ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick share their experiences and reflections on living a life centered on the Eucharist.
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ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick share their experiences and reflections on living a life centered on the Eucharist.
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By: Ivonne Hernandez St Peter Julian Eymard's Words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) “OUR Lord uttered these words while He was still among men, but He meant them to reach far beyond the short span of His human life. They belong to all ages; He can still repeat them in the Blessed Sacrament with as much truth as in Judea. …In the Eucharist He no longer performs the acts of virtues, but He has assumed them as His form of existence. We must make the acts and thus, in a way, complete our Lord. He thereby becomes one mystical person with us. We are His acting members, His Body, of which He is the Head and the Heart; so that He can say, "I still live." We complete and perpetuate Him." [1] MEDITATION: The mystery of the carrying of the Cross shows us the way we are to follow if we are to be true disciples of Christ. From embracing the Cross upon receiving it, to continuing all the way through the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, Our Lord exhibits all the virtues needed to reach the goal. He still exhibits them all in the Eucharist, so we can learn from Him and, as His mystical body, “complete and perpetuate Him”. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) These words from Jesus leave us with a very clear map of how are we to find the treasure of Heaven. The path goes straight though the Via Dolorosa, which means the way of suffering. We are not only to follow Him there, but we are to do it as we carry our own daily cross. Every morning when we see our cross, we are to embrace it like He did, for it is our key to the Kingdom. Each time we fall, we’ll see Our Lady right there with us, and with her help, we will get up again. Sometimes a Simon of Cyrene or a Veronica will come along our way, and sometimes we will be the ones called to ease someone else’s way. We will be mocked and insulted; we will get tired and wonder if we can go on. Blood and sweat will stream down our eyes, we won’t see Jesus in front of us and we’ll wonder if He’s still with us. Jesus knew our weakness and how difficult we would find it to follow this path, so not only is He leading us by going though it ahead of us, but He left Himself behind in the Eucharist as our nourishment and guide. From there He speaks to our hearts, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) See how meek He is in the Eucharist, hidden and silent. Be meek like Him. See how He patiently waits for us to realize that there is something greater here, that He is everything we need. Be patient like Him. See how poor, gentle, strong, faithful, self-giving and loving He is. Be like Him. He wants us to receive Him and become one with Him, so that when we are carrying our cross, it is Him in us who is carrying it for us. With Him acting in us, and us acting in Him, we unite our sufferings to His, completing and perpetuating Him. We will say with St Paul, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.” (Col 1:24) SEND: As you meditate on the mystery of the Carrying of the Cross, ask Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament to show you the virtues you need to carry your own cross today, and ask Our Lady to give you the grace to grow in those virtues. [1] Eymard, The Real Presence, p.192
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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. |