Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

When I was in my first year of seminary in Italy, I decided that my eyeglass prescription really needed to be adjusted.  Of course, the advice from some of the local alumni was to “be sure to go to Dr. TWA” (aka Trans World Airlines!).  Anyway, I went and told the doctorwith my very sketchy Italian skills at the timethat I wanted to be able to see better.  After awhile and several gestures, he seemed to understand and he sat me down in the chair and started to apply different lenses, asking me to read the chart.  At one point, he asked, “meglio?” (which translates, “better?”).  “Si” I replied, to which he abruptly stood, clapped his hands and declared, “va bene!” and decided that he had done his job completely.  Eventually, I got my new prescription and it wasn’t merely “better”, but close to perfect.

The immediate need that I had expressed was the cause of our confusion.  I had said that I wanted to be able to see “better” or “meglio”, and his response was appropriate.  But what I really wanted, with the help of an updated eyeglass prescription, was to have my eyesight brought to 40/40.  I had expressed an immediate need, not realizing that I should have been expressing my ultimate, final need.

In today’s gospel, the crowds who were fed the loaves and fish are now hungry again, and naturally, are seeking Jesus in order to have their hunger satisfied.  But what they didn’t realize was that their hunger was much more deep, fundamental, basic….  Even with enough bread to satisfy them for the rest of their days, they would still feel the pangs of longing for the union they keep seeking with Christ.  The Lord sees this truth, and His challenge to them was for them to place their faith in him, believe in Him, and thus commit themselves to the works of God.  For us, too, the Lord sees this truth as we approach Himsometimes with mundane and not-so-mundane intercessionsbut in all of them, he wants to satisfy our lasting hunger with His everlasting life.

Last weekend’s gospel demonstrated the compassion of Jesus as he sent the apostles out in pairs to nurture the souls of those whom He wished to share His life.  By their preaching, witness and miraculous works, the apostles are able to return to the Master and report ‘good news’ about all they had done.  Jesus’ compassion was fruitful!

This weekend, we find another demonstration of Jesus’ compassion when, even in the midst of so many coming to receive the graceful ministry of the apostles, Jesus directs them to come away with Him to a deserted place for rest.  Even when they could continue to minister in His name, it is important for His followers to enjoy a sacred rest with Him.  Yes, the need to nurture others and to care for their needs will always be with us and surround us, still the Lord asks us to retreat with Him in our holy labors.

And in case we tend to think that everything depends on us, look at what the Good Shepherd does as the apostles rest: He nurtures; He consoles; He teaches from His own compassion.  Yes, we quickly realize that when we minister in the name of Jesus Christ, then He is the source and foundation of all the good that flows through us.  Thus we gather each Sunday, to rest from the labors we have accomplished and to thank God for His mighty arm that has guided our efforts; and then, to seek the Lord’s continuing and generous compassion that can lead us in the week ahead…a week filled with others’ needs and our hoped-for response of kindness and compassion.

Jesusthe compassion of Godconsole us!

This week we find Jesus powerless to work miracles, a most unlikely situation.

He came to his home-town, Nazareth, the Gospel says, and “he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.”

Why not? Who took away his power?

The answer has to do with the words Jesus often said to people that he healed: “your faith has saved you.”* At first glance, this saying has to be false. If “faith” were all it took to save me, then there would be no need at all for God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Just squeeze out an act of faith and you have all you need.

Obviously it is necessary to take a look at what “Faith” is all about.

The following words of the Catechism get more directly at the meaning of the word as Jesus used it.

Faith is a personal actthe free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself (_₱166).

Faith in this sense refers to an interaction between ourselves and God, a relationship steeped in trust and love. If a man said to his wife, “I have no faith in you anymore,” and if he meant it, the relationship between the two would be over. The same goes for the faith we are talking about here. To trust in God, to receive his love and respond to it, this is the deepest meaning of faith. In this sense, faith is like a home in which the personal relationship between people and God lives. If you fail in faith, you have locked all the doors.

Faith is not a solo act, it is a mutual act between Jesus and you.

If this makes some sense to you, then you will see why Jesus always said “your faith has saved you.” Faith is the carrier of your (our) relation to God and Jesus. Where there is no true relationship between you and Jesus, healing cannot happen because healing is rooted in trust and faith and love.

This is why Jesus in today’s Gospel is so disappointed when he comes to teach in his home town and finds only scorn. “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” The Gospel says that Jesus “was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Jesus’ relationship with the Nazarenes was broken. They would not have faith. No wonder he could not “perform any mighty deed there.” He could not force faith upon them, they had to choose it themselves.

And so must we.

The thread woven throughout our gospel this weekend…is a thread of LIFE, born from faith and humility.

Yes, new life is seen sprouting forth from both Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage.  Both were staring at the glare of death…like we do so often, don’t we?  Each one of us can understand this painful, human situation because we’ve either watched a loved one slowly lose life, or we ourselves have experienced the drain of a life-threatening illness.  We can all identify, then, with the desperation of the father, Jairus, or of the old woman.  Both are staring death in the face.

And as they stare at death, they catch sight of Jesus…the Lord of life.  Both Jairus and the woman, each in their own way, receive a spirit of humility as they approach Christ: Jairus falls at Jesus’ feet, while the woman secretly approaches from behind.  And from their humility, both then demonstrate faith…thus, both have their wish for healing granted.  A moment earlier, death was encroaching upon them, but in an instant of humble faith and petition, death is turned back.

This week, let us strive to reach out and grasp the gift of life offered by the Lord.  Like Jairus and the old woman, we too can approach the almighty and find the generous offer of life.  All we need do is muster the humility and faith necessary to reach out to Christ’s abundant love…for such faith leads to our salvation.

(after a short 2-week hiatus during our Italian pilgrimage, I returned to celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi at the parish.  Here, first, are some of my reflections given at Mass; following, is a brief history of the development of this week’s solemnity)

Guilt by Association

When I was young, my parents–as well as the parents of all of my friends–always wanted to know who we were hanging around with and what we were up to.  Positively stated, they would chide, “show me who your friends are, and I’ll show you who you are”; negatively put, “there’s guilt by association”.  In other words, what–and who–we surround ourselves with is very important in our overall development, maturity, growth and influence.  Yes, clearly the environment in which we live and move and have our being is significantly influential in forming us as persons throughout our lives.

The Corpus Domini procession, in a miniature from one of the liturgical codices of Santa Maria del Fiore (15th century).

 

In our first reading from the Book of Exodus, Moses associates the people with not only the law of Yahweh, but now the covenant He is offering them: he sprinkles the people with blood as a sign of their new-found pact.  But, clearly, the blood of bulls sprinkled upon the people did not effect any substantive change within the people.  But now, God the Father offers a new covenant, one ratified by His Son’s own offering of His Sacred Body & Blood which, once ingested, can form a new and divine liveliness within us.  Yes, as Christ’s Body and Blood mixes and associate within our own, the spark of the Divine is again rekindled, is again enlivened and strengthened.  It is in this new covenant, that we can then rejoice on today’s Solemnity: this Body and Blood of Christ the Lord brings us closer to our divine call and, not merely as individuals, but as God’s holy people…the Body of Christ in our midst.

Let us all be ‘guilty’ by our deeper and livelier association with the Body and Blood of Christ: let our maturity and growth in holiness come about anew today and always.  Amen.

 

Historical Commentary

Every year, sixty days after Easter, the Church celebrates “Corpus Domini”: a religious solemnity in honor of the Eucharist (the ‘body’ – corpus – of Christ in the sacramental sign of bread): an observance that first developed in Italy the thirteenth century and in 1263 was extended by Pope Urban IV to all of Christian Europe. In Florence as elsewhere, from that period the feast has been celebrated in solemn fashion, with a majestic procession in which the Eucharistic bread is borne through the city streets in a glass container know as a ‘monstrance’, which allows people to see the consecrated bread wafer. This procession acquired ever greater importance with the passage of time. Originally the celebration was limited to the interior of the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella. It took place after Vespers, with the participation of the Bishop, the Cathedral clergy, the City authorities, the populace and representatives of the lay confraternities.

After the Council of Vienne (1311-1312), held during the pontificate of Pope Clement V, the City Government decided to make the celebration public, increasing the solemnity of Corpus Domini by bearing in procession with the Eucharist relics of the saints.

The church of Santa Maria Novella was then the biggest in Florence, the new Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore being still under construction on the site of the old duomo of Santa Reparata.

Even so, the number of people taking part became so great that the Dominican church could not contain them, and the celebration was held outside, in the city streets.

When the new Cathedral was nearly complete, the Chapter of Canons began celebrating the rites there, and insisted that the Eucharistic procession begin from the Cathedral. There arose a lengthy dispute between the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella, supported by the Dominican Archbishop Saint Antoninus (+1459), and the Cathedral clergy. The dispute ended in 1458 with a papal bull of Pius II, who established that the procession should indeed start from Santa Maria del Fiore. Emerging from the Cathedral, the cortège passed through the Baptistery, went to Piazza della Signoria and thence to Santa Maria Novella, where one of the Cathedral Canons said Mass, returning finally to Santa Maria del Fiore. The tradition of Mass at Santa Maria Novella lasted until 1920.

In the sixteenth century, after the fall of the Florentine Republic, the Medici grand dukes took part in the procession in their princely regalia, thus conserving and increasing the magnificence of the occasion. They encouraged citizens to adorn the facades of those houses before which the procession passed with tapestries, ornamental hangings, flowers and garlands, and later forbade the movement of pedestrian and carriage traffic along the processional route.

This solemn festival occupied the whole city. The preparations began three days before the feast itself, when people hung the street awnings that would shelter participants from rain or direct sunlight, and adorned the shop facades with red and yellow bunting.

On the Feast Day, the procession unfolded with great pomp. First came the children, then the lay confraternities, then friars and monks of the different religious orders, then the clergy of San Lorenzo and of the Cathedral. Finally came the Archbishop, carrying the Eucharist in a monstrance under a baldachin (a portable canopy). The rich baldachin in cloth of gold, called “of the Republic”, used for centuries on this occasion, was in fact made and paid for by the Florentine Republic. Several days before the Feast, the City Administration entrusted it to the Cathedral Chapter. Unfortunately the tragic flood of November 4, 1966, nearly destroyed it. Since then it has not been used; the City has though restored it and given it in charge to the Opera del Duomo.

All the city’s magistracies and the heads of the guilds also took part, accompanied by the soldiery and by musicians. The processional route was strewn with flower petals and laurel leaves, which citizens sold in Piazza del Duomo for the occasion. When the procession ended, the festival continued in the city streets where stands selling sweets and drinks were set up. This solemn festival has never been neglected by the people of Florence, not even for very grave reasons such as inclement weather, wars and sieges.

 

Future Celebrations at our Parish

Here are some pictures of the graphics composed and filled with flowers, crushed seeds, nuts and spices decorating the routes for the sacred procession…maybe these will inspire our procession next year?