August 11, 2024 / 11 de Agosto , 2024

English

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) -  “Eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”

Deacon Kevin, Deacon Lou, and I are working together to plan a two-evening program on End of Life Issues for this coming Fall.  (October 22 and 29 at 7:00 p.m.).  It will be a panel discussion with presentations by a deacon trained in Catholic medical ethics, a lawyer who will talk about common legal issues when someone approaches death and then dies (how one should make proper legal preparations in anticipation for one’s death), a funeral director who will speak about practical considerations regarding funeral planning and pre-planning a funeral, and I will speak about the importance of and the practical means for the pastoral care of the sick and the dying.  I give credit to Deacon Kevin for proposing the idea for this event.  He and his family had to deal with many of these issues when his father entered a memory-care facility some time ago suffering the debilitating effects of dementia and then died at the age of 95 in April of this year.  Death is something we will all have to face, and if we are not prepared both spiritually and practically (whether this is for ourselves or a loved one), it is a burden that seems too heavy to bear. 

          Getting old is not easy.  As one of my Italian friends says frequently, “La vecchiaia è una brutta bestia” (“Old age is ugly beast”).  He’s usually referring to his aches and pains and the physical things he can’t do the way he used to do when he was younger, but getting old is often hard spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically too because we are embodied persons.  Our physical state affects us spiritually, and our spiritual state impacts us physically, psychologically, and emotionally.  We are bodies and souls and need to care for our spiritual health as we age as well.  Many folks who become sick, suffer from a chronic illness, or become homebound or need to enter a care facility then face the spiritual and mental challenge of being more isolated from family, friends, and the community of faith which provided the spiritual nourishment in their lives.  Often the spiritual suffering (the effects of isolation) is much worse and harder to deal with than the physical suffering, and actually compounds it.  One might be in good physical health but find oneself separated from the community when one’s spouse or friend who was the driver or the more socially connected one dies or moves away.  I see this often with older widows, like my grandmother, who never drove.  When my grandfather died, it was much harder for her to get out of the house or even to go to church.  One is not committing a mortal sin if one misses Mass because of an infirmity or because one is stuck at home for lack of transportation, but the spiritual suffering from the isolation and the lack of communion made possible through the sacraments that the Lord gave us to strengthen us for the journey, makes life that much harder.  The grace of the sacraments and the companionship of our brothers and sisters in Christ helps us to bear the cross of suffering - both physical and spiritual suffering. 

          As with someone who loses a spouse suddenly or has an accident or the rapid onset of a debilitating disease, the suffering, depression, and lack of hope in the future can be particularly acute.  Life becomes physically and emotionally draining.  It is not uncommon for the person to even pray for death as a way to put an end to their suffering.  “Lord, take me!”  They don’t understand why they are still here.  It doesn’t seem fair.  The isolation and lack of ability to care for oneself (or care for others) makes the person question the value or meaning of his or her life.  I am often asked by people in that situation, “Is it OK to pray for death?”  “Is it a sin to pray for death?”  In our first reading, we hear the elderly prophet Elijah praying for death.  “This is enough, O Lord!  Take my life…”  Elijah has suffered a rather abrupt turn of events.  He was the lone faithful prophet left in Israel.  The Lord sent him to call the people to conversion who were leaving the faith and forsaking the commandments to follow false gods.  God answers his prayer after Elijah sets up a contest between himself and the false prophets.  The people come to their senses, return to right worship and say, “The Lord is God!”  The false prophets are slain.  Elijah is victorious.  But now there is a price on his head, and Elijah has to flee for his life.  He is only one day’s journey into the desert, and he is totally exhausted and discouraged.  He prays for death.  The Lord does not grant his wish.  Instead, the Lord sends him an angel to wake him up and to give him food for the journey.  It is sustenance sent from heaven.  The angel orders him, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”  The Lord has more plans for Elijah.  Elijah has to get to the mountain of God to hear the “still, small voice” of the Lord.  There, the Lord then tells him what to do to before Elijah is to be taken up to heaven.  He tells him also who will succeed him.  Strengthened by that food that came down from heaven, Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to get to the mountain of God.  “Forty days and forty nights” should remind us of the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the desert and the Lord fed them with quail and manna.  It was a time of testing and preparation before entering the “Promised Land”.  “Forty days and forty nights” should also remind us of the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the desert fasting and then being tempted by the devil.  Jesus answers the first temptation to satisfy his physical hunger by saying, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”  (Mt. 4:4).  The journey through this life, especially when dealing with sickness and infirmity, is a time of testing, and it is not a journey that can be sustained only by addressing our physical needs.  There is a great temptation to lose one’s faith when someone undergoes sickness and suffering.  We are very susceptible to all kinds of temptations when we are in a physically compromised state.  That is why the ministry to bring Holy Communion to the sick and the homebound is so important.  Frequent reception of Holy Communion for the sick and the dying brings the person to a deeper understanding of the mystery of their suffering in relation to the Paschal mystery of Christ and strengthens them for the journey.  Reception of Holy Communion keeps the sick and the homebound connected to the sacrifice and celebration of the Mass and to the community from which they were separated by illness or circumstance.  Ministry to the sick and homebound is also an expression of our support and concern for the members of our community who cannot come to Mass.  We hunger for a life that is greater than this one.  We hunger for eternal life.  And the food that sustains us for the journey to our heavenly homeland must be a food that comes down from heaven.  The food provided by the angel to Elijah and the manna in the desert for the Israelites are prefigurements of the Eucharist.  The difference as we hear Jesus say to the murmuring Jews in the Gospel is that, “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died… I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”  Jesus is the Word of the Father.  He is the Eternal Word spoken by the Father that has become flesh.  He is the bread of life.  He is the food for eternal life. 

          If you know someone from our parish who is sick or homebound and can no longer come to Mass, please encourage them to call the parish and to ask for someone to bring them Holy Communion.  If your mom or dad or other relative was a regular mass goer and is now homebound, please call their parish for them and arrange for the priest or the Extraordinary minister to come for a regular visit.  If you find yourself homebound, do not hesitate to call the parish.  This is not a bother for the priest.  We are never “too busy” to care for the sick and the homebound.  Pastoral care for the sick and the dying is not only one of the most important ministries of the church but also the most rewarding.  The one who brings the Eucharist to the sick and the homebound sees the difference that Jesus makes in their lives - both spiritually and physically.  It strengthens our faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist when we experience the difference that regular Communion makes for the person - how grateful they are and renewed in spirit when Jesus comes to visit.  Sadly, too many people wait until their loved one is literally breathing his or her last breaths before they call the priest.  At that point, most often the person is unable to receive Holy Communion because they can no longer swallow or are not conscious.  Neither can they make a last confession.  Many people “hang on” because they are afraid of dying or they have unresolved issues.  It is not doing the person a favor to delay calling the priest - thinking the presence of the priest will scare them or make them think they have no more hope for life.  The priest comes with the sacraments to give the person comfort in their trial and hope for eternal life  - so that they are not afraid of death.  Many times I have been called to someone’s death bed and the person dies shortly after they receive the sacraments.  The family will say, “Father, you got here just in time.”  And I’ll say to the family, “No, they were waiting for Jesus.”  They were waiting for the food needed to strengthen them for the journey - for the passage through death to eternal life.  If you can do anything for your loved ones who are sick or dying, do not let them wait for Jesus.  Be an “angel” and bring them the food and nourishment they need for the journey.  I also invite any parishioner to talk to me or to one of the deacons about becoming an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion to help us to bring the Eucharist to the sick and the homebound in the parish.  You will help others to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” and to see for yourself how the answer to the temptation to death is Jesus, the bread of life.