4/23/2023

Today at 10:30 AM Mass we have our First Communion class receiving. We are blessed to have youngsters excited to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. As you know, I would like to promote a spirituality centered on the Eucharist. If we get Eucharist right, the rest of Catholicism falls in place around the Eucharist. As the Manna sustained the people of God in the desert for 40 years, so the Eucharist sustains us in our pilgrimage to heaven. First Communion is a time to recall our own First Communion and examine how much our lives are centered on the Lord in the Eucharist.
Next week is Good Shepherd Sunday, with the gospel taken from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John which talks about the sheep, the shepherd, and their relationship. Of all the images for Christ (e.g. Light of the World, Vine and branches, Good Shepherd, etc), young children prefer that of the Good Shepherd as one who protects and cares for them. That is why the method is called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The children realize that they need someone to care for and protect them. We adults are “beyond” that, since we are grown. But in the spiritual realm, we should remain like children in our humility and recognition of our dependence on God (“unless you become like a little child…” Mt. 18:3). If not, then we run the risk of becoming “independent operators” who are “self-sufficient” as adults who are expected to care for ourselves. Sometimes this leads to being filled with pride and an ungodly self-reliance. The difference between being a responsible adult and an ungodly self-reliant adult is that the responsible adult constantly looks to God for guidance, strength, direction in one’s life, constantly recognizing that we are NOT God, but dependent on God, and then taking responsibility for accomplishing God’s plan. Ungodly self-reliance mistakes our ability to accomplish things on our own independently of God with mature adulthood. The willingness to turn to God for help, courage, wisdom and then to have the humility to follow what we discern to be God’s will differentiates Christians maturity from the more arrogant selfsufficiency of those who do not recognize (in practice or formally) a higher being than themselves. That is a lonely place to be. We will celebrate next Sunday by honoring the way we are now introducing our children to the faith with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This method of teaching encourages our children to discover the Lord for themselves, and learn from the master how to grow in knowing their Lord, Jesus Christ, and to follow His beckoning in their life.
Let us continue to thank and praise the Lord for the salvation He brought us through His Resurrection. The Risen Lord is still with us, especially in the Eucharist.
It is a joy to be your pastor.

Father Albert, O.S.B.