You have the words of eternal life.
Today we arrive at the end of Saint John's sixth chapter (about the Eucharist) and at Jesus' challenge to his disciples, "Will you also leave?"
Saint Peter speaks us when he says, ".. to whom shall we go?"
The answer must be "to whom" rather than "to what."
As my philosophy develops I have come to believe there is a personal mystery at the heart of all being. God is not a machine; God is not a senseless, mindless fate, karma or luck.
Certainly, if God's eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches me. Certainly the God who has no time for you or me is too small to be our God.
I think of that wonderful story -- found in our Catholic bible -- Tobit. When the prayers of two persons only distantly related and living many miles apart arrive on God's desk he hands them over to his main man, the Archangel Raphael. Raphael then engineers a contrivance to bring these strangers together and answer both of their prayers in a most wonderful and satisfactory fashion.
Master, to whom shall we go? Saint John's Gospel is well aware of trouble in the Church. In his church there are mediators or missionaries between Jesus and his people. Our priest is always Jesus Christ, not a minor subordinate. He personally hands us bread and fish in the wilderness. He embraces each of us to himself, binding each one as a branch is bound to the trunk of the vine. There are no branches on branches in Saint John's vision; each must remain in the vine or suffer desiccation and amputation. You are the "one whom Jesus loved," laying your head on his bosom during the Last Supper, and receiving his Mother as your own mother on Calvary. You are the one who "saw and believed" when others saw only an empty tomb.
We choose Jesus, not this priest, bishop or pope. We may and should have great respect for our leaders in the Church. We should pray for them daily as they are as frail as anyone else, but our loyalty is to Jesus. He alone has been tried and proven to be purest gold.
It is precisely that loyalty to Jesus that gives the priest such remarkable authority. When I visit Catholic Veterans in the hospital, I know immediately those who practice their faith. Their eyes light up on the entrance of a priest, any priest, it doesn't matter who. They are drawn not by the priest's personal charm; they don't care where he came from or about his ethnic identity. They know this particular fellow -- with the shine in his pants and his Good Will jacket -- has been sent by the Lord, the One whom they love.
During this Easter Season we "Gaze on him." as Saint Clare and all the saints have taught us. There is only one Savior and Lord, that is Christ the Lord.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.