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Homily of the Day

Title:	Become a Maker of Peace
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D
Date:	Monday, September 13, 2004

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33; Luke 7:1-10

Scholars tell us that from the beginning of recorded history, only a handful of years were marked by worldwide peace. Peace has played only a bit part on the stage of history, and yet peace is what every human heart longs for. As St. Paul reminds us today, even the early Christian communities had to struggle mightily to find it and then sustain it.

Wherever two or more people are gathered, eventual conflict is inevitable. You prefer red; he prefers blue. You like it lean; she likes fat. I like it cool, they like it warm. Who will prevail? Who will get their way? The issue becomes all the more pointed when the questions at hand are more than mere matters of taste. How does one divide a matter of principle democratically down the middle?

That brings us to the very crux of one of the greatest challenges of living as Christians: learning how to manage disagreements on matters about which there are deep feelings, without letting those feelings turn to hatred and warlike plotting.

This is no easy accomplishment, and it can come about only if we learn to look at one another through God’s eyes, and to say to ourselves, “This is a brother or a sister, beloved of God, and with the same deep longings as my own for love, peace, and harmony. I have no choice. I simply must find a way of living with him and building peace with her.”

And that’s our vocation: to become makers and builders of peace. To do that is to become like God Himself.

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 5

<< Monday, September 13, 2004 >>

St. John Chrysostom

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33

Psalm 40

Luke 7:1-10

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THE NEW LIFE AFTER RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION

“The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ ” —1 Corinthians 11:23-24

The teachings of the Church, and especially the Scriptures, are clear that we receive Jesus’ body and blood, soul and divinity when we receive Holy Communion. There are many corollaries to this amazing fact. We should therefore:

try our very best to receive Holy Communion frequently or even daily,
prepare for each Communion by prayer and fasting and not limit ourselves to the mandatory one-hour fast,
go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly before going to Holy Communion,
pray and read the daily eucharistic readings before praying the Mass,
try to come to Mass early to recollect,
try to stay after Mass for thanksgiving or come back later to adore the body of Jesus in the tabernacle,
invite as many people as possible to do whatever would be necessary for them to receive Holy Communion, and
warn others not to receive Communion if they are not Catholic or not in the state of grace for they could make themselves sick or weak (1 Cor 11:30).

Because we believe in the fact that we receive Jesus’ body and blood in Holy Communion, our entire lives change and become eucharistically centered. Live the Eucharist!

Prayer: Father, may I treasure each Communion in my life as if it were the only one.

Promise: “When the deputation returned to the house, they found the servant in perfect health.” —Lk 7:10

Praise: St. John Chrysostom could preach the word of God so effectively because he received the eucharistic Word so often.