Denver Catholic

2 AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly. Denver Catholic is printed by Signature O› set in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. EDITORIAL: 303-715-3230 or denvercatholic@archden.org | ADVERTISING: 303-715-3253 or denvercatholicads@archden.org CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-715-3230 or circulation@archden.org General Manager KARNA SWANSON Director ANDREW WRIGHT Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 PHOTO OF THE WEEK T his week I want to share with you two important themes that have come to me in prayer: the need for prayer and reparation for the atroc- ity of abortion, and the way that Christ sustains and builds our faith through the Eucharist. Every person of good will has been shocked by the revelations that Planned Parenthood has been selling body parts from aborted children to biotech com- panies. The fi ndings are horrifi c, and the fact that people can speak so cava- lierly about the selling of body parts of aborted children while eating lunch and sipping wine demonstrates how dead- ened the consciences of many people have become. One day, everyone who has promoted or supported abortion in any way will have to answer for his or her actions before the judgment throne of God. This is where prayer comes in, as we must pray that the conscience of every person will be awakened to the evil of abortion. We must bring before the Lord those whose deadened and erroneous con- sciences support abortion and Planned Parenthood. We must pray that they will encounter Christ's mercy and love, and that their consciences will be enlight- ened with the truth. There will be three opportunities for prayer in the Archdiocese of Denver. The fi rst is a weeklong prayer cam- paign organized by Priests for Life that runs Aug. 22-29. Details can be found at PrayerCampaign.org. On Aug. 22, a peaceful protest sponsored by 40 Days for Life and the Pro-Life Action League will be held from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. at the main Planned Parenthood of the Rock- ies clinic, located at 7155 E. 38th Ave. in Denver. And fi nally, my fellow bishops and I have called for a statewide day of fasting, prayer, and reparation on Friday, Aug. 28. I encourage you to mark all the dates on your calendar and plan now how you will pray for the conversion of those who participate in abortion. This brings me to the second point, and that is the gift of the Eucharist, which has been a part of my prayer recently. It has been on my mind and heart because it is through the Eucha- rist that Jesus nourishes us and helps us engage in prayer during times of trial, when evil seems to be winning. Every three years the Church reads from the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels. But for fi ve weeks of that cycle, the Church inserts the sixth chapter of John for the Gospel reading. We are presently in the fi nal week of hearing from John's Eucharistic chapter before returning to Mark. John 6 provides the deepest teaching we have from our Lord on the Eucharist, and I would like to take this opportu- nity to explain how God sustains and strengthens us with Scripture and the Eucharist. I encourage you to begin by taking 20 minutes of time this week to sit down with this chapter, either by yourself or as a family. Begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking him to help you be attentive and listen to the Lord. Read the entire chapter out loud. Then take 5-7 minutes in quiet prayer to see where the Lord speaks to your heart. If you do this alone, simply enter into prayer, speaking heart-to-heart with Jesus about where the passage speaks to you personally. If you do it as a family, let each person speak about what word or passage spoke to their heart. Simply listen to one another. To close, lift up your heart in gratitude to the Lord for the Eucharist and this teaching! John 6 begins with the invitation to faith from the Lord and concludes with a statement of faith, and it is our faith that Christ wants to strengthen with his Word. Allow me to share some of the refl ections that came to me in prayer and strengthened me. The chapter begins with the miracle of the multiplication of the bread and fi sh, after which the people want to make Jesus king, but he disappears. Then, he walks on water, which is fol- lowed by his teaching on how he is the true bread from heaven. The miracle of the loaves and fi sh and Jesus walking on the water demonstrate that he is true God and true man. His power and authority over the material world reveal his divinity. The people only want earthly bread, but Jesus begins to reveal to them that it is the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist. His teaching causes division and there are those who leave because of it. But Jesus never backs o£ from the reality and truth of his fl esh being true food and his blood true drink. Instead, he issues an invitation to faith that he gives to us today, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." Jesus invites them and us to put our faith, confi dence and trust in him. He identifi es himself as "the true bread" that the Father gives from heaven so that the world may have eter- nal life. When the people murmur and dispute among themselves about his teaching, Jesus makes clear that the Eucharist is not a simple sign or symbol, but truly his body and blood. He invites them to a deeper faith, "Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life … the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my fl esh." Jesus teaches us that at every Mass his one sacrifi ce on the Cross is made present and we par- ticipate in it by o£ ering our lives with Jesus to the Father. He states further, "For my fl esh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my fl esh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Jesus speaks of the intimate communion we have with him when we receive his body and blood at Mass. The Eucharist nour- ishes us and sustains us as authentic disciples of Jesus. That is why we go to Mass every Sunday, we keep holy the Sabbath, so that with Jesus we may wor- ship the Father and abide with him. The Eucharist strengthens us to give witness to Christ in the world, to intercede for others—including our enemies—and to invite others to encounter him. At the conclusion of the sixth chap- ter we learn that many of his disciples found this a "hard teaching " and "with- drew" from him. Jesus turns to the twelve and asks an all-important ques- tion that is addressed to us today, "Will you also go away?" Peter answers for the 12 with a statement of faith, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." May our love for the Eucharist grow each time we attend Mass, and may we always give witness to the dignity of every human life from conception until natural death! When evils appears to win, turn to the Eucharist ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE Aug. 22: 50th Anniversary Mass, St. Mary Parish, Greeley (5 p.m.) Aug. 23: Mass, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Lakewood (10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) Aug. 24: Opening Mass for academic year, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, JPII Center (4 p.m.) Aug. 27: Speaker, "Getting Grilled," St. Mary Parish, Littleton (6:30 p.m.) Aug. 29: Mass (bilingual), Archdiocesan 11th Catechetical Congress, Crowne Plaza Hotel at DIA (11:30 a.m.) Aug. 30: Ukranian Orthodox Divine Liturgy, Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection, Denver (9:30 a.m.); Mass, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (12:30 p.m.); Mass for Catholic Home Educators, Holy Trinity Parish, Westminster (3 p.m.) Sept. 1: Archbishop's Lecture Series, Refectory, JPII Center (7 p.m.) This is why Catholic schools exist: to share Je- sus Christ, so that chil- dren may encounter Him." ARCHBISHOP AQUILA at a Mass for Catholic school principals " PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT/DENVER CATHOLIC

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