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Homily for Mass My dear Sisters: Thank you very much for welcoming me and the pilgrims from Oklahoma to your convent. It is always a pleasure to visit with you. I am especially happy today to be able to celebrate this Mass and to pray with you and for you. Thank you. Jesus reveals Himself to us in countless ways but especially in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. As Sisters of the Eucharist, you are dedicated to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. You believe in Him, you trust Him and you love Him. Whenever, through the ordained priest, we hear Jesus say: “Take This and eat It. This is My Body. Take This and drink. This is My Blood,” we are filled with awe and joy. We know, without a doubt, that Jesus becomes sacramentally present under the appearance of bread and wine. In this sacramental presence, Jesus truly offers Himself to us. When we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus worthily, He forgives us. He nourishes us. He strengthens us. Through this communion with Jesus, we are brought to a new relationship with God. He calls us friends. He invites us to continue to grow in faith as we progress on our spiritual journey of life here on earth. It is only through this pilgrimage of faith that we fulfill God’s plan and enter eternal life in heaven. Sisters, each of you has felt called by God. Some of you have already clearly discovered that God’s Will for you is to serve as a member of this religious community. Some of the younger sisters are still discerning God’s Will. The professed sisters, through God grace, are strengthened in their commitment. All of you are celebrating the gift of life, the call to ministry and the divine promise of life everlasting in heaven. This celebration of life and God’s goodness is the reason that we, the pilgrims of Oklahoma, have come to visit you today. We come to commemorate the life, the ministry and the martyrdom of our priest, Father Stanley Rother. We come to thank you for the ministry you have accepted in continuing the work of Father Rother, especially at Santiago Atitlan. We come to be renewed in our faith in Jesus. What a great gift we have in our human life! We have been created in the Image and Likeness of God. What a great gift we receive in the religious life and in the call to the ministry of service! What an incalculable gift awaits us in the kingdom of heaven! All of this is true because Jesus is our Way, our Truth and our Life. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He does not hide Himself from us. He does not abandon us. Rather, because He loves us so much, He redeemed us and offers us a share in His own divine life now and forever! Thus, in this Eucharist and in every Eucharistic celebration, Jesus says: “This is My Body. This is My Blood. Take My Flesh and eat It. Take My Blood and drink It and you shall have life everlasting.” Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord, for we are your Eucharistic people. Amen. Most
Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |