Friar’s Corner: More Jewels from heaven
Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR
Baruch 5:1-9; Psalms 126:1-6; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6
We ask the Holy Spirit for a deeper understanding of this season. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit we will be recreated and you will renew the face of the earth.
What is this season really all about? We are preparing to celebrate the birthday of the greatest person who ever lived on earth, the one who has had the most profound effect on the world over. This week some of us watched live TV of the awesome ceremonies surrounding the burial of our forty-first President, George H.W. Bush. We heard about his family, faith, military and political career, and some of his presidential accomplishments. I was very impressed and would like to get the text of those who honored him at his two funeral services.
Prepare to celebrate
Advent is preparing us to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. We read from a lot of Bible texts and listen to some of the most beautiful praise and worship Christmas carols. He is not coming the first time. We have been waiting for his return to earth a second time for 1,985 years.
We cannot go back physically to his birth in that cave in Bethlehem. We can’t hold Jesus or see him in bodily form. How can we get closer to him? When you meditate about what happens at the second part of the Eucharistic Liturgy or Mass of the ancient churches East and West, the Holy Spirit enlightens you to what really happens. As priests, we give the Eucharistic bread away and we run out. You bring the priest more bread (hosts) and wine. What does he do with them? I see Jesus is there through the priest and saying the words he said at the Last Supper, “This is my body,” “This is the cup of my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many,” Mark 14:22c, 24, Matthew 26:26-28 and Luke 22:19-20.
Christ’s Mass
The words we use today are slightly different yet the same reality. These words with the power of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and ordination of the priest changes that bread and wine into the real body and blood of our savior. In a sense, Jesus was just born again for his people. Is it Christmas? It is Christ’s Mass. Jesus comes each day all over the world when a very small number of God’s faithful, the “saints” of each parish come to praise and worship our savior and receive their “daily bread.” Jesus taught us this in the Our Father prayer Christians the world over pray. The parish won’t send you a bill. Jesus comes free of charge, our bread of life.
The Eucharistic Liturgy or Mass is the most important and grace-filled act of Christian praise and worship, a jewel from heaven. It is the greatest meal on earth. Jesus comes to fill us with more of his love, healing, peace and joy. Then he sends us out into the world to spread his love and message to others and invite them to come. Amen!
If you understand this and work does not prohibit you from coming in the morning or evening, you will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. If you focus on Jesus, this grace will take you deeper into Christ’s heart and at times you will spiritually float into contemplative silence, losing a sense of time and place.
Two more jewels
I have two more jewels to share with you during this Advent. One is to order quickly from Amazon or your local Catholic bookstore is Tan book, The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelation, by Blessed Ann Catherine Emmerich. She was an extremely gifted child from her birth. God gave her mystical insight to see Biblical events like we watch a movie. She became an Augustinian nun in Germany and was given the full stigmata (wounds) of Jesus’ passion. She lived from 1774-1824.
Her visions are described in four volumes. Get the first one now and start reading in the middle of the book. It tells how Joseph, from Bethlehem, went down to prepare a cave for their stay there. Mary and her family and friends were up in Nazareth making clothes for Jesus. She describes the journey to Bethlehem, the shepherds, kings, Jesus’ presentation in the temple and their flight into Egypt. This is really thrilling reading and will put you into the events and take you to a new and great spiritual experience of what happened then and some of what can happen in your life today. You will be thrilled, I assure you. It will change some things you were taught and thought about that first Christmas.
The last jewel gift that I shall give to you is something that I have mentioned before. Order from the internet an awesome picture of Jesus by Bette Myers at http://www.truefaceofjesus.com/. You can read her story online. When you keep looking into the eyes of Jesus in that picture for a short time your life will begin to change in a very beautiful way. This is the best picture I have ever seen of him. I can hardly wait to see Jesus face-to-face in his resurrected glory. This will help your faith life change and deepen. You will not be the same as before. Perhaps you will be like Matthew, the tax collector. One day Jesus walked by his post and looked at Matthew with great love. Matthew dropped everything and followed Jesus.
May the incredible love of Jesus surround you and lift you to the next level of your life here on earth. Be high and lifted up with many blessings,
(© 2018 Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR)
