Lord, Lamb, Lunch

Seeing how Jesus shepherds us as a Lamb

07/21/2024

Mk 6:30-34 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

This past Tuesday, July 16, something extraordinary took place, a once-in-a-lifetime event. It was more spectacular than a Taylor Swift concert, more moving than the solar eclipse, and a better nail-bitter than the presidential election in November. Last Tuesday, a 6,500 mile pilgrimage culminated in Indianapolis to spark the National Eucharistic Congress taking place this weekend, with over 50,000 Catholics crammed into Lucas Oil Field Stadium.

All this started back on May 18 (two months prior), when four groups of pilgrims set off for Indianapolis from four sides of the United States: one from the east in New Haven, Conn., a second from the west in San Francisco, a third from the north Lake Itasco, Minn, and a fourth from the south in Brownsville, TX. And amazingly, Jesus was one of the pilgrims because a priest carried the Blessed Sacrament during the entire pilgrimage. Geographically-speaking, Jesus made a “cross” over our country and blessed our land.

One of those priests was a friend of mine from seminary, named Fr. Roger Landry. On July 12 Fr. Landry wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal, chronicling his journey. For example, he wrote: “In Philadelphia we proceeded along Kensington Avenue – an open-air drug market – where some addicts joined our ranks. One of my fellow pilgrims has since repeated in interviews: ‘That shows that Jesus wants to enter whatever darkness and addictions any of us has.”

Fr. Landry continued: “We brought Jesus into the Pickaway Corrections Institute in Ohio, where men lined up for confession and to receive Communion at Mass, and then courageously, processed with us on prison grounds.” By the way, that’s the real “Shawshank Redemption,” not breaking out of prison like in the movie.

In another example for us who have elderly parents, Fr. Landry shared: “We’ve processed through nursing homes with seniors joining us in wheelchairs, teary-eyed as they gripped the monstrance holding the consecrated host.” My parents are often in tears when I celebrate Mass in their home. Here’s another jaw-dropping anecdote: “In many towns we saw people traveling in opposite directions stop their cars and get down on their knees in the middle of the street as the Eucharist passed by.”

Have you ever seen the acronym, “IYKYK”? It means, “If you know, you know.” And that perfectly describes our Catholic faith in the Eucharist. In other words, the bizarre behavior Fr. Landry witnessed during the pilgrimage makes perfect sense to those who know who the Eucharist is. If You Know You Know. But if you don’t know or have faith in the Eucharist, such behavior seems utter folly.

In the gospel today, Jesus tender Heart is moved with pity for the people of his day. Why? Well, we read in Mk 6:34, “for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” But I am convinced that Jesus’ Sacred Heart is not only moved with pity for people of his day, but for all people of every day, including you and me. And Jesus shepherds us today through the power of his Presence in the Eucharist, like Fr. Landry described with such moving details.

My friends, perhaps the single greatest paradox of Christian faith is how Jesus shepherds us by becoming a Lamb, the Lamb of God. How so? Well, when the priest elevates the Sacred Bread, he declares like St. John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” That was in effect what Fr. Landry was saying as he carried Jesus through the streets of Philadelphia, Ohio, and Indianapolis.

And the people who knelt on the streets as Jesus passed by on pilgrimage replied like we do at Mass: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Think about it: our Lord becomes a Lamb so he can become our Eucharistic Lunch. Jesus doesn't just want us to see him but to savor him in a supper. Fr. Landry recalled something we learned back in the seminary: “As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Panis Angelicus, ‘O what a mind-blowing reality, a poor and humble servant eats the Lord.’”

You know, we have a little four year-old parishioner named “Vinny” who comes to Mass every Sunday. But as he comes up for Communion, his mom quietly whispers to him that he cannot receive Holy Communion yet, but rather he must cross his arms for a blessing instead. But Vinny has such great faith in the Eucharist that often he blurts out, “But I want one of those Jesus cookies!”

Would that we all were as hungry as Vinny and want to feast on the Eucharist. That child-like faith is what Fr. Landry testified to in his article and what he witnessed all over America. That innocent faith is what the Eucharistic Revival is designed to revive in us Catholic Christians. Why? Because at the core of our entire Christian faith stands the belief in the Eucharist: the great paradox of our Lord who becomes a Lamb, so he can be our Lunch. Or, as people of faith would say, IYKYK: If you know, you know.

Praised be Jesus Christ!