The Eucharist began to really come alive for me when our son Stevie was in the second grade. His class at Sacred Heart was preparing to receive the Sacrament of First Communion, and would come to the celebration of Mass together to learn more about it. Because of some renovating going on in the main church, daily Mass was being held in the basement of the Center, and there usually weren’t too many people besides the second graders in attendance. As it was open to adults though, I attended to be with Stevie and his class.
On one occasion, Fr. Len hadn’t expected any adults to be present, but an older couple and myself came to the celebration. He hadn’t brought any Hosts from the tabernacle in church, as the second graders weren’t ready to receive yet. So at the conclusion of the liturgy, he said he would go over to the church and bring some Hosts for us adults. I didn’t know the older couple, and felt somewhat out of place; I had errands to run and things to do, so I thought I’d just leave and be on my way. It was snowing outside, so I was brushing the snow off my car when it occurred to me: if the Church teaches that Jesus Christ is truly present in the consecrated Host, what on earth am I doing walking away without receiving Him? Fr. Len had returned to the Center, so I went back in, but he thought I had left, and so had consumed the Host he had brought for me.
This really got me to thinking about what I believed.
I had recently read an article about faith, which had encouraged a doubter to just “act as if” what he professed was true, whether he felt like it or not. “Act as if.” If my faith tells me that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, how should that affect my life? Would I ever leave Mass without receiving Him? Would I be casual about the Blessed Sacrament?
I began to attend daily Mass as often as I could, and often reflected on how my life should look if I truly believed that the Lord of the Universe, the Author of Life, my Lord and my God was present and available to me each day. And as I prayed and read, the recognition grew that this awesome God wanted to come to me; He thirsted for souls to love and receive Him. More than just being “available,” He deeply desired union with us, His children.
The mystery of the Eucharist is so deep and multi-layered, I can only be amazed and incredibly grateful for the grace to believe that Jesus is truly present to us, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament. So often God has revealed a truth to me through our children, and often through Steve. The best thing I can do is pray, and the greatest prayer I can offer is the Mass…
Lord God, thank You for the incredible Gift of Yourself, offered to us at each Holy Mass. May we never take You for granted or neglect the opportunity to attend the sacred liturgy, keeping participation in the Mass at the center of our lives ~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ********************************
While kayaking on the lake one summer day, I leaned on the side of my kayak and tipped over in the water. I had both my camera and my cell phone with me – the cell phone died, but the camera survived, altho it sometimes produced spots on the photos as if to remind me of my water adventure. The camera still worked pretty well most of the time, so I was using it to take some photos of the monstrance in order to promote Adoration in our parish of Sacred Heart. As I looked at the images, they were appearing with a big dot right above the monstrance, which looked just like a huge Host. I had seen dots appear before, but never like this one, and in such a perfect location. It seemed to me as if the Lord were magnifying His Presence in the Host, and the image has been a beautiful blessing for me. It’s not a photoshop trick – it’s a gift from God 🙂
We only had the tabernacle with Mary’s statue in this position for a short time before the tabernacle was moved to a position under the mosaic behind the altar – the “spot” wouldn’t have showed up there like it does on the brick wall. Perfect timing, perfect positioning… Lord God, thank You for this beautiful surprise and declaration of Your Presence in the Blessed Sacrament! May our hearts grow to welcome you and Your Presence be magnified in our lives ~
Spiritual Sun Pennies 