Fr. Brian Eucharist Articles

Week One:
Introduction to Eucharist
Week Two:
Eucharist a Noun
Week Three:
Eucharist as Verb
Week Four:
Eucharist as Sacrifice
Week Five:
Eucharist as Meal
Week Six:
Eucharist as Covenant/Memorial
Week Seven:
Conclusion 

Fr. Brian Weekly Articles

April 4, 2021 [Easter]
March 28, 2021
March 21, 2021
March 14, 2021
March 7, 2021
February 28, 2021
Februry 21, 2021
February 14, 2021
February 7, 2021
January 31, 2021
January 24, 2021
January 17, 2021
January 10, 2021
January 3, 2021
December 27, 2020
December 20, 2020
December 13, 2020
December 6, 2020
November 22, 2020
November 8, 2020
November 1, 2020
October 25, 2020
October 18, 2020
October 11, 2020
October 4, 2020
September 27, 2020
September 20, 2020
September 13, 2020
September 6, 2020
August 30, 2020
August 23, 2020
August 16, 2020
August 9, 2020
August 2, 2020
July 26, 2020
July 19, 2020
July 12, 2020
July 5, 2020
June 28, 2020
June 21, 2020
June 14, 2020
June 7, 2020
May 31, 2020
May 24, 2020
May 17, 2020
May 10, 2020
May 3, 2020
April 26, 2020
April 19, 2020
​​​​​​​April 12, 2020
April 5, 2020
March 29, 2020
March 22, 2020
March 15, 2020
March 8, 2020
February 23, 2020
February 16, 2020 

April 11, 2021: 2nd Sunday of Easter

WThen he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring our hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
                                                                                     -John 20: 27

Easter is about deepening our baptismal call to live a life centered in Christ. It means coming to embrace more fully our conversion to Christ, which should lead us to grow in our relationship with Him. But, in many ways all this can sound simply like jargon with no real meaning—just some nice platitudes that we spout so we don’t have to address the real issues of life. However, the reality is that this is not a bunch of platitudes; rather, it is at the heart of living life to its full potential. Hence, it is necessary to tackle what is behind the “jargon.”

What does it mean to live a life centered in Christ? It begins by accepting some truths about who Jesus is. He is God incarnate (the divine nature of the second person of the Trinity united with a human nature). Jesus is fully God and fully human. We recognize that Jesus, who is like us in all things but sin, is also different: whenever Jesus spoke He spoke the truth. Though fully human, He spoke with a will that was always in harmony with the will of the Father. Jesus was not a simple prophet. He came to proclaim the kingdom of God while, in essence, He was the Kingdom of God. And the only way to enter the kingdom of God is to be in a true and real relationship with Christ. The only way to be in a relationship with Christ is by seeking to live a life centered in Christ. And the only way to live a life centered in Christ is to believe that He is the incarnate God who came to earth; who lived a fully human life; who died for our sins in order to save us; and who rose from the dead to give us eternal life. As his disciples we must take up our cross, as He did, and follow Him. We do that by accepting the truth that when Christ took up his cross, He nailed our sins to that cross, and his death on the cross led to his resurrection. Acceptance of the death and resurrection of Christ—as the only way to salvation—is at the very heart of living our life in Christ.

We accept the death and resurrection of Christ when we truly begin to act like Christ. It means seeking only to act in accord with the will of God. We must develop a daily life of prayer, truly taking time to sit with the Lord. It means reading scripture daily and allowing God’s word to begin speaking to the life we are living. It means recognizing the good gifts our God has given us in life. It means taking the great gifts God has given us and praising Him each day for them. It means using those gifts to serve the kingdom of God, by breaking open our lives and giving of ourselves as gift to others.

What does it mean to embrace our conversion to Christ? In the ancient Church, as the person was immediately preparing for baptism, they would turn their bodies so that they were facing west: the west represented the devil. They would then renounce the devil and all his works and all his empty promises. At each renunciation they would blow air out of their mouths as though blowing in the face of the devil. At that time, to blow air in someone’s face was considered very insulting. After renouncing the devil they would turn their bodies toward the east: the east represented Christ, for the sun rises from the east and this was a reminder of the resurrection. The person would then make the threefold profession of faith of their belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What was done in this ancient baptismal rite is really a physical demonstration of our conversion to Christ. We must, each day of our lives, commit to rejecting the devil and his empty promises. We must resist the temptations of the devil and the world around us. It is remembering what Christ did in the desert, as the devil sought to lead Him away from the mission given to Him by the Father. Temptations are real and they can overwhelm us and lead us away from Christ.

Following Christ is not a one-time decision. It is waking up each day and turning to the west and blowing in the face of the devil—rejecting all that he seeks to offer us. It is turning each day to the east and remembering from where our salvation comes. It is remembering the love our God has shown to us by sending his Son to die for us, in order to open to us once more the way to heaven. It is remembering that even when we succumb to temptation, our God will still save us. But, it is recognizing that salvation—eternal life—begins here and now. Our salvation was won for us through the death and resurrection of Christ, but our salvation must also be our choice. We must choose to live a life, in and through Christ, by the choices we make. Our choices matter and they either speak of Christ or of the devil. Our choices either have us walking the path of salvation or damnation. We either remain facing the west with our backs to Christ, or turn to the east with our backs to the devil. Each day we must reject him who leads us away from Christ. Christ must be seen in and through our choices, and when that happens, we are walking the path of our salvation. When that happens, we are dying to ourselves, living for Christ, and thereby embracing our conversion to Christ.

May we truly use this Easter Season to grow in our vocation of baptism! May we use this Easter Season to grow in our relationship with Christ!

If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to ask me directly, or send your questions to me at fr.brian@chelmsfordcatholic.org.

Please keep me in your prayers.