“The Eucharist we celebrate tonight is part of an encounter with Christ,” Bishop Nelson Perez told those who gathered the evening of May 24 for a bilingual Mass at St. Bernard Church in Akron.
“Christ wasn’t Irish, Cuban, Mexican or Polish. He was Palestinian,” the bishop said, adding that he didn’t look like the way some people have pictured him or sculpted him. He referred specifically to one portrait that was popular about 40 years ago. “It showed Jesus with dark blond hair,” he said. “But he didn’t really look like that.”
When Jesus began his ministry he did so among his chosen people – the Jews.
As his ascension approached, he encouraged the disciples to broaden their ministry. “He told them vaya, go. Go to the whole world,” he said, explaining how difficult this must have been for the disciples. “Imagine telling this to a group of people who had never been beyond the area where they lived. They didn’t know the rest of the world. There was no CNN, no internet. They didn’t know if the rest of the world would listen. Now you can virtually visit a country on your phone. We know from the first chapters of Acts (of the Apostles) that it wasn’t a smooth ride,” he said.
Bishop Perez said the difficulties began as soon as the disciples branched out beyond their own world. He said the belief at the time was that to be a Christian you had to be a Jew first, which meant adhering to the Jewish laws and customs. However, Paul had a different opinion, which caused tension.
“The First Council of Jerusalem was called to deal with cultural tension in the Church and there’s been a creative tension ever since,” the bishop said. He explained that the word Catholic means universal. He said when visitors walk around Rome they see the universal Church – people from all over the world assemble there “and they figure it out,” he said.
He recalled a time when as a seminarian, there was a week when Masses were celebrated in Spanish. It was a tough week for most seminarians. He was the only Latino in the seminary at that time and he said someone made a comment that the Spanish-speakers should learn English.
“I agreed, but I also reminded him that the Church isn’t in the business of teaching languages; it’s in the business of teaching the Gospel.”
Bishop Perez said he loves being at Masses when American Sign Language is used.
“The more we’re connected to the vine (Christ), the more we understand his heart. He is the vine and we are the branches. When we’re gathered with Christ in the Eucharist in church, we are gathered in love – not just for ourselves but for the world,” he said. “Church is not just a place of arrival, but also a place of departure. The last word of Jesus on this planet was ‘go.’”
He said this is a great mission and a challenge for us, including the people of St. Bernard’s. The parish was established 110 years ago by people current parishioners never knew, yet they persevered and spread the faith. He said now it’s up to the current parishioners to hand on the gift of faith that they’ve been given.
“It’s not up to Father Chris or the bishop alone to do this. We’ll be here a little while and then we’ll be gone. Under the leadership of Father Chris (Zerucha, the pastor), you need to figure out how to be a community of missionary disciples. The Church must face outward and be engaged. When we receive the Eucharist, not only is Jesus coming into our hearts, but he’s asking us to become what we received,” the bishop said.
After Mass, Father Zerucha presented the bishop with a T-shirt from St. Bernard Parish and a bumper sticker from St. Mary’s, its sister parish. Father Zerucha oversees both parishes.
“You’ve been sent a wonderful young priest with apostolic zeal,” Bishop Perez said. “So help him. He can only do what you can help him to do, so walk with him, take care of him and don’t burn him out. You’re all in this together.”
Instead of processing out of the church, the bishop invited the entire congregation to gather in front of the altar for a group photo before heading downstairs for a fellowship and refreshments.
