With the passing of time things change in many ways.  It is always good to see changes that are good and positive.  Human ingenuity, intelligence, creativity, and initiative have brought us into the computer age where we have instant and constant communication personally and worldwide.  Medically and scientifically we can do so many things that were never thought possible even in the last century.  But our ingenuity, intelligence, creativity and initiative have also brought us to the point in human history where we can use weapons of mass destruction to totally destroy the world we live in.  As capable as we are as the human race, we still need God, and we need him now more than ever.

Last Tuesday the gospel at Mass concluded with the Jesus saying, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.  That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28).  The sabbath for us is Sunday, a day given to us to rest and renew ourselves in God.  Failure to use this day with the one who is the Lord of the sabbath opens the door for us to get off track on what is important and needed in our lives and in our world.  Sunday is a gift to us to be refreshed and renewed in God’s love.  There is no better way to do that than to be part of the eucharistic celebration each week.  The Eucharist brings us into the presence of God and through the bread and wine that become the Body and Blood of Jesus, God comes in our very being.  In a spiritual book I am now reading entitled, “Pope Benedict XVI, the Eucharist”, the Holy Father offers us profound food for thought and hope.  Touched by the sacrificial love of Jesus in the eucharist we become that sacrificial love in the world.  That point was clearly illustrated in our parish last weekend in the amount given in the second collection to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, $14,691.  Our prayers for them along with our willingness to share our resources is a wonderful sign of the powerful love of Jesus in the Eucharist.  This happened in parishes all across our nation.  It is so good to see the connection between what we say we believe and how we live it out.  In the book I mentioned above the introduction says: “As the source and culmination of the life and mission of the Church, the Eucharist is the sacrament of love: the sacrament of Christ, who chooses to offer himself in his sacrifice for us; and the sacrament of men and women who through this sacrifice continually allow themselves to be reached by this gift, allowing themselves to be transformed by the sacrament of his Body and Blood, which in turn makes them capable of giving themselves and their lives for others.”  We give ourselves to many people and causes, but there is no greater giving and cause than the giving and cause of Jesus to bring hope, peace and God’s life to us through our eucharistic celebrations.  The hope, peace and life of God we experience transforms us and gives us the desire and courage to make the salvation Jesus brought a reality in our lives and in our world.

Along with ourselves, our young people today are bombarded with so many conflicting messages about what Sunday is all about.  We have come to the point where we need to claim Sunday back from sports, shopping and the multitude of other activities that so fill each weekend that mass is not on the list of crucial things to do.  To lose our focus on God and his love easily leads to seeking what we want for ourselves and seeing things only from our own limited perspective.  To sacrifice for those we love is a joy and is so life giving to them and ourselves.  We don’t sacrifice sports, shopping and other activities for God.  We see them and all things for what they are when we immerse ourselves in the celebration of God’s love in the Eucharist.

This past Friday we marked the 37th year of the legalization of abortion in our nation.  More than 45 million people are not here because they have been killed through this procedure brought about by human ingenuity, intelligence creativity and initiative.  What clearer example do we need to see how humanity without God is destructive, self-centered and a cause of suffering and disunity.

The third commandment says. “Remember to keep holy the sabbath.”  In his love, God knows we need him.  The more we experience this love in the Eucharist, the more we look forward each week to the gift Jesus is for us in this sacrament of life and love.  We come to see how the change Jesus brings about in our lives is the very change we and all people so need and hunger for.

Father Walden ; ;