St. John the Baptist of New Brighton

JUNE 22, 2003 THE BODY AND BLOOD OF THE LORD

Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them and said, "Take it; this is my body."

-Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26

Jesus rebuked the wind and said, "Peace! Be still!"

-Mark 4: 35-41

THE PLEASURE IS ALL MINE

A true story told by Benjamin Zander in his best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, written with his wife, Rosamund Stone Zander:
An alumnus was visiting his alma mater. One night, he came upon one of his old college haunts, a seedy diner located just south of the campus. He took a place at the counter next to a man who appeared to be homeless. Before him, meticulously laid out, were three one-dollar bills and some change, apparently all he had in the world.
When the waitress appeared, the visitor ordered a hamburger - but the homeless man put out his hand as if to slow the visitor down. With a grand gesture, he announced, "It's on me. You can have any thing you want tonight, and you won't pay a penny. It's all on me." The visitor protested that he could not possibly accept such a that would cost everything the poor man had, but he was determined to have his moment. "You are going to have what you want, and its on me," he insisted. The man pushed all his money toward the indifferent woman behind the counter.
The visitor was aware of every delicious bite of that hamburger, every sip of coffee. With a mere three dollars and fifty-odd cents, this homeless man had created a humane world brimming over with charity and abundance. After the meal, the visitor thanked the poor man for his generosity, for rekindling the happy memories of his college days.
"Oh, no," the man said, winking at the visitor's effort to find some parity. "The pleasure's all mine."

CONNECTION: In much the same way that the poor man's generosity costs all that he had, Christ's gift of the Eucharist comes at a cost: this bread and wine become the covenant meal sealing our relationship with a God who gives everything he has to the people he calls to himself. The Eucharist we celebrate contains the limitless love of Christ, who suffered, died and rose for us. Christ invites us to feast on him, to be nourished and sustained by his body and blood until we take our places for eternity at the great banquet of heaven. In our sharing of the Eucharist, Christ asks us to find our "joy" in becoming what we receive: to become Eucharist for one another, to make the love of God real for all. As the homeless man in the diner says, "The pleasure is all ours."¦


	...Lead Us Not Into Temptation... Help prevent crime. Lock your car. Take all valuables with you. Thank you.

Due to the Fourth of July Holiday, all articles for the July 6th Bulletin must be in by Wednesday, June 25 at noon.
The standard deadline will resume for the July 13th bulletin.

The standard deadline for all bulletin items is noon Monday. The item submitted will be printed in the following Sunday's Bulletin. Please remember space is limited. All submissions may be edited for length and content. Thanks-Editor

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