Nowhere To Go

As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Jesus was giving them Himself and they could not take it. Was the gift too great or perhaps too mystical?  No, the people heard what Jesus said, knew what He was giving them and they wanted no part of it.  He was speaking, of course, of His Body and Blood as food for the soul and they were unable to accept this gift for they thought with the minds of human beings in the normal state of life.  The gift of his Body and Blood was too much for them to accept. They turned away and walked with Him no more. 

Jesus at this point must have been saddened but He had to know how His closest followers felt about Him.  He asked them if they were going to leave.  Simon Peter. as the leader of the Twelve immediately responded that there was no place for them to go because they believed and were convinced that He was the Christ, the Holy One of God. 

Today, we are asked the same question.  Do we believe that Jesus is who He says He is?  Every time the world asks us to follow it we have to make a decision.  Do we follow the world with all of its empty promises or do we follow Jesus, the Son of God?  Do we walk away from the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity that He shares with us so that we do not miss the five plays of the football game?  Do we leave church early after receiving communion without thinking about who it is that we have received?  Is getting out of the parking lot first so very important?  Is a better place in line at the restaurant worth ignoring the Son of God? 

It goes further than this. While it is true that the scandal that has come to our attention out of Pennsylvania hurts and makes us feel shame for what was done and how it was covered up, some of us are walking away.  Those that are walking away are hurt and shamed and do not know what else that they could do.  Why should they remain in a church that allows these things to happen?  The truth is that Jesus knew there would be scandals and He told us that they would come and try our faith.  We forget that the Catholic Church is holy not because of its members but because of its founder and because of the Spirit that dwells within it.  If you are considering leaving the Church for some denomination, think very carefully before you do it and for heaven's sake talk with a trust priest or deacon before you do anything foolish. To give up the Eucharist because of the actions of a very small minority of renegade priests and their supervisors is a very serious thing. Think and pray about it  The Church is the Bride of Christ, she always will be, and He will be back to take His bride to heaven. 

Remember our brothers and sisters in Purgatory - they need your prayers and sacrifices. There are untold millions of souls that have no one to pray for them because they were Protestant and reject the existence of Purgatory.  But, the truth is the truth no matter if you believe it or not.  Pray for the poor souls today for tomorrow you may be one of them!