Sheena
George
Rev Fr John Koovakunnel is an unassuming Catholic
priest, young and unpretentious to the core. Born and brought up in Pune, which
is around 150 kms south-east of Mumbai, Rev Fr John is a Catholic theologian in
the making and fully engrossed in prayers, church services and related
activities. His parting sermon at Little Flower Church, Nerul, near Mumbai,
gave me new insights into the Holy Mass. Even as I was writing this piece he
would have already moved to his new parish of Panvel, near Mumbai.
He narrated an incident. I would rather say a
miracle in which he played a key role. In his previous parish, there was an
uncle who was terminally ill, that too in the last stage before death. Doctors
had given up hopes. Even family members had resigned to the fate of this
uncle.
But Rev Fr John never gave up his hopes. When
he learnt about the uncle’s terminal illness, he prayed for him during the time
of consecration. The most solemn moment of the Holy Mass is the consecration.
Up to that moment what is on the altar is bread and wine. From the moment when
the priest pronounces the words of the consecration -- “this is my body"
and "this is the cup of my blood" -- what is in the altar becomes the
body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Lo and behold, our bed-ridden uncle who was
written off by doctors and family members started recovering fast. He started
walking in a couple of days. His family members couldn’t believe what was
happening before them. His mystified doctors rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
But they realized this is no bamboozlement.
Rev Fr John knew what had happened. It was
Jesus who sacrificed His life on the cross who healed our uncle. His sacrifice had
a purpose – it was for others. “In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ
becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the
faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of
Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value,” says the
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
The Bible is full of stories about the
sacrifices or qurbana -- from Genesis to Revelations. The breaking of the bread
which started from the Last Supper continued and today, it’s going from strength
to strength. Take for example, John 6: 54-58. unlike other gospel writers, St John did not describe
the events in the Upper Room. Why? “By that time, breaking of bread became very
common among first Christians. Mind you, St
John was the last gospel writer,” Rev Fr John says.
Rev Fr
John explained the sacrifice in Genesis 4:4. Cain and Abel offered their
sacrifices to God. While Cain offered some of the farm produces to God, Abel
offered his best -- he brought of the firstlings
of his flock and of the fat thereof. God was pleased with Abel because he
offered the best he had while Cain’s offerings were nothing special, according
to theologians.
Abraham’s sacrifice is unforgettable and
extraordinary. It’s also symptomatic and symbolic of the Jesus’ crucifixion.
Take a close look. Abraham brought Isaac to Mount Moriah. At
God's command, Abraham was to build a sacrificial altar and sacrifice his son
Isaac upon it. He had also taken two servants along with them, but he told the
servants to wait on the foothills of the mountain. Why? Abraham knew that the
two servants would have prevented him from sacrificing Isaac. Abraham and Isaac
came down from the mountain after three days. As he realized that the servants
would have been a major obstacle in completing the sacrifice, he took
preventive measures. In the same manner, we should also know how to tackle
obstacles when we offer our sacrifices. We will face obstacles. That’s for
sure.
Look at Hebrews 7 which
says Melchizedek used to offer bread and wine as sacrifice to God – which is
yet another pointer to Jesus. “And what we have said is even more clear
if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has
become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the
basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is
declared: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’.”
In Mathew 14 and John 6, we read about Jesus
feeding 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. In fact, people who
were surprised to see the miracle wanted to make him the king. But Jesus knew
about their plan and quietly went away. Many in the
crowd drew the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah. They seemed to share the
view expressed in a later rabbinic text that the Messiah was expected to
provide bread and water like Moses did: "As the former redeemer caused
manna to descend, as it is stated, `Behold, I will cause to rain bread from
heaven for you' (Ex 16:4), so will the latter Redeemer cause manna to descend,
as it is stated, says the Bible.
“The miracles of the multiplication of the
loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves
through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of
this unique bread of his Eucharist,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(CCC).
I can’t help
mentioning the “hard teaching” by Jesus (John 6:47-69). The first announcement of the Eucharist
divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized
them. Many of his disciples heard
him say these things, and commented, “This is hard teaching indeed; who could
accept that?” Some of them left
Jesus. This happens even now. There is so much rancour and malevolence from
certain groups towards Catholic church when it comes to this “hard teaching”.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but
they died; this is the
bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the
living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live
forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Jesus said these words in a synagogue
in Capernaum.
Jesus then asked the disciples: "Will you also go
away?" the Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation
to discover that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive
the Lord himself. Here human perceptive and intelligence works over faith in
His words.
Please
remember that the 12 disciples of Jesus were mostly illiterate fishermen. They
never studied law or religious books. They were poorest of the poor. They had
simple faith in Him.
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