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June 9, 2022
This week we begin to ease ourselves into Ordinary time. We have passed through the season of Advent and Christmas, and then through Lent and Easter. At the beginning of Advent we sing,” Come, Lord Jesus and we waited for the nativity of Christ at Christmas. At the end of last week’s second reading, we heard,” Come, Lord Jesus”, and were reminded that these are the last words of the Bible. In every Mass after the Lord’s Prayer the priest prays, “Deliver us Lord…. Until you come again” (Embolism). Ordinary time for us is watching and waiting for Jesus to come again in glory as he promised. The word ordinary comes from a Latin word that means “to count”. We are counting the days until Jesus comes in glory as he promised. The early Christian church thought that it was a matter of days, but we know that no one really knows and so we continue with the seasons and holy days until Jesus comes again, or we start over with all the seasons again next November. In the meantime, we have the next two weeks to reflect on two important teachings of our faith. The feast of the Holy Trinity or the revelation of God as a community of persons and the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. These two important doctrines extend the Easter season a little and help us to understand a little of what we know about God as He reveals himself to us. We know that God is a trinity of persons, distinct in character, but unified in substance. It is love that defines God, love in creation, redemption, and sanctification. Even as I write these words, I am aware that this is not enough or sufficient to understand God. We never will, as we are all his creatures, and we are the created. St. Augustine said that whatever it is that we understand to be God, is not God if we understand it completely. We can talk about the mystery of God, but we can also say that He is love and shares himself in the word made flesh, (Jesus) and the grace (love) of the Holy Spirit.
It will always be more of His love that God wants to share with us and we are always invited more deeply into this mystery but will never find the end of it.
The other mystery we will consider as we begin Ordinary time is the mystery of the body and blood of Christ. In truth, God is always finding some humble way to be part of our lives and be a more concrete part of us. The eucharist gives us the opportunity to experience the love of God within us physically. This is one miracle we all witness every time we celebrate Mass. An observer of the church once said, if people truly realized the depth of the miracle of the Eucharist, it would be necessary to build a fence around the altar to stop people from approaching. (Perhaps that in part explains the memory of the communion rail in my home parish. On the other hand, God wants to make himself completely accessible, so maybe this open floor plan is right.
So we have these two great Sundays to transition into ordinary time, but it will never be ordinary with Jesus as Lord. Come Lord Jesus !
Peace,
Father Murray
Building news: The new counters and kitchen cabinets have been installed in the lower church at Immaculate. We now have storage space and a nice place from which to serve food. With the addition of a large sink in the maintenance room, guest can more easily fill coffee pots, clean and then store utensils in a place that is more easily accessible. Thanks to Jim Moriarty and the knights for the transfer of the cabinets and the installation.
