I call it Jesus’ own Eucharistic Congress.
The National Eucharistic Congress ended on the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time. For the five weeks after that — the 17th through the 21st Sundays in Ordinary Time — the Church’s Sunday Gospels are all from the 6th Chapter of John, which is all about the Eucharist.
“This couldn’t be better timing,” say the materials of the National Eucharistic Revival. “Every parish in the United States” will be “proclaiming Eucharistic theology from the pulpit.”
But as anyone who has worked with this August’s readings knows, it isn’t easy. I have been writing weekly about the Sunday readings for more than 15 years. That’s five times through each A, B, and C year, and five times facing the August question: “What is different about each of these Gospel readings?”
The Revival shares a guide to each Sunday and thematic approach to help.
But for my part, I have developed a rhyme to keep it all straight in my head.
It goes like this:
- What we give, he multiplies,
- With his works, he testifies,
- With his flesh, he fortifies,
- In his Church he sanctifies;
- So join the one who never dies.
It has helped immensely as I write the “This Sunday” series at Benedictine College’s Media & Culture site.
“What we give, he multiplies,” is the theme of Sunday 1 of Jesus’ Eucharistic Congress.
On July 28, the Gospel for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time was a perfect transition from the worship of the Eucharist in an NFL stadium with tens of thousands, to a parish Mass.
In the Gospel, a boy with childlike faith offers five loaves to feed 5,000 people — and Jesus does it. The crowd is so excited they want to make Jesus king. But that just makes Jesus withdraw from them.
The lesson is to get out of “take” mode with God, and get into “give” mode.
The excitement of crowds moved by Jesus is exhilarating, but what he wants is faith in action. Now it is time to give him what we have. In Christ’s hands, our small efforts will reap big rewards.
“With his works, he testifies,” is the theme of Sunday 2 of Jesus’ Eucharistic Congress.
On August 4, the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the First Reading and Gospel were all about miracles and manna. One of the great gifts of the Eucharistic Revival was a widespread discovery of Brant Pitre’s work. His Jesus and the Jewish Works of the Eucharist reveals the deep background of the Eucharist.
Jesus says, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he sent.” Brant Pitre made that work a lot easier — because Jesus did, with the “Manna of the Messiah” and specific miracles that show that the Eucharist is possible.
“With his flesh, he fortifies” is the theme of Sunday 3 of Jesus’ Eucharistic Congress.
On August 11, the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, the readings describe how Eljah received bread from an angel that fortified him for a 40-day journey, and how Jesus called himself “the bread of life.”
It was his references to bread, not flesh, that first upset his critics. A summary of what Pitre shares about the “Bread of the Presence” in Old Testament worship shows why.
But in the last line of the Gospel, Jesus first brings his flesh into the story — and he promises that it will fortify us for a lot longer than 40 days.
“In his Church, he sanctifies” will be the theme of Sunday 4 in Jesus’ Eucharistic Congress.
On August 18, the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, the First Reading, from the Book of Wisdom, provides an Old Testament picture of the future Church, with its seven saving sacraments.
The Passover Lamb and the Bread of the Presence were offered in the Temple. Through the Church, Jesus, the Lamb of God, offers his flesh as the new “Bread of the Real Presence.” This will be a great opportunity to look at “The New Passover” Pitre writes about and the insistence by Jesus that “my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”
Then will come to Sunday 5, and Jesus will end his Eucharistic Congress by asking us each to “join the one who never dies.”
August 25, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, will end the five weeks with question.
Joshua confronts the Israelites saying, “decide today whom you will serve,” and Jesus, seeing people leave him over his teaching, asks his disciples, “Do you also want to leave?”
This reveals the purpose of the whole Congress: To explain God’s offer and ask for our decision.
The hope is that we will answer like Joshua: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
