Do This in Memory of Me: Reach for the STARS

By: Laura Catherine WorhaczLaura Catherine Worhacz

Dearest Eucharistic Family,
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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.

“Grant what is in your heart, fulfill your every plan.” (Psalm 20:5)

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.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)

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.
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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.

‘If we say, "We are without sin," we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’ (1 John 1:8)

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.
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A few words from Saint Peter Julian in his retreat notes of 1837:

“He alone is an interior person who has the spirit of Jesus Christ, in whom alone is found the hidden manna of devotion, which is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, possessed by the one who proclaimed: 'Whoever does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him' [Romans 8,9] and the one Paul preached with zeal: 'Be imitators of me, as I myself imitate Christ' [1 Corinthians 4,16]. But what does the spirit of Jesus say? And what does it imply? 'Learn from me that I am meek and humble of heart' [Matthew 11,29]. Be meek. To love one another, do good to those who hate us, pray for those who calumniate and persecute us [cf. Matthew 5,44]. Briefly, meekness is linked to charity, says St Bernard, because charity is patient, benevolent, and humble (1 Corinthians 13) [cf. 1 Corinthians 13,4]. The truly interior man embraces and loves everyone with the charity of Christ. No particular love, no carnal affection guides him. He keeps his heart as a stranger, free for God alone, and as man, he himself will keep at a distance any impure love regarding creatures.”

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Laura Catherine Worhacz

Laura Catherine Worhacz is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and author of Consecration to Jesus Through Our Lady of The Blessed Sacrament. She is also the director of Mothers of The Blessed Sacrament. She lives in Trinity, FL, with her husband and their two daughters.