Deacon Tom Writes,
“There’s Plenty to Go Around!”
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Year C
We live in an instant world.
Can we ever be satisfied with anything? We want faster, bigger, better, more of everything and we want it now. We don’t want to wait or work long and hard to get things. We push a button and it’s here.
It’s interesting to watch how people are reacting the ongoing supply chain disruption.
Some are visibly upset. Others are outraged. Still others don’t seem dismayed at all.
The last group appears to be the exception. We’ve become consummate consumers driven by immediate gratification. We’re well-trained by Fifth Avenue’s advertisements. We’ve swallowed their message hook, line and sinker. This message is everywhere--from self-help gurus, the media, and even from some pulpits, “We can have it all and we can have it our way... right now.”
It's an interesting observation. Older generations remember economic downturns, wars, rationing, shortages, and even something as simple as needing to wait for the stores or bank to open or ordering from a catalog, sending in a check, and waiting two more weeks for the box to arrive.
Technology’s changed all that. Even something as simple as snapping a photo with a cellphone is instant. I remember taking photos with my film 35mm camera. It was an intentional act. Each roll had either twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-six exposures set to a certain condition—outdoor, fast, lower-light, slow. I had to frame my subject clearly, take the time to focus, and then shoot. I didn’t see the results until I brought the film in to be developed. Even that had to be sent out and took about a week.
The “great acceleration” of society hasn’t been sustainable, and now some have called this time period “The Great Reset,” a term first used as the title of the 2020 World Economic Forum meet but which has since taken on a life of its own.
Our instinct could be to say, “our expectations are not realistic,” but clearly, they are because science and man have developed things of convenience that have trained us to think that it’s always been this way (and for younger Millennials, Gen Z and below, they have been).
But what if we look at the cracks in society today and become one of those supply chain optimists and say, “If something has to change, let it be me.”
The truth is, we can’t change the empty shelves or prices. But the next time our favorite thing is “out of stock” we can change how we choose to participate. Let that be a reminder—a blessing, instead.
Our spiritual senses, if they are well developed, will tune us in to the fact that there is a problem when our addiction to the “instant” leaves us always wanting more. No consumer creation or human being can completely satisfy us or our hearts desires. It is only God who can satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts.
Today’s Feast
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This is our time to contemplate the wisdom of God as God, the architect of the universe and the one who sustains all that exists within it. He designed us to seek the ultimate good, which, of course, he is by his nature, by his very being.
He hard wired us, so to speak, so that we would come looking for him, seeing his image in all creation, and putting aside all else in our search for the “real thing,” the ultimate goodness, the one and only giver of life and of all that is.
Those who were fortunate to be in the crowds as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes may not have fully realized the gift they were given—the bread of life, food that would satisfy completely. What’s our excuse? We’ve had time to digest this miracle.
As Catholics there is no more profound mystery of faith than what we experience when we receive the Eucharist – the Son of God coming into our lives and dwelling within us and satisfying us completely. God becomes, in a sense, the very fuel that energizes us to do our part in bringing about the reign of God in our times, in our lives, and in the world around us.
That God would become really present in the bread and wine during the Consecration remains as difficult a teaching today as it was when Jesus first revealed it. Many walked away from Jesus because this teaching was too difficult.
Many still do.
Jesus asked the apostles, “Will you leave me also.” And Peter responded, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
I hope this continues to be our answer, too.
The gift of the Eucharist reveals God’s desire to be a part of the very fiber of our lives. We give God our thanks for this precious gift by sharing our faith and our lives with one another as we await the fullness of his long-awaited kingdom on earth.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Visit my Blog at: www.deacontomwrites.blogspot.com
Recommended Reading: Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton. One of the most famous books ever written about a man’s search for faith and peace.
Deacon Tom
Recommended Reading: Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton. One of the most famous books ever written about a man’s search for faith and peace.
Recommended Podcast: Forte Catholic Podcast. This Podcast exists to share the Joy of the Gospel... tune in...
No comments:
Post a Comment