Charismatic Eucharist - Side A

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The great sign, the great theme that we gather under during this week is the sign of the
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Eucharist.
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And I'd like to say a few things tonight about what God is giving to us and what God is asking
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from us in the Eucharist.
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First Corinthians chapter 11.
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For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you,
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that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed,
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took bread, and when he had given thanks,
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broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.
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Do this in remembrance of me.
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In the same way, also, the cup, after supper,
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saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
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Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
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For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
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you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
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Whoever therefore eats the bread
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or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
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will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
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Let a man examine himself, for anyone who eats and drinks
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without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgments
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upon himself.
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That's why many of you are weak and ill,
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and some have died.
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But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.
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But when we are judged by the Lord,
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we are chastened and purified,
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so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
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I believe the Holy Spirit is using the Eucharistic Congress
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to bring a renewed depth of Eucharistic life
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Eucharistic life amongst the Catholic Church
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and all the Christian churches of this country
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and other countries.
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What is God giving to us in the Eucharist?
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What is he asking from us?
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What he's giving to us is a proclamation
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of the most important truth of Christianity,
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that when we celebrate the Eucharist,
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what we do is proclaim the saving death of Jesus Christ
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and his resurrection and his ascension
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and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit,
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the central event on which the restoration
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of the entire human race and the entire universe is based
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because there is no other name
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other than the name of Jesus
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by which mankind can find salvation.
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At his name, every knee should bend
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and every tongue proclaim
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that it's Jesus who is the Lord of all the universe.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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What happens in the Eucharist is the proclamation of the central truth of Christianity.
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It's by the death of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and His resurrection.
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It's the only basis on which men and women can be reconciled with God.
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It's the only way in which the curse of death and suffering can be overcome and transformed.
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It's the only way by which men and women can live in peace and joy in this life and forever and ever.
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What happens in the Eucharist is by breaking the bread and bringing forth the wine
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and asking the Spirit of God to come upon it, is that when we raise it up,
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we say, through Him and in Him and with Him, all things happen.
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Is the creation reconciled with God?
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Is I as an individual reconciled with God?
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As I turn away from a life apart from God
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and place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ
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and say to him, you are my God, you are my Savior,
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you are the Lord, Jesus bestows on us his Holy Spirit
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in new measure, in new abundance,
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and were able to live now the life of God himself.
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This is the foundation of the renewal of the Catholic Church
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and the reunion of all Christians,
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the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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The Eucharist as it proclaims the death
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The Eucharist, as it proclaims the death and resurrection of Jesus,
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tells us that this is the central truth of Christianity.
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It also tells us that the most important activity now for Christians
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is to proclaim this truth until the Lord Jesus returns
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to manifest and demonstrate and complete
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His reign and rule over the earth again.
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The most important activity of the Christian people
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is to proclaim to the world that Jesus saves,
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that Jesus is the Lord,
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that Jesus is the foundation of peace and justice.
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We proclaim this truth to ourselves, the church in the Eucharist.
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And every one of you here tonight ought to clearly and confidently know that we are the church.
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We are the church of Jesus Christ.
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We are His body.
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We proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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We lift Jesus up in the Eucharist for the church to see Him,
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for the church to drink of Him more deeply,
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for the church to cleave to Him as His bride more fully.
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And Jesus in the Eucharist bestows His Holy Spirit,
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gives us His own self, His own spirit.
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We put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We take Him into our being,
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and we become more fully in the Eucharist,
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the body of Jesus in the world.
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And it's his body, you and I, in all the circumstances of our lives, in our neighborhoods, in our
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families, in our jobs, in all the chance contexts of our life that need to know that we are
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his body in the world, that we need to share the saving message with our fellow human beings
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in all the circumstances of our life as we're fed by him and nourished by him and empowered
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and led by his Holy Spirit to love those he's put us with and to share with them the message
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of life.
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One of the things the scripture tells us is the reason why so many in the church are weak
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and sick is that they don't perceive all that Jesus wants to give to us and is to us in
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the Eucharist.
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And I think that the Lord wants to bring a clarity
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to the Catholic Church today
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about that the core of the Eucharist
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is Jesus inviting us to repent,
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to put our faith in him,
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to accept him and cleave to him,
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eat his body, drink his blood,
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partake of his spirit,
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and he wants the church of Jesus Christ
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He becomes strong and healthy and vigorous and powerful
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and able to be his body in the world.
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In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 16 and 17,
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it says, don't you realize that when you take communion,
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that puts you in communion with Jesus Christ and with one another.
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We become one body by taking part in the Eucharist.
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And don't you realize that?
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We come into communion. We become one.
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And as we receive communion tonight,
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I believe the Lord wants us to say a deeper yes
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to what not only He's giving to us,
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but to what He's asking from us as we approach the Eucharist.
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He says, this isn't a game.
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There's a deep and powerful reality pulsing in the Eucharist.
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Don't take it lightly.
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You're approaching the Son of God Himself.
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And there's consequences for your life
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if you approach the Eucharist lightly.
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He doesn't want us to have the old hang-up about,
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did I eat food, you know, within an hour before going to Eucharist,
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or was I really forgiven ten years ago for that sin,
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even though you've confessed it five times.
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That's not what he's talking about.
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He wants us to come joyfully and freely and confidently to him,
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knowing his tremendous love for us and mercy to us
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and compassion on our weakness.
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but he also wants us to come expecting something to happen
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in our life through taking part in the Eucharist
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because the Eucharist isn't just a ritual.
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It's taking part in the life and person and body and blood
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and spirit of our Savior and he's alive
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and he desires to live in us.
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And I believe that we can do that.
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that he wants us tonight, when we take the Eucharist,
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to say yes to his full plan.
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Because the Eucharist isn't just for Catholics.
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It isn't even just for all Christians.
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The Lord desires that all mankind be reconciled to himself
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through his Son.
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And when we take part in the Eucharist,
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He wants us to say yes for all men coming to Christ.
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He wants us to say yes to the full restoration
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of the Catholic Church and the complete renewal
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of the Catholic Church.
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He wants us to say yes to the reunion of all Christians.
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And he wants us to say yes to world evangelism,
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to bringing the message of Christ,
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to raising up Jesus Christ as the only hope
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of a perishing race.
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I believe God wants us to make that yes practical and concrete.
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If the Lord's been calling us to himself perhaps for many years and we've never said yes,
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We've always been afraid.
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We've always felt, I can't do it.
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He wants us tonight to believe that indeed by ourselves,
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we can't, but with him, we can.
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He wants us to cast off the fear and cast off the doubt
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and cast off the discouragement and cast off the disappointment
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and say, I believe again in the Son of God,
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and I know He's able to take care of everything
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that I entrust to Him, and I'll do it tonight.
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I believe He wants us to make it practical, concrete.
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If we've hung back from really joining our lives
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with other Christians who desire to live a life
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of union with God and service to Him in the world,
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I think he wants us to repent, to ask forgiveness, and say,
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I'm going to seek out a group of committed Christians
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and get over my personality conflicts
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and get over my timidity and say, I want to be with you
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and offer myself with you to God to use in our neighborhood,
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to use in our city.
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If there's been somebody we've been holding back in talking to about Jesus,
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in giving them a book or giving them a tape or whatever,
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the Lord wants us in love, guided by His Spirit,
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to reach out and to share the good news of the reality of the Son of God
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and all the hope that comes to us in him.
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Finally, 200 years ago in this city our forefathers as Americans made a
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declaration of independence. They declared themselves free of the rule of
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Britain and they committed themselves to certain principles and ideals to govern
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our nation and I think like probably with all of you I really experienced a
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renewal of patriotism during the Bicentennial. I became appreciative of
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how much God has given to us in our country.
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At the same time, I became deeply impressed about how deep a commitment many of those
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men and women made so that our country might be free.
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In that Declaration of Independence, they pledged to commit their lives, their fortunes,
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and their sacred honor so that this nation might be born.
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And I felt like the Lord was telling me,
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what are we willing to commit so that the reign of Christ
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may be manifest in our country and in our world?
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What are we willing to give so that the kingdom of God
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may come more fully and be more firmly established
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in our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters.
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I believe God wants us tonight to make a new declaration,
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to pledge to him and to his work,
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our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
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That means our reputation.
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No matter what our neighbors think about us
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or going to a charismatic prayer meeting,
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we're willing to face that, to grow in Christ,
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and to follow the move of his spirit,
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and to cast our lot with his work in the world tonight.
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Thank you, Lord.
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We shall begin our Eucharistic liturgy.
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This liturgy and prayer meeting sponsored by the National Service Committee of the Catholic
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charismatic renewal in cooperation with the officials
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and staff of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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and the love of God,
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and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
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be with you all.
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And also with you.
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Dear friends, we will ask pardon to the Lord for our sins, for the sins of all humanity.
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Lord, we ask your pardon because we didn't accept you as our Lord and Savior every day
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and in every decision.
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Lord, have mercy on us.
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Lord, we ask your pardon for the division of your church.
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We ask your pardon because it was not your wish.
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It's your dream that unity should come again.
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in union with our brothers who are celebrating now
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the ecumenical service, Lord, we ask you pardon
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for the sins of all your Christians.
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Christ, have mercy.
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Lord, we ask you pardon because we didn't answer
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answer the needs of the world.
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What the world is waiting and expecting from us,
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this is what you are expecting from us.
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Christ, we ask your pardon because we didn't answer
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to that expectancy.
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The Lord have pity on us.
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The Lord have pity on us.
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May almighty God cleanse us of our sins
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and through the Eucharist we celebrate
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in such wonderful evening,
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make us worthy to sit at his table
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in his heavenly kingdom.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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First reading from the book of Genesis.
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God said, let us make man in our own image,
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in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea,
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of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts,
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and the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.
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God created man in the image of himself.
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In the image of God, he created him.
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Male and female, he created them.
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God blessed them, saying to them, be fruitful, multiply,
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fill the earth, and conquer it.
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Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven,
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and the living animals on the earth.
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God said, see, I give you all seed-bearing plants that
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are upon the whole earth, and all the trees
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with seed-bearing fruits.
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This shall be your food.
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To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven,
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and all living reptile on the earth,
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I give all the foliage of plants for food.
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And so it was.
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God saw all he had made.
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And indeed, it was very good.
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Evening came and morning came, the sixth day.
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This is the word of the Lord.
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Second reading, a reading from the letter of Paul
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to the Ephesians, in whom, through his blood,
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we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
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Such is the richness of the grace
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which he has showed on all us in wisdom and insight.
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He has let us know the mystery of his purpose,
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the hidden plan that he has so kindly made in Christ
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from the beginning to act upon when the times
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had run their course to the end,
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that he would bring everything together
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under Christ as head, everything in the heavens
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in the heavens and everything on the earth.
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And it is in him that we were claimed as God's own,
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chosen from the beginning under the predetermined plan
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of the one who guides all things,
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chosen to be for his greater glory the people who would put their hopes in Christ before
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he came.
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Now you too, in him, have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation
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and have believed it.
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And you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the promise,
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the pledge of our inheritance, which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own,
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to make his glory praised.
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This is the word of the Lord.
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Thanks be to God.
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The Lord be with you.
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And also with you.
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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.
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Glory to you, O Lord.
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I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
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Every branch in me that bears no fruit, he cuts away.
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And every branch that does bear fruit,
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he prunes to make it bear even more.
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You are pruned already by means of the word
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that I have spoken to you.
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Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
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As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
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but must remain part of the vine,
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neither can you unless you remain in me.
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I am the vine.
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you are the branches.
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Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
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bears fruit in plenty.
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For cut off from me, you can do nothing.
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Anyone who does not remain in me
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is like a branch that has been thrown away.
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He withers.
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These branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
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and they are burned.
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If you remain in me, and my words remain in you,
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you may ask what you will, and you shall get it.
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It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
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and then you will be my disciples.
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This is the good news of the Lord.
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Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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of God.
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Amen.
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Thank you.
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If you remain in me, and my words remain in you,
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you may ask what you will and you shall get it.
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It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
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and then you will be my disciples.
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These are the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
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and of the Holy Spirit.
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Amen.
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My brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
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my brothers, your eminences, your lordships,
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your excellencies, reverend fathers,
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and brothers and sisters, one and all,
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Jesus Christ is the Lord of history.
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Jesus Christ is the Lord of the world.
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Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives.
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And tonight, Jesus Christ is the Lord of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
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My first reflection after seeing this stadium was that the Lord has built a giant prayer
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room. I mentioned this to a priest friend where I am staying and his response was,
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and isn't it great he left the roof off.
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There is a divine plan for every situation in the world. Our first
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reading reminded us of the picture of creation, the concluding words about the
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sixth day, the key role that man would play in God's divine plan. And we might
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summarize that whole picture with the word harmony. God our Father had a
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a beautiful plan for this world. The original plan placed man at the center.
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We were made in the image of God and havoc came to that pristine glory
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because Adam must have been from Michigan. He had a better plan. Man did
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not play his part. And thus, as the second reading pointed out, Jesus became the
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answer, the center of the divine plan. And we glory, as did Paul, that we are living
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this final time when we know the divine plan, that all must be under the
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Lordship of Jesus Christ. That was the second reading. In our third reading,
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Jesus tells us that he is not the total answer. We are to be part of it. He wants
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to abide in us and we are to abide in him. Thus the Father will receive glory,
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thus man will be fruitful, thus we can have a new creation, though earth will be
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restored to its pristine beauty and harmony. The magnificent plan of the
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Father is accomplished in His Son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
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The Holy Spirit builds us up into the body of Christ
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to be a new people of a new covenant
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transfused by the blood of Christ.
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He abides in us and we in him
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inform the community of faith
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that makes all things new.
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In the Eucharist, we come together
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around the table of the Lord
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to remember Jesus as Savior and Lord,
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to praise the Father,
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and to form a new unity in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Thus we are transformed internally
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and become the living branches,
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united to Jesus and one another,
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so that the Father may be praised
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the fruit of our collective lives.
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There is a simple pattern to the divine plan for making things new.
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And every time we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, we reflect that pattern.
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The word we use is an old Greek word, epiklesis.
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We call upon the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon bread and transform it.
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And when the Word of God issues forth, then that bread is transubstantiated.
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It is changed.
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Jesus comes in our midst and continues to be present with his people.
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The pattern is clear.
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There is something to be transformed.
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The Word of God issues forth.
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The power of the Holy Spirit is there and we have newness.
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This plan of our Father, this pattern of doing things is constantly being revealed to us
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in the Scriptures.
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In the story of creation, we find the wasteland that is earth, the power of the Holy Spirit
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rests upon it, the Word of God issues forth and we have creation, this beautiful harmony.
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Throughout the Old Testament, we see that pattern continue to be renewed.
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And at the moment when God is going to restore all, He sends a messenger to a simple woman,
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probably a girl of 15 years, Mary, our mother.
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She is open to God's Word.
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She receives that message.
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She is told that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and she is transformed,
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and Jesus takes flesh.
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He comes to live among us.
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The divine pattern is underway.
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00:36:14,380 --> 00:36:20,340
Something new is going to happen on this earth.
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When Jesus, after his 30 years of private life, enters the Jordan River, he chooses
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to manifest to us the divine pattern.
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He goes and hears the word of the Father,
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This is my beloved Son.
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The Father issues forth a clear word from the heavens.
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The power of the Holy Spirit is upon Jesus.
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And as he walks forth from the Jordan,
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he is filled with the Holy Spirit,
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led by the Holy Spirit,
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goes in the desert to overcome the powers of evil,
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comes out of the desert in the power of the Holy Spirit,
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and goes forth to announce to men
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that he is anointed with the Holy Spirit.
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And then we see the reign of God.
420
00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:17,360
Then we see the kingdom of God
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proclaim, hearts are moved and God is working a new thing in our midst.
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At Pentecost, Jesus prepared the apostles for them with his promises. He breathed upon
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He breathed upon them and said,
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Receive the Holy Spirit.
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And we know that these men of faith needed something more
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as they gathered together to pray in that upper room.
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And we watched them transform
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00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:05,080
as the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
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00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:10,080
We watched them go forth to proclaim the Word of God to men
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00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,840
to men and we watch the church be born.
431
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,720
God is working a new thing.
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00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:22,520
Creation is being renewed and restored.
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00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:27,480
The end time of the new creation is upon us.
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00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:32,040
In each of these instances, the power of the Holy Spirit
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00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,200
and the word of God are manifested
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00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:40,040
as God works his wonders among men.
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00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:44,340
This is the truth that we hunger for.
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00:38:44,340 --> 00:38:48,240
This is the truth that is revealed, especially
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in the Eucharist.
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00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:54,240
And this is what we celebrate this evening.
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00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:58,440
This divine plan for making things new
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00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,160
is repeated throughout the scriptures
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00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,440
and in the history of the church.
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00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:09,360
And I believe that we can detect this pattern in our own time
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and the promise of the divine renewal in the Church is upon us.
446
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:25,360
With Vatican II, in response to Pope John's plea that the whole Church be renewed with a new Pentecost,
447
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:33,360
we find there in the Council documents a renewed interest in the Word of God
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00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:37,660
and in the imagery of the Scriptures.
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It's the most consistent pattern about those documents.
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And scripture is constantly being quoted.
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And if we just take the one document,
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the map document of Vatican II, the one on the church,
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00:39:54,420 --> 00:39:59,660
we find that 132 times, references
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00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:05,100
made to the Holy Spirit coming in power to renew us.
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00:40:05,100 --> 00:40:10,100
And this is what reverberates through the church in our day.
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This is why we are filled with a sense of hope.
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God is restoring his people.
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00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:21,100
He is following his pattern.
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00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:26,100
And it is my belief that in the Catholic charismatic renewal,
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00:40:26,100 --> 00:40:31,100
we see a sign of this renewal and restoration.
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00:40:31,100 --> 00:40:34,100
and today our hearts desire.
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Today our hearts desire is fed in this Eucharist as we come together to praise the Lord and
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sing with the psalmist.
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that the plan of the Lord stands forever,
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the design of His heart through all generations.
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00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:08,680
Today, thousands of Christians are becoming a renewed people
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00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:14,020
as they experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their life.
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00:41:14,020 --> 00:41:18,900
The divine pattern for making things new is being repeated
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00:41:18,900 --> 00:41:23,800
in the personal history of people of faith.
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We come here this evening from four corners of the earth.
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We are uniquely different from one another, and yet we experience the special bond of
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unity.
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We are one in the Lord Jesus by the power of His Holy Spirit.
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00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:50,240
The Holy Spirit continues to breathe where He will and surprise us, but we can detect
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00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:55,600
an outline of what is happening in the fourth Eucharistic canon
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00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:59,760
that we pray together this night.
477
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The Holy Spirit makes Jesus present.
478
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:11,300
The Holy Spirit makes us live not for ourselves, but for Jesus.
479
00:42:11,300 --> 00:42:17,920
The Holy Spirit makes us instruments to complete the work of Jesus.
480
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:22,920
The Holy Spirit brings us the fullness of grace.
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00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:26,600
The Holy Spirit makes us holy.
482
00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:30,240
The Holy Spirit builds up the church,
483
00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:33,500
the body of Christ in unity.
484
00:42:33,500 --> 00:42:38,500
The Holy Spirit makes us a living sacrifice of praise.
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praise. It has been revealed to us in the wondrous plan of creation that man
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00:42:48,700 --> 00:42:54,940
played a central order in the divine order. He alone was made to the image and
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00:42:54,940 --> 00:43:01,700
likeness of God. We also know that man revolted and entered a state of
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of rebellion against the divine plan.
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00:43:04,700 --> 00:43:10,700
And Saint Luke points out that Mary is the model disciple.
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She kneels before God, ready to fulfill his word,
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and under the power of the Holy Spirit,
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00:43:17,700 --> 00:43:21,700
she says yes to the word of God,
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00:43:21,700 --> 00:43:25,700
and the word took flesh within her.
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00:43:25,700 --> 00:43:29,700
Like Mary, we stand beneath the word of God
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00:43:29,700 --> 00:43:36,700
and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we say yes to God's plan.
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00:43:36,700 --> 00:43:44,700
Thus Jesus touches us with the reality of his presence now in our daily life,
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00:43:44,700 --> 00:43:50,700
and we know that newness that came to Mary and proclaim with her,
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00:43:50,700 --> 00:44:01,340
My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
499
00:44:01,340 --> 00:44:06,900
This is the end of side one. To hear the remainder of Bishop McKinney's homily,
500
00:44:06,900 --> 00:44:10,580
turn the cassette over now.