The Valley Catholic
Spirituality
Fr. Brendan McGuire is pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in San Jose and a Vicar
General of the Diocese of San Jose. As Vicar General, he is responsible
for special projects such as the recently launched Saint Katharine Drexel
Initiative to revitalize Catholic Schools in the Diocese. Before being ordained
in 2000, Fr. Brendan was an executive in a technology company and still
loves to use technology such as Facebook, podcasts and YouTube to bring
people to a deeper relationship with Christ. Email him at [email protected].
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Life beyond the wounds
April 29, 2014
13
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Technique of Discipleship
Recently, I was hiking and I met a young man and his personal trainer on
the trail. She was teaching the young man how to be a better runner: she was
describing how to keep his chest upright and shoulders back, swing his arms
high and pull them back fast to gain momentum, to keep his stride long and get
his toe out all the way. The young man was practicing exactly what his personal
trainer was teaching him. Her instructions were very technical and exact and
clearly she knew what she was talking about.
I watched this training go on for over an hour as they were traveling in the
same direction as I. By the time he got to the end, he was definitely running
more confidently with a smoother, stronger gait. They were both great runners
but here he was practicing to get even better. We all know how to run by nature
but if we are serious about exceling then we need to learn some technique.
In the Gospel of Sunday, May 4, 2014 Jesus teaches his disciples how to be
better followers. He demonstrates how to be disciples with an exact technique.
He comes alongside those who are journeying out of the city and he listens to
their story. After that, he connects their story with God’s story through Scripture.
Then he breaks bread, the Eucharist, and vanishes from sight.
That is the model of ministry to which we are called. We are all called to follow that particular technique of discipleship, one that we call evangelization.
We proclaim the Gospel to others through our actions of listening and walking
with them.
He does not tell them to come to the Eucharist first. He first listens to their
story and walks with them as they leave the city. We are called to listen to the
story of those who are around us, often those who are walking away from our
Church, most especially our young adults and youth who are struggling greatly
with our faith. We need to walk with them and attentively listen to their story.
Only after we have heard their story can we connect them to what we know
in our faith, through Scripture and tradition; only then can we invite them to
Eucharist and break bread with them.
What happened when Jesus broke the bread? He vanished. You might say,
“Well, where did he vanish to, what happened?” We believe that he did not vanish in the sense of disappear; he vanished from their sight. In the breaking of the
bread, they became Christ. He promised to be there every time they celebrated
the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine; he became the bread broken
for others. He became the wine poured out for us. They left Emmaus and ran back
to Jerusalem to proclaim the word that they have witnessed to all who will hear.
We model ourselves on his technique of discipleship--to listen to our youth
and young adults and their struggles. Then we attempt to connect their story
to our own tradition and Scripture. Finally we come to the table to be renewed
and to break bread together. We become Christ once again.
Why did the Resurrected Lord appear with his wounds? Why not with a transformed body? It is troubling that he had wounds in his hands, feet and side. Yet,
Thomas says, “Until I see the wounds in his hands