. Matthias, who replaced...the bad apostle...Judas! Yes. Barnabas, who traveled with St. Paul; Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus; Peter, the first...pope! Yes. And now a group of women saints: "Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha; Lucy, who was tortured by...putting her eyes out! Yes, and "Agnes, Cecilia, [and] Anastasia." These saints were all among the first Christian martyrs. And I like Anastasia because her name comes from Anastasis, which is Greek for...Easter! Yes, it means "resurrection."

And when the priests asks for "fellowship" with the saints, what's he mean? To be friends with them? Yes, to be part of the Communion of Saints, who are at Mass with us even if we can't see them.

Tell me, when we think about our sins, do we want God's justice? No, we want his mercy! Yes, his forgiveness. That's why we next hear, "admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon..."

During the Eucharistic Prayer we're kneeling; when it comes to and end, we stand up. When we stand up, what do we pray? C'mon, y'all know this. "At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say"...the Our Father! Yes, which comes to us straight out of Jesus's mouth in the Gospel of Matthew. And y'all know this line: "and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..." Well, right after Jesus finished the prayer, he said, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt 6:14) So, if we don't forgive others...God won't forgive us. Right. I expect to spend quite some time in Purgatory burning my resentments away in order to forgive everyone. So even though y'all are way younger than me, y'all may beat me to Heaven, even if I die first as expected. When you zoom past me, say, "Bye, Stratopops, I'll pray for ya!"

Now we get to my favorite part of the Mass. First we say, "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us" how many times? Three! Yes; and who are we quoting? John the Baptist! Yes, and we kneel again. Then the priest holds the Body up, which looks like...bread, yes, and says: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world." And who first said that? John the Baptist. Yes; about whom? Jesus.Yes, when? When Jesus came to be baptized. Yes; where? In the Jordan River. Yes, good. This reminds us that Jesus is just as physically present at Mass as he was when John spoke those words at the Jordan River. It's the Lamb of God, it's Jesus. And what's the deal with the Passover Lamb? You have to eat it! Right. By the way, what did John eat in the desert? Bugs! Yes, tasty when dipped in honey...right, girls? Ewww! Uh-huh...boys? Cool! Yep.

Then the priest quotes an Angel in Revelations: "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." This reminds us we're about to share in the Wedding Feast. Let's look at where this comes from in Revelations, which we already know says a lot about the Heavenly Worship that connects to Mass on Earth. But first let's read a bit from Isaiah that you heard earlier this year: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines; juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces..." Tell me, is Isaiah describing a snack? No, a feast! Yes, and all peoples are there, not just the Chosen People. And there's no death or tears, so it must be...in Heaven! Yes.

Revelations adds to Isaiah's prophecy: "Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure." And the Lamb is...Jesus, yes. And the Bride is...the Church, yes, which is all the nice buildings? No, it's us!  Yes; and we'll all live in the Holy City, the...New...Jerusalem! Yes.

So Jesus marries the Church...why? Because he loves Her! Yes. So much that He died for Her. And after a wedding, there's...a reception! Yes! So it's a happy feast, but serious, too. And an angel said, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb...On his robe...he has a name inscribed, King of Kings and Lord of Lords... Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called..."Come, gather for the great supper of God..." So when we eat the feast on Earth...they're eating the feast in heaven?  Yes.

When I was about your age there was a rock band called Genesis. They wrote a song about the Book of Revelations, which is clever: Genesis is the first book in the Bible, and Revelations is...the last one. Yes. The song is called "Supper's Ready." Is it about eating leftover pork and beans around the kitchen table? No it's about the Wedding Feast! Yes! Listen to the last few lines of the song, which ties together all the stuff you've learned about Revelations:

"There's an angel standing in the sun,
And he's crying with a loud voice:
This is the supper of the Mighty One.
The Lord of Lords, King of Kings,
Has returned to lead His children home,
To take them to the New Jerusalem."

So when the priest says, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb," use your imaginations.

And then we respond to the priest...you know it: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof...but only say the word and my soul shall be healed! Yes. And who said it first? The guy who wanted his servant healed... Yes...who was "this guy"....the popsicle man? No, a soldier. An Imperial Stormtrooper? Ha, no a Roman soldier. Yes, who commanded a hundred men...a centurion! Yes; and he was a pagan; he believed in made-up gods.

I really like the centurion. I always have to pray for faith before Communion because it looks like plain-old flat, dry bread to me. I struggle with doubt even while I believe. But I'm reminded of the faith of the centurion. He believed Jesus could miraculously heal his servant without needing to visit him; and even though he was a Roman officer, the centurion was so humble that he didn't feel worthy to have Jesus come to his house. If a pagan can have such faith and humility then it's not beyond my reach.
This is how the Church uses the Bible to prepare us to receive Jesus at Mass. But you have to know what the verses mean, and think about them, for it to matter. Think about John and Jesus at the Jordan, the Wedding Feast, and the believing Roman officer, and why the stories are put together right before Communion.

What's next? We go up for communion. Yes, and do we go and grab a fistful of communion hosts? No, the priest gives us one!  Yes, just like when Jesus multplied the loaves & fishes: the people didn't take the miracle food: the apostles distributed it to them. And when we eat the host, we eat...the Lamb! Yes. And we eat...Jesus! Yes. And we eat...no more guesses? We eat God; we're God-eaters. Why is that good: to eat God? 'Cause God is good? Yes, like eating broccoli, God is good for you, but more than that...imagine I'm a young hunter in a primitive tribe. If I kill a lion, what part of the lion would I especially want to eat? His toes? His nose?...What was the matter with the lion in the Wizard of Oz? He didn't have any courage! Yes, which a lion is supposed to have. So what part of a lion would a hunter want to eat? Umm...his heart? Yes, what would he hope to gain from that? To get the lion's courage? Yes, and maybe his fearsomeness, strength, speed, and hunting skill. People have believed by eating the heart of an enemy or an animal they could gain their power. Does that really work? No. Right. But with communion it's different: what do we get spiritually by eating God? His goodness? Yes, his holiness. Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat”? Yes. Well, when you eat Jesus you become more like Him, more holy. And remember the day after the Loaves and Fishes, Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;” so you're doing what Jesus expects you to do- truly, truly.

And after you receive communion, how long is Jesus physically in you? Until your stomach digests, umm, the communion? Yes, for about 15 minutes. So when you get back to your pew, don't daydream: pray while Jesus is in you. I usually thank God for making this little miracle of the Body'n'Blood available to me, but you can pray however you like.

continued in the next post