A reading from Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?”
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
REFLECTION: “Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”."
I love this vision from Ezekiel. From the Temple, a trickling of water starts, then a river flows. Trees grow on both sides of the bank. They bear fruit every month (as opposed to every year); the fruit serves for food and their leaves for medicine.
From inside our churches, from the sacred places, the Eucharist is being consecrated, and its graces flow into our hearts and bodies to help us on our way to Heaven.
Right this moment, most of the world is not allowed to enter the churches, the sacred spaces, so we can feed our bodies and souls with the Blessed Sacrament.
Masses, rosaries, and prayers are being streamed by many of our priests that long to see their flocks back inside their parishes and participate in the Mass in person with them.
This last week has been a fasting: a fasting from the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus.
On one hand, we feel a part of our lives missing; the part that Jesus fills every time we receive Him.
On the other hand, we need to show love to our neighbor and not mingle but keep "social distance" for a while so as not to spread COVID-19 further into society.
What God is asking from us right now is one of the biggest tests of our lives-- to wait for Him.
He is there, in the altar, in the Tabernacle, in the monstrance.
He is in that Sacred space.
And like the reading from Ezekiel, the river trickles, and becomes a large river. And every tree that feeds from it gives fruit every month.
We wait for the day the churches will open again for public Mass. And we will receive Him in body and soul. And with this wait we will have learned to love Him more.
St. Issac Jorges ~ Pray for us.
St. Isaac Jogues (1607-1646) may have been prepared for torture and martyrdom when he traveled to North America to evangelize Native Americans. But as a priest, he wouldn’t have expected to be deprived of the Eucharist — until his hands were marred by his captors. At the time, a priest who was missing thumb or forefinger was unable to celebrate the Mass, so from the time of his injury until (having escaped his Mohawk captors) his return to France 17 months later, Fr. Jogues was unable to confess, to celebrate Mass, or even to attend Mass. He was given a special dispensation and permitted to celebrate Mass again, in spite of the state of his hands, and requested permission to return to America after his recovery. He was killed not long after his return, but his killer later repented and was baptized with the name “Isaac Jogues.”