Before the mass readings began, the priest called up the
small children to the front of the altar; they were about to leave for a
separate Children’s Liturgy of the Word.
Usually, Fr. Ed asks the children to “face Jesus in the tabernacle and
genuflect,” before leaving the church proper.
But this Sunday was different.
He looked at the young children gathered before him and
asked: “Who knows what the tabernacle
is?” A small voice answered: “That’s where Jesus is.” Fr Ed answered: “That’s right.” Then he told the young toddlers: “Come on,
follow me up here,” as he walked up the altar steps and around to behind the
altar, in front of the tabernacle. He
paused there as the kids (and some parents) followed behind. He smiled.
“They’re all kneeling,” he said softly to the people in the church who
could not see. “Parents, I’m proud of
you,” he beamed.
He then proceeded to explain to the children a lesson on
what the tabernacle was, how Jesus is in there, contained in the form of the
host. And then he asked: “Who’s looking
forward to receiving their first communion next year?” A number of hands were raised. “And Jesus is looking forward to coming to
you then too, but for now you’ll just go and listen to His words.” And the he handed the Bible off to the leader
of the children’s liturgy, who led them off to their own meeting room.
It was a pleasant start to the mass.
Last Sunday was the solemnity of Christ The King, a special feast
day for Christ The King parish, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Naturally, Fr. Ed’s homily focused on that
topic. He mentioned the deadly sins, and
especially pride, anger, and lust, as areas in which Satan holds sway over
us. He said that to make our lives into the
image and likeness of Jesus, as we were created to be, we need to renounce
Satan, as we did at Baptism, and make Christ the King of our lives. That’s what is celebrated this day. He is our King, and it is up to us to make
that personal, to dedicate ourselves to Him.
To do this, we have lots of supports:
our parish family, the liturgy, and Jesus Himself in the Eucharist,
always present in the tabernacle.
That’s where Jesus is.
Fr. Ed continued to talk and mentioned the movie and the book
Heaven Is For Real. Then ….
Well, in a day or so you can listen to his entire Sunday homily
here:
It’s worth a listen.
-
- - - - - - - - -
Happy Thanksgiving to all who might be glancing at this post. I am in Arizona visiting my nieces and their children,
and meeting Annie’s 6-year old twins for the first time. They are adorable kids; I am so proud of
Annie and her husband, Don. They know
how to raise children.
Tomorrow we’ll celebrate Annie’s birthday on Thanksgiving
day, at Rose’s house with an army of friends and relatives. I am so blessed, and I pray that you are also.
No comments:
Post a Comment