ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
Often, when I am in Adoration at the Chapel, I feel small, young, malleable, open... I often get transported in memory to my childhood, when I would offer my help and presence to whoever needed it. I could only help a little, for I was little, but it was a true offer of self to the best of my abilities at the time. Yet, that little help could make a difference to someone. Even In the smallness of the offering, there was purity of intent, as it was given without expectation. I see that same smallness in the Host, in which I see Christ in all His Glory, yet hidden to those of us who only attempt to see with our eyes. In the hidden reality, the humble Host is neither little nor small. It is the King of Mercy disguised as bread, offering the fullness of his love and help to us, and with an even greater purity of intent than the child I remember.
Throughout life, we continue to grow, and even in our simplicity, we reach higher tiers of life. We are called to grow bolder in love, hope, and faith and gain greater knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. That wisdom which we glean from our Eucharistic life tells us that we are indeed small and that if we just embrace this, we can grow in humility and selflessness in imitation of Christ. Oh, that we may do all little things with great love, pure offerings to the Eucharistic King!
That smallness and simplicity in the almost routine things we do with love guide our steps, traversing slowly but surely on the way to Heaven.
I am given a glimpse of Heaven whenever my children do these small kind things, giving of themselves to others without expectation and with great love. I grow thankful to Our Lord for this gift of recognition when I see His guiding hand act upon my loved ones, littleness giving back the gift of great love... which is not so little at all, for love of God and neighbor reigns supreme over all virtues.
In my heart, often, while witnessing the routine and the mundane, I feel the hand of God operating freely in my life, His love and peace showing the way… I look up at my wall and at the Crucifix that adorns it…
At every Mass, during the moment of consecration, there is a Cross and a Host... The Cross reminds us how much Jesus loved us then… The Host reminds us how much he loves us now... today… Death and life, sacrifice and gift, sacrificial love and nurturing gift... then and now, and for all time, even beyond time.
How can we not adore Him who humbled Himself this way for us? How can we not accept this gift given to us as nourishment for the journey home?
Let us make God’s Love our vocation so that His Love may be shown to the world through our actions in life. Let us pray for vocations to the Priesthood that we may continue to celebrate the humility of Christ and His smallness in the Host, in the greatness of the Eucharist. May we learn to live Christ’s example, that in our simpleness and smallness, with love and humility, we may live our thanksgiving fully, while we continue our journey home to Heaven. Let us pray: Lord of all Creation, please help us to understand the importance of our every single task, that in the humility of daily living, we may lovingly offer you our simple, small, and humble efforts, that our vocation of love may be a good imitation of Your never-ending Love. Amen.
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I remember my catechism classes from long ago. I remember our lovely teacher saying, “God the Father sent His beloved Son so that He would die for us, that by Him dying we would live. He saved us.” That was a simple statement of faith for us. “He sent His son to die for us...” And I remember opening my eyes when thinking that someone great had given His life for us, for me… That statement stayed with me for a long time. As a child, I accepted it without too much conscious thought, for what did I know of life and death or resurrection and eternal life. My teacher, whom I loved and trusted, told me that, and at the time, that was good enough for me. As I grew, I started to explore that simple statement with more mature eyes. What does it mean for our Lord Jesus to die for us? Why did He HAVE to die? I could not understand, for understanding the Paschal Mystery is only possible as a gift of the Spirit, an authentic Grace. In my “conversations” with our Lord, I would always ask: “Would it not have been better if you had stayed here? You could have directly guided us through so many tough times. Nobody would have doubted You in the flesh, available, showing us how to live as we were meant to live. Would that not have been easier?” But the answers to those questions were not to be answered then. Not yet, for how would we accept this beautiful mystery if not for our trust in the One who loves us?
Our teacher, our trusted One, our loved One! He tells us He had to go… but only because we were to receive someone great who would give us a path to communion with Him. Part of the Trinity within us. Someone great, yes, but I did not know the Spirit. I just wanted Jesus here, present in the flesh. So how could I be okay with what is a mystery? But really, Christ knows our hearts better than we do.
In our union with the Holy Spirit, given in perfect love for our good, we are given guidance, companionship, unity, and clarity… That much is declared to us in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord! These help us to lift the veil of mystery and allow us to approach the Divine. The gifts of the Spirit help us love our brothers as Christ loves us.
We are set free. Like the Wild Goose (a name often used to refer to the Holy Spirit), we get to come and go wherever we are prompted by the Spirit in us. This, too, can be called a mystery! How are we changed when we follow the Holy Spirit and commune with Christ Eucharistic. It is beautiful to see how we are transformed when we learn to dial our hearts to the frequency of God the Father. The Trinity is with us.
This is why Christ Jesus could not stay. I get why He had to go now, yet I still long for His hand to touch mine… Let us hold on and wait a little longer. There will be time for a face to face if we persevere on our way to Heaven. For now, He is present for us in the Eucharist and we have the Holy Spirit within us. We can commune with the Holy Trinity. We are not orphans. What a Grace this is for us!
Let us pray: Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice of love for all of us. Help us to see beyond the mystery, so that we may be strengthened in our Hope, Faith, and Love. May we get to see the light of Your face. Amen.
At every Mass I attend, I look up expectantly to the large Crucifix that usually looks over us behind the altar. In my thoughts, I am transported for a moment to the side of our Mother Mary as she is held by the hand of Saint John the Evangelist, experiencing together the Passion of Christ, and I see myself behind them, feeling so sad… It is a difficult image to process, but every time, among the pain and sadness, I end up feeling Hope because not only do I see the act of Mercy from our Savior, but also that he left us in the care of His Most Precious Mother. Oh, to be as Saint John holding our Mother’s hand! And I can see the fear and nervousness in the air as the multitude, driven mad with angst, call out to us, asking us why we are there: “Are you also one of His?” And I see Mother Mary, face set as flint, witnessing to her son, our Lord, withstanding the shouts and the leering, and I see myself taking courage from Her steadfastness… “...Behold your Mother.” (John 27:2) “Behold your Mother!” our Lord said, and I feel her right by me now as she was back then for John. And I imagine being like John, feeling protective of Mary in the middle of all that pain and suffering, witnessing together that most efficacious moment, the self-sacrifice of our Lord, His great Mercy overflowing in action for our salvation. And I imagine us helping Joseph of Arimathea take down the body of our Savior from the Cross, and I immediately go back to our temple seeing that beautiful Crucifix covered in purple, waiting expectantly in the great silence because we now know what those three days so long ago meant and continue to mean… Can you imagine our Mother Mary during those three days? “Behold your Mother!” And I see us taking Mother Mary home and having her be part of our families. I see Mary teaching us how to love Christ Jesus and follow His example. Can you imagine Mother Mary’s great joy on Easter day? Can you imagine us, the new family, overjoyed that our Savior had overcome death for us? And I can imagine both the joy and the sadness when our Lord had to ascend to take His place at the right hand of the Father. “I have to go!” we hear from our Lord, and I believe our Mother Mary felt bittersweet happiness. She probably wanted to go with Jesus right then, but she would not let the early Church be an orphan, for her new mission was to mother us, so she stayed with us for a while longer. “Behold your Mother!” And I imagine Mother Mary partaking in the Eucharistic banquet the same as we do today. Can you imagine Mother Mary yet again one with Jesus? Mary again united to Christ, but this time also one with us, united through the Eucharist as one body, one Church, one people, God’s people, and I tremble over that. I see new witnesses learning to witness from the first witness of Jesus. A witness testifies to the truth, and Mother Mary testified to the truth of Christ with her very life. Mother Mary mothered the Apostles. If Mary Magdalene is the Apostle to the Apostles for leading them to see the empty tomb, then who is Mother Mary who watched over them but a mother to the Apostles and the Mother of the entire Church? And she is still doing this today for us, love for us present, her Immaculate Heart interceding for us, leading us by the hand to her Son, Jesus. “Behold your Mother!” She points the way to Christ. Let us pray: ”Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer us. Amen.” (The Memorare Prayer)
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AuthorsWe are Ivonne J. Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. |