Do This in Memory of Me: … a human appearance

By: Laura Worhacz

“Mary effaced herself, aiming at being nothing more than a human appearance, as it were, whose whole being and substance are changed, transformed into Jesus Christ.”
(Eymard, Eymard Library Volume 7, p. 155)

Dearest Eucharistic Family,

There is a rhythm of the church, a heartbeat of the Liturgy that is calling out to us. We are still in the Easter season remembering all that happened to Jesus of Nazareth during His Passion, Death, and Rising. We recall the time our Lord spent on earth teaching and preaching. It seems a time of mourning is long forgotten in our society. We are so busy, we barely have time to remember anything. Rather, we go to the next thing. I love that the church gives us fifty days to ponder before the celebration of Pentecost.

​If we think about Jesus wandering the earth after the Crucifixion and why He chose to, we may think of our souls being transformed. Jesus’ humanity to His glorified state strengthens us from our human existence to the rising of the power of the Holy Spirit. We need silence, prayer, and total self-submission to the will of God to be receptive and receive God’s gifts. Even after the witness of the resurrection, Jesus knew His loved ones, Apostles and Disciples, would go back to former ways. Jesus visited the earth to guide us to the hope and longing of Heaven. It is there where He would sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty forever, and we too are invited.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard received a mystical reality close to the end of his life. He was called by Jesus to become a total Gift of Self and to offer Christ the Gift of his personality. By this submission Saint Peter Julian lost his human appearance allowing Jesus to live through him completely. God loves us perfectly in the way He created us. While on earth, Mary had a human appearance, yet she was infused with every blessing from God. The fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit espoused her existence and raised her human life to the divine. In the above excerpt, we read “Mary effaced herself.” Her human appearance adapted to the rhythm of the Church through her espousal to the Holy Spirit. Mary lived in a song of praise, in the heartbeat of the Liturgy, and humbly prayed for the Eucharistic Kingdom while she remained on earth.

As we continue to journey to Pentecost let us offer all our mourning and weeping to Jesus Crucified. Let us open our hearts to the graces our Father longs to deliver. Let us offer our human appearance to the Altar of God where Our Father will help us look more like Jesus Christ, His Son, by the gift of our lives.