On Excellent Homilies, and Moving...

This past Sunday our priest gave the most wonderful homily. The gospel reading was Jn 6:51-58 and the homily was all about transubstantiation vs. consubstantiation, the tabernacle as the heart of the community and ourselves, the need to receive Jesus reverently with examples of irreverence, emphasis on having a pure soul at the time of Communion, even "accidents" and "substances". It was really amazing. There was a silence so thick you could cut it with a knife amongst the congregation.

But as I heard it I couldn't help feeling a little sadness. We are soon to be moving (we hope...) and our experiences here in this particular diocese have been so deliciously orthodox that we are afraid to be leaving. The parish I attended growing up never had homilies remotely like this one, that I recall, and wherever we have attended outside this diocese be it visiting family or on vacation, it always seems to be significantly more lukewarm and the message "watered down." And there are always the little things which nag me, like the tabernacle off to the side where you can barely see it (and it takes a few minutes to figure out where it is initially), or the glass chalices, or the zillion Eucharistic ministers. I try to look past it all and see that this Mass is just as valid as any other, and the consecration is valid, and Jesus is no less here! but still I pine for homilies which go beyond feel-good fuzziness or extremely vague correction. Knowing how badly informed I was about what the Catholic church believes, years after confirmation and with a very Catholic father! sometimes I wish priests would go into uncomfortable areas more often and speak about things like our priest just did this weekend... basically knocking people over the head with the clear pronouncement "Jesus is this Bread." There are so many parts of our faith I would love to hear clear pronouncements of from the lectern!

But then again, I remember that I am also to blame for these priests who don't preach the way I would like them to. How easy it is to lay the blame on them when so few are praying for them. It is a sad admission that I struggle to remember to pray for the priests that I know, and the priests of the whole world.