Father Castor's Weblog

1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51

Fr. Timothy W. Castor (preached on Sunday, August 9, 2009)

Today is now our third installment of our reading of the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, the Bread of Life Discourse, the most sublime teaching of our Lord concerning the Holy Eucharist. This teaching began two weeks ago when we heard the story of the feeding of the 5000 in which our Lord miraculously provided food for a vast number of people. Last week, our Lord told the same people that to do the work of God requires that they believe in the one God has sent; and that the one he has sent—his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord—is in fact the Bread of Life, come down from heaven. Today, we hear the reaction of the crowd and that they are offended at our Lord’s words, “How can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” You see, the people think they know who Jesus is—they know his parents, they know where he grew up. So how can he make such an extravagant claim as to say that he came down from heaven? But he will make even greater claims that this.

He reveals that the faith required to believe in him is itself a gift: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day…. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” In other words, not only does the Father send his son from heaven to be the source and sustenance of our spiritual life, but then he draws to himself—to heaven—those who believe in the Son with the faith he himself has given.

How will God sustain this faith—this spiritual life? By giving us his own flesh to be our spiritual food: “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” This is a remarkable statement—an earth-shattering statement. No religious leader ever spoke like this before. In the Gospels for the next two Sundays, Jesus will elaborate on this and we will hear the reaction of the people and of his own disciples. But for now, let’s meditate on the logic of this statement.

Many of you right now might be hungry, some of you might even be thinking about the meal you will enjoy after Mass. I confess this is a distraction I myself experience from time to time. This happens especially on Sunday mornings when I haven’t had breakfast and I celebrate the 8:30 Mass. During the quiet moments of the Sacred Liturgy, I sometimes catch myself daydreaming about an Egg McMuffin or a nice stack of pancakes. Of course, our hearts should be focused on prayer; but I suppose these distractions are only natural, because this is the way our bodies are made. We need food to live. We get hungry, and we must eat to perform even the simplest duties of life, and we must eat properly and well.

In today’s first reading, the Prophet Elijah is on the run for his life from the wicked queen Jezebel. He reaches a point where he thinks he can go no further—he is weak and hungry and discouraged—he wants to die. Instead of answering his prayer for a quick and easy release, the Lord provides miraculous food for him: water and bread—but not just any bread. He has two short meals, “then strengthened by that food,” the story tells us, “he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God.” Elijah was on a journey and his faith wavered. But God strengthened his faith and his very being with miraculous food—food for the journey.

We too are on a journey—a journey through the trials and discouragements of this life to the eternal happiness of heaven. We need food for this journey—food which we cannot provide ourselves. This is why, week after week and every holy day of obligation (and even more frequently if we wish), we approach the altar in this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to receive the living Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ—the Food which he himself promised to sustain our spiritual life; the Food which he has miraculously transformed from the ordinary food of everyday life. You see, the Mass is not just a pretty religious ritual or visual aid to help us remember Christ’s death. This is a sacrificial banquet absolutely essential to our spiritual well-being. And those who neglect to feed on the Body of Christ, soon find their life in Christ withering and dying. But here’s the best part: As long as we are not conscious of any unconfessed mortal sin, we can receive this wonderful food every day we come to Mass. And when we do so, we can claim the promise spoken by Jesus himself: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” May the Lord create in our hearts a great hunger for this heavenly food and purify our hearts so that we may receive this food often.

How to make a 24-hour retreat.

Jeremiah 23:1-6 + Ephesians 2:13-18 + Mark 6:30-34

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” These are the words of Jesus to his disciples. Older translations of the Scriptures, such as the King James and the Douay-Rheims, rendered this verse, “Come apart into a desert place and rest a little.” A professor of mine in college, training young people for ministry, used to say, “if you don’t come apart and rest, you will come apart.” Jesus himself made this recommendation to his own disciples, and on the basis of this verse, the Catholic Church has legislated that, each year, her priests are to make a spiritual retreat. Moreover, Canon Law stipulates that every priest entrusted with pastoral duties, may take four weeks of vacation every year.

I think most people would agree that those who care for the souls of others should take time out in order to care for their own souls. But this recommendation doesn’t apply just to priests. Every member of the Christian faithful—whether lay, ordained, or consecrated in religious life—is involved to some degree in the work of the apostolate. Each one of us, by virtue of our Baptism, has a share in the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ. We are intercessors. Through the example of our lives and the words that we speak, we bring Christ to the world and we bring the world to Christ. All of us are involved in ministry; and so all of us should take time out of our busy schedules for personal spiritual renewal. This is accomplished first and foremost through daily prayer—a few quiet moments set aside each day to place ourselves in the presence of God and to separate ourselves from the concerns of daily life. This is absolutely essential for our spiritual growth and our effectiveness in witnessing Christ to others. Spiritual reading is an excellent form of prayer. The Bible should be our primary source in this regard, and a good way to read the Bible is to follow the daily Mass lectionary, which is available on-line and through various publications. Of course, if you can actually go to daily Mass, this is the best prayer of all. And, there are many other forms of prayer available to us as well: the Liturgy of the Hours (the official prayer of the Church), the Rosary of our Lady, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, to name just a few. Our Catholic tradition provides a rich banquet of spirituality—something suited to every temperament and every need.

But what about this idea of a spiritual retreat, such as the kind priests have to make every year? Is this option also available to the laity? I strongly believe that it is, and that the world would be a much happier place if more Christians availed themselves of the opportunity to come away and rest. You don’t have to take a week at a time—for many, this really would be impossible. But I think that nearly everyone, if they put their mind to it, could set aside a 24-hour period once or twice a year for the purpose of a spiritual retreat. It might take some finagling—a few favors from friends to watch the kids or to take care of the animals—but, with the exception of nursing mothers, it can be done.

So how do you do it? First of all, don’t try this at home! There will be too many distractions. Instead, choose a destination away from your daily routine—a monastery such as St. Martin’s in Rapid City or Blue Cloud Abbey is a good choice; maybe you have access to a private cabin in the Hills or near the river; even a tent in a campground or a quiet motel room will work. But try to choose a location where Mass will be available nearby. Leave home in the evening, begin your retreat with the Rosary or night prayers, and then get a good night’s sleep. In fact, sleep in the following morning, but not too late. Get enough sleep so that you are refreshed and well rested. Make sure you have some good spiritual reading with you, including the Bible, and use that throughout the day. But don’t make it simply a day of study—that would be dull and spiritually unhelpful. Begin the day with Mass, if possible, and then have a good breakfast. On the other hand, if you find that fasting is helpful to your prayer, then by all means do that. Don’t try to make a schedule for the day, but let the day divide itself naturally, through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, into periods of reading, periods of meditation and reflection, periods of formal prayer with the Rosary or a prayer book, and periods of rest. Don’t forget also to take time for physical recreation during the day—a walk, for example, or even a bike ride. For the entire 24 hours, the following things are absolutely banned: radio, TV, Internet, newspaper, magazines, novels, and other secular reading. During a longer retreat, you might be able to fit some of these things in by way of a break. But with only one day, it’s essential that you keep your heart and mind focused on God and the things of God. Otherwise, it will just be a day off, and not a retreat. In the evening, end the day with a prayer of thanksgiving, and return home refreshed and renewed.

It might sound like a lot to fit into one day. But, as the day unfolds, you’ll find that there’s plenty of time to do all these things. You see, for most modern Americans, our attention span is just too short to concentrate on one thing for any length of time. So, if you do each of these things in short bursts of activity, a lot can be accomplished. I urge each of you to give this a try sometime this year. Perhaps you are planning a vacation (or even on vacation right now). Set aside a day of your vacation schedule for just this purpose, or take a personal day off from work for a retreat. I promise you, if you utilize the time wisely, you’ll be glad you did.

Pastors of souls need time off occasionally in order to perform their ministry well. All of us, in order to live the life God calls us to, need to make a Sabbath rest from time to time in order to refresh our souls and to renew our spirits. This should not be just a luxury for the few, but a regular facet of every Christian’s life. May the Lord guide your discernment as you seek that rest in order to serve him more faithfully.

After a long and inexcusable absence from blogging, I’m finally jumping back into the fray. It’s the First Sunday of Advent, a new liturgical year, so it’s a good time to begin again. One of the reasons I stopped updating my blog was that I had no indication anyone was reading it! Then I gave a talk in Rapid City in October, and a few folks scolded me (justly) for slacking off on the blog. If you read the blog, would you do me a favor? Please register by clicking the link in the sidebar to the right. You don’t have to register to read the blog, but it give me an idea of who’s out there. So, on with the show. Here’s my homily for today:

Homily — 1st Sunday in Advent, Year C

Jeremiah 33:14-16 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 Luke 21:25-28.34-36

Fr. Timothy W. Castor