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I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in them bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.(John 15:5).
These gospel words remind us that our living connection with Jesus is all important. United with him we live. Separated from him we wither and die. Like branches cut off from the vine.
As Catholics, we celebrate our living relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. Every Sunday we gather around the altar of our parish church to reaffirm our communion with him in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. We are one with him. And he is one with us. That’s why the Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the source and summit of Christian life.
Unfortunately, attendance at Sunday Mass isn’t always possible these days. Health restrictions limit numbers in church. And fear of contagion keeps many at home. We too often find ourselves cut off from the vine. Cut off from communion with Jesus who is our Way, our Truth and our Life. This pandemic reality strikes at the heart of our faith.
Some compensate by watching Mass on television. That’s helpful. It keeps our relationship with Jesus in focus. But, as I’ve said before, the Eucharist was never meant to be a spectator event. It calls for personal presence and personal participation. It leads us to a real, physical communion with Jesus, the Real Presence. There’s just no substitute.
Our parish church is the place where we normally celebrate our communion in the Body and Blood of the Lord. It’s also the place where Jesus is present in the Tabernacle. And thus, the building itself, St. Clement Church, is a sign of Christ’s presence in the heart of our community.
That though leads me to suggest a little faith-filled exercise for those unable to reserve a place at Mass. At some point on Sunday, pile your family into the car. Or make a walking pilgrimage to the corner of Markland and Bloor. Conscious that Jesus is truly present in the Tabernacle of our church, pause for a moment of prayer in the parking lot, or on the front sidewalk. Renew your commitment to the Lord and ask him to make it possible for you to attend Mass once again. Speak to him of your hunger for the Bread of his Body. The Bread of Life.
As Jesus himself promised ... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(John 15:7).
Msgr. Paul Zimmer
Pastor, St Clement Catholic Church, Etobicoke
