We probably have lot of different
images of Jesus that we can think of – the image of Jesus on the crucifix that
we have in church, Jesus as a baby in the manger, Jesus on his journey to the
cross, or the risen Jesus standing outside of the tomb. Besides all of these I mentioned, one of the
earliest images that exists of Jesus dates from the early 3rd
century is located in the catacombs of St Callisto in Rome. This fresco shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd
carrying a lamb on his shoulders. If Jesus is our Good Shepherd, how do we as
members of his flock respond to him and how do we honor him as our shepherd?
Our gestures and our conduct at a
certain event or in the presence of a certain person show the importance and
respect we are giving. In the Catechesis
of the Good Shepherd program that we have for the younger children in our
parish, the children are taught that the atrium where they have their classes
is a holy place – they take off their shoes before they enter the atrium and
they are asked to speak in a very soft respectful voice. In recent years, as a society, I think that
in a lot of ways we have lost a lot of our sense of respect. But, as I mentioned, honoring and recognizing
Jesus as our Good Shepherd means giving him a sense of respect and reverence,
and our conduct, our actions, and our words when we are at mass or involved in
a parish activity should reflect this as well.
Last week, I gave a talk to youth at
the Wednesday evening session about a lot of things, including our conduct
during mass and the way should approach God in our liturgical
celebrations. I think all of us can use
reminders now and then about mass and about what is expected of us as Catholics.
In fact, I’ve had more than several
parishioners tell me that I should address such issues in a homily. First, I would like to demonstrate how to
receive communion. You might think that
this is “old hat” and that everyone knows this, but often those of us distributing
communion have a hard time knowing if a person wants to receive a blessing or
receive communion. If you want a
blessing, make sure you have your arms crossed on your chest. To receive communion, either have your hands
out one on top of another making a tabernacle in you wish to received the host
in your hand, or in the prayer position if you wish to receive the host on your
tongue.
Another thing I want to mention was our
dress at mass. Dress codes at
appropriate at different settings in our lives.
I remember when I first graduated from college, the accounting firm where
I worked told us that we had to wear a suit everyday to work, and we were even
told what color suit and what color shirts we could and could not wear. And when I started teaching at Greenville
Weston High School in the Delta, one of my professor recommended to me that I
should wear a shirt and tie to school everyday in order to show my students
that I saw myself as a professional and that I was taking my role as a teacher
very seriously. Even though our
professor very prudently gave us this advise, I remember one young member of
our Ole Miss Teacher Corps who taught with me would where an old T-shirt and
old jeans to work that I wouldn’t wear to wash the car or cut the grass. Mass should be a special event in our lives;
it should be the place where we encounter God in a special way each week. I think that each one of us should think
about the attire we wear for mass and what that says about the importance we
give God in our lives. Bishop Latino
mentioned to us priests once that he is embarrassed sometimes when he goes into
some of the parishes in the dioceses and some of our Eucharistic ministers and
lectors look like they are dressed for a day at the beach rather than a mass. We priests are not too please when our bishop
needs to bring something like this to our attention. Making sure our shoulders are covered, not
wearing short-shorts or attire that would be inappropriate for mass – we should
be cognizant of how we are presenting ourselves in our Eucharistic celebration
with our Lord and at any other parish related events or activities.
Respect and dignity, honor and
reverence – this should be integral to how we see God in our lives. He is our Good Shepherd – he is our Lord and
Savior. I used to always love attending
mass at the Basilica of St Josephat in Milwaukee when I attended seminary up
there at the Sacred Heart School of Theology.
I loved going to mass at that parish because the minute I entered the
entrance of that church, I felt the presence of God around me, and a lot of
that was due to the reverence and respect the people had for their faith and
for the mass. I want people to have that
impression of our parish here in Tupelo, to feel that we are a people of God
who really live out our faith, who have Jesus as our lives leading us and
guiding us, who have a strong reverence and respect for the presence of the
divine in our parish and in our lives.
We have a wonderful parish here in
Tupelo. We have a rich diverseness
within our community. We try very hard
to have good liturgies and to find ways to live out the Eucharist in our
lives. As we try to deepen the reverence
and respect we have for the Lord and for our faith, it will only bring more
blessings to our community.
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