June 7, 2010. Homily, Sunday, June 10, 2010

Corpus Christi (the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ)


Mark 14:12-16, 22-26


On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover Lamb, Jesus' disciples said to him, "When do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went and entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
[14: 17-21 When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?" He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."]
While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.  Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.


"Go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a jar of water." Identified not by his name but by his acts. So too will we be identified not by our names but by our acts. The disciples followed him "wherever he enters" and spoke not to him but to the master of the house. And the master is identified not by his name or by his house. And the master obeys the teacher.  The room is found "furnished and ready" and the disciples made the preparations for the Passover  there.


Then while they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, and then gave the words of consecration of the Bread (This is my body. Corpus Christi) and of the cup of the fruit of the vine (This is my blood of the covenant which shall be shed for many.).  They had eaten and drank, then after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

June 8, 2012. Homily, Saturday, June 9, 2012

Mark 12:38-44
In the course of His teaching, Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."
The Gospel of the Lord.


Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given. Mother Teresa.


There is no man so poor that he cannot give to another. There is no man so rich that he cannot receive from another. Pope John Paul II.


It is the Temple Treasury. Some judged (materially) by how much they gave. Jesus judges (spiritually) by how much the giver has left after the gift. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven/God.


Coach Wooden teaches: “Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”

June 5, 2012. Homily, Wednesday June 6, 2012.

Mark 12:18-27


Some Sadduccees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone's brother die, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died,  leaving no descendants. So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them. "Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise form the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in  the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled."
The Gospel of the Lord.

June 4, 2012. Homily, June 5, 2012.

Mark 12:13-17

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring mw a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So, Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him.
The Gospel of the Lord.

The denarius carries the image of Caesar, for Caesar made the denarius to carry Caesar's image.
Human beings carry the image of God for God made human beings in the likeness of God.

The denarius was one day's wage.

May 28, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Mark 10:28-31


Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more in this present age: house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last and the last will be first."
The Gospel of the Lord.


Yesterday's Gospel was about the young man who ran up to Jesus and asked, "Lord, what must I do to be saved?" Jesus answered, "Follow the commandments." "Lord, I have followed the commandments since my youth." "Then, if you would be saved, give up all that you have to the poor and come and follow me." And the young man turned away saddened, for he had much property.


Then in today's Gospel Jesus responds to yesterday's Gospel and promises "a hundred times more in this present age" to those who have given up family and property to follow Jesus.


He defended the commandment to honour one’s father and mother (Mk 7:10-13), but here he was asserting freedom from control by one’s family. The call to discipleship is not necessarily in conflict with family, but in case of conflict it has to take priority over it.
Here we have the oft-repeated paradox of the Gospel, set off very clearly against yesterday’s account of the rich young man: when we try to possess something we lose it; it is only when we are prepared to give it away that it really becomes ours (Mt 10:39; 16:25; Mk 8:30; Lk 9:24)

May 23, 2012. Homily, Saturday, May 26, 2012

John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and said , "Master, who is the one who will betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me." So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die, just "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of your?"
It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Each of the four gospels, each of the four tellings of the "good news" is about Love. How many times/descriptions of love do we have in this last story of John's gospel.

Peter turns and sees the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Peter is jealous. Lord, what about him. Jesus says, What if i decide that he should remain until I return. What business is it of yours? You follow me.
John writes about his love for Jesus, but his writing is incomplete, for it he wrote it all, he does not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.


Erma Bombeck had fantasized that her 25th wedding anniversary would be held under a big white tent with guests milling around and an orchestra playing "our song." It turned out differently. Her kids threw a few hamburgers on a grill, scarfed them down and split-- leaving her and her husband to clean up. Later, her husband said, "Close your eyes." She did. When
she opened them, he held in his hand a jar of cauliflower, packed in pickle juice. "I hid them from the kids," he said, "because I knew how much you like it." Erma ended, with this beautiful remark, "Maybe love is that simple."

What did Erma mean?

Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together. Simone Signoret
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Posted by Daniel Murphy at 5:33 PM