Be at one with God

At the Last Supper, Jesus says twice, “Do this in remembrance of me.” He offers the disciples and all of us down through the centuries His precious Body and Blood and asks that we do this in His memory. Now, because we all partake of the one Eucharist, we are one in God and are one with each other to be the Body of the Church.

Thus, each one of us is called to offer ourselves to others in the name of Jesus. When we do so, we can feed thousands. When we act together as the Body of Christ, as Church, what may seem impossible becomes in fact a reality of acting together as one with God. We can feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome the stranger, comfort the sorrowing, give justice for the oppressed, have mercy for sinners, even a make possible end to violence. It is all our sharing the gifts of Jesus within us giving them to one another.

God's mercy and love are as abundant as we wish to share them. They do not follow the ordinary rules of supply and demand because despite their infinite value, they are as abundant as the leftover fragments at the multiplication of the loaves and the feeding of the multitude. From ancient times, wheat was ground into flour and baked into bread, and grapes were crushed into juice and allowed to ferment into wine. Bread and wine became staples of the human race diet, creating a simple meal that could be shared with others. Salem's king served them to a victorious Abram.

So it was a great gift of love when Jesus took the bread and wine and blessed and broke and shared it them as His Body and Blood with His disciples and told them to go and share them with others forever. When we dare to receive Communion, we are one with God and others, in living and following the loving example of Jesus Christ with mercy and love.

On this Father's Day, we thank in a special way God the Father for the gift of His Son and thus our oneness with them in the Eucharist. We pray and thank all our fathers and all who have shown and given of themselves as father figures their work, talent, love, support and nourishment for their families. As Jesus transformed five loaves and two fish into enough food to satisfy thousands and then changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood for all eternity we see the abundant generosity of God that calls us into action each day.

With all the issues of our present day, God gives us laughter to join us in joy, love and fun. Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. It won't take the potholes out of the road, but it will sure make the ride smoother. So laugh and have joy, love and fun with one another, with God and with your dad, in heaven or on earth.