Wonderfully Made

“I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.”

Psalm 139:14

Today we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, the herald of the Messiah. John the Baptist is the prophet that bridges the Old and New Testaments; he is the one that prepared the way of the Lord. John’s life and existence was not expected. His parents were old in age and did not plan to have any children, but God had other plans. God chose Elizabeth to bear the child who would be the first to leap in joy at the presence of the Son of God and who would devote his entire life in preparing for the mission of his cousin, Jesus Christ. In every way, John the Baptist was wonderfully made, and so are we.

The psalmist in today’s responsorial psalm gives praise and thanks to God for the gift of his life. He says that he is wonderfully made, and indeed he is. This beckons us to go all the way back to Genesis when we hear how God created male and female in His image and likeness and how that creation was “very good.” Brothers and sisters, we are wonderfully made. This is not saying that we are without sin or weaknesses or flaws, but that who we are, fundamentally and innately, is good and in fact, very good. Our sins and mistakes do not define us or lessens our worth or value. Our worth is rooted in something so much more than ourselves, it is rooted in someone; it is rooted in God. And God is unchanging and His love is unconditional and without limits. This means that no sin, no mistake, no weakness, and no brokenness can ever diminish our worth and value because that which our identity is rooted can never change. We are wonderfully made.

Brothers and sisters, sometimes it can be hard to accept that truth because our sins stir up within us guilt and shame. But I encourage you to bring those feelings to the Lord and know that even in our guilt and shame, God looks at us and sees only His beloved sons and daughters. May we bring our sins before the Lord today, encounter His powerful forgiveness in the sacrament, and proclaim boldly and loudly that we are wonderfully made.

Active Participants

“And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.”

2 Kings 23:3b

How often do we find ourselves just sitting at Church or Mass and sometimes just let our minds wander? Sometimes our participation in services or liturgies become routine and we resort to becoming passive participants of our faith. We were created to be fully alive, to be full, active participants of our faith.

As Christians, followers of Christ be must be active participants. St. James tells us in his letter that faith without works is dead. Yes, we have been saved by Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, but that does not mean we are automatically saved. That’s right. We are not automatically saved and guaranteed a spot in heaven just because we have been baptized. There is no get out of jail free card when it comes to our salvation. But we do know that God’s mercy and compassion of infinite and unfathomable.

St. Augustine once said, “God created us without us but He will not save us without us.” Our actions here on earth have eternal consequences. God has given to us all that we need to prepare well here on earth so that when the time comes we may appear before Him in all humility, acknowledging our sinfulness and thanking Him for His mercy and love. But anyone who says just because he or she has been baptized he or she has been saved and whatever they do now does not matter, there are greatly mistaken. To be saved, we must be active participants, and allow God to save us. In His Great Commission, Jesus commanded that the disciples “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). Four verbs are found: go, make, baptize, and teach. These are all active verbs. Disciples are called to be active not merely passive followers. Let us go today, brothers and sisters, and share the love of God with those whom we encounter and embrace our faith in a way that we have never before. For when we encounter others and share the love of God with them, we are really encountering Christ.

True Food

At the Last Supper Jesus said “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” These same words are repeated every time at Mass by the priest who is in persona Christi capitis or “in the person of Christ the head.” When the priest says those words of consecration, it is Jesus who is saying them. It is Jesus who once again is made present to us. It is Jesus’s body and blood that we receive.

The belief in the “real presence” is something that has always been held by Catholics. Through the words of consecration and the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine is transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ. It is no longer bread that we receive, it is Christ Himself. Hence, the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” Bread cannot save us. Only Jesus can. We do not worship bread, we worship Jesus. Because we believe that the Eucharist is truly Jesus, we have Eucharistic adoration. The same Jesus who said those words at the Last Supper and who died for us on the Cross is the same Jesus we receive at Mass and the same Jesus that is reserved in the tabernacle. Bread is not worth of adoration and veneration, only God is. The Eucharist is Jesus truly present.

Just as we need food and drink to satisfy our physical hunger and thirst, we also need food for our souls. The Eucharist does both. It nourishes our body and souls. The Eucharist is true food. It is the food that makes us one in Christ. It is the food that transforms our weaknesses into something powerful. It is the food that brings about healing and life. It is the food that we need for the journey as we enter into Paradise.

Let us take a few moments today to give thanks to God for such a wonderful gift.

To listen or watch this week’s reflection, “Gift of the Eucharist,” click here.