The kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist.
Notes
Transcript
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist.
Story of priest and taxi driver.
I have many privileges to join meetings regarding Eucharist Revival movement in parishes, and I am happy that many people still love and concern for the Church. One of the biggest concerns is bringing people back to the Church.
A lot of suggestions came up. For example, we need to bring people back to Church by welcoming new members, reaching out to those who do not attend Church, having breakfast after mass.
All are wonderful suggestions. But one suggestion that struck me most was that "our revival movement must be rooted in what is the most important in the life of the Church, the Eucharist. The Eucharist is "the source and summit" of the Christian life. It is the greatest treasure of the Catholic Church that brings us into the kingdom of God." What a beautiful statement. "The Eucharist is the greatest treasure of the Catholic Church."
In the Gospel, Jesus compares the “kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in the field.” We can state that the kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist. The Eucharist is like fine pearls, a net that brings us into the kingdom of heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Eucharist is beyond a treasure because it is God himself. The Eucharist makes us belong to God. The Eucharist feeds our hunger, satisfies our thirst, and gives us life. Jesus said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day" (John 6:53-54)
Christ is inviting us to revive and return to the source of our faith in the celebration of theEucharist because many are separated from the Eucharist. Our revival movement must be rooted in the Eucharist.
Because if we have Eucharist, we have Christ, and if we have Christ, we have every good thing, not only in this life but in the life to come. On the contrary, if we do not have Jesus, I hate to say it, but we have nothing at all.
The decision of having everything or nothing is yours but be not afraid God is on our side. Like St. Peter said, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people." Like St. Paul said in the second reading “those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.” Jesus died for you and me so that we may inherit the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist
The Eucharist is the treasure that is given by God as a gift. All we have to do is to accept it.
So, if God asks you what treasure you would like to have? What do you answer him?
First reading: Solomon chose a treasure for the service of others; And this is the model for us as disciples of Christ. We have discovered the treasure in the field, the Eucharist. And now we need to let others know about this.
We need to invite people to see and receive the treasure. But before that We must live the Eucharist and witness what we have discovered. Like Pope Paul VI said, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses."
Story: When the Communists came into power in China, one of the things they wanted to do was suppress religion, especially Christianity. So Chinese soldiers destroyed Catholic churches across the country. They took tabernacles and sacred vessels and imprisoned Catholic priests. When they came to destroy a Church in the countryside, a young girl named "Little Li" was hiding and observing from the back of the Church.
She watched as the priest was arrested, the Tabernacle was torn away, and the Eucharist fell out and scattered on the ground. The girl had seen the Eucharist on the ground.
Because the priest was arrested and locked in the house next to the Church, all he could do was stand there and keep watch of Jesus from the window.
That night, the 12 years old girl waited until night fell, and she snuck back into the Church, knelt before the discarded Eucharist. She was taught as a kid not to touch the Eucharist with her hands, so she knelt down and bent her face to the ground. She picked up the Eucharist off the ground with her tongue, stood up, and made the sign of the cross. She was also taught you only receive communion once. So, she got up and snuck away into the night, secretly making her way back home.
Thirty-two hosts had been thrown on the floor, and for 32 nights, night after night, the girl kept coming back and receiving the Eucharists in the same manner.
On the last night, after the girl had received the Eucharist, she accidentally made a noise that woke the guards, who chased her down and beat her to death. The parish priest stood in the widow helplessly. He could not do anything but watch the girl dying as a martyr.
Brothers and sisters, the Little Li has found the greatest treasure, bringing her to heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist. That treasure is now with us at this very altar. Let's now revive our faith by celebrating, participating, and receiving the greatest treasure through Eucharist. And when you come home today, show people the treasure you have discovered and tell them, "I have found the treasure that brings me to the kingdom of God; that is the Eucharist." And that is the truth.