Take and Eat

You probably had a good meal today. In fact, you will probably have three good meals today, with maybe some snacks in between. Your body reminds you of this by getting hungry. Your stomach growls, as if to say, “Take something and eat it.” We almost always respond; in that moment we usually take some food and actually eat it. If only we fed the soul, like we do the body.

Because we don’t always feed the soul. On the night before he died, Jesus took bread and said, “Take this, all of you and eat of it. This is my Body.” He also reminded us that his Body, his Flesh, is real Food (John 6:55). But we don’t always listen to Jesus the way we listen to our stomachs. We do not always take and eat the Body of the Lord in Holy Communion.

How do we know this? We can actually measure this at our parishes. Before the pandemic hit, every weekend we would have over 700 people come to receive our Lord at St. Mary Nativity and over 300 at Holy Cross. We are a little under half the number now for both parishes. Where did half of our Lord’s friends go? Now, I’m not talking about people who have a serious health issue or are homebound. I am talking about those who are healthy and able to come to church on Sunday now that the doors are open.

Some haven’t returned because of convenience. They say, “Now I watch Mass on TV.” Of course you do, just like I’m sure you watch food shows on TV. But watching a food show doesn’t feed your body, and if you are healthy, watching the Mass on TV doesn’t really feed your soul. Usually after we watch a food show, our body is more hungry; then we go to the fridge, we take and eat. If you are watching Mass properly on TV, it should make your soul more hungry. It should move you to come to Mass in person, where you can take and eat the Body of the Lord.

Other people haven’t returned because they have had a bad experience at church. This sometimes happens at restaurants, too. Maybe the service was poor, maybe we came down with food poisoning. A bad experience might keep you from a particular restaurant, but it doesn’t keep you from eating. Still we listen to our stomach’s call, ‘take and eat.’ So please, if you’ve had a bad experience at one parish, then find a good one where you hear our Lord’s call to “Take and Eat” so that you can feed your soul. Only the Catholic Church has this gift of the Body and Blood of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

Some people say, “I didn’t feel anything at Mass. I didn’t feel it feed my soul.” Of course you didn’t feel it; your body doesn’t feel when it’s growing, either. Oh, we feel a big, tasty meal when it fills our stomach. But we don’t it’s effects on our body. We only see later on how in a quiet way we grew this tall—or this wide, in my case. So look around at the Church, the Body of Christ. Has she grown during the past two years? With half of her Body missing, without feeding her Soul, is the world around us more peaceful? Is the world around us kinder? Do you see it? We can measure the unseen qualities of the soul. We can see how our church and our world is wasting away, suffering from hunger. No wonder Christ has to urge us and push us, “Take and Eat my Body!”

Probably the biggest reason people have not returned to Mass is because we don’t have to. Most bishops have said you are not obligated to come to Mass on Sunday to fulfill the commandment of God to keep holy the Lord’s Day. How do you counter that argument? You don’t. It’s true, at this time, in our diocese, you are not obligated to come to Mass on Sunday. Of course, you’re not obligated to eat today, either. You are not obligated to eat today or any day—but you will. Because you know that if you don’t take and eat something for your body today, eventually you will die. You will lose your earthly life. And here, what’s true for the body is also true for the soul. It is Christ himself who said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you do not have Life within you!” (John 6:53) It’s as if he is saying, “You’ll die of spiritual hunger without me!”

I hope we will hear this voice of Jesus. This is not the pastor trying to make the October Mass count look good. I am asking you to hear the voice of Jesus. If you are fearful, he is waiting to feed you with his courage. In fact, what ever you need, he is waiting to feed you with himself. In Jesus, the Living Bread, the fullness and perfection of what you need and what you desire is found. May we all hear the voice of Christ crying out to us, “Take and eat! This is my Body, given up for YOU!”

With my prayers,

Fr. Jerome

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PS: The days of lockdown were particularly difficult for those who experienced the death of a loved one in their families. Many times there were simple prayer services or burials without extended family due to limits on public gatherings. I hope this year’s All Souls Day will be a moment of healing for us all. We will host a special evening Mass at 7pm at St. Mary Nativity church on Tuesday, November 2. There will be an opportunity to place a lit candle on the altar steps in memory of your loved ones that will burn during the novena of nine days of prayer for the faithful departed. If any of them are in need of their final purgation from the wounds of sins, may these days bring them the joy of loving God in all his Light forever. We who remain often still grieve their loss. It would be wonderful if our parishes could host a time of sharing memories of our loved ones after Mass over some refreshments. If any parishioner would like to help with hospitality after the 7pm All Souls Day Mass, please contact the parish office. Otherwise, we will have to cancel this time of hospitality after Mass.