Ut Unum Simus - That We Might Be One (12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C)

For centuries the Israelites longed for peace and unity that seemed so elusive to them. The constant infidelity by the people led to the rupture of unity within Israel such that two kingdoms came to be formed. It is within this context that the prophet Zechariah writes, looking forward to the day of the Messiah when his death would purify the people and lead to a solid unity among the people of God.

Paul makes the case quite bluntly for us in our second reading for today's Mass: we are all one in Christ Jesus. However, our experience of the last two thousand years and in our own time flatly contradict the message of Paul, as well as the fervent prayer of Jesus for unity that we read throughout the Easter season from the Gospel of John. In fact, the Gospel text for today shows Jesus fulfilling the words of Zechariah, promising his disciples that he must suffer and die unjustly. What is more, everyone who wishes to be a disciple of Jesus must desire and experience the same fate. Needless to say, the disciples weren't excited by that message, and some chaffed at it. Jesus prayed for unity because he saw disunity already among his disciples and no doubt knew that it would continue throughout the life of the Church.

Two experiences from this past week confirmed for me that lack of unity among us today. The first was an email from a high school friend who is now convinced that there is no pope because the Church has become so corrupt because it adopted heresy at the Second Vatican Council in the many changes that occurred in the Church. Yet, from time immemorial we believe that the Church is the bride of Christ and that the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #796-797). The Church can never cease to be what she is by her vocation, and in every time and place she is called to become ever more perfect and faithful to Christ. Therefore, she can and must repent of sins and to change the things that can change for the good of the Church and her mission to the world. My friend, sadly, could not see this reality and thus an aspect of disunity is experienced among the baptized faithful.

The second experience involved an exchange with someone who condemned the Church for announcing the excommunication of a nun who authorized an abortion at a Catholic hospital in Phoenix, AZ. The local bishop affirmed the teaching of the Church regarding the procuring of a direct abortion (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2270-2275). However, given the lack of information available to outsiders due to federal laws, the best course in this case is not to render judgment based on media reports, but to leave the matter to the local diocese and the Catholic hospital. Instead, various groups are rendering judgment and conducting a war that again shows a lack of unity in the body of Christ.

The vocation to be a disciple of Christ and a member of the Church is not an easy one. It demands a great deal of self-denial on our part, as Jesus himself stated in the Gospel for today. Many would like to have the Church formed in their own image and likeness: some would desire a pope and a Church of the past, while others pine for a pope and a Church of the future. Yet Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever - and so is his bride the Church. We find Christ and the Church in our present day gathered as she always has around the altar of God united with the pope and bishops who shepherd us.

The Israelites splintered into disunity through their lack of fidelity to God's law and covenant; the disciples of Jesus' time wavered over the demand of the Cross in the life of discipleship. Paul calls us to unity that comes from being faithful to God and accepting the cross of Christ. May we pray with one voice today the opening prayer of holy Mass: "God of the universe, we worship you as Lord. God, ever close to us, we rejoice to call you Father. From this world's uncertainty we look to your covenant. Keep us one in your peace, secure in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

"Do This in Remembrance of Me" - Corpus Christi Year C

St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians provides us with the earliest recounting of the Last Supper and the words of institution of the holy Eucharist. The words Paul relates here are also found in the Gospel of Luke. It is these words that the Church has selected to be the words of consecration and anamnesis in the Eucharistic Prayer of holy Mass. We hear these words every time we participate in the sacred Liturgy, and yet have we stopped to consider what Jesus meant when he said the words "Do this in remembrance of me"?

Traditionally, the Church has consistently taught that in these six words Jesus instituted a new ritual - the celebration of the Eucharist, the memorial of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection. Certainly this understanding has great validity because the Church has always and everywhere offered the sacred Liturgy in obedience to this command of Christ. However, the Church has also taught that the liturgy is not an end in itself but rather is a means to an end. Christ gave us the sacraments so that we might be transformed into his own likeness, i.e so that we might become Christ. St. John Chrysostom, in preaching on this very passage from St. Paul, stated, "Paul reminds us that the Master gave up everything, including himself, for us, whereas we are reluctant even to share a little food with our fellow believers. But if you come for a sacrifice of thanksgiving, do not do anything unworthy of the sacrifice. Do not dishonor your brothers or neglect them in their hunger, do not get drunk, do not insult the church. When you come, give thanks for what you have enjoyed, and do not cut yourself off from your neighbors." (Homilies on the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, 27: 5)

The words of Jesus, then, are also an ethical command: "Do this in remembrance of me" also means to become Christ in all of our actions, to live and die for others. The ritual of the liturgy is designed for us to fulfull the ethical demands of the commandment. St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the virtue of this sacrament is to transform a person into Christ through love (Commentary on Book 4 of the Sentences, D 12, q. 2, a. 2, ad 1). The command of the ritual is designed to help us fulfill the ethical command in the words of Christ,

The gospel for today's Mass also highlights the ethical dimensions of the Eucharist. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes has always been seen as a Eucharistic event, and Jesus gives the disciples a command: "Give them some food yourselves." What the disciples are able to offer - five loaves and two fish - cannot possibly feed the entire multitude, but that is not the point. Jesus asks us to give him all that we have and he provides for all until we have had our fill. Similarly, by itself, our living and dying for others in obedience to the command and example of Christ cannot redeem the world, but by offering our life and death to that of Christ's we can be co-redeemers with him and transform the world.

The ritual command, then, can have no meaning if we do not intend to fulfill the ethical demand the Eucharist requires of us. The real presence of Christ in the Sacraments is diminished if Christ is not present in our life and actions. If the Sacraments are a visible sign of an invisible reality, should not we who receive the Sacraments make visilbe in our lives the invisible reality that is God dwelling within us?

Both Melchizedek and Abraham fulfilled an ethical duty of hospitality to one's neighbor and offering to God a worthy gift. However, their offering was but a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice. It brought them salvation only when the Lord Jesus fulfilled the promise of their ritual action. Their prayer now is that of the Church triumphant as they join us in our worship: "Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you living among us in the sacrament of your body and blood. May we offer to our Father in heaven a solemn pledge of undivided love. May we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. (Opening prayer)