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| The Blessed Sacrament was reposed on Saint Clare's altar after Holy Thursday Mass |
Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Jesus draws his citation from the writings of the prophet Jeremiah and Isaiah:
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33-34
O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Isaiah 54:11-14
I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Isaiah 54:11-14
These passages foretell something wonderful, an intimate knowledge of God within abundant peace and prosperity. In that place there will be neither oppression nor fear.
This promise draws the faithful to the Church and the Eucharist. I see that peace settle upon the faces of Catholics as they attend the Mass and listen to the Eucharistic Prayer. Their faces are soft and content as they allow the words to reassure them of God’s abiding presence. If their minds wander, their hearts are peaceful as He speaks to them.
Jesus goes on to say,
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist we feel the presence of Eternity. It is so close, it is within reach. Only a thin wall separates us from heaven.
In the hospital ministry I sometimes offer the Eucharist for the last time to patients who understand and accept that death is very near. We call the ritual Viaticum, meaning food for the journey. They can still swallow some food, receive general absolution for all their sins, and renew the vows of their baptism. The Eucharist then becomes food to carry them from one meal in this world to the next meal in eternity, just as the Holy Spirit is breath for this world and the next.
When we share this Heavenly Banquet on Earth we also sup… on this mountain (where) the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. Isaiah 25:6
Eucharist is food for the journey on earth. Going to Mass as frequently as I can, not quite daily, yet, I am strengthened until the next time. If someone goes to Mass so infrequently, I wonder how they are not starving. I told my class just yesterday. Go as often as you can, now, while you can. When the hard times come, you have strength to face what you must.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words and pics. The statement that you made about the congregation "If their minds wander, their hearts are peaceful as He speaks to them" is very powerful. So much unknown relating with our God.
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