Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
Deepening our love of the Eucharist
The abbot gave a beautiful homily today at our 5 PM Holy Thursday service. First of all, the community understands the suffering and longing that many are feeling for the Eucharist. Perhaps for many, even the most devout, this may be the first time this is being experienced.
The Abbot asked us to think of our church, our big beautiful church, without the Eucharist. It would be a different sort of space. True, it would still be a sacred space for prayer, but something essential would be missing. The living reality of the Sacramental, real presence of Christ Jesus.
So today, for this Holy Week, perhaps many are going through a healing purification deepening their love of this sacrament.
Our faith is an incarnational one, and the Eucharist truly points to that reality. All of creation speaks to us of the Father's presence, and because of that, we consume God, becoming one with him on a deep this worldly level. We are called to become Christ, to allow him to become ‘us’, seeking to bring us to the reality that we too will become Eucharist for others, giving of ourselves in love, not in compulsion, and embracing all that that means
We also know that this purification we are going through in no way lessens the working of Jesus in our lives. We are becoming more aware of what this sacrament means, perhaps letting go of carelessness in how we will receive in the future. Routine can be deadening, prayer and a deep trust in Christ love for us will lessen that from creeping into our relationship with him.—Br.MD
