Fr. Roger J. Landry
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Manhattan
Memorial of St. John XXIII
Votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist
Sixtieth Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council
October 11, 2022
1 Cor 11:23-26, Ps 116, Jn 6:51-58
To listen to an audio recording of today’s homily, please click below:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/10.11.22_Eucharistic_Procession_Homily_1.mp3
The following text guided the homily:
The section of Manhattan in which we’re located has been called since the early 19th century “Hell’s Kitchen,” a phrase police and civic leaders employed to denote what was then the borough’s most notoriously crime ridden slum. To call it Hell for them was too mild; they considered it the furnace of hell.
And so it was fitting that in 1876, when the Archdiocese of New York decided to establish a parish here, they named it after the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where Catholics could focus on a different type of fire, the white hot flames of Jesus’ loving and merciful heart, and be ignited with the fire of the Holy Spirit to go out to extinguish the vestiges of hell throughout the neighborhood.
It’s also appropriate for us to come here today to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, convened in order to reinvigorate the Church’s mission to sanctify the world and bring Christ and his Gospel even to those corners considered most forlorn.
We celebrate this landmark anniversary in a particularly Eucharistic way, since the fathers of Vatican II repeatedly declared that Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit, root and center of the Christian life and of everything the Church does. All the main teachings of the Council — on the primacy of the word of God, on the universal call to holiness, on authentic Christian humanism, on the vocation of the laity, on religious freedom and on relations with other religions — can all be looked at through a Eucharistic lens.
St. John XXIII, whose feast day the Church celebrates on October 11, proclaimed 60 years ago today at the opening of the Council, “The great problem confronting the world after almost two thousand years remains unchanged,” namely to recognize Jesus Christ as the “center of history and of life” and choose to believe in him, to follow him and to be with him. Since the Eucharist is Jesus Christ, the choice to follow him is made concrete in a Eucharistic life.
That’s why it’s fitting for us to celebrate this anniversary of the Second Vatican Council with a Mass followed by a Eucharistic procession, taking Jesus Christ out into the world he redeemed and proclaiming him, by our joyful witness, devout prayers, and enthusiastic singing, to be really, truly and substantially among us, and inviting others to join us in following him who is the Way. Our world needs Jesus Christ just as much as ever and as Catholics we cannot keep the treasure of our Eucharistic Lord within our Churches and tabernacles. The love of Christ, and the love of others, compels us to bring him out and share him.
Our Eucharistic procession is taking place during the context of the three-year Eucharistic Revival of the Church in the United States, called by our bishops to stimulate greater Eucharistic knowledge, faith, amazement, love, life and mission. There are various important parts of the Revival. One is to help all Catholics better understand and live the Mass. Another is greater Eucharistic discipleship, shown in a particular way by spending time with Jesus in Eucharistic adoration. A third is Eucharistic charity, as we imitate Jesus in giving our body and blood, our time, money and talents, out of love for those Jesus loves. And a fourth is a more ardent Eucharistic apostolate,