Weekly HOMILY for June 26, 2011: Eucharist: The Eye of the Hurricane

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle A
St. Mark, Fallston
June 26, 2011

Eucharist: The Eye of the Hurricane
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


HURRICANES

June 1st began the hurricane season and from June 1 until November 30 the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida will monitor and track all hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricanes are actually defined as tropical cyclones originating in the Caribbean. As cyclones they are swirling masses of turbulent, violent air. To be a hurricane and receive an official name like Katrina, Andrew, Rita, Wilma, or Ike, they must equal or exceed winds of 74 mph. Interestingly the Spanish word huracán is derived from the Bahamian word hurakán, which means ‘god of the storm.’

Perhaps the best way to understand this is to imagine a Frisbee with a hole cut out of its center. Imagine that you expand the Frisbee so that it measures 100 miles across and the small hole measures 10 miles across.

Then, spin the Frisbee at the rate of 100 miles an hour. That’s what a hurricane is like.

The interesting thing is that inside the 10-mile wide eye, (demonstrate) there is no wind, no rain at all – just blue skies and sunshine. The eye of a hurricane is peaceful and calm.


THE MASS AS THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE

That image of the eye of a hurricane is a helpful way to understand the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.

And on this Feast of Corpus Christi I’d like to share some thoughts on what this eye of the hurricane could be for us.

The very way that the Mass is structured, planned, and celebrated affords us some remarkable possibilities for peace and calm in our lives.


THINK ABOUT IT

1) We enter a space that is accepting, hospitable, and kind; a place we are more inclined to be ourselves; a space we are more inclined to put away our anger, resentment, or frustrations and be at peace with ourselves.

We encounter a group of people who, while they know that they are human and less than perfect, want to live life with a sense of hope …

Want to live their lives for something beyond themselves…

Want some help in dealing with the stresses they are encountering.

2) We hear Old and New Testament Scriptures that support that vision of “trying to do better” and we hear a homily that opens us up to new perspectives, new possibilities, new areas of growth.

We hear words that encourage us and give us hope.

3) At the General Intercessions we pray for our needs and the needs of all in the world.

4) The Sign of Peace opens us up to our neighbors immediately around us and a hundred clusters of such sharing of peace bind us together as a larger assembly.

5) The momentum builds, as in a great symphony, to a climax, where the Lord Jesus himself comes among us and makes his presence felt. It is a presence that each of us is intimately drawn into, as we become what we eat.

And the mood is festive by our singing; the mood is supportive as we stand while others eat; the mood is reflective as we all sit for a time of silence to relish the feast we have consumed.


CONCLUSION

It is said that the eye of the hurricane, as it passes over a place or a group of individuals, lasts only about an hour. Interesting enough, so too does the Eucharistic celebration we call the Mass.

Jesus never intended that we stay in the “eye” of the Eucharist, though it is the essence of peace and calm.

To the contrary, he intended that we go back into the storms of our life: the storms of frustrating work situation, the storms of broken promises, and the storms of difficult relationships.

On this Feast of Corpus Christi we consider what we go back into our storms with, after this hour together.

We are at peace with ourselves; we are at peace with one another; we are at peace with God.

And with the words, “Go the Mass is ended,” we are sent back into our storms renewed, refreshed, and filled with a new sense of hope, as we become the eye of the storm for others.