May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
I will see you in the Eucharist.
Normally, I preach.
However when a new priest celebrates his first Mass, the new priest
usually invites another priest to preach.
The homily at the first Mass of a newly ordained priest is not usually
preached to the congregation. The homily
is preached directly to the new priest.
It is a conversation between brothers and the congregation is invited to
listen as well. I invited Father Jim
Erving of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to preach at my first Mass. I met Father Jim a few months before I
entered seminary. He was only a few
years older than me, but I knew when I met him that I would invite him one day
to preach to me. Throughout my time in
seminary, whenever I would speak with Father Jim, he would always remind me, “I
will see you in the Eucharist.” It was a
promise of his prayers, but more than that it was the recognition that when we
celebrate the Eucharist, we are mystically united with all of the
baptized. When we come to adore the
Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, we are united with all of those who keep watch
before his holy presence. There is no
distance between us when we are gathered around the Altar of the Lord and the
tabernacle in the Church. We will see
each other in the Eucharist, even though many miles separate us.
On this most holy night, the Lord Jesus gave us the gift of the
Eucharist and the gift of the priesthood.
Christ Jesus, who is the eternal High Priest, shared his priesthood with
his apostles so that they would be an extension of his priesthood. From generation to generation the priesthood
of Christ has been handed on so that the words that Christ spoke on this night
could be powerfully spoken in every place and time. The Lord Jesus consecrated bread and wine,
and he consecrated his apostles, and all who share in their ministry, so that
they would consecrate bread and wine.
The words that he spoke, they would speak. The bread that he broke, they would
break. The body and blood that he gave,
they would give. When we gather to
celebrate the Eucharist, we join in the eternity of heaven. All time passes away and we are present in
the upper room in Jerusalem. We are
present with the Lord and with all of those of every time and place who have
looked to him in hope. In the
celebration of the Eucharist and before the tabernacle of the Lord we are
united with our Great High Priest who lives forever to make intercession for
us. We will see each other in the
Eucharist, though hours and days and generations are between us.
I will see you in the Eucharist. I thought of that often last October when I
received the news that Father Jim had a brain tumor. I sent him a simple message. I will see you in the Eucharist. When he called me on Christmas Eve, we spoke
some about his illness. We spoke more
about faith, about our unity in the Eucharist, and about the privilege of being
priests. I asked for his blessing. I gave him mine. And we promised to see each other in the
Eucharist.
One month ago tonight, I was praying and hearing confessions
in the Church where I celebrated my first Mass.
I was praying and encouraging others to pray for Father Jim, because it
seemed that his hour had come. When I
received the news the next morning that Father Jim had been called to house of
the Eternal Father, I thought, I will pray for him at the Eucharist today.
My dear brothers and sisters, distance and time are not the
only things that fall away when we celebrate the Eucharist and adore our Lord
in the Blessed Sacrament. When we
celebrate the Eucharist and when we kneel before the tabernacle, we are in the
presence of the one who has conquered death forever. The power of the Eucharist is stronger than
death. When the Eucharist is celebrated
the demons cry out in terror and death falls silent before the Word of eternal
life. We see each other in the
Eucharist, because Christ has conquered sin and death.
This is the gift that the Lord Jesus gives to us on this most
holy night. The Lord Jesus gives us
himself in the Eucharist. He gives us a
share in his sacrifice so that we can receive his sacrament of unity. He invites us to the banquet where distance
and time and even death pass away. The
Lord Jesus invites us to see him, and each other, in the Eucharist. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
