NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org)
This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: How have you come to enjoy the Banquet of the Lord?
It can only be God’s grace that this is possible, but ever since I was a little kid, I’ve enjoyed attending Mass. Sometimes the music and homily are incredibly inspiring and moving. Sometimes, not so much. But always, Jesus is there in the Eucharist, humbly offering Himself to us as sacred food for our journey.
These days, my husband and I often attend with our son, daughter-in-law and their two young children. A kids’ missal that has colorful illustrations of the order of the Mass is a big-seller.
“Grammy, which number are we on?” my grandson asks in whisper, holding out the missal. Both children enjoy going forward to receive a blessing, arms folded across their chest. They know Communion is something good, something desirable. We try to sit up toward the front of the church so they can see what’s going on.
As I look over at their small faces, I can’t help but think of when their father and uncles were that small, sitting beside my husband and me in the pew. I think of my parents and grandparents, the great-grandparents I never knew.
And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the souls of the faithful departed are present with us as the priest consecrates the bread and the wine during the Supper of the Lamb.
We’re connected by love, by grace and by sacrament in the Communion of the Saints. Let us bask in that and draw refreshment and renewed dedication to living as Eucharistic Missionary Disciples.
To sign up for our weekly Christ in Our Neighborhood newsletter that has everything you need for your next meeting, visit: https://phoenixdiocese.flocknote.com/CION
