Category: Mark

Posted on

Body and Blood of Christ

5″x7″ oil on canvas by Brie Schulze

Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.  In Latin this literally means: Body of Christ.  The USCCB provides us with the official English title: Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.  And if we read the readings, we can see that the main focus is in fact not flesh, but blood: the blood of the covenant.

Something that caught my attention as I was meditating on the first reading was the fact that the liturgy has not included several contextual verses of the first section of Exodus Ch. 24.  In particular, after the people and the altar have been sprinkled with blood, verses 9-11 mention the people eating and drinking in the presence of God without fear and seeing Him without dying.  They were of course eating the flesh of the sacrificial victim whose sprinkled blood bound them in communion with each other, with the altar of sacrifice, and with God.  Perhaps the theme of the covenant meal, the Eucharist, is too obvious and the Church wants us to discover something else. read more

Posted on

Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

The image of snatching people out of the fire from Jude’s letter is quite powerful. Salvation is a gift that quenches the fire that burns us whether our conscience realizes it or not. Baptism is this water that both refreshes our soul with divine life, and quenches the fire of condemnation. Those who ruled over the affairs of the temple were afraid of losing their power or status. They were not prepared to admit the truth because they were more interested in their positions of influence. It is unfortunate to see people who prefer trying to remain in control than acknowledging that their right to remain in power depends on their real authority. Jesus has real Authority, so he is not intimidated by their questions.  He instead turned them back to John’s baptism of repentance.  Jesus’ authority to save is absolute.  He wants even to save these temple authorities who have lost sight of the essential.  He would save them from the fire they ought to feel burning their blinded consciences. When any answer we may give to a question would result in something disagreeable, we may choose at that point to walk away or submit to the truth. read more

Posted on

Saint Justin, Martyr

It’s hard not to think again back to the different mysteries we’ve celebrated this week when we read today in Peter’s first letter about the importance of hospitality.  The whole Christian mystery is warmly enveloped in the human experience of hospitality.  Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity and one of the most famous and celebrated passages from the Old Testament that evokes this mystery sees it enveloped in the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah.  The Trinity receives this hospitality of Abraham in the Old Covenant, and in the New Covenant, as if in response to Abraham’s generous welcome Jesus goes to prepare a place to welcome us in His Father’s house.  Jesus’ most intimate moment with His disciples is at a meal where he shares all that He is and all that He has with them.  Jesus is the Host in every sense of the word.  Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Visitation where the first moment of Christian hospitality is shared by Mary and Elizabeth with great jubilation. read more