Reflections

Father Arthur Shares How Jesus Waits To Love Us Through The Eucharist

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today the gospel according to Matthew tells about Jesus walking on the Sea to his disciples. When the disciples saw him, they thought that they were seeing a ghost. Jesus said to them with love, “Do not be afraid”. Peter made the decision to go to Jesus on the water, but was afraid when he saw that the waves were so high and the wind so strong, he began to sink and cried out to Jesus “Lord save me”. Jesus then stretched out His hands to calm the waters and to save Peter.

This gospel is about how Jesus loves his disciples and how the love of the disciples for Jesus was not perfect. And today I would like to say how important is it that we believe that Jesus truly loves us.

Each person in the whole world needs acceptance and love. This is a fundamental psychological need. However, when people seek love and acceptance, they are wounded by other people. How often people wound each other!

Faith tells us that there is only one acceptance—the acceptance of Christ, who always loves us. Saint John Paul II said that when we receive Holy Communion, Jesus receives us more than we receive Him. He receives us as we are. This means that Jesus accepts us and loves us.

My Brothers and Sisters, it is very important to believe that Jesus waits for us in the Eucharist. It is very important that our faith in His love increases.

We know how parents love their children. They wait with great longing and anticipation for a teenage child to come home at night. The more parents wait for their child, the greater is their torment in looking forward to seeing their child again.

Let us imagine, then, how Jesus loves us. In the Eucharist, Jesus experiences what psychology calls the torment of looking for someone to come. When we believe that Jesus wants to meet with us in the Eucharist, going to Mass will not become a routine for us. When we discover how Jesus loves us, we will be His greatest fans. We will not be able to live without Him. We will not be able to live without the Mass because Jesus will become our spiritual food, our excitement, our joy, and our interest.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Artur Marat
Pastor

Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Lectionary 115