It was so exciting to see all the kids come back to school on Wednesday! We welcomed over 540 children back to school and that is a huge increase over previous years. Wow! We missed seeing them and their families over the summer as they traveled on vacation to see family and friends. While it is nice and quiet around here during the summer, it is also a bit eerie! It is wonderful to have the buzz of the school back in full action! Welcome back children and families. We look forward to a great year of learning and faith development.
Speaking of faith development, we also welcome back the children who participate in the Children’s Faith Formation program this weekend. We have donuts at all Sunday morning Masses, and all are welcome to join us. It will be a meet and greet with the teachers and for parents to learn about the program for the year ahead.
It was also wonderful to see so many come to the Rummage Sale. It was a huge success! Massive amounts of goods sold, tons of charities supported, and so much fun building community. But it was a lot of work. I want to thank the leaders Pattie Sharrow and Nancy Perkins and their incredible dedicated group of volunteers who worked themselves to the bones to get everything set up and executed according to plan. Thank you to all the volunteers, new and old—it was simply a wonderful experience. Mark your calendars for next year!
As we gather this Sunday, we reach the conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John. For the past several weeks, we have journeyed through Jesus’ profound teaching on the Eucharist, where He reveals Himself as the living bread that came down from heaven. This week, we witness a pivotal moment when many of Jesus’ followers find His words difficult to accept and choose to walk away.
In this moment of decision, Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you also want to leave?” It’s a question that echoes through the ages, reaching us here today. Peter, speaking for the apostles and, in a sense, for all of us, responds with a powerful declaration of faith: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68). Peter’s response is a reminder that, despite the challenges and imperfections we may encounter, we know there is nowhere else to go, for only in Jesus do we find the fullness of truth and life.
In our modern world, where there are countless distractions and alternatives, Peter’s question remains incredibly relevant: “To whom shall we go?” We might encounter difficulties in our faith, experience the imperfections of the Church, or feel disheartened by the brokenness of our world.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser reflects on our Catholic Church today and says that “People today tend to treat their churches in the same way as they treat their families, namely, they want them to be there for them, for rites of passage, for special occasions, and for the security of knowing they can be turned if needed, but they don’t want them to interfere much in their actual lives and they want to participate in them on their own terms. People no longer feel they need the church. They admit their need for God and for spirituality, but not their need for the church. Hence, we have the popular notion that says: I want spirituality but not the church.”
I think that is so true, but it does not answer or respond to the struggle of why we ought to go to Mass or even be involved in Church. Recently I reread something by Carlo Carretto, the Italian spiritual writer, who loved the church deeply but was honest enough to admit its faults. Late in his life, he wrote this ode to the church:
How much I must criticize you, my church, and yet how much I love you! You have made me suffer more than anyone and yet I owe more to you than to anyone. I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence. You have given me much scandal and yet you alone have made me understand holiness. Never in this world have I seen anything more compromised, more false, yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous or more beautiful. Countless times I have felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face – and yet, every night, I have prayed that I might die in your sure arms! No, I cannot be free of you, for I am one with you, even if not completely you. Then too – where would I go? To build another church? But I could not build one without the same defects, for they are my defects. And again, if I were to build another church, it would be my church, not Christ’s church. No, I am old enough, I know better.
I love the Catholic Church, but I share Carretto’s frustrations and disappointments in its leadership and membership but, like St. Peter’s response to Jesus, I cannot go anywhere else—it has the path to Christ and God for me, imperfect as it is!
I love the Eucharist, and I cannot live without Jesus through the Eucharist for it is true food that nourishes my soul. For me, it is only in Christ, through His Church, that we find the path to eternal life. Our Church, though imperfect, is the vessel through which Christ’s saving grace flows, particularly through the sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It is here that we encounter the living Christ, who nourishes us with His very Body and Blood. This sacred meal sustains us on our journey, strengthens us in our trials, and unites us as one body in Christ. It is in the Eucharist that we find the strength to persevere in faith, the grace to grow in holiness, and the love that compels us to serve others.
As we reflect on today’s Gospel, I hope we all can reaffirm our commitment to the Church and the Eucharist. Despite any challenges we may face, let us remember that in Christ alone, through the Church, we find the words of eternal life. May we continue to seek Him in the Eucharist, allowing His presence to transform us and empower us to be His disciples in the world. Please make every effort to come to Mass on Sunday and bring your kids along for the journey, even when they don’t want to. I never had a choice when I was a child whether I could go to Mass and my parents’ persistence paid off—I love Jesus and his church in all its imperfections! Come join me and your community at the Eucharist.
Finally, mark your calendars for the Fall BBQ on Saturday, September 7 at 6pm. Come to Saturday night Mass followed by the BBQ. Please sign up for tickets here.
God bless,
Fr. Brendan