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Readings from the Mass: Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Deuteronomy 8: 2-3, 14-16:
Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you…in order to humble you, testing to know what was in your heart… in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord… and in the end, to do you good.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

John 6: 51-58:
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

We beg for the grace of remembering our journey together as community, a journey of humility and understanding, a journey of sharing and being one in Jesus’ body and blood. We beg for the grace of deeper understanding of the mystery of Jesus’ body and blood, given to us so we can have life forever.

First point. Discernment challenges us to transcend many things that will make our way of choosing free from our ill-ordered attachments and free to follow God’s desires for us. It calls for some personal conversion, some renewal of minds and hearts, an openness to be transformed. It is about seeing Christ more clearly in our choices, finding God in all things, loving Him more dearly, and following Him more nearly. This demands transcending our very selves, our preoccupations, impulses, tendencies, and giving space for the Spirit to direct our feelings, thoughts, and decisions.

Second point. The Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan proposes a way of transcendence. He says that we all go through the following moments: experience, understanding, judgment, and action – the integrity of one as dependent on the other. Hence, understanding depends on experience, judgment depends on understanding, action depends on judgment. To ensure the integrity of each, Lonergan suggests four “transcendental precepts” or acts of transcendence: be attentive! (for experience), be intelligent! (for understanding), be reasonable! (for judgment), and be responsible! (for action). Later, he added another precept that encompasses everything: be loving! The act of loving and compassion makes possible the other acts.

· We move prematurely from one moment to another, e.g. rushing to judgment without thorough understanding, rushing to conclusions without adequate experience

· We get fixated or stuck in one, e.g. paralysis of analysis, preoccupation with action with no reflection, staying in one’s comfort zone, self-centeredness in thought and action

· We have biases and attachments, e.g. selective perception, lack of openness to new experiences, seeing what we want to see, blinders and prejudices, dominant lenses or mindsets, “favorite” conclusions, denial of feelings and intuition

· We are unable to stay adequately in one level, e.g. withstanding the “pain” of new experience; impatience with process; inability to search for data, to listen, to reflect, to take action

· We are unable to integrate all levels, creating a fragmented self, lack of consistency of thought and action, lack of integrity

Third point. We reflect on our capacity for transcendence and freedom, with the help of Lonergan’s insights. Do we discern and act this way? Where do we see our strengths and weaknesses? What are our tendencies to both transcendence and counter-transcendence? In what ways can we be more transcendent and free in our discernment?

We return to the three stories of Mary, the first disciples, and Jesus. We pray and reflect on how their discernment and decisions were acts of transcendence and freedom; how they flowed from a relationship where they experienced, understood, judged, and loved Jesus, God; how this relationship was renewing and transformative of their minds and hearts.

- Matthew 25:31-46: Seeing Christ in others; transcending our limited understanding
- John 5:30: I judge as I hear, and my judgment in honest…
- John 15:12-15: Love one another… no other love than this…: loving as the supreme act of transcendence
- Romans 12:2: …be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will…
- Galatians 5:19-26: What proceeds from the flesh and from the spirit
- Ephesians 5:8-10, 17: …be children of light…Do not continue in ignorance, but try to discern the will of the Lord.
- Philippians 1:9-10: …that our love may more and more abound, both in understanding and in wealth of experience…
- Colossians 3:1-3, 8-10: …enriched with full assurance by their knowledge of the mystery of God…in whom every treasure of wisdom and knowledge is hidden…

First point. We read contemplatively and pray John 10, Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Psalm 23. We take note of what strikes us, what impresses us most about the qualities of the good shepherd. Is it any of the following: knows his sheep, goes ahead of his sheep, followed by his sheep, “gate” of the sheepfold, savior, leads his sheep to the pasture, giver of abundant life, lays down his life for the sheep, brings other sheep to the fold, unites the fold into one flock, restores my soul, leads me to the right paths, comforts me, prepares a table for me, anoints me. Pray and reflect on the Good Shepherd as a leader who discerns what is good for his sheep, who challenges us toward transcendence and freedom.

Second point. Pray and reflect on the situation of your Province, imagining it as a sheepfold, a flock of sheep. What is the condition of the sheepfold? Are some lost, wandering, and led astray? Do some need consoling and closer guidance? Can they be left alone? What consoles and afflicts the sheep? What do they need? Pray and reflect on your leaders. Pray and reflect on yourselves as leaders of your Province. What qualities of the Good Shepherd do you possess? What qualities of the Good Shepherd do you need to nurture, develop, practice in a special way, at this time? What specific qualities of the Good Shepherd are particularly needed now, considering the situation of your sheepfold? What qualities can we give emphasis on?

Third point. We pray in thanksgiving for the leaders-shepherds who have guided our Province, in different ways, in different pastures, in different times and seasons. We pray in supplication for the leaders-shepherds we are choosing in this Chapter, so that they may be blessed by the qualities and spirituality of the Good Shepherd. We pray for ourselves that we may be blessed with the gift of discernment to see, love, and follow the Good Shepherds in our Province.

We go back to the Opening Prayer of Day Two, praying and reflecting on the Mystery of Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. We offer our two days of prayer and unite them to this Mystery. We offer and unite our present moment, where, how, and who we are. We offer and unite our desires for our future. We offer and unite our acts of transcendence and freedom. We offer and unite our Good Shepherds, past, present and future. All in the one body of Christ, all in our one community centered in Christ. Amen.

May 25