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| Deacon’s Retreat
Mass 1. “They were amazed at Jesus’ every deed.” But these deeds were minor in comparison to the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which consisted of three parts:
In these brief three verses of St. Luke (Luke 9:43-45), the first of these three parts of the Paschal Mystery is lifted up: “The Son of Man is handed over to men.” This began at the moment Mary said her FIAT and was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. The Father in heaven handed His beloved Son to us. And “this handing over” continued until Gethsemane and Calvary: “Downward Mobility” Jesus kept drawing the disciples’ attention to His handing over because each of us participate in it, and because it is the way He redeemed the world. He did not redeem the world by His Transfiguration, not by the cure of the epileptic and all His other miracles. No, He redeemed the world by accepting “the handing over” by His Father. “But they did not understand this saying…and they were afraid to ask Him about it.” (Luke 9:45) Only in faith can you understand “this handing over”. And this faith must be strengthened. That is why Jesus keeps foretelling His “handing over”. He is helping them to grasp in faith and then understand in faith what is foolishness to the world. At Ordination, you and I “hand over” our bodies and souls to the Father in Jesus. This was symbolized by the total prostration on the sanctuary floor. It was formalized by our stepping forward at ordination, at the calling of our name and by our response “Present”, “Adsum”, “Here I am”, “I am here for you”, “Do with me what you will.” We “handed over” our lives in the promises made to the Bishop, especially in the Promise of Obedience: “Do you promise respect and obedience to your Ordinery and his successors?” Jesus’ “handing over” and our “handing over” unite us intimately with Jesus, far more than any ministry we perform. What most unites us with Jesus is our ”handing over” of our body and soul, mind and will to the Father, especially in suffering and eventually in death. This close bond with Jesus is symbolized movingly each time we distribute Holy Communion, when we “hand over” to the faithful the Body and Blood of Christ. And this is why we say “YES, I DO” to the Bishop’s question at Ordination: “Do you resolve to conform your way of life always to the example of Christ, of whose Body and Blood you are ministers at the Altar?” My brother deacons, we will begin in a few weeks a Year of the Eucharist, a time of special grace and favor for the Church, a time to grow in awe and wonder and adoration of Christ in the Eucharist. It is also a Year to ask for the courage and grace to “hand over” to the Father with Jesus our entire lives. Two special requests of your Bishop for the Year of the Eucharist:
A day free for worship, for family, for leisure, for joy and praise. My prayer is that every baptized person in Arizona will rediscover Sunday as the Lord’s Day and become thereby intensely Eucharistic.
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