Paul talks about the body of Christ: We are one body.
The Hollywood actor Martin Sheen was in India working in the movie Gandhi. One day some kids were hanging on the back of the taxi he was riding in. He says: "I looked out and saw their faces . . .they looked like old people, teeth gone, bugs in their hair. I suddenly knew what I had to do. We stopped the car and got them inside."
At that moment God gave Sheen a great grace. Sheen says: "I saw . . . what I had been taught as a boy. We're all part of the mystical body of Christ. We are all united. It is not just confined to the Catholic Church." That helped bring Martin Sheen back into the Church after a 16-year absence.****
The issue with which Paul deals in today's reading is
Christian participation in idol worship. Christians were a small minority in
Corinth. By necessity they had to get on well with their pagan neighbours. They
had to be the
Paul refuses so simplistic an argument. Participation in
pagan rituals had a subtle influence. Gradually, by taking part in these cults,
a person assimilates attitudes that its adherents share and begins to distance
himself or herself either from the Christian assembly or the Christian mindset.
The danger Paul sees is one of only partial immersion in the Christian mystery.
A dabbling in pagan rites can lead to an embrace of a pluralistic potpourri of
religious attitudes that would make Christianity either purely attitudinal or
simply one more variant of a common religiosity.
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The
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Do we see Christ in the needy in our midst? "Whenever you did
this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for
me!" Matthew25:40
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If we go by the adage of what we eat is what we are, then we will
certainly be careful about what goes into our mouths or what we consume. Simply
speaking, what we eat, we will become, at least health wise. Similarly, if what
we read is what we are, then we will also need to be selective in what we are
reading.
Because if what we eat has its effects on us physically, then what we read will
also have its effect on us spiritually. And the fruits that we produce, whether
in our actions, or in our words or thoughts, is a reflection on what we are
physically and spiritually.
As Jesus said in the gospel, every tree can be told by its own fruit. And for a
man's words flow out of what fills his heart. The 1st readings tells us that
the blessing cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the
bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. Hence at every
Mass, we read and listen to the Word of God and we enter into communion with
Christ at Holy Communion. May what we read and listen conform us to be more
Christ-like and may Christ make His home in our hearts as we receive Him in
Holy Communion.
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The Lord
speaks about the solid foundations of our life. If the foundation of our faith
is the Lord Jesus, the foundation of our Christian life is discipleship—putting
His words into practice. The Lord is stating that spiritual, mental or
emotional adherence to the Gospel is not sufficient and will prove to be
evanescent unless a person starts to slowly shape his or her discipleship
into daily life.
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Let us Pray: Lord
our God, let the word of your Son sink into our hearts so deeply and so firmly that
all of our life is marked by it. Let no trial or doubt or fad or fear be
powerful enough to shake that faith; for in you we trust and on you we rely on
account of him who is the living proof that you love us and want us to be
happy, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless.