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SPIRITUALITY

August 21 , 2018 | The Valley Catholic

By Father Brendan McGuire

Pastor of Holy Spirit Parish , San Jose , and Vicar General for Special Projects , Diocese of San Jose . Email him at bmcguire @ dsj . org .

Leaving A Memorial August 19 , 2018

Too Many Choices August 26 , 2018

When I was a seminarian in my pastoral year , I was assigned to St . Mary ’ s in Los Gatos . It was a great year . One of the most memorable times of that year was my morning routine . After daily Mass , I would have breakfast with Fr . Justin , the pastor . We would sit , he with his cup of coffee and I with my cup of tea and we would chat on any subject for ages . It was always a deep conversation of faith . It would last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half . It was probably the highlight of my entire formation as a priest ; I had the opportunity to dialogue with a pastor of 27 years and the wisdom he was able to impart was just crucial to me .

Now I live alone and when I have breakfast and that cup of tea every day , I think of Fr . Justin . I think about those conversations that we had and I will often talk to God instead . Fr . Justin is still alive ; he is not dead but he is retired and enjoying his retirement . It is amazing how that was like a memorial to the time that we spent to together .

Jesus left the disciples and us a memorial ; it is called the Eucharist . He said , “ Do this in memory of me .” He shared meals every day with his disciples . He met with them and he ate with them , broke bread and shared wine . On the very last night , he said , “ Do this in memory of me .” And some 2000 years later , we are still doing it in memory of him . He promises that this is where we learn wisdom and we celebrate the presence of God in our midst . What we celebrate is so powerful that sometimes we forget the power of it .

We hear the Bread of Life Discourse in the gospel today . When Jesus says , “ I am the flesh and I am the blood . Take of me and I will give you life ”, he is referring to eternal life . That is what we do each time we have Eucharist . Yet it is much more than a memorial . When we come forward to receive communion , we are doing more than just saying yes to the memorial ; when we come forward with open hands and humble heart , we say yes to become what we receive . We promise to become the Bread of Life , the Body of Christ broken for others . We promise to become the Blood of Christ poured out for others and that we will become what we receive .

Maybe you can consider if there is some routine in your life with your loved ones ? That when we are gone , whether it is physically or whether we are eternally gone , that they will remember us and the faith that we shared . That might be something you do with your children , praying around the meal or it might be your morning breakfast together with your spouse , or a walk sharing deep moment of connection in faith . Find one thing that can be a memorial for you and your children ; or you and your parents ; or you and your spouse . This will be our memorial for each other and when we go , we will always know that this is what we did in memory of Christ .

Some time ago , I received some Starbucks gift cards . I don ’ t go to Starbucks very often but while on vacation I went into Starbucks for coffee . It was one of those rare occasions when there was no line . I went straight to the counter . She asked , “ What would you like ?” I looked at the menu and there was a plethora of choices . She said , “ A Frappuccino or a Cappuccino . A latte or a frappe ?” I said , “ Give me a second . I don ’ t know .”

I eventually responded , “ I ’ ll take a latte .” She retorted all too fast , “ Do you want regular milk ? Skim milk ? Almond milk ? Soy milk ?” “ Yikes ! Eh ! Ordinary milk !” She continued , “ Where would you like the coffee from ?” I smiled as I said , “ I don ’ t know from your beans , I hope !” She pushed for an answer , “ Beans from Kenya , Columba or fair trade ?”

I gave up , “ I ’ ll just have a cup of tea .” Obviously frustrated she snapped , “ Which type of tea ?” “ Ahhhh , just stop .” I cried , “ I just want a cup of tea …. stop …. just give me an ordinary cup of coffee . And whatever you just poured that guy !” Pointing to the guy at the counter grinning ear to ear amused by amateur at the counter !

Our modern society of the USA is imbued with choices everywhere we go . If we go to the grocery store , we have tons of choices : fruit , vegetables , canned goods , etc . We have more choices than ever before .

There are some choices and some decisions that are insignificant such as coffee in the morning but there are others that are very important and even critical . They can matter a great deal because they give us a trajectory as to the way our life goes . When we become Christian and we remain Christian , it is a choice . And choices are what these scriptures are all about today .

What does it mean to choose Christ ? And what does it mean for us in our own daily life ? Christ gave us one commandment . Love God with all your heart ; all your mind ; all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself .

How well are we doing ? Was I my best self this week ? If we are honest , we are going to say no , not always . Sometimes we were not our best selves .

That is the reason we come to this Sunday table ; we need each other and we need Christ to help us . When we receive Christ , the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ , we are saying yes once more . Not that we have it all right , but we are going to work at it today and this is what we are going to do . We are going to be our best self today and this week . There will be some tough decisions in this next week when we should be nice to somebody who is not nice to us back . We will have to love somebody who is not willing to be loving back to us . That is choosing Christ .

WHY PRE-PLAN YOUR MEMORIAL ? Like many things , costs will continue to increase , so locking in now is a wise decision . Yes , perhaps it ’ s a long way away , but all the more reason to get your plan together now . Contact your local Dignity Memorial ® provider for the best prices .