Wheelchair Christians

Someone noted recently that the rich and the powerful, no matter how many expensive and luxurious vehicles they have, will eventually end up in a wheelchair, helplessly or deliberately!

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Today is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. In today’s Gospel (Mk. 14, 12-16, 22-26), Jesus gives specific orders to His disciples, and they follow. He is the head. We are His members. We are to rise up from our comfortable and convenient wheelchairs if so ordered by Him!

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The Eucharist comforts us, but it should also challenge us. The Gospel today starts with the preparation for the Passover meal, the memorable encounter with Jesus in the Last Supper, and ends with the disciples going out with Jesus to the Mount of Olives to perform whatever mission or face the eventuality ahead of them.  The Eucharist should cleanse us, strengthen us, and empower us to carry out our mission.

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In my travels, I can’t help but notice how some pilgrims would require wheelchair assistance in boarding or in alighting from the plane, but could walk for hours when it came to shopping time! In the same way, there are Christians who profess or practice our faith only if, or specially when, it is convenient, comfortable, popular or profitable to do so. Our Eucharistic devotion should not cause us to stagnate, but move us toward greater and deeper commitment to the Lord and to His people.

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Being too “Massy” can become messy. I get the feeling that we are having too many Masses in our city centers, in offices, homes, and even in malls, and for almost any occasion or reason. This could get messy, especially if Masses are done in quantity at the expense of quality, on the part of the faithful and on the priest himself. When it comes to the Eucharist, go for quality, not quantity. Go and do it with devotion, not just for obligation.

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I can’t help but remember with much admiration and gratitude our Indonesian Fr. Francis Madhu, SVD, who was killed on his way to celebrate Mass in a remote barrio in Kalinga on April 1, 2007. We remember, too, the many other priests and Eucharistic ministers who bring the Eucharist to the remotest barrios, risking life and limb for the nourishment of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

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We also remember today missionaries who have left not only their wheelchairs but even their homes, friends, countries, and family members to bring the Eucharist to distant foreign lands, braving deprivation, loneliness, and even persecution. Yes, we thank all the people who have helped nourish our faith through the Eucharist.

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Fr. Ron Sandoval, SVD from Sta. Teresita, Batangas, is our Filipino missionary to Vienna, Austria, which has a population of about 33,000 Filipinos. He has been there since September 2000. I have seen how he goes to different communities, especially on weekends, to celebrate Mass for our Filipino Catholic communities. This doctor of veterinary medicine from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, with a master’s degree in animal nutrition from Copenhagen, Denmark, left everything and everyone for the sake of the Gospel, bringing, through the Eucharist and by his very person, Christ’s presence and healing.

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Take note that the Eucharist was instituted in the context of a meal. It would be good for us today as a family or as a community to reflect on our meals together. Do we still eat together? And what do we talk about during our meals? Perhaps it would be good to remind ourselves that the dining table is neither the place to discuss or solve our problems nor the place to talk about other people. Our meals should nourish us not only nutritionally but also emotionally and spiritually.

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“Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in their midst.” Let us remember Christ’s presence during our meals, and in our conversations. Papa and Mama taught us to remember at every meal people who prepared the food before us, those who have nothing to eat, and those who have no appetite to eat.

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Speaking of meals, how many of our leaders get the “lion’s share” of the wealth of our nation while the majority experience hunger and poverty every day? The Eucharist reminds us to share, and to give back to the people what is theirs. The Eucharist reminds us of payback time.

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Manny Pacquiao is an admirable person who remains humble and God-fearing. Doubly admirable is that he earned his wealth through hard work, unlike so many of his colleagues in Congress who hardly work and just help themselves to public funds. “It is better to give than to receive.” As in boxing, so too in life!

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When you are stressed with all sorts of requests and demands from other people, remember the Eucharist and your mission to share. When people remember you or come to you only when they need you, consider it a privilege to be given the opportunity to serve and to share.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, give me the grace and the strength to leave my comfortable wheelchair when I am called by You to serve and to share. Amen.