Rev. James M. Donohue, C.R.
Father Jim is the Vicar-Provincial of the Ontario-KentuckyProvince and a professor and chair of the Theology Department at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD., where he has taught since 1996. His research and publications deal primarily with the rites of sickness, dying, and death. He teaches courses in systematics, such as Christology and Sacraments, and in pastoral education, such as theology of Lay Ministry, Skills for Ministry, and Youth Ministry.
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY
BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
JUNE 3, 2018
GATHERING TIME (10-15 minutes)
Introduction to the Word:
When I was in novitiate, I read an article in Review for Religious about the importance of keeping a promise. The author introduced the article with a story about two children who were arguing over the use of a toy. The dispute was settled when one child said, “But, you promised that I could take a turn.” The author used this simple story to make the greater point that “a promise is a promise.” I remember thinking about this article as I was preparing to make promises to keep the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in a few months. These were my temporary vows—renewable each year until final vows—but I felt confident that I, with God’s grace, would be able to be faithful to these promises. It was only two months after making these promises that I was challenged to keep them when things did not go as I had anticipated. I was living and ministering in the L’Arche Home in Stratford, Ontario and really felt/thought that God was calling me to stay there for longer than my allotted time. I approached my rector, Fr. Charlie Fedy, and shared my plan with him—a plan that I believed was endorsed by God. I told him that I thought that I should delay my theology studies at St. Peter’s Seminary and stay at the L’Arche home for a year. To his credit, Fr. Charlie took me seriously and actually brought my plan to the Provincial Council, who told me in no uncertain terms that I would not be staying longer at L’Arche, and that I would be starting theology in the fall as planned. I was angry and frustrated when I received this news and found myself making plans to leave the community. As I reflected upon this turmoil, I realized that I hardly had been under the vow of obedience for two months and I was already planning my disobedience! And then the words came back to me: “a promise is a promise.” I decided that I would keep my promise for the designated year and then I would leave and return to the L’Arche Home. It turns out—oh, how I hate to admit this—that the leaders of our community on the Provincial Council were right! While there were many good things about the L’Arche Home, it was only later that I was able to admit to myself that I was afraid of starting theology studies at St. Peter’s. By listening to them, I was encouraged to live out the promise. It was a good lesson to learn that others might see things more clearly (and better!) than I. It was also a good lesson to learn about how hard it is to keep a promise.
Warm-up Activity(about 8-10 minutes):
To get into the spirit of today’s readings with its emphasis on promises, you are invited to identify a few ideas about keeping or not keeping promises.
a)What promises have you made in your life, big and small?
b)What promises have been hard to keep? Have you been enriched in unexpected ways as you struggled to keep a promise?
c)What promises have been easy to keep? How has your life been enriched in these experiences?
d)If you broke a significant promise, was God able to open a new door in your life story? Have you been able to find God’s grace, even in a failed promise?
The Table of the Word
Promise KeepingThe first reading from the Book of Exodus describes the promises that Moses and the Israelites make to be faithful to God’s commandments. “They said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient’” (Ex 24:7). Similarly, the disciples at the Last Supper pledge their support for Jesus in the symbolic gesture of all drinking from the cup. “Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it” (Mk 14:23). We know that these promises, though well-intentioned, were not carried out faithfully. Much of the story of the people ofIsrael is the story of infidelity to the God who saved them from captivity in Egypt. The story of the disciples is one of failure in betrayal, denial, and desertion.
Yet, God continues to meet the people of Israel, and Jesus’ disciples, with forgiveness and the possibility of new life in the midst of their broken promises of infidelity. Every time that human beings opt away from God and God’s ways, God opens for them the possibility of new life in the midst of circumstances that seem unworthy of such grace. But this is what God does again and again for those whom God created and calls out of love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). As the Letter to the Hebrews puts it: “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant” (Heb 9:15).
Leader:Today we celebrate the covenant we share in the Body and Blood of Christ.
Lord Jesus, You reconciled us to God through your death on the cross,Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, You feed us with your own body and blood,Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, You renew your covenant with us today and for all time,Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray
Father in heaven, as we pray to be nurtured by your daily bread,
we also pray to be moved by your Word which is proclaimed again for us this day.
May the Spirit and life we receive be the source of faith and hope for others.
For this we pray in your name. Amen.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION TIME(45 minutes)
(As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is an empowering Word, and that God is present in the Word proclaimed. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of these reflections, is such that God’s Spirit becomes present, and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering and life giving.).
FIRST READING (Exodus 24:3–8)
Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.
Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING(Hebrews 9:11–15)
Brothers and sisters: When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent – not made with hands, that is, not of this creation – he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL (Mark 14:12-16, 22–26)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark. Glory to you, O Lord.
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my Body.”
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Lectio Divina means “sacred reading.”It was a popular form of prayer in the early Church. This Word proclaimed today is God’s own Word, God’s way of speaking to you today through his own Spirit. So take a few moments to be quiet, allowing this Word you have just heard to touch you as you reflect quietly on the three readings. Is there a word or thought that somehow attracts you or has your interest?If so, simply identify it—no need to explain it—just identify it.
COMMENTARY:
First Reading: The story of Israel might be described as God remaining faithful in the midst of Israel’s infidelities. Called as a people, built upon the faith of their father Abraham, Israel is “elected” by God to be a light to the world. This “election” or calling is not because they are special or better than others; it is, rather, a responsibility that God has given them. As Gerhard Lohfink states, “God’s choice fell on Israel for the sake of the nations. God needs a witness in the world, a people in which God’s salvation can be made visible. That is why the burden of election rests on the chosen people. Israel’s being chosen is not a privilege or a preference over others, but existence for others” (Does God Need the Church? [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999]: 37). However, time and again, Israel failed in its responsibilities and broke its promises to be obedient to the covenant made at Mount Sinai. Yet, God never deserted them and continued to open new ways for them to respond. Although, Israel was often unfaithful, God was always faithful. As Lohfink maintains, “God’s cause always hangs by a thread. But the thread does not break. God’s fidelity is equal to the weight of infidelity” (106).
Gospel: We see the making of well-intended promises in the Last Supper in Mark’s gospel. Earlier in Mark (chapter 10), James and John have boldly asked Jesus for seats at His right and left when He comes into His glory. Lest we think that these two disciples are the exception to the rule, Mark reports that all the other disciples were “indignant” when they found out what James and John had done. They wanted these seats for themselves! This bold request, and the subsequent indignation of the disciples, followed upon Jesus’ third Passion prediction, wherein He talks of his imminent suffering and death. Interestingly, Jesus asks the disciples if they can be baptized with the baptism in which He will be baptized, and if they can drink from the cup from which He must drink. Not recognizing the implications, the disciples are adamant that they are up to the task. And now at the Last Supper, in an atmosphere of hostility in Jerusalem, Jesus takes bread and breaks it and takes a cup and shares it. These are prophetic gestures that anticipate the breaking of His body and the pouring out of His blood. And the disciples participate whole-heartedly, sharing in this meal—“and they all drank from it”—and promising that their faith in Jesus will never be shaken. But, a few verses later, when Jesus is arrested, Mark bleakly reports: “And they all left Him and fled” (Mk 14:50). Promises made and promises broken. Only after the Resurrection, through forgiveness and reconciliation, will the disciples be offered new possibilities that arise out of their broken promises.
Second Reading: In the midst of Israel’s failures, God raises various prophets who speak a voice of hope. Among them, we could cite Jeremiah as one who captures the way that God continues to bring new life out of broken promises. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (31:31-33). The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was faithful to God and God’s ways to the point of death…so great is His love for us. The blood of Christ makes possible a new covenant “so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.”
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Be sure to allow the members a few moments for quiet reflection on the questions.
1.“All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 24: 3).
This was the Israelites' response to Moses, well-intentioned but seldom pursued. Most of us experience difficulty relating to “broken promises,” either those made to us or those we have made to others. We know the experience and the pain of a “broken promise.”
a) Have you ever been hurt by “broken promises,” as these have related to family members, to friends, to church, to government? Talk about your own experiences.
b) What promise(s) related to your Christian faith and/or your God are you building your life around? Share your reflections.
2.“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and after blessing it, gave it to (his disciples) saying, Take this and eat; this is my Body” (Mark 14:22).
Jesus made a once-and-for all freewill offering of Himself. While He took the blame on Himself, He is definitely not the scapegoat (someone arbitrarily assigned to bear guilt). Jesus freely chose to lay down his life. Anyone with eyes to see will recognize this gift. Here is the incredible promise, perfectly kept. We need look no further.
a) What “last supper” stands out in your memory because you were saying goodbye to a person or family or friends you had been with for a long time?
b) Name, if you are able, one or two of the serious commitments you have made with your life.
c) What does Eucharist mean in your life? Would it bother you much, really, if you did not have access to it on a regular basis? Share your personal thoughts.
3.“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15).
This new covenant is God’s action, God’s grace. This is not of our own doing. In fact, it comes in the face of our infidelity. And it comes today through our baptism and the active life of discipleship.