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By: Laura Catherine WorhaczLaura Catherine Worhacz  Dearest Eucharistic Family, If we close our eyes for a moment and reach for the stars, we may imagine Jesus reaching His own hand out through the clouds to grasp ours and pull us up to see our heart's ardent desire.
Jesus Christ came to redeem us; to give us His heart so we may follow His way to salvation. In the weeks before the Lenten season, the scriptures draw us into the Book of Genesis imagining creation and broadening our minds to focus on original sin. Are we our brother's keeper? Yes, we are called to be our brother's keeper. Christ came to be our keeper and in imitation of Him, we are called to share this mission. Jesus came to redeem and nurture humanity into the divine life. In Genesis 4:1-15, we find Cain sad and dejected. His brother Abel was acknowledged by God, and this brought out envy into Cain's heart. This vice manifested to put brother against brother. Scripture said Cain was crestfallen (crestfallen: having a hanging head, as defined in our Catholic dictionary). Sadness is not what Jesus came to leave us in our humanity. He came to pull us out of the sadness into the Pascal Mystery of His love, and to be risen into a divine hope. The sacrament of confession and the sacrament of the Eucharist raise us up. They help us to reach for the stars and to find the desire of our hearts, which is to be with God as we journey through life. In Jesus' peace and love, embraced by the eternal comfort of knowing that we have been created in love, is the peace Christ gives to us.
In the Eucharist, we are happy to rejoice in God's glory, and to be at peace with what God has given us. Who we are, what we are, and how we live in Christ's love, is part of the acceptance of God's will in our lives. Like Cain, when we are not peaceable, we may be manifesting envy of others. We kill them in every way possible, by word, thought, and even by deed. It is a struggle from the concupiscence of our sinful nature, it is always upon us. St. John reminds us that whoever says to be without sin is a liar.
I have heard quite a few priests in their homilies mention that while in the confessional, they have heard people say, "I don't know what to tell you, Father. I didn't have any sins this week. I have not sinned." A holy priest reminded his congregation that we have not done a very good examination of conscience if we think we have not sinned. Perhaps in the silence of prayer and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, in our conversation with Christ, or when we receive His precious beating heart, body, and blood in the Eucharist, we may see where we have sinned. Our search of the soul will help us find these places of darkness and sin that need to be redeemed and confronted. The Lenten season soon to be upon us is a gift, a holy reminder, and another chance to find Christ in the depths of our souls. Our Blessed Mother was the first to form a pattern of prayer in Christ's Church, a gift to us. Our Mother longs to help us find our human dignity to the fullness in Jesus Christ. The joy of the Gospel is always reachable for us. It's only a prayer away, and in the sacraments, that we can find the love of God, even through suffering. Our reward is eternal, to be formed in Christ, and to become in imitation of Him. The faithful, for those who trust in God, will live in the fullness of God's promise, this side of Heaven. With Jesus Christ, we can reach for the stars, pulled out of our human weakness. A few words from Saint Peter Julian in his retreat notes of 1837:
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I was watching a special about the life of Fred Rogers, the beloved Mr. Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and I was deeply moved by the life of this man. He was deep, caring, compassionate, intentional, and above all, he was kind. Fred was bullied as a child for being shy and overweight and was told by the grownups in his life to act like it didn’t bother him. Even as an eight-year-old, he knew that this was wrong. He was angry and sad that the bullies couldn’t see past his shortcomings to see him, and he was sad that his parents didn’t acknowledge his experience. After many years of sadness over this, his faith brought him to a decision. He decided he would always look for the essential in each person. Two of his most famous quotes, “I like you just the way you are” and “The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self,” describe how he loved his neighbor as himself. Fred Rogers cared, he listened, he connected. He brought Jesus Christ to the world, not by talking about Him necessarily, but by the way he lived, by the way he loved.
I think we can easily forget the importance and the power of kindness. It is very difficult to be kind to someone who has hurt us or those we love. It is difficult to be compassionate to someone who just rubs us the wrong way. It is much easier to be kind, compassionate and forgiving towards someone we like. And, although it is true that there are people whose nature attracts us less than others, it does not mean that the act of liking someone is outside of our control. When we experience feelings of antipathy or even disgust towards a person, we still get to choose how we respond. “Look for the essential in each person”. What a simple yet profound idea. How do we find the “essential” in the other? By entering into a relationship with them -- by being present to them and listening to their story. If a friend is rude to us, but we know they just lost a loved one, we are more inclined to give them a pass. When we understand the “why” behind the actions, when we see the pain motivating the undesired behavior, we do not take things personally and can see the situation as it really is. We can refrain from putting up our own walls and instead reach out to the other in front of us.
When we look out and truly see, we won’t see a monster threatening our very existence, but our crucified Lord calling out for us. We will see Jesus thirsty, naked, imprisoned, lonely, mourning, or hungry. When we meet the human needs of others with kindness and compassion, we will find that the essential in them will shine more brightly. When we find that reflection of God in the other, we can then join Mr. Rogers in saying:
 Let us read one of my favorite passages, The Sending of Isaiah, in the Old Testament.
The passage is perfect for those of us who have grown to understand that a life in Christ requires recognition, repentance, and restoration, and that these are but a calling for us to “go” and serve. Let us read a related quote from Jeremiah’s Complaint.
Jeremiah was complaining that his life was hard, and that his mission to God’s people was difficult. Yet the Lord answers Jeremiah that in His presence Jeremiah "stands". Let us remember that the only individuals who could stand in the inner sanctum, in the inner space, in the presence of God, were those chosen for a mission by God, among them, Abraham, Moses, Levi, Levi’s priestly line, and the prophets of the Old Testament. Jeremiah’s life was hard, but his heart was true. The Lord says to Jeremiah, “You shall be my mouth”, and then promises to help him.
Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, we are the faithful, the rescued sinners. We must remember our repentance and confess our sins so that we may be restored. We must recognize our Savior and humbly submit our will to Him who loves us. Can we become acquainted yet again with our mission of love and mercy, empowered by our Lord’s Eucharist in His sacrifice of Love?
I am always inspired by this simple wisdom from Saint Augustine. We do what we can, not what we can’t. We give from ourselves, a humble sacrifice of time and effort. For those we can help directly, we become good Samaritans, and for those we cannot, we become their intercessors through prayer. Through repenting and leaving our old selves behind, living our lives faithfully and actively living our mission of mercy, we become as the apostles and saints. Saint Paul concisely describes this.
It is normal to feel we cannot be capable missionary disciples, for we may not recognize all of our gifts and capabilities, but even then, if we offer our Lord who we are, and what we are, He can, through us, perform what is necessary.
Let us keep our faith fully alive. By enabling our faith with action, we pass forward that which we receive in the Eucharist, that which we receive by uniting our humble offering to the sublime offering of Christ.
I enjoin us all to accept our call to Christ’s missionary discipleship. May we serve our Lord, and our brothers and sisters. That we may, by word and action, “… love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Let us pray:
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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. 
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