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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholicism | Faith Reflection | Scripture
Growing up in South Florida, I longed to experience the natural shifts that came with the four seasons: colorful falls, snowy winters, blooming springs, breezy summers. When I moved to the upper Midwest, I finally got my wish, but in quite an unbalanced way. Winters here are so long, and spring is rushed too quickly into hot summers. And when spring does show up, it is often followed by an April snow. Because of this, I have never liked spring. However, my appreciation for spring has grown over the last few years. Even though spring is very short in Minnesota, when the sun warms the earth, the trees turn the most vibrant green, and bulbs display their flowering blossoms, it is a living miracle, a smile from God that promises new life, spiritual growth, and renewal of mind and heart.
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Today we reflect on what it means to eat the Flesh of Jesus and drink his Blood. We reflect on what it means to be a “Eucharistic People.” The Lord says in the gospel that unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have any life in you. He adds on that My Flesh is True Food and my Blood is True Drink.
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In the Acts of the Apostles, we encounter Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, whose story provides lessons for our daily lives. We see how an angel of the Lord directed Philip to the road to Gaza, and how the Spirit instructed him to approach the Ethiopian's chariot. This reminds us that God is actively involved in guiding us, if we are open to His promptings.
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In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus repeats His claim that He is “the Bread of Life.” It is a claim that the first disciples of Jesus would have connected with through Jesus mentioning an essential part of their diet. But on another level, Jesus connects to their heritage, for just as God sent manna from heaven to sustain the physical life of His people in the desert, so He has sent His Son Jesus to sustain the spiritual lives of His people from now until He comes again.
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This past Sunday, Fr. Fred Jenga and I had the opportunity to speak at a Rosary Rally at a Catholic High School in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Carmel Catholic H.S. was our host but it was open to the wider community. There were people of all ages including an infant, Mary Rose, attending her first Rosary Rally only months after her birth. There was even a former basketball player from the Chicago Bulls who was there because of one of the keynote speakers Kevin Matthews. Kevin is the subject of an upcoming movie from Family Theater Productions called “Broken Mary.” When Kevin Matthews shared his conversion story, he spoke of how he heard a voice say to him: “will you deny me and my mother?” When Kevin heard those words, “will you deny me and mother?” he knew it was God trying to get him to come back to the faith and that it was Our Blessed Mother that was included in that question.
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Let’s talk about leftovers today. You know, the ones that have taken residence in the back of the fridge long enough to develop their own personalities. There’s always one suspicious container in your fridge with a fuzzy green lid, and no one remembers what it was or when it was made, but everyone agrees it is a science experiment now. And yet, how many times do we open the fridge, stare at a feast of half-eaten pizza and spaghetti, salad, and still complain: “There is nothing to eat!” In today’s Gospel, people chase after Jesus not because they were spiritually moved by His miracles but because they wanted more food, free food. The earlier miracle of multiplying bread and fish wasn’t enough. They treat Jesus like a traveling food truck: “Hey Rabbi, what’s on the menu today? Can we get the loaves and fish special again?” They want another buffet today.
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