Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
This Sunday’s second reading fits nicely with the Jubilee of Hope that the Church is celebrating this year. St. Paul states emphatically, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.” In other words, Paul is saying that if our hope is placed on goods within this world, we have misunderstood God’s revelation in Christ. Of course, we hope for things in this life: health, security, means of supporting ourselves and our families, love, peace with others and within ourselves, etc. Yet, we are not satisfied, nor should we be, by any or all of these things. We are created for immortality, that is, eternal life. That alone suffices to satisfy our ultimate hope and longing.
This is why the central action of our spiritual lives is participation in the Eucharist. Jesus says in no uncertain terms, “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh . . . He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:50-51, 54). The hope of every human being is found in eating and drinking the flesh and blood of the Son of God, that is, in reception of Holy Communion at Mass. How few people truly realize this, because how few really dare to hope for that which we cannot achieve through our own power. A lack of faith leads to a lack of hope. I pray that all of us may see how much our souls long for Holy Communion, because this sacrament above all gives us the fulfillment of all our hopes: eternal life with God in the resurrected body.
Please be aware that I will never reach out to anyone through text message or email asking for money or gift cards. Recently, more than a few parishioners received scam e-mails where I asked for a special favor. It is impossible to stop scammers from impersonating me and writing e-mails that seem urgent. That favor which I supposedly ask for ends up being gift cards or money. Again, please ignore these emails, as I will never ask for such a thing!
In Christ,
Fr. Dave
Comments