Can You “Taste and See” the Goodness of the Living Bread of Life at the Father’s “Bakery”?

Many Catholics go to Mass every Sunday. They fill the pews. But, how many of them really "taste and see" both the Word and the Eucharist, which are the two pillars of Catholic Mass? I wonder what is their reason to go to Mass – if they do not taste any. It must be so boring to be at Mass, then.

This is a symptom of a lukewarm faith, which grieves not only the Holy Spirit (i.e  Ephesians 4:30) but also Jesus. He said the below words to St. Faustina:

Souls without love or devotion, souls full of egoism and selfishness, proud and arrogant souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep themselves alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them because they are neither good nor bad (Diary 1702). 

I have noticed and found it quite puzzling that many of these church-going Catholics are not really "tasting" the gifts from God – grace - at Mass. They just sit and be nice – at least, trying to look nice. Because going to Mass is more like "routine" to make them look "holy" - perhaps, "holier" than those who do not go to Church.

They may look “holier” than their neighbors, who no longer go to Mass, on the surface. But, in substance, who knows?  If their heart is absent from God, as it is preoccupied with worldly matters, as constantly appear on their iphones and smartphones, even during Mass, they may be far from being “holy” inside.

In truth, they are busy looking at their iphones and smartphones, covertly. They are at least courteous enough to put their phones on silent mode so that they are not nuisance and do not disturb Mass.  However, it clearly shows that God is not on their priority, as they are too busy to pay attention to Him, even in a house of worship.  What is on iphones and smartphones, such as Facebook messages, are more important than Mass.

They are physically present but spiritually absent from Mass. Again, it is what lukewarm faith makes, while grieving the Holy Spirit and the Lord. And, it is a symptom of egotism and such psychospiritual problem.

When they come out, their minds are more concerned about how to get the hell out of the church parking lot and what to eat for brunch, rather than savoring the aftertaste of the Word and the Eucharist.

This phenomena can be compared to the crowd that was once fed by Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, miraculously out of five barley loaves and two fish, in John 6.  After being fed by Jesus, they kept chasing him and his disciples, even all the way to the other side of the Sea of Tiberius, hoping to get “free food” again and again.  

They were so preoccupied with what to put in their stomach rather than what is to nourish their soul.

Sensing this problem of the crowd, Jesus began to tell the crowd his intention of feeding.  This talk is known as the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:22-59). We read this for the 18^th Sunday (vv. 24-35), the 51-58) in Ordinary Time on Cycle B to understand , what Jesus meant by multiplying the five loaves of barley bread and two fish and what he meant by his self-identification as the “Bread of Life” and the “Living Bread of Life”.

The crowd was more preoccupied with Jesus’ Nazarean family roots, such as being a son of Joseph the carpenter.  Their mind was obsessed with earthly matter. Because of this, they missed the essence of Jesus and his discourse.  This problem prompted them to become upset with Jesus and his discourse, resulting in their rejection. This means that the crowd’s problem resulted in rejecting the Living Bread of Life, which would lead to their resurrection at the end of time.  They did not care, because they were more concerned about something rather earthly.

To me, these pew-filling Catholics too busy to pay attention to God and His grace through the Word and the Eucharist at Mass, seem to be worth being compared to the crowd, who sought Jesus but rejected in John 6.

What is a problem in this picture  - the problem with the crowd in John 6 and the problem with these pew-filling church going Catholics looking at their high-tech phones during Mass?  And how can we resolve this problem?

One hint is found in the second reading for the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B - Ephesians 4:30-5:2.

In Ephesians 4:30, Paul tells,  “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”.

Who gives a grief to the Holy Spirit, who is, in essence, God, as the Son, Jesus, is so?

Who gives a grief to Jesus, who is the Living Bread of Life? And, who gives a grief to God, whose grace as in the Word and the Eucharist are celebrated with our thanksgiving?

How we impose grief to the Holy Spirit – Jesus, the Living Bread of Life – God? 

Paul also reminds us that those who cause grief to the Holy Spirit have a psychospiritual problem. In other words, their heart is filthy as it is defiled.

As written in Mark 7:15, Jesus has also indicated that psychospiritual filth within us – within our heart – can corrupt everything that comes out of us.

If our heart is filled with filth – often resulting from and in earthly matters, as symbolized with what is on iphones and what to fill our stomach,  then, how can we “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 34:8) – the εὐωδία/euodia (sweet aroma) (Ephesians 5:2) in the Living Bread of Life, which is offered at Mass in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, along with the Word, as we cannot live with the bead (not to be confused with the Bread) alone (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).  In fact, the Word we “tasted and see” leads to the Living Bread of Life, as it is the flesh of Christ (John 6:51, 53, 55), which is what the Word has become to dwell among us (John 1:14).

What is the psychospiritual problem to be so ignorant and indifferent about this priceless Bread, which is not the kind of bread that cannot sustain our life?! How come we can afford to be so stupid to refuse this Living Bread of Life with the εὐωδία/euodia that leads to eternal life through resurrection?

To me, the Father in Heaven, Adonai, the Creator and Provider (just as Joseph, the step father of Jesus is celebrated at the St. Joseph Table Feast on March 19 for), is the baker, bringing us fresh loaf of the Living Bread of Life with sweet aroma.  No wonder we pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread….”.

In this sense, Mass is the Father’s bakery, with sweet aroma.

When we go to Mass, we should not care about what is on our Facebook…who is posting what….who is calling and texting us , as we are busy “tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord” – the εὐωδία/euodia of the Living Bread of Life, which is also the Word that has become flesh thanks to Immaculate Mary’s cooperation with the Father.  

Let us make sure that our senses are not compromised so that we can appreciate the sweet aroma and savor the Living Bread of Life, “baked” fresh every day.  To have uncompromised sense, our heart must be clean. For this, we must remove all the filths out of our heart (Ephesians 4:31). Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, either, as we remove filths from our heart.

From now on, we shall attend Mass with our clean heart and clear senses to maximize our savoring of the Living Bread of Life with the Word, amused by the sweet aroma, as we are at the Father’s “bakery”. 

Corporis et Sanguinis Christi and Buddhist Teaching of Alobha

Following the Trinity Sunday, which comes after the Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi. In fact, we celebrate not only Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) but also Sanguinis Christi (the Blood of Christ – Corporis et Sanguinis Christi.

Corpus Christi Sunday really focuses on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as Eucharistic adoration marks an important part of this celebration.

For Cycle B year, the Liturgy of the Word for Corpus Christi Sunday takes us back to the Last Supper, as the Gospel reading (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26) describes Jesus instituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

 Though the Sacrament of the Eucharist was instituted by Jesus during the Last Supper, which is remembered on Holy Thursday, the Gospel reading (John 13:1-15 for Cycles A,B,C) for Holy Thursday is about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet.  There is no mentioning about the bread and the wine Jesus shared with the disciples in this Gospel narrative from John.

John’s Gospel does not describe how Jesus and the disciples ate the supper, while the Synoptic Gospels  (Matthew, Mark, Luke) do not describe feet washing and Jesus’ discourse. In fact, John’s Gospel does not even connect the Last Supper to Passover, while the Synoptic Gospels do, because the death of Jesus on Friday took place before the Passover sundown.  In contrast, the Synaptic Gospel narratives describe the Last Supper as Passover Seder dinner, and Jesus died after Passover, as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread already started.

This difference resulted from the different focuses of John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels in regard to the Last Supper and the death of Jesus.  John’s Gospel treats the death of Jesus as the Passover sacrifice lamb and emphasized on Jesus washing the disciples feet and giving the lengthy discourse to the disciples.  The Last Supper discourse of Jesus includes Mandatum Novum (the New Commandment) to love one another (i.e. John 13:34). On the other hand,  the Synoptic Gospels solely focus on how Jesus broke the bread, described it as his body, and commanded to eat in his memory – then, how Jesus pass the chalice of wine, identified the wine as his blood of the new covenant and asked the disciples to drink it in his memory.  Both Matthew’s Gospel and Mark’s Gospel describe that Jesus asked the disciples to eat the bread as his body and drink the wine from the chalice as his blood in his memory until the eschatological time of his reunion with them in the new Kingdom (Matthew 26:29,Mark 14:25).

My thought is that Corpus Christi Sunday Gospel reading for Cycle B (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26) compliments the Gospel reading for Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) (John 13:1-15).  Because  the Gospel reading for Corpus Christi Sunday is taken from Jesus’ bread discourse in John 6 (John 6:51-58) for Cycle A and from Luke’s narrative of Jesus feeding hungry five thousand (Luke 9:11-17) for Cycle C, these Gospel narratives further compliment the Gospel reading for Holy Thursday and Cycle B’s Corpus Christi Gospel reading on the institution of the Eucharist.

If you read the Gospel reading for Corpus Christi Sunday for Cycle B (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26), together with Corpus Christi Sunday Gospel readings for Cycle A (John 6:51-58) and for Cycle C (Luke 9:10-17), as well as the Gospel reading for Holy Thursday (John 13:1-15), you  can have a more comprehensive view on Corpus Christi – only  the Gospel readings for Cycle B (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26)  and for Cycle A (John 6:51-58) mention Sanguinis Christi . Only Cycle B Gospel reading for Corpus Christi Sunday (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26) reflects the Last Supper.

In fact, the Corpus Christi Sunday Gospel reading for Cycle A (John 6:51-58) alludes to Jesus’ institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as read in the Gospel reading for Corpus Christi Sunday in Cycle B (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26).

It is also helpful and interesting to note that Jesus’ bread discourse (John 6:25-59), which includes the Cycle A Corpus Christi Sunday Gospel reading (John 6:51-58), took place shortly after feeding the hungry five thousand on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1-15). Not to mention, Luke’s description of the same event (Luke 9:10-17) is used for the Gospel reading for Cycle C Corpus Christi Sunday.  So, it is important to connect Jesus’ miraculous feeding of hungry five thousand men (Luke 10:10-17; John 6:1-15; Matthew 14:31-21 (cf. Matthew 15:32-38); Mark 6:32-44) to the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-26; Matthew 26:17-30; Luke 22:7-23; John 13:1-17:26) and Jesus’ bread of life discourse (John 6:25-59).

First, Jesus miraculously fed the hungry five thousand men out of five loaves of bread and two fish out of his compassion.  The bread and fish were offered to Jesus to do this miraculous act of compassion.  This echoes the offering of bread and wine for consecration at the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass.  Furthermore, the fact that Jesus looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke the bread to distribute it to the five thousand men parallels how Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it to distribute to the disciples at the Last Supper, is reflected on  the way the presiding priest takes the offered bread at the altar, raises it as he looks up, and gives thanks in proclaiming as Jesus did, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which is given up for you”, during the Eucharistic prayer at Mass.  In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, following the epiclesis, the offered bread on the altar has become transubstantiated through epiclesis by the time the priest fishes citing Jesus’ words of proclaiming it as his body.  This is ex opere operato for the bread and the wine to become the Body and the Blood of Christ, as the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

When Jesus miraculously fed the hungry five thousand, there was no indication to connect the bread to his body. The crowd had no idea what their miraculous experience with Jesus would entail to. But, they thought Jesus was a prophet to have demonstrated such a miraculous sign as feeding the five thousand out of only five loaves of bread and two fish. Furthermore, they were thinking to force Jesus to become their king, and Jesus had to withdraw himself from them because of this situation with the crowd he fed (John 6:15).

Later that evening, the disciple got on a boat, while Jesus was still on the mountain, where he withdraw from the crowd, and began to cross the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. It was when the weather became stormy and terrified the disciples. Then, they saw Jesus walking on the water toward their boat. Next day, the crowds fed by Jesus chased him all the way to Capernaum and found him.

It was to this crowd, who kept chasing Jesus upon being miraculously fed, that Jesus addressed the bread of life discourse and began it with these words:

I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (John 6:26-27).

Through his bread of life discourse (John 6:25-59), Jesus wanted the crowds to focus on the spiritual aspects of the bread given by him, rather than its material quality. As this opening statement of Jesus’ bread of life discourse shows, Jesus had to teach, what is understood as the spiritual discipline of detachment in Buddhism, to this crowds, who seemed obsessed with Jesus, who feeds miraculously.

Jesus knew that the crowds would go through vicious cycle of hunger, if their focus remains on physical or material aspects of the bread. Clearly, Jesus’ messianic and salvific mission on earth is not to keep feeding the hungry in this vicious cycle of hunger. In fact, his mission is to liberate us all from this vicious cycle of hunger, as well as the cycle of thirst, which is due to our attachment to material or physical aspect of the source of our sustenance.  The bread and the wine, consecrated and transubstantiated as Corporis et Sanguinis Christi and as the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are Jesus’ way to help us fee ourselves from our tendency to sustain ourselves only materialistically and earthly. This way, we can break free from the vicious cycle of hunger by attaining non-attachment to material and earthly matters.

So, here, we can see a common thread between Jesus’ teaching of focusing on spiritual factors and Shakamuni’s teaching of alobha (無貧) in terms of detachment from the material and physical matter.

As Jesus and the crowd moved from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other side, to Capernaum, after being miraculously fed, there is a shift on focus: from material and earthy matters to a spiritual aspect, in order to guide us to the concept of the Eucharist and its institution by Jesus at the Last Supper. In this regard, the crossing the Sea of Galilee can be symbolically understood as a threshold to move from the realm of solely materialistic and earthly realm toward the more spiritual realm, where alobha-like non-attachment is practiced.

What Jesus meant by “miraculous signs” (John 6:25) in the above opening statement of his living bread discourse is the divine spiritual power that enabled scant amount of bread of fish to satisfy five thousand hungry men.

The miraculous sign of feeding the five thousands in Galilee is the divine spiritual power prototypical for the transubstantiation that turns the bread and the wine into Corporis et Sanguinis Christi. Unless we understand this, we sure do not understand why Jesus said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me”(Luke 22:19, cf. Mark 14:22; Matthew 26:26), holding the broken bread, why he said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” ( Mark 14:24, cf. Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20), holding the challis filled with wine, during the Last Supper .

Unless we truly understand what Jesus meant by the “miraculous signs”(John 6:26), we really cannot understand what Jesus meant by saying,  “I am the bread that came down from heaven”(John 6:41), “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world”(John 6:51), “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”(John 6:53-56), in his living bread discourse in Capernaum.  Unless we really understand this, we remain unable to see the consecrated bread and wine at Mass being transubstantiated into true Corporis et Sanguinis Christi.  Also, unless our heart is in the state of grace, because of our inability to the alobha-like non-attachment to the material and earthly matters, we remain too ignorant to see the consecrated bread and wine as true Corporis et Sanguinis Christi in our eyes of the heart.

This aspect of Jesus’ bread of life discourse is similar to what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman by the Jacob’s well (John 4:4-26) and Jesus’ teaching on heavenly treasure vs. earthly treasure from his sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:19-24).  Interestingly, what follows Jesus’ teaching on non-attachment to earthly treasure (Matthew 9:19-24) leads to his teaching on overcoming anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34). In fact, this echoes Buddhism’s teaching on anxiety and attachment to material matter, as Buddhism teaches that anxiety is rooted in our attachment.  What Jesus wanted the hungry crowds to understand that the very purpose of his feeding miracle on the other side of the Sea of Galilee was not simply to feed the hungry but to teach them to overcome their anxiety from hunger by practicing non-attachment or alobha. 

In both Christianity and Buddhism, we are encouraged to detach ourselves from worldly and earthly objects. It is not only because these objects come and go but really because such earthly impermanent objects often mislead us into greed and addictive attachment. One form of this psychospiritual problem is idolatry. As repeatedly reminded throughout the Old Testament, idolatry has deadly consequences, for it is a reflection of our impure heart.

In Theravada Buddhism, to counter impure heart, which leads to addictive attachment and idolatry, the spiritual principle of alobha is addressed in Visuddhimagga (清浄道論), which means the path of purification. Thus, non-attachment, alobha, in Buddhist sense, means to attain pure heart, free from kleshas (煩悩), defilements.  The spiritual teaching of alobha in Visuddhimagga is certainly echoes in Jesus’ spiritual teaching that underlines Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, reflected in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Living Bread Discourse, and the Last Supper Discourse.

Let us understand that we must have the alobha-like non-attachment in order for us to receive the consecrated bread and wine as Corporis et Sanguinis Christi in the form of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  This is why we must be in the state of sanctifying grace to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist (CCC *1415).

In Buddhism these are understood in terms of impermanence (無常). In Christianity, out of these impermanent worldly reality, God the Elohim, whom Jesus has called “Abba” (Mark 14:36), delivers us into the new transcendent reality, like what Jean Piaget’s psychological development concept calls “object permanence” , with Him by the Ascension of Christ (Luke 24:50-53; Mark 16:19-20), upon making Logos , who is God, flesh to dwell among us (John 1:1-14). For the Ascension to take place, the  Death and the Resurrection of Jesus had to take place.

The disciples had thought that the physical presence of Jesus was gone with his death and burial, because they did not understand the Resurrection (John 20:9), though Jesus had already taught about it (i.e. John 2:18-22, 10:17-18; Matthew 16:21, 27:62-63). So, they were quite anxious in encountering the Resurrection.  So, the risen Jesus helped the disciples understand all of his teaching in retrospect, and they came to terms with the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Unbeknownst to them, however, Jesus’ repeated appearances to help the disciples better understand his teaching after his resurrection was to prepare them psychologically and spiritually for his departure, Ascension, and for them to receive the Holy Spirit, so that they can be commissioned to go and proclaim the Good News in building the Kingdom of God on earth.

It was his Ascension and Pentecost that remind us that even the physical presence of Jesus, the Son, in this world is impermanent. However, what is important in Christianity is that the presence of Christ, the Son, is permanent, as the Triune God is the permanent being.  That is why that Christ always remains with us through the Holy Spirit (cf. Matthew 28:20, John 14:26). Thus, the Triune God – One God in Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the permanent being, while everything else in the universe is impermanent. Because the reciprocity of God and the Word (Logos) (John 1:1), the Word of God through Jesus, especially in his kerygma , is permanent (Matthew 24:34-35). This permanence of God is very important to appreciate “object permanence” in our mature spiritual object relation with the Triune God so that we can truly appreciate transubstantiation from the bread of life into the Corpus Christi and from the chalice of wine into the chalice of Christ’s saving blood – the Sanguis Christi.

As reflected in the bread of life discourse (John  6:25-59), Jesus wanted us to really understand the spiritual aspect of his body and blood, so that we can overcome our tendency for attachment to their material aspects.  That was a problem that these five thousand people, who were miraculously fed, had, as they kept chasing Jesus and as they became hungry again. They could not overcome hunger because they did not see the bread Jesus gave was his body yet and did not yet approach the bread with the heart of alobha.

This spiritual teaching in the bread of life discourse (John 6:25-59) on non-attachment or alobha is also found in the last supper discourse (John 14:1-16:33), as the latter discourse of Jesus is essentially to prepare the disciples for non-attachment or alobha to the physical aspect of himself – to prepare them for his Ascension and for them to fully appreciate the coming of Parakletos on Pentecost. For this, Jesus said:

“Unless I go away, Parakletos will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him (Parakletos) to you…..I am going to the Father where you can see me no  longer…….I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth (Parakletos) comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you”(John 16:7, 10, 12-15 ). 

“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me”(John 16:16).

“Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more and then after a little while you will see me’? I will tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoiced. You will grieve but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete”(John 16:19-24).

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving he world and going back to the Father” (John 16:25-29).

Now,  juxtapose the above words of Jesus from his Last Supper Discourse in John’s Gospel to the below narrative of Luke  on Jesus  instituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper:

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 2In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:14-20).

You notice that the Institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, transubstantiating the bread and the wine into Corporis et Sanguinis Christi by the power of the Holy Spirit, as reflected in this Last Supper scene (Luke 22:14-20) and the aforementioned excerpt from Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse (John 16:7-20), as well as Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:25-59), is relevant to the departure of Jesus from this world, the Ascension. Because of the Ascension is the necessary condition for the Pentecostal Holy Spirit to be poured upon us and to the bread and the wine offered to the alter of God at Mass, we truly need to be in alobha , which enables us to appreciate our transcendental permanent object relationship with the Triune God, as in what Jean Piaget argues as “object permanence”.  Otherwise, we would have difficulty with the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as some of those who heard Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse deserted Jesus (John 6:60-66), because of their inability to appreciate the bread of life as the body of Christ and the wine as the saving blood of Christ.

After all, Chinese and Japanese Buddhists describe alobha as “無貧“, which suggests “no poverty”. It indicates that the Chinese and the Japanese Buddhists view the concept of alobha, non-attachment, as a way to overcome poverty. Of course, poverty here is not about material poverty, but spiritual poverty. This echoes Jesus’ teaching: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3), Jesus’ teaching on humility as the first and foremost factor for the beatitudes (blessedness, rather than “happiness”).  In following this statement in his Sermon on the Mount, it is clear that Jesus, like Shakamuni, teaches us that alobha is indispensable to live a blessed life, transcending anxieties and fear. 

This is what we must reflect and ponder every time we bring ourselves to the alter to receive Corporis et Sanguinis Christi. Amen.

*CCC - Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Euro-American Tradition of Thanksgiving, Catholic Mass, and Exodus

The last Thursday of November has been the Thanksgiving national holiday in the United States since 1863, proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln. They say that it is to commemorate the first Puritan settlers at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, celebrating the first thanksgiving in North America in 1620. But, actually, the very first European settler’s thanksgiving celebration in North America was in St. Augustine, Florida, on September 8, 1565.

Those who celebrated the known first thanksgiving in North America in 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida,  were Spaniards settlers . Padre Francisco Lopez was the chaplain for the settlers from Spain, who celebrated the first thanksgiving Mass. The Mass was followed by the first thanksgiving communal meal shared with indigenous people in St. Augustine, using the food left from their voyage from Spain.

In the Christian context, the 1565 thanksgiving Mass followed by a communal meal in St. Augustine, Florida, by Padre Lopez and the Spanish settlers more fitting to the tone of what Thanksgiving should be, compared to the one in Plymouth Rock in 1620 by Puritans from England.  It is because the Mass that Padre Lopez celebrated upon the arrival of the first Spanish settlers, for the ultimate Christian Thanksgiving is built into Catholic Mass as in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

To the Catholics, every Mass is a Thanksgiving celebration because of the Eucharist, which literally means “thanksgiving”. Because the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the anamnesis of the Last Supper, at which Jesus took bread and gave thanks before breaking it to distribute to the Apostles at the supper table , proclaiming it to be his body (Matthew 26:26), echoing his self-identification as the bread of life (John 6:35,48), the bread from heaven (John 6:41), and the living bread from heaven to give eternal life (John 6:51). Therefore, the Eucharist offered during Catholic Mass is the real Thanksgiving communion for receiving the living bread of eternal life from heaven through the body and blood of Christ - Corporis et Sanguinis Christi.

The Eucharist, as Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, is the most powerful tangible form of grace, which we are so thankful for. That is why we give thanks to God the Father for this grace of heavenly living bread of eternal life. And, this thanksgiving is apex of Catholic Mass. 

At Mass, we thank God the Father, who has sent this tangible grace or the Eucharist, and the Son, who is Godself and this Eucharist. And, the Liturgy of the Eucharist during Mass reflects the Last Supper, the Passover Seder meal that Jesus shared with the Apostles on the night before he was betrayed and crucified to death. 

As a faithful Jewish man, celebrating Passover with Seder meal was in his desire before he die (Luke 22:15), because he will not eat this until he return in the fulfillment of the prophesy of the Kingdom of God (Luke 22:16). To the Jews, and to Jesus as a Jew, Passover Seder meal is an important ritualistic meal of thanksgiving to God for the deliverance from the Egyptian oppression, on the day of Unleavened Bread, the 14^th day of Nisan.  Thus, there is a juxtaposition of Passover thanksgiving from the Last Supper to the Liturgy of the Eucharist in Catholic Mass, as well as Jesus himself thanking for the bread and wine before sharing with the Apostles, following the Passover meal at the Last Supper. 

Until he returns in the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, we give thanks to God the Father and the Son, for the grace of the Eucharist – the heavenly bread of eternal life and the wine as the precious blood of Christ, which has purchased us for deliverance from the eternal condemnation, in the form of Corporis et Sanguinis Christi. – through the Liturgy of the Eucharist in Catholic Mass. When the deliverance from the condemnation is in fulfillment upon the final judgement, we are “delivered” or ushered into the Kingdom and sit at the heavenly banquet as referenced in Psalm 23:5 and prophesized in Revelation 19:9.  In this fulfillment, once again, Jesus the Christ will share the Passover meal with us all, thanking God for delivering us into the Kingdom safely. 

When Padre Lopez celebrated Mass, followed by the very first thanksgiving communal meal, in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, I am sure that he was thanking God for safely delivering the Spanish settlers, whom he accompanied on their voyage, to the New World – with anamnesis of Jesus and the Apostles thanking God for delivering their ancestors from Egypt into the land of milk and honey and Jesus thanking before sharing his body and blood to remember him in concluding the Last Supper.   

In fact, God’s deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian oppression into the Promised Land of milk and honey (Exodus 33:3), Exodus, is what the Jews always refer back to in their Thanksgiving with first-born-son consecration in Exodus 13:1-16 and with harvested crops Exodus 23:14-17 (Bikkurim ) and Deuteronomy 16:9-12 (Shavuot). 

Padre Lopez and the early Spanish settlers landed in St. Augustine in 1565 were delivered safely into the New World. They did not wonder deserts. They did not cross the Red Sea. But, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of their own “land of milk and honey” in the New World. Upon their arrival, they were thankful to God for this deliverance. 

Now, as the end of this liturgical year nears its end, our focus is on God’s deliverance into the ultimate promised land: the Kingdom of God. This deliverance journey we are on is our ultimate Exodus. It means that this journey comes with trials to wipe out sins and their effects so that only those who are cleansed are entitled to be delivered into the Kingdom. Upon our arrival, as described in Revelation 22, we are free to harvest fruits in this land of abundance. In the Kingdom, our ultimate land of milk and honey, with abundant harvest, we shall celebrate our ultimate Thanksgiving with grand feast, with Christ, our Shepherd of deliverance.

Pentecost and First Communion - Transubstantiaion

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It is to celebrate the Holy Spirit being poured upon a group of the Apostles to form the Church. The Holy Spirit opened each Apostle’s heart to understand various tongues they began speaking – enabling them to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all nations. 

In my parish, this Sunday is also the celebration for 3^rd grade and some 4^th grade students on the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) program to receive their first Holy Communion. As I have been directing this program, this Sunday promises to be a busy one! But, it will be loaded with blessings that the Holy Spirit will bring for the First Communion candidates and the rest of us, the Church! 

Guided by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with Code of Canon Law 914 and Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1457, through committed parents/guardians and catechists,  the First Communion candidates have attained enough wisdom to understand and appreciate the Sacrament of Eucharist as the real body and blood of Christ.

Though they may not be ready to fully comprehend the theological concept of transubstantiation in transforming the bread and wine into the real body of blood of Christ, they now understand the mystery of the Holy Spirit in changing the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ as a presiding priest lays his hands. 

The candidates also understand that they receive the real body and blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine, remembering Jesus offering the bread and wine as his body and blood to the Apostles during the Last Supper table fellowship. They also understand that the body and blood of Christ they receive is called Eucharist, which means “giving thanks”, because Jesus gave thanks for the bread and wine (Matthew 26:26-28;Mark 14:22-23; Luke 22:17-20). In addition, they now know that the Eucharist is also called communion because it brings the faithful together around the table (alter) in the sanctuary. 

It is also my hope that by the time they are ready to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, they also conjure up images from Psalm 23:5, You set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Song of Songs 2:4, He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love; leading to the heavenly wedding banquet of the Lamb (Christ) and the bride (Church) in Revelation 19:1-21, in further deepening their appreciation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. 

Because this is Pentecost Sunday, it is also important that I further explain the relevance of the Holy Spirit, for which Pentecost is celebrated, to the Eucharist. 

According to Blessed Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, “Dominum et Vivificantem”(The Lord and Giver of Life), the Sacrament of the Eucharist has been what the Church identifies with, as guided by the Holy Spirit (n.62). It means that what transubstantiates the bread and wine on the alter into the real Body and Blood of Christ is the Holy Spirit, as a presiding priest lays his hands for consecration.  Laying hands is a gesture of receiving the Holy Spirit (see Acts 8:17). The hands function as a receiving antenna for the invisible Holy Spirit. The CCC defines the Sacraments, which includes the Eucharist and Confirmation, as actions of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church (1116), and the mode of this work’s efficacy in the Sacraments is called “ex opere operato” (by the very fact of the action's being performed) , as mentioned in St. Thomas Aquinus’ “Summa Theologica”, III, q.68, a.8, c.. Thus, the Eucharist, which the First Communion candidates are anticipating to receive for the first time, is one of the seven Sacraments made available in tangible forms by the Holy Spirit and thanks to its effects of “ex opere operato”.

Now, we have a better understanding to link First Communion celebration with Pentecost, which commemorates the Holy Spirit invigorating the Apostles to form the Church, one body of Christ with many parts and gifts (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

Pentecost is considered to be the birthday of the Church.

In my last blog entry, “Pentecost - Divine "fertilization" of the human community into the Ekklesia”, I associated fertilization of an egg to the effect of Pentecost. 

Just as an woman cannot become pregnant and give birth to a child without her egg fertilized by her husband’s sperm, we cannot form the Church, Ekklesia, without the “fertilization” (or pollination) by the Holy Spirit – no matter how faithful we maybe. 

As Jesus’ physical presence was gone with Ascension, now the Church has been formulated with the Holy Spirit through the unity of the twelve apostles (Acts 2:1-11). Jesus’ physical presence will not be available until his return envisioned in the Book of Revelation to bring the New Eden (New Jerusalem) upon his (the Lamb’s) wedding with the Church. In the meantime, the Church, which is as tangible as we are, the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19) brings the effects of Jesus. Sent by the Father, the effects of the Son, Christ, are made tangible to the world through us, who make up the Church, as one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). In order to enable us to form the Church as one body of Christ with many parts, the Father in heaven is sending the Holy Spirit.  This is how we become “fertilized” by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to give birth to the renewed Church.

The Holy Spirit is also a fresh breath of life (Ruah) to the Church on earth, by transforming the small community of the twelve Apostles into the core of the Church. The Holy Spirit poured upon the Church was inspired to speak different tongues so that it can reach out to all nations. This makes a clear contrast to the problem of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) as the Apostles, who spoke different tongs upon inspiration of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost were not confused but rather understood each other, while the people involved in the Tower were confused. The Apostles were united, but the people involved in the Tower were scattered. The Apostles, who spoke different languages, were to proclaim the Good News of Christ to all nations in every language.

The Holy Spirit invigorates us by activating all the potentials in us because it is the breath of God. The Holy Spirit also teaches us and reminds us of Jesus’ teaching in place of Jesus – until he returns.

In a way, this is similar to how the Holy Spirit can transubstantiate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Though the outlooks of the Apostles were still the same with Pentecost, they were no longer the same persons once the Holy Spirit “transubstantiated” them fully into what they were called to become! The psychospiritual substance of the Apostles were ever changed upon Pentecost. 

Now, we are fired up! Let the Holy Spirit of Pentecost “transubstantiate” us! We are ready to embark on our respective mission more powerfully to bear fruits of the Holy Spirit abundantly!