HOMILY SERIES: The Eucharist in Advent
December 18, 2023 at 10:46 a.m.
The following homily was prepared by Father John Butler for the Third Sunday of Advent. Father John Butler is pastor at St. Michael’s Church, Long Branch, NJ.
This homily is sixth in a series of homilies with Eucharistic themes to be used in churches across the Diocese over the next year. Recently commissioned by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., the series includes the work of 13 priests and features sample homilies – in English and Spanish – along with other notes and information to assist any members of the clergy who opt to use it.
With an eye towards our Scripture readings for this the Third Sunday of Advent and with the Christmas holy day and the New Year’s holiday fast approaching…….AND with the Advent Season well under way…….AND with the seasons’ customary festive greetings of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” and “Happy Advent” frequently rolling from our tongues during these days of December and January (perhaps sometimes lacking in the appropriate quantity of sincerity or fervor or “holiday cheer”), let’s consider CHANGING those three “customary festive greetings” to:
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”
And, while we’re at it, let’s also please consider during the next few minutes of this homily….let’s also please consider a few of the reasons for the making of those changes (Scriptural reasons, theological reasons, catechetical reasons, sacramental/Eucharistic/liturgical reasons) as well as simply the most fundamental and basic of reasons – that doing so is “pleasing to God” and beneficial for our own spiritual life and spiritual well-being and that of others. Please consider the use of those three alternative phrases-of-greeting listed above as a “Christmas GIFT” from you to the Lord and as a “Christmas GIFT” from you to you yourself and as a Christmas GIFT (as a EUCHARISTIC Gift!) from you (as the Burl Ives Rudolph/Christmas carol cheerfully sings) “to everyone you meet.”
Imagine!!!....a EUCHARISTIC motivation for charity (CHRIST-like charity, CHRISTMAS-like charity!) as – at one level – we draw closer and closer to (and eagerly count-down the days to) our celebration of the birth of Jesus; and (at another level) as we ready ourselves for the “amped-up” second half of the “Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival” (June 11, 2023 to July 17, 2024) and the six-month sprint (beginning right after Christmas and Advent) to the new year’s July 2024 finish line (which is also a “starting line”) at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
So, please hold on to – while this homily continues – hold on to those introductory thoughts and those preliminary words proposed for substitution (and “submitted for your approval” as Rod Serling used to say on The Twilight Zone):
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”
Our readings today for this Third Sunday of Advent are familiar and well-known to us. On each and every third Sunday of this Season of our Church’s liturgical year we hear the same readings, the same inspired words of God, the same voices of “PROPHETS” – be it the voices of Isaiah or Zephaniah (depending on the given year) or be it the voice of John the Baptist.
And no matter which particular year it might be in our three-year cycle of Scripture readings, on this Sunday of Advent we are also called upon and reminded to “Rejoice!” This is Gaudete Sunday – the Sunday of JOY during the four weeks of Advent preparations….as well as, numerically speaking, the third Sunday of the Season….as well as the 17th of December (hey, kids, only eight days to go until Christmas!J)….the Sunday when our rose/pink-colored chasubles are brought out of the sacristy’s deep-storage closet. Today’s seasonal words of Isaiah, St. Paul, John the Baptist are words of PROPHECY and words that give us cause to REJOICE!
The reasons for our Joy, the reasons for our Rejoicing at this Advent time of year – and as we progress futher and further into the very important “Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival” are numerous. They include:
1. The realization and the fulfillment of the hopes of the Old Testament are that much closer and that much more imminent than they were even one week ago, one Sunday ago. The birth of the INCARNATE Son of God is now only a few days away. The physical, bodily, tangible presence here on earth of the Word who has come down from heaven and made His dwelling among us is now just over the horizon.
And we – 2,000 years later – can appreciate and savor – as we experience these waning days of Advent and the nearly-here (!) season of Christmas – how that physical, bodily presence of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem relates to the REAL, TRUE Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic Sacrament instituted at that other most holy night, at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. Cause for JOY? Of course! And that’s putting it mildly!
2. When we look simultaneously at what our Catechism teaches on the subjects of the Eucharist and the character of Advent (and when we also take into account the virtue of Hope), it may be surprising to some to discover the helpful parallels and the instructive similarities:
• Catechism 524. “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Messiah’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.”
• Catechism 1357. “We carry out this command [‘Do this in memory of me’] of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he had himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.”
• Hope; Catechism 1817. Both the Eucharist and Advent have clear associations with the virtue of Hope. Hope is defined for us in the Catechism: “The theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help and grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Advent (the Ordo explains), in the second element of its two-fold character, is “the time when minds and hearts are led to look forward to [to hope for] Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time.”
The Eucharist has often been referred to as the “Sacrament of Hope” ….Hope for eternal life that arises from the words of Jesus Himself: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Thus Hope is one of those “ties that binds”… that binds the Eucharist to Advent and vice versa and that in turn binds us to each of the Eucharist and to Advent.
3. “Prophet of the Eucharist.” The Third Sunday of Advent words of John the Baptist are “prophetic”… they point us unmistakably to the Eucharist. This Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us “I am not the Christ … But there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me.” And the Baptist’s Gospel words of only a few Sunday’s down the road will point us again … point us even more emphatically and unquestionably towards the Eucharist (words that we use and hear at every Mass): “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In other, plainer words: “There He IS! PRESENT among us. Reach out and touch Him. Embrace Him. Abide in Him. Be saved by Him.”
4. The Eucharist and John the Baptist BOTH Invite us to Humility. We are all familiar with the Baptist’s words referring to Jesus: “I am not worthy to untie his sandals straps.” His humility is self-evident and has survived for centuries. “He must increase; I must decrease.” The Eucharist has been called “A Sacrament of Humility”: “In the Eucharist, the Christ becomes our servant, humbling himself to meet our needs. The Eucharist, then, is the ultimate example of Christ’s humble self-emptying.”
5. Presence. And most simply and concisely stated:
• During Advent, we yearn for the presence of Jesus.
• With the Eucharist, we possess the presence of Jesus.
• During Advent, we memorialize the arrival and the presence of Jesus at His First Coming. We anticipate His return and presence at His Second Coming.
• With the Eucharist, we partake of His presence (Real and True). We are invited and given permission and granted the great privilege to eat His body and drink His blood.
• Both Advent and the Eucharist lead us to Joy and Delight:
• • “You have given them bread from Heaven. Containing in itself all delight.”
• • “And we’ll sing a song of love. Allelu, Allelu, Allelu, Alleluia.”
Conclusion. The United States Bishops – in and through the publications of the Bishops’ Conference and many other teaching materials and undertakings – are helping us and leading us by means of the National Eucharistic Revival to “restore understanding and devotion to this great mystery” of the Eucharist in the U.S. and to “renew our worship of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.” With the help of God and the grace of the Blessed Sacrament may we reap the fruits of those labors in this the Year of Parish Revival, the subsequent Year of Going Out on Mission, and thereafter. In the meantime – also with the help of God and grace of the Blessed Sacrament, may we “enjoy the bread from Heaven, having in itself all delight”…….AND……..:
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”
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HOMILY SERIES: The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
E-Editions
Events
The following homily was prepared by Father John Butler for the Third Sunday of Advent. Father John Butler is pastor at St. Michael’s Church, Long Branch, NJ.
This homily is sixth in a series of homilies with Eucharistic themes to be used in churches across the Diocese over the next year. Recently commissioned by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., the series includes the work of 13 priests and features sample homilies – in English and Spanish – along with other notes and information to assist any members of the clergy who opt to use it.
With an eye towards our Scripture readings for this the Third Sunday of Advent and with the Christmas holy day and the New Year’s holiday fast approaching…….AND with the Advent Season well under way…….AND with the seasons’ customary festive greetings of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” and “Happy Advent” frequently rolling from our tongues during these days of December and January (perhaps sometimes lacking in the appropriate quantity of sincerity or fervor or “holiday cheer”), let’s consider CHANGING those three “customary festive greetings” to:
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”
And, while we’re at it, let’s also please consider during the next few minutes of this homily….let’s also please consider a few of the reasons for the making of those changes (Scriptural reasons, theological reasons, catechetical reasons, sacramental/Eucharistic/liturgical reasons) as well as simply the most fundamental and basic of reasons – that doing so is “pleasing to God” and beneficial for our own spiritual life and spiritual well-being and that of others. Please consider the use of those three alternative phrases-of-greeting listed above as a “Christmas GIFT” from you to the Lord and as a “Christmas GIFT” from you to you yourself and as a Christmas GIFT (as a EUCHARISTIC Gift!) from you (as the Burl Ives Rudolph/Christmas carol cheerfully sings) “to everyone you meet.”
Imagine!!!....a EUCHARISTIC motivation for charity (CHRIST-like charity, CHRISTMAS-like charity!) as – at one level – we draw closer and closer to (and eagerly count-down the days to) our celebration of the birth of Jesus; and (at another level) as we ready ourselves for the “amped-up” second half of the “Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival” (June 11, 2023 to July 17, 2024) and the six-month sprint (beginning right after Christmas and Advent) to the new year’s July 2024 finish line (which is also a “starting line”) at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
So, please hold on to – while this homily continues – hold on to those introductory thoughts and those preliminary words proposed for substitution (and “submitted for your approval” as Rod Serling used to say on The Twilight Zone):
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”
Our readings today for this Third Sunday of Advent are familiar and well-known to us. On each and every third Sunday of this Season of our Church’s liturgical year we hear the same readings, the same inspired words of God, the same voices of “PROPHETS” – be it the voices of Isaiah or Zephaniah (depending on the given year) or be it the voice of John the Baptist.
And no matter which particular year it might be in our three-year cycle of Scripture readings, on this Sunday of Advent we are also called upon and reminded to “Rejoice!” This is Gaudete Sunday – the Sunday of JOY during the four weeks of Advent preparations….as well as, numerically speaking, the third Sunday of the Season….as well as the 17th of December (hey, kids, only eight days to go until Christmas!J)….the Sunday when our rose/pink-colored chasubles are brought out of the sacristy’s deep-storage closet. Today’s seasonal words of Isaiah, St. Paul, John the Baptist are words of PROPHECY and words that give us cause to REJOICE!
The reasons for our Joy, the reasons for our Rejoicing at this Advent time of year – and as we progress futher and further into the very important “Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival” are numerous. They include:
1. The realization and the fulfillment of the hopes of the Old Testament are that much closer and that much more imminent than they were even one week ago, one Sunday ago. The birth of the INCARNATE Son of God is now only a few days away. The physical, bodily, tangible presence here on earth of the Word who has come down from heaven and made His dwelling among us is now just over the horizon.
And we – 2,000 years later – can appreciate and savor – as we experience these waning days of Advent and the nearly-here (!) season of Christmas – how that physical, bodily presence of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem relates to the REAL, TRUE Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic Sacrament instituted at that other most holy night, at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. Cause for JOY? Of course! And that’s putting it mildly!
2. When we look simultaneously at what our Catechism teaches on the subjects of the Eucharist and the character of Advent (and when we also take into account the virtue of Hope), it may be surprising to some to discover the helpful parallels and the instructive similarities:
• Catechism 524. “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Messiah’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming.”
• Catechism 1357. “We carry out this command [‘Do this in memory of me’] of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he had himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.”
• Hope; Catechism 1817. Both the Eucharist and Advent have clear associations with the virtue of Hope. Hope is defined for us in the Catechism: “The theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help and grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Advent (the Ordo explains), in the second element of its two-fold character, is “the time when minds and hearts are led to look forward to [to hope for] Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time.”
The Eucharist has often been referred to as the “Sacrament of Hope” ….Hope for eternal life that arises from the words of Jesus Himself: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Thus Hope is one of those “ties that binds”… that binds the Eucharist to Advent and vice versa and that in turn binds us to each of the Eucharist and to Advent.
3. “Prophet of the Eucharist.” The Third Sunday of Advent words of John the Baptist are “prophetic”… they point us unmistakably to the Eucharist. This Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us “I am not the Christ … But there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me.” And the Baptist’s Gospel words of only a few Sunday’s down the road will point us again … point us even more emphatically and unquestionably towards the Eucharist (words that we use and hear at every Mass): “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In other, plainer words: “There He IS! PRESENT among us. Reach out and touch Him. Embrace Him. Abide in Him. Be saved by Him.”
4. The Eucharist and John the Baptist BOTH Invite us to Humility. We are all familiar with the Baptist’s words referring to Jesus: “I am not worthy to untie his sandals straps.” His humility is self-evident and has survived for centuries. “He must increase; I must decrease.” The Eucharist has been called “A Sacrament of Humility”: “In the Eucharist, the Christ becomes our servant, humbling himself to meet our needs. The Eucharist, then, is the ultimate example of Christ’s humble self-emptying.”
5. Presence. And most simply and concisely stated:
• During Advent, we yearn for the presence of Jesus.
• With the Eucharist, we possess the presence of Jesus.
• During Advent, we memorialize the arrival and the presence of Jesus at His First Coming. We anticipate His return and presence at His Second Coming.
• With the Eucharist, we partake of His presence (Real and True). We are invited and given permission and granted the great privilege to eat His body and drink His blood.
• Both Advent and the Eucharist lead us to Joy and Delight:
• • “You have given them bread from Heaven. Containing in itself all delight.”
• • “And we’ll sing a song of love. Allelu, Allelu, Allelu, Alleluia.”
Conclusion. The United States Bishops – in and through the publications of the Bishops’ Conference and many other teaching materials and undertakings – are helping us and leading us by means of the National Eucharistic Revival to “restore understanding and devotion to this great mystery” of the Eucharist in the U.S. and to “renew our worship of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.” With the help of God and the grace of the Blessed Sacrament may we reap the fruits of those labors in this the Year of Parish Revival, the subsequent Year of Going Out on Mission, and thereafter. In the meantime – also with the help of God and grace of the Blessed Sacrament, may we “enjoy the bread from Heaven, having in itself all delight”…….AND……..:
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Advent”.
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC Christmas” and
“May you have a EUCHARISTIC New Year”