OurMother of Perpetual Help Church August 19, 2018
Ephrata, PA ______20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners,
For the past few weeks the focus of the Sunday readings has been the Holy Eucharist. This Sunday is no exception, nor is next Sunday. Each week the liturgy has led us to consider the Eucharist from a different angle, driving home to us once more the importance of this sacrament.
In his encyclical on the Eucharist, St. Pope John-Paul II called the Eucharist the lifeline of the Church, implying what would happen were the Eucharist cut off from the Church. He goes on to say that the Eucharist is the way that Jesus fulfills His promise to remain with us till the end of time. It is our opportunity to see Him, as it were, face-to-face, or to share in what Jesus called His “hour.” Urging us to reflect on the Eucharist from many different perspectives, the pope reminds us that the Mass is our personal participation in the Paschal Mystery, giving us a place at the Last Supper, in the Garden of Gethsemane, at Calvary, and in the Upper Room. The Mass is also our moment of dining with Christ as the two disciples did on the road to Emmaus.
This Sunday’s readings offer us still another perspective on the Eucharist. They begin with Wisdom’s invitation to eat and drink at her table, an invitation that’s paralleled in the gospel where Jesus extends the same offer. Then, in the second reading (Ephesians 5:15-20) Paul calls our attention to the challenge of this meal. We are to become what we eat. We are to become Christ, or at least Christ-like. Let’s walk through the readings.
The first reading is an excerpt from Proverbs 9:1-6. Chapter 9 is devoted to a contrast between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly, each described as a householder inviting others to her home. Today’s reading is limited to the invitation from Wisdom who dwells in a perfect home (implied by its seven columns). She offers food and drink that guarantees an understanding about the meaning of life. At this point in the Old Testament this food and drink refers to God’s revelation, the Scriptures. While the gospel, too, offers us food and drink, it is of a different kind, a food and drink that takes us into a deeper realm of reality, into a personal contact with Jesus Himself.
The Gospel reading (John 6:51-58) begins by repeating the final lines of last Sunday’s gospel: Jesus said, “I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Like Wisdom in the first reading, Jesus invites us
to come eat and drink. His food, however, offers more than understanding the meaning of life. His food provides us with the gift of eternal life. Yet, the offer itself sparks controversy among Jesus’ listeners: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” That same controversy continues today among churches. Is this bread literally the Body, the flesh, of Christ or is it just a symbol of His Body. Is it, perhaps, more of a sign of His Presence among us? After all, how can He give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. The Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), the Swiss reformer and, like Luther, a Catholic priest, was a leader in the so-called Reform Tradition. He claimed that the Eucharist is only a symbol of Christ’s presence, not the Real Presence. John Calvin like Luther and Zwingli, was raised Catholic, became a lawyer, and set about “reforming” the Catholic Church by eliminating tradition as a source of revelation and truth. In the main, he popularized many of Zwingli’s teachings. Regarding the Eucharist, he denied the Real Presence, but spoke of a presence of power. Luther did believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and he denounced in the strongest terms those who questioned that belief, referring to them as “dammed, out of the church, offspring of hell, fighting against God and the sacraments, enemies of the Divine Word, heretics, and ministers of Satan.” (This quote is taken from Stephen Ray’s Crossing the Tiber, p.266). However, since Luther’s day, the Lutheran church also rejects transubstantiation. The key to recognizing whether a church believes in the Real Presence is whether it has a tabernacle. (While Anglican churches have tabernacles, they are not recognized as having a valid priesthood without which they would not have the Blessed Sacrament.) At any rate, the quarreling that went on that day because Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of life continues to the present. Was Jesus speaking literally, or was He speaking symbolically? For certain, the people who heard him that day definitely understood Him to be speaking literally. In fact, it was precisely because they realized He spoke literally that many of them who had been His followers walked away from Him and never returned. This is the scene and the gospel that alienated the heart of Judas. Judas stumbled because of the teachings of Jesus on the Real Presence. St. John makes the linkage clear as he concludes the passage with a reference to Judas’ betrayal. John writes that Jesus, watching a number of disciples departing, asked the Apostles: “Do you also want to leave?” Peter responds, “Master, to who shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” To which Jesus responds: Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?” He was referring to Judas…who would betray him.”
If Jesus was not speaking literally about the bread being His flesh, and the wine being His blood, why would He let these followers go off misunderstanding Him? It would have been so easy to assure them He was speaking symbolically and not literally.
It was--and remains today--a hard saying, this teaching on the Eucharist. It was especially hard for the Jews of Jesus day who would associate Jesus’ saying with something forbidden in their scriptures, namely, human sacrifice. Even today, the notion that the bread is Christ’s flesh and the wine is Christ’s blood carries with it a suggestion of cannibalism. But here is where the great mystery lies, and where we have to depend on inadequate language to explain a reality that transcends our ordinary experience of things. In the Eucharist, we eat what looks like bread and tastes like bread, yet is not bread. We drink what looks and tastes like wine, yet it is not wine. On a physical plane it is bread and wine, but on a metaphysical plane (that is, on the plane of the really real) we eat and drink the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus attempted to make this miracle easier to grasp by presenting it to us in a setting that would be quite familiar. The setting for the discussion of the Eucharist was the feeding of over 5,000 on five loaves and two fish. On a physical plane, the people saw and felt and tasted bread and fish. But on a meta-physical plane it was something other than those five loaves and two fish. It certainly was not the Body and Blood of Christ, but neither was it the 5 barley loaves and two fish. It was miraculous food! In the Eucharist, we experience, on a physical plane, the feel and taste of bread and wine. On a metaphysical plane, it is something quite different.
Take another example from the same chapter 6: Jesus calling Himself the Bread from Heaven. The phrase “bread from Heaven” would immediately evoke a very familiar setting, namely, Moses feeding the Israelites in the desert with manna, bread from heaven. On a physical plane, the Israelites saw and gathered a bread-like substance that they ate. But on a meta-physical level, they could not identity it and so they called it “manna,” a word that means, “What is it?” So, too, with the Eucharist. We see a wafer of bread and a cup of wine, but on a meta-physical plane we ask, “What is it?” It is more than meets the eye.5
Still one more example where a supernatural happening takes place within a familiar and recognizable setting. The setting is the Passover Meal. On a physical plane, what the Israelites saw was, among other things, their Paschal lamb whose blood had been used to mark their thresholds and whose flesh they consumed. Yet, on a meta-physical plane, the blood of the lamb thwarted the death of their first-born male while its absence on the doorpost of the Egyptians sentenced the first-born Egyptian males to death. On a meta-physical plane such blood was more than meets the eye. So, too, the Eucharist, a bread and wine that is so much more in reality than meets the eye.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is presenting Himself as that unique food (more than manna, more than Paschal lamb) that marks it’s recipients out for eternal life in a way that is so much more than meets the eye, in that meta-physical way. (Even in philosophy the physical is contrary to the metaphysical. The physical stands for things as they seem to be to our senses; the metaphysical to what things really are the really real.) The believer who receives the Eucharist makes contact with two different worlds, the physical in which he/she tastes bread and wine, and the meta-physical in which he/she encounters the living Christ and is challenged to give Him the means to express Himself in the world. But, why, then, with so many receiving Him of a Sunday don’t we have a far better world, a far better society? Could it be that Jesus must level against us the same criticism He leveled frequently against His Apostles: “Because you have so little faith.” I’m reminded of a poll taken a few years ago among Catholics in which 3 out of 5 Catholics said that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is a symbolic presence, not a Real Presence. Perhaps the best indication of what we believe about His Presence comes in the form of how we behave in our church, and how we behave after receiving Him in Communion.
Many people prefer to read today’s Gospel quickly and lightly, and keep its teaching at arm’s length. But that really runs contrary to what is expected of us who have listened and presented ourselves for Communion. Do we recognize at that moment of Eucharist our “Amen” is a public commitment to a new way of looking at things: at ourselves, at our relationship, at our attitude and at our world.
“Amen” is the only proper response to the reception of Eucharist. It is a Hebrew word that expresses one’s concurrence in what is being said. The priest holds the Host before me and says, “The Body of Christ,” and “The Blood of Christ,” and I reply “Amen,” meaning: “It is truly His Body, His Blood.” No other response is adequate. “Amen” carries with it the recipient’s comment to accept the challenge of the Eucharist which is to become Christ-like.
God bless you,
Fr. Pat McGarrity, C.Ss.R.
BLACK CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE
The Black Catholic Apostolatein sponsoring a family andfriendspicnicthat will be held on Sunday, August 26, at noon at the River Front Pavilion on City Island, Harrisburg.All are invited! Meat and drinks will be provided. Those attending are asked to bring a favorite covered dish or dessert to share. Also bring your favorite games to play.For additional information and to RSVP, please contact Gwen Summers at(717) 954-4620,or email
NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
FOR ABORTED CHILDREN
When: Saturday, September 8 at 9:40 a.m.
Where: At the memorial stone in front of OMPH Church 320 Church Ave. Ephrata, PA 17522
Americans throughout the country will gather at the gravesites of aborted babies and other memorial sites dedicated in their honor for the fifth annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
Solemn vigils will be held at these sites to commemorate the more than 59 million children who have lost their lives to legal abortion since 1973, and to remind our society of the humanity of the unborn child. Please join us for the memorial service in our community:
More Info: Call Marty Long at 717-381-8538 or email at
Together let us remember the victims of abortion and pray for a final end to this injustice in our land during the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.
ATTENTION YOUNG ADULTS
The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg is hosting a night for young adults’ ages 21 to40 from throughout the region called Get Connected on Saturday, September 22. The evening will begin with a 5pm Vigil Massat Saint Rose of Lima Church, York, followed by lite fare and a social at the Veranda Room at the York Fairgrounds.Registration and detailed information may be found at: or follow this event on Facebook.
STEWARDSHIP:
A MISSION OF FAITH FALL CONFERENCE
Stewardship: A Mission of Faith, invites you to join Fr. Michael Gaitley, Jason Evert, Christopher West, Damon Owens, Msgr. John Esseff, Marty Rotella, Devin Schadt, Mark Forrest, Megan Murphy, Bishop Alfred Schlert and many more, for an adult conference this fall.
The event will be held on Wednesday, September 19th and Thursday, September 20th. One and two-day tickets are available. The conference will be held in Elizabethtown, PA, at the beautiful Stone Gables Estates which features the historic Star Barn Village and Ironstone Ranch ( In between the 6 keynote talks, 24 workshops, daily Mass and evening adoration, you can enjoy 275 acres of God’s creation including horseback riding, wagon rides, campfires, an outdoor stations of the cross, Marian grotto, vineyard and more! For complete information, visit us at and click on the Fall Conference link. We’ll see YOU in September!
DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE
In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Harrisburg, a diocesan-wide pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. is planned for Saturday, November 3, 2018. This pilgrimage will be led by our own Bishop Ronald Gainer. The Pilgrimage will last from 9 AM until 4 PM and will include a visit to the Shrine and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance. Buses will be departing from various sites in our Diocese for the Pilgrimage. Additional information about the Pilgrimage can be found on the Diocesan web site, If you are interested in attending the Pilgrimage please see or contact Mrs. Rita Pfautz (717) 341-1211 for more information.
MASS INTENTIONS
Monday, August 20, St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
7:00Aleyda Buitrago
Tuesday, August 21. St. Pius X, Pope
7:00 Joe Burke
Wednesday, August 22, Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
9:00 George & Georgia Lowe
7:00 Linda & Steve Aisenbrey 50th Anniversary
Thursday, 23 August, St. Rose of Lima, Virgin
7:00 JerryBurke
Friday, August 24, St. Bartholomew, Apostle
7:00 Intentions in the Prayer Box
Saturday, August 25, St. Louis; St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest
9:00 Joaquin Imperial
5:00Lonny Lyons
Sunday, August 26, Sunday in Ordinary Time
7:30 For the Parishioners
9:00 Jean Givler
11:00 Mildred Novak
IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS
We will be publishing the names of your dear loved ones who are seriously ill or injured. After the period of one month their names will be removed. For example, names announced in the bulletin the third week of the month will be removed the third week of the following month. If at that time prayers are still needed, please feel free to contact the parish office, and we will be more than happy to re-publish your loved one’s name.
June 24: Phoenix Rann, Margaret Gardner, Brenda Crawford, Abigail Lowe-Critchfield, Michael Lillis, Richard Warner, Kevin Kaiser, Jody Shimp, Anna Lesher, Florence Windish, Gloria Reynolds, Susan Buchler, Bill Garcedau Tracy Yeakel, Paula Karem, Greg Garred, Mary Hohowski, Don Tellam, George Seuber, Jeff Gorman, Wanda Rutt, and Pat Fry Robert Bevans.
Date / Amount / Needed / Difference8-5-18 / $ 12,975.14 / $14,300.00 / ($1,324.86)
YTD / Amount / YTD Needed / Difference
8-5-18 / $73,382.01 / $85,8000.00 / ($ 12,471.99)
Date / Amount / Needed / Difference
8-12-18 / $ 10,474.30 / $14,300.00 / ($ 3,825.70)
YTD / Amount / YTD Needed / Difference
8-12-18 / $83,802.31 / $100,100.00 / ($ 16,297.69)
SANCTUARY LAMP
You may have the Sanctuary Lamp burn for a sick or deceased loved one for a donation of $5 to defray the cost of the candles. This week the candle burns for Bevenour Family.
ADORATION OF THEBLESSED SACRAMENT
Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
YEARLINGS
We will meet for lunch at the Rivera Restaurant in Reamstown at 11:30 on Tuesday, August 21. Because of not having a meeting in September we are setting a later than usual date. All are welcome. Call Gloria at 717-738-9098.