Fr Ed Homily 6-21-20

Communion

Jesus says be not afraid. Where do we get the courage and strength to be not afraid? I think it comes from Communion. We need to reflect for a moment about our God and why He gave us Communion. You have also heard the phrase fear of the Lord. How can we be told to be not afraid and then fear the Lord? This is another place where are words are so inadequate. Fear of the Lord means to stand in the presence of God in such a great state of awe and reverence, a tremendous amount of respect, that we do not fear God, but rather fear the possibility of offending our God or doing something that God might reject us. God is love. Our fear is not of God but that we might turn away from Him.

How does God love us through our fears? By opening Himself totally to us. He took on human flesh, suffered for us, and died for us. He did not stop there. Death cannot contain God. Jesus left us His glorified body in Communion. Can you grasp the significance of this? Our great and powerful and awesome God placed Himself in a body and gave Himself to us. We could either love Him or reject Him. We rejected Him. God loves us so much that He loved us through our sins of rejecting Him and through the mystery of Communion allows Himself to be placed into our hands when we receive Communion. This great and wonderful and loving God we hold in the palm of our hand. Do we not pray that God hold us and protect us in the palm of His hand?

At the time of Communion God has given us the power to hold God in our hands. When we consume Communion we become walking tabernacles. God is in us. As a community, we are in God. We need not fear what this world imposes upon us because we are a Communion in God.

Happy Father’s Day. May your Communion with your family be as loving as the Father’s Communion is with and in you. Amen