The Eucharist: Sign of his Continuous Incarnation!

(Homily for the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi Year C)

      Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates one of her most sublime Mysteries: the Eucharist, the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi, the Solemnity that recalls the Mystery of the real presence of Christ in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The aim of  this solemnity is three-fold: first, it serves as an invitation for us to be always conscious of the greatness of this Gift; second, to make our faith always alive and convinced in It; third, to reawaken in us the sensibility always to render gratitude to Jesus who instituted It, “the very night he was to be betrayed”, as a sign of His extreme and endless love for us. The Eucharist is the perpetuation of both his Love and Presence. It is the Sacrament of Christ’s extreme love for humanity. It is a sign of his continuous Incarnation in human history. In the words of Giovanni Vannucci, “man is the only creature that has God in his blood”, we have in us a divine chromosome, for Jesus dwells in us!

     The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word “eucharistia” which is a translation of the Hebrew word “berakah” and they all stand to signify thanksgiving or praise to God for his wonderful deeds. This Sacrament therefore, reminds us of the Jewish religious tradition of Berakah, which has to do with blessing, thanksgiving and praise to God for the wonders he has wrought. The readings of this great Solemnity are replete with sacrificial symbolisms, as such references to blood and sacrifice abound. Each time we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we often tend to lay much emphasis on the Body, in fact, it is even suggestive in the title “Corpus Christi”. We do not often talk about the blood, which is at the heart of this Sacrament and the most eloquent symbol of his self-donation. Indeed, the second reading “is dripping in blood” to say it with Bishop Robert Baron. Blood is life, to offer one’s blood is to offer one’s life. This is what Jesus did, he offered his life Blood.

     Going through history lane, we remember that in the Old Jewish tradition, when the family gather for the Passover Meal, it was prescribed that the last born of the house, asks a question to the Father of the family, thus: What does this ritual mean? This was the question that someone (maybe John that was the youngest apostle) could have directed to Jesus, the evening they were at table for the Last Super. Maybe in response, Jesus might have explained to them how the whole celebration from the night of the Exodus on, with the killing of the lamb and the Passover Meal, were not but a figure and a prophecy of Him; the Lamb of God (cf. Gen. 22:7; Jn. 1:29), that has to be slaughtered in order to take away the sins of the world, and to be food and drink for his friends. Indeed, “Christ loved us and handed himself over to us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). Similarly, the same question can situate us well into the context of our present gathering, thus, let us ask ourselves: What is the meaning of this ritual? Not because we do not know what we are about to do or the essence of our celebration, but for the Lord to explain it to us again, through his Word and Sacrament,  always for a more profound understanding. No doubt, to that question the readings of today have much in stock for us.

          The first reading (Gen. 14:18-20) we are presented with the figure of Melchizedek the priest of the Old Testament, and he is like a torch light that points to the reality of Jesus. But for us to understand the real import of the message we cannot but make a backward step into the historical context surrounding the passage. The context that precedes the passage was a war between some Kings in the region where Abraham’s nephew: Lot was residing. In the course of that war Lot was captured and taken to prison. On hearing this, Abraham gathered about three hundred men, who defeated the enemies and rescued Lot and his possessions (cf. Gen. 14:12-16). While returning, Abraham met Melchizedek the King of Salem who brought bread and wine and blessed Abraham. Indeed, here we see a glaring difference between him and the priests of the Old Covenant who offered blood of sacrificed animals, while he offered bread and wine. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews says: “he is like the Son of God” (Heb. 7:3). That is to say, that through Melchizedek we catch a glimpse already in the Old order of Jesus. Melchizedek is a priest of old and Jesus is the high priest of the New Testament. Our response to the psalm bears witness to it: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps.110:4). Melchizedek brought bread and wine, which is a prefiguration of the Eucharist that Jesus would offer in a personified manner. Similarly, in the gestures of the Priest of Salem who offered bread and wine, the Church sees a prefiguration of her own offering (CCC 1333). The victory and rescue of Lot by Abraham symbolizes the Lord’s victory over our enemies and our rescue too.

     Melchizedek brought out bread and blessed Abraham. In the Old Testament, bread and wine is a sign of blessing (he blessed Abraham), a sign of gratitude (blessed be God who has delivered your enemies in your hands) because it calls to mind the wonders God has wrought. In the Exodus 16, the Israelites received manner and ate. Indeed, we can see a sort of progression in the bread and wine of the Old Testament and the body and blood of Christ of the New Testament, we can say that, Melchizedek brought the bread and wine, but Jesus did the real offering (of himself). Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine prefigures Christ’s offering of bread and wine, not just bread and wine, but his body and blood, HIS LIFE.

          In the Gospel passage (Lk. 9:11-17) Jesus performed a miracle of loaves, feeding five thousand men from only five loaves and two fish. This miracle in turn prefigures the greatest miracle of the New Testament: The Eucharist. The apostles adopted a hostile solution to the urgency of the hunger of this crowd. They went to Jesus and said: “send the crowd away”. But Jesus never sent anybody away. He helped the apostles to understand that the first step of this miracle is sharing and not multiplication, for Jesus retorted, “You give them something to eat”. The verb ‘to give’, is the action word that vehicle the miracle. In the Gospel the verb ‘to love’ is always translated with another concrete verb ‘to give’, for instance: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son” (Jn. 3:15). The apostles had only five loaves, which means one loaf for one thousand men, and in human calculation it seemed impossible. However, in God’s calculation, the miracle of that night, was that the small piece of bread shared became sufficient for all.

          The second reading (1Cor. 11:23-26) describes the event of the last supper. This as we have it from St. Paul is the oldest account of the Last Supper. He says: “this is my body”, “this chalice is the new covenant in my Blood”. He did not say this represents my body or my blood. Little wonder, the Catholic doctrine teaches about Transubstantiation (that is while maintaining the appearance of bread and wine, the substances of bread and wine are transformed), inter alia. Again to our earlier question: What does this ritual mean? Our Lord responds to us, first of all, with the words of St. Paul: “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Cor. 11:26). And at the moment of the Institution of the Eucharist Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in memory of me”. Indeed, it does appear the keyword for the understanding of the Eucharist is Memorial/Remembrance. But memorial of what? Of the death of the Lord, certainly, but not only of this, Jesus said: “In memory of me”, the Eucharist, therefore, remembers (brings to heart) Him, all his mystery; His prefiguration in the Old Testament and his actuation in the New Testament. The Eucharist is a Remembrance/Memorial of the Lord and the Salvation he wrought, that culminates in his Death and Resurrection. It is the memorial for the people of God. Every people that has a history, has also a memorial, which can be a day of feast or something that condenses the history. The Eucharist is equally a Banquet that unites. In the verses preceding the passage of the second reading Paul warns: “And so, when you assemble together as one, it is no longer in order to eat the Lord's Supper. For each one first takes his own supper to eat. And as a result, one person is hungry, while another is inebriated. Do you not have houses, in which to eat and drink? Or do you have such contempt for the Church of God that you would confound those who do not have such contempt? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I am not praising you in this” (11:20-22).

          Extrapolating from the passage, we can identify three important elements in relation to this sublime mystery, namely: ●The substantial change of the bread to the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ and the wine to his Blood. This is what we refer to as transubstantiation, as opposed to transfiguration. ●The element of thanksgiving, which in Greek is “Eucharistia”. ●The phenomenon of remembrance or memorial. This serves as a reminder to the people of God not to forget the good deeds of the Lord.

          Drawing the issue further, the three readings of today propel us to consider the Holy Eucharist above all, from variegated points of view:

►The Eucharist as a Sacrifice: The Eucharist is above all, the sacrifice that renders the self-immolation of Christ actual and perennially present. It is the sacrifice of the New covenant ratified with the Blood of Christ. ●The letter to the Hebrews declares in a definitive manner the conclusion of the time of the Old law, which was to serve as a preparation for the coming of Christ and for salvation through faith in Him. The numerous sacrifices with animals gives way to the unique and perfect sacrifice of Christ, a sacrifice of infinite value. The blood of animals was replaced with the Blood of the unique and immaculate victim: Jesus Christ. By means of the replacement with the Blood of Christ, we are no longer talking about a provisory covenant, that has to do with the Israelites alone, but a definitive covenant. It is not just a ritual of external purification, rather the “purification of our conscience from the works of death to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:12-14). ●St. Paul in 1Corinthians (11:25) speak explicitly of the “New Covenant”. The Eucharist, therefore, is the representation in a sacramental way under the signs of bread and wine, of the unique and perfect sacrifice of Christ, to the glory of the Father, for the expiation of sins.

►The Eucharist as a Banquet: The Eucharist is not only the sacrifice of Christ, but at the same time, it is a supper, a feast, to which everyone is invited, “the Lord Jesus took some bread and after he had given thanks he broke it” (1Cor. 11:23). Jesus instituted it in the context of the Last Supper, with typical elements of a banquet: bread and wine, and he said clearly and distinctly: “This is my Body” (1Cor. 11:24). “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood” (1Cor. 11:25). Indeed, the Eucharistic celebration is inseparably a sacrifice and a banquet.

►The Eucharist as a mystery which calls for commitment: The Eucharist is not a mere rite or a simple cultual act, that is repeated in a formal way. Above all, it is a mystery that requires a conscious and active participation. It is a mystery that demands fully the commitment of a believer. The Eucharist as a sacrifice requires those who participate in it the effort to make themselve a living sacrifice acceptable to God, to unite their daily sufferings to that of Christ. And as a banquet, it is a feast around which we gather as children of God, the Eucharist as such, invites us to live in communion, fraternity and love.

     Again to our earlier question: What does this ritual mean? Our Lord responds to us, first of all, with the words of St. Paul: “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Cor. 11:26). At the moment of the Institution of the Eucharist Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in remembrance of me” (1Cor. 11:24). Indeed, it does appear the keyword for the understanding of the Eucharist is Memorial / Remembrance. But memorial of what? Of the death of the Lord, certainly, but not only of this, Jesus said: “In memory of me”, the Eucharist, therefore, remembers (brings to heart) Him, all his mysteries. Drawing the issue further, here remembrance entails something more than mere recollection. In the context of the Passover, it is God and not just the people who remembers. As such, He makes present the great acts of redemption. Similarly, at each Eucharist, we do not just look back in remembrance of the Last Supper; instead the Last Supper is made present to us in order that we might experience the saving power of Jesus. In the Eucharist we both remember and relive what Jesus has done for us and this great gift of Himself in the Eucharist. It is worthy of note that in the biblical language, ‘remembrance’ (zikkaron) rather makes one to relive the reality really; it is a remembrance and a presence at the same time!. The Death and Salvation of Christ, in the Eucharist, are not relived only in our memory, but they are relived really even though in an unbloody manner; there is a real presence on the altar. It is the presence of the Risen Lord who says: “Touch me, it is really I” (Lk. 24:39). (Along history lane some have doubted this, we recall the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano (Italy) in the year 700).

      Above all else, however, from what has been said it is clear that the participation in the Eucharist does not end with the final blessing, it is to be lived, it must permeate and influence all our actions. And here we want to consider a Eucharistic experience from three different but interconnected perspectives: before, during and after the celebration. In the ‘before’ of the celebration, there are numerous elements that predispose us to an ever more lively celebration of the sacrament. Before the celebration, the believer is invited to consider the gratuitousness of the gift that he goes to celebrate and to recognize himself as a sinner. The ‘during’ is the time of celebration, the space in which the encounters between one believer and another; the human and the divine take place. It is a moment of a very strong involvement, of feeling welcomed by God and the brethren. So, it is also a time of fraternity. It is a time to let ourselves be given the therapy by the Word of God. It is a time of confrontation with oneself and the Word, and this attitude holds the secret for constant growth in Christian maturity. Lastly, the ‘after’ of this encounter with God and with the brothers and sisters should instill in us a life of communion already anticipated during the celebration, as an element coming from the encounter with Jesus. What we celebrate must have spiritual, moral and social values in our life. After the example of self-donation, sharing and love given to us by Jesus, the ‘after’ celebration must therefore be a time of extension of the Eucharistic experience in our everyday life. And I would like to conclude with these profound and piercing words of Don Tonino Bello: “Unfortunately, flashy opulence makes us easily see the body of Christ in the Eucharist of our altars. But it prevents us from seeing the body of Christ in the uncomfortable tabernacles of misery, need, suffering, loneliness. (...) I believe that the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ demands our conversion. Not the altitude of our words. Nor the empty pomp of our liturgies.” Truly, Jesus in the Eucharist continues to demand for our conversion. May He make our presence before his Presence a transforming encounter. May we become more of Him and less of us. Amen!!!

Verbum caro factum est!

Verbum panis factum est!

Verbum caro factum est!

Verbum panis factum est!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

Be Like The God You Worship: The Trinity Of Love!

  (Homily for the Holy Trinity Sunday Year C)

“Just… as the three angles of a triangle do not make three triangles but one, … so too in some much more mysterious way, there are three Persons in God and yet only one God” (Fulton J. Sheen, The Divine Romance)

     After we have celebrated in Advent and Christmas the merciful love of the Father who sent his Son to, in and for the world; in Lent and Easter we celebrated the infinite goodness of the Son, who gave his life for us, and after celebrating the feast of the Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, in order to bring to fulfilment the wonderful works of our salvation, in today’s liturgy we celebrate the three divine Persons together (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Indeed, the reality of the three divine Persons is not a fairy tale, rather a certainty of what has been revealed to us. Even though it has been revealed, it still remains a mystery. The revelation of our God who in essence is one, and manifests Himself in three Persons is beyond human logic and calculations. The Holy Trinity is the mystery that distinguishes our religion from others (the Jews adored only one God: Jahvè, the pagans adore many divinities, without unity), but in ours there is unity in distinction. The Holy Trinity is not just the perception in three aspects (Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier) that we sometimes have of God, more than that, the Trinity does not only refer to human viewing, but to God himself, to His ways of being God. The Holy Scripture actually made us to understand that the Father is God (Phil.1:2), the Son is great God (Titus 2:13) and that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). The God revealed by Jesus Christ is not a distant and inaccessible divinity that has nothing to do with the contingent humanity. He does not sit unconcerned on His eternal throne, rather He condescends to mankind. Even though we may not understand God fully as Trinity, we do experience Him as Trinity daily (in the sign of the cross etc.). God is not only believable, He can be experienced (Taste and See). In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “God, in his deepest mystery, is not a solitude, but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship, and the essence of the family, which is love (the Holy Spirit).”

         In that bid, I would like to introduce the Holy Trinity in this reflection in two broad terms: economic and immanent Trinity, taking inspiration from some of the modern theologians. Economic Trinity is how God has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (through His actions in the world) in the history of salvation. And many a times when we talk about the Holy Trinity, we tend to do so, limiting ourselves to the economic Trinity, as revealed to us. But more than that, the Holy Trinity is also to be considered from the point of view of how God is in himself, God in his essence is One but manifests himself in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that is immanent Trinity. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a mystery beyond and above us, for it has to do with the ontological aspects of the Trinity (Immanent) and at the same time it is a mystery that has been revealed to us and it is our way of knowing that God is present in Human history (Economic). Be that as it may, it behoves us to underscore that this doctrine does not explain nor define God, because as St. Augustine opined "si comprehendis non est Deus". In another writing of his St. Augustine exclaimed "if you see love, you have seen the Trinity". “God is love” (1Jn. 4:16) as revealed in the New Testament, and love cannot remain closed up in itself, and the God revealed by Jesus Christ is Trinity because is love. Jesus said to Philip, “I and the Father are one” (Jn.10:30) and no doubt the Holy Spirit is part of this oneness. Whether considered from the dimension of transcendency or immanency, the central word that dovetails into God’s essence and manifestation is LOVE. The Trinity is therefore a sign of a harmonious unity existent in God, which should equally be existent among God's children. The central message of today's doctrine is that of Love (Father-Lover, Son-Loved and Holy Spirit-Love).

     The word Trinity (tri-unity) was coined by Tertullian about the third century in the bid to establish the distinct Persons in one God.  The Scriptures in no small way, buttress the reality of the Trinity with some biblical quotations: In Genesis 18: 1-2: God appeared to Abraham at the sacred tree of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance during the hottest part of the day, he looked up and saw three men. God came to Abraham in the Trinitarian form. In Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send and who will go for US?” Here we can discover God the Father making a representational request on behalf of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Likewise in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus Christ, the Son undoubtedly is God: John 1:1: “In the beginning was the WORD, the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. The Holy Spirit is equally God: Genesis 1:2: “The Spirit of God was brought over the waters” This was before God began active creation. The Holy Spirit has been with the Godhead from eternity. Hence the Holy Spirit is God. In John 14:26: “The Counsellor whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything”. The Greek word perichoresis (derived from the Greek traditional wedding dance) will help us to have a clue of how God is Trinity. It is the reciprocal com-penetration of being among the three divine Persons, it is like the bond that unites the three Persons in a mutual indwelling. For instance, in Jesus’ priestly prayer: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (Jn. 17:1); and again Jesus says referring to the Holy Spirit, “he will glorify me” (Jn.16:14). Thus, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies the Son.

     Similarly, no matter how hard we try, we remain limited in the endeavour to understand this mystery in toto, what is important for us is not even to understand Him, rather to recognize how he manifests Himself, what are the signs of his presence and action, for God is experienced as going out of himself, in revelation and redemptive actions. And it is on this, no doubt that the three readings of today try to give us some indications:

     The first reading (Pro. 8:22-31) speaks of the divine wisdom orchestrated in the self-disclosure of God. In the wisdom literature and in the Old Testament generally, Yahweh is a God who exists in himself, who also goes out of himself in his revealing and saving actions, and he as well brings men to respond in and with faith to his saving action. Here, the wisdom of God is portrayed in His going out of himself. As such, the hymn of the eighth chapter of Proverbs is fundamental in the understanding of the divine wisdom. More than in any other passage, Proverbs 8 assigns an active and subjective role to wisdom in creation. Therein, wisdom is personified for “she was present when God creates”. The liturgy of today therefore, suggests a contemplation of the Father, the fountain and origin of all, who conceived the design of spreading His love on the creatures that are capable of knowing and loving him, and he realized this, by the creation of man in his own image and likeness and the universe at the service of man. On this wisdom St. Paul later affirmed: “It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began” (1Cor. 2:7). Besides, the pertinent question as far as this passage is concerned could be: where is the trinitarian import in this passage? And we find it at the beginning of the passage: “The Wisdom of God speaks: Yahweh created me, first-fruit of his fashioning…From eternity, I was firmly set” (vv.22-23). Indeed, before the beginning of the world, we see at God’s side, a mysterious reality, the Wisdom that speaks of God and with God, and assists Him (God) while He creates. St. John in his prologue identified this mystery, calling it Wisdom Word: “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God…Through him all things came into being” (Jn. 1:1.3). This opens the window to the revelation on the Trinity.

   In the second reading (Rm. 5:1-5), St. Paul talks about the triadic structure as revealed in the experience of God. For God is the origin of our redemption in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit who pours the love of God into our hearts we come to experience the redemptive action. However, St. Paul takes it to a different dimension, for he departs from the consideration of man, created in the image of God, but who has lost his friendship with God because of sin, and he was destined to perdition, but God did not abandon him to the powers of darkness and death; instead God comes with a project of redemption, and as such, the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ are geared towards the realization of this redemptive project that reveals fully the Son of God to man. The Only Son of God, hidden from all eternity in the bosom of the Father and who was with Him when He was creating the heavens, has manifested himself therefore, as a Person in Jesus Christ.

     In today’s Gospel (Jn. 16:12-15) Jesus through his words manifested the relationship existent amongst the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, “He (The Holy Spirit) will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (Jn. 16:14-15). Without the Father and the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to believe in Christ, because He speaks of them (the Father and the Holy Spirit) and they speak to us about Him (Christ). A Jesus without his profound and uninterrupted dialogue with the Father, without his Abba!, is no longer Jesus; a Jesus without the Spirit that illumines Him is not the risen Jesus who saves and sanctifies humanity. There is a network of connection and rapport that exists between the Father and the Son, and between the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son. The revelation that Jesus brings is from the Father and it is the Holy Spirit, who teaches and continues the propagation of this revelation from generation to generation. However, the Spirit does not communicate or convey a new or an independent revelation, instead he purifies and updates our understanding of the revelation of God manifest in the event of Christ. This passage opens for us glimmer on the last phase of the history of salvation, the time of the Church, where the presence of the Holy Spirit is revealed. He will come to the Church and lead her to the truth, the continuator of the work of Christ and sanctifier of the Church and every single Christian.

     Be that as it may, we have a number of virtues to learn from the mystery and divine manifestation we celebrate today: ●Unity in diversity, a call, therefore, to recognize all as brothers, despite our differences, and to live in love and communion as children of the same Father.  The revelation of God as Trinity is a revelation of love. ●We can as well reconsider the Holy Trinity in three dimensions: the Trinity of faith (of the past, that revealed himself), the Trinity of Love (of the present, that lives and works in us), there is also the Trinity of Hope (of the future, we are on our journey towards the return to the Father). It is of a Hope that is certain (cf. Rm 5:5). The Trinity is ocean of Peace and communion; the Father always works with the Son and the Holy Spirit “let us” (cf Gen 1 & 2).

     The mystery of the Holy Trinity is a reality hidden in the heart of God. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is neither the work or the fruit of theological thoughts nor of mysticism. The Trinity is not a fruit of human invention, is not an idea, rather it is a reality, the most sublime reality, not a static reality but a process-reality; that the Father revealed through the Son and the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity was immensely revealed to us through the action and manifestations of God in human history. God revealed himself as Father by sending the Son. And Jesus Christ revealed himself to us in his perfect obedience to the Father, through his death and redemptive resurrection. And the Holy Spirit revealed himself to us as the “cement” of the love of the Father and the Son, as a gift of communion to man, so that they will live in the trinitarian image.

     What should be the attitude of man before this mystery? ►First, there is need for the attitude of adoration and submission to the Father that so much loves us, to our Brother Jesus who gave his life for us, and to the Holy Spirit who accompanies and sustains us in the course of our earthly existence. More important to reflecting, thinking and pondering on the mystery is to worship and render all adoration to the Triune God. ►Second, is the attitude of thanksgiving, thanking God for the fact that He is a mystery and continues to be a mystery even after the revelation. But not a mysterious and complicated mystery, for we are constantly involved in the life of the Blessed Trinity. Being a mystery, as such it cannot be manipulated or instrumentalized by man. ►Third, is the attitude of humble acceptance of the mystery, avoiding a rationalistic position and an irrationalistic position, that seeks to exclude it (because it does not comprehend it) or that seeks to succumb to its weight (because it is perceived to be cumbersome) respectively.

     Above all else, however, drawing the issue further, we see that the Holy Trinity is a mystery of Mission: the Father sends the Son, and both send the Holy Spirit, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Church is sent by Christ to “go and make disciples of all nations”. You too, you are sent to be heralds of love, unity and communion. In the mystery of the Holy Trinity, there is love amongst the three Divine Persons (ad intra), but in the same vein the trinitarian love is manifested externally (ad extra), love towards humanity, towards us. This trinitarian love extended to us should be a prerogative for the extension of that same love to our fellow human beings. The Trinity is therefore a sign of a harmonious unity existent in God, which should equally be existent among God's children. The central message of today's doctrine is that of Love. The Holy Trinity is a mystery of interpersonal communion of love. It is a sign of communion and of love. As those called to live a trinitarian life, is our life a sign of communion and of love, a reflex of the trinitarian life? Drawing the issue further, we call the attention of our leaders and all, enough of all this religious, ethnic and political divides that create tension, hatred, violence and the massacre of human beings, especially in our country today. We condemn in all its forms and manifestations the barbarous warfare, persecution, endless massacre, kidnapping and plunder going on today in this nation. We need an urgent rediscovery of the sense of the sacredness and respect of the human life, created in the image and the imprint of the Trinitarian God. Let us pattern our lives according to the God we worship and teach other to do same. May Jesus in whom “in bodily form dwells all the fullness of divinity” (Col. 2:9), continue to reveal to us the God who is communion. Oh our Trinitarian God, help us to love You and to love one another! Enable us to recognize you in each other and in our world, so that we may be capable of living the Trinitarian existence of communion, love and a harmonious unity. Amen!

 (Fr. Vitus Chigozie SC)

 

 

 

Come O Great Paraclete, Come!

(Homily for Pentecost Sunday Year C)

Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant, Christ is merely a historical figure, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is just an organization, authority is domination, mission is propaganda, liturgy is only nostalgia, and the work of Christians is a slave morality. But with the Holy Spirit, Christ is risen and present, the Gospel is a living force, the Church is a communion in the life of the Trinity, authority is a service that sets the people free, mission is Pentecost, the liturgy is commemoration and anticipation, and the work of Christians is divinized (Ignatius of Laodecea).

     The aforementioned assertion of Ignatius of Laodicea sets in motion the vitality and the profundity of today’s Solemnity. Today as we are celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the word of God gives account of this Event, in four different ways, to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, cannot be locked up in human schemes. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes as a consoling presence, a counsellor, Spirit of truth and a witness to Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles, He comes as energy, courage, life force. He opens a new horizon. In the Pauline account, the works of the Spirit are opposed to the works of the flesh. And the fourth account is in today’s responsorial Psalm: “Send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth” (Ps.104:30). All the earth, nothing and nobody is excluded. Indeed, what we are celebrating today is the fulfilment of the promise of the Risen Christ. Several times in his farewell speech, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the apostles: “I will not leave you orphans… I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth… and you will receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 14). And 50 days after His Resurrection, Jesus maintains his promise, as St. Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles. St. John instead, in his Gospel collocates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the evening of the same day of Resurrection (cf. Jn. 20:19-23). As such, he intends to make us understand that the Holy Spirit is the most important Gift of the Risen Christ, the most precious fruit of his gesture of love and obedience to the Father. He is the Gift of God and the Giver of God’s gift to us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. In the Scripture he is presented with several symbols and images like: cloud (cf. Ex. 16:10); water (cf. Ez. 17:1-6; Jn. 7:37-39); wind or breath (cf. Gn.1:2; Acts. 2:2); fire (cf. Ex. 3:2; 13:21; Is. 4:4; Acts. 2:3); anointing oil (cf. Acts. 10:38); dove (cf. Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22); still small voice (cf. 1Kgs. 19:11-13) etc…

     The word Pentecost is from a Greek word which means fiftieth. The Pentecost was an old Jewish traditional feast that was celebrated 50 days after the Passover, namely the ingathering of the grains. Later on, Judaism transformed it into a feast of salvation history, for it commemorated the arrival of the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, and the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex. 34:28). This was later introduced into the Christian feast that marked the conclusion of the great fifty days after Christ’s Resurrection. It refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and others who were present at the Upper room. The grain harvest and the law are now replaced by the gift of the Spirit, from the constitution of the old Israel to the constitution of the new Israel. A gaze into the Old Testament reveals the power and activity of God’s Spirit at work. For instance, God allowed His Spirit to rest on the seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses (Num. 11:16-17; 25). After his anointing as King, Saul received the Spirit of God and prophesied (1 Sam. 10:10); and when he lost his connection with God, the Spirit of God left him (1 Sam. 16:14). Therefore, obedience to God attracts the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life, for it can be seen that when Saul disobeyed God, the Spirit of God that was upon him departed from him (cf. 1Sam. 15:26; 16:14). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a mark of God’s presence in us. David was a man filled with God’s Spirit and when he sinned he begged God not to take the Holy Spirit away from him (Psalm 51:11). The consciousness of the outpouring became more intense in the prophecy of Isaiah thus: “I shall pour out my spirit on your descendants” (Is. 44:3) and again, “until the spirit is poured out on us from above” (Is. 32:15). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is our great teacher and reminder (Jn. 14:26); he is the guarantor and witness of our divine filiation as sons and daughters (Rm. 8:16); he is the great intercessor (Rm. 8:26); he is the great explorer: “for the Spirit explores the depth of everything, even the depths of God” (1Cor. 2:10). Particularly, in the book of Revelation the Holy Spirit is portrayed as capable of taking control of a person: “On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 1:10) and again “At once the Spirit took control of me” (Rev. 4:2), The Holy Spirit can possess a person, and his is indeed is a dynamic presence, for whoever He possesses witnesses all round transformation. The Holy Spirit is a great teacher and proclaimer of the divine message. In the book of Revelation “who has ears listen, what the Spirit says to the Church” (Rev. 2:29; 3:6; 3:16; 3:22). His message to the Churches was a message of rediscovering their identity before God and the renewal of their rapport with God. Even for us today, his is a message of repentance, unity, peace, love, liberation and a rediscovery of who we are before God.

     As evidenced in the Gospel passage (John 14:15-16.23b-26), the most eloquent promise that Jesus made to his disciples before his passion is the Holy Spirit. Jesus makes that promise on a condition “If you love me, you will keep my commandment. I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever” (vv.15-16), the phrase “another Paraclete” here is suggestive of a prior Paraclete, and that is no other than Jesus, our First Paraclete! Towards the end of his earthly existence, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples, that Spirit was to be the inheritance of the disciples from their Master, and at the same time, as the continuation of his presence. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and he is the one that will intercede on our behalf, by asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit. He announces the multiple functions of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles, in the Church and in every Christian. He will be the Consoler, the Teacher and Spirit of Truth. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples to assure them of his permanent presence in their midst in another way. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate whom the Father will send in my name will teach and remind you everything. In the two verbs, “to teach” and “to remind” the work and mission of the Advocate is condensed. The Advocate will continue to teach us. He will remind us all that Jesus taught us, that is, he will help us to bring to heart, to appropriate and treasure all the words of Jesus. There is need to be reminded of all that He has said, because His word is life. Little wonder, St. Paul posited that, “God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son” (Gal. 4:6).

     Jesus promised his followers formally that he will send them the Holy Spirit, and as such, he fulfilled his promise (first reading) on the Pentecost day. The Holy Spirit is promised and sent by Jesus so that He can accomplish two broad missions amongst the disciples and in the Church; and that is revealed in the two mission-titles given by Jesus: “Spirit of truth” and “Paraclete/Counsellor”. First, He will bring the disciples to the knowledge of the revealed truth and he will give them consolation and comfort. The apparent emptiness created by the absence of Jesus will be filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Second, Jesus says, “I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever” (Jn. 14:16). Such that, after being consoled and confirmed by the Holy Spirit, the disciples can give courageous witness of their faith in Christ before the world.

     During his earthly ministry, we could say that Jesus entrusted the mission of a complete teaching of the truth to the Spirit. For this, he assured his followers: “However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth” (Jn. 16:13). Jesus promises fervently that through the action of the Holy Spirit they will be led to the comprehension of the entire truth (on his person, on his doctrine and on the salvific project of the Father). The Spirit will not add anything to the truth proclaimed by Jesus, for in Jesus’ words: “all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (Jn. 16:14). Therefore, the truth remains the same but it will be better understood with great profundity and richness by the disciples and by us today.

     The Pentecost as described by St. Luke in the first reading (Acts 2:1-11) is the event that evidenced adequately this gift given to the Church. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is above all, the “spiritual” presence of the risen Christ in the Church, it is a presence that continues in a different way, his historical presence in time. It is a presence that is personified, in the Person of the Holy Spirit (The Third Person of the Holy Trinity). The Holy Spirit is the presence of the God-with-us. In that passage St. Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles. This account of the Pentecost permits us to discover another great thing that the Holy Spirit represents for the Church, the life force that nourishes her in her Mission.

     There are some vital elements to ponder upon in the passage, first, “they were all together”, this entails that the Holy Spirit comes where there is unity. Second, “A sound came from heaven like a mighty wind; this lays credence that it is truly Ruah Adonai, for the Holy Spirit manifests Himself so many times through the wind. In the book of Genesis (1:2) we are told that at the first moment of creation “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. Third, “It rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages”. This is suggestive that the Holy Spirit came on them individually; likewise his gifts are individually given but for the common purpose. Moreover, other languages here symbolize a language of love that all understand. Little wonder, St. Paul tells us: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1Cor 13, 1-2). Fourth, “at this sound the multitude came together”, this gesture of gathering together is the beginning of the Church’s mission to evangelize, because they are gathered in order to be sent. Fifth, “we hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God”, indeed, the Holy Spirit urges us to proclaim the wonderful works God has wrought for us, and as such, it was the major content of the preaching of the apostles that very day. On the other hand, in the book of Genesis (11:1-9), we see a direct opposite of what happened today in the Acts of the Apostles, the tower of Babel, where people because of pride, presumption and distance from God, were divided and were thrown into confusion and incomprehension, language became a source of confusion instead of unity and understanding. That indicates simply the absence of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is the reversal of babel. On the other hand, the responsorial psalm talks about the natural and cosmic dimensions of the Spirit’s work (Ps. 104:30). The presence and power of the Spirit creates, recreates and renews.

     In the second reading (Rm 8:8-17) St. Paul gives us an eloquent and concrete indications on how to be witnesses of Christ through the Holy Spirit. St. Paul affirms that those who are led by the Spirit are children of God, as opposed to those led by the flesh (cf. 1Cor 2:14-15). St. Paul here talks about the effects of the actions of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the faithful. The Spirit gives us the guarantee showing our belonging to Christ. The Spirit in us is a mark of God’s ownership of us. He says that those who are in the flesh can not please God, because the Spirit does not dwell in them. But those who are in the Spirit are not in the flesh. For if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. He further said that we are DEBTORS, not to the flesh, but to the Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. We did not receive the spirit of slavery, but the Spirit of sonship. It is the Spirit that enables us to call God: “Abba Father”. Indeed, St. Paul captured well the collaborative work of the Spirit of God and our spirit thus: “it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16). With the Spirit on our side and in us, we are no longer under the dominion of the flesh, but of the Spirit.

      Dear beloved in Christ, the Pentecost experience still continues, like the first Christian community today we are gathered, but unlike the first Christian community we are not waiting for the absent Spirit to come, rather we have to reawaken ourselves to the Spirit who is already present and working in, for and through us since we received Him during our Baptism. We only need to wake up to His presence. We need the Holy Spirit in all that we do. The life of Jesus from conception, birth, public ministry, passion, death and resurrection was marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Little wonder, at the beginning of his mission Jesus declared: ‘The Spirit of God is upon me” (Lk. 4:18; cf. Is. 61:1). At the Incarnation, Mary conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, and at the Eucharist, Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, by the power of the same Spirit (epiclesis). The Holy Spirit guarantees and realizes his continuous Incarnation. The Holy Spirit realizes the consecration of Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. During consecration in the Eucharistic Prayer II the Priest says: “Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ”. Above all, the Holy Spirit is at work in and through the Sacraments of the Church.    

     We too need Him in our existential sojourn and weaknesses, for this St. Paul said that “the spirit comes to help in our weakness, for when we do not know how to pray properly, he intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Rm. 8:26). It is the same Spirit that bears witness to our divine identity, as God’s children, “The Spirit himself joins our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16), he confirms our filial identity. And above all, St. Paul captured the essence of the Pentecost experience when he affirms and confirms that “our Hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out His Love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us” (Rm. 5:5). Today as we receive this outpouring, we join our voices together with that of the Psalmist in saying “Send forth your Spirit Lord and renew the face of the earth” (Ps. 104:30). May He renew our turbulent country Nigeria. May He renew us, as we declare freedom and liberty for all God’s children, because “where there is the Spirit of God there is freedom” (2Cor 3:17). May God continue to pour His gifts upon us through the Holy Spirit, the highest Gift of God. Come o Holy Spirit and fill our hearts with Love and with a hope that does not disappoint! Be renewed as we receive the outpouring! And as we welcome Him today may the same Spirit liberate us from all that do not allow us to be free sons and daughters of God! May He chase away the powers of darkness in our hearts and in our world with his fire! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

United In And With Christ!

(Homily for the 7^th Sunday of Easter Year C)

          After his ascension into heaven and as the coming of the Paraclete becomes more and more imminent, Jesus in today’s Gospel passage offers his high priestly prayer for all Christians of all times. In the parlance of Jesus, unity is the propelling force to witnessing that He is truly the Son of God. Jesus in his priestly prayer therefore helps us to rediscover the power of oneness and the way that leads to that unity is the way of love. For this the Psalmist says: “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers (God’s people) live in unity” (Ps. 133.1). And indeed, we cannot but grasp the intensity of this Gospel passage and the other two reading as we draw closer to the great celebration of the Pentecost. As Jesus ascended to the Father he must have envisaged a Church marked with persecution, despair and disunity as we read in the first reading about the case of Stephen. But Jesus in his seemingly physical absence prays for unity and a spirit of witness in the Church (Gospel). On the other hand, those who live in the realization of Jesus’ prayer are like those in the second reading who witness to that spirit of unity and oneness even in the face of distress.

          On the seventh Sunday of Easter in the three liturgical years, we always read the passage of the Gospel from the 17^th chapter of St. John’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel (Jn. 17:20-26) we read the third part of what is popularly called the Priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first part of this prayer (vv. 1-8), Jesus prayed for himself, in the second part (vv. 9-19) for his disciples, and in this last part (that is today’s Gospel) for us and all believers. His prayer was on and for unity. He prays for that type of unity that exists between Him and the Father. Therefore to live in unity is a participation in the Divine union. The union of the Father and the Son is our model. And that unity is made possible through Love. If we want to achieve unity we have to love as and like Jesus (cf. Jn. 13:34; 15:12). Little wonder, St. Paul insists: “Brethren, I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to have factions among yourselves but all to be in agreement in what you profess; so that you are perfectly united in your beliefs and judgments” (1Cor. 1:10).

          The Gospel periscope is a continuation of the prayer of Jesus at the Last Super which has been identified as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. The prayer in question does not represent only the substance of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Super according to the fourth Gospel, more than that, it is the prayer that the ascended Christ continues to offer to the Father in heaven. The overriding theme or content of the prayer is “ut omnes unum sint” (that they may be one). The unity that Jesus prays for is a unity founded not on human effort but on the divine union and on the common sharing of the Word and Sacrament. The first part of today’s Gospel revolves around the life of the Church on earth. As such, her unity is a unity geared towards the mission, a unity for the mission. It is a unity that is geared towards the conviction of the world to believe “that you have sent me”. On the other hand, the second part of the Gospel talks about the final destiny of the Church, here we refer to what is traditionally known as the triumphant Church, but St. John in his phraseology calls it the glorified Church. The Lord himself prayed: “That they may be with me where I am, to behold his glory”.

         In his prayer Jesus prays for those who are yet to, but will believe in Him, he prays for his future believers: “I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me” (v.20). His prayer includes and embraces his present and future followers, those who will believe through apostolic preaching. Jesus prayed for you and He is still praying for you. The aim of this prayer of Jesus was the unity of his disciples, which has as foundation and model, the intimate union existent between Him and the Father, “May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me” (v.21). Jesus prays for the unity of all, as he did in the preceding verse for his apostles (cf.v.11). The unity that Jesus is praying for is a unity that emanates from God’s initiative, his salvific power, and it is modelled on the communion of life and the mutual love between the Father and the Son. The adverb “as” (kathòs) (v.21) expresses the foundation and the model of unity of the faithful, which springs from the Father and from the Son to the faithful.

          The purpose of this unity is ecclesial and missionary: “may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognize that it was you who sent me, and that you have loved them as you have loved me” (v.23). The growth in faith and in love will reinforce this unity in the Christian community. The fraternal union of the believers will bring the world to the recognition of Jesus as the One sent by God and as the Son of God. The community of the faithful will become a sign and a witness of the universal salvation wrought by the Savior. This evidences the missionary importance of Jesus’ prayer, as an expression of the redeeming love of God for the entire humanity. In verse 24 the prayer gazes towards the future, Jesus expresses to the Father his supreme will, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am”. He asks that the disciples given to him by the Father will always remain with him, be united to him, so that they will contemplate the splendour of his glory in heaven. He had that glory before the foundation of the world as the pre-existent Logos. In all, Jesus concludes the prayer with an important reference to the revelation of the true realty of God as his Father, “I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them” (v.26), this has as implication, the participation of the faithful in the same love that unites the Father to the Son. Jesus manifested the love of God during his earthly life, and he will continue to manifest it even in the future, through the work of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the disciples.

          The first reading (Acts 7:55-60) is a narrative of the persecution of Stephen. And at the peak of torture and maltreatment, at the moment of his death he saw a vision: “Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand” (v.55). In this passage of the stoning of Stephen we see two important elements: First, the usage of the title “Son of man”, and this is the only time it is used by someone else, other than the earthly Jesus, although we can see an exception in John 12:34, here the Jews were merely repeating the words of Jesus. Above all, the title Son of man could have been used here to suggest that the exalted Christ is pleading the cause of his first martyr. Thus, as an anticipation of his role as the Son of man at the last judgment (cf. Lk. 12:8-9; Mk. 8:38). Again, the posture of standing could be suggestive of the fact that he stands in order to welcome the first martyr into heaven. Second, Jesus is presented as standing rather than sitting at God’s right hand. Indeed, the narrative of Stephen’s death is quite suitable today, for it is a vision of the ascended Lord in his sovereignty. The Psalmist takes up the theme of enthronement once again in the responsorial psalm (Ps. 97). Therein the Psalmist asserts that Yahweh is above all: the earth and all gods (v. 9). Be that as it may, we may well affirm that God in Jesus Christ is above all false absolutes that men tend to choose for themselves.

           Indeed, Stephen’s prayer for the forgiveness of his murderers is an eloquent example of overcoming disunity and persecution. St. Paul equally exhorted the Christians of Colossae thus: “Bear with one another, forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you, now you must do the same. Over all these virtues, put on love, the perfect bond (Col. 3:13-14). As such, it behoves us to underscore the fact that forgiveness is an essential element for achieving unity. Doubtlessly, we can say that Stephen’s prayer of forgiveness is the first answer to Jesus’ prayer of unity.

          The second reading (Rev. 22:12-14.16-17.20) reintroduces the Advent theme of watchfulness in view of the second coming of Christ. However, it is important to note that it is because Christ was exalted that we can hope for his second coming. Jesus himself proclaims: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (v. 12). Jesus is presented as the judge and ruler, the Lord and King of all things and all times. Jesus declared that He is “the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star” (v.16), and He invites and offers the thirsty the water of life without price: “And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price” (v.17). At the heart of this passage is the anticipation of the coming of the Lord, the writer says that the Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come!’ even “the one who attests these things says: I am indeed coming soon” (v.20). The phrase “Come, Lord Jesus” is taken from the earliest liturgy of the Church, ‘Marana tha’.

         The passage tries to console the disciples and the Christians of all times that they should not panic about the absence of Jesus, as revealed in his farewell speech. John in his vision is rather giving us a message of hope that confirms that Newtonian law of Gravity: “That whatever goes up must surely come down”. Jesus Our Saviour has ascended into Heaven, but He will still come down. Indeed, the Bible ended with this assurance by Jesus himself that He will come, and may we too add our voices in saying “Come Lord Jesus” we need you! For with, in and through His presence Unity will be assured. But in the meantime within the space that exists between the “already” and the “not yet” let us ask Him for the grace to live and love, united evermore as one in the Lord, so that when He comes He will find us united in and with Him!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)