The Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist

Father Richard comes once a month to say Mass and bring Communion to the residents at Bishop Davies Nursing Center in Hurst.  There are about 15 Catholics there and they are grateful for the visit from a priest.  It always amazes me that so many of the aged residents, who often have no idea what day or season it is, sometimes not even their own names, can make the Sign of the Cross and respond with the correct “Lord have mercy,” at just the right time.  It must be written on their hearts. 

What is unique about Mass at the nursing home is that it is not uncommon for someone to sleep through the whole thing.  Whether it is fatigue caused by medicine or just being worn out from a long life, there is usually at least one sleeper during Mass.  This week, it was Gloria.  I had to wake her up to ask if she wanted to come to Mass, but she replied “Yes,” pretty emphatically, so I wheeled her bed down to the parlor where Father would say Mass.  She slept through the readings and through the homily, then through the Intercessions and most of the Eucharistic Prayer.  However, when Father concluded the Doxology, I suddenly heard a loud, truly great, “Amen” from Gloria’s direction.  And then she prayed the Our Father, without missing a word.  But at the sign of peace, she was back asleep and couldn’t even wake up enough to receive Communion, so Father blessed her.  It was as if the coming of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist at the consecration was so powerful that it roused her from her sleep.  I know I certainly felt His presence in an amazing way that morning. 

The youth of GSCC are playing a larger role than ever in serving their church and their community.

"His Hands and Feet" service group kicked by helping serve lunch to needy children with the GRACE Feed Our Kids program.  They will complete at least one service project per month, and will begin a new partnership with Catholic Charities by devoting one Saturday per month to the Refugee Program in Fort Worth. The Hands and Feet group also helps serve the GSCC community's needs throughout the year and helps with the UGM lunch project and the Sleep-out for Honduras.

This summer, Mark Knox and Larry West, along with a host of parent volunteers held the first ever Disciple Now program. During this week which was kicked off by a concert with youth speaker Cooper Ray, the students performed a service project in the morning returning to GSCC for lunch and catechesis.

The organizations served included Catholic Charities, Tarrant Area Food Bank, GRACE,  Union Gospel Mission, Mission Arlington, Presbyterian Night Shelter, Dancing Rivers Senior Living, and Habitat for Humanity. With over 35 teens and 8 adults assisting daily, over 480 service hours were completed!

St. Bonaventure

 

I’m guessing by now that you have heard the glorious ring of our new bells!  They can be heard five minutes before weekend masses, encouraging us toward the triumphant celebration which is about to take place.  They also resound clearly at 8:30 am, noon, and 4:30 pm on weekdays, calling all the faithful to participation in Angelus, a devotional prayer reminding us of the incarnation of Christ.  During the blessing of the bells, Bishop Vann enlightened our parish to the names of these bells.  The two lower bells are named Francis (the larger one) and Clare (the smaller one).  The big bell at the top of the tower is named Bonaventure. 

                Now I suppose that most people know something about St. Francis and probably know a little about St. Clare, but relatively few people know anything about St. Bonaventure.  He is an early Franciscan saint who lived from 1221 until 1274.  His name, which means ‘of good fortune’ is said to have come from a time when he was deathly sick as a child.  His mother implored St. Francis to come and pray for Bonaventure (his name at the time was Giovanni) who when he did so, was miraculously healed and St. Francis exclaimed "O buona ventura!" At the age of 22 Bonaventure responded to God’s call upon his life and entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans, OFM to be exact).  He excelled in studies and pursued what today would be considered a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Paris where he taught alongside his contemporary and good friend St. Thomas Aquinas (who is a Dominican). 

St. Bonaventure acquired the name of “The Seraphic Doctor” for his mystical insights into the ways of God which he readily applied to the spiritual life, along with humility and mortification.  Some say that he is one of the greatest philosopher/theologians of the medieval times.  He is well known for the many theological treatises he wrote, as well as one of the more comprehensive biographies of the life of St. Francis (The Major Legend of St. Francis).  Unique to his theology is that he uses the love of God as the ultimate destiny for the human person, contrasted against many other theologies whose end goal was to see God (beatific vision).  Bonaventure influenced many proceeding theologians, including fellow Franciscan Blessed Duns Scotus who developed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1257 at the age of 36 Bonaventure was elected Minister General, the highest office of governance for the Franciscans and worked diligently to restore peace and unity to the order of Franciscans which was suffering from internal discord.  He later reluctantly accepted the role of Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Italy at the persuasion of Pope Gregory X.  Bonaventure presided over the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, an ecumenical council, and died shortly afterwards.  He was declared a saint on April 14, 1482, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1587.

Here’s a quote to reflect upon:  “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that coming from the mouth.” – St. Bonaventure... pray for us!