Father John J. Lombardi

As religious folks we are called to have wonder about our world, lives and God!

Now, is it, for you: More of the Same or do you have the S.O.S.--Sense of Supernatural?

• Are you Ho hum or over the top about sacredness ?
• Is it Business as usual or wonderment in your life?
• Do you succumb to Familiarity breeds contempt or aspire to astonishment ?

We all have our choices in life…

In this Sunday’s Gospel, St Jn ch. 6=we have the Multiplication of Loaves and fishes –Jesus is the Miracle Man. Our religion is one of the Miraculous!!!

Yet there is a Loss of supernatural today­because of, well, of turning on a light switch. A theologian of the past said that when we got this technology­and now think of the Internet and iPods and space labs--internet –we humans have a power which is both powerful and explainable, and so seemingly don’t need God or miracles in our lives as we now have human ones. This results in a decrease in belief.

What is a miracle? It is a supernatural phenomenon either amending or bending the laws of nature to astonish viewers of the Majesty of God . There are 2 Kinds of viewers of miracles­gawkers­who get impressed for a short time and trail off, or walkers­who get impressed and convert for the long haul! Which one are you?

The Catholic religion is of the Miraculous­God founded our Church, animates It and manifests in it every day! Whatever happened to holy water with miraculous cures and bleeding icons and apparitions of angels and stigmatist priests and mystical phenomenon and prophetic signs-readers and healing ministers and Miraculous Medals and…?

Now think of the miraculous in our world today: There’s more to this life­there’s Eternal Life There’s more to body­there’ the soul. There’s more to my boy­I’m called like the Blessed Virgin Mary to be a living tabernacle of the Indwelling Trinity ! There’s more to the bread we eat­at Mass­it’s literally the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ!

Today there’s a void­the spirituality of the new age is filling in where previous believers have fallen off, or neglected or rejected their religion and it’s miraculous aspects. So, where is mystical Catholicism ? Wee need today to talk about and believe in the Light, in sacred energy because God is just that­the Bible uses the word "power" for this. We need to trust in the Mystical Communion and auras, halos and nimbuses of the saints. We should believe in oneness as much as anyone because that is what our Religion is about

Let’s remember and believe in Miracles­Jesus is the Miracle Man who multiplied loaves and fishes to feed His sheep. We’re losing the miraculous in today’s modernist-world where The Red Sea parting and Jesus’ Resurrection are discounted and socialism fills in as a substitute. We can be dulled into submission: the drudgery of the daily routine­whether it be mass or a spouse or children­and wherein "familiarity breeds contempt". You’re lookin’ for a miracle today? Come to Mass wherein Jesus Christ comes into the bread and wine and transubstantiates them into Himself . You wanna miracle?:

So, now, let’s remember how to Wonder:

• the gift of life: Remember Dr Nathanson who killed 770,000 babies thru aboriotn and then one day saw the baby not as an intruder or fetus or tissue but as a child!
• Miraculousness of Married committed love:I met a couple married 75 yrs at Grotto –think of their commitment!
• Charity: remember the little boy in the Gospel who gave Jesus the fishand loaves in the first place to help make the Miracle. In these times of credit crunch be charitable in and thru God’s abundant love .
• Mass: I daily see people often traveling long distances in the early a.m. wrapt in prayer vs. yawning on weekends who "pay their dues"
• The Universe: think about God’s Ultimate Juggling Act of keeping the Universe and Milky Way and Earth all in a definitive and temperature and state wherein if the temperature was one degree otherwise things would fall/blow apart. Let us daily thank Him for His Miracles of Life and Salvation!
• Practices: meditate on and give thanks to God for all His gifts and blessings!…Love your Religion: cultivate in your home and elsewhere art and surroundings of angels and saints, remember and partake of the Mystical Communion and continue to Be astonished- Believe !

Read other reflections by Father John J. Lombardi