JMJT! Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Dear Brothers and Sisters-
In the heat of the Phoenix summer, it is always a welcome respite to escape to cooler locales! My family and I were able to travel to Milwaukee, WI for one week for a family reunion. It was a wonderful opportunity to be reunited with so many loved ones who we had not seen for so many years in some cases. In addition to reuniting with family, it provided me the chance to take some inventory and to see things from a different perspective after a year of many great blessings as well as heavy crosses. Somehow, being in a new environment tends to allow one to see more clearly, and if not to understand, then to peacefully accept.
One of the greatest blessings of the trip was our visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill. Holy Hill is a monastery for the Discalced Carmelite Order. With its beautiful paintings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross to the right and left of the central altar and above two separate tabernacles, one truly feels at home. My first visit was on July 20th, the Feast of the great prophet Elijah, who is celebrated as a central figure and founder of the early order of Carmelites. As we arrived at the top level of the Basilica before 11Am Mass, I couldn't help but bask in the beauty of the day. Although unusually hot, the sky was a clear blue vista, where you could gaze out upon the verdant countryside for miles.
Amazingly, I observed several ravens circling around the hillside and directly above the church. It reminded me of the story of Elijah who after telling King Ahab that severe famine and drought would strike the land due to the sins and idolatry of the people, Our Lord instructed him as follows, "3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” 5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings 17: 3-6)
Elijah allowed Our Lord to direct his steps and journey. He was obedient to what was asked of him. As a result, his life was put in danger, yet God's divine protection and provision was also given to him. The food that the ravens brought to Elijah gave him strength to continue his journey and to survive the drought. It enabled him to persevere and to keep going. How applicable to our daily lives! With so many twists and turns in life, we can sometimes question whether we have the strength to go on to do God's Will. We doubt the journey and fear the worst. But Our Lord shows us that there is always a way back to the center and core of strength, and that is the Eucharistic Feast of Our Lord. He does not leave us ill-equipped for the journey, but instead gives us the gift of His Very Self. This is the pinnacle of our existence and our true means of survival.
Like that beautiful morning at Holy Hill, His Body and Blood enable us to get glimpses of the direction we are traveling in and sometimes to even be able to peer out into clear vistas, where we can see the pathway before us. These are special moments when Our Lord clears the fog surrounding us, parts the dark curtains that obscure our intellect, memory, and will and provides a momentary respite.
By, in and through the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Trinity imparts the grace we need to continue to run the race, whether we be in joy or sorrow, consolation or desolation, in order that we may eventually be transformed into the 'new man'. One in which we can truly say that, "it is not I that live, but Christ that lives within me.' (Gal 2:20)
May it be so! Amen.
