They will respect my son

Coming the day after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this line from the familiar parable of the tenant farmers in today’s Gospel (Mk 12:1-12) gains additional resonance.

In some circles, especially in the past, reverence for the Eucharist and consciousness of unworthiness have been taken to an extreme that imposed unjust barriers to God’s grace.

In recent decades, however, in many places, the opposite extreme has been the more likely danger.

It is easy (but not terribly helpful) to talk about the horror stories (“pizza and beer…”). It is also easy (and very helpful) to review the points made by the recent document Redemptionis Sacramentum ("The Sacrament of Redemption - an Instruction "On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist")

But perhaps the most challenging approach to this issue is to confront our own attitude toward our Lord in the Eucharist.

As St. Paul says,
Whoever, therefore,
eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
Let a man examine himself,
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:27:28

Do I respect God’s son?

Do I disrespect him?

Do I disrespect him

• by not preparing for Mass with appropriate fasting and prayer?
• by declining his invitation to repentance, forgiveness, and reception?
• by my inattentive attitude, posture, and gestures during Mass?
• by my excessive attention to people I deem impious during Mass?

Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen,
that you may have life.
Isaiah 55:2b-3a

Miserere mei, Domine