Homily for Easter 3 - May 1, 2022

 

Homily for Easter 3

May 1, 2022

Imitate What You Receive

 

            This has got to be confusing. It’s after Easter, so the Apostles know that Jesus has risen – but He keeps disappearing from their midst. After having been with someone every single day for the last three years – then having seen them literally rise from the dead – these poor Apostles must be so confused and wondering: what’s next? What’s our mission? What do we do now that Jesus has risen?

            Because the Holy Spirit has not yet come, they have no answers. So Peter goes back to the one thing he knows: fishing. Jesus appears on shore and performs the same miracle He did when He first met Peter – a miraculous catch of fish. Peter immediately realizes Who it is – and realizes how foolish it is to be fishing when the Lord of all creation stood on the seashore.

            And when he encounters Jesus, what does Jesus offer him? Breakfast! When Jesus reveals Himself, He does so in the context of food – a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.

            Our life can be confusing too. All of us are crazy-busy: school, work, kids’ soccer, chores, doctors’ appointments. And we may also wonder: What’s our mission? And if Jesus is risen, where is He in the midst of our seemingly ordinary life?

            Like in the Gospel, Jesus comes to us humbly – in a meal: the Eucharistic banquet at every Mass. We don’t need to look any farther than this altar to find where Jesus is and what the meaning of our life is. Jesus reveals Himself through food and instructs us to follow Him. But this Food is unique, because it is Jesus Himself - His true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

            St. John Vianney once said, “There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.” What could be more valuable than the True Presence of God? We may say, “Yes, but it looks like bread.” True – it does. But if Jesus says, “This is My Body” – and, as God, Jesus is unable to lie – then this must be His Body. After all, if God could create the entire material universe with nothing but a word (“Let there be light…let there be dry ground…let there be plants and animals”), can He not change bread into His Body with just a word? There are many things we believe without seeing them – I cannot see my mother’s love, but I trust that it is there. I can’t see my soul, but I believe I have one. Likewise, I cannot see Jesus’s Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist, but I know it is true because He said that it is, and He has the power to make it so.

            But receiving His truly Body and Blood is meant to have an effect in our lives. What kind of effect? Well, have you ever been to a dinner that had a ridiculous amount of silverware? When you have six forks and four spoons and three knives, it seems impossible to know what to do! So how do you get out of this embarrassing predicament? You watch the host, then you do as they do. When the host uses that tiny fork for the salad greens, so do you!

            In the same way, we must imitate the One who gives us Himself as food. Jesus excelled in every virtue – so must we. Jesus laid down His life for others – so must we. Jesus lived for God alone – so must we.

            Hence, Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Right after Jesus appears to Peter, Jesus asks him, “Do you love me?” And Peter responds that he does – so Jesus tells him, “Now you must imitate Me. You must feed My sheep, and you must lay down your life for Me.”

            The consequence of receiving Jesus is that we must become what we receive. We have that old saying, “You are what you eat” – and this is so true in the Eucharist! When I eat a hamburger, it becomes a part of me, but when I consume Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, I become more like Him! This is now your goal in life – to give your life to Jesus, and live your life in a way that pleases Him, in union with Him.

            A great example of this is a saint named Blessed Imelda Lambertini. As a baby, Imelda was abandoned on the steps of a convent of nuns, so she was raised by these nuns who loved her as their own daughter and brought her up in holiness. In those days (the early 1300s), it was customary to receive First Communion at age 14, but Imelda truly believed that Jesus was present in the Eucharist and desperately desired to receive Him. For years she would beg the nuns for permission to receive her first Communion, but they kept saying, “You’re too young! Not yet! Once you get older!”

            When she was eleven years old, she was praying during Mass one day, burning with a desire to receive Jesus. As the priest began distributing Communion, one of the Communion Hosts miraculously flew out of his hand, and began to hover right over the head of little Imelda. The priest realized that she was ready to receive Him, so she received her First Communion, and then returned to her pew with a brilliant smile on her face, kneeling down and praying to Jesus Who was now within her.

            The Mass finished, and everyone left the church and went about their daily business – chores, studies, lunch. A few hours passed, and the nuns realized that they hadn’t seen Imelda since Mass ended. They checked all around the convent, and finally found her in the chapel, still praying hours later with a smile on her face. They went up to rouse her – and found that she had died from pure joy. Jesus gave His life for her; and she gave her life to Him.

            My friends, Jesus isn’t hard to find – He is hidden here, beneath the appearance of the small Eucharistic Host – so small and hidden because He wants to live in the hidden depths of our poor, small souls. As He gave us His life to become our Food, let us give Him our lives, that we may become His saints.