Today our parish is celebrating Multi-cultural Day! It is a beautiful day for our parish on which we celebrate our unity in faith and our diversity in culture and language.

As I was reflecting on this day, I founded myself placing it in this year of the Eucharistic revival. Many grains of wheat come together to form a host and so it is with us. The Body of Christ is formed by many different peoples from many different countries, cultures and languages. The Eucharist is the sign of this unity — one Body in one Christ! Each of us who receives the Eucharist has flowing within his/her veins the very same blood — the precious Blood of Christ. We are one family in the One Bread we share.

The Church offers us some very beautiful Eucharistic Prayers “For Various Needs”. We don’t often hear these prayers on Sunday, but, in different ways they speak about the fact that at every Mass we pray that “by the power of the Spirit of your love, we may be counted now and until the day of eternity among the members of your Son, in whose Body and Blood we have communion.” 

Again, in the Preface of the Mass for the Church on the Way to Unity, we hear these beautiful and telling words:

“Through the Gospel proclaimed by your Son you have brought together in a single Church, people of every nation, culture and tongue. Into it your breathe the power of your Spirit, that in every age your children may be gathered as one.”

It is worth meditating on these words to help us understand what we are celebrating today. It is not some superficial act celebrating culture and diversity. No! It is and has to be much deeper than this.

Today, we as a parish family, recognize that the Eucharist we share calls us to strive for unity — to be one, regardless of our diversity. Much more than even this, our witness to unity, speaks loudly and clearly to a world filled with division, discord and war that, with Christ at the center, it is possible for people of different cultures, languages and traditions — not only to live in harmony, not only to tolerate each other — but to live truly as one family in Christ centered on the Table of the Altar! Our parish strives to do this everyday, and this is what we celebrate today!

Happy Multi-cultural Day all!
God bless you!

Fr Pat